Back to results
US 11,376,623 B2Granted
Apparatuses for dispensing flowable materials
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsJohn W. Pringle, IV, Angelica Davancens, Branko Sarh
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus for dispensing a flowable material is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a rotary actuator, a reservoir, containing a hydraulic fluid, a piston, movable inside the reservoir, a linear actuator, coupled to the piston, a gear train, coupling the rotary actuator with the linear actuator, and a flowable-material dispenser, hydraulically coupled with the reservoir.
Claims19
An apparatus for dispensing a flowable material, the apparatus comprising:
- a rotary actuator;
- a reservoir, containing a hydraulic fluid;
- a piston, movable inside the reservoir;
- a linear actuator, coupled to the piston;
- a gear train, coupling the rotary actuator with the linear actuator;
- a flowable-material dispenser, hydraulically coupled with the reservoir and comprising a cartridge housing, a cartridge-ejection inlet, and a plunger, wherein:
- the cartridge housing has a first end and a second end, opposite the first end;
- the cartridge housing is configured to receive a cartridge tube, having an interior, filled with the flowable material;
- and
- the plunger is selectively translatable within the cartridge tube once the cartridge tube is received in the cartridge housing and the plunger is received within the cartridge tube;
- an end-cap, movably coupled with the flowable-material dispenser at the first end of the cartridge housing, hydraulically coupled with the reservoir, and configured to selectively sealingly engage the interior of the cartridge tube when the cartridge tube is received within the cartridge housing of the flowable-material dispenser;
- and
- a second end-cap, located opposite the end-cap at the second end of the cartridge housing of the flowable-material dispenser and configured to seal against the cartridge tube when the cartridge tube is within the cartridge housing and the end-cap is retained relative to the cartridge housing such that the end-cap sealingly engages the interior of the cartridge tube, wherein the cartridge-ejection inlet is pneumatically coupled with the second end-cap to selectively supply compressed fluid inside the cartridge housing of the flowable-material dispenser for ejecting the cartridge tube from the cartridge housing when the end-cap is removed from the cartridge tube, received within the cartridge housing.
10 more elements
An apparatus for dispensing a flowable material, the apparatus comprising:
- a rotary actuator;
- a reservoir, containing a hydraulic fluid;
- a piston, movable inside the reservoir;
- a linear actuator, coupled to the piston;
- a gear train, coupling the rotary actuator with the linear actuator;
- a flowable-material dispenser, hydraulically coupled with the reservoir and comprising a cartridge housing, a plunger, and a second gasket, wherein:
- the cartridge housing has a first end and a second end, opposite the first end;
- the cartridge housing is configured to receive a cartridge tube, having an interior, filled with the flowable material;
- and
- the plunger is selectively translatable within the cartridge tube once the cartridge tube is received in the cartridge housing and the plunger is received within the cartridge tube;
- and
- an end-cap, movably coupled with the flowable-material dispenser at the first end of the cartridge housing, hydraulically coupled with the reservoir, and configured to selectively sealingly engage the interior of the cartridge tube when the cartridge tube is received within the cartridge housing of the flowable-material dispenser, wherein:
- the end-cap comprises a first gasket, configured to selectively seal against the interior of the cartridge tube when the cartridge tube is received within the cartridge housing, and
- the second gasket is configured to seal the end-cap against the plunger when a sufficient amount of the hydraulic fluid is transferred from the cartridge housing to the reservoir to cause the plunger to abut the end-cap and an additional amount of the hydraulic fluid is subsequently transferred from the cartridge housing to the reservoir.
11 more elements
An apparatus for dispensing a flowable material, the apparatus comprising:
- a rotary actuator;
- a reservoir, containing a hydraulic fluid;
- a piston, movable inside the reservoir;
- a linear actuator, coupled to the piston;
- a gear train, coupling the rotary actuator with the linear actuator;
- a flowable-material dispenser, hydraulically coupled with the reservoir and comprising a cartridge housing, and a plunger, wherein:
- the cartridge housing has a first end and a second end, opposite the first end;
- the cartridge housing is configured to receive a cartridge tube, having an interior, filled with the flowable material;
- the plunger is selectively translatable within the cartridge tube once the cartridge tube is received in the cartridge housing and the plunger is received within the cartridge tube;
- an end-cap, movably coupled with the flowable-material dispenser at the first end of the cartridge housing, hydraulically coupled with the reservoir, and configured to selectively sealingly engage the interior of the cartridge tube when the cartridge tube is received within the cartridge housing of the flowable-material dispenser;
- and
- an over-center mechanism, movably coupling the end-cap with the cartridge housing of the flowable-material dispenser and configured to selectively retain the end-cap relative to the cartridge housing such that the end-cap sealingly engages the interior of the cartridge tube, received within the cartridge housing, and to selectively remove the end-cap from the cartridge tube, received within the cartridge housing.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.