ATOMISER AND SHOWERHEAD

Abstract

An atomiser is for use in a showerhead or tap for dispensing a liquid, in particular water or a water-based mixture, includes a set of at least two nozzles arranged to create colliding jets of the liquid and thereby create a spray of droplets of the liquid, and a spray shaper for guiding the spray. The atomiser has a nozzle element with the nozzles, and a spray shaper, the nozzle element and spray shaper being separate parts.

Claims

1. A showerhead comprising one or more atomisers, each atomiser comprising a set of at least two, in particular exactly two, nozzles arranged to create colliding jets of the liquid and thereby create a spray of droplets of the liquid, and a spray shaper for guiding the spray, the showerhead comprising a conduit and atomiser unit and a shell unit, wherein the conduit and atomiser unit comprises a conduit element and one or more atomisers, the conduit element being arranged to guide water from a water hose attachment to the one or more atomisers and the one or more atomisers being rigidly attached to and supported by the conduit element; the shell unit comprising at least a first shell part arranged to cover at least part of the conduit and atomiser unit and to provide a handhold for holding the conduit and atomiser unit.

2. The showerhead of claim 1, wherein the conduit and atomiser unit constitutes a structurally independent, self-supporting and watertight unit that, in particular, can perform the function of guiding water from the water hose attachment to the one or more atomisers without any part of a shell unit being present.

3. The showerhead of claim 1, comprising a second shell part, wherein the first and second shell part together form the shell unit, and the shell unit encloses and holds the conduit and atomiser unit.

4. The showerhead of claim 1, wherein the conduit element is manufactured as a single piece.

5. The showerhead of claim 1, comprising two or three atomisers.

6. The showerhead of claim 1, wherein the one or more atomiser units are removably attached to the conduit element.

7. The showerhead of claim 6, wherein the one or more atomiser units are removably attached to the conduit element by a snap-fit connection, in particular with the atomiser units being inserted into the conduit element from the front side.

8. The showerhead of claim 1, wherein the one or more atomiser units is irremovably attached to the conduit element.

9. An atomiser for use in a showerhead or tap for dispensing a liquid such as a water or a water-based mixture, comprising a set of at least two, in particular exactly two, nozzles arranged to create colliding jets of the liquid and thereby create a spray of droplets of the liquid, and a spray shaper for guiding the spray.

10. The atomiser of claim 9, comprising a nozzle element with the nozzles, and a spray shaper, the nozzle element and spray shaper being separate parts, or the nozzle element and spray shaper being integrally shaped parts.

11. The atomiser of claim 10, wherein the nozzle element comprises a first surface, the first surface comprising chamfered sections, with nozzle inlets of the nozzles lying in the chamfered sections.

12. The atomiser of claim 11, wherein surfaces of the chamfered sections lie at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the respective nozzle, and in particular wherein the surfaces of the chamfered sections are essentially planar.

13. The atomiser of claim 10, the nozzle element comprising a second surface, the second surface comprising a recess, with nozzle outlets of the nozzles leading into the recess.

14. The atomiser of claim 13, wherein a surface of the recess, in regions comprising the nozzle outlets, lies at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the respective nozzle, and in particular wherein the surfaces of these regions are essentially planar.

15. The atomiser of claim 10, wherein the longitudinal axes of the nozzles lie at an angle of 45°+/−15° degrees, in particular at an angle of 45°+/−5° degrees, to a longitudinal axis of the nozzle element.

16. The atomiser of claim 10, wherein the spray shaper comprises an inner wall defining an inner volume of the spray shaper, the inner volume opening up from a region near the nozzles towards a front surface of the spray shaper, the inner wall near the nozzles having a first, smaller diameter and near the front surface having a second, larger diameter.

17. The atomiser of claim 16, wherein the first diameter is between six and ten millimetres.

18. The atomiser of claim 17, wherein the second diameter is between ten and twenty-two millimetres.

19. The atomiser of claim 16, wherein a distance between a back surface and the front surface is between six and ten millimetres.

20. The atomizer of claim 10, wherein the nozzle element and spray shaper being assembled in a body, with the spray shaper connected to the body by means of a locking section and the spray shaper pressing and holding the nozzle element against the body.

21. The atomiser of claim 20, wherein the spray shaper is connected to the body by means of a non-separable connection.

22. The atomiser of claim 20, wherein the nozzle element and spray shaper are manufactured of a different material, in particular the nozzle element being made of a non-plastic material such as metal or ceramic, and the spray shaper being made of a plastic material.

23. The atomiser of claim 10, comprising a nozzle element and a set comprising two or more interchangeable and different spray shapers.

24. An atomiser according to claim 9, configured for use in a showerhead or tap for dispensing a liquid such as a water or a water-based mixture, comprising a set of at least two, in particular exactly two, nozzles arranged to create colliding jets of the liquid and thereby create a spray of droplets of the liquid, and a spray shaper for guiding the spray, the atomiser preferably comprising three or four or more nozzles.

25. The atomiser of claim 24, comprising three or four nozzles that lie in a plane, the plane comprising the longitudinal axis of the atomiser.

26. The atomiser of claim 24, wherein the jets of the three or four or more nozzles intersect in one point.

27. The atomiser of claim 25, comprising four nozzles, wherein the jets of the four nozzles pairwise intersect at different points along the longitudinal axis of the atomiser.

28. The atomiser of claim 24, comprising two pairs of nozzles, wherein each pair of nozzles defines an associated nozzle plane in which the nozzles lie, and an associated bisecting plane that is perpendicular to the nozzle plane and bisects the angle between the nozzles, and wherein the bisecting planes of the two pairs of nozzles are parallel to one another and displaced relative to one another in a direction normal to the bisecting planes.

29. The atomiser of claim 26, wherein the longitudinal axis of a central nozzle of the three or four or more nozzles is coincident with the longitudinal axis of the nozzle element.

30. The atomiser of claim 29, wherein the longitudinal axes of the nozzles other than the central nozzle lie at an angle of 45°+/−15° degrees to the longitudinal axis of the nozzle element, in particular at an angle of 45°+/−5° degrees.

31. The atomiser of claim 29, wherein the diameter of the central nozzle is between 60% and 90%, in particular between 70% and 85%, in particular between 75% and 80% of the diameter of the nozzles other than the central nozzle.

32. The atomiser of claim 29, wherein number of nozzles other than the central nozzle is two.

33. The atomiser of claim 29, wherein the number of nozzles other than the central nozzle is three.

34. The atomiser of claim 29, wherein the number of nozzles other than the central nozzle is four.

35. The atomiser of claim 29, wherein an inner diameter of the nozzles other than the central nozzle is between 0.8 and 1.5 millimetres, and wherein, a throat of each of the nozzles, along which the nozzle has a constant diameter, has a length that is at least three times this inner diameter, and in particular at least 2.4 or at least three millimetres.

36. A method for operating an atomiser according to claim 24, wherein a speed of the liquid in the jets prior to colliding is between ten and thirty and preferably at least approximately twenty metres/second, and wherein preferably the pressure at which the liquid is dispensed is obtained from a mains water supply.

37. A method for operating an atomiser according to claim 24, wherein a speed of the liquid in the jets prior to colliding is between thirty and fifty and preferably at least approximately forty metres/second, and preferably wherein the pressure at which the liquid is dispensed is generated by a pump elevating the pressure above the pressure of a mains water supply.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0130] The subject matter of the invention will be explained in more detail in the following text with reference to exemplary embodiments which are illustrated in the attached drawings, which schematically show:

[0131] FIG. 1 a cross section through an atomiser;

[0132] FIG. 2-3 a nozzle element;

[0133] FIG. 4-5 a spray shaper;

[0134] FIG. 6 a cross section through an atomiser having a third, central nozzle;

[0135] FIG. 7 an atomiser with two pairs of nozzles lying in the same plane and impinging at separate points on the longitudinal axis;

[0136] FIG. 8 an atomiser with two pairs of nozzles lying in the same plane and impinging at the same point;

[0137] FIG. 9 an atomiser with two pairs of nozzles lying in different planes and initially generating separate, parallel sheets of water;

[0138] FIG. 10 an atomiser with two pairs of nozzles lying in different planes and impinging at the same point;

[0139] FIG. 11 a conduit and atomiser unit for a single atomiser;

[0140] FIG. 12-13 corresponding parts of a shell unit;

[0141] FIG. 14 a conduit and atomiser unit for three atomisers;

[0142] FIG. 15-16 corresponding parts of a shell unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0143] In principle, identical parts are provided with the same reference symbols in the figures.

[0144] FIG. 1 schematically shows an atomiser, including a body 4 holding a nozzle element 1 and a spray shaper 2. The nozzle element 1 includes two or more nozzles 3 for creating impinging jets of liquid. The impinging jets initially create a sheet of water which then breaks up into a spray of droplets. The spray shaper 2, by means of the shape of an inner wall 21, guides the flow of droplets and air that is carried along with the droplets, and controls the shape of the spray leaving the spray shaper 2 through an outlet opening 26.

[0145] The nozzle element 1, also shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, can be manufactured from metal or a ceramic material, or from a plastic material different from, in particular harder than, the material of the spray shaper 2. The metal can be brass, copper or a copper-based alloy.

[0146] In this embodiment, the nozzles 3 are shaped in the nozzle element 1 itself. The part of the nozzle element 1 that is exposed to inflowing liquid can be shaped as a truncated cone (as shown in the figures), or as a (complete) cone.

[0147] In other embodiments, the nozzles 3 are shaped in nozzle inserts. Nozzle inserts can be made of ceramic or polymer or metal and are can be inserted in the nozzle element 1 and secured in an inseparable manner, e.g. a press fit, by gluing or welding or by being arranged in the cartridge by insertion moulding.

[0148] Each nozzle 3 extends from a nozzle inlet 31 at the outside of the nozzle element 1 to a nozzle outlet 32. A point at which the longitudinal axes of the nozzles 3 intersect is the point of collision of liquid jets created by the nozzles 3.

[0149] A first surface 33 of the nozzle element 1, when the atomiser is in operation, is oriented towards a conduit that guides the liquid to the nozzles. It can include a central section, the central section being planar, with the plane being normal to the axis of (rotational) symmetry, or longitudinal axis, of the nozzle element 1. It can further include chamfered sections 11 including the nozzle inlets 31.

[0150] A second surface 34 of the nozzle element 1 faces the spray that is generated by the atomiser 10. The second surface 34 includes a spray shaping back end 12, which forms a recess in the second surface 34. The nozzle outlets 32 are arranged in walls of this recess. In a region surrounding the nozzle outlets 32, the walls can be flat and/or at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the respective nozzle.

[0151] The spray shaper 2, also shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, by its inner wall 21, can define a volume that near the spray shaping back end 12 has a diameter of 8 mm and increases to a diameter of 16 mm near the front surface 23.

[0152] The spray shaper 2 typically is free from obstacles such as sieves or guiding vanes.

[0153] The spray shaper 2 can be manufactured from a plastic material, such as POM.

[0154] At an outer end of the spray shaper 2, it terminates in a circular flow guiding edge flow guiding edge 22. Seen in a longitudinal cross section, the flow guiding edge 22 in the present embodiment has a right angle between the inner wall 21 and the front surface 23. In other embodiments, this is an acute angle.

[0155] The nozzle element 1 is held in the body 4 by means of an interlocking region 13. The spray shaper 2 is held in the body 4 by means of a locking section 25. This can be a screw section or a bayonet joint, or a snap-fit connection, or a glued or a welded section, joining the spray shaper 2 and body 4. The spray shaper 2 holds the nozzle element 1 against the body 4. A gasket 24 can be arranged between the nozzle element 1 and the spray shaper 2. In other embodiments, the gasket 24 is optional.

[0156] In FIGS. 1 and 6, the spray shaper 2 is shown in a position prior to final assembly. In the final position, the spray shaper 2 is pushed towards the nozzle element 1, and the gasket 24 is compressed between the nozzle element 1 and the spray shaper 2.

[0157] FIG. 6 shows a cross section through an atomiser having a third, central nozzle 3′. The longitudinal axis of the central nozzle 3′, in this embodiment, is coincident with the longitudinal axis of the nozzle element 1. The central nozzle 3′ causes the spray to be a full cone instead of a hollow cone (as it would be without the central nozzle 3′), and reduces noise generated by the atomiser. Although FIG. 6 shows a central nozzle in an embodiment in which the nozzle body and spray shaper are separate parts, a central nozzle can also be present in embodiments in which the nozzle body and spray shaper are integrally shaped.

[0158] In embodiments, a central nozzle is present, the spray shaper forms a hollow space that is free from obstacles such as sieves or guiding vanes, a distance between the collision point and the front surface of the spray shaper is between 14 and 30 millimetres, an inner wall of the spray shaper has a diameter between 10 and 25 millimetres, the longitudinal axes of the nozzles other than the central nozzle lie at an angle of 45°+/−15° degrees to the longitudinal axis of the atomiser, in particular at an angle of 45°+/−5° degrees, the diameter of the central nozzle is between 60% and 90%, in particular between 70% and 85%, in particular between 75% and 80% of the diameter of the nozzles other than the central nozzle, the number of nozzles other than the central nozzle is two or three of four, and an inner diameter of the nozzles other than the central nozzle is between 0.8 and 1.5 millimetres, and a throat of each of the nozzles, along which the nozzle has a constant diameter, has a length that is at least three times this inner diameter, and in particular at least 2.4 or at least three millimetres.

[0159] FIG. 7 shows an atomiser with two pairs of nozzles lying in the same plane and impinging at separate points on the longitudinal axis.

[0160] FIG. 8 shows an atomiser with two pairs of nozzles lying in the same plane and impinging at the same point.

[0161] FIG. 9 shows an atomiser with two pairs of nozzles lying in different nozzle planes 35 and initially generating separate, parallel sheets of water lying in bisecting planes 36.

[0162] FIG. 10 shows an atomiser with two pairs of nozzles lying in different nozzle planes 35 and impinging at the same point.

[0163] The embodiments of FIGS. 7 through 10 are shown with the nozzles 3 and spray shaper being shaped in the same body. In other embodiments, nozzles 3 can be in a nozzle element 1 that is separate from the spray shaper 2, as in FIGS. 1 through 5.

[0164] FIG. 11 shows a conduit and atomiser unit 51 with a single atomiser 10. The atomiser 10 is supported by and supplied with liquid by a conduit element 55. The atomiser 10 can be removably or irremovably attached in a receptacle of the conduit element 55. It can be attached by means of a screw section, or a bayonet joint, or a snap-fit connection, or a glued or a welded section. A wall of the receptacle serves as the body 4 holding the atomiser 10, as shown in FIG. 1 or 6. The conduit element 55 includes a water hose attachment 56 for supplying liquid to the conduit element 55. The conduit element 55 can be manufactured as a single piece, e.g. by moulding a plastic material.

[0165] FIG. 12-13 shows corresponding parts of a shell unit 52, that is, a first shell part 53 and a second shell part 54. At least the first shell part 53 can be attached to and hold the conduit element 55, and serve as a handhold for manipulating the conduit element conduit and atomiser unit 51. The first shell part 53 and second shell part 54 can form a closed shell holding the conduit and atomiser unit 51.

[0166] FIG. 14 shows a conduit and atomiser unit for three atomisers, with the atomisers removed. FIG. 15-16 shows corresponding parts of a shell unit. The structure and functions of the conduit and atomiser unit 51 and shell unit 52 and their parts are essentially the same as for the version with just one atomiser.

[0167] In addition, the conduit and atomiser unit 51 includes three receptacles, each for accommodating an atomiser 10. The conduit element 55 leads water into a chamber behind a first one of the atomisers 10, from where it is distributed to chambers behind the remaining two atomisers 10 by means of distributing channels. In order to generate the conduit and atomiser unit 51 with these distributing channels by injection moulding, a volume defining these channels can be moulded, using an insert shaped as the negative of the channel. After separating the unit from the mould, each channel can be closed off by an additional cover element 57. The conduit element 55 can thus be manufactured as a single piece, e.g. by moulding a plastic material, except for the cover elements. The distributing channels can have a small cross section since the atomisers 10 operate with a low flow rate. Thanks to this, it is possible to make them resistant to a high operating pressure without making the unit too large and/or too heavy. The entire construction of the conduit and atomiser unit 51 can be kept small. Thereby more freedom remains for designing the surrounding parts, such as the shell unit 52.

[0168] In all embodiments, typical parameters can be: [0169] Dn—nozzle diameter: 0.8 to 1.5 or 2 millimetres, preferably approximately 1.3 millimetres. [0170] L2—length of section of nozzles 12 with constant diameter: at least three times the value of Dn, in particular at least four times or at least five times the value of Dn. For example, at least 2.4 or 4 or 6 or 8 millimetres. [0171] Phi_n—angle between longitudinal axes of the nozzles: 90°+/−20° [0172] Phi_b—angle between surfaces at which the nozzles exit: between 90° and 130°, in particular at least approximately 120°. [0173] Hs—distance between collision point and front surface 23 (approximately equal to the length of the spray shaper 2): Between 14 and 30 millimetres, in particular between 17 and 25 millimetres, in particular between 20 and 22 millimetres. [0174] Hb—maximum distance between spray shaping back end 12 and front surface 23: Between 18 and 33 millimetres, in particular between 21 and 28 millimetres, in particular between 24 and 25 millimetres. [0175] Difference between Hb and Hs: between 2 and 7, in particular between 3 and 5, in particular between 3 and 4 millimetres. [0176] Fry—radius of the flow guiding edge 22 at the angle between the inner surface 21 of the spray shaper 2 and the adjacent section of the front surface 23: less than 2 millimetres, in particular less than 1 millimetre, in particular less than 0.8 millimetres, in particular less than 0.5 millimetres. [0177] Re—radius of edge at nozzle outlet 32: less than 2 millimetres, in particular less than 1 millimetre, in particular less than 0.8 millimetres, in particular less than 0.5 millimetres. [0178] Surface roughness inside the nozzles and/or at the inside of the spray shaper: smaller than 0.8 micrometres, corresponding to ISO Roughness Grade N6.

[0179] In some embodiments, water pressure ranges for operating the outlet are from 2 bar upwards. Domestic plumbing installations usually are limited to 3.5 or 4 bar. A possible pressure range thus is 1.5 to 3 bar. In other embodiments, a pump is provided for increasing the water pressure to more than 3 bar, more than 5 bar, more than 8 bar or more than 10 bar.

[0180] The diameter D2 in a nozzle 3—generally called the diameter or the hydraulic diameter of the nozzle—corresponds to the diameter of the water jet after exiting the nozzle 3 under ideal conditions, that is, with laminar flow and no diverging of the liquid after exiting the nozzle outlet 32, e.g. caused by adhesion.

[0181] While the invention has been described in present embodiments, it is distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but may be otherwise variously embodied and practised within the scope of the claims.