Patent Publication Number: US-6213631-B1

Title: Adapter for sealant tube

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates broadly to an adapter for transmitting motion from a powered rotary apparatus for a movable structure and, more particularly, pertains to an adapter for transmitting motion from a powered rotary drill to use in the mixing of two materials together. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     For many years, military and aircraft specifications have required that rivets, bolt holes, seams and other components in an aircraft be sealed by coating desired surfaces with an approved material. Such material typically is packaged in an unmixed form within a cartridge assembly containing a sealant which must be combined with a hardener before the resulting material can be applied. More particularly, the cartridge assembly is comprised of a tubular cartridge having a closed end for retaining a supply of sealant therein, and a tube containing a hardener which is injected into the cartridge with a separate push rod and then blended together with a sealant therein by means of a mixing vane on one end of the tube disposed within the cartridge. Another end of the hardener tube terminates outside the cartridge in a wheel handle which is simultaneously rotated and reciprocated by hand relative to a restricted open end of the cartridge in order to effect the necessary mixing of the sealant and hardener inside the cartridge. Because the sealant and hardener are extremely dense and highly viscous materials, it has always taken rigorous labor intensive efforts and an unreasonable amount of time to combine these ingredients before their application. Once the sealant and its hardener have been mixed, the hardener tube is removed and the mixture is applied through the restricted open end of the cartridge using variously sized and shaped nozzles, orifices, and dispensers. 
     Accordingly, there exists a definite need to provide for the more efficient mixing of sealant and hardener in a cartridge assembly. It is desirable to provide an adapter that may be employed to couple a powered rotary drill to the wheel handle of the standard cartridge assembly so as to eliminate the need for application of manual force. 
     It is one of object of the present invention to provide an interfacing device which will vastly improve the combining of a sealant and hardener as used in aircraft applications. 
     It is also an object of the present invention to provide a simplified adapter which is extremely durable, yet lightweight and may be carried easily in one&#39;s hand or pocket. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide an adapter which may be used with a variety of power drills and various wheel handles of cartridge assemblies. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an adapter which is reasonably inexpensive to manufacture, that may be conveniently and quickly used, and that consists of a one-piece design with no moving parts. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an adapter which is corrosion-resistant and does not necessitate special tools to install or remove, nor require any maintenance. 
     In one aspect of the invention, an adapter is provided for mixing a hardener and a sealant within a cartridge assembly having a handle rotatably and reciprocably mounted therein. The adapter includes a cylindrical base having a first flat surface provided with a coupling pin extending substantially perpendicular thereto. The coupling pin is adapted to be chucked into a powered drill. The base has a second flat surface provided with a plurality of spaced apart, headed elements engageable within the cartridge assembly handle. The adapter is constructed and arranged to transfer rotary motion from the drill to the handle to enable mixing of the sealant and hardener together. The adapter is preferably constructed of stainless steel, and the headed elements are a pair of rivets of identical construction. The periphery of the base is slightly smaller than the periphery of the handle. The handle is formed with walls defining a pair of spaced apart apertures, the walls being engageable with the headed elements. 
     In another aspect of the invention, there is provided an arrangement for mixing materials together. The cartridge assembly includes a tubular cartridge holding a seal therein and having a closed end and an open end. The cartridge assembly further has a tube slidably and rotatably mounted relative to the open end of the cartridge and holding a hardener therein. The tube has an open end for introducing hardener into the cartridge, the tube open end being provided with a structure for mixing the sealant with the hardener. The tube also has a closed end external to the cartridge and is provided with a wheel handle for rotating and reciprocating the tube inside the cartridge. The handle has a flat mounting surface formed with walls defining a pair of spaced apart apertures therein. An adapter has a base with one side in contact with the handle mounting surface and includes a pair of rivets aligned with an engageable with the walls forming the apertures. The base has an opposite side provided with a coupling pin extending substantially perpendicular thereto and adapted to be retained in a powered drill. With this construction, upon initial rotary motion of the drill, the rivets contact the walls forming the apertures so as to enable slidable and rotary movement of the tube and the mixing structure for combining the sealant and hardener together in the cartridge. The cartridge, the tube and the handle are preferably constructed of a high density, polyethylene material. 
     In yet another aspect of the invention, there is contemplated a method for mixing a hardener and sealant within a cartridge assembly having a handle rotatably and reciprocably mounted therein. The method includes the step of providing an adapter comprised of a cylindrical base having a first flat surface provided with a coupling pin extending substantially perpendicular thereto, and a second flat surface opposite the first flat surface having a pair of spaced apart rivets, the coupling pin adapted to be received in a powered drill; and engaging the handle of the cartridge assembly with the rivets so as to transfer rotary motion from the drill to the handle. 
     There has been outlined the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended thereto. 
     In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
     Various other features, objects and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The drawings illustrate the best mode presently contemplated of carrying out the invention. 
     In the drawings: 
     FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a drill adapter adapted to be connected with a sealant cartridge assembly according to the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged and exploded, isometric view of the interconnection between the drill adapter and a wheeled handle at the outer end of a movable tube filled with a hardener to be mixed in the sealant cartridge; 
     FIG. 3 is an elevational view partially in cross section of the interconnection shown in FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary cross sectional view of the interconnected adapter and the sealant cartridge assembly shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line  5 — 5  of FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5, but showing the adapter position relative to the wheel handle during its initial rotation; and 
     FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line  7 — 7  of FIG.  6 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to FIG. 1, where the present invention is generally identified by reference numeral  10 , it can be seen that the invention basically relates to an adapter  10  interposed between the chuck of a powered rotary drill  12  and a cartridge assembly  14 . In the preferred embodiment, the drill  12  is represented conveniently as a rechargeable battery-type drill, but it should be appreciated that the drill may otherwise be electrically or pneumatically powered so as to provide a mechanized rotary force. 
     As seen in FIGS. 1 and 4, the cartridge assembly  14  is comprised of an HDPE (high density polyethylene) thermoplastic material having a tubular cartridge  16  and a hardener tube  18 . Cartridge  16  is closed at one end thereof by means of an end cap  20  in tightly sealed relationship with the inside diameter  22  of the cartridge  16 . An opposite end of the cartridge  16  has a restricted open end  24  through which elongated tube  18  is slidably and rotatably mounted. A portion of the cartridge  16  is filled with a highly viscous and dense sealant  26  which is constrained therein by the end cap  20  and the sealing engagement of the open end  24  with the tube  18 , as shown at  28 . 
     The tube  18  contains a supply of hardener  30  similar in viscosity and density or thickness to sealant  26  and has an open end  32  and a closed end  34 . The open end  32  allows hardener  30  to be introduced into the sealant  26  and includes an outer diameter which is threaded at  35  so as to be screwed clockwise into a threaded hub  36  of a mixing vane  38  having outer ends  40  in tight but sliding contact with the inside surface  22  of the cartridge  16 . The closed end  34  is provided with a cylindrical wheel handle  42  having a disc  44  with a depending side wall  46 . The disc  44  is formed with a center cavity  48  in communication with a movable plug  50  positioned in the tube  18  so as to initially retain the hardener  30  in the tube  18 . From FIG. 3, it should be noted that the disc  44  ramps slightly downward radially from the center cavity  48  to the side wall  46 . The wheel handle disc  44  is also provided with a pair of diametrically opposed apertures  52  which are spaced generally equidistantly from the center cavity  48 . 
     At this point, it should be understood that in the prior art, one hand was placed on the sealant cartridge  16 , while the other hand firmly grasped the wheel handle  42 . In order to inject the hardener  30  into the sealant  26 , a push rod (not shown) was inserted into cavity  48  and plug  50  is pushed to introduce hardener  30  through open end  32 . Then, to mix the sealant  26  with the hardener  30 , the wheel handle  42  was manually pushed forward and simultaneously rotated in one direction so as to concurrently rotate the mixing vane  38 . FIG. 4 illustrates the forwardmost position of the mixing vane  38  as it contacts the end cap  20 . Next, the wheel handle  42  and tube  18  are withdrawn or pulled back until the mixing vane  38  reaches its rearwardmost position and contacts the inner surface of the cartridge at  54 . This rotating and reciprocating cycle many times is repeated until the hardener  30  is totally mixed together in the cartridge  16 . It is important to realize the repeated manual motion for combining the sealant  26  and hardener  30  requires an undue amount of exertion and is very labor intensive. 
     In accordance with the present invention, the adapter  10  interposed between the rotary drill  12  and the cartridge assembly  14  is designed to eliminate the manual exertion experienced with prior art cartridge assemblies after the hardener  30  has been injected into the cartridge  16 . As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the adapter  10  is preferably formed of a corrosion-resistant, durable stainless steel material which is compact and lightweight enough to be carried in one&#39;s hand or pocket. The adapter  10  has a cylindrical base  56  having a first flat surface  58  provided with a coupling pin  60  extending substantially perpendicular thereto and from the center thereof. In the preferred embodiment, the coupling pin  60  is threaded on one end and screwed into a central opening tapped in the base. The adapter  10  also has a second flat surface  62  opposite the first surface  58  provided with a pair of diametrically opposed, spaced apart, headed elements  64 , preferably rivets. Each of the rivets  64  is identical in construction and includes a short cylindrical shaft  66  and a rounded head  68 . Typically, the base  56  is tapped with appropriately sized holes into which the shafts  66  of the rivets  64  are secured. The rivets  64  are positioned so as to be aligned with the apertures  52  in the wheel handle  42  and engageable with the walls forming the apertures  52 . In addition, the central area of the second flat surface  62  on the adapter  10  is engageable against a crown or highest portion  70  of the wheel handle disc  44  as shown in FIG.  4 . The coupling pin  60  is adapted to be chucked into the retaining jaws of the rotary drill  12 . 
     Referring now to FIG. 5, it can been seen that the apertures  52  in the wheel handle  42  are dimensioned so that the rivet heads  68  pass therethrough. With the coupling pin  60  inserted in the drill  12 , the adapter  10  is initially rotated as represented by the clockwise arrow in FIG.  6 . This motion also depicted in FIG. 7 will cause the rivet shafts  66  to contact the walls forming the apertures  52 , and will prevent the rivet heads  68  from being extracted through the wheel handle apertures  52 . Continuous rotary motion transmitted by the drill  12  will automatically rotate the wheel handle  42  and hardener tube  18  relative to the cartridge  16  which is usually held stationary by one&#39;s hand. As the rotary motion is transmitted to the mixing vane  38  inside cartridge  16 , the drill  12  is simultaneously moved back and forth along the longitudinal axis of the cartridge  16  to effect mixing of the sealant  26  and hardener  30 . 
     Once the sealant  26  and hardener  30  have been combined, the wheel handle  42  is rotated in a direction opposite to that applied during mixing, such as by reversing the drill  12  in a counterclockwise direction, so that the threaded end  35  of tube  18  is disconnected from the mixing vane  38 . Then, the hardener tube  18  is withdrawn from the cartridge  16 , so that the combined sealant  26  and hardener  30  can be dispensed as desired through the now unrestricted open end  24  of the cartridge  16 . This is done manually, or with a separate gun dispenser by pushing against the end cap  20  in the cartridge  16 . 
     It should be appreciated that the adapter  10  of the present invention is a valuable, yet inexpensive and time saving accessory which can markedly improve the mixing of a sealing compound. The invention is particularly useful in aircraft and military environments where many components can be safely sealed in a reduced period of time. 
     While the invention has been described for combining a sealant and a cartridge with a hardener in the tube, it should be understood that the adapter  10  may also be utilized to mix a single ingredient or multiple ingredients which are already combined together. That is, the adapter  10  can be used with a drill  12  to impart a rotational mixing force only without the need for reciprocal movement along an axis. 
     Various alternatives and embodiments are contemplated as being within the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter regarded as the invention.