WO1983002437A1

WO1983002437A1 - Aerosol mounting cup

Info

Publication number: WO1983002437A1
Application number: PCT/US1983/000083
Authority: WO
Inventors: Valves Aerosols Valois
Original assignee: Knickerbocker, Michael, G.
Priority date: 1982-01-20
Filing date: 1983-01-19
Publication date: 1983-07-21
Also published as: EP0099401A1; CA1194005A

Abstract

An aerosol container (36) having a sealing bead (34) disposed about an upper opening in the container (36). A mounting cup (12) having a sealing rim (16) extending about the periphery thereof. A valve (10) is disposed in the cup (12) for providing fluid communication between the interior and exterior of the container. In one embodiment a sealing gasket (32A) is electrostatically applied to one of the sealing beads for providing a fluid tight seal between cup (12) and container (36). In another embodiment, a sealing gasket (132A) is applied to one of the sealing beads by a shrink wrapping process. The invention includes methods of applying a resilient material electrostatically or by a shrink wrap process for providing the seal between mounting cup and container. A particular embodiment provides a combined sealing gasket and protective coating for the mounting cup with either a uniform or preferential coating thickness.

Description

Aerosol Mounting Cup

Technical Field

This invention relates to an aerosol assembly and a method of fabricating it.

Background Art

The aerosol industry has undergone dramatic and substantial changes since the birth of the industry many decades ago. It has been a constant desire of the aerosol industry to increase the reliability of the aerosol devices while simultaneously reducing the manufacturing and the consumer costs of the aerosol device. Each individual part of the aerosol device has been investigated in an attempt to reduce the part cost as well as - the cost of assembly of the aerosol device. The time required to fabricate each individual part as well as time required to fabricate the device, has been investigated in a continuing attempt to further reduce the cost of aerosol devices. If a single step in the assembly process can be accomplished in a shorter period of time, a substantial reduction in overall cost will be realized by the increase in production. Among the most time consuming steps in the fabrication of an aerosol valve is the application of a sealing gasket material to the aerosol mounting cup for sealing with the aerosol container. In general, the aerosol mounting cup is fabricated by first stamping a sheet material through a progressive die to form the mounting cup turret with a central through aperture and peripheral sealing rim for sealing with an annular bead disposed on the aerosol container. The stamped mounting cups are oriented for enabling a solvent based gasket material to be poured into the rim of the mounting cup . The solvent based gasket material is allowed to set at room -temperature for approximately one hour and is then progressively passed through three curing ovens. The three progressive ovens are typically set at 150°C , 250°C and 350°C, The mounting cup is placed in each oven for approximately one hour in order to remove the solvent totally from the solvent based gasket material and to leave a solvent residue of rubber to effect the seal between the mounting cup and the aerosol container. The heated mounting cups are allowed to cool to proper handling temperature prior to assembly with the aerosol valve and dip tube. Presently this prior art process requires approximately four and one-half hours of time for each mounting cup to provide a suitable coating for sealing with the aerosol container. However, since the solvent based gasket material is allowed to flow into the mounting cup rim, the resultant solid residue of rubber is irregular in thickness and may result in a defective seal between the mounting cup and the aerosol container.

Others in the prior art use a precoated process wherein the mounting cup stock is unrolled and coated with a gasket material. The sheet stock is punched and formed to create the aerosol valve mounting cup . Since the sheet stock is coated prior to forming, substantial stresses are developed within the coating. In addition, the coating may be damaged during the punching and forming process. Due to the punching step after precoating process, the outer peripheral edge of the sealing rim and the inner edge of the central aperture in the mounting cup turret is exposed to corrosive effects leading to a separation of the coating from the metal sheet of the mounting cup and an impairment of the quality of the effective substance contained in the aerosol container or to be charged into it. U. S. Patent 3 , 417 ,117 illustrates a sealing gasket for an aerosol mounting cup formed by positioning^' a circular band of heat-shrinkable material over a portion of the skirt of the mounting cup. The mounting cup is then heated to shrink the band of material into frictional contact with the skirt of the mounting cup . U. S. Patent 3 ,443, 006 pertains to a method of making a gasketed closure element by swelling a band of gasket material and positioning the band of gasket material about the skirt of the mounting cup. The band of gasket material is then allowed to return to a normal condition to be in frictional engagement with the mounting cup skirt. Others in the prior art have utilized electrostatic spraying of paints on other coatings, but such processes have not been applied to the application of sealing gaskets.

Although many in the prior art have attempted various methods to reduce the time required to apply a gasket material to an aerosol mounting cup, the prior art has heretofore failed to provide an inexpensive and reliable method which is a suitable replacement to the solvent based coating and gasket material or the precoated process which are presently universally used in the aerosol industry. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus which overcomes the aforementioned difficulties of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the aerosol art.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved seal between an aerosol container and a mounting cup incorporating the deposition of a uniform thickness of plastic material on a sealing surface which may be readily cured into a resilient sealing material to provide a fluid tight seal between the mounting cup and the aerosol container . Another object of this invention is to provide an improved seal between an aerosol container and a mounting cup incorporating the deposition of a preferentially thicker coating of plastic material on a sealing surface with a preferentially thinner coating of plastic material on the remainder of the mounting cup. Another object of this invention is to provide an improved seal between an aerosol container and a mounting cup wherein the time required to cure the deposited resilient gasket material is substantially less than the time required to liberate the solvent of a solvent based gasket material of the prior art. Another object of this invention is to provide an improved seal between an aerosol container and a mounting cup wherein a resilient plastic gasket material is electrostatically sprayed onto the mounting cup to provide a uniform or preferential coating on the sealing surface . Another object of this invention is to provide an improved seal between an aerosol container and a mounting cup wherein a resilient plastic material is shrink wrapped onto the mounting cup to provide a uniform thickness on the sealing surface. 5 Another object of this invention is to provide an improved seal between an aerosol container and a mounting cup wherein a resilient gasket material is deposited on the entire internal area of the mounting cup for providing a fluid tight seal between the mounting cup and the aerosol container as well as protecting the mounting cup 2_,0 from the product internal the aerosol container.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved seal between an aerosol container and a mounting cup which may be colored to provide an integral color code for the mounting cup.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved seal τ_5 between an aerosol container and a mounting cup which substantially reduces the cost of fabrication of aerosol assemblies.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method of fabricating an aerosol valve and mounting cup through the use of electrostatically spraying an individual mounting cup with a resilient

20 coating and applying heat to cure the resilient coating prior to receiving the aerosol valve within the mounting cup.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method for applying, a sealing gasket material to a sealing surface between a mounting cup and an aerosol container incorporating electrostatically

25 spraying plastic material on the sealing surface and the application of heat to cure the plastic material into a integral resilient coating.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method of fabricating an aerosol valve and mounting cup through the use of shrink wrapping an individual mounting cup with a sheet material and 30 prior to receiving the aerosol valve within the mounting cup

Another object of this invention is to provide a method for applying a sealing gasket material to a sealing surface between a mounting cup and an aerosol container incorporating the use of a preheated plastic material vacuum applied to the sealing surface to

35 provide a sealing gasket for the aerosol container. The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description describing the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings . Disclosure of the Invention

The invention is defined by the appended claims with a specific embodiment shown in the attached drawings. For the purpose of summarizing the invention, the invention may be incorporated into an improved aerosol assembly for an aerosol container having container sealing means disposed about an upper opening in the aerosol container. The invention comprises a mounting cup having a mounting cup sealing means extending about the. periphery thereof. • A valve assembly is disposed in the mounting cup for providing fluid communication between the interior of the aerosol container and the exterior of the aerosol container. A sealing gasket is applied on one of the sealing means for providing a fluid tight seal when the mounting cup is secured to the aerosol container. According to a first embodiment of the invention, the sealing gasket is electrostatically applied on one of the sealing means .

In a more specific manner of said first embodiment of the invention, the aerosol container includes a container sealing bead disposed about the periphery of an opening in the aerosol container. A rim is disposed about the periphery of the mounting cup for cooperation with the bead of the aerosol container . The sealing gasket is electrostatically disposed on the interior of the mounting cup rim for sealing engagement with the bead of the aerosol container. The sealing gasket may be electrostatically disposed upon the entire interior surface of the mounting cup for providing a seal

OMPI _ between the mounting cup and the aerosol container and for protecting the interior of the mounting cup from the product internal the aerosol container. In the alternative, the sealing gasket may be electrostatically disposed upon the entire interior and exterior surface of the mounting cup for- protecting the interior and exterior surfaces thereof.

In accordance with a second embodiment of the invention, the sealing gasket comprises a heat sensitive plastic material disposed on one of said sealing means. In a more specific manner of said second embodiment of the invention, the sealing gasket is disposed on the mounting cup sealing means. Preferably, the aerosol container includes a mounting bead disposed on the periphery of an opening in the aerosol container. The mounting cup includes a rim disposed about the periphery thereof for cooperation with the mounting bead of the aerosol container. The sealing gasket may be disposed upon the entire interior surface of the mounting cup for providing a seal between the mounting cup and the aerosol container and for further protecting ^• the interior of the mounting cup form the substance internal the container. The heat sensitive plastic material preferably comprises a longitudinally extending sheet which is preheated and applied to the interior surface of the mounting cup by the application of a partial vacuum under the longitudinally extending sheet.

Further, the coating may be applied to provide a preferential thicker coating on the mounting cup rim relative to the remainder of the mounting cup. The sealing gasket may be colored to provide an integral color code for the mounting cup .

The invention also comprises the method of fabricating an aerosol valve and mounting cup assembly and the method of fabricating an aerosol dispenser comprising the step of stamping the mounting cup from a metallic sheet material. The method includes the steps of orienting the mounting cups on a surface into a preferred orientation, covering .the mounting cup on the surface with a resilient coating and securing the aerosol valve to the coated mounting cup. In one embodiment said method includes the step of electrostatically spraying the mounting cup with a resilient coating , preferably from a plastic material. Heat is applied to the resilient coating to cure the coating upon the mounting cup . The mounting cup is cooled and the aerosol valve is then secured to the electrostatically coated mounting cup . The aerosol dispenser is further fabricated in the conventional manner.

In a second embodiment of said method a heat sensitive plastic material is heated to a sufficient temperature to allow the heat sensitive plastic material to be pliable. The preheated plastic material is placed upon the mounting cups disposed- on the surface and a partial vacuum is applied to the underside of the preheated plastic sheet material to secure the plastic sheet material to the mounting cups. The individual mounting cups are cut from the sheet material and the aerosol valves are secured thereto in a conventional manner. The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the more pertinent and important features of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood so that the present contribution to the art can be more fully ^• appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and the specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. Brief Description of the Drawing For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side sectional view of a conventional mounting cup and aerosol valve assembly;

SUBSTITU Fig. 2 is a partial side sectional view showing the fluid tight seal between a conventional aerosol valve assembly and an aerosol container;

■ Fig. 3 is a side sectional view of a mounting cup and aerosol 5 valve assembly in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a side sectional view of a second embodiment of a mounting cup and aerosol valve assembly in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 5 illustrates a prior art process for fabricating the 10 mounting cup shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 illustrates the improved method of forming the mounting cup as shown in Fig. 3 in accordance with the present invention;

Figs. 7-9 illustrate various steps in the electrostatic coating of the mounting cup shown in Fig. 3; "15 Fig. 10 is a side sectional view of a third embodiment of a mounting cup incorporating a preferential coating thickness; and

Fig. 11 is a side sectional view illustrating the geometry of electrostatic spraying to provide the preferential coating thickness to the mounting cup shown in Fig. 10. 20 Fig. 12 illustrates a second improved method of forming .the mounting cup as shown in Fig. 3 in accordance with the present invention;

Figs. 13-15 illustrate various steps in a first process of applying a preheated plastic material to the mounting cup in accordance with 25 the present invention; and

Fig. 16-18 illustrate various steps in a second process of applying a preheated plastic material to the mounting cup in accordance with the present invention.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the 30 several views of the drawings.

Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention

Fig. 1 illustrates a side sectional view of a prior art aerosol mounting cup and valve assembly 10 which should be well known to

. those skilled in the art. The assembly comprises a mounting cup 12

35 having a central turret 14 and a mounting rim 16 extending about the

^ outer periphery of the mounting cup 12. The turret 14 receives an aerosol valve assembly which may be of various designs to operate between an interior surface 17 and an exterior surface 18. In this embodiment, a valve body 19 communicates with the interior of the aerosol container through a dip tube 20. A valve 22 is biased by a spring 24 into sealing engagement with a sealing gasket 26 for controlling the flow of product and propellant through a metering orifice 28 communicating to a valve stem aperture 30.

The mounting rim 16 is provided with a sealing gasket 32 which is generally a solvent-based rubber material which forms a seal with a bead 34 of an aerosol container 36 as shown more fully in Fig. 2. Typically, the mounting cup rim 16 is inserted on " the aerosol container bead 34 with the mounting cup rim being deformed at 38 to form a fluid tight seal through the coating 32 on the mounting cup rim 16.

Fig. 3 illustrates a mounting cup and aerosol valve assembly 10A in accordance with the present invention. Under the practice of this invention the sealing gasket 32A extends along the entire interior surface 17 of the mounting cup 12A in addition to being applied thereto in an entirely distinct manner. The sealing gasket material 32A .may optionally be applied to the exterior surface 18 of the mounting cup 12B of the aerosol assembly 10B as shown by coating 32B in Fig . 4.

Fig. 5 illustrates the steps in the formation of the mounting cup 12 shown in Fig. 1 under a prior art practice. A ribbon of roll stock

41 disposed on a drum 42 is passed through a series of progressive dies 44 to form the contour of the mounting cup 12 shown in Fig. 1.

The formed mounting cups 12 are passed through an orienter 46 ^• which orients the mounting cups 12 such that the interior surface 17 is face up enabling an applicator 48 to apply a solvent based gasket material 32 to flow into the mounting cup rim 16. After the initial coating of the gasket material 32 , the mounting cups 12 are allowed to remain at an ambient temperature station 50 for a period of approximately one hour. The mounting cups 12 are then passed through progressive ovens 51 , 52 and 53 which respectively have

OMPI temperatures of approximately 150°C, 250°C and 350°C. The mounting cups 12 remain in each of the ovens 51-53 for a period of one hour prior to being removed and cooled in position 54. After cooling, the mounting cups 12 may be fabricated in a conventional manner as should be well known to those skilled in the art.

Fig. 6 illustrates the step in the formation of the mounting cup 12 A shown in Fig. 3 under the first embodiment of the present invention. In a similar manner, the ribbon of roll stock 41 is disposed on a drum 42 to be passed through a series of progressive dies 44 to form the contour of the mounting cup 12 A shown in Fig. 3.. The formed mounting cups 12A are passed through an orienter 46A which orients the mounting cups such that the interior surface 17 A is face up and placed upon conveyor 60 which is preferably a dielectric material as shown in Figs. 7-9. The conveyor 60 is shown as an endless conveyor disposed between drive rollers 62 and 64 to automatically move the mounting cups 12A through an electrostatic coating device 66. In this embodiment, the conveyor 60 includes a recess 68 for receiving the contour of the mounting cup 12A and to limit the coating to only the interior surface 17A of the mounting cup 12 A. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that numerous other types of conveyors may be utilized to coat selective portions of the mounting cup 12A or to reorient the mounting cup to coat both the exterior and interior surfaces 17A and 18A of the mounting cup 12 A as shown in Fig. 4. An electrical conductor 70 is preferably spring biased into electrical contact to the mounting cup 12A as shown in Figs. 7-9. The electrical connector 70 is preferably connected to the positive side of the electrostatic coating apparatus 66 shown in Fig. 6 with the negative side of the power supply being connected to the electrostatic spray nozzles 72 in Fig. 6. The mounting cups 12 A are passed through the electrostatic coating apparatus 66 with charged particulate plastic material being sprayed from nozzles 72 to be attracted to the mounting cups 12 A by virtue of electrostatic attraction as shown more clearly in Fig. 8. Upon completion of the coating as shown in Fig. 9, the mounting cups are discharged along a conveyor 74 powered by rollers 76 and 78.

OMPI

SHEET The electrostatically coated mounting cups 12A are passed into a curing oven 80 for approximately 6 minutes at 218.5°C . The curing oven melts the particulate plastic material into a continuous resilient gasket and protective coating . The completed mounting cups 12 A are removed on conveyor 82 powered by rollers 78 and 84. Whereas the prior art system shown in Fig. 5 required approximately four and one-half hours per mounting cup , the new process shown in Fig. 6 requires a total of approximately 8 minutes and provides a superior and more uniform coated sealing gasket 32A than heretofore realized in the prior art. It should also be appreciated that the electrostatic coating not only provides a sealing gasket to the rim 16 but^' also provides a protective coating to the interior surface 17 A and, if it is desired, including the inner edge of the central aperture in the mounting cup turret to protect the mounting cup from the product and propellant internal the aerosol container and any corrosive effects. Since the gasket material is deposited and cured subsequent to the fabrication of the mounting cup 12 A, the resilient sealing gasket is not stressed as in one of the prior art processes. Various materials may be used to coat the mounting cups 12A including polyethylene," polypropylene, vinyl, nylon, acetate or other powdered plastic materials. The further advantage of the process resides in the short period of time required in the oven 80. Accordingly, a continuous process oven may be used to melt the plastic powder to form the coating 32 A on the mounting cup 12 A. The mounting cups 12 A may be coated on the interior and exterior surface 17 and 18 to provide a protective coating or a color coding depending upon the particular application of the mounting cup 12A in the aerosol industry. In addition, various types of electrostatic spraying and orienting devices 46 may be utilized to accomplish the desired coating of the mounting cup 12 A. Preferably, the resilient plastic gasket coating 32A has a thickness between 0.25 mm and 0.762 mm.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a very uniform coating is applied to the mounting cup surface 12A by this process. A wide variety of plastics that can be used for compatibility with the various products and propellants within the aerosol

E SHEET container. This invention provides less coating damage than the precoated prior art process wherein a rolled stock is unrolled and epoxy coated with a gasket material. The coated stock is rerolled prior to stamping in a progressive die. Further, since the coating efficiency of the electrostatic process is higher than any other process heretofore utilized in the aerosol industry, the resultant cost of the coating is substantially less than the prior art. The process further eliminates the problem of solvent evaporation into the atmosphere which may adversely effect the environment. Figs . 10 and 11 illustrate a variation of the embodiment shown in

Figs . 3-9. In this embodiment, the combined sealing gasket and . protective coating is preferentially disposed about the interior surface 17B of the mounting cup 12 B shown in Fig. 10. Preferably, the coating has a greater thickness in the rim 16 as illustrated by the thickness of the coating 32B as opposed to the adjacent areas 32C of the mounting cup 12B . Coating areas 32D and 32E have a greater thickness than the adjacent areas 32F. The preferential coating thickness as shown in Fig . 10 provides a thickness of material at 32B sufficient to provide a proper seal with the aerosol container while simultaneously minimizing the amount of material utilized for coating the entire interior surface 17B of the mounting cup 12B .

Fig . 11 illustrates the preferred method of forming the preferential coated mounting cup shown in Fig. 10. In this embodiment, the electrostatic head 100 includes a static chamber 104 having a discharge opening 102 which produces a static charge on the ^" plastic particles 106 as the particles are sprayed therethrough. Accordingly, an electrostatic power source is not required when utilizing this type of electrostatic spraying device. The term "electrostatic spraying device" as used in this specification contemplates the use of both electrostatic spraying with an electrostatic power source as well as electrostatic spraying without the use of an electrostatic power source.

The sprayhead 100 is affixed to face in a downward direction to utilize the force of gravity (G) as indicated by the arrow 108 with the mounting cup 12B disposed on the conveyor 160 as shown, with the interior surface 17B facing upwardly with rim 16 located in recess

168. The force of gravity, as illustrated by the arrow 108 acting on the particles 106 , provides a preferential increase in thickness in areas 32B , 32D and 32E in Fig. 10. The spraying process is adjusted to enable the thickness of the coating 32B to be sufficient to provide a suitable seal with an aerosol container at rim 16. Accordingly, the coating thickness is preferentially thinner in areas that do not function as sealing surfaces but function as a protective coating such as 32C and 32F. The ^' preferential coating . thickness substantially reduces the cost and increases the reliability of the electrostatically sprayed plastic material by utilizing the force of gravity during the electrostatic spraying process. After the spraying process is completed, as shown by 66 in Fig. 6 , the preferentially coated mounting cups 12B may then be" processed in the manner as set forth in Fig. 6.

The prior art mounting cup gasket typically uses a precoated steel having 0.227 kg of tin plate to 45.4 kg of steel. ^" This material can be secured with the tin plate on either one or plural sides. The use of the coated mounting cup as shown in Fig . 3 eliminates the need for a tin coating on the interior surface 17 while the embodiment of Fig. 4 eliminates the need for tin coating, thus further reducing the cost of the materials. Accordingly, black plate steel may be utilized in lieu of tin plated steel, depending upon the process utilized under this invention. Fig. 12 illustrates the steps in the formation of the mounting cup

12 A shown in Fig . 3 under the second embodiment of the present invention. A ribbon of roll stock 141 is disposed on a drum 142 and is passed through a series of progressive dies 144 to form the contour of the mounting cup 112 A. The formed mounting cups 112 A are passed through an orienter 146 A which orients the mounting cups 112A on a perforated surface 160A with the interior surface 117A being disposed face up as shown in Fig . 13. The perforated surface 160A includes a plurality of conduits 164 communicating with a vacuum line 166 connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) . A plastic sheet 132A is preheated in a vacuum station 162 and laid over the interior surfaces 117A of the mounting cups 112A located on the perforated surface 160 A as shown in Fig. 14. A vacuum is drawn on line 166 as shown by the arrows in Fig. 15 whereby the preheated plastic material 132A is bonded to the mounting cup 112A. The mounting cup 112A is preferably provided with a lip aperture 170 enabling the vacuum to draw the sheet material 132A into the interior of the mounting cup rim 116 as shown in Fig. 15. Since the seal between the aerosol bead 34 (Fig. 2) and the mounting cup rim 116 is provided in the region 172, the rim aperture 170 does not affect the seal therebetween. The sheet material 132A comprising the plurality of mounting cups 112A are transferred to a die cut station 168A wherein the individual mounting cups and gaskets 132A are severed from the plastic sheet. The die cut station 168 A may also punch an aperture 174 in the sheet material 132A for accommodating the valve stem 123 as shown in Fig. 15. The several mounting cups 112A are received by a conveyor 170A powered by rollers 172 and 174 for transfer for final assembly.

Figs. 16-18 illustrate alternate steps in the formation of a mounting cup 12 A shown in Fig. 3 under the present invention. The mounting cup is fabricated in a manner similar to that shown in Fig. 12 _. with the additional steps shown in Figs. 16-18. The mounting cups 112A are passed through an orienter 146A which orients the mounting cups 112A on a perforated surface 160A having an indentation 161 for locating the mounting cups thereon. The perforated surface includes a plurality of conduits 164 communicating with the vacuum line 166 connected to a vacuum pump as was herebefore described. A plastic sheet 132 A is preheated in the vacuum station 162 and is laid over the interior surface 117A of the mounting cups 112A located on the perforated surface 160A as shown i Fig. 16. A vacuum is drawn on line 166 as shown by the arrows in Fig. 18 whereby the preheated plastic material is drawn into the recesses of the mounting cup. Concomitantly therewith a die 180 having a die cutter 182 and an annular protrusion 184 presses the heated plastic material 132A into intimate contact with the mounting cup as shown in Fig. 18. The use of the die 180 punches aperture

SUBSTITUTE SHEET 174 in the sheet material 132 A for accommodating the valve stem. In addition, the annular portion 184 insures that the sheet material 132A is bonded -to the interior of cup rim 116 as shown in Fig. 18. The use of the die 180 may be used independent of the rim aperture 170 as shown in Figs. 13-15 or may be used in combination therewith, depending upon the particular application and plastic used.

Various types of plastic materials may be utilized with the present invention as should be well known to those skilled in the art.

Examples of suitable materials include polyethylene, acetate, vinyl, polypropylene or other plastic materials. Preferably the plastic has a thickness of 0.254 mm to 0.508 mm. It should also be appreciated that the coating provides a sealing gasket to the rim 116 of the mounting cup in addition to providing a protective coating to the interior surface 117A of the mounting cup 112A. The present process reduces the prior art four and one-half hours fabrication time of coating a mounting cup to approximately 10 minutes. The substantial reduction in time and expense results in a substantial savings of the fabrication costs of the . mounting cup to the aerosol industry. In addition, the liberation of undesired solvents over the prior art provides a reduction of undesired chemicals from the atmosphere which may, in some cases, produce an undesired environmental impact.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the various embodiments shown in the present specification may be interchanged and other variations may be incorporated within the present invention without departing from the present contribution to the art.

The present disclosure includes that contained in the appended claims as well as that of the foregoing description. Although this invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

- WE . OMPI

SUBSTITUTE SHEET

Claims

1. An aerosol assembly for an aerosol container having container sealing means disposed about an upper opening in the aerosol container, comprising in combination: a mounting cup having mounting cup sealing means extending about the periphery thereof; a valve assembly disposed in said mounting cup for providing fluid communication between the interior of the aerosol container and the exterior of the aerosol container; and a sealing gasket applied on one of said sealing means for providing a fluid tight seal when said mounting cup is secured to the aerosol container.

2. An aerosol assembly for an aerosol container as set forth in claim 1, wherein said sealing gasket is electrostatically applied on one of said sealing means.

3. An aerosol assembly for an aerosol container as set forth in claim 1, wherein said seaing gasket comprising a heat sensitive plastic material disposed on one of said sealing means.

4. An aerosol assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein said sealing gasket is electrostatically disposed on said mounting cup sealing means.

5. An aerosol assembly as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the aerosol container includes a mounting bead disposed about the periphery of an opening in the aerosol container; said mounting cup including a rim disposed about the periphery thereof for cooperation with the mounting bead; and said sealing gasket being disposed on the interior "of said rim for sealing engagement with the mounting bead of the aerosol container .

OMPI

6. An aerosol assembly as set forth in claim 5 , wherein said sealing gasket being electrostatically disposed on the interior of said rim.

7. An aerosol assembly as set forth in claim 1 , wherein said sealing gasket is disposed upon the entire interior surface of said mounting cup for providing a seal between said mounting cup and for protecting the interior of the mounting cup from the substance internal the aerosol container.

8. An aerosol assembly _ as set forth in claim 7 , wherein said sealing gasket is electrostatically disposed upon the entire interior surface of said mounting cup .

9. An aerosol assembly as set forth in claims 1 and 2 wherein said sealing gasket is electrostatically disposed upon the entire interior and exterior surface of said mounting cup for protecting the interior and exterior surfaces of the mounting cup .

10. An aerosol assembly as set forth in claim 7, wherein said sealing gasket is heat sensitive plastic material comprising a longitudinally extending sheet.

11. An aerosol assembly as set forth in claim 10 , wherein said heat sensitive plastic material is preheated and applied to said interior surface of said mounting cup by the application of a partial vacuum.

12. An aerosol assembly as set forth in claim 1 , wherein said sealing gasket is colored to provide an integral color code for said mounting cup .

13. An aerosol assembly as set forth in claim 1, for an aerosol container having a container bead disposed about the periphery of an opening in the aerosol container, comprising in combination:

^■ gιJREΛ OMPI E SHEET said mounting cup having a rim disposed about the periphery thereof for cooperation with the container bead disposed about the periphery of the opening in the aerosol container; said valve assembly disposed in said mounting cup for providing fluid communication between the interior of the aerosol container and the exterior of the aerosol container; and said resilient plastic material applied to said mounting cup rim to a thickness sufficient to provide a resilient sealing gasket when said mounting cup is secured to the aerosol container.

14. An aerosol assembly as set forth in claim 13 , wherein said resilient plastic material is applied to the entire interior surface of said mounting cup.

15. An aerosol assembly as set forth in claim 13 , wherein said resilient plastic material is applied to the entire interior and exterior surface of said mounting cup.

16. An aerosol assembly as set forth in claim 13 , wherein said resilient plastic material is applied to the entire interior surface of said mounting cup at a substantially uniform thickness.

17. An aerosol assembly as set forth in claim 13, wherein said resilient plastic material is applied to the entire surface of said

- mounting cup with the thickness of said resilient plastic material being greater at said mounting cup rim relative to at least one other portion of said interior surface of said mounting cup.

18. An aerosol assembly as set forth in claim 13 wherein said resilient plastic material is electrostatically applied to said mounting cup rim.

19 An aerosol assembly as set forth in claim 13, wherein a preheated sensitive plastic sheet is applied to said mounting cup rim.

ET

20. An aerosol assembly as set forth in claim 19 , wherein said resilient plastic material is applied to the entire interior surface of said mounting cup by the application of a vacuum under said heat sensitive plastic sheet.

21. A method of fabricating an aerosol valve and mounting cup assembly for an aerosol container in accordance with one of the claims 1 to 20 , comprising the steps of: stamping the mounting cup from a metallic sheet material; orienting' the mounting cups on a surface into a preferred orientation ; covering the mounting cup on the surface with a resilient coating ; and securing the aerosol valve to the coated mounting cup.

22. The method as set forth in claim 21, characterized by the steps of: stamping the mounting cup from a metallic sheet material; electrostatically spraying the mounting cup with a resilient coating; applying heat to cure the resilient coating; cooling the electrostatically coated mounting cup .

23. The method of fabricating aerosol valve and mounting cup assemblies for aerosol containers as set forth in claims 21 and 22 , comprising the steps of: orienting the mounting cups on a conveyor into said preferred orientation; connecting each of the mounting cups to a terminal of an electrostatic coating device; electrostatically coating a surface of the mounting cups with a resilient plastic coating to a thickness sufficient to provide a sealing gasket.

24. The method as set forth in claim 23 , including the steps of: reorientating the mounting cups on a conveyor into a second orientation; connecting each of the mounting cups to a terminal of an electrostatic coating device; and -* electrostatically coatin'g a second surface of the mounting cup with a protective coating.

25. The method as set forth in claim 23 , wherein the step of orienting the mounting cup on the conveyor in a preferred orientation includes orienting the interior surface of the mounting cup to face 0 vertically upwardly; and the step of electrostatically coating the mounting cup includes spraying the plastic material in a vertically downwardly direction enabling the force of gravity to interact with the electrostatic coating process to provide a thickened coating to the rim 5 portion of the mounting cup.

26. The method as set forth in claim 21, comprising the steps of: using and heating as said resilient coating a sheet of heat sensitive plastic material; 0 covering the mounting cup with the preheated plastic material; applying a partial vacuum to the underside of the preheated plastic material to secure the plastic material to the mounting cup .

27. The method as set forth in claim 26, comprising the step 5 of: cutting the individual mounting cups from the sheet material secured thereto.