WO2012150471A1

WO2012150471A1 - Bead forming tip for caulking guns

Info

Publication number: WO2012150471A1
Application number: PCT/GB2012/050997
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ramunas Amontas
Original assignee: Ramunas Amontas
Priority date: 2011-05-04
Filing date: 2012-05-04
Publication date: 2012-11-08
Also published as: GB201107435D0

Abstract

An applicator tool arrangement (10) for applying material such as sealant, mastic or other relatively viscous materials to a substrate surface (72, 74) comprises a tool (12). The tool (12) includes a body part (14) which defines a through passage (16) through which material (76) to be applied moves in use. The tool (12) includes a wing part (18) which extends outwardly from the body part (14) and includes a wiper edge or surface (26) and an accumulation surface (19). The tool (12) is arranged so that in use the wiper edge or surface (26) scrapes across the substrate surface (72, 74) to gather surplus material (76) against the accumulation surface (19).

Description

BEAD FORMING TIP FOR CAULKING GUNS

The present invention relates to applicator tool arrangements, particularly but not exclusively applicator tool arrangements for applying or smoothing sealant, mastic or other relatively viscous materials.

Conventionally, it is known to provide an applicator comprising a tubular cartridge containing material such as sealant or mastic and a frame including a plunger. The cartridge has a movable end and a nozzle. The plunger is operable to move the movable end, forcing the sealant or mastic out of the nozzle. These types of applicators suffer a number of disadvantages. In particular, there is a delay between the user operating the plunger and the material exiting out of the nozzle, due to the pressure build up required in the material to move the material through the nozzle restriction. This results in uneven application of material, and very often the user is then required to smooth out the applied material, fill in gaps, and remove excess, which can be time consuming and give an unsatisfactory result.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an applicator tool arrangement for applying material such as sealant, mastic or other relatively viscous materials to a substrate surface, the applicator tool arrangement comprising a tool, the tool including a body part and a wing part which extends outwardly from the body part, the wing part including a wiper edge or surface and an accumulation surface, the tool being arranged so that in use the wiper edge or surface scrapes across the substrate surface to gather surplus material against the accumulation surface.

Possibly, the body part and the wing part together define an accumulator recess, in which, during use, the surplus material can be stored.

The tool may have a longitudinal axis. Possibly, the tool includes two wing parts which extend oppositely outwardly from the body part, possibly substantially symmetrically.

Possibly, the body part defines a through passage, through which material to be applied may move in use. The passage may be tapered. The passage may be elongate, and may be substantially straight, and may have a longitudinal passage axis, which may be orientated along or parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tool. Possibly, the applicator tool arrangement is for applying the material along a joint between a pair of substrate surfaces. Possibly, when the tool includes the two wing parts, the tool is arranged so that the wiper edges or surfaces of the wing parts each simultaneously scrape across a different one of the substrate surfaces. The substrate surfaces may be arranged at substantially 90 ° to each other.

Possibly, during use, the accumulation surface forms an acute angle with the joint. The tool may include a tip surface, which may be substantially planar, and may extend from the wiper edge or surface, or between the wiper edge or surfaces. The tip surface may include a tip edge, which may have a length, which may in use be associated with the width of the material applied. The tip surface may subtend a tip angle to the passage axis and/or the longitudinal axis, which may be at least 30 ° and possibly up to 90 °, and more desirably is at least 40 °.

The wiper edges or surfaces of the wing parts may be orientated at a first wiper angle to each other when viewed in plan along a normal to the passage axis and/or the longitudinal axis at the tip surface, which may be at least 60 ° and possibly up to 120 °, and more desirably is at least 80 ° and possibly no more than 95°. The wiper edges or surfaces of the wing parts may be orientated at a second wiper angle to each other when viewed along the passage axis and/or the longitudinal axis, which at least 90 ° and may be less than 180 ° and more desirably is in a range between 128 ° and 150 °.

The wiper edges or surfaces of the wing parts may be orientated at a third wiper angle to the passage axis and/or the longitudinal axis when viewed along another normal to the passage axis and/or the longitudinal axis at the tip surface, which may be at least 15° and possibly up to 27°, and more desirably may be at least 17° and possibly no more than 22°.

The tip edge may be substantially straight, and may subtend a tip edge angle with the passage axis and/or the longitudinal axis of approximately 90 ° when viewed in plan along a normal to the passage axis and/or the longitudinal axis at the tip surface.

The tool may be formed integrally, and may be formed by moulding and may be formed of one or more plastics materials. The tool, or the or each wiper edge or surface, or the whole of the or each wing part may be formed of a resiliently deformable material, which may have a Shore A hardness which may be at least 70, and may be less than 100, and more desirably is in a range between 75 and 90. The tool may include a tip end part, which may be tapered, and which may include the tip surface, and may include one or more guides for adjusting the length of the tip edge.

The tool may include a mounting for mounting the tool to a support in an assembled condition. The mounting may comprise a barrel part, which may define a mounting passage. The barrel part may include a threaded surface within the mounting passage. The applicator tool arrangement may include a support, which may include a tool mounting for mounting the tool to the support, which may include a threaded surface which may be co-operable with the threaded surface of the barrel part. The tool mounting may include a projecting part, which, in the assembled condition is received within the tool passage, and may extend the whole length of the tool passage. The support may define a through passage through which material to be applied moves in use. The through passage may extend to a tip of the projecting part. The projecting part may be tapered, and may correspond with the taper of the tool passage.

The support may include a locking stop, which may prevent further rotation in one direction of the tool relative to the support in the assembled condition. The applicator tool arrangement may include an anti-rotation formation which prevents rotation of the tool relative to the support. The anti-rotation formation may include one or more projections extending outwardly from the tool mounting, which may be receivable in the assembled condition in a corresponding one or more recesses defined by the tool.

The support may comprise a handle part for gripping by a user.

The support may include a support mounting for mounting the support to a material containing item such as a cartridge in use in the assembled condition. The support mounting may comprise a barrel part, which may define a support mounting passage. The barrel part may include a threaded surface within the mounting passage.

The support may be formed of a relatively rigid material, and may be formed by moulding, and may be formed of plastics material. The support may be formed integrally with the tool. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of applying material such as sealant, mastic or other relatively viscous materials to a substrate surface, the method including providing an applicator tool arrangement, the applicator tool arrangement comprising a tool, the tool including a body part and a wing part which extends outwardly from the body part, the wing part including a wiper edge or surface and an accumulation surface, the tool being arranged so that in use the wiper edge or surface scrapes across the substrate surface to gather surplus material against the accumulation surface.

Other features of the applicator tool arrangement are as described above in any of the preceding paragraphs.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figs. 1 A to 1 E are, respectively, views of a tool of an applicator tool arrangement showing the tool from below, in plan from above, an end view on a mounting end, an end view on a tip end and from a side;

Figs. 2A to 2D are, respectively, perspective views of the tool of Fig 1 showing the tool from above and the tip end, from below and the tip end, from above and the mounting end, and from below and the mounting end;

Figs. 3A and 3B are respectively, perspective views of a support of the applicator tool arrangement showing the support from above and a tip end and from above and a mounting end;

Fig 4 is a perspective view of the applicator tool arrangement in an assembled condition in use;

Fig. 5 is a schematic side view of the applicator tool arrangement in use;

Figs. 6A to 6E are, respectively, views of a tool of a second applicator tool arrangement showing the tool from below, from a side, a side sectional view along a section line indicated by the labels VIC-VIC in Fig 6A, a cross sectional view along a section line indicated by the labels VID-VID in Fig 6C and an enlarged side view of part of the tool as indicated by the label VIE in Fig 6B;

Fig 7 is a perspective view of a support of the second applicator tool arrangement; and

Fig 8 is a perspective view of the second applicator tool arrangement in an assembled condition.

Figs. 1 to 5 show an applicator tool arrangement 10 for applying material such as sealant, mastic or other relatively viscous materials to at least one substrate surface 72, 74, the applicator tool arrangement 10 comprising a tool 12, the tool 12 including a body part 14 which defines a through passage 16 through which material 76 to be applied moves in use, the tool 12 including a pair of wing parts 18 which extend oppositely outwardly symmetrically from the body part 14, each wing part 18 including a wiper edge or surface 26 and an accumulation surface 19, the tool 12 being arranged so that in use each or at least one wiper edge or surface 26 scrapes across the or one substrate surface 72, 74 to gather surplus material 76 against the accumulation surface 19. The body part 14 and the wing parts 18 together define an accumulator recess 20, in which, during use, the surplus material 76 can be stored.

In the example shown, the passage 16 is elongate, tapered and substantially straight, having a longitudinal passage axis 24, which is coincident to or orientated along or parallel to a longitudinal axis 22 of the tool 12. (In other embodiments, the passage axis 24 and the longitudinal axis 22 may not be coincident.)

The tool 12 includes a tip end part 98 which includes a substantially planar tip surface 28, which includes a tip edge 30. The tip surface 28 extends between the wiper edges or surfaces 26. The tip surface 28 subtends a tip angle 32 to the passage axis 24. In one example, the tip angle 32 could be between 30 ° and 90 ° and more desirably could be between 40 ° and 90 °. In this embodiment the tip angle 32 could be 45°.

The wiper edges or surfaces 26 of the wing parts 18 are orientated at a first wiper angle 34 to each other when viewed in plan along a normal to the passage axis 24 at the tip surface 28 (as indicated by arrow A in Fig 1 E), ie when viewed in plan from underneath or above as shown in Figs 1 A or 1 B. In one example, the first wiper angle 34 could be in a range between 60 ° and 120 ° and more desirably could be in the range 80 ° to 95°. In this embodiment, the first wiper angle 34 could be 85°.

The wiper edges or surfaces 26 of the wing parts 18 are orientated at a second wiper angle 36 to each other when viewed along the passage axis 24 as shown in Fig 1 D. In one example, the second wiper angle 36 could be greater than 90 ° and less than 180 °. More desirably the second wiper angle 36 could be in a range between 128° and 150 °. In this embodiment, the second wiper angle 36 could be 133 °.

The wiper edges or surfaces 26 of the wing parts 18 are orientated at a third wiper angle 38 to the passage axis 24 when viewed along another normal to the passage axis 24 at the tip surface 28 (as indicated by arrow B in Fig 1 A), i.e. when viewed from a side as shown in Fig 1 E. In one example, the third wiper angle 38 could be in a range between 15° and 27°, and more desirably could lie in a range between 17° and 22° and in this embodiment could be 21 °.

In one example, the tip edge 30 is substantially straight, and subtends a tip edge angle 48 with the passage axis 24 of approximately 90 ° when viewed in plan along a normal to the passage axis 24 at the tip surface 28 (as indicated by arrow A in Fig 1 E), i.e. when viewed in plan from underneath or above as shown in Figs 1 A or 1 B. The tip end part 98 includes an in use upper surface 83 which is concave. The tip end part 98 includes guides in the form of cutting notches for adjusting the length of the tip edge 30. The tool 12 is formed integrally by moulding, of one or more plastics materials. In one example, the tool 12 could be formed entirely of a resiliently deformable material, for example, such as a TPE (thermoplastic elastomer), polypropylene or polyethylene, having a Shore A hardness of at least 70 and less than 100. More desirably the resiliently deformable material could have a Shore A hardness in a range between 75 and 90, and in this embodiment the Shore A hardness could be 85.

In other examples, the tool 12 could be formed of a plurality of materials. For example, the resiliently deformable material described above could comprise just the wiper edge or surfaces 26 and the tip edge 30, and/or the whole of the wing parts 18.

Referring to Fig 3, the applicator tool arrangement 10 includes a support 50. As shown in Figs 1 and 2, the tool 12 includes a mounting 40 for mounting the tool 12 to the support 50 in an assembled condition. The mounting 40 comprises a barrel part 42, which defines a mounting passage 44. The barrel part 42 includes a threaded surface 46 within the mounting passage 44. As shown in Fig 3, the support 50 includes a tool mounting 52, which includes a threaded surface 56 which is co-operable with the threaded surface 46 of the barrel part 42. The tool mounting 52 includes a tapered projecting part 54 which corresponds with the taper of the tool passage 16. The support 50 defines a through passage 58 through which the material 76 to be applied moves in use. The through passage 58 extends to a tip 60 of the projecting part 54. The support 50 includes a locking stop 62. The support 50 includes a support mounting 64 for mounting the support 50 to a material containing item such as a cartridge (not shown) in use in the assembled condition. The support mounting 64 comprises a barrel part 66, which defines a support mounting passage 68. The barrel part 66 includes a threaded surface 70 within the mounting passage 68 which is co-operable with a threaded surface (not shown) on a projecting part (not shown) of the material containing item.

The support 50 is formed of a relatively rigid material by moulding, and could be formed of a plastics material, such as polypropylene or polyethylene.

In use, the support 50 is mounted to the material containing item such as a cartridge by engaging the threaded surface 70 with the threaded surface of the projecting part of the material containing item, and rotating clockwise until the support 50 is securely mounted and rotates no further under hand pressure. Similarly, the tool 12 is mounted to the support 50 by engaging the threaded surface 46 with the threaded surface 56 of the support 50 and rotating clockwise to the assembled condition in which the tool 12 is securely mounted and rotates no further under hand pressure because the tool 12 is abutting the locking stop 62. These steps could be performed in a different order, for example, so that the tool 12 is firstly mounted to the support 50, which is then mounted to the cartridge.

In the assembled condition, the projecting part 54 is received within the passage 16.

The material containing item such as a cartridge could comprise part of an applicator gun (not shown), which could be manually operated, which apart from the applicator tool arrangement 10 and its use herein described may be conventional in arrangement and operation.

It is an advantage of the present invention that it can be readily used with conventional applicator guns and cartridges. As shown in Figs 4 and 5, the applicator tool arrangement 10 is particularly suitable for applying the material 76 along a joint 73 between a pair of substrate surfaces 72, 74, which could be, for example, substantially at 90 ° to each other. For example, one surface 72 could be substantially horizontal, and one surface 74 could be substantially vertical.

The applicator tool arrangement 10 is positioned in an operating condition with the passage axis 24 at an application angle 84 to the joint line 73 in the direction of motion (as shown by arrow C in Figs 4 and 5) of the applicator tool arrangement 10, so that the accumulation surface 19 is generally at an acute angle to the joint line 73. In the operating condition, both of the wiper edges or surfaces 26 are in contact along substantially their full length with a different one of the substrate surfaces 72, 74 and each end of the tip edge 30 is also in contact with a different one of the substrate surfaces 72, 74. The tip edge 30 and the substrate surfaces 72, 74 define an extrusion gap 86 therebetween. The tool 12 is arranged so that this condition is achieved with the application angle 84 being less than 90 °. More desirably the application angle 84 is in the region of 60 ° to 75°.

The applicator gun is operated to force material 76 along the support passage 58 and the tool passage 16 as shown by arrow D in Fig 5. As the material 76 is relatively viscous, some pressure is required to cause the material to move along the passages 16, 58. The material 76 exits the tool passage 16 into a space 88 between the tip surface 28 and the substrate surfaces 72, 74, and is directed forwardly (as indicated by arrow C) in the direction of motion of the applicator tool arrangement 12 by the relative angle of the tip surface 28 to the substrate surfaces 72, 74. As the applicator tool arrangement 12 is moved, a bead 80 is formed by material 76 being extruded through the extrusion gap 86, thus applying the material 76 is applied over the joint 73. The length of the tip edge 30 thus determines the width of the material applied. The pressure to move the material 76 along the passages 16, 58 can be uneven, and it can be difficult for a user to match the rate of flow of the material 76 along the passages 16, 58 with the rate of use of the material 76 in producing the bead 80. There is a tendency for the rate of flow of the material along the passages 16, 58 to exceed the rate of use of the material 76 in producing the bead 80. When this happens, the material 76 accumulates in front of the tool 12.

Conventionally, such an occurrence would cause the user to stop operation and clean up. Advantageously, the applicator tool arrangement 10 of the invention utilises this tendency and permits the build-up of an amount of accumulated material 78 in front of the tool 12. As the build-up continues, the accumulated material 78 is received within the accumulator recess 20, and builds up against the accumulation surfaces 19. The wiper edge or surfaces 26 each simultaneously scrape across a different one of the substrate surfaces 72, 74, keeping the substrate surfaces 72, 74 clean of any material 76.

If the rate of flow of the material 76 along the passages 16, 58 reduces, the accumulated material 78 is drawn into the space 88 and the gap 86 so that the rate of use of the material 76 in producing the bead 80 can continue unchanged and the amount of accumulated material 78 is reduced. The accumulator recesses 20 thus act as reservoirs of material 76 which can feed in to the gap 86 when required to maintain production of the bead 80. The invention thus enables the user to produce a clean, accurate, neat bead 80 at a consistent rate. Effectively, the rate of use of the material 76 in producing the bead 80 is decoupled from the rate of flow of the material 76 along the passages 16, 58. The applicator tool arrangement 10 smooths out the fluctuations in pressure produced by the operation of the gun.

The geometry of the wiper angles 34, 36, 38 permits the applicator tool arrangement 10 to be correctly and easily placed in the operating condition. The upper surface of the tool 12 includes a finger engaging surface 82, on which a user may position a finger in use to apply pressure to keep the applicator tool arrangement 10 in the operating condition. The tip end part 98 can be cut to size to provide a longer tip edge 30 and hence a wider bead 80, utilising if convenient the cutting notches 94.

The concave upper tip surface 83 provides a thinner tip end part 98 which permits the tip end part to be more easily cut, to be more flexible and to be more easily positioned in tight spaces, and also to stay clear of the bead 80.

In the operating condition, the wiper edges or surfaces 26 may be held against the substrate surfaces 72, 74 with sufficient force to cause some resilient deformation of the wiper edges or surfaces 26. The resiliently deformable property of the wiper edges or surfaces 26 permits the wiper edges or surfaces 26 to accommodate variations in the orientation of the substrate surfaces 72, 74 and variations in the surface smoothness of the substrate surfaces 72, 74.

When the required bead 80 has been applied, the applicator tool arrangement 10 is lifted away from the substrate surfaces 72, 74. The accumulator recesses 20 act as scoops, lifting the accumulated material 78 off the substrate surfaces 72, 74. The tool 12 can be cleaned of the accumulated material 78 and run again over the bead 80 as a smoothing tool. Thus a separate smoothing tool is not required.

If a conventional tool arrangement is required, for example, if a narrow gap has to be filled with material 76, the tool 12 can be dismounted from the support 50, and the gun operated to extrude material 76 from the support passage 58 at the tip 60. In another embodiment of the invention, the tool 12 is provided without the passage 16, or a plug (not shown) is provided to block the passage 16, and the tool 12 is used as a smoothing tool after the material had been applied by a conventional applicator as described above. The support 50 includes a handle part 51 for gripping by a user. Alternatively, a different, solid handle could be provided. In this embodiment, the references to the passage axis 16 in the description above will be understood by the skilled person to be references to the longitudinal axis 22. Figs 6 to 8 show another embodiment of the invention, many features of which are similar to those already described in relation to the embodiment of Figs 1 to 5. Therefore, for the sake of brevity, the following embodiment will only be described in so far as it differs from the embodiment already described. Where features are the same or similar, the same reference numerals have been used and the features will not be described again.

Figs 6 to 8 show a second applicator tool arrangement 1 10 comprising a tool 1 12 and a support 150. In this embodiment, the body part 14 extends to a tip 96. The wing parts 18 project forwardly of the tip 96 which is spaced from the tip surface 28 of the tool 1 12. The tip angle 32 could be 90 °. This provides a thicker extremity to the tip end part 98 which is longer lasting in use than that of the previous embodiment.

The first wiper angle 34 could be 90 °. The second wiper angle 36 (not shown) could be approximately 145°. The third wiper angle 38 could be 17.5°.

The tool 1 12 could be formed of a resiliently deformable TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) with a Shore A hardness of 75. This provides a more flexible tool 1 12. The inner walls of the barrel part 42 define three slot-like engaging recesses 92 extending longitudinally from the open end of the barrel part 42 and equi-spaced around the passage 16. The upper tip surface 83 defines a pair of cutting notches 94 which extend across the tip end part 98, and each of which provides a guide for cutting the tip end part 98 to a desired size, in accordance with the size of the bead required by a user. In one example, the tip surface 28 could have an initial width of 7mm; the first notch 94 could provide a tip surface 28 with a width of 10mm, and the second notch 94 could provide a tip surface 28 with a width of 12mm.

As the tip 96 is spaced from the tip surface 28, the tip end part 98 is more flexible and easier to cut than in the previous embodiment.

Fig 7 shows the support 150, which in this embodiment comprises three equispaced outwardly projecting longitudinally extending anti rotation ribs 90. In use, the tool 1 12 is push fit on to the support 150 so that the ribs 90 are received within the engaging recesses 92. The tool 1 12 is arranged to be a relatively tight fit to the support 50. The engagement of the ribs 90 in the recesses 92 prevents rotation of the tool 1 12 relative to the support 150. In contrast to the previous embodiment, in this embodiment the projecting part 54 of the support 150 extends the whole length and beyond of the tool passage 16. This means that in use the material 76 does not contact the inner walls of the passage 16, which hence do not need cleaning after use. Cleaning of material 76 such as adhesive or mastic from the inner walls of the passage 16 can be difficult to do successfully, and as well as being time consuming, if not properly done can lead to fouling of the passage 16, reducing the life of the tool 1 12. Thus, in this embodiment, the support 150 provides a nozzle, with the tool 1 12 providing a smoothing applicator. As in the previous embodiment, the tool 1 12 and the support 150 could be used separately, for example, the tool 1 12 being used on its own to smooth material 76 already applied.

The particular combination of wiper angles 34, 36, 38 has been found to provide an improved ease of application of material 76 in comparison with the previous embodiment. Otherwise the applicator tool arrangement 1 10 of this embodiment works similarly to that of the previous embodiment in that the accumulator recess 20 collects surplus material 76 to even out pressure fluctuations in the material 76 and enable a consistent even bead 80 to be applied.

Various other modifications could be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The applicator tool arrangement 10, and the components and individual features thereof could be of any suitable size and shape, and could be formed of any suitable material. The tip edge could be other than straight. For example, the tip edge could be curved, to produce a curved bead. The wing parts could, for example, be asymmetrical.

The support and the tool could be formed integrally.

Any of the features or steps of any of the embodiments shown or described could be combined in any suitable way, within the scope of the overall disclosure of this document.

There is thus provided an applicator tool arrangement which can be used with conventional applicator guns and cartridges, which permits a user to apply a bead of a viscous material such as sealant or mastic easily, quickly and neatly.

Claims

1 . An applicator tool arrangement for applying material such as sealant, mastic or other relatively viscous materials to a substrate surface, the applicator tool arrangement comprising a tool, the tool including a body part and a wing part which extends outwardly from the body part, the wing part including a wiper edge or surface and an accumulation surface, the tool being arranged so that in use the wiper edge or surface scrapes across the substrate surface to gather surplus material against the accumulation surface.

2. An arrangement according to claim 1 , in which the body part and the wing part together define an accumulator recess, in which, during use, the surplus material can be stored.

3. An arrangement according to claims 1 or 2, in which the tool includes two wing parts which extend oppositely outwardly from the body part, possibly substantially symmetrically.

4. An arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 3, in which the body part defines a through passage, through which material to be applied moves in use.

5. An arrangement according to any of the preceding claims, in which the applicator tool arrangement is for applying the material along a joint between a pair of substrate surfaces.

6. An arrangement according to any of the preceding claims, in which when the tool includes the two wing parts, the tool is arranged so that the wiper edges or surfaces of the wing parts each simultaneously scrape across a different one of the substrate surfaces, which may be arranged at substantially 90 ° to each other.

7. An arrangement according to any of the preceding claims, in which during use, the accumulation surface forms an acute angle with the joint.

8. An arrangement according to any of the preceding claims, in which the tool includes a tip surface, which extends from the wiper edge or surface, or between the wiper edge or surfaces.

9. An arrangement according to claim 8, in which the tip surface includes a tip edge, which has a length, which in use is associated with the width of the material applied.

10. An arrangement according to claims 8 or 9, in which the tip surface subtends a tip angle to a passage axis and/or a longitudinal axis of the tool, which is at least 30 ° and is up to 90 °, and more desirably is at least 40 °.

1 1 . An arrangement according to claim 3 or any claim dependent thereon, in which the wiper edges or surfaces of the wing parts are orientated at a first wiper angle to each other when viewed in plan along a normal to a passage axis and/or a longitudinal axis of the tool at the tip surface, which is at least 60 ° and up to 120 °, and more desirably is at least 80 ° and possibly no more than 95°.

12. An arrangement according to claim 3 or any claim dependent thereon, in which the wiper edges or surfaces of the wing parts are orientated at a second wiper angle to each other when viewed along a passage axis and/or a longitudinal axis of the tool, which is at least 90 °, and is less than 180 °, and more desirably is in a range between 128° and 150 °.

13. An arrangement according to claim 3 or any claim dependent thereon, in which the wiper edges or surfaces of the wing parts are orientated at a third wiper angle to a passage axis and/or a longitudinal axis of the tool when viewed along another normal to the passage axis and/or the longitudinal axis at the tip surface, which is at least 15° and up to 27°, and more desirably may be at least 17° and possibly no more than 22°.

14. An arrangement according to any of the preceding claims, in which the tool, or the or each wiper edge or surface, or the whole of the or each wing part is formed of a resiliently deformable material, which may have a Shore A hardness which may be at least 70, and may be less than 100, and more desirably is in a range between 75 and 90.

15. An arrangement according to claim 9 or any claim dependent thereon, in which the tool includes a tip end part which includes one or more guides for adjusting the length of the tip edge.

16. An arrangement according to any of the preceding claims, in which the tool includes a mounting for mounting the tool to a support in an assembled condition.

17. An arrangement according to any of the preceding claims, in which the applicator tool arrangement includes a support, which includes a tool mounting for the tool, the support defining a through passage through which material to be applied moves in use.

18. An arrangement according to claim 17, in which the tool mounting includes a projecting part, which, in the assembled condition, is received within the tool passage, and may extend the whole length of the tool passage.

19. A method of applying material such as sealant, mastic or other relatively viscous materials to a substrate surface, the method including providing an applicator tool arrangement, the applicator tool arrangement comprising a tool, the tool including a body part and a wing part which extends outwardly from the body part, the wing part including a wiper edge or surface and an accumulation surface, the tool being arranged so that in use the wiper edge or surface scrapes across the substrate surface to gather surplus material against the accumulation surface.

20. A method according to claim 19, in which the applicator tool arrangement includes any of the features of any of claims 1 to 18.

21 . An applicator tool arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described and/or with reference to any of the accompanying drawings.

22. A method of applying material such as sealant, mastic or other relatively viscous materials to a substrate surface substantially as hereinbefore described and/or with reference to any of the accompanying drawings.