Application and method for application of a fluid material

Abstract

The invention relates to apparatus for the spot application of a fluid material from a container 4. Movement means 10 and piston 11 are provided for exerting a movement force to move the fluid materia

Description

The invention to which this application relates is to apparatus for the improved application of a fluid material and in particular, although not necessarily exclusively, a fluid material which, once applied, acts as a protective coating and sealant and which, particularly, is applied to fixtures and fittings of a roof structure so as to seal and protect the same. Typically, roof structures, such as those which are formed of sheets of metal for relatively large roof areas such as those of warehouses and retail outlets, comprise a base layer of metal panels, typically made from Plastic coated galvanised steel (PCS / PVC coated), and which are coated on the outwardly facing surface with the material which may be or may include, silicon. Once applied the material cures to form the protective sealed coating. While this form of panels and coating are known to have a relatively long lifespan, such as for example, 10 years, it is often found that by the end of the 10 years, the overlapping edges of the panels can be damaged and corroded and / or the outer coating delaminates from the base sheet material and / or there is corrosion at the fixings which engage the panels to each other and / or the underlying support frame. These events can cause the roof to start leaking and as a result, it is commonly the case that either the panels are removed and replaced with new panels or a new roof structure, or the panels and roof structure is reconditioned so as to allow the Efe span of the roof structure to be extended. In the reconditioning process, it is necessary for any damaged areas of the panels to be “stripped back” and then recoated along with fixings and fittings with the fluid material prior to the application of a coating on a wider scale across the outer surface of the roof structure. Conventionally, in order for the initial “spot” application of the fluid material to be achieved, the sealing material in a fluid state, is provided in a pot or a can and an operator is provided with a brush by which they remove a portion of the material from the can and then apply it to the particular fixture or fitting or the exposed area of the panel. While this can provide the required effect of the required spot application the process is time consuming, labour intensive, prone to inefficiency in that there is no reliable way of ensuring that each fixture and fitting has the required amount of fluid material applied thereto, is wasteful of the fluid material as an excessive amount of the sealant material is applied and is also of significant concern with regard to the health and safety of the operator due to the fact that in order to apply the fluid material at the required locations on the roof, they have to bend down to apply the material and then stand up and move to the next location and then bend down again, and so on, which can have a detrimental effect on the operator’s back. Indeed, when one considers that there may be many thousands of fixtures and fittings on a roof structure and each of which requires the spot application of the fluid material, it will be appreciated that the application of the fluid material in the conventional process is a physically demanding task. The aim of the present invention is to provide apparatus and a method for applying the fluid material in spot applications to allow the same to be applied efficiently and relatively quickly whilst, at the same time, ensuring the correct amount of the sealant material is applied at the correct location. In a first aspect of the invention, there is provided apparatus for the spot application of a fluid material, said apparatus including a container in which a quantity of the fluid material is provided, means for exerting a movement force to move the fluid material towards an exit aperture of the container and a member and wherein said member is selectively attachable to the container by engagement means suitable for engagement with the particular type of container and said member has a continuous and uninterrupted passage therealong and in connection with said exit aperture and along which passage the fluid material passes towards a free end of the member such that the fluid material travels along the length of the member without obstruction from the container to the free end of the member in use, wherein walls defining the passage are elongate and converge from the exit aperture towards the said cavity until they reach the cavity, and said free end including a cavity which is substantially cup-shaped, and in which a quantity of the fluid material collects and is applied therefrom such that a fixture or fitting at least partially located in the said cavity through an opening of the cavity is coated by the said fluid material in use. Typically, the said fluid material is to be spot applied to a feature of a roof structure such as a fixture or fitting, for example, a head of a bolt, or a nut. In one embodiment, the area of the cavity is selected so as to be range taking with respect to the known dimensions of fixtures or fittings to which the fluid material is to be applied, and so in this embodiment allows the same form of member to be used for a range of different fixtures and fittings which are known to be present at the location of use. In addition, or alternatively, a range of members may be provided for selective use and positioning at the exit aperture of the container and said members have cavities of different dimensions located at the free ends thereof. Typically, the cross-sectional area of the cavity opening is greater than the crosssectional area of the passage of the member located upstream of the cavity with respect to the flow of the fluid material when applied. Typically, the cup shaped formation of the cavity may, in one embodiment, be circular in cross-section but it should be appreciated that other cross-sectional shapes may be used to the same effect. Typically, the movement means to force the fluid material towards the exit aperture and along the passage towards the cavity, is a mechanical assembly which may be manually or powered and which can be hand-held by an operator and operated so as to apply the movement force. In one embodiment the said mechanism includes a trigger located at an end of the container opposing that at which the said member and exit aperture are located. Typically the movement means is of a size and length so as to allow the same to be operated by the operator when in a standing or semi-prone position and thereby prevent the need for the operator to bend down completely to apply the sealant material to the same extent as would conventionally be required. In one embodiment, the operator controls the amount of the fluid material and the quantity of the material which enters the cavity for each application, by selectively operating the movement means for a period of time. Alternatively, the movement means includes a means for controlling the duration of powered operation of the movement means so as to, in turn, control the amount of the fluid material which is applied. In one embodiment, the fluid material in the container is provided as a sealant of a predetermined viscosity so as to ensure that the material is sufficiently fluid to flow to the cavity and be applied therefrom whilst, once applied, curing so as to provide the required sealing effect at the required location. In one embodiment, the said fluid material when sealed in the container has a viscosity of selected to suit the particular flow requirements in combination with the particular performance requirements of the fluid material and / or temperature at which the same is to be applied. In one embodiment, the viscosity is in the range of 20,000-30,000 viscosity / cP using test parameters of a spindle T93 at a speed of 30. In one embodiment, the said container is formed of a relatively rigid plastics material and the mechanical assembly is a caulking gun. In another embodiment, the said container is formed by a flexible walled container which collapses under the progressive movement of the fluid material therefrom to be deposited. In one embodiment, the engagement means may be a threaded connection for the relatively rigid container system or a flange for use with the relatively flexible container system. In a further aspect of the invention there is provided a member for use with a container from which a fluid material is to be selectively dispensed along a continuous and uninterrupted passage of said member such that the fluid material travels along the member without obstruction from the container in use, said member including a first end including engagement means and at the opposing free end there is provided a substantially cup-shaped cavity in connection with said passage, wherein walls defining the passage are elongate and converge from the exit aperture towards the said cavity until they reach the cavity, and said cavity provided to receive therein at least part of a fixture or fitting onto which said fluid material is to be applied. Thus, in accordance with the invention, the operator can be certain that by operating the system, a required amount of the fluid material will be dispensed into the cavity of the member and, as the fixture and fitting can be located in the said cavity, the operator can be certain that the appropriate amount of fluid material is applied at the appropriate spot location i.e., to seal off a fixture or fitting. As such, a significantly reduced quantity of the fluid material is required to be applied to achieve the sealing effect. This therefore reduces the usage of the fluid material whilst maintaining or improving the quality of application. Specific embodiments of the invention are now described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure la-d illustrates a first embodiment of apparatus in accordance with the invention; Figures 2a-b illustrate a second embodiment of apparatus in accordance with the invention; Figures 3a-c illustrate a first embodiment of a member in accordance with the invention; Figures 4a-c illustrate a second embodiment of a member in accordance with the invention; and Figures 5a-d illustrates a method of application of the fluid material in accordance with the invention. Referring firstly to Figures la-d and Figures 3a-c, there is illustrated a first embodiment of the invention in which the apparatus 2 for use to apply the material, comprises a container 4, of a first, known form, which is provided for use in conjunction with a mechanical assembly application apparatus 6 of a known form commonly known as a caulking gun. Typically, the container is provided with a first end 8 which receives a piston 11 of the movement means 10 of the application apparatus 6 which is provided to be selectively pushed along the interior 31 of the container walls in the direction of arrow 13 and at the second, opposing end 12 of the container there is provided an exit aperture 14 and threaded portion 16. When it is desired to be able to apply the fluid material which is held within the container interior, 31 the exit aperture 14 is opened and a member 18 in accordance with the first embodiment of the invention, is secured on the container by engaging a threaded formation 21 at the end 20 of the member 18 with the threaded portion 16 of the container or alternatively may be formed as an integral part of the container. The member 18 includes an elongate passage 22 which passes along the interior of the member as shown in broken lines, so that the passage 22 effectively forms a continuation of the container and allows the fluid material from the container to pass therealong. In order to move the fluid material from the container and through the passage 22, the movement means piston 11 is forced along the container from the end 8 of the same so as to apply a pressure force on the fluid material in the container and move the same towards and along the passage 20 in the member. The operation of the movement means trigger 24 allows the movement of the piston 11 in a stepwise manner and typically each step of movement will be sufficient to move a required portion of the fluid material for application to a fixture or fitting to coat the same. The second end 26 of the member, as shown in Figures 3a -c in more detail, is formed as a protrusion 28 and has a cavity 30 therein with an opening 32 which has a greater cross sectional area than the passage 22 of the member. The provision of the cavity 30 allows the same to be placed over and around, for example, a fixture or fitting such as the head of a bolt, or a nut, 38 (shown in broken Unes) so that the exposed surfaces of the same are located within the cavity 30 and when the fluid material 34 is moved along the member in the direction of arrow 36 to reach the cavity, the fluid material effectively surrounds and encapsulates the bolthead or nut 38 exposed surfaces with the fluid material. The fluid material will subsequently harden and therefore surround the bolthead or nut and provide the desired protective coating for the same as desired. Apparatus in a further embodiment is shown with regard to Figures 2a-b and Figures 4a -c. In this embodiment, the outer container receives therein a flexible walled container 39 and again a movement means 41 of a different form is provided and the principle of operation of the same is the same as the first embodiment in that the fluid material 32 is moved under pressure from the container in the direction 42 through an exit aperture 44 towards a member 18 which again has a protrusion and cavity, 46,48 at end 50 of the same. However, in this embodiment, rather than there being a threaded portion at the opposing end 52, there is provided a flange or skirt 54 which is provided to be engaged with the outer container of the movement means so that the passage 22 is in fluid communication with the fluid material emitted from the container 39 so that the fluid material will pass from the container and along the passage 22 formed in the member to the protrusion 46 at the end 50 so that the fluid material can again be applied to a fixture or fitting located with the cavity in a similar manner to the first embodiment. Turning now to Figures 5a-d, there is illustrated in Figures 5a and c plan and respective views of a portion of a roof structure 56 formed from a series of overlapping corrugated panels 58 and a series of fixtures and fittings 60 for the panels are provided in the form of bolts and nuts to secure the panels together and to the underlying frame. Over time it is found that the protective coating around and on these fittings can wear away and there is a need during refurbishment, to be able to coat these with a protective fluid material such as a silicon based sealant prior to coating entire surface of the roof. As already described, the conventional approach is to use a paintbrush to apply a quantity of the resin material around the nut or bolt, but this is wasteful of material and is physically demanding for the operator. In accordance with the invention, then, as shown in Figures 5b and c, the operator can grasp the trigger handle 24 of the apparatus of, for example the embodiment shown in Figures la and b which is preferably arranged such that its longitudinal axis 62 is substantially in line with the longitudinal axis of the fitting and perpendicular to the roof panel plane and the handle is therefore at a distance from the roof panel which is convenient for the operator to use without having to bend down to place their hand at the roof panel level 56. The operator locates the cavity 30;48 of the member over the particular fixture or fitting 60’ to which the fluid material is to be applied as shown in Figures 5b and c and operates the trigger handle of the movement means to cause the fluid material to leave the interior 31 of the container, move along the passage of the member and enter the cavity 30,48 to fill the same with the fluid material 34 and thereby encapsulate and surround the said fixture or fitting 60’ located in the same at that time and, as the viscosity of the fluid material is predetermined with respect to the size of the cavity used, it is found that the fluid material remains in position on the fixture or fitting once the cavity and application apparatus is removed. In Figures 5b and c this is shown as having already been performed on fixture 60”, is about to be performed on fixture 60’ and then the apparatus can be moved in a stepwise manner to perform the function on fixtures 60. Figure 5d illustrates one of the fully encapsulated fixtures 60” in accordance with the invention with the apparatus and cavity having been removed. When one considers that there may be many thousands of fixtures to be coated in this way during a refurbishment programme, it will be appreciated that significant time and material savings can be made and the physical demands on the operator are significantly reduced.

Claims

1. Apparatus for the spot application of a fluid material, said apparatus including a container in which a quantity of the fluid material is provided, means for exerting a movement force to move the fluid material towards an exit aperture of the container and a member and wherein said member is selectively attachable to the container by engagement means suitable for engagement with the particular type of container and said member has a continuous and uninterrupted passage therealong and in connection with said exit aperture and along which passage the fluid material passes towards a free end of the member such that the fluid material travels along the length of the member without obstruction from the container to the free end of the member in use, wherein walls defining the passage are elongate and converge from the exit aperture towards the said cavity until they reach the cavity, and said free end including a cavity which is substantially cup-shaped, and in which a quantity of the fluid material collects and is applied therefrom such that a fixture or fitting at least partially located in the said cavity through an opening of the cavity is coated by the said fluid material in use.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the said fixture or fitting is a fixture or fitting of a roof structure.

3. Apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the volume of the cavity is selected such that the cavity may fit about the fixtures or fittings with which the apparatus is intended to be used.

4. Apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein a range of members are provided for selective use and positioning at the exit aperture of the container and said members having a cavity of differing dimensions.

5. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein the cross sectional area of the cavity opening is greater than the cross sectional area of the passage located upstream of the cavity with respect to the direction of flow of the fluid material from the exit aperture.

6. Apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the movement means includes a trigger located at the end of the container opposing that at which the said member and exit aperture are located.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the movement means is of a size and length so as to allow the same to be operated by the operator when in a standing or semi-prone position.

8. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein the operator controls the amount of the fluid material which enters the cavity for each application by selectively operating the movement means.

9. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein the fluid material is a sealant of a predetermined viscosity so as to ensure that the material is sufficiently fluid to be applied and, once applied, the same cures to provide the required sealing effect at the required location.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the viscosity is in the range of 20,00030,000 viscosity / cP using test parameters of a spindle T93 at a speed of 30.

11. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein the said container is formed of a substantially rigid plastics material and the movement means is a caulking gun.

12. Apparatus according to any of the claims 1-10 wherein the container is formed by a flexible wall which collapses under the progressive movement of fluid material therefrom.

13. A member for use with a container from which a fluid material is to be selectively dispensed along a continuous and uninterrupted passage of said member such that the fluid material travels along the member without obstruction from the container in use, said member including a first end including engagement means and at the opposing free end there is provided a substantially cup-shaped cavity in connection with said passage, wherein walls defining the passage are elongate and converge from the exit aperture towards the said cavity until they reach the cavity, and said cavityprovided to receive therein at least part of a fixture or fitting onto which said fluid material is to be applied.

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