U.S. patent number 3,797,946 [Application Number 05/154,270] was granted by the patent office on 1974-03-19 for adhesive spreader assembly.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Henkel & Cie GmbH. Invention is credited to Gabriella Kraus, Hans-Klaus Witzmann.
United States Patent |
3,797,946 |
Witzmann , et al. |
March 19, 1974 |
ADHESIVE SPREADER ASSEMBLY
Abstract
This invention relates to a spreader assembly for an adhesive
container having an elongated dispenser neck comprising a holder
containing a porous spreader adapted to adjustably, axially engage
the elongated dispenser neck whereby the position of the holder
containing said spreader can be adjusted relative to the dispenser
neck.
Inventors: |
Witzmann; Hans-Klaus
(Homburg/Saar, DT), Kraus; Gabriella (Dusseldorf,
DT) |
Assignee: |
Henkel & Cie GmbH
(Dusseldorf, DT)
|
Family
ID: |
5774363 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/154,270 |
Filed: |
June 18, 1971 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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|
|
|
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Jun 19, 1970 [DT] |
|
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2030196 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
401/116; 401/117;
401/196; 401/262; 401/266 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
35/36 (20130101); B65D 47/42 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
35/24 (20060101); B65D 47/42 (20060101); B65D
35/36 (20060101); B65D 47/00 (20060101); B43k
008/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;222/546,108,568,570,566,571,526,530,187
;401/116,117,190,204,137-139,183,266,131,209 ;128/239,260,261
;239/581,582 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Tollberg; Stanley H.
Assistant Examiner: Stack, Jr.; Norman L.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hammond & Littell
Claims
We claim:
1. An adhesive dispenser comprising an adhesive container having an
elongated dispenser neck, a holder containing a porous spreader
adjustably axially mounted on said elongated dispenser neck the
length of said holder containing said porous spreader being less
than the length of said neck, means for adjusting the position of
said holder containing said spreader, with reference to said
elongated neck such that in its fully extended position on said
dispenser neck said holder extends beyond the tip of said dispenser
neck and in its fully retracted position on said dispenser neck
said holder is below the tip of said dispenser neck, said adjusting
means comprising cooperating screw threads on the inner wall of
said holder and the outer wall of said elongated dispenser
neck.
2. The spreader assembly of claim 1 wherein said porous spreader is
a non-absorbent foamed plastics material.
3. The spreader assembly of claim 2 wherein said non-absorbent
foamed plastics material is selected from the group consisting of
polyethylene-foamed sponge and solvent-resistant, neoprene-foamed
sponge.
4. An adhesive dispenser comprising an adhesive container having an
elongated dispenser neck, a holder containing a porous spreader
adjustably axially mounted on said elongated dispenser neck, the
length of said holder containing said porous spreader being less
than the length of said neck, means for adjusting the position of
said holder containing said spreader, with reference to said
elongated neck such that in its fully extended position on said
dispenser neck said holder extends beyond the tip of said dispenser
neck and in its fully retracted position on said dispenser neck
said holder is below the tip of said dispenser neck, said adjusting
means on said elongated dispenser neck comprising means for
receiving a cap and said adhesive dispenser also comprising a cap
fully enclosing said holder containing a porous spreader and means
to plug the opening in said elongated dispenser neck.
5. The adhesive dispenser of claim 4 wherein said elongated
dispenser neck has external screw threads, siad holder has screw
threads in its inner wall cooperating with the screw threads on
said dispenser neck and said cap has an axial cylindrical inset
with screw threads in its inner wall cooperating with the screw
threads on said dispenser neck.
6. The adhesive dispenser of claim 4 wherein said cap has a coaxial
plug for engaging and sealing the mouth of said elongated dispenser
neck.
Description
THE PRIOR ART
Closure members or caps for adhesive containers are known which
generally incorporate a sponge-like distributing member firmly
connected to the neck of the container. The product to be applied
is in this case first squeezed out of the tube into the
distributing member, where it is soaked up, and is finally given up
again on coming in contact with the surface of the object to be
coated. In practice the use of these known closures for the
application of adhesive, especially adhesive solutions, is not
entirely satisfactory. This is owing to the fact that every
adhesive naturally tends to form a crust and after a short time the
distributing member, completely soaked with it, loses its
flexibility and consequently its suitability as a spreader. In
order to use up the contents of the tube completely, the user is,
therefore, compelled to remove the spongy distributing member and
to complete the application of the adhesive with another
instrument. In the case of adhesive solutions, distributing members
consisting of rubber, felt or the like could also become unusable
in a short time by the action of the solvent. Rubber, as is known,
may be destroyed by the effect of the solvent, while felt tends to
soak up the adhesive, which leads to the encrustation of the
spreader. Apart from this, with closure constructions of this type
it is not possible to apply the adhesive when necessary in points
or lines without complicated manipulations.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is the development of a spreader
assembly for an adhesive container which overcomes the deficiencies
of the prior art and is adjustable for different types of adhesive
application.
Another object of the present invention is the development of a
spreader assembly for an adhesive container having an elongated
dispenser neck comprising a holder containing a porous spreader
adapted to adjustably axially engage the elongated dispenser neck
whereby the position of the holder containing said spreader can be
adjusted relative to the dispenser neck.
A further object of the present invention is the development of an
adhesive dispenser comprising an adhesive container having an
elongated dispenser neck and a holder containing a porous spreader
adjustably, axially mounted on said elongated dispenser neck
whereby said holder containing said spreader in its fully extended
position on said dispenser neck extends beyond the tip of said
dispenser neck and in its fully retracted position on said
dispenser neck is below the tip of said dispenser neck. Optionally
the elongated dispenser neck is adapted to receive a cap which also
encloses said holder containing a porous spreader.
These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent
as the description thereof proceeds.
THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-section of the spreader assembly of
the invention mounted on the elongate dispenser neck of an adhesive
container together with a cap for the adhesive container.
FIG. 2 shows the spreader assembly in its fully extended
position.
FIG. 3 shows the spreader assembly in its fully retracted
position.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention a closure for adhesive containers,
especially tubes for solvent adhesive, consists of the container
neck with an opening for removal of adhesive, a closure cap and a
spreader consisting of porous material. The closure according to
the invention is characterized in that the container neck is
surrounded by an axially displaceable spreader, which in the
pushed-out position rises above the mouth of the container
neck.
The closure of the invention is an improvement over known container
closures with sponge-like distributing members in that a choice of
both a surface application or a point or line application is
possible for the application of adhesive, especially solvent
adhesive. Also, it lessens the possibility of the sponge-like
distributing member becoming unusable by encrustation.
Through the axially displaceability of the spreader of the
invention along the neck of the container it is possible to provide
both a flat surface and a point or line application of adhesive as
desired. In the first case the spreader merely needs to be moved
out so far that it rises above the mouth of the container neck. The
adhesive pressed out of the mouth of the neck then goes through the
aperture in the spreader, the size of which corresponds to the
outside periphery of the container neck, which is suitably
constructed like a canula, on to the object to be spread with
adhesive, where it can then be distributed over the surface by
means of the spreader. If, on the other hand, a point or line
application of adhesive is desired, the spreader must be moved back
until the mouth of the container neck is exposed. The application
is then effected without using the spreader.
It is further advantageous for the spreader to be made of
non-absorptive, expanded plastic, preferably expanded plastics
material having closed cells particularly polyethylene-foamed
sponge. Neoprene-foamed sponge is also suitable provided it is
prepared to be stable to solvents.
As is known, expanded plastics material may have optionally a
closed or an open cell structure, depending upon the conditions of
the foaming process during its production. It need not be mentioned
that in practice an open cell structure means a structure in which
the number of open cells outweighs that of the closed cells, and,
vice versa, in a closed cell structure the closed cells outweigh
the open cells.
It has now been found surprisingly that the closed cell structure
of the expanded plastics material which is preferred in the
practice of the invention is specially suitable for the spreader,
since it does not tend to absorb adhesive. The decisive difference
between the known forms of the spreader consisting of sponge
plastic and that consisting of closed cell expanded plastic is
that, in the case of the former, the whole of the spreader is
permeated with adhesive before an application to the object is
possible, whereas in the case of the latter, the adhesive comes out
through the aperture present in the spreader on to the object and
then is simply distributed with the top face of the spreader
without penetrating to any appreciable extent into the expanded
plastic. Small amounts of residual adhesive occasionally appearing
on the top of the spreader can be removed by simply cutting off a
thin layer of foamed material without its function being thereby
impaired. This form permits a trouble-free operation until the
contents of the container are completely used.
The use of polyethylene- or neoprene-foamed sponge with the above
reservation is particularly advised when solvent-containing types
of adhesive are to be used.
It is further expedient for the closure cap, constructed in one
piece, to surround the spreader on all sides jointly with the
shoulder on the container, to have the shape of a screw cap and
corresponding to the opposite screw thread formed on the container
neck or on the container shoulder, and to have a coaxial plug,
which fills the mouth of the container neck when the cap is screwed
on.
Owing to this, clogging of adhesive in the mouth of the container
neck is prevented when the closure is in the closed state, so that
after every opening, adhesive can immediately come out without
being prevented by an encrusted stopper.
Finally, in order to provide clean handling, the screw cap is
shaped so that, jointly with the container shoulder, it surrounds
the spreader on all sides.
In addition, it is advantageous for the spreader to be attached to
a holder preferably consisting of a plastic material, which has a
screw thread which corresponds to the thread on the container neck.
Owing to this, the difficulty of handling the naturally flexible,
expanded plastic material which may occur when it is pushed on the
container neck, is avoided. The axial displacement of the spreader
is, therefore, effected by corresponding rotation of the holder
relative to the container neck. At the same time this prevents a
possible encrustation of the aperture of the spreader.
The advantages of the closure according to the invention lie on the
one hand, as explained, in the possibility of applying adhesive,
especially solvent-containing adhesive, without dirtying the hands,
optionally either on a surface or in points or lines, while in the
former case the troublesome, so-called filament spinning of the
adhesive is also greatly reduced, so that in practice this tiresome
condition no longer gives trouble. However, the fact that
additional applicators, such as combs and the like, can be omitted,
which are easily lost, may be a more important advantage especially
for repair purposes. Apart from this, the invention is useful for
applying adhesive to objects consisting of tissue paper or similar
material which would be easily damaged by use of hard spreader.
The invention will be described further, by way of example, with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section through a spreader screwed on a
tube and showing the cap;
FIG. 2 is the spreader in the pushed-up position for surface
application of adhesive, and
FIG. 3 is the spreader in the moved-back position for point or line
application of adhesive.
Referring to the drawings, a tube or other adhesive container 1
(see FIG. 1) having an elongated neck 2 with a screw thread 3 on
the outside thereof is adapted to receive a holder 4 carrying a
spreader 5 screwed thereon. The holder 4 itself has a screw thread
corresponding with the thread 3, so that it is possible to turn the
holder 4 and with it the spreader 5 in and out of engagement with
the tube 1. Instead of a screw thread arrangement, the holder 4 can
be frictionally engaged with the neck 2 and can be moved by sliding
along neck 2. The spreader 5 consists of non-absorptive expanded
plastics material, preferably polyethylene- or neoprene-foamed
sponge.
A screw cap 6, constructed in one part, with an elongated
cylindrical extension, together with a shoulder 7 on the tube,
surrounds the spreader 5 on all sides. The cap 6 carries a coaxial
flange 8, positioned on its inner side, having a screw thread which
corresponds with the thread 3 of the neck 2 of the tube. The screw
cap 6 could also be constructed with threads on the inner side of
the elongated cylindrical extension adapted to engage external
threads on the shoulder of the tube 1. After unscrewing the screw
cap 6, the holder 4 together with the spreader 5 can then be turned
out of engagement until the spreader 5 rises above (see FIG. 2) the
tube neck 2, which is in the form of a canula. The adhesive comes
out through an aperture 9 and can be distributed by the top surface
10 of the spreader 5 on to the object to be provided with
adhesive.
If, on the other hand, the adhesive is merely to be applied in
points and lines, the holder 4 (see FIG. 3) is turned back towards
the shoulder 7 of the tube until the mouth 11 of the neck 2 of the
tube is open. The application then takes place without the spreader
5.
Finally, the screw cap 6 (see FIG. 1) also carries a coaxial plug
12 which, when the cap 6 is screwed on, fills the mouth 11 of the
tube neck 2 and prevents leakage of the adhesive and encrustation
there. The screw thread mounting of the cap 6 may be dispensed with
and the same may be secured to the mouth 11 of neck 2 by frictional
engagement with plug 12.
The preceding specific embodiments is illustrative of the practice
of the invention. It is to be understood, however, that other
expedients known to those skilled in the art or disclosed herein,
may be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention
or the scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *