Double wall applicator

• US 5,906,300 A
• Filed: 11/17/1997
• Issued: 05/25/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Toagosei America Inc. (Toagosei Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Toagosei America Inc. (Toagosei Company Limited)
• Inventors: Horie, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Kashnikow, Andres
• Assistant Examiner(s): O HANLON, SEAN P
• Application Number:
  US08/971,500
• Time in Patent Office: 554 Days
• Field of Search: 222/206, 222/214, 222/215, 222/420
• US Class Current: 222/214
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 47/18 for discharging drops; Droppers droppers in general B01L3/00; pipettes connected to container closures B01L3/0282
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 83/00 Containers or packages with special means for dispensing contents dispensing means incorporated in removable or non-permanently secured container closures B65D47/00; for shops, stores, offices, bars, or the like A47F1/04; showcases or show cabinets with dispensing arrangements A47F3/02; magazines for screws or nuts in combination with spanners, wrenches or screwdrivers B25B23/06; for use in connection with the handling of sheets, webs, or filamentary material B65H

Abstract

An applicator of resilient plastic material having a double wall construction, an air chamber between the walls and spacers in the air chamber is disclosed. The applicator is adapted to be pressed between the thumb and forefinger to dispense glue. The applicator has an applicator body comprising a shoulder, a dispensing opening in the shoulder and a downwardly depending skirt. A cup which is adapted to hold glue, particularly cyanoacrylate glue, is within the skirt and the top and bottom portions of the cup are in fluid tight engagement with the applicator body adjacent the top and bottom of the skirt. The cup fits within the skirt with its walls in spaced apart relationship with the skirt to provide an air chamber therebetween. The shape of cup walls and the opposed skirt generally conform to each other. A preferred embodiment includes friction elements on the outside of the skirt overlying at least a portion of the area covered by the spacers.

Claims

1. An applicator of resilient material comprising:

(a) an applicator body with an opening adjacent the top thereof, said applicator body having a skirt depending downwardly below the applicator opening said skirt having resilient locking means adjacent the inside of the skirt top and adjacent the bottom of the skirt, said skirt being open at the bottom;

(b) a cup, within the skirt, said cup having resilient locking means adjacent the top and bottom thereof cooperating with the skirt locking means to provide fluid tight engagement between the top and bottom locking means with a major portion of the cup walls spaced apart from the skirt between the locking means so as to provide a fluid tight air chamber there between, the cup adapted to contain liquid which communicates with the applicator opening and wherein the interior of the cup is substantially entirely within the area of the skirt whereby the applicator can be assembled by fitting the cup upwardly within the open bottom of the skirt to engage the locking means.

2. The applicator of claim 1 wherein two spacers are provided within the air chamber and such spacers are vertical ribs positioned substantially on a vertical line between opposed sides of the cup facing the skirt.

3. The applicator of claim 2 wherein the spacers are molded on the outer sides of the cup walls.

4. The applicator of claim 2 wherein the outer side of the skirt has friction elements forming an area which overlie the spacer means.

5. The applicator of claim 1 wherein the applicator body has a shoulder with a generally elliptical or rectangular cross-section in the horizontal plane surrounding the applicator opening and a generally elliptical or rectangular applicator body skirt depending downwardly from the shoulder with the opposed walls of the cup and the skirt having generally the same shape along a major portion between the top and bottom of the air chamber.

6. The applicator of claim 1 wherein the applicator body has a nozzle at the top thereof in fluid communication with the applicator body opening.

7. A two piece applicator constructed of resilient plastic material comprising:

(a) a first piece comprising a homogeneously integral, injection molded hollow applicator body having a shoulder with an elongated nozzle providing a dispensing opening therein and a skirt depending downwardly from the shoulder said skirt having resilient locking means adjacent the inside of the skirt top and adjacent the bottom of the skirt;

(b) a second piece comprising a cup within the applicator body with the top of the cup in fluid communication with the dispensing opening, said cup having resilient locking means adjacent its top and its bottom for cooperating with the resilient locking means of the skirt and being in fluid tight engagement within the applicator body with a major portion of the walls of the cup within the applicator skirt;

(c) a major portion of the applicator skirt being spaced from the walls of the cup between the locking means to provide an air chamber there between and wherein there is a general conformity in the shape of the walls of the cup with the opposed walls of the skirt; and

(d) said cup having two diametrically opposed vertical rib spacers molded on the outside of the cup walls and extending into the air chamber to inhibit the walls of the cup from contacting the skirt within said air chamber said spacers extending upwardly from adjacent the bottom of the cup along a major height of the cup.

8. The applicator of claim 7 wherein the cup walls have a horizontal cross-section about their periphery of substantially the same general shape as the skirt opposite the cup walls.

9. The applicator of claim 7 wherein the skirt has friction elements on its outside surfaces in an area overlying the spacers.

10. The applicator of claim 7 wherein the shoulder and skirt are of a generally rectangular or elliptical cross-section in the horizontal plane, the spacers are vertical ribs placed about midway on the long side of the rectangle or ellipse of the cup, the distance between the walls of the cup and the skirt is substantially the same in the horizontal plane about the periphery of the cup walls and the skirt between each spacer rib over a major portion of the cup walls between the top and bottom of said walls and the walls of the cup are entirely within the skirt.

11. The applicator of claim 7 wherein the bottom of the skirt is open and adapted to receive the cup.

12. An applicator of resilient plastic material comprising:

(a) a vertically elongated elliptical applicator body having a shoulder with a dispensing opening and a nozzle adapted for drop-wise application of adhesive in fluid communication with the dispensing opening, the applicator body having a skirt depending downwardly from said shoulder, said skirt having a bottom opening and resilient locking means adjacent the inside of the skirt top and adjacent the bottom of the skirt;

(b) an elliptical cup fitted within the skirt bottom opening with its open end facing upwardly and in fluid communication with the applicator opening and forming fluid tight engagement with the resilient locking means of the skirt top and bottom by cooperation of resilient locking means adjacent the top and bottom of the cup with the resilient locking means of the skirt and wherein the walls of the cup and the skirt provide for an air chamber there between.

13. The applicator of claim 12 wherein the resilient locking means include peripheral snap-locking means.

14. The applicator of claim 13 wherein the snap-locking means for fluid tight engagement adjacent the skirt top comprise a flange spaced apart from the skirt depending downwardly from the shoulder and having a horizontal cross-section of substantially the same shape as the skirt wherein the space between said flange and skirt is adapted to receive the top of the cup in fluid tight engagement, the inside of the skirt opposite the flange has an peripheral groove opposite the flange, and the cup has a peripheral bead adjacent its top for snap-locking engagement with the groove of the skirt and the snap-locking means adjacent the bottom of the cup comprise a peripheral groove on the inside of the skirt adjacent its bottom adapted to receive a peripheral bead adjacent the bottom of the cup.

15. The applicator of claim 12 wherein a vertical spacer rib is molded on each of the opposed sides of the cup walls toward the skirt about midway between the long axis of the ellipse and friction elements on opposite sides of the outside of the skirt form a friction area which overlie the vertical ribs of the cup.

16. The applicator of claim 12 wherein the bottom of the cup forms the bottom of the applicator and the cup is molded from high density polyethylene or polypropylene.