Liquid spray gun having quick change pattern control

Claim 1

A spray gun having a quick change pattern control valve assembly mounted thereon for varying the patterns of liquid emitted from said gun, said gun including a gun body, an air passage in said gun body, said pattern control valve assembly comprising a valve seat within the forward end of said passage, a valve mounted for axial movement toward and away from said seat, a tubular hollow casing, said casing having exterior threads threadedly engaged with interior threads located adjacent the rearward end of said passage, a shank integral with said valve and extending rearwardly through said hollow casing, a rotational driving connection between said shank and said casing, said connection permitting relative axial sliding motion between said shank and said casing, a threaded end on said shank projecting rearwardly of said casing, a first adjusting means fixedly secured onto the rearward end of said shank and a second adjusting means threadedly secured over the threaded end of said shank, an annular shoulder means on said shank facing rearwardly away from said valve seat, a first annular forwardly facing shoulder means on said casing engageable with said annular shoulder means on said shank, a second rearwardly facing shoulder means on said casing, forwardly facing shoulder means on said second adjusting means engageable with said second shoulder means on said casing, said pattern control valve assembly being movable between a first low air flow position upon application of forwardly directed manual pressure on the rear of said first adjusting means and a second high air flow position upon application of rearwardly directed manual pressure to said first adjusting means, said forwardly directed manual pressure being operable to move said valve forwardly toward said valve seat until said forwardly facing shoulder of said second adjusting means engages said second rearwardly facing shoulder means on said casing to establish the first forwardmost adjusted position of said valve relative to said valve seat and said rearwardly directed manual pressure on said first adjusting means being operable to move said valve rearwardly away from said valve seat until said rearwardly facing shoulder means on said shank engages said first forwardly facing shoulder means on said casing to establish the second rearwardmost adjusted position of said valve to said valve seat.