Airtight sealing of nozzle
OwnerTracy Benettiinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Devices and methods for reliably and reusably creating an airtight seal on a tapered nozzle attached to a container of air-curable material. The device is a unitary expandable tube with an open end and a closed end filled with putty-like material. In one embodiment the device is placed over the nozzle, the device and nozzle are pushed together until the open end of the device flares around the outside diameter of the nozzle, and the nozzle tip displaces some the putty-like material thereby expanding the closed end of the tube to accommodate the displaced material.
Claims14
A sealing device for creating an airtight seal on a tapered nozzle with a first end containing an orifice, a second end connected with a container of air curable material, and an outer diameter located between said first end and said second end, comprising:
- an expandable unitary body with an open end defining an opening, a closed end defining a cavity, an inner surface and an outer surface,
- said inner surface of said unitary body being smooth and capable of flaring to frictionally engage with said outer diameter of said nozzle,
- said outer surface of the unitary body having texture,
- said opening in the open end being no larger than said outer diameter of the nozzle, and
- a pliable, non-air-curable material in said cavity of said closed end.
A sealing device for creating an airtight seal on a tapered nozzle with a first end containing an orifice, a second end, and an outer diameter located between said first end and said second end, comprising:
- an expandable unitary body with an open end defining an opening, a closed end defining a cavity, an inner surface and an outer surface, wherein said expandable unitary body is made form a material selected from the group consisting of rubber, silicone, flexible plastic, vinyl, and ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber,
- said inner surface of said unitary body being smooth and capable of flaring to frictionally engage with said outer diameter of said nozzle,
- said outer surface of the unitary body having texture, wherein said texture is selected from the group consisting of at least one raised grip, at least one indentation, and at least one bump,
- said outer surface containing a central width that tapers toward said closed end, and tapers from said central width toward said open end through a concavity,
- said opening in said open end being no larger than said outer diameter, and
- a pliable, non-air-curable material in said cavity at the closed end, wherein said pliable material is selected from the group consisting of oil-based wax, bee's wax, putty, and plasticized metallocene-catalyzed propylene copolymers.
A method of creating an airtight seal on a tapered nozzle with a first end with an orifice, and a second end connected with a container of air-curable material susceptible to hardening upon exposure to air, and an outer diameter located between said first end and said second end, by using an expandable unitary body wherein said unitary body has a closed end defining a cavity filled with a pliable, non-air-curable material, an open end defining an opening that is no larger than said outer diameter of said nozzle, and an inner surface that is smooth, comprising:
- (a) inserting said nozzle into said opening of said unitary body sufficiently far so that said outer diameter of said nozzle is in continuous connection with said opening of said unitary body,
- (b) further inserting said nozzle into said opening until said opening flares around said outer diameter, and
- (c) further inserting said nozzle into said opening until said first nozzle end containing said orifice connects with and displaces some of said pliable material, forming a plug of pliable material in said orifice, and expanding said closed end of said unitary body due to the pressure from said displaced pliable material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.