CA2254295A1

CA2254295A1 - Resin applicator

Info

Publication number: CA2254295A1
Application number: CA002254295A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Matthew Gordon Charles Kennedy
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-11-30
Filing date: 1998-11-30
Publication date: 2000-05-30

Abstract

The invention is an applicator used to fill in the edges of composite panels with resin or emulsions. The applicator is attached to a pressurized canister filled with resin that forces the resin through the applicator's channel, then through a slot in its base. The sidewalls of the applicator guide the applicator along the edge of the panel as it is drawn along to fill the edge and also prevent spill over.
The flat, aft-end of the base of the applicator acts as a spatula to smooth the resin flush with the panel's sidewalls. The applicator may also be used to apply adhesives to the edges of solid panels.

Description

ABSTRACT
The invention is an applicator used to fill in the edges of composite panels with resin or emulsions. The applicator is attached to a pressurized canister filled with resin that forces the resin through the applicator's channel, then through a slot in its base. The sidewalls of the applicator guide the applicator along the edge of the panel as it is drawn along to frll the edge and also prevent spill over.
The flat, aft-end of the base of the applicator acts as a spatula to smooth the resin flush with the panel's sidewalls. The applicator may also be used to apply adhesives to the edges of solid panels.
SPECIFICATION
This invention relates to a pressure aided emulsion and resin application device for applying such fluid material into the edges of composite panels.
The resin applicator mentioned herein was designed to make the production of composite board cabinetry more efficient and less costly by allowing workers to work more quickly than conventional methods. Since composite board panels (like No-mex~ and Fiberlam~) have open cells at their edges, these edges must be filled with materials (such as the Epocasit9 emulsion) which strengthens the brittle ends and provides a stabilizer for joinery screws and nuts.
This procedure, called end filling, is conventionally preformed by hand with a spatula that crudely spreads the emulsion or resin into the fill area. This procedure cannot guarantee an even fill density and it leaves a lot of extra residue on the panels, which is wasteful and inefficient. Once the residue dries, the worker must sand the material flush with the edges of the composite panel.
The resin applicator is an efficient tool for end-filling composite panels.
The applicator would typically be made of injection molded or milled plastic. The applicator is designed to attach to a cartridge filled with the resinous material to be applied. The applicator must be used in conjunction with a form of cartridge designed for the pressure delivery system being used, such as a trigger activated caulking gun or air-pressure gun, which functions to propel the resinous material through the applicator. The resin will be injected into the fill area through the applicator as it is drawn along the board's edge. It evenly spreads emulsions and resins into the open cells at the edges of these panels. The rate at which the material is dispersed is dependent upon the air pressure and valve size of the gun, as well as the rate at which the worker draws the applicator along the panel.
As the applicator applies the emulsion, it automatically spreads this material flush with the panel's edges since the extended aft end of the applicator functions as a spatula. The smoothing function of the applicator is dependent on hand pressure from the worker. It therefore completes the spreading and smoothing operations with one simple procedure, which considerably reduces worker-hours and material waste. The finish is even, and requires little or no sanding.
Matthew Kennedy #5-408 St. Vincent, Montreal, Quebec, H2Y 3A5; Telephone: (514) 876-1479 In the drawings that illustrate an embodiment of the invention, Figure 1 is a side view of the embodiment, Figure 2 is a front view of this embodiment, Figure 3 is the front view of an alternative embodiment of this invention having an alternative base application angle, Figure 4 is a section of line I-I of Figure 2, and Figure 5 is a section of line II-II of Figure 1.
The tool illustrated is comprised of side walls I which act as horizontal stabilizers and guides that prevent the tool from slipping off the panel, or allowing the resin to spill over the edges of the panel. The sidewalls are attached to the spreader base 2 at the aft end of the applicator. The resin is forced through the channel 3 toward the spreader base 2 from the pressure injection device (not depicted) used. The channel 3 may be designed to extend at any angle from the spreader base 2; this angle will be known as the angle of attack. The support 4 acts a brace that stiffens the applicator. The attachment end 5 of the channel 3 can be configured to match the attachment method required of the pressure application device used. The resin is forced through the channel 3 through a slot 6 in the spreader base 2, both of which are as wide as the side wall gap 7. The side wall gap 7 is defined as the space between the insides of sidewalls 1. The spreader base 2 functions as a spatula to spread the resin evenly into, and making it flush with, the panel's edge as the applicator is drawn across it.
The width of the side wall gap 7 is dependant upon the width of the panel, so the applicator can be fashioned with varying internal widths to be compatible with those of the composite panels, such as 1/4", 1/2", and 3/4" thickness'. The applicator may also be fashioned with special tolerances to allow for the varying thickness of the panels' finish. The applicator may be fashioned with a spreader base 2 that has an application angle 8 that is perpendicular to the applicator's sidewalls. The applicator's spreader base may also be alternatively fashioned with an application angle 9 that is not perpendicular to the side walls of the applicator in case the panel has an edge angle, such as depicted in the alternative front view Figure 3.
Each of these elements represents a contingent part of this design. The design of the applicator is not limited by the Width of the board, the depth of the fill, the angle of the panel's edge, or the angle of attack in which the applicator is used against the board. The type of resin or board used in the process makes no constraint toward the potential application of the applicator. Resins may be defined alternatively as emulsions, fluids, adhesives, glues, mucilage, cements, or epoxies.
The applicator may be used to spread resins into the open cell edges of composite panels or onto the edges of any panel that has solid edges.
Therefore the applicator can also apply resins to such materials like moldings, solid wood panels, and open-cell composite panels whose edges have been filled.
Matthew Kennedy #5-408 St. Vincent, Montreal, Quebec, H2Y 3A5; Telephone: (514) 876-1479

Claims

1 A manually guided applicator requiring a pressure source for applying resins or emulsions into the open edges of composite panels or along the filled edges of solid panels. The applicator can be described as a single item comprising of the following features: an adapter to join the applicator with the canister containing the resin, a channel through which the resin enters the applicator, a slot through which the resin passes to make contact with the edge of the composite panel to be filled, a spatula feature that smoothes the resin flush with the edges of the composite panel as it is manually drawn across it, and sidewalls on the applicator to guide the applicator along the edge of the panel being filled and prevent spill over.

2 A tool as defined in claim 1, in which the tool can be manufactured with varying side wall gap widths and slot widths and/or spreader base angles to match the widths and/or edge angles of the panels that the applicator is applied to.

3 A tool as defined in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the adapter, attachment end 5, can be manufactured to be compatible with the canister containing the resin to be applied.

4 A tool as defined in claim 1, claim 2, or claim 3, in which the spatula feature and the channel feature can be manufactured to be at any position relative to each other (a varying angle of attack), including the possibility of a straight or curved channel.