Patent Application
20160325917
1. Field of the Technology
The disclosure relates to the field of valves for needle valves, in particular to needle valves for use in an aerosol can.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Aerosol paint is commonly used for small painting tasks. Various paint types and container sizes are used to meet a variety of needs. The paint is generally contained in a pressurized can, and a simple nozzle resides on a stem extending from the top of the can. The stem extends from an underlying valve which is activated or opened by pressing downwardly on the stem. The nozzles typically are removable to clean or replace if necessary.
While aerosol paint cans provide ease of use, they are not very versatile. In contrast, common air brushes allow adjustment of a spray pattern, and thus allow for much more detailed or controlled painting. Unfortunately, air brushes also have added cost and require a separate compressed air source. As a result, aerosol cans with nozzles are much more common than air brushes, and adjustable nozzles have been developed for such aerosol cans to overcome some of the deficiencies of non-adjustable nozzles.
Furthermore, spray nozzles designed for standard paint are inadequate for texture based paints. Texture based paint, also known as “orange peel” or “mud,” is paint that has been premixed with particulate matter so that when applied to a surface such as a wall or ceiling, a textured or relief surface is created. Textured paint will often be used in place of wallpaper and is becoming increasingly popular as a home décor option. Because textured paint comprises particulate matter which may clog or otherwise block the internal pathways of a standard aerosol can spray nozzle, it must be applied by high powered and large air guns which are dedicated for applying textured paints only. In some cases, textured paint may only be applied with a brush or paint roller, thus dramatically increasing the length of time required for application.
Previously known adjustable nozzles include cylindrical adjusters cooperating with valving portions of fluid passages, thereby allowing adjustment of a fluid flow through the fluid passage. The fluid passages are in fluid cooperation with the stem extending from a spray can and include a vertical portion and a horizontal portion comprising the valving portion. Unfortunately, because the valving portion is not aligned with the vertical portion, the valves are difficult to clean, and therefore clog easily. Additionally, these type of nozzles do not provide means to adjust a spray pattern from the nozzles. Other nozzles currently used which do comprise a vertical portion that is in alignment with the valving portion still do not provide a means for regulated fluid flow.
What is needed therefore is an adjustable needle valve that may be fitted with a standard aerosol can which allows for the adjustable and customizable application of a fluid flow for paint or any other compressed liquid.
The current invention is an apparatus for adjusting a spray pattern emitted from an aerosol container. The apparatus includes a nozzle body with an internal cavity defined therein. A cam may be removably inserted into the nozzle body, along with an orifice insert and an insert tip. Specifically, the cam is disposed through the internal cavity and allows for the selectively altering of the vertical position of the insert tip with respect to the internal cavity of the nozzle body.
In one particular embodiment, the cam has a cam shaft which is disposed through and is in surface contact with a cam groove defined in the surface of the insert tip. Additionally, the cam shaft includes a protrusion on its surface while the cam groove defined in the insert tip has an outer cam radius and an inner cam radius. The center of the outer cam radius is defined at the surface of the insert tip while the center of the inner cam radius is defined at a maximum depth of the outer cam radius. In this embodiment, the protrusion on the cam shaft is in surface contact with the inner cam radius of the cam groove while the remainder of the cam shaft itself is in surface contact with the outer cam radius of the cam groove.
In another embodiment, the nozzle body has a nozzle arm, a stem passage, and a valve seat situated between the nozzle arm and the stem passage. Both the nozzle arm and stem passage are fluidly communicated to the internal cavity within the nozzle body. The insert tip in this embodiment is configured to form a seal with the valve seat when the apparatus is in a closed position.
In yet another embodiment the cam also includes a locking tip on the distal end of the cam shaft. The locking tip allows the cam to be removably and selectively attached to the nozzle body.
In yet another embodiment, the orifice insert has an internal orifice passageway and an opening which is fluidly communicated to the internal orifice passageway. The orifice insert is inserted into an internal arm passageway defined within the nozzle arm and may be selectively rotated while within the internal arm passageway. The internal orifice passageway of the orifice insert is in turn fluidly communicated to the internal arm passageway of the nozzle arm. In one particular embodiment, the opening within the orifice insert is configured to provide a flat spray pattern when fluid is passing through the opening under pressure.
The invention further includes a method for adjusting a spray pattern emitted from an aerosol container. The method includes attaching a nozzle body to a stem of the aerosol container. A cam shaft is then inserted into a cam groove defined in the surface of a removable insert tip that has been previously dropped into the nozzle body. The lower end of the insert tip is then raised and lowered from a valve seat disposed within the nozzle body to open and close the nozzle assembly, respectively. An orifice insert may also be removably attached to the nozzle body as needed.
In one embodiment, inserting the cam shaft into the cam groove defined in the surface of the removable insert tip specifically includes inserting the cam shaft into an outer radius of the cam groove while also inserting a protrusion disposed on the cam shaft into an inner radius of the cam groove. Here, the center of the outer cam radius is defined at the surface of the insert tip and while the center of the inner cam radius is defined at a maximum depth of the outer cam radius. In this embodiment, raising the lower end of the insert tip from the valve seat disposed within the nozzle body is accomplished by first rotating the cam shaft disposed within the nozzle body in a first direction. While being rotated, the cam shaft makes continuous contact with the outer radius of the cam groove while at the same time, the protrusion makes continuous contact with the inner radius of the cam groove. The rotation in turn raises the vertical position of the inset tip with respect to the valve seat. Conversely, the user lowers the lower end of the insert tip onto the valve seat by rotating the cam shaft disposed within the nozzle body in the opposing direction. As the insert tip is being lowered, continuous surface contact between the cam shaft and the outer radius of the cam groove and between the protrusion and the inner radius of the cam groove while the cam shaft is being rotated is maintained.
In one particular embodiment, manipulating the orifice insert that is removably coupled to the nozzle body includes inserting the orifice insert into a nozzle arm disposed on the nozzle body and then rotating the orifice insert with respect to the nozzle arm and changing the orientation of an opening disposed within the orifice insert.
In yet another embodiment, inserting the cam shaft into the cam groove defined in the surface of a removable insert tip which is disposed in the nozzle body includes inserting the cam shaft through a cam aperture defined in the nozzle body. The cam shaft is then slid through a cam passage defined in the nozzle body and a distal end of the cam shaft is pushed through a locking aperture defined in the nozzle body. Finally, the cam shaft is locked into position within the nozzle body, while the cam shaft is still allowed to rotate in the locked position. In this embodiment, the cam groove is defined in the surface of the insert tip which is orientated towards the cam shaft. Additionally in this embodiment, the sliding of the cam shaft through the cam passage defined in the nozzle body further includes inserting the cam shaft into an outer radius of the cam groove while simultaneously inserting a protrusion disposed on the cam shaft into an inner radius of the cam groove.
In a further embodiment, the method also includes inserting the insert tip into the nozzle body through a tip aperture defined in the nozzle body. Here, the insert tip is also removed from the nozzle body through the tip aperture defined in the nozzle body.
While the apparatus and method has or will be described for the sake of grammatical fluidity with functional explanations, it is to be expressly understood that the claims, unless expressly formulated under 35 USC 112, are not to be construed as necessarily limited in any way by the construction of “means” or “steps” limitations, but are to be accorded the full scope of the meaning and equivalents of the definition provided by the claims under the judicial doctrine of equivalents, and in the case where the claims are expressly formulated under 35 USC 112 are to be accorded full statutory equivalents under 35 USC 112. The disclosure can be better visualized by turning now to the following drawings wherein like elements are referenced by like numerals.
The disclosure and its various embodiments can now be better understood by turning to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments which are presented as illustrated examples of the embodiments defined in the claims. It is expressly understood that the embodiments as defined by the claims may be broader than the illustrated embodiments described below.
An adjustable nozzle assembly according to the present invention is shown generally in
Greater detail of the nozzle body 12 may be seen in
Greater detail of the cam 18 may be had by turning to
The insert tip 14 is seen in greater detail within
Detail of how the nozzle assembly 10 operates including how the cam 18 interacts with the insert tip 14 and nozzle body 12 can be seen in
With the insert tip 14 in place, the cam 18 is coupled to the nozzle body 12 via the cam aperture 38. The cam 18 is inserted in the housing 20 of the nozzle body 12 by first inserting the locking tip 48 and cam shaft 44 through the cam aperture 38 and into the cam passage 36. Because the cam groove 56 of the insert tip 14 is orientated towards the cam passage 36, the cam shaft 44, cam protrusion 46, and locking tip 48 are all able to pass in their entirety into and through the cam passage 36. The cam 18 is continually pushed into the nozzle body 12 until the locking tip 48 of the cam 18 makes contact with the inner surface of the locking aperture 40 disposed on the opposing surface of the nozzle body 12. Because the locking tip 48 comprises a substantially tapered shape as seen in
As discussed above, as the cam shaft 44 moves through the cam passage 36, it also moves through the cam groove 56 of the insert tip 14. Specifically, the cam shaft 44 slides into the outer cam radius 58 from a perpendicular direction relative to the insert tip 14 while the cam protrusion 46 similarly slides into the inner cam radius 60 as best seen in
Like the insert tip 14, the orifice insert 16 is also removably coupled to the nozzle body 12. The orifice insert 16 is maneuvered towards the nozzle arm 24, specifically with the plug 64 of the orifice insert 16 orientated towards the nozzle aperture 26. The plug 64 is inserted into the nozzle aperture 26 and forms a friction fit as is known in the art with the internal surface of the nozzle arm 24. The orifice insert 16 comprises an internal orifice passageway 72 defined therein as seen in
To operate the nozzle assembly 10, the nozzle assembly 10 is orientated above the stem of an aerosol can (not shown). The stem of the aerosol can is inserted into the stem connector 22 portion of the nozzle body 12. The user may then adjust the insert tip 14 and thus fluid flow within the nozzle body 12 by manipulating the cam 18. Specifically, the user may rotate the cam body 42 which in turn rotates the cam shaft 44 and cam protrusion 46 in the same corresponding direction. For example, as seen from the cross sectional view of
Conversely, if the cam body 42 is rotated in the opposing clockwise direction, the cam shaft 44 and cam protrusion 46 likewise rotate in the clockwise direction which pushes the insert tip 14 back downwards within the internal cavity 34 of the nozzle body 12. The cam shaft 44 may continuously be rotated in the clockwise direction until the distal end 54 of the insert tip 14 once again makes surface contact with the valve seat 74 portion of the housing 20. As the distal end 54 of the insert tip 14 is brought down towards the valve seat 74, the volume of the space between the stem passage 68 and the internal cavity 34 becomes increasingly smaller until contact is made between the valve seat 74 and distal end 54 which then stops all fluid flowing from the aerosol can. At this point, the nozzle assembly 10 is in the closed position and no fluid is being emitted from the aerosol can at all.
After the fluid as entered the internal cavity 34 of the nozzle body 12 via the stem passage 68 and open valve seat 74, the bottom portion of the insert tip 14 blocks any further upward movement of the fluid and instead directs the flow of the fluid towards the nozzle arm 24. Specifically, the fluid flow enters the arm passageway 70 defined in the nozzle arm 24 and then the orifice passageway 72 of the orifice insert 16. As seen in
It is important to note that the nozzle assembly 10 may be operated not only at the open position described above, but at any point between the closed position and the open position so as to provide an adjustable gradient of fluid flow. For example, a user may rotate the cam 18 to provide a large volume of fluid to be dispensed by the aerosol can and then decide to decrease the volume of the fluid being emitted by rotating the cam 18 in the opposing direction without completely turning the nozzle assembly 10 off.
Because the orifice insert 16 and the insert tip 14 are removable, this allows for a near limitless amount of user customization. Specifically, an insert tip comprising an alternatively shaped or contoured surface other than what is explicitly shown and described above may be inserted into the nozzle body which changes the dynamics of the fluid passing through the nozzle assembly. For example, an insert tip comprising a scalloped surface would change the dimensions of the internal volume available for the fluid to pass through, thereby changing the flow characteristics and velocity of the fluid as it is emitted from the opening 66 and altering its resulting spray pattern. Similarly, an orifice insert comprising an alternatively shaped opening other than what is described above could be inserted into the nozzle arm 24 and provide a multitude of differently shaped spray patterns (i.e. conical) for a variety of different fluid types such as textured paint and the like.
Many alterations and modifications may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments. Therefore, it must be understood that the illustrated embodiment has been set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as limiting the embodiments as defined by the following embodiments and its various embodiments.
Therefore, it must be understood that the illustrated embodiment has been set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as limiting the embodiments as defined by the following claims. For example, notwithstanding the fact that the elements of a claim are set forth below in a certain combination, it must be expressly understood that the embodiments includes other combinations of fewer, more or different elements, which are disclosed in above even when not initially claimed in such combinations. A teaching that two elements are combined in a claimed combination is further to be understood as also allowing for a claimed combination in which the two elements are not combined with each other, but may be used alone or combined in other combinations. The excision of any disclosed element of the embodiments is explicitly contemplated as within the scope of the embodiments.
The words used in this specification to describe the various embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings, but to include by special definition in this specification structure, material or acts beyond the scope of the commonly defined meanings. Thus if an element can be understood in the context of this specification as including more than one meaning, then its use in a claim must be understood as being generic to all possible meanings supported by the specification and by the word itself.
The definitions of the words or elements of the following claims are, therefore, defined in this specification to include not only the combination of elements which are literally set forth, but all equivalent structure, material or acts for performing substantially the same function in substantially the same way to obtain substantially the same result. In this sense it is therefore contemplated that an equivalent substitution of two or more elements may be made for any one of the elements in the claims below or that a single element may be substituted for two or more elements in a claim. Although elements may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, it is to be expressly understood that one or more elements from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination and that the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.
Insubstantial changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art, now known or later devised, are expressly contemplated as being equivalently within the scope of the claims. Therefore, obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of the defined elements.
The claims are thus to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above, what is conceptionally equivalent, what can be obviously substituted and also what essentially incorporates the essential idea of the embodiments.
