Adhesive dispenser and adhesive application method
A compact adhesive dispenser with a flexible tube and pressure control system addresses the challenge of uneven adhesive application by enabling uniform and controlled distribution, enhancing workability and efficiency in construction settings.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2024173947
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-10-03
- Publication Date
- 2025-01-28
- Estimated Expiration
- 2044-10-03
AI Technical Summary
Existing adhesive application methods at construction sites face challenges in ensuring uniformity and control over the application amount, position, and status, particularly in limited spaces, due to reliance on worker skill and experience, which can lead to uneven adhesive layers affecting structural integrity and performance.
A compact, lightweight adhesive dispenser with a flexible tube and pressure device that controls adhesive discharge without movable valves, allowing for uniform and controlled application of adhesive in intermittent lines, using a manual operation mechanism.
Enables consistent and efficient application of adhesive by inexperienced workers, ensuring uniform adhesive distribution and improving workability and efficiency in construction environments.
Smart Images

Figure 0007623543000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
[Technical field]
[0001] The present invention relates to an adhesive dispenser and an adhesive application method, and more particularly to an adhesive dispenser and an adhesive application method that can be suitably used to evenly distribute substantially equal amounts of adhesive at intervals on the adhesive surface of a building surface material at a construction site during building work, and that facilitates on-site management of the amount of adhesive applied, the application position, the application state, etc. [Background technology]
[0002] As interior and exterior materials (wall and ceiling materials) for buildings, building boards or interior and exterior surface materials (hereinafter referred to as "surface materials") such as gypsum boards, calcium silicate boards, wood-based plywood, and wood-based boards are widely used. At construction sites of buildings, many of the surface materials are fixed to walls or ceilings by an adhesive application method in which the adhesive surface of the surface material is bonded to the base surface (adhered surface) with an adhesive. In general, in the adhesive application method, a craftsman or worker temporarily places the surface material horizontally with the back surface (adhered surface) facing up, and then applies adhesive to the upper surface (adhered surface) of the surface material in dots (spots) or intermittent lines using a glue stick, brush, roller, tube-shaped container, etc., and stacks the adhesive surface of the surface material by pressing it against the wall base surface or ceiling base surface (i.e., the adhered surface) before the adhesive dries and hardens. The adhesive applied to the bonding surfaces of the facings in dots (spots) or intermittent lines spreads over a wide area in the gaps between the facings due to the pressure (surface pressure) applied during lamination. After the curing time for the adhesive to harden and harden and develop strength has passed, the facings are firmly fixed to the wall or ceiling surface by the adhesive strength of the hardened adhesive.
[0003] However, in such adhesive application methods, it is difficult to ensure uniformity or evenness in the amount of application, application position, application state, etc., and therefore, depending on the experience or skill of the worker, etc., it is assumed that construction defects such as unevenness of the adhesive layer, local insufficient or excessive application amount, or unevenness in the amount of adhesive application may occur, which may cause problems such as insufficient adhesive strength due to localized decrease in adhesive force, and unevenness or unevenness in the joints of the surface material due to unevenness in the thickness of the adhesive layer. In response to this, in order to ensure uniformity or evenness in the amount of application, etc., it is possible to imagine a work form in which the adhesive is applied to the surface material by strictly controlling the specified or required amount of adhesive using a weighing device, etc., but such on-site work is unlikely to be realized in terms of workability, work efficiency, or the hardening time of the adhesive. For this reason, currently, an adhesive application method in which a skilled worker applies the adhesive to the surface material by eyeballing it based on his or her own experience, intuition, and skill, etc., is generally adopted. However, in light of the recent problem of a shortage of skilled workers in the construction industry, some measures or improvements are needed to improve workability, such as the simplicity, easiness, reliability, and speed of the work.
[0004] In recent years, dry-type fire-resistant soundproof partition walls (dry-type partition walls with fire-resistant and soundproof structures) have been constructed in many mid- to high-rise buildings, and it is considered important to bond the top surface material that constitutes the wall to the underlaying surface material with an appropriate distribution and amount of adhesive in order to ensure the desired soundproofing, fireproofing, or earthquake-proofing performance of the wall. For example, it has been described in recent papers published in the Proceedings of the Acoustical Society of Japan that the application form or distribution, etc. of the adhesive that bonds the top surface material to the underlaying surface material (for example, differences in the application form such as dots or intermittent lines, or differences in application intervals) affects the coincidence limit frequency of the wall, and is therefore related to the soundproofing performance of the wall.
[0005] In view of these circumstances, it is desirable to develop a relatively simple device or the like that enables even relatively inexperienced workers to easily manage the amount of adhesive applied, application intervals, and the like on-site, without relying on the experience or intuition of a skilled worker, in order to ensure the desired sound insulation performance, fire resistance, and the like.
[0006] In this regard, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-216371 (Patent Document 1) describes an adhesive applicator that applies adhesive in dots or intermittent lines to the adhesive surface of interior and exterior facing materials for tunnel construction. This adhesive applicator has a roller-type conveying device that conveys the facing material, and a number of adhesive application nozzles that extrude adhesive under the pressure of an electric adhesive extrusion device, and has a relatively large, complex, and heavy mechanism that is configured to convey the facing material with the conveying device and apply adhesive to the back surface of the facing material being conveyed. However, in field work such as building interior construction, it is generally necessary to carry out work in a limited space, and in many work environments, there are situations in which it is difficult to easily secure a large-capacity power source, etc., so this type of machine device is not of a nature that can be easily used by workers in building interior construction, etc.
[0007] Furthermore, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 6-10496 (Patent Document 2) describes an adhesive application device that is composed of an adhesive introduction pipe connected to a pressure-feeding device such as an electric pump, and a perforated pipe connected to the adhesive introduction pipe. The perforated pipe moves so as to scan the back surface (upper surface) of the facing material that is temporarily placed horizontally, and discharges the adhesive that is supplied into the pipe under pressure by the adhesive introduction pipe from an adhesive discharge hole, thereby applying the adhesive in a line to the adhesive surface of the facing material. However, the device of Patent Document 2, which requires a pressure-feeding device such as an electric pump, is also difficult to secure a large-capacity power source, and is of a nature that makes it difficult for workers to use it easily in on-site work such as building interior construction work, which is often carried out in a limited work space.
[0008] On the other hand, caulking guns (sealing guns) are known as tools for applying liquid materials used in on-site work such as building interior construction work. Generally, caulking guns are used in sealing work to fill sealant (caulking agent) into joints on wall or ceiling surfaces. As described in, for example, JP 2004-100392 A (Patent Document 3), a caulking gun is composed of a cylindrical container portion for storing sealant, a manually operated or electrically operated (rechargeable) sealant pressing mechanism for pressurizing the sealant stored in the container, and a sealant injection nozzle for continuously discharging the sealant. Since caulking guns are primarily intended to continuously fill linear and relatively narrow spaces such as joints and gaps with sealant, they are configured to pressurize the sealant in the container relatively evenly and continuously and continuously discharge an even flow rate of sealant from the discharge port, and the sealant has a property of being relatively difficult to harden or solidify even after contact with air. In contrast, adhesives for architectural facings generally have the property of hardening or solidifying relatively quickly when exposed to air, and therefore the structure of a caulking gun is difficult to apply as a tool or device structure for intermittently dispensing such adhesive for bonding facings onto the bonding surface of an architectural facing and applying the adhesive in dots or intermittent lines to the bonding surface of the architectural facing.
[0009] The present inventors have proposed a compact adhesive dispenser in JP 2020-097001 A (Patent Document 4) that can intermittently flow or drip a substantially equal amount of adhesive with a manually operated mechanism and is lightweight enough for a worker to hold in one hand. This adhesive dispenser has an adhesive container that stores liquid adhesive, an on-off valve device that flows or drips from the bottom of the container under gravity and has a valve body that selectively opens or closes the discharge port, and an on-off valve operation mechanism for manually operating the opening or closing of the on-off valve device, and is configured to intermittently flow or drip the adhesive on the adhesive surface of a building surface material that is arranged substantially horizontally, and form droplets or pools of adhesive at intervals on the adhesive surface of the building surface material. With this adhesive dispenser, it is believed that the intended purpose has been achieved in that even relatively inexperienced workers can easily manage the amount of adhesive applied, the application interval, etc., on site without relying on the experience, intuition, etc. of a skilled worker. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]
[0010] [Patent Document 1] JP 2004-216371 A [Patent Document 2] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 6-10496 [Patent Document 3] JP 2004-100392 A [Patent Document 4] JP 2020-097001 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]
[0011] However, in the adhesive dispenser of Patent Document 4, a movable valve body that can be opened and closed is disposed within the flow path of the adhesive, and is configured to discharge adhesive in accordance with changes in the position of the movable valve body. Therefore, in operations that require transient or irregular interruptions to the operation, or operations that take a relatively long time, there is a concern that it may be difficult to ensure smooth operation of the valve body due to changes in the viscosity of the adhesive near the discharge port, or the influence of the hardened or solidified state of the adhesive, and it is not necessarily easy to wash the instrument after use, and there is still room for further improvement in these respects.
[0012] Furthermore, in the adhesive dispenser of Patent Document 4, the movable valve body opens the discharge outlet in accordance with the duration of pressure applied to the operating lever or rod by the worker's fingers, and when the worker releases the pressure of his fingers on the operating lever or rod, the movable valve body closes the discharge outlet. Therefore, the flow rate (discharge amount) of adhesive discharged by one opening of the outlet depends entirely on the degree of manual operation or the amount of force applied to the opening / closing valve operating mechanism. As a result, depending on the skill or experience of the worker, it is not always possible to apply the appropriate amount of adhesive to the bonding surface, and therefore, in this respect as well, there is still room for further improvement.
[0013] The present invention has been made in consideration of these problems, and has an object to provide an adhesive dispenser and adhesive application method that can intermittently dispense a substantially equal amount of adhesive, has a compact configuration that is lightweight enough that a user such as a worker can hold it in one hand, and further, can control the amount of adhesive dispensed without providing a movable part such as a movable valve body in the adhesive flow path. [Means for solving the problem]
[0014] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an adhesive dispenser (1) that intermittently dispenses a liquid adhesive (A) onto a bonding surface of a building surface material to form droplets or pools of the adhesive at intervals on the bonding surface, the adhesive dispenser comprising: The adhesive container (2) has an adhesive storage area (ε) capable of storing the adhesive, an adhesive discharge device (10) has a discharge port (Na) for discharging the adhesive stored in the adhesive storage area, and an adhesive pressing means (3-7) for pressing the adhesive in the adhesive storage area to pressurize or increase the pressure, The adhesive dispensing device includes a flexible tube (11) that is in fluid communication with the adhesive storage area and has an open tip as the discharge port for dispensing the adhesive onto the bonding surface, and a flexible tube clamping device (20) that locally flattens an intermediate portion of the flexible tube located between the adhesive storage area and the discharge port, thereby applying local flow resistance to the flexible tube, The tip of the flexible tube, which has been flattened by the clamping action of the flexible tube clamping device, is a part that discharges the adhesive. Connection The present invention provides an adhesive dispenser that is characterized by comprising an adhesive discharge nozzle (N).
[0015] According to the above-mentioned configuration of the present invention, the adhesive dispenser is a tool having a relatively simple structure composed of an adhesive container having an adhesive storage area, an adhesive discharge device not equipped with an on-off valve, and an adhesive pressing means for pressing the adhesive in the adhesive storage area, and can be designed as a lightweight and compact tool that can be held or carried by a user such as a worker in one hand. and others No movable valve such as an on-off valve is disposed in the flow path leading to the discharge port, and operations such as opening or closing the movable valve are not required, nor is there any need to consider operational failure of movable parts such as the movable valve due to hardening or solidification of the adhesive. Furthermore, since the amount of adhesive discharged can be controlled by the flow path resistance provided by the flexible tube clamping device and the fluid pressure provided to the adhesive by the adhesive pressing means, according to the present invention, by setting an appropriate pressure balance between the flexible tube clamping device and the adhesive pressing means (thus setting appropriate flow path resistance and fluid pressurization), the amount of adhesive discharged each time obtained by operating the adhesive pressing means multiple times can be set and maintained to a substantially uniform or even value.
[0016] In a demonstration test of the present invention, the inventors designed and manufactured an adhesive dispenser (prototype) according to the present invention, contained a liquid adhesive (vinyl acetate adhesive) in the container, and applied droplets or pools of adhesive at predetermined intervals to the adhesive surface of a building surface material. In the test, the inventors initially set the adhesive dispenser of the present invention to discharge an amount of adhesive per time of 3.0 g, discharged adhesive 20 times, and formed droplets or pools at intervals on the adhesive surface of the surface material. They measured the amount of adhesive (weight) of each droplet or pool, and measured the average, minimum, and maximum of the adhesive discharge amount. As a result, the amount of adhesive (weight) of each droplet or pool formed on the adhesive surface of the surface material was average = 3.04 g, minimum = 2.28 g, and maximum = 3.83 g, and excluding the minimum and maximum, the amount of adhesive of each droplet or pool was within the range of 2.54 g to 3.3 g. As a result, it was found that the adhesive dispenser of the present invention can continuously and repeatedly form droplets or pools of liquid of a fairly uniform amount. Therefore, the adhesive dispenser of the present invention is considered to be a device with a configuration that is extremely suitable for practical use.
[0017] Preferably, the flexible tube clamping device has a pair of rollers (21), which form a nip area for inserting the flexible tube and clamping the outer surface of the flexible tube. The flexible tube portion flattened by the rollers forms an orifice that locally increases the flow resistance. This orifice acts or functions to regulate or restrict the flow or distribution of the adhesive except when the internal pressure of the adhesive containing area increases, thereby preventing unintended adhesive outflow from the discharge port, and on the other hand, to allow the adhesive to flow in order to release the liquid pressure of the adhesive when the internal pressure of the adhesive containing area increases, thereby discharging the adhesive from the discharge port.
[0018] The dimension (n) of the nip region can be set to a value within the range of, for example, 1.0 mm to 5.0 mm, preferably within the range of 1.5 mm to 4.0 mm, and more preferably within the range of 2.0 mm to 3.0 mm.
[0019] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the flexible tube clamping device has a pair of support shafts (23) that respectively support or support the rollers, and a tension coil spring (25) engaged or anchored to each support shaft, and this tension coil spring applies an initial compressive force to the pair of rollers for flattening the flexible tube portion located in the nip area of the rollers by the pair of rollers, and also applies a resistance or reaction force to the support shafts that suppresses or limits the expansion of the nip area so as to maintain the initial cross-sectional flattened shape of the flexible tube against the restoring force of the flexible tube and the increase in pressure of the adhesive inside the flexible tube.
[0020] Preferably, the adhesive container has a cylinder portion having a uniform or evenly circular cross section substantially over its entire length, and the adhesive pressing means has a piston (6) that is reciprocally movable within the cylinder of the cylinder portion and presses the adhesive in the adhesive containing area by its forward movement, a piston rod (7) that is integrally connected to the piston and reciprocates the piston, a manually operated movable lever (5) that gives a driving force to the piston rod by the gripping or gripping force of fingers to push the piston rod into the cylinder, a ratchet mechanism (3c-3g) that prevents or suppresses the piston rod that has advanced into the cylinder from retracting after the movable lever is released, a holdable or graspable handle (4) that extends downward integrally from a frame portion (30) of the ratchet mechanism, and a stroke limiting device (8) that sets or limits the dimension of the forward movement of the piston caused by one lever operation.
[0021] More preferably, the upper end of the movable lever is pivotally supported by a pivot arranged at the lower part of the frame portion (30) or at the upper part of the handle, and the stroke limiting device is configured to limit or restrict the pivot angle range (θ) of the movable lever to set or restrict the stroke (δ) of the piston, and is provided with a variably settable angle range adjustment mechanism (82, 85) that can arbitrarily expand or reduce the pivot angle range.
[0022] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the adhesive container has a front cap (9) attached to the tip portion so as to close the tip opening, and a tubular coupling member (14) is supported by the front cap. An adhesive delivery tube (12) communicating with the adhesive storage area passes through the radial center of the front cap. The tubular coupling member concentrically connects the flexible tube and the adhesive delivery tube, and fluidically connects the internal flow path of the adhesive delivery tube to the internal flow path of the flexible tube. Preferably, the tubular coupling member has a tubular portion (14d) with a true circular cross section and an outer diameter slightly larger than the inner diameter of the base end of the flexible tube. The base end of the flexible tube is attached to the outer circumferential surface of the tubular portion by slightly expanding the base end opening of the flexible tube having a true circular cross section and fitting the tubular portion into the flexible tube from the base end opening.
[0023] The flexible tube is made of a flexible resin, rubber, or elastomer tube having a predetermined outer diameter and inner diameter within the ranges of, for example, an outer diameter of 10 to 18 mm and an inner diameter of 6 to 15 mm. The thickness of the wall of the flexible tube is set to a value within the range of, for example, 1.0 mm to 3.0 mm. If the compression ratio of the flexible tube is defined as [nip area dimension (n) / outer diameter of the flexible tube before compression (d)], the flexible tube clamping device preferably compresses the flexible tube in the radial direction at a compression ratio within the range of 0.14 to 0.30, more preferably 0.16 to 0.25, to flatten the flexible tube.
[0024] Preferably, the adhesive dispenser according to the present invention further comprises a front cover (28) supported by the front cap. The front cover has an oval or elliptical opening (29) through which the flattened tip of the flexible tube passes. The tip opening of the flexible tube, which functions as the nozzle outlet, is located in front of the front cover.
[0025] From another perspective, the present invention provides a method for applying adhesive using the adhesive dispenser configured as described above, characterized in that a water-soluble adhesive or a vinyl acetate-based adhesive having a viscosity (Pa·s / 23°C) within a range of 22.0 to 32.0 is stored in the adhesive storage area, and droplets or puddles of adhesive are formed on the adhesive surface of a building surface material.
[0026] The present invention also provides a method for applying adhesive using the adhesive dispenser having the above-mentioned configuration, characterized in that a predetermined amount of adhesive within the range of 1.5 g to 10.0 g is discharged from the discharge port by one manual operation of the adhesive pressing means. As the adhesive, a vinyl acetate resin-based emulsion type adhesive (JIS A 5538: JIS K6804) generally used for attaching building boards to walls and ceilings can be suitably used.
[0027] In using the adhesive dispenser according to the present invention, a user such as a worker may preferably use a commercially available packaged adhesive unit in which an adhesive is enclosed in a cylindrical resin film. When using such an adhesive unit, the user cuts or breaks the film at the tip of the adhesive unit to locally open the tip of the package, and inserts the side opposite to the opening end into the adhesive receiving area (ε) to accommodate the adhesive unit in its entirety in the adhesive receiving area, and then inserts the adhesive delivery tube (12) into the opening portion of the film to glueThe front cap (9) is attached to the tip opening of the adhesive container so that the delivery tube extends into the adhesive unit, thereby fluidly connecting the area in the adhesive unit containing the adhesive with the area inside the flexible tube, and thus setting the adhesive dispenser in a state where it can be used. In use, a user grasps the handle of the adhesive dispenser thus set, points the nozzle tip at a suitable location on the bonding surface of the building surface material, and operates the movable lever by holding it with the fingers, thereby discharging the adhesive onto the bonding surface, and by repeating this process, droplets or pools of adhesive are formed on the bonding surface, and thus the adhesive can be applied to the bonding surface of the building surface material in dots or intermittent lines at desired intervals. If the work is to be interrupted for a relatively long period of time, it is only necessary to properly protect or protect the discharge port with a suitable protective material, cap, etc., and the adhesive does not easily harden or solidify, and the work can be immediately resumed after several hours or days. In addition, after the work is completed, the user can relatively easily clean the adhesive dispenser by rinsing the container and the adhesive flow path such as the flexible tube with water, and can replace the flexible tube and / or the adhesive delivery tube if desired. Therefore, the adhesive application method according to the present invention can be extremely suitably used in construction work that requires the repeated application of relatively small amounts of building surface materials every day. Effect of the Invention
[0028] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an adhesive dispenser that can intermittently dispense a substantially equal amount of adhesive, has a compact configuration that is lightweight enough to be held or carried in one hand by a user such as a worker, and further, can control the amount of adhesive dispensed without providing a movable part such as a movable valve body in the adhesive flow path.
[0029] Furthermore, according to the adhesive application method of the present invention, the adhesive can be dispersed and applied relatively easily in dots or intermittent lines onto the rear surface of the facing material using such an adhesive dispenser. [Brief description of the drawings]
[0030] [Figure 1] 1(A) and 1(B) are a side view and a partially enlarged vertical sectional view showing the structure of an adhesive dispenser according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial vertical cross-sectional view of the adhesive dispenser showing the adhesive contained in the adhesive container. [Diagram 3] Figure 3(A) is an exploded oblique view showing the structure of the adhesive dispenser excluding the adhesive dispensing device, Figure 3(B) is a front view of the piston, Figure 3(C) is an oblique view of the stroke regulating device, and Figure 3(D) is an exploded oblique view of the stroke regulating device. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of the adhesive dispensing device. [Diagram 5] 5(A), 5(B) and 5(C) are partial vertical cross-sectional views of an adhesive dispenser, which show, in a schematic and step-by-step manner, the process of loading an adhesive unit into an adhesive container. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a perspective view that shows, in schematic form, an adhesive unit that can be loaded into a container of an adhesive dispenser. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing, in outline, an embodiment of an adhesive that is dispersed and applied in dots onto the bonding surface of a surface material for interior and exterior building construction. [Figure 8] Figure 8(A) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an adhesive dispensing device showing a modified example of the adhesive dispensing device as a second embodiment, Figures 8(B) and 8(C) are front and side views of the adhesive dispensing device shown in Figure 8(A), and Figures 8(D) and 8(E) are oblique views of the adhesive dispensing device shown in Figure 8(A). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS EXAMPLES
[0031] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0032] 1 to 4 are a side view, a partially enlarged vertical sectional view, and an exploded perspective view showing the structure of an adhesive dispenser according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0033] As shown in Figures 1 to 4, the adhesive dispenser 1 is composed of an adhesive container 2 (hereinafter referred to as the "container 2") having an adhesive storage area ε capable of storing an adhesive unit P, a ratchet mechanism 3 connected to the base end of the container 2, a handle 4 extending downward integrally from a frame portion 30 of the ratchet mechanism 3, a pivotable manually operated movable lever (operating rod) 5 pivotally supported on the connecting portion of the frame portion 30 and the handle 4, a piston 6 that is reciprocally mounted in the adhesive storage area ε of the container 2 and presses the adhesive A (Figure 2) contained in the container 2, a piston rod 7 whose tip is integrally connected to the piston 6 and passes through the ratchet mechanism 3, a stroke limiting device 8 that limits the pivot angle range of the movable lever 5 and limits the dimension (stroke) of the forward movement of the piston 6 generated by one lever operation, a front cap 9 attached to the tip opening of the container 2, and an adhesive dispensing device 10 (hereinafter referred to as the "dispensing device 10") attached to the tip of the front cap 9.
[0034] The ratchet mechanism 3, handle 4, movable lever 5, piston 6 and piston rod 7 constitute a manually operated adhesive pressing means for pressing the adhesive A contained in the adhesive containing area ε of the adhesive container 2 to pressurize or increase the pressure of the adhesive A. The discharge device 10 is configured to discharge the adhesive A (FIG. 2) from the discharge port Na of the nozzle N in response to the increase in pressure of the adhesive A pressed by the piston 6. The container 2, ratchet mechanism 3, handle 4, lever 5, piston 6, piston rod 7, stroke limiting device 8 and front cap 9 are composed of an assembly of metal parts such as steel parts and stainless steel alloy parts, or a one-piece metal molded product. As adhesive A, a general-purpose vinyl acetate resin emulsion type adhesive (JIS A 5538, JIS K 6804) that is used in combination with staples or screws to bond gypsum-based facing materials such as gypsum boards applied to the walls or ceilings of buildings, and facing materials for interior and exterior architectural construction such as rock wool sound-absorbing panels, can be suitably used.
[0035] Fig. 6 shows an example of an adhesive unit P in which a vinyl acetate resin emulsion type adhesive is enclosed in a resin film bag. This type of adhesive unit P is widely used at many construction sites for interior and exterior building work in the application of gypsum boards and other surface materials for interior building work. Fig. 7 shows an example of adhesive A extruded from this type of adhesive unit P and dispersedly applied in dots to the adhesive surface of a surface material for interior and exterior building work.
[0036] As shown in Fig. 6, a packaged adhesive bag made by sealing a vinyl acetate resin emulsion adhesive A weighing about 1 kg in a cylindrical resin film F with both ends sealed can be suitably used as the adhesive unit P in this example. This type of bagged adhesive is widely used for attaching building boards to wall and ceiling surfaces, and is easily available on the market.
[0037] Conventionally, a user of an adhesive unit P (such as a worker working on interior and exterior building construction) would cut and open the resin film F at the steeple-shaped end Pa of the bag body with a tool such as scissors or a cutter, as illustrated by the imaginary cutting line (dash line) S in Figure 6, then grasp the bag with his or her fingers and compress the bag body to pressurize or increase the pressure of the adhesive A inside the bag, thereby pushing the adhesive A out under pressure from the opened end opening of the steeple-shaped end Pa onto the adhesive surface Wa of the face material W, and by repeating this series of operations, an appropriate amount of adhesive A would be distributed and applied in dots (or intermittent lines) on the adhesive surface Wa of the face material W, as shown in Figure 7.
[0038] In such a conventional adhesive dispersion application method, a skilled worker applies adhesive to a surface material by eyeballing it based on his experience, intuition, and skill, and this method has been used for many years. However, in view of the recent problem of a shortage of skilled workers in the construction industry, measures are desired to improve workability and enable relatively inexperienced workers to perform desired work relatively easily. The present invention was created from this perspective, and according to the present invention, a user only needs to, for example, store the adhesive unit P in the container 2 of the adhesive dispenser 1, point the nozzle N of the discharge device 10 to an appropriate position on the adhesive surface Wa of the surface material W, grasp the handle 4 of the pressing mechanism 3, and pivot the movable lever 5 toward the handle 4 with his fingers, so that even a relatively inexperienced worker can reliably and easily perform the regular work of dispersing and applying an appropriate amount of adhesive to the adhesive surface of the surface material.
[0039] The structure and function of the adhesive dispenser 1 will now be generally described.
[0040] As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the container 2 constituting the adhesive dispenser 1 is made of a metal tube having a uniform circular cross section over its entire length. The tip of the container 2 is provided with a connecting means such as an external screw that screws with an internal screw of the front cap 9. An annular rubber packing 90 is interposed between the tip (front end) of the container 2 and a step 9c of the front cap 9. The base end (rear end) of the container 2 is also provided with a connecting means such as an external screw that screws with an internal screw of the rear cover or end cap 3a. The rear cover or end cap 3a is integrated with a frame portion 30 of the ratchet mechanism 3 and constitutes a part of the ratchet mechanism 3. The inner diameter of the container 2 is set within a range of 50 mm to 80 mm, for example, 70 mm, and the overall length of the container 2 is set within a range of 200 to 400 mm, for example, 300 mm.
[0041] A piston 6 and a piston rod 7 operated by a movable lever 5 are aligned concentrically with the central axis XX of the container 2. As shown in FIG. 3(B), the piston 6 has a circular contour in a front view with an outer diameter substantially the same as the inner diameter of the container 2, and is in sliding contact with the inner peripheral surface of the container 2. The piston 6 is integrally connected to the tip of the piston rod 7 via a piston washer (or piston receiving plate) 6a, and moves forward or backward according to the forward movement (arrow α direction) or backward movement (arrow β direction) of the piston rod 7. In the adhesive dispenser 1 of this example, an adhesive unit P in which an adhesive A is sealed in a bag of a resin film F is used, so that a plurality of air communication holes 6b (diameter about 6 mm) that facilitates the reciprocating movement of the piston 6 are drilled in the piston 6 as shown in FIG. 3(B).
[0042] The frame portion 30 of the ratchet mechanism 3 has a through hole (not shown) through which the piston rod 7 passes, and a hollow portion 3b in which the ratchet 3c and the ratchet spring 3d are disposed. The ratchet mechanism 3 has a back lever 3f disposed adjacent to the outer surface (rear or back surface) of the frame portion 30, and a back lever spring 3g is interposed between the back lever 3f and the frame portion 30. The piston rod 7 passes through the back lever spring 3g and the back lever 3f, extends rearward, and is bent at a right angle to form an operating portion 7a that can be gripped by a user.
[0043] The movable lever 5 is a trigger-type lever that is pivotally supported by a pivot pin 5a disposed at the connection between the frame portion 30 of the ratchet mechanism 3 and the upper end of the handle 4, and is biased in a direction away from the handle 4 by a biasing means (not shown). When the movable lever 5 is pivoted or swung by a finger around the axis of the pivot pin 5a toward the handle 4, the feed pin 5b disposed at the upper end of the movable lever 5 presses the ratchet 3c forward against the elastic force of the ratchet spring 3d. As a result, the ratchet 3c is displaced forward, and the piston rod 7 frictionally engaged with the ratchet 5a is advanced. The piston rod 7 is held in its advanced position by the braking action of the back lever 3f.
[0044] To move the piston 6 backward (in the direction of arrow β) after repeatedly pivoting the movable lever 5 with one's fingers (trigger operation) multiple times to advance the piston 6 in stages, the back lever 3f is pushed forward against the elastic force of the back lever spring 3g, the slide bar 3e is pushed by the back lever 3f to release the ratchet action of the ratchet 3c, and then the operating portion 7a of the piston rod 7 is grasped and the piston rod 7 is manually pulled backward (in the direction of arrow β) to move the piston 6 backward.
[0045] The pressing device 3 includes a stroke restriction device 8 for restricting or limiting the rotation angle range of the lever 5 and setting the stroke (advance distance) δ of the piston 7 generated by one lever operation to a constant dimension value. The stroke restriction device 8 includes a movable tube portion 81 that is integrally attached to the lever 5 on the handle 4 side and displaces together with the lever 5, a holder 83 with a screw portion 82 that extends into the hollow portion of the movable tube portion 81, a fixing device or anchoring device 84 such as a pin that fixes or anchors the holder 83 to the handle 4, and a hexagonal nut 85 that is screwed onto the screw portion 82 so as to variably set the dimension of the screw portion 82 that can be extended into the movable tube portion 81. The stroke restriction device 8 extends from the edge of the handle 4 generally toward the lever 5 side, generally horizontally or slightly upwardly inclined. The angular range θ of the pivotable lever 5 is set by the position of the hexagonal nut 85. When a user grips the handle 4 and pivots the lever 5 towards the handle 4 with his / her fingers, the screw portion 82 is inserted into the hollow portion of the movable tube portion 81 and the hexagonal nut 85 abuts or strikes against the tip surface of the movable tube portion 81, restricting further pivoting of the lever 5. Therefore, the stroke (advancement distance) δ of the piston 6 advanced by one pivoting operation of the lever 5 is preset by a certain numerical value (dimension) corresponding to the dimension of the screw portion 82 that can be inserted into the hollow portion of the movable tube portion 81. In other words, the user (worker, etc.) can advance the piston 6 by a predetermined stroke δ in response to one pivoting operation of the lever 5, and therefore, by repeatedly pivoting the lever 5, the forward movement of the piston 6 by the predetermined stroke δ can be intermittently and repeatedly performed.
[0046] The structure and function of the ratchet mechanism 3, which is composed of the ratchet 3c, the ratchet spring 3d, the back lever 3f, the back lever spring 3g, the slide bar 3e, etc., is substantially the same as or similar to the ratchet mechanism of a general-purpose caulking gun described in detail in Patent Document 3, for example. Therefore, the structure and function of the ratchet mechanism 3 are known, and therefore further detailed description of the ratchet mechanism 3 will be omitted.
[0047] Next, the structure and function of the discharge device 10 disposed at the tip of the adhesive dispenser 1 according to the present invention will be described.
[0048] 1 and 2, an internal thread formed in the enlarged diameter portion 9a of the front cap 9 is screwed onto an external thread at the tip of the container 2, and a reduced diameter portion 9b of the front cap 9, whose inner diameter gradually decreases toward the front, extends forward from a step portion 9c of the enlarged diameter portion 9a. The front end of the reduced diameter portion 9b is closed by a disk portion 9d. A circular opening 9e is drilled in the center of the disk portion 9d, and the base end of a connecting portion 9f is integrally connected thereto.
[0049] An adhesive delivery pipe 12 (hereinafter referred to as "delivery pipe 12") constituting the discharge device 10 penetrates the circular opening 9e, and the outer thread of the delivery pipe 12 is screwed into the inner thread of the connecting portion 9f. The discharge device 10 is supported by the connecting portion 9f and extends forward of the front cap 9. The delivery pipe 12 is made of, for example, a resin pipe (for example, a hard polyvinyl chloride pipe) or a metal pipe with an inner diameter of about 13 mm and an outer diameter of about 18 mm, and the outer end portion 12a (FIG. 4) of the delivery pipe 12 equipped with an outer thread is made of a metal part. The circular opening 9e, the connecting portion 9f, and the delivery pipe 12 are arranged concentrically around the central axis XX, and an adhesive delivery path G capable of delivering adhesive A penetrates the front cap 9 and communicates with the adhesive storage area ε. The flow path center of the adhesive delivery path G coincides with the central axis XX.
[0050] As shown in FIG. 4, the discharge device 10 includes a hexagonal nut 13 with an internal thread that can be screwed into the external thread of the connecting portion 9f, a nozzle fitting 14 into which the base end of the flexible tube 11 can be fitted, a fastener 15 for fixing the base end of the flexible tube 11 to the nozzle fitting 14, a clamping roller device 20 having a pair of upper and lower exterior rollers 21, and a front cover 28 with a nozzle insertion hole 29 into which the tip end of the flexible tube 11 can be inserted.
[0051] The base end half of the hexagonal nut 13 is screwed onto the external thread of the connecting portion 9f. The tip end half of the hexagonal nut 13 is screwed into the external thread portion 14a of the nozzle fitting 14. As shown in FIG. 4, the main body portion 14b of the nozzle fitting 14 is connected to a relatively small diameter reduced diameter tube portion 14d via a step portion 14c. The flexible tube 11 is a flexible tube made of resin, rubber or elastomer having flexibility or pliability, for example a silicone tube with an inner diameter of 9 mm and an outer diameter of 12 mm. The reduced diameter tube portion 14d of the nozzle fitting 14 has an outer diameter slightly larger than the inner diameter of the flexible tube 11. The proximal end of the flexible tube 11 is attached onto the outer circumferential surface of the reduced diameter tube section 14d by slightly expanding the proximal end opening of the flexible tube 11 and fitting the reduced diameter tube section 14 into the flexible tube 11, and the internal flow paths of the flexible tube 11 and the nozzle attachment 14 are fluidly connected to the adhesive delivery path G, and thus the internal flow path of the flexible tube 11 is fluidly connected to the adhesive containing area ε of the container 2. The proximal end of the flexible tube 11 is fixed to the outer circumferential surface of the reduced diameter tube section 14d by the anchor 15, and is integrally connected to the nozzle fitting 14. In this example, the flow path diameter of the reduced diameter tube section 14d is set to a dimension slightly smaller than the flow path diameter of the delivery tube 12, but it is also possible to set the flow path diameters of the reduced diameter tube section 14d and the delivery tube 12 to the same dimension, or to set the flow path diameter of the delivery tube 12 to a value smaller than the flow path diameter of the reduced diameter tube section 14d.
[0052] As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, the pressure roller device 20 constituting the discharge device 10 includes a pair of upper and lower exterior rollers 21 arranged in front of the nozzle fitting 14, a pair of upper and lower interior rollers 22 rotatably supporting each of the rollers 21, and a pair of upper and lower support shafts 23 rotatably supporting each of the interior rollers 22. The rollers 21, 22 and the support shaft 23 are arranged concentrically about the central axis of the support shaft 23. Each end of the support shaft 23 extends outside each of the support plates 17 through the vertical slots 17a of the pair of left and right support plates 17. A pair of left and right support plates 16 supporting each of the support plates 17 are arranged adjacent to each of the support plates 17. Each of the support plates 16 is fixed to the side of the hexagonal nut 13 by a screw 18a that penetrates the through hole 16a and screws into the screw hole 13a of the hexagonal nut 13. The screw 18 b passes through the through holes 16 b and 19 a of the support plate 16 and the spacer 19 and is screwed into the screw hole 17 b of the support plate 17 , thereby fixing the support plate 17 to the support plate 16 .
[0053] A tension coil spring 25 with its central axis oriented vertically is disposed on the outer surface of each support plate 17. The upper and lower hooks of the tension coil spring 25 are engaged with the outer ends of a pair of upper and lower support shafts 23 extending outside each support plate 17, and are anchored to the outer ends of each support shaft 23 by spring retainers 25a. The tension of the tension coil spring 25 acts to bring the upper and lower support shafts 23 (and therefore the upper and lower exterior rollers 21) closer to each other in the vertical direction. The flexible tube 11 passes through the nip area between the rollers 21 under the pressure of the upper and lower exterior rollers 21 and is flattened. The restoring force of the flexible tube 11, which tries to restore its initial circular cross section, acts on the tension coil spring 25 as an initial tension. The spring 25 applies a compressive force to the flexible tube 11 to maintain the flat cross section of the flexible tube 11 against the restoring force of the flexible tube 11 and the internal pressure of the flexible tube 11 (the liquid pressure of the adhesive A (Figure 2)).
[0054] In this example, the dimension n (FIG. 2) of the nip region formed between the exterior rollers 21 is set to a value within a range of 2.0 mm to 3.0 mm, for example 2.4 mm, for the outer diameter d of the flexible tube 11 (FIG. 2), and therefore the compression ratio n / d of the flexible tube in the nip region is set to 0.16 to 0.25, for example 0.2. Strictly speaking, the thickness of the wall of the flexible tube is slightly reduced in the nip region, so that the flow path dimensions of the flattened portion of the internal flow path of the flexible tube 11 are slightly larger than the flow path dimensions obtained by this compression ratio, but the internal flow path of the flexible tube 11 is flattened roughly in accordance with this compression ratio.
[0055] The flexible tube 11 attempts to slightly restore its initial circular cross section in front of (the tip end side of) the nip region between the upper and lower exterior rollers 21, but maintains its generally flattened state and passes through a nozzle insertion hole 29 in the front cover 28. The flattened tip portion of the flexible tube 11 constitutes a nozzle N for discharging adhesive, and the tip opening of the flexible tube 11 forms a discharge port Na of the nozzle 11 in front of the front cover 28. The front cover 28 is fixed to the left and right support plates 17 by screws 28b (Fig. 1) that are screwed into screw holes 28a (Fig. 4). The spacer 19, rollers 21, 22 and front cover 28 are made of a single piece molded from a relatively hard resin, and the other parts or members that constitute the discharge device 10 are made of metal members or parts.
[0056] Next, a method of using the adhesive dispenser 1 will be described.
[0057] 5 shows a schematic and step-by-step process of loading the adhesive unit Pa into the container 2. A user such as an operator removes the front cap 9 of the container 2 and cuts the resin film F at the spire-shaped end Pa with a tool such as scissors or a cutter as shown by the cutting line (two-dot chain line) S in FIG. 6 to form an opening part Pb, and then inserts the bottom part Pc of the adhesive unit P into the adhesive containing area ε from the front end opening of the container 2 as shown in FIG. 5(A) to load the adhesive unit P into the adhesive containing area ε in its entirety. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5(B), the user inserts the delivery tube 12 into the opening part Pb of the adhesive unit P to extend the base end (rear end) of the delivery tube 12 into the adhesive unit P, and as shown in FIG. 5(C) and FIG. 2, integrally assembles the front cap 9 to the front end opening of the container 2, thereby fluidly communicating the adhesive A in the adhesive unit P with the inner area of the flexible tube 11. The adhesive dispenser 1 is then set up for use.
[0058] In use, a user grasps the handle 4 (Fig. 1) of the adhesive dispenser 1 thus set up, points the nozzle N at an appropriate position on the adhesive surface Wa (Fig. 7) of the surface material W, and grasps and operates the movable lever 5 with his / her fingers to advance the piston rod 7 and the piston rod 6 (moving them in the direction of the arrow α). As the pivot angle θ of the movable lever 5 is limited by the stroke restriction device 8 as described above, the stroke δ of the piston 6 caused by one operation of the movable lever 5 is controlled to a constant value.
[0059] As shown in FIG. 2, the adhesive unit P is pressed forward by the forward movement (movement in the α direction) of the piston 6, and the bag containing the adhesive A is compressed overall. As a result, the film F at the front end of the adhesive unit P is in close contact with the rubber packing 90, and the adhesive A in the adhesive unit P flows out of the opening part Pb due to the increase in pressure of the adhesive A and fills the narrowed part 9b. The adhesive A in the adhesive unit P flows into the adhesive delivery path G of the delivery pipe 12 as shown by the arrow η, and increases the pressure of the flow path on the upstream side of the flexible tube clamping device 20. The flow path resistance of the orifice formed by the nip area of the roller 21 causes the adhesive A to flow to the nozzle N side in response to the increase in pressure in the upstream flow path, and the nozzle N discharges the adhesive A from the discharge port Na. In the demonstration test, it was observed that the upper and lower exterior rollers 21 rotate slightly when the adhesive A flows through the orifice, as shown by the arrow in the partially enlarged view of FIG. 2.
[0060] Since the stroke δ (FIG. 1) of the piston 6 is limited to a predetermined dimension by the stroke restriction device 8, the pressure rise of the adhesive A is restricted, and when the pressure exceeds a peak value, it gradually decreases to the initial value (atmospheric pressure) as the adhesive A is discharged from the discharge port Na, and the discharge of the adhesive A from the discharge port Na stops. Therefore, since the amount of adhesive A discharged to the bonding surface Wa of the surface material W by one lever operation is determined by the stroke δ of the piston 6 set by the stroke restriction device 8, the user can form a certain amount of droplets or liquid pools of adhesive A on the bonding surface A by a relatively simple lever operation. The user can repeatedly perform the above lever operation while sequentially moving the position of the nozzle N, thereby dispersing and applying an appropriate amount of adhesive A in dots (or intermittent lines) on the bonding surface Wa of the surface material W, as shown in FIG. 7.
[0061] Figure 8 shows, as a second embodiment, a modified adhesive dispensing device that has a device cover that entirely covers the dispensing device 10 instead of the above-mentioned front cover 28. Figure 8(A) is a vertical cross-sectional view of the adhesive dispensing device of the second embodiment, Figures 8(B) and 8(C) are front and side views of the adhesive dispensing device shown in Figure 8(A), and Figures 8(D) and 8(E) are perspective views of the adhesive dispensing device shown in Figure 8(A).
[0062] The structure of an adhesive dispensing device 10 according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 8. In each drawing, components or members that are substantially the same as or equivalent to those in the previous embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and the previous explanations are used to explain these components or members, and duplicate explanations will be omitted.
[0063] The discharge device 10 of this embodiment is provided with a device cover 100 that has a nozzle insertion hole 29 and covers the entire discharge device 10, instead of the above-mentioned front cover 28 (FIG. 4) that has the nozzle insertion hole 29 and locally constitutes the front end of the discharge device 10. The device cover 100 is composed of a front cover 28' having the nozzle insertion hole 29 and a cylindrical side cover 101 configured to accommodate the entire discharge device 10. The device cover 100 is intended to cover the entire discharge device 10 in order to prevent a part of the adhesive A discharged from the nozzle N from adhering to a component or part of the discharge device 10 via the worker's fingers or the like, resulting in the adhesive A solidifying or curing on the outer surface or in gaps of the discharge device 10.
[0064] The front cover 28' has a disk-like shape with the center part slightly raised forward, and is composed of a front end surface 26 with a perfect circular contour, a continuation part 27a in the shape of a truncated cone that connects to the outer periphery of the front end surface 26 and extends radially outward, and an annular part 27b that extends rearward from the outer edge of the continuation part 27a. The annular part 27b is inserted into the front end opening of the side cover 101. A fastener 105 such as a screw, bolt or the like is screwed into a female screw hole (not shown) of the annular part 27b through a through hole (not shown) drilled in the front end part of the side cover 101, and the annular part 27b and the side cover 101 are connected together by fastening the pair of left and right fasteners 105.
[0065] A pair of upper and lower grooves 103 are formed in the rear end of the side cover 101, and the grooves 103 extend parallel to the central axis XX and open at the rear edge of the side cover 101. A female screw member 104 having a female screw hole is disposed in a position corresponding to the groove 103, and the female screw member 104 is supported integrally by the nozzle fitting 14. A fastener 102 such as a screw, bolt, or the like passes through the groove 103 and is screwed into the female screw hole of the female screw member 104 for tightening. Thus, the annular portion 27b is supported integrally by the nozzle fitting 14 by fastening the pair of upper and lower fasteners 102 to the female screw member 104.
[0066] In use, the device cover 100 entirely covers the dispensing device 10 to prevent any part of the dispensed adhesive from adhering to the dispensing device 10 or from becoming contaminated or muddy in any way. As can be easily understood, the device cover 100 can be easily removed from the dispensing device 10 for cleaning or washing by loosening the tether 102 and sliding the side cover 101 outwardly in the direction of the central axis XX.
[0067] Although the preferred embodiments and examples of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments or examples, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the present invention described in the claims.
[0068] For example, in the above embodiment, a packaged adhesive unit in which the adhesive is sealed in a tubular resin film is used and this is stored in the adhesive storage area, but if desired, it is also possible to prepare in advance a tubular interior resin container that can be stored in the adhesive container and is reusable, and to modify the design of the device configuration so that the adhesive is filled into this container and stored in the adhesive container, or to modify the design of the structure of the adhesive container, front cap, piston, etc. so that the adhesive can be stored directly in the adhesive storage area.
[0069] In addition, in the above embodiment, the structure of a manually operated pressing mechanism of a caulking gun is applied as the adhesive pressing means, but a cylinder device of another structure in which the piston stroke can be set may be used as the adhesive pressing means. For example, if desired, it is also possible to employ a rechargeable battery-operated drive device as the driving source for the pressing mechanism.
[0070] Furthermore, a gauge for visually checking the spacing between droplets or liquid pools may be provided on the adhesive container or adhesive discharge device as a positioning indicator for the adhesive discharge nozzle, and the distance between the droplet or liquid pool on the adhesive surface previously formed and the center position of the next droplet or liquid pool to be formed may be visually checked using the gauge. [Industrial Applicability]
[0071] The present invention is applied to an adhesive dispenser and adhesive application method for construction work, which are used to apply adhesive to a surface material in dots (spots) or intermittent lines at a construction site. The adhesive dispenser of the present invention is used to distribute substantially equal amounts of adhesive evenly at intervals on the adhesive surface of a construction surface material, facilitating on-site management of the amount, application position, application state, etc. of the adhesive, and can be designed to have a compact structure that is lightweight enough to be supported or carried by a user such as a worker in one hand, and can discharge substantially equal amounts of adhesive intermittently and regularly, and can control the amount of adhesive discharged without providing a movable part such as a movable valve body in the adhesive flow path. In addition, work using such an adhesive dispenser of the present invention is extremely advantageous in terms of work efficiency, and its practical or practical effects are remarkable. [Explanation of symbols]
[0072] 1 Adhesive Dispenser 2 Glue containers 3 Ratchet mechanism 4 Handle 5 Movable lever (operating rod) 6 Piston 7 Piston rod 8 Stroke restriction device 9 Front Cap 10 Adhesive dispensing device 11 Flexible tube 12 Adhesive delivery tube 13 Hexagon Nut 14 Nozzle fitting 15 Moorings 16, 17 Support plate 20 Pressure roller device 21 Exterior roller 22 Internal roller 23 Spindle 25 Extension coil spring 28, 28' Front cover 29 Nozzle insertion hole 30 Ratchet mechanism frame 81 Movable tube part 82 Screw part 83 Holder 84 Anchorages or moorings 85 Hexagon Nut 100 Equipment cover 101 Side cover N Nozzle Na outlet P Adhesive Unit W-face material Wa Adhesive surface ε Adhesive Receiving Area δ Piston stroke (one stroke) θ Pivot angle range
Claims
1. An adhesive dispenser (1) for intermittently discharging a liquid adhesive (A) onto a bonding surface of a building surface material to form droplets or pools of the adhesive at intervals on the bonding surface, The adhesive container (2) has an adhesive storage area (ε) capable of storing the adhesive, an adhesive discharge device (10) has a discharge port (Na) for discharging the adhesive stored in the adhesive storage area, and an adhesive pressing means (3-7) for pressing the adhesive in the adhesive storage area to pressurize or increase the pressure, The adhesive dispensing device includes a flexible tube (11) that is in fluid communication with the adhesive storage area and has an open tip as the discharge port for dispensing the adhesive onto the bonding surface, and a flexible tube clamping device (20) that locally flattens an intermediate portion of the flexible tube located between the adhesive storage area and the discharge port, thereby applying local flow resistance to the flexible tube, The adhesive dispenser is characterized in that the tip of the flexible tube flattened by the clamping action of the flexible tube clamping device constitutes an adhesive discharge nozzle (N) that discharges the adhesive.
2. 2. The adhesive dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the flexible tube clamping device has a pair of rollers (21) that form a nip area through which the flexible tube is inserted and which clamps the outer surface of the flexible tube.
3. 3. The adhesive dispenser according to claim 2, wherein the flexible tube clamping device has a pair of support shafts (23) that respectively support or support the rollers, and a tension coil spring (25) engaged or anchored to each support shaft, the tension coil spring applying an initial compressive force to the rollers for flattening the portion of the flexible tube located in the nip area of the rollers by the rollers, and applying a reaction or resistance force to the support shafts that suppresses or limits the expansion of the nip area so as to maintain the initial cross-sectional flattened shape of the flexible tube against the restoring force of the flexible tube and the pressure increase of the adhesive within the flexible tube.
4. The adhesive container has a cylindrical portion having a uniform or uniform circular cross section substantially over the entire length, and the adhesive pressing means includes a piston (6) that is reciprocally movable within the cylinder of the cylindrical portion and presses the adhesive in the adhesive storage area by its forward motion; a piston rod (7) integrally connected to the piston and causing the piston to reciprocate; a manually operated movable lever (5) for applying a driving force to the piston rod by a gripping force of fingers to push the piston rod into the cylinder; A ratchet mechanism (3c-3g) that prevents or inhibits the piston rod, which has advanced into the cylinder, from retracting after the movable lever is released; a grippable handle (4) extending downward integrally from a frame portion (30) of the ratchet mechanism; The adhesive dispenser according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a stroke limiting device (8) for setting or limiting the dimension (δ) of the forward movement of the piston caused by a single operation of the movable lever.
5. An adhesive dispenser as described in Claim 4, characterized in that the upper end of the movable lever is pivotally supported by a pivot arranged at the bottom of the frame portion or the top of the handle, and the stroke control device is configured to limit the pivot angle range (θ) of the movable lever so as to set or control the stroke (δ) of the piston, and is provided with an angle range adjustment mechanism (82, 85) that can variably set the pivot angle range.
6. 3. The adhesive dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive container has a front cap (9) attached to a tip portion so as to close the tip opening, an adhesive delivery tube (12) communicating with the adhesive storage area passes through the radial center of the front cap, and a pipe joint member (14) concentrically connecting the flexible tube and the adhesive delivery tube and fluidly communicating the internal flow path of the adhesive delivery tube with the internal flow path of the flexible tube is supported by the front cap.
7. 7. The adhesive dispenser according to claim 6, wherein the tubular coupling member (14) has a tubular portion (14d) of circular cross section having an outer diameter slightly larger than the inner diameter of the base end of the flexible tube, and the base end of the flexible tube having a circular cross section is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion by slightly expanding a base end opening of the flexible tube and fitting the tubular portion into the flexible tube from the base end opening.
8. The adhesive dispenser according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the flexible tube is made of a soft resin, rubber or elastomer tube having a predetermined outer diameter and inner diameter within the ranges of outer diameter 10 to 18 mm and inner diameter 6 to 15 mm, and the flexible tube clamping device radially compresses the flexible tube at a predetermined compression ratio within the range of 0.15 to 0.30, when [dimension of the nip area (n) / outer diameter of the flexible tube before compression (d)] is defined as the compression ratio of the flexible tube, to flatten the flexible tube.
9. 9. The adhesive dispenser of claim 8, further comprising a front cover (28) or device cover (100) supported by the front cap, the front cover or device cover having an oval or elliptical opening (29) through which the flattened tip of the flexible tube passes, and the tip opening of the flexible tube functioning as the discharge port is positioned in front of the front cover or device cover.
10. A method for applying adhesive using the adhesive dispenser according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising the steps of: A method for applying an adhesive, comprising: storing a water-soluble adhesive or a vinyl acetate adhesive having a viscosity (Pa·s / 23°C) in the range of 22.0 to 32.0 in the adhesive storage area; and forming droplets or pools of the adhesive on the adhesive surface.
11. A method for applying adhesive using the adhesive dispenser according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising the steps of: A method for applying adhesive, comprising the steps of: manually operating the adhesive pressing means once to cause a predetermined amount of the adhesive within a range of 1.5 g to 10.0 g to be discharged from the discharge port.
12. 7. A method of applying adhesive using the adhesive dispenser of claim 6, comprising the steps of: An adhesive application method comprising the steps of: storing a packaged adhesive unit in which the adhesive is sealed in a tubular resin film in the adhesive storage area; locally opening the package by cutting or breaking the film at the tip of the adhesive unit; inserting the adhesive delivery tube into the opened portion of the film so that the adhesive delivery tube extends into the adhesive unit; and assembling the front cap to the tip opening of the adhesive container to fluidly connect the area within the adhesive unit in which the adhesive is sealed and the area inside the flexible tube.
Citation Information
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