JPH0225379Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an occlusal force measuring device that measures the force generated when a person bites down on something, that is, the occlusal force.

[Conventional technology]

Bite force measuring devices are mainly used by dentists to determine, for example, the state of alveolar pyorrhea and the degree of compatibility between dentures and gums.

In conventional occlusal force measuring devices, a metal disc-shaped detector is used to detect occlusal force. When the subject bites down on this detector, the strain that occurs in this detector is extracted as an electrical quantity via a resistance strain gauge, and this quantity is measured to measure the occlusal force. This type of detector has a cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. 4 so that strain in response to applied force can be efficiently and accurately expressed. That is, the detector 1 is hollow, and the center portion 2 of the upper surface is thick. Then, the subject uses this detector 1,
As shown by the arrow in the figure (the top side is the top center part 2
The occlusal force was detected from the strain that occurs in the detector 1 when the lower surface side stably supports the detector 1 against the force from the upper surface side.

[Problem that the invention aims to solve] If the detector is structured as described above, when the subject bites the detector, the place where the subject does so is narrow (the area where one tooth comes into contact is on the top surface of the detector). This is inconvenient because it is limited to the central area, and even when you bite down in a normal area, you often end up clenching your teeth in an unnatural way.

Furthermore, if the detector has the above structure, its thickness must be at least 4 mm. When measuring occlusal force, it is desirable to measure the maximum force exerted on an object when the subject bites the object. However, it has been empirically shown that the maximum force is generated when the thickness of the object to be clenched is 4 mm or less, as shown in FIG. Therefore, it has been impossible to measure the maximum occlusal force with conventional occlusal force measuring devices using such detectors. Furthermore, since measurements are taken by inserting a detector such as a resistance strain gauge into the mouth that is electrically connected to the device, in the unlikely event that the device or the detector itself malfunctions, the test subject will There was a risk of being exposed to the risk of electric shock.

The present invention was developed in view of these shortcomings, and its purpose is to allow the examinee to bite down on the detector in a natural state and easily, and the resulting bite force is the maximum at the examination point at that time. An object of the present invention is to provide an occlusal force measuring device that satisfies the following.

[Means for solving problems]

Therefore, in this invention, we use an optical fiber cable that has no risk of electric shock, and in order to further expand the contact area of the teeth, we have adopted a structure in which the optical fiber cable is bent and held between two plate-like members. . However, since optical fiber cables leak and attenuate light at bent parts, in this invention, two fiber optic cables are laid out in parallel from one end for a predetermined length, and the parallel parts are made into two pieces. The light emitted from the one end of one optical fiber cable is reflected toward the one end of the other optical fiber cable at a position opposite to the one end of each of the two optical fiber cables. a light source at the other end of the one optical fiber cable; a photoelectric converter for converting the light given to the other end of the other optical fiber cable into an electrical amount; A measuring device that measures an electrical quantity is connected to this photoelectric converter, and the light that reaches the photoelectric converter in the order of the one optical fiber cable, the reflective member, and the other optical fiber cable from the light source is transmitted as described above. A measuring device was used to measure the amount of electricity that corresponds to the light.

[Effect]

According to such a configuration, when the subject bites the two plate-like members so as to press the two optical fiber cables held between them, the optical fiber cables are deformed. do.

Therefore, the light passing through the optical fiber cable suffers a loss corresponding to the force exerted on the plate member. This light is converted into an electrical quantity by the photoelectric converter, and this electrical quantity is measured by the measuring instrument. Therefore, the electrical quantity measured by the measuring instrument indicates the force applied to the two plate-like members, that is, the occlusal force.

〔Example〕

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the occlusal force measuring device of the present invention. 10 in FIG. 1 is a detector. A plan view of the detector 10 is shown in FIG. 2, and a side view thereof is shown in FIG.
The detector 10 includes two optical fiber cables 11,
12, two plate-like members 13, 14 which are held in parallel with each other by a predetermined length from one end of the optical fiber cables 11, 12, and plate-like members 13, 1.
A filling member 15 made of an elastic material, which fills the gap in 4 and is fixed to the plate-like members 13 and 14 with an adhesive or the like.
and a side surface of the combined body consisting of the optical fiber cables 11, 12, the plate members 13, 14, and the filling member 15, which are the optical fiber cables 11, 12.
The rectangular prism 16 is bonded to the one end surface of the rectangular prism 16 with an adhesive, and the cover 17 covers the rectangular prism 16. Plate members 13, 14
is a thin plate-like material made of metal or synthetic resin. The filling member 15 is made of an elastic material such as silicone rubber.
The right angle prism 16 has two planes 16a and 16b that are perpendicular to each other, as shown in FIG. The right angle prism 16 is connected to the optical fiber cable 1.
The optical fiber cable 12 is provided at such a position that the light emitted from the end face of the optical fiber cable 12 is reflected by the flat surface 16a, and then reaches the end face of the optical fiber cable 12 after being reflected by the flat surface 16b. The cover 17 is provided to shield the optical path of the light emitted from the end face of the optical fiber cable 11 from the outside through the right-angle prism 16 and the end face of the optical fiber cable 12 as described above. Incidentally, the thickness of the detector 10 made up of each of these members is mainly determined by the thickness of the plate-like member 1.
3, 14 and the thickness of the optical fiber cables 11, 12. If the plate-shaped members 13 and 14 are made of metal, for example, the thickness should be about 0.5 mm to withstand the occlusal force of a normal subject. Also, the diameter of the optical fiber cables 11 and 12 is 10 μm.
You can choose up to . Therefore, an extremely thin detector 10 having a thickness of, for example, about 1 mm can be manufactured.

18 is a light source. This light source 18 is provided at the other end of the optical fiber cable 11. 19 is a photoelectric converter. The photoelectric converter 19 is provided at the other end of the optical fiber cable 12, and is mainly composed of a photoelectric conversion element such as a photodiode. A measuring device 20 is connected to the output side of the photoelectric converter 19. The measuring device 20 displays or records a given electrical quantity.

In the device of this embodiment configured in this way,
The light emitted from the light source 18 is transmitted through the optical fiber cable 11 and the right angle prism 1 as shown by the arrow in FIG.
6. Photoelectric converter 1 via optical fiber cable 12
It reaches 9.

The photoelectric converter 19 converts the light given from the optical fiber cable 12 into an electrical quantity and converts it into a measuring device 20.
Output to. Meter 20 displays or records this electrical quantity. Next, to explain the case in which the device of this embodiment is used, first, the subject holds the plate member 1 of the detector 10 with the upper and lower teeth at the location to be inspected.
3 and 14 in the direction of pressing the optical fiber cables 11 and 12. At this time, the plate member 13,
The force applied to fiber optic cables 11 and 12
The optical fiber cables 11 and 12 are deformed. For this reason, the optical fiber cables 11, 1
A loss occurs in the light passing through 2. This loss corresponds to the degree of deformation of the optical fiber cables 11, 12, that is, the force exerted on the plate members 13, 14 at that time. Note that when the subject bites the plate-like members 13 and 14, the two optical fiber cables 11 and 1
Normally, the force applied to each optical fiber cable 11, 12 is different, but since light loss occurs depending on the force applied to the optical fiber cables 11, 12 as a whole, the subject should press the optical fiber cables 11, 12 in the direction in which they are pressed. If so, any part of the plate members 13 and 14 may be clamped. Light weakened in accordance with the above-mentioned loss is incident on the photoelectric converter 19, and the measuring device 20 displays or records an electrical amount corresponding to the light. Therefore, if the value indicated by the measuring device 20 is taken as the reference value when no force is applied to the plate members 13 and 14, this reference value and the subject
The difference between the value indicated by the measuring device 20 when biting down on teeth 3 and 14 is obtained as the occlusal force.

In the above embodiment, a right angle prism 1 is used as a reflecting member.
6 was used, but a mirror having two orthogonal reflecting surfaces may also be used. In any case, if a reflecting member having two orthogonal reflecting surfaces is used, the reflecting member will be slightly deviated in the direction of rotation about the perpendicular direction to the plane containing the axes of the optical fiber cables 11 and 12. Also fiber optic cable 11
The light emitted from the optical fiber cable 12 is accurately guided to the optical fiber cable 12. Furthermore, if the surfaces of the plate-like members 13 and 14 that the test subject's teeth come into contact with are covered with a rubber member, the test subject will feel uncomfortable when he or she bites down on such a detector. Never.

Further, in the above embodiment, the optical fiber cable 11,
12. Although the rectangular prism 16 covered with the cover 17 was directly adhered to one side of the combined body consisting of the plate-like members 13 and 14 and the filling member 15, it was not possible to integrate this combined body and the rectangular prism 16. It may also be stored in a sealed box. however,
In this case, the sealed box is constructed such that the plate members 13 and 14 have elasticity in the direction in which the optical fiber cables 11 and 12 are pressed. The detector formed in this way is strong, and since the position of each member is stable, the path of light is also stable, and accurate measurement values can be obtained.

[Effect of idea]

As explained above, according to the present invention, the detector to be bitten by the subject can be made extremely thinner than conventional detectors. Therefore, according to the present invention, the thickness of the detector can be set to the distance between the teeth of the subject when the bite force of the subject is at its maximum. Therefore, if the occlusal force is tested using a detector whose thickness corresponds to this distance, an accurate value can be obtained.

In addition, according to the present invention, two optical fiber cables in which the transmitted light is folded back by a reflector can be connected to two optical fiber cables.
Since it is structured to be held between two plate-like bodies, it not only prevents transmitted light from leaking, but also has the advantage that the area of the detector that can be grasped by the subject is wider than that of conventional detectors. For this reason, it becomes very easy for the subject to chew, and he/she is freed from the unnatural way of chewing. Furthermore, since the detector uses an optical fiber cable with good electrical insulation, there is no risk of electric shock to the subject even if a failure should occur.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a configuration diagram of the device of the present invention, Figure 2 is a plan view of the detector in the device of the present invention, Figure 3 is a side view thereof, Figure 4 is a sectional view of a conventional detector, and Figure 5 is a clamping FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the thickness of the object and the occlusal force. 11, 12...Optical fiber cable, 13, 1
4... Plate member, 15... Filling member, 16... Right angle prism, 18... Light source, 19... Photoelectric converter, 20... Measuring instrument.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. Two optical fiber cables, and two plate-like members sandwiching a predetermined length from one end of each of the two optical fiber cables in parallel,
The light emitted from the one end of one of the two optical fiber cables is provided at a position opposite to the one end of each of the two optical fiber cables to the one end of the other optical fiber cable. a light source provided at the other end of the one optical fiber cable; and a light source provided at the other end of the other optical fiber cable to electrically control the amount of light emitted from the other end. An occlusal force measuring device comprising: a photoelectric converter that converts and outputs an electrical amount; and a measuring device that measures an electrical amount output from the photoelectric converter. 2. The reflecting member has two reflecting surfaces orthogonal to each other, and reflects the light emitted from the one end of the one optical fiber cable from one reflecting surface toward the other reflecting surface. 2. The occlusal force measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the occlusal force measuring device is positioned so as to reflect the light from the optical fiber cable toward the one end of the other optical fiber cable.