Patent Application
20140158720
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to dispensers for liquid, and, in particular, to hand-held liquid dispensers.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
Hand-held sprayers and liquid dispensers are well known, and typically have a body or vessel having a void thereinside filled with a liquid, such as, for example, a cleaning compound, to be dispensed. A pump or actuator is typically provided atop a neck of the vessel, and a tube extends from the pump or actuator, into the vessel's void and into the liquid inside the vessel's void. A problem with prior art dispensers is that, while they work well if held perfectly upright, when the dispenser is tilted in order to reach hard-to-access places, such as when a cleaner is sprayed under a shelf or into a corner, the distal end of the tube no longer remains submerged within the liquid as the liquid moves within the vessel in response to the tilting of the dispenser. When the distal end of the tube is no longer submerged in the liquid, the dispenser becomes ineffective.
It is therefore desirable to have an improved hand-held dispenser for liquid that can be used at various angles of orientation.
The present invention is a weighted bob adapted for being attached proximate a distal or intake end of a dispensing tube of a handheld dispenser of liquid. The bob can be provided separately for use with prior art dispensers, or the bob can be provided with the dispenser. As the dispenser is tilted to different angles, gravity acting on the weighted bob causes the intake end of the tube to remain submerged in liquid held inside a vessel's void within the dispenser.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved hand-held dispenser for liquid that can be used at various angles of orientation.
Referring to the drawing figures, the present invention is a weighted bob 20 in combination with a handheld dispenser 22. Dispenser 22 is well known and includes a body or vessel 24 having a void 26 thereinside. Contained within void 26 is a liquid 28 that is dispensed by dispenser 22, with liquid 28 having a first specific gravity.
Dispenser 22 includes a well-known dispensing head 30, such as a well-known spray head including a nozzle 32 and an actuator or lever 34 pivotally mounted to dispensing head 30 such that actuation of lever 34 dispensingly pumps liquid 28 out of nozzle 32 in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. It should be understood that the present invention may be used equally well when the dispensing head 30, rather than having a manual pump, may have an electric motor to pumpingly dispense liquid 28.
Dispenser 22 further includes a well-known flexible tube 36, with tube 36 having a first end 38 in communication with dispensing head 30 and having a second or intake end 40 extending within void 26 and in submerged communication with liquid 28. Liquid 28 is understood to pass through tube 36 from second end 40 to the dispensing head 30 in a manner well known to those skilled in the art.
Weighted bob 20 is attached to tube 36 remote from first end 38 and preferably proximate second end 40 of tube 36. Bob 20 has a bore 42 therethrough, with a portion 43 of tube 36 preferably being frictionally received through close-fitting bore 42 and with bob 20 being frictionally retained on tube 36 as by the frictional forces between tube 36 and bore 42. Alternatively, bob 20 may be welded or glued to tube 36, as by providing a bead 44 of melted plastic or glue as shown in
Vessel 24 typically has a neck 50, with neck 50 having a constricted inner neck diameter 52 and with dispensing head 30 being joined to vessel 24 atop neck 50 as by a well-known screw-on fitting 54. Bob 20 preferably has an outer bob diameter 56 that is smaller than inner neck diameter 52 so that bob 20 may pass easily into void 26 through neck 50 as dispensing head 30 is received onto vessel 24 and attached thereto by fitting 54.
Bob 20 has a second specific gravity that is substantially greater than the first specific gravity of liquid 28. If tube 36 is not highly flexible, it shall be understood that the weight of bob 20 may be increased to provide additional force on the second end 40 of tube 36 due to gravity acting on bob 20 so as to keep the end 40 submerged in the liquid 28 when dispenser 22 is tilted, as shown in
To enable prior art dispensers 22 to be used with the bob 20 of the present invention, bob 20 may be provided separately from dispenser 22 and then be frictionally received onto second end 40 of tube 36 as shown in
It should be understood that a plurality of bobs, such as bobs 20 and 20′ as shown in
Referring to
Bob 20 may be made of a variety of materials suitable for immersion in liquid 28. For example, bob 20 may be made of lead or ceramic clay, and, if desired, bob 20 may be provided with a shell or covering 60 such as plastic so that the weighed core 62 is not exposed to the liquid 28 within dispenser 22. It has been experimentally found that a bob weight of approximately 0.5 ounce (14 grams) is a satisfactory weight for use with a standard flexible tube 36 that is 10 inches (25 cm.) long as often found in spray dispensers for glass cleaning preparations.
To adapt a prior art dispenser 22 to use the weighted bob 20 of the present invention, the tube 36 is removed from within the dispenser 22 as by unscrewing fitting 54. The bob 20 is then fitted onto the second end 40 of tube 36 and the fitted bob 20 is then inserted through the neck 50 of the vessel and down into the liquid 28, and the dispensing head 30 is again secured onto fitting 54. As the dispenser 22 becomes tilted during use, the weighted bob 20 will cause tube 30 to flex and second end 40 will tend to remain submerged in the liquid 28.
The bob of the present invention permits a handheld dispenser for dispensing liquid to be used in a variety of angles and orientations, and keeps the intake end of a flexible tube within, and in communication with, liquid inside a void within the dispenser.
Although the present invention has been described and illustrated with respect to a preferred embodiment and a preferred use therefor, it is not to be so limited since modifications and changes can be made therein which are within the full intended scope of the invention.
