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:
Jun. 25, 2002
Filed:
May. 14, 1999
Applicant:
Inventors:
Timothy N. Jones, Mountain View, CA (US);
Muhammad Chishti, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Huafeng Wen, Redwood Shores, CA (US);
Gregory P. Bala, San Jose, CA (US);
Assignee:
Align Technology, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
A61C 3/00 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
A61C 3/00 ;
Abstract
A programmed computer is used to create a digital model of an individual component of a patient's dentition. The computer obtains a 3D digital model of the patient's dentition, identifies points in the dentition model that lie on an inter-proximal margin between adjacent teeth in the patient's dentition, and uses the identified points to create a cutting surface that separates portions of the dentition model representing the adjacent teeth.