Hand held periodontic tool
First Claim
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1. A hand held periodontic tool comprising:
- a substantially tubular handle having a primary axis and upper and lower ends;
an elongated shank projecting from the upper end of the handle along a secondary axis which is angled obliquely to the primary axis, and having a free end;
a tip member located on the free end of the shank and including a flexible tip for contacting the teeth and gum in the mouth, wherein the tip is made of a non-fibrous material in the form of a spire having a longitudinal axis, the spire including a lower portion formed by parallel, spaced apart longitudinal ribs and a solid, cone shaped upper nose portion terminating in a point on the spire axis.
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Abstract
A hand held periodontical tool preferably including a switch for adjusting the frequency of vibration, tabs accessible from the exterior of the housing for adjusting the vibration amplitude, and interchangeable end pieces, having a variety of tip members including side by side ribs that are separated from each other a distance smaller than at least one of the height and width dimensions of the ribs.
102 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A hand held periodontic tool comprising:
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a substantially tubular handle having a primary axis and upper and lower ends; an elongated shank projecting from the upper end of the handle along a secondary axis which is angled obliquely to the primary axis, and having a free end; a tip member located on the free end of the shank and including a flexible tip for contacting the teeth and gum in the mouth, wherein the tip is made of a non-fibrous material in the form of a spire having a longitudinal axis, the spire including a lower portion formed by parallel, spaced apart longitudinal ribs and a solid, cone shaped upper nose portion terminating in a point on the spire axis.
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2. In a hand held periodontical tool having a generally tubular handle defining a handle axis, a shank projecting from the handle and defining a shank axis, a flexible tip member projecting from the shank, and means for vibrating the tip member to interact with parts of the mouth, the improvement comprising:
said tip member having a generally conical shape and being formed from a resilient, non-fibrous material having a substantially solid base carried by the shank and a plurality of ribs extending from the base, substantially in parallel, each rib having a height dimension from the base to a peak in a direction substantially perpendicular to the base, a separation dimension between the peaks of adjacent ribs in a direction transverse to the height dimension, and a width dimension parallel to the separation dimension, the separation dimension being smaller than at least one of the height and width dimensions. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
- 9. In a hand held periodontic tool having a generally tubular handle defining a handle axis, a shank projecting from the handle and defining a shank axis, a flexible tip member projecting from the shank, and means for vibrating the tip member to interact with parts of the mouth, the improvement comprising said tip member being formed from a resilient, non-fibrous material having a substantially conical shape and including an exterior surface having a multiplicity of slits therein.
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14. A tip member for a hand held vibrating periodontic tool, comprising:
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a base portion for securing the tip member to the tool; a ribbed portion made of non-fibrous flexible material connected to the base portion, the ribbed portion having the general profile of a truncated cone; a generally conical, substantially solid nose portion made of non-fibrous flexible material, the nose portion extending from the ribbed portion and having a point defining a tip member central axis; and the nose portion and at least some of the ribbed portion being sized for axial insertion into and vibration within the nominal proximal area between teeth. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification