Dentistry – Apparatus – Including activator or regulator for controller or drive
Patent
1994-03-14
1995-12-19
Lucchesi, Nicholas D.
Dentistry
Apparatus
Including activator or regulator for controller or drive
433120, 433132, A61C 107, A61C 303, A61C 308, A61C 102
Patent
active
054763800
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a dental handpiece comprising an end grip member or handle to be gripped by a user and which contains a motor to which leads a propellant air line the flow to which is controlled by means of an adjusting ring mounted on the end grip member, and a headpiece which can be removably attached by way of a neck piece to the end grip member and which carries a rotating tool.
Such handpieces are known, for example, from AT-A-347 013 and DE 30 09 337. The motor disposed in the end grip member is designed as a pneumatic motor and includes blades, a sleeve-shaped housing forming a stator, and a rotor which is located in the housing and having an axis of rotation extending parallel to an axis of a circular cylindrical inner wall of the housing and offset relative thereto. At least one air inlet port for compressed air and at least one air outlet port open into a space between the rotor and the circular cylindrical inner wall. When compressed air is admitted into the motor, the compressed air flows through the air inlet port(s) into the space between rotor and circular cylindrical inner wall and pushes in front of it a blade that projects the furthest beyond the rotor, so that the rotor begins to rotate, and then the next blade is impinged on by the compressed air.
A range of velocity that can be obtained with such a device lies between 0 and 40,000 rpm, for which the technical term is the low speed range. A desired speed is set by means of an adjusting ring, which, starting from a zero position, can be set to different fast clockwise rotation or to counter-clockwise rotation positions. For higher speeds, either a mechanical drive or a turbine with an air drive, which immediately envelope the rotating tool (cf. AT-A 344 875) is used conventionally. Such turbines are to be operated in a speed range of 200-350,000 rpm.
According to the current state of the art, if a change is made from a handpiece with a drive in the end grip member to a handpiece with head turbine, the end grip member is changed. This means not only a certain time-consuming manipulation, but also increased costs due to a larger number of end grip members that must be kept on hand.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In contrast, the object of the invention is to provide an end grip member or handle that is as universal as possible. This object is achieved according to the invention in that the end grip member includes an additional propellent air line which runs to a point of attachment between the end grip member and the neck piece and that propellant air can be introduced by choice into one of the two propellent air lines by means of an adjusting mechanism.
Such arrangement makes it possible to manage with a smaller number of end grip members than before, thus justifying for the first time designing the end grip member in a relatively complicated manner, for example, by disposing expensive optical systems therein.
It is provided in an advantageous manner that the adjusting mechanism is designed as an adjusting ring that is connected rigidly to a sleeve which is mounted rotatably on a connecting member. With this arrangement it is achieved that under constant operating conditions the entire region of the handpiece that is enveloped by the physician's hand remains unaffected by rotations of a supply hose. In contrast, changes in speed and direction of rotation are readily possible, since the adjusting ring is more than adequately wide due to its connection to the sleeve enveloping the connecting member. A special advantage lies in the fact that the adjusting ring, which is necessary in any event, can also furnish together with the sleeve the coupling between connecting member and end grip member, which can be constructed, for example, with elastic flexible tongues. If it is provided that the connecting member terminates in a pipe which envelops a cone attached to the end grip member, there is the possibility of making the sleeve enveloping the connecting member and the tongues, provided as coupling means, rel
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Imtec Innovative Medizintechnik Gesellschaft m.b.H.
Lucchesi Nicholas D.
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