HOLDER FOR CYLINDRICAL OBJECTS SUCH AS DENTAL INSTRUMENTS

Abstract: A holder for an object (14) which has a cylindrical surface includes a base portion (10) defining at least one groove for inserting and receiving the object (14). The groove includes an entrance portion with generally parallel side walls. Moreover, the groove includes a bottom portion to support the object (14). A displaceable locking member (16) is provided in a recess in at least one of the side walls of the entrance portion of the groove and the locking member is resiliently biased towards a blocking position wherein a portion of the locking member (16) protrudes from the side wall. The protruding portion of the locking member includes a slanting surface for engaging the object (14) during its insertion through the entrance portion. An instrument such as a dental instrument can be inserted and retained in the holder and can be axially withdrawn therefrom, whereby a supply cable of the instrument can be pulled into the groove which guides the cable.

Description: TITLE: Holder for Cylindrical Objects such as Dental Instruments The present invention relates to a holder for objects having a generally circular-cylindrical surface and otherwise being of the type defined in the opening clause of claim 1. For instance in dental clinics it is usual to support or suspend several instruments side by side in a well arranged and easily accessible array or grouping, and various holders are known in the art for that purpose. However, certain known holders are insuffi¬ cient with respect to preventing the supply lines or cables of the instruments from getting into disorder, while other known holders are so designed that it is necessary for the dentist to look at the holder when an instrument is to be placed therein after use. German Patent No. 3, 116,206 dicloses examples of holders for dental instruments. The prior art also includes holders of similar types which, however, are adapted to directly clamp an object such as a test tube, the object being inserted into a groove-shaped portion and being clamped therein by means of a spring loaded member which continuously presses directly on the object and thereby retains the object in the groove-shaped portion . U .S. Patent No. 2,516,965 discloses an example of such a clamping holder. A similar holder structure would not be useful or suitable for dental instruments, a.o. because it would be necessary to operate a particular release member in order to remove an instrument from the holder. The holder of the present invention is characterized by the features defined in the characterizing clause of claim 1 . A cylindri¬ cal object can be placed in the holder just by inserting the object laterally into the groove. Thus, on its way down through the entrance portion of the groove, the object will engage the slanting engagement surface on the latching edge portion of the locking member, and by applying a sufficient force to the object the latch¬ ing edge will yield back and allow the object to pass due to inter- action between the inclined engagement surface and the round surface of the object. When the object has been moved into the bottom portion of the groove, the latching edge portion reassumes its protruding position behind the object which thereby is retained in the bottom portion of the groove. The cylindrical object is not clamped in the groove and is axially movable therein. However, the latching edge portion of the locking member will prevent that the object be laterally removed from the groove. The holder is, accordingly, very useful e.g. for mounting pipes or cables. Moreover, the holder is very useful for dental instruments or other instruments having a cylindrical handle portion at the end of a supply cable. Such an instrument can easily be pulled axially out from the holder, whereby the groove also will serve as a guide or fixation for the supply cable of the removed instrument. It is also very easy and convenient to place the instru¬ ment back into the holder, in particular if the supply cable is automatically pulled back towards the holder as it is usual in connection with instruments of the type in question . The invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the drawing in which. Figure 1 is an end view showing an embodiment of the holder of the invention with an object being inserted therein, and Figure 2 shows a cross-section through the holder of Figure 1 but with the object fully inserted in place therein. Reference is now made to Figure 1 of the drawing which shows a holder in accordance with the invention seen from one end thereof. In a base portion 10, there is provided a through-going groove 12 for inserting and receiving a cylindrical object 14. The groove 12 includes an entrance portion which is above the level indicated by a dotted line in Figure 1. In this entrance portion, the side walls of the groove are generally parallel to each other and their spacing is at least equal to the diameter of the objects 14. The entrance portion may also include appropriately inclined side wall portions which are designed or shaped to catch and guide the object during its insertion. At the level or plane indicated by the dotted line, the entrance portion of the groove merges into a bottom portion having a depth which is substantially equal to the radius of the object 14. In the embodiment shown, the bottom portion of the groove is shaped with a semi-circular cross-section in order to match with the O FI periphery of the object. However, the bottom portion could as well have a flat bottom and appropriately inclined or stepped sldewalls. Figure 1 shows the object 14 positioned for insertion into the holder. If the object 14 is an instrument, the operator shall have to place the instrument in the position shown in Figure 1 , and in this connection it is almost unimportant which part of the surface of the instrument hits the holder. After the object or instrument 14 has been positioned as shown in Figure 1 , it is only necessary to apply a slight pressure force on the object towards the bottom of the groove 12, whereby a spring loaded locking member 16 yields back so that the object 14 is able to slide in place in the groove 12. Hereafter, the object 14 assumes the position shown in Figure 2, wherein the locking member 16 has been pushed out again and thereby blocks the object 14 in position . in another embodiment (not shown), a locking member corre¬ sponding to the member 16, can be provided in each of the side walls of the entrance portion of the groove. As shown in Figure 2, the locking member 16 can be a cylin¬ drical pin having a stop collar for engagement with a corresponding interior shoulder in an inclined bore in the base portion 10. A spring 18 acts between the inner end of the locking pin and a plug 20 which is threaded, glued or otherwise secured into the bore. A similar latching or locking effect can be obtained with other designs for the locking member and with other inclinations for the locking pin 16 shown in Figure 2. However, it is essential that the locking member has or includes a latching edge portion which nor¬ mally protrudes into the entrance portion of the groove 12. More¬ over, it is essential that the latching edge has or includes an in¬ clined surface for engagement with the round surface of the object 14 in situations as that shown in Figure 1 . In Figure 1 , the in¬ clined engagement surface is defined by the end surface of the locking pin 16. The latching edge portion should protrude from a side wall or face of the entrance portion of the groove 12, i.e. in the area or - space above the level indicated by a dotted line in Figure 1 . Some spacing or distance above that level provides a better latching or locking effect. As an alternative to the locking pin 16, the locking member can be designed as a resilient, circular ring or sleeve member which has been split to define an opening in the wall thereof for lateral insertion of the object into the interior of the sleeve mem- ber. The sleeve member is recessed or retained in the walls of the groove 12 with the insertion opening of the sleeve being directed for receiving the object 14. The sleeve member should have an inner diameter which is at least equal to the outer diameter of the object, and the distance between the two opposed edges, which define the insertion opening therebetween, should be less than the outer diameter of the object so that the two edges, each of which defines a latching edge portion, will be resiliently urged away from each other when the object is pressed through the insertion opening and into the interior of the locking sleeve member. Accordingly, the sleeve member will operate similarly to the two opposed spring- -loaded locking pins corresponding to pin 16 in Figures 1 and 2. A cable or a pipe which has been mounted by means of holders in accordance with the invention, can be removed by urging, the locking member 16 back into its associated recess or bore in the base portion 10 by means of an appropriately pointed tool such as a screw driver. However, an instrument such as a dental instrument can be axially removed from the holder and thereby the supply cable of the instrument will be pulled into the groove 12 which guides and fixes the cable. The base portion 10 may define or include several grooves arranged side by side, and the base portion may include means for mounting the holder on a support structure. The length of the groove 12, e.ϊ. of the base portion 10, may be selected or adapted to the object or instrument contemplated. Typically, however, the length of the base portion will be of the same order as its width.

Claims: PATENT CLAIMS 1 . A holder for objects having a generally circular-cylindrical surface, in particular dental instruments, said holder comprising a base portion (10) having opposite end faces and a top face extend- ing therebetween, said top face defining at least one groove or gutter-shaped channel (12) which , extends across said top face between said end faces for laterally inserting and receiving at least a portion of said object (14) therein , said groove or channel de¬ fining an entrance portion with opposed side walls which are spaced apart a distance being at least equal to the outer diameter of said circular-cylindrical surface of the object, and said entrance portion merging into a bottom portion of said groove or channel, CHARAC¬ TERIZED in that a locking member (16) is recessed into at least one of said side walls in said entrance portion and is resiliently biased towards a blocking position in which at least a latching edge portion of said locking member protrudes into said entrance portion to block and retain said object (14) in the bottom portion of the groove, and said latching edge portion being shaped or chamfered to defined a slanting surface for engaging said object during its insertion through said entrance portion, whereby said protruding latching edge portion is resiliently urged back from said blocking position by pressing the article laterally through the entrance portion and into the bottom portion of the groove or channel (12) . 2. A holder as defined in claim 1 , CHARACTER IZED in that said locking member is a pin (16) which is slidable in a recess or bore in said side wall . A38e

Inventors: GOOF SVEN KARL LENNART, GOOF, SVEN, KARL, LENNART
Applicants: GOOF SVEN KARL LENNART, GOOF, SVEN, KARL, LENNART
Application year: 1984
Main classification: A61C19
IPC codes: A61C3, A61G15