Abstract: A vehicle is provided that includes a capacitor situated on the vehicle adapted to be charged by a source separate from the vehicle. The capacitor is adapted to be charged at a rate faster than a maximum charge rate of a battery of the vehicle. The vehicle also includes a charging circuit coupled to the capacitor and adapted to receive electrical charge from the capacitor and regulate the flow of electrical charge below the maximum charge rate of the battery. The vehicle also includes the battery coupled to the charging circuit and adapted to be charged by electrical charge flowing from the capacitor through the charging circuit, and an electric motor adapted to be energized by the battery to propel the vehicle. A method for operating a vehicle is provided that includes charging a capacitor arranged in the vehicle from a source separate from the vehicle.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a laminate for making a dental prosthetic is provided. The method includes arranging a first plastic sheet with a first grain orientation on a second plastic sheet with a second grain orientation. The first grain orientation and the second grain orientation form an angle greater than 0 degrees and less than 180 degrees. The method also includes fusing the first plastic sheet and the second plastic sheet together. The angle may be approximately 90 degrees. A dental prosthetic laminate is provided that includes a first plastic sheet having a first grain orientation, and a second plastic sheet having a second grain orientation fused together with the first plastic sheet. The second grain orientation forms an angle with the first grain orientation, the angle being greater than 0 degrees and less than 180 degrees. A method for manufacturing a dental prosthetic form is provided.

Abstract: The functional portion of the instrument includes a pin and lever assembly. One end of the pin is received in an opening in the handle. The other end of the pin is bent into a "U" shape to form a plunger. The lever, which carries a cylinder, is mounted on and moveable relative to the pin. As the lever is moved relative to the pin, the plunger moves within the cylinder to dispense the amalgam. The lever is held on the pin by a bias spring which extends from the handle. A flexible element within the handle normally engages the pin end to retain the assembly on the handle. Depression of a button on the exterior of the handle causes the internal element to flex to disengage the pin end. The assembly may then be easily removed from the handle as a unit by disengaging the bias spring from the lever. This facilitates thorough cleaning of all parts of the instrument and reassembly thereof.

Abstract: A method for disinfecting a dental impression. The impression is exposed to a germicidally effective amount of ultraviolet light within a drawer in a box-like apparatus. The interior of the housing is mirrored, and supports are provided for holding the dental impression above a flat horizontal mirrored surface within the drawer as the drawer is moved inwardly and outwardly of the housing. The ultraviolet light is provided within the drawer when the drawer is closed, so that at least a portion of the ultraviolet light is reflected off of the horizontal mirrored surface and against the bottom of the dental impression.

Abstract: A central hub for a rotatable tool which can be easily (a) mounted on a polygonal seat at one end of a rotatable mandrel for rotation of the tool with the mandrel and (b) subsequently removed with the tool from the seat of the mandrel. A central opening extending through the hub has a complex shape which includes a plurality of corners and a plurality of concave arcuate lines connecting the corners. The hub can be formed from a ductile preform having a generally cylindrical central opening extending through it by forcing, through the cylindrical opening in the preform, a polygonal punch having, in cross-section, substantially the same shape as, and a slightly larger size than, the polygonal cross-section of the seat of the mandrel which is to be inserted in the central opening in the hub of the tool.

Abstract: An apparatus which can be used for exposing a light-curable dental composition to a curing light to harden the composition while the composition is applied to teeth so that the exposure of dentists' or technicians' eyes to such light is minimized. The apparatus has an opaque cylindrical receptacle which is open at its top and bottom. The bottom opening allows the receptacle to pick up and discharge the dental composition. The working end of an elongated plunger, having a clear plastic core and an opaque surface coating, extends through the top opening of the receptacle, and the other end of the plunger is connected to a source of curing light. The working end of the plunger can irradiate the dental composition within the receptacle with the curing light and can also be moved within the receptacle to force the irradiated dental composition outward of the bottom opening in the receptacle onto a tooth.

Abstract: A central hub for a rotatable tool which can be easily a) mounted on a polygonal seat at one end of a rotatable mandrel for rotation of the tool with the mandrel and b) subsequently removed with the tool from the seat of the mandrel. A central opening extending through the hub has a complex shape which includes a plurality of corners and a plurality of concave arcuate lines connecting the corners. The hub can be formed from a ductile preform having a generally cylindrical central opening extending through it by forcing, through the cylindrical opening in the preform, a polygonal punch having, in cross-section, substantially the same shape as, and a slightly larger size than, the polygonal cross-section of the seat of the mandrel which is to be inserted in the central opening in the hub of the tool.