Aerosol spray containers holding a variety of active ingredients are well known and commonly used. Virtually every household has one or more aerosol spray containers for some purpose. Common outdoor uses in particular include aerosol spray containers with insecticides, herbicides, bug repellants, cleaning agents, freezing agents, lubricants, and paints.
Most aerosol spray containers have the same general configuration and active ingredient release mechanism. That is, the typical aerosol spray container has a cylindrical-shaped container with a push button valve actuator and a spray nozzle on a top side of the container. The push button valve actuator extends vertically from the container. An orifice in a side wall of the valve actuator represents the spray nozzle. A downward force, and also often slightly forward force, exerted on top of the valve actuator causes the contents, i.e. a pressurized propellent and the active ingredient in the container to be released through the spray nozzle. The spray release continues until the downward force is removed or the container's contents are emptied. The propellent and active ingredient leave the nozzle's orifice as a stream or spray, depending on the nozzle's design. In either case, the stream or spray is dispensed at a generally right angle to the longitudinal axis of the container. If the container is hand-held and if the desired object is close, the stream or spray can be accurately directed toward the object by simple hand and wrist manipulations.
As can be well imagined, the accuracy of the stream or spray emanating from an aerosol spray container is related directly to its distance from the object. The closer the container is located to the object the more accurate the aim and the greater the amount of contents which are released onto the object. Conversely, the further away the container is from the object the less accurate the aim and the lesser amount of contents which reach the object. This is caused by the contents general tendency to dissipate in air. In general, an aerosol spray container can spray no more than 25 feet. That distance decreases when the aerosol spray container is sprayed at an upward angle.
There are instances when it is desired to spray an object which is more than 25 feet. For example, stinging insects such as wasps, hornets, and yellow jackets frequently build their nests under house or garage eaves. These are typically unreachable from the ground. Even a ground-level stinging insect nest may be considered unreachable if a safe distance is to be maintained. Numerous target objects such as caterpillar cocoons in a tree at all levels is as well a challenge. Even low lying areas that need to be sprayed can be difficult if it involves bending or crawling along ground surface. This includes the underside of decks, picnic tables, and playground equipment. Health concerns regarding skin contact or inhalation of the active ingredient by the user is also a reason to maintain a distance of several feet from the spray of the aerosol spray container.
There have been attempts by others to develop a product which is capable of initiating a spray of the aerosol spray container's contents from a remote locale, e.g. greater than about six feet. Known products mount the aerosol spray containers at the end of a specially designed pole. A mechanism connected to the aerosol spray container is pulled or squeezed by the user. All known products have limitations and are considered unacceptable. Some are complex in design and costly to manufacture. Some are difficult to transfer a sufficient force to the spray nozzle to easily initiate the spray. Examples of the known products are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,092,000, 4,660,745, 4,886,191, 5,307,959, 5,368,202, and 5,799,835. Most importantly, none of the known products enable the user to angle the aerosol spray container a full 90 degrees for enhanced aim.
In accord with a need experienced by many households and commercial establishments, there has now been developed an article for holding an aerosol spray container which, when used in conjunction with a standard extension pole, allows use of a cord triggering mechanism which can be many feet away from the container's push button valve actuator. The article holds the aerosol spray container firmly while allowing it to be adjusted to an angle conducive to accurate aiming of the container's contents directly onto an object with full force. Over-spray is alleviated. The aerosol spray container's push button valve actuator is forced downwardly and forwardly to release the spray when a pulling force is initiated by the user many feet away. The article is economical to manufacture, easy to use and effectively performs its desired objective.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds