This invention relates to an improvement to the nozzles used on trigger-actuated pump sprayers.
Existing sprayers, for example, hand-held trigger-actuated pump sprayers or dispensers shown in Haim et al. U.S. Des. 321,315 have important disadvantages when they are used to spray agricultural chemicals such as insecticides and anti-desiccants, or other treatment material on plants. Many such chemicals should be applied to both the top and bottom surfaces of the leaves for full effect. However, prior art nozzles, whether in the spray or stream position, present one dispensing orifice (hereinafter referred to as orifice) or several orifices, all directing an output flow straight ahead, and generally away from the user. There are many existing nozzle designs of this kind, as typified by Micallef, U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,765; Smolen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,959 and Wadsworth U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,090.
Thus, when it is necessary to apply a spray of treatment material to both the upper and lower side of a leaf, this mode of dispensing requires the user to direct the flow downward or upward by bending the wrist to achieve the desired effect. When the plant is high, it is hard to bend the wrist in such a way as to point the flow downward to reach the tops of the leaves. Similarly, for leaves lower down on the plant, say below waist level, it is equally hard to bend the wrist in such a way as to point the flow upwards to reach the lower surface of the leaves. The only portion of the plant that is relatively easy to reach with the flow is in a narrow range relative to the height of the user. This same problem occurs in other applications where a flow of liquid is required at inconvenient locations above or below easy reach, and it is true of dispensers that are mechanically deployed as opposed to manually applied.
There are several examples in the prior art of sprayers whose nozzle can be aimed in various directions, e.g. Ho, U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,820 and Wang U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,415 and thus achieve the intended result of the present invention. However, these devices are not of the simple, self-contained trigger sprayer kind as described in Micallef, Smolen and Wadsworth above, or are intended as hose-end sprayers.
Accordingly, it is the purpose of this invention to present a trigger-actuated pump sprayer nozzle that does not have the inherent disadvantage of prior art sprayers in the application described.
Definitions
1. Trigger-actuated pump sprayer—one of a class of normally hand-held, self-contained spraying or dispensing devices that includes a container surmounted by a nozzle assembly operatively interconnected to a hand-operated pump, a drawing tube that extends generally downwardly into the fluid to draw up the fluid into the pump, a nozzle tube to conduct the pumped fluid from the drawing tube towards a nozzle cap, and a trigger mechanism for providing pumping force. Of course, such spraying devices may also be remotely operated, as for example on extended booms fed by supply tanks, and be applied to surfaces well beyond a user's normal reach. In those modes, too, the inventive details apply as well.
2. Sprayer head (also known as a dispenser head)—the mechanism mounted on the container that contains the elements required to pump fluid from the container and spray it in a forward direction.
3. Mixing chamber—A component of the nozzle in communication with the orifice that accepts fluid from passageways leading from the nozzle tube and may be configured to impart a swirling motion of the fluid prior to ejection from the orifice. Other designs of mixing chambers can avoid the swirling motion, depending on the intended application.
4. Swirl chamber—a mixing chamber specifically designed to produce a swirling motion of the fluid prior to ejection from the orifice.
5. Sealing boss—a continuous or partial protuberance or ridge molded into a surface, or otherwise affixed or attached thereto, adapted to sealably interconnect two substantially flat surfaces.
6. Nozzle assembly—that part of the sprayer head that carries the fluid from the pump towards the nozzle cap and the nozzle cap itself.
7. Nozzle tube—the tubular member portion of the nozzle assembly that conducts fluid from the pump towards the nozzle cap. The nozzle tube can have various sub-members that provide fluid conduction paths and support for the nozzle cap.
8. Nozzle cap—the outer member of the nozzle assembly that contains the orifices. The cap can rotate with respect to the nozzle axis.
9. Nozzle axis—an imaginary line running substantially parallel with the nozzle tube axis and is normally, generally horizontal in orientation when the sprayer is in use.
10. Trigger—the pivoted or otherwise articulated arm or implement that allows the user to provide compressive force to operate the fluid pump within the sprayer head.
The current invention eliminates the disadvantages of not being able to conveniently reach the tops of the upper leaves of tall plants, as well as the under surfaces of the lower leaves of a plant with the dispensed stream from a trigger-type pump sprayer. Such a sprayer need not necessarily be hand-held, but may instead be an automated remote applicator, as for example in a large botanical complex. Moreover, the present invention similarly applies to environments where spray-type devices are called upon to deliver, for example, paints, lubricants, solvents, soap solutions, and the like, all frequently presenting challenging angles of spray application. For descriptive purposes only, and in no way intended as limiting the scope of the present invention, a leaf-spraying environment is discussed herein, utilizing a hand-held sprayer.
These sprayers accomplish their change in flow type by rotating the nozzle cap relative to the nozzle axis into one of several different positions. These positions can include stream, spray, mist, foam and off positions, for example. Existing technologies in this field include many different internal design details directed toward accomplishing these various flow patterns, some using a single orifice and others using multiple orifices. The common thread however, is the use of an orifice in the rotating cap, and a structure lying directly beneath the orifice that guides the output in a manner to achieve the desired flow type. For example, it is common to use a mixing chamber, well-known in the art, to swirl the fluid and thus achieve a spray effect and to use a different path that bypasses the swirling motion to produce a narrow stream flow.
The current invention solves this problem of inconvenient use for the described application by orienting the orifice of the nozzle cap so that its flow direction is at an acute angle relative to the nozzle axis, whereas in existing technology, it is parallel to the nozzle axis. Thus, the attached container can be held in its usual generally vertical orientation, and yet the flow will be at an acute angle to the nozzle cap rotational axis. Typically, this angle would be between 45 and 75 degrees to the nozzle axis, though of course this angle is not necessarily so limited. This ability to change fluid flow direction in various positions of the nozzle cap has not been addressed in the prior art.
The present invention is a dispensing apparatus which includes a two-piece nozzle assembly, including a rotatable nozzle cap and an underlying nozzle tube element acting as support for the nozzle cap and as a conduit or guide way for the fluid sprayed from the pump mechanism (not part of the current invention). The nozzle assembly of the present invention produces an angled flow by rotating the nozzle cap body into various positions, to bring an orifice into communication with the underlying source of fluid.
Depending on the number of orifices used, the resulting flow direction can be generally straight-ahead, upwardly at one or more angles and downwardly at one or more angles. By including rotational-position-dependent internal flow structures, the present invention could also include the various flow patterns, as well as flow direction.
A typical implementation would include three orifices, each offset from the cap rotational axis and each designed to produce a flow in a fixed angle relative to the nozzle axis. When these three orifices are arranged into four distinct and angularly spaced-apart nozzle cap positions, the arrangement can produce flow directions from a single flow chamber as follows; 45° up, straight-ahead, 45° down and OFF, for example.
As the cap is rotated from position to position, each orifice is aligned to communicate with the single flow chamber and the flow is directed accordingly. The OFF position is achieved by rotating the cap so as to bring the cap position without an orifice over the chamber, thus blocking flow. More complex nozzles, still lying within the intent of the current invention, could include fewer than three orifices, or more than four nozzle cap positions, such as up spray or stream, straight-ahead stream or spray and finally down spray or stream. These variations are examples, and all will be described shortly.
With the present invention, the user has complete control over the kind and direction of the flow of the resulting spray or stream, thus making it considerably easier and more convenient, for example in reaching all the leaf surfaces of a plant.
In addition to facilitating plant spray applications, the present invention could also be used, as suggested above, in any application that calls for spraying liquids or other fluidized materials from trigger-actuated pump sprayers or the like, on surfaces that are not conveniently reached by bending the wrist to direct the spray or stream generally upward or downward. Other such applications include spraying water or starch on clothing to be ironed, water or fertilizer on indoor plants and home insecticides.
There are several variations of this nozzle invention that will be described; all of which fall within the scope of the depending claims. All the parts of the present invention may be made in a variety of ways, as by machining, molding, extruding and so on. Further, both the nozzle cap and nozzle tube as well as other elements may be fabricated by conventional injection molding.
There is no commercially-available product known that provides the described improvement to a trigger-actuated pump sprayer nozzle.
A Prior Art sprayer 2, of which the current invention is an improvement, is shown in
The inner surface of the inner member 27 is round or annular, to allow for rotation of the nozzle cap around the central axis 51 of the nozzle tube. The inner member 27 has a continuous bead 18 that mates with a continuous, or partially continuous, recess 19 in a first substantially disk-shaped member 25 shown as affixed to, or integral with, nozzle tube 12 and projecting generally radially therefrom to engage at bead 18. These two elements provide a snap-together joint that holds the two components together after assembly while permitting rotation of the nozzle cap about the nozzle axis 51.
A second substantially disk-shaped member 23 is illustrated as integral with, or otherwise affixed at or adjacent to, an outer end of nozzle tube 12 and having a forward facing surface, or front face, 29 and a rearward facing surface 24.
Further, sealing bosses 31 and 32 are molded into, or otherwise affixed to, front face 29 (see also
Also shown is mixing chamber 20 molded, or otherwise formed in the front face 29, and two orifices 13 and 15 in the nozzle cap end portion 47. It will be understood that the exact configuration of the bosses, mixing chamber and other dimensions will depend on the particular fluid used and the volume, shape, and rate of dispensing desired.
The orifice 13 is oriented such that the flow of fluid emerging from the mixing chamber will be directed upwards as viewed in the illustrated orientation. Note that if the nozzle cap is rotated, for example, 180 degrees, orifice 15 will be in place over the swirl chamber and the flow will then be directed downwards. A third orifice 14, not visible in
A detent to define and fix the various rotational positions of the nozzle cap relative to the underlying nozzle tube is not depicted in this figure, but is well known in construction and application and thus is not illustrated here. For example, such a detent may take the form of a molded detent that selectively moves to a locking recess and is held therein by friction or pressure fit. On moving the detent to a new position, it gives up its earlier pressure fit and accepts a new fit at a new location.
In use, the nozzle cap-adjustment device of the trigger actuated pump sprayer is initially, angularly adjusted away from its non-dispensing position (at “OFF”) and reset for a specific directional projection of treatment material spray as would be anticipated for the task at hand. During the spraying process, spraying may be ceased momentarily and the nozzle cap angularly adjusted so as to designate a new direction, e.g., upward or downward, or for such other directional angles as may be appropriate.
In situations where the present invention would not be embodied as a hand-held or otherwise manually operated device, a remote control mechanism may be appropriate. This remote mechanism may be electronically automated or remotely, mechanically manipulated. Further, the treatment material output may be continuous while directional adjustments are effected rather than momentarily ceasing the dispensing action as suggested above.
In any case, when operation is to be ceased, the nozzle cap-adjustment is simply repositioned to “OFF.” Alternative settings may be provided to add “SPRAY” or “STREAM” options as is well known in the art. The utilization of specific orifice designs will serve to enhance the flow characteristics as explained hereabove.
Upon careful review of the foregoing specification and drawings, it will be evident that this invention is susceptible of many modifications, combinations and alterations which may differ from those specifically set forth. The particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the invention which is to be given the full breadth of claims appended hereto and any and all equivalents thereof.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2997243 | Kolb | Aug 1961 | A |
3083872 | Meshberg | Apr 1963 | A |
3284007 | Clapp | Nov 1966 | A |
3967765 | Micallef | Jul 1976 | A |
4247048 | Hayes | Jan 1981 | A |
4706888 | Dobbs | Nov 1987 | A |
D321315 | Halm et al. | Nov 1991 | S |
5251820 | Ho | Oct 1993 | A |
5421519 | Woods | Jun 1995 | A |
5639026 | Woods | Jun 1997 | A |
5878959 | Smolen | Mar 1999 | A |
6126090 | Wadsworth | Oct 2000 | A |
6446842 | Stern et al. | Sep 2002 | B1 |
6508415 | Wang | Jan 2003 | B1 |
6752296 | Sweeton | Jun 2004 | B1 |