U.S. patent number 3,815,793 [Application Number 05/282,123] was granted by the patent office on 1974-06-11 for pressurized dispenser holding more highly pressurized internal container.
This patent grant is currently assigned to L'Oreal. Invention is credited to Manlio Maurelli, Louis Merrien, Bruno P. Morane, Charles Paoletti, Robert Sathicq.
United States Patent |
3,815,793 |
Morane , et al. |
June 11, 1974 |
PRESSURIZED DISPENSER HOLDING MORE HIGHLY PRESSURIZED INTERNAL
CONTAINER
Abstract
A container holding a pressurizing fluid comprises a resilient
member to be positioned in the container wall and formed with a
valve opening. A plug is positioned in the opening to normally
close it, but the resilient member will flex to permit the release
of fluid through the valve opening past the plug in response to a
predetermined difference between the pressure inside and that
outside the container. The container is enclosed within an outer
jacket holding a fluid to be dispensed, which is maintained under a
constant pressure equal to the pressure of said pressurizing fluid
less the pressure required to flex said resilient member.
Inventors: |
Morane; Bruno P. (Paris,
FR), Paoletti; Charles (Aulnay sous Bois,
FR), Maurelli; Manlio (Vaujours, FR),
Merrien; Louis (Fontenay sous Bois, FR), Sathicq;
Robert (Villepinte, FR) |
Assignee: |
L'Oreal (Paris,
FR)
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Family
ID: |
27249146 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/282,123 |
Filed: |
August 21, 1972 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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43696 |
Jun 5, 1970 |
3712501 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Jun 10, 1969 [FR] |
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69.19182 |
Sep 1, 1969 [FR] |
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69.29795 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
222/399 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
83/663 (20130101); B65D 2251/0075 (20130101); B65D
2251/0012 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
83/14 (20060101); B65d 083/14 () |
Field of
Search: |
;222/57,396,397,494,399,563,386.5 ;220/40 ;137/525 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Tollberg; Stanley H.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Brisebois & Kruger
Parent Case Text
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This application is a division of our prior copending application
Ser. No. 43,696, filed June 5, 1970 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,712,501.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. Container holding a propellant fluid and comprising a flexible
valve member having an opening therein closed by a plug, the
external diameter of said plug being so selected with respect to
the internal diameter of the opening in said flexible valve member
that the pressure required to cause flexing of the valve member and
opening of a passage between said plug and the edge of said opening
is less than the vapor pressure of said propellant fluid, said
container being enclosed within an outer jacket provided with a
dispensing valve and holding a product to be dispensed under a
pressure which is kept substantially equal, when said dispensing
valve is closed, to the difference between said vapor pressure and
the pressure required to flex said valve member.
2. Device as claimed in claim 1 in which the diameter of the plug
is between 100 percent and 120 percent of the diameter of the
opening in the valve with which said plug cooperates.
3. Device as claimed in claim 1 in which the plug comprisestwo
zones having different diameters, the diameter of one zone lying
between 100 and 120 percent of the diameter of the opening in said
valve and the other diameter lying between 125 and 140 percent of
said diameter.
4. Device as claimed in claim 2 in which the flexible valve member
is made of a natural or synthetic elastomer having a Shore hardness
between about 65 and 75.
5. Device as claimed in claim 1 in which said container is a
metallic cartridge of substantially cylindrical form.
6. Device as claimed in claim 1 in which the propellant fluid is
selected from the group consisting of butane and chloro-fluorinated
hydrocarbons.
7. Device as claimed in claim 1 in which material from which the
outer jacket is made is aluminum sheet metal.
8. Device as claimed in claim 1 in which the material from which
the outer jacket is made is plastic.
9. Device as claimed in claim 1 in which the material from which
the outer jacket is made is glass.
Description
This invention relates to improvements in commercial spray
containers adapted to dispense a product in the form of a fog or
mist.
As is well known, these devices have a safety problem during both
storage and transportation, when in the hands of the seller, and in
the hands of the user.
For any of several reasons, such as mechanical shock, an increase
in temperature, or an unexpected chemical reaction, the pressure
inside the container may increase substantially, which leads to the
danger of an explosion. It has accordingly been found that the use
of a safety device is desirable. This device must operate
automatically and be always ready to function. On the other hand,
the inexpensive nature of these dispensers requires a safety device
which does not require any expensive parts in order to secure the
required degree of safety.
The present invention has as its object to impart to aerosol
dispensers a high degree of safety without substantially increasing
the cost of the product.
Specifically, the present invention is intended to provide, as a
new article of manufacture, a safety device adapted to be inserted
in the wall of a container, which is essentially characterized by
the fact that it comprises an elastic member force-fitted into an
opening in the wall of the container and providing, in succession
from the inside of the container to the outside, a sealing ring
bearing on the inner surface of the opening, and a deformable
cylindrical cup having a deformable bottom equipped with a central
flexible valve on the side of the cup remote from the sealing ring.
A rigid stopper having an external diameter greater than the
internal diameter of the flexible valve is inserted in this valve,
and blocks it to form a fluid tight seal when there is a normal
difference in pressure between the inside and outside of the
container. The cup bottom is, however, adapted to deform, if the
difference in pressure increases, thus permitting an escape of
fluid toward the outside of the container.
The release of the fluid contained in the container in the case of
an abnormal pressure difference results from the combined effects
of the deformation produced by said excess pressure in the
deformable cylindrical cup, on the deformable bottom of said cup,
and on the flexible valve in contact with the stopper.
It will be appreciated that the safety device according to the
invention, may be applied to any container holding a product under
pressure. In particular the present invention includes the
application of this safety device which permits the packaging of
products under a propellant fluid pressure which is constant
throughout the course of the operation of the device and different
from the vapor pressure of the propellant fluid utilized. It should
be noted that, in the case of those containers under pressure
presently known, the internal pressure created by the pressurizing
fluid is, in general, equal to the vapor pressure of this fluid, at
the temperature of the container. Liquefied gases are generally
used which have a vapor pressure at room temperature which is of
the order of magnitude of 2 to 4 kg/cm.sup.2.
It is accordingly a further object of the present invention to
provide a new article of manufacture which consists of a device
which comprises a cup-shaped elastic member and a plug inserted in
a flexible valve in the bottom of the cup, which is essentially
characterized by the fact that it is positioned at a point on the
wall of a container holding a propellant fluid such as a liquefied
gas for example, the outer diameter of the plug being so selected
with respect to the inner diameter of the flexible valve that the
pressure required to open the device by deforming the flexible
valve is less than the vapor pressure of the propellant fluid
inside the container to which the device is attached. This
container, equipped with its cup-shaped safety device and plug is
itself positioned inside a jacket closed by a dispensing valve and
holding at least one product to be dispensed under pressure.
In a preferred method of carrying out this invention, the recipient
to which the cup-shaped device and plug is attached is a metallic
cartridge, made for example of aluminum, which is substantially
cylindrical in shape and contains a pressurizing fluid of a
conventional type such as one or more of the chloro-fluorinated
hydrocarbons, or butane. The cup-shaped elastic member is made of a
natural or synthetic elastomer having a Shore hardness between 65
and 75. The plug is a simple cylindrical plug force-fitted into the
flexible valve of the elastic member. The jacket inside which the
container for the pressurizing fluid is placed may be a container
of the aerosol bomb type having at its upper end a conventional
dispensing valve and a closed bottom.
Surprisingly, it has been found that, for an elastic member having
the given Shore hardness and a given interior diameter, the opening
pressure according to this embodiment remains substantially
constant when the diameter of the cylindrical plug varies within
certain limits. This pressure increases considerably when the
diameter of the plug increases above this stated range. It is thus
important to emphasize that when, in accordance with the preferred
embodiment of the invention, one operates within the range in which
the opening pressure remains substantially constant as a function
of the diameter of the plug, it is possible, for a flexible valve
of a given inner diameter, to use plugs the diameter of which does
not have to be determined with great precision. The opening
pressure will nevertheless remain substantially the same despite a
large tolerance with respect to the diameter of the plug. This
possible tolerance as to the diameter of the plug and the flexible
valve makes it possible to manufacture the device according to the
invention very cheaply.
It will be appreciated that, in the outer jacket, which holds both
the product to be dispensed and the cartridge for the pressurizing
fluid with its safety device, there is a pressure equal to the
difference between the vapor pressure of the pressurizing fluid in
the cartridge and the pressure required to open the safety device
and stopper on said container. In effect, the pressurizing fluid,
which has a vapor pressure greater than the opening pressure of the
device on the cartridge which holds it, escapes from this cartridge
inside the outer jacket. The pressure inside this outer jacket then
increases to a value such that the pressure difference between the
inside and the outside of the cartridge holding the pressurizing
fluid is equal to the opening pressure of the device on the
container. At this time no further escape of pressurizing fluid
takes place between the cartridge and the outer jacket and the
pressure inside the outer jacket therefore remains constant.
When the product to be dispensed is sprayed out through the
dispensing valve of the outer jacket in response to the pressure
which is produced inside that jacket, the pressure inside the
jacket diminishes and this results in a leakage of pressurizing
fluid from the cartridge inside the outer jacket. This leakage
continues until the pressure inside the outer jacket reaches its
previously established value.
It will be appreciated in the light of what has been said that the
pressure inside the outer jacket is clearly less than the vapor
pressure of the pressurizing fluid used. The pressurizing fluid
may, for example, have a vapor pressure of 3.5 kg/cm.sup.2 and
produce inside the outer jacket a pressure of 1 kg/cm.sup.2,
provided that the closure for the cartridge has an opening pressure
substantially equal to 2.5 kg/cm.sup.2.
The two essential parameters which control the opening pressure of
the cup-shaped device and stopper mounted on the inner container
are, for a given diameter of the flexible valve, the diameter of
the plug, and the Shore hardness of the material of which the
cup-shaped plastic member is made. Since it is known that it is
preferred to use a diameter for the plug which lies in the range in
which the opening pressure is substantially constant, as has been
hereinbefore set forth, it will be seen that the value of this
opening pressure may be selected at will by modifying the Shore
hardness of the elastic material of which the cup-shaped elastic
member is made.
In one embodiment of the invention the plug may have two different
diameters, one corresponding to the opening pressure used during
operation and the other corresponding to an opening pressure which
is greater than the vapor pressure of the liquefied gas at room
temperature. This arrangement makes it possible to fill the device
in the following manner. The cartridge intended to hold the
pressurizing fluid is equipped with the elastic cup-shaped member
and the desired quantity of liquefied pressurizing fluid is
introduced into this cartridge. The plug is then seated in the
flexible valve of the elastic member utilizing the maximum diameter
of this plug so as to avoid any leakage of pressurizing fluid. The
cartridge which has been closed in this manner is then inserted in
the outer jacket, which has first been equipped with its dispensing
valve and filled with the product to be dispensed. The plug is then
moved within the valve so that its portion of smaller diameter is
inserted therein instead of its portion of larger diameter. This
results in an immediate leakage of pressurizing fluid and the
bottom of the outer jacket is promptly sealed so as to completely
close it.
It will be appreciated that because the greater diameter of the
plug has been introduced into the flexible valve before the portion
of smaller diameter no substantial modification of the opening
pressure of the device results, provided that the time during which
the zone of larger diameter has been seated in the flexible valve
is relatively limited, of the order of a few hours for example.
Finally, the present invention has as its object the new article of
manufacture, which consists of a container for dispensing under
pressure at least one product, which container is provided with a
dispensing valve and is essentially characterized by the fact that
it comprises an outer jacket holding the product to be dispensed
and an inner cartridge holding a pressurizing fluid, which inner
cartridge is equipped with a safety device according to the
invention. This device comprises an elastic cup-shaped member and a
plug which is seated in a flexible valve in the bottom of the
cup-shaped member.
One of the essential characteristics of this embodiment of the
invention is that it makes it possible to provide pressurized
containers the outer jacket of which is made of a plastic material,
or even glass, whereas the containers heretofore known are made of
aluminum sheet metal. In effect, in the event of accidental
breakage of the outer jacket, the explosion which takes place due
to the internal pressure therewithin is, in the case of a container
according to the invention, extremely small, because the pressure
differential between the pressure inside the jacket and the ambient
pressure is not very great, since the outer jacket is not subjected
to the complete vapor pressure of the pressurizing fluid. This
characteristic is particularly important from a commercial point of
view.
In order that the invention may be better understood a preferred
embodiment thereof will now be described, purely by way of
illustration and example, with reference to the accompanying
drawings, on which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic axial sectional view showing a container of
the aerosol bomb type holding an inner cartridge provided with a
cup-shaped safety device including a plug;
FIG. 2 is a side view showing a plug having two diameters; and
FIG. 3 is a graph showing the variation in the opening pressure of
the device attached to the inner cartridge holding the pressurizing
fluid, as a function of the diameter of the plug.
Referring now to the drawings, it will be seen that reference
numeral 30 indicates the container of the aerosol bomb type shown
in FIG. 1. The container 30 has at its upper end a dispensing valve
31 provided with a tube 32. It is closed at its lower end by a base
33 seated on the lateral wall. Inside the container 30 is a liquid
34 which is to be dispensed, and a cylindrical cartridge 35 inside
which is a pressurizing fluid 36 consisting of a liquefied gas. The
vapor pressure of the fluid 36 at ordinary temperatures is about
3.5 kg/cm.sup.2. The cylindrical cartridge 35 is made of aluminum
sheet material. At its upper end the cartridge is provided with an
elastic member 37.
The elastic member 37 is made of a synthetic rubber having a Shore
hardness of 70. It comprises, from inside the cartridge 35 toward
the outside thereof, a sealing ring 38 bearing against the inner
surface of the wall of the cartridge 35, then a deformable
cylindrical cup 39, and finally, in the central part of the cup 39,
a flexible cylindrical valve-hole 40 having an inner diameter of 1
mm. Inside the valve 40 is a plug 41 having a diameter of 1.15
mm.
It will be appreciated that the opening pressure of the device
37-41 is about 2.5 kg/cm.sup.2 and consequently, the pressure
inside the outer jacket is about 1 kg/cm.sup.2. This envelope may
therefore be made of glass or plastic.
In FIG. 2 there is shown a valuable form of the plug used in
combination with the elastic cup-shaped member. This plug 42
comprises two successive zones of different diameter. The zone 43
has a diameter of 1.15 mm whereas the zone 44 has a diameter of
1.30 mm. Such a plug may be used in combination with the elastic
member 37 described in connection with the device illustrated in
FIG. 1.
The graph of FIG. 3 shows, for an elastic member such as the member
37, the variation as a function of the diameter of the plug, of the
opening pressure required to produce, by deformation of the
cup-shaped member 39 and the valve 40, a leakage between the valve
and the plug 41. It will be seen that when the plug has a diameter
between 1.10 and 1.20 mm the opening pressure remains substantially
constant and is equal to 2.5 kg/cm.sup.2. For a diameter of 1.30
mm, the opening pressure is of the order of 13.5 kg/cm.sup.2. The
line 45 represents the limit beyond which the outer jacket 30 is
deformed by internal pressure. The graph of FIG. 3 utilizes as its
ordinate the internal pressure inside the cartridge 35 expressed in
kg/cm.sup.2 and, as abscissa, the diameters of the plug utilized
expressed in mm. This graph has been made for an elastic member 37
having the characteristics indicated in the preceding example. To
provide a container having a plug 42 the cartridge 35 is equipped
with its elastic member 37 and the pressurizing fluid 36 is
introduced into this cartridge.
The plug 42 is then inserted in the valve opening 40 so that the
zone 44 occupies the valve opening. The vapor pressure of the
pressurizing fluid 36, which is less than 13.5 kg/cm.sup.2, does
not cause any leakage of pressurizing fluid outside the cartridge
35 at this time. The valve 31 is mounted on the outer jacket 30 and
the product 34 to be dispensed is introduced into it. The zone 44
of the plug 42 is then forced through the valve member 40 until the
zone 43 is seated in the valve opening. At this moment a leakage of
fluid 36 begins since the opening pressure of the device 37-43 is
2.5 kg/cm.sup.2. The cartridge 35 is then inserted in the jacket 30
and the base 33 immediately sealed to close it. The pressure inside
this jacket increases to 1 kg/cm.sup.2 and, each time some of the
product 34 is dispensed, there is a leakage of fluid 36 which
escapes through the valve opening 40 so as to reestablish the
pressure inside the jacket 30 at about 1 kg/cm.sup.2.
It should be noted that the device according to the invention makes
it possible to avoid permanent contact between the pressurizing
fluid in the liquid state and the product to be dispensed.
It will of course be appreciated that the embodiment of the safety
device according to the invention which has been hereinbefore
described has been given purely by way of example and may be
modified as to detail without thereby departing from the basic
principles of the invention. In particular the deformable elastic
device according to the invention may be applied as a safety device
to any part of a container under pressure and to any type of
container under pressure, whether it is an aerosol bomb or not.
* * * * *