Spec Feb 11.doc Repositionable Nozzle FIELD OF INVENTION This invention relates to a repositionable nozzle. More particularly, this invention relates to a repositionable caulking nozzle. 5 BACKGROUND ART Caulking nozzles are typically separate attachments provided with caulking containers or cartridges and generally comprise a hollow, frusto-conical shaft ending in a narrow opening at a first tapered end and in an internally threaded bore defined by a wide base at the opposed end. Prior art caulking nozzles are generally made of a plastic material 10 and are designed not to bend appreciably or permanently. Indeed, any bending of the shaft will substantially hamper the delivery of the caulking material to a work zone, as the elongate conical shape of commonly available prior art nozzle approximates a cylinder shape and tends to buckle when bent. Such plastic material is generally elastic and any bending tends to result in the shaft returning to its original configuration once 15 the bending force has been removed and subject to any structural damage done to the shaft. Such prior art caulking nozzles therefore are poorly adapted to enable an operator to deliver caulking material to hard-to-access work zones. Such work zones may be difficult to access because of physical obstructions. For example, caulking material may be required to be delivered to the edge of a wet area, but access to the edge is obstructed 20 near the edge, or a beam or ledge extending parallel with the edge. Traditional caulking nozzles will not enable the operator to extend the nozzle outlet around the obstruction, and certainly not with any precision in the orientation of the outlet to ensure a consistent and effective seal to the edge. Traditional caulking nozzles are made of an unitary piece of material in a single 25 injection molding process. A single nozzle cannot accommodate the need for longer or shorter caulking nozzles for particular work applications, as one size is considered to fit all, some applications requiring a long caulking nozzle tube and others being more suitable to the use of a short tube. There have been some attempts to provide bendable caulking nozzles that bend but do 30 not hold a bent position. Consequently they may be temporarily flexed to a certain position, but, being made of elastic memory material, or due to the straightening force of the viscous liquid, they generally return to their original shape unless damaged. It will be appreciated that, although this invention is primarily described with reference 1 to a caulking nozzle and the delivery of caulking material, the delivery of other viscous liquids to a work zone are equally contemplated as falling within the scope of the invention. However, the delivery of low viscosity liquids is not contemplated as falling within the scope of this invention. The delivery of viscous liquids presents challenges 5 that are not encountered in the delivery of more flowable liquids, particularly where the delivery mechanism must alter the course of the liquid flow, the viscosity of the liquid having a significant bearing on the rigidity of the structure used to alter the direction of flow. The above references to and descriptions of prior proposals or products are not intended 10 to be, and are not to be construed as, statements or admissions of common general knowledge in the art. In particular, the above prior art discussion does not relate to what is commonly or well known by the person skilled in the art, but assists in the understanding of the inventive step of the present invention of which the identification of pertinent prior art proposals is but one part. 15 STATEMENT OF INVENTION Accordingly, in one aspect of the invention there is provided: a nozzle attachable to a reservoir of flowable viscous material for dispensing said material to a work zone, said nozzle comprising an elongate barrel including: an inlet base having a wide opening, said inlet base attachable to an outlet of said 20 reservoir; a tapered end portion having a narrow outlet at the end of said nozzle remote from said inlet base; and a movable structure extending wholly or partially circumferentially around said barrel and interposed between said inlet base and said end portion, 25 wherein said movable structure enables the end portion to change angle relative to said base inlet to enable said nozzle to extend around corners without interrupting the flow of said material, said movable structure holding a set but temporary position of said end portion relative to said inlet base. The movable structure may comprise a deformable material in the nozzle wall that has 30 sufficient properties of deformation and rigidity to hold a set position until the nozzle is turned, bent or otherwise moved to a different orientation by an operator. Alternatively, the movable structure may comprise a hinge or other joint to enable the end portion to be changed in orientation relative to the inlet base.
In a another aspect of the invention, there is provided: a nozzle attachable to a reservoir of flowable viscous material for dispensing said material to a work zone, said nozzle comprising an elongate barrel including: an inlet base having a wide opening, said inlet base sealably attachable to an outlet 5 of said reservoir and having a base longitudinal axis; a tapered end portion having a narrow outlet at the end of said nozzle remote from said inlet base and having an end portion longitudinal axis; and a movable structure extending wholly or partially circumferentially around said barrel and interposed between said inlet base and said end portion, 10 said nozzle having a primary orientation in which there is: a first angular bearing of said end portion taken from an end view looking straight down said inlet base longitudinal axis; and a first angle of inclination of said end portion longitudinal axis relative to said inlet base longitudinal axis; and 15 said nozzle has a secondary orientation being different to said primary orientation in which there is: a second angular bearing of said end portion taken from an end view looking straight down said inlet base longitudinal axis; and a second angle of inclination of said end portion longitudinal axis relative to said 20 inlet base longitudinal axis, wherein, on application of a temporary movement force to said nozzle, said movable structure operates to permit movement said nozzle from said primary to said secondary orientation, said movable structure resisting movement and effective to hold said nozzle in said secondary orientation irrespective of the flow of viscous 25 material through the nozzle until a temporary movement force is again applied to said nozzle. The nozzle may be a caulking nozzle, or a delivery nozzle for any other flowable viscous material for which positive pressure is required to urge the material from the base towards the nozzle outlet. The material may be an homogenous mixture of 30 miscible phases, including particulate, as well as liquid material. The material may be made from a single material and may include acrylic/latex water-based caulking materials, urethanes and silicone caulking materials. In any case, the material will generally be storable in a viscous, but flowable state. The material may be settable. This may be achieved by contact with air, or with a corresponding hardener separately delivered to the work zone, or to the caulking material immediately prior to application. 5 The nozzle may be made from a variety of materials. As caulking nozzles tend to be single use/throw away parts of caulking apparatus due to their tendency to become clogged with setting material, the materials used to form caulking nozzles are generally low cost and of the lowest satisfactory quality possible. The materials used may be any one or more of polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC and suitable plasticisers, fillers, 10 pigments and other additives, the foregoing list of plastics and additives being non exhaustive. The caulking nozzle may comprise a unitary, integrally formed barrel. The barrel may be formed by injection moulding. Alternatively, the nozzle may be made from component, including modular, parts. The barrel may comprise a concertina 1s configuration whereby the length of the barrel is bendable, expandable or contractible as required. Preferably, however, the nozzle barrel comprises modular parts and therefore can be extendible or contractible by the addition or removal of modular parts. The inlet base comprises means to attach the nozzle to the outlet of the reservoir. The inlet base connection to the reservoir is advantageously a sealed connection. This may 20 be by means of a snap fit and/or interference connection, a screw thread connection typically found in caulking gun nozzles, a screw cap whereby to seal an annular flange of the nozzle against an annular seat of the caulking gun as typically found in sausage caulking guns, or any other suitable means known to the skilled person. The nozzle outlet may be tapered or stepped to a narrow outlet to permit the extrusion of a narrow 25 bead and to permit the cutting of an opening to the nozzle having a range of diameters, depending on the requirements of the application. The movable structure is interposed between the base and the end portion and is located intermediate the length of the barrel. The movable structure may extend substantially the full length of the barrel, may be located at a particular juncture intermediate the 30 length of the barrel, or may be located at multiple separate locations along the length of the barrel. The movable structure may form part of a joint located between the end portion and the base. The movable structure may form part of one or more intermediate modular extension components and the base. In a preferred form of the invention, the modular 35 extension components are joinable together or to the base and/or the end portion by moveable joints. The movable joints may constitute the movable structure. The moveable joint may be a hinged or multiple axel/universal joint, but is particularly preferably a ball and socket joint. The moveable joint may comprise component abutting parts that engage together. The abutting parts preferably grip each other to resist movement relative to each other. This may be achieved by a tight interference fit, 5 and/or the inherent properties of the material from which the component parts are formed may have a high coefficient of friction. Materials such as acetal, polypropylene and certain grades of polyethylene, may be suitable for this purpose. The modular extension part may have identical attachment means at either end that is engageable with a correspondingly configured attachment means on the base or the end 10 portion. Preferably, however, the attachment means at either end of the modular extension component is different and complementary at each end. For example, the extension component may include a socket at one end complimentary and engageable to a ball joint component at the other end. The extension component may be mateable with like extension components to form a series of two or more extension components 1s whereby to allow the barrel length to be expanded or reduced according to the required application. The extension component may include a male mating means at one end and a female mating means at the other end with an extension shaft extending there between. The extension shaft may be circular, ovular or polygonal in cross section, but is preferably circular. The extension shaft may have a constant cross section throughout 20 its length. Alternatively, the extension shaft may be tapered, stepped or conical whereby to have a wide end tapering towards a narrow opposed end. Preferably, but not essentially, the extension shaft is tapered and is of a hollow frusto-conical shape. The temporary movement force may be a manual or a force applied by a tool that is adapted to move the movable structure from a primary to a secondary orientation. The 25 secondary orientation may be better suited to enabling the nozzle to access obstructed work zone locations. The manual force may be applied by an operator manipulating the nozzle. The tool-applied force may be applied by a hand tool having a clasping member to clamp or engage spaced members of the nozzle. The spaced members may be twisted or bent to a particular position using the hand tool. The hand tool may be in the form of 30 pliers or other scissor-like handle mechanisms. The hand tool may include a clamp that grasps a nozzle member, such as the nozzle barrel and/or socket and twisted away from the inlet base. The temporary movement force required to shift the nozzle to a different angle or orientation is beyond the forces that may be incidentally or accidentally applied to the nozzle in ordinary use. The temporary movement force is sufficiently great to 35 overcome the frictional forces that may hold the movement structure in a particular position or orientation. In particular, the flow of viscous material under pressure through the nozzle will not be sufficient to have a straightening effect on the nozzle.
The female attachment means may be dimensioned whereby its outer edge is adapted to abut the neck of a ball joint or other male engagement means forming part of the base, the end portion and/or the extension component, to limit the extension of rotation of the moveable joint and to ensure that the seal formed by the moveable joint about the 5 conduit extending through the nozzle barrel is maintained. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention may be better understood from the following non-limiting description of preferred embodiments, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a nozzle in a first position according to a first 10 embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a side sectional view of the nozzle shown in Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a side view of the nozzle according to the first embodiment bent in a second position; Figure 4 is a side view of the nozzle according to the first embodiment in the 15 bent second position shown in Fig. 3 but rotated 900; Figure 5 is a side sectional view of the nozzle according to the first embodiment bent in the second position as in Fig. 3; Figure 6 is a bottom plan view of the nozzle shown in Fig. 1; Figure 7 is a slightly off centre lower end view of the nozzle shown in Fig. 3; 20 Figure 8 is a perspective view of the nozzle shown in Fig. 3; Figure 9 is a side view of a nozzle according to a second embodiment of the invention; Figure 10 is a side view of a nozzle according to a third embodiment of the invention; 25 Figure 11 is a side sectional view of the nozzle shown in Fig. 10; Figure 12 is a perspective view of the nozzle shown in Fig. 10; Figure 13 is a perspective view of an assembled sausage caulking gun; Figure 14 is an exploded perspective of a sausage caulking gun; Figure 15 is a closer view of the nozzle attachment of the caulking gun shown in Figure 14; and Figures 16a and 16b are side and perspective views, respectively, of a sausage gun nozzle. 5 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Preferred features of the present invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it is to be understood that the features illustrated in and described with reference to the drawings are not to be construed as limiting on the scope of the invention. 10 The present invention will be described below in relation to a caulking nozzle. However, it will be appreciated that the present invention could be equally applicable for use in a variety of different applications relating to nozzles for delivering viscous materials, and still fall within the spirit of the present invention. Referring to Figure 1 there is shown a caulking nozzle 10 comprising an inlet base 20, a 15 series of zero or more modular extension parts 30 and an end portion 50 terminating in a nozzle outlet 51. As shown in Figure 2, the inlet base comprises a wide diameter inlet mouth 21 defining the entrance to a substantially cylindrical hollow chamber 22. The inlet chamber 22 is defined by a substantially cylindrical wall 23. The internal surface of the cylindrical 20 wall 23 has an internal thread that is complementary to the male sealed externally threaded outlet of a standard caulking material cartridge or reservoir (not shown). The lower portion of the inlet base 20 has a radially extending circular flange 24 to provide strength and rigidity to the structure of the cylindrical wall 23 and to assist in providing a seal between the inlet mouth 21 and the cartridge outlet. 25 The upper end of the cylindrical wall 23 tapers slightly, in stepped fashion through steps 27, to form a neck 25 marginally narrower than the cylindrical wall 23. In use, it will be appreciated that the cartridge outlet is in the form of a hollow cylindrically shaped spigot extending into the chamber 22, so that the effective chamber 22 diameter is similar to that of the neck 25. 30 The upper end of the cylindrical wall 23 terminates in the pair of annular steps 27 comprising a first shoulder 27a and a second shoulder 27b, the latter forming a curved step 28 leading to the neck 25. Extending from the inlet neck 25 is a hollow frusto-spherical ball element 26. The ball element 26 defines a bottomless cup, including a ball inlet 29a at the neck 25, and at the upper edge of its wall, an outlet mouth 29b having an internal diameter similar to that of the cartridge outlet spigot or the chamber 22. Each of the modular extension elements 30 may be attached in series one after the other 5 as shown in Figures 1 and 2. In use, as shown in Figs. 9a - 9c, a particular nozzle arrangement may comprise 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or more extension elements 30 interposed between the base inlet 20 and the end portion 50, depending on the application. Each extension element 30 comprises a unitarily formed body made up of a socket 31, an extension shaft 37 and a hollow frusto-spherical ball element 43 having a similar radius 10 to the inlet ball element 26, whereby both ball elements 26,43 are adapted to engage similar shaped and sized sockets. The extension socket 31 is cup shaped and adapted to engage the base ball 26 in an interference fit in which the extension socket 31 may be snap fit over the base ball 26. The downwardly depending and concave extension socket walls 32 depend partway 15 down the corresponding convex base ball walls 26, so that the lower most edge of the extension socket wall 32 is spaced from the curved step 28 when the extension part 30 and the base inlet 20 lie in coaxial relationship. The spacing (in the coaxial position) between the step 28 and sockets 31,52 is important in providing the socket 31,52 with a limited extent of rotation relative to, respectively, 20 the balls 26, 43, to ensure that the respective components do not over-rotate to expose the mouth 29b and to ensure that the outlet 29b is not obstructed by the socket 32 wall which would otherwise impeded the flow of the material. Furthermore, the interference fit between those respective components is sufficient to hold the sockets 31,52 and the balls 26,43 in fixed relationship against the straightening 25 pressure or tendency to urge the column of components 20,30,50 to straighten, that is the pressure and forces produced by the flowing material,. The frictional grip between the balls 26,43 and sockets 31,52 must be such as to ensure that the set orientation in which the balls 26,43 and sockets 31,52 is temporarily fixed holds in position, until the user chooses to reposition the components to achieve a different orientation for a 30 different work zone. The extension shaft 37 is preferably a frusto-conical shape, but could be cylindrical and of constant cross-section. The lower most end of the extension shaft 37, where the extension shaft walls 38 meet the upper most extremities of the extension socket walls 32, is wide. The extension shaft 37 tapers upwards towards a narrow extension neck 39 35 from which extends the extension ball 43. The extension neck 39 is substantially narrower than the base neck 25, the extent of rotation of the extension element 30 when coupled to another extension element, and the end portion 50, being greater than the extent of rotation possible for the end portion 50 or an extension element 30, when coupled to the base inlet 20. This is not an essential feature, but may advantageously provide increased stability and rigidity of the repositionable nozzle 10 structure close to 5 the base 20. The end portion 50 includes the frusto-spherical or rounded cup-shaped socket 52 which is adapted to engage in an interference fit with either the base ball 26 or the extension ball 43 in an interference fit. With further reference to Figures 3 to 8, and in particular Figs. 3 and 5, it can be seen 10 that the extent of rotation Rb,Re of each socket 31, 52 is limited by the extent of travel in an arc that the lower most edges 70a-c are permitted before the lower most edge 70a c abuts against the nape of the necks 25, 39 of the base inlet 20 or extension element 30, respectively. For a socket 31,52 engaged with the base ball 26, the extent of travel is through an arc approximately representing 200 to 600, and preferably 30 to 450, and 15 most preferably 33 0 to 400 of a ball 26,43 arc where 3600 would be the entire circumference of a ball having the same radius as the base ball 26 or extension ball 43. Similarly, because the neck 39 of the extension shaft is narrower, the sockets 31,52 mated to an extension neck 39 are able to rotate through a greater arc of about 400 to 900, and preferably 400 to 600, and most preferably 47 0 to 540 of a ball 26,43 arc where 20 3600 would be the entire circumference of a ball have the same radius as the base ball 26 or extension ball 43. The nozzle 10 may be fixed in any number of bent or straight configurations by varying the angles and orientations of the various ball and socket joints to suit a particular work zone. As indicated in Fig. 6, the outer diameter D of the inlet base may be about 23mm, but will vary depending on standard sizes required to be 25 made available in a particular market. The invention may include the use of a dedicated tool suitable for coupling and releasing the balls 26, 43 and sockets 31,52. The tool may include a pair of expandable pliers in which a lower jaw engages the neck 25 or shaft 23, 37 of the base 20 or extension element 30, respectively, and an upper jaw engages the lower edge of the 30 socket 31, 52. In Figs. 10 -12, a second embodiment of the invention is shown in which a nozzle 100 includes a hollow elongate substantially cylindrical shaft 130 interposed between a screw-on attachment base 120 and a frusto-conical, tapered end portion 150. The cylindrical shaft 130 includes a spiral metal wire core 131 embedded during an injection 35 molding process in the substantially cylindrical wall 132 of the shaft 130. The metal core 131 is malleable and can assume different forms or configurations within its spiral constraints in the shaft 130, to enable the nozzle to be bent into a variety of configurations and to hold any one of a number of set positions to suit the requirements of different work zones. In Figures 13-16b, there is shown the component parts of a sausage-type caulking gun 5 150. The gun 150 comprises a handle unit 160 including a throttle unit 161 to control dispersement of a caulking material from a sausage roll contained in a plastic skin in use located in a hollow cylinder 170. The throttle 161 includes a standard caulking gun ratchet mechanism 165 that controls the linear displacement of a piston 162 and plunger 163. The plunger 163 is adapted to urge the sausage-encased viscous material away 10 from the handle unit 160 towards and through a nozzle 180. The nozzle 180 comprises an annular flange 181 that in use is adapted to rest on an annular seat 171 at the remote end 172 of the cylinder 170. The flange 181 rests on the annular seat 171 in a close fitting seal and the flange 181 is held fast to the remote cylinder end 172 by a screw cap 183 that has an internal thread 184 that is mateable with a complementary external 15 thread 173 on the remote end 172. Similarly, the sausage is housed in the cylinder 170 and sealed therein by another screw cap 174 associated with the handle unit 160. The nozzle 180 includes a spiral wire 185 similar to the metal core 130 described with reference to the second embodiment to perform as the movable structure for this embodiment. However, it will be appreciated that the movable structure could also be 20 in the form of the modular extension parts 30 of the first embodiment and so provide a nozzle arrangement suitable for use in a sausage-type caulking gun. Throughout the specification and claims the word "comprise" and its derivatives are intended to have an inclusive rather than exclusive meaning unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise. That is, the word "comprise" and its 25 derivatives will be taken to indicate the inclusion of not only the listed components, steps or features that it directly references, but also other components, steps or features not specifically listed, unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations 30 may be made to the methods of the invention described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Orientational terms used in the specification and claims such as vertical, horizontal, top, bottom, upper and lower are to be interpreted as relational and are based on the premise that the component, item, article, apparatus, device or instrument will usually be 35 considered in a particular orientation, typically with the end portion 50 uppermost.