Sleeve, dispensing apparatus comprising the sleeve and method

Abstract

A dispensing apparatus is suitable for the reception of a collapsible cartridge including a dispensable medium. The cartridge and the sleeve can be arranged with respect to one another such that the sleeve can support a cartridge wall of the cartridge in at least one section thereof during dispensing of the medium. A length of the sleeve can be changed substantially parallel to a dispensing direction.

Claims

1. A sleeve for a dispensing apparatus for reception of a collapsible cartridge including a dispensable medium, the sleeve configured to be arranged with respect to the collapsible cartridge such that the sleeve supports a cartridge wall of the collapsible cartridge in at least one section thereof during dispensing of the medium, a length of the sleeve capable of being changed substantially in parallel to a dispensing direction, and the sleeve being configured to expand in the dispensing direction, the sleeve comprising at least two sleeve segments which are movably arranged relative to one another so as to affect a change of the length.

2. The sleeve in accordance with claim 1, wherein the length is capable of being reversibly changed.

3. The sleeve in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a protective cover arranged at a side of the sleeve facing the collapsible cartridge, the protective cover being arranged at least in a section between the sleeve and the cartridge.

4. The sleeve in accordance with claim 3, wherein the protective cover is removably arranged.

5. The sleeve in accordance with claim 1, wherein the sleeve segments are displaceable with respect to one another in a direction substantially parallel to the dispensing direction.

6. The sleeve in accordance with claim 1, wherein each of the at least two sleeve segments has a length, and the at least two sleeve segments are coupled to one another such that the sleeve segments are displaceable relative to one another by at most a smaller length of the segment lengths of the at least two sleeve segments relative to movement substantially opposite to the dispensing direction.

7. The sleeve in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a plurality of segment transition regions, one of the segment transition regions from a sleeve segment to an adjacent sleeve segment at a side facing the collapsible cartridge having a curvature or chamfer such that damaging of the cartridge wall is substantially avoided during dispensing.

8. The sleeve in accordance with claim 7, further comprising a protective device arranged in the at least one segment transition region at the side facing the collapsible cartridge.

9. The sleeve in accordance with claim 1, wherein at least one sleeve segment of the at least two sleeve segments is made of a plastic.

10. The sleeve in accordance with claim 1, wherein the sleeve is configured to conically expand in the dispensing direction.

11. A dispensing apparatus, comprising: a support cartridge configured to receive a collapsible cartridge; and a sleeve configured to receive the collapsible cartridge including a dispensable medium, the collapsible cartridge and the sleeve configured to be arranged with respect to one another such that the sleeve is capable of supporting a cartridge wall of the collapsible cartridge in at least one section thereof while dispensing the medium, a length of the sleeve capable of being changed substantially parallel to a dispensing direction, and the sleeve being configured to expand in the dispensing direction, the sleeve being capable of being coupled or decoupled to a dispensing plunger.

12. The dispensing apparatus in accordance with claim 11, wherein the sleeve is capable of being releasably attached at or in the support cartridge.

13. A method for dispensing a medium out of a collapsible cartridge, comprising: providing a dispensing apparatus comprising a support cartridge for receiving the collapsible cartridge and a dispensing plunger, and a sleeve for the receiving the collapsible cartridge including a dispensable medium fastened at or in the support cartridge, the collapsible cartridge and the sleeve are arranged with respect to one another such that the sleeve supports a cartridge wall of the collapsible cartridge in at least one section thereof during dispensing of the medium, and a length of the sleeve is capable of being changed substantially in parallel to a dispensing direction, the sleeve being configured to expand in the dispensing direction; and dispensing the medium out of the collapsible cartridge by moving the dispensing plunger of the dispensing apparatus along the dispensing direction to an outlet side, while reducing the length of the sleeve during movement of the dispensing plunger, and the cartridge wall of the collapsible cartridge being supported by the sleeve in at least a section thereof.

14. The sleeve in accordance with claim 3, wherein the protective cover is a protective film.

15. The sleeve in accordance with claim 8, wherein the protective device is arranged in each and every segment transition region at the side facing the collapsible cartridge.

16. The sleeve in accordance with claim 8, wherein the protective device is a ring.

17. The sleeve in accordance in claim 16, wherein the ring is flexible or elastic.

18. The sleeve in accordance with claim 9, wherein the sleeve is plastic.

19. The dispensing apparatus in accordance with claim 11, wherein the sleeve is configured to be coupled or decoupled to the dispensing plunger such that the length of the sleeve is capable of being reversible changed.

20. A sleeve for a dispensing apparatus for reception of a collapsible cartridge including a dispensable medium, the sleeve configured to be arranged with respect to the collapsible cartridge such that the sleeve supports a cartridge wall of the collapsible cartridge in at least one section thereof during dispensing of the medium, a length of the sleeve capable of being changed substantially in parallel to a dispensing direction, and the sleeve being configured to expand in the dispensing direction, and a protective cover arranged at a side of the sleeve facing the collapsible cartridge, the protective cover being arranged at least in a section between the sleeve and the cartridge.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention will be explained in more detail hereinafter with reference to the drawings.

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a dispensing apparatus in accordance with the invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a perspective illustration of a cartridge for use in a dispensing apparatus in accordance with FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of an alternative dispensing apparatus in accordance with the invention;

(5) FIG. 4A-4C are schematic illustrations of sleeve segments in different positions with respect to one another;

(6) FIG. 5 is a perspective illustration of the dispensing apparatus in accordance with FIG. 1 in a first position;

(7) FIG. 6 is a perspective illustration of the dispensing apparatus in accordance with FIG. 1 in a second position;

(8) FIG. 7A-7B are schematic illustrations of alternative sleeve segments in accordance with the invention having curvatures and chamfers;

(9) FIG. 8 is a perspective illustration of two cartridges for a dispensing apparatus; and

(10) FIG. 9 is a perspective illustration of a dispensing apparatus for the two cartridges in accordance with FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

(11) FIG. 1 shows a dispensing apparatus 2 in accordance with the invention in a schematic illustration.

(12) The dispensing apparatus 2 in accordance with FIG. 1 is present in a start position prior to the dispensing of a medium from a collapsible cartridge 3 which is arranged in the dispensing apparatus 2. The dispensing apparatus 2 comprises a support cartridge 10 for the reception of the cartridge 3 which conically expands in the dispensing direction A and in the present case forms a truncated cone.

(13) A dispensing plunger 7 is partly arranged in the support cartridge 10, wherein the dispensing plunger 7 can act on the cartridge 3 by an end face through a movement of the dispensing plunger 7 along the dispensing direction A.

(14) A sleeve 1 is arranged in a support cartridge 10 which surrounds the cartridge to support the cartridge wall 9 at least during the dispensing such that the cartridge 3 does not burst by the pressure exerted on the cartridge 3 for dispensing.

(15) The sleeve 1 comprises a plurality of sleeve segments 5 which can be displaced with respect to one another with reference to the dispensing direction A and which has a length L. In this connection, the sleeve segments 5 are configured such that they can be pushed into one another in such a way that the collapsible cartridge 3 can be compressed for a dispensing of the medium.

(16) The sleeve segments 5 have a segment length S. The sleeve segments 5 are coupled to one another in such a way that the sleeve segments 5 can be displaced relative to one another by the smaller of the segment lengths S of the at least two sleeve segments 5 with reference to a movement substantially opposite to the dispensing direction A.

(17) The dispensing plunger 7 is of two-part design and comprises a first plunger 12 and a second plunger 13. The second plunger 13 is arranged in the first plunger 12.

(18) Pins 14 are arranged in the openings 15 and the depression 16 for coupling and/or decoupling the plunger. Moreover, recesses 17 are arranged in the support cartridge 10. The pins 14 can be moved into the recesses 15 in a decoupling position. In this case the pins no longer engage into the depression 16 so that a decoupling of the plunger can take place, whereby a residual volume of the medium in the cartridge 3 can be minimized following the dispensing through an outlet (not shown) arranged in the outlet side 11. A static or dynamic mixing device can be arranged at the outlet side in accordance with the requirements, when, for example, the cartridge 3 includes at least two different components to be mixed as a medium. A feed tube can also alternatively or additionally be arranged for feeding the medium to a position of application.

(19) A collapsible cartridge 3 such as can be used in the dispensing apparatus in accordance with FIG. 1 is shown in a perspective illustration in FIG. 2. The cartridge 3 has a cartridge base 8 and a cartridge wall 9.

(20) The same reference numerals relate to the same features in all of the Figures.

(21) An alternative dispensing apparatus in accordance with the invention is schematically illustrated in FIG. 3. The sleeve segments 5 of the sleeve 1 are made of plastic.

(22) In contrast to FIG. 1 a protective film 4 configured as a protective cover is arranged between the collapsible cartridge 3 and the sleeve 1. In the present case the protective cover moreover has the function of a protective device for the cartridge 3 such that the cartridge 3 can be protected better from damages, in particular in the segment transition regions 6. For this purpose the protective film 4 is reversibly elastic.

(23) The dispensing plunger 7 is of one-part design in contrast to the two-part dispensing plunger decouplable in accordance with FIG. 1. An outlet 21 is arranged in the outlet side 11 for a dispensing of the medium from the cartridge 3.

(24) Two sleeve segments 5 in different relative positions with respect to one another are respectively schematically illustrated by way of sections in theFIGS. 4A-4C. These sleeve segments 5 can be used, for example, for the formation of the sleeves such as they are shown in the FIG. 1 and FIG. 3. The sleeves in accordance with FIG. 3, for example, comprise seven such sleeve segments for the formation of the sleeve.

(25) The sleeve segments 5 have projections 18 for hooking the sleeve segments 5 to one another such that the sleeve segments 5 can be displaced relative to one another by at most the shortest of the segment lengths S of the two sleeve segments 5 with reference to a movement substantially opposite to the dispensing direction A. Since the sleeve segments 5 all have the same segment length S in the present example these can be displaced opposite to the dispensing apparatus A by at most the segment length S, starting from the shortest possible length L of the sleeve in the dispensing direction.

(26) The relative arrangement of the sleeve segments 5 in accordance with FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 is illustrated in a starting position in FIG. 4A. An intermediate position of the sleeve segments 5 with respect to one another is shown in FIG. 4B and a final position following the dispensing is shown in FIG. 4C in accordance with FIG. 6.

(27) The dispensing apparatus 2 in accordance with the invention according to FIG. 1 is shown in a starting position in a perspective illustrate in FIG. 5. The dispensing apparatus 2 in accordance with the invention according to FIG. 1 is illustrated in a final position in a perspective illustration in FIG. 6. The length L of the sleeve 1 in accordance with FIG. 5 in this connection is larger than the length L of the sleeve 1 in accordance with FIG. 6. The sleeve segments 5 were displaced relative to one another during the dispensing of the medium from the collapsible cartridge 3 such that the length L of the sleeve 1 was reduced.

(28) The length L of the sleeve in accordance with FIG. 6 substantially corresponds to the segment length S in accordance with FIG. 1.

(29) Sleeve segments having curves 19 and chamfers 20 in accordance with the invention are illustrated in theFIG. 7A and FIG. 7B. The sleeve segment 5 in accordance with FIG. 7A has curves 19 at the side facing the cartridge in the segment transition regions, the curves being formed continuous. The sleeve segment 5 in accordance with FIG. 7B has chamfers 20 in these segment transition regions, wherein the aerial sections of the sleeve segment having the chamfer 20 form an obtuse angle or a relaxed angle W respectively.

(30) Two cartridges 3 are illustrated in FIG. 8 in a perspective illustration for the reception in a dispensing apparatus in accordance with FIG. 9.

(31) The cartridges 3 have outlets 21 which are arranged at the outlet side 11. Moreover, a fastening apparatus 22, for example for a static mixer is provided. Naturally also other application apparatuses, such as for example cannulas, can be arranged at the fastening apparatus 21.

(32) Typically the two cartridges include two different adhesive components which can be mixed by a static mixer arranged downstream of the outlet 21 at the fastening apparatus 22.

(33) In the present case the two cartridges 3 have an equal reception volume for the two components. Naturally, it is also plausible to use cartridges with different reception volumes in accordance with the requirements and the dispensing apparatus used.

(34) A dispensing apparatus 2 in accordance with the invention is shown in a perspective illustration in FIG. 9.

(35) The dispensing apparatus 2 has a support cartridge 10 designed for the reception of the two cartridges 3. The dispensing apparatus 2 further comprises a static mixer 23 which can be fastened at the fastening apparatus 22 illustrated in the FIG. 8.

(36) The dispensing apparatus 2 further comprises a drive 24 comprising an electromotor for actuating the dispensing plunger which is not visible in this example. The dispensing apparatus 2 comprises two dispensing plungers for the substantially simultaneous dispensing of the two cartridges 3.

(37) The dispensing plungers can be configured as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 3 in this connection.