Abstract:
The case ( 1 ) comprises a receptacle ( 41 ) with two detachably interconnected receptacle parts ( 42, 43 ). The receptacle ( 41 ) contains a dental implant ( 11 ) and a holder ( 61 ). The dental implant ( 11 ) has an anchoring section ( 15 ) designed to be anchored in a bone, i.e., an outside thread, and an outer section ( 16 ) indented to jut out from the bone. The holder ( 61 ) engages the outer section ( 16 ) of the dental implant ( 11 ) and detachably secures it using clamping and/or locking means ( 67 ). The dental implant ( 11 ) and the holder ( 61 ) are connected to each other by anti-rotation means ( 31, 72 ) preventing rotations around a common axis ( 13 ). Once the case has been opened ( 41 ), the holder ( 61 ) can be gripped manually or using a tool or instrument and the dental implant ( 11 ) held by the holder ( 61 ) can be inserted into a bone in the mouth of a patient by screwing, pushing or pressing said implant into the bone.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The invention relates to a container or device holding a cartridge having two cartridge parts joined separably together and a dental implant arranged in the cartridge. 
     STATE OF THE ART 
     A sterile container for a dental implant appearing in the book, “Orale Implantologie,” by André Schroeder, Franz Sutter, Daniel Buser and Gisbert Krekeler, 2nd Edition, 1994, Georg Theme Verlag, Stuttgart/New York, pages 223 to 225, contains a cartridge with an ampule and a cap. In the container there is arranged an inner ampule with an inner cap. The inner ampule contains a metal, cage-like holder which holds the dental implant. The implant has, for example, an external thread designed to be screwed into a bone, and an axial bore with an internal thread. When such an implant is unpacked and used, first the outer ampule is opened, the inner ampule dumped out, the inner ampule is opened and a driving instrument is first screwed by hand loosely into the internal thread. Then a ratchet is pushed onto part of the driving instrument, a wrench is tightened onto a part of the driving instrument that bears a hexagonal head and extends through the ratchet and the holder is removed from the container. Then the direction of rotation of the ratchet drill is reversed, the implant is lifted out of the inner ampule and is screwed into the bone. 
     This known container has the disadvantages that it has relatively many components, and that, above all, many steps are necessary for removing the implant from the container, introducing it with the ratchet into the patient&#39;s mouth and driving it in. Also, the driving instrument must be unscrewed from the implant after the implant has been screwed into a bone. The great number of working steps, and especially the screwing of a driving instrument into the implant further increases the danger that germs may get on the implant. 
     The known container also has similar disadvantages when the implant is not screwed into a bone but is to be hammered into it. 
     OUTLINE OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is addressed to the problem of creating a container and device which will avoid the disadvantages of the known container and especially will make it possible to remove an implant in a few steps from the container and insert it into a bone in the lower or upper jaw of a patient. 
     The problem is solved according to the invention by a container holding a cartridge having two cartridge parts detachably joined together and a dental implant arranged therein. The dental implant has an anchoring portion intended for anchoring in a bone, and an outer portion intended to protrude from the bone. The container is characterized in that the cartridge contains a holder which can be removed together with the dental implant from the cartridge and which clutches the outer portion of the dental implant, and has clasping and/or holding means detachably holding the implant plus a shaft [axis?], and in that the dental implant and the holder have antirotational means in order to join the dental implant and the holder together against rotation on one another. 
     Advantageous embodiments of the subject of the invention will be found in the dependent claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The subject matter of the invention will be explained hereinafter with the aid of embodiments represented in the drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is an axial section through a container with a dental implant and a holder, 
     FIG. 2 an enlarged detail of FIG. 1, 
     FIG. 3 a cutaway view of an implant and another holder separate from the latter, 
     FIG. 4 an axial section through an implant and, in the left half, through the holder of FIG. 3, and in the right half, through another holder, and 
     FIG. 5 an axial section through an implant and yet another holder. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The device  1  seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a container  3  with a dental implant  11 . The implant and the entire container  3  are generally rotationally symmetrical with an axis  13 . The dental implant  11  has an anchoring portion  15  provided for anchoring in a bone of the lower or upper jaw of a patient, and an outer portion ( 16 ) which is to protrude from the bone. The implant  11  has a generally cylindrical section  17 , which is provided with an external thread  18  which is self-tapping, for example, but could consist of a non-self-tapping, mating thread. The cylindrical section  17  is adjoined by an upwardly flaring, trumpet-shaped section  19  whose bottom portion together with the cylindrical section  17  forms the anchoring portion  15 . 
     At the upper, wider end of the trumpet-shaped section  19  there is a shoulder  21  with a conical shoulder surface  22  that is inclined upwardly and inwardly, forming with the axis  13  an angle of 40° to 50°, for example, 45°. The upper, narrower end of the conical shoulder surface  22  is adjoined at right angles by a planar annular surface  23 . 
     A head  25  extends upward from the annular surface  23  and, together with the upper end of the trumpet-shaped section  19  and shoulder  21 , forms the outer portion  16  of the implant  11 . The head  25  has a top section  26  and tapering away from the latter toward the free end of the head and thus toward the upper end of the entire implant. The head section  26  parallel to the axis is separated from the upper end of the shoulder  21  by an annular groove  29  which is concavely curved in axial section. The head has a planar, annular end face at its free end. The two head sections  26  and  27  are generally rotationally symmetrical with the axis  13  and/or have each at least an envelope surface rotationally symmetrical with the axis, namely a cylindrical and a conical envelope surface, respectively. The two head sections  26  and  27 , however, are provided with anti-rotational and positioning means  31 . These are anti-rotational and positioning grooves  33  distributed around the axis  13  and parallel thereto. They are, for example, arcuate, U-shaped, quadrangular or V-shaped in cross section and thus have positioning surfaces which are anti-rotational with respect to the axis  13 . The grooves  33  can be all equal in shape, of the same dimensions, and uniformly distributed about the axis. However, several equal grooves as well as one wider and/or deeper groove may be present. 
     The implant furthermore has a bore  35  coaxial with the axis  13 , which opens into the free end of the head  25  and has a section with an internal thread  36  starting approximately at the mouth of the bore. 
     The container  3  has an elongated cartridge  41 . The latter consists of a first, larger cartridge part  42 , namely a body also identified by  42 , and a second, smaller cartridge part  43 , which will also be referred to hereinafter as the cover  43 . The two cartridge parts,  42  and  43 , consist of a thermoplastic, at least the first cartridge part  42  being transparent. 
     The two cartridge parts  42  and  43  have a substantially cylindrical shape. They have sections that mate with one another and are provided with an internal thread  44  and an external thread  45 , respectively and can be screwed together, i.e., they are joined together separably. The interfitting sections of the two cartridge parts and their threads are configured such that the interior of the cartridge is at least approximately tightly sealed and so isolated from the environment that no germs, microorganisms and viruses can pass from the environment into the interior of the cartridge. The two cartridge parts  43  and  42  have a bottom  46  and a top wall  47 . The bottom is provided with a circular recess  48  and a number of cogs  49  disposed at the margin of its bottom. 
     The container  41  contains an interior cartridge  51  which can be removed from the container. It consists of a body with a cylindrical exterior, which is closed at the bottom end with a floor and is open at the upper end. The interior cartridge consists of a thermoplastic and is transparent. The bottom end of the interior cartridge  51  extends with some clearance into the recess  48  and lies on the cogs  49 . The upper end of the inner cartridge  51  extends slightly into the cover  43  where it is provided with an annular, outwardly reaching projection  52  which radially supports and centers the inner cartridge in the interior surface of the cover. 
     The interior of the inner cartridge  51  is mostly cylindrical, but at the open upper end it has a short and small lip  53 . 
     The container  41  contains a holder  61  which holds the dental implant  11  releasably, can be removed from the container together with the latter, and can serve as a screwing and/or hammering and/or pressing instrument for the implant. The holder  61  is, like the implant, the container  41  and the inner cartridge, generally rotationally symmetrical with the axis  13 . The holder  61  has a shaft  62  and, at the upper end, a head projecting radially beyond the shaft. The lower end of the head rests in the lip  53  of the inner cartridge. The lip  53  preferably provides a light press-fit for the head and holds it lightly. The head  63  therefore closes the upper, open end of the inner cartridge  51 . The upper end of the head  63  is approximately at the inside surface of the top  47  of the cover  43 , so that when the container  41  is closed the head will be unable to move past the lip  53 . The shaft  62  is provided at its bottom end remote from the head  63  with a generally rotationally symmetrical, stepped blind bore  64  coaxial with the axis  13 . The bore  64  has at the bottom end of the holder a short, cylindrical section  65 . The latter is defined in cross section by a thin and short, substantially hollow cylindrical, elastically deformable, especially radially stretchable shaft end section which forms catch and/or clamping means  67 . These surround the annular edge in cross section formed by the upper end of the trumpet-shaped section  19  and the outer margin of the conical shoulder surface  22  of the implant, project downward in the axial direction beyond the edge, are under a bias produced by radial elastic force and releasably clutch the implant  11  tightly by this shoulder  21 . The cylindrical bore section  65  is adjoined at the top by a bore section tapering upward from the mouth of the bore with a conical contact surface  69 . This forms with the axis  13  the same angle as the conical shoulder surface  22  and lies against the latter. The upper end of the conical contact surface  69  follows a bore section  71  parallel to the axis  13 . This contains at least a part of the head  25  of the implant, is generally cylindrical and guides and centers the head with slight radial clearance. The bore section  71  has antirotational means  72  which are formed by axially parallel, elongated, rib-like projections which have antirotational surfaces which are not rotationally symmetrical with the axis  13 ; they engage the antirotational grooves  33  in the head  25  of the implant and join the implant anti-rotationally as regards rotation about the axis  13 . Near its bottom end, the head  63  has a rim  75  which projects radially beyond the rest of the head and is provided with ridges or roughening  76  formed, for example, by knurling or cording. The holder  61  is furthermore provided at its end formed by the head  63  with coupling means  77  in order to attach the holder releasably and antirotationally as regards rotation about the axis  13  to a screwing and/or hammering and/or pressing tool. Above the rim  75 , the head  63  of the holder  61  has a cylindrical section  79  with milled recesses  78  distributed uniformly along its circumference and serving for the formation of coupling means. The cylindrical section  78  is configured such that an annular coupling means of a ratchet serving as a screwing tool can be placed onto the holder over the cylindrical section  78  and then can contact the rim  75  and engage the recesses  79  with drivers. The coupling means  77  furthermore has a blind bore  81  coaxial with the axis  13 , which opens into the free end of the head  63  facing away from the shaft  62 , is at least partially polyhedral, square for example, and has a polyhedral bore section  82  that is square, for example, as well as an annular groove  83 . The latter holds a rubber-elastic ring  84 , an O-ring for example, which projects at least at points out of the annular groove  83  toward the axis  13 . A screwdriving tool with a polyhedral key fitting into the bore section  82  can then be inserted into the blind hole  81 . The ring  84  then grips the key somewhat tightly, although of course the key can still move axially and can be removed again from the blind hole  81 . The shaft  62 , the head  63 , the gripping and/or clutching means  67 , the antirotational means  72  and the entire holder  61  with the exception of the rubber-elastic ring  84 , consist of an integral body of thermoplastic material. 
     The implant  11  is inserted by its manufacturer with an approximately axial thrust into the bore  64  of the holder  61 . The holder then clutches the implant by its outer portion  16  and holds it fast. Then the implant and the shaft  62  of the holder a reinserted into the internal cartridge  51 , so that the head  63  of the holder  61  enters into the lip  53  of the inner cartridge and closes it. Then the inner cartridge  51  and the holder  61  are inserted into the container  41 . After the latter is closed the surfaces of the container adjoining the container&#39;s interior, and all parts contained therein, are sterilized. 
     When a dentist wishes to use the dental implant to bold and/or form a dental prosthesis, he makes a bore in a bone of the lower or upper jaw of a patient to anchor the implant, unscrews the cover  43  from the first container part  42  and dumps the inner cartridge with the holder it contains onto a support. Then the dentist can grasp the head of the holder with two fingers, for example, and tilt the head by applying a light lateral force and release it from the inner cartridge. Then the dentist can withdraw the implant held by the holder  61  without touching the implant, draw it out by the holder from the inner cartridge, insert into the patient&#39;s mouth, and drive the implant by manual rotation of the holder into the bore made in the bone. The holder serves in that case as a screwdriving implement. When the implant has been driven partially into the bone, the dentist can also engage the holder with a screwdriving tool, for example a ratchet or a polyhedral wrench fitting the bore  81 , or a so-called “floating” screwdriving tool having a socket fitting the blind bore  81  and screw the implant tight by turning the holder. 
     In an alternative procedure, the dentist, after opening the container  41 , can place a ratchet onto the head  63  of the holder  61 , or join another screwdriving tool or instrument releasably to the holder and insert the holder as well as the implant it holds, with the ratchet or other tool or instrument, into the patient&#39;s mouth and insert it into the bone. 
     When the implant is tightened and its anchoring portion  15  has been anchored in the bone, the holder attached to the outer portion  16  of the implant can be withdrawn from the holder in an approximately axial direction and taken apart. The implant can thus, with a few, simple steps, be taken from the sterile container  3  and inserted into a bone. 
     The dental implant  11  seen in FIGS. 3 and 4 is of the same configuration as the implant of FIGS. 1 and 2. The holder  61  seen in FIG.  3  and in the left half of FIG. 4 is also made similar to the holder  61  in FIGS. 1 and 2, but differs in that its shaft reaches only to the outer margin of the conical shoulder surface  22  and has catching and/or gripping means  67  which have an annular projection  170  disposed above the conical contact surface  69 . This projection is separated by an annular groove  171  present in the blind bore  64  from the antirotational means  72  of the holder, and is connected in the bottom of this annular groove  171  by a relatively thin, resiliently deformable portion with the portion of the holder  62  situated above the projection  170 . For connection to the implant  11 , when the shaft  62  of the holder  61  is pushed approximately parallel to the axis  13  over its head, the head causes a momentary elastic deformation of the lower, free end section of the shaft. At the same time the annular projection  170  of the clutching or catch means is momentarily expanded slightly and then snaps, according to FIG. 4, into the annular groove  29  of the implant. By pulling the holder  61  axially from the implant  11 , the projection  170  can be snapped back out again. 
     The holder  61  drawn on the right half of FIG. 4 is largely similar to the one on the left half, but differs in that, instead of the annular groove  171  created in the blind bore  64 , it has an externally created annular groove  181 . 
     The blind bore  64  in the holder  61  drawn in FIG. 5 has at its inner end a cylindrical seat  266 . The upper end of a generally cylindrical sleeve  270  is fastened therein. It is open at its bottom, free end. The end section thereof, at this end of the sleeve, is slightly thickened, has an exterior surface that is given a slightly convex curvature, is resiliently deformable in an approximately radial direction, and forms the clutching and/or catching means  67  of the holder  61  shown in FIG.  5 . If it is joined to the implant  11 , the sleeve penetrates into the blind bore  35  of the implant  11 . The clutching and/or catching means  67  then enter the internal thread  36  of the blind bore  35  and removably clutch the implant. 
     Unless otherwise described above, the holders drawn in FIGS. 3 to  5  can be of the same or similar configuration as the holder described in FIGS. 1 and 2. Also, features of the various holders can be combined together. 
     Furthermore, the external thread  18  of the implant can be omitted and its anchoring portion can be configured such that it can be pushed into the bore in the bone parallel to the axis. The implant can then, when inserted into the hole in the bone, be positioned in a desired rotational position if necessary. The bore and the anchoring portion of the implant can then also be dimensioned and configured such that the implant must be hammered and/or pressed into the bore. To anchor the implant in the bone, a hammering and/or pressing tool can be struck or pressed against the head  63  of the holder  61 . The holder  61  can then serve as a driving and/or pressing instrument. In any case, the procedure for removing the implant from the container and inserting it into a bone is similar to that for a screw implant, in which case the packaging according to the invention also offers similar advantages.