Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This is a division of our co-pending Canadian
Patent Application No. 2,181,820 dated 5th December 1995.
The present invention relates to a sprayer for
spraying liquid, such as liquid detergent and insecticide
contained in a container, in the atomized state or foamed
state.
There are several kinds of sprayers as disclosed
in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-
Open No. 63-20970 (1988), Japanese Utility Model Application
Laid-Open No. 64-12668 (1989), and Japanese Utility Model
Publication No. 62-770 (1987). Such sprayers are of a so-
called trigger-type. That is, such sprayers are each
provided with a trigger energized (force-applied) forward by
a coil spring, wherein the trigger can be pulled against
elastic force of the coil spring to pressurize liquid in a
pump chamber with a piston and to atomize the liquid, and
then the trigger and the piston are returned by the elastic
force of the coil spring to pump up liquid in the container
into the pump chamber.
However, such a conventional sprayer has a problem
of installing the coil spring into the sprayer while
assembling the sprayer. That is, it is sometimes difficult
to insert the coil spring to a hold opening for holding the
coil spring because the axis of the coil spring is hard to
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-2-
coincide with the axis of the hold opening. Further, when
the coil spring is inserted into the hold opening with the
axes not coinciding with each other, the inner surface of
the hold opening is sometimes scratched. Then, the coil
spring touches the scratch during expansion and contraction
of the coil spring, thereby disturbing the smooth expansion
and contraction of the coil spring. One of the objects of
the present invention is to solve this problem.
As one of the sprayers, a sprayer for foam-spraying
liquid is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent
Publication No. 62-59635 (1987). A conventional sprayer of
this type sprays the liquid in a constant foaming state.
That is, the sprayer can not change the foaming state for
spraying. However, it may be convenient to change its
foaming state in the practical use. One of the objects of
the present invention is therefore to easily change its
foaming state.
Furthermore, the present applicant has proposed a
sprayer having a nozzle cover, which is disposed at the tip
end of the spraying member having a spraying outlet at the
front and center thereof to cover the spraying outlet and,
the end of which is pivotably mounted to the upper end of
the spraying member, wherein the sprayer is provided with
holding means for holding the nozzle cover not to allow the
nozzle cover to be opened while closing the spraying outlet
(Japanese Patent Application No. 6-27759 (1994)).
This sprayer can make the spraying outlet held in
its closed state while not spraying. When the sprayer
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3
sprays with the nozzle cover held upwardly apart from the
spraying outlet, however, there is a possibility of
inadvertently pivoting the nozzle cover downward to block
the spray. As the nozzle cover blocks the spray, the
sprayed particles may be scattered in unexpected directions.
One of the objects of the present invention is therefore to
prevent the nozzle cover from inadvertently pivoting
downward while spraying.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a sprayer for spraying
foamable liquid in the foamed state, comprising: (a) a
discharge nozzle, (b) a swirling passage disposed at an
upstream side of said discharge nozzle to communicate with
said discharge nozzle for swirling the liquid, (c) a gas-
liquid mixing passage concentrically disposed at a
downstream side of said discharge nozzle to communicate with
said discharge nozzle, (d) an air inlet for allowing air to
enter into said gas-liquid mixing passage, and (e) a
collision plate having a collision portion and a flow
opening and disposed at a downstream side of said gas-liquid
mixing passage to face said discharge nozzle, said collision
plated being movable to an open position from a closed
posit=ion in front of said discharge nozzle, wherein said
discharge nozzle, said swirling passage, said gas-liquid
mixing passage and said air inlet form a front end member,
said collision plate being mounted to said front end member
so as to spray said liquid in a foamed state with mutually
different spray patterns in said open and closed positions.
The liquid becomes swirling flow after passing
through the swirling passage and is discharged from the
discharge nozzle to the gas-liquid mixing passage. At this
point:, the liquid is scattered into sprayed fine particles
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3a
by the centrifugal force. A negative pressure develops
around the discharge nozzle by the discharge of the liquid
from the discharge nozzle, thereby entering air from the air
inlet to the gas-liquid mixing passage.
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When the collision plate is disposed to face the
discharge nozzle, part of the sprayed particles sprayed in
the gas-liquid mixing passage are scattered by colliding
with the gas-liquid mixing passage and the collision portion
of the collision plate, and stir the flow in the gas-liquid
mixing passage. As a result, the sprayed particles of the
liquid and the air are mixed well in the gas-liquid mixing
passage and thus become foam. The foam is mixed with the
sprayed particles reached without colliding with the
collision portion and discharged from the flow outlet. As
mentioned above, in case of closing the collision plate, the
liquid detergent is well foamed because the flow in the gas-
liquid mixing passage is well stirred.
On the other hand, when the collision plate is
displaced from a position in front of the discharge nozzle,
the effect of stirring in the gas-liquid mixing passage is
also weak and foaming is poor because the portion where the
sprayed particles sprayed in the gas-liquid mixing passage
may collide with is only the inner surface of the gas-liquid
mixing passage.
The opened end of the air inlet is preferably
disposed near the discharge nozzle because of the mixing
effectiveness between the liquid and the air.
The sprayer many preferably comprise a front end
member having the discharge nozzle, the swirling passage,
the gas-liquid mixing passage, and the air inlet, the
collision plate being pivotably mounted to the front end
member.
The collision plate many comprise an extending
passage for substantially extending the gas-liquid mixing
passage in case of disposing the collision plate to face the
discharge nozzle, and the collision portion and the flow
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opening are disposed at a downstream side of the extending
passage. It should be noted that the collision plate in the
third aspect may not have the extending passage. The
collision portion of the collision plate may comprise a
5 plurality of bar-like collision walls extending toward a
point on an extension of the center of the discharge nozzle,
and the flow opening is disposed among the bar-like
collision walls and on the extension of the center of the
discharge nozzle. It should be noted that the collision
portion and the flow opening in the third aspect may have
structures other than those mentioned above.
The invention will further be described, by way of
example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings,
wherein:
Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a sprayer
according to Example 1;
Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a pump
chamber used in the sprayer according to Example 1;
Fig. 3 is a front view of a coil spring used in
the sprayer according to Example 1;
Fig. 4 is a side view, partly sectioned, of the
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coil spring of the sprayer according to Example 1;
Fig. 5 is a front view of a modified example of the
coil spring of the sprayer according to Example 1;
Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional side view of the
S modified exa mple of the coil spring of the sprayer
according to Example 1;
Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view of a discharge
portion of a sprayer according to Example 2, in its
assembled st ate (taken along a line I-I of Fig. 8);
Fig. 8 is a front view of the discharge portion of
the sprayer according to Example 2, in its assembled state;
Fig. 9 is a side view showing the sprayer of
Example 2 wh en it is mcunted to a container;
Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional view cf a
supporting member
used in the
sprayer according
to Example
2 (taken along
a line II-II
of Fig. 11);
Fig. 11 is a front view of the supporting member
of
the sprayer according to Example 2;
Fig. 12 is a vertical sectional view of a spraying
member used in the sprayer according to Example 2 (taken
along a line
III-III of
Fig. 13);
Fig. 13 is a front view of the spraying member of
the sprayer according to Example 2;
Fig. 14 is a rear view of the spraying member of
the sprayer according to Example 2;
Fig. 15 is a sectional view taken along a line
IV-IV of Fig.
13;
Fig. 16 is a side view of a collision plate used
in
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the sprayer according to Example 2;
Fig. 17 is a rear view of the collision plate of
the sprayer according to Example 2;
Fig. 18 is a sectional view taken along a line V-V
of Fig. 17;
Fig. 19 is a view showing a spraying state of the
sprayer of Example 2 when the collision plate is disposed
to face a discharge nozzle;
Fig. 20 is a side view showing the deposited state
of foam on a wall surface which is sprayed from the sprayer
of Example 2 when the collision plate is disposed to face a
discharge nozzle;
Fig. 21 is a front view showing the deposited state
of the foam on the wall surface which is sprayed from the
sprayer of Example 2 when the collision plate is disposed
to face the discharge nozzle;
Fig. 22 is a view showing a spraying state of the
sprayer of Example 2 when the collision plate is got away
from a position in front of the discharge nozzle;
Fig. 23 is a side view showing the deposited state
of the foam on the wall surface which is sprayed from the
sprayer of Example 2 when the collision plate is got away
from a position in front of the discharge nozzle;
Fig. 24 is a front view showing the deposited sl:atc-:
of the foam on the wall surface which is sprayed from the
sprayer of Example 2 when the collision plate is got away
from a position in front of the discharge nozzle;
Fig. 25 is a side view showing a portion of a
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sprayer, partly sectioned, according to Example 3;
Fig. 26 is an assembled perspective view showing
the closed state of the spraying outlet in the sprayer of
Example 3;
Fig. 27 is an assembled perspective view showing
the opend state of the spraying outlet in the sprayer of
Example 3;
Fig. 28 is an exploded perspective view of the
sprayer of Example 3;
Fig. 29 is a vertical sectional view of a second
holding means used in the sprayer of Example 3;
Fig. 30 is an assembled perspective view showing
the closed state of the spraying outlet in the sprayer of
Example 4;
Fig. 31 is an exploded perspective view of the
sprayer of Example 4;
Fig. 32 is a vertical sectional view showing a main
part of the sprayer of Example 4 with its spraying outlet
opened;
Fig. 33 is an assembled perspective view showing
the closed state of the spraying outlet in the sprayer of
Example 5;
Fig. 34 is an assembled perspective view showing
the opened state of the spraying outlet in the sprayer of
Example 5;
Fig. 35 is an exploded perspective view of a
sprayer of Example 5;
Fig. 36 is an assembled perspective view showing
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9
the closed state of the spraying outlet in the sprayer of
Example 6;
Fig. 37 is an assembled perspective view showing
the opened state of the apraying outlet in the sprayer of
Example 6;
Fig. 38 is a perspective view of a nozzle cover
used in the sprayer of Example 6;
Fig. 39 is an assembled perspective view showing
the closed state of the spraying outlet of the sprayer of
Example 7;
Fig. 40 is an assembled perspective view showing
the opened state of the sprayer of Example 7; and
Fig. 41 is a perspective view of a nozzle cover
used in the sprayer of Example 7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present
invention will be described with reference to the attached
drawings.
Example 1
A sprayer according to Example 1 will be described
based on Fig. 1 through Fig. 6.
The sprayer of this example is of a trigger type
and is mounted to the neck of a container (not shown) for
use. Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the sprayer
which comprises a sprayer body B having an injector
cylinder B~~ a supporting cylinder Bz, and a grip portion
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B:" a spraying member A disposed on the front end of the
sprayer body B, a discharge chamber C, a pump chamber D, a
trigger E, and a mounting cap F.
The mounting cap F is attached to the lower end of
5 the supporting cylinder Bz. The sprayer is fixed to the
neck of the 'container by the mounting cap F.
The discharge chamber C comprises a discharge
cylinder 101 mounted in the supporting cylinder B2. The
discharge cylinder 101 is provided with a suction chamber
10 103 at the lower side thereof and a discharge valve chamber
lO~l at the upper side Chereof. The l.c~wr:r c:nd ot~ t_he
discharge cylinder I01 is connected to a suction pipe 102
whereby the suction chamber 103 communicates with the
inside of the container.
A valve seat 106 is formed on the inner wall of the
suction chamber 103 and just~above the suction pipe 102,
and a valve ball 105 contained in the suction chamber 103
can sit on or move apart from the valve seat 106.
In the discharge valve chamber 104, a discharge
valve 107, which has an elastic deformable portion 108
engaging the upper end of the discharge valve chamber 104,
is contained. The discharge valve 107 can sit on or move
apart from a valve seat 109 disposed between the suction
chamber 103 and the discharge valve chamber 144.
The discharge cylinder 101 is provided with an
opening 110 allowing the suction chamber 103 to communicate
with a cylinder chamber 129 described later, and an opening
111 allowing the discharge valve chamber 104 to communicate
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with a discharge passage 112 described later.
The injector cylinder B~ is provided with the
discharge passage 112 communicating with the discharge
valve chamber 104 through the opening 111. The spraying
member A is provided with passages 113, 114 communicating
with the discharge passage I12, and a spraying outlet 115
communicating with the passage 119.
The pump chamber D comprises a cylinder 120 and a
piston 130. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the
pump chamber D. The cylinder 120 is provided with an outer
cylinder 121, a bottom wall 122, and an inner cylinder 123
so that a cylinder chamber 124 is formed between the inner
surface of the cylinder 120 and an end face 136 of the
piston 130.
In the inner cylinder 123, it is provided a
supporting hole 125 for holding a coil spring I40 described
later therein, and a plurality of projections 125a for
supporting the coil spring 140 disposed on the inner
surface thereof.
The bottom wall 122 of the cylinder 120 is provided
with an opening 126 communicating with the suction chamber
103 through the opening 110. The outer cylinder 121 is
provided, at the lower side thereof, with an air inlet 12'7
allowing the inside of the container to communicate with
the atmosphere at the end of the forward motion of the
piston 130. In this specification, the expression "the
foward motion of the piston 130" means that the piston 130
moves in the direction approaching the bottom wall 122 ~f
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the cylinder 120. The air inlet 127 communicates through
the passage 117 with an opening 116 disposed in the
discharge cylinder I01 at the lower side thereof, and
further communicates with the container through the opening
S 116.
The piston 130 is provided with a cylindrical
portion 131 and a piston portion I32. The cylindrical
portion 132 has a concavity 134 formed in an end 133
thereof for engaging with a trigger E, and a supporting
hole 135 formed therein for supporting the coil spring 140.
The supporting hole 135 has a step 135a and a plurality of
projections I35b for holding the coil spring 140 which are
disposed on the inner surface thereof.
The piston portion 132 is made of an elastic
material and comprises an outer slider 132a air-tightly
sliding on the inner surface of the outer cylinder 121 of
the cylinder 120, an inner slider 132b air-tightly sliding
on the outer surface of the inner cylinder 123 of the
cylinder 120, and the end face 136 facing to the~cyl=nder
chamber 124.
The outer slider 132a is formed in an arch-like
configuration and has diameters of the both ends thereof
are set to be slightly larger than the inner diameter of
the outer cylinder 121 of the cylinder 120. This is
because the air-tightness of the cylinder 120 must be kept
when the piston I30 is inserted into the cylinder 120. The
end face 136 of the piston 130 is provided with annular
grooves 136a, 136b formed therein for absorbing the
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deformation when the piston 130 is inserted into the
cylinder 120.
The trigger E has a handle member 151, which is
pivotably mounted to the injector cylinder B, at one end
thereof, and a pushing piece 152 disposed on the handle
member 151. The pushing piece 152 engages with the
concavity 134 of the piston 130.
The coil spring 140 for elastically returning the
trigger E is mounted between the cylindrical portion 131 of
the piston 130 and the inner cylinder 123 of the cylinder
120.
The coil spring 140 in this example is described
with reference to Fig. 3 and Fig. 4. Fig. 3 is a front
view of the coil spring 140 and Fig. 4 is a partially
sectioned side view of it.
The coil spring 140 comprises a coil wire 141 and
is formed so that both wire end portions 142 of the coil
wire 141 are in contact with the adjacent coil wire
portions 144, respectively and are inwardly deflected, and
a portion of each wire end portion 142 which extends in a
predetermined length from each end 143 of the coil wire 141
is positioned on a plane perpendicular or nearly
perpendicular to the axis P of the coil spring 140.
While the deflected portion of the wire end portion
142 is preferably positioned on a plane perpendicular to
the axis, it is not necessary that the deflected portion is
positioned precisely on a plane perpendicular to the axis,
that is, the deflected portion may be positioned nearly
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14
perpendicular to the axis.
Fig. 3 shows a case where a portion which extends
from the end 143 to have an angle 8 (hereinafter, referred
to as the deflection angle 6) about the axis P of the coil
spring 140 is positioned on a plane perpendicular or nearly
perpendicular to the axis P of the coil spring 140, and the
end 193 is deflected from the circumscribed circle of the
coil wire 141 by a length s (hereinafter, referred to as
the deflection length s).
There is a relation among the wire diameter of the
coi 1. W re 191 , t_tm <.ic:I le:cU.i.on l enc~tt~ 5, urad Lloe d~f LecL ion
angle 8. For example, when the deflection angle 8 is 90°,
the deflection length s is approximately 0.66d.
As shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, when the deflection
angle 8 is 180°, the deflection length s is approximately
0.87d.
The coil spring 140 as structured above is quite
advantageous for assembling the pump chamber D. Now, the
description will be made as regard to this.
For assembling the pump chamber D, one end of the
coil spring 140 is inserted into the supporting hole 135 of
the piston 130 and the wire end portion 142 of the coil
spring 140 is engaged with the step 135a. Since the wire
end portion 142 is positioned on a plane nearly
perpendicular to the axis P of the coil spring 140, the
axis P of the coil spring 140 becomes substantially the
same as the axis of the piston 130 by engaging the wire end
portion 142 with the step 135a.
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Then, the piston 130 to which the coil spring 140
~is mounted is mounted to the cylinder 120. At this point,
t:he other end side of the coil spring 140 must be inserted
to the supporting hole 125 of the cylinder 120 at the same
5 tame that the piston 130 is inserted to the cylinder 120.
In a case of this sprayer, the axis P of the coil
spring 190 is substantially the same as the axis of the
piston 130 as mentioned above, whereby the insertion of the
piston 130 to the cylinder 120 and the insertion of the
10 other end side of the coil spring 190 into the supporting
hole 125 can be smoothly and securely achieved at the same
time. Therefore, it can prevent the incomplete
installation of the coil spring.
In addition, when the other end side of the coil
15 spring 190 is inserted to the supporting hole 125 of the
cylinder 120, there is no chance to scratch the inner
surface of the supporting hole 125. As a result, there is
also no chance to disturb the smooth expansion and
contraction of the coil spring 190.
As described above, for making the assembly of the
pump chamber D easy, the lager deflection angle 8 of the
wire end portion 142 of the coil spring 140 is better.
Practically, the advantage as mentioned above can be
obtained upon setting it to satisfy the formula: s 2 0.5d.
Hereinafter, the description will be made as regard
t:o the operation of this sprayer. Upon pushing the trigger
E; of the sprayer fixed to the neck of the container in the
direction of teh arrow G, the pushing piece 152pushes the
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16
concavity 134 of the front end 133 of the piston 130. As a
result of this, the end face 136 of the piston portion 132
moves until coming in contact with the bottom wall 122 ~f
the cylinder 120 so as to push out the liquid filling the
cylinder chamber I24 from the opening 126 to the suction
chamber 103. Then the discharge valve 107 is pushed
upwardly by the hydraulic pressure in the suction chamber
103.
The discharge valve 107 rises from the valve seat
109 according to the elastic deformation of the elastic
deformable portion 108 to open valve. As a result, the
liquid is entered from the suction chamber 103 into the
discharge valve chamber 104 and further into the discharge
passage 112 through the opening 111. Furthermore, through
the passages 113, 114, the liquid is atomized from the
spray output 115.
During this process, the cylindrical portion 131 of
the piston 130 compresses the coil spring 140 and the valve
ball 105 is seated on the valve seat 106 by the hydraulic
pressure in the suction chamber 103 to close valve.
Upon completion of the spraying of the liquid from
the spraying outlet 115, by releasing the trigger E from
being pressed, the piston 130 is returned to the position
shown in Fig. 1 by the elastic force of the coil spring
140. As a result, t:he cylinder chamber 124 becomes larc~c~r
so that a negative pressure develops in the cylinder
chamber 124. The negative pressure effects the discharge
valve 107 and valve ball 105. That is, the negative
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17
pressure seats the discharge valve 107 on the valve seat
109 to close the valve and makes the valve ball 105 apart
from the valve seat 106 to open the valve. As a result of
this, the liquid in the container is sucked up to the
suction chamber 103 through the suction pipe 102 and,
further, charged into the cylinder chamber 129 through the
openings 110, 126 in preparation for the next spraying.
The air inlet 127 formed in the outer cylinder 121
of the cylinder 120 communicates with the at=mosphere to
introduce the atmosphere into the container through the
passage 117 and the opening 116 when the end face 136 of
the piston 130 approaches to the bottom wall 122 of the
cylinder 120. After that, the air inlet 127 is designed to
be closed by the outer slider 132a of the piston 130 when
1S the piston 130 is returned to the position shown in Fig. 1
thereby preventing the liquid in the container from
spilling out from the air inlet 127 even when the container
is toppled.
Though the axis of the pump chamber D is arranged
parallel to that of the injector cylinder B, in this
example, the coil spring 140 as structured above may be
used in a sprayer in which the axis of the pump chamber D
is arranged to intersect the axis of the injector cylinder
BI as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication ivo.
62-770 (1987).
Example 2
A sprayer according to Example 2 will tie describec.i
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with reference to Fig. 7 through Fig. 24.
Fig. 9 is a side view of the outside of the
sprayer, which is fixed to the neck of a container 80
filled with liquid detergent (foamable liquid), through a
cap 90.
The sprayer is of a trigger-type and comprises a
frame 1, a trigger 2 energized forward by a spring (not
shown), a spraying member 20 mounted to the front end of
the frame 1. Tn this sprayer, when the trigger 2 is
forward returned by the elastic force of the spring, the
liquid detergent in the container 80 is pumped up into the
frame 1 and, when the trigger 2 is pulled rearwardly, the
liquid detergent pumped up in the frame 2 is sprayed in a
foam state from the front end of the spraying member 20.
Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view of a discharge
portion of the sprayer (taken along the line I-I of Fig.
8), and Fig. 8 is a front view of the same.
The frame 1 is provided with a discharge tube 3 at
the front end portion thereof, to which a supporting member
10 is fixed.
Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional view of the
supporting member 10 (taken along the line II-II of Fig.
11), and Fig. 11 is a front view of the same. The
supporting member 10 has a base cylinder 12, a holding
cylinder 13, and a partition 11 disposed between the base
cylinder 12 and the holding cylinder 13 which are eccentric
to each other. The base cylinder 12 is sealingly fixed to
the outside of the discharge tube 3.
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19
The base cylinder 12 and the holding cylinder 13
communicate with each other through a through hole 14
formed in the partition 11. A column-like shaft member 15
which is concentrically disposed inside the holding
cylinder 13 projects from the partition 11. The shaft
member 15 is provided with two vertical grooves 16, 16
which are formed in a front-side outer surface thereof,
extend to the front end face of the shaft member 15 in the
longitudinal direction thereof, and are spaced apart from
each other by 180° with respect to the circumferentia_l.
direction.
The spraying member 20 is mounted to the holding
cylinder 13 of the supporting membE:r 10. Fig. 12 is a
vertical sectional view of the spraying member 20 (taken
along the line III-III of Fig. 13), Fig. 13 is a front view
of the same, Fig. 14 is a rear view of the same, and Fig.
15 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of Fig.
13.
The spraying member 20 has a vertical wall 22
through which a discharge nozzle 21 is formed in the center
thereof. An inner cylinder 23, a middle cylinder 24, and
an outer cylinder 25 each of which is formed in an
annulus-ring shape, project rearwardly from the vertical
wall 22 in a concentric arrangement with the discharge
nozzle 21.
The bottom face 29 of the inner cylinder 23 is
provided with a round small-diameter concavity 26 which is
concentric with the discharge nozzle 21, and two grooves
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(swirling passages) 27, 27 which oppositely extend from the
small concavity 26 to the outside in the tangential
direction of the inner circumference of the small-diameter
concavity 26. The inner surface of the inner cylinder 23
5 has two vertical grooves 28, 28 at the top side thereof,
which linearly extend from the top end to a position in
front of the bottom face 29 of the inner cylinder 23 and
are spaced apart from each other by 180° with respect to
the circumferential direction. The grooves 27, 27 lie on
10 the extensions of the vertical grooves 28, 28,
respectively.
The spraying member 20 is mounted to the supporting
member 10 to allow it to be rotated and not to allow it to
be removed by closely, rotatablely inserting the shaft
15 member 15 of the supporting member 10 into the inner
cylinder 23, closely, rotatably inserting the outer surface
of the middle cylinder 24 into the front-side inner surface
of the holding cylinder I3 of the supporting member 10, and
engaging an engaging ring 30 disposed on the inner surface
20 of the outer cylinder 25 with the engaging ring 17 disposed
on the outer surface of the holding cylinder 13. The end
face of the shaft member 15 of the supporting member 10
comes in contact with the bottom face 29 of the inner
cylinder 23 to close the small-diameter concavity 26.
The rotation of the spraying member 20 relative Lo
the supporting member 10 can make the rear ends of the
vertical grooves 16 of the supporting member 10 coincide
with and come out of the front ends of the vertical grooves
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21
28 of the spraying member 20, respectively.
Fig. 7 shows a state in which the rear ends of the
vertical grooves 16 coincide with the front ends of the
vertical grooves 28, respectively. In this state, the
grooves 27 communicate with the vertical grooves 28 through
the vertical grooves 16. When the vertical grooves 16 and
28 are positioned not to coincide with each other, the
vertical grooves 28 are closed with the outer surface of
the shaft member 15 and the vertical grooves 16 are closed
with the inner surface of the inner cylinder 23, thereby
shutting off the communication between the vertical grooves
16 and vertical grooves 28.
From the vertical wall 22 of the spraying member
20, a hollow projection 31 and the shell-like wall 32
project forward. In the inside of the projection 31, a
round small-diameter concavity 33 communicating with the
discharge nozzle 21 and a round large-diameter concavity 3~
are formed in a concentric arragement with the discharge
nozzle 21. The shell-like wall 32 is disposed outside the
projection 31 and the front end of the shell-like wall 32
projects forward more than the projection 31.
On the inner surface of the small-diameter
concavity 33, four air holes (air inlets) 35 are formed,
each of which communicates with one of air passages 36
opened in the outer surface of the shell-like wall 32. The
shell-like wall 32 has cutouts 37, 38 in the upper and
lower sides, respectively, and also has through holes 39,
39 formed at the both sides of the upper cutout 37 and
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22
through holes 40, 40 formed at the both sides of the lower
cutout 38.
A collision plate 50 is mounted to the front end of
the spraying member 20. Fig. 16 is a side view of the
collision plate 50, Fig. 17 is a rear view of the same
(from the right side of the Fig. 16j, and Fig. 18 is a
sectional view taken along the line V-V of Fig. 17.
The collision plate 50 is provided with a pair of
supporting shaft portions 51, 51 on the upper side thereof.
By inserting the supporting shaft portions 51, 51 info the
through holes 39, 39 of the spraying member 20,
respectively, the collision plate 50 is pivotably
supported. It should be noted that the supporting shaft
portions 51 is tightly fitted into the through hole 39,
thereby preventing the collision plate 50 from
inadvertently pivoting.
The collision plate 50 is designed to have a
configuration and a size to be fit inside the shell-like
wall 32 of the spraying member 20 when the collision plate
50 is suspended as shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 (hereinafter,
referred to as the closed state of the collision plate 50j.
The collision plate 50 has a tongue 52 disposed on the
lower side thereof to extend lower than the shell wall 32.
Engaging protrusions 53, 53 provided on the both sides of
the tongue 52 engage the through holes 40, 90 of the
shell-like wall 32, respectively, whereby the collision
plate 50 can be locked in the closed state.
The collision plate 50 has a through hole
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23
(extending passage) 54 which is concentric with the
discharge nozzle 21 when the collision plate 50 is in the
closed state. The through hole 54 has an inner diameter
slightly larger than the inner diameter of the large-
diameter concavity 34 of the spraying member 20. The
through hole 54 is provided with a step hole 55 having a
inner diameter larger than that of the through hole 54, at
the rear side thereof. In the closed state of the
collision plate 50, the front end of the projection 31 of
the spraying member 20 is in the step hole 55 so that it is
positioned closely to the stepped portion.
The collision plate 50 has five bar-like collision
walls (collision wall portions) 56 extending from the inner
surface of the through hole 54 toward the center of the
through hole 54, at the front end side at even intervals.
The tips of the bar-like collision walls 56 are spaced from
each other. The front end of the though hole 54 is divided
into a center opening (flow opening) 57 and five fan-shaped
openings (flow opening) 58 positioned around the center
opening 57 by the five bar-like collision walls.
The description will now be made as regard to the
operation of the sprayer. By rotating the spraying member
20 to bring the vertical groove 16 of the supporting member
10 to communicate with the vertical groove 28 of the
spraying member 20, and pulling the trigger 2 rearwardly,
the liquid detergent in the container 80 is pumped up to
the discharge tube 3. The liquid detergent passes through
the base cylinder 12, the through hole 14, and the holding
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24
cylinder 13 of the supporting member 10 and then entered
into the small-diameter concavity 26 through the vertical
grooves 16, 28 and grooves 27.
The liquid detergent becomes high-speed swirling
flow when it is entered into the small-diameter concavity
26 from the grooves 27 and flows through the discharge
nozzle 21 while swirling at a high speed. The liquid
detergent from the discharge nozzle 21 is discharged to the
small-diameter concavity 33 and the large-diameter
concavity 34 while it is scattered into small particles by
centrifugal force. As the liquid detergent is discharged
from the discharge nozzle 21, a negative pressure develops
in the small-diameter concavity 33 whereby air is entered
into the small-diameter concavity 33 through the air hole
35.
In this sprayer, the spray state of the sprayed
liquid detergent can be suitably selected by opening or
closing the collision plate 50. Hereinafter, the
description will be made as regard to this.
<In case of closing the collision plate 50>
Fig. 19 shows a spray state of the sprayed liquid
detergent when the collision plate 50 is located to face a
discharge nozzle 21. In this case, the small-diameter
concavity 33 and the large-diameter concavity 34 of the
spraying member 20 and the through hole 54 of the collision
plate 50 form together a gas-liquid mixing passage so that
part of sprayed particles of the liquid detergent sprayed
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from the discharge nozzle 21 become smaller particles and
scatter by colliding with the inner surface of the
aforementioned gas-liquid mixing passage or the bar-life
collision walls 56 of the Collision plate 50, and stir the
5 flow in the gas-liquid mixing passage. As a result of
this, the sprayed particles of the liquid detergent are
mixed with air entered from the air holes in the gas-liquid
mixing passage so as to become foams. The foams are mixed
with the sprayed particles directly reached without
colliding with the bar-like walls 56 and the like and then
discharged from the openings 57, 58 of the collision plate
50.
When the collision plate 50 is closed as mentioned
above, the flow is stirred well in the gas-liquid mixing
15 passage so that the detergent is foamed well. Since the
distance between the discharge nozzle 21 and the front end
of the gas-liquid mixing passage is long and the scattered
angle is limited, the foams and the sprayed particles
discharged from the openings 57, 58 are sprayed forward in
20 the bundle state with little scattering.
As a result of observing the deposited state of the
liquid detergent on the wall surface X-X which is located
approximately 25-30 cm apart from the spraying member 20 in
the forward direction when the liquid detergent is
25 discharged with the collision plate being closed as shown
in Fig. 19, the deposited state is observed as shown in the
side view of Fig. 20 and the front view of Fig. 21. That
is, in this case, the liquid detergent is deposited in a
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26
small range on the wall surface in the volumed foaming
state.
<In case of getting away upward the collision plate 50>
Fig. 22 shows a spray state of the sprayed liquid
detergent when the collision plate 50 is pivoted upwardly
to get away from a position in front of the discharge
nozzle 21. In this case, the small-diameter concavity 33
and the large-diameter concavity 34 of the spraying member
20 form together a gas-liquid mixing passage. Therefore,
the gas-liquid mixing passage has a whole length shorter
than that in case of closing the collision plate 50.
Part of the sprayed particles of the liquid
detergent sprayed from the discharge nozzle 21 become
smaller particles and acatter by colliding with the inner
surface, of the gas-liquid mixing passage, and stir the flow
in the gas-liquid mixing passage. However, since the
collision plate 50 is got away in this case, the scatter of
the sprayed particles is narrower than the case of closing
the collision plate 50 and the effect of stirring in the
gas-liquid mixing passage is also weak. Therefore, the
liquid detergent is not so foamed by comparison with the
case of closing the collision plate 50. The foams are
mixed with the sprayed particles directly reached without
colliding with the inner surface of the gas-liquid mixing
passage and then discharged from the large-diameter
concavity 34 of the spraying member 20.
Thus, since the distance between the discharge
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27
nozzle 21 and the front end of the gas-liquid mixing
passage is short and the scattered angle is wide in case of
getting away the collision wall 50, the foam and the
sprayed particles are scattered and sprayed from the large-
diameter concavity 34.
As a result of observing the deposited state of the
liquid detergent on the wall surface X-X which is located
approximately 25-30 cm apart from the spraying member 20 in
the forward direction when the liquid detergent is
discharged with the collision plate being got away upward
in the opened state as shown in Fig. 22, the deposited
state is observed as shown in the side view of Fig. 23 and
the front view of Fig. 24. That is, in this case, the
liquid detergent is deposited in a wide range on the wall
surface, the center of which is in the foamed state and the
periphery of which is in the atomized state.
As described above, the sprayer according to this
example, the collision plate 50 located to face the
discharge nozzle 21 is disposed so that it can be got away
from a position in front of the discharge nozzle 21,
thereby allowing the selection whether the liquid is
sprayed in the well foamed state or in the not-so-well
foamed state.
When the collision plate 50 has the through hole 59
for substantially extending the gas-liquid mixing passage
in case of disposing the collision plate 50 to face the
discharge nozzle 21, the scattering of the foam sprayed out
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28
from the flow opening of the collision plate 50 can be
reduced.
example 3
The description will now be made as regard to a
sprayer according to Example 3 with referred to Fig. 25
through Fig. 29. Fig. 25 is a front view of the sprayer
200 partially sectioned. The sprayer 200 of this example
is of the trigger type and is mounted to the neck of a
container 300 for use. Both the sprayer 200 and the
container 300 are made of synthetic resin.
The sprayer 200 has a spraying member 210, the
outline of which is formed in an inverted triangle when
seen from the front side, at the front end thereof. The
spraying member 210 is provided with a cavity 211 formed in
the front middle portion thereof. The cavity 211 is
provided with a nozzle cylinder 212 protruding from the
center thereof. A spraying outlet 213 for spraying out,
which has a swirling passage therein, is provided in the
center of the nozzle cylinder 212.
As shown in Fig. 26 through Fig. 28, the spraying
member 210 is widely cut out in the front upper portion
thereof. A pair of bearings 220 is formed in the both
sides of the cut-out portion. On the side surfaces facing
each other, shaft supporting holes 221 and insertion
grooves 222 extending from the shaft supporting holes 221
to the front end of the spaying member 210 are formed.
The spraying member 210 is also cut. out in the
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29
front lower portion thereof to have a cutout 230.
A nozzle cover 290 is detachably mounted to the
cavity 211 of the spraying member 210 to cover the spraying
outlet 213. To describe it in more detail, the nozzle
cover 240 has a pair of pivot shafts 242 protruding from
both sides of a base portion 241 thereof. The pivot shafts
242 is rotatably inserted in the shaft supporting holes
221, respectively, so that: the nozzle ever 24U is
pivotably supported by the spraying member 210. It should
be noted that the pivot shafts 292 c:an be easily inserted
into the shaft supporting holes 221 by fitting the pivot
shafts 242 in the insertion grooves 222 and pushing them to
the shaft supporting holes 221.
In the nozzle cover 240, a portion connected to the
base portion 291 is formed to a hinge portion 244,
connected to the base portion 241, which is thin and
flexible.
The nozzle cover 240 has a closing projection 243
projecting from the inner surface center thereof for
closing the spraying outlet 213, and an engaging protrusion
246 protruding from the inner surface thereof and formed in
a nearly ring shape around the closing projection 243, for
engaging with the outside of the nozzle cylinder 212.
The lower side of the nozzle cover 240 is formed to
an engaging end 245 for detachably engaging with the cutout
230.
A first holding means 250 is disposed between the
engaging end 245 and the cutout 230 for holding the
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spraying outlet 213 in the closed state.
The first holding means comprise a pair of engaging
protrusions 251 protruding from both sides of the engaging
end 245, and a pair of engaging holes 252 formed in the
5 sides of the cutout 230 facing each other wherein the
engaging protrusions 251 are engageable with and detachable
from the engaging holes 252, respectively.
On the other hand, a second holding means 260 is
disposed between the engaging end 245 and the top surface
10 of the spraying member 210 for holding the spraying out=let=
213 in the opened state.
The second holding means 260 comprises a hook 261
disposed on the outer surface of the engaging end 245 and
an engaging concavity 262 formed in the top surface rear
15 side of the spraying member 210 wherein the hook 261 is
engageable with and detachable from the engaging concavity
262.
According to the sprayer 200 as structured above,
when spraying is not needed, the nozzle cover 240 is closed
20 and the engaging protrusions 251 of the first holding means
250 are engaged with the engaging holes 252, respectively,
thereby holding the spraying outlet 213 in the closed
state.
On the other hand, when spraying is needed, the
25 first holding means 250 is released by detaching the
engaging protrusions 251 from the engaging holes 252 and
the nozzle cover 240 is pivoted upwardly and further
pivoted rearwardly. The hook 261 of the second holding
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31
means 260 is then engaged with the engaging concavity 262
as shown in Fig. 29, thereby holding the spraying outlet
213 in the opened state.
Fig. 27 shows the sprayer 200 during the second
holding means 260 is operated. When the second holding
means 260 is operated as shown, there is no possibility of
inadvertently pivoting the nozzle cover 240 downward
thereby surely preventing the nozzle cover 240 from
blocking the spraying. Therefore, the sprayed particles
are not scattered in unexpected directions due to co).lision
with the nozzle cover.
After spraying, the second holding means 260 is
released, the nozzle cover 240 is pivoted downward, and the
first holding means 250 is operated again.
The structures of the first holding means 250 and
the second holding means 260 are quite simple structures so
that a mold for molding them from synthetic resin can be
easily manufactured at a low cost, thereby also reducing
the production cost for the sprayer 200.
Example 9
The description will now be made as regard to a
sprayer 200 according to Example 4 with referred to Fig. 30
through Fig. 32. It should be noted that the sprayer 200
of Example 4 is one of modified examples of the sprayer 200
of Example 3 so that the description will be made as regard
only to the differences from Example 3, and the same parts
as those of the sprayer 200 of the third embodiment will be
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32
marked by the same reference numerals, respectively, and
the description about the same parts will be omitted.
In the sprayer 200 of Example 4, the nozzle cover
240 does not have the flexible hinge portion 294 so that
the structure of the second holding means 260 is different.
In Example 4, the base portion 241 of the nozzle
cover 240 has an engaging protrusion 263 protruding from
the top surface thereof. When the nozzle cover 290 is
pivoted upwardly and rearwardly, at the end of this pivotal
movement, the engaging protrusion 263 passes over an upper
edge 212a of the nozzle cylinder 212 of the spraying member
210 to hold the engaging protrusion 263 by the upper edge
212a, as shown in Fig. 32. In a state that the engaging
protrusion 263 is held by the upper edge 212a of the nozzle
cylinder 212 as mentioned above, there is no possibility of
inadvertently pivoting the nozzle cover 240 downward.
As a result of this, the spraying outlet 213 can be
held in the opened state for spraying and the second
holding means 260 can securely prevent the nozzle cover 240
from blocking the spraying so that the sprayed particles
are not scattered in unexpected directions due to collision
with the nozzle cover 240.
That is, the second holding means 260 comprises the
engaging protrusion 263 and the upper edge 212a of the
nozzle cylinder 212 in Example 9.
When spraying is not needed, the second holding
means 260 is released by pivoting the nozzle cover 240
forward to force the engaging protrusion 263 to pass over
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33
the upper edge 212a of the nozzle cylinder 222, and the
first holding means 250 is operated by further pivoting the
nozzle cover 240 downward as shown in Fig. 30.
The structures of the first holding means 250 and
the second holding means 260 are quite simple so that a
mold for molding them from synthetic resin can be easily
manufactured at a low cost, thereby also reducing the
production cost for the sprayer 200.
Example 5
L0 The description will now be made as regard to a
sprayer 200 according to Example 5 with referred to Fig. 33
through Fig. 35. It should be noted that the sprayer 200
of Example S is one of modified examples of the sprayer 200
of Example 3 so that the description will be made as regard
only to the differences from Example 3, and the same parts
as those of the sprayer 200 of Example 3 will be marked by
the same reference numerals, respectively, and the
description about the same parts will be omitted.
In the sprayer 200 of Example 5, the nozzle cover
240 does not have the flexible hinge portion 244 so that
the structure of the second holding means 260 is different.
In Example 5, as shown in Fig. 35, the base portion
241 of the nozzle cover 240 has a pair of engaging
protrusions 264 protruding from both sides thereof and
located beneath the pivot shafts 242, respectively, and the
bearings 220 have engaging holes 265 formed in the side
surfaces facing each other, wherein the engaging
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34
protrusions 264 are engageable with and detachable from the
engaging holes 265. The second holding means 260 comprises
the engaging protrusions 264 and the engaging holes 265 in
Example 5.
For spraying, the engaging protrusions 264 of the
second holding means 260 are engaged with the engaging
holes 265 as shown in Fig. 34, by pivoting the nozzle cover
240 upwardly and rearwardly, in Example 5. When the second
holding means 260 is operated as mentioned above, there is
no possibility of inadvertently pivoting tree nozzle cover
240 downward.
As a result of this, the spraying outlet 2I3 can be
held in the opened state for spraying and the second
holding means 260 can securely prevent the nozzle cover 240
from blocking the spraying so that the sprayed particles
are not scattered in unexpected directions due to collision
with the nozzle cover 240.
When spraying is not needed, the second holding
means 260 is released by pivoting the nozzle cover 290
forward, and the first holding means 250 is operated by
further pivoting the nozzle cover 240 downward as shown in
Fig. 33.
The structures of the first holding means 250 and
the second holding means 260 are quite simple so that a
2S mold for molding them from synthetic resin can be easily
manufactured at a low cost, thereby also reducing the
production cost for the sprayer 200.
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Examgle 6
The description will now be made as regard to a
sprayer 200 according to Example 6 with referred to Fig. 36
through Fig. 38. It should be noted that the sprayer 200
5 of Example 6 is one of modified examples of the sprayer 200
of Example 3 so that the description will be made as regard
only to the differences from Example 3, and the same parts
as those of the sprayer 200 of Example 3 will be marked by
the same reference numerals, respectively, and the
10 description about the same parts will be omitted.
In the sprayer 200 of Example 6, the nozzle cover
240 does not have the flexible hinge portion 244 so that
the structure of the second holding means 260 is different.
In Example 6, the nozzle cover 290 has a pair of
15 step portions 266 formed in the middle of both sides
thereof, respectively, as shown in Fig. 38. When the
nozzle cover 240 is pivoted upwardly and rearwardly, at the
end of this pivotal movement, the nozzle cover 240 tilts
rearwardly so that the step portions 266 sit on the top
20 surfaces of both bearings 220, respectively, as shown in
Fig. 37. In a state that the step portions 266 sit on the
top surfaces of both bearings 220 as mentioned above, there
is no possibility of inadvertently pivoting the nozzle
cover 240 downward.
25 As a result of this, the spraying outlet 213 can be
held in the opened state for spraying and the second
holding means 260 can securely prevent the nozzle cover 240
from blocking the spraying so that the sprayed particles
CA 02397440 2002-09-10
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36
are not scattered in unexpected directions due to collision
with the nozzle cover 240.
That is, the second holding means 260 comprises the
step portions 266 and the top surfaces of the bearings 220
in Example 6.
When spraying is not needed, the first holding
means 250 is operated by further pivoting the nozzle cover
240 forward and downward, as shown in Fig. 36.
The structures of the first holding means 250 and
the second holding means 260 are quite simple so that a
mold for molding them from synthetic resin can be easily
manufactured at a low cost, thereby also reducing the
production cost for the sprayer 200.
Ex .ample 7
The description will now be made as regard to a
sprayer 200 according to Example 7 with referred to Fig. 39
through Fig. 41. It should be noted that the sprayer 200
of Example 7 is one of modified examples of the sprayer 200
of Example 3 so that the description will be made as regard
only to the differences from Example 3, and the same parts
as those of the sprayer 200 of Example 3 will be marked by
the same reference numerals, respectively, and the
description about the same parts will be omitted.
In the sprayer 200 of Example 7, the nozzle cover
290 does not have the flexible hinge portion 294 so that
the structure of the second holding means 260 is different.
In Example 7, as shown in Fig. 39, the cut-out
CA 02397440 2002-09-10
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37
portion has a deep hollow 267 at the rear side of the
bearings 220 and the both sides of the nozzle cover 240 are
cut to have parallel planes 247.
When the nozzle cover 240 is pivoted upwardly and
rearwardly, at the end of this pivotal movement, the nozzle
cover 290 tilts rearwardly so that parts of the parallel
planes 247 of the nozzle cover 240 are deeply inserted into
the hollow 267 as shown in Fig. 40. In a state that the
nozzle cover 290 tilts rearwardly and the parts of the
parallel planes 247 of the nozzle cover 24U are deeply
inserted into the hollow 267 as mentioned above, there is
no possibility of inadvertently pivoting the nozzle cover
240 downward.
As a result of this, the spraying outlet 213 can be
held in the opened state for spraying and the second
holding means 260 can securely prevent the nozzle cover 240
from blocking the spraying so that the sprayed particles
are not scattered in unexpected directions due to collision
with the nozzle cover 240.
That is, the second holding means 260 comprises the
parts of the parallel planes 247 and the hollow 267.
When spraying is not needed, the first holding
means 250 is operated by further pivoting the nozzle cover
240 forward and downward as shown in Fig. 39.
The structures of the first holding means 250 and
the second holding means 260 are quite simple so that a
mold for molding them from synthetic resin can be easily
manufactured at a low cost, thereby also reducing the
CA 02397440 2002-09-10
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38
production cost for the sprayer 200.
It should be noted that the second holding means
260 of the nozzle cover 240 described in Example 3 through
Example 7 may be used as the means for holding the
collision plate 50 in the got-away-upward position in the
sprayer of Example 2.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
The present invention may be available as a sprayer
for spraying liquid, such as liquid detergent, liquid
insecticide, or liquid for other purposes, in the atomized
state or foamed state.
