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:
Sep. 19, 2000
Filed:
Mar. 24, 1999
James D Cleary, Glendora, CA (US);
William E Wyllie, II, Sierra Madre, CA (US);
Brian W Lotte, Hermosa Beach, CA (US);
3M Innovative Properties Company, St. Paul, MN (US);
Abstract
An attachment device useful during the course of orthodontic treatment couples an interarch appliance to brackets and/or to archwires placed in the oral cavity. The attachment device includes a wire segment that crosses over a labial side of an archwire in order to enable a coupler of the interarch appliance to slide past the archwire as the patient's jaws are opened. The attachment device increases the range of free sliding motion of the interarch appliance and reduces the amount of stress that might be otherwise imposed on the appliance, on the brackets and/or the archwires as the patient's jaws are opened. The attachment device is particularly suitable for use with Class II correction appliances including elongated, resilient force modules that have an inherent bias toward a normally straight orientation.