Patent ID: 6524102
Filing Date: 2003-02-25
Classification: A61C

Abstract:
Apparatus useful to a practitioner for depositing a ribbon of molten molding compound onto the peripheral edge of a denture impression tray, the compound being selected from a group of compounds that have a melting temperature that is greater than the normal temperature of a human and that is less than the temperature at which human tissue sustains injury, said compounds being available in the form of hardened cylindrical cartridges, comprising:a dispenser body of an elongate form defined by a forward end and a rearward end including a central cavity extending generally between said forward and rearward ends, said central cavity having a sectional dimension substantially equal to the sectional dimension of said cartridges, said central cavity communicating to the exterior of said body at the rearward end for axial receipt of a sequence of said cartridges in the interior thereof; a nozzle formed at said forward end of said body communicating with said central cavity; an electrical heating element formed in said body adjacent said nozzle; a temperature controller connected to said electrical heating element and conformed to sense the temperature of said central cavity adjacent said nozzle for controlling the electrical power applied to said element in accordance with the difference between the sensed temperature and a preselected temperature; and heat exchange means formed on said body proximate the rearward end thereof for transferring heat from said body to the ambient surrounding, said heat exchange means further providing manipulative surfaces for manual grasping by said practitioner, said heat exchange means includes laterally projecting hoops extending from said body and a handle surface projecting from said body rearwardly of said hoops.