Patent Application
20090032557
The present invention generally relates to sprayers, and more particularly to an actuating device engaging a sprayer to spray at scheduled times automatically.
A conventional sprayer is operated by manually pressing a nozzle or a piston of the sprayer to pressurize the liquid contained in the sprayer to flow through a dip tube and to spray in a mist.
A sprayer is commonly found in a toilet for spraying deodorants. A preferred application of this type of sprayer is that the sprayer is actuated periodically so as to keep refreshing air in the toilet.
Conventionally an eccentric cam engaged by a motor is utilized to press the nozzle of the sprayer automatically. However, this approach has a number of disadvantages. For example, the pressure exerted by the eccentric cam is not strong enough to fully vaporize the deodorant. In addition, the deodorant is usually stored in a pressurized metallic can which presents a hazard of explosion when the sprayer is under a high temperature or undergoes significant temperature change. Furthermore, after a period of usage and as the pressure in the can drops, the sprayer would suffer a deteriorated spraying effect. After the pressure is completely gone, there will be residual deodorant that cannot be sprayed. Together with the inconvenience that the can cannot be refilled without proper equipment, the conventional sprayer is not quite economical.
Accordingly, a novel actuating device is provided herein to obviate the shortcomings of prior arts. The actuating device for a sprayer contains a control circuit to provide scheduled operations, a driving member to provide a torque, a power member to provide electricity to the control circuit and the driving member, an actuating member to exert pressure on the nozzle of the sprayer, a gear set to deliver the torque to the actuating member, and a casing member to house the foregoing components on top of the sprayer.
The actuating member has a roughly quadrant shape with gear teeth on the arc and a peen besides the gear teeth. The peen has a curved or U-shaped contact surface with the nozzle so as to achieve an extended period of interaction between the actuating member and the nozzle.
An additional adaptation member can be provided on top of the nozzle. The adaptation member has a socket to fit on the nozzle and a diametric elongated ridge interacting with the peen to provide closer and even longer period of interaction to avoid insufficient exertion of pressure to the nozzle due to the shape of the nozzle.
The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.
Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.
The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
As shown in
The control circuit 10 and the driving member 20 (e.g., a motor) are electrically connected together and both of them are also electrically connected to the power member 30 (e.g., one or more batteries) so as to receive the required electricity. The gear set 40 is physically driven by the driving member 20 so as to transmit the torque produced by the driving member 20 to the actuating member 50. The actuating member 50 has a roughly quadrant shape with gear teeth 51 along the arc which is engaged by the gear set 40 to spin (please note that the actuating member 50 is pivotally mounted at the center of the quadrant shape). To a side of the gear teeth 51, the actuating member 50 has a peen 52.
The casing member 60 is assembled by a front piece 62 and a back piece 63. The control circuit 10, the driving member 20, the power member 30, the gear set 40, and the actuating member 50 are all housed inside the space enclosed by the front and back pieces 62 and 63.
The sprayer S has a bottle S3 for the storage of the deodorant or any type of liquid. The bottle S3 has a top opening (not numbered) sealed by a cap S2 with a nozzle S1 on the top.
To install the actuating device on the sprayer S, two additional elements are required in the present embodiment. On top of the nozzle S1, there is an adaptation member 80 having a circular socket 82 for positioning the adaptation member 80 on top of the nozzle S1, and an elongated and diametric ridge 81 on top of the socket 82. The adaptation member 80 should be adjusted so that the ridge 81 is aligned in the path of movement of the peen 52.
In addition, a positioning member 70 is used to position the actuating device on the sprayer S. The positioning member 70 has a ring body 71 with a slightly larger diameter than that of the cap S2 and a flange 711 around the inner circumference of the ring body 71. The positioning member 70 is placed around the top opening of the bottle S3 and, when the cap S2 is fastened to the bottle S3, the flange 711 will be tightly pressed by the cap S2 and the positioning member 70 is securely sandwiched between the cap S2 and the bottle S3. As the ring body 71 has a slightly larger diameter than that of the cap S2, there is still some gap left between the cap S2 and the ring body 71, which is for the accommodation of a bottom opening 61 of the actuating device when the front and back pieces 62 and 63 are assembled. This way can prevent the actuating device from braking away from the sprayer S when the actuating device engages the sprayer S. The bottom opening 61 of the casing member 60 allows the cap S2, the nozzle S1, and the adaptation member 80 to stick inside the casing member 60 to interact with the actuating member 50.
As shown in
The present invention has a number of advantages. First, a single-piece actuating member 50 is used and the torque produced by the driving member 20 is accurately delivered to the nozzle S1 with minimum loss. On the other hand, as the peen 52 has a curved or U-shaped contact surface with the elongated ridge 81, the interaction between the peen 52 and the ridge 81 lasts for a longer period of time than the prior arts. Therefore, the problem of insufficient exertion of pressure to the nozzle S1 is avoided and a superior spraying effect can be achieved. Moreover, the adaptation member 80 allows the actuating device to work on off-the-shelf sprayers with different shapes of nozzles S1. No specialized and pressurized can is required and an ordinary user can refill the sprayer any time. The separation of the casing member 60 into front and back pieces 62 and 63 also offers advantages such as easier assembly, maintenance, and manufacture.
It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above.
While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.
