US3336720A

US3336720A - Method of and apparatus for filling aerosol containers

Info

Publication number: US3336720A
Application number: US356554A
Authority: US
Inventors: Honisch Egon Johann
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1963-04-04
Filing date: 1964-04-01
Publication date: 1967-08-22
Anticipated expiration: 1984-08-22
Also published as: DE1232602B; GB1002464A; CH456480A

Description

Aug. 22, 1967 E. J. HONISCH METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FILLING AEROSOL CONTAINERS Filed fipril 1; 1964 5-Sheets-Sheet 2 51 f-IO/ Aug. 22, 1967 J. HONISCH METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FILLING AEROSOL CONTAINERS Filed April 1. 1964 5 SheetS-Sheet S Arrokmak Aug. 22,1967

Fi-l'ed April 1, 1964 METHODOF AND APPARATUS m IFILLING AEROSOL CONTAINERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Awavraz 560A) da/ymv/v/m/v/sw/ Arfozmsk E. J. HONISCH 3,33 0

Aug. 22, 1967 E. J. HAONISCH .METHOD'OF AND APPARATUS FOR FILLING AEROSOL CONTAINERS Filed April 1. 19:54

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 H w N W 4 w d f United States Patent 3,336,720 METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FILLIN G AEROSOL CONTAINERS Egon Johann Honisch, Kreuzstrasse 3, Rapperswil, Saint Gall, Switzerland Filed Apr. 1, 1964, Ser. No. 356,554 Claims priority, application Germany, Apr. 4, 1963,

N 22,985 12 Claims. (Cl. 53-22) Methods of filling and closing aerosol containers as well as machines for performing this work are already known to the art. An aerosol container or sprayer comprises a container proper, for instance in the form of a metal can, a flask or a bottle, containing the substance that is to be sprayed, say an insecticide, and a propellant gas, such as Freon, and an aerosol valve with which the container is closed.

There are two kinds of aerosol valve. In the first type of valve the wall of the the inside of the mouth of the aerosol container when this is originally closed. A permanent sealing connection is thus produced. The other type of aerosol valve which is generally applied to glass bottles has the form of a cap, usually consisting of sheet aluminium, the actual valve being contained in the cap which is pushed over the neck of the bottle and affixed, in contradistinction to the method of fixing the first described type, by deforming the cap around the neck of the container from the outside.

For aflixing the first type of valve which is commercially known in the trade as a 1" aerosol disc valve, the following methods and machines are already known:

A can is prepared for filling before it is loaded into the machine by placing a disc valve loosely on to the mouth of the can. The can is then presented to the working head of the machine, which descends and makes sealing contact with the shoulder of the can around the circumference of the valve. The valve is slightly lifted by suction generated by a vacuum pump. A liquid propellant gas is then forced through the gap between the valve and the top of the can. Finally, the valve is pushed back on to the top of the can and then pressed from the inside against the inner wall of the mouth of the can by sealing instruments built into the closing means. When the operating tools have returned into their former positions .the filled and sealed can is removed.

This known method has not become very popular in competition with the conventional method of filling through the valve because it suffers from serious drawbacks. One of the most important of these is the following:

The disc valve which is placed on the top of the can has a downwardly open cylindrical cup of substantially the same diameter as the inner edge of the mouth of the can. If this valve is not introduced in a precisely vertical direction but at a slight angle it will immediately jam, preventing the vacuum pump from lifting the valve. If the valve does not rise the substance which is to be filled into the can cannot enter between the top of the can and the valve and is therefore spilled on the top of the valve. The valve is thus even more firmly held down and the entire filling is wasted. Since this is nearly always a propellant it will explosively vaporize. If the propellant gas contains additives such as pigments, then the surroundings on the factory floor may be badly spattered. Moreover the explosive spatter of liquid may cause injury, particularly to the eyes of personnel.

As known, aerosol valves are fitted with dip tubes or risers made of a plastic material, such as polyethylene, which is unwound from a bobbin and cut to length. These tubes therefore nearly always curl. Moreover they are so long that they already touch the floor of the can before aerosol valve is pressed against the valve rests on the top of the can for closing the same. Such bent riser tubes are often the cause of valves assuming a canted position in the mouth of the can or even of springing out of the opening and coming to rest on the top of the can in an eccentric position. Both causes, namely jamming due to a nonhorizontal or eccentric position of the aerosol valve in relation to the opening in the can are responsible for frequent trouble in mass production. There is therefore often considerable wastage which far exceeds that experienced in other methods of closing and filling aerosol cans.

As already mentioned, these methods are also inapplicable to the closing of glass bottle valves which must be aflixed by pressure from the outside.

The object of the present invention is to provide a method as well as an apparatus for overcoming the above described difiiculties and for securing certain other advantages. Jamming of the valves due to non-horizontal position or the crushing of valves by the descending closing means when the valves are in an eccentric position is avoided by the present invention in that the filling head is traversed by an upwardly open longitudinal closing channel extending in coaxial alignment with the mouth of the container which is to be filled. The container is placed underneath this head and the valve is dropped into the longitudinal channel from above. A closing element then enters the longitudinal channel and propels the valve downwards, but not far enough to prevent the container from being filled through a remaining gap between the valve and the container top. Not until after the container has been filled is the valve pushed down on to the container or flask. The provision of the said longitudinal closing channel therefore permits the aerosol valve to be presented to the container in a precisely axial and central position and at the same time it eliminates the causes of trouble in known filling methods because the aerosol valve need not be lifted before filling begins, and jamming cannot occur because the valve does not make contact with the container until the latter has already been filled.

It also follows that apparatus according to the invention does not require a vacuum pump for lifting the valve. This is a matter of special importance because the machine based on the proposed apparatus can be fully pneumatically operated without electric power, so that inflammable propellant gases, suoh as butane and propane, can be handled without the hazard of fire. The usual vacuum pumps on the market are all driven by electric motors. The absence of such pumps is therefore a special advantage of apparatus according to the invention.

In machines hitherto known to the art the valve must be placed on the container month before being loaded into the machine. Apart from fully automated installations, and particularly in smaller and medium sized establishments, two men are therefore needed, namely one for placing the valve on the container and pushing it towards the machine and a second for operating the actual machine. In apparatus according to the invention one man can place the container in loading position and at the same time feed the valve into the closing channel. In other words, such a machine can be entirely operated and run by only one man.

Another major advantage of a machine according to the invention is that valves for glass flasks and bottles can be handled in the same way as disc valves and the same advantages obtained as described.

As already explained, known methods and machines are limited to handling metal cans into which disc valves are fitted by pressing them into the inside of the can opening. Glass flasks and bottles which require the valves to be 'fitted over the bottle necks and secured by pressure applied from the outside cannot be handled, particularly in view of the fact that glass containers frequently have very irregular shapes, such as triangular or rectangular cross sections, so that a tight seal between the filling head and the shoulder of the bottle or flask is impossible to achieve and excessive spillage of liquid would be the result because the inflowing propellant gas or product in conventional machines also fills the space between the outside of the neck of the container on the one hand and the wall of the filling head and the washer at the joint on the other hand. When fitting valves on glass bottles, which embrace the neck of the bottle, and in the case of which the sealing washer of the filling head would have to make contact with a surface far down the bottle, for example in bottles with a neck which downwardly widens, a very considerable amount of spillage could not be avoided.

The invention provides a method which also permits glass bottles and similar containers to be conveniently filled without spillage through the gap underneath the raised valve. To this end the seal is not formed on the shoulder of the bottle but by the top edge of a receptacle into which the flask or bottle is placed before being filled. A filling tube adapted to be introduced into the mouth of the bottle discharges the liquid directly into the bottle and prevents it from entering the space between the bottle and the filling head, as is the case in known filling methods. Moreover, the provision of the longitudinal closing channel ensures that the valve is introduced and presented to the bottle opening in a precisely centered position, permitting the valve to be affixed to the mouth of the bottle in an absolutely reliable and pressure-tight manner by sealing instruments which close on the bottle neck from the outside.

The receptacle used in the method proposed by the present invention also permits metal cans to be fitted with disc valves for instance in cases in which the diameter of the can does not exceed or is only slightly larger than the diameter of the disc valve. In such a case a shoulder on the can is not needed for forming a sealing contact surface with the filling head. By placing such cans into a receptacle as described, the former difficulties are overcome and the can can be satisfactorily filled.

The invention will now be described in greater detail by reference to embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is a schematic elevational section of apparatus according to the present invention, principally intended for filling and closing aerosol flasks made of glass, plastics or metal,

FIG. 2 on a larger scale shows the neck of a flask at the instant an aerosol valve is fitted thereto,

FIG. 3 is a schematic elevational section of modified apparatus according to the invention, principally intended for filling and closing metal aerosol cans with a conventional 1 aerosol disc valve,

FIG. 4 is a detail of an embodiment of the invention in which the closing means can be swivelled to one side,

FIG. 5 illustrates the principle of operation of a rotary indexing machine in which the product is admitted through the hollow cent-re shaft of the machine,

FIG. 6 illustrates the principle of operation of a rotary indexing machine in which the product is admitted through a laterally movable filling device,

FIG. 7 illustrates the principle of operation of a rotary indexing machine comprising an additional station, for instance for filling a second product, and/ or a further station for the introduction of a gas for flushing out the aerosol container,

FIG. 8 illustrates a suitable form of construction of a centering element.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 a pneumatic cylinder 1, provided with air entry and outlet openings 2 and 3, a piston 4 with a sealing ring 5 and a piston rod 6 supports a receptacle 7 into which the aerosol flask 8 which is to be filled is insertable. To this end piston til 5 is first completely retracted by the introduction of air through opening 3 and by exhausting air through opening 2.

The motion of the piston is reversed by exhausting air through opening 3 and admitting compressed air through opening 2. A flange 9 carrying a washer 10 at the top of receptacle 7 is thus pressed against the underside of a filling head 11.

The filling head 11 contains a longitudinal closing channel 12 into which the aerosol valve 13 is dropped. For conveniently introducing the valve into the channel its upper end is slightly outwardly flared. Moreover, in order to prevent the aerosol valve from dropping straight through the channel, the inside wall of the filling head contains a ball 14, urged to project into the channel by the pressure of a spring 15. At the top the longitudinal closing channel is fitted with a sealing sleeve 16 adapted to form a seal between the walls of the channel and the plunger 17 of a ram 18.

Substantially the ram comprises a two-stage cylinder 18 containing two

pistons

19 and 20 and provided with air entry and

outlet openings

21, 22 and 23. The two pistons are fitted with sealing

rings

24 and 25 respectively. If air is admitted at 21 piston 20 is forced to descend and its piston rod 26 pushes piston 19 and its piston rod 27 and a plunger 17 downwards until the aerosol valve 13 in the channel of the filler head is intercepted by the projecting ball 14. Ring 16 forms a seal between the moving plunger 17 and the inside of the filling head.

A filling tube 28 which passes through a gland 29 in the filling head is advanced by a pneumatic cylinder 30 until the end of the tube is well inside the flask 8. The filling tube is advanced and retracted by admitting and exhausting compressed air through

openings

31 and 32 respectively. Piston 33 which is provided with a sealing ring 34 is thus retracted or advanced and carries the filling tube with it.

The filling tube is connected by a flexible pipe 35 to the filling valve 36 of a metering pump 37. Piston 38 which has a sealing ring 39 and which is attached to a piston rod 40 is raised and lowered, as indicated by a twin-headed arrow 41, by means not specially shown. When the piston ascends, inlet valve 42 opens and the cylinder fills with the liquid which is to be pumped into the aerosol flask. The piston or its piston rod 40 is fitted with adjustable stop means for regulating the stroke. When piston 38 descends the filling valve 36 opens and the product, for instance a liquid propellant gas such as Freon, is forced through tube 28 into the aerosol flask 8. Compressed air is now admitted into cylinder 30 through opening 32, causing the fillihg tube 28 to be withdrawn from the flask. As soon as this has been done, compressed air is admitted through 22 into the two-stage cylinder 18. Piston 19 together with plunger 17 therefore descend and push the aerosol valve 13 further down and firmly on to the neck of flask 8.

The valve is then secured by the application of radial pressure by an assembly of closing instruments 43 which press the edges of the valve against the periphery of the neck of the flask, deforming the valve immediately below the thickened lip of the aerosol flask 8.

FIG. 2 illustrates the manner in which the closing instruments 43 push the edge of the aerosol valve 13 against the neck of the glass flask 8 below the thickened lip 8a of its mouth. The deformation of the aerosol valve simultaneously causes a rubber washer 13a inside the aerosol valve 13 to be pulled tightly down on to an annular rib 8b projecting from the top of the lip of the flask, thus ensuring the formation of a reliable air-tight seal between valve and flask.

The closing instruments 43 are forced inwards by the downward thrust of a bevel ring 44 which cooperates with pins 45 to which the closing instruments are attached and pushes them radially inwards. When the ring 44 is withdrawn upwards, the pins 45 are free to be retracted radially outwards by the pull of springs 46.

Ring 44 is actuated by a piston 48 which carries a sealing ring 49, and which is reciprocable in a cylinder 47. Piston rod 50 carries a disc 51 connected to ring 44 by several vertical columns 52.

Air can be admitted into cylinder 47 through openings 53 or 54 for lowering or raising the piston 48 as may be required. Finally, compressed air is introduced through opening 3 into cylinder 1 and the receptacle 7 is thus withdrawn downwards away from the filling head 11, permitting the filled and closed flask to be taken out of the receptacle. By admitting air through opening 23 the two pistons 19 and are lifted and the plunger 17 is withdrawn from the longitudinal channel, so that a fresh aerosol valve can be dropped into the top of the channel. Cylinder 1 is pivotably mounted on a base 56, permitting the cylinder to be swung away from the machine and glass flasks to be conveniently loaded into or taken out of the receptacle.

When an aerosol valve 13 with a badly bent dip tube is dropped into the closing channel it is possible for the tube to catch on the edge of the lip of the aerosol flask. This difliculty can be avoided by building a centering element into the bottom end of the closing channel 12. FIG. 8 illustrates the construction of such an element. This may have the form of an elastically flexible funnel 55 with a plurality of slits extending upwards as far as its horizontal fixing flange. The end of the dip tube will then safely slip into the inside of the flask through this funnel. The slim elastic blades into which the slits divide the walls of the funnel can yield outwardly when the aerosol valve 13 is forced by plunger 17 on to the neck of the flask.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 the pneumatic cylinder 101 which is provided with air entry and

outlet openings

102 and 103, and which contains a piston 104 with a sealing ring 105 and a piston rod 106 carries a lifting table 107 for supporting a metal aerosol can 108 which is to be filled. To this end piston 105 is first lowered by the admission of compressed air through opening 103 and the exhaustion of air through opening 102. For raising the table 107 air is admitted through 102 and exhausted through 103. The top of the aerosol can 108 is thus pushed against the underside of a sealing ring 110 fitted into the bottom of a filling head 111.

The filling head 111 comprises a longitudinal closing channel 112 into which the fresh aerosol valve can be dropped. To facilitate this being done the upper opening of the channel is slightly outwardly flared. Moreover, in order to prevent the valve from dropping straight through the channel the wall of the channel contains an intercepting ball 114 which is urged to project into the channel by a compression spring 115. At the top the closing channel is fitted with a sealing ring 116 which cooperates with the circumference of the slide 117 of a ram 118 when the slide enters the closing channel 112 after this has been loaded with an aerosol valve 113.

The ram substantially comprises a ram cylinder 118 containing a ram piston 119 with a sealing ring 120. Cylinder 118 is provided with two air entry and

outlet openings

121 and 122. If air is admitted through 121 the piston 119 will descend, lowering slide 117 until the aerosol valve 113 in the closing channel has been pushed into contact with the intercepting ball 114. Ring 116 provides a seal between the slide 117 and the inside of the filling head. The end of the hollow slide 117 carries a sealing ring 123 which makes a seal with the aerosol valve 113.

The filling head contains a duct 124 through which the product that is to be filled, such as the propellant gas Freon, is introduced. This duct is connected with the filling valve 136 of a metering pump 137. The piston 138, which carries a sealing ring 139, and piston rod 140 can be raised and lowered as indicated by a'twin-headed arrow 141 by actuating means not specially shown. When the piston ascends the inlet valve 142 opens, allowing a metered quantity of liquid to enter. The piston or its piston rod is provided with adjustable stop means for determining the stroke of the piston. When the piston 138 descends the filling valve 136 opens and the product, such as the liquid propellant gas Freon, is forced through duct 124 into the aerosol can 108. During its previous descent ram piston 119 had been arrested by the piston rod 125 of an arresting cylinder 126. Piston rod 125 belongs to a piston 127 carrying a sealing ring 128. The cylinder is provided with two air entry and

outlet openings

129 and 130. Compressed air is now admitted through 130 into the arresting cylinder 126, causing piston 127 to be withdrawn to the left and thereby to permit the ram piston 119 to continue its descent and to press the aerosol valve on to the edge of the aerosol can 108.

The cylindrical hollow slide 117 contains an expanding closing tool 131. The bottom ends of the divided segments of this closing tool constitute bulbous closing instruments. The can is closed by the descent of an inner slide 132 which forces the closing instruments 131 against the skirt of the aerosol valve and by deforming the same causing the valve to be tightly fixed over the beaded rim of the aerosol can.

The inner slide 132 is raised and lowered by the closing cylinder 147. This contains a piston 148 with a sealing ring 149. The inner slide 132 is screwed into the bottom end of the piston rod 150 of the closing piston 148. Compressed air can be admitted alternately through

opening

153 and 154. When compressed air enters through 153 the piston and its slide descend, when the air enters through 154 the piston and its slide rise. The closing cylinder 147 and ram piston 119 are integrally connected by a sleeve 134. Consequently, the closing cylinder 147 will be raised and lowered together with ram piston 119.

When the aerosol can has been filled and closed by the sealing instruments, ram piston 119, the closing cylinder 147, and the outer slide 117 all ascend, thus making room for the introduction of a fresh aerosol valve into the closing channel 112. At the same time piston 104 and its table 107 carrying the aerosol can 108 descend, permitting the sealed can to be removed and to be replaced by a fresh open can.

FIG. 4 illustrates a modification of the machine according to FIG. 3 in which the closing means can be deflectably moved out of alignment with the axis of the closing channel 112 to facilitate the insertion of aerosol valves 108 into the channel. The outer slide 117 and the closing instruments 131 are shown in full lines to indicate their operative position whereas the contour in discontinuous lines indicates the position of the closing head when deflected out of the way.

FIG. 5 is an arrangement which can be advantageously associated with a filling machine according to the invention fitted with an indexing table. A three-armed spider 202 which can be rotated about its axis 200 by the indexing table 201 carries a filling

head

203, 204 and 205 at the end of each arm, each head being associated with the necessary feed means (lifting tables) for aerosol cans to which aerosol valves are to be fitted. The propellant gas which is to be metered into the cans enters through the hollow center shaft 200 which has an opening 206 facing the filling head 205. The two other filling heads 203 and 204 cannot therefore receive the product which is to be filled into the cans until they have been indexed into the position now occupied by filling head 205. This is the position in which the filling head aligns with a closing device 207 indicated by a dotted circle in the drawing. The cans and aerosol valves are loaded at station 204. The table 201 is then indexed to the next station 205 where the aerosol can is lifted, the aerosol valve is pushed downwards into a first stage position, the product is filled,

the aerosol valve is further advanced in a second stage movement and secured by the closing instruments. The table is indexed again carrying the closed can into position 203, whence the filled and sealed cans can be removed by hand or by mechanical ejector means not specially shown.

FIG. 6 is an embodiment of a similar device to that shown in FIG. 5, comprising an indexing table 301 with three

stations

303, 304 and 305. This embodiment is a modification of the glass bottle filling machine illustrated in FIG. 1. In this machine the closing instruments move together with the filling head. On the other hand, the filling tube (28 in FIG. 1), ring 44 and plunger 17 are completely retracted from the filling head 11 to permit the filling head to be indexed. The dotted line circle 307 represents the closing means and ring 44. Whereas in FIG. 5 the product enters through the hollow centre shaft, it is admitted in the present embodiment through the filling tube 328, corresponding to tube 28 in FIG. 1, which is pushed into the filling head by an actuating cylinder 330 containing a piston 333 with a sealing ring 334.

' The metering pump 37 (FIG. 1) is thus placed into communication with the bottle that is to be filled. The filling valve 336 which corresponds to filling valve 36 in FIG. 1, is connected to the filling tube 328 by a flexible pipe 335. Otherwise the operations are exactly analogous to those in embodiment 4, as shown in FIG. 5.

In the majority of aerosol products two liquids are filled into the aerosol container, namely a non-volatile product, such as an insecticide, and a vaporisin-g pressure-generating medium, such as the propellant gas Freon. Moreover, it is frequently desirable to remove the air from the aerosol cans and bottles before the propellant gas is introduced. FIG. 7 illustrates the principle of a rotary machine which dilfers from that shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 by comprising a further station for filling an additional product and/or an additional station for the introduction of a gas for flushing the air out of the container. The indexing table 401 rotates the six stations 403 to 408 in the arrowed direction. The empty can is loaded into the machine at 403. At 404 the first nonvolatile product is introduced. This may be done through a filling tube which descends through the open closing channel of the filling head. At 405 a small quantity of a propellant gas is blown in through a similar tube, the vaporisation of this gas expelling the air from the can. The valve is inserted into the closing channel from above at station 406. Station 407 is located below the closing means 408 (dotted circle). At this station the first stage descent of the aerosol valve, the introduction of the second product (propellant gas), the second stage descent of the aerosol valve and the fixation of the valve on the top of the bottle by the closing instruments is efiected. At station 408 the closed full aerosol containers are removed or ejected.

The indexing tables illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are not exclusively applicable to the closing devices illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4 and 8. They can also be used in association with alternative known filling and closing machines. More particularly, the filling device shown in FIG. 6 which is laterally movable in relation to the machine is not restricted in application to closing means and indexing table arrangements according to the invention.

Iclaim:

1. Apparatus for filling aerosol containers and applying a valved closure thereto, comprising: a filling head having therein an axially extended closure feed passageway open at one end for the reception of valved closures; means for supporting a container having an open upper end in axially aligned spaced relation to the other end of said passageway; means for moving said filling head and said supporting means toward one another; means for supporting a valved closure in said feed passageway; means for forming a sealed chamber between the open upper end of said container and said valved closure upon said movement of said filling head and said supporting means; means for introducing a propellant under pressure into said chamber to fill said container; means including a member movable into the open end of said passageway and shiftable in said passageway for forcing said valved closure into engagement with the open upper end of said container; and means for deforming said valved closure into interlocked engagement with said open upper end of said container.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for forcing said valved closure into engagement with the open upper end of said container comprises means for moving said member axially with respect to said passageway and out of said one end thereof to allow the placement in said passageway of said valved closure.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for forcing said valved closure into engagement with the open upper end of said container comprises means for moving said member axially with respect to said passageway and out of said one end thereof to allow the placement in said passageway of said valved closure and for returning said member into said passageway, and said means for forming a sealed chamber including sealing means cooperative with said member in said passageway for sealing said passageway above said valved closure.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for introducing a propellant into said chamber comprises a supply tube and means mounting said supply tube for movement into and out of the open upper end of said container between a closure in said passageway and the open upper end of said container.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for introducing a propellant into said chamber comprises an inlet passage in said filling head leading into said passageway between a valved closure in said passageway and the open upper end of said container, and means for forcing said propellant material through said inlet passage.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for supporting a valved closure in said passageway includes retractible means projecting into said feed passageway for positioning a valved closure in spaced relation to the open upper end of said container prior to engagement of said member with said valved closure.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said valved closure is provided with a portion adapted to be disposed exteriorly of a neck on said container and wherein said means for deforming said valved closure includes means carried by said filling head and operable to deform said portion of said valved closure into clamped engagement with said neck of said container.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said valved closure is provided with a portion adapted to be disposed within the open upper end of said container and said means for deforming said valved closure includes means carried by said member for forcing said valve closures into engagement with the open upper end of said container for deforming said portion into clamped engagement with said open upper end of said container.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for supporting a container comprises a receptacle for said container, said means for moving said filling head and said supporting means toward one another including actuator means for moving said receptacle toward and away from said filling head, and said means for forming a sealed chamber including sealing means between said receptacle and said filling head.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for supporting a container comprises a table for said container, said means for moving said filling head and said supporting means toward one another including actuator means for moving said table toward and away from said filling head, and said means for forming a sealed chamber including sealing means carried by said filling head and engageable with said container upon movement of said table toward said filling head.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein guide means is provided in said passageway for guiding into the open upper end of said container a dip tube depending from said valved closure as the latter is moved toward the open upper end of said container, said guide means including resiliently outwardly flexible elements for allowing the passage of said valved closure through said guide means.

12. The method of charging an aerosol container with a propellant under pressure and applying a valved closure to the container, comprising: positioning a container having an open upper end in coaxial alignment with a closure feed passage in a filling head; placing a valved closure in one end of said feed passageway in axially spaced relation to the open upper end of said container; forming a sealed chamber below said valved closure in said passageway and disposing the open upper end of said container in said chamber; introducing a propellant charge into said sealed chamber and filling said container therewith; forcing said valved closure axially from the other end of said feed passageway and into engagement with the open upper end of said container; and deforming said valved closure into interlocked engagement with the open upper end of said container while maintaining said sealed chamber.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,406,703 2/ 1922 Townsend 53-95 2,881,576 4/1959 Nebinger 53-88 2,947,126 8/1960 Focht 53-88 2,958,170 11/1960 Mayer 53112 X 2,973,609 3/1961 Morgan 53-112 3,157,974 11/1964 Stanley et al 53112 X TRAVIS S. MCGEHEE. Primary Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No 3 ,336 ,720 August 22 1967 Egon Johann Honisch It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

lines

9 and 10, "closing channel" should read Column 4 Column 6 line 50 channel or closure feed passageway "108" should read 113 Signed and sealed this 15th day of January 1970.

Attest:

Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR

Claims

12. THE METHOD OF CHARGING AN AEROSOL CONTAINER WITH A PROPELLANT UNDER PRESSURE AND APPLYING A VALVED CLOSURE TO THE CONTAINER, COMPRISING: POSITIONING A CONTAINER HAVING AN OPEN UPPER END IN COAXIAL ALIGNMENT WITH A CLOSURE FEED PASSAGE IN A FILLING HEAD; PLACING A VALVED CLOSURE IN ONE END OF SAID FEED PASSAGEWAY IN AXIALLY SPACED RELATION TO THE UPPER END OF SAID CONTAINER; FORMING A SEALED CHAMBER BELOW SAID VALVED CLOSURE IN SAID PASSAGEWAY AND DISPOSING THE OPEN UPPER END OF SAID CONTAINER IN SAID CHAMBER; INTRODUCING A PROPELLANT CHARGE INTO SAID SEALED CHAMBER AND FILLING SAID CONTAINER THEREWITH; FORCING SAID VALVED CLOSURE AXIALLY FROM THE OTHER END OF SAID FEED PASSAGEWAY AND INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH THE OPEN UPPER END OF SAID CONTAINER; AND DEFORMING SAID VALVED CLOSURE INTO INTERLOCKED ENGAGEMENT WITH THE OPEN UPPER END OF SAID CONTAINER WHILE MAINTAINING SAID SEALED CHAMBER.