Dentistry – Apparatus – Having intra-oral dispensing means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-04
2001-11-20
Lewis, Ralph A. (Department: 3732)
Dentistry
Apparatus
Having intra-oral dispensing means
Reexamination Certificate
active
06319001
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to air-water syringes, and more specifically to fittings for connecting a syringe tip to a hand-piece of an air-water syringe.
Air-water syringes are used by dentists and dental technicians for many dental procedures, such as cleaning debris from a patient's teeth and mouth. The teeth and mouth are cleaned by spraying a stream of water, air or a combination of water and air from the syringe. A typical air-water syringe has a hand-piece and a syringe tip releasably attached to the hand-piece.
Many dentists use disposable syringe tips to avoid spreading infectious diseases from one patient to another. A typical disposable air-water syringe tip has discrete air and water passageways for communication with air and water passageways of the hand-piece.
Disposable tips are typically received in a connector which is adapted to connect the tip to the hand-piece. The tips are held in place by turning the connector which includes one or more parts which clamp down on the tube. These connectors have a disadvantage in that the tip may not be securely held in the hand-piece if the connector is not adequately screwed onto the hand-piece. This may result in leakage from between the hand-piece and tip or the tip being ejected into the patient's mouth which could result in injury to the patient. Furthermore, the time required to loosen the connector, replace the tip and reattach and tighten the connector is significant considering these steps are repeated several times a day.
Quick-connect type fittings which are presently available eliminate the need for tightening a connector, these fittings, however, require specially formed disposable tips which are expensive to manufacture. These fittings typically include many parts including springs which can wear over time thus increasing the chances of ejecting a tip into a patient's mouth.
Accordingly, there is a need for a quick-connect fitting for connecting a dental syringe tip to a dental syringe hand-piece which is simple to use, reliable and relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and can be used with different types of syringe tips.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Among the several objects of this invention may be noted the provision of an improved fitting for connecting a syringe tip to a medical syringe which requires only insertion of the tip into the fitting to lock the tip in place; the provision of such a fitting which securely holds the tip in place without tightening a coupling over the tip; the provision of such a fitting which allows for rotation of the syringe tip within the fitting; the provision of such a fitting which is adaptable for use with different types of syringes; and the provision of such a fitting which is economical and easy to manufacture.
Generally, a fitting of this invention is for releasably and sealingly connecting a conduit to a medical instrument. The medical instrument has a socket for receiving the fitting and first and second ports for transfer of first and second fluids to and from the socket. The conduit has a central passageway therethrough for conducting the first fluid and one or more peripheral passageways therethrough for conducting said second fluid. The fitting comprises a body having a proximal end, a distal end and a longitudinal axis extending between the ends. The body has a recess extending on the axis from the distal end toward and terminating short of the proximal end thereof and a bottom adjacent its proximal end. The body is open at its distal end and is formed for attachment to the medical instrument with the proximal end of the body positioned in the socket of the instrument. The fitting further includes first and second passages through the bottom of the body for flow of the first and second fluids respectively. A quick-connect device is mounted in the recess in the body adjacent the distal end of the body for allowing quick connection of the conduit to the body and quick disconnection of the conduit from the body. The quick-connect device has an opening therethrough generally coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the body and comprises a gripping mechanism adjacent the opening. The conduit being receivable within the gripping mechanism for axial movement of the conduit in proximal and distal directions with respect to the body. Movement of the conduit in the proximal direction allows the gripping mechanism to move radially outward relative to the longitudinal axis of the body and movement in the distal direction causes the gripping mechanism to move radially inward toward the longitudinal axis. The gripping mechanism permits one end of the conduit, constituting its proximal end, to be pushed through the opening of the quick connect device to an initial position in the body recess adjacent the bottom of the body. The initial position of the conduit is one in which a tubular connector provides a fluid-tight sealing connection between the central passageway in the conduit and the first passage in the bottom of the body. The gripping mechanism is responsive to a force on the conduit in a distal direction to permit the conduit to move a limited distance away from the bottom of the body. The gripping mechanism is operable to apply a progressively increasing gripping force to the conduit as the conduit moves away from the bottom until the conduit reaches an operating position in which the gripping force prevents substantial further movement of the conduit in a distal direction away from the bottom. The conduit is in its operating position when the proximal end of the conduit is spaced from the bottom of the body to provide a cavity therebetween allowing fluid communication between the second passage in the bottom of the body and the one or more peripheral passageways in the conduit. The tubular connector is adapted to maintain the fluid-tight sealing connection between the first passage in the bottom of the body and the central passageway in the conduit when the conduit is in its operating position. The fitting further includes manually operable means for moving the gripping mechanism in a proximal direction relative to the body to allow the gripping mechanism to move radially outward to release the conduit so it can be removed from the body.
In another aspect of the invention, a medical syringe comprises a hand-piece for transporting first and second fluids between a patient and the syringe. The medical syringe further includes a syringe tip having a central passageway therethrough for conducting the first fluid and one or more peripheral passageways therethrough for conducting the second fluid. The improvement in the medical syringe comprises a tip connector assembly for releasably and sealingly connecting the syringe tip to the hand-piece. The tip connector assembly is similar to the fitting described above.
Generally, a method of the present invention is for connecting a syringe tip to a hand-piece used to transport first and second fluids between a patient and the hand-piece. The syringe tip is of the type having a central passageway therethrough for conducting the first fluid and one or more peripheral passageways therethrough for conducting the second fluid. The hand-piece includes a fitting as described above. The method includes pushing the syringe tip through the opening in the gripping device to an initial position in which the proximal end of the syringe tip is adjacent the bottom of the body and the central passageway in the syringe tip has a fluid-tight sealing connection to the first passage in the bottom of the body. The method further includes moving the syringe tip in a direction away from the bottom of the body thereby causing the gripping mechanism to apply a progressively increasing gripping force to the syringe tip until the syringe tip reaches an operating position in which the gripping force prevents substantial further movement of the syringe tip in a distal direction away from the bottom while maintaining the fluid-tight sealing connection. The operating position of the syringe tip is one in which the proximal
Lewis Ralph A.
Senniger Powers Leavitt & Roedel
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