Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to this application and are not admitted to being prior art by inclusion in this section.
The subject matter in general relates to orthodontics and dentistry. More particularly, but not exclusively, the subject matter relates to a tool for placing elastic band over dental brace.
It is known that misalignment of teeth and jaws gives rise to various problems like increased facial stress and an overall poor facial appearance, among others. Dental braces have been employed for a long time in solving such issues of aligning the misaligned teeth and jaws. High strength elastic bands are further employed to supplement the dental braces for improved results. The elastic bands are disposed over hooks provided on the dental braces to assist in proper alignment and improving fit of upper and lower teeth during the bite-fixing phase of the orthodontic treatment, which is usually the longest and one of the difficult parts of the treatment process.
The elastic bands may be employed based on the requirements and would have to be replaced after a certain period of time as elastic bands tend to lose their tension. Furthermore, due to regular movement of the jaws the chances of the elastic bands snapping off and popping out of the hooks are high. Positioning of the elastic bands over the hooks is a tedious, difficult, and time-consuming process. The elastic bands can be replaced at home, but it is impractical for an individual at times to access few areas of mouth and is unhygienic to use hands to place the elastic bands.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a tool that can be employed in positioning the elastic bands over the hooks provided on the dental braces.
In one aspect an orthodontic apparatus for placing elastic band over dental brace is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a monolithic/unibody tool and a housing. The tool comprises an upper guide, a lower guide, a band interfacing surface and a hook portion, among others. The upper guide defines an upper guide groove, wherein the upper guide is provided towards a superior end of the tool. The lower guide defines a lower guide groove, wherein the lower guide is provided below the upper guide. The band interfacing surface is defined between the upper guide and the lower guide. The hook portion is defined below the band interfacing surface. The elastic band is operable to be received around the band interfacing surface and the hook portion. The lower guide groove allows for the elastic band to be operably released onto any one among multiple dental brace hooks and the upper guide allows for the elastic band to be operably received in the upper guide groove to enable the elastic band to be manoeuvred and released onto another of the dental brace hooks.
This disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the accompanying figures. Elements illustrated in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale, in which like references indicate similar elements and in which:
The following detailed description includes references to the accompanying drawings, which form part of the detailed description. The drawings show illustrations in accordance with example embodiments. These example embodiments are described in enough details to enable those skilled in the art to practice the present subject matter. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may be practised without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments. The embodiments can be combined, other embodiments can be utilized, or structural and logical changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken as a limiting sense.
In this document, the terms “a” or “an” are used, as is common in patent documents, to include one or more than one. In this document, the term “or” is used to refer to a non-exclusive “or,” such that “A or B” includes “Abut not B,” “B but not A,” and “A and B,” unless otherwise indicated.
Referring to
Referring to
In an embodiment, the upper guide 202 on the tool 102 may be provided towards the superior end 213 of the tool 102. The upper guide 202 may define an upper guide groove 214. The upper guide 202 comprises a first projecting member 216 and a second projecting member 218, wherein the upper guide groove 214 may be defined between the first projecting member 216 and the second projecting member 218. Internal sides of each of the first projecting member 216 and the second projecting member 218 may define first maneuvering surfaces.
In an embodiment, the lower guide 204 may define a lower guide groove 220. The lower guide 204 may be provided below the upper guide 202. The lower guide 204 comprises a third projecting member 222 and a fourth projecting member 224, wherein the lower guide groove 220 may be defined between the third projecting member 222 and the fourth projecting member 224. Internal sides of each of the third projecting member 222 and the fourth projecting member 224 may define second maneuvering surfaces. The lower guide groove 220 comprises a first side 226 and a second side 228.
In an embodiment, the tool comprises the band interfacing surface 206 that may be defined between the upper guide 202 and the lower guide 204. The upper guide 202, the band interfacing surface 206 and the lower guide 204 may define, but not limited to, a generally “C” shaped profile. The profile may be angled towards the superior end 213 of the tool 102.
In an embodiment, each of the first projecting member 216 and the second projecting member 218 may define a curved elevated surfaces 230a, 230b that may extend from the band interfacing surface 206 towards the superior end 213 of the tool 102. The curved elevated surfaces 230a, 230b may prevent elastic band from sliding out from the band interfacing surface 206 unless the elastic band is pulled towards the superior end 213 of the tool 102.
In an embodiment, each of the third projecting member 222 and the fourth projecting 224 member may define a curved elevated surfaces 232a, 232b that may extend from the band interfacing surface 206 towards the lower guide groove 220. The curved elevated surfaces 232a, 232b may prevent elastic band from sliding out from the band interfacing surface 206 unless the elastic band is pulled towards the superior end 213 of the tool 102.
In an embodiment, the hook portion 208 may be defined below the band interfacing surface 206. The hook portion 206 comprises a hook opening 234, a band resting portion 236 and an anti-slip portion 238. The hook opening 234 may enable elastic band to be received into the band resting portion 236. The anti-slip portion 238 may be provided with a tip 240 that may be exposed to the hook opening 234. The tip 240 of the anti-slip portion 238 may be provided such that at least a portion of the band resting portion 236 may be closer to the superior end 213 of the tool 102 compared to the tip 240 of the anti-slip portion 236.
Referring to
In an exemplary embodiment, the tool may be provided with at least one band storage post. The band storage post comprises a neck portion and a head portion, wherein the neck portion may extend from a trunk portion. Lateral ends of head portion may be configured to prevent elastic bands from sliding out of the neck portion of the band storage post, unless the elastic bands are operated to be taken out of the band storage post.
In an embodiment, the elastic bands 302a, 302b, 302c may be manually disposed over the band storage posts 212. The elastic bands 302a, 302b, 302c may be initially stretched to push the elastic bands 302a, 302b, 302c over the head portion 308 to be received by the neck portion 306 of the band storage post 212. The elastic bands 302a, 302b, 302c may be selectively received across one or multiple of the band storage posts 212 depending on the size of the elastic bands 302a, 302b, 302c. For example, a smaller elastic band 302a may be received by a single band storage post and a comparatively bigger elastic band 302b or 302c may be received by two or more band storage posts 212.
In an embodiment, the tool 102 comprises a protruded member 310 that may be provided towards an inferior end 215 of the tool 102. The protruded member 310 may be provided towards an inferior end 312 of a platform 314 that extends from the trunk portion 210 towards the inferior end 215 of the tool 102.
In an embodiment, the orthodontic apparatus 100 comprises housing 104 that may be configured to operably receive the tool 102. Referring to
In an embodiment, two opposite inner surfaces of the housing 104, a first inner surface 408 and a second inner surface 410 may be provided with a first pair of protruding members 412a, 412b and a second pair of protruding members 414a, 414b, respectively. The first pair of protruding members 412a, 412b and the second pair of protruding members 414a, 414b may extend longitudinally along the length of the housing 104. The first pair of protruding members 412a, 412b and second pair of protruding members 414a, 414b may be provided on the sides of the housing 104 wherein the longitudinal slots 406a, 406b are disposed. The first pair of protruding members 412a, 412b may be provided over a first inner surface 408 of the housing 104. The members 412a, 412b of the first pair of protruding members may be spaced at a distance to operably receive the platform 314 of the tool 102 such that the platform 314 can slide back and forth along the length of the housing 104. The first pair of protruding members 412a, 412b may be tapered towards the opening 402 of the housing 104.
In an embodiment, the second pair of protruding members 414a, 414b may be provided over the second inner surface 410 of the housing 104 provided opposite to the first inner surface 408. The second inner surface 410 may be tapered such that portion of the second inner surface 410 towards the proximal end 405 of the housing 104 may be elevated. The second pair of protruding members 414a, 414b may be closely spaced as compared to the first pair of protruding members. The second pair of protruding members 414a, 414b may provide support for the tool 102 when the tool 102 is operably moved in and out of the housing 104.
In an embodiment, the tool 102 may be housed within the housing 104 and may be held in place by friction between the elastic bands disposed over the band storage posts 212 on the tool 102 and the first protruding members 412a, 412b and the second protruding members 414a, 414b provided within the housing 104, whenever the tool 102 is not in use. The tool 102 may be configured to operably slide in and out of the housing 104 through the opening 402 defined towards the distal end 404 of the housing 104.
In an embodiment, a user may operate the orthodontic apparatus 100 by exposing the tool 102. The user may expose the tool 102 by sliding the tool 102 out of the housing 104 by applying force over the protruded member 310 provided towards the inferior end 215 of the tool 102. The tool 102 slides out from the housing 104 thereby exposing the upper guide 202, the lower guide 204, the band interfacing surface 206, the hook portion 208, the trunk portion 210 and the band storage posts 212. The tool 102 may be retrieved back into the housing 104 when not in use. The user may pull back the tool 102 by sliding the protruded member 310 of the tool 102 towards the proximal end 405 of the housing 104. The housing 104 may be configured to protect the tool 102 from dirt or any foreign particle, thereby keeping the elastic bands 302a, 302b, 302c clean within the housing 104.
Operation
Referring to
Referring to
In an embodiment, the lower guide groove 220 comprises first side 226 that may face the dental brace hook when the tool 102 is operated to release the elastic band 316 onto a dental brace hook, and the second side 228 may open up to the band interfacing surface 206.
Referring to
In an embodiment, the tool 102 may be retrieved back into the housing 104 after completing the operation.
In an embodiment, the tool 102 may be employed to deploy elastic bands over multiple dental brace hooks in a pattern as per requirements. The pattern may be a regular two-point pattern, a three-point triangular pattern or multiple point pattern. The upper guide groove 214 along with the first maneuvering surfaces 230a, 230b enable the user to manoeuvre the elastic band 316 to required position and deploy the elastic band 316 onto dental brace hooks.
Referring to
In an embodiment, the first part 604 may comprise of a pair of engaging members 608 provided on its opposite sides and the second part 606 may define a pair of slots 610 on its opposite side (refer
In an embodiment, internal structural configuration of the housing 602 may be similar to the housing 104 discussed in the foregoing and is therefore not repeated for the sake of brevity.
It shall be noted that the processes described above are described as sequence of steps; this was done solely for the sake of illustration. Accordingly, it is understood that some steps may be added, some steps may be omitted, the order of the steps may be re-arranged, or some steps may be performed simultaneously.
Many alterations and modifications of the present invention will no doubt become apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art after having read the foregoing description. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. It is to be understood that the description above contains many specifications, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the personally preferred embodiments of this invention.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20220133440 A1 | May 2022 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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63138797 | Jan 2021 | US |