Patent ID: 8746501

Claim:
A hot melt adhesive dispensing valve, comprising: a hot melt adhesive dispensing portion including a hot melt adhesive inlet for receiving the hot melt adhesive, a hot melt adhesive outlet for discharging the hot melt adhesive and a hot melt adhesive passage communicating between said hot melt adhesive inlet and said hot melt adhesive outlet; a valve member mounted for movement relative to said hot melt adhesive outlet between open and closed positions; and an actuation portion coupled with said hot melt adhesive dispensing portion and including an inflatable bladder structure, said inflatable bladder structure including an interior adapted to be coupled in fluid communication with a source of positively pressurized air and expanded by the positively pressurized air to move the valve member to at least one of the open or closed positions from the other of the open or closed positions, said inflatable bladder structure including a top, a bottom and a side wall extending between the top and the bottom, wherein the bottom is operatively coupled to the valve member and the side wall curves convexly toward the interior between the top and the bottom.