Dispensing – With discharge assistant – Fluid pressure
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-24
2001-07-03
Shaver, Kevin (Department: 3754)
Dispensing
With discharge assistant
Fluid pressure
C222S396000, C222S402100, C137S852000, C137S843000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06253970
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an aerosol container with a container neck, a valve disk in the container neck, a valve device in the valve disk, a circumferential sealing element arranged between an annular facing surface of the container neck and a peripheral edge portion of the valve disk and a weakly sealed section in the vicinity of the sealing element.
2. Prior Art
When an aerosol container is heated its internal pressure increases. When the internal pressure becomes too high, the valve device for the aerosol container can be uncontrollably forced out of the valve disk. For that reason safety systems have been developed, which permit a controlled release of the excess pressure from the aerosol container.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,615 describes an aerosol container with this sort of safety system. Weakly sealed sections are provided in this container by reducing the seal width at one or more positions at the seal by a vertical channel to the outer surface of the container neck. If the container is strongly heated so that it deforms, the product in the container can escape downward from the peripheral edge of the valve disk by means of the reduced seal width and the channels.
The safety system known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,615 has the disadvantage that it will not operate in an aerosol container in which the valve disk is sealed to the inner surface of the container neck.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an aerosol container of the above-described type, in which the valve disk is sealed at least to a portion of the inner surface of the container neck, with an operable safety system or safety device.
This object, and others which will be made more apparent hereinafter, are attained in an aerosol container comprising a container neck having an annular facing or top surface and an interior wall; a valve disk arranged in the container neck, including a peripheral edge portion and at least partially sealed to the interior wall; a valve device arranged in the valve disk for dispensing product from an interior space in the container; a circumferential sealing element arranged between the annular facing surface of the container neck and the peripheral edge portion of the valve disk and at least one weakly sealed section provided in the container neck in the vicinity of the sealing element.
According to the invention at least one channel for product flow is provided at the interior wall of the container neck, which extends from the interior space provided in the aerosol container to the sealing element and which reaches or ends the at least one weakly sealed section.
The device according to the invention advantageously provides a safety system for an aerosol container in which the valve disk is sealed at least partially to the interior surface of the container neck. Since the channel or channels is or are provided at the interior surface of the container neck and extends or extend to the sealing element from the container interior chamber or space, a valve disk that contacts on at least a substantial portion of the inner surface of the container neck can be used in the container. The valve disk thus has an especially exact seat on the container neck. The at least one channel serves to provide a connection between the container interior space and the at least one weakly sealed section. If the container is heated, the pressure in the container increases. If the container is made of plastic material, also the container neck can soften and deform. Independently of whether a metallic container or a plastic container is provided, the increased pressure is conducted through the channel or channels directly to the weakly sealed section or sections. Product is released from the container there when the pressure becomes sufficiently great, i.e. when it exceeds a predetermined limiting value. The at least one channel can be provided by at least one cavity or recess in the container neck or in a part of the valve disk contacting on or bearing on the interior wall of the container neck.
Various preferred embodiments of the invention are described in the following and claimed in the appended dependent claims.
In a preferred embodiment the at least one channel can be provided by at least one cavity or recess in the container neck. Alternatively, the at least one channel can be provided in a part of the valve disk contacting on or bearing on the interior wall of the container neck.
In a preferred embodiment a recess or cavity in the circumferential facing surface of the container neck that does not extend entirely radially through the container neck provides a comparatively simple and reliable weakly sealed section that reduces the effective sealed width. If the recess or cavity is a groove, it can be provided in a simple manner in the facing surface of the container neck.
In a further preferred embodiment the facing surface of the container neck has a sealing portion bearing on the sealing element and the sealing portion has at least one interrupting portion arranged at the at least one channel, extending in a circumferential direction and acting as an additional weakly sealed section. The seal is further weakened by this interrupting portion. Also a deformation of the container neck at this interrupting portion is more likely than at the sealing portion bearing on the sealing element, since the retaining force between the container neck and the valve disk is reduced at this interrupting section because of the reduced amount of the material. Since the height of the top surface of the container neck in the interrupting section is clearly less than its height in the sealing element, but for the case of normal pressure in the interior a reliable seal is provided also in the vicinity of the interruption section.
In a preferred embodiment four channels and four weakly sealed sections have proven especially beneficial for good centering of the valve cover on the container neck. An embodiment in which the channels are arranged around the circumference of the container neck spaced 90° from each other is particularly preferred.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3283959 (1966-11-01), Muller
patent: 3512685 (1970-05-01), Ewald
patent: 5199615 (1993-04-01), Downing
Kohn Udo
Pohler Andreas
Nicolas Frederick C
Shaver Kevin
Striker Michael J.
Wella Aktiengesellschaft
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