US20080006657A1

US20080006657A1 - Valve Disk For A Spray Can

Info

Publication number: US20080006657A1
Application number: US11/773,054
Authority: US
Inventors: Horst Griemla
Original assignee: EWALD EUSCHER GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: EWALD EUSCHER GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 2006-07-05
Filing date: 2007-07-03
Publication date: 2008-01-10
Also published as: EP1876113B1; EP1876113A2; EP1876113A3; DE202006010401U1; ATE508071T1; DE502007007101D1

Abstract

A valve disk for a spray can, having a disk dome for receiving a spray valve and a concentric collar which is molded on while forming a surrounding ring groove and in which collar an elastic sealing ring is held in a form-locking manner. An outer edge bounding the ring groove is bent over at least partially in a surrounding manner in the direction of the ring groove while forming a supporting surface for the sealing ring.

Description

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present device relates to a valve disk for a spray can, having a disk dome for receiving a spray valve and a concentric collar molded on while forming a surrounding ring groove, in which collar an elastic sealing ring is held in a form-locking manner.
The valve disks are prefabricated for producing spray cans; that is, they are shaped in a necessary fashion and are equipped with the sealing ring. This constructional unit is subsequently connected by suitable tools with a spray container in which a spraying liquid is normally disposed, which exits as aerosol when the spray valve is operated.
In this case, an exact sealing between the valve disk and the spray container is particularly important. The sealing is, among other things, a function of the exact position of the sealing ring within the constructed ring groove.
In order to be able to transport the prefabricated valve disk, particularly for ensuring a fixing of the sealing ring within the ring groove, it is known to hold the sealing ring in a form-locking manner in the ring groove.
German Patent Document DE 90 17 394 U1 shows and describes a valve disk of the above-mentioned type, where a form-locking between the collar and the inserted sealing ring is achieved in that the outer edge bounding the ring groove on the exterior side is provided with impressed indentations in which the sealing ring is disposed.
This technical solution has been functionally successful. However, this construction can be implemented only at manufacturing expenditures which counteract an optimization of costs. This is particularly disadvantageous because such valve disks are produced and used in very large piece numbers.
Furthermore, for the known valve disks, the minimization of used materials cannot be met because a collar edge projecting over the sealing ring is required in each case for the operability of the locking.
The present valve disk of the above-mentioned type achieves a secure locking of the sealing ring while minimizing the manufacturing expenditures and the used material.
A valve disk constructed in this manner is simple and extremely low-cost production, because the bending-over of the outer edge bounding the ring groove in the direction of the sealing ring or the interior of the ring groove can take place as a simple production operation which can be carried out without significant additional manufacturing time.
In comparison to the state of the art, the new valve disk therefore has remarkable cost advantages which are particularly significant because, as mentioned above, such valve disks are used as large-scale production parts.
A saving of material, which is significant in comparison to the known valve disks, also contributes to a minimizing of the manufacturing, because the outer edge can be kept relatively short. An edge area projecting beyond the sealing ring can be eliminated; that is, in principle, the outer edge of the collar ends with the sealing ring.
The supporting surface viewed in the axial direction of the valve plate, on which the sealing ring rests partially, can be obtained by a bending, in which case the outer edge first extends parallel to the center axis of the valve disk and is bent over in its free end area. This may be at a right angle toward the inside, thus directed into the interior of the ring groove.
The outer edge may be bent at an acute at least in areas in a surrounding manner, specifically along almost the entire height of the outer edge.
In this case, the outer edge may be provided with recesses, for example in the form of triangles situated side-by-side, so that the outer edge has a serrated construction. After the elastic material of the sealing ring is bent over and placed against the elastic sealing ring, which may be constructed of rubber or a suitable plastic material, it is pressed into the serrated gaps of the outer edge. Thus, in addition to an axial locking of the sealing ring, an antitwist protection of the sealing ring within the ring groove as well as for a foam head or a spray cap, which can be placed onto the valve disk, is achieved.
Embodiments of the invention will be described in the following by means of the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a lateral view of a spray can provided with a valve disk according to the present disclosure;

FIGS. 2 to 6 and 8 each are views of an embodiment of the valve disk as an enlarged detail, corresponding to the cutout I in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a view of an enlarged detail of the valve disk in the direction of the arrow VII in FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a spray can which, as a whole, has the reference number 1 and which has a spray container 2, with which a valve disk 3 equipped with a disk dome is form-lockingly connected, in the connection area. A surrounding elastic sealing ring 7 is arranged which prevents a pressurized medium situated in the spray container 2 from escaping. In addition, the disk dome, which is not shown as a detail, is used for receiving a spray valve 15.
The elastic sealing ring 7 consisting, for example, of rubber or of a plastic material, is form-lockingly held in a ring groove 6, which is formed by molding a collar 5 onto the valve disk 3. The collar extends concentrically.
The form-locking of the sealing ring 7 is achieved in that an outer edge 8 bounding the ring groove 6 is bent over at least partially in a surrounding manner in the direction of the ring groove 6 while forming a supporting surface 9 for the sealing ring 7.
Since the valve disk 3 with the inserted sealing ring 7 is supplied as a prefabricated constructional unit, and the spray container 2 is subsequently equipped therewith, the sealing ring 7 is securely held at the valve disk until that time. The illustrated embodiments all show the valve disk 3 in the mounted position, the sealing ring 7 being supported at an elevation edge 4 of the spray container 2, while a wall 16 of the valve disk 3 is shaped such that it is form-lockingly held on the elevation edge 4.
In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the supporting surface 9 is otherwise bent over approximately at a right angle with respect to the axially extending outer edge 8 and rests against the lower outer edge of the sealing ring 7 while slightly deforming the latter. For an additional locking of the sealing ring 7, the wall 16 has a surrounding lock beading 10 which extends approximately at the level of the supporting surface 9 also in the direction of the ring groove 6 so that the sealing ring 7 is virtually clamped in.
Starting from the construction according to FIG. 2, additionally, a lock beading 11 is pressed on the top side into the collar 3 of the embodiment according to FIG. 3, by means of which the sealing ring 7 rests at a higher pressure in the overlapping area of the lock beading 11 against the elevation edge 4, resulting in a greater tightness.
FIG. 4 shows that the supporting surface 9 is constructed as an impressed edge 12, in which case the material thickness is smaller that than of the remaining outer edge 8. As a result of this weakening of the material, which takes place before a bending-over to the supporting surface 9, the bending operation is facilitated because the required bending forces can be lower.
Instead of a surrounding lock beading 10, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4, in the embodiment according to FIG. 5, a plurality of circumferentially distributed cams 13 are impressed which each bulge in the manner of a bead in the direction of the ring groove 6. This embodiment offers certain manufacturing advantages.
The embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 6 shows the supporting surface 9 not bent over at a right angle with respect to the axial dimension of the valve disk 3, but at an acute angle, a certain deformation of the sealing ring 7 also taking place.
For increasing the locking, particularly in the circumferential direction of the sealing ring 7, the supporting surface 9, which extends almost along the entire height of the outer edge 8, is provided with gaps 14 in a surrounding manner, so that a serrated contour is obtained. In this case, the elastic material of the sealing ring 7 swells partially into these gaps 14, whereby the above-mentioned form-locking is achieved. The construction of the gaps 14 is visible in an enlarged representation in FIG. 7. As a result of the elastic material radially projecting beyond the gaps 14, certain antitwist protection of a spraying cap 17 placed on the valve disk 3 is achieved. Instead of the spraying cap 17, a fitted-on foam head, which is not shown, can also be locked in this manner.
In comparison to the embodiment according to FIG. 6, the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8, in which the collar 3, mainly the wall of the ring groove 6 which is complete in the cross-sectional view, is shaped such that the sealing ring 7 completely fills the ring groove 6 in the overlapping area with the elevation edge 4.

Claims

1. A valve disk for a spray can comprising:

a disk dome for receiving a spray valve;

a concentric collar including a surrounding ring groove;

an elastic sealing ring held in a form-locking manner in the collar; and

an outer edge bounding the ring groove being bent over at least partially in a surrounding manner in the direction of the ring groove while forming a supporting surface for the sealing ring.

2. The valve disk according to claim 1,

wherein the sealing ring rests against the supporting surface under tension.

3. The valve disk according to claim 1, wherein the supporting surface extends at a right angle with respect to the outer edge which extends parallel to the longitudinal center axis of the valve disk.

4. The valve disk according to claim 1, wherein the supporting surface has a smaller thickness than the thickness of the remaining outer edge.

5. The valve disk according to claim 1, wherein the supporting surface is constructed as an impressed edge.

6. The valve disk according to claim 1, wherein the supporting surface extends at an acute angle with respect to the longitudinal center axis of the valve disk.

7. The valve disk according to claim 1, wherein the supporting surface is constructed at an acute angle and is almost completely formed by the outer edge.

8. The valve disk according to claim 1, wherein the supporting surface is provided in a surrounding manner with a plurality of gaps in which material of the sealing ring (7) is disposed.

9. The valve disk according to claim 8, wherein the gaps have a serrated construction.

10. The valve disk according to claim 1, wherein a top side of the collar is provided with an at least partially surrounding locking bead, which protrudes into the ring groove.

11. The valve disk according to claim 1, wherein on its side opposite the outer edge, the collar is provided with one of a surrounding locking bead and several locking beads which are distributed over the circumference, form cams and bulge in the direction of the ring groove.