Dental Light Curing Display with Opaque Negative Pattern
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Solution Overview
Problem
Dental light curing devices face challenges in ensuring clear visibility of display status under bright work area lights, as reflections and strong external lighting interfere with the visibility of display devices, making it difficult for dentists to identify the current status, especially with complex characters on LCD displays or backlit symbols.
Innovation Solution
A dental light curing device with a translucent or partially translucent housing wall featuring a negative pattern that is opaque, allowing only the areas covered by the pattern to be illuminated, providing high contrast and visibility even under strong external lighting conditions, and using a semi-transparent plastic material with a higher refractive index to minimize reflections and pseudo displays, along with partitions to separate light sources and prevent over-exposure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a backlit display with translucent housing wall is used, then the display is visible in dark conditions, but under strong work area lights (50,000 lux), reflections and external light make it difficult to recognize the display status
Solution Approach 1:
The housing wall is designed with spatially varying optical properties: translucent areas for display visibility and opaque negative pattern areas for light blocking. This local differentiation allows the display to be visible when illuminated while preventing external light from creating reflections or pseudo-displays on the housing surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The negative pattern is implemented using opaque material that absorbs light, creating a high-contrast visual difference between illuminated and non-illuminated areas. This optical contrast mechanism enables clear display status recognition under various lighting conditions by preventing external light from reflecting off the housing wall.
2Ease of manufacture
If a smooth translucent housing wall is used for the display, then the surface is hygienic and easy to clean, but it creates reflections and pseudo displays under strong lighting conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The housing wall combines a smooth translucent base surface with an opaque negative pattern overlay. The smooth base maintains hygienic properties while the negative pattern strategically placed on this surface blocks external light, preventing reflections and pseudo-displays without requiring the entire surface to be non-smooth.
3Loss of information
If complex symbols are used on the display, then more information can be conveyed, but dentists cannot quickly identify the status during treatment
Solution Approach 1:
The display information is segmented into simple, distinct symbolic elements that can be quickly recognized. Rather than using complex text or detailed graphics, the patent employs minimalistic symbols that convey essential status information at a glance, reducing cognitive load during dental procedures.
4Illumination intensity
If separate LED elements protruding from the housing are used, then the display can be clearly visible, but the housing surface is no longer smooth and hygienic
Solution Approach 1:
The display elements are merged into the housing wall structure itself rather than being separate protruding components. The translucent housing wall with integrated negative pattern creates the display effect within the smooth surface plane, eliminating the need for protruding LED elements while maintaining both visibility and surface smoothness.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution ensures reliable identification of the display status under 50,000 lux conditions, maintaining a smooth surface for hygiene and preventing reflections, allowing the backlit symbols to stand out clearly from the background, even in unfavorable ambient lighting, while being cost-effective and easy to manufacture.
Implementation Method 1
backlit displays have become known, which rely on the upper housing wall being at least partially translucent or transparent
Implementation Method 2
the translucent or semi-translucent housing wall has a substantially smooth surface with a negative pattern. The negative pattern can be, for example, a symbol, a number, or any short and concise combination of symbols, numbers, and letters. Only the negative pattern and the areas of the housing wall covered by it are illuminated.
Implementation Method 3
using a semi-transparent plastic material with a higher refractive index to minimize reflections and pseudo displays
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The invention relates to a dental light curing device, with a display device on or attached to a housing wall of the light curing device, in particular on the top of the light curing device, with a plurality of light sources arranged below said wall and pointing towards the wall, wherein at least a part of the wall is transparent to the light radiation emitted by the light sources, wherein the wall has a smooth outer surface and an equally smooth inner surface of the wall is provided with a negative pattern (18), in particular printed, which leaves symbols (14) free, which negative pattern (18) is opaque or substantially opaque, and wherein the wall is placed on a light source structure which has partitions (32) that separate the light sources (30) from one another.