EP1795271B1

EP1795271B1 - Motorised application gun for sealing joints

Info

Publication number: EP1795271B1
Application number: EP04736839A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ernesto Antelo Pensado
Original assignee: Teais SA
Current assignee: Teais SA
Priority date: 2004-06-15
Filing date: 2004-06-15
Publication date: 2008-12-03
Anticipated expiration: 2024-06-15
Also published as: PL1795271T3; MXPA06014622A; PT1795271E; ES2318296T3; BRPI0418847A; DE602004018200D1; EP1795271A1; ATE416039T1; WO2006005775A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a motorised application gun which is intended for the sealing of joints. The inventive gun comprises a hollow cylindrical inverted-T-shaped body (4) having three threaded ends such that it can be coupled to the outlet (1), the electric rotor of the power-generating device (7) and the filler neck (9). The inventive gun contains a screw conveyor (8) which is housed in the shaft of the rotor and which can rotate in both directions together with the shaft depending on the position of the switch (10). In this way, by rotating in one direction, the screw conveyor mixes and homogenises the material to be applied, while, by rotating in the opposite direction, the conveyor moves the material and forces same through the outlet. The invention can be used without force in order to apply a continuous, constant flow of homogenous material, thereby producing uniform sealing beads.

Description

The present invention relates to a motorized gun for applying fluid materials such as putty or mortar in sealing joints, which may offer better features and greater durability than its predecessors. ( see, for example, US-A-5 603 435 , corresponding to the preamble of claim 1).
This kind of guns, due to their new system of electric rotor and helical transmission with capacity to turn in both directions, allow with a single use, firstly to knead-mix the sealed fluid material, and later to apply it on the joints by means of an uniform and continuous bead, and this is the reason why they are of a great interest in the construction sector and, in general, in any task that requires the seal of cavities or holes between surfaces.
With the new features which are introduced by the present invention, on the basis of a hollow screw conveyor (without nucleus throughout its rotation axis) with a conical piece incorporated at the end and of a surrounding inner jacket of polyethylene the obstructions in the outlet may be avoided, as generally known and aimed at in the art, and longer durability of this tool for the construction may be achieved.

STATE OF THE ART.-

Almost all the application systems of mortar or putty on joints known until now are eminently manual. They are fundamentally based on the expulsion of the material to apply by means of manual pressure of a flexible and deformable container that contains it, or by direct application of the putty with a brush.
The results thus obtained depend excessively on the experience, ability and coordination of the personnel who works with said systems; ie, qualified people are required so that the final finish does not suffer.
At worldwide level, after a search made about the state of the art, there are only two patents that protect each a motorized gun with an application similar to the present invention; they are the United State patents US5603435-A "Repainting gun" and US6230936-B1 "Folded suceptor for glue gun". However, the gun which is currently claimed, presents two important differences in its design respect to the previous guns. These differences are, on the one hand, the type of screw conveyor included, which is a hollow screw conveyor without inner cylindrical nucleus throughout its axis of rotation, which embraces on its front part to a conical piece housed inside the outlet. It is very different from the feed screw or the screw barrel mentioned in the previous patents. And on the other hand, a surrounding inner jacket of the gun's body which is not included in previous patents.
With the invention below described in detail, not only the referred problem to the manual systems is simplified to a great extent, since it has a comfortable and easy way to use motorized tool for joint sealing, guaranteeing a continuous and a constant flow of putty or kneading, with which the bead or layer of applied material is more homogenous and uniform, avoiding the only possibility of turning to personnel specialized, but due to the screw conveyor without inner cylindrical nucleus and to the surrounding inner jacket of the gun's body, putty obstructions in the outlet of the gun may be avoided and, in general, it is obtained a high resistance to the abrasion and a greater durability of this tool into service.

THE INVENTION.-

Indeed, the object of the present invention is a motorized application gun for sealing joints, as defined in claim 1, which comprises a grip, a power-generating device with electric rotor, whose power supply can be the mains, by means of a cable or of a rechargeable battery coupled to the base of the handle, a switch having three positions placed in the upper part of the grip, an outlet of fluid and a hollow cylindrical inverted-T-shaped body having three threaded ends on such a way that the body is coupled to the outlet by one of them, to the electric rotor of the motor by the opposed one, and to the mouth of the receiving container of the fluid by the top part, that constitutes the filler neck of the gun, housing said cylindrical body a screw conveyor or pusher for metering and kneading which is housed in the shaft of the electric rotor and which can rotate in both directions together with the shaft (concerning this particular feature, see the identical arrangement known from EP-A-1 340 553 , Figure 3) depending on the position in which the switch stays pressed. In this way, by rotating in clockwise direction, the screw conveyor moves the flowed material to be applied and forces it through the outlet, by rotating in the opposite direction, the conveyor mixes and homogenises said material.
The switch of the gun, located in the upper part of the grip, has three positions; in the rest position it does not produce any effect on the machine, meanwhile maintaining it pressed by the upper side, the electric rotor and therefore the screw conveyor rotate in one direction, and maintaining it pressed by the lower side, the rotor and the conveyor rotate in the opposite direction.
What characterizes this application gun is defined in claim 1. On one hand, the type of conveyor it incorporates is a hollow screw conveyor, that is, a no end helix without inner cylindrical nucleus throughout its axis of rotation, which embraces on its front part to a conical piece (3) incorporated inside the outlet (1). On the other hand, the construction materials that, although can be constructed in any material, whether it be plastic, metallic or synthetic, in order to obtain the best results of durability, the screw conveyor is made of steel to manganese, of high resistance to the abrasion, whereas the interior of the cylindrical body according to the invention is covered by a polyethylene jacket in order to preserve the body from the frictional wear that it could be subjected by the conveyor in his movement of rotation.
The screw conveyor of metering and kneading embraces on its front part to a conical piece incorporated inside the outlet to cause greater pressure when the fluid comes out.
The outlet, of plastic material and conically shaped, is coupled by its base to the cylindrical body of the gun, and it can be cut out on the opposed end to the base one until getting a flow section that guarantees the appropriate thickness of the bead of viscous fluid to be applied into service.
The gun can be of all type of dimensions and weights, and it can apply different powers to the electric rotor.
An advantage of this invention and that supposes a possible improvement over all the motorized guns that incorporate an electric rotor and screw conveyor system with capacity of turning in both directions, with the double function of metering and kneading, is, firstly that the conveyor of screw type without solid nucleus throughout its axis of rotation, with a conical piece incorporated at the end of the outlet, improves the work in continuous of the gun, with an always constant and homogenous putty bead, and secondly that the polyethylene jacket enveloping the cylindrical body solves a technical hitch raised; the one of the little durability of the previous guns by abrasion and wear problems.
In this way not only it is automated the present procedure of application of materials flowed for the sealed one of meetings on the basis of the manual guns, with the possibility of working with a continuous and constant flow of mortar throughout the outlet in order to obtain a bead or a layer of sealed material more homogenous and uniform, but also, as generally known and aimed at in the art, the undesired obstructions in the outlet may be avoided and the costs derived from the maintenance and periodic spare of these guns may be reduced.
For the best understanding of the present invented motorized gun applicable to the joint sealing, it is accompanied, as Figure 1 , an illustrative drawing in lateral section of his component elements and, among them, they are emphasized the outlet (1), the power-generating device (7), the cylindrical inverted-T-shaped body (4) with his three threaded ends, (2), (6) and (9), in order to be coupled to the outlet, the electrical motor and the filler neck of fluid material, respectively, the polyethylene jacket (5) that internally envelops the cylindrical body, the hollow screw conveyor (8) for metering and kneading which, in common to the rotor electric of the motor, rotates in both directions inside of the cylindrical body, and the conical piece (3) of the front part of the conveyor that increases the pressure of exit of the fluid.

OPERATION WAY.-

As shown in figure 1, the gun is provided with a grip where it is located the switch (10) which drives the electric rotor of the motor (7), in whose shaft it is fit the screw conveyor (8) which can rotate in both directions together with the rotor depending on the position that the switch adopts.
The switch (10) has three positions; in the rest one (position one) no effect is produced on the gun, which only starts up when the switch is pressed on its upper side (position two) or on its lower side (position three), stopping when it is released, thanks to an electric braking device. Whereas the switch is pressed by its upper side, that is, it stays in its position two, the electrical rotor and therefore the screw conveyor rotate in a direction, and maintaining it pressed by its lower side, the rotor and the conveyor rotate in the opposite direction. In this way the gun carries out its double functionality of, on the one hand, kneading and homogenising the fluid putty inside the cylindrical body and, on the other hand, pushing this putty towards the outlet for its expulsion, in order to apply it in the sealing joints.
The power supply of the power-generator of the gun can be the mains, by means of cable, but in order to make it more manageable and usable in any place, the gun has in the base of the grip a slot for connecting of a reloadable battery, which has ribbings that, when fitting in these slots, block it and maintain solidly held to the machine.
In the cylindrical body and adapting to its inner diameter, it is provided a jacket (5) made of polyethylene in order to preserve the body from the wear that it could be subjected to by the conveyor in his movement of rotation, which is of steel to manganese, of high resistance to the abrasion.
The dimensions of the opening of the outlet come determined by the thickness from the layer or sealing bead that is necessary to apply. Due to the conical form of the outlet, this one will be cut with a section that guarantees the appropriate thickness for the joint to be sealed.
The form in which the designed pistol works is the following one:
Firstly, the gun is filled by the filler neck of sealed material until ensuring that this one has reached the inner cavity of the cylindrical body. Once it has been done, it is enough to press the switch by its upper side to cause the turn of the rotor electric-screw conveyor in the opposite direction to the circle clockwise, with which the homogenization and kneading of the material flowed inside the cylindrical body take place. Afterwards, once obtained the degree of suitable homogenization, one goes to press the switch by its lower side, being reversed the sense of the turn of the screw conveyor, which makes move the putty throughout the cylindrical body towards the outlet, expelling it towards the outside.
At the moment at which the material begins to be expelled by the outlet, the gun is aimed towards the zone of work, and the putty is applied to the surfaces to be sealed.

Claims

Motorized application gun for sealing joints, constituted by a grip, a power-generating device with electric rotor (7), whose power supply can be the mains, by means of a cable or of a rechargeable battery coupled to the base of the handle, a switch (10) having three positions placed in the upper part of the grip, with a first rest position, a second one obtained when maintaining pressed it by its upper side and a third one consequence to maintain it pressed by its lower side, an outlet (1) of expulsion of fluid, a hollow cylindrical inverted-T-shaped body (4) having three threaded ends in such a way that the body (4) is coupled to the outlet by one (2) of them, to the electric rotor of the motor by the opposed one (6), and to the mouth of the receiving container of the fluid by the part on the top (9), that constitutes the filler neck of the gun, housing said cylindrical body a screw conveyor (8) for metering and kneading which is housed in the shaft of the electric rotor and which can rotate in both directions together with the shaft depending on the switch staying pressed by its upper side or its lower side, this application gun being characterized in that the screw conveyor (8) is a hollow screw conveyor, that is, a no end helix without inner cylindrical nucleus throughout its axis of rotation, which embraces on its front part to a conical piece (3) housed inside the outlet (1) in order to cause a high pressure at the end of the outlet, and in that the inner wall of the cylindrical body is covered by a polyethylene jacket (5) in order to preserve it from the frictional wear that it could be subjected to by the conveyor in his movement of rotation.