WO2016165744A1

WO2016165744A1 - Spraying apparatus and spray head for a spraying apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2016165744A1
Application number: PCT/EP2015/058050
Authority: WO
Inventors: Thomas Renner
Original assignee: Husqvarna AB
Current assignee: Husqvarna AB
Priority date: 2015-04-14
Filing date: 2015-04-14
Publication date: 2016-10-20
Anticipated expiration: 2017-10-14
Also published as: TW201636108A

Abstract

The invention relates to a spraying apparatus comprising a liquid inlet (2) being adapted to be coupled with a water supply line or water hose, a spray head (3) comprising a liquid outlet (4) for providing liquid to liquid receiving objects and a liquid channel (5) fluidly coupling the liquid inlet (2) with the liquid outlet (4). In addition, a valve entity (6) is provided between the liquid inlet (2) and the liquid outlet (4), said valve entity (6) comprising a membrane (7) made of elastic material, said membrane (7) comprising one or more slits (7.1) in order to enable a liquid flow through said valve entity (6) when the liquid pressure provided to the valve entity (6) is above a certain pressure threshold and disable a liquid flow out of the liquid outlet when the liquid pressure provided to the valve entity (6) is below said threshold.

Description

Spraying apparatus and spray head for a spraying apparatus

The present invention relates generally to the field of spraying apparatuses. More specifically, the present invention is related to a spraying apparatus including a valve entity in order to prevent dripping or running empty of the spraying apparatus af^¬ ter stopping the irrigation process .

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Spraying apparatuses, specifically spraying apparatuses of spray lance or spray gun type, are well-known in prior art. After stopping the irrigation process, spraying apparatuses include a significant amount of residual liquid within the liquid channels provided in the interior of said spraying apparatuses. Due to gravitational force, said residual liquid drops out. Said drip^¬ ping out is noticed by a user as leakage and perceived by the majority of the users as annoying. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an objective of the embodiments of the present invention to provide a spraying apparatus and a spray head which avoids said dripping-out of residual water. The objective is solved by the features of the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are given in the dependent claims. If not explicitly indicated otherwise, embodiments of the invention can be freely combined with each other. According to an aspect, the invention relates to a spraying apparatus. The spraying apparatus comprises a liquid inlet being adapted to be coupled with a water supply line or water hose, a spray head comprising a liquid outlet for providing liquid to liquid receiving objects and a liquid channel fluidly coupling the liquid inlet with the liquid outlet. In order to avoid unde- sired dripping-out of residual water, a valve entity is provided between the liquid inlet and the liquid outlet. Said valve enti^¬ ty comprises a membrane made of elastic material. In addition, said membrane comprises one or more slits in order to enable a liquid flow through said valve entity when the liquid pressure provided to the valve entity is above a certain pressure thresh^¬ old and disable a liquid flow out of the liquid outlet when the liquid pressure provided to the valve entity is below said threshold .

By using upper-mentioned valve entity, inexpensive means for avoiding a dripping-out of residual water, in general residual liquid, are provided and therefore the manufacturing costs of a spraying apparatus including a drip-stop entity are reduced.

According to embodiments, the membrane comprises multiple slits being arranged in a cross-shaped or star-shaped manner and/or curved slits. The curved slits may comprise a circle-segment shape and may be arranged such that said circle-segment-shaped slits are arranged along a circle line. Based on said multiple slits, a liquid passage comprising a significant outlet opening is obtained.

According to embodiments, the membrane comprises multiple flaps, said flaps being bent depending on the liquid pressure applied to the valve entity, thereby providing a liquid passage when said liquid pressure is above a certain threshold and seal said liquid passage when said liquid pressure is below a certain threshold. So, in other words, by means of said multiple slits, flaps are provided which form flexible sealing means for the liquid passage provided in said membrane. Depending on the liq^¬ uid pressure provided to said membrane, said flaps are deflected thereby opening the liquid passage or stay in their non- deflected position thereby providing a liquid-tight sealing of the liquid passaqe. Thus, by means of said reversibly deformable flaps, an inexpensive liquid valve is obtained.

Accordinq to embodiments, in case of a liquid pressure below a certain threshold or in case that no liquid pressure is provided to the valve entity, the flaps are adapted to seal said liquid passaqe such that a penetration of air into the liquid channel portion behind the valve entity is avoided. Surprisinqly, the applicant found out that not only a liquid-tight sealing of the liquid passaqe is necessary but also an air-tiqht sealinq. In case that ambient air is able to penetrate in a liquid channel comprisinq residual liquid, i.e. ambient air is able to pene^¬ trate in a reqion behind the valve entity, a pressure balancinq occurs which causes a drippinq out of residual water. Due to the air-tiqht sealinq of the valve entity, said drippinq out of re^¬ sidual water can be prevented on a lonq-term basis .

Accordinq to embodiments, the membrane is made of silicon. Sili^¬ con comprises appropriate material properties, specifically du- rably qood restorinq properties necessary for a lonq-term opera- bility of the valve entity.

Accordinq to embodiments, the valve entity is included in the spray head. Thereby, the valve entity is located close to the liquid outlet of the sprayinq apparatus in order to reduce the liquid channel portion includinq residual liquid which is locat^¬ ed between the valve entity and the liquid outlet.

Accordinq to embodiments, the valve entity is arranqed directly behind a nozzle openinq or a nozzle plate of the spray head. Said position is preferred because the liquid channel portion between the valve entity and the liquid outlet is reduced to a minimum . According to embodiments, the spray head comprises a first and a second spray head entity, said first and a second spray head en^¬ tity being detachably coupled and said valve entity is arranged between said first and second spray head entity. For example, the first spray head entity may be a spray head base body and the second spray head entity may be a nozzle or a nozzle plate of the spray head.

According to embodiments, the valve entity, specifically the membrane of the valve entity comprises a sealing portion being adapted to provide a liquid tight sealing between the first and the second spray head entity. In other words, the valve entity does not only provide valve properties but also ensures the liq^¬ uid-tight sealing between the first and the second spray head entity. Thereby, the number of parts to be assembled during the assembling process and therefore the assembling expenditure is reduced.

According to embodiments, the valve entity or a further valve entity is arranged between the liquid inlet and a valve assembly of the spraying apparatus, said valve assembly providing means for controlling a liquid flow through the spraying apparatus . For example, said valve entity may be arranged between a con^¬ nector portion forming the liquid inlet and the valve assembly at which the connector portion is detachably mounted. Said valve entity may be a second valve entity which is included in the spraying apparatus in addition to a first valve entity included at or in the spray head of the spraying apparatus. Thereby, also the dripping out of residual water in the area of the liquid in- let when disconnecting the water hose is avoided.

According to embodiments, the spraying apparatus is a spray lance or a spray gun . According to a further aspect, a spray gun or spray lance spray head is provided. The spray head comprises a liquid inlet, a liquid outlet and a liquid channel coupling the liquid inlet with the liquid outlet. In addition, a valve entity is provided between the liquid inlet and the liquid outlet, said valve enti^¬ ty comprising a membrane made of elastic material. Said membrane comprises one or more slits in order to enable a liquid flow through said valve entity when the liquid pressure provided to the valve entity is above a certain pressure threshold and disa- ble a liquid flow out of the liquid outlet when the liquid pres^¬ sure provided to the valve entity is below said threshold.

According to embodiments, the membrane comprises multiple slits being arranged in a cross-shaped or star-shaped manner or com- prises curved slits. Based on said multiple slits, a liquid pas^¬ sage comprising a significant outlet opening is obtained.

According to embodiments, the membrane comprises multiple flaps, said flaps being bent depending on the liquid pressure applied to the valve entity, thereby providing a liquid passage when said liquid pressure is above a certain threshold and seal said liquid passage when said liquid pressure is below a certain threshold. So, in other words, by means of said multiple slits, flaps are provided which form flexible sealing means for the liquid passage provided in said membrane. Depending on the liq^¬ uid pressure provided to said membrane, said flaps are deflected thereby opening the liquid passage or stay in their non- deflected position thereby providing a liquid-tight sealing of the liquid passage. Thus, by means of said reversibly deformable flaps, an inexpensive liquid valve is obtained.

According to embodiments, in case of liquid pressure being below a certain threshold or in case that no liquid pressure is pro^¬ vided to the valve entity, the flaps are adapted to seal said liquid passage such that a penetration of air into a liquid channel portion behind the valve entity is avoided. Surprising^¬ ly, the applicant found out that not only a liquid-tight sealing of the liquid passage is necessary but also an air-tight seal^¬ ing. In case that ambient air is able to penetrate in a liquid channel comprising residual liquid, i.e. ambient air is able to penetrate in a region behind the valve entity, a pressure bal^¬ ancing occurs which causes a dripping out of residual water. Due to the air-tight sealing of the valve entity, said dripping out of residual water can be prevented on a long-term basis.

The term "essentially" or "approximately" as used in the inven^¬ tion means deviations from the exact value by +/- 10%, prefera^¬ bly by +/- 5% and/or deviations in the form of changes that are insignificant for the function.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various aspects of the invention, including its particular features and advantages, will be readily understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which :

Fig. 1 shows a hand-held spraying apparatus in form of a spray lance .

Fig. 2 shows an example first embodiment of a valve entity including a star-shaped slit arrangement;

Fig. 3 shows an example second embodiment of a valve entity including a cross-shaped slit arrangement;

Fig. 4 shows the valve entity according to Fig. 3 when ap- plying liquid pressure to the membrane of the valve entity;

Fig. 5 shows an example third embodiment of a valve entity including a circular slit arrangement; Fig. 6 shows an example fourth embodiment of a valve entity including a cross-shaped slit arrangement;

Fig. 7 shows an example fifth embodiment of a valve entity including a cross-shaped slit arrangement;

Fig. 8 shows an example spray head with a valve entity ar ranged at a first position; and

Fig. 9 shows an example spray head with a valve entity ar ranged at a second position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described more fully with ref^¬ erence to the accompanying drawings, in which example embodi^¬ ments are shown. However, this invention should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Throughout the following description similar reference numerals have been used to denote similar elements, parts, items or features, when ap^¬ plicable . Fig. 1 illustrates a spraying apparatus 1. The spraying appa^¬ ratus 1 may be a handheld device, e.g. a spray gun or spray lance being adapted to provide liguid, specifically water to liguid receiving objects, for example, flowers or plants. Ac^¬ cording to another embodiment, the spraying apparatus 1 may be a shower head in sanitary installations. The spraying apparatus 1 may comprise a housing with a grip portion 1.1 for manually holding the spraying apparatus 1. The spraying apparatus 1 may further comprise a valve assembly 10 comprising at least one liguid valve included in the interior of the spraying apparatus 1. In addition, the spraying apparatus 1 may further comprise activation means 1.2, e.g. a button, said activation means 1.2 being coupled with said valve assembly 10 for enabling/disabling or controlling a liguid flow through the spraying apparatus 1. In addition, the spraying apparatus 1 comprises a liquid inlet 2. Said liquid inlet 2 may be configured as a connector for cou^¬ pling the spraying apparatus 1 with a water hose connector. In other words, the liquid inlet 2 is adapted to be coupled with a water hose in order to couple the spraying apparatus 1 with a water supply line. Furthermore, the spraying apparatus 1 com^¬ prises a spray head 3 including a liquid outlet 4. Said spray head 3 may further comprise one or more nozzles, specifically a nozzle plate comprising multiple nozzles for providing the liq^¬ uid to an irrigation area in a distributed manner. The liquid outlet 4 is fluidly coupled with the liquid inlet 2 via a liquid channel 5. Said liquid channel 5 of the spraying apparatus 1 may be formed within a spraying apparatus housing (for example in case of a spray gun) or may be constituted by a pipe (for exam^¬ ple in case of a spray lance) .

The spray head 3 may comprise a first spray head entity, e.g. a spray head base body and a second spray head entity, e.g. a spray head element comprising a nozzle plate 3.1. The nozzle plate 3.1 may be made of a sheet material, said sheet material comprising a plurality of openings for providing a shower-like liquid flow through the nozzle plate 3.1. Said openings may be spatially distributed over the nozzle plate 3.1 in order to pro- vide a smooth irrigation. The nozzle plate 3.1 may be made of any suitable material, for example, metal, plastic, rubber or silicone. The openings of the nozzle plate 3.1 may be constitut^¬ ed by bores or by nozzles . In order to avoid slow dripping or running empty of the spraying apparatus 1 after the irrigation process, the spraying apparatus 1 further comprises a valve entity 6. Said valve entity 6 is il^¬ lustrated in Fig. 2 to 4. The valve entity 6 may comprise a mem^¬ brane 7 made of an elastic material or the valve entity 6 may be constituted by a membrane 7 made of an elastic material. For ex- ample, the elastic material may be silicone. The valve entity 6 may be configured as a one-way fluid valve. Said membrane 7 may comprise one or more slits 7.1. By means of said at least one slit 7.1, flexible membrane portions are formed which provide - depending on the liquid pressure - a resealable liquid passage 9. Said valve entity 6 may be adapted and placed within the spraying apparatus 1 such that a dripping of residual water out of the spraying apparatus 1 is prevented. More in detail, the membrane 7 may comprise multiple slits 7.1 which are arranged such that said slits 7.1 form a star or cross. By using such slit configuration, multiple flaps 8, also referred to as slats, are formed at the valve entity 6. Said flaps 8 may comprise a triangular or essentially a triangular shape. Due to the elasticity of the membrane 7, said flaps 8 are reversibly deformable. Said flaps 8 may comprise at least two edges. In case that no liquid pressure or only a low liquid pressure is applied to the membrane 7, said flaps 8 are posi^¬ tioned in an initial position in which said liquid passage 9 is sealed in a liquid-tight manner (Fig. 2 and Fig. 3) . In case that the liquid passage is sealed, the edges of adjacent flaps 8 abut against each other thereby providing said sealing. In other words, the flaps 8 may be arranged in a common plane. In case that a liquid pressure above a certain pressure thresh^¬ old is applied to the membrane 7, said flaps 8 are deflected (as shown in Fig. 4) . Thereby, a liquid passage 9 is provided through the membrane 7, said liquid passage 9 enabling a liquid flow in a certain flow direction FD . Said flow direction FD cor- responds to the flow direction FD of the liquid through the spraying apparatus 1. When reducing the liquid pressure below the pressure threshold, specifically when applying no liquid pressure to the membrane 7, the flaps 8 return to the initial position in which the edges of the flaps 8 abut against each other (Fig. 2 or 3) thereby closing the liquid passage 9. Said movement of the flaps 8 into their initial position is achieved by restoring forces of the elastic material of the membrane 7.

The valve entity6, preferably the membrane 7, may be adapted such that in the closed state of the valve not only a liguid- tight sealing is obtained but also a penetration of air into the liguid channel in flow direction FD behind the membrane 7 is prevented. Said penetration of air may lead to a balancing of pressure between the liguid channel provided in the interior of the spraying apparatus 1 and the surrounding environment which is responsible for the dripping-out of liguid.

Fig. 5 to 7 show further embodiments of valve assemblies 6 com^¬ prising a membrane 7. The valve entity 6 may comprise curved slits 7.1. For example, said curved slits 7.1 may be constituted by circle-segment shaped slits. For example, multiple curved slits 7.1 are arranged along a circle line with membrane webs 7.2 separating said curved slits 7.1 (Fig. 5) . The valve entity 6 may comprise a sealing portion 6.1 for providing a liguid- tight sealing between a spray head component arranged below the valve entity 6 (e.g. the spray head base body) and a spray head component arranged above the valve entity 6 (e.g. a nozzle plate 3.1 or a single spraying nozzle) .

Fig. 6 shows a further embodiment of a valve entity 6 which com- prises a cross-shaped slit arrangement as well as circle-segment shaped slits 7.1. By using a combination of straight and curved slits 7.1, the flow rate through the valve entity 6 can be sig^¬ nificantly increased and an undesired limitation of the liguid flow through the spraying apparatus can be avoided.

Fig. 7 shows yet a further embodiment a valve entity 6. The valve entity 6 comprises a concave or funnel-shaped membrane 7. Said concave or funnel-shaped membrane 7 may taper towards the liguid inlet 2. Thereby, the restoring forces of the flaps 8 are increased which leads to improved closing and sealing properties of the valve entity 6. In addition, the valve entity 6 may com^¬ prise a sealing portion 6.1 being constituted by a sealing lip. The sealing lip be slanted with respect to the flow direction FD through the valve entity 6 and may protrude towards the centre of the membrane 7. Thereby, the sealing properties of the seal^¬ ing portion 6.1 may be increased. It is worth mentioning that said sealing lip can be also used in the embodiments according to fig. 2 to fig. 6. Said valve entity 6 may be arranged at different positions with^¬ in the spraying apparatus 1. For example, the valve entity 6 may be arranged within the spray head 3. According to a preferred embodiment, the valve entity 6 may be arranged immediately be^¬ hind the nozzle or nozzle plate 3.1 of the spray head 3. More in detail, the spray head 3 may comprise a spray head base body and a nozzle plate 3.1. The valve entity 6 may be arranged between said nozzle plate 3.1 and said spray head base body.

Fig. 8 and 9 show spray heads 3 including a valve entity 6. The spray head 3 may comprise a spray head body 3.2 including a liq^¬ uid guide 3.3 for guiding the liquid from a liquid inlet of the spray head 3 to a liquid outlet. In case that the spray head 3 comprises a single spray opening 3.4 which should be closed by the valve entity 6, said valve entity 6 may be directly arranged behind said spray opening 3.4 (fig. 8) . In case that multiple spray openings 3.4 have to be closed by the valve entity 6, the valve entity 6 has to be placed before the branch of the liquid guide providing liquid to said multiple spray openings 3.4. For example, the valve entity 6 has to be placed immediately before the branch of the liquid guide (Fig. 9) . Alternatively, multiple valve entities 6 may be included in the spray head 3 and may seal said multiple spray openings 3.4.

As already mentioned before, said valve entity 6 or the membrane 7 of the valve entity 6 may comprise a sealing portion 6.1. Said sealing portion 6.1 may be adapted to provide a liquid-tight sealing between the nozzle plate 3.1 or a nozzle entity 3.5 and the spray head base body 3.2. According to embodiments, the noz^¬ zle plate 3.1 or nozzle entity 3.5 may be detachably mounted at the spray head base body 3.2 and the membrane 7 may not only provide a liquid valve for preventing a dripping-out of residual water out of the spraying apparatus 1 but may also provide a sealing between the nozzle plate 3.1 / nozzle entity 3.5 and the spray head base body 3.2.

The valve entity 6 may also be comprised in the area of the liq^¬ uid inlet 2 of the spraying apparatus 1. More in detail, the valve entity 6 may be comprised between the liquid inlet 2 and the valve assembly 10 of the spraying apparatus 1. Thereby, an undesired emptying of the spraying apparatus 1 in the area of the liquid inlet 2 after disconnecting the water hose is pre^¬ vented. For example, the valve entity 6 may be arranged between a coupling portion being adapted to couple the spraying apparatus 1 with a water hose and a spraying apparatus portion comprising the valve assembly 10. Said coupling portion may be de^¬ tachably mounted at the spraying apparatus portion comprising the valve assembly 10 and the valve entity 6 may comprise a sealing portion for providing a liquid-tight sealing between said coupling portion and said spraying apparatus portion.

It should be noted that the description and drawings merely il^¬ lustrate the principles of the proposed spraying apparatus.

Those skilled in the art will be able to implement various ar^¬ rangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention. List of reference numerals

1 spraying apparatus

1. 1 grip portion

1. 2 activation means

2 liguid inlet

3 spray head

3. 1 nozzle plate

3. 2 spray head base body

3. 3 liguid guide

3. 4 spray opening

3. 5 nozzle entity

4 liguid outlet

5 liguid channel

6 valve entity

6. 1 sealing portion

7 membrane

7. 1 slit

7. 2 membrane web

8 flap

9 liguid passage

10 valve assembly

FD flow direction

Claims

1. Spraying apparatus comprising a liquid inlet (2) being

adapted to be coupled with a water supply line or water hose, a spray head (3) comprising a liquid outlet (4) for providing liquid to liquid receiving objects and a liquid channel (5) fluidly coupling the liquid inlet (2) with the liquid outlet

(4), characterized in that a valve entity (6) is provided be^¬ tween the liquid inlet (2) and the liquid outlet (4), said valve entity (6) comprising a membrane (7) made of elastic material, said membrane (7) comprising one or more slits

(7.1) in order to enable a liquid flow through said valve entity (6) when the liquid pressure provided to the valve enti^¬ ty (6) is above a certain pressure threshold and disable a liquid flow out of the liquid outlet when the liquid pressure provided to the valve entity (6) is below said threshold.

2. Spraying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the membrane (7) comprises multiple slits (7.1) being arranged in a cross- shaped or star-shaped manner and/or curved slits (7.1) .

3. Spraying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the membrane (7) comprises multiple flaps (8), said flaps (8) be^¬ ing bent depending on the liquid pressure applied to the valve entity (6), thereby providing a liquid passage (9) when said liquid pressure is above a certain threshold and seal said liquid passage (9) when said liquid pressure is below a certain threshold.

4. Spraying apparatus according to claim 3, wherein in case of a liquid pressure below a certain threshold or in case that no liquid pressure is provided to the valve entity (6), the flaps (8) are adapted to seal said liquid passage (9) such that a penetration of air into the liquid channel portion be^¬ hind the valve entity (6) is avoided.

5. Spraying apparatus according to anyone of the preceding claims, wherein the membrane (7) is made of silicon.

6. Spraying apparatus according to anyone of the preceding

claims, wherein the valve entity (6) is included in the spray head ( 3 ) .

7. Spraying apparatus according to anyone of the preceding

claims, wherein the valve entity (6) is arranged directly be^¬ hind the nozzle opening or nozzle plate (3.1) of the spray head ( 3 ) .

8. Spraying apparatus according to anyone of the preceding

claims, wherein the spray head (3) comprises a first and a second spray head entity, said first and a second spray head entity being detachably coupled and said valve entity (6) is arranged between said first and second spray head entity.

9. Spraying apparatus according to anyone of the preceding

claims, wherein the valve entity (6), specifically the mem^¬ brane (7) of the valve entity (6) comprises a sealing portion being adapted to provide a liguid tight sealing between the first and the second spray head entity.

10. Spraying apparatus according to anyone of the preceding

claims, wherein the valve entity (6) or a further valve enti^¬ ty is arranged between the liguid inlet (2) and a valve as^¬ sembly (10) of the spraying apparatus, said valve assembly (10) providing means for controlling a liguid flow through the spraying apparatus .

11. Spraying apparatus according to anyone of the preceding

claims, wherein the spraying apparatus is a spray lance or a spray gun .

12. Spray gun or spray lance spray head, the spray head (3) com^¬ prising a liquid inlet, a liquid outlet and a liquid channel coupling the liquid inlet with the liquid outlet, character^¬ ized in that a valve entity (6) is provided between the liq^¬ uid inlet and the liquid outlet, said valve entity (6) com^¬ prising a membrane (7) made of elastic material, said mem^¬ brane (7) comprising one or more slits (7.1) in order to enable a liquid flow through said valve entity (6) when the liq^¬ uid pressure provided to the valve entity (6) is above a cer^¬ tain pressure threshold and disable a liquid flow out of the liquid outlet (4) when the liquid pressure provided to the valve entity (6) is below said threshold.

13. Spraying apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the membrane (7) comprises multiple slits (7.1) being arranged in a cross-shaped or star-shaped manner and/or curved slits (7.1) .

14. Spraying apparatus according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the membrane (7) comprises multiple flaps (8), said flaps (8) be^¬ ing bent depending on the liquid pressure applied to the valve entity (6), thereby providing a liquid passage (9) when said liquid pressure is above a certain threshold and seal said liquid passage (9) when said liquid pressure is below a certain threshold.

15. Spraying apparatus according to claim 14, wherein in case of a liquid pressure below a certain threshold or in case that no liquid pressure is provided to the valve entity (6), the flaps (8) are adapted to seal said liquid passage (9) such that a penetration of air into a liquid channel portion be^¬ hind the valve entity (6) is avoided.