US 12,155,812 B2
Intraoral scanning apparatus
Rune Fisker, Virum (DK); Henrik Öjelund, Kgs. Lyngby (DK); Rasmus Kjær, København K (DK); Mike Van Der Poel, Rødovre (DK); Arish A. Qazi, Toronto (CA); and Karl-Josef Hollenbeck, Copenhagen Ø (DK)
Assigned to 3SHAPE A/S, Kobenhavn K (DK)
Filed by 3SHAPE A/S, Copenhagen K (DK)
Filed on Jun. 3, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/732,173.
Application 18/732,173 is a continuation of application No. 18/628,376, filed on Apr. 5, 2024.
Application 18/628,376 is a continuation of application No. 18/455,708, filed on Aug. 25, 2023.
Application 18/455,708 is a continuation of application No. 17/892,397, filed on Aug. 22, 2022, granted, now 11,831,815, issued on Nov. 28, 2023.
Application 17/892,397 is a continuation of application No. 17/742,115, filed on May 11, 2022, granted, now 11,671,582, issued on Jun. 6, 2023.
Application 17/742,115 is a continuation of application No. 17/533,403, filed on Nov. 23, 2021, granted, now 11,368,667, issued on Jun. 21, 2022.
Application 17/533,403 is a continuation of application No. 17/340,806, filed on Jun. 7, 2021, granted, now 11,622,102, issued on Apr. 4, 2023.
Application 17/340,806 is a continuation of application No. 17/206,581, filed on Mar. 19, 2021, granted, now 11,076,146, issued on Jul. 27, 2021.
Application 17/206,581 is a continuation of application No. 16/774,843, filed on Jan. 28, 2020, granted, now 11,051,002, issued on Jun. 29, 2021.
Application 16/774,843 is a continuation of application No. 16/433,369, filed on Jun. 6, 2019, granted, now 10,595,010, issued on Mar. 17, 2020.
Application 16/433,369 is a continuation of application No. 16/217,943, filed on Dec. 12, 2018, granted, now 10,326,982, issued on Jun. 18, 2019.
Application 16/217,943 is a continuation of application No. 15/974,105, filed on May 8, 2018, granted, now 10,349,041, issued on Jul. 9, 2019.
Application 15/974,105 is a continuation of application No. 14/502,230, filed on Sep. 30, 2014, granted, now 10,097,815, issued on Oct. 9, 2018.
Application 14/502,230 is a continuation of application No. 13/376,427, granted, now 8,878,905, issued on Nov. 4, 2014, previously published as PCT/DK2010/050148, filed on Jun. 17, 2010.
Claims priority of provisional application 61/231,118, filed on Aug. 4, 2009.
Claims priority of provisional application 61/187,744, filed on Jun. 17, 2009.
Prior Publication US 2024/0323339 A1, Sep. 26, 2024
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. H04N 13/296 (2018.01); A61B 5/00 (2006.01); A61B 5/107 (2006.01); G01B 11/25 (2006.01)
CPC H04N 13/296 (2018.05) [A61B 5/0068 (2013.01); A61B 5/1077 (2013.01); G01B 11/2513 (2013.01); G01B 11/2518 (2013.01); A61B 5/1075 (2013.01); A61B 5/1076 (2013.01); A61B 5/4547 (2013.01); G01B 2210/58 (2013.01)] 24 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An intraoral scanner for determining the 3D geometry and color of at least a part of the surface of an object in an oral cavity, the intraoral scanner comprising:
at least one camera accommodating an array of sensor elements;
a pattern generator configured to generate, using a light source, a probe light with a plurality of configurations in the form of a time-varying illumination pattern;
an optical system for transmitting the probe light towards the object along an optical path thereby illuminating at least a part of the object with the time-varying illumination pattern, and for transmitting at least a part of the light returned from the object to the at least one camera to form a plurality of 2D images, wherein the 3D geometry is determined based on the plurality of 2D images and the time-varying illumination pattern;
a tip configured to be inserted into the oral cavity; and
a hardware processor configured to:
selectively switch a color of the probe light, thereby illuminating the object with different colors at different times; and
record different images by the at least one camera at the different times, thereby recording images of the object with the different colors.