US3636959A

US3636959A - Device for infusing an article with a gaseous substance

Info

Publication number: US3636959A
Application number: US40052A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jean Marand
Original assignee: Geigy Chemical Corp
Current assignee: Novartis Corp
Priority date: 1970-05-25
Filing date: 1970-05-25
Publication date: 1972-01-25
Anticipated expiration: 1989-01-25
Also published as: DE2125665A1; CA937396A; FR2091836A5; CH528423A; GB1349192A; DE2125665B2

Abstract

A device for infusing an article with a gaseous substance. An article holder having a hollow interior adapted to hold an article to be infused has a cylindrical exterior and a piston head on one end. A cylinder is slidable on said piston head and has an annular piston thereon in sliding engagement with said cylindrical surface of said article holder to form an expanding chamber between said article holder and said cylinder when said article holder and cylinder are telescoped. The article holder has passages formed therein between the interior of said article holder and said expanding chamber. A dispensing means for dispensing a gaseous substance with which the article is to be infused is engaged with said article holder and opens into said article holder. The dispensing means is engaged by said cylinder and actuated when said article holder and said cylinder have been moved relative to each other to expand said expandable chamber to produce a vacuum within the interior of said article holder.

Description

iJnited States Patent 1 1 96 69959 Marand 5] ,iano 25, 1972 [54] DEVIIQE FUR HNFUSHNG AN ARTICLE Primary Examiner-Samuel Koren WITH A GASEUIUS SIUBESTANEE Assistant ExaminerJ. F. Pitrelli Attorney-Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack [72] Inventor: Jean Marand, Norwalk, Conn. [73] Assignee: Geigy Chemical Corporation, Greenburgh, [57] ABSTRACT A device for infusing an article with a gaseous substance. An [22] Filed: May 25, 1970 article holder having a hollow interior adapted to hold an article to be infused has a cylindrical exterior and a piston head [2]] Appl. No.: 410,052 on one end. A cylinder is slidable on said piston head and has an annular piston thereon in sliding engagement with said cylindrical surface of said article holder to form an expanding gggggg fi igg chamber between said article holder and said cylinder when 58 5/00 said article holder and cylinder are telescoped. The article iFreIdotSearch ..131/133 R, 133 A; 222/193,

222/4 H8 300. 401 19 holder has passages formed therein between the interior of I l 0 said article holder and said expanding chamber. A dispensing means for dispensing a gaseous substance with which the arti- [56] References cued cle is to be infused is en a ed with said article holder and g g UNITED STATES PATENTS opens into said article holder. The dispensing means IS engaged by said cylinder and actuated when said article holder 1,984,984 12/1934 Perry 13 1/133 R X and said cylinder have been moved relative to each other to 3,527,388 9/1970 Cooprider ..222/193 expand said expandable chamber to produce a vacuum within 2,333,049 /1943 Shapiro .131/133 R the interior of said article holder. 3,101,905 8/1963 Hoenig.... ....222/193 X 3,506,158 4/1970 Duda ..222 193 x 9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 178,323 4/1954 Austria ..13l/133 R 23 25 24 O 61 w I V 1 7 27 x 2 8 64' V- -58 60%" g 57 4s- 1 29 4e f; 37

4st, 3s 4|- at 3 V 1" v 44,

-38 4O A 32 53-? F /39 s 34 54 V 56 f E 33 -51c.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an infusor device, and more particularly relates to an infusor device for infusing an article positioned within an article holder with a gaseous substance or material dispensed from an aerosol type dispenser.

By gaseous substance or material" is meant either a gas, or an atomized or finely divided substance, such as is dispensed from an aerosol type dispenser.

It is sometimes desired to infuse an article with a gaseous substance and to carry out such infusion on individual articles. For example, individual cigarettes might be treated with a gaseous material, such as an aromatic material or a carcinogenic inhibiting material. The gaseous material might be such that it is necessary to treat the cigarettes with it immediately prior to being smoked, rather than on a mass basis prior to their being packaged.

One easy way to apply gaseous substances is by means of aerosol dispensers. Many such substances are incompatible with the known propellants. However, there have recently been developed aerosol dispensers of the type in which the product to be dispensed is kept separate from the propellant used to dispense the product until the time the product is actually dispensed. Such dispensers have even been miniaturized. The difficulty with using such device is, however, that simply spraying the article will not cause it to be infused with the sprayed material.

It is therefore desirable to have a simple device which can apply a gaseous substance to an article in such a way that the article is infused with the gaseous substance, which device utilizes an aerosol dispenser to supply the gaseous substance. Such a device should be compact, and yet should preferably automatically dispense the gaseous material at the proper time during its operation.

OBJECTS AND BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a compact yet simple device for infusing an article, such as a cigarette, with a gaseous substance on an article by article ba- SIS.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a device for infusing such an article with a gaseous substance which incorporates in it an aerosol type dispenser of the type in which the product and the propellant are kept separate until the dispensing operation is carried out.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a device for infusing such an article in which the dispensing is carried out in an automatic manner when the article has been subject to a vacuum.

These objects are achieved by the provision of a device comprised of an article holder adapted to hold an article to be infused, a telescoping cylinder piston arrangement which upon being telescoped applies a vacuum to the article, a dispenser associated with the article holder to discharge a gaseous material into the article holder, and means actuated by the telescoping of the piston cylinder arrangement to actuate the dispenser to dispense material into the article holder. Preferably, the dispenser is the type in which the product to be dispensed is kept separate from the propellant until the propellant is released to dispense the product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Other and further features of the invention will become apparent from the following specification and claims, taken with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional elevation view of the infusor device according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of a modified embodiment of the infusor device according to the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of a detail of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. l, which shows one embodiment, the infusor device has a hollow article holder 10, here shown as having a generally cylindrical exterior surface and a generally cylindrical interior 10a of a size to hold a single cigarette C. The surfaces need not be those of a right circular cylinder, but can be any desired shape generated by a straight line moving parallel to the axis of the article holder I0. The article holder 10 has a retaining ledge 11 on the inside thereof against which the bottom end of the cigarette rests, and has a cover 12 with a cover actuator 13 extending therefrom pivoted on a pivot Id on an ear 15 attached to a cover supporting ring 16 threaded to the top of the article holder I0. The cover I2 is adapted to rest in sealing engagement with the end of the article holder 10, and has a projection 112a extending into the interior of the article holder and adapted to engage the article to hold its position in the article holder against the retaining ledge 11 so that it will not move if it is subject to a stream of gas.

On the opposite end of the article holder from the cover 12 is a piston head 17 having a ring groove I5 in the outer periphery thereof and a sealing ring 19 therein. Around the piston head 17 is a cylinder 20, the interior of which is in sliding sealing engagement with the piston head 17 and sealing ring 19. On the end of the cylinder 10 is an annular piston 21 threaded into the end of the cylinder 20. On the inner peripheral surface thereof is a ring groove 22 with a sealing ring 23 therein. The inner peripheral surface of the annular piston 21 and the sealing ring 23 are complementary in shape to and in sliding sealing engagement with the exterior surface of the article holder 110.

It will be seen that when the article holder 10 and the cylinder 20 are moved relative to each other in a telescoping fashion, i.e., when the article holder is slid into the cylinder, an expanding chamber 24 is formed between the piston head 17 and the annular piston 21. It is this expanding chamber 24 which is used to supply a vacuum, as will be explained hereinafter.

Passages 25 are formed in the article holder 10 which extend from the interior thereof into the chamber 24. In this embodiment, the passages 25 are adjacent the piston head 17 so that the passages are open to the expanding chamber 24 as the chamber 24 is expanding during telescoping of the article holder 10 and the cylinder 20.

Means are also provided in this embodiment to cut off the communication between the interior lltla of the article holder 10 and the expanding chamber 24. Valve bores 26 extend upwardly through the article holder ll) on lines which intersect the passages 25, and slide valves 27 are slidably mounted in said valve bores. When the slide valves 27 are moved to the innermost positions in the valve bores 26, they extend across the passages 25 and block them.

A dispenser receiving recess 28 is provided in the bottom of the article holder 10 and is in communication with the interior of the articleholder. The recess 28 is adapted to receiye in a snug fit therein the end of the dispensing means through which the material to be infused into the article is ejected. The dispensing means is of the type which can be actuated to carry out dispensing when it is appropriately contacted by the cylinder.

It is preferred that the dispensing means be an aerosol type dispenser, generally indicated at 29, of the type which dispen ses a stream of gaseous material axially of the dispenser. The dispenser 29 is positioned in the cylinder 20 and a flange 20a is provided for engaging under the end of the dispenser to act as a stop when the unit is actuated. The end of the uppermost portion of the dispenser and the recess .28 should have complementary shapes, and the upper end of the dispenser should be such that the stream of gaseous material is ejected at about the center of the recess. The slide valves 27 are preferably mounted on the end of the dispenser 29 so that when the dispenser is moved toward the article holder 10 to dispense material, the valves will slide into bores 26.

While any appropriate aerosol type dispenser will be satisfactory, it is preferred that a miniaturized so-called double aerosol dispenser be used. A preferred form of such a dispenser is shown in FIG. 1. The dispenser is made up of a valve assembly, a propellant cartridge, a product containing sac, and a housing enclosing these elements.

The valve assembly is similar to that disclosed in US. Pat. application Ser. No. 778,905 in the name of Marand, filed Oct. 15, 1968. It has a valve body 30 having a hollow interior 31 which opens out of the top of the valve body 30. A bore 32 extends downwardly from the hollow interior 31 and opens into a downwardly open recess 33 in the bottom of the valve body 30. Positioned in the downwardly open recess 33 is an annular obturating gasket 34.

A hollow valve stem 35 extends through the hollow interior 31 and has a cylindrical portion 38 extending through the bore 32 and spaced only slightly therefrom, so that the surface defining the bore 32 forms a loose bearing for the valve stem 35. A conical head 36 is provided on the bottom end of the stem 35, and between the cylindrical portion 38 and the conical head 36 is a reduced diameter portion 39 in which the inner edge of the annular gasket 34 is tightly engaged.

The stem has a hollow bore 27 therein, and from the lower end of the bore 37 extend vertical passages 40 which open out of the stem in the reduced diameter portion 39. In the rest position of the stem, as shown in FIG. 1, in which the stem is in the raised position relative to the valve body 30, the inner edge of the annular gasket 34 closes off or obturates the openings at the lower ends of the vertical passages 40.

The valve stem has a flange 41 thereon, and a return spring 43 is positioned between the flange and the bottom of the hollow interior 31, and tends to urge the stem 35 in the upward direction. Finlike projections 44 are provided on the inner surface of the valve body 30 and project into the hollow interior 3]. The upper ends of the projections 44 are at a level such that they are abutted by the flange 41 and act as stops for the downward movement of the stem 35.

On the exterior peripheral surface of the upper part of the stem 35 above the flange 41 are a plurality of radially projecting ribs 45 extending parallel to the axis of the stem, and defining between them passages 46. At the lower ends of the ribs 45 and outwardly thereof on the upper part of the flange 41 is a downwardly and outwardly tapered surface 48. Engaged with this surface 48 is the inner portion of the downwardly facing surface of a further annular obturating gasket 49 for obturating flow of the product. This gasket has the outer portion of the downwardly facing surface engaged with the upper end of the valve body 30, so that in the normal or rest position, as shown in FIG. 1, the annular gasket 49 closes off the top of the hollow interior 31 between the stern and the valve body.

Extending downwardly from the hollow interior 31 on one side of the valve body 30 is a product passage 53 which opens into a further downwardly open recess 54in the bottom of the valve body.

A propellant cartridge 52 is provided which has a smaller diameter upper portion 52a, the upper end of which is engaged with the lower surface of the annular obturating gasket 34. The upper end of the upper portion 52a is thus closed by the gasket 34 and the conical head 36 extending through the gasket. The propellant cartridge 52 further has a larger diameter lower portion 52b, the outside diameter of which is preferably about the same as the outside diameter of the valve body 30.

There is defined between the larger diameter lower portion 52b of the propellant cartridge and the lower end of the valve body 30 a recess, which in the present embodiment is an annular recess, in which is positioned an annular flexible collapsible product containing sac 55. The product containing sac 55 has a discharge outlet 56 on the upper end thereof which extends upwardly and into sealing engagement with the valve body in the recess 54 into which the product passage 53 opens.

Surrounding the above-described parts and holding them in the described relationship is a housing 50, which in this embodiment has bottom flange 51a flanged over the propellant cartridge, and has top flange 51b flanged over the upper surface of the further annular gasket 49. An indent 510 is provided in the outer peripheral wall of the housing 50, which extends inwardly under the bottom surface of the valve body 30 so as to tightly clamp the valve body 30 and the annular gasket 49 together. The housing 50 has openings in the outer peripheral wall thereof to admit air to the annular recess in which is positioned the product containing sac 55.

The valve stem 35 has an upper cylindrical portion 57 which is integral with the outer edges of the ribs 45, and which extends upwardly beyond the end of the portion of the valve stem 35 having the hollow bore 37 therein, so as to fit snugly in recess 28 in article holder 10. The interior of the upper cylindrical portion 57 defines a larger upwardly opening recess 58 at the upper end of the valve stem 35. In the upper portion of the valve stem within the upper cylindrical portion 57 is a smaller upwardly opening recess 58a into which is fitted a nozzle insert generally indicated at 59. The nozzle insert has a Venturi portion 60 which has the lower portion fitted into the recess 58a. The Venturi portion 60 is longer than the recess 58a is deep so that the Venturi portion extends beyond the outer end of the recess 58a. The nozzle insert has a larger diameter portion 61 on the upper end thereof, the outer diameter of which is such as to fit tightly within the upwardly opening recess 58. This portion 61 defines with the upper ends of the ribs 45 a product supply chamber 64. The Venturi nozzle insert has a Venturi nozzle 60a therein, with radial product passages 62 opening into it through the Venturi portion 60 from the product supply chamber 64.

in the position of the parts as shown in FIG. 1, the bore 37 in the stem is sealed off from the interior of the propellant cartridge 52 by the obturating gasket 34, which completely seals off the vertical passages 40. In addition, the hollow interior 31 is sealed off from the passages 46 between the ribs 45 along the outside of the upper portion of the stem 35 by the gasket 49 and its sealing engagement with the tapered surface 48 on the upper part of flange 41 and with the upper end of the valve body 30 around the hollow interior 31.

Upon relative movement of the propellant cartridge 52 and the valve stem 35 toward each other, which is brought about by exerting pressure on the bottom of the larger diameter lower portion 5 la of the housing 50 and the upper end of hollow stem 35, the hollow stem 35 moves downwardly through the hollow interior 31, two actions take place. One of these is the flexing downwardly of the obturating gasket 34 so that the upper surface around the hole therethrough is engaged by the downwardly and inwardly tapered surface leading to the reduced diameter portion 39. The inner periphery of the obturating gasket 34 is moved away from the lower ends of vertical passages 40, thus opening a propellant flow path from the interior of propellant cartridge 52 through the bore 37 to the Venturi nozzle 6].

Depending on the exact construction of the embodiment, slightly before or after the opening of the passages 40, the downward flexing of the annular gasket 49 proceeds to a point such that the downwardly and inwardly tapered portion of the lower end of the upper cylindrical portion 57 engages the upper surface of annular gasket 49, and the inner periphery of the gasket 49 moves away from the tapered surface 48 on the upper part of flange 41. This establishes an opening between the hollow interior 31 and the passages 46, and a product flow path from the interior of the product containing sac 55 through the product passage 53, the hollow interior 31 and the passages 46 and product supply chamber 64 is sealed off from the atmosphere. The reduced pressure in the Venturi nozzle 61 is thus communicated to this flow path through the radial product passages 62, and the product to be dispensed is aspirated from the product containing sac 55.

As the product is aspirated from the product containing sac, the sac will collapse under the effect of the pressure of the atmosphere around the dispensing device, which acts on the sac 55 through the openings in the housing 50.

Release of the force moving the hollow stem 35 inwards relative to the propellant cartridge 52 enables the return spring 43 to move the hollow stem 35 in the opposite direction, thereby returning the parts to the position shown in FIG. ll.

It will be understood that the relative movement of the stem 35 inwardly of the propellant cartridge is limited by the engagement of flange 41 with the projections 44 in the hollow interior, and that movement of the stem 35 in the opposite direction is limited by the engagement of the flange 41 with the gasket 49, which in turn is restrained by the top flange 5llb on the housing 50.

In operation, with the parts of the device in the positions shown in FIG. I, and with a cigarette C having been positioned in the interior ltla of the article holder l0 and the cover 12 closed, the article holder and the cylinder 20 are telescoped. During the relative movement between them, the chamber 24!- expands. This causes the air in the interior lltla to be drawn through the passages 25 so that a vacuum is produced in the interior 10a and the expanded chamber 2d. The movement continues until the flange 20a on the bottom of the cylinder 20 abuts the bottom of the housing 50, at which time the annular piston 21 is near the top of the article holder 10. Further movement of the article holder 10 and the cylinder 2t) toward each other causes the valve stem 35 to be moved toward the propellant cartridge 52, causing dispensing of the product to be dispensed from the dispenser 29. At the same time, the slide valves 27 are moved into the valve bores 26 to bloclt the passages 25. Thus, the material dispensed flows into the interior ltla of the article holder, which is under a vacuum, and the cigarette is infused with the gaseous material from the dispenser.

The movement of the parts of the device toward each other is easily brought about by exerting finger pressure on the opposite ends of the device, and the movement will be stopped automatically when the flange All on the valve stem 35 abuts the projections dd. Release of the finger pressure enables the spring 43 to return the valve stem 35 to the rest position. The cover 12 can then be opened and the cigarette removed. This will restore the interior 10a to atmospheric pressure, which will enable the telescoped parts to be drawn apart to the FIG. ll positions again.

When the dispenser 29 is empty, it can easily be replaced by simply unscrewing the annular piston Zll and drawing the cylinder 20 off the piston head 17. The exhausted dispenser 29 with the slide valve 27 thereon is removed and a fresh dispenser with slide valves thereon inserted in its place. The cylinder 20 is replaced, and the annular piston screwed into the end thereof and the device is again ready for operation.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the passages between the interior 10a of the article holder l0 and the expanding chamber 2d are located at the end of the article holder 10 which is remote from the piston head 17, as shown at 26a. Thus, as the article holder 10 is telescoped into the cylinder 20, the vacuum in the expanding chamber 24 increases, reaching a maximum just before the annular piston 21 passes the openings 26a. By placing the openings 26a a distance above the piston head 21, which is substantially the same as the distance between the bottom of the dispenser 29 and the bottom of the cylinder 20 when the cylinder and article holder are in their extended positions, the bottom flange 20a on the cylinder 20 will engage the bottom of the dispenser 29 at about the time the annular piston 21 reaches the openings 26a. Thus, the dispenser will be actuated to discharge the gaseous material at the time the openings 26a are placed in communication with the expanding chamber 24. Thus, as the air is being drawn upward, in FIG. 2, through the interior ltla of the article holder 10, the material to be infused is being discharged into the interior lllla at the lower end, whereby the material to be infused is drawn through the article.

With this arrangement, in order to enable the article holder it) and the cylinder Ztl to be drawn apart, some way must be provided for venting the air which will be present in the expanding chamber 2d after the openings 26:: have been opened. One simple way of accomplishing this is to provide vent openings 76 in the cylinder 20 just under the annular piston 2ll, and to cover the outer ends of these openings with a flap valve 71, here shown as an annular rubber band in a groove 21a. During expansion of the expanding chamber 24, the rubber band will be drawn tightly against the openings 70, preventing inflow of air, but while the chamber is being made smaller, the rubber band can stretch and allow air to flow out of the chamber 24L There has thus been provided an infusor device which is compact and yet has a simple structure and utilizes an aerosol dispenser to supply the gaseous infusing material. The device acts automatically to provide a vacuum in the space for holding the article, and also acts to actuate the dispenser automatically when the vacuum is at a maximum. The dispenser can be easily replaced when it is exhausted, so that the device can be reused.

It will be understood that many modifications are possible in the construction and use of the device. The interior of the article holder can be given a shape to hold any article which it is desired to infuse, so long as the shape of the exterior of the article holder is such that the annular piston 21 can slide therealong. Moreover, the dispenser device can be modified, for example to supply a measured dose of the infusing material. Other modification within he scope of the invention will readily occur to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

l. A device for infusing an article with a gaseous substance, comprising an article holder having a hollow interior adapted to hold an article to be infused, the exterior surface of said article holder being cylindrical, a piston head on one end of said article holder, a cylinder slidable on said piston head and having an annular piston thereon having .an internal periphery complementary in shape to and in sliding engagement with said cylindrical surface of said article holder to form an expanding chamber between said article holder and said cylinder when said article holder and cylinder are telescoped, said article holder having passages formed therein between the interior of said article holder and said expanding chamber, a dispensing means for dispensing a gaseous substance with which the article is to be infused, said dispensing means being actuable to carry out dispensing, said dispensing means being engaged with said article holder and opening into said article holder and engaged by said cylinder and actuated when said article holder and said cylinder have been moved relative to each other to expand said expandable chamber to produce a vacuum within the interior of said article holder.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which said dispensing means is an aerosol type dispenser having a movable valve stem, said stem being engaged with said article holder and the remainder of said dispenser being engaged by said cylinder at the end of the cylinder movement relative to the article holder to move the remainder of the dispenser relative to the stem for causing the dispensing from the dispenser.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2 in which said valve stem is movable axially of said dispenser; and said dispenser is positioned within said cylinder, said cylinder having means on the end thereof remote from the article holder for engaging the dispenser and moving it toward said article holder relative to said valve stem at the end of the cylinder movement.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3 in which said cylinder is threaded onto said annular piston whereby it can be removed from said piston head for replacement of said dispenser.

5. A device as claimed in claim I in which said passages between said expanding chamber and the interior of said article holder are adjacent said piston head, and valve means in said passages are actuated when said dispensing means is actuated for blocking of? said passages.

6. A device as claimed in claim in which said valve means is a valve rod slidable in said article holder, said valve rod projecting out of said article holder and engageable by said dispensing means to be moved into said article holder when said dispensing means is actuated.

7. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which said passages between the expanding chamber and the interior of said article holder are at the end of said article holder remote from said piston head and just at the end of the expanding chamber when said dispensing means is actuated, and said cylinder has one way valve means therein adjacent said annular piston.

8. A device as claimed in claim 7 in which said cylinder has a plurality of apertures therein and a groove around the outside thereof into which said apertures open, and said one way valve means comprises a band of resilient material in said groove and covering the ends of said apertures.

9. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which said dispensing means is an aerosol type dispenser, comprising a subassembly comprising a valve assembly having a valve body, a hollow stem movable through said valve body in a direction axially of said stern, said valve assembly having a product flow path therethrough and a propellant flow path therethrough, part of one of said flow paths being through said hollow stem and obturating means operatively associated with said stem for obturating said flow paths, said valve body having two opening out of the bottom thereof, a propellant cartridge having a smaller cross section upper portion with the upper end thereof in sealing engagement with said valve assembly at one of said openings and having a larger cross section lower portion, the

outer periphery of which has substantially the same dimensions as the outer periphery of said valve body in said valve assembly, said lower portion of said propellant cartridge and said valve body defining between them a space, a flexible collapsible product containing sac in said space having a discharge outlet in sealing engagement around the other of said openings in said valve body, and a housing around said valve body, said propellant cartridge and said sac and having an aperture therein opening into said space, the interior of said housing having a cross section substantially the same as said valve body and said larger cross section lower portion of said propellant cartridge and engaged with said valve body of said said propellant cartridge lower portion for holding said valve body, said propellant cartridge and said sac in the recited relationship, and a Venturi nozzle assembly having a Venturi nozzle with a Venturi therethrough and product passages opening into the Venturi and means defining a product supply chamber around said Venturi nozzle from which said product passages extend into the Venturi, said assembly having openings into said Venturi and said product supply chamber aligned with the flow paths from the propellant cartridge and from said sac at the upper end of said valve assembly, said dispenser being positioned within said cylinder with said Venturi nozzle assembly engaged with said article holder and opening into the interior of said article holder and said cylinder having means on the end thereof engaging said dispenser at the end of the relative movement of said cylinder and said article holder for actuating said dispenser.

Claims

1. A device for infusing an article with a gaseous substance, comprising an article holder having a hollow interior adapted to hold an article to be infused, the exterior surface of said article holder being cylindrical, a piston head on one end of said article holder, a cylinder slidable on said piston head and having an annular piston thereon having an internal periphery complementary in shape to and in sliding engagement with said cylindrical surface of said article holder to form an expanding chamber between said article holder and said cylinder when said article holder and cylinder are telescoped, said article holder having passages formed therein between the interior of said article holder and said expanding chamber, a dispensing means for dispensing a gaseous substance with which the article is to be infused, said dispensing means being actuable to carry out dispensing, said dispensing means being engaged with said article holder and opening into said article holder and engaged by said cylinder and actuated when said article holder and said cylinder have been moved relative to each other to expand said expandable chamber to produce a vacuum within the interior of said article holder.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which said passages between said expanding chamber and the interior of said article holder are adjacent said piston head, and valve means in said passages are actuated when said dispensing means is actuated for blocking off said passages.

6. A device as claimed in claim 5 in which said valve means is a valve rod slidable in said article holder, said valve rod projecting out of said article holder and engageable by said dispensing means to be moved into said article holder when said dispensing means is actuated.

9. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which said dispensing means is an aerosol type dispenser, comprising a subassembly comprising a valve assembly having a valve body, a hollow stem movable through said valve body in a direction axially of said stem, said valve assembly having a product flow path therethrough and a Propellant flow path therethrough, part of one of said flow paths being through said hollow stem and obturating means operatively associated with said stem for obturating said flow paths, said valve body having two opening out of the bottom thereof, a propellant cartridge having a smaller cross section upper portion with the upper end thereof in sealing engagement with said valve assembly at one of said openings and having a larger cross section lower portion, the outer periphery of which has substantially the same dimensions as the outer periphery of said valve body in said valve assembly, said lower portion of said propellant cartridge and said valve body defining between them a space, a flexible collapsible product containing sac in said space having a discharge outlet in sealing engagement around the other of said openings in said valve body, and a housing around said valve body, said propellant cartridge and said sac and having an aperture therein opening into said space, the interior of said housing having a cross section substantially the same as said valve body and said larger cross section lower portion of said propellant cartridge and engaged with said valve body of said propellant cartridge lower portion for holding said valve body, said propellant cartridge and said sac in the recited relationship, and a Venturi nozzle assembly having a Venturi nozzle with a Venturi therethrough and product passages opening into the Venturi and means defining a product supply chamber around said Venturi nozzle from which said product passages extend into the Venturi, said assembly having openings into said Venturi and said product supply chamber aligned with the flow paths from the propellant cartridge and from said sac at the upper end of said valve assembly, said dispenser being positioned within said cylinder with said Venturi nozzle assembly engaged with said article holder and opening into the interior of said article holder and said cylinder having means on the end thereof engaging said dispenser at the end of the relative movement of said cylinder and said article holder for actuating said dispenser.