Abstract:
An aerosol delivery system for delivering an aerosol fluid, comprising:
   a container for supplying the aerosol fluid; an actuator for controlling the flow of aerosol fluid; a nozzle for dispensing the aerosol fluid from the actuator. The container, actuator and nozzle may be positioned within a door member.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a delivery system and more particularly to an aerosol delivery system. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Deterring unwanted intruders from a home is an important safety issue. Furthermore, it is desirable to deter and identify would be intruders from entering the home especially through a door. 
         [0003]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,360,674 discloses controlled sanitizing by dispensing a germicide, such as a disinfectant, antibacterial solution or cleansing agent at intervals. A method of replacing an aerosol canister from a sanitizer mounted proximate to a door handle on a door is disclosed. The method includes pivoting a cover of the sanitizer in a first direction to expose the aerosol canister while a remainder of the sanitizer housing remains stationary relative to the door; moving a guide wheel to a loading position; removing the aerosol canister and a valve coupled thereto from a seat within the sanitizer housing; positioning a replacement aerosol canister in the seat so that a valve thereof is oriented toward the door handle; moving the guide wheel to an operative position in which it seats in rotatable proximity to the valve; and closing the cover by pivoting the cover in a second direction. The method ensures that a suitable aerosol can has been properly loaded in the dispenser. 
         [0004]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,142 discloses a security system for preventing unauthorized removal of a vehicle accessory such as a radio from a mounted position on the vehicle including a dispensing container containing a pressurized protective material such as a pepper gas and having a dispensing valve displaceable from a closed position to an open position in which the protective material is dispensed from the container. A valve actuating member is responsive to displacement of the accessory from its mounted position to displace the dispensing valve from the closed to the open position whereby the protective material is dispensed from said container. 
         [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,045 discloses a portable anti-burglar device with optional fluid dispensing, alarm and fingerprint retention features which when activated by the opening of a door or window or other violation of a secured aperture a spring biased actuating member operates to discharge a pre-packaged tear gas or identification fluid or other liquid dispersing canister and simultaneously close an electrical switch which is in series with another switch which controls the optional operation of an audible alarm when the device is activated regardless of whether a pressurized canister is in place. The device is portable and is coated with a wax or tar which can preserve fingerprints that may be deposited on the device by an intruder&#39;s attempt to deactivate it. The device is fitted with moveable mounting brackets which allow for a variety of mounting situations and also with a tamper resistant locking mechanism. 
         [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,125,084 relates to a fire extinguisher alarm for use with a removable fire extinguisher. The alarm includes a support bracket mounted in an enclosure housing the fire extinguisher or in proximity with a mounted fire extinguisher. The support bracket has a pivoted plate adapted to engage the base of the mounted fire extinguisher. The plate includes a trigger arm, which when pivoted, engages a audible alarm formed by a pressurized gas can and horn, tilting the can relative to the horn to permit the release of gas under pressure to operate the horn. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    An aerosol delivery system for delivering an aerosol fluid, comprising:
   a container for supplying the aerosol fluid; an actuator for controlling the flow of aerosol fluid; a nozzle for dispensing the aerosol fluid from the actuator. The container, actuator and nozzle may be positioned within a door member.   
 
         [0009]    The actuator may be a biasing device. 
         [0010]    The biasing device may be a spring. 
         [0011]    The actuator may include a switch. 
         [0012]    The door member may be a door to a residence. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]    The invention may be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which, like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which: 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  illustrates a side cross-sectional view of an aerosol delivery system of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  illustrates a back view of the aerosol delivery system of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  illustrates a back cross-sectional view of the aerosol delivery system of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is illustrates a top view of the aerosol delivery system of the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  illustrates a bottom view of the aerosol delivery system of the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 6  illustrates a front view of the aerosol delivery system of the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 7  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the nozzle and spray actuator of the present invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 8  illustrates a top view of another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 9  illustrates a side view of another embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0023]    The present invention includes an aerosol delivery system  100  for the purposes of home defense, among other uses. The present invention may include a ‘Dragon&#39;s Nose’ nozzle  111  which may dispense a fluid which may include combination of a pepper spray-like deterrent which may include an irritating but harmless aerosol and may include a marking substance to mark the individual on the opposing end of the aerosol delivery system  100 . The nozzle  111  may be mounted through a doorway/door more specifically a door member  103  to a spray actuator  107  (mechanical or electronic) may be connected to a fluid container  105  which may contain the aerosol fluid under pressure and may be positioned in a door cavity  101 . The aerosol delivery system  100  may include a replaceable fluid container  105  which may be formed from metal such as aluminum, plastic or other appropriate material. The nozzle  111  may include male/female threads along a sufficiently long cylindrical structure that will then be threaded into the opposite threads positioned on the spray actuator  107 . 
         [0024]    The nozzle  111  may include multiple apertures in order to provide a wide range of coverage. 
         [0025]    The spray actuator  107  may be a mechanical mechanism including a push button operation, a turning operation, or may be an electronic switch which may dispense a predetermined amount of aerosol fluid to mark and deter an individual. 
         [0026]    The door cavity  101  may be accessed by a cavity door  109  which may open and close in order to allow the replaceable fluid container  105  to be removed and replaced. The cavity door  109  may be removable from the door member  103  or may be pivotable with respect to the door member  103  and sealed the door cavity  101  to prevent the aerosol fluid from flowing to the user. The aerosol delivery system  100  may include the spray actuator  107  which may include threads to connect to the nozzle. The spray actuator  107  may include a threaded input  113  to connect to the replaceable fluid container  105 . 
         [0027]    The replaceable fluid container  105  may include the aerosol fluid under sufficient pressure to flow through the spray actuator  107  to be dispensed by the nozzle  111 . The aerosol fluid may be a mixture of pepper spray like material and the marking material. 
         [0028]      FIG. 1  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the aerosol delivery system  100  which may be positioned in a door member  103  which may include a door cavity  101  which may have a rectangular cross-section, an oval cross-section or other shaped cavity. The door cavity  101  may extend to the back of the door member  103  so that the user may access and replace the fluid container  105 . The door cavity  101  may be sealed by a cavity door  109  which may be pivotably mounted or may be mounted with studs/screws on the door member  103 . 
         [0029]    The fluid container  105  may be threadably connected to a spray actuator  107  which may be activated by a switch  113  which may be a button which may be biased by a spring  115  to deactivate the spray actuator  107  when the user releases the switch  113 . The spray actuator  107  may also be threadably connected to a nozzle  111  which may extend from the spray actuator  107  and may include a multitude of apertures to dispense the aerosol fluid to a potential user. 
         [0030]      FIG. 3  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the aerosol delivery system  100  which may be positioned in a door member  103  which may include a door cavity  101  which may have a rectangular cross-section, an oval cross-section or other shaped cavity. The door cavity  101  may extend to the back of the door member  103  so that the user may access and replace the fluid container  105 . The door cavity  101  may be sealed by a cavity door  109  which may be pivotably mounted or may be mounted with studs/screws on the door member  103 . 
         [0031]    The fluid container  105  may be threadably connected to a spray actuator  107  which may be activated by a switch  113  which may be a button which may be biased by a spring  115  to deactivate the spray actuator  107  when the user releases the switch  113 . The spray actuator  107  may also be threadably connected to a nozzle  111  which may extend from the spray actuator  107  and may include a multitude of apertures to dispense the aerosol fluid to a potential intruder. 
         [0032]      FIG. 4  illustrates a top view of the aerosol delivery system  100  of the present invention and illustrates the door cavity  101 , the door member  103 , the replaceable fluid container  105 , the spray actuator  107  and the nozzle  111 . 
         [0033]      FIG. 5  illustrates a top view of the aerosol delivery system  100  of the present invention and illustrates the door cavity  101 , the door member  103 , the replaceable fluid container  105 , the spray actuator  107  and the nozzle  111 . 
         [0034]      FIG. 6  illustrates a front view of the aerosol delivery system  100  of the present invention and illustrates the door cavity  101 , the replaceable fluid container  105 , the cavity door  109 , the nozzle  111  and the input to the spray actuator  107 . 
         [0035]      FIG. 7  illustrates the nozzle  111  and the spray actuator  107  with the nozzle  111  being threadably connected to the output of the spray actuator  107  to output the aerosol fluid to the nozzle  111  which may dispense the aerosol fluid from the nozzle  111  and onto the intruder. The spray actuator  107  may include an input  119  to threadably connect to the fluid container  105  and the spray actuator  107  may include a switch  113  positioned at the distal end of the spray actuator  107  and may include a biasing device such as a spring  115  to bias the switch  113  so that the spray actuator  107  stops the flow of aerosol fluid when the pressure is released from the switch  113 . 
         [0036]      FIG. 9  illustrates a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention including the aerosol delivery system  200  which may be positioned in a door member  103  which may include a door cavity  101  which may have a rectangular cross-section, an oval cross-section or other shaped cavity. The door cavity  101  may extend to the back of the door member  103  so that the user may access and replace the fluid container  105 . The door cavity  101  may be sealed by a cavity door  109  which may be pivotably mounted or may be mounted with studs/screws on the door member  103 . 
         [0037]    The fluid container  105  may be threadably connected to an actuator switch  120  which may be an electronic switch which may be powered by a battery (not shown) housed within the cavity  101  which may be biased by a spring  115  to deactivate the spray actuator  107  when the user releases the switch  120 . The spray actuator  107  may also be threadably connected to a nozzle  111  which may extend from the spray actuator  107  and may include a multitude of apertures to dispense the aerosol fluid to a potential intruder. 
         [0038]      FIG. 8  illustrates a top view of the aerosol delivery system  100  of the present invention and illustrates the door cavity  101 , the door member  103 , the replaceable fluid container  105 , the spray actuator  107 , the electronic switch  120  and the nozzle  111 . 
         [0039]    While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed.