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:
Oct. 19, 1999
Filed:
Jul. 02, 1997
Ehab Shahid, Valley cottage, NY (US);
Nicholas J Webb, Wrightwood, CA (US);
Dental Devices, LLC, San Antonio, TX (US);
Abstract
A dental comparator device includes a body, a polychromatic light emitter within the body, and a magnifying lens and holder for a dental standard coupled to the body. The standard holder is either a clip, a hub for receiving a plurality of radially aligned standards, or a magnetic standard holder. According to one embodiment, the body is elongate and the light source and magnifying lens are provided at one end of the elongate body. The light source is a halogen bulb powered by batteries. The magnifying lens is oriented perpendicular to the body. Coupled to the lens is a light-transmitting ring-shaped member for directing light to one side of the lens, to thereby illuminate a tooth and standard situated before the transparent tubular-shaped member. According to another embodiment, two booms are coupled to the body. One boom is provided with a standard holder at its distal end and the other boom is provided with a magnifying lens at its distal end. The booms are preferably articulable, and the standard holder and magnifying lens are preferably adjustable in orientation. According to yet another embodiment, the body includes two booms, one for a standard holder and the other for a magnifying lens. Polychromatic light is transmitted by a fiber optic cable extending from a light source to a distal end of the body.