Dispensing – With discharge assistant – Fluid pressure
Patent
1994-02-07
1995-05-23
Shaver, Kevin P.
Dispensing
With discharge assistant
Fluid pressure
222500, 22240218, B65D 8314
Patent
active
054173574
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a valve for a pressurized container or aerosol can, of the sort of those which comprise a valve body intended to be fixed into a dished part mounted on the can, a valve stem which can move axially in the valve body, and elastic return means for returning the valve stem to a closed position, whereas opening of the valve is obtained by a driving-in action on the stem, said valve being combined with a clack valve which is sensitive to the action of gravity and capable of closing the outlet of the valve when the container occupies a position which is more than a predetermined limit away from its normal position of use.
In general the container is intended to be used either with the head held up or with the head held down, with its axis substantially vertical. The abovementioned clack valve comes into play to close the outlet of the valve if the axis of the container is too far away from the vertical and/or if the head of the container does not occupy the normal position.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FR-A-2,375,111 shows a valve of this type, particularly in FIG. 5 in which the clack valve sensitive to the action of gravity comprises a ball forming a shut off member. When the container is inverted, the ball is applied against a seat and closes the passage to the stem, so that the dispensing of the compound for the aerosol is halted.
According to this prior document, the orifice intended to be closed by the ball of the clack valve has a relatively small diameter creating an additional nonnegligible drop in pressure head in normal operation.
DE-A-1,955,397 relates to a dispensing device which makes it possible to dispense a product contained in a pressurized container equipped with a dispensing head both with the head held up and with the head held down. For this purpose, the body of the valve of the dispensing head may be closed in the head held down position by a ball, and the wall of the valve body is equipped with an opening, which opening is never closed.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention, above all, is to make the valve of the sort defined previously such that the presence of the clack valve sensitive to the action of gravity should not introduce a substantial additional drop in pressure head for the outflow of the fluid in normal operation.
The object of the invention is also to provide a valve in which the clack valve reacts to an incorrect position given to the container. This is particularly beneficial in the case of containers pressurized with the aid of compressed gas, particularly compressed air, which it is appropriate to save to prevent too frequent inflations of the container; indeed, when an incorrect position is given to the container, atomization is not satisfactory and there is a significant loss of the propellent gas.
It is also suitable for the return of the clack valve to the open position to be reliable, when the container returns from an incorrect position to a correct position.
It is furthermore desirable for such a valve to be of a modest cost price by comparison with a conventional valve.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, a valve for a pressurized container or aerosol can, of the sort defined previously, is characterized in that the orifice is a micro-orifice which is closed when the stem is driven in in order to prevent any passage of fluid from the container into the valve body and which is opened when the stem is not driven in in order to establish a communication between the pressurized internal volume of the container and the zone of the valve situated downstream of the shut off member of the clack valve in the closed position, in order to balance out the pressures on either side of this shut off member and to facilitate its return to the open position under the action of gravity.
It is thus possible, on the one hand, to give the orifice, intended to be closed by the shut off member a relatively large diameter without the risk of the shut off member being prevented from returning to its
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"L'Oreal"
Shaver Kevin P.
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