Apparatus and method for measuring optical characteristics of an object
First Claim
1. A method comprising the steps of:
- providing light to a diffraction grating;
receiving diffracted light from the diffraction grating with a plurality of optical sensors, wherein the light is incident upon and selectively transmitted through a plurality of filter elements prior to being received by the plurality of optical sensors, wherein the optical sensors comprise light to frequency converters;
wherein spectral characteristics of the light are determined.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Optical characteristic measuring systems and methods such as for determining the color or other optical characteristics of teeth are disclosed. Perimeter receiver fiber optics preferably are spaced apart from a source fiber optic and receive light from the surface of the object/tooth being measured. Light from the perimeter fiber optics pass to a variety of filters. The system utilizes the perimeter receiver fiber optics to determine information regarding the height and angle of the probe with respect to the object/tooth being measured. Under processor control, the optical characteristics measurement may be made at a predetermined height and angle. Various color spectral photometer arrangements are disclosed. Translucency, fluorescence, gloss and/or surface texture data also may be obtained. Audio feedback may be provided to guide operator use of the system. The probe may have a removable or shielded tip for contamination prevention. A method of producing dental prostheses based on measured data also is disclosed. Measured data also may be stored and/or organized as part of a patient data base. Such methods and implements may be desirably utilized for purposes of detecting and preventing counterfeiting or the like. Preferably, a two stage spectral separation is utilized, preferably utilizing a diffraction grating and interference filters.
195 Citations
58 Claims
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1. A method comprising the steps of:
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providing light to a diffraction grating;
receiving diffracted light from the diffraction grating with a plurality of optical sensors, wherein the light is incident upon and selectively transmitted through a plurality of filter elements prior to being received by the plurality of optical sensors, wherein the optical sensors comprise light to frequency converters;
wherein spectral characteristics of the light are determined. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method comprising the steps of:
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providing light to a material or object;
providing light to a diffraction grating, wherein the light provided to the diffraction grating comprises light received from the material or object;
receiving diffracted light from the diffraction grating with a plurality of optical sensors, wherein the light is incident upon and selectively transmitted through a plurality of filter elements prior to being received by the plurality of optical sensors;
wherein spectral characteristics of the light are measured;
wherein the light is provided to the material or object by a probe, wherein the method further comprises the step of providing light received from the material or object to second optical sensors, wherein the second optical sensors provide data indicative of a height or angle of the probe with respect to the material or object, provide data indicative of an optical value measurement of the material or object, or provide data indicative of translucence, gloss, opalescence, texture or other optical characteristics of the material or object. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A method comprising the steps of:
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providing light to a diffraction grating;
receiving diffracted light from the diffraction grating with a plurality of optical sensors, wherein the optical sensors comprise light to frequency converters;
wherein spectral characteristics of the light are determined. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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Specification