US 5,295,825 A · Control system for dental handpieces

Abstract

A control system for a dental handpiece, and the like, for supplying a pressurized drive fluid, pressurized air, and water to the handpiece, and which includes a holder for the handpiece having an internal pinch valve which is operated whenever the handpiece is inserted or removed from the holder. A control module is provided which actually controls the flow of the various fluids to the handpiece. The control module includes a pinch lever which engages the various tubes carrying the fluids to the handpiece, and it also includes a swell tube which responds to pressurized fluid from the handpiece holder whenever the handpiece is removed. A linkage system couples the swell tube to the pinching lever in the control module. A feature of the control system is that a pressurized fluid of relatively low pressure is controlled by the insertion and removal of the handpiece from the holder, and it acts as a pilot to cause the control module to exert sufficient force on the various tubes carrying the fluids to the handpiece so as to achieve a positive control over the flow of the fluids.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A control system for a dental handpiece including a control module, a tube coupled to said control module for supplying pressurized fluid to said control module, a handpiece holder including pinch valve means for receiving said tube so as to cause the flow of the pressurized fluid to the control module to occur only when the handpiece is removed from the holder, at least one tube for supplying a selected fluid to the handpiece, and said control module including pinch valve means engaging said last named tube for causing the selected fluid to be supplied to said handpiece only in response to the pressurized fluid from the handpiece holder.

A control system for dental handpieces, and the like, which includes a stand, and a control unit mounted on the stand;

a plurality of control modules mounted in said control unit, a rod attached to said control unit, a corresponding plurality of handpiece holders mounted on said rod and angularly and linearly adjustable with respect to said rod, a corresponding plurality of handpieces supported in respective ones of said holders, a first plurality of tubes coupled to respective ones of said control modules for supplying pressurized fluid to said control modules, each of said handpiece holders including pinch-valve means receiving a corresponding one of said tubes of said first plurality to cause the flow of the pressurized fluid to the corresponding control module to occur only when the corresponding handpiece is removed from its holder, a second plurality of tubes for supplying a selected fluid to respective ones of said handpieces, and each of said control modules including pinch-valve means engaging corresponding ones of said tubes of said second plurality for causing the selected fluid to be supplied to the handpieces in response to the pressurized fluid from the respective holders corresponding thereto.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Control system for dental handpieces

Life of this patent

Control system for dental handpieces

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims14