Spraying device and method of using same

Abstract

A spraying device for spraying fluid from a replaceable refill is described, the refill comprising a refill body containing a reservoir of fluid to be sprayed, a valve stem in fluid communication with the reservoir and a spray head mounted on the valve stem, the spray head having a spray exit nozzle, wherein the spraying device comprises a housing with a releasably engagable top portion and base portion; wherein the base portion is configured to retain at least a lower portion of the refill body therein and wherein the top portion has a spray opening and holds an actuation mechanism, and wherein the top portion further comprises an alignment means for cooperation with the spray opening wherein alignment is provided to the refill spray head, in use, by a radially-spaced ledge substantially co-axial with the valve stem of the refill, the ledge being provided with an at least partially hollow core to receive at least a portion, in use, of the refill spray head, and wherein the ledge extends downwardly from the top portion toward the base portion such that the ledge adjacent the spray opening extends less than the rearmost part of the ledge that is remote from the spray opening which extends furthermost. A method of using the spraying device is also described.

Claims

1. A spraying device configured to spray a fluid from a replaceable refill comprising a refill body containing a reservoir of fluid to be sprayed, a valve stem in fluid communication with the reservoir and an L-shaped spray head mounted on the valve stem which is rotatable about the axis of the valve stem, the spray head having a spray exit nozzle, wherein the spraying device comprises a housing with a rotatably releasably engagable top portion and base portion; wherein the base portion is configured to retain at least a lower portion of the refill body therein and wherein the top portion has a spray opening and holds an actuation mechanism, and wherein the top portion further comprises an alignment means for cooperation with the spray opening wherein alignment is provided to the refill spray head, in use, by a radially-spaced ledge substantially co-axial with the valve stem of the refill, the ledge being provided with an at least partially hollow core to receive at least a portion, in use, of the refill spray head, and wherein the ledge includes a curved part which extends downwardly from the top portion toward the base portion such that the ledge adjacent the spray opening extends less than the rearmost part of the ledge that is remote from the spray opening which extends furthermost, wherein rotational engagement of the top portion and the base portion causes rotation of the spray head against the curved part of the ledge and when the top portion and the base portion are fully engaged, the spray exit nozzle is oriented with the spray opening.

2. The spraying device according to claim 1, wherein the radial-spacing of the ledge is of a substantially consistent radius.

3. The spraying device according to claim 1, wherein the ledge has a substantially completely hollow core.

4. The spraying device according to claim 1, wherein the curved part of the ledge extends downwardly at a substantially constant gradient from the part(s) of the ledge adjacent the spray opening to the rearmost part thereof.

5. The spraying device according to claim 1, wherein the part of the ledge adjacent the spray opening is partially or substantially or completely absent said part being a support channel to receive the spray head when located therein.

6. The spraying device according to claim 1, wherein the ledge of the alignment member is provided by a ridge having a width of <1.0 cm.

7. The spraying device according to claim 1, wherein the ledge or ridge is coated with a low-friction material.

8. The spraying device according to claim 1, wherein an engagement mechanism to provide a releasably secure engagement between the top portion and the base portion of the device is provided.

9. The spraying device according to claim 8, wherein the engagement mechanism engages and disengages by a user applying, in use, rotational force to one or both of the top portion of the device housing and/or base portion of the device housing.

10. The spraying device according to claim 9, wherein the engagement mechanism is provided by a bayonet arrangement.

11. The spraying device according to claim 9, wherein the engagement mechanism is provided by a screw thread.

12. The spraying device according to claim 6, wherein the ledge of the alignment member is provided by a ridge having a width of <0.6 cm.

13. The spraying device according to claim 12, wherein the ledge of the alignment member is provided by a ridge having a width of <0.3 cm.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the following drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art device;

(3) FIG. 2 illustrates a disassembled device according to the present invention;

(4) FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a device according to the present invention;

(5) FIG. 4 illustrates a view of the interior of a device according to the present invention;

(6) FIG. 5 illustrates a time-lapse view of rotation applied to a refill spray head by the alignement means of a spray device according to the present invention;

(7) FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a base portion of a device according to the present invention; and

(8) FIG. 7 illustrates an underneath view of a base portion of a device according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT

(9) A prior art spraying device 1 is shown in FIG. 1 and comprises a two-part housing of a main body 2 and a cover 3 connected via a hinge 9 adjacent a base 6 of the main body 2 to form a closure via a clamshell arrangement to seal, in use, a refill inside the device 1. As can be seen, the main body 2 holds an actuation mechanism (not shown) under an inner housing 4, the actuation mechanism consists of an electrically powered motor, gears, actuation arm and batteries to power same. The main body 2 is provided with a support plate 5 adjacent its base 6 to support the base of a refill (not shown). The inner housing 4 is provided with a support channel 7 adjacent the actuation mechanism, the support channel 7 being present to laterally support a spray head of the refill during actuation, ieduring depression of the spray head by the actuation arm of the actuation mechanism during operation to spray a quantity of fluid from the refill out into the surrounding environment through the spray head. The cover 3 is provided with a spray opening 8 configured to be adjacent the support channel 7 when in a closed clamshell arrangement such that an exit nozzle of the spray head will face the opening to permit, in use, sprayed fluid to exit the device.

(10) Without careful location of the refill into the prior art device 1, the user can inadvertently damage the refill. Some of the common incidents of damage include a user inserting the refill forcefully such that the spray head is not located within the support channel 7 and impinges against the inner housing 4 to cause the valve stem to snap. Additionally users have commonly inserted the refill into the device such that the exit nozzle on the spray head is facing the interior of the device rather than where the spray opening 8 will be when the cover 3 is closed against the and main body 2, this is problematic as the closing of the cover 3 pushes a body of the refill into the device 1 and since the spray head bears against an interior surface of the support channel 7 the closing cover causes the valve stem to bend and then snap. A further common problem is a user failing to note when the actuation arm (not shown) is fully or partially blocking the support channel 7, such as when the previous refill has been consumed and there is insufficient pressure within the refill to push the actuation arm back to its starting position, the user can then cause the valve stem to snap when attempting to force the spray head into the support channel 7 or by closing the cover 3 which pushes the body of the refill into the device 1 and causes the valve stem to bend against the actuation arm before snapping.

(11) Turning to FIGS. 2&3 a device 10 according to the present invention is illustrated. The device 10 comprises a housing 11 which is composed of a top portion 12 and a base portion 13. A refill 14 is provided here as an aerosol canister of pressurised fluid but could be a bottle or container or a cartridge or such like holding a reservoir of fluid to be sprayed. The refill 14 comprises a refill body 15 containing the reservoir of fluid to be sprayed, a valve stem 16 in fluid communication with the reservoir and a spray head 17 mounted on the valve stem 16, the spray head having a spray exit nozzle 18. The refill 14 can be housed within the device 10 by the top portion 12 being located over the top of the refill 14 and lowered until an engagement mechanism 19, shown in FIG. 3 as a bayonet fitting 20, releasably securely connects the top portion 12 and the base portion 13. During the lowering of the top portion 12 an alignment means 21 contacts and imparts rotation movement to the spray head 17 to orientate same relative to the spray opening 25 and that will be discussed below in relation to FIGS. 4&5.

(12) In FIG. 4 a sectional view of the top portion 12 is shown to better describe the features of the alignment means 21 and their inter-operation with the refill spray head 17. The alignment means 21 is provided by a radially-spaced ledge 22 substantially co-axial with the valve stem 16 of the refill 14. The ledge 22 is provided with an at least partially hollow core 23 to receive at least a portion of the refill spray head 17 therein. The ledge 22 extends downwardly from the top portion 12 toward the base portion 13 such that the ledge 22 has a section 24 adjacent the spray opening 25 that extends less than the rearmost part 26 of the ledge 22 that is remote from the spray opening 25 which extends furthermost.

(13) The radial-spacing of the ledge 22 may be of a substantially consistent radius. The hollow core 23 permits spray heads of various shapes of spray head ease of entry thereto. The consistent radius may be advantageous as the ledge 22 can contact a localised impingement point 27 of the refill spray head 17. The impingement point 27 may be suitably shaped to best interact with the ledge, for instance it may be preferable for the impingement point 27 on the refill spray head 17 to possess a curved profile to reduce friction as the spray head 17 is rotated by contact with the ledge 22, as discussed below.

(14) The ledge 22 may extend downwardly at a substantially constant gradient from the section 24 of the ledge adjacent the spray opening 25 to the rearmost part 26 of the ledge 22. The constant gradient may be advantageous as it may facilitate a smoother rotation of the spray head 17 about the valve stem 16 as the spray head 17 is rotated through contact at the impingement point 27 by the alignment means 21, as discussed further below.

(15) As shown in FIG. 4, the section 24 of the ledge 22 adjacent the spray opening 25 is formed to provide a recess 28 (iedoes not extend downwardly) to capture the spray head 17 when located therein. Most preferably the recess 28 is formed to closely match the lateral proportions of the spray head 17 in order to provide a support channel 29 to receive the spray head 17 when located therein and laterally support same during actuation by an actuation mechanism 30 which preferably comprises an electrically powered motor 32 with one or more gears 33 connected to the motor 32 and an actuation arm 34 connected to at least one of the motor 32 or the gears 33 which, in use, can extend into the recess 28 or support channel 29 to contact the spray head 17 and depress same to open a valve within the refill 14 to allow fluid to flow from the reservoir into the spray head 17 and out of the spray exit nozzle 18.

(16) The ledge 22 is preferably provided by a ridge 31 since this will afford the use of less raw materials and potentially advantageously reduce the size of the impingement point 17.

(17) Turning to FIGS. 1,6 &7 the base portion 13 of the housing 11 is illustrated. The base portion 13 is configured to retain at least a lower portion of the refill 14 therein. Refill retaining means are provided by a plurality of refill straps 35 formed by an L-shaped member 36 wherein the longer part of the member is mounted or formed on an inner surface 37 of the base portion 13 to permit flexibility and/or hinged rotation at the intersection 38. Each member 37 extends downwardly such that the shorter part of each member 37 projects toward a central point of the base portion 13, said shorter parts of the member 13 are configured to contact a base of the refill 14 and hold it at a predetermined location within the base portion 13. The refill straps 35 are preferably biased such that the longer part of the member 37 is biased out of contact with the inner surface 37 of the base portion 13.

(18) The operation of the alignment means 21 on the refill spray head 17 will now be described. A user first loads the refill 14 into the base portion 13, the orientation of the spray head 17 is irrelevant. The user then locates the top portion 12 over the refill 14 and starts to move either or both of the top portion 12 and the base portion 13 toward each other with the aim of eventually causing the engagement mechanism 19 to releasably secure the top portion 12 to the base portion 13. The act of moving the top portion 12 toward the base portion 13 requires the user to move the top portion 12 downwardly relative to the base portion 13 and rotate the top portion 12 relative the base portion 13 in order for the engagement mechanism to be secured. The movement imparted by the user to the top portion 12 causes at least a portion of the spray head 17 to enter the hollow core of the alignment means 21, further downward movement causes the ridge 31 to contact the spray head 17 at the impingement point 27. Further downward movement causes the spray head 17 to rotate by virtue of following the gradient of the ridge 31 toward a lower part thereof until the spray head 17 is located in the recess 28 (or support channel 29 if present) which in turn will mean that the spray exit nozzle 18 will be directly facing the spray opening 25 and the engagement mechanism will be releasably securely engaged.

(19) The spraying device 10 preferably defines a generally cylindrical shape wherein the top portion 12 is provided with a lid 35 that is remote from an open end, the lid 35 being accessible from the exterior of the device and may be hinged (hinge not shown). Preferably the lid provides a cover to one or more of: a battery compartment, the actuation mechanism, user input controls.

(20) All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive. Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features. The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment(s). The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.