GB1587087A

GB1587087A - Valve arrangements for containers of fluid under presure

Info

Publication number: GB1587087A
Application number: GB92/78A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Application des Gaz SA
Current assignee: Application des Gaz SA
Priority date: 1977-01-10
Filing date: 1978-01-03
Publication date: 1981-03-25
Also published as: JPS6228358B2; BR7800041A; NL7714586A; IT1089096B; FR2376982B1; SE7800099L; GR62053B; DE2800702A1; FR2376982A1; JPS53107715A; ES465853A1

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN VALVE ARRANGEMENTS FOR CONTAINERS OF FLUID UNDER PRESSURE (71) We, APPLICATION DES GAZ, a Société Anonyme organised under the laws of France, of 15 Rue Ghateaubriand, 75008 Paris, France, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- The present invention relates to improvements made to valves intended for closing a container of fluid under pressure, more particularly gas in the liquid and/or gaseous phase, which valve can permit the easy dispensing of the said fluid and also the filling of the container.

A device of this kind is more particularly, although not exclusively, intended to be associated with a gas cartridge or aerosol can.

In French Patent No. 1,258,284 a valve of this kind is described which comprises firstly a metal seat disposed in the top part of a container, secondly a sealing valve mounted to bear elastically against the said seat and consisting of a metal cup in which a seal is disposed, thirdly an elastic metal blade or element forming a spring and having a fixed portion fastened to the wall of the container, and another movable portion supporting the valve and causing the latter (or more precisely its seal) to bear against the metal seat.

A valve of this kind has a certain number of disadvantages, including the fact that the shape of its spring does not enable the valve to open wide, and that this spring must obligatorily be fixed flat to the top end piece of the container.

The improvements which form the object of the present invention seek to obviate these disadvantages and to permit the construction of a three-piece valve, particularly for a pressurized container, which will comply better than hitherto with the various practical desiderata. The invention relates in particular to a valve whose seat closes the opening of a container and through which either a gas extraction means or a push-rod for filling the container can be passed.

A valve in accordance with this invention comprises a seat, a movable sealing member mounted so as to bear elastically against the seat, a spring having a fixed portion fixed in relation to the said seat and another movable portion supporting the movable sealing member, characterised in that the spring is of wire having a shape permitting axial and radial retraction of the movable sealing member relatively to the seat.

The accompanying drawings, which is given by way of example, will enable the invention, the characteristics which it possesses, and the advantages which it can provide, to be better understood.

Figure 1 is a cross-section of a valve constructed in accordance with the invention, in the closed position, Figure 2 illustrates a preferred form of the spring acting on the movable member of the valve shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a section on a very large scale of the movable valve member shown in Figure 1, showing on the one hand its face cooperating with the gas extraction means, and on the other hand the manner in which it is associated with the corresponding end of the spring; Figure 4 is a similar view to Figure 1 but shows the valve in the open position, and Figure 5 is a cross-section of a preferred construction of the seal of the device according to the invention.

Figure 1 shows a valve device 1 according to the invention, which is placed in the central aperture 2a of the sheet metal cup 2 of a container 3, part of which is shown in dash-dot lines.

The cup 2 has a circular depression 2b in the centre of which the opening 2a is provided.

The latter is bordered by a rolled edge 2c situated below the level of the horizontal bottom 2d of the cup 2.

A seat or seal 4 made of elastic material, such as for example a synthetic or natural elastomer, is engaged by a force fit in the opening 2a in the cup. This seat has a cylindrical portion 4a whose upper face is curved and in which a peripheral groove 4b is provided. The bottom of the seat 4 is in the form of a cylindrical base 4c whose diameter is greater than that of the cylindrical portion 4a. A longitudinal central passage 4d is in addition provided in the seat 4.

The seat being engaged by a force fit in the opening 2a of the cup, the rolled edge 2c of the latter is sealingly engaged in the groove 4b of the seat 4, while its cylindrical base 4c cooperates with the inner bottom face of the rolled edge 2c.

The other parts constituting the valve of the invention are a movable valve member 5 mounted so as to bear elastically against the seat 4, and a spring 6 intended to act on this movable valve member.

The spring 6 is made in the form of a wire spring of circular section, comprising an unclosed upper ring 6a adapted to be engaged elastically inside the rolled edge 2c (Figure 1), one end of the said ring being extended by a horizontal portion 6b followed by a first downwardly directed branch 6c; at the end of this branch at least one loop 6d is formed which is continued by a second, horizontal branch 6e provided with a short vertical end of the axis of which is concentric to the ring 6a.

It will be realized that a spring of this kind can be substantially deformed so as to permit axial and radial retraction of the movable valve member 5 in relation to the seat 4, this being of considerable interest because losses of head of the gas flow can thus be practically elminiated, as will be more fully explained later on. Furthermore, because of the retraction of the valve with the aid of a bent extraction element it is possible to extract the gas either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase when the container is recumbent. Moreover, the radial equiresistance of the metal wire constituting the spring ensures axial centring of the movable valve member in relation to the seat. Obviously, the spring could have a different general shape provided that it permits the axial and radial retraction of the movable valve member.

The movable valve member 5, which is in the form of a circular disc, comprises on the one hand a central portion 5f serving as support face for the extraction tube 7 (Figure 4), and on the other hand a peripheral lip Sc which projects slightly in relation to the portion 5f providing the seal between the member 5 and the seat 4. The central portion 5f is provided with an upper face Sa (Figure 3) provided uniformly with fine grooves 5b of rectangular profile and directed parallel to one another.It is thus unnecessary to provide lateral apertures on the extraction element 7 which is driven into the passage 4d in the seat 4, since the gas can arrive at the mouth of the bottom aperture of the tube 7 by passing through the channels formed by the grooves in the movable valve member, or inversely in the case of filling.

Provision is made for giving the central grooved portion 5f of the movable valve member 5 a substantially larger diameter than that of the extraction element 7, so that any eccentricity that may occur after fitting or in the course of operation between these two elements 5 and 7 will have no effect on the correct operation of the valve. The peripheral lip Sc ("Figure 1), which projects slightly upwards in relation to the face 5a and whose cross-section has an ogival shape with a section increasing progressively in the downward direction, consequently forms a circular edge intended to come into contact with the bottom face of the seat 4.

In this manner, despite the relatively large surface of the movable valve member, the specific pressure of the latter against its seat remains great.

The movable valve member is provided with a central blind hole 5d in which the end 6f of the spring 6 can engage with a certain clearance, this hole being extended downwards by a radially widened portion 5e. A ball joint effect is thus created for the movable valve member 5, enabling the latter to cooperate fully with the seat 4.

As shown in Figure 4, when the extraction element 7 (which may moreover also be a filling tube) is driven downwards in the passage 4d the action of the bottom end of this element 7 on the grooved face 5a of the movable valve member 5 enables the latter to be positioned sufficiently obliquely in relation to the horizontal to uncover a substantial portion of the mouth of the said element 7 thus considerably reducing the losses of head of the gas, as previously indicated above.

Figure 5 shows a preferred form of the seal associated with the movable valve member of the invention. This seal, which is made of a synthetic or natural elastomer, has been given the general reference 8. Above its base 9, which is made in the same manner as the base 4c of the seal 4 previously described, it is provided with a rounded head 10. At the junction of these two elements is situated a groove 11 intended to receive sealingly the rolled edge 2c of the cup 2. The head 10, which has a diameter slightly smaller than that of the base 9, thus constitutes a kind of annular bead because of the presence of the central longitudinal passage 12 intended for the passage of the tube 7.

The passage 12 has the shape of a tulip 12a widened out towards the top, its bottom portion having a construction 12b which leads into the base of a frustoconical portion 12c opening out in the downward direction. Thus, when the tube 7 passes through the passage 12, sealing is effected at the constriction 12b, which is compressed centrifugally so that its reaction will vigorously apply its periphery against that of the tube, acting like an O-ring.

A three-piece valve has thus been produced whose cost price is very low and which nevertheless has a large number of technical advantages over similar devices existing on the market.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A valve for a container of pressurised fluid comprising a seat, a movable sealing member mounted so as to bear elastically against the seat, a spring having a fixed portion fixed in relation to the said seat and another movable portion supporting the movable sealing member, characterised in that the spring is of wire having a shape permitting axial and radial retraction of the movable sealing member relatively to the seat.

2. A valve according to Claim 1 mounted on a container for pressurised fluid, characterised in that on the one hand the opening of the container is bordered by a rolled edge and that on the other hand the fixed portion of the wire spring has a shape adapted to engage elastically inside the rolled edge.

3. A valve according to Claim 2, characterised in that the seat consists of an elastic seal, known per se, having a central channel for extraction and/or introduction of fluid, a base serving as support for the movable sealing member, and a peripheral groove in which the rolled edge is sealingly engaged.

4. A valve according to Claim 2, characterised in that the movable sealing member comprises on the one hand a central portion serving as support face for a fluid extraction and/ or filling means, and on the other hand a peripheral lip which projects in relation to the central portion and which is intended to bear against the seat.

5. A valve according to Claim 4, characterised in that the central portion of the movable sealing member has a relatively finely uniformly grooved surface.

6. A valve according to Claim 4, characterised in that the section of the central portion of the movable sealing member is substantially larger than that of the extraction and/or filling element.

7. A valve according to Claim 4, characterised in that the section of the peripheral lip has an ogival shape, so that it bears against the seat through the medium of an edge of progressively increasing section.

8. A valve according to Claim 1, characterised in that the end of the wire spring supporting the movable sealing member is engaged in an opening in the centre of the said movable sealing member, this opening consisting of a blind hole extended by a radially widened portion opening onto the bottom face of the said movable sealing member.

9. A valve according to Claim 3, characterised in that the elastic seal has a rounded head situated above its face, the groove receiving the rolled edge being disposed at their junction, while its central passage has a tulip shape widening out in the upward direction and having a bottom constriction leading into a part which is open towards the bottom.

10. A valve for closing a container of fluid under pressure, substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. whose cost price is very low and which nevertheless has a large number of technical advantages over similar devices existing on the market. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A valve for a container of pressurised fluid comprising a seat, a movable sealing member mounted so as to bear elastically against the seat, a spring having a fixed portion fixed in relation to the said seat and another movable portion supporting the movable sealing member, characterised in that the spring is of wire having a shape permitting axial and radial retraction of the movable sealing member relatively to the seat.