Not applicable.
Not applicable.
This invention relates to a sprayer that is designed to automatically clean enclosures. More particularly, the invention relates to a bottle adapter for use with a bottle for an automated sprayer for spraying the walls of an enclosure with a liquid cleanser.
The walls and doors of shower/bathing enclosures can become mildewed, coated with soap build up or hard water and mineral deposits, or become otherwise soiled, during typical use. Removing these deposits and stains normally requires one to scrub the walls and doors by hand, which is an undesirable task.
To assist in this task, cleaning chemicals may be sprayed, squirted, or otherwise applied on the surfaces to be cleaned. After allowing the active ingredients some time to “work”, the walls are then wiped with a cloth, brush, or scrubbing pad, and then rinsed with water.
In some cases these cleaners are so effective that the amount of scrubbing can be somewhat reduced (particularly if the cleaners are used on a daily basis). See generally, WO 96/22346 and WO 98/02511.
However, for these “no scrub” cleaners to work well they preferably should be applied immediately after the shower has been used. This requires a consumer to keep a pump spray bottle of the cleanser in or near the shower enclosure (further cluttering the shower area), that the consumer remember to do the spraying (which may be problematic if the consumer has just woken up), and that the consumer be willing to spend the time to spray the enclosure (for example they may be running late in the morning).
An alternative approach is to provide an automated cleaning system for a shower. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,225 discloses a sprayer and conduit system for a bath and shower enclosure. The unit is associated with the showerhead. Supply water can be diverted to the sprayer for cleaning the enclosure. A container of cleanser is mounted in the shower enclosure for introducing cleanser (through an injector assembly) for spraying cleanser on the walls.
A drawback with this system is that the user must manually turn on the supply water (if it is not already on), adjust the diverter, squeeze cleanser into the sprayer and shut off the water after the walls have been washed. There is also some risk that the consumer will be sprayed with the cleanser.
Other automated enclosure cleaning systems are more elaborate, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,341, which includes multiple pop-out spray nozzles connected by a manifold to a mixing valve where cleaning concentrate is mixed with water. Thus, it is not something that a consumer can easily and inexpensively retrofit to their shower enclosure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,485 discloses an automatic cleaning device for a tub and shower having large, powered tub and shower “gliders” that move in tracks around the tub and shower stall, respectively. The gliders are coupled to the water supply, which is mixed with a cleanser. The gliders have spray heads for spraying the cleaning solution on the tub and shower walls. The gliders also have brushes for scrubbing the walls. A user operates the gliders and cleanser mixing by a central controller. Again, this system is not suitable for easy and inexpensive retrofitting.
It seems particularly desirable to develop a relatively small automated dispenser that can be hung from a showerhead, shower enclosure wall, or the like, yet dispense cleanser without the need for drawing water from the building supply. It would also be desirable for such a system to accept inverted bottles of cleaning fluid.
However, developing such a system has significant challenges. For example, controlling the flow of cleanser to the sprayer to avoid waste can be difficult. Also, it is highly desirable to provide for control over the types of cleaning fluid that can be used with the equipment. The present invention seeks to address these needs.
In one aspect, the invention provides a liquid refill kit for an automated cleansing sprayer of the type having a reservoir tray having an upwardly extending well for supporting a bottle in an inverted orientation wherein the well has a spring-loaded outlet valve. The refill kit includes a bottle that is suitable to contain a liquid (for example a cleanser such as that described in WO 96/22346) and an adapter. The bottle has a cap closing an end of the bottle, and the cap is formed with a central piercable surface. The adapter has a central hole and is suitable for being situated between the bottle cap and the bottom wall of the upwardly extending well in the sprayer for supporting the bottle. The adapter is configured such that if the cap and adapter are installed in the well, movement of the cap relative to the well can result in movement of the adapter which in turn can result in movement of the outlet valve that controls the opening and closing of the valve.
In one form, the adapter has a radial air passageway and a central air passageway to allow air outside the bottle to pass through the adapter and the cap and enter into the bottle when a suitable opening is created in the cap. In another form, the adapter is a ring having a central hole and a plurality of projecting arc segments around the hole.
In another aspect, the invention provides a dispenser for dispensing a liquid. The dispenser includes a bottle suitable to contain the liquid, a reservoir tray having an upwardly extending well for supporting the bottle in an inverted orientation, a cap closing an end of the bottle, and an adapter situated between the cap and a bottom of the well. The well has a spring-loaded outlet valve that permits outflow from the well when movement of the cap relative to the well results in movement of the adapter causing movement of the outlet valve. In one form, the adapter has a radial air passageway and a central air passageway to allow air outside the bottle to pass through the adapter and the cap and enter into the bottle when a suitable opening is created in the cap.
In yet another aspect, the invention provides a liquid refill kit for an automated cleansing sprayer of the type having a reservoir tray having an upwardly extending well for supporting a bottle in an inverted orientation, wherein the well has a spring-loaded outlet valve. The refill kit includes a bottle that is suitable to contain a liquid and has a cap installed on an end of the bottle. The cap is formed with a central hole, and the central hole is sealed with a piercable liner. The refill kit further includes an adapter having a central hole and being suitable for being situated between the bottle cap and a bottom wall of the upwardly extending well in the sprayer for supporting the bottle. The adapter is configured such that if the cap and adapter are installed in the well, movement of the cap relative to the well can result in movement of the adapter which in turn can result in movement of the outlet valve that controls the opening and closing of the valve. In one form, the liner is positioned between the cap and the bottle.
The adapter may have a radial air passageway and a central air passageway to allow air outside the bottle to pass through the adapter and the cap and enter into the bottle when a suitable opening is created in the cap. The adapter may be a ring having a central hole and a plurality of projecting arc segments around the hole.
In still another aspect, the invention provides a dispenser for dispensing a liquid. The dispenser includes a bottle suitable to contain the liquid, a reservoir tray having an upwardly extending well for supporting the bottle in an inverted orientation, and a cap installed on an end of the bottle. The cap is formed with a central hole sealed with a piercable liner prior to placement of the bottle in the tray. An adapter is situated between the cap and a bottom of the well. The well has a spring-loaded outlet valve that permits outflow from the well when movement of the cap relative to the well results in movement of the adapter causing movement of the outlet valve.
In yet another aspect, the invention provides a liquid refill kit for an automated cleansing sprayer of the type having a reservoir tray having an upwardly extending well for supporting a bottle in an inverted orientation, wherein the well has a spring-loaded outlet valve. The refill kit includes a bottle that is suitable to contain a liquid and has a piercable closure sealing an end of the bottle. The kit also includes an adapter having a central hole. The adapter is suitable for being situated between the closure and a bottom wall of the upwardly extending well in the sprayer for supporting the bottle. The adapter is configured such that if the bottle and adapter are installed in the well, movement of the closure relative to the well can result in movement of the adapter which in turn can result in movement of the outlet valve that controls the opening and closing of the valve. In one form, the closure comprises a closed cell foam. The kit may also include a cap installed on the end of the bottle such that the closure is positioned between the cap and the bottle before the bottle and the adapter are installed in the well. The cap is suitable for being removed before the bottle and the adapter are installed in the well.
The adapter may have a radial air passageway and a central air passageway to allow air outside the bottle to pass through the adapter and the cap and enter into the bottle when a suitable opening is created in the cap. The adapter may be a ring having a central hole and a plurality of projecting arc segments around the hole.
In still another aspect, the invention provides a dispenser for dispensing a liquid. The dispenser includes a bottle suitable to contain the liquid, a reservoir tray having an upwardly extending well for supporting the bottle in an inverted orientation, and a piercable closure for sealing an end of the bottle before the bottle is installed in the well. The dispenser also includes an adapter with a central hole. The adapter is situated between the closure and a bottom of the well. The well has a spring-loaded outlet valve that permits outflow from the well when movement of the closure relative to the well results in movement of the adapter causing movement of the outlet valve. In one form, the closure comprises a closed cell foam.
These and other advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description which follows and the drawings. It should be appreciated that what follows is merely a description of preferred embodiments. That description is not meant as a limitation of the full scope of the claims. Rather, the claims should be looked to in order to judge the full scope of the invention.
As background, we describe an automated sprayer generally referred to in the figures by reference number 20. With particular reference to
The exterior of the sprayer is defined by the housing 24, which can be molded from, for example, plastic by any suitable technique and consists primarily of two pieces, a receptacle 36 and a hanger tower 38 that easily snaps into a pocket in the receptacle. This allows the sprayer to be shipped and stored in a compact package with minimal assembly by the consumer. The hanger tower 38 is an upright member defining a cavity in which the elongated body of the hanger 26 fits through an opening 40 at its upper end. The upper end of the hanger tower 38 has two oval-openings 42 vertically spaced apart.
A deflectable tab 44 formed in the lower end of the hanger can snap into one of the openings to lock the hanger at either of two extended positions. The hanger is extended and locked in the lower opening by simply pulling it away from the hanger tower. In this position, the sprayer 30 will hang from standard shower spouts at an appropriate height for spraying down the shower walls. The height can be adjusted by depressing the tab inwardly and sliding the hanger up or down. The hanger itself has two ears 46 at its upper end for mounting a rubber strap 48. The ears can be tapered to ease connection of the strap, which can have a series of holes at one end for adjustment purposes so that the strap fits tightly around a shower spout or the like. The back side of the hanger tower is closed by a back plate 50. The hanger tower connects to the receptacle at its lower end, which fits into a pocket 52 and has two latches 54 (one shown) that snap into two slots in the back of the receptacle.
The receptacle defines an upwardly opening bottle tray 56 above a compartment 58 (see
The tray 56 is formed to mate with a specially contoured upper end of the bottle. The bottle and tray are generally oval and have mating seating surfaces 72 and 74 and sloped shoulders 76 and 78 with complementary V-shaped features 80 and 82, respectively. These features and the contour of the shoulders fix the orientation of the bottle in the tray and make conventional cleanser bottles incompatible with proper operation of the sprayer.
Referring next to
The lower end of the valve stem mounts a disc-shaped rubber gasket 118 retained by an enlarged end 120 of the valve stem. As shown in
Referring next to
This arrangement thus provides a no-mess means of opening and inserting the bottle, but also further inhibits uses of improper cleanser containers. It does this for several reasons. First, if a conventional bottle and cap were inserted into the tray, the piercing post would not puncture a conventional cap lacking the weakened area. Even if the cap was removed so that the mouth was opened, the sprayer still would not operate because the valve is located radially inward of the place where a conventional thin-walled bottle mouth would normally extend so that the valve would not be opened.
Another feature-that serves this purpose is the conforming sloping of the bottle shape and receiving well. A bottle not having a complementary shape would not be received sufficiently low to activate the outlet valve.
Also, while the cap has conventional internal threads 136 at its upper end that mate with threads 138 on the mouth of the bottle, and it also has a ring of one-way ratchet teeth 140 that engage corresponding ratchet teeth 142 on the bottle (see
From the discharge nipple defining the discharge orifice of the tray well a first tube 152 of a dispenser line 154 extends to an inlet barb 156 of the pump 28, which snaps into a support 158 mounted to the underside of the bottle tray. The pump can be any conventional pump, such as a diaphragm pump, a piston pump, a peristaltic pump, or even a gear pump as shown. The inlet defines a passageway leading-between intermeshing drive gear 160 and idler gear 162 (see
Referring to
The spray nozzle is preferably a fluidic oscillator providing oscillating spray (in this case up and down), however, any other suitable nozzle could be used. See e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,867 which shows examples of known fluidic oscillators. Such a fluid oscillator can be any suitably sized oscillator including a housing 208 with an inlet 210 and an outlet 212 on opposite sides. A barrier member (not shown) in the interior of the housing defines a passage between the inlet and the outlet so that cleanser entering the inlet passes through and around the barrier member to the outlet. The fluidic oscillator operates, as known in the art, by creating areas of low pressure at alternate sides of the passage through the barrier member to convert the straight flow entering the housing to an oscillating pattern.
The nozzle is coupled to an outlet barb 214 extending from the stem by another tube 216. The nozzle is mounted so that its outlet end extends through the opening in the cover pointed downwardly at approximately a 30 degree angle. A drive gear 220 is press fit onto the stem of the drive shaft and meshes with a first reducer gear 222 which is rotated by another smaller diameter reducer gear 224 driven by a pinion 226 at the end of lower motor shaft 228. The gear train couples to the motor to the spray head at a reduced revolution per minute rate-than the motor shaft. This arrangement provides a revolving, oscillating spray pattern.
Also mounted to the support within the receptacle compartment is the control circuitry 34 which is electrically coupled to a direct current power supply via battery terminals 230 (see
The electrical arrangement as well as the dispensing line and bottle venting flow paths are shown in
Because air is lighter than the cleanser, it is displaced to the top of the bottle where it is trapped. Cleanser pours out of the bottle and drains through the valve plate and into the dispenser line, through the pump, past the filter until it reaches valve 176. Until the sprayer is operated, the sprayer remains in this state of equilibrium in which no cleanser flows from the bottle.
When a user wishes to spray the enclosure walls with cleanser, he or she simply depresses the switch at the front of the sprayer. This signals timing circuitry to begin a countdown delaying spraying for a predetermined time, such as 20 seconds. This affords the user time to exit the shower enclosure and close the doors or curtains. It also may provide the user time to abort the spray cycle by depressing the switch a second time. Initially depressing the switch may also send a pulsed tone to the speaker and flashes the lighted ring around the switch for warning the user of the impending operation of the sprayer.
Unless cancelled by the user, the spray cycle begins automatically at the expiration of the countdown. The motor is then energized which simultaneously rotates the drive gear of the pump and turns the gear train to rotate the drive shaft and the spray head. At the same time, the pump draws cleanser from the bottle through the dispenser line and opens valve 176 so that cleanser can flow through the junction and be expelled through the nozzle as the spray head is rotated, thereby providing a circular, oscillating spray pattern. This reduces the level of cleanser in the bottle, creating a negative pressure in the bottle, which opens the check valve in the vent tube to aspirate the bottle and allow more cleanser to be drawn from the bottle during the spray cycle.
The motor continues to be energized until the expiration of a second countdown performed by the timing circuit, preferably another 20 second interval, automatically initiated by the timer. At that point the motor is deenergized which shuts down the pump causing valve 176 to close. Closing the valve prevents cleanser from leaking out of the dispenser line and also keeps the cleanser in the line upstream from the valve so that the pump remains primed. The sprayer thus returns to stand-by mode without further intervention from the user, ready for another spray cycle at the demand of the user.
What has been described thus far with respect to
In this
When the bottle 22 is seated in the tray 56, piercing post 98 will go through the opening in the middle of the adapter 300 and puncture the cap 86a in the thinned area 132a to permit discharge of the cleanser and venting of the bottle. Meanwhile, the bottle cap 86a presses against the ring 302 of the adapter 300 so that the ring 134a of the adapter, which is located to contact plunger 114, pushes the valve downward to unseat gasket 118 from valve plate 96 and open the discharge orifice. The ring 302 of the adapter 300 rests on the stand-offs 124 to space the punctured area from the floor of the well 84.
Turning now to
Referring now to
A circular piercing post 420 extends upwardly from the floor 485 of the circular upper section 484 of the well 480. The piercing post 420 has an outer wall 421, and an inner wall 427 that defines an air vent path 425 and a cleanser conduit 428 in the piercing post 420. The cleanser conduit 428 provides a fluid flow path to the lower chamber 490 of the well 480. An air hole 426 passes through the outer wall 421 into the air vent path 425, and an opening 429 passes through the outer wall 421 into the cleanser conduit 428. The piercing post terminates in an obliquely truncated upper end 422 to facilitate puncturing the cap 86b in the thinned area 132b to permit discharge of the cleanser.
The lower chamber 490 of the well 480 contains a valve 438 that controls cleanser flow from the bottle 22 as will be described below. The valve 438 includes a valve actuator 440 and a valve stem 448. The valve actuator 440 includes a plunger 441, a valve cover 443 and a rocker 444. The plunger 441 is biased in the upward direction against the valve cover 443 by a spring 442 as shown in
Turning now to
Still referring to
The arrangement of
In addition, the floor 485 of the well may also include arcuate upwardly extending ribs (such as arcuate stand-offs 124 in
What has been described with respect to
When the bottle 22 is seated in the tray 56, piercing post 420 will go through the opening in the middle of the adapter 500 and puncture the cap 86c in the thinned area 132c to permit discharge of the cleanser and venting of the bottle. Meanwhile, the bottle cap 86c presses against the ring 502 of the adapter 500 so that at least a portion of one of the segmented ridges 134c, which is located to contact valve cover 443, pushes the valve actuator 440 downward to unseat valve stem 448 from outlet orifice 492 and open the outlet orifice 492.
Still referring to
What has been described with respect to
What has been described with respect to
The invention thus facilitates the use bottles with differing bottle caps in an automated cleansing sprayer of the type having a reservoir tray with an upwardly extending well for supporting a bottle in an inverted orientation. All that is required to replenish the cleanser is simply to remove the old bottle, turn a new bottle upside down, load an adapter according to the invention into the tray and then load the new bottle into the tray. The sprayer automatically meters out the proper volume of cleanser for the spray cycle.
It should also be noted that the inventive aspects of the invention could be used to dispense a cleaning or disinfecting solution in applications other than a tub/shower surround. In this regard, U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,105 depicts how one type of automated cleansing equipment could be installed to clean the bowl. Such a structure should be considered to be an “enclosure” for purposes of this application.
Preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in considerable detail above. Many modifications and variations to the preferred embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, which will be within the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention should not be limited to the described embodiments. To ascertain the full scope of the invention, reference should be made to the following claims.
The invention provides a bottle adapter for use with a bottle for an automated sprayer for spraying a liquid cleanser on the walls of an enclosure such as a shower and the like.
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