EP2878383A1

EP2878383A1 - A caulk gun and a coupling device for a caulk gun

Info

Publication number: EP2878383A1
Application number: EP13195195.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ryan Harrison; Kwok Ting Mok; Chin Yiu Leung
Original assignee: Techtronic Power Tools Technology Ltd
Current assignee: Techtronic Power Tools Technology Ltd
Priority date: 2013-11-29
Filing date: 2013-11-29
Publication date: 2015-06-03
Anticipated expiration: 2033-11-29
Also published as: AU2014101194A4; EP2878383B1; CN104670603A; CN104670603B

Abstract

The invention relates to a coupling device (70) for engaging a caulk tube with a caulk gun (10). The coupling device (70) has a coupling member (72) for releasably couple with a body (12) of the caulk gun (10), and a receiving member (74) for releasably receive an end portion of the caulk tube. The receiving member (74) includes a gripping portion (80) having a plurality of teeth for engaging an outer wall of the caulk tube. The invention also relates to a caulk gun (10) for dispensing caulk material from a caulk tube. The caulk gun (10) has a body with a handle (14), an actuating mechanism (16) for actuating the dispensing of the caulk material, and a plunger (40) having an elongated rod (42) slidably connected with the body (12). The plunger (40) is moveable towards a caulk tube, engaged with the gun (10), when the actuating mechanism (16) is actuated. The plunger rod (42) is slidably engageable with a stopping member (44) that is pivotally movable between a first position and a second position. When the stopping member (44) is at the first position, movement of the plunger (40) is prevented after a first distance, and when the stopping member (44) is at the second position, movement of the plunger (40)is prevented after a second distance.

Description

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a hand-held material dispensing apparatus such as a caulk gun. In addition, the present invention also relates to a coupling device for use in a caulk gun.

Background of the Invention

Hand-held material dispensing apparatuses such as caulk guns are commonly used for dispensing and applying caulk and adhesive materials. Caulk materials, generally made of silicone or latex, can be used for sealing joints or seams at structural components such as during constructions or for industrial purposes. Caulk material can also be used for domestic purposes in sealing gaps or cracks at various structures such as pipes, windows and doors, particularly when weatherproof sealing is required. Similarly, adhesive can be dispensed using a caulk gun to bind a wide range of materials such as metal, glass, wood or ceramic. The use of the caulk gun allows dispensing of a controlled amount of caulk or adhesive and also, assists in directing the discharged caulk or adhesive to an exact location as desired by the user.
A conventional caulk gun generally includes a gun body having a handle and a trigger, a plunger, and an elongated holder for holding a replaceable caulk tube which is orientated horizontally along the length of the tube when the gun is in use. The holder is most commonly seen to be in the form of a frame or a cut-away barrel extending horizontally from the gun body, which would be bulky and heavy during storage or transportation. In addition, in order to allow the caulk tube to be loaded and unloaded onto the caulk gun easily, additional spaces will usually be allowed between the front and rear end plates of the holder and the tube, and thus causing an undesirable back-and-forth sliding of the caulk tube within the gun. Furthermore, due to the fixed dimension of the holder, only caulk tubes of a pre-determined length can be fitted in the caulk gun, and thus the use of a longer or shorter caulk tube is not possible.

Summary of Invention

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coupling device for engaging a caulk tube with a caulk gun, comprising: a coupling member adapted to releasably couple with a body of the caulk gun; a receiving member adapted to releasably receive an end portion of the caulk tube; wherein the receiving member comprises a gripping portion having a plurality of teeth for engaging an outer wall of the caulk tube.
In an embodiment of the first aspect, the receiving member comprises a releasing collar adapted to cooperate with a releasing trigger, the releasing trigger operable to move the releasing collar to bias on the gripping portion to deform the teeth, so as to allow disengagement of the teeth from the outer wall of the caulk tube.
In an embodiment of the first aspect, the releasing collar is positioned between the releasing trigger and the coupling member.
In an embodiment of the first aspect, the releasing trigger is pivotally connected with the coupling member.
In an embodiment of the first aspect, a resilient member is arranged between the releasing trigger and the coupling member to provide a biasing force on the releasing trigger.
In an embodiment of the first aspect, the gripping portion is of annular shape.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a caulk gun for dispensing caulk material, comprising: a body having a handle and an actuating mechanism; a plunger having an elongated rod slidably connected with the body, the plunger moveable by the actuating mechanism; the rod is slidably engageable with a stopping member, the stopping member is pivotally movable between a first position and a second position; wherein when the stopping member is in the first position, movement of the plunger is prevented after a first distance, and when the stopping member is at the second position, movement of the plunger is prevented after a second distance.
In an embodiment of the second aspect, the rod is configured with an elongated recess having a first ramp portion and a second ramp portion, the second ramp portion is at an elevated position relative to the first ramp portion.
In an embodiment of the second aspect, the plunger is adapted to stop at the first distance when the stopping member engages the first ramp portion, and is adapted to stop at the second distance when the stopping member engages the second ramp portion.
In an embodiment of the second aspect, the second distance is longer than the first distance.
In an embodiment of the second aspect, the stopping member is biased between the first and the second positions via a resilient means.
In an embodiment of the second aspect, the stopping member has a contact portion slidably contacting the rod, the contact portion comprises a micro switch.
In an embodiment of the second aspect, the caulk gun further comprises a receptacle having a coupling member adapted to releasably couple with the body, and a receiving member adapted to releasably receive an end portion of the caulk tube.
In an embodiment of the second aspect, the coupling member and the receiving member are axially aligned.
In an embodiment of the second aspect, the receiving member comprises a gripping portion having a plurality of resilient teeth for engaging an outer wall of the caulk tube.
In an embodiment of the second aspect, the receiving member comprises a releasing collar adapted to cooperate with a releasing trigger, the releasing trigger operable to move the releasing collar to bias on the gripping portion to deform the teeth, so as to allow disengagement of the teeth from the outer wall of the caulk tube.
In an embodiment of the second aspect, the releasing collar is positioned between the releasing trigger and the coupling member.
In an embodiment of the second aspect, the releasing trigger is pivotally connected with the coupling member.
In an embodiment of the second aspect, a resilient member is arranged between the releasing trigger and the coupling member to provide a biasing force on the releasing trigger.
In an embodiment of the second aspect, the gripping portion has an annular shape.
Further aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the drawings, which are given by way of example only to illustrate the invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of the caulk gun as embodied in the present invention;
Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the caulk gun of Figure 1 adapted to receive a caulk tube carrier;
Figure 3 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the caulk gun having a caulk tube receiving adaptor as embodied in the present invention;
Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the caulk gun of Figure 3 with a caulk tube received therein;
Figure 5 showing the caulk gun of Figure 3 with the housing of the gun body being removed;
Figure 6 showing the plunger rod and the stopper member as shown in Figure 5, the stopper member is made transparent to show the micro switch;
Figure 7 showing an enlarged view of the stopper member and the micro switch as shown in Figure 6;
Figure 8 is a perspective view showing the caulk tube receiving adaptor of Figure 3;
Figure 9 is a side view showing the caulk tube receiving adaptor of Figure 3; and
Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of the caulk tube receiving adaptor of Figure 9.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

The following description is given by way of example only to illustrate embodiments of the invention. The terminology used is for illustrative purpose only, and is not intended to limit the scope or use of the invention, unless the text clearly and explicitly requires otherwise.
In the following description, reference will be made to the term "caulk" such as caulk materials, caulk tubes and caulk guns, but it should be understood that the reference is intended to encompass caulk, adhesives or anything which is suitable to be delivered in a similar manner.
Figure 1 illustrates a first embodiment of a caulk gun 10 as embodied in the present invention. The caulk gun 10 is used for dispensing caulk material from a caulk tube. The caulk gun 10 includes a body 12 having a handle 14 and an actuating mechanism 16 for actuating the dispensing of the caulk material from the caulk tube. The body may also include an opening 18 configured with a screw threaded portion for receiving, for example, a caulk tube carrier 20 having a corresponding threaded end portion as shown in Figure 2. The caulk tube carrier 20 is designed for carrying a caulk tube, and can be configured with a cap 22 to seal the caulk tube after use.
As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the caulk gun 10 can also be coupled with a caulk tube receiving adaptor 30 for receiving a caulk tube 32 directly, without the need of loading the caulk tube into a caulk tube carrier. Structures of the caulk tube receiving adaptor 30 will be explained in further details in the later description.
The caulk gun 10 also comprises a plunger 40 having an elongated plunger rod 42 slidably connected with the body 12 of the caulk gun 10. The relevant features of the plunger 40 are shown in Figure 5, in which the housing of the body 12 of the caulk gun 10 has been removed for clarity purpose. The plunger may also include a piston (not shown) connected to the end of the plunger rod 42 for pushing the end plate of the caulk tube so as to dispense the caulk material. Figure 5 shows the plunger 40 at an initial, un-actuated position, i.e. the plunger 42 has not proceeded forward along the direction as indicated by the arrow in the figure to apply pressure onto the caulk tube (as shown by the phantom lines). When the actuating mechanism 16 is actuated, the plunger 40 will proceed to move in a direction away from the body 12 as indicated by the arrow in the figure. Specifically, the plunger rod 42 is slidably engaged with a stopping member 44, which is pivotally movable between a first position and a second position. The stopping member 44 is pivoted about a shaft 46 connected with a part of the housing (not shown) of the body 12, and its movement between the first and the second positions are biased by a spring 48.
When the actuating mechanism 16 is actuated, and that the plunger 40 is moving away from the body towards the end plate of the caulk tube, the stopping member 44 is adapted to stop the movement of the plunger 40 at two predetermined distances: when the stopping member 44 is at the first position, forward movement of the plunger 40 will be prevented after the plunger 40 has been proceeding for a distance a as shown in the figure; and when the stopping member 44 is at the second position, movement of the plunger 40 will be prevented after the plunger 40 has been proceeding for a distance b as shown in the figure.
Figure 5 shows the stopping member 44 at the first position. Movement of the stopping member 44 from the first position to the second position is triggered by the insertion of the caulk tube (when the adaptor 30 has been used) or the caulk tube carrier into the gun body 12, with their end portion pushes onto an arm 45 of the stopping member 44.
For example, when a caulk tube is inserted at the caulk gun 10 via the adaptor 30, due to the defined length of a standard caulk tube, the stopping member 44 will not be disturbed by the end of the caulk tube and thus allowed at the first position. During operation of the caulk gun 10, the plunger 40 will continue to move towards the caulk tube so as to to apply pressure to dispense the content of the caulk material out of the caulk tube, until the plunger 40 has proceeded for the distance a, and then further movement of the plunger 40 will be prevented.
For a caulk tube which is of a length longer than the standard caulk tube, the stopping member 44 will be pushed by the extra length of the tube body, and thus triggering the stopping member 44 to move from the first position to the second position. Similarly, when a caulk tube carrier is used, the extra length of the caulk tube carrier as compared to a standard caulk tube will also trigger the stoppering member 44 to move from the first position to the second position. In this case, the plunger 40 will be allowed to proceed for the longer distance b, and then further movement of the plunger 40 will be prevented.
To explain further on the stopping mechanism, it is shown in Figure 6 that the stopping member 44 is slidably engaged with an elongated recess 50 of the plunger rod 42 via a micro switch 52. The micro switch 52 includes a lever 54 which will be in contact with a surface 60 of the recess 50 when the plunger is moving towards the caulk tube. The surface 60 of the recess 50 includes the first path with a distance a, which ends at a first ramp portion 56. It is this first ramp portion 56 which presses on the lever 54 to actuate the micro switch 52 and stops the movement of the plunger 40, when the stopping member 44 is at the first position α. When a caulk tube with extra length or a caulk tube carrier is used instead of a standard caulk tube, the extra length of the tube or the carrier will push the stopping member 44 to move from the first position α to the second position β, as indicated by the arrow in Figure 6 and 7. This action lifts the micro switch 52 and also the lever 54 to a higher position, so that the lever 54 can move over the first ramp portion 56 and thus the plunger 40 is allowed to continue proceeding with the forward movement for a total distance b until the lever 54 hits the second ramp portion 58, which is at an elevated position relative to the first ramp portion 56. The lever 54 is unable to move across the elevated second ramp portion 58, and thus any further movement of the plunger 40 will then be prevented and stopped at the distance b. This mechanism prevents the plunger 40 from moving continuously after it reached a fully extended position, which may cause damage to the caulk gun or the caulk tube, or expel the caulk tube or the caulk tube carrier from the caulk gun.
Figures 8-10 illustrate a caulk tube receiving adaptor 70 which can be coupled to a caulk gun for receiving a caulk tube. Specifically, the adaptor 70 is for engaging part of the end portion opposing the discharge end of the caulk tube. Since the standard caulk tubes are generally configured in cylindrical shape, the adaptor 70 as embodied is also of cylindrical shape so as to accommodate the cylindrical end portion of the caulk tube. However, it can be understood that the adaptor should not be limited to cylindrical shape, but can be configured to match with the shape of the container to be received.
As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the adaptor 70 can be in the form of a receptacle having a coupling member 72 adapted to releasably couple with the body 12, and a receiving member 74 adapted to releasably receive an end portion of the caulk tube. Specifically, the coupling member 72, the receiving member 74, and the opening 18 of the caulk gun are axially aligned along the longitudinal axis of the caulk tube (when received).
As shown in Figure 10, the receiving member 74 comprises a releasing mechanism having a releasing collar 76 adapted to cooperate with a releasing trigger 78. Specifically, the releasing collar 76 is positioned adjacent to, and is axially aligned with the releasing trigger 78. More specifically, the releasing collar 76 is positioned between the releasing trigger 78 and the coupling member 72, and that the releasing trigger 78 is pivotally connected with the coupling member 72.
The releasing trigger 78 is operable to move in a direction towards the body 12 which drives the releasing collar 76 to bias on an annular gripping portion 80. The gripping portion 80 is positioned between the releasing collar 76 and the piston 84 of the plunger 40, and includes an annular ring with a plurality of resilient teeth extending from the ring towards the ring center. Specifically, the teeth are extending from the ring towards the ring center and are pointing towards the piston 84 of the plunger 40 at an angle of less than 90°. More specifically, the gripping portion 80 can be made with metal.
The teeth are adapted to engage an outer wall of the end portion of the caulk tube when the caulk tube is received at the receiving member. Particularly, when the plunger 40 is in motion to apply pressure onto the end plate of the caulk tube via the piston 84, the outer wall of the end portion of the caulk tube will be gripped tightly by the teeth of the gripping portion 80, and thus securing the caulk tube at the adaptor 70.
When the releasing trigger 78 is triggered to release the caulk tube, the releasing trigger 78 will drive the adjacent releasing collar 76 to press on the gripping portion 80. The teeth of the gripping portion 80 will then be deformed by the releasing collar 76 and thus disengage the teeth from the outer wall of the caulk tube. A spring 82 is arranged between the releasing trigger 78 and the coupling member 72 to provide a biasing force on the releasing trigger 78.
The adaptor 70 as embodied in the present invention can be used to substitute the conventional, horizontally elongated caulk tube holder of the traditional caulk gun, which is known to be relatively bulky and heavy for storage or transportation. In contrast to the traditional caulk gun, the adaptor 70 can be releasably coupled to the caulk gun only when needed, and thereby reducing the overall size of the caulk gun. In addition, the adaptor 70 is designed to hold the caulk tube at its end instead of supporting the tube horizontally along its length. The caulk tube can simply be inserted into the receiving member 74, and thereby minimizing the problem of the undesirable sliding of the tube within the holder of the traditional caulk gun. Furthermore, caulk tubes of various lengths can also be fitted into the caulk gun via the adaptor 70, and therefore allowing the user with a selection of caulk tubes having different volume. Furthermore, the adaptor 70 is provided with an easy-to-use releasing mechanism for a quick and simple unloading of the caulk tube after use.
It should be understood that the above only illustrates and describes examples whereby the present invention may be carried out, and that modifications and/or alterations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention.
It should also be understood that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided or separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

Claims

A coupling device for engaging a caulk tube with a caulk gun, comprising:
a coupling member adapted to releasably couple with a body of the caulk gun,

a receiving member adapted to releasably receive an end portion of the caulk tube,

wherein the receiving member comprises a gripping portion having a plurality of teeth for engaging an outer wall of the caulk tube.
A caulk gun for dispensing caulk material, comprising:
a body having a handle and an actuating mechanism;

a plunger having an elongated rod slidably connected with the body, the plunger moveable by the actuating mechanism;

the rod is slidably engageable with a stopping member, the stopping member is pivotally movable between a first position and a second position, wherein when the stopping member is in the first position, movement of the plunger is prevented after a first distance, and when the stopping member is at the second position, movement of the plunger is prevented after a second distance.
The caulk gun of claim 2, wherein the rod is configured with an elongated recess having a first ramp portion and a second ramp portion, the second ramp portion is at an elevated position relative to the first ramp portion.
The caulk gun of claim 2 or 3, wherein the plunger is adapted to stop at the first distance when the stopping member engages the first ramp portion, and is adapted to stop at the second distance when the stopping member engages the second ramp portion.
The caulk gun of any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the second distance is longer than the first distance.
The caulk gun of any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the stopping member is biased between the first and the second positions via a resilient means.
The caulk gun of any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the stopping member has a contact portion slidably contacting the rod, the contact portion comprises a micro switch.
The caulk gun according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a receptacle having a coupling member adapted to releasably couple with the body, and a receiving member adapted to releasably receive an end portion of the caulk tube.
The caulk gun of claim 8, wherein the coupling member and the receiving member are axially aligned.
The caulk gun of claim 8, wherein the receiving member comprises a gripping portion having a plurality of resilient teeth for engaging an outer wall of the caulk tube.
The caulk gun according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the receiving member comprises a releasing collar adapted to cooperate with a releasing trigger, the releasing trigger operable to move the releasing collar to bias on the gripping portion to deform the teeth, so as to allow disengagement of the teeth from the outer wall of the caulk tube.
The caulk gun according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the releasing collar is positioned between the releasing trigger and the coupling member.
The caulk gun according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the releasing trigger is pivotally connected with the coupling member.
The caulk gun according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a resilient member is arranged between the releasing trigger and the coupling member to provide a biasing force on the releasing trigger.
The caulk gun according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the gripping portion has an annular shape.