Abstract:
An hand application tool for laying a sealant spacer strip along a glass sheet for forming insulating glass units having a handle with first and second ends; a base having freely rotatable rollers connected to the first end of the handle; and a housing connected to the first end of said handle and to the base the housing having a positioning roller, at least one guide pin and a housing roller wherein the at least one guide pin and the housing roller form a guideway for deploying the adhesive strip and the housing roller provides pressure for applying the sealant spacer strip onto the glass sheet.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION DATA 
       [0001]    This application is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 10/858,385 filed Jun. 2, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,316,759, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 10/280,469 filed on Oct. 25, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,761,201, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to an apparatus for laying an adhesive strip Such as a sealant spacer strip along the peripheral edges of a glass sheet where positioning such a strip is one step in the assembly of an insulating glass unit. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    In general, the procedure for assembling an insulating window structure involves placing one sheet of a glazed structure, such as glass, over another in a fixed, spaced relationship, with a spacing and sealing means located at and along the periphery of the two structures, thereby forming a sandwich-type structure having a sealed air space between the structures. The sealed air space provides improved insulation capabilities. Difficulties exist, however, in the manufacture of the windows, especially the deployment and positioning of the sealant spacer strip. 
         [0004]    To keep the glazed structures properly spaced apart, a rigid spacer strip is formed into a frame and placed between the two structures to maintain proper spacing after which the sealant composition is injected into a channel formed by this spacer frame and the edges of the glazed structures. Alternatively, the rigid spacer can be pre-coated with sealant and placed into the space between the glazed structures to form the insulating window structure. 
         [0005]    Sealant spacer strips can be continuous whereby a single strip runs without interruption along the entire periphery of the glass sheet and has the flexibility to be bent into corners. When using flexible spacers, the degree of flexibility should be sufficient to permit a spacer to be bent around a corner. If it is not flexible enough, the spacer must be cut or notched to facilitate this bending. The manual application of a continuous strip, however, can require considerable ability on the part of the installer, especially to form consistent corners and if corners require notching, to properly place the notch. Also, continuous spacer strips may need to be removed and re-positioned, if the spacer strip is placed in incorrectly on the glass sheet. 
         [0006]    One conventional method of assembling or making an insulating window unit consists of starting at one corner applying an adhesive strip, typically a sealant spacer strip, along a peripheral edge of a glazed structure, forming corners where required, cutting the strip to length after formation of the last corner and then positioning a second glazed structure thereon to form a panel with an sealant spacer strip holding the glazed structures apart from each other. 
         [0007]    Applying the sealant spacer strip by hand can be time consuming and result in poor or inconsistent positioning of the sealant spacer strip. Also, the manufacturer must apply pressure by hand to get the sealant spacer strip to adhere to the glass sheet. The inconsistency of this pressure results in inconsistent adherence of the sealant spacer strip to the glass sheet. 
         [0008]    In order to alleviate some of these problems, application tools have been used to lay down sealant spacer strips on glass sheets. These tools require that the sealant spacer strip be threaded through the tool and must remain threaded in the tool until a complete assembly is fabricated. Many application tools make it difficult to reposition a mis-deployed threaded strip, because the device cannot be easily disengaged from the sealant spacer strip and re-deployed in the middle of fabricating an insulating glass unit. Instead the tool must be run back over the strip to the place of mis-deployment and then the strip re-positioned. This is often not possible forcing the window manufacturer to scrap the mis-deployed strip. Also, many of the tools do not provide capabilities for determining where the sealant spacer strip should be notched for cornering. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a tool that easily applies the sealant spacer strip along the peripheral edges of a glass sheet. 
         [0010]    In one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a hand application tool for applying a strip of material to a surface of a glass sheet or other member adjacent to the periphery thereof wherein the strip of material may be re-positioned if necessary. 
         [0011]    In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a hand application tool is provided having a guideway formed by a series of pins and rollers to enable the enable the precise deployment along the glass sheet periphery, formation of corners in the sealant spacer strip, provide consistent down-pressure for contacting the strip on the glass sheet and providing a means for easier for re-positioning of sealant spacer strip improperly deployed on the glass sheet. 
         [0012]    It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a guide plate and associated guide rollers for varying the distance between the edges of the glass members and the sealant/spacer strip. 
         [0013]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide an adjustable down pressure roller and an adjustable front positioning roller to accommodate varying thicknesses or gauges of sealant spacer strip. 
         [0014]    In another embodiment, a targeting system is provided which is capable of projecting an indicator light to aid the user in determining where the sealant spacer strip should be turned to form a corner and/or notched for cornering. 
         [0015]    In yet another embodiment, a cutting mechanism is provided for notching or cutting the sealant spacer strip in order to form corners. 
         [0016]    Other objects and the further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. It should be understood, however, that this detailed description, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, is given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is a side elevational view showing an embodiment of the present invention during the application of a strip on a glass sheet positioned on a work table; 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  is a top perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the front portion of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  is another side view of the front portion of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 5  is a front view of the housing of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0022]      FIG. 6  is a view of the underside of the housing of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0023]    Referring now to the drawings, as seen in  FIG. 1 , there is shown a work table  10  having a glass sheet  12  placed on it so that an sealant spacer strip  14  may be laid along the peripheral edge of the glass sheet  12  by a hand application tool  16  of the present invention. A second glass sheet is then subsequently placed on the top surface of the sealant spacer strip  14  to form an insulating glass unit (“IGU”). 
         [0024]    The hand application tool  16  of the present invention, generally denoted as  16 , has a handle  18  connected at one end to a housing  20  and at an opposing end to a handle support  22 . The handle support  22  is in turn connected to a base plate  24 . As can be best seen in  FIGS. 2 ,  3  and  4 , at the end of the base plate  24 , opposite the handle support  22 , the base plate has a base plate bracket  26 . 
         [0025]    The base plate bracket  26  may be affixed to the base plate  24  as a separate component or may be integral with it. The base plate bracket  26 , as illustrated, generally has a lower portion connected to the base plate  24  and a top portion affixed to and supporting the housing  20 . In this manner, these components form a frame for the hand application tool  16 . 
         [0026]    At end of the handle  18  opposite the housing  20  is an air inlet nozzle  28  capable of being connected to a source of forced air such as an air hose for activating a cutting mechanism. Of course, one of skill in the art will readily appreciate that any number of other electro-mechanical mechanisms may be used to drive the cutting mechanism. Also, not illustrated, but located in the vicinity of the air inlet nozzle  28  is a power coupling so that a power supply may be connected to the hand application tool  16 . 
         [0027]    The hand application tool  16  has a series of rollers, guides and pins for deploying and positioning sealant spacer strip  14  onto glass sheets  12 . As can be seen in  FIG. 3 , a front roller  30  is mounted on an axle of the base plate  24  so that the front roller  30  is freely rotatable about the axle. As can be seen in  FIGS. 1 and 4 , on the opposing side of the base plate  24  is located a second, corresponding front roller  30   a . Front roller  30   a , like its counterpart, is mounted on an axle located on the base plate  24  and is likewise freely rotatable about its respective axle. As can also be best seen in  FIG. 1 , a set of rear rollers  32 ,  32   a  is also provided. These rollers are also mounted on an axle attached to the base plate  24 . 
         [0028]    In one embodiment of the present invention, the hand application tool  16  also has a series of guide rollers  36 ,  38  and  40  oriented horizontally to the guide plate  56 . As seen in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a front guide roller is attached to the front of the guide plate  56 , and the front guide roller  36  may freely rotate about an axle. As illustrated, the front guide roller  36  is oriented horizontally relative to the base plate. In other words, the front guide roller  36  rotates in the plane perpendicular to the plane of rotation of the front and rear rollers  30 ,  30   a  and  32 ,  32   a . Besides the front guide roll  34   36 , a middle guide roller  38  and a rear guide roller  40  may be provided. At least two guide rollers are used for ensuring proper contact and spacing between the hand application tool  16  and the edge of the glass sheet  12 . The middle guide roller  38  can be best seen in FIGS.  5  and  6 . The rear guide roller  40  can be seen in  FIG. 2  and is located towards the back edge of the guide plate  56 , which in turn is attached to the base plate  24 . These rollers determine the position of the tool relative to the glass sheets. 
         [0029]    As illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the hand application tool  16  can also include a series of positioning pins  42 ,  42   a , and  43  attached to the housing and extending downward so that the pins are oriented generally vertically. In one embodiment, the pins  42 ,  42   a  and  43  are attached to the housing and can freely rotate. Additionally, the pins can be encased with a sleeve of polymeric material of varying thickness for accommodating sealant spacer strips of differing thickness. Thus, the pins  42 ,  42   a  and  43 , the down-pressure roller  52  and front positioning roller  34  form a guideway for the accurate and consistent deployment of the sealant spacer strip  14 . The guideway enables the user to turn the hand application tool  16  when deploying sealant spacer strip for the easy formation of corners within the strip. It also allows the user to remove the hand application tool  16  from the sealant spacer strip and re-position sealant spacer strip as necessary, which is particularly advantageous when the user is only partially finished deploying the strip. Conversely, the hand application tool  16  can be easily re-positioned on a sealant spacer strip already adhered to the glass sheet  12  to finish deploying the strip and forming the insulating glass unit. 
         [0030]    As can also be seen in  FIG. 5  is the cutting mechanism of an embodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the cutting mechanism comprises a blade  44  capable of back and forth movement generally parallel to the glass sheet  12  within a slot or blade guide  46  and contacting with an anvil  48 . The cutting mechanism can be activated by a blade activation knob or button  50  powered by the air supply or any other known means for reciprocating a blade. The cutting mechanism may also have different cut depth activation buttons. In this embodiment, for instance, by activating the first activation button, the sealant spacer strip  14  is notched so that it can be bent to form a corner. It is notched by partially cutting into the sealant spacer strip  14 . In this case, the cutting blade  44  stops short of the anvil. If the second activation button is activated, the cutting blade  44  extends further to totally cut off the sealant spacer strip  14 . This cut is performed at the final corner of the insulating glass unit to complete deployment of the sealant spacer strip  14 . 
         [0031]    To further aid in the deployment of the sealant spacer strip  14 , in one embodiment the hand application tool may also include a down-pressure roller  52  for placing pressure on the sealant spacer strip  14  during dispensing. As can be seen in  FIGS. 3 and 5 , the down-pressure roller  52  rotates on an axle partially contained within a slot in the underside of the housing. The down-pressure roller  52  forms part of the previously described guideway. The adjustable axle or shaft is ultimately connected to a down-pressure roller adjustment knob  54 . By turning the down-pressure roller adjustment knob, the down-pressure roller  52  may be moved up or down within the down-pressure roller channel  52 . The down-pressure roller is spring loaded so small variations in sealant spacer strip height can be maintained while keeping the downward pressure on the sealant spacer strip generally uniform. In operation, the down-pressure roller exerts pressure on the sealant spacer strip  14  to adhere it to the glass sheet  12 . 
         [0032]    To further aid in the positioning and deployment of the sealant spacer strip, the hand application tool may also include an adjustable guide plate  56  to provide a means for laying the sealant spacer strip a proper distance from the edge of the glass sheet. By maintaining contact between the edge of the guide rollers  36 ,  38  and  40  of the guide plate  56  and the glass sheet  12 , the user is able to control the proper spacing of the sealant spacer strip from the edge or periphery of the glass sheet. 
         [0033]    In order to adjust the guide rollers  36 ,  38 , and  40 , the guide plate attachment screws  58 ,  58   a  are loosened. Then the guide plate adjustment knob  60  is turned to move the guide plate back and forth across the bottom surface of the base plate until the guide rollers  36 ,  38  and  40  contact the glass sheet  12  at the desired distance so that the sealant spacer strip is applied at the desired location on the glass sheet  12 . Once the desired position is attained, the screws  58 ,  58   a  are tightened to fix the guide plate  56  in place and deployment of the sealant spacer strip may proceed. 
         [0034]    Attached to the front of the housing is a front positioning roller  34 . In one embodiment, as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the front positioning roller  34  can be attached to the housing via an adjustable attachment  62  such as a screw or bolt in a slot. If the screw or bolt is loosened, the front positioning roller  34  can be slidably moved within a slot or groove in the attachment  62 . Once the desired height for the front positioning roller  34  is found, the screw or bolt can be tightened to frictionally engage the outer surface of the attachment. Of course, one of skill in the art will readily appreciate that other types of attachments that allow adjustment of the height of the front positioning roller may be used. 
         [0035]    The hand application tool  16  of the present invention may also have a targeting system to alert the user where the sealant spacer strip  14  must be notched and where to form corners. The targeting system may comprise a set of laser ports  64 ,  64   a  powered by a laser or lasers  66 . As can be further seen, the laser  66  is activated by a laser control switch (not shown). By activating the control switch, the laser  66  is turned on and light indicator beams are sent out their respective laser ports  64 ,  64   a  to project an indicating spot at some distance from the hand application tool  16  that is easily seen by the operator. Besides lasers, any other known optical beam may be used for this purpose. 
         [0036]    In operation, the sealant spacer strip  14  is applied to the top face of the glass sheet  12  by inserting the strip  14  underneath the front positioning roller  34  and between the positioning pins  42 ,  42   a  and  43  to contact the down-pressure roller  52 . The user then rolls the hand toll along the work table supported by the front and back rollers  30 ,  30   a  and  32 ,  32   a  with the guide rollers  36 ,  38 , and  40  engaging the side of the glass sheet. The user holds the sealant spacer trip  14  to be deployed above and in front of the tool  16  so that the top surface of the sealant spacer strip  14  engages the front positioning roller  34 . As the sealant spacer strip  14  is deployed, it is guided by the positioning pins  42 ,  42   a  and  43  laterally and front positioning roller  34  vertically, moves through the guideway and vertically engages the down-pressure roller  52 , which serves to apply a pressure on the sealant spacer strip  14  to secure it to the glass sheet  12 . 
         [0037]    The targeting system allows the user to watch the indicator lights projected from the laser ports  64 ,  64   a  to determine when the hand application tool  16  has reached a corner and the sealant spacer strip  14  needs to be notched and then where the hand application tool  16  needs to be turned or pivoted. In other words, the first laser port  64  projects an indicator light beam that is easily viewable by the user to show the user where the sealant spacer strip  14  should be notched. The user aligns the first indicator light with the edge of the glass sheet  12 , provided the angle of the corner is ninety degrees, and then activates the cutting blade activation button  50  to notch the sealant spacer strip  14 . The user then moves the hand application tool  16  along the sealant spacer strip  14  until the second indicator light beam from the second laser port  64   a  aligns with the edge of the glass sheet  12 . At this point, the centerline of the down-pressure roller  52  will be immediately above the notch. The user pivots the hand application tool  16  about this the centerline of down-pressure roller  52  to form a corner in the sealant spacer strip  14 . The process is then repeated for the next side of the glass sheet. 
         [0038]    While in accordance with the patent statutes, the best mode and preferred embodiment has been set forth, the scope of the invention is not limited thereto, but rather by the scope of the attached claims. Although the invention has been described above in relation to specific forms, it should be evident to the persons skilled in the art that it may be modified and defined in various ways and should not be limited in interpretation, except by the terms of the following claims.