Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention includes the first to forth inventions. The first invention relates to a plastic container, which is suitable for receiving contents in the form of powder, particle or liquid, and a method for manufacturing such a plastic container. The second invention relates to a container for receiving fluid such as calking agent, sealant, adhesive, mayonnaise or the like. The third invention relates to a fluid discharging apparatus for squeezing a fluid dispensing cartridge formed of a film into a tubular shape from its one end to discharge fluid such as adhesive received in its inside from an opening end provided at the other end of the cartridge, and to an installation apparatus, which is to be used in combination with the above-mentioned fluid discharging apparatus. The fourth invention relates to a fluid discharging apparatus for squeezing a fluid dispensing cartridge formed of a flexible film to discharge fluid such as adhesive, calking agent or the like, which is received in the cartridge.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0004]    With respect to the first invention, a container for receiving a solid such as ground coffee beans, the moisture of which should be decreased, is required to be formed of material through which moisture cannot pass. As such a kind of container, there is generally used a glass container, a metallic can or a plastic container obtained by a blow molding method.  
           [0005]    The glass container or the metallic can are excellent in moisture-proof property and gas isolating property, and has a good storing property. They however have problems of weight and volume of the container itself, which may hinder a disposal of the used container.  
           [0006]    The plastic container obtained by the blow molding method can solve the problems of weight and volume of the glass container and the metallic can. It is however impossible to decrease the thickness of the plastic container under 0.7 mm by the conventional blow molding method. Accordingly, with respect to the plastic container obtained by the blow molding method, only a co-extruded article of a barrier base material such as ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) copolymer resins (i.e., “EVAL” (trademark)) and a synthetic resin material such as polyethylene, polypropylene or the like can provide appropriate moisture-proof property and gas isolating property.  
           [0007]    In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the plastic container, the applicant developed a method for manufacturing the plastic container, which comprises the steps of putting an intermediate tubular body formed of a plastic laminate film on a mandrel serving as a core for a mold; putting upper and lower local molds on the mandrel in which the intermediate tubular body has already been put; injecting synthetic resin material in a molten state into the upper and lower local molds by the insert-injection process so as to form upper and lower formed members integrally with the outer surface of the intermediate tubular body.  
           [0008]    The plastic container  1  obtained by the above-described method for manufacturing the plastic container comprises the intermediate tubular body  2 , the upper formed member  3  integrally connected to the outer surface of the upper end portion of the intermediate tubular body  2 , the lower formed member  4  integrally connected to the outer surface of the lower end portion of the intermediate tubular body  2  and a cover member  5  for closing the opening end of the upper formed member  3 , as shown in FIG. 6.  
           [0009]    The intermediate tubular body of the plastic container is formed of the plastic laminate film so that a multicolor printing can be applied on the outer surface of the intermediate tubular body. However, the upper and lower formed members formed on the outer surface of the intermediate tubular body decrease the effective area on which the printing is to be applied.  
           [0010]    When the above-described method for manufacturing the plastic container is carried out under the conditions that the lower formed member is provided with a bottom and the lower edge of the intermediate tubular body comes into contact with such a lower formed member, wrinkles may occur at the end of the intermediate tubular body or the end thereof may be turned up due to the injection pressure of the synthetic resin material in the molten state during the insert injection forming, thus leading to substandard articles.  
           [0011]    With respect to the second invention, the container for receiving fluid such as calking agent, sealant, adhesive, mayonnaise or the like generally comprises a main body formed into a tubular shape having opposite opening ends and two bottom members (i.e., closing devices) for closing the opposite opening ends of the main body, respectively. The container can receive the fluid such as adhesive in its inside. The main body is formed of a laminate comprising a plurality of films in order to ensure strength and to prevent surely an air ventilation between the outside and inside of the main body. Each of the bottom members is formed into a circular shape having sufficient rigidity. A hole is formed in the central portion of any one of the bottom members. The hole is closed by a sealing film. The bottom members are fixed to the opposite opening ends of the main body, thus closing the opposite opening ends thereof and ensuring a shape maintenance property of the whole container.  
           [0012]    When the fluid, for example adhesive, received in the container, is used, the sealing film for closing the hole is broken and a nozzle is connected to the hole. The container is then inserted into a cylinder of a fluid discharging apparatus such as a discharging gun. When a pressing body, which is slidable in the cylinder, presses the other bottom member of the container, the main body is squeezed so that its portion near the pressing body deforms into a bellows-shape. Consequently, the adhesive received in the container is discharged through the hole and the nozzle.  
           [0013]    The press of the container by means of the pressing body causes increase in internal pressure of the main body, leading to expansion of the main body. As a result, the laminate forming the main body is strongly pressed against the inner surface of the cylinder so that a portion of the laminate may stick to the inner surface of the cylinder. A further advance of the pressing body in such a condition may cause the stuck portion of the laminate to be caught between the inner surface of the cylinder and the outer surface of the pressing body. If once the portion of the laminate is caught between them, the length thereof increases in proportion to the moving distance of the pressing body. When the length of the caught portion of the laminate exceeds the prescribed value, the pressing body cannot advance, thus making it impossible to discharge the adhesive from the container.  
           [0014]    Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. S56-51,265 discloses a method for preventing the occurrence of the above-mentioned catching problem of the laminate. The method comprises the steps of inserting a container into a tubular body, which is formed of a sheet-shaped film, and inserting both of the container and the tubular body into a cylinder. The tubular body placing between the inner surface of the cylinder and the outer surface of the container prevents the laminate from being caught between them.  
           [0015]    According to the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. S56-51,265, it is necessary to put the tubular member outside the container whenever a new container for fluid is used, thus causing troublesome problems. After the fluid received in the container is used up, the tubular member is also subjected to disposal as waste, leading to an increased amount of wastes.  
           [0016]    With respect to the third invention, the fluid discharging apparatus comprises a receiving tube having a pressing body, which is slidable in the inside of the receiving tube, a piston for urging the pressing body in the longitudinal direction of the receiving tube. When the piston presses a fluid-dispensing cartridge, which is put in the receiving tube, through the pressing body, the cartridge is squeezed from its end portion locating the pressing body side. Consequently, the fluid such as adhesive received in the cartridge is discharged through the opening end, which is opposite to the above-mentioned end portion.  
           [0017]    The film for forming the cartridge has an extremely small thickness of from several ten μm to several hundred μm. As a result, in the conventional fluid discharging apparatus, there may occur a problem that a portion of the film is caught between the inner surface of the receiving tube and the outer surface of the pressing body during the movement of the piston. In view of such a problem, Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. H6-77,855 discloses an apparatus in which ring-shaped projections are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the opposite ends of the pressing body so as to bring only these projections into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the receiving tube. According to such a structure, a contact surface pressure of the pressing body against the receiving tube can be increased, thus preventing the film from being caught between the receiving tube and the pressing body.  
           [0018]    According to the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. H6-77,855, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of catching problem of the film for a short period of time. However, it cannot provide such an effect for a long period of time.  
           [0019]    More specifically, the projections of the pressing body move so as to be pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the receiving tube and come into contact with it, with the result that they wear away for a short period of time. In general, the pressing body is often formed of resin in view of making it light and saving the production costs. In such a case, the projections of the pressing body easily wear away rapidly. The wear of the projections decreases their external diameter accordingly, thus reducing the contact surface pressure of the projections against the receiving tube. As a result, there may cause the occurrence of the catching problem of the film. In the conventional apparatus, such a catching problem of the film may occur due to the wear of the pressing body. It is therefore impossible to prevent the occurrence of such a problem for a long period of time.  
           [0020]    With respect to the fourth invention, the fluid discharging apparatus includes a fluid-discharging gun. The fluid discharging gun comprises a main body, a piston, which is reciprocally movable on the main body, and a cylinder having a pressing body, which is slidable in the inside of the cylinder. The main body has a supporting member to which the cylinder is detachably put. The cylinder is put on the supporting member so that the longitudinal axis of the cylinder coincides with the moving direction of the piston. The piston advances to come into the cylinder, thus moving the pressing body.  
           [0021]    When the fluid-discharging gun having the above-described structure is used, the cartridge is inserted into the cylinder and the cylinder is put on the supporting member. The advance of the piston causes the movement of the pressing body. Consequently, the cartridge is squeezed to discharge the fluid such as adhesive from its front end in this manner. When the fluid received in the cartridge is used up, the piston is moved back to retreat from the cylinder. The cylinder is then detached from the supporting member. Then, the used cartridge placing on the front-end portion of the supporting member is removed so as to be subjected to disposal. The load of a new cartridge into the fluid discharging gun makes it possible to use again the gun.  
           [0022]    The conventional fluid-discharging gun in which the cylinder is detachable from the main body has a problem that the exchange operation of the cartridge requires much labor.  
           [0023]    More specifically, when a new cartridge is used, the cylinder is held with one hand and the new cartridge is held with the other hand. The cartridge is inserted into the cylinder. One of these hands can accordingly be unoccupied, with which the main body of the fluid discharging gun is held. Then, the cylinder is put on the supporting member of the gun. With respect to a soft-type cartridge, which is used up, the main body of the gun is held with one hand and the cylinder is detached from the supporting member by the other hand. Then, the cylinder is placed in the vicinity of an operator. Accordingly, the other hand becomes unoccupied and the used soft-type cartridge is removed from the main body of the gun by the other hand. In the conventional fluid-discharging gun, the operation for the main body of the gun and the operation for the cylinder cannot be carried out simultaneously in this manner. The passing operation of the main body of the gun, the cylinder or the cartridge from one hand to the other is required for exchange of the cartridge. In addition, the cartridge generally has a circular cross section. When the cartridge is placed in the vicinity of the operator after its removal from the main body of the gun, it may roll.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0024]    The first invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problems. An object of the first invention is to provide a plastic container, in which a larger effective area on which the printing is to be applied, in comparison with the conventional plastic container, can be provided on a tubular body, and it is possible to prevent wrinkles from occurring at the end of the tubular body and to prevent the end thereof from being turned up during the insert injection forming, as well as a method for manufacturing the above-mentioned container.  
           [0025]    In order to attain the aforementioned object, the plastic container of the first invention comprises a main body formed of a plastic laminate film into a tubular shape; a large-diameter-formed member joined to an outer surface of an end of said main body by an insert-injection process; and a small-diameter-formed member jointed to an inner surface of another end of said main body by the insert-injection process. Arranging the small-diameter-formed member inside the main body permits to provide a larger effective area of the main body, on which the printing is to be applied, in comparison with the conventional plastic container.  
           [0026]    The first invention includes the other type of the plastic container, which comprises a main body formed of a plastic laminate film into a tubular shape; a large-diameter-formed member joined to an inner surface of an end of said main body by an insert-injection process; and a small-diameter-formed member jointed to an inner surface of another end of said main body by the insert-injection process. Arranging both of the large-diameter-member and the small-diameter-formed member inside the main body permits to provide a far larger effective area of the main body, on which the printing is to be applied, in comparison with the conventional plastic container.  
           [0027]    The first invention also includes a method for manufacturing a plastic container, which comprises the steps of: preparing a mold, which has a first cavity for forming a large-diameter-formed member and a second cavity for forming a small-diameter-formed member, said second cavity has an outside diameter, which is smaller than an inside diameter of said first cavity; forming a tubular body of a plastic laminate film; putting said tubular body on an outer surface of a mandrel serving as a core for said mold; placing said mandrel on which said tubular body has been put, in said mold so that an end of said tubular body locates inside said first cavity and another end thereof locates outside said second cavity; and injecting synthetic resin material in a molten state into said first and second cavities of said mold by an insert-injection process so as to form a large-diameter-formed member integrally with an outer surface of the end of said tubular body and form a small-diameter-formed member integrally with an inner surface of the other end of said tubular body. According to such a method, it is possible to pull easily the mandrel, which has been placed in the mold, from the mold, without being hindered by the formed members.  
           [0028]    The first invention also includes the other method for manufacturing a plastic container, which comprises the steps of: preparing a mold, which has a first cavity for forming a large-diameter-formed member and a second cavity for forming a small-diameter-formed member, said second cavity has an outside diameter, which is smaller than an inside diameter of said first cavity; forming a tubular body of a plastic laminate film; putting said tubular body on an outer surface of a mandrel serving as a core for said mold; placing said mandrel on which said tubular body has been put, in said mold so that an end of said tubular body locates outside said first cavity and another end thereof locates outside said second cavity; and injecting synthetic resin material in a molten state into said first and second cavities of said mold by an insert-injection process so as to form a large-diameter-formed member integrally with an inner surface of the end of said tubular body and form a small-diameter-formed member integrally with an inner surface of the other end of said tubular body. According to such a method, it is possible to pull easily the mandrel, which has been placed in the mold, from the mold, without being hindered by the formed members.  
           [0029]    An object of the second invention is to provide a container for fluid, which can solve the above-mentioned problems.  
           [0030]    In order to attain the aforementioned object, the container for fluid of the second invention comprises: a main body formed of a laminate into a tubular shape having opposite opening ends, in which fluid can be received, said laminate comprising a plurality of flexible films; and a pair of closing devices, which close the opposite opening ends of said main body, respectively, which is characterized in that: adjacent two films of said plurality of flexible films are laminated so that at least one pair of opposing portions of said adjacent two films can independently behave as the flexible film.  
           [0031]    In the second invention, there may preferably be adopted a structure that said adjacent two films are joined with each other by means of at least one joined portion and portions of said adjacent two films other than said at least one joined portion can independently behave as the flexible film.  
           [0032]    The above-mentioned at least one joined portion is preferably formed into at least one circular-shaped joined portion, which circumferentially extends on said main body in a shape of circle.  
           [0033]    The above-mentioned circular-shaped joined portion may locate in the end portion of said main body, in each of the opposite end portions thereof, or in the middle portion thereof in its longitudinal direction.  
           [0034]    At least one longitudinal joined portion, which extends from the one end of said main body to the other end thereof, may further be formed as said at least one joined portion.  
           [0035]    The above-mentioned at least one joined portion may preferably be formed by joining said adjacent two films by means of adhesive.  
           [0036]    The above-mentioned adjacent two films preferably locate in the outermost position of said main body.  
           [0037]    The above-mentioned main body may be formed by placing one edge portion of said laminate on another edge portion thereof, and joining an innermost film of the one edge portion of said laminate with an outermost film of the other edge portion thereof.  
           [0038]    There may preferably be adopted a structure that the closing device for closing the one opening end of said main body comprises a front-bottom member with rigidity, which is formed into a circular shape having substantially the same diameter as that of the one opening end of said main body and has a hole formed in a central portion of said front-bottom member, and a sealing film for closing said hole; the closing device for closing the other opening end of said main body comprises a rear-bottom member with rigidity, which is formed into a circular shape having substantially the same diameter as that of the other opening end of said main body; and said one opening end of said main body is joined to a periphery of said front-bottom member and said other opening end thereof is joined to a periphery of said rear-bottom member.  
           [0039]    An object of the third invention is to provide a fluid discharging apparatus, which can solve the above-mentioned problems.  
           [0040]    In order to attain the aforementioned object, the fluid discharging apparatus of the third invention comprises: a receiving tube having a pressing body, which is slidable in an inside of said receiving tube; and a piston for urging said pressing body to move same, a fluid dispensing cartridge, which comprises a film and is to be inserted into said receiving tube, being capable of being squeezed by pressing said fluid dispensing cartridge through said pressing body by means of said piston, so as to discharge fluid from said fluid dispensing cartridge; which apparatus is characterized in that: said pressing body comprises a tubular member, which is slidable on an inner peripheral surface of said receiving tube, and a plate member formed on an inner peripheral surface of said tubular member; and a central portion of said plate member is to be pushed by means of said piston so that said plate member elastically deforms into a curved shape.  
           [0041]    In the apparatus of the third invention, a peripheral portion of said plate member is preferably also pressed by said piston when force applied to said plate member by said piston exceeds a prescribed value.  
           [0042]    In the apparatus of the third invention, said piston preferably comprises a central pressing portion for pressing said central portion of said plate member and a peripheral pressing portion for pressing a peripheral portion of said plate member, said peripheral pressing portion being separately formed from said central pressing portion.  
           [0043]    The third invention also includes an installation apparatus for a fluid dispensing cartridge, which can detachably fitted to a fluid discharging apparatus having a piston and comprises: a receiving tube being capable of receiving in its inside the fluid dispensing cartridge comprising a film; and a pressing body being slidable in the inside of said receiving tube; movement of said pressing body by means of said piston of said fluid discharging apparatus causing said fluid dispensing cartridge to be squeezed; which apparatus is characterized in that: said pressing body comprises a tubular member, which is slidable on an inner peripheral surface of said receiving tube, and a plate member formed on an inner peripheral surface of said tubular member; and said plate member has a projection, which is formed on a central portion of at least one of opposite surfaces of said plate member, said piston being capable of coming into contact with said projection and pushing same so that said plate member elastically deforms into a curved shape.  
           [0044]    In the above-mentioned installation apparatus of the third invention, said projection is preferably formed on the central portion of each of the opposite surfaces of said plate member.  
           [0045]    In the above-mentioned installation apparatus of the third invention, said projection and a peripheral portion of said plate member are preferably pressed by said piston when force applied to said plate member by said piston exceeds a prescribed value.  
           [0046]    An object of the fourth invention is to provide a fluid discharging apparatus, which can solve the above-mentioned problems.  
           [0047]    In order to attain the aforementioned object, the fluid discharging apparatus of the fourth invention comprises: a main body; a piston, which is reciprocally movable on said main body; and a cylinder having a pressing body, which is slidable in an inside of said cylinder, said piston being capable of coming into said cylinder to move said pressing body so that a fluid dispensing cartridge, which is to be inserted into said cylinder, can be squeezed to discharge fluid from said dispensing cartridge; which apparatus is characterized in that: said cylinder is movable relative to said main body in a reciprocal moving direction of said piston and rotatable around a rotational axis, which is perpendicular to the reciprocal moving direction of said piston.  
           [0048]    In the above-mentioned fluid discharging apparatus of the fourth invention, said rotational axis preferably locates in an central portion of said cylinder in its longitudinal direction. There may preferably be adopted a structure that said main body has a pair of supporting arms, which extend in a reciprocal moving direction of said piston; and said cylinder is positioned between said pair of supporting arms, said cylinder being supported at its opposite side portions on said pair of supporting arms so as to be movable in a longitudinal direction thereof and rotatable around the rotational axis, which is perpendicular to said pair of supporting arms.  
           [0049]    In the above-mentioned fluid discharging apparatus of the fourth invention, there may be adopted a structure that a nozzle supporting device is provided at front ends of said pair of supporting arms, said nozzle supporting device being supported on said pair of supporting arms so as to be swingable around an axis, which is perpendicular to said pair of supporting arms; and a nozzle, which is to be connected to a front end of said fluid dispensing cartridge so as to discharge the fluid therefrom, is mounted on said nozzle supporting device.  
           [0050]    In the above-mentioned fluid discharging apparatus of the fourth invention, there may be adopted a structure that said nozzle supporting device is slidable within a prescribed region in the longitudinal direction of said pair of supporting arms, a slide of said nozzle supporting device toward the front ends of said pair of supporting arms preventing said nozzle supporting device from swinging and the slide thereof toward a rear ends of said pair of supporting arms permitting said nozzle supporting device to swing. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0051]    [0051]FIG. 1 is a front view having a half cross-sectional portion, illustrating a plastic container obtained in accordance with a manufacturing method of an embodiment of the first invention;  
         [0052]    [0052]FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating the method of the embodiment of the first invention for manufacturing the plastic container;  
         [0053]    [0053]FIG. 3 is a view illustrating the second cavity for forming a small-diameter-formed member in the method of the embodiment of the first invention for manufacturing the plastic container;  
         [0054]    [0054]FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating the method of another embodiment of the first invention for manufacturing the plastic container;  
         [0055]    [0055]FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating the method of further another embodiment of the first invention for manufacturing the plastic container;  
         [0056]    [0056]FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a plastic container obtained by the conventional manufacturing method;  
         [0057]    [0057]FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of a laminate used in a container for fluid of the second invention;  
         [0058]    [0058]FIG. 8 is a side view illustrating an embodiment of the container for fluid of the second invention, in which the laminate as shown in FIG. 7 is used;  
         [0059]    [0059]FIG. 9 is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view of the container as shown in FIG. 8, in which a part of the container is omitted;  
         [0060]    [0060]FIG. 10 is a view illustrating a method for preparing a main body for the container of the first invention with the use of the laminate;  
         [0061]    [0061]FIG. 11 is a view illustrating another method for preparing the main body for the container of the first invention with the use of the laminate;  
         [0062]    [0062]FIG. 12 is a plan view illustrating the entirety of the laminate as shown in FIG. 7;  
         [0063]    [0063]FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where the container as shown in FIG. 8 is put into a cylinder of a fluid discharging apparatus;  
         [0064]    [0064]FIG. 14 is a side view illustrating another embodiment of the container for fluid of the second invention;  
         [0065]    [0065]FIG. 15 is a side view illustrating further another embodiment of the container for fluid of the second invention;  
         [0066]    [0066]FIG. 16 is a side view illustrating an embodiment of a fluid discharging gun serving as the fluid discharging apparatus of the third invention;  
         [0067]    [0067]FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of essential components of the fluid-discharging gun as shown in FIG. 16;  
         [0068]    [0068]FIG. 18 is a side view illustrating an example of a fluid dispensing cartridge from which fluid can be discharged by means of the fluid discharging gun as shown in FIG. 16;  
         [0069]    [0069]FIG. 19 is a side view illustrating another example of the fluid-dispensing cartridge, having a partial cross-sectional portion;  
         [0070]    [0070]FIG. 20 is a side view illustrating further another example of the fluid-dispensing cartridge;  
         [0071]    [0071]FIG. 21 is an enlarged view illustrating a zone defined by a circle “X” in FIG. 17;  
         [0072]    [0072]FIG. 22 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a state where a nut serving as a piston of the fluid discharging gun comes into contact with a projection of a pressing body;  
         [0073]    [0073]FIG. 23 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a state where a disc-shaped member serving as the piston of the fluid discharging gun comes into contact with a peripheral portion of a plate member of the pressing body;  
         [0074]    [0074]FIG. 24 is a side view illustrating an embodiment of a fluid discharging apparatus of the fourth invention in a state where a cylinder is in parallel with a pair of supporting arms;  
         [0075]    [0075]FIG. 25 is a side view illustrating the embodiment of the fluid discharging apparatus of the fourth invention in a state where the cylinder is perpendicular to the supporting arms;  
         [0076]    [0076]FIG. 26 is a view illustrating the embodiment of the fluid discharging apparatus of the fourth invention, which is viewed in a direction “X” in FIG. 25;  
         [0077]    [0077]FIG. 27 is a side view illustrating the embodiment of the fluid discharging apparatus of the fourth invention in a state where the fluid is discharged from a fluid dispensing cartridge;  
         [0078]    [0078]FIG. 28 is a side view illustrating the embodiment of the fluid discharging apparatus of the fourth invention in a state where the cylinder is moved rearward after the fluid received in the cartridge is used up;  
         [0079]    [0079]FIG. 29 is a side view illustrating the embodiment of the fluid discharging apparatus of the fourth invention in a state where the cylinder is moved rearward and a nozzle supporting device is swung so that the cartridge, the fluid of which has been used up, can locate below the supporting arms;  
         [0080]    [0080]FIG. 30 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a portion of the supporting arms, the nozzle supporting device and a nozzle;  
         [0081]    [0081]FIG. 31 is a cross-sectional view cut along a line XXXI-XXXI in FIG.  24 ;  
         [0082]    [0082]FIG. 32 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of the cartridge used in the embodiment as shown in FIGS.  24  to  31 ; and  
         [0083]    [0083]FIG. 33 is a cross-sectional view illustrating another example of the cartridge used in the fluid discharging gun serving as the fluid discharging apparatus of the fourth invention, which view has a partial cross-sectional portion. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0084]    Now, embodiments of a plastic container of the first invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
         [0085]    [0085]FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the first invention, in which its plastic container is used as a container for ground coffee beans or powdery coffee (hereinafter referred to as the “coffee-container”). The coffee-container  10  is composed of a main body  11  that is formed of a plastic laminate film into a tubular shape, an upper-formed member  12  that is integrally formed with the outer surface of one end of the main body  11  and a lower-formed member  13  that is integrally formed with the inner surface of the other end of the main body  11 .  
         [0086]    The upper-formed member  12  is formed into a tubular shape, which is provided with an upper opening end having an inside diameter R 1 . The upper-formed member  12  is provided on the outer surface of its upper portion with a threaded portion  14  and on the outer surface of its lower portion with a grip portion  15 . The upper opening end of the upper-formed member  12  is sealed with a cover member. A cap (not shown) is screwed on the threaded portion  14  of the upper-formed member  12 .  
         [0087]    The lower-formed member  13  is formed into a tubular shape with a bottom having an outside diameter R 2 . The outside diameter R 2  of the lower-formed member  13  is designed to be smaller than the inside diameter RI of the upper-formed member  12 . More specifically, the upper-formed member  12  serves as the large-diameter-formed member and the lower-formed member  13  serves as the small-diameter-formed member.  
         [0088]    The main body  11  has the tubular shape with the opposite opening ends. It can be obtained by cutting a plastic laminate film into a rectangular shape to form a sheet material and then joining the outer surface of one side edge of the thus formed sheet material with the inner surface of the other side edge thereof. For the preparation of the main body  11 , there may be adopted a different process of joining the inner surface of the one side edge of the sheet material with the inner surface of the other side edge thereof (hereinafter referred to as the “first optional joining process”). There may be adopted another different process of placing the outer surface of the one side edge of the sheet material with the inner surface of the other side edge thereof and joining them with the use of an adhesive tape applied from the inside of the main body (hereinafter referred to as the “second optional joining process”).  
         [0089]    In view of an excellent moisture-proof property and an excellent gas isolating property, there may suitably be used as the above-mentioned plastic laminate film (i) a laminate of a polyethylene film having a thickness of 70 μm, a polyester film having a thickness of 12 μm, an aluminum foil having a thickness of 12 μm and a polyethylene film having a thickness of 70 μm, (ii) a laminate of a cast polypropylene having a thickness of 70 μm, a polyester film having a thickness of 12 μm, an aluminum foil having a thickness of 12 μm and a cast polypropylene having a thickness of 70 μm or (iii) a laminate of a cast polypropylene having a thickness of 70 μm, a polyester film having a thickness of 12 μm and a cast polypropylene having a thickness of 70 μm.  
         [0090]    When the aluminum film is substituted by a film of ethylene-vinylalcohol copolymer or a silica-deposited film, it is possible to make the main body transparent, while maintaining the excellent moisture-proof property and gas isolating property. The contents received in the container can visually be observed from the outside thereof.  
         [0091]    When the main body  11  for the coffee-container  10  is formed of the plastic laminate film including the aluminum foil, it is preferable to adopt the first or second optional joining process described above. When the contents to be received in the container is liquid such as fruit juice drink, which has a pH value of up to 4, it is preferable to adopt the second optional joining process for the formation of the main body  11  in order to prevent the aluminum foil from being oxidized to cause elution of aluminum in the liquid.  
         [0092]    When the main body  11  for the coffee-container  10  is formed of the plastic laminate film including no aluminum foil, it is preferable to adopt the first or second optional joining process for the formation of the main body  11  in order to prevent the adhesive used in the lamination process from being eluted into the contents received in the container.  
         [0093]    Now, description will be given below of the method for manufacturing the coffee-container  10 .  
         [0094]    The moisture of ground coffee beans or powdery coffee should be decreased as small as possible and the good aroma thereof should be maintained. Accordingly, the coffee-container  10  is required to have the excellent moisture-proof property and the excellent gas isolating property. For these reasons, the plastic laminate film having these excellent properties is selected to be used for the formation of the main body  11  for the coffee-container  10 .  
         [0095]    A mold  20  for the formation of the coffee-container  10  has the first cavity  21  for forming the large-diameter-formed member and the second cavity  22  for forming the small-diameter-formed member as shown in FIG. 2. The first cavity  21  and the second cavity  22  are spaced from each other at a distance corresponding to the dimensions of the main body  11 . The first cavity  21  has an inside diameter, which is larger than the outside diameter of the second cavity  22 . The first cavity  21  of the mold has a shape corresponding to the upper-formed member  12  of the above-described coffee-container  10 . The second cavity  22  of the mold has a shape corresponding to the lower-formed member  13  thereof. The lower-formed member  13 , which is formed by the second cavity  22 , has a bottom that provides the excellent moisture-proof property and the excellent gas isolating property.  
         [0096]    The main body  11  is formed into a tubular shape of the plastic laminate film having the excellent moisture-proof property and the excellent gas isolating property. The thus formed main tubular body  11  is put on the outer surface of a mandrel  23 , which serves as a core for the mold. When the main tubular body  11  has a circular cross section, the mandrel  23  also has the corresponding circular cross section. When the main tubular body  11  has a rectangular cross section, the mandrel  23  also has, on the other hand, the corresponding rectangular cross section.  
         [0097]    Then, the mandrel  23  on which the main tubular body  11  has been put, is placed in the mold  20  so that the end of the main tubular body  111  locates inside the first cavity  21  and the other end thereof locates outside the second cavity  22 . The mandrel  23 , on which the main tubular body  11  has been put, can smoothly be inserted into the mold  20  due to the fact that the inside diameter of the first cavity  21  of the mold  20  is larger than the outside diameter of the second cavity  22  thereof.  
         [0098]    After the completion of the placement of the mandrel  23  on which the main tubular body  11  is put, in the mold  20 , synthetic resin material such as polyethylene resin is injected in a molten state into the first cavity  21  and the second cavity  22  of the mold  20  from a gate  25  formed therein through a runner  24  by means of an insert-injection process. In this case, even when the lower end of the main tubular body  11  reaches the bottom of the second cavity  22  ad shown in FIG. 3, an injection pressure of the molten synthetic resin material is applied in directions that are indicated by arrows in FIG. 3 during the insert-injection process. Consequently, wrinkles does not occur at the end of the main tubular body  11  or the end of the main tubular body  11  is not turned up, irrespective of the injection pressure of the molten synthetic resin material.  
         [0099]    After the completion of a cooling process which is applied to the molten synthetic resin material injected into the first cavity  21  and the second cavity  22 , the formation of the coffee-container  10  in which the upper-formed member  12  is integrally formed with the outer surface of the end of the main tubular body  11  and the lower-formed member  13  is integrally formed with the inner surface of the other end of the main tubular body  11 .  
         [0100]    The mandrel  23  placed in the mold  20  is pulled out after the formation of the coffee-container  10 . It is possible to pull out easily the mandrel  23  from the mold without being hindered by the upper-formed member  13  due to the fact that the inside diameter of the first cavity  21  of the mold  20  is larger than the outside diameter of the second cavity  22  thereof.  
         [0101]    In the above-described coffee-container  10 , the lower-formed member (i.e., the smaller-diameter-formed member)  13 , which is joined to the lower end of the main tubular body  11 , locates on the inner surface of the main tubular body  11 . As a result, it is possible to increase the effective area, on which the printing is to be applied, by an area occupied by the smaller-diameter-formed member  13 .  
         [0102]    In the coffee-container  10  of the above-mentioned embodiment, the upper-formed member  12  is integrally formed with the outer surface of the end of the main body  11 , which is formed into the tubular shape of the plastic laminate film, and the lower-formed member  13  is integrally formed with the inner surface of the other end of the main body  11 . It is possible to form the coffee-container  10  in which the upper-formed member  12  is integrally formed with the inner surface of the end of the main body  11 , by changing the positional relationship between the mold  20  and the mandrel  23  on the outer surface of which the main body  11  is put. According to such a coffee-container  10 , it is possible to increase the effective area, on which the printing is to be applied, by the total area occupied by the smaller-diameter-formed member  13  and the larger-diameter-formed member  12 .  
         [0103]    [0103]FIGS. 4 and 5 show the other embodiment of the first invention.  
         [0104]    In the embodiment as shown in FIG. 4, a suction line  31  is formed in the mandrel  30  on the outer surface of which the main tubular body  11  is put. A laminate film  32  can be placed on the lower surface of the mandrel  30  by a suction effect. It is therefore possible to join the laminate film  32  integrally with the smaller-diameter-formed member  13  by injecting the synthetic resin material such as polyethylene resin in a molten state into the smaller-diameter-formed member  13  by means of the insert-injection process.  
         [0105]    There may suitably be used as the above-mentioned plastic laminate film  32  (i) a laminate of a polyethylene film having a thickness of 70 μm, a polyester film having a thickness of 12 μm, an aluminum foil having a thickness of 12 μm and a polyethylene film having a thickness of 70 μm, (ii) a laminate of a polyethylene film having a thickness of 70 μm, a polyester film having a thickness of 12 μm, a film of ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) copolymer resins (i.e., “EVAL” (trademark)) having a thickness of 15 μm and a polyethylene film having a thickness of 70 μm or (iii) a laminate of a polyethylene film having a thickness of 70 μm, a polyester film having a thickness of 12 μm, an aluminum foil having a thickness of 40 μm and a polyethylene film having a thickness of 70 μm.  
         [0106]    In the embodiment as shown in FIG. 5, a suction line  41  is formed in the mandrel  40  on the outer surface of which the main tubular body  11  is put. A synthetic resin-formed body  42 , which has previously been formed, can be placed on the lower surface of the mandrel  40  by a suction effect. It is therefore possible to join the synthetic resin-formed body  42  integrally with the smaller-diameter-formed member  13  by injecting the synthetic resin material such as polyethylene resin in a molten state into the smaller-diameter-formed member  13  by means of the insert-injection process.  
         [0107]    The synthetic resin-formed body  42  can be obtained by subjecting a polyethylene film having a thickness of 70 μm, a polyester film having a thickness of 12 μm, an aluminum foil having a thickness of 40 μm and a polyethylene film having a thickness of 7 μm to a press forming process. When the plastic container is used as a container in which invasion of oxygen should be avoided, it is preferable to form the synthetic resin-formed body  42  integrally with the small-diameter-formed member  13  of the plastic container in this manner.  
         [0108]    Now, embodiments of a container for fluid of the second invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS.  7  to  15 .  
         [0109]    Description will be given below of one of the embodiments of the container for fluid of the second invention with reference to FIGS.  7  to  12 . The container  51  for fluid of this embodiment is composed of a main body  60  having opposite opening ends, i.e., front and rear opening ends, and of a pair of closing devices, i.e., a front-bottom member  70  for closing the front opening end of the main body  60  and a rear bottom member  80  for closing the rear opening end of the main body  60 , as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.  
         [0110]    The main body  60  is formed of a laminate  61  into a tubular shape. The laminate  61  comprises a plurality of flexible films (in general, at least three flexible films). The main body  60  tapers off from one end (i.e., the left-hand end in FIG. 8 (hereinafter referred to as the “front end”) to the other end (i.e., the right-hand end in FIG. 8 (hereinafter referred to as the “rear end”). The main body  60  may have a cylindrical shape having a constant diameter over its longitudinal entirety. The main body  60  can receive in its inside various fluid such as adhesive, sealant, jam or the like.  
         [0111]    The width of the laminate  61  becomes gradually smaller from the front end to the rear end as shown in FIG. 12 in correspondence to the tapered main body  60 . The main body  60  can be formed by joining one longitudinal edge of the laminate  61  with the other longitudinal edge thereof as described later. The laminate  61  is composed of four films, i.e., the first to fourth films  62  to  65  as shown in FIG. 7, which locate from the outer peripheral side of the main body  60  toward the inner peripheral side thereof in this order.  
         [0112]    When the container  51  is inserted into a cylinder C (see FIG. 13) of a fluid discharging gun or the other fluid discharging apparatus, the first film  62  comes into contact with the inner surface of the cylinder C. It is therefore preferable to use a film having an excellent scratching resistance and a small coefficient of friction, as the first film  62 . The resin film is generally used as the first film  62 . In this case, it is preferable to use a transparent polyethylene film having a thickness of from 30 μm to 60 μm. A cast polypropylene (CPP) film may be used.  
         [0113]    The second film  63  is a resin film. Characters, devices, symbols and the like can easily be printed on the surface (appearing on the outer peripheral side of the main body  60 ) of the above-mentioned resin film. In this embodiment, a polyester film having a thickness of from 12 μm to 16 μm is used. A film of nylon or oriented polypropylene (OPP) may be used alternatively. The transparent first film  62  permits the characters or the like printed on the surface of the second film  63  to be observed visually from the outside of the main body  60 .  
         [0114]    The third film  64  has a function of imparting non-permeability to the laminate  61 . A metallic foil is usually used as the third film  64 . With respect to the metallic film, it is preferable to use an aluminum foil having a lightweight. The aluminum foil preferably has a thickness of from 9 μm to 12 μm.  
         [0115]    The fourth film  65  has a function of protecting the third film  64 , which is formed of the aluminum foil to prevent it from breaking during the manufacturing process of the container  51 . A resin film is usually used as the fourth film  65 . There is no specific limitation of material for forming the fourth film  65 . However, the same polyethylene film as the first film  62  is used in this embodiment in view of the fact that the main body  60  is formed of the laminate  61 . These aspects will be described later.  
         [0116]    The second film  63  and the third film  64  are joined with each other over their entire opposing surfaces by adhesive  90 . The third film  64  and the fourth film  65  are joined with each other in the same manner. The respective opposing portions of the first film  62  and the second film  63  are merely joined with each other by adhesive  90  (the portions of the first and second films  62 ,  63 , which are joined with each other by the adhesive, are hereinafter referred to as the “joined portions”  91 ). The remaining portions of the first and second films  62 ,  63  other than the joined portions  91  are not joined with each other. As a result, the remaining portions of the first and second films  62 ,  63  other than the joined portions  91  can independently behave as the flexible film. Gaps having a height corresponding to the thickness of the adhesive  90  are formed between the above-mentioned remaining portions of the first and second films  62 ,  63 . The supply of air into these gaps forms air layers  66  between the first and second films  62 ,  63 . These air layers  66  have the advantage of improving an impact resistance of the main body  60 . The above-mentioned adhesion process for joining the first and second films  62  and  63  with each other may be substituted by a fusion bonding process.  
         [0117]    The first to fourth films  62  to  65  are subjected to a lamination process to form the laminate  61 . In this case, application of adhesive onto at least one of the opposing surfaces of each set of the second and third films  63 ,  64  and the third and fourth films  64 ,  65  over its entirety may suffice prior to the lamination process. Application of adhesive onto a portion of at least one of the opposing surfaces of the first and second films  62  and  63 , in which portion the joined portion  91  is to be formed, may suffice on the other hand.  
         [0118]    The laminate  61  having the above-mentioned structure is wound up into a roll as shown in FIG. 10 and one edge  61   a  of the laminate  61  is placed on the other edge  61   b  thereof. The inner surface of the one edge  61   a  of the laminate (i.e., the inner surface of the first film  62 ) and the outer surface of the other edge  61   b  thereof (i.e., the outer surface of the fourth film  65 ) are jointed with each other by means of adhesive. The formation of the main body  60  is completed in this manner. The same kind of material is used for forming the first and fourth films  62  and  65  in order to improve the adhesive strength of the opposite edge portions  61   a ,  61   b.    
         [0119]    The main body  60  may be formed by bending the opposite edge portions  61   a ,  61   b  of the laminate  61  so as to cause them to project outward in the diametrical direction of the main body  60  and joining the opposite edge portions  61   a ,  61   b  (on the inner surface of the fourth film  65 ) with each other by means of adhesive. In such a case, the joined portions  61   a ,  61   b , which project outward, are pushed down in any one of directions, which are indicated by arrows in FIG. 11, and joined onto the outer surface of the main body  60  by means of adhesive. As a result, the joined portions of the main body  60  have a larger thickness than the remaining portion. In view of this fact, it is preferable to form the main body  60  in the manner as shown in FIG. 10. In the main body  60  as shown in FIG. 11 the opposite edge portions of the same film, i.e., the fourth film  65  are joined with each other. Consequently, the formation of the first film  62  of the different material from that of the fourth film  65  will cause no problem.  
         [0120]    The other joining process may be adopted to form the main body  60  of the laminate  61 . Provided that a sufficient adhesive strength can be ensured, the opposite edges of the laminate  61  may be butted together and joined with each other by mean of adhesive. In any one of the above-described joining processes, the adhesive joining may be substituted by a fusion bonding joining.  
         [0121]    The front-bottom member  70  is formed of resin having a relatively high hardness. The front-bottom member  70  has a disc-shaped portion  71 . The disc-shaped portion  71  is provided on its outer periphery with a tubular portion  72  having a dual-tubular structure. The inside diameter of the outer tube of the tubular portion  72  is substantially identical to the outside diameter of the front-end portion of the main body  60 . The front-end portion of the main body  60  is fitted into the inner surface of the outer tube of the tubular portion  72  so as to be joined thereto by means of adhesive. The front opening end of the main body  60  is closed in this manner. There may be adopted a structure in which the front end portion of the main body  60  is fitted into the outer surface of the tubular portion  72  so as to be joined thereto by means of adhesive.  
         [0122]    The disc-shaped portion  71  has on its central portion a projection  73 , which projects outward in the opposite direction to the main body  60 . The projection  73  has a hole  74 , which passes through the central portion of the projection  73 . A sealing film  75  is provided on the surface of the disc-shaped portion  71 , which faces the main body  60 , so as to close the hole  74 . The sealing film  75  has a function of preventing fluid received in the main body  60  from leaking out.  
         [0123]    The rear-bottom member  80  has a disc-shaped portion  81 . The disc-shaped portion  81  is provided on its outer periphery with a tubular portion  82 , which projects toward the main body  60 . The inside diameter of the tubular portion  82  is substantially identical to the outside diameter of the rear end portion of the main body  60 . The rear end portion of the main body  60  is fitted into the inner surface of the tubular portion  82  so as to be joined thereto by means of adhesive. There may be adopted a structure in which the rear end portion of the main body  60  is fitted into the outer surface of the tubular portion  82  so as to be joined thereto by means of adhesive.  
         [0124]    [0124]FIG. 12 shows the laminate  61  in an expanded state. Portions where the joined portions  91  are formed are shown by cross-hatching in FIG. 12. As is clear from the figure, the joined portions  91  is composed of (i) portions that are formed so as to extend on the entire periphery of the front and rear ends of the main body  60 , which is formed of the laminate  61 , (ii) a portion that is formed so as to extend from the front end of the laminate  61  to the rear end thereof along the horizontal line, which passes through the center of the laminate  61 , and (iii) portions (in this embodiment, three portions) that are formed so as to extend from the longitudinal upper edge of the laminate  61  to the longitudinal lower edge thereof at regular intervals.  
         [0125]    When the main body  60  is formed by winding up the laminate  61  into a roll so as to place its longitudinal edge (i.e., the one edge  61   a  as shown in FIG. 10) on the other longitudinal edge (i.e., the other edge  61   b  as shown in FIG. 10), there are formed the joined portions  91 , that have circular-shaped glued (joined) portions  92  circumferentially extending on the main body  60  and longitudinal glued (joined) portions  93  extending from the front end of the main body  60  to the rear end thereof in its longitudinal direction. The circular-shaped glued portions  92  are formed on the front and rear ends of the main body and the middle portion thereof so as to provide the total number of five. The longitudinal edge of the laminate  61  is glued onto the other longitudinal edge thereof, with the result that the two longitudinal glued portions  93  are formed on the periphery of the main body  60  so as to separate from each other by the central angle of 180 degrees of the main body  60 .  
         [0126]    Portions of the laminate  61  other than the circular-shaped glued portions  92  and the longitudinal glued portions  93  (i.e., the portions surrounded by the circular-shaped glued portions  92  and the longitudinal glued portions  93  are remained as non-glued portions (i.e., non-joined portions)  94  in which the first film  62  and the second film  63  are not glued to each other. In these non-glued portions  94 , the first and second films  62  and  63  can independently behave as the flexible film.  
         [0127]    Now, description will be given below with reference to FIG. 13 of how to use the container  51  for fluid having the above-described structure. First, the sealing film  75  is broken and the nozzle N is fitted into the outer periphery of the projection  73  of the disc-shaped portion  71 . It is easy to break the sealing film  75  with the use of the tip end of the nozzle N. Then, the container  51  is inserted into the cylinder C of a fluid discharging gun or the other fluid discharging apparatus. When a rod R pushes a pressing plate (i.e., a pressing body) B through the piston P, the main body  60  of the container  51  is squeezed so that its rear portion deforms into a bellows-shape. Consequently, the fluid received in the container  51  is discharged from the front opening end of the nozzle N.  
         [0128]    The major portions of the first and second films  62  and  63  are not glued to each other so that these films can independently behave as the flexible film. As a result, the first film  62  serves as the separate tubular body, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. S56-51,265, i.e., as the tubular body into which the container is to be inserted. It is therefore possible to prevent the laminate  61  forming the main body  60  from being caught between the inner surface of the cylinder and the outer peripheral surface of the pressing plate B. It is unnecessary to use, unlike the prior art disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. S56-51,265, the separate tubular body into which the container  51  is to be inserted, thus saving the labor accordingly and leading to a decreased amount of wastes due to no use of the separate tubular body.  
         [0129]    The circular shaped glued (joined) portion  92  formed at the rear end of the main body  60  makes it possible to prevent more surely the occurrence of the above-mentioned catching problem of the laminate  61 .  
         [0130]    More specifically, the portions of the laminate  61 , which correspond to the circular shaped glued portions  92  have a larger strength (i.e., a more excellent tenacious property) than that of the non-glued portions  94  in which the first and second films  62  and  63  are not glued to each other. Accordingly, when the pressing plate B presses the rear bottom member  80  of the container  51 , the laminate  61  can deform inward at the boundary between the circular shaped glued portion  92 , which is formed at the rearmost side of the main body  60 , and the non-glued portion  94 , which is in the vicinity of the above-mentioned circular shaped glued portion  92 . As a result, the main body  60  can surely be squeezed to deform into the bellows-shape along with the advance of the pressing plate B. It is therefore possible to prevent more surely the occurrence of the catching problem of the laminate  61 .  
         [0131]    An experiment was made to recognize the effect of preventing the occurrence of the catching problem of the laminate  61 . Containers  51  of the present invention having the above-described structure. The comparative container had the same structure as that of the container  51  of the present invention except that the opposing surfaces of the first and second films  62  and  63  are glued to each other over its entirety. A discharging test of fluid was carried out for each of ten containers of the present invention and each of ten comparative containers with the use of the same fluid discharging apparatus. In any one of the containers of the present invention, there was observed no occurrence of the catching problem of the laminate  61 . On the contrary, in all of the ten comparative containers, the catching problem of the laminate occurred. In one of the comparative containers, it became impossible to move the pressing plate B during the discharging operation so that the discharging operation could not be completed.  
         [0132]    Description will be given below of the other embodiments of the container of the second invention as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. Only constructional components of the other embodiments of the second invention, which are different from those of the first embodiment of the second invention, will be described. The same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment of the second invention are given to the same constructional components and description of them is omitted.  
         [0133]    The container  2  for fluid of the embodiment of the second invention as shown in FIG. 14 comprises a straight portion  60 A and a tapered portion  60 B. The straight portion  60 A locates on the front side of the main body  60  and has a constant outside diameter and a length corresponding to the distance from two third to three fourth of the total length of the main body  60 . The tapered portion  60 B tapers off to its rear shape described above, the catching problem of the laminate may easily occur at the boundary between the straight portion  60 A and the tapered portion  60 B. In view of this fact, the circular-shaped glued joined) portion  92  is formed at the above-mentioned boundary. In this embodiment, the circular-shaped glued portion  92  is formed at the rear end of the straight portion  60 A. The circular-shaped glued portion  92  may be formed at the front end of the tapered portion  60 B. The circular-shaped glued portion  92  may extend from the rear end of the straight portion  60 A to the front end of the tapered portion  60 B. In addition to the above-mentioned circular-shaped glued portion  92 , or in replacement thereof, the same circular-shaped glued portions  92  and the longitudinal glued portions  93  of the first embodiment of the second invention may be formed.  
         [0134]    In the container  53  of the embodiment of the second invention as shown in FIG. 15, the opposite opening ends of the main body  60  are narrowed and closed by thick wires  100 ,  100  serving as the closing device, respectively. A circular-shaped glued joined) portion is formed on each of the opposite ends and the center of a cylindrical portion of the main body  60 , which has a constant diameter, except for the opposite narrowed portions. In this embodiment, longitudinal glued (joined) portions may be formed so as to extend horizontally between the adjacent circular-shaped glued portions  92 ,  92 .  
         [0135]    The second invention is not limited only to the above-described embodiments and includes further modified embodiments. The containers of the above-described embodiments have at least one circular-shaped glued portions  92 . The containers may have no circular-shaped glued portion and have at least one longitudinal glued portion. It is however preferable to form on the entire periphery of the laminate  61  a glued (joined) portion  91  by which the circular-shaped glued portions provided on the opposite ends of the main body  60  and the at least one longitudinal glued portion are formed. When the glued portion  91  is formed on the entire periphery of the laminate  61  so as to have a rectangular closed configuration in this manner, it is possible to prevent the edge portions of the first and second films  62  and  63  from peeling off during the step of winding up the laminate  61  into a roll to form the main body  60 . As a result, these films  62  and  63  can be handled as a single united member, thus leading to an easy manufacture of the main body  60 .  
         [0136]    A glued (joined) portion may be formed in a spiral shape in replacement of the circular-shaped glued portions  92  and the longitudinal glued portion  93 . In addition to such a spiral-shaped glued portion, the circular-shaped glued portions may be formed on the opposite ends of the main body.  
         [0137]    In the above-described embodiments of the second invention, the non-glued portions are formed between the second film  63  and the first film  62  locating in the outermost position of the main body. The non-glued portions  94  may be formed between the other adjacent two films.  
         [0138]    There may be adopted a structure in which an additional film formed of the same material as that of the first film is provided between the first film  62  and the second film  63 , the additional film is glued on the entire surface of the second film  63  and the glued portions  91  and the non-glued portions  94  are formed between the additional film and the first film  62 . Such a structure makes it possible to improve the strength of the main body  60 .  
         [0139]    Now, embodiments of a fluid discharging apparatus of the third invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS.  16  to  23 .  
         [0140]    [0140]FIG. 16 illustrates a fluid-discharging gun  111  as an embodiment of the fluid discharging apparatus of the third invention. The fluid discharging gun  111  has a main body  121 . The main body  121  has a lever  122 , which is provided thereon so as to be swingable. The swing motion of the lever  122  in the direction of an arrow A as shown in FIG. 16 advances a rod  123  and a piston  124  provided at the end of the rod  123  (i.e., moves them in the left-hand direction in FIG. 16). It is possible to cause the rod  123  and the piston  124 , which have been in an advanced state, to retreat by swinging a holding lever  125  in the direction-of an arrow B as shown in FIG. 16. The main body  121  is provided on its front edge with a supporting member  126 , which is in parallel with the rod  123 . The supporting member  126  is formed into a semi-circular tube having an upper opening, which extends in the longitudinal direction. The supporting member  126  has a stopper plate  127  having a horseshoe shape, which is fixed to the front edge of the supporting member  126 .  
         [0141]    [0141]FIG. 17 is a view illustrating a state in which an installation apparatus for a fluid dispensing cartridge (hereinafter referred to as the “cartridge installation apparatus”) is fitted to the fluid discharging gun  111  described above. The cartridge installation apparatus  112  is composed of a receiving tube  131  having a tubular shape with opposite opening ends and of a pressing body  132 , which is provided in the inside of the receiving tube  131  so as to be slidable. When the cartridge installation apparatus  112  is fitted to the fluid discharging gun  111 , the pressing body  132  is located at the one end side of the receiving tube  131  and the receiving tube  131  is placed on the supporting member  126  so that the one end of the receiving tube  131  faces the piston  124 .  
         [0142]    [0142]FIG. 18 is a view illustrating the fluid-dispensing cartridge (hereinafter simply referred to as the “cartridge”)  113  that is to be fitted to the fluid discharging gun  111  through the above-mentioned cartridge installation apparatus. The cartridge  113  is obtained by forming a reinforcement tube  142  on the outer periphery of the opening end of a tube  141  formed of a single thin film or a plurality of thin films and forming a bottom  143  at the other opening end of the tube  141  to obtain a cartridge body, filling the cartridge body with fluid such as adhesive or the like and closing the opening end of the tube  141  with a plug member  144 . The plug member  144  has a discharge port  144   a , which is closed by a sealing sheet  145 . In the cartridge  113  of this embodiment, the tube  141  tapers off from the plug member  144  to the bottom  143 . The tube  141  may have a constant outside diameter over its longitudinal entirety.  
         [0143]    When fluid is discharged from the cartridge  113  with the use of the fluid discharging gun  111 , a nozzle  114  is fitted to the plug member  144  as shown in FIG. 18. The nozzle  114  has a sharp point  114   a , which can break the sealing sheet  145  so as to permit the fluid received in the cartridge  113  to flow from the discharge port  144   a  into the nozzle  114 . Then, the cartridge  113  is inserted from its bottom  143  side into the receiving tube  131  of the cartridge installation apparatus  112  as shown in FIG. 17. Then, the nozzle  114  passes through the stopper plate  127 , thus completing the fitting step of the cartridge installation apparatus  112  to the fluid-discharging gun  111 . After the completion of the fitting step mentioned above, the piston  124  advanced pushes the cartridge  113  through the pressing body  132 . Consequently, the tube  141  is gradually squeezed from the bottom  141  side. The fluid received in the cartridge  113  is discharged from the nozzle  114  in this manner.  
         [0144]    The cartridge  113  as shown in FIG. 18 may be substituted by the other cartridge  113 ′ or  113 ″ as shown in FIG. 19 or  20 .  
         [0145]    The cartridge  113 ′ as shown in FIG. 19 has a structure in which a nozzle  114 ′ having a closed tip end is screwed onto the discharge port  144   a  of the plug member  144  and the other opening end is narrowed and closed by a fastener  146  in replacement of the bottom  143 . When the cartridge  113 ′ is used, a cutter cuts off the tip end of the nozzle  114 ′.  
         [0146]    The cartridge  113 ″ as shown in FIG. 20 has a structure in which the opposite opening ends of the tube  141  are narrowed and closed by fasteners  146 ,  146 , respectively. When the cartridge  113 ″ is used, the one end of the tube  141  is cut to be opened and then the tube  141  is inserted into the receiving tube  131  of the cartridge installation apparatus  112 . The nozzle is fitted into the opening end of the receiving tube  131 , which locates in the one end of the tube  141 , which has been cut off. Then, the cartridge installation apparatus  112  is fitted to the fluid discharging gun  111 .  
         [0147]    The fluid discharging gun  111  and the cartridge installation apparatus  112  has features described below that can prevent the thin film, of which the cartridge  113  ( 113 ′,  113 ′) is formed, from being caught between the inner peripheral surface of the receiving tube  131  and the outer peripheral surface of the pressing body  132 .  
         [0148]    First, description of the fluid discharging gun  111  will be given below. The above-mentioned piston  124  is composed of a disc-shaped member  128  and a pair of nuts  129   a ,  129   b . The disc-shaped member  128  has a base plate  128   a  having a circular disc-shape, a tapered portion  128   b  extending forward from the periphery of the base plate  128   a  so that the outside diameter of the tapered portion  128   b  becomes gradually larger, and a ring-shaped portion  128   c , which is integrally formed with the periphery of the tapered portion  128   b  so as to be in parallel with the base plate  128   a . The rod  123  passes through the central portion of the base plate  128   a . The nuts  129   a ,  129   b  locate on the opposite sides of the disc shaped member  128 , respectively, and engage with the front-end portion of the rod  123 . The disc-shaped member  128  is fixed to the rod  123  by fastening the nuts  129   a ,  129   b  so as to held the disc-shaped member  128  between them.  
         [0149]    The depth of the disc-shaped member  128 , i.e., the distance “L” from the front surface of the ring-shaped portion  128   c  to the front surface of the base plate  128   a  is previously determined to be larger than the thickness of the nut  129   a  locating in the front side of the disc-shaped member  128 , i.e., the distance “t” between the opposite surfaces of the nut  129   a  in its longitudinal direction. Accordingly, the front surface of the ring-shaped portion  128   c  of the disc-shaped member  128  locates in a position where is apart in the forward direction from the front surface of the nut  129   a  by the distance (L−t). The distance (L−t) can be changed by substituting the nut  129   a  with the other nut having the different thickness.  
         [0150]    In the cartridge installation apparatus  112 , the pressing body  132  has a feature by which the catching problem of the film can be solved. More specifically, the pressing body  132  is formed of resin. The pressing body  132  is composed of a tubular member  132   a  formed into a short tube and of a plate member  132   b , which is integrally formed with the inner surface of the tubular member  132   a  and has a circular shape, as shown in FIGS. 21 and 22. The tubular member  132   a  is composed of an intermediate portion and a pair of ring-shaped projection portions  132   c  formed at the opposite edges of the intermediate portion. The intermediate portion has an outside diameter, which is smaller than the inside diameter of the receiving tube  131 . Each of the projection portions  132   c  has an outside diameter, which is slightly larger than the inside diameter of the receiving tube  131 . The projection portions  132   c  come into contact with the inner surface of the receiving tube  131  under a prescribed pressure. On the contrary, the intermediate portion of the tubular member  132   a  does not come into contact with the receiving tube  131 . Such a structure makes it possible to increase the contact pressure of the projection portions  132   c  with the receiving tube  131 .  
         [0151]    The tubular member  132   a  has an inside diameter, which is larger than the outside diameter of the disc-shaped member  128  of the piston  124 . Accordingly, the piston  124  can move forward to locate in the tubular member  132   a  so as to come into contact with the plate member  132   b  without coming into contact with the tubular member  132   a . The plate member  132   b  has a projection  132   d  formed on the central portion of the plate member  132   b . The projecting length “H” of the projection  132   d  is previously determined so as to satisfy the following formula:  
         H&gt;(L−t)  
         [0152]    Accordingly, when the piston moves forward, the nut  129   a  of the piston  124  first comes into contact with the projection  132   d  of the plate member  132   b . In this state, the ring-shaped portion  128   c  of the disc-shaped member  128  locates in a position where is apart in the rearward direction from the back surface of the plate member  132   b  by the distance “d=H−(L−t).  
         [0153]    The plate member  132   b  has a thickness, which is smaller than the length of the tubular member  132   a  in its longitudinal direction. The plate member  132   b  is designed so that, when the nut  129   a  presses forward the central portion of the plate member  132   b , the pressed surface of the plate member  132   b  becomes concave and the opposite surface thereof becomes convex, with the result that the plate member  132   b  elastically deforms into a curved shape over its entirety. The plate member  132   b  locates in the central portion of the tubular member  132   a  in its longitudinal direction. When the plate member  132   b  elastically deforms into the curved shape, the tubular member  132   a  also elastically deforms so that the outside diameter of the projection portion  132   c  locating in the front side in the longitudinal direction of the tubular member  132   a  (hereinafter referred to as the “front-side projection portion  132   c ”) increases and the outside diameter of the projection portion  132   c  locating in the rear side in the longitudinal direction thereof decreases. The expansion of the front-side projection portion  132   c  is however limited by the receiving tube  131 . Neither expansion nor contraction of the projection portions  132   c  does not actually occur and alternatively the contact pressure of the front-side projection portion  132   c  with the receiving tube  131  increases in accordance with a rate of increase in outside diameter of the front-side projection portion  132   c.    
         [0154]    The elastic deformation of the plate member  132   b  into the curved shape causes the projection  132   d  to be displaced forward relative to the periphery of the plate member  132   b . As a result, the ring-shaped portion  128   c  of the disc-shaped member  128  comes close to the peripheral portion of the plate member  132   b . When the displacement δ satisfies the following formula:  
         δ= H −( L−t ),  
         [0155]    the ring-shaped portion  128   c  of the disc-shaped member  128  comes into contact with the peripheral portion of the plate member  132   b . After the ring-shaped portion  128   c  comes into contact with the peripheral portion of the plate member  132   b , almost no further deformation of the plate member  132   b  occurs, even when the pressing force of the piston  124  against the plate member  132   b  is further increased. As a result, it is possible to prevent the contact pressure of the front-side projection portion  132   c  with the receiving tube  131  from increasing further, so as to be maintained in the prescribed range.  
         [0156]    In this embodiment of the third invention, the nut  129   a  serves as a central pressing portion and the disc-shaped member  128  serves as a peripheral pressing portion.  
         [0157]    The inside diameter of the tubular member  132   a  is slightly larger than the outside diameter of the bottom  143  of the cartridge  113 . When the pressing body  132  presses the bottom  143  of the cartridge  113 , the bottom  143  comes into the tubular member  132   a  so that the projection  132   d  can press the central portion of the bottom  143 . There may be adopted a structure in which the end surface of the tubular member  132   a  presses the bottom  143  of the cartridge  113 .  
         [0158]    In the fluid discharging apparatus  111  of this embodiment, the nut  129   a  presses the projection  132   d  formed on the central portion of the plate member  132   b  of the pressing body  132  to deform elastically the plate member  132   b . Consequently, it is possible to bring the projection portion  132   c , which locates in the front side in the moving direction of the piston  124  (i.e., the front-side projection portion  132   c ), into contact with the inner surface of the receiving tube  131  under the high pressure. It is therefore possible to prevent the film, of which the tube  141  of the cartridge  113  is formed, from being caught between the front-side projection portion  132   c  and the receiving tube  131 . The elastic deformation of the plate member  132   b  and the tubular member  132   a  increases the pressure by which the projection portion  132   c  is pressed against the receiving tube  131 . Even when a slight wear of the projection portion  132   c  occurs, there is almost no decrease in contact pressure of the projection portion  132   c  with the receiving tube  131 . When a severe wear of the projection portion  132   c  occurs, increase in the elastic deformation limit of the plate member  132   b  makes it possible to maintain the high contact pressure of the projection portion  132   c  with the receiving tube  131 . As a result, the high contact pressure of the projection portion  132   c  with the receiving tube  131  can be maintained for a long time of period. It is therefore possible to prevent the catching problem of the film from occurring for a long period of time.  
         [0159]    The contact pressure of the front-side projection portion  132   c  with the receiving tube  131  can be determined in correspondence to the elastic deformation of the plate member  132   b . The elastic deformation of the plate member  132   b  can be determined by the deviation “d”, i.e., the distance between the front surface of the nut  129   a , which is to come into contact with the projection  132   d  of the pressing body  132 , and the front surface of the ring-shaped portion  128   c  of the disc-shaped member  128 , which is to come into contact with the plate member  132   b  of the pressing body  132 . It is therefore possible to adjust the contact pressure of the front-side projection portion  132   c  with the receiving tube  131  by changing the thickness of the nut  129   a . In view of this fact, the use of the nut  129   a  having a large thickness suffices when a small wear of the front-side projection portion  132   c  is observed. The nut  129   a  is changed to the other nut having a larger thickness in accordance with an amount of wear of the front-side projection portion  132   c . Such a system makes it possible to maintain the almost constant high contact pressure of the projection portion  132   c  with the receiving tube  131  for a long period of time.  
         [0160]    In the cartridge installation apparatus  112  of the third invention, the projection  132   d  is formed on each of the opposite surfaces of the plate member  132   b . After the pressing body  132  moves in the left-hand direction in FIG. 17 until the fluid received in the cartridge  113  ( 113 ′,  113 ″) is used up, the cartridge  113  is removed from the left-hand opening of the receiving tube  131 . Then, a new cartridge is inserted into the receiving tube  131  from its right-hand opening. The receiving tube  131  with the new cartridge is turned over and put into the fluid-discharging gun  111 . In this case, the piston  124  presses the projection  132   d , which locates in the rear side in FIGS. 17 and 21, and the projection portion  132   c  locating in the rear side in FIGS. 17 and 21 is located in the front side in the moving direction of the piston  124  so as to come into contact with the inner surface of the receiving tube  131  under high pressure. The service life of the pressing body  132  can be increased twice.  
         [0161]    The third invention is not limited only to the above-described embodiments and includes further modified embodiments.  
         [0162]    In the above-described embodiments of the third invention, the piston  124  is composed of the disc-shaped member  128  and the pair of nuts  129   a ,  129   b . The disc-shaped member  128  may be used as the piston and the rod  123  may be formed integrally with the disc-shaped member  238  or fixed thereto. There may be adopted a structure in which the rod  123  is provided with a flange in replacement of the nut  129   b , the nut  129   a  is formed integrally with the disc-shaped member  128  and the above-mentioned rod  123  is screwed into the nut  129   a  to bring the disc-shaped member  128  into contact with the flange. In the above-described embodiments, the nut  129   a  can come into contact with the projection  132   d  of the pressing body  132 . When the tip end of the rod  123  projects from the nut  129   a , the projected tip end of the rod  123  may come into contact with the above-mentioned projection  132   d . In this case, the tip end of the rod  123  serves as the central pressing portion of the piston  124 .  
         [0163]    Now, embodiments of a fluid discharging apparatus of the fourth invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS.  24  to  33 .  
         [0164]    In the embodiment, the fourth invention is applied to a fluid discharging gun (a fluid discharging apparatus)  151  as shown in FIGS.  24  to  29 . A fluid dispensing cartridge (hereinafter simply referred to as the “cartridge”)  250  as shown in FIG. 32 is used for the fluid discharging gun  151 . The fourth invention may be applied to the other kind of fluid discharging apparatus than the fluid discharging gun  151 . The other kind of cartridge than the cartridge  250 , for example a cartridge  350  as shown in FIG. 33 may be used.  
         [0165]    First, the cartridge  250  will be described below for convenience. The cartridge  250  is composed of a main body  260 , a reinforcement tube  270  and a bottom  280 . The main body  260  is formed of a single thin film or a plurality of thin films into a tubular shape. The reinforcement tube  270  is provided on the outer periphery of the front opening end of the main body  260 . The bottom  280  closes the rear-opening end of the main body  260 . The main body  260  tapers off from its front end to its rear end. The main body  260  may have a constant outside diameter over its longitudinal entirety. The reinforcement tube  270  has in its central portion a discharge port  271 . The inside diameter of the discharge port  271  becomes gradually smaller from the front end of the discharge port  271  to the rear end thereof. The rear-opening end of the discharge port  271  is closed by means of a sealing member  272 , which is formed of a thin film. The sealing member  272  may be broken by mean of a tubular insertion member  213  of a nozzle  156 , which is to be fitted into the discharge port  271 , described later. As a result, fluid such as adhesive or the like received in the cartridge  250  can be discharged outside from the discharge port  271  through the nozzle  156 .  
         [0166]    Then, description will be given below of the fluid-discharging gun  151  for discharging the fluid from the above-mentioned cartridge  250 . The fluid discharging gun  151  has a main body  152  as shown in FIGS.  24  to  27 . The main body  152  is provided with a grip portion  171  and an operation lever  172 . A swing motion of the operation lever  172  in the direction of an arrow A as shown in FIG. 24 causes a rod  173  to move forward in accordance with the swing motion, with the result that a piston  173  provided at the tip end of the rod  173  also moves forward. When the grip of the operation lever  172  is released, the operation lever  172  is returned to the original position by means of a spring  174 . The repetition of the gripping operation of the operation lever  172  and the release thereof causes the rod  173  and the piston  153  to move forward. It is possible to cause the rod  173  and the piston  153 , which have been in an advanced state, to retreat by swinging a holding lever  175  in the direction of an arrow B as shown in FIG. 16 against an expansive force given by a spring  176 . The fluid-discharging gun  152  of the fourth invention has the same fundamental structural components as those of the conventional fluid-discharging gun. The detailed description thereof is therefore omitted.  
         [0167]    The main body  152  is provided with a supporting plate  177  having a circular shape. The above-mentioned rod  173  passes through the central portion of the supporting plate  177 . The supporting plate  177  is rotatable around its central axis relative to the main body  152 . The frictional resistance between the supporting plate  177  and the main body  152  prevents the supporting plate  177  from rotating freely. The supporting plate  177  can be held in a predetermined rotational position. A pair of supporting arms  154 ,  154  are fixed at their root ends to the outer periphery of the supporting plate  177  so as to be spaced apart from each other by a rotational angle of 180 degrees. The distance between the rod  173  and each of the supporting arms  154 ,  154  is kept constant. Each of the supporting arms  154 ,  154  extends in the longitudinal direction of the rod  173  (i.e., the moving direction of the piston  153 ).  
         [0168]    A nozzle-supporting member  155  (i.e., a nozzle-supporting device) is provided at the front ends of the supporting arms  154 ,  154 . The nozzle supporting member  155  is composed of an end-plate portion  201  having a circular shape and of a supporting tubular portion  202 , which is formed into a semi-circular tube on the rear surface of the end-plate portion  201 , as shown in FIG. 30. The supporting tubular portion  202  is provided on the opposite sides of its outer surface with pivot axis portions  203 ,  203  each having a square cross-section (Note: The only one pivot axis portion  203  being shown in FIG. 30). The pivot axis portions  203 ,  203  are inserted into elongated holes  191 ,  191  (Note: The only one elongated hole  191  is shown in FIG. 30), which are formed at the front ends of the supporting arms  154 ,  154 , respectively. Each of the elongated holes  191 ,  191  extends in the longitudinal direction of the supporting arms  154 ,  154 . The front end of each of the elongated holes  191 ,  191  has the same width as that of each of the pivot axis portions  203 ,  203 . The rear end of each of the elongated holes  191 ,  191  is formed into a circular shape having a diameter, which is substantially identical to the length of the diagonal line of the pivot axis portion  203 . As a result, the pivot axis portion  203  is movable in the elongated hole  191  in its longitudinal direction and becomes non-rotatable relative to the supporting arm  154  when being located in the front end of the elongated hole  191 , and becomes, on the other hand, rotatable thereto when being located in the rear circular end of the elongated hole  191 . When the nozzle supporting member  155  moves forward within a prescribed range, which is determined by the length of the elongated hole  191 , it becomes non rotatable relative to the supporting arms  154 ,  154 . When the nozzle-supporting member  155  moves rearward, it becomes, on the contrary, rotatable relative to the supporting arms  154 ,  154 .  
         [0169]    A nozzle  156  is detachably mounted on the nozzle-supporting member  155 . The nozzle  156  is composed of (i) a nozzle portion  211  tapering off to its tip end, (ii) a flange portion  212 , which is formed into a circular shape on the rear end of the nozzle portion  211  and (iii) a tubular insertion portion  213 , which is formed on the rear end surface of the flange portion  212 . The nozzle portion  211 , the flange portion  212  and the tubular insertion portion  213  are coaxial to each other. The nozzle portion  211  and the tubular insertion portion  213  communicate with each other. The end-plate portion  201  of the nozzle supporting member  155  has an insertion groove  204 , which opens in the perpendicular direction to the straight line connecting the pair of supporting arms  154 ,  154  with each other. The supporting tubular portion  202  is provided on its inner peripheral surface with a projection  205  having an arcuate shape. The space defined by the arcuate projection  205  opens in the same direction as the opening direction of the insertion groove  204 . The root end of the nozzle portion  211  can be inserted into the insertion groove  204  from the opening end thereof. The flange portion  212  can be inserted into a space between the end-plate portion  201  and the projection  205 . The nozzle  156  can detachably be mounted on the nozzle-supporting member  155  in this manner.  
         [0170]    When the fluid discharging gun  151  is used exclusively for the cartridge  250 , the nozzle  156  may be fixed to or formed integrally with the nozzle-supporting member  155 .  
         [0171]    The outside diameter of the tubular insertion portion  213  of the nozzle  156  is slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the front end of the discharge port  271  of the cartridge  250 , but is substantially identical to or slightly larger than the inside diameter of the rear end of the discharge port  271  thereof. As a result, the tubular insertion portion  213  can be fitted into the rear end of the discharge port  271  of the cartridge  250  in a pressing-in manner. There occurs no leakage of fluid received in the cartridge  250  between the inner peripheral surface of the discharge port  271  and the outer peripheral surface of the tubular insertion portion  213 . The fitting of the tubular insertion portion  213  into the discharge port  271  of the cartridge  250  causes the nozzle  156  and the cartridge  250  to be connected with each other under a prescribed frictional resistance. The tubular insertion portion  213  has the rear end with an obliquely cut end. The dimensions of the tubular insertion portion  213  are previously determined so that, when the tubular insertion portion  213  is inserted into the discharge port  271  until the flange portion  212  comes into contact with the reinforcement tube  270 , a portion on the obliquely cut end, which is the furthest point from the flange portion  212 , projects in the main body  260  of the cartridge  250  through the rear opening end of the discharge port  271  and the other portion on the obliquely cut end, which is the nearest point from the flange portion  212 , remains in the discharge port  271 . As a result, when the tubular insertion portion  213  is inserted into the discharge port  271  of the cartridge  250 , the sealing member  272  is broken by means of the tubular insertion portion  213  so as not to form any cut piece of the sealing member  272 , which is separated from the remaining portion thereof. If the sealing member  272  is broken by means the tubular insertion portion  213  to form a circular cut piece of the sealing member  272 , which is separated from the remaining portion thereof, the cut piece may enter the nozzle  156  to cause the clogging thereof. In the fourth invention, the scaling member  272  can be broken by cutting it partially along a non-closed cutting line.  
         [0172]    A cylinder  157  is disposed between the pair of supporting arms  154 ,  154  in their middle portions in the longitudinal direction. The cylinder  157  is formed into a tubular shape having a constant diameter over its entire length. The inside diameter of the cylinder  157  is substantially identical with the outside diameter of the front end of the main body  260 , i.e., the maximum outside diameter of the main body  260 . Consequently, the main body  260  of the cartridge  250  can be inserted into the cylinder  157  from its rear end until the reinforcement tube  270  comes into contact with the end of the cylinder  157 .  
         [0173]    The cylinder  157  is supported on the pair of supporting arms  154 ,  154  so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction thereof and swingable. As shown in FIGS.  24  to  29 , and  31 , a pair of reinforcement members  221 ,  221  each having a relatively large thickness are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder  157  so as to be spaced apart from each other by the central angle of 180 degrees. A pair of screw members  222 ,  222  are screwed to the central portions of the reinforcement members  221 ,  221 , respectively. The central axes of the screw members  222 ,  222 , which are identical to each other, are also identical to the diametrical line of the cylinder  157 . The screw member  222  is screwed to the reinforcement members  221  so that the head portion of the screw member  222  is apart from the reinforcement member  221  by the same distance as the thickness of the supporting arm  154 . Each of the supporting arms  154 ,  154  has a support hole  192 , which is formed in the central portion of the supporting arm  154  so as to extend in the longitudinal direction thereof. Shank portions  222   b  of the screw members  222  are inserted into the respective support holes  192  so as to be slidable and rotatable. The cylinder  157  is supported at its central portion on the pair of supporting arms  154 ,  154  around the axis (i.e., the screw members  222 ), which is perpendicular to the pair of supporting arms  154 ,  154 .  
         [0174]    As shown in FIGS.  25  to  27 , a pressing body  158  is provided in the inside of the cylinder  157  so as to be slidable therein. The pressing body  158  presses the rear end of the cartridge  250 , which is inserted into the cylinder  157 , to squeeze the main body  260 . The pressing body  158  is pushed to move forward by the piston  153 . The pressing body  158  moves to the end of the cylinder  157  when fluid received in the cartridge  250  is used up. In this state, when a new cartridge  250  is inserted into the cylinder  157  from the other end, the bottom  280  of the cartridge  250  comes into contact with the pressing body  158  or a small gap is formed between the bottom  280  of the cartridge  250  and the pressing body  158 . Such an insertion operation of the new cartridge  250  can be applied to either a case where the pressing body  158  is moved to the one end of the cylinder  157  or a case where the pressing body  158  is moved to the other end of the cylinder  157 . Accordingly, in order to insert the new cartridge  250  into the cylinder  157  after the pressing body  158  is moved to any one of the opposite ends to use up fluid received in the old cartridge, a simple insertion operation of the new cartridge  250  into the cylinder  157  from the other end will suffice and there needs no returning operation of the pressing body  158 .  
         [0175]    When fluid received in the cartridge  250  with the use of the fluid discharging gun  151  having the above-described structure, the nozzle  156  is previously attached to the nozzle supporting member  155  and the pressing body  158  is previously shifted to the one end of the cylinder  157 . Then, the cylinder  157  is moved rearward so that the screw members  222 ,  222  come into contact with the rear edges of the support holes  192 ,  192 , respectively, and the cylinder  157  is swung so as to be perpendicular to the supporting arms  154 ,  154 , as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26. Any one of the above-mentioned sliding and swinging operations may be carried out prior to the other of them. When the new cartridge  250  is exchanged for the used cartridge  250 , the cylinder  157  is however first slid rearward, and then swung, as described later. With respect to the swing operation of the cylinder  157 , it is preferable to hold the supporting arms  154 ,  154  horizontally and the cylinder  157  is swung so that the one end of the cylinder  157 , in which the pressing body  158  is fitted, locates in the lower side and the other opening end of the cylinder  157  locates in the upper side.  
         [0176]    Then, the cartridge  250  is inserted into the cylinder  157  from its other opening end. Such an insertion operation is carried out so that the rear end of the cartridge  250  comes into contact with the pressing body  158  in the cylinder  157 . After the insertion operation of the cartridge  250  is completed so that the reinforcement tube  270  comes into contact with the opposite end of the cylinder  157 , the cylinder  157  is swung so as to be in parallel with the supporting arms  154 , thus causing the reinforcement tube  270  to face the nozzle supporting member  155 . Then, the cylinder  157  is slid forward. The sliding operation of the cylinder  157  may be carried out by holding directly it with a hand and moving it or causing the piston  153  to press forward the pressing body  158 . The cylinder  157  is moved forward until the reinforcement tube  270  comes into contact with the projection  205  of the nozzle-supporting member  155 . As a result, the tubular insertion portion  213  of the nozzle  156  is fitted into the discharge port  271  of the cartridge  250  to break the sealing member  272 . This makes it possible to cause the fluid received in the cartridge  250  to flow into the nozzle  156 .  
         [0177]    Then, the piston  153  moves forward as shown in FIG. 27 to press the bottom  280  of the cartridge  250  through the pressing body  158  to move the bottom  280  forward. Consequently, the cartridge  250  is squeezed from its rear end into a bellows-shape, with the result that the fluid received in the cartridge  250  is discharged from the nozzle  156 .  
         [0178]    After the entire main body  260  of the cartridge  250  is squeezed to use up the fluid in the cartridge  250 , the piston  153  moves rearward as shown in FIG. 28 so as to be pulled out from the cylinder  157 . Then, the cylinder  157  moves rearward. In this state, the tubular insertion portion  213  of the nozzle  156  is fitted into the discharge port  271  of the squeezed cartridge  250  in the pressing-in manner. The cartridge  250 , which is connected to the nozzle supporting member  155  through the nozzle  156 , is pulled forward from the cylinder  157  along with the rearward movement of the cylinder  157 . Then, The nozzle-supporting member  155  moves rearward and swings by an angle of about 90 degrees as shown in FIG. 29 so that the used cartridge  250  locates below the nozzle-supporting member  155 . In this state, the cylinder  157  may be located in parallel with the supporting arms  154 ,  154 . It is however preferable to swing the cylinder  157  so as to locate vertically its longitudinal axis, thus preventing the cylinder  157  from being a hindrance to the removal of the cartridge  250 . Then, the cartridge  250  is pulled out from the nozzle  156 , while holding the portions of the outer peripheral surface of the reinforcement tube  270  of the cartridge  250  with two fingers, which portions are exposed from an open space of the supporting tubular portion  202  and a cut-out  202   a  formed on the periphery thereof. In this state, the entire used cartridge  250  locates below the supporting arms  154 ,  154  so that they do not hinder the hold of the reinforcement tube  270  and the removal of the cartridge  250  from the nozzle  156 . It is therefore possible to remove

Technology Category: b