US 11,376,698 B2Granted

Dental milling machine method

AssigneeDmu GmbH

InventorsMartin Huber, Alfons Wörmer

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A dental milling machine is provided with a tool which is guided in a chuck. A workpiece arm is mounted opposite the tool to be able to be moved at least in the direction of the spindle axis. With a control device it can be moved in relation to the workpiece, especially by means of a drive motor of the workpiece arm. The workpiece arm has an abutment element, whereby the control device moves the tool and the abutment element towards each other until they abut each other. The control device can be used to detect abutment of the abutment element with respect to the tool, in particular with respect to its tip, in particular by decelerating the (relative) movement of the tool and the abutment element towards each another, upon contact of the tool and the abutment element. This position may be signaled as a reference position and, especially may be stored.

Claims11

Dependent claims

A method for determining a reference point or position between a workpiece and a tool of a dental milling machine by determining a position of a tip of the tool of the dental milling machine, the dental milling machine used for milling the workpiece and having a control device, a tool clamped in a chuck, and a workpiece arm having an abutment element at a location which is spaced apart from the workpiece, by a predetermined value, comprising

moving the workpiece arm with the abutment element translationally in relation to the tip of the tool, wherein a movement of the workpiece arm is performed by a drive motor,
detecting the movement of the workpiece arm by an encoder which is coupled to the drive motor,
wherein the encoder, together with the control device, acts as a slip sensor and are configured to detect if drive slip of the drive motor occurs or not, as a result of abutment of the abutment element at the tip of the tool, and
wherein the first occurrence of a drive slip is evaluated by the control device as an indication of said abutment.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/020,015Filed 14 Sep 2020 · division
Priority: EP 1721007022 Dec 2017
Published: US 2020/0405442 A131 Dec 2020
Granted: 5 Jul 2022
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification15 codes

B23Q 1/70
Members which are comprised in the general build-up of a form of machine, particularly relatively large fixed members: stationary or movable…
B23Q 17/2241
For adjusting the tool relative to the workpiece: detection of contact between tool and workpiece
A61B 90/03
Instruments, implements or accessories specially adapted for surgery or diagnosis and not covered by any of the groups A61B1/00 - A61B50/00,…
A61B 2090/034
Abutting means, stops, e.g. abutting on tissue or skin: abutting on parts of the device itself

Family

Application16/229,071Parent of this division · filed 21 Dec 2018
US 2020/0405442 A1Pre-grant publication · published 31 Dec 2020
US 11,020,831 B2Parent of this division
US 2019/0192256 A1Published application
US 11,376,698 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.