Abstract:
A viscous material dispenser, and dispenser system and kit, can include a dispenser without a dispensing tip and one or a plurality of separate dispensing tips that are removably attachable to the dispenser. The dispenser can be used with many different types of viscous material containing capules and cartridges, such as those containing composites, dental cements, glass ionomers and the like. In embodiments, the dispenser can incorporate an integral activator for multi-component composition cartridges, such as glass ionomer cartridges.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    This invention relates to a viscous material dispenser, and particularly to a multiple use dental syringe having exhangeable tips and/or an integral activator for activating multicomponent capsules.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0004]    Various dispensing devices for dispensing viscous dental compositions are known in the art, such as, for example, those disclosed in U.S. Pats. Nos. 6,422,866; 6,379,152; 6,135,771; 6,116,414; 6,099,307; 6,059,570; 5,871,355; 5,707,234; 5,489,207; 5,336,088; 5,306,147; 5,267,859; 5,172,807; 5,165,890; 5,125,836; 5,061,179; 4,813,871; 4,619,613; 4,492,576; 4,472,141; 4,384,853; 4,330,280; 4,315,743; 4,295,828; 4,198,756; 4,084,320; 3,828,434; 3,760,503; 3,618,216; 3,581,399; 3,436,828; 3,346,147; 2,903,794; 2,837,824; 2,648,906; 683,075; Des. 461,247; Des. 460,822; Des. 435,292; Des. 359,560; Des. 357,141; Des. 359,119; Des. 357,536; Des. 353,673; Des. 334,803; and Des. 315,956; the subject matter of all of which are hereby incorporated by refererence in their entireties.  
           [0005]    U.S. Pat. No.  4 , 472 , 141  to Dragan discloses an attempt to achieve an all purpose dental syringe and delivery system for dispensing various types of dental materials. The Dragan syringe includes a power handle having a plunger that is incrementally advanced upon each actuation of the power handle and a plurality of interchangeable barrel assemblies, each with an associated dispensing nozzle. Dragan also discloses interchangeable plunger tips co-operatively associated with the plunger for complementing a particular barrel assembly.  
           [0006]    However, providing interchangeable barrel assemblies including tips increases the costs incurred in a syringe device. Additionally, requiring the end user to remove a barrel, remove an associated plunger tip, replace the plunger tip with a different plunger tip, and then install a different barrel can be a time consuming procedure for the end user of the syringe device.  
           [0007]    Additionally, certain viscous dental composition cartridges contain two or more separated components that must be mixed before application of the composition to a patient. Generally, a device that is separate from the dental syringe is used to break a frangible seal or the like separating the components. For example, in one conventional device, the cartridge is inserted into a slot and a device is used to apply pressure against the walls of the cartridge, breaking the seal separating the components and thus activating the viscous composition.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    It is an object of this invention to overcome the deficiencies and limitations of the known viscous dispensing syringes.  
           [0009]    It is another object of this invention to provide a viscous material dispenser which has interchangeable tips for holding various types of viscous material containing capules, cartridges and/or the like.  
           [0010]    It is still another object of this invention to provide an integral mechanism for activating multi-component viscous material containing cartridges.  
           [0011]    These and other objects of this invention are achieved by a viscous material dispenser that has different tips that can be attached to the end of a barrel of the dispenser so that different types of composites, dental cements, and the like, as well as with glass ionomer type compositions, can be dispensed. The viscous material dispenser can also be constructed such that multi-component cartridges, for example containing activatable glass ionomer compositions, can be activated without the need for a separated activating tool. The viscous material dispenser can include a ratchet mechanism that enables dispensing of an intended amount of viscous material and also assist in locking a composite tip or capsule in position. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    The above and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of a viscous material dispenser with a small capsule tip assembly attached thereto and with a plunger in a non-extended position, all in accordance with embodiments of this invention;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of a viscous material dispenser with a small capsule tip assembly attached and with a plunger in a fully-extended position, all in accordance with embodiments of this invention;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional side view of a large capsule tip assembly in accordance with embodiments of this invention;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 is a front view of the enlarged large capsule tip assembly of FIG. 3 in accordance with embodiments of this invention;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view of an actuator that can be used inside a capsule tip in accordance with embodiments of this invention;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional side view of a small capsule tip assembly in accordance with embodiments of this invention;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 7 is a front view of the enlarged small capsule tip assembly of FIG. 6 in accordance with embodiments of this invention. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0020]    Referring now to FIGS.  1 - 2 , a multiple use viscous material dispenser  20  is shown. The dispenser  20  includes a pair of cooperating complementary handles, rear handle  24  and trigger handle  28 .  
         [0021]    A barrel  30  extends forward toward the dispensing end of the dispenser.  
         [0022]    In embodiments of this invention, the external circumference at the dispensing end of the barrel  30  is threaded with, for example, threads  32 . The threads  32  can be located at the extreme edge of the barrel  30  or they can be offset from the edge of the barrel  30 .  
         [0023]    A biasing device or means  40 , such as a spring, is positioned between and attached at a spring attachment point  42  on the rear handle  24  and at a spring attachment point  44  on trigger handle  28 . The biasing device  40  provides a bias such that, without any squeezing force between the trigger handle  28  and the rear handle  24 , the trigger handle  28  and the rear handle  24  will be in a separated configuration, as illustrated in FIG. 1.  
         [0024]    A squeezing force applied between the trigger handle  28  and the rear handle  24 , against the biasing force of the biasing device  40 , will squeeze the handles  28  and  24  closer together, into the configuration illustrated in FIG. 2.  
         [0025]    In embodiments, the cooperating trigger handle  28  and rear handle  24  can include a means for activating a multi-component type viscous material containing cartridge (not shown), such as conventional glass ionomer capsules. For example, trigger handle  28  can include an indentation  29  and rear handle  24  can include a corresponding indentation  25 . A cartridge of the type that is required to be squeezed against the sides in order to be activated can then be inserted between the trigger handle  28  and the rear handle  24 , with sides of the cartridge being supported at the indentation  29  and the indentation  25  in order to keep the cartridge from slipping out from between the trigger handle  28  and rear handle  24 .  
         [0026]    A squeezing force applied between the trigger handle  28  and the rear handle  24 , against the biasing force of the biasing device  40 , to squeeze the handles  28  and  24  closer together, will place pressure on the sides of a cartridge supported at the indentations  25  and  29  causing a frangible barrier or the like in the cartridge to break. The cartridge can then be shaken to further mix the components within such a cartridge and to thereby activated the viscous composition.  
         [0027]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,661 to Herold and U.S. Pat. No. 3,907,106 to Purrmann et al., both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties, disclose cartridge containers in which mixing is effected by pressure applied in a direction towards a wall of the container, and which are illustrative of the types of cartridges that can be activated using the means for activating discussed above.  
         [0028]    In embodiments of this invention, the dispenser  20  can include a ratchet mechanism to reduce the amount of hand pressure necessary to dispense viscous materials. In addition to less pressure, the ratchet mechanism can help ensure that only the amount of viscous material intended is dispsensed. The ratchet mechanism can also assist in locking a cartridge, capule or the like in place thereby minimizing the possibility of ‘fly-off’ during application.  
         [0029]    In embodiments of this invention, the ratchet mechanism can include a ratcheting pawl  48  that is in contact with a contact pin or tab  27  or the like on the trigger handle  28  and can be moved forward (toward the dispensing end of the barrel) against the force of the biasing device  40  by squeezing of the trigger handle  28 . The ratcheting pawl  48  moves rearward (away from the dispensing end of the barrel) by the resilient return force of the spring  40 .  
         [0030]    A plunger  50  is mounted within the barrel  30 . The plunger is urged in a rearword position (away from the dispensing end of the barrel) by the force of a biasing device or means  58 , such as and for example a spring.  
         [0031]    In embodiments of this invention, the plunger can have external notches  52  which engage with the ratcheting pawl  48 . When the trigger handle  28  is squeezed, the contact tab or pin  27  is moved forward toward the dispensing end of the barrel, and the contact tab or pin  27  pushes the ratcheting pawl  48 , which is also engaged with a first notch  52  on plunger  50 . As the ratcheting pawl  48  is moved forward through the barrel  30  it pushes the plunger  50  forward through the barrel against the force of the biasing device  58 . When the trigger handle  28  is released, the ratcheting pawl  48  moves rearward through the barrel along the outside of the plunger and engages with another notch  52  located behind the first notch  52 . The plunger  50  can thus be moved forward through the barrel  30  in a “ratcheting” manner.  
         [0032]    The ratcheted plunger can be disengaged and released from its extended position by pushing on a button  54  located over the rear portion of the plunger  50 .  
         [0033]    In embodiments of this invention, different tips for supporting different types of viscous material containing cartridges, capules, capsules, and the like, can be included with the dispenser  20 . For example, a kit can be manufactured which includes a dispenser  20  and two different types of tips, such as tip  70  illustrated in FIGS.  3 - 4  and tip  60  illustrated in FIGS.  6 - 7 .  
         [0034]    Although only two exemplary tips  60  and  70  are described in detail, this invention contemplates other different size and shape tips that can be constructed to accommodate different size and shape capules, capsules, cartridges and the like.  
         [0035]    For example, one type of tip that can be included with the dispenser  20  is the small capsule tip  60  illustrated in FIGS.  6 - 7  In embodiments of this invention, the small capsule tip  60  can have an attaching mechanism  62 , such as and for example internal threads, which cooperate with an attaching mechanism  32 , such as and for example external threads  32 , on the end of the barrel  30  of the dispenser  20 . Thus, the small capsule tip  60  can be screwed onto and off of the dispenser  20 . Of course the small capsule tip  60  and the dispenser  20  can be attached in any other suitable way, such as be means of a bayonet mount, side clips, a breach lock, interrupted threads, clamped flanges, and any and all equivalents thereof, as would be understood by those of skill in the art.  
         [0036]    The small capsule tip has its own actuator  64  with a back contact piece  65  (shown in more detail in FIG. 5). The back contact piece  65  can be constructed to be contacted by the front end of the plunger  50 . A biasing device or means  66 , such as and for example a spring, can be used to urge the actuator  64  toward the back (away from the dispensing end  69 ) of the tip  60 .  
         [0037]    The tip can have a container slot  68  for retaining a viscous material container such as a cartridge, capule, or the like (not shown) near the dispensing end  69  of the tip  60 . A recess  67  in the container slot  68  can be included to assist in retention of the container by providing a catch for the typical flanged back end included with many conventional dental viscous material containers.  
         [0038]    Another type of tip that can be used as part of this invention is a large capsule tip  70 , as illustrated in FIG. 3- 4 .  
         [0039]    In embodiments of this invention, the large capsule tip  70  can have internal threads  72  which cooperate with the external threads  32  on the end of the barrel  30  of the dispenser  20 . Thus, the large capsule tip  70  can be screwed on and off of the dispenser  20 . Of course the large capsule tip  70  and the dispenser can be attached in any other suitable way, as noted above with respect to the small capsule tip as would be understood by those of skill in the art.  
         [0040]    The large capsule tip  70  has its own actuator  74  with a back contact piece  75 . The back contact piece  75  can be constructed to be contacted by the front end of the plunger  50 . A biasing device or means  76 , such as and for example a spring, can be used to urge the actuator  74  toward the back (away from the dispensing end  79 ) of the tip  70 .  
         [0041]    The tip  70  can have a cartridge slot  78  for retaining a cartridge(not shown) near the dispensing end  79  of the tip  70 . A raised surface  77  in the cartridge slot  78  can be included to assist in retention of the cartridge by providing a catch for the typical flanged back end included with many conventional dental cartridges.  
         [0042]    The system as herein described may be generally applied to a wide variety of viscous materials. However, in particular, viscous material dispenser  20  may be applied to such viscous materials as dental cements and fillers, as well as to glass ionomer cements, adhesives and restorative compositions commonly used in the dental art, as well as to anesthetic compositions.  
         [0043]    Subsequent to a tip  60  or  70  being attached to, for example by being screwed onto, the barrel  30 , an appropriate conventional viscous material container such as and for examples, a capsule, capule or cartridge, can be inserted into the slot  68  or  78 .  
         [0044]    Squeezing the trigger handle  28  will cause the ratcheting pawl  48  to engage with the plunger  50  to ratchet the plunger  50  forward toward the dispensing end of the barrel and to place pressure against the back contact piece of the actuator  65  or  75  causing the actuator  64  or  74  to move forward against the bias of the spring  66  or  76 .  
         [0045]    The forward motion of the actuator  64  or  74  causes viscous material contained in the conventional viscous material container mounted in the tip  60  or  70  to be expelled in a controlled manner. Typically, the actuator  64  or  74  will press against a piston or similar device on the conventional viscous material container and the piston will be forced through the conventional viscous material container forcing viscous material out of a nozzle or the like in the opposite end of the conventional viscous material container. Some representative examples of conventional viscous material containers, such as cartridges and capsules and the like, that can be utilized in the dispenser of this invention are disclosed in patents listed above in the Background Section and have been incorporated herein by reference.  
         [0046]    The pressure on the tip  60  or  70  can then be removed by pushing on a release button  54  attached to the rear of the plunger  50  to release the ratcheted engagement thereof.  
         [0047]    Although embodiments of this invention have been described in detail, it will be understood that this invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications in construction may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention and any and all equivalents thereof as defined in the following claims.