CONNECTOR ARRANGEMENT FOR DENTAL CARE UNIT

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention concerns a dental care apparatus according to patent claim 1 and an accessory arm according to patent claim 11.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A dental care unit is an important tool for a dentist and it is used for several hours a day. A good ergonomics of the tool is important in long- term working.

A dental care unit is a complicated and expensive device. In modern den- tal care units, modern technique is used effectively and new applications are continuously developed. A lifetime of a dental care unit is long, which means that during the life cycle of the unit there is plenty of time for the technology to develop. To enable effective work also with the older dental care units and to get treatment to correspond to the latest common requirements of the field, the older dental care units have to be updated according to the altered requirements.

One way to update a dental care unit is to connect a new accessory to it. It is quite usual that when such a connection typically requires both a mechanical connection point and a coupling for media transmission, new modules must be connected to the dental care unit in a .location where the connection is possible to begin with. Such a connection site does not necessarily enable ergonomic use of the accessory or taking into consideration the individual working habits and preferences of dentists, or taking into consideration e.g. the differences between left- and right- hand working.

Regarding accessories to be fixedly integrated with a dental care apparatus, the mechanical and electric connection of them to the dental care unit must typically be realized in separate stages and by various compo-

nents - e.g. by attaching modules with screws to the body of the dental care unit. The operation requires time and tools and detaching of the module whose connection is realized like this is not possible "on the fly". Since the connection is awkward to take down to say the least, the threshold to place e.g. a new, different module to the connection location in question is high - or in practice technically impossible to realize without special tools and/or assistance of a skilled maintenance person.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to improve versatility of a dental care apparatus and flexibility of use of the apparatus to take into consideration various individual needs of users of dental care units. The aim is to enable fixing with ease, preferably even in connection with dental treatment, e.g. user interfaces or other modules, especially modules arranged to be fixed via arms, to the dental care unit and/or to move them from one location to another. The aim is to enable taking into consideration the ergonomic differences between users of a dental care unit by providing the user with new kinds of possibilities to place modules important in view of operating the dental care unit at ergonomically preferable places, such as to enable that both the left- and the right-handed dentists can change places of at least some modules from one side of the dental care unit to another.

A further object of the invention is a quick-connector type construction, which for its steadiness at least essentially corresponds to a fixed connection, and is able to support accessories to be connected to the dental care unit in such a way that the outcome is a substantially clearance- free connection, as e.g. any possible interruptions in transmission of media caused by clearance in the coupling may be critical for the operation of the whole apparatus.

The essential features of the invention are presented in the attached patent claims. The invention thus provides a connector with the help of

which new modules may be integrated with the dental care unit steadily but still in such a way that the modules may be disengaged and connected to the unit without tools. Thanks to the invention, both mechanical and electric connection to the dental care unit is achieved for an accessory device and the electric bus used in the solution widely supports various accessory devices.

One preferable embodiment of the invention offers a connection site for quick attachment, whereto e.g. the user interface module engages both electrically and mechanically. By placing such connection sites for modules on different sides of a dental care unit, several different user interfaces or other accessories may be connected to the dental care unit. The accessory connector according to the invention makes the structure of the dental care unit flexible and enables the user to connect by him/herself those modules to the dental care unit needed for the operation ahead at a time and to positions according to one's own preferences.

Besides updating the dental care unit, the connector as a versatile interface offers the dental care staff a possibility to improve usability of the dental care unit: The layout of the dental care apparatus may be more easily adapted in accordance with various working preferences by connecting device-modules to different sites on the dental care unit. The special modules to be attached to these accessory module couplings of an individual unit may be collectively used as common modules in separate dental care units of the whole clinic, which will make purchasing of special modules justifiable as they can be used effectively.

The quick-connector structure the invention provides enables a steady connection of an accessory to a dental care unit in such a way that the accessory may be replaced quickly when needed. The other half of the quick-connector offered by the invention, in a preferable embodiment the female connector, is fixedly arranged on the body of a dental care unit to offer at least a mechanical but if needed also an electric connection interface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

In the following, the invention and some of its preferable embodiments are described more closely and by also referring to the enclosed figures, of which figures

Fig. 1 presents a dental care apparatus in which the connector arrangement according to the invention is preferably applied,

Fig. 2 presents a connector construction according to one preferable embodiment of the invention and

Fig. 3 presents an arm according to one preferable embodiment of the invention for attaching a module to a dental care unit.

Fig. 1 presents a dental care apparatus, which contains a dental care module (1) and a patient chair (2) . Typically the dental care apparatus additionally includes a group of various arms, such as an arm assembly for the dentist (3), an arm assembly for the assistant (4), an arm assem- bly for an operation light (5) and e.g. an arm assembly for a display (6).

An arm (6) arranged for the dentist's instruments contains an instrument table (7) and an arm assembly (3), by which the instrument table is at- tached to the dental care module (1) . In Fig. 1, quick-connector connection sites (8, 9) according to the invention are arranged to this instrument table (7), symmetrically on both sides of the instrument table (7). In Fig. 1, a user interface module (10) is connected to another of these connection sites (8, 9) , which user interface module (10) is thus easily within reach of the dentist during treatment.

According to the invention, connection sites for accessories are thus arranged on the dental care apparatus preferably in locations where the module to be connected to the apparatus is well at hand for the dentist and/or for the assistant. In the dental care apparatus, instrument tables

for the dentist and for the assistant lying at the ends of arms, amongst others, constitute such places. Location of the connection sites is preferably on lower surfaces to lessen the possibility that liquids possibly trickling on the surfaces of the dental care apparatus would find their way to the connector construction.

Fig. 2 presents one preferable embodiment of the invention for a connector arrangement of a dental care apparatus to electrically and mechanically connect the modules to a dental care unit. The connector construc- tion preferably contains two different halves, a female (11) and a male connector half (12) . The male connector half contains a mechanical body (13) , a card assembly (14) making an electric connection, a pin support (15), a release switch (16), a spring (17), a safety wedge (18), a counterpart (19) and screws (20) for fixing the connector. The circuit board assembly (14) forming the electric connection of the male connector half (12) includes a card (21) serving as a body, spring-like contact pins (22) forming the electric connection to the other connector half, and a standard connector (23) which is to be fixedly coupled. The number and quality of pins making the electric connection reserved for media trans- mission has been chosen on the basis of the power transmission and the number of channels required.

In the embodiment according to Fig. 2, the counterpart for the male connector, the female connector (11) , comprises a mechanical body (24) , a circuit board assembly (25) forming the electric connection of the coupling for the media transmission connector, a fastening pin (26) for the card and a stud (27) for preventing axial movement. The circuit board assembly (25) of the female connector (11) includes a standard connector (28) and a circuit board (29) , in which there are contact surfaces for the spring-like contact pins (22) of the male connector (12) .

An axial slot for the safety wedge (18) is arranged on the body (13) of the cylindrical male connector. The wedge (18) stays in the slot thanks to the hole on the counterpart, and a coil spring (17) is placed around the wedge (18), which coil spring tends to push the wedge (18) towards

the tip of the male connector (12) . The purpose for another slot on the male connector body (13), which slot in a preferable embodiment is descending, is to prevent axial movement of the male connector towards the body of the female connector (24) . When connecting the connector, the stud (27) of the female connector moves in the descending slot and forces the connector bodies (13, 24) to turn with respect to each other. When turning, the safety wedge (18) on the male connector half (13) closes into the wedge-shaped slot in the female connector body and stops turning of the connector bodies with respect to each other. Thanks to the spring power, the safety wedge (18) preventing the turning is pressed tightly against the body of the female connector (24) and thus removes clearance between the connector halves (11, 12) . Thus, the construction of the quick-connector is realized in such a way that it tends to tighten clearance-free during use.

A connector construction according to the invention is preferably arranged to enable transmission of both electric power and data signal.

Figure 3 presents an arm according to one preferable embodiment of the invention for connecting a module to a dental care unit. The arm according to the figure includes a mechanical arm (30) , a male connector half (12) and a module (32) to be integrated to the dental care apparatus. In Fig. 3, this module is a graphic user interface.

It is important for a quick-connector type mechanical and/or electric connector arrangement used in a dental care apparatus to strive for having no clearance between the connector halves. According to the invention the connector arrangement is used, among other things, for media transmission of the user interface of the dental care apparatus, whereby the possible interruptions in media transmission caused by the clearance would be critical for the function of the whole system. A connector according to the invention is suitable for use also in the so-called spray area of a dental care apparatus, which area is exposed to various impurities during treatment, such as pathogens and various liquids, which dur- ing treatment splatter around in the form of a spray cloud.

By using the preferable embodiment of the connector arrangement presented one may steadily and quickly connect accessories to a dental care apparatus via aconnector. The connector interface is always the same, only the arm and the module to be attached change according to the purpose of use. This way, in the solution according to the invention, the module may be located on the best location in view of its purpose of use.

Generally speaking, the invention is applicable for use in a dental care apparatus, which includes a dental care module and in which is arranged at least one connector construction for at least one of the following: an arm for dentist's instruments, an arm for assistant's instruments and/or for a suction system of the dental care apparatus, an arm for a display, an arm for a light, an arm for a tray, an arm arranged for some other means used in the dental care environment. Thus, according to the inven- tion, a connector construction for any of the means mentioned or not mentioned above for use in the dental care environment is arranged in a dental care apparatus. It is essential for the connector construction that it comprises means to releasably connect at least one of the aforementioned arms together with the dental care module such that either only a mechanical connection is formed or such that both a mechanical and an electric connection is formed between the arm and said connector construction. It is preferable to realize the dental care module for its external structure at least as symmetrical, and at least a part of said connector constructions is placed symmetrically on different sides of the dental care module.