Dentistry – Apparatus – Having gauge or guide
Patent
1995-01-12
1996-11-19
Lucchesi, Nicholas D.
Dentistry
Apparatus
Having gauge or guide
433 77, A61C 302
Patent
active
055756468
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a support device for a dentist's drill.
Tooth drilling or milling operations are normally performed by guiding the drill freehand. This technique is imprecise and leaves room for errors which become critical if the milling of the teeth is performed as part of the preparation for a prosthesis, which consists of milling the tooth (or teeth) in such a way as to cut them down to the shape of a conical stump over which the dental prosthesis is fitted. In this type of operation it is essential that high precision be guaranteed in forming the conical walls of the teeth.
Support devices for dentist's drills have previously been proposed which make it possible to set the working axis of the drill in a predetermined direction and maintain the working axis constantly parallel to itself during use.
Examples of such devices are contained in documents U.S. Pat. No. 3,083,462, U.S. Pat. No. 2,801,469 and FR-A-2 166 240.
From the German document DE-A-3 500 921 there is known a device having an articulated arm with two articulated quadrilateral devices disposed in series with one another, connected to a fixed support base by means of a hinged joint and carrying attachment means for a dentist's drill.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a simple and compact support device which does not obstruct the working region in front of the patient and which can be easily installed in any already existing dental surgery.
According to the invention this object is achieved by a device having the characteristics of a support; an articulated arm having two articulated quadrilateral devices disposed in series with one another, one of said articulated quadrilateral devices being connected to said support while another of said articulated quadrilateral devices carries a means for attachment of the dental drill in such a way that a working axis of the drill can be located within the working region of the patient whilst remaining constantly parallel to itself; and an adjustment means operable to vary the direction of the working axis of the drill and located between said support and said articulated arm, wherein said support is provided with a fixing means for connecting it to a seat back of a chair and wherein said articulated arm is able to assume a working configuration in which said two articulated quadrilateral devices are located 90.degree. to one another, with said one articulated quadrilateral device being situated above the head of the patient and said another articulated quadrilateral device being disposed substantially in front of the patient.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following detailed description, given purely by way of nonlimitative example, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a device according to the present invention fitted to a dentist's chair;
FIG. 2 is a side view in the direction of the arrow II of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a section illustrating the detail indicated by the arrow III in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a section taken on the line IV--IV of FIG. 3;
FIGS. 5 and 6 are sections taken on the lines V--V and VI--VI of FIG. 2; and
FIG. 7 is a view on an enlarged scale of the part indicated by the arrow VII of FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a device for supporting and guiding a dentist's drill 12 is generally indicated with the reference numeral 10.
The device 10 comprises a support base having a generally L-shaped tubular column 14. The column 14 is provided with a fixing device generally indicated 16, by means of which the device 10 can be connected to the seat back 18 of a dentist's chair 20. The dentist's chair 20 is provided, in a manner known per se, with a height-adjustable head rest 22 carried by a metal bar 24 projecting from the upper part of the seat back 18.
The fixing device 16 comprises a clamp 26
REFERENCES:
patent: 153943 (1874-08-01), Gray
patent: 354976 (1886-12-01), Field
patent: 500139 (1893-06-01), Delking
patent: 1054028 (1913-02-01), Pieper
patent: 2801469 (1957-08-01), Solle
patent: 3073561 (1963-01-01), Jermyn
patent: 3083462 (1963-04-01), Jermyn
patent: 3386766 (1968-06-01), Gorelick
patent: 5281136 (1994-01-01), Giannella et al.
patent: 5332391 (1994-07-01), Jermyn
Giannella Francesco
Giannella Gianni M.
Lucchesi Nicholas D.
Manzo Edward D.
Murphy Mark J.
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