Fluid sprinkling – spraying – and diffusing – Flow line or nozzle attached or carried handgrip or handle – Spray pole type
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-22
2001-09-04
Scherbel, David A. (Department: 3752)
Fluid sprinkling, spraying, and diffusing
Flow line or nozzle attached or carried handgrip or handle
Spray pole type
C239S346000, C239S326000, C239SDIG001
Reexamination Certificate
active
06283388
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to apparatus for dispensing a fine spray of liquid particles and more especially to liquid dispensing apparatus known as air brushes.
Conventional air brushes comprise a liquid store connected to receive high pressure gas from a source. The high pressure gas passes over the liquid store to produce a spray of liquid particles which is directed by a nozzle onto an appropriate surface. The pressurised gas from the source is supplied to the air brush via a conduit and its flow is controlled by a manually operated or automatically controlled valve. Typically the pressurised gas source includes propellant and is contained in a heavy metal cylinder. JP-A-61042350 and UK 2177620A disclose such an air brush in which the liquid store takes the form of a felt-tipped pen.
My British Patent 2245196 and International Patent Application PCT/GB93/02332 disclose air brush apparatus for dispensing fine sprays of liquid particles. These air brushes comprise a hand or foot operated pump connected to supply air under pressure directly to a nozzle so positioned that air leaving the nozzle is directed onto and over a nib of a felt-tipped pen releasably supported within a holder with the absorbent nib of the pen in close proximity to the nozzle outlet to cause liquid from the nib to be dispensed as a fine particulate spray in air.
An airbrush including a cylindrical housing formed with a mouthpiece for use with a felt-tipped pen is disclosed in published British Patent Application 2257058. The pen disclosed in this application is of special design and includes an end cap formed with a hole to equalise the pressure within the pen reservoir to avoid the presence of a vacuum.
An improved tubular construction of air brush dispenser is disclosed in International Patent Application PCT/GB94/00959, which corresponds to international publication number WO 94/26,421 and to U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,886. This dispenser comprises a hollow tubular housing and a felt-tipped pen which is retained within and spaced from the inner wall of the housing. The tubular housing includes at one end a nozzle and at its other end a mouth piece through which air can be caused to flow through the tubular housing and over the pen to the outlet orifice of the nozzle. An abutment is provided within the housing for locating the pen within the housing with its absorbent nib at least partially within the boundary of the outlet orifice of the nozzle.
PCT/EP96/01225, which corresponds to international publication number WO 97/03,757 and to U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,300, sets out to provide a simplified and relatively inexpensive dispenser which, as for my earlier Application PCT/GB94/00959, removes the need for a pump but which, by a blowing action, causes the required fine spray of coloured particles to be removed from a liquid store such as an absorbent nib of a pen containing a colourant, ink, paint or the like. The air brush dispenser of that invention is an improvement over my earlier design in that it provides a simple and very secure means for locating a pen or cartridge within the tubular casing and has an outlet nozzle whose profile optimises the flow of air around the nib of the pen or other liquid source thereby enabling even young children to operate the dispenser to achieve colouring effects normally associated with much more expensive and complicated equipment.
Dispensing apparatus according to PCT/EP96/01225 is described with reference to
FIG. 1
of the accompanying drawings. As will be seen from
FIG. 1
, the apparatus comprises a tubular casing
1
formed in two separable parts
1
A,
1
B within which is housed a felt-tipped pen
2
. Casing part
1
A has a mouthpiece
3
which comprises an annular passageway
4
about a tubular cap
5
disposed at one end. The cap is spaced from the opposed internal wall surface of the casing part
1
A by three fins
6
. At its end remote from the mouthpiece
3
, casing part
1
A is flared to define a socket
7
into which can fit in a relatively tight manner one end
8
of casing part
1
B. At its other end, casing part
1
B has a nozzle
9
including an orifice
10
which opens into a converging expansion chamber
11
. Three fins
12
protrude inwardly from the internal surfaces of the casing part
1
B.
The body of the felt-tipped pen
2
has an absorbent nib
14
. The absorbent nib defines the required source of liquid to be dispensed and the pen can be positioned within the casing
1
either with its nib
14
within the cap
5
of the mouthpiece
3
as shown in
FIG. 2
, or with its nib positioned within or in close proximity to the orifice
10
of the nozzle
9
as shown in FIG.
3
. When in the former position, the nib
14
is intended to be effectively sealed within the cap
5
to prevent loss of fluid due to drying. When in the later position, the pen is supported centrally within the casing
1
by the fins
12
with a shoulder
15
of the pen body abutting against projecting stops
16
of the fins
12
. In this position, the pen nib
14
extends into or is in close proximity to the orifice
10
of the nozzle
9
.
In use, air is blown by the user through the mouthpiece
3
and the annular passageways defined between the opposed surfaces of the pen body
2
and the internal surfaces of the casing
1
. The fins
12
ensure that the pen is centralised within the casing. As the blown air approaches the outlet nozzle
9
it passes over the nib
14
and then leaves the casing through the orifice
10
and the expansion chamber
11
. As the air enters and passes through the expansion chamber it accelerates thereby inducing a swirling motion which ensures effective removal of liquid particles from the nib
14
of the pen
2
. Siting the nib correctly with respect to orifice
10
of the nozzle
9
enables even young children to produce high quality air brush effects when using the apparatus.
With this design, it is intended that when the apparatus is not in use, it can be rearranged so that the pen or cartridge is removed from its outer casing, inverted and re-inserted into the casing with the nib of the pen or cartridge covered by the cap
5
. The intention of so doing is to seal the nib effectively within the cap to prevent it drying out. However, it has been found that on many occasions this intention is not met. In transit for example, the pen has been found to move relative to the casing thereby at least partially exposing the nib to the air. Also, there have been occasions when the pen has been positioned too low within the casing after use, thereby not fully sealing the nib within the cap. Furthermore, it has been found that any slight movement or vibration of the apparatus can result in the pen or cartridge falling rearwardly into the casing
1
B, therefore withdrawing the nib from the cap with the same adverse results.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a design which, when the apparatus is not in use, can be rearranged so that the nib of the pen or cartridge is fixed into position so that it is always sufficiently covered to prevent drying or other damage occurring.
According to the present invention in one aspect, there is provided liquid dispensing apparatus which comprises a tubular casing having at one of its ends a mouthpiece and an elongate cap, and at the other of its ends a nozzle having an orifice in communication with an expansion chamber bounded by sides which diverge away from the orifice, means for locating a liquid source including an elongate body and an absorbent nib within the casing with side surfaces of the elongate body spaced from internal wall surfaces of the casing to define an air flow passageway therebetween, first stop means within the casing against which a surface of the elongate body can abut to position the nib of the liquid source within or in close proximity to the nozzle orifice, and second stop means within the casing against which a rearward end of the elongate body can abut to position the nib of the liquid source in a relatively airtight manner into one end of the elongate cap, the other end of the elongate cap
Hwu Davis
Kinney & Lange , P.A.
Scherbel David A.
LandOfFree
Liquid dispensing apparatus does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Liquid dispensing apparatus, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Liquid dispensing apparatus will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2475681