Dimpled Prophy Cup Surface and Wiper for Slurry Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional prophy cups with smooth outer surfaces cause slurry containing saliva, blood, and pumice to form a rope-like mass that is prone to separation, leading to contamination due to its laminar flow and abrupt diameter changes, resulting in the ejection of pathogens beyond the mouth's boundaries during dental procedures.
Innovation Solution
A prophy cup with a dimpled outer surface and a split housing configuration that includes a wiper to reduce slurry ejection, utilizing computational fluid dynamics to determine the optimal dimple size and shape for turbulent flow and a spiral path to minimize separation, and a wiper to remove saliva-laden slurry before it reaches the narrowest diameter.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a smooth outer surface is used on the prophy cup, then the cup is easy to manufacture and clean, but the slurry forms laminar flow that is prone to separation and ejection
Solution Approach 1:
The prophy cup surface is modified with dimples at specific locations rather than changing the entire surface structure. The dimples are strategically placed on the outer surface to create localized turbulent flow regions that prevent slurry separation, while the rest of the surface maintains its smooth properties for ease of manufacture and cleaning.
Solution Approach 2:
The surface geometry of the prophy cup is changed by adding dimples with specific dimensions (depth, diameter, spacing) to alter the flow characteristics. This parameter modification transforms the laminar flow into turbulent flow in the boundary layer, preventing slurry separation and ejection while maintaining manufacturing feasibility.
2Device complexity
If the prophy cup has abrupt diameter changes, then the cup structure is simple, but the slurry separation is exacerbated leading to contamination
Solution Approach 1:
Dimples are specifically placed in regions where diameter changes occur on the prophy cup surface. This localized modification addresses the slurry separation problem at critical transition zones without requiring complex redesign of the entire cup geometry, maintaining structural simplicity while reducing contamination.
Solution Approach 2:
The dimples act as intermediary structures that mediate the flow transition in regions of abrupt diameter change. They create controlled turbulence that prevents slurry separation at these transition zones, serving as a bridge between the simple cup geometry and the requirement to prevent contamination.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If a wiper is added to remove slurry, then pathogen spread is reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The wiper system is designed to automatically remove slurry during the normal rotation of the prophy cup without requiring additional active control systems. The wiper passively utilizes the cup's rotation to sweep slurry away from the treatment area, reducing pathogen spread while minimizing the increase in device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The wiper serves as an intermediary component between the slurry and the environment, intercepting and removing the slurry before it can be ejected. This intermediate removal mechanism effectively reduces pathogen spread while adding only a single passive component to the system.
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
The dimpled surface reduces slurry separation and ejection, minimizing contamination by promoting turbulent flow and retaining the slurry, while the wiper effectively removes the slurry before it can be ejected, thereby reducing the risk of pathogen spread during dental procedures.
Implementation Method 1
The dimples are configured to increase the turbulent flow in the boundary layer to reduce the separation of the boundary layer
Implementation Method 2
The dimples are configured to increase the turbulent flow in the boundary layer to reduce the separation of the boundary layer
Implementation Method 3
the housing includes a wiper to remove a slurry to remove a slurry of saliva laden with blood and pumice as the prophy cup rotates proximate to the wiper
Data Source
AI summary
A prophy cup has an outer surface with dimples formed therein. The dimples increase the turbulent flow in a boundary layer proximate to the surface. The increased turbulent flow reduces the separation of fluid (a slurry of saliva, blood and pumice) at the boundary layer to minimize the quantity of fluid ejected from the surface. A dental handpiece housing is configured to split longitudinally so that a wiper is positioned proximate to the outer surface of the prophy cup. The wiper removes slurry as the prophy cup rotates during a dental cleaning procedure to further reduce the quantity of fluid ejected from the surface during the procedure.