Cartridge System

Abstract

A cartridge system comprising: a tubular bag; a cylindrical sleeve having a wall surrounding the tubular bag, the sleeve having a delivery end and a distal end opposite thereto; a distal end closure element releasably connected to the sleeve; a delivery end shoulder element releasably connected to the sleeve and comprising a central through-flow channel, an outlet opening and a piercing point for the tubular bag, wherein the shoulder element has a compression ring which protrudes concentric to the sleeve wall into an interior of the sleeve, the outer diameter of the compression ring being reduced compared to the sleeve's inner diameter such that an annular gap exists between the sleeve wall and compression ring, and a compression chamber inside the compression ring into which the piercing point protrudes, the compression ring protruding further into the sleeve interior than the piercing point.

Claims

1. A cartridge system, comprising a tubular bag containing a viscous material, a cylindrical sleeve with a sleeve wall which completely surrounds the tubular bag, the sleeve having a delivery-side end and a distal end opposite the delivery-side end, a closure element which is disposed at the distal end of the sleeve and is releasably connected to the sleeve, and a shoulder element which is disposed at the delivery-side end of the sleeve and is releasably connected to the sleeve, the shoulder element comprising a central through-flow channel and an outlet opening for delivering the viscous material out of the cartridge system and having at least one piercing point for piercing the tubular bag, wherein the shoulder element has a compression ring which protrudes concentric to the sleeve wall into an interior of the sleeve delimited by the sleeve wall and the outer diameter of which compression ring is reduced compared to the inner diameter of the sleeve such that an annular gap is formed between the sleeve wall and the compression ring, a compression chamber being formed inside the compression ring, into which compression chamber the at least one piercing point protrudes, with the compression ring protruding further into the interior of the sleeve than the at least one piercing point.

2. The cartridge system according to claim 1, wherein the cylindrical sleeve is made of a plant-fiber-based material.

3. The cartridge system according to claim 1, wherein the shoulder element comprises a press ring which is formed concentric to the compression ring and is pressed into the sleeve and rests against the sleeve wall from the inside, the inner diameter of the press ring being larger than the outer diameter of the compression ring, so that the annular gap is formed between the press ring and the compression ring.

4. The cartridge system according to claim 1, wherein the shoulder element comprises a locking ring which is formed concentric to the compression ring and rests against the sleeve wall from the outside.

5. The cartridge system according to claim 1, wherein a circumferential shoulder edge is formed on the shoulder element and rests on the end-face edge of the sleeve wall at the delivery-side end of the sleeve.

6. The cartridge system according to claim 5, wherein an undercut is formed on the shoulder element on the inside adjacent to the circumferential shoulder edge.

7. The cartridge system according to claim 1, wherein the shoulder element has an external thread adjacent to the outlet opening, via which thread the shoulder element can be connected to a dispensing nozzle.

8. The cartridge system according to claim 1, wherein the outlet opening is closed off by a breakaway reclosure part.

9. The cartridge system according to claim 1, wherein the closure element comprises a plunger that is displaceable within the sleeve and a closure ring pressed into the sleeve, the plunger and the closure ring being connected to one another via at least one connecting web designed as a predetermined breaking point.

10. The cartridge system according to claim 9, wherein at least one sealing lip is formed on the circumference of the plunger.

11. The cartridge system according to claim 9, wherein a circumferential shoulder edge is formed on the closure ring and rests on the end-face edge of the sleeve wall at the distal end of the sleeve.

12. The cartridge system according to claim 1, wherein its dimensions are chosen so that it can be used together with a standard caulking gun.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] In the following, the invention is explained in more detail by means of an exemplary embodiment and with reference to the attached figures. In the figures:

[0030] FIG. 1: shows a cartridge system according to the invention in a perspective view;

[0031] FIG. 2: shows the cartridge system from FIG. 1 in an exploded view;

[0032] FIG. 3: shows the cartridge system from FIG. 1 in a sectional view;

[0033] FIG. 4: shows a closure element in a side view;

[0034] FIG. 5: shows the closure element from FIG. 4 in a sectional view;

[0035] FIG. 6: shows the distal end of the cartridge system from FIG. 1 before the cartridge system is put into operation in a sectional view;

[0036] FIG. 7: shows the distal end of the cartridge system from FIG. 1 after the cartridge system is put into operation in a sectional view;

[0037] FIG. 8: shows a shoulder element in a side view;

[0038] FIG. 9: shows the shoulder element from FIG. 8 in a sectional view;

[0039] FIG. 10: shows the delivery-side end of the cartridge system from FIG. 1 before the cartridge system is put into operation in a sectional view;

[0040] FIG. 11: shows the delivery-side end of the cartridge system from FIG. 1 after the cartridge system is put into operation in a sectional view;

[0041] FIG. 12: shows an exemplary embodiment of a cartridge system having a weakened region formed in the sleeve wall;

[0042] FIG. 13: shows a further exemplary embodiment of a cartridge system having a weakened region formed in the sleeve wall;

[0043] FIG. 14: shows an exemplary embodiment of the shoulder element with an undercut;

[0044] FIG. 15: shows a further exemplary embodiment of the shoulder element with an undercut.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0045] FIG. 1 shows a cartridge system according to the invention, designated as a whole by 1, in a perspective view. The cartridge system looks similar to a conventional cartridge and can be inserted into a standard caulking gun.

[0046] The structure of the cartridge system 1 is evident from the exploded view in FIG. 2 and the sectional view in FIG. 3. It comprises a tubular bag 2 containing a viscous material, in this case silicone. The tubular bag 2 is made of a laminate film, also referred to below as tubular bag film, and is closed at both ends by clips 3. Perpendicular to its longitudinal extension, the tubular bag 2 has a substantially circular cross-section, so that the filled tubular bag 2 has a sausage-shaped configuration. The tubular bag 2 is disposed completely within a cylindrical sleeve 4 made of cardboard, which comprises recycled paper material. The sleeve 4 has a delivery-side end 5 and a distal end 6 opposite the delivery-side end 5, and comprises a sleeve wall 14.

[0047] The cartridge system 1 further comprises a closure element 7, which is disposed at the distal end 6 of the sleeve 4 and is releasably connected to the sleeve 4, and a shoulder element 8, which is disposed at the delivery-side end 5 of the sleeve 4 and is releasably connected to the sleeve 4. Both the closure element 7 and the shoulder element 8 are made of polypropylene using an injection molding process.

[0048] The structure of the closure element 7 is shown in more detail in FIGS. 4 to 7. It comprises a plunger 9 which is displaceable within the sleeve 4 and a closure ring 10 which is pressed into the sleeve 4. The plunger 9 and the closure ring 10 are initially connected to one another via narrow connecting webs 11 designed as predetermined breaking points. The described exemplary embodiment comprises four such connecting webs 11, which are evenly distributed over the circumference of the closure ring 10, and of which only three connecting webs 11 can be seen in FIG. 4. When the cartridge system 1 is put into operation by a user using a caulking gun, the connecting webs 11 are broken open and the plunger 9 is then displaceable within the sleeve 4 independently of the closure ring 10. As can be seen from FIGS. 3, 6 and 7, the plunger 9 rests directly against the distal end of the tubular bag 2, so that the tubular bag 2 is also moved in the direction of the delivery-side end 5 of the sleeve 4 by a movement of the plunger 9 in the direction of the delivery-side end 5 of the sleeve 4; see FIG. 7. The closure ring 10 remains in its position at the distal end 6 of the sleeve 4.

[0049] The outer diameter of the closure ring 10 is matched to the inner diameter of the sleeve 4 in such a way that the closure ring 10 can be pressed under pressure into the distal end 6 of the sleeve 4 during the manufacture of the cartridge system 1. For this purpose, the closure ring 10 has a texture of horizontally disposed ribs 12 on its outer circumference. The pressed-in closure element 7 at the distal end 6 of the sleeve 4 safely prevents the tubular bag 2 from slipping out of the sleeve 4 before and while the cartridge system 1 is put into operation. After the cartridge system 1 has been emptied, the closure ring 10 and the plunger 9 can be separated from the sleeve 4, and all components can be disposed of separately.

[0050] Two sealing lips 13 are formed on the circumference of the plunger 9 and are made of the same material as the plunger 9 itself, in this case polypropylene. As can be seen from FIGS. 6 and 7, the sealing lips 13 rest directly against the inside of the sleeve wall 14. In this way, it is possible to reliably prevent parts of the emptied tubular bag film from entering the region between the plunger 9 and the closure ring 10 during the emptying process of the cartridge system 1 and leading in such a case to a jamming of components of the caulking gun. At the same time, the formation of sealing lips 13 on the circumference of the plunger 9 has the advantage that the plunger 9 does not rest against the inner wall of the sleeve 4 over its entire height, whereby there is less friction between the plunger 9 and the inner wall of the sleeve 4 and the plunger 9 is more easily displaceable within the sleeve 4.

[0051] The structure of the shoulder element 8 is shown in more detail in FIGS. 8 to 11. The shoulder element 8 comprises a central through-flow channel 15 and an outlet opening 16 for delivering the viscous material out of the cartridge system 1. In the region of the outlet opening 16, the shoulder element 8 has an external thread 30, via which the shoulder element 8 can be connected to a separate dispensing nozzle 29.

[0052] The shoulder element 8 also has three piercing points 17, of which only two piercing points 17 can be seen in the figures. At its end facing the sleeve 4, the shoulder element 8 has a compression ring 18 which protrudes concentric to the sleeve wall 14 into the interior of the sleeve 4 delimited by the sleeve wall 14; see FIG. 10. The outer diameter of the compression ring 18 is reduced compared to the inner diameter of the sleeve 4 in such a way that an annular gap 19 is formed between the sleeve wall 14 and the compression ring 18. Within the compression ring 18, a compression chamber 20 is formed into which the piercing points 17 protrude. Before the cartridge system 1 is put into operationthis situation is shown in FIGS. 3 and 10the piercing points 17 may touch the tubular bag 2, but they do not yet pierce the tubular bag film due to a lack of pressure on the tubular bag 2.

[0053] In addition to the compression ring 18, the shoulder element 8 also comprises a press ring 21, which is formed concentric to the compression ring 18 and is pressed into the sleeve 4 and rests against the sleeve wall 14 from the inside. The inner diameter of the press ring 21 is larger than the outer diameter of the compression ring 18, so that the annular gap 19 is formed between the press ring 21 and the compression ring 18. During the emptying process of the tubular bag 2, parts of the tubular bag film are forced into this annular gap 19 by the pressure acting on the tubular bag 2, which can be seen in part from FIG. 11. At the same time, this provides a seal between the opened tubular bag 2 and the interior of the sleeve 4, so that when the outlet opening 16 is additionally sealed, the viscous material from the tubular bag 2, once opened, does not dry out and can be reused at a later time.

[0054] Starting from the delivery-side end 5 of the sleeve 4, the press ring 21 protrudes less far into the interior of the sleeve 4 than the compression ring 18, so that the tubular bag 2 pushed forward within the sleeve 4 first contacts the compression ring 18 during an emptying process of the cartridge system 1; see FIGS. 10 and 11. The outer diameter of the press ring 21 is matched to the inner diameter of the sleeve 4 in such a way that the press ring 21 can be pressed under pressure into the delivery-side end 5 of the sleeve 4 during the manufacture of the cartridge system 1. For this purpose, the press ring 21 has a texture of vertically disposed ribs 22 on its outer circumference. After the cartridge system 1 has been emptied, the shoulder element 8 can be separated from the sleeve 4 by a user, and both components can be disposed of separately.

[0055] The shoulder element 8 has a circumferential shoulder edge 23 which, in the inserted position, rests on the end-face edge of the sleeve wall 14 at the delivery-side end 5 of the sleeve 4; see FIGS. 10 and 11. In the same way, a circumferential shoulder edge 24 is formed on the closure ring 10 and rests on the end-face edge of the sleeve wall 14 at the distal end 6 of the sleeve 4; see FIGS. 6 and 7.

[0056] The functionality of the cartridge system 1 is described in the following.

[0057] In order to dispense the silicone material stored in the tubular bag 2, the cartridge system 1 is inserted into a standard caulking gun (not shown in the figures). When the caulking gun is operated, a rod disposed on the caulking gun is pressed against the closure element 7. The rod passes through the closure ring 10 and comes into contact with the plunger 9. The pressure exerted by the rod on the plunger 9 initially leads to a breaking of the four connecting webs 11 between the closure ring 10 and the plunger 9 and subsequently to a movement of the plunger 9 toward the delivery-side end 5 of the sleeve 4. The plunger 9 exerts pressure on the tubular bag 2, which is thereby moved in the direction of the delivery-side end 5 of the sleeve 4. The closure ring 10 pressed into the sleeve 4 remains unchanged in its position at the distal end 6 of the sleeve 4; see FIG. 7.

[0058] The advanced tubular bag 2 finally comes to rest with its delivery-side end against the compression ring 18 protruding into the interior of the sleeve 4; see FIG. 11. Continued pressure on the tubular bag 2 then leads to said bag being pressed with part of its delivery-side end into the interior of the compression ring 18, referred to as the compression chamber 20. The reduced diameter of the compression ring 18 compared to the diameter of the sleeve 4 causes a higher internal pressure to build up more quickly at the delivery-side end of the tubular bag 2 than would be the case without the compression ring 18. The part of the tubular bag 2 pressed into the compression chamber 20 is therefore particularly firm and taut; see the tubular bag film portion 25 in FIG. 11. This has the consequence that the tubular bag 2, as soon as it is pressed by continued pressure onto the piercing points 17 protruding into the compression chamber 20, is not only pierced at specific points by these, but actually bursts open. The stored and pressurized silicone material exits from the resulting, comparatively large opening in the tubular bag 2 and is conveyed out of the cartridge system 1 through the through-flow channel 15 and the outlet opening 16. The cartridge system 1 according to the invention thus enables automatic and reliable opening of the tubular bag 2, which makes it a very user-friendly system.

[0059] From FIGS. 3, 8 and 9 it can be seen that the outlet opening 16 is closed by a breakaway reclosure part 26. The reclosure part 26 is initially firmly connected to the shoulder element 8 and closes the outlet opening so that it is protected against the ingress of dust and other contamination before the cartridge system 1 is put into operation. The connection between the reclosure part 26 and the shoulder element 8 comprises four predetermined breaking points, which cannot be seen in the figures and which can be broken open by a user to separate the reclosure part 26 from the shoulder element 8. The reclosure part 26 is conical and protrudes with its conical point 27 into the outlet opening 16. After separation from the shoulder element 8, the reclosure part 26 may serve as a closure for the dispensing opening 28 of a delivery nozzle 29 by being sealingly inserted therein. The conicity of the reclosure part 26 enables the dispensing opening 28 to be sealed even if its diameter is increased, for example by cutting off the front region of the delivery nozzle 29.

[0060] Although the dispensing nozzle 29 is designed separately in the described exemplary embodiment, it is connected to the shoulder element 8 in a captive manner via a ring 30. Because the external thread 30 is a standard thread, any other standard dispensing nozzle may also be connected to the shoulder element 8.

[0061] The external dimensions of the cartridge system 1 correspond to those of a standard cartridge, which makes it possible to operate the cartridge system 1 with a standard caulking gun. In the described exemplary embodiment, the filled tubular bag 2 has a diameter in the range of approximately 44.0 to 46.5 mm and a capacity of approximately 300 ml. The sleeve wall 14 has a thickness of approximately 1.0 to 1.5 mm, and the inner diameter of the sleeve 4 is approximately 46.3-46.7 mm. The compression ring 18 has an inner diameter of approximately 38.0 to 41.0 mm and, starting from the end-face edge of the sleeve wall 14, it protrudes approximately 11.0 to 13.0 mm into the interior of the sleeve 4. The sealing lips 13 have a thickness of approximately 0.4 mm. In the region of the sealing lips, the plunger 9 has a diameter of approximately 46.4 [0062] 46.9 mm, so that it rests with the sealing lips 13 against the inner wall of the sleeve 4. Between the sealing lips 13 there is a gap approximately 1.0 to 1.5 mm wide between the plunger 9 and the sleeve wall 14.

[0063] FIGS. 12 and 13 each show a detail of a cartridge system 1 with a weakened region 31 formed in the sleeve wall 14 in the region of the delivery-side end 5. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 12, the weakened region 31 comprises a weakened line 32 formed as an incision in the sleeve wall 14, which line has a length of approximately 12 mm and a distance of approximately 8 mm from the delivery-side end 5 of the sleeve 4. The weakened line 32 runs in the axial direction, i.e., in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cartridge system 1. FIG. 13 shows a further exemplary embodiment in which the weakened region 31 comprises two obliquely running, crossed weakened lines 33 and 34. The weakened lines are formed as incisions in the sleeve wall 14 and also in this case each have a length of approximately 12 mm and a distance of approximately 8 mm from the delivery-side end 5 of the sleeve 4. Alternatively, it is also conceivable that the weakened region 31 comprises only one of the two obliquely running weakened lines 33, 34.

[0064] The formation of such weakened regions 31 serves to facilitate the tearing open of the sleeve wall 14 with the aim of being able to better separate the individual components from one another and dispose of them individually. Due to the pressure that builds up in the region of the sleeve wall 14 during the emptying of the tubular bag 2, the sleeve 4 tears or bursts in the weakened region 31, so that a user can then simply separate the sleeve 4 from the other components and dispose of both accordingly.

[0065] FIGS. 14 and 15 show embodiments of the shoulder element 8 according to the invention in which an undercut 36 is formed on the shoulder element 8 on the inside adjacent to the circumferential shoulder edge 23. When approaching the delivery-side end of the cartridge system 1, the displaceable plunger 9 can engage or snap into the recess formed by the undercut 36, together with the emptied tubular bag 2, so that a user can remove the shoulder element 8 together with the emptied tubular bag 2 and the plunger 9 as a unit from the sleeve 4 and dispose of it separately from the sleeve 4. The plunger 8 snaps into place here by the sealing lip 13 formed on the plunger 8 snapping into the recess formed by the undercut 36 in the shoulder element 8.

[0066] In the embodiment according to FIG. 14, the shoulder element 8 comprises a press ring 21 which is pressed into the sleeve 4 and rests against the sleeve wall 14 from the inside. In contrast, in the embodiment according to FIG. 15, the shoulder element 8 comprises a locking ring 35 which rests against the sleeve wall 14 from the outside.