Dental syringe

Abstract

A dental syringe may include a replaceable valve cartridge containing one or more valves. The valves may include air and water valves using a seating surface and an opposing seating surface with a relative angle formed between the two surfaces. The relative angle allows for regulation of the flow of fluid traveling through the valves. The replaceable valve cartridge may also include a system to remove a residual liquid from a tip of a dental syringe. Additionally, the replaceable valve cartridge may include a seal that prevents bleed-over of fluids within a dental syringe through use of first and second rings of elastic portions of the seal with a low pressure zone defined in between. Further, the dental syringe may include a tip retention insert which may be replaceable and may use either a pair of plates or a plurality of ball bearings to retain the dental syringe tips.

1 . A method of removing residual liquid from a tip of a dental syringe having supplies of a liquid and a second fluid thereto, comprising:
 dispensing the liquid from the tip of the dental syringe; and   automatically dispensing the second fluid out of the tip of the dental syringe following the dispensing of the liquid,   wherein dispensing the second fluid substantially removes residual liquid from the tip of the dental syringe.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein dispensing the second fluid comprises dispensing a controlled quantity of the second fluid. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein dispensing the second fluid comprises dispensing the second fluid for a controlled period of time. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising actuating a single lever mechanism to control dispensing of the liquid and subsequent automatic dispensing of the second fluid. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the liquid comprises water and wherein the second fluid comprises air. 
     
     
         6 . A dental syringe for removing a residual liquid from a tip of the dental syringe having supplies of a liquid and a second fluid thereto, comprising:
 a body of the dental syringe defining a cavity comprising an inlet, an outlet, and an outlet sealing surface;   a moveable stopper located within the cavity and configured to bias against the outlet sealing surface by the second fluid so as to at least partially seal the outlet; and   a means for activating a flow of the first fluid from the tip of the dental syringe and for equalizing pressure from the second fluid on the stopper as the stopper displaces from the outlet sealing surface.   
     
     
         7 . The dental syringe of  claim 6 , wherein the means for activating comprises a plunger configured to move in a first direction along a longitudinal axis of the plunger to equalize pressure from the second fluid on the stopper as the stopper displaces from the outlet sealing surface and further configured to move in a second direction, substantially opposite to the first direction, such that the outlet is in fluid communication with the tip of the dental syringe. 
     
     
         8 . A replaceable tip retention cartridge for a dental syringe, comprising:
 a housing at least partially defining a cavity configured for insertion of a dental syringe tip;   one or more clamping members moveably positioned around the cavity;   one or more springs configured to bias the clamping members at least partially into the cavity; and   at least one releasable cartridge retentioner configured to releasably hold the replaceable tip retention cartridge in a head of the dental syringe.   
     
     
         9 . The tip retention cartridge of  claim 8 , wherein the clamping members are configured to translate between a first position and a second position, wherein when in the second position the clamping members are configured to enclose the dental syringe tip to prevent rotation of the dental syringe tip. 
     
     
         10 . The tip retention cartridge of  claim 9 , wherein the clamping members are configured to enclose an indexing dental syringe tip. 
     
     
         11 . The tip retention cartridge of  claim 8 , wherein the clamping members comprise a first plate and a second plate. 
     
     
         12 . The tip retention cartridge of  claim 11 , wherein the first plate and the second plate further comprise angled locking sections that form a cavity when the clamping members are biased at least partially into the housing cavity. 
     
     
         13 . The tip retention cartridge of  claim 12 , wherein the cavity formed by the first and the second plate defines a hexagon. 
     
     
         14 . The tip retention cartridge of  claim 12 , wherein the cavity formed by the first and the second plate defines a pentagon. 
     
     
         15 . The tip retention cartridge of  claim 11 , further comprising a first button and a second button, wherein the first button is configured to move the first plate and the second button is configured to move the second plate. 
     
     
         16 . The tip retention cartridge of  claim 11 , further comprising one button, wherein the button is configured to move both the first and second plate. 
     
     
         17 . The tip retention cartridge of  claim 11 , wherein the springs, configured to bias the clamping members, are coil springs. 
     
     
         18 . The tip retention cartridge of  claim 11 , wherein the first plate further comprises a large open section and the second plate further comprises a large open section, wherein the large open section on the first place is oriented in a first direction and the large open section on the second plate is oriented in a second position such that the first position is oriented opposite the second position, such that when the plates are displaced towards each other a large cavity is formed for the insertion of a dental syringe tip. 
     
     
         19 . The tip retention cartridge of  claim 8 , wherein the clamping members comprise a plurality of ball bearings, wherein the one or more springs provide a radially inwardly directed force on each of the spheres. 
     
     
         20 . The tip retention cartridge of  claim 19 , wherein the one or more springs are torsion springs. 
     
     
         21 . The tip retention cartridge of  claim 19 , further comprising a plurality of spacer elements positioned between the ball bearings, wherein the plurality of spacer elements are configured to hold the plurality of ball bearings in respective channels. 
     
     
         22 . The tip retention cartridge of  claim 19 , further comprising one or more buttons configured to reduce the inwardly directed force on the spheres. 
     
     
         23 . The tip retention cartridge of  claim 22 , wherein the one or more buttons are hingedly connected to the tip retention cartridge. 
     
     
         24 . A dental syringe comprising;
 a handle portion;   a head portion, wherein the handle and head portion are configured to join together; and   a replaceable tip retention cartridge, wherein the tip retention cartridge is configured to hold a dental syringe tip and comprises a housing at least partially defining a cavity configured for insertion of a dental syringe tip; one or more clamping members moveably positioned around the cavity; one or more springs configured to bias the clamping members at least partially into the cavity; and at least one releasable cartridge retentioner configured to releasably hold the replaceable tip retention cartridge in the head portion.   
     
     
         25 . The dental syringe of  claim 24 , wherein the clamping members are configured to translate between a first position and a second position, wherein when in the second position the clamping members are configured to enclose the dental syringe tip to prevent rotation of the dental syringe tip. 
     
     
         26 . The dental syringe of  claim 25 , wherein the clamping members are configured to enclose an indexing dental syringe tip. 
     
     
         27 . The dental syringe of  claim 24 , wherein the tip retention cartridge clamping members comprise a first plate and a second plate. 
     
     
         28 . The dental syringe of  claim 27 , wherein the first plate and the second plate further comprise angled locking sections that form a cavity when the clamping members are biased at least partially into the housing cavity. 
     
     
         29 . The dental syringe of  claim 28 , wherein the cavity formed by the first and the second plate defines a hexagon. 
     
     
         30 . The dental syringe of  claim 28 , wherein the cavity formed by the first and the second plate defines a pentagon. 
     
     
         31 . The dental syringe of  claim 27 , further comprising a first button and a second button, wherein the first button is configured to move the first plate and the second button is configured to move the second plate. 
     
     
         32 . The dental syringe of  claim 27 , further comprising one button, wherein the button is configured to move both the first and second plate. 
     
     
         33 . The dental syringe of  claim 27 , wherein the springs, configured to bias the clamping members, are coil springs. 
     
     
         34 . The dental syringe of  claim 27 , wherein the first plate and the second plate each further comprise a large open section oriented in opposite directions from the other plate, such that when the plates are displaced towards each other, a large cavity is formed for the insertion of a dental syringe tip. 
     
     
         35 . The dental syringe of  claim 24 , wherein the tip retention cartridge clamping members comprise a plurality of ball bearings, wherein the one or more springs provide a radially inwardly directed force on each of the spheres. 
     
     
         36 . The dental syringe of  claim 35 , wherein the one or more springs are torsion springs. 
     
     
         37 . The dental syringe of  claim 35 , further comprising a plurality of spacer elements positioned between the ball bearings, wherein the plurality of spacer elements are configured to hold the plurality of ball bearings in respective channels. 
     
     
         38 . The dental syringe of  claim 35 , further comprising one or more buttons configured to reduce the inwardly directed force on the spheres. 
     
     
         39 . The dental syringe of  claim 38 , wherein the one or more buttons are hingedly connected to the tip retention cartridge.