US3187962A - Valve and mounting and sealing means therefor - Google Patents

Description

P. MESHBERG 3,187,962 VALVE AND MOUNTING SEALING MEANS THEREFOR June 8, 1965 Filed Nov. 9, 1962 INVENTO Ph'h'p Mesfi dy \BY g E E5 ATTOR/VEYS at equal facility.

3,187,962" VALVE AND MOUNTING AND SEALING h EANS THEREFOR Philip Meshberg, 15 Stoneieigh Road, Fairfield, Conn.

Filed Nov. 9, 1962, Ser. No. 236,492 6 Claims. (CL 222-394) This invention relates to aerosol valves and to sealing means therefor.

It is an object'of the present invention to provide an aerosol valve to be mounted on a container to dispense aerosol material therefrom, which valve is provided with means whereby the valve can be sealingly mounted on the container to prevent material in the container from leaking therefrom. l 1

ltis another object of the invention to provide sealing means for the valve which is not only maintained in an uncontaminated relation but which is disposed and protee-ted in such a manner that it cannot be contacted by the material in the container to be contaminatedthereby.

i A feature of the invention resides inthe confining of the sealing material engaging the mouth of the container between a skirt on the mounting ferrulerand a depending portion on the mounting flange of the valve housing so thatthe sealing material cannot be shifted or squeezed out of position during thenclamping of the valve to the container.

Another feature resides in making the dependingf portion of the mounting flange on the housing of a diameter that it sealingly engages the inner wall ofthe mouth of the container and provides a further advantage in that it prevents thecontents of the container from engaging and/ or being contaminated by the sealing material;

To further this latter advantage, the present: invention provides means whereby the sealing means for the valve j stem may bealso located outside of the valve housing and container, and, if desired, a resilient means for urging is provided with a laterally projecting mounting flange 19 adapted to extend over the mouth of the bottle and be clamped to .the bottle by a mounting ferrule 20 extending over at least a portion of the flange 19 having a dependingskirt 21 adaptedto extend over the edge of the mounting flange and into interlocked relation with the outer wail 14 of the mouth. The housing has a portion 22,

preferably annular, depending therefrom to engage the inner edge of a washer or sealing member 23 disposed between the end wall 15 of the mouth and the undersurface of the mounting flange so that the sealing material is confined in this" location by the skirt 21 and the depending portion 22 extending from the mounting flange. Thus, when the mounting ferrule is in interlocked relation with the mouth and neck of the bottle to clamp the sealing material thereto, as shown in FIG. 1, it will be seen that the sealing material will be confined in the area above the end wall of the bottle and the sealing material cannot be squeezed out of this position as in the case where it is unconfined, thus eliminating the danger of leaking.

Preferably, the annular portion 22 on the housing has an extension Zfi'which is of such a length and diameter that it extends into the mouth and sealingly engages with 'theinner wall 15 thereof as shown in FIG. 1. This provides an additional sealagainst leakage, protects the sealing means from engagement by the material in the container, and also prevents the sealing material from contaminating the material in the container. This is particularly important where pharmaceuticals, perfumes or the like are used which may react with the usual sealing elements and become useless or of less value because of the contamination. Also, it protects the sealing means from damage by the material in the container which may have. a deleterious effect on the sealing material.

In the form of the invention shown in FIG. 1, the sealing diaphragm 25 for closing the valve will still present a small amount of rubber or the like sealing material to the stem to normal non-dispensing position can also be mounted outside of the housing so that the material in the container will not be contaminated thereby. This is particularly useful where pharmaceuticals, perfumes or the like materials are disposed in the container and affect, and are atfected by, the usual sealing materials for sealing the valve to the container.

The sealing feature of the present invention can be used with either non-metering or metering valves with Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the specification and claims when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: i

the contents. If, however, it is desired to completely seal the contents, the sealing means can be provided outside of the housing. One such construction is shown in the application of the present invention to a metered valve as shown in FIG. 2. Here the valve is mounted on a glass container 10a to extend over the mouth 12a thereof. The valve has a plastic housing 13a provided with an inner end wall 26 having an aperture 27 therein and g is provided at its other end with a plastic closure 28 having a portion forming a plug extending into the other FIGURE 1 is a sectional view of anon-metered valve 7 mounted on the neck of acontainer.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of one form of metering valve mounted on the container.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of another form of metering valve mounted on the container. 1 H

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 44 of FIG. 3.

The invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 as being applied to a non-metering valve for a container 10, herein illustrated as a glass bottle for holding an aerosol material, which has a neck portion 11 terminating in a mouth portion 12. The mouth portion has an inner wall 13 and an outer wall 14 connected by an end wall 15. A valve means 16 is adapted to be lnounted on the neck of the bottle to overlie the mouth thereof and has a sliding valve stem 17 for controlling the discharge or dispensing of the material from the container. In the illustrated form of the invention the valve means includes'a housing 18 preferably molded from plastic material. The housing end of the housing to provide the measuring chamber.

The housing has a mounting flange 19a extending over the end wall 14a of the mouth of the bottle, and a depending portion 24a engaging the inner wall of the mouth. The plastic closure member 2 3 has a flange 29 extending outwardly and overlying the'mounting flange 19a. A mount ing ferrule Zila is disposed over both of the flanges and has a depending skirt 21a extending over the edges of the flanges and into clamping relation with the neck of the bottle as shown inFIG. 2. This structure confines the sealing material 23a and protects it in the same manner as noted above in the description of FIG. 1, and also provides a seal at the skirt to prevent any inadvertent leakage between the closure and housing. The closure has 'a bore 30 through which the stem projects.

In the form of the invention shown in FIG. 2, a twopart stem 31, 32 is used in which a shoulder 33 is formed 'on theinnerstem 32 and the outer stem 31 is provided with an axial discharge passage 34 and a lateral passage 35 normally disposed outside the closure.

A sealing ring 36 for the stem is disposed outside of the measuring chamber and is carried by an outer surface of the closure member and cannot be contacted by the material to be dispensed. Preferably, the valve stem is urged to normal position of FIG. 2 by a spring 37 which is also mounted outside ofthe measuring chamber. It is disposed within a hollow neck 3% formed on the closure member and is enclosed within an enclosing sleeve 3? carried by-the stem and acts to move the stem to its normally non-dispensing position in which the shoulder 33 on the stern bears against the closure and forms a seal therewith for the chamber for preventing dispensing of the material therefrom.' As the stem is moved inwardly, the passage 35. leading to the discharge passage 34 of the stem will be moved past the seal and past the closure member into the housing so as to dispense the material from the measuring chamber. During this movement, the inner end of the stem portion 32, which 'is disposed in the aperture 2.7 in the wall in the bottom of the housing, will be moved to a point where a fiattened valve portion 400m the stemis moved downwardly and the cylindrical portion 41 of the stem completely fills the aperture and seals the housing from the material in the container. The two portions of the stem and the elements carried thereby can be readily assembled with the closure member and then mounted on the hous- In the form of the invention shown in FIG. 3, the metering valve is substantially the same as that of'FIG. 2 with the exception that the stem 42 having the shoulder 43 is molded as one piece. It is passed through the bore in the closure and the sealing washer and spring 37 are assembled thereon and the enclosure sleeve 39,

which is formed as a separate member, is assembled to the stem and securely fastened thereto to enclose the spring andcooperate withthe neck 38 to prevent'contamination of the stem. 7

Also, in this form of the invention the inlet valve for the housing is formed by the end wall 46 of the housing adjacent the aperture 47 therein being cut away to form ribs 48 which provide inlet ports when the stem is in its normal non-dispensing position, as shown in FIG. 3, and

which also provide guide means for the cylindrical inner end 42a of the stem so that as the stem is moved inwardly to dispense the material in the housing, the cylindrical end of the stern will pass into the sleeve beyond the ribs and seal 01f the housing from the container. This form of valve is particularly useful where powdered aerosols are being dispensed since it prevents clogging and provides a large number of ports for movement of the material into the measuring chamber.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claims and portions of the improvements may be usedwithout others.

I claim:

ll. An aerosol valve adapted to be secured to a container to extend over a mouth thereof to dispense material therefrom with said mouth having an inner and outer portion connected by an end portion comprising a plastic valve housing receiving material from the container, a plastic closure therefor including a plug portion closing the end of the housing and having a bore therein and a flange, aplastic valve stem having a portion projecting from the housing and slidable in the bore for controlling discharge of material from said housing, said valve stem having an annular abutment engaging the closure to seal the. housing when the stem is in a normal non-dispensing position, a ring of sealing material surounding the valve stem and disposed outside said closure, means urging said valve stem to said normal non-dispensing position, said housing having a projectinglateral mounting flange to'underlie the flange on the plug and adapted to extend over the end portion and having an annular portion depending therefrom, said annular portion being adapted to sealingly engage the inner portion of said tion of the mouth, and a sealing material cbnfined between the annular portion and skirt and adapted to be clamped between the end wall and mounting flange for sealing the container, said sealing materials being maintained out of contact with the material in the container whereby contaminationthereof is avoided.

2. An aerosol valveadapted to be secured to a container over a mouth thereof to dispense material therefrom with said mouth having an inner and outer portion connected by an end portion comprising a plastic valve housing having a projecting lateral mounting flange adapted to extend overthe end portion and having an annular portion depending therefrom, said annular portion being adapted to sealingly engage the inner portion of said mouth, a plastic closure for the housing comprising a plug having a boretherein and a flange overlying the mounting flange, a plastic Valve stem having a portion projecting from the housing and slidable in the bore and having an annular abutment engaging the closure for controlling discharge of material "from said housing, a seal for the valve stem disposed on the outside said closure and out of contact with said material for preventing leakage along the stem passing through said bore, a spring disposed outside said closure for urging said valve stem to a normal non-dispensing position, a mounting ferrule for securing the valve housing to the container, said ferrule extending over the superposed flanges having a depending skirt adapted to extend over the edge of said flanges and. into engagement with the outer portion-of the mouth, and a sealing material confined betweenthe annular portion and skirt and adapted to be clamped between the end wall and mounting flange for sealing the container.

3. Valve-means for controlling the discharge of a measured amount of fluid under pressure from a container comprising a tubular plastic valve housing having a transverse Wall at the inner end provided with an aperture and having a plastic closure comprising a plug having a bore mounted in the other end, said plug having an outwardly extending hollow neck located outside ofthe valve housing, means mounting the housing on the container, a valve stem mounted in said housing and having an upper portionextending through said bore in the closure and projecting beyond the container, said stem having a longitudinal passage in the projecting portion communicating with a lateral passage normally disposed outside of the housing and a sealing portion within the housing cooperating with the closure to seal the housing, and means disposed exteriorly of the housing and in the hollow neck and urging the sealing portion of the stem into sealing relation with the closure, movement of said stem against the urging means a predetermined distance from normal having a lower portion sliding in and cooperating with the aperture in the plastic wall to guide the inner end of said stem and permit flow of material from the container into the housing and becoming operative by inward movement of said valve stem to'close the aperture and seal the housing from the container prior to the movement of the lateral passage into communication with the housing, thereby dispensing only the fluid in the valve housing.

4. Valve means for controlling the discharge of a measured amount of fluid under pressure from a container comprising a tubular plastic valve housing having a transverse wall at the inner end provided with a central aperture and having a closure including a plug having a bore at the outer end, means mounting the housing on the container, a valve stem mounted in said housing and having a portion extending through said bore in the closure and projecting beyond the container and a portion slidable in and a sealing portion cooperating with the closure to seal the housing, and means urging the stem to a normal position in which the sealing portion of the stem is in sealing relation with the closure, movement of said stem against the urging means a predetermined distance from normal sealing position causing said sealing portion 'to be moved out of sealing relation and said lateral passage to be moved into communication with the housing, said wall having inwardly facing spaced ribs around the aperture to surround and guide the stem and form inlet ports for the housing when the stem is in normal position and said stem having a portion thereon cooperating with the aper tured wall to close said ports upon inward movement of said valve stem and seal the housing from the container prior to the movement of the lateral passage into communication with the housing, thereby dispensing only the fiuid in the valve housing.

5. An aerosol valve adapted to be secured to a container to extend over a mouth thereof to dispense aerosol material therefrom, said valve having a measuring chamber therein comprising a plastic valve housing having an apertured inner wall, a plastic valve stem mounted on the housing and controlling discharge of material from said chamber in measured amounts and having a portion slidably mounted in said aperture in said inner wall, and means for urging said valve stem to a normal non-dispensing position, said stem and apertured wall having cooperating rib means including a plurality of spaced ribs engaging and guiding said stem in nondispensing position and providing inlet ports for passage of the material from the container to said housing, said stem when moved to dispensing position having a portion closing said aperture and said inlet ports.

6. Valve means for controlling the discharge of a measured amount of fluid under pressure from a container comprising a tubular plastic valve housing having a transverse wall at the inner end provided with an aperture and having a plastic closure comprising a plug having a bore mounted in the other end, said plug having an outwardly extending hollow neck located outside of the valve housing, means mounting the housing on the container, a valve stem mounted in said housing and having an upper portion extending through said bore in the closure and axially of said hollow neck and projecting beyond the container, said stem having a longitudinal passage in the projecting portion communicating with a lateral passage normally disposed outside of the housing and a sealing portion within the housing cooperating with the closure to seal the housing, and resilient means disposed exteriorly of the housing and in the hollow neck and urging the sealing portion of the stem into sealing relation with the closure, said stem having an enclosing sleeve carried by the stem and enclosing said resilient means, said sleeve being slidable in the hollow neck, movement of said stem against the urging means a predetermined distance from normal sealing position causing said sealing portion to be moved out of sealing relation with the plug and said lateral passage to be moved into communication with the housing, said stem having a lower portion sliding in and cooperating with the aperture in the plastic wall to guide the inner end of said stem and permit flow of material from the container into the housing and become operative by inward movement of said valve stem to close the aperture and seal the housing from the container prior to the movement of the lateral passage into communication with the housing, thereby dispensing only the fluid in the valve housing.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,062,576 5/13 Baskett et a1 222453 X 2,729,3 67 1/56 Samuels 222-5 42 X 2,781,954 2/57 Bretz. 2, 83 0,745 4/ 5 8 Bartoll Aicart. 2,856,103 10/58 Ward. 2,858,053 10/58 Waldherr. 2,973,123 2/ 61 Rousset. 2,974,753 3/61 Meshberg. 3,052,382 9/62 Gawthrop 222335 3,054,536 9/62 Sagarin 239337 X 3,130,880 4/64 Briechle 222394 FOREIGN PATENTS 511,501 10/30 Germany.

OTHER REFERENCES Jarvis (German application), 1,012,567, printed July 18, 1957.

Waldherr (German application), 1,033,147, printed June 26, 1958.

RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Primary Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. 5. AN AEROSOL VALVE ADAPTED TO BE SECURED TO A CONTAINER TO EXTEND OVER A MOUTH THEREOF TO DISPENSE AEROSOL MATERIAL THEREFROM, SAID VALVE HAVING A MEASURING CHAMBER THEREIN COMPRISING A PLASTIC VALVE HOUSING HAVING AN APERTURED INNER WALL, A PLASTIC VALVE STEM MOUNTED ON THE HOUSING AND CONTROLLING DISCHARGE OF MATERIAL FROM SAID CHAMBER IN MEASURED AMOUNTS AND HAVING A PORTION SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN SAID APERTURE IN SAID INNER WALL, AND MEANS FOR URGING SAID VALVE STEM TO A NORMAL NON-DISPENSING POSITION, SAID STEM AND APERTURED WALL HAVING COOPERATING RIB MEANS INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF SPACED RIBS ENGAGING AND GUIDING SAID STEM IN NONDISPENSING POSITION AND PROVIDING INLET PORTS FOR PASSAGE OF THE MATERIAL FROM THE CONTAINER TO SAID HOUSING, SAID STEM WHEN MOVED TO DISPENSING POSITION HAVING A PORTION CLOSING SAID APERTURE AND SAID INLET PORTS.

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