Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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PRESSURE-ADJUSTABLE JET SPRAY NOZZLE FOR
CLEANING MACHINE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a jet spray nozzle for cleaning
machine and more particularly to a pressure-adjustable jet spray
nozzle, which allows adjustment of the pressure of the jet spray
water or cleaning fluid during operation and also allows
replacement of the nozzle head.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Conventional high-pressure cleaning machines commonly use
a motor or engine to drive a pump in pumping compressed clean
water or cleaning fluid to a water pipe that has a jet spray nozzle
at the free end. A user can control a control level of the jet spray
nozzle to let compressed clean water or cleaning fluid be driven
out of the nozzle tip of the jet spray nozzle for cleaning. However,
a conventional jet spray nozzle, for example, the ejection nozzle
for high-pressure and lower-pressure cleaning apparatus as
disclosed in US5242116, simply allows adjustment of the pressure
of output water or cleaning fluid. It does not allow replacement of
the nozzle head by the user. There is known a jet spray nozzle that
allows replacement of the nozzle head. However, this design of jet
spray nozzle is for use to spray gasoline. The nozzle head and
other component parts of this design of jet spray nozzle are made
of metal. Thus, the manufacturing cost of this design of jet spray
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nozzle is relatively high. Because of the relatively high cost, this design of
jet
spray nozzle is not suitable for use with a high-pressure cleaning apparatus
for
ejecting clean water or cleaning fluid for cleaning.
Therefore, there is a strong need for an inexpensive jet spray nozzle that
allows replacement of the nozzle head.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in
view. It is an object of the present invention to provide a pressure-
adjustable jet
spray nozzle, which has the nozzle head and other component parts thereof made
by means of a combination of metal and plastics to lower the cost and to
facilitate
replacement of the nozzle head. It is another object of the present invention
to
provide a pressure-adjustable jet spray nozzle, which allows rotation of the
nozzle
head to adjust the pressure of jet spray of water or cleaning fluid during
operation.
To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, there is provided
a pressure-adjustable jet spray nozzle, comprising:
a barrel defining a flow passage through front and rear ends thereof;
a pressure adjuster, said pressure adjuster comprising an adjustment sleeve
sleeved onto said barrel and a front ring affixed to a front end of said
adjustment
sleeve, said adjustment sleeve having a locating groove extending around the
periphery near the front end thereof, said front ring defining a center
through hole;
a support device, said support device comprising a support ring sleeved onto
the front end of said adjustment sleeve, a plurality of ball racks fixedly
mounted in
said support ring and equiangularly spaced around the periphery of said
support
ring, each said ball rack having a ball hole, a connection ring surrounding
the
locating groove of said adjustment sleeve, said connection ring having at
least one
mounting through hole, an elastic member mounted in the locating groove of
said
adjustment sleeve, at least one stop block respectively mounted in the at
least one
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mounting through hole of said connection ring and having a bottom side thereof
kept
in contact with said elastic member which imparts an outward pressure to said
at
least one stop block, a plurality of steel balls respectively rotatably
mounted in the
ball holes of said ball racks, and a stop ring fastened to a front end of said
support
ring;
a nozzle head lock control device, said nozzle head lock control device
comprising a sliding sleeve sleeved onto said support ring and axially movable
between said at least one stop block and said stop ring for forcing said steel
balls out
of the inside wall of said support ring, and
a compression spring sleeved onto said support ring within said sliding sleeve
and adapted to impart a forward pressure to said sliding sleeve relative to
said
support ring; and
a nozzle head insertable into said support ring, said nozzle head having a
positioning ring fastened to the periphery thereof, said positioning ring
having a
positioning groove extending around the periphery thereof for receiving said
steel
balls to lock said nozzle head to said support ring.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pressure-adjustable jet spray ____
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nozzle in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the pressure-adjustable jet spray
nozzle in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the
pressure-adjustable jet spray nozzle in accordance with the
present invention.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a front part of FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the pressure-adjustable jet
spray nozzle in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a schematic drawing showing a status of use of the
pressure-adjustable jet spray nozzle in accordance with the
present invention.
FIG. 7 is a schematic drawing showing another status of use of
the pressure-adjustable jet spray nozzle in accordance with the
present invention.
FIG. 8 is a schematic drawing showing still another status of
use of the pressure-adjustable jet spray nozzle in accordance with
the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a schematic drawing showing still another status of
use of the pressure-adjustable jet spray nozzle in accordance with
the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view of the present invention,
showing an alternate form of the elastic member.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As shown in FIG. 1, a pressure-adjustable jet spray nozzle in
accordance with the present invention comprises a barrel 1, a
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pressure adjuster 2, a support device 3, a nozzle head lock control
device 4 and a nozzle head 5.
The barrel 1, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, is a hollow cylindrical
member molded from fiber-reinforced plastics attached with a
front end piece formed of a metal (copper or aluminum), having a
flow passage 11 axially extending through the front and rear ends
and outer threads 12 extending around the periphery. Further, two
0-rings 13 are respectively mounted on the barrel 1 and located on
the front and rear sides relative to the outer threads 12.
The pressure adjuster 2, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, comprises
an adjustment sleeve 21 and a front ring 22. The adjustment sleeve
21 is molded from fiber-reinforced plastics, having inner threads
23 meshed with the outer threads 12 of the barrel 1, anti-slip
grooves 24 arranged around the periphery, a locating groove 25
extending around the periphery for the mounting of an elastic
member 33 (this will be described further), an 0-ring 26 mounted
on the periphery in front of the locating groove 25, and a plurality
of radial through holes 27 cut through the periphery in
communication with the inside space of the adjustment sleeve 21
in front of the position of the 0-ring 26. The front ring 22 is a
metal ring (copper or aluminum) affixed to the front end of the
adjustment sleeve 21, having a stepped center through hole 28 and
an 0-ring 29 mounted in the stepped center through hole 28. By
means of the stepped center through hole 28, the front ring 22
connects the nozzle head 5 to the front end of the barrel 1.
The support device 3, as shown in FIGS. 2-4, comprises a
support ring 31, a connection ring 32, an elastic member 33, two
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stop blocks 34, a plurality of ball racks 35, a plurality of steel
balls 36, and a stop ring 37. The support ring 31 is molded from
fiber-reinforced plastics and sleeved onto the front end of the
adjustment sleeve 21 of the pressure adjuster 2, having a retaining
groove 311 extending around the periphery near the rear end for
securing the front end of the connection ring 32 and a bearing
flange 312 extending around the periphery in front of the
retaining groove 311. The ball racks 35 are embedded in the
support ring 31 and equiangularly spaced around the periphery
near the front side of the support ring 31. The stop ring 37 is
fastened to the front end of the support ring 31. The connection
ring 32 is formed of two semicircular ring elements 321. Each
semicircular ring element 321 has a mounting through hole 322
for the mounting of one stop block 34. After being attached to the
locating groove 25 of the adjustment sleeve 21, the two
semicircular ring elements 321 are fastened together with screws
323 and secured to the retaining groove 311 of the support ring 31.
The elastic member 33 is formed of two springs (see FIG. 10) or
two symmetrical halves (see FIG. 5), having protrusions 331
corresponding to the mounting through holes 322 of two
semicircular ring elements 321 of the connection ring 32. The stop
blocks 34 are respectively mounted in the mounting through holes
322 of two semicircular ring elements 321 of the connection ring
32 and kept in contact with the protrusions 331 of the elastic
member 33 (see FIG. 5). The elastic springy force of the elastic
member 33 imparts an outward pressure to the stop blocks 34 so
that the stop blocks 34 project out of the mounting through holes
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322 to stop the nozzle head lock control device 4 from backward
displacement. The ball racks 35 are metal racks fixedly mounted
in the support ring 31 and equiangularly spaced around the
periphery near the front side of the support ring 31, each having
a radial ball hole 351. The steel balls 36 are respectively rotatably
mounted in the radial ball holes 351 of the ball racks 35, and
peripherally protruding over the inside wall of the support ring 31
for securing the nozzle head 5. The stop ring 37 is fastened to the
front end of the support ring 31 to prohibit the nozzle head lock
control device 4 from falling out of the support ring 31.
The nozzle head lock control device 4, as shown in FIGS. 2-4,
comprises a sliding sleeve 41, a metal insert 42, and a
compression spring 43. The sliding sleeve 41 is made of
fiber-reinforced plastics and sleeved onto the support ring 31.
Further, the sliding sleeve 41 can be moved axially along the
support ring 31 between the stop blocks 34 and the stop ring 37.
The metal insert 42 is fastened to the inside wall of the sliding
sleeve 41, and adapted to push the steel balls 36 out of the inside
wall of the support ring 31. The compression spring 43 is sleeved
onto the support ring 31 within the sliding sleeve 41 and adapted
to impart a forward pressure to the sliding sleeve 41 relative to the
support ring 31, causing the metal insert 42 to push the steel balls
36 out of the inside wall of the support ring 31.
The nozzle head 5, as shown in FIGS. 2-4, is made of
reinforced plastics and detachably fitted into the front end of the
support ring 31. The nozzle head 5 has a center passage 50, and a
metal nozzle tip 51 mounted in the center passage 50. The metal
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nozzle tip 51 has a rear mounting end 511 detachably fitted into
the front ring 22 of the pressure adjuster 2. Further, the metal
nozzle tip 51 has a center axial hole 512 for receiving clean water
or cleaning fluid from the rear end thereof and sending clean
water or cleaning fluid out of the front end thereof. The nozzle
head 5 further has a positioning ring 52 affixed to the periphery.
The positioning ring 52 defines a positioning groove 521 around
the periphery for receiving the steel balls 36.
The pressure-adjustable jet spray nozzle can be attached to a
high-pressure cleaning machine. During application, the user can
rotate the adjustment sleeve 21 of the pressure adjuster 2 to move
the adjuster 2 forwards or backwards subject to engagement
between the inner threads 23 and the outer threads 12, and to
further force the barrel I into engagement with or away from the
front ring 22 of the pressure adjuster 2. As shown in FIG. 6, when
the front end of the barrel 1 is engaged into the front ring 22 of the
pressure adjuster 2, clean water or cleaning fluid from the
high-pressure cleaning machine is delivered through the flow
passage 11 of the barrel 1 and the front ring 22 of the pressure
adjuster 2 and then forced out of the nozzle tip 51 of the nozzle
head 5. Referring to FIG. 7, when the barrel 1 is disengaged from
the front ring 22 of the pressure adjuster 2, clean water or
cleaning fluid from the high-pressure cleaning machine is
delivered through the radial through holes 27 of the adjustment
sleeve 21 and then forced out of the center passage 50 and the
nozzle tip 51 of the nozzle head 5 at a relatively lower pressure.
Thus, the user can adjust the output pressure of the
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pressure-adjustable jet spray nozzle.
Referring to FIG. 8, the nozzle head 5 can be conveniently
detached from the pressure-adjustable jet spray nozzle for a
replacement. When the stop blocks 34 of the support device 3 are
pressed, as shown in FIG. 9, the sliding sleeve 41 of the nozzle
head lock control device 4 is unlocked and can be moved
backwards relative to the support ring 31 to release the steel balls
36 from the constraint of the metal insert 42, allowing the nozzle
head 5 to be removed from the support ring 31. When a new nozzle
head 5 is attached to the front end of the support ring 31, the
compression spring 43 of the nozzle head lock control device 4
immediately pushes the sliding sleeve 41 forward to force the
steel balls 36 into the positioning groove 521 of the positioning
ring 52 of the nozzle head 5, thereby locking the new nozzle head
5 to the support ring 31.
Further, the pressure adjuster 2 and the nozzle head lock
control device 4 are connected together by the two semicircular
ring elements 321 of the connection ring 32. When the user rotates
the nozzle head lock control device 4 with the hand, the nozzle
head 5 is rotated with the nozzle head lock control device 4 and
the support device 3 to the desired angle. At this time, the
pressure adjuster 2 and the barrel 1 are immovable. Therefore,
during a high-pressure water spraying operation, the user can
rotate the nozzle head 5 to the desired angle freely with less effort,
improving working efficiency and avoiding fatigue on job.
A prototype of pressure-adjustable jet spray nozzle has been
constructed with the features of FIGS. 1-9. The pressure-adjustable
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jet spray nozzle functions smoothly to provide all of the features
disclosed above.
Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been
described in detail for purposes of illustration, various
modifications and enhancements may be made without departing
from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the
invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.
