Patent Application
20250161974
The disclosure relates to a cartridge assembly for insertion into a dispenser and a dispenser for dispensing materials configured to repeatedly receive a cartridge assembly according to the disclosure.
Conventional dispensers can be used to dispense various types of materials in various fields of application. Cartridges are frequently used to store flowable liquids, frequently pasty or viscous to highly viscous substances, such as paints, sealants and adhesives in the industrial sector, for example the automotive, nautical and aeronautical industries, in the construction industry, for example of buildings and structures, such as bridges, and also in the dental sector and medical sector.
Various types of dispensers are available to dispense materials for the respective application as required. Examples for such substances are joint sealing compounds, compounds for chemical dowels or chemical anchors, adhesives, pastes or impression materials in the dental sector. These cartridges are usually produced from plastic and are manufactured in an injection molding process.
A distinction is made between single-component systems in which the material to be dispensed is only made of one component and two-component or multicomponent systems in which at least two different components are stored in separate chambers of the same cartridge or in separate cartridges, wherein the components are intimately mixed on dispensing by a dynamic or static mixing apparatus. Examples for this are two-component adhesives or chemical dowels which only harden after the mixing of the two components. Two-component systems are in particular also used in the industrial sector for paints which are often used to generate functional protective layers such as for corrosion protection.
It has been determined that for reasons of environmental protection, film bag cartridges are increasingly being used. In contrast to regular cartridges which are completely produced from plastic in an injection molding process, at least parts of film cartridges are designed as a film. Usually the cartridge wall(s) bounding the cartridge chamber(s) is/are made of a film which is connected to a head part made of rigid material, e.g. plastic, comprising the dispensing outlet. This has several advantages. On the one hand, the unfilled film cartridges can be stored and transported in a collapsed state from the cartridge manufacturers to the manufacturers of the filling materials (media) who then take care of the filling of the empty cartridges. Only after being filled, the film cartridge is in its expanded state which is comparable in size to a regular non-collapsible cartridge. This means that the necessary space for storage and for transportation can be reduced, since the collapsed cartridges have a reduced size in comparison to regular non-collapsible cartridges.
On the other hand, once the cartridges have been used, i.e. reduced to the collapsed state by dispensing the filling material, the cartridges are significantly reduced in size and weight in comparison to regular cartridges so that the cost of disposal is also reduced. In any case the carbon footprint associated with the film cartridges is reduced in comparison to plastic cartridges that are completely formed in an injection molding process.
The materials are stored in cartridges and these can be repeatedly replaced at the dispensers once the materials stored therein are either no longer required for a certain application or have been used up.
As in application fields such as the medical or dental sectors, the dispensers and thus also the collapsible cartridges used are comparatively small, it is often difficult to change the cartridges effectively without mistakenly rupturing them.
Additionally, especially in the above mentioned application fields, extremely high quality and hygiene standards are demanded. Thus, it is also necessary to being able to effectively clean and sanitize the dispensers after every use, especially after every patient.
In view of the above it is an object of the disclosure to provide a cartridge assembly for insertion into a dispenser that is simple to use with film bag cartridges, which reduces waste on removal of film bag cartridges. It is a further object of the disclosure to provide a corresponding dispenser that can be used with a cartridge assembly according to the disclosure, thereby enabling a particularly simple handling.
This object is satisfied by the subject matter disclosed herein.
A cartridge assembly for insertion into a dispenser according to the disclosure comprises a collapsible cartridge having a film cartridge wall and an outlet, with the film wall bounding a cartridge chamber for material to be dispensed, the chamber extending along a longitudinal axis of the cartridge, and the collapsible cartridge further comprising a first end having a head part with the outlet for dispensing the material being formed at the head part. The cartridge assembly further comprises a support sleeve comprising a rigid sleeve wall forming a receiving area configured to receive the collapsible cartridge, the support sleeve further comprising first and second ends and a support sleeve axis extending therebetween. The disclosure is characterized in that the support sleeve comprises two half shells connectable with one another to form the support sleeve and the receiving area therebetween.
Such a cartridge assembly is suitable for a variety of dispenser applications. Furthermore, the amount of waste can be reduced dramatically as the rigid support sleeve does not have to be replaced once a cartridge is empty. On the contrary, the support sleeve can be used repeatedly since only the collapsible cartridges need to be replaced once they are empty. Therefore, with the cartridge assembly according to the disclosure it is possible to reduce the amount of waste.
Furthermore, by providing a support sleeve formed of two half shells that can be connected to one another it is particularly simple to replace empty cartridges as the half shells can simply be disconnected and thus dismantled in order to remove the cartridge from the receiving area.
Once the cartridge is replaced and the half shells of the support sleeves are again connected with one another, the whole assembly can be inserted in a suitable dispenser. Therefore, also the insertion process into a dispenser becomes easier as one does not need to insert the collapsible cartridges into their support sleeves from the rather small opening in the back or the front of the support sleeve.
Additionally, since according to the disclosure the support sleeve can be dismantled into its respective two parts, the two separate parts can be cleaned more easily and effectively which is particularly important in the medical and/or dental field of application.
In some embodiments the support sleeve and/or the cartridge can comprise a trumpet shape second end. A trumpet shaped second end facilitates the insertion of a piston of a dispenser into the support sleeve, since the piston is usually dimensioned such that none of the material of the collapsible cartridge is caught between the support sleeve and the piston which could damage the film wall and hence cause the material stored therein to come into direct contact with moveable parts of the dispenser and hence possibly influence the working thereof.
Also, the shape of the second end of the cartridge and/or the second end of the support sleeve can act as an insertion aid to guide a piston of a dispenser towards the cartridge.
Moreover, through a suitable selection of the parts of the cartridge assembly, e.g. of the film bag, the head part and the support sleeve, e.g. from plastic materials, e.g. thermoplastic elastomers and/or thermoplastic polymers, this can be produced in an as environmentally friendly manner using known techniques in an as cost-effective way as possible.
It should be noted that the cartridges described herein can be a plurality of different types of cartridges, for example, one or multi-component cartridges. If e.g. a two-component cartridge is used this can be formed as a side-by-side cartridge, a coaxial cartridge or a cartridge formed by joining two single component cartridges e.g. by a “click together” process such as a snap-fit connection or the like.
In order to hold the cartridge in place at least during dispensing of the materials, it can further be possible to axially fix the cartridge to the support sleeve in a dispensing direction, for example by the support sleeve engaging with the head part of the cartridge. This way, it can be ensured that during use of the cartridge assembly the cartridge is held in place and cannot fall out of the support sleeve when, for example, a piston applies a pressure onto a second end of the cartridge, wherein the second end is arranged opposite to the first end of the cartridge.
It can also be possible that the support sleeve clamps the head part of the cartridge once the two half shells are connected with one another such that the head part is held in place until the half shells are disconnected again.
Further benefits and advantageous embodiments of the disclosure will become apparent from the description and from the accompanying drawings.
According to an embodiment of the disclosure the half shells can be connectable to one another along their respective longitudinal axis, in particular along the support sleeve axis, or along a transverse axis extending perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. In other words the support sleeve can basically be cut in half either along its longitudinal axis, which upon use of the cartridge assembly aligns with the support sleeve axis, or along its transverse axis. In the latter case the two half shells can be disconnected by moving the two shells away from one another along their longitudinal axis.
It can further be possible that the support sleeve further comprises a fixing means (structure) configured to releasably fix the half shells to one another, with the fixing means being one of a snap fit connection, a latching connection, a plug-in connection, a clamp connection, a hook connection and/or combinations of the foregoing. Hence, the two half shells can comprise means that allow an easy mantling and dismantling of the two half shells.
According to a further embodiment the cartridge assembly can further comprise at least one separate connection element configured to clamp the cartridge assembly. The further connection element can thus be configured to hold some or all components of the cartridge in place upon use of the cartridge assembly.
In this connection it can further be possible that the at least one separate connection element is configured to clamp the two half shells to one another by bounding the half shells from at least three sides. That is, the connection element can prevent an unwanted dismantling of the half shells by surrounding them from at least three sides. Such a further connection element can either be used by its own or in connection with the fixing means (structure) as explained above.
The connection element can for example be at least one of a clamp, a ring, a ferrule and/or combinations of the foregoing.
According to another embodiment the connection element can further be configured to connect the head part to the support sleeve. Thus, the connection element can be configured to fix the head part of the cartridge in at least an axial direction such that upon used of the cartridge assembly in a dispenser the collapsible cartridge is prevented from being pushed out of the support sleeve in a dispensing direction.
Additionally or alternatively the connection element can further be connectable to the head part. This way, it can be possible that the connection element also contributes in connecting the head part to the cartridge.
According to a further embodiment, the head part can also be formed by at least two separate head pieces that are connectable with one another by a click connection. The head pieces can, for example, be two identical pieces configured to form the head piece once connected with one another. In some cases, each head piece can fit onto one cartridge such that when the two head pieces are connected with one another, a side-by-side cartridge comprising two cartridges with each cartridge comprising one outlet is formed.
It can further be possible that one of the cartridge and the support sleeve comprises a piston configured to urge the material to be dispensed towards the outlet during dispense.
In the case of the cartridge comprising the piston, the piston is usually discarded together with the cartridge once the cartridge needs to be replaced. This enables a particularly easy handling.
In the case of the support sleeve comprising the piston, it can be possible that the piston is reusable such that upon replacement of the cartridge the piston remains inside the support sleeve. On the one hand, this option can lead to a slightly more difficult handling than the first case. On the other hand, the amount of waste can be reduced even more as the piston can be reused.
According to another embodiment the support sleeve can further comprise a connection means (connector) configured to releasably fix the collapsible cartridge inside its respective receiving area of the support sleeve, in particular by connecting the support sleeve with the bead part. That is, in order to prevent the cartridge from falling out of the support sleeve it can be possible to provide a further connection means (connector) that can hold the collapsible cartridge in place, i.e. inside its receiving area. This can for example be done by a fixing means (structure) that connect the support sleeve and the head part of the collapsible cartridge with one another. Such connection means can be provided in the form of a snap fit connection, a latching connection, a plug-in connection, a clamp connection, a hook connection, a hinge and/or combinations of the foregoing
According to a further aspect a cartridge assembly for insertion into a dispenser is provided comprising a collapsible cartridge having a film cartridge wall and an outlet, with the film wall bounding a cartridge chamber for material to be dispensed, the chamber extending along a longitudinal axis of the cartridge, and the collapsible cartridge further comprising a first end having a head part with the outlet for dispensing the material being formed at the head part, with the head part in particular being formed of at least two separate head pieces that are connectable with one another by a click connection. The assembly further comprises a support sleeve comprising a rigid sleeve wall forming a receiving area configured to receive the collapsible cartridge, the support sleeve further comprising first and second ends and a support sleeve axis extending therebetween. The disclosure is characterized in that the support sleeve further comprises a connection means (connector) configured to releasably fix the collapsible cartridge inside its respective receiving area of the support sleeve, in particular by connecting the support sleeve with the head part.
Since according to the disclosure the support sleeve further comprises a connection means (connector) configured to releasably fix the collapsible cartridge inside its respective receiving space the cartridge is prevented from falling out of the support sleeve when the cartridge assembly is being used. This can be done, for example, by a fixing means (structure) that connect the support sleeve and the head part of the collapsible cartridge with one another. Such connection means (connector) can be provided in the form of a snap fit connection, a latching connection, a plug-in connection, a clamp connection, a hook connection, a hinge and/or combinations of the foregoing.
According to a further aspect of the disclosure cartridge assembly for insertion into a dispenser is provided comprising a collapsible cartridge having a film cartridge wall and an outlet, with the film wall bounding a cartridge chamber for material to be dispensed, the chamber extending along a longitudinal axis of the cartridge, and the collapsible cartridge further comprising a first end having a head part with the outlet for dispensing the material being formed at the head part, with the head part in particular being formed of at least two separate head pieces that are connectable with one another by a click connection. The assembly further comprises a support sleeve comprising a rigid sleeve wall forming a receiving area configured to receive the collapsible cartridge, the support sleeve further comprising first and second ends and a support sleeve axis extending therebetween. The disclosure is further characterized in that the assembly further comprises a tray element configured to repeatedly receive the support sleeve.
Such cartridge assemblies are suitable for a variety of dispenser applications. Furthermore, the amount of waste can be reduced dramatically as the rigid support sleeve does not have to be replaced once a cartridge is empty. On the contrary, the support sleeve can be used repeatedly since only the collapsible cartridges need to be replaced once they are empty. Therefore, with the cartridge assembly according to the disclosure it is possible to reduce the amount of waste.
In both of the above cases it can also be possible to provide a head part that is formed by at least two separate head pieces that are connectable with one another by a click connection. The head pieces can, for example, be two identical pieces configured to form the head piece once connected with one another. In some cases, each head piece can fit onto one cartridge such that when the two head pieces are connected with one another, a side-by-side cartridge comprising two cartridges with each cartridge comprising one outlet is formed.
In some embodiments the support sleeve and/or the cartridge can comprise a trumpet shape second end. A trumpet shaped second end facilitates the insertion of a piston of a dispenser into the support sleeve, since the piston is usually dimensioned such that none of the material of the collapsible cartridge is caught between the support sleeve and the piston which could damage the film wall and hence cause the material stored therein to come into direct contact with moveable parts of the dispenser and hence possibly influence the working thereof.
Also, the shape of the second end of the cartridge and/or the second end of the support sleeve can act as an insertion aid to guide a piston of a dispenser towards the cartridge.
Moreover, through a suitable selection of the parts of the cartridge assembly, e.g. of the film bag, the head part and the support sleeve, e.g. from plastic materials, e.g. thermoplastic elastomers and/or thermoplastic polymers, this can be produced in an as environmentally friendly manner using known techniques in an as cost-effective way as possible.
It should be noted that the cartridges described herein can be a plurality of different types of cartridges, for example, one or multi-component cartridges. If e.g. a two-component cartridge is used this can be formed as a side-by-side cartridge, a coaxial cartridge or a cartridge formed by joining two single component cartridges e.g. by a “click together” process such as a snap-fit connection or the like.
In connection with the case of the assembly comprising a tray element for repeatedly receiving the support sleeve it should be noted that the tray element can, for example, be designed as an exoskeleton that is configured to hold the support sleeve and at the same time to connect to a dispenser. The tray element can either be formed as a single piece or can be composed of two or more elements that are fixed to one another.
Further benefits and advantageous embodiments of the disclosure will become apparent from the description and from the accompanying drawings.
According to an embodiment of the disclosure the support sleeve can further comprise two half shells connectable with one another to form the support sleeve and the receiving area therebetween.
By providing a support sleeve formed of two half shells that can be connected to one another it is particularly simple to replace empty cartridges as the half shells can simply be disconnected and thus dismantled in order to remove the cartridge from the receiving area. Once the cartridge is replaced and the half shells of the support sleeves are again connected with one another, the whole assembly can be inserted in a suitable dispenser. Therefore, also the insertion process into a dispenser becomes easier as one does not need to insert the collapsible cartridges into their support sleeves from the rather small opening in the back or the front of the support sleeve.
Additionally, since according to the disclosure the support sleeve can be dismantled into its respective two parts, the two separate parts can be cleaned more easily and effectively which is particularly important in the medical and/or dental field of application.
Furthermore, it can also be possible that the half shells can be connectable to one another along their respective longitudinal axis, in particular along the support sleeve axis, or along a transverse axis extending perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. That is, in other words, the support sleeve can basically be cut in half either along its longitudinal axis, which upon use of the cartridge assembly aligns with the support sleeve axis, or along its transverse axis. In the latter case the two half shells can be disconnected by moving the two shells away from one another along their longitudinal axis.
It can further be possible that the support sleeve further comprises a fixing means (structure) configured to releasably fix the half shells to one another, with the fixing means (structure) being one of a snap fit connection, a latching connection, a plug-in connection, a clamp connection and/or combinations of the foregoing. Hence, the two half shells can comprise means that allow an easy mantling and dismantling of the two half shells.
According to a further embodiment the cartridge assembly can further comprise at least one separate connection element configured to clamp the cartridge assembly. The further connection element can thus be configured to hold some or all components of the cartridge in place upon use of the cartridge assembly.
Additionally or alternatively the connection element can be connectable to the head part. This way, it can be possible that the connection element also contributes in connecting the head part to the cartridge.
In particular it can be possible that the at least one connection element clamps the tray element such that the connection element connects the tray element and the support sleeve. In this connection it some preferred embodiments the connection element can also be configured to clamp the cartridge assembly in such a way that it additionally also keeps the cartridge from falling out of the support sleeve during use of the dispenser.
It can further be possible that the at least one separate connection element is configured to clamp the two half shells to one another by bounding the half shells from at least three sides. That is, the connection element can prevent an unwanted dismantling of the half shells by surrounding them from at least three sides. Such a further connection element can either be used by its own or in connection with the fixing means (structure) as explained above.
The connection element can for example be at least one of a clamp, a ring, a ferrule and/or combinations of the foregoing.
It can further be possible that one of the cartridge and the support sleeve comprises a piston configured to urge the material to be dispensed towards the outlet during dispense.
In the case of the cartridge comprising the piston, the piston is usually discarded together with the cartridge once the cartridge needs to be replaced. This enables a particularly easy handling.
In the case of the support sleeve comprising the piston, it can be possible that the piston is reusable such that upon replacement of the cartridge the piston remains inside the support sleeve. On the one hand, this option can lead to a slightly more difficult handling than the first case. On the other hand, the amount of waste can be reduced even more as the piston can be reused.
According to a further embodiment of the disclosure the connection means (connector) is chosen from the group of snap fit connections, plug-in connections, latching connections, clamp connections, hook connections and/or combinations of the foregoing. That is, a variety of connection means (connector) can be suitable to effectively binder the collapsible cartridge from falling out of its support sleeve upon use of the cartridge assembly.
According to another aspect of the disclosure a dispenser for dispensing materials is provided comprising a receptacle configured to repeatedly receive a cartridge assembly according to the disclosure, a rack configured to be connected to a piston and moveable through the receptacle for urging the film cartridge wall towards the dispensing outlet of the cartridge for dispensing the materials stored inside the cartridge chamber, and a trigger configured to activate the movement of the rack of the dispenser in the direction of the receptacle.
The disclosure will be explained in more with reference to the drawings.
The head part 18 can be formed of a single piece (as can be seen in
The two head pieces 18, 18b shown in
Alternatively a further type of connection such as a press-fit or form fit connection between two head pieces 18, 18b can lead to the formation of the head part 18.
As can further be seen in
In this connection it can further be possible that each head piece 18a, 18b comprises one outlet 16a, 16b respectively, thereby leading to a head part 18 with two outlets 16a, 16b (see e.g.
The cartridge 12 is surrounded by a support sleeve 20 which is formed out of two half shells 22. The support sleeve 20 can also be made out of a rigid material such as plastic to be able to serve as an exoskeleton for the cartridge 12.
In the embodiment of
Both the cartridge 12 and the support sleeve 20 comprise first and second ends 12A, 12B, 20A, 20B, respectively, wherein the first end 12A of the cartridge 12 aligns with the first end 20A of the support sleeve 20, and with the head part 18 of the cartridge 12 being arranged at the first end 12A of the cartridge 12. Hence, the first ends 12A, 20A of the cartridge 12 and the support sleeve 20 correspond to the dispensing end of the cartridge assembly 10, where a material stored inside the cartridge 12 is dispensed when the cartridge assembly 10 is used.
The second end 12B, 20B of the cartridge 12 and/or the support sleeve 20 can further comprise a trumpet shape. A trumpet shaped second end 12B, 20B facilitates the insertion of a piston of a dispenser 40 (see below) into the support sleeve 20, since the piston is usually dimensioned such that none of the material of the collapsible cartridge 12 is caught between the support sleeve 20 and the piston which could damage the film wall 14 and hence cause the material stored therein to come into direct contact with moveable parts of the dispenser 40 and hence possibly influence the working thereof.
Another embodiment of the cartridge assembly 10 according to the disclosure is shown in
According to the embodiment of
The connection means 30 shown in
In general, a great variety of connection means 30 can be applied such as, for example, snap fit connections, plug-in connections, latching connections, clamp connections, hook connections and/or combinations of the foregoing. Hence, the exact type of connection means 30 can be chosen freely and/or in accordance with the precise application, e.g. in accordance with the material which is supposed to be dispensed.
In this connection it should also be noted that the embodiments of
Another embodiment of the disclosure is shown in
The connection element 32 can be formed in various ways, examples of which are clamps, rings, ferrules and/or combinations of the foregoing.
The precise shape of the connection element 32 can also vary in dependence of the application. For example, a connection element 32 that is configured to clamp a side-by-side cartridge 12 as shown in
In this connection it should be noted that
Each half shell can cover between 30% to 70%, especially 40 to 60% of the respective cartridge 12 prior to connection and following the connection of the two half shells will cover 100% of the cartridge 12 at the point of connection. In the example shown in
In other examples the connection element 32 does not surround the support sleeve 20 completely. In such cases the connection element can for example be formed as a clamp. Thus, one can see that a great variety of shapes are possible.
In some embodiments (see
In this connection it should further be noted that the embodiments of
The tray element 50 can generally be shaped as a hollow cylinder comprising a circular or an elliptical cross section as can be seen in
According to an alternative embodiment, the tray element 50 can also be designed as an exoskeleton, i.e. the tray element 50 cannot comprise a continuous outer surface but it can rather be composed of a plurality of longitudinal and/or circumferential ribs.
The tray element 50 can further generally comprise the same or almost the same shape as the support sleeve 20 such that the support sleeve 20 can be easily covered by the tray element 50. However, in some embodiments the shape of the tray element 50 can also vary if, for example, a special outer shape or specific dimensions are needed.
That is, as can be seen in
In the embodiment of
Additionally, it could also be possible that the connection element 32 is arranged at an outer side of the tray element 50 such that it not only clamps the support sleeve 20 and the cartridge 12 but also the tray element 50.
However, generally, it can also be possible that the connection element 32 is arranged somewhere else between the first end 12A, 20A and the second end 12B, 20B of the cartridge 12 respectively the support sleeve 20.′
Therefore, generally it can also be possible that the embodiment of
To dispense the material stored inside the cartridge 12 a dispenser 40 such as the one shown in
A head plate 41 is arranged at a front end of the dispenser 40 which is configured to hold the cartridge assembly 10 in axial direction during dispense. As can also be seen in
To dispense the material stored inside the cartridge 12 the dispenser 40 further comprises a rack 44 that is connected to a piston (not shown). The piston can either be part of the cartridge 12 or of the support sleeve 20. By pressing the trigger 46, which is located near the handle 48 of the dispenser 40, the rack 44 moves in a forward direction towards the cartridge assembly 10 and presses the piston against the cartridge 12 such that the material stored therein is urged towards the outlet of the cartridge 12 and thus out of the dispenser.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22159248.8 | Feb 2022 | EP | regional |
This application is a U.S. National Stage application of PCT/EP2023/054551, filed Feb. 23, 2023, which claims priority to European Application No. 22159248.8, filed Feb. 28, 2022, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2023/054551 | 2/23/2023 | WO |
