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CN-122028988-A - Sprayer unit, outlet comprising a sprayer unit, and method for operating a sprayer unit

CN122028988ACN 122028988 ACN122028988 ACN 122028988ACN-122028988-A

Abstract

A sprayer unit (11) is designed for use in an outlet, in particular in a shower head or faucet, for dispensing a liquid, in particular water or a water-based mixture. The sprayer unit (11) comprises a set of sprayers (10). Each sprayer (10) includes a set of nozzles (12) that produce impinging jets of liquid and thereby produce a spray of droplets of liquid. Each sprayer (10) comprises an associated spray shaper (84) for directing a spray, which spray shaper (84) is a cavity through which the spray passes before leaving the sprayer unit (11). The number of atomizers (10) in the set of atomizers is at least three. The sprayers (10) of the set of sprayers are formed as a single part or assembled from two or more separate parts.

Inventors

  • F. Rudel
  • C. Jackson
  • A. Malit
  • F. LOUIS

Assignees

  • 莱雅公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20240829
Priority Date
20240423

Claims (20)

  1. 1. Sprayer unit (11) for use in an outlet, in particular in a shower head or faucet, for dispensing a liquid, in particular water or a water-based mixture, comprising a set of sprayers (10), ● Each atomizer (10) comprises a set of at least two, in particular exactly two nozzles (12), said nozzles (12) being arranged to generate impinging jets of said liquid and thereby a spray of droplets of said liquid, and ● Wherein the number of said atomizers (10) in the set of atomizers is at least two, in particular at least three, ● Wherein the sprayers (10) of the set of sprayers are formed as a single part or assembled from two or more separate parts.
  2. 2. The sprayer unit (11) according to claim 1, each sprayer (10) comprising an associated spray shaper (84) for guiding the spray, the spray shaper (84) being a cavity through which the spray passes before exiting the sprayer unit (11).
  3. 3. A sprayer unit (11) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the number of sprayers (10) in the set of sprayers is at least five, in particular at least ten, in particular at least fifteen.
  4. 4. The sprayer unit (11) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sprayer unit (11) has a diameter of less than fifteen cm, in particular less than ten cm, in particular less than five cm, in particular less than three cm.
  5. 5. Nebulizer unit (11) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the nebulizers (10) of the group of nebulizers are formed as a single part, in particular as a single part comprising a single part or comprising two or more parts molded together, in particular wherein at least one part is made of a plastic material or a metallic material.
  6. 6. A sprayer unit (11) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said plurality of sprayers (10) have the same dimensions.
  7. 7. A sprayer unit (11) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the plurality of sprayers (10) are oriented in the same direction.
  8. 8. The sprayer unit (11) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein in each of the sprayers (10) the nozzles (12) of the sprayers (10) are arranged in a dome-shaped structure covering the spray shaper (84) of the sprayer (10), the inner surface of the dome-shaped structure having a smaller diameter than the spray shaper (84), in particular wherein the inner surface of the dome-shaped structure has a diameter of less than 80% of the diameter of the spray shaper (84).
  9. 9. The sprayer unit (11) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein in each of the sprayers (10) the distance between the point of impingement of the jet and the outlet opening of the spray shaper (84) is between three and twenty millimeters, in particular between three and ten millimeters, in particular between three and seven millimeters, in particular between four and five millimeters, this distance being referred to as the length (Ls) of the spray shaper.
  10. 10. Nebulizer unit (11) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein in each of the nebulizers (10) the inner diameter (Ds) of the spray shaper (84) is located between one and one half millimeter and fourteen millimeters, in particular between two millimeters and eight millimeters, in particular between two millimeters and four millimeters.
  11. 11. Nebulizer unit (11) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein in each of the nebulizers (10) the diameter (D2) of the nozzle is between 0.3 and 1.2 mm, in particular between 0.5 and 0.6 mm.
  12. 12. A sprayer unit (11) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein in each of the sprayers (10) the half angle (a) between impinging jets is between 15 and 45 degrees, in particular between 20 and 35 degrees, in particular between 25 and 30 degrees.
  13. 13. A sprayer unit (11) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sprayer (10) has the following parameters: ● The diameter of the nozzle is between 0.4 mm and 0.6 mm, preferably 0.6 mm; ● The half angle between said nozzles 12 is between 25 ° and 45 °, preferably 35 °; ● The spray shaper (84) has a diameter between 2 mm and 3 mm, preferably 2.5 mm; ● The spray shaper (84) has a length between 4 mm and 6 mm, preferably 5 mm.
  14. 14. The sprayer unit (11) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein ● Or the case where the number of sprayers (10) in the set of sprayers is between 15 and 25, in particular 17, and the diameter (D) of the sprayer unit 11 is between 25 mm and 35 mm, in particular 33 mm; ● Or the case where the number of sprayers (10) in the set of sprayers is between 40 and 80, in particular between 50 and 70, in particular 60, and the diameter (D) of the sprayer unit (11) is between 120 mm and 200mm, in particular between 140 mm and 160 mm.
  15. 15. Sprayer unit (11) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising an attachment element (13), in particular an external thread or an internal thread, for attaching the sprayer unit (11) to a water outlet, in particular a tap or a shower head.
  16. 16. A sprayer unit (11) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a large spray shaper (16), the large spray shaper (16) being arranged to spray shape a combination of the sprayers (10) of the sprayer unit (11).
  17. 17. The sprayer unit (11) according to claim 16, wherein the parameters of the large spray shaper (16) are one or more of the following: ● A large spray shaper length Lms of between 5 mm and 35 mm, particularly between 10mm and 20 mm, particularly at least about 15 mm; ● Large spray shaper inner diameter Dms between 10 mm and 30 mm, in particular between 15mm and 25 mm, in particular between 18 mm and 20 mm; ● The large spray shaper length to diameter ratio is between 1:2 and 2:1, preferably at least about 4:5.
  18. 18. A sprayer unit (11) according to any one of claims 1, 3 to 8, 11 to 12, 14 to 15, without solid parts affecting the spray after the point of impact of the impinging jet.
  19. 19. The sprayer unit (11) according to claim 18, having at least one of the following parameters: ● The diameter D of the sprayer unit (11) is between 10 mm and 50 mm, in particular between 10 mm and 30 mm, in particular between 25 mm and 35 mm; ● The number of sprayers (10) in the sprayer unit (11) is between 5 and 30, in particular between 10 and 20.
  20. 20. The sprayer unit (11) according to claim 18 or claim 19, having at least one of the following parameters: ● The nozzle diameter D2 of the sprayer (10) is between 0.4 mm and 1 mm, in particular between 0.6 mm and 0.8 mm; ● The half angle alpha between the nozzles (12) is between 5 DEG and 55 DEG, in particular between 15 DEG and 35 DEG, in particular at least approximately 25 deg.

Description

Sprayer unit, outlet comprising a sprayer unit, and method for operating a sprayer unit Technical Field The present invention relates to a sprayer unit for use in an outlet for spraying a liquid such as water or a water-based mixture, for example in a washing installation as used in the field of domestic plumbing installations. Background WO 2004/101163 A1 (Methven) discloses a shower head having a large number of nozzle pairs, each nozzle pair producing an impinging jet of water in order to produce a spray of water. The shower head should operate well in the pressure range 25-1000 kPa (i.e. from 0.25 to 10 bar). However, there is no disclosure in which the physical dimensions correspond to a particular pressure or pressure range. The nozzle has an exit aperture of between 0.8 mm and 1 mm. The nozzle is formed between two plates placed against each other. The nozzles are oriented with an included angle between 40 ° and 140 °. The nozzles of the nozzle pairs are arranged to collide at a 20% to 80% intersection rate, i.e. they are designed to be misaligned. The total flow rate is relatively high in view of the nozzle size and the number of nozzles. BE 514104a discloses a spray head with impinging water jets produced by four inclined holes in a plate at an angle of 45 °. The thickness of the plate is 1 to 5mm a. The diameter of the orifice is said to be 12 mm smaller than the nozzle. US 2744738 discloses an aerator with impinging water jets, comprising a flow guiding element after the point of impingement. US 8458826 discloses an outlet for a shower or tap in which water is dispensed by an impinging jet at low flow rate and high pressure (typically greater than 10 bar). In contrast to the above-mentioned WO 2004/101163 A1, for the outlet in the shower head only one or two nozzle pairs are sufficient. A good washing experience (i.e. a feeling of adequate water flow and good rinsing despite low flow rates) is obtained by atomizing the water by means of impinging jets, which in turn are a result of high pressure. WO 2011/054120 A1 discloses, for example in the embodiments according to fig. 4 to 6 and 20 to 23, a cartridge for generating a spray of a liquid, such as water or a water-based mixture, from an impinging jet. Such cartridges may be integrated units for atomizing and spraying such liquids or water-based mixtures by means of an impinging jet of the liquid under high pressure. WO 2019/233958 A1 discloses a cartridge for use in a shower head or faucet comprising a set of at least two nozzles arranged to produce impinging jets of liquid and thereby a spray of droplets of liquid, and a spray shaper for directing the spray. The spray shaper may have the form of a hollow cylinder. ● The nozzle diameter is disclosed as being from 0.8 to 1.5 or 2 millimeters, preferably about 1.3 millimeters. ● The angle between the longitudinal axes of the nozzles is 90 deg. +/-20 deg.. ● The distance between the impingement point of the jet and the front surface (which is approximately equal to the length of the spray shaper) is greater than 14 or 17 or 20 mm, and in particular less than 30 or 25 or 22 mm. ● The maximum distance between the rear end of the spray shaper and the front surface is greater than 18 or 21 or 24 mm and in particular less than 33 or 28 or 25 mm. ● The spray shaper has an inner diameter of 10 to 18 mm, preferably 14 mm. WO 2019/233958 A1 discloses the principle of operation of generating a spray of liquid by means of an impingement jet and forming the spray by means of a spray shaper and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Effects of such sprays generated with impingement jets include good wetting and rinsing of the surface due to the presence of small droplets, and a pleasant washing experience in the case of a shower or faucet. These effects are combined with a reduction in water usage. There is a need to achieve such effects over a wider range of operating conditions, and/or to increase the versatility of a sprayer using an impinging jet, and/or to increase water conservation compared to existing outlets. The term outlet should be used to include one or more atomizers. The atomizer comprises, for example, a nozzle group with two or more nozzles for generating an impinging jet of water. In contrast to nebulizers commonly used in showers, nebulizers generate a flow of a mixture of air and microscopic droplets rather than macroscopic droplets. The outlet may be part of a faucet or may be a shower head attached to a handle or a shower head fixedly mounted at the end of a pipe or buried in a wall. Thus, in contrast to a shower, where the outlet is a unit that can be transported, handled and installed as a single unit, the shower may comprise more than one shower head, for example arranged at the top and in the side walls of the shower stall, with additional plumbing providing the shower head with pressurized water. Disclosure of Invention It is a possible object of the present invention to