Mechanical support for hand-held dental/medical instrument

A mechanical support for a hand held dental/medical operating instrument to provide three-dimensional contour information comprising:

• a plurality of movable segments, each of said segments having a longitudinal axis, said longitudinal axes of said segments being arranged along a single line to provide an articulated assembly having a first end and a second end,
• said first end adapted to be coupled to a fixed platform, said second end adapted to be connected to an operating instrument,
• a plurality of joints, a first one of said joints adapted to connect said first end to a platform and each of the rest of said joints connecting successive ones of said segments to each other, each of said joints providing rotation about a predetermined axis,
• at least two of said joints providing rotation around a longitudinal axis shared by the two of said segments connected by said joint,
• the rest of said joints providing for rotation about an axis perpendicular to a plane defined by all positions of the longitudinal axes of the two segments connected by said joints, and
• a plurality of encoders, each of said encoders being associated with one of said segments to provide an electrical signal indication of the position of each of said segments,
• whereby the position of the operating instrument can be tracked on a continuous basis.

A mechanical support for hand held dental/medical operating instruments to provide three-dimensional contour information comprising:

• a fixed platform,
• first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth movable segments, each of said six segments having a longitudinal axis, said longitudinal axes of said segments being arranged along a single line,
• said first segment being coupled to said platform, said sixth segment adapted to be connected to an operating instrument,
• first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth joints, a first one of said joints connecting said first segment to said platform and each of the rest of said joints connecting successive ones of said segments to each other,
• each of said joints providing rotation about a predetermined axis,
• at least two of said joints providing rotation around a longitudinal axis shared by the two of said segments connected by said joint,
• the rest of said joints providing rotation about an axis perpendicular to a plane defined by all positions of the longitudinal axes of the two segments connected by said joint,
• whereby the tip of an operating instrument connected to said sixth segment is enabled to move with six degrees of freedom of motion,
• a plurality of encoders associated with each of said movable segments to provide an electrical signal indication of the position of each of said movable segments,
• whereby the position of the operating instrument can be tracked on a continuous basis.

A mechanical support for hand held dental/medical operating instruments to provide three-dimensional contour information comprising:

• first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth movable segments, each of said six segments having a longitudinal axis, said longitudinal axes of said segments being arranged along a single line,
• said first segment adapted to be coupled to a platform, said sixth segment adapted to be connected to an operating instrument,
• first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth joints, a first one of said joints connecting said first segment to said platform and each of the rest of said joints connecting successive ones of said segments to each other,
• each of said joints providing rotation about a predetermined axis,
• at least two of said joints providing rotation around a longitudinal axis shared by the two of said segments connected by said joint,
• the rest of said joints providing rotation about an axis perpendicular to a plane defined by all positions of the longitudinal axes of the two segments connected by said joint,
• whereby the tip of an operating instrument is connected to said sixth segment is enabled to move with six degrees of freedom of motion, and
• a slave probe mounted on said fifth segment and coupled to said sixth segment, said slave probe having a tip which tracks with movement of the tip of any operating instrument connected to said sixth segment.