Fluid sprinkling – spraying – and diffusing – Rigid fluid confining distributor – Assembly or disassembly feature
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-03
2001-12-11
Shaver, Kevin (Department: 3752)
Fluid sprinkling, spraying, and diffusing
Rigid fluid confining distributor
Assembly or disassembly feature
C239S302000, C239S338000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06328233
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to apparatuses which permit a liquid to be sprayed into the atmosphere, comprising a container, which is intended to contain the liquid and has at least one outlet for the liquid to be expelled from the container, the outlet being situated above the liquid, means for generating a gaseous stream to expel the liquid from the container, means for vaporising the liquid in the gaseous stream, and means for spraying the vaporised liquid. Hereinafter, vaporisation is understood to mean the transformation of a liquid into fine droplets and the possible change thereof into the gaseous state, and spraying is understood to mean the transformation of the fine droplets obtained by vaporisation into very fine droplets.
Such apparatuses may be used as a simple product diffuser, or they permit scents to be diffused into the atmosphere when the liquid contained in the container is a fragrant liquid, in any place, depending on the wish or the needs of the user, more especially in the laboratory, to study the effect of the scent on the behaviour of individuals or the composition of the scents, in marketing agencies in order to ensure the promotion of a product, in supermarkets in order to influence the consumption of products, in any place to ensure that the place smells sweetly, etc. Uses of this type of apparatus in aromatherapy can also be envisaged.
Prior art discloses, more especially with the document EP 0 608 176, a spray of the type described above. The spray comprises a container containing the liquid to be sprayed, to the base of which is secured an inlet tube for the gaseous stream. The tube traverses the liquid in the container and is provided with a venturi at its upper end above the liquid, a venturi to which is laterally connected a suction duct for the liquid. The upper part of the container is extended by a distillation chamber, intended to reduce the dimension of the liquid droplets in suspension in the gaseous stream downstream of the venturi, and this is in order to diffuse a mist of very fine droplets at the spray outlet.
Such a spray operates well, but it has disadvantages which can greatly limit the possibilities of use thereof. In effect, the liquid is contained in a container which forms a body with the spray and at the base of which the venturi is secured, and this does not confer great flexibility of use. Such a configuration, moreover, leads to difficulty in cleaning the parts which make up the spray, particularly the container, more especially when it is desirable to use a different product, and a high cost of manufacture. Also, it is not easy to refill the container with spray product each time it is empty.
With the document EP 0 655 282, an apparatus is also known for spraying fragrant liquid, in which the liquid to be sprayed is situated in an exchangeable cartridge, which is disposable when it is empty. Here, it is the exchangeable cartridge which contains the venturi intended to vaporise the liquid. This type of spray may permit the disadvantages of the difficult refilling and cleaning of the spray previously described to be overcome. However it remains very onerous in use, since the cartridge, which is changed on every product refill, contains elaborate technical devices, more especially the venturi. In addition, since this cartridge is intended for single use, the spraying means which it contains cannot be as effective as those of an apparatus for which they are intended to be worn out over the lifetime of the apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention proposes to overcome these disadvantages, and to provide other advantages. More precisely, it comprises an apparatus which permits a liquid to be sprayed into the atmosphere, comprising:
a container, which is intended to contain said liquid and has at least one outlet for the liquid to be expelled from said container, said outlet being situated above said liquid,
means for generating a gaseous stream to expel said liquid from said container,
means for vaporising said liquid in said gaseous stream, and
means for spraying the vaporised liquid, comprising a column which is provided with baffles and is situated downstream of the vaporising means,
characterised in that said vaporising means and said spraying means are integral with a body capable of being engaged and maintained in a detachable manner in said outlet of the container, said body including a duct for expelling the liquid from the container.
The apparatus according to the invention permits a simple container to be used to contain the liquid to be sprayed, said container being provided with an outlet which advantageously serves both for refilling and for expelling the liquid. Such a container may be of the bottle type, in the upper outlet of which will be situated the body containing, more especially, the spraying and vaporising means. Thus, the container will advantageously be able to be discarded when it is empty, with minimum production and operating costs, since this container will be able to be formed from the only means necessary to retain liquid inside, namely an air-tight envelope. Moreover, the apparatus according to the invention provides great flexibility and ease of use by this design. The vaporising and spraying means, re-used on each change of bottle, permit these means to be appropriately sophisticated, if necessary. The column provided with baffles permits the liquid to be sprayed to be micro-diffused, by virtue of the extreme fineness of the droplets obtained, which is necessary to permit a good suspension of the liquid sprayed into the atmosphere, low liquid consumption and better results in the matter of scent diffusion in the atmosphere, for example.
According to an advantageous characteristic, the vaporising means comprise a venturi.
According to another advantageous characteristic, the column comprises a plurality of inclined walls which form baffles on which said vaporised liquid comes to lodge, and the inclined walls form an angle, greater than 90°, with the longitudinal flow direction of the stream, so as to avoid a reverse flow of said stream.
According to another advantageous characteristic, said inclined walls each include a hole for the passage of the stream, the respective holes of two successive walls being offset.
According to another advantageous characteristic, said hole assumes the form of a venturi.
According to another advantageous characteristic, two successive inclined walls are symmetrical relative to a plane which is perpendicular to the longitudinal flow direction of the stream.
According to another advantageous characteristic, the means for generating a gaseous stream to expel the liquid from the container comprise a flow accelerator situated downstream of the spraying means.
According to another advantageous characteristic, the flow accelerator comprises a fluid flow, which envelops said gaseous stream and the sprayed liquid downstream of the spraying means.
According to an alternative to the preceding characteristic, said flow accelerator comprises a fluid flow conveyed in an axial manner into a venturi-type duct, which includes a tapering part followed by a cylindrical part, said gaseous stream and the sprayed liquid being introduced laterally into said cylindrical part of said venturi-type duct.
The invention also relates to a system which permits the spraying of a liquid into the atmosphere to be controlled, characterised in that it comprises at least:
one apparatus, which permits a liquid to be sprayed into the atmosphere according to the invention,
one gas sensor, which permits measurement of the concentration of the liquid sprayed into the atmosphere, and
means for controlling the operation of said apparatus in dependence on at least one predetermined input command and on said measurement provided by said gas sensor.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2382681 (1945-08-01), Trier
patent: 4039639 (1977-08-01), Kankel et al.
patent: 4566451 (1986-01-01), Badewien
patent: 5490630 (1996-02-01), Hecker
patent: 5549102 (1996-08-01), Lintl et al.
patent:
Accaries Claude
Moy Laurent
Hwu Davis
Indigo Parfum
Shaver Kevin
Young & Thompson
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