Method and apparatus for electro-optically determining the dimension, location and attitude of objects
First Claim
1. A method for determining the dimension, location or attitude of an object surface, comprising projecting a zone of light onto the surface of said object, said zone comprising at least two bright portions with at least one dark portion therebetween,forming an image of said zone on said surface onto a photodiode array with lens means whose axis is angularly spaced from the axis of said projected light, said image comprising said two bright portions and said dark portion therebetween;
- determining from the position of the dark portion of said image on said array relative to said lens axis the location of said surface illuminated by said zone, anddetermining from said location of said surface the location, attitude or dimension of said object.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for optically determining the dimension of part surfaces. Particular embodiments describe optical triangulation based coordinate measurement machines capable of accurate measurement of complex surfaces, such as gear teeth and turbine blades. Other embodiments provide highly useful sensors for robot guidance and related purposes. Up to 5 axis sensing capability is provided on surfaces of widely varying form.
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Citations
62 Claims
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1. A method for determining the dimension, location or attitude of an object surface, comprising projecting a zone of light onto the surface of said object, said zone comprising at least two bright portions with at least one dark portion therebetween,
forming an image of said zone on said surface onto a photodiode array with lens means whose axis is angularly spaced from the axis of said projected light, said image comprising said two bright portions and said dark portion therebetween; -
determining from the position of the dark portion of said image on said array relative to said lens axis the location of said surface illuminated by said zone, and determining from said location of said surface the location, attitude or dimension of said object. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A method for determining the dimension, location, or attitude of an object surface, said object being in motion, comprising projecting onto the surface of said object a zone of light,
forming an image of said zone on said surface onto a photodiode array with a lens system whose axis is angularly spaced from the axis of the projected light, said projection of said light zone being provided within a short time interval sufficient to effectively freeze the image on said array, scanning said photodiode array between successive light projection intervals, determining from the position of said image on said diode array the location of said surface illuminated by said zone, and determining from said location of said surface the location, attitude, or dimension of said object.
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13. A method for determining the angular tilt of an object surface which is inclined relative to a plane of measurement, comprising projecting onto the surface of said object at least two zones of light, the direction of light projection being normal to a plane of measurement,
forming an image of said zones on said surface onto at least one photodiode array with a lens means whose axis is angularly spaced from the axis of said projected light, and determining from the separation of said image on said diode array the angular tilt of said surface, relative to said plane of measurement.
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17. A method for determining the dimension, location, or attitude of an object surface, comprising:
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projecting a zone of light onto a surface of an object; forming an image of said zone of light on a photodiode array with lens means having an optical axis which is angularly spaced from the optical axis of the projected light, said image being sufficiently small such that it is not incident upon all of the photodiodes in said array whereby the position on said photodiode array on which said image is formed is dependent upon the location of said object surface; determining the position of said image on said photodiode array; determining from the position of said image on said photodiode array the location of said surface illuminated by said zone of light; utilizing a broad light source to illuminate said surface; forming an image of said object surface on a two axis scanning array means; and determining from the location of said surface and from the image on said two axis scanning array means, the dimension, location, or attitude of said object surface. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. Apparatus for determining the dimension, location, or attitude of an object surface, comprising means for projecting onto the surface of said object a zone of light, said zone comprised of at least two bright portions with at least one dark portion therebetween,
a photodiode array, lens means for forming an image of said zone on said surface onto said photodiode array, said lens means having an optical axis which is angularly spaced from the axis of said projected light, said image comprising said two bright portions and said dark portion therebetween, means for determining from the position of the dark portion of said image on said diode array relative to said lens axis, the location of said surface illuminated by said zone, and means for determining from said location of said surface the location, attitude or dimension of said object.
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32. Apparatus for determining dimension, location, or attitude of an object surface, comprising:
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means for projecting a zone of light onto the surface of an object; a photodiode array; means for moving said object; lens means for forming an image of said zone onto said photodiode array, said lens means having an optical axis which is angularly spaced from the axis of the projected light, said projection of said light zone being provided within a time interval sufficiently short to effectively freeze the image on said array during relative motion thereof; means for scanning said photodiode array between successive light projection intervals; means for determining from the position of said image on said diode array the location of said surface illuminated by said zone; and means for determining from said location of said surface the location, attitude, or dimension of said object. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. Apparatus for determining the angular tilt of an object surface which is inclined relative to a plane of measurement, comprising:
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means for projecting onto the surface of said object at least two zones of light, the direction of light projection being normal to a plane of measurement, lens means for forming an image of said zones on said surface onto at least one photodiode array, said lens means having an axis which is angularly spaced from the axis of said projected light, and means for determining from the separation of said images on said diode array the angular tilt of said surface relative to said plane of measurement. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44)
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45. Apparatus for determining the dimension, location or attitude of an object surface, comprising:
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means for projecting a zone of light onto a surface of an object; lens means for forming an image of said zone of light on a photodiode array, said lens means having an optical axis which is angularly spaced from the optical axis of the projected light, said image being sufficiently small such that it is not incident upon all of the photodiodes in said array whereby the position on said photodiode array on which said image is formed is dependent upon the location of said object surface; means for determining the position of said image on said photodiode array; means for determining from the position of said image on said photodiode array the location of said surface illuminated by said zone of light; means comprising a broad light source to illuminate said surface; means for forming an image of said object surface on a two axis scanning array means; and means for determining from the location of said surface and from the image on said two axis scanning array means, the dimension, location, or attitude of said object surface. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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57. A method for determining the dimension, location, or attitude of an object surface, comprising:
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projecting a pulsed zone of light onto a surface of an object; forming an image of said pulsed zone of light on a photodiode array with lens means having an optical axis which is angularly spaced from the optical axis of the projected light, said image being sufficiently small such that it is not incident upon all of the photodiodes in said array whereby the position on said photodiode array on which said image is formed is dependent upon the location of said object surface, storing the output of said diode array in temporary delay means; amplifying said stored diode array output, and controlling the amplification of said stored output in inverse proportion to the light energy reflected from said zone; determining, from the amplified stored array outputs, the position of said image on said photodiode array, said determination being effected in the interval between successive light pulses; determining from the position of said image on said array the location of said surface illuminated by said zone of light; and determining from said location of said surface, the dimension location, or attitude of said object.
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58. A method for determining the dimension, location, or attitude of an object surface, comprising:
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projecting a pulsed zone of light onto a surface of an object; forming an image of said pulsed zone of light on a photodiode array with lens means having an optical axis which is angularly spaced from the optical axis of the projected light, said image being sufficiently small such that it is not incident upon all of the photodiodes in said array whereby the position on said photodiode array on which said image is formed is dependent upon the location of said object surface, storing the output of said diode array in temporary delay means; applying a threshold voltage to said stored diode array output, and controlling said voltage in dependence upon the amount of light reflected from said zone; determining, from the stored array outputs, the position of said image on said photodiode array, said determination being effected in the interval between successive light pulses; determining from the position of said image on said array the location of said surface illuminated by said zone of light; and determining from said location of said surface, the dimension, location, or attitude of said object. - View Dependent Claims (59)
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60. Apparatus for determining the dimension, location or attitude of an object surface, comprising:
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means for projecting a pulsed zone of light onto a surface of an object; lens means for forming an image of said pulsed zone of light on a photodiode array, said lens means having an optical axis which is angularly spaced from the optical axis of the projected light, said image being sufficiently small such that it is not incident upon all of the photodiodes in said array whereby the position on said photodiode array on which said image is formed is dependent upon the location of said object surface, means for storing the output of said diode array in temporary delay means, means for amplifying said stored diode array output, and means for controlling the amplification of said stored output in inverse proportion to the light energy reflected from said zone; means for determining, in the interval between successive pulses of light, from the amplified stored diode array output, the position of said image on said photodiode array; means for determining from the position of said image on said photodiode array the location of said surface illuminated by said zone of light; and means for determining from said location of said surface, the dimension, location, or attitude of said object.
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61. Apparatus for determining the dimension, location or attitude of an object surface, comprising:
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means for projecting a pulsed zone of light onto a surface of an object; lens means for forming an image of said pulsed zone of light on a photodiode array, said lens means having an optical axis which is angularly spaced from the optical axis of the projected light, said image being sufficiently small such that it is not incident upon all of the photodiodes in said array whereby the position on said photodiode array on which said image is formed is dependent upon the location on said object surface, means for storing the output of said diode array in temporary delay means, means for applying a threshold voltage in dependence upon the amount of light reflected from said zone; means for determining, in the interval between successive pulses of light, from the stored diode array output, the position of said image on said photodiode array; means for determining from the position of said image on said photodiode array the location of said surface illuminated by said zone of light; and means for determining from said location of said surface, the dimension, location, or attitude of said object. - View Dependent Claims (62)
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Specification