Device for moistening and cleaning and cartridge gun with such a device

Abstract

A device is presented for moistening and cleaning smoothing tools or fingers of a hand used for smoothing sealing and / or adhesive joints, in particular silicone seams, with a reservoir for a surface-active liquid, which is filled with an absorbent, elastic sponge material and has a contact opening for the sponge material that is open to the outside of the reservoir, wherein a stripping surface element (6) for sealing and / or adhesive residues is arranged on the outside of the reservoir (1) and the reservoir (1) has a clamping device (7) for coupling the device to the outside of the housing of a cartridge gun (13).Furthermore, a cartridge gun is presented with an actuating device for a piston that can be moved inside a cartridge for a sealing and / or adhesive compound such as silicone, and with a housing for the cartridge, which has a device for moistening and cleaning smoothing tools or fingers of a hand used to smooth sealing and / or adhesive compound joints, in particular silicone seams, on the outside of the housing (15). The device has a reservoir (1) for a surface-active liquid that is designed in one piece with the housing (15), which is filled with an absorbent, elastic sponge material (4) and has a contact opening (5) for the sponge material (4) that is open to the outside of the reservoir (1), wherein a scraping surface element (6) for sealing and / or adhesive compound residues is arranged on the outside of the reservoir (1).

Description

Technical EnvironmentThe invention relates to a device for moistening and cleaning smoothing tools or fingers of a hand used for smoothing joints of sealing and / or adhesive, in particular silicone seams, with a storage container for a surface-active liquid, which is filled with an absorbent, elastic sponge material and has a contact opening for the sponge material, which contact opening is open to the outside of the storage container.The invention furthermore relates to a cartridge gun having an actuating device for a plunger which can be displaced in the interior of a cartridge for sealing and / or adhesive compound such as silicone, and having a housing for the cartridge.Prior ArtDevices for moistening and cleaning tools or also fingers of a hand, which are used for smoothing sealing and / or adhesive joints, in particular silicone seams, are known in a wide variety of embodiments from the prior art. For example, DE 296 05294 U1 discloses a device referred to there as a device for forming and smoothing joint materials, in which liquid is wetted from a storage container onto a roller for smoothing a joint after application thereof.Furthermore, DE 199 10397 U1 showed a device for moistening the fingers of one hand during the smoothing of sealing or adhesive compound, which is likewise equipped with a corresponding storage container.Finally, DE 199 10 397 A1 discloses a device for moistening the fingers of a hand during smoothing of sealing and / or adhesive compositions, in particular during smoothing of silicone seams, which device comprises a container provided with an opening for receiving liquid, a fastening device for attaching to a belt, wherein the liquid reservoir consists of absorbent, elastic material,Cartridge guns of the type described above are known, for example, from DE 10 2015 121 669 B4. Such cartridge guns consist of a housing, a handle, a trigger and a holder for the cartridge. The cartridge contains the joint filling material which is pressed by the trigger from a nozzle arranged at the front of the cartridge gun. The nozzle may be exchanged as needed.Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 9,027,796 B1 discloses a cartridge gun which does not have a container for liquid, but in which the user can remove adhesive residues by means of a scraping element.Such a scraping element is also known from US 2013 / 0134182 A1.The usual procedure for applying silicone seals, for example, involves several method steps. First, a bead of silicone material is applied to the joint to be sealed by the cartridge gun. After this application of material, the joint must be smoothened, which is usually carried out by suitable smoothing tools or in the simplest way by means of a finger. In order for the smoothing process to take place, the smoothing tool or the finger must be moistened. The excess material stripped off during the smoothing process must optionally be removed in order to be able to continue the smoothing process in a high-quality manner.For moistening tools or fingers, simple bucket-shaped containers are often used; cleaning is often carried out on work clothes or corresponding fabric flaps.It is easily understood that the use of fabric flaps and buckets is complicated from a working point of view, especially when working on ladders at a corresponding height.Object of the InventionProceeding from the above-described problem when using conventional cartridge guns, the object of the invention is to provide an aid with which the smoothing process of silicone joints or other material applications can be carried out in a time-saving and ergonomic manner.In addition, cost-effective production and universal applicability should be ensured.Solution of the ProblemAccording to the invention, the object set is achieved for a device for moistening and cleaning according to the technical teaching of the features of claim 1.For achieving the object, it is essential to the invention to arrange on the outer side of the storage container a wiping surface element for residues of sealing and / or adhesive compound which is formed as a rectangular, plate-shaped projection fixed to the storage container by a longitudinal edge, the longitudinal edge opposite the storage container has a plurality of semicircularly shaped recesses with different depth radius and to provide the storage container with a clamping device for coupling the device to the outer side of the housing of a cartridge gun.The described structural design makes it possible to dispense with the use of separate buckets and cleaning agents. All working steps necessary for a high quality of smoothing of an applied silicone joint can be carried out directly with the aid of the invention arranged on the cartridge gun.It enables clean and simple processing of excess joint filling material without additional auxiliary means and prevents soiling of clothing and hands by the material used.The invention saves time and material, since the device according to the invention, which is subsequently arranged on the cartridge gun by means of the clamping device, allows uniform moistening of the fingers by the integrated sponge and, in addition, removes the superfluous material on the wiping surface element, so that a high-quality smoothing of silicone joints and the like can take place without great effort. The invention can of course be used for various kinds of joint filling material such as acrylic, L10, silicone and the like. The invention is particularly suitable for painting and other manual operations on construction sites.It has proven to be particularly advantageous if the wiping surface element is formed as a rectangular, plate-shaped projection fixed to the storage container by a longitudinal edge. The longitudinal edge can be configured in a straight line, but alternatively the configuration of the longitudinal edge as a scraping element with a semicircular depression is also possible. This design is particularly suitable for stripping material from fingers.A plurality of semicircular depressions having different depth radii can be arranged on the wiping surface element. It makes it possible in this way to clean the different finger contours of different users in an optimum manner.Particular embodiments of the subject matter of the invention, taken together with the technical teaching of claim 1, additionally result from the features of the dependent claims which refer back to claim 1.From a constructional point of view, the clamping device present on the device according to the invention has the features of a U-shaped cross section with two legs projecting substantially perpendicularly from the underside of the storage container and a coupling element connecting the two legs, wherein the interior of the U-shaped cross section formed by the two legs and the coupling element has a circular shape which is correspondingly adapted to the outer diameter of the housing of the cartridge gun used.The fact that the clamping device and optionally the storage container are manufactured from elastic plastic material and are formed in one piece allows a manufacturing process by means of injection molding technology and moreover ensures adaptation to different diameters of cartridge housings by means of the elasticity of the material used, wherein it should be noted that the standardization of silicone cartridges and containers filled with other joint material generally does not require adaptation to different diameters.According to an expedient development of the subject matter of the invention, the structural design of the device provides for the wiping element to be fixed, as an alternative to the arrangement on the storage container, projecting at right angles on the outer side of one of the limbs of the clamping device.The solution of the problem set with regard to the cartridge gun of the generic type is obtained from the technical teaching described in the features of the claim.It is essential to the invention that a device for moistening and cleaning smoothing tools or fingers of a hand used for smoothing sealing and / or adhesive compound joints, in particular silicone seams, is arranged on the outside of the housing, which device comprises a reservoir for a surface-active liquid, which reservoir is configured in one piece with the housing and is filled with an absorbent, elastic sponge material and has a contact opening for the sponge material, which contact opening is open to the outside of the reservoir, wherein a wiping surface element for sealing and / or adhesive compound residues is arranged on the outside of the reservoir, which wiping surface element is configured as a rectangular, plate-shaped projection fixed to the reservoir by a longitudinal edge, wherein the longitudinal edge opposite the reservoir has a plurality of semicircularly shaped recesses with different depth radius.The described structural design combines a conventional and known cartridge gun with design features which, just as described above, likewise make it possible to retrofit an already used cartridge gun with the device according to Claims 1 to 8 to carry out corresponding smoothing operations of silicone joints or the like ergonomically and to be able to dispense with corresponding auxiliary means up to now.The clamping device for mounting on the cartridge gun present in the device according to claim 1 is replaced by a solid, one-piece connection of the reservoir container to the housing for the cartridge implanted during the production of the cartridge guns.The expedient configuration of arranging a plurality of semicircular depressions having different depth radius on the wiping surface element. In this way, it is possible to clean the different finger contours of different users in an optimum manner. Particular embodiments of the described cartridge guns according to the invention correspond substantially to the advantageous embodiments of the devices according to claim 1.According to an expedient development of the subject matter of the invention, the structural design of the device provides for the wiping element to be fixed protruding at right angles, as an alternative to the arrangement on the storage container on the outer side of the housing for the cartridge.DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURESThe subject matters belonging to the invention of the device according to claim 1 and of the cartridge gun according to claim 9 are explained in more detail below with reference to the attached drawings. It shows: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the subject matter of the invention according to claim 1, FIG. 2 shows a sectional illustration through the device from FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the object of the cartridge gun according to claim 9, and FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the object of the cartridge gun according to claim 1 placed on the housing of a cartridge gun.The device according to the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 for moistening and cleaning smoothing tools or fingers of a hand, which are used for smoothing joints of sealing and / or adhesive, in particular of silicone seams, has a storage container 1, into which a liquid is introduced for the moistening process, preferably surface-active, i.e. mixed with rinsing agent, in order to reduce the surface tension.Absorbent, elastic sponge material 4 is inserted into the storage container 1. The sponge material 4 sucks up the liquid introduced and prevents it from escaping again after filling, provided that the device is held at an angle. On the upper side facing away from the base 2 of the storage container 1, the latter has a contact opening 5, through which access to the sponge material 4 can take place, so that the smoothing tool or the finger can be used with liquid.The base 2 is part of a U-shaped clamping device 7 which consists of two opposing legs 10 and 11 and a coupling element 12 which connects the legs 10 and 11 and simultaneously forms the base 2 of the storage container 1. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the two legs 10 and 11 are designed with different lengths, which is due to the fact that, according to the invention, a wiping element 6 is arranged on the leg 10 so as to project outward at right angles.The legs 10 and 11 as well as the coupling element 12 have a round shape when viewed in plan view, so that they can be plugged onto a housing 15 of a cartridge gun 13 from the outside. The clamping is facilitated by the selection of the device material, which is preferably made of elastic plastic.It is of course conceivable for the wiping surface element 6 also to be arranged at another location of the device, for example one of the side walls 3 of the storage container 1.In the illustrated embodiment according to FIGS. 1 and 2, the longitudinal edge 8 of the wiping surface element 6 is linearly rectilinear.As an alternative to this configuration, the longitudinal edge 8 can also be provided with one or more recesses 9, which can have different radii. The different radii allow fingers of different thickness to be stripped off, thus ensuring easy stripping of excess joint compound or silicone for different users.FIG. 3 shows a cartridge gun 13 according to a further inventive design. The above-described device for moistening and cleaning is here embodied in one piece with the housing 15 for the silicone or joint compound cartridge.The cartridge gun 13 additionally includes an actuating device 14, by means of which a piston arranged in the interior of the housing 15 and whose piston rod protrudes rearward from the actuating device 14 is illustrated in FIG. 3. The piston pushes the material present in the cartridge forwards out of the housing 15 by means of the actuating lever 16. The design of the cartridge gun 13 corresponds, apart from the device according to the invention for moistening and cleaning, to a conventional design, so that a closer consideration of the design of the cartridge gun is dispensed with at this point.Essentially to the invention, a storage container 1 is arranged approximately in the middle of the housing 15 in one piece therewith, which storage container is configured in a rectangular manner with four side walls 3 and a base 2 analogous to the illustration of FIGS. 1 and 2, wherein the base 2 simultaneously forms a region of the housing 15.A stripping surface element 6 is provided at right angles to the storage container 1 and pointing towards the observer, wherein the storage container 1 and the stripping surface element 6 are made of plastic, wherein the injection molding technique has proven to be a cost-effective production method.On the top side, the storage container 1 has a contact opening 5 through which the interior of the storage container 1 can be accessed.The interior of the storage container 1 is filled with sponge material 4 in analogy to the subject matter of claim 1, which ensures that liquid introduced into the storage container can escape again provided the cartridge gun is held obliquely during the working process.FIG. 4 shows the subject matter of claim 1 plugged onto the housing 15 of a cartridge gun. Since the cartridges for silicone or other sealing materials used in the commercial and private sector have a uniform size or a uniform diameter, the housings of the cartridge gun into which the cartridges in question are inserted are also uniform in diameter. The subject matter of claim 1 can thus be clamped in principle onto all commonly used cartridge guns.Of course, it is not outside the scope of the invention provided that the reservoir 1 or the scraping surface element 6 are arranged differently with respect to each other and with respect to the housing.List of reference numbers:1 Storage container 2 Base 3 Side wall 4 Sponge material 5 Contact opening 6 Wiping surface element 7 Clamping device 8 Longitudinal edge 9 Recess 10 Leg 11 Leg 12 Coupling element 13 Cartridge gun 14 Actuating device 15 Housing 16 Actuating lever

Claims

Device for moistening and cleaning smoothing tools or fingers of a hand used for smoothing sealing and / or adhesive compound joints, in particular silicone seams, with a storage container (1) for a surface-active liquid, which is filled with an absorbent, elastic sponge material (4) and has a contact opening (1) for the sponge material (4) opened to the outside of the storage container (1), wherein a wiping surface element (6) for sealing and / or adhesive compound residues is arranged on the outside of the storage container (1), which is formed as a rectangular, plate-shaped projection fixed with a longitudinal edge on the storage container (1), the longitudinal edge (8) opposite the reservoir (1) has a plurality of semicircularly shaped recesses (9) with different depth radius and the reservoir (1) has a clamping device (7) for coupling the device to the outside of the housing of a cartridge gun (13).Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the clamping device (7) has a U-shaped cross-section with two legs (10, 11) projecting substantially perpendicularly from the underside of the storage container (1) and a coupling element (12) connecting the two legs (10, 11), wherein the interior space of the U-shaped cross-section formed by the two legs (10, 11) and the coupling element (12) has a circular shape which is adapted to correspond to the outer diameter of the housing (15) of the cartridge gun (13).Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the clamping device (7) and the storage container (1) are made of elastic plastic material in one piece.Device according to one of claims 2 or 3, characterised in that the wiping surface element (6) is fixed to an outer side of one of the legs (10) of the clamping device (7) so as to project at right angles.Cartridge gun (13) having an actuating device (14) for a piston which can be displaced inside a cartridge for sealing and / or adhesive compound such as silicone, and a housing (15) for the cartridge, in which a device for moistening and cleaning smoothing tools or fingers of a hand used for smoothing sealing and / or adhesive compound joints, in particular silicone seams, is arranged on the outside of the housing (15), which has a storage container (1) for a surface-active liquid which is configured in one piece with the housing (15) and is filled with an absorbent, elastic sponge material (4) and has a contact opening (5) for the sponge material (4) which is open to the outside of the storage container (1), wherein a wiping surface element (6) for sealing and / or adhesive compound residues is arranged on the outside of the storage container (1), which is formed as a rectangular, plate-shaped projection fixed with a longitudinal edge on the storage container (1), wherein the longitudinal edge (8) opposite the storage container (1) has a plurality of semicircularly shaped recesses (9) with different depth radius.Cartridge gun (13) according to claim 5, characterised in that the wiping surface element (6) is fixed to an outer side of the housing (15) so as to project at right angles.

Images