Liquid Reservoir, And Kit, Spray Assembly And Method Using Same

Abstract

Disposable reservoirs for use with spray apparatuses, reservoir-adapter kits, spray assemblies employing such reservoirs, and methods of use are disclosed.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This invention relates to disposable reservoirs for holding liquids, and spray assemblies and methods employing such reservoirs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] A wide variety of spray apparatuses for applying liquids, such as paint, varnish, cleaning solvents, or other liquid materials to a surface are known. Typically, such spray apparatuses includes a reservoir containing the liquid and a spray apparatus configured to spray the liquid in the reservoir. The liquid from the reservoir may be gravity fed or pressure fed to the spray apparatus by an air bleed from the compressed air line to the reservoir.

[0003] One conventional reservoir is a rigid pot attached to the spray gun apparatus with a removable lid. The reservoir is re-usable and should be thoroughly cleaned when changing the liquid in the reservoir in order to prevent contaminating the new liquid that is poured into the reservoir. However, cleaning the reservoir and, if needed, the spray gun apparatus is time consuming and may require the use of solvents that are costly and may be a health hazard to the operator.

[0004] Another conventional reservoir employs a collapsible liner that is placed within a rigid reservoir. During use, the liquid is withdrawn from the collapsible liner and, after spraying, the collapsed liner and lid can be removed and thrown away allowing a new, clean liner and lid to be used for applying a different liquid. While the collapsible liner is useful because the rigid reservoir does not have to be cleaned as often, it can be difficult to install and remove the liner within the rigid reservoir. Furthermore, sometimes not all of the paint in the liner is used, and this un-used paint can be difficult to recover from the liner.

[0005] Therefore, there is a need in the art for a more user friendly disposable reservoir. It would also be desirable that such a reservoir be cheap to fabricate and suitable for use with a variety of conventional spray gun apparatuses.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The invention is directed to disposable reservoirs for use with spray apparatuses, reservoir-adapter kits, spray assemblies employing such reservoirs, and methods of use. In one aspect of the invention, a disposable reservoir for holding a liquid, such as paint, includes a body with a first portion having an outlet and a threaded portion configured to be threadly coupled to a spray apparatus and, a second portion having an inlet. A passageway or hollow within the body extends between the inlet and the outlet. The reservoir further includes a lid removably attachable to the second portion to cover the inlet.

[0007] Another aspect of the invention is directed to a reservoir-adapter kit for use with a spray apparatus. The kit includes at least one adapter having a passageway therethrough, a reservoir coupling portion, and a spray apparatus coupling portion configured to be threadly coupled to the spray apparatus. The kit further includes at least one reservoir having a body with a first portion having an outlet and a second portion having an inlet. A passageway or hollow within the body extends between the inlet and the outlet. The first portion of the body also has a threaded portion configured to be threadly coupled to the reservoir coupling portion of the at least one adapter so that the inlet of the at least one adapter is in fluid communication with the outlet of the body. The kit further includes a lid configured to be removably attached to the second portion to cover the inlet. The kit may include a plurality of reservoirs of different sizes and configurations and a plurality of adapters to enable the reservoirs to be used with various types of spray apparatuses.

[0008] Another aspect of the invention is directed to a spray assembly. The spray assembly includes a reservoir having a body with a first portion having an outlet and a threaded portion, a second portion having an inlet, and a passageway or hollow within the body extending between the inlet and the outlet. The reservoir further includes a lid removably attached to the second portion to cover the inlet. The spray assembly also includes a spray apparatus operable to spray fluid disposed within the reservoir. The spray apparatus includes a threaded coupling member coupled to the reservoir so that the outlet of the reservoir fluidly communicates with the spray apparatus.

[0009] Yet another aspect of the invention is directed to a method of using a spray apparatus. The method includes providing a reservoir. The reservoir includes a body with a first portion having an outlet and a threaded portion, a second portion having an inlet, and a passageway or hollow within the body extending between the inlet and the outlet. The reservoir and a threaded coupling portion of the spray apparatus are coupled to each other. The reservoir is filled with liquid. The liquid is sprayed onto a surface using the spray apparatus. After spraying, the reservoir may be de-coupled from the spray apparatus, and the reservoir may be thrown away.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a liquid reservoir having external threads for use with a spray apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0011] FIG. 2A is a schematic exploded view of the liquid reservoir of FIG. 1 that additionally depicts an adapter that threadly attaches to the reservoir for use with a spray apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0012] FIG. 2B is an exploded schematic sectional view of the reservoir of FIG. 1.

[0013] FIG. 3 is a schematic exploded view of a liquid reservoir and an associated adapter that threadly attaches to internal threads of the reservoir for use with a spray apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0014] FIG. 4 is a schematic exploded view of a liquid reservoir that has both internal and external threads for use with a spray apparatus according to yet another embodiment of the invention.

[0015] FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the liquid reservoir according to FIG. 3 and an associated spray gun apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0016] The invention is directed to disposable reservoirs for use with spray apparatuses, reservoir-adapter kits, spray assemblies employing such reservoirs, and methods of use. Many specific details of certain embodiments of the invention are set forth in the following description and in FIGS. 1 through 5 in order to provide a thorough understanding of such embodiments. One skilled in the art, however, will understand that the invention may have additional embodiments, or that the invention may be practiced without several of the details described in the following description.

[0017] FIGS. 1 and 2A-B show a liquid reservoir 10 for containing paint or another liquid according to one embodiment of the invention. The reservoir 10 includes a body 8 having a main section 12 and a neck section 14, both of which may have, for example, a wall thickness of approximately 0.001 inches. The main section 12, neck section 14, or both may be formed to have a generally cylindrical shape, however, other shapes may also be used depending upon the particular manufacturing process employed. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, an upper portion of the main section 12 may have an inner diameter A that is larger than an inner diameter B of a lower portion of the main section 12, and the inner diameter of the body 8 may continuously taper from the inlet to the neck section 14 to enable easily nesting one body 8 within another. This allows one body 8 to fit into another body 8 so that the multiple bodies 8 may be nested together to conserve space during packaging. The main section 12 also includes an inlet 15 in which paint or another liquid may be poured through, an outlet 16 in which the paint exits to a spray apparatus, and a passageway or hollow 13 extending between the inlet 15 and the outlet 16 defined by the body 8 for holding a volume of liquid. The neck section 14 includes exterior threads 18 formed on the exterior thereof that are configured to threadly engage an adapter 26 and/or the interior threads of a threaded coupling member of a spray apparatus (not shown). The main section 12, neck section 14, and exterior threads 18 may be formed as a unitary structure.

[0018] The reservoir 10 further includes a removable lid 20 configured to tightly snap fit onto the end of the main section 12 proximate the inlet 15. In one embodiment, the lid 20 includes a recess 21 sized to receive an end of the main section 12. The lid 20 snap fits onto the main section 12 due to an interference fit with a ring 24 that extends peripherally about the top edge of the main section 12. The sealing engagement of the lid 20 onto the main section 12 should be sufficient to prevent paint from leaking out of the edge of the main section 12 during use. The lid 20 also has a through hole 22 extending through its thickness. The hole 22 enables the pressure within the passageway or hollow 13 of the body 8 to equalize to ambient pressure and prevent a vacuum from forming during operation when paint is drawn out of the reservoir 10 through the outlet 16. If desired, to assist the user with installation and removal of the lid 20, the lid 20 may include a tab 21 integrally formed therewith.

[0019] With reference to FIG. 2A, one embodiment of a suitable adapter is shown in FIG. 2 as adapter 26. An adapter may be used, if the neck section 14 and the threads 18 thereof are not suitably configured to be coupled to a desired spray apparatus because the spray apparatus has a thread coupling member that is sized differently or has exterior threads. In one case, the adaptor may include a spray apparatus coupling portion having interior threads that are sized and configured to couple with exterior threads of a threaded coupling member of a spray apparatus. The adaptor 26 includes an inlet 25, an outlet 27, and a passageway 38 that extends therebetween for fluidly communicating liquid from the reservoir 10 to a spray apparatus. The adaptor 26 includes a reservoir coupling portion 36 having interior threads 28 configured to threadly engage the exterior threads 18 on the reservoir 10. The adaptor 26 further includes a spray apparatus coupling portion 31 having internal threads 32 sized and configured for coupling to exterior threads of a threaded coupling member of a spray apparatus. In another embodiment, the spray apparatus coupling portion 31 may have a diameter that is smaller or greater than the diameter of the neck section 14 and the threads 32 may be external threads in order to couple the reservoir 10 to a spray apparatus with a thread coupling member of a different size.

[0020] FIG. 3 shows a reservoir 27 according to another embodiment of the invention. The reservoir 27 has many of the same components that are included in the reservoir 10 of FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B. Therefore, in the interest of brevity, the components of the reservoirs 10 and 27 that correspond to each other have been provided with the same reference numerals, and an explanation of their structure and function will not be repeated. In the reservoir 27, threads 28 are formed on an interior of the neck section 14 and, thus, are disposed within the passageway 13. Such an embodiment is compatible with many conventional spray gun apparatuses, which have a threaded coupling member with external threads. Thus, the reservoir 27 does need an adapter in order to be coupled to the threaded coupling device of most conventional spray gun apparatus.

[0021] However, if it is desirable to use the reservoir 27 with a spray apparatus having a coupling member with internal threads, an adapter may be used. One embodiment of a suitable adapter is shown in FIG. 3 as adapter 40 for coupling the reservoir 27 to a spray apparatus having a thread coupling member with internal threads. The adapter 40 includes an inlet 42, an outlet 46, and a passageway therebetween for fluidly communicating a flow of liquid to the spray apparatus from the reservoir 27. The adapter 40 includes a reservoir coupling portion 43 having external threads 44 that are sized and configured to be inserted into the inlet 16 of the reservoir 27 and threadly engage the interior threads 28. The adaptor 40 also includes a spray apparatus coupling portion 45 having external threads 47 configured to connect to internal threads of a coupling member of a spray apparatus (not shown). In another embodiment, the spray apparatus coupling portion 45 may have a diameter that is smaller or greater than the diameter of the neck section 14 and the threads 47 may be internal threads disposed within the passageway of the adapter 40 in order to couple the reservoir 27 to a spray apparatus with a threaded coupling member of a different size.

[0022] FIG. 4 shows a reservoir 30 according to yet another embodiment of the invention. The reservoir 30 has many of the same components that are included in the reservoir 10 of FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B. Therefore, in the interest of brevity, the components of the reservoirs 10 and 30 that correspond to each other have been provided with the same reference numerals, and an explanation of their structure and function will not be repeated. The reservoir 30 includes the exterior threads 18 formed on the exterior of the neck section 14 and interior threads 28 disposed on the interior of the neck section 14. Accordingly, such an embodiment may be used with an adapter for use with a spray apparatus that has internal or external threads on a coupling member. For example, the adapters 26 and 40 may be employed with the reservoir 30. Providing both interior and exterior threads 28 and 30 enables the reservoir 26 and 30 to be connected to a variety different types of paint spray apparatuses and components.

[0023] The reservoirs 10, 27, and 30 including the body 8 and lid 20 thereof may be formed from a variety of commercially available materials. In some embodiments, the body 8 may be formed of polymeric materials such as, polypropylene, polyethylene, or another suitable material that is compatible with paint and/or paint thinners. In one embodiment, the body is formed from high density polyethylene and the lid 20 is formed of low density polyethylene. The body 8 may be fabricated using injection molding and blow molding using any of the aforementioned polymeric materials. Such fabrication techniques are suitable for forming the main section 12, neck section 14, and threads on the neck section 14 as a unitary polymeric structure. Injection molding is well suited for forming internal threads 28 of the reservoir 27 and blow molding is well suited for forming the external threads 18 of the reservoir 10. The adapter 26 and 40 may also be formed from the same or similar materials using injection molding or another suitable process. Accordingly, the above materials and processes enable forming a reservoir having integrally formed threads that is cheap enough to be disposed by the user after use.

[0024] Additional embodiments are directed to a kit. The kit may contain one or more of the aforementioned liquid reservoirs along with their associated lids, and a one or more compatible adapters, such as any of the aforementioned adapters. For example, the kit may include a combination of any of the aforementioned reservoirs and a combination of any of the aforementioned adapters that are compatible with the reservoirs. The kit may also include instructions for use and/or information about which commercially available spray apparatuses are compatible with which adapters and reservoirs. In one embodiment, a plurality of reservoirs may be nested within each other to reduce the overall size of the kit when packaged.

[0025] FIG. 5 shows a schematic side elevation view of a spray assembly 50 according to one embodiment of the invention that may employ any of the aforementioned embodiments of reservoirs and adapters. The spray assembly 50 includes a spray gun apparatus 52 having a reservoir 54 that threadly attaches to a threaded coupling member 56 of the spray gun apparatus 52. As depicted in FIG. 5, in one embodiment, the reservoir 54 has internal threads that are threadly coupled to external threads 58 of the threaded coupling member 56. In other embodiments, the reservoir 54 may have external threads and an adapter having internal threads that may be threadly coupled to external threads 58 of the threaded coupling member 56. The reservoir 10 and adapter 26 show such an embodiment. Similarly, in another embodiment, the threaded coupling member 56 may have internal threads and the reservoir 54 may also have internal threads. In such a case, an adapter such as the adapter 40 shown in FIG. 3 may be used to couple the reservoir to the spray gun apparatus 52.

[0026] Upon the user manually pulling a trigger 60, the paint or other liquid is gravity fed from the reservoir 54 through a passageway (not shown), which may be formed in the thread coupling member 56 or in another component, to fluidly communicate the paint with a nozzle 62 of the spray gun apparatus 52. A compressed air source 64 also delivers compressed air to the spray gun apparatus 52 that is emitted from an air cap 66 that mixes externally with the paint to atomize the paint. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the various embodiments for the reservoirs and adapters may be used with other spray gun apparatuses. The spray gun apparatus 52 shown in FIG. 5 is merely one type of spray gun apparatus that may be employed.

[0027] In operation, the user attaches the reservoir 54 to the spray gun apparatus 52. If necessary, the user may first couple an adapter to the thread coupling member 56 or, alternatively, first to the reservoir 54. Then, the user fills the reservoir 54 with the desired amount and type of paint and/or paint thinner, and closes the reservoir 54 with the lid 20. The user sprays the paint in the reservoir 54 onto a surface. When the user is finished, the user may decouple the reservoir 54 from the spray gun apparatus 52. Any un-used paint may be poured into another container and the reservoir 54 may be disposed or thrown away. Another reservoir 54 may then be attached to the spray gun apparatus 52 and the process repeated using the same or a different type of paint and/or paint thinner.

[0028] Although the invention has been described with reference to the disclosed embodiments, persons skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the gravity feed spray gun apparatus 52 is one example of a commercially available spray gun that may be used with the adapters and reservoirs disclosed herein. Such modifications are well within the skill of those ordinarily skilled in the art. Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A reservoir-adapter kit for use with a spray apparatus, comprising: at least one adapter having a passageway therethrough, a reservoir coupling portion, and a spray apparatus coupling portion configured to be threadly coupled to the spray apparatus; and at least one reservoir comprising: a body including a first portion having an outlet, a second portion having an inlet, and a passageway extending between the inlet and the outlet, the first portion having a threaded portion configured to be threadly coupled to the reservoir coupling portion of the at least one adapter so that the inlet of the at least one adapter is in fluid communication with the outlet of the body; and a lid configured to be removeably attached to the second portion to cover the inlet.

2. (canceled)

3. The reservoir-adapter kit of claim 1 wherein the threaded portion of the at least one reservoir comprises internal threads disposed within the passageway of the body.

4. The reservoir-adapter kit of claim 1 wherein the threaded portion of the at least one reservoir comprises external threads and internal threads disposed within the passageway of the body.

5. The reservoir-adapter kit of claim 1 wherein the threaded portion of the body comprises external threads integrally formed with the body.

6. The reservoir-adapter kit of claim 1 wherein the threaded portion of the body comprises internal threads disposed within the passageway of the body and integrally formed with the body.

7. The reservoir-adapter kit of claim 1 wherein the threaded portion of the body comprises external threads and internal threads disposed within the passageway of the body, the external and internal threads being integrally formed with the body.

8. The reservoir-adapter kit of claim 1 wherein the body comprises a main section that includes the inlet and a ring extending peripherally about the main section proximate the inlet.

9. The reservoir-adapter kit of claim 1 wherein the reservoir coupling portion of the at least one adapter comprises one of internal threads disposed within the passageway of the at least one adapter and external threads.

10. The reservoir-adapter kit of claim 1 wherein the spray apparatus coupling portion of the at least one adapter comprises one of internal threads disposed within the passageway of the at least one adapter and external threads.

11. The reservoir-adapter kit of claim 1 wherein the body and the lid comprise a polymeric material.

12. A spray assembly, comprising: a reservoir comprising: a body including a first portion having an outlet and a threaded portion, a second portion having an inlet, and a passageway extending between the inlet and the outlet; and a lid removably attached to the second portion to cover the inlet; and a spray apparatus operable to spray fluid disposed within the reservoir, the spray apparatus including a threaded coupling member coupled to the reservoir so that the outlet of the reservoir fluidly communicates with the spray apparatus.

13-18. (canceled)

19. The spray assembly of claim 12 wherein: the body comprises a main section that includes the inlet and a ring extending peripherally about the main section proximate the inlet; and the lid is removably attached to the main section using an interference fit between the lid and the ring.

20. The spray assembly of claim 12, further comprising: an adapter having a passageway therethrough, a reservoir coupling portion, and a spray apparatus coupling portion, wherein the spray apparatus coupling portion is threadly coupled to the threaded coupling member of the spray apparatus and the reservoir coupling portion is threadly coupled to the threaded portion of the reservoir.

21. The spray assembly of claim 20 wherein the reservoir coupling portion of the adapter comprises one of internal threads disposed within the passageway of adapter and external threads.

22. The spray assembly of claim 20 wherein the spray apparatus coupling portion of the adapter comprises one of internal threads disposed within the passageway of the adapter that are threadly coupled to the threaded coupling member of the spray apparatus and external threads that are threadly coupled to the threaded coupling member of the spray apparatus.

23. The spray assembly of claim 12 wherein the reservoir comprises a polymeric material.

24. The spray assembly of claim 12 wherein the spray apparatus comprises a spray gun.

25-29. (canceled)

30. A reservoir for use with a spray apparatus, comprising: a reservoir comprising: a body including a first portion having an outlet and a threaded portion configured to be threadly coupled to a threaded coupling member of the spray apparatus, a second portion having an inlet, and a passageway extending between the inlet and the outlet; and a lid removably attachable to the second portion to cover the inlet.

31-37. (canceled)

38. The reservoir-adapter kit of claim 1 wherein the body of the at least one reservoir includes a main section having an inner diameter that continuously decreases away from the inlet.

39. (canceled)

40. The reservoir of claim 30 wherein the body of the reservoir includes a main section having an inner diameter that continuously decreases away from the inlet.

41. The reservoir of claim 40, wherein the reservoir is a first reservoir nested within a stack of a reservoirs.

42. A method of using a spray apparatus, comprising: providing a plurality of reservoirs nested within one another to form a stack, each reservoir comprising: a body including a first portion having an outlet and a threaded portion, a second portion having an inlet, and a passageway extending between the inlet and the outlet, the passageway having an inner diameter that continuously decreases away from the inlet; removing a first reservoir from the stack; coupling the first reservoir and a threaded coupling portion of a spray apparatus to one another; filling the first reservoir with paint; spraying the liquid onto a surface using the spray apparatus; after spraying, decoupling the first reservoir from the spray apparatus; and disposing of the first reservoir.

43. The method of claim 42: further comprising coupling an adapter to the first reservoir; and wherein the act of coupling the first reservoir and a threaded coupling portion of the spray apparatus to each other comprises coupling the adapter to the threaded coupling portion of the spray apparatus.