An aerosol dispenser of the hand-held type adapted to discharge fluid under pressure when held in either an upright or an inverted position. The dispenser comprises a can or container, an actuator valve carried thereby and a special dip tube assembly including concentric inner and outer tubes defining an annular channel therebetween. The inner dip tube at one end is carried on a hollow depending boss which communicates with the interior of the valve housing. The outer dip tube is similarly carried at one end, but on a larger diameter, notched portion of the housing, the notches providing communication between the annular channel and the upper interior of the can adjacent the valve. The other end of the outer dip tube carries a gravity-operated check valve. The arrangement is such that when the container is in the upright position, the check valve is open whereby the inner dip tube can receive fluid directly from the lower part of the container to be discharged through the actuator valve. In the inverted position, the check valve closes to prevent the propellant gas in the container from escaping. Fluid is then drawn past the notches in the housing and into the annular channel. It thereafter enters the inner dip tube and is discharged through the actuator valve.

A valve is provided for use with a pressurized dispenser of the type intended for both upright and inverted operation. The valve includes a valve body having an inclined inverting fluid chamber which houses a weighted ball. A pick-up tube is connected to each end of the inclined chamber, one is directed to the lower end of the container and the other to the upper end. The ball is movable within the inclined chamber between one end and the other and is adapted to close off one of the inlets, depending on which end it is located. External forces such as gravity or those forces developed during shaking or swirling movement of the container influence the location of the ball within the chamber. A stem portion of the valve includes an upper nozzle output and a lower divider portion. The divider is adapted to enter the inclined chamber during depression of the stem and retain the immediate location of the ball (one end or the other) prior to the valve opening. The ball's movement is prevented regardless of any external forces acting on the valve.

A manually operated pump sprayer that does not leak contents through the air inlet vent port during operation when the bottle is oriented so that the inlet vent port would be covered with liquid in a spray bottle to which the sprayer is mounted. The pump sprayer is devised as having an air inlet unit which includes the air inlet vent port in liquid communication with an extension tube which in turn is in liquid communication with a storage volume which in turn is in liquid communication with a liquid control orifice. An entrance end to the tube is positioned at a location farthest from the discharge exit opening of the sprayer, and the liquid control orifice is positioned closer to the exit opening such that when spraying in a downward direction such entrance end is always above the liquid level in the storage volume. Otherwise the entrance end is arranged as to be closer to the exit opening compared to the liquid control orifice such that when spraying in an upward direction the entrance end is above the liquid level in the storage volume.

An aerosol valve device for use with spray canisters using compressed gas as a propellant. The valve device comprises an aerosol valve and a connector for a riser tube which, in the operative condition, extends nearly to the bottom of an aerosol container. A two-way valve is provided between the aerosol valve and the connector. The two-way valve comprises a body with a central bore, in which two opposed valve seats are formed to seat a valve member movable to and fro between said valve seats, and an automatic actuating element for actuating said valve member control the valve member depending on the position of the container. The valve member cooperates with one valve seat to clear a connection between the riser tube and the aerosol valve and simultaneously to block a connection between the direct surroundings of the two-way valve and the aerosol valve, and cooperates with the other valve seat to block the connection between the reiser tube and the aerosol valve and at the same time to clear a connection between the direct surroundings of the two-way valve and the aerosol valve.

A pressurized fluid dispenser is provided with a shuttle member having a fluid inlet for withdrawing fluid from within the dispenser. A rigid guiding member is provided for guiding the shuttle member axially when the container is moved between respective upright and inverted orientations. One end of a helical flexible tube is connected in fluid communication with an internal fluid passageway formed in the shuttle member. The other end of the flexible tube is connected in fluid communication with a conduit formed in the guiding member. The conduit is connected with an externally-actuatable valve. Translation of the shuttle member upon the guiding member allows the dispenser to be operated in the respective upright and inverted orientations.