Multiple side-feeding aerosol valve assembly
View Patent ↗A valve assembly is disclosed for use in an aerosol spray can capable of spraying viscous materials or materials with large particulates without clogging or packing like traditional aerosol spray cans designed for spraying texture materials. The valve opening may be located at substantially any point between the bottom and the top of the container. The valve assembly includes a plurality of side-fitting dip tubes, a side-feeding mechanism, and at least one storage member connected, respectively, to at least one of the dip tubes, whereby texture material is dispensed when a central channel is aligned with a side conduit that is in flow communication with the dip tubes. This allows highly-viscous materials, such as a fire suppressant material, or materials having large particulates, such as stucco, as well as resin/catalyst or blowing-agent/urethane combinations to be sprayed from a single aerosol spray can without clogging.
1. A valve assembly for use in an aerosol system, said valve assembly comprising:
an upper housing defining a first opening through the periphery thereof;
a side conduit having a free end, and an end connected to said first opening at an angle sloping downward from the horizontal;
a lower housing divided into a first vertical passageway for receiving a first dip tube, a second vertical passageway for receiving a second dip tube, and a vertical compartment, wherein each of said first and second passageways has an upper end and a lower end and said upper ends are in flow alignment with the free end of the side conduit so as to provide flow communication between the lower end of each said passageways and said first opening; and
an actuating mechanism having a spool defining a length-wise channel through a portion thereof, wherein said spool is configured to move vertically within said upper housing and said vertical compartment, and wherein a lower portion of said channel is angled so as to be in flow alignment with said conduit through said first opening when the actuating mechanism is in an actuated position, thereby allowing a sprayable material to flow through at least one of said passageways and said conduit and channel.
2. The valve assembly of claim 1 , wherein, for each of said first and second dip tubes, an upper portion of the dip tube is housed by its respective vertical passageway such that an upper end of the dip tube is disposed adjacent and in flow communication with said free end of the side conduit.
3. The valve assembly of claim 2 , wherein the lower end of the first dip tube is in direct communication with a first fraction of sprayable material housed within an aerosol container, and the lower end of the second dip tube is connected to a storage member within said aerosol container, said storage member housing a second fraction of sprayable material.
4. The valve assembly of claim 3 , wherein the storage member is a pouch.
5. The valve assembly of claim 3 , wherein said first and second fractions are portions of the same material.
6. The valve assembly of claim 3 , wherein said first and second fractions are portions of different materials.
7. The valve assembly of claim 3 , wherein the diameter of each of said first and second dip tubes is selected based on the material being sprayed.
8. The valve assembly of claim 3 , wherein the material housed in the storage member is selected from the group consisting of a catalyst, a blowing agent, and a first colorant.
9. The valve assembly of claim 8 , wherein said blowing agent is at least one of a member selected from the group consisting of water and a hydrocarbon material.
10. The valve assembly of claim 3 , wherein the material housed in the aerosol container is selected from the group consisting of a resin, a urethane material, and a second colorant.
11. The valve assembly of claim 10 , wherein said urethane material is selected from the group consisting of plastic and rubber.
12. The valve assembly of claim 1 , wherein each of said first and second passageways has a circular cross-section.
13. The valve assembly of claim 1 , wherein said lower housing is configured to be coupled to said upper housing.
14. The valve assembly of claim 13 , wherein said lower and upper housings are coupled with snap means.
15. The valve assembly of claim 1 , wherein, in the actuated position, said angled lower portion of said channel is parallel to said conduit.
16. The valve assembly of claim 1 , said spool being disposed vertically and including a middle portion, an upper elongated member, and a lower elongated member, wherein a straight upper portion of said channel constitutes said upper elongated member, and said angled lower portion of said channel extends towards, and is in flow alignment with, a second opening in a wall of the spool's middle portion so as to allow flow alignment of said first and second openings when the actuating mechanism is in an actuated position.
17. The valve assembly of claim 16 , further including a first seal disposed so as to prevent the flow of sprayable material into said second opening when the actuating mechanism is in an unactuated position.
18. The valve assembly of claim 17 , wherein said seal is an O-ring disposed around said middle portion of said spool.
19. The valve assembly of claim 17 , further including a second seal, said first and second seals being disposed below and above said second opening.
20. The valve assembly of claim 16 , said vertical compartment including a bottom surface defining therethrough an aperture having a non-circular shape, wherein said lower elongated member of the spool has a cross-section in the shape of said non-circular aperture and extends through said aperture, said aperture engaging said lower elongated member to prevent rotation of said spool around the longitudinal axis thereof.
21. The valve assembly of claim 1 , further including resilient means to bias said actuating mechanism towards an unactuated position, said resilient means engaging an undersurface of the spool's middle portion.
22. The valve assembly of claim 21 , wherein said resilient means is a spring that is disposed around the spool's lower elongated member.
23. The valve assembly of claim 1 , wherein said lower and upper housings constitute a unitary structure.
24. The valve assembly of claim 1 , wherein said upper housing includes a bushing on a top surface thereof, said bushing being concentric with, and disposed around, said straight upper portion of said channel.
25. The valve assembly of claim 1 , further including means for preventing rotation of said spool around the longitudinal axis thereof.