Angularly adjustable nozzle

A nozzle for dispensing adhesive or glue at one of a plurality of selected angles. The nozzle is particularly adapted for use with an adhesive dispenser. The nozzle includes a swivel nozzle member with a bore and a swivel adjustment surface. A seal member has a throughhole and a swivel adjustment surface and the throughhole is in fluid communication with the liquid discharge passage of the dispenser body. A retaining member having locked and unlocked positions holds the swivel adjustment surface of the seal member against the swivel adjustment surface of the swivel nozzle member. The swivel nozzle member is movable for selective adjustment when the retaining member is in the unlocked position to orient the bore of the swivel nozzle member in multiple transverse angles relative to the throughhole. Similarly, the swivel nozzle member is fixed against the selective adjustment when the retaining member is in the locked position.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention generally relates to apparatus for dispensing liquid 
and, more specifically, to angularly adjustable nozzles for dispensing 
liquids. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Many types of dispensers have one or more nozzles from which a liquid is 
discharged onto a substrate. Nozzle designs vary according to the liquid 
application requirements, but generally a nozzle will have at least one 
discharge bore oriented at a fixed angle relative to the remainder of the 
dispensing apparatus. That is, the discharge bore is machined or otherwise 
formed in the nozzle such that the direction of the liquid discharge 
cannot be changed once the apparatus is fixed in place. Certain nozzles 
may have a plurality of discharge bores at different fixed angles relative 
to the remainder of the apparatus, depending on the liquid application 
requirements. 
Nozzles for dispensing hot melt adhesive, for example, often have bores 
oriented at fixed angles to enable a specific pattern of adhesive to be 
applied to the substrate. Accordingly, when a different adhesive pattern 
is required, one or more nozzles must be replaced with other nozzles 
having appropriately oriented bores. Thus, dedicated nozzles must be 
stocked and installed as required by a new application. Changing nozzles 
to accommodate different application requirements has disadvantages 
associated with the changeover time and cost. For instance, several 
different nozzles must be kept on hand to satisfy the changing 
requirements of each liquid application. Additionally, time must be 
expended to change from one set of nozzles to another and this changeover 
time can be significant in large scale operations. Finally, it is not 
economically practical to manufacture numerous nozzle types and 
orientations to accommodate every possible need. 
To alleviate problems such as those mentioned above, it would be desirable 
to provide a dispenser, such as a hot melt adhesive dispenser, having a 
nozzle in which the orientation of the discharge bore may be easily 
adjusted and locked at a desired angular position. 
SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
The present invention is generally directed to a nozzle for dispensing 
liquid, such as hot melt adhesive or glue, at selectively adjustable 
angles. More particularly, the nozzle is adjustable and lockable and 
adapted for use with a dispenser. The nozzle includes a swivel nozzle 
member with a bore and a swivel adjustment surface. A seal member includes 
a mating swivel adjustment surface and a throughhole in fluid 
communication with a liquid discharge passageway of the dispenser body. 
The seal member may be an integral part of the dispenser body, but is 
preferably a separate component in the nozzle. A retaining member has 
locked and unlocked positions and holds the swivel adjustment surface of 
the seal member against the swivel adjustment surface of the swivel nozzle 
member. The swivel nozzle member is movable for selective adjustment when 
the retaining member is in the unlocked position to orient the bore of the 
swivel nozzle member in any one of a plurality of angles relative to the 
throughhole and is fixed against adjustment when the retaining member is 
in the locked position with the bore oriented at a selected one of the 
plurality of angles. 
Advantageously, the swivel nozzle member is substantially spherical and 
therefore angularly adjustable over a wide range of angles with the center 
of the swivel nozzle member generally defining a swivel or pivot point. 
Furthermore, the respective swivel adjustment surfaces may have different 
curvatures to form a gap between the two surfaces through which liquid 
communicates between the throughhole and the bore at the selected angular 
positions. The swivel adjustment surface of the seal member is preferably 
a recessed surface such that the bore of the swivel nozzle member remains 
in fluid communication with the throughhole in the seal member and the 
liquid discharge passageway of the dispenser body when oriented at the 
selected angular positions. 
The retaining member preferably includes a threaded portion for securing 
the retaining member to a dispenser body and establishing the locked and 
unlocked positions. Accordingly, the swivel nozzle member is angularly 
adjustable when the retaining member is in the unlocked position and 
prevented from rotating when the retaining member is in the locked 
position. 
In another embodiment, the swivel nozzle member has a plurality of 
pivotally connected pieces and each piece has a bore for discharging 
liquid. The pivotally connected pieces and bores are pivotally adjustable 
relative to each other and are locked in place simultaneously by the 
retaining member. The swivel nozzle member has two halves each pivotally 
connected for rotation relative to each other as well as for angular 
adjustment relative to the dispenser body. 
A method of angularly adjusting and securing the swivel nozzle member to 
the dispenser body includes retaining the swivel nozzle member against the 
dispenser body in an unlocked position that allows fluid communication 
between the liquid discharge passageway of the dispenser body and the bore 
of the nozzle member. While in the unlocked position, the swivel nozzle 
member is moved or adjusted to direct the bore at a desired angular 
position relative to the liquid discharge passageway. The swivel nozzle 
member is then locked at the desired transverse angular position such that 
the swivel nozzle member is prevented from further angular adjustment. 
The nozzle of the present invention provides several advantages over fixed 
angle nozzles. For instance, an installer can readily change the angle at 
which the liquid is discharged relative to the dispenser body. In 
addition, the swivel nozzle member can be infinitely adjusted between 
multiple extreme angular positions. Two independently adjustable nozzle 
pieces provide additional angular positions relative to the dispenser 
body. As such, the independently adjustable pieces provide increased 
spacing capabilities when applying liquid to a substrate. 
Moreover, the nozzle of the present invention provides several advantages 
over other angularly adjustable nozzles. For instance, the nozzle may be 
moved to a desired angular position and then locked into place. 
Accordingly, the nozzle is not easily dislocated from the required angular 
position and assures continuous, precise application of hot melt adhesive, 
glue or other material to a substrate. 
Various additional advantages, objects and features of the invention will 
become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon 
consideration of the following detailed description of the presently 
preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, a dispenser 10 includes a dispenser body 
12 and an angularly adjustable nozzle 14 constructed in accordance with 
the principles of this invention. Dispenser 10 is specifically adapted for 
dispensing liquids, such as heated thermoplastic liquids or hot melt 
adhesives, but other liquid dispensers will benefit from the invention as 
well. Nozzle 14 includes a swivel nozzle member 16 that readily 
facilitates changing the angle of liquid discharge relative to a 
longitudinal axis 17 extending through the length of the dispenser 10. The 
inventive principles will be described with reference to only some of many 
possible embodiments of swivel nozzles falling within the scope of this 
invention. 
Dispenser body 12 includes mounting holes 18a, 18b for mounting dispenser 
body 12 to a support structure, such as a heated manifold. One side of 
dispenser body 12 includes a spring return mechanism 19 operatively 
connected to an internal valve stem (not shown) mounted in a liquid 
discharge passageway 20. Spring return mechanism 19 closes the valve stem 
against an internal valve seat (not shown) to stop the flow of liquid 
through dispenser 10 in a known manner. Accordingly, dispenser body 12 and 
spring return mechanism 19 can serve as an on/off valve by moving the 
valve stem with respect to the valve seat disposed in liquid discharge 
passageway 20 internal to dispenser body 12. The valve stem may be 
pneumatically or electrically actuated to selectively dispense the liquid 
from liquid discharge passageway 20 to the attached nozzle 14. 
Dispenser body 12 is only one of many possible dispenser bodies usable with 
nozzle 14 of this invention. Other types of dispensers, such as modules, 
guns, or manifolds may be used as well. Commercially available examples of 
pneumatically actuated dispenser bodies 12 are the H-200 and H-400 
modules, both of which are available from Nordson Corporation, Westlake, 
Ohio. 
Nozzle 14 attaches to a discharge end 24 of dispenser body 12 thereby 
coupling swivel nozzle member 16 in fluid communication with passageway 20 
of dispenser body 12. Swivel nozzle member 16 is coupled to discharge end 
24 of dispenser body 12 by a retaining member 28. In addition, nozzle 14 
includes a seal member 30 held in sealing engagement between dispenser 
body 12 and swivel nozzle member 16 by retaining member 28. More 
particularly, seal member 30 engages swivel nozzle member 16 at a sealing 
line of contact 31 to create a fluid seal between seal member 30 and 
swivel nozzle member 16. 
Although swivel nozzle member 16, seal member 30, and retaining member 28 
can be formed of any material suitable to the desired application, these 
components are preferably made of brass for hot melt adhesive dispensing 
applications. In this regard, brass has advantageous thermal conductivity 
and strength properties. For increased durability, retaining member 28 is 
preferably coated with zinc. 
Swivel nozzle member 16 has a bore 32 in fluid communication with liquid 
discharge passageway 20 of the dispenser body 12. A nozzle insert 34 with 
a tip 36 is press fit into bore 32 for discharging liquid received from 
liquid discharge passageway 20 of dispenser body 12. Although nozzle 14 of 
FIG. 2 shows swivel nozzle member 16 with only one bore 32, swivel nozzle 
member 16 could have a plurality of bores each in fluid communication with 
liquid discharge passageway 20. 
Retaining member 28 preferably has a threaded portion 38 which engages a 
complimentary threaded portion 40 at discharge end 24 of dispenser body 
12. As such, retaining member 28 can be selectively placed in locked or 
unlocked positions depending on how tightly retaining member 28 is 
threaded onto threaded portion 40. Additionally, swivel nozzle member 16 
has a swivel adjustment surface 42 which is rounded to allow angular 
adjustment of swivel nozzle member 16 in multiple directions. More 
particularly, a reference axis 37 is coaxially aligned with the bore 32 
and the nozzle insert 34 and forms an angle .phi. between the reference 
axis 37 and the longitudinal axis 17. When .phi. equals zero the 
longitudinal axis 17 and the reference axis 37 are coincident with one 
another. Advantageously, swivel nozzle member 16 is substantially 
spherical such that swivel nozzle member 16 is angularly adjustable over a 
predetermined range of angles .phi.. Therefore, in accordance with the 
principles of the invention, swivel nozzle member 16 is angularly 
adjustable when retaining member 28 is in an unlocked position. Similarly, 
swivel nozzle member 16 is prevented from rotating when retaining member 
28 is tightened into the locked position. 
The maximum amount of angular adjustment is limited by nozzle insert 34 
contacting opposite sides of a surrounding wall 44 of retaining member 28 
as illustrated in FIG. 2. Preferably, swivel nozzle member 16 is 
configured to allow a range of adjustment with .phi. ranging from zero to 
about 60 degrees in all directions within surrounding wall 44. 
Accordingly, bore 32 remains in fluid communication with liquid discharge 
passageway 20 of dispenser body 12 when swivel nozzle member 16 is 
selectively positioned at any desired dispensing angle within these 
limits. 
Seal member 30 includes a throughhole 46 which is in fluid communication 
with both liquid discharge passageway 20 of dispenser body 12 and bore 32 
of swivel nozzle member 16. Seal member 30 allows swivel nozzle member 16 
to be angularly adjusted in transverse directions relative to throughhole 
46 when retaining member 28 is in the unlocked position and to fix the 
angular position when retaining member 28 is in the locked position. 
Although seal member 30 is a separate component of nozzle 14, seal member 
30 could be an integral component of discharge end 24 of dispenser body 12 
such that, for example, nozzle 14 comprises only swivel nozzle member 16 
and retaining member 28. 
Seal member 30 further includes a swivel adjustment surface 48 which is 
curved. The swivel adjustment surface 48 interfaces or mates with the 
swivel nozzle member 16 along the sealing line of contact 31. Preferably, 
the swivel adjustment surface 48 is a recessed surface. The curvatures of 
respective swivel adjustment surfaces 42, 48 differ from one another such 
that a gap 50 is formed between swivel adjustment surfaces 42, 48. As 
such, bore 32 remains in fluid communication with throughhole 46 and 
liquid discharge passageway 20 when bore 32 is oriented at a selected 
transverse angle. 
A nozzle 14' constructed according to another embodiment of the invention 
is illustrated in FIG. 3. Swivel nozzle member 16' has a bore 60 and a 
nozzle insert 62. Nozzle insert 62 is threaded, as opposed to being press 
fit, into a threaded portion 64 of swivel nozzle member 16'. As such, 
nozzle insert 62 can be readily removed from swivel nozzle member 16' so 
that it can be cleaned or replaced by another nozzle insert. Nozzle insert 
62 has a end portion 66 which is configured to act as a stop against 
surrounding wall 44 of retaining member 28 to define the angular 
adjustment between predefined limits. A reference axis 68 is coaxially 
aligned with the bore 60 and the nozzle insert 62 and forms an angle 
.phi.' between the reference axis 68 and the longitudinal axis 17. For 
instance, discharge end 66 is preferably configured such that swivel 
nozzle member 16' rotates so .phi.' equals 45 degrees in multiple 
directions within the confines of surrounding wall 44 of retaining member 
28. 
Still another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 4 
and 5. In this regard, nozzle 14" has a swivel nozzle member 70 with first 
and second pieces or halves 72a, 72b. Halves 72a, 72b are pivotally 
connected with connecting pin 74. As such, each half 72a, 72b is pivotally 
adjustable about connecting pin 74 relative to the other. Each half 72a, 
72b has a bore 76a, 76b, with a nozzle insert 78a, 78b press fit into each 
respective bore 76a, 76b. Swivel nozzle member 70 is configured such that 
bores 76a, 76b remain in fluid communication with dispenser body 12 when 
swivel nozzle member 70 is rotated to a desired angular position. 
Retaining member 28 is used to simultaneously lock halves 72a, 72b at the 
desired orientation. A reference axis 80 is coaxially aligned with nozzle 
insert 78a and forms and angle .phi." with longitudinal axis 17. In this 
embodiment, angle .phi." is defined as being equal zero when the reference 
axis 80 and the longitudinal axis 17 are parallel, but not coaxially 
aligned. Swivel nozzle member 70 can rotate a total of approximately 60 
degrees about a reference axis 80 perpendicular to a longitudinal axis 82 
of connecting pin 74. Additionally, bores 76a, 76b remain in fluid 
communication with dispenser body 12 when respective halves 72a, 72b are 
pivoted relative to one another. With specific reference to FIG. 5, each 
half 72a, 72b can pivot a total of approximately 76 degrees about 
connecting pin 74. 
It is contemplated that the one-piece swivel nozzle member 16 may further 
include multiple nozzle inserts. As shown in FIG. 6, for example, a swivel 
nozzle member 90 is illustrated with a main bore 92 having first and 
second dispensing bores 94, 96 which are at a fixed angle relative to each 
other. Like reference numerals in FIG. 6 represent like elements in the 
preceding embodiments. Inserted respectively within the first and second 
dispensing bores are first and second nozzle inserts 98, 100. The swivel 
nozzle member 90 is angularly adjustable such that the longitudinal axis 
of main bore 92 can be swivelled relative to the longitudinal axis 17 as 
described in connection with previous embodiments. 
Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, swivel nozzle member 16 is initially 
retained against dispenser body 12 by retaining member 28 in an unlocked 
position that allows angular adjustment of bore 32 with respect to liquid 
discharge passageway 20 in multiple transverse directions. Swivel nozzle 
member 16 is moved to direct bore 32 at a desired transverse angular 
position relative to liquid discharge passageway 20. Finally, retaining 
member 28 is tightened to lock swivel nozzle member 16 at the desired 
transverse angular position such that swivel nozzle member 16 is prevented 
from further angular adjustment. The liquid enters dispenser body 12, 
flows through liquid discharge passageway 20, and exits from discharge end 
24 of dispenser body 12. The liquid then passes into throughhole 46 of 
seal member 30 and into gap 50. From gap 50, the liquid enters bore 32 and 
exits through tip 36, regardless of the selected angular position of 
swivel nozzle member 16 relative to dispenser body 12. It will be 
appreciated that all embodiments of the invention described herein operate 
to dispense liquid in a similar manner, although differences exist 
relative to the structure of the nozzles as described above. 
Swivel nozzle member 16 is generally free to swivel or rotate within the 
constraints of retaining member 28 with no preference for any particular 
angular position. However, at least one detent or other structure could be 
included in nozzles 14, 14' 14" to more easily and positively locate at 
least one preferred angular position for dispensing the liquid. 
While the present invention has been illustrated by a description of 
various preferred embodiments and while these embodiments have been 
described in considerable detail in order to describe the best mode of 
practicing the invention, it is not the intention of applicant to restrict 
or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. 
Additional advantages and modifications within the spirit and scope of the 
invention will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention 
itself should only be defined by the appended claims, wherein.