US3224461A - Propellant charging valve having plastic head construction - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 21, 1965 F. L. KUREK 3,224,461

PROPELLANT CHARGING VALVE HAVING PLASTIC HEAD CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 14, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. FRANK L. KUREK BY/QQQJJ ATTORNEY Dec. 21, 1965 F. L. KUREK 3,224,461

PROPELLANT CHARGING VALVE HAVING PLASTIC HEAD CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 14, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. FRANK L. KUREK A Z, MM

ATTORNEY Dec. 21, 1965 KUREK 3,224,461

PROPELLANT CHARGING VALVE HAVING PLASTIC HEAD CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 14, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. FRANK L. KUREK BY A? A ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,224,461 PROPELLANT CHARGING VALVE HAVING PLASTIC HEAD CONSTRUCTION Frank L. Kurek, 609 Charles Lane, Madison, Wis. Filed Sept. 14, 1961, Ser. No. 138,062

2 Claims. (Cl. 137509) This invention relates to apparatus for introducing fluid into a valved container through the valve thereof and more particularly to a valve, and apparatus comprising a valve, for so introducing such fluid under high pressure.

Pressurized containers, normally known as aerosol containers, have become well known and, when filled, normally contain one or more fluids under pressure, the fluids being retained therein by a closure valve which may be manually manipulated to dispense the contents of the container through the valve.

Such valves normally may be opened by introducing fluid thereinto, under pressure, in reverse direction to the direction of flow which the fluid has when it is dispensed from the container.

It has become popular to introduce propellant fluid into such containers by introducing the propellant to the valve in this manner and thereby causing it to open a valve and flow through the valve into the container, while under high pressure.

Apparatus heretofore used to introduce fluid to such containers in this manner has exhibited many disadvan tages and by use of the valve and apparatus of my invention many of these disadvantages are eliminated.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide improved apparatus for introducing the fluid under pressure into a valved container wherein the pressure of the introduced fluid causes the valve of the container to open and allow the fluid to enter into the container.

It is another object to provide an improved charging valve as part of such apparatus.

Other objects will become apparent from the drawings and from the following detailed description in which it is intended to illustrate the applicability of the invention without thereby limiting its scope to less than that of all equivalents which Will be apparent to one skilled in the art. In the drawings like reference numerals refer to like parts and:

FIGURE 1 is a cross-sectional view of the valve of my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partially cross-sectional schematic view of the apparatus of my invention in use;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of the valve of my invention during operation in accordance with the embodiment of FIGURE 2.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 3, there is shown a valve indicated generally as 1 having a body 2 with a bonnet 3 threadedly attached thereto, which may be provided on its outer surface with flat surfaces 4 which may be utilized to tighten it against the body and with threads 5 which may be utilized to attach it to other portions of the apparatus as described hereinafter. Body 2 may be provided with inlet 6 and passage 7 leading therefrom to chamber 8 having a bottom Surface 9 through which outlet duct 10 leads outwardly from chamber 8. The portions of surface 9 surrounding outlet 10 serve as a seat against which piston 11, which has a flat bottom surface, seats. Piston 11 is adapted to move slidably upwardly and downwardly in the cylinder formed by cylindrical walls 13 in body 2. Above piston 11 there is provided piston holding member 14 which is biased downwardly by spring 15 to hold piston 11 against the seat provided by surface 9. Spring 15 acts against retainer 16 which is held in a suitably desired 3,224,451 Patented Dec. 21, 1965 ice location by adjusting screw 17; lock nut 18 may be utilized to prevent unwanted movement of screw 17. Breather hole 19 may suitably be provided in bonnet 3. Conical slits 12 may be provided in the outer surface of piston 11 to provide for suitable sealing of the outer portion of piston 11 against wall 13 and the upper surface of piston 11 may be provided in the form of a cone having its apex extending downwardly and a lower surface of piston holding member 14 may have a similar conical surface so that as member 14 is forced downwardly against piston 11 it tends to force the sidewalls of resilient piston 11 outwardly against wall 13. Piston 11 is preferably madeof a resilient corrosion-resistant solvent-resistant plastic material :such as polytetrafluoroethylene (sold commercially as Teflon by Dupont) or polyfluorotrichloroethylene (sold commercially as Kel-F by Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company) or other suitable fluorinated hydrocarbon plastics. The other members of the valve may suitably be made of any suitable metal or of a high strength structural plastic such as certain polyformaldehydes and polycarbonates. Body 2 and bonnet 3 are generally preferably made of stainless steel.

Body 2 may be fastened to adapter 20 by screws 21 extending into and threadedly engaged in threaded holes 22 and may be threadedly engaged by means of threads 5 with coupling 25 which may be attached to piston rod 26 which in turn is attached to piston 27 which operates in cylinder 28 which may be rigidly mounted as shown. Valve 29 may be provided, to be operated by means not shown for simplicity, to cause fluid to be introduced to cylinder 28 to cause piston 27 to move upward or downward as desired.

Tube 31 may lead to inlet 6 from cylinder 30 on one side of piston 32. Fluid may enter cylinder 30 on the same side of piston 32 from tube 33 through check valve 34. Piston 32 may be connected by piston rod 35 to piston 36 which may operate in cylinder 40. Valve 38 may be provided to introduce fluid into piston 40 on either side of piston 36 to cause lateral movement to the left or right of piston 36, as desired, and consequently movement to the left or right of piston 32 by reason of the connection provided between the two pistons by piston rod 35.

In operation, valve 29 is actuated to cause piston 27 to move downward to force valve 1 and adapter 20 downward from the position shown in broken lines indicated as 1 and 20, against container 50. Adapter 20 is thus brought into sealing engagement with container 50, the sealing means being not shown for simplicity. Adapter 20 is maintained in sealing engagement with valve 1 by suitable sealing means such as O-ring 37.

The portion of cylinder 30 on the left side of piston 32 having been previously filled with fluid which is to be introduced in container 50, valve 38 is actuated to cause piston 36 to move to the left and consequnently to cause piston 32 to move to the left to force said fluid through tube 31 into chamber 8 whereupon, by reason of the pressure exerted on said fluid by piston 32, piston 11 is lifted off the seat provided by surface 9 to the position shown in FIGURE 3 and said fluid flows downwardly through outlet 10 whereupon the valve in con tainer 50 (not shown for simplicity) may be opened by reason of the pressure of the fluid and the fluid flows downwardly into can 50. To provide for this result, check valve 34, of course, is closed by reason of the pressure of the fluid.

Although the valve in container 50 may be thus opened, it may alternatively be opened by reason of the mechanical engagement with such valve, of a suitable actuating member which may be part of the adapter, so that as the adapter engages container 50, such member opens the valve in container 50.

The specific direction of travel described with respect to the parts as shown in FIGURE 2 may of course be suitably varied. Thus, cylinders 30 and 40 may be suitably oriented so that the pistons therein move up and down or diagonally. Cylinder 50 need not be so oriented that piston 27 and valve 1 move vertically, although this arrangement is generally preferred.

When sufficient fluid is introduced into container 50, the motion of piston 32 toward the left is stopped and it is caused to begin to move toward the right, whereupon pressure on fluid in line 31 is reduced and the biasing action of spring causes piston 11 to move downwardly and again seat on surface 9. As piston 32 continues to move to the right, fluid flows upwardly through tube 33 and opens valve 34 and flows into cylinder 30, supply means for such fluid being omitted for simplicity. Piston 27 thereupon or simultaneously moves upward to withdraw valve 1 and adapter from container 50. Container 50 is withdrawn and another container is provided in its place and the process is then repeated.

It is to be noted that the piston consists of a single piece. The piston operates to a useful extent if only one or two conical slits 12 are present in its periphery but generally more are preferred and as many may be usefully provided as may be conveniently located within the physical limitations of a piston of any suitable dimensions. However, generally from about three to about nine such grooves or slits are preferred. The conical angle of the cone of the upper surface of the piston and the lower surface of member 14 is preferably about 60 but may suitably be from about to about 120 or even 170 or 180. Thus the engaged surfaces of piston 11 and member 14 need not necessarily be conical (but may be flat and substantially normal to the axis of the piston) in a useful embodiment. Relief in the upper surface of piston 11 is preferably provided by downwardly extending hole 42 therein and relief at the point of the lower conical surface of member 14 may be provided at 43 to insure a tight fit of said conical surfaces so that the end of the lower center portion of member 14 does not act against the center of the upper surface of piston 11.

Heretofore it has been considered necessary to provide in place of the valve 1 of my invention a solenoid valve, a flexible electrical connection leading therefrom, a time delay relay connected with said flexible electrical connection and a spring-loaded check valve in line 31, each of which has caused certain difficulties. The combination of these difliculties has been particularly objectionable.

It has also been known to provide in place of valve 1 of my invention a valve in which a principal sealing member is lifted from its seat by the mechanical action of a member which simultaneously engages container 50 and said sealing member when the valve is forced downwardly toward container 50 by a piston rod such as piston rod 26. Such valves have had certain disadvantages such as bypassing of the metering cylinder; i.e., cylinder 30, complication in construction and excessive loss of propellant between charges.

The disadvantages in devices utilizing solenoids include the large pressure drop provided by the spring loaded check valve and electrical ditficulties due to the utilization of electrical equipment in atmospheres in which it is difficult and expensive to maintain safely and in good condition such electrical equipment.

In accordance with my invention I provide a valve which has a superior seal against the seat, and a superior seal with respect to the passage through which the valve operating member operates and which provides a great superiority in the large size of the passage provided between the inlet and the outlet when the valve is open. I

also provide a filling apparatus for aerosol containers which eliminates many of the parts, portions and devices which have been heretofore necessary and have caused difficulties in use and maintenance.

Commonly used propellant fluids with which the device of my invention is operable include liquid CO liquidfluorinated hydrocarbons, liquid butane, liquid N0 and the like, all of which are liquid under the pressure maintained in the supply means and in line 33 but are normally gaseous at usual ambient temperatures and pressures. Thus the vapor pressure for commonly-used propellants varies from about 20 to p.s.i. at room temperature. Supply pressure, that is, the pressure in line 33, is generally maintained at 50 to 200 p.s.i. above vapor pressure depending on speed of operation and type of pumping used in the supply means.

The supply pressure is preferably sufliciently high to provide the propellant in liquid phase so that accurate metering results are obtained, since metering is volumetric. Therefore, supply pressure must be well above the vapor pressure in order to prevent the presence of vapor in the system which would cause metering of erroneous, that is, insuificient liquid amounts.

Thus, with an intermittent supply such as may be furnished by an air operated piston pump, the supply pressure is generally 200 p.s.i. above vapor pressure so that the pressure in line 33 is generally from about 70 to about 300 p.s.i. It will be appreciated that screw 17 is adjusted to adjust the position of member 16 so that the biasing action of spring 15 is suflicient to prevent piston 11 from opening under such supply pressure. The filling pressure (the pressure required to lift piston 11) must of course, be sufficiently greater than the supply pressure to close valve 34 and open valve 1 and is generally from about 400 to 900 p.s.i., with 600 p.s.i. being about average.

It may thus be seen that the invention is broad in scope and includes such modifications as will be apparent to those skilled in the art and is to be limited only by the claims.

I claim:

1. In a valve which opens in response to an increase in upstream pressure: a seat, a cylindrical bore having an axis perpendicular to said seat, a single tubular passage opening out of said bore, through substantially the center of said seat, a piston of resilient plastic having a generally cylindrical outer surface slidably received in said bore, a surface on one end of said piston to seal against said seat, a conical surface in the other end of said piston, a piston-holding member biasedly urged against said piston, said piston-holding member having one end surface thereof engaged with said conical surface of said piston, said end surface being conical, and a plurality of conical slits in the outer cylindrical wall of said piston, said slits extending upwardly into said piston with respect to said seat.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said plastic is fluorinated hydrocarbon.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,353,098 9/ 1920 Wainwright 137509 2,462,642 2/ 1949 Jacobson et a1. 14120 2,616,504 11/ 1952 Osmun 277208 XR 2,697,446 12/ 1954 Harrington 137509 2,973,983 3/1961 Townsend 277208 3,108,779 10/1963 Anderson 251--368 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 387,919 2/ 1933 Great Britain.

ISADOR WEIL, Primary Examiner.

LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. IN A VALVE WHICH OPENS IN RESPONSE TO AN INCREASE IN UPSTREAM PRESSURE: A SEAT, A CYLINDRICAL BORE HAVING AN AXIS PERPENDICULAR TO SAID SEAT, A SINGLE TUBULAR PASSAGE OPENING OUT OF SAID BORE, THROUGH SUBSTANTIALLY THE CENTER OF SAID SEAT, A PISTON OF RESILIENT PLASTIC HAVING A GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL OUTER SURFACE SLIDABLY RECEIVED IN SAID BORE, A SURFACE ON ONE END OF SAID PISTON TO SEAL AGAINST SAID SEAT, A CONICAL SURFACE IN THE OTHER END OF SAID PISTON, A PISTON-HOLDING MEMBER BIASEDLY URGED AGAINST SAID PISTON, SAID PISTON-HOLDING MEMBER HAVING ONE END SURFACE THEREOF ENGAGED WITH SAID CONICAL SURFACE OF SAID PISTON, SAID END SURFACE BEING CONICAL, AND A PLURALITY OF CONICAL SLITS IN THE OUTER CYLINDRICAL WALL OF SAID

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