SPRAY HEAD, AND DISPENSER HAVING SUCH A SPRAY HEAD

Abstract

A liquid discharge head switchable manually between secured and released states. In the secured state, liquid discharge is prevented, and in the released state, liquid discharge is enabled. The discharge head has a discharge channel and a discharge opening at an end of the discharge channel. Further, an outer shell is provided and has a discharge aperture through which the liquid delivered through the discharge opening is discharged. For switching purposes, the outer body has, internally in relation to the outer shell, a rotatable inner or screen body. A releasable snap-action coupling is provided, by which the outer shell and the inner body are coupled rotationally in a closed rotational position such that an open rotational position is reached again only after manual application of force to a release surface of the coupling.

Claims

1. A discharge head for discharge of liquid, having the following features: a. the discharge head can be switched manually between a secured state and a released state, wherein, in the secured state, discharge of liquid is prevented, and wherein, in the released state, discharge of liquid is enabled, and b. the discharge head has a discharge channel and a discharge opening at an end of the discharge channel, and c. the discharge head has an outer shell with a discharge aperture through which the liquid delivered through the discharge opening can be discharged, d. the discharge head has an inner body on which the discharge opening is provided and which can be rotated relative to the outer shell about a switching axis, wherein the discharge opening, in an open rotational position, is arranged in alignment with the discharge aperture of the outer shell and, in a closed rotational position, is covered by the outer shell, or a screen body which is arranged within the outer shell and which can be rotated relative to the outer shell about a switching axis, wherein the screen body has a blocking section which, in a closed rotational position, is arranged between the discharge opening and the discharge aperture in the outer shell and, in an open rotational position, opens up the discharge aperture, e. a releasable snap-action coupling is provided, by which the outer shell, on the one hand, and the inner body or the screen body, on the other hand, can be coupled rotationally in the closed rotational position such that the open rotational position can be reached again only after manual application of force to a release surface of the releasable snap-action coupling.

2. The discharge head according to claim 1, having the following further feature: a. the inner body has an outer encircling shell section and a line section which is connected integrally thereto and which projects into an inner region of the shell section and which is penetrated by the discharge channel.

3. The discharge head according to claim 2, having the following further feature: a. on the outer shell, a depressible manual actuation means is provided which, upon actuation, applies force to the line section of the inner body.

4. The discharge head according to claim 1, having the following further features: a. the screen body has an outer encircling shell section, and b. on the outer shell, a line section is provided integrally which is penetrated by the discharge channel.

5. The discharge head according to claim 1, having the following further feature: a. the snap-action coupling is formed by a latching extension which projects outwardly from the inner body or from the screen body and which can be deflected elastically radially inwardly and by a corresponding retaining aperture or retaining profiling on the outer shell.

6. The discharge head according to claim 5, having the following further feature: a. the retaining aperture of the outer shell is formed by the discharge aperture.

7. The discharge head according to claim 1 having the following further feature: a. the screen body or the inner body and the outer shell have interacting retaining means which, in the open rotational position, secure the rotational position and which permit rotation into the closed rotational position only if a maximum counteracting moment is simultaneously overcome.

8. The discharge head according to claim 1, having the following further feature: a. the discharge opening is formed by a discharge opening component, wherein the discharge opening component is coloured differently from the inner body or the screen body.

9. The discharge head according to claim 1, having the following further feature: a. the inner body or the screen body is matched to the outer shell in such a way that, in the closed rotational position, depression of a manual actuation means of the outer shell is blocked.

10. The discharge head according to claim 1, having the following further features: a. the outer shell has on the side which faces away from the discharge aperture a cut-away region for lateral accessibility of a manual actuation means, and b. the inner body or the screen body has a cut-away region for lateral accessibility of the manual actuation means, and c. the cut-away regions of the outer shell and of the inner body or of the screen body, in the open rotational position, are arranged in an overlapping manner such that lateral accessibility of the manual actuation means is provided and, in the closed rotational position, are arranged offset from one another such that lateral accessibility is impeded.

11. The discharge head according to claim 1, having the following further feature: a. the inner body or the screen body has a grip surface for rotating the inner body or the screen body in relation to the outer shell.

12. The discharge head according to claim 11, having the following further feature: a. the grip surface is provided on the same side as the release surface.

13. A liquid dispenser for discharge of liquids, comprising: a liquid reservoir; and a discharge head, the discharge head being switchable manually between a secured state and a released state, wherein in the secured state discharge of liquid is prevented, and in the released state discharge of liquid is enabled, the discharge head comprising: a discharge channel and a discharge opening at an end of the discharge channel, an outer shell with a discharge aperture through which the liquid delivered through the discharge opening can be discharged, an inner body on which the discharge opening is provided and which can be rotated relative to the outer shell about a switching axis, wherein the discharge opening, in an open rotational position, is arranged in alignment with the discharge aperture of the outer shell and, in a closed rotational position, is covered by the outer shell, or a screen body which is arranged within the outer shell and which can be rotated relative to the outer shell about a switching axis, wherein the screen body has a blocking section which, in a closed rotational position, is arranged between the discharge opening and the discharge aperture in the outer shell and, in an open rotational position, opens up the discharge aperture, a releasable snap-action coupling, by which the outer shell, on the one hand, and the inner body or the screen body, on the other hand, can be coupled rotationally in the closed rotational position such that the open rotational position can be reached again only after manual application of force to a release surface of the releasable snap-action coupling.

14. The liquid dispenser according to claim 13, having at least one of the following further features: a. the liquid reservoir is in the form of a pressure reservoir, and/or b. the liquid reservoir has an outlet valve which can be actuated by the inner body or by a line section attached to the outer shell.

15. The liquid dispenser according to claim 13, having the following further feature: a. the discharge head is connected to the liquid reservoir in such a way that a separating force of 100 newtons is not sufficient to pull the discharge head off of the liquid reservoir, and/or separation of discharge head and liquid reservoir is possible only destructively.

16. The liquid dispenser according to claim 13, having at least one of the following further features: a. the outer shell is connected rotationally conjointly to the liquid reservoir, or b. the inner body is connected rotationally conjointly to the liquid reservoir.

17. The discharge head according to claim 2, wherein the line section can be displaced by way of deformation of an attachment region in relation to the shell section, and/or the line section has a liquid inlet which is aligned with the switching axis.

18. The discharge head according to claim 4, wherein on the outer shell, a depressible manual actuation means is provided on which the line section is provided, and/or the line section has a liquid inlet which is aligned with the switching axis.

19. The discharge head according to claim 5, wherein the release surface is formed by an end surface of the outwardly projecting latching extension, and/or the retaining profiling is provided on that side of the outer shell which faces away from the discharge aperture, and/or the latching extension is provided on a radially deflectable surface section which is provided via a tangentially oriented deformation region on an adjacent section of the inner body or of the screen body, and/or on an inner side of the outer shell and/or on the latching extension an insertion bevel is provided by which the latching extension is deflected elastically radially inwardly when the inner body or the screen body is transferred relative to the outer shell into the closed rotational position.

20. The discharge head according to claim 11, wherein the grip surface is provided so as to be, in the closed rotational position, separated from the release surface and opposite the release surface.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] Further advantages and aspects of the invention emerge from the claims and from the following description of preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention, which are discussed below on the basis of the figures.

[0042] FIG. 1 shows a liquid dispenser according to the invention with a discharge head according to the invention in an overall illustration.

[0043] FIGS. 2 to 5 show a first variant of the discharge head in a secured closed state (FIGS. 2 and 3) and in an open state (FIGS. 4 and 5).

[0044] FIG. 6 shows the components of the discharge head in FIGS. 2 to 5 in a separate illustration.

[0045] FIGS. 7A to 7D show the discharge head in FIGS. 2 to 6 in a sectioned illustration during the transition from the closed state into the open state.

[0046] FIGS. 8 to 11 show a second variant of the discharge head in a secured closed state (FIGS. 8 and 9) and in an open state (FIGS. 10 and 11).

[0047] FIG. 12 shows the components of the discharge head in FIGS. 8 to 11 in a separate illustration.

[0048] FIGS. 13 to 16 show a third variant of the discharge head in a secured closed state (FIGS. 13 and 14) and in an open state (FIGS. 15 and 16).

[0049] FIGS. 17 to 22 show a fourth variant of the discharge head.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0050] FIG. 1 shows a liquid dispenser 100 according to the invention in an overall illustration.

[0051] The liquid dispenser 100 has a liquid reservoir 102, which in the present case is in the form of a pressure reservoir, in which a pharmaceutical liquid or a personal care product is stored under pressure. The liquid reservoir 102 is closed off by a crimped cover. It has an outlet valve 104 with a valve tube 106. Depressing said valve tube 106, downwards in relation to FIG. 1, allows the outlet valve 104 to be opened so that liquid flows into a discharge head 10 through the valve tube 106, which discharge head is fastened to the crimped cover by means of a latching connection.

[0052] The discharge head 10 has a liquid inlet 16 which is pushed onto the valve tube 106. Proceeding from the liquid inlet 16, a discharge channel 12 extends as far as a discharge opening 14, which is preferably in the form of a spray opening and may be provided with an upstream swirl chamber so as to bring about the swirling of the exiting fluid and thus the generation of a spray jet.

[0053] A line section 44 of the discharge head 10 can be depressed downwards from above by manual application of force. This also depresses the liquid inlet, which consequently presses the valve tube 106 downwards and in this way opens the outlet valve 104.

[0054] The design of the discharge head 10, which is illustrated merely by way of example in FIG. 1, is illustrated in more detail in the further figures.

[0055] In the configuration in FIGS. 2 to 7D, the discharge head 10 has an outer shell component 20 and an inner body 40 which is inserted therein. Additionally, there is provided a discharge opening component 90, which is inserted into a corresponding cutout of the inner body 40.

[0056] The outer shell component 20 is provided for latching fastening to the liquid reservoir 102. A coupling collar 21, on which coupling devices provided for this are provided on the inner side, remains positionally fixed in relation to the liquid store 102 at all times during operation and can be detached from the latter only upon application of a large pulling force and preferably not in a non-destructive manner. Extending upwards from the coupling collar 21 is a lateral section 23, which is not completely encircling and is passed through by a discharge aperture 22. A manual actuation means 30 is formed integrally on the inner side of said lateral section 23, said manual actuation means being fastened to the lateral section 23 merely be means of a narrow bridge and in this way being able to be depressed elastically in relation to the lateral section 23.

[0057] The inner body 40 already mentioned is inserted into the outer shell component 20. Said inner body 40 has an outer-side encircling shell section 42 and a line section 44 which is connected integrally thereto. The already-described components of the liquid inlet 16, the discharge channel 12 and the receiving part for the discharge opening component 90 are provided in said line section 44. The line section 44 is formed integrally on a part-section which, in relation to the surrounding sections of the shell section 42, can be depressed by elastic deformation such that a force acting on the manual actuation means 30 is transferred to the line section 44 and, for its part, the line section 44 can depress the valve tube 106 for opening the valve.

[0058] On the shell section 42 of the inner body 40, there is furthermore provided a latching extension 66, which, due to cut-away portions, can likewise be deflected in relation to adjacent part-sections of the shell section 42. Said latching extension 66 has a face surface 62, which, in a manner described in more detail below, at the same time constitutes a release surface 62. Said release surface 62 is provided on one side with an insertion bevel 64. The shell section 42 furthermore has, approximately opposite the latching extension 66, a grip surface 48, the use of which will be described in more detail below.

[0059] In the mounted state, which is illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 5, the inner body 40 is inserted into the outer shell component 20 from below and can be moved so as to rotate about a switching axis 2 therein. With the exception of the part-sections 66, 44, 30, which are provided on these two components so as to be movable in a limited manner, the outer shell component 20 and the inner body 40 can be moved in relation to one another purely in a manner rotatable about the switching axis 2. They have corresponding guide surfaces for this purpose.

[0060] FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate a closed state of the discharge head 10. In said closed state, the inner body 40 and the outer shell component 20 are in a closed rotational position relative to one another. In said closed rotational position, the latching extension 66 is arranged within the discharge aperture 22, which in this way forms a retaining aperture 68 of the snap-action coupling 60. As can be seen from FIG. 6, which shows the same rotational position of the inner body 40 in relation to the outer shell component 20, in this position, the discharge opening 14 is arranged not in alignment with the discharge aperture 22, so that, for this reason alone, discharge is not possible. Additionally, discharge in this position is made more difficult in that depression of the manual actuation means 30 is blocked by a blocking section 41 of the inner body 40. Moreover, in the closed state in FIGS. 2 and 3, a cut-away region 46 in the inner body 40 is offset by 90° in relation to a corresponding cut-away region 26 of the outer shell component 20, so that it is perfectly clear to a user that actuation is not intended to take place in this rotational position.

[0061] In order to transfer the discharge head into an open state, in which discharge is subsequently possible by actuation of the manual actuation means 30, the inner body 40 has to be rotated anticlockwise through approximately 90° in relation to the outer shell component 20. However, this is only possible when, for this purpose, the latching extension 66 has been disengaged from the discharge aperture 22 by direct manual application of force to the release surface 62 of said latching extension. This is illustrated by an arrow in FIG. 3. It is therefore provided that, with reference to FIG. 2, the user presses the latching extension 66 radially inwards and, in this state, performs the relative rotation, which is illustrated by an arrow in FIG. 5. The grip surface 48 already described is provided for the purpose of the relative rotation, said grip surface being displaced anticlockwise by the user. The latching extension 66 is consequently removed from the discharge aperture 22, while the discharge opening 14 is brought into a position of alignment with the discharge aperture 22. FIGS. 4 and 5 show the open state thus reached. In this state, liquid discharge is then possible by depression of the manual actuation means 30. The depression also indirectly brings about a depression of the line section 44 of the inner body 40 and thus a depression of the valve tube 106.

[0062] If, after the use, the intention is for the discharge head 10 to be returned to its secured closed state, then the grip surface 48 is rotated clockwise. During the transfer, the latching extension 66 is pressed, by means of its insertion bevel 64, radially inwards by the inner side of the outer shell component 20 until it snaps, in the region of the discharge aperture 22, back into the latter. Consequently, the secured initial state in FIGS. 2 and 3 is achieved again.

[0063] The sectional illustrations in FIGS. 7A to 7D once again illustrate the transfer from the closed rotational position in FIG. 7A, corresponding to FIGS. 2 and 3, into the open rotational position in FIG. 8D, corresponding to FIGS. 4 and 5. Proceeding from the closed rotational position, the latching extension 66 is manually pressed inwards out of the discharge aperture 22, as illustrated by the arrow in FIG. 7B. While the latching extension 66 is still being manually pressed inwards, the user begins with the rotational movement by applying force to the grip surface 48, as illustrated in FIG. 7C. Upon the reaching of the open rotational position, the latching extension 66 snaps into an inner-side recess of the outer shell component 20. This causes a noise and signals to the user that the rotational movement has been realized to a sufficient extent. Moreover, the engagement of the latching extension 66 into the recess 28 also leads to a securing action against excessively simple exiting of the open state.

[0064] The configuration in FIGS. 8 to 12 is largely similar to the preceding exemplary embodiment. The differences will be explained below. Otherwise, the features as described in relation to FIGS. 2 to 7D apply.

[0065] The discharge head 10 as per FIGS. 8 to 12 likewise has an outer shell component 20 and an inner body 40. By contrast to the above-described design, however, provision is not made of a latching extension which, in the closed state, projects into the discharge aperture 22. Instead, a section on which the grip surface 48 is provided simultaneously forms the latching extension 66 and the face surface 62 thereof. In order for a snap-action coupling 60 to be formed by way of said section, a retaining profiling 70 is provided in the cut-away region 26 of the outer shell component 20. In the secured closed state in FIGS. 8 and 9, the latching extension 66 is positioned radially at the outside to such an extent that a rotational movement in the direction of a open rotational position is prevented by a crenellation 72 of the retaining profiling 70. Only when the latching extension 66 has been pressed in by radial application of force to the grip surface 48 is it possible, by means of the same grip surface and a then tangential additional application of force, for the rotational movement from the closed state in FIGS. 8 and 9 into the open state in FIGS. 10 and 11 to be brought about. The arrows in FIGS. 9 and 11 illustrate the pressing-in and the rotation.

[0066] The opposite movement into the secured state is again facilitated by an insertion bevel 74, which in this case is provided not on the latching extension 66 but on the crenellation 72.

[0067] In this second configuration, the secured state is secured almost to the same extent as in the first configuration as far as the prevention of inadvertent opening, for example in luggage, is concerned. With regard to child-proofing, however, the exemplary embodiment in FIGS. 2 to 7D is more suitable since, due to the required simultaneous application of force to the elements of the latching extension 66 and the grip surface 48, which are arranged opposite one another there, it is difficult for the open rotational position to be reached by children. However, with a suitable design of the retaining profiling 70 and of the latching extension 66 in the exemplary embodiment in FIGS. 8 to 12, actuation by children is at least made significantly more difficult, in particular if the pressing-in of the grip surface for the purpose of releasing the snap-action connection requires an actuation force above 20 N.

[0068] FIGS. 13 to 16 show an alternative design. In correspondence with the preceding exemplary embodiments, provision is also made here of an outer shell component 20 having a discharge aperture 22 through which liquid which has been delivered beforehand through the discharge opening 14 situated behind it can be discharged. By contrast to the aforementioned exemplary embodiments, in the exemplary embodiment in FIGS. 13 to 16, provision is made however not of an inner body with a line section but of a screen body 50 which, in a manner similar to the above-described inner body, is coupled in a manner rotatable in relation to the outer shell component 20 about a switching axis 2 to said outer shell component.

[0069] In this design, the line section with the discharge opening 14 is provided not so as to be rotationally movable in relation to the outer shell component 20, but in such a way that the discharge opening 14 is at all times aligned with the discharge aperture 22. In order nevertheless to be able to prevent a discharge, the screen body 50, in the closed rotational position in FIGS. 13 and 14, closes off the discharge aperture 22 by means of a blocking section 52. For this purpose, a gap is provided between the inner side of the discharge aperture 22 and the discharge opening 14.

[0070] The screen body 50 is secured on the outer shell component 20 in the closed rotational position in the same manner as the inner body 40 of the exemplary embodiment in FIGS. 8 to 12, specifically by way of a latching extension 66 whose face surface 62 forms a grip surface 48.

[0071] In order to bring the discharge head 10 from its closed rotational position in FIGS. 12 and 13 into its open rotational position in FIGS. 14 and 15, it is again necessary for the latching extension 66 to be displaced by radial application of force to the release surface 62 thereof in such a way that the latching extension 66 can subsequently be guided past the crenellation 72 of the retaining profiling 70. The arrows in FIG. 13 illustrate this. By way of said movement, a cutout 56 of the screen body 50 passes between the discharge opening 14 and the discharge aperture 22, so that discharge is possible through said aperture in the open rotational position.

[0072] FIGS. 17 to 22 show a further exemplary embodiment of a discharge head 10 according to the invention. This is similar to the design in FIGS. 2 to 7D. In correspondence with the stated design, the discharge head has an outer shell component 20 and an inner body 40 which is inserted therein.

[0073] A first significant difference from the design in FIGS. 2 to 7D is that, in the design in FIGS. 17 to 22, the outer shell component 20 is of rotatable form, while the inner body 40 is at the same time that part of the discharge head 10 which is latched to the liquid reservoir 102. The inner body 40 has, for this purpose, latching means 49 for fastening to the liquid reservoir 102, as can be seen in FIG. 18.

[0074] A further difference from the stated design in FIGS. 2 to 7D is that the angle between the discharge opening 14 and the release surface 62 is not 90°, but less, in the present case approximately 45°. In this way, the discharge head 10 can be displaced between the secured state and the released state with less effort. Owing to the fixing of the inner body 40 to the liquid reservoir 102, the relative rotational movement required for this purpose can be achieved in that the outer shell component 20 and the liquid reservoir 102 are gripped and the required mutually relative torque is exerted on said components. In order to facilitate this, provision is made on the outer shell component 20 of at least one grip surface 27, in the present case two grip surfaces 27 situated opposite one another.

[0075] This allows particularly good handlability. The user can grip the lateral surface of the outer shell component 20 with one hand in the region of the grip surface 27 and, with the same hand, press in the release surface 62, as is illustrated by the arrows in FIGS. 19 and 20, so that the rotational movement in relation to the liquid reservoir 102 and the inner body 40 and the outer surface 47 thereof is subsequently possible. In this way, said user transfers the discharge head from the secured state in FIGS. 19 and 20 into the state of use in FIGS. 21 and 22.

[0076] In the state of use, the manual actuation means 30 of the outer shell component 20 can then be depressed in the manner indicated by the arrow in FIG. 21. Consequently, the line section 44 of the inner body 40 is, indirectly, also depressed, wherein an elastic deformation occurs because the surrounding components of the inner body 40, in particular the outer surface 47 thereof and the latching means 49, are not depressed along therewith.