Patent ID: 7265365

Claim:
An apparatus for curing a curable coating on a three-dimensional object having at least a top surface and a side surface, the object being advanced along a generally horizontal path, comprising: an elongated light source of radiating curing energy for curing said coating on the surface of the object; and an open-sided, elongated concave reflector behind the elongated light source to provide a focus for the radiated curing energy onto the object, the reflector having a generally elliptical cross-section for radiating the curing energy along an energy concentration line generally coincident with the object, with said elongated light source being generally at the source focal point of the elongated reflector, the reflector being angled such that a line that runs between the source focal point of the reflector and said energy concentration line extends on the order of 55°-77° from vertical, whereby approximately twice as much curing energy is radiated onto the side surface of the object than onto the top surface of the object and twice the peak intensity is radiated onto the side surface of the object than onto the top surface of the object.