US 12,329,604 B2
Orthodontic bracket with a biased ligating member
Alberto Ruiz-Vela, Rancho Cucamonga, CA (US); and Juergen Bathen, McMinnville, OR (US)
Assigned to World Class Technology Corporation, McMinnville, OR (US)
Filed by World Class Technology Corporation, McMinnville, OR (US)
Filed on Apr. 24, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/306,104.
Application 18/306,104 is a continuation of application No. 16/863,726, filed on Apr. 30, 2020, granted, now 11,633,263.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/842,461, filed on May 2, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0255730 A1, Aug. 17, 2023
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. A61C 7/30 (2006.01); A61C 7/28 (2006.01)
CPC A61C 7/30 (2013.01) [A61C 7/287 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An orthodontic bracket comprising:
a bracket body mountable to a tooth, the bracket body including a front body wall extending upwardly toward a labial side of the bracket body, and an archwire slot extending from a first side of the bracket body to an opposite second side, the archwire slot dimensioned to receive an archwire therein, the bracket body further including a seat;
a ligating member mountable to the bracket body and movable between a closed position and an open position, wherein the ligating member contacts the front body wall of the bracket body and wherein at least a portion of the ligating member extends over the archwire slot to retain the archwire within the archwire slot when the ligating member is in the closed position, and wherein the ligating member is offset from the archwire slot to provide access to the archwire when the ligating member is in the open position, the ligating member including a slot formed on an underside thereof, the slot having a pocket with a first surface, the slot further including a second surface; and
a resilient biasing member including a stem coupled to the seat of the bracket body, the stem extending upwardly from the seat toward the underside of the ligating member, the resilient biasing member further including a projection positioned within the slot on the underside of the ligating member when the ligating member is in both the open position and the closed position, wherein the projection extends into the pocket and abuts the first surface of the pocket to retain the ligating member in the open position, and wherein the projection contacts the second surface of the slot when the ligating member is in the closed position, the projection imparting a biasing force against the second surface of the slot to retain the ligating member in the closed position.