Bag-on-valve

Abstract

Bag-on-valve for a pressurized container, in particular pressurized cans (40), for dispensing viscous to pasty products, comprising a valve disk (3), a valve body (6) arranged on the valve disk (3), a stem (5) guided in a central cutout of the valve body (6), with at least one inlet opening (9) for the product contained in the bag (30), said opening being opened by actuating the stem, at least one outlet opening (10), an elastic element (8) acting on the stem (5), sealing elements (12) acting between valve disk (3) and valve body (6) and between valve body (6) and stem (5) as well as a bag (30) arranged on valve (1) for the product to be discharged through the valve (1), wherein the bag (30) is fixed to a retaining element (2) which has a central passage (23), said retaining element (2) having a laterally extending retaining plate (22) which is connected in a tightly sealing manner to a collar (7) of the valve body, said collar extending vertically on the can side.

Claims

1. Bag-on-valve for a pressurized can (40), for dispensing viscous to pasty products, comprising a valve disk (3), a valve body (6) arranged on the valve disk (3), a stem (5) guided in a central cutout of the valve body (6), with at least one inlet opening (9) for the product contained in the bag (30), said opening being opened by actuating the stem, at least one outlet opening (10), an elastic element (8) acting on the stem (5), the stem (5) being provided with a retaining ring (11) at its outlet opening (9) serving as an abutment for the elastic element (8), the lower end of the elastic element (8) oriented towards the side of the can being supported in an annular groove of the valve body (6), sealing elements (12) acting between valve disk (3) and valve body (6) and between valve body (6) and stem (5) as well as a bag (30) arranged on valve (1) for the product to be discharged through the valve (1), characterized in that the bag (30) is fixed to a retaining element (2) which has a central passage (23), said retaining element (2) having a laterally extending retaining plate (22) which is connected in a tightly sealing manner to a collar (7) of the valve body, said collar extending vertically into the can.

2. Bag-on-valve according to claim 1, characterized in that the retaining plate (22) and the collar (7) are attached to one another by means of a snap-in or snap-on connection.

3. Bag-on-valve according to claim 2, characterized in that the collar (7) has a circumferential outer projection (16) in which latches (25) engage or interlock that are arranged on the retaining plate.

4. Bag-on-valve according to claim 1, characterized in that a sealing element (24) is arranged between retaining plate (22) and collar (7).

5. Bag-on-valve according to claim 4, characterized in that the sealing element (24) is an O-ring (24) arranged in a peripheral seating arrangement (27) of the retaining plate, said O-ring providing a seal against the wall (15) at the end of the collar (7) in an orientation towards the inside of the can.

6. Bag-on-valve according to claim 4, characterized by a molded-on sealing element (24) located in the peripheral area of the retaining plate (22), said element providing a seal against the wall (15) at the can side end of the collar (7) in an orientation towards the inside of the can.

7. Bag-on-valve according to claim 6, characterized in that the sealing element (24) consists of a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE).

8. Bag-on-valve according to claim 5, characterized in that the end of the collar (7) in said orientation towards the inside of the can is beveled, with the bevel (15) pointing inwardly towards the can in the direction of the sealing element (24) of the retaining plate (22).

9. Bag-on-valve according to claim 1, characterized in that the retaining element (2) is provided with a central spigot (21) directed towards the inside of the can serving for the fixation of the bag (30).

10. Bag-on-valve according to claim 9, characterized in that the bag (30) is glued or welded to the spigot (21).

11. Bag-on-valve according to claim 1, characterized in that the bag (30) is designed so as to comprise several layers.

12. Bag-on-valve according to claim 1, characterized in that the valve body (6) has a circumferential groove (14) around the stem (5) in which the elastic element (8) surrounding the stem (5) is arranged.

13. Bag-on-valve according to claim 12, characterized in that the elastic element (8) is formed of a thermoplastic elastomer, a coil spring or a combination thereof.

14. Pressurized can provided with a bag-on-valve according to claim 1.

15. Use of a bag-on-valve according to claim 1 for dispensing viscous or pasty products from a pressurized can (40).

Description

(1) Elucidation of the invention is provided by the following figures where

(2) FIG. 1 is a general view of a bag-on-valve with the bag not being shown;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a detailed view of the retaining element;

(4) FIG. 3 illustrates a detailed view of the connection of the retaining element and valve collar;

(5) FIG. 4 shows the individual elements of the bag-on-valve according to FIGS. 1 to 3;

(6) FIG. 5 shows a second variant of the retaining element with molded-on TPE seal;

(7) FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the connection of the retaining element to the valve collar as shown in FIG. 5;

(8) FIG. 7 illustrates a third variant of the retaining element;

(9) FIG. 8 is a detailed view of the connection of the retaining element to the valve collar as shown in FIG. 7;

(10) FIG. 9 schematically illustrates the steps involved in assembling the pressurized can and bag-on-valve including filling.

(11) FIG. 1 shows a bag-on-valve according to the invention without the bag being mounted. The actual valve is marked with reference numeral 1, the retaining element for the bag has numeral 2. The valve 1 consists of the valve disk 3 with the crimping rim 4, the stem 5, the valve body 6 with a downwardly extending collar 7 oriented towards the can side, and the elastic element 8, which in this case is a sleeve fabricated of a thermoplastic elastomer arranged around the stem 5. At its can side end 2, the stem 5 has several inlet openings 9 and an outlet opening 10 at the valve side end. In the area of the outlet opening 10 there is a plastic sleeve 11, which serves as upper abutment for the elastic element 8. The lower or can side end of the elastic element 8 supports itself in an annular groove of the valve body 6.

(12) Valve body 6 has a base 13 which extends sideways in the form of a ring and seals the stem against the valve body 6. There are sealing lips 12 in the contact area between the valve base 13 and the valve body 6. Alternatively, an O-ring can be arranged, which is located in a groove of the valve body 6 or stem 5. Moreover, the valve body may also be provided with an injection molded sealing element made of a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE, two-component molding).

(13) The valve body 6 is mounted on and attached to the valve disk 3 in a well-known manner.

(14) The retaining element 2 comprises a retaining spigot 21 and a retaining plate 22, which are concentrically arranged around a passage 23. The retaining plate 22 extends sideways towards the edge or rim of a surrounding pressurized can and is attached to the collar 7 of the valve body 6 via a sealing ring 24 and latching elements 25, refer to detail X.

(15) The retaining spigot 21 itself can be of optional shape, but appropriately has an elongated diamond shape, that is, roughly similar to the shape of a ship. It is provided with circumferential fins 26, which serve to improve fit and fixation of an assembled bag.

(16) For the removal of bag contents, the bag-on-valve proposed by the invention is actuated by pressing down the stem 5 using a conventional adapter. After removal of bag contents is completed, the elastic element 8 ensures the closed position of the valve is restored. The valve can be actuated again until the bag has entirely been emptied.

(17) In FIG. 2 a variant of the inventive retaining element 2 can be seen showing the retaining spigot 21 and the retaining plate 22. In the center of the retaining element 2 there is a passage 23 through which the contents of the bag are filled into and discharged from the bag. Around the pivot 21 fins 26 are arranged horizontally. To facilitate insertion into a pressurized can and for the fixation of a bag, spigot 21 is tapered at its can-side end, that is, the side faces are beveled.

(18) Above the spigot 21 a constriction 28 is provided, which can serve as a holding aid when filling a mounted bag. Within the retaining plate 22 there is a seat 27 for the accommodation of an O-ring, circumferentially arranged latches 25 to secure the retaining element to the collar 7 of the valve body 6 and, on the inside, an upright rim 29 that extends towards the valve side and is provided with a view to improving the connection of the retaining element to the collar 7 of the valve disk 6.

(19) FIG. 3 depicts detail X from FIG. 1 showing the collar 7 protruding from valve 1 downwards towards the can side, the retaining plate 22 with its protruding upright rim 29 and the seat 27 for the accommodation of an O-ring 24. The O-ring 24 is located in the seat 27 of the retaining plate 22 and supports itself on valve 1 in the area of the collar 7 on a beveled surface 15, the inclination of which facing inwards. The collar 7 also has a circumferential projection 16 on its outside (facing outwards from the can), behind which the latching elements 25 of retaining element 2 engage. The secure and immovable seating of the latching elements 25 at the projection 16 is ensured by the upright rim 29 of the retaining plate 22, which abuts directly against the inner wall of the collar 7.

(20) FIG. 4 shows in an overview the individual elements of FIGS. 1 to 3 together with a bag 30. Valve 1 with collar 7 is latched to the retaining element 2 with O-ring 24 being arranged in between. The bag 30 is attached to spigot 21 of the retaining element 2.

(21) In the variant of the inventive bag-on-valve shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the valve body consists of HDPE, while the retaining element is made of PP and the bag is built up of several layers of PE.

(22) Illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 is another variant of the seal arranged between valve 1 and retaining element 2. The seal 24 consists of a sealing ring of thermoplastic elastomer material injection-molded onto the retaining plate 22 by adopting a two-component process, said ring acting as a seal against the bevel 15 of the collar 7 of valve 1, as shown in FIG. 6. The sealing principle incidentally corresponds to the principle shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

(23) From FIGS. 7 and 8 a third variant of a seal arranged between valve 1 and retaining element 2 can be seen. In this case, the sealing element is replaced by a welded joint by means of which a circumferential outer groove 31 of the retaining plate 22 is connected to a circumferential projection 17 of the collar 7 of valve 1. In this variant, the material of valve 1 should, expediently, be identical to the material of retaining element 2, for example should be HDPE. The connection is preferably made by ultrasonic welding.

(24) FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of the assembly principle for a pressurized can equipped according to the invention. In the first step A, the bag 30, which is already attached to the retaining element 2, is hung into a pressurized can 40 with a dome 41 in such a way that the retaining plate 2 is still positioned outside the dome. The bag 30 is filled through the passage provided in the retaining element 2. In the second step B, the valve 1 is snapped onto the retaining element 2. The bag-on-valve is lowered further into the can, but is not yet attached to the can dome 41 (C). Propellant (arrow) is now introduced into the can via a pressure bell (D) and, while still under the bell, the bag-on-valve is attached to the can dome by crimping (E).

(25) This special method is based on customary pressurized cans as they are used for numerous applications in industry, trade and household. The bag 30 does not need to be filled through the valve, but the bag contents are introduced through the passage provided in the retaining element. Only when this has been completed will the bag 30 be tightly closed by clipping on valve 1. When propellant is now filled into the can, no propellant is capable of ingressing into the bag 30.

(26) Filling the bag through the stem of the valve is also possible, but makes it necessary that the stem has to be cleaned afterwards. Filling the can through the valve is usually required in the event the valve and retaining element are connected by welding.

(27) The use of a solid material valve, as it is known from the state of the art for polyurethane foam cans, offers the advantage that the bag can be filled and emptied in a very short time via the relatively large cross-section of the stem. This is especially advantageous when the need arises to fill the bag through the stem.

(28) The bag-on-valve proposed by the invention and pressurized cans equipped with it can be utilized for a plurality of viscous and pasty products. In the food sector, these may include, for example, honey, cake decorations, cheese, dough, fat, pudding, creams. In the hygiene sector, toothpaste and soap are suitable products. In the cosmetics sector as well as in the medical field, the valve may be used for creams and ointments. Examples for technical applications include sealing compounds, grease and pastes.