Dentistry – Apparatus – Having means to emit radiation or facilitate viewing of the...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-13
2004-08-31
Lewis, Ralph A. (Department: 3732)
Dentistry
Apparatus
Having means to emit radiation or facilitate viewing of the...
C362S800000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06783362
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The inventions relate to the field of curing lights that may be used to cure light activated composite materials. More particularly, the inventions relate to curing lights of various configurations that use semiconductor light sources to provide light of a wavelength and power level desired to effect curing.
In the prior art, various light sources have been used for the purpose of curing composite materials. Halogen bulbs, fluorescent bulbs, xenon bulbs, and plasma-arc lights have been used. More recently, there have been some efforts to produce an effective curing light using light emitting diodes (LED's), but those efforts have not met with widespread acceptance in the marketplace.
The prior art described above suffers from several disadvantages. First, many of those prior art lights generate a wide spectrum of light rather than light just of the desired wavelength for composite curing. Consequently, those prior art lights generate unnecessary heat. Second, many of those prior art lights require light transfer systems such as a light guide or fiber, which many embodiments of the present invention omit, providing a smaller and more efficient unit. Third, many of the prior art systems require an elaborate cooling system to handle heat, creating a large, heavy and expensive curing light. Many embodiments of the invention use a unique heat sink structure that avoids the need for complicated, noisy and expensive cooling systems. Additional points of difference between the inventions and the prior art will become apparent upon reading the text below in conjunction with the appended drawings.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
It is an object of some embodiments of the invention to provide a curing light system that uses a semiconductor light source to produce light capable of curing composite materials. Curing composite materials will involve polymerizing monomers into durable polymers. Various physical, electrical and semiconductor structures, materials and methods are provided to achieve this object. Additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the specification and reviewing the appended drawings.
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“Bonart” (4 pages listing dental equipment including ART-L1 High Power Light Curing Unit) (printout from www.bonartmed.com).
“Dentamerica—Litex” (2 pages discussing Litex 680A, Litex 682, and Litex 692 curing lights) (printout from www.dentamerica.com).
“Problems with the Apollo E curing light” (1 page article) (printout from www.imakenews.com).
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Cao Group, Inc.
Lewis Ralph A.
McCarthy Daniel P.
Parsons Behle & Latimer
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