Aerosol valve combination for mixing and dispensing plural fluids

Dec. 9, 1969

D. B. GREEN

AEROSOL VALVE COMBINATION FOR MIXING AND

Filed Feb. 19, 1968

3,482,736

DISPENSING PLURAL FLUIDS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1

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INVENTOR Derek B. Green BY

ATTORNEY

Dec. 9, 1969

D. B. GREEN

3,482,736

AEROSOL VALVE COMBINATION FOR MIXING AND DISPENSING PLURAL FLUIDS

Filed Feb. 19, 1968

Sheets-Sheet 2

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3,482,736

Patented Dec. 9, 1969

United States Patent Office

3,482,736 AEROSOL VALVE COMBINATION FOR MIXING AND DISPENSING PLURAL FLUIDS Derek Bernard Green, Manchester, N.H., assignor to Scovill Manufacturing Company, Waterbury, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Filed Feb. 19, 1968, Ser. No. 706,455 Int. Cl. B65d 35/22; B67d 5/56; F16k 15/14 U.S. Cl. 222—94 3 Claims

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A device for use with a container of at least two different fluid materials kept sealed away from each other, employs a mixing device in combination with an ordinary aerosol dispensing valve. The mixing device is of simple construction, and its upper and lower parts can be attached respectively to the dispensing valve and inner container, or the upper part may be formed integral with the valve housing and the lower part integral with the inner container. A single valve disc in the mixing device is preferably pre-loaded to seal off both the inner and outer containers.

The invention relates to a combined aerosol dispensing valve and mixing device for mixing two or more fluids and immediately dispensing the mixture in the desired quantities.

There are many cases where two distinct materials which may be reactive with one another, need to be kept in isolation until it is desired to dispense a mixture of them. Examples of such mixtures are warm shaving foams, plastic foams, and paint with a curing or drying agent. The fluid containing the aerosol propellant is maintained in an outer container which may be similar to an ordinary aerosol can. The other fluid or fluids may be maintained in one or more inner containers mounted inside the outer container.

An important object of the invention is simplicity of construction and economy of manufacture. In a preferred form of the invention, the body of the mixing device consists of only two easily moulded parts defining a mixing chamber between them. An upper part may be fitted on the usual dip tube connection of a common form of aerosol valve, and in this case, the mixing device may be referred to as an adaptor. Alternatively, the upper part may be formed integral with the spring cup or valve housing of the aerosol valve. A lower part which may have a press fit with the upper part, contains inlet passages from both the outer and inner container to the mixing chamber.

A further object is to provide economical means for automatically sealing off both the outer and inner containers from the mixing chamber at all times except when the aerosol dispensing valve is open. This is accomplished by a single valve disc clamped directly between the two body parts and having flexible portions preferably preloaded so as to exert sealing pressure against the inlet ports.

The inner container is securely attached to, or alternatively made integral with, the lower body part of the mixing device and has at least one flexible wall so that pressure acting in one container will equalize the pressure in the other container. Preferably, the inner container is a flexibly walled tube such as polyethylene or it may, in some cases, be a rigid cylinder with a movable piston.

Various objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter more fully appear. In the accompanying drawings, I have shown for purposes of illustration, three embodiments which the invention may assume in practice. In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a central vertical section through a container equipped with my improved valve and mixing device combination in closed position;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial section showing the mixing device with the valves open for flow of fluids;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the upper part of the mixing device;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the lower part of the mixing device;

FIG. 5 is a central vertical section of a modified construction with most of the containers broken away;

FIG. 6 is a central section of another modification shown in inverted position;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing the valves in open position; and

FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of the upper part of the mixing device as seen in FIG. 6 which corresponds to the bottom part of the mixing device in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5.

Such terms as “upper” and “lower” or “top” and “bottom” are used in the specification and claims for convenience only in reference to the positions shown in the drawings, even though when the can is inverted such terms might not be strictly accurate.

The outer aerosol container 10, the cap 11, the aerosol dispensing valve assembly 12 and its actuating button 13, may be of any known or commonly used type of construction. The propellant material 14 is preferably placed in this outer container, although it conceivably could be installed in an inner container 15. The aerosol valve assembly includes a spring cup or valve housing 16 with a downwardly extending nipple 17 which may be the same as the nipple usually employed to hold a dip tube. The particular valve shown has a rim 18 normally sealing against the gasket 19 and held closed by spring 20 until opened by the actuator button 13. The button 13 carries a dispensing orifice not shown.

The mixing device consists of an upper p«rt 21 and a lower part 22 interfitted in sealing relationship by pressing the cylindrical wall 23 over the cylindrical surface 24 up against a shoulder 25 on the upper part. The part 21 has an integral tubular portion 26 which may be tightly fitted to the nipple 17. The lower part 22 may have a tubular extension 27 adapted to receive in sealing relation a neck 28 of the inner container 15. This container preferably contains the reactive agent which, in the case of shaving foam, is a thermogenic material that will produce heat when released and mixed with the soapy substance which is stored in the outer container along with the propellant. The outer container communicates with a mixing chamber 29 defined by the upper and lower parts 21, 22, through an inlet passage or passages 30 arranged around and outside the central boss 31 which supports the tube 27. As seen in FIG. 4, these inlet passages 30 are six in number. Arranged inwardly of the passages 30 and extending through the central boss 31 are one or more inlet passages 32 affording communication from the inner container to the mixing chamber 29.

All of the above described inlet passages are normally sealed off from the mixing chamber by a single disc valve 33 made of a suitable elastomeric material such as a synthetic rubber. This disc has a central hole 34 and is held in place in a trough 35 of the bottom part 22 by an annular flange 36 depending from the upper part 21, such flange being provided with slots 37 as best seen in FIG. 3. When the disc is clamped into position, its outer edge portion is urged against a conical seating surface 38 so as to cover and seal off all of the inlet passages 30. At the same time, the inner portion of the disc around the hole 34 constitutes a flexible lip 39 adapted to seat against the inner conical surface 40 to seal off the one or more inlet passages 32 communicating with the inner container.

3,482,736

With the disc being held as shown in the trough 35, the inner and outer flexible portions are pre-loaded against the inlet passages from both containers so as effectively to seal them off from each other and from the mixing chamber 34 at all times until the aerosol dispensing valve 18 is opened to dispense fluid. It will be understood that the device as shown is suitable for use in the upside-down position but if it is desired to use it in the upright position, a suitable dip tube may connect from the passages 30 to the bottom of the outer container 10. For convenience of description such terms as “top” and “bottom” or “upper” and “lower” refer to the position indicated in the drawings.

As already indicated, the upper part 21 of the mixing device may be integral with the valve cup 16 and the lower part may be moulded as one piece with the inner container. Both of these modifications are illustrated in a single container in FIG. 5. Numerals like those in FIGS. 1 to 4 are used where they apply. The cylindrical wall 23 of the lower part fits over a bottom wall 41 which is an integral part of a housing 42, corresponding to the valve housing 16 in FIG. 1. Likewise, the slotted annular flange 43 depends from the bottom of this wall 41. The bottom portion 22 of the mixing device has the same inner configuration as that of FIG. 1 with inlet passages 44 running directly through the neck 45 which is provided also with inlet passages 46 from the outer container, all being formed in the neck portion of such inner container 15.

In FIG. 6, I have shown a modification in inverted position. This construction is adapted to operate more efficiently in that position where it has means to withdraw practically all of the contents of the outer container. In this case, the top part 47, which actually corresponds to the bottom 22 of FIG. 1, has an internal cylindrical bore 48 and an outer cylindrical wall which is again designated 22, that extends well over the valve housing 16. Internal grooves 49 extending lengthwise of this wall communicate with radial grooves 50 leading to the conical surface 51 against which the valve disc seats. Thus fluid may enter these inlet passages from that portion of the can which is at the bottom when it is in inverted position so that the can can be more nearly emptied. The valve disc in this case is designated 52 and is clamped not only by the annular flange 53 and trough 54, as in FIG. 1, but also at its outer edge 55 by a flange 56 of the part 16 which corresponds to the upper part already described in the specification and to which reference is made in the claims. When the aerosol dispensing valve 18 is opened as seen in FIG. 7, flow from the outer container will take place through grooves 49-50 and the pressure of the source material acting on the disc 52 will stretch it away from its seat and permit flow through a row of holes 57 arranged in a circle around the disc. At the same time, pressure from the inner container communicates through passages 32, pushing the flexible inner lip 39 away from, its seat, allowing flow of the two liquids to mix in the mixing chamber and continue through the passage 58 into the valve housing 16 to be dispensed through the actuating button 13.

As a result of my invention, it will be seen that a combination of dispensing valve and a mixing device allows the dispensing of mixed fluids when desired, while at all other times such fluids are sealed off and prevented from mixing. The construction is economical because it utilizes a form of dispensing valve already in large production and the mixing device itself consists of a minimum number of easily made pieces, namely, the upper and lower moulded parts and a single valve disc which is utilized for sealing off both containers. At the same time, such disc is held by the same two parts so as to preload it against the seat around all of the inlet passages to the mixing chamber. The construction lends itself to a further reduction in the number of parts in cases where it may be desired to modify the usual valve housing to take the form of the upper part of the mixing chamber, or again the neck of the inner container may be shaped to take the form of the lower part of the mixing chamber.