System and methods for casting physical tooth model
AssigneeAlign Technology, Inc.
InventorsFrank Zhenhuan Liu, Huafeng Wen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A casting chamber for casting a physical tooth model representing a patient's tooth includes a chamber body and a lid. The chamber body includes a cavity adapted to hold a negative impression of the patient's tooth and to receive a cast material, wherein the negative impression and the chamber body are registered by a registration unit. The chamber lid is configured to seal the cast material in the casting chamber to permit the casting material to solidify in the casting chamber to form a physical tooth model representing the patient's tooth.
Claims29
A casting chamber to cast a physical tooth model representing a patient's tooth, comprising:
- a chamber body having a cavity adapted to hold a negative impression of the patient's tooth and to receive a cast material, wherein the chamber body comprises a registration unit configured to align the negative impression within the chamber body;
- a chamber lid configured to seal the cast material within the chamber body to permit the cast material to solidify in the chamber body and to form a physical tooth model representing the patient's tooth, wherein the chamber lid is configured to align with the chamber body by the registration unit;
- and
- the chamber lid comprising a spacer and a casting adaptor, wherein the spacer is configured to minimize the distance between the casting adaptor and the negative impression when the chamber lid is placed on the chamber body.
A casting chamber to cast a physical tooth model representing a patient's tooth, comprising:
- a chamber body having a cavity adapted to hold a negative impression of the patient's tooth and to receive a cast material, wherein the negative impression is registered with the chamber body by a registration unit, and wherein the chamber body comprises one or more chamber walls surrounding the cavity which include one or more through-holes to enable the de-molding of the physical tooth model;
- and
- a chamber lid comprising a spacer and a casting adaptor, wherein the spacer is configured to minimize the distance between the casting adaptor and the negative impression when the chamber lid is placed on the chamber body to seal the cast material in the chamber body and to permit the cast material to solidify in the chamber body and to form a physical tooth model representing the patient's tooth.
A casting chamber to cast a physical tooth model representing a patient's tooth, comprising:
- a chamber body having a cavity adapted to hold a negative impression of the patient's tooth and to receive a cast material, wherein the negative impression and the chamber body are registered by a registration unit;
- a chamber lid configured to seal the cast material in the chamber body to permit the cast material to solidify in the casting chamber and to form a physical tooth model representing the patient's tooth, the chamber lid further comprising a spacer and a casting adaptor, wherein the spacer is configured to minimize the distance between the casting adaptor and the negative impression when the chamber lid is placed on the chamber body to;
- and
- a window in the chamber lid to permit the irradiation of UV light or IR light through the window to the casting material.
A method for producing a physical tooth model, comprising:
- receiving a negative impression of a patient's tooth in a casting chamber;
- machining a casting adapter for coupling to a chamber lid of the casting chamber for minimizing the distance between the negative impression and the chamber lid;
- pouring a cast material over the negative impression of the patient's tooth;
- sealing the casting chamber with the chamber lid to permit the solidification of the casting material;
- and
- solidifying the cast material to produce the physical tooth model.
A method for producing a physical tooth model, comprising:
- receiving a negative impression of a patient's tooth in a casting chamber;
- pouring a cast material over the negative impression of the patient's tooth;
- machining a casting adapter for coupling to a chamber lid of the casting chamber for minimizing the distance between the negative impression and the chamber lid;
- and
- irradiating the cast material with UV light or IR light to cause the solidification of the cast material to produce the physical tooth model.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.