FR2707529A1 - Apparatus for dispersing a liquid by a gas stream - Google Patents

Abstract

This is a device (9) for pumping a fluid, comprising a piston (206) which can move in a metering chamber (208), this piston being driven by a motor, via coupling means which include a rotary head (236) provided with a guide path (238) at least locally oblique with respect to the axis of the device, as well as a driving component (240) which is connected to the piston and which moves along the guide path, causing the reciprocating movement of the piston. The invention also relates to an apparatus for spraying a liquid, comprising the said gas-distributing device. Application to the spraying of an air-freshening fragrance.

Description

The invention relates to an apparatus for

disperse or diffuse a liquid.

  A use as a broadcaster

  Ambience perfume is particularly targeted.

  Among the difficulties that had to be overcome to achieve the apparatus of the invention, it is possible to note the essential points on which the inventors have worked: - definition of a reliable and efficient device which diffuses the liquid rapidly, if necessary in quantity variable depending on the viscosity of this liquid, its chemical nature and the volume of the place where it is to be diffused; - definition of a device as inexpensive to manufacture as possible, - easy to use device allowing, if necessary, to diffuse successively several categories of liquids (for example more or less viscous) avoiding any obligation of rinsing, with times long immobilization of the apparatus or maneuvers loading / unloading it long or may appear as unpleasant or tedious, - possibility of being able to easily modulate the rate of diffusion, so as to achieve essentially the dissemination goal fixed, without exaggerating the dispersion, thus avoiding, if it seems useful, to empty the device, also avoid spreading a visible fog, but rather a "cloud" light and

almost invisible to the eye.

  To achieve an important part of these objectives, the invention therefore proposes a dispersion apparatus, comprising: a support body enclosing gas dispensing means (pressurized air for example), a cartridge defining a reservoir for the liquid to be dispensed. dispersing, said cartridge being adapted to be removably received in a housing of the body, and - diffusion means of said liquid, carried by the cartridge and comprising: a reduced section blow duct, connected on one side to the means of gas distribution and communicating, on the opposite side, with an outlet passage of the cartridge to the open air, and means for supplying, in the path of the gas blown through the duct, small amounts of

liquid to disperse.

  Preferably, the gas blowing duct and the liquid supply means may moreover consist respectively of calibrated passages, the first being of greater cross section than the second, these two passages each opening above the liquid level in each case. the reservoir, the second passage for the liquid communicating with the latter to bring it by capillarity up to said first passage for the gas. And to promote this distribution of the liquid, a complementary feature of the invention further provides that the outlet passage of the cartridge which can extend the reservoir on one side, will preferably have a convergent / divergent form, the diffusion means of gas and the liquid supply means then advantageously interrupting, in the reservoir, at a level where the

  passage in question will be convergent.

  Still for this diffusion efficiency, another characteristic of the invention provides that the apparatus may have a blown secondary gas duct (in particular air) running through the body of the apparatus to open around the exit passage of the appliance.

the cartridge.

  Since the apparatus of the invention has been designed so that the quantity of liquid to be dispersed can be relatively easily modulated, another characteristic provides for the integration of a programmable electronic card for controlling the operation of the gas distribution means, triggering and sequentially interrupting

  the gas supply of the liquid diffusion means.

  Other features and benefits of

  the invention will still appear from the description that will

  follow, with reference to the accompanying drawings given solely by way of non-limiting example, and of which: - Figure 1 is an internal schematic view of the apparatus with its essential components, - Figure 2 is an internal view of a removable cartridge adaptable to the apparatus of FIG. 1; and FIG. 3 is a simplified view of the electrical diagram of the programmable card which can be

  provided on the apparatus of Figure 1.

  In this figure 1, there is also shown the diffusion apparatus 1 of the invention used to disperse a liquid, such as for example a toilet water 3 can be "nonalcoholic" (that is to say lacking saturated hydrocarbon with a carbon number of less than 10 or greater than carrying a hydroxyl function as a substitution for a hydrogen function) and contained in a cartridge

recharge 5 (see Figure 2).

  The apparatus 1, which is in fact a nebulizer, essentially comprises a plastic support body 7 enclosing, in the lower part, gas dispensing means (in particular air), such as a pump 9 and, in the upper part, a dispensing drum 17 internally defining a housing 11 for the cartridge 5, so that its discharge opening 13 (see Figure 2) is, once the cartridge in place in its housing, extended by an outlet passage 15 defined by the internal conformation of the barrel 17, an inner chamber 19 ensuring in particular the communication between the outlet 21 of the gas distributor means 9 and the inlet channel 23 of the

cartridge 5.

  In particular, if, as seems most practical, the gas distributor means 9 must blow air towards the drum 17, it will be housed inside the body 7 so as to be connected to the atmosphere by a passage communicating with an external air intake 25, its power supply can be provided, if necessary, by an autonomous source of stabilized power supply, for example at 6 or 12 volts, such as

that a stack 27.

  As distributor means 9, it will be noted in particular that different pumps could be envisaged, such as a connecting rod / piston or diaphragm pump delivering pressurized air to the conduit 23 from a continuous or reciprocating engine, or a peristaltic pump crushing a tube by one or more cams or rollers, this tube then connecting to the end piece 23. One could also imagine using for example a double-acting cylinder pump or an electromagnetic pump. Instead of a pump, other equivalent means could also be suitable, such as an axial or helical fan or an air accumulator, such as a small removable cartridge, replaceable, pressurized air, well heard

  connected at the outlet to the endpiece 23.

  In FIG. 1, it will be noted that in order to improve the diffusion of the liquid under the effect of the flow of gas generated by the distributor 9, the outlet passage 15 will advantageously have a convergent / divergent shape, that is to say the species a form having first a truncated cone or convergent pyramid 151, then a zone of constant section 152, and finally a divergent outlet 153 which may be for example constituted by a hollow part, externally

  truncated cone or pyramid, forming a collar-

hat reported.

  To further promote the spray or nebulized dispersion of the liquid, the location 11 for the cartridge 5 and the evacuation passage 15 which extends, may be surrounded by a channel 29 connected upstream, via a calibrated tube 31, to the chamber 19 and opening downstream, at the outlet, around the divergent portion 153, such that circulates in this passage 29 a gas (air) secondary promoting the dispersion of the gas flow

  (main) carrier of the liquid to "vaporize".

  For the introduction of the cartridge 5, the flange 153 will be removably disposed on the top of the barrel 17, which will comprise a fixed base 171, in which will be hollowed the housing, for example parallelepiped open on its upper face and having a orifice 111 in its opposite bottom face for the passage of the nozzle 23, the upper portion 172 of the drum being removable and may for example be made of two lateral half-shells that can meet in a vertical plane, defining the passage 15 internally. and, preferably, the channel

secondary air 29.

  As for the plastic refill cartridge 5, illustrated in FIG. 2, it may consist of a reservoir base 33 enclosing the liquid 3 to be dispersed and surmounted by an outlet neck 35 which may first have a convergent portion. then a constant reduced section 351 substantially corresponding to the reduced section s of the passage 15, this neck end portion 351 being closable by a lid (not shown) as long as the cartridge is not used. Internally, the cartridge 5 will furthermore preferably contain the diffusion means 37 which will therefore advantageously make it possible to nebulise the liquid in a very fine mist, all the more easily

  understood that this liquid will be volatile.

  In this case, the means 37 are constituted by a single plastic part fixed in the lower part to the base 33 of the cartridge which they pass through.

  present the aforementioned connecting piece 23.

  Internally, the part 37 has a blowing duct 39, which opens in the upper part, above the level L of the liquid, and a second duct of reduced section relative to the first, 41, communicating in the lower part with the liquid and opening, in the upper part, next to the first

leads 39.

  In the illustration, the second duct 41 is a capillary duct, for example having an inside diameter of the order of 0.4 mm, for a channel section 39 which may be between 0.8 and 1.2 mm approximately. . Advantageously, the channel 39 will be interrupted, in the reservoir, at a level close to the narrowest end of the convergent portion of the neck 35, so that it can blow the flow of gas received

  substantially in the vertical central axis of the cartridge.

  As for the tip 23, which will preferably be made in one piece with the diffuser 37, as a single nipple through sealingly to the liquid, 11, the bottom of the tank 33, substantially following

the general axis 43 of the cartridge.

  To optimize the operation of the apparatus, it has also been envisaged to add, within the body 7, a programmable electronic card 45 for the control of the distribution means

of gas 9.

  FIG. 3 shows a possible electrical diagram of this card which may be a programmable card, making it possible to control the operation of the means 9 by triggering and sequentially interrupting the distribution of the gas towards the diffusion means 37. other words, the card 45 will essentially be constituted on the basis of an electronic timer, of which is described hereinafter a possible cycle of operation, in connection with the

circuit of Figure 3.

  Let's consider firstly outputs 1 and 5

eight switches 47.

  When the card is powered up via the source 49 (9 volts), as long as the capacitance 51 is not charged, the output 53 of the inverter 55 is at logic level 1. This initialization (reset) at the time of under voltage is then applied to the two flip-flops 57, 59, and the pulse counter 61 (in this case type "4040"). The counter as well as the two latches 57, 59 are therefore at logic level 0. The terminals 63 and 65 respectively of the counters 57 and 59 are at level 1: the light-emitting diode (for example red) 67 is then lit and the distributor means of gas 9, connected to connector 69, does not work, no nebulization

fluid then does not exist.

  Moreover, the capacity 71 is discharged.

  A logic level 0 is therefore applied to the input 73 of the second inverter or trigger 75 whose output 77 is then at level 1. This pin 77 then being at 9 volts, the capacitor 71 is loaded by the resistor 79 in series with a potentiometer 81. When the voltage of the capacitor 71 becomes greater than the switching voltage of the inverter 75, the latter switches and its output 77 goes to 0 volts. The capacitor 71 discharges into the resistor 79 and the potentiometer 81. Once its voltage is sufficiently low, the inverter 75 switches again, and so on. The inverter 75 is therefore a clock. Initially, all the outputs of the counter 61 are at 0. At the first clock applied to the input 83 of the counter, it will count: its first output 85 will therefore go to level 1. The pin 87 of the rocker 57 is then 0, said flip-flop being ready to memorize. The rising edge coming from the output 85 is thus applied to the input 89 of the flip-flop 57. The flip-flop registers and its output 91 goes to 1, while its output 63 goes to 0. The light diode 67 extinguishes,

  while the other diode (eg green) 93 turns on.

  Thus 9 volts are applied to the input of the resistor 95 and the transistor 97 turns on, the means

  gas distributor 9 then entering into operation.

  Output 1 of the switch series 47 is assumed to be busy; after 16 pulses on the clock input of the counter 61, its output 99 goes to 1. A rising edge is applied to the clock input 101 of the flip-flop 59, its output 103 going to 1, while its output 65 is no longer busy. The distributor 9 is then no longer powered, the lighting from green to

red (diode 67).

  Counter 83 still counts. The pulses sent on the input 89 of the flip-flop 57 are not taken into account because the pin 87 (reset) is always at 1. The switch 5 of the series of switches 47 is closed. At the end of the 256 th pulse on the clock input of the counter 61, its output 105 goes to 1. Thus 9 volts are sent to the input of the resistor 107, and the transistor 109 becomes on, so that the pin 111 input of the trigger 113 goes to 0, the time of the delay provided by the resistance circuit 115 - capacity 117. The output 116 of the trigger therefore goes to 1. It is then initialized the latch 59, and the counter 61 whose output 103 therefore passes to 0. Therefore a logic level 1 or 0 is applied to pin 87, removing the forced initialization of this latch which can thus take into account the

  counter pulses 83 from its pin 85.

  In this way, the counter 83 is initialized by the pin 119 of the flip-flop 57, its outputs being at 0. At the first clock pulse, its output 85 goes to 1, the flip-flop 57 taking into account the

  rising edge ... and the cycle starts again.

  To set the duration of the pulse times, it is sufficient to select one of the outputs 99, 121, 123, 125 of the counter 61 by means of the switches 47 and, to adjust the time between two pulses, one of the outputs can be selected 105 127, 129, 131 of this same counter, also using the switches 47. It will be noted that the presence of OR logic gates 133, 135 and 137, the outputs of which are respectively connected to terminal 87, to terminal 139 of the counter and at the terminal 141 of the second flip-flop 59, reset the latches and the counter when powered up or at the end of the cycle, the presence of the eight output diodes 143 of the counter allowing moreover avoid short circuits in case two switches are running at the same time. As for the diode 143, it makes it possible to avoid the destruction of the integrated circuits in the event of reversal of direction when connecting the

  battery. The reverse voltage is limited to about 0.7 volts.

Claims (10)

  Apparatus for dispersing a liquid, comprising: - a support body (7, 17) enclosing gas dispensing means (9), - a cartridgeloader (5) defining a reservoir for the liquid (3) to be dispersed, said cartridge being adapted to be removably received in an internal housing (11) of the body, and - diffusion means (15,23,37) of said liquid, carried by the cartridge and comprising: a reduced section blow duct (39) , communicating on one side with a gas distribution means (9) and, on the opposite side, with an outlet passage (13, 15) from the cartridge to the open air, and means (41) for supplying , in the path of the gas blown through the duct (39), small amounts of liquid to be dispersed by nebulization under the effect of the gas flow.   2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the conduit (39) for blowing the gas and the means (41) for supplying the liquid each open above the level (L) of liquid in the reservoir (33) , the second passage (41) for the liquid communicating with the latter to bring it by capillarity to   gaze of said first passage (39) for the gas.   3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the outlet passage (13,15) of the cartridge (5), which extends on one side the reservoir (33) fits into a channel ( 151, 152, 153) converge / diverged formed in the body (17) of the apparatus, the gas diffusion means (39) and the liquid supply means (41) interrupting, in the reservoir (33). ) at a level where said output passage (13) is convergent.   l1 4. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that the cartridge-refill (5) has an outlet neck (35) for the liquid-laden gas, said neck constituting at least the convergent of said outlet passage to the open air . 5. Apparatus according to any one of   preceding claims, characterized in that   means (37) for diffusing the liquid consist of a single piece of plastic material traversed by the gas blowing duct (39) which is calibrated, and by said calibrated means (41) for supplying the liquid in its path said part being sealingly attached to the liquid of said cartridge, through an orifice in the bottom of the reservoir (33), substantially along the axis of the outlet passage (13) of said cartridge.   6. Apparatus according to any one of   preceding claims, characterized in that   has a duct (29) of blown secondary gas, running in the body (17) of the device to unclog   around the outlet passage (15) of the cartridge (5).   7. Apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that the duct (29) of secondary gas communicates with said means (9) for dispensing gas and opens, at the outlet, around the divergent portion (153) of said   outlet passage in the open air of the cartridge.   8. Apparatus according to claim 6 or claim 7, characterized in that the duct (29) of secondary gas extends around the cartridge (5) which it substantially matches the outer shape, with its   reservoir (33) and its outlet passage (13).   9. Apparatus according to any one of   preceding claims, characterized in that   means (9) for distributing gas consist of   pressurized air distribution means connected to an atmospheric intake (25).   10. Apparatus according to any one of   preceding claims, characterized in that   further integrates a programmable electronic card (45) for controlling the operation of said gas delivery means (9), by triggering and sequentially interrupting, for a period of time   predetermined, the distribution of gas to said diffusion means (37).