Aerosol flow regulator

摘要

An aerosol valve and flow regulator in a valve housing for use with a can holding flowable product and compressed gas propellant. The flow regulator is positioned upstream of the aerosol valve, and includes (a) a conical valve seat of hard material extending inwardly of the valve housing and having two diametrically opposed triangular grooves extending in the flow direction, and (b) a relatively soft elastic regulating member with a spherical surface to contact and seal the conical valve seat under gas pressure from the can and to press into the two triangular grooves under higher gas pressures to regulate the flow area of the two triangular grooves over a substantial range of gas pressures to provide a substantially constant product flow rate. The one-piece valve housing has a non-obstructing interior bore upstream of the flow regulator to facilitate insertion of the regulating member. A plug member with an internal bore is inserted into the base of the valve housing to secure the regulating member, and a dip tube may be inserted into the plug member bore. The triangular grooves have width and depth dimensions preferable of 0.2 mm. The regulating member is relatively soft Santoprene TM thermoplastic elastomer two-phase elastomeric alloy material with a Shore scale hardness of 55 DEG -64 DEG A.