The present invention relates to dispensing technologies, and in particular to a sprayer device that can place liquids under pressure and dispense them in a manner equivalent to that of an aerosol device or can, in either (i) a user controlled manner; or (ii) a continuous spray manner.
Liquid dispensing devices such as spray bottles are well known. Some offer pre-compression so as to insure a strong spray when the trigger is pulled and prevent leakage. Sprayers can be easily manufactured and filled, and are often used to dispense cleaners of all types, for example. However, in many circumstances it is preferred not to have to continually pump a dispensing device to push out the dispensed liquid. Thus, aerosols are also well known. Aerosols hold a liquid or other dispensate under pressure such that when a user activates the device (e.g., by pressing a button) the pressurized contents are allowed to escape. However, aerosols present both significant environmental hazards as well as packaging drawbacks, which result from the necessity of using an aerosol propellant in them, and the further necessity of pressurizing them. This requires filling such devices under pressure, using packaging strong enough to withstand the pressure, and taking steps to insure that the propellant maintains a uniform pressure over the life of the can or container. Such conditions often require use of non-environmentally friendly materials and ingredients.
To overcome these drawbacks, what is needed in the art is a spray device that can provide aerosol type functionality without the numerous drawbacks of actual aerosols.
In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, “Flairosol” dispensing devices can be provided. Such devices utilize a combination of Flair® technology, pre-compression valves and aerosol like pressurization of the dispensed liquid. Such a dispensing device has, for example, a main body comprising a pressure chamber, the latter being provided with a pressure piston and a pressure spring. The device further has a piston and a piston chamber which draws liquid from a container, for example, the inner container of a Flair® bottle, and fills the pressure chamber with that liquid as a user operates a trigger in various compression and release strokes. The piston chamber has both an inlet valve and an outlet valve, which serve to prevent backflow. In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, these valves can be combined in a single dome valve. The outlet valve portion of the dome valve allows liquid exiting the piston chamber under pressure (supplied by a user's pumping the trigger) to enter a central vertical channel which is in fluid communication with both the pressure chamber (above the pressure piston) and the membrane valve which leads to the outlet channel and nozzle at the top of the dispensing head. Such an upper outlet valve (e.g., a membrane valve and/or a shuttle valve) can be provided to regulate the strength of the flow and preclude leakage.
In an activation button embodiment, for example, once the liquid is sufficiently pressurized, it can be dispensed by a user releasing the upper outlet valve by pressing on an activation button. In alternate embodiments of the present invention without an activation button, for example, known as “continuous spray” embodiments, once the liquid is sufficiently pressurized, continuous spray occurs until (i) the pressure chamber is emptied or (ii) until the pressure of the liquid in the pressure chamber (including the central vertical channel) falls below the opening pressure of such upper outlet valve. These generally occur at the same time, inasmuch as exemplary systems are designed such that the pressure spring always supplies sufficient force to overcome the upper outlet valve, and thus the upper outlet valve only functions to stop dribbles once the pressure chamber has been emptied of fluid.
It is noted that the U.S. patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color (not applicable for PCT application). Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawings will be provided by the U.S. Patent Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.
In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a liquid spraying device offers the benefits of both a liquid sprayer and an aerosol device. Such an exemplary device is referred to herein as a “Flairosol” device, given that it uses the “bag within a bag” Flair® technology developed and provided by Dispensing Technologies B.V. of Helmond, The Netherlands, and combines that technology with means to internally pressurize the liquid prior to spraying so as to emulate aerosol devices.
It is noted that the functionalities described herein could, for example, be implemented without Flair® “bag within a bag” technology, and thus exemplary embodiments of the present invention are not strictly limited thereto. However, such a non-Flair® technology implementation would be more expensive and more cumbersome to produce and use. The “bag within a bag” Flair® technology, which causes the inner container to shrink around the pressure chamber and input tube, and thus obviates headspace in the inner container, obviates the need for a full length dip tube, and also obviates the need to attach the liquid container at the bottom of the unit to prevent crimping and failure to dispense the full contents. Because in Flair® technology the pressure applied to the inner bag results from a displacing medium that is provided between the inner container and the outer container (for example, air), direct venting of the liquid container is not required.
In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a dispensing device can be provided with an internal pressure chamber. The liquid to be dispensed can be caused to fill the pressure chamber and, as it is filled, push against a pressure piston that is supported by a pressure spring that is provided in the pressure chamber. Thus, when a user pumps liquid into the pressure chamber this liquid pushes on the pressure piston, which loads (compresses) the pressure spring, which puts the liquid in the pressure chamber under pressure in a manner similar to the pressurized contents of an aerosol can. In exemplary embodiments of the present invention such a pressure spring can be a spring in the broadest sense, and thus can be any resilient device which can store potential energy, including, for example, an air or gas shock absorber or spring, a spring of various compositions and materials, and the like. In some exemplary embodiments of the present invention, such pressure in the pressure chamber can, for example, reach approximately three (3)-five (5) bar. In other embodiments it can be 10-20 bar, for example, and in still others, 500-800 milibar, for example. It all depends upon the liquid dispensed, its viscosity, the fineness of spray desired, etc. Further details of the pressure chamber and the pressure spring and its motion are described below in connection with
Once the liquid is pressurized in the pressure chamber, a user can release an outlet valve and the liquid will spray out. In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a central channel can be provided above the pressure chamber, and be in fluid communication with both the pressure chamber and an upper outlet valve leading ultimately to a spray nozzle. Because the outlet valve has a minimum “deforming pressure” a certain minimum pressure is required before any liquid can be sprayed, thus providing the consistency of spray and non-leakage features of a pre-compression system. The minimum deforming pressure can, in various exemplary embodiments, be varied by thickness, shape, composition and strength of the valve. In some exemplary embodiments of the present invention the minimum deforming pressure can be low, for example, ½ bar, for a system where the pressure spring varies between 3-5 bar as a function of its minimum and maximum compressions within the pressure chamber, for example. Thus, in such embodiments, while the pressure spring actually controls the outlet pressure of the liquid, once the user releases the activation button, or the pressure chamber is emptied, the upper outlet valve helps bring a “hard stop” to the fluid flow, thus preventing dripping or leaking at the end of a spray. As noted below, because there are two valves operating in concert, one gating entry of the liquid into the pressure chamber (for example a dome valve) and holding it in under pressure, and the other gating outflow or spraying from the upper outlet channel (for example a membrane valve), a variety of different controls for various liquids in various contexts can be implemented.
Details of the invention are next described in connection with
A. Flairosol With User Spray Activation/Deactivation
It is noted that piston 330 need not necessarily be oriented vertically as shown, but rather can be oriented in a variety of directions, as may be desirable or needed. For example, instead of having the piston move up to fill the piston chamber and come down to empty it as shown, the reverse could, for example, be done, or various horizontal motions could be implemented, as is commonly done in sprayers. If the reverse vertical orientation is implemented, for example, and the piston thus comes down to fill the piston chamber and moves upwards to empty it, then any air bubbles that are mixed in the liquid can float to the top of the piston chamber in a release stroke (when the piston chamber fills) and be easily purged in the subsequent compression stroke (when the piston chamber empties).
It is noted that the deforming pressure of the valve gating entry into the pressure chamber, for example, dome valve 340, can always be more than the maximum pressure chamber pressure of the container. In this sense, such dome valve, for example, is the ultimate “boss.” The dome valve thus has to withstand any pressure developed in the pressure chamber so that liquid does not flow backwards into the piston chamber, for example. It is also noted that such a valve can, for example, be split into two valves, one acting as an inlet valve to the piston chamber and the other acting as a gatekeeper to the pressure chamber/central channel.
It is noted that because liquid is not compressible, as long as there is liquid in the central channel above the pressure chamber, if the pressure spring 365 is still compressed in any way and thus delivering a force, in exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the liquid will flow out of membrane valve 320 if the activation button is pressed. This is because in exemplary embodiments of the present invention pressure chamber 370 can be designed so as to be always shorter than the length of pressure spring 365 at its full extension, with no compression at all. Thus, as long as pressure spring 365 has some compression, it can generate a pressure in excess of the opening pressure of the membrane valve 320. Were this not the case, the pressure piston would never be able to extend to the top position of the pressure chamber and part of the volume of liquid in the pressure chamber would be never be expelled and thus wasted. Although systems can be designed that way within the present invention, it is not an optimal use of resources. Thus, in general, the opening pressure of membrane valve 320 is less important to operation than pressure spring 365.
Thus, pressure spring can be designed, for example, to be always compressed to some degree within the pressure chamber, both at the uppermost position of the pressure piston (pressure chamber empty of liquid), where the force pressure spring delivers is F1, and at the lowermost position of the pressure piston (pressure chamber full of liquid), where the force pressure spring delivers is F2, where F2>F1, and both F1, and F2 are greater than F0 (=no force delivered by the pressure spring, at its maximum length, where there is no compression). In this way the pressure of a liquid being sprayed out of the device will vary linearly somewhere between F2 and F1 as spraying continues. For example, if the pressure spring 365 at its maximum compression within pressure chamber 370 delivers 5 bar, and at its minimum compression within pressure chamber 370 delivers 3 bar, the spray will always vary linearly between 5 and 3 bar. As described below in connection with
Returning to
In the situation of
In general, the opening pressure of the dome or equivalent valve that gates entry to the central vertical channel in the valve body will be higher than either (i) the opening pressure of the shuttle or other outlet channel valve, and also higher than (ii) the maximum pressure developed in the pressure chamber (at the lowest position of the pressure piston, corresponding to force F2 being delivered by the pressure spring. This keeps pressurized liquid within the central channel and the pressure chamber while it is not being sprayed out. Thus, it is understood that various choices for (i) opening pressure of the dome valve (or other pressure chamber/central channel inlet valve); (ii) maximum pressure of the pressure spring at its lowermost allowed position; and (iii) the opening pressure of the shuttle+membrane valve (or other upper outlet valve), can be used in various exemplary embodiments of the present invention depending upon the particular application, the viscosity of the liquid to be dispensed, the desired volume of the pressure chamber and thus desired length of spraying time, the desired outlet pressure and fineness of mist or spray, etc. There are thus many variables that can thus be used to deliver a wide range of Flairosol devices for various commercially desirable products and applications.
B. Flairosol Continuous Spray
There is thus shown in
In
In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, by designing the volume of the piston chamber to be larger than that of the pressure chamber, a user can keep the Flairosol device spraying while making only a few strokes, as each pumping stroke is more than sufficient to replenish the pressure chamber, and thus there is always a pressure in the pressure chamber high enough for spraying. When a user stops making pumping strokes with the trigger, the membrane valve closes as soon as the pressure drops, due to the pre-compression requirement of this valve. This prevents dripping, and insures that when liquid is sprayed it has a minimum speed and thus a relatively narrow distribution of speeds for all the particles being sprayed, as is the case for all pre-compression systems.
As noted, for a given nozzle size and throughput, by adjusting the size of the pressure chamber relative to the size of the piston chamber, the output rate of the sprayer can be set to be less than the input rate. This insures that as long as a user keeps pumping the trigger, the sprayer will continuously spray. For example, if the output is set to 0.7 cc per second (this is a function of, inter alia, nozzle diameter and swirl chamber length, etc.), and the input is set at 1.6 cc per stroke (volume of piston chamber), a user who pumps one stroke every 2.2 seconds, will always be “ahead” of the spray output, and need not rush to keep the pressure chamber filled. Various volumes and relative volumes of piston chamber and pressure chamber can be used as may be appropriate given the application and context.
Alternatively, for example, if the application is such that a semi-continuous spray is desired, where one wants to make sure the user really intends to keep spraying, such as when using very costly, or very dangerous liquids, the reverse can be implemented, and the input can be set to be less than the output volume. In this case the input will always be “behind” the spray output, and a user will have to intentionally keep pumping in order to keep the pressure chamber filled.
Additionally, it is understood that once a user stops pumping the trigger, spray continues until either the pressure chamber has fully emptied, or the potential energy in the spring under the pressure piston has dissipated such that the pressure in the pressure chamber is less than the outlet valve opening pressure. Thus, at a given flow rate, and a given size of pressure chamber, the Flairosol sprayer will continue to spray for some time. This can be adjusted to be longer or shorter depending upon the application, by adjusting the relative sizes of the piston chamber and the pressure chamber, as noted, for a constant nozzle output. As will thus be appreciated, the Flairosol technology converts discrete input pump strokes to a continuous spray, by means of a liquid buffer—the pressure chamber. By properly adjusting the relative volumes, as noted, continuous spray can be maintained with relatively few pump strokes, and they need not be absolutely regularly spaced, given the liquid buffer (i.e., pressure chamber plus central vertical channel). This makes for a clean and easy to use substitute for aerosols, and provides that the contents—due to the Flair® inner container/outer container technology—never contacts the outside air or surroundings, thus being free of contamination and remaining fresh.
It is also noted that in exemplary embodiments of the present invention, because the Flairosol uses Flair® technology, the inner bottle will always be compressed by ambient pressure (or some other displacing medium) so as to shrink as the liquid is sprayed out over time. Thus, as is the case with all Flair technology, whatever liquid remains in the inner bottle is always available to be drawn by the piston into the piston chamber and then sent into the pressure chamber. No air pockets or gaps develop in the inner Flair® bottle, and there is no need to tie down the inner container at the bottom of the device to prevent crimping. Hence the efficacy of combining Flair® technology with a clean or “green” pressurized liquid spraying functionality akin to an aerosol, as in the various embodiments of the present invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Applications Nos. 61/343,977, filed on 5 May 2010, and 61/456,349, filed on 4 Nov. 2010, the disclosures of each of which are hereby fully incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61343977 | May 2010 | US | |
61456349 | Nov 2010 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 14323471 | Jul 2014 | US |
Child | 15589519 | US | |
Parent | 13068267 | May 2011 | US |
Child | 14323471 | US |