Drip resistant dispensing valve for fluids

Abstract

A drip resistant dispensing valve for fluids is disclosed, which provides a dispensing outlet configured to minimize the tendency for fluid to drip from the valve following a dispensing operation. The dispensing outlet exhibits curved interior surfaces and a curved outlet face construction; the face situated a distance away from the valve body. Such construction assists in minimizing the retention of fluid on the surfaces of the dispensing outlet, and migration of the fluid to surfaces outside of the dispensing outlet that could tend to promote growth of biological contaminates and/or provide additional surfaces that could pool fluid following a dispensing operation and thereafter drip from the valve. A shell is provided around the dispensing outlet to assist in avoiding contamination of the valve and of the fluid being dispensed through the valve, and to aid in positioning a receptacle for receiving fluid from the dispensing valve.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention are considered in more detail, in relation to the following description of embodiments thereof shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a drip resistant dispensing valve in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view illustrating the actuation end of the drip resistant dispensing valve shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective cut-away view illustrating a shell and discharge outlet of the drip resistant dispensing valve shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an expanded partial cut-away view illustrating the drip resistant dispensing valve shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross-section view illustrating the drip resistant dispensing valve shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view of an actuator for use with the drip resistant dispensing valve shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of the valve seal shown in FIGS. 4-6;

FIG. 7 a is a cross-section of the valve seal taken along line ‘A-A’ of FIG. 7;

FIG. 8 a is a graph illustrating certain forces acting during the operation of the drip resistant dispensing valve in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 b is a graph illustrating certain forces acting during the operation of the drip resistant dispensing valve in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating a valve body in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention.

Claims

1. A dispensing valve for fluids comprising: a valve body having an inlet and a dispensing outlet, said dispensing outlet further comprising a wall defining an open face at one end thereof, and attached to said valve body at an opposite end thereof, said open face having a radius of curvature about a longitudinal axis extending through said valve body; anda shell having a wall defining an open face at one end thereof and attached to said valve body at an opposite end thereof, said shell extending around said dispensing outlet, and said open face of said shell being positioned a greater distance from said longitudinal axis than said open face of said dispensing outlet.

2. The dispensing valve of claim 1, further comprising a valve port intermediate said inlet and said discharge outlet;a resilient valve seal moveable from a closed position in which said valve seal occludes said valve port to an open position in which said valve seal does not occlude said valve port; anda resilient actuator operatively connected to said resilient valve seal and operatively engaging said valve body so that said resilient actuator exerts a closing force on said resilient valve seal biasing said resilient valve seal towards said closed position, said resilient actuator exhibiting a nonlinear relationship between said closing force and displacement of said resilient valve seal from said closed position.

3. The dispensing valve of claim 2, wherein said resilient actuator is configured such that said nonlinear relationship causes said closing force to decrease upon displacement of said resilient valve seal to said open position from an intermediate position between said open position and said closed position.

4. The dispensing valve of claim 2, further comprising: a plunger member reciprocally mounted within said valve body and having an outer end and an inner end, said outer end being attached to said resilient actuator, and said inner end being attached to said resilient valve seal.

5. The dispensing valve of claim 2, further comprising: means for arresting opening movement of said plunger member and said resilient valve seal when said plunger member and said resilient valve seal reach said open position.

6. The dispensing valve of claim 2, further comprising: a stop element on said plunger member and a stop element on said valve body, said stop elements engaging one another so as to arrest opening movement of said plunger member and said resilient valve seal when said plunger member and said resilient valve seal reach said open position.

7. The dispensing valve of claim 2, wherein said outer end of said plunger member is exposed for manual engagement by a user to open said dispensing valve, and said resilient actuator forms at least part of a push button for manual engagement by the user.

8. The dispensing valve of claim 7, wherein said valve body has an actuation end remote from said inlet and an actuator opening at said actuation end, said push button substantially occluding said actuator opening.

9. The dispensing valve of claim 2, further comprising: a push button element exposed for manual engagement by a user to open said dispensing valve, said push button element being frictionally held by said resilient actuator.

10. The dispensing valve of claim 9, said push button element further comprising a generally planar disc having a top surface and a bottom surface, an engagement pin extending outward from said bottom surface, and a ring surrounding a portion of said engagement pin adjacent said bottom surface and defining a ledge generally parallel to said bottom surface.

11. The dispensing valve of claim 10, said pin being frictionally held within an opening in a top surface of said resilient actuator, and said ledge abutting said top surface of said resilient actuator adjacent said opening.

12. The dispensing valve of claim 9, said push button element further comprising a tamper indicating ring circumscribing said push button element and detachably affixed thereto.

13. The dispensing valve of claim 12, said tamper indicating ring comprising an outer vertical wall, a top wall, a bottom wall, and an inner vertical wall, and a plurality of tabs on said inner vertical wall having a weakened portion detachably holding said push button element.

14. The dispensing valve of claim 13, said plurality of tabs detachably holding a top surface of said push button in a vertical position below said top wall of said tamper indicating ring.

15. The dispensing valve of claim 2, wherein said valve body, said valve port wall, said resilient valve seal, and said resilient actuator are formed from materials selected for their ability to withstand gamma and cobalt irradiation exposure of at least 5.0 MRAD.

16. The dispensing valve of claim 1, wherein said shell and said discharge outlet are integrally connected with said body.

17. The dispensing valve of claim 1, wherein said open face of said discharge outlet forms a projecting surface having a minimum thickness.

18. The dispensing valve of claim 17, wherein said projecting surface extends outwards from a wall of said valve body a distance that is at least three times the thickness of said projection.

19. The dispensing valve of claim 1, wherein said discharge outlet forms a fluid discharge channel and said shell forms a channel at least partially surrounding said fluid discharge channel.

20. The dispensing valve of claim 19, wherein a sufficient distance is provided between an outer edge of said fluid discharge channel and an outer edge of said shell channel to prevent fluid transiting said valve from contacting said shell channel.

21. A dispensing valve for fluids comprising: a valve body comprising: (1) a first elongate channel having a rigid exterior wall defining a generally annular passage extending from a fluid inlet end to an actuator end;(2) a fluid discharge outlet intermediate said inlet end and said actuator end, said dispensing outlet further comprising a wall defining an open face at one end thereof, and attached to said valve body at an opposite end thereof, said open face having a radius of curvature about a longitudinal axis extending through said valve body; and(3) a shell at least partially surrounding said discharge outlet, said shell further comprising a wall defining an open face at one end thereof and attached to said valve body at an opposite end thereof, and said open face of said shell being positioned a greater distance from said longitudinal axis than said open face of said dispensing outlet;a valve port wall intermediate said inlet end and said discharge outlet, said valve port wall defining a valve port;a resilient valve seal moveable from a closed position in which said valve seal occludes said valve port to an open position in which said valve seal does not occlude said valve port; anda resilient actuator operatively connected to said resilient valve seal and operatively engaging said valve body so that said resilient actuator exerts a closing force on said resilient valve seal biasing said resilient valve seal towards said closed position, said resilient actuator exhibiting a nonlinear relationship between said closing force and displacement of said resilient valve seal from said closed position.

22. The dispensing valve of claim 21, further comprising: a plunger member reciprocally mounted within said valve body and having an outer end and an inner end, said outer end being attached to said resilient actuator, and said inner end being attached to said resilient valve seal.

23. The dispensing valve of claim 22, wherein said discharge outlet further comprises a second elongate channel having a rigid exterior wall defining a generally annular passage having an end terminating inside said valve body in fluid communication with said fluid inlet end and an open outlet end remote from said valve body, such second elongate channel extending from said valve port to said open outlet end.

24. The dispensing valve of claim 21, wherein said open face of said discharge outlet forms a projecting surface having a minimum thickness.

25. The dispensing valve of claim 24, wherein said projecting surface extends outwards from a wall of said valve body a distance that is at least three times the thickness of said projection.

26. The dispensing valve of claim 21, wherein said discharge outlet forms a fluid discharge channel and said shell forms a channel at least partially surrounding said fluid discharge channel.

27. The dispensing valve of claim 26, wherein a sufficient distance is provided between an outer edge of said fluid discharge channel and an outer edge of said shell channel to prevent fluid transiting said valve from contacting said shell channel.

28. The dispensing valve of claim 21, wherein said valve body, said valve port wall, said resilient valve seal, and said resilient actuator are formed from materials selected for their ability to withstand gamma and cobalt irradiation exposure of at least 5.0 MRAD.