Dispensing apparatus at a container for a liquid or several liquids, at a conduit or the like

• US 20060261098A1
• Filed: 04/19/2004
• Published: 11/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hugo Nilsson
• Original Assignee: Hugo Nilsson
• Inventors: Nilsson, Hugo
• Application Number:
  US10/549,070
• Publication Number:
  US 20060261098A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 222/496
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 25/48 Separable nozzles or spouts
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 41/04 Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers secured by rotation
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 47/2075 in which the stem is raised by the pressure of the contents and thereby opening the valve
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 83/0005 Containers or packages provided with a piston or with a movable bottom or partition having approximately the same section as the container B65D83/0072 takes precedence

Abstract

The present invention relates to a dispensing apparatus at a container (1) for a liquid or several liquids or at a conduit. The front wall (2) of the container or the like has a dispensing tube (3), which is provided with a seat-forming holding element (10) for a valve body (20). According to the invention the valve body is mounted concentrically in the tube opening (8), has a rod-like shape (21) and is with an outer end (22) guided by said holding element (10) and with an inner end (26) of a cup spring (28), which surrounds it and which at least in its rest or closing position is designed as a cone, which is open towards the first-mentioned end and which is supported by and is prestressed against the inner side of said front wall (2) or a corresponding wall in said dispensing tube or the like (3).

Claims

1-13. -13. (canceled)

14. A dispensing apparatus at a container (1) for a liquid or several liquids, at a conduit or the like (44), a support wall (2) being provided in connection with a dispensing tube or the like (3), which is provided with a seat-forming holding element (10) for a valve body,

wherein the valve body is concentrically disposed in the tube opening (8), has an oblong, rod-like shape (21) and is, with an outer end (22), guided by the holding element (10), which also has a flow-limiting function, and with an inner end (26) of a resilient element, which surrounds the same, preferably one at least in a rest or closing position as a cup spring (28), designed as a truncated cone, which is open and inverted towards the first-mentioned end and which is supported by and is prestressed around the tube against the inner side of the front wall (2) or a corresponding wall in the dispensing tube (3), and the entire dispensing apparatus is made of a material having the same properties throughout.

15. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the opening (8) of the tube, suitably at some distance from its orifice plane (9), e.g. 3-20 mm, an inwardly projecting tip (10) all around is disposed, which is the holding element and at the same time a cone for a flow constriction, in that the lip suitably is made jointly with the tube and the entire container respectively, preferably through injection moulding, and projects with a narrowing obliquely forwards towards the center of the orifice plane with an of between about 30-60°

.

16. A dispensing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein at the narrowing area the shoulder (11) of the lip, in an axial direction, extends somewhat further towards the rear end (7) of the container to improve support for the free end area (12) of the lip in a direction from the container end, the lower side (13) of the lip shoulder is generally straight, comprises about half this side of the lip and includes an angle of about 20°

with the inner wall (14) of the tube, which for the rest suitably is slightly cylindrical, whereas the lip on its upper side (15) in addition to a slight concave curvature at the shoulder is generally straight and includes an angle of between about 40-80°

between it and the adjacent tube wall, and the lip in connection with the lower side (13) of the lip shoulder at the lower side forms a short, suitably slightly concave side (16), which preferably slightly diverges in relation to the upper side (15) and which suitably via a quite pronounced buckling point (17) changes into a generally straight release side (18), which jointly with the upper side outwards forms a sharp lip point (19) with an angle of between about 10-40° and

which includes an angle of between about 5-45°

with the tube axis in its imaginary extension, as well as in that the lip covers between about 30-70% of the cross-sectional area of the tube opening (8) and extends over about 10-50% of the diameter of the tube opening.

17. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the valve body (20) has a rod-shaped or generally cylindrical body (21), the front or outer end (22) of which is a forwardly or outwardly, preferably softly rounded head (23) with a fastening edge (24) all around, which projects above the body, which edge is located within an at least generally radial plane, in relation to the body, and this head in connection with the fastening edge forms a suitably axial or slightly narrowing, short cylindrical surface (25) which, via a small bending radius, is changed into a softly rounded main surface or the head is cone-shaped.

18. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the rear or lower end (26) of the body suitably ends abruptly (at 27) and changes here into the cup spring (28), which jointly with the rear body end suitably is roughly truncated cone-shaped with a cone angle of between about 30-60°

and is open forwards so at to surround the rear body end with a distance, which increases from the end surface (27), the cup spring has a uniform thickness and ends as a roughly radial front end surface (29), a slightly obliquely outwardly and forwardly directed point being formed with an angle of about 300, this point preferably is slightly rounded and has a bending radius of 0.2-1 mm, and the change from the end surface (29) to the inner or front surface (30) of the cup spring is formed by an edge all around with a small bending radius.

19. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the cup spring is provided with a number of through openings (31), evenly distributed along its periphery, crosswise, possibly coaxially directed along the body, preferably openings with a relatively large diameter of about 15-40% of the extension of the spring from the body, or slit-shaped, possibly radially directed openings, which freely end at the periphery of the cup spring.

20. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the diameter of the body is about 10-50% smaller than the width of the tube opening (8) and/or the front end (22) and the rear end (26) of the body preferably has the same diameter, a short or oblong concentric diameter reduction (32) extending between the two ends and/or the fastening edge (24) extends inside the diameter reduction (32) in order to jointly with it form a V-groove (33), into which the lip point (19) roughly with the same shape an penetrate and in this way allow a particularly efficient holding action and sealing respectively, and/or the diameter reduction (32) penetrates the fastening edge (24) and with a small distance into the front edge (22) of the body or the fastening edge (24) and the diameter reduction (32) extend inwards with a small angle.

21. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein at least at the filled container (1) a lid (5) is designed to be completely screwed down on the body (3) in order to abut, with an inner rise (36), against the head (23) and possibly press it slightly harder by means of the fastening edge (24) and possibly a V-groove on the lip point (19) respectively, particularly the latter, in addition to the lip in its entirety, being designed to least one of expand and penetrate slightly into the material of the rod-shaped body (21) to increase the sealing pressure and make the holding together more efficient, the valve (20), with or without a lock screwed on, is designed to be slightly prestressed between the lip (10) and the front wall (2), the lip tending to push the valve body outwards, and the cup spring (28) tending to pull the valve body further inwards into the container, the total prestressing distance being designed to be about 1-10 mm, the possible cooperation between the lock and the valve element, with a small pressing downwards of the latter, being designed to slightly prestore the prestressing, which is advantageous to the area around the lip, but preferably without completely loosing the elasticity of the abutment of the cup spring against the front wall.

22. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein, when the dispensing is discontinued, the pressure of the contents in the container is designed to cease, the cup spring, due to its inherent elasticity, spring backs to the closing position, and, when this springing back takes place, a volume contained by the cup spring, the front wall and the tube, is designed to be increased, a small vacuum being formed, which is designed to be cancelled, partly due to a drawing of liquid into the volume from the interior of the container through the openings in the cup spring and partly due to a drawing of liquid from the outer free end of the tube outside the valve body head (23) and the lip (10) and thanks to the annular gap (37), the valve closing being accelerated, and the vacuum is so weak, that no air is drawn into the container from the outside, because only a fraction of the liquid-filled or of a liquid film covered space outside the lip is involved, and, when the valve is closed, a pressure balance occurs through the openings in the cup spring, only the remaining elasticity of the latter, i.e. an elastic abutment pressure against the inner side of the front wall, keeping the valve closed.

23. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 22, wherein during the unstressing movement of the cup spring its free surface (29) is designed to slide along the inner side of the front wall (2), the change from the inner side (30) of the cup spring to the surface (29) being designed principally to promote the sliding contact and subsequently the entire surface (29) and finally the radially outwardly located pointed part in order to protect the point of the cup spring and the inner side of the front wall.

24. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the cup spring is completely closed, whereas the rod-shaped body (21) is made hollow with a cavity (38), which is open backwards and extends preferably all the way to the forward rod end (22), where the cavity (38) preferably ends abruptly but communicates with the area outside this rod area via crosswise through the body directed, along the periphery distributed dispensing holes (39), which suitably have a horizontal rectangular profile and which are covered by the lip (10) in the closing position, and below the dispensing holes (39) preferably a pointed bead (40) is disposed all around the outside of the body, which bead is designed to stop liquid from penetrating into the hollow space (41) between the body (21), the cup spring, the front wall, the tube and the lip, and/or the bead is designed, in the open position, to retain the lip point at a small distance from the body in order to, when approaching the closing position, guide the lip point past the dispensing holes and only after passing these holes allow the lip point to cover the holes.

25. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein, particularly for one-way purposes, the function of the front wall (2) is removed to a shoulder inside the tube (3), which in a preferably oblong shape is made in one piece jointly with the container, the rear container end (7) preferably being open until the filling, after which it is designed to be closed, preferably by welding.

26. The dispensing apparatus according to claims 14, wherein the apparatus comprises an outwardly circular cylindrical plug (45) with a front/outer end as an orifice plane (9) and with a rear/inner end, which will function as a support wall (2), and with a central through opening (8) between these two ends with a lip (10) for a valve body (20), which plug is designed to be fastened on one of a container tube (3) and a conduit (44).