Led-based planar light illumination and imaging (PLIIM) systems

• US 7,070,107 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2002
• Issued: 07/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Metrologic Instruments Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Metrologic Instruments Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Zhu, Xiaoxun, Good, Timothy A., Knowles, C. Harry, Amundsen, Thomas, Schnee, Michael D., Tsikos, Constantine J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Ahshik
• Application Number:
  US10/156,705
• Publication Number:
  US 20030150916A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,502 Days
• Field of Search: 235/462.06, 235/462.14, 235/462.15, 235/462.22, 235/462.23, 235/462.24, 235/462.42, 235/462.01, 235/462.11, 235/472.01
• US Class Current: 235/462.14
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 15/00 Nanotechnology for interacting, sensing or actuating, e.g. quantum dots as markers in protein assays or molecular motors
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 19/0014 at least one surface having optical power
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 19/0028 refractive and reflective surfaces, e.g. non-imaging catadioptric systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 19/0057 in the form of a laser diode array, e.g. laser diode bar semiconductor laser arrays with beam combining arrangement H01S5/4012
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 19/0066 in the form of an LED array
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 19/009 for use with infrared radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/10 Scanning systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/105 with one or more pivoting mirrors or galvano-mirrors G02B26/101 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0961 Lens arrays lens arrays per se G02B3/0006
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0966 Cylindrical lenses cylindrical lenses per se G02B3/06
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/48 Laser speckle optics
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10554 Moving beam scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10683 Arrangement of fixed elements
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10722 Photodetector array or CCD scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10732 Light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10811 Focalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10861 sensing of data fields affixed to objects or articles, e.g. coded labels postal sorting B07C3/14, conveying articles B65G47/48
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/02325 Mechanically integrated components on mount members or optical micro-benches
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/4025 Array arrangements, e.g. constituted by discrete laser diodes or laser bar H01S5/42 takes precedence

Abstract

A planar light illumination and imaging system for illuminating an object and forming an image thereof. The planar light illumination and imaging system which comprises an image formation and detection module having a field of view (FOV) focused at an image detecting array. A planar light illumination array (PLIA) constructed from an plurality of planar light illumination modules (PLIMs) is arranged in rectilinear manner. Each planar light illumination module comprises a visible light emitting diode (LED), a focusing lens, and a cylindrical optical element arranged therewith to produce a planar light illumination beam component; and wherein the individual planar light illumination beam components produced from the plurality of planar light illumination modules are optically combined to produce a composite substantially planar light illumination beam having substantially-planar spatial distribution characteristics that extend through the field of view (FOV) of the image formation and detection module, so that light reflected off an object illuminated by the planar light illumination beam is focused along the field of view and onto the image detecting array to form an image of the illuminated object.

Claims

1. A planar light illumination and imaging system for illuminating an object and forming an image thereof, said planar light illumination and imaging system comprising:

an image formation and detection module having a field of view (FOV) focused at an image detecting array; and

a planar light illumination array (PLIA) constructed from a plurality of planar light illumination modules (PLIMs) arranged in rectilinear manner,

wherein each said PLIM comprises a visible light emitting diode (LED), a focusing lens, and a cylindrical optical element arranged therewith to produce a planar light illumination beam component; and

wherein said individual planar light illumination beam components produced from said plurality of PLIMs are combined to produce a composite substantially planar light illumination beam having substantially-planar spatial distribution characteristics that extend through the field of view (FOV) of said image formation and detection module, so that light reflected off an object illuminated by said composite substantially planar light illumination beam is focused along said field of view and onto said image detecting array to form an image of said illuminated object.

2. The planar light illumination and imaging system of claim 1, wherein said composite substantially planar light illumination beam has substantially uniform power density characteristics over the entire spatial extent thereof and thus the working range of the system.

3. The planar light illumination and imaging system of claim 1, wherein each planar light illumination beam component is focused so that the minimum beam width thereof occurs at a point or plane which is the farthest or maximum object distance at which the system is designed to acquire images, thereby compensating for decreases in the power density of the incident planar light illumination beam due to the fact that the width of the composite substantially planar light illumination beam increases in length for increasing object distances away from the imaging detecting array.

4. The planar light illumination and imaging system of claim 1, wherein said composite substantially planar light illumination beam (PLIB) and the magnified field of view (FOV) are projected onto an object during conveyor-type illumination and imaging applications, wherein the height dimension of said composite substantially planar light illumination beam is substantially greater than the height dimension of the magnified field of view of each image detection element in the linear CCD image detection array so as to decrease the range of tolerance that must be maintained between the PLIB and the magnified FOV.

5. The planar light illumination and imaging system of claim 1, wherein said visible light emitting diodes are configured together along a linear array of electronic image detection used to realize said image detection array cells so as to produce said substantially planar beam of light illumination which extends in substantially the same plane as the field of view of the linear array of electronic image detection cells, along at least a portion of its optical path within its working distance of the system.

6. The planar light illumination and imaging system of claim 5, wherein the linear array of electronic image detection cells are realized using charge-coupled device (CCD) technology.

7. The planar light illumination and imaging system of claim 1, wherein a fixed focal length imaging subsystem is employed, and a light beam focusing technique is employed to compensate for decreases in the power density of said planar light illumination beam for increasing distances away from said fixed focal length imaging subsystem.

8. The planar light illumination and imaging system of claim 1, wherein the principle of Gaussian summation of light intensity distributions is employed to produce a planar light illumination beam having a power density across the width the beam which is substantially the same for both far and near fields of the system.

9. A planar light illumination and imaging (PLIIM) based system with automatic light beam power density compensation, said PLIIM based system comprising:

an image formation and detection module having a field of view (FOV) focused at an image detecting array; and

a planar light illumination array (PLIA) having a plurality of planar light illumination modules, for producing a composite planar light illumination beam having substantially-planar spatial distribution characteristics that extend through the field of view (FOV) of said image formation and detection module, so that light reflected off an object illuminated by said composite planar light illumination beam is focused along said field of view and onto said image detecting array to form an image of said illuminated object;

wherein each said planar light illumination module comprises a visible light emitting diode (LED), a focusing lens, and a cylindrical optical element arranged therewith to produce a planar light illumination beam component of said composite planar light illumination beam; and

wherein said composite planar light illumination beam has a beam width which increases as a function of increasing object distance in said PLIIM based system; and

wherein the height of said composite planar light illumination beam decreases as the object distance increases, compensating for the increase in beam width in said composite planar light illumination beam which occurs for an increase in object distance,

thereby yielding a light beam power density on the target object which increases as a function of increasing object distance over a substantial portion of the object distance range of said PLIIM bases system.