JP2014091570A - Roll-on type applicator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a roll-on type applicator which can continuously apply a cooled liquid, achieves thin and uniform adhesion of the liquid to a ball, and has a relatively simple structure.SOLUTION: A roll-on type applicator 10 comprises: an aerosol container 11 which is filled with a content containing a liquid gas and provided with a stem 17 at the upper end; and an application member 12 which is provided on the aerosol container 11. The application member 12 includes: a cylindrical main body 22 which is provided with a ball holding part 31; a ball 23 which is rotatably held by the ball holding part 31 in a state where a part of the ball 23 is projected from the ball holding part 31; a substrate 21 which is mounted to the stem 17 and vertically moves together with the stem 17; and a soft foam 24 which has air and liquid permeability and is arranged between the undersurface of the ball 23 and the substrate 21.

Description

  The present invention relates to a roll-on type coating apparatus that coats contents discharged from an aerosol product onto a body or the like via rolling elements such as balls.

  Conventionally, a roll-on type coating device that can apply chemicals to the body indirectly by temporarily attaching the chemicals discharged from the aerosol device to the ball and then pressing the ball against the body and rolling it has been used. (See Patent Documents 1 and 2). In such a coating apparatus, a massage effect by a ball can be obtained when coating. Furthermore, when liquefied gas is used as a propellant, the cooling effect by the vaporization heat of liquefied gas is acquired.

  In the apparatus of Patent Document 1, when the cover cylinder is pushed down with the ball facing upward, the stem of the aerosol apparatus is pushed down, and a certain amount of content liquid is first filled in the liquid chamber. Next, when the apparatus is inverted and the ball is pressed against the object such as the body, the valve body is separated from the valve seat, the liquid in the liquid chamber adheres to the ball, and is applied to the object as the ball rolls. This apparatus has a complicated structure because it has a function of quantitative discharge. Further, since the content liquid is directly sprayed onto the ball, the liquid tends to become mottled with a portion where the content liquid adheres to the surface of the ball and a portion where the content liquid is small. In addition, if a large amount of liquid is attached to the ball, dripping or leakage is likely to occur. If a small amount of liquid is adhered, it is necessary to repeat injection many times, which is complicated.

  The device of Patent Document 2 can transmit the vertical movement to the stem while allowing the rotation of the ball by the deformation action of the curved thin elastic partition. Furthermore, since it follows the vertical movement of the ball by elastic support, a valve body is unnecessary and the configuration is simple. However, since the liquid is directly ejected from the ball, the adhesion to the ball tends to become mottled. If the discharged content liquid is large, the liquid leaks from the gap between the ball and the holder.

No. 7-18626 JP 2001-240163 A

  The present invention provides a roll-on type coating apparatus that can continuously apply a cooled liquid, has a thin and uniform liquid adhesion to a rolling element such as a ball, and has a relatively simple configuration. It is an issue.

  The roll-on type coating apparatus of the present invention (Claim 1) is composed of an aerosol container filled with a content containing a liquefied gas and provided with a stem at the upper end and an application member provided on the upper part of the aerosol container, An application member is attached to the stem and moves up and down together with the stem, a cylindrical main body having a rolling element holding part, a rolling element that is rotatably supported by the rolling element holding part. And a liquid retaining elastic body having air permeability and liquid permeability disposed between the lower surface of the rolling element and the base material.

In such a coating apparatus, it is preferable that an annular protrusion for preventing the rolling element from coming out is provided near the upper end of the rolling element holding portion. In addition, the application member,
It is preferable to further include a shoulder cover attached to the shoulder portion of the aerosol container, and the shoulder cover guides the vertical movement of the main body. In either case, the main body and the substrate can be integrally formed (claim 4). Moreover, the said main body is being fixed to the aerosol container, and the said base material shall move up and down within a main body (Claim 5). Further, the application member may include an operation member that pressurizes the base material downward (Claim 6). Further, the main body contains an aerosol container. (Claim 7). It is preferable that the base material is provided with a spray space between the liquid-retaining elastic body (claim 8).

  In the coating apparatus of the present invention (Claim 1), the content ejected from the stem is not directly applied to the rolling element, but is first ejected to a liquid retaining elastic body having air permeability and liquid permeability. The contents are held by a liquid-retaining elastic body, and the liquefied gas is slowly vaporized therein, so that the contents are efficiently cooled by the heat of vaporization of the liquefied gas to become a cooling liquid. Persists. This cooling liquid is sequentially transferred to the rolling element in a thinly expanded state with the elastic sliding contact between the liquid retaining elastic body and the rolling element. The cooling liquid is supplied from the liquid retaining elastic body as it is used. For this reason, a small amount of liquid always adheres to the rolling elements, liquid dripping hardly occurs, and leakage hardly occurs. Moreover, since a valve body is unnecessary, a structure is simple.

  In the coating device, when an annular protrusion is provided in the vicinity of the upper end of the rolling element holding portion to prevent the rolling element from slipping out (Claim 2), the rolling element is caused by the elasticity of the liquid retaining elastic body. Therefore, the cooling liquid adhering to the surface of the rolling element is spread more thinly by the annular protrusion. Moreover, when the said application member is further provided with the shoulder cover attached to the shoulder part of an aerosol container, and the shoulder cover guides the vertical motion of a main body (Claim 3), an application member is moved sideways. Even when the force is strong, since the shoulder cover guides, the load on the stem is reduced, and the stem can be prevented from being broken and stably applied.

  When the main body and the base material are integrally formed (Claim 4), the number of parts is reduced and the assembling work is simplified. When the main body is fixed to an aerosol container and the base material moves up and down in the main body (Claim 5), a simple coating apparatus using a thin aerosol container can be obtained. Further, when the application member includes an operation member that pressurizes the base material downward (Claim 6), the valve operation is easy even if a thin aerosol container is used. Moreover, when the said main body has accommodated the aerosol container (Claim 7), it can be set as the form which put the whole together, and also replacement | exchange of an aerosol container becomes easy. When the substrate has a spray space between the liquid-retaining elastic body (Claim 8), the contents are made into a mist in the spray space and applied to the liquid-retaining elastic body over a wide range. In addition, the liquid holding elastic body can be quickly cooled to hold the liquefied gas in the liquid holding elastic body for a long time, and the cooling effect is sustained.

It is a partial cross section side view which shows one Embodiment of the coating device of this invention. It is a partial cross section side view which shows the state before the assembly of the coating device of FIG. 3a and 3b are partial cross-sectional side views showing how to use the coating apparatus of FIG. It is a partial cross section side view which shows other embodiment of the coating device of this invention. 5a and 5b are partially sectional side views showing how to use the coating apparatus of FIG. It is a partial cross section side view which shows other embodiment of the coating device of this invention. It is a partial cross section side view which shows other embodiment of the coating device of this invention.

  A coating apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes an aerosol container 11 and an application member 12 attached to the upper end of the aerosol container. As the aerosol container 11, a conventional one can be used, and includes, for example, a bottomed cylindrical container body 13 and an aerosol valve 14 attached to the upper opening of the container body. FIG. 1 shows a container body 13 made of metal such as aluminum or steel. The container body 13 is provided with a shoulder portion 13b at the upper end of the body portion 13a, and a bead portion 13c formed at the upper end of the container body 13 is fixed by covering a flange 14a of a valve mounting cup. A synthetic resin container body may be employed.

  The aerosol valve 14 is a conventionally known one that includes a housing, a stem 17 accommodated in the housing, a spring that urges the stem upward, a mounting cup, a sealing material, and the like. When the stem 17 is pushed down against the biasing force of the spring, the stem hole of the stem is opened and the contents are discharged from the upper end of the stem. When the force to push down the stem 17 is removed, the stem 17 is returned to the original position by the spring, Stem hole closes.

  As shown in detail in FIG. 2, the application member 12 includes a cup-shaped base material 21 attached to the stem 17, a cylindrical main body 22 integrated with the upper end of the base material, and a main body. It consists of a ball 23 as a rolling element that is rotatably accommodated inside, and a soft foam 24 that is accommodated inside the base material 21 and biases the rolling element 23 upward. The soft foam 24 is an elastic body having a liquid retaining property, and is an open cell foam having air permeability and liquid permeability. In this embodiment, a shoulder cover 25 is further provided. The base 21 and the main body 22 can be configured as separate parts, and the main body 22 and the shoulder cover 25 can be integrated. A cylindrical stem mounting portion 27 to be mounted on the stem 17 is provided on the lower surface of the bottom wall 26 of the base material 21. The stem mounting portion 27 communicates with the internal space of the base material 21 through a passage 28 that penetrates the bottom wall 26. A gas discharge hole 30 is formed in the upper part of the peripheral wall 29 of the base material 21.

  A ball holding portion 31 having a spherical inner surface that rotatably accommodates the ball 23 is provided on the upper portion of the main body 22, and a cylindrical guide piece 32 is provided on the lower outer periphery. A gas discharge hole 33 is also formed near the upper end of the guide piece 32. The diameter of the inner surface of the ball holding portion 31 is somewhat larger than that of the ball 23, and a gap (reference numeral 34 in FIG. 1) is provided between the ball 23 and the inner surface of the ball holding portion 31. In this embodiment, the upper portion 35 of the ball holding portion 31 is curved inward, and an opening 36 having a smaller diameter than the ball is formed at the upper end so that the ball 23 does not fall off. When assembled, the upper portion of the ball 23 protrudes from the opening 36 as shown in FIG. An inner edge 36 a of the opening is an annular protrusion that is in sliding contact with the ball 23. A lower portion of the inner surface of the ball holding portion 31 is curved inward, and a lower end thereof is continuous with an upper end of the base material 21.

  The lower part 38 of the main body 22 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a gap between the base member 21 and the guide piece 32 extends downward from the lower end of the lower part 38. For the main body 22 and the base material 21, a synthetic resin molded product such as polyacetal, polyamide, or polyester is usually used. However, it is not limited to these, and metal, rubber, etc. can be used.

  The shoulder cover 25 is a ring-shaped member that is attached to the flange 14a of the mounting cup in order to cover the mounting cup that cannot normally be painted or to attach an overcap. In this embodiment, the shoulder cover 25 is provided with a guide wall 37 that is in sliding contact with the guide piece 32 of the main body 22. The guide wall 37 extends upward via an inner step 39. A step portion 39 a for attaching an overcap is provided at the outer base of the guide wall 37. The height of the guide wall 37 is lower than that of the guide piece 32. Therefore, when the main body 22 descends to the lower end, the guide piece 32 comes into contact with the inner step portion 39 and stops, so that a gap remains between the upper end of the guide wall 37 and the outer step portion of the guide piece 32 (see FIG. 3a). This gap contributes to gas discharge.

  In this embodiment, the soft foam 24 has a cylindrical shape and is accommodated in the base material 21. As the soft foam 24, for example, an open-cell foam (so-called sponge) formed by foaming a synthetic resin such as polyurethane, polyethylene, or polypropylene into a predetermined shape is used. The soft foam 24 has air permeability and liquid permeability through which the contents (liquefied gas and stock solution) ejected from the stem 17 are passed, and has a predetermined elasticity to urge the ball 23 upward. . The ball 23 is a sphere made of a metal such as stainless steel, a synthetic resin or rubber. It is preferable to use a metal or synthetic resin or rubber sphere covered with a metal such as aluminum because it has a high thermal conductivity and is quickly cooled by a cooling liquid and easily maintains a low temperature state. Moreover, in order to hold | maintain a liquid on the surface, the flocking process may be given. Furthermore, when directly touching the skin of a human body or an animal, since it has a great influence on the feeling of use, a small unevenness may be provided on the surface like a golf ball, or a small protrusion may be provided.

  The contents (aerosol composition) to be filled in the aerosol container 11 are composed of a stock solution containing medicinal components and a propellant (liquefied gas) for injecting the stock solution. Stock solutions include anti-inflammatory analgesics, antitussives, antiperspirants, pest repellents, bactericides / disinfectants, fresheners, deodorants, fragrances and other active ingredients such as water, lower alcohols, polyhydric alcohols, silicone oils, carbonized Those dissolved in a solvent such as hydrogen or ester oil are used. In addition, as a solvent, volatile components such as lower alcohols such as ethanol and hydrocarbons such as normal pentane and isopentane are easy to volatilize when applied to the skin, provide a cool sensation, and prevent dripping. Is preferably used.

  A liquefied gas is used for the propellant. As the liquefied gas, propane, butane and mixtures thereof, liquefied petroleum gas, dimethyl ether, hydrofluoroolefins such as trans-1,3,3,3-tetrafluoroprop-1-ene, and mixtures thereof are used. . The liquefied gas is vaporized in the soft foam to cool the stock solution to form a cooling liquid, and permeates into the soft foam in a short time by the pressure. Note that a compressed gas such as nitrogen, air, carbon dioxide, or nitrous oxide may be used as the pressurizing agent.

  Next, a method of using the coating apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3a and 3b. The coating device 10 presses the ball 23 against the object T by turning it upside down (inverted). Alternatively, the ball 23 is pushed downward with a hand or the like without being upside down (upright). Thereby, the ball 23 dents the soft foam 24 and enters the ball holding portion 31 while resisting the elastic biasing force. When the ball 23 comes into contact with the lower end of the inner surface of the ball holding portion 31 of the main body 22, the lowering stops, and thereafter the main body 22 moves downward while pushing the stem 17. In the case of inversion, the aerosol container 11 descends as shown in FIG. 3a. Therefore, the stem 17 is pushed up by the base material 21. In either case, the aerosol valve 14 is opened and the contents are ejected from the stem 17. As described above, when the lower end of the guide piece 37 comes into contact with the stepped portion 39 inside the shoulder cover 25, the lowering of the main body 22 or the aerosol container 11 stops. In order to use the aerosol container 11 in either an upright or inverted position, a check valve such as a ball valve that changes the flow direction according to the direction of the aerosol container, or a weight provided at the tip of a flexible tube is provided. -It is preferable to use an inverted valve.

The contents ejected from the stem 17 enter the soft foam 24. At this time, since the soft foam 24 is surrounded by the base material 21 and the ball 23 except for the gas discharge holes 30, the liquefied gas in the soft foam is slowly vaporized to cool the contents including the remaining liquefied gas. . Further, the momentum at the time of discharge and the pressure of the liquefied gas serve as a driving force, and the cooling liquid is held in the soft foam for a short time. The vaporized gas passes through the gas discharge hole 30 of the base material 21, passes through the gap between the peripheral wall 29 of the base material 21 and the lower portion 38 of the main body 22, and is discharged to the external space through the gas discharge hole 33 of the guide piece 32. As a result, the ball 23 does not escape. The cooling liquid that has entered the soft foam 24 is held in the soft foam 24 and cools the balls 23. When the pressing of the ball 23 is stopped, the stem 17 returns to the original position and the ejection stops. At this time, a considerable amount of cooling liquid is stored in the soft foam 24.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3b, when the ball 23 is applied to an object to be applied such as the skin of a human body and slid sideways while being lightly pressed, the ball 23 rolls along the object T, and the cooling liquid on the surface of the ball 23 Is applied to the object. At that time, the cooling liquid is constantly supplied from the soft foam 24 to the ball 23 with the sliding contact between the ball 23 and the soft foam 24. For this reason, the ball continues to be cooled while it is being applied, so that the cooling effect is maintained. A small amount of cooling liquid needs to be attached to the surface of the ball 23, and dripping does not easily occur. At this time, the ball 23 receives the reaction force by sinking the soft foam 24 somewhat. For this reason, there is a substantially uniform gap between the ball 23 and the inner surface of the ball holding portion 31.

  FIG. 4 shows a pen-type coating apparatus 41 using a thin aerosol container 11. The diameter of the container body 13 of the aerosol container 11 is as thin as about 15 to 35 mm, for example. Unlike the case of FIG. 2 a, the aerosol valve includes a housing that is inserted into the upper cavity of the container body 13 and a cover cap 42 that crimps and fixes the housing to the container body 13.

  In the coating device 41, since the ball 23 has a small diameter and is difficult to be pushed in, an operation member 43 that is pushed in from the side is employed so that the ball 23 can be easily operated with a finger when held like a writing instrument. However, a combination type in which the stem 17 can be pushed down by the ball 23 is used. And since the ball | bowl 23 exists in the upper end of the application member 12, it is comprised so that the middle of the base material 21 may be operated with the operation member 43. FIG. That is, the base material 21 is divided into a lower stem mounting portion 27 and an upper foam housing portion 44, which are connected by a thin cylindrical connecting shaft 45. The stem mounting portion 27 has a relatively large columnar shape, and the action portion 46 of the operation member 43 is disposed in the space between the stem mounting portion 27 and the bottomed cylindrical foam accommodating portion 44. A connecting portion extending downward is provided on the outer side of the action portion 46, and the whole is configured in an inverted L shape, and a finger pressing portion 47 is provided on the outer surface of the connecting portion. 48 is pivotably connected to the container mounting portion of the main body 22.

  Moreover, in order to smoothly guide the vertical movement of the base material 21 that is long in the vertical direction, the main body 22 has a long cylindrical shape in the vertical direction, but in order to support it stably, the shoulder cover is integrated with the main body so as not to move up and down. The container mounting portion is attached to the aerosol container 11. The upper part of the main body 22 is the same as that of the coating apparatus 10 of FIG. However, since the base material 21 and the main body 22 are separate parts, the ball 23 can be easily inserted. A gas discharge hole 49 is formed in the upper portion of the main body 22 at a position that is not covered with the foam housing portion 44 at least when operated. The operation member 43 has an inverted L shape, and the action portion 46 has a bifurcated structure that sandwiches the connecting shaft 45 of the base material 21 from the left and right. Accordingly, when the finger pressing portion 47 of the operation member 43 is pushed in as shown in FIG. 5A, the stem mounting portion 27 is lowered and the stem 17 is pressed down. Thereby, the contents are supplied to the soft foam 24.

  Next, when the pushing of the operating member 43 is stopped as shown in FIG. 5b, the base member 21 is raised by the biasing force of the spring that biases the stem 17 of the aerosol valve upward, and the operating member 43 protrudes outward as before. To do. Thereby, the cooling liquid can be applied to the object T while rolling the ball 23. The operation member 43 is operated with, for example, a thumb or an index finger.

  In this case as well, the cooling liquid on the surface of the ball 23 is supplied from the soft foam 24 each time it is used, even though the valve is closed, as in the coating apparatus 10 of FIG. Therefore, the cooling effect lasts and there is little liquid leakage or dripping. And since the container main body 13 of the aerosol container 11 is thin, it can be pinched and stabilized like a writing instrument, and it can roll along the site | part which wants to apply | coat. Therefore, it is easy to apply even in a narrow range.

  A coating apparatus 50 shown in FIG. 6 is provided with a spray space 51 on the bottom surface of the substrate 21 so that the contents discharged from the stem 17 are made fine in the spray space 51 and reach the soft foam 24 over a wide range. . Therefore, the contents are widely dispersed and supplied to the lower surface of the soft foam 24, and the soft foam is cooled in a short time, and it becomes easy to hold the cooling liquid containing the liquefied gas in the soft foam. As a result, the cooling effect is maintained, and dripping and leakage are further reduced. In the coating apparatus 50, a shoulder cover is not provided. However, a shoulder cover 25 as in the apparatus of FIG. 1 may be provided, and in that case, a function of guiding the main body 22 may be provided. Further, as in the apparatus of FIG. 4, the main body 22 and the shoulder cover can be integrated or manufactured separately and then combined.

  In the coating apparatus 50 of FIG. 6, since the base material 21 does not have a side wall, when the force for pushing down the ball 23 is transmitted to the base material 21, it is transmitted through the soft foam 24. When the soft foam 24 is soft, the main body 22 and the base material 21 are combined, integrated, or engaged with each other by a stepped portion so that force can be transmitted. In that case, after the ball 23 is retracted into the main body 22, the upper end of the main body 22 can be pushed down to push down the base material 21.

  A protrusion that engages with the ball 23 may be provided on the inner surface of the main body 22, and the main body 22 may be pushed down through the depression of the ball 23. The contents discharged from the stem 17 are temporarily held by the soft foam 24 and are supplied to the balls 23 little by little from the soft foam 24 along with the rolling of the balls 23 in the same manner as the coating apparatus of FIGS. is there.

  In the coating device 54 shown in FIG. 7, the main body 22 is elongated vertically, and the bottom is closed with a bottom cap 55, and the aerosol container 13 is accommodated inside the main body 22. And the base material 21 is comprised from the cup-shaped base-material main body 56, and the pressing member 57 which block | closes the upper surface opening and supports the soft foam 24. FIG. The pressing member 57 is a plate material having a large number of ventilation / fluid holes 57a. Thereby, the spray space 51 is formed inside the base body 56. The bottom surface of the base body 56 extends conically upward. In this coating device 54, the ball 23 and the soft foam 24 are movable up and down in the main body 22, and the stem 17 is pushed down via the soft foam 24 and the base material 21 by pushing down the ball 23. Can do. At that time, since the spray space 51 is present in the base body 56, the contents discharged from the stem 17 are refined and widely dispersed and supplied to the lower surface of the soft foam 24.

  The coating device 54 of FIG. 7 can be suitably used particularly for a small aerosol container. The bottom cap 55 is preferably configured to be detachable from the main body 22 by screws or the like. In that case, the bottom cap 55 can be removed and the used aerosol container 13 can be easily replaced. Further, since the shoulder cover is not used, it can be easily employed in a cover cap type aerosol container in which it is difficult to provide a shoulder cover.

  In the embodiment, the ball is used as the rolling element that applies the cooling liquid to the object. However, other rolling elements such as a roller may be used. In any of the above embodiments, an overcap is not described, but it is preferable to provide an overcap so that dust, dust, or the like does not adhere to the ball. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, gas discharge holes are provided, but when gas is easily discharged from between the soft foam and the main body or the base material, or when the content of liquefied gas is low or the pressure is low, Gas exhaust holes are not required. In the above-described embodiment, a soft foam is used as the liquid-retaining elastic body. However, a fibrous elastic body can be used instead of the soft foam.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Application | coating apparatus 11 Aerosol container 12 Application | coating member 13 Container main body 13a Body part 13b Shoulder part 13c Bead part 14 Aerosol valve 14a Flange 17 Stem 21 Base material 22 Main body 23 Ball (rolling element)
24 Soft foam (liquid holding elastic body)
25 shoulder cover 26 bottom wall 27 stem mounting portion 28 passage 29 peripheral wall 30 gas discharge hole 31 ball holding portion (rolling body holding portion)
31a gap 32 guide piece 33 gas discharge hole 34 gap 35 upper part 36 opening 36a annular projection 37 guide wall 38 lower part 39 step part 39a step part 41 coating device 42 cover cap 43 operation member 44 foam housing part 45 connecting shaft 46 action part 47 Finger pressing part 48 Hinge 49 Gas discharge hole 50 Coating device 51 Space 54 Coating device 55 Bottom cap 56 Base body 57 Pressing member 57a Ventilation / liquid passage hole

Claims (8)

Filled with contents containing liquefied gas, consisting of an aerosol container with a stem at the upper end and an application member provided at the top of the aerosol container,
The application member is a cylindrical main body provided with a rolling element holding part,
A rolling element that is rotatably held in a state in which a part protrudes by the rolling element holding part;
A substrate attached to the stem and moving up and down with the stem;
A roll-on type coating apparatus comprising a liquid retaining elastic body having air permeability and liquid permeability, disposed between a lower surface of the rolling element and a base material.   The coating device according to claim 1, wherein an annular protrusion is provided in the vicinity of the upper end of the rolling element holding portion to prevent the rolling element from slipping out.   The coating apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the coating member further includes a shoulder cover attached to a shoulder portion of the aerosol container, and the shoulder cover guides the vertical movement of the main body.   The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the main body and the base material are integrally formed.   The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the main body is fixed to an aerosol container, and the base material moves up and down in the main body.   The coating apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the coating member includes an operation member that pressurizes the base material downward.   The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the main body contains an aerosol container.   The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate has a spray space between the liquid-retaining elastic body.

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