Colorimeter instrument with fiber optic ring illuminator
First Claim
1. A color sensing system comprising means defining a measurement plane adapted to receive at said measurement plane a test surface for purposes of making a color measurement, a source of light, a fiber optic cable having one end positioned to receive a beam of light directly from said source and the other end positioned to transimit light to said measurement plane, the ends of the optic fibers in said other end of said fiber optic cable being formed into and uniformly distributed in an annulus with the ends of said fibers pointed toward said test surface plane and inclined toward the axis of said annulus, at least one photodetector, and means to receive light diffusely reflected from said measurement plane and transmit the light to said photodetector.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a colorimetry system, the test surface, the color of which is to be measured, is illuminated by a fiber optic cable. Light transmitting ends of the optic fibers of the fiber optic cable are uniformly distributed into an annulus with the transmitting ends of the optic fibers pointed inwardly at 45 degrees toward the axis of the annulus. A light pipe, or a second fiber optic cable, is positioned to have one end on the axis of the annulus to receive diffusely reflected light from the test surface and transmit the reflected light to photodetectors through different color filters. The output signals of the photodetectors are applied to the colorimetry console which converts the photodetector signals to standard color index values.
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Citations
11 Claims
- 1. A color sensing system comprising means defining a measurement plane adapted to receive at said measurement plane a test surface for purposes of making a color measurement, a source of light, a fiber optic cable having one end positioned to receive a beam of light directly from said source and the other end positioned to transimit light to said measurement plane, the ends of the optic fibers in said other end of said fiber optic cable being formed into and uniformly distributed in an annulus with the ends of said fibers pointed toward said test surface plane and inclined toward the axis of said annulus, at least one photodetector, and means to receive light diffusely reflected from said measurement plane and transmit the light to said photodetector.
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11. A color sensing system comprising means defining a measurement plane adapted to receive at said measurement plane a test surface for purposes of making a color measurement, a source of light, a fiber optic cable having one end positioned to receive light from said source and the other end positioned to transmit light to said measurement plane, the ends of the optic fibers in said other end of said fiber optic cable being formed into and uniformly distributed in an annulus, a cylindrical light pipe positioned on the axis of said annulus to receive light reflected perpendicularly from said measurement plane, and a plurality of photodetectors within the extension of the cylinder defined by the cylindrical outer surface of said light pipe positioned to receive light reflected from said measurement plane and transmitted through said light pipe.
Specification