FR2808228A1 - SPRAYER - Google Patents

Abstract

The portable spray equipment comprises a reservoir (1) for the liquid to be sprayed. A pressuring device (2) housed in the reservoir comprises a pump with a cylinder and piston one of which can be manually activated by a mechanism (52) from outside the reservoir to withdraw the liquid and force it into an air chamber (4) axially aligned with the pump cylinder. A liquid projection part is connected by a flexible pipe to an outlet pipe (41) from the air chamber. Either the piston or cylinder is supported in an upper opening (5) in the reservoir, the other projects outside the reservoir. The air chamber, closed at its lower end, is located under the pump and extends it in the direction of the reservoir bottom (33). The outlet pipe from the air chamber is located near the lower closed end of the air chamber.

Description

The present invention relates to a portable spraying device with

  maintained pressure, of the type comprising a reservoir for a liquid to be sprayed, a pressurization device housed in the reservoir and comprising a cylinder and piston pump, one of the cylinder and the piston of which can be actuated manually by a mechanism from outside the tank to suck liquid contained in said tank and discharge it into an air bell axially aligned with the pump cylinder, as well as a liquid projection member connected by a hose

flexible with air bell.

  Spraying devices of this kind, intended to be worn on a man's back, are well known and have been or are still being manufactured and marketed for example by the company BERTHOUD under the name "COSMOS 18" and by the company TECNOMA under the name "T1 8". In the first of these two known devices, the pump cylinder is fixed vertically to the bottom of the tank, while the pump piston is linked to the air bell, at the bottom of the latter. The upper end of the air bell protrudes outside the tank, through an upper opening thereof, in which said

  air bell can slide vertically by means of suitable guide means.

  The pump actuation mechanism consists of an operating lever secured to a horizontal axis which is rotatably mounted in at least one bearing fixed to the reservoir, in the lower part thereof, and at least a rod which extends substantially vertically and whose lower end is articulated on the operating lever, while its upper end is articulated on the upper end of the air bell. The operating lever can be mounted so that it

  find, at the user's choice, on the right or left side of the tank.

  The second of the two known devices mentioned above differs essentially from the first known device briefly described above, in that the pump piston is fixed on the bottom of the tank, while the pump cylinder is linked to the bell.

  air, at the bottom of it, and is movable with it.

  In these two known devices, holes and / or screwing means must be provided at the bottom of the tank for fixing the cylinder or the piston of the pump. It is also necessary to provide guide means for guiding the air bell in the upper opening of the tank. All this complicates

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  obviously the manufacture and assembly of the components of the spraying device. The present invention therefore aims to provide a sprayer of the kind defined in the preamble, with which the drawbacks of known sprayers are at least partially eliminated. To this end, the spraying apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that one of the cylinder and of the piston of the pump is supported and detachably fixed in an upper opening of the reservoir, in that the other of the cylinder and the pump piston protrudes outside the tank and is connected to the pump actuation mechanism I0, and in that the air bell is arranged under the pump

  and extends it towards the bottom of the tank.

  The spraying apparatus according to the invention may also include one or more of the following characteristics - said upper opening of the reservoir is defined by a cylindrical neck provided with an external thread; - the cylindrical neck of the reservoir has a seat for the pump cylinder, said cylinder is closed by a bottom wall at its lower end and is open at its upper end and provided at this point with an external collar which rests on the seat of the cylindrical neck of the reservoir, and a cap-shaped cap, internally threaded, is screwed onto the external thread of said cylindrical neck and keeps said external flange of the pump cylinder in abutment on the seat of said cylindrical neck, said cap comprising its middle a guide sleeve for the piston rod of the pump, - the pump piston is screwed onto the external thread of the cylindrical neck of the reservoir and the pump cylinder has the shape of a cylindrical bell, which covers the piston and part of said cylindrical neck; - The air bell consists of another hollow cylindrical body, the lower end of which is closed and the upper end of which is open and connected in an airtight and liquid-tight manner to one of said piston and of said cylinder. the pump;

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  - One of the piston and the bottom wall of the cylinder of the pump has an inlet and a discharge port in which are arranged respectively a suction valve and a discharge valve; a suction tube is tightly connected to said intake port, extends longitudinally downward in the air bell, passes in a sealed manner through an orifice located in the closed lower end of said air bell and is extended beyond said lower end closed by a dip tube, the lower end of which is near the bottom of the tank; - a discharge tube is tightly connected to said discharge orifice and extends longitudinally downward in the air bell until close to its closed lower end; - the air bell comprises, near its closed lower end, a lateral outlet pipe for the pressurized liquid contained in the air bell; the reservoir has an orifice in which a pipe connection is tightly fixed; a discharge tube is connected at one end to said outlet pipe and at its other end to an internal end of said hose connector, said flexible tube being connected to an external end of said hose connector; - said upper opening of the tank is located near a first vertical side wall of said tank so that the pump and the air bell extend vertically along said first vertical side wall, and said orifice is formed in a second vertical side wall of the tank, opposite said first wall, near the bottom of the tank; - the pump, the air bell, the evacuation tube and the hose connection constitute a prefabricated sub-assembly which can be introduced into the tank through the upper opening thereof; - The tank has, in its upper part, a large liquid filling opening, through which said pipe connection can be manually grasped to be introduced, from inside the tank, into said orifice thereof

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  - The pump actuation mechanism consists of an operating lever secured to a first horizontal axis which is rotatably mounted in a bearing fixed to the reservoir, in the lower part thereof, and a connecting rod which extends substantially vertically along a vertical side wall of the tank and whose lower end is articulated by a second horizontal axis on the operating lever, while its upper end is articulated by a third horizontal axis on the upper end of one of the piston rod and of the pump cylinder; - The operating lever and the first horizontal axis are made in one piece in the form of a rod or a cylindrical tube curved substantially in the shape of an L; - the connecting rod and the second and third horizontal axes consist of a single piece in the form of a rod, the lower and upper parts of which are bent at right angles, in opposite directions, with respect to the substantially vertical middle part of said rod and are engaged in eyelets provided respectively in the operating lever and at the upper end of one of the

piston rod and cylinder.

  Other characteristics and advantages of the invention emerge from the

  following description of two embodiments given by way of example in

  reference to the appended drawings in which: - Figure 1 shows, partly in elevation and partly in vertical section, a spraying apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention; - Figure 2 shows, in section and on a larger scale, part of the sprayer of Figure 1; - Figure 3 is an elevational view showing a sub-assembly of the spraying apparatus of Figure 1; - Figure 4 is a perspective view in longitudinal section of the pump of the sprayer of Figure 1; and Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view of the pump and part of the air bell of a spraying apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention.

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  The spraying apparatus shown in Figure I essentially comprises a tank 1 inside which is installed a pressurizing device 2 which is

  consists of a pump 3 and an air bell 4.

  The tank 1, which can be made for example of plastic material by a blowing technique, comprises, in its upper part, a cylindrical neck 5, of short length (see also FIG. 2), which defines an opening through which the pump 3 and the air bell 4 can be introduced together inside the tank 1 in a manner which will be described in detail below. The reservoir 1 also comprises, also in its upper part, another cylindrical neck 6, of a diameter larger than that of the neck 5, which defines an opening for filling with liquid closable by a plug not shown. A handle 7 for transporting the spraying device by hand is formed integrally with the

  tank 1 between the necks 5 and 6 thereof.

  As is more particularly visible in FIG. 4, the pump 3 comprises a hollow cylindrical body 8, molded from plastic, in which a piston 9 can slide axially. The lower end of the body 8 of the pump 3 is closed by a bottom wall 11, while the upper end of the body 8 is open and provided with an external flange 12 which rests on a seat 13 formed for example by a inner circular rim of the neck 5 of the reservoir 1, as shown in FIG. 2. The neck 5 has an external thread 14 on which is screwed a cap-shaped cap, provided with an internal thread 16. The cap 15, when it is screwed onto the thread 14 of the neck 5, presses the flange 12 of the body 8 of the pump 3 against the seat 13. A sealing washer (not shown) may possibly be provided between the flange 12 and the seat 13. The plug 15 comprises, in its middle, a cylindrical sleeve 17 which serves as a guide for the rod 18 of the piston 9 of the pump 3. Preferably, the plug 15 further comprises, in its peripheral surface,

  several recesses 19 facilitating the screwing or unscrewing by hand of said plug.

  At its lower end, the body 8 of the pump 3 is provided with a flange 21 having an annular flange 22 directed downwards. The air bell 4 is constituted by a hollow cylindrical body 23, the upper end of which is open and tightly connected to the lower part of the body 8 of the pump 3. For example, the upper end of the body 23, of diameter slightly reduced by

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  relative to that of most of the body 23, is fitted into the rim

  annular 22 of the body 8 and fixed thereto for example by gluing.

  As a variant, if it is desired that the air bell be removable relative to the body 8 of the pump 3, the upper part of the body 23 may be provided with an external thread screwed into an internal thread of the flange 22 of the body 8. In this case, a sealing washer can be placed between the front end

  upper body 23 and the lower front face of the flange 21.

  In the bottom wall 11 of the body 8 of the pump 3 are formed two orifices 24 and 25 (FIG. 4) which open inside the air bell 4 respectively by pipes 26 and 27 formed in one piece with the bottom wall 11. In the openings 24 and 25 are respectively arranged a suction valve 28 and a discharge valve 29. The two valves 28 and 29 may for example be constituted by valves with elastic membrane, as shown in the Figure 4, or by

ball valves.

  A suction tube 31 (Figures I and 3) is tightly connected to the suction port 24, for example by tight fitting in the tubing 26. The suction tube 31 extends longitudinally downward in the body 23 of the air bell and passes in leaktight manner through an orifice formed in a cylindrical neck 34 at the closed lower end of the body 23 of the air bell 4, the seal being ensured for example by a tight connection 35, 36 or by force fitting the tube 31 into the neck 34. The suction tube 31 is extended beyond the closed lower end of the body 23 by a short dip tube 32

  the lower end of which is near the bottom 33 of the tank 1.

  Preferably, a discharge tube 37 (FIGS. I and 3) is connected to the discharge orifice 25 of the pump 3 and extends longitudinally downward in the cylindrical body 23 of the air bell 4 as close as possible. of the cylindrical neck 34 thereof. The connection of the discharge tube 37 to the discharge orifice can for example be carried out by means of a connection piece 38 (FIG.

  4) force-fitted or screwed into the tubing 27.

  In its lower part, the air bell 4 comprises an outlet pipe 41, which projects laterally on the cylindrical neck 34 in the direction of the side wall 42 of the reservoir 1. The wall 42 preferably has in its lower region a

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  orifice 43 in which a hose connection 44 is fixed in leaktight manner. For example, the pipe connection can be constituted by a connection piece comprising two male tubular ends 45 and 46 at its ends and, between said tubular ends, a flange 47 and a threaded part 48 which is engaged in the hole 43 of the wall 42, from inside the tank 1, and onto which a nut 49 can be screwed from outside of said tank. A sealing washer may be provided between the flange 47 and the internal face of the wall 42 and / or between the external face of this wall and the nut 49. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a discharge tube 51, constituted by a flexible pipe, connects the outlet tubing 41 of the

  air bell 4 at the tubular end 45 of the fitting 44.

  The spraying apparatus according to the invention further comprises, in a manner known per se, a liquid spraying member (not shown) produced for example in the form of a gun or a lance, which is equipped with a spray nozzle, preferably with adjustable jet, and a discharge valve, normally closed, which can be opened by action on an operating member carried by the handle of the spray gun or of the liquid spray lance. The latter is connected to reservoir 1

  by a flexible pipe (not shown) which is fixed to the tubular end piece 46 of the fitting 44.

  The spraying apparatus according to the invention further comprises, in a manner known per se, a mechanism 52 (FIG. 1) allowing the actuation of the pump 3. This mechanism 52 essentially consists of an operating lever 53, which can pivot around of a horizontal axis, and by a connecting rod 54, which connects the lever 53 to the piston rod 18 of the pump 3. The lever 53 can for example consist of a rod or a cylindrical tube which is bent substantially in the form of L. The horizontal branch 53a of the L-shaped tube constitutes a pivot axis for the lever 53, which is rotatably mounted in a bearing 55 fixed to the reservoir 1 in the lower part thereof. The other branch 53b of the L-shaped tube constitutes the operating arm of the lever 53 and it extends substantially vertically along the wall 39 of the reservoir I when the spraying device is at rest, the piston rod 18 of the pump 3 then being

in its extended position.

  The connecting rod 54 may for example be constituted by a metal rod of circular section, the lower part 54a and the upper part 54b of which are bent at right angles, in opposite directions, with respect to the middle part 54c of

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  said rod, which extends substantially vertically along the wall 39 of the reservoir 1. The lower and upper parts 54a and 54b of the rod 54 respectively form articulation axes for said rod, which are engaged in eyelets 56 and 57 provided respectively in the operating lever 53 and at the upper end of the piston rod 18. The eyelet 56 is located on the branch 53b of the lever 53 at a distance from the longitudinal axis of the branch 53a which is equal at or substantially equal to the horizontal distance between said longitudinal axis and the vertical axis of the pump 3 and the air bell 4. Thus, when the branch 53b of the lever 53 is in a position

  horizontal working mean, the connecting rod 54 is vertical.

  Of course, the sprayer according to the invention also comprises, in a manner known per se, straps (not shown) adjustable in length, allowing a

  user to carry tank 1 on his back.

  As is apparent from the above, the spraying apparatus according to the invention has a simple construction and its constituent elements can be easily assembled. In particular, the pump 3, the air bell 4, the suction tube 31, the dip tube 32, the discharge tube 37, the evacuation tube 51, the fitting

  44 (without the nut 49) and possibly the plug 15 and the connecting rod 54 can be pre-

  assembled to form a prefabricated unit. Then, the pump 3, the air bell 4 with the dip tube 32 and the discharge tube 51 provided with the connector 44

  are introduced inside the reservoir 1 through the cylindrical neck 5 thereof.

  After that, by passing the hand through the wide opening of the cylindrical neck 6 of the tank 1, the discharge tube 51 can be grasped and the connector 44 can be threaded through the orifice 43 of the tank 1. Then, the nut 49 is screwed onto the threaded part 48 of the fitting 44 and tightened to firmly and tightly seal the fitting 44 to the wall 42 of the tank. Then, the cap 15 is screwed onto the neck 5 of the reservoir 1, and another cap is placed on the neck 6 of the said reservoir. Finally, the lever 53 is mounted in the bearings 55 and the lower part 54a of the connecting rod 54 is engaged in the eyelet 56 of the lever 53, and a retaining piece 58 is fixed on the end of the lower part 54a of the connecting rod 54. This retaining part 58 may for example be constituted by a pin or by a nut screwed onto a threaded end part of

  the lower part 54a of the connecting rod 54.

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  As can also be seen from the above, the spraying apparatus according to the invention offers the advantage of allowing mounting of the pressurizing device 2 without the need to provide holes and / or screwing means at the bottom of the tank 1. In addition, the described construction of the pressurizing device 2 makes it possible to greatly reduce the volume of material to be used during the manufacture of its constituent elements, in particular of the pump 3 and of the bell to air 4. In addition, the pressurizing device 2 constitutes an assembly which can be easily mounted in tanks of different capacities, by simply adapting the length of the dip tube 32 and / or the length of the cylindrical body.

  l0 23 from the air bell 4 to the depth of the tank 1.

  In addition, in the embodiment described, the compressed liquid is evacuated through the connector 44 which is located at the bottom of the tank 1 on the side opposite the operating arm 53b of the lever 53 and which, in service , is located near an arm of the operator of the sprayer. This allows easier use of the spray gun or the spray lance connected by the flexible hose to the fitting 44. In fact, in this case, the flexible hose no longer risks striking the head of the user and no longer risks clinging to the branches of the shrubs to be treated, unlike what happens with known sprayers in which the flexible hose is connected to the upper part of the air bell in the upper part of the

tank.

  In FIG. 5, which shows a second embodiment of the invention, the elements which are identical or which play the same role as those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numbers and will not be described again in detail. The embodiment shown in FIG. 5 differs essentially from that described above in that the cylinder 8 of the pump 3 is mobile, while the piston 9 is fixed and screwed, in place of the plug 15 of FIGS. 1 and 2, on the thread 14 of the neck 5 which here has a greater length. The suction port, with the suction valve 28, and the discharge port, with the discharge valve 29, are here formed in the piston 9 to which the suction tube 31 and the discharge tube are connected. 37. The body 23 of the air bell 4 is threaded at its upper part, at 23a, and screwed into a female thread 9a of the piston 9. The cylinder 8 of the pump 3 has the shape of a bell, which covers the piston 9 and part

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  of the neck 5 of the reservoir 1, and which carries, in the middle of its upper wall, an eyelet 57 by which the cylinder 8 is kinematically connected to an operating mechanism such as the mechanism 52 of FIG. 1. For the rest, the sprayer partially

  shown in figure 5 can be identical to that of figure 1.

  It goes without saying that the embodiments which have been described above have been given by way of purely indicative and in no way limitative example, and that numerous modifications can be easily made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. part of the invention. Thus, in particular, as is known per se, the mechanism 52 for actuating the pump 3 can be designed in such a way that the operating arm 53b of the lever 53 can be installed on the side as desired.

  right or left side of the tank 1.

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Claims (14)

  1. Portable sprayer device with maintained pressure, comprising a reservoir (1) for a liquid to be sprayed, a pressurizing device (2) housed in the reservoir and comprising a pump (3) with cylinder and piston, one of which of the cylinder (8) and of the piston (9) can be manually actuated by a mechanism (52) from outside the tank to suck liquid contained in said tank and discharge it into an air bell (4) aligned axially with the pump cylinder, as well as a liquid spraying member connected by a flexible hose to the air bell, characterized in that one of the cylinder (8) and the piston (9) of the pump is supported and fixed detachably in an upper opening (5) of the reservoir (1), in that the other of the cylinder (8) and of the piston (9) of the pump (3) protrudes outside the reservoir (1) and is connected to the actuation mechanism of the pump (3), and in that the air bell (4) is disposed under the pump (3) and extend it towards the bottom (33) of the tank.   2. Spray device according to claim 1, characterized in that said upper opening (5) of the tank (1) is defined by a cylindrical neck provided with a external thread (14).   3. Spray device according to claim 2, characterized in that the cylindrical neck (5) of the reservoir (1) has a seat (13) for the cylinder (8) of the pump (3), in that said cylinder is closed by a bottom wall (11) at its lower end and is open at its upper end and provided at this point with an external collar (12) which rests on the seat (13) of the cylindrical neck (5) of the tank, and in that a cap-shaped plug (15), internally threaded, is screwed onto the external thread of said cylindrical neck (5) and keeps said external flange (12) of the cylinder (8) of the pump (3) in support on the seat (13) of said cylindrical neck, said plug (15) comprising in its middle a sleeve   guide (17) for the rod (18) of the piston (9) of the pump (3).   4. Spray device according to claim 2, characterized in that the piston (9) of the pump (3) is screwed onto the external thread (14) of the cylindrical neck (5) of the reservoir and in that the cylinder (8) pump (3) has the shape of a bell   cylindrical, which covers the piston (9) and part of said cylindrical neck. 12 2808228   5. Spray device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the air bell (4) consists of a hollow cylindrical body (23) whose lower end is closed and whose upper end is open and connected to airtight and liquid tight to one of said piston (9) and said pump cylinder (8).   6. Spraying apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5,   characterized in that one of the piston (9) and the bottom wall (1 1) of the cylinder (8) of the pump has an inlet port (24) and a discharge port (25) in which are arranged respectively a suction valve (28) and a discharge valve (29), and in that a suction tube (31) is tightly connected to said inlet port (24), extending longitudinally downwards in the air bell (4), passes in leaktight manner through an orifice located in the closed lower end of said air bell and is extended beyond said lower end closed by a dip tube (32), the l bottom end is   near the bottom (33) of the tank (1).   7. Spray device according to claim 6, characterized in that a delivery tube (37) is tightly connected to said delivery port (25) and extends longitudinally downward in the air bell (4) up to 'near   from its closed bottom end.   8. Spraying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7,   characterized in that the air bell (4) comprises, near its closed lower end, a lateral outlet pipe (41) for the pressurized liquid contained in the air bell, in that the reservoir (1) comprises an orifice (43) in which a hose connection (44) is tightly fixed, in that a discharge tube (51) is connected by one of its ends to said outlet tube (41) and by its another end at an inner end (45) of said hose connector (44), and in that said flexible hose is connected to an outer end (46) of said hose hose connection (44).   9. Spray apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that said upper opening (5) of the reservoir (1) is located near a first vertical side wall (39) of said reservoir so that the pump (3) and the air bell (4) extend vertically along said first vertical side wall, and in this 13 2808228   that said orifice (43) is formed in a second vertical side wall (42) of the   tank, opposite said first wall (39), near the bottom (33) of the tank.   10. Spraying device according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the pump (3), the air bell (4), the discharge tube (51) and the hose connection (44) constitute a sub-assembly prefabricated which can be introduced into the tank (1)   through the upper opening (5) thereof.   11. Spraying apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 10,   characterized in that the reservoir (1) has in its upper part a large liquid filling opening (6), through which the said hose connector (44) can be gripped manually to be introduced, from inside the reservoir, in said orifice (43) thereof.   12. Spraying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11,   characterized in that the pump actuation mechanism (52) consists of an operating lever (53) secured to a first horizontal axis (53a) which is rotatably mounted in a bearing (55) fixed to the tank (1), in the lower part thereof, and a connecting rod (54) which extends substantially vertically along a vertical side wall (39) of the tank and the lower end of which is articulated by a second horizontal axis (54a) on the operating lever (53), while its upper end is articulated by a third horizontal axis (54b) on the upper end of one of the piston rod (18) and of the cylinder (8) of the pump (3). 13. Spraying device according to claim 12, characterized in that the operating lever (53) and the first horizontal axis (53a) consist of a single piece in the form of a rod or a substantially curved cylindrical tube L-shaped 14. Spraying device according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the connecting rod (54) and the second and third horizontal axes (54a, 54b) are made in one piece in the form of a rod whose lower parts and upper are bent at right angles, in opposite directions, with respect to the substantially vertical middle part (54c) of said rod and are engaged in eyelets (56 and 57) provided respectively in the operating lever (53) and at   the upper end of one of the piston rod (18) and the cylinder (8).