Patent ID: 7731062

Claim:
An apparatus for discharge of liquid in stream or mist form including a container for holding a pressurized supply of liquid, passageway means for conveying liquid from said supply thereof to a nozzle having a nozzle opening for emitting said liquid in stream or mist form, a valve having at least one movable valve element operating with a sealing surface for regulating flow of liquid through said passageway means, and a filter downstream of said valve and upstream of said nozzle opening for removing contaminants from liquid conveyed through said passageway means, said nozzle and filter comprising a cartridge assembly that is a separable element from said apparatus, said passageway means extending to an assembly mounting portion in said apparatus for frictionally receiving and mounting said assembly to said container, said assembly including a cylindrical sleeve with an outer wall forming a cylindrical assembly bore of a generally constant diameter having said nozzle and filter mounted therein, said filter comprising a support ring mounted within said assembly bore and having a woven metal mesh extending in a transverse direction across the assembly bore, said support ring including a support ring side wall forming a filter flow passage communicating with said passageway means and supporting said woven metal mesh transversely across said filter flow passage, said nozzle comprising a nozzle side wall forming a rearward open flow passage for receiving liquid flow from said filter flow passage and a forward wall providing said nozzle opening, said support ring side wall and said nozzle side wall each having an outside diameter being sized to fit in said assembly bore with sufficient friction to hold said filter and said nozzle respectively in said assembly, whereby said filter and nozzle are each self-retained in said sleeve and said sleeve is self-retained in said mounting portion of said passageway means, such that separate retention elements and/or screw threading procedures for the assembly of the filter and nozzle into the sleeve to make the cartridge assembly and for operatively locating the cartridge assembly in the mounting portion of said passageway are avoided.