DRIVE DEVICE FOR USE IN COMBINATION WITH A PRESSURIZED PACKAGING.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- MX · MX
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- COLGATE PALMOLIVE CO
- Filing Date
- 2023-05-16
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-19
Smart Images
Figure MX434506B0
Abstract
Description
DRIVE DEVICE FOR USE IN COMBINATION WITH A PACKAGING PRESSURIZED zz / cnn / eznz / e / Yi The invention relates to an actuating device for use in combination with a pressurized package according to the preamble of claim 1. FIELD OF INVENTION Valves and actuators are well-established components used in the vast majority of aerosol dispensers, which are fully integrated into the consumer market and available for many applications such as spray painting, dispensing whipped cream, air fresheners, hairspray, and more. Typically, these products consist of a container (aluminum, tin, or plastic), a valve mechanism, and an actuator, all secured with a cap. The valve is hermetically sealed to the pressurized container. It generally comprises a cup, sealing elements, and a valve mechanism. Metal is primarily used for the cup. The actuator line is connected to the valve stem.These products are in use for several decades and the elements of the final consumer product, such as the container, valve mechanism, actuators and caps, are generally manufactured by different suppliers, while all the elements are generally joined together on the filling line and paired with the filled container after which the system will be pressurized and finally decorated. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION EP 0461 894 A2 describes a finger-operated plunger head of a dispenser having a protective cap rotatably mounted on it and normally arranged to cover the discharge orifice. The cap can be rotated relative to the plunger head by applying finger force to the cap in the direction of the plunger head's reciprocation to uncover the orifice. The cap is then firmly pushed back to its normal orifice-covering position upon removal of the applied finger force. The protective cap covers the plunger head and the discharge orifice from the outside, and therefore dried product between the protective cap and the plunger head can potentially prevent the protective cap from returning to its orifice-covering or rest position. Therefore, the protective cap and wipe mentioned above for a dispenser discharge hole can prevent more or less obstruction of foam outside the hole after dispensing; however, it cannot prevent dried foam from blocking the hole if the aerosol dispenser is not used for a longer period of time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an actuating device for use in combination with a pressurized packing, in which the closure of the orifice is effectively guaranteed to prevent the valve from becoming clogged and to protect the product against oxidation, and which is designed with fewer parts than in known actuators. This object is solved by means of an actuating device comprising an actuating head having a discharge orifice, a discharge conduit in the actuating head whose discharge conduit connects the discharge orifice to an inlet port, away from the orifice, the actuating device being provided to actuate a resilient diverter valve means to dispense the fluid from the fluid container, wherein the actuating device comprises an open piston having an open front end, an open rear end and at least one upper sealing flange that seals against an inner wall of the discharge conduit, while an internal rod is coupled to the open piston having a free end, the free end of which closes the discharge orifice from the inside of the discharge conduit, while the open piston is deflected towards the discharge opening,The drive head comprises a lever or push button for actuating the open piston towards the inlet port of the discharge conduit. In a preferred embodiment, the open piston has a larger diameter at the front end than the diameter at the rear end, so that an overpressure in the packing pushes the internal rod into the conduit orifice, thereby providing the elastic diverter valve means. In another preferred embodiment, the open piston is provided to actuate a direct-drive valve with a hollow valve stem. In an advantageous embodiment, a top closure of the container is provided with an outer vertical rim and an inner center tube to close the fluid container. An additional elastic means may be provided in a preferred additional embodiment between the upper closure of the container and a projecting flange of the open piston to support the pressure force on the open piston. It is advantageous if the additional elastic means are bellows or a spring made of metal or plastic. All elements of the drive device are preferably made of a plastic material. Furthermore, the discharge conduit can be curved, and the internal rod can be made from a flexible plastic material to accommodate the curved conduit. For user convenience, it is preferable to have the dispensing orifice positioned at an angle relative to the centerline of the container. This embodiment of the invention makes it possible to vary the angle of the orifice between 0° and 90° relative to the centerline of the container in a stepless manner. In another preferred embodiment, the open piston has two opposing vertical drive ribs, while the open piston with the internal rod, free end and vertical ribs are preferably made from a single piece of plastic material. The push button preferably has an internal cam that actuates the protruding flange of the open piston. In addition, the inner wall of the discharge conduit can be provided with longitudinal guide ribs to prevent the inner rod from twisting or bending. In another preferred embodiment, the inner rod is provided with guide elements that cooperate with the longitudinal guide ribs. Preferably, the discharge hole is provided by a circular rim of the discharge conduit and the rim has a thickness between 0 and 2.0 mm to reduce the amount of residual product outside the discharge hole. Additional advantages may be derived from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a cross-section of a first embodiment of a drive device according to the invention in a closed condition, Figure 2 shows a cross-section of the drive device of Figure 1 in the open condition, Figure 3 shows a cross-section of the drive device according to Figure 1 in perspective view, Figure 4 shows a cross-section of the drive device according to Figure 2 in perspective view, Figure 4A shows a front view of the open piston with two vertical drive ribs, Figure 4B shows an off-center cross-section showing one of the vertical drive ribs Figure 5 shows in perspective part of a fluid container with a discharge conduit with a screw thread and a lever-locking cap, Figure 6 shows a cross-section of a second modality of the actuating device mounted in a fluid container where the hollow piston activates a direct-acting female valve, Figure 7 shows a cross-section of the second modality in perspective view, zz / cnn / eznz / e / Yi Figure 8A shows a cross-section of the second mode in closed condition, Figure 8B shows a cross-section of the second mode in open condition, Figures 9A, 9B, 9C show an open piston with an elongated closing needle or rod, Figure 10 shows a first variation of the second mode in the cross-sectional view, where the closing force is derived from the fluid pressure. Figure 11 shows a second variation of the second mode in cross-sectional view, Figure 12 shows a slight amendment to the second variation of the second modality in the cross-sectional view, Figure 13 shows the cross-sectional and perspective view of Figure 12, Figure 14 shows a cross-section of the second modality indicating possible positions of the hole, where the position of the hole is designed at an angle of 68° with respect to the vertical, Figure 15 shows another option for the direct-acting push button of the actuating device. In this example, a direct-acting plug valve is used. Figure 16 shows a detail of the drive device of the second mode with the edge of the discharge hole, Figure 17 shows a curved flexible rod with guide elements, and Figure 18 shows the flexible rod from Figure 17 in the drive device of the second mode. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In all figures, the same elements have the same reference numbers, unless otherwise noted. Figures 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the drive device 1, which has a drive head 2 comprising a discharge conduit 3, a piston chamber 4, and a top container closure 5, to be mounted and secured or integrated with a fluid pack or container 6 to be pressurized. The piston chamber 4 is ring-shaped and projects downward from the disc-shaped closure 5, thereby providing an inlet port for the discharge conduit 3. Furthermore, the piston chamber 4 also projects upward from the disc-shaped closure 5 and has an internal passage 8, which merges into the discharge conduit 3. The discharge conduit 3 has a dome-shaped closure end 10 with a discharge orifice 11. The closure end 10 may also be tapered.The disc-shaped closure 5 has a downward-protruding ring-shaped rim 13, which is attached or connected (e.g., by welding, gluing, hooking) to the neck portion 14 of the fluid container 6 (which is only partially depicted). Within the piston chamber 4, a stepped open piston 16 is provided, having a front end open 17 to the inlet port 4 and a rear end open 18 to the discharge conduit 3. A lower ring-shaped sealing flange 19 is provided at the front end 17, and an upper ring-shaped sealing flange 20 is provided at the rear end 18. The diameter D1 of the open piston 16 at the front end is greater than the diameter D2 at the rear end (in the flow direction), so that there is a net force on the open piston 16 toward the discharge port 11 according to the following equation: F= (—* DI2--* D22) * P, '4 4 ' Where F is the force and P is the pressure on the fluid in the fluid container 6. As can be seen in more detail in Figures 3 and 4, a radius crossover 22 is mounted on the upper end of the open piston 16, while at the crossover point 23 an elongated inner rod 25 with a domed closing end 26 is mounted, the inner rod 25 extending in the longitudinal direction of the discharge conduit 3. In the closed position as shown in Figures 1 and 3, the domed closing end 26 is sealing the discharge orifice 11 from the inside of the discharge conduit 10. The open piston 16 with the inner rod 25 and the closing end 26 are manufactured in one piece from plastic material. A housing 30 with a lever 31 covers the drive head 2. The lever 31 has a pivot 34 that is integrally connected to the drive head 2. In this way, the lever 31 is rotatably connected to the top closure of the container 5. As can be seen in 4A, the open piston 16 has two opposing ribs 27, which project upwards from the stepped open piston 16 and further protrude through corresponding slots in the top closure of the container 5 (see Figure 4B). A corresponding opening 29 is provided in the housing 30 (see Figure 4), so that the lever 31 can be activated by the user, which, in turn, based on the leverage ratio, will activate the projecting or vertical ribs 27 and thus open the discharge orifice 11. One of the vertical ribs 27 can also be seen in Figure 4.Figure 4 is cut at the position where lever 31 contacts the protruding ribs of piston 27. The open piston 16 with the internal rod 25, the closing end 26, and the vertical ribs 27 are preferably manufactured as a single piece. A distance A between the pivot 34 and a contact point 38 of lever 31 on the vertical ribs 27, and a distance B between the contact point 38 and the end 39 of lever 31, define the transmission ratio of the pushing motion of lever 31 on the open piston 16 (see Figure 4B). By changing the ratio between distance A and distance B, the leverage function can be adjusted for optimal user convenience. In Figure 5, the container's top closure is shown in an exploded view with an external screw thread 32, which can be screwed into an internal screw thread 33 of the neck portion 14 of the fluid container or packing 6. The housing design has a corresponding opening 29 for the lever 31 (see Figure 4). As an alternative to a fixed connection from the container's top closure 5 to the fluid container or packing 6, an internal or external thread could be used. For environmental reasons, it could be effective, when separating or reusing waste, to manually separate the actuating device 1 from the fluid container or packing 6. Figure 6 illustrates a configuration of a second embodiment of the drive device 1 with a fluid container 6 and a fluid pressure piston 35, a lower container closure 36, and an overpressure chamber 37 between the fluid pressure piston 35 and the lower container closure 36. In this example, the fluid container 6 is pressure-driven, while a piston 35 is provided to transfer the force for dispensing the contents. However, the piston 35 can be replaced by a bag-over-valve system or a dip tube. For the present invention, any product dispensing device, driven by any other energy source (stored in the package or supplied during use) such as electricity or human power, can be used. Figure 7 shows a perspective view in a cross-section of the second embodiment of the actuating device 1. The fluid container 6 is provided with a crimped metal female valve 40 with a straight valve deflected by a metal spring 43. The actuating device 1 has an actuating head 41 with a push button 42 rotatably mounted on the actuating head 41. The actuating head 41 has a rounded chamfered top 43 covering a curved discharge conduit 44, which has a discharge orifice 45 at its front end. The discharge conduit 44 extends inward and terminates with an inner end 46. An open piston 47 with a protruding flange 48 is provided at the inner end 46 of the discharge conduit 44, the flange 48 being pushed into the inner end 46.The discharge conduit 44 further terminates with the inner end 46 at a distance from the crimped metal valve 40, the distance of which is defined by the thickness of the piston flange 48 plus the stroke of the straight valve actuator 40. An elongated flexible rod 51 is connected by radius-type connecting rods 52 to the inner wall of the open piston 47, the rod 51 being provided with a pointed end zz / cnn / eznz / e / Yi. 53 to seal the discharge hole 45 from the inside. The tip end 53 may be dome-shaped or conical. In Figure 7, the outlet valve, provided by the discharge hole 45 and the rod 51, is closed with the tip end 53. In Figure 8b, the drive device 1 of the second mode is shown in the open position of the outlet valve, which is provided by the discharge hole 45 and the rod 51 with the tapered end tip 53. The push button 42 has two internal curved cams 54 (only one cam is shown in Figure 7), which are positioned on either side above the projecting flange 48 of the open piston 47. Pushing the push button 42 downward, as shown in Figure 8b, drives the piston flange 48, and as it rotates, the piston end opens the female valve, and fluid 55 from the packing or fluid container 6 flows into the discharge conduit 46 and through the discharge port 45. In effect, two valves are opened in one action: both the crimped valve 40 fixed to the upper end of the container and the discharge port 45. The curvature profile of the cams 54 and a pivot 56 (see Figure 8b) in the drive head 41 defines the transmission speed of the push button 42's motion to the open piston 47 and the crimped metal valve 40—similar to the function of a lever as in the first modality.By adjusting the profile or curvature of the 54 cams, the transmission ratio can be set to obtain the best possible ergonomic feel for the drive. As can be seen in Figures 9A to 9C, the open piston 47 has a ring-shaped sealing flange 50, which seals against the inner wall of the discharge conduit 44. As mentioned previously, the elongated flexible rod 51 with the radius-type connecting rods 52 connects inside the open piston 47, while the tapered end tip 53 seals the discharge port 45 from the inside of the discharge conduit 44. In this embodiment of the open piston 47, the diameter at the front end and the diameter at the rear end are the same. In this embodiment, the force on the end tip 53 against the actuator seat of the discharge port 45 is provided by the metal spring 43 inside the straight valve 40. Figure 10 shows a variation of the drive device 1, which is a combination of the embodiments in Figure 1 and Figure 7. The curved discharge conduit 44 is the same as in Figure 7. However, the open piston 60 has a significantly smaller diameter D4 at the rear end than the diameter D3 at the front end (in the flow direction), which provides an upward force from the propellant gas pressure in the fluid packing or container 6. In addition, the open piston 60 has an upper sealing flange 61 and a lower sealing flange 62. As in the open piston embodiment 47, an elongated flexible rod 51 with a tapered tip 53 is provided.Furthermore, the crimped metal valve 40 is replaced by a top closure of the zz / cnn / eznz / e / Yi container 65 with a vertical outer rim 66 and an inner center tube 67, the top closure of the container 65 with an outer rim 66 being fixed to the inner wall of the packing or fluid container 6. However, the fixing can also be arranged by means of an internal or external screw thread connection. The upper sealing flange 61 seals the open piston 60 to the inner wall of the conduit 44, and the lower sealing flange 62 seals the open piston 60 to the inner wall of the center tube 67. Therefore, the inside of the packing or fluid container 6 is above the open piston 60 in sealed contact with the discharge conduit 44, so that the fluid flowing from the packing or fluid container 6 cannot escape to the outside.Furthermore, according to Pascal's law, the applied pressure is equal in all directions for a closed system. Since the force F is defined by the product of the pressure P and the area A, i.e., F = P * A, the upward force is greater due to the difference in diameter at both D3 and D4. This force drives the sealing of the hole by the tip 53 of the flexible rod 51. Figure 11 shows a variation of the actuating device 1 shown in Figure 10, in which the pressure force on the open piston 60 is further supported by flexible bellows 70, which are held between the upper closure 65 and the piston flange 48. The bellows 70 is an additional elastic means to ensure that the valve will close automatically in the event of an unexpected pressure drop. This feature is prescribed by UN 1950 Aerosole. Figure 12 shows a variation of the embodiment of the drive device 1 in Figure 11, wherein the push button 42 is integrally connected to the discharge conduit 44 at a joint 57, such that the push button 42 with the cam 54 rotates around the joint 57. Figure 13 is a perspective view of Figure 12. Figure 14 is a further variation of the embodiments in Figures 11 to 13, in which the bellows 70 are replaced by a metal spring 72 provided in the inner center tube 67 of the closure 65. The inner center tube 67 has an inwardly curved rim 73 that supports the metal spring 72 toward the lower end of the open piston 60. Figure 14 shows different curvatures of the discharge conduit 44, such that the position of the discharge orifice 45 changes at an angle 74 toward the vertical. The angle 74 can vary between 0° and 90°. Experiments have shown that the most optimal angle 74 is 68°. Figure 15 shows another variation of the second modality of the drive device 1, in which the rotary push button 42 is replaced by an axially driven push button 77 supported on an outer flange 78 of the open piston 60 which in turn drives a plug valve 79 of packing or fluid container 6. The outer flange 78 has a vertical edge 80 with a lower cut 81 to hold a carrier projecting inwards 82 from the push button 77, so that the push button 77 is fixedly connected to the open piston 60. zz / cnn / eznz / e / Yi The drive device 1, as shown in Figures 1 to 5, is made of plastic. Preferably, plastic resins are acceptable in the recycling stream. With currently available commercial technology, this means that PET and polyolefin are used, which are easily separated by flotation. The PET will sink and must have the prescribed purity required for use in the solid-state process that upgrades it to process quality. For polyolefin parts, it is recommended to use only PP. However, other plastic materials that allow welding to the fluid container or packing 6, made from PET or any other thermoplastic polyester, may be used.Welding methods such as friction welding, ultrasonic welding, and laser welding can be used to join the top closure of container 5 to the neck portion of the fluid packaging or container 6. The drive device 1, as shown in Figures 7 to 15, is also made of plastic, preferably a plastic with a density of less than 1 g / cm³. Specifically, the drive head 41 is made of PP, the push button 42 is also made of PP, and the elongated rod 51 is preferably made of PP. Depending on the desired flexibility (hole angle), a more flexible material such as PE might be required. The design of the configuration shown in Figures 7 through 15 allows the discharge orifice 45 to be positioned at any angle between 0° and 90° relative to the dispenser's centerline, as shown in Figure 14. The flexible rod 51 allows for gradual angle adjustment, enabling the same flexible valve as in Figure 9 to be used for more actuator designs. The choice of dispensing angle is considered a major factor in ease of use. As can be seen in Figure 16, the discharge orifice 11; 45 can be provided by a circular rim 86 of the discharge conduit 44 and the rim 85 has a thickness S between 0 and 2.0 mm to reduce the amount of residual product outside the discharge orifice 45. The inner wall of the discharge conduit 44 can be further provided with longitudinal guide ribs to prevent twisting or bending of the inner rod 51. In addition, as can be seen in Figure 17, the inner rod 51 can be provided with guide elements 86 on the flexible rod 51 that cooperate with the longitudinal guide ribs. Figure 18 shows the drive device 1 with the flexible rod 51 provided with the guide elements 86 in the discharge duct 44. Since all the materials in drive device 1 are made of plastic, the used fluid container can be recycled very efficiently. Because the PET parts have a density greater than 1 g / cm³, the plastic parts made of materials other than PET, such as PP and LDPE, can be easily separated in standard sorting facilities.
Claims
1. Actuating device (1) for use in combination with a fluid packing or container (6) pressurized by a propellant gas, comprising an actuating head (2; 41) having a discharge orifice (11; 45), a discharge conduit (3; 44) in the actuating head, the discharge conduit connecting the discharge orifice to an inlet port (4; 46) located away from the orifice, the actuating device being provided to actuate a resilient diverter valve means for dispensing fluid from the fluid container (6) by the propellant gas, characterized in that the actuating device (1) comprises an open piston (16; 47; 60) having an open front end (17-62), an open rear end (18-61), and at least one upper sealing flange (20; 50; 61) at the open rear end (18-61) sealing to an inner wall of the discharge conduit (3; 44), while a rod internal (25;51) is coupled to the open piston (16; 47; 60), whose internal rod (25; 51) having a free end (26; 53), the free end of which closes the discharge orifice (11; 45) from inside the discharge conduit (3; 46), while the open piston (16; 47; 60) is deflected towards the discharge opening, the actuating head (2; 41) comprising a lever (31) or a push button (42) for actuating the open piston (16; 47; 60) to release the discharge orifice (11,45).; 2. Actuating device according to claim 1, characterized in that the open piston (16; 60) has a larger diameter (D1; D3) at the front end than the diameter (D2; D4) at the rear end, such that an overpressure of the propellant gas in the packing (6) pushes the internal rod (25; 51) towards the discharge orifice (11; 45), thereby providing the elastic diverter valve.
3. Actuating device according to claim 1, characterized in that the open piston (47;78) is provided to actuate a straight actuating valve (40) with a valve mechanism diverted by a metal spring (43) from the packing fluid container (6).
4. Actuating device according to claim 2, characterized in that the actuating device comprises a top container closure (65) with an external vertical rim (66) and an internal central tube (67) for closing the packaging or fluid container (6).
5. Actuating device according to claim 4, characterized in that additional elastic means are provided between the upper closure of the container (65) and a protruding flange (48) of the open piston (60) to support the pressure force on the open piston (60).
6. Drive device according to claim 5, characterized in that the additional elastic means are bellows (70).
7. Actuating device according to claim 4, characterized in that the additional elastic means is a spring (72) made of metal or plastic provided between the upper closure of the container (65) and a lower end of the open piston (60).
8. Actuating device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the elements thereof are manufactured from a plastic material.
9. Actuating device according to claim 8, characterized in that the discharge conduit (44) is curved and the internal rod (51) is manufactured from a flexible plastic material, to adapt to the curved discharge conduit (44).
10. Actuating device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the open piston (16) has two opposing vertical ribs (27) for actuation by the lever (31), while the open piston (16) with the internal rod (25), the free end (26) and the vertical ribs (27) are made from a single piece of plastic material.
11. Actuating device according to any one of claims 5 to 10, characterized in that the push button (42) has an internal cam (54) that actuates the protruding flange (48) of the open piston (47; 60).
12. Actuating device according to claim 8, characterized in that the inner wall of the discharge conduit (44) is provided with longitudinal guide ribs to prevent twisting or bending of the inner rod (51).
13. Drive device according to claim 12, characterized in that the internal rod (51) is provided with guide elements that cooperate with the longitudinal guide ribs.
14. Actuating device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the discharge orifice (11; 45) is provided by a circular rim of the discharge conduit (3; 44) and the rim has a thickness between 0 and 2.0 mm to reduce the amount of residual product outside the discharge orifice (11; 45).