Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Disposable container for dental filling materials
Description:
The invention relates to a disposable container for dental
filling materials, having a container body which surrounds
a useful space and out of which the filling material may be
pressed through a nozzle by means of an axially movable
piston.
For applications within a dental practice, disposable
containers are filled with special dentistry products, for
example light-hardening filling materials. Disposable
containers of this type usually contain a sufficient
quantity of the filling material for a single application,
said filling material being required by the dentist to
restore a prepared tooth cavity. An instrument having long-
term usability, a so-called applicator, is used to apply
the filling material into tooth cavities. The disposable
container, which is empty after the application but for a
slight residue of filling material, is not used further.
Conventionally-used, known disposable containers of the
type descibed at the outset comprise a cylindrical
container body, whereof one end is constructed in the form
of an angled, slightly conical nozzle. The nozzle is closed
by a cap. The other end is closed by an axially movable
piston. If the piston is pressed into the container body by
means of a suitable instrument, for example an applicator,
the filling material is emptied out of said container body
through the nozzle. Depending on the viscosity of different
filling materials, it is desirable to have different
discharge openings, i.e. nozzles whereof the diameter of
the nozzle channel varies whilst the outside contour
remains unchanged. Previously known disposable containers
are therefore adapted to the particular filling material by
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varying the form of the nozzle whilst leaving the external
dimensions of the disposable container unchanged.
Although only the diameter of the discharge opening is
changed, this necessitates production of a completely new
disposable container. This increases production and storage
costs for the different disposable containers, and results
in slow response rates to properties of the filling
material changing according to requirements.
The object of the invention, therefore, is to construct a
disposable container of the type described at the outset,
such that different discharge openings can be realised at
little expense, i.e. with low production and storage costs,
and with rapid response rates to changing market
requirements.
This object is achieved according to the invention, in that
the nozzle is constructed as a separate component and is
mounted in sealed manner on the container body.
To adapt the disposable container optimally to different
filling materials, it is sufficient to alter only the form
of the nozzle. The container body, which is produced
separately, is equally suitable for a wide variety of
filling materials and can therefore be manufactured on a
relatively large scale, as can the cap.
It is preferably provided for the nozzle to have at the
connecting point a hollow cylindrical connecting piece
having a stop which is set back and projects radially, and
for the container body to have a correspondingly formed
connecting bore. As a connecting point which remains
unchanged, an expediently constructed seat allows the
greatest possible variation in the different nozzle forms.
According to one embodiment of the inventive idea, it is
provided for the nozzle to be welded to the container body
at the connecting point. The necessary small additional
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expenditure for connecting the container body and the
nozzle in stable manner is insignificant when compared to
the above-mentioned advantages of constructing the
disposable container in two parts. Laser or ultrasonic
welding procedures and adhesion, for example, are
particularly suitable for producing a sufficiently stable
material-fitting connection.
One embodiment of the inventive idea provides for the
nozzle to be mounted in sealed and pressure-resistant
manner on the container body by means of a bayonet closure
or a screw thread. This enables an inexpensive sealed and
pressure-resistant connection, even between nozzles and
container bodies made from different materials. It is thus
possible to adapt the two-part disposable container as
extensively as possible to different dental filling
materials and application-specific requirements.
Further advantageous embodiments of the inventive idea are
the subject-matter of further subclaims.
Various exemplary embodiments of the invention are
explained in more detail below and are illustrated in the
drawing, in which:
Fig. 1 shows a section through a disposable container for
dental filling materials, comprising the container body,
the nozzle, which is subsequently fixedly connected
thereto, and the axially movable piston;
Fig. 2 shows a section through the container body;
Fig. 3 shows a section through the nozzle, which may be
connected with material fit to the container body;
Fig. 4 shows a section through a nozzle having a screw
thread;
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Fig. 5 shows a section through a nozzle having a bayonet
closure; and
Fig. 6 shows a section along the line VI-VI in Fig. 5.
The disposable container, which is illustrated in Fig. l,
and in detail in both Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, has a cylindrical
container body 1 for dental filling materials as well as a
nozzle 2 which is mounted at an angle at one end of the
container body 1 and connected thereto in sealed manner,
said container body and said nozzle both being made of, for
example, plastics material. The nozzle 2 is of a
rotationally symmetrical construction and has an internal
channel 3 through which the filling material located in the
container body may be pressed out. As a result of pressure
on an axially movable piston 4 which terminates the
container body 1, in the course of one application the
dental filling material can be pressed out of a useful
space 5 in the container body 1 through the nozzle 2.
The nozzle 2 illustrated in Fig. 3 has a hollow cylindrical
connecting piece 2a having a stop 2b which is set back and
projects radially. A connecting bore 6a corresponding to
the hollow cylindrical connecting piece is located at the
connecting point 6 between the container body 1 and the
nozzle 2. At the connecting point 6, the nozzle 2 is
mounted in sealed and material-fitting manner on the
container body 1, for example by laser or ultrasonic
welding or by adhesion. It is possible to alter the
diameter of the internal nozzle channel 3 extensively,
without changing the form of the connecting point 6.
A radially projecting edge 7 at the open end of the
container body 1 serves to improve the pressure-resistance
of the disposable container. Moreover, in terms of product
engineering, this enables the disposable container to be
held in position more easily, both during the filling
procedure at a filling plant and - within the context of
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its use in dentistry - during the emptying procedure using
a suitable instrument, for example an applicator.
The sections illustrated in Figures 4, 5 and 6 show
exemplary embodiments of the nozzle (2', 2" ) which have a
5 screw thread (8) or a bayonet closure (9) in the region of
the correspondingly formed connecting point (6',6" ) of the
container body (1), for example for form-fitting or force-
fitting connections respectively.
