Fluid sprinkling – spraying – and diffusing – Including supply holder for material – Fluid pressure discharge means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-21
2001-09-11
Morris, Lesley D. (Department: 3752)
Fluid sprinkling, spraying, and diffusing
Including supply holder for material
Fluid pressure discharge means
Reexamination Certificate
active
06286766
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a push button for powder aerosol attached to an aerosol container for spraying contents of powder aerosol used in such products as deodorants or antiperspirants.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, there are powder aerosol products such as antiperspirants, deodorants, medicines or else in which powder aerosol contents containing solid powders such as talc are sprayed at a human body, and therefore, the powders are applied to the skin of the human body. The contents of the powder aerosol are combined with hydrocarbon oil or ester-based oil components, for example, sesquioleic acid sorbitan; with this oil components used as a spreading agent, it is possible to spreadingly apply the powders at aimed spots of an object such as skin or the like.
Conventional push buttons, however, spray the contents of the powder aerosol radially, and the most of the contents diffuse into the open air, and therefore, it is difficult to spray at the aimed spot sufficiently, resulting in being uneconomical. Although a conventional method in which the more amount of the oil components in the contents is blended improves the ability to apply sufficiently more powders, this method may make dryness of the contents sprayed to the skin worse, so that the user feels sticky and uncomfortable in use. Also, a large amount of the oil components used in this conventional method causes problem that oil drops can easily adhere to an inner round of a nozzle and the like, and therefore, cloggings are made very easily.
A prior art as set forth in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) Heisei 5 No. 246,475 discloses that the powder aerosol contents can be sprayed in a stick form by making the nozzle's diameter smaller along in the spraying direction. Such a nozzle tries to spray the powder aerosol contents in a narrower range on the object, as well as to prevent the contents from diffusing into the open air. The nozzle, the diameter of which is made getting smaller as in the spreading direction, however, is easily clogged with the powders and oil components, and therefore, the nozzle may not spray sufficiently. By rendering the sprayed area extremely narrowed, propellants cannot be sufficiently evaporated, and a large amount of the propellants is adhered to skin, resulting in that the strong cold feeling occurs.
According to the inventions disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) Showa 57 No. 204,257 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) Showa 57 No. 204,258, the mist-spraying range can be controllable by placing two different kinds of nozzles at a push button and by attaching the button to the aerosol container by changing suitably the direction of the button.
The nozzle disclosed in the Publication Showa 57 No. 204,257, however, produces diffusingly-spraying mist, so that the nozzle has a low preventive effect against diffusion and a low ability to spreadingly adhere the powders. Although the nozzle disclosed in the Publication Showa 57 No. 204,258, where a long thin pipe is connected to the tip of the nozzle, can spray mist in the thin stick form or straightly sprayed, the nozzle and pipe may be clogged because the powder aerosol contents are subject to strong fluid resistance due to the long channel for spraying. In the case where the spraying range is made extremely narrow by utilizing this pipe, the user feels cold very strongly because the propellants are not vaporized and a large amount of the propellants is adhered to the skin. When such a projecting pipe is used, it is easily subjected to some impacts, and therefore, it is easily broken; also, such a pipe might interfere with some operations and it might be troublesome in storage.
It is an object of the invention, from a viewpoint to solve the problems above, to provide a push button having a high spreadingly applying ability of the powder aerosol contents to the skins, making it possible to achieve an accurate application to the skins and to prevent the contents from diffusing into the open air. While improving the diffusion preventing effect and spreadingly applying ability of the powders, the push button also avoids producing strong cold feeling to the skins and clogging the nozzle, thereby achieving sufficient spraying of the powder aerosol contents.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To solve the problems above, one form of the invention is formed with a push button body, a nozzle formed in the push button body with a diameter in a range of 0.4 mm to 1.0 mm and a length in a range of 0.3 mm to 2.0 mm for spraying contents of the powder aerosol in communication with a stem of an aerosol container, and a guide passage formed in the push button body in continuation with an outer end of the nozzle in extending in a spraying direction of the nozzle with a diameter of a range of 1.0 mm to 3.0 mm that is larger than the diameter of the nozzle and a length of a range of 3.0 mm to 20.0 mm for guiding the contents of the powder aerosol.
The straight guide passage may have a funnel form opening formed at an outer tip of the guide passage.
The contents of powder aerosol may contain oil components used for powder application in a range of 0.5 to 20.0 percent by weight.
According to the structure of the invention above, a valve assembly opens when the push button of the aerosol container filled with the contents of powder aerosol is pushed. Following the opening of the valve assembly, the contents of the powder aerosol are forced by propellants' pressure to be introduced with propellants through a stem to the inside of the push button.
The contents of the powder aerosol inserted in the push button are broken down into fine grains to spray radially from the nozzle. Because the nozzle has the guide passage in continuation with an outer end of the nozzle in extending in a spraying direction of the nozzle with a diameter larger than that of the nozzle, the particles of the powder aerosol contents hit on an inner wall of the guide passage and flow out straightly in the direction toward the outlet of the guide passage. Then, the contents, being suppressed to diffuse, are sprayed outside from the outlet of the guide passage.
Compared with the case where a nozzle of a conventional art is used for spraying, spraying being suppressed to diffuse allows to adequately prevent the contents of the powder aerosol from diffusion and achieves sure applications of the contents to narrow ranges of the objects such as the skins or the like. When only the nozzle is used for spraying, the contents of the powder aerosol diffuses in a form of mist, so that the number of the particles per unit area decreases and fluid speed of the particles is slow, and so that the contents may not be applied sufficiently even if the contents once applied to the skin. In the case where spraying is suppressed to diffuse according to the invention, however, spreadingly applied or sticking characteristics of powders are improved because the number of the particles per unit area increases and the particles make properly strong contact to the skins. A user feels more comfortable in using the spray with less strong cold feeling in comparison with the prior art in which spraying is made in a stick form, or straightly sprayed at an extremely limited range.
In order to make a push button which can suppress diffusion of powders and have superior spreadingly applied characteristics without producing a strong cold feeling, the diameter of the guide passage should be made larger than that of the nozzle, and sizes of a nozzle, and a guide passage should be set in following ways.
A nozzle is formed with a diameter in a range of 0.4 mm to 1.0 mm and a length in a range of 0.3 mm to 2.0 mm. The diameter of the nozzle is so small, when it is less than 0.4 mm, that it might cause cloggings or the like because spraying the contents of the powder aerosol is extremely suppressed. Alternately, when the diameter of the nozzle is more than 1.0 mm, the amount of the powder aerosol contents for spraying is
Kato Takeshi
Mitsui Toshiyuki
Saito Hideaki
Kanesaka & Takeuchi
Morris Lesley D.
Toyo Aerosol Industry Co. Ltd.
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