Patent Publication Number: US-11648568-B2

Title: Spray bottle—blender assembly

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional application No. 63/201,269, filed Apr. 21, 2021, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a device for preparing and applying custom blended products and, more particularly, to a spray bottle—blender assembly. 
     Consumers purchase spray bottles with pre-made products that have many ingredients sourced from natural elements and plant materials. Most of these spray solutions consist of ingredients that can be harvested from plant material by a consumer. The process is time consuming and multiple tools are required to harvest these elements for consumer use. Moreover, the shipping costs, both from a monetary and an environmental standpoint, are excessive to obtain the products. For example, outdoorsmen and women and hunters spend billions of dollars per year purchasing spray bottles with pre-made liquid cover scents. The currently available cover scents are generic scents, not specific to the hunter&#39;s exact surroundings. 
     As can be seen, there is a need for an inexpensive, portable, customizable means of preparing a naturally based spray solution, such as a cover scent. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a spray bottle—blender assembly that enables consumers to create their own natural spray solutions for a wide range of uses, at home or onsite, organically, and more cheaply than commercially available products. Moreover, the inventive spray bottle—blender assembly may be used to create aesthetically pleasing scents for the home or other surroundings. The spray bottle—blender assembly is believed to save individuals money in an eco-friendly way. 
     In one aspect of the present invention, a handheld comminutor—spray bottle assembly comprises a bottle body having an externally threaded mouth; a mating comminutor comprising a comminutor body having a first internally threaded rim, said comminutor body housing a power source and a motor electrically communicating with the power source, a shaft coupled to the motor, and comminutor blades joined to the shaft, extending from the comminutor body, and fluidly isolated from the motor; and a mating sprayer assembly, comprising a spray bottle cap having a second internally threaded rim and a seal ring; a spray bottle head having an inlet, an outlet, and an activation lever, said spray bottle head being joined with the spray bottle cap, a siphon straw coupled with the inlet and an elongated filter housing threadedly coupled with the inlet around the siphon straw, and a filter housed around the filter housing and removably secured with a filter housing cap secures a filter to the filter housing. The first internally threaded rim is couplable with the externally threaded mouth of the bottle body and the motor is operative to rotate the shaft, thereby rotating the comminutor blades. The second internally threaded rim is couplable with the externally threaded mouth of the bottle body. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, a method of producing a scent composition comprises containing biomatter with a diluent liquid in a bottle in an upright position; coupling the bottle with a comminuting chamber; inverting the bottle coupled with the comminuting chamber; comminuting said biomatter in said diluent liquid to produce a scent composition; returning the bottle to an upright position; decoupling the comminuting chamber from the bottle; coupling the bottle with a scent dispenser comprising a sprayer head having a siphon straw with a filter, a lever, and an outlet; and actuating the lever to dispense the scent composition through the outlet. 
     These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description, and claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view of a grinder and spray bottle assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  2    is an exploded view of the grinder assembly thereof; 
         FIG.  3    is an exploded view of the spray bottle assembly thereof; 
         FIG.  4    is a sectional view taken along  4 - 4  in  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  5    is a sectional view taken along  5 - 5  in  FIG.  1   ; and 
         FIG.  6    is a schematic view thereof, showing the grinder assembly being removed and the spray head attached. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims. 
     The terms “blender”, “grinder”, and “comminutor” are used interchangeably herein to refer to an apparatus that comminutes biomatter in a diluent liquid using blades. 
     Broadly, one embodiment of the present invention is a combined handheld blender—spray bottle assembly. 
     In some embodiments, the inventive assembly may include the blender or grinder, the bottle body, and the spray head, detachably combined into a single device. 
     In some embodiments, the bottle body may be alternately assembled with the blender or the spray head, according to use. A hunter may prepare the cover scent before leaving the car and carry the spray bottle without the blender component. 
     In some embodiments, capsules containing pre-formulated scents may be placed in the bottle. 
     The inventive assembly may have a variety of uses, including but not limited to production and application of insect repellent, animal repellants, foliar plant sprays, skin care compositions, scent sprays, cooking compositions, cleaning products, fungicides, bactericides, and combinations thereof. 
     A method of using the spray bottle—blender assembly may include the following. The user may pick local leaves, flowers, and other elements, and place them into the plastic bottle with water. The user may attach the blender to the bottle and blend the ingredients. Once the ingredients are blended, the user may detach the blender and carry the bottle with the spray top attached to spray themselves and surroundings with self-made scent. The self-made scent masks a non-locally sourced scent, such as the user&#39;s cleansers and body odor. 
     The materials of manufacture and the dimensions are not particularly limited. For example, the assembly may include a small heavy-duty plastic bottle, spray head, and siphon straw. The assembly may also include a small handheld blender, such as a single cup measure. 
     Referring to  FIGS.  1  through  6   ,  FIG.  1    illustrates a grinder assembly  10  and spray bottle assembly  30  according to an embodiment of the present invention. The grinder assembly  10  includes a circular grinder base  20  and a substantially cylindrical grinder body  18 . Indicator lights on the grinder body  18  surface may indicate the grinder assembly  10  status. The grinder assembly  10  may include a grinder cap  12  to protect the grinder blades  16  when the grinder assembly  10  is stored or transported. The spray bottle assembly  30  includes a substantially cylindrical bottle  44  attached via a spray bottle cap  34  to a spray bottle head  32 . The grinder cap  12  and the spray bottle cap  34  both may have a substantially circular shape with grasp indents to improve grip. 
     As shown in  FIGS.  2  and  4   , the grinder body  18  contains a motor  46  operative to drive the grinder blades  16  via a shaft  48  when the grinder assembly  10  is actuated via a power button  28  actuator. The power button  28  controls delivery of power from a power source to the motor  46 . The grinder assembly  10  may be powered by way of a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port  22  having a USB cover  24  to protect the port  22 . The grinder body includes protective grinder base pads  26  upon which it rests. The grinder cap  12  further comprises a grinder adapter ring  14 , which may be produced as a unitary molded piece. 
       FIGS.  3  and  5    illustrate components of the spray bottle assembly  30 . The spray bottle cap  34  has a spray bottle ring  36  to provide a seal with the bottle  44 , as shown in  FIG.  6   . The spray bottle cap  34  threadedly couples with the spray bottle head  32  on an upper surface and with an elongated filter housing  38  on a lower surface. A filter housing cap  42  secures a filter  40  to the filter housing  38 . A straw coupled to the spray bottle head  32  extends longitudinally into the bottle  44  within the filter housing  38 . 
     As shown in  FIG.  6   , liquid  50  and environmental elements  52  may be placed within the bottle  44 . The bottle  44  threadedly couples with the grinder body  18 . The assembly may be inverted so that the liquid  50  submerges the blades  16 . Once the grinder assembly  10  is actuated, the environmental elements  52  are blended into the liquid  50  to produce a blended scent  54 . The bottle  44  may be returned to its upright position and the grinder assembly  10  may be detached. The spray bottle cap  34  threadedly couples with a mouth of the bottle  44 . Once the spray bottle cap  34  is installed, the filter  40  and straw may be submerged within the blended scent  54 . The blended scent  54  may be sprayed by actuating a lever actuator on the spray bottle head  32 . 
     It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.