Patent ID: 7056556

Claim:
An apparatus for concurrently applying to a substrate a plurality of substantially parallel strips of an adhesive, the apparatus comprising: a carrier having motive supports for transporting the carrier along a path of travel over the substrate; a plurality of cradles mounted to the carrier and arranged in a line transversely of the path of travel of the carrier over the substrate, each cradle being adapted to hold a canister from which adhesive is discharged; a discharging mechanism mounted on the carrier and adapted, when a driving force is applied, to concurrently discharge the adhesive from the plurality of canisters in the cradles; and an actuating mechanism mounted on the carrier for selectively providing the driving force to the discharging mechanism, wherein the discharging mechanism includes at least one plunger located at each cradle that is adapted to fit within the canister of adhesive held in the cradle, each plunger being connected to the actuating mechanism for displacement within a respective canister so as to discharge the adhesive concurrently with the discharge of the adhesive from the other canisters upon the actuating mechanism selectively providing the driving force to the discharging mechanism.