A cleaning device for dental instruments, in particular, turbine drills and the like

Claim 2

1-A cleaning device for dental instruments, in particular, turbine drills, characterized by the fact, that it comprises a box-like container (1) into which is arranged a washing chamber (104,4 or 204), provided with a top entrance opening (2) for the introduction of the instrument to be cleaned, and with a perforated bottom wall (14), to which is connected a discharge pipe (13), in said chamber entering a plurality of oriented jets delivered from nozzles (35), which are fed by pressurized air and water coming from external sources, said jets being designed to the washing of the instrument, while downstream of said nozzles (35) in the chamber (4 or 204) or in a separated chamber (105) having an entrance orifice (103) is provided at least a crown of nozzles (134, 26 or 226) delivering pressurized air added with a disinfectant medium and produced in a nebulizer (9), into which is fed air which is supplied by an external source, and in which is contained a liquid disinfectant medium, the pipes conveying the air to the nozzles (35) and to the nebulizer (9) being controlled conjuntly by a single valve (128) or separately by the valves (32 and 38), while the pipe supplying the pressurized water is controlled by a valve (127 or 34), said valves being controlled manually, or automatically, by means of a programmer (40) which is made operative under the control of at least a photo-electric cell (3a,3b), the rays emitted from this latter forming a barrage screen across the entrance opening (2), said programmer (40) being adapted to control the beginning and the times of the opening of said valves, which control the feeding of the water and of the air and which are normally in closed position.

Claim 3

2 - A device according to claim 1, wherein the container comprises: a first cylindrical chamber (104) provided with an entrance opening arranged in the top wall (lA) of the container, in the body, in which said chamber (104) is defined, and near the opening (2), an annular manifold (115) is arranged which is connected with a plurality of nozzles (126) having radial axes and which deliver into the chamber (104) a mixture of air and a disinfectant medium conveyed into the manifold (115) by a pipe (117), said mixture being produced by a nebulizer (9), while below said nozzles (126) are mounted nozzles (35) inclined downwardly towards the axis of the chamber (104), said nozzles (35) being connected with pipes (116 and 120), respectively conveying air and water coming from a unit (108); - a second chamber (105) which has an entrance opening (103), which opens in the top wall (lA), and which has a discharge pipe union (131), in the side wall of this chamber a manifold (133) is arranged connected through the pipes (117A,117C) with the nebulizer (9), said manifold (133) being put in communication with the chamber (105) by means of a plurality of nozzles (134), the unit (108) being fed by the air, which is supplied by an external compressor, through a pipe (120) in which is inserted a valve (128) which normally closes, but which can be opened by means of a push-button (107), as well as by the water supplied by the external water network, said water being fed to the inlet orifice (121), and being under the control of a diaphragm valve (142) which normally opens and which closes, when air is supplied into the unit (108), while the nebulizer unit (9) comprises a reservoir (36) of the disinfectant medium (37) and which is connected with an external air compressor by means of a pipe (120), in which is inserted a valve (127), which normally closes and which can be opened by means of a push-button (106).

Claim 4

3- A device according to claims 1 and 2, wherein the unit (108) comprises a resevoir (139) adapted to contain a predetermined volume of water which is fed by a pipe (141) which is connected with the inlet orifice (121), which is connected, in turn, to a pipe (145) in which is inserted a diaphragm valve (142), the diaphragm of which is put under the action of the air pressure fed into the unit (108) through the inlet pipe union (143) by the pipe (124), said diaphragm being so arranged to cause the closure of the valve (142) when the pressurized air enters the unit (108) and arrives above the water surface of the water collected into the resevoir (139), said water being pushed to raise along a draft pipe (140) by said pressurized air and being caused to pass through the outles pipe union (119) and to be conveyed by a pipe (122) to each nozzle (35), into which said water mixes with the air flow coming out of the unit (108) through an outlet pipe union (118) connected to the nozzles (35) by the pipe (116), air which enters the pipe union (124) and which is conveyed by the pipe (143) in which is inserted the valve (1281 and which is connected with the external air compressor.

Claim 5

4 - A device according to claims 1 and 2, wherein the pressurized air coming from the external compressor through the pipe (144A), the valve (127) and the pipe (120), reaches the inlet pipe union (125) of the nebulizer (9), which is connected to a pipe (138) which openes just over the bottom of a resevoir (137) of the nebulizer (9), in which is contained a disinfectant liquid (37), charged through a pipe (110), the air coming out from said pipe forming bubbles in the liquid which drag together disinfectant particles, said air being then supplied, through the pipe union (123), the pipe (117C) to a three-way pipe fitting (117B) to which are connected the pipes which respectively fed manifolds (115 and 133).

Claim 6

5 - A device according to claim 1, wherein a box-like container (1) houses a body having an inner, cylindrical, vertical chamber (4), the entrance opening (2) of which opens through the top wall (la) of the container (1), said chamber (4) having a perforated bottom (14), said entrance opening (2) being controlled by at least one photo-electric cell (3a, 3b), while at the central part of the chamber (4) are mounted at least two oriented nozzles (35) connected to pipes (29) conveying a pressurized air and water flow, underneath said nozzles (35) other oriented nozzles (26) are mounted, which are fed by an annular manifold (1 5 ) connected with a pipe (23) conveying air containing a disinfectant medium and produced in the nebulizer (9), underneath the perforated wall (14) the chamber (4) being connected, by means of a conduit (6) forming an angle, with the discharge pipe (13) of the dirty water, in which a unit (20) is inserted adapted to make easier the water discharge by means of jets of pressurized air which are injected into the dirty water flow, while the pressurized air and water feeding the device are supplied by an external source, the pipes (29) conveying the pressurized air and water to the nozzles (35) being fed by pipes (31 and 33 respectively) in which are inserted electric valves (32 and 34 respectively) which normally close, while the pipe (18), which through the pipe (16) feeds the nebulizer (9) is controlled by an electric valve (38), normally closed, the electric valves (32, 43 and 38) being caused to open under the control of logic circuits of a programmer (44) which is made operative when the rays emitted from the photo-electric cell (3a, 3b) are interrupted by the instrument to be cleaned.

Claim 7

6 - A device according to claims 1 and 5 wherein the nozzles (35) deliver jets which are oriented so as to be directed downwardly towards the axis ( X -X) of the chamber (4), while the nozzles (28) are oriented in part radially and in part downwardly towards the axis (X-X) of the chamber (4).

Claim 8

7 - A device according to claim 1, wherein the unit (20) includes a chamber provided with an upper inlet pipe union (50) and of a lower outlet pipe union (25), in the front of the inlet orifice (50) a baffle wall (36) is mounted which deviates the water flow downwardly, while behing said wall and through the top wall of this chamber an opening (37) is arranged which is connected with a pipe union (51) for the discharge of the air, upstream of the inlet pipe union (50) and downstream of the outlet pipe union (25) pipe lenghts (21 and 39) are respectively mounted, in the inside of each of which a nozzle (19 and 52) is respectively inserted, said nozzles (19 and 52) delivering jets of pressurized air in the direction of the flow of the dirty water, said jets being fed by the air feeding pipes (11 and 12).

Claim 9

8 - A device according to claims 1, 5 and 6, wherein the air supplying pipe (18) downstream of the electric valve (38) is connected by means of a four-way pipe fitting (10) with the pipe (16) feeding the nebulizer (9) as well as with the pipes (11 and 12) feeding the nozzles (52 and 19) of the device provided for improving the discharge (of the water) and comprising the unit (20) and the pipe lengths (21 and 39).

Claim 10

9 - A device according to claim 1, wherein the programmer-actuator (40) comprises logical circuits energized by electric current supplied through a line (44) having the terminals (43) connected with the supply network of the electric current, in the line (44) being inserted a trasformer (45), said logic circuits being made operative under the control of the photo-electric cell (3a, 3b) included in the line ( 5 ) and which cause the electric valves (32 and 34) and the electric valve (38) to open when an instrument is introduced in the chamber (4 or 204) and therefore the line (5) is interrupted between the elements (3a, 3b) of the photo- electric cell, as well as for maintaining said electric valves in their open condition during different times, the opening time of the valves (32 and 34) being shorter than that of the electric valve (38). 10 - A device according to claims 1, 5 and 9, wherein in the chamber (204), before the series of the nozzles

Claim 11

(35) two crowns of nozzles (213, 213a) are arranged, which are fed through an annular manifold (212), connected with the nebulizer (9) by means of the pipes (224a, 224), said nozzles being so oriented so as to deliver sub-tangentially jets directed downwardly and which have an inclination that in the nozzles (213a) of the second crown is greater than that in the nozzles (213) of the first crown.

Claim 12

(35) two crowns of nozzles (213, 213a) are arranged, which are fed through an annular manifold (212), connected with the nebulizer (9) by means of the pipes (224a, 224), said nozzles being so oriented so as to deliver sub-tangentially jets directed downwardly and which have an inclination that in the nozzles (213a) of the second crown is greater than that in the nozzles (213) of the first crown.