Applicator
AssigneeAirbus Operations GmbH
InventorJames Clough
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An applicator for applying an adhesive film to a surface of an aircraft component includes an adhesive inlet for receiving adhesive from a source of adhesive, adhesive outlets for dispensing of adhesive therethrough, one or more reservoirs for receiving adhesive from a respective adhesive outlet, channels wherein at least two of the channels are configured to facilitate delivery of adhesive from the adhesive inlet to a respective, mutually-different outlet, and one or more adhesive-contacting surfaces for contacting adhesive dispensed from the adhesive outlets into the reservoir and for forming an adhesive film therefrom, the one or more adhesive-contacting surfaces being configured to be maintained in spaced relationship with a surface onto which an adhesive film is to be formed.
Claims20
An applicator for applying an adhesive film to a workpiece surface of a workpiece, the applicator comprising:
- an inlet for receiving adhesive from a source of adhesive;
- a plurality of outlets for dispensing of the adhesive therethrough;
- a plurality of channels arranged in a splayed or fan arrangement, at least two of the channels being configured to facilitate delivery of the adhesive from the inlet to a respective, mutually-different outlet of the plurality of outlets;
- one or more reservoirs for receiving the adhesive from a respective outlet of the plurality of outlets;
- one or more adhesive-contacting surfaces for contacting the adhesive that has been deposited onto the workpiece surface, in a reservoir of the one or more reservoirs, as the applicator is moved across the workpiece surface, thereby forming the adhesive film on the workpiece surface;
- and
- wherein the one or more adhesive-contacting surfaces are configured to be maintained in spaced relationship with the workpiece surface, onto which the adhesive film is to be formed.
An adhesive applicator for forming an adhesive film on a workpiece surface of a workpiece, the applicator comprising:
- an inlet for receiving an adhesive from a source of the adhesive;
- an applicator main body providing:
- a plurality of outlets for dispensing of an adhesive therethrough;
- one or more reservoirs for receiving the adhesive from the plurality of outlets;
- a plurality of channels, each of which is configured to facilitate delivery of the adhesive from the inlet to a respective one of the plurality of outlets;
- a base;
- and
- one or more adhesive-contacting surfaces for contacting the adhesive that has been deposited onto the workpiece surface, in a reservoir of the one or more reservoirs, as the applicator is moved across the workpiece surface, thereby forming the adhesive film on the workpiece surface;
- and
- wherein the one or more adhesive-contacting surfaces are configured to be maintained in spaced relationship with the workpiece surface, onto which the adhesive film is to be formed;
- and
- wherein a depth of the one or more reservoirs relative to the base of the applicator is greater at a position adjacent to the outlets than at a position adjacent to the one or more adhesive-contacting surfaces.
An applicator for applying an adhesive film to a workpiece surface of a workpiece, the applicator comprising:
- an inlet for receiving adhesive from a source of adhesive;
- a plurality of outlets for dispensing of the adhesive therethrough;
- a plurality of channels, at least two of the channels being configured to facilitate delivery of the adhesive from the inlet to a respective, mutually-different outlet of the plurality of outlets;
- one or more reservoirs for receiving the adhesive from a respective outlet of the plurality of outlets;
- and
- one or more adhesive-contacting surfaces for contacting the adhesive that has been deposited onto the workpiece surface, in a reservoir of the one or more reservoirs, as the applicator is moved across the workpiece surface, thereby forming the adhesive film on the workpiece surface;
- wherein the one or more adhesive-contacting surfaces are configured to be maintained in spaced relationship with the workpiece surface, onto which the adhesive film is to be formed;
- and
- wherein:
- a cross-sectional area of the one or more reservoirs, which is normal to a longitudinal axis of the applicator and at a position adjacent to the outlets, is greater than a cross-sectional area of the one or more reservoirs at a position adjacent to the one or more adhesive-contacting surfaces;
- and/or
- the one or more reservoirs comprise:
- a first reservoir configured to receive the adhesive from a first set of outlets of the plurality of outlets;
- and
- a second reservoir configured to receive the adhesive from a second set of outlets of the plurality of outlets.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.