IE57047B1 - Plastic dispensing container - Google Patents

Abstract

A fluid dispensing container and method for its manufacture is disclosed. The container has an upper (12) and a lower (14) portion defining an enclosed chamber (53). The upper and lower portions are sealed together. An expandable pouch for generating pressurizing gas (56) is contained within the enclosed chamber. A dispensing valve (30) is provided housed in a receptacle (26) molded into the upper portion. In one embodiment, a cylindrical guard (27) molded to the upper portion extends downwardly from the receptacle and is disposed around the valve. A cap (33) frictionally secured to the guard retains the dispensing valve in the receptacle and closes off the cylindrical guard. The guard or cap (33) includes suitable apertures (62) for allowing fluid to reach the valve for dispensing fluid. The guard and cap prevent the expandable bag from interfering with the operation of the dispensing valve. A method of manufacturing the container is also disclosed

Description

The present invention relates to the field of containers for dispensing fluids under pressure. Hors particularly, the invention relates to a plastic container for dispensing fluids under pressure which is adapted to employ an expandable bag to generate the expulsion pressure within the container.

Containers for dispensing fluids under pressure have traditionally fit into two categories: (1) pressurised containers, such as the common aerosol container, in which Jo constant pressure is exerted on the fluid to he expelled both during use and non-use; and (2) pump-typ© containers in which the user creates the expulsion pressure during use by manual actuation of a pump apparatus. Commercially suitable p^aptype containers have been constructed from a variety of materials. Including metals, glass, ceramics and plastics, among others. Sines the expulsion pressure is only developed during times of actual use in these containers, complete gas impermeability has not been a design requirement.

In oontreat, commercially available pressurised 2o containers have almost exclusively been constructed of metal« By and larges gas propellants within the container have provided the requisite pressure for expelling the fluid contents of the container upon actuation of a valve mechanism. Gas Impermeability has therefor been a prime requirement for such containers® and since techniques for SB forming gas impermeable seals in ©etel containers have long been successful, aet&X containers! have prevailed.

IHetal dispensing containers do possess disadvantages, however., not the least of which are high material costs and manufacturing complexity. Further, such octal containers generally employ mounting cups in which the valve assembly Is mounted and which oust be crimped to the top portion of the container» Consequently, efforts have been made to produce pressurized dispensing containers made from other materials, especially plastics. To date, however„ these efforts have mot resulted in an entirely satisfactory alternative to the pressurised metal container.

For example, U.S. Patent Bo. 3,1*0,802 discloses a pressurised dispensing container which Includes a collapsible bag and a separate compartment into which an expandable fluid, such as -Freon" ia placed. The bag Is seated securely in a container which m&y be constructed of plastic, and attached to the side wall of the container by an adhesive or by heat sealings. (Col» 3, lines 4-7). The lower surface of the bag is adjacent to a cradl«w which forms one wall of the Freon-containing compartment» tloles are formed In the cradle so that the expanding gas can exert pressure on the exterior surface of the bag and cause its contents to be expelled when the valve of the container is actuated. This arrangement represents an att'Wpt to separate the fluid contents to be expelled froa the container ires the pressure-produaing gas propellant and thus reduce the number of sealing locations where the gas ©an escape» The seals between the bag and the interior wall of the container and the lower portion of the container thus d become critical in assuring that the gas propellant does not escape into the atmosphere» U.S. Patent Boa. 3Ββ9δ9595 and 397919557 are representative of an alternative approach to the solution of the gas permeability problems which have heretofore been endemic to pressurised ple^tic dispensing containers. Both of these patents disclose pressurised dispensing containers in which the pressure is developed on the fluid to be expelled by the contraction of an elastic bladder In which io the fluid la contained. The former patent states that one of the advantages of a bladder-type container such as the one disclosed therein is that the container assembly can be made of plastic. (Colo is lines 34-38). B?>adder-typ® containers thus solve the gas permeability problem by eliminating gas as a propellant altogether. Quit® obviouslyB the structural integrity and contrasting characteristics of the bladder material are limiting factors on the suitablity of this type of container for commercial use.

British Patent Publication No. 2,101,225 discloses a plastic dispensing container which, like the common metal aerosol container„ uses a gas propellant mixed In with the fluid to be expelled to create the requisite expluslon pressure. Xn this eassB an attempt is made to aiolve the gas permeability problem by a variety of mealing arrangements between the valve assembly portion of the container and the vessel portion. ,¾ metal valve cup Is used in the preferred embodiment and sealing is accomplished by crimping the metal over the plastic rim or "bead·· of the vessel portion of the container. s • 5 US-A-4 376 500 discloses an aerosol-type liquid dispensing container in which internal pressure for expelling the contents of the container upon actuation of the valve is provided by an expandable bag located within the chamber in which the liquid to be expelled is retained. The bag contains compositions which when reacted together generate a gas» thereby inflating the bag and causing the bag to exert pressure upon the contents to be expelled from the container· To prevent the expansion of the bag from blocking release of any portion of the fluid contents within the chamber» a tube may be included within the chamber to provide a clear passage for expulsion of the last remaining fluid within the container a® the bag reaches its fully expanded condition· Patent Specification No. discloses a similar dispensing system and in which the container has an open upper end closed and sealed by a cover screwed on to the container and having a central valvo controlled outlet· No provision ia made for protecting the valve from being enveloped by the expandable bag and thereby blocked.

This invention provides a container for dispensing fluid contained therein which comprises: a lower portion formed of a pressure-rssistiant fluid-impermeable synthetic plastic material, said lower portion having a bottom closed end, and side walls extending upwardly from said closed end and terminating to form a substantially fully open end; expandable bag means adapted to be inserted Into the open end of said lower portion of said container without io any substantial crushing thereof; an upper portion formed of a pressure-resistant fluid-impermeable synthetic plastic material, said upper portion having a top end, aide walls extending downwardly from said top end and terminating to for© a substantially fully open end sized for mating with said open end of said lower portion; sealing means for joining said lower portion and said upper portion to fora a single fluid-impermeable chamber; dispensing valve means for releasing fluid from said chamber; receptable means molded in said top end of said upper portion adapted to receive said dispensing valve means; &nd ιί closure means for retaining said valve means in said receptable means and including openings therein to permit the fluid to pass from said chamber to said valve aeana,, said closure means being disposed about an end of the valve means in communication with the fluid within said chamber to restrain said expandable bag means from interfering with said valve means and the dispensing of fluid therefrom; said closure means comprising guard means depending from the tup end of a said upper portion to encircle the valve means with a cap means at the lower end thereof and said openings being formed in the guard means Thus the present invention provides an improved plastic pressurised dispensing container in which the need for the cumbersome bag and bladder arrangements and the relatively complex and costly sealing arrangements shown in the prior art is eliminated. Moreover, the present container is made entirely of plastic aside from the valve components and possesses a minimal number of component parts, thus simplifying manufacture. The reduced cost and simplicity of the container of the invention makes it much more suitable for large-scale commercial use than both eaet&l and plastic containers in the prior art.

The plastic container of the invention includes two essential component parts, an upper portion which house the valve mechanism necessary for dispensing of the fluid product, and a lower portion which when sealed to the top means forms the chamber in which the fluid to be dispensed is retained. The dispensing valve is housed in the upper portion of the container in a receptable formed preferably by injection molding, thus eliminating the need to seat the H) valve assembly within a mounting cup and crimp the cup to the top of the container in manufacture.

© In order to permit the most efficient utilization of space end simplify manufacture each of the structural components of the container are shaped such that they will nest together in cup fashion. In the assembly process for the preferred embodiment, a cup-like bottom means from a nested stack Is fed onto the assembly line and conveyed to a station where the fluid to be dispensed Is poured into it and then conveyed to a further station where the expandable bag is dropped into the open mouth of that bottom means. The lower portion of the container Into which the expandable bag is inserted is formed with an unobstructed or generally full opening. Xn this manner, the expandable bag may be Inserted without any sideways crushing necessary to facilitate insertion into conventional aerosol containers having narrow openings.

At the next two stations, the top means of the container Is first seated onto the open mouth of the bottom means and then welded to the bottom means by a suitable plastic welding process, such as ultrasonic welding, spin welding or friction welding. Once the top means is sealed to the bottom means, assembly Is complete. The sealing requirements for such a container are such that the generated seal must be capable of sustaining fluid pressure of at least 172.3 x 10 N/rom (twenty-five pounds per square inch) without any substantial amount of fluid leakage.

© The container which may further include rib means integrally formed along the interior side wall of said lower portion for preventing said fluid from becoming trapped within caid chamber by said expandable bag means as said bag means expands.

In accordance with any of the above arrangements said lower portion may have a rounded closed end and said container may further include base cup means into which said rounded closed end of said lower portion ia disposed» for supporting said lower portion in an upright position.

IO Said receptacle means may comprise an upwardly extending generally cylindrical housing adapted to conform to the body of said valve means» said valve means may have an upwardly extending valve stem, said cylindrical housing may have an aperture in the upper end thereof to facilitate passing of the valve stem therethrough.

The latter construction may further include resilient means disposed between naid clooure means and said valve means for urging said valve means into a sealing relation with an upper end of said cylindrical housing.

In any of the above arrangements said depending guard means extending downwardly into said chamber from said receptacle means may be molded in said top end of said upper portion and forming a lower edge, and said cap means may be secured to said lower edge of said guard means.

The following io a description of some specific embodiments of the invention, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals indicate similar parts, and in which: FIG. 1 Illustrates a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of £ plastic dispensing container in accordance with the Invention; FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the 5 plastic dispensing container of FIG. 1 taken along line 2-2 » of FIG. 1, showing the fluid to be dispensed and the expandable bag in place within the interior of the container; * PIG. 3 illustrates a top view of the plastic dispensing container of FIG. Is io FIG. illustrates a cross-sectional view of the plastic dispensing container of FIG. 1 taken along line of FIG. 2; FIG. 5 illustrates a detailed view in perspective of the valve assembly and surrounding structure of the container of the Invention; FIG. 6 illustrates an exploded view of the structural components of the plastic dispensing container of FIG. 1p and the expandable bag used therewith? JL 1 FIG» 7 illustrates a detailed view in cross-section of the interface between the two basic components of the container of the Invention* this the top and bottom means of the container of FIG. 1; FIG. 8 Illustrates an exploded view of the structural components of the valve assembly &nd closure means enclosing the valve assembly; FIG. 9 illustrates an exploded view of an alternative embodiment of the valve (w3®sibly closure means; io FIG. 9b illustrates an exploded view of & further alternative embodiment of the valve assembly closure means; FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional view of a nested stack of top means of the plastic dispensing container of the Invention shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 11 shows a cross-sectional view of a nested stack of bottom ae&ns of the plastic dispensing container of the Invention shown In FIG Is FIG. 12 shows a cross-sectional view of a nested stack of base cup means of the plastic dispensing container of the invention shown In FIG 1; FIG. 13 illustrates th® assembly sequence for the preferred embodiment of the plastic dispensing container of the Invention; and FIG. 1« illustrates a cross-sectional view of an alternative container embodiment utilising the top means of the plastic dispensing container. deferring now to the drawings* the preferred enbodicofit of the plastic dispensing container of the invention is shown ia FXG3. 1~S* 5 and 9-Π, and is i s designated generally by reference numeral 10. FIGS. 1-4 show various views of container 10 in its fully-assembled condition while ^1G. 6 ahows an exploded view of the structural components of container 10. Container 10 includes two basic structural components, top means 12 and bottom means 14. Top means 12 generally takes the for® of a tapered cap, having a wide open lower portion 16 and a narrower upper portion 18. Lower portion 16 tapers outwardly to fora the widest dimension of the top means 12, and terminates in a io depending flange 20 whose purpose will be hereinafter described.

Upper portion 18 of top means 12 includes a wide transverse groove, or recess, 22 having a substantially flat bottom wall 24. Bottom wall 24 includes a cylindrical b housing 26 in the center thereof having an aperture 28 therein.

Cylindrical housing 26, which forms a receptable for the valve assembly, is Integrally molded with the bottom wall 24 of the top 12 and extends upward therefrom. The 2o interior of cylindrical housing 26 Is sised to receive © conventional valve assembly which may b® either of th® saale or female type. Extending downward from and integrally molded with bottom wall 24 is a cylindrical guard 27 encircling the valve assembly &nd which includes, as described in greater detail below, o. holding means for retaining the valve assembly within the receptable 26» Counted within housing 26 Is a spring-loaded aerosol spray valve assembly 30P including valve stem '32, which as mentioned may be either male or female. Any 3o suitable spray head (not shown) way be caounted on valve stem 3 to impart flow characteristics which are appropriate for the fluid b*sing dispensed and the end use to which the fluid Is being put* The width dimension of recess 22 is chosen so that the finger of any user of the container oay easily gain access to the valve kteans 30. Recess 22 provides protection for valve scans 30 when the container is not in actual use, and also Insures that the fluid being expelled from the container will not travel in a direction which the user does not Intend. io The manner in which valve assembly 30 is retained within the cylindrical receptable 26 and guard 27 is best depicted In PIGS. 8 and 9. Valv© assembly 30 is positioned within cylindrical housing 26 with the stem 32 aligned to extend through aperture 28 and the seal 29 which abuts L5 against the inside of the top wall of roceptable 26. ^alve ©tea 32 includes a hoi© 32ap so that when the valve stem is depressed by a userp the hoi© will be disposed below seal 29& allowing fluid to enter the hole to bo dispensed. Valve assembly 30 is urged Into an abutting sealing relation with receptole 26 by «cans of a compression spring 31 which engages the bottom of valve assembly body 30b* Looking of the valve assembly 30 within the receptable 26 Is accomplished by eoana of & cap 33 which is fastened to the guard or skirt 27 and which holds compression spring 31 against valve assembly 30« Gap 33 Includes * eyllndrloal ridge 33a which serve» to center ©prlng 31* Xej order to allow fluid arterial to bo dispensed to enter the valve assi-sablyw apertures 62 are provided in guard £7* Gap 33 nay be bonded to the depending skirt 27 by aeane of a pi a or sonic welding « will be described below. iL4> An alternative mounting of cap 33 to skirt 27 is depicted in FXG. 9. Ears 33c are positioned about the periphery of cap and include grooves 33d which engage and mate with the rib 27a extending about the periphery of skirt 27. An alternative frictional mounting of the cap Is depicted in FIG. 9a, A plurality of frictional gripping members 33® are positioned on the upwardly extending wall 33f of cap 33.

Gripping members 33©e which are preferably metal, engage and .1 bite into the outer surface of skirt 27 and thus hold spring against valve assembly 30, Cap 33 and wall 33f thereof may further be provided with holes 33g to allow for material flow from the container into the valve assembly.

Alternatively, instead of forming guard 27 integrally with top means 12, guard 27 could be formed Integrally with cap 33 and suitable mounting means could be provided on the top means 12, such as those already discussed or variations thereof.

Utilization of the valve assembly and its mounting within the integrally molded receptacle 26 eliminates the need for the valve mounting cups used in the prior art.

Further, the assembly described herein eliminates the step of crimping the mounting cup to the container which has heretofore created numerous problems associated with leakage particularly when the container has been dropped.

Bottom means 14 comprises a generally cup-shaped ^esisel which is tapered from a relatively wide open end 38 to a narrower closed end 40» Xn the preferred embodiment, closed end 40 is rounded to sect within a base cup means 42 which will b@ hereinafter described. How©ver& it should be understood that closed end 40. a«y in the Alternative have ® ILS flat bottom or other configuretion that will enable bottom n-sans 1« %q stand upright without support's is best seen In FIGS. 2 and 7e bottom means 14 includes near its open end 38 a laterally extending shoulder 44 which surrounds the outer periphery of bottom means 14· With reference particularly to FIG. 7„ which illustrates the inter facie between top means 12 and bottom means 14 prior to weldinge shoulder 44 is located at a distance below the rim 46 of the open end of bottom means 14 which is approximately equal to the distance which flange 20 of top means 12 extends below rim 48 of top means 12· Located at the edge of rim 46 of bottom means 14 is a bead 50. In the process of welding the top and bottom means of container 10 together® bead 50 is partially melted to fora a weld between rie 48 of top means 12 and rim 46 of bottom means 14. When welding Is complete5 the lower end of flange 20 rests upon the upper surface of shoulder 44. The width dimension of shoulder 44 is chosen to match the width of flange 20 so that a smooth junction is formed when the top 6.ad bottom means are welded together.

Effective joining of the top and bottom portions of container 10 aay be obtained by spin welding in which the top portion 12 is rotated while bearing against the bottom portion 14· In this manner,, ®n effective seal may be achieved quickly having a tensile strength virtually oqual to that of the plastic material θ ftlterciatively „ sonic or ultrasonic welding »ay be employed. In any case» excessive flashing should be fcriisned. Xn a container of the type described utilising mm expandable bag® the sealing of the eonponent parts should be sufficient to withstand an internal -3 2 fluid pressure of at least 172.3 x 10 N/mzn (25 pounds pet square inch).

Such ft ® systems have been found to exert pressures in the range of -5 ~3 2 172,3 x 10 to 1551.4 x 10 N/mm (25 to 90 pounds per square inch).

The sealing of top means 12 to bottom means 1½ thus forms within the container a fluid impermeable chamber 53. Fluid 54 Is shown located within chamber 53 In FIG. 2? aa well &s an expandable bag 56 such as that described in detail In the aforementioned U.S. Patent Ho. 4 »376300.

In brief, the expandable bag of the above-mentioned patent includes a first group of compartments which are releasably sealed to the internal side wall of the bag and which contain a substance such as citric acid in powdered form or In aqueous solution. Located within the bag external to the first group of compartments is a second substance, such as sodium bicarbonate^ which when reacted in the solution with th® citric acid component will generate carbon dioxide gas. The solvent medlume water for example, for the aforesaid reaction is contained in a separate ruptur&bl*a compartment inside the bag. Λ time release capsule of the citric acid component is located in the bag adjacent to the second component* such that it can be dissolved in the solvent medium when desired to initially activate the gas generating system^ I.eap at the point of final assembly of the beg into the dispensing container 10. &s the bag expands initially* the first group of compartments Is successively unsealed from the side well thereof* thereby discharging their contents into the solvent containing the second component end maintaining generation of the gas until the bag reaches its fully expanded condition. fts beg 56 expands within chamber 53 of container 10* a greater rand greater portion of the volume occupied by fluid 5^9 and any air Initially entrapped within chamber 53? will be displaced until the force exerted by the expanding gases within bag 56 reaches equilibrium with the reactionary force exerted by the fluid 54 and entrapped air within the chamber 53- Initial actuation of the valve mechanism 30 will permit the entrapped ®iir within ohamber 53 to escape and allow the bag 56 to expand further to occupy the volume evacuated by the entrapped air. Succeeding actuations of the valve mechanism 30 will permit fluid 5¾ to be expelled from io chamber 53 under the pressure exerted by the expanding bag 56 until bag 56 displaces the entire volume of chamber 53 occupied by fluid 54 and all of the fluid has been expelled» The expansion of bag 56 within chamber 53 creates the possibility that the bag will expand to the limits of the upper portion of chamber 53 before expanding to the lower liaifca of chamber 53? thereby trapping fluid in that lower portion» In order to prevent this from happening, the preferred embodiment of container 10 Includes along the interior side wall of bottom portion 14 a longitudinal rib 58. Rib 58 will prevent bag 56 frors expanding completely to the side walla of bottom portion 14, thereby creating an escape passage for any fluid In the lower portion of chamber 53« The function of rib 58 «ay also be served by a tube placed within the bottom portion 14 of the container 10 during manufacture. Such a tube is shown and described in the above-mentioned 0.8» Patent So. 4,376^500.

Xn a similar vein, cylindrical guard 27 which is integrally formed with top means 12 further serves to prevent the expanding bag 56 frosa obstructing the valve assembly 30.

Cylindrical guard 27 Include* a plurality of grooves 62 therein to provide passage for fluid 54 to reach the valve assembly 30.

Aa mentioned earlier9 the bottom means 14 of the preferred embodiment of container 10 has a rounded lower portion 40 which seats within a base cup means 42 as shown In FIG. 2. Base cup means 42 includes a bevelled interior wall 64 which is forced to snugly fit against the tapered side walls of bottom means 14. The lower portion of base cup means 42 forms an annular Inwardly sloping seat 66 which io supports the rounded bottom portion 40 of bottom means 14. Bevelled wall 64 and annular seat 66 cooperate to position bottom cup means 14 in an upright position.

All of the structural components of container 10 hereinbefore described (with the exception of certain internal parts of valve assembly 30 and the spring 31) are formed of any one of a number of synthetic plastics which are both fluid impermeable and strong enough to withstand the pressure developed within the container. Among the plasties from which the container of th® invention may be formed ar® polyethylene terephthalate» polyvinyl chloride and the polyacronitriles. The structural components of th® container may be made by any on® of a number of processes for forming plastic parts* such as blow moldings extrusion or injection adding.

As shown In FIGS. 10* 11 and 12p top means 12p bottom means 14 and base cup means 42 of the preferred embodiment of container 10 are each shaped so as to he stored in nested stacks. The nestable shapes of top sae&ns 12P bottom means 14 and base cup means 42 permit storage of those components prior to paanufaotusre In relatively small areas P ILS thus efficiently utilising the space available for storage and lowering warehousing costs, The nestable shapes also promote easier feeding of the components on the assembly line during manufacture.

The manufacturing assembly sequence for the preferred embodiment of the container of the invention is Illustrated from left to right in FIG. 13, Bottom cup means 42 1b first fed from a nested stack onto a moving belt or other conveying device, and then delivered to Station (1).

At Station (1),, a bottom means 14 is fed from a nested stack and seated in base cup means 42, The resulting subassemblyIs then delivered to Station (2), where bottom means 14 is filled with fluid which in to be dispensed. After being filled with fluid, the subassembly ia conveyed to Station (3), where an expandable bag 5o is inserted from a magazine into bottom means 14. Since the bottom means 14 has & wide opening extending for it» entire inner diameter» insertion of the expandable bag 56 accomplished without requiring crushing. Next, the subassembly is conveyed to Station (4), where top means 12 ia fed from a magazine containing a nested stack of that component onto the open end of bottom means 14. At the next Station,, Station (5)? top means 12 is welded to bottom means 14 by one of a number of suitable plastic welding techniques, such ab ultrasonic welding, friction welding or spin welding. The completed container 10 is then conveyed to a packing station and then prepared for shipment, Appropriate fiiOdifiCAtIonst, which will be obvious to those skilled In the art, may be made to the assembly sequence Illustrated In FIG. 13 to accommodate containers of different shapes. For example, as previously mentioned» bottom means 14 may have a flat bottom wall enabling it to £?tand upright without baa® cup means 42, thereby eliminating base oup means 42 from the assembly sequence» Alternativelyp bottom means 14 or top means 12 may have non-nestable shapes which would require them to be placed or fed onto the assembly line by a different method than that shown in FIG. 13.

The cap or top means 12 of the container 10 herein may readily be adapted for use In association with a refill pouch With particular reference to FIG. 14, the top means 92 or container 90 is generally of the same construction as that previously described except that a different manner of sealing the two basic components of the container together Is provided. The lower portion of top means 92 of container 90 includes an extended depending flange 96 which is provided with screw threads on it© Interior wall. Hating screw threads are provided on the exterior surface of the upper portion of bottom means 94. An o-ring seal may be utilized In association with the threads, to secure an appropriate 20 seal.

The bottom means 94 again includes the expandable bag 95s depicted in FXG. 14 In a partially expanded state, Including pressure generating means 98 and rupturable compartment 100 for initiating gas generation» A tube 101 aay be provided so that material to be dispensed at the bottom of bottom Mans 94 is not wplnched off® by the expandable bag 95- explained in greater detail In Application Serial Bo. 365,552. the material to be dispensed is housed within an outer pouch 97„ as is also the expandable bag 95. Outer pouch 97 preferably conforms to the shape of bottom means 94 and top means 92, as shown. The top of outer pouch 97 is open to allow fluid material to be dispensed to be in communication with the valve assembly.

Such an opening may be made by removal of a tear strip or by an appropriate puncturing of the outer pouch 97. Once all of the material has been dispensed* container 90 may be opened by removal of the top means 92 and a new refill inserted.

Claims (11)

1. A container for dispensing fluid contained therein which comprises: a lower portion formed of a pressure-resistant 5 fluid-irapermeable synthetic plastic material, said lower portion having a bottom closed end* &nd side walls extending upwardly from said closed end and terminating to form a substantially fully open end; expandable bag means adapted to be inserted into io the open end of said lower portion of said container without any substantial crushing thereof; an upper portion formed of ft pressure-resistant fluid-impermeable synthetic plastic material„ ©aid upper portion having a top end, side walls extending downwardly 15 from said top end and terminating to fora a substantially fully open end sized for mating with said open end of said lower portion; sealing means for joining said lower portion and said upper portion to fora a single fluid-impermeable 2. O chamber; dispensing valve means for releasing fluid from said chamber; receptable molded in said top end of said upper portion adapted to receive said dispensing valve means; 2 5 and 2S closure means for retaining said valve means in said receptable means and Including openings therein to permit the fluid to pass from said chamber to said valve means^ said closure means being disposed about an end of the valve 5 means in communication with the fluid within said chamber to restrain said expandable bag means from interfering with said valve means and the dispensing of fluid therefrom; said closure means comprising guard means depending from the top end of a said upper portion to encircle the valve means with a cap means at the 10 lower end thereof and said openings being formed in the guard means.

2. A container in accordance with Claim 1, which further includes rib means integrally formed along the interior side wall of said lower portion for preventing said fluid from becoming trapped within said chamber by said 15 expandable bag means as said bag means expands.

3. A container in accordance with claim l or 2, wherein at least one of said upper and lower portions has a nestable shape.

4. A container in accordance with any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein 20 said lower portion is welded to said upper portion forming a seal capable of sustaining a fluid pressure of at least 172.3 x io 1 2 N/mm (twenty-five pounds per square inch) without any substantial amount of fluid leakage.

5. · A container in accordance with any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein 2 5 said lower portion has m rounded closed end and said container further includes: base cup gleans into tfhlch ©aid rounded closed end of said lower portion is disposed, for supporting said lower portion in an upright position.

6. ft container in accordance with any one of Claims 1 to 5, which further Includes rib means Integrally formed along the Interior sidewall of said top portion of said container for preventing ©aid fluid from becoming trapped within said chamber.

7. « A container in accordance with any one of Claims I to 6, wherein said receptable means comprises an upwardly extending generally cylindrical housing adapted to conform to the body of said valve means* ©aid valve means having an upwardly extending valve stem, ©aid cyllndlcal housing having an aperture in the upper end thereof to facilitate passing of the valve stem therethrough. 3.

8.A container in accordance with Claim 7, which further includes resilient mean© disposed between ©aid closure means and said valve moans for urging said valve means Into a sealing relation with an upper end of said cylindrical housing.

9.· ft container in accordance with any one of Claims 1 to 8, wherein said depending guard means extending downwardly into said chamber from said receptacle means is molded in said top end of ©aid upper portion and forming a lower edge* and said cap means is secured to said lower edge of said guard means .

10.* Λ container in accordance with Claim 9» which further includes frictional holding means securing said guard mean© and said cap means.

11. A container according to Claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.