FR2572677A1 - Device for mixing and transferring a pasty material, in particular a pasty material which can be hardened (cured) for taking an impression - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for mixing and transferring a pasty material, of the type comprising, in particular, a syringe body 1, a pot 5 and a detachable pusher assembly 7-11 provided with a piston 7 which can penetrate and slide into the pot with a view to pushing back (working) the pasty material contained in the latter. The pot 5 is slidably mounted along the syringe body, so as to be able to be separated from it at the end of the sliding; stopping means 3 act as a limit stop for the pot in a position of maximum penetration in which the nozzle of the syringe body delimits a mixing chamber M inside the said pot. Holding means 4, 9, 12-16 enable, on the one hand, the piston 7 to be positioned in the top part of the pot with a view to carrying out a mixing operation which can be automated and enabling, on the other hand, the said piston 7 to be held in a position which cannot vary with respect to the syringe body 1 during the sliding of the pot, so as to push back (work) the material towards the inside of the syringe body.

Description

DEVICE FOR MIXING AND TRANSFERRING MATERIAL
PASTE IN PARTICULAR MATERIAL CURABLE PASTE FOR
IMPRESSION TAKING
The invention relates to a device for mixing and transferring a pasty material; it applies in particular, on the one hand, to mix dental products such as silicone-based product and catalyst, with a view to obtaining a hardenable paste, on the other hand, to transfer this paste and inject it for fingerprinting.

Traditionally, the mixture of such pro
dental duits / is carried out by means of a spatula on a plate and the mixture is then introduced manually into a tubular body of syringe which is used to inject it. This way of operating has several drawbacks. First, it requires the presence of an assistant who performs these operations while the dentist is engaged in the preparation of the mouth in fact the hardening of the mixture is very fast (about 2 minutes) and not very compatible with setting successive work of these operations. In addition, filling the syringe body results in the formation of air bubbles. In addition, this way of operating results in a significant loss of material.

To remedy these drawbacks, devices have been designed in the dental field, such as in particular described in the patents FR n "2.189.082 (Company
TELEDYNE MID-AMERICA CORPORATION), FR no. 2,442,626 (M. REYNAUD
Marc).

 The device described in patent 2,189,082 comprises a cup in which the mixing is carried out by means of a spatula before being directly transferred into an external syringe body, by means of a piston / secured to the end of this body syringe tubular. The drawback of this device essentially lies in the fact that, during the injection into the mouth, the cup is mounted on the syringe body: it hinders the work of the practitioner, in particular by partially masking the buccal area treated. In addition, such a device requires special manufacture of the syringe body. In addition, the mixing remains manual in such a device.

 The device described in patent 2,442,626 comprises a cup secured to an axial duct intended to be engaged in the tubular body of the syringe during transfer.

In this device, the cup can be separated from the syringe body after transfer of the material therein; however, the implementation of such a device requires numerous operations: installation of a piston to close the axial duct, filling of the bucket and manual mixing, removal of the piston, installation of a pusher in the bucket, transfer of the material contained in the cup to the axial tube, transfer of the material from the axial tube to the syringe body in
of section seen from its injection by means of another piston / adapted. In addition, the mixing remains manual in this device.

In addition, other devices have been designed to carry out the mixing directly in the tubular body of the syringe (US patent 3,417,971 - patent FR 2,412,475). However, this tubular body being necessarily of small diameter to allow injection at sufficient pressure under the sole manual push of the practitioner, the mixture obtained is generally not very homogeneous; moreover, cleaning the syringe after use is impractical in these devices. In addition, in the device of US Pat. No. 3,417,971, the introduction of pasty products into a narrow syringe body is a difficult operation, however, the device of patent FR 2,412,475 requires
is a special dispenser and / or poorly suited to the common types of packaging of dental tube products.

 The present invention proposes to remedy the shortcomings of known devices for transferring and mixing pasty material.

 An object of the invention is in particular to provide a device allowing the practitioner to work in the mouth with a traditional syringe body, without any added element capable of generating it.

 Another object of the invention is to provide a device allowing simple implementation requiring only a few operations, as well as easy cleaning after use.

Another objective of the invention is to provide an automated mixing eliminating the corresponding manual operations and giving an extremely ho
defined.

seamless in a short period of time perfectly privileged /
To this end, the device for mixing and transferring pasty material targeted by the invention comprises
- A tubular syringe body having, at one end, an ejection nozzle and, at its opposite end, a tubular nozzle opening out through. an open face,
- a bucket with a diameter greater than that of the tubular body and consisting of a bottom and a peripheral wall,
a maneuverable syringe plunger, detachably associated with the tubular body and adapted to be able to penetrate and slide in the latter in order to repel the pasty material contained therein,
- A maneuverable pusher assembly, removably associated with the bucket and comprising a piston of shape conjugated to that of the bucket in order to be able to penetrate and slide in the latter in order to repel the pasty material contained therein.

According to the present invention, said device is characterized in that
(a) the cup is slidably mounted on the tubular end piece and comprises, at its bottom, a bore of diameter combined with the external diameter of said endpiece in order to allow the latter to pass through said bottom of the cup in leaktight fashion,
(b) the tubular end piece and the aforementioned bore are adapted so that the cup is removable and can separate from the end piece at the end of sliding,
(c) bucket stop means are provided on the tubular endpiece to act as a stop for the bucket in a position of maximum penetration, in which the tubular endpiece penetrates over a fraction of the height of the bucket and delimits therein. ci an annular kneading chamber,
(d) the tubular syringe body and the plunger of the plunger assembly are associated with holding means, adapted to allow
in the maximum penetration position, positioning said piston in the upper part of the bucket above the tubular end piece, preserving a passage of pasty material between the annular kneading chamber and the open face of the tubular end piece,
during the sliding of the bucket, to maintain said piston in an approximately invariable position relative to the tubular endpiece.

 (To simplify the description, the device is described in its normal position of use, the syringe body and the cup having a vertical axis, the axial term referring to this axis).

 Thus, as will be better understood below, the products to be mixed are placed in the annular kneading chamber and mixed therein. Once mixing is complete, sliding the cup along the tubular tip causes the mixture to transfer to the tubular syringe body. At the end of sliding, the cup separates from the syringe body and the latter is ready for injection in the mouth after the syringe plunger has been placed. The syringe body can be of the conventional type and allows the practitioner to work in the mouth without discomfort. The cleaning of all the parts is made easy by the ability to separate them. It is essential to note that the syringe body contains no means of retaining paste.

 According to a preferred embodiment, said device comprises a frame provided with a member for fixing the tubular body of a serinque and with a fastening member for one of the push-button assemblies - - - -. - - - axle carrying the pedestrian /; said frame and said fastening members are arranged to allow the carrier axis to be fixed above and in the extension of the tubular body of the syringe, so as to preserve a passage of pasty material between the piston and the open face of the tubular endpiece.

 These holding means further facilitate the implementation of the device as will be seen below. In addition, the device lends itself to automatic mixing, by equipping the frame with a drive motor associated with the member for fixing the axis carrying the piston in order to allow the latter to rotate. .

 The pusher assembly then comprises mixing paddles fixed on a positioning support in order to extend into the annular mixing chamber when said support is brought to cover the bucket. The piston has sectional slots combined with those of said mixing paddles in order to allow them to slide axially through said piston and to be driven in rotation with the latter.

 Thus, the pusher assembly is subjected to a rotational movement during the mixing period once this is completed, the sliding of the bucket causes the pallets which slide in their slots relative to the piston (the pasty mixture being driven out towards the syringe body during this sliding).

The invention will be better understood on reading the detailed description which follows and on examining the appended drawings which present, by way of non-limiting examples, an embodiment and a variant; on these drawings which form an integral part of this description:
FIGS. 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d and represent the various assemblies constituting a device according to the invention,
FIG. 2 is a view along arrow V of one of these assemblies,
FIG. 3 is an axial detail section through a plane AA ′ of three of the assemblies in the cooperation position,
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the arrangement of the two constituent parts of one of the assemblies,
- Figure 5 is a detailed view of a variant, 11 and
- Figures 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, / 12 are diagrams intended to illustrate the implementation of the device.

 The device shown by way of example in Figures la - le, 2,3et4 is intended to allow an automated mixture of dental products of the product type based on silicone and catalyst to be produced in order to obtain a curable paste, then transferring said paste into a syringe body with a view to injecting it under pressure, particularly in the mouth for taking impressions.

 This device firstly comprises a tubular syringe body 1 of the traditional type which may be metallic or made of synthetic material. This tubular body ends, in the lower part, by an ejection nozzle 1a which can be attached or in one piece with the body, and in the upper part, by a tubular nozzle 1b opening out through an open face lc. The body 1 is conventionally provided with digital catch fins 2 secured around it.

These fins are surmounted by a support ring 3 positioned at a predetermined distance from the open face lc, as will be seen below. In addition, a retaining ring 4 of the syringe body is secured around the latter in order to allow the attachment of said syringe body to a clamping member 13 mentioned below.

 This device also comprises a cylindrical cup 5 with a diameter much greater than that of the tubular body 1; this cup, the bottom 5a of which is reinforced by a shoulder, is provided with a central bore 6 of diameter combined with the external diameter of the tubular end-piece lb, in order to allow the latter to pass through said bottom of the cup in leaktight manner.

The position of the support ring 3 along the syringe body 1 is adjusted so that the tubular tip 1b penetrates over a fraction of the height of the cup, when the latter rests on said support ring 3; an annular kneading chamber is then delimited inside the cup.

 The device also comprises a pusher assembly comprising in the first place a piston 7 of shape conjugate to that of the bucket 5, so as to be able to penetrate and slide therein. This piston is secured to the end of a carrying axis 8, the other end of said axis being provided with latching lugs 9, intended to be associated with fixing members mentioned below.

 The pusher assembly is also provided with a positioning support 10 suitable for hermetically covering the bucket 5. This support pierced with a bore allowing it to move along the axis 8 until it rests on the piston 7 has mixing paddles 11.

 These pallets are designed so as to extend into the annular kneading chamber M when the support 10 covers the bucket. For this purpose, the piston 7 has slots 7a of sections combined with those of said pallets in order to allow them to slide axially through said piston. A distinction is made between peripheral pallets 11a which, when rotated, rub against the cup 5 and central pallets 11b inserted in relation to the first which, when rotated, rub against the tubular body of syringe 1 (this syringe body is shown diagrammatically by a line mixed in Figure 2). Said pallets are thus arranged to be able to push the pasty material back and forth successively from the center towards the periphery of the bucket when they are rotated, imposing on this pasty material the fluctuating path shown diagrammatically in the figure 2. The preferential inclination of these pallets with respect to a diameter traced on the positioning support is 15 rearward with respect to the direction of rotation of said support In addition, the friction of the pallets, either on the bucket or on the syringe body, these different parts will be made from low friction materials.

 A locking means 20 is provided for acting on the positioning support 10 and making it possible to ensure a locking effect of the latter on the carrying axis 8, in order to avoid axial sliding of said support relative to the piston 7 when these are rotated; axial sliding thus requires to be initiated a greater axial force. For this purpose, the positioning support is pierced horizontally with a threaded bore opening at the axial bore of the support by a diameter less than that of the thread. A ball held in place by a spring and a screw of diameter adapted to that of the threaded bore is disposed in said bore so as to be projecting in the axial bore of the positioning support. When the pusher assembly is positioned so as to cover the cup, the piston being at the top of said cup, the ball is then positioned in a groove 8a formed for this purpose in the carrying axis 8 of the piston.

 The function of the piston 7 described above is to allow the transfer of the pasty material from the annular chamber M into the syringe body 1. This operation is obtained by sliding the cup 5 upwards on the tubular endpiece lb, thereby driving the positioning support 10, while keeping the piston 7 in an approximately invariable position relative to said tubular tip. In order to allow the transfer of almost all of the pasty material into the syringe body, a variant of piston is shown in Figure 5. In this variant, the piston has a central recess 21 of larger diameter than that of the tubular nozzle and, when the bucket slides on this tubular nozzle, the open face lc of said nozzle is located at level of the underside of the piston 7, the transfer of pasty material into the syringe body 1 being effected by means of this recess.

The device also includes a frame 12 comprising a base 12a, an upward extension 12b carrying a clamping member 13 of the syringe body 1 at its retaining ring 4, and a return 12.c comprising au- above and opposite the base 12a of the fastening members 14 of the carrier axis 8.The organs - ~ 13 and 14 are positioned on the frame so that, when the syringe body 1 and the carrier axis 8 of the piston 7 are placed on the frame, the carrier axis is in the extension of the syringe body the piston is then a short distance above the open face 1c of the tubular tip / 21 symbolized in Figure 1d laire . The frame is provided with a drive motor / associated with the fixing member 14 of the carrier axis 8 in order to allow the said axis to be driven in rotation. The frame is also provided with a switch 15 allowing the engine to be energized and a timer 16 intended to determine the operating time of said engine
The device finally comprises a traditional type syringe plunger comprising a rod 17 of diameter slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the tubular body 1. Said rod is provided at one of its ends with an actuation button 18 which makes it possible to depress it into the syringe body. It is provided at its other end with an annular seal 19 of diameter combined with that of the syringe body 1 in order to be able to penetrate and slide in leaktight manner in the latter.

 The way in which the elements constituting this device are implemented is illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 11.

 The first operation consists in setting up the cup 5 by sliding it on the tubular end piece lb until the shoulder of said cup rests perfectly on the support ring 3. The cup being thus positioned, it is located formed between the bottom of said cup and the open face lc of the tubular endpiece, an annular chamber M into which the products to be mixed are introduced. This operation is made easy by the fact that the diameter of the cup is large (of the order of 30 mm) compared to the diameter of a traditional syringe. In addition, the peripheral wall 5b of the cup, which is preferably transparent, can be graduated using transverse circles arranged at determined intervals as a function of the percentages of the products to be introduced.

 The following operation consists in introducing the pusher assembly (7-11) into the cup 5, the mixing paddles 11 extending in the annular chamber when the positioning support covers said cup.

 The device constituted by the syringe body 1, the cup 5 and the pusher assembly (7-11) is then fixed to the frame 12, on the one hand, at the level of the syringe body 1 by means of the 'clamping member 13 enclosing the retaining ring 4 of said body, on the other hand, at the level of the carrier axis 8 of the piston 7 by means of the latching means of the traditional type 14 of said carrier axis. The frame and its fixing members are arranged so that the carrying axis of the piston 7 is then in the extension of the tubular body of the syringe 1, and that a free space is preserved between said piston and the open face of the tubular nozzle lc.

 The carrier axis 8 of the piston 7 and therefore the mixing paddles 11 are then rotated by the drive motor 21 associated with the member for fixing the carrier axis. This electric drive motor is adapted to allow a speed of rotation comprised in a range going from 500 revolutions per minute to 800 revolutions per minute, speeds which seem optimal to quickly obtain an extremely homogeneous mixture of the products. The mixing time of the products is then of the order of 10 to 25 s, which allows the practitioner to benefit from a significant period of time to carry out the subsequent operations before the hardening of the pasty material. in advance is obtained automatically thanks to the timer 16 which cuts the power to the drive motor after said mixing time.

 When mixing is complete, the bucket 5 is manually slid upwards thereby driving the positioning support 10 and therefore the mixing paddles which slide in the slots 7a provided for this purpose in the piston 7. During this operation, the piston remains maintained in the same position relative to the tubular endpiece, causing the transfer of the pasty material from the annular kneading chamber into the syringe body 1. When the cup comes to the end of sliding, that is to say -to say when the bottom of the cup 5a is in contact with the piston 7-, said cup separates from the syringe body 1. The latter can then be used like a traditional syringe after placement in said body of the syringe piston (17-19) thus allowing the practitioner to work in the mouth without being hindered by any additional elements. After use, all the components of this device can be easily cleaned due to their ability to separate, including the syringe body which contains no means of retention of the paste.

Claims (8)

 1 / - Device for mixing and transferring a pasty material, comprising  a tubular syringe body (1) having, at one end, an ejection nozzle (la) and, at its opposite end, a tubular nozzle (lb) opening out through an open face (lc),  - a bucket (5) with a diameter greater than that of the tubular body and consisting of a bottom (5a) and a peripheral wall (5b),  - a maneuverable syringe plunger (1921), detachably associated with the tubular body and adapted to be able to penetrate and slide in the latter in order to repel the pasty material contained therein,  - a maneuverable pusher assembly (7-11), detachably associated with the bucket and comprising a piston (7) of shape conjugated to that of the bucket in order to be able to penetrate and slide in the latter in order to repel the pasty material contained therein, said device being characterized in that  (A) the cup (5) is slidably mounted on the tubular end piece (lb) and comprises, in its bottom (5a) a bore (6) of diameter conjugated to the external diameter of said end piece in order to allow the latter to pass through sealingly said bottom of the bucket,  (b) the aforementioned tubular end piece (lob) and the bore (6) are adapted so that the cup (5) is removable and can separate from the end piece at the end of sliding,  (c) bucket stop means (3) are provided on the tubular endpiece to act as a stop for the bucket in a position of maximum penetration, in which the tubular endpiece penetrates over a fraction of the height of the bucket and delimits therein an annular kneading chamber (M),  (d) the tubular syringe body (l) and the plunger (7) of the pusher assembly are associated with holding means (4, 9, 12-16), adapted to allow  in the position of maximum penetration, position said piston in the upper part of the cup (5) above the tubular end piece (lb) while preserving a passage of pasty material between the annular kneading chamber (M) and the open face the tubular end piece (lc),  during the sliding of the bucket (5) to maintain said piston in position approximately invariable relative to the tubular end piece (lb).  2 / - Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the stop means of the cup comprise a support ring (3) secured around the syringe body (1) so that the bottom (Sa) of said cup comes externally lean against said ring in the position of maximum penetration.  3 / - Device according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the aforementioned holding means comprise, on the one hand, a positioning support (10) adapted to cover the bucket (5) and allow positioning of the piston (7) in the upper part of said bucket, below said support, on the other hand, a support pin (8) integral with said piston and passing through the positioning support (10).  4 / - Device according to claim 3, (13) characterized in that it comprises a frame (12) provided with an organa for fixing the tubular body of the syringe and an organ (ne4) for fixing the axis carrier, said frame and said fixing members being arranged to allow to fix the carrier axis (8) above and in the extension of the syringe tubular body (1), so as to preserve between the piston (7) and the open face of the tubular end piece (lc) a pasty material passage.  5j - Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the frame (12) comprises a pedestal base (12a), an upward extension (12b) carrying a clamping member (13) of the syringe body (1) and a return  (14) (12c) bearing above and opposite the base of the means / snap-fastening of the carrying axis.  6 / - Device according to one of claims 3, 4 or 5, characterized in that the pusher assembly (7-11) comprises mixing paddles (11) fixed on the positioning support (10) for extend into the annular kneading chamber (M) when said support covers the cup (5), the piston (7) having slots of sections conjugate with those of said pallets in order to allow them to slide axially through said piston and to be rotated therewith.  7 / - Device according to claims 4 and 6 taken together, characterized in that the frame (12) is equipped with a drive motor / associated with the fixing member (14) of the carrier axis (8) in order to allow a rotational drive thereof.  8 / - Device according to claim 7, characterized in that it comprises locking means (20) of the positioning support (10) in the vicinity of the piston (7), in order to avoid axial sliding of one relative to each other during their rotation.  9 / - Device according to one of claims 6, 7 or 8, characterized in that the pusher assembly (711) comprises peripheral pallets (lla) and central pallets (lob) interposed with respect to the first, said pallets peripheral and central being arranged to be able to push the pasty material back and forth successively from the center to the periphery of the annular chamber (M) when they are rotated in the cup (5).  10 / - Device according to one of the preceding claims, for mixing dental products to obtain a curable paste and to transfer said paste for an impression.