WO2000035592A1

WO2000035592A1 - Resin applicator

Info

Publication number: WO2000035592A1
Application number: PCT/CA1999/001124
Authority: WO
Inventors: Matthew Kennedy
Original assignee: Matthew Kennedy
Priority date: 1998-11-30
Filing date: 1999-11-29
Publication date: 2000-06-22
Also published as: AU1368800A; CA2286547A1; CA2286547C

Abstract

The invention is an applicator and process used to fill in the edges of composite panels with resin or emulsions. The applicator is attached to a pressurized canister filled with resin that forces the resin through the applicator's channel, into a space between the applicator's spreader (2) and the panel's edge. The sidewalls (1) of the applicator guide the applicator along the edge of the panel as it is drawn along to fill the edge and also to prevent spill over. The tapered, aft-end (5) of the base of the applicator acts as a spatula to smooth the resin flush with the panel's sidewalls. A finger guide (6) allows the applicator to work using finger pressure. The applicator is drawn along with the hands, and has the feature of a small contoured bullnose (8) at the leading edge where the applicator touches the panel to provide a smooth movement of the applicator over rough edges. The feature also functions as a pivot that allows the applicator to be pivoted in such a way that the sidewalls will rise above the panel's edge so that the applicator can clear obstacles like adjoining panels without having to be removed from the panel being filled. Ribbing (11) on the underside of the spreader feature facilitates the flow of resin over the entire edge of the panel.

Description

RESIN APPLICATOR

DESCRIPTION

This invention and process relates to a pressure aided resin application device for applying resins into the open cell edges of composite panels or onto the edges of solid panels. Resins may be defined alternatively as emulsions, fluids, adhesives, glues, mucilage, cements, and epoxies.

The resin applicator and the process mentioned herein was designed to make the production of composite board cabinetry more efficient and less costly by allowing workers to work more quickly than conventional methods. Since composite board panels (like No-mex® and Fiberlam®) have open cells at their edges, these edges must be filled with materials (such as the Epocast® emulsion) to strengthen the brittle ends and provide a stabilizer for joinery screws and nuts and a surface for veneering.

This procedure, called end-filling, is conventionally preformed by hand with a spatula that crudely spreads the emulsion or resin into the fill area. This procedure cannot guarantee an even fill density and it leaves a lot of extra residue on the panels, which is wasteful and inefficient. Once the residue dries, the worker must sand the material flush with the edges of the composite panel.

The resin applicator is an efficient tool for end-filling composite panels. The applicator would typically be made of injection molded plastic, with any textures on the surface to be facilitated in the mold. The applicator is to be used in conjunction with a form of cartridge filled with the resin which is forced through the applicator through a pressure delivery system, such as a trigger activated caulking gun or air- pressure gun. The process involves injecting resin into the fill area through the applicator as it is drawn along the board's edge. As the applicator applies the emulsion, it forces resin into the open cells at the edges of composite board panels and automatically spreads this material flush with the panel's edges since the extended aft end of the applicator functions as a spatula. It therefore completes the spreading and smoothing operations with one simple procedure, which considerably reduces worker-hours and material waste. The finish is even, and requires little or no sanding.

The smoothing function of the applicator is dependent on hand pressure from the worker, applied in a finger-guide on the top surface of the applicator's spreader feature. The rate at which the material is dispersed is dependent upon the air pressure and valve size of the gun, as well as the rate at which the worker draws the applicator along the panel. In an automated scenario the panel would be drawn through the invention, supported by a fixed structure and pressure delivery system, either manually or by automated means, such as a conveyor system. By this method, hand-pressure would be replaced by machine pressure. Either application of the invention improves the process of end-filling over conventional methods.

The invention has sidewalls that stabilize the device during the application process. The inside distance between the sidewalls is to be the same width as the panel being filled, plus tolerances. Therefore the invention may have varying sidewall gap widths to accommodate different thickness' of panel. The sidewalls function as a guide to prevent lateral movement of the applicator, so that the applicator will not fall off the panel during the process. The leading edges of the sidewalls are also flared outward slightly so that the applicator may be easily slipped onto a panel since the flares help center the panel between the sidewalls.

The invention has features in its design to overcome rough surfaces on the panel's edge, and obstacles attached to the sides of the panel. There is a round bullnose at the leading edge of the invention that allows the resin applicator to overcome any nicks, snags, or rough surfaces on the edge of the panel as it is drawn along thereby facilitating a controlled pace which is important for an even flow of resin into the panel's edge.

The bullnose acts as a pivot as well. This pivot is aligned with an axis between the forward plane of the channel through which the resin is transferred into the device and the leading edge of the sidewalls. The angle between the forward plane of the channel and the leading edge of the sidewalls is 180 degrees or greater. This allows the applicator's sidewalls to rise above the edge of the panel being filled when the user lowers the top end of the channel toward the panel's edge. This feature is important when there is an obstacle attached to the side of the panel, such as another panel, since the user of the resin applicator can pass the obstacle by leaning the applicator back and therefore will not have to raise the applicator off the panel being filled. When this feature is used, every part of the resin applicator will be above the edge of the panel being filled therefore any obstacle below the edge of the panel will not block the progress of the applicator. The applicator is then slid along the panel's edge and once the obstacle has been passed the user of the applicator may then lower the sidewalls and continue filling the panel as before.

The applicator may be fashioned to accommodate panel edge profiles of varying shape. Therefore the edge of the panel may be at ninety degrees to its sidewalls, or at another angle. The edge may also take a contoured shape, such as a bullnose. The pivoting feature of the invention, however, functions only when the plane of the pivoting axis is ninety degrees to the sidewalls of the applicator.

In the drawings that illustrate an embodiment of the invention, Figure 1 is a side view of the embodiment, Figure 2 is a front view of this embodiment, Figure 3 is a bottom view of the embodiment, Figure 4 is a back view of the embodiment, Figure 5 is a back view of another embodiment with an angled spreader, Figure 6 is a back view of another embodiment with a curved spreader, Figure 7 is a section of line I-I of Figure 2, and Figure 8 shows the same view as Figure 7 but showing the embodiment resting on panel A.

The tool illustrated is comprised of side walls 1 which act as horizontal stabilizers and guides that prevent the tool from slipping off the panel, or allowing the resin to spill over the edges of the panel. The sidewalls 1 descend from the spreader 2, which forms the lower surface of the invention aft of the lower opening of the channel 3. The resin is forced through the channel 3 into the area underneath the spreader 2 from the pressure injection device (not depicted) used, which is attached by necessary means to the attachment-end 4 of the channel 3. The transition between the channel 3 and the spreader 2 is a gradual curve, and the spreader 2 itself tapers from the channel 3 downward toward the aft-end 5 where the applicator would rest on the panel being end-filled. The curve between the channel 3 and the spreader 2 and the taper angle on the spreader 2 facilitate a smooth flow during the transition of resin from the channel 3 to the area underneath the spreader 2. The taper on the spreader 2 also allows the resin to be smoothed into the panel's edge steadily and gradually during the end-filling process, providing the invention to apply resin fill at an even and consistent rate. Pressure applied by the user's finger in the finger-guide 6 keeps the applicator against the panel's edge and prevents excess resin from coming out of the aft-end 5 of the applicator.

The applicator may be fashioned with varying angles between the spreader 2 and the sidewalls 1 to facilitate end-filling panels with angled edges, or the spreader may have a contoured profile, such as to accommodate a bullnose. Typically the spreader 2 will be perpendicular to the sidewalls 1 , with allowances for draft angles, as seen in the embodiment shown in Figure 4. In the embodiment shown in Figure 5 the spreader 2 is not perpendicular to the sidewalls 1 but is on an alternative angle. In the embodiment shown in Figure 6 the spreader 2 has a circular shape to accommodate a bullnose in the panel.

The invention features two cantilevers 7 rising from the spreader 2, bridging the spreader 2 and the channel 3 thereby strengthening and stiffening the applicator. The space between these cantilevers 7 form the finger-guide 6 that allows the user of the applicator to control the device with precision as it is used. The finger-guide 6 is shaped to allow a finger between the walls of the cantilevers 7, with suitable slopes fore and aft to prevent the finger from slipping out. The finger-guide 6 also benefits from having a textured surface to provide better gripping for the finger.

The forward end of the invention features a pivot 8. The pivot 8 is a round bullnose that allows the resin applicator to overcome any nicks, snags, or rough surfaces on the edge of the panel as it is drawn along thereby facilitating a controlled pace which is important for an even flow of resin into the panel's edge.

In figure 1, the angle between the leading-edges 9 of the sidewalls 1 and the forward plane 10 of the channel 3 is 180 degrees or more. This insures that when the attachment-end 4 of the resin applicator is pivoted at the pivot 8 downward toward the panel being filled, the sidewalls 1 will rise accordingly and clear the top edge of the panel. The channel 3 can be placed at any angle in relation to the spreader 2, however the angle between the center line of the channel 3 and the spreader 2 will typically be 150 degrees for ergonomic reasons. The leading-edges 9 of the sidewalls 1 are flanged outward so that they facilitate the entry of a panel into the space between the sidewalls 1.

The lower opening of the channel 3 in some design variations of the resin applicator may be smaller than the width between the sidewalls 1. Shallow ribs 1 , located under the spreader 2 of the invention, are shaped to direct the flow of some resin toward the sidewalls 1 and therefore toward the sidewalls of the edge of the panel being filled. In the embodiment shown in Figure 8, the resin moves from the channel 3 into the space between the spreader 2, the sidewalls 1 , and the edge of the panel A being filled. The pressure of the resin entering this space from the delivery system is sufficient to insure that the entire width of the panel's edge will be evenly filled, as the pressure will cause the resin to spread into any available space.

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1 A manually guided applicator requiring a pressure source for applying resins or emulsions into the open edges of composite panels or along the filled edges of solid panels. The applicator can be described as a single item comprising of the following features: means to join the applicator with the canister containing the resin, a channel through which the resin enters the applicator and delivers the resin to the panel's edge, a spatula feature that smoothes the resin flush with the panel's edges as it is manually drawn across it, sidewalls on the applicator to guide the applicator along the edge of the panel and to and prevent spill over, a bullnose to aid the movement of the applicator, and a pivot to raise the sidewalls to overcome obstacles;

2 A tool as defined in claim 1 , in which the tool can be manufactured with varying side wall gap widths and slot widths and/or spreader base angles or profiles to match the widths and/or edge angles and profiles of the panels that the applicator is applied to;

3 A tool as defined in claim 1 or claim 2, featuring ribs under the spreader to facilitate the delivery of resin over the entire edge of the panel;

4 A tool as defined in claims 1 , 2, or 3, in which the applicator can be fashioned for manual or automated use.