US 4,182,038 AGranted

Dental handpiece

AssigneeSiemens Aktiengesellschaft

InventorErnst O. Fleer

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Abstract

A dental handpiece which has a connecting fitting for attachment to a supply hose having at least one agent supply line, a head section having a compressed air drive motor, a grip portion extending between the fitting and head section and a passage in each of said head section, grip portion and fitting for compressed air and a separate passage in each of these for any additional desired agents, characterized by the grip portion having a tubular sleeve portion, which is connected to the head section and receives the passage for compressed air and any other passages for agents, if present, and means detachably connecting the grip portion to the connecting fitting and includes means enabling relative rotation of the sleeve portion to the fitting so that the sleeve portion and each passage of the head section are rotatable relative to the fitting and each passage therein. Preferably, the head section and the sleeve portion are a single component and the handpiece will include a valve means for controling the flow of at least one of the agents to the head section.

Claims7

Dependent claims

In a dental handpiece having a connecting fitting for attaching to a supply hose having at least one agent supply line, a head section having a compressed air drive motor, a grip portion extending between the fitting and the head section, and means for conveying at least one agent including compressed air from the supply hose into the head section, said means comprising a passage for each agent in the fitting, grip portion and head section, the improvements comprising said grip portion having a tubular sleeve portion, being integral with the head section and receiving at least one passage therein, and means for detachably connecting said grip portion to the connecting fitting and including a first tubular member and a second tubular member, said first tubular member being connected to the fitting and telescopically receiving the sleeve portion with means providing relative rotation of the sleeve portion to the fitting so that the sleeve portion and each passage of the head section are rotatable relative to the fitting and each passage therein, said second tubular member being telescopically received on said sleeve portion and including bearing means to enable relative rotation on said sleeve portion, said means for detachably connecting including means provided between the first and second tubular members for adjusting the axial position of the sleeve portion to the fitting in response to relative rotation of said second tubular member on said fitting, and one of the passages of the handpiece includes valve means for controlling the flow of the agent in the passage in response to the changes in the axial position of the sleeve portion on the fitting, and means for detachably connecting enabling removal of the integral grip portion and head section from the fitting without requiring any tools.

In a dental handpiece having a connecting fitting for attachment to a supply hose having at least two agent supply lines, a head section having a compressed air drive motor, a grip portion extending between the fitting and the head section, and means for conveying at least two separate agents including compressed air from the supply hose into the head section, said means comprising a separate passage for each agent in the fitting, grip portion and head section, the improvements comprising said grip portion having a tubular sleeve portion being integral with the head section and receiving a passage for each agent therein;

means for detachably connecting said grip portion to the connecting fitting and including a tubular member being connected to the fitting and being telescopically received in the sleeve portion with means providing relative rotation of the sleeve portion to the fitting so that the sleeve portion and each passage of the head section are rotatable relative to the fitting and each passage therein, said means for detachably connecting enabling removal of the integral grip portion and head section from the fitting without requiring any tools;
each passage received in the sleeve portion being a flexible hose which is essentially freely arranged therein, each of the flexible hoses having one end rigidly attached to an end of the sleeve portion adjacent the head section and the other end attached to a passage in a centering piece, said centering piece having means coacting with the fitting to enable alignment of each passage of the centering piece with the respective passage in the fitting, said centering piece being held in engagement with a matching surface of the fitting as the grip portion is connected to the fitting by the detachable connecting means;
and said connecting fitting including valve means for controlling flow of an agent in one of said passages, said valve including a sleeve rotatably mounted on said fitting so that relative rotation of the sleeve on the fitting changes the flow rate in said passage.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.