Protective Device, in Particular for a Dental Surgeon

Abstract

The invention relates to a protective device, which in particular prevents a dental surgeon from being contaminated by a patient during dental treatment device.

To be more specific, this protective device comprises: a transparent shield (1); a flexible support (3) connecting the transparent shield (1) to a chair (2), the means for attaching (4,5) the flexible support (3) to the chair (2).

The invention pertains to the use of such a device.

Claims

1. Protective device, specifically intended for a dental surgeon, comprising: a transparent shield (1); a flexible support (3) connecting the transparent shield to a chair and the means for attaching (4,5) the flexible support (3) to the chair (2).

2. Protective device according to claim 1, in which the transparent shield (1) is substantially cone-shaped with the apex (8) attached to the flexible support (3).

3. Protective device according to claim 2, in which the apex (8) of the cone formed by the transparent shield (1) is attached to the flexible support (3) through a substantially toroidal part (9).

4. Protective device according to claim 3, in which the apex (8) of the cone is truncated and the toroidal part (9) has a groove (10) to house this truncated apex (8).

5. Protective device according to claim 4, in which the groove (10) has an inclined lower (11) circular wall.

6. Protective device according to claim 3, in which the toroidal shaped part (9) is traversed by an opening (20) extending along its axis of revolution.

7. Protective device according to claim 4, in which the toroidal shaped part (9) is traversed by an opening (20) extending along its axis of revolution.

8. Protective device according to claim 5, in which the toroidal shaped part (9) is traversed by an opening (20) extending along its axis of revolution.

9. Protective device according to claim 2, in which the base of the cone formed by the transparent shield (1) has petal-like (18) parts extending around the periphery of the said base and projecting downwards.

10. Protective device according to claim 9, further comprising a protective sheet (19) attached to the petals (18) and extending downwards under the effect of gravity, thus forming a cylindrical extension of the transparent shield's (1) base.

11. Device according to claim 2, in which, in the dismantled state, the transparent shield (1) has a notch (13) obtained by cutting out a piece of cone defined by connecting the two sides of an arc of the cone's base to the apex (8) of this cone, and in which the two rectilinear edges (14,15) of the notch (13) are, in the mounted state, fixed one (14) to the other (15) through means of attachment (16,17).

12. Device according to claim 3, in which, in the dismantled state, the transparent shield (1) has a notch (13) obtained by cutting out a piece of cone defined by connecting the two sides of an arc of the cone's base to the apex (8) of this cone, and in which the two rectilinear edges (14,15) of the notch (13) are, in the mounted state, fixed one (14) to the other (15) through means of attachment (16,17).

13. Device according to claim 4, in which, in the dismantled state, the transparent shield (1) has a notch (13) obtained by cutting out a piece of cone defined by connecting the two sides of an arc of the cone's base to the apex (8) of this cone, and in which the two rectilinear edges (14,15) of the notch (13) are, in the mounted state, fixed one (14) to the other (15) through means of attachment (16,17).

14. Device according to claim 5, in which, in the dismantled state, the transparent shield (1) has a notch (13) obtained by cutting out a piece of cone defined by connecting the two sides of an arc of the cone's base to the apex (8) of this cone, and in which the two rectilinear edges (14,15) of the notch (13) are, in the mounted state, fixed one (14) to the other (15) through means of attachment (16,17).

15. Device according to claim 6, in which, in the dismantled state, the transparent shield (1) has a notch (13) obtained by cutting out a piece of cone defined by connecting the two sides of an arc of the cone's base to the apex (8) of this cone, and in which the two rectilinear edges (14,15) of the notch (13) are, in the mounted state, fixed one (14) to the other (15) through means of attachment (16,17).

16. Device according to claim 7, in which, in the dismantled state, the transparent shield (1) has a notch (13) obtained by cutting out a piece of cone defined by connecting the two sides of an arc of the cone's base to the apex (8) of this cone, and in which the two rectilinear edges (14,15) of the notch (13) are, in the mounted state, fixed one (14) to the other (15) through means of attachment (16,17).

17. Device according to claim 8, in which, in the dismantled state, the transparent shield (1) has a notch (13) obtained by cutting out a piece of cone defined by connecting the two sides of an arc of the cone's base to the apex (8) of this cone, and in which the two rectilinear edges (14,15) of the notch (13) are, in the mounted state, fixed one (14) to the other (15) through means of attachment (16,17).

18. Device according to claim 9, in which, in the dismantled state, the transparent shield (1) has a notch (13) obtained by cutting out a piece of cone defined by connecting the two sides of an arc of the cone's base to the apex (8) of this cone, and in which the two rectilinear edges (14,15) of the notch (13) are, in the mounted state, fixed one (14) to the other (15) through means of attachment (16,17).

19. Device according to claim 6, in which the opening (20) is closed with a cap.

20. Device according to claim 7, in which the opening (20) is closed with a cap.

Description

[0018] More features and advantages of the invention will now be described in detail in the following statement given with reference to the attached figures, which schematically represent:

[0019] FIG. 1: front view of a protective device according to the invention;

[0020] FIG. 2: top view of the device in FIG. 1;

[0021] FIG. 3 and FIG. 4: a method that can be used to attach the device according to the invention to a dental surgeon's chair;

[0022] FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7: a toroidal shape part of a device according to the invention, its top view, front view and bottom view;

[0023] FIG. 8: a variant of a shield of a device according to the invention, in dismantled state;

[0024] FIG. 9: an advantageous variant of the device according to the invention; and

[0025] FIG. 10: an example of usage of a device according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] An example the device's embodiment according to the invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 7.

[0027] As can be seen in FIG. 1, the device first comprises a shield 1, which is transparent in order to allow the dentist to examine and work inside the patient's mouth.

[0028] Preferably, this shield 1 is significantly cone-shaped and is attached by its apex 8 to a support 3 which connects it to a dentist's chair 2.

[0029] Support 3 is manually flexible so that the dentist can position it as best as possible above the patient's head and it remains in the position given to it by the dentist, as can also be seen in FIG. 2.

[0030] For example, the support 3 can be shaped like a tube with an internal metal frame, which gives it its flexibility, and at its lower end it is equipped with fixtures, visible in FIGS. 3 and 4, with which it can be attached to the chair 2. These fixtures include, for example, two bars 4 and 5 intended to clamp between them, with the help of screw 6, a part 7 of the chair's 2 backrest.

[0031] Advantageously, the shield 1 is attached to the flexible support 3 by means of a substantially toroidal shaped part 9 visible in FIGS. 1 and 2 and in more detail in FIGS. 5 to 7.

[0032] Apex 8 of the cone formed by the shield 1 is then preferably truncated, so that its edge can be housed in a groove 10 (see FIG. 6) whose lower circular wall 11 is preferably inclined downwards to match the truncated cone shape of the shield 1.

[0033] A hole 12 can be provided to house the upper end of the flexible support 3.

[0034] It is desirable that the shield 1, in its disassembled state shown in FIG. 8, have a notch 13 obtained by cutting out a piece of cone defined by connecting the two sides of an arc of the cone's base to the apex of this cone. In order to be able to close the truncated cone, the two rectilinear edges 14 and 15 of the notch thus comprise means of attachment 16,17, such as lugs 16 and holes 17, helping on the one hand, to hold one edge slightly superimposed on the other edge, aimed at achieving watertightness, and, on the other hand, to close the edge of the apex 8 around the groove 10 so as to secure the shield 1 to the toroidal part 9, preferably also in a watertight manner. The apex 8 of the shield 1 is then supported by the inclined circular wall 11. The attachment of one edge on the other is reversible, which enables the dentist to remove the shield after the patient has left and replace a clean one for the next patient.

[0035] The used shield can then be discarded or disinfected to be reused.

[0036] In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the base of the cone formed by the shield comprises petal-shaped parts 18 extending around the periphery of the said base and projecting downwards. As can be seen in FIG. 9, these petals 18 can be used to attach a flexible, preferably transparent protective sheet 19 which extends downwards under the effect of gravity and thus forms a cylindrical extension of the shield's 1 base.

[0037] Thus, thanks to its flexibility, the protective sheet 19 can be lifted to allow the dentist's hands and arms to pass through. It does not interfere with the dentist's work and at the same time protects him or her from splashes, especially when scaling.

[0038] Attachment of the protective sheet 19 to the shield is reversible, which allows the dentist to remove it, just like the shield after the patient has left, and to replace a clean protective sheet for the next patient.

[0039] The used protective sheet can then be discarded or disinfected to be reused.

[0040] In another embodiment of the invention visible in FIGS. 5 and 7, the toroidal-shaped part 9 has an opening 20 which runs through it along its axis of revolution.

[0041] This opening 20 allows connecting a suction hose 21 visible in FIG. 10.

[0042] In this case it is advantageous to use a suction hose 21 connected to the suction system of the dentist's apparatus. If suctioning is not required, the suction hose 21 can be removed and the opening 20 closed with a cap (not shown). The parts constituting the device according to the invention may be made of known commercially available materials.