Dental surgery apparatus capable of supplying three separate fluids to connected instruments

Abstract: In dental surgery apparatus provided with the usual compressed air and water circuits supplying power and spray to drills and other instruments (1), use is made of a reservoir (2) from which to dispense physiological saline into a pipeline (3) connecting with the main water supply circuit; upstream of the resulting connection, the respective lines carrying saline and spray water are controlled by a 3-way, 2-position valve that permits of alternating from one source of liquid to the other as required.

Description: The present invention relates to dental surgery apparatus provided with means by which instruments, connected to the apparatus, can be supplied with at least three distinct fluids, for example air and water, and in addition, a physiological, medical or other similar solution. During the course of a session of dental treatment, the practitioner will often invest the treatment area with air and/or water, though only in the preparatory stages prior to commencing any surgical operation, or when inspecting the oral cavity. During surgery proper, either the practitioner or an assistant will flood the affected area with a physiological liquid in such a way as to cleanse tissue isotonically of any accumulating debris; the liquid most widely used is a 0.9% sterile solution of sodium chloride in distilled water. The use of a physiological solution in surgery is essential at the present time in view of the fact that the water supplied to the instrument circuits is drawn directly from the local domestic main; notwithstanding the water from a typical domestic supply may be potable, it will be neither sterile nor physiological, and given that the area to be flooded is in effect an open wound, cannot be used without the risk of infection. Conventionally, these physiological solutions are dispensed by means of an independent auxiliary instrument, whereas the basic surgery instruments (turbine and micro drive drills, chip blower etc.) are embodied with air and water circuits only, as discernible from numerous patent specifications pertinent to the art field in question, for example US RE 28 390. Observing the drawings that accompany the US patent specification in question, it will be seen that there are two parallel passages running through the handpiece of each instrument and terminating at its projecting end; these passages are connected with respective supplies of air and water, and converge substantially on the point of an attachment or bit fitted to the handpiece. Whilst the illustration in US RE 28 390 refers only to the turbine drill, the design of the handpiece remains substantially the same for the micro and the chip blower also, at least as far as the air and water supply passages are concerned. Given the manner in which the various instrument handpieces available to the dentist are structured, as described above, and considering the frequency with which the physiological solution is applied, the need for a chairside assistant to be constantly in attendance is readily understandable; in effect, the absence of the assistant, even if moving away but momentarily to perform another task, dictates necessarily that the dentist discard the instrument currently in use, take up the tube from which the physiological solution is dispensed so as to flood the treatment area, replace the tube, and then take up the instrument required for continuation of the treatment. Such a situation tends to prolong the duration of surgery, thus causing unease to patients by reason of their being kept in an essentially uncomfortable posture, and produces a certain disenchantment deriving from the laboriousness of the procedure. At the same time, the speed gained by enlisting the services of an assistant can be offset by a lack of first-time accuracy, resulting in the necessity for repeated applications of the solution. Another exemple is illustrated in the pubblications US-A-4 545 956 and EP-A-0 233 847 which are directed to a method and apparatus for disinfecting all the incoming water lines in a medical device or apparatus (that is the water ducts which supplies the handpieces, the water duct supplying the rinse glass, the water duct which supplies the spitton cup and other utilities) by shutting off the water, replacing the water in various water lines with disinfectant and subsequently replacing the disinfectant with rinsing fresh water. These solutions disclose and teach a method and apparatus in which the normally opened water supply lines during the operative phase of the equipment, when necessary or when the timing means are activated, are disconnected from the main water line (by means of a shut-off valve) and are connected to the disinfectant line: this is a so-called controlled water-disinfectant switching solution. The pubblication US-A-4 193 197 shows an auxiliary fluid supply unit that is adapted to be used in conjunction with commercially available dental and medical equipment and in particular in conjunction with standard ultrasonic dental instruments, simultaneously providing selected fluids without any electrical interconnection. The solution is therefore an auxiliary dispensing apparatus which is connected directly to the standard ultrasonic dental prophilaxis unit and placed upstream to the standard inlet duct which normally is for water fluid only; this means that in this solution the fluid supplied to the standard unit is fully supplied instead of water. The US-A-4 145 813 illustrates a very complicated apparatus for control of pressurized fluid flow to dental and surgical tools, which in fact describes the complicated duct circuitry necessary to supply and control the different fluid to the tools, such as drive air, chip air and water by means of a main manifold which controls the different combinations and pressure values of such a three fluids. There is no possibility for the dentist at the time of operation phase to choose between two different liquids, being the liquid running along the whole apparatus of only one type. Accordingly, the object of the invention is to embody dental surgery apparatus in such a way that a physiological solution can be supplied to the instruments attached to such apparatus, accurately and without delay, at any given moment. The stated object is realized with dental surgery apparatus as characterized in the appended claim; such apparatus is of the type provided with fluid circuits from which air and water are directed to a plurality of permanently connected instruments, a reservoir containing a supply of physiological or medical, healing or other similar solution, and a relative fluid line connecting the reservoir to the water supply circuit. The apparatus further comprises switchable means, controlling the water supply circuit and solution reservoir line at points upstream of their mutual junction, which permit of keeping either one of the two sources open at any given time. One of the advantages afforded by dental surgery apparatus according to the invention is that of its simplicity in construction, gained by a convenient integration of the solution line and its switchable control facility into the existing fluid circuits of conventional apparatus. The invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with the aid of the accompanying drawing, in which: fig 1 provides a schematic representation of the essential components of apparatus according to the invention. With reference to fig 1, apparatus according to the invention consists in a plurality of dental surgery instruments 1 (drills, chip blower, etc.) connected in conventional manner to circuits denoted 8 and 16 through which water and air are supplied to the relative handpieces. Certain of the instruments 1, for example the turbine drill, connect with two air circuits (power and spray), whereas others, such as the chip blower 10, connect only with the spray air circuit 16 by means of a branch line (16a). It will be observed that the main water circuit 8 presents a first branch 9 from which a line 6a is taken to the chip blower 10, and further branches denoted 11 from which relative lines 6b are taken off to the remaining instruments 1. Conventionally, overall on-off means 7 are installed between the first and second branches 9 and 11, as in fig 1; such means 7 are pedal-controlled for the most part and operated directly by the user of the apparatus, generally in conjunction with similar means 7a controlling the air circuit 16. With the exception of the water line 6a to the chip blower 10, the lines 6b and 16b branching to each of the various instruments 1 are controlled by relative on-off means 5b which open at the moment when the instrument is taken up for use; more exactly, such means take the form of solenoid valves 5b located in the instrument holder T of the apparatus, which excite only when the handpieces are removed from the holder and therefore remain closed as long as the relative instrument is not in use. In the case of the chip blower 10, on the other hand, on-off means 5a are embodied typically as mechanically operated valves located on the handpiece and manipulated by the user. Thus, with the exception of the chip blower 10, each instrument 1 comprises two different sets of on-off means 5 and 7 controlling the relative fluid circuits, of which the means 5b located farthest downstream along the flow direction are activated automatically on taking up the handpiece, and the means 7 upstream activated manually, or in effect, by depressing a pedal. Apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a reservoir 2 containing a supply of physiological, medical, healing or other solution dispensed by way of a relative supply line 3 into the main water circuit 8. The solution pipeline 3 and water supply circuit 8 are governed jointly by means 4, interlocked to a suitable control medium, that permit of blocking either one of the two sources at any given time. Operation of the means 4 in question corresponds exactly to that of a two-position three-way directional valve, and will be described shortly. Typically, the reservoir 2 takes the form of a compressible container 17 embodied in waterproof material, which is filled with the physiological solution 18 and accommodated internally of a rigid or pressurizable container 19. The interior of the compressible container 17 connects with the supply line 3 in a fluid-tight fit, whereas the pressure container 19 is hermetically sealed in such a way as to create a chamber 20, entirely encompassing the compressible container 17 and in receipt of compressed air from a remote source 21. Thus, a rise in pressure within the chamber 20 will compress the inner container 17, which in turn collapses and forces physiological solution 18 into the one available route of escape, i.e. the supply line 3. Alternatively, the compressible container 17 might be omitted, in which case the solution 18 would be invested directly by the compressed air and forced into the supply line 3. It will be observed from fig 1 that the solution line 3 connects with the water circuit 8 at a point upstream of the first branch 9. With apparatus according to the present invention, it suffices to operate the directional valve 4 to connect the downstream part of the water circuit 8 either with the solution line 3 or with the section of the circuit 8 lying upstream of the valve 4; switching the valve 4 to the reservoir position, the chip blower 10 or a selected instrument 1 will be supplied with solution 18 in place of water, whereupon switching back again restores the water supply. With the exception of the three-way directional valve 4, the operation of apparatus according to the invention is essentially no different to that of conventional surgery apparatus; considerable advantage is thus gained by users, especially as regards familiarization with the workings of the newer arrangement.

Claims: Dental surgery apparatus comprising: a main water supply line (8) and power-air and spray-air supply lines (16) feeding a plurality of instruments, supported by a relative dental holder (T), comprising at least one air-powered dental handpiece (1) and a chip blower handpiece (10), a reservoir (2) from which a medical solution is dispensed into a relative pipeline (3) connected to the main water supply line (8), characterized by the fact that: said at least one air-powered dental handpiece is controlled by means of a plurality of normally closed ON-OFF valves (5b) disposed along relative water and air first supply branch lines (6b, 16b) branched from said main water supply line (8) and power-air and spray-air lines (16) respectively, said normally closed ON-OFF valves (5b) being operated to open the respective line by removal of the relative handpiece from said dental holder (T); said chip blower handpiece (10) is directly provided with relative chip blower ON-OFF valves (5a) for water and spray-air second supply branch lines (6a, 16a) branched from said main water supply line (8) and spray-air lines (16) respectively, said chip blower valves (5a) being operable directly by the user; overall ON-OFF means (7, 7a), operable directly by the user, being located on the said main water supply line (8) and power-air aid spray-air lines (16) respectively at a point downstream said second branch lines (6a, 16a); said reservoir (2) being connected to the main water supply line (8) at a point upstream said second branch lines (6a, 16a); directional control means (4) being provided on said main water supply line (8) and interlocked to switchable control means in such a way to permit of supplying medical solution only or water only at any one time.

Inventors: CASTELLINI FRANCO, CASTELLINI, FRANCO
Applicants: CASTELLINI SPA, CASTELLINI S.P.A.
Application year: 1989
Main classification: A61C1
IPC codes: A61C17, A61C19, A61C1