Patent Publication Number: US-2013233943-A1

Title: Bottle for use with a spray gun

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/607,362, filed Mar. 6, 2012, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The present application relates to a bottle for holding a liquid, and more particularly to a bottle having both quick-connect tabs and a threaded cap connector for use with a liquid spray gun. 
     The use of spray guns for cleaning and other tasks is well known. These spray guns typically attach to a water supply to provide a water spray of differing pressures, dependent upon the desired task. Spray guns have been designed to accommodate liquid chemical bottles thereon, wherein a liquid chemical is introduced into the water stream prior to exiting the spray gun. This liquid chemical may be a detergent for cleaning various surfaces, a fertilizer for lawn care, a pesticide, an herbicide, etc. The liquid chemical bottle is either threaded onto the spray gun or affixed to the spray gun via a plurality quick-connect tabs. In order to utilize a different chemical within the bottle, the user must dispose of any unused chemical within the bottle and refill the bottle with their chemical of choice. That is, the user cannot easily switch chemicals for use with the spray gun, while also preserving unspent chemicals for future applications. 
     SUMMARY 
     One embodiment of the invention relates to a bottle for use with a spray gun. The bottle includes a bottle body defining a storage volume; a throat extending away from the bottle body, a first attachment portion, and a second attachment portion. The throat defines an opening to the storage volume, and includes a narrow portion and a wide portion located between the narrow portion and the bottle body. The first attachment portion is formed at the narrow portion and is configured to be attached to a spray gun. The second attachment portion is formed at the wide portion and is configured to be attached to a cap to close the bottle body. 
     Another embodiment of the invention relates to a spray gun system. The spray gun system includes a spray gun including a bottle attachment portion for attaching a bottle to the spray gun, a cap including a bottle attachment portion for attaching the cap to a bottle, and a bottle. The bottle includes a bottle body defining a storage volume, a throat extending away from the bottle body. The throat defines an opening to the storage volume. The throat includes a narrow portion and a wide portion located between the narrow portion and the bottle body. The bottle further includes a a first attachment portion and a second attachment portion. The first attachment portion is formed at the narrow portion attaches to the bottle attachment portion of the spray gun. The second attachment portion is formed at the wide portion and is attaches to the bottle attachment portion of the cap to close the bottle body. 
     Another embodiment of the invention relates to a bottle for use with a spray gun. The bottle includes a bottle body defining a storage volume and a throat extending away from the bottle body. The throat defines an opening to the storage volume. The throat includes a first attachment portion for attaching the bottle to a spray gun. The throat also includes a second attachment portion for attaching a cap to the bottle to close the bottle body. 
     Alternative exemplary embodiments relate to other features and combinations of features as may be generally recited in the claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will become more fully understood from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a top view of a liquid chemical bottle, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the liquid chemical bottle of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of the liquid chemical bottle of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of the liquid chemical bottle of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a side view of a liquid chemical bottle with a cap coupled to the bottle, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-section view of the cap coupled to the throat of the liquid chemical bottle of  FIG. 5 , taken along line  6 - 6 . 
         FIG. 7  is a side view of a liquid chemical bottle, in accordance with another exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the liquid chemical bottle of  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 9  is a side view of a spray gun and liquid chemical bottle system, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  is a partial cross-section view of a liquid chemical bottle coupled to a spray gun with a quick connect mechanism, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 11  is a detail cross-section view of the quick connect mechanism of  FIG. 10 , in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Before turning to the figures, which illustrate the exemplary embodiments in detail, it should be understood that the application is not limited to the details or methodology set forth in the description or illustrated in the figures. It should also be understood that the terminology is for the purpose of description only and should not be regarded as limiting. 
     Referring in general to  FIGS. 1-11 , a liquid chemical bottle and a spray system using the chemical bottle are shown with both a quick-connect assembly for easy on-off application of the bottle to a spray gun and a secure, resealable cap to allow for storage of any unused chemicals in the bottle for future use. The multiple connections allow for a system of liquid chemical bottles containing different chemicals to be used with a spray gun to avoid constant refilling and chemical waste. Alternatively, the bottle and cap system described below can be used with a bottle that attaches to a pressure washer or other piece of equipment rather than, or in addition to, a spray gun. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-4 , a liquid chemical bottle  20  is shown according to an exemplary embodiment. The bottle  20  includes a hollow body  22  defining an internal storage volume capable of containing a liquid. The bottle  20  further includes a throat  24  (e.g., neck, spout, etc.) extending away from the bottle body  22 . The throat  24  opens into the storage volume of the body  22  and defines an opening  26 . Liquid contained in the bottle body  22  may be emptied from the body  22  through the opening  26 . The opening  26  may be closed by a seal (e.g., a foil seal, tamper evident seal etc.). The seal may be broken by a user to clear the opening  26  and allow the liquid chemical to be emptied from the body  22 . 
     According to an exemplary embodiment, the throat  24  is a generally cylindrical body. The throat  24  includes a narrow portion  30  proximate to the opening  26  and a wide portion  32  located between the narrow portion  30  and the bottle body  22 . The outside diameter of the narrow portion  30  is smaller than the outside diameter of the wide portion  32 . A first attachment portion, shown as tabs  34 , are formed at the narrow portion  30 . The tabs  34  are configured to couple the bottle  20  to a device via a quick-connect mechanism (e.g., via a simple quarter-turn rotation by a user). A second attachment portion, shown as threads  36 , are formed at the wide portion  32 . The threads  36  do not act as a coupling mechanism between the bottle  20  and the device. Instead, the threads  36  are configured to couple the bottle  20  to a threaded cap  40  (e.g., cover, lid, closure, etc.). The cap  40  seals the opening  26  to retain a liquid in the body  22  when the bottle  20  is not coupled to the device. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 5-6 , the liquid chemical bottle  20  is shown coupled to the cap  40 . The cap  40  may be a low-cost, conventional threaded cap. The cap  40  fits over the throat  24  to rotationally engage threads  36  on the wide portion  32  with corresponding internal threads  42 . Because the diameter of the wide portion  32  is greater than the diameter of the narrow portion  30 , the threads  42  are able to pass over the tabs  34  without engaging the tabs  34  and a clearance is maintained between the tabs  34  and the sidewall  44  of the cap  40 . In some embodiments, an inner surface of the cap  40  forms a seal with the throat  24  to seal the bottle  20 . According to an exemplary embodiment, the inner surface of the end wall  46  of the cap  40  abuts against the top surface  48  of throat  24  surrounding the opening  26  when the cap  40  is fully threaded onto the bottle  20 . The cap  40  therefore prevents the flow of liquid out of the opening  26  and effectively seals the liquid within the bottle  20 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 7-8 , in some embodiments, the bottle  20  is differently shaped. In some embodiments, differently shaped bottles are used to identify the chemical stored in the bottle. For example, a bottle storing soap may have a different shape than a bottle storing polish so that the user can easily identify the bottle needed to perform a desired task. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 9-11 , a spray gun system  50  including the bottle  20  coupled to a spray gun  52  is shown according to an exemplary embodiment. The spray gun  52  receives water or another liquid through a supply line  54 . The spray gun  56  emits the water or other liquid through a nozzle  56  in various spray patterns. A trigger  58  is utilized to start and stop the flow of water or other liquid out of nozzle  56 . The spray gun  52  further includes a bottle attachment portion, shown as a connection mechanism  60 . The connection mechanism  60  allows for a secure connection between the bottle  20  and the spray gun  52 . Referring to  FIGS. 10-11 , according to an exemplary embodiment, the connection mechanism  60  is a quick-connect mechanism including internal slots  62  formed by an inwardly extending flange  64 . The flange  64  defines an aperture  66  (e.g., socket, hollow, opening, etc.). To connect the bottle  20  to the spray gun  52 , the throat  24  is inserted into the aperture  66  with the tabs  34  passing through openings in the flange  64  until the tabs  34  are aligned with the slots  62 . The bottle  20  may then be turned less than 360° to move the tabs  34  within the slots  62  away from the openings in the flange  66 . The lower surfaces  38  of the tabs  34  engage the upper surface  68  of the flange  64  to couple the bottle  20  to the spray gun  52 . According to an exemplary embodiment, the connection mechanism  60  couples the bottle  20  to the spray gun  52  with a quarter or 90° turn. The threads  36  are not engaged by the connection mechanism  60  when the bottle  20  is coupled to the spray gun  52 . Instead, the threads  36  remain outside of the connection mechanism  60  and the interior of the spray gun  52 . 
     A liquid chemical from within bottle body  22  is introduced into the water stream of spray gun  52  via an input hose  70  extending into the internal volume of the body  22  such that the end of the hose  70  is submerged in the liquid chemical. The liquid chemical is dawn through the input hose and is included in the liquid expelled from nozzle  54  during use. 
     A primary advantage to constructing bottle  20  to have both tabs  34  for a quick-connect coupling and threads  36  is to enable the bottle to both be quickly and easily coupled and decoupled from a device such as the spray gun  52 , while still allowing a conventional threaded cap  40  to be removeably coupled to the bottle  20 , sealing the opening  26 . A bottle partially filled with liquid chemicals may therefore be sealed with a cap and stored until needed again. The unused liquid chemicals may therefore remain in the bottle without having to empty the liquid contents from bottle after each use. Due to this advantage, it is envisioned that a spray gun system may include (or offer as an option) multiple liquid chemical bottles, with each bottle containing a different liquid chemical for a variety of tasks utilizing the spray gun. For example, any number of separate bottles containing a liquid detergent, a polish, a liquid fertilizer, a liquid herbicide, and a liquid pesticide could be offered to a user as a package. Each of the bottles may be resealable via a cap and may be meant to contain only the liquid originally present therein. A user of the spray gun system, when wanting to alternate between tasks using the spray gun, may change the chemical being added to the water stream from the spray gun by disconnecting a first, existing liquid chemical bottle from the spray gun, sealing the first bottle with a cap, and attaching a second, replacement liquid chemical bottle to the spray gun appropriate for their desired task. By using multiple bottle, with each bottle dedicated for use with a single chemical, a single bottle does not need to be filled or emptied, and cross-contamination between bottle contents can be avoided. While several examples of liquid chemicals are given above, the present invention is not limited to such chemicals and may include any appropriate or desired chemical. 
     The construction and arrangement of the apparatus, systems and methods as shown in the various exemplary embodiments are illustrative only. Although only a few embodiments have been described in detail in this disclosure, many modifications are possible (e.g., variations in sizes, dimensions, structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values of parameters, mounting arrangements, use of materials, colors, orientations, etc.). For example, some elements shown as integrally formed may be constructed from multiple parts or elements, the position of elements may be reversed or otherwise varied and the nature or number of discrete elements or positions may be altered or varied. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure. The order or sequence of any process or method steps may be varied or re-sequenced according to alternative embodiments. Other substitutions, modifications, changes, and omissions may be made in the design, operating conditions and arrangement of the exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.