US1761312A - Method of forming attachments for dentures - Google Patents

Description

June 3, 1930. s. RICHARDSON 1,761,312

.METHOD OF FORMING ATTACHMENTS FOR DENTURES Filed March 3, 1927 III/IIII/ Patented June 3, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SIDNEY RICHARDSON, OF HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO ANNIE RICHARD- SON, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA METHOD OF FORMING ATTACHMENTS FOR IDENTURES Application filed March 3, 1927. Serial No. 172,414.

My invention relates generally to dental appliances, and more specifically to a method of forming a readily detachable anchoring device or attachment for dentures, removable bridge Work, and the like, and the principle object of my invention is to provide a relatively simple, and easily practiced method for producing an attaching device that is capable ofbeing readily applied to dentures,removable bridge work, and the like, and which device has great strength and rigidity and therefore serves to very firmly retain the denture or removable bridge work in proper position within the oral cavity.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved method of forming an attachment or anchoring device of the character referred to, which, with slight modifications may be utilized as a stress breaker extension for the attachment of certainforms of dentures. f

t will be understood that attachments produced in accordanqe with my invention relates are necessarily relatively small in size and as the dentures or parts that are supported by the attachments are subject to consid-- erable stress, the attaching means must necessarily have the greatest possible degree of strength to resist the applied strains and stresses.

It is the purpose of my invention to form the parts of the attachment, and particularly the male member thereof, so that the strength of the metal of which the parts are formed, is utilized to the greatest degree in resisting the strains and stresses that may be developed while the attachments are in use. 3

With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists in the method hereinafter more fully described and reference being had to the accompa'nyingdrawing, in which Fig. 1 is aperspective view of a block of metal from which the male member of my improved attachment is formed.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the block of metal after the same has been machined to proper shape] and before it has been dio'0 vided. I I

' I Fig. 8 is a perspective View of the box that Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the finished male member of my improved attachment.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the tube or cup that receives the head or body portion of the male member of the attachment.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a denture that is provided with my improved attaching devices and showing the latter anchored in abutment inlays.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken approxi mately on the line 66 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is an elevational view of the male member of the attachment and which is constructed to serve as a stress breaker extension.

receives the shank of the male member of the stress breaker attachment and which box is anchored in a denture or removable bridge work.

Fig. 9 is a horizontal section taken through a denture that is equipped with my improved attachment and showing a set screw that is utilized for securing the denture and its box to the shank of the male member of the stress breaker.

In the production'of the male member of the attaching device by my improved method, I utilize a substantially rectangular block 10 of alloy or platinized metal that is very hard and tough and by machining operations, a'portion of the body of this block of metal on one side between its ends is removed so as to form a substantially U-shaped member, as illustrated in Fig. 2, and which member comprises parallel end portions 11, the lower ends of which are connected by a plate or web 12. The member thus formed is now cut or divided by suitable means at a'centrally arranged transverse point, as indicated by the dotted line (I- in Fig. 2, thus producing two identical L-shaped members.

The rear or under faces of the two parts of the web or plate 12 are now placed in direct contact with each other and the outer portions, or those portions remote from the end walls or members 11, are integrally connected by a suitable fusing, welding, or brazing operation and thus the two parts of the web or plate 12 are united to form a substantially 100 of a suitable tool to slightly spread the parts 11 of the head of the device in the event that it becomes necessary totake up any wear or play that might develop between the head and the tube or sleeve in which the same is seated, and which condition n'iight exist as a result of wear during extended use.

Inasmuch as the male member, comprising a shank 13 and head formed by the parts 11, is milled from a solid block of metal, the molecules and fibers of the metal in all parts of the member retain their original relative positions, thus insuring greatest possible strength and resistivity to strains and stresses while the device is in service.

In the manufacture of the male member of the attachment, the slot 14 is but one or two thousandths of an inch in width and therefore relatively little strength is sac'ri-' ficed by the formation of said slot.

The milling of the male member from a solid block of metal eliminates the necessity s for bending any portion of said member dur ing its production, and which bending, it will be understood, necessarily disturbs, stretches and expands the metal at the bending point and which action materially weakens the finished structure.

The tube or socket member that receives the head 11, and which is illustrated in Fig. 4, is

preferably formed of sheet metal such as platinum and said tube or socket comprises a vertically disposed cup-shaped member 15 of sufficient size to snugly receive the head 11 of the male member. For the accommodation of the projecting shank 10 of the male member, a vertically disposed opening 16 is formed in the central portion of one of the side walls of the tube or socket, the lower end of said opening being closed and the wall of the tube or socket immediately adjacent to the edge of this opening 16 is increased in thickness to form a substantially U-shaped reinforcing member 17 around said opening.

In view of the fact that the material from which the tube or socket 15 is formed is relatively thin, it is necessary to reinforce the edges of the opening 16 in order to provide ample strength for that portion of the tube that is positioned immediately adjacent to the inner end of the shank 10 or that portion of said shank that is immediately adjacent to the head 11.

In order to accommodate that portion of the reinforcement 17 that extends across the bottom of opening 16, the lower portion of shank 13 is cut away and thus the lower edge of said shank terminates in a plane slightly above the plane occupied by the under face of head 11.

The tube or socket 15 is permanently anchored in an inlay such as 18 and which latter is seated in the face of a tooth to which the denture or removable bridge work is to be attached and the shank 13 of the attachment is firmly anchored in the body of the denture D or removable bridge work.

Thus when the parts of the attachment are properly formed and associated with the denture or removable bridge work and the teeth to which the latter is detachably connected, the heads 11 of the attachments project from the denture or removable bridge work and said heads are inserted in the anchored tubes or sockets 15, thus providing a very firm and substantial connection between the denture or removable bridge work and the teeth to which the same is anchored.

Where my improved attachment is constructed for use as a stress breaker, the shank of the male member of the device is formed at an angle relative to the horizontal plane occupied by the head of said member and thus the stress breaker takes the form as illustrated in Fig. 7, with the upper and lower edges of the shank 1O occupying planes within a range for 15 to 30 relative to a horizontal plane. These stress breakers are particularly designed for use in What are termed close bite cases.

The stress breaker box that receives the shank 13 and which is illustrated in Fig. 8, comprises a substantially rectangular shell 19 formed of relatively thin metal, preferably platinum, with both ends open and the size of said box being such as to receive the shank 13. This box is firmly anchored in any suitable manner in the body of the denture or removable bridge Work.

Where it is desired to secure the shank of the male member within the box 19 so as to permit said male member to have a limited degree of rocking movement within the box and at the same time to retain the parts in proper position, a threaded aperture A is formed in the lingual or palatal walls of the denture and box and a small set screw such as 20 is screw-seated in the aperture A. The point of this screw passes through the aperture A in the box and bears against the adjacent face of the shank 13.

The position of the screw 20 is such, that it bears on the shank at a point entirely beyond the inner end of the slot 14 in the head of the stress breaker. Therefore, said set screw has a firm bearing on the body of the shank and when expanding the head by insertion of a suitable tool in the slot 14, there is no binding on the inner end of the screw, for the movement of the expanded portions of the device do not extend through the shank beyond the inner end of the slot therein. Thus fracture of the male member as a result of repeated spreading of the head end thereof is minimized and the inner end of the screw 20 always has bearing on that portion of the shank having the greatest thickness. An especially desirable feature of my invention is the formation of the male member of the attachment from a solid block of metal without bending or in any way disturbing the original molecular structure of the metal, for by so doing, the maximum strength of said metal in the finished product is retained and which strength is highly desirable in devices of the character to which my invention relates, for said devices are necessarily small and they are subjected to strains and stresses of considerable de ree while in service.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided an attachment for removable bridge work, clentures, and the like, that is relatively simple in construction, inexpensive of manufacture,

and which will be very effective in performing the functions for which it is intended.

It will be understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of my improved attachment for removable bridge work, dentures, and the like, may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claim.

I claim as my invention: The herein described method of forming an attachment for dentures which consists in cutting a solid block of metal to form a substantially U-shaped member, dividing said member on a medial line to form two identical L-shaped members, arranging said L- shaped members so that two of the legs thereof lie back to back and then integrally connecting portions of the legs of said L-shaped members so as to form a substantially T- shaped member.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature. 5;) SIDNEY RICHARDSON.

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