US1320583A - Stand eob - Google Patents

Description

W. M. STANBROUGH.

STAND FOR DENTAL ARTICULATORS.

APPLICATION FILED IAN-2h 1919.

1 $20,583., Patented. Nov. 4, 1919.

WILLIAM MONELL STANBROUGH, OF NEWBURGH, NEW YORK.

STAND FOR DENTAL ARTICULATORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 4, 1919.

Application filed January 21, 1919. Serial No. 272,255.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IVILLIAM M. STAN- BROUGH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newburgh, in the county of Orange and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stands for Dental Articulators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawing which illustrates one embodiment of the invention selected by me for purposes of illustration, and the said invention is fully disclosed in the following description and claims.

The object of my invention is to provide a supporting brace or stand for dental articulators adopted especially for the purpose of holding the upper aw member thereof rigidly or in fixed position, while permitting the lower jaw member to be moved laterally in both directions, to approximate the lateral mandibular movement of the human jaw and thereby effect more readily and satisfactorily the grinding action of the occlusal surfaces, in fitting a set of dentures. In preparing dentures of this kind under present methods it is customary to effect the lateral mandibular movements by holding one jaw stationary and moving the other, and the grinding is accomplished by applying an abrasive substance to the occlusal surfaces of the dentures. This is a fatiguing operation and requires a great deal of time. I have found that by maintaining the upper jaw member upon a rigid support or stand and moving the lower jaw member with respect thereto, the grinding action can be accomplished much more rapidly and with less fatigue. My improved stand or support is also advantageous in use in mounting and fitting the dentures, in applying measuring instruments to the same to determine the proper position of the occlusal planes, to wit, the lateral and fore and aft compensating planes, and for facilitating examinations as to the progress in preparing and fitting the dentures.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown my invention applied to a dental articulator invented by me and which forms the subject matter of an application for Letters Patent of the United States, filed by me Jan. 21, 1919, .and given Serial Number 272256 but my present invention is not limited with this particular form of articulator, and may either with or without slight variations of form be readily accommodated to any other type of articulator on the market.

Referring to'the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 represents a perspective view of my improved stand in operative position holding a dental articulator, the dentures parried thereby being indicated in dotted mes.

Fig. 2 is a partial vertical section of my improved stand or support.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the same.

In the embodiment of my invention herein shown and described, 1 represents a supporting base which is preferably of considerable area at the bottom to afford a wide bearing upon a desk, work bench, or table, and is preferably made of considerable weight. In the present instance it is shown as having a cast iron body 2 covered with a top of sheet metal 3, as indicated in Fig. 2, but the particular material employed is not important. 4 represents the standard secured to the base 1 and extending upward therefrom. In this instance the standard is screwed into the cast metal base 2 as shown in Fig. 2 and the base and standard form a Very substantial support which is not easily moved. The upper end of the standard 4: is provided with a pair of laterally extending arms 55 carrying each a trough-shaped bearing support 6 to receive lateral portions of the pivots or pivot rods of the dental articulator, these bearing supports being so located as to permit the ends of the pivot rod to project to or beyond them so as to facilitate the application of a face bow of usual or any preferred construction. The trough-like bearing supports 6 are so constructed as to extend at least halfway around the pivot rods and the front edge of each of said bearing supports is carried slightly over the pivot, the rear edge being correspondingly cut away so that the pivot rod cannot be lifted directly out of the troughlike bearings in a vertical direction, but must be moved slightly rearwardly at the same time to disengage the pivots from their bearing supports. This construction prevents. the accidental displacement of the pivot rods from the bearing supports and assists in holding the articulator firmly in position. The vertical standard 4: is also provided with a laterally swinging support ing arm 7 adapted to detachably engage and support the upper j aw member of the articulator at a point forward of the axis of its pivotal connections with the lower jaw member. It is desirable to have this arm 7 capable of an oscillating or a swinging movement in order that it may be swung into and out of operative position, and in order to give it the desired rigidity, I prefer to so mount it that it shall have a long vertically disposed pivotal bearing or connection with the standard 4:. This may be accomplished in many ways. In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings I have shown the standard 4: provided with a vertically disposed bearing sleeve 8 in which is mounted a vertical pivot 9 secured at its upper end to the arm 7 the sleeve 8 being attached by brackets 1O at top and bottom, as shown, or in any other desired manner, to the standard 1. At its outer end the arm 7 is provided with a horizontally disposed wedging plate 11 preferably notched as indicated in Fig. 3, at its outer end, which is adapted to engage a suitable horizontally disposed notch, kerf, or recess in a part connected with the upper jaw member, so as to be firmly united thereto, and thus enable the standard L to rigidly support the upper jaw member with respect to it. For convenience I also prefer to provide the supporting arm 7 with a horizontally and rearwardly extending arm 12 rovided with a handle 13, as shown. This handle serves several purposes. It provides a convenient means for carrying the standard or moving it from one place to another. It also affords a convenient leverage for swinging the supporting arm 7 into and out of operative relation with the upper jaw member of the articulator, and thirdly when in operative relation with the upper jaw member of the said articulator, it affords a convenient hold for one hand of the operator while the other hand is employed to efi'ect the mandibular movement.

In Fig. 1 I have'shown a dental articulator, as before stated, comprising an upper jaw member 14 provided with laterally extending pivot rods 15, and a lower jaw member comprising a casting 16 and a bow 17, the said casting being provided with arms 18 having inclined slotted portions 19 engaging the pivot rods 15 and forming therewith the pivotal connections between the jaws, the slotted portions 19 acting as condyles and permitting the lateral mandibular movement on separated rotation points. The upper jaw member is provided on its upper side in this instance with a boss 20 carrying a set screw which cooperates with a supporting surface of peculiar character carried by the lower jaw, and not shown herein, to control the relative positions of the jaws during the mandibular movements. The two jaws are also normally held in closed relation with the dentures, indicated in dotted lines at 21-22, in articulated position, by means of a spring indicated at 23. The particular construction and operation of the articulator, however, forms no part of the present invention, and will not be more particularly described herein. In order to enable the upper jaw member of the articulator to be held rigidly in relation to the standard 4, the boss 20 is in this instance provided with a kerf or recess, indicated at 24:, to receive the wedging plate 11. To attach the articulator in proper position it is only necessary to seize the handle 13 and swing the arm 7 in the direction of the arrow in Fig. .1, so as to bring the supporting arm 7 out of the way, when the pivot rods 15 can be dropped into the troughshaped bearing supports 6. The handle 13 is then moved to swing the arm 7 back to its normal position and insert the wedging plate 11 firmly in the kerf or recess 24: of the boss 20, thus rigidly supporting the upper jaw member. By reasonof the wide separation of the trough-like bearing supports 6, the action of the wedging plate at a point forward of the pivot rods 15, and the elongated bearing for the pivot 9 of the arm 7, an extremely firm and rigid support for the upper jaw member is afforded, while the articulator can be readily detached by simply swinging the handle 13 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, and lifting the articulator from the stand. With the articulator supported in operative relation with the stand, as indicated in Fig. 1, itwill be found that the lower jaw member can be easily moved laterally with respect to the upper jaw to effect the mandibular movement necessary for grinding the dentures mounted in the articulator, as before stated, and the grinding will proceed more rapidly and easily where the upper jaw member is maintained in fixed position.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A supporting stand for dental articulators, comprising among its members a supporting standard provided with laterally extending arms, having means for engaging and supporting the pivot rods of the articulator, and an independent supporting arm secured to said standard, and provided with means for engaging one of the jaw members of the articulator forward of the said laterally extending arms, whereby one jaw member of the articulator is rigidly supported, while permitting the movement of the other aw member with respect thereto.

2. A supporting stand for dental articulators, comprising among its members a vertically disposed supporting standard, provided with laterally arranged bearing supports for engaging and supporting the pivot rods of the articulator, and a swinging supporting arm connected to the standard by a pivotal connection having a vertical axis and adapted in one position to extend forwardly of said bearing supports, and provided on its forward end with means for detachably engaging one jaw member of the articulator for holding it in rigid relation with the said standard.

3. A supporting stand for dental articulators, comprising among its members a vertically disposed supporting standard, provided with laterally arranged bearing supports for engaging and supporting the pivot rods of the articulator and a swinging supporting arm connected to the standard by an elongated pivotal connection having a vertical axis, said arm in one position extending forwardly of said bearing supports, and having its outer end provided with means for detachably engaging a part connected with the upper jaw member of the articulator for securing it rigidly to the standard, while permitting the lower jaw member to be moved with respect thereto.

4. A supporting stand for a dental articulator, comprising among its members a vertically disposed standard provided with laterally separated bearing supports for engaging and supporting the pivot rods of the articulator, and a swinging supporting arm connected to the standard by a pivotal connection having a vertical axis and having its outer end provided with a wedging plate for detachably engaging a part connected with the upper jaw of the articulator.

5. A supporting stand for a dental articulator, comprising a vertically disposed standard having laterally separated supporting bearing supports for engaging and supporting the pivot rods of the articulator, a swinging supporting arm connected to said standard by a pivotal connection having a vertical axis, and having its outer end provided withmeans for detachably engaging the upper jaw member of the articulator at a point forward of said pivot rods, and a handle connected with said supporting arm for swinging the same upon its pivot.

6. A supporting stand for a dental articulator, comprising among its members a weighted base portion having a bottom portion of large area, a standard rigidly secured to said base portion, and provided with laterally extending arms, each of said arms being provided with trough-shaped bearing supports for engaging and supporting the pivot rods of the articulator, a swinging supporting arm connected to said standard by a pivotal connection having a vertical axis and provided at its outer end with means for detachably engaging a part connected with the upper jaw member of the articulator forward of said pivot rods, and a handle connected with said swinging supporting arm, and extending on the opposite side of its pivotal connection.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature.

WILLIAM MONELL STANBROUGH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

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