Modular Cordless Dental Handpiece Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Dental hygiene instruments face downtime and high costs due to sterilization needs, bulkiness, and wear from protective sleeves, as well as safety concerns from electrical components exposed to bodily fluids.
Innovation Solution
A modular cordless dental handpiece system with detachable modules, including a battery compartment, that allows for easy sterilization and reduced bulk, protecting electrical components from bodily fluids and enabling continuous use by allowing interchangeable modules.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a protective sleeve is attached to the handpiece, then the handpiece is protected from bodily fluids, but the handpiece becomes bulkier and experiences wear from engagement and disengagement
Solution Approach 1:
The handpiece is divided into modular components including a reusable motor module and disposable tip assemblies. This segmentation allows the critical fluid-exposed portions to be easily replaced without affecting the main motor module, eliminating the need for protective sleeves that add bulk.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs disposable tip assemblies that are discarded after a single use or limited number of uses. This eliminates the need for protective sleeves on permanent components, as the disposable portions are replaced rather than protected, reducing overall bulk while maintaining reliability.
2Productivity
If additional dental hygiene instruments are purchased to eliminate downtime, then continuous operation is achieved, but costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The modular design allows the motor module to be separated from the tip assemblies. While tip assemblies are sterilized or replaced, the expensive motor module remains in use, enabling continuous operation without requiring multiple complete handpiece sets.
Solution Approach 2:
The motor module is designed to be compatible with multiple tip assembly types through standardized coupling mechanisms. This universality allows a single motor module to serve multiple functions with different tips, reducing the total number of instruments needed while maintaining continuous productivity.
3Ease of operation
If a battery is included in the dental hygiene instrument for cordless operation, then mobility is improved, but weight and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The battery power source is extracted from the main motor module and placed in a separate, removable module. This allows the battery to be added only when cordless operation is needed, reducing the weight of the core handpiece while maintaining mobility options.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows dynamic configuration where the battery module can be attached or removed based on operational needs. This makes the weight adjustment dynamic rather than fixed, enabling the handpiece to be lightweight when wired operation is sufficient and mobile when battery power is required.
Data Source
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AI summary
A cordless dental handpiece, a system including a cordless dental handpiece, and a method of connecting a cordless dental handpiece are disclosed. The cordless dental handpiece includes a first module and a second module. The second module is configured to detachably engage the first module. The second module includes a battery compartment.