JP2011087733A - Intraoral measurement device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an intraoral measurement device which prevents scattering of broken pieces when a prism is broken. <P>SOLUTION: The intraoral measurement device includes a probe body 1, an intraoral insertion section 2 mounted detachably on the distal side of the probe body 1, the glass prism 16 having a long shape and arranged within the intraoral insertion section 2, and a projection section 9 and a photographing section 21 that are connected optically to the prism 16 on the back side of the prism 16. An optical input/output section 17 is formed on the bottom surface on the front end of the prism 16 and an inclined surface 18 is formed on the upper surface of the prism opposite to the optical input/output section 17. Protection tapes 25 are bonded to the inclined surface 18 and side surfaces (16a and 16b) of the prism 16 adjacent to the inclined surface 18. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an intraoral measurement device.

  The conventional configuration of this type of intraoral measuring apparatus has the following configuration.

  That is, the probe body, the intraoral insertion portion provided detachably on the distal end side of the probe body, and a long glass prism provided in the intraoral insertion portion are provided. It was.

  And, in use, after grasping the probe body and inserting the intraoral insertion part into the patient's mouth, the teeth and gums are measured, but after measuring the first patient, the next patient is continued as it is. In order to maintain the hygiene of the device, the oral cavity inserted into the first patient's mouth should be removed from the probe body and replaced with another new oral cavity. (For example, Patent Document 1 below).

JP-A-8-173377

  The problem in the above conventional example is that, when the intraoral insertion part is replaced, if the prism provided in the intraoral insertion part is accidentally damaged, the fragments are scattered.

  That is, in the above conventional configuration, after grasping the probe body and inserting the intraoral insertion portion into the patient's mouth, the teeth and gums are measured. The intraoral insertion part inserted into the patient's mouth is detached from the probe body and replaced with another new intraoral insertion part.

  At that time, the new intraoral insertion portion to be replaced is packed in a storage bag made of nylon, for example, in order to maintain its hygienic state. Therefore, when replacing the intraoral insertion part, first place the probe body on the holding base etc., then open the storage bag with both hands, take out the intraoral insertion part from the storage bag with one hand, and then After picking up the probe main body with one hand, a new intraoral insertion portion is attached in front of the probe main body.

Therefore, during replacement of the intraoral insertion portion, the elongated glass prism provided inside the intraoral insertion portion is held in an exposed state in front of the probe body.
At this time, if the prism is accidentally applied to another treatment device, or if the probe body is dropped, the glass prism will be damaged, and the broken pieces will scatter, which is very important in medical settings. It will be in an inappropriate state.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to prevent scattering of fragments when a prism is broken.

  And in order to achieve this object, the present invention comprises a probe body, an intraoral insertion part detachably provided on the distal end side of the probe body, and an elongated shape provided inside the intraoral insertion part. A glass prism; a projection unit and an imaging unit optically connected to the prism behind the prism; and a light input / output unit provided on a lower surface on the front end side of the prism, and an upper surface facing the light input / output unit An inclined surface is provided on the side, and a protective tape is bonded to the inclined surface and the side surface of the prism adjacent to the inclined surface, thereby achieving the intended purpose.

  As described above, the present invention includes a probe main body, an intraoral insertion portion provided detachably on the distal end side of the probe main body, and a long glass prism provided in the intraoral insertion portion, A projection unit and an imaging unit optically connected to the prism behind the prism are provided, and a light input / output unit is provided on the lower surface on the front end side of the prism, and an inclined surface is provided on the upper surface side facing the light input / output unit. Since the protective tape is attached to the inclined surface and the side surface of the prism adjacent to the inclined surface, scattering when the prism is broken can be prevented.

That is, in the present invention, the protective tape is bonded to the inclined surface of the front end of the prism and both side surfaces of the prism adjacent to the inclined surface, that is, the periphery of the prism is protected with the protective tape.
Therefore, when replacing the insertion part in the oral cavity, even if the prism is accidentally applied to another treatment device or the probe body is dropped, the glass prism is damaged. The broken pieces are adhered to the protective tape. As a result, the broken pieces of the prism are not scattered, and the scattering can be prevented.

The perspective view which shows the usage example of one Embodiment of this invention Its side view Inside view Perspective view Perspective view (A) Exploded view of the main part (b) Exploded view of the main part (c) Exploded view of the main part (A) Side view (b) Cross section of main part (c) Rear view of main part

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which an embodiment of the present invention is applied to an intraoral scanner that measures teeth, gums, and the like in the oral cavity.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a probe body, and an intraoral insertion portion 2 is attached to the distal end side of the probe body 1, and the intraoral insertion portion 2 is inserted into the oral cavity of a patient 3 as shown in FIG. 1. Then measure the shape of the teeth and gums.

  FIG. 2 is a side view of the probe main body 1 to which the intraoral insertion portion 2 is attached. In the measurement of teeth, as shown in FIG. 2, first, the probe main body 1 is provided on the distal end side of the intraoral insertion portion 2. When the positioning rib 5 erected on the measurement window 4 is brought into contact with the tooth 6 and then the measurement person presses the measurement button 7, measurement of the tooth 6 is started. The measured image data of the tooth 6 is sent to a data processing device (not shown) via the cable 8, and data processing is performed based on this image data, and the three-dimensional tooth profile of the tooth 6 is converted. It has come to form.

Now, FIG. 3 is an inner surface view of the probe main body 1 to which the intraoral insertion portion 2 is attached. First, in the probe main body 1, a projection for projecting an image of a measurement reference pattern onto the teeth 6. The projection unit 9 is configured to emit light from the light source unit 10 such as an LED or a semiconductor laser from the projection lens 13 via the polarization beam splitter 11 and the reflective liquid crystal element 12. It has become.
A control unit 14 is electrically connected to the reflective liquid crystal element 12, and a reference pattern is created by the reflective liquid crystal element 12 according to an instruction from the control unit 14, and the reference pattern is projected to the projection unit 9. It is emitted from.

  Next, the emitted light (reference pattern) emitted from the projection unit 9 is then applied to the long glass prism 16 held by the aluminum holding unit 15 so as to protrude from the probe body 1. Enter the prism 16 from the side. The prism 16 has a configuration in which a light entering / exiting portion 17 is provided on the lower surface on the front end side of the prism 16 and an inclined surface 18 is provided on the upper surface side facing the light entering / exiting portion 17.

  Then, the outgoing light that has entered the prism 16 from behind the prism 16 is reflected twice by the upper and lower surfaces of the prism 16 toward the front, as shown by the optical path 19, and the inclined surface 18 provided in front of the prism 16. To reach. The inclined surface 18 is a front end surface mirror coated with a totally reflective mirror layer, and the emitted light is reflected downward by the inclined surface 18, and the light input / output unit 17 causes the prism 16 to be reflected. It is emitted from.

  Thereafter, the emitted light is emitted toward the lower teeth 6 from the measurement window 4 provided on the lower surface of the distal end of the intraoral insertion portion 2 attached to the probe body 1. The measurement window 4 is formed of a transparent member that transmits light.

  Next, the reflected light reflected by the teeth 6 enters the tip of the prism 16 again from the light input / output part 17 through the measurement window 4 of the intraoral insertion part 2, and is provided on the upper surface side of the light input / output part 17. Reflected by the surface 18 behind the prism 16.

  Then, as indicated by the optical path 20, the light is reflected twice by the upper and lower surfaces of the prism 16, travels backward, and enters the imaging unit 21 provided behind the prism 16. The reflected light incident on the imaging unit 21 reaches the measurement element 23 via the measurement lens 22 provided in front of the imaging unit 21. The measuring element 23 measures an image of the teeth 6 and gums (not shown) onto which the reference pattern is projected.

The measured image data is transmitted to the data processing device (not shown) via the cable 8 after passing through the control unit 14.
This data processing device performs data processing based on the transmitted image data, and as a result, a three-dimensional tooth profile of the tooth 6 is formed.

  The cable 8 is connected to a power source (not shown) supplied to the light source unit 10, the reflective liquid crystal element 12, the control unit 14, the measurement element 23, etc., and supplies power to the intraoral scanner. ing.

  At this time, by pushing up the detachable button 24 and pulling out the intraoral insertion portion 2 forward, the intraoral insertion portion 2 is detached from the probe main body 1 as shown in FIG.

  At this time, both sides of the glass prism 16 are supported by the aluminum holding portions 15 so as to protrude from the probe main body 1. A protective tape 25 is bonded to the prism 16. The protective tape 25 will be described in detail later.

  In actual measurement, after the first patient 3 is measured, the intraoral insertion portion 2 inserted into the mouth of the first patient 3 is detached from the probe body 1 in order to maintain the hygienic state of the device. Then, it is exchanged with another new intraoral insertion part 2.

  At that time, the new intraoral insertion part 2 to be replaced is packed in, for example, a nylon storage bag (not shown) in order to maintain its hygienic state. Therefore, at the time of replacement of the intraoral insertion part 2, first, the probe main body 1 is first placed on a holding table or the like, then the storage bag is opened with both hands, and the intraoral insertion part 2 is taken out of the storage bag with one hand, Then, after picking up the probe main body 1 with the other hand, a new intraoral insertion portion 2 is attached in front of the probe main body 1.

  Here, the most characteristic protective tape 25 in the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5, 6, and 7.

  FIG. 5 is a view showing a state before the protective tape 25 is bonded to the prism 16.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the protective tape 25 has an inclined surface protecting portion 26 that is bonded to the inclined surface 18 provided on the front end side of the prism 16 and side surfaces that are bonded to both side surfaces (right side surface 16 a and left side surface 16 b) of the prism 16. The protection portions 27a and 27b and the upper surface protection portion 28 to be bonded to the upper surface 16c of the prism 16 are integrally molded.

  The inclined surface protection portion 26 of the protective tape 25 is bonded to the inclined surface 18 of the prism 16, the side surface protection portion 27 a is bonded to the right side surface 16 a of the prism 16, and the side surface protection portion 27 a is the left side surface of the prism 16. The upper surface protection portion 28 is bonded to the front end portion of the upper surface 16 c of the prism 16.

  The protective tape 25 is not bonded to the surface from the center of the upper surface 16c of the prism 16 to the rear end side and to the lower surface 16d of the prism 16. As understood from FIG. 3, this is because the surface from the center of the upper surface 16c of the prism 16 to the rear end side and the lower surface 16d of the prism 16 are used as the reflecting surface of the optical system. In order to increase efficiency, the protective tape 25 is not bonded to this portion. Therefore, in the prism 16, only the portion not used in the optical system is covered with the protective tape 25.

  As a result, the prism 16 has a configuration in which the entire periphery of the side surface is covered with the protective tape 25 and bonded.

  Here, at the time of replacement of the intraoral insertion portion 2, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the elongated glass prism 16 provided inside the intraoral insertion portion 2 is positioned in front of the probe body 1. Thus, it is held in an exposed state.

  Therefore, when replacing the intraoral insertion portion, if the prism 16 is accidentally applied to another treatment device, or if the probe body 1 is dropped, the glass prism 16 is damaged and the fragments are scattered. There is a risk that. However, in the present embodiment, as described above, the prism 16 is covered and adhered to the entire periphery of the side surface by the protective tape 25, and as a result, the broken prism pieces can be prevented from scattering. It will be a thing.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the protective tape 25 has connection end portions 29 at the rear side end portions of the side surface protection portions 27a and 27b to be bonded to both side surfaces (the right side surface 16a and the left side surface 16b) of the prism 16. Provided. The connection end portion 29 is fixed so as to be firmly sandwiched between the holding portion 15 and the prism 16 while being in contact with the aluminum holding portion 15 of the probe main body. That is, the prism 16 is configured such that both side surfaces on the rear side are sandwiched and fixed firmly by the holding portion 15 via the connection end portion 29 and are connected to the probe body 1 in this state.

  For this reason, the protective tape 25 protects the entire periphery of the prism 16 so as to hold the entire periphery of the prism 16 in a state where the protective tape 25 is firmly connected to the probe main body 1 by the connection end portion 29. Thereby, even when the prism 16 is broken, the broken pieces are held in a state of being connected to the protective tape 25, and the prism 16 held by the protective tape 25 is also connected to the probe body 1. Will be retained.

  As a result, the prism 16 itself can prevent the broken pieces of the prism 16 from being scattered in a state in which the scattering from the probe body 1 is prevented.

  Furthermore, the protective tape 25 is composed of two films, a metal film 30 shown in FIG. 6A and a resin film 31 shown in FIG. 6B, as shown in FIG. As shown, a resin film is laminated on a metal film.

  In the present embodiment, a copper film is used for the metal film 30, and a PET film is used for the resin film 31.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG.6 (c), the metal films 30 have extended the back side edge part of the side surface protection parts 27a and 27b, and provided the connection edge part 29 there. In the state where the protective tape 25 is bonded to the prism 16, the connection end portion 29 is connected to the aluminum holding portion 15 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The holding portion 15 is a heat conducting portion from the probe main body 1, and the copper connection end portion 29 is thermally connected to the heat conducting portion.

  Here, when the insertion part 2 is attached to the probe body 1, the inside of the oral cavity insertion part 2 is kept moisture-proof by the packing 32 of FIG. 5. At the start of later use, the inside of the intraoral insertion portion 2 is at the same temperature as the room temperature in the medical field. In this state, when the intraoral insertion portion 2 is entered into the oral cavity in an attempt to measure the intraoral area of the patient 3, the oral cavity of the patient 3 is hot and humid compared to room temperature. Due to a temperature difference from the inside of the internal insertion portion 2, water droplets (condensation water) sometimes stick to the measurement window 4 provided in front of the intraoral insertion portion 2, and there are times when accurate measurement cannot be performed.

  However, in the present embodiment, as described above, the aluminum holding portion 15 which is the heat conducting portion from the probe main body 1 and the copper connection end portion 29 are thermally connected, so that the inside of the probe main body 1 The heat generated by the projection unit 9 or the control unit 14 can be transmitted to the front part of the prism 16 inside the intraoral insertion unit 2 via the protective tape 25. And since this protective tape 25 is adhere | attached on the perimeter of the prism 16, the perimeter in the intraoral insertion part 2 can be warmed efficiently.

  As a result, at the start of measurement, the inside of the intraoral insertion portion 2 can be efficiently warmed up, that is, in a state where an appropriate measurement state is maintained without water droplets being attached to the measurement window 4, It is possible to prevent scattering when the prism 16 is broken.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the portion of the prism 16 that is not used in the optical system is covered with the protective tape 25, but the inner surface of the protective tape 25 has a black color (with light diffusibility) ( For example, matte black).

  This is because, as shown in FIG. 3, the measurement light repeatedly reflects on the upper surface 16c and the lower surface 16d of the prism 16, but the light that hits a portion not used in the optical system (for example, the side surface) is not necessary for the measurement. Light. The protective tape 25 covers a portion of the prism 16 that is not used in the optical system, and the inner surface portion has a black color (for example, matte black) with light diffusibility, so that this unnecessary light is removed. Measurement accuracy can be increased.

  As a result, at the time of measurement, it is possible to prevent scattering when the prism 16 is damaged while removing unnecessary light and increasing the measurement accuracy.

  Furthermore, the intraoral insertion part 2 is made elongated so that it can easily enter the oral cavity of the patient 3. Therefore, the outer wall around the intraoral insertion part 2 is made thin, and since it is used for medical purposes, the outer peripheral color is white.

  Therefore, in FIG. 2, for example, when measuring the front teeth 33 of the patient 3, bright light in the dental room passes through the outer wall of the intraoral insertion portion 2 and reaches the prism 16.

  However, since the prism 16 is covered with the protective tape 25 made of the metal film 30, the external light that passes through the outer wall of the intraoral insertion portion 2 and reaches the prism 16 enters the prism 16. It can be prevented. Furthermore, since the protective tape 25 is made of a black system (for example, matte black) having a light diffusibility, the external light can be absorbed and removed, whereby unnecessary light can be absorbed into the oral cavity insertion portion. 2 to prevent the light from entering the prism 16 from a portion not covered with the protective tape 25.

  As a result, unnecessary external light can be shielded during measurement, and scattering when the prism 16 is broken can be prevented while maintaining measurement accuracy.

  FIG. 7 is a view for explaining the holding state of the prism 16. FIG. 7B shows a cross section taken along the line AA of FIG. This is shown in FIG.

  As understood from FIGS. 7B and 7C, the prism 16 includes two upper ribs 34, two side ribs 35, and two lower ribs provided on the inner side of the intraoral insertion portion 2. It is supported by 36 total 8 ribs. At this time, the four ribs of the upper rib 34 and the lower rib 36 come into contact with the glass surface of the prism 16.

  This is because the glass surface of the prism 16 with good dimensional accuracy is used to appropriately hold the optical position of the light input / output part 17 on the lower surface of the front end of the prism 16 and the measurement window 4 provided on the distal end side of the intraoral insertion part 2. It is because it uses. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 6, the width 37 of the upper surface protection portion 28 is smaller than the width 38 of the inclined surface protection portion 26 in order to secure the contact position of the upper rib 34.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the rear portion of the intraoral insertion portion 2 is firmly connected to the probe main body 1 at the main body connecting portion 39. Therefore, in a state where the intraoral insertion portion 2 is connected to the probe main body 1, the probe main body 1 receives an impact from the outside, that is, the impact is not directly transmitted to the prism 16, and the prism 16 is damaged. Can be prevented.

  As described above, the present invention includes a probe main body, an intraoral insertion portion provided detachably on the distal end side of the probe main body, and a long glass prism provided in the intraoral insertion portion, A projection unit and an imaging unit optically connected to the prism behind the prism are provided, and a light input / output unit is provided on the lower surface on the front end side of the prism, and an inclined surface is provided on the upper surface side facing the light input / output unit. Since the protective tape is attached to the inclined surface and the side surface of the prism adjacent to the inclined surface, scattering when the prism is broken can be prevented.

  That is, in the present invention, the protective tape is bonded to the inclined surface of the front end of the prism and both side surfaces of the prism adjacent to the inclined surface, that is, the periphery of the prism is protected with the protective tape. Therefore, when replacing the insertion part in the oral cavity, even if the prism is accidentally applied to another treatment device or the probe body is dropped, the glass prism is damaged. The broken pieces are adhered to the protective tape. As a result, the broken pieces of the prism are not scattered, and the scattering can be prevented.

  Therefore, it is expected to be widely used as an intraoral measurement device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Probe main body 2 Oral insertion part 3 Patient 4 Measurement window 5 Positioning rib 6 Teeth 7 Measurement button 8 Cable 9 Projection part 10 Light source part 11 Polarizing beam splitter 12 Reflective liquid crystal element 13 Projection lens 14 Control part 15 Holding part 16 Prism 16a Right side surface 16b Left side surface 16c Upper surface 16d Lower surface 17 Light input / output unit 18 Inclined surface 19 Optical path 20 Optical path 21 Imaging unit 22 Measuring lens 23 Measuring element 24 Detachable button 25 Protection tape 26 Inclined surface protection unit 27a Side surface protection unit 27b Side surface protection unit 28 Upper surface Protection part 29 Connection end part 30 Metal film 31 Resin film 32 Packing 33 Front teeth 34 Upper rib 35 Side rib 36 Lower rib 37 Width 38 Width 39 Main body connection part

Claims (5)

A probe main body, an intraoral insertion portion detachably provided on the distal end side of the probe main body, a long glass prism provided in the intraoral insertion portion, and the prism behind the prism. An optically connected projection unit and imaging unit;
An oral cavity in which a light input / output portion is provided on the lower surface of the front end side of the prism, and an inclined surface is provided on the upper surface facing the light input / output portion, and a protective tape is bonded to the inclined surface and the side surface of the prism adjacent to the inclined surface. Internal measuring device.   2. The intraoral measurement device according to claim 1, wherein the protective tape is formed by integrally molding an inclined surface protecting portion to be adhered to the inclined surface of the prism and a side surface protecting portion to be adhered to the side surface of the prism.   The intraoral measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the protective tape has a rear side end portion of a side surface protection portion to be bonded to both side surfaces of the prism being in contact with a holding portion of the probe body.   The protective tape has a configuration in which a resin film and a metal film are stacked, and the metal film is thermally connected to a heat transfer portion from the probe main body. The intraoral measuring device as described.   The intraoral measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the protective tape is black.

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