JP2003235798A - Row-of-teeth image reading apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a row-of-teeth image reading apparatus capable of accurately picking up a row-of-teeth image and made small-sized. <P>SOLUTION: The row-of-teeth image reading apparatus is equipped with an oral cavity insertion part 11 inserted in the oral cavity and an image pickup optical part 21. The oral cavity insertion part 11 has a light transmission part 12 and is internally equipped with a cavity part 13. The image pickup optical part 21 is equipped with a light source 22 inserted in the oral cavity insertion part 11 to irradiate a row of teeth with light, a reflecting mirror 23 for reflecting the light from the row of teeth, a scanning means for moving the light source 22 and the reflecting mirror 23 in the depth direction of the cavity part 13 of the oral cavity insertion part 11, a condenser 25 for condensing the reflected light from the reflecting mirror 23, a color CCD 26 for receiving the light from the condensing lens 25 and a light path bending mechanism 29 equipped with a plurality of light path bending mirrors 29A and 29B for reflecting light into the optical route from the reflecting mirror 23 to the condenser 25. The light from the reflecting mirror 23 is received by the color CCD 26 through the light path bending mirrors 29A and 29B. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dental image reader. More specifically, the present invention relates to an image of an upper dentition and a lower dentition directly from the oral cavity, and more particularly to a dentition image reading device that images the entire dentition.

[0002]

BACKGROUND ART As radiographic images, radiography has been widely used as an indispensable tool. In recent years, digital cameras and small CCDs
Cameras are beginning to be used to explain to patients. For example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-28859 proposes an image pickup apparatus in which an image sensor is arranged in a hand holder and an optical fiber is arranged in a ring shape around the image sensor. Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-140664 proposes a dental intraoral observation camera in which a light guide and a CCD sensor are provided on the tip head portion of the handpiece. However, these only capture a partial image of the tooth to be treated, not the entire dentition, so it is not possible to identify the treatment site or the relationship between the treatment site and the normal site. There was a problem.

As a method of taking an image of the entire dentition,
A "method for measuring the oral space and an apparatus for carrying out this method" disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2784690 or a "dentition image reading apparatus" disclosed in Utility Model Registration No. 3056089 are known. . The former "method of measuring oral space and apparatus for performing this method" is
It is a method of projecting a light beam of a light source onto a tooth in an intraoral space via a deflecting device and supplying reflected light from the tooth to an imaging device via the deflecting device. The latter "dentition image reading device"
This is a method in which an image sensor and a light source device are housed in a transparent container that is inserted into the oral cavity, and a dentition image is taken while moving these inside the transparent container.

Among the methods for taking an image of the entire dentition, the former "method of measuring the intraoral space and apparatus for carrying out this method" requires a deflecting device having a complicated shape, which reduces the manufacturing cost. The problem remains that it is difficult. Further, the latter "dentition image reading device" has a structure in which an image sensor and a light source device are housed in a transparent container that is inserted into the oral cavity, so an insertion portion that is inserted into the oral cavity,
That is, there is a problem that the transparent container becomes large and it is difficult to apply it to children.

Therefore, the present applicant previously filed Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-
No. 325453 proposes a dentition image reading device that solves the above-mentioned problems. FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of this dental image reading apparatus. This dentition image reading device 1 has an intraoral insertion section 11 that is inserted into the oral cavity having an upper dentition and a lower dentition.
And an imaging optical unit 21, and the intraoral insertion unit 11
Has a light transmitting portion 12 on at least one of the front and back sides, and has a cavity portion 13 inside, and the imaging optical unit 2
Reference numeral 1 denotes a light source 2 which is inserted into the cavity portion 13 of the intraoral insertion portion 11 and transmits the light transmitting portion 12 to irradiate the dentition with light.
2 and a reflection mirror 23 that reflects light from the dentition to the outside of the intraoral insertion portion 11, and scanning for moving the light source 22 and the reflection mirror 23 along the depth direction inside the cavity portion 13 of the intraoral insertion portion 11 And a condenser lens 25 that condenses the light reflected by the reflection mirror 23, and an imaging optical system that receives the light from the condenser lens 25. Here, the image pickup optical system is configured to include a color CCD 26 that receives the light from the condenser lens 25, and the image received by the color CCD 26 is received by the image receiving circuit 27.
Is sent to the image compositing processing unit 28 via.

According to such a configuration, the intraoral insertion portion 1
After inserting 1 into the oral cavity, the light source 22 is scanned by the scanning means.
And the reflection mirror 23 to the cavity 13 of the intraoral insertion part 11.
When it is located at a predetermined position inside, the light from the light source 22 reaches the dentition through the light transmitting portion 12 at this position,
After being reflected by the dentition, it reaches the color CCD 26 via the reflection mirror 23. The image received by the color CCD 26 is sent to the image combining processing unit 28 via the image receiving circuit 27. That is, the tooth row image data of the row in which the light source 22 and the reflection mirror 23 are located is captured.
Next, the light source 22 and the reflection mirror 23 are scanned by the scanning means.
When is stopped after moving for a predetermined distance, the tooth row image data at this position is captured. In this way, while moving the light source 22 and the reflection mirror 23 by a predetermined distance, the tooth row image data at each position is taken in, and finally, these data are subjected to a predetermined image synthesis in the image synthesis processing unit 28. An image of the entire dentition can be read by performing the combining process according to the processing method.

[0007]

In order to obtain a tooth row image accurately reflecting the tooth row image in the tooth row image reading apparatus 1 having such a configuration, the tooth row surface and the condensing lens 25 are formed. There is a problem that the distance must be a certain distance or more. FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the distance from the dentition surface to the condenser lens 25 and the angle of the light condensed on the condenser lens 25. In FIG. 6, S1 and S2 represent tooth surfaces. When the distance between the condenser lens 25 and the tooth row surface S1 is short as in S1, the angle between the light condensed by the condenser lens 25 and the tooth row surface S1 indicates that the inside of the tooth row surface S1 (tooth You will be shooting the (back side) image. The dentition image taken in this way is
The teeth appear to fall outward. Therefore, in order to accurately capture the image of the tooth row, the condenser lens 2 is used as in S2.
5 and the tooth surface S2 must be separated by a certain distance. However, in order to capture the dentition image accurately,
If an attempt is made to secure the distance between the condenser lens 25 and the tooth row surface, the depth of the imaging optical unit 21 becomes long, and the tooth row image reading apparatus 1 itself becomes large.

An object of the present invention is to provide a dentition image reading device which can accurately take a dentition image and can be downsized.

[0009]

A dentition image reading apparatus according to claim 1 is provided with an intraoral insertion section to be inserted into an oral cavity having an upper jaw dentition and a lower dentition, and an imaging optical section. The intraoral insertion portion has a light transmitting portion on at least one side of the front and back sides, and comprises a cavity inside, the imaging optical unit is inserted into the cavity of the intraoral insertion portion the light A light source for transmitting light to the dentition through the transmissive part and a reflection mirror for reflecting the reflected light from the dentition to the outside of the intraoral insertion part, and the light source and the reflection mirror for the depth direction in the cavity of the intraoral insertion part Scanning means for moving along, and a condenser lens for condensing the light reflected by the reflection mirror,
In a dental image reading apparatus including an imaging optical system that receives light from the condenser lens, the imaging optical unit includes a plurality of light reflection units that reflect light in an optical path from the reflection mirror to the condenser lens. An optical path bending mechanism including an optical path bending mirror is provided, and light from the reflection mirror is received by the imaging optical system via the optical path bending mirror.

According to this structure, when the intraoral insertion portion is inserted into the oral cavity and the light source and the reflection mirror are positioned at predetermined positions within the cavity of the intraoral insertion portion by the scanning means, at this position, The light from the light source passes through the light transmitting portion, reaches the dentition, and is reflected by the dentition.
Then, the reflected light is reflected by the optical path bending mirror provided on the optical path, and then condensed by the condenser lens to reach the imaging optical system. That is, the tooth row image of the row in which the light source and the reflection mirror are located is captured. next,
When the scanning means moves the light source and the reflecting mirror after moving for a predetermined distance, the tooth row image is captured at this position. In this way, while moving the light source and the reflection mirror by a predetermined distance, the dentition image at that position is captured, and finally, by combining these images,
The image of the entire dentition can be read.

In the present invention, since the optical path bending mirror is provided, the path from the reflecting mirror to the condenser lens can be bent by multi-step reflection in the image pickup optical section. In other words, the optical path from the reflection mirror to the condenser lens can be bent instead of being a straight line, so that the depth of the imaging optical unit can be shortened. Further, since the optical path bending mirror is provided in the middle of the path, a sufficient optical distance can be secured between the dentition to be imaged and the condenser lens, so that an accurate dentition image can be taken. If the distance between the reflection mirror and the condenser lens is simply shortened, the distance between the tooth row to be imaged and the condenser lens will be shortened, so the back side of the tooth will be photographed and an accurate tooth row image will be obtained. I couldn't. Therefore, it has been difficult to achieve both miniaturization of the imaging optical unit and accurate tooth row image capturing. However, by providing the optical path bending mechanism, it is possible to achieve both downsizing of the imaging optical unit and accurate tooth row image capturing.

A dentition image reading device according to a second aspect of the present invention is the dentition image reading device according to the first aspect, wherein the number of the optical path bending mirrors is an even number.

According to such a configuration, the image synthesizing processing method used in the dentition image reading device having no optical path bending mechanism can be used as it is. When the mirror for optical path bending is not provided, the imaging optical system receives the tooth row image which is inverted by the reflection mirror and left and right as it is.
That is, when the optical path bending mirror is not provided, an image synthesizing processing method is used in which the image that is horizontally inverted is horizontally inverted so as to obtain a correct image, and the image is vertically synthesized as it is. If the number of optical path bending mirrors is an odd number, the image received by the imaging optical system is in the correct direction on the left and right, and is upside down. Becomes the image of. If the vertical directions are not reversed, for example, when a color CCD is used in the image pickup optical system, there occurs a problem that the order of images received by the light receiving elements for receiving RGB is reversed. It is originally designed to receive an inverted image when the light is received in the right and left directions, so that the output image is an image upside down from the dentition. for that reason,
If the number of optical path bending mirrors is an odd number, it is necessary to newly provide an image synthesis processing method for performing the synthesis processing on the left, right, up and down directions as correct images. However, if the number of the optical path bending mirrors is an even number as in the present invention, the image received by the imaging optical system is the same as the case where the optical path bending mirror is not used. Therefore, the image composition processing method used in the dental image reading apparatus that does not use the optical path bending mirror can be used as it is, and the cost and the labor of the processing are not required.

As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the dental image reading device according to claim 1 or 2, like the dental image reading device according to claim 3, the optical path bending mechanism is the reflection mirror. A first optical path bending mirror that reflects light from the first optical path bending mirror to the reflection mirror side, and a second optical path bending mirror that reflects light from the first optical path bending mirror toward the condenser lens
It may be configured to include an optical path bending mirror.

Alternatively, like the tooth row image reading device according to claim 4, in the tooth row image reading device according to claim 1 or 2, the optical path bending mechanism substantially eliminates the light from the reflection mirror. A first optical path bending mirror that reflects at a right angle and a second optical path bending mirror that reflects the light from the first optical path bending mirror toward the condenser lens may be provided.

With such a structure, the depth of the image pickup optical section can be shortened by bending the optical path by the first optical path bending mirror and the second optical path bending mirror. Even if the depth of the imaging optical unit is shortened, the first optical path bending mirror and the second optical path bending mirror allow the optical distance from the reflecting mirror to the condensing lens to be sufficiently long, so that an accurate dentition You can take a picture. Therefore, both miniaturization of the dentition image reading device and accurate dentition image capturing can be provided. Further, since there are two optical path bending mirrors, it is possible to directly use the image combining processing method in the dental image reading apparatus that does not use the optical path bending mirrors.

A tooth row image reading device according to a fifth aspect is the tooth row image reading device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the optical path bending mirror has a tilt for adjusting a tilt angle of the mirror. An angle adjusting means is provided.

With such a structure, the angle of the optical path bending mirror can be adjusted so that the light reflected by the reflecting mirror can be guided to the condenser lens via the optical path bending mirror. For example, C which receives a line image in the imaging optical system
When using a CD, it is necessary to accurately adjust the spot of light incident on the CCD. According to the present invention, since the tilt angle adjusting means is provided, it is possible to accurately adjust the light from the reflecting mirror to be incident on the spot position of the imaging optical system, and capture a clear tooth row image. be able to.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is an external view showing a first embodiment of a tooth row image reading apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the embodiment. The basic constituent elements of this embodiment are the same as those described in the background art, but the novel point of this embodiment is that an optical path bending mechanism is provided on the optical path from the reflection mirror to the condenser lens. That is the point. The dentition image reading device 1 is configured to include an intraoral insertion unit 11 that is inserted into the oral cavity having an upper dentition and a lower dentition, and an imaging optical unit 21. The intraoral insertion part 11 has a light transmission part 12 on at least one of the front and back sides, and a cavity part 13 inside. The imaging optical unit 21 is a light source 22 that is inserted into the cavity 13 of the intraoral insertion unit 11 and that transmits light through the light transmitting unit 12 to illuminate the dentition, and a light from the dentition into the oral insertion unit. 11, a reflection mirror 23 that reflects the light to the outside of the lens 11, a condenser lens 25 that condenses the light reflected by the reflection mirror 23, an imaging optical system that receives the light from the condenser lens 25, and the reflection mirror 23. An optical path bending mechanism 29 for reflecting light provided in the optical path to the condenser lens 25, the light source 22, and the reflection mirror 2
3, condenser lens 25, imaging optical system and optical path bending mechanism 2
And a scanning means for moving 9 along the depth direction inside the cavity portion 13 of the intraoral insertion portion 11.

As the light source 22, various ones can be used such as a cathode tube and a plurality of light emitting elements arranged at right angles to the intraoral depth direction. The image pickup optical system includes a color CCD 26 that receives the light from the condenser lens. The image received by the color CCD 26 is sent to the image synthesis processing unit 28 via the image receiving circuit 27. Optical path bending mechanism 29
Is the first optical path folding mirror 29A and the second optical path folding mirror 2
It is composed of 9B. The first optical path bending mirror 29A is
The second optical path bending mirror 29B is arranged to reflect the light from the reflection mirror 23 at a reflection angle of about 45 degrees, and the second optical path bending mirror 29B is arranged to reflect the light from the first optical path bending mirror 29A toward the color CCD 26. Has been done. As shown in FIG. 3, the first optical path bending mirror 29A and the second optical path bending mirror 29B are composed of a support body 30 having a U-shaped cross section and a rotation support shaft 31 inserted into both sides of the support body 30. The supported mirror 32 and the mirror 3 connected to the rotation support shaft 31
The adjustment knob 33 for adjusting the inclination angle of 2 is provided. The tilt angle adjusting means is configured by the above configuration. The scanning unit includes a light source 22, a reflection mirror 23, a condenser lens 25, a color CCD 26, a scanning base 24 on which an optical path bending mechanism 29 is mounted, and a motor (not shown) that moves the scanning base 24.

According to this structure, the intraoral insertion portion 1
After inserting 1 into the oral cavity, the light source 22 is scanned by the scanning means.
And the reflection mirror 23 to the cavity 13 of the intraoral insertion part 11.
When it is located at a predetermined position inside, the light from the light source 22 reaches the dentition through the light transmitting portion 12 at this position,
It is reflected by the dentition. Then, this reflected light becomes
It is reflected by the first optical path bending mirror 29A provided on the optical path and then by the second optical path bending mirror 29B. The light reflected by the second optical path bending mirror 29B is condensed by the condenser lens 25 and the color CC
Reach D26. The image received by the color CCD 26 is sent to the image synthesis processing unit 28 via the image receiving circuit 27. That is, the tooth row image of the row in which the light source 22 and the reflection mirror 23 are located is captured. Next, when the light source 22 and the reflection mirror 23 are moved by a predetermined distance by the scanning means and then stopped, the tooth row image is captured at this position. In this way, while moving the light source 22 and the reflection mirror 23 by a predetermined distance, the tooth row images at that position are taken in, and finally, these images are subjected to the image synthesis processing by the image synthesis processing unit 28. , The image of the entire dentition can be read.

In the present invention, since the optical path bending mechanism 29 is provided, the optical path from the reflecting mirror 23 to the condenser lens 25 can be bent in the image pickup optical section 21. That is, the optical path from the reflection mirror 23 to the condenser lens 25 can be bent instead of being a straight line, so that the depth of the imaging optical unit 21 can be shortened. Further, by interposing the optical path bending mechanism 29 in the middle, a sufficient optical distance can be secured between the tooth row to be photographed and the condenser lens 25, and an accurate tooth row image can be photographed. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the imaging optical unit 21 and accurately capture the image of the tooth row.

The inclination angle adjusting means is provided, so that the light reflected by the reflection mirror 23 can be guided to the color CCD 26 via the first and second optical path bending mirrors 29A and 29B. The angles of the optical path bending mirrors 29A and 29B can be adjusted. Therefore, the light from the reflection mirror 23 can be accurately adjusted to the spot position of the color CCD 26, and a clear tooth row image can be taken.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the dental image reading apparatus of the present invention. The second embodiment has the same basic constituent elements as the first embodiment, but is different in the arrangement of the first optical path bending mirror 29A and the second optical path bending mirror 29B. First optical path folding mirror 29A
Is arranged so as to reflect the light from the reflection mirror 23 at a substantially right angle, and the second optical path bending mirror 29B is provided so as to reflect the light from the first optical path bending mirror 29A toward the color CCD 26. . With such a configuration,
The same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.
That is, it is possible to reduce the size of the image pickup optical unit 21 and accurately take an image of a tooth row.

The tooth row image reading apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the number of optical path bending mirrors does not matter, but an even number is preferable. This is because if the number of the optical path bending mirrors is an even number, the image composition processing method of the dental image reading apparatus that does not use the optical path bending mirrors can be used as it is. The optical path bending mirror may be arranged so as to shorten the depth direction of the imaging optical unit while ensuring a sufficient optical distance between the reflecting mirror and the condenser lens. The tilt angle adjusting means is not limited to the above embodiment, and may have any configuration as long as it has a mechanism for adjusting the tilt of the mirror.

[0026]

As described above, according to the dentition image reading device of the present invention, it is possible to accurately take a dentition image and to reduce the size of the dentition image reading device. Can play.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a first embodiment of a dental image reading apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an optical path bending mirror in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of a dental image reading apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a previously proposed dentition image reading device.

FIG. 6 is a model diagram showing a relationship between a distance between a condenser lens and a tooth row surface.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Dental image reader 11 Oral insertion part 12 Light transmission part 13 Cavity 21 Imaging Optics 22 Light source 23 Reflective mirror 25 Condensing lens 29 Optical path bending mechanism 26 color CCD (imaging optical system)

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Mamoru Yasuda             1-20-1 Sakado, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture             Ceremony company Mitutoyo (72) Inventor Yuki Sugimoto             Yamaguchi Prefecture Oshima-gun Oshima-machi Oaza Komatsu 157 address             No. 4 In Orange House F-term (reference) 4C052 AA20 FF07 NN04 NN15                 4C061 AA08 BB01 CC06 DD10 FF40                       FF47                 5B047 AA17 AB04 BA03 BB02 BC05                       BC09 BC11 BC14

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An intraoral insertion section to be inserted into an oral cavity having an upper dentition and a lower dentition, and an imaging optical section, wherein the intraoral insertion section transmits light to at least one of front and back sides. And a cavity inside, wherein the imaging optical section is inserted into the cavity of the intraoral insertion section, passes through the light transmitting section, and irradiates the dentition with light. A reflection mirror that reflects the reflected light from the outside of the intraoral insertion portion, a scanning unit that moves the light source and the reflection mirror along the depth direction in the cavity of the intraoral insertion portion, and the reflection mirror reflects the light. In a tooth row image reading device including a condenser lens that condenses light and an imaging optical system that receives light from the condenser lens, the imaging optical unit includes a condenser lens that extends from the reflection mirror to the condenser lens. Multiples that reflect light in the optical path An optical path bending mechanism including an optical path bending mirror is provided, and light from the reflection mirror is received by the imaging optical system via the optical path bending mirror. Reader. 2. The tooth row image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the number of the optical path bending mirrors is an even number. 3. The tooth row image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the optical path bending mechanism reflects a light from the reflection mirror to a side of the reflection mirror, and a first optical path bending mirror. A tooth row image reading device comprising: a second optical path bending mirror that reflects light from the first optical path bending mirror toward the condenser lens. 4. The dental image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the optical path bending mechanism includes a first optical path bending mirror that reflects the light from the reflection mirror at a substantially right angle, and the first optical path bending mirror. A tooth row image reading device, comprising: a second optical path bending mirror that reflects light from the optical path bending mirror toward the condenser lens. 5. The tooth row image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the optical path bending mirror is provided with tilt angle adjusting means for adjusting a tilt angle of the mirror. Dental image reader.