Claims for Patent: 7,350,676

Summary for Patent: 7,350,676

Title:	Valve for aerosol container
Abstract:	Valve for an aerosol container for dispensing a suspension of a substance in a liquid propellant contained therein. The valve comprises a valve body (1) having at least one orifice (16) to allow a quantity of the suspension to pass from the container into the valve. The valve further comprises a ring (18) disposed around the valve body (1), the ring being positioned below the at least one orifice to reduce the volume of suspension that can be accommodated within the container below the at least one orifice when the container is orientated with the valve at the bottom, the ring having at least one portion of reduced axial thickness to provide a trough (19) around the valve body below the at least one orifice.
Inventor(s):	Di Giovanni; Patrick (Le Vaudrueil, FR), Rogerson; Cheryl Vanessa (Essex, GB)
Assignee:	SmithKline Beecham Corporation (Philadelphia, PA)
Application Number:	11/107,517
Patent Claims:	1. A ring for a valve body of a valve assembly, the valve assembly being adapted for use in an aerosol container to dispense an aerosol suspension, the ring comprising: a hollow ring member that is arranged about a longitudinal axis which, in a use orientation, extends in an upward-downward direction, said ring member including a lateral base, which, in use, extends laterally outwardly from the valve body and an annular, longitudinal wall having inner and outer longitudinal surfaces that are upstanding from said base, said annular wall including a plurality of angularly spaced-apart longitudinal slots formed therein that extend from said inner surface to said outer surface to form a plurality of vanes; wherein said base includes lateral upper and lower surfaces spaced longitudinally from one another and further wherein a trough is formed in said lateral upper surface, wherein said trough is defined by angularly spaced-apart trough segments, and wherein said trough segments are formed by angularly spaced-apart longitudinal ribs that are formed on said longitudinal inner surface of said annular wall and are disposed between said longitudinal slots.