Patent ID: 8622319

Claim:
A tip assembly for providing a coating material dispensing orifice, an air cap for retaining the tip assembly, the air cap including at least three pairs of first passageways, the passageways of each pair of first passageways oriented on opposite sides of the tip assembly to direct streams of compressed gas or mixture of gases toward said opposite sides of said tip assembly, at least three pairs of second passageways, the passageways of said at least three pairs of second passageways oriented on opposite sides of the orifice to direct streams of compressed gas or mixture of gases toward opposite sides of a stream of coating material dispensed through said coating material dispensing orifice, the longitudinal directions of the passageways of the at least three pairs of first passageways making angles of 60° with the stream of coating material being dispensed through said orifice, the at least three pairs of second passageways including at least one pair of second passageways whose longitudinal directions extend generally perpendicularly to the stream of coating material being dispensed through said orifice, at least one third pair of passageways, the passageways of each third pair of passageways being oriented on opposite sides of the orifice to direct streams of compressed gas or mixture of gases onto opposite margins of the stream of coating material from the coating material dispensing orifice, wherein said air cap has a first planar surface and a second planar surface raised from said first surface wherein said at least three pairs of first passageways and said at least one third pair of passageways are oriented on the second planar surface.