Patent ID: 7296707

Claim:
Apparatus for dispensing a hot-melt adhesive comprising: a dispenser having a motor driven dispensing rod for positive displacement of a predetermined amount of the adhesive from a metering channel for dispensing precise quantities of the hot-melt adhesive from a discharge needle on an object; a first heater for heating the adhesive in the dispenser; a feed assembly adapted to contain a cartridge of the adhesive to be dispensed by the dispenser, said feed assembly including a second heater for heating the adhesive; an inlet block mounting the feed assembly and the dispenser thereon, said inlet block including a fluid passage for conveying the adhesive from the feed assembly into the dispenser and a third heater for heating the adhesive as it is conveyed through said passage; and a programmable control unit operatively connected to the dispenser, feed assembly and inlet block for maintaining the adhesive at a predetermined temperatures in the feed assembly, inlet block and dispenser, and for controlling the movement of the adhesive from the feed assembly through the inlet block and from the dispenser by movement of the dispensing rod toward the discharge needle.