US2895687A - Spray nozzle - Google Patents

Description

July 21, 1959 F. D. AMMEN SPRAY NOZZLE Filed Aug. 17, less repA/c/s 0. #MME/V INVENTOR.

SPRAY NOZZLE. Francis D. Arnmen, Los Augeles Calif. Application August 17, 1956, Serial No. 604,693

1 Claim. (Cl. 239-443) This invention relates to spray nozzles and particularly to a type that operates as an attachment to be applied to the end of a water supply tube such as commonly used above household sinks. The nozzle is usually attached to a tubular arm swiveled so as to enable hot water or cold water or a mixture of the same to be delivered into either one of two separated basins.

A device for this purpose is now available, the body of which is constructed of flexible material such as plastic or rubber. This device includes a vertical flexible neck located above the delivery end of the nozzle, and by reason of the flexibility of this neck it can be bent in ones hand to direct the water from the nozzle into diflerent parts of the basin to wash out soap suds or the like.

In the nozzleto which this invention is applied the lower end of the nozzle includes a downwardly flared extension, the lower end of which carries a delivery plate of disc form having a central orifice, and having a zone of perforations between the orifice and the edge of the plate.

A shutter for the central orifice is provided, in the form of a small disc which registers with the orifice and shuts off a compact stream of liquid which otherwise could flow through it. This disc is carried on a movable arm the pivot for which is located near the edge of the plate, and a control lever for the arm is provided below the delivery plate which projects outwardly and beyond the side of the nozzle.

By shifting the control lever on its pivotal connection to the spray plate the shutter can be moved away from its position when it registers with the orifice, to enable the compact stream of water to flow downwardly through the orifice; and in the closed position of the shutter the water will be delivered in a spray descending throughout the perforated zone.

By reason of the presence of the flexible neck referred to above, it is generally necessary to hold the lower end of the nozzle with one hand while applying force to the said lever with the other hand to shift it from one of its positions to the other; but it often happens that a person using the sink may have a dish or the like held in one hand when he desires to shift the lever from one position to the other.

An object of the present invention is to overcome this slight difliculty, and to provide means whereby the control lever referred to can be shifted by using one hand only to move the control lever.

More specifically stated, an object of this invention is to provide means mounted on the nozzle, the elements of which are disposed in such a way as to enable the control lever to be shifted between its extreme positions by applying one hand only to the control lever and simultaneously to the means which I provide to accomplish this object.

Further objects of the invention will be evident from States Patent a 2,895,687 Patented July 21, 1959 A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the following specification, and pointed out broadly in the appended claim.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation and partial section of a nozzle to which my invention is applied.

Figure 2 is a bottom plane of a nozzle such as shown in Figure 1, but illustrating a different means that I may employ for providing the fixed handles at each side of the control lever for accomplishing the objects of this invention.

Figure 3 is a plan view of a spray plate blank that is formed with integral extensions that can be used to form handles to cooperate with the control lever to shift it to and from its position for spraying.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Referring more particularly to the parts, and especially to Figure 1, the nozzle body includes a tubular upper portion 1, having a peripheral lip 2, which is of a flexible character soas to enable it to be stretched slightly and secured over an annular rib or head (not illustrated) which forms a projecting perimeter at the lower end of a pivoted tube 3 which terminates in a downwardly extending goose neck.

The body of the nozzle includes a flexible waist or neck 4, comprising two or more enlarged annular extensions 5, with relatively short neck-portions 6 between the same.

The lower end of this flexible neck 4 carries the delivery end 7 of the nozzle which is of substantially conical form, that is to say, it is flared downwardly to define a delivery chamber 8, its lower end terminating in an inwardly turned flange 9. On the upper side of .this flange 9 the edge portion 10 of a delivery plate or shower plate 11 is located.

The body portion of this shower plate is off-set downwardly from the plane of the flange 10, and its central portion is provided with a circular orifice 12 (see Figure 2).

The outer or radially lateral zone of the plate 11 is provided with a multiplicity of perforations 13, and a shutter 14 is provided for closing its central orifice.

This shutter 14 is in the form of a disc that registers with the orifice to shut off flow of the water stream through it, and when in this closed position water flows down through the perforations in a spray 15 as indicated in Figure l.

The shutter 14 is carried on an arm 16 lying on the upper side of the delivery plate 11 to which it is pivotally attached by a round shank 17 that projects up from the inner end of a control-lever 18, the end of which projects out beyond the periphery 19 of the flared lower end 7 of the nozzle. And the upper end of the circular shank terminates in an angular tang 20 that makes a nonrotatable connection through the arm 16.

From the construction just described it is evident that by swinging the control lever 18 on its pivotal connection at 17, the shutter 14 can be swung to one side, that is, to a withdrawn position such as that indicated by the dotted outline 14a in Figure 2.

In the open position for the shutter 14, when the water is turned on at the faucet (not illustrated) it will pass downward in a compact stream or current through the orifice 12, but when the shutter is in place at the orifice as shown in the drawing, all the water will pass downwardly through the perforations 13.

In accordance witlrm'y invention I provide the conical upper face of the deliveryendfl pf the nozzle with two abutments such as the abutment 21 (see Figure 1). These abutments may be in the form of substantial lugs or long bosses projecting in a generalradial direction from the outer surface of the conicalsurface of the nozzle adjacent its lower end. They project outin a general radial direction with an angle of approximately dOdegrees between them, and lie in a plane about perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the body of the nozzle. The same angle is shown between the tongues 25 in Figure 3.

If the nozzle is made of flexible material they may be molded integrally with'it, Ifjthe material of the nozzle is very flexible the abutments may be reinforced by stiffen; ing splints or long pins 23, composed of'metal' or other suitable material 'lhe presence of these splints. 23 en ables the usual quite flexible material employed in this nozzle to be used. However, it is desirable to construct this nozzle of such flexible material to facilitate placing the delivery plate assembly in position" above the flange 9 when introducing, and seating it in the flared delivery end 7 of the nozzle.

In Figures 3 and 4 an embodiment of the invention is shown in which the blank 24 for the spray plate is provided with two integral extensions or tongues 25. The

blanking die cuts out the tongues from the plate stock but also makes two cuts 26 that extend into the edge ofthe plate so as to form a neck '27 between them. Each tongue is then bent at 28 so that it extends out horizontally and projects out beyond the edge of plate.

And in order to presenta flat face on the far side of each tongue to be pressed by ones finger or thumb, the material of each tongue is bent up at one edge to form a small flange 29. H

Many other embodiments of this invention may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of this invention.

4 I claim anddesire' to secure by Letters Patent:

A spray device for selectively delivering either a single relatively large stream of liquid or a plurality of relatively fine spray streams, comprising: a hollow flared body and having relatively small diameter flexible inlet neck, a plate mounted in closing relationship to the base end of said body, said plate having a relatively large central discharge aperture and a plurality of relatively small spray apertures surrounding said central aperture, a disklike valve member pivotally mounted on said plate for swinging movement over a surface thereof into and out of closing relationship to said central aperture, a pair of projectiqnscarriedby said body, said projections extending radially beyond the periphery of said body and being spaced apart circumferentially of said body, and a lever for actuating said valve member, said lever being operatively connected to said valve member and projecting radially outwardly beyond the periphery of said body between sajdprojections for swinging movement therebetween to cause said valve member to move between positions opening and closing said central aperture whereby a user may engage a finger with one of said projections while using another finger of the same hand to swing said lever towards said projection and thereby to balancethe forces exerted by said fingers to maintain said body substantially stationary.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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