US2924393A - Atomisers - Google Patents

Description

G. c. H. ROBERT 2, 24, 33

ATOMISERS Filed Sept. 24, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 G. C. H. ROBERT ATOMISERS Feb. 9, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 24, 1957 23 54615 g; W Lew Q;

ATOMISERS Georges C. H. Robert, Paris, France, assignor to Anciens Etablissements E. Robert, Fred Vauthier & Cie, Successeurs (Societe Anonyme), Paris, France, a company of France Application September 24, 1957, Serial No. 685,868

Claims priority, application France October 1, 1956 4 Claims; (Cl. 239-327) This invention relates to atomisers.

Atomisers are known which are adapted to be fixed on a flexible plastic receptacle containing a liquid or powder, the air pressure necessary for the delivery and the atomisation of the liquid or powder being obtained by squeezing the flexible wall of the receptacle by the UnitedStates Patent hand. Such atomisers are fitted with a plunger tube whose bottom communicates with the liquid or powder content of the receptacle, the top of the plunger tube being adjacent an atomising orifice within the atomiser, so that when the receptacle is squeezed air travels through the atomiser to a discharge orifice therein and in so doing passes the top of the atomising orifice so as to suck up and effect atomisation of the contents of the receptacle.

The main object of the present invention is to provide an atomiser which can be readily manipulated so as to allow and prevent discharge of the atomised contents of the receptacle.

According to the invention there is provided an atomiser comprising a hollow head the lower part of which is adapted to besecured to a flexible-walled receptacle so that the interior of the said lower part communicates with the interior of the receptacle, the head having an open ended tubular upper part whose wall is formed with a radial discharge orifice, axially arranged means for locating a plunger tube adapted to beintroduced into the contents of the receptacle, said axially arranged means being carried internally of said head, and being formed with an atomising orifice therethrough communicating with the hollow interior of the upper part of the head, an air passage establishing communication between said upper and lower parts and disposed adjacent said atomising orifice, whereby air passing through said air passage will entrain the atomised contents of the receptacle which have passed up through the plunger tube, and a cap having a cylindrical central portion disposed with the hollow interior of the upper part and a peripheral skirt encircling the said part, the two portions of the cap being formed with apertures extending in the same radial direction, the cap being rotatable between a first position in which the apertures communicate with the radial discharge orifice and permit discharge of the atomised contents of the receptacle therethrough, and a second position in which the apertures are out of communication with the radial discharge orifice and discharge of atomised contents is therefore prevented.

Preferably, the central portion of the cap is recessed to form an intermediate chamber between the radial discharge orifice and the points at which the receptacle contents and air enter the upper part of the head. The said intermediate chamber accordingly forms a uniting chamber in which atomisation occurs of the receptacle contents before they leave the atomiser through the radial discharge orifice.

.It is thus sufficient, with a single head, to provide caps having mixing chambers of different dimensions in'order to modify the atomising conditions in accordance with ice the nature of the liquid and in particular its density and its viscosity.

Preferably, the unit formed of the head and the cap is made from plastic materials and the cap is fixed on the head by a peripheral bead on the neck (or in the inner wall of the said cap), which bead fits into a groove in the said cap (or in the said neck) by elastic deformation of the material, so that the cap can be conveniently rotated in relation to the head.

The head may be fixed on the neck of the receptacle by screwing.

In a modified form of the invention which permits the use of receptacles having unthreaded necks, the head is adapted to be fitted into the neck of the receptacle and fluid-tightness and maintenance of the said head on the neck are obtained by means of the cap, which fits over the said head and also surrounds the periphery of the neck and is maintained by the combined action of a peripheral bead or projection in a groove.

The invention is illustrated, merely by way of example, in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an atomiser in accordance with the invention,

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view, on a larger scale, of the head provided with the cap, this section being taken along the line 11-11 of Fig. 3,

Figs. 3 and 4 are horizontal sections along the lines II1-III and IVIV of Fig. 2 respectively,

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of a part of the atomiser,

Fig. 6 is a vertical section showing a modified form of atomiser and of the closure cap thereof, this section being taken along the line VIVI of Fig. 4, and

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section along the line VII-VII of Fig. 6.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, an atomiser head has rotatably mounted thereon, a cap Z fOrmed with a recess 3 which, in the drawings, is a position in which a hole 4, for the discharge of the atomised jet, is unmasked.

The head 1 is provided with an internal screw thread 5 for connecting it to the neck of a flask containing liquid to be atomised. The said fiask, which is of any type having a deformable wall, is not shown in the drawings.

The hole 4, which is formed radially in an upwardly projecting extension 6 of the head 1, opens into a central cavity 7 formed in the said extension. The head 1 comprises a tubular member 8 which is disposed within the lower part of the head 1 and is concentric with the cavity 7. The top 7a of the member 8 partially closes the cavity 7. The tubular member 8 is adapted to receive the usual plunger tube 9 shown in dash-dotted lines in Figure 2, and a calibrated orifice 10 in the top 7a places the interior of the tube 9 in communication with the cavity 7 in the head. Apertures 11, of which there are three in the embodiment shown in Figures 1-5 are formed at intervals around the orifice 10 in the base of the cavity 7. As shown in Figure 2, the said apertures also extend partially into the wall of the cavity to a point above the top 7a. The said apertures afford communication between the cavity 7 and the interior of the flask on which the head 1 is screwed.

The upper edge of the extension 6 is formed with a peripheral flange 12.

The cap 2 has a cylindrical axial extension 13 adapted to engage in the cavity 7 terminating in a frusto-conical portion 15, in which is formed a recess 16 which (see also Fig. 5) communicates with the hole 4 when the recess 3 communicates therewith.

The cap is so shaped that the top of the extension 6 bears against the end of a circular bearing surface 17 adjoining a peripheral groove 18, in which the flange 12 is engaged by elastic deformation of the material;

By reason of this arrangement, the cap, while being non-detachable from the head 1, can be rotated in relation to the head 1 so that the recesses 3 and 16 may be brought into and out of communication with the hole 4. The cap is formed with ribs or striations 19 to enable it to be turned by hand. The rotation of the cap on the head is guided by the engagement'of the extension 13 in the cavity 7 and by the application of the bottom of the cap against a shoulder 20 provided on the head 2.

The two extreme positions of the cap, namely the position in which the recesses 3 and 16 uncover the hole 4 and the position in which the hole 4 is closed, are defined by a boss 21 which is integral with the cap encountering one or other of abutments 22 and 23 which are integral with the head 1.

When the hole 4 is uncovered and pressure is applied by the hand to the deformable receptacle containing a liquid to be atomised, the air contained therein is compressed and the liquid squirts into the cavity 7 through the orifice 10. At the same time, some of the coinpressed air flows through the apertures 11 and this air is deflected towards the jet of liquid by the upper walls 11:; defining these apertures. The jet is thus broken up into droplets which are suspended in the air and are agitated in the chamber formed by the cavity 7 and 14 1; of the cap and of the head before leaving through the hole 4.

The degree of atomisation is therefore affected by the s ze of the orifice 10 and of the apertures 11 as also by the volume of the cavities 7 and 14. However, experience shows that it is possible to adjust the atomisation in accordance with the fluidity and density of the liquid to he atomised merely byyappro-priate choice of the dimensions of the cavity 14, that is to say, by the choice of the cap alone, the dimension of the slots 11 and of the orifice 10 remaining unchanged. 7

In Figs. 6 and 7 an alternative embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. Referring to these figures there is shown an atomiser of similar construction to that of Figs. 1-5 but having a head adapted to be mounted and 'fixed on a receptacle without any screwthread, such as that indicated at 5 in Figure 2, being required on the neck of the receptacle or on the head. i

The omission of this screwhead results in a considerable simplification of the moulds required to make the atomiser.

In this variant, the hole 4 for the discharge of the atomised jet is formed radially in the upper portion 6a of the head 1a and leads into the central cavity 7 in the said part. The bottom of the head is provided with an extension 24 adapted to be engaged in the manner of a plug in the neck 25 of the receptacle by bringing a shoulder 26 on the head into contact with the rim of the receptacle.

The shoulder 26 is maintained against the rim by the action of the cap 2a, and for this purpose the upper portion of the head is designed in the form of a truncated cone and the plug 2a is mounted thereon. The capis terminated at its lower end by a cylindrical portion 2b adapted to surround the neck 25.

The cap is held in position on the neck by the engagement of the annular bead 27 in a groove 28 in the neck, the positioning of these elements being defined in such manner that the plug'Za urges the shoulder 26' resiliently against the rim of the receptacle, the said rim being advantageously trued to permit perfect contact with the shoulder 26.

The cylindrical portion 2b of the cap is formed with ribs 19 facilitating the rotation of the cap to bring its orifice 3a and the slot 16 into a position opposite the hole 4, or to oflset them from the said hole 4 so as'to close the latter.

As in the embodiment of Figs. 1 5, the extreme positions of the cap are defined by the boss 21 encountering one or other of the abutments 22' and 23 (Figure 7) It may be advantageous with a view to avoiding simultaneous rotation of the head in" relation to the neck of the receptacle when the cap is rotated, for the head to be held fast in relation to the neck, for exampleby means of ribs 29 engaged in grooves 31} of the receptacle (Figure 6).

In addition, in this. case that portion of the head in which the orifice 10 and the apertures 11 are formed is a separate part fitted into the said head. The base of the cavity 7 is closed by disc 31 (Figure 6) formed with the apertures 11 and engaged by friction in the central recess 24a in the extension 24, the said disc (which may consist of metal or of any other material) being fast with the tubular member 8 in which is engaged the plunger tube 9 communicating with the hole 10.

In this case, not only is the moulding of the head simplified, but it is possible to adjust the dimensions of the apertures 11 and of the orifice 10 in accordance with the liquid employed. The operation is the same as before, the'jet's of air which leave the aperture 11 being deflected towards the central jet of liquid by the shoulder 11a of the cavity 7. The hole 4 for the discharge of the atomised jet may, if desired, be lined by a small bushing consisting of metal or any other material difierent from -that of the head 1 or 1a. p

I claim:

1. An atomizer comprising a flexible-walled receptacle containing a liquid and having a neck; a hollow head adapted to be connected with said neck, said head having an open ended tubular upper part whose wall is formed with a radial discharge orifice'and a partition between said upper part and the interior of said receptacle, said partition having an axial tubular inwardly directed projection axially opening in said upper part through an atomizing orifice, and being aperture'd with 'air passages distributed around said projection; a plunger pipe tightly cjonn 'ited "to said tubular projection; and 'a cap having a cylindrical portion rotatably received'i'n said tubular upper part, said portion having a cylindrical, axial inner recess passages open into said tubular upper part transversely with respect to the said atomizing opening.

3. An atomizer according to claim 1, wherein said head is closely fitted into said neck, and said peripheral skirt portion encircles said neck and is rotatably connected thereto throughperipher'al rib and groove engagement.

4. An atomizer according to claim 1 wherein the internal radius of said open tubular upper partof the head is smaller than the radius of a circle projected by joining the external walls of said air passages distributed around the atomizing orifice, and wherein the upper walls defining said air passages are formed by inner lateral recesses in the cavity ofsaid tubular upper part.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,542,563 Liberthal-. June 16, 1925 2,534,139, McLaughlin Dec. 12, 1950 2,573,73 1 Ryberg Nov. 6,, 1951 2,631,064 Tupper .'Mar..10, 1953 2,791,358 Gaertner May'7, 1957 2,801,029 Bretz July 30, 1957

Images