US1098972A - Suction-cup for dental plates. - Google Patents

Description

H. R. PRIEST. SUCTION CUP FOR DENTAL PLATES.

APPLIOATION FILED D301. 1013.

COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH 60.,WASMINOTON, n. c.

Patented June 2, 1914.

H19 Freiesz.

burrs srATns PATENT nanny a. entries, or tounouvittn, OHIO.

SUCTION-CUP FOR DENTAL PLATES.

neonate.

Application filed December 1, 1913.

To all whom it may concern lle it known that l, HARRY It. lnmsr, citizen of the United States, residing at Loudonville, in the county of Ashland and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Eduction-Cups for Dental Plates, of which the following is a specilication.

ly invention relates to dental plates used in the manufacture of artificlal dentures and particularly to certain improvements upon the suction cup illustrated and described 1n the patent granted to Buckwalter and Vl irt, No. 781,589, January 3.1, 1905, and also illustrated and described in the patent granted to me N0. 912,977, February 16, 1909.

T he primary object of my present invention is to improve upon the form of the suction cup shown in these two above referred to patents, and to so form the cup that it will not have a tendency to irritate the roof of the mouth or irritate the lower aw and so that increased suction will be secured for the cup.

A further object is to so shape the cup that it will keep its shape much longer than the cup ordinarily used and that it may be trimmed several times and still maintain a need so cti on.

The object also is to so shape the cup that a thinner plate may be used than is ordinarily capable of use with suction cups and to so shape the cup that it will have more nearly the natural shape of the mouth or of the artificial denture.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accom' panying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a dental plate with a cup constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the plate shown in Fig. 1: Fig. 3 is a plan view of the cup; Fig. l is an enlarged cross section of the cup.

Referring to these drawings, 2 designates a dental plate composed of rubber, or other suitable material, and with which, in practice, the teeth 8 are connected. The body portion of the plate 2 is convex in cross and longitudinal section so that the body portion will conform to the roof or palatine portion of the mouth, and this plate is also provlded with the usual flange or rim 4 forming a groove or space in which the gums of the upper jaw Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 2, 1914.

Serial No. eeacae.

l Vhile l have illustrated the denture as being for the upper eeth, I wish it understood that the principle of my invention may be applied to the manufacture of suctlon cups for lower sets as well.

lnordcr. to provide means for securely holding the plate of teeth within the mouth of the patient, ll form in the upper surface of the plate a recess 5 and secure to the plate and within this recess a rubber disk 6. This suction cup 6 is composed of pure soft rubber and is attached at its center to the plate by any suitable means, as by the button or rivet 7.

I do not wish to be limited to the particu lar means whereby the suction cup is attached to the plate, as this forms no part of my invention.

My present invention has particular relation to the cup 6 and to the shape thereof. In the form of cup shown in the patent to Buckwalter and l vlljt, above referred to, and in the patent granted to me on February 16, 1909, the rubber disk forming the cup had a substantially uniform thickness throughout its extent; the margin of the cup, at the edge thereof, had a thickness of substantially one-sixteenth of an inch; and the rubber disk, which is flat for the purpose of application to the plate, is caused to become concave-convex by the binding action of the central. rivet or button.

My invention lies in forming the rubber disk with a feather edge, as it is termed by rubber manufacturers, that is, with a marginal port-ion thinned down so that the extreme edge of the cup is very thin, and the thickness of this marginal portion decreases uniformly toward the circumference of the cup. This thinning of the marginal portion of the cup makes this marginal portion much more flexible and thereby causes it to conform more exactly to the contour of the roof of the mouth. Thus, a much better suction is secured than is secured by disks having a relatively thick and more rigid margin.

It will be noted that the disk from which the cup is made is relatively large. All gum-rubber has a tendency to swell in the mouth, caused by the secretions and acids. Because of the relatively large disk used by me the patient can trim the cup several times and still maintain a good suction, whereas the smaller, old style dish: cannot be trimmed or reduced in area without ma terially interfering with the vacuum cre ated.

By making the cup so the thickness decreases from the center to the outer edge, that is, by making the cup with a feather edge, it permits the plate upon which the cup is mounted to be made thinner, and this is the desideratum of all dentists. By having the cup thicker in the center than at its outer edge, I provide a relatively thick portion of the disk at the point where it is needed, that is, at the point of attachment of the cup or disk to the button or rivet holding it to the plate and yetsecurethe thinness and flexibility which is necessary at the margin of the cup in order to secure proper suction. Furthermore, by decreasing the thickness of the cup from the center to the outer edge, the disk will not have such a tendency to curl up and become useless.

I have found in practice that by having the rubber disk, as described, molded in the cup shape when the disk is made that it will keep its shape much longer than possible where the rubber disk is forced into a concavo-convex form by the binding of the rivet or other attachment.

The practical use of these suction cups in connection with dentures is well under stood. The plate is inserted into the mouth in the usual manner and pressed upward so that the suction cup will spread in contact with the roof or palatine surface of the mouth. The suction cup is expanded and all air is forced from between the cup and the roof of the mouth. The cup will flatten down into the recess 5 when the plate is fully pressed inward and produces a suction which securely holds the plate in position and prevents it from accidentally dropping out or HARRY R. PRIEST.

Witnesses XV. S. HIssnM, A. H. WEIMER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G.

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