Method and apparatus for three dimensional edge tracing with Z height adjustment
First Claim
1. A method for operating a vision system, comprising:
- determining a set of coordinates for a plurality of edge points along an edge contour of an object,wherein the plurality of edge points extend over a depth range greater than the depth of field of an image of the edge contour, andwherein determining the set of coordinates comprises;
(a) determining the XYZ coordinates for at least a latest previous edge point in at least a latest previous edge point source image;
(b) automatically determining a next edge point XY trial location based at least partially on the XY location of the latest previous edge point;
(c) determining a next edge point source image that is focused at a different Z coordinate than the latest previous edge point source image, including at least one of;
(i) evaluating a focus characterization in the vicinity of the next edge point XY trial location for a plurality of previously acquired images corresponding to a plurality of focus positions,(ii) estimating a Z coordinate of the next edge point in the vicinity of the next edge point XY trial location based on previously acquired data,(iii) estimating a focus position corresponding to a well focused image of the next edge point in the vicinity of the next edge point XY trial location based on previously acquired data, and(iv) acquiring a plurality of images that include the next edge point XY trial location and that correspond to a plurality of focus positions over a range that includes a focus position corresponding to the Z coordinate of the latest previous edge point; and
(d) searching for the next edge point in the next edge point source image.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for tracing an edge contour of an object in three dimensional space is provided. The method and apparatus is utilized in a computer vision system that is designed to obtain precise dimensional measurements of a scanned object. In order to save focusing time during an automatic tracing measurement, multiple images may be collected and saved for a number of Z heights for a particular position of the XY stage. These saved images can later be used to calculate a focal position for each edge point trial location in the selected XY area rather than requiring a physical Z stage movement. In addition, a Z height extrapolation based on the Z heights of previous edge points can significantly speed up the searching process, particularly for objects where the Z height change of a contour is gradual and predictable.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method for operating a vision system, comprising:
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determining a set of coordinates for a plurality of edge points along an edge contour of an object, wherein the plurality of edge points extend over a depth range greater than the depth of field of an image of the edge contour, and wherein determining the set of coordinates comprises; (a) determining the XYZ coordinates for at least a latest previous edge point in at least a latest previous edge point source image; (b) automatically determining a next edge point XY trial location based at least partially on the XY location of the latest previous edge point; (c) determining a next edge point source image that is focused at a different Z coordinate than the latest previous edge point source image, including at least one of; (i) evaluating a focus characterization in the vicinity of the next edge point XY trial location for a plurality of previously acquired images corresponding to a plurality of focus positions, (ii) estimating a Z coordinate of the next edge point in the vicinity of the next edge point XY trial location based on previously acquired data, (iii) estimating a focus position corresponding to a well focused image of the next edge point in the vicinity of the next edge point XY trial location based on previously acquired data, and (iv) acquiring a plurality of images that include the next edge point XY trial location and that correspond to a plurality of focus positions over a range that includes a focus position corresponding to the Z coordinate of the latest previous edge point; and (d) searching for the next edge point in the next edge point source image. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification