US3550649A - Method of filling two compartment container - Google Patents

Description

United States Patent lnventor Philip Meshberg 15 Stoneleigh Road, Fairlield, Conn. 06430 Appl. No. 820,500

Filed Apr. 30, 1969 Division of Ser. No. 704,028, Felt. 8, 1968, Patent No. 3,455,489.

Patented Dec. 29, 1970 METHOD OF FILLING TWO COMPARTMENT CONTAINER lll l 'r 'i'lii 'lh [50] Field of Search 53/36; l41/3,9, 20,100, 103, 104; 222/136(Cursory),

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,169,670 2/1965 Hrebenak et al. l4l/3X 3,255,786 6/1966 Kaiser, Jr 141/3 Primary Examiner- Laverne D. Geiger Assistant Examiner-Edward J. Earls Attorney-Johnson and Kline ABSTRACT: The method of filling two different compartments of an aerosol container selectively through a singledispensing valve to produce a device for storing the 'two materials and for simultaneously dispensing the same.

METHOD OF FILLING TWO COMPARTMENT CONTAINER This application is a division of my copending application Ser. No. 704,028, filed Feb. 8, 1968 now Pat. No. 3,455,489.

The present invention provides a structure which is very versatile in use and one which can be filled in a simple, yet effective manner to provide for the storage of two different materials and the dispensing of said materials simultaneously. For example, the two compartments can independently receive and store difierent materials until they are simultaneously dispensed, all by the single valve means, to mix and/or combine chemically into a desired product. The materials for each compartment can be a concentrate or composition to be dispensed and a usual liquid propellent, such as Freon, or an immiscible gas under pressure, such as nitrogen, or the like propellent.

If it is desired to dispense one composition and to provide additional booster pressure during the dispensing operation, one of the compartments can contain the concentrate or composition plus its propellent, and the other compartment can provide an additional propellent under pressure which, when the valve is operated, will supply the booster pressure to the dispensed material.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision in the single valve means, of valving constructions which will enable the two compartments to be selectively and individually filled by means of the said valve means in a simple and expeditious manner.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the specification and claims when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. I is an enlarged longitudinal fragmentary sectional view of the valve means on the container having two compartments in nondispensing position.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 with the valve means in dispensing position.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal view, partly in section, showing the filling of the outer compartment through the valve means.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal view, partly in section, showing the filling of the inner compartmentthrough the valve means.

As shown in the drawings there is a canister or container having an opening in one end in which a valve means 11 is mounted by means of a mounting cup 12 having its edges secured to the container as at 13 to close the same with said valve means providing the means for dispensing material from the container. The valve means includes a tubular housing 14, the outer end of which is closed by a sealing washer 15 which is pressed against the undersurface of the mounting cup as the the edge 14a of the housing is secured thereto by crimping of the cup 12 as shown in FIG. 1.

The mounting cup and sealing washer have apertures 16, 17 through which an outer portion 18a of a reciprocating twopart valve stem 18 projects, as shown in FIG. 1, with the washer sealingly engaging the valve stem. The outer portion of the valve stem has a discharge port 19 which connects to a longitudinal passage 20 in the stem portion 18a which extends to the outer end of the stem. An actuating or dispensing button 21 is secured on stem portion 18a and has a nozzle means 22 connected to the passage 20.

The other or inner portion 18b of the valve stem is a hollow, tubular member having the inner end 23 closed and is sealingly slidable in an aperture 25 in a transverse wall 25a formed intermediate the ends of the housings. The washer 15 and wall 25a fon'n a chamber 26 in the housing.

The stem portion 18b has a side port 24 which extends into the hollow interior thereof and is so located that it is above the transverse wall 25a in normal nondispensing position, is moved below the sealing wall 25a in one filling and in the dispensing position and will be sealed by the wall in another filling position as will be explained.

The outer end of the inner stem portion 18b is open and the inner end of the stem portion 180 is inserted therein. As shown in FIG. 1, the stem portion 18b is provided with a sealing shoulder 27 which is pressed into engagement with the washer 15 by a spring 28 in the normal nondispensing position and permits it to move inwardly to a dispensing position shown in FIG. 2. The portion of the stem portion 18a extending into the open outer end of the portion 18b has passages 29 formed therein extending from the interior of the hollow stem 18b to the chamber when the stem is in dispensing position.

According to the present invention the container has two separate compartments for storing and maintaining separate two different materials. While these may take various forms, such as side-by-side compartments or upper and lower compartments, in the form of the invention illustrated herein they are concentric with the interior of the container 10 forming an outer compartment 30, and a hollow rigid unit 31 is disposed within the container 10 to surround the housing and is sealed from the first compartment 30 so as to form the second or inner compartment 32. The inner end of the housing communicates, as by a dip tube 33, with the inner part of the compartment 30 and the upper part of the chamber in the housing communicates by passage means 34, illustrated as being formed in the walls of the housing, with the inner end of the compartment 32 so that both compartments can be connected to the chamber 26 in the housing during a dispensing operation and can be individually filled as will be explained.

With this construction the inner compartment 32 and outer compartment 30 can be filled with a material to be dispensed, usually comprising a concentrate or composition and a propellent, either a liquid propellent such as Freon, or a gaseous propellent, such as nitrogen or the like gas. The two chambers 30, 32, as shown in the drawings,- each have a head space 30a, 32a in which the gaseous phase of the liquid propellent or the gaseous propellent under pressure is disposed for forcing the material through the dip tube 33 or passage 34 to the chamber to be dispensed therefrom, in which chamber the concentrates are mixed and/or chemically combined into the desired product to be dispensed.

If it should be desired merely to dispense one material but provide a booster pressure during the dispensing operation, the concentrate, for example, can be omitted from the chamber 32 and it can be filled with a propellent, for example, a gaseous material under pressure which will be forced into the chamber and provide the necessary additional pressure to the dispensed composition, 'to provide a booster pressure therefor.

In the nondispensing position of the stem in FIG. 1 it will be noted that the shoulder 27 seals the compartment 32 from the discharge port and the end portion 18b of the stem cooperates with the sealing wall 25a to seal the compartment 30 both from the discharge port and also from the compartment 32 so that no mixture of the material in the two compartments can occur prior to the dispensing operation. When the stem is moved to the dispensing position of FIG. 2 by pressure applied in the direction of arrow A, the seals are broken and the discharge port 19 is rendered operative to receive material from the chamber 26 which includes material from compartment 32 through passage 34, as indicated by arrow B, and material from compartment 30 through dip tube 33, side port 24, hollow stem 18b, and passage 29 as indicated by arrows C. Thus the valve means seals both of the compartments from each other and from the dispensing port in nondispensing position and opens both of the compartments to the dispensing portion for simultaneous discharge in a dispensing position to automatically dispense a mixture or combination of the materials. By controlling the pressures and the location and size of the ports and passages through which the materials pass, an accurate control of the combination or mixture can be achieved.

Thus it will be seen that the device of the present invention will store in separate compartments different materials and/or using different types of propellents and has valve means that will maintain the compartments sealed in nondispensing position position and will simultaneously open both compartments so that the materials are mixed or chemically combined to produce the desired product.

Another important feature of my invention resides in the fact that the two compartments can be individually filled with material by means of the valve means after the valve means has been secured to the container. This is done by separate valving constructions forming a part of the valve means.

In the illustrated form of the invention, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the outer end 180 of the stem is removed. A filling nozzle 50 having a through bore 51 is inserted through the apertures l6, 17 in the mounting cup 12 and sealing washer 15. The end sealingly engages the open end of the stem portion 18b and the stem portion is depressed so that it slides in the aperture 25 to the position shown in FIG. 3 wherein the side port 24 is moved below the transverse sealing wall 250, which wall seals the inner end of the chamber 26. Material is fed under pressure through the bore 51. interior of the stem portion 18b to the side port 24, to the dip tube 33 and into the compartment 30 to fill the same.

To fill the compartment 32 a second nozzle 50a having a side port 51a is inserted through the apertures l6, 17 in the mounting cup 12 and sealing washer l and into a closing relation with the end of the portion 18b of the stem. The stem portion is moved inwardly to the position shown in FIG. 4 wherein the port 24 is sealed by the transverse wall 25a and the side port 51a of the nozzle means opens into the chamber 26 so that material which is fed through the nozzle passes into the chamber 26, through passage 34 to the compartment 32 to fill the same.

Thus the device of the present invention not only provides for effective storage and simultaneous discharge of two different materials but also provides a simple and effective means for selectively filling the two compartments by the single valve means.

, Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

lclaim:

l. The method of filling a two-compartment container through a valve means mounted on the container and having a single valve stem reciprocating in a housing, said housing having sealing means at an outer end thereof provided with an aperture through which the stem passes and a transverse sealing wall intermediate the ends thereof forming a chamber, said stem comprising an inner and outer portion, the outer portion being sealably slidable in said aperture in the sealing means and being removed during the filling and the inner portion being tubular, hollow, and closed at the inner end and having its outer end normally urged into sealing relation with the sealing means with the inner end of the stem sealingly engaging the transverse wall, said inner portion of the stem having a port in the sidewall adapted to be sealed by the transverse wall or to bypass said wall, said housing having a first means at the inner end forming a passage communicating with the bottom one of said compartments and having a second means adjacent the outer end thereof forming a passage communicating the chamber with the bottom of said other compartment, the steps of inserting a filling nozzle having a through bore into sealing relation with the end of said inner stem portion and moving the inner portion inwardly until the port in the side of the stem bypasses the transverse sealing wall, feeding material through the stem, through the port to the inner end of the housing and through said passage into said one compartment to fill the same, terminating the feeding of the material after said one compartment has received a predetermined charge, removing said filling nozzle thereby allowing said stem to move into sealing relation with the sealing means, inserting a second filling nozzle having a closed end and side filling port into engagement with the end of said inner stem portion to seal the same, and pushing the stem inwardly to move the filling port into the chamber of the housing and the side port of the stem in sealing relation with said transverse wall, and feeding a different material through the filling port to the chamber of the housing through said passage and into the other compartment communicating therewith to fill the same with material.

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