Fluid sprinkling – spraying – and diffusing – Slinger or splasher; or deflector rotated relative to effluent – Nozzle delivers fluid to deflector
Reexamination Certificate
2001-11-16
2004-11-23
Hwu, Davis (Department: 3752)
Fluid sprinkling, spraying, and diffusing
Slinger or splasher; or deflector rotated relative to effluent
Nozzle delivers fluid to deflector
C239S067000, C239S070000, C239S302000, C239S271000, C239S242000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06820821
ABSTRACT:
STATEMENT OF FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an apparatus for cleaning bath and shower enclosures.
The walls and doors of bath and shower enclosures can become mildewed, or coated with soap build up and hard water and mineral deposits, after extended periods of use. Removing these deposits and stains normally requires one to scrub the walls and doors by hand, which is an undesirable task. A cleaning solution can be used to reduce the amount of scrubbing needed.
Cleansers (e.g. a surfactant containing formula) are typically sprayed onto the walls and, after allowing the active ingredients time to work, the walls are wiped with a cloth, brush, or scrubbing pad and then rinsed with water to remove dirt and the cleanser residue. However, some cleansers have been developed and marketed that can remove deposits without the need to scrub the walls. These cleansers have been sprayed onto the walls after the enclosure has been used, and then allowed time to work. See generally, WO 96/22346 and WO 98/02511. The assignee of the present invention, S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc., also sells shower cleaners that act without the need for scrubbing.
One technique used for applying the no-scrub, no-rinse cleansers, for example, is to keep a pump spray bottle of the cleanser in or near the shower enclosure so that one can spray down the walls of the shower enclosure after showering. However, this requires a consumer to spend the time and effort to spray down the walls.
Some systems have been developed to reduce the labor involved in enclosure cleaning. U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,225 discloses a sprayer and conduit system for a bath and shower enclosure in fluid communication with the water supply to a shower head. Supply water is directed to the showerhead or diverted to the sprayer for cleaning the enclosure. A container of cleanser is mounted in the shower enclosure for introducing cleanser (through an injector assembly) into the conduit for spraying cleanser on the walls. A drawback with this system is that the user must manually turn on the supply water (if not already on), adjust the diverter, squeeze cleanser into the sprayer and shut off the water after the walls have been washed. There is also some risk that the consumer will be sprayed with the cleanser.
Other systems are more elaborate, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,341, which includes multiple pop-out spray nozzles connected by a manifold to a mixing valve where cleaning concentrate is mixed with water. U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,485 discloses an automatic cleaning device for a tub and shower having large, powered tub and shower “gliders” that move in tracks around the tub and shower stall, respectively. The gliders are coupled to the water supply, which is mixed with a cleanser. The gliders have spray heads for spraying the cleaning solution on the tub and shower walls. The gliders also have brushes for scrubbing the walls. A user operates the gliders and cleanser mixing by a central controller. These systems are disadvantageous because they are large, unsightly, expensive and can require considerable installation time and cost.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for an improved system for automatically spraying down a bath and shower enclosure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a device for automatically spraying the walls of a bath and shower enclosure with a shower cleanser.
One aspect of the invention is a sprayer that automatically turns itself off. The sprayer includes a container containing cleanser. A metering system controls flow of the cleanser from the container to a spray head for spraying the cleanser during a spray cycle initiated by the user via a control. The control automatically terminates the spray cycle.
In a preferred form, the spray has an electronic timer initiated by a switch for beginning the spray cycle. When a user wishes to begin a spray cycle, he or she depresses a button on the front of the sprayer. This initiates a countdown delaying spraying for a predetermined time, such as twenty seconds. This affords the user time to exit the shower enclosure and close the doors or curtains. It also gives the user time to abort the spray cycle by pressing the button a second time.
Preferably, a user notification system, including audio and visual alarms, is activated during the countdown to signal to the user the impending operation of the sprayer. Unless cancelled, the spraying cycle begins automatically at the expiration of the countdown. At that point, another countdown (preferably 20 seconds) can be initiated automatically by the timer after which the spray cycle is concluded without further input.
In another form, the sprayer is designed to work with replaceable bottles of cleanser commercially available from retail outlets. The container is a tray conforming to the upper portion of a container to accept an inverted container. A bottle of cleanser is inverted and set into the tray with the lid removed. The tray can have an upward projection or spike at the base of the tray for puncturing the inner seal covering the mouth of the bottle.
The mouth may have two parallel passages, one of which has a restriction at an upstream end to improve venting. The container and piercing post are constructed and arranged so that if the container is positioned in an assembled state with the piercing post, and then removed from the piercing post, the resulting construct will not permit re-assembly in a defect-free manner. This reduces the likelihood of a consumer refilling the container with inappropriate chemicals.
The automated sprayer invention can be practiced using a variety of metering valves and spray heads. For example, the sprayer can include a single motorized head including a dispensing cup disposed about the longitudinal axis of the sprayer and covered by an annular lid with a central opening through which an axial tube extends into the cup. The lid is attached to the cup at points spaced around the rim such that when the head is rotating, cleanser in the cup is forced by centrifugal force between the cup and the lid to spray outward. As the level of cleanser in the cup decreases, additional cleanser can pass through the tube into the cup. When the head is not rotating, cleanser can pass through the tube until the level in the cup reaches the opening of the tube.
The head can also include a ball valve disposed in the tube and seatable on a valve seat defined by the inner diameter of the tube. Seating of the ball valve can be controlled by the level of cleanser in the cup such that when it is empty or when cleanser is sprayed out of the cup, the ball valve opens, closing only when the level of cleanser in the cup is high enough so that the floating ball rests against the seat.
Alternatively, the ball valve can be operated by a pushpin attached to an inertial valve, for example. In particular, the inertial valve includes upper and lower plates hinged together and having one or more weights that are driven outward by centrifugal force when the plates are rotated along the axis so as to move the plates apart. The inertial valve has the pushpin attached to the upper plate along the axis for raising and unseating the ball valve as the plates move apart.
Other alternate forms of the head could be used. For example, the head can include a disk rotatable about the axis and having an axial recess at its center in fluid communication with passages leading radially from the recess to ports at the periphery of the disk. The head can also include a rotatable fluidic oscillator and/or a solenoid valve operable to selectively obstruct the passage of the vent tube.
The aforementioned forms of the head are particularly suitable when the cleanser is not pressurized. However, the cleanser could be a pressurized vessel, such as in an aerosol can. In this case, the head can include an impeller rotatable about the axis with an axial opening at its center and oppositely facing nozzles at its end. Alternatively, the head can have a motoriz
Aberegg Dale
Childs Daniel K.
Dittmer Howard R.
Dudley Amber N.
Elsie Douglas
Hwu Davis
S.C. Johnson & Son Inc.
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