Application Device and Method for Producing an Application Device

Abstract

The invention relates to an application device (1) for applying a viscous material onto a substrate, comprising: an inner container (3) for accommodating the viscous material, said inner container having a discharge opening (18); an outer casing (2) surrounding the inner container (3) and having a substantially hollow-cylindrical neck region (6) with an inner diameter D1 and an opening (7) formed in the neck region (6); and an applicator (4) connected to the outer casing (2), wherein, by means of pressure on the outer casing (2), the viscous material can be conveyed out of the inner container (3) into the applicator (4) and by means of said applicator can be applied onto a substrate, wherein the application device (1) has a ventilation device, comprising an insert (19), which is connected air-tightly to the inner container (3) in the region of the discharge opening (18), is substantially hollow-cylindrical and has an outer diameter D2, wherein the outer diameter D2 of the insert (19) is smaller than the inner diameter D1 of the neck region (6) of the outer casing (2), and wherein the insert (19) has, on its outside, latching means (22) with the aid of which the insert is latched in the inserted position within the neck region (6) of the outer casing (2), wherein, in this inserted position, as a result of the different diameters D1 and D2, an annular gap is formed between the insert (19) and the neck region (6) of the outer casing (2), through which annular gap air can flow from outside into the intermediate space between the outer casing (2) and the inner container (3) and vice versa, and wherein the connection between the applicator (4) and the outer casing (2) is also permeable to air and the applicator (4) comprises a sealing means (25) by means of which, when the applicator (4) is in the inserted position, the inner volume of the inner container (3) is sealed off in an air-tight and leak-proof manner from the intermediate space between the outer casing (2) and the inner container (3). The invention further relates to a method for producing an application device (1) of this kind.

Claims

1. (canceled)

2. An application device for applying a viscous material to a substrate, comprising: an inner container having a dispensing opening for receiving the viscous material, an outer casing surrounding the inner container and having a substantially hollow-cylindrical neck region of an inner diameter D1 and an opening designed in the neck region, and an applicator connected to the outer casing, wherein the viscous material can be conveyed from the inner container into the applicator by pressure on the outer casing and the viscous material can be applied to a substrate by the applicator, wherein the application device has a ventilation device comprising an insert which is connected in an airtight manner to the inner container in the region of the dispensing opening and which is substantially designed in the shape of a hollow cylinder and has an outer diameter D2, wherein the outer diameter D2 of the insert is smaller than the inner diameter D1 of the neck region of the outer casing, and wherein the insert has latching means on its outer side by which it is latched in the insert position within the neck region of the outer casing, wherein in this insert position, due to the different diameters D1 and D2, an annular gap is designed between the insert and the neck region of the outer casing, through which air can flow from the outside into the intermediate space between the outer casing and the inner container and vice versa, and wherein the connection between the applicator and the outer casing is designed to be air-permeable and the applicator comprises a sealing means by which, in the use position of the applicator, an airtight and leak-proof sealing of the inner volume of the inner container with respect to the intermediate space between the outer casing and the inner container is provided.

3. The application device of claim 1, wherein the annular gap has a gap width of 0.4 to 1 mm.

4. The application device of claim 1, wherein the outer casing has a lamella fold by which compression of the outer casing is facilitated.

5. The application device of claim 4, wherein the lamella fold is positioned so that a compression of the outer casing substantially occurs in a direction perpendicular to a main flow direction of the viscous material.

6. The application device of claim 1, wherein the inner container is a film bag.

7. The application device of claim 6, wherein the inner container is a multilayer laminate comprising an aluminum film.

8. The application device of claim 1, wherein the inner container is connected to the insert by welding, and the welded connection has a pressure tightness up to at least 1.5 bar.

9. The application device of claim 1, wherein the applicator comprises a main body and means for smoothing the applied viscous material and/or means for cleaning adjacent substrate regions.

10. The application device according to claim 9, wherein the applicator has at least two materials of different stiffness, and the main body is made of a stiffer material than the means for smoothing and/or the means for cleaning.

11. A method for producing the application device of claim 1, comprising: providing an inner container and an insert connected to the inner container, an outer casing having a neck region and an opening, and an applicator; U-shaped folding of the inner container by directly superimposing a left flank of the inner container and a right flank of the inner container; inserting the U-shaped folded inner container through the opening in the outer casing; latching the insert of the inner container to the neck region of the outer casing, forming an annular gap between the insert of the inner container and the neck region of the outer casing; filling the inner container with the viscous material; applying the applicator to the outer casing and joining the applicator and the outer casing, wherein the joining of the applicator and the outer casing is air-permeable while the applicator seals the intermediate space between the outer casing and the inner container from the inner volume of the inner container; optionally, placing a protective cap on the applicator and latching the protective cap to the outer casing.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the outer casing is manufactured from a thermoplastic elastomer in an injection blow molding process.

Description

[0032] FIG. 1: shows an embodiment of an application device according to the invention in a perspective view;

[0033] FIG. 2: shows the outer casing of the application device of FIG. 1;

[0034] FIG. 3: shows a side view of the outer casing shown in FIG. 2;

[0035] FIG. 4: shows an inner container of the application device with an insert;

[0036] FIG. 5: shows the inner container of FIG. 4 folded in a U-shape;

[0037] FIG. 6: shows a view of the inner container folded in a U-shape from above;

[0038] FIG. 7: shows the inner container of FIG. 5 in an already partially unfolded state;

[0039] FIG. 8: shows an example of an insert in an oblique view from below;

[0040] FIG. 9: shows a schematic diagram of the connection region of the applicator, insert and outer casing;

[0041] FIG. 10: shows an alternative embodiment of the applicator in a perspective view;

[0042] FIG. 11: shows a schematic sectional view of the insert latched in the neck region of the outer casing, forming an annular gap.

[0043] FIG. 1 shows an application device, designated 1 in its entirety, for applying a viscous material to a substrate. The application device 1 comprises an outer casing 2 and an inner container 3, which is not visible in the illustration of FIG. 1, is arranged inside the outer casing 2 and stores the viscous material, for example a sealant. The inner container 3 will be explained in more detail later in connection with FIGS. 4-7.

[0044] Furthermore, the application device 1 comprises an applicator 4, which is connected to the outer casing 2 via a threaded connection. The threaded connection between applicator 4 and outer casing 2 is designed to be air-permeable. An external pressure exerted on the outer casing 2 is transmitted to the inner container 3, causing the viscous material to be conveyed from the inner container 3 into the applicator 4 and then to be applied to a substrate. For this purpose, the applicator 4 has a dispensing opening 5 through which the viscous material can exit the application device 1.

[0045] FIGS. 2 and 3 show two views of the outer casing 2 of the application device 1 of FIG. 1. The outer casing 2 comprises a neck region 6 having an opening 7, wherein the neck region 6 is substantially designed as a hollow cylinder and has an inner diameter D1. The neck region 6 is provided with an external thread 8, which serves to screw the outer casing 2 to the applicator 4 of the application device 1. The external thread 8 is designed as a left-hand thread.

[0046] The outer casing 2 has a lamella fold 9 in the manner of a bellows, wherein the lamellae 10 extend circumferentially, starting from a region below the neck region 6 of the outer casing 2, over the left side 11 of the outer casing 2, over its underside 12 and over the right side 13, in turn up to the neck region 6. The lamella fold 9 facilitates the compression of the outer casing 2. For this purpose, a user can grasp the outer casing 2 with one hand between the thumb and at least one other finger and apply pressure to the two opposing actuating surfaces 14 and 15 in such a manner that the two actuating surfaces 14 and 15 are moved towards one another.

[0047] In this regard, the lamella fold 9 is designed in such a manner that compression of the outer casing 2 occurs substantially in a direction perpendicular to a main flow direction of the viscous material within the application device 1. A main flow direction of the viscous material is shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 by the arrow 16 and extends from the bottom 12 of the outer casing 2 towards the applicator 4 and the opening 7, respectively. In FIG. 3, the perpendicular direction in which the compression of the outer casing 2 takes place is also indicated by the arrow 17. The embodiment shown has five lamellas, wherein the opening angle a between two adjacent lamellas is about 47°.

[0048] FIG. 4 shows an inner container 3 of the application device 2. The inner container 3 is designed as a film bag made of an aluminum laminate with a film thickness of about 100 μm by edge sealing. The inner container 3 is used to store the viscous material and has a dispensing opening 18. In the region of the dispensing opening 18, an insert 19 is connected to the inner container 3 in an airtight manner by welding. The insert 19 is substantially designed in the shape of a hollow cylinder, which can be seen more clearly in FIG. 6 and in FIG. 11. The outer diameter D2 of insert 19 is smaller than the inner diameter D1 of neck region 6 of outer casing 2, see also FIG. 11. The insert 19 is part of a ventilation device, which will be explained in more detail below.

[0049] In the application device 1 of FIG. 1, the inner container 3 is arranged inside the outer casing 2. For insertion into the outer casing 2, the inner container 3 is folded in a U-shape, which can be seen in FIGS. 5 and 6. For this purpose, the right flank 20 is first folded onto the central region of the inner container 3 and then the left flank 21 of the inner container 3 is placed directly over it. FIG. 6 shows a top view of the arrangement of the flanks 20 and 21 of the inner container 3 in the U-shaped folded state. In this state, the inner container 3 can be inserted through the opening 7 into the inner region of the outer casing 2. Subsequent filling of the inner container 3 with the viscous material through the opening 18 causes the inner container 3 to gradually unfold, wherein an upper region of the inner container 3 unfolds first, which is indicated in FIG. 7, before the lower region of the inner container 3 also unfolds completely upon further filling. Compared to other types of folding, the U-shaped folding results in a particularly reliable unfolding of the inner container 3, enabling a more uniform and complete filling with viscous material.

[0050] The inner container 3 inserted into the outer casing 2 is connected to the outer casing 2 by a latching mechanism. For this purpose, the insert 19 connected to the inner container 2 has latching means 22 on its outer side, cf. also FIG. 8, which, in the insertion position of the inner container 3 in the outer casing 2, latch with corresponding latching means on the inner side of the neck region 6 of the outer casing 2. Due to the difference between the outer diameter D2 of the insert 19 and the inner diameter D1 of the neck region 6, an annular gap is designed between the insert 19 and the neck region 6 of the outer casing 2 in the insert position of the insert 19, see FIG. 11. FIG. 11 shows a top view of a section through the insert 19 along the line A-B indicated in FIG. 5, wherein the insert 19 is inserted into the neck region 6 of the outer casing 2. The annular gap is shown here by a shaded region, though not to scale. Air can flow through this annular gap into the intermediate space between the outer casing 2 and the inner container 3 and vice versa. In the embodiment shown, the diameter D1 is about 19.3 mm and the diameter D2 is about 17.8 mm. The annular gap thus has a gap width of about 0.75 mm.

[0051] FIG. 9 shows a section of the connection region of applicator 4, insert 19 and neck region 6 of outer casing 2 in schematic, partially cutaway view. The threaded connection between the applicator 4 and the neck region 6 of the outer casing 2 is permeable to air, allowing air to flow into and through the threaded connection region from the outside in the direction indicated by the arrow 23, and finally to flow into the intermediate space between the inner container 3 and the outer casing 2 through the annular gap between the insert 19 and the neck region 6 of the outer casing 2 in the region indicated by the arrow 24. At the same time, the applicator 4 has a sealing means 25 by which the inner volume of the inner container 3, which is accessible via the dispensing opening 18, is sealed with respect to the intermediate space between the outer casing 2 and the inner container 3. In other words, air can flow into the intermediate space between outer casing 2 and inner container 3, but this air cannot flow into inner container 3.

[0052] This ventilation device ensures bubble-free, uniform discharge of the viscous material from the application device 1. When the outer casing 2 is compressed by a user in the manner described above, air located between the outer casing 2 and the inner container 3 first escapes through the annular gap between the neck region 6 of the outer casing 2 and the insert 19 of the inner container 3 and passes to the outside through the air-permeable threaded connection between the applicator 4 and the outer casing 2. Pressure on the outer casing 2 is transmitted to the inner casing 3, causing viscous material to be conveyed from the inner casing 3 into the applicator 4 and dispensed through its dispensing opening 5 onto a substrate. As soon as the pressure on the outer casing 2 is released, air is drawn in again from outside through the connection region between the applicator 4 and the outer casing 2 into the intermediate space between the inner container 3 and the outer casing 2 in order to relieve the negative pressure built up here and to return the outer casing 2 to its original shape. At the same time, however, no air enters the inner container 3 storing the viscous material, since this is sealed off from the intermediate space between the outer casing 2 and the inner container 3 by the sealing means 25 arranged on the applicator 4. The outer casing 2 thus resumes its original shape after each application procedure due to the inflow of air, while the inner container 3 is further compressed and irreversibly deformed with each application procedure.

[0053] The integrated ventilation device prevents air from being drawn into the inner container 3toring the viscous material during metering and subsequent resetting of the outer casing 2 This eliminates the need to shake or “spike” the application device 1 prior to use and ensures an air bubble-free application of the viscous material to a substrate. Since the inner container 3 is further deformed with each application procedure and this deformation is not reversible, the viscous material cannot run back into regions of the inner container 3 from which it would first have to be moved back towards the dispensing opening 18. Rather, the viscous material is always immediately available in any orientation of the application device 1 and can be dispensed reliably and without bubbles. This also achieves significantly improved residual emptying. The external appearance of the application device 1 is thereby consistently attractive to a user, since the outer casing 2 always returns to its original shape, while the increasingly deformed inner container 3 is not visible to the user.

[0054] FIG. 10 shows an alternative embodiment of an applicator 4. Compared to the substantially rectangular shape of the applicator 4 in FIG. 1, the applicator 4 in FIG. 10 is designed in a delta shape. The outer edges 26, 27, 28, 29 of the applicators 4 of FIGS. 1 and 4 serve as means for smoothing the applied viscous material and as means for cleaning adjacent substrate regions, respectively. In this case, the main body 30 of the applicator 4 is made of a more rigid material than the means for smoothing and cleaning, which are made of a pliable material.