JP7748733B2 - liquid spray rod - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a liquid spray rod used to spray chemical solutions, water, etc.

Liquid spray rods (hereinafter simply referred to as "spray rods") used to spray liquids such as chemicals or water include a nozzle with a flow path for the liquid supplied from an external liquid supply hose, a spray nozzle attached to one end of the nozzle, a grip connected to the other end of the nozzle with an inlet path that communicates with the nozzle path, and a water stop cock located on the hose side of the grip to control or cut off the flow of liquid into the grip's inlet path and the nozzle path.

When the stopcock of a spray rod like the one described above is closed after use, the liquid that has flowed into the nozzle flow path and the grip inlet passage remains behind rather than being discharged, because the nozzle has a spray nozzle with a high outflow resistance at the outlet of the nozzle flow path. Furthermore, while nozzles are generally made of metal, the grip is often made of resin (the grip inlet passage is made of a resin component), and if liquid remains in the inlet passage of the plastic grip, the remaining liquid can freeze in winter and expand radially, damaging the grip.

In response to this, the inventors of the present invention propose in Patent Document 1 that a drain valve be provided between the stop cock of the spray rod and the grip, and that after using the spray rod, the stop cock be closed and the drain valve be opened to drain any liquid remaining in the nozzle flow path and the grip inlet path.

Patent No. 5204339

However, even with spray rods equipped with drain valves like the one mentioned above, even though the instruction manual warns that the water should be drained after use, they are often left in use without being drained, leaving liquid in the nozzle flow path and grip inlet passage, which can freeze and damage the grip in winter.

The present invention aims to prevent damage to a liquid spray rod equipped with a liquid-permeable resin grip due to the freezing of residual liquid inside the grip.

To solve the above problems, the present invention provides a liquid spray rod comprising a nozzle having a flow path for liquid supplied from an external liquid supply source, a spray nozzle attached to one end of the nozzle, and a grip connected to the other end of the nozzle and having an inlet passage communicating with the flow path of the nozzle. The grip comprises a cylindrical grip body made of resin, and a tube inserted inside the grip body to form the inlet passage, and the tube elastically deforms when the liquid in the inlet passage freezes and expands radially, thereby relieving the radial pressure acting on the grip body (Configuration 1).

According to the above configuration 1, even if the water is not drained after use of the spray rod and the liquid remaining in the inlet passage of the grip freezes in winter, the tube inserted into the grip body relieves the radial pressure acting on the grip body, preventing damage to the grip body.

In the above configuration 1, if a radial gap is provided between the inner surface of the grip body and the outer surface of the tube, the entire tube will expand in diameter when the liquid in the grip's inlet channel freezes and expands, effectively alleviating the radial pressure acting on the grip body and more reliably preventing damage to the grip body.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned configurations 1 and 2, it is preferable to provide a gap on the longitudinal outer side of one or the other end face of the tubular body. In this way, even if the tubular body cannot expand radially outward when the liquid in the inlet channel of the grip freezes and expands, the tubular body will expand longitudinally, thereby easing the radial pressure acting on the grip body and preventing damage to the grip body.

As described above, the liquid spray rod of the present invention has an inlet channel inside the resin grip body that makes up the grip, which communicates with the nozzle flow path, and a tube inserted into it that elastically deforms when the liquid in the inlet channel freezes and expands, relieving the radial pressure acting on the grip body. Therefore, even if the water does not need to be drained after use, damage to the grip body due to frozen residual liquid can be prevented.

1 is a front view of a liquid sprinkler rod according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional front view of the main part of FIG. 1; (a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2, and (b) is a cross-sectional view corresponding to (a) that explains the behavior of the residual liquid when it is frozen. FIG. 3( a ) is a cross-sectional view illustrating the behavior of the remaining liquid in a comparative example when it is frozen. FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional front view of the main part of the liquid sprinkler rod of the second embodiment;

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to Figures 1 to 5. Figures 1 to 3 show a liquid spray rod of the first embodiment. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, this liquid spray rod comprises a nozzle 1 having a flow path 1a for liquid supplied from a hose H, an external liquid supply source; a spray nozzle 2 attached to one end (the ejection end) of the nozzle 1; a grip 3 connected to the other end (the supply end) of the nozzle 1 and having an inlet path 3a communicating with the flow path 1a of the nozzle 1; an intermediate grip 4 attached to the outer periphery of the nozzle 1 in the longitudinal center; and a water stop cock 5 attached between the grip 3 and the hose H to control or cut off the flow of liquid from the hose H to the inlet path 3a of the grip 3 and the flow path 1a of the nozzle 1.

As shown in Figure 2, the nozzle 1 has an inner tube 6 that forms a flow path 1a inserted into an outer tube 7, and a connection mechanism 8 for connecting to the grip 3 at its supply end. The inner tube 6 is made of brass, and the outer tube 7 is made of an aluminum alloy. The connection mechanism 8 consists of a first connecting ring 8a that is fixed to the other end of the outer tube 7, a cylindrical connecting shaft 8b that is threadedly connected to the inner periphery of the first connecting ring 8a, and a second connecting ring 8c that is threadedly connected to the outer periphery of the first connecting ring 8a. An internal thread is formed on the inner periphery of the other end of the connecting shaft 8b for connection to the grip 3.

The grip 3 consists of a cylindrical grip body 9 made of resin, cylindrical connecting fittings 10 and 11 integrated into both ends of the grip body 9 by insert molding, a tubular body 12 inserted inside the grip body 9 and both connecting fittings 10 and 11, and a tubular fixing member 13 that positions the tubular body 12 in the longitudinal direction. The tubular body 12 and fixing member 13 form the inlet channel 3a.

The connector 10 on the ejection side of the grip 3 has a male thread formed on the outer periphery of the part that protrudes from the grip body 9, and this male thread threadably engages with the female thread of the connection shaft 8b of the connection mechanism 8, connecting the grip 3 and the nozzle 1.

The supply-side connecting fitting 11 also has an internal thread formed on the inner circumference of the other end, which threadably engages with an external thread (not shown) formed on the outlet side of the water stop cock 5, thereby connecting the grip 3 and the water stop cock 5.

The tubular body 12 is made of soft vinyl chloride and, as shown in Figure 3(a), has an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameters of the grip body 9 and both connecting fittings 10, 11. The other end of the tubular body 12 is sandwiched between the inner surface of the supply-side connecting fitting 11 and the outer surface of the tubular portion 13a of the fixing member 13, with the flange portion 13b of the fixing member 13 abutting against the stepped surface 11a facing the supply side on the inner periphery of the supply-side connecting fitting 11. This positions the tubular body 12 on the fixing member 13, providing radial gaps between the inner surfaces of the grip body 9 and the ejection-side connecting fitting 10 and the outer surface of the tubular body 12, as well as a gap on the longitudinal outside of one end face of the tubular body 12.

Therefore, in the case of a conventional configuration (comparative example) in which the tube 12 is not inserted into the grip body 9, as shown in Figure 4, when the liquid remaining in the inlet passage 3a of the grip 3 freezes and expands radially, the grip body 9 may be subjected to radial pressure and damaged. However, in the liquid distribution rod of this first embodiment, when the liquid in the inlet passage 3a freezes and expands, as shown in Figure 3(b), the entire tube 12 expands in diameter, and after the outer surface of the tube 12 abuts the inner surface of the grip body 9, the tube 12 elastically deforms and extends toward one end in the longitudinal direction. This relieves the radial pressure acting on the grip body 9, thereby reliably preventing damage to the grip body 9.

Figure 5 shows a second embodiment of the liquid spray rod. This second embodiment is based on the first embodiment, with changes made to the connection structure between the grip 3, nozzle 1, and water stop cock 5, as well as the arrangement of the tubular body 12 of the grip 3.

In other words, in this second embodiment, the connecting fittings 10 and 11 of the grip 3 of the first embodiment are eliminated, and the connection mechanism 8 of the nozzle 1 incorporates a connecting shaft 14 having an annular engagement groove 14a on the outer periphery at the other end, instead of the connecting shaft 8b of the first embodiment. The other end of the connecting shaft 14 is inserted into the inner periphery of one end of the grip body 9, and the pair of arms 15a of the U-shaped fixing pin 15 are inserted into a pair of horizontal holes 9a provided at one end of the grip body 9, respectively, and engaged with the engagement grooves 14a of the connecting shaft 14, thereby connecting the grip 3 and the nozzle 1. Two O-rings 16 are disposed on the outer periphery of the connecting shaft 14 on the other end side of the engagement grooves 14a to form a seal between the inner periphery of the grip body 9. The grip 3 is connected to the water stop cock 5 by threading the female threads formed on the inner periphery of the other end of the grip body 9 into the male threads of the water stop cock 5.

The tube 12 of the grip 3 is assembled with its other end abutting against a stepped surface 9b facing the ejection side of the inner periphery of the other end of the grip body 9. There is no radial gap between the inner surface of the grip body 9 and the outer surface of the tube 12, but a gap is provided longitudinally on the outer side of one end face of the tube 12, as in the first embodiment.

Therefore, in this second embodiment, when the liquid in the inlet channel 3a of the grip 3 freezes and expands, the tube 12 elastically deforms and extends toward one end in the longitudinal direction, relieving the radial pressure acting on the grip body 9 and preventing damage to the grip body 9.

The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, not by the meaning described above, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims.

For example, the material of the grip tube can be soft vinyl chloride, as used in each embodiment, or various elastomers, including synthetic rubbers such as fluororubber and urethane rubber.

In addition, in each embodiment, a gap is provided on the longitudinal outer side of one end face of the grip's tubular body, but this longitudinal gap may or may not be provided on the outer side of the other end face of the tubular body.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 nozzle 1a flow path 2 spray nozzle 3 grip 3a inlet path 4 intermediate grip 5 water stop cock 8 connection mechanism 9 grip body 10, 11 connection fitting 12 tube body 13 fixing member H liquid supply source hose

Claims (3)

A liquid spray rod comprising: a nozzle having a flow path for liquid supplied from an external liquid supply source; a spray nozzle attached to one end of the nozzle; and a grip connected to the other end of the nozzle and having an inlet path communicating with the flow path of the nozzle,
The grip includes a cylindrical grip body made of resin, and a tubular body inserted into the grip body to form the inflow path,
A liquid spray rod characterized in that the tubular body elastically deforms when the liquid in the inlet passage freezes and expands radially, thereby relieving the radial pressure acting on the grip body. The liquid spray rod described in claim 1, characterized in that a radial gap is provided between the inner surface of the grip body and the outer surface of the tube body. A liquid spray rod as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a gap is provided on the longitudinal outer side of one or the other end face of the tube body.