Abstract:
Devices and methods for reliably and reusably creating an airtight seal on a tapered nozzle attached to a container of air-curable material. The device is a unitary expandable tube with an open end and a closed end filled with putty-like material. In one embodiment the device is placed over the nozzle, the device and nozzle are pushed together until the open end of the device flares around the outside diameter of the nozzle, and the nozzle tip displaces some the putty-like material thereby expanding the closed end of the tube to accommodate the displaced material.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    This invention relates generally to devices and methods for creating an airtight seal on an opened container with a dispensing nozzle filled with a material, such as caulk or glue, that is susceptible to hardening upon exposure to air. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    There exists an on-going need for a device that will reliably create an airtight seal on caulking tubes, containers of glue, or other containers using a nozzle to dispense materials susceptible to hardening upon contact with air. In addition, there is a need for a sealing device assist in keeping the work area clean by preventing leakage of the air-curable material during rest times. It is important that the device be cost-effective and reusable so that the operator may repeatedly use, for example, a caulking tube. If the device is not reusable then the cost of repeatedly replacing the sealing device will be greater than the cost of replacing the caulking tube, or other air-curable material. 
         [0005]    There are many, many patents that teach various versions of sticking an object into the nozzle orifice, and thereby attempting to create an airtight seal. Other sealing devices are various versions of caps that cover the nozzle and orifice. The quantity of these patents indicates the difficulty in reliably creating a cost-effective airtight seal. 
         [0006]    The sealing devices in the prior art tend to be of rigid construction. Problems arise with rigid devices because both the nozzle and the orifice may have varying diameters. The rigid construction means that the sealing device must specifically sized to accommodate the individual nozzle. Similarly, jamming a hard object into the nozzle orifice tends to distort the orifice, making subsequent attempts to create an airtight seal difficult or impossible, and also causes distortion of the bead when dispensing the air-curable material. Rigid devices are also susceptible to breaking. 
         [0007]    In addition, existing sealing devices are often bulky in relation to the nozzle, and may be easily displaced. Even if the air-curable material does not harden during the time the sealing device is displaced, the air-curable material may leak all over the work area. This generates additional work for the operator, who must clean up the area where the leak occurred. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    Caulk, glue, and other air-curable substances are commonly dispensed from a container through an attached, tapered nozzle. Frequently, there remains caulk or other air-curable substance left in a container after initial use. The sealing device is inserted over the nozzle to prevent air from reaching the air-curable substance and thereby hardening the substance. The sealing device will also prevent leakage of caulking material, or other material, during rest times at work. 
         [0009]    In one embodiment, the sealing device is a tight-fitting, flexible, expandable unitary body with an open end and a closed end. The closed end is filled with a moldable, putty-like material that is not air-curable. The diameter of the open end of the sealing device is smaller than a the widest outer diameter of the tapered nozzle attached to the container of air-curable substance. Because the sealing device is flexible it will stretch and flare to accommodate the outer diameter of the nozzle, and it will not distort either the orifice or the nozzle itself. 
         [0010]    In addition, the flexible, unitary body prevents breakage of the device. There are no projections or parts that can break off, and the flexibility means that the device will not break if dropped or hit. 
         [0011]    In one method of using the device the operator places the sealing device over the nozzle containing an orifice, and pushes the sealing device and nozzle together until the open end of the sealing device is flared and completely filled with the nozzle. In most cases, the sealing device is pushed over the nozzle until the nozzle tip is touching the cavity formed by the inside of the closed end of the sealing device. 
         [0012]    In doing this, the nozzle will press into the moldable material and will displace some of the moldable material. Some of the moldable material will enter the nozzle orifice and create a plug at the orifice. The rest of the moldable material will exert pressure on the expandable unitary body, causing it to expand to accommodate the nozzle and displaced moldable material. Because of the expandable nature of the unitary body, the moldable material is unlikely to exit from the open end of the unitary body. This also displaces all, or essentially all, of the air in the sealing device. Thus, within the sealing device, the nozzle is entirely surrounded by the moldable material. 
         [0013]    The sealing device has a low profile relative to the nozzle. This, along with the tight fit and flaring of the open end of the device, makes it virtually impossible to accidentally knock off the device. The flexible, expandable nature of the sealing device accompanied by the moldable material results in a sealing device that may be used over and over, on varying nozzle sizes. In addition, the sealing device may be re-filled with moldable material, if necessary. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a perspective side-view of one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a perspective side-view of one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a cut-away side-view of one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a sectional and cut-away side-view of one embodiment of the invention in use. 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a diagram of a method of using an embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0019]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the sealing device  10  has a flexible, unitary body  11  generally in the shape of a tube with an open end  12  and a closed end  14 . The body has an inner surface  16  and an outer surface  18 . Inner surface  16  is smooth yet capable of frictionally engaging with a nozzle  30 . 
         [0020]    Unitary body  11  may be made from any variety of materials that are flexible, expandable and sufficiently strong to withstand repeated use. Non-limiting examples of such strong and expandable materials are rubber, silicone, flexible plastic, vinyl, ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber, or any other material that is durable, flexible and capable of expanding. 
         [0021]    Outer surface  18  may have any variety of grips, indentions or texture  20  to facilitate grasping the sealing device and applying pressure to place the device on, or remove the device from, nozzle  30 . In one embodiment, outer surface  18  has at least one grip  20  in the shape of a raised band, and may have as many raised grips  20  as desired. In another embodiment, at least one, or a multitude of small bumps covers outer surface  18 . 
         [0022]    In one embodiment, the sealing device has a central width  22 . Unitary body  11  tapers from central width  22  toward closed end  14 , and similarly tapers from central width  22  toward open end  12 . In one embodiment, there is a concave dip, or concavity between central width  22  and open end  12 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . This dip helps the device cling to the nozzle. 
         [0023]    The placement of central width  22  may be varied, as desired. It need not be in the exact middle of open end  12  and closed end  14 , and may be placed anywhere between open end  12  and closed end  14 . 
         [0024]    The sealing device is operated by inserting the device over a tapered nozzle  30  containing an orifice  32 . Nozzle  30  has a first end  34  and a second end  36  connected to container  40  containing air-curable material  42 . Nozzle  30  tapers from second end  36  to first end  34 , resulting in first end  34  being narrower than second end  36 . Thus, the outer circumference  34   a  of first end  34  is smaller than the outer circumference  36   a  of second end  36 . 
         [0025]    Open end  12  of sealing device  10  defines an opening  13 . Opening  13  may be any size that is larger than outer circumference  34   a  and smaller than outer circumference  36   a  of the nozzle  30 . Outer circumference  31  is a circumference located between outer circumference  34   a  and outer circumference  36   a.    
         [0026]    Opening  13  and inner surface  16  are smooth, with no projections or extrusions. This allows opening  13  and inner surface  16  to fit snugly around outer circumference  31  of nozzle  30 . This snug contact between nozzle  30  and inner surface  16  assists in creating and maintaining an airtight seal. 
         [0027]    Closed end  14  defines cavity  17  at the closed end of the sealing device  10 . Cavity  17  is filled with moldable material  24 . Moldable material  24  may be any material known in the art that is pliable and is not susceptible to hardening upon contact with air. Non-limiting examples of such moldable materials are oil-based waxes, bee&#39;s wax, putty, plasticized metallocene-catalyzed propylene copolymers, or any other substance that remains pliable and moldable upon exposure to air. 
         [0028]    To apply air-curable material  42 , the operator cuts off the tip of first end  34  of nozzle  30  creating orifice  32 , and exerts pressure on container  40  to expel air-curable material  42 . When a quantity of air-curable material  42  remains in container  40  after the initial use the operator may use the sealing device to create an airtight seal. 
         [0029]    The operator grasps the sealing device and places it over first end  34  of nozzle  30 . The operator moves the sealing device and nozzle together, until the full diameter of opening  13  is in continuous contact with the full diameter of outer diameter  31  at a location between first end  34  and second end  36 . 
         [0030]    The operator continues moving the sealing device and nozzle  30  together. Because second end  36  is wider than first end  34 , as sealing device  10  and nozzle  30  are moved together, opening  13  will flare around outer circumference  31 . This flaring will cause open end  12  to grip nozzle  30 , preventing sealing device  10  from being dislodged. The flexible nature of the sealing device allows open end  12  and opening  13  to expand around outer diameter  31  and to accommodate a variety of nozzle sizes. The flexibility of the sealing device will compensate for minor imperfections in the outer diameter  31  of nozzle  30 . In addition, the flexible nature of sealing device  10  will not cause deformities in either nozzle  30  or orifice  13 . 
         [0031]    The sealing device contains moldable material  24  in cavity  17 . As the operator inserts nozzle  30  into sealing device  10 , orifice  32  will come in contact with moldable material  24 , and will displace air and possibly some of moldable material  24 . In one embodiment, first end  34  containing orifice  32  will penetrate moldable material  24 , causing a small plug  25  of moldable material  42  to enter orifice  32 . This small plug  25  creates a barrier, preventing additional air from reaching air-curable material  42 . 
         [0032]    The operator pushes the sealing device onto the nozzle as far as desired. In one embodiment, the operator will push the sealing device onto the nozzle until narrow end  34  rests against cavity  17 . In another embodiment the nozzle does not rest against cavity  17 . This action will displace all, or essentially all, of the air that was inside the sealing device. If desired by the operator, the operator may squeeze closed end  14  to dispel any air remaining inside sealing device  10 . 
         [0033]    At the same time, none or almost none of moldable material  24  will escape once the continuous connection between opening  13  and outer diameter  31  is established. 
         [0034]    Increasing amounts of moldable material  24  are displaced as the operator continues to move the sealing device  10  and nozzle  30  together. In this situation, the expandable nature of sealing device  10  allows closed end  14  to expand to accommodate the displaced moldable material  24  and any remaining air, as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0035]    At this point the container with air-curable material is sealed and can be put away, for either a long period of time, or for a short period of time. By way of non-limiting example, a worker may use a caulking gun to caulk a seam. The caulking gun exerts pressure on the caulk tube to expel the air-curable material, in this case, the caulk. Typically, the operator will pause and put the caulk gun down after making a caulk bead to wipe the bead. Because of the pressure exerted by the caulking gun, caulk will drip from nozzle  30  during this time. The sealing device  10  may be quickly and easily placed over nozzle  30  to prevent leakage of air-curable material  42  during this time. Similarly, sealing device  10  may be used to prevent leaks during a rest break, a lunch break of any other time that the caulking gun, or other dispenser of air-curable material, is not being used. Thus, even if air-curable material  42  will not harden during a short break, sealing device  10  may be used to keep the work area clean and free from leaks and spills. 
         [0036]    The next time the operator needs to use air-curable material  42  the operator simply grasps sealing device  10  and removes it from nozzle  30 . The small plug  25  of moldable material  24  may remain inside orifice  32 . The operator dispenses a small amount of air-curable material, generally by applying pressure to container  40 , and this expels plug  25 . The operator can then apply air-curable material  42 , as desired. 
         [0037]    After applying air-curable material  42 , the sealing device  10  may be reused, by re-inserting nozzle  30  into sealing device  10 , as described above. Sealing device  10  may be reused as many times as needed. Because a small amount of moldable material  24  may be lost when plug  25  is expelled, each use of sealing device  10  may result in a decrease in the amount of moldable material  24 . After multiple uses the operator may re-fill cavity  17  with additional moldable material  24 , as needed. 
         [0038]    Sealing device  10  is flexible and relatively soft in relation to nozzle  30 . Similarly moldable material  42  is softer than nozzle  30 . Thus, nozzle  30  and orifice  32  will not be deformed by inserting sealing device  10  onto nozzle  30 . Orifice  32  will retain the shape it had when the operator first removed tip  34 . Because the sealing device does not deform orifice  32  or nozzle  34  the bead will not be deformed by use of the sealing device. Thus, the bead laid down upon subsequent uses will be identical to the original bead. 
         [0039]    Various changes and modification to the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The embodiments disclosed herein are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and the scope of the invention is as stated in the claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.