VALVE-CONTROLLED DISPENSING CLOSURE

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to container closures. The invention is more particularly related to a dispensing closure for use with a squeeze-type container wherein the dispensing closure has a valve which opens to dispense a product from the container when the container is squeezed and which automatically closes when the squeezing pressure is released.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND

TECHNICAL PROBLEMS POSED BY THE PRIOR ART Fluent materials, including liquids, creams, powders, etc., may be conventionally packaged in a container having a dispensing closure which includes a container cover defining a plurality of dispensing apertures or openings. A solid cap or lid is typically provided for being releasably secured to the cover for occluding the dispensing openings when the container is not in use. This prevents spillage if the container is dropped or tipped over. The cap may also help keep the contents fresh and may reduce the ingress of contaminants. Such closures can be particularly suitable for containers of household cleaners, floor polish, and the like. A variety of packages, including dispensing containers, have been developed for various products which are in liquid or powder form (e.g., shampoo, lotion, cosmetic powder, etc.). One type of closure for these kinds of containers includes a flexible, self-closing, slit-type dispensing valve mounted over the container opening. The valve has a slit or slits which define a normally closed orifice that opens to permit flow therethrough in response to increased pressure within the container when the container is squeezed. The valve automatically closes to shut off flow therethrough upon removal of the increased pressure.

Designs of closures using such valves are illustrated in the U. S. Patent No. 5,271,531, No. 5,927,566, and No. 5,934,512. Typically, the closure includes a base mounted on the container neck to define a seat for receiving the valve and includes a retaining ring or housing structure for holding the valve on the seat in the base. See, for example, U.S. Patent No. 6,269,986 and No. 6,616,016.

The closure can be provided with a hinged lid for covering the valve during shipping or when the container is packed for travel (or when the container is otherwise not in use). See, for example, FIGS. 31-34 of U.S. Patent No. 5,271,531. The lid can keep the valve clean and/or protect the valve from damage. U.S. Patent No. 5,839,626 discloses a closure having a valve from which a powder is discharged through a perforated dispensing baffle to produce a desirable dispersed distribution pattern of fine powder (e.g., cosmetic powder).

The inventors of the present invention have discovered that it would be advantageous to provide an improved closure system for dispensing a fluent product, including liquid. In particular, it would be desirable to provide a dispensing closure system which would not require the use of a reclosable lid to prevent spillage if the container is inadvertently tipped over. It would also be desirable to provide an improved dispensing closure system that would eliminate or minimize contaminant ingress even if no lid is placed on the container. It would be desirable, moreover, to provide an improved dispensing closure system that could accommodate designs that can dispense a stream or streams of a liquid product in a manner that forms a mist.

Additionally, it would be beneficial if the dispensing closure system components could optionally be designed for easily accommodating the assembly of the components during manufacture of the closure system.

Also, it would be desirable if such an improved dispensing closure system could optionally be provided with a design that would accommodate efficient, high quality, large volume manufacturing techniques with a reduced product reject rate.

Further, it would be advantageous if such an improved closure could optionally be designed to accommodate its use with a variety of conventional or special containers having a variety of conventional or special container finishes, including conventional threaded, or snap-fit, attachment configurations.

The present invention provides an improved dispensing closure system which can accommodate designs having one or more of the above-discussed benefits and features.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, an improved dispensing closure system is provided in the form of a dispensing closure for an opening to a container interior. The closure employs a dispensing valve. Depending upon the application, the closure may also include a lid.

The dispensing closure is especially suitable for use in dispensing a liquid. The closure is especially effective in accommodating the dispensing of liquid in a desirable fine mist and at desirable mass flow rates.

The closure includes a body for extending from the container at the container opening. The body includes (1) a product discharge passage, and (2) an end wall that is located across the discharge passage and that defines dispensing apertures. At least some of the apertures each have (1) an inner passage, and (2) an outer passage extending from the inner passage. The inner passage has an inner end and an outer end. The outer passage has an inner end and an outer end. The inner end of the outer passage communicates with the inner passage outer end. The flow cross section of the outer passage inner end is smaller than the flow cross section of the inner passage outer end.

The dispensing valve comprises flexible, resilient material. The valve has a valve head defining at least one normally closed dispensing orifice which opens to permit flow therethrough in response to a pressure differential across the valve.

The valve is disposed in the closure body at the discharge passage to locate the valve head inwardly of the body end wall. A fluent product flowing from the container and out of the open valve is directed through the dispensing apertures in the closure body end wall to produce a desired spray of the product. Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention, from the claims, and from the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings forming part of the specification, in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a closure of the present invention shown with

- A - the lid closed, and before installation of the closure on a container;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the closure shown with the lid opened;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing the valve and retaining ring prior to installation in the closure body; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken generally along the plane 4-4 in FIG.

1 ;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, but FIG. 5 shows the lid opened and the closure installed on a container with both the container and closure together inverted in a dispensing orientation; FIG. 6 is a greatly enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional view of the area enclosed in a broken line circle designated FIG. 6 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a greatly enlarged, top plan view of the valve; FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the valve shown in FIG. 7; and FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 5, but FIG. 9 shows the valve in an opened condition in a dispensing mode.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, this specification and the accompanying drawings disclose only one specific form as an example of the invention. The invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiment so described, however. The scope of the invention is pointed out in the appended claims.

For ease of description, many of the figures illustrating the invention show a dispensing closure in the typical orientation that it would have at the top of a container when the container is stored upright on its base, and terms such as upper, lower, horizontal, etc., are used with reference to this position. It will be understood, however, that the closure system of this invention may be manufactured, stored, transported, used, and sold in an orientation other than the positions described.

The dispensing closure system of this invention is suitable for use with a variety of conventional or special containers having various designs, the details of which, although not fully illustrated or described, would be apparent to those having

skill in the art and an understanding of such containers. The container, per se, that is described herein forms no part of, and therefore is not intended to limit, the present invention. It will also be understood by those of ordinary skill that novel and non-obvious inventive aspects are embodied in the described exemplary closure dispensing system alone.

A presently preferred embodiment of a dispensing closure system of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1-9 and is designated generally therein by reference number 20 in FIG. 1. In the preferred embodiment illustrated, the system 20 is provided in the form of a separate dispensing closure 20 which is adapted to be mounted or installed on a container 22 (FIGS. 5 and 9) that would typically contain a fluent material. The container 22 includes body 24 and a neck 26 as shown in FIG. 5. The neck 26 defines an opening 28 to the container interior. The container neck 26, in the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, has an external, male thread 29 for engaging the closure 20. The body 24 of the container 22 may have any suitable configuration, and the upwardly projecting neck 26 may have a different cross-sectional size and/or shape than the container body 24. (Alternatively, the container 22 need not have a neck 26, per se. Instead, the container 22 may consist of just a body with an opening.) The container 22 typically would have a somewhat flexible wall or walls.

Although the container 22, per se. does not form a part of the broadest aspects of the present invention, per se. it will be appreciated that at least a portion of the system 20 of the present invention optionally may be provided as a unitary portion, or extension, of the top of the container 22. However, in the preferred embodiment illustrated, the entire system 20 is a completely separate article or unit (e.g., a dispensing closure 20) which can comprise either one piece or multiple pieces, and which is adapted to be removably, or non- removably, installed on a previously manufactured container 22 that has an opening 28 to the container interior. Hereinafter, the dispensing closure system 20 will be more simply referred to as the closure 20.

The illustrated, preferred embodiment of the closure 20 is adapted to be used

with a container 22 having an opening 28 to provide access to the container interior and to a product contained therein. The closure 20 can be used to dispense with many materials, including, but not limited to, liquids, suspensions, mixtures, etc. (such as, for example, a material constituting a personal care product, an industrial or household cleaning product, or other compositions of matter (e.g., compositions for use in activities involving manufacturing, commercial or household maintenance, construction, agriculture, medical treatment, military operations, etc.)).

The container 22 with which the closure 20 may be used would typically be a squeezable container having a flexible wall or walls which can be grasped by the user and squeezed or compressed to increase the internal pressure within the container so as to force the product out of the container and through the opened closure. Such a flexible container wall typically has sufficient, inherent resiliency so that when the squeezing forces are removed, the container wall returns to its normal, unstressed shape. Such a squeezable container is preferred in many applications but may not be necessary or preferred in other applications. For example, in some applications it may be desirable to employ a generally rigid container, and to pressurize the container interior at selected times with a piston or other pressurizing system, or to reduce the exterior ambient pressure around the exterior of the closure so as to suck the material out through the open closure.

It is presently contemplated that many applications employing the closure 20 will conveniently be realized by molding at least some of the components of the closure 20 from suitable thermoplastic material or materials. In the preferred embodiment illustrated, some of the components of the closure could be molded from a suitable thermoplastic material, such as, but not limited to, polypropylene.

The closure components may be separately molded—and may be molded from different materials. The materials may have the same or different colors and textures.

As can be seen in FIG. 3, the presently most preferred form of the closure 20 includes three basic components, (1) a unitary molded body 30 and lid 36 connected together with an attached hinge 31, (2) a dispensing valve 32 which is adapted to be

mounted in the body 30, and (3) a retaining ring or clamp member 34 that retains the valve 32 in the upper part of the body 30.

In the preferred form of the invention, the lid 36 is provided to cover the upper part of the closure body 30. The lid 36 can be moved to expose the upper part of the body 30 for dispensing. The lid 36 is movable between (1) a closed position over the body 30 (as shown in FIG. 4), and (2) an open or removed position (as show in FIG. 5). The lid 36 may be a separate component which is completely removable from the closure body 30, or the Hd 36 may be tethered to the body with a strap, or the lid 36 may be hinged to the body 30 so as to accommodate pivoting movement of the lid 36 from the closed position to an open position (as shown for the illustrated, preferred embodiment). Preferably, the lid 36 includes an internal sealing collar 37 (FIG. 3).

As can be seen in FIG. 4, the body 30 includes a deck 38. A internal base 40 extends below the deck 38 for engaging the container 22 when the closure body 30 is mounted on the container 22 as shown in FIG. 5. A skirt 41 extends downwardly from the periphery of the deck 38 around the internal base 40.

As can be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the interior of the internal base 40 defines an internal, female thread 44 for threadingly engaging the container neck external, male thread 29 (FIG. 5) when the dispensing closure body 30 is installed on the container neck 26.

Alternatively, the closure body base 40 could be provided with some other container connecting means, such as a snap-fit bead or groove (not illustrated) for engaging a container neck groove or bead (not illustrated), respectively. Also, the closure body base 40 could instead be permanently attached to the container 22 by means of induction melting, ultrasonic melting, gluing, or the like, depending on materials used for the closure body base 40 and container 22. The closure body base 40 could also be formed as a unitary part, or extension, of the container 22.

The closure body base 40 may have any suitable configuration for accommodating an upwardly projecting neck 26 of the container 22 or for accommodating any other portion of a container received within the particular configuration of the closure body base 40~even if a container does not have a neck,

per se. The main part of the container 22 may have a different cross-sectional shape than the container neck 26 and closure body base 40.

Preferably an interior, annular seal member 46 (FIGS. 4 and 5) extends downwardly from the underside of the closure deck 38. Such a seal member could be conventional "V" seal as illustrated, or a "plug" profile seal, a "crab's claw" seal, a flat seal, or some other such conventional or special seal, depending upon the particular application.

In the preferred form of the invention illustrated, the container neck receiving passage in the closure body base 40 has a generally cylindrical configuration, but includes the inwardly projecting thread 44. However, the closure body base 40 may have other configurations. For example, the closure body base 40 might have a prism or polygon configuration adapted to be mounted to the top of a container neck having a polygon configuration. Such prism or polygon configurations would not accommodate the use of a threaded attachment, but other means of attachment could be provided, such as a snap-fit bead and groove arrangement, adhesive, or the like.

As can be seen in FIG. 5, a spout or spray nozzle 50 projects from the deck 38. The spout or nozzle 50 includes an annular wall 52 extending upwardly from the deck 38 to provide an internal space for accommodating movement of the valve 32 from the retracted, closed position (illustrated in dashed lines in FIG. 9) to the extended, open position (illustrated in solid lines in FIG. 9). The inside of the nozzle 50 defines a discharge passage in the closure body 30 above the valve 32.

As can be seen in FIG. 3, the nozzle 50 terminates at its upper end in a transverse cross wall, end wall, or outer baffle plate 56. The plate 56 defines a plurality of dispensing openings or apertures 58 which are, in the preferred arrangement illustrated, located on a circular locus around a solid, central portion of the baffle plate 56. In the illustrated preferred embodiment, there are twelve apertures 58 spaced apart at 30 degree increments.

The nozzle 52 can be sealed closed by the lid collar 37 when the lid 36 is closed (FIG. 4).

Preferably, the transverse cross section of each aperture 58 at any point

along the aperture height (i.e., length) is circular. As can be seen in FIG. 6, the preferred configuration of each aperture 58 is symmetrical about a longitudinal axis 59 defining the center of each aperture 58. Preferably, each aperture 58 is defined by an inner passage or bore 60 and a smaller cross section outer passage or bore 62. As can be seen in FIG. 6, the inner passage 60 has an inner end which functions as the entrance end for the product which is to be discharged from the valve 32. The passage 60 also has an outer end adjacent the outer passage 62. The outer passage 62 has an inner end and an outer end. The inner end of the outer passage 62 communicates with the outer end of the inner passage 60. Each larger inner passage or bore 60 preferably has a frustoconical section

61 that tapers to a smaller diameter in the direction away from the valve 32. Each smaller outer passage or bore 62 preferably has a frustoconical section 63 that tapers to a larger diameter in the direction away from the valve 32. A shoulder 64 defines the inner end of the outer bore 62 and the outer end of the inner bore 60. In FIG. 6, the length or height of the inner bore 60 is designated L ₁ , and the length or height of the outer bore 62 is designated L ₂ . In the preferred embodiment, the entrance to the inner bore 60 includes an arcuate surface defined by a circular arc surface radius R ₁ , and the outer end of the inner bore 62 includes an arcuate surface defined by a circular arc surface radius R ₂ which merges the frustoconical section of the inner bore 60 with the shoulder 64. Preferably, the exit end of the outer bore 62 includes an arcuate surface defined by a circular arc surface radius R ₃ .

In the presently preferred embodiment for one particular dispensing application, L, is 0.38 mm, L ₂ is 0.64 mm, R ₁ is 0.13 mm, R ₂ is 0.13 mm, R ₃ is 0.21 mm, the longitudinal height of the inner bore frustoconical section 61 (as measured along the axis 59 and not including the radii R ₁ and R ₂ ) is 0.19 mm, the longitudinal height of the outer bore frustoconical section 63 (as measured along the axis 59 and not including the radius R ₃ ) is 0.45 mm, the diameter of the small inner end of the outer bore 62 at the shoulder 64 is 0.57 mm, the included conical angle of the outer bore frustoconical section 63 is 10 degrees, and the included conical angle of the inner bore frustoconical section 61 is 30 degrees.

An annular wall 68 (FIG. 5) extends inwardly from the nozzle 50 and

defines an annular seat 70 (FIG. 4), preferably in the configuration of a frustoconical surface, for being engaged by a peripheral portion of the valve 32 as described hereinafter. This accommodates the seating of the valve 32 in the closure body 30. The surface 70 functions as an annular, downwardly angled clamping surface for engaging the peripheral part of the valve 32 as explained in detail hereinafter.

The valve 32 is adapted to be mounted in the closure body 30 as shown in FIG. 4. The preferred embodiment of the valve 32 is a pressure-actuatable, flexible, slit-type valve which is retained on the inside of the closure body 30 by means of the retaining ring 34 as described in detail hereinafter.

The valve 32 is preferably molded as a unitary structure from material which is flexible, pliable, elastic, and resilient. This can include elastomers, such as a synthetic, thermosetting polymer, including silicone rubber, such as the silicone rubber sold by Dow Corning Corp. in the United States of America under the trade designation D.C. 99-595-HC. Another suitable silicone rubber material is sold in the United States of America under the designation Wacker 3003-40 by Wacker Silicone Company. Both of these materials have a hardness rating of 40 Shore A. The valve 32 could also be molded from other thermosetting materials or from other elastomeric materials, or from thermoplastic polymers or thermoplastic elastomers, including those based upon materials such as thermoplastic propylene, ethylene, urethane, and styrene, including their halogenated counterparts.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated, the valve 32 has the configuration and operating characteristics of a commercially available valve design substantially as disclosed in the U.S. Patent No. 5,676,289 with reference to the valve 46 disclosed in the U.S. Patent No. 5,676,289. The operation of such a type of valve is further described with reference to the similar valve that is designated by reference number 3d in the U.S. Patent No. 5,409,144. The descriptions of those two patents are incorporated herein by reference thereto to the extent pertinent and to the extent not inconsistent herewith. The valve 32 is flexible and changes configuration between (1) a closed, rest position (as shown closed in an upright package in FIG. 4), and (2) an

active, open position (as shown open in an inverted package in FIG. 9). The valve 32 includes a flexible, central portion or head 130 (FIGS. 7 and 8). When the valve 32 is not actuated, the head 130 has a concave configuration (when viewed from the exterior of the closure 20). The head 130 preferably has two, mutually perpendicular, planar, intersecting, dispensing slits 132 of equal length which together define a closed dispensing orifice. The intersecting slits 132 define four, generally sector-shaped, equally sized flaps or petals in the concave, central head 130. The flaps open outwardly from the intersection point of the slits 132 in response to an increasing pressure differential across the valve, when the pressure differential is of sufficient magnitude, in the well-known manner described in the U.S. Patent No. 5,409,144. The valve 32 could be molded with the slits 132. Alternatively, the valve slits 132 could be subsequently cut into the central head 130 of the valve 32 by suitable conventional techniques.

The valve 32 includes a skirt or sleeve 134 which extends from the valve central wall or head 130. At the outer end of the sleeve 134, there is a thin, annular flange 138 which extends peripherally from the sleeve 134 in a reverse angled orientation. The thin flange 138 merges with an enlarged, much thicker, peripheral flange 140 which has a generally dovetail-shaped, transverse cross section (as viewed in FIG. 5). To accommodate the seating of the valve 32 in the body 30, the top surface of the dovetail valve flange 140 has the same frustoconical configuration and angle as the closure body frustoconical surface 70.

The other surface (i.e., bottom surface) of the valve flange 140 is clamped by the retaining ring 34 (FIG. 5). The retaining ring 34 includes an upwardly facing, frustoconical, annular clamping surface 152 (FIGS. 3 and 5) for engaging the inner surface (i.e., bottom surface) of the valve flange 140 at an angle which matches the angle of the adjacent, inner surface of the valve flange dovetail configuration.

The peripheral portion of the retaining ring 34 includes an outwardly projecting shoulder or bead 158 (FIGS. 3 and 4) for snap-fit engagement with a

bead 160 of on an annular flange 162 projecting inwardly from the deck 38, and this causes the ring 34 to clamp the valve 32 tightly in the body 30. This permits the region adjacent the interior surface of the valve sleeve 134 to be substantially open, free, and clear so as to accommodate movement of the valve sleeve 134 as described hereinafter.

When the valve 32 is properly mounted within the closure body 30 as illustrated in FIG. 5, the central head 130 of the valve 32 lies recessed within the retaining ring 34. In the preferred embodiment, the exterior surface of the valve head portion 130 at the center of the slits 132 is 7.08 mm below the bottom surface of the nozzle end wall 56 when the valve 32 is closed. However, when the package is squeezed to dispense the contents through the valve 32, then the valve head 130 is forced outwardly from its recessed position toward the end of the package and beyond the retaining ring 34 (FIG. 9)~closer to the end wall 56. In order to dispense product, the package is typically tipped downwardly, or is completely inverted, and then squeezed. FIG. 9 shows orientation of a valve 32 when the package is inverted and the container 22 is squeezed. The container 22 is squeezed to increase the pressure within the container above the ambient exterior atmospheric pressure. This forces the product in the container 22 toward and against the valve 32, and that forces the valve 32 from the recessed or retracted position (FIG. 5) toward an outwardly extending position

(shown in FIG. 9). The outward displacement of the central head 130 of the valve 32 is accommodated by the relatively thin, flexible sleeve 134. The sleeve 134 moves from an inwardly projecting, rest position (shown in FIG. 5) to an outwardly displaced, pressurized position, and this occurs by the sleeve 134 "rolling" along itself outwardly toward the outer end of the package (toward the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 9).

However, when the internal pressure becomes sufficiently high after the valve central head 130 has moved outwardly to the fully extended position, the slits 132 of the valve 32 open to dispense the fluent material (FIG. 9). The fluent material is then expelled or discharged through the open slits 132 toward

the end wall 56 of the closure nozzle 50.

The above-discussed dispensing action of valve 32 typically would occur only after (1) the lid 36 has been moved to the open position (FIG. 2), (2) the package has been tipped or inverted, and (3) the container 22 is squeezed. Pressure on the interior side of the valve 32 will cause the valve to open when the differential between the interior and exterior pressure reaches a predetermined amount. Preferably, the valve 32 is designed to open only after a sufficiently great pressure differential acts across the valve— as by a sufficiently reduced pressure (i.e., vacuum) being applied to the nozzle 50 and/or by squeezing the container 22 with sufficient force (if the container 22 is not a rigid container).

Depending on the particular valve design, the open valve 32 may close when the pressure differential decreases, or the valve may stay open even if the pressure differential decreases to zero. In the preferred embodiment of the valve 32 illustrated for the preferred embodiment of the system shown in FIGS. 1-9, the valve 32 is designed to close when the pressure differential decreases to or below a predetermined magnitude. Thus, when the squeezing pressure on the container is released, the valve 32 closes, and the valve head 130 retracts to its recessed, rest position within the nozzle 50.

Preferably, the valve 32 is designed to withstand the weight of the fluid on the inside of the valve 32 when the container 22 is completely inverted. With such a design, if the container is inverted while the valve 32 is closed, but the container is not being squeezed, then the mere weight of the fluent material on the valve 32 does not cause the valve 32 to open, or to remain open. Further, if the container 22 on which the closed valve 32 is mounted inadvertently tips over after the lid 36 is opened, then the product still does not flow out of the valve 32 because the valve 32 remains closed.

In one preferred embodiment, the petals of the valve 32 open outwardly only when the valve head 130 is subjected to a predetermined pressure differential acting in a gradient direction wherein the pressure on the valve head interior surface exceeds—by a predetermined amount—the local ambient pressure on the valve head exterior surface. The product can then be dispensed through the open valve 32 until

the pressure differential drops below a predetermined magnitude, and the petals then close completely.

If the preferred form of the valve 32 has also been designed to be flexible enough to accommodate in- venting of ambient atmosphere as described in detail below, then the closing petals can continue moving inwardly to allow the valve to open inwardly as the pressure differential gradient direction reverses and the pressure on the valve head exterior surface exceeds the pressure on the valve head interior surface by a predetermined magnitude.

For some dispensing applications, it may be desirable for the valve 32 not only to dispense the product, but also to accommodate such in- venting of the ambient atmosphere (e.g., so as to allow a squeezed container (on which the valve is mounted) to return to its original shape). Such an in-venting capability can be provided by selecting an appropriate material for the valve construction, and by selecting appropriate thicknesses, shapes, and dimensions for various portions of the valve head 130 for the particular valve material and overall valve size. The shape, flexibility, and resilience of the valve head, and in particular, of the petals, can be designed or established so that the petals will deflect inwardly when subjected to a sufficient pressure differential that acts across the head 130 and in a gradient direction that is the reverse or opposite from the pressure differential gradient direction during product dispensing. Such a reverse pressure differential can be established when a user releases a squeezed, resilient container 22 on which the valve 32 is mounted. The resiliency of the container wall (or walls) will cause the wall to return toward the normal, larger volume configuration. The volume increase of the container interior will cause a temporary, transient drop in the interior pressure. When the interior pressure drops sufficiently below the exterior ambient pressure, the pressure differential across the valve 32 will be large enough to deflect the valve petals inwardly to permit in-venting of the ambient atmosphere, hi some cases, however, the desired rate or amount of in- venting may not occur until the squeezed container is returned to a substantially upright orientation that allows the product to flow under the influence of gravity away from the valve 32.

It is to be understood that the valve dispensing orifice may be defined by

structures other than the illustrated slits 132. If the orifice is defined by slits, then the slits may assume many different shapes, sizes and/or configurations in accordance with those dispensing characteristics desired. For example, the orifice may also include five or more slits. The dispensing valve 32 is preferably configured for use in conjunction with a particular container, and a specific type of product, so as to achieve the exact dispensing characteristics desired. For example, the viscosity and density of the fluid product can be factors in designing the specific configuration of the valve 32 for liquids, as is the shape, size, and strength of the container. The rigidity and durometer of the valve material, and size and shape of the valve head 130, are also important in achieving the desired dispensing characteristics, and can be matched with both the container and the material to be dispensed therefrom.

Preferably, the valve 32 and nozzle 50 each have a generally circular configuration and are aligned along a common longitudinal axis 170 as illustrated in

FIGS. 2 and 5. The central intersection of the valve slits 132 lies on the longitudinal axis in registry with the center of the circular locus of the nozzle apertures 58. Preferably, the unapertured central portion of the nozzle end plate 56 within the circular array of apertures 58 has a diameter that is greater than the largest diameter of apertures 58.

The product is expelled or discharged through the valve's open slits 132 against the end wall or plate 56. The product, which is typically a liquid, is directed in a stream or streams against the inner surface of the nozzle plate 56, and some fluid may also pass directly through the apertures 58. Some of the discharging product that initially impinges upon the central, inner surface of the plate 56 splashes generally radially and then through the apertures 58. A desirable dispersion pattern is achieved when the fluid flows through the uniquely shaped apertures 58 and exists the apertures 58 in spreading discharges, sprays, or flows which can merge to form a fine mist. It has been found that the combination of the apertured nozzle 50 with the valve 32 can provide a desirable fine mist spray. The size, shape, number, and

pattem of the apertures 58 can be varied as may be desired depending upon the characteristics of the product being dispensed, depending upon the dispensing characteristics of the valve 32, and depending upon the desired mass flow rate of product. The initial velocity and volume of product discharging from the valve 32 is generally controlled by the combination of the nozzle 50 and the design characteristics of the valve and, of course, by the magnitude of the squeezing force and rate of application of squeezing force to which the container 22 is subjected. It will be readily observed from the foregoing detailed description of the invention and from the illustrations thereof that numerous other variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the true spirit and scope of the novel concepts or principles of this invention.