Dental forceps

• US 20020106609A1
• Filed: 02/05/2002
• Published: 08/08/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Albert E. Straus, Rosanne M. Palermo
• Original Assignee: Albert E. Straus, Rosanne M. Palermo
• Inventors: Palermo, Rosanne M., Straus, Albert E.
• Application Number:
  US10/068,380
• Publication Number:
  US 20020106609A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 433/159
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 3/10 Tooth pincettes or the like

Abstract

An improved dental forceps has a pair of gripping distal tips for placing and removing articles such as metal bands, strips, and soft cotton pellets on and from teeth. A plane of orientation is defined by the longitudinal axes of two elongated legs which are biased apart from each other at one end when the legs are not being squeezed. At the end of each leg is a gripping distal tip, with both distal tips deviating at an angle from the legs'"'"' longitudinal axes toward the outside surface of one leg and away from the outside surface of the other leg, while staying approximately within the forceps'"'"' plane of orientation. Due to this planar orientation of the distal tips, less twisting of the wrist is necessary while using the forceps, thereby reducing the risk of radio-carpal conditions, especially after long periods of use. The distal tip of each leg has a curved inside surface such that the gripping space is formed between the surfaces when the legs are not being squeezed. Since the direction of forceps gripping is parallel to the forceps'"'"' plane of orientation, the major line of the gripping action is approximately contained across this plane. When the practitioner squeezes the forceps, the curled, inside edges of the distal tips exert a gripping action that produces a longitudinal or sliding motion between the distal tips as the practitioner varies the tightness of the squeezing action. The ability to effect this motion tends to increase sensitivity and fine control in gripping.

Claims

1. A dental forceps comprising:

a first leg and a second leg, each leg having an inside surface, an outside surface and a longitudinal axis;

said longitudinal axes of said first and second legs defining a plane of orientation of said legs, each said leg terminating in first and second leg ends, said first leg end of said first leg in springing connection with said first leg end of said second leg, said second leg ends of said first and second legs being springingly biased apart from each other to place said forceps in an open position in the absence of pressure being applied on said outside surfaces of said first and second legs;

each of said second leg ends on said first and second legs having a gripping distal tip oriented at an angle from the longitudinal axis of said legs toward said outside surface of said first leg and away from said outside surface of said second leg and approximately within said plane of orientation; and

each distal tip having a curled inside surface;

a gripping space existing between said curled inside surfaces when said forceps are in the open position;

the simultaneous application of pressure on said outside surfaces of said first and second legs resulting in the squeezing of said first and second leg ends toward one another so as to cause a gripping action to be exerted by said curled inside surfaces of said distal tips as said forceps are placed in a closed position.

2. The dental forceps of claim 1 wherein manual squeezing of said first and second legs into the closed position also results in relative longitudinal motion between said curled inside surfaces of said distal tips for enhanced operator control of the resulting gripping action.

3. The dental forceps of claim 1 further comprising texturing along said curled inside surfaces of said distal tips for increasing frictional forces that result from gripping action.

4. The dental forceps of claim 1 further comprising:

an alignment hole extending approximately through the longitudinal axis of said first leg; and

an alignment pin positioned on the inside surface of said second leg and approximately normal to said second leg'"'"'s longitudinal axis, said alignment pin being positioned to enter said alignment hole and to extend through said first leg when said first and second legs are squeezed together, thereby maintaining alignment of said first and second legs during the gripping action.

5. The dental forceps of claim 1, said forceps having a textured gripping surface on said outside surfaces of said first and second legs.

6. The dental forceps of claim 1 further including a self locking mechanism positioned between said first and second legs, said self locking mechanism configured to automatically lock and maintain said forceps in their locked position when said first and second legs are squeezed fully.

7. The dental forceps of claim 1 further including a self locking mechanism comprising:

a spring arm and a locking head having an undercut, said spring arm extending from said inside surface of one of said first and second legs, said locking head positioned at the end of said spring arm;

a locking hole having an engagement edge extending through the opposite of said one of said first and second legs;

said locking head being positioned so that when said first and second legs are fully squeezed, said locking head contacts said inside surface of said opposite of said one of said first and second legs, thereby compressing said spring arm and flexibly sliding said locking head to clear said engagement edge of said locking hole to allow said locking head to pass into said locking hole under the compression force of said spring arm; and

said locking head also being positioned so that said undercut of said locking head engages said engagement edge of said locking hole when said locking head enters said locking hole, thereby locking and maintaining said forceps in their locked position.

8. The dental forceps of claim 1 further including a self locking mechanism comprising:

a spring arm and a locking head having an undercut, said spring arm extending from said inside surface of said first leg, said locking head positioned at the end of said spring arm;

a locking hole having an engagement edge extending through said second leg; and

said locking head being positioned so that when said first and second legs are fully squeezed, said locking head contacts said inside surface of said second leg, thereby compressing said spring arm and flexibly sliding said locking head to clear said engagement edge of said locking hole to allow said locking head to pass into said locking hole under the compression force of said spring arm;

said locking head also being positioned so that said undercut of said locking head engages said engagement edge of said locking hole when said locking head enters said locking hole, thereby locking and maintaining said forceps in their locked position.

9. The dental forceps of claim 1 further including a self locking mechanism comprising:

a spring arm and a locking head having an undercut, said spring arm extending from the inside surface of said second leg, said locking head positioned at one end of said spring arm;

a locking hole having an engagement edge extending through said first leg;

said locking head being positioned so that when said first and second legs are fully squeezed, said locking head contacts said inside surface of said first leg, thereby compressing said spring arm and flexibly sliding said locking head to clear said engagement edge of said locking hole to allow said locking head to pass into said locking hole under the compression force of said spring arm; and

said locking head also being positioned so that said undercut of said locking head engages said engagement edge of said locking hole when said locking head enters said locking hole, thereby locking and maintaining said forceps in their locked position.

10. The dental forceps of claim 1 further including a pawl locking mechanism comprising:

an operating space extending through said second leg of said forceps;

a pivot having a pawl mounted thereon, said pivot mounted on one of said first and second legs of said forceps, said pawl having an undercut, a tapered end and a tapered release surface, said tapered release surface extending through said operating space, said pawl being biased to rotate in one direction;

a locking hole having an engagement edge extending through one of said first and second legs opposite to said pawl;

said pawl being mounted so that when said first and second legs are fully squeezed, said tapered end of said pawl contacts said inside surface of the oppositely positioned one of said first or second legs, thereby causing said pawl to rotate on said pivot against the pawl'"'"'s bias, permitting said undercut to clear said engagement edge of said locking hole and thereby allowing said pawl to pass into said locking hole; and

said pawl also being positioned so that when said pawl enters said locking hole, said pawl rotates on said pivot under the biasing force of said pawl, said engagement edge of said locking hole engaging said undercut of said pawl, thereby locking and maintaining said forceps in their locked position.

11. The dental forceps of claim 1 further including a pawl locking mechanism comprising:

an operating space extending through said second leg of said forceps;

a pawl mounted on a pivot on said second leg of said forceps, said pawl having an undercut, a tapered end and a tapered release surface, said tapered release surface extending through said operating space of said second leg, said pawl also being biased to rotate generally toward said second leg ends;

a locking hole having an engagement edge extending through said first leg;

said pawl being positioned so that when said first and second legs are fully squeezed, said tapered end of said pawl contacts said inside surface of said first leg, thereby causing said pawl to rotate on said pivot toward said first ends of said legs, thereby permitting said undercut to clear said engagement edge of said locking hole and thereby allowing said pawl to pass into said locking hole; and

said pawl also being positioned so that when said pawl enters said locking hole, said pawl rotates on said pivot toward said second ends of said forceps under the biasing force of said pawl, said engagement edge of said locking hole engaging said undercut of said pawl, thereby locking and maintaining said forceps in their locked position.

12. The dental forceps of claim 1 further including a pawl locking mechanism comprising:

an operating space extending through said second legs of said forceps;

a pawl mounted on a pivot on said second legs of said forceps, said pawl having an undercut, a tapered end and a tapered release surface, said tapered release surface extending through said operating space of said second leg, said pawl also being biased to rotate generally toward said first leg ends;

a locking hole having an engagement edge extending through said first leg;

said pawl being positioned so that when said first and second legs are fully squeezed, said tapered end of said pawl contacts said inside surface of said first leg, thereby causing said pawl to rotate on said pivot toward said second ends of said legs, thereby permitting said undercut to clear said engagement edge of said locking hole and thereby allowing said pawl to pass into said locking hole; and

said pawl also being positioned so that when said pawl enters said locking hole, said pawl rotates on said pivot toward said first ends of said forceps under the biasing force of said pawl, said engagement edge of said locking hole engaging said undercut of said pawl, thereby locking and maintaining said forceps in their locked position.

13. The dental forceps of claim 1 further including a pawl locking mechanism comprising:

an operating space extending through said first leg of said forceps;

a pawl mounted on a pivot on said first leg of said forceps, said pawl having an undercut, a tapered end and a tapered release surface, said tapered release surface extending through said operating space of said first leg, said pawl also being biased to rotate generally toward said first leg ends;

a locking hole having an engagement edge extending through said second leg;

said pawl being positioned so that when said first and second legs are fully squeezed, said tapered end of said pawl contacts said inside surface of said second leg, thereby causing said pawl to rotate on said pivot toward said second ends of said legs, thereby permitting said undercut to clear said engagement edge of said locking hole and thereby allowing said pawl to pass into said locking hole; and

said pawl also being positioned so that when said pawl enters said locking hole, said pawl rotates on said pivot toward said first ends of said forceps under the biasing force of said pawl, said engagement edge of said locking hole engaging said undercut of said pawl, thereby locking and maintaining said forceps in their locked position.

14. The dental forceps of claim 1 further including a pawl locking mechanism comprising:

an operating space extending through said first leg of said forceps;

a pawl mounted on a pivot on said first leg of said forceps, said pawl having an undercut, a tapered end and a tapered release surface, said tapered release surface extending through said operating space of said first leg, said pawl also being biased to rotate generally toward said second leg ends;

a locking hole having an engagement edge extending through said second leg;

said pawl being positioned so that when said first and second legs are fully squeezed, said tapered end of said pawl contacts said inside surface of said first second, thereby causing said pawl to rotate on said pivot toward said first ends of said legs, thereby permitting said undercut to clear said engagement edge of said locking hole and thereby allowing said pawl to pass into said locking hole; and

said pawl also being positioned so that when said pawl enters said locking hole, said pawl rotates on said pivot toward said second ends of said forceps under the biasing force of said pawl, said engagement edge of said locking hole engaging said undercut of said pawl, thereby locking and maintaining said forceps in their locked position.

15. The dental forceps of claim 1 further including a sliding block locking mechanism comprising:

a locking block having a locking surface, said locking block being attached to one of said first and second legs and being attached to slide axially thereon;

an alignment hole adjacent to said locking block and extending approximately through the longitudinal axis of said one of said first and second legs;

an alignment post having an undercut surface, said alignment post positioned on the inside surface of the opposite of said one of said first and second legs and approximately normal to the longitudinal axis of one of said first and second legs, said alignment post being positioned to enter said alignment hole when said first and second legs are squeezed together; and

said locking block being positioned so that said locking block can slidably engage said undercut surface of said alignment post when said dental forceps are fully closed for locking and maintaining said dental forceps in their locked position.

16. The dental forceps of claim 1 further including a sliding block locking mechanism comprising:

a locking block having a locking surface, said locking block being attached to said first leg and being attached to slide axially thereon;

an alignment hole extending approximately through the longitudinal axis of said first leg;

an alignment post having an undercut surface, said alignment post positioned on the inside surface of said second leg and approximately normal to said second leg'"'"'s longitudinal axis, said alignment post being positioned to enter said alignment hole and to extend through said first leg when said first and second legs are squeezed together; and

said locking block being positioned so that said locking block can slidably engage said undercut surface of said alignment post when said dental forceps are fully closed for locking and maintaining said dental forceps in their locked position.

17. The dental forceps of claim 1 further including a sliding block locking mechanism comprising:

a locking block having a locking surface, said locking block being attached to said second leg and being attached to slide axially thereon;

an alignment hole extending approximately through the longitudinal axis of said second leg;

an alignment post having an undercut surface, said alignment post positioned on the inside surface of said first leg and approximately normal to said first leg'"'"'s longitudinal axis, said alignment post being positioned to enter said alignment hole and to extend through said second leg when said first and second legs are squeezed together; and

said locking block being positioned so that said locking block can slidably engage said undercut surface of said alignment post when said dental forceps are fully closed for locking and maintaining said dental forceps in their locked position.

18. The dental forceps of claim 1 further including a sliding block locking mechanism comprising:

a locking block having a locking surface, said locking block being attached to said first leg and being attached to slide axially thereon;

an alignment hole extending approximately through the longitudinal axis of said first leg;

an alignment post having an undercut surface, said alignment post positioned on the inside surface of said second leg and approximately normal to said second leg'"'"'s longitudinal axis, said alignment post being positioned to enter said alignment hole and to extend through said first leg when said first and second legs are squeezed together; and

said locking block having a compression spring for biasing said locking surface of said locking block to engage said undercut surface of said alignment post when said dental forceps are fully closed for maintaining said dental forceps in their locked position.

19. The dental forceps of claim 1 further including a sliding block locking mechanism comprising:

a locking block having a locking surface, said locking block being attached to said second leg and being attached to slide axially thereon;

an alignment hole extending approximately through the longitudinal axis of said second leg;

an alignment post having an undercut surface, said alignment post positioned on the inside surface of said first leg and approximately normal to said first leg'"'"'s longitudinal axis, said alignment post being positioned to enter said alignment hole and to extend through said second leg when said first and second legs are squeezed together; and

said locking block having a compression spring for biasing said locking surface of said locking block to engage said undercut surface of said alignment post when said dental forceps are fully closed for locking and maintaining said dental forceps in their locked position.

20. The dental forceps of claim 1 further including a transverse notch, said notch extending along the width of said curled inside surface of said distal tip of said second leg for precise and rigid gripping of thin objects.

21. The dental forceps of claim 1 further including a transverse notch, said notch extending along the width of said curled inside surface of said distal tip of said first leg for precise and rigid gripping of thin objects.

22. A dental forceps comprising:

a first leg and a second leg, each leg having an inside surface, an outside surface and a longitudinal axis;

said longitudinal axes of said first and second legs defining a plane of orientation of said legs, each said leg terminating in first and second leg ends, said first leg end of said first leg in springing connection with said first leg end of said second leg, said second leg ends of said first and second legs being springingly biased apart from each other to place said forceps in an open position in the absence of pressure being applied on said outside surfaces of said first and second legs;

each of said second leg ends on said first and second legs having a gripping distal tip oriented at an angle from the longitudinal axis of said legs toward said outside surface of said first leg and away from said outside surface of said second leg and approximately within said plane of orientation;

each distal tip having a curled inside surface;

a gripping space existing between said curled inside surfaces when said forceps are in the open position;

the simultaneous application of pressure on said outside surfaces of said first and second legs resulting in the squeezing of said first and second leg ends toward one another so as to cause a gripping action to be exerted by said curled inside surfaces of said distal tips as said forceps are placed in a closed position; and

a locking mechanism positioned between said first and second legs and configured to lock and maintain said dental forceps in their locked position when said dental forceps are fully closed.

23. A dental forceps comprising:

a first leg and a second leg, each leg having an inside surface, an outside surface and a longitudinal axis;

said longitudinal axes of said first and second legs defining a plane of orientation of said legs, each said leg terminating in first and second leg ends, said first leg end of said first leg in springing connection with said first leg end of said second leg, said second leg ends of said first and second legs being springingly biased apart from each other to place said forceps in an open position in the absence of pressure being applied on said outside surfaces of said first and second legs;

each of said second leg ends on said first and second legs having a gripping distal tip oriented at an angle from the longitudinal axis of said legs toward said outside surface of said first leg and away from said outside surface of said second leg and approximately within said plane of orientation;

each distal tip having a curled inside surface;

a gripping space existing between said curled inside surfaces when said forceps are in the open position;

the simultaneous application of pressure on said outside surfaces of said first and second legs resulting in the squeezing of said first and second leg ends toward one another so as to cause a gripping action to be exerted by said curled inside surfaces of said distal tips as said forceps are placed in a closed position;

said forceps being configured so that manual squeezing of said first and second legs into the closed position also results in longitudinal motion between said curled inside surfaces of said distal tips for enhanced operator control of the resulting gripping action;

said curled inside surfaces of said distal tips being textured for increasing frictional forces that result from the resulting gripping action; and

each of said forceps having a textured gripping surface on said outside surfaces of said first and second legs.

24. A dental forceps comprising:

a first leg and a second leg, each leg having an inside surface, an outside surface and a longitudinal axis;

each said leg terminating in first and second leg ends, said first leg end of said first leg in springing connection with said first leg end of said second leg, said second leg ends of said first and second legs being springingly biased apart from each other to place said forceps in an open position in the absence of pressure being applied on said outside surfaces of said first and second legs;

a locking block having a locking surface, said locking block being attached to one of said first and second legs and being attached to slide axially thereon;

an alignment hole extending approximately through the longitudinal axis of one of said first and second legs;

an alignment post having an undercut surface, said alignment post positioned opposite to said alignment hole and approximately normal to the longitudinal axis of one of said first and second legs, said alignment post being positioned to enter said alignment hole and to extend through one of said first and second legs when said first and second legs are squeezed together; and

said locking block having a compression spring for biasing said locking surface of said locking block to engage said undercut surface when said dental forceps are fully closed for locking and maintaining said dental forceps in their locked position.

25. A dental forceps comprising:

a first leg and a second leg, each said leg having an inside surface, an outside surface and a longitudinal axis;

each said first and second leg terminating in first and second leg ends, said first leg end of said first leg in springing connection with said first leg end of said second leg, said second leg ends of said first and second legs being springingly biased apart from each other to place said forceps in an open position in the absence of pressure being applied on said outside surfaces of said first and second legs;

an operating space extending through one of said first or second legs of said forceps;

a pivot having a pawl mounted thereon, said pivot being mounted adjacent to said operating space, said pawl having an undercut, a tapered end and a tapered release surface, said tapered release surface extending through said operating space to said outside surface of one of said first and second arms, said pawl also being biased to rotate generally in one direction;

a locking hole having an engagement edge extending through one of said first or second legs opposite of said pawl;

said pawl being positioned so that when said first and second legs are fully squeezed, said tapered end of said pawl contacts an oppositely positioned said inside surface of one of said first or second legs, thereby causing said pawl to rotate on said pivot against the pawl'"'"'s bias, permitting said undercut to clear said engagement edge of said locking hole and thereby allowing said pawl to pass into said locking hole; and

said pawl also being positioned so that when said pawl enters said locking hole, said pawl rotates on said pivot under the biasing force of said pawl, said engagement edge of said locking hole engaging said undercut of said pawl, thereby locking and maintaining said forceps in their locked position.