DISPENSING DEVICE

Description of the Patent for Industrial Invention entitled: "DEVICE FOR DISPENSING THE FLUID CONTAINED IN A PRESSURIZED CYLINDER". In the name of BRUNELLO INNOVATIONS TECHNOLOGY di Brunello Pietro & C. S.A.S. - Via Fodati, 1 - 36063 PRADIPALDO MAROSTICA (Vl) - ITALY. DESCRIPTION

The present invention concerns a device for dispensing the fluid contained in a pressurized cylinder, like for example polyurethane foam, silicone foam or synthetic foam of various types used both as sealing agents and as filling agents in different sectors, for example in building construction and in the window and door frame industry.

At present foams and fluids in general, both of the polyurethane and of the silicone type, are dispensed and applied by means of pressurized cylinders that are used both with manual nozzles and with special steel or plastic guns. Manual application is generally carried out by providing the cylinder nozzle with a dispensing spout, generally made of plastic, which is operated by pushing with a finger a projection present on the spout while keeping the cylinder overturned, in order to facilitate the outlet of the fluid that is usually rather thick. The manual application of the fluid isn't always easy, due to the operation that must be performed on the bottom of the cylinder and near the dispensing spout.

In fact the user, having to keep the cylinder overturned in vertical position and having, for example, to apply the sealing fluid on the boxes of doors and windows, is forced to work in an uncomfortable position, generally on a ladder, with unstable balance, so that effective handling of the cylinder is rather difficult.

Furthermore, the manual distribution of the fluid directly from the spout doesn't allow a correct quantity of fluid to be dispensed, since this depends on the cross pressure exerted with the hand on the nozzle through the dispensing spout. A slight change in the force exerted on the spout may easily vary this pressure and modify the flow considerably.

As regards the application of silicone foam or fluid with metal or plastic guns, these are connected to the cylinders containing the fluid to be dispensed by means of special couplings. For this reason, two types of cylinder are available on the market, one for

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manual application as described above and one for application with guns. If on one hand application with guns is clearly much more comfortable and professional, on the other hand it should be considered that soon after use the guns must be washed with a special diluent, for example acetone or another liquid, to eliminate the residues of the fluid that passed through the gun's channels and prevent the gun from becoming unusable due to the hardening of the dispensed material, such hardening generally taking place a few minutes after application. In practice, applying foams or fluids contained in pressurized cylinders with guns poses the drawback that first of all it is necessary to provide a special connection element between the gun and the cylinder, so that the cylinders with gun for applying fluids are usually different from the cylinders for manual application, due to the presence of the necessary coupling. Furthermore, the application of fluids with a gun makes it necessary to have a detergent ready at hand for cleaning the gun itself.

This means that besides having to buy the detergent and the gun, the user also has to cope with the nuisance represented by the fact that he has to lose time to carefully clean the gun in order to be able to use it again. Another drawback, at least from the point of view of cylinder manufacturers, lies in that two types of cylinder must be available on the market, one for applying the fluid manually and the other for applying it with a gun, with the need to have a double warehouse, which means double space and double operating and purchasing costs. The aim of the present invention is to overcome all the drawbacks described above.

One of the aims of the present invention is to improve the distribution of the fluid contained in pressurized cylinders by providing a simple and inexpensive device that is easy to apply and can guarantee repeated use with no need for specific maintenance. A further aim of the invention is to provide a dispensing device that makes it possible to regulate the outlet flow precisely and continuously. Another aim of the invention is to eliminate all the maintenance operations needed by the gun. Another aim of the invention is to avoid the use of detergents, in order to reduce as much as possible the problems due to pollution and to the disposal

of polluting liquids caused by the cleaning operation carried out after using the guns.

A further aim of the invention is to provide a cylinder without special couplings, but having the usual nozzle with a dispensing spout of the type used for manual application, in such a way as to avoid having to keep two different types of cylinder on the market.

All the aims mentioned above and others that will be highlighted in greater detail below have been achieved through the construction of a device for dispensing the fluid contained in a pressurized cylinder, having a nozzle provided with a dispensing spout that is inclined with respect to said nozzle and is suited to interact with it to start dispensing the material contained in said cylinder, said device being characterized in that it comprises:

- a substantially C-shaped handle, at each end of which there is

- an annular band whose diameter slightly exceeds the outer diameter of said cylinder, equipped with clamping means suited to lock said band on said cylinder;

- a manoeuvring element connected to said handle by means of a hinge, said manoeuvring element having one end shaped in such a way as to be able to interact with said spout; - elastic counteracting means suited to maintain said manoeuvring element in rest position.

Advantageously, according to the invention a very simple device is thus obtained, ensuring a balanced ergonomic grip.

Another advantage of the invention lies in that the application of a manual cylinder to the dispensing device that is the subject of the invention becomes a simple and almost immediate operation, with no need for special adjustments.

Further characteristics and details of the invention will be highlighted in greater detail in the description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, provided as an example without limitation with reference to the attached drawings, wherein:

- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the dispensing device that is the subject of the invention;

- Figure 2 shows a longitudinal cross section of the dispensing device that is the subject of the invention; - Figure 3 shows a cross section of the device of Figure 2 along line Ill-Ill;

- Figure 4 shows a cross section of the device of Figure 2 along line IV-IV;

Figure 5 is a view from below of the device of Figure 2. With reference to the drawings mentioned above and in particular to Figure 1 , it can be observed that the dispensing device that is the subject of the invention, indicated as a whole by 1 , is designed in such a way as to allow gripping and handling of a cylinder 2 containing pressurized fluid such as polyurethane or silicone.

The cylinder 2 that is visible also in cross section in Figure 2 has a cylindrical part 21 ending with a dome 22 having a projecting nozzle 23 that fits in an internal thread 24 present in the dispensing spout 26.

The dome 22 is connected to the cylindrical part 21 through an annular edge 25.

A dispensing spout 26 is screwed to the nozzle 23, said spout 26 being generally made of plastic and, as shown in Figure 2, having a projecting part 27 that, as explained below, interacts with the manoeuvring element of the dispensing device that is the subject of the invention.

The cylinder described herein and containing pressurized fluid to be dispensed is of known type, is equipped with the spout 26 and substantially corresponds to the pressurized cylinders available on the market today and used for dispensing pressurized fluids manually.

The dispensing device that is the subject of the invention, indicated as a whole by 1 , is provided with a substantially C-shaped handle 10 formed by a longitudinal part 11 suited to be gripped by the operator's hand and two transverse ends, 12 and 13, each ending with an annular band suited to house the cylinder 2 as can be seen in Figure 1 and in Figure 2.

The end 12 of the handle 10 features the annular band 14 well visible in Figure 4, where it can be clearly seen that it is substantially shaped as a circular ring whose diameter slightly exceeds the diameter of the cylinder 2. The annular band is provided at its end with a clamping means 15 formed by a cam device that will be described later on.

Another annular band 16 is connected to the second end 13 of the handle 10. It has the shape of an open ring, too, as can be seen in the cross section shown in Figure 3. The ring is clamped by the cam device 17, analogous to the cam device 15. As can be observed in Figure 2, while the annular band 14 has a regular inner

diameter and a smooth cylindrical surface, the annular band 16 has a part in the shape of a truncated cone 161 , suited to be matched with the surface section 210 that is the connection surface between the cylindrical part of the cylinder 2 and the annular edge 25. It is evident that when the manoeuvring element 17 is clamped and grips the corresponding annular band 16, the cylinder 2 is caught by the truncated cone section 161 at the level of the surface 210, so that it cannot perform any movement.

Also the annular band 14, as mentioned above, has a clamping means constituted by the cam 15 and clamping the annular band 14 contributes to locking the cylinder 2.

It should be noted that the first clamping action that locks the cylinder 2 to the device of the invention 1 is advantageously performed for the first time when the projecting part 27 of the dispensing spout 26 is positioned in a slit 34 belonging to the shaped unit of the manoeuvring element indicated as a whole by 30 that interacts with the handle 10.

More precisely, the manoeuvring element 30 visible in Figure 1 and in Figure 2 is a shaped rod hinged to the handle 10 at point 31.

The manoeuvring element 30, in fact, has a substantially longitudinal part 32 that is connected to the manoeuvring element 30 through the hinge 31 and has one shaped free end 33 projecting from said manoeuvring element and provided with the slit 34 that houses the projecting part 27 of the spout 26.

It is thus absolutely clear than when the operator with one hand pulls towards himself/herself the manoeuvring element 30, pressing it towards the handle 10, the free end 33 of said manoeuvring element 30 hits against the spout 26 and makes it rotate as indicated by the arrow R, thus causing the fluid contained inside the pressurized cylinder to flow out.

Obviously, the greater the rotation angle of the manoeuvring element 30, the greater the displacement of the spout 26: consequently, also the fluid outlet flow will be greater.

In order to be able to regulate said outlet flow with precision, the device of the invention is provided with an adjusting means suited to vary the rotation angle of the manoeuvring element with respect to the handle.

In the case of the example shown in Figures 1 and 2, said adjusting means comprises the eccentric wheel 40 that, being eccentrically hinged to the pin 41

in a recess 34 of the free end 33 of the manoeuvring element 30, constitutes a stop point whose position varies according to the position taken on by the wall 42 of the edge of the wheel 40. This wall 42, in fact, counteracts the lower surface 17 of the annular part of the annular band 16. The eccentric clamping means 15, which is equal to the one indicated by 17, is described in detail here below.

Said clamping means 15 comprises a gripping element consisting of two coaxial discs 151 and 152 (shown in Figure 1 ), parallel to each other and joined by a transverse strip 153 that is an actual manoeuvring element for the cam.

The discs 151 and 152 are eccentrically hinged to a small cylinder 154 present between them and having a transverse projection 155 slidingly housed in a through hole 141 in the free end of the annular band 14, visible in Figure 4. The projection 155 is held inside the hole 141 by a screw 143 that is coaxial to the hole 141 and housed in the hole 144 present in the end of the handle, which is the end opposite the free end of the annular band 14. It is clear that, given the eccentricity of the small cylinder 154, manoeuvring the element 153 in either direction means clamping or releasing the annular band 14. The same happens, with the same mechanism, for the annular band 16.

It is also clear that the connection between the cylinder 2 and the dispensing device 1 is extremely simple, quick and without problems, since it is sufficient to position the cylinder equipped with nozzle and dispensing spout 26 in such a way as to insert the projecting part 27 in the slit 34, as already said, and then clamp the annular bands 14 and 16.

The manoeuvring element 30 is also equipped with a spring 50 connected at one end to the manoeuvring element 30 and at the other to the end of the annular band 16, as can be seen in Figure 1. Every action intended to press the manoeuvring element against the handle 10 tends therefore to pull the spring. Thus the spring, once the dispensing operation has been completed and no more force is exerted by the operator's hand, makes the manoeuvring element return to the rest position.

The dispensing device described above is advantageously made of a sufficiently rigid plastic material, such as polypropylene, except for the annular bands 14 and 16, which must be made of a softer and more flexible plastic

material, such as nylon or a similar material.

Obviously, the device that is the subject of the invention can also be made of other materials, such as aluminium, fibreglass and resin, or another material. Where the technical characteristics illustrated in the claims are followed by reference numbers, these are provided for the sole purpose of facilitating the reader and said reference numbers shall consequently have no restrictive effect on the coverage of each element identified as an example.