Abstract:
An air brush apparatus that is made up of a head assembly, a shell assembly, an air valve assembly for controlling the compressed air which is fed into the apparatus, a handle assembly, a lever assembly, and a paint regulating needle, with a distal end and a proximal end, being movably inserted into the handle assembly and through the air valve assembly and into the head assembly. The paint regulating needle can be cleaned by simply twisting the handle assembly. The apparatus also is designed with a more comfortable and ergonomic lever handle assembly.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/323,112, filed Sep. 19, 2001. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an improved air brush apparatus that is easier to clean and more comfortable to use. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Air brush devices are important tools for artisans to produce high quality automotive, van, motorcycle and other vehicle art. These devices are able to produce painted images better than an artisan can create using a regular brush. These devices can also be difficult to clean and difficult to use over a long period of time. The related art describes a number of air brushes that have a variety of features. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,990 issued to Luff, describes the use of an air brush with a spray head which carries a liquid spray nozzle that is fed from a tube into a liquid reservoir. An air jet is positioned adjacent the spray nozzle and mechanism for conducting pressure air from a source to the air jet to cause a stream of air past the spray jet where a negative pressure induced at the spray jet which draws liquid from the reservoir and into the air stream where it is entrained as minute droplets. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,903 issued to Tomatsu, describes the use of a small and lightweight compressor which has a motor which generates rotational drive, which is converted into reciprocating movement to actuate an air compressing mechanism to discharge compressed air. Three or more air compressing members are successively operated with a phase difference therebetween to continuously discharge a smooth current of compressed air out of a discharge hole. The compressor can be part of a spray apparatus with an air brush in which a movable needle is inserted in a liquid path. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,158 issued to Robisch et al., describes the use of an air brush which comprises a handle and a front body. The handle and the front body together define a tubular cavity through which air may travel. The air brush defines a longitudinal axis. The front body is rotationally connected to the handle in such a way that the tubular cavity is in communication through the handle and the front body as the front body is rotated about the longitudinal axis of the air brush. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,913 issued to Robisch et al., describes the use of an air brush provided with a handle, a front body, an adjusting screw and a paint regulating needle. The handle, front body and the adjusting screw together define a tubular cavity through which the paint regulating needle is held. One end of the paint regulating needle extends outside of the handle and defines a stop which the adjusting screw cannot pass and its other end extends through the handle and the front body. A spring biases the paint regulating needle forward so that paint cannot flow out of the front body until desired. 
     U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,779,157 and 5,927,602 issued to Robisch et al., describe an air brush provided with a handle, a front body and a paint regulating needle. The handle and the front body together define a tubular cavity through which the paint regulating needle is carried. A needle chuck releasably holds the paint regulating needle in the tubular cavity. The handle further defines a portal through which the needle chuck may be accessed. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,646 issued to Kitajima, describes the use of an air brush with a function of spraying an ink coating of a writing material, a holder holding attachably and detachably a writing material, which is mounted to an air brush main body having a coating storing vessel and a brush tip of the writing material. The holder is adjacently disposed directly in front of a nozzle of the air brush main body at a predetermined angle of inclination where the ink coating impregnated in the brush tip is atomized by impinging a jet stream from the nozzle onto the brush tip. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,050 issued to Kitajima, describes the use of an air brush which has a function to improve a maintenance work characteristic within the air brush&#39;s main body and is capable of selectively realizing a plurality of different blowing injection forms. The air brush&#39;s main body is separated between the coating material container and the air supplying port so as to separate into the nozzle container unit at the extreme end of the main body and the residual main body unit. 
     Great Britain Pat. No. 1,587,898 granted to SKM, relates to a method of atomizing liquid products and also to a spray gun for carrying out this method. The method and spray gun according to this invention are intended more particularly, but not exclusively for atomizing and spraying paints and varnishes. 
     All of the devices described in these patents are useful. However, what is really needed is an air brush that is not only easy to clean, but also is more comfortable to use than current double-action air brushes. It is not uncommon for a user to be uncomfortable while using an air brush for an extended period of time, and painters and other users would welcome a better designed and more comfortable air brush. 
     None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is an air brush apparatus that is made up of a head assembly, a shell assembly, an air valve assembly for controlling the compressed air which is fed into the apparatus, a handle assembly, a lever assembly, and a paint regulating needle, with a distal end and a proximal end, being movably inserted into the handle assembly and through the air valve assembly and into the head assembly. The paint regulating needle can be cleaned by simply twisting the handle assembly. The apparatus also is designed with a more comfortable and ergonomic lever handle assembly. 
     Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide an improved air brush apparatus that is easy to clean. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide an improved air brush apparatus that is more comfortable to use. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved air brush apparatus that is easier to use over an extended period of usage. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes. 
     These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of an improved air brush apparatus according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is an elevational side view of the improved air brush apparatus. 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines  3 — 3  of FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 4 is an elevational side view of the control lever of the improved air brush apparatus. 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines  5 — 5  on FIG. 4 of the improved air brush apparatus. 
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The present invention is an improved air brush apparatus  10 , as depicted in FIG.  1 . The air brush apparatus  10  is used with a compatible air compressor AC, hose H and paint source P in order to function properly. The air compressor AC, hose H and paint source P are entirely conventional and form no part of the instant invention per se. 
     The air brush apparatus  10  comprises a head assembly  20 , a shell assembly  30 , an air valve assembly  40 , a lever assembly  50 , a handle assembly  60  and a paint regulating needle  70 . The paint regulating needle  70  is inserted into the handle assembly  60  and continues through the air valve assembly  40  and into the head assembly  20 . The head assembly  20 , the paint regulating needle  70  and the air valve assembly  40  are conventional and are well-known in the art. 
     A point of novelty with the air brush apparatus  10  is in the handle assembly  60 , as illustrated in FIG.  2 . The handle assembly  60  is a solid handle with a polygon aperture  90  that is bored out of the proximal end of the handle assembly  60 . The polygon aperture  90  is mated with a polygon needle adjusting protrusion  80  from the lever assembly  50 . A more narrow pathway  100  is also bored out from the distal end of the polygon aperture  90  to the distal end of the handle assembly  60 . The polygon needle adjusting protrusion  80  is also bored out through the lever assembly  50  and head assembly  20 . This narrow pathway  100  is to accommodate the insertion of the paint regulating needle  70  through the handle assembly  60  and into the lever assembly  50  and head assembly  20 . 
     The outside distal end  110  of the handle assembly  60  is knurled for easier grasping for turning the entire handle assembly  60 . There is also a pilot screw  120  that holds the proximal end of the paint regulating needle  70  while the paint regulating needle  70  is in the air brush apparatus  10 . The proximal end  130  of the handle assembly  60  is threaded to mate with the interior threads  140  from the lever assembly  50  section of the air brush apparatus  10 . The pilot screw  120  and the outside distal end  110  can also be grabbed and pulled back to clean the end of the needle  70  as well, which is a point of novelty and convenience for the user. The entire handle assembly  60  can be twisted and moved back and forth along the proximal end threads  130  and the interior threads  140 . This in turn moves the distal end of the paint regulating needle  70  within the head assembly  20  of the air brush apparatus  10  back and forth to clear any clogs from any dried paint debris on the distal end of the paint regulating needle  70  that can accumulate within the head assembly  20 . The entire handle assembly  60  can also be used on other air brush apparatuses and be sold separately. 
     This is an easier way to clear the distal end of the paint regulating needle  70  than the traditional method of having to remove the paint regulating needle  70  all together and clear the head assembly  20  with a needle plunger (not shown). This is a cleaning means for cleaning the distal end of the paint regulating needle  70 , which is the handle assembly  60  being rotated to move the distal end of the paint regulating needle  70  back and forth within the head assembly  20 . Further cleaning can be achieved by grasping the outside distal end  110  of the handle assembly  60  and pulling the paint regulating needle  70  back and forth. 
     There is also an easier way to clean the air brush apparatus  10  then the cleaning method described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,05 issued to Kitajima. The cleaning method described in this patent involves the tedious task of having to pinch and twist the paint regulating needle  70 , instead of simply providing a quick twist and turn to clean the paint regulating needle  70  of this air brush apparatus  10 . 
     A cross-section of FIG. 2 along line  3 — 3  is illustrated in FIG.  3 . FIG. 3 illustrates the narrow pathway  100 , the polygonal-shaped aperture  90  and the paint regulating needle  70  in relation to the handle assembly  60 . Note that the depth of the polygonal aperture  90  is an oval shape and is only deep enough to accommodate the size of the polygonal needle adjusting protrusion  80 . The polygonal aperture  90  can be any shape (square, circle, rectangular, triangular, quadrilateral, pentagon, hexagonal, octagonal or any other polygon) as long as it mates with the shape of the corresponding polygonal needle adjusting protrusion  80 . The polygonal aperture  90  must be the same approximate shape as the polygonal needle adjusting protrusion  80 . The entire handle assembly  60  is one solid piece that has the polygonal aperture  90  and narrow pathway bored out to accommodate the paint regulating needle  70 . The polygonal needle adjusting protrusion  80  is also bored out to accommodate the paint regulating needle  70  and allow the paint regulating needle  70  to run through the lever assembly  50 . 
     FIG. 4 illustrates a second novel feature of the air brush apparatus  10 , which is a novel lever assembly  50 . The lever assembly  50  is comprised of a lever handle  150 , a spring biased mechanism  160  for the lever handle  150  and a moving hinge  180  that controls the air valve assembly  40 . 
     This lever assembly  50  is designed with a lever handle  150  that is more comfortable and ergonomically designed than the smaller push button control (not shown) that is frequently used in the related art to control the air valve assembly  40 . The lever handle  150  is provided with a rubber end  190  for greater feel and comfort. The lever handle  150  is designed to move back and forth and is a double action lever handle. The spring bias mechanism  160  keeps the lever handle  150  in line and allows the lever handle  150  to move back and forth. The lever assembly  50  is designed for air brush users who must use the air brush apparatus  10  for long extended periods of time, and helps these users fight fatigue. 
     The moving hinge  180  is integral to the top of the air valve assembly  40  and controls the air valve assembly  40 , which controls the flow of paint for the air brush apparatus  10 . The entire lever assembly  50  is housed and situated above and within the shell assembly  30 . 
     FIG. 5 depicts a third novel feature of the air brush apparatus  10 , which is the shape and design of the shell assembly  30 . A cross-section of the shell assembly  30  is depicted in FIG.  5 . The cross-section shows a base part of the paint regulating needle adjusting protrusion  220  along with the narrow pathway  100  in the handle assembly  60 . The top of FIG. 5 shows the top of the shell assembly  30 , in addition to the lever handle  150  and the rubber end of the lever handle  190 . Note that the inner shape of the handle assembly  240  is round. However, the outside surface of the handle assembly  250  is a rounded off square shape, enabling the user of the air brush apparatus  10  a comfortable and stable grip. 
     Use of the air brush apparatus  10  is uncomplicated. A user first attaches an air compressor AC, hose H and paint source P to the air brush apparatus  10 . The hose H is attached to the air valve assembly nozzle  260  and the paint source P is attached to the head assembly nozzle  270 . Once attached, the air brush apparatus  10  is ready for use. 
     Varying amounts of paint are dispersed by the degree of force placed on the lever assembly  50 . When the paint regulating needle  70  of the air brush apparatus  10  is clogged, the user can simply twist the handle assembly  60  back and forth to loosen any clogged paint that might be present. Further cleaning can be achieved by grasping the outside distal end  90  of the handle assembly  60  and pulling the paint regulating needle  70  back and forth. This is a much easier and convenient way to clean the end of the paint regulating needle  70  than having to remove the paint regulating needle  70  entirely and use a needle plunger (not shown) to clean the head assembly  20 . Clogging is a common occurrence in the normal use of any air brush apparatus. Therefore, addressing the clogging problem is very important to the efficient operation of the air brush apparatus  10 . 
     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.