EP3741469B1 - Multichamber cartridge and method for the filling of same - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a multi-chamber cartridge having the features of the preamble of claim 1 and a method for filling it with the features of the preamble of claim 8.

Cartridges for adhesives and sealants and fastening materials and the like are known. They are normally in the form of a cylindrical tube and have a piston which can be displaced in the cartridge in order to displace a free-flowing, in particular pasty, filling compound from the cartridge. The massecuite exits through an outlet at one end of the cartridge, referred to herein as the "front end". To displace the filling compound from the cartridge, the cartridges are inserted into so-called, mostly hand-operated, electrically or pneumatically operated squeezing guns, with which the piston in the cartridge can be displaced in the direction of the front end of the cartridge.

The patent EP 0 119 847 B1 discloses a two-chamber cartridge having a cylindrical-tubular housing, referred to herein as a "barrel" and which is divided into two chambers by a partition wall disposed in the barrel in an axis-parallel plane of the barrel. A piston that can be displaced in the cylinder in order to press out a filling compound has a peripheral cutting edge that separates the partition wall on the inner circumference of the cylinder from the cylinder when the piston is displaced in the cylinder.

The patent application US5209376 discloses a toothpaste dispenser. The dispenser includes an outer chamber containing a first component and an inner chamber coaxially disposed within the outer chamber containing a second component of the toothpaste. The components are separated from each other by the chambers. By pressing a button on an outlet of the dispenser, a piston is pushed in the direction of the outlet, causing the two components to emerge from the outlet. The piston has ventilation holes and cutting edges. The edges are like that arranged on the piston so that the movement of the piston in the direction of the outlet cuts open the inner chamber.

In the patent application DE 10 2016 104 410 A1 discloses a device for squeezing out bone cements. The device has a cylindrical cartridge which is separated into two sub-chambers by a partition. Different components of the bone cement are contained in the partial chambers. An ejection piston is provided to extrude both components from the cartridge. Rubber seals seal the piston from the inner wall and the partition. The squeezing piston is pressed in the direction of an opening of the cartridge. The squeezing piston has two cutting edges, by means of which the partition is cut into a strip. A deflection surface in the plunger causes the cut strip to be deflected "outwards" towards an inner wall of the cartridge as the plunger moves in the direction of the opening.

In the patent application DE 30 05 855 A1 a simple cartridge is disclosed. A pasty mass can be pressed out of the cartridge by means of a hollow piston which is arranged in the cartridge. The hollow piston has sealing lips with open pressure pockets that seal the hollow piston against the inner wall of the cartridge. If air pressure builds up in the part of the cartridge in which the pasty mass is arranged, a peripheral edge of the sealing lip is lifted off the inside wall of the cartridge. If, on the other hand, pressure from the open end of the cartridge acts on the piston, the peripheral edge is pressed against the inner wall of the cartridge.

The object of the invention is to propose a two- or multi-chamber cartridge with a reliable seal between one or more partitions and a cylinder on the one hand and a piston that can be displaced in the cylinder on the other hand, which allows the chambers of the cartridge to be filled without air pockets.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by the features of claim 1 . The subject of claim 8 is a method for filling such a multi-chamber cartridge. The multi-chamber cartridge according to the invention has a cylinder which is divided into two or more chambers by one or more partitions, in which components of a flowable filling compound can be stored separately from one another. The dividing wall/walls is/are arranged in particular in one or more axial planes and/or planes parallel to the axis in the cylinder, wherein the dividing wall/walls can also have a V-shaped or star-shaped cross section, for example. Longitudinal edges of the partition wall/walls are continuously connected to the cylinder in a longitudinal direction, in particular in a direction parallel to the axis, and are separated from the cylinder when a piston of the multi-chamber cartridge is displaced.

The piston preferably has a cutting edge for separating the partition wall/walls, the cutting edge being in particular in one piece and made of the same material as the rest of the piston. In particular, a relatively hard material can be chosen since the piston itself does not seal.

The multi-chamber cartridge has seals that seal on both sides of the partition wall/walls between the partition wall and the cylinder on the one hand and the piston on the other hand. The multi-chamber cartridge preferably has a seal for each chamber. The seals are not part of the piston and in particular are not made in one piece with the piston. In particular, the seals are arranged on the piston, but in particular they are not attached to the piston.

According to the invention, the seals have ventilation devices for the chambers, which allow air to escape from the chambers of the multi-chamber cartridge when, after the chambers have been filled with free-flowing components of the filling compound, the seals are introduced into the cylinder through an open end of the cylinder in order to eliminate air pockets between the seals and the components of the filling compound. The open end of the cylinder through which the seals are inserted is referred to herein as the "rear end". The seals can be placed on the piston and placed in the cylinder with the piston, or the seals can be placed in the cylinder in front of the piston. The ventilation devices can be, for example, through-holes in the seals.

The seals are in particular plate-shaped and are arranged in a radial plane of the cylinder of the multi-chamber cartridge, the seals preferably moving with the piston. In particular, the seals have a shape of cross-sectional areas of the chambers of the multi-chamber cartridge. One embodiment of the invention provides that the seals, in particular circumferential edges, circumferential sealing lines or circumferential sealing surfaces of the seals, enclose the chambers or their cross sections in an annular manner and run on the inside along a section of the cylinder of the multi-chamber cartridge that encloses the respective chamber, as well as along the Run partition that separates the respective chamber from one or more other chambers in the cylinder of the multi-chamber cartridge. In particular, the seals are in sealing contact with the sections of the cylinder surrounding the respective chamber and the partition wall associated with the respective chamber.

Elastomers with a Shore D hardness of not more than 70 and in particular not more than 55 and/or a Shore A hardness of not more than 90 have shown a good sealing function as seals. The Shore hardness values refer to the February 2012 version of the DIN ISO 7619-1 standard.

One embodiment of the invention provides that the seals have sealing lips, which run annularly on the inside along the section of the cylinder of the multi-chamber cartridge that encloses the respective chamber and along the partition wall assigned to the chamber and bear sealingly on the inside against the section of the cylinder and the partition wall . An annular cross-section of the sealing lips preferably extends in a displacement direction of the piston when the components of the filling compound are displaced from the cylinder of the multi-chamber cartridge. A hydraulic pressure, which arises when the components of the filling compound are pushed out of the cylinder, acts on the sealing lips from the inside against the cylinder and against the partition wall, as a result of which a reliable seal is achieved. The annular cross-section of the sealing lips preferably runs obliquely in the displacement direction of the piston and outwards towards the cylinder or the partition wall.

One embodiment of the invention provides hoses as ventilation devices, which protrude from a rear side of the seals facing the rear end of the cylinder of the multi-chamber cartridge, and which are in particular integral components of the plate-shaped seals, for example. With the appropriate shape, the hoses can also be referred to as “venting domes”. after one Filling the chambers of the multi-chamber cartridge with the components of the filling compound and introducing the seals into the chambers up to the components of the filling compound, the hoses can be kinked, sealed by welding, gluing or in some other way and the ventilation devices can thus be closed.

If the seals are introduced into the chambers of the cylinder of the multi-chamber cartridge in front of the piston, the ventilation devices can be closed before the piston is introduced into the cylinder. A development of the invention provides that the piston has accesses through which the venting devices are accessible for closing. Such accesses can, for example, be openings in the piston from its rear side facing the rear end of the cylinder of the multi-chamber cartridge to a front side of the piston, to the ends of the hoses forming the venting devices or to the venting devices. The venting devices can be closed through the accesses when the seals and the piston are introduced into the cylinder of the multi-chamber cartridge, regardless of whether the seals are introduced into the cylinder in front of the piston or together with the piston.

The features and combinations of features, versions and configurations of the invention mentioned above in the description, as well as the features and combinations of features mentioned below in the description of the figures and/or drawn in a figure are not only in the combination specified or drawn, but also in any other combination Can be used in combination or individually. Embodiments of the invention are possible which do not have all the features of a dependent claim. Individual features of a claim can also be replaced by other disclosed features or combinations of features. Embodiments of the invention which do not have all the features of the exemplary embodiment(s) but basically any part of the characterized features of an exemplary embodiment, optionally in combination with one, several or all features of one or several further exemplary embodiments, are possible.

Figur 1

einen Achsschnitt einer Mehrkammerkartusche gemäß der Erfindung;

Figur 2

eine Ansicht auf ein hinteres Ende eines Zylinders der Mehrkammerkartusche aus Figur 1 ohne Kolben und Dichtung;

Figur 3

eine Ansicht einer Rückseite des Kolbens der Mehrkammerkartusche aus Figur 1; und

Figur 4

einen Achsschnitt einer abgewandelten Ausführungsform der Mehrkammerkartusche aus Figur 1 gemäß der Erfindung.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawing and a modification. Show it:

figure 1

an axial section of a multi-chamber cartridge according to the invention;

figure 2

a view of a rear end of a cylinder of the multi-chamber cartridge figure 1 without piston and seal;

figure 3

a view of a rear side of the piston of the multi-chamber cartridge figure 1 ; and

figure 4

an axial section of a modified embodiment of the multi-chamber cartridge figure 1 according to the invention.

In the figure 1 The multi-chamber cartridge 1 according to the invention shown has a cylindrical tubular housing, which is referred to here as the cylinder 2 and in which a piston 3 is accommodated in an axially displaceable manner.

A partition 4 divides the cylinder 2 into a first and a second chamber 5, 6, in which flowable components of a filling compound (not shown) can be stored separately from one another. The partition wall 4 is arranged in one or in several axial planes or planes parallel to the axis of the cylinder 2, so that the chambers 5, 6 have constant cross sections. In the exemplary embodiment, the partition wall 4 is V-shaped as in the end view of FIG figure 2 to see. figure 2 shows a view into the open, rear end 21 of the cylinder 2 without the piston 3. The partition wall 4 merges into the cylinder 2 in one piece at the longitudinal edges. It is also possible to weld the longitudinal edges of the partition wall 4 to the cylinder 2 or to connect them in some other way.

In the exemplary embodiment, the multi-chamber cartridge 1 is a two-chamber cartridge with two chambers 5, 6 separated from one another by the partition 4. Multi-chamber cartridges with more than two chambers are also possible, for example with cross-section T-shaped, cross-shaped, star-shaped and/or several strip-shaped partitions (not shown).

At one end, the cylinder 2 of the multi-chamber cartridge 1 has an end wall 7 in the form of a perforated disc, from the hole of which a tubular connecting piece protrudes as an outlet 8, which in the exemplary embodiment has an external thread 9 for screwing on a closure cap (not shown), an outlet nozzle (not shown) or a static mixer (not shown). . The end of the cylinder 2 with the outlet 8 is here called the front end 10 of the cylinder 2 and the multi-chamber cartridge 1 designated. In the exemplary embodiment, the partition wall 4 extends into the outlet 8, so that the outlet 8 is also divided into the two chambers 5, 6.

In the exemplary embodiment, the piston 3 is a hollow piston with a piston wall 11 in the form of a cylindrical tube and a piston head 12 in the form of a circular disk, which is in one piece with the piston wall 11 . For stiffening, the piston 3 has stiffening ribs 13 which, as in figure 3 to see, are star-shaped in the embodiment and with the piston wall 11 and the piston head 12 in one piece. For example, concentric, tubular stiffening ribs (not shown) are also possible. Reinforcing ribs 13 of the piston 3 are not mandatory for the invention, and the piston 3 can fundamentally be designed differently than shown and described in the exemplary embodiment.

The piston 3 has side cutting edges 14 at the circumferential positions where the longitudinal edges of the bulkhead 4 are connected to the cylinder 2 at a front side, and a center cutting edge 15 at a center of the bulkhead 4 . A side of the piston 3 facing the front end 10 of the multi-chamber cartridge 1 is referred to here as the front side of the piston 3 . When the piston 3 is displaced in the direction of the front end 10 of the cylinder 2 of the multi-chamber cartridge 1, the side cutters 14 separate the partition 4 from the cylinder 2 and the center cutter 15 separates the partition 4 into two strips. In the exemplary embodiment, the side cutting edges 14 and the center cutting edge 15 are in one piece with the rest of the piston 3 and are made of the same material, which in the exemplary embodiment consists of a plastic of sufficient hardness to separate the partition wall 4 from the cylinder 2 and to separate the partition wall 4 into strips.

The piston head 12 has a slot 16, which in the exemplary embodiment is V-shaped like the cross section of the partition wall 4 and through which the partition wall 4, cut into strips, enters the piston 3, which is designed as a hollow piston, when the piston 3 moves in the direction of the front end 10 of cylinder 2 is shifted. In figure 3 the slot 16 can be seen, in figure 1 Not. The slot 16 is interrupted at the point where the central cutting edge 15 is located. In the flask 3, the strips of the partition wall 4 roll up or fold or clump together.

On the front side of the piston 3, seals 17 are arranged in each chamber 5, 6, which seal the inside of the cylinder 2 and the partition wall 4. In the embodiment, the seals 17 are plate-shaped, arranged in a radial plane of the cylinder 2 and have a shape that corresponds to a cross section of the chambers 5,6. At their edges, the seals 17 have a circumferential, annular sealing lip 18 which protrudes obliquely in the direction of the front end 10 of the cylinder 2 and outwards on an inside of the cylinder 2 and on the partition wall 4 . The sealing lip 18 bears sealingly on the inside against a section of the cylinder 2 enclosing the respective chamber 5 , 6 and against the partition wall 4 . A hydraulic pressure of the components of the filling compound, not shown, in the chambers 5, 6, which the piston 3 generates when it is pushed through the outlet 8 in the cylinder 2 to displace the components of the filling compound, acts against the sealing lips 18 of the seals 17 from the inside the cylinder 2 and against the partition wall 4.

The seals 17 are made of a softer plastic or rubber than the piston 3 which is made of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT). In the exemplary embodiment, the seals 17 consist of an elastomer with a Shore D hardness of no more than 70 and in particular no more than 55 and/or with a Shore A hardness of no more than 90. The hardness specifications relate to German Standard DIN ISO 7619-1 in the February 2012 version.

Hoses 19 , whose holes pass through the seals 17 , protrude from the backs of the seals 17 , which are plate-shaped in the exemplary embodiment, from the seals 17 to the rear in the direction of a rear end 21 of the cylinder 2 . The hoses 19 form ventilation domes. The rear end 21 here is an end of the cylinder 2 which is opposite the front end 10 and is open for the insertion of the seals 17 and the piston 3 . In the exemplary embodiment, the hoses 19 are in one piece with the seals 17. The rear sides of the seals 17 and the piston 3 are referred to here as the sides of the seals 17 and the piston 3 facing the rear end 21 of the cylinder 2.

To fill the multi-chamber cartridge 1, the flowable components of the filling compound are preferably filled into the chambers 5, 6 through the open rear end 21 of the cylinder 2, and the seals 17 are inserted through the open rear end 21 of the cylinder 2 into the chambers 5, 6 introduced until they rest on the components of the filling compound. In this way, air can escape from the chambers 5, 6 through the hoses 19 forming the ventilation devices 20, ie the chambers 5, 6 are vented and air pockets in the chambers 5, 6 are avoided. The ventilation devices 20 are then closed, for example by welding, and the piston 3 is inserted through the open rear end 21 into the cylinder 2 introduced until the piston head 12 rests against the backs of the seals 17. The piston crown 12 has through holes 22 through which the hoses 19 forming the ventilation devices 20 pass. It is also possible, for example, to have a piston head 12 without through-holes, which folds over the hoses 19 forming the ventilation devices 20 and thereby closes them when the piston 3 is inserted through the open rear end 21 into the cylinder 2 of the multi-chamber cartridge 1 until the piston head 12 on the rear sides of the seals 17 is present.

It is also possible to arrange the seals 17 on the piston 3 and to introduce them into the cylinder 2 together with the piston 3 through the open rear end 21 . In this case, the tubes 19 forming the venting means 20 are accessible for closure through accesses 23 in the piston 3, which are open at the rear of the piston 3 and reach the tubes 19. In the exemplary embodiment, the accesses 23 are cavities in the piston 3 between the stiffening ribs 13 and the piston wall 11.

In figure 4 are the venting devices 20 of the seals 17 forming hoses 19 approximately as long as the piston 3 is long in the axial direction, so that the hoses 19 reach to the rear of the piston 3 and are accessible there for closure when the piston 3 through the open rear end 21 has been introduced into the cylinder 2 of the multi-chamber cartridge 1.

reference list

1

multi-chamber cartridge

2

cylinder

3

Pistons

4

partition wall

5

first chamber

6

second chamber

7

bulkhead

8th

outlet

9

thread

10

front end

11

piston wall

12

piston crown

13

stiffening rib

14

side cutting edge

15

center cutting edge

16

slot

17

poetry

18

sealing lip

19

Hose

20

ventilation device

21

rear end

22

through hole

23

Access

Claims (9)

1. Multi-chamber cartridge (1), having a cylinder (2), which is divided into at least two chambers (5, 6) by a partition wall (4) extending in the axial direction of the cylinder (2), the longitudinal edges of which partition wall are continuously joined to the cylinder (2) in a longitudinal direction, and having a plunger (3) which is displaceable axially in the cylinder (2) for emptying the multi-chamber cartridge (1) and which, during displacement in the cylinder (2), separates the partition wall (4) from the cylinder (2), the multi-chamber cartridge (1) having in the chambers (5, 6) seals (17) which effect sealing against the partition wall (4) and internally against the cylinder (2), characterised in that the seals (17) have venting means (20) for the chambers (5, 6).
2. Multi-chamber cartridge (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the seals (17) effect annular circumferential sealing along the partition wall (4) and internally along the cylinder (2) in the respective chamber (5, 6).
3. Multi-chamber cartridge (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the seals (17) are elastomers and have a Shore D hardness according to DIN ISO 7619-1 of February 2012 of not more than 70, especially not more than 55.
4. Multi-chamber cartridge (1) according to one or more of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the seals (17) are elastomers and have a Shore A hardness according to DIN ISO 7619-1 of February 2012 of not more than 90.
5. Multi-chamber cartridge (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the seals (17) have a sealing lip (18) which runs along the partition wall (4) and internally along the cylinder (2), which sealing lip (18) is in sealing contact with the partition wall (4) and internally with the cylinder (2), the annular cross-section of which sealing lip (18) extends in a direction of displacement of the plunger (3) in the cylinder (2) and which is urged against the partition wall (4) and outwards against the cylinder (2) by a pressure in the chambers (5, 6).
6. Multi-chamber cartridge (1) according to claim 5, characterised in that the sealing lip (18) extends obliquely in the direction of displacement of the plunger (3) during emptying of the multi-chamber cartridge (1) and, seen from the chambers (5, 6), outwards against the partition wall (4) and the cylinder (2).
7. Multi-chamber cartridge (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the venting means (20) have tubes (19) which project from the seals (17) in a direction opposite to the direction of displacement of the plunger (3) during emptying of the multi-chamber cartridge (1).
8. Method for filling a multi-chamber cartridge (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the chambers (5, 6) are filled with flowable compositions, the seals (17) are placed onto the flowable compositions in the chambers (5, 6) through an open end of the cylinder (2), the plunger (3) is introduced into the cylinder (2) through the open end of the cylinder (2), and the venting means (20) of the seals (17) are closed before or after the introduction of the plunger (3) into the cylinder (2).
9. Method according to claim 8, characterised in that the plunger (3) has access points (23) for closing the venting means (20).

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