MXPA00001967A - Process for filling pressurised containers and valvetherefor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is related to a process for filling a container with propellant through a blocking stem valve when the valve is in the blocking orientation, and to valves which are more specifically designed for such a process.

Description

PROCESS TO FILL PRESSURIZED CONTAINERS AND VALVE FOR THEMSELVES FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a process for filling a valve for a pressurized container, such as, for example, aerosol cans.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A pressurized container normally contains a product together with a propellant. The propellant usually creates the necessary pressure inside the container. The propellant can be a liquid or a gaseous propellant. When the propellant is a liquid propellant, the pressure inside the container is created by the vapor pressure of the liquid propellant. The gaseous propellant and vapor phase of the liquid propellant are normally placed in the upper space of the container when the container remains in its upright position. The pressure inside the container is higher than the normal outside atmospheric pressure. The pressure inside the container is maintained by closing the container with a valve. Consequently, the propellant tends to exit the interior of the container once the container valve opens. With which the propellant also P997 drives the product out of the container. In order for the entire product to be expelled outside the container, you must ensure that there is sufficient propellant available in the container with respect to the quantity of product. Consequently, you must be sure not to let the propellant out if there is no need, that is, the product must be expelled at the same time as the propellant. If the product is not expelled at the same time as the propellant, the propellant can be emptied out of the pressurized container, progressively, until the amount of propellant remaining can be so small with respect to the rest of the product remaining in the container, that ensure complete dispatch of the rest of the product from inside the pressurized container. The rest of the product, which can not be expelled from inside the pressurized container is then wasted. Other possible disadvantages of making the propellant leave the container unnecessarily is the deterioration of the characteristics of the expelled product. For example, when the product is a foaming product, the density of the foam may increase undesirably. Propellant discharge without product can occur as long as the product is not placed between the propellant and the discharge opening of the pressurized container. In fact, it must be ensured that the propellant P997 is required to pass through the product by pushing at least part of the product out of the pressurized container. Undesirable placement of the propellant with respect to the product and the discharge opening of the pressurized container can be achieved when the pressurized container is allowed to discharge in an undesired direction. For example, when the pressurized container comprises a dip tube connecting the discharge opening in the upper part of the container with the interior of the pressurized container, the undesired direction would be to invert the pressurized container, i.e., turn it downwards. In this position, the gaseous propellant in the headspace can escape directly from the interior of the container through the dip tube without pushing the product through the dip tube. By contrast, when the pressurized container does not comprise any immersion tube, the undesired direction would be when the container is not inverted, ie when the container is held upright. This practically vertical position leads to the exhaust of gaseous propellant from the inside of the container, because the product is not placed between the discharge opening and the propellant. In both cases this leads to the escape of propellant from inside the container without P997 no corresponding expulsion of product, resulting in corresponding disadvantages, as discussed above. It is well known in the pressurized container manufacturing industry that there is a need to provide pressurized containers with a locking mechanism that prevents the opening of the pressurized container when the pressurized container is in an undesired predetermined orientation. WO-97/03000 published on January 30, 1997 and the application EP-96201604 copending applicant, filed on June 8, 1996 describe locking mechanisms by which the blocking valve comprises a rod and prevents the rod from moving in the blocking position. The present invention relates to a valve comprising a locking means and a rod. The containers have to be filled with propellant. A standard means of filling the interior of the aerosol containers with propellant is to introduce the propellant through the valve. This is the current filling process for almost all European aerosol containers. The complete filling process consists of: the product is introduced into the container through the can opening using standard filling equipment; the valve is then hinged over the opening of the can to create an airtight seal; he P997 propellant is then introduced through the valve. For standard valves, the pressure of the filling process and / or mechanical actions inside the filling head pushes the valve stem down into the valve. This creates a flow path for the propellant to enter the can. However, for the locking of the rod valves, as described in 0-97 / 03000 or in the applicant's EP-96201604 application, this can not normally be achieved when the valve is in the blocking orientation, because the rod normally it can not be pushed down inside the valve in this case, so that the filling occurs in a non-blocking orientation, as shown for example in Figure 11. This is an important aspect if the blocking orientation corresponds to standard filling orientation, resulting in the need to modify the standard filling process to fill the can in a non-standard orientation. This modification in the standard filling direction is important and has consequences in the filling time and production costs. The present invention also relates to a process, the process comprises the step of filling a container, the container comprises a valve, wherein the valve comprises a rod and a locking means and the P997 blocking means prevents, at least partially, a translation of the valve stem after the filling step when the valve is in a predetermined orientation.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to avoid important modifications of the standard filling process for filling aerosol containers through the locking rod valves.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a valve and a filling process in a manner that satisfies the aforementioned need. The valve of the invention is characterized in that the blocking means is activated from an inactive state (21) to an active state (2), the active blocking means (2) avoids, at least partially, a translation of the rod (1). ) of the valve when the valve is in a predetermined orientation, and the valve further comprises a retaining means (3), with which the retaining means (3) prevents the locking means from being in the active state before the activation. In another aspect of the present invention, a process for filling a valve is provided, the process being characterized in that the valve is in the predetermined orientation during the filling step.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure la is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a locking rod valve (1 ') adapted to be applied to the upper part of a container and shown along with trajectories (4,5) for fill the container. Figure 2a is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a mode of a valve according to the present invention, adapted to be applied to the upper part of a container, and shown as it would be prior to activation of the blocking means (2). '). Figure 2b is the same schematic partial cross-sectional view of the valve of Figure 2a as it would be when the blocking means (2) is active. Figure 3a is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a valve according to the present invention, adapted to be applied to the upper part of a container, and shown as it would be prior to activation of the blocking means (2). '). Figure 3b is the same schematic partial cross-sectional view of the valve of Figure 3a as it would be when the locking means (2) is active. Figure 4a is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of yet another embodiment of a valve in accordance with the present invention, adapted to be applied to the upper part of a container, and shown as it would be before activation of the blocking means ( 2'). Figure 4b is the same schematic partial cross-sectional view of the valve of Figure 4a as it would be when the locking means (2) is active. Figure 5a is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a further embodiment of a valve in accordance with the present invention, adapted to be applied to the upper part of a container, and shown as it would be before activation of the blocking means (2 ') • Figure 5b is the same schematic partial cross-sectional view of the valve of Figure 5a as would be when the blocking means (2) is active. Figure 6a is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a further embodiment of a valve in accordance with the present invention, adapted to be applied to the upper part of a container, and shown as it would be prior to activation of the blocking means ( 2 ' ) . Figure 6b is the same schematic partial cross sectional view of the valve of Figure 6a as it would be when the locking means (2) is active.

Figure 7a is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of another preferred embodiment of a valve according to the present invention, adapted to be applied to the upper part of a container, and shown as it would be prior to activation of the blocking means ( twenty-one). Figure 7b is the same schematic partial cross sectional view of the valve of Figure 7a as it would be when the locking means (2) is active. Figure 8a is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a valve in accordance with the present invention, adapted to be applied to the upper part of a container, and shown as it would be prior to activation of the blocking means (2). '). Figure 8b is the same schematic partial cross-sectional view of the valve of Figure 8a as it would be when the locking means (2) is being activated (2"). Figure 8c is the same schematic view in partial cross-section of the valve of Figure 8a as it would be when the locking means (2) is active Figure 8d shows a possible embodiment of the stem of the valve (1) shown in Figure 8a Figure 9a is a schematic view in partial cross section of another preferred embodiment of a valve according to the present invention, adapted to be applied to the upper part of a container, and shown as it would be before the activation of the blocking means (2!). is the same schematic partial cross-sectional view of the valve of Figure 9a as it would be when the locking means (2) is active.Figure 10a is a schematic view in partial cross section of The embodiment of a valve adapted to be applied to the upper part of a container prior to the filling step, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 10b is the same schematic partial cross sectional view of the valve of Figure 10a as it would be during the filling step. Figure 11 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of another preferred embodiment of a valve adapted to be applied to the upper part of a container during a filling step, which is not in accordance with the present invention. Figure 12 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of another preferred embodiment of a valve adapted to be applied to the upper part of a container during the filling step, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 13a is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of another preferred embodiment of a valve adapted to be applied to the upper part of a container prior to the filling step, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 13b is the same schematic partial cross-sectional view of the valve of Figure 13a as it would be during the filling step. Figure 14 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of another preferred embodiment of a valve adapted to be applied to the upper part of a container during the filling step, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 15 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of another preferred embodiment of a valve adapted to be applied to the upper part of a container during the filling step, in accordance with the present invention. Figures 16a, 16b and 16c represent a possible schematic cross-section of a geometry for a filling head (6).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The process of the invention is applied to a container comprising a valve. The valve is mounted in the container. The container is preferably a pressurized container. A pressurized container is usually obtained by filling the container with a product and a propellant. The container is a hollow body that can be made of any material, P997 preferably metal, plastics, among which are included: polyethylene terephthalate (= PET), oriented polypropylene (= OPP), polyethylene (= PE) or polyamide and mixtures, laminates or other combinations thereof are included. The metal can can be made of steel plated with tin or other metals such as aluminum. Preferably, the inner surface of the metal container is laminated with a plastic material or coated with a lacquer or with a varnish. The lacquer or varnish are to protect the inner surface of the container from corrosion. Corrosion can lead to a weakening of the container and can also lead to discoloration of the contents of the container. Preferred plastic materials for lamination and lacquers or varnishes for coating are phenolic epoxy, polyamide imide, organosol, PET, PP, PE or a combination thereof. Any material that can flow, including: sparkling, liquid or gaseous products, may be contained in the container and discharged through the valve in accordance with the present invention. Sparkling products are preferred when they are discharged with gaseous propellant. The propellant expands to form many bubbles within the composition creating with this, the foam. Specific hard surface cleaners are examples of products P997 sparkling. A foaming product like this is disclosed, for example, in EP-A-546 828. A preferred foaming product according to the present invention is a foaming laundry detergent. A foaming laundry cleaning composition is disclosed in EP-A-677 577 and in EP-A-753 556. The pressure within the container can be created by a propellant. The pressure within the pressurized container is such that the material that can flow and the propellant is expelled to the outside of the pressurized container once the valve is in an open position. The pressure inside the container is therefore greater than the outside atmospheric pressure outside the container. The pressure inside the container is preferably at least 5 bar at 20 ° C, more preferably, the internal pressure is in the range between 8 bar and 10 bar at 20 ° C. The amount of propellant contained in the container is such that virtually all material that can flow can be expelled out of the container during the life of the pressurized container at the correct pressure. The amount also depends on the type of propellant used. Suitable propellants known in the field are liquid and gaseous propellants. Preferred propellants are gaseous propellants that do not harm the environment. As mentioned here, the words P997"gaseous" and "non-liquefiable" are used interchangeably with respect to the propellant. In fact, gaseous propellants or non-liquefiable propellants are propellants that are in a gaseous state at room temperature (approximately 20 ° C) and at pressures up to 12 bar. In addition, it is preferred to use propellants "that do not damage the ozone layer", such as: compressed air, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and oxides thereof or mixtures thereof. Carbon dioxide is the most preferred gaseous propellant. Minor quantities of low molecular weight hydrocarbons, such as propane, butane, pentane, hexane, may optionally be included with the proviso that flammability requirements are not exceeded. Various ways of pressurizing the propellant gas are known in the art. For example, the gas can be pressurized at the time of packing. The product can be physically separated from a compressed gas by means of a membrane, for example rubber under tension. Alternatively, a means may be provided to pressurize the gas subsequently by mechanical action (so-called "pump and spray" systems). Normally, the valve is mounted by gluing it over the single opening of the container. Usually, the engargolado of the valve occurs after the direct filling of the container through its opening with the P997 flowable material. Accordingly, the process of the invention is applied to a container after crimping the valve. This is the normal process for filling aerosol cans: the product is introduced before the engargolado and the propellant is introduced after the engargolado. This means that the process of the invention is preferably applied to fill an aerosol with propellant. In the present process, the valve comprises a rod. Normally, filling with propellant is done when the rod is depressed (l1). The propellant can flow through different trajectories. For example, Figure 1 illustrates several possible trajectories for filling a container comprising a valve stem with propellant when the rod is depressed (1 '). A first trajectory, the normal trajectory (4), corresponds to the trajectory that will be used by the product to leave the container in normal use. However, the path is used in one direction for filling and in the other direction for clearance. The direction of flow in this path is set by the pressure gradient: if the pressure is higher in the can than outside the can, which is the case during use, the product flows outward and, if the pressure is greater outside of the can, which is the case during the filling process, the flow enters. However, other trajectories (5) are P997 available, which is due to the pressure on a shutter (7). The plug is normally compressed by the rod (1), for example by a shoulder (8) in the rod. When the rod is pressed (l1), even partially, the obturator (7) is not compressed, so that a propellant flow created in the upper part of the obturator can be created. (7) or below the obturator (7) through auxiliary trajectories (5). It should be noted that the pressure gradient required to induce flow around the obturator (7) is greater than the pressure gradient required to produce the flow in the normal use path (4). The reason for this is that the auxiliary trajectories (5) should not be functional during normal use. However, the auxiliary trajectories (5) only require a very partial pressure of the rod (1 '), while the opening of the normal path (4) for normal use normally requires additional pressure. In summary, the auxiliary trajectories (5) normally require a higher pressure gradient and a lower stem pressure (1 ') than the normal path (4) to be opened. The process of the invention is applied to a valve comprising a blocking means which avoids at least partial translation of the rod in a predetermined orientation. Normally, a stage of P997 filling to a traditional locking rod valve when it is in the predetermined orientation, because filling paths, normal or auxiliary, are not used if the rod is not depressed. This is a disadvantage if the predetermined orientation corresponds to a standard filling orientation, for example, the vertical orientation corresponding to the orientation of the valve of Figure 1. The present invention helps to eliminate this disadvantage by filling the valve when it is in place. the default orientation. In fact, it is an object of the present invention to achieve the production of containers with more economical locking rod valves. The additional objects of the invention comprise facilitating the production of ecological aerosol containers by filling containers with locking rod valves in a minimum time, insofar as the invention allows the production of containers with rod valves. blockage with minimal modifications to the filling process. In a first embodiment of the invention presented in Figure 15, the rod can be partially depressed (l1) so that the auxiliary trajectories (5) open. This is possible because the rod is allowed to be pressed some distance during the filling process. This reduces the compression on the obturator (7) P997 and allows the obturator (7) to be decompressed during the filling process. It was found that the rod should be pressed at least 0.2 mm to provide a sufficiently large path to allow filling. Preferably, this distance is greater than 1 mm. In this case, the important factor is that the distance must be such that the rod can be depressed enough to open the auxiliary paths (5) without opening the normal path (4), so that the blocking means (2) must avoid the translation of the rod only partially. In Figure 15, this is achieved by the play between the blocking means (2), a ball in this example, and the base of the rod (10). Consequently, such a blocking valve can be filled in the predetermined orientation in which it is blocked. It was found that a further improvement over the geometry of the filling head (6) is explained in Figures 16a-c. In fact, the filling head (6) must not be pushed on the rod (1) during filling because it can deform the lower region of the valve, in particular the press fit of the lower housing, resulting in leakage, particularly around of the lower seal of shutter, as illustrated in Figure 16b. This can be avoided if the rubber seal (60), which prevents gas losses between the filling head and the valve, is sufficiently thinP997 so that the filling head does not press on the rod in an undesired manner. This configuration is illustrated in Figure 16-a. Another way to avoid deformation of the valve is to insert an extra rubber seal (61). It should be noted that the rod is sufficiently depressed by the action of the pressure of the gas that is introduced into the container by means of the auxiliary trajectories (5), without the possibility of being further depressed to allow the undesirable opening of the normal trajectory ( 4) . These modifications have the advantage of being cost effective without introducing a radical change to the metallic design of the filling head (6). In another embodiment of the invention, presented in Figure 14, the filling of the container when the locking rod valve is in the predetermined blocked orientation is effected below the filling of the vessel (8). A similar technique is used for liquid propellant filling in the United States, which means that a standard process can again be applied to fill the container when the locking rod valve is in the predetermined locked orientation. Other embodiments make it possible to fill the valve through the normal path (4) by various means to lower the rod before and / or during P997 filling. In the embodiment of the invention described in Figures 13a, b, the can is being agitated before filling. The agitated induces movement of the blocking means (2), in this case a ball, so that the rod can be depressed (1 ') as shown in Figure 13b when the ball goes upwards in the rod. The filling can then normally occur, again allowing the filling of a rod locking valve in the predetermined locking orientation. A similar method is presented in Figure 12, with which the ball is attracted upwards inside the rod by the effect of a magnetic attraction (9), which can be induced, for example, by an electromagnet or by means of a magnet. In this particular case, the blocking means (2) must be made, at least partially, of a ferromagnetic magnetic material comprising alloys of iron, cobalt or nickel. Still another embodiment of the invention is presented in Figure lOa-b, wherein the can is rotated in a non-locking orientation and the shank is pressed (l1) before entering the filling machine and held down during filling in. the blocking orientation. In another aspect of the invention a valve is provided. The valve of the invention comprises a blocking means. By means of blocking it is understood that its function is to block the valve when the valve is in P997 a predetermined orientation. When the valve is blocked, it is not possible to operate it, so that no product can pass through the valve. The blocking means has an inactive state (21) and an active state (2). In the inactive state (2 '), the blocking means can not fulfill its function. Consequently, when the locking means is inactive (21), the valve will not be locked when it is in the predetermined orientation. If the blocking means is inactive (2 '), the valve is functioning as if the blocking means is absent. Once activated the blocking means is in the active state (2). This means that the blocking means can fulfill its function. Consequently, when the blocking means is active (2), the valve is blocked when it is in the predetermined orientation. The default orientation can correspond to a precise angle or to a range of orientations. In fact, when the valve of the invention has an active blocking means (2), this can have the characteristics of any blocking rod valves, in particular the characteristics of the valves described in W0-97 / 03000 or in the Application of European Patent No. 96201604 of the applicant. The valve of the invention also comprises a rod, by means of which the blocking means is P997 avoiding, at least partially, a translation of the rod. The valve of the invention is a rod valve for blocking while the locking means acts on the translation of the rod, so that the rod can not be depressed by the user, enough to open the valve when the valve is in place. the default orientation and when the blocking medium is active. In fact, the rod has to be moved inside the body of the valve to allow the opening of the valve. Depending on the design of the valve, it may be sufficient to only partially prevent the translation of the rod to prevent the opening of the valve. The valve also comprises a retaining means (3). The role of the retaining means (3) is to avoid blocking the valve before activation of the locking means. Activation is the moment in which the blocking means goes from an inactive state to an active state. As a result of this characteristic, the valve does not function as a blocking valve before activation, and functions as a blocking valve once it is activated. An advantage of this feature is that the valve can be filled in the predetermined locking orientation before activation. In fact, stem lock valves of the traditional type do not P997 have this feature. Consequently, the selection of the orientation for filling is not limited, which is particularly useful if the predetermined blocking orientation corresponds to a standard filling orientation, in particular when the valve is vertical. The retaining means (3) can be of several kinds and the activation can be operated in several ways, some of which will be presented in detail below. Normally, the valve of the present invention also comprises a housing (100). The rod can move inside the housing to allow opening and closing of the valve. The rod comprises a discharge opening (101) connected to a discharge channel (102), whereby the discharge channel is located at one end of the rod. The housing comprises a hole (103). The active blocking means (2) prevents the opening of the valve when the valve is in an undesired orientation corresponding to the predetermined orientation of the valve. The blocking means is preferably separated from the discharge opening (101). The blocking means can be located at the other end of the rod opposite the discharge channel (102). In the embodiment of Figure 2a, the retaining means (3) is in the form of a "pump" that is a molded part, the pump prevents the locking means, in P997 this case a ball, activate. In fact, the rod can be moved, regardless of the orientation of the valve. In this particular example, activation is triggered by sufficient stirring action. This is a very convenient way to trigger the activation because the agitation of the valve normally takes place during filling. This means that in this case, the blocking means is first, in the inactive state (2 '), the vertical valve, so that the rod can be depressed and the filling can take place, for example through any or of all the filling paths described in Figure 1. At the same time, the blocking means is activated by the agitation that occurs due to filling, so that the rod will be locked in translation when it is in the predetermined orientation so soon as it is released after the filling process. This example clearly illustrates the possibility now offered to fill a locking rod valve when the valve is in the predetermined orientation, which is very advantageous when the predetermined orientation is a standard filling orientation, such as vertical orientation. Another embodiment of the valve of the invention is presented in Figures 3a, b, in which the means of P997 retention (3) is in the form of a sliding rubber ring. Initially, the rubber ring retains the blocking means, in this case a ball, so that the blocking means is inactive (21). In this embodiment, the locking means is activated when the rod moves downward, so that it pushes the sliding rubber ring at the bottom of the cavity where the locking means is now free to move and activate (2) . It should be noted that the use of this retention means (3) involves irreversible activation of the blocking means. In this case, the activation is triggered by pushing down the rod, which is particularly appropriate because the rod is normally pushed down during filling with gaseous propellant, so that the propellant could flow in the normal path (4). Consequently, such a valve is very suitable for use in the process of the invention. Another embodiment of the valve of the invention is presented in Figures 4a, b, wherein the retaining means is composed of a sliding ring (3) made of plastic and molded parts (31) allowing to hold the plastic ring that holds itself the blocking means in the inactive state (2 '). Again, the activation is triggered by pressing on the valve stem, and the molded parts (3 ') are provided for P997 keep the sliding plastic ring away once the locking means has been activated (2). Still another embodiment of the valve of the invention is presented in Figures 5a, b, wherein the retaining means (3) is formed of a folding needle made of plastic. The needle prevents the blocking means from activating before folding. The needle is folded down to the rod, which presses the locking means on the needle. Once the blocking means is activated (2), the retaining means (3) remains irreversibly non-functional, since the needle can not be straightened again and consequently, the retaining means (3) can not prevent the blocking means is activated after activation. In this case, the activation is triggered by lowering the rod. Again, this action of lowering normally takes place during the filling of the valve with propellant by means of the normal path (4), so that this valve is particularly suitable for using the process described in the invention. In fact, it is an object of the present invention to introduce a locking rod valve that can be filled in the blocking direction and to introduce an ecological locking rod valve that can be filled economically. In Figures 6a, b a modality is presented P997 additional valve according to the invention. In this case, the retaining means (3) is formed of an adhesive material that holds the locking means above, in the rod, the blocking means is a ball. Consequently, the blocking means is not active (2 '). Activation is triggered by shaking the valve, so that the ball falls and is no longer retained by the retaining means (3). Consequently, the blocking means becomes active (2). Another embodiment of a valve according to the present invention is proposed in Figures 7a, b, wherein the blocking means is prevented from being activated (2 ') by the lower part of the rod (11). In fact, the rod is holding the ball from falling to the blocking position. Consequently, the rod can be lowered when the valve is in the blocking position, so that the normal path (4) can be opened. This normal trajectory (4) can be used for filling. Once filled, the pressure inside the container is normally higher, which causes the rod to press on the upper shutter (7). This means that the rod (1) rises slightly more than before filling. This light translation of the rod allows the blocking means to fall and be activated (2). In this case, activation is triggered by an increase in pressure in P997, which makes this valve very suitable for use in the process of the invention because the pressure increases during filling. It is recommended a good control of the compression of the shutter (7) during the folding of the valve in the container to obtain a successful activation. Another preferred embodiment of the valve of the present invention is presented in Figures 8 a, b, c, d. In this case, the retaining means (3) is composed of a molded part inside the rod, and a special conformation of the lower part (105) of the valve, whereby the lower part (105) of the valve extends the inside of the rod when the rod is lowered (1 '). Spreading can be made easier by making the stem base (106) of different segments instead of a full cylinder. Consequently, the blocking means can be released (2") and activated (2) when the rod is lowered Again, activation is triggered by lowering the rod, yet another embodiment of a valve in accordance with the present invention is presented. in Figure 9, a, b, wherein the retention means (3) is formed by a cast undercut in the rod and in the housing, adhesives or other fixatives may also be used.

P997 rod in the lowered position (1 ') / so that the normal path (4) is open in any orientation of the valve, so that the locking means is not active (2'). In this case, activation is triggered by pulling the rod upwards. This pulling action can be provided by the filling head, whereby the filling head holds the rod and pulls it past the undercut once the filling is completed, in such a way that the blocking means remains active (2) while that the ball is falling inside the housing. The embodiments of the valves shown have a locking orientation in the upward direction but this does not limit the invention because these configurations could be adapted to other blocking orientations. However, these valves are most useful when the lock orientation is in the upward direction because this direction normally corresponds to a standard fill orientation. For example, the valve can be blocked only when it is completely vertical, or it can be locked in any position except in the vertical downward orientation.

P997

Claims (10)

1. CLAIMS; 1. A process, the process comprises the step of filling a container, the container comprises a valve and the valve comprises a rod and a locking means and the blocking means prevents, at least partially, a translation of the valve stem after of the filling stage when the valve is in a predetermined orientation, the process is characterized in that the valve is in the predetermined orientation during the filling stage.
2. 2. The process according to claim 1, wherein the valve is filled with propellant during the filling step.
3. 3. The process according to claim 2, wherein the propellant is a gaseous propellant.
4. The process according to claim 1, wherein the valve comprises a normal path and an auxiliary path between the exterior of the container and the interior of the container.
5. The process according to claim 4, wherein the container is filled through an auxiliary path of the valve.
6. The process according to claim 4, wherein the rod can be moved sufficiently to open the auxiliary path without opening the path P997 normal.
7. The process according to claim 1, wherein the blocking means is manufactured, at least partially, from a ferromagnetic material and prevents the blocking means from being activated during filling due to a magnetic interaction.
8. The process according to claim 1, wherein the rod is moved upwards for the opening of the valve before and during the filling step, preventing the blocking means from being activated by means of movement.
9. 9. A valve comprising a blocking means and a rod, characterized in that the blocking means is activated from an inactive state to an active state, the active block means avoids, at least partially, a translation of the rod of the piston rod. valve when the valve is in a predetermined orientation, and the valve further comprises a retention means, whereby the retention means prevents the locking means from remaining in the active state before activation. A valve according to claim 9, wherein the retaining means comprises a molded part. P997