Abstract:
A hand-held dispenser for precisely controlling the flow rate of water therethrough and for precisely controlling the metering of a liquid chemical into the water passing through the apparatus.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   This invention relates to a hand-held dispenser and more particularly to a hand-held dispenser which is capable of controlling the flow rate of water therethrough and for controlling the metering of a liquid chemical into the water passing through the dispenser. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Many types of dispensers have been previously provided which may be connected to the end of a water hose or the like wherein the device introduces chemicals into the water flow so that a lawn or the like may be sprayed. The devices of the prior art are also able to inject liquid chemicals into a water stream so that a mop bucket, etc., may be filled with water, detergent or other chemicals. 
   To applicant&#39;s knowledge, none of the prior art devices are able to conveniently and economically not only precisely control the rate of water flow through the device but to also precisely control the metering of liquid chemicals into the precisely controlled flow of water. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   A hand-held dispenser is described for precisely controlling the flow rate of water therethrough and for precisely controlling the metering of a liquid chemical into the water passing through the apparatus. The apparatus of this invention comprises a body member which includes a generally horizontally disposed first body portion having opposite sides, an inlet end, a discharge end, and a first fluid passageway extending between the inlet and discharge ends. The first body portion has a transversely extending spool opening formed thereon which extends between the opposite sides thereof and which communicates with the first fluid passageway. The inlet end of the first body portion is adapted to be secured to a source of water under pressure. 
   The body member also includes a generally vertically extending second body portion having upper and lower ends with a second fluid passageway, having upper and lower ends, extending therethrough. The upper end of the second fluid passageway is in communication with the spool opening. The lower end of the second fluid passageway is in communication with a source of liquid chemical. 
   The first body portion includes an on-off valve in the first fluid passageway upstream of the spool opening. An elongated spool member is selectively slidably movably mounted in the spool opening and is selectively slidably movable between at least first and second positions relative to the first body portion. The spool member has an upstream side, a downstream side, an upper end, a lower end and opposite sides. The spool member has at least first and second horizontally spaced-apart and horizontally disposed water flow passageways formed therein which extend between the upstream side and the downstream side thereof. The spool member also has at least first and second horizontally spaced-apart and vertically disposed chemical flow passageways formed therein which extend from the lower end thereof to the first and second water flow passageways, respectively. 
   The first and second water flow passageways have different diameters and the first and second chemical flow passageways have different diameters. The first water flow passageway and the first chemical flow passageway are in communication with the first fluid passageway when the spool member is in its first position. The second water flow passageway and the second chemical flow passageway are in communication with the first fluid passageway when the spool member is in its second position. The first chemical flow passageway is in communication with the second fluid passageway when the spool member is in its first position. The second chemical flow passageway is in communication with the second fluid passageway when the spool member is in its second position. 
   The water flow passageways and the chemical flow passageways are formed in the spool member so that the water flow through the dispenser and the chemical flow into the water may be precisely controlled and selectively varied. 
   It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide an improved chemical dispenser. 
   Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved hand-held dispenser which dispenses chemicals mixed with water. 
   Yet another object of the invention is to provide a dispenser of the type described which enables the precise controlling of the flow rate of water therethrough and the precise metering of a liquid chemical into the water passing through the dispenser. 
   Still another object of the invention is to provide a hand-held dispenser which is either disposable or reusable. 
   Still another object of the invention is to provide a dispenser which is economical of manufacture, durable in use and refined in appearance. 
   These and other objects will be obvious to those skilled in the art. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is perspective view of the dispenser of this invention; 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the dispenser of this invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a vertical sectional view of the dispenser; 
       FIG. 4  is a partial sectional view of the dispenser; 
       FIG. 5  is a top view of the dispenser; 
       FIG. 6  is a side view of the dispenser; 
       FIG. 7  is an end view of the dispenser as seen from the right of  FIG. 6 ; and 
       FIG. 8  is a bottom view of the dispenser. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The dispenser of this invention is referred to generally by the reference numeral  10  and is preferably of the hand-held type. Dispenser  10  includes a dispenser body  12  which is generally T-shaped in configuration and which includes a generally horizontally disposed body portion  14  and a generally vertically disposed body portion  16 . Obviously, body portion  14  will not always be horizontally disposed when being used nor will body portion  16  always be substantially vertically disposed when in use. 
   Body portion  14  includes an inlet end  18  which preferably has a rotatable dispenser nut or connector  20  mounted thereon so that a water hose or the like may be secured thereto with the water hose being in communication with a source of water under pressure. It is preferred that a backflow preventer  21  of conventional design be imposed between the water hose and the inlet end  18 . The outlet or discharge end  22  of the body portion  14  may have any type of spray deflector nozzle  23  or the like mounted thereon, if so desired. Body portion  14  includes a first fluid passageway  24  extending from the inlet end  18  to the discharge end or outlet end  22 . 
   Body portion  14  is provided with a transversely extending spool opening  28  which intersects and which is in communication with the fluid passageway  24 . An elongated, preferably rectangular in cross section, spool  30  is slidably mounted in spool opening  28  and is movable between at least first and second positions. Spool  30  is provided with end caps  32  and  34  mounted on the opposite ends thereof which are removably mounted thereon and which limit the movement of the spool  30  with respect to the body portion  14 . For purposes of description, spool  30  will be described as having opposite ends  36  and  38 , opposite sides  40  and  42 , a lower end  44  and an upper end  46 . 
   At least two water flow control passageways  50  and  52  extend between sides  40  and  42  and have different diameters. At least two chemical flow passageways  54  and  56  extend upwardly into spool  30  from the lower end thereof so as to be in fluid communication with the water flow control passageways  50  and  52 , respectively. The chemical flow passageways  54  and  56  have different diameters. 
   When spool  30  is in its first position, water flow control passageway  50  is in fluid communication with the first fluid passageway  24  and the chemical flow passageway  54  will be in fluid communication with water flow control passageway  50 . When spool  30  is in its second position, water flow control passageway  52  is in communication with the first fluid passageway  24  and the chemical flow passageway  56  will be in communication with water flow control passageway  52 . 
   The vertically disposed body portion  16  is provided with a second fluid passageway  58  extending therethrough with the upper end thereof being in communication with the spool opening  28 . The numeral  60  refers to a rotary on-off valve which extends transversely through the first fluid passageway  24  so that the flow of water therethrough may be controlled. 
   The numeral  62  refers to a rotating collar mounted on the lower end of body portion  16  so enable the dispenser to be connected to a conventional chemical container. 
   With a liquid chemical container having liquid chemical therein is secured to the collar  62  and with the dispenser on-off valve  60  in its open position, and with the dispenser spool in its first position, liquid chemical will be drawn upwardly through the second fluid passageway  58  as water passes through first fluid passageway  24 . The liquid chemical in second fluid passageway  58  will pass through chemical flow passageway  54 , water flow control passageway  50  and into fluid passageway  24 . With the spool  30  in its second position, liquid chemical will be drawn upwardly through the fluid passageway  58 , through chemical flow passageway  56 , through water flow control passageway  52  and into fluid passageway  24 . By providing the dispenser spool  30  with the water flow control passageways  50 ,  52  and the chemical flow passageways  54 ,  56 , the chemical added to the water is precisely metered depending upon the diameters of the chemical flow passageways  54  and  56 . The flow of water through the dispenser is precisely controlled through the use of the variable diameter water flow control passageways  50  and  52 . Although the dispenser spool  30  is described as having a pair of chemical flow passageways and a pair of water flow control passageways formed therein, the dispenser spool  30  could be provided with additional sets of chemical flow passageways and water flow control passageways with the dispenser spool being selectively movable between a plurality of operating positions. 
   Thus it can be seen that the invention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.