US3640431A - Shutoff nozzle for caulking cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

The caulking cartridge includes an end closure disc fixed in place at one end of the cylindrical body of the cartridge. The shutoff discharge nozzle comprises a circular base or flange portion seated against the end closure disc and rotatably mounted relative thereto. The dispensing opening formed in the closure disc and the discharge passage in the nozzle, which are radially offset with respect to the axis of rotation of the nozzle by substantially the same distance, may be aligned to permit dispensing of the material or nonaligned to prevent dispensing and drooling of the material upon rotation of the cartridge body relative to the discharge nozzle without removing the cartridge from the caulking gun.

Description

United States Patent Plumer Feb. 8, 1972 4 [22] Filed:

[54] SHUTOFF NOZZLE FOR CAULKING CARTRIDGE [52] US. Cl ..222/48, 222/167, 222/326, 222/387, 222/537, 222/548 [51] Int. Cl. ..GOIf 11/06 [58] Field of Search ..222/326, 327, 387, 537, 548, 222/555, 167,48

2,931,541 4/1960 Southwell ..222/548X 3,138,303 6/1964 Hoveland ..222/387X 3,369,714 2/1968 Dewersetal. ..222/327 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 620,069 3/1949 Great Britain ..222/548 Primary Examiner-Robert B. Reeves Assistant ExaminerFrederick R. l-landren Attorney-Bacon 81. Thomas [57] ABSTRACT The caulking cartridge includes an end closure disc fixed in place at one end of the cylindrical body of the cartridge. The shutoff discharge nozzle comprises a circular base or flange portion seated against the end closure disc and rotatably mounted relative thereto. The dispensing opening formed in the closure disc and the discharge passage in the nozzle, which are radially offset with respect to the axis of rotation of the nozzle by substantially the same distance, may be aligned to permit dispensing of the material or nonaligned to prevent dispensing and drooling of the material upon rotation of the cartridge body relative to the discharge nozzle without removing the cartridge from the caulking gun.

6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures SIIUTOFF NOZZLE FOR CAULKING CARTRIDGE This invention relates to a cartridge for mastic or caulking material and includes a shutoff arrangement so that the material may be prevented from discharging or drooling when the cartridge is not in use.

In prior known cartridges for dispensing caulking material or other like mastic substance, there is no provision for preventing the undesirable drooling or discharge of the mastic material from the cartridge tip as a result of the internal compressive forces on the mastic material in the cartridge which is not immediately relieved when the plunger of the caulking gun no longer applies pressure to the material.

It is therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a cartridge for mastic material arranged so that undesirable drooling or discharge of the material contained therein may be prevented.

- Another object of the invention is to provide a shutoff nozzle for a caulking cartridge which is operable without removing the cartridge from the caulking gun.

A further object of the invention is to provide a shutoff tip for a mastic material cartridge which is readily mountable on one end of a conventional cartridge body.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a dispensing cartridge for mastic material having a shutoff nozzle for controlling the discharge of the material.

Additional objects of the invention are to provide a rotatable, shutoff nozzle for a caulking cartridge which is convenient to operate, of rugged construction, and inexpensive to produce.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become more apparent from the following specification when taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view, partly broken away, of a caulking gun with a caulking cartridge mounted therein;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the caulking gun as viewed from the left of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical, sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2 showing the dispensing opening in the end of the cartridge aligned with the discharge passage in the discharge nozzle;

FIG. 4 is a transverse, vertical, sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIG. 3 showing the dispensing opening in alignment with the discharge passage;

FIG. 5 is a transverse, vertical, sectional view similar to FIG. 4 showing the cartridge rotated with respect to the discharge tip and with the dispensing opening in the cartridge in a closed position out of alignment with the tip discharge passage; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, vertical, sectional view similar to FIG. 3 showing a modified arrangement of the discharge nozzle and the end of the cartridge.

Thecartridge 1 shown in the drawings includes an elongatedcylindrical body portion 3 formed of treated cardboard, plastic or other suitable material for holding caulking or like mastic material 5. A slidable piston 7 is mounted in thebody 3 in the conventional manner and forms a movable end wall for the mastic material 5.

As shown in FIG. 3, the end of thecartridge 1 from which the mastic material 5 is discharged includes acircular end wall 9 fixed to the end of thecartridge body 3 by an adhesive or by other suitable means. Theend wall 9 may be formed of molded polyethylene, treated cardboard, or other suitable material and is provided with a dispensingopening 11 which is offset radially a substantial distance from the center of the end wall.

The outer surface of theend wall 9 is formed with acircular depression 13 which is concentric with theend wall 9 and which has aflat bottom surface 14. The inner surface of theend wall 9 is formed with anannular shoulder 16 which fits snugly within the end of thebody 3 and strengthens the end of the cartridge.

A unitary shutoff nozzle preferably formed of molded plastic material, such as polyethylene, includes a flatcircular base portion 17 and adischarge tip portion 19. The diameter of thecircular base 17 is slightly smaller than the diameter of thecircular depression 13 so that theshutoff nozzle 15 may rotate relative to theend wall 9.

Thecircular base 17 is maintained seated in thecircular depression 13 and in engagement with theend wall 9 by means of anannular metal collar 21 of generally L-shaped configuration as viewed in transverse cross section.

One edge of themetal collar 21 is crimped inwardly as at 23 into the outer surface of thecartridge body 3 for fixedly anchoring thecollar 21 in place on the cartridge body. The other edge of themetal collar 21 is turned inwardly as at 25 toward thecircular base 17 of theshutoff nozzle 15. Theedge 26 of the turned-inportion 25 of themetal collar 21 is disposed a short distance inwardly from the periphery of thecircular base 17 and is spaced from the outer surface of theend wall 9 a distance which is only very slightly greater than the thickness of thecircular base 17 so that the circular base may rotate freely in thecircular depression 13 while being held in contact with theend wall 9 by theedge 26.

Thedepression 13 and themetal collar 21 provide means for rotatably mounting theshutoff nozzle 15 on theend wall 9 of the cartridge.

Thedischarge tip 19 is of generally conventional configuration and includes acylindrical portion 27 terminating in an outwardly extendingconical portion 29. When molded the outer end of thedischarge tip 19 is closed but, as shown in FIG. 3, the tip end has been cut off.

The dispensingopening 11 is offset for a substantial distance with respect to the axis of thecartridge body 3 and with respect to the center of thecircular depression 13. Thedischarge tip 19 is also offset with regards to the axis about which thecircular base 17 rotates and the distance which the discharge tip is offset from the center of thecircular base 17 is substantially the same distance that the dispensingopening 11 is offset from the center of the circular depression so that thedischarge passage 31 extending through thedischarge tip 19 and through thecircular base 17 may be moved into and out of alignment with the dispensing opening 11 upon rotation of the shutoff nozzle.

Thecaulking gun 35 shown in FIG. 1 is of generally conventional construction and includes ahandle portion 37, apiston rod 39 having apiston head 41 at one end for pressing against the dispensing piston 7 and abent handle portion 43 at the other end thereof for manually moving thepiston rod 39; achamber portion 45 for receiving a caulking cartridge and afront end wall 47. l

Thecaulking cartridge 1 is confined between thefront end wall 47 and thehead 49 ofthehandle portion 37 with thedischarge tip 19 of the cartridge extending through avertical slot 51 formed in thefront wall 47. Thepiston rod 39 is advanced for applying pressure to the mastic material 5 in the cartridge by means of atrigger mechanism 53 engageable with the ratchet teeth 55 formed on thepiston rod 39.

The width of thevertical slot 51 is slightly greater than the diameter of thecylindrical portion 27 of thedischarge tip 19 so that the tip can slide in the slot as the caulking cartridge is inserted and removed from thecaulking gun 35 but lateral movement of the shutofi'nozzle 15 is prevented by the opposed walls of the slot.

When the cartridge is in the caulking gun and it is desired to dispense the mastic material 5 from the cartridge, thebody 3 is gripped and manually rotated relative to the caulking gun and theshutoff nozzle 15 until the nozzle and the cartridge are disposed in the position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 with the dispensing opening 11 in alignment with thedischarge passage 31. It is understood, of course, that theshutoff nozzle 15 does not rotate when the cartridge body is turned. Thepiston head 41 of the caulking gun is then moved against the dispensing piston 7 and thetrigger mechanism 53 is operated to apply pressure to the mastic material in the cartridge.

When it is no longer desired to dispense the mastic material, thepiston rod 39 may be turned manually by means of thebent handle 43 to relieve the piston rod pressure on the material. Whether or not the pressure has been so relieved, thebody 3 of the caulking cartridge may then be gripped by hand and rotated to move the dispensing opening 11 out of alignment with thedischarge passage 31 so that the mastic material will not drool or be discharged from thetip 19.

The flat surface of thecircular base 17, which is in engagement with the flat surface of thedepression 13, covers the dispensing opening 11 when it is not in alignment with thedischarge passage 31 and forms a valve for effectively closing thedischarge passage 31. By closing the shutoff nozzle immediately after finishing dispensing the mastic material, the internal compressive forces on the material which are not immediately relieved, cannot force additional undesirable material out of the tip but these forces may dissipate by acting in the opposite direction to move the dispensing piston 7 rearwardly. As shown in FIG. 5, the cartridge body has been rotated from the position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and the dispensingopening 11 is out of alignment with thedischarge passage 31 of thetip 19.

Since the dispensingopening 11 is not visible, areference depression 75 is formed on the outer surface of thebody 3 adjacent thecollar 21 and in alignment with the point where the periphery of theopening 11 is nearest the outer edge of theend wall 9, to indicate the location of said dispensing opening. It will be seen that the opening 11 may be readily and accu rately aligned with thepassage 31 by aligning thereference depression 75 with the axis of thetip 19.

In the modification shown in FIG. 6, the discharge tip 19a is provided with acircular base 17a seated in a circular depression 13a formed in theend wall 9a. Acylindrical projection 60 formed at the center of thecircular base 17a extends through acircular opening 62 formed in the center of the depression 13a. Ahead 64 formed on the outer end of theprojection 60 engages theinner surface 66 of the end wall 90 and assists in holding thebase 17a against thewall 9a. This arrangement assures that the contiguous flat surface of the end wall 90 and the flat surface of thecircular base 17a will remain in sliding contact when the cartridge body is rotated relative to the discharge tip 13a. Thehead 64 may be molded on the end of theprojection 60 or it may be in the form of a metal rivet fixedly secured to the projection.

It will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact construction shown and described herein but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

1. In combination, a caulking gun having an open top, cartridge-receiving chamber; pressure-applying mechanism mounted at one end of the chamber; and an end plate having a caulking cartridge discharge tip receiving slot formed therein fixed to the other end of the chamber, and a caulking cartridge having a discharge nozzle extending outwardly from the discharge end thereof disposed in said chamber with the discharge tip of the nozzle extending through said slot, the end wall of the cartridge at said discharge end having a dispensing opening formed therein which is radially ofiset a substantial distance from the longitudinal axis of the cartridge, said discharge nozzle having a discharge tip and a base disposed contiguous to the outer surface of said end wall, and means mounting the base of said discharge nozzle on said cartridge for rotation about the longitudinal axis of the cartridge, the surface of the base being in sliding frictional engagement with the opposed surface of the end wall and providing a valve closure for said dispensing opening, the discharge tip and the discharge passage in the tip and base being offset radially with respect to the longitudinal axis of the cartridge by substantially the same distance that the dispensing opening is offset, the tip of the discharge nozzle having a close sliding fit in said slot and being held against rotation relative to said end plate by the opposed sidewalls of the slot, whereby by manually grasping the exposed body of the cartridge while it is in operative position in the caulking gun and rotating it relative to the discharge nozzle the discharge passage may be selectively brought into alignment with said dispensing opening for discharging material from the cartridge and tip or moved out of alignment therewith for closing the dispensing opening and preventing the flow of material through said dispensing openmg.

2. The combination according toclaim 1 in which indicating means is carried on the outer surface of the cartridge adjacent the discharge end thereof and is located in radial alignment with the dispensing opening where it is nearest the peripheral surface of the cartridge.

3. The combination according to claim I in which the base of the discharge nozzle is flat and circular and the means mounting the discharge nozzle on the end wall comprises a circular depression formed in the outer surface of the end wall, the circular base being seated in said depression for rotation therein, and an annular collar fixed to the body of the cartridge and bearing against the outer face of said base.

4. The combination according toclaim 3 in which visual indicating means is carried on the outer surface of the cartridge body adjacent the end carrying the discharge nozzle, said indicating means being located in alignment with the dispensing opening at the point where the periphery of the dispensing opening is at the least radial distance from the peripheral surface of the cartridge.

5. In combination, a caulking gun having a cartridge-receiving chamber with an access opening along the top thereof; pressure-applying mechanism mounted at one end of the chamber; and an end plate having a caulking cartridge discharge tip receiving opening formed therein fixed to the other end of the chamber, and a caulking cartridge having a discharge nozzle extending outwardly from the discharge end thereof disposed in said chamber with the discharge tip of the nozzle extending through said opening, means mounting said discharge nozzle on said cartridge for rotation relative thereto, said cartridge having an end wall formed with a dispensing opening, and valve means for said dispensing opening actuated by rotation of said cartridge relative to said nozzle for controlling the discharge of material from the cartridge through said dispensing opening, the tip of the discharge nozzle having a close fit in the end plate opening and being held against rotation relative to said end plate by the opposed walls of said end plate opening, whereby by manually grasping the exposed body of the cartridge while it is in operative position in the caulking gun and rotating it relative to the discharge nozzle, the discharge passage may be selectively brought into alignment with said dispensing opening for discharging material from the cartridge and tip or moved out of alignment therewith for closing the dispensing opening and preventing the flow of material through said dispensing opening.

6. In combination, a caulking gun having an open-top, cartridge-receiving chamber; pressure-applying mechanism mounted at one end of the chamber; and an end plate having a caulking cartridge discharge tip receiving opening formed therein fixed to the other end of the chamber, and a caulking cartridge having a discharge nozzle rotatably mounted thereon and extending outwardly from the discharge end thereof disposed in said chamber with the discharge tip of the nozzle extending through said opening, the wall of said opening engaging said discharge tip preventing rotation of said discharge nozzle relative to said end plate, said cartridge comprising an elongated, substantially rigid, cylindrical body; an end wall closing the discharge end of the body and having a dispensing opening formed therein; a dispensing piston slidably mounted in said body for movement from the end of the body opposite said end wall to adjacent said end wall in response to pressure applied thereto by said pressure-applying mechanism; and valve means operable for controlling the discharge of caulking material from the cartridge through said dispensing opening and discharge nozzle when pressure is applied to material in said body by way of said sliding piston, said valve means being operable by manually grasping the exposed body of the cartridge while it is in operative position in the caulking gun and rotating it relative to the cartridge-receiving chamber.

Claims (6)

1. In combination, a caulking gun having an open top, cartridgereceiving chamber; pressure-applying mechanism mounted at one end of the chamber; and an end plate having a caulking cartridge discharge tip receiving slot formed therein fixed to the other end of the chamber, and a caulking cartridge having a discharge nozzle extending outwardly from the discharge end thereof disposed in said chamber with the discharge tip of the nozzle extending through said slot, the end wall of the cartridge at said discharge end having a dispensing opening formed therein which is radially offset a substantial distance from the longitudinal axis of the cartridge, said discharge nozzle having a discharge tip and a base disposed contiguous to the outer surface of said end wall, and means mounting the base of said discharge nozzle on said cartridge for rotation about the longitudinal axis of the cartridge, the surface of the base being in sliding frictional engagement with the opposed surface of the end wall and providing a valve closure for said dispensing opening, the discharge tip and the discharge passage in the tip and base being offset radially with respect to the longitudinal axis of the cartridge by substantially the same distance that the dispensing opening is offset, the tip of the discharge nozzle having a close sliding fit in said slot and being held against rotation relative to said end plate by the opposed sidewalls of the slot, whereby by manually grasping the exposed body of the cartridge while it is in operative position in the caulking gun and rotating it relative to the discharge nozzle the discharge passage may be selectively brought into alignment with said dispensing opening for discharging material from the cartridge and tip or moved out of alignment therewith for closing the dispensing opening and preventing the flow of material through said dispensing opening.

2. The combination according to claim 1 in which indicating means is carried on the outer surface of the cartridge adjacent the discharge end thereof and is located in radial alignment with the dispensing opening where it is nearest the peripheral surface of the cartridge.

3. The combination according to claim 1 in which the base of the discharge nozzle is flat and circular and the means mounting the discharge nozzle on the end wall comprises a circular depression formed in the outer surface of the end wall, the circular base being seated in said depression for rotation therein, and an annular collar fixed to the body of the cartridge and bearing against the outer face of said base.

4. The combination according to claim 3 in which visual indicating means is carried on the outer surface of the cartridge body adjacent the end carrying the discharge nozzle, said indicating means being located in alignment with the dispensing opening at the point where the periphery of the dispensing opening is at the least radial distance from the peripheral surface of the cartridge.

5. In combination, a caulking gun having a cartridge-receiving chamber with an access opening along the top thereof; pressure-applying mechanism mounted at one end of the chamber; and an end plate having a caulking cartridge discharge tip receiving opening formed therein fixed to the other end of the chamber, and a caulking cartridge having a discharge nozzle extending outwardly from the discharge end thereof disposed in said chamber with the discharge tip of the nozzle extending through said opening, means mounting said discharge nozzle on said cartridge for Rotation relative thereto, said cartridge having an end wall formed with a dispensing opening, and valve means for said dispensing opening actuated by rotation of said cartridge relative to said nozzle for controlling the discharge of material from the cartridge through said dispensing opening, the tip of the discharge nozzle having a close fit in the end plate opening and being held against rotation relative to said end plate by the opposed walls of said end plate opening, whereby by manually grasping the exposed body of the cartridge while it is in operative position in the caulking gun and rotating it relative to the discharge nozzle, the discharge passage may be selectively brought into alignment with said dispensing opening for discharging material from the cartridge and tip or moved out of alignment therewith for closing the dispensing opening and preventing the flow of material through said dispensing opening.

6. In combination, a caulking gun having an open-top, cartridge-receiving chamber; pressure-applying mechanism mounted at one end of the chamber; and an end plate having a caulking cartridge discharge tip receiving opening formed therein fixed to the other end of the chamber, and a caulking cartridge having a discharge nozzle rotatably mounted thereon and extending outwardly from the discharge end thereof disposed in said chamber with the discharge tip of the nozzle extending through said opening, the wall of said opening engaging said discharge tip preventing rotation of said discharge nozzle relative to said end plate, said cartridge comprising an elongated, substantially rigid, cylindrical body; an end wall closing the discharge end of the body and having a dispensing opening formed therein; a dispensing piston slidably mounted in said body for movement from the end of the body opposite said end wall to adjacent said end wall in response to pressure applied thereto by said pressure-applying mechanism; and valve means operable for controlling the discharge of caulking material from the cartridge through said dispensing opening and discharge nozzle when pressure is applied to material in said body by way of said sliding piston, said valve means being operable by manually grasping the exposed body of the cartridge while it is in operative position in the caulking gun and rotating it relative to the cartridge-receiving chamber.

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