Disposable thermometer cap and method of making same

Abstract

This invention relates to a disposable molded plastic cap for covering as well as transferring heat to the heat-responsive probe of an electronic thermometer that is characterized by a small highly localized area in the tip that is extremely thin and is placed in heat exchange relation to the heat sensor of the probe so as to constantly transfer the heat from the patient thereto, such area being on the order of 0.001 inch thick. The invention also encompasses bordering said thin area with three or more integrally-formed ribs that radiate therefrom on the inside of the tip in angularly-spaced relation to one another where they cooperate to engage and keep the probe centered therebetween while, at the same time, maintaining minimal heat transfer contact therewith. In the preferred form of the invention these ribs have an essentially triangular cross section with the apex of said rib making line contact with the probe. The invention further encompasses the novel method of molding the cap which includes splitting a single incoming stream of moldable material into two equal streams whose combined flow equals that of said incoming stream, sending said streams around to opposite sides of the mold along paths of substantially equal length preparatory to again splitting each of the two streams into two more streams of equal flow and whose combined flow equals that of the split stream from which they emanate, delivering the four streams thus produced along paths of substantially equal length to four equiangularly-spaced gates entering the mold cavity near the base thereof, merging said streams again within the mold cavity prior to filling the tip therewith, and channeling portions of said merged streams from at least three directions into a localized area within the tip where the gap separating the main mold body from the core inside thereof is of the least thickness.