US2251206A

US2251206A - Amalgam carrier

Info

Publication number: US2251206A
Application number: US335128A
Authority: US
Inventors: Bruce W Rutrough
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1940-05-14
Filing date: 1940-05-14
Publication date: 1941-07-29
Anticipated expiration: 1958-07-29

Description

Ju 295, 1941. E. W. RUTROUGH 2,251,206

AMALGAM CARRIER Filed May 14, 1940 Patented July 29, 1941 This invention relates to dentalitools, andmore particularly, to amalgam carriers fory placing amalgam in cavities in teeth.

Dental tools or instrumentsfmust meet several requirements. They must be small and so designed as to reach all partsfof the mouth; theyVV must be adapted to easy andV perfectY sterilization; and they must havenoeXposed moving parts which might pinch or cut the mouth'ofthe patient. All of these requirements are of the utmost importance.

The purpose of this invention is to provide an amalgam carrier whichv will meet these requirements. The invention contemplates a small instrument for the transportation of amalgam, or other soft filling, to a cavity in a tooth. The instrument is so-designed that all movingV parts in that portion of the instrument which enters the mouth are completely housed toensure protection to the mouth of the patient. For proper sterilization, all parts of an instrument must be disassembled and placed in a sterilizer separately. The ease with which tlieinstrument may be assembled or disassembled4 often determines whether or not it receives` proper sterilization. The entire instrument of the present invention may be readily disassembled into itsv component parts forcleaning and sterilization. Thisfeature also adds to the ease with which worn or broken parts-maybe replaced;

This in broad terms isthe purposeof the invention. For details of construction, attentionis directed to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is aside elevation of"apreferred emf bodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectionthrough the instrument to an enlarged scale, a portion of the handle being brokenaway;

Figure 3 is a front end`elevation; and

Figure 4 is a horizontalv section on'the'line ll--ll of Figure 2.

As the great majority Aof cavities in teeth are prepared for filling through the use of an electric drill, the instrument embodying the concepts of the present invention is designed to follow as closely as possible the general configuration of the electric drill.

It will be seen from the drawing that the body portion of the instrument is a housing 5, separable along its longitudinal center line into an upper section 6 and a lower section 'l. One of the sections of the housing has a tongue 8 depending from its forward end adapted to t into a matching depression 9 in the other section to and that .the force applied tothe plungerv by 'tlie .to -tlie plunger.

keep the forward: portion of the sections in proper alignment. The rear ends ofA the sections,l when together, form a screwthreaded boss l0'v of less diameter thany the housing. A handle II having a-screwthreadedbore I2 threadsoverl the boss l) to clamp the sections of the housing tight-V ly together. 'I'his housing providesl a cover for all moving parts of the device to protect the'V mouth of the patient and prevent lling or other matter from clogging the parts.

Pivotally mounted on a pin IBFpassingvthrough the lower section of the housing, is an operating lever lll. One arm ofAV the lever extends dow-n-A wardly and rearwardly as at I5 through aslot in the lower half'Ofl the housing to form an operating trigger, while the arm I6' of the lever extends forwardly to engage a plunger Il. The plunger I7' is mountedfor reciprocation within an amalgamV receiving chamber IS contained in ahead" IYSfwhich isthreaded in an openingin the underside of section 'l of the housing, as at M -1' It will be noted that the longitudinalaxis of the amalgam-receivingnhamber and consequently the movement ofv4 the plunger is at right angles to the axis of the body portion of the instrument,

lever is longitudinal of the amalgamchamber.

To'ensure smooth operation ofthe plunger I?, as well as ease of assembly and disassembly, the

i'plunger is provided with a reduced neck 2| land aetapered head22; liever Illhas` at its forwardenda slot 23toreceive the neckZ-l ofthe plunger i-T. Movement of the leveri I 41 by means'ofthel triggerV |5- willl` impart aY reciprocating mot-ion lever willi bear against the shoulder 24 on the plunger, while in its-upwardmovement the leverl will rock against the tapered' head 222 The tapered head allowsforrocking movement betweentlie leverandthe plunger thus eliminating binding.

A.spring.2.5 is interposedibetween the housing and the trigger l5 of the lever, held in position by a boss 26 on the housing and a boss 21 on the trigger. This spring exerts pressure against the lever to maintain the plunger in normal raised position.

In the use of the device, amalgam which has been prepared for lling, may be placed upon any iiat surface and the amalgam receiving chamber pressed onto it. This will force a certain amount of the amalgam into the chamber. When a suincient amount of the filling has been placed in the chamber, the instrument is inserted in the mouth with the amalgam chamber directly over In' its downward movementV the Y the cavity in the tooth. Pressure upon the trigger l5 will force the plunger downwardly through the chamber, expelling the filling into the tooth. The amalgam is then condensed or packed with other instruments, and this operation is continued until the cavity is properly iilled.

After the dentist has inished treating a patient, it is necessary that the instrument be sterilized before it is used on another patient. For complete sterilization, the instrument must be completely disassembled and the various parts placed in the sterilizer separately. To disassemble the instrument, the handle Il is rst unscrewed and taken off, leaving the two sections of the housing readily separable. The pivot pin I3 of the lever I4 is pulled out and the lever moved backward in the slot 1', releasing the plunger I1 from the lever. The head I9 is removed from the section I of the housing completing the disassembling of the instrument. By reason of the construction employed, all portions of the instrument will be separated, there will be no joint or crevice in which bacterial may lodge, and all parts may be readily sterilized. After sterilization the parts may be easily reassembled for use.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, changes may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. An amalgam carrier comprising a split housing, a handle removably secured to one end of said housing to clamp the housing together, a head having an amalgam receiving chamber removably secured to the opposite end of said housing, a lever pivotally mounted in the housing, and a plunger carried by said lever for reciprocation within the amalgam receiving chamber.

2. An amalgam carrier comprising a housing having separable sections, one of said sections having an amalgam receiving chamber removably secured thereto, a lever pivotally mounted in said housing and carrying a plunger for reciprocation in the amalgam chamber, and a handle removably secured to said housing to clamp the sections together.

3. An amalgam carrier comprising a housing, a lever pivotally mounted in said housing, and a head having an amalgam receiving chamber, said housing comprising separable sections having matching threaded portions, and a handle having a threaded bore to receive the threaded portions of said housing and clamp the sections together, said lever having a plunger removably secured thereto -:for reciprocation vwithin the amalgam receiving chamber, and a spring between sald housing and said lever.

4. An amalgam carrier comprising a housing, a lever pivotally mounted in said housing and a handle, said housing comprising separable sections having matching threaded portions, and a head having an amalgam receiving chamber rcmovably secured to one of said sections, said handle having a screwthreaded bore to receive a threaded portion of the housing and clamp the sections together, a plunger removably secured to the lever for reciprocation within said amalgam receiving chamber, and a spring between said housing and said lever.

5. An amalgam carrier comprising a housing portion, a handle portion secured to the rear end of the housing portion, said housing portion being provided in its bottom with a slot located adjacent to its rear end, a head having an amalgam receiving chamber secured to and depending from the housing portion adjacent to its front end, a lever pivotally mounted in the housing portion adjacent to the slot and having an actuating arm enclosed in the housing portion and a trigger projecting outwardly and downwardly from the housing portion through said slot, and a plunger connected within the housing portion to the actuating arm of said lever for reciprocation within the amalgam receiving chamber.

6. An amalgam carrier comprising a housing formed of longitudinally divided separable upper and lower sections, the lower section having a slot in the bottom thereof, means at the for ward ends of the sections to detachably interconnect them when assembled against relative displacement, a detachable handle engaging and clamping the housing sections together at their rear ends, a lever pivotally mounted upon the lower housing section and having an actuating arm enclosed in said housing and a trigger projecting from the housing through said slot, a plunger connected to said actuating arm of the lever, and a head having an amalgam receiving chamber to coact with the plunger, said head being removably secured to the bottom of the lower section of the housing and depending therefrom.

'7. An amalgam carrier comprising a housing formed of longitudinally divided separable upper and lower sections, the lower section having a slot in the bottom thereof, means at the forward ends of the sections to detachably interconnect them when assembled against relative displacement, a detachable handle engaging and clamping the housing sections together at their rear ends, a lever pivotally mounted upon the lower housing section and having an actuating arm enclosed in said housing and a trigger projecting from the housing through said slot, a spring extending through the slot and bearing upon the housing and trigger to normally hold the lever in retracted position, a plunger detachably connected to said actuating arm of the lever, and a head having an amalgam receiving chamber to coact with the plunger, said head being removably secured to the bottom of the lower section of the housing and depending therefrom.

BRUCE W. RUTROUGH.