CA1097595A - Dispensing closure for a squeezable container - Google Patents

Abstract

DISPENSING CLOSURE FOR A SQUEEZABLE CONTAINER

ABSTRACT

A housing containing an annular tapered valve seat and mating valve secures the valve in fluid communication with the container interior. Fluid in the container under pressure displaces the valve from its seat, flows through the interface between the valve and seat and is discharged to the ambient through a fluid passage coupled to the interface. A shoulder in the housing engages a shoulder on the valve for limiting the displacement of the valve to a value sufficiently small to.
retain fluid in the interface in the absence of pressure above ambient in the container. The fluid in the interface acts effectively as a seal to ambient air so that a negative pressure in the container results in ambient air pressure forcing the valve to its closed position.

Description

~LO'3759~ ~

~ he present invention relate~ to dispensing closures for ~quee~able containers.

Automatic dispensing closure valves for ~queezable containers include valves which open in re~ponse to greatsr than ambient pressure ins~de the container, ~he pressure forces the fluid in the container through the valve then through a discharge orifice to the ambient. To close the valve the valve either has to be manually returned to the closed position or, in some configurations, automatically return~ to the closed position. In the latter valves, various ~pring devices are provided which are placed under spring bias pressure when the valve opens. Upon re~uction~ of prss~ure in the container to ambient or les~, the spring bias pre~sure closes the valve. While it i8 more desirable to pro~ide auto-matic closure of the valve t~e addltional spring elements add to the cost and complexity of the apparatus.

In a closure embodying the present invention for a squeezable resilient container which during squeezing exhibits an interior pre~sure greater than atmospheric and during its return to the stable unsqueezed condition exhibits an interior pressure less th~n atmospheric, a valve i~ provided which includes first means in fluid communication with the interior and ambient responsive to the pres~ure differential produced by the greater interior pressure ~or placing the valve in the open

-2-Il 1t3"7595 valve condition and second means in fluid communication with the interior and ambient responsive solely to the pressure di~ferential created by the less than atmospheric pressure in the container for placing the valve in the closed valve condition.
The present invention is directed to a closure for dispensing a fluid stored in a squeezable resilient container.
The closure comprises a housing and a means for securing the housing in Eluid communication with the interior of the container. In addition, there is an annular tapered valve seatin the housing having a surface at a first smaller diameter which tapers toward a larger second diameter. The smaller diameter is closest to the interior of the container.
The closure also comprises a tapered annular valve member having a bottom surface and a tapered side surface.
The side surface complements the valve seat for providing a substantially fluid tight seal when seated in the closed valve position, and for providing a fluid passage at the interface between the member side surface and the seat when in the open valve position. A side of the member opposite the bottom surface is coupled to the outside atmosphere. The bottom surface and the interface are positioned in fluid communication with the stored fluid so that the fluid forced against the bottom surface displaces the member to the open valve position and the fluid enters into the interface in an annular continuous ring.
The closure also comprises fluid discharge conduit means in fluid communication with and between the interface and the outside atmosphere. Valve member displacement limiting means are connected to the housing for limiting the distance the member is permitted to displace from the closed valve position to the open valve position.

3 _ ~a7S95 This serves to provide a maximum clearance between the side surface and the seat at that value at which fluid in the interface tends to effectively seal the interface from ambient air when the container interior pressure is less than ambient pressure such that the pressure differential is sufficient to force the valve member to its closed valve position.
The valve member has a shoulder and the housing has a chamber adjacent the larger diameter. The shoulder is positioned within the chamber and the chamber has an upper wall which abuts the shoulder when the valve member is displaced to the open valve position for forming the displacement limiting means.
The housing may have a guide aperture aligned with the seat in a direction parallel to a line connecting the centers of the diameters. The closure may also include guide means extending from the valve member into the guide aperture.
The conduit means may be disposed between the guide means and the aperture.
The valve member may be ~otatably mounted in the seat.
In such a configuration, the upper wall is spaced a first distance from the larger diameter at one-annular loc~tion an amount sufficient to force the valve member to the closed position when the shoulder is at this first annular location.
The valve member is spaced a second distance greater than the first distance at a second annular location an amount sufficient to permit the valve member to displace to the open valve position when the shoulder is at the second annular location.

- 3a -~0~759~
The valve member may also include a stem extending from the valve member in the housing to the ambient atmosphere. The stem may include means for rotating the stem and the member. The stem, the valve member and the housing may include a valve locking means for locking the valve member in the closed valve position in one angular orientation. The valve locking means may also be used to release the valve member in a second different orientation.
The closure may also include an orifice in fluid communication with the interior of the container and the tapered valve seat, for distributing the fluid during the squeezing against the valve member and into the interface.
The discharge means may include a groove in the valve member and the stem in fluid communication with the interface for receiving fluid to be discharged to the atmosphere.
The housing may also include a chamber on one side of the valve member and an orifice on the other side of the valve member. In this configuration, the orifice is in fluid communication with the interior and the interface.
The chamber is in fluid communication with the discharge means and the interface. The chamber may have a sloping upper wall which at one angular position is closer to the valve member than at a second different angular position.
The valve member may include an upstanding ridge which engages the upper wall in the first angular position to force and lock the member in the closed valve position and which engages and abuts the upper wall in the second angular position when the valve member is in the open valve position.

- 3b -~CI`'375~5 IN THE DRAWING:

FIGURE 1 iS an elevation view of a closure embodying the present invention mounted on a squeezable container, FIGURE 2 iS a plan view of the closure of FIGURE l, FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of the closure of FIGURE 2 taken along Lines 3-3 showing the valve in the unlocked closed valve position, FIGURE 4 iS a perspective view of the valve, stem and discharge orifice of the closure of FIGURES 1 and 2, FIGURE 5 is a sectional view of the closure similar to the view of FIGURE 3 but with the valve in the closed and locked position, and FIGURE 6 is a sectional view of the closure and container in the inverted position dispensing a fluid from the container.

In FIGURE l, the closure 10 embodying the present inven-tion is illustrated as being usable with a plastic "squeeze"
container 12 for various fluids, including liquids and pastes and the like. By depressing the container 12 at the sides, the container depresses or "squeezes" as shown dashed. The sides ~ 75~5 1~
being resilient rsturn to their original ~tate (solid) when released~ The squeezed condition increase~ the pres~ure in the ¦
Gontainer above ambient and forces the contents from the container through the closure as will be described. ~he closure has a lock ~tate to prevent the contents of the container from discharging unintentionally in case of accidental squeezing as might occur during transit.

Container 12 has a threaded throat 14 on which the closure 10 is mounted via internal threads 16, FIGURE 3, formed in housing 18. The housing external to threads 16 ha~ ~erratio~s 20 to aid the user to mount and unmount the closure on the container. Any other fa~tening device~ may be used instead of threads as may be convenient ~or a par~icular implementation.
Housing 18 may b~ formed of any suitable material such as ? for example, thermoplastic~. :

Internal to housing 18 iB a tapered valve seat 22. Seat 22 has a frustro-conical ~hape with its smalle~t diameter 24 closest to container 12 and it~ largest diameter 26 furtherest fro~
container I2~ Seat 22 tapers outwardly and upwardly from diameter 24 to diameter 26. The slope of the seat surface i~
about 10 degrees with the vertical (top to bottom in th~
drawing~. Thi~ angle i~ not critical a~d can vary somewhat from this range which i~ given by way of example. Seat 22 ~urrounds and forms the side wal~ o~ a hollow cavity in 10"7595 housing 18.

Conduit 28 is centrally po~itioned within the circumference of diameter 24 and provides fluid communication between the cavity surrounded by seat 22 and the container 12 interior.
h circular recess 30 which i9 disc-like in ~hape i8 formed in the lower interior surface of housing 18 to form a raised annular washer-like lip 32. ~ip 32 engages the lip of the container 12 for sealing the container to housing 18. A gasket ring may also be u~ed to seal th~ lip of the container to housing 18.

~ he upper edge o~ seat 22 terminates a~ bottom circular wall 34 which joins c~lindrical up~tanding sid~ wall 36 to form an interior chamber 38 in housing 18 open to the cavity sur-rounded by seat 22. Chamber 38 h~s an upper ring-like coiling wall 40. Wa:Ll 40 has a sloped shape ~or provlding locXing action as will be described. Wall 40 along lines 3-3~ ~IGU~E 2, i~ spaced a distance d (t~e height of wall 36) from bottom ~all 34. Wall 40 along lin~s 3a-3a, ~IGURE 2, i8 spaced a distance d' (next to wall 36) from bottom wall 34, lines 3a-3a being 90 degrees from lines 3-3. Wall 40 tapers smoothly from distance d to di~tance d' in a continuous ~mooth downwardl~
facing shoulder. Thi~ ceiling wall 40 also ~lopes upwardl~
and radially inwardly from it~ outsr circumferenceO Di~tance d' is greater than distance-d as will be explained.

_5_ lOq7595 A cylindr~cal long~tud1n~1 ~tem ~ulde ap~rture 42 1~ ~ormed¦
in housing 18 open to chamber 38 at its lower end and to the ambient at its upper end. ~perture 42 is coaxial with the seat 22 and conduit 38 at the intersection of llnes 3-3 and 3a-3a when connected.

A valve, stem and knob assembly 44 is mounted in seat 22, chamber 38 and aperture 42. Assembly 44 is best seen in figure 4 and includes a tapered valve 46 which seats in and mates with seat 22. When ~ully seated in seat 22 the ~alve is closed and no fluid can pass in the interface between the valve 46 and seat 22. ~he bottom surface 48 of valve 46 i~ flat and is spaced from the housing lip 50 surrounding conduit 28 at the base of seat 22 when the valve is closed. The tapered ~urface 46r of valve 46 terminates at it~ upper extremity at sho~ider 52.
3houlder 52 tapers downwardly and radially outwardl~ ~rom ~ts more central portion to the tapered valve ~urface 46'. The taper of shou:lder 52 is similar to the taper in ceiling wall 40 of chamber 38 which tapers in complementar~ fashion.

Two radially extending ridges 54 and 56 are on shoulder 52 at diametrically opposite side~ o~ valve 46. ~hese ridges are molded integr~l with valve 46 in this example. When valve 46 is seated in seat 22 in the closed valve oondition and the ridges 54 and 56 are aligned along lines 3a-3a ther~ is a clearance distance between the ridges and ceiling wall 40 which ~LO"7595 permits the valve to displace in the direction of arrow 58.
That i8, wall 40 acts as a ~top for ~alve 46 limiting its dis-placement from ~eat 22 to a certain value whose lmportance will be explained later. When the valve is ro~ated 90 degree~ 80 that the ridges are align~d ~ith imaginary lines 3-3, FIGURE 2 9 the ridges 54,56 engage ceiling wall 40. Distance d i8 made that value such that there i9 a 81i ght interf~rence fit between ridges 54 and 56 and ceiling wall 40 when at this angular position and the valve is fully seated, Since the valve and ridges and hou~ing are made of a somewhat pliable material such as polypropelene or polyethelene, the slight interferenGe fit forces and locks the valve 46 in the closed valve position and excess pressure from within the container will not accidentall~
displace the valve 46 a~ar from the closed valve position. It does not matter ln which direotion ~alve 46 i~ rotated. Whe~
ridge~ 54,56 are in line with lin~s 3a-3a the valve may ope~, and with lines 3-3, the ~alve i8 locked closed.

Cylindrical ~tem 60 i~ integral with valve 46 and extends centrally upwardly from valve 46. Stem 60 fits closely withi~
aperture 42 an amount sufficient to prevent nuid from seeping between aperturs 42 and stem 46 but not so close as to prevent stem 60 from sliding in aper~ure 42~ Stem 60 ~erves as a guide for valve 46 to ensure that ~alve 46 seats properly in ~eat 22.

A longitudinQl fluid discharge channel 62 i~ ~ormed in a l, l l l ~

~ ~q75~S

side of stem 60 and extend~ through should~r 52 and terminates in the tapered Ride wall 46' of valve 46. A3 seen in FIGURE 3 channel 62 thus terminat~s at one end in chamber 38 and at the other end in the ambien~. Any ~luid under pressure in chamber 38 exits the chamber to the ambient between the channel 62 and the aperture 42 side wall.

A ilat knob 64 extends from stem 60 and i~ in the form of an arrow to indicate the locked (off) or unlocked (open) position of the valve 46 (FIGURE 2). Rotation of the knob 64 positions the valve in the desired locked or unlocked position~
In FIGURE 2, the knob 64 indicates the valve i8 in the unlocked (open) position of ~IGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 shows the valve rotated 90 degrees ~rom the position o~ FIGURES 2 and 3. In ~hi~ position the valve 46 is locked in the clo~ed valve position. Ridges 54 and 56 abut ceiling wall 40 and force valve 46 tightly into seat 22 Pressure within container 12 can not open the valve.

In FIGURE 6, the inverted assembly iB discharging a fluid 66, contalner 12 being squeezed to increase the internal pressure above ambient. The n uid flows throu~h conduit 28, impinges against valve 46 bottom ~urface 48, forcing the valve open in the direction of arrow 58. Fluid flows into the inter-face 68 between seat 22 and the tapsred valve ~ur~ace o~

lOq7595 valve 46. Because the conduit is centrally positioned and of sufficient flow capacity for the particular fluid, fluid enters into the interface 68 in an annular flow completely surrounding the tapered surface of ~alve 46 and filling the entire interface 68. ~hi~ occurs because the clearance C between seat 22 and valve 46 is sufficiently ~mall with respect to the volume of fluid flowing, that is, the internal pressure at the ~,ot~om 48 of valve 46 i~ sufficiently high with respect to the entire flow area at the interface 68, such that fluid tends to enter the entire circumferential area of the interface a~ the fluid emerges from conduit 28. The~e relationships can be readily determined empirically. , The distance d'! (FIGURE 3) i8 chosen to provide sufficient clearance space'for ridges 54 and 56 90 that clearance ~
(FIGURE 6) does not exceed a certain value. ~hat ~alue is one which permits interface 68 to be filled and remain filled in a~
annu,lar continuous ring around valve surface 46'~ during t~e squeeze and subsequent release actions.

It is to be under~tood that the clearance C is also a fknction of the fluid viscosity. A more ri~cous fluid~ for example, h~avy oil, flows less readily ~han a less viscou~
fluid such a~ water. Thus tha interface 68 flow area ~hould be made greater for more vi~cous flui~ than les~ viscous fluids to form the fluid sealing action. The interface 68 will remai~

lOg7595 sealed longer (with the container interior pressure at ambient) with a more viscous fluid than with a less vi~cous fluid for a given clearance. The time the fluld should remain in the inter-face as a seal is a matter of a few seconds until the valve 46 closes as the container pressure becomes le~s than ambient.
The amount of fluid in the interface is not cri~ical as long as the ~luid forms a continuous annular ring about valve 46 90 that ambient air does not immediately return to the container interior without fir~t closing valve 46.

This fiuid ring acts effectively a9 a s~al to ambient air attempting to retur~ to the container 12 interior via the inter-face 68. Since air can not easily return via this route due to the presence o~ the fluid in the interface, the greater pressure forces the valve 46 against seat 22, clo~in~ the valve auto-matically and without any spring.bias devices. Of course, after the valve 46 i3 seated, the higher embient pressure may tend to seep air through the closed interface 68 to equalize the pressure in the container 12 interior with the ambient since the seal ma~ not be a per~ect seal. This is acceptable. ~he valve will be effectively closed and will remain in that pQsitio~
until the container i8 again~squeezed. ~o prevent accidental discharge it can be locked, but that is not es~entiQl to placing the valve in the closed position. By way of example, ~or a mean seat diameter of 7/16 inchcs and a ~luid viscosity o~ about same as S.A.E.. 40 oil, the clearance 0 can have a value o~
abou~ 1/64 lohe~.

~0~7595 Thus wa 40 acts a~ a displacement limitlng device for ~alYe 46. This action ensure~ automatic closure of the valve upon dissipation of back pressure (greater than ambient) in conduit 28 and container interior and upon creation of a negative pressure (le~s than ambient) in conduit 28. This pressure shift results ~rom the natural return of container 12 from the squeezed (dashed-FIGURE 1) condition to the stable condition (solid-FIGURE 1~.

Claims (8)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A closure for dispensing a fluid stored in a squeezable resilient container comprising:
a housing, means for securing the housing in fluid communication with the container interior, an annular tapered valve seat in said housing having a surface at a first smaller diameter which tapers toward a larger second diameter, said smaller diameter being closest to said container interior, a tapered annular valve member having a bottom surface and a tapered side surface, said side surface complementing said valve seat for providing a substantially fluid tight seal when seated in the closed valve position and for providing a fluid passage at the interface between said member side surface and said seat when in the open valve position, a side of said member opposite said bottom surface being coupled to the ambient, said bottom surface and said interface being positioned in fluid communication with said stored fluid so that fluid forced against said bottom surface displaces said member to the open valve position and said fluid enters into said interface in an annular continuous ring, fluid discharge conduit means in fluid communication with and between said interface and the ambient, and valve member displacement limiting means connected to said housing for limiting the distance said member is permitted to displace from the closed valve position to the open valve position to provide a maximum clearance between said side - Page one of Claims -surface and said seat at that value at which fluid in said interface tends to effectively seal said interface from ambient air when tile container interior pressure is less than ambient pressure such that the pressure differential is sufficient to force said valve member to its closed valve position, said member having a shoulder, said housing having a chamber adjacent said larger diameter, said shoulder being positioned within said chamber, said chamber having an upper wall which abuts said shoulder when said member is displaced to the open valve position for forming said displacement limiting means.

2. The closure of claim 1 wherein said housing has a guide aperture aligned with said seat in a direction parallel to a line connecting the centers of said diameters, said closure further including guide means extending from said member into said guide aperture.

3. The closure of claim 2 wherein said conduit means is disposed between said guide means and said aperture.

4. The closure of claim 1 wherein said member is rotatably mounted in said seat, said upper wall is spaced a first distance from said larger diameter at one annular location an amount sufficient to force said member to the closed position when said shoulder is at said one location and a second distance greater than said first distance at a second annular location an amount sufficient to permit said valve member to displace to said open valve position when said shoulder is at said second annular location.

- Page two of Claims -

5. The closure of claim 1 wherein said valve member further includes a stem extending from said member in said housing to the ambient atmosphere, said stem including means for rotating said stem and said member, said stem and member and said housing including valve locking means for locking said member in the closed valve position in one angular orientation and for releasing said member in a second different orientation.

6. The closure of claim 5 wherein said closure further includes an orifice in fluid communication with said interior and said tapered valve seat for distributing said fluid during said squeezing against said valve member and into said interface.

7. The closure of claim 5 wherein said discharge means includes a groove in said valve member and said stem in fluid communication with said interface for receiving fluid to be discharged to said atmosphere.

8. The closure of claim 7 wherein said housing includes a chamber on one side of said member and an orifice on the other side of said member, said orifice being in fluid communi-cation with said interior and said interface, said chamber being in fluid communication with said discharge means and said inter-face, said chamber having a sloping upper wall which at one angular position is closer to said member than at a second different angular position, said member including an upstanding ridge which engages said upper wall in said one position to force and lock the member in the closed valve position and which engages and abuts said upper wall in said second position when said member is in the open valve position.

- Page three of Claims -