JP2010208675A - Quantitative valve for aerosol - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a quantitative valve for an aerosol which is advantageously manufactured in point of cost. <P>SOLUTION: The quantitative valve for an aerosol 10 includes a valve housing 11, a valve stem 16 housed in the valve housing 11, a shield member 18 housed in on the bottom part within the valve housing 11 having a return spring 17 mounted between itself and a valve stem 16, forming a fluid passage 30 between itself and the valve stem 16, wherein the shield member 18 is replaceable. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an aerosol valve that ejects contents, and more particularly, to an aerosol metering valve that ejects a fixed amount.

  As an example of a conventional aerosol metering valve, an aerosol metering valve 100 shown in FIG. 6 has a valve stem 102 accommodated in a valve housing 101 (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The aerosol metering valve 100 disclosed in Patent Document 1 lowers the valve stem 102 against the coil spring 103 when in use. Then, the lateral hole of the valve stem 102 is closed by the valve stem rubber 104, and the fluid liquid path 105 at the lower end of the valve stem 102 is lowered. Then, the fluid flow path 105 is closed by the metering valve packing 106. When further lowered, the lateral hole of the valve stem 102 is positioned below the valve stem rubber 104 and connected to the metering valve chamber, and the fluid in the metering valve chamber is quantitatively ejected from the injection port connected to the valve stem 102.

JP-A-6-345158

  However, in the conventional aerosol metering valve 100 disclosed in Patent Document 1, the seal portion between the fluid liquid passage 105 at the lower end of the valve stem 102 and the metering valve packing 106 cuts off the supply from the container during metering. Must be made of a resilient material.

If the sealability of the seal portion is poor, the quantitativeness is deteriorated, and there is a problem that, for example, the operability during continuous injection is deteriorated.
In general, rubber is used for such a seal part, but when the rubber becomes hard or swells and there is no continuous injection or gap, the contents cannot be supplied into the metering chamber and injected. There was a possibility that it could not be performed.

  On the other hand, when the seal portion is made of a plastic having a better compatibility with various contents than rubber, such as polyethylene, a separate part for fixing the seal portion is required.

When the entire valve housing 101 is integrally made of soft plastic, if the upper part of the housing is fixed by caulking with a metal mountain cup, it may be deformed due to a soft material, and the fixing strength may be reduced accordingly.
In addition, since different molds are required for different amounts of one injection, the molds are not versatile and disadvantageous in terms of cost.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and an object thereof is to provide an aerosol metering valve that can be advantageously produced in terms of cost.

The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following configuration.
(1) An aerosol metering valve for injecting the contents in an aerosol container, comprising: a valve housing; a valve stem housed in the valve housing; and a valve stem housed in a bottom of the valve housing. An aerosol metering valve characterized in that a return spring is assembled therebetween, a shield member is formed to form a fluid flow path with the valve stem, and the shield member can be replaced.

  According to the aerosol metering valve having such a configuration, since the shield member is accommodated in the valve housing, the shield member is a small part and the shape is simple. Thereby, the shielding member can produce the fixed quantity valve from which the injection quantity differs once only by changing the dimension partially. Therefore, it is not necessary to use an expensive mold, which can be advantageous in terms of cost. Further, since the shield member can be exchanged, the injection amount can be easily changed.

(2) The aerosol metering valve according to (1), wherein the valve housing is molded using a hard resin material, and the shield member is molded using a resin material softer than the valve housing. An aerosol metering valve characterized by that.

  According to the aerosol metering valve having such a configuration, the assembly of the aerosol metering valve can be improved because the valve housing uses a hard material. Since the shield member uses a softer material than the valve housing, the compatibility with the contents can be improved. Further, since the return spring is assembled by positioning the shield member at the bottom of the valve housing, a separate part for fixing the shield member can be eliminated.

(3) The aerosol metering valve according to the above (1) or (2), wherein the valve housing has a fixing means for fixing the shield member.

  According to the aerosol metering valve having such a configuration, the shield member can be reliably fixed by the fixing means of the valve housing without using a separate part.

  The aerosol metering valve according to the present invention includes a shield member that is housed in the valve housing and is assembled with an elastic member between the valve stem and a fluid flow path between the valve stem and the contents. A reliable injection of an object can be performed, and it can be produced advantageously in terms of cost. Moreover, the injection quantity can be easily changed by exchanging the shield member.

It is a longitudinal section of the aerosol metering valve of a 1st embodiment concerning the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the 2nd step explaining operation | movement of the aerosol metering valve shown in FIG. It is a 3rd step longitudinal cross-sectional view explaining operation | movement of the aerosol metering valve shown in FIG. It is a 4th step longitudinal cross-sectional view explaining operation | movement of the aerosol metering valve shown in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the aerosol metering valve of 2nd Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a conventional aerosol metering valve.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an aerosol metering valve according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 1, an aerosol metering valve 10 according to this embodiment includes a valve housing 11, a mountain cup 12, a stem rubber 13, a gasket rubber 14, a tube 15, a valve stem 16, and a return spring 17. A shield member 18 and a metering chamber 19. The aerosol metering valve 10 is used for products that require a certain amount of injection, such as pharmaceuticals (asthma drugs, athlete's foot drugs, etc.) and indoor air fresheners.

  The valve housing 11 is formed in a cylindrical shape using a hard plastic material. The valve housing 11 is formed with a first inner diameter portion 20, a second inner diameter portion 21, a third inner diameter portion 22, and a fourth inner diameter portion 23 sequentially from the upper side to the lower side in FIG.

The valve housing 11 is assembled with a stem rubber 13 at its upper end. The stem rubber 13 has elasticity and has a stem insertion hole 24 at the center thereof.
The first inner diameter portion 20 has an annular protrusion 25 that protrudes toward the inner periphery of the first inner diameter portion 20 so as to fix the shield member 18 to the bottom portion of the valve housing 11.

In the valve housing 11, a gasket rubber 14 is assembled below the stem rubber 13, and a mountain cup 12 is assembled to cover the upper portion of the valve housing 11, the stem rubber 13, and the gasket rubber 14. The mountain cup 12 is fixed by crimping to an aerosol container (not shown).
In the valve housing 11, a shield member 18 is accommodated in a first inner diameter portion 20 and a second inner diameter portion 21. The shield member 18 is formed in a cylindrical shape using a plastic material softer than the valve housing 11.

  The shield member 18 has a first cylinder part 26 and a second cylinder part 27. The shield member 18 has a stepped central plate portion 28 at the joint between the first tube portion 26 and the second tube portion 27. The outer diameter of the central plate portion 28 is formed larger than the annular protrusion 25 of the valve housing 11, and the shield member 18 is pushed into and fixed to the lower part of the annular protrusion 25.

  The shield member 18 includes a fluid flow path forming portion 30 having a predetermined inner diameter dimension D1 at the center portion of the second cylindrical portion 27. A tube 15 connected to the contents in the aerosol container is attached to the fourth inner diameter portion 23.

A valve stem 16 is assembled to the inner peripheral portion of the shield member 18. The valve stem 16 is formed in a shaft shape using a hard plastic material.
In the valve stem 16, a communication hole 31 communicating with a nozzle (not shown) is formed in the upper end portion in the axial direction, and a switching hole 32 is formed in a part of the communication hole 31 in a direction perpendicular to the communication hole 31. is doing.

The valve stem 16 has a flange 33 that contacts the stem rubber 13 at the center thereof, and the return spring 17 is assembled between the flange 33 and the central plate 28 of the shield member 18. The return spring 17 always urges the flange 33 upward.
The valve stem 16 has an opening shaft portion 34 having an outer diameter D2 slightly smaller than the inner diameter D1 of the fluid flow path forming portion 30 of the shield member 18 at the lower end thereof.

  The valve stem 16 is closed at the upper portion of the opening shaft portion 34 and has an outer diameter D3 that is larger than the opening shaft portion 34 and slightly larger than the inner diameter dimension D1 that the fluid flow path forming portion 30 of the shield member 18 has. A shaft portion 35 is formed. The closing shaft portion 35 and the opening shaft portion 34 are continuous by a tapered surface 36.

  The aerosol metering valve 10 forms a metering chamber 19 having a small capacity in a closed space between the shield member 18 and the valve stem 16.

  When such an aerosol metering valve 10 is assembled, the shield member 18 is dropped into the valve housing 11 to press the shield member 18. As a result, the central plate portion 28 of the shield member 18 is locked to the lower portion of the annular protrusion 25 of the valve housing 11 and the shield member 18 is firmly fixed to the valve housing 11.

Next, the operation of the aerosol metering valve 10 will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, when a gas (liquefied gas such as LPG) is filled in an aerosol container, the gas is compressed by a filling machine and filled with pressure. The gas passes through the gap between the valve stem 16 and the upper hole of the mountain cup 12, and passes between the upper surface of the stem rubber 13 and the lower surface of the flat surface above the mountain cup 12. Thereafter, the aerosol container is filled through a notch provided on the upper side surface of the valve housing 11 and the slit.

Next, when injecting the contents, the valve stem 16 is pushed down from the position A1 to the position A2 against the return spring 17.
At this time, when the valve stem 16 is at the position A1, the switching hole 32 is not communicated with the metering chamber 19, and the fluid flow path forming portion 30 is in an open state by the opening shaft portion 34 of the valve stem 16. Therefore, the contents are supplied to the quantification chamber 19.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the valve stem 16 is pushed down to the position A <b> 2, the fluid flow path forming unit 30 is closed before the switching hole 32 of the valve stem 16 becomes below the stem rubber 13. Thereby, the contents supplied to the fixed quantity chamber 19 are sealed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the valve stem 16 is pushed from position A2 to position A3. As a result, the switching hole 32 communicates with the metering chamber 19 while maintaining the state where the fluid flow path forming portion 30 is closed by the closing shaft portion 35.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the valve stem 16 is further pushed down from position A3 to position A4. As a result, the content is supplied from the quantification chamber 19 to the communication hole 31 through the switching hole 32 while the state where the fluid flow path forming portion 30 is closed by the closing shaft portion 35 is supplied to the quantitation chamber 19. Only a certain amount of the content is ejected from the nozzle.

  When the pressing of the valve stem 16 is stopped, the valve stem 16 returns to the position A1 due to the elastic repulsive force accumulated in the return spring 17, and the switching hole 32 is not communicated with the metering chamber 19 and the valve stem 16 is opened. The fluid flow path forming part 30 is opened by the shaft part 34 for use.

  As described above, in the aerosol metering valve 10 of the present embodiment, since the shield member 18 is accommodated in the valve housing 11, the shield member 18 is a small part and the shape is simple. Thereby, the shield member 18 can produce the fixed quantity valve from which the injection quantity differs once only by changing the dimension partially. Therefore, it is not necessary to use an expensive mold, which can be advantageous in terms of cost. Further, since the shield member can be exchanged, the injection amount can be easily changed.

  Moreover, since the valve housing 11 uses a hard resin material, the assembly property of the aerosol metering valve 10 can be improved. Since the shield member 18 uses a softer resin material than the valve housing 11, compatibility with the contents can be improved. Further, since the return spring 17 is assembled with the shield member 18 positioned at the bottom of the valve housing 11, a separate part for fixing the shield member 18 can be dispensed with.

  In addition, the shield member 18 can be reliably fixed to the valve housing 11 by the central plate portion 28 of the shield member 18 and the annular protrusion 25 of the valve housing 11 without using separate parts.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, an aerosol metering valve according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that, in the following second embodiment, components that are the same as those in the first embodiment described above or functionally similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and description thereof is simplified or omitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, the aerosol metering valve 50 of the present embodiment employs a valve housing 51 having a first inner diameter portion 52 that is longer than that of the first embodiment.
Moreover, the shield member 53 which excised the 1st cylinder part 26 of 1st Embodiment is applied, and the valve stem 54 longer than 1st Embodiment is applied. Therefore, the aerosol metering valve 50 forms a metering chamber 55 having a larger capacity than that of the first embodiment in a closed space between the shield member 53 and the valve stem 54.

  As described above, the aerosol metering valve 50 of the present embodiment has the same effects as those of the first embodiment. In particular, in the present embodiment, the shield member 53 can be formed by simply cutting the first cylindrical portion 26 of the shield member 18 of the first embodiment. Therefore, it is not necessary to use a new molding die, and the man-hour can be greatly reduced.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A deformation | transformation, improvement, etc. are possible suitably. In addition, the material, shape, dimension, numerical value, form, number, arrangement location, and the like of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary and are not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.

10 Aerosol Metering Valve 11 Valve Housing 16 Valve Stem 17 Return Spring 18 Shield Member 25 Annular Projection (Fixing Means)
30 Fluid flow path forming part (fluid flow path)
50 Aerosol metering valve 51 Valve housing 53 Shield member 54 Valve stem

Claims (3)

An aerosol metering valve for injecting the contents in an aerosol container,
A valve housing;
A valve stem housed in the valve housing;
A return spring is assembled between the valve stem and the valve stem that is housed in the bottom of the valve housing, and includes a shield member that forms a fluid flow path between the valve stem and the shield member. An aerosol metering valve, characterized in that it can be used.   The aerosol metering valve according to claim 1, wherein the valve housing is molded using a hard resin material, and the shield member is molded using a resin material that is softer than the valve housing. The aerosol metering valve according to claim 1, wherein the valve housing has a fixing means for fixing the shield member.

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