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Instrument sharpener system

Instrument sharpener system description/claims

I hereby claim benefit under Title 35, United States Code, Section 120 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/566,991 filed Dec. 5, 2006. This application is a continuation in-part of the Ser. No. 11/566,991 application. The Ser. No. 11/566,991 application is currently pending. The Ser. No. 11/566,991 application is hereby incorporated by reference into this application.

Not applicable to this application.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to tools including a sharp tip and more specifically it relates to an instrument sharpener system for efficiently sharpening various tools (i.e. dental tools, darts, etc.).

2. Description of the Related Art

Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.

Tools that include sharp tips (i.e. dental tools, darts, etc.) have been in use for years and are utilized for many various applications. Typically, dental professionals utilize various dental tools for various different dental procedures. The dental tools include devices, such as but not limited to dental explorers and dental picks. Each of these dental tools generally includes a sharp tip utilized for various activities, such as but not limited to checking for cavities (i.e. dental explorer).

The effectiveness of the dental tool (i.e. dental explorer, etc.) is generally determined by the sharpness of the tip. Over time and use the tips of these dental tools can become dull and thus less effective. To maintain sharpness of the tip the dental professional generally utilizes a sharpening stone by manually sliding the tip across the stone or vice versa. However, it is generally difficult to maintain a consistent sharp edge while manually sharpening the tip. Also this method of sharpening the tip of the dental tool can be very time consuming. This method of utilizing a sharpening stone to maintain the sharpness of the tip is also generally utilized with metal tipped darts. The same problems are generally associated with sharpening the darts with the sharpening stone, such as but not limited to time consuming and inconsistency.

Another solution to the dull tips of the dental tools is to simply throw the old dental tools away and purchase new dental tools since the dental tools are generally not very expensive. However, over time even an inexpensive item can add up in cost when throwing multiple inexpensive items away. Because of the general lack of efficiency and practicality in the prior art there is the need for a new and improved instrument sharpener system for efficiently sharpening various tools (i.e. dental tools, darts, etc.).

The general purpose of the present invention is to provide an instrument sharpener system that has many of the advantages of the tools including a sharp tip mentioned heretofore. The invention generally relates to tools including a sharp tip which includes a sharpener including a body including a motor and a drive member, wherein the drive member is mechanically connected to the motor and the motor rotates the drive member about a first axis. A sharpening unit including a pinion gear and a sharpening member positioned within the pinion gear, wherein the sharpening unit extends from the drive member and rotates about a second axis offset from the first axis. A head including an opening and a ring gear extends from the body, wherein the ring gear and the sharpening unit are positioned within the head. The pinion gear rotates around the ring gear and along the second axis, wherein the sharpening member of the outer member receives a tip of a dental explorer via the opening.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, some of the features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and that will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction or to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not be regarded as limiting.

An object is to provide an instrument sharpener system for efficiently sharpening various tools.

Another object is to provide an instrument sharpener system that is handheld.

An additional object is to provide an instrument sharpener system that is utilized with sharpening various dental tools (i.e. dental explorer, etc.).

A further object is to provide an instrument sharpener system that is utilized with sharpening metal tipped darts.

A further object is to provide an instrument sharpener system that is quiet.