U.S. patent number 3,877,619 [Application Number 05/470,210] was granted by the patent office on 1975-04-15 for pneumatic self-closing valve for a tube of flowable material.
Invention is credited to Evelio F. Chavez, Jr..
United States Patent |
3,877,619 |
Chavez, Jr. |
April 15, 1975 |
PNEUMATIC SELF-CLOSING VALVE FOR A TUBE OF FLOWABLE MATERIAL
Abstract
A pneumatic self-closing valve for the opening in the end of a
tube of flowable material which comprises a skirt secured to the
open end of a tube which has an axial opening and a septum
separating the interior of the skirt into a first chamber and a
second chamber, said first chamber opening into the interior of the
tube and said second chamber being closed and separated from the
interior of the tube and the outer chamber of the skirt with said
septum having a hole in the septum, and a figure of 8 member
comprising a first and a second inflated ball of rubbery deformable
material the first ball normally blocking the opening of the skirt
and the second ball being housed within the interior chamber of the
skirt whereby when pressure is applied, the ball closing the
opening of the skirt will collapse and, when pressure on the tube
is relaxed will be restored to a normal condition blocking the
opening to the tube through the skirt.
Inventors: |
Chavez, Jr.; Evelio F. (Miami,
FL) |
Family
ID: |
23866687 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/470,210 |
Filed: |
May 15, 1974 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
222/494; 137/510;
401/217; 401/209 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
47/2018 (20130101); Y10T 137/7836 (20150401) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
47/04 (20060101); B65D 47/20 (20060101); B65d
035/38 () |
Field of
Search: |
;222/491,494-496,512,518,527-529 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Reeves; Robert B.
Assistant Examiner: Skaggs, Jr.; H. Grant
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A tube cap and in combination a pneumatic self-closing valve,
said combination comprising, a tube of flowable material having a
closed end and an open end, a truncated cone-shaped skirt, means to
attach the skirt in closing relation of the open end, the distal
end of said skirt having an opening, said skirt including an
internal septum defining an inner chamber and an outer chamber
within the skirt, said septum having a hole separating the
chambers, said outer chamber being in open communication with said
skirt opening and the interior of said skirt about said septum, a
figure of 8 inflated member of rubbery deformable material defining
a first ball and a second ball and an intermediate neck connecting
said balls, said first ball being in said outer chamber and with
its peripheral surface normally blocking said skirt opening and
said second ball being in said inner chamber with said neck
extending through said hole, whereby when the tube is squeezed,
pressure within the tube and outer chamber will cause the first
ball to be deformed and the second ball to expand in said inner
chamber so long as pressure is applied so that the flowable
material may be squeezed from the tube and, when the pressure is
relaxed, the outer ball will again seat and close the opening of
said skirt.
2. The device as set forth in claim 1 wherein a vent means is
provided in said skirt communicating between said inner chamber and
the exterior of said skirt.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a pneumatic self-closing valve for a tube
of flowable material.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
This invention has as the object the provision of a pneumatic
self-closing valve comprising a figure of 8 deformable pair of
balls which are interconnected by a neck and are in fluid
commumincation with one another with one of the balls being in
blocking relation of the opening of a tube of flowable material,
such as a toothpaste tube and the other ball being loosely arranged
in a case defined within the tube so that when pressure is applied
the flowable material will flow through the opening, the ball
occupying the opening being adapted to be collapsed by pressure
upon the tube yet to be restored when the pressure is relaxed to
block the entrance of the tube.
It is a general object of this invention to provide a simple,
inexpensive and effective manner of automatically or of providing a
self-closing pneumatic valve for a tube of flowable material which
is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and is well adapted for
the purposes for which it is intended.
It is also a general object of this invention to provide a
pneumatic self-closing valve for a tube of flowable material which
comprises structure such that when the tube is pressed the contents
act upon a sphere to collapse it to open the outlet to the tube and
when the pressure is released the sphere returns to its normal
position to close the tube. In the preferred embodiment the valve
body or skirt is made of rigid molded plastic while the spheres are
made of rubbery material which are inflated and deformable under
conventional pressure utilized to squeeze flowable material from a
tube, such as toothpaste.
In accordance with these and other objects which will become
apparent hereinafter the instant invention will now be described
with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
BRIEF DESSCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side view of a tube provided with the instant
invention;
FIG. 2 is an end view of the device shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a view in cross section of the end zone of the tube shown
in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a view in cross section taken on the plane indicated by
the line 4--4 of FIG. 3 and looking in the direction of the arrow;
and
FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 and illustrating the operation
of the instant invention by chain-dot lines.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to the drawings wherein like reference characters
designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views,
there is shown a tube 12 for flowable material having a closed end
13 and an open end 14 which is closed by a truncated cone-shaped
skirt 16 bonded thereto as indicated by the line 18 in fluid-tight
relation. The distal end of the skirt is provided with an opening
20, see FIG. 5 and, as seen in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the interior of
the skirt is provided with a septum means generally designated by
the numeral 22 which, as seen in FIG. 4 may be viewed as including
a floor 24, side walls 26 and 28 and the confronting surface of the
skirt as designated by the numeral 30. The wall or septum includes
an opening 32, see FIG. 5, and the septum is effective to separate
the interior of the skirt into an interior chamber 34 and an
exterior chamber 36. A figure of 8 member of inflated rubbery
deformable material is provided which defines a first ball 38 and a
second ball 40 and an intermediate neck 42. The first ball is
normally arranged in the outer chamber with its peripheral surface
as indicated by the numeral 46 in closing relation blocking the
skirt opening and the second ball is sized to be received within
the inner chamber and of such a size as not to fully occupy the
space in said second chamber, while the neck 42 extends in close
fitting relation through the opening in the septum.
In operation, when the tube is squeezed, the pressure will cause
the first ball to be deformed as indicated by the chain-dot lines
of FIG. 5 with the volume compressed in the first ball being
transmitted through the hollow or column of the neck 42 into the
second ball which expands to occupy the excess space in the inner
chamber so long as the pressure is applied whereby the material in
the tube may flow through the skirt opening and, when the pressure
is relaxed, the outer ball will again seat and close the opening of
the skirt as the volume within the figure of 8 member is normalized
through the column in the neck.
* * * * *