Patent ID: 6978916

Claim:
A metering valve assembly comprising: a ferrule having an aperture formed therein; a valve housing having an inlet provided in a wall thereof, the valve housing defining an internal cavity which accommodates an annular flange of a valve stem and a compression spring therein, and a valve gasket closing the internal cavity; the valve housing being attached to the ferrule such that a stem portion of the valve stem protrudes through an aperture provided in the valve gasket and through the aperture provided in the ferrule; the ferrule having a ferrule gasket for sealingly engaging with an opening of a container to form a fluid tight seal therewith, the ferrule gasket having a through hole therethrough with at least one passage being formed between the ferrule gasket and the valve housing to facilitate passage of a desired propellent and product to be dispensed during a conventional filling process; and the stem portion having a central passageway formed therein communicating with a dispensing outlet of the metering valve assembly, and an opposite end of the central passageway communicating with at least one radial passageway; and the at least one radial passageway being normally closed by the valve gasket due to the spring normally biasing the valve stem into a closed position; wherein one of an undersurface of the annular flange of the valve stem and a mating surface of the valve housing is provided with a compressible sealing member and the other of the undersurface of the valve stem and the mating surface of the valve housing has an annular edge protruding axially therefrom and the compressible sealing member and the annular edge, when the valve stem is sufficiently depressed, engage with one another to form a seal therebetween to partition the interior cavity into a metering chamber and a separate filling chamber so that product may be dispensed only from the metering chamber when a product flow path is established between the metering chamber and the dispensing outlet of the valve stem.