U.S. patent number 3,565,344 [Application Number 04/740,938] was granted by the patent office on 1971-02-23 for electric sprayer.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, JP. Invention is credited to Hisao Takei, Naoyuki Iwata, Nobumichi Hattori, Seiji Morita.
United States Patent |
3,565,344 |
|
February 23, 1971 |
ELECTRIC SPRAYER
Abstract
In an electric sprayer, a valve system is provided in the liquid
path between an opening of an electric pump and a jet of a nozzle.
The valve system is connected to the on/off switch of the electric
pump so as to keep the system closed when the switch is off (i.e.,
when the sprayer is not in use), to prevent leakage of spraying
liquid from the nozzle jet due to the increased pressure within the
container when the atmospheric temperature rises or when the
sprayer is inverted.
Inventors: |
Hisao Takei (Nitta Gun, JP),
Nobumichi Hattori (Nitta Gun, JP), Naoyuki Iwata (Nitta
Gun, JP), Seiji Morita (Nitta Gun, JP) |
Assignee: |
Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha,
Tokyo, JP (N/A)
|
Family
ID: |
27463329 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/740,938 |
Filed: |
June 28, 1968 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Jul 1, 1967 [JP] |
|
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56636/67 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
239/332; 239/373;
239/349 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F04B
17/042 (20130101); A45D 34/02 (20130101); F04B
7/0053 (20130101); F16K 35/00 (20130101); B05B
9/0861 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A45D
34/00 (20060101); A45D 34/02 (20060101); F04B
17/03 (20060101); B05B 9/08 (20060101); F04B
7/00 (20060101); F16K 35/00 (20060101); F04B
17/04 (20060101); B05b 009/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;239/332,349,340,351,353,329,330,331,334,373
;222/400.5,75(Inquired) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lloyd L. King
Assistant Examiner: John J. Love
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Robert D. Flynn
Claims
We claim:
1. In an electric sprayer having: an airtight container; an
electric pump system for pumping liquid from said container; a
switch controlling said pump system; nozzle means having a passage
for liquid flow therethrough and including: a jet coupled to said
passage through which said liquid is sprayed; and a spinner member
provided within said passage; means for providing liquid flow
between said pump and said nozzle; and valve means controlled by
said switch, said valve means including: a valve rod slidably
mounted in said passage; a valve seat mounted in said passage;
biasing means interposed between said valve rod and said spinner
member for biasing said valve rod against said valve seat on the
side of said valve seat adjacent said jet to close said passage,
and for biasing said spinner member against said jet; and a valve
operating means connected to said switch for moving said valve rod
against said biasing means to open said passage when said switch is
operated to turn the prayer on.
Description
This invention relates to electric sprayers and more particularly
to an electric sprayer having means to prevent leakage from the
nozzle jet when the sprayer is turned off.
In an electric sprayer having an airtight container for spraying
liquid and an electric pump for pumping liquid to a nozzle for
spraying, liquid flows out whenever any pressure is placed on the
liquid. This causes leakage of liquid from the nozzle jet, thereby
staining the nozzle, sprayer or flooring where the sprayer is
placed. This happens when: (a) a sprayer is filled with liquid in a
low-temperature atmosphere such as in the early morning or in
winter and brought into a heated room, thereby causing a rise in
pressure inside the container and expansion of liquid; and (b) a
sprayer is inverted with the nozzle part pointing downwardly.
Particularly in the case of alcoholic liquids, such as those used
in hair sprayers for hairdressing purposes, changes in pressure
within the container resulting from varied outside temperatures is
substantial.
Therefore, the main object of this invention is to provide a
sprayer wherein the above-mentioned drawbacks are alleviated.
The main feature of this invention is the provision of a valve
system opening and closing the liquid passage leading to the jet of
the nozzle, the valve system being operated by means of an on/off
switch of the sprayer.
According to this invention, an electric sprayer includes a valve
system which opens and closes the passage for the liquid within the
nozzle. The value system is connected to the on/off switch of the
sprayer so that when the switch is on, the value system opens to
let liquid flow, and when the switch is off the valve system closes
to bar the flow of the liquid to the nozzle. The valve system
includes a valve and biasing means to maintain the valve normally
closed.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shown a longitudinal sectional view of one embodiment of an
electric sprayer according to this invention.
FIG. 2 shows a section along the line II-II of the embodiment shown
in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 shows an enlarged side view of the valve system connected to
the switch of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the system shown in FIG. 3
with the switch turned on.
FIG. 5 is a broken oblique projection of connecting part of the
valve system and the switch of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the main part of an
electric sprayer according to a second embodiment of this
invention.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of a nozzle of this embodiment
shown in FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of the main part of a third
embodiment of this invention.
FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view of a nozzle of the third
embodiment according to this invention.
FIG. 10 is a broken oblique projection of the valve system of the
third embodiment of this invention.
FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of a fourth embodiment of
this invention.
FIG. 12 shows an enlarged sectional view of a nozzle with an open
valve system of the embodiment shown in FIG. 11.
FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional view of the nozzle with a closed
valve system.
FIG. 14 is a sectional view along line XIV-XIV of the embodiment
shown in FIG. 12.
Although the above embodiments use the electromagnetic vibrating
motor as a power source, this can be replaced with an electric
motor wherein rotation is converted into a reciprocating motion by
means of an eccentric cam system, thereby imparting a vertical
motion to a piston. Any other type of power source may also be
used.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a sprayer according to this invention
includes a lower widemouthed container 1 made of aluminum, glass,
or plastics, for containing liquid. Container 1 has a groove 2 cut
around the outer circumference of an opening thereof. A cover 3 is
provided which fits tightly over the groove 2 to keep the lower
case 1 airtight and an upper part 4 which is fixed to the cover 3
by bolt 5, or the like. The upper part 4 consists of two portions
cut vertically, each having detents 6 formed on the sides thereof
for easy handling. A pump 7 is supported by a support frame 8
attached to the cover 3 and projects into the upper case 4, the
pump 7 being inserted into the lower container 1 when the upper
part and the lower container 4, 1, respectively, are connected. The
pump 7 consists of a cylindrically shaped main part 9 (see FIG. 1)
with an outlet 10 formed on the side, a packing 11 inserted within
the main part in such a way as to maintain the opening of the main
part 9 airtight, a piston rod 12, the lower end of which pierces
the packing 11 in such a way as to allow free vertical motion of
rod 12 and to keep it watertight and the upper end of which extends
into said upper case 4. A valve rod 13 having an opening 14 for
liquid is screwed into the lower end of the main part 9, a packing
15 being inserted between the valve rod 13 and the lower end of
said main part 9. A ball 16 opens and closes said opening 14 of the
valve 13 as the piston rod 12 moves vertically, a press plate 17
being provided for preventing the ball 16 from jumping out. A
compression spring 18 is inserted between the press plate 17 and
the packing 11. A bellows 19 is inserted between the cover 3 and
piston rod 12 to allow the piston rod 12 to pierce through the
cover 3 and have a free vertical motion while keeping the container
airtight.
A liquid tube 20 has one end connected to the outlet 10 of said
pump 7; the other end extends into the upper case 4. A nozzle 21 is
fixed to the upper case 4 by a bolt 22 projecting sideways of the
upper case 4. A detailed description of this portion of the system
appears hereinbelow.
A connecting tube 23 connects a liquid guide tube 24 with the upper
end of the tube 20. A supporting frame 25, in the form of reversed
T is secured to the upper part of said cover 3 and to the upper
case 4 by bolt 5.
A driving means 26 which imparts a reciprocating vertical motion to
the piston rod 12 consists of an U-shaped fixed iron core 27 which
is secured to the support frame 25 by a bolt 28, an accelerated
magnetic coil 29 coiled around the foot of said iron core 27, a
movable iron core 30 corresponding to magnetic poles 31, 31 of the
fixed iron core 27, a driving lever 32 holding movable iron core 30
and fixed to said supporting frame 25 by a pin 33 or the like which
provides a revolving axis allowing free swinging motion. A
transmitting lever 34 forms one body with the driving lever 32 and
two compression springs 35, 35 are inserted on either side of said
driving lever 32 and between said supporting frame 25, supporting
the driving lever 32 in such a way as to place the mobile iron core
30 inclined toward one side of the magnetic poles 31, 31 of the
fixed iron core 27. An adjustable screw 36 is provided for
adjusting the force providing by compression springs 35, 35 and the
vibration width of the driving lever 32. The upper end of said
piston rod 12 is fixed rotatably by a pin 37 to the transmission
lever 34. A switchplate 38 is fixed by a bolt 28 to the upper part
of the fixed iron core 27 and a switch 39 is attached to the plate
38. The switch 39 closes only while a projection 40 is being
pressed, sending or cutting off the current to the accelerated
magnetic coil 29 of the driving means 26. A pushbutton 41 projects
on the top part of the upper case 4 and comes in contact with the
projection 40 of the switch 39, and is biased upwardly by a spring
42.
FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a nozzle 21 consisting of a mouthpiece 44
including a jet 43, a gasket 45, a spinner 46, a valve rod 47 and a
spring 48 which presses the spinner 46 and the valve rod 47 in
opposite directions. The nozzle 21 further includes an elastic
valve seat 49, a valve-operating lever 50 to push the valve rod 47,
a seal 51 made of such elastic materials as rubber or soft
plastics, a pressure plate 52 for the seal 51, a supporting plate
53 which supports the valve operating lever 50, and a main part 54
for housing the above nozzle parts except for the support plate 53
and the pressure plate 52. The support plate 53 and seal press
plate 52 are fixed to the main part 54 by a bolt 55.
The valve-operating lever 50 is L-shaped as shown in more detail in
FIG. 5. One end of lever 50 is inserted in a notch formed with the
press button 41 (see FIGS. 3 and 4), and is biased upwardly by
pushbutton spring 42. Projections 57, 57 on the right and left of
lever 50 are sandwiched between the seal pressing plate 52 and
supporting plate 53 to form a pivot (or hinge) with the projections
57 in the center at the pivot point. The other end of lever 50 is
covered by the seal 51 and inserted within a detent 58 in the main
part 54. The seal 51 prevents leakage of liquid from the detent 58.
The detent 58 is wide enough to accommodate one end of the
valve-operating lever 50 covered with the seal 51 to move therein
as illustrated by FIG. 4. One end 59 of the valve rod 47 projects
into the detent 58 so as to allow movement of the valve rod 47 in
accordance with the movement of the operating lever 50. Head 60 of
the valve rod 47 and the valve seat 49 are provided approximately
midway between the liquid passage 61 from liquid guide tube 24 to
the jet 43 of the nozzle mouth piece 44. When the pushbutton 41 is
not depressed, as is shown in FIG. 3, the head 60 of the valve rod
47 is biased tightly toward the valve seat 49 by means of the
spring 48 to prevent liquid leakage from the tube 24 with the rise
of liquid pressure.
Operational modes are now described for the above embodiment. When
sprayer is not in use and pushbutton 41 is not pressed, as
illustrated in FIG. 3, the head 60 of the valve rod 47 is biased
tightly against the valve seat 49, thereby closing the passage for
liquid 61 and preventing leakage from the jet 43 even when the
pressure within container 1 increases by virtue of a temperature
rise or the inversion of the sprayer.
The sprayer is operated by pressing the pushbutton 41, as indicated
in FIG. 4. This closes switch 39 and causes revolving (or pivoting)
of the valve operating lever 50 about the projections 57, pressing
one end of end 59 of the valve rod 47, which now moves against the
resistance of the strength of the spring 48, thereby opening the
passage 61 by moving head part 60 away from the valve seat 49.
Closing switch 39 causes electric current to be supplied to the
accelerated magnetic coil 29 of the driving system 26. When the
driving system 26 begins to operate, driving lever 32 swings to the
right and left about the revolving axis 33 in the center, so that
transmitting lever 34 moves vertically and the piston 12 is
operated with a vertical reciprocating motion. By this
reciprocating motion of the piston rod 12, liquid in the lower case
1 is pumped through the mouth 14 of the pump 7 and is transmitted
by pressure through the opening 10, tube 20, connecting tube 23 to
the liquid guide tube 24 and finally through the liquid passage 61
of the nozzle main part 54 and is sprayed out through the jet 43 of
the mouthpiece 44.
When pressure is removed from the pushbutton 41, pushbutton 41 goes
back to the condition shown in FIG. 3, thereby opening the switch
39 and stopping the driving system 26. Simultaneously, the
valve-operating lever 50 goes back to the condition shown in FIG. 3
and the liquid passage 61 is again closed. In the foregoing
description, a valve system comprising a valve rod 47 and a valve
seat 49 for opening and closing of passage of liquid 61 of a nozzle
21 was given. However, many different types of valves can be
applied to this type of system, description of which are now given.
The same reference numerals are used for similar components in the
following description for ease of comparison.
FIGS. 6 and 7 show a nozzle 21 having an L-shaped passage for
liquid 61 formed in its main part 54. On the horizontal side of
this L-shaped passage 61 are provided a nozzle mouthpiece 44,
gasket 45, and a spinner 46. A valve consisting of a valve seat 49
and a valve rod 47 closing the passage 61 by adhering closely to
the valve seat 49 from the side of liquid guide tube 24 is provided
in the vertical part of the L-shaped passage 61. The upper end of
the valve rod 47 slideably projects upwardly from the main part 54,
allowing vertical motion thereof. An operating lever 50 is
pivotally fixed on the upper case 4 by a pivot 62 so that pressing
of a pushbutton 41 will give rotation downwardly to a
valve-operating lever 50. In FIG. 7, an O-shaped sealing ring 63 is
mounted on valve rod 47 to prevent leakage, and a spring 64 is
mounted to bias the valve rod 47 against the valve seat 49. It
should be understood that the same mode of operation according to
this invention is provided by this embodiment as well as in the
aforementioned one, since by depressing pushbutton 41, the lever 50
will be operated downwardly, pushing rod 47 down and opening
passage 61 to allow operation of the sprayer.
Another embodiment shown in FIGS. 8--10 comprises a spinner 46
having a hole 65 through the length thereof, a valve rod 47 having
a valve plate 66 made of an elastic material opening and closing a
jet 43 in the nozzle mouthpiece 44. A switch 39, provided for
turning the sprayer on and off is connected to the valve rod 47. In
FIGS. 8--10, a spring 64 biases the valve plate 66 to the inner
side of the nozzle mouthpiece 44 by imparting pressure to the valve
rod 47 when the sprayer is not in use. An O-shaped sealing ring 63
is provided to prevent leakage. A seat plate 67 supports the spring
64 and O-shaped ring 63 and a fixture 68 is provided for holding
the spring 64, the O-shaped ring 63, and the seat plate 67 in
place. Packing 69 is provided for leakage prevention. Further
provided is a tensioning member 70 adjustably fixed to the
projecting end of the valve rod 47, rollers 71 rotatably secured to
the tensioning member 70, and a wedge-shaped cam 72 formed on the
free end of the valve operating plate 50. The cam 72 contacts the
rollers 71 as shown. Valve-operating plate is pivotally mounted to
case 4 by pivot pin 62 and is operated by push button 41.
In this embodiment, pressure on pushbutton 41 will press the
valve-operating plate 50 downwardly, and the valve rod 47 is moved
sideways in resistance to the spring 64 by the cam 72 at the edge
of the operating plate 50. This separates the valve plate 66 from
the jet 43 of the nozzle mouthpiece 44, thereby opening passage 61
and making spraying possible. When pressure is removed from the
pushbutton 41, the valve-operating plate 50 goes back to its normal
position, being pressed back by the valve rod 47 and spring 64,
thereby closing the opening 43 and preventing undesired flow of the
liquid.
Another embodiment shown in FIGS. 11--14 provides a cock valve 47
within a passage 61 of a nozzle 21, connecting the valve 47 with
the operation of a switch push button 41 and revolving it so as to
open and close the passage 61 for the liquid. In FIGS. 11--14 there
is shown a pin 73 projecting eccentrically from the cock valve 47,
an elongated slot 74 formed on one end of bent part 75 of the
valve-operating plate 50. The pin 76 is mounted within the
elongated slot 74. There are also shown in FIGS. 11--14 a packing
76, and an O-shaped ring 63 for prevention of leakage. In this
embodiment, the passage 77, in the cock valve 47 is not connected
with the passage in guide tube 24 when the sprayer is not in use,
thus preventing the flow of liquid out of the jet 43 due to
increase of the pressure within the liquid container. Pressure on
the pushbutton 41 turns on the sprayer motor and lowers the valve
operating plate 50, thereby pushing eccentric pin 73 of the cock
valve 47 and rotating the cock valve 47, so that passage 61 is
connected through by means of the passage 77 being aligned with the
passage 61, thus allowing liquid to reach the jet 43.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the combination of the
eccentric pin 73 and the elongated slot 74 may be replaced with the
combination of a rack gear and a rack. This modification should be
obvious to those ordinarily skilled in the art.
* * * * *