JP3115749B2 - Occlusal force diagnostic sheet cassette - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cassette for accommodating an occlusal force diagnostic sheet in which both surfaces of a pressure-sensitive sheet are covered with waterproof layers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the field of dental care, carbon paper has been widely used for diagnosing the state of bite of a tooth. The carbon paper is inserted between the upper and lower teeth of the patient, and in this state, the patient strongly bites, thereby adhering carbon only to the portion where the upper and lower teeth contact. The dentist diagnoses the bite state of the patient from the position and area where the carbon adheres.

[0003]

However, the method using the carbon paper only detects that the upper and lower teeth are in contact with each other, and cannot detect the pressure of the teeth, that is, the occlusal force. For this reason, the occlusal pressure must be predicted from the state of carbon adhesion, and the diagnosis of occlusal conditions such as strong or weak bite is likely to be inaccurate, making it difficult to determine the treatment policy correctly. there were.

Further, in order to clearly attach carbon to the portion where the tooth has touched, it is necessary to apply upper and lower teeth several times with ticks, or shift the jaw to the left and right to rub the carbon paper contact portion of the tooth with the tip of the tooth. Was necessary.

[0005] In addition, since the position where the tooth is in contact with the entire dental arch is unclear, the dentist must look into the oral cavity of the patient and work while checking the position of the carbon paper. For this reason, there was a problem that workability was poor.

Accordingly, the applicant has proposed using an occlusal force diagnostic sheet in which both surfaces of a pressure-sensitive sheet are covered with waterproof layers (Japanese Patent Application No. 4-302975). It has also been proposed to laminate a wax layer on at least one surface of the pressure-sensitive sheet and to copy the tooth pattern onto the wax layer so that the occlusal force and the occlusion state of the dental arch can be simultaneously diagnosed (Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 4-302976).
issue). Furthermore, it has been proposed that the occlusal force diagnostic sheet be read by a scanner and subjected to image processing by a computer to obtain a diagnostic result or various diagnostic materials (Japanese Patent Application No. Hei.
Nos. 302977 and 4-30297).

However, when the patient bites, the occlusal force diagnostic sheet is greatly curved or deformed into a large irregular shape along the tooth shape. Therefore, when this sheet is read by the scanner, the read portion of the sheet is out of the range of the depth of focus of the scanner, so that an accurate image cannot be read.

Therefore, it has been considered that an image is read in a state where the sheet is pressed by a glass plate serving as an image reading surface of a scanner to correct the curvature or deformation. However, in this case, setting the sheet on the scanner is troublesome and inefficient. Further, the glass surface of the scanner is easily stained because the patient presses the bitten sheet, and it is necessary to clean the glass surface every time an image is read.

Further, when the sheet is set in the mouth of a patient, the sheet is usually bent near the center so as to be folded downward on both sides of the sheet so as to be easily inserted into the mouth. Also, the patient's bite sheet is typically significantly curved or deformed. For this reason, there is a problem that the sheet is difficult to be stored, and that the sheet is damaged during storage and the tooth pattern recorded on the sheet is changed, so that the sheet cannot be stored.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and reads an occlusal force diagnostic sheet in which both surfaces of a pressure-sensitive sheet are covered with a waterproof layer with a scanner, performs image processing, and obtains diagnostic results and diagnostic materials. When outputting, a bite force diagnostic sheet cassette that can easily set the bite force diagnostic sheet on the scanner, improves the efficiency of image reading work, and facilitates storage and management of the patient's bite sheet It is intended to provide a device.

[0011]

According to the present invention, there is provided a cassette for accommodating an occlusal force diagnostic sheet with a holder having a holder fixed to an outer peripheral edge of a pressure-sensitive sheet whose both sides are covered with a waterproof layer. A pair of substrates, at least one of which is transparent with the holder and the occlusal force diagnostic sheet interposed therebetween, and positioning means provided on at least one of the two substrates for positioning the holder. This is achieved by a cassette of sheets.

Here, the holder is provided with a knob for the operator to grasp with a finger, and a plurality of small holes for positioning provided on the knob are engaged with positioning pins provided on the substrate, thereby holding the holder. And the positioning means of the occlusal force diagnostic sheet can be constituted. When the occlusal force diagnostic sheet has a wax layer, it is desirable that a predetermined gap be maintained between the upper and lower substrates so that the substrate does not crush the irregularities of the tooth shape recorded on the wax layer.

[0013] Further, in order to make it easier to put the sheet into the mouth of the patient, it is desirable to provide a folding line such as a perforation in the holder in advance so as to make it easier to break. Since the position of the curved or deformed sheet is difficult to stabilize in the cassette,
It is desirable to provide a portion for holding the holder portion (holder holding portion) between the two substrates.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, the structure of an occlusal force diagnostic sheet housed in a cassette according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a plan view of an occlusal force diagnostic sheet used in the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing its structure, FIG. 3 is a developed view of a holder attached to this sheet,
4 is an explanatory view of the assembling procedure, FIG. 5 is a view showing a mounted state of the holder, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 10 denotes a sheet-shaped support made of synthetic resin, for example, a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) film having a thickness of 25 μm.
Reference numeral 12 denotes a developer coating layer, which is formed by applying a solution obtained by dispersing an acid clay (montmorillonite) sulfuric acid-treated product in water containing caustic soda to one surface (surface) of the support 10 and drying the solution. is there.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a color-developing agent coating layer formed on the color-developing agent coating layer 12, which is formed by dissolving a color developing agent such as 1-phenyl-1-xylylethane in oil and microencapsulating it. is there. Here, the microcapsules are adjusted to various strengths, and the microcapsules to be destroyed change according to the pressure. When the microcapsules are destroyed by the pressure, the color developing agent therein is absorbed by the color developing agent together with the oil to form a color. In this embodiment, the color is red. The density of this color development increases almost linearly with increasing pressure.

As described above, the support 10 and the developer coating layer 1
A pressure-sensitive sheet 15 is formed by the color-developing agent coating layer 14 and the color-forming agent coating layer 14, and the pressure-sensitive sheet 15 is cut out in a substantially horseshoe shape as shown by a broken line in FIG. This shape is determined so as to substantially conform to the shape of a human dental arch, the outer peripheral edge may be approximately a horseshoe shape, and the inner concave cut may be omitted.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 16 denotes a back waterproof layer,
It is formed of the same PET film as, for example, a 16 μm transparent film. An adhesive type paste is applied to one surface of the back waterproof layer 16 to form an adhesive layer 18. The back waterproof layer 16 is adhered to the back surface of the support 10 (the surface opposite to the developer application layer 12) by the adhesive layer 18.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a front waterproof layer, which is formed of a transparent PET film of 16 μm in the same manner as the back waterproof layer 16. The front waterproof layer 20 is overlaid on the color forming agent coating layer 14, and is adhered to the adhesive layer 18 of the back waterproof layer 16 along the outer periphery of the support 10. In this case, it is desirable that the pressure between the waterproof layers 16 and 20 be sufficiently reduced and evacuated.

As described above, the support 10 and the developer coating layer 1
2. The laminated body 15 of the coloring agent coating layer 14 is
And glue the periphery along the outside of the horseshoe-shaped laminate 15. Then, the outer shape is cut out on the outer periphery of the laminated body 15 leaving a space where the waterproof layers 16 and 20 adhere to each other. As a result, a substantially horseshoe-shaped pressure-sensitive sheet 22 is formed. The pressure-sensitive sheet 22 is sealed with the back waterproof layer 16 and the front waterproof layer 20. For this reason, the water resistance is improved, and even if the saliva adheres in the oral cavity, there is no influence on the coloring property, and the reliability is increased.

Since one waterproof layer 16 is adhered to the back surface of the support 10, the back waterproof layer 16 does not peel off or move with respect to the support 10. Therefore, the front waterproof layer 20 whose periphery is fixed to the back waterproof layer 16 is
Will not move.

The horseshoe-shaped pressure-sensitive sheet 22 waterproofed by the waterproof layers 16 and 20 has a wax layer 24 on one side thereof.
Is formed. This wax layer 24 is made of, for example, 0.35 ± dental paraffin wax (JIS-T-6502).
It was uniformly applied to a thickness of 0.03 mm. The wax layer 24 is desirably colored in a color that is close to the color complementary to the color of the pressure-sensitive sheet 22. In this embodiment, blue-green or green is used.

On the surface of the wax layer 24, a transparent synthetic resin film 25 is further adhered. As the film 25, for example, a thin flexible film having a thickness of several μm, which is commercially available as a food packaging wrap film, can be used. The film 25 is usually obtained by adding a softener such as a fatty acid derivative, a stabilizer such as an epoxidized vegetable oil, or the like to a base material such as polyvinylidene chloride.

The film 25 adheres directly to the surface of the wax layer 24 and can be fixed by the adhesive force of the wax layer 24 itself. Note that the film 25 is formed so that its outer periphery is slightly inside the outer peripheral edge of the wax layer 24, and is desirably formed to have substantially the same outer shape as the pressure-sensitive sheet 22. In other words, the outer peripheral edge of the wax layer 24 projects slightly outward from the outer peripheral edges of the pressure-sensitive sheet 22 and the film 25. The occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 is completed by attaching the film 25 to the wax layer 24 as described above.

The occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 is fixed to a cardboard holder 28 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the holder 28 is formed by integrally forming an upper plate portion 30 and a lower plate portion 32 formed in a substantially Y-shape, and fold lines 34 provided on their base portions 30a and 32a. The upper plate portion 30 can be overlapped with the lower plate portion 32 by bending at. This folded base 30a,
Reference numeral 32a is a knob for the operator to grasp with a finger.

The base 30 of the upper plate 30 and the lower plate 32
arm portions 30b, 32 branching bifurcated from a, 32a
“b” is curved substantially along the outer periphery of the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 in a substantially semicircular arc shape.

The holder 28 is fixed to the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 as shown in FIG. That is, the lower plate portion 32
The outer peripheral edge of the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 is positioned and placed on the arm 32b of the upper plate 30 and the upper plate 30 is
Wrap over. Then, the arm portion 30b of the upper plate portion 30 may be overlapped with the arm portion 32b of the lower plate portion 32 and pressed.

Since the wax layer 24 has appropriate flexibility and adhesiveness, when the peripheral edge of the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 is sandwiched between the arms 30b and 32b and pressed, the wax layer 24 flows. As shown in FIG. 6, both arms 30b, 32
b. As a result, the arms 30b and 32b are bonded to each other by the wax layer 24, and the holder 28 and the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 are integrated.

The occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 is attached to the holder 2
The user grips the bases 30a and 32a serving as the knobs 8 and puts them into the open mouth of the patient, and is mounted so as to uniformly hit the upper part of the maxillary dentition. When the patient gently bites, the pressure applied between the upper and lower teeth is applied to the wax layer 24 via the film 25, and the entire tooth profile of the dental arch is recorded as irregularities on the wax layer 24.

At this time, since the film 25 is thin and soft,
It is easily deformed following the tooth profile and does not affect the tooth profile formed on the wax layer 24. At the same time, the pressure applied between the upper and lower teeth is applied to the pressure-sensitive sheet 22, and only the portion where the pressure is applied develops a color according to the magnitude of the pressure. In this embodiment, the color is red.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of another occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26A, and FIG.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line corresponding to line VI-VI.

In this embodiment, wax layers 24 and 24A are laminated on both surfaces of a pressure-sensitive sheet 22, and films 25 and 25A are adhered to these surfaces, respectively. According to this embodiment, the meshing of the upper and lower dentitions can be separately recorded in the wax layers 24, 24A.

As described above, the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 (26A) in which the coloring at a density corresponding to the occlusal force is recorded on the pressure-sensitive sheet 22 and the tooth shape is recorded on the wax layer 24 (24A) is
The occlusal force is taken out of the patient's mouth, stored in the cassette according to the present invention, and loaded into the occlusal force diagnosing device to perform occlusal force diagnosis.

FIG. 9 is an external perspective view of this device, FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram thereof, FIG. 11 is a side view of a cassette accommodating the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26, FIG. 12 is a plan view, and FIG. FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of the cassette, FIG. 15 is a side view showing the internal structure of the scanner, FIG. 16 is an operation flowchart, and FIG. 17 is a view showing an example of print output.

Positioning small holes 36, 36 are formed in the base portions 30a, 32a of the holder 28 so as to be folded at the folding line 34 and pass through the upper plate portion 30 and the lower plate portion 32 in an overlapping state. It is desirable that various marks 38 and 40 are provided on the bases 30a and 32a as shown in FIG. For example, if a cross-shaped mark 38 is provided in the vicinity of the confluence of the arm 30b and the base 30a of the upper plate 30 and the mark 38 is positioned near the center of the patient's front teeth, occlusal force diagnosis can be performed. It is possible to easily confirm the insertion position of the sheet 26 correctly. If an ID mark 40 for patient identification is added, it is convenient for organizing and managing the occlusal force diagnosis sheet 26 after the examination.

Further, the holder 28 may be provided with a bar code 42 as shown in FIG. 3 so that the dimensions and type of the sheet 26, the front and back, left and right, and the like can be automatically determined by a scanner 54 to be described later. . The density reference 44 may be added based on the reading characteristics of the scanner 54. Further, the date of diagnosis (diagnosis date) may be added.

In FIG. 9, reference numeral 50 denotes a vertically long casing, in which a CRT 52 as a display means is accommodated at the upper part, a scanner 54 is arranged under the CRT 52, and a printer 56 is accommodated at the lowermost part.
The scanner 54 and the printer 56 can be operated from the front of the housing 50. The scanner 54 has a pair of upper and lower color scanners 54A and 54B for reading images on both surfaces of the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 stored in a transparent cassette 58.

Next, the structure of the cassette 58 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 11 to 14, the cassette 58 includes transparent plates 60 and 62 as a pair of upper and lower substrates that can be opened and closed, and sandwiches the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 with the holder 28 therebetween. That is, a handle member 64 is fixed to one end of the lower transparent plate 62, and a hinge member 66 is fixed to the other end, and the upper transparent plate 60 is rotatably pivoted to the hinge member 66.

The lower transparent plate 62 is provided with positioning projections 68, 68 which engage with the positioning small holes 36, 36 provided in the holder 28. The holder 28 is positioned on the projections 68 and 68 and is held between the transparent plates 60 and 62. Here, ridges 60a and 60b are formed on both left and right edges of the upper transparent plate 60. These ridges 6
0a, 60b hits the lower transparent plate 62 and both transparent plates 60,
The tooth pattern recorded on the wax layer 24 (24A) of the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 is maintained at a constant interval of 62 and the transparent plate 60,
62 holds the sheet 26 flat without crushing.

The cassette 58 holding the sheet 26 flat is inserted into an insertion opening 70 of the scanner 54 opened on the front surface of the housing 50 and positioned at a predetermined position in the scanner 54. Here, the cassette 58 includes the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 2
The holder 28 is inserted in the up-and-down direction so that the holder 28 of the No. 6 faces forward and the surface on which the dental arch of the upper jaw is recorded faces upward.

A pair of upper and lower color scanners 54A and 54B
The first mirror box 72 (72A, 72B) moves along the upper and lower surfaces of the cassette 58 as shown in FIG. 15, and the second mirror box 72 moves at half speed in the same direction as the first mirror box 72. Mirror box 74 (74A, 74B) and scanner 5
Lens 78 (78A, 78A) fixed to the case 76
B) and CCD line sensor 80 (80A, 80B)
And

The images of the upper and lower surfaces of the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 are as follows.
It is guided to the first mirror box 72 and the second mirror box 74 through the transparent plates 60 and 62 of the cassette 58,
8 forms an image on the line sensor 80. By moving the first and second mirror boxes 72 and 74 in this manner, the images on both the upper and lower surfaces of the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 can be simultaneously read. This optical system has a large depth of focus, and can well read a tooth pattern having irregularities formed on the wax layer 24 of the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26.

The image signal read by the line sensor 80 is C
The data is read by the PU 82 (FIG. 10), subjected to predetermined image processing, and stored in the memory 84. The content of this image processing is instructed from the keyboard 86. And the processing result is CRT5
2 and is printed out to the printer 56. The printer 56 outputs an image on a transparent print sheet 88 by a thermal head 90.

The CPU 82 performs various spatial filtering processes such as an outline emphasis process and an averaging process on the image read by the scanner 54, and determines the pressure P with respect to the color density D of the pressure-sensitive sheet 22, that is, the occlusal force into a predetermined PD characteristic curve. Calculate using

The CPU 82 performs an arbitrary operation selected by the keyboard 86 from a plurality of types of operations. For example, the following calculation is performed. (1) Obtain the distribution of occlusal force. (2) Find the left, right, front and back balance of the occlusal force.
(3) Obtain the XY distribution of the occlusal force for each area partitioned by the XY axes. (4) The mountain whose height changes according to the magnitude of the occlusal force is drawn and its distribution is displayed three-dimensionally. (5) Find the center (center of gravity) of the occlusal force. (6) Find the average pressure of the occlusal force within a predetermined range, and so on.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. First, the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 bitten by the patient is set in the cassette 58, and is inserted into the insertion opening 70 of the scanner 54 with the upper surface of the upper jaw recorded thereon (step 1).
00). Then, the scanner 54 reads the ID mark 40 and other marks 42 and 44 (step 102). CPU8
In step 2, the name of the patient is read from the ID mark 40, and the size and type of the sheet 26 are determined and recorded in the memory 84 (step 104).

The CPU 82 determines an image range to be read from the size of the sheet 26 (step 106), and scans this range twice or once according to the presence or absence of the wax layer 24 (step 108). For example, the first scan of the surface with the wax layer 24
Is read, and an image indicating the occlusal force recorded on the pressure-sensitive sheet 22 by the second scan is read. The presence or absence of the wax layer 24 is indicated by mark 4.
2 to determine the type of the sheet 26.

The read image is subjected to appropriate image processing and stored in the memory 84 (step 110).

Next, the density of the color image is obtained (step 112). The pressure P, that is, the occlusal force, for this density D is obtained using the PD characteristic curve (step 114).
The obtained occlusal force is converted to a gradation corresponding to the magnitude of the pressure (step 116) and stored in the memory 84 (step 118).

Next, a desired operation mode is selected by the keyboard 86 (step 120). The operation of the selected mode is performed (step 122), and the result is output to the CRT 52 or the printer 56 (step 12).
4, 126). For example, if the occlusal pressure distribution calculation mode is selected, an image as shown in FIG. 17 is output to the CRT 52 and the printer 56.

As shown in FIG. 17, in the occlusal force distribution, the occlusal force of the upper dental arch is displayed in the upper row in the form of ∩, and the occlusal force of the lower dental arch is displayed in the form of the ∪ in the lower section. Is displayed. When the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 is set in the cassette 58 in the direction shown in FIG. 12 in this manner and inserted into the scanner 54 with the upper jaw recorded side facing up, the arrangement coincides with that when viewing the oral cavity of the patient. As a result, the occlusal force distribution of the upper and lower dental arches is displayed. For this reason, it is displayed with the same feeling as at the time of medical examination, and diagnosis is facilitated.

In FIG. 17, the occlusal force centers G are separately obtained for the upper jaw and the lower jaw, and are indicated by G _U and _GL , respectively. Also, the name N of the patient read from the ID mark 40, the diagnosis date read from another mark, and the like are displayed. Further, a color density scale S is displayed based on the read density reference 44.

The occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 which has been subjected to the image processing as described above is stored in the cassette 58 as it is. Therefore, a large number of cassettes 58 can be stacked and stored without damaging the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 or changing the tooth shape of the wax layers 24 and 24A, and handling becomes easy.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the cassette, FIG. 19 is a plan view, FIG. 20 is a bottom view, and FIG.
22 is an end view taken along the line XXI-XXI, and FIG. 22 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

The cassette 58A shown here has transparent plates 60A and 62A as a pair of upper and lower substrates, and has basically the same configuration as the cassette 58 shown in FIGS. However, in this cassette 58A, the lower transparent plate 6
2A, a holder holding portion 62B into which the holder 28 of the sheet 26 enters and a concave portion 62C facing the sheet 26 are dug. Here, the concave portion 62C is the holder holding portion 6
Deeper than 2B.

The upper transparent plate 60A has a recess 60B facing the recess 62C. This recess 60B
Is a part of the holder holding portion 62 of the lower transparent plate 62A.
A holder holding portion 60C facing B is formed. Note that a part of the lower surface of the transparent plate 60A is used as it is for the holder holding portion 60C. That is, the area shown by the phantom line in FIG. 18 is the holder holding portion 62B on the lower transparent plate 62A side.
And a holder holding portion 60C opposed to. 68A
Is a positioning projection provided on the lower transparent plate 62A.

Accordingly, when the sheet 26 with the holder 28 described in FIGS. 4 to 8 is loaded into the cassette 58A, the positioning projections 68A engage with the positioning small holes 36 and the holder 28 is moved up and down as shown in FIG. Between the holder holding portions 60C and 62B. 21 and 22
4 and 5, the arm portions 30b and 32b of the holder 28 are connected to the holder holding portions 60C and 62C.
B shows a state of being clamped between B.

For this reason, the holder 28 is composed of upper and lower transparent plates 60.
There is no movement between A and 62A. The portion of the sheet 26 is located between the concave portions 60B and 62C, and the upper and lower transparent plates 6 are provided.
0A and 62A without direct contact with both transparent plates 60A and 62A.
A and 62A always have a gap.

The upper transparent plate 60 is provided in the cassette 58A.
A, density references 44A, 44B
2A is provided with a bar code 44C indicating the density of the density references 44A and 44B, respectively. In FIG. 5, the description has been given of attaching the density reference 44 to the holder 28. However, when the density reference 44 is attached to the holder 28 by printing, the color and the density of the density reference 44 change due to a change in printing conditions. And the accuracy may be reduced. In contrast, cassette 5
If the density references 44A and 44B are added to 8A, the density of the image can be accurately measured even if the holder changes.

The shape of the holder 28 can be variously modified, and it is desirable that the holder 28 be easily bent so that it can be easily inserted into a patient's mouth. The holders 28A and 28B shown in FIGS. 23 and 24 are provided with folding lines 28a and 28b at perforations or the like.

That is, the holder 28A shown in FIG. 23 has a folding line 28a formed by perforations along the axis of symmetry A of the holder 28A. The holder 28B of FIG. 24 has a pair of broken lines 28b provided at symmetrical positions with respect to the axis of symmetry A. Note that the broken lines 28a and 28b may be traces left on the striated lines by pressing instead of perforations.

FIG. 25 shows another embodiment of the holder 28C. This holder 28C sandwiches only the vicinity of the center of the outer periphery of the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 from the upper and lower surfaces, and has cutouts 30D and 30D formed on both edges of the base 30C serving as a knob so as to substantially follow the outer periphery of the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26. Have been.

When the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 with the holder 28C is used, the holder 28C does not obstruct the oral cavity when the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 is inserted into the oral cavity. Occlusion can be performed without receiving. For this reason, it is suitable for correctly detecting the occlusal force in a natural occlusal state.

The notches 30D, 30D allow the lips to be sufficiently closed when inserted into the oral cavity. For this reason, it is particularly suitable for a patient with total dentures to perform biting while dentures are stabilized in the oral cavity.

For the sheet 26 with the holder 28C shown in FIG. 25, not only the holder 28C is held by holder holding portions provided on the upper and lower substrates of the cassette but also the outer peripheral edge of the sheet 26 is held. It is desirable to keep. For example, the holder 28C is continuously connected to the holder holding portion.
May be attached to both substrates, and these thick papers may be in contact with and sandwich the outer peripheral edge of the sheet 26.

In the above embodiment, the cassettes 58 and 58A
Are made of transparent plates 60, 62, 60A and 62A, so that images on both sides of the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 can be read by the scanner 54. However, the cassette of the present invention includes one in which only one substrate is made transparent. In this case, the scanner can read an image of only one side of the occlusal force diagnostic sheet 26 through the transparent substrate.

In the above embodiment, the holders 28, 2
8A and 28B, small holes 36 and transparent plates 62 and 62A
The positioning means is formed by engaging with the projection 68 provided on the front side. However, it goes without saying that the positioning means of the present invention is not limited to this.

[0068]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, at least one of the occlusal force diagnostic sheets with the holder is sandwiched between a pair of transparent substrates, and the holder and the occlusal force diagnostic sheet are positioned in the cassette by the positioning means. Therefore, the image recorded on the occlusal force diagnostic sheet can be read by the scanner through the transparent substrate. Therefore, even if the occlusal force diagnostic sheet is bent or deformed due to the patient biting, the sheet can be held flat between the pair of substrates. Therefore, the sheet can be easily and efficiently set on the scanner, and the image reading operation can be efficiently performed.

Further, since the occlusal force diagnostic sheet can be held and managed while being sandwiched between the cassettes, the occlusal force diagnostic sheet is not damaged during storage, and handling is easy.

Here, the positioning means of the holder can be constituted so that the projection provided on the substrate side is engaged with the plurality of positioning small holes provided in the holder. In the case where a wax layer is provided on at least one surface of the occlusal force diagnostic sheet and the tooth pattern is recorded by the unevenness of the wax layer, the tooth shape of the unevenness of the wax layer is maintained by keeping the distance between both substrates of the cassette constant. It is desirable not to crush it (claim 3).

A folding line is attached to the holder in advance, and when the holder is inserted into a patient's mouth, the work is facilitated by bending and bending along the folding line. Since the curved holder or the sheet strongly bitten by the patient is not flat, it is difficult to stabilize the inside of the cassette. In such a case, a holder holding portion for holding the holder portion is provided on the substrate, and the sheet is stabilized by pressing the holder portion, so that an image can be read with high accuracy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an occlusal force diagnostic sheet used in the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of an occlusal force diagnostic sheet.

FIG. 3 is an expanded view of a holder.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the assembling procedure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a holder mounted state.

6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the occlusal force diagnostic sheet.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is an external perspective view of the apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram thereof.

FIG. 11 is a side view of the cassette.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a cassette.

13 is a sectional view taken along line XIII-XIII in FIG.

FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of the cassette.

FIG. 15 is a side view of the scanner.

FIG. 16 is an operation flowchart.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a print output example.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the cassette.

FIG. 19 is a plan view of the cassette.

FIG. 20 is a bottom view of the same.

21 is an end view taken along line XXI-XXI in FIG. 19;

FIG. 22 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 21;

FIG. 23 is a view showing another embodiment of the holder.

FIG. 24 is a view showing another embodiment of the holder.

FIG. 25 is a view showing another embodiment of the holder.

[Explanation of symbols]

 24, 24A Wax layer 26 Occlusal force diagnostic sheet 28, 28A, 28B, 28C Holder 28a, 28b Folding line 30a, 32a, 30C Base as knob 36 Small positioning hole 58, 58A Cassette 60, 62, 60A, 62A Substrate Transparent plate 60B, 62C Recess 60C, 62B Holder holding portion 68, 68A Positioning protrusion

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-57-192537 (JP, A) JP-A-4-99569 (JP, A) JP-A-1-180431 (JP, A) JP-A-56-19563 100054 (JP, A) JP-A-54-62692 (JP, A) JP-A-3-168144 (JP, A) JP-A-4-120714 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01L 5/00 A61C 19/05

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cassette for storing an occlusal force diagnostic sheet with a holder in which a holder is fixed to an outer peripheral edge of a pressure-sensitive sheet whose both surfaces are covered with a waterproof layer, wherein the holder and the occlusal force diagnostic sheet are stored. A cassette for an occlusal force diagnostic sheet, comprising: a pair of substrates, at least one of which is transparent, and positioning means provided on at least one of the two substrates for positioning the holder. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holder includes a knob, a plurality of small holes for positioning are formed on the knob, and a plurality of positioning protrusions with which the small holes are engaged are formed on the substrate. 1. Cassette for bite force diagnosis sheet. 3. The occlusal force diagnostic sheet has a wax layer laminated on at least one surface thereof, and a predetermined gap is held between the pair of substrates with the occlusal force diagnostic sheet interposed therebetween. Or a cassette of the occlusal force diagnostic sheet of 2. 4. An opposing surface of the pair of substrates is formed with a holder holding portion for holding the holder at a position substantially symmetrical with the outer peripheral edge of the pressure-sensitive sheet, and a concave portion facing the pressure-sensitive sheet while holding a gap. A cassette for an occlusal force diagnostic sheet according to claim 1.