Spray mechanism for an aerosol product

Abstract: A container 1 containing the liquid to be sprayed and the vaporized gas for spraying in its inside is provided with a control member 2 having a spray hole 7, and when the control member 2 is manipulated, the liquid is sprayed by the gas pressure of the spraying gas. A sliding member 5 is provided in the control member 2, and reservoir or pools 44, 45 and a reservoir 76 are installed in the passage of the spray liquid and the vaporized gas. When the gas pressure in those pools is raised to the prescribed pressure, the sliding member 5 works to close the passage, and then the gas pressure in the pools drops, the passage is opened, and the gas pressure increases. As a result, the spray liquid and the gas are temporarily stored in the pools 44, 45 and the reservoir 76 until they are pressurized up to the prescribed internal pressure, and then sent into the spray hole 7, so that the spray liquid may always be sprayed from the spray hole 7 at a constant pressure and that constant spray state and state of atomization may be maintained at all times.

Description: Background of the Invention: The present invention relates to an improvement in a spray mechanism for an aerosol product for injecting spray liquid from a container by gas pressure by means of a vaporized propellant gas. As the spraying mechanism of an aerosol product using vaporized gas as a spraying gas, and injecting the spray liquid from the container by the gas pressure of this spraying gas, the construction as shown in Fig. 6 for example is already known. This mechanism comprises a container A, a control member B, a nozzle fitting hole C for fitting the control member B to the tip of the nozzle Al of the container A, a spray hole D and, between the nozzle fitting hole C and the spray hole D, a leading path E for communication between the two, and is designed in such a way that the spray liquid inside the container A may pass through the nozzle A1 and the leading path E to be sprayed from the spray hole D as the control member B attached to the tip of the nozzle A1 of the container A is pressed downward. With the construction as shown in Fig. 6, as the amount of spray liquid in the container A decreases by consumption, the gas space gets larger and the internal pressure in the container drops. As a result, a problem is presented that, while the spray liquid can be sprayed abundantly and forcibly in the initial period of use when the container A is filled with a sufficient amount of spray liquid and gas, it can no longer be sprayed in any sufficient amount and the state of atomization also deteriorates because of a drop of spraying force in the later period of use when the residual volume of spray liquid is reduced. Moreover, though there is no illustration, there is a different type of spray mechanism, the so-called tilt type, which has been widely used and which is designed to be actuated by tilting the nozzle of the container. In the same way as the above-describe type, this tilt type is also constructed in such a way that the spray liquid pushed out from the nozzle A1 by the gas passes through the leading path E and is sprayed from the spray hole D. Therefore, this tilt type also has the same problem as that of the above-mentioned type, i.e. weaker spraying force and poorer atomization state of spray liquid in the later period of use compared with the initial period. On the other hand, those conventional aerosol product spraying mechanisms were developed on the precondition that a liquefied gas such as chlorofluorocarbon be used as the spraying gas. A proper amount of this liquefied gas gradually vaporizes inside the container A and constantly maintains the pressure inside the container about constant from the start of use up to the end of use and, therefore, the problems of drop of spraying force and deterioration in the state of atomization were not so clearly present. However, disuse of chlorofluorocarbon has been decided from the viewpoint of environmental production, and it is also feared that use of other liquefied gases such as LPG, etc. may become difficult in the near future for reason of danger inherent in those gases. For that reason, attempts are being made today to use vaporized gas such as CO 2 , N 2 , O 2 , etc. as spraying gas. Those vaporized gases (especially N 2 ) are not dissolved well in the spray liquid, and the greater part of them are stored in the container in the vaporized state. For that reason, when used in the conventional spraying mechanism for an aerosol product, the spray liquid is released at a high pressure in the early period of use but, with continued use, the gas space increases, the gas pressure in the container drops and, in the later period of use, the internal pressure of the container becomes extremely low. As a result, the problems of drop of spraying force and deterioration in the state of atomization are actualized. Furthermore, when liquefied gas is used, part of the liquefied gas is sprayed together with the spray liquid. For that reason, while part of the liquefied gas also achieved the function of atomizing the spray liquid by being vaporized instantly as it comes out of the nozzle A1, the vaporized gas, which is not dissolved so well in the spray liquid, also produced the problem of poor state of atomization in the spraying. The object of the present invention, which was devised in view of such circumstances, is to provide a spray mechanism for an aerosol product capable of maintaining constant spraying condition and state of atomization at all times from the beginning to end of use, even with vaporized gas. Another object of the present invention is to provide a spray mechanism for an aerosol product capable of spraying in a good state of fine atomization even with the use of vaporized gas. As part solution, FR 2 711 973 A1 discloses a spray mechanism for an aerosol product, for association with a container having a nozzle and containing at least a spray liquid and a spraying gas, the mechanism being of the type comprising: a control member having a spray hole and arranged such that when the control member is actuated, the spray liquid is passed by the spraying gas pressure from a nozzle hole in the container nozzle to the spray hole so that the spray liquid is ejected from the spray hole, the control member comprising a control part for actuating the container nozzle so as to eject the spray liquid from the nozzle hole, a regulator mechanism unit communicating with the nozzle hole, and a spraying member communicating with the regulator mechanism unit, the regulator mechanism unit comprising a space in the control member downstream of the container nozzle, a sliding member in the space and in close contact with the wall of the space, and thrusting means for biasing the sliding member towards the container nozzle, a nozzle opening being formed adjacent the exit end of the container nozzle so as to communicate with the nozzle hole, a pool communicating with the nozzle opening, and a connection hole intercommunicating the nozzle opening and the pool, the sliding member having a partition wall and having a shielding part in the nozzle opening and connected to the partition wall so as to be move together with the partition wall, the shielding part being arranged to slide in the direction opposite to that of the biasing force of the thrusting means by being subjected by the spray liquid and gas released from the nozzle hole, to forces greater than the thrusting force of the thrusting means, the shielding part blocking the connection hole off from the nozzle when the sliding member slides in the opposite direction to the thrusting force of the thrusting means, there being formed in the space at least one pool (which is formed when the sliding member or partition wall is closely adjacent the wall face of said space) communicating with the nozzle opening and temporarily storing the spray liquid and gas coming from the nozzle opening, and the space communicating with the spraying member through the communicating hole via an injection piece inside the spraying member. Although FR 2 711 973 A1 solves part of the problem, it does not provide a complete solution. As the internal pressure of the container changes, the pressure on the spray liquid and the spray hole can still change, and it is also possible for spray liquid to leak from the spray hole after spraying has been stopped by releasing the pressure on the control member. The Invention: The present invention provides a spray mechanism of said type in which a reservoir for storing the spray liquid and gas is formed at approximately the center of the injection piece, the reservoir having an opening facing the communicating hole, with a plurality of grooves leading from said opening along the outer circumferential surface of the injection piece to the spray hole, to constitute narrow passages communicating with the spray hole, whereby the spray liquid and gas which are stored in the pool until reaching a prescribed internal pressure, are introduced into the reservoir through the communicating hole, and then passed to the spray hole. Once the spray liquid has reached the prescribed pressure, it is passed to the spray hole. Regardless of the internal pressure in the container, the spray liquid can be sprayed from the spray hole at the prescribed pressure, which is constantly maintained in said pool and also in said reservoir. By providing the pool and also the reservoir, it is possible to minimise leakage of spray liquid (which can be called "after-draw") from the spray hole when spraying is stopped by releasing the pressure on the control member. The spray mechanism of the invention can be used successfully when an optional liquid liquefied gas has been dissolved in the spray liquid, it being possible for the liquefied gas to vaporise and atomise the spray liquid when the spray liquid is ejected. There is preferably a plurality of said pools in said space, capable of storing the spray liquid and gas, for temporarily storing the spray liquid released at proper pressure from the nozzle hole of the container. In order to provide a good seal between the sliding face of the sliding member and the internal wall of said space, an elastic ring-shaped sealing member can be provided on the sliding face of the sliding member, the sealing member having a V or U section. The invention extends to an aerosol product container containing a spray liquid and a spraying gas and having a nozzle engaged with the spraying mechanism of the invention. The container contains a spray liquid and a vaporised gas agent for spraying, and optionally can contain a spray liquid, a liquefied gas dissolved in the spray liquid, and a vaporised gas agent for spraying. The invention will be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is an explanatory drawing of the internal structure of an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is an explanatory drawing of the internal structure, indicating the spraying state of the embodiment of Fig. 2 (the container valve body is slightly different. Fig. 3 is an explanatory drawing of the internal structure indicating the spraying state of the embodiment of Fig. 2, and shows the state in which the connecting hole communicating between the nozzle opening and the pool is closed. Fig. 4 indicates the sealing member used for an embodiment of the present invention, (A) being a plan view and (B) being a section along the line S-S in (A). Fig. 5 indicates the injection chip used for an embodiment of the present invention, (A) being a plan view, (B) a sectional view of the line A'-A-O-B in the previous drawing and (C) a bottom view. Fig. 6 is an explanatory sectional view of a prior art spray mechanism. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment: The spray mechanism comprises a container 1 and a control member 2 attached to this container 1. The container 1 to which this control member 2 is attached is similar to a conventional one, and filled with vaporized gas such as air, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, laughing gas, oxygen, helium, etc., as spraying gas. In addition, at the top of this container 1 is provided a cylinder-like nozzle 11 having a nozzle hole 12. The nozzle 11 in this embodiment is designed in such a way that the spray liquid is injected from the nozzle hole 12 when the nozzle 11 is pressed downward and that the nozzle 11 is pushed up by thrusting means provided on the nozzle 11 to stop the ejection of spray liquid when the nozzle 11 is no longer pressed, but the nozzle 11 may alternatively be realized as a tilt type which ejects the spray liquid when the nozzle is tilted by pressing. The control member 2 comprises a body unit 10, an operating unit provided in this body unit 10, a regulator mechanism unit, and a spraying member 70 having a spray hole 7. The operating unit is composed of a nozzle fitting hole 3 formed at the bottom center of the body unit 10. This nozzle fitting hole 3 is provided with a nozzle top end face contact part 31 by forming a stepped part which the top edge of the nozzle 11 can contact. This nozzle top end face contact part 31 is realized in such a way that only the top part of the nozzle 11 fits so that the top end face of the nozzle may be in contact with this part, and this nozzle top end face contact part 31 can be operated to push down the nozzle by pressing down the control member 2. The regulator mechanism unit is realized by comprising, inside a roughly cylindrical space (4) formed at the center of the control member 2, a sliding member 5 disposed in a way to slide in the axial direction (vertical direction in the drawing) of the nozzle 11, and a thrusting means 6 for constantly biasing this sliding member 5 towards the nozzle 11 (downward direction in the drawing). Above the thrusting means 6 is fixed a top cover 8. The sliding member 5 consists of a cylindrical member having an end wall 51 at the upper part, and this end wall 51 serves as a partition wall. In addition, the sliding member 5 also has a cylindrical outer part 53 and a protrusion 54 extending downward from the center of its end wall 51 and a shielding part 52 formed at the tip of this protrusion 54. Above the nozzle top end face contact part 31 provided inside the bottom center of the body unit 10 is formed a nozzle opening 41, and below the end wall 51 of the sliding member 5 is formed a reservoir or pool 44, and a connecting hole 43 is provided for communication between the nozzle opening 41 and the pool 44. In this embodiment, the connecting hole 43 is formed by keeping the inside diameter of the partition of the body unit 10 smaller than the inside diameter of the nozzle opening 41. This makes it possible to form a stepped part at the end of the nozzle opening 41. On the outer circumferential face of the outer part 53 is provided a ring-shaped groove, and a ring-shaped sealing member 51a is provided in this groove as sealing means. The outer part 53 serves as the sliding face of the sliding member 5. Another reservoir or pool 45 is formed in the shape of a ring between the bottom end of the outer part 53 of the sliding member 5 and the inner wall of the body unit 10. In this way, as the sealing member 51a tightly seals between the sliding member 5 and the wall of the body unit 10, the pools 44, 45 formed between the sliding member 5 and the inner wall of the body unit 10 are completely separated from the thrusting means housing 42, and can temporarily store the spray liquid released at proper pressure from the nozzle hole 11 of the container 1 without allowing the spray liquid flowing into the pools 44, 45 to pass into the thrusting means housing 42. Moreover, respective intercommunicating passages are provided between the pools 44 and 45 and also between the pool 45 and the injection member 70. These passages are intended not only to hold the spray liquid and gas in the pools 44, 45 so as to raise the internal pressure in the pools 44, 45 to the prescribed pressure but also to allow the spray liquid to flow from the pools 44, 45 to the spraying member 70 at that prescribed internal pressure. In this embodiment, the intercommunicating passages formed by narrow clearances between inner and outer surfaces of the short of the sliding member 5 and respective inner walls of the body unit 10. The passage communicating from the pool 45 to the spraying member 70 passes through a communicating hole 73. The protrusion 54 is a round bar, the shaft diameter of which is smaller than said connecting hole 43 between the nozzle opening 41 and the pool 44, and its front end side extends into the nozzle opening 41, passing through the connecting hole 43. The shielding part 52 at the front end of the protrusion 54 is disposed in the nozzle opening 41, and is composed of a flange 52a and a shielding member 52b. The flange 52a has an upper outer diameter larger than the diameter of the connecting hole 43 but smaller than the diameter of the nozzle opening 41, while its lower surface is formed as a flat plane, disposed in such a way that the entire bottom surface is orthogonal to the axis of the nozzle 11, and is formed so that the spray liquid and gas inside the container 1 sent out from the nozzle hole 12 may hit against this bottom face. On the other hand, the shielding member 52b is made of an elastic 0 ring for sealing, and extends around the protrusion 54 in the upper part of the flange 52a. The outer diameter of this shielding member 52b is larger than the diameter of the connecting hole 43 around the protrusion 54, and can therefore seal the connecting hole 43. As thrusting means 6, a cylindrical coil spring is used in this embodiment and disposed in the thrusting means housing 42 by being set between the end wall 51 and the top cover 8 in such a way that the lower end is in touch with the top face of the bottom part 51 and the upper end is in contact with the lower face of the top cover 8, respectively. As shown in Fig. 1, during a period of non use when the spray liquid and gas from the nozzle 11 are not passed into the pools 44, 45, the communicating hole 73 is blocked by the sealing member 51a. The sealing member 51a may be disposed, during said period of non use, not at a position closing the communicating hole 73 but at a position opening the communicating hole 73, i.e. a position slightly above the communicating hole 73. The spray hole 7 is provided, in this embodiment, on the spraying member 70, which is a part separate from the body unit 10, and this spraying member 70 is attached to the portion of the body unit 10 in which is formed a communicating hole 73. This spraying member 70 is formed with a spraying unit body 75 composed of a closed-end hollow cylinder having a spraying hole 7 on the left side in the drawing and a cylindrical piece 74 inside this spraying unit body 75. This injection piece 74 has a small reservoir 76 provided at the center and a leading path 71 formed on its outer circumference. This leading path 71 is formed, as described in detail later, with a narrow gap formed by a plural number of grooves made on the inner circumferential face of the spraying unit body 75 and on the outer circumferential face of the injection piece 74. The spraying hole 7, which is a tiny hole, atomizes the spray liquid ejected from the leading path 71. As this spraying member 70 is fitted into a hole 2a provided on the outer wall of the control member 2, communication is established between the communicating hole 73 of the body unit 10 and the leading path 71. Because the leading path 71 is narrow and the spray hole 7 is small, the passage of the spray liquid and the gas from the reservoir 76 is restricted until they are sprayed from the spray hole 7 by passing through the communicating hole 73, thus performing a function similar to that of the communicating passage in the regulator mechanism unit. Next, explanation will be given on the operation of this spraying mechanism. First, the nozzle 11 of the container 1 is engaged in the nozzle fitting hole 3 of the control member 2, and the control member 2 is attached to the container 1. In this state, the sliding member 5 is thrust downward by the cylindrical coil spring 6 as shown in Fig. 1, the sealing member 51a on the cylindrical outer circumference 53 of the sliding member 5 blocks the communicating hole 73, and the shielding unit 52 is positioned at about the center of the nozzle opening 41, thereby keeping open the connecting hole 43. Next, press the top face of the control member 2 with a finger. With this operation, the nozzle 11 is pushed downward by the nozzle top end face contact part 31 of the nozzle fitting hole 3 and, as a result, the spray liquid in the container 1 is sprayed from the nozzle hole 12 by the pressure of the vaporized gas inside the container 1. The injected spray liquid hits against the bottom face of the shielding unit 52 to exert an upward pressure W3 on it and also flows into the pool 44 by passing through the open connecting hole 43 from the gap between the outer circumference of the shielding unit 52 and the inner circumference of the nozzle opening 41. When a certain amount of spray liquid and vaporized gas has reached the pool 44, the internal pressure W2 in the pool 44 rises. At that time, the spray liquid which has passed through the pool 44 also flows into the pool 45 by passing through a narrow passage. In this way, the internal pressure W2 in the pools 44, 45 rises and, as the sum of the internal force W2 acting on the sliding member 5 positioned above the pools 44, 45 and the force W3 applied to the bottom face of said shielding unit 52 (W2 + W3) becomes larger than the thrusting force W1 of the spring 6 biasing the sliding member 5 downward, the sliding member 5 is pushed upward. If the sliding member 5 is pushed upward, the communicating hole 73 opens and the spray liquid is passed into the reservoir 76 of the injection piece 74. The internal pressure in this reservoir 76 also rises and the spray liquid starts to be ejected outside from the spray hole 7 by passing through the leading path 71. As spraying continues and the internal pressure of pools 44, 45 and the reservoir 76 becomes higher than the prescribed pressure, i.e. larger than the thrusting force W1 of the cylindrical coil spring 6 serving as thrusting means, the sliding member 5 rises further. As the sliding member 5 is pushed up, the flange 52a of the shielding unit 52 closes the connecting hole 43 by blocking it from below as shown in Fig. 3. Therefore, in the pools 44, 45 and reservoir 76, the internal pressure W2 does not rise any more and the spray liquid is sprayed from the spray hole 7 at that internal pressure W2. After a certain amount of the spray liquid has been sprayed, the internal pressure W2 in the pools 44, 45 and reservoir 76 starts gradually decreasing and said sum of forces W2 + W3 becomes smaller than the thrusting force W1 of the cylindrical coil spring 6. This makes the sliding member 5 move downward. If the sliding member 5 moves down, the feed of the spray liquid and vaporized gas to the spraying member 70 is restricted and the connecting hole 43 again opens. And, again, the spray liquid flows into the pools 44, 45 and reservoir 76, the total force W2 + W3 goes up and the spray liquid in the pools 44, 45 is sent into the spraying member 70 through the communicating hole 73, i.e. the spray liquid is also forced into the reservoir 76 of the spraying member 70 to provide for continued spraying at the prescribed pressure. With repetition of the above-mentioned motions, the spray liquid is sprayed in the form of mist from the spray hole 7 always at the internal pressure W2. Therefore, the spray liquid can be ejected always at a constant pressure from the beginning to the end of use and can maintain constant spraying state and state of atomization. Moreover, by using various cylindrical coil springs 6 of different thrusting forces, it becomes possible and easy to adjust to any desired pressure as required. In this embodiment, cylindrical coil spring 6 is used as thrusting means, but other thrusting means may also be used as required. Moreover, the position of the cylindrical coil spring 6 is not limited to the top face of the end wall 51 of the sliding member 5 but may be changed as required by such methods as disposing the cylindrical coil spring 6 in the nozzle opening 41, between the top face of the shielding unit 52 and the stepped part of the connecting hole 43, or providing thrusting means capable of lowering the end wall 51 in the portion of the pool 44, i.e. between the bottom face of the end wall 51 of the sliding member and the inner wall of the body unit 10, etc., for example. Fig. 4 indicates the sealing member 51a used for the spray mechanism of said embodiment of the present invention, (A) being a plan view and (B) being an S-S end view thereof. This sealing member 51a is a ring-shaped packing made of flexible and highly elastic synthetic rubber, elastomer or synthetic resin, etc. This sectional shape is shaped, as it is apparent from the end face drawing in Fig. 4 (B), in the form of an inverted V or U, has 2 legs 51b below and also has a space 51c between the legs. By adopting this shape, it becomes possible to avoid the problem of swelling of the seal spoiling the smoothness of operation, as can occur with ordinary sealing packings not having said space 51c. Moreover, by using this sealing member 51a, it becomes possible to improve the tightness between the sliding member and the inner wall of the space 4, and to better prevent leakage of spray liquid (called "after-draw") from the spray hole when ceasing ejection by stopping pressing of the control member 2. Fig. 5 indicates the injection chip 74 disposed in the spraying member 70 used for said embodiment. As it is seen from the sectional view, at the center of this injection piece 74 is formed a reservoir 76 composed of an approximately cylindrical hole for storing the spray liquid, and groove 76a is formed approximately radially in four directions from the opening of this reservoir 76 (see Fig. 5 (C)). From this groove 76a, as a continuation of the groove 76a, is provided groove 76b in the axial direction on the outer circumferential face of the injection chip 74 groove 76a, and groove 76c, as a continuation of the groove 76b, is further provided, leading to a concavity 76d at the center on the top of the injection piece 74 (see Fig. 5 (A)). Therefore, the spray liquid passed from the communicating hole 73 of the body unit 10 of the control member 2 first stays in the reservoir 76 of the injection piece 74 and then passes from the opening of the reservoir 76 through the approximately radial groove 76a, passes through the groove 76b provided on the outer circumferential face of the injection piece 74 and further passes through the groove 76c formed on the end face of the spray hole 7 of the injection piece 74 to reach the concavity 76c at its center and be ejected to outside from the spray hole 7 of the spraying member 70. The grooves 76a, 76b, 76c form the leading path 71 (see Fig. 1 to Fig. 3). Because the grooves 76a, 76b, 76c are very narrow passages, the internal pressure of the pools 44, 45 in the control member 2 and the reservoir 76 in the injection piece 74 easily goes up due to the pressure of the spray liquid and spray gas which are passed from inside the container 1. As the pressure in the pools 44, 45 drops, the connecting hole 43 opens immediately by the action of the thrusting means 6 to feed spray liquid and, if its pressure goes up, the connecting hole 43 closes, thus maintaining the internal pressure W2 of the pools 44, 45 about constant at all times. A variety of vaporized gases can be used as spraying gas. Because those vaporized gases (especially N2) are difficult to dissolve in the spray liquid, it is rather difficult to atomize the spray liquid and obtain fine mist. For that reason, though it is also possible to embody this invention by storing the spray liquid and vaporized gas only in the container 1, it is more preferable to store a small amount of liquefied gas in the container 1 by dissolving it in the spray gas. As liquefied gas, LPG, DME (dimethyl ether) and other liquefied gases can be used as desired. Because this liquefied gas can be easily dissolved in the spray liquid, it is sprayed from the spraying hole 7 into the atmosphere together with the spray liquid. As the liquefied gas swells by sudden vaporization, the spray liquid also turns into fine mist. In this way, liquefied gas is used for the purpose of turning the spray liquid into fine mist after the spraying, and only a very small amount is enough as the dosage of liquefied gas in the spray liquid, because the injection itself of the spray liquid is performed by the pressure of the vaporized gas. LPG dissolves well in alcohol but hardly dissolves in water and, moreover, the range of amount available for dissolution also changes depending on the set pressure of spraying, i.e. the pressure in the container 1 by vaporized gas. Table 1 shows a concrete example of the relationship between the spray liquid, liquefied gas and set pressure for injection, i.e. the pressure in the container 1 by vaporized gas. Injection set pressure Spray liquid Liquefied gas (A) 1 kg/cm 2 99% alcohol 100 wt LPG 5.26 wt (B) 2 kg/cm 2 Same as (A) LPG 10.87 wt (C) 3 kg/cm 2 Same as (A) LPG 20.67 wt (D) 1 kg/cm 2 Same as (A) DME 11.36 wt (E) 2 kg/cm 2 Same as (A) DME 27.03 wt (F) 3 kg/cm 2 Same as (A) DME 52.08 wt (G) 1 kg/cm 2 Refined water 100 wt DME 4.79 wt (H) 2 kg/cm 2 Same as (G) DME 9.50 wt (I) 3 kg/cm 2 Same as (G) DME 14.60 wt (J) 1 kg/cm 2 99% alcohol 50 wt LPG 0.50 wt Refined water 50 wt (K) 2 kg/cm 2 Same as (J) LPG 1.00 wt (L) 3 kg/cm 2 Same as (J) LPG 1.60 wt (M) 1 kg/cm 2 Same as (J) DME 8.92 wt (N) 2 kg/cm 2 Same as (J) DME 20.01 wt (O) 3 kg/cm 2 Same as (J) DME 34.51 wt (P) 1 kg/cm 2 99% alcohol 30 wt LPG 0.27 wt Refined water 70 wt (Q) 2 kg/cm 2 Same as (P) LPG 0.57 wt (R) 3 kg/cm 2 Same as (P) LPG 0.95 wt (S) 1 kg/cm 2 Same as (P) DME 6.53 wt (T) 2 kg/cm 2 Same as (P) DME 14.51 wt (U) 3 kg/cm 2 Same as (P) DME 26.79 wt This Table 1 shows the possible range of the dissolved amount of liquefied gas in the case where spray liquid and injection set pressure are given. To explain concretely by taking (A) in Table 1 for example, it shows that, in the case where the inject set pressure i.e. the pressure in the container 1 by vaporized gas is 1 kg/cm 2 , the liquefied gas composed of LPG can be dissolved to an amount of 5.26 wt in 100 wt of spray liquid made of 99 % alcohol. Therefore, what is to be done is to dissolve a proper amount no more than 5.26 wt of liquefied gas composed of LPG in 100 wt of spray liquid made of 99% alcohol and store it in the container 1. In Table 1, the temperature of spray liquid and liquefied gas is 25°C and, at this temperature, LPG has a pressure of 4.4 kg/cm 2 and DME has a pressure of 4.7 kg/cm 2 . Thus, in the present invention, the spray liquid to be injected from the nozzle hole at a proper pressure from the pools and the reservoir is once stored in those pools and reservoir, and is sent into the spray hole after being raised to the prescribed pressure, and therefore the spray liquid can be injected from the spray hole always at prescribed pressure constantly remaining in the pools and reservoir regardless of the internal pressure of the container. This makes it possible to eject the spray liquid, staying always in the pools, etc. from beginning to end of use, at a constant pressure, hereby maintaining constant spraying state and state of atomization. Moreover, in said embodiment, two pools 44, 45 are provided and the sliding member 5 has an outer circumference 53 of cylindrical shape; this cylindrical outer circumference 53 serves as guide for vertical sliding, enabling smooth vertical slide without causing any rolling of the sliding member 5. Moreover, by providing two pools 44, 45, it became possible to reduce the size of the respective pools and thereby reduce leakage of spray liquid (called "after-draw") after stopping the ejection. Furthermore, by dissolving a desired liquefied gas in the spray liquid, it becomes possible to vaporize the liquefied gas into fine mist at the time of injection of the spray liquid, to realize better spraying. As it has been described so far, the present invention provides a spray mechanism of aerosol product capable of maintaining constant spray state and state of mist at all times from beginning to end of use, even in the case where the spray liquid is injected by vaporized gas. The present invention has been described above purely by way of example, and modifications can be made within the invention.

Claims: A spray mechanism for an aerosol product, for association with a container (1) having a nozzle (11) and containing at least a spray liquid and a spraying gas, the mechanism comprising: a control member (2) having a spray hole (7) and arranged such that when the control member (2) is actuated, the spray liquid is passed by the spraying gas pressure from a nozzle hole (12) in the container nozzle (11) to the spray hole (7) so that the spray liquid is ejected from the spray hole (7), the control member (2) comprising a control part (31) for actuating the container nozzle (11) so as to eject the spray liquid from the nozzle hole (12), a regulator mechanism unit communicating with the nozzle hole (12), and a spraying member (70) communicating with the regulator mechanism unit, the regulator mechanism unit comprising a space (4) in the control member (2) downstream of the container nozzle (11), a sliding member (5) in the space (4) and in close contact with the wall of the space (4), and thrusting means (6) for biasing the sliding member (5) towards the container nozzle (11), a nozzle opening (41) being formed adjacent the exit end of the container nozzle (11) so as to communicate with the nozzle hole (12), a pool (44) communicating with the nozzle opening (41), and a connection hole (43) intercommunicating the nozzle opening (41) and the pool (44), the sliding member (5) having a partition wall (51) and having a shielding part (52) in the nozzle opening (41) and connected to the partition wall (51) so as to be move together with the partition wall (51), the shielding part (52) being arranged to slide in the direction opposite to that of the biasing force (W1) of the thrusting means (6) by being subjected by the spray liquid and gas released from the nozzle hole (12), to forces (W2 or W3) greater than the thrusting force (W1) of the thrusting means (6), the shielding part (52) blocking in the connection hole (43) off from the nozzle (11) when the sliding member (5) slides in the opposite direction to the thrusting force (W1) of the thrusting means (6),there being formed in the space (4) at least one pool (44 or 45) communicating with the nozzle opening (41) and temporarily storing the spray liquid and gas coming from the nozzle opening (41), and the space (4) communicating with the spraying member (70) through the communicating hole (73) via an injection piece (74) inside the spraying member (70), characterized in that a reservoir (76) for storing the spray liquid and gas is formed at approximately the center of this injection piece (74), the reservoir (76) having an opening facing the communicating hole (73), with a plurality of grooves (76a, 76b, 76c) leading from said opening along the outer circumferential surface of the injection piece (74) to the spray hole (7), to constitute narrow passages communicating with the spray hole (7), whereby the spray liquid and gas which are stored in the pool (44 or 45) until reaching a prescribed internal pressure, are introduced into the reservoir (76) through the communicating hole (73), and then passed to the spray hole (7). The spray mechanism of Claim 1, wherein there is a plurality of pools (44, 45) capable of storing the spray liquid and gas, provided in the space (4). The spray mechanism of Claim 1 or 2, wherein an elastic ring-shaped sealing member (51a) is provided on the sliding face of the sliding member (5), the sealing member (51a) having a V or U section. An aerosol product container (1) containing a spray liquid and a spraying gas and having a nozzle (11) engaged with the spraying mechanism of any of the preceding Claims. The container (1) of Claim 4, and containing a spray liquid, a liquefied gas dissolved in the spray liquid, and a vaporized gas agent for spraying.

Inventors: MIYAZAKI KIWAMU, MIYAZAKI, KIWAMU, Miyazaki, Kiwamu, c/o Kyowa Ind. Co., Ltd.
Applicants: KYOWA IND CO LTD, KYOWA INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B65D83
IPC codes: B65D83