Hose-end sprayer spool adjuster with asymmetric locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hose-end sprayers lack effective safety features to prevent inadvertent spilling or leaking of chemical products, particularly posing a risk to children.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating safety arrangements that hinder the transition of the spool adjuster between settings and arresting the displacement of the container interface to prevent accidental product release, ensuring a more secure 'OFF' position and preventing unintended rotation or removal of the sprayer from the bottle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the spool adjuster is made easily movable between settings, then the ease of operation is improved, but the safety is worsened due to risk of inadvertent rotation and product leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The spool adjuster employs asymmetric tab and slot geometry where the tab has a leading edge and trailing edge that interact differently with the slot. The leading edge allows easy insertion and rotation into the slot, while the trailing edge creates a mechanical stop that prevents accidental rotation out of the slot, thus enabling easy operation while ensuring safety against inadvertent adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The safety tab and slot arrangement is pre-configured to automatically engage and lock the spool adjuster in place. This preliminary mechanical constraint prevents inadvertent rotation before any accidental operation can occur, while still allowing intentional adjustment by the user who can overcome the mechanical stop with deliberate force.
2Ease of operation
If the container interface allows easy removal from the container, then the ease of operation is improved, but the safety is worsened due to risk of accidental removal and product access by children
Solution Approach 1:
The container interface uses asymmetric geometry where the interface on the sprayer body does not match the corresponding interface on the container. This asymmetric design allows the container to be easily attached in the correct orientation, but prevents removal unless deliberate force is applied, thereby securing the container while maintaining ease of proper attachment.
Solution Approach 2:
The asymmetric interface is pre-designed to automatically engage and lock the container in the correct position upon attachment. This preliminary mechanical engagement ensures the container remains securely attached during use, preventing accidental removal and child access, while still allowing easy attachment when intentionally performed.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the sprayer allows free rotation of the spool, then the adaptability is improved for different settings, but the safety is worsened due to inadvertent spool rotation
Solution Approach 1:
The spool adjuster incorporates asymmetric tabs and slots that permit rotation only in the intended direction and to intended positions. The asymmetric geometry provides mechanical stops at specific angular positions, allowing the spool to be adjusted to different settings adaptably while preventing unintended rotation to intermediate or incorrect positions.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical stop features are pre-positioned at specific angular locations on the spool adjuster. These preliminary mechanical constraints guide the spool to predetermined safe positions, ensuring adaptability for different operational settings while preventing inadvertent rotation to unsafe intermediate positions.
Data Source
AI summary
Safety features in and for hose-end sprayer bottles. In a first safety arrangement, there is ensured a more hindered transition of a spool (e.g., product/carrier spool) or adjuster from a first setting to a second setting than from the second setting to the first setting, wherein in the first setting no carrier stream is admitted through the sprayer and in the second setting solely a carrier stream is admitted through the sprayer. In a second safety arrangement, there is arrested displacement of a container interface (e.g., bottle swivel) from a second (essentially advanced) position towards a first (essentially initial) position upon the container interface displacing from the first position to the second position.