JP2023007164A - Lighting fixture - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a practical lighting fixture which can be used for capturing an image of an oral cavity of himself/herself by a subject using a smart phone.SOLUTION: A lighting fixture 200 includes a front plate 210 and a rear plate 220 which are hinge-connected and can hold a smart phone 100 from front and rear sides. When the front plate 210 and the rear plate 220 hold the vertically-inverted smart phone 100 from the front and rear sides, a lens 104 of an in-camera of the smart phone 100 is visible through a hole 212 provided on the front plate 210. Holes 213, 214 provided with light sources inside are provided on both sides of the hole 212. A user images an oral cavity of himself/herself by himself/herself using the smart phone 100 while illuminating the oral cavity with the illumination light emitted from the holes 213, 214. At this time, the user can confirm an image being captured while viewing a moving image displayed on a display 102 in front of eyes.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a lighting fixture used in combination with a smartphone when capturing an intraoral image of a person with a camera of the smartphone.

There is a demand for imaging the intraoral cavity using a smartphone. For example, it has long been pointed out that image diagnosis in the field of dentistry may be possible using an intraoral image. Also, in recent years, it has been announced that it may be possible to determine whether you are infected with influenza or the new coronavirus (COVID-19) by intraoral imaging diagnosis, and the demand for intraoral imaging is increasing. It's getting higher.

The purpose of using images obtained by imaging the oral cavity is, of course, not limited only to image diagnosis, but includes image diagnosis in particular (or auxiliary use for diagnosis (e.g., support for diagnosis)). ), it is extremely important to make it possible for anyone to easily take intraoral images in order to spread diagnostic imaging.
For example, if intraoral imaging can only be performed by medical personnel, the subject will need to face the medical personnel when performing intraoral imaging, so the spread of diagnostic imaging will be extremely limited. become a thing. On the other hand, for example, if a teacher who is not a school medical staff can take intraoral images, the teacher can take intraoral images of all the students at school. Similarly, if non-medical personnel at a company or event can take intraoral images, the intraoral images of employees of that company or event participants can be taken by those companies or events. Since an image can be taken by a person, diagnostic imaging can be widely disseminated.
Furthermore, if a subject can take an image of his/her own oral cavity by himself/herself, it will be possible to greatly advance the spread of image diagnosis.

By the way, the situation already exists that the cameras that can be used for imaging are already widespread and ubiquitous. It's the camera built into your smartphone. If such a camera can capture an intraoral image, obtaining an intraoral image will be extremely simple.
If intraoral images can be obtained extremely easily, it will be possible to widely disseminate image diagnosis techniques using intraoral images.

However, as a result of various trials and errors conducted by the inventors of the present application, it was found that it is unexpectedly difficult to capture an intraoral image using a smartphone camera.
This is particularly noticeable when the subject himself/herself takes an image of the oral cavity.

Before explaining why, I will first explain the dominant design of current smartphones.
A smartphone is plate-shaped and has a rectangular housing. A display covering substantially the entire surface of the housing is provided on one surface of the housing. Cameras are provided on both sides near the upper end of the housing. A camera installed on one side of the housing, that is, on the side where the display is provided (actually, it is exposed to the outside (here, the word "exposed to the outside" , It is used in the sense that it can be seen from the outside, and includes cases where it is covered with a transparent plate, etc. This is the same for the out-camera, which will be described later.) is just the lens of the camera.) is commonly called the "in-camera". The camera provided on the other side of the housing, that is, the side on which the display is not provided (actually, only the lens of the camera is exposed to the outside) is called an "out camera." ” is commonly called. In addition, the in-camera does not come with the lighting that is used when shooting with the in-camera, and only the out-camera can be used when shooting with the out-camera. Comes with a lighting fixture. In addition, an image (moving image) captured by the imaging device of the in-camera or the out-camera at that time is displayed on the display substantially in real time.

Next, a description will be given of the conditions that a subject needs to satisfy when taking an intraoral image of himself/herself using a smartphone.
As for the first condition, illuminating light is essential for taking an intraoral image. This is because the inside of the oral cavity is dark because it is difficult for outside light to enter, so illumination light for illuminating the inside of the oral cavity is essential for imaging the inside of the oral cavity.
A second condition is that the subject must be able to see the display of the smartphone while capturing the image. When the subject points the smartphone camera toward his/her own oral cavity and takes an image, the subject cannot check whether the smartphone camera is correctly aimed at the oral cavity without looking at the display of the smartphone. It is from.

However, when the above two conditions are satisfied, it is almost impossible for the subject himself/herself to take an image of his/her own oral cavity using only the smartphone.
This is because, in order to satisfy the first condition, it is essential to shoot with an out-camera equipped with lighting. This is because the subject will be facing away from the subject's face and will not be able to see the smartphone display. That is, in this case, the above-mentioned second condition is not satisfied.
On the other hand, when trying to capture an image with the in-camera in order to satisfy the second condition, as already mentioned, most or all of the existing smartphones do so even when capturing an image with the out-camera. However, when imaging with the in-camera, the image (moving image) captured by the imaging device of the in-camera at that time can be displayed on the display almost in real time. The intraoral imaging can be performed while watching the moving image displayed on the display. However, in this case, since the in-camera is not equipped with illumination, it is impossible to irradiate the intraoral area with illumination light when imaging the intraoral area. That is, in this case, the first condition described above is not satisfied.
Therefore, it is difficult for a subject to take an intraoral image by himself/herself only by using a smartphone.

Under such circumstances, some kind of device is required to satisfy the two conditions mentioned above.
However, even with such a device, it is necessary to be able to attach it to at least most of the various smartphones that exist in the world, and it is easy for the subject to visually recognize the display of the smartphone to which the device is attached. Therefore, it is difficult to make a device that fulfills the above purpose practical.

An object of the present invention is to provide a practical instrument that can be used by a subject to take an intraoral image using a smartphone.

In order to solve the above problems, the inventor of the present application proposes the following invention.
The present invention includes a display covering substantially the entire surface of one surface of the housing on one surface of a plate-shaped housing, and a display located above the display on one surface of the housing and exposed to the outside. A lighting fixture for capturing an intraoral image of a person with the camera of the smartphone, which is used in combination with the smartphone provided with a camera lens. Smartphones combined with such lighting fixtures are so-called ordinary smartphones that employ a dominant design and are currently ubiquitous.
Then, the lighting fixture according to the present invention is two plate-shaped bodies that can be positioned and fixed by sandwiching the lower end of the housing of the smartphone in an upside-down state between them. A front plate located on one surface side of the housing when the housing of the smartphone is sandwiched, a rear plate located on the other surface side of the housing, and the front plate provided with the a hole having a length of 1.5 cm or more in the lateral direction, through which the lens of the smartphone is positioned inside the casing of the smartphone sandwiched between the front plate and the rear plate; and a light source that emits illumination light that reaches the oral cavity of a person in a state in which the housing of the smartphone is sandwiched between the front plate and the rear plate.
Such a lighting fixture comprises a front plate and a rear plate. The front plate and the rear plate sandwich the bottom edge of the upside-down smartphone (that is, the top edge of the smartphone in normal use) between them, and fix the smartphone in a desired position. You can do it. For example, the front plate and the rear plate are hinged so that the distance between the upper ends can be narrowed or widened during use. Of course, the smartphone is fixed between the front plate and the rear plate when the space between the upper ends is narrowed during use. The front plate and the rear plate may be configured such that the gap between them can be narrowed or widened while maintaining the state of being parallel to each other.
The front plate abuts one side of the housing of the smartphone, that is, the side on which the display is located. A hole is provided in the front plate. The holes have a lateral length of 1.5 cm or more. This hole is for placing the lens of the smartphone inside or allowing the lens of the smartphone to be seen through the hole in a state where the housing of the smartphone is sandwiched between the front plate and the rear plate. The camera including the lens in this case is a camera including the lens exposed on the surface of the housing on the display side, so it is a so-called in-camera without lighting. As described above, the housing of the smartphone is sandwiched between the front plate and the rear plate from the bottom in an upside-down state. The lens of the in-camera, which is near the lower edge of the housing when sandwiched between the plate and the rear plate, is positioned in the hole provided in the front plate of the front plate and the rear plate sandwiching the housing from below. It is easy, or at least possible, when considering the vertical direction of the housing of the smartphone. The reason why the horizontal length of the hole is 1.5 cm or more is that the diameter of the in-camera lens depends on the smartphone model, but in many cases it is around 5 mm, and the in-camera lens also varies depending on the smartphone model. depending on where it resides near the original upper edge of the housing (for example, it may be in the middle of the side of the upper edge of the housing, or it may be near the end of the side), Even if such differences between models are taken into consideration, the front panel and the rear panel should be able to hold the smartphone housing with the front camera lens positioned in the hole. Helpful.
Further, the lighting fixture of the present invention includes a light source that emits illumination light that reaches the oral cavity of a person in a state in which the housing of the smartphone is sandwiched between the front plate and the rear plate. Such a light source is provided, for example, on the front surface of the front plate.

The lighting fixture of the present invention is used in a state in which the lower end of the upside-down smartphone housing (that is, the original upper end of the smartphone) is sandwiched between the front plate and the rear plate. When the smartphone is sandwiched between the front plate and the rear plate, the lens of the smartphone's in-camera is positioned in the hole in the front plate.
In that state, the subject holds the smartphone with the lighting device attached and points the smartphone's in-camera, or more precisely, the in-camera lens, toward his or her oral cavity. It is possible to perform imaging within. The light source of the lighting equipment may be always on, or may be selectively turned on by switching on and off of the switch. Light it up while you are there. As a result, when imaging is performed with the in-camera of the smartphone, the intraoral area is illuminated with illumination light from the light source.
In addition, when the subject takes an image of their own oral cavity using the in-camera of the smartphone, the display present on the side where the in-camera lens is exposed in the housing of the smartphone naturally reflects the face of the subject. Since the subject is face-to-face, the subject can view an image (moving image) projected on the display by the function of the smartphone while performing intraoral imaging. In other words, the user can grasp the currently captured image while looking at the display of the smartphone. However, at this time, as already mentioned, the smartphone is turned upside down from the normal usage state. Therefore, if the smartphone has a function to correct the orientation of the image according to the posture of the smartphone, the top and bottom of the image displayed on the display will be correct. , the image on the smartphone may be upside down. Therefore, when combining a smartphone that does not have a function to correct the orientation of an image with the lighting fixture of the present invention, software (a so-called application) for inverting the orientation of the image displayed on the display of the smartphone, It seems that it is necessary to install it on the smartphone to be used.
In this way, the use of lighting fixtures satisfies the first condition that illumination light is essential for capturing an intraoral image, and the subject can view the display of the smartphone while capturing the image. In a state where the second condition that it is necessary to be able to do so is satisfied, the subject himself/herself can take an image of his/her oral cavity using a smartphone. The captured image may be a moving image or a still image.
This luminaire also has the following advantages: When the subject takes an image of his/her own oral cavity using the smartphone combined with the lighting fixture according to the present invention, the smartphone is turned upside down as described above. Therefore, with respect to the in-camera lens and the display, which are arranged together on one side of the housing of the smartphone, the latter is positioned relatively higher than the former. On the subject's head, the oral cavity is located below the eyes. Therefore, when the in-camera lens is positioned in front of the subject's oral cavity and the subject is capturing an image of the subject's own oral cavity within an appropriate imaging range, the smartphone display is in front of or slightly below the subject's eyes. will be located around This makes it easier for the subject to visually recognize the image displayed on the display.

As mentioned above, the lateral length of the hole provided in the front plate is 1.5 cm or more. As a result, even if differences between models are taken into account, a margin is created so that the housing of the smartphone can be sandwiched between the front panel and the rear panel with the lens of the front camera positioned in the hole. can be done. This effect is more pronounced when the lateral length of the holes is 2 cm or more.
In this case, "Even if we take into account the differences between models, the margin for sandwiching the smartphone housing between the front and rear panels with the front camera lens positioned in the hole" is , is the margin in the horizontal direction of the smartphone. To obtain a similar margin in the vertical direction of the smartphone, for example, the length of the hole in the vertical direction should be 1.5 cm or more. This margin is more reliable when the longitudinal length of the hole is 2 cm or more.

Alternatively, the light source is provided on the front plate and emits illumination light that reaches the oral cavity of a person in a state in which the housing of the smartphone is sandwiched between the front plate and the rear plate. A first light source and a second light source that can be turned on are provided in the optical path of the first illumination light that is the illumination light emitted from the first light source, and the natural light passing therethrough is linearly polarized. and a first polarizing plate that covers the entire surface of the hole and linearly polarizes the natural light that has passed through it, the direction of polarization of which is perpendicular to the first polarizing plate. and a third polarizing plate.
In a camera having the above-described first polarizing plate that allows illumination light to pass through, the illumination light applied to the oral cavity is linearly polarized light. Illumination light, which is linearly polarized light, is reflected in the oral cavity and becomes image light. Here, the image light is divided into two types of light. One is surface reflected light reflected by the surface of saliva or the like in the oral cavity, and the other is internally reflected light that passes through saliva or the like and is reflected by the surface of the oral mucous membrane itself. Surface-reflected light is light that causes glare in captured images, and may cause overexposure in images. . Such an image is referred to herein as a reflection image. Internally reflected light, on the other hand, is suitable for obtaining glare-free images, and is not suitable for grasping the unevenness and shape of objects reflected in the image. The color and the internal properties of the captured object are well expressed. This is called a non-reflection image in this application. Ideally, the surface reflected light completely maintains the linearly polarized nature of the original image light, while the internally reflected light loses the original linearly polarized nature of the image light and becomes natural light. have.
Therefore, if a third polarizing plate whose polarization direction is perpendicular to that of the first polarizing plate is arranged in the optical path of the image light (more precisely, it is "the linear polarization of the light that has passed through the first polarizing plate The direction of the plane of vibration is orthogonal to the direction of the plane of vibration of the linearly polarized light that has passed through the third polarizing plate." When the third polarizing plate and the third polarizing plate have such a relationship, ``the polarization directions of the first polarizing plate and the third polarizing plate are orthogonal'', and ``the polarization direction of the third polarizing plate is the third 1 polarizer” is used. The same expression is used for the second polarizer, which will be described later.), the surface-reflected light that maintains linear polarization is polarized in the direction of the first polarizer. Ideally, half of the amount of internally reflected light, which is natural light that has been cut off by the orthogonal third polarizing plate and has lost linear polarization, passes through the third polarizing plate.
In other words, the imaging element in the in-camera of the smartphone combined with the lighting fixture including the first polarizing plate and the third polarizing plate as described above turns on the first light source, so that the internal reflection that has passed through the third polarizing plate It is possible to perform imaging using only light. As described above, the image, which is a non-reflection image obtained by internally reflected light, is used for observation of a blood vessel image, which is an image of blood vessels existing inside the color or mucous membrane, with glare removed from bodily fluids such as saliva. becomes suitable. Such an image is suitable for observing the properties of the mucosa in the oral cavity of the subject, excluding irregularities.
Also, by turning on the second light source, it is possible to perform imaging with light including surface reflected light. As described above, the reflected image obtained by the surface reflected light well expresses the unevenness and shape of the object reflected in the image.
Therefore, a combination of a lighting fixture having two light sources, a first light source and a second light source, which can selectively emit light, and two polarizing plates, a first polarizing plate and a third polarizing plate, and a smartphone If an intraoral image is captured with , it is possible to capture two types of images with different properties, and the accuracy of image diagnosis can be improved.
Here, in the lighting fixture in the above case where the first light source and the second light source are present, the natural light that has passed through the second illumination light provided in the optical path of the second illumination light emitted from the second light source may be provided with a second polarizing plate, which is a polarizing plate for linearly polarizing the light, the direction of polarization of which is perpendicular to that of the first polarizing plate.
When the first light source is on, an image captured using such a lighting fixture is a non-reflection image exactly as in the case described above. Also, an image captured when the second light source is turned on results in a reflected image as in the case described above, although the theory is slightly different from that described above. When the second light source is turned on, the second illumination light emitted from the second light source passes through the second polarizing plate and becomes linearly polarized light. Then, the light is reflected by the subject in the oral cavity to produce surface reflected light and internal reflected light. As described above, the surface-reflected light maintains its polarization, and the internally-reflected light becomes natural light. Then, since the polarization directions of the second polarizer and the third polarizer are the same, the surface reflected light passes through the third polarizer, and the component of the internally reflected light whose polarization direction is the same as that of the third polarizer also passes through the third polarizing plate. In this case, the light that reaches the imaging element includes surface reflected light, so the captured image is a reflected image.

The inventor of the present application also proposes, as one aspect of the present invention, an imaging method in which the subject himself/herself images the intraoral cavity using the lighting equipment and the smartphone as described above.
The imaging method includes a display covering substantially the entire surface of one surface of the housing on one surface of a plate-shaped housing, and a display positioned above the display on one surface of the housing and exposed to the outside. and a lighting fixture for capturing an intraoral image of a person with the camera of the smartphone, which is used in combination with the smartphone. This is an imaging method for imaging the inside of the oral cavity.
The lighting equipment used in this imaging method is two plate-shaped bodies that can be positioned and fixed by sandwiching the lower end of the housing of the smartphone in an upside-down state between them. A front plate positioned on one surface side of the housing when they sandwich the housing of the smartphone, a rear plate positioned on the other surface side of the housing, and a front plate provided on the front plate a hole for locating the lens of the smartphone in a state in which the housing of the smartphone is sandwiched between the front plate and the rear plate; and a light source that emits illumination light reaching the oral cavity of a person in a state of being sandwiched between the rear plate.
Then, in this imaging method, the lower end of the housing of the smartphone, which is upside down between the front plate and the rear plate, is placed inside the hole provided in the front plate, and the one side of the smartphone is inserted. A process of sandwiching the smartphone while locating the lens of the camera exposed on the surface of the smartphone, and irradiating illumination light into the oral cavity of the subject with the light source while the smartphone is fixed to the lighting fixture, and a process in which the subject captures an intraoral image while viewing the image displayed on the display of the smartphone.
The effect of this imaging method is basically the same as the effect obtained by the lighting fixture described above.

1A and 1B are perspective views of a smartphone used in combination with the lighting fixture according to the first embodiment as seen from the front side, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a lighting fixture used in combination with the smartphone shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the front side; The front view of the lighting fixture shown in FIG. The right view of the lighting fixture shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the lighting fixture and the smartphone shown in FIG. 1 when the lighting fixture shown in FIG. 2 is attached to the smartphone shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a front view of a lighting fixture and a smartphone when the lighting fixture shown in FIG. 2 is attached to the smartphone shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a right side view of the lighting fixture and the smartphone when the lighting fixture shown in FIG. 2 is attached to the smartphone shown in FIG. 1 ; FIG. 3 is a right side view of the smartphone shown in FIG. 1 in which the lighting fixture shown in FIG. 2 is attached to capture an image; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the behavior of illumination light and reflected light when an image is captured using a first light source on a smartphone equipped with a lighting fixture; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the behavior of illumination light and reflected light when capturing an image using a second light source with a smartphone equipped with a lighting fixture; FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the behavior of illumination light and reflected light when an image is captured using a second light source with a smartphone equipped with a lighting fixture having a second plate as a second polarizing plate;

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, a smartphone used in combination with the lighting fixture of this embodiment will be described.
A smartphone 100 is shown in FIG. FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the smartphone 100 as seen from the front side (one side surface), and FIG. 1B is a perspective view as seen from the rear side (the other side surface).
Since the smart phone 100 may be publicly known or well-known, the description thereof will be brief. The smartphone 100 is small enough to be portable, and is equipped with a so-called in-camera, which is a camera capable of capturing moving images, which will be described later, and a display. is a necessary condition. The reason why the smartphone 100 is required to be small is to make it easier for the user (subject) to operate the smartphone 100 fixed to the lighting fixture. The reason why the smartphone 100 is required to have a so-called in-camera capable of capturing moving images is to capture an intraoral image using it and to display the currently captured image on a display, which will be described later. This is to allow both. The reason why the display is needed is to allow the user to visually recognize the image displayed on the display so that the user can check the image currently being captured by the in-camera. is.

Although not limited to this, the smartphone 100 may be a commercially available one, and may be a personal item of the user. Examples of the smartphone 100 include the iPhone (trademark) series manufactured and sold by Apple Japan LLC. Although it would be almost indistinguishable from the smart phone 100, the smart phone 100 may be a so-called tablet that is larger than the smart phone. Examples of tablets include the iPad (trademark) series and the iPod (trademark) series manufactured and sold by Apple Japan LLC.
The smartphone 100 includes a plate-like housing 101 configured in a thin, substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The housing 101 is small enough to be held with one hand.
The smartphone 100 has a display 102 on the front side of its housing 101 . The display 102 displays an image, and may be a publicly known display, such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display.
The smartphone 100 also has an input device on the front surface of its housing 101 . The input device is for operating the smartphone 100 . The input device may be a physical key, but if the display 102 is a touch panel, the display 102 can also serve as at least part of the functions of the input device. In this embodiment, although not limited to this, the display 102 also serves as an input device, and there are no physical keys except for the power button and volume control button provided on the side surface of the housing 101 .
A lens 104 is exposed on the front side of the housing 101 of the smartphone 100 . The lens 104 forms part of the camera (in-camera) of the smartphone 100 . As is well known, behind the lens 104 is an imaging element (not shown). The imaging device is, for example, a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor Image Sensor), and is capable of capturing moving images. An image captured by the imaging device is displayed on the display 102 in substantially real time by a known mechanism.
The smartphone 100 also has a lens 105 on the back surface of the housing 101 . The lens 105 (more precisely, the lens 105 is a lens cover that covers the lens) is not limited to this, but in this embodiment, a plurality, more specifically three, are provided. It is This lens 105 forms part of the camera (out camera) of the smartphone 100 . As is well known, behind the lens 105 is an imaging device (not shown). Note that the out-camera is attached with a light source 105A that emits illumination light.
Either the in-camera or the out-camera can be selected to perform imaging. Whether to use the in-camera or the out-camera to capture an image can be selected according to an input from the input device, or a well-known function of the smartphone 100 . Only the in-camera is used in this embodiment.

Next, lighting fixtures will be described.
A lighting fixture 200 is shown in FIGS. 2 is a front perspective view of the lighting device 200, FIG. 3 is a front view of the lighting device 200, and FIG. 4 is a right side view of the lighting device 200. FIG.
Note that the terms “vertical” and “horizontal” of lighting device 200 used in the following description follow FIG.

The luminaire 200 has a front plate 210 and a rear plate 220 .
The front plate 210 and the rear plate 220 are generally made of resin, although not limited thereto.
The front plate 210 includes a front plate portion 211 that is a plate-like body with a predetermined thickness. The front plate portion 211 has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the front. However, the width is slightly narrowed above it, and to be exact, it is an isosceles trapezoid.
A hole 212 is provided near the upper end of the front plate portion 211 . The hole 212 is a hole penetrating the front plate portion 211 . The cross-sectional shape of the hole 212 is, although not limited to this, the same in any part in the depth direction in this embodiment. The hole 212 allows the lens 104 of the in-camera provided in a general smartphone to be positioned inside thereof when the lighting device 200 is fixedly attached to the smartphone 100 as will be described later. The size and shape are such that the lens 104 can be seen through the hole 212 .
Although the shape of the hole 212 when viewed from the front is not limited to this, in this embodiment, the four corners are chamfered, but the shape is substantially rectangular. The lateral length of aperture 212 is at least 1.5 cm, preferably 2 cm or more. The lateral length of the holes 212 in this embodiment is 2 cm, but this is not the only option. The longitudinal length of hole 212 is at least 1.5 cm, preferably 2 cm or more. Although the longitudinal length of the hole 212 in this embodiment is set to 2 cm, this is not a limitation.
A third polarizing plate 212A is provided in the hole 212 . The third polarizing plate 212A covers the hole 212 entirely. The third polarizing plate 212A is a polarizing plate that linearly polarizes light passing through it. The polarization direction of the third polarizing plate 212A is orthogonal to the polarization direction of the first polarizing plate, which will be described later.

A hole 213 and a hole 214 are arranged vertically on both sides of the hole 212 in the front plate portion 211 . The holes 213 and 214 do not penetrate the front plate portion 211 and are exposed only on the front side of the front plate portion 211 in FIG.
The hole 213 is for irradiating the inside of a user's oral cavity with the 1st illumination light mentioned later, and 1st illumination light is irradiated from the inside so that it may mention later. The hole 214 is for irradiating the inside of a user's oral cavity with the 2nd illumination light mentioned later, and 2nd illumination light is irradiated from the inside so that it may mention later.
The hole 213 and the hole 214 are arranged side by side so that the hole 213 is positioned directly below the hole 214, although this is not a limitation. Although the holes 213 and 214 are not limited to this, they are both substantially rectangular although their four corners are chamfered. The lateral lengths of holes 213 and 214 are matched in this embodiment, but not limited to this. The longitudinal length of hole 213 is greater than the longitudinal length of hole 214 in a ratio of, but not limited to, 2:1 in this embodiment.

A first polarizing plate 213A, which is a polarizing plate for linearly polarizing the natural light passing through the openings, is fixedly mounted so as to cover the openings of the two holes 213, although it is not clearly shown in the drawings because it is transparent. is fitted in A second plate 214A is fixedly fitted in the opening of the hole 214 so as to cover the opening, although it is also transparent and therefore does not clearly appear in the drawing. The second plate 214A is not a polarizing plate, but a simple transparent plate made of, for example, resin or glass that does not affect light passing through it.
The first illumination light, which is natural light at first coming from the depths of the holes 213 and exiting through the opening of the holes 213, passes through the first polarizing plate 213A at the opening and becomes linearly polarized light. The second illumination light coming from deep inside the hole 214 and exiting from the opening of the hole 214 remains natural light. Since the vibration plane of the linearly polarized first illumination light is orthogonal to the polarization direction of the third polarizing plate 212A, it cannot pass through the third polarizing plate 212A. Although not limited to this, in this embodiment, the polarization direction of the first polarizing plate 213A is the vertical direction in FIG. 3, and the polarization direction of the third polarizing plate 212A is the horizontal direction in FIG.
As will be described later, the second plate 214A may be a polarizing plate whose polarization direction is orthogonal to that of the first polarizing plate 213A. In this case, the polarization direction of the second polarizer 214A is orthogonal to that of the first polarizer 213A and is the same as that of the third polarizer 212A. In this case, the first illumination light emitted from the opening of the hole 213 is linearly polarized light, and the second illumination light emitted from the opening of the hole 214 is linearly polarized light whose vibration plane is orthogonal to that of the first illumination light. The first illumination light cannot pass through the third polarizer 212A, but the second illumination light can pass through the third polarizer 212A.
A first light source 213B, which is a light source that emits natural light, is arranged behind both holes 213 by being fixed to a substrate (not shown). A second light source 214B, which is also a light source that emits natural light, is arranged behind both holes 214 by being fixed to a substrate (not shown). The substrates to which the first light source 213B and the second light source 214B are fixed may or may not be the same. Also, the first light source 213B and the second light source 214B may or may not be the same light source, but in this embodiment both are the same light source, and this embodiment is not limited to this. The same LED is used. Although not limited to this, in this embodiment, two first light sources 213B are arranged in one hole 213 and one second light source 214B is arranged in one hole 214 . Therefore, the light amount of the first illumination light emitted from the hole 213 is approximately twice the light amount of the second illumination light emitted from the hole 214 . This device is for making the brightness of the obtained image closer to each other when the illumination light used is the first illumination light and the second illumination light when an image is captured using the smartphone 100. is. However, the amount of light of the first illumination light and the amount of light of the second illumination light do not necessarily have to be different as described above.

A thick portion 215 that is thicker than the front plate portion 211 is provided below the front plate 210 .
Like the front plate portion 211, the thick portion 215 also has a rectangular shape when viewed from the front, although this is not necessarily the case. The whole is roughly rectangular when viewed from the front. The thick portion 215 is integrated with the front plate portion 211, and the entire front plate 210 including the front plate portion 211 and the thick portion 215 constitutes a hollow case.
The thickness of the thick portion 215 is greater than the thickness of the front plate portion 211 because a battery (not shown) for supplying electric power for lighting the first light source 213B and the second light source 214B is provided in the thick portion 215. This is because it is built inside. Therefore, after selecting an appropriate battery, the thickness of the thick portion 215 does not have to be larger than the thickness of the front plate portion 211 if it is possible in terms of design. may be thin, or the thick portion 215 and the front plate portion 211 may have the same thickness.
More specifically, there is no need to distinguish between the front plate portion 211 and the thick portion 215 in the first place. Further, it is of course permitted that the above-described holes 212, holes 213, and holes 214 are provided in the thick portion 215 or are provided across the front plate portion 211 and the thick portion 215. FIG.

A switch 216 is provided on the side surface of the front plate 210 (left side surface in FIG. 3). The switch 216 is for switching on/off of the first light source 213B and the second light source 214B. The switch 216 in this embodiment adopts a structure that can slide vertically so as to be positioned at one of three positions. , switch 216 may be configured in any manner. The switch 216 can be replaced with, for example, three push buttons that can be alternatively pressed, or a dial type switch that can select one of three states depending on the angle of rotation.
The switch 216 in this embodiment has an OFF state in which both the first light source 213B and the second light source 214B are turned off, a first ON state in which only the first light source 213B is turned on, and a second ON state in which only the second light source 214B is turned on. can be arbitrarily selected by sliding it vertically.
The switch 216 is connected to the substrate described above, and the first light source 213B and the second light source 214B are turned on or off by selection by moving the switch 216 . Since the switch 216 controls the turning on and off of the first light source 213B and the second light source 214B according to a known technique or a known technique, a detailed description of the configuration thereof will be omitted.

The rear plate 220 is a plate-like body. Although not limited to this, the rear plate 220 is a rectangular plate-like body having substantially the same shape and size as the front plate 210 .
Unlike the front plate 210 , the rear plate 220 has a constant overall thickness and is thinner than the front plate 210 . The reason why the rear plate 220 is thinner than the front plate 210 is that there is no need to accommodate a board, a battery, or the like inside it. However, it is not essential that the thickness of the entire rear plate 220 is constant or that the thickness of the rear plate 220 is thinner than that of the front plate 210 . Also, the rear plate 220 may be solid if there are no special circumstances, and although not limited to this, it is so in this embodiment.
The rear plate 220 can move its upper edge toward or away from the upper edge of the front plate 210 . This helps sandwich the bottom of the upside-down smartphone 100 between the edges of the front plate 210 and the rear plate 220, as described below. Of course, when the edges of the upper ends of the front plate 210 and the rear plate 220 come close to each other to a certain distance corresponding to the thickness of the housing 101 of the smartphone 100, the lower part of the smartphone 100 is sandwiched between them, will be fixed.
In this embodiment, the rear plate 220 is hinged to the front plate 210 via a shaft 230 so that it can swing relative to the front plate 210 about the shaft 230 . The shaft 230 may be a part of the front plate 210 or the rear plate 220 , or may be a member separate from the front plate 210 and the rear plate 220 . Since the method of hinge connection is well-known or well-known, detailed description of its configuration is omitted. The rear plate 220 and the front plate 210 may move toward or away from each other while maintaining the parallelism of the opposing surfaces.
2 and 4 show a state in which the upper edges of the front plate 210 and the rear plate 220 are closest to each other and are in contact with each other. From this state, the rear plate 220 can be rotated clockwise about the axis 230 as indicated by the arrow in FIG. The rear plate 220 can be rotated from the position shown in FIG. 4 to the position shown in FIG. 7, and further rotated clockwise about 20° to 30° from the position shown in FIG. It is possible.
Both legs of the torsion coil spring 240 are fixed or at least locked to the front plate 210 and the rear plate 220, respectively. As a result, a force from the torsion coil spring 240 always acts on the front plate 210 and the rear plate 220 in a direction opposite to the arrow shown in FIG. The front plate 210 and rear plate 220 are adapted to keep their upper edges in contact with each other when no external force is applied to them, as in the case shown in FIG. On the other hand, when the lower ends of the front plate 210 and the rear plate 220 are pinched in the same manner as when opening the clothespins and a force is applied to resist the force acting from the torsion coil spring 240, the rear plate 220 moves toward the front plate 210. It rotates about the shaft 230 relatively to the front plate 210 so that the upper edge of the rear plate 220 can be relatively separated from the upper edge of the front plate 210 .

Next, the usage method and operation of the lighting device 200 described above, and a method for the user to take an image of his/her own intraoral cavity using the lighting device 200 and the smartphone 100 will be described.

When the user takes an intraoral image using the smartphone 100 , first, the lighting device 200 is fixed to the smartphone 100 .
In that case, smartphone 100 is turned upside down.
To fix the lighting fixture 200 to the smartphone 100 , the lower ends of the front plate 210 and the rear plate 220 are pinched to bring them closer together by applying a force against the force acting from the torsion coil spring 240 . Then, the rear plate 220 rotates about the axis 230 relative to the front plate 210 , thereby separating the upper edge of the rear plate 220 from the upper edge of the front plate 210 . The distance between the upper edge of the rear plate 220 and the upper edge of the front plate 210 is wider than the thickness of the housing 101 of the smartphone 100, and the original orientation is between the front plate 210 and the rear plate 220. The vicinity of the lower end of the upside-down smartphone 100 is inserted. At this time, the in-camera lens 104 of the smartphone 100 is positioned near the lower end of the smartphone 100 . Also, the display 102 of the smartphone 100 faces the front plate 210 side.
At that time, the lens 104 of the in-camera of the smartphone 100 is adjusted so as to be positioned inside the hole 212 provided in the front plate portion 211 of the front plate 210 . The size of the hole 212 is designed to be considerably larger than the size of the lens 104 of the in-camera of the general smartphone 100 in both length and breadth. It is possible to position the lens 104 of the camera.
After the lens 104 of the smartphone 100 is positioned approximately in the center of the hole 212 , the fingers that grip the lower ends of the front panel 210 and the rear panel 220 are released. Then, due to the force received from the torsion coil spring 240, the edges of the upper ends of the front plate 210 and the rear plate 220 relatively approach each other, and the housing 101 of the smart phone 100 is sandwiched between them.
Since the vertical and horizontal sizes of the hole 212 are sufficiently larger than the vertical and horizontal sizes of the lens 104, the in-camera lens 104 is positioned inside the hole 212 regardless of the model of the smartphone 100. In this state, the upper edges of both the front plate 210 and the rear plate 220 can sandwich the housing 101 of the smartphone 100 from the front and back with a margin. This situation is the same even when a cover or a case is attached to the smart phone 100 .
In this manner, the lighting fixture 200 is fixed to the smartphone 100 .
Note that the adjustment of the position of the lens 104 with respect to the hole 212 may be performed after the housing 101 of the smartphone 100 is sandwiched between the front plate 210 and the rear plate 220, that is, after the smartphone 100 and the lighting device 200 are fixed to each other. can.

FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 show the state in which the smartphone 100 and the lighting device 200 are fixed.
FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of smartphone 100 and lighting device 200 fixed to each other, FIG. 6 is the front view, and FIG. 7 is the right side view.
As shown in FIG. 6 , the in-camera lens 104 of the smartphone 100 is positioned inside the hole 212 and is visible through the hole 212 .
As shown in FIG. 6, if the in-camera lens 104 of the smartphone 100 is shifted left or right from the center of the housing 101 in the width direction, the center of the lighting device 200 in the left-right direction is It does not necessarily have to coincide with the center of the housing 101 of the smartphone 100 in the horizontal direction. In the example shown in FIG. 6 , the lighting device 200 is slightly shifted leftward from the center of the housing 101 of the smartphone 100 in the left-right direction.

Of course, this is not necessarily the case, but in general, the switch 216 is in the off state when the lighting fixture 200 is fixed to the smartphone 100 . When the switch 216 is in the off state, both the first light source 213B and the second light source 214B are extinguished.
Here, the switch 216 is shifted up and down to either the first ON state or the second ON state. When the switch 216 is turned to the first ON state, the first light source 213B is turned on, and when the switch 216 is turned to the second ON state, the second light source 214B is turned on.

With either the first light source 213B or the second light source 214B emitting light, for example, the user holds the lighting device 200 with his/her own hand and faces the lens 104 of the in-camera of the smartphone 100 in front of his/her oral cavity. Imaging of the oral cavity is performed while positioning. In other words, the user takes a so-called self-portrait of the oral cavity.
The imaging itself is performed by the function of the smartphone 100 except for the irradiation of illumination light into the oral cavity by the first light source 213B or the second light source 214B. For example, the user operates the input device included in the smartphone 100 to select the in-camera imaging from the in-camera and out-camera imaging, and starts imaging with the in-camera.
When the user takes an image of the oral cavity, as shown in FIG. 8, the user should maintain the positional relationship with the smartphone 100 on top and the lighting device 200 on the bottom, although not so much accuracy is required. do. The distance from smartphone 100 to one's mouth is not limited to this, but is set to, for example, about 5 cm to 20 cm. The smartphone 100 may be slightly tilted in the front-rear direction in FIG. 8 .
By doing so, the display 102 of the smartphone 100 is positioned in front of or slightly below the user's eyes. When the smartphone 100 takes an image, most or all smartphones 100 currently on the market have a function of displaying on the display 102 a moving image of the image being picked up by the imaging device of the in-camera. With the function activated (usually this happens automatically), a user who takes an image of his/her own intraoral cavity by himself/herself can view the currently taken image by looking at the display 102 near his/her eyes. can be easily checked.
Note that FIG. 8 depicts a partial cross-sectional view of a human face on the left side of smartphone 100 . X1 is the upper teeth, X2 is the lower teeth, X3 is the tongue, and X4 is the eyes. The in-camera of the smartphone 100 can capture an image of a predetermined range including the posterior pharyngeal wall, which is the range surrounded by the dashed line inside the oral cavity, for example.

An image based on the illumination light emitted from the first light source 213B and an image based on the illumination light emitted from the second light source 214B will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG.

FIG. 9 conceptually shows what kind of reflected light is imaged by the imaging element of the in-camera by the illumination light from the first light source 213B.
FIG. 9(A) shows surface reflected light, which is reflected light from the outermost surface of an object wet with bodily fluids such as saliva in the oral cavity, and FIG. Going inside, it shows the behavior of internally reflected light, which is effectively reflected light reflected off the surface of the object itself, excluding bodily fluids. In addition, the straight line drawn in the thick circle mark conceptually indicates the orientation of the plane of polarization of the first illumination light or the reflected light at the relevant portion, and the radial lines are drawn in the circle mark. indicates that the linear polarization of the first illumination light or the reflected light is disturbed (for example, it is natural light).
The first illumination light emitted from the first light source 213B passes through the first polarizing plate 213A. The first illumination light that has passed through the first polarizing plate 213A becomes linearly polarized light. The plane of polarization of the linearly polarized light, which is the first illumination light in that case, is the horizontal direction in FIG. The steps up to this point are common to FIGS. 9A and 9B.
The first illumination light, which is linearly polarized light that has passed through the first polarizing plate 213A, hits the object X and becomes reflected light from the object X. As shown in FIG. Of the reflected light reflected by the object X, surface reflected light (reflected light generated by being reflected by the surface of body fluid) ideally maintains its polarization state. The surface-reflected light, which is linearly polarized light, is blocked by the third polarizing plate 212A, in which the direction of the plane of polarization of the linearly polarized light generated when natural light passes through is perpendicular to the direction of the first polarizing plate 213A. It does not reach the imaging element (Fig. 9(A)).
On the other hand, internally reflected light (light that passes through bodily fluids and is reflected at or slightly behind the surface of the mucous membrane) has its polarization state disturbed. Of the light contained in the internally reflected light, the light that oscillates in a direction orthogonal to the plane of polarization of the linearly polarized light contained in the surface reflected light passes through the third polarizing plate 212A. reaches the imaging device of the in-camera (FIG. 9(B)).
As a result, only the internally reflected light is used for the imaging element of the in-camera to capture an image using the first illumination light from the first light source 213B. What this means is that the image generated by the imaging device of the in-camera using the first illumination light derived from the first light source 213B is a non-glare, matte image. The result is a non-reflective image.

FIG. 10 conceptually shows what kind of reflected light is imaged by the imaging element of the in-camera by the illumination light from the second light source 214B.
10A and 10B respectively show the behavior of surface reflected light and the behavior of internally reflected light, similarly to FIGS. 9A and 9B. The orientation of the plane of polarization of the second illumination light or the reflected light and the symbols indicating that the linear polarization is disturbed follow FIG.
The second illumination light, which is the illumination light emitted from the second light source 214B, does not pass through the first polarizing plate 213A but passes through the second plate 214A. Since the second illumination light is not affected by the second plate 214A even though it passes through the second plate 214A, the second illumination light emitted from the second light source 214B is directed to the object X as natural light.
The second illumination light, which is natural light, hits the object X and becomes reflected light from the object X. As shown in FIG. Of the reflected light reflected by the object X, both the surface reflected light and the internally reflected light remain natural light (FIGS. 10A and 10B).
Therefore, for the same reason as the case described with reference to FIG. 9B, about half of the light amount of both the surface reflected light whose polarization state is disturbed and the internally reflected light passes through the third polarizing plate 212A. , reaches the imaging device of the in-camera (FIGS. 10A and 10B).
As a result, the light used for the imaging device of the in-camera to capture an image using the illumination light from the second light source 214B includes both surface reflected light and internally reflected light. What this means is that the image generated by the imaging element of the in-camera using the illumination light derived from the second light source 214B is a glaring and glossy reflected image. It means that it becomes

In this way, image data of an image (whether it is a moving image or a still image) captured by the imaging device of the in-camera can be recorded, for example, in the smartphone 100 using the functions of the smartphone 100. Then, it is possible to transmit to an appropriate device outside the smartphone 100 by a short-range communication function such as Wi-Fi provided by the smartphone 100 or by a communication function via the Internet provided by the smartphone 100. be.
In any case, the image data of the image captured by the imaging element of the in-camera can be used for image diagnosis, for example.

In addition, when the second plate 214A is the above-described second polarizing plate (referred to as 214A'), when the first light source 213B is lit and when the second light source 214B is lit, The image captured by the imaging element of the in-camera is as follows.
First, when the first light source 213B is turned on, the first illumination light and the reflected light are exactly the same as in the case shown in FIG. behave. Therefore, since only the internally reflected light reaches the imaging device of the in-camera, the image captured by the imaging device is a non-reflection image.
Next, when the second light source 214B is turned on, the second illumination light and the reflected light behave as shown in FIG. Note that the method of describing the figures follows that of FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. In this case, the surface reflected light reflected on the surface of the object reaches the imaging device of the in-camera (Fig. 11(A)), and the internally reflected light reflected inside the object also reaches the imaging device of the in-camera (Fig. 11 (B)). Therefore, the image captured in this case is a reflection image.

In the lighting device 200 described above, the first polarizing plate 213A, the second polarizing plate 214A (the second polarizing plate 214A'), and the third polarizing plate 212A are all omitted, and the first light source 213B and the second light source 214B are omitted. It is also possible to leave only one.
Then, the image that can be captured using the imaging device of the smartphone 100 combined with the lighting device 200 is only the reflected image. However, even in that case, it is possible to irradiate the intraoral area with illumination light when imaging the intraoral area, and when performing imaging, the user can use the smartphone 100 to display the currently captured image. It is also possible to confirm using the display 102 of .
Further, in the lighting apparatus 200 described above, the second plate 214A (second polarizing plate 214A') and the second light source 214B may be omitted so that only the first illumination light is emitted into the oral cavity. . In this case, the in-camera of the smartphone 100 can only capture non-reflection images. However, even in that case, it is possible to irradiate the intraoral area with illumination light when imaging the intraoral area, and when performing imaging, the user can use the smartphone 100 to display the currently captured image. It is also possible to confirm using the display 102 of .

100 smartphone 102 display 104 lens 105 lens 200 lighting equipment 210 front plate 211 front plate part 212 hole 212A third polarizing plate 213 hole 213A first polarizing plate 213B first light source 214 hole 214A second plate 214B second light source

Claims (7)

A display covering substantially the entire surface of one surface of the housing on one surface of a plate-shaped housing, and a camera lens positioned above the display on one surface of the housing and exposed to the outside. A lighting fixture for capturing an intraoral image of a person with the camera of the smartphone, which is used in combination with a smartphone comprising
Two plate-shaped bodies capable of being positioned and fixed by sandwiching the lower end of the housing of the smartphone in an upside down state between them, and sandwiching the housing of the smartphone. sometimes a front plate positioned on one side of the housing and a rear plate positioned on the other side of the housing;
With the housing of the smartphone provided on the front plate sandwiched between the front plate and the rear plate, the lens of the smartphone is positioned inside thereof, and is 1.5 cm or more in the lateral direction. A hole with a length of
a light source that emits illumination light that reaches the oral cavity of a person in a state in which the housing of the smartphone is sandwiched between the front plate and the rear plate;
A light fixture. Alternatively, the light source is provided on the front plate and emits illumination light that reaches the oral cavity of a person in a state in which the housing of the smartphone is sandwiched between the front plate and the rear plate. including a first light source and a second light source that can be turned on,
a first polarizing plate, which is a polarizing plate provided in the optical path of the first illumination light, which is the illumination light emitted from the first light source, for linearly polarizing natural light passing therethrough;
a third polarizing plate that covers the entire surface of the hole and that is a polarizing plate that linearly polarizes natural light that has passed through the hole, the direction of polarization of which is perpendicular to that of the first polarizing plate;
is equipped with
A lighting fixture according to claim 1 . A polarizing plate provided in the optical path of the second illumination light, which is the illumination light emitted from the second light source, linearly polarizing natural light passing therethrough, the polarization direction being orthogonal to the first polarizing plate. comprising a second polarizer configured to
3. A lighting fixture according to claim 2. The lateral length of the hole is 2 cm or more,
A lighting fixture according to claim 1 . The longitudinal length of the hole is 1.5 cm or more,
A lighting fixture according to claim 1 . The length of the hole in the vertical direction is 2 cm or more,
6. A luminaire according to claim 1, 4 or 5. A display covering substantially the entire surface of one surface of the housing on one surface of a plate-shaped housing, and a camera lens positioned above the display on one surface of the housing and exposed to the outside. a smartphone equipped with
a lighting fixture for capturing an intraoral image of a person with the camera of the smartphone, which is used in combination with the smartphone;
An imaging method in which the subject himself/herself images his/her oral cavity using
The lighting fixture is
Two plate-shaped bodies capable of being positioned and fixed by sandwiching the lower end of the housing of the smartphone in an upside down state between them, and sandwiching the housing of the smartphone. sometimes a front plate positioned on one side of the housing and a rear plate positioned on the other side of the housing;
a hole provided in the front plate for locating the lens of the smartphone inside thereof with the housing of the smartphone sandwiched between the front plate and the rear plate;
a light source that emits illumination light that reaches the oral cavity of a person in a state in which the housing of the smartphone is sandwiched between the front plate and the rear plate;
and
The camera that exposes the lower end of the housing of the smartphone upside down between the front plate and the rear plate to the one side surface of the smartphone inside the hole provided in the front plate. a step of clamping while locating the lens of
While the smartphone is fixed to the lighting fixture, the light source irradiates the oral cavity of the subject with illumination light, and the subject views the image displayed on the display of the smartphone while viewing the intraoral image. the process of imaging;
including,
Imaging method.

Images