Apparatus and method for curing materials with radiation
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An assembly for dental work in the mouth of a patient comprising:
- a light-curable dental compound adapted to be located in the mouth of a patient, the compound being curable with light of a specified wavelength;
a hand-held dental instrument including a housing with an operator grippable section and a light emitting section, the light emitting section configured for being positionable within the mouth of a patient proximate the light-curable compound;
a plurality of individual solid state, unpackaged, light-emitting dies, the dies being individually mounted on a substrate supported by the housing to form a collective array on said substrate in the housing, the individual dies each being a semiconductor junction free of an integral package and lens, the array of dies operable for collectively emitting light having wavelengths within a narrow band of wavelengths, said narrow band of wavelengths including said specified wavelength at which the light-curable dental compound is curable;
said substrate having electrically conductive elements positioned thereon, said individual dies each being electrically coupled to at least one of said elements for coupling to a power supply to illuminate the dies;
a heat sink coupled to the substrate for dissipating heat from the array;
a forced air device for directing air to the heat sink for further heat dissipation;
a light transmitting device for capturing said light from the array of dies and transmitting a beam of the light out of the housing to the dental compound;
whereby the beam may be used to cure the light-curable dental compound in the mouth of a patient.
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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.
603 Citations
24 Claims
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1. An assembly for dental work in the mouth of a patient comprising:
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a light-curable dental compound adapted to be located in the mouth of a patient, the compound being curable with light of a specified wavelength;
a hand-held dental instrument including a housing with an operator grippable section and a light emitting section, the light emitting section configured for being positionable within the mouth of a patient proximate the light-curable compound;
a plurality of individual solid state, unpackaged, light-emitting dies, the dies being individually mounted on a substrate supported by the housing to form a collective array on said substrate in the housing, the individual dies each being a semiconductor junction free of an integral package and lens, the array of dies operable for collectively emitting light having wavelengths within a narrow band of wavelengths, said narrow band of wavelengths including said specified wavelength at which the light-curable dental compound is curable;
said substrate having electrically conductive elements positioned thereon, said individual dies each being electrically coupled to at least one of said elements for coupling to a power supply to illuminate the dies;
a heat sink coupled to the substrate for dissipating heat from the array;
a forced air device for directing air to the heat sink for further heat dissipation;
a light transmitting device for capturing said light from the array of dies and transmitting a beam of the light out of the housing to the dental compound;
whereby the beam may be used to cure the light-curable dental compound in the mouth of a patient. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for curing light-curable dental compounds in the mouth of a patient comprising:
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positioning a light-curable dental compound in the mouth of a patient which is curable with light of a specified wavelength;
generating light having wavelengths within a narrow band of wavelengths using a plurality of individual solid state, unpackaged light-emitting dies, the dies being individually mounted on a substrate to form a collective array on said substrate, the individual dies each being a semiconductor junction free of an integral package and lens and collectively generating light wherein the narrow band of wavelengths includes said specified wavelength;
coupling a heat sink to the substrate and directing air onto the heat sink for dissipation of heat from the array of dies;
capturing said light with a light transmitting device and transmitting a beam of the light;
directing the light beam onto the light-curable compound in the mouth of a patient for curing the compound. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. An assembly for dental work in the mouth of a patient comprising:
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a light-curable dental compound adapted to be located in the mouth of a patient which is curable with light of a specified wavelength;
a hand-held dental instrument including a housing with an operator grippable section and a light emitting section, the light emitting section including a forwardmost tip section configured for being positionable within the mouth proximate the light-curable compound;
a plurality of individual solid state, unpackaged, light-emitting dies, the dies being individually mounted on a substrate to form a collective array on said substrate, the individual dies each being a semiconductor junction free of an integral package and lens, the array of dies operable for collectively emitting light having wavelengths within a narrow band of wavelengths, said narrow band of wavelengths including said specified wavelength at which the light-curable dental compound is curable;
the array of dies being positioned at the tip section of said housing for being positioned in a patient'"'"'s mouth for directly emitting light from the array of individual dies onto said dental compound to cure the compound;
whereby the light more directly cures the light-curable dental compound in the mouth of a patient. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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Specification