The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 15, 1978
Filed:
Nov. 12, 1976
Bobby Belton Childress, Charlotte, NC (US);
Pelton & Crane Company, Charlotte, NC (US);
Abstract
A plurality of dental, medical or the like handpiece instruments normally housed in one or more instrument consoles and extensible relative thereto for use are controlled by apparatus which assures safety in use of the handpiece instruments and accommodates control over the functioning of a selected one handpiece instrument from a single common foot operated controller. In a particular environment for this invention, as described more fully hereinafter, flexible hose are respectively attached to a plurality of instrument handpieces and are extensible from a console, which receives the plurality of handpieces, upon selection and removal of corresponding ones of the handpiece instruments. Detectors are provided for sensing the removal of each handpiece instrument from the console, and provision is made for selectively delivering at least one of a plurality of fluids through the flexible hose to each of the plurality of handpieces. In accordance with the present invention, control circuitry operatively connected with and responsive to the detectors and to the foot controller is operatively connected with a handpiece locking arrangement and with the fluid supply for identifying a handpiece which has been selected by an operator and removed from the console for use, for enabling the handpiece lock during a predetermined interval of time after selection and removal of any one handpiece instrument to lock any selected handpiece instrument and the respective hose in an extended position, for distinguishing among varying patterns of actuation of the foot controller indicative of selection of a certain fluid for delivery, for enabling delivery of selected fluid to a selected handpiece instrument only, and for disabling the handpiece lock from locking any other handpiece in extended position after the predetermined time interval following selection and removal of a selected handpiece.