Patent Application
20060057536
This invention relates to the field of medical diagnostic instruments and more particularly to an improved design for mounting at least one LED in a medical diagnostic instrument so as to provide more effective illumination, for example, in an intraoral dental mirror.
Intraoral dental mirrors are repletely known in the field of dentistry as convenient apparatus for aiding in the inspection of the teeth of a patient. Typically, these instruments include an elongated handle having a retroflexed mirrored portion that permits inspection of both the upper and lower arches of teeth. Illuminated versions of these devices typically include a halogen lamp or other similar miniature light source, such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,741,132 and 6,575,744B1, that is provided beneath the mirror in a retroflexed portion of the instrument, or as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,139,421 and 5,457,611, to Verderber, in which a miniature halogen or other incandescent bulb that is retained within the handle of the instrument is optically coupled to a light guide having the mirror portion, the guide being releasably attached to the distal end of the instrument.
One problem encountered in the use of incadescent bulbs as an illumination source in instruments, such as those described above, relates to heat generation developing from the contained bulb, thereby requiring the placement of suitable heat sinks or other heat dissipation means in the instrument and/or the use of open slotted vents in the gripping handle thereof. These solutions to the above problem complicate the overall design and manufacture of the instrument, including the cost thereof.
It has been considered with evolving technological advances to possibly utilize light emitting diodes (LEDs) as a light source in lieu of miniature halogen bulbs. Overall, LEDs are less sensitive to shock damage than incandescent bulbs or lamps, have an increased overall life, generate less heat, are more efficient, and are available in a wider range of color temperatures. A problem in using these light sources, however, has been in achieving sufficient illumination output for purposes of examination.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to overcome the above-noted deficiencies of the prior art.
It is another primary object of the present invention to provide improved illumination/coupling to enable at least one LED to be effectively used, for example, in an intraoral dental examination instrument.
Therefore and according to a preferred aspect, there is provided a light reflector for coupling the illumination output of at least one LED mounted for use in an intraoral dental examination instrument, said light reflector including an inwardly tapered cavity that is adapted to cover the lens envelope of the at least one LED.
Preferably, the light reflector can be positioned and/or adapted in relation to the at least one LED to focus the rays emitted by the at least one LED onto a light transmissive light guide (e.g., a disposable mirror) that is placed in proximity thereto.
According to another preferred aspect of the present invention, there is provided an illumination housing for an intraoral dental examination instrument, said illumination housing comprising: a housing body; at least one LED disposed in a distal end of said housing body; and a reflector attached to the distal end of said housing body, said reflector having an inwardly tapered cavity sized to cover the LED lens envelope so as to focus light from said at least one LED onto an attached transmissive mirror.
According to yet another preferred aspect, there is disclosed an intraoral dental examination instrument comprising:
The dental examination instrument preferably includes a switch assembly that is provided at the rear or proximal end of the handle, the switch assembly according to one version preferably including a retractable plunger permitting the user to selectively provide electrical contact between a set of contained batteries and the electrical contacts of the illumination housing, so as to energize the at least one contained LED and transmit the emitted light therefrom to the attached mirror. According to another version, the switch assembly is defined by a rotatable portion of the handle that selectively permits the at least one LED to remain illuminated during use.
An advantage of the present invention is that the reflector of the LED housing is raised above the LED lens envelope so as to protect the at least one LED from impact and/or shock loads or other damage that can occur, for example, during shipping, handling of the instrument, and during disassembly when removing the batteries.
Yet another advantage provided by the reflector of the present invention is improved optical coupling between the at least one LED and the mirror, thereby increasing illumination output.
Yet another advantage provided by the present invention is that the present instrument is cordless, and is therefore quite convenient for the caregiver (e.g., dentist or hygienist) to utilize, the instrument preferably being conveniently powered by a set of rechargeable batteries.
Still another advantage of the present invention is that less heat is generated using at least one LED as an illumination source rather than an incandescent bulb while producing sufficient illumination for examination purposes.
Still another advantage of the present instrument is that it can be easily disassembled so that the batteries and illumination housing can be set aside, allowing the handle portions can be autoclaved (e.g., sterilized).
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following Detailed Description which should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) represents a side perspective view and a partially sectioned view, respectively, of a prior art intraoral dental examination instrument;
The following description relates to an intraoral dental examination instrument that is made in accordance with certain preferred embodiments of the present invention. Throughout the course of discussion that follows several terms, such as “top”, “side”, “lateral”, “bottom”, “distal”, “proximal”, “front”, “rear”, and the like are used in order to provide a convenient frame of reference with regard to the accompanying drawings. These descriptions, however, unless indicated otherwise, should not be regarded as limiting with regard to the present invention.
Prior to discussing the present invention and referring first to
Inserted into the front or distal end 36 of the front end cap 28 of the examination instrument 20 is a mirror 40 having a shank portion 40a, a heel portion 40b, and a face portion 40c. Mirror 40 is of the type that is described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,457,611 and 5,139,421, in which light transmitted into the shank portion 40a from a contained bulb is emitted from the heel portion 40b and the face portion 40c on both facing sides of the mirror 40. The subject matter of each of the above-noted patents is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. An electrical cord 48 containing a pair of wires 52 is inserted into the rear end cap 32, using a cord grip 56, to provide the energy from an exterior power supply (not shown) such as, for example, a 110 volt wall outlet, in order to operate the examination instrument 20.
The front end of the body section 24 of the instrument 20 includes a plurality of collet-like sections (not shown) as well as a threaded section (not shown) enabling interconnection of the front end cap 28 to the body section 24 as well as the mirror 40 to the instrument. When the mirror 40 is inserted into the front end of the body section 24, the front end cap 28 is rotated onto the end of the body 24 by virtue of mating threaded sections on each of the body and the front end cap, respectively, with the collet-like segments being caused to tighten around the shank portion 40a of the mirror 40, thereby holding the mirror securely in position within the elongated body section 24 of the instrument 20. Additional detail is provided in the above incorporated U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,457,611 and 5,139,421.
Referring to
Referring now to
Unlike the preceding described examination instrument of FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), however, the herein described examination instrument 90 does not require an exterior power supply, the present instrument being cordless and powered by a set of stacked batteries 110 that are retained within a defined battery compartment 111,
An illumination cartridge or housing 112 is also retained according to this embodiment within the body 108 adjacent the distal end 104 thereof and distal relative to the contained batteries 110, the cartridge being described in greater detail below. The batteries 110 are retained in biased relation within the body 108 of the instrument 90 relative to the illumination cartridge 112 by means of a compression spring 180 that is positioned adjacent the rear end cap 115.
The examination instrument 100 of this specific embodiment further includes a switch assembly 170, preferably contained in the rear or proximal end of the instrument 90, the switch assembly according to this preferred embodiment including a retractable plunger 178 containing a pin that moves between respective ON and OFF positions in order to selectively provide an electrical connection between the contained batteries 110 and the illumination cartridge 112 in order to energize an LED 120 retained by the cartridge, as will be described in greater detail below.
Prior to describing the interior features of the instrument 90, and referring first to
Referring to
The reflector portion 128 is defined by a through opening 136 that is fitted about the lens envelope 122 of the miniature LED 120, the through opening preferably having an inwardly tapered surface 136 that is used in order to focus the light emitted from the miniature LED 120 onto a light entering surface 137 of the shank portion 144 of the mirror 140, as shown more particularly in
Referring to
In operation, the mirror 100 is first attached to the examination instrument 90 using colleted portions (not shown) which are formed in the distal end of the handle 108. The front end cap 114 is then threaded onto the distal end of the handle 108 in order to secure the mirror 140 in place. The illumination cartridge 112 is attached to the distal end of the handle 108 by threaded portions. In this position, the shank portion 144 of the mirror 140 is situated in relation to the miniature LED 120.
The instrument 90 is initially in the “OFF” position shown in
Following use, the mirror 140 can be removed by reversing the threading of the front end cap 114 and pulling same from the colleted areas of the body 108. The front end cap can then be removed, permitting access to the illumination cartridge 112 can be removed by reversing the threaded portion of the body 108 and the distal cap 114 from the body 108 along with the batteries 110, once the mirror 140 has also been removed from the distal end of the examination instrument 90. Once removed, the body 108 as well as the front and rear end caps 114, 115 can then be autoclaved.
Referring to
The distal end 208 of the handle body 204 of the examination instrument 200 includes a set of exterior screw threads 238 permitting the connection of a mirror support collet 240, as well as a collet locking ring 243 that retains a disposable mirror 247. The mirror support collet 240 is defined by a rotatable exterior knob 249 that includes a set of interior threads (not shown). The collet locking ring 243 is threadingly mounted onto the exterior of the mirror support collet 240, while the disposable mirror 247 includes an elongate shank portion 251 that is engaged with the collet locking ring, the collet locking ring being rotated to tighten or loosen the grip on the disposable mirror to permit engagement or disengagement therewith. The mirror 247 is similar in design to that previously described having the shank portion 251, a face portion and further including a non-plano reflective surface.
Disposed between the stacked batteries 229 and the mirror support collet 240 is an illumination assembly 260 that includes a hollow cylindrical cartridge body 264 containing a plurality of interconnected components. Among these contained components are a heat sink 268 onto which is packaged an LED driver circuit board 272. A miniature LED package 276 is disposed distally from the LED package 276 as well as a cartridge cap 280 having an inwardly tapered surface that is used to focus light from the miniature LED onto a light entering surface of the disposable mirror 247. A battery contact board 284 is disposed in the bottom of the cartridge body 264, each of which are held by a cartridge collar 288 that accommodates the illumination cartridge assembly 260 within the distal end of the handle body 204, when assembled thereto.
The herein described dental examination instrument 200 further utilizes a rotary switch assembly in order to selectively illuminate the miniature LED package 276 that is housed in the illumination cartridge assembly 260. The rotary switch assembly is enabled by rotating the rotatable exterior knob 249 of the mirror support collet 240 relative to the threads 238 of the distal end of the body 204 causing the illumination cartridge 260 to move into contact with the batteries 229. Creating a negative electrical contact as the batteries 229 are pushed axially against spring 231, with the strip 227 and contact disk 233, the strip 227 contacts cartridge collar 288. The battery contact board 284 contacts the positive battery terminals completing the circuit and energizing the LED 276.
Referring to
In operation, the mirror support collet 240 is attached to the distal end of the body 204 by threading the internal threaded portion thereof with the external threads 238 provided on the distal end 208 of the body. As the collet supporting ring 243 and collet 240 are rotated thereupon in a clockwise manner to initiate engagement, the LED 276 is caused to illuminate due to the above electrical connection that is created between the illumination cartridge 260, including the contained LED, and the batteries 229. As the above procedure is reversed, the LED 276 is deenergized upon counterclockwise rotation of the collet supporting ring 243 and collet 240 relative to the body 204 of the instrument whereupon the engagement end portion 298 is arranged relative to a hollow depression that is formed on the interior of the collet 240 into which the engagement end portion repeatably slips when the LED OFF position is reached as mechanically sensed by the user in the form of a detent.
Other variations and modifications will be readily apparent to one of sufficient skill in the field that embody the inventive concepts taught in the above specification and are recited in the following claims.
