Hand held liquid spray head with removable liquid conduit

Claim 2

A liquid spray head comprising, in combination: a housing including an interior chamber, an inlet portion in communication with said chamber, an outlet portion in communication with said chamber, and an aperture extending between said chamber and the exterior of the housing; flow defining insert means disposed within said chamber and insertable therein through said aperture, said insert means including an inlet portion extending into said inlet portion of said housing and providing liquid receiving means therein, an outlet portion extending into said outlet portion of said housing and providing liquid spray means therein, and a compressible center portion for establishing liquid communication between said inlet and outlet portions; a rotor removably mounted for rotation within said chamber and including a plurality of working surfaces disposed to bear against said center portion of said insert means so as to progressively occlude said center portion between said inlet and outlet portions of said insert upon rotation of said rotor whereby liquid therein is forced from said inlet to said outlet portions thereof; user-actuable trigger means pivotably mounted to said housing and extending through said aperture into operative engagement with said rotor for rotating said rotor to force fluid through the spray head, said rotor and trigger means being removable from said housing through said aperture to facilitate insertion and removal of said flow defining insert means.

Claim 3

A liquid spray head as defined in claim 1 wherein said trigger means and said rotor are operatively connected by ratchet means providing only one-way rotation of said rotor with each actuation of said trigger means.

Claim 4

A liquid spray head as defined in claim 2 wherein said ratchet means comprise a circumferential sawtooth surface on the rotor, and a pair of complementary sawtooth surfaces arranged on opposing jaw-shaped portions of said trigger means, said pair of surfaces being biased into operative engagement with said circumferential surface at opposite sides of said rotor.

Claim 5

A liquid spray head as defined in claim 3 wherein said jaw-shaped portions are resiliently outwardly deformable to facilitate disengagement of said trigger means from said rotor.

Claim 6

A liquid spray head as defined in claim 3 wherein said trigger means include a resilient projecting portion coacting with said housing to bias said trigger means to a non-actuated position.

Claim 7

A liquid spray head as defined in claim 1 wherein said outlet portion of said housing comprises a generally cylindrical extension of said housing including an axially-extending passageway, the sidewalls of said passageway being inwardly deformable, said outlet portion of said insert is received within said recess, and wherein said nozzle forming means comprise a cap threaded over said extension for forcing said sidewalls together to compress said outlet portion of said insert.

Claim 8

A liquid spray head as defined in claim 6 wherein said outlet portion of said insert includes at least one longitudinally extending internal rib portion defining an axial passageway within said outlet portion upon compression thereof.

Claim 9

A liquid spray head as defined in claim 1 wherein the spray head is adapted for installation on a container having a threaded neck, and said inlet portion of said housing includes an annular cap complementarily threaded for engaging the threaded neck of the container, and said inlet portion of said insert includes a flange portion adapted for sealing engagement between the rim of the container neck and the cap upon tightening of said cap on the container neck.

Claim 10

A liquid spray head comprising, in combination: a housing defining an interior chamber, said housing including an inlet portion for establishing liquid communication with a container of liquid to be sprayed, and an outlet portion for dispensing the liquid; flow defining insert means disposed within said chamber and including an inlet portion, an outlet portion, and a compressible center portion for establishing liquid communication between said inlet and outlet portions of the housing; a rotor mounted for rotation within said housing and disposed to bear against said center portion of said insert to progressively occlude said center portion between said inlet and outlet portions of said insert whereby liquid therein is forced from said inlet portion to said outlet portion upon rotation of said rotor; user-actuable trigger means pivotally mounted to said housing for rotating said rotor, said rotor being operatively connected to said trigger means by ratchet means allowing only one-way rotation of said rotor with said activation of said trigger means; said ratchet means comprising a circumferential sawtooth surface on the rotor, and a pair of complementary sawtooth surfaces arranged on opposing jaw-shaped portions of said trigger means, said pair of surfaces being biased into operative engagement with said circumferential surface at opposite sides of said rotor.

Claim 11

A liquid spray head comprising, in combination: a housing defining an interior chamber, said housing including an inlet portion for establishing liquid communication with a container of liquid to be sprayed, and an outlet portion for dispensing the liquid; flow defining insert means disposed within said chamber and including an inlet portion, an outlet portion, and a compressible center portion for establishing liquid communication between said inlet and outlet portions of the housing; a rotor mounted for rotation within said housing and disposed to bear against said center portion of said insert to progressively occlude said center portion between said inlet and outlet portions of said insert whereby liquid therein is forced from said inlet portion to said outlet portion upon rotation of said rotor; user-actuable trigger means pivotally mounted to said housing for rotating said rotor, said rotor being operatively connected to said trigger means by ratchet means allowing only one-way rotation of said rotor with said activation of said trigger means; said ratchet means comprising a circumferential sawtooth surface on the rotor, and a pair of complementary sawtooth surfaces arranged on opposing jaw-shaped portions of said trigger means, said pair of surfaces being biased into operative engagement with said circumferential surface at opposite sides of said rotor.

Claim 12

A liquid spray head as defined in claim 9 wherein said jaw-shaped portions are resiliently outwardly deformable to facilitate disengagement of said trigger means from said rotor.

Claim 13

A liquid spray head as defined in claim 9 wherein said trigger means include a resilient projecting portion coacting with said housing to bias said trigger means to a non-activated position.

Claim 14

A liquid spray head for installation on a container having a threaded neck portion, comprising, in combination: a housing defining an interior chamber, said housing including an inlet portion for establishing liquid communication with a container of liquid to be sprayed, and an outlet portion for dispensing the liquid; flow defining insert means disposed within said chamber and including an inlet portion extending into said inlet portion of said housing, and an outlet portion extending into said outlet portion of said housing, and a compressible center portion for establishing liquid communication between said inlet and outlet portions; a rotor mounted for rotation within said chamber and including a plurality of working surfaces disposed to bear against center portion of said insert means so as to progressively occlude said center portion between said inlet and outlet portions of said insert upon rotation of said rotor whereby liquid therein is forced from said inlet to said outlet portions thereof; user-actuable trigger means pivotably mounted to said housing in operational engagement with said rotor for rotating said rotor to force fluid through said spray head; said inlet portion of said housing including a rotatably mounted annular cap threaded for engagement with the neck portion of the container; said inlet portion of said flow defining insert means including a first flange portion adapted for sealing engagement between the rim portion of the container and the cap upon tightening of the cap on the container neck, and an additional flange portion disposed between said first flange portion and said rim, and a stem portion extending from said additional flange portion into the container, said flange portions having means, including respective aligned apertures, forming a check valve for allowing air to enter the container only upon actuation of the spray head.

Claim 15

A liquid spray head for installation on a container having a threaded neck portion, comprising, in combination: a housing defining an interior chamber, said housing including an inlet portion for establishing liquid communication with a container of liquid to be sprayed, and an outlet portion for dispensing the liquid; flow defining insert means disposed within said chamber and including an inlet portion extending into said inlet portion of said housing, and an outlet portion extending into said outlet portion of said housing, and a compressible center portion for establishing liquid communication between said inlet and outlet portions; a rotor mounted for rotation within said chamber and including a plurality of working surfaces disposed to bear against center portion of said insert means so as to progressively occlude said center portion between said inlet and outlet portions of said insert upon rotation of said rotor whereby liquid therein is forced from said inlet to said outlet portions thereof; user-actuable trigger means pivotably mounted to said housing in operational engagement with said rotor for rotating said rotor to force fluid through said spray head; said inlet portion of said housing including a rotatably mounted annular cap threaded for engagement with the neck portion of the container; said inlet portion of said flow defining insert means including a first flange portion adapted for sealing engagement between the rim portion of the container and the cap upon tightening of the cap on the container neck, and an additional flange portion disposed between said first flange portion and said rim, and a stem portion extending from said additional flange portion into the container, said flange portions having means, including respective aligned apertures, forming a check valve for allowing air to enter the container only upon actuation of the spray head.

Claim 16

A liquid spray head as defined in claim 12 including indexing means for maintaining said apertures of said flange portions in alignment.

Claim 17

A liquid spray head comprising, in combination: a housing defining an interior chamber, said housing including an inlet portion for establishing liquid communication with a container of liquid to be sprayed, and an outlet portion for dispensing the liquid; flow defining insert means disposed within said chamber and including an inlet portion having an inlet aperture communicating with said container, an outlet portion having a spray release aperture, and a compressible center portion for establishing liquid communication between said inlet and outlet portions of said housing; pump means within said housing arranged to compress said center portion of said insert to force liquid from said inlet portion to said outlet portion; said outlet portion of said housing including a longitudinally extending recess having along at least a portion thereof an inwardly deformable sidewall; said outlet portion of said insert means being received within said recess and being inwardly deformable therewith, and including at least one longitudinally extending internal rib portion forming an axially-extending passageway within said outlet portion upon inward deformation thereof; and user-actuable compression means for inwardly deforming said sidewall to form said axially-extending passageway.

Claim 18

A liquid spray head comprising, in combination: a housing defining an interior chamber, said housing including an inlet portion for establishing liquid communication with a container of liquid to be sprayed, and an outlet portion for dispensing the liquid; flow defining insert means disposed within said chamber and including an inlet portion having an inlet aperture communicating with said container, an outlet portion having a spray release aperture, and a compressible center portion for establishing liquid communication between said inlet and outlet portions of said housing; pump means within said housing arranged to compress said center portion of said insert to force liquid from said inlet portion to said outlet portion; said outlet portion of said housing including a longitudinally extending recess having along at least a portion thereof an inwardly deformable sidewall; said outlet portion of said insert means being received within said recess and being inwardly deformable therewith, and including at least one longitudinally extending internal rib portion forming an axially-extending passageway within said outlet portion upon inward deformation thereof; and user-actuable compression means for inwardly deforming said sidewall to form said axially-extending passageway.

Claim 19

A liquid spray head as defined in claim 14 wherein said outlet portion comprises a generally cylindrical inwardly-deformable externally-threaded housing portion, and said compression means comprises a cap member threaded over said externally-threaded portion.

Claim 20

A liquid spray head as defined in claim 14 wherein said outlet portion includes a pair of axially-extending rib portions disposed on opposite sides of the interior wall thereof to form a pair of parallel-spaced axially-extending passageways extending between said center position of said insert and said spray release nozzle.

Claim 21

A liquid spray head as defined in claim 16, wherein said rib portions further define a third passageway extending along the axis of said outlet portion between said spray release aperture and said parallel-spaced passageways.