U.S. patent number 3,912,132 [Application Number 05/508,728] was granted by the patent office on 1975-10-14 for dispenser valve assembly for a pressurized aerosol dispenser.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Precision Valve Corporation. Invention is credited to Silvester William Stevens.
United States Patent |
3,912,132 |
Stevens |
October 14, 1975 |
Dispenser valve assembly for a pressurized aerosol dispenser
Abstract
The invention concerns a modified valve stem portion of a
movable valve body and a modified actuator button for use in a
pressurized aerosol dispenser. A valve stem of the movable body and
an actuator button member conjointly provide an improved product
flow rate control or metering passageway and an improved expansion
chamber which are both readily accessible for cleaning. The tubular
valve stem portion of the movable valve body includes a reduced
diameter cylindrical tip and an upwardly open transverse slot in
the tip in communication with the bore of the stem. The actuator
button includes a cylindrical valve stem receiving socket in its
underside and a centrally disposed, cylindrical valve stem closure
plug in the socket in spaced relation to the side walls of the
socket.
Inventors: |
Stevens; Silvester William
(Macquarie Fields, AU) |
Assignee: |
Precision Valve Corporation
(Yonkers, NY)
|
Family
ID: |
3745850 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/508,728 |
Filed: |
September 24, 1974 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Sep 27, 1973 [AU] |
|
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60775/73 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
222/402.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
83/48 (20130101); B65D 83/20 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
83/16 (20060101); B65D 83/14 (20060101); B67D
083/14 () |
Field of
Search: |
;222/402.1,402.21,402.22,402.23,402.24 ;239/579,573 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Reeves; Robert B.
Assistant Examiner: Shannon; John P.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Davis, Hoxie, Faithfull &
Hapgood
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. In a dispensing valve assembly for a pressurized aerosol
dispenser, said valve assembly including;
a movable valve body having an upstanding valve stem with a coaxial
product passageway and a valve orifice in communication with the
stem passageway, and
a valve actuator having a valve stem receiving socket for removably
engaging said valve stem and having a discharge orifice in
communication with said valve stem passageway, the improvement
which comprises:
a central plug in said valve stem receiving socket, said plug
closing the upper end of said valve stem passageway,
said valve stem including an upper portion of smaller external
diameter than the lower portion to define an annular chamber within
the valve stem receiving socket, said annular chamber being in
communication with said discharge orifice, and
an upwardly open slot extending through said upper portion between
the valve stem product passageway and the annular chamber to
provide the product flow rate controlling restriction of the valve
assembly.
2. The valve assembly of claim 1 wherein an annular shoulder is
interposed between the upper and lower portions of the valve
stem.
3. The valve assembly of claim 1 wherein the slot extends radially
of the valve stem.
4. The valve assembly of claim 1 wherein the slot intercepts the
upper region of said annular chamber and the discharge orifice is
in communication with the lower region of said annular chamber.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to pressurized aerosol dispensers.
More particularly, it relates to a means for controlling the flow
rate of a fluid product dispensed from a pressurized aerosol
dispenser.
Pressurized aerosol dispensers are product containers having a
valve and a valve-actuating button which ordinarily includes a
discharge orifice through which the product is dispensed when the
valve is opened. The product is pressurized within the container by
means of a volatile propellant. U.S. Pat. No. 2,631,814 to
Abplanalp is exemplary of these dispensers. The present invention
deals with the actuator button and the upstanding hollow valve stem
portion of a valve, such as is shown in the Abplanalp U.S. Pat. No.
2,631,814.
Heretofore, the flow rate of product through the valve was
controlled by a restriction somewhere along the product flow path.
Usually this flow rate controlling or metering restriction is the
valve orifice of the valve body. This is the orifice which
communicates the interior of the product container with the hollow
interior of the valve stem when the valve is open. The valve is
closed by blocking this orifice with an elastomeric gasket or
washer when the movable valve member is in the closed position.
Usually the valve orifice is located inaccessibly deep within the
valve unit.
Some products, such as paint, harden between uses of the dispenser
or they may contain particles. When the flow rate metering
restriction is the valve orifice, this restricted passage may
become clogged or blocked with dried product or particles. Since
the user cannot access this small passage for clearing it, the
dispenser becomes prematurely useless with product trapped
inside.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention puts the flow rate metering or control
restriction in a location where the user can easily clean or clear
it, thereby permitting full consumption of the product.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention is an improvement
in an aerosol pressurized dispenser having an actuator button of
the type having a valve stem receiving socket and a dispensing
valve unit of the type having an upstanding tubular valve stem
integral with the movable valve body. The actuator button and valve
stem are conjointly configured to provide an improved product flow
rate control or metering passageway and an annular chamber which
are easily accessible to the user for cleaning or unclogging. The
actuator button and valve stem are also conjointly configured for
assembly in any rotational orientation with respect to each other,
thereby avoiding any need for indexing during assembly.
Toward these ends and others, the hollow valve stem portion of the
movable valve body includes a reduced diameter, cylindrical tip
segment and an upwardly open slot extending transversely through
the wall of the stem in the tip segment and the actuator button
includes a cylindrical valve stem receiving socket in its underside
and a cylindrical valve stem closure plug centrally disposed in the
socket in spaced relation to the side walls of the socket.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The drawing is an elevational view in vertical section of the
actuator button and movable valve body of a pressurized aerosol
dispenser valve assembly showing a preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawing, a preferred embodiment of the present
invention comprises a movable valve body 10 and an actuator button
20 which are configured to conjointly provide an improved product
metering passageway 1 for controlling the flow of a dispensed fluid
and an improved annular chamber 2 for supplying the controlled flow
of fluid product to a discharge orifice 25. More particularly, the
actuator button 20 and the valve stem portion 11 of the valve body
10 provide a readily accessible metering passageway 1 and annular
chamber 2 to permit cleaning when the user is dispensing a product
prone to clogging, such as paint.
The valve stem 11 may be the upstanding, hollow tubular valve stem
of an aerosol discharge valve unit of the type disclosed in U.S.
Pat. No. 2,631,814 to Abplanalp, although the present invention is
also applicable to other pressurized aerosol dispensers employing
separable actuator buttons and valve stems.
The movable valve body 10 of the present invention (in common with
known aerosol valves, such as Abplanalp U.S. Pat. No. 2,631,814)
comprises an upstanding hollow tubular stem portion 11 integral
with a main body portion 12. The hollow stem has an axial internal
bore 13 in communication with one or more valve orifices 14 located
in a reduced diameter neck about which a resilient annular gasket
is placed such that the valve orifices 14 are blocked by the inner
margin of the gasket. A more complete explanation of the foregoing
is found in Abplanalp U.S. Pat. No. 2,631,814.
The modified valve stem 11 of the present invention has a reduced
diameter tip segment 15 defined by an annular shoulder 16. The
valve stem 11 is frictionally received in a valve stem receiving
socket 21 on the underside of the actuator button 20. The socket 21
is cylindrical and has a diameter to provide a tight fit on the
major diameter of the valve stem 11. The reduced diameter tip 15
cooperates with the receiving socket 21 to provide an annular
chamber 2 which encompasses the tip 15 of the stem 11.
An upwardly open transverse slot 17 extends radially out through
the valve stem wall 18 at the upper end of the tip 15. Slot 17
communicates the internal bore 13 with the annular chamber 2
surrounding the tip 15. Slot 17 constitutes the product flow rate
control or metering restriction.
The valve stem receiving socket 21 of the actuator button 20
includes a shallow closure plug 22 which depends centrally from the
interior end wall of the socket 21. The closure plug 22 enters the
internal bore 13 of the valve stem 11 when the button 20 and stem
11 are assembled. Desirably, the closure plug 22 has a slight taper
to facilitate this assembly. The plug 22 seals off the valve stem
bore 13 from communication with the annular chamber 2 thereby
insuring that transverse slot 17 in the end of the valve stem 11 is
the sole communication between the stem bore 13 and the annular
chamber 2. This construction permits some tolerance in dimensioning
or assembly of the button 20 and valve stem 11. Without closure
plug 22, product could leak around the top end of the valve stem
11, thereby increasing the product flow rate over the rate
desirably dictated by the flow characteristics of transverse slot
17.
Although the discharge orifice 25 may be molded directly in the
actuator button 20 the discharge orifice may be formed in a
separate piece which is assembled with the body of the actuator
button 20. In the embodiment of the present invention illustrated,
the discharge orifice 25 is located in a nozzle insert 30 having a
tubular portion 31 which is frictionally retained in an appropriate
bore 23 in the body of the actuator button 20. Such inserts 30 can
be provided with a variety of configurations appropriate to the
particular product to be dispensed. For example, inserts can
provide fan-shaped sprays for directionally dispersing paints or
other coatings or mechanical break-up configurations to assist in
nebulization of aqueous products, such as spray starch.
The other details of the actuator button 20 and movable valve body
10 shown are conventional and well known and do not require further
elucidation.
The actuator button 20 and the movable valve body 10 are assembled
by frictionally receiving the cylindrical valve stem 11 of the
valve body 10 in the cylindrical valve stem receiving socket 21 of
the button 20. When so assembled, a product flow passageway is
established leading from the valve orifices 14 through the valve
stem bore 13, thence through the transverse slot 17 at the upper
end of the stem 11 and into the annular chamber 2. Annular chamber
2 is in communication with the tubular portion 31 of the insert 30
to discharge pressurized product through the discharge orifice 25
of the insert 30.
Closure plug 22 in conjunction with the configuration of the tip 15
of the valve stem 11 requires that all product flow through
transverse slot 17. The effective cross-sectional area and
configuration of slot 17 are chosen to produce a flow rate suitable
for the product dispensed. By controlling or metering flow rate by
slot 17, the valve orifices 14 can now be made larger than in the
prior valves which accomplished the flow rate control function by
selection of appropriate sizes for the valve orifice. By permitting
larger valve orifices, the present invention provides less
opportunity for clogging the valve since particles in the product
which could block the valve orifices of a prior valve can pass
freely through orifice 14 of the present valve. Clogging due to
particles in the product or due to drying of residual product
between uses of the dispenser will affect the slot 17 of the
present invention. However, since slot 17 is external, it it
readily accessible for cleaning or clearing by simply removing the
button 20 and wiping or washing with solvent. A clogged dispenser
utilizing the present invention can be made operative, whereas a
dispenser of the prior construction tends to clog at an
inaccessible internal valve orifice and therefore remain
inoperative. The discharge orifice 25 is also accessible for easy
cleaning.
Annular chamber 2 formed by the annular shoulder 16 and the reduced
diameter tip 15 in conjunction with the cylindrical valve stem
receiving socket 21 of button 20 serves two purposes. Chamber 2
forms an expansion chamber interposed between the flow restriction
slot 17 and the relatively small discharge orifice 25 in insert 30.
An expansion chamber aids in converting liquid product into a
dispersion of spray droplets. Since chamber 2 is annular, no
relative orientation or indexing of the button 20 with respect to
the valve stem slot 17 is required thereby simplifying assembly for
the manufacturer and also allowing the user to remove and replace
the button for cleaning purposes without worrying about orienting
the two pieces. Since the entrance to the tubular portion 31 of the
insert 30 is below the slot 17 of the stem 11, these passages do
not align and the flow rate is uniform at any rotational
orientation of button and stem.
From the foregoing, it is apparent that the product metering slot
17 and the annular expansion chamber 2 provided by the preferred
embodiment of the present invention are both fully exposed by
disassembly of the actuator button 20 from the valve stem 11. This
provides easy access to both the slot 17 and the chamber 2 for
cleaning or unclogging should it become necessary. In fact, the
very act of disassembly may break loose and dislodge detritus
clinging to and clogging the passageway 1 or chamber 2.
While the actuator has been described as an actuator button 20, it
should be understood that any actuator, such as the hinged tab of
an actuator dome, which is configured in accordance with the
present invention may be used in forming the dispensing valve
assembly of the present invention.
* * * * *