US2826194A - Liquid applicator - Google Patents

Description

March 11, 1958 s. GOLDEN LIQUID APPLICATOR Filed Nov. '7, 1955 say/W002 62.40am

IN VEN TOR.

United States Patent C The present inventionrelates to :the field of. applicators,

and more particularly to a dispensing. devicefrom which arliquid in afinely'divided state can be'discharged into a confined: space that is adapted tobe' positioned:adjacent to and'in communication with the'human eye or that of an animal..

Prior to the present'invention eye'wash or other liquid medication has been applied to the eye by the use of a medicinezdropper or eye cup. However, these devices have a: common operational disadvantage in that the user must :tilt hishead' rearwardly, which is not only inconvenientand time-consuming, but due to the awkwardness OfihlSi'POSlIlOfl, a portion of the liquid dose is often ,spilledori'overfiows onto the clothing.

A serious disadvantage in using an eye dropperfor'in- =trodu'cing a liquid onto the eyeball resides in the fact that theaquantit y of liquid so introduced cannot be closely regulateddue to the proximity of the apertured portion of the device to the pupil of the eye; Another disadvantage of usingan eye cup or'an eye dropper as a means toapply fluid medication to the eye isthe fact that either device must necessarily be thoroughly cleansed before each application to avoid introducing foreign particlesinto the eye. All of the above described disadvantages are 'eliminated' by the present invention.

Amajor objective of the present invention is to provide an applicator for use in the introduction of a desired liquidto the eyeball in the form of a mist or spray of finely divided droplets.

Another important object of the invention is to supply an applicatorth'at may be'used to distribute fluid evenly across the area of the eye being treated.

A' still further object of the invention is to furnish. a device ofthistypein which theforce ,of application of the 'fiuiddose'may be controlled, as well, asthe volume of fluid applied.

Yet another object of the inventionis to make available an eye wash applicating device that is usable with a number of different types of liquid containers.

Still'another object of the inventionis to provide a liquid dispensing device that may be formed as an integral part ofacontainer, or that may be an independent unit usable on successive spray containers of the same type.

The invention also. intends-to provide an eye wash applicator that can be economically manufactured from readily-available materialsso' as to be-marketable at*very low cost and thereby enjoy widespread use.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred form thereof and one variation thereof when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing illustrating those forms in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the liquid applicator shown mounted on a collapsible liquid container;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the device shown in Figure l, partly in section and illustrating the manner of using the invention; and,

Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of an alternate form ofiapplicator'which is :integrally formed as a part of a. liquid container.

Referring now to the'drawing for the general arrangement of the invention, and in particular to Figure 2 thereof, it will be seen that the presently preferred form of the device, designated generally bythe letter E, is removably attached to the externally threaded neckof a= container C. The invention includes a cup-shaped member U that tilts upwardly from the top of an internally threaded -cap A which removably engages the neck of a container C. Cap A has an aperture formed in the upper portion thereof from-which a tube T leads to the central rearward, interior portion of member U. Container 0' is preferablyfabricated from a resiliently deformable plastic: material, and in Figure 2 is shown as having a flexible conduit 1 dependingfrom its mouth into the liquid (not shown) held by container C. In use, the cup-shaped member U is placed next to the eye Y (shown in phantom line) to be treated, and manual pressure is applied to the sides-of container C whereby a portion of the liquid contained therein is dispensed through conduit 1 and tube T in the form of aspray S.

Ascan best be seen in Figure 1, container C is preferably a flask 10 that is made of a resiliently deformable plastic or rubberized material which is sufficiently flexible to yield to finger pressure, but resilient enough to return to its original shape after being deformed. Although the flask or bottle 10 could be perfectly cylindrical in shape, it is shown in Figure 1 as having substantially flat sides 12 whereby it may more easily be depressed between the thumb and opposingfingers. At the top of bottle 10 and molded integrally therewith is a substantially. cylindrical neck 14(Figure 2) at the apex of which a mouth16 of approximately pinhole diameter opens into the interior of the bottle. If desired, conduit I may bev fastened beneath mouth 16 in communication therewith to hang downwardly into the liquid held by bottle .10, but -with or without conduit 1, pressure deformation of the bottle willcause spray to be emitted throughjmouth 16.

It will be understood that the inventionjis not confined to use with any particular type of container C such. as bottle 10, but is intended for use with any container combined with means to force liquid therefrom as a spray. For example, it may be a. glass bottle or a tin provided with a miniature pump or an auxiliary airubulb, or. the spray means could be attached to the invention E rather than to container C. Bottle 10 will be understood: as being' merely exemplary of. possible containers C. and asbeingillustrative of a type which is currently popular.

Cap A. is provided withvan internal, downwardly. extending cavity 20:0n the surface of which threads'22 are formed that are adapted to engage threads 18 formed on neck 14of bottle 10. Cup U and cap Arare preferably formed as an integral unit, and cup U has a continuous wall 24 that flares outwardly away from a smaller end wall 26 to terminate in an opening 28 whichengages the surfaces surrounding the eye. A beaded edge or periphery extends completely around opening 28. Wall 24 and end wall 26 cooperatively define an eye cup of truncated, substantially ellipsoidal configuration'having a major central axis 32 that is angularly related to the vertical axis of bottle 10 to facilitate placing opening 28 in eyelid-engaging proximity to eye Y, with the body of bottle 10 extending away from the users face, as is shown in Figure 2. A bore 34 is formed in wall 24 adjacent the center of cap portion 14, which bore opens into cavity 20. The lower end of tube T is inserted into or otherwise held in fluid communication with bore 34. Tube T extends upwardly from bore 34 in an irregular pattern closely following the interior configuration of cup U and terminates in an orifice 38 that is in substantial alignment with axis 32. The orifice 38, as can be seen in Figure 1 peripheral portion of the cup, and surplus liquid will flow over this portion prior to contacting and contaminating the orifice and bore 34.

As above described the invention E is preferably fabricated from a resiliently deformable plastic material, although a metal such as aluminum could be utilized if desired. The use of plastic is especially desirable as it permits the vertical width of opening 28 to be altered merely by finger pressure, so that if it is desired to apply eye wash to a small childs eye, cup portion U will confine spray S to the immediate area of the eye.

The manner of use of the invention is extremely simple. Assuming eye Y to be irritated by smog or other pollutants in the air, and that it is desired to apply a prescribed medication or eye wash to eye Y, bottle is grasped in one hand and raised to the eye, with the other hand guiding beaded edge 39 of opening 28 into contact with the eyelid as shown in Figure 2. It will be noted that there is no necessity for tilting the head backward and that engagement of the eyelid with opening 28 prevents any danger that any portion of the invention will inadvertently come into forceful contact with the eyeball. With the invention thus in position, a predetermined spacing is maintained between outer end 38 of tube T and the eye Y so that when spray S is forced from bottle 10 by manual deformation thereof, there is no danger that the force of the spray will be sufiicient to cause injury to the is disposed above the lower delicate membranes of eye Y. This spacing also atfords spray S opportunity to fan out suificiently to cover substantially all of the eyeball area, while walls 24 prevent escape of the spray. It will be particularly noted that cup U does not serve the same function as that of the conventional eye cup, but instead cooperates with the eyelid and the surface under the eye to define a confined space which limits the spread of the sprayed liquid. Surplus liquid discharged from orifice 38 that contacts the side wall 24, end Wall 26, or the eye Y, will run downwardly to the lowest point of cup U, and due to the downward and rearward tilt of the cup, it is kept out of contact with the delicate eye membrane. Thus, should foreign material such as small particles of dirt or grit adhere to the interior surface of cup U, this material will not under any circumstances be carried into a contacting position with eye Y. All liquid material discharged onto the delicate membrane of the eye when the present invention is used, traverses the distance from orifice 33 to the eye through the air and free from any contact with the cup U.

The variation of the invention shown in Figure 3 is substantially identical to the previously described form except that it is an integral part of a disposable container C. t

In this variation E, the container 10' having flat sides 12 that are manually depressible, but cup portion U and cap portion A are integrally molded with neck 14 of bottle 10. An orifice 40 of is also a plastic flask pinhole diameter communicates at its inner end 36' with k the interior of bottle 10' and extends to the interior of cup portion U to open at its outer end 38' in the center of end wall 26, pointing toward opening 23. The device E' is used in a manner identical to the device E.

A most important feature of the invention when used is that the natural inclination to close the eye when medication is applied thereto is overcome. Due to the beaded edge that defines the opening 28 being in frictional contact with both the upper and lower lid, it is impossible to close the lids at the time the medication is applied.

Although the forms of the invention herein shown and described are fully capable of achieving the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore mentioned, it is to be understood that they are merely illustrative of presently preferred embodiments, and that I do not mean to limit myself to the details of construction herein shown and described other than as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An applicator for use in applying liquid as it emerges in droplet form under pressure to the membrane of an eye from a squeeze-type container held in a substantially vertical position, including: a rigid elongate cup formed with a thickened rear wall portion and with a periphery adapted to contact the flesh surrounding said eye to define a confined space; means to support said cup in an upwardly tilting operative position on the upper extremity of said container and at such an angle relative to the horizontal that said contact is effected by a slight forward and downward movement of the users head, said means being formed with an upwardly extending liquid passage that communicates with the interior of said container; and liquid conducting passage means communicating with said liquid passage, said passage means terminating in a droplet-forming orifice, said passage and orifice being formed in said thickened wall portion, said orifice being disposed a sufficient distance above the lower interior surface of said cup that surplus liquid dispensed from said orifice and which may have contacted said eye will flow from said cup prior to contacting said orifice.

2. An applicator for use in applying liquid as it emerges in droplet form under pressure to the membrane of an eye from a squeeze-type container held in a substantially vertical position, including: a rigid cup formed with a periphery adapted to contact the flesh surrounding said eye to define a confined space; means to support said cup in an upwardly tilting operative position on the upper extremity of said container and at such an angle relative tothe horizontal that said contact is effected by a slight forward and downward movement of the users head, said means being formed with an upwardly extending liquid passage that communicates with the interior of said container; and a curved tube disposed within the confines of said cup, with the lower end of said tube being aflixed to said supporting means and in communication with said passage formed therein, and the upper end of said tube terminating in a droplet-forming orifice disposed a sufiicient distance above the lower interior surface of said cup that surplus liquid dispensed from said orifice which may have contacted said eye will flow from said cup prior to contacting said orifice.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 963,933 ONeill July 12, 1910 1,244,498 Heath Oct. 30, 1917 1,692,143 Strunz Nov. 20, 1928 2,626,606 Campbell Jan. 27, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 533,948 Great Britain Feb. 24, 1941

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