Dispenser with flap valve

Claim 2

A dispenser comprising a collapsible container having a neck through which material contained within the container is dispensed; a valve unit having a plurality of resilient flaps pivotally connected at a location inside the neck and biased to normally close the passage through the neck and arrange to open when sufficient pressure is exerted from the inside of the container against the flap, one of said flaps being arranged to scrape against the bottom of at least one other said flap; and resilient stiffener means fixed to and extending essentially normal to each said flap and fixed with respect to the inner wall whereby said stiffener means assists the flap in returning to its normally closed position, whereby said flap closes the passage through the neck when the pressure exerted against the said inside of the container is removed.

Claim 3

A dispenser comprising a collapsible container having a neck through which material in the container is dispensed; and a valve unit having four hinged resilient flaps each pivotally connected at a location inside the neck, one pair of flaps overlying the other pair of said flaps and with the lines of separation of the overlying flaps being normal to the lines of separation of the flaps beneath, whereby the edges of said lower flaps scrape the bottom faces of the upper flaps during opening and closing of the flaps, said flaps being biased to normally close the passage through the neck and arranged to open when sufficient pressure is exerted from inside the container, thereby exposing a passage through which materials are extruded from the container, said flaps closing the passage when insufficient opening pressure is exerted thereon from inside the container.

Claim 4

A dispenser comprising a collapsible container having a neck through which material in the container is dispensed; and a valve unit having four hinged resilient flaps each pivotally connected at a location inside the neck, one pair of flaps overlying the other pair of said flaps and with the lines of separation of the overlying flaps being normal to the lines of separation of the flaps beneath, whereby the edges of said lower flaps scrape the bottom faces of the upper flaps during opening and closing of the flaps, said flaps being biased to normally close the passage through the neck and arranged to open when sufficient pressure is exerted from inside the container, thereby exposing a passage through which materials are extruded from the container, said flaps closing the passage when insufficient opening pressure is exerted thereon from inside the container.

Claim 5

A dispenser comprising a collapsible container having a neck through which material in the container is dispensed; a valve unit having four hinged resilient flaps each pivotally connected at a location inside the neck, one pair of flaps overlying the other pair of said flaps and with the lines of separation of the overlying flaps being normal to the lines of separation of the flaps beneath, whereby the edges of said lower flaps scrape the bottom faces of the upper flaps during opening and closing of the flaps, said flaps being biased to normally close the passage through the neck and arrange to open when sufficient pressure is exerted from inside the container, thereby exposing a passage through which materials are extruded from the container, said flaps closing the passage when insufficient opening pressure is exerted thereon from inside the container; means for securing the valve unit within the container neck, said means comprising a tubular body forming part of the valve unit, a resilient locking ring at one end of the body, said ring being deformable to have an outside diameter smaller than the inside diameter of the neck, having slots therein to facilitate such deformation and snapping of the body into the neck and being normally expandable into engagement with the container below the neck; and a lip extending outwardly from the body around the other end thereof, said lip having an outside diameter greater than the inside diameter of the neck and less than the outside diameter of the neck, the distance between the ring and the lip being just slightly greater than the overall length of the neck.

Claim 6

A dispenser comprising a collapsible container having a neck through which material in the container is dispensed; a valve unit having four hinged resilient flaps each pivotally connected at a location inside the neck, one pair of flaps overlying the other pair of said flaps and with the lines of separation of the overlying flaps being normal to the lines of separation of the flaps beneath, whereby the edges of said lower flaps scrape the bottom faces of the upper flaps during opening and closing of the flaps, said flaps being biased to normally close the passage through the neck and arrange to open when sufficient pressure is exerted from inside the container, thereby exposing a passage through which materials are extruded from the container, said flaps closing the passage when insufficient opening pressure is exerted thereon from inside the container; means for securing the valve unit within the container neck, said means comprising a tubular body forming part of the valve unit, a resilient locking ring at one end of the body, said ring being deformable to have an outside diameter smaller than the inside diameter of the neck, having slots therein to facilitate such deformation and snapping of the body into the neck and being normally expandable into engagement with the container below the neck; and a lip extending outwardly from the body around the other end thereof, said lip having an outside diameter greater than the inside diameter of the neck and less than the outside diameter of the neck, the distance between the ring and the lip being just slightly greater than the overall length of the neck.

Claim 7

A dispenser as in claim 2, wherein the upper flaps are each of semi-circular configuration, and the lower flaps have central semi-circular portion and reversely curved whereby material extruded through them has a generally four sided, star-like, cross-sectional configuration.

Claim 8

A dispenser as in claim 2, further including resilient stiffener means connected to each flap and fixed with respect to the inner wall of the neck, whereby said stiffeners assist the flaps in returning to their normally closed position.

Claim 9

A dispenser as in claim 3, wherein the flaps are each of semi-circular configuration, whereby material extruded through them has a generally four sided star-like cross-sectional configuration.

Claim 10

A dispenser as in claim 6, further including resilient stiffener means connected to each flap and fixed with respect to the inner wall of the neck, whereby said stiffeners assist the flaps in returning to their normally closed position.

Claim 11

A valve unit comprising a generally tubular body formed of resilient material; a lip radiating outwardly at a top end of body member; a resilient locking ring radiating out from the body at a bottom end thereof, said locking ring being deformable to have an outer diameter not exceeding the outer diameter of the generally tubular body member, whereby said body member and said ring are adapted to be telescoped through the neck of a container; a valve in a body member at the top end thereof, said valve compRising a plurality of resilient flaps, some of said flaps normally overlying some others of said flaps when said flaps close the passage through the valve member and all of said flaps being operable by pressure application through the body member from the bottom end thereof to open, and the bottom faces of the overlying flaps being scraped by the edges of the underlying flaps during opening and closing of the said flaps.

Claim 12

A valve unit comprising a generally tubular body formed of resilient material; a lip radiating outwardly at a top end of body member; a resilient locking ring radiating out from the body at a bottom end thereof, said locking ring being deformable to have an outer diameter not exceeding the outer diameter of the generally tubular body member, whereby said body member and said ring are adapted to be telescoped through the neck of a container; a valve in a body member at the top end thereof, said valve compRising a plurality of resilient flaps, some of said flaps normally overlying some others of said flaps when said flaps close the passage through the valve member and all of said flaps being operable by pressure application through the body member from the bottom end thereof to open, and the bottom faces of the overlying flaps being scraped by the edges of the underlying flaps during opening and closing of the said flaps.