Tapered Dental Bur Holder for Mixed Shank Compatibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current dental bur storage solutions are inadequate as they often require multiple manufacturer-specific blocks, cannot accommodate both friction-grip and latch-grip burs, and lack flexibility in layout and labeling, leading to inefficiencies and potential errors during dental procedures.
Innovation Solution
A dental bur storage device with tapered receiving holes that securely hold burs of varying diameters, allowing for a mix of brands and types, and featuring customizable labeling and layout, along with stabilizing protrusions and easy cleaning, to enhance accessibility and hygiene.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple manufacturer-specific dental bur blocks are used to accommodate different types of burs, then the variety of burs that can be stored increases, but the device complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The storage device incorporates receiving holes with tapered interiors that can accommodate both friction-grip and latch-grip dental burs of various diameters. The tapered geometry allows universal retention of different bur types within a single storage block, eliminating the need for multiple manufacturer-specific blocks while maintaining adaptability to all common bur configurations
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the functionality of multiple manufacturer-specific storage blocks into a single unified device. By combining different receiving hole configurations (through holes and blind holes with varying taper angles) within one storage block, it consolidates what previously required separate blocks for different bur types, reducing overall device complexity and space requirements
2Ease of manufacture
If fixed-layout dental bur blocks are used, then manufacturing is simplified, but the ease of operation and workflow efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The storage device transitions from fixed, manufacturer-determined layouts to a dynamic, dentist-configurable system. The standardized receiving holes allow dentists to freely position and arrange burs according to their specific workflow requirements and procedural needs, optimizing accessibility and efficiency while maintaining simple manufacturing through standardized hole geometries
3Loss of time
If dentist-specific labeling is implemented on storage blocks, then bur identification speed increases, but the ease of cleaning and sterilization deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The labeling system uses removable adhesive labels or writable surfaces that can be applied to and removed from the storage block without compromising the underlying sterile surface. This allows dentists to quickly identify and organize burs by procedure or frequency of use, while the labels can be easily removed and replaced between sterilization cycles, maintaining hygiene standards without sacrificing identification efficiency
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention is directed towards a dental bur storage device having a plurality of dental bur receiving holes capable of retaining a plurality of different dental bur types having different shank diameters, wherein, each of the plurality of dental bur receiving holes is tapered to allow a retaining fit to be established with any one of the plurality of different dental bur types having different shank diameters. The advantage of using a receiving hole that has a tapered form is that different types of dental burs having different diameters of shanks may be retained by the receiving holes in the dental bur storage device. This allows a wide range of different brands and different types of dental burs to be accommodated on one single dental bur storage device which greatly simplifies the process of selecting a dental bur for a dentist, particularly during a dental treatment. As the receiving hole is tapered, bur shanks of varying dimensions will be received to different depths within the receiving hole to a point where the receiving hole tapers to a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the shank of the dental bur being received. Moreover, using this type of receiving hole, positive retention of a dental bur may be achieved when the dental bur storage device is handled roughly or inverted.