US1199663A

US1199663A - Tooth-regulator.

Info

Publication number: US1199663A
Application number: US86757514A
Authority: US
Inventors: John E Canning
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1914-10-20
Filing date: 1914-10-20
Publication date: 1916-09-26
Anticipated expiration: 1933-09-26

Description

J. E. CANNING.

TOOTH REGULATOR.

APPLICATION FILED ocnzo. 1914.

1,199,663.- I Y PatentedSept. 26,1916.

the anchoring teeth.

screw which connects the two ears ofthe JOHN E. CANNIN-G, OE DENVER, COLORADO.

TOOTH-REGULATOR;

Specification of I.etter's Patent.

Patented Sept. 26,1916.

Applieation filed October 20, 1914. serial No. 867,575.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN E. CANNING, a citizen of the United States, residingin the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tooth-Regulators; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the inven tion, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in.

tooth regulators, or devices employed by Orthodontists in straightening teeth. In the practice of orthodontia, an arch is employed which is anchored by means of clamp bands mounted upon two of the teeth on opposite sides and inthe rear of the tooth or teeth to be straightened. I-Ieretofore,.so far as I am aware, these arches have consisted of solidrods or wires, which are sprung around the teeth exteriorly and connected with the anchor band by insertion in hollow screws by means of which the band is clamped to. Furthermore, the

clamp band in the constructions heretofore used, has been journaled in one lug of the band and threaded into the other lug orear thereof.

My improvement consists of two novel features, namely,a bolt employed in connection with the clamping band and the arch connected with said band and to which-the ligatures are applied. This'bolt consists of a spiral spring whose exterior surface constitutes althread, by reason of the spiral arrangement of the strand of wire forming the bolt, and is threaded into both lugs, whereby both are locked inthe desired position of adjustmentupon the bolt, which is headless and hollow, to receive the ex tremities of the arch. By virtue of this peculiar construction of the bolt, the latter will yieldor expand in an endwise direction whenthe band is applied to the tooth, thus making it practicable to fit the same tightly thereon, whereby the necessary accuracy of adjustment incident to the use of the form of construction heretofore in vogue, is not required. Again, the arch consists of a spiral spring whose-opposite extremities may be inserted in the hollow bolts of the'clampsbands whenthe arch is exteriorly applied; and insleevescarried by the clamp bandinteriorly when the arch is applied interiorly'to the row of teeth. In either case, the. spiral spring'archpossesses animp'ortantadvantage, since it yields as the ligatures are applied, and is adapted to be brought into closecontact with the teeth, whereby it is more effective in the proper performance "of its function than where the- F ig. 4 is a viewof a portion of the mouth showing'theteeth'of, one jaw in place,and with one formof my improvement applied. Fig. 5 is a similar view illustrating another form, or -application of "the device. Fig. 6 is a similar view-illustrating still another application of the improvement.

band, being a view looking in the direction of arrow 7, Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is aside view of the. same; or a view looking in the direction of arrow 8, Fig. 7. 1

The same reference I characters indicate the same parts in all the views.

Let the numeral 5 designate my improved arch, which consists of 'a spiral" spring, which, as illustrated in the drawing, has its convolutions in close contact with' each other, whereby its exterior surface is adapted to cooperate with the threads of a nut 6, which may be applied'thereto and made to act upon either end of a bolt 7,

which is also formed of a spiral spring, its exterior surface fitting the interior threads of lugs 8 formed uponthe opposite extremities of the clamp band 9,'which is adapted to be applied to a tooth 10, for anchoring purposes. The arch 5 is usually anchored by means of two of these-bands, as illustrated in the drawing. Where the front teeth are to be. straightened, the arch is usually Fig. 7 is a detail view of a special form ofclamp be provided with nuts 6 which are threaded anchored to two of the large teeth or molars (see Figs. 4, 5 and 6). Before applying these bands to the teeth, the bolts 7 are threaded into the lugs 8 of the band. In order to properly space the lugs upon the bolt, the bolt is screwed into one lug a suitable distance, before it is started into the other lug, then, as the bolt is turned,the two lugs maintain their spacing relation. As these bands are applied to the teeth, assuming that their lugs are connected by bolts 7, these bolts, as they are composed of spiral springs, will expand slightly, and permit a crowding of the band over and down upon the teeth 10. This spring feature gives an important advantage in a construction of this class, as compared with the construction where the bolt is absolutely unyielding, whereby extreme care must be taken to accurately adjust the clamp band so that it will exactly fit the tooth.

Assuming that the clamp bands are applied to the teeth 10, the arch 5 is applied to the teeth exteriorly (see Fig. 4), its extremities being inserted in the bolts 7 which are hollow for the purpose. The arch may thereon and arranged to engage the adjacent forward extremities of the bolts where they form stops, thus leaving the proper length of arch between the nuts 6 to properly perform the required function in connection with teeth which are to be straightened, as shown at 12 (see Fig. 4). The manner of straightening a tooth of this character is to apply a ligature 13 to the tooth, and then connect the same with the arch, whereby the portion of the arch adjacent the tooth is bent inwardly, as shown at 14, and therefore placed under tension, which tension acts constantly upon the ligature and the tooth is drawn outwardly into proper alinement or into its proper relative position with the other teeth. It is evident that an arch consisting of a spiral spring, has a degree of flexibility which will permit it to adjust itself to varying conditions to a much greater extent than a solid wire or small spring rod.

Referring now to Fig. 5, the construction is similar to Fig. 4, except that the arch 5 is applied to the insideof the row of teeth. In this event, the extremities of the arch are slipped into sleeves 15, which are formed on th clamp bands 9, which are substantially the same as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4, except that in Fig. 5, the auxiliary sleeves 15 are employed, whereas, in Figs. 1 and 4, the hollow bolts constitute the sleeves for receiving the extremities of the exteriorly located arch.

As shown in'Fig. 5, two bands 16 are employed, whose lugs 8 are connected by bolts 7, which is substantially the same construction as employed in connection with these bands 16 are employed.

1 ,1 99 ,cos

the bands 9 in the other views. The inner portions of 'these clamp bands 16 are provided with projections 17 which extend inwardly and engage the arch 5 and prevent the latter from moving out of place. shown in Fig. 5 of the drawing, two of These are of the same construction as shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

In the form of construction shown in Fig. 6, the arch 5 is interiorly located and the extremities pass through sleeves 15 mounted on the inner portions of the clamp bands 9, the same as in Fig. 5. In Fig. 5, the inte riorly located arch 5 is so arranged as to bear upon a tooth 18, which is too far inwardly and illustrates the manner of gradually pressing a tooth back into line with its companion teeth, after they have grown too far inwardly; while in Fig. 6, a ligature 13 is applied to a tooth 18, in such a manner that the tension of the spring 5 acts to draw the tooth 18 inwardly into line with its companion teeth. In this case, nuts 19 are applied to extremities of the spring arch and caused to bear against the rear extremities of the sleeves 15. In this form of construction, by screwing or turning the nuts 19 in the proper direction, a pull may be exerted on the arch 5, which extends to the ligature 18, and through the medium of the latter, draws the tooth 18 gradually back into its proper position with relation to its companion teeth. In this view, the position of an exteriorly located arch of my improved construction, with nuts applied to the opposite extremities thereof and engaging the rear extremities of the bolts 7, is illustrated, the said arch serving, by virtue of the tension placed thereon, to crowd teeth, as 18, which are too far out, back into alinement.

From the foregoing description, the use and .operation of my improvement will be readily understood, and need not be explained further in detail.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A tooth regulating device including an anchor band bolt composed of a spiral spring whose external ribbed surface forms the screw thread.

2. A tooth regulating device including a longitudinally yieldable anchor band bolt.

3. A tooth regulating device including an arch band composed of a spiral spring.

4. A tooth regulating device including a longitudinally yieldable anchor band bolt, said bolt being hollow to receive the arch band. j

5. A tooth regulator composed of a pair of clamp bands, each having a pair of interiorly threaded lugs, hollow bolts respectively engaging said pairs of lugs in clamping relation, and an arch composed of a spiral spring whose extremities enter the hollow bolts of the bands.

6. A tooth regulator composed of a pair of clamp bands each band having a pair of interiorly threaded lugs, hollow bolts respectively engaging the said pairs of lugs in clamping relation, an arch band composed of a spiral spring whose extremities enter the hollow bolts of the bands, and an auxiliary clamp band having a projection engaging the arch band to maintain the latter in place between the anchoring bands;

7 A tooth regulator composed of a pair of anchoring clamp bands, provided with lugs, hollow bolts applied to said lugs in clamping relation, an arch band Whose extremities enter said bolts, and auxiliary clamp bands located between the anchoring bands and having projections engaging the said arch band to maintain the latter in its proper position.

8. A tooth regulator composed of a pair of anchoring clamp bands, each having two threaded lugs, hollow bolts composed of spiral springs respectively engaging the sets of lugs of the two bands in clamping relation, and an arch band composed of a spiral spring whose extremities enter the said clamp bands.

In testimony whereof I afl ix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN E. CANNING.

Witnesses:

MAZE KIRBY, A. EBERT OBRIEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Iatente, Washington, D. 0.