Method and apparatus for determining object position and dimension using a diffraction wave
First Claim
1. A method of determining the position of an object comprising the steps of directing an electromagnetic wave front of known spatial intensity distribution from a wave source onto a boundary of an object to produce a diffraction boundary wave, determining from said diffraction wave the portion of said wave of known spatial intensity distribution intercepted by said object boundary and determining therefrom the position of said object.
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Abstract
The disclosed invention relates to methods and apparatus for obtaining the dimension, position or angle of an object using a point on the object boundary surface to create a diffraction wave when illuminated by a laser beam or other source of electro-magnetic radiation. This diffraction wave is then analyzed to obtain information as to the position point tangent to the laser beam or the angular orientation of the object boundary at said object point.
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12 Claims
- 1. A method of determining the position of an object comprising the steps of directing an electromagnetic wave front of known spatial intensity distribution from a wave source onto a boundary of an object to produce a diffraction boundary wave, determining from said diffraction wave the portion of said wave of known spatial intensity distribution intercepted by said object boundary and determining therefrom the position of said object.
- 7. Apparatus for determining the position of an object comprising wave source means for directing an electromagnetic wave front of known spatial intensity distribution onto a boundary of an object to produce a diffraction boundary wave, means for determining from said diffraction boundary wave the portion of said wave of known spatial intensity distribution intercepted by said object boundary, and means for determining therefrom the position of said object.
Specification