JP2016137177A - Brush holder of vibrating dental handpiece - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a brush holder for attaching a toothbrush to a vibrating dental handpiece, even when stress of vibration is concentrated on a bend of a vibration transmission member, preventing it from being fractured by metal fatigue.SOLUTION: A distal end (28) of a brush holder is formed by cutting a material so as to directly adjoin a front end of a second section (38) without any intervention of a round and to extend at a substantially right angle with the axis of the second section (38).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a brush holder that is used by being attached to a dental vibratory handpiece having a built-in vibration generator, and that transmits vibrations generated by the vibration generator to a brush to clean or polish teeth.

The construction and operating principle of a pneumatic vibration generator built in a dental handpiece are known from, for example, US Pat. No. Re.29,687 (Sertich) and US Pat. No. 4,453,919 of the present applicant. The former discloses a type of vibration generator that includes a sleeve that is rotationally driven by a compressed air jet, and the latter discloses a type of vibration generator that also includes a disk that is driven to swing by a compressed air jet. Has been.
The vibration generated by these vibration generators is transmitted to a dental tool such as a scaler attached to the handpiece via an elongated vibration transmitting member, as shown in FIG. 4 of US Pat. No. 4,427,384 (Sertich), for example. As described above, a sinusoidal standing wave having a vibration node and a vibration peak is generated in the vibration transmitting member. For example, when the dental tool is a scaler (calculus removal tool), the tip of the scaler is set to be at the peak of vibration, and the tip of the scaler acts on the tooth while performing elliptical motion due to vibration. Tartar is removed.

In the case of cleaning or brushing teeth using this type of dental vibratory handpiece, conventionally, a metal brush holder to which a brush is attached to the tip as shown in FIG. 1 is attached to the handpiece. Have been used.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional brush holder 1 is replaced with a proximal end 5 connected by screwing or the like to an output shaft 4 of a vibration generating device 3 incorporated in a handpiece 2 by screwing or the like. A distal end 6 that can be freely mounted and an elongated metal vibration transmission member 8 that transmits vibration from the proximal end 5 to the distal end 6 of the holder 1 are provided. The distal end 6 is provided with a female screw hole (not shown), and the brush 7 is detachably attached by screwing a male screw (not shown) of the brush 7 into the female screw hole.

In the conventional brush holder, a straight brush holder forming material prepared in advance is composed of a first curved portion 8A near the proximal end 5 and a second curved portion near the distal end 6 as shown in FIG. It is formed by bending it into the shape of "<" in two places with 8B.
Although not shown in FIG. 1, the brush holder is formed with an internal passage for supplying cleaning water from the cleaning water supply passage of the handpiece to the brush over the entire length of the brush holder. Generally, it is processed prior to. Therefore, when bending, care must be taken not to block the internal circuit or crush the material at the curved portion.

As shown in FIG. 1, the brush holder has a tip of the brush 7 from a practitioner such as a dentist or a dental hygienist, even when cleaning a deep tooth in the oral cavity such as a patient's back tooth. It is desirable to design it so that it can reach the back of the teeth sufficiently. Furthermore, it is desirable that the brush 7 can be applied as perpendicular to the tooth surface as possible as shown in FIG. In order to meet these demands, conventionally, the second bending portion 8B is bent at a bending angle as large as possible.
On the other hand, the first curved portion 8A is provided with the distal end 6 of the brush holder (and thus the tip of the brush 7) in order to make it easier for the practitioner to operate the brush while positioning the brush at the site to be cleaned. Since it plays the role as close to the axis 2A of the handpiece as possible, the direction opposite to the second bending portion 8B in the same plane including the first bending portion 8A, the second bending portion 8B, and the distal end 6 (Ie, in alternate directions) and at a bending angle smaller than that of the second bending portion 8B.

  The problem with the conventional brush holder is that the bending angle (that is, the amount of plastic deformation) of the second bending portion 8B must be increased for the reason described in paragraph 0005. It means that it remains quite in the vertex area. Since there is such residual stress, when the node of the standing wave vibration described above is set so as to come to the top of the second bending portion 8B with reference to FIG. 4 of US Pat. No. 4,427,384, the stress of vibration is the first. By concentrating on the top of the second curved portion 8B, the material in this region may cause early metal fatigue, and the brush holder may break at the second curved portion 8B. If the brush holder debris scatters in the mouth, it can be swallowed, the mouth can be damaged by the fracture surface, and the patient can be harmed. Avoiding this is an absolute requirement.

Another problem of the conventional brush holder as shown in FIG. 1 is that even if the bending angle of the second bending portion 8B is increased, the material of the second bending portion 8B does not block, crush or crack the internal circuit. This means that the radius of curvature of the second curved portion 8B needs to be sufficiently large because of the plastic processing requirement that it should not occur.
However, when the radius of curvature of the second bending portion 8B is increased in this way, the distance L (see FIG. 1) from the apex of the second bending portion 8B to the tip of the brush becomes longer, so the operability of the brush in a narrow oral cavity is increased. However, there is a problem that the usability of the handpiece becomes worse. In addition, since the distal end 6 in which the female screw hole for brush attachment of a predetermined length is formed cannot be subjected to bending, it is between the rear end of the distal end 6 and the starting point of the second bending portion 8B. Must be provided with an R (roundness) 8C substantially equivalent to a quadrant, and therefore it is difficult to reduce the distance L in the conventional brush holder.

  Yet another problem with the prior art brush holder is that, in general, when the external force is released in bending, a springback is generated due to the elasticity of the material, but the second curved portion has a large angle as described above. Therefore, the springback becomes remarkable, and there is a considerable variation in the degree of bending for each product. For this reason, product quality control is difficult.

An object of the present invention is to provide a brush holder capable of solving the above-described problems of the prior art.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a brush holder that has little residual stress in metal processing and does not cause metal fatigue at an early stage even when vibration energy is applied.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a compact brush holder having excellent operability even in a narrow oral cavity.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a brush holder that has less spring back, which is a phenomenon inherent to bending, and that is easy to control the quality of products.

The present invention provides an improved brush holder made by a novel method.
The present invention is provided with a metal brush holder that is used by being mounted on a dental handpiece having a built-in vibration generator, and that transmits the vibration generated by the vibration generator to a brush for cleaning or brushing teeth. What to offer:
The brush holder includes a proximal end that can be coupled to the vibration generator in a vibration transmitting relationship, a distal end adapted to support the brush in a replaceable manner, and a vibration from the proximal end to the distal end. An elongated vibration transmitting member that couples the two to transmit the vibration;
The vibration transmitting member includes a first section extending substantially coaxially from the proximal end to the proximal end, and a front end of the first section (representation of front and rear is based on a practitioner; the same applies hereinafter). A curved section formed by a second section extending obliquely forward and upward at a first angle with respect to the first section, the curved section being formed by bending the vibration transmitting member;
The distal end is in the same plane as the plane including the first and second sections, but the distal end and the first section extend in opposite directions with respect to the axis of the second section ;
The distal end extends outwardly from the front end of the second section in the same plane at a second angle greater than the first angle with respect to the axis of the second section, and second It is formed by cutting the material for forming the brush holder so as to be directly adjacent to the front end of the second section without interposing a round (ie, roundness) between the front end of the section. Is.

The first advantage of the present invention is that, unlike bending, the metal can be machined with almost no residual stress in the material. Therefore, if the distal end of the holder is formed by cutting according to the present invention, the bending stress does not remain at the corners extending from the vibration transmitting member to the brush mounting distal end. Even if the stress of vibration is concentrated at the base of the top end, there is no possibility that the brush holder breaks.
Thus, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a brush holder excellent in vibration resistance without the possibility of debris scattering in the oral cavity. Therefore, the brush holder of the present invention can be used with peace of mind even for elderly people and persons with disabilities who particularly need oral care by a dental hygienist or the like.

Furthermore, unlike the conventional bending process, when the distal end of the brush holder is formed by cutting, there is no restriction on the thickness and thickness of the distal end (and vibration transmission member). The thickness of the corner portion extending from the vibration transmitting member to the brush mounting distal end can be sufficiently increased, the strength of the brush holder can be increased, and the corner portion can be prevented from being broken.
This also leads to an advantage that vibration energy generated by the vibration generator can be transmitted to the brush holder as it is without being limited. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a flow control valve or the like for suppressing vibration in the handpiece, and the handpiece can be simplified.

Further, according to the present invention, since the distal end of the brush holder is formed by cutting, unlike the case of forming the second curved portion by bending as in the prior art, the internal circuit is blocked or collapsed. There is no need to increase the radius of curvature of the second curved portion because of the demand on plastic processing that it must be prevented from occurring. In the first place, it is not even necessary to provide a roundness before the distal end.
Therefore, the distal end of the brush holder can be arranged to extend outward from the end of the second section at an angle close to a right angle with respect to the second section of the vibration transmitting member. As a result, the corner radius extending from the front end to the distal end of the second section can be abolished, and the length from this corner to the brush tip can be shortened. The operability of the brush is improved and the usability of the handpiece is improved.

  Yet another advantage of the present invention is that, according to the present invention, the distal end of the brush holder is machined so that there is no variation in springback as in conventional bending. Therefore, by numerically controlling the cutting of the distal end, the shape of the product can be precisely managed and a brush holder with excellent quality can be provided.

  In a preferred embodiment, the second angle formed by the axis of the distal end with respect to the axis of the second section is 70 ° to 110 °, preferably 85 ° to 95 °, more preferably approximately 90 °. is there.

  Preferably, the cutting of the distal end is performed using a numerically controlled milling machine.

  In a preferred embodiment, the front of the material for forming the brush holder comprises a metal mass having a shape and size that encompasses the outer shape of the distal end of the brush holder, and the distal end of the brush holder is metalized using an end mill or cutter. It is formed by scraping a lump.

  Preferably, the proximal end of the brush holder and the vibration transmitting member are formed by numerically controlling a lathe while rotating the brush holder forming material around its axis after forming the distal end by milling a metal lump. Can be formed.

  Preferably, after the lathe processing, a cleaning water supply passage is formed over the entire length of the proximal end and the vibration transmitting member along the axis of the brush holder forming material, and a screw hole for attaching the brush is formed at the distal end. To do. These washing water supply passages and screw holes are drilled so as to communicate with each other.

In a specific embodiment, the bending of the bending portion is performed after the cleaning water supply passage is formed in the vibration transmitting member.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the following examples.

It is a partial notch schematic diagram which shows the place which attaches the brush holder of a prior art to a dental vibration-type handpiece, and cleans a tooth | gear. It is a partially notched exploded view which shows the place which attaches the brush holder of this invention to a dental vibration type | mold handpiece. It is a perspective view which shows the process of forming the brush holder shown in FIG. 2 by cutting.

Next, a preferred embodiment of the brush holder of the present invention and a manufacturing method thereof will be described with reference to FIGS.
Referring to FIG. 2, the brush holder 10 of the present invention can be used by being mounted on a dental vibration handpiece 14 having a built-in pneumatic vibration generator 12.
The vibration generator 12 shown in FIG. 2 can be a pneumatic vibration generator of the type disclosed in US Pat. No. 4,453,919. Since this vibration generator 12 does not constitute the present invention, the disclosure of this patent is incorporated herein and detailed description thereof is omitted.
As shown in FIG. 4 of the above-mentioned US Patent, the vibration generator 12 includes a casing that defines a vibration chamber that houses a disk-shaped vibrator, and swivels when compressed air is blown into the vibration chamber in a tangential direction. The vibrator excited by the flow strikes the side wall of the vibration chamber to generate vibration.

A conventional female joint 16 is formed at the rear part of the handpiece 14 and is compressed from the dental unit (not shown) to the vibration generator 12 when the male joint 20 provided at the front end of the dental hose 18 is inserted. While supplying air, cleaning water is supplied to the brush holder 10.
An output shaft 22 is connected to the vibration generator 12 in a vibration transmission relationship, and when the vibration generator 12 is operated by supplying compressed air, the generated vibration propagates to the brush holder 10 via the output shaft 22. It is supposed to be.
The output shaft 22 of the vibration generator 12 has an internal passage 24 for supplying cleaning water from the dental unit to the brush holder 10 when the male joint 20 of the dental hose 18 is inserted into the female joint 16 of the handpiece 14. It is provided.

The brush holder 10 is made of stainless steel, and includes a proximal end 26, a distal end 28, and a vibration transmitting member 30 that couples the two.
A male screw portion 26A is formed on the outer periphery of the proximal end 26, and the male screw portion 26A of the proximal end 26 is screwed into a female screw hole 32 formed at the tip of the output shaft 22 of the vibration generating device 12. Thus, the brush holder 10 is connected to the output shaft 22 in a vibration transmission relationship.
The distal end 28 is formed with a female screw hole 34 for screwing a brush, which will be described later, interchangeably.

  The vibration transmitting member 30 is formed by a first section 36 extending substantially coaxially from the proximal end 26 and a second section 38 extending obliquely forward and upward from the front end of the first section 36. A character-shaped curved portion 40 is provided. The curved portion 40 is formed by bending as in the prior art.

The distal end 28 of the brush holder 10 is integrally formed with the second section 38 adjacent to the front end of the second section 38 to extend substantially perpendicular to the axis of the second section 38 of the vibration transmitting member 30. It is.
The bending portion 40 of the vibration transmitting member 30 is formed by bending, whereas the distal end 28 is formed by cutting a material for forming a brush holder as described later. .
As can be seen from FIG. 2, the distal end 28 is in the same plane as the plane including the first section 36 and the second section 38 of the vibration transmitting member 30, but the distal end 28 and the first section 36 are different from each other. The two sections 38 extend in alternate directions with respect to the axis.

The brush holder 10 is provided with a cleaning water supply passage 42 over its entire length so that cleaning water sent from a dental unit (not shown) is supplied to the brush 46.
Further, the brush holder 10 is formed with a chamfer 44 for hanging a wrench when the proximal end 26 is screwed to the output shaft 22 of the vibration generator 12.

The brush 46 includes a fiber bundle 48 for cleaning or polishing teeth, a stainless steel tube portion 50 for binding the fiber bundle 48, and the brush portion 10 integrally with the tube portion 50, as in the prior art. A male screw portion 52 is provided to be screwed into a female screw hole 34 formed in the distal end 28. Although not shown, the male thread portion 52 is provided with a cleaning water supply passage for supplying the fiber bundle 48 with the cleaning water sent from the cleaning water supply passage 42.
A plurality of brushes having different shapes and sizes depending on the application are commercially available as a set, and the practitioner can select an appropriate brush suitable for the treatment and attach it to the brush holder for use.

Next, a non-limiting example of a manufacturing process of the brush holder 10 will be described with reference to FIG.
A long stainless steel round bar 54 is preferably used as the initial material. This round bar 54 is held by a numerically controlled machine tool having an XYZ axis, and the tip of the round bar 54 is primarily processed into the shape shown in FIG. 3 over the length of one brush holder, and then cut perpendicular to the Z axis. One billet 58 can be cut along the surface 56 to the length of one brush holder, and each billet can be post-processed.

In the primary processing described above, first, the distal end 28 of the brush holder 10 can be formed by cutting using a rotary cutting tool such as an end mill of a numerically controlled milling machine.
In the cutting of the distal end 28, a short cylindrical block 60 having a Z-axis direction thickness t equal to the maximum diameter of the distal end 28 is assumed at the tip of the long round bar 54. An axis is aligned along a plane perpendicular to the X axis that is separated from the vertical central axis 62 by a thickness t / 2 in the X axis direction, for example, the left side (the left and right refer to the side when viewing the distal end from the proximal end) By displacing the right end surface of the end mill held horizontally and perpendicular to the X axis in parallel with the Y axis, the left side surface of the distal end 28 is cut out. Similarly, from the vertical center axis 62 of the block 60, for example, in the X axis direction The right side surface of the distal end 28 is cut out by displacing the left end surface of the end mill parallel to the Y axis along a plane perpendicular to the X axis that is separated by a thickness t / 2 on the right side. Of course, the order of cutting the left and right side surfaces is not limited.

Next, while moving the end mill, also holding the axis horizontally and perpendicular to the X axis, along the upper contour of the distal end 28, the front contour, and the radius between the upper contour and the front contour, The end mill belly can be used to machine the upper contour, the front contour, and the radius between them to form a semi-finished product of the distal end 28.
Next, a rounding cutter (corner rounding cutter) with the axis held horizontally and perpendicular to the X axis is moved along the four corners of the intermediate product at the distal end 28 and parallel to the Y axis and the Z axis. While rounding the edge of the semi-finished product at the distal end 28.

  When the semi-finished product of the distal end 28 as shown in the left of FIG. 3 is cut out from the block 60 at the tip of the round bar 54 by using a milling machine, the round bar 54 is then rotated around the Z axis. Using a lathe, the intermediate product in which the proximal end and the vibration transmitting member are arranged straight as shown in the remainder of FIG. 3 is cut out. The chamfer 44 can be processed at an appropriate stage by a milling machine.

  When the primary processing of one intermediate product is completed in this way, the straight billet 58 shown in FIG. 3 is obtained by cutting it into the length of one brush holder along the cutting surface 56, and this is subjected to post-processing. .

  In the post-processing, the cleaning water supply passage 42 (see FIG. 2) is formed over the entire length of the proximal end of the straight billet 58 and the vibration transmitting member using, for example, a drilling machine. Further, a female screw hole 34 (FIG. 2) for screwing the male screw portion 52 of the brush 46 is also machined in the distal end 28 using a drilling machine. The internal threaded hole 34 of the distal end 28 and the washing water supply passage 42 of the vibration transmitting member are only drilled so that they meet at right angles without interposing a so-called "R" (roundness) therebetween. Thus, the female screw hole 34 and the cleaning water supply passage 42 are communicated with each other. This is in accordance with the present invention so that the distal end 28 is directly adjacent to the front end of the second section 38 without any rounding between the distal end 28 and the front end of the second section 38. This is made possible by cutting the distal end 28. As a result, the distance L in the prior art brush holder shown in FIG. 1 corresponds to the length of the radius of the second bending portion 8B (the distance between the apex of the second bending portion 8B and the starting point of the distal end 6). (Length in the axial direction of the distal end) can be shortened, which contributes to improving the operability of the brush in a narrow oral cavity.

  When the intermediate product of the brush holder 10 shown in FIG. 3 is obtained in this way, the bending portion 40 shown in FIG. 2 is formed using a bending machine, and further finishing is performed as necessary.

  Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to them, and various modifications and changes can be made. In particular, the cutting order of the distal end can be changed as appropriate. It goes without saying that the brush holder of the present invention can be used by being mounted on a handpiece provided with another type of pneumatic vibration generator or electric vibration generator.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10: Brush holder 12: Vibration generator 14: Dental vibration type handpiece 22: Output shaft of vibration generator 26: Proximal end of brush holder 28: Distal end of brush holder 30: Vibration transmission member 36: Vibration transmission First section of member 38: Second section of vibration transmitting member 40: Curved portion 46: Brush 54: Round bar (material for forming brush holder)
60: Brush holder forming material block


Patent applicant Micron Co., Ltd. Attorney Hiroshi Ito

Claims (7)

A metal brush holder used to attach to a dental handpiece incorporating a vibration generator and transmit the vibration generated by the vibration generator to a brush for cleaning or brushing teeth:
The brush holder is configured to vibrate from the proximal end to the distal end, a proximal end connectable to the vibration generating device in a vibration transmitting relationship, a distal end adapted to exchangeably support the brush, and An elongated vibration transmitting member that couples the two to transmit the vibration;
The vibration transmitting member includes a first section extending substantially coaxially from the proximal end to the proximal end, and obliquely forward and upward at a first angle with respect to the first section from the front end of the first section. A curved portion formed by an extended second section, and the curved portion is formed by bending the vibration transmitting member;
The distal end is in the same plane as the plane including the first and second sections, but the distal end and the first section extend in opposite directions with respect to the axis of the second section ;
The distal end extends outwardly from the front end of the second section in the same plane at a second angle greater than the first angle with respect to the axis of the second section, and second A dental handpiece formed by cutting a material for forming a brush holder so as to be directly adjacent to the front end of the second section without interposing a radius between the front end of the section. Brush holder. The second angle formed by the axis of the distal end with respect to the axis of the second section is 70 ° to 110 °, preferably 85 ° to 95 °, more preferably approximately 90 °. A brush holder according to claim 1. 3. The brush holder according to claim 1, wherein the cutting of the distal end is performed using a numerically controlled milling machine. The front part of the material for forming the brush holder is provided with a metal mass having a shape and size that encompasses the outer shape of the distal end of the brush holder, and the distal end is formed by cutting out the metal mass. A brush holder according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The proximal end of the brush holder and the vibration transmitting member are formed by turning the brush holder forming material around its axis, after forming the distal end by milling the metal lump. A brush holder according to claim 4, characterized in that After the lathe processing, the cleaning water supply passage is formed over the entire length of the proximal end and the vibration transmitting member along the axis of the brush holder forming material, and the brush communicates with the cleaning water supply passage at the distal end. 6. A brush holder according to claim 5, wherein a mounting screw hole is formed. The brush holder according to claim 6, wherein the bending portion is bent after the cleaning water supply passage is formed in the vibration transmitting member.

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