Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Sirona Dental Systems Gmbh

Hermann Landgraf

Werner Schuss

Josef Hain

Werner Schwarz

Hans Helfrich

Tilman Phleps

Ralf Sutter

Siegfried Goisser

Ernst O Fleer

Juergen Wohlgemuth

Thomas Bierbaum

Matthias Rein

Hans J Klose

Rainer Worschischek

Thomas Jerger

Rainer-Karl Worschischek

Joachim Peuckert

Rainer Worschieschek

The invention relates to a laser handpiece, an exchangeable fiber-optic insert, and a control unittherefor. The laser handpiececomprises a optical waveguide, which is connected to a light coupling site in a base memberand in which the application elementfor laser light is exchangeably attached to the base member. The base memberis mounted in a sleeve-type gripfor axial displacement therein. The light guidecan be wound around a control devicewhich has an annular gapfor this purpose and a lower housing partwhich is offset from an upper housing part. An exchangeable fiber-optic insertacting as an application element is provided with a sleeveserving as protection during transportation and as an assembling tool.

Laser handpiece, exchangeable fiber-optic insert and control unit therefor

A rotatable tool that is suitable for high-speed drives has a shaft for holding the tool in a suitable chucking device and one end of the shaft contains a tool head with an active working surface. To provide improved cooling of the tool, the tool head is provided with a central in-flow channel fashioned as a blind hole from which a plurality out-flow channels discharge to the working surface of the tool head.

Rotatable tool suitable for high speed drive

A medical instrument, particularly a dental instrument has a head housing with a chucking arrangement for gripping an internally-cooled tool. In order to assume an optimum transfer of coolant from a delivery channel into an internal channel of the tool, an exit opening of the delivery channel is arranged opposite the admission opening of the tool in a no-contact fashion at the end of the tool being gripped. To prevent leakage, sealing gaps are provided between the moving parts in the head housing and compressed air is charged into these sealing gaps under a higher pressure in comparison to the pressure of the coolant.

Medical instrument having an internally-cooled tool

A foot control mechanism for a dental apparatus has a tiltable actuation member mounted on a base part and an arrangement for holding the tiltable actuation member in a neutral position, which requires sufficient force to move the actuation member in either direction from the neutral position to a switch position. To accomplish this, the structure includes a mounting arrangement utilizing a pair of spaced-apart bearings extending parallel to each other which bearings receive projections on the other element and, preferably, a catch member is provided which provides a resistant force from movement from the neutral position.

Foot control mechanism for a dental apparatus

Foot switch

A socket, which receives a tool having a cylindrical shaft and which is mounted for rotation to rotate the tool, has an outer sleeve which receives a clamping sleeve and a ram for engaging a first end of the clamping sleeve. The first end of the clamping sleeve is provided with slots defining resilient tongues which are moved from a clamping position radially outward to a position for releasing the shaft by engagement with the ram. The ram has either an outer conically tapered surface or partially conically outer tapered surfaces on projections which engage inner tapered surfaces of each of the tongues or fingers. Preferably, the tapers of the ram and fingers are selected so that only substantially a line contact is formed therebetween to reduce the force necessary to move the fingers or tongues radially outward to the declamping or disengaging position.

Socket to clampingly hold dental tools

An improved dental handpiece arrangement utilizes a drive cartridge containing the drive motor. The drive cartridge coacts with a coupling member and can be utilized with either a tubular adapter which enables use with one type of dental grip piece or can be utilized with a grip piece having an integral tubular portion for receiving the cartridge. The arrangement with the motor cartridge provides a great flexibility of utilizing grip pieces of different constructions.

Dental handpiece arrangement

A ball catch coupling for releasably connecting two parts which permits relative rotation of the parts in the connected conditions as an annular section carried on one of the parts with a number of uniformly disposed bores at a periphery thereof, balls respectively received and rotatable in each of the bores, a closed resilient ring surrounding the balls, an annular groove in the annular section which receives the ring and permits limited axial displacement and free rotation thereof within said groove, and the other part to be connected having an annular groove which at least partially receives the ring and the balls when the two parts are connected. The limited displacement and free rotation of the ring with respect to the annular section permits engagement and disengagement to be undertaken particularly easily and with low wear.

Ball catch coupling for releasably connecting two parts permitting

A device for surface treatment of teeth characterized by a vortex chamber divided by a diaphragm into an upper and lower portion, a reservoir discharging through an orifice which is positioned in the first portion to be closed by the diaphragm while in a first position, a pressurized gas line discharging into the first portion and extending from the first portion to a nozzle of the device so that an abradant discharged through the orifice into the first portion is mixed with the gas for discharge from the nozzle of the hand piece. The second portion of the vortex chamber includes a spring biasing the diaphragm toward the first position and a control line which receives pressurized gas from a branching line and has a regulating valve for venting the gas pressure in the second chamber to enable the diaphragm to move to the second position to enable flow of the abradant into the first portion. The device also includes a vibrating arrangement for vibrating the reservoir and the reservoir is pressurized by a pressure compensation line extending from the discharge side of the gas line to the reservoir.

Device for surface treatment of teeth

A device for cleaning teeth by projecting water and a carrier gas containing an abrasive at the surface characterized by a nozzle having at least one water discharge aperture and a gas discharge aperture adjacent the water discharge aperture, the water discharge aperture being connected to a source of water, the gas discharge aperture being connected to a mixing chamber which in turn is connected by a channel to a source of carrier gas containing abrasive and by a separate channel to an additional source of abrasive-free gas which is directed into the mixing chamber through an acceleration jet so that the abrasive-free gas having a higher acceleration energy in comparison to the carrier gas mixes with the carrier gas to accelerate it as the abrasive-free gas passes through the mixing chamber and the discharge aperture.

Device for cleaning teeth

The present invention is directed to a dental handpiece having two parts which are coupled together for relative rotation on the axis of the dental handpiece characterized by an arrangement for conveying light through the handpiece and including a rotatable optical coupling having at least one transmission ring.

Dental handpiece

For adjusting the rpm with the assistance of mechanical regulators consisting of low-retentivity magnetic material, the air gap between the rotor and the stator, and/or the magnetic return between the stator field poles of opposite polarity, and/or a magnetic shunt is adjusted. The illustrative embodiments are particularly provided for d.c. subfractional horsepower motors for the drive of dental tools.

D.C. Subfractional horsepower motor with flux shunt for variable RPM

A device for releasably connecting two parts together characterized by a projection on one part slideably received in a socket or recess of another part to prevent twisting and to guide the two parts as they begin at connection until stop surfaces abut to define the final connecting position and a connecting mechanism having at least one pair of connecting elements mounted on the parts with one connecting element of the pair having an engagement surface for engaging the other element of the pair and being mounted for rotation on the one part with the engagement surface moving in an arc between an unlocked position to a lock position and the mechanism includes a resilient member acting on the one element to urge the engagement surface along the arc at least during the last part of travel towards the lock position so that two parts are held in a final connecting position by the resilient element acting on the one element.

Device for releasably connecting two parts of a dental handpiece together

A drive section for a dental handpiece having a housing with means for connection to a supply hose and means for connection to a grip section of the handpiece, the housing receiving a drive motor having a stator surrounding a rotor and at least one coolant line section extending therethrough in a direction parallel to the axis of the drive section, characterized by the stator consisting of a hard metallic material with at least one section of soft metallic material, each section being a portion of the circumference of the stator and extending the length thereof, and each section having a means for receiving a portion of the coolant line. Preferably, the stator has a cylindrical configuration in which the sections form a segment of the cylindrical configuration and are provided with a longitudinally extending bore which forms a portion of the coolant line. If the drive motor is an electrical motor, the stator has a pair of half shells of a permanent magnetic material which are separated by a pair of sections which are of soft magnetic material and act as intermediate yokes.

Drive motor for a dental handpiece

A dental handpiece having a drive section and a detachably connected grip section with a working instrument with at least one cooling medium line for conveying a cooling medium to the area of the instrument characterized by the grip section including at least a first and second part engaged with each other for relative rotation therebetween with each part having a segment of a fluid passage for each of the cooling mediums line with the second part being non-rotatably connected with the drive section and a rotatable fluid connection disposed between the first and second parts so that the grip section is free to rotate relative to the drive section of the handpiece and the second part. In one embodiment of the invention, the fluid connection is formed by an annular groove in one of the first and second parts with a port in the other of said parts axially aligned and sealed therewith by sealing rings. In another embodiment of the invention, the fluid connection is formed by flexible tube loosely received in an annular space in the grip section which tube interconnects the segments of the two parts.

Growing community of inventors

Heppenheim, Germany

Hermann Landgraf