Bonding method and apparatus

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for joining a first object to a second object, the first object being elongated and the second object being defined with a cavity configured to receive at least a length (L) of the first object, the cavity having a receiving capacity slightly greater than a volume of the first object to be inserted therein, and the cavity configured to include a closed end (21 a) and an opposite open end (21 b). The method includes: determining an amount of liquid adhesive (31) to be supplied into the cavity based on the difference between the receiving capacity of the cavity and the volume of a first object to be inserted into the cavity; positioning the second object with its closed end (21a) at the bottom and its open end (21b) at the top; supplying the determined amount of liquid adhesive (31) into the cavity such that the supplied liquid adhesive (31) collects at the closed end (21a); ​​inserting the first object into the cavity via the open end (21b) such that one end of the first object is close to or in contact with the closed end (21a); ​​and hardening the liquid adhesive (31).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] TECHNICAL FIELD This application relates generally to the technical field of inserting one elongated object into another and bonding them together. [Background technology]

[0002] When one elongated object needs to be inserted into another object and then bonded together with adhesive, the conventional method involves applying a certain amount of adhesive to the outer surface of the elongated object to be inserted, and then inserting the elongated object with the adhesive already applied to its outer surface into the corresponding elongated hole of the other object, so that the two objects can be firmly bonded together after the adhesive has hardened. However, in the conventional approach, during the insertion of the elongated object into the other object, the adhesive already applied to the outer surface of the elongated object is blocked by the exposed end surface of the elongated hole of the other object, and most of the already applied adhesive does not enter the elongated hole. First, due to this phenomenon, when the elongated object is inserted into the elongated hole as it is, the adhesive will not enter the gap between the surface of the elongated object and the elongated hole of the other object insufficiently, and even if it does enter, the adhesive will not be distributed evenly in the gap without air bubbles. In this case, after the adhesive has hardened, there will be voids in the gap between the two objects, which will weaken the adhesive strength between them. Second, since most of the pre-applied adhesive is blocked from the gap between the two objects, the blocked adhesive must be discarded as waste, resulting in a significant waste of adhesive. Furthermore, in the case of mass production, the manufacturing costs will increase significantly. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] In order to solve the above problems, the present application aims to propose an improved method and device for applying adhesive, so that one elongated object can be inserted into another object and similarly firmly bonded by the adhesive, under the premise of saving as much adhesive as possible. [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] According to one aspect of the present application, there is provided a method for bonding a first object to a second object, the first object being elongate and the second object being defined with a cavity configured to receive at least a length of the first object, the cavity having a receiving capacity slightly greater than a volume of the first object to be inserted therein, the cavity being configured to include a closed end and an opposite open end, the method comprising the steps of: determining an amount of liquid adhesive to be dispensed into the cavity based on a difference between a receiving capacity of the cavity and a volume of a first object to be inserted into position within the cavity; Positioning the second object so that the closed end is at the bottom and the open end is at the top; dispensing a determined amount of liquid adhesive into the cavity such that the dispensed liquid adhesive collects at the closed end; inserting at least a portion of a first object into the cavity through the open end such that an end of the first object is close to or in contact with the closed end; and Curing liquid adhesive Includes.

[0005] Optionally, a fill tube is inserted into the cavity to provide liquid adhesive within the cavity, and the fill tube is removed from the cavity before the first object is inserted into the cavity.

[0006] Optionally, the liquid injection tip of the injection tube is positioned adjacent the closed end so that at the start of dispensing liquid adhesive into the cavity, a small amount of liquid adhesive is initially dispensed into the cavity.

[0007] Optionally, while continuously supplying liquid adhesive, relative movement is performed between the second object and the injection tube such that the closed end moves away from the liquid injection tip and the liquid injection tip is always immersed in the level of the supplied liquid adhesive.

[0008] Optionally, after a predetermined amount of liquid adhesive is dispensed into the cavity, there is no liquid adhesive present on the inner walls of the cavity above the liquid level.

[0009] Optionally, the first object is inserted into the cavity in such a way that a central longitudinal axis of the first object is coaxial with a central longitudinal axis of the cavity.

[0010] Optionally, the first object is a metal core of a stylus, the closed end of the receiving cavity being defined by a pencil tip of the stylus, and the second object is a sleeve of the stylus.

[0011] Optionally, the cavity has a length and an inner diameter, the length being in the range of 100-170 mm and the inner diameter being in the range of 6-12 mm, and the injection tube includes a size 16G and 6 inch injection needle, wherein preferably the length of the cavity is 150 mm and the inner diameter of the cavity is 7.1 mm.

[0012] Optionally, the second object is a hollow cylinder configured to include an open end portion surrounded by another object to define a closed end, and an opposing open end portion defining an open end.

[0013] According to another aspect of the present application, there is proposed an apparatus for coupling a first object with a second object, the first object being elongate and the second object being defined with a cavity configured to receive at least a length of the first object, the cavity having a receiving capacity slightly greater than a volume of the first object to be inserted therein, the cavity being configured to include a closed end and an opposite open end, the apparatus comprising: a control module configured to store and execute a program for carrying out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8; an operational module in data communication with the control module and configured to be controllable by the control module; an adhesive injection module in data communication with the control module and configured to be controllable by the control module, where the adhesive injection module includes an injection device capable of supplying liquid adhesive into the cavity;

[0014] Optionally, the injection device comprises: a liquid storage device for storing the liquid adhesive; an adhesive valve downstream of the liquid reservoir and coupled to the liquid reservoir via a pipe; and An injection tube configured to be in fluid communication with the adhesive valve downstream of the adhesive valve.

[0015] Optionally, the adhesive valve is configured to include a valve body and a valve element, with a passage defined in the valve body for supplying liquid adhesive, and the valve element is positioned to intersect the passage and is configured to be rotatable about its central longitudinal axis between a first position in which liquid adhesive flows through the passage and a second position in which liquid adhesive is prohibited from flowing through the passage.

[0016] Optionally, the first object is a metal core of a stylus, the closed end of the receiving cavity being defined by a pencil tip of said stylus, and the second object is a sleeve of said stylus.

[0017] Optionally, the cavity has a length and an inner diameter, the length being in the range of 100-170 mm and the inner diameter being in the range of 6-12 mm, and the injection tube includes an injection needle of size 16G and 6 inches, preferably, the length of the cavity is 150 mm and the inner diameter of the cavity is 7.1 mm.

[0018] According to another aspect of the present application, there is proposed a stylus manufactured by the above-mentioned method and / or by the above-mentioned device. Effect of the Invention

[0019] Using the technical means of the present application, two objects can be firmly bonded together, while maximizing adhesive savings and at the same time distributing the adhesive evenly between the two objects to improve the durability of the bond between them.

[0020] The principles and other aspects of the present application will be better understood from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the drawings may be drawn to different scales for clarity only, but this does not affect the understanding of the present application. The drawings show: [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1A-1C] 1A-1C are schematic diagrams showing a conventional method for bonding an elongated core into a hollow cylinder with an adhesive; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a flow chart that illustrates a schematic of a method for bonding an elongated core into a hollow cylinder with an adhesive according to one embodiment of the present application; [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing how an elongated core can be joined and fixed to a hollow cylinder by the method described with reference to FIG. 2; [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application for carrying out the method of the present application; [Figure 5A] FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram of an injection device according to an embodiment of the present application that can be used in the device of FIG. 4; and [Figure 5B] FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram of an adhesive valve according to an embodiment of the present application that can be used in the method or apparatus of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] In the drawings of this application, features having the same structure or similar functionality may be denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0023] 1A-1C are schematic diagrams showing a conventional method for bonding an elongated core to a hollow cylinder with adhesive. As shown in FIG. 1A, in the conventional method, a predetermined amount of adhesive 30 is applied to the outer surface of the elongated core 10. For example, the adhesive 30 can be applied to the outer surface of the elongated core 10 so as to be distributed in a spiral shape on the outer surface of the elongated core 10. Then, in the conventional method, the elongated core 10 having the adhesive 30 applied to its outer surface is inserted into a hollow cylinder 20 as shown in FIG. 1B. The hollow cylinder 20 is defined by a hollow interior space for receiving the elongated core 10. The hollow interior space is slightly larger in size than the volume of the portion of the elongated core 10 that is inserted into the space. Then, the elongated object 10 is inserted into the hollow interior space of the hollow cylinder 20 to a length L as shown in FIG. 1C. During insertion, since the gap between the outer surface of the elongated object 10 and the hollow internal space of the hollow cylinder 20 is very small, most of the already applied adhesive 30 is blocked from the hollow internal space of the hollow cylinder 20, especially at the exposed end surface of the hollow cylinder 20 adjacent to the hollow internal space. Furthermore, if the length L is large, even if a part of the adhesive 30 successfully enters the gap, it cannot move further in the gap, and there is insufficient adhesive to reach the position of the hollow internal space away from the exposed end surface of the hollow cylinder 20. Therefore, after the adhesive 30 in the gap hardens, there are many voids in the intended bonding area, and the bonding durability between the elongated object 10 and the hollow cylinder 20 is poor. Since the adhesive 30 blocked at the exposed end surface can be reused, it is treated as waste, which causes a significant increase in manufacturing costs, especially in the case of mass production.

[0024] In order to solve the above problems, the present application proposes a method and / or apparatus for inserting an elongated core into a hollow cylinder and bonding them together. Those skilled in the art should understand that the method and / or apparatus described below can be applied to at least partially insert one elongated object into another object or its elongated cavity and firmly bond the two together via adhesive. In particular, the method and / or apparatus described herein can be applied to the manufacture of a stylus, especially a stylus dedicated to a touch screen computer, tablet computer, etc. For example, the stylus is configured to include a sleeve. A pencil tip is disposed and exposed at one end of the sleeve, and an elongated metal core is inserted and fixed into the hollow interior of the sleeve so as to be connected to the pencil tip. The metal core is fixed to the sleeve using adhesive (or glue). Thus, in the embodiments described below, the elongated core can be understood as the metal core of the stylus, and the hollow cylinder can be understood as the sleeve of the stylus. Although the embodiments are described below with respect to an elongated core and a hollow cylinder, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the methods and / or apparatus according to the present application may be used with any other type of elongated object and associated object having an elongated cavity for accommodating the elongated object.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a flow chart that illustrates a method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method can be used to bond an elongated core to a hollow cylinder via adhesive (or glue), where the hollow cylinder is defined by an elongated cavity for receiving at least a part of the elongated core. Specifically, the elongated cavity of the hollow cylinder is configured to have a closed end and an opposite open end. Thus, the elongated cavity can receive the elongated core through the open end. In an embodiment of the present application, for example, the elongated core has a circular cross section, and the elongated cavity also has a circular cross section. However, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the technical solution of the present application is applicable to elongated cores with cross sections of other shapes and / or elongated cavities with cross sections of other shapes.

[0026] As shown in the figure, in step S10, assuming that the elongated core is already inserted into the elongated cavity of the hollow cylinder, the acceptance capacity of the gap defined between the elongated cavity and the inserted portion of the elongated object is calculated. Ignoring the compressibility of liquid, such acceptance capacity represents the amount of adhesive in liquid state required to bond the elongated core and the hollow cylinder together. For example, if the elongated cavity has an inner diameter D and the elongated core has an outer diameter d, and the elongated core is inserted at an insertion depth L (which can be measured in advance before insertion), by geometric calculation, said acceptance capacity or the amount of liquid adhesive required can be calculated by the formula: V = (πD 2 -πd 2 )·L Of course, those skilled in the art will appreciate that if the elongated cavity and / or the insert portion of the elongated core is not perfectly cylindrical, the above formula can be modified with knowledge of the relevant solid geometry.

[0027] Next, in step S20, the adhesive in liquid state is dispensed into the elongated cavity of the hollow cylinder. Then, in step S30, it is determined whether the amount of adhesive dispensed reaches the amount calculated in step S10. For example, this can be done by monitoring the liquid dispensing amount of an injection device 1031 (as shown in FIG. 5A) for dispensing the liquid adhesive. If the determination result of step 30 is NO, the method continues to proceed to step S20. If the determination result of step 30 is YES, the method proceeds to step S40.

[0028] In step S40, the elongated core can be inserted into the elongated cavity of the hollow cylinder already provided with liquid adhesive, reaching a depth L. Then, in step S50, the liquid adhesive is cured, which can be performed, for example, by natural curing or an associated curing device.

[0029] As shown in section 1 of FIG. 3, a hollow cylinder 21 is provided. For example, this may be a stylus sleeve. The hollow cylinder 21 is configured to include a closed end 21a and an open end 21b opposite the closed end. In any embodiment, the stylus sleeve has an open end portion surrounded by a pencil tip of the stylus to define the open end, and an opposite open end portion defining the open end. The hollow cylinder 21 defines an elongated internal cavity between the closed end 21a and the open end 21b. For example, the cavity of the hollow cylinder 21 has an inner diameter D that may be 7.1 mm (millimeters). Further, as shown in section 4 of FIG. 3, the elongated core 11 is inserted with an insertion depth L that may be 150 mm. In an alternative embodiment, the insertion depth may be in the range of 100-170 mm and the inner diameter of the cavity may be in the range of 6-12 mm. Therefore, after the insertion depth of the long core 11 is determined, the receiving capacity of the gap between the insertion part of the long core 11 (after being inserted into the long cavity of the hollow cylinder 21 at the insertion depth L) and the inner wall of the long cavity of the hollow cylinder 21, which receives about 490 mg (milligrams) of liquid adhesive, is determined in step S10. When the hollow cylinder 21 is empty and stands vertically, if about 490 mg of liquid adhesive is supplied into the hollow cylinder 21 without air bubbles, the liquid level l measured upward from the closed end 21a of the hollow cylinder 21 is about 27 mm. In the present application, the liquid level measured upward from the closed end 21a of the hollow cylinder 21 refers to the liquid level measured vertically upward from the inner wall at the top of the closed end 21a after supplying liquid into the cavity of the hollow cylinder 21 arranged vertically.

[0030] Then, as shown in section 2 of FIG. 3, the injection tube 100 (shown in FIG. 5A) of the injection device 1031 for supplying the liquid adhesive 31 is extended and positioned inside the hollow cylinder 21. According to an example of the present application, for the size specification of the hollow cylinder 21, as shown in section 1, the injection tube 100 can be embodied as an injection needle with a size of 16G and 6 inches. In a preferred embodiment, the hollow cylinder 21 is placed vertically with respect to the ground when empty. The injection tube 100 is inserted vertically from top to bottom into the cavity of the hollow cylinder 21, and the liquid injection tip of the injection tube 100 is almost close to the closed end 21a. For example, the liquid injection tip can be spaced from the top inner wall of the closed end 21a by a distance of 2 mm or less. Then, as shown in section 2 of FIG. 3, a small amount of the liquid adhesive 31 is first supplied so that the liquid injection tip of the injection tube 100 is immersed just below the liquid surface of the already supplied liquid adhesive. For example, the liquid adhesive already supplied can be adjusted so that the liquid level is approximately 2 mm above the closed end 21a of the hollow cylinder 21. This is because in most cases, the inner wall of the closed end 21a of the hollow cylinder 21 is not sufficiently smooth, and so by supplying a small amount of liquid adhesive at a position that distance away from the closed end 21a, the liquid injection tip of the injection tube 100 can be constantly immersed in the injected liquid adhesive, which is advantageous in that it is possible to prevent air bubbles from entering the liquid adhesive when an additional amount of liquid adhesive is supplied. Otherwise, if air bubbles enter, an unfavorable void phenomenon will occur after the liquid adhesive hardens.

[0031] Then, a relative movement between the hollow cylinder 21 and the injection tube 100 is performed along a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the injection tube 100 so that the hollow cylinder and the injection tube move away from each other. For example, this can be performed by fixing one of the hollow cylinder and the injection tube and moving the other along a direction parallel to its longitudinal axis. It is considered that the relative movement between the two mechanisms can also refer to moving both of the two mechanisms relative to each other. During the relative movement between the hollow cylinder 21 and the injection tube 100, liquid adhesive is supplied to the injection tube 100 at a predetermined flow rate. It should be understood that the movement speed at which the hollow cylinder and the injection tube are configured to move away from each other and the flow rate at which the liquid adhesive is supplied by the injection tube 100 are selected so that the liquid injection tip of the injection tube 100 is always immersed just below the liquid level of the liquid adhesive. In a preferred embodiment, the movement speed away from each other and the flow rate of the liquid adhesive injected by the injection tube 110 are uniform, slow and constant. In this manner, after the liquid level height l reaches approximately 27 mm (see section 3 of FIG. 3), the injection tube 100 is completely removed from the hollow cylinder 21. It should be appreciated that during injection of the liquid adhesive 31, the injection tube 100 or its liquid injection tip is held so that it does not contact the inner wall of the cavity of the hollow cylinder 21. That is, as the liquid level height l increases, the liquid adhesive dispensed will initially be below the liquid level, and the portion of the cavity above the liquid level will not be in contact with the liquid adhesive at any point in time. The content associated with sections 2 and 3 of FIG. 3 corresponds substantially to steps S20 and S30, respectively.

[0032] Then, as shown in section 4 of FIG. 3, according to step S40, the elongated core 11 is inserted vertically from top to bottom through the open end 21b into the cavity of the hollow cylinder 21 already supplied with liquid adhesive. Because the already supplied liquid adhesive is adjacent to the closed end 21a and far away from the open end 21b, the liquid adhesive is extruded upwards toward the open end 21b along the gap between the outer surface of the elongated core 11 and the inner wall of the cavity as the end of the elongated core 11 approaches the closed end 21a due to its incompressibility. The amount of liquid adhesive already supplied is pre-calculated to be just enough to completely fill the gap between the outer surface of the elongated core 11 and the inner wall of the cavity when the elongated object 11 is placed in a predetermined position in the cavity. Thus, when the elongated core 11 is inserted to a predetermined position (depth L) in the cavity, the gap between the outer surface of the elongated core 11 and the inner wall of the cavity is filled with just the liquid adhesive. Or, even if some liquid adhesive is spilled due to calculation error, the spilled liquid adhesive will not be wasted much. What is more important, due to the incompressibility of liquid, the liquid adhesive is evenly distributed between the outer surface of the elongated core 11 and the inner wall of the cavity, and the disadvantageous void phenomenon is avoided as much as possible.

[0033] According to an embodiment of the present application, before inserting the elongated core 11 into the hollow cylinder 21, it is ensured that no liquid adhesive is present on the inner wall of the cavity between the surface of the already dispensed liquid adhesive and the open end 21b. This ensures that only the already dispensed liquid adhesive moves along the gap toward the open end 21b by the compression of the elongated core 11. In this way, when the elongated core 11 is inserted into the hollow cylinder 21 to a depth L, no excess liquid adhesive is expelled from the hollow cylinder 21. In a preferred embodiment, the longitudinal center axis of the elongated core 11 is always coaxial with the longitudinal center axis of the hollow cylinder 21 during insertion.

[0034] It can be seen that by using the method of the present application, a smaller amount of liquid adhesive can be supplied and applied more uniformly to the gap between the elongated core 11 and the hollow cylinder 21, thereby avoiding the void phenomenon and obtaining an improved bonding effect after the adhesive is cured.

[0035] It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the method of the present application can be performed by an apparatus of any suitable form and / or suitable configuration. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus according to an example of the present application. However, the apparatus of the present application is not limited to the contents described below. For example, the apparatus 1000 includes a control module 1010, an operation module 1020, and an adhesive injection module 1030. The control module 1010 is configured to include an electronic control unit, such as a computer, and a memory for storing a program executable by the electronic control unit. The method or steps of the method described above are coded and stored as a program in the memory, and the program is called and executed by the electronic control unit as necessary. The operation module 1020 is configured to hold and / or operate the elongated core and the hollow cylinder as described above to perform a relative movement therebetween. Here, for example, the elongated core can be referred to as a first object, and the hollow cylinder can be referred to as a second object. For example, the manipulation module 1020 may comprise a first robot arm configured to hold a first object and a second robot arm configured to hold a second object. Either or both of the first and second robot arms may be moved relative to each other as required. Furthermore, the adhesive injection module 1030 may be configured to include an injection device 1031 configured to inject or dispense the liquid adhesive as already mentioned. It is conceivable that the injection device 1031 itself may be provided with a drive mechanism (not shown) that allows the injection device to be moved as required. The control module 1010 is in data communication with the manipulation module 1020 and the injection module 1030 such that the manipulation module 1020 and the injection module 1030 are controllable to perform their respective operations. Of course, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the device 1000 may be configured to include a curing device (not shown) capable of curing the liquid adhesive.

[0036] The method of the present application requires that a predetermined amount of liquid adhesive is dispensed into the cavity of a hollow cylinder as the second object, and then an elongated core as the first object is inserted therein, so that the dispensed liquid adhesive can fill the space between the two objects without spilling. Therefore, it is desirable that the amount of liquid adhesive dispensed into the cavity is very accurate. Furthermore, the dispensing of liquid adhesive can be performed by injection needles of different sizes. This requires that the size of the last drop of liquid adhesive at the end of the dispensing from the injection needle is strictly controlled so that it is not too large. Otherwise, if the size of the last drop at the end of the dispensing is too large, the amount of liquid adhesive finally dispensed into the cavity will exceed the predetermined amount, and the excess liquid adhesive will be squeezed out as waste unexpectedly after the elongated core is inserted.

[0037] Generally, as shown in FIG. 5A, the injection device 1031 is configured to include a liquid reservoir 10310, an adhesive valve 10311 coupled to the liquid reservoir 10310 via a pipeline downstream of the liquid reservoir 10310, and an injection pipe 100 in fluid communication with the adhesive valve 10311 downstream of the adhesive valve 10311. According to an embodiment of the present application, the injection device 1031 can be configured to supply a two-component liquid adhesive. In this case, the liquid reservoir 10310 can be configured to include a first liquid reservoir 10310A containing a liquid component A and a second liquid reservoir 10310B containing a liquid component B. The two parts are in fluid communication with the adhesive via a pipe so that the liquid component A from the first liquid reservoir 10310A and the liquid component B from the second liquid reservoir 10310B can be mixed together and then supplied through the adhesive valve 10311, if desired. The adhesive valve 10311 is configured to selectively enable or disable the liquid supply passage between the inlet tube 100 and the liquid reservoir 10310. Thus, by intelligently designing the configuration of the adhesive valve 10311, the shape and / or size of the final droplet from the inlet tube 100 upon termination of the supply of liquid adhesive can be determined.

[0038] A conventional adhesive valve usually includes a valve body and a movable valve element. A hollow passage for supplying liquid adhesive is defined in the valve body. Furthermore, the valve element is arranged so as to be linearly movable coaxially or parallel to the central axis of the hollow passage. Furthermore, one end of the valve element is provided with a closing mechanism capable of blocking the passage. Therefore, when the opening of the passage is closed by the closing mechanism, liquid adhesive is not supplied through the injection tube 100, and when the opening of the passage is not closed by the closing mechanism, liquid adhesive is supplied through the injection tube 100. This conventional adhesive valve has the disadvantage that, since the direction of moving the valve element to open and close the passage opening is consistent with the direction in which the liquid adhesive flows, when it is desired to close the passage opening and stop the supply of liquid adhesive, it is very difficult to control the size of the last droplet (in many cases, the size of the last droplet is larger than the desired size) and the amount of liquid adhesive to be supplied cannot be accurately metered. The amount of liquid adhesive to be supplied into the cavity of the hollow cylinder 21 is finally controlled by the adhesive valve. If the size of the final droplet cannot be accurately controlled by the adhesive valve, an excessive amount of liquid adhesive may easily be dispensed into the cavity of the hollow cylinder 21, causing excess liquid adhesive to spill out when the elongated core 11 is subsequently inserted.

[0039] To solve the above problem, FIG. 5B is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of a glue valve 10311 that can be used in the device of the present application, particularly the injection device 1031, showing the glue valve 10311 in a disabled mode. The glue valve 10311 is generally configured to include a valve body 10312 and a valve element 10313. A passage 10312a for supplying liquid glue is defined in the valve body 10312. The passage 10312a is connected to the downstream liquid storage device 10310 via a pipe. The valve element 10313 is disposed across the 10312a. A part of the valve element 10313 in the valve body 10312 is cylindrical. The cylindrical part is rotatable about its central axis in the valve body 10313. Meanwhile, the central axis of the cylindrical portion is in the same plane as the longitudinal central axis of the passage 10312a, and the cylindrical portion has a diameter large enough that the outer surface of the cylindrical portion can completely block the opening cross section of the passage 10312a. Furthermore, the valve body 10313 can be formed with a through mechanism 10313a such as a through hole, a cutout, etc. at the intersection of the cylindrical portion with the passage 10312a. When the valve element 10313 is rotated to a certain position (e.g., the adhesive valve is in an active mode), the through mechanism 10313a opens the passage 10312a, and the liquid adhesive can flow through the passage. However, when the valve element 10313 is rotated to another position (e.g., the adhesive valve is in an inactive mode), the passage 10312a is closed by the valve element 10313 other than the through mechanism 10313a, and the liquid adhesive is prohibited from flowing through the passage. It should be understood that under the control of the control module 1010, the valve element 10313 can be rotated accordingly and stopped at any desired position.

[0040] Because the valve element 10313 is configured to be rotatable across the passage 10312a, the adhesive valve 10311 can be very quickly switched to a disabled mode with the passage 10312a closed, if necessary. The size of the final droplet can be controlled more precisely than with conventional adhesive valves. The adhesive valve 10311 is therefore more suitable for use in the device of the present application.

[0041] Although some specific embodiments and / or examples of the present application are described herein, they are provided for illustrative purposes only and cannot be considered as limiting the scope of the present application in any way. Moreover, those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments and / or examples described herein can be combined with each other. Various substitutions, modifications, and alterations can be considered without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application.

Claims

1. 1. A method for joining a first object with a second object, the first object being elongate, the second object being defined with a cavity configured to receive at least a length of the first object, the cavity having a receiving capacity slightly greater than a volume of the first object to be inserted therein, the cavity being configured to include a closed end and an opposing open end, the method comprising: determining an amount of liquid adhesive to be dispensed into the cavity based on a difference between a receiving capacity of the cavity and a volume of a first object to be inserted into the cavity in position; placing the second object with the closed end at the bottom and the open end at the top; dispensing a determined amount of liquid adhesive into the cavity such that the dispensed liquid adhesive collects at the closed end; inserting at least a portion of a first object into the cavity through the open end such that an end of the first object is close to or in contact with the closed end; and Curing liquid adhesive A method comprising:

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising inserting a filler tube into the cavity to dispense liquid adhesive into the cavity, and removing the filler tube from the cavity before the first object is inserted into the cavity.

3. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the liquid injection tip of the injection tube is positioned adjacent the closed end so that at the start of the delivery of liquid adhesive into the cavity, a small amount of liquid adhesive is initially delivered into the cavity.

4. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein while continuously supplying liquid adhesive, relative movement is performed between the second object and the injection tube such that the closed end moves away from the liquid injection tip and the liquid injection tip is always immersed in the liquid level of the supplied liquid adhesive.

5. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein after a predetermined amount of liquid adhesive is dispensed into the cavity, there is no liquid adhesive present on the inner walls of the cavity above the liquid level.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the first object is inserted into the cavity in such a way that a central longitudinal axis of the first object is coaxial with a central longitudinal axis of the cavity.

7. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first object is a metal core of the stylus, the closed end of the receiving cavity being defined by a pencil tip of the stylus, and the second object is a sleeve of the stylus.

8. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the cavity has a length and an inner diameter, the length being in the range of 100-170 mm and the inner diameter being in the range of 6-12 mm, and the injection tube comprises a size 16G and 6 inch injection needle, wherein preferably the length of the cavity is 150 mm and the inner diameter of the cavity is 7.1 mm.

9. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the second object is a hollow cylinder configured to include an open end portion surrounded by another object to define a closed end, and an opposing open end portion defining an open end.

10. 1. An apparatus for joining a first object with a second object, the first object being elongate, the second object being defined with a cavity configured to receive at least a length of the first object, the cavity having a receiving capacity slightly greater than a volume of the first object to be inserted therein, the cavity being configured to include a closed end and an opposite open end, the apparatus comprising: A control module configured to store and execute a program for carrying out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9; an operational module in data communication with the control module and configured to be controllable by the control module; an adhesive injection module in data communication with the control module and configured to be controllable by the control module, the adhesive injection module including an injection device capable of delivering liquid adhesive into the cavity; 13. An apparatus comprising:

11. The injection device comprises: a liquid storage device for storing the liquid adhesive; an adhesive valve downstream of the liquid reservoir and coupled to the liquid reservoir via a pipe; and an injection tube configured to be in fluid communication with the adhesive valve downstream of the adhesive valve; The apparatus of claim 10 , comprising:

12. 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the adhesive valve is configured to include a valve body and a valve element, a passageway defined in the valve body for supplying liquid adhesive, the valve element positioned to intersect the passageway and configured to be rotatable about its central longitudinal axis between a first position in which liquid adhesive flows through the passageway and a second position in which liquid adhesive is prohibited from flowing through the passageway.

13. 13. Apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the first object is a metal core of a stylus, the closed end of the receiving cavity being defined by a pencil tip of the stylus, and the second object is a sleeve of the stylus.

14. 14. The device of claim 13, wherein the cavity has a length and an inner diameter, the length being in the range of 100-170 mm and the inner diameter being in the range of 6-12 mm, and the injection tube includes an injection needle of size 16G and 6 inches, preferably the length of the cavity is 150 mm and the inner diameter of the cavity is 7.1 mm.

15. A stylus manufactured by the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 and / or the apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 14.

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