Patent ID: 9254954
Filing Date: 2016-02-09
CPC Classification: B05B,B65D,Y10T

Claim Text:
1. A method of making an actuator for dispensing a pre-determined quantity of product from an aerosol container, the method comprising the steps of: engaging a valve housing with a mounting cup and a gasket, and defining a cavity in the valve housing and coupling a dip tube to the actuator via direct contact only between the dip tube and an axially lower most end of the valve housing; partially accommodating a valve stem within the cavity of the valve housing and captively retaining the valve stem by the mounting cup and the gasket, projecting an upper end portion of the valve stem from an upper end of the valve housing and through the gasket and the mounting cup, projecting a lower end portion of the valve stem from the axially lower most end of the valve housing, and defining a central passage in the valve stem for dispensing pressurized product from at least one radial bore inlet, located adjacent the lower end portion of the valve stem, to a dispensing orifice, located adjacent the upper end portion of the valve stem; providing a stop on an exterior central portion of the valve stem and a spring directly abutting against the stop and biasing the stop against the gasket supported by a lower surface of the mounting cup; retaining a movable metering ball within the valve stem between the at least one radial bore inlet and the dispensing orifice, with the metering ball being movable between spaced apart upper and lower sealing rims, and locating the lower sealing rim within the cavity defined by the valve housing, between the stop and the at least one radial bore inlet; forming an annular groove, supporting a sealing ring, on the lower end portion of the valve stem which projects from the axially lower most end of the valve housing, and the sealing ring, when the stop abuts against the gasket, engaging and sealing against the axially lower most end of the valve housing; forming the at least one radial bore inlet in a sidewall of the valve stem adjacent the sealing ring, and accommodating the at least one radial bore inlet within the valve housing, when the stop abuts against the gasket, and locating the at least one radial bore inlet outside the valve housing and below the axially lower most edge of the valve housing, when the valve stem is depressed, such that the at least one radial bore inlet radially directly faces the dip tube for forming a flow path into the central passage for the product to be dispensed; and moving the metering ball within the valve stem from a rest position, sealingly engaged with the lower sealing rim, to an actuated position in which the metering ball sealingly engages with the upper sealing rim and dispenses a pre-determined quantity of product from the valve stem, and then returning the metering ball, once the stop again abuts against the gasket, back to the rest position for another product dispensing cycle.