JP2011024797A - Intraoral imaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an intraoral imaging device achieving improved sanitary effect. <P>SOLUTION: The intraoral imaging device includes a probe body 1 and an oral cavity insertion portion 2 mounted detachably on the distal side of the probe body 1. An enlarged diameter portion 23 having a diameter larger than that of the distal side of the oral cavity insertion portion 2 is formed on the proximal side of the oral cavity insertion portion 2. A finger rest portion 24 is formed on the distal side of the enlarged diameter portion 23 of the oral cavity insertion portion. A probe connecting portion 25 is formed on the proximal side of the enlarged diameter portion. The probe connecting portion 25 and the distal side of the probe body 1 are connected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an intraoral imaging device used for an intraoral scanner that measures teeth, gums, and the like in the oral cavity, and an intraoral camera that performs intraoral imaging.

  The conventional configuration of this type of intraoral imaging device has the following configuration.

  That is, it has a configuration including a probe main body and an intraoral insertion portion detachably provided on the distal end side of the probe main body.

  Specifically, after grasping the probe body and inserting the intraoral insertion into the oral cavity of the patient, three-dimensional measurement of teeth and gums is performed. When the next patient is to be measured, the intraoral insertion part inserted into the patient's mouth is detached from the probe body and another new intraoral insertion part is attached (for example, Patent Document 1) below.

JP-A-8-173377

  The problem in the conventional example is that the sanitary effect cannot be enhanced.

  That is, in order to perform measurement with the above-described conventional configuration, the intraoral insertion part is inserted into the patient's oral cavity, but sometimes the intraoral insertion part is mistakenly inserted into the patient's oral cavity, It may be inserted into the oral cavity up to the connection surface between the inner insertion portion and the probe body.

  As a result, non-hygienic items such as saliva in the oral cavity adhere to the connection surface between the intraoral insertion section and the probe body, even if the intraoral insertion section is replaced for the next patient. Since non-hygienic materials remain attached to the main body, the sanitary effect could not be enhanced.

  Then, this invention aims at heightening the sanitary effect.

  In order to achieve this object, the intraoral imaging device of the present invention includes a probe main body and an intraoral insertion portion that is detachably provided on the distal end side of the probe main body, and the rear end of the intraoral insertion portion On the side, a diameter-enlarged portion that is larger than the distal end side of the intraoral insertion portion is provided, a finger pad is formed on the distal end side of the intraoral insertion portion of the enlarged diameter portion, and the rear end side of the enlarged diameter portion is formed. A probe joint portion is formed, and the probe joint portion and the distal end side of the probe main body are coupled to each other, thereby achieving the intended purpose.

  As described above, the present invention includes a probe main body and an intraoral insertion portion detachably provided on the distal end side of the probe main body, and the distal end of the intraoral insertion portion is provided on the rear end side of the intraoral insertion portion. An enlarged diameter part that is larger than the diameter side is provided, a finger pad is formed on the distal end side of the intraoral insertion part of the enlarged diameter part, and a probe joint part is formed on the rear end side of the enlarged diameter part. Since the configuration is such that the portion and the distal end side of the probe main body are combined, the sanitary effect can be enhanced.

  That is, the diameter of the rear end side of the intraoral insertion part is larger than that of the distal end side of the intraoral insertion part, and the joint part with the probe body on the rear side of this enlarged diameter part, that is, on the side farther from the patient's mouth. Since the distal end side of the enlarged diameter portion comes into contact with the patient's teeth before the intraoral insertion portion is accidentally inserted too much into the oral cavity of the patient, the enlarged diameter portion is It does not enter the oral cavity. Therefore, since the joint portion with the probe main body provided on the rear end side of the enlarged diameter portion does not enter the patient's oral cavity, the joint portion between the intraoral insertion portion and the probe main body is placed in the patient's oral cavity. The non-sanitary material will not adhere. As a result, the non-sanitary material does not adhere to the probe body, and the non-hygienic material can be completely removed simply by exchanging the intraoral insertion portion, so that the sanitary effect can be enhanced.

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

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

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

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

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

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

  Next, the emitted light (reference pattern) emitted from the projection device 9 enters the prism 16 from behind the rod-like prism 16 held by the holding member 15 so as to protrude from the probe body 1. As shown in the optical path 17, the light is reflected three times in the prism 16 toward the front and reaches the front of the prism 16. Thereafter, the emitted light is emitted toward the lower teeth 6 from the imaging window 4 provided on the lower surface of the distal end of the intraoral insertion portion 2 attached to the probe body 1.

  The imaging window 4 is formed of a transparent member that transmits light, and is provided on the lower surface of the distal end of the intraoral insertion portion 2 as shown in FIG. In addition, the detail of the intraoral insertion part 2 is demonstrated in detail later.

  Returning to FIG. 3 again and continuing the description, the reflected light reflected by the tooth 6 is incident on the tip of the prism 16 again through the imaging window 4 and is reflected three times in the prism 16 as indicated by the optical path 18. It goes back and enters the imaging device 19. The reflected light incident on the image pickup device 19 reaches the image pickup device 21 via the image pickup lens 20 provided in front of the image pickup device 19. The imaging device 21 captures an image of the teeth 6 and gums (not shown) onto which the reference pattern is projected.

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

  The cable 8 is connected to a power source (not shown) that is supplied to the light source unit 10, the reflective liquid crystal element 12, the control unit 14, the imaging element 21, and the like, and supplies power to the intraoral scanner. ing.

  4 and 5 are views of the intraoral scanner as viewed from below the tip, and FIG. 4 shows a state in which the intraoral insertion portion 2 is attached to the probe main body 1. At this time, by pushing up the detachable button 22 and pulling out the intraoral insertion part 2 forward, the intraoral insertion part 2 is detached from the probe main body 1 as shown in FIG.

  With the above description, when the schematic configuration and operation of the intraoral scanner in the present embodiment are understood, the most characteristic intraoral insertion portion 2 in the present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 6A is a top view of the intraoral insertion portion 2, FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA, and FIG.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 6 (b), the intraoral insertion part 2 has a diameter larger than the distal end side of the intraoral insertion part 2 at the lower part on the rear end side in order to prevent excessive insertion into the oral cavity of the patient. The enlarged diameter portion 23 is provided. Further, a wall-like finger contact portion 24 (FIGS. 4 and 5) for applying a finger during probe operation is formed on the distal end side of the intraoral insertion portion of the expanded diameter portion 23, and the expanded diameter portion 23 is formed. A probe joint 25 is formed on the rear end side. And it is set as the structure which couple | bonds this probe junction part 25 and the front end side 26 (FIG. 7) of the probe main body 1. FIG.

  That is, the enlarged diameter portion 23 is provided in the lower part on the rear end side of the intraoral insertion portion 2 and the finger contact portion 24 is formed on the distal end side of the intraoral insertion portion. The distal end side of the part 23, that is, the finger pad 24 is a part to be inserted into the patient's oral cavity. For this reason, before the intraoral insertion part 2 is accidentally overinserted, the tooth of the patient 3 hits the finger rest part 24 and the enlarged diameter part 23 is not inserted into the oral cavity of the patient 3. .

  As a result, the probe joint portion 25 provided on the rear end side of the enlarged diameter portion 23 and the distal end side 26 of the probe body 1 joined thereto are not inserted into the oral cavity of the patient 3. Therefore, the non-hygienic material in the oral cavity of the patient 3 does not adhere to the joint portion between the intraoral insertion portion 2 and the probe main body 1. That is, the non-hygienic material does not adhere to the probe main body 1, and the non-hygienic material can be completely removed simply by exchanging the intraoral insertion portion 2, and the hygienic effect can be enhanced.

  Further, since a wall-like finger pad 24 is provided on the distal end side of the intraoral insertion part of the enlarged diameter part 23, the index finger 24a is applied to the finger pad 24 as shown in FIG. To measure. At this time, when the intraoral insertion part 2 is inserted into the oral cavity of the patient 3, the soft finger 24a is placed before the hard expanded part 23 before being erroneously overinserted into the oral cavity of the patient 3. It hits the patient's teeth, that is, it can prevent the hard expanded portion 23 from directly hitting the teeth of the patient 3, and the impact on the teeth of the patient 3 can be suppressed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6B, the intraoral insertion portion 2 is provided with an imaging window 4 on the lower surface of the distal end thereof, and the reference pattern enters and exits the teeth 6 through the imaging window 4 to obtain the tooth profile. taking measurement. And it is the structure which provided the finger | toe contact part 24 in the same side as this imaging window 4, ie, the lower surface side of the intraoral insertion part 2. FIG.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, at the time of measurement, the tooth 6 to be measured and the measurer's finger applied to the distal end side of the finger pad 24 come to the lower part of the intraoral insertion part 2. Therefore, before the intraoral insertion part 2 is accidentally over-inserted into the patient's oral cavity, the soft finger hits the patient's teeth before the hard diameter-expanding part 23 and suppresses the impact on the patient's teeth. And smooth measurement can be realized.

  Now, further description of the intraoral insertion portion 2 will be continued. As shown in FIG. 7, a rod-like prism 16 is coupled on the distal end side of the probe main body 1 so as to protrude from the probe main body 1 by the holding member 15. ing. And when the intraoral insertion part 2 is mounted | worn with the probe main body 1, it becomes the structure mounted | worn as if the intraoral insertion part 2 covers the outer periphery of the prism 16. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 6 (c), two upper ribs 27, two side ribs 28, and two lower ribs 29 are provided inside the intraoral insertion portion 2 toward the inside of the distal end of the intraoral insertion portion 2. It is provided with an inclination. Then, when the intraoral insertion portion 2 is attached to the probe body 1, the prism 16 is guided by these six ribs, and finally the positions of the prism 16 and the imaging window 4 are determined, and an appropriate optical A system is formed.

  As a result, the optical system such as the prism 16 is completely covered by the intraoral insertion portion 2 and is completely blocked from the oral cavity of the patient 3 and can maintain a hygienic state. Yes.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 (b) and 6 (c), the inside of the intraoral insertion portion 2 stores a coupling part between the main body 1 and a moisture-proof space 31 that moisture-proofs the optical system such as the prism 16 by the switch rib 30. The combined space 32 is divided.

  First, the moisture-proof space 31 will be described. When the intraoral insertion portion 2 is attached to the probe main body 1, the probe joint portion 25 provided behind the intraoral insertion portion 2 is attached to the probe main body 1 as shown in FIG. 7. A rubber packing 33 provided at the tip 26 is pushed in so as to pack the moisture-proof space 31 portion. As a result, the moisture-proof space 31 is completely sealed, and the optical system in the moisture-proof space 31 is not affected by the humidity in the oral cavity of the patient 3.

  And when the intraoral insertion part 2 is mounted | worn with the probe main body 1, the switch rib 30 of FIG.6 (b) pushes in the coupling | bonding detection switch 34 of FIG. Thereby, the control part 14 can detect that the intraoral insertion part 2 was mounted | worn appropriately to the probe main body 1, and will be in the state which can measure with this scanner after this.

  Next, the coupling space 32 will be described with reference to FIG. A coupling protrusion 35 is provided below the inner surface of the coupling space 32. When the intraoral insertion portion 2 is attached to the probe body 1, the coupling protrusion 35 of the coupling space 32 and the tip of the detachable button 22 in FIG. As a result, the intraoral insertion portion 2 and the probe main body 1 are appropriately attached.

  On the other hand, when removing the intraoral insertion part 2 from the probe main body 1, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, it is easy to pull out the intraoral insertion part 2 so as to pull out the fountain pen cap while pushing up the attachment / detachment button 22. Can be removed. In addition, when the new intraoral insertion part 2 is mounted, when the intraoral insertion part 2 is inserted along the prism 16 so as to insert a fountain pen cap, 6 provided inside the intraoral insertion part 2 is provided. The two ribs (27, 28, 29) smoothly guide the intraoral insertion portion 2 to the joining position while sliding on the prism 16, and finally, the moisture-proof space 31 is formed by the packing 33 and the coupling protrusion 35 is formed. And the coupling protrusion 36 are engaged with each other to complete the secure mounting.

  As described above, the present invention includes a probe main body and an intraoral insertion portion detachably provided on the distal end side of the probe main body, and the distal end of the intraoral insertion portion is provided on the rear end side of the intraoral insertion portion. An enlarged diameter part that is larger than the diameter side is provided, a finger pad is formed on the distal end side of the intraoral insertion part of the enlarged diameter part, and a probe joint part is formed on the rear end side of the enlarged diameter part. Since the configuration is such that the portion and the distal end side of the probe main body are combined, the sanitary effect can be enhanced.

  That is, the rear end side of the intraoral insertion part, that is, the connection surface side with the probe body is expanded in diameter than the distal end side of the intraoral insertion part, and the rear side of this enlarged diameter part, that is, from the patient's mouth However, even if the intraoral insertion part is accidentally inserted too much into the patient's oral cavity, the distal end side of the enlarged diameter part is the patient. The enlarged diameter portion does not enter the patient's oral cavity. Therefore, the joint portion with the probe main body provided on the rear end side of the enlarged diameter portion does not enter the patient's oral cavity. As a result, the non-hygienic material in the patient's oral cavity does not adhere to the joint between the intraoral insertion portion and the probe body, and the hygienic effect can be enhanced.

  Therefore, it is expected to be widely used as an intraoral imaging device used in an intraoral scanner or intraoral camera.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Probe main body 2 Oral insertion part 3 Patient 4 Imaging window 5 Rib 6 Tooth 7 Measurement button 8 Cable 9 Projection apparatus 10 Light source part 11 Polarizing beam splitter 12 Reflective liquid crystal element 13 Projection lens 14 Control part 15 Holding member 16 Prism 17 Optical path DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 18 Optical path 19 Imaging device 20 Imaging lens 21 Image pick-up element 22 Detachable button 23 Expanding part 24 Finger contact part 24a Finger 25 Probe junction part (oral cavity insertion part)
26 Tip of probe body 27 Upper rib 28 Side rib 29 Lower rib 30 Switch rib 31 Moisture-proof space 32 Bonding space 33 Packing 34 Bonding detection switch 35 Bonding protrusion 36 Bonding protrusion

Claims (3)

  A probe main body and an intraoral insertion part provided detachably on the distal end side of the probe main body, and a diameter-expanded diameter which is larger than the distal end side of the intraoral insertion part on the rear end side of the intraoral insertion part A finger contact portion is formed on the distal end side of the intraoral insertion portion of the enlarged diameter portion, a probe joining portion is formed on the rear end side of the enlarged diameter portion, and the probe joining portion and the distal end side of the probe main body An intraoral imaging device configured to combine the two.   The intraoral imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an imaging window through which measurement light for measuring a tooth profile enters and exits is provided on a lower surface of the distal end of the intraoral insertion portion, and a finger pad is provided on the lower surface side of the intraoral insertion portion. .   The intraoral imaging apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a prism extending to the distal end side is coupled to the distal end side of the probe main body, and the outer periphery of the prism is covered with an intraoral insertion portion.

Images