The present invention relates to a hose holder for use in a dental care unit to receive and support a hose and a tool (an instrument) possibly attached to it until needed by a dental assistant or a dentist. In this application, hose holder refers to any holder supporting a hose, regardless of whether the part held by the holder is the hose itself, a connector possibly arranged on it or a tool attached to the hose. In the following, the invention will be described primarily with reference to suction hoses of a dental care unit, but it is to be noted that the hose holder of the invention can also be utilized in other contexts, and, in addition to an actual dental care unit, e.g. in a movable instrument cart separate from it, or in connection with a suction system separate from the dental care unit.

In prior art, a suction hose holder is known which is detachably attachable to an instrument console of a dental care unit, having a holder part which at least partially surrounds the suction hose to be arranged in it to support the hose. The holder part thus forms a partially open ring having a supporting surface that comes into contact with e.g. a connector provided on the suction hose when the suction hose and the tool (such as a suction nozzle and a suction tube) attached to it by means of the connector is hung in its place in the holder.

To allow manipulation of the suction hose to be controlled as easily as possible with a single hand, a prior-art solution includes closing of the partially open ring of the holder part with a detachable part having a roller fixedly attached to it. This detachable part is fastened to the holder part to surround the suction hose together with the holder part. Thus, the detachable part and the roller together define an opening through which the hose can be moved in its lengthwise direction, supported by the roller.

However, the above-described prior-art solution involves the drawback of difficult manageability of the hose. Despite the roller, the hose moves poorly through the aforesaid opening.

US patent specification 4,470,811 discloses a holder in which the opening through which the hose is arranged to be moved is defined by a lower primary roller serving as an actual supporting surface and a second, upper roller and a supporting framework connecting these rollers to each other. In this solution, the fundamental function of said upper roller relates to positioning of the instrument in the holder, not so to how movement of the hose through the holder could be improved.

The object of the present invention is to make available a more user-friendly design for hose holders. This object is achieved by a hose holder according to the independent claim 1.

In the holder according to the invention, in addition to a primary guide roller at least one lower guide roller, arranged in the holder on a lower level than the primary guide roller, is utilized. Preferably at least a first lower guide roller is so arranged in the holder that it assumes a position on a different side of the hose than the primary guide roller.

The invention and its preferred embodiments facilitate handling of the hose / tool both in a situation where the hose / tool is being removed from the hose holder and moved towards its point of application, i.e. when the hose is being pulled through the holder, and in a situation where the hose / tool is being placed back in its holder, i.e. when the hose is moving in the reverse direction through the holder.

Some preferred embodiments of the hose holder according to the invention are presented in the independent claims 2-9 below.

In the following, the invention will be described in more detail by referring to the preferred embodiments shown in the attached drawings, wherein

• Fig. 1 represents an instrument console of a dental care unit, with various prior art holders attached to it,
• Fig. 2 represents one embodiment of the hose holder according to the invention,
• Fig. 3 represents parts of the hose holder of Fig. 2 detached from each other, and
• Fig. 4 demonstrates a roller utilized in one embodiment of the hose holder according to the invention.

Fig. 1 represents an instrument console 1 of a dental care unit. This may be an instrument console 1 used by a dentist or alternatively by a dental assistant. Arranged on the instrument console are various hose holders 2-6 in which a hose, and a tool (an instrument) possibly attached to it, can be placed to be supported by the hose holder. The hose can be supported e.g. by a bulge provided in the hose itself, by a connector provided on the hose or by a tool attached to the hose. In this context, connector refers generally to any part arranged to the hose that may station itself in the holder part of the hose holder so as to support the hose. This part may thus be e.g. a connector by means of which a tool, such as a suction nozzle and a suction tube, is attached to the hose.

Fig. 1 presents prior art hose holders 2-6, out of which the one marked with reference number 6 comprises a holder part 8 and a guide roller 7. The hose supported by the hose holder 6 can be pulled out through an opening 9 delimited by the holder part 8 and the guide roller 7 between the two. The guide roller 7 makes it easier to pull out the hose and insert it back into its place. The process of setting the hose into its place is facilitated by gravity as the weight of the hose portion located below the hose holder 6 practically pulls the upper end of the hose and the tool attached to it back into its place in the holder 6. The guide roller 7 and the holder part 8 have been arranged to lie at substantially the same level in the vertical direction so that the hose guided by them ends up substantially at the desired position in the holder 6.

In Fig. 1, the hose holder 6, as well as the other holders 2 - 5, may be connected to the instrument console 1 by a hinge, which allows their angle relative to the instrument console 1 to be changed. The instrument console 1 may have in connection with one or more holders a holder-specific detecting element allowing automatic detection of whether the hose and the tool possibly attached to it is placed in the holder. Thus, e.g. in the case of a suction hose, a pump producing suction can be turned off automatically in response to a signal received from the detecting element indicating that the suction hose is not being used but is placed in its holder. Such a detecting element may comprise e.g. a switch, an inductive sensor, a capacitive sensor or an optical sensor.

Fig. 2 represents one embodiment of the hose holder of the invention and Fig. 3 presents the hose holder of Fig. 2 disassembled into parts.

In addition to the hose holder 6 itself, Fig. 2 also shows a hose 10 supported by it and comprising a tool connector 19. A tool may consist of e.g. a suction nozzle and a suction tube, which can be used to remove saliva, food remnants etc. from the patient's mouth during treatment. In this embodiment, the hose 10 is supported by the aforesaid connector 19, the connector 19 being arranged to have a larger diameter than that of the hose 10 so that the hose 10 assumes a position as shown in Fig. 2 in the holder part 8 of the holder 6. In this context, the term holder part does not only refer to a separate and/or a detachable part specifically arranged to the holder 6 but generally to such a part or point in the construction of the holder 6 for which this holder-functionality has been arranged. The weight of the hose 10 holds it in its place in the hose holder 6. The other end of the hose 10 may be connected e.g. to a suction line provided in the dental care unit and comprising a suction pump.

In addition to the primary guide roller 7, the hose holder 6 of the invention comprises at least one lower guide roller 11, 12, which is arranged in the holder 6 at a lower level than the primary guide roller 7. The embodiment of the invention according to Figs. 2 and 3 comprises two lower guide rollers 11, 12 placed on opposite sides of the hose 10, of which the first lower guide roller 11 is located substantially on the opposite side of the hose relative to the primary guide roller 7, whereas the second lower guide roller 12 is located substantially on the opposite side of the hose 10 relative to the first lower guide roller 11, i.e. preferably substantially below the primary guide roller 7. Depending on the case, it is also possible to use only either a first lower guide roller 11 or a second lower guide roller 12. In the solution according to Figs. 2 and 3, all the guide rollers 7, 11, 12 are secured to the holder in fixed positions, but one may also think arranging position of e.g. the second lower guide roller 12 to be adjustable. If both the first 11 and the second 12 lower guide rollers are arranged to be movable in position, the holder 6 is even in this case so implemented that the lower guide rollers 11, 12 are always located at a lower level than the primary guide roller 7.

Considering the first lower guide roller 11, it improves the manipulability of the hose especially when the hose 10 is being pulled out from the holder 6. If we imagine that Fig. 2 would only show a first lower guide roller 11 and the hose 10 would be connected to a dental care unit located to the left of the holder 6 so that it would form a substantially U-shaped loop bending to the left of the holder 6, and if we further consider a situation where the tool attached to the hose 10 is being moved upwards and to the right towards the patient, then the hose 10 will run easily through the holder 6 thanks to the primary guide roller 7 and the first lower guide roller 11.

After the treatment operation, the hose 10 can be brought to an appropriate position relative to the holder 6 and the grip on it be released, whereupon it will automatically be guided into the holder 6 thanks to gravitation and the guide rollers without a need to expressly position the hose 10 into its place.

The hose holder 6 may also be placed in a different position relative to the patient than in the case considered above and, on the other hand, the tool attached to the hose 10 may also have to be moved in other directions than towards the patient. When considering e.g. a situation with reference to Fig. 2, in which the lower end of the typically fairly stiff hose 10 would now tend to bend to the right, the second lower guide roller 12 shown in Fig. 2 will facilitate returning of the hose 10 into its holder 6.

In the embodiment presented of Fig. 2, the primary guide roller 7 is mounted on the holder part 8 by means of elongated flexible roller holders 13 with snap-on connection 14. In this embodiment, the snap-on connection 14 is implemented by means of pegs provided in the holder part 8 and apertures arranged in the roller holders 13. The snap-on connection can thus be opened manually without using any tools, by bending the flexible roller holders 13 so that the aforesaid apertures rise clear off their complementary pegs. This bending can be realized e.g. by pressing the outer ends 15 of the roller holders 13 towards each other. The snap-on connection allows the hose holder 6 to be easily taken into two parts so that the hose 10 can be removed from the hose holder 6.

The embodiment of the invention according to Figs. 2 and 3, comprising a snap-on connection of the holder part 8 mentioned above, allows, among other things, removal of the primary guide roller 7 and the second lower guide roller 12, which are located substantially on the same side of the hose 10, together with the roller holder 13 from the hose holder 6. Thus, such a holder 6 of the invention can also be used as an open holder, i.e. as a holder that is partially open on one side and therefore allows the hose 10 to be removed from its holder 6 in a lateral direction as well. The possibility for simple demounting also facilitates cleaning of the hose holder 6 as well as the suction hose 10.

In the embodiment according to Figs. 2 and 3, all the guide rollers 7, 11 and 12 are attached to the hose holder 6 by means of flexible projection pairs 16 provided on it. Formed between these projection pairs 16 are slots into which axis 17 protruding from the ends of the guide rollers 7, 11 12 are inserted and locked by means of snap-on connections. At least one, preferably all guide rollers 7, 11, 12 provided in the holder 6 are arranged to be rotatable.

The above-described snap-on connections allow the hose holder 6 according to Figs. 2 and 3 to be completely dismantled without using any tools, which makes possible easy detaching of the various parts from each other for cleaning. The parts can be manufactured e.g. from plastic which endures autoclave treatment.

In the example illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the holder part 8 is provided with mounting means 18, which may consist of e.g. shaped metal pins, which will be inserted into mounting apertures provided in the instrument console of a dental care unit. By providing in connection with these apertures a connector arrangement based on e.g. balls and springs and mateable with notches provided in the aforesaid metal pins, the holder part 8 can be arranged to be detachably mounted on the instrument console.

The hose holder 6 of the invention can also be arranged to be integrated with an instrument console. In this case, certain parts of the hose holder presented in Figs. 2 and 3, such as e.g. the first lower guide roller 11 and/or the holder part 8, may be secured directly to the instrument console.

The instrument console may be provided with an optically operated detecting element which will make it possible to monitor when the hose 10 is put in its place in the hose holder 6. In view of this, in the embodiment of Figs. 2 and 3, an opening 20 extending through the entire holder part 8 is arranged to provide an unobstructed visibility to the hose 10. The optical identification may also be directed to a connector 19 on the hose or to a tool attached to the hose.

Fig. 4 is a top-view visualization of a roller utilized in one embodiment of the hose holder of the invention. Fig. 4 shows only part of the hose holder 6. From the figure it can be seen how the primary guide roller 7 together with the holder part 8 of the hose holder 6 delimit the opening 9 through which the hose 10 may be moved. For the sake of clarity, in Fig. 4 the hose 10 is shown without the connector 19.

For the guide roller to provide also lateral support for the hose, i.e. support in the axial direction of the guide roller, it is preferably so designed that the diameter D1 of the guide roller at its ends is larger than the diameter D2 at the middle portion of the roller. The dimensioning can be implemented so that the difference between the diameter D1 of the ends of the guide roller and the diameter D2 of the middle portion is about [0,5 *R ...1,0 * R], where R is the radius of the hose. All the guide rollers of the holder can be dimensioned in this way.

In the holder according to the invention, the hose moves relatively easily even when it is being pulled out from the holder in a somewhat oblique direction instead a straight direction.

It is to be understood that the above description and the related figures are only intended to visualize the present invention. Different variations and modifications of the invention will be obvious to a person skilled in the art without deviating from the scope of protection of the invention.