Apparatus and method for curing materials with radiation
First Claim
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1. A hand held dental instrument for curing light-curable compounds curable in the mouth of a patient comprising:
- a housing;
a plurality of solid state, light-emitting dies mounted in a collective array in the housing, the array of dies operable for collectively emitting light having wavelengths within a narrow band of wavelengths and at a power to cure a dental compound;
a clear lens layer encapsulating the array of dies for directing light generated by the array; and
a light transmitting device for capturing said light from the array of dies and encapsulating lens layer, and transmitting a beam of the light out of the housing to a work surface.
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Abstract
A hand held dental instrument for curing light-curable compounds comprises a housing and an array of solid state, light emitting junctions or dies for generating light having wavelengths within a narrow band of wavelengths (e.g. 400-500 nm). Preferably, a peak wavelength of 470 nm is generated. The device further comprises an optical fiber light pipe for capturing the light and transmitting a beam of the light to a work surface containing a light-curable compound. An optical lens or lenses may be used for focusing the light into the light pipe.
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Citations
8 Claims
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1. A hand held dental instrument for curing light-curable compounds curable in the mouth of a patient comprising:
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a housing;
a plurality of solid state, light-emitting dies mounted in a collective array in the housing, the array of dies operable for collectively emitting light having wavelengths within a narrow band of wavelengths and at a power to cure a dental compound;
a clear lens layer encapsulating the array of dies for directing light generated by the array; and
a light transmitting device for capturing said light from the array of dies and encapsulating lens layer, and transmitting a beam of the light out of the housing to a work surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A hand held dental instrument for curing light-curable compounds curable in the mouth of a patient comprising:
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a housing;
a plurality of solid state, light-emitting dies mounted in a collective array in the housing, the array of dies operable for collectively emitting light having wavelengths within a narrow band of wavelengths and at a power to cure a dental compound;
a clear lens layer encapsulating the array of dies for directing light generated by the array; and
the housing including a distal end and the array of light-emitting dies being positioned proximate the distal end for transmitting light directly from the array to a compound to be cured.
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Specification