Dispensing valve

• US 8,608,034 B2
• Filed: 02/18/2011
• Issued: 12/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Berry Plastics Corporation (Berry Global Group Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Berry Plastics Corporation (Berry Global Group Inc.)
• Inventors: Bloom, Kenneth S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Durand, Paul R
• Assistant Examiner(s): GRUBY, RANDALL A
• Application Number:
  US13/030,198
• Publication Number:
  US 20120211530A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,033 Days
• Field of Search: 222490-494
• US Class Current: 222/490
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2251/0015 of the 41-type
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2251/0056 of the 47-type
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2251/0093 Membrane
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 47/2031 the element being formed by a slit, narrow opening or constrictable spout, the size of the outlet passage being able to be varied by increasing or decreasing the pressure B65D47/2025 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 51/18 Arrangements of closures with protective outer cap-like covers or of two or more co-operating closures B65D51/247 takes precedence

Abstract

A dispensing valve includes a resiliently flexible mounting portion, a resiliently flexible opening portion disposed radially inwardly of the mounting portion, and a resiliently flexible intermediate portion disposed radially between and coupled to the mounting and opening portions, and extending both radially outwardly and axially to form a first radial space between the opening and isolating portions, and spaced radially inwardly of the mounting portion to form a second radial space between the mounting and intermediate portions. The mounting portion includes an annular rib extendable axially outward with respect to the opening portion to limit axial movement of the opening portion during dispensing and venting of the valve.

Claims

1. A dispensing valve system comprising

a base of plastic construction, said base having a dispensing opening, an annular recess surrounding said dispensing opening, and a first annular wall separating said recess from said dispensing opening, and

a dispensing valve of one-piece one-material flexible resilient molded plastic construction, said dispensing valve including:

a center portion disposed within said annular wall and having at least one dispensing slit extending through the center portion to form at least two petals, and

a peripheral portion attached to said base and including an annular rib extending into said annular recess, the annular rib configured to move radially inwardly and outwardly within said recess as a function of motion of said central portion of said dispensing valve thereby to limit axial movement of said central portion during dispensing and venting at said valve.

2. The valve system set forth in claim 1 wherein said annular rib includes a conical outer surface disposed at a radially inward angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of said dispensing valve, and a conical inner surface disposed at a radially outward angle with respect to said axis.

3. The valve system set forth in claim 1 wherein said annular rib extends axially outwardly with respect to said central portion.

4. A dispensing valve system comprising

a resiliently flexible mounting portion;

a resiliently flexible opening portion disposed radially inwardly of said mounting portion; and

a resiliently flexible intermediate portion disposed radially between and coupled to said mounting and opening portions, and extending both radially outwardly and axially to form a V-shaped portion and to form a first radial space between said opening and intermediate portions, and spaced radially inwardly of said mounting portion to form a second radial space between said mounting and intermediate portions,

wherein said mounting portion includes an annular rib extending axially outward with respect to said opening portion to limit axial movement of said opening portion during dispensing and venting at said valve system, and

the opening portion includes a web and an annular wall, the web including at least two petals formed by at least one slit that extends through the web, and the annular wall arranged to extend outwardly in the radial direction and inwardly in the radial direction from the web to form the V-shaped portion with the intermediate portion.

5. The valve system set forth in claim 4 wherein said annular rib includes a conical outer surface disposed at a radially inward angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of said dispensing valve system, and a conical inner surface disposed at a radially outward angle with respect to said axis.

6. The valve system set forth in claim 4 wherein said annular rib extends axially outwardly with respect to said opening portion.

7. The valve system set forth in claim 4 wherein said opening and intermediate portions form the V-shaped portion radially outward of a web of said opening portion.

8. The valve system set forth in claim 4 wherein said mounting portion and said intermediate portion form an inverted V-shaped portion radially outward of said opening portion.

9. The valve system set forth in claim 4 wherein said mounting portion extends to an axially outward end in an axially outward and radially inward direction, and said intermediate portion extends from said axially outward end in an axially and radially inward direction to an axially inward end, and said opening portion includes a radially inward annular wall extending from said axially inward end in an axially outward and radially inward direction to a web of said opening portion.

10. The valve system set forth in claim 9 wherein said mounting portion includes an axially inward-most surface of said valve system.

11. The valve system set forth in claim 4 wherein said mounting portion extends radially outwardly from an axial outward end of said intermediate portion.

12. The valve system set forth in claim 11 wherein said mounting portion extends axially inwardly with respect to said axial outward end of said intermediate portion.

13. The valve system set forth in claim 4 further comprising a plurality of ribs extending between said mounting and intermediate portions.

14. The valve system set forth in claim 4 wherein said mounting portion includes a radially outer wall having a cylindrical mounting surface and having a conical outer profile extending axially outwardly from said cylindrical surface.

15. The valve system set forth in claim 14 wherein said outer wall includes an external engagement feature.

16. A dispensing assembly including the dispensing valve system of claim 4.

17. The dispensing assembly set forth in claim 16, wherein a closure shell base includes a deck having an opening wall establishing a dispensing opening and also having an axially inwardly extending annular wall to receive said mounting portion of said valve system.

18. The dispensing assembly set forth in claim 17 wherein said opening wall extends axially inwardly with respect to said deck and is conical in shape.

19. The dispensing assembly set forth in claim 17, wherein a closure shell base includes a deck and having an axially inwardly extending annular wall to receive said mounting portion of said valve system and having an opening wall establishing a dispensing opening and extending axially inwardly and radially outwardly.

20. The dispensing valve system set forth in claim 4, wherein said mounting portion includes a radially outward annular wall, and said intermediate portion includes at least a radially intermediate annular wall.

21. The dispensing valve system set forth in claim 20, wherein said radially outward annular wall is cantilevered from said radially intermediate annular wall.

22. The dispensing valve system set forth in claim 4, wherein said annular rib is extendable into an annular recess of a closure housing for movement radially inwardly and outwardly within said recess as a function of motion of said opening portion of said dispensing valve system.

23. A package including a dispensing assembly having the dispensing valve system set forth in claim 4.

24. A package including a container and the dispensing assembly set forth in claim 23 coupled to said container.

25. A dispensing assembly comprising

a dispensing valve system including a resiliently flexible mounting portion;

a resiliently flexible opening portion disposed radially inwardly of said mounting portion; and

a resiliently flexible intermediate portion disposed radially between and coupled to said mounting and opening portions, and extending both radially outwardly and axially to form a V-shaped portion and to form a first radial space between said opening and intermediate portions, and spaced radially inwardly of said mounting portion to form a second radial space between said mounting and intermediate portions,

wherein said mounting portion includes an annular rib extending axially outward with respect to said opening portion to limit axial movement of said opening portion during dispensing and venting at said valve system,

wherein a closure shell base includes a deck having an opening wall establishing a dispensing opening and also having an axially inwardly extending annular wall to receive said mounting portion of said valve system,

wherein said annular wall includes an internal engagement for positive locking with an external engagement feature of said valve system.

26. A dispensing assembly adapted to mount on a neck finish of a container to control discharge of a product stored in the container to surroundings outside of the container through an opening formed in the neck finish, the dispensing assembly comprising

a base adapted to mount on the neck finish and formed to include a product-discharge passageway having an inlet channel arranged to receive product discharged from the container through the opening formed in the neck finish and an outlet channel arranged to discharge product to the surroundings outside of the container, and

a dispensing valve coupled to the base to lie in the product-discharge passageway and configured to include a movable web formed to include a normally closed expandable discharge aperture and arranged to move axially along a central axis extending along and through the product-discharge passageway relative to the base between a normally closed state in which the expandable discharge aperture is closed and an opened state in which the expandable discharge aperture is opened during flow of product through the product-discharge passageway and the expandable discharge aperture in the opened state of the movable web,

wherein the base includes a first annular wall formed to define the outlet channel and a second annular wall formed to define the inlet channel and arranged to surround the first annular wall to define therebetween a downwardly opening recess lying below a portion of a deck included in the base and communicating with the inlet channel defined by the second annular wall,

wherein the dispensing valve further includes

a mounting portion coupled to the second annular wall of the base and arranged to surround the movable web,

a resiliently flexible intermediate portion arranged to lie between and interconnect the movable web and the mounting portion to support the movable web for up-and-down axial movement along the central axis relative to the mounting portion, and

a movable rib coupled to the resiliently flexible intermediate portion and arranged to extend upwardly into the downwardly opening recess formed in the base normally to lie in spaced-apart relation to the second annular wall, and

wherein the resiliently flexible intermediate portion is configured to provide upward web-motion control means for moving the movable rib within the downwardly opening recess radially outwardly away from the central axis and toward the second annular wall in response to upward axial movement of the movable web toward an outlet aperture opening into the outlet channel during pressure-actuated flow of product from the inlet channel into the outlet channel through the expandable discharge aperture in the opened state of the movable web to discharge product from the container so that the movable rib engages the second annular wall to limit upward axial movement of the movable web along the central axis relative to the base and the resiliently flexible intermediate portion is also configured to provide downward web-motion control means for moving the movable rib within the downwardly opening recess radially inwardly toward the central axis and toward the first annular wall in response to downward axial movement of the movable web away from the outlet aperture from the opened state to the normally closed state so that the movable rib engages the first annular wall to limit axial movement of the movable web along the central axis relative to the base.

27. The dispensing assembly of claim 26, wherein the first and second annular walls included in the base cooperate to provide the downwardly opening recess with an annular shape.

28. The dispensing assembly of claim 27, wherein the movable rib has an annular shape.

29. The dispensing assembly of claim 27, wherein the movable rib has a radially outwardly facing surface arranged to face toward the second annular wall and the radially outwardly facing surface is arranged normally to lie in spaced-apart relation to the second annular wall when the movable web is in the normally closed state and to engage the second annular wall when the movable web is in the opened state.

30. The dispensing assembly of claim 29, wherein the movable rib has an annular shape.

31. The dispensing assembly of claim 29, wherein the second annular wall has a cylindrical shape and the radially outwardly facing surface has a frustoconical surface.

32. The dispensing assembly of claim 29, wherein the movable rib further includes a radially inwardly facing surface arranged to face toward the first annular wall and an annular axially outward surface arranged to interconnect the radially inwardly and outwardly facing surfaces and lie in sealing contact with a confronting axially inward surface of a ceiling included in the deck and arranged to interconnect the first and second annular wall and form an upper boundary of the downwardly opening recess.

33. The dispensing assembly of claim 32, wherein the radially outwardly facing surface has a frustoconical shape and is disposed at a radially inward angle with respect to the central axis of the dispensing valve and the radially inwardly facing surface has a frustoconical shape and is disposed at a radially outward angle with respect to the central axis of the dispensing valve.

34. The dispensing assembly of claim 29, wherein the radially outwardly facing surface has a frustoconical shape and is disposed at a radially inward angle with respect to the central axis of the dispensing valve.

35. The dispensing assembly of claim 26, wherein the resiliently flexible intermediate portion is coupled to the mounting portion at a junction therebetween and the movable rib is coupled to each of the mounting portion and the resiliently flexible intermediate portion at the junction.

36. The dispensing assembly of claim 35, wherein the junction is arranged to lie in an axially level relation with an axially outermost end of the product-discharge passageway formed in the movable web to cause the movable rib to extend axially outwardly with respect to the product-discharge passageway.

37. The dispensing assembly of claim 36, wherein the deck further includes a ceiling arranged to interconnect the first and second annular walls and form an upper boundary of the downwardly opening recess and the movable rib has an annular shape and is formed to include an annular axially outward surface arranged to lie in sealing contact with the ceiling of the deck.

38. The dispensing assembly of claim 26, wherein the movable web is dish-shaped and includes a concave outer surface communicating with the outlet channel and a convex inner surface communicating with the inlet channel, the expandable discharge aperture extends between the concave outer surface and the convex inner surface, and the resiliently flexible intermediate portion includes a radially inwardly positioned inner frustoconical portion coupled to the movable web and a radially outwardly positioned outer frustoconical portion coupled to the inner frustoconical portion and to the movable rib and the mounting portion at a junction therebetween.

39. The dispensing assembly of claim 38, wherein the inner and outer frustoconical portions cooperate to define an annular wedge-shaped radial space therebetween and the first annular wall is arranged to extend downwardly into the annular wedge-shaped radial space.

40. The dispensing assembly of claim 26, wherein the movable rib has a radially inwardly facing surface arranged to face toward the first annular wall and the radially inwardly facing surface is arranged normally to lie in spaced-apart relation to the first annular wall when the movable web is in the normally closed state and to engage the first annular wall when the movable web is in a released state during movement from the open state to the closed state.

41. The dispensing assembly of claim 40, wherein the first annular wall has a cylindrical shape and the radially inwardly facing surface of the movable rib has a frustoconical portion.

42. The dispensing assembly of claim 41, wherein the movable rib has a radially outwardly facing surface having a frustoconical shape that is disposed at a radially inward angle with respect to the central axis of the dispensing valve and the radially inwardly facing surface of the movable rib has a frustoconical portion that is disposed at a radially outward angle with respect to the central axis of the dispensing valve.

43. The dispensing assembly of claim 26, wherein the base includes a third annular wall arranged to define the inlet channel and a ridge arranged to extend between the second and third annular walls and the mounting portion of the dispensing valve includes an external engagement feature arranged to mate with the ridge.

44. The dispensing assembly of claim 43, wherein the external engagement feature has an annular shape.

45. The dispensing assembly of claim 44, wherein the mounting portion has a radially outwardly facing upper wall mating with the second annular wall and a radially outwardly facing lower wall mating with the third annular wall.