US3624793A

US3624793A - Miniaturized double aerosol dispenser

Info

Publication number: US3624793A
Application number: US29101A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jean Marand
Original assignee: Geigy Chemical Corp
Current assignee: Novartis Corp
Priority date: 1970-04-16
Filing date: 1970-04-16
Publication date: 1971-11-30
Anticipated expiration: 1988-11-30
Also published as: DE2118368B2; DE2118368A1; DE2118368C3; GB1344344A; FR2089727A5; CH540169A

Abstract

A double-aerosol-type dispenser in which the product to be dispensed and the propellant are kept separate until actually dispensed, in which the product is contained in a sac positioned in a space around a reduced diameter portion of a propellant cartridge and between a valve assembly and a lower portion of the propellant cartridge. The assembly is contained in a housing and has an outside diameter no greater than the outside diameter of the valve assembly. The nozzle assembly can be an integral part of the valve stem, or can be contained separately in a holder into which the subassembly of the valve, propellent cartridge, product sac and housing is inserted.

Description

United States Patent [72] Inventor Jean Marand Norwalk, Conn. [2!] Appl. No. 29,101 [22] Filed Apr. 16,1970 [45] Patented Nov. 30, 1971 [73] Assignee Gelgy Chemical Corporation Greenhurgh, N.Y.

[54] MINIATURIZED DOUBLE AEROSOL DISPENSER 13 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

[52} US. Cl 222/95, 222/193, ZZZ/402.18 [51] Int. Cl 865d 35/28, 365d 85/ l 3 [50] Field of Search 222/94, 95, 193, 402.18

[56] Reierences Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,451,596 6/1969 Marand 222/193 3,469,744 9/1969 Corsette 3,540,623 11 1970 Wittke ZZZ/I93 222/94 ABSTRACT: A double-aerosol-type dispenser in which the product to be dispensed and the propellant are kept separate until actually dispensed, in which the product is contained in a sac positioned in a space around a reduced diameter portion of a propellant cartridge and between a valve assembly and a lower portion of the propellant cartridge. The assembly is contained in a housing and has an outside diameter no greater than the outside diameter of the valve assembly. The nozzle assembly can be an integral part of the valve stem, or can be contained separately in a holder into which the subassembly of the valve, propellent cartridge, product sac and housing is in serted.

EV 32b PATENTEDNUV 30 I97! SHEET 1 [IF 2 F'IG.3A

INVENTOR J EAN MARAN D FIGJ ATTORNEYS PATENTEUN 30 SHEET 2 BF 2 FIG.5

INVENTOR JEAN MARAND ATTORNEYS BACKGROUND or THE INVENTION This invention relates to an aerosol dispenser, and more particularly relates to a so-called double-aerosol dispenser, i.e. an aerosol-type dispenser in which the product to be dispensed is kept separate from the propellant used to dispense it until the propellant is actually released to carry out the dispensing operation.

There have recently been developed a number of different types of double-aerosol dispensers, among which are those exemplified'by U.S. Pat. No. 3,289,949 to Roth and US. Pat. No. 3,451,596 to Marand. These dispensers, while they are perfectly satisfactory insofar as their functioning is concerned, are of a conventional size, i.e. approximately from 2 to 3 inches in diameter, and anywhere from 4 to 8 or so inches tall. These are used for such products as personal deodorants, insecticides, and the like, the dispensing of which is carried out in relatively large spaces, and over relatively long periods of time. This in turn requires a relatively large capacity for the dispenser, and it needs to be of a size which, while it can easily be held in the hand, as well as stored on a shelf or the like, nevertheless need not be any smaller than necessary to hold the desired amount of material.

There has more recently developed a need for an aerosol dispenser of this type, which is miniaturized as compared to the conventional dispensers. That is to say, the need has developed for a so-called doubIe-aerosol-type dispenser which is small enough to fit in a purse or pocketbook, or the like, or which can be used as a one-shot dispenser, or several shot dispenser, for dispensing small amounts of medicaments or the like.

While the principles of construction and operation of the double-aerosol-type dispensers of the prior art are applicable regardless of the size of the dispenser, certain problems of conservation of space must be met in order to miniaturize such prior art dispensers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a miniaturized double-aerosol-type dispenser.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a miniaturized double-aerosol-type dispenser which is compact in size, yet which has a relatively simple structure, and is also relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

These objects are achieved by providing an aerosol dispenser having a valve body with a hollow valve stem slidable therein. The valve stem has a dispensing nozzle at the upper end thereof, and has a propellant cartridge attached to the lower portion of the valve body. The propellant cartridge has a smaller diameter portion adjacent the valve body, and a larger diameter portion which is remote from the valve body and which has an outer diameter no greater than that of the valve body itself. There is thus defined a recess around the propellant cartridge between the remote larger portion and the valve body. A collapsible sac for containing the material to be dispensed is positioned in this recess, which sac has a discharge outlet connected to a passage in the valve body opening into the valve. Material to be dispensed is aspirated from the sac through the valve during operation of the valve for dispensing. The structure is surrounded by a housing, the ends of which are crimped over to secure all the parts together.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described in greater detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a sectional elevation view of the miniaturized double-aerosol-type dispenser according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view of the dispenser of FIG. 1 positioned in a holder which enables easy operation of the dispenser;

FIG. 3A is a partial sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of the upper end of the structure shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3B is a partial sectional view similar to FIG. 3A showing a modified embodiment of the holder;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the holder and dispenser as shown in FIG. 2 being operated while held in the hand of a user;

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of a modified embodiment of the dispenser and holder therefor;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing a slightly modified embodiment of the dispenser; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a still further modified embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first to FIG. 1, there is shown a miniaturized double-aerosol-type dispenser. The dispenser is made up of a subassembly constituted by a valve assembly, a propellant cartridge, a product-containing sac, and a housing enclosing these elements.

The valve assembly is similar to that disclosed in application Ser. No. 778,905 in the name of Marand. It has a valve body 10 having a hollow interior 11 which opens out of the top of the valve body 10. A bore 12 extends downwardly from the hollow interior l1 and opens into a downwardly open recess 13 in the bottom of the valve body 10. Positioned in the downwardly open recess 13 is an annular obturating gasket 14.

A hollow valve stem 15 extends through the hollow interior 11, and has a cylindrical portion 18 extending through the bore 12 and spaced only slightly therefrom, so that the surface defining the bore 12 forms a loose bearing for the valve stem 15. A conical head 16 is provided on the bottom end of the stem 15, and between the cylindrical portion 18 and the conical head 16 is a reduced diameter portion 19 in which the inner edge of the annular gasket 14 is tightly engaged.

The stem has a hollow bore 17 therein, and from the lower end of the bore 17 extend vertical passages 20, which have stem openings opening out of the stem in the reduced diameter portion 19. In the rest position of the stem, as shown in FIG. 1, in which the stem is in the raised position relative to the valve body 10, the inner edge of the annular gasket 14 closes off or obturates the openings at the lower ends of the vertical passages 20.

The valve stem has a flange 21 thereon, and a return spring 23 is positioned between the flange and the bottom of the hollow interior 11, and tends to urge the stem 15 in the upward direction. Finlike projections 24 are provided on the inner surface of the valve body 10 and project into the hollow interior 11. The upper ends of the projections 24 are at a level such that they are abutted by the flange 21 and act as stops for the downward movement of the stern I5.

On the exterior peripheral surface of the upper part of the stem 15 above the flange 21 are a plurality of radially projecting ribs 25 extending parallel to the axis of the stern, and defining between them passages 26. At the lower ends of the ribs 25 and outwardly thereof on the upper part of the flange 21 is a downwardly and outwardly tapered surface 28. Engaged with this surface 28 is the inner portion of the downwardly facing surface of a further annular obturating gasket 29 for obturating flow of the product. This gasket has the outer portion of the downwardly facing surface engaged with the upper end of the valve body 10, so that in the normal or rest position, as shown in FIG. 1, the annular gasket 29 closes off the top of the hollow interior 11 between the stem and the valve body.

Extending downwardly from the hollow interior II on one side of the valve body 10 is a product passage 33 which opens into a further downwardly open recess 34 in the bottom of the valve body.

A propellant cartridge 32 is provided which has a smaller diameter upper portion 32a, the upper end of which is in sealing engagement with said valve assembly around bore 12. In this embodiment, it is engaged with the lower surface of the annular obturating gasket 14. The upper end of the upper portion 32a is thus closed by the gasket 14 and the conical head 16 extending through the gasket. The propellant cartridge 32 further has a larger diameter lower portion 32b, the outside diameter of which is preferably about the same as the outside diameter of the valve body 10.

There is defined between the larger diameter lower portion 32b of the propellant cartridge and the lower end of the valve body a recess, in this embodiment an annular recess, in which is positioned a flexible, collapsible, product-containing sac 35, which in this embodiment is an annular sac. The product containing sac 35 has a discharge outlet 36 on the upper end thereof which extends upwardly and into sealing engagement with the valve body in the recess 34 into which the product passage 33 opens.

Surrounding the above describedparts and holding them in the described relationship is a housing 30, which in this embodiment has bottom flange 31a flanged over the lower end of the larger diameter lower portion 32b of the propellant cartridge, and has top flange 31b flanged over the upper surface of the further annular gasket 29. An indent 310 is provided in the outer peripheral wall of the housing 30, which extends inwardly under the bottom surface of the valve body 10 so as to tightly clamp the valve body 10 and the annular gasket 29 together. The housing 30 has openings 30a in the outer peripheral wall thereof to admit air to the recess in which is positioned the product-containing sac 35.

The above described parts, the valve assembly made up of valve body 10, valve stem 15, return spring 23, and gaskets l4 and 29, the propellant cartridge 32, the product-containing sac 35, and the housing 30 constitute a subassembly which is the essential part of the miniaturized dispenser.

Several modifications of theremainder of the dispenser are possible. in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the valve stem has an upper cylindrical portion 37, which is integral with the outer edges of the ribs 25, and which extends upwardly beyond the end of the portion of the valve stem 15 having the hollow bore 17 therein. The interior of the upper cylindrical portion 37 defines a larger upwardly opening recess 38 at the upper end of the valve stem 15. In the upper portion of the valve stem within the upper cylindrical portion 37 is a smaller upwardly opening recess 380 into which is fitted a nozzle insert generally indicated at 39. The nozzle insert has a Venturi portion 40 which has the lower portion fitted into the recess 38a. The Venturi portion 40 is longer than the recess 38a is deep so that the Venturi portion extends beyond the outer end of the recess 38a. The nozzle insert has a larger diameter portion 41 on the upper end thereof, the outer diameter of which is such as to fit tightly within the upwardly opening recess 38. This portion 40 defines with the upper ends of the ribs 25 a product supply chamber 44. The Venturi nozzle insert has a Venturi nozzle 40a therein, with radial product passages 42 opening into it through the Venturi portion 40 from the product supply chamber 44.

In the position of the parts as shown in FIG. 1, the bore 17 in the stem is sealed off from the interior of the propellant cartridge 32 by the obturating gasket 14, which completely seals off the vertical passages 20. In addition, the hollow interior 11 is sealed off from the passages 26 between the ribs 25 along the outside of the upper portion of the stem 15 by the gasket 29 and its sealing engagement with the tapered surface 28 on the upper part of flange 21 and with the upper end of the valve body 10 around the hollow interior 11.

Upon relative movement of the valve body 10 contained within housing 30 and the valve stem 15 toward each other which is brought about by exerting downward pressure on the upper portion of the valve stem 15 and restraining the remainder of the unit by holding it in some convenient manner, two actions take place. First, the hollow stem 15 moves downwardly through the hollow interior 11 causing the flexing downwardly of the obturating gasket 14 so that the upper surface around the hole therethrough is engaged by the downwardly and inwardly tapered surface leading to the reduced diameter portion 19. The inner periphery of the obturating gasket 14 is moved away from the lower ends of vertical passages 20, thus opening a propellant flow path from the interior of propellant cartridge 32 through the bore 17 to the Venturi nozzle 41.

Second, depending on the preferred embodiment, slightly before or afier the opening of the passages 20, the downward flexing of the annular gasket 29 proceeds to a point such that the downwardly and inwardly tapered portion of the lower end of the upper cylindrical portion 37 engages the upper surface of annular gasket 29, and the inner periphery of the gasket 29 moves away from the tapered surface 28 on the upper part of flange 21. This establishes an opening between the hollow interior l1 and the passages 26, and a product flow path is completed from the interior of the product-containing sac 35 through the product passage 33, the hollow interior l1 and the passages 26 and product supply chamber 44. The reduced pressure in the Venturi nozzle 41 is communicated to this flow path through the radial product passages 42, and the product to be dispensed is aspirated from the product-containing sac 35.

As the product is aspirated from the product-containing sac, the sac will collapse under the effect of the pressure of the atmosphere around the dispensing device, which acts on the sac 35 through the openings 30a in the housing 30.

Release of the force on the hollow stem 15 enables the spring 23 and the force of the propellant vapor pressure on the lower portion of the stem to move the hollow stem 15 away from the propellant cartridge 32, thereby returning the parts to the position in FIG. 1. In many cases the force of the propellant vapor pressure is sufficient to accomplish this and the spring can be eliminated.

It will be understood that the movement of the stem 15 is limited by the engagement of flange 21 with the projections 24 in the hollow interior, and that movement of the stem 15 in the opposite direction is limited by the engagement of the flange 21 with the gasket 29, which in turn is restrained by the top flange 31b on the housing 30.

. It will be seen that the device is extremely compact, the housing 30 serving to hold all of the various parts together, and the special shape of the propellant cartridge enabling the provision of the annular product-containing sac in the annular recess defined thereby. The provision of the nozzle insert 39 within the upper end of the hollow stem makes this part compact, and especially useful for dispensing product in a direction substantially axially of the device.

In the embodiment just described, in order to grasp the upper cylindrical portion 37 of the stem 15 to produce relative movement of the stem to actuate the valve, it is necessary to engage the cylindrical surface of the portion 37 in order not to obstruct the opening of the nozzle insert 39. Because this can be rather difficult due to the small size of the device, it is desirable to provide some means of engaging the upper end of the stem 15. In FIGS. 2 and 4 there is shown a holder 50 which is generally cylindrical and hollow, which has finger engaging members 51 at the open end thereof and has a closed end with an opening 52 through which the nozzle insert 39 opens. Several ways can be devised for engaging the end of the stem 15 with the holder 50 such that the stem is moved toward the propellant cartridge 32, two of which are shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3A, the outer periphery of the upper cylindrical portion 37 has a reduced diameter portion 37a defining a shoulder 37b, the portion 37a being friction fitted into the interior of the neck 53 on the end of the holder 50, with the portion 37 having a shoulder 37b at the base thereof against the inner end of the neck 53. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3B, the outer end of the neck 53 can be flanged over as at 53a to engage the end surface of the upper portion 37.

It will be understood that the dispensing device can be inserted into the holder 50, and by placing the index and middle fingers on the opposite finger engaging members and the thumb on the lower portion 31a of the housing and pushing with the thumb while pulling with the fingers, the stem 15 and the valve body contained within the housing will be moved toward each other, producing the dispensing operation described above. The dispensing device can be removed from the holder when it is empty, and a fresh dispensing device inserted.

It is not necessary that the nozzle insert 39 and associated structure be incorporated in the dispenser. It is possible to include them in the holder 50, so that only the essential parts of the dispenser are replaced when the dispenser is empty. One embodiment of this type is shown in FIG. 5, in which a neck 54 extends outwardly from the end of the holder 50, and has a cylindrical flange 54a depending from the inner end thereof into the holder 50. The free end of the cylindrical flange 54a is tapered in the same manner as the inner end of the upper cylindrical portion 37 in the embodiment of FIG. 1. Radial flanges 55 extend inwardly from the inner surface of the flange 54a, and integral with the inner edges thereof is an inner cylindrical flange 54b, the spaces between the flanges forming passages extending along the outside of flange 54b the same as the passages 26 in the embodiment of FIG. 1. The inner flange 54b is shorter than the combined length of neck 54 and cylindrical flange 54a, and defines 'within the upper end of the neck a recess into which is tightly fitted the larger diameter portion 41 of the nozzle insert 39, the smaller diameter Venturi portion 40 fitting into the interior of the inner flange 54b. The larger diameter portion 41 is kept spaced from the bottom of the recess by the engagement with a shoulder 41a formed in the inner surface of cylindrical flange 54a. The product supply chamber 44 is thus formed within the neck 54.

The upper end of the stem 15 of the dispenser is shorter than in the embodiment of FIG. 1, and is spaced slightly from the inner end of the Venturi portion 40 of the nozzle insert 39. The outer edges of flanges fit snugly against the inner surface of the flange 54a.

The structure when assembled is the same from a functional standpoint as the embodiment of FIG. 1. However, when the contents of the dispenser are exhausted, only the subassembly of the valve body 10, stem 15, gasket 29, housing 30 and product and propellant containers are removed from the holder 50 and replaced. Thus, the replaceable portion of the assembly can be made less expensively than in the embodiments of FIGS. 1-4, since the nozzle insert is not replaced each time.

It is not necessary that the indent 310 be placed so that it extends under the bottom of valve body 10. As shown in FIG. 6, the outer surface of the valve body can be provided with a groove, such as groove 10a, and the indent 31c extended into the groove 10a to hold the valve body fast within the housing 30. This helps eliminate any possibility ofreducing passage 36 during the crimping operation.

All of the embodiments discussed thus far discharge the material to be dispensed and the propellant axially of the dispenser. it is, of course, possible to arrange the assembly so that the discharge is transverse of the axis of the dispenser. One simple embodiment in which this is accomplished without changing the arrangement of the essential parts of the dispenser is shown in FIG. 7, in which the holder 60 has a transversely directed tubular member 61 having a recess 62 therein. The inner end of the recess 62 is shaped to receive a nozzle insert, generally indicated at 63, which has the same shape as the nozzle insert 40 in the above described embodiment. However, a passage from the hollow stem opens into the rear end of the Venturi thereof, while a passage from the passages between the radial flanges on the exterior of the stem opens into a product supply chamber around the Venturi nozzle. Thus, as in the embodiment of FIG. 6, only the essential parts of the dispenser need be replaced when the dispenser is empty.

What is claimed is:

l. A subassembly for an aerosol-type dispenser, comprising a valve assembly having a valve body, a hollow stern movable through said valve body in a direction axially of said stern, said valve assembly having a product flow path therethrough and a propellant flow path therethrough, part of one of said flow paths being through said hollow stem and obturating means operatively associated with said stem for obturating said flow paths, said valve body having two openings opening out of the bottom thereof, a propellant cartridge having a smaller cross section upper portion with the upper end thereof in sealing engagement with said valve assembly at one of said openings and having a larger cross section lower portion, the outer periphery of which has substantially the same dimensions as the outer periphery of said valve body in said valve assembly, said lower portion of said propellant cartridge and said valve body defining between them a space, a flexible collapsible product containing sac in said space having a discharge outlet in sealing engagement around the other of said openings in said valve body, and a housing around said valve body, said propellant cartridge and said sac and having an aperture therein opening into said space, the interior of said housing having a cross section substantially the same as said valve body and said larger cross section lower portion of said propellant cartridge and engaged with said valve body and said propellant cartridge lower portion for holding said valve body, said propellant cartridge and said sac in the recited relationship.

2. A subassembly as claimed in claim 1 in which said upper portion of the propellant container is located in the center of the valve body and the opening in the valve body at which one of the flow paths opens is a central opening, said space is an annular space and said sac is an annular sac, the other opening for the other flow path being eccentric on said valve body.

3. A subassembly as claimed in claim 2 in which said hollow stem has stern openings around the lower end thereof, and said obturating means for the flow path through said hollow stem is an annular gasket mounted in the central opening in said valve body, the inner edge of the annular gasket obturating the stem openings, the upper end of said upper portion of said propellant cartridge being open and having an edge in sealing engagement with said annular gasket.

4. A subassembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the hollow stem extends through the valve body into one of said two openings in the bottom thereof and has stem openings in the lower end thereof, said obturating means is an annular gasket mounted in said one opening with the inner circumference obturating said stem openings, andthe upper end of said upper portion of said propellant cartridge being open and having an edge in sealing engagement with said annular gasket.

5. A subassembly as claimed in claim 1 in which said housing has the ends flanged over the upper end of the valve assembly and over the lower end of said lower portion of said propellant cartridge.

6. A subassembly as claimed in claim 5 in which said housing has an indented portion engaged under the lower end of said valve assembly.

7. A subassembly as claimed in claim 5 in which said valve body has a groove therearound and said housing has an indented portion engaged in said groove.

8. An aerosol-type dispenser comprising a subassembly comprising a valve assembly having a valve body, a hollow stem movable through said valve body in a direction axially of said stem, said valve assembly having a product flow path therethrough and a propellant flow path therethrough, part of one of said flow paths being through said hollow stem and obturating means operatively associated with said stem for obturating said flow paths, said valve body having two openings opening out of the bottom thereof, a propellant cartridge having a smaller cross section upper portion with the upper end thereof in sealing engagement with said valve assembly at one of said openings and having a larger cross section lower portion, the outer periphery of which has substantially the same dimensions as the outer periphery of said valve body in said valve assembly, said lower portion of said propellant cartridge and said valve body defining between them a space, a flexible, collapsible, product-containing sac in said space having a discharge outlet in sealing engagement around the other of said openings in said valve body, and a housing around said valve body, said propellant cartridge and said sac and having an aperture therein opening into said space, the interior of said housing having a cross section substantially the same as said valve body and said larger cross section lower portion of said propellant cartridge and engaged with said valve body and said propellant cartridge lower portion for holding said valve body, said propellant cartridge and said sac in the recited relationship, and a Venturi nozzle assembly having a Venturi nozzle with a Venturi therethrough and product passages opening into the Venturi and means defining a cylindrical portion.

product supply chamber around said Venturi nozzle from I which said product passages extend into the Venturi, said assembly having openings into said Venturi and said product supply chamber aligned with the flow paths from the propellant cartridge and from said sac at the upper end of said valve assembly.

9. An aerosol-type dispenser as claimed in claim 8 in which said Venturi nozzle assembly is a cylindrical portion integral with said stem, said cylindrical portion having a recess in the upper end thereof, said stem having passages along the outer portion thereof opening into said recess, and said Venturi nozzle is a nozzle positioned in said recess and having a Venturi aligned with the hollow of said stem and having a reduced diameter portion defining the product supply chamber with said neck portion, and the radial product passages opening into the Venturi from the product supply chamber.

10. An aerosol-type dispenser as claimed in claim 9 further 13. An aerosol-type dispenser as claimed in claim 8 in which said Venturi nozzle assembly comprises a neck portion having an outer cylindrical flange and an inner cylindrical flange spaced therefrom with radial flanges therebetween defining passages therebetween aligned with the fiow path from the product sac in said subassembly, said neck portion having a recess in the upper end thereof, said Venturi nozzle being a nozzle insert positioned in said recess and having a Venturi aligned with the hollow of said stem and having a reduced diameter portion defining the product supply chamber with said neck portion, the radial product passages opening into the Venturi from the product supply chamber, and a holder extending along the subassembly from said neck portion and having finger engaging members on the end thereof remote from said neck portion.

t i l i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No- 3,624,793 Dated November 30, 1971 Inventor JEAN MARAND It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In the heading, delete "to Geigy Chemical" and insert: by mesne assignments to Ciba-Geigy-.

Signed and sealed this 15th day of August 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M. FLETCHER, JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer USCOMM-DC 50376-1 59 )RM PO-105O (10-69] n s cnvn-rmzm PRINYING ornc: I969 0-366-334

Claims

1. A subassembly for an aerosol-type dispenser, comprising a valve assembly having a valve body, a hollow stem movable through said valve body in a direction axially of said stem, said valve assembly having a product flow path therethrough and a propellant flow path therethrough, part of one of said flow paths being through said hollow stem and obturating means operatively associated with said stem for obturating said flow paths, said valve body having two openings opening out of the bottom thereof, a propellant cartridge having a smaller cross section upper portion with the upper end thereof in sealing engagement with said valve assembly at one of said openings and having a larger cross section lower portion, the outer periphery of which has substantially the same dimensions as the outer periphery of said valve body in said valve assembly, said lower portion of said propellant cartridge and said valve body defining between them a space, a flexible collapsible product containing sac in said space having a discharge outlet in sealing engagement around the other of said openings in said valve body, and a housing around said valve body, said propellant cartridge and said sac and having an aperture therein opening into said space, the interior of said housing having a cross section substantially the same as said valve body and said larger cross section lower portion of said propellant cartridge and engaged with said valve body and said propellant cartridge lower portion for holding said valve body, said propellant cartridge and said sac in the recited relationship.

3. A subassembly as claimed in claim 2 in which said hollow stem has stem openings around the lower end thereof, and said obturating means for the flow path through said hollow stem is an annular gasket mounted in the central opening in said valve body, the inner edge of the annular gasket obturating the stem openings, the upper end of said upper portion of said propellant cartridge being open and having an edge in sealing engagement with said annular gasket.

4. A subassembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the hollow stem extends through the valve body into one of said two openings in the bottom thereof and has stem openings in the lower end thereof, said obturating means is an annular gasket mounted in said one opening with the inner circumference obturating said stem openings, and the upper end of said upper portion of said propellant cartridge being open and having an edge in sealing engagement with said annular gasket.

8. An aerosol-type dispenser comprising a subassembly comprising a valve assembly having a valve body, a hollow stem movable through said valve body in a direction axially of said stem, said valve assembly having a product flow path therethrough and a propellant flow path therethrough, part of one of said flow paths being through said hollow stem and obturating means operatively associated with said stem for obturating said flow paths, said valve body having two openings opening out of the bottom thereof, a propellant cartridge having a smaller cross section upper portion with the upper end thereof in sealing engagement with said valve assembly at one of said openings and having a larger cross section lower portion, the outer periphery of which has substantially the same dimensions as the outer periphery of said valve body in said valve assembly, said lower portion of said propellant cartridge and said valve body defining between them a space, a flexible, collapsible, product-containing sac in said space having a discharge outlet in sealing engagement around the other of said openings in said valve body, and a housing around said valve body, said propellant cartridge and said sac and having an aperture therein opening into said space, the interior of said housing having a cross section substantially the same as said valve body and said larger cross section lower portion of said propellant cartridge and engaged with said valve body and said propellant cartridge lower portion for holding said valve body, said propellant cartridge and said sac in the recited relationship, and a Venturi nozzle assembly having a Venturi nozzle with a Venturi therethrough and product passages opening into the Venturi and means defining a product supply chamber around said Venturi nozzle from which said product passages extend into the Venturi, said assembly having openings into said Venturi and said product supply chamber aligned with the flow paths from the propellant cartridge and from said sac at the upper end of said valve assembly.

10. An aerosol-type dispenser as claimed in claim 9 further comprising a holder having a neck portion around said nozzle assembly cylindrical portion, the remainder of the holder extending along the subaSsembly and having finger engaging members at the end thereof remote from said neck portion.

11. An aerosol-type dispenser as claimed in claim 10 in which said cylindrical portion is friction fitted into said neck portion and has a shoulder thereon against which the inner end of said neck portion engages.

12. An aerosol-type dispenser as claimed in claim 10 in which said neck portion is flanged over the outer end of said cylindrical portion.

13. An aerosol-type dispenser as claimed in claim 8 in which said Venturi nozzle assembly comprises a neck portion having an outer cylindrical flange and an inner cylindrical flange spaced therefrom with radial flanges therebetween defining passages therebetween aligned with the flow path from the product sac in said subassembly, said neck portion having a recess in the upper end thereof, said Venturi nozzle being a nozzle insert positioned in said recess and having a Venturi aligned with the hollow of said stem and having a reduced diameter portion defining the product supply chamber with said neck portion, the radial product passages opening into the Venturi from the product supply chamber, and a holder extending along the subassembly from said neck portion and having finger engaging members on the end thereof remote from said neck portion.