Patented Dec. 31, 1935 2@026@065 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE P,',026,065 DENTAL APPARATUS Carl P. Rohr, San Antonio, Tex. Application February 8, 1933, Sei-lal No. 655,708 4 Claims. (Cl. 128-13) This invention relates to dental apparatus, and an object of the invention is the provision of apdaratus for fixing a field.of operation in which an operation may be performed by a dentist or a doctor on the mouth o-f a pa-tient, for example. Another object is the provision of apparatus for illuminating the field of such operation. Another object is the p@-ovision of apparatus 10 which will afford a maximum field of operation, Another object is the provision of such apparatus Nvhich is adaptable to peculiarities of mouths and teeth in respect to size and form, for example. 15 Another object is the provision of liovel cooperating means for positioning the tongue out of the field of operation, either up or down, and for accomplishing other objects hereiiiafter set forth with a maximum of certainty and con20 venience. The invention involves not only the provfsion of novel means for @@ecomplishing the aforesaid a,nd other objects, but also contemplates means for accomplishing those objects vil-Ach are sim25 ple and durable in construction and operati-on, economical to manufacttire, and capable of being easily and thoroughly sterilized. The apparatus of my invention not only provides means for accomplishi-ng the aforesaid ob30 jects and results, but eli.-ninates changes in t'-he position of the jaws of a patient, with consequent interferet-ice with the ope-ration and tb-e frequent co-nseque@- ice of injury to, patient or dentist, or doctor, or both. 35 The invention consists in the combinatiolis and atrangements of pa-rts hereinafter described and claimed. The invention will be be.-.t Linderstood by refu.,ence to the aecompanying drawings, forming a 40 part of this speciflcation, and in which: Fig. 1 is an elevational v@'@eiv of a preferred form of my invention; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device shown in Fig. 1; 15 Fig. 3 is a bottom i)lan view of the saire; Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the upper Tesilient rest member shown at the top of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is an intetnal end view of the switch io cap member; Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view, taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2, showing the upper rest member in elevated condition; Fig. 7 is a sectional view, taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a sectional vleiv, taken on the line B-8 of Fig. 6; Fig. 9 is a-n elevatfonal view, partly in section, taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 1; ard Fig. 10 is a cross-sectiop, tal@:en on the line 5 10-10 of Fig. 1. In its preferred form tlie device of my invention comprises a. body elerqent @5 haiiing an enlarged port-ion 16 and a reduced pcrt5on 17. This body element may be composed of bakelite 10 or stainless steel, propeely iiisv-lated, vulcanized 'rubber, or any one o.'L a nu -mber of elements particularly adapted to fit iii with the sanitayy purposes of the device, The a:educed portion 17 has a flat Lipper surface 98, and formed in tll-e 15@ upper surface I 8 and Nvitllin the body 17 is a groove 19 having sides 20 inclined upwardly toNvard each other, as app-,a:rs po-2ticulaTly ftom Iligs. 6 and 9. This groove and its side constitute a guiding trackivay for a movable block 21 20 The block is provided with n@ base shoe portion 22 which is conformed to tne groove 19 so as to fit therein and be guided thereby and retained therein. T-lie block is provided witn a, pair of studs 23. Mounted on the ouite-z encl of each 25 stud is a, collar 24 whl:ch retains on each stud a lip@k 2B. This link is p-voted at 26 to another link 27. It should be understood that there are two of these links 25 and two of the links 27, and that the're is tlici:,@fore another pair of links N 25 and 27 which are siinil@a,-@@ly pivoted at the cent ral portions ther@-of. At its other extremity the link 25 is mounted upon a stud 2S and retain ed thereon by means of a collar The stud 28 extends through a slot 33 -arovided in 35 eac h of a pair of vertical walls or flanges 31 whi ch suppoyt a rpei-iber @',2 which r-yi,@t-y b-, desigiiate d a resilient upper jaw rest m@mber for the teet h of the upper jaw. Ai-nxed to each of the flan ges 31 is a stud 33 ha,-vi-,,ig a collar gf@ ada.-,ol@-ed 40 to retain on the stlyd one extremity of a link 27. The other extremil@y of the link 27 is mounted upo n a stud 35 and reta,ined thereon by a coliar 36. These latter studs, of whict--i there are ILw o, for @he pair of '-,inks P7, are formed inte- 45 gra hy in"the prefefred form with a bearing bloc k 97 which is mounted Lipon the upper surface of the i:educed pettion of the body element 17, as particularly shown ir Figs. 6 and 10. A s has been stated, and as is apparent from 5 0 the drawings, the block 21 is t-breaded. Adapted to extend through the block 2i and the block 37 is a shwft 38 which has a kni)-zled knob 29 at one end and which is provided with a collar 40. Shaft 38 extends throup,,h a beaiing 41 55

and the couar 40 is positioned adjacent said bearing to function to prevet)-t movement of the sbaft through the bearing in oiie direction. The operating shaft extends through a second bear@- ing 37, and on tb@e other side of said bearing the shaft is provided with a collar @2 vvhich functions to prevent lorgitudinal movement of the member 38 in a direction opposite to the direction controlled by co.Uar 40. The member 10 38 is provided with a worm C3 which thleads into the threaded portion of the r,iovable block 21. The parts just described func'uion as follows: By manipulating the member 33 the worm there15 on causes the movable block 21 to move longitudinally in one direction or the other upon said member 38, and the consequence of this is that the rest member 32 is raised or lowered, according to the direction in wb-ich the knu-rled 20 knob 39 is turned. At the same time the rest -member itself is moved longitudinally in a direction -away from the knurled knob 39. As will @be. obvious, the operating member 38 d,3es not change its position relative to the main 26 body element. The two extreme positions of the mechaiu's.-n 'just described are illustrated in Figs. 1 and 6. -In Fig. I the Test member 32 is sho@vn in its @lowermost position with one end of- the rest member @prone upon the fotward enlarged portion -1 6 of the madn body element, while the reax poition is superimposed over tl-ie,mechanism foi: operating the rest member, which mechanism 95 itself is retained in the soace above the upper surface of thd reduced portion 17, in such a manner that the rest @mew-be,-c 32 in its lowermost state lies in a relatively horizontal position exceliting for the curvatute of its uppe-r surface. 4Q- The main body element 15 is provided with a bore 44, and also with a bore 45 which is of a @.larger diameter. Fitted within the bore is a socket 46 adapted to accommodate the ordinary 6lectric light bulb. The socket 46 con4-5 tains a pair of wires -47 and 48 the latter of .which terrninates in a contact plate 49. The .a,rrangement includes the iisual threads for the reception of the threaded portion of an 60 - ordinary electric 1;@ght bulb 50. The bulb 50 is inserted in the bore 45 a'D-d threaded into the socket. The bore 45 is enlatged and threaded, as at Si, for the reception of a thteaded glass supporting member 52 whi.ch is flanged at 53 and @@4, as is clear from Fig. 6. The container 52 is adapted to receive therein 9, glass 55 and retain the same therein by means of a flange 6-64 --By virtue of this arrangement -of the glass supporting meniber 52 a-nd the glass suii3orted 60 therein, the chamber in which is located the 6leotric light bulb is sealed off. The,body element 15 is D-covided with a neck pottion ST and a pair of pi-ii-s 58 which i-3roject outwardly from the circumference of the neck 65 portion. Adapted to fit over tl-il:s neck po-rtion is @a 6irculay ringed member 59 provided vp 'th a;g,roove 60, and the groove 60 is in tuxn pro'ded with offset portions 6 1. At' ched to the vi ua circular @tinged POTtiOll 59 is a to,.qgue position7o ing @member 62, the attachment in the p-ref erred form shown beirg by means of tnvo braces 1-33, as particularly appears from Figs. 1, 2, 6, and B. Alsointheprefe'riedforrashownthetongue positioning member 62 is concaved at its outer 7'@ ends, as at 64 and 65, and coiivexed in the 2,026,065 niidcue portion, as at 66, as the tongue positioning member is viewed from below in the position shown in Fig. 6. By virtue of 'Lhis arrongement the tongue positioning member 62 may be mbved from the position shown in Fig. I I-o the position shown in Fig. 6, where the tongue positioning member is in iL,,% uppermost position instead of in its lowexmost position. To change the position of the tongue positioning ineinber 62, thecirel@aa-r ringed member may be manipu ed by the finger so that the grooved portion thereof may be caused to ride about the pins. 58 of the neck portion of the main body elem.--nt I 5. By means of the difset portions 6 I of tb-e groove, when 11 those :portions are rotated to contact the pins the circular ringed member 59 will sli--o closer to 'the @body element and will be locked more secuxely in position, and also the operator will know that the tongue pos-itioning member 62 2( is in proper position itself. The tongue positioriing member fur-ctions to - reflect the L,ght from the eleetric hght bulb, and to that end @is constructed of a suitable reflecting melerial, which in my preferred f otin is chromium plated. 2,' Whe-ja the hght rays are projected f-rom the lamp in the chamber through the opening in the circular ringed mer@ber 59 a certain number of the rays will strike the under surface 67 of the tongue positioning me-Tnber, and, for 3( example as shown in Fig. 6, the rays will be directea down@vardly into the lower portion of the mouth. It will of couxse be understood that in the position shown in Fig. 6 the tongue 3A positioning member 62 will position the tongue on top of the same, the tongue resting thereon. In my prefetred form I'have shown the tonglie positioi-iing member 62 in a definite fo-rm. TWs may be changed, as for example, the tongue positioning member 62 might be mo-re or @less 4( coneaved, looking upward at the member as shown in Fig. 6. In the preferred form shoWT-11 as appears f.rom Fig. 8, the tongue positioning member 62 is concaved transversely, as at 68, looking upward. 41, The reduced pottiorl 17 of the main body element I 5 has another neck portion 69 at its other end, and integral ewith a-re a pair of outwardly projecting pins 70. Adapted to fit 6( upon the neck portion is 9, switch cap member 71 which comprises a cap 72 having a circular wall 73 provided wi a pair of baygnet s 74. The cap membe-r is illustrated particulatly in Fi-9s. 1, 6, and 9. The bayor@et slots 74, which 5@ are adaoted for cooperation with the pins 70, are provided with notched portions 75. '-rhe cap meinber 72 has a disc 76 located therein flush with the end wall 77. The disc ea-rries supports, the usual terminals, and w,@re connections from 60 a source of supply, including two contact members 78. By virtue of th.@'s a-rrangdment the switch cap men-ber, which may be knurled, may be manipii-lated by the flngers to lyring the notched por- 65 tions of the bayonet slots in contact with the Pins, in which case the striicture is so@ arranged that the contact points 78 will be in contact with the wires 47 and 48. Any further manipijlation, will move the notched partion from the Pins, 70 and contact will be broken. For example, as is apparent from P4.gs. 1 a-lid 9, where the slot is shown in dotted lip-es , the word "On" indicates the point where the notch is located in the ayonet slot. In the position shown,,the current is 7@b

2,026,065 3 off, bli@t, if the knurled switch cap membet II is T t, nanipula'ed 4n a clockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 9, the notch porlion 75 will be moved into engagemeiit with the pin a-Tid the circuit will be closed, By means of tl-ie arrar,,-,ement of tb-e ba-yonet slots the sv7i'@,iah cap member may be obviously disconnected fyom the main body element I S. 'T,'he rqain bndy elem-ent 13 has secured to it to a ';@3wei, itw TPj which, in the pre.Leri7ed form showr@, i--- notched as at 80 in checker fashion, ao is clea-Ciy apparet-it from Fig. 3. The stirface SI thereof i-s curved in a inannercotresponding tc, t-he ordin-ary line of curvalure of the i5 teeth fropi '6he back to the ftoiit of '@lae mouth so that the surface SI -,,vill c(3nf orm to the lower teeth vril-en inserted in the mouth. The notches also function to give the te--th a. firm hold in the body m,-mber nnd i,.islire againsb slioping. 20 In the form shown 'Lhe eleriient 79 which contacts the lower teeth has been indicated to be a sepa@j:ate pai:t froni t-he main body element, blit it is obviou-c that tl-iis niay be raade integral therewith. 2.5 As will 'oe manifest from Figs. 9 and 10, the s-Lirface 81 o-'L the meribe,- 79 is coneaved, as ei, S'L, transversely to the,, longitudinal concavity, hereinbefo,@ce described. By this L-eans the teetl-i engage the member 79 at the center of the con30 caved porti-o,-l, @)nrl tlie device is -fl@irther secured against accidental cha,,ige of 'oosition. l@@' will also be apparent fromfig. 3 that the member 79 is fla2.,ed @@oivatd ot-le encl, @s at 83. By this arrangement IL--lie imember '@9 i5 narrowest 35 vihere it is r-riast likely to contact the mouth so as to perriit as "@ttie intei-fer,nce 'Lrom the m,-)ubh and to give ,, vv-lder lat,@'tude of positioning, b,,sides adding to 'Lhe convenience of t'iie patient i_-.i that little or no press-are is exerted 40 on t@@ie edges of the mouth. Fro@.-r on exa-@,-,-I-natio.,l of Figs. 2 and 4 tb-e ,,ontour of the upper rest merqber 32 is clear. T-he mei-iber 32 has an enlarged portion 84 and a, redticed portion 85, with 'Cj--ie two togetheil 4,5 makirig up the foi:m of a T. BetNveen the portions 81 and 05 the member S2 -is nayi:ov,-nost, as at oS. The result of this ,trringeme,.it is that .not only tl-ie proper distenti,,;r,, blit the gteatest clearatice w,.']! be given i@Tliere tl7,e sar-ri@, is most 50 needed, and the -iar.-ow -oortio-,,i B@ permits the e-Tiluire devip-e to be adl,7a.,,iced v7e!l ipto the side of the -v@ll-t@io,,it exerting undue - pressure Lipor- the @@iss7ie of t-@ie moif6h. T-rie narrow port@@'on --Iso functio-Tis to secure @.he entire det,,ice 55 r.,iore i'i-,-i-rily iii a f@@,@ed pos@ltion because of @he nip,,iider i-n i7ib-ich tb-e adjacent mouvi portion fits ipto t.ae -Yoove and about tl-ie de-vice. The uppe-f resilient rest ineinber 32 is curved lot ).gitudiii-ally and traiasversely on ---'ts upp.,r sur60 fice, as shov@i-,-i @.ii @Figs. 1, 6, 9, P-nd 10; 'is iiotched in a --,,@ianner to the meinber 19, a-Tid it is grooved longitudinally P-nd transversely in a simi').ar mant-ier also. Tl-ie method of operation will be manifest -LOroin 65 the desc-ript"lcj-ii. i-he to@iglie positioning membc-r will be adjuste-d in a,cordance with the loco,tion of t'iie fic-id of o,,3eration desired, this beip-9 aecc,,- ;,nolish,,d by maniuula'uing -t,!-ie circular men, be@- T-iie devi-Ce will 'th-,n b-. in70 se,.,ted irito 'LIie iiioul@'i of the pal@'@eit ond placed in ar@ appro,-o@-,'@ate posit-icn on th-a tee'th, and the inember 3 a 4 ,s thed- manipulated by means c-,-r' ti-ie 'F-nob 32 to gently ,:aise the upper rest r@iember to thc- pro-,oer e'-,evation. T'-qe ,5 upper rest member 32 is not only elevated, but is move d forwardly into the mouth, which serves to inerea s-- both the field of operation and the conve nie-Tice of the patient. When tWs has been done the jaws will have been separated to a siifncient degree and will be held firmly sepa- 5 rated in a defil-lite manner as long as desired, and the tongue also -will be effectively and comfortabl y poqitioned out of tbe field of operation. The switch cap member maj be manipulated by m,@a ns of the fingers on the ki-aurled portion lo thereo f, and the light turned on. The rays from the light will effectively illuminate the field of operatio @i, and the eff ectiveness will be enhanced by the co-operation of the reflection and concenti:a tion of the rays by the tongue position- 15 ing wember 62. T he wires 47 and 48 do not require as much space as the socket and light bulb, and it will be understood that this space may be reduced to a mi-iiimurn and advantage talten of this fact 20 to reduce the main body portion at 17 as much as possible to locate the mechariism for'operating the upper rest member in the space above the reduced portion containing the wires. It will be desirable to@ use the smallest )ight bulb 25 practicable and to make the casing and its enlarged po3:tion in which the light bulb is located as small and thin as pra&,,icable to secure the maximum in compactness, to the end that the maximum field of operation and general util- So ity may be attained. Vlhile I hqve shown a worm arrangement for elevating the upper rest member to the desired degree, it is plain that other riechanical means may be employed to perfoim this function. The 3,5 same is true of the olher parts and functions and features of my invention. Thus, while I have ilIListrated and described the preferred form of constructioia for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable of variation and modifica- 40 tion without departing from the spirit of the invention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire @l.o avail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the scope 45 of the appended claims. Having thus described my ii-ivention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by