Patent Publication Number: US-2019183608-A1

Title: Surgical tool

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This Application claims priority as a non-provisional perfection of prior filed U.S. Application No. 62/598,749, filed Dec. 14, 2017, and incorporates the same by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the field of dentistry and more particularly relates to an osculating tool for use in surgery, which may include loosening a tooth for extraction. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Dentistry is an old art, with ancient Egyptian mummies showing signs of dental work. One of the oldest practices is tooth extraction—where a diseased or broken tooth is pulled out of the jaw. Generally, the tooth structure is not made for easy extraction as at least one, possibly more, root structure is embedded in an individual&#39;s jaw for each tooth. Wrestling a tooth out of the jaw often requires strenuous effort on a practitioner and some measure of discomfort on the patient. And if not performed properly, serious harm can be done to the patients jaw and gums; often leading to corrective surgeries performed by oral surgeons. 
     To this end, many methods and tools for loosening a tooth prior to extraction have been developed. One tool is a dental hammer, often used with a chisel, to loosen, break apart and eventually extract a tooth. Recently, the dental hammer has been upgraded with a repeating hammer structure, much like a jackhammer, which may be used to separate the tooth from the jaw. However, current designs are linear in operation and have play in their linkages. Not only does this create an unacceptable level of noise, but the tools also tend to jerk when in use. The repeating hammer only provides force in one direction, and relies on momentum from the tool bouncing in order to return the hammer portion to an original position. This reliance on bounce force is unreliable. An osculating plunger design which eliminates these issues would be of great benefit to the art. A true reciprocating action also lends itself to various specialized tools other than just a plunger. 
     The present invention is a double acting osculating tool for dental use which utilizes an eccentric rotary plate to impart linear motion to the plunging implement. The present invention represents a departure from the prior art in that the use of the rotary plate in the present invention allows for quieter use while eliminating the vibration from prior art linear hammer drives. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of dental hammers, an improved osculating surgical tool is provided. As such, a new and improved dental tool may comprise multiple tool heads actuated by a dual acting eccentric rotary drive in order to accomplish quieter and smoother operation. With multiple tool heads, it should be noted that uses outside the field of dentistry are possible. 
     The more important features of the invention have thus been outlined in order that the more detailed description that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may better be appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter and will form the subject matter of the claims that follow. 
     Many objects of this invention will appear from the following description and appended claims, reference being made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views. 
     Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
     As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a dental surgical tool with an osculating head. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the dental surgical tool of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the dental surgical tool of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the dental surgical tool of  FIG. 3 , taken along line A-A. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the motor unit utilized in the dental surgical tool of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view of the motor unit of  FIG. 5 , taken along line A-A of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 7  is an exploded view of the motor unit of  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the wand head unit utilized in the dental surgical tool of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 9  is a sectional view of the wand head unit of  FIG. 8 , taken along line A-A of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 10  is an exploded view of the wand head unit of  FIG. 8 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     With reference now to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the dental surgical tool is herein described. It should be noted that the articles “a”, “an”, and “the”, as used in this specification, include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. The term “longitudinal” shall be used to describe movement or structure along a major axis defined by the tool. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1-4 , the dental surgical tool  100  has three main components, a motor unit  110 , a wand head,  140  and a tool bit  170 . Each of these components are removable from the other. It should be noted that the tool bit  170  has a bit shoulder  172  for interface with the wand head  140  and a bit head  174  which is used to perform the actual work needed. As such, the bit head  174  may be adaptable to any number of desired operations which require repetitive motion, such as cutting or hammering. The bit head  174 , and entire tool  100 , may also be adapted for any type of surgical operation outside of dentistry and possibly for any material working operation outside of surgery itself. 
     Separating the motor unit  110  from the wand head  140  reveals the swash plate  130  and two riding bearings  150  attached to the main shaft  144 . The interaction of these components converts the rotary motion of motor  114  into linear motion required for the tool. These components of the motor unit  110  and wand head  140  are contained in respective casings  112 ,  142 , which serve to isolate these moving components from the outside environment by joining together to form a sterile and waterproof seal. A chuck  168  extends outside of the wand head casing  142  and holds the tool bit  170  for use. 
     The motor unit  110 , as seen in  FIGS. 5-7 , contains a motor  114  housed within motor unit casing  112 . Power for motor  114  may be provided by any means known or later developed, including a simple power cord  116 , as is shown, or by utilizing batteries which may or may not be rechargeable and/or replaceable and may or may not utilize an inductive charging system. Limitations regarding the power supply of the surgical tool should not be inferred from the presence of only the illustrated power cord  116 . Use of the cord  116  allows for the use of a speed varying foot pedal, which is currently customary in the art. The motor  114  is fastened to a motor mount  118  by the use of any suitable means, such as bolts  120 . The motor mount  118  is then secured within the motor unit casing  112  by a threaded interface matching the inner throat of the motor unit casing  112  to the exterior of the motor mount  118 . Swash plate  130  is mounted upon the motor spindle  115  and kept in position by a pair of bolts  134 . A thrust bearing  122  is located between swash plate  130  and the motor  114 . The thrust bearing itself  122  has three main components: a washer base  124 , a race  126 , and a plurality of ball bearings  128  nested within the top surface of the race  126  ( FIG. 7 ). Swash plate  130  is then free to rotate on the surface of the thrust bearing  122  with as little friction as possible. Of note, the opposite surface of the swash plate  132  is alternately raised and lowered ( FIG. 5 ). The illustrated swash plate  130  has two peaks and two valleys, each diametrically opposed to its match. This provides an alternating push and release on the shaft  144  as a pair of balanced riding bearings  150  roll along the surface  132  ( FIG. 4 ). The use of two alternating valleys and peaks is exemplary—any number of such peaks and valleys could be used so long as they are diametrically opposed so as to match the riding bearings  150 . More peaks and valleys would allow a corresponding increase in linear motions with each revolution of the swash plate  130 . Changes in motion amplitude for the plunger tip  170  may also be achieved by varying the height of these peaks and valleys. 
     The wand head  140 , shown in  FIGS. 8-10 , features a shaft  144  housed within the center of the wand head housing  142 . The shaft has a wider pedestal  146 , which forms a shaft shoulder  145 . Riding bearings  150  are located on the pedestal  146  and are generally diametrically opposed to each other. As a means of arresting rotational motion by the shaft, locking bearings  156  are also positioned in the pedestal  146 , extending diametrically though the same. A fixed rear guide bushing  158  supports the shaft  144  in wand head housing  142  by encompassing the pedestal  146  and nesting the locking bearings  156  in corresponding longitudinal locking slots or keys  157 . This interaction of bearings  156  and slot  157  prevent the shaft  144  from rotating along with the swash plate  130  as they interact. All of the bearings  150 ,  156  are allowed to freely roll through the use of a simple fastening bolt  152  and washer  154  assembly. It should be noted that the use of a simple post in place of the locking bearings  156  could also secure the shaft  144  from rotation but would require significant durability given the rapidly repeating stresses it will encounter. 
     Spring  148  encompasses the shaft  144  and is supported by the shaft shoulder  145 . Is it also supported by a front guide bushing  160  which also serves to support shaft  144 . As the swash plate  130  and shaft  144  interact, the shaft  144  will be biased forward, into the head, with each rotation as the riding bearings roll over successive peaks. This will compress spring  148  and store energy. As the swash plate  130  continues and the riding bearings  150  roll into valleys, this spring energy will be released and return the shaft  144  into a retracted position. This longitudinal motion will be continuous as the riding bearings  150  will continually follow the swash plate surface  132 . As such, the linear motion of the shaft  144  is a force driven dual acting, reciprocal motion that is smooth, not jarring, and much quieter than previous tools for similar purposes. 
     At the tool head, a chuck  168  is fastened to the head of shaft  144  and features three main components: a threaded adapter clamp  162  with a cylindrical shaft, a collet  164  residing therein, and a compression nut  166 . When compression nut  166  is removed, tool bit  170  may be positioned in collet  164  and secured by the replacement of compression nut  166  about the threaded adapter clamp. 
     Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, numerous modifications and variations can be made and still the result will come within the scope of the invention. No limitation with respect to the specific embodiments disclosed herein is intended or should be inferred. The tool has been described as being primarily for the art of dentistry but can be adapted to any other surgical art which requires similar motion. Control of the unit may be accomplished by any means known or later found in the art, including the use of a foot pedal switch or other controls.