Self-sealing viscous material dispenser loading apparatus

Claim 1

A self-sealing, viscous material dispenser loading apparatus adapted to receive cartridge-type receptacles, comprising a frame having a receptacle supporting surface, a cartridge-type receptacle containing viscous material, means defining a discharge passageway through said surface of the frame, a conduit connected in sealed relationship to the frame and in communication with said passageway thereby to receive viscous material discharged through the passageway, a plate member mounted on the supporting surface, means defining an aperture through a generally central portion of the plate member said aperture being positioned in communication with said passageway and being operable to receive a flow of viscous material from the receptacle, said plate member having a first surface that is substantially complementary to the receptacle-supporting surface of the frame on which it is mounted and having a second surface that is formed to coact with a surface of said receptacle removably positioned thereon to form a channel therewith, one of said coacting surfaces being provided with a plurality of spacedapart bosses that engage the other coacting surface thereby to determine the height of said channel adjacent the bosses, said bosses being no greater than one-fourth inch in height and being effective to restrict flow of viscous material in the channel sufficiently to cause it to be cured to form a sealing gasket by exposure to air within a pre-determined portion of the area of said surface of the receptacle, said second surface of the plate member being formed of a material taken from the group consisting essentially of fluorinated polymers with at least two fluorine atoms per repeating unit of the monomer (such as tetrafluoroethylene and polytetrafluoroethylene), polyethylene, polyoxymethylene, polypropylene and non-plasticized polyvinyl chloride resins, said second surface being effective to prevent the receptacle mounted thereon from being firmly bonded to the plate member or the frame by viscous material that is discharged from the receptacle into said conduit and said channel, and means for puncturing a hole in the receptacle in communication with said discharge passageway after the receptacle is positioned with the aforesaid pre-determined portion of the surface thereof in coacting relationship with said second surface of the plate member and means for forcing the viscuous material from said receptacle into said chamber and through said aperture and passageway into said conduit.