Patent ID: 8201717

Claim:
An apparatus for melting and dispensing thermoplastic material comprising: an un-heated hopper having an inlet for receiving particles of a thermoplastic material and an outlet for discharging the particles; a heated manifold including at least one cavity formed therein, said at least one cavity having an inlet communicating with said outlet of said hopper for receipt of the particles of the thermoplastic material from said hopper, said hopper being disposed external of said heated manifold, said at least one cavity further including an outlet communicating with a pump supply passage, and further including a pump discharge passage, said heated manifold effective for melting the particles into molten thermoplastic material therein; a pump including an inlet and an outlet, said inlet of said pump being in fluid communication with said pump supply passage and with said outlet of said at least one cavity, and said outlet of said pump being in fluid communication with said pump discharge passage; and a dispenser including an inlet and an outlet, said pump discharge passage of said heated manifold being in fluid communication with said inlet of said dispenser for delivering molten thermoplastic material to said dispenser, said outlet of said dispenser effective for dispensing the molten thermoplastic material therethrough.