Patent Number: 051986787
Section: description

The polymerization device for treating plastic dental elements has an irradiation chamber 1 with a light conductor 2, a hand-held polymerization unit 3 serving as a radiation source unit, and a support frame 4, with the aid of which the other components of the polymerization device are fixed in their positions relative to one another. The support frame 4 has a support plate 5, a first support 6 and a second support 7, both of which stand approximately vertically on the support plate 5 of the support frame 4. The hand-held polymerization unit 3 has a housing, with the light source disposed in the front and the fan accommodated in the back. The back portion of the housing is bent somewhat at an angle, so as not to direct the air flow produced by the fan onto the arm of the doctor manipulating the hand-held polymerization unit. A socket 8 that serves to receive the light conductor 2 and its external sheathing is mounted on the front of the housing. A screw 10 for screwing the housing together and a trumpet-shaped cable guide 11 to protect against bending are mounted laterally on the front of the housing. An activation switch 12 is located on the socket 8 of the hand-held polymerization unit 3 in a position such that it can be actuated with the thumb if the socket 8 is held with the index finger. The hand-held polymerization unit 3 is thrust with its socket part through an opening 13 of the first support 6 onto the external sheathing of the light conductor 2. The opening 13 corresponds to the cross section of the front part of the housing. The first support 6 also has a slit 14 extending through to the outside of the first support 6. The protrusion 9 located on the housing protrudes into this slit 14, so that the hand-held polymerization unit 3 is supported in a torsionally fixed manner, that is, in a manner fixed against relative rotation. The slit 14 is mounted at an angle of approximately 45.degree. to the support plate 5, such that the air outlet opening 15 of the hand-held polymerization unit 3 points away from the body of the doctor using the polymerization device, and the activation switch 12 is located on a side remote from the support plate 5. The light conductor 2, located in the socket 8 along with its external sheathing, protrudes through an opening in the second support 7. The irradiation chamber 1, which has an opening on one side for receiving the light conductor 2 and its external sheathing, is pressed by this opening onto the end of the light conductor 2 and its external sheathing; the external sheathing has an encompassing bead on one end, which locks into place in the opening of the irradiation chamber 1. A fixed housing part 16 of the irradiation chamber 1 then rests on the second support 7. The base of the irradiation chamber 1 has two lateral ribs on the bottom that partly enclose the outer contour of the support plate 5. To make it possible to equip the irradiation chamber 1 appropriately, the upper housing portion 18 of the irradiation chamber 1 is supported on a pivot shaft 19. The pivot shaft 19 is located near the part of the fixed housing portion 16 that rests on the second support 7. A window 20 by which the polymerization process can be observed is let into the top of the upper housing portion 18. The openings in the first support 6 and second support 7 are mounted such that the axis of the light conductor 2 extends parallel to the support plate 5. The entire support frame 4 is made from acrylic glass. Holes 21 by which the polymerization device can be secured to a table or a wall are located in the support plate 5. Various changes and modifications may be made, and features described in connection with the embodiment may be used in any combination, within the scope of the inventive concept.