| 1. A syringe comprising: a
hollow and elongated handle body having a first opening at a bottom
thereof, having second opening at a top thereof, and having at least
one manually operable and linear moveable valve operating button at
the top thereof; an insert located within the top of the handle body
in general alignment with the first opening in the handle body, the
insert having an elongated cavity facing the first opening, and having
at least one flow channel connecting the elongated cavity to a bottom
portion of the insert; an elongated nozzle having one end mounted
within the elongated cavity, and having an opposite end extending
out of the second opening in the handle body; an elongated valve body
mounted within the handle body, the valve body having at least one
hose connection at a bottom end thereof, having at least one normally
closed and linear movable valve located at a top end thereof, and
having at least one, flow channel whose bottom end connects to the
hose connection and whose top end connects to the at least one valve,
the at least one valve being generally coincident with the bottom
portion of the insert; and at least one arcuate-shaped valve actuator
rod movably mounted within insert, the at least one actuator rod having
a top end associated with the button and having a bottom end associated
with the valve, such that manual depression of the at least one button
causes linear movement of the button, arcuate movement of the at least
one actuator rod, and linear movement of the at least one valve to
an open position.
2. The syringe of claim 1 including alignment means associated
with the valve body and the handle body for providing positional
alignment between the at least one valve and the bottom end of actuator
rod.
3. The syringe of claim 1 wherein the handle body extends in a
first direction, wherein the nozzle extends in a direction that
is generally perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the at
least one normally closed valve is movable in the first direction
to the open position, and wherein the at least one button is movable
in a direction that is inclined to the first direction.
4. The syringe of claim 1 wherein the insert includes at least
one semi-circular channel having a top end associated with the at
least one button and having a bottom end associated with the at
least one valve, and wherein the at least one actuator rod is a
semi-circular rod that is movably located within the semi-circular
channel.
5. The syringe of claim 4 wherein the semi-circular rod is movable
in a semi-circle having a virtual center of rotation that is located
in a space that need not include any portion of the syringe.
6. The syringe of claim 5 wherein the virtual center of rotation,
the at least one semi-circular channel, and the at least one semi-circular
rod are constructed and arranged to provide a predetermined button-force
to valve-actuating-force ratio.
7. The syringe of claim 6 including alignment means associated
with the valve body and the handle body for providing positional
alignment between the at least one valve and the bottom end of actuator
rod.
8. The syringe of claim 1 including: at least one tapered bore
at the top of the at least one channel and extending in the first
direction, the at least one tapered bore having a large diameter
portion thereof located adjacent to the top of the at least one
channel, and having a small diameter portion thereof that is spaced
from the top of the at least one channel; at least one elongated
valve stem located in the at least one tapered bore with a top end
thereof associated with the bottom end of at least one arcuate-shaped
valve actuator rod; a ring-shaped valve seat secured to and surrounding
the at least one valve stem, the valve seat having an upper surface
and a lower surface; a valve seat O-ring located between the valve
seat and the small diameter portion of the at least one tapered
bore; a valve O-ring fixed to a bottom end of the at least one valve
stem for engagement with the lower portion of the valve seat; and
a compression spring having an upper end fixed to the at least one
valve stem and having a lower end engaging the upper portion of
the valve seat, to thereby provide a normally closed condition of
the at least one valve by force-biasing the valve O-ring into engagement
with the lower portion of the valve seat.
9. The syringe of claim 8 wherein the insert includes a semi-circular
channel having a top end associated with the at least one button
and having a bottom end associated with the at least one valve,
and wherein the at least one actuator rod is a semi-circular rod
that is movably located within the semi-circular channel.
10. The syringe of claim 9 wherein the semi-circular rod is movable
in a semi-circle having a virtual center of rotation that is located
in a space that need not include portions of the syringe.
11. The syringe of claim 10 wherein the virtual center of rotation,
the at least one semi-circular channel, and the at least one semi-circular
rod are constructed and arranged to provide a predetermined button-force
to valve-actuating-force ratio.
12. The syringe of claim 1 wherein the insert is formed of a relatively
heavy-weight metal such as brass, and wherein the handle body is
formed of a relatively light-weight metal such as aluminum, to thereby
provide a syringe that is optimally weight-balanced for use in the
human hand.
13. The syringe of claim 12 wherein the handle body is formed of
aluminum, and wherein the aluminum handle body is anodized to provide
a desired color.
14. The syringe of claim 13 including alignment means associated
with the valve body and the handle body for providing positional
alignment between the at least one valve and the bottom end of actuator
rod.
15. The syringe of claim 1 including: a removable insert assembly
pin extending through a hole in the handle body and a hole in the
insert, the insert assembly pin for removably securing the insert
within the handle body.
16. The syringe of claim 15 wherein the nozzle is removably secured
in the elongated channel by a torsion spring secured to the insert,
wherein the nozzle is positioned within the torsion spring such
that when no rotational unwinding force is applied to the tension
spring its compresses around the nozzle thereby securing the nozzle
to the insert.
17. The syringe of claim 16 including: means associated with the
nozzle and the handle body for resisting rotation of the nozzle
about an axis of the elongated channel.
18. The syringe of claim 1 wherein the nozzle is removably secured
in the elongated channel by a torsion spring secured to the insert,
wherein the nozzle is positioned within the torsion spring such
that when no rotational unwinding force is applied to the tension
spring its compresses around the nozzle thereby securing the nozzle
to the insert.
19. The syringe of claim 18 including alignment means associated
with the valve body and the handle body for providing positional
alignment between the at least one valve and the bottom end of actuator
rod. |