Patent Application
20220040726
The present disclosure relates to a nozzle for a viscous material dispensing device, and more particularly relates to a profile of the nozzle outlet.
Dispensing devices for the application of viscous materials, such as caulk, lubricant, adhesives, or sealants, are well known in the construction and home improvement industries. These dispensing devices, also known as dispensing guns, typically include a handle or trigger assembly which drives a piston or plunger relative to a viscous material cartridge in order to dispense the viscous material through a nozzle. The nozzle can be provided in various forms depending on the particular requirements of an application. One such configuration is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,087,550, which is commonly assigned to Albion Engineering Company, and is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
Known nozzle tips for viscous material dispensers typically include a circular outlet for the viscous material to be applied to a joint.
Once the viscous material is deposited, further tooling is required to remove excess viscous material, as illustrated in
It would be desirable to provide a more efficient nozzle for a dispensing device that reduces the volume of excess viscous material applied to work surfaces.
A dispensing nozzle for viscous material having a modified outlet is disclosed herein. The dispensing nozzle includes a first terminal portion, a second terminal portion, and a medial portion defined therebetween. The first terminal portion includes an attachment region configured to secure the dispensing nozzle to a dispensing gun. The second terminal portion includes a dispensing tip defining the outlet for the viscous material. The outlet has a quadrilateral profile. In one preferred embodiment, the outlet has a square profile.
In one embodiment, an outermost face of the dispensing tip is offset or angled 30 degrees to 45 degrees relative to a longitudinal axis (X) of the nozzle.
In one embodiment, an interior perimeter (P1) defined by the outlet at the tip has a square profile when viewed along the longitudinal axis (X) of the dispensing nozzle.
Additional embodiments are disclosed herein.
The foregoing Summary and the following Detailed Description will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the disclosure. In the drawings:
Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not limiting. “Axially” refers to a direction along an axis (X) of an assembly. “Radially” refers to a direction inward and outward from the axis (X) of the assembly. “Circumferentially” refers to a direction extending along a curve or circumference of a respective element relative to the axis (X) of the assembly.
A reference to a list of items that are cited as “at least one of a, b, or c” (where a, b, and c represent the items being listed) means any single one of the items a, b, or c, or combinations thereof. The terminology includes the words specifically noted above, derivatives thereof and words of similar import.
As shown in
In one embodiment, the dispensing nozzle 10 is formed from a thermoplastic polymer. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand based on this disclosure that various materials and methods could be used to form the nozzle 10.
The dispensing nozzle 10 includes a first terminal portion 20, a second terminal portion 30, and medial portion 40 defined therebetween. The first terminal portion 20 includes an attachment region 22 configured to secure the dispensing nozzle 10 to the dispensing gun 7. The attachment region 22 includes an enlarged collar which is dimensioned to be received within an opening of the dispensing gun 7 and to engage the front cap 7a.
The second terminal portion 30 includes a dispensing tip 32 that defines an outlet 34 for dispensing the viscous material 3. The outlet 34 generally has a quadrilateral profile. More specifically, the outlet 34 can have a parallelogram profile.
In one embodiment, the outlet 34 has a square profile when viewed along the longitudinal axis (X), as shown most clearly in
As shown in
Due to the medial portion 40 having a tapered profile, users of the nozzle 10 can cut the nozzle 10 at any section along the medial portion 40 to alter the dimensions of the outlet 34. Any subsequent modifying cuts to the nozzle 10 should be performed at 30 degrees to 45 degrees to ensure a generally square profile of the outlet 34. Indicators can be provided on the outer surface of the nozzle 10 to provide visual cues regarding how and where to cut the nozzle 10.
As shown in
As shown in
The medial portion 40 and the second terminal portion 30 are defined by a first pair of walls 50a, 50b (i.e. the top and bottom walls), and a second pair of walls 52a, 52b (i.e. the side walls) The term “walls” as used in this context refers to a planar surface, and therefore includes regions of the second terminal portion 30 and the medial portion 40 up until the rounded area of the first terminal portion 20. The first pair of walls 50a, 50b each have a greater length along the longitudinal axis (X) than the second pair of walls 52a, 52b.
Based on the geometry of the walls 50a, 50b, 52a, 52b, if the nozzle 10 were to be cut perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (X), then the outlet 34 would have a rectangular profile matching the exterior of the nozzle 10. However, by forming the nozzle 10 with an angled outermost face 33 at the tip 32, the resulting outlet 34 has a square profile. This geometrical relationship is also valid for any subsequent cutting of the nozzle 10 at the predetermined angle (θ).
As shown in
As shown in
In one embodiment, an indicator 60a, 60b is provided on the dispensing nozzle 10 to designate a preferred orientation for using the dispensing nozzle 10. In one embodiment, markings can be provided to illustrate how to cut the nozzle 10 to provide varying sizes of the outlet 34 while maintaining a square outlet profile.
A method of dispensing viscous material to a joint is also disclosed. The method includes: (1) providing a dispensing nozzle including the features disclosed herein, and (2) dispensing viscous material to a joint via the dispensing nozzle, such that tooling of the joint is not required to remove excess viscous material. This method contrasts with the arrangement and method disclosed by
Having thus described the present disclosure in detail, it is to be appreciated and will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many physical changes, only a few of which are exemplified in the detailed description of the invention, could be made without altering the inventive concepts and principles embodied therein.
It is also to be appreciated that numerous embodiments incorporating only part of the preferred embodiment are possible which do not alter, with respect to those parts, the inventive concepts and principles embodied therein.
The present embodiment and optional configurations are therefore to be considered in all respects as exemplary and/or illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the embodiments being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all alternate embodiments and changes to this embodiment which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of said claims are therefore to be embraced therein.
