The present invention relates to a nozzle arrangement for improving the quality of the discharge from the nozzles for a number of different applications by delivering fluid from new innovative nozzles in either a continuous or a fast pulsed or none continuous way and to use the pulsing action to enhance the spray or foam being produced. This includes but is not excluded to being able to atomize viscous liquors even with very high viscosities and being able to achieve very fine droplets with a range of different liquors. Also combining this with our own unique ram and pulsed ram spray technology where we use a conically tapered or rounded prodder inside the nozzle orifice both as a none pulsed and a pulsed nozzle.

We have solved a number of these problems in our previous sister patent applications PCT/GB2016/000148 and PCT/GB2016/000149 which describe said unique ram and pulsed ram spray technologies. These will be referred to throughout as simply our sister patents. The innovations described in those patents work well and as we have continued to develop the technology so we have inevitably come up with improvements and other associated innovations and this patent application covers some of those.

In a preferred application a pulsed nozzle arrangement is used with aerosol canisters to deliver a pulsed atomised spray or foam instead of a continuous spray. In another preferred arrangement, a pulsed nozzle arrangement is used with manually activated dispenser pumps including water pistols, actuated with an actuator or a trigger so that each stroke of the pump produces a number of pulsed discharges instead of a single discharge and these are in the form of a bolus of liquor, an atomised spray or a foam.

There are many ways of achieving improved sprays and especially in industry where cost is of far less importance and sophisticated techniques such as ultrasonics for pulsing can be used. But in the mass volume market such as with aerosols, pumped dispenser, water pistols and to a lesser extent showers space and price are major factors so there are far fewer acceptable alternatives and the discharge from many products is a compromise. Companies are always looking for improvements subject primarily to the cost. Some products including viscous liquors such as thicker suntan lotions have to be delivered as a bolus of liquor because they cannot spray them. Others such as body spray are primarily delivered with butane from an aerosol can because the droplets are too large from any other method of delivery.

Nozzle arrangements such as actuators are used in water showers to reduce the volume of water used. These also pulse quickly at up to 40 pulses a second and the flow appears to be continuous like a machine gun firing bullets. Dispenser pumps that are activated with actuators or triggers deliver a dose of fluid with each stroke and the discharge corresponds to the volume delivered from the pump chamber. But even the fastest of these only delivers a discharge every 0.2 seconds plus and usually it is more.

Nozzle arrangements are used to facilitate the dispensing of various fluids from containers or vessels. For instance, nozzle arrangements are commonly fitted to pressurised fluid filled vessels or containers, such as a so called "aerosol canister", to provide a means by which fluid stored in the vessel or container can be dispensed. A typical nozzle arrangement comprises an inlet through which fluid accesses the nozzle arrangement, an outlet through which the fluid is dispensed into the external environment, and an internal flow passageway through which fluid can flow from the inlet to the outlet. In addition, conventional nozzle arrangements comprise an actuator means, such as, for example, a manually operated aerosol canister. The operation of the actuator in the active phase causes fluid to flow from the container to which the arrangement is attached into the inlet of the arrangement, where it flows along the fluid flow passageway to the outlet.

Manually actuated pump type fluid dispensers are commonly used to provide a means by which fluids can be dispensed from a non-pressurised container. Typically, dispensers of this kind have a pump arrangement which is located above the container when in use. The pump includes a pump chamber connected with the container by means of an inlet having an inlet valve and with a dispensing outlet via an outlet valve. To actuate the dispenser, a user manually applies a force to an actuator or trigger to reduce the volume of the pump chamber and pressurise the fluid inside. Once the pressure in the chamber reaches a pre-determined value, the outlet valve opens and the fluid is expelled through the outlet. When the user removes the actuating force, the volume of the chamber increases and the pressure in the chamber falls. This closes the outlet valve and draws a further charge of fluid up into the chamber through the inlet. A range of fluids can be dispensed this way this way including pastes, gels, liquid foams and liquids. In certain applications, the fluid is dispensed in the form of an atomised spray, in which case the outlet will comprise an atomising nozzle. Sometimes it is delivered as a bolus of liquor and others as a foam. The actuator may be push button or cap, though in some applications the actuator arrangement includes a trigger that can be pulled by a user's fingers. This includes water pistols that are either manually pumped or use an electric pump to charge up a reservoir.

A large number of commercial products are presented to consumers in both an aerosol canister and in a manual pump type dispenser, including, for example, antiperspirant, de-odorant, perfumes, air fresheners, antiseptics, paints, insecticides, polish, hair care products, pharmaceuticals, shaving gels and foams, water, lubricants and many others.

There are numerous types of manually activated pumps, water pistols and triggers and aerosol canisters on the market and they are sold in enormous volumes especially through the major retailers such as supermarkets. Consequently, they are very cheap and there is little profit in them for the manufacturers. Many of these and other applications would benefit from an improved performance such as finer droplets, atomizing viscous liquors like oils and suntan lotion, generating finer droplets with products like body spray and others. The problem is how to do this at a low cost and make it reliable and user friendly.

We have solved this problem by using a nozzle arrangement that delivers fast pulses of fluid and also using the pulsing action and resulting discharges to enhance the quality of the discharge. Aerosol canisters currently deliver a continuous discharge but the pulses can be so fast that it appears to be a continuous discharge and the performance is largely unaffected by the pulses. With dispenser pumps actuated by an actuator or trigger, each discharge is pulsed so fast that there still appears to be one discharge and the delivery is as good as before. In showers, industrial or horticultural applications the same applies. With water pistols, pulsing the discharge means that the flow is much less and so the water lasts longer. Also, the discharges can become like bullets in a machine gun and the speed and volume of each discharge can be varied plus the pulsing action can be made to make a sound like a machine gun. Water or a foaming solution such as a soap solution could be used so the bullets could be a dose of water or a dose of foam. For most of the applications described, these discharges are in the form of an atomised spray, a bolus of liquor or a foam. The pulses can be slower where the requirement exists and we put no limitations on the frequency of the pulses.

We also show another simple way of generating fine sprays using a new variation of the basic none pulsed or continuous spray nozzles shown in our 2 sister patents. The difference being that instead of having an internal moving arrangement we move part of the nozzle itself including the spray orifice. This innovation can be used with both pulsed and continuous sprays.

In many applications the discharge of the nozzle arrangement will be continuous but many applications will use pulsed sprays. Some of the figures show pulsed discharges and others will show continuous discharges and some can be configured to do either. By no means are these meant to represent all of the possible applications of this technology as it can be used in all sorts of applications.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a nozzle arrangement that produces an atomised spray, bolus of liquor or foam wherein the nozzle arrangement comprises a nozzle body with an inlet for a pressurized fluid into a chamber with a downstream outlet orifice in said chamber and a prodder with a substantially tapered conical or rounded tip inside of said chamber wherein during at least some of the discharge at least part of the prodder protrudes inside said chamber outlet orifice and during the discharge the position of the prodder inside of the outlet orifice varies and the fluid flows through a circumferential gap between the prodder and said chamber

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided an arrangement as in the previous aspects wherein one or more of the orifice, prodder, chamber wall, the circumferential gap, the inlet into the chamber wall or any combination of them are shaped or configured so as to cause the fluid to rotate around at least part of the prodder. According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a nozzle arrangement as in any of the preceding aspects wherein at least part of the orifice tapers conically inwards and then outwards downstream.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a nozzle arrangement as in any of the previous aspects wherein at least one final discharge orifice is downstream of the chamber outlet orifice and preferably a plethora of orifices.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention there is provided a nozzle arrangement as in any of the preceding aspects wherein there is a throttle upstream of the prodder that helps to regulate the flow control and preferably but not exclusively a flow controller upstream of the final orifice that regulates the flow independent of the fluid pressure.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention there is provided a nozzle arrangement as in any of the preceding aspects wherein part of the nozzle housing the final orifice and the chamber are connected by a resiliently deformable element that preferably but not exclusively cannot move from the rest position until the pressure of the fluid exceeds a set pressure.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention there is provided a nozzle arrangement as in the preceding aspects wherein the part of the nozzle housing the final orifice moves downstream under the force of the fluid and back upstream under the force of the resiliently deformable element. A preferred version moves downstream and through an arc or laterally or vertically or a combination of them under the force of the fluid and back upstream and through an arc under the force of the resiliently deformable element. Another preferred version restricts the maximum downstream or upstream or both travel of the part of the nozzle housing the final orifice

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention there is provided an arrangement as in any of the previous aspects wherein the discharge is substantially continuous or is pulsed and wherein the prodder is spring loaded and able to move inside the chamber and outlet orifice and is .moved in the chamber in one direction by the action of the pressurized fluid and in the opposite direction by the action of a resiliently deformable element or spring.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention there is provided an arrangement as in any of the previous aspects wherein the nozzle produces more than 2, 10, 20, 30, or 50 pulsed discharges of fluid every second.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention there is provided an arrangement as in any of the previous aspects wherein the part of the nozzle housing the final orifice is positioned from the deformable element by at least 10, 20, 30, or 40 mm.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention there is provided a nozzle arrangement as in any of the previous aspects wherein the nozzle produces less than 0.9, 0.5, 0.1, 0.05, or 0.001 mis of liquor per pulsed discharge.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention there is provided a nozzle arrangement as in any of the previous aspects wherein the pulsing movement of the part of the nozzle housing the final orifice causes a mechanical break up of the droplets

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention there is provided a nozzle arrangement as in any of the previous aspects wherein the fluid being sprayed is a viscose liquor of over 100, 500, 1000, 3000, 5000, or 10,000 centipoises and the spray is pulsed and the fluid is atomized.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention there is provided a nozzle arrangement as in any of the previous aspects wherein the nozzle is connected to a source of pressurized fluid and produces more than 2, 10, 20, 30, or 50 pulsed discharges of fluid every second and less than 0.9, 0.5, 0.1, 0.05, or 0.001 mis of liquor per pulsed discharge.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention there is provided a water pistol with a nozzle arrangement that produces a pulsed discharge so the liquor stored in said water pistol lasts longer than with a continuous discharge yet the wetting effect is similar and where the water pistol action is more akin to a machine gun and wherein preferably but not exclusively the water pistol has at least some design features of a toy machine gun.. According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention there is provided a pulsed water pistol wherein each pulse is a dose of liquor or foam and wherein the pulsed discharge is of a suitable discharge volume and interlude to give the impression of bullets being fired from a machine gun and wherein each pulse is more than 0.1, 0.5 or 1 mis and a pulsed discharge is produced less than every 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, or 0.9 sees.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention there is provided a pulsed water pistol with a nozzle arrangement that produces a pulsed discharge wherein the nozzle arrangement has a sprung element that causes the discharge to travel further than without it.

According to a eighteenth aspect of the present invention there is provided a pulsed water pistol with a nozzle arrangement that produces a pulsed discharge wherein the nozzle arrangement emits a loud sound with every pulse.

According to an nineteenth aspect of the present invention there is provided a nozzle arrangement that produces a pulsed discharge wherein an electrostatic charge is generated between the prodder and either the nozzle part or another component by shaping one or both parts so that they rub against each other during the pulses and they are both made of suitable materials to enhance that charge and wherein the fluid being discharged picks up that charge to generate a charged spray or foam.

According to an twentieth aspect of the present invention there is provided a nozzle arrangement that produces a pulsed discharge wherein the prodder extends into the spray orifice and the pulsing of the nozzle causes a component that the nozzle strikes or that is a part of the nozzle to vibrate creating a shock or sound wave that aids atomization of the spray.

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a nozzle arrangement showing a preferred version wherein the prodder is fixed in position and part of the nozzle containing the final orifice is resiliently deformable. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of a nozzle arrangement showing a preferred version wherein the prodder and plunger are one component and fluid is delivered through a spray orifice.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a nozzle arrangement showing a preferred version where the pulsed element comprises one component and discharges fluid through a spray orifice. Fig 3b shows multiple spray orifices with a domed prodder.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of a nozzle arrangement showing a preferred version where the prodder arrangement is resiliently deformable and part of the nozzle containing the final orifice is also resiliently deformable. Fig 4b shows multiple spray orifices.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of a nozzle arrangement showing a preferred version where the nozzle arrangement is mounted onto the outlet of a trigger sprayer 5b and where the prodder is fixed in position and part of the nozzle containing the final orifice is resiliently deformable.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of a nozzle arrangement showing a preferred version that delivers a pulsed discharge where the prodder element comprises one component and is resiliently deformable and part of the nozzle containing the final orifice is also resiliently deformable and wherein there are multiple spray orifices. Figure 6b shows a single spray orifice.

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of a nozzle arrangement showing a preferred version where the nozzle arrangement is mounted in an aerosol actuator wherein the prodder is fixed in position and part of the nozzle containing the final orifice is resiliently deformable.

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of a nozzle arrangement showing a preferred version where the nozzle arrangement delivers pulsed discharges and is mounted in an aerosol actuator wherein the prodder is resiliently deformable and part of the nozzle containing the final orifice is also resiliently deformable. Figure 8b shows multiple spray orifices.

Figures 9, 9b and 9c show cross-sectional views of 3 nozzle arrangements showing 3 preferred versions of the discharge orifice layouts Figures 10 and 10b show cross-sectional views of a nozzle arrangement showing preferred versions where the nozzle arrangement is mounted onto the outlet of a trigger sprayer 1005 as in figures 5 and 6 and where the prodder and part of the nozzle containing the final orifice are mobile.

The atomized spray produced by the shaped prodder in the shaped orifice can be generated as a continuous or pulsed spray by a range of different but similar configurations. One of the most basic new configurations shown in figure 1 comprises a fixed prodder 101 with a threaded section with circumferential grooves 114 that cause the fluid to flow around the prodder 101 through the grooves 114 and the threaded section forms interference fit between the prodder 101 and the chamber wall 102. The prodder 101 cannot move and is positioned so that when the device is off or there is no fluid flowing through the nozzle, the orifice seals against the prodder tip 104 preferably forming an airtight seal. When the fluid flows the increasing pressure causes a resiliently deformable part of the nozzle 115 to deform downstream creating a fine circumferential gap 103 between the prodder 101 and the parallel sided tubular section 105 or upstream end of the outlet orifice. Downstream of this is in a preferable but not exclusive configuration is tubular shaped orifice 105 followed by an outwardly tapered conical section 106 in the nozzle outlet orifice. The upstream annular prodder ledge 108 rests against an annular ledge 109 of the nozzle body 111 with holes 110 and 112 that allow the fluid to pass from the nozzle inlet chamber 113. The fluid flows through the holes 110 and 112 and into the chamber 117 but cannot be discharged because of the seal between the prodder tip 104 and the orifice 105 so the nozzle body at 115 deforms allowing part of the nozzle body to move downstream and to expose the circumferential grooves 114. The fluid flows around the circumferential grooves 114 in the prodder 101 wall and this causes the fluid to spin around the prodder 101 and out through the outlet orifice 106 as an atomized spray. When the fluid stops flowing the nozzle reforms at 115 moving back upstream and resealing against the prodder. As with all the configurations with the pointed tapered conical prodder 107, the outlet orifice cone 106 can determine the angle of the spray and the wider the cone angel the wider the spray angle until the angle is so wide that the fluid no longer fills the cone and it actually produces a narrower cone. Also, the wider the spray angle the less the throw, the less full the cone spray and the finer the droplets. The circumferential grooves 114 are shown as going all the way around the prodder 101 but in many applications it is desirable to have them as short as possible so they only go part of the way around the prodder 101 and they may be as short as 0.5 mm with 1 - 2 mm being common. There may be just one groove 114 or multiple grooves and 2 - 4 is preferable. This is true for all of the configurations shown.

In our original sister patents as shown in figure 2 the prodder moves but the orifice is fixed. This new innovation has virtually the same effect in many of the configurations where a similar fine gap is created around the prodder in the orifice and a similar discharge is generated. Sometimes it is an advantage to move the prodder and others it is an advantage to move part of the nozzle instead and moving both can also be beneficial.

The objective of the spray configuration is to maintain a narrow circumferential gap 103 between the prodder 101 and the upstream outlet orifice 105, to cause the fluid to spin around the prodder 101 and then to produce an atomised spray after the circumferential gap 103. The gap downstream of the circumferential gap 103 is shaped to cause the spray to both spin outwards to create what would be a hollow cone and to spin inwards between and along the prodder point 107 and the upstream outlet orifice 105 creating a full cone inside the hollow cone. So the final spray is a substantially even and full cone. In addition everything has to be configured to create the spray cone angle that is required and the size of the droplets has to be optimized for each application. Some applications like misting nozzles, body spray aerosols and pumps require fine droplets with very few large droplets whilst other applications such as trigger sprayer cleaners, starch require large droplets with few fine droplets. Whilst there are a number of configurations that can create a full cone spray it is far more difficult to create all of the required parameters such as the droplet distribution for different spray applications.

The outlet orifice isn't always shaped as shown in figure 1 and sometimes there is no tapered conical downstream section 106, there may be a tapered conical section upstream of the orifice 105 with or without a tapered conical downstream section 106 upstream of the orifice. The orifice 105 itself may even have no tubular hole and could be just a tapered conical section with or without tapered conical sections upstream or downstream of it. In most configurations where there is a conically tapered prodder tip 104 in the spray orifice 105 a substantially hollow cone with be produced and that is not acceptable. If the prodder tip 104 isn't substantially pointed or appropriately rounded then a poor spray is produced because the fluid flows up the prodder tip 104 and helps to fill in the centre of the spray cone. If the outlet orifice 105 is too large or the prodder 101 too narrow or too wide or too short then a hollow cone is produced. If there is no prethrottle controlling the flow prior to the prodder 101 then the spray is often poor. If the prodder tip 104 is too far upstream to form a circumferential gap 103 then either a hollow cone is formed or the droplets are far too big or both.

In figure 1 the fluid enters through the upstream end of the nozzle but instead it could enter tangentially like shown in figure 2. This would cause the fluid to spin around the prodder 101 to create the atomized spray so there would be no need for any circumferential groove. Alternatively, the prodder could be smooth with a circumferential gap around it as in figure 2 but the fluid could be fed from upstream with the channels 110, 112 being angled causing the fluid to spin around the prodder. If the prodder tip 104 angle and length inside the orifice 105, the circumferential gap 103 between the prodder 101 and the orifice 105, the straight tubular section 105 of the nozzle orifice in length and diameter, the angle and length of the outlet cone 106, the spinning action of the fluid around the prodder 101, aren't fully optimized then the spray is very poor and usually produces a hollow cone and often produces big droplets or even jets. But if everything is fully optimized the spray is exceptionally good with fine, substantially evenly sized droplets and a full, even cone shape. Sometimes such as with water pistols, producing a jet is preferential and spinning the fluid is not required. The size of the circumferential gap 103 between the prodder 101 and orifice 105 is determined by the flow required with the lower the flow the smaller the gap but normally the gap is the equivalent of hole sizes that vary from 0.05 - 1 mm diameter and more usually 0.15 - 0.6 mm diameter. The orifice diameter used is normally but not exclusively between 0.2 - 3.0 mm and more usually 0.5 - 1.8 mm with the prodder diameter being very close to that of the orifice. So the circumferential gap 103 can be 0.8 mm down to as small as 0.005 mm and often smaller than 0.08 mm. This creates a manufacturing problem. The prodder 101 has to be substantially central inside the orifice 105 and such tolerances are extremely difficult to maintain for mass produced moulded products with very low prices. Also, the prodder tip 104 has to be placed very precisely inside the orifice 105 to produce a consistent gap that is often only just away from a sealing position and this is again extremely demanding with mass produced mouldings. Then even if the tolerances could be achieved, the parts will swell and shrink with different temperatures around the world and with different fluids. This is why the prodder 101 or part of the nozzle is often mobile and often tensioned so that it can find the optimum position in the outlet hole 105. Again, a prethrottle is often used upstream of the prodder 101 or plunger and the inlet holes 112 and 110 could serve as prethrottles if required. A prethrottle upstream of the prodder 101 is preferably used as a primary flow control but it isn't always desirable or practical.

In figure 2 is shown a simple method of producing a configuration with a mobile prodder as shown in our original sister patents. This is shown here so it demonstrates the original technology so a better understanding of the new innovations can be had. It is very similar in operation the new innovation shown in figure 1. The prodder spring 212 is shown as integral to the prodder 206 but it could also be a standard coiled metal spring or any other suitable resiliently deformable part instead and that is true for all the variations shown. This produces a conventional continuous spray that is very even with fine droplets. But again only if all the parameters are optimized or the spray is poor. In practice, the prodder tip 204 seals the outlet 201 until the fluid reaches a set pressure which is dependant on the actuation force of the spring 212 acting between the prodder 206 and the upstream chamber wall 214, which is pretensioned in the rest position. This arrangement then acts as both a spray nozzle and a precompression valve and is useful for products like manually operated trigger sprayers and dispenser pumps and for none drip nozzles. The prodder 206 has a circumferential seal 207 that ensures that no fluid passes between the chamber wall 208 and the prodder 206 from or into the upstream chamber 211 with the spring 212. The seal 207 is shown here as a simply interference seal but they are often larger and resiliently flexible so the prodder 206 is able to move around and self centre in the orifice 201 whilst still retaining a seal at 207. Usually but not exclusively there is a simple hole 213 that vents air to the atmosphere in the spring chamber wall 210. The fluid enters from upstream of the chamber wall at 215 and into the chamber 205 substantially tangential so it spins around the prodder 206 between it and the chamber wall 208. Varying this gap affects the rotation of the fluid around the prodder point 204 so it has to be optimized for different applications. Generally, it can be better than a standard swirl because it is much less prone to blocking. The size of the hole 216 into the chamber 205 can act as a prethrottle having a primary or secondary affect on the flow. As the prodder 206 moves upstream compressing the spring 212 the prodder point 204 immediately moves away from the sealing position and fluid passes it and exits out through the outlet hole 201 as an atomized spray. If the flow is very high then the prodder 206 moves further upstream and if it is very low it hardly moves at all although in reality the movement is tiny for all but the highest flows. Preferentially the prodder point 204 remains in the outlet hole 201 but in a none sealing position when operating and then into the full sealing position when deactivated. Similarly if the fluid pressure is high the main spring 212 is readily compressed and the prodder 206 moves further away from the hole 201 but if the flow is low then the movement is small. This applies if the spring 212 is strong or weak and the stronger the spring 212 the less the movement of the prodder 206 and vice versa. It is possible to make these self cleaning by occasionally increasing the usual operating flow or pressure so that the prodder 206 moves further upstream than normal and even away from the outlet hole 201. The position it moves to can be where the chamber 208 has a larger diameter so there is a much bigger gap between the chamber 208 and the prodder 206 enabling anything trapped between the two parts to move downstream and through the fully open outlet hole 201. Similarly anything trapped between the prodder point 204 and the outlet hole 201 can also flow out. This would be as a crude spray, a jet or bolus of fluid but it would only need to be a momentary flow to clear everything. With some applications a jet is required rather than a spray and this is easily achieved by simply preventing the fluid spinning around the prodder 206 by making the inlet 216 so it isn't tangential.

In figure 3 we see a pulsed variant of figure 2 which again was shown in our original sister patents where there is an integral main spring 308 and there is a prodder spring 305. Again this is repeated from our original sister patents to be better able to understand the new innovations. The fluid is sent under pressure from the input 313 through the channel 312 tangentially into the dosing chamber 311 and then between the prodder 306 and chamber wall 309. The tangential input 312 causes the fluid to spin in the chamber 311 and around the prodder 306 as it exits as an atomised spray. Normally but not necessarily, there is a resiliently deformable spring element 305 between the prodder 306 and plunger 302 as before so the plunger 302 moves upstream as the chamber 311 fills with the fluid until the prodder spring 305 is sufficiently tensioned and pulls out the prodder 306 and the fluid in the chamber 311 is discharged as the main spring 308 pushes the plunger 302 and prodder 306 downstream until the prodder 306 reseals in the outlet hole 301. The dosing chamber 311 then refills and the process continues causing the prodder 306 to create a pulsed spray. In practice the prodder 306 moves very small distances and the plunger 302 moves small to large distances largely depending upon the strength of the prodder spring 305. The pulses can be slow to fast according to the input flow and the size of the dosing chamber 311. In many applications the pulse is so fast that the discharge appears to be continuous. The main spring 308 and the prodder spring 305 may be integral to the plunger 302 or separate parts as required. Often, the pulsing element would be one part for cost and size and this is then exceptionally cheap which is ideal for aerosols, pumps and trigger sprayers as well as many other spray applications.

What is different between this and any ordinary pulsed nozzle arrangement is that the pulsed element is being used to generate and manipulate an atomised spray with movement of part of it in the spray orifice 301. In this case the movement is by the prodder 306 of the actual pulsing element but it could instead be a different part to the pulsing element and be moved by the pulsing action. It is also possible to follow the outlet 301 and prodder 306 combination with a second spinning arrangement such as a swirl chamber that takes the atomised spray from the prodder orifice and further refines the spray. In figure 3b we show the arrangement of figure 3 but with an added outlet 314 comprising multiple orifices and a prodder 317 with a rounded or domed tip. The rounded tip could be used with any of the configurations but it has to be carefully shaped and optimized for each of them in order to ensure an appropriate spray is produced. The fluid is sometimes spun and other times not when there is an added outlet like this and it depends upon the shape of the final orifice or orifices. This is detailed more later on including with figure 9. It offers an amazing number of possibilities for manipulating the spray. As already mentioned the fluid can spin around the prodder 306 as it enters into the outlet orifice 301. The prodder 306 tip can extend partially or wholly into that orifice 301 so it can either spin around the prodder 306 as it travels all the way through the orifice 301 or for part of the way through and then continue spinning in the remainder of the orifice 301. The spinning action can be generated by appropriately shaped grooves in the prodder 306 as seen in figures 1 and 8, orifice 301, or wall 309 of the dose chamber 311 or any combination of them. Or it could be generated by suitably shaped fins around the prodder 306 body or between the prodder 306 and dosing chamber wall 309. Or the fluid could be directed so it enters the chamber 311 tangentially as here so it spins around the prodder which could then be smooth with no grooves or threads. The outlet orifice 301 can be shaped in any suitable way to enhance the manipulation of the spray.

Normally but not exclusively, the pulses will be short strokes of the prodder 306 so that they are fast. Air or gas could be added to the fluid itself such as in an aerosol canister for example with butane or C02 as the propellant where some gas naturally exists in solution creating bubbles and more can be added through a bleed off in the aerosol valve called a vapour phase tap. It is this movement of the prodder 306 that offers so many new ways of manipulating the spray. With each pulse, the prodder 306 hits the orifice wall 307 and this can be used to set up a shock wave that further breaks up the droplets in the spray. This could be achieved by shaping the outlet 301 and adding a shaped chamber downstream of it. Similarly, a sound wave could be generated for the same purpose and generated by the prodder 306 striking the orifice wall 307. Or a component could be added downstream of the prodder 306 that is connected to it or just struck by it with each pulse and this could be made to vibrate by the prodder 306 movement and that vibration could cause a shock or sound wave to break up the droplets further. Or the spray could strike the vibrating part to cause or enhance atomisation. An open and shaped chamber could follow the orifice 301 to enhance these innovations.

With standard spray swirls, the smaller the orifice hole the finer the droplets but you can only mould hole sizes above a certain size in mass volumes because of the pins in the tools that make the holes, breaking. Typically the limit is around 0.18 mm diameter. With a prodder in the orifice the hole becomes the circumferential gap between the prodder and orifice and in practice it is difficult to make a small gap. But when the circumferential gap is created by the movement of the pulse and that movement can be made very small then so a very small circumferential gap is generated and this can be made to create a hollow cone spray that produces fine droplets. By shaping the prodder tip, the orifice or a chamber afterwards the hollow cone can be converted into a full cone again with fine droplets. The fluid is spun through the circumferential gap to create the atomization.

The prodder 306 can be shaped so that it rubs against the walls 307 and 309 of the inserted part 314 and by making said walls and the prodder 306 in the appropriate materials an electrostatic charge can be generated between the two parts so the fluid being discharged picks up the charge as it is sprayed charging the spray. This inserted part 314 also extends upstream of the plunger seal 304 and that also can increase the charge generated when the seal 304 rubs against it. Having two parts rubbing against each other at the orifice and generating a pulsed spray is an ideal combination for generating an electrostatically charged spray. The fact that the spray orifice is a very narrow circumferential gap also increases the charge because of the friction created by such a small gap. This would work with the air and none air versions and with the prodder 306 followed by a swirl and orifice or with the prodder in the orifice as described. When a swirl is used, the prodder 306 could rub against the part containing the post of the swirl instead of the inserted part 314.

The point of all of these examples is that the movement of the prodder in the spray orifice either directly or indirectly can be designed to be an active part of the spray manipulation. There will be other ideas than can be used with this pulsing element and these will doubtless be developed over time.

The nozzle arrangement in figure 3 can be configured to produce a continuous spray instead of a pulsed spray. A simple way to do this is to increase the size of the inlet 312 relative to the size of the circumferential gap in the orifice 301 so that once the prodder 306 has pulled away from the sealing position, the flow of the fluid from the inlet 312 is so fast that the prodder can't return to the sealing position. The circumferential gap then becomes one that is big enough to accommodate the required flow. If the fluid route through 312 isn't tangential then the fluid won't spin and a simple jet of fluid will be discharged at the orifice but even this is used in some applications such as water pistols.

In figure 4 we see a new version that is equivalent in performance to the design shown in figure 3 but where the front part of the nozzle orifice 401 can also move at 403 and is resiliently deformable and this effectively replaces the plunger 304 and main spring 308 but produces a pulsed spray just as in figure 3. The prodder 407 is attached to a fixed inlet part 411 by a spring 410 and the inlet part 411 is fixed in position inside a recess 412 in the body of the nozzle 405. The spring 410 could be replaced by an integral resiliently deformable part as shown in the other figures and equally, they could be replaced by springs. The front part is made up of an orifice part 402, a resiliently deformable part 403 and a locking part 404 and these can be made as a bi-injection moulding or as 1 - 3 different parts. The locking part 404 holds the front part in the body of the nozzle 405 so it cannot move out of the body 405. It works similarly to as in figure 3 except that when the fluid is pressurized in the body 405 of the nozzle the resiliently deformable part 403 deforms downstream or outwards moving the orifice 401 further downstream and the prodder 407 is also moved downstream by the pressure of the fluid acting upon it. So it stays sealed in the orifice 401. Once the prodder 407 has moved sufficiently, the tensioned prodder spring 410 prevents the prodder 407 moving further downstream so it can no longer seal in the orifice 401 as the orifice 401 continues to move downstream and once that seal is broken the tensioned prodder spring 410 causes it to quickly pull away from the orifice 401 and this causes some of the fluid to discharge. This reduces the pressure in the chamber 409 and causes the orifice 401 to move back upstream under the force of the resiliently deformable part 403. But new fluid is still entering into the chamber 409 through the inlets 417 and 418 and this pushes the prodder 407 back upstream where it rapidly meets with the returning orifice 401 and reforms the seal. The cycle then repeats itself. In practice what usually happens is that the orifice 401 and prodder 407 move from an initial sealing position to a fully extended sealing position where the prodder 407 no longer seals. The orifice 401 then moves back upstream to a new sealing position that is very close to the fully extended sealing position and forwards of the initial sealing position. This means that the movement of both the orifice 401 and prodder 407 between discharges tends to be very small and the discharges tend to also be very small and fast. This is very different to the action shown in figure 3 and in our sister patents because there the nozzle is fixed and so doesn't rush back to meet the prodder and the prodder consequently travels further making the pulses slower and larger. Once the fluid pressure is turned off the nozzle and prodder return to the original starting position.

Figure 4 would usually have a prethrottle at 418 or 417 or anywhere upstream of them that regulates the flow to the prodder chamber 419 and the size of this would depend upon the required flow of the fluid through the final orifice. Sometimes there would also be a flow controller instead that regulates the flow of the fluid so it is kept within set limits regardless of the pressure. Any suitable type of flow controller can be used and are well known in the industry. The prethrottle and flow controllers could be used with any of the example described in this application. They are particularly important with pulsed discharges as it can be very difficult to make a reliable or consistent pulsing action without a prethrottle or flow control.

The configuration shown in figure 4 is very like our original pulsed technology as shown in figure 3 but it is also significantly different in that the movement tends to be much less and the discharges are smaller and faster which means smaller droplets. Also, the nozzle itself moves whereas on our original designs it was stationary. The natural movement of the nozzle is in and out on a horizontal plane but it can be designed so it also moves up and down or side to side or generally in an arc by varying the bias in sections of the resiliently deformable connection 403 between the nozzle and the body. This creates a shearing force on the droplets much like a whip action and that aids the atomization of the droplets. The movement can be made large or small or anywhere in between and a preferred version uses a very small movement and a very fast pulse with very small discharges. This also causes the nozzle to vibrate and that vibration is transmitted to the fluid being discharged so it can also be used to help break up droplets.

So now we have the vibration, the in out movement, the up and down movement, the pulsing with tiny discharges and potentially the spinning action of the fluid all contributing to break up the spray into finer droplets. There are so many variations that are possible as well. In figure 4b we see a similar configuration to that shown in figure 4 but instead of trying to form a single spray from a single orifice with the prodder 407 being in the orifice 401 and creating a circumferential gap between them when activated, this time the final orifice comprises a number of smaller orifices 414 which in a preferred but not exclusive version are tubes set out in a grid pattern and shaped or angled to produce mutually divergent sprays. These are downstream of the new chamber 416 which is normally filled with fluid. The discharge produces a number of rods of fluid as opposed to a full cone spray much like from a shower head and usually the fluid is not spun inside the nozzle around the prodder 407 but in some cases it may still be a preferred option. So usually but not exclusively in this version the inlet to the dose chamber would not be tangential and there would be a gap between the prodder 407 and chamber 409 wall with no circumferential grooves 408. Many different combinations of orifices can be used including a single hole or multiples of holes in different patterns or holes with slits to create fans and this will be covered in more detail with figure 9. The holes can be anything from 0.8 mm diameter down to 0.001 mm diameter and anywhere in between with the smaller the holes the finer the droplets depending upon the fluid being sprayed. Viscous liquors tend to only pass through holes that are large enough such as 0.3 - 0.6 mm and that is also true where particulates are in the fluid with products like anti perspirant that uses talcum powder. The prodder tip 406 could also be shaped so it still forms a circumferential seal as normal but it protrudes inside the chamber 410 which could also be much shorter and even substantially butts up against the orifices 414 forming a seal or almost seal there in the initial position. This could be used for products including but not exclusive to foods or glue that could potentially harden or go off in such a chamber.

With both versions 4 and 4b the objective is to create a pulsing spray and preferably with short and fast discharges. The small pulses effectively form droplets and as they are so fast it appears to be a continuous atomized spray. By using multiple orifices the same discharge is further divided between the number of orifices making the droplets even smaller. Vibrating the nozzle further reduces the droplets and swinging the nozzles through an arc breaks them up still more. Increasing the length of orifice part 402 increases the movement of it especially though an arc and can increase the vibration. Adding air to the fluid either before or in the nozzle arrangement also reduces the size of the droplets. Any number of these techniques could be combined with different applications.

In figure 4b we also show a venturi hole 417 that can draw air into the fluid in the chamber 416 and this can be used both for continuous and pulsed discharges with liquor for reducing the droplet sizes and also with foaming liquor for improving the foam quality. A venturi could be added to many of the potential designs for this technology.

In figures 5 and 5b we see the nozzle arrangement type of figure 1 set inside the outlet of a trigger activated manually operated dispenser 501 but could it just as easily have been mounted on a dispenser activated by an actuator including a water pistol or it could be mounted on or in any device including a aerosol actuator where pressurized fluid is delivered and usually as an atomized spray. Again, this action is very similar to our original design in our sister patents where the prodder moves and the nozzle is stationary. Only here the nozzle 502 is fixed to the body 505 of the trigger sprayer 501 by the circumferential upstand 512 of the body 505 inside of the corresponding circumferential recess 511 in the nozzle 502. The nozzle 502 has a resiliently deformable section 508 that allows the nozzle part 507 to move along the fixed prodder 510 of the body 505. It moves downstream under the action of the fluid being discharged and then back upstream as the resiliently deformable section 508 reforms. This action opens and closes the orifice 504.

As the trigger handle is pulled fluid is pumped through the channel 506 and around the circumferential grooves 518 in the prodder 510 and into the chamber 513 around the prodder 510. The prodder 510 sits inside a tubular section 519 of the nozzle 502 and there are circumferential grooves 518 around the prodder 510 that cause the fluid to flow around the prodder 510 and to spin around the conically tapered tip 515 of the prodder. Preferably but not exclusively there are 3 circumferential grooves 518 around the prodder 510 with 3 entry and exit points so the fluid spins evenly around the prodder 510. But these can also be considerably shortened so they just form curved grooves near to the downstream end of the prodder 510 and just upstream of the conical end 515 of the prodder 510 so the fluid spins around the prodder tip 515 and in the chamber 513. All of the threaded prodders shown throughout this application can be similarly configured.

Once the pressure of the fluid around the prodder 510 has increased enough to overcome the force of the sprung element 508 which is pretensioned to a set force so the nozzle 507 moves downstream unsealing the outlet orifice 504 and allowing the fluid to be discharged. The distance the nozzle moves downstream is determined by the strength of the nozzle sprung element 508 and the pressure of the fluid. The distance is also determined by the size of the orifice 504 since if it is very large then even a small upstream movement of the nozzle 507 will result in a large gap and the nozzle 507 may not move that far. As soon as the nozzle has unsealed the fluid will discharge and the flow will increase as the nozzle 507 moves further away. Then as the pressure reduces so the nozzle 507 will move back upstream under pressure from the sprung element 508 until it finally reseals against the prodder 510 at the sealing position 514.

It is often desirable to restrict the distance that the nozzle part 507 can travel as if it goes too far the spray can produce a hollow cone instead of a full cone. Also, the flow can become higher than required. The sprung element 508 can be designed in such a way as to maximize the travel or an insert can be added that is fixed in position by snapping onto the outer part 516 of the nozzle 502 and being positioned in such a way as to restrict the movement of the nozzle part 507. Or other known ways could be used to achieve the same goal. This is true for all of the examples shown with a moving nozzle in this application.

Similarly, the force exerted by the resiliently deformable element 508 is really important to achieve the required performance and different applications required different forces.

A major problem with trigger actuated dispensers is the actuation force required and this is especially true with high discharges and is an enormous restriction of the volumes that can be discharged. The user pulls the handle 500 slowly and weakly at first and pulls progressively faster and harder as the stroke continues. With a standard fixed sized outlet orifice 504 the discharge flow will increase as the pressure builds but a point is reached where the discharge hardly increases at all with the increasing pressure. This increases the fluid pressure of the fluid and consequently the user has to use even more force to pull the handle 500. So the peak force is really high and the user tends to reduce the actuation force and then stop pulling at this point often resulting in short pulls and reduced discharges. This all happens over around 0.6 seconds and the smaller the final orifice 504 the greater the problem and the longer it takes to discharge plus the higher the actuation force needed. Yet the smaller the outlet orifice the finer the spray quality and the smaller the droplets and vice versa. With our technology, the circumferential gap around the prodder 510 increases with pressure so the harder the user pulls the handle 500, the faster the discharge yet the pressure remains fairly constant and as the circumferential gap is very small, fine droplets with no large droplets are produced. The travel of the nozzle 507 is restricted so that a full cone spray is always produced so there is a small increase in force needed at the end of the cycle but it is far lower than with a standard spray orifice. Also, as the user starts to reduce the force near to the end of the stroke the circumferential gap is reduced and this ensures that a high quality discharge is maintained throughout the discharge stroke and there are no large droplets produced. It also means that the discharge can take as little as 0.1 seconds and usually around 10 - 15% of the time needed with a standard trigger. As the effort expended by the user is determined by the force and the time then clearly it is considerably less with our system. This means that larger volumes of fluid can be pumped and that means that the user needs to do fewer discharges. This also applies to dispenser pumps that are actuated by an actuator.

The figure 5 shows the spray orifice 504 as a single hole but just as in figure 3b there could be another orifice at the downstream end of the current orifice. This could also be a number of different designs including multiple holes, a line of holes, holes with slits to create fans and any other appropriate configuration. For applications where a jet is required there would usually be no element such as the grooves 518 to spin the fluid.

In figures 6 and 6b the outlet of the same trigger activated manually operated dispenser shown in figure 5 but with a pulsed nozzle arrangement. The pulsed version has a resiliently deformable nozzle insert 607 set inside an outlet of a trigger activated manually operated dispenser but it could just as easily have been mounted on a dispenser activated by an actuator including a water pistol or it could be mounted on or in any device including a aerosol can actuator where pressurized fluid is delivered and usually as an atomized spray. This is similar to the nozzle arrangement of figure 4 incorporated into a trigger where part of the nozzle insert can move and is resiliently deformable. It works substantially the same as in figure 4 so when the fluid is pressurized by pulling on the trigger 500, the resiliently deformable part 607of the nozzle insert 608 deforms downstream or outwards at and the prodder 604 is also moved downstream by the pressure of the fluid acting upon it. So it stays sealed in the insert orifice 608. Once the nozzle insert 607 has deformed sufficiently, the tensioned prodder spring 603 prevents the prodder 604 moving further downstream so as the nozzle insert 608 moves further downstream it can no longer seal in the nozzle insert 608 at 610 and once that seal is broken the prodder spring 603 causes it to quickly pull away from the nozzle insert 608 and this causes some of the fluid to discharge. This reduces the pressure in the chamber 611 and enables the nozzle insert 608 to move back upstream. Simultaneously the new fluid entering into the chamber 611 causes the prodder 604 to move back downstream where it meets the returning nozzle insert 608 so the prodder 604 is once again able to seal in the nozzle insert 608. But then the chamber 611 fills back up and pushes the nozzle insert 608 orifice back downstream so the entire process continues with a pulsing discharge just as in the process shown in figure 4b.

The fluid isn't spun in this version and instead relies upon smaller orifices 609 in the nozzle insert 608 combined with low pulsed discharges to atomize or break up the fluid. But it could also be spun including by simply entering the chamber 611 tangentially from the inlet 613 or adding circumferential grooves to the prodder 604 as before. This could also be a number of different designs including multiple holes, holes with slits to create fans and any other appropriate configuration.

The figure 6b shows the spray orifice 615 as a single hole just as in figure 5. This would produce a pulsed jet of liquor like bullets out of a machine gun and this configuration would be ideal for converting water pistols into machine guns. Adding an outlet tube around and downstream of the orifice 615 preferably with a venturi air hole at the upstream end of said tube as in figure 4b and dispensing a foaming liquor would convert said water bullets into foam bullets which could also be used with water pistols. The water pistol machine gun idea could also be added to our original pulsed ram with a moving plunger and prodder and stationary nozzle similar to as shown in figure 3b but added to a trigger activated manually operated dispenser. For foam bullets there could be a simple venturi holes added through the nozzle body wall 318 into the chamber 315 and use a foam fluid so air is drawn into the fluid in chamber 315 so a foam pulse is discharged through the orifices 314. Like as in figure 4 with the venturi hole 417. Or any other trigger with a pulsed discharge could be converted in such a way to fire water or foam bullets and again there would usually be no spinning liquor. It isn't enough to simply pulse the fluid as too fast a pulse and the discharge becomes almost the same as a normal jet of fluid. Too slow and there would be no feeling of it being a machine gun. If the discharge is too little then it won't be like a bullet and if it is too much you also lose much of the effect. Also, you ideally want the pulsing mechanism to increase the throw of the bullets rather than to decrease it and both of our versions can be so configured with optimizing the main spring and prodder. Preferentially but not exclusively the time between discharges would be enough to deliver discernable bullets and the discharge volume would be sufficient to feel the individual bullets. So a time between 0.1 - 1 second and a discharge volume between 0.1 - 1 ml.

Figures 6 and 6b would usually have a prethrottle at 506 or at 613 that regulates the flow to the prodder chamber and the size of this would depend upon the required flow of the fluid through the final orifice. Sometimes there would also be a flow controller upstream of the inlet 613 that regulates the flow of the fluid so it is kept within set limits regardless of the pressure. Any suitable type of flow controller can be used and are well known in the industry. The prethrottle and flow controllers could be used with any of the example described in this application. They are particularly important with pulsed discharges as it can be very difficult to make a reliable or consistent pulsing action without a prethrottle or flow control.

This nozzle arrangement has been configured to retrofit to current triggers actuated dispensers. Any of the previous configurations shown could also easily be fitted onto a trigger actuated dispensers or any other pumped or pressurized fluid. In figure 5 we see the nozzle arrangement type of figure 1 set inside the outlet of a trigger activated manually operated dispenser and in figure 7 we see it incorporated into an aerosol can actuator instead. Again, this action is very similar to the actuator in our original sister patents where the prodder moves and the nozzle is stationary. The actuator 701 is fixed onto an aerosol canister and the outlet valve of the aerosol canister is sealably fixed inside the actuator inlet chamber 712. When the actuator is depressed the valve opens and fluid flows through the inlet 702, through the circumferential grooves 707 in the fixed prodder 703 and spins in the chamber 706 around the tip 709 of the prodder 703. The force of the fluid acting on the resiliently deformable part 713 of the nozzle insert 714 deforms it downstream opening a circumferential gap between the prodder tip 709 and the orifice 714 and causing the fluid to discharge as a continuous atomized spray. When the actuator 701 is released the aerosol valve closes stopping flow to the nozzle and the orifice 714 returns to the sealing position on the prodder 703 under the influence of the resiliently deformable element 713. The resiliently deformable element 713 is held in place by the locking ring 715. As in the previous examples, the locking ring 715, the resiliently deformable element 713 and the orifice part 714 can be any of 1 - 3 components. As before, there would preferentially be up to 4 circumferential grooves 707 with 2 or 3 being the most common.

Other alternatives previously outlined could be used instead of this example including having no circumferential grooves 707 and instead having a circumferential gap around the prodder 703 and making the inlet 702 tangential so the fluid spins around the prodder. The inlet 702 could even be tangential to the tip 709 itself so the fluid spins around the tip and again, this is possible for all of the configurations where spinning is required. This would be ideal for products like anti perspirant that can cause blockages in the circumferential grooves 707. Multiple orifices could also follow the orifice 710. The resiliently deformable element 713 could be set with a pretension so it won't move until a set pressure has been reached.

Figures 8 and 8b show the aerosol can actuator of figure 7 but with a moving prodder 805 and a moving nozzle orifice 806 as in figure 4 or as shown in the trigger actuated dispenser in figure 6. This is essentially a version of the nozzle arrangement of figure 4 incorporated into an aerosol can actuator where part of the nozzle can move and is resiliency deformable at 807. It works substantially the same as in figure 4 so when the fluid is pressurized by pressing on the actuator 701 to open the aerosol valve, part of the nozzle at 807 deforms downstream or outwards under the pressure of the fluid and the prodder 805 is also moved downstream with it by the pressure of the fluid acting upon it. So it stays sealed in the orifice 810. Once the nozzle part 807 has deformed sufficiently, the tensioned prodder spring 802 which is anchored by the upstream end 801 being fixed in place, prevents the prodder 805 moving further downstream so it can no longer continue to move downstream with the nozzle orifice part 806 so the seal in the orifice 810 is broken and the prodder spring 802 reforming causes it to quickly pull away from the orifice 810 and this causes some of the fluid to discharge. This reduces the pressure in the chamber 811 and enables the nozzle 806 to move back upstream. Simultaneously the new fluid entering the chamber 811 causes the prodder 805 to move back downstream where it meets the returning nozzle 806 so the prodder 805 is once again able to seal in the orifice 810. But then the chamber 811 fills back up and pushes the nozzle orifice part 806 back downstream so the entire process continues with a pulsing discharge just as in the process shown in figures 4 and 6. Any type of spring element could be used in these designs including metal springs and these are meant as examples only. That is true for all the designs and applications mentioned.

Figure 8 shows the spray orifice 810 as a single hole but in figure 8b just as in figure 4b there could be another orifice 813 at the downstream end of the current orifice 810. This could also be a number of different designs including multiple holes, holes with slits to create fans and any other appropriate configuration.

Figures 7 and 8 would usually have a prethrottle at 702 that regulates the flow to the prodder chamber and the size of this would depend upon the required flow of the fluid through the final orifice. Sometimes there would also be a flow controller upstream of the inlet 702 that regulates the flow of the fluid so it is kept within set limits regardless of the pressure. Any suitable type of flow controller can be used and are well known in the industry. The prethrottle and flow controllers could be used with any of the example described in this application. They are particularly important with pulsed discharges as it can be very difficult to make a reliable or consistent pulsing action without a prethrottle or flow control. In figures 9, 9a and 9b we see three possible versions of final orifice configurations using multiple holes arranged in set patterns or grids. In fig 9 the orifices such as 902 are set in 3 offset columns of 5, 4 and 5 holes respectively and these columns are parallel to each other. The holes in each column are mutually divergent and angled in such a way as to produce 3 vertical spray fan type shapes but made up of discs.

In figure 9a there are 7 orifices 930 - 937 set in a line of holes and these are also mutually divergent and angled to produce an overlapping line of disc shapes that become like a rectangle as the spray is moved relative to the part being sprayed forming an even covering. The line of orifices can be angled at 45 degrees so the covering is the same if sprayed horizontally or vertically.

In figure 9b we see a different orifice configuration where the holes are laid out substantially in a disc with each hole being angled outwards. The holes are shown as being close to each other but in other preferable configurations there would be more of a gap between them. The holes tend to produce a hollow cone shape if sprayed continuously or if held in one position. There could also be multiples of circles of holes.

If either of these are sprayed continuously then multiple jets of fluid are discharged but if the fluid is pulsed then each jet is broken up into a series of rods and the size of these is dependant upon the interval between pulses, the number of holes, the size of them and the flow rate. Surface tension of the fluid in the rods causes them to form droplets if they are short enough which they usually are. If the nozzles are kept still and directed at a surface then the pattern on the surface will be the same as though the flow is continuous.

Some of the applications of primary interest to us include spraying from aerosols and trigger actuated dispensers and especially ones that deliver a continuous spray over a period of time and even one as short as 1 second. With these applications the user tends to move the device whilst spraying onto something including a surface or object or person. Looking at the configuration in figure 9, if the nozzle is moved horizontally to the right then the pattern that is produced on a surface is a fairly solid band or stripe of fluid because of the overlap of the jets. If something like water is discharged then it tends to run down if the spray is onto a vertical surface and if the surface is horizontal it tends to just flow outwards generally. But if the fluid is pulsed and the pulsing action is matched to the movement you can produce a fairly good coating on the surface being sprayed upon. Of course, the nozzle could be stationary and the surface being sprayed upon such as an object could be moved instead or both could move. The nature and depth of the coating will depend upon many things including the viscosity, the nature of the surface, the flow, the number and size of the holes and the pulse rate and volume. The dose of fluid can be quite large as in the case of a water pistol or it can be very small and especially with small droplets and it is possible to configure everything so that droplets are formed on the surface. These can be very small to quite large and they can be dispersed so the droplets have big spaces between them or so they overlap with substantially none or very little of the surface being exposed afterwards and anywhere in between.

These designs tend to create a sprayed strip with the width dependant upon the angle and gap of the holes and ideally it is desirable to generate a coverage with enough width so that you don't need to do too many sweeps of the surface to cover it. You also tend to want an even coverage with a similar thickness.

Each pulse produces a jet or rod of fluid but because the nozzle tip moves in and out and preferentially also in an arc and the nozzle tip also preferentially vibrates because of the fast movement, a lot of different forces are exerted on the fluid as it exits the orifices and this causes each of the rods to break up into a series of droplets. The more aggressive the forces the greater the break up and the smaller the droplets and the smaller the pulse, the higher the pressure, the lower the discharge volume, the faster the pulse, the smaller the holes, the finer the droplets. Also, if gas or air is present in the fluid then each rod contains gas bubbles and that causes the rod to break up much easier and into finer droplets under the forces acting upon it. If the orifices are angled or the jets are deflected at an angle then the movement also has a cutting effect on the jets which further reduces the size of the droplets as the jet breaks up.

So as the nozzle in fig 9 is swept across the surface being sprayed on, the individual jets are broken up during each pulse instead of one jet striking the surface a number of individual droplets will hit the surface instead. What happens in practice is that once everything is optimized the orifice 902 will produce a number of small droplets that land on the surface around similar droplets from orifice 903 and so on for all of the orifices. It means that the surface is substantially covered in that narrow stripe and as the nozzle 901 is moved substantially in a line to the right or left so an even coverage of the entire surface is generated. The reason that the central position in the central column has no orifice is because it tends to spray preferentially there so the coverage is thicker in that area but when there is no hole the rest of the holes around it compensate and there is a uniform coverage. But the central hole could have been used and it shows how a pattern of holes needs to be optimized for the best possible cover.

A problem with the hole pattern in figure 9 is if the user sprays vertically or diagonally as this doesn't create such an even coverage and people tend to spray fairly randomly. The design shown in figure 9b gets over that problem because as it is swept across a surface in any direction, the spread out of the droplets from each hole tends to create a fairly even stripe although it isn't as good as the horizontal sweep from the first design. If the nozzle is stationary relative to the surface and the spray is continuous then a hollow cone is produced but if the spray is pulsed then a fairly full but uneven cone type shape will be produced. If the spray is pulsed and the nozzle moved relative to the surface then a substantially even and uniform stripe will be produced.

In figures 10 and 10b we see another iteration of the versions shown in figure 6 with the same trigger activated manually operated dispenser 1005 with a pulsed nozzle arrangement. The pulsed version has a mobile and resiliently sprung nozzle insert 1020 set inside an outlet of a trigger activated manually operated dispenser 1005 but it could just as easily have been mounted on a dispenser activated by an actuator including a water pistol or it could be mounted on or in any device including an aerosol can actuator, a spray gun such as for paint, where pressurized fluid is delivered and usually as an atomized spray. A similar device is described in figure 8.

It works substantially the same as in figure 6 so when the fluid is pressurized by pulling on the trigger 500, the mobile nozzle insert 1020 moves downstream or outwards under the force exerted by the fluid as the trigger handle is pulled and the prodder 1004 is also moved downstream by the pressure of the fluid acting upon it. So it stays sealed in the nozzle insert orifice 1018. Once the nozzle insert 1020 has moved sufficiently, the tensioned prodder spring 1003 prevents the prodder 1004 moving further downstream so as the nozzle insert 1020 moves further downstream it can no longer seal in the nozzle insert 1020 at 1018 and once that seal is broken the prodder spring 1003 causes it to quickly pull away from the nozzle insert 1020 and this causes some of the fluid to discharge through the orifices 1025 or 1015. This reduces the pressure in the chamber 1011 and enables the nozzle insert 1020 to move back upstream under the force of the resiliently deformable spring 1019 that acts upon the nozzle insert 1020 at the shoulder 1024. Simultaneously the new fluid entering into the chamber 1011 causes the prodder 1004 to move back downstream where it meets the returning nozzle insert 1020 so the prodder 1004 is once again able to seal in the nozzle insert 1020. But then the chamber 1011 fills back up and pushes the nozzle insert 1020 back downstream so the entire process continues with a pulsing discharge just as in the process described in figure 6. The fluid isn't spun in fig 10 and instead relies upon smaller orifices 1025 in the nozzle insert 1020 combined with low pulsed discharges to atomize or break up the fluid. But it could also be spun including by simply entering the chamber 1011 tangentially from the inlet 1013 or by using a swirl 1016 and single orifice 1015 as shown in figure 10b. This spins the fluid as it exits the final orifice 1015 atomizing the spray but also increases the atomization by pulsing the discharge and atomizes it still further with the movement of the nozzle insert 1020. This could also us a number of different nozzle designs including multiple holes, multiple swirls, holes with slits to create fans and any other appropriate configuration.

The nozzle insert 1020 usually moves from the start position to an active but sealed position where there is no discharge then a tiny movement allows the discharge, then a tiny movement back upstream to the active sealed position and so on until it returns to the start position. This produces very fine droplets with tiny discharges and an extremely fast pulse rate. It is easy to make the nozzle insert 1014 or 1020 to also move up and down and or sideways to affect the spray and to increase the atomization including but not restricted to by interacting between it and the part 1017 by shaping the part 1020 to strike 1017 in set positions to cause the nozzle insert 1014 to move as the nozzle part 1014 moves in and out. The vibration from the fast pulsing also affects the atomization. This works with multiple orifices and with a swirl and orifices or multiple swirls and orifices with both viscous and none viscous liquors or fluids.

Just as with the version shown in figure 6 this version or a combination of the versions could be used with water pistols as a machine gun.

Again as in figure 6 figures 10 and 10b would usually have a prethrottle at 1013 that regulates the flow to the prodder chamber and the size of this would depend upon the required flow of the fluid through the final orifice. Sometimes there would also be a flow controller upstream of the inlet 1013 that regulates the flow of the fluid so it is kept within set limits regardless of the pressure. Any suitable type of flow controller can be used and are well known in the industry. The prethrottle and flow controllers could be used with any of the examples described in this application. They are particularly important with pulsed discharges as it can be very difficult to make a reliable or consistent pulsing action without a prethrottle or flow control.

This nozzle arrangement has been configured to retrofit to current trigger actuated dispensers. Any of the previous configurations shown could also easily be fitted onto a trigger actuated dispensers or any other pumped or pressurized fluid.

We have seen in several of the figures that the orifice can take many forms and this is particularly important for some applications such as discharging viscose liquors including but not restricted to thick cleaners, food products such as sauces, paints, hair products and so on. It is extremely difficult to produce an atomized spray with such liquors and the best you get is usually a splash or a jet. Using multiple holes produces a jet with each hole subject to the holes being large enough to allow the viscose liquor through and there not being too many of them so the discharge doesn't exit with sufficient force. When the discharge is also pulsed the jets are broken up into droplets or are atomized with the faster the pulse, the smaller the discharge and the greater the number of holes, the smaller the droplets. We have seen that in some versions the nozzle can also move out and in an arc and these movements can be optimized to further the break up of the fluid by both vibrating the nozzle and by shaking the fluid with the movement. Moving the nozzle in an arc creates a whip lash effect or centrifugal force that sheers the spray forming smaller droplets. Combinations of these features can produce extremely good atomization of even the most viscose fluids but it can also be very beneficial for atomizing other fluids to produce very fine droplets. Air or gas can also be added to the fluid at source or anywhere between the source and the discharge outlet and this reduces the volume of liquor in each pulsed discharge and some of the air is entrained in some of the droplets making them more likely to break up into finer droplets.

The applications use low flows and typically from 0.2 g/s to 8 g/s and any higher and it becomes very difficult to generate an even coverage on the surface. Consequently the holes have to be small for this to work and they also have to cover a small area. If the holes are too large then the jets or rods will be more difficult to break up into small droplets and it will be difficult to get a decent throw from the spray plus it will be uneven across the holes as the spray will tend to be stronger in the central holes. The smaller the holes the better but if they are too small they tend to block too easily and they are difficult to manufacture. So in practice the multiple holes tend to vary from around 0.15 - 0.6 mm diameter but aren't restricted to that range. The exception to this is when extremely fine holes are used in a plate that has been made explicitly for fine sprays such as used with piezo crystals. The hole size can then be much smaller but there are many more of them and it can be tolerated if some block. The area covered by the holes tends to be very small as well or it becomes impossible to fill in the gaps between the droplets when they land on the surface being sprayed. So the area is preferably but not exclusively within a diameter of 2 - 30 mm and preferably within 3 - 20 mm diameter or for rectangular shapes within a length of under 30 mm and a width of under 30 mm. But it isn't restricted to that range.

It is essential that the entire system is fully balanced to be able to produce an even coverage. Clearly it is also dependant upon the nature and speed of the movement of the nozzle relative to the surface being covered but the user can normally do that by eye provided the basic system performs satisfactorily. Or in industry, a machine could do it fairly easily with modern controls.

The key to the configurations with the prodder in the single orifice is that the prodder or nozzle is able to move to find its own position in the orifice which is very dependant on the flow and also it preferably but not exclusively needs to be substantially close to the sealing position in the normal operating position. As has been previously stated, everything has to be optimized for this to produce even a reasonable atomised spray let alone a high quality spray. Some of the versions are pulsed and can generate air as shown in previous figures and others produce a continuous discharge and cannot generate air, shock waves or an electrostatic charge. Many of them can be configured to act as a precompression valve where the nozzle arrangement won't open until a set pressure has been reached and many can also be configured to act as a self cleaning nozzle. Some of the versions also seal the orifice after use which can be very useful for some fluids.

The orifice has often been shown to have an outwardly tapered cone to produce a full cone spray and we have also found that a preferable arrangement can use that with a small tapered cone or a bevelled edge on the upstream end of the tapered cone. But the orifice could also be shaped as an outwardly tapered oval cone to produce a fan shaped or oval spray. Or it could be shaped as a square tapered cone to produce square cones. The fluid would still be made to spin before the final orifice. It could even be an inwardly tapered cone.

In most cases when pulsing a very fast pulsed spray is required so it appears to be a continuous spray. This is usually in excess of 20 pulses per second and certainly over 10. However, it has been shown that these arrangements can also produce a continuous spray and where the prodder stays in the orifice this can be configured to make an excellent atomized spray and this makes a very valuable set of products.

Just as in our sister patents with the pulsed sprays where the insert moves and the nozzle is fixed we can create electrostatically charged sprays, so we can with the pulsed versions described here where both the insert and the nozzle move. As before and as shown in figure 3, it is simply a matter of using the appropriate materials in the prodder such as 406 and the moving nozzle part or nozzle insert such as 402 in fig 4. Having two parts rubbing against each other at the orifice and generating a pulsed spray is a good combination for generating an electrostatically charged spray and the moving nozzle rubbing against the prodder coupled with fast movements and tiny discharges is ideal. Suitable materials that could be used in said parts to facilitate the electrostatic charge of the fluid would include one of the parts being in materials such as a rubber like edpm or viton and the other part being in a material like nylon or polyurethane where they are placed towards the opposite ends of the Triboelectric Series. These readily give up their charge but other suitable materials could be used instead.

It is this movement of the prodder and nozzle that offers so many new ways of manipulating the spray. With each pulse, the prodder hits the orifice or vice versa and this can be used to set up a shock wave that further breaks up the droplets in the spray. This could be achieved by shaping the nozzle outlet and adding a shaped chamber downstream of it. Similarly, a sound wave could be generated for the same purpose and generated by the prodder striking the orifice wall or vice versa. Or a component could be added downstream of the pulsing nozzle orifice that is connected to it or just struck by it with each pulse and this could be made to vibrate by the nozzle movement and that vibration could cause a shock or sound wave to break up the droplets further. Or the spray could strike the vibrating part to cause or enhance atomisation.

The pulsed nozzle arrangements tend to cause the fluid to travel further than with a continuous discharge because the fluid has the pressure of the fluid plus the pressure of the nozzle part or prodder that is shutting off the discharge for each pulse. This can be very beneficial for some applications including for many triggers such as water pistols. The increased pressure can also further aid atomization.

In almost all the applications the fluid delivered to the nozzle arrangement will be a continuous flow but it is possible for it to be pulsed and the nozzle arrangements would still deliver a pulsed discharge. This could for example be used in industrial applications where viscous fluids could be delivered and atomized using the appropriate nozzle arrangements especially where the moving nozzle creates a sheering action.

Whereas the invention has been described in relation to what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed arrangements but rather is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent constructions included within the spirit and scope of the invention.