The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 12, 1996
Filed:
Nov. 12, 1993
William H McMahan, Robertson, WY (US);
Kevin W Gordon, American Fork, UT (US);
Other;
Abstract
An apparatus and method for controlling the current delivered to a flash lamp is disclosed. The apparatus and method is particularly useful for controlling the current delivered to a flash lamp used in a laser and most particularly useful in connection with lasers used for medical procedures. The apparatus controls the length of the electrical pulse which is delivered to the flash lamp and also limits the current which passes through the flash lamp to that which is desired for optimized operation. A semiconductor switch electrically connects and disconnects the flash lamp from one or more capacitors for the desired length of time. The length of time can be automatically adjusted to provide the desired flash lamp output and thus the desired laser output. The switch provides substantially a square wave having a plateau voltage with very fast rise and fall times on both sides of the plateau so that a suitable square wave is formed. The semiconductor switch also limits the value of the current passing through the flash lamp to a substantially predetermined value so that the operation of the lamp is optimized.