Invalidity dossier
US 5456415
Atomizing nozzle for liquids
Current assignee: Individual
Added 9/21/2026, 10:41:40 AM
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Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview — US 5,456,415
Title: Atomizing nozzle for liquids
Patent number: US 5,456,415 A
Inventor: James J. Gardner
Assignee: Individual (original assignee also listed as Individual)
Application number: US08/224,251
Priority/filing date: 1994-04-07
Publication (grant) date: 1995-10-10
Legal status: Expired – Fee Related (anticipated expiration 2014-04-07). Per the source, legal status is an assumption and not a legal conclusion.
Classification: B05B 7/00 et seq., notably B05B 7/0441 and B05B 7/0458 (gas-and-liquid spray apparatus with an inner liquid conduit surrounded by an external gas conduit upstream of the mixing chamber).
Purpose: To atomize a high-viscosity liquid (e.g., silicone oil) into microscopic, evenly dispersed droplets for uniformly coating the inner surface of a syringe barrel, using low-pressure air so atomized liquid is not blown from the barrel, while allowing rapid on/off pulsing without dripping.
Plain-language scope (from the abstract and description): A nozzle body defines a first passage receiving liquid from an ejector pump and a first orifice extending to a flat wall surface. A second passage receives low-pressure air flowing radially inwardly through a narrow channel between that flat wall surface and a parallel spaced disk having a second orifice aligned axially with the first. The inward air flow between the orifices atomizes liquid flowing outwardly through them, permits high-speed pulsation without dripping, and minimizes air consumption. A described embodiment uses about 35 psi liquid (pulsed up to ~800 pulses/minute) and about 10 psi air; orifices about 0.042″ diameter; an air channel gap of 0.007–0.015″ (preferably ~0.010″); a tube press-fit into a body bore; and a disk secured by a swaged lip.
What the excerpt does not establish: It does not establish claim scope (claims text is not included), the number or wording of claims, the examiner's citation of prior art, prosecution history, enforceability, or any litigation, assignment, or ownership transfer. It also does not confirm the accuracy of the listed assignee or legal status.
Generated 10/1/2026, 10:01:17 PM
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Litigation summary
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PTAB challenges
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Assignment history
Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.
Prior art
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Obviousness
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Extensions
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Derivative works
Defensive disclosure: derivative variations of each claim designed to render future incremental improvements obvious or non-novel.