Contour measurement using time-based triangulation methods

Claim 1

In a non-contact surface contour measurement system having radiation emitting and guiding means to produce a scanning beam of radiation, radiation receiving means to receive a reflection of said scanning beam from the surface of an object to be measured and to focus said reflection upon a signal producing radiation sensitive detector array, and signal processing and data processing means to convert scanning beam positional data from said radiation emitting and guiding means and from said detector array to contour plotting data points, the improvement comprising: a radiation channeling surface acting as the front stage of said radiation sensitive detector array; and one or more signal producing radiation receivers acting as the rear stage of said radiation sensitive detector array; wherein said channeling surface comprises a substantially linear array of the radiation receiving ends of a plurality of radiation feeders, each for conducting said reflected radiation to a radiation receiver, and wherein each of said radiation receivers is coupled by a set of said radiation feeders to said radiation channeling surface to comprise a single receiving channel in such a way that successively numbered receivers and their associated channels are connected to successively positioned feeders in their linear array on the channeling surface in sequential alternation.

Claim 12

A method of non-contact surface contour measurement using time based triangulation, comprising the steps of: (1) Creating an optical scanning beam with a laser and a spinning polygonal mirror to define a line of reflection points on an object; (2) Keeping track of the angle of the scanning beam by knowing the rotating speed of the mirror and by starting a timer when the beam passes a start sensor; (3) Collecting the reflected image of said line with a lens system to focus said reflected line onto a light channeling surface comprised of the ends of multiple optical fibers for each of one or more light receiving channels, each channel feeding light to a single photoreceiver for generating an electrical signal related to the time of the entry of reflected laser light into said channel; (4) Keeping track of said time of entry of said reflected light into said channel through a particular fiber and comparing that time value with one or more previously measured reference values of reflection times for that fiber to compute an actual surface height relative to a reference height for each reflection point.

Claim 13

A method of non-contact surface contour measurement using time based triangulation, comprising the steps of: (1) Creating an optical scanning beam with a laser and a spinning polygonal mirror to define a line of reflection points on an object; (2) Keeping track of the angle of the scanning beam by knowing the rotating speed of the mirror and by starting a timer when the beam passes a start sensor; (3) Collecting the reflected image of said line with a lens system to focus said reflected line onto a light channeling surface comprised of the ends of multiple optical fibers for each of one or more light receiving channels, each channel feeding light to a single photoreceiver for generating an electrical signal related to the time of the entry of reflected laser light into said channel; (4) Keeping track of said time of entry of said reflected light into said channel through a particular fiber and comparing that time value with one or more previously measured reference values of reflection times for that fiber to compute an actual surface height relative to a reference height for each reflection point.