US2582805A - Nebulizer or the like - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 15, 1952 'w G P TRUMBOUR ETAL 2,582,805

NEBULIZER 0R THE LIKE Filed sept. 1i, 1947 Fi' Fg. 1 F/r'w'l. 3a 7 Y l 7 l ae 81 as a9 8 8 8 638 las eq /5 18. 19 8 I9 A9 J y 3l eo l. 3/9, /2 a 6 I y a7 9 6 ,a la l Q i C 7 90 /7 t so lo S I6 /6 \:`al l //l'lll'lll V silllllllllzihv Will 2 Q -Inveaaoa Geofgelflmaaoza; 175242235 Macwqgoa I h' 1 l s y nays Patented Jan. 15, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4NEBUIMIZER 0R THE LIKE George P. Trumbonr and Forbes MacGregor,

Needham, Mass., yassignors to. MacGregor Instrument ICompany, Needham, Mass., a corpo- 'ration 0f Massachusetts Application September 11, 1947, Serial No. 773,330

2 Claims. 1

Our present invention Vrelates to nebulizers or like devices for use in atomiz'ng various liquids.

Certain uses of various liquids require that they be atomized. For example, atomized lacquers are used in hair dressing while, on the other hand, it is frequently desired to use a nebulizer to dispense perfumes or medications which may be costly or which maybe intended for use only in small volume.

In accordance with our invention, We provide a nebulizer consisting of a hollow, Open-ended body having a supporting base. `Within the body is an atomizing unit disposed to discharge atomized liquid through a port with which 'the upper part or head of the body is formed. The lopen end of the body is preferably closed by 'a rotatable cap having a port closing skirt which is provided. with one and preferably atleast two apertures of different size. Each aperture is .registrable with the outlet port so that the cap may be turned into one position in which the nebuliz'er is sealed, into another position where the larger aperture is in registry with the outlet port, 'as when a lacquer is to be dispensed. "and nto a third position where the smaller 'aperture registers with l Y suction tube that is removably supported 'in "the body by centering means and an'air `deliverytube seated in the wall of the .head portion ofthe body with its delivery end operatively ,positioned relative tothe suction tubeto enableliguid tobewit'hdrawn therethrough Vand discharged, in atomized form, through the outlet port. The delivery end ofthe air ltube prevents the suction tube from being removed from the 'body until the 'air tube is unseated and to ensure 'the ydesired relationship betweenthe tub-es,the air'deliverytube preferably has a seated engagement lwith 'the dsuction tube'thereby to cooperate in its-support. 1n addition to the simplicity fof construction which such an atomiz'ing unit represents, it `'also has the advantage that it enablesnebulizers to be readily assembled or taken apart as when they vare 'to be thoroughly cleansed.

We `prefer that the ibase 'and the body be separate 'and that they andthe cap be molded from plastic of the same or .diiierent colors. When the parts are to be molded, the base may be 'hollow and of frusto-conic section. Interiorly oi its rim., the base may have a downwardly and inwardly tapered seat. With such a base, the lower portion of the body vis downwardly and .inwardly tapered so that a substantial part oi" it is entrant of the base when seated therein, with said lower portion constituting a well for the liquid to be atomized.

The body may advantageously be 'formed with a skirt, spaced therefrom to establish a recess `for the rim of the base and outwardly and downwardly tapered to engage the outer surface oi the base in the zone of its 'seat 'when the body and the base are united. The cap 'has a recess to receive the rim ofthe body 'andthe inner wall o'f the recess is extended to provide the apertured, port blocking skirt.

In the accompanying drawings, we have shown illustrative embodiments of Aour invention from which these and other of its novel features and advantages will be readily apparent.

In'the drawings:

Fig. l is 'a vertical section through a nebulizer inaccordan'ce withour invention.

, Fig. 2 is a lsection .along the lines 2-2 of Fig. 1, and l Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing-a modification of 'our invention.

The embodiments `of our invention dshown "in the drawings 'are adapted to be molded from any suitable plastic and each-comprises a hollow base 5 of frusto-conic section, a hollow open-ended body, generally indicated lat 6, a cap 'i to rotatably seat on the rim S of the *body '6., and Vanatomizing lunit consisting of lan air delivery tube 9 and a suction tube li.

The base 5 has a downwardly Aand inwardly tapering seat il interiorly 'of `its rim "12. The interior of the bodyl vpreferably tapers uniformly downwardly Land inwardly from `its 'rim 8 substantially to its bottom, where it is tapered as-at ll 3 lto establish -a krelatively shallow liquid collect ingpocket centrally oi which 'we `provide the 'bod-y 6 with an upstanding and slotted centering lring l 4. The 'hollow body "E includes wan Iupper or vhead portion i5 and a lower portion H5 which is exteriorly tapered so that'a 4substantial'part of it "is entrant of 'the base 5 when lit fis in V'engagement with 'the Aseat "II. When the 'body B :thuis lsup' 3 ported, its lower portion I6 constitutes a well for the liquid to be atomized and its shallow liquid collecting pocket enables small quantities of relatively expensive medications or perfumes to be atomized.

Preferably, the outer surface of the head portion I5 tapers slightly outwardly and downwardly from its rim 8 and the body 6 has a skirt I1 spaced from the upper part of the well IS to establish a recess to receive the rim I2 and outwardly and downwardly ilared to engage the outer surface of the base 5 in the Zone of the seat II when the body and the base are united. The head portion i5 has a strengthening rib I8 extending upwardly from the skirt I'I through which extends a port.' preferably slightly tapered so that the air Vdelivery tube 9 may be tightly seated therein with its delivery end disposed in alinement with the outlet port I9.

The air delivery tube 9 is adapted to be connected to any conventional bulb, not shown, and has a passage 2B therethrough of reduced diameter adjacent its delivery end. The suction tube Ill has an axial passage 2| which is upwardly and inwardly tapered so that its bottom end may receive within it the centering ring I4 thereby to detachably mount the suction tube I in the body 9. The suction tube I0 may have an inlet port 22 adjacent its lower end to effect communication between the well I6 and its axial passage 2|.

In the embodiment of our invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, we have shown the upper end of the suction tube I0 as beveled with its lower edge disposed towards the outlet port I9 and its upper edge having a vertical slot 23. The bottom of the slot 23 intersects the axial passage 2| of the suction tube I0 and its rear part is enlarged as at 24 to establish a seat for the delivery end ofthe air delivery tube 9 so that the tubes 9 and I may be detachably interlocked to prevent the suction tube Iii from becoming accidentally unseated from the centering ring I4 and to maintain the parts of the thus established atomizing unit in operative relation to each other.

By this construction, the atomizing unit may be removed from the body 6 when one of our nebulizers is to be cleansed. 'By unseating the air delivery tube 9 and withdrawing it, the upper end of the suction tube may be manually engaged and lifted through the open end oi the body 6.

To facilitate such manual removal, we may form the suction tube as suggested in Fig. 3. The suction tube 25 of Fig. 3 is substantially longer than the suction tube IEI so that its upper end is nearer the rim 8 of the body 6 thereby to be more conveniently accessible. The suction tube 25 has a ilared port 28 disposed towards the outlet port I9 and in communication with the seat 21 for the delivery end of the air tube 9.

While the atomizing units may be otherwise formed, we` prefer the construction shown in the drawings as it has the advantage of simplicity of manufacture and ease of assembly and disassembly.

The open end of the body 6 is shown as closed by the cap 'i which has an annular groove to tightly receive the body rim 8 while permitting the cap 'i to be turned. The rim receiving recess is dened by the annular flanges '28 and 29 which snugly engage the outer and inner surfaces, respectively, of the head portion I adjacent the rim 8. The flange 29 terminates just above the air delivery tube 9 and includes a skirt atsaeos 30 having diierent sized apertures 3| and 32, registrable with the outlet port I9 as the cap is turned. The skirt B may conveniently be of suflicient arcuate length so that when the cap 'l is turned to bring its edge 33 into contact with the delivery tube 9, the outlet port I9 is blocked and the nebulizer is effectively sealed. When the cap 'I is turned in the other direction to bring its edge 34 into contact with the delivery tube 9, the smaller aperture 32 registers with the outlet port I9. When the cap 'I is turned into an intermediate position, the larger port 3I registers with the outlet port I9 so thatthe volume oi atomized liquid delivered may be varied.

` AFrom the foregoing, it will be apparent that nebulizers in accordance with our invention may be economically manufactured and combine attractive appearance with adaptability for many uses. While our nebulizers may be made from any material, We prefer that they be molded as their parts, when made of a suitable plastic, are interchangeable and well adapted to withstand hard usage.

What we therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A nebulizer comprising a hollow, openended body with its closed end constituting a well provided with a centrally located projecting seat and having a pair of ports, air delivering means including an air delivery tube rictionally iitting one of said ports with its extremity in said body and disposed towards the other of said ports, and a tube in said body having a suction passage tapering from its bottom end and at said bottom end being dimensioned to receive said seat and including a portion extending beyond the upper end of said passage to be accessible for digital engagement through the open end oi' said body, said portion having a passageway into which said air delivery tube extremity is frictionally tted thereby to lock said suction tube to said body with its lower end anchored in said well and with its upper end and said extremity operatively associated with each other, said suction tube being removable through the open end of said body when said air delivery tube is unseated from said portion.

2. A nebulizer comprising a hollow, openended body with its closed end downwardly and inwardly inclined and having a pair of ports, air delivering means including an air delivery tube frictionally tting one of said ports with its extremity in said body and disposed towards the other of said ports, a tube in said body having a. suction passage and including a portion extending beyond the upper end of said passage to be accessible for digital engagement through the open end of said body, said portion having a passageway into which said air delivery tube extremity is frictionally fitted thereby to Alock said suction tube to said body with the lower end of its passage in said well and with its upper end and said extremity operatively associated with each other, and means centrally of the bottom of said well engageable with said suction tube to support it, said downwardly and inwardly inclined bottom being available to guide the lower tube end into engagement with said means said suction tube being removable through the open end of said body when said air delivery tube is unseated from said portion.

GEORGE P. TRUMBOUR. I FORBES MACGREGOR.

' (References o'n'followin'g page) REFERENCES CITED Number1 Name Date Hoell Sept. 16, 1890 Holmes Jan. 22, 1895 Robertson Mar. 4, 1902 Saile et a1. June 11, 1918 Blanchard Jan. 5, 1932 Schmitt Nov. 15, 1932 Wettstein Jan. 22, 1935 Number Number Name Date Massa, Feb. 2, 1937 Schutte Sept. 27, 1938 Maltner Jan. 10, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Dec. 5, 1912 Switzerland June 15, 1938 France May 25, 1925 France Jan. 6, 1939

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