A COMBINED FLUID DISPENSER AND CLAMP

Abstract: A combined fluid dispenser and clamp device (26) for dispensing fluids from a fluid container (10) of the type comprising a container body (12) and at least one movable sealing piston (18), and for clamping an assembled work piece is disclosed. The device comprises a body portion (28), a fluid container receiving portion (30) adapted to removably retain a container body (12) and restrict movement of the said container body (12) in a direction away from the body portion (28) of the device, a contact member (36), a connecting member (32) for connecting the fluid container receiving portion (30) to the body portion (28) of the device, and a mechanism for causing relative movement of the contact member (36) and the fluid container receiving portion (30) towards each other. Operation of the mechanism drives at least one sealing piston (18) relative to the container body (12), in use, to dispense fluid from the fluid container (10), the contact member (36) and the fluid container receiving portion (30) having mutually facing surfaces between which a work piece can be clamped, upon actuation of the advancing mechanism, once the fluid container (10) has been removed from the fluid container receiving portion (30).

Description: A COMBINED FLUID DISPENSER AND CLAMP The present invention relates to a device for dispensing fluid and for clamping together substrates. It is known to provide a clamp for clamping substrates together which comprises a body, first and second contact members and a connecting member for connecting the first contact member to the body. The clamp also comprises an advancing mechanism for advancing the second contact member towards the first contact member, so as to clamp together substrates which are located between the first and second contact members. Such clamps are particularly suitable for holding together substrates which are to be bonded together by adhesive. It is also known to provide a fluid container, for example in the form of a syringe, the fluid being dispensed by application of pressure to a plunger portion of the syringe. However, with such a dispenser it is often difficult to apply sufficient pressure to the plunger to dispense the fluid. This problem is particularly apparent when the fluid is high viscosity adhesive or when fluid is dispensed from a syringe which is adapted to dispense two components of an adhesive from two syringe barrels. In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a combined fluid dispenser and clamp device for dispensing fluids from a fluid container of the type comprising a container body and at least one movable sealing piston, and for clamping an assembled work piece, which device comprises a body portion, a fluid container receiving portion adapted to removably retain a container body and restrict movement of the said container body in a direction away from the body portion of the device, a contact member, a connecting member for connecting the fluid container receiving portion to the body portion of the device, and an advancing mechanism for causing relative movement of the contact member and the fluid container receiving portion towards each other, whereby operation of the mechanism drives at least one piston along a container body of a fluid container, in use, to dispense fluid from the fluid container, the contact member and the fluid container receiving portion having mutually facing surfaces between which a work piece can be clamped, upon actuation of the advancing mechanism, once the fluid container has been removed from the fluid container receiving portion. The device is particularly suitable for bonding substrates together. In such an application, adequate pressure can easily be applied to dispense an adhesive from a fluid container containing adhesive and, once the adhesive has been dispensed onto the substrates which are to be bonded, the substrates can be clamped together until bonding has taken place. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the fluid container receiving portion comprises a substantially U- shaped recess. Preferably, the fluid container receiving portion comprises at least one wing extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of the contact member. In a preferred embodiment, the fluid container receiving portion is provided with two wings extending in opposite directions from the fluid container receiving portion. Preferably, the mutual facing surfaces are planar, and -ne contact member planar surface lies parallel to the or each wing planar surface. Preferably, the connecting member is shaped such that, in use, the connecting member does not interfere with the contact member during movement of the contact member. The connecting member may be substantially C-shaped. Preferably, the contact member is mounted on an end portion of a movable rod. The advancing mechanism may comprise ratchet means or a sliding bar grip mechanism. The relative movement of the contact member and the container receiving portion may be effected by moving either the contact member or the container receiving portion relative to the body portion. The combined fluid dispenser and clamp may also include a plunger located intermediate the piston and the contact member. A specific embodiment of the present invention is now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a fluid container in the form of a syringe for use in an embodiment in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a diagrammatic representation of a combined fluid dispenser and clamp in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 shows a partial cross-sectional view taken along the line III - III in Figure 2; Figure 4 is a diagrammatic representation of a combined fluid dispenser and clamp showing a syringe accommodated in the receiving portion of the combined fluid dispenser and clamp shown in Figure 2; Figure 5 is a diagrammatic representation of a combined fluid dispenser and clamp in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 6 shows a partial cross-sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in Figure 5. Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 shows a fluid container which in this embodiment is a conventional syringe 10. The syringe 10 comprises a syringe body 12 having first and second adhesive compartments 14,16 containing first an d second adhesive components respectively. The syringe 1 0 also comprises a divided plunger 18 having an end portion 2 0 and one plunger portion for each compartment 14,16, and an adhesive mixing nozzle 22 having an aperture 24. The syringe body 12 includes a lip 13. With reference to Figures 2 and 3, there is shown a combined fluid dispenser and clamp 26 in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. The combined fluid dispenser and clamp 26 comprises a dispenser body 28 and a fluid container receiving portion 30 connected to the dispenser body 28 by a substantially C-shaped connecting member 32. Also provided are a movable rod 34 having a contact member 36 and a trigger 38. The rod 34 is located in the combined fluid dispenser and clamp such that a central longitudinal axis of the rod 34 is aligned with the fluid container receiving portion 30, and the arrangement is such that operation of the trigger 38 by a user effects movement of the rod 34 in a direction substantially parallel to the central longitudinal axis of the rod 34 towards the fluid container receiving portion 30. In this embodiment the connecting member 32 is shown to be fixed to the dispenser body 28 and to the fluid container receiving portion 30. However, the connecting member 32 may be connectable to and disconnectable from the dispenser body 23 and/or the fluid container receiving portion 30. Such a connecting member may be provided so that an existing gun-type fluid dispenser can be converted into a combined fluid dispenser and clamp or, alternatively so that a combined fluid dispenser can be converted so as to perform only a dispensing operation. The fluid container receiving portion 30 is shown in more detail in Figure 3. The fluid container receiving portion 30 has a recess 31, the cross-section of which is substantially U-shaped, and the dimensions of the recess 31 are such that the fluid container receiving portion 30 may receive the syringe body 12. The fluid container receiving portion 30 is also provided with two wings 40, each one of which extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of the rod 34. The wings 40 are located on opposite sides of the recess 31. When the syringe 10 is located in the fluid container receiving portion 30 of the fluid dispenser 26 a central longitudinal axis of the syringe 10 extends in substantially the same direction as the central longitudinal axis of the rod 34, as shown in Figure 4. The lip 13 of the syringe body 12 locates adjacent the wings 40 so as to restrict movement of the syringe body 12 relative to the fluid container receiving portion 30 in a direction away from the dispenser body 28. In operation, a user of the fluid dispenser presses the trigger 38 towards the dispenser body 28, and an actuating mechanism (not shown) , which may be a ratchet- type mechanism or a sliding bar gripping mechanism or any other suitable mechanism, advances the rod 34 in a direction towards the syringe 10. The contact member 36 of the rod 34 then contacts the end portion 20 of the plunger 18, thereby driving the plunger 18 in a direction towards the syringe body 12. As a result, the first and second adhesive components located in the first and second compartments 14, 16 are urged into the mixing nozzle 22 and the mixed adhesive is ejected from the aperture 24. The shape of the connecting member 32 is such that the connecting member 32 does not interfere with the contact member 36 during movement of the contact member. In a second embodiment, as illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, wherein the reference numerals indicating corresponding elements already described with reference to the first embodiment are the same as those used in Figures 2 to 4, operation of the trigger 38 causes the fluid container receiving portion 30 to move relative to the dispenser body 28 e.g. by means of a ratchet mechanism acting on the connecting member 32. In this embodiment, the contact member 36 is replaced with a contact member in the form of a rear end stop 42. A bar release lever 44 is provided, which serves to release the ratchet mechanism thereby to permit removal of the fluid container. As in the first embodiment, the fluid container receiving portion 30 is substantially U-shaped in cross- section. The present embodiments have been described with reference to a fluid container in the form of a syringe 10 having a movable sealing piston in the form of a plunger which extends from the rear of the syringe 10. However, in the event of a fluid container having a movable sealing piston which is located completely inside a fluid container body, a separate plunger could be provided so as to transfer movement from the contact member 36 to the movable sealing member of the fluid container. When the required quantity of adhesive has been ejected from the syringe 10, the syringe 10 may be removed from the fluid container receiving portion 30 and the fluid dispenser 26 can be used as a clamp to hold together substrates which have been joined together by the adhesive. The wings 40 and the contact member 36 of the rod 34 which allow the fluid dispenser 26 to hold an object, the same advancing mechanism being used to achieve clamping. To ensure satisfactory clamping, mutual facing surfaces of the contact member 36 and the wings 40 are planar and parallel to each other; it will be appreciated that the mutually facing surfaces of the contact member 36 and the wings 40 need not necessarily by planar. It will be appreciated that the fluid container receiving portion could be other than U-shaped, for example the fluid container receiving portion could include an aperture of slightly larger diameter to the diameter of a body portion of a fluid container but of slightly smaller diameter than the diameter of a lip of a fluid container body portion. It will be appreciated that the fluid container receiving portion could be shaped so as to receive any suitable fluid container having a movable sealing piston, and the contact member could be adapted to drive any such sealing piston along the fluid container. It will of course be understood that the present invention has been described above purely by way of example, and that modification of detail can be made within the scope of the invention.

Claims: CLAIMS ; 1. A combined fluid dispenser and clamp device for dispensing fluids from a fluid container of the type comprising a container body and at least one movable sealing piston, and for clamping an assembled work piece, which device comprises a body portion, a fluid container receiving portion adapted to removably retain a container body an d restrict movement of the said container body in a direction away from the body portion of the device, a contact member, a connecting member for connecting the fluid container receiving portion to the body portion of the device, and an advancing mecnanism for causing relative movement of the contact member and the fluid container receiving portion towards each other, whereby operation of the mechanism drives at least one piston along a container body of a fluid container, in use, to dispense fluid from the fluid container, the contact member and the fluid container receiving portion having mutually facing surfaces between which a work piece can be clamped, upon actuation of the advancing mechanism, once the fluid container has been removed from the fluid container receiving portion. 2. A device as claimed in Claim 1, further comprising a plunger located intermediate the piston and the contact member 3. A device as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the fluid container receiving portion comprises a substantially U-shaped recess. 4. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the fluid container receiving portion comprises at least one wing extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of the contact member. 5. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the said mutual facing surfaces are planar. 6. A device as claimed in Claim 5, wherein said contact member planar surface lies parallel to the or each wing planar surface. 7. A device as claimed in any one of Claims 4 to 6, wherein two wings are provided extending in opposite directions from the fluid container receiving portion. 8. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the connecting member is shaped such that, in use, the connecting member does not interfere with the contact member during movement of the contact member. 9. A device as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the connecting member is substantially C-shaped. 10. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the contact member is mounted on an end portion of a movable rod. 11. A device a claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the connecting member is connectable to and disconnectable from the body portion and with the fluid container receiving portion. 12. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the advancing mechanism comprises ratchet means for effecting movement of the contact member. 13. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the advancing mechanism is arranged to move the contact member relative to the body portion. 14. A device as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 13, wherein the advancing mechanism comprises a sliding bar grip mechanism for effecting movement of the contact member. 15. A device as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 12 , wherein the advancing mechanism is arranged to move the fluid container receiving portion relative to the b o d y portion.

Inventors: GRANT QUENTIN SHOLTO, GRANT, QUENTIN, SHOLTO
Applicants: ADLOCK PACKAGING LTD, GRANT QUENTIN SHOLTO, ADLOCK PACKAGING LIMITED, GRANT, QUENTIN, SHOLTO
Application year: 1997
Main classification: B05C17
IPC codes: B05C17, B25B5