Multifunctional misting system

Abstract

A multifunctional misting system having a housing assembly, a frame assembly, a mist blower assembly, a valve assembly, a recess control panel assembly, a pump-motor assembly, a tank assembly, and a handle assembly. The housing assembly has first and second flat panels, a front panel, a rear panel, a top panel, a bottom panel, and locking corners. The frame assembly has first and second frames, and a battery with a battery retainer. The mist blower assembly has a blower and nozzles. The pump-motor assembly is a motor attached to a pump. The motor has a motor-battery bracket fixed to the motor and a spacer. The handle assembly is positioned onto the top panel of the housing assembly. The multifunctional misting system may operate as a mist blower.

Claims

1. A multifunctional misting system, comprising: A) a housing assembly comprising first and second flat panels, a front panel, a rear panel, a top panel, a bottom panel, and locking corners, said front panel comprising a blower panel hole, a control panel hole, and a valve threaded neck hole; B) a frame assembly comprising a battery and a battery retainer; C) a mist blower assembly mounted on said blower panel hole; D) a valve assembly comprising a valve body, a threaded valve neck, first and second outlet ports, an inlet port, and a valve handle, said threaded valve neck with said valve handle mounted thereon extends from said valve threaded neck hole of said housing assembly; E) a recess control panel assembly mounted on said control panel hole; F) a pump-motor assembly, said frame assembly secures said mist blower assembly, said pump-motor assembly, and said battery; G) a tank assembly comprising a self locking tank strap, said housing assembly houses said frame assembly and said tank assembly, wherein said tank assembly is exteriorly secured to said frame assembly by said self locking tank strap; and H) a handle assembly mounted onto said top panel.

2. The multifunctional misting system set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that said top panel comprises a tank neck hole.

3. The multifunctional misting system set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that said frame assembly comprises first and second frames, said first and second frames each comprises a top wall, first and second lateral stiffeners, and a bottom panel attachment base.

4. The multifunctional misting system set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that said mist blower assembly comprises a blower having a blower outlet and a blower inlet, first and second blower bases, a recess blower panel, a blower shroud, a blower shroud flapper, bulkhead supply tubes, and nozzles.

5. The multifunctional misting system set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that said valve assembly further comprises a manifold, first and second adapting elbows, a thru adapter, a tube, an input connector, output connectors, an input connector port, output connector ports, a pressure switch, and a pressure switch port.

6. The multifunctional misting system set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that said recess control panel assembly comprises a recess control panel, a control bezel, a switch, and a power jack.

7. The multifunctional misting system set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that said pump-motor assembly comprises a motor attached to a pump, said pump comprises a pump inlet connector, a pump outlet connector, a pump base, an outlet tube, and an inlet tube.

8. The multifunctional misting system set forth in claim 7, further characterized in that said motor comprises a motor-battery bracket fixed to said motor, said motor-battery bracket comprises first and second bracket lateral walls.

9. The multifunctional misting system set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that said tank assembly further comprises a front side, lateral sides, a bottom side, a top side, a tank neck, and a cap with a duckbill vent hole.

10. The multifunctional misting system set forth in claim 9, further characterized in that said front side comprises a hardware face having an outlet port to receive a pick up nipple and a float port to receive a tank float switch.

11. The multifunctional misting system set forth in claim 9, further characterized in that said lateral sides each comprises an strap recess and air gap ribs.

12. The multifunctional misting system set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that said handle assembly comprises a handle body having a wire passage, a cover plate, a micro switch, and a light-emitting diode housing with a light-emitting diode.

13. The multifunctional misting system set forth in claim 4, further characterized in that said blower shroud fits into said blower, and said blower shroud houses said blower shroud flapper, which is secured by said recess blower panel.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) With the above and other related objects in view, the invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the present invention.

(3) FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the present invention.

(4) FIG. 3 is a top view of the present invention.

(5) FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a housing assembly of the present invention.

(6) FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a frame assembly of the present invention.

(7) FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a mist blower assembly and valve assembly of the present invention.

(8) FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a recess control panel assembly of the present invention.

(9) FIG. 8 is a front view of the present invention.

(10) FIG. 9 is an isometric view of a pump-motor assembly of the present invention.

(11) FIG. 10 is an exploded view of a tank assembly of the present invention.

(12) FIG. 11 is a lateral view of the present invention.

(13) FIG. 12 is an exploded bottom view of a handle assembly of the present invention.

(14) FIG. 13 is an exploded top view of the handle assembly of the present invention.

(15) FIG. 14 is a cut view taken along lines 14-14 as seen in FIG. 1.

(16) FIG. 15 is an exploded view of a misting wand assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(17) Referring now to the drawings, the present invention is a multifunctional misting system for solutions of insecticide or insect repellent but not limited to, and is generally referred to with numeral 10. It can be observed that it basically includes housing assembly 20, frame assembly 70, mist blower assembly 120, valve assembly 170, recess control panel assembly 230, pump-motor assembly 260, tank assembly 320, and handle assembly 380.

(18) Multifunctional misting system 10 may operate as a misting system, a portable mist blowing system, and a portable misting wand system.

(19) As seen in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 present invention 10 comprises housing assembly 20, frame assembly 70, mist blower assembly 120 with valve assembly 170, recess control panel assembly 230, pump-motor assembly 260, tank assembly 320, and handle assembly 380.

(20) Housing assembly 20 houses frame assembly 70, mist blower assembly 120 with valve assembly 170, recess control panel assembly 230, pump-motor assembly 260, and tank assembly 320. Handle assembly 380 is mounted onto top panel 30, and cap 332 of tank assembly 320 secures at top panel 30. Housing assembly 20 further houses transceiver/controller enclosure 60. In a preferred embodiment, valve assembly 170 is a three-way valve assembly.

(21) Present invention 10 further comprises programmable remote-control transceiver 160 and handheld remote control transceiver 370.

(22) Programmable remote-control transceiver 160 has a wireless technology standard programmable radio frequency remote controller allowing a smart device application to program actuation days on a 7-day calendar, select the times of actuations per day, and the duration of those actuations in 15 second intervals of up to 2 minutes. The wireless technology standard programmable radio frequency remote controller communicates to transceiver/controller enclosure 60 at the time of actuation by transmitting one pulse per 15 seconds of requested runtime.

(23) Handheld remote control transceiver 370 provides users a transmit button for pulse activating of transceiver/controller enclosure 60 for 15 seconds per pulse.

(24) As seen in FIG. 4 housing assembly 20 comprises first and second flat panels 22 and 24, front panel 26, rear panel 28, top panel 30, bottom panel 32, and locking corners 34 with corner screws 40.

(25) First and second flat panels 22 and 24 comprise air inlet holes 36. Air inlet holes 36 are designed to prevent rodent and/or insect intrusion. Front panel 26 comprises blower panel hole 48, control panel hole 50, and valve threaded neck hole 54. Top panel 30 comprises tank neck hole 44, handle mount holes 46, and wire passage hole 56. Handle mounting holes 46 allow securing handle assembly 380, as seen in FIG. 1, onto top panel 30. In a preferred embodiment, rear panel 28 and bottom panel 32 are identical inside. Rear panel 28 and bottom panel 32 both comprise battery trap 42. Bottom panel 32 also comprises legs 38. Legs 38 are secured with corner screws 40 positioned onto bottom panel 32. In a preferred embodiment, bottom panel 32 comprises weep holes to prevent standing water inside.

(26) In a preferred embodiment, front panel 26, rear panel 28, top panel 30, and bottom panel 32 each have a slit to restrain first and second flat panels 22 and 24 when connected with locking corners 34. Locking corners 34 are designed with injection molding features and utilize a locking system to minimize hardware requirements while simultaneously holding the structure at approximately 90 degrees.

(27) Corner screws 40 can be self-threading plastic screws. Front panel 26, rear panel 28, top panel 30, and bottom panel 32 each comprise holes to receive corner screws 40.

(28) As seen in FIG. 5, frame assembly 70 comprises first and second frames 72 and 76. First frame 72 has top wall 74, first and second lateral stiffeners 80, and bottom panel attachment base 86. First and second lateral stiffeners 80 comprise tank centering holes 84. Second frame 76 has top wall 78, first and second lateral stiffeners 82, and bottom panel attachment base 88. First and second lateral stiffeners 82 also comprise tank centering holes 84.

(29) Top wall 74 comprises handle hole 94 and handle unified nut hole 98. Top wall 78 comprises handle hole 96 and handle unified nut hole 100. First and second frames 72 and 76 respectively comprise blower unified nut holes 110 and bracket unified holes 112. Blower unified nut holes 110 and bracket unified holes 112 receive mist blower assembly 120 and pump-motor assembly 260, as seen in FIG. 14, respectively.

(30) Frame assembly 70 further comprises battery 90 and battery retainer 92 with battery retainer wingnuts 102. Battery retainer 92 secures battery 90 and is fixed with battery retainer stud bolts 106 with respective retainer stud bolt nuts 108.

(31) As seen in FIG. 6, mist blower assembly 120 comprises blower 122 having blower flanges 124, first and second blower bases 126 with respective blower base mounting holes 128, blower outlet 130, and blower inlet 132.

(32) Mist blower assembly 120 further comprises recess blower panel 134, blower shroud 136, blower bezel 138, blower shroud flapper 140, bulkhead supply tubes 142, bulkhead unions 144, screws 148, and nozzles 150. In a preferred embodiment, there are four nozzles 150. Bulkhead unions 144 have inner bulkhead union nuts 146 and outer bulkhead union nuts 152. Mist blower assembly 120 further comprises flapper hinge pins 154, hinge pin holes 156, and blower mounting screws 158.

(33) Blower shroud 136 fits into blower 122. Blower shroud 136 comprises a blower shroud slot for wires passage, which is also used as a stop for blower shroud flapper 140, removing the need for a hard stop. Blower shroud flapper 140 keeps rodents from entering through blower shroud 136. Present invention 10 can provide misting protection in three ways, remote stationary misting, a portable wand misting, and a portable mist-blower option, which are selected by rotating valve handle 182 to point up for mist blower and down for remote misting.

(34) Valve assembly 170 comprises valve body 172 having threaded valve neck 174, outlet port 176, outlet port 178, and inlet port 180. Valve handle 182 is secured by handle screw 186. Valve body 172 is secured to front panel 26 by threaded valve neck 174 passing through valve threaded neck hole 54 and secured by retainer nut 184. Valve assembly 170 further comprises first and second adapting elbows 188 and 192, and thru adapter 190, whereby adapting elbow 188 is connected to outlet port 176, thru adapter 190 is connected to inlet port 180, and adapting elbow 192 is connected to outlet port 178.

(35) Valve assembly 170 further comprises manifold 198 having output connector ports 200 and input connector port 202. Output connectors 204 are positioned on output connector ports 200, and input connector 196, connected to tube 194, is positioned on input connector port 202. Tube 194 connects adapting elbow 192 and input connector 196. Manifold 198 further comprises pressure switch 206 connected into pressure switch port 208.

(36) As seen in FIG. 7, recess control panel assembly 230 comprises recess control panel 232 having control bezel 234. Recess control panel 232 has switch hole 236 to receive switch 246, and power jack hole 238 to receive power jack 248. Power jack 248 comprises power jack retainer nut 250.

(37) Control bezel 234 comprises mounting holes 240 and mister output hole 242. Mounting holes 240 receive recess panel screws 244 to secure recess control panel assembly 230.

(38) As seen in FIG. 8, mist blower assembly 120, valve assembly 170, and recess control panel assembly 230 mount onto housing assembly 20, specifically onto front panel 26. Mist blower assembly 120 is mounted on blower panel hole 48 seen in FIG. 4, whereby blower bezel 138 is fixed with screws 148 onto front panel 26. Blower shroud flapper 140 and nozzles 150 are exposed on front panel 26. Threaded valve neck 174, seen in FIG. 6, with valve handle 182 mounted thereon extends from valve threaded neck hole 54, seen in FIG. 4. Recess control panel assembly 230 mounts onto front panel 26, whereby control bezel 234 is mounted onto control panel hole 50 seen in FIG. 4, and recess panel screws 244 fix control bezel 234 onto front panel 26. Recess control panel 232 with switch 246 and power jack 248 are exposed on front panel 26.

(39) As seen in FIG. 9, pump-motor assembly 260 comprises motor 262 attached to pump 264. Pump 264 comprises pump inlet connector 266, pump outlet connector 268, pump base 270, outlet tube 276, and inlet tube 278. Pump 264 is attached to motor 262 by screws 272 secured at screw post 274.

(40) Motor 262 comprises motor-battery bracket 280 fixed thereto. Motor-battery bracket 280 comprises bracket lateral walls 282 and 284. Motor-battery bracket 280 is fixed to motor 262, whereby motor mounting screws 298 pass through first and second motor mount holes 286 and 288 to be fixed on motor mounting holes 292.

(41) Bracket lateral walls 282 and 284 secure pump-motor assembly 260 onto respective first and second frames 72 and 76, as seen in FIG. 5. In a preferred embodiment, bracket mounting screws 300 pass through respective bracket mounting holes 290 and respective bracket unified holes 112 and are secured by unified nuts 104, as seen in FIG. 5.

(42) As seen in FIG. 10, tank assembly 320 comprises front side 322, lateral sides 324, rear side 325, bottom side 326, and top side 328.

(43) Front side 322 comprises hardware face 336 having outlet port 338 and float port 340. Outlet port 338 receives pick up nipple 344 with ring 342 and nuts 346. Float port 340 receives tank float switch 348 with ring 352 and float switch nut 362. Front side 322 further comprises tank centering posts 364 and tank stand-offs 358 for securing onto frame assembly 70, as seen in FIG. 14. The securing is achieved with self-locking tank strap 360 that secures tank assembly 320 and frame assembly 70 together, seen in FIG. 5, when settled in strap recess 354 on lateral sides 324 and rear side 325.

(44) Lateral sides 324 each also comprises air gap ribs 356 allowing first and second flat panels 22 and 24, seen in FIG. 4, space for improved airflow. Top side 328 comprises tank neck 330 having cap 332 with duckbill vent hole 334.

(45) As seen in FIGS. 11, 12, and 13 handle assembly 380 is mounted onto top panel 30. Handle assembly 380 comprises handle body 382. Handle body 382 has wire passage 384, micro switch hole 386, and light-emitting diode housing hole 388. Light-emitting diode housing hole 388 receives light-emitting diode housing 398 with light-emitting diode 396. Micro switch hole 386 receives micro switch 392. Micro switch 392 when depressed activates present invention 10. Micro switch 392 allows using mist blower assembly 120, seen in FIG. 6, without having to press a RF remote to activate. Micro switch 392 is located in a section for finger channeling.

(46) Handle assembly 380 further comprises cover plate 390 and mounting screw recesses 400. In a preferred embodiment, cover plate 390 comprises cover securing tabs 406 and cover plate rib 408. Cover securing tabs 406 hold cover plate 390 down into lip 410. In a preferred embodiment, handle body 382 further comprises stiffener 402 having rib recess 404 to receive cover plate rib 408.

(47) As seen in FIG. 14, frame assembly 70 secures battery 90, mist blower assembly 120, and pump-motor assembly 260, whereby first and second blower bases 126, as seen in FIG. 6, are mounted onto second frame 76, seen in FIG. 5, and bracket lateral walls 282 and 284 are mounted onto first and second frames 72 and 76, seen in FIG. 5, respectively.

(48) Housing assembly 20 houses frame assembly 70 and tank assembly 320, wherein tank assembly 320 is exteriorly secured to frame assembly 70 by self locking tank strap 360, seen in FIG. 10. Frame assembly 70 comprises tank strap notches 114, as seen in FIG. 5, to receive self locking tank strap 360. Motor 262 further comprises spacer 294 positioned between motor base 296 and bottom panel 32. Tank neck 330 is flared to snug top tank neck hole 44 on panel 30. This flare also secures tank assembly 320.

(49) Blower shroud 136 fits into blower 122 and blower shroud 136 houses blower shroud flapper 140, which is secured by recess blower panel 134.

(50) Transceiver/controller enclosure 60 is a weatherized enclosure containing a transceiver/controller to energize pump-motor assembly 260. Transceiver/controller enclosure 60 also provides current limiter for light-emitting diode 396.

(51) When nozzles 150 are activated, blower 122 will automatically turn on by pressure switch 206 of manifold 198, seen in FIG. 6. Then, when deactivate, the misting will stop immediately but blower 122 will continue to run longer so nozzles 150 dry off. Pressure switch 206 automatically stops blower 122 when pressure of nozzles 150 sufficiently drops, reducing drippage.

(52) Air for blower 122 intakes is pulled through air inlet holes 36. Outflow of blower 122 is protected by blower shroud flapper 140 designed to open outward when pressure is present, and gravity shuts when no pressure is present. Blower shroud flapper 140 covers exhaust and cannot be pushed inward, protecting against rodent and insect intrusion. The function of mist blower assembly 120 is to accelerate and propel the mist that outs from nozzles 150 forming a long-range column to maximize coverage.

(53) Handle body 382 is secured into housing assembly 20, whereby mounting screws 394 pass through mounting screw recesses 400 and handle mount holes 46 securing through top panel 30 onto frame assembly 70 at handle unified nut holes 98 and 100.

(54) In a preferred embodiment, tank assembly 320 is equipped with a low fluid sensor. Transceiver/controller enclosure 60 interprets the sensor and disables the pump during low fluid level, dims power light, and flashes power light when disabled by low fluid or freeze sensor by disabling actuation for 3 days. The control board responds to radio frequency (RF) remote or micro switch 392. Micro switch 392 has direct control and actuates any duration while pressed. Each radio frequency pulse adds 15 seconds of actuation time to the total runtime.

(55) In another embodiment, present invention 10 may be activated by an application via wireless technology standard.

(56) A smart device having wireless technology standard application for programmable remote control transceiver 160, as seen in FIG. 2, may set days, times, and durations into memory to control transceiver/controller enclosure 60. The application allows smart devices to actuate transceiver/controller enclosure 60 through programmable remote control transceiver 160, seen in FIG. 2.

(57) As seen in FIG. 15, present invention 10 may comprise misting wand assembly 420, which has misting nozzle 422, wand coupler 424, wand tube 426, wand handle 428, and wand hose 430. Misting wand assembly 420 may be used for direct applications in specific areas in portable mist wand applications actuated by micro switch 392.

(58) The foregoing description conveys the best understanding of the objectives and advantages of the present invention. Different embodiments may be made of the inventive concept of this invention. It is to be understood that all matter disclosed herein is to be interpreted merely as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.