Adhesive dispensing device having optimized cyclonic separator unit
AssigneeNordson Corporation
InventorsSing Yi Chau, Justin A. Clark, William M. Ridge
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An adhesive dispensing device includes a heater unit for melting adhesive material, a receiving space for feeding the heater unit, and a cyclonic separator unit for delivering adhesive pellets to the receiving space. The cyclonic separator unit includes a tangential inlet pipe proximate to a top end of a generally cylindrical pipe, which is connected to the receiving space at an open bottom end. The tangential or spiral flow of air and adhesive pellets generated through the cyclonic separator unit reduces the speed of the air and adhesive pellets to avoid splashing of molten adhesive material while maintaining enough speed to avoid adhesive build up on the generally cylindrical pipe.
Claims13
An adhesive dispensing device comprising:
- a heater unit adapted to melt and heat adhesive material to an elevated application temperature;
- a receiving space defined by at least one sidewall and a top wall having an inlet aperture, said receiving space positioned to feed adhesive material through said heater unit, and said receiving space defining a first horizontal cross-sectional area;
- and
- a cyclonic separator unit coupled to said at least one sidewall of said receiving space, said cyclonic separator unit including a generally cylindrical pipe including a top end, a bottom end, and an interior surface extending from said top end to said bottom end, said generally cylindrical pipe including defining a second horizontal cross-sectional area along an entire length of said generally cylindrical pipe that is less than the first horizontal cross-sectional area of said receiving space, and said bottom end connected in fluid communication with said receiving space,
- said cyclonic separator unit further including a tangential inlet pipe coupled to the generally cylindrical pipe proximate to said top end, and an exhaust pipe configured to exhaust air flowing into said generally cylindrical pipe and said receiving space,
- said generally cylindrical pipe being adapted to receive a flow of air and adhesive pellets through said tangential inlet pipe to cause a spiral flow of air and adhesive pellets along said interior surface between said top and bottom ends, such that the air and adhesive pellets frictionally engage said interior surface, thereby decelerating the flow of air and adhesive pellets to a lower non-zero speed before deposit within the receiving space, said cyclonic separator unit decelerating the flow of air and adhesive pellets without directly opposing gravitational forces applied to the adhesive pellets, and
- said cyclonic separator unit including no significantly tapered sidewall portions such that said cyclonic separator unit presents an unrestricted flow path between said top and bottom ends to thereby prevent buildup of splashed adhesive from said receiving space and prevent buildup of adhesive caused by directly opposing gravitational forces applied to adhesive pellets during deceleration.
A method for supplying adhesive pellets to a receiving space defining a first horizontal cross-sectional area in an adhesive dispensing device, the method comprising:
- delivering a flow of air and adhesive pellets through an inlet hose into a tangential inlet pipe of a cyclonic separator unit coupled to the receiving space;
- delivering the flow of air and adhesive pellets through the tangential inlet pipe and into a generally cylindrical pipe of the cyclonic separator unit so as to produce a spiral flow of air and adhesive pellets rotating about an interior surface of the generally cylindrical pipe, the generally cylindrical pipe defining a second horizontal cross-sectional area along an entire length of the generally cylindrical pipe that is less than the first horizontal cross-sectional area;
- decelerating the flow of air and adhesive pellets by frictionally contacting the air and adhesive pellets with the interior surface of the generally cylindrical pipe as the air and adhesive pellets rotate in the spiral flow, the decelerating of the flow of air and adhesive pellets being performed without directly opposing gravitational forces applied to the adhesive pellets, the cyclonic separator unit including no significantly tapered sidewall portions such that the cyclonic separator unit presents an unrestricted flow path to thereby prevent buildup of splashed adhesive from the receiving space and prevent buildup of adhesive caused by directly opposing gravitational forces applied to adhesive pellets during deceleration;
- and
- depositing the adhesive pellets into the receiving space directly from the generally cylindrical pipe, the adhesive pellets spreading out into the first horizontal cross-sectional area of the receiving space after deposit from the generally cylindrical pipe.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.