ASSEMBLING METHOD

The present invention relates generally to the field of spraying apparatuses. More specifically, the present invention is related to a spraying apparatus with a valve assembly which is replacea- bly mounted within the housing of the spraying apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Spraying apparatuses are well-known in prior art . Known spraying apparatuses comprise a housing in which a valve assembly is in ^¬ cluded for providing controlled liguid flow through the spraying apparatus. The housing and the valve assembly are connected by friction welding or ultrasonic welding. So, typically there is a bonded connection between the housing and the valve assembly.

Disadvantageously, the strength of the bonded connection strong ^¬ ly depends on a set of welding parameters. In case that the welding parameters are out of a reguired range, the manufactured spraying apparatuses do not meet the guality reguirements and the reject rate is increasing. In addition, due to the bonded connection between the housing and the valve assembly, the spraying apparatus, respectively, the valve assembly cannot be disassembled. So, in case that the valve assembly is not working correctly (e.g. because an O-ring was not installed correctly or the liguid valve needs to be cleaned) there is no possibility to repair said defect.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an objective of the embodiments of the invention to pro ^¬ vide a spraying apparatus which shows a solid and stable cou- pling between the housing and the valve assembly, which is easi ^¬ ly maintainable and which can be manufactured with reduced manu ^¬ facturing costs. The objective is solved by the features of the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are given in the de ^¬ pendent claims. If not explicitly indicated otherwise, embodi- ments of the invention can be freely combined with each other.

According to an aspect of the invention, the invention relates to a hand-held spraying apparatus . The spraying apparatus com ^¬ prises a housing and a valve assembly for providing a controlled liguid flow through the spraying apparatus. The valve assembly is at least partially included in the housing, wherein the valve assembly is replaceably arranged within the housing by fixing means . Said fixing means are constituted by at least one protru ^¬ sion arranged in the interior of the housing, said protrusion providing a form-fit coupling with at least one portion of the valve assembly. Said at least one portion of the valve assembly may be a rib provided at a housing of the valve assembly, said rib protruding (e.g. radially protruding) from the valve assem ^¬ bly housing.

Advantageously, the production costs are reduced because of eliminating the welding process. In addition, due to the form- fit-connection between the housing and the valve assembly, a higher connection strength is achieved than by using a welding connection. In addition, higher process reliability is achieved because the connection between the housing and the valve assem ^¬ bly does not depend on welding parameters. Preferably, the form- fit coupling between the housing and the valve assembly is ob ^¬ tained by protrusions being integrally formed at the housing / valve assembly, i.e. there are no extra parts needed for secur- ing the valve assembly within the housing. Finally, the spraying apparatus can be completely disassembled, i.e. the valve assem ^¬ bly can be removed from the housing thereby enabling maintenance of the valve assembly.

According to embodiments, the protrusion is a rib structure be ^¬ ing arranged at the inner wall side of the housing. Said rip structure may provide means for a guided inserting of the valve assembly into the housing as well as firm securing of the valve assembly in the housing by realizing a form-fit coupling. Said rib structure may comprise at least one rib extending in insert ^¬ ing direction of the valve assembly, said rib providing a guide for inserting said valve assembly. According to embodiments, the rib structure comprises at least one housing rib which interacts with at least one corresponding valve rib of the valve assembly in order to achieve a form-fit- fixing of the valve assembly within the housing. The housing rib may be a web having a longitudinal shape which is orientated parallel to the longitudinal direction of the cavity in which the valve assembly should be inserted. Similarly, the valve rib may be provided at the outer side of the valve assembly housing wherein the valve rib protrudes laterally, specifically radially from said valve assembly housing.

According to embodiments, the housing comprises a pair of hous ^¬ ing ribs being arranged at a distance from each other and the valve assembly comprises at least one valve rib being adapted to be inserted within the gap formed between said housing ribs. The width of the gap may be adapted to the width of the valve rib in order to obtain a rail-like guiding of the valve rib between said pair of housing ribs . Thereby, a lateral guiding and secur ^¬ ing (in a direction perpendicular to the inserting direction) of the valve assembly within the housing is achieved. According to embodiments, the valve assembly comprises a pair of valve ribs being arranged at a distance from each other and the housing comprises at least one housing rib being adapted to be inserted within the gap formed between said valve ribs. The width of the gap may be adapted to the width of the housing rib in order to obtain a rail-like guiding of the housing rib between said pair of valve ribs. Thereby, a lateral guiding and securing (in a direction perpendicular to the inserting direction) of the valve assembly within the housing is achieved.

According to embodiments, the housing comprises multiple housing elements wherein a first housing element comprises said protru ^¬ sion and a further housing element comprises a lock element for securing the valve assembly within the housing. For example, the first housing element may be have a tubular or essentially a tubular shape, i.e. in the interior of the first housing element a cavity is formed for receiving at least a portion of the valve assembly. The further housing element may be an outer housing element being adapted to be attached to the first housing ele- ment . For example, the further housing element may be removably attached to the first housing element. When attaching the fur ^¬ ther housing element at the first housing element, the lock ele ^¬ ment may protrude into the cavity of the first housing element which receives the valve assembly thereby blocking the removal of the valve assembly out of the housing. Thereby, a replaceable arrangement of the valve assembly in the housing is obtained.

According to embodiments, the first housing element is a housing base element and the further housing element is a housing cover being removably secured at the housing base element. The further housing element may be coupled with the first housing element by means of any coupling mechanism, e.g. a click mechanism. So, when removing the further housing element, the locking of the valve assembly is disabled and the valve assembly can be removed out of the housing. Thereby, a disassembling of the spraying apparatus without any tools is possible.

According to embodiments, the lock element is constituted by a protrusion forming a lock bar which extends transversely to the longitudinal direction of the protrusion, specifically the pair of ribs provided in the first housing element for securing the valve assembly. When attaching the further housing element at the first housing element the lock element blocks the passage of at least a portion, specifically a protrusion or rib of the valve assembly thereby inhibiting a disassembling of the spray ^¬ ing apparatus .

According to embodiments, the lock element is inserted through a aperture provided within the first housing element in order to protrude into the interior of the housing. Said hole may be ar ^¬ ranged such that a housing rib, specifically a pair of housing rips is interrupted by said aperture, i.e. the housing rib or said pair of housing rips extend at opposite sides of the aper- ture .

According to embodiments, the lock element extends between two ribs (housing ribs) of said rib structure in order to stiffen the rib structure. Thereby, the stability of the rib structure is increased.

According to embodiments, the valve assembly comprises a valve cover being secured at a valve assembly housing by means of a thread, wherein the housing is adapted to receive the valve as- sembly only in a predefined rotational position of the valve cover. Thereby, an assembling of the spraying apparatus is not possible in case that the valve cover is not correctly mounted at the valve assembly which increases the guality of production. According to embodiments, the valve cover comprises at the upper surface a contour which is adapted to interact with a corre ^¬ sponding contour at the interior wall side of the housing in order to achieve a locking of the valve cover. Said valve cover contour may be at least one edge which interacts with at least one corresponding edge provided at the interior wall side of the housing. According to another embodiment, the valve cover contour may be convexly shaped portion which interacts with at least one concavely shaped portion provided at the interior wall side of the housing. The usage of such form-fitted portions en ^¬ sures that there is no undesired loosening of the valve cover leading to a leakage at the valve assembly.

According to embodiments, the housing comprises at least one tubular-shaped or essentially tubular shaped portion and the valve assembly is insertable in said tubular-shaped or essen ^¬ tially tubular shaped portion in an axial direction.

According to embodiments, the housing comprises a connection portion for providing a liquid-tight coupling between the valve assembly and a liquid guide provided in the housing, wherein said liquid-tight coupling is achieved by inserting the valve assembly into the housing and locking the coupling by means of said lock element. For example, the connection portion provided within the housing may be a male coupling portion and the valve assembly comprises a corresponding female coupling portion. When inserting the valve assembly into the housing, the male coupling portion is inserted into said female coupling portion thereby realizing a liquid-tight passage between the valve assembly and the liquid guide included in the housing.

According to a further aspect, the invention relates to a method for assembling a spraying apparatus comprising at least one housing and a valve assembly for providing a controlled liquid flow through the spraying apparatus, the method comprising the steps of :

— providing a housing comprising at least one protrusion at the inner side wall;

— providing a valve assembly comprising at least one pro ^¬ trusion at the outer side of the valve assembly hous ^¬ ing, the protrusion of the valve assembly corresponding to the protrusion of the housing in order to obtain a form-fit coupling between the housing and the valve as ^¬ sembly;

- inserting the valve assembly into the housing;

- securing the valve assembly in the housing by means of a lock element in order to replaceably arrange the valve assembly within the housing.

The term "essentially" or "approximately" as used in the inven ^¬ tion means deviations from the exact value by +/- 10%, prefera ^¬ bly by +/- 5% and/or deviations in the form of changes that are insignificant for the function.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various aspects of the invention, including its particular features and advantages, will be readily understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, which :

Fig. 1 shows a first step of the assembly process of a

spraying apparatus based on a lateral sectional view; Fig. 2 shows a second step of the assembly process of a

spraying apparatus based on a lateral sectional view;

Fig. 3 shows a lateral sectional view of a spraying appa ^¬ ratus with a lock element providing a securing of the valve assembly within the housing;

Fig. 4 shows the housing of a spraying apparatus comprising a rib structure and a lock element in a perspective view;

Fig. 5 shows a valve assembly of a spraying apparatus com ^¬ prising a valve cover in a perspective view;

Fig. 6 illustrates the form-fit arrangement of the valve cover within the housing based on a perspective view of the spraying apparatus;

Fig. 7 illustrates the form-fit arrangement of the valve cover within the housing based on a perspective sec- tional view of the spraying apparatus;

Fig. 8 shows the spraying apparatus in the assembled state in a perspective view; and

Fig. 9 shows a block diagram illustrating the assembling process for manufacturing a spraying apparatus. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described more fully with ref ^¬ erence to the accompanying drawings, in which example embodi- ments are shown. However, this invention should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Throughout the following description similar reference numerals have been used to denote similar elements, parts, items or features, when ap ^¬ plicable .

Fig. 1 shows an exploded view of a spraying apparatus 1. The spraying apparatus 1 may be a handheld device, e.g. a spray gun, for providing liguid, specifically water to liguid receiving ob ^¬ jects, for example, flowers or plants. The spraying apparatus 1 comprises a housing 2 with a grip portion for manually holding the spraying apparatus 1. The spraying apparatus 1 may further comprise a valve assembly 3 comprising at least one liguid valve. In addition, the spraying apparatus 1 may further comprise activation means (not shown), e.g. a button, said activa- tion means being coupled with said valve assembly for ena ^¬ bling/disabling or controlling a liguid flow through the spraying apparatus 1.

The spraying apparatus 1 comprises according to the present em- bodiment two housing portions 2a, 2b, wherein the first housing portion 2a is adapted to receive at least a portion of the valve assembly 3 and the second housing portion 2b is adapted to be connected to a spraying head (not shown) . The first housing por ^¬ tion 2a comprises a tubular or essentially a tubular shape, i.e. there is a cavity 2.3 within the first housing portion 2a which is adapted to receive at least a portion of the valve assembly 3.

In order to be able to replace a defect valve assembly 3 or re- pair the valve assembly 3 included in the spraying apparatus 1, the valve assembly 3 is replaceably mounted within said housing 2. The housing 2 is adapted to receive the valve assembly 3 in its cavity 2.3 by inserting the valve assembly 3 into said cavi ^¬ ty 2.3 (inserting direction ID) through an opening provided at the free end of the housing 2, specifically at the free end of the first housing portion 2a.

In order to achieve a mounting of the valve assembly 3 at the housing 2, at least one protrusion 4 is provided at the inner wall side of the housing 2, specifically within the cavity 2.3 of the first housing portion 2a. Said at least one protrusion 4 interacts with at least one portion of the valve assembly 3 for providing a form-fit-coupling between the housing 2 and the valve assembly 3. More in detail, the protrusion 4 may be con- stituted by a rib structure 5 wherein said rib structure 5 com ^¬ prises at least one housing rib 5.1 which interacts with a cor ^¬ responding valve rib 6 provided at the valve assembly 3.

According to a first embodiment, the rib structure 5 comprises at least two housing ribs 5.1 being arranged in parallel and at a distance d to each other in order to provide a gap 5.2 between said housing ribs 5.1 (cf . Fig. 4) . Said gap 5.2 is adapted to receive the valve rib 6 protruding at the outer side of the valve assembly 3. Said rib structure 5 forms a rail-like guide for said valve rib 6, i.e., when inserting the valve assembly 3 into the housing 2, the valve assembly 3 is laterally guided by the housing ribs 5.1. In other words, by means of the rib struc ^¬ ture 5 a form-fit-coupling between the valve assembly 3 and the housing 2 in a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction (according to which the valve assembly 3 is inserted into the housing 2) is obtained.

At the rear side of the cavity 2.3, a connection portion 10 is provided. Said connection portion 10 forms a connector for cou- pling a liguid guide provided in the valve assembly 3 with a liquid guide provided in the housing 2. The connection portion 10 may be a male connection portion and may be adapted to be in ^¬ serted in a corresponding female coupling portion provided at the valve assembly 3. So, a liquid-tight coupling between the valve assembly 3 and the housing 2 may be obtained when insert ^¬ ing the valve assembly 3 into the housing 2.

In order to mechanically fix the valve assembly 3 at the housing in the inserted state, thereby ensuring the liquid-tight cou- pling between the connection portion 10 and the valve assembly 3, a lock mechanism is provided which on the one hand ensures a stable fixation of the valve assembly 3 within the housing 2 and on the other hand ensures a technically simple deactivation of the locked state in order to remove the valve assembly 3 out of the housing 2.

The lock mechanism comprises a lock element 7 which is adapted to engage behind (referring to the insertion direction) the valve rip 6 in order to secure the locked state. In other words, the lock element 7 may protrude into the cavity 2.3 such that the lock element 7 is arranged behind (referring to the inser ^¬ tion direction) the valve rib 6, preferably such that the lock element 7 lies against the valve rib 6. The lock element 7 may, for example, comprise a tapered shape in order to ensure a clamping of the valve assembly 3 within the housing 2.

According to the present embodiment, the lock element 7 is in ^¬ serted through an aperture 11 provided in the housing wall into the interior of the cavity 2.3. More in detail, the housing 2 may be constituted by at least two housing elements 2.1, 2.2, wherein a first housing element 2.1 forms the cavity 2.3 and the second housing element 2.2 comprises the lock element 7. Said lock element 7 may protrude laterally from said second housing element 2.2. The second housing element 2.2 may be concavely shaped in order to at least partially encompass the first hous- ing element 2.1. The second housing element 2.2 may be adapted to be attached at the outer side of the first housing element 2.1, for example, by means of a click-mechanism. Of course, also other locking mechanisms are possible. By attaching the second housing element 2.2 at the first housing element 2.1 (as shown in Fig. 2 and 3), the lock element 7 may protrude through the aperture 11 into the cavity 2.3, thereby securing the valve as ^¬ sembly 3 in the inserted position by back-engaging the at least one valve rib 6.

Fig. 4 shows in closer detail an example rib structure 5 provid ^¬ ed in the housing 2. According to the shown embodiment, the rib structure 5 comprises a pair of housing ribs 5.1 as already de ^¬ scribed before. Between said housing ribs 5.1, the gap 5.2 is provided for receiving at least one valve rib 6. According to a preferred embodiment, the lock element 7 is a bar extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the housing ribs 5.1. Preferably, the lock element 7 laterally protrudes lateral ^¬ ly beyond the housing ribs 5.1. Still preferably, the aperture 11 is arranged such that the housing ribs 5.1 are disrupted by the aperture 11. So when attaching the second housing element onto the first housing element, the lock element 7 may protrude between two housing rib portions and may thereby stiffen the rib structure provided within the cavity 2.3 of the housing 2.

Fig. 5 shows the valve assembly 3 in closer detail. The valve assembly 3 comprises a valve assembly housing 3.2 including an opening for receiving a liguid valve. Said opening may be seal- able by a valve cover 3.1. For example, the valve cover 3.1 com- prises an external thread which interacts with an internal thread provided at the valve assembly housing 3.2. By screwing the external thread of the valve cover 3.1 into the internal thread of the valve assembly housing 3.2, the valve cover 3.1 is secured at the valve assembly housing 3.2 thereby sealing said opening. As shown in fig. 5, the valve cover 3.1 comprises at the upper surface a contour 3.1.1 which interacts with a corresponding contour 9 provided at the inner wall side of the housing 2 in order to secure the valve cover 3.1 against undesired loosening of the valve cover 3.1. More in detail, the valve cover 3.1 com ^¬ prises at its upper surface at least one, preferably two edges which are parallel to each other. When inserting the valve assembly 3 into the housing 2 (shown in Fig. 6 to 8), said edge/edges may rest against corresponding edges at the inner wall side of the housing 2 in order to avoid an undesired twist ^¬ ing or rotation of the valve cover 3.1. Also other contours at the valve cover 3.1, respectively, at the inner side of the housing 2 may be possible for avoiding said undesired twisting or rotation of the valve cover 3.1. For example, the valve cover 3.1 may comprise a convex contour at its upper surface and the housing 2 may comprise a corresponding concave contour at the inner wall side. When inserting the valve assembly 3 into the housing 2, said convex contour may rest against said concave contour at the inner wall side thereby avoiding an undesired twisting or rotation of the valve cover 3.1.

Furthermore, the contouring of the valve cover 3.1, respectively the inner wall side of the housing 2 may be chosen such, that the valve assembly 3 can only be inserted into the housing 2 if the valve cover 3.1 is in a certain rotation position, i.e. the valve cover 3.1 is screwed properly into the valve assembly housing 3.2. In other words, the contouring of the valve cover 3.1, respectively the inner wall side of the housing 2 is chosen such, that in case that the thread provided at the valve cover 3.1 is not totally screwed into the valve assembly housing 3.2, the valve cover 3.1 may hit against the housing 2. Thus, the valve assembly 3 cannot be inserted into the housing 2 thereby avoiding failures during the assembly process for example lead- ing to a leaky valve assembly 3. Fig. 9 shows a flowchart illustrating the assembling process of a spraying apparatus 1 described before. As a first step, a housing 2 comprising at least one protrusion 4 at the inner side wall is provided (S100) . Said housing 2, respectively, said pro ^¬ trusion may be designed as described before.

Following up, a valve assembly 3 is provided comprising at least one protrusion, specifically one valve rib 6 at the outer side of the valve assembly housing (S110) . The protrusion of the valve assembly 3 may correspond to the protrusion 4 of the hous ^¬ ing 2 in order to obtain a form-fit coupling between the housing

2 and the valve assembly 3. In the following, the valve assembly

3 is inserted into the housing 2 (S 120) . Finally, the valve as ^¬ sembly 3 is secured in the housing 2 by means of a lock element

7 in order to replaceably arrange the valve assembly 3 within the housing 2 (S130) . Thereby, is case of a defect valve assem ^¬ bly 3, the spraying apparatus can be disassembled, preferably without any tools and the defect valve assembly 3 can be re ^¬ placed or repaired.

It should be noted that the description and drawings merely il ^¬ lustrate the principles of the proposed methods and systems. Those skilled in the art will be able to implement various ar ^¬ rangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention.

List of reference numerals

1 spraying apparatus

2 housing

2a first housing portion

2b second housing portion

2.1 first housing element

2.2 further housing element

2.3 cavity

3 valve assembly

3.1 valve cover

3.1.1 contour

3.2 valve assembly housing

4 protrusion

5 rib structure

5.1 housing rib

5.2 gap

6 valve rib

7 lock element

9 contour

10 connection portion

11 aperture d distance

ID inserting direction