US3098589A

US3098589A - Liquid dispensing device

Info

Publication number: US3098589A
Application number: US30519A
Authority: US
Inventors: Graham Cecil Robert Montgomery
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1959-05-21
Filing date: 1960-05-20
Publication date: 1963-07-23
Anticipated expiration: 1980-07-23

Description

July 23, 1963 c. R. M. GRAHAM LIQUID DIsPENsING DEVICE:

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 20. 1960 I6 IS Fl G July 23, 1963 c. R. M. GRAHAM 3,098,589

LIQUID DISPENSING DEVICE Filed May 20, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 2o 28\ ,/f/f/ f1,9 33 larva/V103 i csa; MEW 44 a4/T604@ 22 @Re HH,

3,098,589 LIQUlD DESPENSING DEVlCE Cecil Robert Montgomery Graham, Lagonda Ave., Killara, New South Wales, Australia Filed May 20, 1960, Ser. No. 30,519 Claims priority, application Australia May 21, 1959 5 Claims. (Cl. 222-394) This invention has reference to devices for dispensing, for instance spraying or atornising liquid or semi-liquid substances from a container under the action of a propellant, of the type compri-sing a discharge tube for-the liquid which 'as a rule projects from the top or head of the container, the dispensing device being operated by angularly -tilting the discharge head by nger pressure applied to the latter.

In dispensing or spr-aying devices of this type the discharge tube is mounted in a resiliently deformable sealing disc arranged for instance at the top yof the container, the tube projecting both outwardly from and inwardly into the container through said disc an-d the outer section of l said -t-ube carrying a linger piece provided with `a lateral outlet aperture or nozzle whereas the inner section of the tube is provided with a lateral inlet aperture or orifice.

In a known construction the inner tube section is provided with a conical or substantially coni-cal ilange the outer edge of which normally engages the surface of the sealing disc, inside the container, the llange and the sealing disc defining together an annular space connected to the interior of the discharge tube by the 'above mentioned lateral inlet aperture. The flange th-us prevents the flow of liquid from the container to said inlet laperture which, like the outlet aperture, acts as a metering means `for the liquid to be ejected `from the container, or to be atomised. If lateral finger pressure is applied to the discharge tube i for the operation of the device, the conical flange is partly disengaged lfrom the surface of the sealing disc so'that liquid can flow into the discharge tube through its lateral inlet aperture under the action of the propellant while the discharge tube is held in -angularly tilted position. When the late-ral linge-r pressure yon the discharge tube ceases, the tube is returned to its normal position and the flange made to` re-engage the inner surface of the resilient disc and thereby to out off the inlet aperture from the `interior of the container or can by the action of a spring accommodated within a retaining cup or otherwise supported within the container, -for instance within the top portion of the latter.

In the known construction the discharge tube is made of metal, its inner end being sealed off Iby a disc made :for instance of rubber or like plastic material, which is mounted in a cup-shaped metal holder engaged by the aforementioned spring, the disc and its holder being in effect `a valve which towing to the action of the spring normally ensures the closure `of the discharge tube.

The known -arrangement is comparatively complicated, being composed of a number of parts. Besides this, it would be desirable to replace the metal parts of the discharge assembly by a plastic material which can easily be moulded and, furthermore, to reduce the number lof parts.

Attempts were irst made to produce the discharge assembly from plastic material while retaining the shape of its components, but it was found that the lateral inlet aperture of .the discharge ytube which, in order to be eliective, must be arranged within the annular space or cavity defined by the aforementioned ilange, and which cannot be produced by moulding, is extremely diflicult if not impossible to produce by drilling or otherwise. This is Ymainly due to the fact that a drill or equivalent tool would have to be introduced into the annular space bounded by the llange atan `angle to the longitudinal axis United States Patent 3,098,589 Patented July 23, 1963 ice of the discharge tube, and is also due to the nature of the material itself.

The present invention has for its object to provide an improved spraying device of the type referred to which, if desired, can |be made entirely of plastic material, preferably thermo-plastic material such as nylon, by moulding and which is very simple to assemble.

According to the invention a manually loperable device for controlling the discharge of liquid `from a container under the action lof a propellant includes a resilently deformable sealing disc for mounting in an aperture of said container, a valve tbody with a centr-al cavity surrounded by a rim, means which resiliently urge said rim into sealing engagement with one -side of said disc, a discharge tube for liquid open at both ends and being a Igas-tight tit in an aperture of said sealing disc, said tube projecting from yopposite sides of said disc and one portion of the tube extending into said cav-ity and being provided with an exterior ilange which is spaced from said sealing di-sc and rests on a seat formed in said cavity, a lip on said valve body for retaining said lian-ge on said seat, and passages permitting the iiow of liquid from one side to the other of said exterior flange and along the outer wall of said one tube portion to the [opening in the end of said portion, the :area of said opening being restricted to constitute a metering inlet to the interior of said tube.

In a preferred embodiment, the control device is designed to act at the same time as a liltering means for the liquid operative during the actuation of the device.

Wherever in the following reference is made to a liquid, that term is meant to encompass also 'such other, for instance semi-liquid, substances 'as `are capable of being ejected from a container by `a propellant. Such terms indicating a position as top, bottom `an-d the like are to be understood in relation to the control means as such, irrespective of lthe position of said means on a container.

In order to more particularly describe the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which, by way of example only, illustrate a specific embodiment of the improved controlling device. In these dra-wings:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are longitudinal sectional views of the device mounted in the top of a container in its norma-l inoperative position, and in the position of use, respectively,

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the discharge tube forming part of the device in longitudinal cross-section and in plan respectively, while FIG. 5 is -a longitudinal cross-section through a pre-A fferred form of the valve body forming part of the device, and

FIG. 6 is a section on line VI-VI of FIG. 5.

The assembled device illustrated -in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a sealing disc 10 of rubber or other resiliently deformable material inserted into a central cavity 11 of a cap 12 provided with a circumferential bead 13 adapted to be sealed to the neck of a container (not shown). The sealing disc 1t) is held in position within said cavity by the top ilange of a chamber 14 which encases the control means proper of the dispensing device, the chamber 14 being retained in position on said cap by an annular bead 15 formed in` the wall of the cavity 11 which engages beneath a shoulder 16 formed in the outer wall of the chamber 14. The chamber 14 is of restricted diameter in its bottom portion thus providing an i11- terior shoulder 17. A duct 18 leading downwardly from the bottom of the chamber may be connected to a tube 19 which, as usual, extends to a position near the bottom of the container. p

The control means proper of lthe device include two elements 20 and 2.1, respectively, both moulded fromV plastic material. Element 2.0 is a tube which is open at both ends and is formed with a central duct ZZ of ade- 3 quate width, the duct extending throughout the length of the tube 20. The bottom end of the tube 20 is formed centrally with an opening 23 constituting the inlet aperture to the duct 2,2, the diameter of the opening 23 being so restricted in comparison to that of the duct 22 that it acts as a means for metering. The tube 20 is a gas-.tight tit in an aperture of the sealing disc and it projects from both sides of said disc. The upper portion of tfhe tube Ztl which passes with clear-ance through a central aperture l1 of the cavity 11, carries a hollow finger piece 24, the interior space 25 of which communicates with the duct 22. An outlet aperture 26 provided in the linger-piece 24 is also of a diameter considerably smaller than that of the duct 22 so that the outlet 26 acts as a second metering means. The duct 22 within the tube and the space 25 within the finger-piece are suiciently Wide to act as an expansion chamber for the liquid and propellant during the operation of the device.

In its downwardly projecting portion the tube 2d is formed with an external ange 27 disposed at a small distance from the underside of the sealing disc 10 when the discharge tube is mounted within the sealing disc. The flange 27 is formed with a number of indentations 28 (FIG. 4) which permit the flow of liquid across the flange 27 from the upper to the lower side thereof in directions substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tube. Further passages 29 formed in the inner wall of the cup-shaped body 21 and extending along the outer surface of the downwardly projecting portion of the tube 20 permit liquid to flow to the bottom end of the tube 20 and finally to the restricted opening 23 and thence into the duct 22 of .the discharge tube 20 itself.

The second element 21 of the control means is a substantially cup-shaped valve body with .a central cavity 33 surrounded by a wide upper or rim portion 30, the inner wall of which converges towards the top edge of said cavity to provide a seat 31 for the external iiange 27 of the tube 20. At its inner edge the rim portion 30 of the body 21 is formed with an all-round undercut 32 into which the flange 27 is snapped by force and is thus firmly retained on the seat 31 by a `lip 32 which follows the inner edge of the rim 30. The end portion 34 of the tube 20-beyond the flange 27-and the inner wall of the cavity in the valve body 2l. are both slightly tapered, so that said cavity 33 forms a seat for the tube end porlion 34. The parts are so dimensioned that the extreme end of the tube portion 34 is at a distance from the bottom of the cavity 33 leaving a clearance for liquid flow from the bottom of the cavity to the restricted opening 23 in the tube end portion 34.

In the example illustrated a few passages 29 are cut into the side of the tapering inner wall of the cavity 33, which permit the flow of liquid from the indentations 28 to the bottom of said cavity, the arrangement being such that an annular space 35 remains between the underside of the ilange 27 and the top of the inner wall of the cavity 33. The gaps or indentations 28 formed in the flange, the annular space 3S, the grooves 29 in :the cavity wall and lthe clearance between the bottom of the cavity 33 and of the tube end 34 provide a continuous path for the flow of liquid from the space above the flange 27 through the metering aperture 23 and the duct 22 to the outlet 26 from the finger piece 24 whenever the dispensing device is operated.

When the above described assembly is mounted in the container, the lupper end of the rim 30 of the valve body 21 firmly engages the underside of the resiliently deformable sealing disc 10 through which the tube 201 is passed.

I n the dispensing device as described a shoulder in the underside of the rim 30 of the valve 21 is engaged by a compression `spring 37 properly supported by the shoulder 17 Within the chamber 14, which normally urges the valve body 21 into sealing engagement with the underside of the resiliently deformable disc 10;

VI f, however, the tube 20 is angularly tilted by lateral pressure applied to it via the finger piece 24, the sealing disc 10 is deformed and the rim of the valve body 21 is partly disengaged from the underside of said disc, as shown-with some exaggeration--in FIG. 2. Consequently liquid is forced by the propellant from the container through the path above described and through the metering apertures outwardly and is, therefore, atomised and sprayed or dispensed otherwise from the container at a measured rate, until the lateral pressure is removed from the finger piece 24 and tube 20.

The manufacture of the two pieces constituting the discharge and control assembly of the device is exceedingly simple, as it can be eected by mere moulding, no drilling of holes being required. The passages for the liquid tlow are sufliciently wide to assure an undisturbed flow of liquid to the inner metering aperture 23 and thence through the tube 20 to the second metering outlet 26.

The device as described can easily be adapted to act as a liltering device for solid impurities in the liquid as well, as will be understood by referring to FIGS. 5 and 6. In this case, the passages 29 in the tapering inner wall in the cavity 33 `are made so shallow and narrow that each passage 29 permits only a narrow thread of liquid to pass and the passages 29 in their entirety to act as a filter element. Even if a number of these narrow passages should be clogged by impurities, the remaining number of narrow passages not so blocked aiiords a sufficient cross-sectional area for -the flow of liquid to the outlet when the device is operated.

I desire it to be understood that I do not wish protection by Letters Patent to be limited to the aforedescribed details, as further modilications thereof are possible within the scope of the appended claims. Thus the indentations or gaps formed in the flange of the tubular element may be replaced by equidistant recesses or holes in said flange.

The number of gaps, recesses or iholes in the iiange of the :discharge tube and the number of grooves in the cavity wall of the valve body may be varied as desired.

Alternatively, the ange may be rep-laced Eby a number of properly shaped luigs or the like.

If so desired, the passa-ges leading the liquid to the bottom of the cavity in the valve body may be constituted by lgrooves formed in the `outer wall of Ithe t-ube element.

While it is one of the principal advantages of the invention that it permits le use of plastic, particularly thermoplastic material, for manufacturing the principal elements o-f the control means, the invention is not necessarily limited to suoh use, as it lis also possible to produce these parts, ttor instance, from light metal by diecasting, or to make these parts from different materials.

What I claim is:

1. A manually operable device vfor controlling the discharge of liquid under fthe action of a propellant from a container having an opening, including a resiliently deformable sealing ydisc tor mounting in said opening and having a central aperture, a valve body having a central cavity formed with a seat and a rim surrounding said cavity and said seat, means which resiliently urge the rim of said valve body into sealing engagement with one side of said disc, a liquid discharge tube having openings inboth ends and having a gas-tight tit with the wall of said central aperture of said sealing disc, said tube projecting from opposite sides of said ldisc and one portion tot' said tube extending into said cavity and being provided with an exterior liange which is spaced from said sealing disc and rests on the seat formed in said cavity, a lip on said valve body for retaining said flange on said seat, and passages permitting the liow of liquid from one side to the other of said exterior flange and along said one tube portion to the opening in the end of said one tube portion, the area of said opening being restricted to act as a metering inlet orifice tto; the interior of said tube, the inlet orifice being of circular cross-section and having its flow axis in line With the Longitudinal axis of the liquid dischange tube,

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the passages permitting the flow of liquid from one side to the other of said exterior ange are constituted by a number of indentations iormed in said ange.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein .the said one tube pontion and the cavity in said valve body are both tapered, lnhe cavity thus forming a seat for said tube portion, the tube portion and cavity when seated dening a iixed volume chamber in the cavity adjacent said inlet orifice.

4. A :device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the said one tube portion and the cavity in said valve body are `both tapered, the cavity thus [forming a seat for said tube portion, the tube portion and cavity when seated deiining a xed volume chamber in the cavity adjacent said inlet orice.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1 for mounting in a chamber which encases the said valve body, said 6 chamber being closed at its top by said sealing disc and having a bottom portion provided with a duct and a shoulder surrounding said duct, the means which resilient- 1y funge the rim of said valve body into sealing engagement with the sealing disc being constituted by a coil spring arranged between said rim and said shoulder.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

Claims

1. A MANUALLY OPERABLE DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING THE DISCHARGE OF LIQUID UNDER THE ACTION OF A PROPELLANT FROM A CONTAINER HAVING AN OPENING INCLUDING A RESILIENTLY DEFORMABLE SEALING DISC FOR MOUNTING IN SAID OPENING AND HAVING A CENTRAL APERTURE, A VALVE BODY HAVING A CENTRAL CAVITY FORMED WITH A SEAT AND A RIM SURROUNDING SAID CAVITY AND SAID SEAT, MEANS WHICH RESILIENTLY URGE THE RIM OF SAID VALVE BODY INTO SEALING ENGAGEMENT WITH ONE SIDE OF SAID DISC, A LIQUID DISCHARGE TUBE HAVING OPENING IN BOTH ENDS AND HAVING A GAS-TIGHT FIT WITH THE WALL OF SAID CENTRAL APERTURE OF SAID SEALING DISC AND TUBE PROJECTING FROM OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID DISC AND ONE PORTION OF SAID TUBE EXTENDING INTO SAID CAVITY AND BEING PROVIDED WITH AN EXTERIOR FLANGE WHICH IS SPACED FROM SAID SEALING DISC AND RESTS ON THE SEAT FORMED IN SAID CAVITY, A LIP ON SAID VALVE BODY FOR RETAINING SAID FLANGE ON SAID SEAT, AND PASSAGES PERMITTING THE FLOW OF LIQUID FROM ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER OF SAID EXTERIOR FLANGE AND ALONG SAID ONE TUBE PORTION TO THE OPENING IN THE END OF SAID ONE TUBE PORTION, THE AREA OF SAID OPENING BEING RESTRICTED TO ACT AS A METERING INLET ORIFICE TO THE INTERIOR OF SAID TUBE, THE INLET ORIFICE BEING OF CIRCULAR CROSS-SECTION AND HAVING ITS FLOW AXIS IN LINE WITH THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE LIQUID DISCHARGE TUBE.