TIP SHARPENER

Abstract

The tip sharpener is a sharpening tool for the tips of instruments, such as the tips of ultrasonic scalers, as a non-limiting example. The tip sharpener includes a body with opposed first and second ends, and with a conical recess formed within the body such that a vertex of the conical recess is closer to the first end than to the second end. A mouth of the conical recess is opposed to the vertex of the conical recess and is formed in the second end of the body. At least one radially extending vent is formed in an outer surface of the body and is in open communication with the conical recess. The conical recess is adapted for receiving a tip of an instrument to be sharpened therein. In use, the tip is inserted with respect to the conical recess to a desired depth and rotated within the conical recess.

Claims

1. A tip sharpener, comprising a body having opposed first and second ends, the body having a conical recess formed therein, the conical recess having a vertex closer to the first end than to the second end of the body and a mouth opposed to the vertex, wherein the mouth of the conical recess is formed in the second end of the body, wherein at least one radially extending vent is formed in an outer surface of the body and is in open communication with the conical recess, wherein the at least one radially extending vent has a length extending between the vertex of the conical recess and the mouth of the conical recess, wherein the length of the at least one radially extending vent is shorter than a length of the conical recess as measured from the vertex thereof to the mouth thereof, such that: a) the vertex of the conical recess is formed by a first portion of the body that excludes the at least one radially extending vent and b) a second portion of the body, located directly adjacent to the mouth of the conical recess, omits the at least one radially extending vent, wherein the conical recess is adapted for receiving a tip to be sharpened therein, and wherein the at least one radially extending vent is configured to cool the body having the conical recess and to cool the tip during a sharpening process of the tip

2. The tip sharpener as recited in claim 1, wherein the body has a frustoconical shape.

3. The tip sharpener as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one vent comprises three vents.

4. The tip sharpener as recited in claim 3, wherein the three vents are evenly angularly distributed with respect to the outer surface of the body.

5. The tip sharpener as recited in claim 1, wherein the body comprises diamond.

6. The tip sharpener as recited in claim 1, further comprising an axle mounted on the first end of the body.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0005] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tip sharpener.

[0006] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the tip sharpener taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

[0007] Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0008] The tip sharpener 10 is a sharpening tool for the tips of instruments, such as the tips of ultrasonic scalers, as a non-limiting example. As shown in FIG. 1, the tip sharpener 10 includes a body 12 with opposed first and second ends 14, 16, respectively, and with a conical recess 18 formed within the body 12 such that a vertex 20 of the conical recess 18 is closer to the first end 14 than to the second end 16. Although the non-limiting example of FIG. 1 shows the body 12 as having a frustoconical shape, it should be understood that the overall shape and relative dimensions of body 12 are shown for exemplary purposes only. Similarly, it should be understood that the relative dimensions and positioning of the conical recess 18 are shown for exemplary purposes only.

[0009] A mouth 22 of the conical recess 18 is opposed to the vertex 20 of the conical recess 18 and is formed in the second end 16 of the body 12. At least one radially extending vent is formed in the outer surface of the body 12 and is in open communication with the conical recess 18. In the cross-sectional view of FIG. 2, three such vents 24, 26 and 28 are shown, however, it should be understood that the number of vents may be varied. Further, the vents 24, 26 and 28 are shown being evenly angularly distributed with respect to the outer surface of the body 12, however, it should be understood that the positioning, overall shapes and relative dimensions of the vents 24, 26 and 28 are shown for exemplary purposes only and may be varied.

[0010] The conical recess 18 is adapted for receiving a tip of an instrument to be sharpened therein. In use, the tip is inserted within the conical recess 18 to a desired depth and rotated with respect to the conical recess 18. The body 12 is formed from a relatively hard material, such as diamond, as a non-limiting example, so that the tip may be sharpened by abrasion through contact with the walls of the conical recess 18. It should be understood that multiple tip sharpeners 10 may be provided, each having a conical recess 18 with different dimensions, allowing tips of varying sizes and with varying angles to be sharpened. The vents 24, 26 and 28 provide for cooling of the conical recess 18 and the tip during the sharpening process. In order to aid the user while sharpening the tip, an axle 28 may be mounted on the first end 14 of the body 12, as shown in FIG. 1. The axle 28 may be connected to a dental handpiece or the like to drive rotation of the body 12. Thus, the tip may be held stationary and the body 12 may be driven to rotate about it. It should be understood that the shape and relative dimensions of the axle 28 are shown for exemplary purposes only.

[0011] It is to be understood that the tip sharpener is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the generic language of the following claims enabled by the embodiments described herein, or otherwise shown in the drawings or described above in terms sufficient to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the claimed subject matter.