Holder for dental handpiece

Claim 2

Apparatus for holding a dental handpiece comprising a control unit, a tool holder mounted to the control unit to remain stationary with respect to the control unit, a valve including a valve bore in the control unit, a valve stem including a piston adapted to fit the valve bore, said valve stem being slidable in said valve bore and having a first position opening the air supply to the handpiece and a second position closing the air supply to the handpiece for controlling the air supply to the dental handpiece, an on-off switch comprising a bowed leaf spring switching lever having an outer wall portion protruding into the tool holder and an inner wall portion, saiD switching lever being pivotally mounted to the tool holder for pivotal movement in response to placement of the dental handpiece in the stationary tool holder from a first position with the outer wall portion protruding into the tool holder to a second position forcing the valve stem to said second position, said valve stem further including a valve pusher portion reduced in diameter from the piston protruding out of the valve here for engagement with the inner wall portion of said switching lever, and biasing means biasing the valve stem to said first position, whereby said onoff switch is activated by placement of the dental handpiece in the stationary tool holder.

Claim 3

Apparatus for holding a dental handpiece comprising a control unit, a tool holder mounted to the control unit to remain stationary with respect to the control unit, a valve in the control unit controlling the air supply to the dental handpiece, an on-off switch for the valve that is activated by placement of the dental handpiece in the stationary tool holder, means to manually activate the on-off switch with the handpiece removed from the tool holder, wherein a pair of brackets mount the tool holder to the control unit, a bowed leaf spring switching lever pivotally mounted between the brackets, said bowed leaf spring switching lever having an outer wall portion protruding into the tool holder and an inner wall portion engaging the valve, said means to manually activate the on-off switch including a plunger mounted for sliding movement between the brackets, said plunger having a large diameter portion, a small diameter portion and a tapered portion there between, and means for sliding the plunger in a first position whereby the small portion is aligned with the switching lever with sufficient clearance to permit normal operation thereof, and in a second position whereby the larger portion engages the switching lever to hold the switching lever in off position.

Claim 4

Apparatus for holding a dental handpiece comprising a control unit, a tool holder mounted to the control unit to remain stationary with respect to the control unit, a valve in the control unit controlling the air supply to the dental handpiece, an on-off switch for the valve that is activated by placement of the dental handpiece in the stationary tool holder, means to manually activate the on-off switch with the handpiece removed from the tool holder, wherein a pair of brackets mount the tool holder to the control unit, a bowed leaf spring switching lever pivotally mounted between the brackets, said bowed leaf spring switching lever having an outer wall portion protruding into the tool holder and an inner wall portion engaging the valve, said means to manually activate the on-off switch including a plunger mounted for sliding movement between the brackets, said plunger having a large diameter portion, a small diameter portion and a tapered portion there between, and means for sliding the plunger in a first position whereby the small portion is aligned with the switching lever with sufficient clearance to permit normal operation thereof, and in a second position whereby the larger portion engages the switching lever to hold the switching lever in off position.

Claim 5

A dental unit comprising a control unit, a valve having a valve housing carried by said control unit, a plurality of air drive dental handpieces having individual air supply lines connected to said valve housing, a valve bore in said valve housing for each individual air supply line, a main air supply line connected to said valve housing, air passage means for such valve housing interconnecting the main air supply line to the valve bore of each of said individual air supply lines, a valve stem adapted for sliding movement within each valve bore and having a first position opening the air passage to the individual air supply line and a second position closing the passage to the individual air supply line, a handpiece holder for each dental handpiece mounted to the control unit to remain stationary with respect to the control unit, a switching lever comprising a bowed leaf spring mounted to each holder and adapted to engage the respective valve stem, said switching lever being activated by placement of the handpiece in the holder for positioning the valve stem to a second position whereby only the handpiece removed from its holder is interconnected with the air supply, a pair of brackets mounting the tool cup to the control unit, and a manually operated control member including a plunger slidably mounted between the brackets, said plunger having a large and small cross section portion, means for moving the plunger for selective positioning of the large and small cross sectional portions into alignment with the switching lever.

Claim 6

A dental unit comprising a control unit, a valve having a valve housing carried by said control unit, a plurality of air drive dental handpieces having individual air supply lines connected to said valve housing, a valve bore in said valve housing for each individual air supply line, a main air supply line connected to said valve housing, air passage means for such valve housing interconnecting the main air supply line to the valve bore of each of said individual air supply lines, a valve stem adapted for sliding movement within each valve bore and having a first position opening the air passage to the individual air supply line and a second position closing the passage to the individual air supply line, a handpiece holder for each dental handpiece mounted to the control unit to remain stationary with respect to the control unit, a switching lever comprising a bowed leaf spring mounted to each holder and adapted to engage the respective valve stem, said switching lever being activated by placement of the handpiece in the holder for positioning the valve stem to a second position whereby only the handpiece removed from its holder is interconnected with the air supply, a pair of brackets mounting the tool cup to the control unit, and a manually operated control member including a plunger slidably mounted between the brackets, said plunger having a large and small cross section portion, means for moving the plunger for selective positioning of the large and small cross sectional portions into alignment with the switching lever.