GB2524508A

GB2524508A - Nozzle arrangement, cartridge for applicator gun, and method of forming bead of sealant or filler

Info

Publication number: GB2524508A
Application number: GB1405274.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Eric Owen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-03-25
Filing date: 2014-03-25
Publication date: 2015-09-30
Also published as: GB201405274D0

Abstract

A nozzle 2 for a cartridge 1 of an applicator gun comprises a profiling surface 4B, suitably flat or convex, extending around the periphery of a nozzle outlet M. The profiling surface can apply a profile to an outer surface of material (typically sealant or filler) being extruded from the nozzle outlet. Preferably, profiling surface 4B is provided by an elongate guide 4 having bevelled guide surfaces 4A, 4C that can slide over adjoining vertical and horizontal surfaces (5, 6, Figure 2), typically forming a corner whose joint is to be sealed or filled; an extruded bead (7, Figure 2) may be confined to a triangular cross-section around the joint. Guide 4 may be perpendicularly or obliquely transverse to a longitudinal axis X3 of cartridge 1; preferably an angle Î˜ between axis X3 and an axis X4 of guide 4 may be between 40 and 70 degrees. The seal and finish may be improved, while avoiding a need for subsequent smoothing.

Description

Nozzle arrariuement Cartridue for Applicator Gun and Method of forming Bead of Sealant or Filler The present invention relates to a nozzle arrangement for a cartridge of an applicator gun, to the cartridge, and to a method of forming a continuous bead of sealant or filler.

Applicator guns and cartridges are ubiquitous in the building and decorating fields for sealing internal and external joints, eg around windows, doors, shower fittings, baths and the like. A trigger and ratchet mechathsm of the gun applies pressure to a plunger which engages a piston in the cartridge and extmdes internal or external sealant or filler (eg a silicone or a bitumen composition) from a nozzle. The user moves the tip of the nozzle along the joint while extruding sealant (or filler) to form a continuous bead.

However it is difficult to extrude the sealant at a rate which matches the rate of movement along the joint, and obtain a uniform continuous bead. Even if the bead is uniform in thickness, it tends to be circular in cross-section and may not fill the joint effectively. Smoothing tools are available, but are not always effective, At the very least, their use increases the time taken to complete the job. Furthermore a tool which is suitable for one type of sealant may be less suitable for another.

An object of the present invention is to overcome or alleviate at least some of the above disadvantages.

Accordingly the invention provides a nozzle arrangement for a cartridge of an applicator gun, the nozzle arrangement comprising a profiling surface extending around the periphery of the nozzle arrangement outlet, the profiling surface being arnmged in use to apply a profile to an outer surface of material being extruded from anozzle outlet.

The profiling surface around the periphery of the nozzle outlet smooths the outer surface of the continuously extruded material as the nozzle arangement is moved along thejoint being sealed. A subsequent smoothing operation is not required, and a uniform bead can be obtained. Additionally, the profiling surface acts to confine extruded sealant against the joint so as to improve the seal. Furthermore, since a cartridge is normally supplied with its own nozzle, the surface properties of the profiling surface can be chosen to match the properties of the sealant in the cartridge.

Preferably said nozzle outlet has a mouth which is flush with said profiling surface.

This ensures a smooth surface.

Preferably one or more guide surfaces are disposed adjacent said profiling surface.

The or each guide surface can be slid along one of the surfaces adjacent the joint to maintain a constant bead thickness, ensuring a uniform continuous bead of sealant.

Preferably two such guide surfaces are provided on opposite sides of said profiling surface, Such guide surfaces can be arranged to slide along respective surfaces (eg a horizontal and a vertical surface) on either side of the joint to ensure the formation of a bead of uniform profile and thickness, Furthermore the material being extruded is confined by the profiling surface and thereby forced into the joint.

Preferably the above guide surfaces are in the form of parallel bevels, These help to confine the extruded material around the joint. The bevels preferably extend between the front and rear faces of the guide member, but this is not essential -for example the side edges of the face of the guide member facing away from the user may be chamfered, In a preferred embodiment said profiling surface is formed on a surface of an elongate guide member and in use said guide member extends transversely to the longitudinal axis of the cartridge. As a result, the guide member is more easily kept aligned with the developing bead of extruded sealant or filler, Preferably said guide member is generally planar and is disposed at an angle of 30° to 80° (more preferably 40° to 70°, most preferably 50° to 60°) to said longitudinal axis.

This feature enables the sealant to be extruded in a rearward direction as the nozzle arrangement is dragged forwardly along the joint, which tends to prevent juddering of the nozzle, thereby improving the uniformity of the sealant (or filler) bead.

Preferably said elongate guide member has an end edge which is inclined at an acute angle to an upper side edge thereof This feature enables the nozzle arrangement to apply sealant (or filler) neatly to an internal corner (eg between two orthogonal vertical surfaces) where there is an existing bead of material applied to the joint adjacent one of the surfaces and ending at the corner. In use, the upper side edge can be held against that vertical surface which is above the joint to be sealed (or filled) with the end edge aligned with the inclined outer surface of the existing bead previously deposited against the other vertical surface, The profiling surface may be flat (to form a bead of triangular cross-section) or may have a convex profile (to form a convex profile in the outer surface of the bead), for example. However concave or more elaborate profiles may be employed, eg to form a decorative moulding.

Preferably said extruded material is visible through said profiling surface, This enables the user to ensure there are no gaps in the developing bead.

Preferably said profiling surface is non-stick, In particular, said profiling surface may be of PTFE, In a preferred embodiment the nozzle arrangement includes a guide member of transparent plastics material, eg transparent PTFE, The invention also provides a cartridge for an applicator gun, the cartridge comprising a nozzle arrangement as defined above.

The invention also provides a method of forming a continuous bead of sealant or filler, the method comprising applying sealant or filler from a cartridge as defined above to the junction of two surfaces while moving said profiling surface along said junction at a rate sufficient to maintain it in contact with a developing bead of sealant or filler.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described below by way of example only with reference to Figures ito 4 of the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a sketch perspective view of a cartridge (including a nozzle arrangement) in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a diagrammatic end elevation of the nozzle arrangement of Figure 1 being used to seal a joint between horizontal and vertical surfaces; Figure 3 is a diagrammatic front elevation of the nozzle arrangement of Figure 1 being used to seal the above joint, and Figure 4 is a sketch perspective view of the nozzle arrangement of Figure 1 being used to seal a joint in an internal corner between two orthogonal vertical surfaces arid a horizontal surface.

Referring to Figure 1, a sealant cartridge 1k provided with a nozzle arrangement 2, the nozzle arrangement comprising a nozzle 3 and a guide member 4, The cartridge I is provided with a conventional piston IA and is held in a conventional actuator gun (not shown) which applies pressure via a ratchet mechanism and plunger to piston IA in a conventional manner to extrude sealant from the mouth M of the nozzle.

The nozzle 3 is provided with an internal screw thread (not shown) which enables it to be secured to a threaded tubular extension (not shown) at the forward end of the cartridge 1, as is conventional.

An elongate guide member 4 of transparent plastics material is secured to the tip of nozzle 3 with a flat profiling surface 4B flush with the mouth M of the nozzle. The angle e between the nozzle axis X3 and the longitudinal axis X4 of guide member 4 is suitably 30° to 80°, eg 40° to 70°. This enables the nozzle, pointed rearwardly, to be dragged along the joint to be sealed without juddeiing, as shown in more detail in Figure 3.

On either side of the profiling surface 4B, two parallel bevelled guide surfaces 4A and 4c are formed. These are each at 45° to the profiling surface 4B, enabling (upper) guide surface 4Ato be slid over a vertical surface and (lower) guide surfaces 4C to be slid along a horizontal surface with ajoint between them.

Such an arrangement, in which the vertical and horizontal surfaces are provided by abutting vertical and horizontal boards 5 and 6 respectively, is shown in Figures 2 and 3. As shown in Figure 3, the nozzle arrangement (attached to the cartridge I, not shown in this Figure) is dragged along forwardly in the direction of arrow A, while sealant 7 is extruded rearwardly.

As can be seen in Figure 2, a sealant bead of triangular cross section is formed by confinement between guide member 4 and boards, 5 and 6. The outer surface of the sealant bead is smoothed by the moving profiling surface 4B of the guide member 4.

Referring to Figures 1 and 3, the guide member 4 has an end edge 4D which is at an acute angle to the upper side edge. This enables the guide member 4 to be inclined to match an existing triangular cross-section bead of sealant in an internal corner as shown in Figure 4.

Referring to Figure 4, an internal corner is defined by orthogonal vertical surfaces 5A and SB and a horizontal surface 6. A first bead of sealant 7A is formed at the junction of surfaces SA and 6 and it is desired to form a second bead of sealant 7B at the S junction of surfaces SB and 6. Accordingly, the nozzle arrangement is positioned such that end edge 4D subtends an angle 0 (of eg 45°) in the horizontal plane, which ensures that the profile of bead 7B of sealant extruded by dragging the nozzle arrangement (in the direction of arrow A) matches the profile of bead 7A.

In a variant, the edge of guide 4 at the opposite end could also be angled at an acute angle to the top side edge, to enable the arrangement to fit into a corner at the opposite end of surfaces SB and 6. In other words, left or right end edges (or both end edges) of the guide member 4 could be acutely angled in order to fit left and right corners respectively.

In a variant in which both end edges of guide member 4 are acutely angled (eg as shown in phantom for end edge 4D' in Figure 3) the nozzle 3 is preferably symmetrically disposed with respect to these end edges, ie angle 0 = 90°.

All the above methods and arrangements can be used in internal and external decorating and building work, with the appropriate sealant or filler. Preferably the material of the guide member is selected to match the sealant or filler in the cartridge it is supplied with.

In other embodiments, the nozzle arrangement may be sold separately from the cartridge.

Claims

Claims 1. A nozzle arrangement for a cartridge of an applicator gun, the nozzle arrangement comprising a profiling surface extending around the periphery of a nozzle outlet, the profiling surface being arranged in use to apply a profile to an outer surface of material being extruded from the nozzle outlet.
2. A nozzle arrangement according to claim I wherein said nozzle outlet has a mouth which is flush with said profiling surface.
3. A nozzle arrangement according to claim I or claim 2, wherein one or more guide surfaces are disposed adjacent said profiling surface.
4, A nozzle arrangement according to claim 3, wherein two such guide surfaces are provided on opposite sides of said profiling surface.
5. A nozzle arrangement according to claim 4, wherein said guide surfaces are in the form of parallel bevels.
6. A nozzle arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein said profiling surface is formed on a surface of an elongate guide member and in use said guide member extends transversely to the longitudinal axis of the cartridge.
7. A nozzle arrangement according to claim 6, wherein said guide member is generally planar and is disposed at an angle of 30° to 80° to said longitudinal axis.
8. A nozzle arrangement according to claim 7, wherein said guide member is disposed at an angle of 40° to 70° to said longitudinal axis.
9. A nozzle arrangement according to any of claims 6 to 8, wherein said elongate guide member has an end edge which is inclined at an acute angle to an upper side edge thereof.
10. A nozzle arrangement according to claim 6 wherein said elongate guide member has opposite end edges which are each inclined at an acute angle to an upper side edge thereof It. A nozzle arnmgement according to ay preceding claim wherein said profiling surface is flat or has a convex profile.12. A nozzle arrangement according to any preceding claim wherein said extruded material is visible through said profiling surface.13. A nozzle arrangement according to any preceding claim wherein said profiling surface is non-sticlc 14. A nozzle arrangement according to claim t3 wherein said profiling surface is of PTFE, 15, A cartridge for an applicator gun, the cartridge comprising a nozzle anangement according to any preceding claim.16. A cartridge according to claim 15 which contains extrudable sealaffi or filler.17. A method of forming a continuous bead of sealant or filler, the method comprising applying sealant or filler from a cartridge as claimed in claim 15 to the junction of two surfaces while moving said profiling surface along saidjunction at a rate sufficient to maintain it in contact with a developing bead of sealant or filler.18, A nozzle arrangement, sealant cartridge or method of fomiing a profiled bead of sealant substantially as described hereinabove with reference to Figures ito 4 of the accompanying drawings. is