Patent Application
20190389635
The present invention is related to front-loading adhesive and sealant retaining and dispensing systems.
Adhesives and sealants have conventionally been dispensed from disposable cartridges using pneumatic dispensing guns.
Disclosed herein is an adhesive sealant retaining and dispensing system comprising a generally cylindrical outer retainer, a front cap removably attached to a front end of the retainer, and a generally cylindrical inner sleeve inserted in the retainer structured and arranged to receive a cartridge therein containing the adhesive or sealant.
Also disclosed herein is an adhesive and sealant retaining and dispensing system comprising a generally cylindrical outer retainer, a front cap removably attached to a front end of the retainer, a generally cylindrical inner sleeve inserted in the retainer, and a cartridge containing an adhesive or sealant located inside the inner sleeve and outer retainer, wherein the cartridge comprises a flexible sidewall and a rigid front end having a rear rim that contacts a front end of the inner sleep and has an outer diameter smaller than an inner diameter of the retainer.
Further disclosed herein is a method comprising loading an adhesive and sealant retaining system as described above with a cartridge containing an adhesive or sealant by removing the front cap from the retainer, inserting a flexible sidewall of the cartridge into the inner sleeve, and attaching the front cap to the front end of the retainer.
Still further disclosed herein is a cartridge structured and arranged for use in an adhesive and sealant retaining and dispensing system as described above, wherein the cartridge comprises a rigid front end comprising a front opening and a rear rim structured and arranged to contact a front end of the inner sleeve, and a flexible sidewall extending rearwardly from the rear rim of the rigid front end structured and arranged for insertion into the inner sleeve.
A generally cylindrical inner sleeve 30 fits inside the retainer 12. The sleeve 30 includes a front end 31 and a back end 32 having a retaining flange 34. A plunger 36 is located inside the sleeve 30.
The tolerance or fit between the sleeve 30 and plunger 36, and the materials used to make the sleeve 30 and plunger 36, may be selected in order to allow the plunger 36 to move in relation to the sleeve 30 under air pressure applied by a conventional pneumatic gun, while providing a sufficiently tight seal that prevents air from passing between the interface between the sleeve 30 and the plunger 36.
An adhesive or sealant-containing cartridge 40 having a flexible sidewall is located within the sleeve 30 and front cap assembly 20. The collapsible-walled cartridge 40 includes a domed rigid front end 41 with a front tip 42 and front opening 43. The rigid front end 41 has a rear rim 44. The collapsible sidewall of the cartridge 40 has a rear end 46. As shown most clearly in
The dispensing system 10 may be mounted on a dispensing gun 50 having a handle 51 and trigger 52, as shown in dashed lines in
Another front-loading adhesive and sealant retaining and dispensing system 110 is shown in
Another front-loading adhesive and sealant retaining and dispensing system 210 is shown in
The retainer 12 may be made of any suitable rigid material such as metal, plastic and the like. For example, the retainer 12 may be made of steel or aluminum. A viewing slot (not shown) may optionally be provided through the retainer 12, e.g., running parallel with the longitudinal axis of the retainer 12. The front cap assemblies 20, 120 and 220 may be made of any suitable material such as plastic or metal. For example, the front cap assemblies may be made of a polymer such as nylon. The sleeve 30 and plunger 36 may be made of any suitable materials such as plastic, e.g., polyethylene, polyurethane, polypropylene or the like. The plastic sleeve 30 may be slightly resilient or flexible and may have lower thermal conductivity than the retainer 12, i.e., to provide thermal insulation.
The flexible sidewall of the cartridge 40 may be made of relatively thin sheets of laminated foil or any other suitable type of collapsible material. The domed rigid front end 41 may be made of relatively rigid materials such as plastic and the like. For example, the rigid front end 41 and front tip 42 may be made of a polymer such as polyethylene. The adhesive or sealant contained in the cartridge 40 may be any suitable adhesive/sealant formulation such as those used in the aerospace industry.
The retainer systems 10, 110 and 210 of the present invention may be used with standard adhesive and sealant guns known to those skilled in the art including, but not limited to, pneumatically driven guns sold under the designations Semco Model 250-A, Model 250-B and Model 350.
The retainer systems 10, 110 and 210 of the present invention may be loaded by the following steps: remove the front cap 24, 124, 224 from the retainer 12 by turning the cap counterclockwise; remove the used flexible cartridge 40 and discard appropriately; load the new flexible cartridge 40 through the front of the retainer 12 and sleeve 30, pushing back the plunger 36 inside the sleeve 30; place the front cap 24, 124, 224 back on the retainer 12, threading clockwise on until tight; ready to dispense.
The retaining and dispensing systems 10, 110 and 210 of the present invention provide numerous advantages. A retainer utilizing a sleeve composed of a non-metallic material, such as plastic, has less friction than metal, thus decreasing the time needed to load a flexible cartridge into the retainer. The sleeve protects the flexible cartridge from sharp edges inside the retainer. Further, the sleeve can be used to provide a flexible cartridge with a definite shape, such as when a flexible cartridge is filled with adhesive or sealant and then flash-frozen inside the sleeve. The frozen flexible cartridge can be removed from the sleeve and stored. The defined shape of the frozen flexible cartridge improves ease of loading. The use of a plastic sleeve in a retainer presents numerous other advantages, such as thermal insulation for the adhesive or sealant and a lower coefficient of thermal expansion in comparison to metal. In addition, plastic is more resilient against stressors that would normally cause metal to bend, and plastic sleeves can be economically replaced. Another advantage of the sleeve is that the plunger is pressurized within the sleeve, not the retainer. The lack of pressure against the retainer reduces the risk of damage to the retainer and allows for viewing windows to be positioned through the retainer. Also, when in use, the plunger applies pressure against the flexible cartridge, and the flexible cartridge releases adhesive or sealant. After the pressure is released, additional adhesive or sealant could continue to dispense. However, when the sleeve is used, the flexible cartridge exerts force against the plunger, and the adhesive or sealant may not dispense after the pressure is released. Furthermore, the sleeve allows for the plunger to slide smoothly under air pressure. The plunger slides back with the operator pressing force when loading the flexible cartridge into the sleeve, and contact with the plunger is on the inside of the sleeve.
It is to be understood that the invention may assume various alternative variations and step sequences, except where expressly specified to the contrary. Moreover, other than in any operating examples, or where otherwise indicated, all numbers such as those expressing values, amounts, percentages, ranges, sub-ranges and fractions may be read as if prefaced by the word “about,” even if the term does not expressly appear. Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the following specification and attached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties to be obtained by the present invention. At the very least, and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claims, each numerical parameter should at least be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques. Where a closed- or open-ended numerical range is described herein, all numbers, values, amounts, percentages, sub-ranges and fractions within or encompassed by the numerical range are to be considered as being specifically included in and belonging to the original disclosure of this application as if these numbers, values, amounts, percentages, sub-ranges and fractions had been explicitly written out in their entirety.
Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of the invention are approximations, the numerical values set forth in any of the specific examples are reported as precisely as possible. Any numerical value, however, inherently contains certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard variation found in their respective testing measurements.
As used herein, unless indicated otherwise, a plural term can encompass its singular counterpart and vice versa, unless indicated otherwise. In addition, in this application, the use of “or” means “and/or” unless specifically stated otherwise, even though “and/or” may be explicitly used in certain instances.
As used herein, “including”, “containing” and like terms are understood in the context of this application to be synonymous with “comprising” and are therefore open-ended and do not exclude the presence of additional undescribed or unrecited elements, materials, ingredients or method steps. As used herein, “consisting of” is understood in the context of this application to exclude the presence of any unspecified element, ingredient or method step. As used herein, “consisting essentially of” is understood in the context of this application to include the specified elements, materials, ingredients or method steps “and those that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristic(s)” of what is being described.
Whereas specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the invention which is to be given the full breadth of the claims appended and any and all equivalents thereof.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/688,801 filed Jun. 22, 2018, which is incorporated in its entirety herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62688801 | Jun 2018 | US |
