Patent ID: 8577212
Filing Date: 2013-11-05
Classification: A61B,G01B

Abstract:
1. A handheld dental camera that performs three-dimensional (3D), optical measurements, the camera comprising: a polychromatic light source that emits an illuminating beam; a scanning unit that includes a chromatic objective that focuses the illuminating beam, in terms of at least one wavelength of the illuminating beam, onto a surface of an object to be measured, wherein a plurality of focal points of a plurality of wavelengths of the illuminating beam form a plurality of chromatic depth measurement ranges, wherein the illuminating beam is reflected by the surface of the object to be measured and forms a monitoring beam, wherein the scanning unit moves along a longitudinal axis of the camera between exactly two positions defined by end stops, from a first end position directly to a second end position, and wherein the scanning unit stepwise displaces the plurality of chromatic depth measurement ranges by a step width that is smaller than or equal to a length of each of the chromatic depth measurement ranges, such that a first chromatic depth measurement range in the first end position of the scanning unit and a second chromatic depth measurement range in the second end position are precisely adjoined in a direction of a measurement depth, or are partially overlapped; a color sensor that detects the monitoring beam; and a deflector disposed between the chromatic objective and the object to be measured, the deflector not being a part of the scanning unit, and the deflector deflecting the illuminating beam in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the camera toward the object to be measured.