Self-Ligating Orthodontic Bracket With Movable Door
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional orthodontic brackets require ligatures to retain archwires, which can fail and induce unwanted drag, whereas self-ligating brackets aim to eliminate these issues by using movable components or flexible members, but existing solutions may not adequately accommodate canted archwires without interfering with them.
Innovation Solution
A self-ligating orthodontic bracket with a movable door that provides access to and from an archwire slot, featuring vertically spaced projections with angled channels and tabs to accommodate archwires at an angle, ensuring the door remains passive and does not interfere with the archwire, even when canted, and includes a depth greater than height to prevent interference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a ligature is used to retain the archwire in the archwire slot, then the archwire can be held in place, but the ligature may fail and induce unwanted drag on the archwire
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the ligature component entirely from the bracket system, replacing it with a self-ligating mechanism where the archwire is retained by the bracket's inherent structure (tied wings and slot geometry) rather than a separate ligature element, thereby eliminating ligature-related drag and failure modes
Solution Approach 2:
The bracket structure itself provides the retention function through its tied wings and slot configuration, making the system self-sufficient without requiring external ligatures, thus eliminating the harmful drag associated with ligature-based retention
2Object-generated harmful factors
If a movable component is added to create a self-ligating bracket, then ligatures are eliminated, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a movable door component that can transition between open and closed positions to allow archwire insertion and provide self-ligating retention, respectively. This dynamic element enables the bracket to function without ligatures while maintaining manageable complexity through a single movable part
3Ease of operation
If the archwire slot is open to the front for easy insertion, then archwire placement is simplified, but the archwire may be released during normal use
Solution Approach 1:
The movable door transitions from an open state (facilitating easy archwire insertion through the front of the slot) to a closed state (providing secure retention by preventing archwire release), with the door's position controlled by the relative sizes and geometries of the tied wings and slot opening
Data Source
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AI summary
A self-ligating orthodontic bracket has a bonding base adapted for attachment to the crown of a tooth. A body member is attached to the front surface of the base and extends forwardly to a front face. The base defines a torque angle with respect to the front face of the body. Gingival and occlusal projections extend forwardly from the body member. The projections have archwire slot surfaces which, together with a portion of the body member's front face, define an archwire slot. First and second channels defined in the projections are coplanar and are disposed at an angle to the front face of the body member that is substantially equal to the torque angle. A door is disposed in one of the first and second channels. The door is movable between an open position and a closed position to selectably provide or prevent access to and from the archwire slot.