Abstract: Method for producing an ice scupture employing the steps of forming rigid metallic mold halves from the objects, said mold halves having recesses which collectively define the object; yieldably joining said rigid mold halves together at discrete locations; filling said mold halves with a freezable liquid; chilling the assembly sufficient to freeze the freezable liquid; allowing the mold halves to become differentially displaced from one another as the freezable liquid expands; disassembling said mold halves from one another to remove the ice sculpture therefrom peeling away said rubber mold from sculpture. In another embodiment, the rubber mold is eliminated and replaced by a sealing gasket. Additives may be employed to add color and/or obtain clarity.

Abstract: The grip is comprised of a deformable cover formed of a thermoplastic material which is stable and semi-rigid at normal ambient temperatures and is soft and deformable when heated in boiling water. The cover is attached to an implement handle heated and deformed to the shape required by a specific implement user. The method of forming the grip includes the steps of coating the implement handle with a cover material, heating the implement handle until the material has become softened, and grasping an implement handle while the cover is soft and deformable, thereby causing the cover to be molded to a user's specific shape. The high coefficient of friction and the moldability of the material results in a superior grip.

Abstract: An apparatus for making a foot-shaped layer, such as an insole member of a shoe. The apparatus includes a top plate having an opening of a predetermined area and mutually adjacent bar-like measuring elements supported in an individually vertically movable manner under frictional resistance within the opening. A heating chamber is provided adjacent to the top plate for heating a sheet of thermoplastic therein to a plasticized state. In accordance with the method, a plasticized sheet of the film is placed on the opening so as to cover the upper end surfaces of the measuring elements so that upon stepping on the sheet with a foot, the film is molded to the shape of the foot. The molded film is then cooled and cut along the outline of the foot to obtain a layer which may be used to define the shape of an insole member.

Abstract: A protective glove for the electrical industry is produced by the injection molding process by injecting plastic material into an injection mold from two opposite sides via a sprue flange. This sprue flange is cut off from the protective glove after the latter is removed from the mold.

Abstract: A method to obtain corrected impressions of the foot so as to produce corrective soles including two or three superimposed rigid frames connected to a supporting structure secured by arms of different length joined to the supporting structure. Each frame is equipped with two flexible walls which, along with the frame, delimit a sealed enclosure filled with a granular material, the enclosure communicating with a suction device.

Abstract: To adjust eye-glasses to the special shape of the nose of the person wearing the eye-glasses, a faithful molding of the back of the nose is formed. To this effect, once the spectacles are put on, the space remaining between the spectacle arch (4) and the back of the nose is filled with a plastic and hardenable molding material. The spectacle arch (4) is embedded into the hardened molding material to form a plaster model (6). After having removed the molding material, the cavity separating the spectacle arch (4) from the model (6) is filled with a hardenable plastic material which sets on the spectacle material. Said plastic material forms after hardening on the spectacle arch (4) an additional layer (5) adapted to the back of the nose of the person wearing the spectacles.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for manufacturing an otoplastic. An otoplastic is manufactured directly in the ear of a hearing-impaired person in that a deformable envelope is pulled over a die or over a shell or over an overlayed over-shell. This apparatus is then supplied with flowing otoplastic material between the die and the envelope, being supplied therewith in the ear. The envelope expands and assumes the shape of the auditory canal. After hardening or curing of the otoplastic material in the ear of the hearing-impaired person, the envelope and the die are removed and a module of either an in-the-ear or of a behind-the-ear hearing aid is integrated therewith.

Abstract: An ionogenic compound, soluble or dispersible in aziridine compounds is utilized for delaying the polymerization of aziridine compounds initiated by a sulfonium salt. Said ionogenic compounds contain an anion which is more nucleophilic than the anion present in the sulfonium salt employed. Moreover, a preparation for dental purposes is described which contains these components.

Abstract: A dental impression composition comprising alginate material and biocidal component.A method for reducing microorganism contamination in alginate dental impressions comprising preparing a mixture comprising alginate, water and biocide.

Abstract: Hand grips for applying to motorcycles, bicycles, tools, golf clubs, fishing rods, guns, crutches and the like can be custom molded to fit exactly to the contours of the user's hand. The grip is put in place and then heated with a hair dryer. The user grasps the hot grip and then releases it. The hot grip conforms or molds to the shape of the user's hand and retains that conformation upon cooling. The grip may incorporate special surface properties for comfort and adhesive and resilient inner layers for enhanced function.

Abstract: A dental impression composition is provided which has relatively lower water content for higher tensile and gel strengths, and an effective amount of dipopylene gylcol to offset the reduced amount of water and provide workability in the composition at storage tempering temperatures of as little as 130.degree. F.

Abstract: A process for making a moldable article for individualizing the operative surfaces of implements such as the hand grip of tennis racquets or hand tools. The moldable article is a sheet of polymeric material, including a polyurethane or thermoplastic-rubber copolymer component blended with volatile solvents and fillers to form a moldable mass that after receiving an individual's hand impression, for example, cures by solvent evaporation at ambient temperatures to a solid non-tacky hand grip. The moldable article is made by mixing the components together and forming a sheet which is sandwiched between semipermeable films that permit partial evaporation of the solvents. The sheet is then packaged between non-permeable films which prevent further evaporation until impressed by the consumer and exposed to air drying.

Abstract: Accurate heads are prepared by molding processes for the use by taxidermists in preparing fish for permanent display. The heads are removed from the silicone rubber mold just after the molding composition has achieved its peak exotherm and becomes very firm.

Abstract: Apparatus for producing a corrected mold for a foot having a rear portion and a forefoot portion, includes a resilient cushion which relatively immobilizes the forefoot portion with respect to the rear portion thereof when the foot is supporting its respective portion of full body weight, the resilient cushion having a rear section with a first thickness and a front section with a second, smaller thickness for supporting the foot, wherein the position of the rear portion of the foot on the resilient cushion is adjusted so that the resilient cushion adopts a corrected contour of the foot; knee alignment cups for positioning a knee corresponding to the foot such that the foot is in a substantially neutral position when the foot is positioned on the resilient cushion and the knee is positioned in accurate alignment with the foot; and a molding material positioned between the foot and the resilient cushion for producing the corrected mold once the foot and the knee have been so adjusted.

Abstract: A hearing aid including a plug that is tailored to snugly fit into the auditory canal of the user's ear, and that has a preshaped component assembly embedded therein, the component assembly comprising shell-like members that are interconnected to each other and that have the electrical components of the hearing aid mounted therein, the members being prearranged to achieve a configuration generally similar to the shape of the plug and being secured in end-to-end position for mounting interiorly in a negative impression in a mold as formed from the user's auditory canal, the assembled members being embedded in the negative impression in the mold upon pouring of a quick setting plastic material into the negative impression, thereby permanently fixing the preshaped assembly in the plug that is formed as the quick setting plastic material hardens around the assembled preshaped members.

Abstract: A hearing aid device for processing sound, which comprises a device for transducing sound to an electrical signal, a device for processing the electrical signal, a device for powering and regulating the processing device, and a device for transducing the processed electrical signal into sound, all these devices being enclosed in a case adapted for being inserted in an ear canal, an elastic layer defining a chamber on the outside of the case, the chamber containing a cold-curing composition consisting of at least two components, at least one partitioning wall within the chamber for separating the components from one another, the partitioning wall being adapted to be ruptured by being subjected to a pressure effect, the components being adapted, when being combined upon rupture of said wall, to provide a composition which expands during an initial curing period, and then sets rigidly with a substantial form stability.

Abstract: A cranium is firstly produced form an epoxy resin, whose thickness is adapted so that the compressive strength at a given point is the same as at the corresponding point of a real cranium. This is followed by the fitting of the soft parts, i.e. the brain, eyeballs, flats of the ear and nasal pyramid. These members are made from a silicone to which a variable quantity of oil has been added to ensure that their hardness is the same as that of the corresponding real organs. The cranium is then placed on a support permitting the correct orientation thereof in the mould where the skin is cast.

Abstract: In a method of manufacturing a prosthesis cuff to receive an amputation stump, particularly for a lower-leg prosthesis, a positive cast of the stump is positioned in an expanded and heat shrinkable rough cuff of a plastics material, whereupon the rough cuff is caused by heating and vacuum-forming to adjust to the surface contour of the stump. The positive cast is subsequently removed. A connecting element for the prosthesis is provided on the rough cuff, for example having formation embedded in the plastics material.

Abstract: An acoustic monitoring device for sound sensing in the recording, reproduction, broadcasting, or transmission of sounds, and a process for forming the device. The acoustic monitoring device is shaped like a human head equipped with anatomical features which accurately reproduce the shape of the auricles, the auditory meatus, the Eustachian tubes, and the nasal and oral cavities. Membranes responsive to sound pressures are located at the positions of the ear drums or other auditory organs. The device is produced by a process that includes forming a first mold on a human head, forming a casting from that mold, forming a second mold on the casting, and painting the second mold with a liquid silicone rubber which is allowed to dry to form resilient casting segments simulating the human head. Anatomical features simulating the brain and internal members defining the Eustachian tubes and the nasal and oral cavities are provided within a skull model.

Abstract: A stimulator for penile erection comprises a body member which may be inserted into the rectum of a user, the body member being so shaped as to closely conform to the topological configuration of the rectum from the anal area to a site adjacent to the prostate gland. Within the body member is electrical circuitry for generating a neutrally stimulating electrical signal. Electrodes, placed at particular locations on the surface of the body member, apply the signal to the user. At least one of the electrodes closely contacts the prostate gland when the body member is operatively disposed, at a region or spot on the prostate gland previously determined to be sensitive to electrical stimulation.

Abstract: A hollow shell-type hearing aid is prepared from an impression of the ear. A mold is formed from the impression. An opening is cut in the mold and the mold is filled through the opening with hardenable material. The hardenable material is allowed to cure until a hard shell of the material forms on the surface of the mold. The remaining hardenable material is poured out of the mold through the opening and the shell is then removed.

Abstract: A method for producing an external breast prosthesis or support by forming a mold directly from the subject for whom the prosthesis is being prepared. After a molding material is applied to the subject's breast, the breast is immersed in an isodensity liquid to present the breast to a zero-gravity condition while the molding material cures.

Abstract: An improved process for making a vent for an "in the ear" hearing aid. A cavity is formed which corresponds to the structure of the ear canal and outer ear of the hearing aid user. A molding liquid, such as acrylic, is poured into the cavity. The liquid is allowed to partially cure and form a thin-walled shell inside the cavity. An elongated mandrel is then placed along the inside of the thin-walled shell, and additional liquid molding material is poured into the thin-walled shell around the elongated mandrel. The wall of the shell accordingly becomes thicker, enveloping the mandrel. The mandrel may then be removed, leaving the vent in the wall of the shell.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing simulated animal or fish skin includes pouring a silicone compound over a sample of the skin to be simulated as, for example, dried fish skin. After the silicone compound jells, it is removed from the sample as a layer and forms a mold of the skin to be simulated. The mold is then cleaned and covered with a fiberglass cloth. A flex resin compound is poured onto the fiberglass cloth to fill the mold. After waiting a predetermined period of time, the fiberglass cloth is removed leaving behind the simulated skin which may then be painted to achieve realism. The painted simulated skin may then have a backing material such as cloth or vinyl applied thereto and the composite material cut to a desired shape.

Abstract: Apparatus for producing a corrected mold for a foot having a rear portion and a forefoot portion, includes a resilient cushion which relatively immobilizes the forefoot portion with respect to the rear portion thereof when the foot is supporting its respective portion of full body weight, the resilient cushion having a rear section with a first thickness and a front section with a second, smaller thickness for supporting the foot, wherein the position of the rear portion of the foot on the resilient cushion is adjusted so that the resilient cushion adopts a corrected contour of the foot; a stabilizer which aligns and stabilizes the knee corresponding to the foot to a predetermined alignment with respect to the forefoot portion of the adjusted foot when the foot is positioned on the resilient cushion; and a molding material positioned between the foot and the resilient cushion for producing the corrected mold once the foot has been so adjusted and the knee has been so aligned.

Abstract: An aid for molding a filling material used in the cranioplasty to fill in a defective part of the skull. The aid allows a quick, efficient molding. It includes a bar made of an elastic material and being of a substantially L-shape section and a core member embedded therein to maintain the aid in a desired position.

Abstract: Procedure for the manufacture of an artificial leg with a sleeve for the fixing of the artificial limb to the remaining part of the leg, in which the procedure embraces the manufacture of a positive model of the extremity which is used for forming the sleeve which is built into the artificial limb.The purpose of the invention is to facilitate individual adaptation concerning the form of the sleeve so that total surface contact is achieved against the leg, and also to reduce the manual work and the risk of failure.The invention is characterized by the sleeve being manufactured from an injection moulded standard sleeve of clear thermoplastic material with truncated conic form which forms an inner sleeve in the finished sleeve.

Abstract: A method of forming the bridge portion of a conventional eyeglass frame to the exact configuration and dimension of a bridge portion of a predetermined wearer's nose and securing the formed bridge portion to a conventional eyeglass frame. Proper fitting of the formed bridge portion to the wearer's nose is thereby accomplished and slipping of the eyeglasses from the nose is thereby eliminated.

Abstract: A method for preparing a female mold employing a thermoplastic resin sheet which is softenable and moldable at a relatively low temperature and hardenable at a room temperature. This female mold is accurately profiled by a head of a person who will wear a wig and advantageously employable as a female mold for forming a head model or male mold used for a wig base or used as a workbench for the wig.

Abstract: A method of making a mandrel for a breast prosthesis in which a negative cast is formed of the wearer's remaining breast and the area of the missing breast. A positive cast is formed of the negative cast and a model is made of the missing breast. A flexible mold is formed over the modeled breast and a portion of the positive cast. The flexible mold together with the molded breast are removed from the positive cast. An additional flexible mold is formed over the rear of the modeled breast to form a rear wall. The rear wall is removed and the modeled breast is discarded. The forward and rear walls are secured together to form a cavity. Fiberglass resin fill is inserted into the cavity and the resin is cured until it hardens to form the mandrel.

Abstract: A conforming valved cervical cap assembly is provided with an elastomeric inner layer molded and cured in situ adjacent the exocervical surface of a cervix uteri. The inner layer is wettable, nonporous and matingly fits and resiliently complements the exocervical surface. In order to prevent the molding material from clogging or otherwise impairing operation of the valve, a valve cover is detachably connected to the valve during molding and curing.

Abstract: A method of making a mask which comprises molding a sculptable material, affixing the said molded material to a facial form to the desired contours of the mask, which contours are different than the contours of the form, applying wetted strips of plaster-impregnated gauze to the molded material, drying the wetted gauze to form a completed mask and removing the form from the mask. The finished mask may be coated with a coat of white glue and decorated.

Abstract: An implement is provided for in situ molding of an impression of a cervix uteri from a medical grade impression paste. In the preferred form, the implement is an impression tray with a flexible cervix uteri-receiving cup and a hollow-elongated stem which is connected to the cup for passage of impression paste into the cup. The cup is fabricated with a circumferential flange that extends radially inwardly from the annular rim of the cup. The circumferential flange provides a retainer which holds the cervix uteri in place and also resiliently seals against the exocervical surface of the cervix uteri to facilitate retention of the impression paste in the cup during in situ molding of the cervical impression.

Abstract: A method of making a contoured cushion removably disposed on a recess defining support, with the cushion contour conforming to the shape of the portion of a person's body resting on the cushion.

Abstract: A molding kit to facilitate the synthetic cloning of body parts, such as fingers, the kit including a supply of alginate powder and a mold form having a bottom opening that is sealed when the form is seated on a base. A charge of powder is mixed with water to form a quick-setting, flowable molding compound. This is poured into the mold form, after which the body member is inserted and held therein until the compound sets to form an elastic gel. The gel is then pushed out of the mold form through the bottom opening, and the body part withdrawn to expose the impression cavity. The gel is returned to the mold form which is again seated and a flowable casting compound of the same composition as the molding compound is poured into the cavity and permitted the set to create a flesh-like clone of the body part. This clone is readily removable from the cavity without marring the impression therein.

Abstract: A breast prosthesis for use as a replacement in the case of a mastectomy where the chest of the wearer presents problems in providing a satisfactory support surface for a standardized prosthesis. The prosthesis includes an internal filler part which seats in the cavity so that the prosthesis assumes its normal position.

Abstract: A method and device for making artificial limb sockets is disclosed. To form the socket, the patient's below the knee stump is covered with a pair of stockinettes and a balloon is invaginated thereover to form a smooth surface for producing a mold of the stump. A plaster mold is formed over the stump and removed before the plaster has totally hardened. A device comprising a caliper for measuring the dimension across the patient's adductor tubercle is applied to the mold before removal from the stump. After removal from the patient's stump the adductor tubercle dimension is reestablished using the caliper before the plaster hardens. The mold is employed to form a casting of the patient's stump and the accurate reproduction of the adductor tubercle dimension allows the formation of a satisfactory supracondylar suspension.

Abstract: A method for creating a wig archetype to the shape of the human head, comprising:a. softening a sheet of a thermoplastic composition comprising polyisoprene, said polyisoprene having at least 90% of the isoprene monomer units in the trans-1,4 configuration and an intrinsic viscosity of 1.2 to 3 when measured in toluene at 30.degree. C;b. applying the sheet to the scalp of a human head;c. hardening the sheet; andd. removing the sheet from the scalp.

Abstract: Silicon containing compounds having Si-bonded hydrogen are added to an aliphatic multiple bond in the presence of a platinum catalyst selected from the group consisting of platinum compounds of the formula(R.sup.1)PtX.sub.2,where R.sup.1 represents a cyclic hydrocarbon radical or a substituted cyclic hydrocarbon radical having 2 aliphatic carbon-carbon double bonds, X is the same or different halogen atoms and/or the same or different alkyl radicals, and compounds of the formula(R.sub.2 SO)(Z)PtY.sub.2where R represents the same or different hydrocarbon radicals or substituted hydrocarbon radicals, Z represents a hydrocarbon having a carbon-carbon double bond and Y represents the same or different halogen atoms.An example of a platinum compound having the general formula(R.sup.1)PtX.sub.2,is dicyclopentadiene-platinum dichloride, while an example of a platinum compound having the general formula(R.sub.2 SO)(Z)PtY.sub.2is dimethylsulfoxide-ethylene-platinum-(II)-dichloride.

Abstract: A technique for making a permanent imprint of trichoglyphs (cowlicks). A liquid solvent is applied to the surface of the trichoglyph. A flexible sheet of solvent-soluble material is pressed over the wetted trichoglyph area. The sheet is marked and indexed with respect to externally recognizable anatomical features of the animal adjacent to the trichoglyph area. This results in the impression of the trichoglyph configuration in geometric relation to indexed markings on the sheet indicative of the position of the trichoglyph on the body of the animal. The sheet is subsequently removed and dried. The resulting impression can be used to produce prints for later comparison purposes and for recording of the trichoglyph features.

Abstract: A cast comprised of an outer layer of casting material composed of epsilon polycapriolactone reinforced by a cotton mesh, an inner cotton stockinette, and a layer of padding material composed of medium to high density closed cell elastic sheet foam having an adhesive bearing surface in contact with the stockinette to adhere thereto and the opposed surface in contact with the outer layer for bonding thereto upon thermoforming of the casting material in situ. The cast is especially suited for usage as a removable monovalve cast incident to intermediate phase orthopedic rehabilitation.

Abstract: A method is provided for making a device for selectively applying pressure to discrete selected acupuncture pressure points on the auricular surface of the ear without penetrating skin. The selected acupuncture points are first marked with a marking substance, and then an impression is made by inserting malleable material into the ear. When the impression is removed from the ear, it has a surface which is complementary to the auricular surface and is marked by the marking substance to identify the selected acupuncture points. Projections are provided to the surface of the impression, and a mold is then formed from the projection bearing impression. The mold is filled with a moldable substance, which is hardened; and thereafter removed from the mold and polished as the device of the present invention. This device is preferably polished, provided with an earhole to allow unimpeded hearing, and may be worn in fitted, self-retaining pressure on the selected acupuncture points.

Abstract: An athletic mouthguard for use by participants in contact sports to simultaneously protect and topically treat the teeth. The mouthguard is a generally U-shaped channel molded preferably from a composition of thermoplastic resin and a fluoride compound such as sodium fluoride, stannous fluoride, or sodium fluorosilicate. The fluoride compound is released from the molded resin mouthguard to the wearer's teeth over extended periods of use.

Abstract: An anatomically configured stent for a tanned, expanded natural tissue heart valve, a valve prosthesis including the stent, and a process for preparing the prosthesis are disclosed. The stent comprises a frame having three struts, two of which are biased radially inwardly and the third of which is also biased radially inwardly or generally parallel to the frame axis and a fabric cover covering at least the exterior of the frame, the cover having a bead along its perimeter that provides a site for attachment of the valve to the stent.

Abstract: An artificial breast form to be worn externally on the body of a woman, not implanted in the body, constructed from preformed, self-contained, stable gel structure of breast compatible size and shape and covered with a porous elastic fabric cover which does not normally constrain the gel.

Abstract: A decorative enclosure and a method for making such enclosure is disclosed in which a face mask of a person is made by applying a liquid material to the face, the material hardening at body temperature after which a casting is made from the hardened material. A hollow base is positioned in the casting before it is set and a sound speaker is mounted in the frame. A plastic coating is applied to the casting, the coating once hardened being painted in colors to duplicate the face on which the film was cast. In this manner, a personalized hi-fidelity speaker enclosure may be obtained.

Abstract: A removable elastomeric cervical cap includes a thin-walled cap-shaped member having the same shape as the exocervix and having an inside surface conforming identically to the exocervix surface. The method includes expanding the vaginal wall to substantially expose the exocervix surface. A layer of a liquid self-curing elastomeric material is then applied to only the exocervix surface, the inner surface of the layer conforming identically to the surface without distorting the surface. The liquid elastomeric material is then permitted to solidify.

Abstract: The present invention relates to methods of preparing a model of a bone endoprosthesis, and is most effectively used for the preparation of models of proximal femur in artificial hip joints.The method of preparing said model consists in that a bone procured from a cadaver and corresponding to the bone to be subsequently replaced by a prosthesis is divided into two equal parts, the spongy tissue thereof is removed, thus forming a groove-like excavation in each part, thereafter the two parts are brought together in a fashion that the two grooves form a cavity serving as a casting mold wherein ventilation and filling orifices are made, wherethrough a self-hardening filling compound is poured, after which said mold is disassembled, and the model removed.

Abstract: An orthocasting system for producing a negative mold of the bottom of the foot with the negative mold being used to produce a positive form which is then used as a base on which to form a rigid foot support insert which is constructed in accordance with a prescription prepared by a foot doctor.