Spray nozzle for high viscosity spray applications with uniform spray distribution

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10493470-B2
Application number	US-201715591913-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 10, 2017
Priority date	Nov 10, 2014
Publication date	Dec 3, 2019
Grant date	Dec 3, 2019

Abstract

A nozzle and spray dispenser for generating a uniform substantially flat fan spray pattern when spraying high viscosity fluids (i.e., oils, lotions, cleaning liquids, shear-thinning liquids and gels and similar Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids having viscosities of 10-100 cP) is configured with an exit orifice 134 defining multiple lip segments 150A, 150B, 150C. Cup-shaped nozzle member 100 has a cylindrical side wall 102 surrounding a central longitudinal axis and has a circular closed end wall with at least one exit aperture passing through the end wall 112. At least one enhanced exit orifice structure is formed in an inner surface of the end wall, and includes two to five lip segments of selected width defining edges at the orifice 134, where each edge segment is defined at the distal edge of a separate and distinct interior wall segment 160A, 160B, 160C which has a selected wall convergence angle β.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A spray nozzle configured to generate a uniform flat fan spray along a transverse spray axis when spraying Newtonian or non-Newtonian viscous fluids, comprising:
a shear nozzle member defined around a first central longitudinal spray axis and having a side wall enclosing an interior volume defining a fluid channel and having a proximal open lumen end opposing a closed distal end wall;
said nozzle member including at least a first shear nozzle exit orifice passing through said distal end wall, said first shear nozzle exit orifice being coaxially aligned with said first central longitudinal spray axis and providing fluid communication between said fluid channel and the ambient space beyond the distal end wall;
said exit orifice being elongated or substantially rectangular with the orifice's larger internal diameter dimension being aligned with a transverse V-shaped groove defined by a pair of angled inside surfaces having a distal surface exit angle α and aligned with the transverse spray axis which intersects the central longitudinal spray axis;
said fluid channel terminating distally in an interior surface of said distal end wall including a plurality of converging wall segments which terminate in said shear nozzle exit orifice to define a plurality of wall edge or lip segments;
wherein each converging wall segment defines an interior fluid channel surface which intersects the shear nozzle exit orifice at a selected convergence angle β;
wherein each distal edge of the converging wall segment defines an orifice lip segment with a selected lip width or transverse length;
wherein said plurality of converging wall segments comprise a first converging wall segment and a second converging wall segment;
wherein said first converging wall segment terminates in said shear nozzle exit orifice to define a first wall edge or lip segment and defines an interior fluid channel surface which intersects the shear nozzle exit orifice at a first selected convergence angle β1 and said distal edge of the first converging wall segment defines a first orifice lip segment with a first selected lip width or transverse length F 1 W; and
wherein said second converging wall segment terminates in said shear nozzle exit orifice to define a second wall edge or lip segment and defines another interior fluid channel surface which intersects the shear nozzle exit orifice at a second selected convergence angle β2 which is unequal to first selected convergence angle β1, and wherein said distal edge of the second converging wall segment defines a second orifice lip segment with a second selected lip width or transverse length F 2 W which may be equal to or unequal to said first selected lip width F 1 W.

2. The spray nozzle of claim 1 , wherein each of said plurality of converging wall segments define an interior fluid channel surface which intersects the shear nozzle exit orifice at a selected convergence angle β, said selected convergence angle β being selected to be an angle which is at least 20 degrees and not greater than 180 degrees.

3. The spray nozzle of claim 2 , wherein said plurality of converging wall segments additionally include a third converging wall segment;
wherein said third converging wall segment terminates in said shear nozzle exit orifice to define a third wall edge or lip segment and defines another interior fluid channel surface which intersects the shear nozzle exit orifice at a third selected convergence angle β3 which is may be equal to or unequal to said first selected convergence angle B1, and wherein said distal edge of the third converging wall segment defines a third exit orifice lip segment with a third selected lip width or transverse length F 3 W which may be equal to or unequal to said first selected lip width F 1 W.

4. The spray nozzle of claim 2 , wherein said first and third lip segments define outer lip segments and said second lip segment defines a central lip segment between and contiguously abutting said first and third lip segments and wherein said second lip width is selected to comprise 10%-70% of a feed width, F w of the exit orifice.

5. The spray nozzle of claim 3 , further comprising a fourth converging wall segment wherein said fourth converging wall segment terminates in said shear nozzle exit orifice to define a fourth wall edge or lip segment and defines another interior fluid channel surface which intersects the shear nozzle exit orifice at a fourth selected convergence angle β4 which may be equal to or unequal to said first selected convergence angle β1, and wherein said distal edge of the fourth converging wall segment defines a fourth exit orifice lip segment with a fourth selected lip width or transverse length F 4 W which may be equal to or unequal to said first selected lip width F 1 W.

6. The spray nozzle of claim 5 , further comprising a fifth converging wall segment wherein said fifth converging wall segment terminates in said shear nozzle exit orifice to define a fifth wall edge or lip segment and defines another interior fluid channel surface which intersects the shear nozzle exit orifice at a fifth selected convergence angle β5 which may be equal to or unequal to said first selected convergence angle β1, and wherein said distal edge of the fifth converging wall segment defines a fifth exit orifice lip segment with a fifth selected lip width or transverse length F 5 W which may be equal to or unequal to said first selected lip width F 1 W.

7. The spray nozzle of claim 1 , wherein said exit angle α is selected to be at least 10 degrees and no greater than 90 degrees.

8. The spray nozzle of claim 1 , wherein said fluid channel has a substantially rectangular cross section with a lumen area defined by parallel sidewalls separated by a feed width Fw and having a sidewall height of Fh at said inlet's proximal open end; and
wherein said lip segment widths combine to define said exit orifice width which is equal to the feed width Fw.

9. The spray nozzle of claim 1 , wherein said fluid channel has a substantially circular or elliptical cross section and a feed width Fw and wherein said lip segment widths combine to define said exit orifice width which is equal to the feed width Fw.

10. A spray nozzle configured to generate a uniform flat fan spray along a transverse spray axis when spraying Newtonian or non-Newtonian viscous fluids, comprising:
a shear nozzle member defined around a first central longitudinal spray axis and having a side wall enclosing an interior volume defining a fluid channel and having a proximal open lumen end opposing a closed distal end wall;
said nozzle member including at least a first shear nozzle exit orifice passing through said distal end wall, said first shear nozzle exit orifice being coaxially aligned with said first central longitudinal spray axis and providing fluid communication between said fluid channel and the ambient space beyond the distal end wall;
said exit orifice being elongated or substantially rectangular with the orifice's larger internal diameter dimension being aligned with a transverse V-shaped groove defined by a pair of angled inside surfaces having a distal surface exit angle α and aligned with the transverse spray axis which intersects the central longitudinal spray axis;
said fluid channel terminating distally in an interior surface of said distal end wall including a plurality of converging wall segments which terminate in said shear nozzle exit orifice to define a plurality of wall edge or lip segments;
wherein each converging wall segment defines an interior fluid channel surface which intersects the shear nozzle exit orifice at a selected convergence angle β;
wherein each distal edge defines an orifice lip segmen

Assignees

• Dlhbowles Inc

Inventors

• Cameron Andrew
• Hartranft Evan
• Gopalan Shridhar

Classifications

• B65D83/14

  Containers for dispensing liquid or semi-liquid contents by internal gaseous pressure, i.e. aerosol containers comprising propellant · CPC title

• B05B1/044

  Slits, e.g. narrow openings defined by two straight and parallel lips; Elongated outlets for producing very wide discharges, e.g. fluid curtains (B05B1/046 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B05B1/046 Primary

  Outlets formed, e.g. cut, in the circumference of tubular or spherical elements · CPC title

• B05B11/00

  Single-unit hand-held apparatus in which flow of contents is produced by the muscular force of the operator at the moment of use · CPC title

• B65D83/753

  characterised by details or accessories associated with outlets · CPC title