This invention relates generally to a fluid delivery system for consumer products, and more particularly to a sprayer having an induced air assist downstream of the discharge orifice resulting in a fine and more consistent spray particle breakup.
There are basically three main types of fluid sprayers for consumer products, such as window cleaners, liquid detergents, perfumes, colognes, anti-perspirant, bug sprays, etc. The manually operated pump sprayers, the deformable or squeeze bottles and the aerosols are considered the main sprayer categories. Aerosols include those having a mechanical breakup system to effect a spray, a vapor tap valve system and/or the mutually soluble product/propellant system. The system employed for the spray mechanics upstream of the discharge orifice for the pump, squeeze and aerosol sprayers may differ geometically as required by the nature of the product, the nature of the discharge desired (narrow/wide, fine/coarse, dry/wet, etc), and the discharge rate/amount.
The squeeze bottle sprayers may include spin mechanics upstream of the discharge orifice, and/or may include an air passage into the area behind the discharge orifice from within the container to inject air under pressure into the fluid to be discharged, to effect particle breakup, or for creating a foam assuming the liquid product includes a foaming agent. Or, an homogenizng element in the discharge path creates a foam as the foamable product passes through such element upon application of each external force applied to the squeeze bottle.
Some aerosols have a foaming system of the externally generated type provided by vapor tap valves, and/or several turbulence generators, screens, chambers, etc. These latter types are intended to function at least partially externally to the principal discharge orifice, but normally take maximum advantage of the aerosol component capabilities and include a foaming agent and a foam-expnsion means, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,350,298 discloses a pump sprayer having an external foam generator in the form of a plurality of arms constituting an obstacle wall or spattering device with which the spray liquid from the orifice collides when the foam dispenser is at its foaming position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,159 discloses a pump sprayer requiring an aspirating chamber, a foam forming chamber, an expansion chamber and a pair of spaced mesh screens to facilitate foaming.
French Patent No. 1,420,750 discloses an aerosol sprayer having a discharge head with a skirt wall spaced from the spray button, the skirt having a window through which the nozzle projects the discharge.