SELF-CLOSING VALVE
The invention relates to a self-closing valve for dispensing a free-flowing product. The valve has a valve membrane with an opening for dispensing and an encircling edge at the outer perimeter, wherein the valve membrane is able to switch between a closed mode, a dispensing mode, and a back suction mode due to pressure differences produced. There is also a stopper on which the valve membrane lies in the closed mode and in the back suction mode so that the dispensing opening is closed, and from which it is lifted in the dispensing mode. The valve includes a stop ring, on which the encircling edge of the valve membrane lies as a seal during the closed mode and from which it is lifted in the back suction mode, and a lateral channel that extends axially, wherein at least parts of the encircling edge are opposite the valve membrane, and the encircling edge is movable axially on the lateral channel to switch to back suction mode, in which a gap is created between the encircling edge and the lateral channel.
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The present invention concerns a self-closing valve for the dispensing of a free-flowing product.
A typical application for self-closing valves are containers in which the dispensing of a free-flowing contents occurs by squeezing the container. One example of this are so-called squeeze bottles for skin care products. Thanks to the reduction of the inner volume of the bottle when it is squeezed by the user, the pressure inside it increases, so that the contents, such as a liquid soap, are dispensed through the valve. Thanks to the self-closing action of the valve, the contents are prevented from escaping unintentionally without this pressure increase, even when the container is not closed with a cap and even when the product bears by its gravity against the dispensing zone of the valve.
A self-closing valve for the dispensing of a liquid or pastelike product is known from DE 102 18 363 A1. The valve includes a valve membrane, which is shaped convex in the direction of the product. The valve membrane is formed with a support ring at the margin, shaped by extrusion. For a proper dispensing of the product, the valve membrane is underpinned by a plate part. The plate part, in turn, is supported by spring arms, which causes increased construction expense for the valve. Another drawback of this solution is that the plate part in particular obstructs the air equalization, so that the container has to exert a large restoring force.
A self-closing valve with a closure membrane for dispensing a fluid filling in a compressible container is known from DE 196 13 130 A1. In the nonactivated installed condition, the closure membrane has a lower support edge and an upper closure cover extending concavely basically in the dispensing direction. In a normal dispensing process, opening slits in the closure membrane open up reliably and almost abruptly at a certain pressure. When the dispensing is completed, the container is restored, so that the closure membrane is pulled back into the concave starting condition. The opening slits are now broken through toward the inside, so that air is sucked back in. In order to improve this suction, grooves can be introduced between the closure membrane and its support. The drawbacks of this solution are the limited tightness and the large partial vacuum needed for the back suctioning. In order to achieve a large back suction effect, the containers have to be configured with corresponding spring action. This necessitates a high input of material for the container, so that the manufacturing costs are increased.
A self-closing valve with a plate-shaped valve membrane is known from EP 0 388 828 A1. The valve membrane has a central dispensing opening, which is placed on a support plate and thereby sealed off. This solution has no possibility of back suctioning of air.
A self-closing closure for a container or a tube is known from DE 43 29 808 C2, in which an outlet opening in a closure cover is closed by a closure pin. When the pressure increases, the closure pin is supposed to move inwardly, so that the outlet opening is opened up and the product can escape through the outlet opening. For this, however, the air in a closed cavity beneath the closure pin has to be compressed, since it cannot get to the outside. Consequently, a very large pressure is needed for the closure pin to free up the outlet opening, so that this valve has few applications. Furthermore, this solution has no possibility of back suctioning of air, so that it any case it would only be suitable for certain products.
A self-closing valve with an inwardly cambered valve membrane is known from DE 195 80 254 B4. The valve membrane, in turn, has a central dispensing opening, which is placed on a support plate and thereby sealed off The valve membrane is supported at the top by a support flange, against which the valve membrane thrusts from the bottom in a radially outward bearing zone. A pin can be configured on the support plate, which travels into the dispensing opening in the closed position and thus enables a reliable seal. The lateral bearing region of the valve membrane can be configured so that it is deformed inwardly when the pressure is low, thereby freeing up an air pathway for the back suction. However, such a deformation requires a large partial vacuum, so that the wall of the container has to exert correspondingly large restoring forces.
Thus, the problem of the present invention is to provide a self-closing valve for the dispensing of a free-flowing product, which is very simple and economical to produce and requires only a slight low pressure for the back suction of air. Furthermore, a good sealing effect of the valve is desired, in order to reliably prevent unintentional escaping of even slight amounts of the free-flowing product.
SUMMARYThis problem is solved by a self-closing valve according to the enclosed claim 1. In the self-closing valve, a valve membrane for the dispensing of the product switches from a closing position to a dispensing position. In the closing position, a dispensing opening of the valve membrane is closed by a stopper. In the dispensing position, the dispensing opening is lifted from the stopper and freed up. The outer periphery of the valve membrane forms an encircling edge, which lies tight against a stop ring in the dispensing position. Between the encircling edge and a lateral guide is formed a gap, through which air can be sucked back in upon relaxation of the container closed by the valve.
A special benefit of this invention consists in that a very simplified construction and a distinctly improved back suction of air can be achieved at the same time. The valve membrane can be formed by a simple plastic disk, which can be produced very economically. A container with a valve according to the invention need not have very great restoring forces. Consequently, the wall of the container can be thin, so that the use of the invented valve enables a material-sparing and low-cost production of the container.
Further benefits, details, and modifications of the invention will appear from the following descriptions of several embodiments, making reference to the drawings. These show:
The valve 01 includes a round circular valve membrane 02 with a round circular dispensing opening 03 in its center. The valve membrane 02 basically has the shape of a disk spring and also exhibits comparable spring properties. In
The valve membrane 02 is elastically deformable, while the truncated cone shape and the sealing lip 07 impose a pretensioning, which dictates the deformability. The outer circumference of the valve membrane 02 is formed by an encircling edge 11. The encircling edge 11 lies, in the closed position (Fig. a), against a stop ring 12. The valve membrane 02 is supported on top by the stop ring 12. A lateral movement of the valve membrane 02 is limited by a lateral guide 13. In the embodiment shown, the stop ring 12 and the lateral guide pass one into the other as a single piece, which allows for an easy fabrication. But the stop ring 12 and the lateral guide 13 can also be made as two pieces. In the embodiment shown, the lateral guide 13 and the stop disk 04 are designed as two pieces. But the lateral guide 13 and the stop disk 04 can also pass one into the other as a single piece. The lateral guide 13 is round and circular in the embodiment shown. But the lateral guide can also be designed so that it guides the valve membrane 02 only at several points or segments on the circumference. In the embodiment shown, the stop ring 12 has a slanting cross sectional surface. But the stop ring 12 can also be designed perpendicular to the lateral guide 13. The encircling edge 11 of the valve membrane 02 lies beneath the stop ring 12, so that the valve membrane 02 is sealed off from the stop ring 12. Through openings 14 in the stop disk 04, the product kept inside the container (not shown) or air can flow in the direction 16 into the region beneath the valve membrane 02.
The encircling edge 11 of the valve membrane 02 preferably has the same material thickness as the main part of the valve membrane 02. The encircling edge 11 is not reinforced and has no particular shape, such as additional sealing lips. The encircling edge 11 of the valve membrane 02 at the same time serves as the upper and lateral stop for the valve membrane 02. Between the lateral guide 13 and the encircling edge 11 of the valve membrane 02 there is formed a gap 15. The gap 15 runs peripherally in the embodiment shown. In other embodiments, the gap can be in segments, for example, if the valve membrane 02 is guided laterally at only a few points.
The self-closing valve 01 is especially suitable for so-called squeeze bottles in which a manual squeezing of the bottle dispenses the free-flowing product. For this, the valve 01 is arranged in the opening of the bottle provided for the dispensing. The embodiment of the invented valve shown in
In figure b) of
Figure c) of
Figure d) of
In the dispensing position shown in Fig. d), the sealing lip 07 is distinctly lifted relative to the pin 08, so that a large opening has formed between the sealing lip 07 and the pin 08. The product is released through the openings 14 in the stop disk 04 and through the dispensing opening 03. A directional arrow 18 illustrates the direction of flow of the product. The diameter of the pin 08 determines the diameter of the dispensing opening 03 and thus the amount and rate of flow of the product.
In the embodiment shown, the switching from the closed position to the dispensing position is sudden. This has the result that a squeeze bottle with such a valve 01 relaxes suddenly during this process as soon as the excess pressure produced by the squeezing has dissipated. At this moment, a determined amount of product will be released. The valve 01 and the squeeze bottle can be dimensioned so that the suddenly released amount of product corresponds to the typical amount of consumption of the product. Thus, the user can intuitively dispense the typical consumption amount of product. If a larger amount is desired, then the bottle should be squeezed further after the sudden switching of the valve 01 to the dispensing position. Since the maximum force for the switching to the dispensing position has already been overcome, little effort is needed to put out larger amounts of the product.
The closed position shown in
In
The invented valve in the embodiment presented more closely above consists of only two parts. This enables a simple and fast assembly, since only the valve membrane needs to be forced into the fastening frame with a stamp. The membrane can preferably consist of silicone or a comparable soft elastic plastic, while the fastening frame can be made as an injection molded part from a more stiff plastic.
The fastening frame, including the lateral guide and the stop disk, can also be configured in a modified embodiment as a single piece with the squeeze bottle or a similar container.
Advisedly, the valve will be covered by a cap when not in use, being placed in familiar fashion on the squeeze bottle.
Claims
1. Self-closing valve for dispensing a free-flowing product, comprising:
- a valve membrane, which has the shape of a disk spring, with an opening for dispensing and a level encircling edge at the outer perimeter, wherein the valve membrane is able to switch between a closed mode, a dispensing mode, and a back suction mode due to pressure differences produced;
- a stop disk lying transversely to the axis of symmetry of the valve, with a bearing surface, on which the valve membrane lies in the closed mode and in the back suction mode so that the dispensing opening is closed, and from which it is lifted in the dispensing mode;
- a stop ring, on which the encircling edge of the valve membrane lies as a seal during the closed mode and from which it is lifted in the back suction mode;
- a lateral guide that extends axially, and at least parts of the encircling edge of the valve membrane are opposite it at the periphery, while the encircling edge can move axially on the lateral guide to switch to the back suction mode, in which a gap is created between the encircling edge and the lateral guide; wherein the valve membrane shaped as a disk spring is cambered in the closed position in the direction of the stop disk and in the dispensing position it has a cambering inverted relative to the closed position.
2. The self-closing valve according to claim 1, wherein the valve membrane and the dispensing opening are circular and concentric in configuration.
3. The self-closing valve according to claim 2, wherein the stop disk has a pin with an envelope surface in the shape of a truncated cone, and the pin projects into the dispensing opening in the closed position.
4. The self-closing valve according to claim 3, wherein the dispensing opening has a sealing lip at its periphery, and at least parts of the inner surface of the sealing lip conform to the truncated cone shape of the pin.
5. (canceled)
6. (canceled)
7. The self-closing valve according to claim 1, wherein the valve membrane is made from a silicone plastic or a thermoplastic elastomer.
8. The self-closing valve according to claim 1, wherein the stop, the stop ring and the lateral guide are made as a single piece.
9. The self-closing valve per according to claim 8, wherein the stop disk, the stop ring and the lateral guide are made as a single piece with an outer fastening frame, which can be fastened in the bottle neck opening of a squeeze bottle.
10. The self-closing valve according to claim 8, wherein the stop disk, the stop ring and the lateral guide and the outer fastening frame are made as a single piece with a container in which the free-flowing product is kept.
11. The self-closing valve according to claim 1, wherein further support means are provided on the stop, on which the valve membrane rests by segments in the closed position.
12. The self-closing valve according to claim 1, wherein stiffening means are provided on the valve membrane.
13. The self-closing valve according to claim 12, wherein the stiffening means are arranged between the bearing surface and the encircling edge.
14. The self-closing valve according to claim 1, wherein contouring means are provided on the valve membrane, which project into the dispensing opening and/or are arranged in the wall of the dispensing opening.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 11, 2007
Publication Date: Feb 2, 2012
Applicant: KUNSTSTOFFTECHNIK WAIDHOFEN AN DER THAYA GMBH (Thaya)
Inventors: Udo Suffa (Forltz-Gefell), Eberhard Köbke (Marktrodach), Hermann Goetz (Neustadt bei Coburg)
Application Number: 12/297,209
International Classification: B65D 35/38 (20060101);