Method of making a pre-adjusted orthodontic bracket assembly
US4819316A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 29, 1987 |
| Grant date | Apr 11, 1989 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 29, 2007 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T83/8831
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A pre-adjusted orthodontic bracket assembly is provided. The assembly has one or two tie wings and a base pad. The tie wings define an archwire slot for alignment with the occlusal plane of a patient's tooth. The sides of the tie wings are additional references for alignment with the tooth and are designed for alignment with the long axis of the tooth. The tips of the tie wings are rounded and substantially semicircular. The bracket assembly is made by a machining process. A metal strip is provided and a longitudinal slot corresponding to the archwire slot is machined into the strip. Cuts transverse to the slot are machined to define tie wings having angular corners. The angular tie wing tips are rounded using a die assembly to form a metal strip having a number of tie wings with rounded tips. One tie wing or a pair of adjacent tie wings are sheared from the metal strip and attached to a base pad to form an orthodontic bracket assembly.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.