US2291676A

US2291676A - Applicator for adhesives

Info

Publication number: US2291676A
Application number: US271054A
Authority: US
Inventors: Franklin B Baker
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1939-05-01
Filing date: 1939-05-01
Publication date: 1942-08-04
Anticipated expiration: 1959-08-04

Description

49 $342, F, E, BAKER MDPLICATOR FOR ADHEsIvEs Filed May l, lSSQ HHEI VE Patented Aug. 4, 1942 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE APPLCTR FOR ADHESIVES Franklin E. Baker, Chicago, Ill. Application May 1, 1939, Serial No. 271,054

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in adhesive applicators and containers to be used in connection therewith.

Heretofore in this art bristle brushes and semirigid or slightly flexible applicators have been :commonly used, each, however, having its own peculiar disadvantages. The brush absorbs an excess amount of adhesive when thrust downw-ardly into a paste or mucilage jar and this excess must be removed with care and only upon the exercise of considerable effort before the spreading operation can .be commenced. As the brush spreads the adhesive a film of very irregular thickness results, leaving what are commonly `called brush marks and which in reality are ridges of adhesive of more than a desirable thickness. The bristle brush has enjoyed extensive use even though it has long been recognized by those especially skilled in the use of adhesives, and indeed constantly advocated by them, that adhesive is most effectively used when applied in a very uniform thin film.

Another form of applicator which has experienced some use is the semi-rigid or slightly ilexible rubber applicator secured to or formed at the end of a stem or handle which usually is also somewhat flexible. I have found that all such rubber applicators heretofore used have such an amount of rigidity and springiness that the user has difficultyin maintaining accurate control of the end of the applicator as the rather stiff rubber wiper tends to spring out of control and has to be handled with extreme care to prevent it from moving out of the limits of the area intended to be covered with adhesive.

I have overcome the above named disadvantages o-f the prior applicators and attained new advantages by utilizing a rigid stem or handle to the end of which is secured an extremely flexible section of very thin rubber, it being so thin as to be free from any unnecessary stillness. Preferably the rubber section is cut from a sheet of rubber of uniform thickness and of such texture as will yield the desired flexibility. The thin soft rubber bends at a right angle to the end of the l stem without any substantial tendency to spring back in opposition to the control being exercised by the user, and it spreads a film of such thinness and uniformity as cannot be attained by any other known form of applicator, thus realizing the objective which has always been advocated but never heretofore accomplished.

Further-more when this applicator is used in conjunction with an adhesive container, the rigid stem thereof may be readily and inexpensively secured to the inside of an ordinary bottle cover so that when the container is covered nothing need protrude vabove the cap except the head of -a small nail or tack Vwhich forms an adequate and economical attaching means for the stem.

Because of the extreme flexibility 0f the rubber wiper, the stem may be made long enough to extend practically' to the bottom of the jar, thus facilitating the removal of the entire contents of the jar when it is nearly empty.

Another advantage inherent in this invention, in addition to the new and improved functioning of the device, arises from the `fact that the construction lends itself to the most economical manufacture, whereby this invention with its hitherto unavailable advantages may now be produced at such a low cost as to be within the reach of those purchasers who heretofore could not well afford the more expensive and complicated devices on the market.

The attainment of the foregoing advantages and others which are inherent in the invention and which will become apparent from a perusal of this specification comprise the vobjects of this invention.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a perspective of acontainer :cap having attached thereto ah applicator made in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a central vertical sectional View of a container equipped with the device shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a view showing the use of the appliycator when removed from the container.

Fig. 4 illustrates a preferred manner of using the applicator holding the stem substantially vertical to the surface on which the adhesive is being applied.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation showing the applicator in use in the same manner as shown in Fig. 4.

Referring further to the drawing, the applicator consists of a rigid stem l which for reasons of economy is made `preferably of wood, although some other rigid and inexpensive materialrrnay -be used. A simple kerf orslot is cut through the end of the stem and in itis snugly fitted a-,small piece 2 of very thin flexible rubber, which lmay have about the thickness and flexibility of the rubber used in an automobile inner-tube or that which is used in a fairly heavy hot-water bottle, Obviously rubber of such flexibility alords no substantial resistance to deflection, consequent- 1y it does not have the stiff springy feel possessed by the rubber applicators which have heretofore been found in this art.

The unique construction of this applicator lends itself readily to attachment to the cap of an ordinary paste or mucilage jar such as the jar 3 having an ordinary screw cap 4. The Wooden stem I is readily secured to the cap merely by driving a small nail or tack 5 through the thin metal cap of the jar, the head 6 of the nail being the only protuberance above the bottle cap. In Fig. 2 I have shown the cap equipped with a liner l which is commonly employed on such caps to provide an air-tight seal to the jar.

It will be noted that the rigid stem extends practically to the bottom of the bottle, the rubber piece being deflected to the position shown but without any injury thereto.

By using a simple slot in a wooden stem together with a rubber wiper of the character described, the snug t of the rubber in the slot is sufficient to retain it permanently.

Another advantage inherent in this invention is that Where containers of different capacities and heights are required, no substantial change in the construction of the applicator is required. It is sufficient merely to employ a stem of suicient length to reach nearly to the bottom of the jar, no matter what its depth may be.

In using this invention the screw cap is gripped by the fingers of the user. The stem and cap being rigidly united, the user has as accurate control over the extremity of the stern as ,he would have over a pen secured to a rigid penholder. Preferably the stem is held vertically when applying the adhesive, although in an inclined position it will spread uniformly. But in the vertical position the applicator may be moved back and forth more readily to facilitate rapid spreading of the adhesive and because the thin rubber has no stiffness control over it is never relaxed.

While the drawing shows a preferred manner of attaching the rubber piece to the applicator stem, it should be understood that it may be secured to the stem in any suitable manner consistent with the purposes of the invention. Also while the stem is secured to the cover cap by means of a small nail it should be understood that the invention contemplates that it may be secured in any suitable and practical manner.

Since the rubber spreader has no substantial stiffness, the stem is subjected to no substantial lateral strain when the applicator is in use and the user is holding it by means of the bottle cap. Hence the use of a small nail to secure the stem and cap together is made possible and practical.

Other rubber applicators heretofore used were molded products in which the wiping portion has a gradually thickening upper part tapering to a molded socket or molded stem. The wiping portions of such devices therefore do not bend readily at a right angle where they emerge from the heavier parts of the handles which guide their movement. The line at which a fairly sharp bend in such a wiper will occur varies with the amount of downward pressure which is being exerted at any instant. The action of the wiper and the control over it is therefore uncertain and the pressure on the article to which the adhesive is applied varies for the same reason. Hence, tapered wipers of the prior art unless used with exceptional skill, will spread a lm of uneven thickness.

The rubber used in my applicator is preferably cut from a sheet of uniform thickness, and will bend at a right angle with the slightest pressure at the line Where it emerges from the stem.

In View of the fact that sheet rubber or thin rubber of uniform thickness, no matter how made, produces a better wiper, the narrow slot in the end of the rigid stem appears to be the best mode of attachment. The rubber piece can be bent sharply where it emerges from this straight slot and will bend and otherwise function in the same way regardless of the direction of movement of the stem.

Rubber is the preferred material from which to make the wiper blade, but some other material having characteristics suitable to the purpose of this invention may be employed.

While my applicator is especially adapted to the spreading of semi-iiuid and liquid adhesives, it may also be used for spreading other materials which likewise should be spread in thin uniform films.

It should be understood that this invention is susceptible of some variation without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention dened in the following claims.

Having shown and described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination, an adhesive container, a cover member therefor, a rigid wooden stem having a squared end secured to the inner surface of said cover solely by a nail or the like and extending substantially to the bottom of the container, and a thin piece of highly flexible sheet rubber of substantially uniform thickness and greater width than the stem secured to the lower end portion of said stem and protruding therebeyond a short distance to receive and spread an adhesive, said stem being of such length that when the cover is positioned on the container the rubber applicator wipes the bottom of the container.

2. In combination, an adhesive container, a cover member therefor, a rigid stem connected to the inner surface of said cover and extending substantially to the bottom of the container, the lower end of the stem having a slot and a thin piece of highly flexible sheet rubber of substantially uniform thickness secured in said slot and protruding therebeyond a short distance to receive and spread an adhesive, said stern having a squared end for being secured solely to the inner surface of the cover by a small nail or the like piercing the cover and the stem.

3. In combination, an adhesive container, a flat-topped cover member therefor, a rigid wooden rod secured to the inner surface of said cover by means of a flat-headed nail or the like extending through the cover, and a piece of highly ilexible rubber of substantially uniform thickness secured to one end portion of said stem and protruding therebeyond a short distance to receive and spread an adhesive.

4. In combination, an adhesive container, a cover member therefor, a Wooden rod having an end opening slot in one end portion thereof and having its other end secured against the inner surface of said cover by means of a nail or the like, and a thin piece of highly flexible rubber of substantially uniform thickness secured in said slot and protruding beyond the rod a suicient distance to receive adhesive for spreading.

FRANKLIN B. BAKER.