Turbine type dental handpiece

Abstract

To suppress a high-tone rotation noise emitted from a turbine to reduce load on a patient and a doctor when a dentist operates a pedal of a chair unit using a turbine type dental handpiece to grind a decayed toot.SOLUTION: A turbine type dental handpiece includes a water supply passage 13, a drain passage 15, and an air supply passage 17 which pass through a handle part 1 of a dental handpiece. The turbine type dental handpiece is configured to discharge an air bubble-containing water flow produced by connecting the air supply passage 17 to the water supply passage 13 toward an impeller 21 of a turbine 2 that is built in a head housing part 10, thereby suppressing high-tone rotation noise emitted from the turbine 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This invention relates to a turbine-type dental handpiece, characterized in that air is mixed into the water supply for driving the turbine at a stage preceding the turbine. [Background technology]

[0002] A turbine-type dental handpiece is an instrument that uses a strong water flow supplied from a chair unit to rotate an impeller inside the turbine at high speed, and cuts and removes cavities with a cutting tool that is generally attached coaxially to the impeller. More specifically, it generally consists of a housing, a turbine with a cutting tool built in the housing, and a handle-side housing attached to the housing that houses water supply and drainage passages for the turbine.

[0003] A strong water flow is supplied to the water supply port of the water supply passage through a water supply tube connected to a supply port of a water supply circuit for controlling the amount of water supply including the pedals of the chair unit, etc. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, while the dentist is using the pedals of the chair unit to cut away decayed teeth, the high-pitched noise of the turbine is often bothersome, and for patients, the noise is enough to make them feel pain even before the cutting tool is placed on the tooth.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of turbine-type dental handpieces. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] As a result of intensive research, the inventor has succeeded in creating a turbine-type dental handpiece that is composed of a housing equipped with a turbine having an impeller for rotating a tooth-cutting tool, and a handle-side housing incorporating a water supply passage and a drain passage for the turbine attached to the housing, and the water supply passage is joined and connected to an air supply passage from an air supply circuit of a chair unit or a natural air supply passage from a natural intake port. The important point is that air is mixed into the water supply for driving the turbine in the front stage of the turbine.

[0007] When air gets mixed into the water supply, bubbles are generated, which have a certain noise-dampening effect when rotating the turbine impeller, thereby reducing the high-pitched rotating noise from the turbine and easing the burden on patients and doctors.

[0008] Next, the impeller can be made toroidal. There is a technology called toroidal propeller in aircraft. The large vortex that occurs at the tip of the propeller is called the wingtip vortex, which reduces the efficiency of thrust. However, with a toroidal propeller, there is no wingtip in a sense, so large vortexes such as the wingtip vortex are suppressed and a quieter effect is obtained. Therefore, a turbine with a toroidal turbine blade (wheel) is incorporated into a dental handpiece, and a strong water flow is used as the driving force. At this time, air is further mixed into the strong water flow in the front stage of the toroidal turbine.

[0009] Next, the tooth cutting tool may be provided so as to be detachable from the impeller. The cutting tool is configured as a separate body, not as an integral part, of the impeller. For example, a chuck is provided on the impeller side, and the separate cutting tool is detachable and fastened to the chuck for use. Dentists can then change the cutting tool to the one most suitable for the treatment they require. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to this invention, air is mixed into the water supply for driving the turbine in the front stage of the turbine of a dental handpiece, thereby making the water supply contain bubbles, which has a certain noise-dampening effect on the turbine impeller. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a dental handpiece according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of an impeller according to a second embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a dental handpiece according to a third embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of an impeller according to a fourth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to these. EXAMPLES

[0013] The turbine-type dental handpiece of this embodiment shown in Figure 1 has a shape that is roughly pistol-shaped and angled between the handle portion 1 that is held by the hand and the head housing portion 10 to which the cutting tool 3 is attached, making it somewhat easier to handle in the oral cavity.

[0014] A water supply passage 13, a drain passage 15, and an air supply passage 17 run through the interior of the dental handpiece handle portion 1. The rear end of the water supply passage 13 is provided with a water supply connection port 14 for connection to a water supply circuit of a chair unit (not shown), the rear end of the drain passage 15 is provided with a drain connection port 16 for connection to the drain circuit of the same chair unit, and the rear end of the air supply passage 17 is provided with an air supply connection port 18 for connection to the air supply circuit of the chair unit.

[0015] An air supply passage 17 merges with the water supply passage 13 inside the handle portion 1, and the end of the passage becomes a mixing passage 19 that is directed to the impeller 21 of the turbine 2 built into the head housing portion 10. The water flow mixed with air discharged from the mixing passage 19 passes through the impeller 21 forward (downward in Fig. 1), and is then configured to return to the drainage circuit of the chair unit through the drainage passage 15 located there.

[0016] The impeller 21 of the turbine 2 is formed with the rotary shaft 20 as the center of rotation, and the coaxial cutting blade 3 is integrally provided at the bottom. The tip of this cutting blade 3 is formed as a file portion 30. The impeller 21 is rotatable within the head housing portion 10 by means of a ball bearing 12. The cutting blade 3 protrudes outward from an opening 11 at the bottom of the head housing portion 10.

[0017] When air from the air supply passage 17 gets mixed into the water supply in the water supply passage 13, bubbles are generated in the mixing passage 19, but when these are supplied to the impeller 21 of the turbine 2, a certain amount of noise reduction effect is achieved when rotating the impeller 21. This suppresses the high-pitched rotation noise from the turbine 2, reducing the burden on patients and doctors. EXAMPLES

[0018] The impeller 21 of the above-mentioned Example 1 is formed with the rotating shaft 20 as the center of rotation, and the coaxial cutting blade 3 is integrally provided at the lower part. In contrast, the cutting blade 3 of this Example 2 is provided with a coaxial chuck 22 at the lower part of the impeller 21, and is configured so that the cutting blade 3 can be detachably fixed thereto.

[0019] Dentists can use the cutting tool 3 best suited to the treatment required by fastening and fixing it detachably using the chuck 22, enabling them to perform treatment in a way that suits them best. EXAMPLES

[0020] The turbine-type dental handpiece of this embodiment is shown in Figure 3. A water supply passage 43 and a water drain passage 45 pass through the inside of the handle portion 4. A water supply connection port 44 is provided at the rear end of the water supply passage 43 for connecting to the water supply circuit of a chair unit (not shown), and a water drain connection port 46 is provided at the rear end of the water drain passage 45 for connecting to the drain circuit of the same chair unit.

[0021] A natural air intake port 48 is opened in the side wall of the handle portion 4, and an air intake passage 47 from this opens into the water supply passage 43 inside the handle portion 4, and its end becomes a mixing passage 49 that is directed to the turbine blades 51 of the turbine 5 built into the head housing portion 40. The water flow mixed with air discharged from the mixing passage 49 passes through the turbine blades 51 forward (downward in FIG. 3), and then returns to the drainage circuit of the chair unit through the drainage passage 45.

[0022] The turbine blades 51 of the turbine 5 are formed around the rotary shaft 50 as the center of rotation, and the coaxial cutting blade 3 is integrally provided at the bottom. The tip of this cutting blade 3 forms a file portion 30. The turbine blades 51 are rotatable within the head housing portion 40 by means of ball bearings 42. The cutting blade 3 protrudes outward from an opening 41 at the bottom of the head housing portion 40. Although four turbine blades 51 are provided with four-fold symmetry in this embodiment, they can be designed arbitrarily, for example, with three blades with three-fold symmetry or two blades with two-fold symmetry.

[0023] When outside air from the air supply passage 47 mixes with the water supply in the water supply passage 43, bubbles are generated in the mixing passage 49. When these bubbles are supplied to the turbine blades 51 of the turbine 5, a certain amount of noise-dampening effect is achieved when the turbine blades 51 are rotated, thereby suppressing and reducing the high-pitched rotational noise from the turbine 5, which was a burden on patients and doctors. EXAMPLES

[0024] The turbine impeller 51 of the above-mentioned Example 3 is formed with the rotating shaft 50 as the center of rotation, and the coaxial cutting blade 3 is integrally provided at the lower part. In contrast, the cutting blade 3 of this Example 4 is provided with a coaxial chuck 52 at the lower part of the turbine impeller 51. The cutting blade 3 is configured to be detachably fastened and fixed to this chuck 52.

[0025] Dentists can use the cutting tool 3 most suitable for each treatment by fastening and fixing it detachably using the chuck 52, and can perform treatment while creating the most suitable conditions.

[0026] Here, the turbine impeller 51 of the third and fourth embodiments will be explained in detail. The turbine impeller 51 is of a toroidal type, and the tips of the two rotors 51A and 51B in the same inclination direction are connected to form a bridge portion 51C, forming a twisted ring shape and essentially eliminating the tip portion. The vortex of the water flow generated along the rotors 51A and 51B is small, whereas the vortex of the water flow generated at the tip portion is large. However, since there is no tip portion and there is a bridge portion 51C, small water vortexes similar to those of the rotors 51A and 51B are generated at the bridge portion 51C. Such a vortex generation condition is the reason for the reduction of noise. In addition, the configuration of this invention in which air is mixed into the water supply for driving the turbine adds a certain sound-deadening effect by the water supply containing bubbles. [Industrial Applicability]

[0027] By mixing air into the water supply, the foam-like water creates a certain noise-dampening effect on the turbine impeller, reducing the burden on patients and doctors caused by the turbine noise, thereby contributing to industrial development. [Explanation of symbols]

[0028] 1 Handle section 10 Head housing section 11 opening 12 ball bearing 13 Water supply passage 14 Water supply connection port 15 Drain passage 16 Drain connection port 17 Air supply passage 18 Air supply connection port 19 Mixed aisle 2 Turbine 20 Rotating shaft 21 Wheel 22 Zipper 3 Cutting tool 30 File part 4 Handle section 40 Head housing section 41 opening 42 ball bearing 43 Water supply passage 44 Water supply connection port 45 Drain passage 46 Drain connection port 47 Air intake passage 48 Natural air intake 49 Mixed aisle 5 Turbine 50 Rotating shaft 51 Turbine blade 51A, 51B Rotating blade 51C Bridge part 52 Chuck

Claims

1. This turbine-type dental handpiece comprises a housing equipped with a turbine having an impeller for rotating a tooth-cutting tool, and a handle-side housing incorporating a water supply passage and a water drain passage for the turbine attached to the housing, and the water supply passage is joined and connected to an air supply passage from an air supply circuit of a chair unit or a natural air supply passage from a natural intake port.

2. 2. The turbine dental handpiece of claim 1, wherein the impeller is toroidal.

3. 2. The turbine dental handpiece of claim 1, wherein the tooth cutting tool is removably mounted on the impeller.

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