Fluid dispensing valve with a spring plate

Abstract

A fluid-dispensing valve for dispensing pressurized fluid from a chamber employs a spring plate adjacent to the aperture. The spring plate includes a peripheral rim extending about the aperture, a sealing member abutting the aperture, and a plurality of springs extending from the peripheral rim to the sealing member. These springs bias the sealing member to close the aperture when the fluid pressure is less than a predetermined limit and allow the sealing member to open the aperture when the fluid pressure exceeds the limit.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION[0001]The present application is based on and claims priority to the Applicants' U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61 / 095,873, entitled “Fluid Dispensing Valve With A Spring Plate,” filed on Sep. 10, 2008.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention relates generally to the field of valves for dispensing fluids. More specifically, the present invention discloses a fluid dispensing valve having a spring plate to prevent drips.[0004]2. Background of the Invention[0005]The present invention addresses the problem of dispensing fluid materials at a high rate of speed accurately and without drips. Current dispensing technologies for fluid materials have an inherent problem of dripping when not in use unless some means is used to stop material flow. Conventional methods to stop fluid dripping involve mechanical means that are operated by pneumatics or electronics to open and close a material pathway. This method when activated i...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]This invention provides a valve for dispensing a fluid material having a spring plate to prevent drips. The spring plate has a sealing member suspended by springs that bias the sealing member to close the aperture when the fluid pressure is less than a predetermined limit, but all

Problems solved by technology

Current dispensing technologies for fluid materials have an inherent problem of dripping when not in use unless some means is used to stop material flow.

This method when activated imparts a delay at the beginning of the dispense process due to the retraction of the pathway sealing device as it pulls material into the dispense nozzle or material pathway.

Subsequently, when conventional methods are employed to stop material flow, an extra quantity of material equivalent to the gap the sealing device must occupy is ejected, which can result in an undesirable bubble in the dispense path.

These methods are not quick to react as they require a pressurization and depressurization of the material pathway or reservoir that may change in volume over the life of the material reservoir.

This pressurization step takes valuable dispense time and also can yield inconsistent results when the controlling volume increases as the level in the material reservoir decreases.

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