exemplary dental handpiece
exemplary dental handpiece
An exemplary dental handpiece is generally designated by the number 10 on the attached drawings. The present invention has application to the manufacture or fabrication of all or any portion of dental handpieces, including for example, the body 11 , neck 12 or head 13 thereof. The invention has particular application to the head 13 and neck 12 portions of dental handpieces 10 , because these portions often have cross section with complex profiles, as shown in FIGS. 2 - 5 . For example, the neck 12 depicted in the drawings is provided with a shaped aperture 20 , which is useful with a fiber optic bundle for the transmission of light. As stated above, such contoured shapes can be machined or otherwise formed in conventional handpieces, but with an increase in the time and expense involved if accurate products are to be made.
As is conventional in the dental high speed handpiece art, handpiece 10 may also be provided with internal structures such as fluid passages, exhaust ports and the like (not shown). FIG. 4 shows an example of internal structure, namely internal section 21 . Again, such structures have been fabricated in the past using expensive and difficult techniques such as machining. The present dental autoclave fabricates products such as those of handpiece 10 using metal injection molding or MIM techniques. MIM is described in for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,241,354 and 6,274,083, which are hereby incorporated by reference for such disclosures. MIM techniques are conventional and need not be described in detail.
While any conventional MIM technique is within the scope of the dental equipment, one such technique includes a metallic binder mixture that is preferably heated in a suitable injection-molding machine and introduced under pressure into a mold, of which the contour corresponds to those of the desired portion of the handpiece, such as head 13 and neck 12 .
There are other metal fabrication techniques that may be employed to make a curing light, such as die casting, rubber-plaster casting, investment casting and the like, but it is believed that none currently achieve the combination of metal density, ability to mold stainless steel, reasonable finished cost, and high accuracy afforded by MIM.
While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications of the present invention, in its various aspects, may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, some of which changes and modifications being matters of routine engineering or design, and others being apparent only after study.
An exemplary dental handpiece is generally designated by the number 10 on the attached drawings. The present invention has application to the manufacture or fabrication of all or any portion of dental handpieces, including for example, the body 11 , neck 12 or head 13 thereof. The invention has particular application to the head 13 and neck 12 portions of dental handpieces 10 , because these portions often have cross section with complex profiles, as shown in FIGS. 2 - 5 . For example, the neck 12 depicted in the drawings is provided with a shaped aperture 20 , which is useful with a fiber optic bundle for the transmission of light. As stated above, such contoured shapes can be machined or otherwise formed in conventional handpieces, but with an increase in the time and expense involved if accurate products are to be made.
As is conventional in the dental high speed handpiece art, handpiece 10 may also be provided with internal structures such as fluid passages, exhaust ports and the like (not shown). FIG. 4 shows an example of internal structure, namely internal section 21 . Again, such structures have been fabricated in the past using expensive and difficult techniques such as machining. The present dental autoclave fabricates products such as those of handpiece 10 using metal injection molding or MIM techniques. MIM is described in for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,241,354 and 6,274,083, which are hereby incorporated by reference for such disclosures. MIM techniques are conventional and need not be described in detail.
While any conventional MIM technique is within the scope of the dental equipment, one such technique includes a metallic binder mixture that is preferably heated in a suitable injection-molding machine and introduced under pressure into a mold, of which the contour corresponds to those of the desired portion of the handpiece, such as head 13 and neck 12 .
There are other metal fabrication techniques that may be employed to make a curing light, such as die casting, rubber-plaster casting, investment casting and the like, but it is believed that none currently achieve the combination of metal density, ability to mold stainless steel, reasonable finished cost, and high accuracy afforded by MIM.
While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications of the present invention, in its various aspects, may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, some of which changes and modifications being matters of routine engineering or design, and others being apparent only after study.