DENTURE CONNECTOR

Abstract: A denture connector is provided with a hollow cylindrical female member (ll2) having a retainer plate (l22) embedded in a denture crown (l4). A male member (ll6) comprises a top planar member (ll9) having a lateral projection (l2l). A boss (l3l) depends from the undersurface of the top planar member and has a bore receiving a threaded screw (l33). A removable expandable sleeve (l43) is fitted over the screw to complete the male member. The male member is inserted into the female member whereby a tolerance space (l45) exists between the outer diameter of the sleeve and the inner diameter of the female cylinder. A retainer block (l60) attached to the lateral projection (l2l) has a space therein whereby the combination of space and projecting fins (l84-l90) ensure firm embedment of the retainer block in denture material.

Description: This invention pertains to a connector for dentures which includes a female member, a male member and a sleeve insert. The prior art shows denture connector or attachment devices comprising male and female metal members. None of these prior art devices discloses a denture attachment comprising a female member, a male member having a plastic sleeve for insertion into the female member and means for expanding the male member as wear occurs on the plastic sleeve. It is an object of this invention to provide a denture connector or attachment which is simple and inexpensive to construct and install and which can be adjusted to take up wear. According to the invention, a denture connector comprising male and female members is characterised by a female member adapted to be attached to a denture crown, a male member comprising a depending boss received in the female member for rotation therein, a sleeve fitting over the boss and inside the female member, the boss being constructed so as to be capable of exerting pressure on the sleeve to expand it against the inside of the female member, and an attachment member extending from the male member for attaching the male member to adjacent denture material. The attachment member facilitates rotation of the male member when positioned inside the female member and attachment of the male member to adjacent denture material. The sleeve may be of plastic, e.g. nylon, and may be replaceable when worn. The plastic sleeve functions as a friction and bearing surface when the male member and sleeve are positioned within the female member. Preferably a tolerance space is provided between between the outer diameter of the sleeve and the inside of the female member. A preferred arrangement is characterised by provision of a screw forming part of the boss and adapted to exert pressure on the sleeve to expand it against the inside of the female member. The male member may then comprise a flat top part with a depending boss portion having a threaded bore receiving the screw. The denture connector may further comprise a retainer block extending from a lateral projection on the male member for attaching the male member to adjacent denture material. Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described in more detail by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure l is a perspective view of the invention showing a female member having a retention plate which is embedded in a crown and a male member rotatable in the female member and having a connector for attachment to adjacent denture, Figure 2 is a side view of the female member which is a hollow cylinder attached to the crown by a retention plate, Figure 3 is an exploded view of the male member with a laterally projecting connector arm and a plastic insert, Figure 4 is a side view of the male member showing the plastic sleeve thereon, Figure 5 shows the bottom of the male member having a slit and a plastic sleeve over the male member, Figure 6 is a side view of a modified male member having a double slit, and the plastic sleeve, Figure 7 shows the bottom of the male member having a double slit, Figure 8 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the male member and shows an expansion screw extending into the end thereof, and the plastic sleeve, Figure 9 is a cross-section on line 9-9 of Figure 8, Figure l0 is an exploded view of another embodiment, showing the male member, plastic sleeve and shank connector member, Figure ll is a side view of the assembly of Figure l0, Figure l2 is a side view, partly in section, of a modified denture connector showing an attachment member, a sleeve and a female member with a tolerance space between the sleeve member and female member, Figure l3 is a perspective view of the male member, sleeve and attaching screw and a retainer block with securing pin, Figure l4 is a perspective view of the retainer block with projections to assist in maintaining the retainer block in adjacent denture material Figure l5 is a side view, partly in section, of a modified form of the denture connector showing the connector member assembled to its support arm, Figure l6 is a perspective view of the sleeve, which may be continuous or split, and Figure l7 is an exploded view of the connector of Figure l2. Referring now in more detail to the drawings, Figure l shows a denture connector l0 comprising a female member l2 attached to the crown of a denture l4 and a male member l6 having an attachment shank l7 for attaching the male member to an adjacent denture area. The female member, Figure 2, comprises a cylindrical portion l8 having an outwardly flared upper edge 20. The cylindrical portion l8 is attached to the denture crown l4 by a retainer plate 22 and an intermediate web portion 24. The bottom edge of the web portion 24 is curved at 26 to accommodate the crest 28 of the gingiva which is generally elevated next to the crown. The male member l6, Figure 3, comprises a solid cylindrical member 30 having a slit 32 extending across the diameter thereof and extending vertically approximately one-half the height of the member 30. The male member has a flared bottom edge 34 and a protruding lip 36, and a plastic sleeve 60, the purposes of which will be explained below. The male member l6 has an attachment member 40 comprising an upper planar portion 42 which is secured to the upper edge 44 of the male member 30, a vertical portion 46 distal from the outer wall 48 of the male member 30 and a lateral arm 50 in which there are a number of apertures 52. The arm 50 facilitates rotation of the male member within the female member and also facilitates attachment of the male member to the adjacent denture area. The apertures in the arm 50 receive some of the denture material thus ensuring a strong bond. In Figure 4, the plastic sleeve 60 is shown as being slightly smaller in height than the height of the cylinder member 30 and also slightly smaller in inner diameter than the outer diameter of the cylinder member 30. To insert the plastic sleeve, one merely compresses the bottom area of the male cylinder 30 which will yield due to the slit and slips the plastic sleeve onto the cylinder 30 until the lip 36 engages the bottom edge 62 of the sleeve. Release of the male member will cause the bottom portion 33 to expand thus engaging the inner wall 64 of the sleeve 60 in a tight grip. The male member l6 with the sleeve attached is then inserted into the hollow cylindrical female member l2. Insertion of the male member into the female member is made easy by the flared bottom edge 34 of the male member and the flared upper edge 20 of the female member. When the male member with the sleeve thereon is in position in the female member, the male member and sleeve are readily rotatable by manipulation of the lateral arm 50. Easy rotation of the male member within the female member is desirable so as to provide optimum positioning of the lateral arm 50 over the crest of the gingiva. Figure 5 shows an end view of the assembled components 30 and 60 and the slit 32. Figures 6 and 7 show a modification in that the cylinder 30 has a double slit 32 and 32′ for easy compression of the bottom of the cylinder 30. Figure 4 shows the plastic sleeve 60 in position on the cylinder member 30 with the lip 36 engaged against the bottom edge 62 of the plastic sleeve. The tendency of the bottom portion 33 to expand exerts pressure on the sleeve 60 to expand it against the inside of the female member l2. In the embodiment of Figure 8, the male member l6 is constructed so that the cylinder 30 tapers downwardly and inwardly whereby the outer diameter of the cylinder 30 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the sleeve 60, thus leaving a space 65 between them. When the sleeve is fitted over the male cylinder 30, a screw 64 is threaded into a recess 66 in the cylinder 30 thus expanding the male cylinder 30 against the inner wall 68 of the sleeve 60. Should the sleeve 60 become worn or loose in the female member l2 during use, it is only necessary to continue inward rotation of the screw 64 to further expand the male cylinder 30 against the sleeve 60 and thereby expand the sleeve against the inside of the female member. When the sleeve becomes totally worn or damaged, it is removed from the male cylinder 30 and replaced by a new sleeve. In Figure l0 there is shown a modified embodiment of the invention wherein the male member comprises a screw 70 having a threaded portion 72, a shank portion 74 and a base portion 76 having a lip 78 which is flared at 80. A hollow shank portion 84 having internal threads 86 receives the threaded end 73 of the screw 70. The attachment member 82 has a vertical section 88 and a lateral arm 90 which is embedded in adjacent denture material. The nylon sleeve 92 is telescoped on to the shank portion 84. The threaded end 73 and shank 74 of the screw 70 are telescoped into the sleeve and threaded into the shank 84 until the lip 78 engages the edge 94 of the sleeve. The assembled screw 70, shank 84 and plastic sleeve 92 are shown in Figure ll, in the condition in which they are inserted into the female member l2 shown in Figure 2. Further tightening of the screw 70 will exert axial pressure on the sleeve 92 to expand it against the inside of the female member l2. Figures l2 to l7 illustrate yet another modification of the invention. Figure l2 shows a denture connector ll0 comprising a female member ll2 which is designed to be attached to the crown of a denture l4, Figures l and 2, and a male unit ll6 having a shank portion ll7 with a lateral projection l2l which is used in conjunction with a retainer block l60, Figures l3 to l5. The female member ll2 has a hollow cylindrical portion ll8 having a retainer plate l22 which is embedded in a denture crown l4 of Figures l and 2 and a web portion l24 which has a curved edge l26 to accommodate the crest of the gingiva, denoted 28 in Figure 2. The male unit ll6 comprises a top member having a planar surface ll9, and a depending shank ll7 from which there extends a lateral projection l2l. There are a plurality of apertures l23 and l25 in projection l2l. Below top planar surface ll9 is another surface l27 with a threaded recess l29. Extending from the surface l27 is a conical boss l3l which has a bore therethrough in alignment with the recess l29. The conical boss l3l is adapted to be inserted into the cylindrical female portion ll8. A screw l33 has a flat end l35 with a slot l37 therein for receiving the blade of a tool. The screw l33 has an inwardly tapering wall l34 which is complementary and symmetrical with conical boss l3l. The screw l33 has a threaded shank portion l4l for turning into the threaded recess l29. An expandable sleeve l43 having a vertical slot l44 is positioned about the shank l4l of the screw and serves to fasten the male unit in the cylindrical female member. It will be seen that the assemblage of female and male units, before expanding the sleeve, will result in a tolerance space l45 between the inner diameter of the female member and the outer diameter of the sleeve. This tolerance space may be between 0.lmm and 0.4mm. The tolerance space is important to permit ease of movement of the male unit in the female portion whereby optimum adjustment of the denture connector may be achieved. In Figure l3 there is shown the male unit ll6 having the shank ll7 having a vertical inner wall l50 and an outer smaller dimensioned wall l52 which adjoins a top wall l54 of the lateral projection l2l. The lateral projection l2l has an end wall l56 and a bottom wall l58. A removable retainer block l60 is shown to have parallel walls l62 and l64 defining a slot l66. The slot l66 receives the lateral projection l2l. Retainer block l60 has a plurality of apertures l68 and l70 which align with apertures l23 and l25 in the lateral projection l2l. A U-shaped pin l72 having parallel legs l74 and l76 extends through the apertures l68, l70 and l23, l25 to retain the retainer block l60 on the lateral projection l2l. Upon assemblage of l2l and l60, there will be a hollow space l80 defined by wall l52, l54, side walls l62 and l64 and inside wall l82 as best seen in Figure l5. Retainer block member l60, Figure l4, is provided with spaced parallel projection fins l84 and l86 on one wall l62 and projection fins l88 and l90 on the other wall l64. The fins may be integral with the retainer block member l60 or they may form separate pieces secured to the block l60 by suitable bonding means. Figure l5 shows a slightly modified form of the structure of Figure l2 wherein the upper edge of the cylindrical member ll8 is bevelled at l42, the projecting boss l94 is cylindrical and the screw l33 has generally vertical walls l96. Again, it will be seen that there is a tolerance space l45 between the sleeve l43 and the inner diameter of the cylindrical female member ll8. Figure l6 shows the sleeve l43 as being a continuous hollow cylinder with slightly rounded upper and lower edges l98 and 200. It will be appreciated that the edges l98 and 200 may be dimensioned, such as in the form of the bevelled edges, to be coextensive with the conical boss l3l and the tapered wall of the screw l33, Figure l2. They may be metal or plastic or other material. Figure l7 shows an exploded view of the components of the structure of Figure l2 wherein ll6 is the male unit with sleeve l43 having a slot l44 therein, as in Figure l3, and screw l33. In operation, the female retainer plate l22 is embedded in a denture crown l4. The male unit ll6 including the screw and sleeve is inserted into the female cylindrical portion ll8. The screw l33 with the sleeve l43 thereon is threaded into the recess l29 until the sleeve abuts the slanted edge of the boss and the slanted edge of the head of the screw. At this position, there will be a tolerance space of between 0.lmm and 0.4mm between the inner diameter of the female portion and the outer diameter of the sleeve. The retainer block l60 is fitted to the lateral projection l2l by the pin l72 and the combination is then embedded in adjacent denture material. Denture material, as will be appreciated, will flow about fins l84, l86, l88 and l90 and into the space l80 thus ensuring optimum retention in the denture material. The screw l33 is then turned into recess l29 expanding the sleeve l43 against the inner cylindrical wall of the female member. Crown l4 and the adjacent denture material are now firmly connected. Some wear will occur on the sleeve after a period of use. It is only necessary to turn the screw l33 further into the recess l29 thus continuing the expansion of the sleeve against the wall of the cylindrical female member. When the sleeve becomes completely worn, it is replaced by a new one. The embodiment of Figure l5 works in a similar manner, tightening of the screw l33 exerting axial pressure on the sleeve l43 to expand it against the inside of the female member ll8.

Claims: 1. A denture connector comprising interengaging male and female members, characterised by a female member (l2, ll2) adapted to be attached to a denture crown (l4), a male member (l6, 70, ll6) comprising a depending boss (30, 70, l3l) received in the female member for rotation therein, a sleeve (60, 92, l43) fitting over the boss and inside the female member, the boss being constructed so as to be capable of exerting pressure on the sleeve to expand it against the inside of the female member, and an attachment member (l7, 40, 82, l2l) extending from the male member for attaching the male member to adjacent denture material. 2. A denture connector according to claim l, characterised in that the female member (l2, ll2) comprises a hollow cylinder, a web portion (24, l24) extending from the hollow cylinder and having a curved lower edge (26, l26) and a retainer plate (22, l22) on the web portion for embedding in a denture crown (l4). 3. A denture connector according to claim l or 2, characterised in that said sleeve (60, 92, l43) is of plastics material. 4. A denture connector according to claim 3, characterised in that the sleeve (60, 92, l43) is of nylon. 5. A denture connector according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said sleeve (60, 92, l43) is replaceable when worn. 6. A denture connector according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised by a tolerance space (65, l45) between the outer diameter of the sleeve (60, 92, l43) and the inside of the female member (l2, ll2). 7. A denture connector according to claim 6, characterised in that said tolerance space is between 0.lmm and 0.4mm. 8. A denture connector according to claim 6, characterised in that said tolerance space is substantially 0.3mm. 9. A denture connector according to any one of claims 6 to 8 characterised by provision of a screw (64, 70, l33) forming part of the boss and adapted to exert pressure on the sleeve (64, 92, l43) to expand it against the inside of the female member (l2, ll2). l0. A denture connector according to claim 9, characterised in that the male member (l6, 70, ll6) comprises a flat top part (42, ll9) with a depending boss portion (30, 84, l3l) having a threaded bore receiving the screw (64, 70, l33). 11. A denture connector according to claim l0, characterised in that said boss portion (l3l) is conical and said screw (l33) has a tapered wall, complementary and symmetrical with said conical boss, and said sleeve (l43) has upper and lower bevelled edges for abutting said conical boss and said tapered edges of said screw. 12. A denture connector according to claim l0, characterised in that said boss portion (84, l3l) has a cylindrical wall and said sleeve (92, l43) has flat upper and lower surfaces abutting a flat surface on said conical boss and a flat surface on said screw. 13. A denture connector according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised by comprising a retainer block (l60) extending from a lateral projection (l2l) on the male member (ll6) for attaching the male member to adjacent denture material. 14. A denture connector according to claim l3, characterised in that said retainer block (l60) comprises parallel walls (l62, l64) defining a slot (l66) therebetween for receiving the lateral projection (l2l) and apertures (l68, l70) in at least one of said parallel walls aligned with apertures (l23, l25) in said lateral projection and a U-shaped pin (l72) with parallel legs (l74, l76) for insertion through the apertures in the retainer block and the apertures in the lateral projection thus securing the retainer block to the lateral projection. 15. A denture connector according to claim l4, characterised in that said retainer block (l60) has parallel projection fins (l84, l86, l88, l90) on each of said parallel walls (l62, l64) for receiving denture material and a slot (l80) defined by the walls of said lateral projection (l2l) and the walls of said retainer block to receive denture material whereby the lateral projection and the retainer block are firmly secured in denture material. Amended Claims in accordance with Rule 86 (2) EPC 1. A denture connector comprising interengaging male and female members, one such member adapted to be attached to a denture crown and the other such member being adapted to be attached to adjacent denture material, the male member (l6, 70, ll6) comprising a boss (30, 70, l3l) received in the female member (l2, ll2) for rotation therein and a sleeve (60, 92, l43) fitting over the boss (30, 70, l3l) and inside the female member (l2, ll2), characterised in that the boss (30, 70, l3l) is constructed so as to be capable of exerting pressure on the sleeve (60, 92, l43) to expand it against the inside of the female member (l2, ll2) and in that an attachment member (l7, 40, 82, l2l) extends from the male member (l6, 70, ll6) for attaching the said male member (l6, 70, ll6) to adjacent denture material. 2. A denture connector according to claim l, characterised in that the female member (l2, ll2) comprises a hollow cylinder, a web portion (24, l24) extending from the hollow cylinder and having a curved lower edge (26, l26) and a retainer plate (22, l22) on the web portion for embedding in a denture crown (l4). 3. A denture connector according to claim l or 2, characterised in that said sleeve (60, 92, l43) is of plastics material. 4. A denture connector according to claim 3, characterised in that the sleeve (60, 92, l43) is of nylon. 5. A denture connector according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said sleeve (60, 92, l43) is replaceable when worn. 6. A denture connector according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised by a tolerance space (65, l45) between the outer diameter of the sleeve (60, 92, l43) and the inside of the female member (l2, ll2).

Inventors: POVEROMO, MELVIN D.
Applicants: POVEROMO, MELVIN D.
Application year: 1986
Main classification: A61C13
IPC codes: A61C13