Dentistry – Apparatus – Having storage or nonuse supporting means
Patent
1991-10-28
1992-09-08
Wilson, John J.
Dentistry
Apparatus
Having storage or nonuse supporting means
433 78, 312209, A61G 1500
Patent
active
051453665
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a rack for instruments, especially for dental instruments, comprising
a drum mounted so as to revolve about a shaft, compartments being provided on the periphery of the drum for at least one instrument and its holder;
an instrument supply line arranged to be connected to one instrument at a time; and
a stationary outer casing surrounding the drum and provided with at least one opening for pulling out at least the instrument connected to the supply line.
Dental instruments, such as various drills and suction devices for removal of saliva, are conventionally placed in instrument bridges having a holder for each instrument. Such instrument bridges usually provide room for four to seven instruments, and are therefore relatively broad since the instrument holders are positioned side by side. So the instrument bridge is clumsy, especially as a tray is usually attached to it. If the tray is fitted at the side of the instrument bridge, it will be positioned too far to allow easy use. On the other hand, it is also problematic to position the tray beneath the instrument bridge because the instruments easily damage the objects on the tray, in addition to which the objects on the tray may be contaminated by various impurities falling from the instruments. In practice, it is not either advantageous to position the tray upon the instrument bridge, because the tray thereby has to be positioned relatively high to get the instruments at the most advantageous height. In addition, the supply line thereby has to be led from under the tray to the instruments, so that it easily hangs over the patient, which may hamper the use of the instruments.
The problems described above are at least partly solved by an instrument rack known from SE Patent Specification 442 945. One problem with the instrument rack of this particular patent specification as well as many other conventional instrument racks is, however, that the rack does not substantially protect the instruments. Therefore the instruments are easily contaminated by adjacent used instruments or by a jet of water or air from the patient's mouth when drilling with a turbine drill, for instance. To prevent the spreading of various infectious diseases, such as AIDS, the level of sterility should be as high as possible.
The object of the present invention is to provide a rack for instruments, especially for dental instruments, which avoids the problems associated with the above-mentioned solutions known from the prior art. This is achieved by means of a rack according to the invention, which is characterized in that walls separating the compartments of the drum are sealed relative to the outer casing; and that the outer casing is provided with means for sterilizing the instruments when they are not being used.
As the instruments are fitted in a drum rotatable about a vertical shaft, for instance, the rack is relatively narrow. The required tray can now be easily positioned on either side or even on both sides of the rack without excessively increasing the width of the instrument bridge so that the instruments and the tray are nevertheless easy to use. The instrument supply line is arranged to be connected to one instrument at a time, that is, to the instrument used next in each particular case, which reduces the number of connections required for supplying the instruments as well as the number of magnetic valves, which, being fine-mechanical components, are relatively expensive.
To improve sterility, the drum is surrounded with a stationary outer casing provided with at least one opening for pulling out the instrument to be used in each particular case. If required, the opening can be easily made sufficiently large for two instruments one of which projects toward the patient and the other towards the dental assistant, who can thus easily change a drill bit, for instance. In this way, the instrument drum is for a major part surrounded with a protective casing which prevents the contamination of unused instruments. Essential is, however, that the instruments
REFERENCES:
patent: 4421483 (1983-12-01), Pietschmann et al.
patent: 4648839 (1987-03-01), Timerdahl et al.
LandOfFree
Rack for instruments does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Rack for instruments, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Rack for instruments will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-130917