Abrading – Abrading process – Drill – thread – thread cutter – reamer – or rotary cutter abrading
Reexamination Certificate
2003-02-07
2004-10-26
Hail, III, Joseph J. (Department: 3723)
Abrading
Abrading process
Drill, thread, thread cutter, reamer, or rotary cutter abrading
C451S028000, C451S045000, C451S177000, C451S187000, C451S224000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06808441
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
The present invention relates to blade sharpening equipment and, more specifically, to a machine for sharpening the blades of dental tools.
The scaling and root planing of teeth for the removal of calculus (commonly known as plaque) is important for the treatment and prevention of periodontal diseases. For this purpose, dental tools such as curets or scalers are employed for the scaling of the root surfaces of teeth. This allows thin chips of calculus to be removed from the root surfaces of the teeth, where plaque will most often gather. When scaling the root surface of teeth, it is essential that the edge of the blade of the dental tool have a predetermined angle.
The scaling and root planing procedures will often dull the edge of the blade of the dental tool. Thus, the edges of the blade often need to be sharpened so that the proper angle is maintained. A variety sharpening techniques and machines are employed. For example, blades will often be sharpened “free-hand.” This will entail a user holding the handle of a tool and bringing it into contact with a hand-activated sharpening stone by moving the stone back and forth over the blade of the dental tool. This may result in the unfortunate consequence of improperly sharpened blade edges having the incorrect angle.
Another technique is to employ a sharpening machine. The machine will often have a type of guide or plate for holding the dental tool. The machine will also include a sharpener, and the sharpener and the tool will be brought into contact with each other so that the blade of the tool may be sharpened. These types of machines, however, are often designed to work with a specific manufacturer's version of curets or scalers. Moreover, because these machines involve the movement of both the guide and the sharpener, there are a large number of animated parts, thus increasing complexity of use and the chance of user error or machine malfunction.
BRIEF SUMMARY
A dental tool sharpener for the sharpening of blades of dental tools is presented herein. The dental tool sharpener includes a base and a grinding surface rotatably attached to the base about a fixed axis. The axis of rotation is perpendicular to the base. A positioner is attached to the base for aligning a top face of a blade of a dental tool such that the top face is substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the grinding surface. A gripper is attached to the base for grasping the dental tool and for transporting the dental tool from the positioner to the grinding surface while maintaining the top face substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the grinding surface.
Another aspect of the dental tool sharpener includes a base and a grinding surface rotatably attached to the base about an axis fixed at a predetermined angle relative to a plane parallel to the base. The grinding surface includes a contact surface for contacting a blade of a dental tool. A gripper is attached to the base for grasping the dental tool. A positioner is attached to the base and aligns a top face of the blade of the dental tool such that a contact angle of the blade and a contact angle of the contact surface are complementary. The contact angle of the blade is defined by a top face and a side face of the blade and the contact angle of the contact surface is defined by the contact surface and a plane parallel to the top face of the blade as aligned by the positioner.
The invention also includes a method for sharpening a blade of a dental tool with a dental tool sharpener. The dental tool sharpener includes a base and a positioner, a gripper and a grinding surface each attached to the base. The method includes aligning a top face of the blade in the positioner such that the top face is set at a fixed angle relative to the grinding surface such that a contact angle of the blade is complementary to a contact angle of the grinding surface. The contact angle of the blade is defined by a top face and a side face of the blade and the contact angle of the contact surface is defined by the contact surface and a plane parallel to the top face of the blade as aligned by the positioner. The shank is then grasped with the gripper and the dental tool is moved with the gripper from the positioner to the grinding surface. A first side face of the blade is contacted with a contact surface of the grinding surface is passed over the contact surface.
The dental tool sharpener described herein helps to ensure that the blade of a dental tool will be properly aligned before contacting the sharpening element, without requiring precise positioning. Once the blade has been aligned by the positioner, manipulation of the dental tool to align the blade with the grinding surface is not required. The foregoing and other features and advantages will become further apparent from the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
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Irwin Timothy S.
Tatum Robert W.
Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione
Hail III Joseph J.
McDonald Shanlese
Nordent Manufacturing, Inc.
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