US2686081A - Plastic pressurized container and dispenser - Google Patents

Description

Patented Aug. 10, 1954 PLASTIC PRESSURIZED CONTAINER AND DISPENSER Ralph D. Cooksley, Elizabeth, N. J., assignor, by

mesne assignments, of one-half to Packaging Corporation,

ration of New Jersey Application September 24, 1953,

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a plastic pressurized container of a type ada ted to contain a liquid or gas under pressure and having a manually opleirable valve to dispense the fiuid therefrom at W1 It is an object of the invention to provide a pressurized container which has substantially all It is another object of the invention to provide a plastic pressurized container wherein the plastic parts will be assembled by hand without mg from the end of the cap and manually depressible by a finger to permit the release of the fluid past the protruding stem of the valve element upon the same being depressed and wheremember.

It is another object of the invention to pro vide a plastic pressurized container adapted to be filled with the use of a special filling head that may dispense the pressurizing gas, such as Freon, without the need for refrigeration to maintain the stability of the gas while passing it to the container.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a plastic pressurized container which is of simple construction, durable and so proportioned a to For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a vertical sectional view of the container with the cap and its valve parts asscmbled thereon;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the container with the cap broken away to show the interior construction of the valve.

Pressure Union, N. J., a corpo- Serial N 0. 382,171

tion as when the container is being filled.

Generally, the invention comprises a valve stem of different diameters assembled in the cap such a way that when the valve stem is completely depressed or in the filling position there is a sufiioiently large orifice to permit rapid and low pressure filling; after the container has been filled and the valve stem is in the operating position for dispensing, the middle diameter or metering portion is located in the choke area of the plastic cap with a very close tolerance. The cover cap or cover is so designed that during the dispensing action the middle circumference of the valve stem cannot be depressed out of the choke area and, therefore, the product can be dispensed in very small quantities with a short and highly atomized display pattern which is very desirable for personalized products.

Referring now to the figures, Ill represents a round container body portion having a bottom it and an internally threaded openupper end 12. Adapted to be secured to the internally threaded open upper end is a cap I 3 having a depending externally-threaded sleeve portion [4. Upon the cap being assembled with its parts, it is permanently secured to the upper end of the container i it by cement so as to prevent the same from being loosened and to render the container fluid-tight. The threads also avoid the neces sity for any jig or fixtures to hold the parts together until the cement sets, reduces assembly costs, and adds immeasurably to the strength of the container. The exterior of the cap I 3 is serrated, or ribbed, as indicated at IE to provide a good hand grip to tighten the cap upon the container body It. Both of these parts are formed of rigid thermoset plastic material.

The cap it has a central opening [6 extending therethrough and terminating in a depending threaded sleeve portion I! to which a bottom funnel and spring retaining member l8 or adaptor is threadedly connected. This makes an easy hand assembly and makes it unnecessary to cement the adaptor due to the equal pressure inside the adaptor and the container which would tend to prevent transmission of the fluids between the adaptor and the container. Thi retaining member i8 is also of plastic and has a hole 99 extending through its lower end and through a reduceddiameter portion 20 to which there is fitted a piece of flexible plastic tubing providing asyphon tube 2| that leads to the bottom of the container l0 and which has a hole 22 in its lower end to prevent the end of the syphon tube from ever being blocked ofi by being bottomed on the bottom of the container.

Extending upwardly from the top of thecap 13 is anozzle projection 23 which forms the body of the valve itself and is an integral part of the cap and eliminates soldering, menting a valve as such into the container, thereby reducing construction costs. 23 has a tapered upper end Zlwith an'aperture 25 therein. Thisaperture 25 is of a diameter adapted to receive anintermediate portion 26 of a valve element 21. Thisaperture 25 is of adiameter made to receive valve portions close tolerance to provide the choking or metering effect of the valve when in the dispensing position. This valve element has a-rubber 'seal--ing sleeve 28 surrounding the portion at the I root of the same that has its lower edge fitted into an annular groove 2c in an enlargeddiameter portion 38."

Withinthe dependingsleeve member i8 a spring 3! preferably made of stainless steel and which bears against bottom enlargement iii of the'valve element 21. The valve element has a depending stem 3! to help keep thespring 32 centered.

Extending upwardly beyond the portion 2B of the valve element 2'! is astem 33 of reduced diameter which i depressed into the aperture to form a large entrance into the container in the manner as shown in Fig. 3 and by a special pressure filling head indicated generally at A.

An over cap or cover member formed of a flexible plastic or rubber is indicated at 34 and is snapped over thenozzle 23 and fitted in tight sealing relationship due to a flange 23' which snaps into a groove onprojection 23. Alarge flange 35 fits into anannular recess 35 in the top of thecap 13. The top of the overcap 34 base thin membrane 3'5 that is pliable and can be depressedby a finger, as illustrated in Fig. 2. However, theover cap 34 is designed in such a way that the stem cannot be depressed far enough to get-portion 26 on the stem out ofaperture 25 "in the cap. This maintains the metering of the productwhen being dispensed. Thestem 33 of the valve-element engages the underside of this membrane 3'? and accordingly when the membrane is pushed downwardly against the action of spring 3! to cause therubber seal 28 to be lowered and allow the product to pass through the choke area of the valve. Upon release of the finger, the valve element will be returned so 'that'the portion 25- andthe rubber ring orsleeve 28 will positively seal off theaperture 25 from the underface of the tapered end'oi the'nozzle 23. Since the over cap or cover member is duringthe filling'operation, it ispossible to depress the small diameter of the stem into the choke area and remove the choke portion of the stem out of the way. The-valve element 21 is made of nylon or'other similar plastic and is molded to close tolerance.

On the over cap 34' is asmall nozzle element 38 formed of hard plastic and having anaperture 39 through which an atomized spray will be projected upon depressing thevalve element 2?. Thisnozzle element 38 has a flange'de engaging the outer face of thecover cap 34. Thissmall nozzle element 38 is formed of hard plastic so that the aperture '39 is not closed.

It should now be apparent that there has-been.

provided apressurized container wherein allof fabricating or ce- The nozzle" depressed, the valve element is not on the container 4 the parts are of non-corrosive material each performing a special function that makes it so possible to place under pressure in this type of container liquids or gasses that can be dispensed with a controlled spray pattern and is not subject to the many corrosive hazards now found in the metal containers.

As the aerosol industry grows, and especially in the direction of the cosmetic trade, it will be possible, using this type of container, to furnish a wide variety of shapes and colors which will mean a freedom of design to indicate the individual products that are prevalent today from a pachagingstandpoint in the cosmetic industry. A great-many cosmetic houses have refrained from exploiting the possibilities in the aerosol field as they refuse to put their product, as they say, in a beer can.

While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it shall be understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A pressurized container and dispenser comprising a hollow body adapted to retain and receive fluid under pressure, a nozzle extending from one end of the hollow body externally thereof and a concentric tubular member extending from the interior of said body and registering with the nozzle and having a reduced tubular member extending through to the bottom end of the hollow body, said nozzle and tubular member providing a valve chamber, said nozzle having an aperture in the end thereof, a valve element slidable in the valve chamber and aperture and a compression spring in the tubular member engaging the valve element to urge the same toward said aperture, said valve element having a metering portion adapted to snugly fit the aperture in the nozzle and a sealing sleeve surrounding said valve element and engageable with thenozzle about the inner end of the aperture to provide sealing engagement therewith upon the spring urging the valve element toward the nozzle, said valve element having a reduced diameter stem extending outwardly of the metering portion and of the nozzle, said reduced diameter stem being slidable through the aperture to provide an enlarged opening through which the fluid may pass to fill the hollow body, and an over cap secured to said body concentrically about the nozzle thereof, said over cap having a depressible top engageable with the reduced diameter stem of the valve element and a spray discharge nozzle on said over cap.

2. A pressurized prising a container end, a cap secured container and dispenser combody having a threaded open to said threaded open end in a fluid tight manner, said cap having an integral nozzle portion and a depending sleeve portion having external threads, a depending spring retaining member threadedly connected to the threads of the depending sleeve portion and having a bottom opening, a syphon tube connected to the lowerend of the retaining member and extending into the bottom or the container body, said nozzle portion having an aperture through which fluid may be dispensed, a valve element having a metering portion slidably fitting to the aperture with close tolerance, a compression spring supported in the spring retaining member, and engaging said valve elementto urge the. sameand the metering portion. thercoj'into said aperture, a sealing sleevesurrounding a part of the portion fitting the aperture and engageable with the nozzle portion at the inner end of the aperture to normally seal off the same, said valve element having a stem of a reduced diameter extending outwardly from nozzle beyond the metering portion, said stem being slidable through the aperture to provide an enlarged opening through which the fluid may pass to fill the container, and an over cap surrounding the nozzle portion and having tight sealing engagement therewith, said over cap having a depressible top engageable with the stem of the valve element, and said cap having a fluid dispensing opening.

3. A pressurized container and dispenser as defined inclaim 2 and said cap having an annular recess about the nozzle portion, said over cap having a flange filling, said annular recess and an internal circular rib, and said noozle portion having an annular groove receiving said circular rib.

4. A pressurized container and dispenser comprising a container body having an internally threaded open end, a cap having a depending externally threaded portion engaging with the internally-threaded open end of the container body in tight sealing engagement therewith, said container body and said cap being formed of plastic, said cap having a nozzle portion With a tapered end, the tapered end being adapted to receive a pressure filling head, said cap further having a depending externally-threaded sleeve portion, said nozzle and said sleeve portion communicating with one another and providing a valve chamber, a plastic tubular member having an internally-threaded upper end engaging with the depending threaded sleeve portion and having a reduced lower end with an opening therein, a syphon tube connected to the reduced lower end and extending into the bottom of the container body, tion having operable in metering por said valve e1 portion with low the met rounding th lower end in and abuttin 0 the valve chamber and engaging arged portion of the valve element g the reduced portion of the tubular member, said valve element having a reduced diameter stem projecting outwardly from the metering portion and from the tapered end of the nozzle, and an overcap having a large bottom flange, said first-mentioned cap having an an nular recess receiving said bottom flange, said over cap having a depressible top portion en- References Cited in the file of this patent Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Henrich Oct. 20, 1903 Mobley Jan. 18, 1927 Rotheim Jan. 3, 1933 Benson Oct. 9, 1951 Henchert Dec. 30, 1952

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