US1135629A - Dental articulator. - Google Patents

Description

H. F. SMITH &'H. S. DANO.

DENTAL ARTICULATOR.

APPLICATloN m50 Mov. 16. 1914.

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HORACE F. SIVJILII AND HARRY S. DANO, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

DENTAL ARTICULA'IOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

Application filed November 16, 1914. Serial No. 872,418.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that we, HORACE F. SMITH and HARRY S. DANO, citizens of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles, State of California, have invented a new and useful Dental Articulator, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention appertains to dental articulators, and relates more particularly to novel and improved means for applying the plaster casts or molds to the jaws of an articulator.

The present invention contemplates the provision of a pair of attachments for the jaws of a dental articulator, which attachments are provided with unique adjustable means for holding various casts or molds, and which attachments are also provided with novel means for attaching them to the jaws of the articulator.

It is also within the scope of the invention, to provide an apparatus or appliance of the nature indicated, which will be comparatively simple and inexpensive in construction, which may be applied to various dental articulators, and which will be convenient, practical, serviceable and eiiicient in its use, to enable the casts or molds to be readily applied to and removed from the articulator jaws.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention has been illustrated in its preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of the attachments applied to a dental articulator. Fig. Q is a plan view of one of the attachments. Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional views taken on the lines 3H?) and 4 4, respectively, of Fig. 2, and illustrating the attachment applied to the jaw of the articulator.

The dental articulator delineated in the drawing, is of the ordinary type, and embodies the upper and lower jaws 1 and 2. The upper jaw 1 is provided with a tongue extension 3, which overlaps a plate 4, and a clamping screw 5 engages through a longitudinal slot 6 provided in the extension 3 and is threadedly engaged into the plate 4, whereby when the screw 5 is loosened, the jaw 1 may be adjusted relative to the lower jaw 2. rllhe plate 4 is provided with a pair of ears 7. The lower aw 2 is provided with a pair of rearwardly projecting upturned arms 8 terminating in ears 9 which overlap the ears 7, and a hinge pin 10 is engaged through apertures provided in the ears 7 and 9 to hingedly connect the upper and lower jaws for oscillatory or articulate movement similar to the natural anatomical aw movement, for facilitating the adjustment and the linishing of the casts or molds of teeth. A web 11 connects the arms 8 adjacent the ears 9, and has a stop screw 12 threaded therethrough for contact with the plate 4, whereby the stop screw 12 may be employed for limiting the movement of the aws 1 and 2 toward one another, to regulate the bite of the particular casts or molds.

Coming to the present invention, the same embodies a pair of attachments 13, which are substantially duplicates of one another, and which are applicable to the upper and lower jaws of the articulator for applying the plaster casts or molds thereto in a satisfactory and eiiicient manner, without the assistance of plaster' for causing the casts or molds to adhere to the articulator jaws as is usually resorted to, and which is objectionable for obvious reasons.

Each of the attachments 13 embodies a plate 14 adapted to rest against the face of one of the articulator jaws, and having transverse channels or grooves 15 and 16 in its face and back, respectively, intermediate its ends and extending to its side edges. Strips 17 and 18 are engaged slidably in the channels or grooves 15 and 16, and are equipped at their remote ends with arcuate supplemental or secondary jaws 19 and 20, respectively, which project from the plane of the face of the plate 14. It is preferable to have the channels or grooves 15 and 1G, and the strips 17 and 18 of dove-tailed cross section, whereby the strips will be slidably retained within the grooves or channels, to permit of only a lateral adjustment of the supplemental jaws 19 and Q0.

In order to draw the supplemental jaws 19 and 2O toward one another, for clamping various sizes and forms of casts or molds therebetween against the plate 14, the free end of the face strip 17 is provided with a threaded extension 21 engaged through the supplemental jaw 20, and having threaded thereon, a knurled thumb nut 22 which in bearing against the supplemental jaw 20, is adapted to hold the supplemental jaws against separation. By threading the nut 22 upon the extension 21 of the strip or shank 17, the supplemental jaws 19 and 2O may be adjusted to and from one another for the intended purposes. lVhen a cast or mold is placed against the plate 14 between the supplemental jaws 19 and 20 and the nut 22 tightened, the cast or mold will be tightly clamped in place, and the tightening of the nut 22 will also cause the strips 17 and 18 to bind in place, for holding them against lateral movement, until the nut 22 is released.

In order that the plate 14 of each attachment may be readily applied to one jaw of the articulator, the back of the plate 14 is provided with longitudinal channels or grooves 23 and 24 leading from the forward and rear ends, respectively, of the said plate, and strips or shanks 25 and 26 are slidably received by the respective grooves or channels 23 and 24, and have their re mote ends formed with hooks 27 and 28, respectively, turned away from the back of the plate 14 at the outer and inner ends of the said plate. The grooves or channels 23 and 24, and strips or shanks 25 and 26 are preferably of dove-tailed cross section to constrain the strips for longitudinal slid ing adjustments.

The inner or rear hook 28 is engageable over the rear 0r inner end of the articulator jaw, while the forward or other hook 27 is engageable over the corresponding end of the jaw, it being noted that the strips or Shanks 25 and 26 may be slid longitudinally to separate the hooks 27 and 28, in order that they may be readily engaged over the articulator jaw, and then slid toward one another to hold the plate 14 against the jaw. The strip or shank 26 having the hook 28 may be clamped at various adjusted positions by means of a set screw 29 engaged through a slot 30 provided in the strip or shank 26 and taking into the back of the plate 14, it only being necessary to adjust the hook 28 in adjusting the attachment to accommodate various articulator jaws of di ferent lengths.

In order to readily adjust the forward or outer hook 27, the strip or shank 25 is provided with a longitudinal slot 31 in which is engaged a longitudinal threaded stem 32 having its inner or rearY end engaged in any suitable manner to the back of the plate 14, and having its threaded portion projecting beyond the hook 27 and carrying a knurled thumb nut 33 bearing against the said hook to thrust the same inwardly or rearwardly. Thus, the set screw 22 enables the rear or inner hook 28 to be adjusted for accommodating various articulator jaws having radical dilferences in lengths, while the nut 33 enables the outer or forward hook 27 to be quickly adjusted for applying and remow ing the plate 14 to and from the articulator. The back of the plate 14 of each attachment is provided with a marginal rabbet 34 for providing a clearance between the margin of the plate 14 and the articulator jaw.

With the present appliance, it is not necessary to employ plaster or other adhesive material for fastening the plaster casts or molds to the articulator jaws in the usual fashion, and which consumes considerable time and labor, but it is only necessary to apply the casts or molds to the attachments, and to them apply the attachments to the articulator jaws. As above intimated, the attachments may accommodate various sizes of casts or molds, and may be applied to various articulators. To attach the casts or molds to the attachments, the nuts 22 are loosened, whereby the casts or molds may be placed against the plates 14 between. the respective supplemental aws 19 and 20, and in which event the nuts 22 may be retightened to clamp the casts or molds in place. Then, by loosening the nuts 33, the hooks 27 may be moved outwardly or forwardly, whereby the hooks 27 and 28 of the two attachments may be readily engaged over the ends of the articulator jaws, and in which event the nuts 33 may be tightened to clamp the plates 14 of the attachments in place upon the articulator jaws. The articulator jaws may then be articulated in the usual manner for completing or inishing the casts or molds in the usual manner.

By loosening the nuts 22 and 33, the casts or molds may be readily removed from the plates 14 and the said plates may also be detached from the articulator jaws. It is also to be noted that when the casts or molds are applied to the plates 14, the plates may be readily applied to and detached fi'om the articulator jaws without disturbing the relation of the casts or molds with the attachments, so that the casts or molds after being detached may be readily replaced upon the articulator without inconvenience. The present device thus saves both time and labor, and is a useful adjunct to the dentist.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1, An articulator attachment embodying, a plate, a pair of jaws having shanks slidably engaging the plate, the jaws being adapted to receive a cast or mold, one of the Shanks having an extension engaged through the opposite jaw, a nut threaded upon the said extension and bearing against the said jaw, and means for attaching the plate to an articulator jaw.

2. An articulator attachment embodying a plate, means carried by the plate for holding a cast or mold, and means for attaching the plate to an articulator jaw embodying strips slidably engaging the plate and having hooks engageable with the articulator jaw.

3. An articulator attachment embodying a plate, means carried by the plate for holding a cast or mold, means for attaching the plate to an articulator jaw embodying strips slidably engaging the plate and having hooks engageable with the articulator jaw, and means for holding the said strips at various adjustments.

4. An articulator attachment embodying a plate having dove-tailed grooves in its back and face, strips of dove-tailed cross section slidable in said grooves and having jaws at their remote ends, the jaws being adapted to receive and hold a cast or mold against the face of the plate, and means for adjusting said jaws to clamp the cast or mold.

5. An articulator attachment embodying a plate having dove-tailed grooves in its back and face, strips of dove-tailed cross section slidable in said grooves and having jaws at their remote ends, the jaws being adapted to receive and hold a cast or mold against the face of the plate, the other end of the strip which is slidable in the groove in the face of the plate having an extension engaged through the jaw of the other strip, and a nut threaded upon the said extension and bearing against the last mentioned jaw.

6. An articulator attachment embodying a plate, means carried by the plate for holding a cast or mold, means for attaching the plate to an articulator jaw embodying a pair of hooks carried by the plate, one hook having a sham( slidably engaging the plate, a screw terminally engaged to the plate, and a nut threaded upon the screw and bearing against the last mentioned hook for forcing the same inwardly to clamp the articulator jaw.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own, we have hereto aifiXed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

HORACE F. SMITH. HARRY S. DANO.

Witnesses THos. SCHNEIDER, MAX SCHNEIDER.

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

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