US2531730A - Surgical aspirator - Google Patents

Description

Nqv. 28, 1950 s. A. HENDERSON SURGICAL ASPIRATOR Filed Sept. 1, 194a INVENTOR.

Patented Nov. 28, 1950 UN-[TED s miss mrem T one: cs

suRGrcAL Asrn'thiroit strata s ream, stems. hasten-r to t'Gcinco Surgical Mafiufactj ring 'CorpQ, Buffalb, N. Y, a corporation New York N Application September 1, 1948,Se1'ial No. 47,180

east. (61. est-tat) This invention relatesto surgical aspi tatols,

"aud ,;moreparticularly to improvements in an aspiratorfordental surgery. 1 t t, jGenerally dental aspirators of the typewith which; the present invention :is concerned; include ,ahandle through which apassage extendsand a hollow tip or tube removablymounted, onwone end of the handle. A set of similar tips, each of which is formed with a differently sized opening, in its operative end, is generally provided with such a handle so that the tips are inter- ,changeable and the .most suitably sized tip can be employed for removal of liquid, semi-solid and solid material, such as blood, saliva, tissue andbone chips from the mouth of the patient.

I-Ieretofore the end of the handle of such an aspirator which received the tip was formedwith a female taper into which the correspondingly tapered male end of the tip was inserted. The connection between handle and tip relied upon was therefore one of axially wedging one part into another, V r

, A dentalaspirator of the type in question is frequently used as a lip or mouth retractor incidental to removing material from the mouth of the patient and this places a mechanical stress on the connection between the tip and handle. In such use of the prior aspirator it was not uncommonfor the tip to loosen and separate from the handle and fall into the mouth of the patient whicnwas undesirable, of course, or onto the floor resulting in contamination of the tip and requiring its resterilization before being used again. Thus inconvenience and annoying delay attended use of this prior aspirator.

Further the tapering of the tip and handle of suchprioraspirator to provide the wedge connection therebetween was such as toproduce a constriction in the passage through which passed the material removed from the patients mouth. Hence when a piece of solid orsemi-solid material large enough to pass through the larger partpf the passage encountered the restriction ittco'uld not passand the passage wouldbecome plugged. This rendered the aspirator inoperative until the passagewas unblocked.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an aspirator in which the tip is firmly connected tothe handle and so maintamed during use of the aspirator.

Another object is to provide such an aspirator in which the tip is quickly removable and interchangeable with other tips of similar form. Another object is to provide such an aspirator which will not plug up in use.

r ess 8 othe b ects-end revetmen a atria entjfrom the following description and drawings wherein:

(L r V J m :1 ;Fig l is a side elevational view of an aspirator m ng he re'sen inv ntion-H ,Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the tip there- -lfiu w J, i 1 #1) its 1, I Z Fig. 33 is a fragmentary, side e1 tional fyiew, on an enlargedscale, -,of the tip receiving end of the handle shown in Fig.1,

e s a c n ra o e tu i 1;- tik x al e on a slightly enlarged scale, of the locking nut o i Fiet t F st 5, fr n ar ntra l9neit in sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on line 5--5, Fig. 1. I H LU Fig, 6,; is ;-a transverse sectional view taken on n .F s. .5-, Fig. 7 is a side elevational fragmentary view, on an enlarged scale,, of the operative end of the u hown n Figs. 1 and t:

Fig. 8 is anend elevational view of the opera- 'tive,endof the tip shown in Fig.7, p

p The ,dental, aspirator embodying ,the present invention is sh0vvn, as comprising a handle 10 andtip ,IL The tip II is shown as being an elongated tube circular incrosssectipn and-havin a. p sa l2 1 e tendin co pl tefl t r thro a b a nt t one end, the extremity ofpthis bent end, being externally and internally tap,er ed to provide a nozzle li The tipll isillustrative of one of a; ser ie s ofjnterchangeable tips which are, usually providedswith this ltype ofaspirator each ltip of such series av n a difi en y sized zz e pe nal flhe handle IB is shown as having the conventional elongated g form and; ,exteriorscqntouring and being formed to rovideiacentra -axi l s ge t-ex end e compl e y therethroueh.

The. r en o hethaindlegis shown as b in formed with an axially projecting nipple JS. This nipple I E is adapted to beconnected to a fiegrib lefl tubing not shown) connected to a uuml i tsu t a qum H ew t i mr 'taht-f e ur timer s t nre s in the means for firmly yet duic'hly, re-

niovably mounting the tip H on the handle l0.

by loosening the nut 20.

To this end, the front end of the handle is shown as being formed with an outwardly projecting axial integral neck N5, the outer end of which is externally tapered as indicated at H. Intermediate the tapered end I1 and the main body of the handle H], the neck 16 is externally threaded to provide a male thread It The outer portion of the neck It is radially contractable and for this purpose is slit. As shown, a pair of diametrically opposite slits l9l9 extend from the outer extremity of the neck I6 axially thereof into the threaded portion l8.

A nut is arranged on the neck It. This nut 20 has an opening extending completely therethrough. One end portion of this opening is tapered corresponding to the tapered end I! on the neck [6 as represented by the numeral 2| and the opposite end portion is of enlarged diameter as indicated at 22, the portion of this opening intermediate these tapered and enlarged ends being internally threaded as indicated at 23. The female thread 23 of the nut 20 works on the male thread E8 on the neck 16 so that the tapered end 2| of the nut is engageable with the tapered end I! on the handle [9 when the nut is moved axially of the neck in one direction. The external shape of the nut 26 may be of any desired form and is shown as being bell shaped at its front end merging into a cylindrical rear end, the periphery of this cylindrical rear end portion being knurled, as indicated at 24, to facilitate manually turning the nut.

The passage M which is preferably of uniform diameter throughout extends through the neck l6 of the handle Ill. The outside diameter of the attaching end of the tip H is approximately the same as the diameter of passage l4 so that the tip can be easily inserted and removed from the neck It. To limit the depth to which the attaching end of the tip can be inserted into the neck I6, the tip is shown as being formed with an integral protuberance or collar extending radially outwardly from the exterior of the tip and spaced axially of the tip from the extremity thereof.

In the assembled condition of the parts shown in Fig. 5, the attaching end of the tip IL is arranged in the passage M of the handle it] with the rear shoulder of the collar 25 against the front end face of the nut 20, this nut being arranged on the neck [6. By turning the nut 20 in one direction its surface forming the tapered opening 2| wedges against the tapered end I 'l of the neck and thereby clamps or pinches the neck against the tip II, the slits |9l9 permitting of this radial contraction of the neck. Thus the tip is firmly held on the handle and is not subject to loosening or removal except It is merely necessary to turn the nut a fraction of a turn in the reverse direction to relieve the pressure of the tapered neck end I 1 against the taper 2| so that the tip can be withdrawn from the passage M. The opposed segmental sections of the neck [6 formed by the slits I9l9 are resilient and constantly seek a position in which they are Y concentric with the remainder of the neck. Any

other size of tip having a similar attaching end can be quickly slid into the passage l4 and held in place by tightening the nut 28.

It will be noted that there are no restrictions in the passages I2 and 14 so that any solid or semi-solid material which enters the nozzle end of the tip ll does not encounter a constriction in passing from the passage l2 into the passage 4 I4. Hence the passages l2 and M are not likely to become plugged in use.

The operative end of the nozzle l3 of the tip I l is formed to permit material to enter the passage l2 in the tip when the opening or inlet 26 in the end of the nozzle is closed off. Referring to Figs. '7 and 8, this purpose is accomplished by the provision of a pair of diametrically opposite slits 21, 21 in the operative end of the nozzle [3. Each of these slits 21 is shown as extending axially of the wall of the nozzle and opening to the end face of the nozzle. Thus, if in using the aspirator the nozzle [3 is inserted in a recess in the tissue of the patients mouth and pressed against the tissue so that the opening or inlet 26 is thereby closed, the material in the recess can be still removed by passing through the slits 2! into the passage l2. It will be understood that any number of slits can be provided in the nozzle 13.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the present invention provides an aspirator having a tip and handle in which simple clamping means are provided for firmly but quickly removably mounting the tip on the handle. Further an unrestricted passage through which the material handled by the aspirator fiows is provided by the invention.

I claim:

1. A surgical aspirator, comprising a handle having a neck projecting therefrom and a passage extending axially through said neck, said handle being adapted to connect said passage to a source of vacuum, the outer end of said neck being externally tapered, a portion of said neck adjacent said tapered end being externally threaded, a nut arranged on said neck and having a through opening one portion of which is internally threaded to work on said externally threaded portion and an adjacent portion of which is tapered and engageable with said tapered end, and a tip tubular in cross-section partially arranged in said passage and slidable therein, said neck being slit so as to render said neck radially contractable whereby said neck is clamped against said tip when said nut is moved axially of said neck to wedge saidtapered portion against said tapered end.

2. A surgical aspirator, comprising an elongated handle having a neck projecting axially from one end thereof and a passage extending axially through neck and handle, said handle being adapted to connect said passage to a source of vacuum, the outer end of said neck being externally tapered, a portion of said neck adjacent said tapered end being externally threaded, a nut arranged on said neck and having a through opening an inner portion of which is internally threaded to work on said externally threaded portion and an outer portion of which is tapered corresponding to said tapered end and enga-geable therewith, and a tip tubular in crosssection removably arranged in said passage and slidable therein, said neck having a slit extending axially thereof whereby said neck is clamped against said tip when said nut is turned so as to move axially of said neck to wedge said tapered portion against said tapered end.

3. A surgical aspirator, comprising an elongated handle having a neck projecting axially from one end thereof and a passage extending axially through said neck and handle, said handle being adapted to connect said passage to a source of vacuum, the outer end of said neck be ing externally tapered, a portion of said neck adjacent said tapered end being externally threaded, a nut arranged on said neck and having a through opening an inner portion of which is internally threaded to Work on said externally threaded portion and an outer portion of which is tapered corresponding to said tapered end and engageahle therewith, a tip tubular in cross-section removably arranged in said passage and slidable therein, and a protuberance projecting radially outwardly from said tip and engageable with said nut thereby to provide a stop to limit the depth of insertion of said tip into said passage, said neck having a pair of diametrically opposite parallel slits extending axially of said neck from the outer extremity thereof and terminating short of the extremity of the inserted end of said tip whereby said neck is clamped against said tip when said nut is turned so as to move axially of said neck to wedge said tapered portion against said tapered end.

20 4. A holder for a surgical aspirator tip, comend of said neck being externally tapered, a portion of said neck adjacent said tapered end being externally threaded, said neck having a pair of diametrically opposite parallel slits extending axially of said neck and leading to the outer extremity thereof and a nut arranged for axial movement on said neck and having a through opening an inner portion of which is internally threaded to work on said externally threaded portion and an outer portion of which is tapered corresponding to said tapered end and engageable therewith.

STANFORD A. HENDERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 63,709 Dibble Apr. 9, 1867 213,356 Snow Mar. 18, 1879 946,972 Manning Jan. 18, 1910 969,922 Tracy Sept. 13, 1910 2,301,781 Higbee Nov. 10, 1942

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