1. An ultrasonic atomizing nozzle, comprising:
a ceramic rear horn including a flanged lower end and a central bore;
a ceramic front horn including a flanged upper end, a central bore, and a tapered lower end terminating in a flat tip having an atomizing surface surrounding a central opening;
a transducer assembly, including at least one ultrasonic transducer, disposed between the ceramic rear horn and the ceramic front horn; and
a clamp assembly, including a rear ring having a shoulder that accommodates the flanged lower end of the ceramic rear horn, a front ring having a shoulder that accommodates the flanged upper end of the ceramic front horn, and a plurality of fasteners that connect the front ring and the rear ring to mechanically couple the ceramic rear horn, the transducer assembly and the ceramic front horn to one another.
2. The nozzle of claim 1, wherein the atomizing surface forms drops having a median drop size of less than 17 microns.
3. The nozzle of claim 2, wherein the drops have a median drop size of between 7 microns and 10 microns.
4. The nozzle of claim 2, wherein the ultrasonic transducer is a piezoelectric device that operates at a frequency of between 120 kHz and 250 kHz.
5. The nozzle of claim 2, wherein the atomizing surface forms drops a rate greater than 600 mlmin.
6. The nozzle of claim 5, wherein the atomizing surface forms drops a rate less than 1200 mlmin.
7. The nozzle of claim 1, wherein the length of the ceramic front horn is substantially the same as the length of the ceramic rear horn.
8. The nozzle of claim 1, wherein the length of the ceramic front horn is approximately 3 times the length of the ceramic rear horn.
9. The nozzle of claim 1, wherein the fasteners are bolts.
10. The nozzle of claim 1, wherein the ceramic rear horn is substantially disposed within the rear ring, and a portion of the flanged upper end of the ceramic front horn is disposed within the front ring.
11. The nozzle of claim 1, further comprising a liquid inlet connected to the rear ring.
12. The nozzle of claim 11, further comprising a tube, extending through the central bore of the ceramic rear horn and the transducer assembly, to fluidically couple the liquid inlet to the central bore of the ceramic front horn.
13. The nozzle of claim 1, further comprising a housing, including a rear shroud and a front shroud, and a plurality of O-rings.
14. The nozzle of claim 1, wherein the flat tip has a flange.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A device for dispensing a viscous material into a representation on a surface, comprising:
a) a storage chamber for holding a material;
b) an externally positioned squeezable charging chamber operably connected to an end of said storage chamber;
c) a dispensing chamber operably connected to said charging chamber;
d) said charging chamber including an opening into said dispensing chamber;
e) a metering valve positioned between said charging and dispensing chambers for opening or closing said opening to thereby selectively allow the viscous material to flow into said dispensing chamber; and
f) said dispensing chamber being made of a non-porous substance and having a configuration corresponding to a representation to be dispensed on a surface.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein:
a) said dispensing chamber includes a discharge port having generally the same configuration as the representation.
3. The device of claim 2, wherein:
a) the representation comprises a shape, a design, an image, an indicia, an outline, a pattern, or a facsimile.
4. The device of claim 2, wherein:
a) the representation comprises a general shape selected from the group consisting of a star, a heart, a flower, a crescent moon, a butterfly, a cross, and a combination thereof.
5. The device of claim 2, wherein:
a) said charging chamber is made of a flexible material.
6. The device of claim 5, wherein:
a) said charging chamber pushes the material into said dispensing chamber when the device is actuated.
7. The device of claim 2, wherein:
a) said storage chamber includes first and second end portions;
b) said second end portion is positioned adjacent said charging chamber; and
c) an inlet valve positioned adjacent said first end portion for allowing air into said storage member.
8. The device of claim 2, further comprising:
a) a floating disc to be positioned atop the material in said storage chamber.
9. The device of claim 1, wherein:
a) said dispensing chamber includes a length generally corresponding to the thickness of the representation.
10. The device of claim 9, wherein:
a) the thickness of the representation ranges from about 132 inch to about \u215b inch.
11. A device for dispensing a viscous material into a representation on a surface, comprising:
a) a storage chamber for holding a material and including first and second end portions;
b) an externally positioned squeezable charging chamber positioned adjacent one of said first and second end portions of said storage chamber;
c) a dispensing chamber operably connected to said charging chamber and including a discharge port;
d) said charging chamber including an opening into said dispensing chamber;
e) a metering valve positioned between said charging and dispensing chambers for opening or closing said opening to thereby selectively allow the viscous material to flow into said dispensing chamber;
f) said dispensing chamber being made of a non-porous substance and having a configuration corresponding to a representation to be dispensed on a surface; and
g) said discharge port having the same configuration as the representation.
12. The device of claim 11, wherein:
a) the representation comprises a shape, a design, an image, an indicia, an outline, a pattern, or a facsimile.
13. The device of claim 11, wherein:
a) the representation comprises a general shape selected from the group consisting of a star, a heart, a flower, a crescent moon, a butterfly, a cross, and a combination thereof.
14. The device of claim 11, wherein:
a) said charging chamber is made of a flexible material.
15. The device of claim 14, wherein:
a) said charging chamber pushes the material into said dispensing chamber when the device is actuated.
16. The device of claim 11, further comprising:
a) an inlet valve positioned adjacent the other of said first and second end portions of said storage chamber to allow air into said storage member.
17. The device of claim 16, further comprising:
a) a floating disc to be positioned atop the material in said storage chamber.
18. The device of claim 11, wherein:
a) said dispensing chamber includes a length generally corresponding to the thickness of the representation.
19. The device of claim 18, wherein:
a) the thickness of the representation ranges from about 132 inch to about \u215b inch.
20. The device of claim 11, wherein:
the representation is three dimensional in configuration and said discharge port having the same configuration as the three-dimensional representation.
21. A material dispensing kit, comprising:
a) a device for dispensing a viscous material into a representation on a surface, comprising:
i) a storage chamber for holding a material;
ii) an externally positioned squeezable charging chamber operably connected to an end of said storage chamber;
iii) a dispensing chamber operably connected to said charging chamber;
iv) said charging chamber including an opening into said dispensing chamber;
v) a metering valve positioned between said charging and dispensing chambers for opening or closing said opening to thereby selectively allow the viscous material to flow into said dispensing chamber; and
vi) said dispensing chamber being made of a non-porous substance and having a configuration corresponding to a representation to be dispensed on a surface;
b) a quantity of the material for use with the device; and
c) the material comprising a fluid having a viscosity value of at least 100,000 mu (\u03bc).
22. The kit of claim 21, wherein:
a) the fluid comprises particles having an average particle size of about 0.10 mm to 0.20 mm.
23. The kit of claim 21, wherein:
a) the fluid comprises glitter particles.
24. A method for dispensing a viscous material into a representation on a substrate, comprising:
a) providing a device, comprising:
i) a storage chamber holding a material;
ii) an externally positioned squeezable charging chamber operably connected to an end of the storage chamber;
iii) a dispensing chamber operably connected to the charging chamber;
iv) the charging chamber including an opening into the dispensing chamber;
v) a metering valve positioned between the charging and dispensing chambers for opening or closing the opening to thereby selectively allow the viscous material to flow into the dispensing chamber; and
vi) the dispensing chamber being made of a non-porous substance and having a configuration corresponding to a representation to be dispensed on a substrate;
b) providing a substrate;
c) positioning the device against the substrate;
d) actuating the device so as to compress the charging chamber; and
e) removing the device from the substrate.
25. The method of claim 24, wherein:
the substrate comprises paper, cardboard, leather, skin, hair, fabric, a textured material, a woven material, a non-woven material, or a combination thereof.
26. The method of claim 24, wherein:
the material comprises a fluid having a viscosity value of at least 100,000 mu (\u03bc).
27. The method of claim 24, wherein:
the fluid comprises particles having an average particle size of about 0.10 mm to 0.20 mm.
28. The method of claim 24, wherein:
the fluid comprises glitter particles.
29. The kit of claim 24, wherein:
the fluid comprises generally hexagonal particles.