DE20007784U1 - Irritant sprayer - Google Patents

Description

F:\IJBDHF\DHFANM\ALL2448

Applicant:

Carl Hoernecke Industriestrasse 26 71720 Oberstenfeld

General power of attorney: 3.4.5. No. 6/93 AV

1903048 28.04.2000

fuh / emz

Title: Irritant spray device

Description

The present invention relates to an irritant spray device according to the preamble of claim

Such irritant spray devices are designed either in such a way that the cap is attached directly to the irritant cartridge, or in such a way that the cap is one piece with a housing into which the irritant cartridge is inserted. In the first case, a spray head is formed in the cap so that it can move elastically. This means that the spray head is pivoted when pressed down, which has the disadvantage that the spray nipple of the irritant cartridge can be pushed downwards in an inexactly defined manner.

This can lead to malfunctions. In the latter case, the irritant cartridge is inserted from the bottom of the housing and pressed against an intermediate wall, after which the bottom is closed using a slide element. The spray nipple of the irritant cartridge, which protrudes from the bottom of the housing into the cap, is then fitted with a spray head. When the spray head is placed on the spray nipple, there is a risk that the irritant cartridge contents will be sprayed if the spray nipple is accidentally pressed down when the spray head is placed on. This is not acceptable from a safety point of view.

The object of the present invention is therefore to create an irritant spray device of the type mentioned at the outset, in which on the one hand a defined actuation of the irritant cartridge is ensured and on the other hand an unintentional spraying of irritant cartridge contents is avoided during assembly or insertion of the irritant cartridge into the irritant spray device.

To achieve this object, an irritant spray device of the type mentioned has the features specified in claim 1.

The measures according to the invention ensure that the spray head is positioned in a defined manner on the spray nipple of the

irritant cartridge. This also prevents the irritant cartridge contents from being accidentally sprayed when the spray head is placed on the spray nipple. In addition, when the irritant spray device is assembled, a defined triggering is guaranteed, as the movement of the spray head is determined by the predetermined movement of the spray nipple in relation to the actual irritant cartridge.

In order to reliably prevent the spray head from pivoting and/or tilting when actuated, because, for example, the spray nipple is made of plastic and can therefore only absorb small transverse forces, the features according to claim are provided. This ensures that the spray head is guided securely within the cap. The features according to claim 3 are preferably provided.

A simplification of the manufacture and assembly of the cap is achieved when the features according to claim 4 are provided. In this embodiment, the protective flap is manufactured from a holding part and a flap part and pre-assembled before the protective flap as a whole is inserted into the cap and fastened to it.

With the features according to claim 5, it is achieved that the spring-loaded linkage of the flap part on the holding part is designed in such a way that the coil spring is invisible when the protective flap is mounted. A further advantage is

in that the coil spring serves as a pivot axis at least at one end, so that an axle pin that has to be manufactured and installed separately is not required. In addition, the concealed design of the coil spring means that no subsequent adjustment or other manipulation can take place.

The features of one or more of claims 6 to 8 are expediently provided. It is particularly advantageous here that the mounting of the holding part and flap part can be carried out without prior pre-tensioning of the coil spring and yet the flap part is spring-loaded in its rest position relative to the holding part, which is necessary for the rest position of the protective flap.

In a particularly advantageous manner, according to the features of claim 9, the guide counter element on the cap simultaneously serves as a support for the flap part of the protective flap in its rest position.

According to the features of claim 10, the cap can be shrunk directly onto the irritant cartridge by heat treatment or cold-pressed. This is a quick and easy way of attaching the cap to the cartridge.

If the irritant spray device is provided with a housing, it is advantageous according to the features of claim 11 to

The cap is formed in one piece with the housing and the irritant cartridge is inserted from above with the protective flap open. This is particularly advantageous because, on the one hand, the irritant cartridge is guided in the housing first and, on the other hand, the spray head attached to it then goes directly into its guides in the cap. This also prevents the irritant cartridge or the spray head attached to it from being inserted incorrectly.

The features according to claim 12 ensure that the irritant cartridge can be easily pushed out of the housing a little with the help of a finger for replacement, so that it can then be grasped by the spray head and pulled out completely. In addition, this advantageously creates a viewing window through which the batch number and the expiry date of the irritant cartridge can be seen.

The features according to claim 13 enable a safe and simple fastening or mounting of the spray device on the belt, waistband or the like.

In order to hold the irritant cartridge with the spray head attached, which is inserted into the device housing from above, in the inserted position, the features according to claim 14 are provided. With such a securing element, the irritant cartridge can be fixed easily and securely.

In this case, the features according to claim 15 are expediently provided so that the slider can grip over a shoulder on the neck of the irritant cartridge.

The features according to claim 16 are provided for easy insertion or assembly of the slider in the device housing. After assembly, the barbs limit the sliding movement of the slider and prevent it from being accidentally removed from the housing.

The features according to claim 17 and/or 18 are provided for further easy exchange of the irritant cartridge. This allows the slider to be grasped and unlocked from the outside so that the irritant cartridge is released and can be exchanged.

Further details of the invention can be found in the following description, in which the invention is described and explained in more detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawing.

Show it:

Figures 1 and 2 in perspective front and back views respectively.

Rear view of an irritant spray device according to a first embodiment of the present invention,

Figure 3

a section along the line III-III of Figure 2, partially broken away,

Figures 4 and 5

in perspective front and rear view an irritant spray device according to a second embodiment of the present invention,

Figure 6

a section along the line VI-VI of Figure 5,

Figures 7A, B, C

perspective views of the individual parts of the protective flap used in the two embodiments,

Figure 8A and B

a plan view of the slide of Figure 6 and an enlarged longitudinal section along line VIII A - VIII A, and

Figure 9

in split plan views the spray head according to Fig. 1 and the one according to Fig. 4.

The irritant spray device 10 or 10' shown in the drawing in two embodiments serves both for personal self-defense against others and for defense against attacking animals as well as an aid

against physical violence in the police, security forces and military. The irritant can have different compositions; for example, it can be a so-called CS or CN irritant or a so-called OC irritant from pepper extract or have other natural or synthetic substance compositions. Depending on the design of the irritant spray device, the irritant can be released as a spray mist or as a jet. Both types of release or discharge are subsumed below under the terms spray device, spray head, spray nipple and the like.

The irritant spray device 10 according to Figures 1 and 2 has a cap 11 made of plastic, which is firmly attached to the neck 12 of an irritant cartridge 13, preferably shrunk on by heat treatment or cold-pressed on. This results in a firm, non-detachable connection between the cap 11 and the irritant cartridge 13.

After the cap 11 has been placed on the irritant cartridge, the latter or its protruding spray nipple 14, which can be pressed back in under pressure or spring load, is firmly connected to a spray head 16 made of plastic. The spray head 16 is heat-treated and shrunk onto the spray nipple 14 in this way, so that a connection is created that cannot be easily removed.

The cap 11 is provided with a protective flap 17, the articulation of which is provided in the area or above a spray pipe 18 arranged on the spray head 16. The free end of the protective flap 17 facing away from this articulation covers the upper opening of the cap 11 and is arranged at a distance above the spray head 16 on the irritant cartridge 13. A cutout 19 in the wall on the back of the spray device 10 allows access for a finger, preferably the index finger of the user, between the spray head 16 and the protective flap 17 and thus for pressure on the spray head.

16 is released. For its heat-shrinkable application, the spray head 16 is inserted into the cap 11 with the protective flap 17 folded up.

In the irritant spray device 10' shown in Figures 4 and 5, the cap 11' is formed in one piece with a plastic housing 21. The cap 11' is covered at its upper end by a protective flap which is essentially identical to the first embodiment in Figures 1 and 2.

17 is covered. In this respect, the protective flap for both embodiments is described together below. The device housing 21 provided with the cap 11' accommodates an irritant cartridge 13', which, like the irritant cartridge 13, is firmly connected to a spray head 16' by heat treatment of the plastic spray head 16. After opening the protective flap 17, the irritant cartridge 13' can be removed with its cap firmly attached to the spray nipple 14'.

shrunk-on spray head 16' can be pushed in from the upper end of the housing or the cap 11'. In the pushed-in state, the irritant cartridge 13' sits with its lower end on an annular edge 22 of the housing base 23 according to Figure 6.

The housing base 23 is provided within the inwardly projecting ring edge 22 with a preferably circular opening 24, which serves on the one hand for pushing the irritant cartridge 13' out of the housing 21 with the user's finger and on the other hand as a viewing window for reading and recognizing the batch number and/or the expiry date of the irritant cartridge 13' on its underside.

While the irritant cartridge 13 according to Figure 3 is surrounded by the cap 11 in a friction-locking manner at an annular edge 26, in the embodiment according to Figure 6 the annular edge 26' of the irritant cartridge 13' inserted into the housing 21 is covered by a slide 27, so that the irritant cartridge 13' is held between the slide 27 and the housing base 23 or its annular edge 22. The slide 27 serves to detachably or releasably secure the irritant cartridge 13' within the housing 21, so that the irritant cartridge 13' including its spray head 16' is held in the housing 21 in an exchangeable manner.

The slide 27 is arranged in a slot 28 perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the device 10' in a wall of the

Housing 21 at a height corresponding to the length of the irritant cartridge 13'. The horizontal slot 28 according to Fig. 4 is surrounded or limited at the top and bottom by a finger recess 29 in the surface of the housing wall. The slide has two parallel thrust webs 31 (Figure 8A), which are connected on the outside by a U-shaped connecting web 32 and which merge into a finger 3 3 on the inside. The fingers 33 are provided with a sawtooth attachment 34 on the outer edge. The fingers 33 can be moved elastically relative to the thrust webs 31 by machining a groove 36. The inner contour 37 of the slide 27 is approximately semicircular. Between the two thrust webs 31 there is a locking web 3 which is held elastically on the inner contour 3 7 and is provided with a wedge-shaped run-on surface 3 9 on the radial inside. Radially on the outside, the locking web 38 is provided in the region of the connecting web 32 with a projection 41 (Fig. 8B), between which and the run-up surface 39 a recess 42 is arranged and which has a distance from the connecting web 32 on the underside.

To insert or install the slider 27 in the slot 28, the fingers 33 are pressed radially elastically inwards due to the grooves 36 when they are inserted over the insertion bevels between the boundary edges of the slot 28, after which they spread open again and are held in the slot 28 due to their projections 34. If the slider is moved further inwards so that it can be gripped with its fingers

and its inner contour 3 7 comes into contact with the annular edge 26' of the irritant cartridge 13' (Figure 6), the locking web 38, which is elastically moved downwards when pushed in, snaps back into its starting position in which the undercut step of the run-up surface 39 engages behind the inside of the housing wall, as can be seen from Figure 6. If the slide 27 is to be pulled outwards from the locking position shown in Figure 6 in order to replace an irritant cartridge 13', the projection 41 can be moved downwards by counterpressure on the connecting web 32 so that the undercut step of the run-up surface 39 is released from the inside of the housing wall. This releases the slide 2 7 from the annular edge 26' of the irritant cartridge 13', which can then be pushed out from bottom to top after opening the protective flap 17 and applying finger pressure through the opening 24.

According to the partial figures 7, the protective flap 17 provided for both embodiments 10 and 10' is composed of a holding part 46, a coil spring 47 and a flap part 48. The holding part 46 has a U-shaped receptacle 49 which can be inserted via lateral guides 51 into the edges 52 of a recess 53 of the cap 11 or 11' and can be attached, for example, by adhesive. The U-shaped receptacle 49 also serves to articulately hold the flap part 48. For this purpose, the U-shaped receptacle 49 has a slot 55 inclined by, for example, approximately 45° on its upper open area on one of its cheeks 54 and an inwardly projecting

·♦

molded-on eye (not shown). Slot 55 and eye lie on a horizontal axis. The flap part 48 has a flap surface 58 which is connected to an axle mount 60 via a web 59. The axle mount 60 has a bore 61 which serves to accommodate the coil spring 47. On one side, the web 59 is provided with a longitudinal groove 62 which opens radially into the bore 61 at one end. The coil spring 47 has two differently designed ends 63 and 65. One end 63 is designed as a radially protruding finger which is inserted into the groove 62 of the web 59 of the flap part 48. The other end 64 is bent outwards in the axial direction of the coil spring 47 and bent back into a ring. The finger end 63 is arranged approximately perpendicular to the surface of the ring end 64.

To mount the flap part 48 on the holding part 46, the coil spring 47 is inserted into the axle receiving hole 61 in such a way that the finger end 63 is arranged in the web groove 62. In this position, the ring end 64 protrudes from the hole 61 so that the ring end 64 can be inserted into the oblique slot 55 in the cheek 54 of the holding part. When inserted, the eye of the other cheek 56 protrudes into the end of the coil spring 47 having the finger end 63 and thus forms a pivot axis together with the ring end 64. The inclination of the slot 55 is such that when the coil spring 47 is inserted and relaxed, the flap part 48 is in relation to the holding part.

46 is arranged in an inclined position. When the holding part 46 is inserted into the cap 11 or 11', the flap part 48 is brought into its horizontal rest position against the pre-tension of the coil spring 47.

This horizontal rest position of the flap part 48 is achieved in that the cap 11 or 11' has two opposing guide webs 67 or 67' on the side, on the upper end of which the flap part 48 rests horizontally. The guide webs 67 also serve to guide the spray head 16 or 16'. The spray head 16 or 16' (Fig. 9) has a guide groove 68 or 68' on both long edges of its approximately rectangular shape facing away from the spray tube 18, into which the guide web 67 or 67' of the cap 11 or 11' engages. The spray head 16 or 16' is thus guided in the cap 11 or 11' in a defined manner and can be moved in a precise axial direction. In the spray head 16, the groove 68 is recessed into the longitudinal edges, while in the spray head 16' the groove 68' is formed by two parallel molded strips.

As can be seen from Figures 1 and 2 or 4 and 5, in the assembled state or when the irritant cartridge 13, 13' is inserted, the spray tube 18 of the spray head 16 or 16' is located in the area of the U-shaped holding part 46 below the articulation axis 60, 47, so that the outlet opening of the spray tube 18 is free and the irritant jet or

Irritant mist can exit unhindered from the spray device 10 or 10'. In the area of the U-shaped holding part 46 there is sufficient space in the axial direction for the spray tube 18 to move up and down when pressure is applied to the spray head 16 or 16' without covering the outlet opening or coming out of it.

The protective flap 17 is also provided with an opening stop in such a way that the axle holder 60 is provided with a radial projection 71 and the holding part 46 is provided with projections 72 projecting inwards into the U-shaped space, so that the flap part 48 can be pivoted over 90° in order to achieve a convenient exchange of the irritant cartridge 13' in and out of the device 10'.

In the embodiment of Figures 4 and 5, a wire clip 74 is provided, the free ends of which are inserted into a hole in the housing base 23 and which is bent and preformed from solid wire in such a way that it can serve as a clip for holding the device 10' on the waistband, belt or the like.

Claims (18)

1. Irritant spray device ( 10 ), with an irritant cartridge ( 13 ), with a cap ( 11 ) held in the region of the upper end of the irritant cartridge, with a spray head ( 16 ) which is movably arranged within the cap ( 11 ) and which can be connected to a spray nipple ( 14 ) of the irritant cartridge ( 13 ), and with a protective flap ( 17 ) which covers the spray head ( 16 ) at a distance and is hinged to the cap ( 11 ) in a spring-loaded manner, characterized in that the spray head ( 16 ) consisting of plastic is fastened to the spray nipple ( 14 ), preferably shrunk onto the former by heat treatment. 2. Spray device according to claim 1, characterized in that the spray head ( 16 ) is provided on its preferably two longitudinal sides with guide elements ( 68 ) which cooperate with counter-elements ( 67 ) arranged in the direction of movement of the spray head ( 16 ) on the inside of the cap ( 11 ). 3. Spray device according to claim 2, characterized in that the approximately elongated rectangular spray head ( 16 ) is provided with guide elements ( 68 ) on its one projecting outlet pipe ( 18 ) facing away. 4. Spray device according to at least one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the protective flap ( 17 ) has a holding part ( 46 ) and a flap part ( 48 ) hinged thereto via a spring ( 47 ), and that the holding part ( 46 ) can be inserted into a receptacle ( 53 ) of the cap ( 11 ). 5. Spray device according to claim 4, characterized in that the flap part ( 48 ) receives a helical spring ( 47 ) in an axial bore ( 61 ), one of whose radially projecting finger-like ends ( 63 ) is inserted in a groove ( 62 ) of the flap part ( 48 ) projecting radially from the axial bore ( 61 ), and the other axially projecting ring-like bent or shaped end ( 65 ) of which is received in a diagonal slot ( 55 ) in the holding part ( 48 ) that is in axial alignment with the axial bore of the flap part ( 48 ). 6. Spray device according to claim 5, characterized in that one end ( 63 ) of the helical spring ( 47 ) runs approximately perpendicular to the annular surface of the other end ( 65 ) of the helical spring ( 47 ) and the diagonal slot ( 55 ) in the holding part ( 46 ) is arranged at an angle, preferably approximately 45°, to the position inserted in the cap ( 11 ). 7. Spray device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the diagonal slot ( 55 ) is arranged in one cheek ( 54 ) of the U-shaped holding part ( 46 ) and in the other cheek ( 56 ) an eye engaging in the helical spring ( 47 ) is formed. 8. Spray device according to claim 7, characterized in that the two cheeks ( 54 , 56 ) are provided with guide grooves ( 51 ) for insertion into a recess ( 49 ) of the cap ( 11 ). 9. Spray device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the flap part ( 48 ) of the protective flap ( 17 ) rests on the guide counter element on the cap ( 11 ) for guiding the spray head ( 16 ). 10. Spray device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cap ( 11 ) made of plastic is shrunk or cold-pressed onto the upper end of the irritant cartridge ( 13 ) by heat treatment. 11. Spray device with a housing ( 21 ) for receiving the irritant cartridge ( 13 ), in particular according to at least one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the cap ( 11 ) is an integral part of the housing ( 21 ) and that the irritant cartridge ( 13 ) can be pushed through the cap ( 11 ) into the housing ( 21 ) when the protective flap ( 17 ) is open. 12. Spray device according to claim 11, characterized in that the bottom ( 23 ) of the housing ( 21 ) is provided with an opening ( 24 ) within its inner contact surface for the lower end of the irritant cartridge ( 13 ). 13. Spray device according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that a steel clip ( 74 ) made of bent wire extending along a wall of the housing ( 21 ) is held with its ends inserted into the bottom ( 23 ) of the housing ( 21 ). 14. Spray device according to at least one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that a securing element (27) holding the irritant cartridge ( 13 ) in its inserted position is provided at a transition region between the cap ( 11 ) and the housing ( 21 ) and facing away from the articulation of the protective cap ( 17 ). 15. Spray device according to claim 14, characterized in that the securing element is formed by a slide ( 27), preferably made of plastic, which is movably held in a housing slot (28 ) and which is semicircularly concave on the inside of the housing. 16. Spray device according to claim 15, characterized in that the slide ( 27 ) has inner fingers ( 33 ) which are elastically movable towards each other and have barbs ( 34 ) on the outer edge. 17. Spray device according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that the slide ( 27 ) has a spring catch ( 38 ) between thrust webs ( 31 ) held in the housing slot ( 28 ), which spring catch has a wedge-shaped run-on surface ( 39 ). 18. Spray device according to claim 17, characterized in that the spring catch ( 38 ) has an engagement undercut ( 41 , 42 ), opposite which an engagement web ( 32 ) connecting the thrust webs is provided, and that a finger recess ( 42 ) is provided in the housing surface around the housing slot ( 28 ).