Patent Application
20120018540
The present disclosure relates generally to the field of spray guns, such as those that may be coupled to garden hose systems for everyday cleaning, washing, and watering applications.
Household garden hose systems may be used for a wide variety of tasks around a home. However at the water pressures supplied by a faucet or bibcock of a household plumbing system, the out-going streams from garden hoses are typically limited to a relatively low pressure, flowing at a rate of about 3 to 5 gallons per minute (gpm). The water pressure may be insufficient to effectively scrub surfaces, quickly water plants, or controllably spray distant cleaning targets. To compensate for insufficient water pressure, household garden hoses may be fitted with a wide variety of fittings and nozzles to provide a stream of water with an increased exit velocity.
Garden hose booster pumps may be used to provide extra water pressure and an increased flow rate (e.g., greater than 5 gpm) for indoor or outdoor applications, such as gardening, cleaning, or other applications. Water pressure levels produced by garden hose booster pumps are low enough that standard, conventional garden hoses may be used on the outlet of the pumps, but high enough to meet the requirements of various tasks, such as removing stuck-on plant debris from a vehicle, dried-on bird waste from a window, or spider webs from an eve of a high roof line, for example. As such, the added boost provided by a garden hose booster pump may produce water streams powerful enough to enhance performance of everyday household cleaning tasks.
One embodiment of the invention relates to a spray gun for controlling a pressurized flow of water from a water source. The spray gun includes a housing, a garden hose coupling, a spray head, a valve, a trigger, and a mechanism coupled to the trigger and the valve. The housing has a conduit extending through the housing, defining a flow path for the pressurized flow of water. The garden hose coupling is located on a first end of the conduit, and the pressurized flow of water enters the spray gun by way of the garden hose coupling. The spray head is connected to the housing on a second end of the conduit, and the pressurized flow of water exits the spray gun by way of the spray head. The valve includes at least one of a ball valve and a barrel valve, and is positioned along the conduit between the first and second ends of the conduit. The valve is rotatable relative to the conduit to open, partially close, and fully close the flow path. Movement of the trigger is received by the mechanism and converted to a rotation of the valve.
Another embodiment of the invention relates to a spray gun that includes a housing, a garden hose coupling, a spray head, a valve, a trigger, and gearing. The housing has a conduit extending through the housing, and defining a water flow path for a pressurized flow of water. The garden hose coupling is located on a first end of the conduit, and the pressurized flow of water enters the spray gun by way of the garden hose coupling. The spray head is connected to the housing on a second end of the conduit, and the pressurized flow of water exits the spray gun by way of the spray head. The water flow path curves less than 45-degrees between the first and second ends of the conduit. The valve is positioned along the conduit between the first and second ends of the conduit for controlling the pressurized flow of water along the water flow path. The gearing is positioned between the trigger and the valve such that operation of the trigger moves the valve by way of the gearing.
Yet another embodiment of the invention relates to spray gun that includes a housing, a hose coupling, a spray head, a valve, and a handle coupled to the housing. The spray gun further includes a chemical storage container, a chemical-delivery conduit, a first trigger, and a second trigger. The housing has a water conduit extending through the housing defining a water flow path for a pressurized flow of water. The hose coupling is positioned on a first end of the water conduit, and the pressurized flow of water enters the spray gun by way of the hose coupling. The spray head is connected to the housing on a second end of the water conduit, and the pressurized flow of water exits the spray gun by way of the spray head. The valve is positioned along the water conduit between the first and second ends of the water conduit for controlling the pressurized flow of water along the water flow path. The first trigger is moveable relative to the handle, and designed to operate the valve. The chemical storage container is selectively connected to the housing, and the chemical-delivery conduit extends between the chemical storage container and the water flow path. The second trigger is moveable relative to the handle, and designed to control a flow of chemicals passing through the chemical-delivery conduit and to the water flow path.
Alternative exemplary embodiments relate to other features and combinations of features as may be generally recited in the claims.
The disclosure will become more fully understood from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures, in which:
Before turning to the figures, which illustrate the exemplary embodiments in detail, it should be understood that the present application is not limited to the details or methodology set forth in the description or illustrated in the figures. It should also be understood that the terminology is for the purpose of description only and should not be regarded as limiting.
Referring to
According to an exemplary embodiment, the garden hose system 110 includes a garden hose storage container 122 coupled to the booster pump 120, such that the booster pump 120 provides weight to the base of the storage container 122. In such an embodiment, the first garden hose 114 (
Referring to
From the hose coupling 214, a flow path 218 of the pressurized flow of water enters the housing 212 and passes by a valve, which in some embodiments includes a valve member 220 (e.g., ball valve, barrel valve, globe valve) having an unobstructed passage through the valve member 220. When the valve member 220 is in an open position, the flow path 218 through the housing 212 continues to the spray head 216. In some such embodiments, rotation of the valve member 220 (e.g., by 90-degrees) moves the valve member 220 to a closed position, where the flow path 218 through the housing 212 is completely blocked. Furthermore, rotation of the valve member 220 from either the open or closed positions by an angle (e.g., less than 90-degrees) puts the valve member 220 in a partially-open configuration, allowing some but not the full flow to pass by the valve member 220. As such, the rate of water flowing through the spray gun 210 may be controlled by rotation of the valve member 220. In other embodiments, other forms of valves are used, such as a poppet valve, a butterfly valve, a piston valve, etc.
According to an exemplary embodiment, the valve member 220 may be operated by way of a trigger 222 (e.g., actuator, controller) coupled to the housing 212. In some embodiments, the trigger 222 may be actuated by a finger of an operator to move a lever. The trigger 222 may be directly fixed to the valve member 220 or may be coupled to the ball valve by way of intermediate members (see generally rack 328 and pinion 330 as shown in
Referring to
Still referring to
In some embodiments, the spray gun 210 includes a portion 230 of the spray gun 210 configured to support a chemical storage container 232. The container 232 may be removable or permanently fastened to the housing 212 of the spray gun 210. In the embodiment of
According to an exemplary embodiment, a pump 238 is coupled to the spray gun 210 for facilitating movement of the chemicals from the storage container 232 to the pressurized flow of water. As shown in the exemplary embodiment of
Referring now to
A mechanism coupled to the first trigger 316 facilitates rotation of the valve 324. In some embodiments, the mechanism includes a gear set 326, conditioning (e.g., amplifying, reducing, filtering, converting translation to rotation and/or travel to torque, etc.) a movement of the first trigger 316 into a related movement of the valve 324. In some embodiments, the gear set 326 includes a rack 328 coupled to the first trigger 316 and a pinion 330 coupled to the valve 324 or integrally formed with the valve 324 (e.g., teeth typical of a spur gear extending from the surface of a valve member). According to an exemplary embodiment, the first trigger 316 is biased to a forward position, which corresponds to a closed position for the valve 324. Pulling of the first trigger 316 toward the rear of the handle 310 pulls the rack 328 over the pinion 330, rotating the valve 324 and opening the flow path of the conduit 332. In other embodiments, instead of the gear set 326 the mechanism includes a lever, pulleys, wheels, solenoids, sprockets, or other machine elements to condition a movement of a valve in response to movement of a trigger.
Still referring to
According to an exemplary embodiment, the second trigger 322 is coupled to a rail 342 or other linkage. In some embodiments, the rail 342 is configured to communicate movement of the second trigger 322 to a system of the spray gun having a function that is separate from control the flow of water, such as a release valve for a chemical-delivery conduit to deliver chemicals to the flow of water passing through the spray gun. In some contemplated embodiments, movement of the rail 342 allows pressure from the flow of water to drive a piston, which pumps chemicals from a chemical storage tank into the flow of water. In other embodiments, the rail 342 is connected to a spray gun pump (e.g., piston pump with check valve, spray bottle pneumatic pump, etc.). Operation of the rail 342 manually drives chemicals through the chemical-delivery conduit to the water flow path, such as by pumping air into a chemical chamber, which displaces chemicals from the chemical container.
Referring to
According to an exemplary embodiment, the flow path through the valve 422 is unobstructed when the valve 422 is rotated to an open position. Further, the conduit 416 is substantially straight, providing an efficient flow path through the spray gun 410. However, in other embodiments, a portion of the valve is positioned in the flow path, even when the valve is rotated to an open position (e.g., shaft of butterfly valve, poppet head, etc.). In some embodiments, the flow path includes a substantial bend (e.g., more than 60-degrees). Although shown as below the trigger 420 and handle 418, in other embodiments the conduit 416 and valve 422 are above or coincide with the trigger 420 or handle 418.
According to an exemplary embodiment, the housing 424 includes a portion 426 of the housing 424 (e.g., port, pocket, aperture) configured to receive a disposable chemical storage container 428, such as a soap bottle. Once inserted into the portion 426 of the housing 424, the chemical storage container 428 may be selectively connected to the conduit 416 by way of an auxiliary conduit 430 internal to the housing 424. In other embodiments, a reusable storage container is used.
In some embodiments, a small, battery-powered pump 432 (e.g., dual-chamber piston pump) is used to selectively move chemicals from the storage container 428, through the auxiliary conduit 430, and into water flowing through the conduit 416. A button actuator 438 for the pump 432 may be positioned on the top or side of the housing 424. In some embodiments, the pump 432 actively pushes chemicals through the auxiliary conduit 430. In other embodiments, a venturi nozzle positioned on an end of the auxiliary conduit is used to draw chemicals from the storage container into the water flow.
The construction and arrangements of the spray gun, as shown in the various exemplary embodiments, are illustrative only. Although only a few embodiments have been described in detail in this disclosure, many modifications are possible (e.g., variations in sizes, dimensions, structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values of parameters, mounting arrangements, use of materials, colors, orientations, etc.) without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the subject matter described herein. Some elements shown as integrally formed may be constructed of multiple parts or elements, the position of elements may be reversed or otherwise varied, and the nature or number of discrete elements or positions may be altered or varied. The order or sequence of any process, logical algorithm, or method steps may be varied or re-sequenced according to alternative embodiments. Other substitutions, modifications, changes and omissions may also be made in the design, operating conditions and arrangement of the various exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention.
