Illuminated dental examination instrument
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An illumination assembly for an intraoral dental examination instrument, said illumination assembly comprising:
- a compact housing having an interior that retains at least one LED;
a heat sick disposed in the interior of said housing;
an electrical contact at a proximal end of said housing, to enable electrical coupling of said at least one retained LED with a power supply of said examination instrument;
at least one circuit board disposed in said interior of said housing in relation to said at least one retained LED; and
a protective reflector cap attached to a distal end of said housing, said reflector cap having a through opening and further including an interior surface that surrounds a lens envelope of said at least one LED so as to focus light from said at least one LED onto an attached transmissive mirror and protects said at least one LED from damage, said interior surface tapering inwardly from a first diameter adjacent said at least one LED to a second diameter at said through opening, said second diameter being smaller than said first diameter, said illumination assembly being entirely contained within said compact housing, wherein said housing is solely and selectively insertable into and removable from the interior of said examination instrument without having to remove any other components from the interior of said instrument,wherein said at least one circuit board includes an opening for receiving a projecting portion of said heat sink.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An intraoral dental instrument includes an elongate handle or body and a mirror that is releasably attachable to a distal end thereof. An LED housing disposed in the handle proximate a light entrance surface of the mirror includes a housing body sized to retain at least one LED and a reflector attached to a distal end of the housing body. The reflector has an inwardly tapered cavity covering a LED lens envelope for focusing illumination from the at least one LED onto a portion of the light entrance surface of the mirror.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. An illumination assembly for an intraoral dental examination instrument, said illumination assembly comprising:
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a compact housing having an interior that retains at least one LED; a heat sick disposed in the interior of said housing; an electrical contact at a proximal end of said housing, to enable electrical coupling of said at least one retained LED with a power supply of said examination instrument; at least one circuit board disposed in said interior of said housing in relation to said at least one retained LED; and a protective reflector cap attached to a distal end of said housing, said reflector cap having a through opening and further including an interior surface that surrounds a lens envelope of said at least one LED so as to focus light from said at least one LED onto an attached transmissive mirror and protects said at least one LED from damage, said interior surface tapering inwardly from a first diameter adjacent said at least one LED to a second diameter at said through opening, said second diameter being smaller than said first diameter, said illumination assembly being entirely contained within said compact housing, wherein said housing is solely and selectively insertable into and removable from the interior of said examination instrument without having to remove any other components from the interior of said instrument, wherein said at least one circuit board includes an opening for receiving a projecting portion of said heat sink. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. An intraoral dental examination instrument comprising:
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an elongated handle; a mirror disposed in relation to a distal end of said elongated handle; and
entrance surface of said mirror, said illumination assembly including a housing having an interior sized to retain at least one LED, a heat sink, and at least one circuit board disposed in relation to said heat sink, said illumination assembly further including a reflector cap attached to a distal end of said housing, said reflector cap having a through opening and further including an inwardly tapered interior surface, said inwardly tapered interior surface surrounding a LED lens envelope to permit illumination from said at least one LED to be focused onto said light entrance surface of said mirror and for covering and protecting said at least one LED to protect said at least one LED from damage if said housing is dropped, wherein said illumination assembly, that is entirely contained within said housing, is solely and releasably removable from an insertable within said handle, said housing being removable without having to remove any other components from said handle to permit easy insertion and removal therefrom. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A cordless intraoral dental examination instrument comprising:
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an elongated handle; at least one battery for powering said instrument, said at least one battery being contained in said handle; a mirror disposed in relation to a distal end of said handle; and an illumination cartridge disposed in said handle proximate a light entrance surface of said mirror, said illumination cartridge including a housing sized to retain at least one LED, at least one circuit board connected to said at least one LED, and means for selectively energizing said at least one LED wherein said of said at least one battery and said illumination cartridge are centered and retained within an internal sleeve member disposed within said elongated handle, said interval sleeve member including a plurality of longitudinal slots, at least one said slots being sized to retain a conductive strip member having one end in contact with said illumination cartridge and an opposite end disposed in relation in relation to said at least one battery. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification