US3869797A

US3869797A - Instrument exchanger

Info

Publication number: US3869797A
Application number: US224840A
Authority: US
Inventors: Oscar Malmin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-02-09
Filing date: 1972-02-09
Publication date: 1975-03-11
Anticipated expiration: 1992-03-11

Abstract

A device for handling small dental instruments, including an elongate handle and a pair of instrument-carrying members received on the opposed ends of the handle. The instrumentcarrying members are magnetized so as to attract the shank of small metal dental instruments such as, for example, reamers and drills. In this way, and assuming sterilization of the instrument exchanger, the shank or working portion of the small instrument is not touched by human hands and, therefore, is not contaminated. The exchanger may have the opposed instrumentcarrying members color-coded so that one end will always be used for sterile instruments and the other end always used for contaminated instruments. It is also possible to provide a groove or seat in the face of the carrying members to enhance the security of the instrument while it is being transferred. It is also possible to mount the carrying members on the handle so that they can be adjusted to various positions relatively of the handle.

Description

United States Patent 1 91 Malmin INSTRUMENT EXCHANGER [76] Inventor: Oscar Malmin, 127 E. Wayne Ave.,

Akron, Ohio 44301 [22] Filed: Feb. 9, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 224,840

Primary Examiner-Louis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner-J. Q. Lever Attorney, Agent, or Firm--Freeman & Taylor 1 51 Mar. 11, 1975 [57] ABSTRACT A device for handling small dental instruments, including an elongate handle and a pair of instrumentcarrying members received on the opposed ends of the handle. The instrument-carrying members are magnetized so as to attract the shank of small metal dental instruments such as, for example, reamers and drills. In this way, and assuming sterilization of the instrument exchanger, the shank or working portion of the small instrument is not touched by human hands and, therefore, is not contaminated. The exchanger may have the opposed instrument-carrying members colorcoded so that one end will always be used for sterile instruments and the other end always used for contaminated instruments. It is also possible to provide a groove or seat in the face of the carrying members to enhance the security of the instrument while it is being transferred. It is also possible to mount the carrying members on the handle so that they can be adjusted to various positions relatively of the handle.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 1 INSTRUMENT EXCHANGER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Considering first FIG. 1, it will be noted that the in- This invention, in general, relates to the field of den- 5 stfumem exchanger, g n r y icated by the nutistry and, in particcular, relates to an instrument ex-. changer or handling device which permits the handling of very small dental instruments without contamination.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART At the present time Applicant is aware of no really comparable instrument exchanger. At the present time instruments are passed to and from the dentist by various means, all of which involve handling the instrument with the risk of contaminating the working portion of the instrument. Some of these methods include trays,

cotton, etc.

All of the existing methods have two primary disadvantages. First, they raise a definite risk of contaminating an otherwise sterile instrument; and second, they are cumbersome and time-consuming.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It has been found that small dental instruments, such as drills, reamers, etc., can be passed between persons in the operating zone by providing an elongate handle with a pair of opposed magnetzied carrying members disposed on the opposed ends of the handle, which are capable of attracting the shank of the instrument and holding it while it is transferred from the dental assistant to the dentist, for example.

It has further been found that a groove or instrument- Iocating notch can be provided in the carrying members to insure secure reception and location of the instruments on the carrying members.

It has also been found that the carrying members can be color-coded to insure that contaminated or used instruments are always received on a selected end of the carrying members, while sterile, unused instruments are always received on the other end.

Furthermore, it has been found that the carrying members can be mounted on the handle in an adjustable fashion so as to permit the carrying members to be adjusted relatively of the handle to dispose the instrument-receiving faces thereof in varying planes for the convenience of the user. Accordingly, production of an instrument-transfer device of the character described becomes the principal object of this invention, with other objects thereof becoming more apparent upon a reading of the following brief specification considered and interpreted in view of the accompanying drawings.

OF THE DRAWINGS:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one form of the instrument exchanger showing the instrument-receiving faces lying in planes parallel to the longitudinal axis of the handle.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the instrument-receiving planes lying at an angle with regard to the longitudinal axis of the handle.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a modified form of the invention showing the instrument-carrying members adjustably attached to the handle.

meral 10, includes an elongate handle 11 and a pair of opposed instrumentcarrying members 20,120 mounted on the opposed ends of the handle.

The instrument-carrying members 20, are identical, and accordingly only one will be described. Thus considering the right-hand end of the instrument in FIG. 1, it will be noted that a mounting shank 21 is received on the end 13 of handle II in conventional fashion. Secured to the outboard end of the shank 21, in any suitable manner, is the instrumentcarrying member 20. This member is shown as a rectangular block but could, of course, take any desired configuration. This block has an instrument-receiving surface 22 which is magnetized and which also includes an elongate V- shaped slot 23 adapted to receive the working shank of the instrument 30.

In this regard instrument 30 is illustrated as being a reamer having a handle 32 and a shank 31. It is be lieved apparent that, as illustrated in FIG. I, the shank, being metallic, would be attracted by the magnetized instrumentreceiving surface of the carrying member 20, with the handle 32 projecting therefrom.

In use or operation it is merely necessary to grasp the handle 32 of the instrument 30 and press the shank 31 against the magnetized surface in the groove following which, of course, the magnetic properties of member 20 would retain it in place. The handle 11 is then grasped, and assuming one is dealing with a sterile instrument, the end of the shank carrying the instrument 30 is turned toward the dentist who merely grasps the handle 32 and inserts it into the appropriate instrument.

The dentist could also, at this time, place the used or contaminated instrument on member 120, following which the assistant would remove it for disposal or sterilization as the case may be.

It is contemplated that, as shown in FIG. 2, the opposed ends would be color-coded, and red and blue have been arbitrarily selected for purposes of description and to avoid confusion in use. In this fashion, for example, the blue end would always receive the sterile instrument, and the red end would always receive the contaminated instrument.

FIG. 2 shows an instrument similar to FIG. 1 and employing the same reference numbers, with the only difference being that, as contrasted toFIG. 1 in which the

instrumentreceiving surfaces

22, 122 are disposed parallel to the longitudinal axis of the handle, in FIG. 2 these surfaces are disposed at an angle with regard to that axis. Use or operation of this instrument is identical to that described above with regard to FIG. 1.

Turning next then to FIG. 3 for a description of the modified form of the invention shown therein, again the device includes a shank 111 and opposed instrument-carrying

members

220, 220 which have instrument-receiving

surfaces

222, 222 thereon and which also have

elongate grooves

223, 223 for reception of the shank of the instrument.

The principal difference in the instrument of FIG. 3, however, is that the

shanks

21, 21 are mounted on the

opposed ends

112 and 113 of the handle 111 by means of a ball and socket arrangement 40 so that the shank can be moved to different positions relatively of .the handle as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3.

Furthermore, the instrument-carrying

members

220, 220 are mounted on the outboard end of the

shanks

121, 121 by a second ball and socket arrangement 50. This permits the opposed carrying members to be moved to different positions relatively of the shank.

This form of the invention permits the instrument exchanger to be adjusted to suit the desires and needs of the individual user. i

It should be noted that even in the fixed form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, while two postures have been shown for the disposition of the instrumentcarrying members relatively of the handle, an infinite number of positions could be adopted depending upon the needs of the particular user.

It should also be noted that while handles 11 and 111 have been shown as the simple conventional elongate shank of a dental instrument, they also could assume any configuration as desired and would not necessarily have to be straight.

Furthermore, the instrument-receiving

surfaces

22, 122 and 222, 222 have been shown as being substantially flat, but again they could assume a different configuration if desired within the teachings of the invention.

it should also be pointed out that while color coding has been described as one method of identifying the ends which respectively receive the sterile and contaminated instruments, other forms of coding could be employed although color coding probably is the surest and quickest visual identification.

While a full and complete description of the invention has been set forth in accordance with the dictates of the Patent Statutes, it is to be understood that modifications can be resorted to without departing from the spirit hereof or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An instrument exchanger for handling small instruments, comprising:

A. an elongate handle;

B. a pair of instrument-carrying members 1. disposed on opposed ends of said handle and 2. each having an exposed magnetized instrumentreceiving surface thereon and;

'C. each of said instrument-receiving surfaces having locating means thereon including at least one guide groove adapted to receive at least the operative portion of said instruments.

2. The instrument exchanger of claim 1 further characterized by the fact that each of said instrumentcarrying members is differently color-coded.

3. The instrument of claim 1 further characterized by the fact that said instrument-carrying members are adjustably mounted on said handle whereby the plane of said instrument-receiving surfaces can be adjusted relatively of the longitudinal axis of said elongate handle.

4. An instrument exchanger for handling small instruments, comprising;

A. an elongate handle;

B. a pair of elongate shanks secured to and projecting from the opposed ends of said handle;

C. an instrument-carrying member secured to the outboard end of each of said shanks; and

D. each of said instrument-carrying members having an exposed magnetized instrument-receiving surface thereon including at least one guide groove.

5. The instrument exchanger of claim 4 further characterized by the fact that said shanks are adjustably attached to said handle whereby the plane of said instrumentreceiving surfaces can be adjusted relatively of the longitudinal axis of said elongate handle.

6. The instrument exchanger of claim 5 further characterized by the fact that said instrument-carrying members are adjustably attached to the outboard ends of said shanks whereby the plane of said instrumentreceiving surfaces can be adjusted relatively of the longitudinal axes of said shanks.

Claims

1. An instrument exchanger for handling small instruments, comprising, A. an elongate handle; B. a pair of instrument-carrying members 1. disposed on opposed ends of said handle and 2. each having an exposed magnetized instrument-receiving surface thereon and; C. each of said instrument-receiving surfaces having locating means thereon including at least one guide groove adapted to receive at least the operative portion of said instruments.

1. An instrument exchanger for handling small instruments, comprising, A. an elongate handle; B. a pair of instrument-carrying members

1. disposed on opposed ends of said handle and

2. each having an exposed magnetized instrument-receiving surface thereon and; C. each of said instrument-receiving surfaces having locating means thereon including at least one guide groove adapted to receive at least the operative portion of said instruments.

2. The instrument exchanger of claim 1 further characterized by the fact that each of said instrument-carrying members is differently color-coded.

4. An instrument exchanger for handling small instruments, comprising; A. an elongate handle; B. a pair of elongate shanks secured to and projecting from the opposed ends of said handle; C. an instrument-carrying member secured to the outboard end of each of said shanks; and D. each of said instrument-carrying members having an exposed magnetized instrument-receiving surface thereon including at least one guide groove.

5. The instrument exchanger of claim 4 further characterized by the fact that said shanks are adjustably attached to said handle whereby the plane of said instrument-receiving surfaces can be adjusted relatively of the longitudinal axis of said elongate handle.