Dispensing – With cutter and/or punch – To form dispensing opening in container
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-19
2001-05-01
Shaver, Kevin (Department: 3754)
Dispensing
With cutter and/or punch
To form dispensing opening in container
C222S105000, C222S325000, C222S327000, C222S389000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06223941
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an applicator of viscous and non-viscous material, and more particularly to a dispensing gun for applying sealants and adhesives.
2. Background Information
In the field of aircraft production and maintenance, adhesives and sealants are continuously being applied to aircraft components. Sealants are used on many of the components of an aircraft to insure that the aircraft's cabin maintains a near-standard air pressure, even at elevations as high as 60,000 feet. Sealants are also used to prevent fuel leakage from wing tanks on an aircraft.
To apply different sealant products, some form of application technology is required when producing an aircraft. For many years, applicator guns were used in the aerospace industry. An applicator gun
300
, as shown in
FIG. 1
, uses a solid plastic tube
301
made of low-density polyethylene for holding a sealant. Each tube
301
includes a plunger surface
302
, a casing
304
, and a disposable cap
306
. The applicator gun
300
has a metal holder
310
for holding the tube
301
against a pressure-applying assembly
314
. The applicator gun
300
also has a knob
308
coupled with the pressure-applying trigger
309
on the assembly
314
.
To load the tube
301
into the applicator gun
300
, an operator unscrews the knob
308
and disengages the pressure applying assembly
314
. The tube
301
is loaded into the metal holder
310
and the assembly
314
is reattached to the metal tube
310
. The cap
306
on the tube
301
is removed and discarded to allow egress of the sealant contained in the tube
301
. The nozzle
311
is attached to aid in flow control. The sealant is applied by squeezing the trigger
309
, causing the assembly
314
to pressure up with compressed air against the back of the plunger surface
302
, moving it forward. The movement of the plunger surface
302
forces the sealant out of the nozzle
311
. Removal of the spent tube
301
is accomplished in the same manner as its installation, only in reverse.
Unfortunately, the sealant applicator gun
300
uses disposable cartridges, which are made of hard plastic material. As such, they are not easily compressible, and generate large amounts of hazardous waste, which must be disposed of at high cost. Further, the present method of using hard plastic tubes decreases productivity because of the extensive amount of time necessary to both fill the tubes and then manually swap them once one has been emptied. Finally, the size of the hard tube is not easily varied, and each tube is relatively expensive to produce. Consequently, there is a need in the art for an inexpensive and rapid device for applying sealant, which produces a minimal amount of hazardous waste.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with one embodiment, an apparatus is used to dispense material stored in a soft packet. The apparatus includes a barrel sized to contain the soft packet, the barrel having a front end and a back end, and a cap removably engaged to the front end of the barrel. The cap has an orifice through which the material may flow, and has inner dimensions sized to form a seal with a top portion of the soft packet to minimize any extraneous air trapped therebetween. The apparatus also has a plunger positioned within the barrel. The plunger applies pressure to the soft packet when it moves from the back end of the barrel toward the front end of the barrel to force the material out from the packet and through the orifice.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1604434 (1926-10-01), Welcl et al.
patent: 3433134 (1969-03-01), Vellekoop
patent: 3439839 (1969-04-01), Schumann et al.
patent: 4453651 (1984-06-01), Braithwaite et al.
patent: 4703875 (1987-11-01), Malek
patent: 4997107 (1991-03-01), Snyder et al.
patent: 5161715 (1992-11-01), Giannuzzi
patent: 5279569 (1994-01-01), Neer et al.
patent: 5301835 (1994-04-01), Fulks et al.
patent: 5368206 (1994-11-01), Sandrin
patent: 5536531 (1996-07-01), Owen et al.
patent: 5558277 (1996-09-01), Owen et al.
patent: 5680967 (1997-10-01), Dang et al.
patent: 4226956 (1994-02-01), None
patent: 1435053 (1976-05-01), None
Cartagena Melvin A
Nelson Lawrence W.
Shaver Kevin
The Boeing Company
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