Motor-Assisted Dental Dispenser with Force Sensor Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dental impression material squeezing devices are not suitable for highly viscous materials, requiring excessive force, leading to user fatigue and material loss, and lack haptic feedback, making them difficult to operate and inefficient for small cartridges.
Innovation Solution
A squeezing device with a motor-driven actuator and force sensor that provides proportional force assistance, allowing for precise control and haptic feedback, enabling easy operation of highly viscous materials without requiring significant user adaptation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If conventional mechanical squeezing devices are used for highly viscous dental materials, then the materials can be extruded, but excessive force is required leading to user fatigue and hand tremors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the purely mechanical squeezing system with an electromechanical system that uses a motor to assist the squeezing action. The motor provides supplemental force to reduce the manual effort required, directly addressing the issue of excessive extrusion force and user fatigue when handling highly viscous dental materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates a force sensor that provides real-time feedback about the squeezing force being applied. This feedback mechanism allows the system to monitor and adjust the motor assistance dynamically, ensuring optimal force application while preventing user fatigue and maintaining ease of operation.
2Strength
If higher-viscosity impression materials are used, then material performance improves, but thicker mixers are required leading to increased dead volume and material loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a dynamic mixer design that can adjust its characteristics based on the material viscosity being processed. This dynamic adaptation allows the mixer to maintain effectiveness with highly viscous materials while minimizing dead volume, thereby reducing material loss compared to static thicker mixer designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters including mixer geometry and driving force based on the viscosity of the dental material being processed. By adapting these parameters, the system can efficiently handle high-viscosity materials without requiring excessively thick mixers that would increase dead volume and material loss.
3Ease of operation
If motor-driven actuators are added to reduce manual force, then ease of operation improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a force sensor as an intermediary component that bridges the user's manual input and the motor's supplemental force. This intermediary enables intelligent control of the motor assistance based on actual squeezing conditions, improving ease of operation while keeping the added complexity manageable through a single sensor component rather than a complex control system.
4Measurement precision
If force sensors and motor control systems are integrated, then haptic feedback is provided for precise dosing, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates a force sensor that provides haptic feedback to the user during the squeezing process. This feedback mechanism enables precise dosing by allowing the user to feel and control the actual force being applied, improving measurement precision while maintaining relatively simple implementation that controls manufacturing cost increases.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Reduces manual squeezing force, provides haptic feedback for precise dosing, and supports the use of small cartridges, allowing for efficient application of highly viscous dental materials with reduced user effort and material loss.
Implementation Method 1
at least one force sensor, wherein the force sensor is connected to the operating device in such a way that at least the amount of a force acting on the operating device and / or at least the amount of a torque acting on the operating device can be measured
Implementation Method 2
the actuator can be driven by the motor or a mechanically transmitted driving of the actuator can be supported by the motor
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention relates to a dispensing device (1) for ejecting a highly viscous dental material from a cartridge system (2), comprising an actuator (3), a motor (4), a control unit (14), an operating device, and at least one force sensor (15), wherein the actuator (3) can drive at least one discharge piston (22) of the cartridge system (2), wherein the actuator (3) can be driven by the motor (4) or a mechanically transmitted drive of the actuator (3) can be supported by the motor (4), wherein the operating device is manually operable, and wherein the at least one force sensor (15) is connected to the operating device in such a way that at least the magnitude of a force acting on the operating device and/or at least the magnitude of a torque acting on the operating device can be measured.and wherein the motor (4) can be controlled by the control unit (14) depending on the amount of force and/or torque acting on the control unit as measured by the force sensor (15). The invention also relates to a method for driving at least one discharge piston (22) of a cartridge system (2) with a dispensing device (1).