Patent ID: 8365967

Claim:
A pressure-activated valve for dispensing a liquid, the valve comprising (a) a dispensing nozzle having an interior region, the nozzle being formed from a frustoconical piece of foldable material having proximal and distal ends, each end having a centre, the nozzle having a longitudinal axis passing through the centres of the proximal and distal ends, the nozzle comprising a plurality of folds extending from the distal end towards the proximal end, each fold having an inner crease, the nozzle having a closed position in which the inner creases abut each other at the distal end so that the liquid cannot pass through the distal end from the interior region, and having open positions in which the inner creases at the distal end are spaced apart from each other to allow the liquid to pass through the distal end from the interior region, (b) a biasing mechanism to bias the nozzle into the closed position, and (c) a container attachment mechanism attached to the proximal end of the nozzle for attaching the nozzle to a container containing the liquid so that the liquid can pass from the container into the interior region, wherein, when the liquid is forced into the interior region under sufficient pressure it causes the nozzle to move from the closed position to one of the open positions so that the liquid flows from the interior region out through the distal end of the nozzle, and when the pressure on the liquid is removed, the biasing mechanism causes the nozzle to move back to the closed position, and wherein each fold further comprises two outer creases, wherein each outer crease is shared with an adjacent fold, the portion of the nozzle situated between each crease being a panel, so that two panels are adjacent to each outer crease.