Handpiece and oral cavity digital impression instrument with same

Abstract

A handpiece for an oral digital impression instrument, having a first end and a second end, a scanning head of the impression instrument being mountable at the second end; the handheld piece comprises a shell, a fan accommodated in the shell and a functional device; the handpiece is provided with an air inlet formed in the first end part, a first air outlet formed in the second end part and a second air outlet which is formed in the first end part and is separated from the air inlet; a first flow channel, a second flow channel and a third flow channel are formed in the shell, the first flow channel is in fluid communication with the air inlet and the fan air inlet, the second flow channel is in fluid communication with the fan air outlet and the first air outlet, and the third flow channel is in fluid communication with the fan air outlet and the second air outlet and passes through the functional device. According to the handheld piece, airflow entering from the single air inlet flows out from the two air outlets, heat dissipation is conducted on a functional device, and demisting is conducted on a reflecting lens of a scanning head. The invention also provides an oral cavity digital impression instrument comprising the handpiece.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of oral digital impression devices. Specifically, the present invention relates to a handpiece for an oral digital impression device. The present invention also relates to an oral digital impression device having the handpiece. Background Art

[0002] The oral digital impression device is used to scan and collect images of the patient's oral cavity. It usually includes a handpiece for the user to operate and a scanning head installed on the handpiece. A lens is installed on the inner side of the top of the scanning head to reflect light and facilitate image collection of the patient's oral cavity.

[0003] During the operation of the oral digital impression device, as the impression device is inserted into the patient's oral cavity, the lens in the scanning head will fog up due to the humidity in the patient's oral cavity. In order to ensure the effect of optical imaging, the lens needs to be defogged.

[0004] In addition, the functional components in the handpiece of the oral digital impression device will generate heat during operation. In order to ensure the normal operation of the impression device, this heat needs to be dissipated in time.

[0005] In response to the above-mentioned defogging demand for the reflective lens, a solution currently adopted in the industry is to use a fan installed inside the handpiece to inhale air from the bottom of the handpiece, so that the inhaled air flows through the handpiece and the scanning head, and finally blows out from the opening near the top of the scanning head to achieve defogging of the lens. It has been found that if the wind speed of the wind blown out from the opening of the scanning head is too fast, the patient will have a noticeable feeling in the mouth and may feel uncomfortable. For this reason, the wind speed blown out from the opening of the scanning head is usually controlled not to be too fast. However, if the speed of the air flowing in the handpiece is slow, it is impossible to use the inhaled air to take away the heat emitted by the functional device, thereby achieving the purpose of lowering the internal temperature of the handpiece. Therefore, the industry currently usually provides additional air ducts and heat exchange structures for the handpiece of the oral digital impression instrument to achieve heat dissipation of the functional device.

[0006] Another solution currently adopted in the industry is that the air sucked into the inside of the handpiece from the bottom of the handpiece by the fan inside the handpiece is used to dissipate heat from the functional components in the handpiece, and a heating element is additionally provided in the scanning head of the impression instrument to heat and defog the lenses in the scanning head, as disclosed in CN 213851171U (publication date: August 3, 2021).

[0007] The above two solutions increase the complexity of the system and the number of components involved in the oral digital impression instrument. The industry hopes to propose an improved oral digital impression instrument, in which the air duct structure can meet the purpose of defogging the lens and dissipating heat for the functional components in the handpiece, while not increasing or even reducing the number of components in the system. Summary of the invention

[0008] The present invention is completed in view of the above-mentioned technical problems, and its purpose is to provide a handpiece for an oral digital impression device, which has an improved air flow structure arrangement inside. With the help of this flow structure, it can simultaneously achieve demisting of the reflective lens in the scanning head installed at the end of the handpiece and dissipation of the heat generated by the functional components inside the handpiece during operation.

[0009] In order to solve the above technical problems, the handpiece of the present invention has a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, the scanning head of the oral digital impression instrument can be installed at the second end, the handpiece includes a shell, a fan accommodated in the shell, and a functional device, the fan has a fan air inlet and a fan air outlet; the handpiece has an air inlet arranged at the first end, a first air outlet arranged at the second end, and a second air outlet, the second air outlet is arranged at the first end and is separated from the air inlet; wherein, a first flow channel, a second flow channel, and a third flow channel are formed in the shell, the first flow channel fluid connects the air inlet and the fan inlet of the fan, the second flow channel fluid connects the fan outlet and the first air outlet, and the third flow channel fluid connects the fan outlet and the second air outlet and the third flow channel passes through the functional device, wherein, the heat generated when the functional device is working needs to be dissipated to avoid affecting the operation of the oral digital impression instrument.

[0010] The handpiece according to the present invention realizes air flow with single-side air inlet and double-side air outlet inside the handpiece through the arrangement of the above-mentioned one air inlet and two air outlets in combination with the air flow structure of the first, second and third flow channels in the shell of the handpiece, and the air outlet energy at the opposite ends of the handpiece can be used to respectively realize the above-mentioned defogger of the reflective lens in the scanning head and the heat dissipation of the functional components installed inside the handpiece, and the first air outlet and the second air outlet are also basically located at the two ends of the handpiece.

[0011] Functional components that may generate heat during operation of the handheld device and require cooling include, but are not limited to, SoC chips, power management chips, storage chips, and WIFI chips.

[0012] Specifically, in the above-mentioned air flow structure of the handpiece according to the present invention, the air flowing out from the first air outlet through the second flow channel can flow into the internal space of the scanning head of the oral digital impression instrument arranged at the second end, flow through the reflective lens installed in the scanning head, realize the purging and demisting of the reflective lens, and finally flow out from the scanning head through the window portion of the scanning head, while the air flowing out from the second air outlet through the third flow channel can take away the heat dissipated by the functional device because it flows through the functional device, thereby realizing the heat dissipation of the functional device. Thus, the balance of heat dissipation and demisting of the whole machine is achieved for the oral digital impression instrument used by the handpiece, and the patient's oral discomfort caused by the excessively high air flow rate flowing out of the window portion of the scanning head through the second flow channel and the first air outlet is avoided. A sufficient volume flow of air can also be provided to flow through the functional device to realize the heat dissipation, and the normal operation of the functional device is avoided to be affected by the accumulation of heat dissipated by the functional device, or the user operating the handpiece feels hot due to the accumulation of heat. At the same time, the number of components included in the handpiece and the scanning head itself is not increased, and the complexity and cost of the system are not increased.

[0013] Preferably, a flow channel isolator is provided in the housing of the handpiece, for isolating the first flow channel connected to the air inlet from the second air outlet also provided at the first end of the handpiece. This prevents the air sucked into the housing by the fan through the air inlet from not flowing into the first flow channel as expected, but instead flowing to the second air outlet also provided at the first end due to the open space inside the housing, and finally directly leaving the housing. In this case, the air neither flows to the scanning head provided at the second end of the handpiece nor flows through the functional device, which affects the heat dissipation of the handpiece and the defogger of the reflective lens of the scanning head. The provision of a flow channel isolator can avoid the aforementioned situation, and this is particularly advantageous when the wind force of the fan provided in the handpiece is relatively small.

[0014] Furthermore, the handpiece according to the present invention includes a diverter portion, which is arranged facing the fan outlet and is constructed so that the outflow air flowing out of the fan outlet is divided into a first part of the outflow air and a second part of the outflow air, and the first part of the outflow air flows along the second flow channel to the first air outlet, and the second part of the outflow air flows along the third flow channel to the second air outlet.

[0015] The flow splitter realizes the flow splitting of the air flow sucked into the housing of the scanning part by the fan through the air inlet, passing through the fan, and flowing out from the air outlet of the fan. By adjusting the structure of the flow splitter, the ratio of the two parts of the outflow air entering the second flow channel and the third flow channel can be adjusted as needed, so that the volume flow of the second part of the outflow air entering the third flow channel for heat dissipation can be adjusted according to the heat dissipation requirements of different functional components in different handpieces, while maintaining the volume flow of the first part of the outflow air flowing into the second flow channel to still achieve the purge and defogging of the reflective lens and take away the moisture thereon.

[0016] In a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, the diversion portion of the handpiece includes a through portion and a deflection portion, a first portion of outflow air flows into the second flow channel through the through portion, and the deflection portion is configured such that a flow direction of the second portion of outflow air is deflected relative to an outflow wind direction of the fan outlet and enters the third flow channel.

[0017] Specifically, the through area of ​​the through part determines the volume flow rate of the air flowing out from the fan outlet of the fan, which is divided into the first part of the outflow air, and the setting of the deflection part makes the remaining second part of the outflow air in the air flowing out from the fan outlet of the fan turn to enter the third flow channel and then flow through the functional device.

[0018] In a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, the fan in the handpiece is configured as a cross-flow fan, so that the flow direction of the air flowing into the fan inlet and the flow direction of the air flowing out of the fan outlet are orthogonal to each other. Here, the flow direction of the air at the fan inlet is set along the radial direction of the shell, and the flow direction of the air at the fan outlet is set along the axial direction of the shell.

[0019] Compared with an axial flow fan whose air inlet direction is parallel to the air outlet direction, a cross-flow fan whose air inlet direction is orthogonal to the air outlet direction can achieve a more compact arrangement in the housing of the handpiece. For example, in one embodiment of the present invention, the cross-flow fan can be arranged "lying", that is, it is basically arranged along the axial direction of the handpiece, so that the fan occupies a smaller proportion in the radial direction of the relatively limited space in the internal space of the handpiece, that is, the area occupied by the fan in the cross section of the handpiece perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is smaller, so as to make the best use of various gaps and intervals in the internal space of the housing of the handpiece.

[0020] Furthermore, the handpiece of the present invention also includes a main board, which is arranged in the shell and extends along the axial direction of the shell, the functional device is installed on the first surface of the main board, and the deflection part of the above-mentioned diversion part is constructed so that the flow direction of the second part of the outflow air is deflected toward the first surface of the main board.

[0021] Here, the structure of the deflection part enables the diverted second part of the outflow air to flow specifically to the first surface of the mainboard where functional components requiring heat dissipation are installed, thereby reducing or avoiding turbulence of the second part of the outflow air after the diversion, which affects the heat dissipation effect.

[0022] Furthermore, the handpiece of the present invention also includes an end cover installed on the shell at the first end and a battery compartment accommodated in the shell, the first flow channel is formed in the battery compartment, and the end cover includes a first through hole, and the first through hole is configured as the air inlet.

[0023] In the shell of the handpiece of the present invention, the first flow channel is formed by utilizing the space in the battery compartment, thereby effectively utilizing the internal space of the components accommodated in the handpiece, realizing a compact design of the internal structure of the handpiece and improving space utilization.

[0024] Furthermore, the battery compartment includes a battery holder containing a battery body and a flow channel seal, the flow channel seal is circumferentially arranged around the battery body and fixedly connected to the battery holder, and the first flow channel is formed between the flow channel seal and the battery body. This arrangement further optimizes the space utilization in the battery compartment.

[0025] Preferably, the flow channel seal fixedly connected to the battery holder can also buffer the battery body accidentally coming out of the battery holder.

[0026] Alternatively, the first flow channel can be formed between the inner wall of the housing of the handpiece and the outer peripheral surface of a component housed in the handpiece, such as a component of cylindrical configuration. This makes it possible to maximize the use of the space extending in the longitudinal direction of the housing of the handpiece, in particular the gap that may exist between such components and the inner wall of the housing.

[0027] Preferably, a first flow channel seal may be provided at the inner wall of the housing of the handpiece and the outer surface of the above-mentioned component. By providing the first flow channel seal, the first flow channel is sealed relative to other spaces in the housing, and the wall of the first flow channel is made smoother, thereby reducing the flow resistance of air therein and reducing the possibility of turbulence.

[0028] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the flow channel isolator in the handpiece is arranged between the shell, the battery compartment and the end cover, so that the first through hole configured as an air inlet in the end cover is only connected to the first flow channel fluid.

[0029] Here, by setting the flow channel spacer, the gas-tight combination between the end cover, the battery compartment and the shell is ensured by shape matching, so that the air sucked into the handpiece from the first through hole in the end cover can only flow into the first flow channel, and then flow to the fan air inlet of the fan, thereby guiding the flow direction of the air sucked into the handpiece, and preventing the air sucked in through the first through hole as the air inlet from escaping through the gap between the end cover and the shell into the gap between the battery compartment and the inner wall of the shell, or flowing to the second air outlet provided at the end cover and leaving the handpiece from there. In the above two cases, the air will not enter the fan and flow into the second flow channel or the third flow channel, affecting the heat dissipation of the handpiece or the defogger of the reflective lens of the impression instrument.

[0030] In a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, the second air outlet is provided as a second through hole at the end cover, and the second through hole is spaced apart from the first through hole. Both through holes are provided in the end cover at the end of a shell, such as a cylindrical shell, mounted on the handpiece, and the shell of the handpiece itself does not need to have a through portion provided on the circumferential surface, thereby maintaining the integrity of the shell of the handpiece.

[0031] Further, the handpiece of the present invention further comprises an optical engine, wherein the optical engine, the fan and the battery compartment are all arranged on the same side of the mainboard relative to the mainboard, and the fan is arranged between the first part of the battery bracket of the battery compartment and the optical engine in a radial direction.

[0032] The above arrangement effectively utilizes the space between the battery bracket accommodating the battery body and the optical engine to install the fan, thereby clamping the fan by the battery bracket and the optical engine, facilitating the installation of the fan, and achieving fixation of the fan and isolation of vibration.

[0033] Furthermore, the above-mentioned flow divider of the handpiece is implemented to have a portion extending from the first portion of the battery holder toward the mainboard along the radial direction. The flow divider is manufactured in one piece with the battery holder, which simplifies the manufacturing of the components in the handpiece of the present invention, avoids an increase in the number of components, and can achieve the flow division of the outflow air of the fan sandwiched between the first portion of the battery holder and the optical engine.

[0034] Preferably, the above-mentioned flow dividing portion of the handpiece further has a rib protruding from its surface facing the fan outlet of the fan. The rib is used to separate the through portion and the deflection portion. The rib extends from the surface of the flow dividing portion into the outflow air flowing out of the fan outlet, guides the outflow air, reduces the turbulence of the outflow air before it flows into the through portion, thereby ensuring that the first part of the outflow air of the expected volume flow rate will flow through the through portion and enter the second flow channel, so as to ensure the defogging effect on the reflective lens in the scanning head.

[0035] In particular, when the through-portion area is relatively large, the rib can also be used to limit the through-portion.

[0036] In a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, the handpiece has a scanning head fixing seat located at the second end portion for fixing the scanning head of the impression instrument. The scanning head fixing seat has a fourth through hole, and the fourth through hole is configured as the first air outlet and is in fluid communication with the through portion through the second flow channel.

[0037] Here, the outflow of the second flow channel from the second end of the handpiece is realized through the setting of the fourth through hole, and the second flow channel can be further connected with the internal space of the scanning head installed at the second end through the fourth through hole, so as to finally realize the purging and defoging of the reflective lens installed in the scanning head.

[0038] The handpiece for an oral digital impression instrument according to the present invention can realize single-sided air intake at the first end and double-sided air outlet at the second end and at the first end, thereby realizing a defogger function at the second end, and can adjust the air volume for heat dissipation and the air volume for defogger by adjusting the wind speed of the fan and the diversion structure of the diversion part.

[0039] The present invention also relates to an oral digital impression instrument, which comprises a handpiece according to any of the above-mentioned schemes and a scanning head installed at the second end of the handpiece, a reflective lens is installed at the top of the scanning head, and the scanning head has a window portion, and the window portion is fluidically connected to the first air outlet, so that the air from the first air outlet flows through the reflective lens and flows out of the scanning head from the window portion.

[0040] The oral digital impression instrument of the present invention uses the single-side air inlet of the first end of the handpiece to simultaneously achieve defogging of the reflective lens of the scanning head and heat dissipation of the functional components in the handpiece, effectively utilizing the air flow flowing into the handpiece, and avoiding the situation where the patient's oral cavity is uncomfortable due to the high flow rate of the wind used to defog the reflective lens of the scanning head, and also avoiding the situation where the functional components cannot be effectively cooled due to the slow air flow rate. The oral digital impression instrument can balance temperature, wind noise and power consumption in terms of heat dissipation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] With reference to the above objects, the technical features of the present invention are clearly described in the following claims, and its advantages are apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show preferred embodiments of the present invention by way of example without limiting the scope of the inventive concept.

[0042] Figure 1 The handpiece of the oral digital impression instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0043] Figure 2 Shown along Figure 1 The section obtained by cutting the handpiece through the line MM;

[0044] Figure 3 Shows Figure 2 The gas flow path in the cross section shown;

[0045] Figure 4 Shown along Figure 1 The section obtained by cutting the handpiece through the line NN;

[0046] Figure 5 Shows Figure 4 The gas flow path in the cross section shown;

[0047] Figure 6 Shows Figure 1 An exploded perspective view of some components of the handpiece shown;

[0048] Figure 7 Shown from another angle Figure 6 The battery holder in the handpiece is shown;

[0049] Figure 8 Schematically showing different embodiments of the shunt portion of the battery holder in the handpiece of the oral digital impression device according to the present invention;

[0050] Fig. 9 The figure schematically shows a three-dimensional exploded view of an oral digital impression device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0051] Reference numerals list

[0052] 20 Flow channel seal

[0053] 30 Battery body

[0054] 40 Fan

[0055] 50 Battery Holder

[0056] 51, 51', 51", 51"' diversion section

[0057] 511, 511', 511" through parts

[0058] 512, 512', 512"' deflection part

[0059] 513, 513' ribs

[0060] 52 Accommodation

[0061] 521 First surface (of the receiving portion)

[0062] 522 Opening

[0063] 53 (battery holder) part 1

[0064] 54 (battery holder) part 2

[0065] 541 The third through hole

[0066] 60 Optical Machine

[0067] 61 flank

[0068] 611 Through hole

[0069] 62 Guide

[0070] 70 Motherboard

[0071] 71 (main board) first surface

[0072] 72 (main board) second surface

[0073] 80 Flow channel spacer

[0074] 100 Handpieces

[0075] 101 First end portion (of hand piece)

[0076] 102 Second end portion (of hand piece)

[0077] 110 end cap

[0078] 111 (first) through hole

[0079] 112 (second) through hole

[0080] 120 Scanning head holder

[0081] 121 Fourth through hole

[0082] 130 Shell

[0083] 200 Scanning Head

[0084] 201 Top (of scanning head)

[0085] 202 (scanning head) bottom

[0086] 203 Reflective lens

[0087] 204 Window Department

[0088] A Axial direction

[0089] I1 Air Inlet

[0090] O1 First air outlet

[0091] O2 Second air outlet

[0092] P1 First runner

[0093] P2 Second flow channel

[0094] P3 Third flow channel

[0095] P3-1 The first outflow branch

[0096] P3-2 Second outflow branch

[0097] R Radial direction. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0098] Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings and are described below. Although the present invention will be described in conjunction with the exemplary embodiments, it should be appreciated that this specification is not intended to limit the present invention to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the present invention is intended to not only cover these exemplary embodiments, but also to cover various alternative forms, modified forms, equivalent forms and other embodiments that may be included within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. For ease of explanation and precise definition in the appended claims, the terms "upper", "lower", "inner" and "outer" are used to describe these features with reference to the position of the features of the exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings.

[0099] The oral digital impression device has a handpiece 100 and a scanning head 200 installed at the end 102 of the handpiece 100. When the oral digital impression device is used to scan the oral cavity of a patient, the scanning head 200 will be inserted into the patient's mouth. The light emitted by the optical machine 60 of the handpiece 100 is refracted and reflected by the lens combination in the handpiece 100 and propagates to the reflective lens 203 installed at the top 201 of the scanning head 200, and finally emitted from the window portion 204 near the top 201 of the scanning head 200, reflected in the oral cavity of the patient, and reflected again through the window portion 204 and the reflective lens 203 of the scanning head 200 back to the processor of the handpiece 100, so as to realize the scanning imaging of the oral cavity of the patient.

[0100] During the use of the oral digital impression device, since the scanning head 200 is inserted into the patient's mouth and is in fluid communication with the patient's oral environment through the window portion 204, moisture from the patient's oral cavity may enter the scanning head 200 through the window portion 204 and condense into fog on the reflective lens 203. In order to ensure the normal operation of the oral digital impression device, it is necessary to defog the reflective lens 203 by, for example, continuously passing air through it to avoid interference with the optical path.

[0101] The housing 130 of the handpiece 100 is configured to be hollow and generally cylindrical, with an end cap 110 being mounted at a first end 101 of the handpiece in a form-fitting manner, and a scanning head fixing seat 120 being disposed at a second end 102 opposite to the first end 101, wherein the scanning head fixing seat 120 is connected to the optical machine 60 of the handpiece 100 by means of a threaded fastener disposed inside the scanning head fixing seat 120. The scanning head 200 is mounted on the scanning head fixing seat 120 in a form-fitting manner.

[0102] A mainboard 70 is installed in the housing 130 of the handpiece 100. Functional components that generate heat when the oral digital impression instrument is in operation, such as SoC chips, power management chips, storage chips, and WIFI chips, are installed on the mainboard 70. In order to prevent the heat generated by these functional components from accumulating in the housing 130 and thus affecting the operation of the oral digital impression instrument, it is necessary to use flowing air to take the heat away from the mainboard 70 and eventually dissipate the heat to the outside of the oral digital impression instrument.

[0103] The handpiece 100 has a fan 40 for sucking air outside the handpiece from the end cap 110 of the handpiece 100 into the housing 130 of the handpiece 100. The sucked air enters the housing 130 of the handpiece 100 through the air inlet I1 and reaches the fan 40. The outflow air flowing out of the fan 40 is divided into two parts by the split part, i.e., a first part of outflow air and a second part of outflow air.

[0104] The first part of the outflow air flows toward the second end 102 of the handpiece 100, flows out from the first air outlet O1 located at the second end 102, and flows into the scanning head 200 installed at the second end 102. In the scanning head 200, the first part of the outflow air flows through the reflective lens 203, takes away the moisture at the reflective lens 203, and finally leaves the oral digital impression instrument from the window portion 204 of the scanning head 200, bringing the moisture to the external environment of the oral digital impression instrument, thereby achieving demisting of the reflective lens 203.

[0105] The second part of the outflow air flows through the main board 70 to take away the heat dissipated by the functional components on the main board 70, and leaves the handpiece 100 through the second air outlet O2 set at the first end 101 of the handpiece 100, bringing the heat to the external environment of the handpiece 100 to achieve heat dissipation.

[0106] When the design structure is used for a wireless oral digital impression instrument, the handpiece 100 may also optionally have a battery compartment for providing energy for the optical machine 60 in the handpiece 100 and the functional devices on the above-mentioned main board 70. The battery compartment includes a battery body 30, a battery holder 50 for accommodating the battery body 30, and a flow channel seal 20 arranged around the battery body 30 and spaced a certain distance from the circumferential surface of the battery body 30. A flow channel through which air can flow is formed in the above-mentioned gap between the flow channel seal 20 and the outer circumferential surface of the battery body 30.

[0107] Combine the following Figures 1 to 8 The handpiece 100 is explained in more detail.

[0108] An end cap 110 is mounted at the first end 101 of the handpiece 100. The end cap 110 is provided with spaced through holes 111 and 112. The first through hole 111 and the second through hole 112 are arranged on both sides of the transverse center plane of the handpiece 100 relative to the plane.

[0109] A scanning head fixing seat 120 is disposed at the second end portion 102 of the handpiece 100. A fourth through hole 121 extending through the scanning head fixing seat 120 along the axial direction A of the housing 130 is disposed therein.

[0110] The main board 70 of the handpiece 100 is accommodated in the housing 130 extending along the axial direction A of the housing 130 and is spaced a certain distance from the inner wall of the housing 130. The battery compartment, the blower 40 and the optical engine 60 are arranged on the same side of the main board 70.

[0111] In the battery compartment, the battery body 30 is accommodated in the accommodating portion 52 of the integrally formed battery holder 50. The accommodating portion 52 is configured as a groove. The groove partially surrounds the battery body 30. The flow channel seal 20 made of foam is arranged around the battery body 30 and fixedly connected, for example, it is adhered to the battery holder 50 to cover the portion of the battery body 30 that is exposed from the accommodating portion 52, and the flow channel seal 20 is also configured to provide a buffer for the battery body 30 in the event that the battery body 30 is detached from the battery holder 50 due to the handpiece 100 falling, for example. The flow channel seal 20 is implemented in the form of foam, for example.

[0112] At the end of the battery compartment adjacent to the first end 101 of the handpiece 100, that is, at the second part 54 of the battery holder 50, a flow channel isolator 80 is sleeved. The flow channel isolator 80 is arranged between the end cover 110, the battery compartment and the inner wall of the shell 130 in a shape-fitting manner, so as to connect the end cover 110, the flow channel seal 20 in the battery compartment and the inner wall of the shell 130 in a gas-tight manner, and make the flow channel isolator 80 completely cover the first through hole 111 of the end cover 110. The flow channel isolator 80 is implemented as a rubber plug here. A third through hole 541 extending along the axial direction A is opened in the second part 54 of the battery holder 50 extending toward the end cover 110. The third through hole 541 passes into the space between the flow channel seal 20 and the outer peripheral surface of the battery body 30, and is roughly aligned with the first through hole 111 provided on the end cover 110, or at least is fluidly connected to the first through hole 111. Through the flow channel partition 80 , the first through hole 111 can only be in fluid communication with the third through hole 541 and further only with the space between the flow channel sealing member 20 and the outer peripheral surface of the battery body 30 .

[0113] The other end of the receiving portion 52 of the battery holder 50 is connected to a first portion 53 in a horizontal "L" shape. The first portion 53 of the battery holder 50 is connected to the receiving portion 52 with the short horizontal portion of the "L" and extends from the receiving portion 52 and away from the main board 70 substantially along the radial direction R. The first portion 53 faces the optical engine 60 with the long vertical portion of the "L".

[0114] The battery holder 50 further includes a deflection portion 51 extending perpendicularly from the long vertical portion of the "L" shape of the first portion 53. Figure 7 and Figure 8 The deflection unit 51 will be explained in more detail.

[0115] Figure 7 The perspective view of the battery holder 50 is shown from the side of the main board 70. The opening 522 on the receiving portion 52 of the battery holder 50 is in fluid communication with the internal space between the flow channel seal 20 and the outer peripheral surface of the battery body 30 received in the receiving portion 52. The air flowing out of the opening 522 in the axial direction A is sucked into the first portion 53 of the battery holder 50 and the optical engine 60 ( Figure 7 The outflow air flowing out of the fan outlet of the fan 40 faces the diverter portion 51, wherein the first part of the outflow air is not blocked and directly flows through the through portion 511 along the axial direction A, while the second part of the outflow air encounters the deflection portion 512, collides on the surface of the deflection portion 512 and is deflected. Between the deflection portion 512 and the through portion 511 of the diverter portion 51, a rib 513 extends from the surface of the deflection portion 512 toward the first portion 53 of the battery holder 50 in the axial direction.

[0116] Figure 8 Part (a) of FIG. 1 schematically shows the surface of the diverter 51 that faces the first end 101. Figure 8 The outer contour of the diverter 51 is simplified in the figure, and is schematically shown as being roughly arcuate. In different embodiments, the outer contour of the deflector can be designed and constructed in a conformable manner according to the arrangement of the internal space of the housing 130 and the setting of the fan 40, but it always includes a through portion 511 and a deflection portion 512, and optionally includes a rib 513. The through portion 511 and the second flow channel P2 are used to allow the first part of the outflow air from the fan 40 to flow to the second flow channel P2 so as to flow out of the handpiece 100 from the second end 102 and then to defog the reflective lens 203 in the scanning head 200. The deflection portion 512 is used to deflect the remaining air in the outflow air from the fan 40, that is, the second part of the outflow air, so that it flows into the third flow channel P3 and flows through the functional device to dissipate heat.

[0117] As in Figure 8 As can be seen in part (a) of FIG. 5 , the through portion 511 of the diverter 51 is configured to be bounded by means of the rib 513 and the first portion 53 of the battery holder 50 and the fan 40 . Figure 8 In part (a), the portion indicated by reference numeral 511 is completely continuous with respect to the solid deflection portion 512 located on the other side of the rib 513 and allows air to flow therethrough.

[0118] Figure 8 Parts (b), (c) and (d) of the drawings also respectively show other possible implementation forms of the diversion portion 51.

[0119] exist Figure 8 The second embodiment of the flow divider 51' is shown in part (b) of FIG. 1 . In this embodiment, the position of the rib 513' in the same arcuate cross section is relatively large. Figure 8 The position of the portion (a) in the arcuate cross section is changed, so that the area of ​​the through portion 511' is increased relative to the area of ​​the through portion 511 in the first embodiment. This increases the air flow rate flowing toward the second end portion 102 through the through portion 511'. Accordingly, the air flow rate deflected by the deflection portion 512' into the third flow channel P3 to dissipate heat for the functional device is reduced.

[0120] Therefore, in the embodiment of the flow divider in which the through-portion and the deflection portion are bounded by the rib, the cross-sectional area of ​​the through-portion can be adjusted by adjusting the position of the rib, thereby adjusting the flow rate of the first outflow air flowing through the through-portion and the flow rate of the second outflow air for heat dissipation. In this way, the proportional distribution of the first outflow air and the second outflow air can be adjusted in different handpieces, thereby adjusting the volume flow of the airflow for heat dissipation according to the heat dissipation requirements of the functional components in different handpieces.

[0121] exist Figure 8 Part (c) of FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of the flow divider 51″. In this embodiment, the position of the rib 513 in the arcuate cross section is relative to that in FIG. Figure 8 The same as in part (b) of , but the through portion 511″ is no longer limited by the rib 513, but is a separately provided circular hole. The circular hole can be opened on a plate-shaped portion that is integral with the deflection portion 512.

[0122] In this embodiment, the flow rate of air flowing toward the second end 102 through the through portion 511" for lens defogging is smaller than that in the first and second embodiments. The volume flow rate of air flowing out of the second end 102 can be reduced without reducing the overall air volume flowing into the handpiece 100. In this way, while meeting the air volume flow rate required for defogging the reflective lens 203 in the scanning head 200, the air volume flow rate is reduced as much as possible, thereby avoiding excessively high flow rate of air outflowing from the scanning head 200 through the window portion 204, causing discomfort to patients, especially those with sensitive oral cavity.

[0123] exist Figure 8 Part (d) shows a fourth embodiment of the diverter portion 51'". In this embodiment, the through portion 511' is the same as in the third embodiment, and is provided in the form of a circular hole independent of the boundary of the first portion 53 of the fan 40 and the battery holder 50. Different from the third embodiment, the surface of the diverter portion 51'' is not provided with protruding ribs. Such an arrangement makes the solid portion of the arcuate cross-section where the through portion 511'' is not provided is the deflection portion 512'', further increasing the area of ​​the deflection portion 512'' and improving the deflection efficiency and the deflected volume flow rate of the diverter portion 51''.

[0124] In the above four implementation forms, Figure 8 The diverter 51 of the first embodiment shown in part (a) has good air flow steering and diverter effects and can reduce turbulence generated at the air outlet of the fan 40.

[0125] Go to Figure 6As can be seen in the figure, the light engine 60 is provided with a wing portion 61 extending outward from the main body portion of the approximately rectangular parallelepiped. The wing portion 61 faces the long vertical of the "L" of the first part 53 of the battery holder 50 and is spaced apart from it. The fan 40 is installed in the gap.

[0126] The fan 40 is mounted on the battery holder 50 and is located in the middle of the housing 130 of the handpiece 100. The fan 40 is configured as a cross-flow fan, that is, its air inlet direction and air outlet direction are mutually orthogonal. The cross-flow fan 40 is sandwiched between the first portion 53 of the battery holder 50 and the side wing portion 61 of the optical engine 60, which effectively utilizes the space inside the housing 130 and realizes a compact structure. A guide portion 62 extends from the side wing portion 61 of the optical engine 60, and the extension direction of the guide portion 62 is mutually orthogonal to the extension direction of the side wing portion 61.

[0127] The optical engine 60 is mounted at the head portion of the handpiece 100. The scanning head fixing base 120 is fastened at the optical engine 60 by means of a threaded fastener (not shown).

[0128] Combined with the following Figures 2 to 5 The air inlet passage, the air outlet passage for demisting, and the air outlet passage for heat dissipation in the handpiece 100 are explained.

[0129] [Air intake passage]

[0130] In the battery compartment, a first flow channel P1 is formed between the flow channel seal 20 and the outer circumferential surface of the battery body 30. The first flow channel P1 leads to the air inlet of the fan 40 through the opening 522 of the battery holder 50. Due to the provision of the flow channel isolator 80, the first through hole 111 of the end cover 110 can only be connected to the first flow channel P1 fluid through the third through hole 541 in the second part 54 of the battery holder 50. When the fan 40 is working, the air outside the handpiece 100 is sucked into the housing 130 along the axial direction A through the air inlet I1 constructed as the first through hole 111, and flows into the first flow channel P1 through the third through hole 541 of the battery holder 50. Then, the air flows from the first flow channel P1 through the opening 522 to the "L"-shaped long vertical portion of the first part 53 of the battery holder 50, and is finally sucked into the air inlet of the fan 40 along the radial direction R or along the substantially radial direction R, see. Figure 3 , Figure 5 Part b in the figure shows schematically the direction of air flow inside the handpiece 100 with arrows.

[0131] After passing through the fan 40 of the cross-flow structure, the outflow air flows out from the air outlet of the fan 40 along the axial direction A and meets the diverter 51 of the battery holder 50. The diverter 51 divides the outflow air into a first part of outflow air and a second part of outflow air.

[0132] [Air outlet for demisting]

[0133] like Figure 3 As can be seen in the above, Figure 7 and Figure 8 As explained, the first part of the outflow air passes through the through portion 511 in the diversion portion 51, flows into the second flow channel P2 along the axial direction A, and continues to flow along the second flow channel P2 toward the second end 102, passes through the fourth through hole 121 in the scanning head fixing seat 120, and finally leaves the handpiece 100 from the first air outlet O1 set at the scanning head fixing seat 120.

[0134] Starting from the first air outlet O1, the first part of the outflow air continues to flow into the internal space of the scanning head 200 installed at the scanning head fixing seat 120 along the approximately axial direction A, passes through the reflective lens 203 installed at the internal top of the scanning head 200, takes away moisture, and finally leaves the oral digital impression instrument from the window portion 204 of the scanning head 200, thereby achieving demisting of the reflective lens 203 by continuous airflow blowing on the reflective lens 203.

[0135] [Air outlet for heat dissipation]

[0136] like Figure 5 As can be seen in the above, Figure 7 and Figure 8 As explained, the remaining air in the outflow air leaving the fan outlet of the fan 40 , ie, the second part of the outflow air flows in the axial direction A and hits the surface of the deflection portion 512 of the splitter 51 .

[0137] The second part of the outflow air that hits the deflection may hit the Figure 5 The first part 53 of the battery holder 50 located above the fan 40 in the drawing plane of FIG. 4 is deflected by the long vertical "L" shape, and flows downward in the radial direction R after being deflected, so that the second part of the outflow air realizes a turn of about 90°, and its flow direction changes from the approximately axial direction A to the approximately radial direction R. After the turn, the second part of the outflow air continues to flow in the radial direction R along the third flow channel P3, passes through the through hole 611 opened in the side wing part 61 of the optical engine 60, and flows toward the main board 70 under the guidance of the guide part 62 of the optical engine 60, until it hits the first surface 71 of the main board 70.

[0138] The second part of the outflow air that collides with the main board 70 is deflected again so that it flows evenly toward both sides along the first surface 71 of the main board 70. That is, the second part of the outflow air that is deflected again is Figure 5In the drawing plane, the heat flows toward the inside and outside of the paper in a direction perpendicular to the paper, so as to flow through the functional components installed on the first surface 71 of the mainboard 70 as much as possible and take away the heat generated by them.

[0139] There is a certain gap between the edge of the main board 70 and the inner wall of the housing 130. A part of the second outflow air flowing along the first surface 71 of the main board 70 may flow through this gap into the space between the second surface 72 of the main board 70 opposite to the first surface 71 and the inner wall of the housing 130. A second outflow branch P3-2 is formed in this space.

[0140] like Figure 5 As can be seen in the figure, a portion of the second outflow air flowing along the surface of the main board 70 flows in the second outflow branch channel P3-2 along the axial direction A toward the first end 101. The remaining portion continues to flow in the first outflow branch channel P3-1 between the first surface 71 of the main board 70 and the first surface 521 of the battery holder 50 along the axial direction A toward the first end 101.

[0141] At the end of the main board 70 near the first end 101, the first outflow branch channel P3-1 and the second outflow branch channel P3-2 converge into the third flow channel P3 again. The second part of the outflow air carrying the heat dissipated by the functional device passes through this section of the third flow channel P3 and leaves the handpiece 100 from the second air outlet O2 set at the first end 101, thereby achieving heat dissipation of the functional device in the handpiece 100. The second air outlet O2 is a through hole 112 set at the end cover 110.

[0142] In the handheld device 100, the wind speed of the air inlet I1 and the two air outlets O1 and O2 can be adjusted by adjusting the power supply current of the fan 40 and then adjusting the rotation speed of the fan 40. By adjusting the aperture size or the area of ​​the through portion 511 in the fourth through hole 121 of the scanning head fixing seat 120 and the diverter 51 of the battery holder 50, the wind speed of the first air outlet O1 at the second end 102 and the ratio of the volume flow between the first air outlet O1 and the second air outlet O2 can be adjusted between different handheld devices 100, that is, the ratio of the air inhaled from the air inlet I1 used for defogging the reflective lens 203 and the air used for heat dissipation of the functional device can be adjusted.

[0143] The handpiece 100 realizes a design of an air duct structure with a single fan, single-side air inlet, and double-side air outlet. The design of the air duct structure effectively utilizes the internal space of the housing 130 without increasing the size of the housing 130, and there is no need to separately set a heating element in the scanning head 200 installed at the end of the handpiece 100 to defog the reflective lens 203. The above-mentioned air duct structure realizes defog and heat dissipation of the oral digital impression instrument.

[0144] [Other Embodiments of the Dividing Section 51]

[0145] In the above embodiment, the case of the diverter portion 51 of the battery holder 50 is described, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0146] Specifically, in the handpiece 100 of different oral digital impression devices, the through portion 511 in the diversion portion 51 can be implemented as a regular or irregular shape. Figure 8 In addition to the circle shown, other shapes include but are not limited to ellipses, rectangles, trapezoids, pentagons, hexagons, etc.

[0147] The ratio of the surface area of ​​the through portion 511 to the diversion portion 51 can also be adjusted as needed, so as to adjust the volume ratio of the first part of the outflow air and the second part of the outflow air to the inflow air, and then, for example, the volume flow rate of the second part of the outflow air can be adjusted for different models of oral digital impression devices to meet the heat dissipation requirements of functional components on the surface of different mainboards.

[0148] [Other Embodiments of the Blower 40]

[0149] In the above embodiment, only one crossflow blower 40 is provided in the handpiece 100. If necessary, two crossflow blowers 40 may be provided in the handpiece 100 to expand the selection range of the air outlet speed and increase the flexibility of the system.

[0150] The present invention can freely combine the various embodiments within the scope of the present invention, or can appropriately modify or omit the various embodiments.

Claims

1. A handpiece (100) for an oral digital impression device, the handpiece (100) having a first end (101) and a second end (102) opposite to the first end (101), a scanning head of the oral digital impression device being mountable at the second end (102), The handheld device (100) comprises a housing (130), a fan (40) accommodated in the housing (130), and a functional device, wherein the fan (40) has a fan air inlet and a fan air outlet. The handpiece (100) comprises an air inlet (I1) arranged at the first end (101), a first air outlet (O1) arranged at the second end (102), and a second air outlet (O2), wherein the second air outlet (O2) is arranged at the first end (101) and is spaced apart from the air inlet (I1). in, A first flow channel (P1), a second flow channel (P2), and a third flow channel (P3) are formed in the shell (130), wherein the fluid in the first flow channel (P1) connects the air inlet (I1) and the fan air inlet of the fan (40), the fluid in the second flow channel (P2) connects the fan air outlet and the first air outlet (O1), and the fluid in the third flow channel (P3) connects the fan air outlet and the second air outlet (O2), and the third flow channel (P3) passes through the functional device, wherein the heat generated when the functional device is working needs to be dissipated to avoid affecting the operation of the oral digital impression device.

2. The handpiece (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hand piece (100) includes a splitter portion, which is arranged facing the fan outlet, and the splitter portion is constructed so that the outflow air flowing out of the fan outlet is divided into a first part of the outflow air and a second part of the outflow air, and the first part of the outflow air flows along the second flow channel (P2) to the first air outlet (O1), and the second part of the outflow air flows along the third flow channel (P3) to the second air outlet (O2).

3. The handpiece (100) according to claim 2, characterized in that: The diversion portion includes a through portion and a deflection portion, the first portion of outflow air flows into the second flow channel (P2) through the through portion, and the deflection portion is configured to deflect the flow direction of the second portion of outflow air relative to the outflow wind direction of the fan outlet and enter the third flow channel (P3).

4. The handpiece (100) according to claim 3, characterized in that: The fan (40) is constructed as a cross-flow fan, so that the flow direction of the air flowing into the fan inlet and the flow direction of the air flowing out of the fan outlet are orthogonal to each other, wherein the flow direction of the air at the fan inlet is along the radial direction (R) of the shell (130), and the flow direction of the air at the fan outlet is along the axial direction (A) of the shell (130).

5. The handpiece (100) according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The hand piece (100) comprises a main board (70), wherein the main board (70) is arranged in the shell (130) and extends along the axial direction (A) of the shell (130), the functional device is mounted on the first surface (71) of the main board (70), and the deflection part is configured to deflect the flow direction of the second part of outflow air toward the first surface (71) of the main board (70).

6. The handpiece (100) according to claim 5, characterized in that: The hand piece (100) further includes an end cover (110) mounted on the shell (130) at the first end (101) and a battery compartment accommodated in the shell (130), wherein the first flow channel (P1) is formed in the battery compartment, and the end cover (110) includes a first through hole (111), and the first through hole (111) is configured as the air inlet (I1).

7. The handpiece (100) according to claim 6, characterized in that: The battery compartment comprises a battery holder (50) accommodating a battery body (30) and a flow channel seal (20); the flow channel seal (20) is circumferentially arranged around the battery body (30) and fixedly connected to the battery holder (50); and the first flow channel (P1) is formed between the flow channel seal and the battery body (30).

8. The handpiece (100) according to claim 6, characterized in that: The hand piece (100) further comprises a flow channel isolator (80), wherein the flow channel isolator (80) is arranged between the housing (130), the battery compartment and the end cover (110), so that the first through hole (111) is only in fluid communication with the first flow channel (P1).

9. The handpiece (100) according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that: The handheld device (100) includes an optical engine (60), wherein the optical engine (60), the fan (40) and the battery compartment are arranged on the same side relative to the main board (70), and the fan (40) is arranged between the first part (53) of the battery bracket (50) of the battery compartment and the optical engine (60) along a radial direction (R).

10. The handpiece (100) according to claim 9, characterized in that: The shunt portion is arranged to extend from the first portion (53) of the battery holder (50) along the radial direction (R) toward the main board (70).

11. The handpiece (100) according to claim 9, characterized in that: The splitter has a rib protruding from a surface thereof facing the air outlet of the fan, and is used to separate the through portion from the deflection portion.

12. The handpiece (100) according to claim 10, characterized in that: The hand piece (100) has a scanning head fixing seat (120) located at the second end (102), and the scanning head fixing seat (120) has a fourth through hole (121), and the fourth through hole is configured as the first air outlet (O1) and is connected to the through-portion fluid via the second flow channel.

13. An oral digital impression device, comprising a handpiece (100) as described in any one of claims 1 to 12 and a scanning head (200) installed at the second end (102) of the handpiece (100), a reflective lens (203) being installed at the top (201) of the scanning head, and the scanning head (200) having a window portion (204), the window portion (204) being fluidically connected to the first air outlet (O1), so that air from the first air outlet (O1) flows through the reflective lens (203) and flows out of the scanning head (200) from the window portion (204).

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