Portable battery powered sprayer

A pump driven portable sprayer powered by rechargeable batteries. The pump and batteries are housed in a rigid pipe which is threaded onto a liquid tank in extension through a fill opening of the tank. Extending from the pipe is a flexible hose which carries a spray wand on its end. A cap on the pipe is equipped with electrical connections for a battery charger and for alternative power sources such as an AC adapter, a vehicle cigarette lighter adapter or a portable battery pack.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates generally to spraying equipment and more 
particularly to a portable sprayer which is powered by a rechargeable 
battery. 
Pump sprayers have long been used to spray liquids of various types such as 
pesticides and herbicides or concentrate detergent for washing vehicles. 
Typically, the sprayer includes a tank equipped with a hand operated pump 
which is used to supply the pressure necessary to deliver the liquid to a 
hand held wand used for application of the liquid. The major problem with 
this type of device is that considerable time and effort is required to 
manually operate the pump from time to time. 
Accordingly, it is apparent that a need exists for a sprayer that does not 
require manual pumping. The present invention is aimed primarily at 
providing such a sprayer. 
More specifically, the invention is directed to a portable sprayer having a 
pump which is operated by the electrical power supplied by a rechargeable 
battery. In accordance with the invention, a portable tank holds the 
liquid that is to be sprayed and may be equipped with straps allowing it 
to be strapped onto the back or over the shoulder. A submersible pump is 
housed in a cylindrical pipe which is immersed in the liquid in the tank. 
Rechargeable batteries are housed within the pipe and supply the 
electrical power necessary to operate the pump. The pump delivers the 
liquid through a hose which carries a spray wand on its end. An on-off 
switch or in line pressure type switch for the pump is located on the 
handle of the spray wand along with a trigger operated valve which 
controls the liquid flow to a discharge nozzle located on the tip of the 
wand. 
A battery charger is provided in order to permit the batteries to be 
recharged when drained. If the sprayer is to be used in the vicinity of an 
electrical outlet or other source of AC power, an AC adapter may be 
connected with the sprayer in order to avoid draining the batteries. 
Likewise, power may be supplied from a vehicle battery by plugging an 
adapter into the vehicle cigarette lighter. As still another alternative 
source of power, a separate battery pack may be connected to supply the 
operating power for the pump. The battery pack may be portable and carried 
on a belt or elsewhere on the person, thus retaining the portable 
character of the sprayer and providing extended spraying time due to the 
presence of the additional battery. 
It is an important feature of the invention that the spray wand, hose, pump 
and batteries are constructed as a single unit which may be threaded into 
the tank and unthreaded to inspect the pump or batteries or to allow the 
tank to be filled with additional liquid. This unitary construction 
facilitates maintenance while at the same time simplifying the sprayer and 
minimizing the number of parts.

Referring now to the drawing in more detail, numeral 10 designates a 
portable tank which holds various types of liquid that are to be sprayed. 
The tank 10 is illustrated as being generally rectilinear, although it may 
take on virtually any shape including the more conventional cylindrical 
shape. In any event, the tank 10 is leak proof and includes a fill opening 
12 in its top. Extending around the fill opening 12 is an upturned neck 14 
which is generally cylindrical and which is provided with external 
threads. The tank 10 may be constructed of plastic or any other suitable 
material which is relatively light in weight in order to permit the tank 
to be carried on the person. 
A pair of flexible straps 16 are connected to rings 18 on the top and 
bottom of the sprayer and are equipped with buckles 20 to permit 
adjustment of the length of each strap. The provision of the straps 16 
permits the sprayer to be strapped onto the back or over the shoulder of 
the person using it. 
Extending into the interior of tank 10 through the fill opening 12 is a 
hollow pipe 22 which forms a shell in which various components of the 
sprayer are housed. The top end of pipe 22 is covered by a plate 24 which 
is in turn connected with a generally cylindrical cap 26. The cap 26 is 
internally threaded in order to mate with the external threads on neck 14, 
and this threaded connection supports pipe 22 in extension within tank 10. 
It is noted that the lower end of pipe 22 is located adjacent to the 
bottom of the tank. It is also noted that the cap 26 can be unthreaded 
from neck 14 to permit removal of pipe 22 and its internal components for 
inspection and/or maintenance. This at the same time exposes the fill 
opening 12 so that additional liquids can be inserted into the tank 10. It 
should be noted that another opening may be provided in the top of the 
tank to facilitate filling a tank through a screen. 
Mounted within pipe 22 is a submersible electric pump 28 having an intake 
30 projecting below the lower end of pipe 22 at a location immersed within 
the liquid contained in tank 10. The pump intake 30 is located adjacent to 
the floor of tank 10 in order to accommodate pumping of virtually all of 
the liquid contained in the tank. 
Pump 28 has a discharge side 32 which connects with an elongate hose 34 
which extends through pipe 22 and through plate 24 and the cap 26. Since 
the hose 34 connects with the discharge side of pump 28, the liquid which 
is delivered by the pump is forced through the hose to a spray wand which 
is generally identified by numeral 36 in FIG. 1. The wand 36 has a handle 
38 which is suitable for gripping in the hand and which connects with the 
end of hose 34. A pipe 40 extends from handle 38 and carries on its tip a 
spray nozzle 42 which is located remotely of the handle 38. The nozzle 42 
operates to spray the liquid which is applied to the wand 36. The flow of 
liquid from the handle 38 to the pipe 40 is controlled by a valve 44 which 
is mounted on the handle 38 and operated by a trigger 46. When the trigger 
is squeezed toward handle 38, valve 44 is opened to permit the liquid to 
flow to the pipe 40 and nozzle 42. When the trigger is released, it moves 
away from handle 38 to close the valve 44, thereby blocking flow from the 
handle of the wand to the spray tip. 
Electrical power for operating pump 28 is normally supplied by a plurality 
of rechargeable batteries 48 which are housed within the upper portion of 
pipe 22. The batteries are electrically connected with the pump 28 and 
with an on-off slide switch 50 (FIG. 1) located on the handle 38 of the 
spray wand. An in line pressure switch may be used in place of the slide 
switch. Switch 50 is in the electrical circuit which includes the 
batteries and pump and completes the circuit to energize pump 28 when the 
switch is in the on position. In the off position of switch 50, the pump 
circuit is interrupted and the pump is deenergized. An electrical wire 51 
extends generally along hose 34 from cap 26 to the handle 38 in order to 
toute the electrical circuit through switch 50. 
The batteries 48 provide direct current power which operates the 
submersible pump 28. The batteries 48 may be nickel cadmium batteries or 
any other type of battery which can be recharged when its charge has been 
drained. As shown in FIG. 1, a battery charger 52 is provided to permit 
recharging of the batteries 48. The battery charger is provided with a 
plug 54 which may be connected with a conventional AC power outlet. Also 
extending from the battery charger 52 is a conductor 56 which provides 
rectified power for recharging of the batteries. The end of plug 56 
carries a pin type connector 58 which may be inserted into a socket 60 in 
the cap 26. The socket 60 is electrically connected with the batteries 48 
such that it applies a charge thereto when the battery charger is 
connected with an AC power source and the pin 58 is inserted in socket 60. 
Charging of the batteries takes place in a conventional manner. 
In use, the sprayer is normally strapped on the back of the person who is 
applying the liquid, and the wand is held in one hand by its handle 38. 
When switch 50 is moved to the on position, the pump 28 is activated and 
draws liquid from the tank into its intake side 30 and pumps it through 
its discharge side 32 through the flexible hose 34. The liquid that is 
thereby delivered to the spray wand 36 may be sprayed by squeezing of 
trigger 46 in order to open valve 44. The liquid is then discharged 
through the spray nozzle 42 and onto the object or objects being sprayed. 
The liquid spray can be cut off by releasing the trigger 46, thus 
resulting in closing of the valve 44. When the sprayer is not in use, 
switch 50 is normally in the off position to deactivate the pump 28. When 
the batteries 48 have been drained, they can be recharged by connecting 
the battery charger 52 in the manner described previously. 
As an alternative to using the batteries 48 to supply power to drive the 
pump 28, an AC adapter 62 is provided. If the sprayer is to be used in 
proximity to an electrical outlet or other source of AC power, the adapter 
62 can be plugged into the outlet by inserting its prongs 63 into the 
slots of the electrical outlet. Extending from the adapter is an 
electrical line 64 which supplies rectified DC current to a pin connector 
66 carried on the end of line 64. The pin connector 66 may be inserted 
into a socket 68 on the cap 24. Socket 68 is electrically connected with 
the pump and switch 50 and can be used to supply the operating power to 
the pump instead of the batteries 48. Again, switch 50 is used to activate 
and deactivate the pump. It should be noted that the AC adapter 62 is 
practical for use only when the tank 10 is to be operated in a relatively 
stationary position since the length of the electrical line 64 limits 
where the tank can be located. 
As another alternative power source, a vehicle cigarette lighter adapter 70 
is provided. The cigarette lighter adapter 70 has a size and shape to fit 
within a vehicle cigarette lighter and thus receive power from the 
automobile battery. This power is delivered to line 64 and to the pin 
connector 66 which may be plugged into the socket 68 in order to 
electrically connect the vehicle battery with the pump 28, thereby making 
use of the vehicle battery for operation of the pump. It is again to be 
noted that the cigarette lighter adapter 70 is useful only when the tank 
10 is to be used in relatively close proximity to one or more vehicles. 
As still another alternative source of electrical power, a portable battery 
pack 72 is provided. The battery pack 72 may be carried on a belt 74 or 
elsewhere on the person. Extending from the battery pack is the line 64 
which carries connector 66. Thus, connector 66 may be plugged into socket 
68 in order to connect the portable battery pack 72 with pump 28 in order 
to power the pump in place of the built in batteries 48. It is noted that 
the portability of the battery pack 72 allows the sprayer to be used at 
virtually any location and thus allows the sprayer to retain its portable 
character. At the same time, the provision of the battery pack 72 allows 
the sprayer to be used at a remote location even if the built in batteries 
48 are depleted of charge. It is noted that the battery pack 72 includes a 
socket 76 which may receive the pin connector 58 extending from the 
battery charger 52, thus allowing the battery pack 72 to be recharged. 
From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted 
to attain all the ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with 
other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the 
structure. 
It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of 
utility and may be employed without reference to other features and 
subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the 
claims. 
Since many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without 
departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter 
herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be 
interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.