Back to results
US 2011/0213395 A1Published application
Handheld device with thermal padding
AssigneePro-Dex, Inc.
InventorsRichard A. Corrington, Francis James Steinmetz, Daniel Manuel Santos
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A handheld device comprises a housing, a motor, and a thermally conductive pad disposed in a space between the motor and the housing. Heat generated by the motor can be conducted by the thermal pad to the housing or to an internal fluid passage generally extending the length of the motor. In some embodiments, the thermal pad is configured to maintain the temperature of the housing in accordance with industry guidelines.
Claims18
A medical handpiece, comprising:
- a housing including an outer surface;
- a motor contained within the housing, the motor configured to drive an implement disposed at an end of the housing thereby generating heat;
- a passage configured to carry a fluid and extending along at least a portion of the motor;
- and
- a thermally-conductive pad disposed between the motor and the passage, wherein the thermal conductivity of the pad is greater than the thermal conductivity of air thereby facilitating a flow of heat from the motor to the fluid in the passage.
2 more elements
A medical handpiece, comprising:
- a housing having an inner surface and an outer surface;
- a motor having a sidewall, the motor disposed in the housing and configured to operate a tool thereby producing heat;
- a space defined at least in part by the inner surface and the sidewall, the space containing a volume of air;
- a lumen configured to carry a fluid;
- and
- a thermal pad disposed in the space and having a thermal conductivity greater than the thermal conductivity of air thereby facilitating a flow of heat from the motor to the thermal pad, wherein the thermal pad is configured to transfer a sufficient amount of heat to the lumen in order to maintain at least a portion of the outer surface of the handpiece below a specified temperature.
3 more elements
A method for controlling the temperature of a portion of a medical handpiece, comprising:
- providing a housing having a motor and a passage, the motor configured to drive an implement thereby generating heat, the passage configured to carry a fluid;
- and
- providing a thermally-conductive pad between the motor and the passage, wherein a thermal conductivity of the thermally-conductive pad is greater than a thermal conductivity of air thereby facilitating a flow of heat from the motor to the passage, wherein the thermally-conductive pad is configured to transfer a sufficient amount of heat to the passage to maintain a temperature of at least a portion of the handpiece below a maximum temperature during normal operation of the handpiece.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.