US2753213A - Liquid mixing and spraying apparatus - Google Patents

Description

July 3, 1956 w. v. OFFUTT LIQUID MIXING AND SPRAYING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 25, 1953 I N VEN TOR Ii'lkk m fflffmii ATTORNEYS LIQUID MIXING AND SPRAYING APPARATUS William V. Oiiutt, Downey, Calif. Application November 25, 1953, Serial No. 394,315

8 Claims. (Cl. 299-454) This invention relates to liquid sprayers of the type in which a flowing column of water in the form of a jet picks up a relatively small but constant proportion of a substance in concentrated liquid solution or colloidal suspension.

ln sprayers of this type, a jet of water usually passes over the open top of a tube, the lower end of which is submerged in the concentrate, the latter being picked up by aspiration incident to the velocity of the water jet.

One of the objects of the present invention is to deliver the concentrate to the water jet by gravity, specifically by siphon action, the flow at the delivery point being limited to a small head, utilizing the velocity of the jet to first deflect said flow into a mixing chamber, and then to aspirate the mixture from said mixing chamber back into said jet.

More specifically stated, it is an object of the invention to provide a sprayer embodying a nozzle adapted to be connected to a garden hose for producing a jet of water, and including means defining an upwardly inclined surface intersecting the axis of the water jet and upon which surface said jet impinges for converting it into flat fanlike form, providing a siphon tube insertable at one end into the top of a vessel of concentrate carried by said sprayer and opening at its other end in the interface between said fan-like jet and said inclined surface at a point above the axis of the nozzle, for utilizing the flow of the flat jet over said opening, first to start the siphon by aspiration, then to drive the siphonic head of concentrate Welling up in the interface between said jet and said inclined surface, down through an inlet passage to a mixing chamber, then to aspirate the mixture through a discharge passage from said mixing chamber back into said jet at a point beyond the point where the concentrate was first entrained by said jet, and from the point of last mentioned aspiration causing the jet to impinge upon a steeper inclined surface whereby it is shattered into particles having various trajectories, producing an extensive area of saturation where the spray falls to the ground.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sprayer of the type disclosed, in which the inclined deflected sur- 1 face is in two stages at different angularity, the primary deflecting surface which intersects the axis of the water jet at a relatively small angle to the horizontal, and is concerned with fanning the jet, and a secondary deflecting surface wholly above the axis of the water jet and being at a slightly steeper angle than the primary deflecting surface whereby the fan-like jet is broken into parts having diflerent trajectories so that the falling spray wets an area of considerable extent, as contrasted with the fanlike spray, the wetting effect of which upon the ground is confined to an area of small extent.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a metering orifice between the siphon tube and inlet passage to the mixing chamber, a portion of the boundary wall of which is the water jet itself, whereby a solid particle of such size as to obstruct a conventional orifice of the same size, is able to displace the liquid portion of the bounding wall of the orifice and pass through it.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the following description of a practical embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of the following specification, and throughout the several figures of which the same reference characters have been employed to denote identical parts:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a sprayer embodying the principles of the invention;

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the same;

Figure 3 is a plan view;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal vertical the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a cross-section taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary plan view on an enlarged scale, taken along the line 6-6 of Figure 4.

Referring now indetail to the several figures, the numeral 1 represents the sprayer as a whole, which in the embodiment shown is a garden sprayer for applying to the lawn, ground, or plants a water spray containing a proportion of liquid nutrient ingredients or insecticide mixed with the water by the operator. The sprayer cornprises the body 2, supported by wire skids 3 which are sprung into holes 3a at opposite ends of the body on opposite sides, and which stably support the sprayer, enabling it to be drawn along the ground.

The top face 4 of the body is formed with intersecting diagonal channels 5, one of which is deeper than the other, and which receive the crossed middle portions 6 of a pair of U-shaped frames 7, riveted at the center, and which together form a basket for receiving a bottle or other container of the concentrate which is to be mixed with the water. The basket may be held in place by a single screw through one of the portions 6, and screwed into the body. Figures 1, 2 and 3 show the bottle 10 in place.

The body portion 1 has a cylindrical bore 11, which is preferably parallel to the base plane defined by the bot toms of the skids, tapped at one end to receive the hose section taken along connections 12, and at the opposite end formed with a reduced nozzle 13.

That portion of the body to the right of the nozzle 13 is formed with a recess 14 flaring toward the outer end of the body. The bottom of said recess is composed of two upwardly inclined deflecting faces, each of which is transversely planiform. The lower or primary deflecting face 15 intersects the axis of the nozzle 13 and is inclined at a small angle with respect to said axis. The function of this face is to spread the impinging water jet from the nozzle 13 into a flat fan-like jet, the width of which is limited by the sides 16 of said recess. The upper or secondary deflecting face 17 is wholly above the axis of the nozzle and is at a slightly steeper angle than the primary face 15. It adjoins the primary face along a transverse straight line and along said line it is stepped below the plane of the primary face, forming a channel 18.

A nipple 19 of small diameter extends through the body 1, opening in the face 15 above the axis of the nozzle. Said nipple is connected to a flexible tube 2% having a strainer 21 at its free end. Said tube is shown positioned as a siphon, being looped over the mouth of the bottle and extending down into the bottle below the liquid level therein, the mouth of the nipple 19 being below the level of the bottom of the bottle.

Also opening in the face 15, immediately behind the mouth of the nipple 19 is a passage 22 which communi' cates with a mixing chamber 23 formed as a cylindrical bore extending within the body 1 and stoppered at its outer end by the plug 2-3. The passage 22 and the nipple mutually converge in an upward direction, being separated adjacent their mouths by the common wall 25. This wall being defined by the circular mouths of the nipple and passage 212, is Wider at its ends than in its middle. At its ends it is in the plane of the inclined face 15. 'In the-middle it is indented by a notch 26, the bottom of which notch is below the plane of the inclined face 15 Back of the passage 22, the body is formed with a transverse series of" discharge passages 27, extending from the mixing chamber and opening into the channel 18. The nipple 1 9 and passage 22 are oppositely inclined and on opposite sides of a line per'pendicular to the inclined face 15 and passing through the middle of the common wall 25. This arrangement causes the mouth of the nipple to be directed slightly away from the nozzle 13, so that the water jet from'said nozzle will tend to avoid entering the nipple, while the passage 22 is inclined contra to the'direction offlow of'the jet, so that water will tend to be driven into it.

The difference in level between the top face 4. of the body and the mouth of the nipple 19 is small, so that when the tube 20 is operating as a siphon, only a small head of liquid willissue from the nipple.

In the operation of the sprayer, a garden hose 28 is coupled to the hose connections 12, and, a jet of water from the hose issues from the nozzle 13. The bottle 10 or other container is placed within the basket 8, as shown in Figure l, and the tube 20 is inserted in the mouth of the bottle or in the open top of whatever type of container is used. At the start, it will require aspiration by the water jet in order to initiate the siphon flow of concentrate from the bottle. The water jet strikes the inclined face 15 below the mouth of the nipple 19, being transformed intoa flat fan shaped jet which travels along the face 15 across the mouth of the nipple. Since the relatively wide end portions of the common wall are in the plane of the inclined face 15, an aspirating effect is produced by the passage of that portion of the fanlike jet which. travels across the opening in, the zones of these wider portions of the common wall. This produces sufiicient suction to start the siphon which, if not found. influenced by the fan-like jet, wouldproduce. a low and gentle welling up of water above the surface of the inclined face 15, from the mouth ofthe nipple 19 However, since the notch is below the plane of the inclined face 15, and the direction of impingement of the water against the face 15 produces a component of force acting downwardly against said face, the head of water that would well up beyond the, mouth of the nipple 19 is beaten down by the fan-like flowand driven through the notch 26 into the passage 22 and down into the mixing chamber. A very small proportion of concentrate will be incorporated'in the fan-like water jet through aspiration, but most of. the mixing takes place within the mixing chamber in which the water and concentrate are thrown into spiral agitation and distributed lengthwise of the mixing chamber. As the fan-like jet passes over the channel 18, aspiration again becomes the dominant factor of operation, the mixed water and concentrate being drawn up through the several passages 27. and thus distributed uniformly throughout the width of the water jet. As the inclined face 16 is at a steeper angle than the. face 15, the effect will be to shatter the fan-like jet in a vertical direction, giving different trajectories tothe jet particles, so that some of them fallv relatively close to the sprayer while some of them fall at a greater distance and at all intermediate distances, creating an area, of saturation.

rather than a line of saturation which would be characteristic. of spray delivered by a deflecting. surface of uniform inclination throughout.

The round shape of the terminal lip of the inclined face 16 enhances the even distribution of the spray.

It will be understood that since, as has been stated, only a very small proportion of the concentrate is mixed with that portion of the fan-like jet which passes over the inclined face 15 without going into the mixing chamber, the notch 26 may be considered a metering orifice, since the portion of the concentrate which avoids going through the slot is negligible. As the slot is the metering device, the nipple may be made of sufiicient internal diameter to pass particles of as large a size as may be expected to be encountered in the use of the sprayer. The notch itself may be regarded as an orifice of flexible size, since although it is open at the top, it is, completed by the jet of water flowing over its top, and which may be considered a flexible portion of the wall of said orifice. Consequently, if a particle of colloidal matter such as is frequently met with in the spraying of insecticidal or fungicidal emulsions, should pass through the nipple 19 and become lodged momentarily against the orifice 26, the force of the water impinging against the wall 25 in the region of the orifice will cause the particle to move upward against the edges of the orifice, displacing the flexible wall of water completing the top of said orifice until it is free to pass with said water either along the inclined surface of the recess 14 or into the mixing chamber 23.

Figure 1 shows that one of the legs 29 of the basket 8 is taller than the others, and provided with a scale which is referable to the contents of the bottle so that the siphon tube 20 may be placed at any definite distance from the bottom of the bottle, whereby the flow of concentrate to the nipple 19 will be stopped when the liquid in the bottle descends to the level at which the siphon becomes inoperative.

If desired, the body portion 1 may be used as a hand sprayer without the benefit of the Skids.

One of the advantages of conducting the concentrate to the point of entrainment with the jet by a siphon is that the original bottle or can in which the concentrate is purchased may be employed; in its normal upright position with the sprayer, without the necessity of decanting it or otherwise transferring it to a special vessel having a discharge opening at its bottom.

Since in the normal operation of the sprayer the water jet is relieved from the load of drawing concentrate to the point of entrainment, the energy thus conserved is available for driving the concentrate down into the mixing chamben so that the sprayer can operate etficiently at a lower water jet velocity than would otherwise be the case.

While I have in the above description disclosed what I- believe. to be a preferred and practical embodiment of the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the specific details of construction and arrangernent of parts, as shown and described, are by way of example and not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

What- I- claim is:

1 Liquid spray apparatus comprising means adapted to support a container of concentrate and providing a substantially flat distributing surface and. a nozzle positioned to direct a jet of liquid obliquely against said distributing surfacev to. form a fan-like sheet of liquid moving, in contact with said surface, a suction aperture insa-idsurface opening beneath said sheet, a siphon tube having one end connected .to said aperture and. the. other adapted to enter said container from its top, whereby siphonic aetion is started through aspiration by said sheetgcausing cqncentrate to well up in said aperture to become entrained in said sheet, means providing a mixing chamber beneath said distributing surface, an inlet passage to said, mixing chamber having its mouth adjacentj'said aperture, an. outlet passage from said mixing chamber opening in said distributing surface. beneath said sheet at a point beyond said inletpassage, a, common wal 1 b etWu SL 41, aperture and the mouth of said inlet passage the end portions of said wall being in the plane of said distributing surface and the intermediate portion entrants being below the plane of said distributing surface, whereby concentrate rising to said aperture is driven into said inlet passage and mixing chamber with vehicle liquid from said sheet, said mixture being drawn from said mixing chamber by way of said outlet passage through aspiration by said sheet in moving over said outlet passage.

2. Liquid spray apparatus comprising means adapted to support a container of concentrate and providing a substantially flat distributing surface and a nozzle positioned to direct a jet of liquid obliquely against said distributing surface to form a fan-like sheet of liquid moving in contact with said surface, a suction aperture in said surface opening beneath said sheet, a siphon tube having one end connected to said aperture and the other adapted to enter said container from its top, whereby siphonic action is started through aspiration by said sheet, causing concentrate to well up in said aperture to become entrained in said sheet, means providing a mixing chamber beneath said distributing surface, an inlet passage to said mixing chamber having its mouth adjacent said aperture, a plurality of outlet passages from said mixing chamber opening in said distributing surface beneath said sheet at transversely spaced intervals at a point beyond said inlet passage, a common wall between said aperture and the mouth of said inlet passage the end portions of said wall being in the plane of said distributing surface and the intermediate portion being below :the plane of said distributing surface, whereby concentrate rising to said aperture is driven into said inlet passage and mixing chamber with vehicle liquid from said sheet, said mixture being drawn from said mixing chamber by way of said outlet passages through aspiration by said sheet in moving over said outlet passages.

3. Liquid spray apparatus comprising means adapted to support a container of concentrate and providing a substantially flat distributing surface and a nozzle positioned to direct a jet of liquid obliquely against said distributing surface to form a fan-like sheet of liquid moving in contact with said surface, a suction aperture in said surface opening beneath said sheet, a siphon tube having one end connected to said aperture and the other adapted to enter said container from its top, whereby siphonic action is started through aspiration by said sheet, causing concentrate to well up in said aperture to become entrained in said sheet, means providing a mixing chamber beneath said distributing surface, an inlet passage to said mixing chamber having its mouth adjacent said aperture, a transverse channel across said distributing surface beyond said mixing chamber, a plurality of outlet passages from said mixing chamber opening in said channel beneath said sheet at transversely spaced intervals, a common wall between said aperture and the mouth of said inlet passage the end portions of said wall being in the plane of said distributing surface and the intermediate portion being below the plane of said distributing surface, whereby concentrate rising to said aperture is driven into said inlet passage and mixing chamber with vehicle liquid from said sheet, said mixture being drawn from said mixing chamber by way of said outlet passages through aspiration by said sheet in moving over said channel.

4. Liquid spray apparatus comprising means adapted to support a container of concentrate and providing a substantially flat distributing surface consisting of lower and upper portions relatively angularly disposed at a wide angle, and a nozzle positioned to direct a jet of liquid obliquely against the lower portion of said distributing surface to form a fan-like sheet of liquid mov ing in contact with said surface, a suction aperture in said lower portion opening beneath said sheet, a siphon tube having one end connected to said aperture and the other adapted to enter said container from the top, whereby siphonic action is started through aspiration by said sheet causing concentrate to well up in said aperture to become entrained in said sheet, means providing a mixing chamber beneath said distributing surface, an inlet passage to said mixing chamber having its mouth adjacent said aperture, said distributing surface being formed with a transverse channel demarking said lower from said upper portion, a plurality of outlet passages from said mixing chamber opening in said channel beneath said sheet, a common wall between said aperture and the mouth of said inlet passage, said wall being notched in the middle providing an orifice whereby concentrate rising to said aperture is driven through said orifice into said inlet passage and mixing chamber by vehicle liquid derived from said sheet, said mixture being drawn from said mixing chamber by way of said outlet passages through aspiration by said sheet in moving over said channel.

5. Liquid spray apparatus comprising means adapted to support a container of concentrate and providing a substantially flat distributing surface and a nozzle positioned to direct a jet of liquid obliquely against said distributing surface to form a fan-like sheet of liquid moving in contact with said surface, a suction aperture in said surface opening beneath said sheet, a siphon tube having one end connected to said aperture and the other adapted to enter said container from its top whereby siphonic action is started through aspiration by said sheet causing concentrate to well up in said aperture to become entrained in said sheet, means for providing a mixing chamber beneath said distributing surface, an inlet passage to said mixing chamber having its mouth adjacent said aperture, a common wall beneath said aperture and the mouth of said inlet passage, an orifice indenting said wall in the middle whereby concentrate rising to said aperture is driven by vehicle liquid derived from said sheet through said orifice and into said mixing chamber, said orifice being formed as a notch having an inflexible bounding edge at sides and bottom and having a yielding boundary at the top constituted by the sheet of water moving across said common wall, whereby a potentially obstructive solid particle encountering said orifice can displace said yielding boundary sufficiently to pass through said orifice.

6. Liquid spray apparatus comprising a body member adapted to support a container of concentrate and providing a substantially flat distributing surface consisting of lower and upper portions relatively angularly disposed at a wide angle, and a nozzle positioned to direct a jet of liquid obliquely successively against said lower and upper portions, to form a laterally flared sheet of liquid moving in contact with said lower portion and a depthwise flared sheet moving over said upper portion, a suction aperture in said lower portion opening beneath said sheet, a siphon tube having one end connected to said aperture and the other adapted to enter said container from its top, whereby siphonic action is started through aspiration by said sheet, causing concentrate to well up in said aperture to become entrained in said sheet, means providing a mixing chamber beneath said distributing surface, an inlet passage to said mixing chamber having its mouth adjacent said aperture, an outlet passage from said mixing chamber opening in said lower portion beneath said sheet at a point beyond said inlet passage, a common wall between said aperture and the mouth of said inlet passage the end portions of said wall being in the plane of said distributing surface and the intermediate portion being indented by a notch like orifice, whereby concentrate rising to said aperture is driven through said orifice into said inlet passage and mixing chamber by vehicle liquid derived from said sheet, said mixture being drawn from said mixing chamber by way of said outlet passage through aspiration by said sheet in moving over said outlet passage.

7. Liquid spraying apparatus as claimed in claim 6, including a bottle supporting rack on said body member having upstanding bottle retaining limbs, one of said limbs 1, car rying a scale referable to the liquid level in, a bottle carriedby said;rack.

8. Liquid spraying apparatus as claimed in claim 6, including skids supporting said body member with the axis of the nozzle substantially horizontal, said body member having a hose coupling communicating with said nozzle.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Hermann Jan. 28, 19.41 Budwig Oct. 28, 1941. Williams May 22, 1945 Hayes Aug. 7, 1945 Flanders- Jan. 2 1951 Bates Aug. 26, 1952

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