The present invention is directed to dispensers. The present invention is also directed to pen-like dispensers. The present invention is further directed to pen-like dispensers which may be filled with, and are suitably constructed for, dispensing dental materials. The present invention is also directed to methods, combinations, and subcombinations associated with the above.
In the discussion that follows, reference is made to certain structures and/or methods. However, the following references should not be construed as an admission that these structures and/or methods constitute prior art. Applicant expressly reserves the right to demonstrate that such structures and/or methods do not qualify as prior art.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2007/0086830 discloses a conventional pen-like dispenser of a liquid, the contents of this Publication are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
The container body 12 includes a body case 14 which forms the tank section T and has a front end port 14a in a smaller diameter than that of the body case 14, and a tip element 16 that is integrally mounted on the outer circumference of the front end port 14a. The tip element 16 has a front end port 16c and an annular groove 16a that is formed in the front end surface radially outward from the front end port 16c. The annular groove 16a includes an outer circumferential surface provided with a female threaded portion 16b.
The applicator 20, which is a liquid supply member, has a rear end provided with a male threaded portion 20a to be threadedly engaged with the female threaded portion 16b of the tip element 16. The applicator 20 can be removed from the tip element 16 by disengaging the male threaded portion 20a from the female threaded portion 16b so that the applicator 20 is removable from the container body 12.
The liquid supply member may not only be a syringe type applicator as shown in the figure, but also a brush, a bar of non-woven material, or other member of any shape and configuration.
The liquid supply member can be removably mounted to the tip element 16 by a threaded engagement such as in this example, or by any other mounting structure including locking by fitting. The mounting structure of engagement or locking allows the liquid supply member to be easily removed from the tip element 16, and also prevents the liquid supply member from falling off from the tip element 16 while the liquid supply member is mounted to it. The applicator 20 can be removed from the front end of the tip element 16, which makes the removing easy with no liquid leaking.
When not in use, a cap 36 is removably attached to the tip element 16 to protect the applicator 20.
The piston advancing mechanism 23 comprises a piston rod 24 which has a front end coupled to the piston 22, and extends backward from the front end with a male threaded portion 24a along the circumferential surface thereof, and a piston rod guide 26 which has a front portion of the inner circumferential surface thereof in which a female threaded bore 26a is formed to be threadedly engaged with the male thread 24a of the piston rod 24, a stopper cylinder 27 through which the piston rod 24 passes in a non-rotatable manner relative to each other, a tail cap 28 coupled to the stopper cylinder 27, a rotating cam 30 mounted to the outer circumferential surface of the piston rod guide 26 in a non-rotatable manner relative to each other, a pushing member 32 projecting outward from the tail cap 28, and a return spring 34 to bias the rotating cam 30 backward. The pushing member 32 provides an operation member.
In use of the liquid container 10 of the above structure, the cap 36 is removed and the liquid is applied with the applicator 20, and in order to supply more liquid through the applicator 20, the pushing member 32 is pushed toward the container body 12. As described above, every time the pushing member 32 is pushed, the projections 30a of the rotating cam 30 rotates by the amount to move to the adjacent cam grooves 28b and the piston rod guide 26 integrally rotates. On the contrary, the piston rod 24 which is non-rotatable relative to the container body 12 does not rotate, which causes a relative rotation between the piston rod guide 26 and the piston rod 24, and the engagement between the female threaded bore 26a of the piston rod guide 26 and the male thread 24a of the piston rod 24 allows the piston rod 24 and the piston 22 to be advanced forward. As the piston 22 is advanced through the tank section T, the liquid L in the tank section T is forced toward the front end port 14a of the body case 14 to be supplied through the front end of the applicator 20 for use.
The liquid supply member, that is the applicator 20, may be needed to be exchanged. For example, if the liquid supply member is disposable, the liquid supply member is needed to be exchanged for each use. Or when the liquid supply member is worn off, it should be exchanged with a new one. Sometimes, depending on the purpose of the liquid supply, the liquid supply member is needed to be exchanged with another one with a different shape, a configuration, or a dimension.
The applicator 20 can be, if needed, exchanged with another one by disengaging the applicator 20 from the tip element 16. In this exchange, the liquid remained in the applicator 20 is also exchanged with the applicator 20, which improves the cleanliness and durability of the container. This is because, in this embodiment, due to the function of the piston advancing mechanism 23, the piston 22 is advanced forward, never backward, which prevents the liquid which once exited from the tank section T from flowing back into the tank section T.
Although in the above embodiment, the rotation of the rotating cam 30 in the rotating cam mechanism is transmitted to the piston rod guide 26 which is threadedly engaged with the piston rod 24, the rotation of the rotating cam 30 may be transmitted to the piston rod 24 to rotate the piston rod 24. In this case, the piston rod guide 26 may be fixedly provided on the tank section, so that the piston rod guide 26 is threadedly engaged with the piston rod 24 to operate in the same way.
A container body 12 of a liquid container 10 in this embodiment includes a body case 44 to form a tank section T having a front end port 44a the diameter of which is smaller than that of the body case 44, and a tip element 16 that is integrally mounted on the outer circumference of the front end port 44a.
A piston advancing mechanism 50 has a piston rod 24 which has a front end coupled to a piston 22 and extends backward from the front end with a male thread 24a along the circumferential surface thereof, an operation cylinder 52 which is mounted to the rear portion of the body case 44, a piston rod guide 54 formed with a female thread bore 54c to be threadedly engaged with the male thread 24a of the piston rod 24, and a ratchet cylinder 56 fixed in the rear portion inside of the body case 44 through which the piston rod 24 passes. The operation cylinder 52 provides an operation member. Preferably as light play is provided axially between the piston rod 24 and the piston 22.
The operation cylinder 52 has an annular projection 52a which is formed on the front portion of the outer circumferential surface thereof. The annular projection 52a is fitted in an annular recess 44b which is formed in the rear portion of the inner circumferential surface of the body case 44 so that the operation cylinder 52 is mounted to the body case 44 rotatably relative to the body case 44. The operation cylinder 52 also has a plurality of longitudinal ribs 52c which are formed on the rear portion of the internal surface and project inward to provide a plurality of longitudinal grooves between the adjacent longitudinal ribs 52c. As shown in
In use of the liquid container 10 of the above structure, the cap 36 is removed and the liquid is applied with the applicator 20, and in order to supply more liquid through the applicator 20, the operation cylinder 52 is rotated relative to the body case 44.
Rotating the operation cylinder 52 relative to the body case 44 causes the piston rod guide 54 to rotate together, with the operation cylinder 52. On the contrary, since the piston rod 24 is fitted in the through bore 56e of the ratchet cylinder 56 which is fixed to the body case 44, and does not rotate, it causes a relative rotation between the piston rod guide 54 and the piston rod 24, and the engagement between a female threaded bore 54c of the piston rod guide 54 and a male thread 24a of the piston rod 24 allows the piston rod 24 to be advanced forward. As the piston 22 is advanced through the tank section T, a liquid L in the tank section T is forced toward the front end port 44a of the body case 44 to be supplied through the front end of the applicator 20 for use.
On the rotation of the operation cylinder 52, the serrations 52b of the operation cylinder 52 slide on the sloped surface of the ratchet tooth 56a provided on the ratchet cylinder 56 to make the ratchet tooth 56a retract and protrude to achieve a rotation. This retraction and protrusion of the ratchet tooth 56a produces a click sound which gives a user moderation. If a user tries to turn the operation cylinder 52 in a wrong opposite direction, the serrations 52b of the operation cylinder 52 and the ratchet tooth 56a of the ratchet cylinder 56 mate with each other to prevent a relative rotation so that the user cannot rotate the operation cylinder 52. Accordingly, the operation cylinder 52 is consistently rotated only in a direction in which the piston 22 is advanced through the tank section T. The piston 22 is advanced through the body case 44 in response to the consumed and decreased amount of the liquid L. If the operation cylinder 52 is accidentally rotated a small amount, the operation cylinder 52 possibly returns to its original position because the serrations 52a cannot pass over the ratchet tooth 56a. However, even in such a case, only the piston rod 24 retracts relative to the piston 22 and the piston 22 does not retract, which prevents the back flow of the liquid.
A liquid container 70 includes a container body 71 which comprises body case 72, an inner barrel 74 provided concentrically inside the body case 72 and rotatably with respect to the body case 72, a rear barrel 76 mounted to a rear end of the body case 72, and a tip element 78 mounted to the tip end of the body case 72, and a cap 79 detachably fitted on the tip element 78. An inside of the body case 72 and an inside of the inner cylinder 74 form a tank section T in which a liquid L for cosmetic, stationery, medical or oral care, etc, is housed. A cap 79 is detachably attached to the tip element 78 to protect the applicator 20 when it is not used.
An opening 72a is formed on a side surface of a tip end portion of the body case 72, a pushing member 80 for the user to manipulate is provided in the opening 72a, and the pushing member 80 is capable of projecting and retracting in an inward and outward direction of the body case 72.
A piston 100 is slidably disposed inside the tank section T, and a piston advancing mechanism for advancing the piston 100 is provided. The piton advancing mechanism has a pushing member 80 capable of projecting from and retracting into the body case 72 constructing the container body 71, a rotary member 90 on which the pushing member 80 directly works, an engaging member 92 placed on a front side of the rotary member 90, the inner cylinder 74, a rotation stopping member 94 provided at a rear end of the inner cylinder 74, an inside screw member 96 fixed to the body case 72, a piston rod 98 screwed into the inside screw member 96, a piston 100 connected to a tip end of the piston rod 98 and slidable inside the tank section T, and a return spring 102 (
The inner cylinder 74 and the rotation stopping member 96 construct a transmitting member to which the rotation from the rotary member 90 is transmitted. The inner cylinder 74, the rotation stopping member 94, the inside screw member 96 and the piston rod 98 construct a conversion mechanism for converting the rotation of the rotary member 90 into a forward traveling motion of the piston 100 in the axial direction inside the body, and the engaging member 92 and the return spring 102 construct a rotation control mechanism for controlling a rotating direction of the rotary member 90.
While the above-mentioned conventional construction provides certain benefits and advantages, a need exists in the art for improvements thereto. More specifically, a need exists to improve the ergonomics of such dispensers, to improve the dispensing functionality and operation thereof, especially (but not exclusively) for such dispensers to be utilized in connection with dispensing dental materials.
The present invention provides techniques and arrangements that can optionally address one or more of the abovementioned objectives.
“Dental materials” as used herein, is defined as any flowable material suitable for use in connection with dental care and/or maintenance. Such materials include, but are not limited to, adhesives, bleaching agents, fillers, holding materials, and the like.
According to one aspect, the present invention provides a dispenser comprising: a body, at least a portion of the body being substantially cylindrical; a tank constructed and configured to contain a flowable material; a tip, the tip comprising an opening through which the flowable material is dispensed; an ejection mechanism constructed and configured to urge the flowable material from the tank through the opening in the tip; and an advancing mechanism constructed and configured to move the ejection mechanism within the tank; wherein the body defines a proximal end of the dispenser, and the tip defines a distal end of the dispenser, at least the proximal end comprises a cross-section which differs from the cross-section of the remainder of the body and is configured to be easily grasped by a human hand.
According to another aspect, the present invention provides a dispenser comprising: a body, at least a portion of the body being substantially cylindrical; a tank constructed and configured to contain a flowable material; a tip, the tip comprising an opening through which the flowable material is dispensed; an ejection mechanism constructed and configured to urge the flowable material from the tank through the opening in the tip; an advancing mechanism constructed and configured to move the ejection mechanism within the tank; and an indicator disposed on the body configured to permit visual observation of the amount of flowable material contained in the tank.
According to a further aspect, the present invention provides a dispenser comprising: a body, at least a portion of the body being substantially cylindrical; a tank constructed and configured to contain a flowable material; a tip, the tip comprising an opening through which the flowable material is dispensed; an ejection mechanism constructed and configured to urge the flowable material from the tank through the opening in the tip; an advancing mechanism constructed and configured to move the ejection mechanism within the tank, the advancing mechanism comprising at least one of a button, slider or circumferential sleeve accessible along the lateral side of the body for advancing the ejection mechanism within the tank.
According to yet another aspect, the present invention provides a dispenser comprising: a body, at least a portion of the body being substantially cylindrical; a tank constructed and configured to contain a flowable material; a tip, the tip comprising an opening through which the flowable material is dispensed; an ejection mechanism constructed and configured to urge the flowable material from the tank through the opening in the tip; and an adjustable mechanism for selectably controlling or limiting the amount of flowable material dispensed.
According to an additional aspect, the present invention provides a dispenser comprising: a body, at least a portion of the body being substantially cylindrical; a tank constructed and configured to contain a flowable material; a tip, the tip comprising an opening through which the flowable material is dispensed; an ejection mechanism constructed and configured to urge the flowable material from the tank through the opening in the tip; and an advancing mechanism constructed and configured to move the ejection mechanism within the tank; wherein the tank is constructed and configured to be refilled with flowable material without being separated from the body of the dispenser.
According to still a further aspect, the present invention provides, in combination, a dispenser as described above and a refilling well and holder, the refilling well and holder comprises a reservoir of the flowable material for replenishing the flowable material to the tank of the dispenser, the refilling well and holder comprises an opening constructed and configured to receive at least a portion of the body of the dispenser therein.
According to another optional aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dispenser comprising: a body, at least a portion of the body being substantially cylindrical; a removable cartridge comprising a tank constructed and configured to contain a flowable material; a tip, the tip comprising an opening through which the flowable material is dispensed; an ejection mechanism constructed and configured to urge the flowable material from the tank through the opening in the tip; and an advancing mechanism constructed and configured to move the ejection mechanism within the tank.
According to a further alternative, the present invention may optionally include a dispenser comprising: a body, at least a portion of the body being substantially cylindrical; a tank constructed and configured to contain a flowable material; a tip, the tip comprising an opening through which the flowable material is dispensed, the tip of further comprising a cannula constructed and configured to direct the flow of the dispensed material; an ejection mechanism constructed and configured to urge the flowable material from the tank through the opening in the tip; and an advancing mechanism constructed and configured to move the ejection mechanism within the tank.
According to a further aspect, the present invention provides, in combination, a dispenser as defined above and a docking station, the docking station having a first engagement formation constructed and configured to receive at least the cannula portion of the dispenser therein and provide a mating interaction therewith which releases at least a cannula portion from the dispenser.
The present invention can also provide, in combination, a dispenser as defined above, and a dental material disposed in the tank thereof.
Generally, a dispenser constructed according to certain embodiments of the present invention may include any feature, or any combination of features, of the dispenser described in the above referenced U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2007/0086830. The dispenser of the present invention is of course not limited to this construction, and may comprise a general construction having features other than those described in the above-mentioned Publication. Regardless of the fundamental configuration, a dispenser constructed according to the principles of the present invention can have at least one, or any combination of, the following features:
Design
Haptics
Pushbutton
Level indicator
Adapter with arrow (OK marking on adapter)
Cannula
Easy change of cannula
Two-sided use
Disinfectability of the pen
Refillable pen—Cartridge
Timer
Vibrating Pen
Specific illustrative non limiting embodiments of the present invention will now be described by reference to the drawing figures. The same reference numerals have been repeated in the various figures, where appropriate, to identify common features which reappear in the various illustrated embodiments.
The dispenser 120 comprises a body portion 122. At least a portion of the body 122 can optionally be substantially cylindrical. The body portion 122 contains and/or defines a tank 124 for holding a flowable material to be dispensed. Numerous flowable materials are contemplated. According to certain embodiments, the flowable material can comprise a dental material.
The dispenser 120 may further include an ejection mechanism 126 for urging the flowable material within the tank in a particular direction, such as the case when the flowable material in the tank is ejected therefrom and dispensed. Numerous ejection mechanisms are contemplated. According to the illustrated embodiment, the ejection mechanism 126 comprises a linearly movable piston-type device.
A tip 128 can be provided at one end of the dispenser 120. An opening 130 is provided to permit ejection of the flowable material from the tank 124. According to the illustrated embodiment, the tip 128 further includes a cannula 132 which is constructed and configured to facilitate application or placement of the flowable material which is dispensed from the device. The cannula 132 can take numerous forms. For example, the cannula 132 can comprise a sponge-like material, a flock coating, may include a brush, and/or may be flexible in one or more directions.
An advancing mechanism 134 may be provided which is accessible to the user of the dispenser 120 and causes the ejection mechanism 126 to move within the tank 124 thereby ejecting the flowable material contained therein. Numerous advancing mechanisms are contemplated. The advancing mechanism 134 may comprise one or more of a pushbutton, slider, or circumferential sleeve. According to the illustrated embodiment, the advancing mechanism 134 comprises a circumferential sleeve 136. According to certain optional embodiments, a circumferential sleeve 136 can either be formed from, or coated with, a grip-enhancing material, such as rubber or a rubber-like material. According to further optional embodiments, a pushbutton, slider, or circumferential sleeve of the advancing mechanism 134 may be formed from, or coated with, a material having anti-microbial properties.
As perhaps best illustrated in
As a general principle, it is contemplated that modifications to one or more features of the dispenser may be necessary or desirable. For example, when the flowable material to be dispensed has a relatively high viscosity, it may be necessary or desirable to: (1) increase the inner diameter of the opening 130, and the inner diameter of the cannula 132 (if present); and/or (2) increase the pressing force applied by the ejection mechanism. This design consideration applies to all embodiments of the present invention.
The dispenser 200 may further comprise a tip 204. The tip 204 defines an opening 206 which permits the ejection of the flowable material therefrom. An advancing mechanism 208, which may include a pushbutton type construction, may also be provided.
As further illustrated in
As illustrated in
All numbers expressing quantities or parameters used in the specification are to be understood as additionally being modified in all instances by the term “about”. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters set forth, the broad scope of the subject matter presented herein are approximations, the numerical values set forth are indicated as precisely as possible. For example, any numerical value may inherently contain certain errors, evidenced by the standard deviation associated with their respective measurement techniques, or round-off errors and inaccuracies.
Although the present invention has been described in connection with preferred embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that additions, deletions, modifications, and substitutions not specifically described may be made without department from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 60/935,778, filed Aug. 30, 2007, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
60935778 | Aug 2007 | US |