Cup-shaped fluidic circuit with alignment tabs, nozzle assembly and method
원문보기
IPC분류정보
국가/구분
United States(US) Patent
등록
국제특허분류(IPC7판)
B05B-001/08
B65D-083/14
F15B-021/12
F15C-001/22
B65D-083/28
출원번호
US-0840981
(2013-03-15)
등록번호
US-9089856
(2015-07-28)
발명자
/ 주소
Gopalan, Shridhar
Hartranft, Evan
Russell, Gregory
출원인 / 주소
Bowles Fluidics Corporation
대리인 / 주소
J.A. McKinney & Assoc., LLC
인용정보
피인용 횟수 :
2인용 특허 :
13
초록▼
An automatically alignable conformal, cup-shaped fluidic nozzle engineered to generate an oscillating spray is configured as a cylindrical cup having a substantially open proximal end and a substantially closed distal end wall with a centrally located power nozzle defined therein and between first a
An automatically alignable conformal, cup-shaped fluidic nozzle engineered to generate an oscillating spray is configured as a cylindrical cup having a substantially open proximal end and a substantially closed distal end wall with a centrally located power nozzle defined therein and between first and second distally projecting alignment tabs or wall segments. Optionally, the fluidic circuit's oscillation inducing geometry is molded directly into the sealing post's distal surface and a one-piece cup provides the discharge orifice.
대표청구항▼
1. A nozzle assembly or spray head including a lumen or duct for dispensing or spraying a pumped or pressurized liquid product or fluid from a valve, pump or actuator assembly drawing from a transportable container to generate an exhaust flow in the form of an oscillating spray of fluid droplets, co
1. A nozzle assembly or spray head including a lumen or duct for dispensing or spraying a pumped or pressurized liquid product or fluid from a valve, pump or actuator assembly drawing from a transportable container to generate an exhaust flow in the form of an oscillating spray of fluid droplets, comprising; (a) an actuator body having a distally projecting sealing post having a post peripheral wall terminating at a distal or outer face, said actuator body including a fluid passage communicating with said lumen;(b) a cup-shaped fluidic circuit mounted in said actuator body member having a peripheral wall extending proximally into a bore in said actuator body radially outwardly of said sealing post and having a distal radial wall comprising an inner face opposing said sealing post's distal or outer face to define a fluid channel including a chamber having an interaction region between said body's sealing post and said cup-shaped fluidic circuit's peripheral wall and distal wall;(c) said chamber being in fluid communication with said actuator body's fluid passage to define a fluidic circuit oscillator inlet so said pressurized fluid may enter said fluid channel's chamber and interaction region;(d) said cup-shaped fluidic circuit distal wall's inner face being configured to define within said chamber a first power nozzle and second power nozzle, wherein said first power nozzle is configured to accelerate the movement of passing pressurized fluid flowing through said first nozzle to form a first jet of fluid flowing into said chamber's interaction region, and said second power nozzle is configured to accelerate the movement of passing pressurized fluid flowing through said second nozzle to form a second jet of fluid flowing into said chamber's interaction region, and wherein said first and second jets impinge upon one another at a selected inter-jet impingement angle and generate oscillating flow vortices within said fluid channel's interaction region;(e) wherein said chamber's interaction region is in fluid communication with a discharge orifice or power nozzle defined in said fluidic circuit's distal wall, and said oscillating flow vortices exhaust from said discharge orifice as an oscillating spray of substantially uniform fluid droplets in a selected spray pattern having a selected spray width and a selected spray thickness, and(f) wherein said cup-shaped fluidic circuit's distal end wall's power nozzle is defined between first and second distally projecting substantially parallel elongated alignment tabs or orientation ribs. 2. The nozzle assembly of claim 1, wherein said first and second power nozzles comprise venturi-shaped or tapered channels or grooves in said cup-shaped fluidic circuit distal wall's inner face. 3. The nozzle assembly of claim 2, wherein said first and second power nozzles terminate in a rectangular or box-shaped interaction region defined in said cup-shaped fluidic circuit distal wall's inner face. 4. The nozzle assembly of claim 2, wherein said first and second power nozzles terminate in a cylindrical interaction region defined in said cup-shaped fluidic circuit distal wall's inner face. 5. The nozzle assembly of claim 1, wherein said selected inter-jet impingement angle is 180 degrees and said oscillating flow vortices are generated within said fluid channel's interaction region by opposing jets. 6. The nozzle assembly of claim 1, wherein said cup-shaped fluidic circuit's power nozzles, interaction region and throat are molded directly into said cup's interior wall segments and the cup-shaped fluidic circuit is thus configured to be economically fitted onto the sealing post. 7. The nozzle assembly of claim 1, wherein said sealing post's distal or outer face has a substantially flat and fluid impermeable outer surface in flat face sealing engagement with the cup-shaped fluidic circuit distal wall's inner face. 8. The nozzle assembly of claim 7, wherein said distally projecting sealing post's peripheral wall and said cup-shaped fluidic circuit's peripheral wall are spaced axially to define said fluid channel and generally parallel with each other. 9. The nozzle assembly of claim 1, wherein said nozzle assembly is configured with a hand operated pump in a trigger sprayer configuration. 10. The nozzle assembly of claim 1, wherein said nozzle assembly is configured with propellant pressurized aerosol container with a valve actuator. 11. A conformal, unitary, one-piece fluidic circuit configured for easy and economical incorporation into a trigger spray nozzle assembly or aerosol spray head actuator body including distally projecting sealing post and a lumen for dispensing or spraying a pressurized liquid product or fluid from a transportable container to generate an exhaust flow in the form of an oscillating spray of fluid droplets, comprising; (a) a cup-shaped fluidic circuit member having a peripheral wall extending proximally and having a distal radial wall comprising an inner face with features defined therein and an open proximal end configured to receive an actuator's sealing post;(b) said cup-shaped member's peripheral wall and distal radial wall having inner surfaces comprising a fluid channel including a chamber when said cup-shaped member is fitted to body's sealing post;(c) said chamber being configured to define a fluidic circuit oscillator inlet in fluid communication with an interaction region so when said cup-shaped member is fitted to body's sealing post and pressurized fluid is introduced via said actuator body, the pressurized fluid may enter said fluid channel's chamber and interaction region and generate at least one oscillating flow vortex within said fluid channel's interaction region;(d) wherein said cup shaped member's distal wall includes a discharge orifice in fluid communication with said chamber's interaction region, and(e) wherein said cup-shaped fluidic circuit's distal end wall's discharge orifice is defined between first and second distally projecting substantially parallel elongated alignment tabs or orientation ribs. 12. The conformal, unitary, one-piece fluidic circuit of claim 11, wherein said chamber is configured so that when said cup-shaped member is fitted to the body's sealing post and pressurized fluid is introduced via said actuator body, said chamber's fluidic oscillator inlet is in fluid communication with a first power nozzle and second power nozzle, wherein said first power nozzle is configured to accelerate the movement of passing pressurized fluid flowing through said first nozzle to form a first jet of fluid flowing into said chamber's interaction region, and said second power nozzle is configured to accelerate the movement of passing pressurized fluid flowing through said second nozzle to form a second jet of fluid flowing into said chamber's interaction region, and wherein said first and second jets impinge upon one another at a selected inter-jet impingement angle and generate oscillating flow vortices within said fluid channel's interaction region. 13. The conformal, unitary, one-piece fluidic circuit of claim 12, wherein said chamber is configured so that when said cup-shaped member is fitted to the body's sealing post and pressurized fluid is introduced via said actuator body, said chamber's interaction region is in fluid communication with said discharge orifice defined in said fluidic circuit's distal wall, and said oscillating flow vortices exhaust from said discharge orifice as an oscillating spray of substantially uniform fluid droplets in a selected spray pattern having a selected spray width and a selected spray thickness. 14. The conformal, unitary, one-piece fluidic circuit of claim 12, wherein said first and second power nozzles comprise venturi-shaped or tapered channels or grooves in said distal wall's inner face. 15. The conformal, unitary, one-piece fluidic circuit of claim 14, wherein said first and second power nozzles terminate in a rectangular or box-shaped interaction region defined in said distal wall's inner face. 16. The conformal, unitary, one-piece fluidic circuit of claim 14, wherein said first and second power nozzles terminate in a cylindrical interaction region defined in said distal wall's inner face. 17. The conformal, unitary, one-piece fluidic circuit of claim 14, wherein said selected inter-jet impingement angle is 180 degrees and said chamber is configured so that when said cup-shaped member is fitted to the body's sealing post and pressurized fluid is introduced via said actuator body, said oscillating flow vortices are generated within said fluid channel's interaction region by opposing jets. 18. The nozzle assembly of claim 11, wherein said nozzle assembly is configured with a hand operated pump in a trigger sprayer configuration. 19. The nozzle assembly of claim 11, wherein said nozzle assembly is configured with propellant pressurized aerosol container with a valve actuator. 20. A method for assembling a transportable or disposable package for spraying or dispensing a liquid product, material or fluid from a nozzle assembly or spray head actuator, comprising: (a) fabricating a conformal fluidic circuit configured for easy and economical incorporation into a nozzle assembly or aerosol spray head actuator body including distally projecting sealing post and a lumen for dispensing or spraying a pressurized liquid product or fluid from a transportable container to generate an exhaust flow in the form of an oscillating spray of fluid droplets, said conformal fluidic circuit including a cup-shaped fluidic circuit member having a peripheral wall extending proximally and having a distal radial wall comprising an inner face with features defined therein and an open proximal end configured to receive an actuator's sealing post; said cup-shaped member's peripheral wall and distal radial wall having inner surfaces comprising a fluid channel including a chamber with a fluidic circuit oscillator inlet in fluid communication with an interaction region; said cup shaped member's peripheral wall having an exterior surface carrying a transversely projecting locking flange; wherein said distal radial wall carries first and second distally projecting substantially parallel elongated alignment tabs or orientation ribs; and(b) engaging said conformal fluidic circuit with an end effector supporting and aligning said first and second distally projecting substantially parallel elongated alignment tabs or orientation ribs. 21. The assembly method of claim 20, further comprising: (c) providing an actuator with a body having a distally projecting sealing post and a snap-fit groove configured to resiliently receive and retain said cup shaped member's transversely projecting locking flange;(d) inserting said sealing post into said cup-shaped member's open distal end and engaging said transversely projecting locking flange into said actuator body's snap fit groove to define said fluid channel with said chamber and said fluidic circuit oscillator inlet in fluid communication with the interaction region, so that when pressurized fluid is introduced into said fluid channel, the pressurized fluid may enter said chamber and interaction region and generate at least one oscillating flow vortex within said fluid channel's interaction region. 22. The assembly method of claim 20, wherein fabricating step (a) comprises molding said conformal fluidic circuit from a plastic material to provide a conformal, unitary, one-piece cup-shaped fluidic circuit member having the distal radial wall inner face features molded therein and wherein said cup-shaped member's inner surfaces comprise an oscillation-inducing geometry which is molded directly into the cup's interior wall segments. 23. The assembly method of claim 20, further comprising: (c) providing an actuator configured with a hand operated pump in a trigger sprayer configuration with a body having a distally projecting sealing post and a snap-fit groove configured to resiliently receive and retain said cup shaped member's transversely projecting locking flange;(d) inserting said sealing post into said cup-shaped member's open distal end and engaging said transversely projecting locking flange into said actuator body's snap fit groove to define said fluid channel with said chamber and said fluidic circuit oscillator inlet in fluid communication with the interaction region, so that when pressurized fluid is introduced into said fluid channel, the pressurized fluid may enter said chamber and interaction region and generate at least one oscillating flow vortex within said fluid channel's interaction region; and(e) engaging said first and second distally projecting substantially parallel elongated alignment tabs with said end effector and rotating said cup-shaped member on said sealing post about the central axis of said cup-shaped member and said sealing post to provide a selected angular orientation. 24. The assembly method of claim 20, further comprising: (c) providing an actuator configured with propellant pressurized aerosol container with a valve actuator having a body with a distally projecting sealing post and a snap-fit groove configured to resiliently receive and retain said cup shaped member's transversely projecting locking flange;(d) inserting said sealing post into said cup-shaped member's open distal end and engaging said transversely projecting locking flange into said actuator body's snap fit groove to define said fluid channel with said chamber and said fluidic circuit oscillator inlet in fluid communication with the interaction region, so that when pressurized fluid is introduced into said fluid channel, the pressurized fluid may enter said chamber and interaction region and generate at least one oscillating flow vortex within said fluid channel's interaction region; and(e) engaging said first and second distally projecting substantially parallel elongated alignment tabs with said end effector and rotating said cup-shaped member on said sealing post about the central axis of said cup-shaped member and said sealing post to provide a selected angular orientation. 25. A conformal fluidic circuit configured for incorporation into a trigger spray nozzle assembly or aerosol spray head actuator body including distally projecting sealing post and a lumen for dispensing or spraying a pressurized liquid product or fluid from a transportable container to generate an exhaust flow in the form of an oscillating spray of fluid droplets, comprising; (a) a distal post surface having fluidic circuit defined therein and a cup-shaped member having a peripheral wall extending proximally and having a distal radial wall comprising an inner face and an open proximal end configured to receive the sealing post;(b) said cup-shaped member's peripheral wall and distal radial wall having inner surfaces which cooperate with said distal post surface's fluidic circuit to provide a fluid passing lumens and an interaction chamber when said cup-shaped member is fitted to body's sealing post;(c) said interaction chamber being configured to define a fluidic circuit oscillator inlet in fluid communication with the interaction chamber so when said cup-shaped member is fitted to body's sealing post and pressurized fluid is introduced via said actuator body, the pressurized fluid may enter said interaction chamber and generate at least one oscillating flow vortex within said interaction chamber;(d) wherein said cup shaped member's distal wall includes a discharge orifice in fluid communication with said interaction chamber. 26. The conformal fluidic circuit of claim 25, wherein said chamber is configured so that when said cup-shaped member is fitted to the body's sealing post and pressurized fluid is introduced via said actuator body, said chamber's fluidic oscillator inlet is in fluid communication with a first power nozzle and second power nozzle, wherein said first power nozzle is configured to accelerate the movement of passing pressurized fluid flowing through said first nozzle to form a first jet of fluid flowing into said chamber, and said second power nozzle is configured to accelerate the movement of passing pressurized fluid flowing through said second nozzle to form a second jet of fluid flowing into said chamber, and wherein said first and second jets impinge upon one another at a selected inter-jet impingement angle and generate oscillating flow vortices within said fluid channel's interaction region. 27. The conformal fluidic circuit of claim 26, wherein said chamber is configured so that when said cup-shaped member is fitted to the body's sealing post and pressurized fluid is introduced via said actuator body, said chamber's interaction region is in fluid communication with said discharge orifice defined in said cup-shaped member's distal wall, and said oscillating flow vortices exhaust from said discharge orifice as an oscillating spray of substantially uniform fluid droplets in a selected spray pattern having a selected spray width and a selected spray thickness. 28. The conformal fluidic circuit of claim 26, wherein said first and second power nozzles comprise venturi-shaped or tapered channels or grooves molded in said post's distal surface. 29. The conformal fluidic circuit of claim 28, wherein said first and second power nozzles terminate in a substantially rectangular or box-shaped interaction region defined in said post's distal surface. 30. The conformal fluidic circuit of claim 26, wherein said selected inter-jet impingement angle is 180 degrees and said chamber is configured so that when said cup-shaped member is fitted to the body's sealing post and pressurized fluid is introduced via said actuator body, said oscillating flow vortices are generated within said interaction chamber by opposing jets.
Schultz,Roger L.; Michael,Robert K.; Dagenais,Pete C.; Fripp,Michael L.; Tucker,James C., Apparatus and method for creating pulsating fluid flow, and method of manufacture for the apparatus.
Richardson, James Samuel; Lefebvre, Robin; Klabbers, Victor; Glass, Elizabeth Jackson; Moss, Michael Alan John; Shaduki, Mitsuaki, Trigger pump sprayer having favorable particle size distribution with specified liquids.
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