GB1415787A - Connectors for rotary dental instruments - Google Patents

Abstract

1415787 Dental handpiece connectors KALTENBACH & VOIGT 15 Feb 1973 [22 Feb 1972 22 Dec 1972] 7589/73 Heading A5R [Also in Divisions E2 and F2] A dental instrument comprises a handpiece 1 housing a pressure medium operated motor, inlets for the pressure medium and a coolant, and a connector piece 5 for detachably coupling the handpiece 1 with a flexible supply tube 7 and supplying the handpiece 1 with the pressure medium and the coolant while permitting rotation of the handpiece 1 relative to the supply tube 7. The coupling between the handpiece 1 and the connector 5 and the flexible tube 7 and the connector 5 may comprise snap-action coupling hooks 11 which pivot at 13 and are biassed by springs such that a nose 12 in each hook 11 engages collars 10 on the handpiece 1 and the flexible tube 7. The hooks 11 are mounted on axially non-displaceable sleeves 14 which are rotatably mounted on ball bearings 15. Ducts 17 open into an annular duct 18 in the handpiece 1 and communicate with the head 3 via a duct 19, and the duct 16 communicates with a conduit 20 in the handpiece 1. Similar duct connections are provided between the connector 5 and the flexible tube 7. In an alternative embodiment, screw threads (21, 22), Fig. 2, (not shown) engage corresponding screw threads on the handpiece 1 and the flexible tube 7 respectively so that parts (23, 24) of the connector 5 are non-rotatably joined to the handpiece I and the flexible tube 7 respectively. The parts (23, 24) are mutually rotatably mounted on ball bearings (26 - 31) are provided for air and water and air discharge gaps 32 and (33) are provided in the two embodiments respectively. In an alternative embodiment, a connector 5 includes forward and return air flow ducts (40, 41) respectively. The ducts (38-41) include transition chambers (38a ,39a, 40a, 41a), Figs. 4 and 5, (not shown) between mutually rotatable parts (5a, 5b) of the connector 5.