EP1268285A1 - Procede d'utilisation d'une tete de distribution pour un distributeur pressable - Google Patents

Procede d'utilisation d'une tete de distribution pour un distributeur pressable

Info

Publication number
EP1268285A1
EP1268285A1 EP01918597A EP01918597A EP1268285A1 EP 1268285 A1 EP1268285 A1 EP 1268285A1 EP 01918597 A EP01918597 A EP 01918597A EP 01918597 A EP01918597 A EP 01918597A EP 1268285 A1 EP1268285 A1 EP 1268285A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
valve
dispenser
bottle
spray
air
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP01918597A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Robert S. Schultz
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
AptarGroup Inc
Original Assignee
Emsar Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Emsar Inc filed Critical Emsar Inc
Publication of EP1268285A1 publication Critical patent/EP1268285A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B05—SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
    • B05B—SPRAYING APPARATUS; ATOMISING APPARATUS; NOZZLES
    • B05B1/00—Nozzles, spray heads or other outlets, with or without auxiliary devices such as valves, heating means
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D1/00—Containers having bodies formed in one piece, e.g. by casting metallic material, by moulding plastics, by blowing vitreous material, by throwing ceramic material, by moulding pulped fibrous material, by deep-drawing operations performed on sheet material
    • B65D1/32—Containers adapted to be temporarily deformed by external pressure to expel contents
    • B65D1/323—Containers adapted to be temporarily deformed by external pressure to expel contents the container comprising internally a dip tube through which the contents pass
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B05—SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
    • B05B—SPRAYING APPARATUS; ATOMISING APPARATUS; NOZZLES
    • B05B11/00—Single-unit hand-held apparatus in which flow of contents is produced by the muscular force of the operator at the moment of use
    • B05B11/01—Single-unit hand-held apparatus in which flow of contents is produced by the muscular force of the operator at the moment of use characterised by the means producing the flow
    • B05B11/04—Deformable containers producing the flow, e.g. squeeze bottles
    • B05B11/042—Deformable containers producing the flow, e.g. squeeze bottles the spray being effected by a gas or vapour flow in the nozzle, spray head, outlet or dip tube
    • B05B11/043—Deformable containers producing the flow, e.g. squeeze bottles the spray being effected by a gas or vapour flow in the nozzle, spray head, outlet or dip tube designed for spraying a liquid
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B05—SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
    • B05B—SPRAYING APPARATUS; ATOMISING APPARATUS; NOZZLES
    • B05B7/00—Spraying apparatus for discharge of liquids or other fluent materials from two or more sources, e.g. of liquid and air, of powder and gas
    • B05B7/02—Spray pistols; Apparatus for discharge
    • B05B7/10—Spray pistols; Apparatus for discharge producing a swirling discharge

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a dispensing head for a dispenser which is pressurized by squeezing the sides of the container. More particularly, the invention is directed to a dispensing head in which air and liquid are mixed to produce a fine spray, and in which there is a push-pull type valve arrangement for sealing off the dispensed liquid from the atmosphere when the dispenser is not in use.
  • squeeze bottle type sprayers have been used for many years, such sprayers were largely replaced for a long period of time by pressurized can dispensing systems.
  • One squeeze bottle dispenser which has come into use as a substitute for pressurized cans is described in U.S. Patent Nos . 5,183,186 and 5,318,205. These patents show a squeeze bottle dispenser in which an air passageway and a product (i.e., fluent material) passageway meet in a tapered mixing chamber.
  • the tapering of the mixing chamber direct the air flow at an angle to the flow of liquid, resulting in turbulence in the liquid in the mixing chamber. This turbulence breaks the liquid up and intimately mixes it with the air.
  • the disadvantage of this invention is that it requires the use of a relatively expensive ball valve for the liquid outlet, and liquid will leak out of the dispenser when the bottle is inverted, because the air path is completely open to fluid flow. Furthermore, in this arrangement, the outlet orifice and the air vent path allow air to be in continuous contact with the liquid to be dispensed. This can result in drying of the liquid substance- -a disadvantageous result which can clog the outlet orifice and prevent proper spraying.
  • a dispensing head for a dispenser with a push-pull type valve arrangement is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/073,615, which is incorporated by reference.
  • a squeeze bottle has a liquid flow path and an air flow path. When the bottle is squeezed, liquid is transmitted through the liquid flow path and pressurized air through the air flow path. These two flows meet in a mixing chamber which is located adjacent to an outlet orifice. The air and liquid mix to form a fine spray.
  • the disadvantage of this invention is that the pull knob is located opposite the outlet orifice. Furthermore, this invention allows air to be in continuous contact with the liquid to be dispensed.
  • a spray dispenser having a dip tube which can extend into a container, such as a squeeze bottle, holding a quantity of liquid.
  • the top of the dip tube is connected to a ball -check valve assembly having a ball which ordinarily rests on top of a conduit of restricted diameter.
  • An air passage in the spray dispenser can connect the inside of the bottle with a mixing chamber in the dispenser.
  • a separate product passage leads from the top of the ball-check to a mixing chamber and is directed toward a spray orifice in the mixing chamber.
  • the air passage is an annular passageway which is concentrically disposed around a portion of the product passage leading to the mixing chamber.
  • the product passage is formed in a valve which is housed in a body of the spray dispenser.
  • the valve may advantageously be formed as a push-pull valve which opens and closes the air and product passageways. In a closed position of the valve, both the product and air passageway are completely closed to the inside of the squeeze bottle, thereby preventing air from entering the inside of the squeeze bottle. The closing off of the passageways therefore reduces potential drying of the liquid product in the squeeze bottle.
  • Another advantage of the present invention is that it may be used to either dispense product as a steady stream or dispense product as an atomized mist. This is particularly advantageous when using a product such as cooking oil. A user may spray a fine mist to coat a pan, or may dispense larger amounts of oil by using the stream.
  • the spray housing is provided with a flexible skirt which extends into an annular groove on the bottle.
  • the annular groove exerts a radial force on the flexible skirt, which provides additional locking power for the snap on connection.
  • this allows the skirt wall to be made of thinner material, yet still provide sufficient locking power. Since the skirt wall can be made of thinner material, the neck can be manufactured with larger tolerances and the spray housing can still be mounted over the neck without requiring excessive force to push the dispenser housing over the neck. The larger tolerances allow the bottles to be made in various production plants worldwide. Furthermore, because the skirt is combined within the annular groove, the bottle / spray dispenser combination is more tamper resistant than traditional designs.
  • Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the push-pull spray head, illustrating the valve in a fully open position.
  • Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the push-pull spray head, illustrating the valve in a fully closed position.
  • Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view through line AA in Fig. 1, of the valve .
  • Figs. 4A, 4B and 4C show an alternative ball check valve.
  • Fig. 4A is a front view
  • Fig. 4B is a side view
  • Fig. 4C is a top view.
  • Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a spray housing retaining means .
  • Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the push-pull spray head, illustrating the method of dispensing a stream of a product.
  • the spray dispensing system of the present invention includes a squeezable bottle 1 (partially shown) holding a quantity of liquid or other fluent material.
  • Squeezable bottle can be made from any suitable resilient plastic material known in the art .
  • a spray dispensing device housing or sprayer body 17 is adapted to be mountable atop a neck 5 of a bottle 1 in any manner known to those skilled in the art.
  • the spray dispensing device housing 17 includes a dip tube 3 which is sized so that its bottom open end is disposed near the bottom of the bottle when the spray dispensing device is mounted on the bottle.
  • the top end of dip tube 3 receives a restricted conduit 6 of a ballcheck valve 7.
  • Restricted conduit 6 communicates with dip tube 3 so as to allow fluid to pass through.
  • the inner diameter of restricted conduit 6 is smaller than the diameter of ball 8 of ballcheck valve 7 so that ball 8 ordinarily sits atop restricted conduit 6.
  • the ballcheck valve 7 is closed so that the top end of dip tube 3 is also closed.
  • the inner diameter of the remainder of ballcheck valve 7 is larger than the diameter of ball 8. In this way ball 8 is free to move upward in response to upward movement of fluid in the dip tube to open ballcheck valve 7.
  • feed tube 9 The top of ballcheck valve 7 receives a coaxially disposed feed tube 9 which allows for the passage of fluid from restricted conduit 6 toward valve 10.
  • Feed tube 9 has an inner diameter which is smaller than the diameter of ball 8 so as to limit the movement of ball 8 in an upward direction.
  • Figs. 4A and 4B show an alternative construction of the ball check valve.
  • the inner diameter of the feed tube 9' is substantially the same as the remainder of ballcheck valve 7' .
  • a bar 29 is formed across the top of feed tube 9 ' .
  • Ball 8 ' is therefore free to move upward to open the ballcheck valve 7', but the movement is limited. Because the diameter of the feed tube is larger than the diameter of ball 8, product may flow freely past the ball.
  • feed tube 9 is an extension of a valve wall 11 of housing 17.
  • Feed tube 9 of valve wall 11 can communicate with a product passageway 12 within valve 10 when valve 10 is in an open position.
  • Valve wall 11 is also provided with an air orifice 13 which communicates with an annular air passageway 14.
  • the annular air passageway 14 is defined as the space between the body of slide housing 22 and the spray nozzle 21 so that it is concentrically disposed around the portion of the product passageway 12 which leads to the air swirl passages 15 in an axial horizontal direction.
  • Valve 10 is slidably received in the cavity between valve walls 11 and 18 of spray dispenser housing 17.
  • Valve 10 is constructed from two pieces, spray nozzle 21 and slide housing 22.
  • Spray nozzle 21 is secured, preferably using a snap connection, in slide housing 22.
  • Spray nozzle 21 includes a pull knob 26 which is grasped by the user to push and pull the slide valve 10 in the opening direction 0 and the closing direction C.
  • Tapered portions 19 and 20 of spray nozzle 21 define a cavity therebetween which shall be referred to as a mixing chamber 15.
  • the tapered portions 19 and 20 may define a cone.
  • a portion of the product passageway 12 leads to mixing chamber 15 in a generally horizontal direction.
  • the annular air passageway 14 is concentrically disposed around the portion of the product passageway 12 which leads to the mixing chamber 15 in a horizontal direction.
  • Tapered portions 19 and 20 terminate before meeting to define spray orifice 16 of mixing chamber 15.
  • the neck 5 of the bottle 1 has an annular ledge 41, and cooperates with the annular rim 28 on the spray dispenser housing 17 to secure housing 17 to bottle 1 when the housing is pressed onto the neck of bottle 1.
  • the housing may be sealed to the bottle by either a plug seal 30 or a gasket arrangement 31, as known to those skilled in the art.
  • the cap may be mounted to the bottle in the manner shown in Fig. 5.
  • the spray housing 17 has a first annular rim 32 with a first locking edge 37.
  • the bottle 33 has a neck 34.
  • the neck has a second annular rim 35 with a second locking ledge 36.
  • the first locking ledge 37 cooperates with the second locking ledge 36 to fasten the spray housing onto the bottle.
  • annular groove 38 there is an annular groove 38 at the connection between the neck 5 and the bottle 1.
  • the skirt 39 of the spray housing extends into this groove.
  • a gasket 40 between the housing and the rim of the neck to provide a substantially fluid tight seal.
  • a plug seal may be utilized to form the fluid tight seal .
  • slide housing 22 is housed within the cavity between valve walls 11 and 18 of housing 17.
  • Slide housing 22 is slidable along its longitudinal axis between a completely open position (Fig. 1) and a completely closed position (Fig. 2).
  • the product passageway 12 is not aligned with the feed tube 9, and air passageway 14 is not aligned with the air orifice 13.
  • slide housing 22 completely seals off feed tube 9 and air orifice 13.
  • Slide housing 22 is slideably removed within valve walls 11 and 18 of housing 17.
  • a rim 23 on housing 17 restrains the inward and outward movement of the slide housing.
  • Stem portion 24 is integrally molded with the slide housing 22 via radial ribs 25 which created passages for air to flow between slide housing and the radial ribs 25. As shown in FIG. 3, radial ribs 25 are preferably at a 450 angle to allow for a resilient fit. Product passageway 12 passes through stem portion 24.
  • End wall 27 of housing 17 is adapted to receive stem portion 24. In a closed position, side wall 27 and plug seal 50 completely seal off product passageway 12.
  • the spray dispensing device of the invention as used with a squeeze bottle will now be explained by describing the path of fluid and air.
  • the spray dispensing device may be utilized in one of two manners. In the first manner, the bottle is placed in an upright position so that it dispenses a fine mist of product. In the second manner, the bottle is placed in an inverted position so that it dispenses a stream of product. Both manners of use will now be described, beginning with the manner of dispensing a fine mist of product.
  • the pressure inside the bottle increases urging fluid 2 up dip tube 3. Fluid is forced through restricted conduit 6 and pushes ball 8 upward off the top of
  • the annular air passageway 14 leads to the mixing chamber in a horizontal direction and communicates with the mixing chamber 15 at a location which is directly opposite the tapered or conical section 19, 20 of the mixing chamber. Tapered portions 19, 20 direct the annular air stream from passageway 14 at the acute angle to the central horizontal stream of liquid from passageway 12.
  • the annular stream of air converges and impinges upon the core stream of liquid at a point in proximity to the spray orifice 16.
  • the liquid is subjected to considerable turbulence which breaks it up and intimately mixes it with the air. The result is that a fine spray is propelled out of orifice 16 which exhibits a circular and symmetrical spray pattern wherein the droplets exhibit a symmetrical particle size distribution.
  • Fluid 2 travels through the mixing chamber 15 and exits through the spray orifice 16. The result is that a stream is propelled out of orifice 16, thereby dispensing a relatively large amount of fluid 2 as compared to the amount dispensed when the dispenser is used to dispense a fine spray.
  • Fig. 6 illustrates a dispenser with a rotatable valve, but the method may also be used with any suitable dispenser, such as the push-pull type valve dispenser previously described.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Ceramic Engineering (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Containers And Packaging Bodies Having A Special Means To Remove Contents (AREA)
  • Nozzles (AREA)
  • Application Of Or Painting With Fluid Materials (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un distributeur pressable comprenant des voies de passage (13, 12) permettant d'acheminer des flux d'air et de liquide vers une chambre de mélange (15) dans laquelle le liquide est fragmenté en gouttelettes est diffusé sous la forme d'une pulvérisation fine à travers un orifice (16). Le distributeur est pourvu d'une soupape va-et-vient (10). Le distributeur diffuse une pulvérisation fine dans une position verticale et un flux dans une position inversée.
EP01918597A 2000-03-14 2001-03-13 Procede d'utilisation d'une tete de distribution pour un distributeur pressable Withdrawn EP1268285A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US52477900A 2000-03-14 2000-03-14
US524779 2000-03-14
PCT/US2001/007929 WO2001068455A1 (fr) 2000-03-14 2001-03-13 Procede d'utilisation d'une tete de distribution pour un distributeur pressable

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1268285A1 true EP1268285A1 (fr) 2003-01-02

Family

ID=24090626

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP01918597A Withdrawn EP1268285A1 (fr) 2000-03-14 2001-03-13 Procede d'utilisation d'une tete de distribution pour un distributeur pressable

Country Status (7)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1268285A1 (fr)
KR (1) KR20020087075A (fr)
AU (1) AU2001245655A1 (fr)
BR (1) BR0109221A (fr)
CA (1) CA2403054A1 (fr)
MX (1) MXPA02009088A (fr)
WO (1) WO2001068455A1 (fr)

Families Citing this family (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6708901B2 (en) 2001-01-12 2004-03-23 Johnsondiversey, Inc. Multiple function dispenser
KR100922339B1 (ko) * 2007-12-14 2009-10-21 (주)플라즈마텍 전기집진방식을 이용한 미세입자 포집장치용 미세 분무장치
US9061302B1 (en) * 2014-03-19 2015-06-23 Arganius E. Peckels Liquid pourer device with venturi effect
US10022023B2 (en) 2015-04-07 2018-07-17 Vi-Jon, Inc. Dispenser assembly
FR3071752B1 (fr) 2017-10-02 2022-07-22 Oreal Capsule a ouverture par traction equipee d’une reprise d’air
DE102021104813A1 (de) * 2021-03-01 2022-09-01 F+K Innovationen Gmbh & Co. Kg Dosiereinheit für ein Flüssigkeitsbehältnis

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2980342A (en) * 1957-09-05 1961-04-18 Plax Corp Liquid spray dispenser
US4278206A (en) * 1979-04-13 1981-07-14 Ae Development Corporation Non-pressurized dispensing system
US4730751A (en) * 1986-05-16 1988-03-15 Leonard Mackles Squeeze bottle powder dispenser
US5183186A (en) * 1991-08-15 1993-02-02 Emson Research Inc. Spray dispensing device having a tapered mixing chamber

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
See references of WO0168455A1 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
BR0109221A (pt) 2004-06-22
MXPA02009088A (es) 2003-12-11
AU2001245655A1 (en) 2001-09-24
CA2403054A1 (fr) 2001-09-20
KR20020087075A (ko) 2002-11-21
WO2001068455A1 (fr) 2001-09-20

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