JPH0334343B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a fluid control block for use in a dental treatment device.

Many dental medical institutions have traditionally used dental treatment devices that use handpieces that perform dental treatment by driving and rotating a grinding tool using an air turbine. Due to the need to use different handpieces, many dental treatment devices are equipped with multiple handpieces.

However, the conventional device has a structure as shown in FIG. 1, for example, and includes drive air for driving the air turbine supplied to the air turbine of each handpiece 1, chip air for blowing away grinding debris, and cooling water for cooling the teeth to be ground. The transition from the supply stop state to the supply state is a flow path changeover in which the pilot air flow path is changed from a communication state to an atmosphere open state by changing the handpiece from being locked to the hanger valve to being removed. This was done using an air valve that enabled the flow path to flow when the pilot air pressure decreased due to the type of hanger valve, so if one handpiece was removed from the hanger valve while another handpiece was in use, the hanger valve could be removed later. Since drive air etc. is supplied to the removed handpiece, the grinding tool is driven to rotate, and cooling water is blown out, it is not possible to replace the grinding tool attached to the other handpiece while one handpiece is in use. In this case, all the hanger valves must be placed in the same state as when the handpiece is locked, which has the disadvantage that the work becomes complicated and dental treatment takes time.

The inventor of the present invention has conducted extensive research in order to solve these drawbacks, and has found that by combining a conventional device with an air-controlled on-off valve and a check valve, the drive air is applied only to the handpiece that is removed from the hanger valve first. It was discovered that it is possible to create a dental treatment device in which drive air, etc. is supplied to the handpiece which is later removed from the hanger valve, and was previously published in Japanese Patent Application No. 58-11376 as shown in Fig. 2. In a dental treatment device that uses a plurality of handpieces, as shown in the embodiment, when each handpiece is removed from the locked state, the pilot air flow path is changed from the communicating state to the atmosphere open state, which will be described later. A flow path switching type hanger valve that reduces the pressure of the pilot air supplied to the air valve, and a flow path for the drive air, chip air, and cooling water supplied to each handpiece to transition from a blocked state to a flowable state. An air valve that is operated when the pressure of the pilot air supplied from the hanger valve that is locked in each hand piece decreases, and a certain hand piece that is provided in the pilot air flow path between the air valve and the hanger valve corresponding to each hand piece. An air control on-off valve that changes the flow path corresponding to the remaining handpiece from a flowing state to a closed state when the pressure of the pilot air corresponding to the hand piece decreases, and an air control on-off valve that is installed in parallel with each air control on-off valve to change the flow path from the hanger valve to the air valve. We proposed a dental treatment device characterized by being equipped with a check valve that allows pilot air to flow only in one direction.

Initial effects can be obtained by manufacturing the above invention using commonly available air-controlled on-off valves and check valves, but as the number of handpieces increases, the number of tubes connecting each valve increases. The disadvantage is that the large number of tubes required for connecting the tubes requires a great deal of effort and expense, and that they also cause air leakage. As a result of further intensive research, the inventor of the present invention discovered the existence of a valve having the structure shown in Figure 3, which simultaneously performs the roles of an air control on-off valve and a check valve. By successfully incorporating the piping into the block, the fluid control block according to the present invention was completed.

That is, in the present invention, when each handpiece in a dental treatment apparatus using n handpieces (three or more) is removed from a locked state, the pilot air flow path is changed from a communicating state to an open state to the atmosphere. A flow path switching type hanger valve that lowers the pilot air pressure, and the drive air, chip air, and cooling water flow paths that are supplied to the handpiece that is removed from the hanger valve when the pilot air pressure decreases are removed from the blocked state. To make it possible to supply drive air, chip air, and cooling water only to the handpiece installed in the pilot air flow path between the air valve and the handpiece that is first removed from the hanger valve, follow the steps below.
A fluid control block for a safety circuit of a dental treatment device characterized by being composed of 11 types of elements. Disk-shaped plate (c) A plate chamber into which the plate is loosely inserted is bored on the upper surface, and a large diameter hole into which the large diameter portion of the plunger is loosely inserted into the lower surface corresponding to the plate chamber. The plunger hole is formed of (n-
1) The plunger closest to this one side from one side located on a plane extension line connecting the centers of (n-1) plunger holes arranged corresponding to each handpiece in n rows for each handpiece. An air valve side flow path is formed in communication with the large diameter hole of the hole, and a hanger valve side flow path is formed in communication with the side opposite to the above one side and the plate chamber on the side closest to the side. The plate chamber excluding the plate chamber which is provided and communicates with the flow path on the hanger valve side and the large diameter hole of the plunger hole adjacent to the hanger valve side of the plunger hole connected to the lower part of the plate chamber. a lower main block, each of which is provided with a communicating flow path, and further provided with a pilot air flow path from one of the flow paths provided in the row corresponding to each handpiece to the upper surface; (d) When the plunger inserted into the plunger hole of the lower main block is pushed up, it is arranged at the root of the small diameter part of the plunger in order to cut off communication between the plate chamber and the large diameter hole of the plunger hole. O-ring, (e) a spring that always presses the plunger upward, which is inserted into the plunger hole of the lower main block; (f) a lower part that is arranged on the lower surface of the lower main block via a gasket and supports the lower end of the spring. (g) A flexible membrane that is placed on the lower main block and is bent by the pressure of the air chamber of the upper main block to press the plate loosely inserted into the plate chamber of the lower main block, ( h) Through-flow passages are disposed on the lower main block via a flexible membrane and communicate with each pilot air passage of the lower main block, and are perforated from the lower surface toward the upper surface. an upper main block having independent air chambers bored in the lower surface facing the plate chamber, and a communicating hole penetrating from the air chambers to the upper surface; 1 for each of the through-flow channels provided in the upper main block and the rows other than the rows in which the through-flow channels are provided.
A communication passage forming sheet that forms n sets of communicating passages that communicate with two air chambers and does not allow these n sets of communicating passages to communicate with each other; Upper cover block From above, the upper cover block, the communication path forming sheet, the upper main block,
This provides a screw that is inserted into the screw hole drilled in each of the flexible membrane, the lower main block, and the gasket and is screwed into the female thread screwed into the lower cover block to integrate the above-mentioned elements. be.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below based on embodiments of a fluid control block according to the present invention shown in the drawings.

4A and 4B are a plan view and a front view of an embodiment of a fluid control block according to the present invention corresponding to the circuit example shown in FIG. 2 in which three hand pieces can be used, and FIG. A sectional view taken along line a-a in Figure A,
Figures 6A, B, C, D, E, and F are lines bb, cc, dd, and e- in Figure 4B, respectively.
It is a sectional view taken along e-line, ff-line, and gg-line. In the drawings, 1 is a plunger having a small diameter portion 1b projecting above a large diameter portion 1a at the bottom, and 2 is a disc-shaped plate. 3 has a plate chamber 3a formed in its upper surface into which the plate 2 is loosely inserted, and a large diameter portion 1 of the plunger 1 in its lower surface corresponding to the plate chamber 3a.
The plunger hole 3b is made up of a large diameter hole 3ba into which a is inserted in a loosely fitted state and a small diameter hole 3bb which is penetrated in a loosely fitted state that allows the tip of the small diameter portion 1b of the plunger 1 to protrude into the plate chamber 3a. -1) N rows of holes are perforated for each handpiece, and (n
-1) An air valve side flow path 3c is formed from one side located on a plane extension line connecting the centers of the individual plunger holes 3b to communicate with the large diameter hole 3ba of the plunger hole 3b closest to this one side. A hanger valve side flow path 3d is provided to communicate the side opposite to the above one side and the plate chamber 3a closest to the side, respectively, and a hanger valve side flow path 3d is provided to communicate with the hanger valve side flow path 3d. A communication channel 3e is formed by communicating the plate chamber 3a excluding the plate chamber 3a in which the plate chamber 3a is located and the large diameter hole 3ba of the plunger hole 3b adjacent to the hanger valve side of the plunger hole 3b connected to the lower part of the plate chamber 3a. The lower main block 4 is provided with a pilot air passage 3f from one of the passages provided in the row corresponding to each handpiece to the upper surface. When the plunger 1 inserted into the plunger hole 3b is pushed up, the plate chamber 3a and the large diameter hole 3ba of the plunger hole 3b are pushed up.
An O-ring 5 disposed at the base of the narrow diameter portion 1b of the plunger 1 to cut off communication with the plunger 1 constantly presses the plunger 1 inserted into the plunger hole 3b of the lower main block 3 upward. A spring 6 is a lower cover block which is disposed on the lower surface of the lower main block 3 via a gasket 6a and supports the lower end of the spring 5. A spring 7 is disposed on the lower main block 3 and is operated by the pressure of the air chamber of the upper main block which will be described later. A flexible membrane 8 which bends and presses the plate 2 loosely inserted into the plate chamber 3a of the lower main block 3 is placed on the lower main block 3 with the flexible membrane 7 in between. Through passages 8a communicating with each pilot air passage 3f are bored from the lower surface to the upper surface, and independent air chambers 8b are provided on the lower surface at positions facing the plate chamber 3a via the flexible membrane 7. The upper main block is provided with a communication hole 8c that penetrates from the air chamber 8b to the upper surface thereof, and 9 is a through flow path arranged on the upper main block 8 and provided in the upper main block 8. 8a and one air chamber 8b in each row other than the row in which the through flow path 8a is provided, the communication path forming sheet 10 does not allow n sets of communication paths 9a to communicate with each other. an upper cover block disposed on the communication path forming sheet 9;
1 is inserted from the top of the upper cover block 10 into the screw holes drilled in the upper cover block 10, the communication path forming sheet 9, the upper main block 8, the flexible membrane 7, the lower main block 3, and the gasket 6a. This is a screw that is screwed onto a female thread screwed into the cover block 6 to integrate the above-mentioned elements.

The operation of the fluid control block according to the present invention constructed as described above will be explained next.

First, as shown in FIG. 2, when all the handpieces are locked to their corresponding hanger valves, high-pressure pilot air is supplied from each hanger valve to each hanger valve side flow path 3d shown in FIG. 4, and the pilot air flow path of each row is supplied. Since pilot air is supplied to all the air chambers 8b through 3f etc., the flexible membrane 7 is bent, the plate 2 is pushed down, and all the plungers 1 are pushed down, so all the flow paths are in a flowing state, and the hanger valve Since pilot air is supplied from the side flow path 3d to the air valve side flow path 3c, pilot air is supplied to the air valves and all handpieces become inoperable. When one handpiece is removed from the hanger valve in this state, the pilot air supplied to that row is released to the atmosphere through that hanger valve, so the pilot air pressure in the air valve communicating with that hanger valve decreases. As a result, the diaphragm of the air valve is bent and the handpiece removed from the hanger valve becomes operable, and the handpiece in the air chamber 8b of the upper main block 8 provided in the row other than the row of the handpiece is removed. As the pressure of the pilot air in the air chamber 8b communicating with the pilot air passage 3f of the lower main block 3 in the row lowered decreases, the flexible membrane 7 returns to its original state and the plunger 1 is raised by the pressing force of the spring 5. The pilot air passage 3f is then changed from a flowing state to a closed state by the O-ring 4. Next, another one from the above state
When the book handpiece is removed from the hanger valve, pilot air is also released from the hanger valve to which the handpiece was locked, but the pilot air pressure has decreased when the handpiece was removed first, so The air chamber 8b communicates with the pilot air flow path 3f provided in the row of handpieces that were removed earlier.
Since the plunger 1 located below has been raised and the pilot air passage 3f of that row is closed, the condition of the air valves of the row of handpieces that were removed later does not change, so the condition of the air valves of the row of handpieces that were removed later There is no need to worry about the piece being activated. At this time, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the pilot air flow path 3f of the lower main block 3 is connected to the hanger valve side flow path 3d, so that the pilot air flow of the row of hand pieces that are later removed from the hanger valve is controlled. The pressure in the air chamber 8b communicating with the passage 3f decreases, and the plunger 1 located below is raised by the pressing force of the spring 5, and the O-ring 4 closes the pilot air passage 3f. Furthermore, when the handpiece that was previously removed from the hanger valve is returned to the hanger valve from this state, high-pressure pilot air is again supplied from the hanger valve to the hanger valve side flow path 3d of that row, which communicates with the pilot air flow path 3f of this row. Pressure is also applied to the air chamber 8b, pushing down the plunger 1 located below it, and the row of plungers 1 from which the handpiece was removed first among the plungers 1 communicating with the pilot air flow path 3f of the row of handpieces removed later. Since the pressure above the plunger 1 installed in the air valve becomes high, it overcomes the force of the spring 5 and pushes down the plunger 1, and pilot air is supplied to each flow path in that row, so high pressure pilot air is also supplied to the air valve side. is supplied and the operation of the handpiece is stopped, and the pilot air flow path 3f, which was closed in the row from which the handpiece was removed later, is opened, so the pilot air in the air valve is released, so that the handpiece is removed later. The handpiece is now ready for operation.
Furthermore, when the handpiece that was removed from this state is returned to the hanger valve, high-pressure pilot air flows from the hanger valve to the hanger valve side flow path 3d again.
As a result, pressure is applied to the air chamber 8b communicating with the pilot air passage 3f of this series, and the plunger 1 located below is pushed down, resulting in an initial state in which all the handpieces are locked to the hanger valves. Return to

The fluid control block according to the present invention has the structure and operation as described above, and has a structure in which the valves and the flow paths through which the pilot air that operates the valves flows are integrated, so that a large number of tubes can be used. This eliminates the need to connect the valves together, which greatly simplifies the assembly work that would otherwise take a lot of effort and time, and also allows for a significant reduction in volume. Drive air, etc. will be supplied only to the handpiece that has been removed from the hanger valve, and drive air, etc. will not be supplied to the handpiece that has been removed from the hanger valve later unless the handpiece that was first removed from the hanger valve is returned to its original position and latched to the hanger valve. While the dentist is using one handpiece to treat the patient, the assistant can attach the grinding tool to the other handpiece for the next treatment. Since it can be replaced, the time required for dental treatment can be significantly shortened, and it is of great industrial value as it eliminates concerns about operation due to air leaks all at once.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a circuit diagram of a conventional dental treatment device in which the number of hand pieces is three, Fig. 2 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment of the prior invention in which the number of hand pieces is three; Figure 3 is a configuration diagram of a valve that functions as both an air control on-off valve and a check valve.
4A and 4B are a plan view and a front view of an embodiment of a fluid control block according to the present invention corresponding to the circuit example shown in FIG. 2 in which three hand pieces can be used;
Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along line a-a in Figure 4A;
Figures A, B, C, D, E, and F are line bb, line cc, line dd, and ee in Figure 4B, respectively.
FIG. 1... Plunger, 1a... Large diameter part, 1b...
Small diameter part, 2... Disc-shaped plate, 3... Lower main block, 3a... Plate chamber, 3b... Plunger hole, 3ba... Large diameter hole, 3bb... Small diameter hole,
3c...Air valve side flow path, 3d...Hanger valve side flow path, 3e...Connection flow path, 3f...Pilot air flow path, 4...O ring, 5...Spring, 6...Lower cover block, 6a ... Gasket, 7 ... Flexible membrane, 8 ... Upper main block,
8a... Through channel, 8b... Air chamber, 8c... Communication hole, 9... Communication path forming sheet, 9a... Communication path, 10... Upper cover block, 11... Screw,
...handpiece, ...hanger valve, ...
...Air valve, ...Air control opening/closing valve, ...Check valve.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. When each handpiece in a dental treatment device using n (3 or more) handpieces is removed from a locked state, the pilot air flow path changes from a communicating state to an open state to the atmosphere. A flow path switching type hanger valve that lowers the pilot air pressure when the pilot air pressure decreases, and the drive air, chip air, and cooling water flow paths that are supplied to the handpiece that is removed from the hanger valve when the pilot air pressure decreases are closed. The following 11 types are installed in the pilot air flow path between the air valve and the air valve to enable the supply of drive air, chip air, and cooling water only to the handpiece that is first removed from the hanger valve. A fluid control block for a safety circuit of a dental treatment device characterized by comprising the following elements: (a) a plunger with a narrow diameter portion protruding above a large diameter portion at the bottom; (b) a disc-shaped Plate (c) A plate chamber into which the plate is loosely inserted is bored on the upper surface, and a large diameter hole into which the large diameter portion of the plunger is loosely inserted into the lower surface corresponding to the plate chamber, and a large diameter hole into which the large diameter portion of the plunger is loosely inserted. The plunger hole consists of a small diameter hole that is penetrated in a loosely fitted state that allows the tip of the small diameter part of the plunger to protrude into the plate chamber.
1) The plunger closest to this one side from one side located on a plane extension line connecting the centers of (n-1) plunger holes arranged corresponding to each handpiece in n rows for each handpiece. An air valve side flow path is formed in communication with the large diameter hole of the hole, and a hanger valve side flow path is formed in communication with the side opposite to the above one side and the plate chamber on the side closest to the side. The plate chamber excluding the plate chamber which is provided and communicates with the flow path on the hanger valve side and the large diameter hole of the plunger hole adjacent to the hanger valve side of the plunger hole connected to the lower part of the plate chamber. a lower main block, each of which is provided with a communicating flow path, and further provided with a pilot air flow path from one of the flow paths provided in the row corresponding to each handpiece to the upper surface; (d) When the plunger inserted into the plunger hole of the lower main block is pushed up, it is arranged at the root of the small diameter part of the plunger in order to cut off communication between the plate chamber and the large diameter hole of the plunger hole. O-ring, (e) a spring that always presses the plunger upward, which is inserted into the plunger hole of the lower main block; (f) a lower part that is arranged on the lower surface of the lower main block via a gasket and supports the lower end of the spring. (g) A flexible membrane that is placed on the lower main block and is bent by the pressure of the air chamber of the upper main block to press the plate loosely inserted into the plate chamber of the lower main block, ( h) Through-flow passages are disposed on the lower main block via a flexible membrane and communicate with each pilot air passage of the lower main block, and are perforated from the lower surface toward the upper surface. an upper main block having independent air chambers bored in the lower surface facing the plate chamber, and a communicating hole penetrating from the air chambers to the upper surface; 1 for each of the through-flow channels provided in the upper main block and the rows other than the rows in which the through-flow channels are provided.
A communication passage forming sheet that forms n sets of communicating passages that communicate with two air chambers and does not allow these n sets of communicating passages to communicate with each other; Upper cover block From above, the upper cover block, the communication path forming sheet, the upper main block,
A screw that passes through screw holes drilled in the flexible membrane, lower main block, and gasket and is screwed onto a female screw threaded into the lower cover block to integrate the above elements.