JPS5810150B2 - Modular device for liquid injection - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the application of liquids to surfaces, and more particularly to the application of liquids to surfaces, particularly beads, ribbons, or small single deposits of extruded or sprayed material under high-speed production conditions. It relates to an apparatus used for coating in a desired pattern.

More specifically, the present invention applies a hot liquid, such as a molten adhesive in the "hot melt" format, to a sheet or roll of flat paper or cardboard, etc. commonly used for packaging and bonding various products. It relates to an apparatus that is particularly suitable for coating various materials.

However, the invention is equally applicable to the case of other liquid materials such as paints that can be used at low or room temperatures.

Typical examples of "hot melt" liquids include asphalt and synthetic resins, which are generally in a solid state at room temperature.

However, when heated to a molten state, the physical state changes to
Changes to a relatively viscous liquid.

That is, it can be applied continuously to a surface as a bead or ribbon or intermittent deposits by dispensing through the nozzle of an application tool or gun.

Typically, such hot melt materials are brought to a molten state in a heater and then conveyed under pressure to a coating gun via a heated length of a retractable hose.

The application gun is also preferably heated to ensure that the adhesive remains in molten form until it leaves the nozzle of the gun.

In many high speed packaging applications, a molten or liquid "hot melt" is applied to a moving sheet material, such as a roll of paper or a flat corrugated carton.

In other applications, the "hot melt" is applied to the filled container prior to sealing the sauce or closing the ends.

In still other applications, the molten material is used for painting or assembling parts.

Application guns of the type used for the application of "hot melt" adhesives and other liquids are operated by fluid cylinders.

The cylinder opens and closes valves in the molten liquid delivery system to interrupt the discharge or injection of liquid from the gun nozzle.

If an air-operated gun is used, it will of course be necessary to use a pneumatic line from the pressure source.

Additionally, since the gun body is constantly heated to maintain the liquid in a molten state, ie, a low viscosity state, a lead-in wire must also be connected to the gun.

A problem encountered with this type of equipment, particularly when applying hot melt adhesives, but also other liquid materials, is the time-consuming cleaning operations that must be carried out periodically. there were.

Cleaning involves disconnecting all fluid lines and other lead wires from the gun and then carefully reconnecting the gun in addition to reconnecting said lines to force a bead of fluid into place. It is necessary to position it.

All of this is extremely time consuming and causes frequent interruptions to continuously running production equipment.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,690,518 discloses a dispensing device that includes a manifold that is a fixed module with passages for viscous liquids and passages for fluid actuation.

The viscous liquid passage communicates with the pump device and the fluid actuation passage communicates with the fluid pressure line.

- one or more removable gun modules are provided within the fixed block module;

Each gun is provided with a passageway communicating between the viscous liquid passageway in the block module and the extrusion nozzle, and a fluid actuation passageway communicating between the actuation fluid passageway in the block and the fluid cylinder.

The gun is cylindrical and has mounting screws within the module to allow the gun to be easily removed from the module for service or replacement without disturbing connections to the module (air lines, electrical lines, hydraulic lines). .

Each gun consists of a cylindrical body containing a spherical valve located within a chamber that is filled with viscous liquid when the gun is in operation.

The spherical valve is opened by a rod affixed to the bulb and passing through a seal, which separates the liquid material from the atmospheric exhaust chamber.

The rod extends through a second seal provided between the exhaust chamber and the air cylinder that the rod secures to the piston.

By applying pressurized fluid, such as air, to the piston, the ball is pulled from the valve seat, allowing material to flow from the gun onto the product or substrate.

When pressure is removed from the piston, the spring returns the ball to the closed position on the valve seat.

The return spring is adjustable so that the amount of fluid pressure required to operate the gun can be adjusted.

Since the force required to operate each individual gun will vary due to differences in internal gun friction forces, the adjustable preload of the spring allows many guns to be adjusted to equalize the pressure required to open each gun. .

Therefore, each gun can be adjusted to open simultaneously.

The aforementioned dispensing device has many advantages over the prior art;
Commercial success has also been demonstrated.

However, under harsh or adverse operating conditions, the device was ineffective.

One object of the present invention was therefore to improve such a device in such a way that it can be implemented very easily even under extremely harsh operating conditions or with insufficient assembly or adjustment.

Problems periodically occur in the structure disclosed in the above-referenced US patent when the structure is subjected to high operating temperatures.

The gun module body periodically cracks or breaks under these conditions.

Applicants have determined that these defects are caused by thermal expansion of the gun module, and the present invention is partially based on that determination.

The screwing of the gun module into the module in the dispensing device disclosed in the above-mentioned US patent is of a type that prevents the body from expanding freely due to changes in temperature, so that it is extremely robustly mounted into the module and can withstand high temperatures. When heated, the main body may crack or break.

To eliminate this source of damage, Applicants have connected the gun module to the module at one end of the gun, so that the gun module is free to expand and contract without restriction.

Specifically, Applicant uses a threaded connection with one end of this gun to secure the tapered end to the block and to allow the remainder of the gun to freely expand or contract within the bore of the module. did.

This threaded connection between the two modules has the advantage of eliminating any sources of breakage or damage to the gun, but also eliminates the need for threading the holes in the modules and the corresponding parts of the gun module.

By omitting these screw operations, the manufacturing cost of the device is reduced.

This also allows the gun module to be more tightly secured compared to threaded guns.

Other problems encountered with the applicator disclosed in the above-referenced US patent are due to mechanics applying excessive preload to the gun.

Preload is the force required to operate the gun, and in the case of air-operated guns, determines the air pressure required to open the gun valve.

For multiple guns in a single module,
The preload can be precisely adjusted so that the guns open together regardless of friction differences or slight tolerance differences between the guns.

Applicants believe that the mechanic may have applied too much preload by making the adjustment too tight and therefore not providing sufficient air pressure to open the gun or otherwise. It was found that the preload force in the guns could not be averaged.

Ultimately, the preload adjustment of this gun requires a built-in stop device to reliably exclude such excessive preload.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the brief description of the accompanying drawings.

First, in Figure 1, a heated liquid is added to the substrate 4.
A head gun type coating device 10 is illustrated.

In this embodiment, four gun modules, namely guns 1L12
, 13 and 14 are provided in line within the module or block 15.

However, although the guns can be placed in any non-linear pattern within the module 15, for purposes of illustration, the guns are shown in straight lines.

The module 15 consists of a generally rectangular block through which a pressurized fluid or air passage 16 is provided.
A liquid flow passage 17 extends parallel to this.

In this preferred embodiment, there is also provided an atmosphere ventilation passage 18 which extends parallel to the two further passages 16 and 17 and is located between the two reverse passages.

These three lateral passages intersect with four holes 20, 21, 22.degree. 23 for gun mounting, which are orthogonal to the passages 16-18.

2 and 3, holes 20-23 are stepped holes for the purpose of receiving individual guns 11-14, each hole having a small diameter end 24, a large diameter end 25, and A large diameter intermediate section 26 and a large diameter end section 27 are included.

When the apparatus is used for the application of hot melt or heated materials, a transverse hole 30 is drilled in the module or block 15 in which an electrical resistance heating element 31 is placed.

The flow of current through the heating element 31 is controlled by a thermostat 32 installed in a recess 33 in the plane of the block 15.

This recess is covered by a plate 34 which is bolted or otherwise secured to the module for the purpose of enclosing the thermostat recess 33.

The module can be installed at any location on the coating gun using any convenient method.

In this embodiment, the block 15 is fixed to a bar (not shown) using an installation clamp 38 and bolts 39.

Since the four gun modules 11 to 14 have the same configuration, only one of them will be described in detail.

In FIGS. 1 and 3, the gun module is a generally circular tubular structure intended for installation within circular cross-sectional holes 20-23 in the module.

Each gun includes a tubular body 45 through which an axial bore 46 extends.

The aperture is for a cylinder 47 of high pressure fluid or air at one end and for a nasal storage chamber 48 at the opposite end.

A small diameter portion 49 of bore 46 internally connects cylinder 47 and chamber 48 .

The body bore 46 is closed at one end by an end closure cap 50.

The camp 50 is fixed in the hole 46 of the main body by engaging the end 51 of the main body into the annular groove 51a on the outside of the cap 50 by tapping or corrugating.

The opposite end of the bore 46 in the body 45 is closed in a similar manner, but in this case with the portion 54 of the body being tapped or corrugated over the radial flange 54a of the inner end of the snout 53. It is closed only by the nose piece 53 which is fixed within the end of the hole 46.

A stepped axial bore 55 extends through the nose 53.

The mid-diameter portion of the hole 55 defines a liquid chamber 56 into which liquid or molten material can be supplied via a radial hole 66.

The chamber 56 has a small diameter exhaust hole 5 which opens into the end of the gun.
It communicates with 7.

In this embodiment, the nozzle 59 of the gun is threadedly connected to the end of the nose 53.

End piece 5 at the intersection of the small diameter hole 57 and the large diameter chamber 56
The inner shoulder of 3 forms the valve seat 63 of the spherical valve 64.

Together, the spherical valve 64 and the valve seat 63 form a check valve 65 that controls the flow of pressurized fluid from the gun fluid chamber 56.

Liquid is delivered to the chamber via a hole 66 in the nose 53 of the gun.

When assembled into the gun module or block 15, the hole or passageway 66 intersects with the lateral liquid supply passageway 17, through which a liquid such as, for example, hot melt adhesive, can be passed.
For example, approximately 28.8 Kg/cm' (4001b/1n
2) is supplied to the present device 10 at the high pressure.

A spherical valve 64 is mounted on one end of the piston rod 68.

The frame extends upwardly through the small diameter portion 49 of the bore 46 and terminates at the opposite end in a large diameter head end 69.

A piston 70 is mounted on the end 69 of the rod.

The piston is the drive means for the spherical valve 64 and consists of two rings 71 and 72 which can be clamped between a shoulder 73 on the end 69 of the piston rod and a tapped end 74 of the rod.

An air seal 75, preferably a Tyflon® seal, is sandwiched between the two rings 71 and 72 of the piston.

The seal 75 prevents air pressure from leaking from the high pressure cylinder 47 located below the piston to the low pressure chamber 76 in the closure cap 50.

The low pressure chamber 76 is maintained at atmospheric pressure via a lateral passage 77 in the cap 50 that communicates with the atmosphere.

An adjustable preload spring 80 is provided within the chamber 76 of the closure cap and bears on one side of the piston 70 to bias the piston and spherical valve 64 into the closed position.

The opposite end of the spring 80 abuts a slidable adjustable floor 81 within the chamber 76 of the closure cap.

The dust 81 is deposited on the end 82 of the preload adjustment screw 83.

The screw engages a threaded nut 84 welded into the open upper end of the closure cap 50.

By adjusting the screw 83 and thus the axial position of the seat 81, the force with which the valve is held closed and thus the force required to open the valve can be adjusted.

This adjustment allows the air pressure required to open many guns to be equal even if the internal friction of the individual guns is different.

In order to limit the total preload force applied to the piston 70 by the spring 80, a shoulder 85 is provided in the chamber 76 of the cap 50 as a stop means.

the shoulder provides a range of axial movement of the seat 81 into the cap;
Therefore, the degree of compression of spring 80 is limited.

A small vent 86 extends through the seat 81 to communicate the chamber 76 of the cap to the atmosphere when the seat 81 rests on the shoulder 85.

In practice, in the absence of a stop or limiter to stop or limit the range of motion of the seat 81, it often occurs that the operator preloads one gun so severely that the operator cannot load the other gun. cannot be adjusted to balance the extremely adjusted gun preload force.

Moreover, the operator can even adjust the gun to the extent that the force required to further compress spring 80 exceeds the available air pressure.

A stop surface 85 on the cap 50 prevents excessive preload adjustment.

Air pressure within the cylinder 47 controls the opening and closing of the check valve 65.

This pressure, generally in the form of pneumatic pressure, is supplied to the cylinder 47 via a transverse passage 87 interfacing with the passage 16 in the module.

High pressure air supplied to passageway 16 opens the check valve by moving piston 70 upwardly until the top of gun piston 70 engages bottom edge 88 of cap 50.

When the pressure in passageway 16 is relieved or communicated to atmosphere, spring 80 closes the valve.

An air seal 90 is provided around the rod 68 within the air cylinder 47 to prevent air pressure from escaping from the chamber 47 through the vent 98 and to prevent liquid from escaping from the chamber 48. A liquid seal 91 is provided around the rod 68 within the liquid chamber 48 .

Air seal 90 includes a pair of resilient lip seals 92 secured within chamber 47 by gripping rings 93.

Liquid or hydraulic seal 91 also includes a resilient lip seal 94 which is separated by a washer 95 and an inversion spring 96.
It is held in place by the

The spring abuts the washer 95 at one end and the shoulder 57 of the nose 53 at the opposite end.

Furthermore, a lateral vent hole 98 is provided in the body 45 intermediate the seals 90 and 91 to prevent liquid from leaking into the air cylinder.

The vent hole 98 is connected to the through passage 18 in the module so that the through passage 18 is always in communication with the atmosphere.

The effect will be explained below.

A tapered flange 100 has a hole 20 on the nose of the gun.
, 21, 22 and 23, the four guns 11-14 are individually inserted into the module until they contact the shoulders 101 formed in them.

The nut 102 is then threaded onto the externally threaded end portion 103 of each gun nose until the nut 102 abuts the bottom surface 105 of the module.

This has the effect of clamping the nose 53 of each gun between the shoulder 101 and the outer bottom surface of the module.

It should be noted that the distance X between the module shoulder 101 and the module face 105 is approximately 1/16 of the total length of the gun module.

Because this dimension is so small, the rate of differential thermal expansion between the gun and the module is such that the gun will not cause any damage.

When assembled in this manner, the gun air passages 87 interlock with the module air passages 16.

Similarly, liquid passage 66 is connected to liquid passage 17 of the module.
The atmosphere vent 98 is the module's atmosphere vent 1.
8 and core base.

An O-ring seal 106 provided in a groove 107 on the exterior of the body 45 prevents air from leaking from the passage 16 to the exterior of the passage 18.

Two further O-rings 108 and 109 are provided in grooves 110 and 111 within the body for the purpose of preventing liquid leakage from the liquid passageway 17 of the module around the exterior of the body 45.

The individual guns are adjusted by preload adjustment screws 83 so that all four guns open simultaneously when air pressure is supplied to the guns through passageways 16 in the module.

This air pressure causes the gun piston 70 to move upwardly until the top surface of the piston contacts the bottom surface 88 of the closure cap 50.

This upward movement of the piston causes upward movement of the check valve 65, which creates a high pressure in the passageway 17 (e.g., about 28.8 Kg/c).
The fluid supplied to the gun at 400 psi) is allowed to pass through the nozzle hole 57 into and exit the fluid chamber 56.

After the liquid material is deposited onto the substrate, air pressure within passageway 16 communicates with the atmosphere and spring 80 forces the piston and check valve into the closed position, resulting in the gun being closed.

There is no need to remove the tubing connected to module 15 from the module if one of the guns needs to be cleaned or if the gun is damaged by a foreign object.

Specifically, the air lines to passageway 16, the fluid lines to passageway 17, and the electrical wires to heater 31 and thermostat 32 do not need to be disconnected.

All that is required is to close the tubes or disconnect the wiring, and to remove the clogged or damaged gun by removing the gun from the module's mounting hole.

A new gun can then be inserted by threading it into the hole and the applicator is restarted.

The clogged or damaged gun can then be cleaned or repaired without shutting down the production equipment while the cleaning or repair is being performed.

Although applicants have described only one preferred embodiment, modifications and modifications will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Specifically, the modular gun has holes in the mounting block that can be arranged in any pattern and can be angled relative to each other to space deposits from the gun more closely spaced than the orifice spacing of the gun nozzle. .

In addition, since the apparatus has been specifically described as being applied to thermal fusion deposition, the apparatus includes a heating module.

However, the present invention is equally applicable to the application of liquids without heating.

The embodiments of the present invention are as follows.

(i) The gun module fixing means includes an abutment surface on the gun module provided in close proximity to one end of the gun module, and when the main body is installed in the hole, the abutment surface contacts the hole. It can be freely engaged with the stop surface inside.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the fastener is secured to the gun module at the one end of the gun module.

(2) The device according to item 0 above, wherein the fastener is engageable with the outer wall of the module.

(2) The device according to item 0, wherein the distance between the outer wall of the module and the stop surface of the hole is less than or equal to 1/4 of the length of the gun module.

2. A modular device according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of holes intersecting passages of said block module and an easily removable modular gun disposed within each of said holes.

(1) The gun module main body has an overall cylindrical shape, the hole has a circular cross section, and the hole has a smooth wall that is not threaded over the entire length of the hole. The module device according to item 1.

■ means for biasing each valve element of said valve element of each gun module of said gun module into a closed position and an adjustable preload for adjusting the actuatable force to maintain said valve element in the closed position; and stop means for limiting the amount of tension in the preload, and wherein the adjustable preload means adjusts the plurality of gun modules for the purpose of equalizing the force required to open each gun module. The module device according to item 0 above, wherein the module device is adapted to be able to perform the following operations.

(2) The module device according to claim 1, wherein the gun module main body has a generally cylindrical shape and has a through hole that extends in the axial direction.

(2) a portion of the axial hole defines a fluid cylinder within the gun module at one end of the cylindrical body, and the second passageway of the gun module is in fluid communication with the fluid cylinder; Modular device as described in section.

- said movable means includes a piston slidable within said cylinder and further operable between said piston and said closure cap to bias said piston and said movable valve element to a closed position; 3. The module device according to the above item [3], comprising means for fixing.

(i) the gun module fixing means includes an abutment surface on the gun module provided in close proximity to the end of the gun module, and the abutment surface is configured such that when the body is installed in the hole; 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is engageable with a stop surface within the bore.

2. The device according to claim 2, wherein the nut is engageable with the outer wall of the module.

(2) The device according to item 0, wherein the distance between the outer wall of the module and the stop surface of the hole is less than or equal to 1/4 of the length of the gun module.

e said stop means comprises a seat slidable within said gun module and engageable with one end of said spring means and engaged with said part so as to limit sliding movement of said part within said gun module; Claim 3 includes a stop surface that can be fitted together.
Modular equipment as described in Section.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a front view of the module device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the module approximately taken in the direction of arrows 2-2 in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the gun module taken in the direction of arrows 3-3 in Fig. 2. FIG. (Explanation of symbols of main parts), 10... Coating device, 11
-14... Gun module, 15... Block module, 16... Passage, 17... Passage, 59...
Nozzle, 64... Spherical valve, 70... Piston, 10
2...Natsuto.

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. A modular device for ejecting a liquid from a pressurized source onto a substrate surface, comprising: a first passageway 17 for the liquid and a second passageway 16 for the pressurized fluid of gun operation; intersects with the road
Block module 15 with at least one stepped hole 20-23 and essentially only a stationary part
and: an easily removable gun module 11-14 having a nozzle 59 and having essentially all the movable parts of the modular arrangement arranged in the stepped bore of said block module; A first liquid passageway 66 is formed between the liquid passageway of the block module and the nozzle, so that the first passageway of the gun module is in sealing alignment with the liquid passageway of the block module when both modules are assembled. a second pressurized fluid passageway 87 communicating with the pressurized fluid passageway of the block module so that both lights of the gun module and the block module are connected when the modules are assembled. an engagement member 5 having a flange 100 for providing a pressure fluid passageway in sealing alignment and for engaging said stepped aperture;
a gun module comprising: 3; a fastener 102 disposed on the exterior of the block module to secure the gun module within a stepped hole of the block module and threadedly engaged with the engagement member; a valve 65 within the gun module for opening and closing liquid flow through the nozzle; a drive means 70 within the gun module for moving the valve in response to contact with the pressurized fluid; A module device for liquid injection, characterized in that the distance between the shoulder portion 101 of the block module with which the flange of the engaging member comes into contact and the bottom surface 105 of the block module is approximately 1/16 of the total length of the gun module.