Abstract:
A fluid applicator includes a coating implement, a resilient closure cap, and a stopper for use with a fluid container. The resilient closure cap is force-fit into or onto the stopper, creating a resilient force on a sealing lip that contacts a seat on the stopper. Inverting the container and pressing on the coating implement, presses the resilient closure cap, deforming it to move the sealing lip off of its seat on the stopper, to allow fluid flow from the container, through the stopper and resilient closure cap, to the coating implement.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     A liquid valve body for attachment with the neck of a liquid container has liquid dispensed by inverting the container and pressing on an implement that in turn presses on an elastic closure cap having a valve seal that is lifted off of its seat on a stopper to pass liquid therethrough. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     The dispensing of fluids by application of pressure against the coating or writing implement is common in the art. G. Schwartzman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,400,997, issued Sep. 10, 1968 and P. Sotir, U.S. Pat. No. 3,640,631, issued Feb. 8, 1972, are examples of pressure applied to an implement to press the implement inwardly to lift a valve off of its seat to open a passage for the flow of fluid to the implement. B. Cholet, U.S. Pat. No. 2,996,750, issued Aug. 22, 1961, and W. Baltzer, U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,088, issued Sep. 20, 1971, are examples of integral discharge implement holders and resilient or elastic force applying means. Jarrett et al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,681,752, issued Jun. 22, 1954, and G. Schwartzman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,661,468, issued May 9, 1972, are examples of cap or dome-shaped resilient means for pressure application in fluid dispensing devices. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is to an instrument for the application of a fluid for writing or coating by dispensing fluid from a container. The instrument consists of three major components: a stopper, a resilient closure cap and a nib or other coating implement. The resilient closure cap is one integral piece that can essentially be considered to include a pocket for holding a nib or other implement, a diaphragm and an elastic dome that acts as a spring, and a valve neck with a sealing rib that engages with a valve seat on the stopper to form a fluid flow control. 
     The resilient closure cap is attached to, or inserted into an annular recess in, the stopper so that a force is created on the dome area of the resilient closure cap pressing the sealing rib against the stopper valve seat precluding fluid flow through the instrument or pressing the sealing rib away from the valve seat. Fluid is dispensed by pressing against the nib or other implement that in turn presses against the valve neck and lifts the sealing rib off of the valve seat to provide a flow path between the fluid container and the nib. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the applicator valve of the invention. 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the component parts of the applicator valve. 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the application valve in its non-use configuration. 
     FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the applicator valve in its in-use configuration. 
     FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a modification of the applicator valve. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The invention is to an applicator  1  consisting of three major components shown in FIG. 1 as a stopper  2 , a resilient closure cap  3 , and a nib  4  that attach to a fluid container  6 . The stopper  2  fits within or over the container neck to act as a seal against unwanted fluid discharge and as a controlled passage for fluid discharge. The stopper  2  supports the resilient closure cap  3  and the closure cap  3  secures the nib or other implement  4  in place. Pressure on the nib opens a fluid flow passage so that the fluid can pass from the fluid container to the nib for application to an object. 
     The individual components are best seen in FIG.  2 . The stopper  2  second or lower end as shown is designed to fit within the upper neck  12  of a fluid container  6  by inserting the stopper lower neck  21  into the container neck or opening  11 . The stopper  2  second or lower end could be designed to fit over the container neck or both over and within the container neck if desired. 
     The first upper end  20  of the stopper  2  has a raised upwardly extending interior section  23  formed about a central opening  15 . The inner upper wall of the stopper neck  21  is sloped inwardly forming a tapered valve seat  28  that ends or terminates in the central opening or fluid passage  15 . This forms a valve seat under, around, and adjacent to the fluid passage. The upper first end  24  of the interior section  23  is provided with a raised circular limit rib  25 . The outer wall of the interior section forms a sealing rim  26  that terminates at its lower end in a recessed base  27 . Extending essentially parallel to and outwardly from the sealing rim  26  is an outer circumferential side wall  22  of the stopper that terminates, slightly above the circular limit rib  25 , with an inwardly extending side wall lip  17 . 
     The resilient closure cap  3  has an integral central diaphragm area  39  extending outwardly into a dome-shaped intermediate area section  32  with a skirt area  33  extending downwardly from the lower radial extremity of the dome area  32  forming a first end. A flexible implement mounting sleeve  31  extends upwardly from the dome upper area extremity forming a second end having an implement receiving pocket  16 . The diaphragm area  39  is provided with slot openings  14  inwardly of and adjacent to the mounting sleeve  31 . About the center of the diaphragm area, a valve neck  35  extends downwardly from the diaphragm. At the lower end of the valve neck, a circular sealing lip  36  extends outwardly. The valve neck  35  is preferably hollow to reduce rigidity. The inner lower first end of the skirt area  33  is provided with a sealing rib  37 . 
     The resilient closure cap  3  can be made from an elastic resilient stretchable material such as a plastic or natural or synthetic rubber material having the necessary elasticity or resilience to flex or extend for insertion into or over the stopper  2 , and to deform or stretch enough for sealing and valve operation, and to hold the implement. The material must be compatible with the fluid used. The diaphragm slot opening  14  performs two functions, it weakens the resistance to deformation of the central area of the diaphragm  39  and it provides a passage for the fluid moving past the sealing lip  36  when the valve neck is pressed inwardly. 
     As the coating or writing implement, a nib  4  is shown. The nib arbitrarily has a rectangular cross-section, but could be any type implement in any shape. The nib as shown has side surfaces  41 , end surfaces  43 , top coating or writing surfaces  44  and a fluid accessible and receptive bottom or lower surface  42 . The nib can be felt, passaged plastic, or open-cell foam material compatible with the fluid used. One example of the material that can be used is a rigid open pore nib as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,877, issued Apr. 5, 1994 to D. Birden. By using this material, a liquid containing particles can be passed through the applicator. 
     The components are assembled by placing the stopper  2  neck  21  within the fluid container  6 , neck  12 . The resilient closure cap  3  skirt  33  has a slightly larger diameter than that of the circumferential side wall  22  inside diameter, and the valve neck  35  has a smaller outside diameter than that of the diameter of the fluid passage  15 . The outside diameter of the sealing lip  36  is larger than that of the fluid passage. The skirt area  33  can be pressed into the circumferential recess  29 , as the sealing lip  36  is pressed through the fluid passage  15 , until the resilient cap base or first end  38  abuts or essentially abuts the recess base  27 . Pressing the resilient closure cap skirt  33  into the circumferential recess  29  between the circumferential side wall  22  and sealing rim  26  places the dome area  32  under compression, tending to press or deform the attached diaphragm dome primarily upwardly. This upward movement of the dome area places an upward tension force on the central area of the diaphragm  39  and valve neck  35 , attached to the diaphragm, and on the sealing lip  36  on the valve neck. This can be seen in FIG. 3, where the dome  32  of the resilient closure cap  3  is deformed upwardly by pressing the slightly oversize skirt into the circumferential recess  29  of the stopper. This deformation or upward force causes a spring-like force on the valve neck  35  and sealing lip  36 , preventing fluid flow by engaging the sealing lip with the stopper valve seat  28 . 
     In this position, shown in FIG. 3, the circular sealing rib  37  engages the sealing rim  26  to form a fluid-tight seal between the cap skirt area  33  and stopper sealing rim  26 , as the sealing lip  36  engages the tapered valve seat  28 , to form a fluid-tight seal between the stopper  2  inner surface  28  and the resilient closure cap  3  sealing lip  36 . The sealing rib  37  is not visible in FIGS. 3 and 4 because it is essentially flattened due to pressure placed on it during insertion. 
     The writing or coating implement  4  is preferably slightly larger than the implement pocket  16  to provide a resilient force fit. The implement  4  is pressed into the implement pocket  16  until the implement base or back surface  42  abuts against the resilient cap diaphragm  39 . The lower or bottom surface  42  can be provided with a taper or chamfer  45  for concentrating pressure on the central portion of the diaphragm  39  above the valve neck  35 . This taper or chamfer, depending on its size, can provide a liquid path around the base of the nib, or can cover the slot openings  14  for direct access of fluid to the nib base. The design depends on the type fluid being used and the type nib being used as well as the force necessary to press the diaphragm central area inwardly. 
     During non-use, the fluid within the fluid container  6  is sealed therein by the sealing lips  36  of the resilient closure cap  3  pressing against the tapered valve seat  28  as shown in FIG.  3 . The fluid within the container can be dispensed to the implement  4  by holding the container  6  in the inverted position and pressing the implement  4  against a surface or object. As shown in FIG. 4, upward and inward pressure on the inverted implement  4  is transferred to the diaphragm area  39  where it acts against the now downward force created by the dome area  32  of the resilient cap  3 . Overcoming the diaphragm resistance results in an inward movement of the valve neck  35  and sealing lip  36 . The inward movement of the sealing lip causes it to separate from the tapered valve seat  28  and to open a passage from the fluid container  6  to the implement base or back  42  through the fluid passage  15  and slot openings  14 . This is shown by flow arrows F in FIG.  4 . The limit rib  25  of the stopper functions both as a guide for fluid flow, during fluid discharge, and to a degree as a limit stop for inward movement of the valve neck  35  and sealing lip  36 . The limit rib  25  helps prevent the slots  14  of the resilient closure cap from being blocked by the upper end  24  of the interior section  23  during pressure application against the nib  4 . This can be seen in FIG. 4 when pressure P on the nib  4  overcomes the force created by the dome  32  of the resilient closure cap, lifting the sealing lip  36  off of the valve seat  28  of the stopper  2 . The limit rib  25  can have its height and position, with respect to the opening or passage  15 , adjusted depending on the rigidity and elasticity of the resilient closure cap  3 , the flow path desired, the viscosity of the liquid or fluid being used, the valve opening desired, etc. 
     A modification of assembly and use is shown in FIG.  5 . Rather than forcing the skirt  33  into the circumferential recess  29 , as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the skirt is stretched over the outer circumference of the upper first end of the stopper  2 . This places the dome area and diaphragm area under tension. With the skirt and dome under tension, the force direction on the seating lip  36  will depend on the relative length of the valve neck  35 . A short neck will be pulled upward by the tension on the diaphragm area and close off flow by engaging the sealing lip  36  with the valve seat  28 . A long neck will extend beyond the effective range of the tension on the diaphragm. With a long neck, the tension will tend to keep the sealing lip below and off of the valve seat, and a spring or other means is required to raise the diaphragm to engage the sealing lip with the valve seal. A spring  50  can be placed between the diaphragm  39  and the stopper upper surface  24 . This spring can be used to increase the force placed on the sealing rib or to cause the sealing rib to engage the valve seat. To assist placement or to secure the skirt onto the stopper circumference, a groove  51  can be placed around the stopper upper circumference  22  near the stopper first upper end  20  to receive the sealing rib  37 . 
     It is believed that the construction, operation and advantages of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is to be understood that the present disclosure is illustrative only and that changes, variations, substitutions, modifications and equivalents will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art and that such may be made without departing from be readily apparent to one skilled in the art and that such may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims.