US 8,137,102 B2Granted

Fluid-operated medical or dental handheld element

AssigneeW&H Dentalwerk Bürmoos GmbH

InventorsStephan Rauchenzauner, Karl Schmiedlechner

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Abstract

A fluid-operated medical or dental handheld element is disclosed, having a connecting device for connecting the handheld element to a fluid source so that a first impeller can be induced to rotate by a fluid stream to cause a tool to execute a driving motion, a fluid conducting device arranged between the connecting device and the first impeller for conveying a fluid stream away from or toward the first impeller, and a generator for generating electric power. The generator includes a second rotatable impeller that can be driven by at least a substream of the fluid stream conveyable in the first fluid conducting device. One result is more constant generation and output of power by the generator independent of the rotational speed of the first impeller, thereby insuring a more constant power supply to a power consuming device connected to the generator.

Claims39

Dependent claims

A fluid-operated medical or dental handheld element comprising a connecting device for connecting the handheld element to a fluid source, a fluid conducting device arranged between the connecting device and a first impeller for conveying a fluid stream toward or away from the first impeller, wherein the first impeller can be induced by fluid to rotate and is connectable to a tool so that the tool can be induced by the first impeller to execute a working motion, a generator for generating electric power, wherein the generator comprises a second rotatable impeller positioned in series relative to the first impeller and driveable by at least a substream of the fluid stream conveyable in the fluid conducting device, an outer sleeve within which at least the generator is located, the outer sleeve serving as a return passageway which conveys the drive fluid that has passed the second impeller and the first impeller towards the connecting device, wherein the second impeller is constructed as an excess pressure turbine or reaction turbine driveable by the static pressure or the enthalpy decrease of the drive fluid while the dynamic pressure or the kinetic energy of the drive fluid is approximately the same upstream and downstream from the second impeller, and wherein the first impeller is constructed as an equal pressure turbine or action turbine driveable by the dynamic pressure or the kinetic energy of the drive fluid while the static pressure or the enthalpy of the drive fluid is approximately the same upstream and downstream from the first impeller.

A fluid-operated medical or dental handheld element, comprising

a connecting device for connecting the handheld element to a fluid source,
a first impeller that can be induced by fluid to rotate and is connectable to a tool so that the tool can be induced by the first impeller to execute a working motion,
a generator for generating electric power, wherein the generator comprises a second impeller that can be induced to rotate by fluid,
a fluid conducting device for conveying a fluid stream from the connecting device to the first and second impeller,
an outer sleeve within which at least the generator is located,
wherein a serial arrangement of the first and second impeller is provided, so that the drive fluid which is conducted in the fluid conducting device is supplied first to one of the first and second impellers and then to the other of the first and second impellers, wherein in relation to the flow direction of the drive fluid, the second impeller is arranged upstream of the first impeller, so that the drive fluid is supplied first to the second impeller via a first section of the fluid conducting device and then to the first impeller via a second section of the fluid conducting device,
wherein the outer sleeve serves as a return passageway which conveys the drive fluid that has passed the second impeller and the first impeller to the connecting device,
wherein the second impeller has an axis of rotation,
wherein the generator comprises a rotor having an axis of rotation,
wherein the first section of the fluid conducting device which supplies the drive fluid to the second impeller has a centre axis, so that the first section of the fluid conducting device extends between the connecting device and the second impeller along said centre axis, and
wherein at least a part of the centre axis of the first section of the fluid conducting device and at least one of the axis of rotation of the second impeller and the axis of rotation of the rotor of the generator are arranged substantially in parallel and spatially offset to each other.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.