US2758374A - Dental impression tray - Google Patents

Description

c. A. FlS HER ETAL 2,758,374

DENTAL IMPRESSION TRAY Filed March 18, 1955 INVENTORJ Cliffbrd A. Fisher June A. Fisher ATTORNEYS United States Patent DENTAL IMPRESSION TRAY 'Clitford A. Fisher and June A. Fisher, Silver Spring, Md.

Application March 18, 1955, Serial No. 495,152

Claims. (Cl. 32-17) This invention relates to dental instruments or acces series and pertains more particularly to a dental impression tray of improved form which is most advantageously adapted for use with so-called colloid type impression compounds.

Colloid compounds are readied for use by mixing together, in the presence of a suitable solvent, two mixtures which may be in powder form or otherwise and the resultant compound is characterized by its high degree of fluidity and stickiness which presents some difiiculty in retaining the mass of compound within the confines of the tray and in maintaining the mass in proper shape while in the tray. It is, therefore, a primary object of this invention to provide an improved form of dental impression tray for use with colloid type compound wherein provision is made for not only retaining the mass of compound within the confines of the tray but also for tnaihtaining the mass in proper shaped relation while in the tray.

A further object of this invention is to provide an im proved impression tray having a handle means thereon for aiding in the manipulation and placement of the tray within a patients mouth.

Another object of this invention lies in an improved dental tray so preformed and preshaped as to readily conform to the contour of a patients jaw, the tray being readily made in a minimum number of 'basic shapes and sizes so that the tray may be used in either the upper or lower jaw areas and in either the front or back portions of the mouth.

Still another object of this invention resides in an improved form of dental tray having a base and upstanding opposite side walls such that the tray is open at its opposite ends and wherein means in the form of a rolled or solid sion compound-mass within the tray.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved dental tray having a base and upstanding opposite side walls such that the tray is open at its opposite ends and wherein the metallic material from which the tray is made is perforate throughout its area to allow the impression compound material to extrude partially therethrough whereby the compound will have interlocking engagement with the tray.

Another object of this invention resides in the provision of an improved dental tray having a handle pivotally attached thereto so that the tray may be easily and effectively maneuvered within the patients mouth to place the tray in proper position therein.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportions, and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages .of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the improved dental tray in use;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the improved tray;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation view of the tray showing the same filled with a mass of compound and illustrating the assembly in use;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view through the tray showing the pivotal mounting for the handle; and

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of a modified form of tray showing various positions of the handle in dotted lines.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1, the dental tray is indicated generally by the reference character 10 and preferably takes the form of a main body or tray portion 11 and a handle means 12 pivotally attached thereto.

Figs. 2-4 more clearly illustrate the details of construction and reference is bad at this time thereto. Fig. 2 most clearly shows the base 13 of the tray which is elongate and which is bounded on opposite sides by a pair of upstanding walls 14 and 15. The base may be formed so as to be substantially straight or it may be formed as in Fig. 2 with a longitudinal curvature. In the former case, the tray is particularly adapted to be used in the.

molar region where the teeth are very nearly arrangedin a straight line whereas in the latter case as shown in Fig. 2, the tray is adapted for use in the front curved portion of the mouth. It will be appreciated that only two or three trays having different radii of curvature will be sufiicient to properly fit any patients mouth.

The sidewalls Hand 15 are preferablysliglrtly inclined to the vertical so that they are upwardly divergent and will more readily and comfortably conform to the natural contours of the mouth. The base 13 is substantially flat and the side walls 14 and 15 form therewith an open ended trough.

The tray is preferably formed from a non-corrosive metal such as stainless steel or the like and the entire area thereof is provided with a plurality of openings or perfora- .tions 16. These perforations need not be patterned in any specific manner, it being only necessary that a suflicient number of them .be provided to allow the fluid mass M of rubber base colloid compound to partially .ex-trude therethrough and form an interlocked engagement with the tray. The ,protuberances .or nipples formed by the compound .fiowing or extruding through the perforations is indicated by the numeral 17 as shown most clearly in Fig. '3.

The upper corners of the side walls are curved to provide smooth contours and merge smoothly with the opposite ends of the base and the marginal edge portions of the side walls and the ends of the base are rolled inwardly to form the continuous bead 18. [This bead forms a barrier all around the tray which is substantially perpendicular at all points to the adjacent surface and serves to retain the fluid mass M of compound within the confines of the tray. Also, this bead presents a smooth edge which will obviate cutting or bruising of the patients gums, tongue or month. In practice the bead, although it is not of large size, will to a great extent prevent the compound from oozing over the edges of the tray, particularly as this will tend to happen when the impression is being made.

The compound when set is a resilient, rubber-like mass which, although it may be deformed, will spring back to its original shape and so produce a permanent impression record. Thus, it can be seen that the hardened or set compound is easily removed by hand from the tray stem 22 of a rivet or the like fastener.

sion is being made of the front portion of the mouth; the handle 12 will be disposed more or less perpendicular to 17 protrude through the various a res a t the longitudinal axis of the tray whereas when. the impression is being made at or near the rear of the mouth, the handle will most advantageously assume a position more or less parallel with the longitudinal axis of the tray.

The handle is provided adjacent its free end with an A opening 19 so that the assembly may be conveniently suspended from ahook while not in use and the opposite end thereof is provided with the opening 20 aligned with an opening 21 in the base 13 to receive therethrough the shown most clearly in Fig. 4 has its head 23 disposed lowermost and with its uppermost end 24 upset or headed over. The net result is to freely pivotally secure one end of the handle 12 to the undersurface of base 13.

The area of the base 13 immediately adjacent and surrounding the rivet is preferably free of apertures 16 to allow substantial swinging movement of the handle 12 without the handle encountering any of the nipples 17 of compound which are extruded through the perforations 16.

Of course, the sidewalls 14- and are so shaped as to most nearly approximate the normal mouth contours .and to this end, the side wall 14 as shown in Fig. 2 is inwardly dished in the region 25 to conform with the natural curvature 'of'the inner side of the gums since the impression tray shown in Fig. 2 is always to be used with the side wall 15 outermost.

The modification shown in Fig. 5 is similar to that depresent a continuous water tight passageway all around the tray. This maybe accomplished by any suitable means such as soldering the free edge of the bead to the adjacent surface of the tray, by aflixing a length of tubing The rivet as a scribed above but difiers therefrom in the formation of the bead 26. In this case, the bead is so formed as to the bead passageway, a dam 29 is placed between the inlet i U The dotted line positions of 4 p M the handle 12 in Fig. 5 serve to illustrate some of the positions in which the handle may be disposed.

Although we have shown specifically a pivoted handle attached to the tray, it is of course possible to maneuver the tray within a patients mouth with some degree of success by using a handle which is rigidly attached to the impression tray. 3 I

We have shown by way of example an impression tray for use in taking impressioiisof a part of the jaw. However, it is to be'understood thatithe inventio'mmay be used on a tray for taking an impression of the full jaw or anypart thereof.

We claim: 7 j

1. In an impression tray comprising a body of curved formation on a longitudinal plane, the body having a base, upstanding side walls and open ends, the base and side walls having perforations therein, the sidewalls and the ends of the base having a means thereon to hold impression material within the tray with the impression material entering the perforations and being locked to the tray, and handle means carried by the body.

2. The impression tray as defined in and by claim 1, wherein the means on the side walls and the ends of the base is a rolled bead formed integrally with the side walls and the base.

3. The impression tray as defined in and by claim 1, wherein the body is of a U-shaped construction with the legs being the side walls and the base of the body being the base of the U-shaped construction.

'4. The impression tray as defined in and by claim3. wherein the legs of the U-shaped construction have a rolled bead along their free edges and the base of the'U- shaped construction has av rolled bead along its endsj,'tlie rolled beads of each part being connected to form a continuous rolled bead throughout the entire free edge of the body of the tray. I

5. A dental impression tray comprising a body having a substantially flat base and upwardly divergent side walls on opposite sides thereof, an inwardly rolled continuous bead along the free edges of said side Walls and the opposite ends of the base, an elongate handle having one end underlying a central portion of the base, means projecting through said one end of the handle and the central portion of thev base and pivotally interconnecting the same, said body being .provided with perforations throughout its area.

References Cited in thcfile of patent.

291,699 Great Britain June 7, 1928

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