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US 7,252,505 B2Granted
Self-ligating orthodontic appliance with post for connection to a latch
Assignee3M Innovative Properties Company
InventorMing-Lai Lai
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An orthodontic appliance includes a latch that comprises at least one clip with a region for receiving an archwire. The clip also includes a recess for receiving a post of the appliance and for coupling the clip to remaining components of the appliance. The post includes a neck and an outermost head, and the neck and the head are constructed to reduce the extent that the clip must be opened to fit the clip over the head and onto the post during assembly of the appliance.
Claims10
An orthodontic appliance comprising:
- a base;
- a body extending outwardly from the base;
- an archwire slot extending across the appliance in a generally mesial-distal direction;
- a latch for releasably retaining an archwire in the archwire slot, wherein the latch comprises a clip with a region next to the archwire slot for receiving an archwire, wherein the clip includes a first section, a second section and a third section interconnecting the first section and the second section, wherein the first section and the second section are movable away from each other to admit an archwire into the region, and wherein the clip also includes a recess at least partially defined by the first section, the second and the third section;
- and
- a post extending outwardly from the body along a reference axis and into the recess for coupling the clip to the body, the post including an outermost head and a neck interconnecting the head and the body, wherein the head extends outwardly past the neck a certain distance when considered in reference planes perpendicular to the reference axis, wherein the certain distance decreases as the third section of the clip is approached and wherein the first section and the second section are movable away from each other a distance sufficient to clear the head and enable the clip to be coupled to the body while moving the clip in a direction parallel to the archwire slot.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.