# US 5,704,518 A · Caulking gun and cartridge with afterflow prevention

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- Number: US 5,704,518 A
- Document ID: US5704518A
- Status: Granted
- Kind: A
- Application number: 08/710,342
- Filed: 1996-09-16
- Granted: 1998-01-06
- Earliest claimed: 1994-09-13
- Inventors: Arthur Vanmoor
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US5704518A

## CPC

- B05C 17/00576: {characterised by the construction of a piston as pressure exerting means, or of the co-operating container}
- B65D 83/76: for dispensing fluent contents by means of a piston
- B05C 17/01: with {manually} mechanically or electrically actuated piston or the like {(B05C17/00533 takes precedence)}
- B05C 17/014: {comprising means for preventing oozing (B05C17/0146 takes precedence)}
- B05C: APPARATUS FOR APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL (spraying apparatus, atomising apparatus, nozzles B05B; plant for applying liquids or other fluent materials to objects by electrostatic spraying B05B5/08)
- B65D: CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES

## Abstract

A caulking gun and cartridge combination is provided with afterflow prevention. The cartridge has a tubular body, a forward dispensing opening at a forward end of the tubular body, and a backwall movably disposed within the tubular body. The caulking gun has a trough for receiving the cartridge, and a piston movable parallel to the trough. A trigger handle is used for pushing the backwall forward within the tubular body and causing a reduction of volume within the chamber in the cartridge. The backwall slides substantially in a contact-less manner within the tubular body, preferably by way of a reduced diameter of the backwall relative the inner diameter of the tubular body, so that it is pushed backwardly when the body retracts radially after actuation. Alternatively, the cartridge body may be prevented from expanding or may even be actively squeezed so that afterflow caused by the volume reduction of the relaxing tube body is safely prevented.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An improved caulking gun of the type for receiving a caulking cartridge wherein the cartridge has a substantially tubular body, a forward dispensing opening at a forward end of the tubular body, a backwall movably disposed within the tubular body, and the caulking gun has a trough for receiving the cartridge, and a piston movable parallel to the trough for pushing the backwall forward within the tubular body and causing a reduction of volume within the chamber in the cartridge, the improvement which comprises:
a rigid tubular sleeve tightly fitting the tubular body of the caulking cartridge for preventing a radial expansion of the tubular body while the piston forces the backwall forward.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The caulking gun according to claim 1, wherein said rigid tubular sleeve has a top lid and a latch hook for securing and releasing said top lid.

### Claim 3

An improved caulking cartridge of the type having a substantially tubular body, a forward dispensing opening at a forward end of the tubular body, a backwall movably disposed within the tubular body, and the tubular body defining a chamber therein between the forward end and the backwall, the improvement comprising:
a rigid tubular sleeve tightly fit on the tubular body of the caulking cartridge for preventing a radial expansion of the tubular body when pressure is applied on the backwall by a caulking gun.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The combination according to claim 3, wherein said tubular sleeve is formed of a hard material selected from the group consisting of PVC, fiber-reinforced plastic, and metal.

### Claim 5

An improved combination caulking gun and cartridge, of the ripe wherein the cartridge has a substantially tubular body, a forward dispensing opening at a forward end of the tubular body, a backwall movably disposed within the tubular body, and the caulking gun has a trough for receiving the cartridge, and a piston movable parallel to the trough for pushing the backwall forward within the tubular body and causing a reduction of volume within the chamber in the cartridge, the improvement which comprises:
means operatively associated with the tubular body of the cartridge for preventing the expansion of the tubular body while the piston forces the backwall forward; and
the tubular body has a wall with an inner wall surface defining an inner diameter of the tubular body, and the backwall has a diameter less than the inner diameter of the tubular body and defines a substantially contact-free spacing distance between the inner wall surface and the backwall.

### Claim 6

An improved caulking gun of the type for receiving a caulking cartridge wherein the cartridge has a substantially tubular body, a forward dispensing opening at a forward end of the tubular body, a backwall movably disposed within the tubular body, and the caulking gun has a trough for receiving the cartridge, and a piston movable parallel to the trough for pushing the backwall forward within the tubular body and causing a reduction of volume within the chamber in the cartridge, the improvement which comprises:
a clamp device disposed on the caulking gun for selectively squeezing the tubular body of the cartridge.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The combination according to claim 6, wherein the caulking gun has a trigger handle pushing the piston forward for dispensing caulking composition, and said clamp device is connected to the trigger handle of the caulking gun such that the tubular body is squeezed simultaneously with the piston forcing the backwall forward.