Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim
229 words
A dental tool of unitary construction for use with a dental handpiece comprising: an elongate shank having a first operative end and a second end adapted to engage a chuck of a dental handpiece, any cross-section of said operative end perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said shank being substantially circular, said operative end having a plurality of adjacent, continuous, substantially V-shaped annular grooves being devoid of cutting edges extending about said end, each of said grooves being formed by a pair of inclined side surfaces intersecting to form a substantially circular, lower junction lying in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said shank, said lower junction encircling the longitudinal axis of said shank, said side surfaces intersecting side surfaces of adjacent grooves to form crests of said grooves, the included angle formed between said intersecting side surfaces being about 60° to 150°, the distance between crests of adjacent grooves being about 0.02 to 0.06 inch, and the distance from the longitudinal axis of said shank to said lower junction being greater than about 0.010 inch, and an abrasive material covering at least a portion of the surfaces defining said grooves and having a particle size of less than about 0.006 inch, said tool being adapted to generate by abrasion a relatively smooth surface upon the manual tracking and scanning thereof across the surface of a tooth.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
229 words
A dental tool of unitary construction for use with a dental handpiece comprising: an elongate shank having a first operative end and a second end adapted to engage a chuck of a dental handpiece, any cross-section of said operative end perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said shank being substantially circular, said operative end having a plurality of adjacent, continuous, substantially V-shaped annular grooves being devoid of cutting edges extending about said end, each of said grooves being formed by a pair of inclined side surfaces intersecting to form a substantially circular, lower junction lying in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said shank, said lower junction encircling the longitudinal axis of said shank, said side surfaces intersecting side surfaces of adjacent grooves to form crests of said grooves, the included angle formed between said intersecting side surfaces being about 60° to 150°, the distance between crests of adjacent grooves being about 0.02 to 0.06 inch, and the distance from the longitudinal axis of said shank to said lower junction being greater than about 0.010 inch, and an abrasive material covering at least a portion of the surfaces defining said grooves and having a particle size of less than about 0.006 inch, said tool being adapted to generate by abrasion a relatively smooth surface upon the manual tracking and scanning thereof across the surface of a tooth.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
13 words
The dental tool of claim 1 wherein said grooves are symmetrical V-shaped grooves.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
21 words
The dental tool of claim 1 or 2 wherein the included angle formed between said intersecting side surfaces is about 120°.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
19 words
The dental tool of claim 1 or 2 wherein said shank has from 3 to 12 grooves formed thereon.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
25 words
The dental tool of claim 1 or 2 wherein the average particle size of said abrasive material is about 0.003 inch to about 0.006 inch.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
32 words
The dental tool of claim 1 wherein the radial distance from the longitudinal axis to each crest of adjacent grooves decreases between said second end and the terminus of said first end.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
47 words
The dental tool of claim 1 or 2 wherein the largest cross-sectional dimension of said second end perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said shank is equal to or greater than the largest cross-sectional dimension of said first end perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said shank.