This invention concerns sprayers for airless spraying of coatings such as paints and stains.
Airless sprayers are used to apply paint to surfaces such as walls and ceilings. A piston pump pulls the paint from a reservoir, such as a bucket, and outputs the paint through a hose under pressure. The pressure on the paint in the hose, downstream from the pump, can be 1,000-5,000 pounds per square inch. Paint under such pressure can atomize into a desired spray pattern when released through a small metal orifice for spaying the paint onto a surface. Such a process is referred to as airless painting because pressurized air is not used to atomize or otherwise propel the air. The paint is directed in the spray pattern by a gun which carries the small metal orifice as a nozzle. The gun is held by a hand of the operator to direct the spray pattern along the surface being painted. Conventionally, the pump unit remains stationary on the ground proximate the reservoir and moves paint down a hose which extends to a separate gun. However, portability is limited and the range of the painter is limited to the hose length as the paint unit is heavy and kept on the ground proximate the reservoir. An advantage of a conventional pump unit is easy field servicing and repair.
A handheld airless paint sprayer, as shown herein, is more portable than a conventional pump unit and is not limited by hose length. However, there remains a desire to have the handheld airless paint sprayer still be easily field serviceable and repairable.
Various embodiments concern a handheld paint sprayer for spraying a paint. The sprayer can comprise a shell body comprising a door that, when opened, exposes an opening into an interior of the shell body, the door configured to close over the opening. The sprayer can further comprise a trigger connected to a handle, a motor in the interior, and a paint reservoir connected to the shell body. The sprayer can further comprise a nozzle in fluid communication with the reservoir and a pump located in the interior of the shell body. The pump is operated by the motor, the pump configured to pump the paint from the reservoir out of the nozzle as a spray. The pump is removable from the interior of the shell body through the opening when the door is opened but is not removable through the opening when the door is closed.
Various embodiments concern a handheld paint sprayer for spraying a paint, the sprayer comprising: a shell body comprising a first side shell, a second side shell, and a door, the first side shell defining either a left side or a right side of the shell body, and the second side shell defining the other of the left side or the right side of the shell body, wherein the first side shell and the second side shell are fastened to each other to form an interior of the shell body, and wherein the door is removable to expose an opening into the interior. Such embodiments can further include a handle formed at least in part by the first side shell and the second side shell, a trigger connected to the handle, a motor in the interior of the shell body, and a reservoir connected to the shell body, the reservoir configured to hold the paint. Such embodiments can further include a nozzle in fluid communication with the reservoir and a pump located in the interior of the shell body, the pump operated by the motor, the pump configured to pump the paint from the reservoir out of the nozzle as a spray. Such embodiments can further include a drive mechanism located in the interior, the drive mechanism configured to convert rotational motion output by the motor into reciprocal motion that drives the pump. In such embodiments, the pump is removable from the interior of the shell body through the opening when the door is opened, and the pump is not removable from the interior through the opening when the door is closed and the first side shell is fastened to the second side shell.
Various embodiments are directed to a method of servicing a handheld paint sprayer, the method comprising opening a door of a shell body of the handheld paint sprayer, the opening of the door exposing an opening into an interior of the shell body, the shell body formed by a left side shell and a right side shell, the left side shell and the right side shell forming a handle of the paint sprayer. Such method can further includes removing a pump from the interior of the shell body through the opening while the left side shell and the right side shell remain fastened together. Such method can further include replacing the pump with the same or different pump in the interior of the shell body through the opening while the left side shell and the right side shell are fastened together.
The scope of this disclosure is not limited to this summary. Further inventive aspects are presented in the drawings and elsewhere in this specification and in the claims.
This disclosure makes use of multiple embodiments and examples to demonstrate various inventive aspects. The presentation of the featured embodiments and examples should be understood as demonstrating a number of open-ended combinable options and not restricted embodiments. Changes can be made in form and detail to the various embodiments and features without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure can be used to spray paint and/or other solutions. While paint will be used herein as an exemplar, it will be understood that this is merely one example and that other fluids (e.g., water, oil, stains, finishes, coatings, solvents, etc.) can be sprayed instead of paint.
The main exterior of the sprayer 1 is formed by a shell body 36. The shell body 36 is a polymer molded clamshell. A polymer molded clamshell is an inexpensive way to form a lightweight support structure having complex geometric features. The parts of the polymer molded clamshell can be formed by injection molding. The polymer may be any structural polymer, such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polycarbonate, polyamide, amongst other options.
The shell body 36 forms a handle 3 and an upper body portion 6. The shell body 36 splits into left and right hemispheres along the visible seam along both of the upper body portion 6 and the handle 3. The handle 3 is shaped to be grasped and held by one hand for supporting the sprayer 1. The handle 3 is elongated and generally orientated up and down. The upper body portion 6 is located above the handle 3 and is elongated front-to-back, generally orthogonal to the main body 6.
The shell body 36 includes a first shell side 5 and a second shell side 7. The first shell side 5 and the second shell side 7 fit together as a clamshell in which the first shell side 5 and the second shell side 7 have complementary edges that align to form an inner space. The second shell side 7 forms most of the right side of the sprayer 1, including the handle 3 and upper body portion 6. The shell body 36 further includes a door 8. The door 8 is on the same side of the sprayer 1 as the first shell side 5 (the left side in this embodiment). The first shell side 5 and the door 8 form most of the left side of the sprayer 1, including the handle 3 and upper body portion 6. However, unlike the second shell side 7 which forms all of one side (the right side in this embodiment) of the handle 3 and the upper body portion 6, the first shell side 5 forms all of the handle 3 but only part of the upper body portion 6 of the side (left side in this embodiment), the door 8 forming the other portion of the side of the upper body portion 6. The door 8 is removable, as further discussed herein.
Holes 30 are exposed on the right side of the sprayer 1. Holes 30 extend through the second side shell 7. The holes 30 align with complementary threaded holes (not shown) on the inside of the first side shell 5. Fasteners 33 extend into the holes 30. More specifically, the fasteners 33 engage with the second side shell 7 inside the holes 30 and further screw into the complementary threaded holes (not shown) on the inside of the first side shell 5. The fasteners 33 thereby secure and hold the first side shell 5 to the second side shell 7.
The sprayer 1 further includes a power source, which can be, as shown, a power cord which connects to a conventional electrical wall outlet. Various other sprayer embodiments can have a battery connected to the sprayer instead of the power cord.
As shown, a motor 16 is contained within the upper body portion 6. The motor 16 can be, for example, a high voltage electric motor (brushed or brushless). The motor 16 outputs rotational motion via a pinion which interfaces with a gear of drive 10. Rotational output from the motor 16 operates the drive 10 which converts the rotational motion into linear reciprocal motion. A wobble drive 10 is shown to convert rotational motion into linear reciprocal motion, although alternative mechanisms can instead be used, such as various yokes and/or cranks.
The reciprocal motion is used to operate the pump 14. The pump 14 includes a housing within which piston 17 reciprocates. While only one piston is shown in the view of
The reciprocating motion of the piston 17 pulls paint from within the reservoir 2 through the intake channel 15 and then into a chamber formed by the cylinder 18 and the piston 17 on an upstroke or back stroke and then expels the paint under pressure from the chamber on the downstroke or forward stroke. Upon being expelled from the chamber, the paint passes through valve 21, which is located within the pump 14. The fluid output pathways from the three piston/cylinder combinations combine within the pump 14 into a single pathway that flows into the valve body 12. The paint passes through valve 19 which is located within the valve body 12. Under pressure from the pump 14, the paint flows to the nozzle 4 for release as an atomized spray fan. In operation, activation of the trigger 11 starts the motor 16 which causes the pump 14 to pump and generate enough fluid pressure within the valve body 12 to open the valve 19 and be released as an atomized spray fan. Deactivation of the trigger 11 stops the motor 16 which causes the pump 14 to stop and the pressure within the valve body 12 to drop, closing the valve 19 and stopping the output of paint.
The sprayer 1 includes control circuitry 13. Control circuitry 13 can be entirely or partially mounted on a board. The control circuitry 13 can control operation of the sprayer 1. In particular, the control circuitry 13 can receive input from the trigger 8, a spray setting input (e.g., a potentiometer dial of the input dial 9 for a user to select a pressure output level and/or operate a priming setting), and the power source and, using these inputs, controls power to the motor 16 to control spraying.
The pump 14 includes components that may wear or clog, such as the piston 17, the cylinder 18, seal 20, and valve 21. Therefore, some designs of the pump 14 may occasionally need servicing or replacement. However, the pump 14 is located at least partially within the polymer molded clamshell body of the sprayer 1 and thus could be hard to access. The present disclosure includes pump 14 access and removal features, as further discussed herein, such that the sprayer 1 has the convenience and portability of a handheld device (due to its enclosed polymer molded clamshell housing) with the serviceability typically associated with much larger ground mounted units.
Removal of the door 8 creates an opening 34 in the shell body 36. The opening 34 allows access into an interior 35 of shell body 36. The opening 34 can have the same profile as the door 8 itself. The interior 35 is the space within the shell body 36. The interior 35 can include the enclosed space between the first shell side 5 and the second shell side 7. The interior 35 can contain the pump 14, the drive 10, and the motor 16. Specifically, the pump 14, the drive 10, and the motor 16 are contained within the interior 35 of the upper body portion 6.
The door 8 includes ribs 31 which are symmetrical and mirror the ribs 28, 29, 30, 55 and/or 56 of the second shell side 7. The ribs 31 hold and support the pump 14, drive 10, bearing 32, and motor 16 in the same manner as ribs 28, 29, 30, 55 and/or 56. The ribs 31 of the door 8 are molded from the same polymer material as the rest of the door 8 and project inward. The ribs 28, 29, 30, 31, 55, 56 of the second shell side 7 and the door 8 pinch the pump 14, bearing 32, and/or motor 16 to secure these components within the interior 35 of the upper body portion 6 when the door 8 is secured to the second shell side 7. The ribs 28, 29, 30, 31, 55, 56 can provide annular or semi-annular contact with the pump 14, bearing 32, and/or motor 16, particularly around circular portions of the pump 14, bearing 32, and/or motor 16. As such, the ribs 28, 29, 30, 31 of the second shell side 7 and the door 8 can each form half circle inward projections, the two half circles aligning in left and right sides to form inward annular projections which annularly engage and secure the pump 14, bearing 32, and/or motor 16. When the door 8 is secured to the second shell side 7, then the ribs 28, 29, 30, 31, 55, 56 hold the pump 14, bearing 32, and/or motor 16 in fixed positions, but removal of the door 8 removes, for example, the ribs 31. Removal of ribs 31 can remove half of the inward annular projections which partially unsecures the pump 14, drive 10, and/or motor 16 and allows these parts to be unsecured and slide out, as further shown herein.
The view of
The first shell side 5 is attached to the second shell side 7 by fasteners 33 that are similar to fasteners 22, but with some advantageous differences. The fasteners 33 that secure the first shell side 5 to the second shell side 7 extend into the holes 24 shown in
The present disclosure is made using an embodiment to highlight various inventive aspects. Modifications can be made to the embodiment presented herein without departing from the scope of the invention. As such, the scope of the invention is not limited to the embodiment disclosed herein.
This is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/872,759, filed Jan. 16, 2018, which in turn claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/446,489, filed Jan. 15, 2017, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 15872759 | Jan 2018 | US |
Child | 17322641 | US |