Fluid medium dispensing system and a method of assembling a dispensing system for a fluid medium

Abstract

The present invention provides a fluid medium dispensing system () for dispensing a fluid medium stored under pressure. The system () comprises a container () for storing the fluid medium under pressure, the container () comprising a neck () defining an opening (). A valve cup () supporting a valve () closes the opening () of the container (). Contiguous portions () of the valve cup () and the neck () are comprised of plastics materials. The plastics materials of these contiguous portions () are fused to form a molten weld seam () by laser welding thereby sealing the container (). Preferably, the plastics material of the neck () of the container () is laser-transparent and the plastics material of the valve cup () is laser-absorbing. Advantageously, the plastics material of the valve cup () is a semi-crystalline polymer. The invention also provides a method of assembling a dispensing system () for a fluid medium. In the method a valve cup () is provided that has at least a peripheral portion thereof that is comprised of a plastics material and that includes a valve (). A container () is provided that is suitable for storing the fluid medium under pressure and that comprises a neck () comprised of a plastics material. The neck () defines an opening () and the valve cup () is positioned at the opening (). The internal volume of the container () is then charged before the valve cup () is pressed into the neck () of the container (). The plastics materials of the valve cup () and the neck () are then fused together to form the molten weld seam (;) by laser welding thereby sealing the container ().