SELF REGULATING VENT FOR A PAINT SUPPLY VESSEL
A vessel (1), in particular for containing paint, comprising a reservoir (2) and a closure lid (3) which reservoir (2) is provided for being closed by said closure lid (3), which closure lid (3) is applicable on top of a liquid application tool (4), said vessel (1) having an air inlet comprising a plurality of openings (9), said closure lid (3) comprises a conically shaped part, characterised in that said air inlet being provided with a closure valve made of flexible elastomer material, said valve being resiliently mounted on said air inlet in such a manner as to cover said plurality of openings, of which each opening having a surface area of at the most 15 mm2, and as to open upon a predetermined pressure difference between a first pressure inside said vessel and a second pressure outside said vessel, said closure lid (3) being provided with a protrusion applied on said conically shaped part and forming a flat contact face for said valve.
The present invention relates to a vessel, in particular for containing paint, comprising a reservoir and a closure lid which reservoir is provided for being closed by said closure lid, which closure lid is applicable on top of a liquid application tool, said vessel having an air inlet comprising a plurality of openings, said closure lid comprises a conically shaped part.
Such a vessel is known from the International Patent application WO 03/006170. The latter application relates to a vessel being mounted on top of a liquid application tool. In such a vessel gravity helps feeding the liquid into the application tool. The vessel also comprises a conically shaped part, which allows to easily apply a filter between the reservoir and the application tool, which keeps the latter from clogging up. The conically shaped part further allows feeding the liquid into the liquid application tool even if the latter is used in a non-horizontal position. Openings are provided on the reservoir to provide vacuum relief for the liquid application tool. This implies that the reservoir is not liquid-tight any more. The above mentioned patents therefore describe the use of a flexible liner within the cavity of the reservoir, which liner holds the liquid. The advantage is that the reservoir can be used multiple times.
A drawback of the known vessel is that it requires an extra element, namely the liner. It also requires at least one extra step using such a vessel, namely placing the flexible liner into the reservoir.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a vessel which allows using a reservoir multiple times, and which vessel is easier to use than prior art vessels.
For this purpose, a vessel according to the present invention is characterised in that said air inlet being is provided with a closure valve made of flexible elastomer material, said valve being resiliently mounted on said air inlet in such a manner as to cover said plurality of openings, of which each opening having a surface area of at the most 15 mm2, and as to open upon a predetermined pressure difference between a first pressure inside said vessel and a second pressure outside said vessel, said closure lid (3) being provided with a protrusion applied on said conically shaped part and forming a flat contact face for said valve. Despite the openings, the vessel is capable of holding a liquid because a valve is used to cover the openings. Because the vessel is capable of holding a liquid, there is no need any more for a flexible liner, and the liquid can be applied directly into the reservoir. Because there is no flexible liner, in using the vessel, there is no need to apply such a liner, which makes the use of the vessel easier. No openings are to be provided in the reservoir so as to keep the latter intact and consequently suitable for using multiple times.
It should be noted that a combination of WO 03/006170 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,997 would not lead to the present invention. A person skilled in the art starting from WO 03/006170, and confronted with the current technical problem of the requirement of an extra element, namely the liner, and of at least one extra step using such a vessel, namely placing the flexible liner into the reservoir, could perhaps apply the teaching of U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,997, as the latter discloses a valve suitable for being used in the present invention. However in WO 03/006170, openings are provided on the top part of the vessel in a mounted position. So when using the application tool, the openings are provided above the liquid surface. Also in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,997, the valve is applied above the liquid surface. In combining those documents, a person skilled in the art would come up with the solution to apply the valve on the top part of the vessel in a mounted position.
However the solution provided by the present invention is different from the solution the skilled person could come up with. In the present invention, the valve is not applied on the reservoir which forms the top part of the vessel in a mounted position, but the valve is applied on the closure lid. No particular measures are to be applied on the reservoir for vacuum relief, which makes any cup which fits to the closure lid suitable for being used as reservoir. Moreover the valve is applied on the closure lid, which forms the lower part of the vessel in a mounted position, when air enters the vessel through the valve, the air enters below the liquid surface. This results in bubbles rising to the liquid surface, thereby creating turbulences inside the liquid. These turbulences induce a mixing effect to the liquid, which is especially advantageous in multi component liquids.
To ensure a duly closing of the valve to the closure lid comprising a conically shaped part, adaptation has to be made. By creating a protrusion on the conically shaped part of the closure lid, a flat surface is obtained on the closure lid. Due to the valve being applied to the flat surface, openings can be duly closed by the valve.
A first preferred embodiment of a vessel according to the present invention is characterised in that said openings are applied along a circumference of a circle and wherein said valve has a circularly shaped member covering said openings. The circular distribution of the openings stimulates a well distributed air flow.
A second preferred embodiment of a vessel according to the present invention is characterised in that a further opening is applied in the centre of said circle, said valve having a stem extending from said member and penetrating into said further opening. In such a manner the stem is surrounded by the air flow openings.
The invention also relates to a closure lid as part of a vessel according to the present invention.
The invention will now be described in more details with reference to the drawings showing a preferred embodiment of a vessel according to the invention. In the drawings:
In the drawings a same reference sign has been allocated to a same or analogous element.
The vessel 1 illustrated in
As illustrated in
The closure lid further comprises an air inlet 9. As illustrated in the
The openings 10 are applied in the flat surface part of the seat which extend substantially parallel with respect to line 13. In such a manner, the air penetrates perpendicularly through the openings 10 and turbulences are avoided which would be generated in case that the openings would be applied in the conical surface. When seen from the outer side of the closure lid (
As is illustrated in
The air inlet is further provided with a closure valve 14 made of a flexible elastomer material such as silicone rubber, fluorosilicone, fluoroelastomers or perfluoroelastomers. The choice of the elastomer material of which the valve is made, is in function of the liquid that will be present in the vessel. Indeed, care has to be taken that the latter material is chemically resistant to this liquid. Nor is the location of the valve assembly limited to placement in the closure lid, the valve assembly may also be mounted in the reservoir if the air inlet is applied there.
In order to apply the closure valve, the air inlet is preferably provided with a further opening 14 as illustrated in
When the user activates the handle 5 of the spray gun, the gun will open thereby causing a pressure drop inside the vessel. As the pressure P1, inside the vessel is then lower than the pressure P2 outside the vessel, a pressure difference will be established over the air inlet, causing the valve to open and thus allowing air from the outside to flow via the plurality of openings 10 inside the vessel. As soon as the handle is released, the pressure difference becomes negligible, thereby causing the valve to close. The valve is thus self regulating and as the valve closes after release of the handle, the vessel is closed and there is no need to change the closure lid, even if the liquid remains stored in the vessel.
The closure lid and the reservoir are preferably made of plastic disposable material so as to provide a low cost product. Moreover, there is also no need to clean the reservoir. It has to be noted that a silicone valve may swell upon exposure to certain solvents which may be present in the liquid. However this will not affect the operation of the valve as the member 16 does not cross the boundaries of the seat.
The valve can be designed in such a manner that it opens at predetermined pressure differential between the interior and exterior of the vessel. The valve design can be optimized to open at as low as 5 millibar of pressure or as high as 100 millibar, depending on needs of the application. The valve has also a self sealing feature, as even without pressure difference the stem holds the valve closed due to the pre-tension in the stem. The self regulating properties of the valve cause the air volume passing through the plurality of openings to be directly dependent on the amount of liquid sprayed. To increase the flow of air into the vessel, the size of the valve and seat openings can be increased or multiple valve mountings could be used.
Claims
1. A vessel (1), in particular for containing paint, comprising a reservoir (2) and a closure lid (3) which reservoir (2) is provided for being closed by said closure lid (3), which closure lid (3) is applicable on top of a liquid application tool (4), said vessel (1) having an air inlet comprising a plurality of openings (9), said closure lid (3) comprises a conically shaped part, characterised in that said air inlet being provided with a closure valve made of flexible elastomer material, said valve being resiliently mounted on said air inlet in such a manner as to cover said plurality of openings, of which each opening having a surface area of at the most 15 mm2, and as to open upon a predetermined pressure difference between a first pressure inside said vessel and a second pressure outside said vessel, said closure lid (3) being provided with a protrusion applied on said conically shaped part and forming a flat contact face for said valve.
2. The vessel as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said openings are applied along a circumference of a circle and wherein said valve has a circularly shaped member covering said openings.
3. The vessel as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that a further opening (7) is applied in a centre of said circle, said valve having a stem (15) extending from said member and penetrating into said further opening.
4. The vessel as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said seat is formed by a protrusion extending inside said vessel.
5. The vessel as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said seat is applied approximately half way between a rim and a centre of said lid.
6. The vessel as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said closure lid is provided for receiving a filtering screen.
7. The vessel as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the vessel comprises a mixing cup removably mounted therein.
8. A closure lid as part of a vessel according to claim 1.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 6, 2008
Publication Date: Nov 18, 2010
Applicant: S.A.Omniform (Waver)
Inventors: Alian Wambeke (Zoutleeuw), Peter Van Zele (Greer, SC), Eric Van Zele (Hoeilaart)
Application Number: 12/663,238
International Classification: B65D 51/16 (20060101);