U.S. patent application number 16/604302 was filed with the patent office on 2020-02-13 for dosing valve for a fluid product dispenser.
This patent application is currently assigned to APTAR FRANCE SAS. The applicant listed for this patent is APTAR FRANCE SAS. Invention is credited to Michael BAZIRE, Patrice LEONE.
Application Number | 20200047981 16/604302 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 58993121 |
Filed Date | 2020-02-13 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200047981 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
LEONE; Patrice ; et
al. |
February 13, 2020 |
DOSING VALVE FOR A FLUID PRODUCT DISPENSER
Abstract
A metering valve for a fluid dispenser, the metering valve
having a valve body that defines a metering chamber in which a
valve member slides between a rest position and an actuated
position, the valve body and/or the valve member being made by
injection-molding a material having a PBT matrix and glass
microspheres dispersed in said PBT matrix.
Inventors: |
LEONE; Patrice; (ACQUIGNY,
FR) ; BAZIRE; Michael; (GRAND COURONNE, FR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
APTAR FRANCE SAS |
LE NEUBOURG |
|
FR |
|
|
Assignee: |
APTAR FRANCE SAS
LE NEUBOURG
FR
|
Family ID: |
58993121 |
Appl. No.: |
16/604302 |
Filed: |
April 9, 2018 |
PCT Filed: |
April 9, 2018 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/FR2018/050884 |
371 Date: |
October 10, 2019 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 83/54 20130101 |
International
Class: |
B65D 83/54 20060101
B65D083/54 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 13, 2017 |
FR |
1753244 |
Claims
1. A metering valve for a fluid dispenser, the metering valve
comprising a valve body that defines a metering chamber in which a
valve member slides between a rest position and an actuated
position, the metering valve being characterized in that said valve
body and/or said valve member is/are made by injection-molding a
material comprising a PBT matrix and glass microspheres dispersed
in said PBT matrix.
2. A valve according to claim 1, wherein said glass microspheres
have a diameter lying in the range 1 .mu.m to 2000 .mu.m,
advantageously in the range 1 .mu.m to 100 .mu.m.
3. A valve according to claim 1, wherein said glass microspheres
are added to the PBT matrix at a content lying in the range 1% to
20% by weight, advantageously in the range 1% to 15% by weight.
4. A fluid dispenser comprising a reservoir (1) containing fluid to
be dispensed, said dispenser being characterized in that it further
comprises a metering valve according to claim 1.
5. A dispenser according to claim 5, containing an HFA gas as a
propellant gas.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a metering valve for a
fluid dispenser.
[0002] The preferred field of application of such a valve is the
field of pharmacy, but this type of valve may also be used in other
fields, e.g. the fields of cosmetics or perfumery.
[0003] The metering valves of the prior art comprise a valve body
that defines a metering chamber in which a valve member slides
between a rest position and an actuated position. The valve body
and the valve member are usually made by molding plastics materials
of the polymer type, such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP),
polyacetal or polyoxymethylene (POM), or polybutylene terephthalate
(PBT). However, metering valves must satisfy requirements for small
manufacturing tolerances, and they must provide great dimensional
stability for the very small components making them up. There is
also a requirement for the metering-valve components to be
accurately cylindrical, which is necessary for maintaining the
points of sealing in the valve, despite a pressure of 5 bars that
exists in the reservoir. There are also requirements for the
materials used in the components that constitute the metering
valves to have excellent mechanical properties, in particular given
the high level of stresses to which they may be subjected, in
particular while filling the reservoir through said metering valve
and/or while the metering valve is being used by the patient. Other
constraints can also affect the reliability of metering valves,
such as operating with significant pressure differentials, or
abrasion associated with the presence of powder.
[0004] Injection molding is very widely used for producing parts
intended for applications in the packaging, electricity,
automotive, cosmetics, and consumer goods industries. The method is
also used in high-tech industries such as the medical,
pharmaceutical, aeronautical, and nuclear industries.
[0005] The appearance of the injected parts is a very important
criterion, in particular for medical applications for which a high
level of quality is essential in order to guarantee the safety of
patients. Thus, certain defects in appearance may be generated
while manufacturing the parts, and monitoring such defects in large
scale production can turn out to be tricky. Unfortunately, the
presence of defects, in particular on safety parts, may generate
malfunctions or fragility of devices such as metering valves.
Various types of defect exist, in particular burrs, webs, air
bubbles, streaks, or even incomplete parts.
[0006] Such defects can be remedied in several ways, e.g. by
modifying the parameters of the injection-molding method, by
modifying the design of the part to be molded, or by adding
additives to the polymers so as to improve their molding
performance.
[0007] Nuclei forming agents are the additives most often used, in
particular for eliminating surface defects. Nuclei forming agents
act by modifying the crystallization kinetics. Nuclei forming
agents may be talc-based or they may be organic substances. Other
substances, such as foaming agents may also be used. They decompose
during the molding process so as to give a foam structure. They may
be based on sodium bicarbonate and sodium citrate.
[0008] Documents FR 3 035 382, WO 2012/072962, FR 2 767 801, and DE
27 34 950 describe prior-art devices.
[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide a pump that
does not have the above-mentioned difficulties.
[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide such a
metering valve that makes it possible to dispense fluid in
reliable, regular, and reproducible manner each time the dispenser
is actuated.
[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
metering valve that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and to
assemble.
[0012] The present invention thus provides a metering valve for a
fluid dispenser, the metering valve comprising a valve body that
defines a metering chamber in which a valve member slides between a
rest position and an actuated position, said valve body and/or said
valve member being made by injection-molding a material comprising
a PBT matrix and glass microspheres dispersed in said PBT
matrix.
[0013] Advantageously, said glass microspheres have a diameter
lying in the range 1 micrometer (.mu.m) to 2000 .mu.m,
advantageously in the range 1 .mu.m to 100 .mu.m.
[0014] Advantageously, said glass microspheres are added to the PBT
matrix at a content lying in the range 1% to 20% by weight,
advantageously in the range 1% to 15% by weight.
[0015] The present invention also provides a fluid dispenser
comprising a reservoir containing fluid to be dispensed, and a
metering valve as described above.
[0016] Advantageously, said dispenser contains a hydrofluoroalkane
(HFA) gas as a propellant gas.
[0017] These characteristics and advantages and others appear more
clearly from the following detailed description, given by way of
non-limiting example, and with reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which:
[0018] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic section view of a metering valve in
an advantageous embodiment;
[0019] FIG. 2 is a bar chart comparing the Young's modulus of PBT
on its own and with various additives, with the Young's modulus of
PBT including microspheres of the invention; and
[0020] FIG. 3 is a graph comparing the coefficient of friction of
PBT on its own with the coefficient of friction of PBT including
microspheres of the invention.
[0021] In the following description, the terms "upper", "lower",
"top" and "bottom" refer to the upright position shown in FIG. 1,
and the terms "axial" and "radial" refer to the longitudinal axis
of the valve shown in FIG. 1.
[0022] The metering valve shown in FIG. 1 is of the retention type.
However, it should be understood that this is merely an example,
and that the present invention applies to any type of metering
valve.
[0023] The valve includes a valve body 10 that extends along a
longitudinal axis A. Inside said valve body 10, a valve member 30
slides between a rest position, that is the position shown in FIG.
1, and a dispensing position in which the valve member 30 has been
pushed into the valve body 10.
[0024] The valve is for assembling on a reservoir 1, preferably by
means of a fastener element 5 that may be a crimpable,
screw-fastenable, or snap-fastenable capsule, and a neck gasket 6
is advantageously interposed between the fastener element and the
reservoir. Optionally, a ring 4 may be assembled around the valve
body, in particular so as to decrease the dead volume in the
upsidedown position, and so as to limit contact between the fluid
and the neck gasket. The ring may be of any shape, and the example
in FIG. 1 is not limiting.
[0025] The valve member 30 is urged towards its rest position by a
spring 8 that is arranged in the valve body 10 and that co-operates
firstly with the valve body 10 and secondly with the valve member
30, preferably with a radial collar 320 of the valve member 30. A
metering chamber 20 is defined inside the valve body 10, said valve
member 30 sliding inside said metering chamber so as to enable its
contents to be dispensed when the valve is actuated.
[0026] In conventional manner, the metering chamber is preferably
defined between two annular gaskets, namely a valve-member gasket
21, and a chamber gasket 22.
[0027] FIG. 1 shows the valve in the upright storage position, i.e.
the position in which the metering chamber 20 is arranged above the
reservoir 1.
[0028] The valve member 30 includes an outlet orifice 301 that is
connected to an inlet orifice 302 that is arranged in the metering
chamber 20 when the valve member 30 is in its dispensing position.
The valve member 30 may be made of two portions, namely an upper
portion 31 (also known as a valve-member top) and a lower portion
32 (also known as a valve-member bottom). In this embodiment, the
lower portion 32 is assembled inside the upper portion 31. An
internal channel 33 is provided in the valve member 30 that makes
it possible to connect the metering chamber 20 to the reservoir 1,
so as to fill said metering chamber 20 after each actuation of the
valve when the valve member 30 returns to its rest position under
the effect of the spring 8. Filling is performed when the device is
still in its upsidedown working position, with the valve arranged
below the reservoir.
[0029] In the invention, said valve body and/or said valve member
is/are made by injection-molding a material comprising a PBT matrix
and glass microspheres dispersed in said PBT matrix.
[0030] Although molding PBT is problematic with crystallinity
varying greatly from one batch to another, the addition of glass
microspheres in a PBT matrix makes it possible to control
crystallinity of the material and thus reduce molding problems.
[0031] The solid glass microspheres are made of glass,
advantageously recycled glass, and present the advantage of
containing neither free silica nor heavy metals. They are in powder
form. They have a basic pH, which is favorable when it is desired
to limit interaction with the active ingredients. They may be
subjected to a surface treatment with a coupling agent, which is
selected as a function of the nature of the matrix, and which
enables better adhesion between the microsphere and the matrix, and
also better dispersion.
[0032] The glass microspheres typically have a diameter lying in
the range 1 .mu.m to 2000 .mu.m. In the various tests performed and
described below, glass microspheres were used of diameter lying in
the range 3 .mu.m to 100 .mu.m, with a median diameter lying in the
range 10 .mu.m to 30 .mu.m. The microspheres may be added to the
PBT matrix at a content lying in the range 1% to 20% by weight,
advantageously in the range 1% to 15% by weight.
[0033] Adding glass microspheres into a PBT matrix makes it
possible, in particular, to obtain the following improvements:
[0034] during molding, the microspheres make it possible to reduce
the variability of crystallinity between the various batches of
materials, and thus to reduce difficulties during molding; in
particular this makes it possible to reduce substantially or to
eliminate difficulties of the components deforming, and to improve
their dimensional stability; [0035] the microspheres make it
possible to increase the mechanical properties of the material in
which they are dispersed; in order to characterize the mechanical
strength of a material, traction measurements are performed,
thereby making it possible to obtain breaking stress values or
Young's modulus values; FIG. 2 shows a significant improvement in
the Young's modulus for PBT with the glass microspheres compared to
PBT on its own, and also compared to PBT with various well known
additives, such as a nuclei forming agent, talc, or a foaming
agent; [0036] the glass microspheres are of inorganic origin, thus
they do not add any additional extractables; on the contrary they
have a diluting effect; thus, with a content of glass microspheres
of 13% in a PBT matrix, a reduction in extractables of a little
more than 15% has been observed. [0037] the microspheres make it
possible to reduce the coefficient of friction; the coefficient of
friction is the ratio of the traction force (response force
enabling the apparatus to move) over the applied force (normal
force); two types of coefficient of friction exist: the dynamic
coefficient and the static coefficient; the static coefficient is
the coefficient measured at the beginning of a test; it is the
force necessary to move the sample on the substrate and to initiate
movement; the term "coefficient of adhesion" is also used; the
dynamic coefficient is the coefficient necessary for movement to be
maintained at a constant speed; in this embodiment, values for the
dynamic coefficient are used since the system is thus stable and at
constant speed; the test consisted in causing a steel ball to rub
against a defined material (specifically PBT, with and without
microspheres) so as to determine a coefficient of friction; the
results obtained are reproduced in FIG. 3 and they show that adding
microspheres makes it possible to reduce the coefficient of
friction; in particular, this makes it possible to envisage a
reduction in difficulties with friction in valves; [0038]
microspheres do not have any impact on compatibility with active
ingredients; this has been tested by putting PBT containing
microspheres into direct contact with active ingredients (e.g.
formoterol fumarate), and by measuring the degradation of the
active ingredients using analytical techniques; the tests performed
did not show the glass microspheres having any impact on such
degradation.
[0039] The present invention is described above with reference to
an advantageous embodiment, but naturally any modification could be
applied thereto by the person skilled in the art, without going
beyond the ambit of the present invention, as defined by the
accompanying claims.
* * * * *