Ultraminiature pattern projector

1 . An apparatus for intraoral scanning, the apparatus comprising:

an elongate wand comprising a probe at a distal end of the elongate wand; and

one or more structured light projectors disposed within the probe, each structured light projector comprising:

(a) a housing comprising a transparent window through which light exits the housing;

(b) a light source disposed within the housing and comprising:

a semiconductor laser die; and

a beam shaping optical element; and

(c) a pattern generating optical element,

wherein:

the transparent window comprises the pattern generating optical element,

a distance D between an emission point of the semiconductor laser die and an input face of the beam shaping optical element is 50-250 microns, and

each structured light projector is configured to project a pattern of light onto an intraoral surface when the light source of the structured light projector is activated to emit light through the pattern generating optical element of the structured light projector.

2 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein for at least one structured light projector of the one or more structured light projectors the semiconductor laser die and the beam shaping optical element being disposed within the housing and the distance D being 50-250 microns together result in a longest dimension of the housing being 1.5-2.5 mm.

3 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein for at least one structured light projector of the one or more structured light projectors the beam shaping optical element is positioned within the housing such that at least 75% of the light emitted by the semiconductor laser die enters the beam shaping optical element.

4 . The apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein for at least one structured light projector of the one or more structured light projectors the beam shaping optical element is positioned within the housing such that 80-90% of the light emitted by the semiconductor laser die enters the beam shaping optical element.

5 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein for at least one structured light projector of the one or more structured light projectors the housing comprises metal and the semiconductor laser die is disposed within the housing such that heat is conducted from the semiconductor laser die to the metal of the housing.

6 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising one or more cameras disposed within the probe, wherein a distance between (i) an optical axis of at least one camera and (ii) an optical axis of at least one structured light projector that is adjacent to the at least one camera is 3-5 mm.

7 . The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the one or more structured light projectors project light through the transparent window, through which the one or more cameras receive light, and a distance from the transparent window at which 50% of respective fields of view of the at least one camera and the at least one adjacent structured light projector overlap is 2-6 mm.

8 . The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the one or more structured light projectors project light through the transparent window, through which the one or more cameras receive light, and a distance from the transparent window at which respective fields of view of the at least one camera and the at least one adjacent structured light projector start to overlap is 1-3 mm.

9 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein for at least one structured light projector of the one or more structured light projectors:

an angle between an optical axis of the beam shaping optical element and an optical axis of the pattern generating optical element is 65-120 degrees, and

the apparatus further comprises a mirror disposed within the housing and positioned so as to reflect the light exiting the beam shaping optical element toward the pattern generating optical element.

10 . An apparatus for intraoral scanning, the apparatus comprising:

an elongate wand comprising a probe at a distal end of the elongate wand; and

one or more structured light projectors disposed within the probe, each structured light projector comprising:

(a) a housing;

(b) a light source disposed within the housing and comprising:

a semiconductor laser die; and

a beam shaping optical element; and

(c) a pattern generating optical element,

wherein:

the pattern generating optical element is disposed within the probe outside of the housing,

a distance D between an emission point of the semiconductor laser die and an input face of the beam shaping optical element is 50-250 microns,

a distance the light travels from exiting the beam shaping optical element to entering the pattern generating optical element is 2-8 mm, and

each structured light projector is configured to project a pattern of light onto an intraoral surface when the light source of the structured light projector is activated to emit light through the pattern generating optical element of the structured light projector.

11 . An apparatus for intraoral scanning, the apparatus comprising:

an elongate wand comprising a probe at a distal end of the elongate wand; and

one or more structured light projectors disposed within the probe, each structured light projector comprising:

(a) a housing;

(b) a light source disposed within the housing and comprising:

a semiconductor laser die; and

a beam shaping optical element; and

(c) a pattern generating optical element,

wherein;

the pattern generating optical element is disposed within the probe outside of the housing,

a distance D between an emission point of the semiconductor laser die and an input face of the beam shaping optical element is 50-250 microns,

a distance the light travels from exiting the beam shaping optical element to entering the pattern generating optical element is 8-25 mm, and

each structured light projector is configured to project a pattern of light onto an intraoral surface when the light source of the structured light projector is activated to emit light through the pattern generating optical element of the structured light projector.

12 . An apparatus for intraoral scanning, the apparatus comprising:

an elongate wand comprising a probe at a distal end of the elongate wand; and

one or more structured light projectors disposed within the probe, each structured light projector comprising:

(a) a housing;

(b) a light source disposed within the housing and comprising:

a semiconductor laser die; and

a beam shaping optical element; and

(c) a pattern generating optical element,

wherein:

the pattern generating optical element is disposed within the probe outside of the housing such that an angle between an optical axis of the beam shaping optical element and an optical axis of the pattern generating optical element is 50-100 degrees,

the apparatus further comprises a mirror disposed within the probe and positioned so as to reflect the light exiting the beam shaping optical element toward the pattern generating optical element,

a distance D between an emission point of the semiconductor laser die and an input face of the beam shaping optical element is 50-250 microns,

a distance the light travels from exiting the beam shaping optical element to entering the pattern generating optical element is 8-25 mm; and

each structured light projector is configured to project a pattern of light onto an intraoral surface when the light source of the structured light projector is activated to emit light through the pattern generating optical element of the structured light projector.

13 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein for at least one structured light projector of the one or more structured light projectors the semiconductor laser die is a first semiconductor laser die and the light source further comprises a second semiconductor laser die.

14 . The apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the first and second semiconductor laser dies have the same wavelength, and wherein the apparatus further comprises a computer processor configured to alternatingly activate the first and second semiconductor laser dies.

15 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein for at least one of the one or more structured light projectors:

the semiconductor laser die is a first semiconductor laser die and the light source further comprises a second semiconductor laser die, wherein the first and second semiconductor laser dies are mounted within the housing such that the first and second semiconductor laser dies emit laser light in respective first and second directions, the first direction different from the second direction, and

the apparatus further comprises a computer processor configured to activate the first and second semiconductor laser dies such that the at least one structured light projector projects a first pattern in the first direction and a second pattern in the second direction.

16 . The apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the first and second semiconductor laser dies are mounted on a common submount within the housing.

17 . The apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein:

the beam shaping optical element is a first beam shaping optical element and the light source further comprises a second beam shaping optical element, the first and second beam shaping optical elements arranged such that laser light from the first semiconductor laser die enters and subsequently exits the first beam shaping optical element and laser light from the second semiconductor laser die enters and subsequently exits the second beam shaping optical element, and

the pattern generating optical element is a first pattern generating optical element and the at least one structured light projector further comprises a second pattern generating optical element, the first and second pattern generating optical elements arranged such that the laser light exiting the first beam shaping optical element enters the first pattern generating optical element and the laser light exiting the second beam shaping optical element enters the second pattern generating optical element.

18 . An apparatus for intraoral scanning, the apparatus comprising:

an elongate wand comprising a probe at a distal end of the elongate wand;

at least one structured light projector disposed within the probe, each structured light projector comprising:

(a) a housing;

(b) a light source disposed within the housing and comprising:

a first semiconductor laser die;

a second semiconductor laser die, wherein the first and second semiconductor laser dies are mounted within the housing such that the first and second semiconductor laser dies emit laser light in respective first and second directions that are opposite to each other; and

a first beam shaping optical element and a second beam shaping optical element; and

(c) a first pattern generating optical element and a second pattern generating optical element; and

a computer processor configured to activate the first and second semiconductor laser dies such that the at least one structured light projector projects a first pattern of light in the first direction and a second pattern of light in the second direction,

wherein:

a distance D between an emission point of the first semiconductor laser die and an input face of the first beam shaping optical element, or between an emission point of the second semiconductor laser die and an input face of the beam shaping optical element, is 50-250 microns, and

each structured light projector is configured to project at least one of the first pattern of light or the second pattern of light onto an intraoral surface when the light source of the structured light projector is activated to emit light through at least one of the first pattern generating optical element or the second pattern generating optical element of the structured light projector.

19 . The apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the computer processor is configured to activate the first and second semiconductor laser dies such that the at least one structured light projector alternatingly projects the first pattern in the first direction and the second pattern in the second direction.

20 . The apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the computer processor is configured to activate the first and second semiconductor laser dies such that the at least one structured light projector projects, at the same time, the first pattern in the first direction and the second pattern in the second direction.

21 . An apparatus for intraoral scanning, the apparatus comprising:

an elongate wand comprising a probe at a distal end of the elongate wand; and

one or more structured light projectors disposed within the probe, each structured light projector comprising:

(a) a housing;

(b) a light source disposed within the housing and comprising:

a semiconductor laser die; and

a beam shaping optical element;

(c) a first pattern generating optical element; and

(d) a second pattern generating optical element,

wherein:

a distance D between an emission point of the semiconductor laser die and an input face of the beam shaping optical element is 50-250 microns,

each structured light projector is configured to project a pattern of light onto an intraoral surface when the light source of the structured light projector is activated to emit light through at least one of the first pattern generating optical element or the second pattern generating optical element of the structured light projector,

the first and second pattern generating optical elements are two respective areas on a common substrate that comprises a beam splitter and a reflector disposed within the common substrate, and

the apparatus further comprises a computer processor configured to activate the semiconductor laser die such that:

laser light exiting the light source is split by the beam splitter into a first beam and a second beam within the common substrate, and

the first beam enters the first pattern generating optical element and the second beam is reflected by the reflector toward the second pattern generating optical element to yield two separate projected patterns that are translationally shifted with respect to each other.

22 . The apparatus according to claim 21 , wherein the first beam enters the first pattern generating optical element and the second beam is reflected by the reflector toward the second pattern generating optical element to yield two separate projected patterns that are shifted with respect to each other by a distance between optical axes of the first and second pattern generating optical elements.

23 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein for at least one structured light projector of the one or more structured light projectors the housing is a sealed housing.

24 . An apparatus for intraoral scanning, the apparatus comprising:

an elongate wand comprising a probe at a distal end of the elongate wand; and

one or more structured light projectors disposed within the probe, each structured light projector comprising:

(a) a housing comprising a transparent window through which light exits the housing;

(b) a light source disposed within the housing and comprising:

a semiconductor laser die; and

a beam shaping optical element; and

(c) a pattern generating optical element,

wherein:

the transparent window comprises the pattern generating optical element,

the semiconductor laser die and the beam shaping optical element are disposed within a common chamber of the housing, and

each structured light projector is configured to project a pattern of light onto an intraoral surface when the light source of the structured light projector is activated to emit light through the pattern generating optical element of the structured light projector.