Valve and retainer assembly for latex balloons

Abstract

A valve and retainer assembly particularly useful for latex balloons includes a valve body and a band valve. The valve body has a radial shoulder where the neck and mouth of a latex balloon may be received to affix the balloon to the valve body. A hollow stem extends from a first open end to a second closed end, and a one-way valve allows gas to be introduced through a fill aperture in the stem and into the balloon affixed to the retainer portion. The stem includes a bell mouth at the open end to facilitate the creation of a hermetic seal with valves of gas storage tanks and to improve the efficiency of filling said balloons. The one-way valve includes a band valve positioned around the stem and covering the fill aperture. Fingers may be provided on a top surface of the radial shoulder to retain the band valve against movement under high pressure.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention generally resides in the art of balloon devices and accessories. More particularly, the present invention relates to a valve and retainer assembly for a latex balloon, and its method of use.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The use of latex balloons as decorations for parties, celebrations, grand openings, and other events is well known, and millions of balloons are so used each year. At many of these events, a substantially large number of latex balloons are decoratively employed, and, many times, the latex balloons are printed with indicia that is particular to the specific event. In such cases, the balloons are special ordered, at significant expense. Decorating the event may also entail a significant expense inasmuch as a great amount of time and effort is required to fill these latex balloons and affix them to ribbons or balloon sticks, for display at the event. Thus, manufacturers involved with providing such balloons have endeavored t...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]To use such a valve and retainer assembly, the mouth of a latex balloon, which is typically defined by a rolled portion of balloon material, is stretched over the radial shoulder such that the fill portion of the stem extends into the interior of the balloon. In this configuration, gas pressure applied through the hollow of the stem can only escape the stem through the at least one fill aperture, and, thus, will cause the flexible band valve to flex to allow gas to flow from the hollow of the stem through the fill portion and out the at least one fill aperture therein. When a balloon is fixed to the valve and retainer assembly as just described, gas flowing through the hollow of the stem from the valve of a storage tank will fill the balloon. When the flow of gas is stopped the band valve reverts to covering the at least one fill aperture to prevent gas from flowing out from the balloon into the hollow of the stem. Thus, the band valve is a one-way valve that allows a balloon affixed to the valve and retainer assembly to be filled with gas and sealed, without tying the neck of the balloon. This significantly increases the speed at which multiple latex balloons might be filled from a pressurized gas source and, thereafter, employed to decorate a particular event. The bell mouth further improves efficiency by facilitating creation of a hermetic seal between the open end and the valve of a storage tank.

Problems solved by technology

In such cases, the balloons are special ordered, at significant expense.

Decorating the event may also entail a significant expense inasmuch as a great amount of time and effort is required to fill these latex balloons and affix them to ribbons or balloon sticks, for display at the event.

The prior art valve and retainer assemblies, however, are quite complex, and are undesirably difficult to manufacture, assemble, and use.

It has also been found that some valve designs suffer from creating too much noise during inflation of a balloon.

For instance, under high pressure the band valve may, under certain circumstances, be completely dislodged from the valve body, thereby rendering the assembly unusable.

This may be caused by a choice in material of the band valve that is not ideal for the intended purpose.

In addition, the stem of the valve body does not work efficiently with some inflator valves because it is improperly shaped to interact with many of the common filling valves employed in the industry.

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