An adjustable slot orthodontic bracket

Abstract

The utility model discloses an orthodontic bracket with adjustable slot, which comprises a bracket body, a sliding cover, a locking piece, a wide slot wing and a sliding piece. The bracket body is provided with an archwire slot that penetrates through the bracket body. The sliding cover is movably connected to the top of the bracket body. The locking piece is connected to one or more of the bracket body or the sliding cover. The wide slot wing is movably connected to the sliding cover on the top of the archwire slot. The wide slot wing is movably connected to the top of the sliding cover between the locked position and the unlocked position. The utility model sets the movable wide slot wing above the archwire slot. The width of the slot is changed by the wide slot wing, so that the orthodontic bracket can show a relatively narrow slot in the stage of aligning and leveling, and can show a relatively wide slot in the stage of fine adjustment. The utility model has higher practicability.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of dental orthodontic equipment, specifically an orthodontic bracket with adjustable grooves. Background Technology

[0002] Orthodontic brackets are an important component of fixed orthodontic technology. The archwire applies various types of corrective forces to the teeth through the orthodontic brackets. The main function of orthodontic brackets is to fix the archwire, so that the archwire can play a better role in transmitting corrective forces, thereby controlling the three-dimensional movement of the teeth and achieving the purpose of orthodontic treatment.

[0003] Because of the small size of brackets, orthodontists have difficulty applying ligatures. Self-ligating brackets have now been developed, which eliminate the need for ligatures by relying on the movement of pins or covers to hold the archwire in the archwire slot of the bracket.

[0004] The process of fixed orthodontic treatment with brackets is generally divided into several stages: "alignment and leveling, closing gaps, and fine adjustment". During the alignment and leveling process, the narrower mesiodistal width of the bracket grooves and the larger distance between adjacent brackets allow the archwire to swing at a greater angle within the bracket grooves. This results in a gentler initial orthodontic force and less friction as the bracket slides on the archwire, which helps to speed up the alignment process in the early stages of treatment. However, in the subsequent fine adjustment stage, the dentist needs to precisely control the teeth and minimize the swing of the archwire within the grooves. In this case, wider brackets have a greater advantage.

[0005] Chinese Patent 202121686874.9 discloses a self-locking structure for orthodontic brackets and an orthodontic bracket. The orthodontic bracket includes a bracket body with an archwire groove. The self-locking structure includes a self-locking groove at the top of the bracket body, a locking piece slidably connected to the self-locking groove, and an X-shaped elastic locking member disposed in the self-locking groove and cooperating with the locking piece for self-locking. When using this self-locking structure, the archwire is placed into the archwire groove, and then the locking piece is slid into the locking position of the self-locking groove to keep the archwire in the archwire groove.

[0006] In existing orthodontic brackets, the width of the two sides of the archwire groove cannot be adjusted. Utility Model Content

[0007] The purpose of this invention is to provide an orthodontic bracket with a groove width that can be switched between narrow and wide. In clinical use, it exhibits a narrower groove during the alignment and leveling stage and a wider groove during the fine adjustment stage. The switching process is simple and convenient to use.

[0008] The objective of this utility model is achieved through the following technical solution.

[0009] An orthodontic bracket with adjustable grooves, comprising

[0010] The bracket body has a bow wire groove that runs through it;

[0011] A sliding cover is movably connected to the top of the bracket body and moves between a first position where the archwire groove is covered and a second position where the archwire groove is not covered;

[0012] A locking element, connected to one or more of the bracket body or the sliding cover, and configured to selectively hold the sliding cover in a first position or a second position;

[0013] A wide slot wing is movably connected to a sliding cover at the top of the archwire slot, and moves between a third position where the wide slot wing protrudes from the bracket body and a fourth position where the wide slot wing does not protrude from the bracket body.

[0014] A slider, movably connected to the top of the sliding cover between a locked position and an unlocked position, wherein the slider is configured to prevent the wide slot wing from moving from a third position to a fourth position when in the locked position.

[0015] Preferably, the locking element includes:

[0016] The lock cylinder groove is vertically formed on the main body of the bracket;

[0017] Two resilient lock cylinders are provided and are detachably installed in the lock cylinder slot;

[0018] A locking groove is provided on the sliding cover, including a first limiting groove for holding the sliding cover in a first position, a second limiting groove for holding the sliding cover in a second position, and a transition groove connecting the first limiting groove and the second limiting groove.

[0019] The upper part of the elastic lock cylinder is located in the lock groove. The lateral width of the first limiting groove and the second limiting groove is greater than the distance between the two ends of the two elastic lock cylinders, and the lateral width of the transition groove is less than the distance between the two ends of the two elastic lock cylinders.

[0020] Preferably, the main body of the bracket has irregularly shaped sliding cover grooves on both sides, and the sliding cover has sliding cover sliders on both sides, which are slidably connected to the irregularly shaped sliding cover grooves.

[0021] Preferably, the top of the sliding cover is provided with a sliding groove, and sliding blocks are provided on both sides of the sliding plate, with the sliding blocks slidably connected to the sliding groove.

[0022] Preferably, the top of the bracket body is provided with a locking limit hole, and the front end of the slide is provided with a slide locking head. When the slide is in the locked position, the slide locking head is received in the locking limit hole.

[0023] Preferably, the front part of the slider is provided with slider guiding inclined surfaces on both sides, and the wide slot wing is provided with wide slot wing guiding inclined surfaces. When the slider moves from the unlocked position to the locked position, the slider guiding inclined surfaces contact the wide slot wing guiding inclined surfaces and guide the wide slot wing from the fourth position to the third position.

[0024] Preferably, the bottom of the slide is provided with a slide limiting groove, and the top of the elastic lock core is received in the slide limiting groove. When the slide moves from the locked position to the unlocked position, the top of the elastic lock core contacts and is limited by the side wall of the slide limiting groove.

[0025] Preferably, an unlocking auxiliary groove is formed between the bracket body and the sliding cover.

[0026] Preferably, the top of the slider is provided with a slider control groove.

[0027] Compared with the prior art, this utility model has at least the following obvious advantages and effects:

[0028] 1. This utility model has a movable wide groove wing above the archwire groove. The width of the groove can be changed by the wide groove wing, so that it can appear as a narrower groove during the orthodontic bracket alignment and leveling stage, and as a wider groove during the fine adjustment stage, thus making it more practical.

[0029] 2. This utility model has a simple structure and convenient adjustment method by setting a sliding piece on the sliding cover and controlling the wide groove wing to move and extend to both sides by sliding the sliding piece. Attached Figure Description

[0030] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the wide slot wing of this utility model after it has been deployed;

[0031] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the wide slot wing of this utility model after it has been deployed;

[0032] Figure 3 This is an exploded view of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the bracket body in this utility model;

[0034] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the sliding cover in this utility model;

[0035] Figure 6 This is a top view of the sliding cover in this utility model;

[0036] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the wide slot wing in this utility model;

[0037] Figure 8This is a schematic diagram of the top structure of the slider in this utility model;

[0038] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the bottom structure of the slider in this utility model.

[0039] List of components in this utility model

[0040] 1. Main body of the bracket; 2. Sliding cover; 3. Locking component; 4. Wide slot wing; 5. Sliding piece; 11. Bracket body; 12. Bracket base plate; 13. Bow wire groove; 14. Irregularly shaped sliding cover groove; 15. Locking limit hole; 16. Unlocking auxiliary groove; 21. Sliding cover slider; 22. Sliding piece groove; 23. Movable groove; 24. Limiting guide rod; 31. Lock cylinder groove; 32. Elastic lock cylinder; 33. Lock groove; 331. First limiting groove; 332. Second limiting groove; 333. Transition groove; 41. Slot wing guiding moving slope; 42. Locking groove; 51. Sliding piece slider; 52. Sliding piece locking stop head; 53. Sliding piece control groove; 54. Sliding piece guiding moving slope; 55. Sliding piece limiting groove. Detailed Implementation

[0041] Specific embodiments of the present invention have been described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the following description to teach those skilled in the art how to manufacture and use the present invention. For the purpose of teaching the principles of the invention, some conventional aspects have been simplified or omitted. Those skilled in the art should understand that variations derived from these embodiments fall within the scope of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that the following features can be combined in various ways to form multiple variations of the present invention. Terms such as “upper,” “lower,” “left,” “right,” “middle,” and “a” used in the present invention are merely for clarity of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Changes or adjustments to their relative relationships, without substantially altering the technical content, should also be considered within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described below, but is defined only by the claims and their equivalents.

[0042] Figures 1 to 4As shown, this embodiment relates to an adjustable groove orthodontic bracket, which includes a bracket body 1, a sliding cover 2, a locking member 3, a wide groove wing 4, and a sliding piece 5. The bracket body 1 consists of an upper bracket base 11 and a lower bracket base plate 12. The bracket base 11 has an archwire groove 13 that penetrates through it. The sliding cover 2 is movably connected to the top of the bracket body 1 and moves between a first position where the archwire groove 13 is covered and a second position where the archwire groove 13 is not covered. The locking member 3 is connected to the bracket body 1 or... One or more of the sliding covers 2 are configured to selectively hold the sliding cover 2 in a first position or a second position; the wide slot wing 4 is movably connected to the sliding cover 2 on the top of the bow wire groove 13 and moves between a third position where the wide slot wing 4 protrudes from the bracket body 1 and a fourth position where the wide slot wing 4 does not protrude from the bracket body 1; the slider 5 is movably connected to the top of the sliding cover 2 between a locked position and an unlocked position, and when in the locked position, the slider 5 is configured to prevent the wide slot wing 4 from moving from the third position to the fourth position.

[0043] Figures 3 to 6 As shown in the embodiment of this application, the lock 3 includes a lock cylinder groove 31, an elastic lock cylinder 32, and a lock groove 33. The lock cylinder groove 31 is vertically formed on the support body 1. There are two lock cylinder grooves 31, which are spaced apart. There are also two elastic lock cylinders 32. The lower half of the elastic lock cylinder 32 is received in the lock cylinder groove 31. The lock groove 33 is provided on the sliding cover 2 and penetrates the sliding cover 2. The lock groove 33 includes a first limiting groove 331 that keeps the sliding cover 2 in a first position, a second limiting groove 332 that keeps the sliding cover 2 in a second position, and a transition groove 333 that connects the first limiting groove 331 and the second limiting groove 332.

[0044] The upper part of the elastic lock cylinder 32 passes through the lock groove 33. The lateral width of the first limiting groove 331 and the second limiting groove 332 is greater than the distance between the two ends of the elastic lock cylinder 32. The lateral width of the transition groove 333 is less than the distance between the two ends of the elastic lock cylinder 32. Therefore, when the sliding cover 2 moves from the first position to the second position or from the second position to the first position, the upper part of the elastic lock cylinder 32 will pass through the transition groove 333 and be squeezed.

[0045] like Figures 4 to 9 As shown in the embodiment of this application, the two sides of the bracket body 11 are provided with irregular sliding cover grooves 14, and the two sides of the sliding cover 2 are provided with sliding cover sliders 21. The sliding cover sliders 21 are slidably connected to the irregular sliding cover grooves 14. The irregular sliding cover grooves 14 can limit the sliding cover 2 in the vertical direction, so that the sliding cover 2 can only move in the horizontal direction of front and back.

[0046] In addition, the top of the sliding cover 2 is provided with a sliding plate groove 22, and the two sides of the sliding plate 5 are provided with sliding plate sliders 51. The sliding plate sliders 51 are slidably connected to the sliding plate groove 22. Similarly, the sliding plate groove 22 can limit the sliding plate 5 in the vertical direction, so that the sliding plate 5 can only move in the horizontal direction of front and back.

[0047] The top of the bracket body 1 is provided with a locking limit hole 15, and the front end of the slide 5 is provided with a slide locking head 52. When the slide 5 is in the locked position, the slide locking head 52 is received in the locking limit hole 15, so that the slide 5 is kept in the locked position and does not move. In addition, in order to better control the movement of the slide 5, a slide control groove 53 is provided on the top of the slide 5.

[0048] The front of the slider 5 is provided with slider guiding inclined surfaces 54 on both sides, which makes the front of the slider 5 narrower and wider than the back, and also facilitates the installation of slider locking head 52 in the narrow part. At the same time, the wide groove wing 4 is provided with a wide groove wing guiding inclined surface 41, which is parallel to the slider guiding inclined surface 54. When the slider 5 moves from the unlocked position to the locked position, the slider guiding inclined surface 54 contacts the wide groove wing guiding inclined surface 41 and guides the wide groove wing 4 from the fourth position to the third position, thereby increasing the width of the hook groove.

[0049] The bottom of the slide plate 5 is provided with a slide plate limiting groove 55. The top of the elastic lock core 32 passes through the lock groove 33 and is received in the slide plate limiting groove 55. When the slide plate 5 moves from the locked position to the unlocked position, the top of the elastic lock core 32 contacts and is limited by the side wall of the slide plate limiting groove 55.

[0050] In addition, for the convenience of moving the sliding cover 2, an unlocking auxiliary groove 16 is formed between the bracket body 11 and the sliding cover 2. When it is necessary to move the sliding cover 2 from the first position to the second position, force needs to be applied to the side wall of the sliding cover 2 in the unlocking auxiliary groove 16.

[0051] In the embodiments of this application, the sliding cover 2 is provided with a movable groove 23 aligned with the bow wire groove 13, and limiting guide rods 24 are provided on both sides of the movable groove 23. The wide groove wing 4 is provided with a slot 42, and the wide groove wing 4 is located in the movable groove 23 and connected to the limiting guide rod 24 through the slot 42.

[0052] Installation instructions for this utility model

[0053] 1. First, place the wide slot wing 4 into the movable slot 23 of the sliding cover 2, and connect it to the limiting guide rod 24 through the slot 42;

[0054] 2. Push the sliding cover 2 from the irregular sliding cover groove 14 into the bracket body 11;

[0055] 3. Push the slider 5 from the slider groove 22 into the slider cover 2;

[0056] 4. Insert the resilient lock cylinder 32 into the lock cylinder groove 31 from the bottom of the bracket body 11;

[0057] 5. Weld the bracket body 11 to the bracket base plate 12 to complete the assembly.

[0058] Instructions for use of this utility model:

[0059] 1. Apply a pretreatment agent to the tooth surfaces to be bonded;

[0060] 2. Apply adhesive to the base plate 12 of the bracket;

[0061] 3. Place the bracket body 1 on the patient's tooth surface, and the bracket base plate 12 is attached to the tooth surface and cured. The bracket body 1 is then bonded.

[0062] 4. In the early stages of clinical correction, the wide bracket wing 4 can be kept relatively narrow (moved to the fourth position). At this time, the bracket width is narrower, the corrective force is gentler, which helps to accelerate the alignment rate (e.g., Figure 2 (as shown);

[0063] 5. In the later fine-tuning stage, slide 5 can be used to open the wide groove wing 4, allowing it to extend (moving to the third position), increasing the groove width, which is beneficial for the dentist's control over the teeth during the fine-tuning stage (e.g., Figure 1 (As shown).

[0064] As those skilled in the art will readily conceive, any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the concept and principles of this utility model should be included within the scope of the claims of this utility model.

Claims

1. An orthodontic bracket with adjustable grooves, characterized in that, It includes The bracket body has a bow wire groove that runs through it; A sliding cover is movably connected to the top of the bracket body and moves between a first position where the archwire groove is covered and a second position where the archwire groove is not covered; A locking element, connected to one or more of the bracket body or the sliding cover, and configured to selectively hold the sliding cover in a first position or a second position; A wide slot wing is movably connected to a sliding cover at the top of the bow wire groove, and moves between a third position where the wide slot wing protrudes from the main body of the bracket and a fourth position where the wide slot wing does not protrude from the main body of the bracket. A slider, which is movably connected to the top of the sliding cover between a locked position and an unlocked position, is configured to prevent the wide slot wing from moving from a third position to a fourth position when in the locked position.

2. The orthodontic bracket with adjustable grooves according to claim 1, characterized in that, The locking element includes: The lock cylinder groove is vertically formed on the main body of the bracket; Two resilient lock cylinders are provided and are detachably installed in the lock cylinder slot; A locking groove is provided on the sliding cover, including a first limiting groove for holding the sliding cover in a first position, a second limiting groove for holding the sliding cover in a second position, and a transition groove connecting the first limiting groove and the second limiting groove. The upper part of the elastic lock cylinder is located in the lock groove. The lateral width of the first limiting groove and the second limiting groove is greater than the distance between the two ends of the two elastic lock cylinders, and the lateral width of the transition groove is less than the distance between the two ends of the two elastic lock cylinders.

3. The orthodontic bracket with adjustable grooves according to claim 1, characterized in that, The main body of the bracket has irregularly shaped sliding cover grooves on both sides, and sliding cover sliders are provided on both sides of the sliding cover, and the sliding cover sliders are slidably connected to the irregularly shaped sliding cover grooves.

4. The orthodontic bracket with adjustable grooves according to claim 1, characterized in that, The top of the sliding cover is provided with a sliding groove, and sliding blocks are provided on both sides of the sliding plate. The sliding blocks are slidably connected to the sliding groove.

5. The orthodontic bracket with adjustable grooves according to claim 1, characterized in that, The top of the bracket body is provided with a locking limit hole, and the front end of the slide is provided with a slide locking head. When the slide is in the locked position, the slide locking head is received in the locking limit hole.

6. The orthodontic bracket with adjustable grooves according to claim 1, characterized in that, The slider is provided with slider guiding inclined surfaces on both sides of the front part, and the wide slot wing is provided with wide slot wing guiding inclined surfaces. When the slider moves from the unlocked position to the locked position, the slider guiding inclined surfaces contact the wide slot wing guiding inclined surfaces and guide the wide slot wing from the fourth position to the third position.

7. The orthodontic bracket with adjustable grooves according to claim 2, characterized in that, The bottom of the slide is provided with a slide limiting groove, and the top of the elastic lock core is received in the slide limiting groove. When the slide moves from the locked position to the unlocked position, the top of the elastic lock core contacts and is limited by the side wall of the slide limiting groove.

8. The orthodontic bracket with adjustable grooves according to claim 1, characterized in that, An unlocking auxiliary groove is formed between the main body of the bracket and the sliding cover.

9. The orthodontic bracket with adjustable grooves according to claim 1, characterized in that, The top of the slider has a slider control groove.

10. The orthodontic bracket with adjustable grooves according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sliding cover is provided with a movable groove aligned with the bow wire groove, and limiting guide rods are provided on both sides of the movable groove. The wide groove wing is provided with a slot, and the wide groove wing is located in the movable groove and connected to the limiting guide rod through the slot.

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