Patent ID: 6892908

Claim:
A cartridge-loading device, comprising: a cylindrical, device body comprising a wall having two opposing open ends and a connecting bore therebetween, the bore for receiving a cartridge charged with a fluid material, and at least one end portion of the wall having a plurality of slots communicating between an area inside the bore and an area outside the body; a piston having a pushing surface and slidably located in the bore of the device body, the pushing surface of the piston for compressing such a cartridge to eject fluid material therefrom; and a nozzle detachably fitted to one of the end portions of the device body for detachable engagement with an end of such a cartridge located opposite the pushing surface of the piston, wherein: said nozzle extends a specified distance along a lengthwise direction of the bore into one of the end portions of the device body, and each of said plurality of slots has a length extending in the lengthwise direction of the bore, said length being longer than said specified distance, and each slot is separated from another slot in a circumferential direction around at least one of the ends.