Patent ID: 7143959

Claim:
An actuator for attachment to a valve assembly of an aerosol container, the actuator comprising: an actuator body having an actuator skirt defining a recess sized to receive a portion of a pedestal of a mounting cup of the valve assembly during depression of the actuator, and the actuator having an actuator passageway facilitating fluid communicating between a valve stem, of the valve assembly, and an insert cavity of the actuator; a fan spray insert received within the insert cavity, and the fan spray insert having a fan spray discharge orifice communicating with an insert passageway of the fan spray insert for discharging product from the actuator; the fan spray insert having a first mating locking member and the insert cavity having a second mating locking member, and the first and second mating locking members engage with one another, when the fan spray insert is received within the insert cavity, to form a permanent secondary seal therebetween and permanently retain the fan spray insert within the insert cavity while also allow relative rotation of the fan spray insert with respect to the insert cavity to adjust an orientation of the spray discharge pattern during use of the actuator; the fan spray insert has an insert head which extends out of the insert cavity, following insertion of the fan spray insert within the insert cavity, and provides a grip which facilitates rotation of the fan spray insert within the insert cavity to a desired spray orientation by an operator; the insert cavity has a cavity hub supported by a base of the insert cavity, the cavity hub has an internal passageway extending therethrough which facilitates fluid communicating between the actuator passageway of the actuator body and the insert passageway of the fan spray insert, and the cavity hub engages with a leading end of the fan spray insert to form permanent primary fluid tight seal therewith, preventing the passage of fluid past the primary fluid tight seal once the fan spray insert is received within the insert cavity; and the internal passageway of the cavity hub has a cylindrical inner wall and the cavity hub has a generally conical outer wall which tapers from a wider dimension to a narrow dimension as the cavity hub extends radially outward from the base of the insert cavity, the actuator passageway includes a radial actuator passageway extending through the cavity hub, and a counterbore is formed in the actuator body concentric with the insert cavity.