# US 12,223,634 B2 · Inspection apparatus, measuring method, and computer readable medium for acquiring point cloud data of good quality in performing measurement of a member to be inspected using a three-dimensional sensor > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,223,634 B2 - Document ID: US12223634B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/625,884 - Filed: 2019-07-26 - Published: 2022-11-10 - Granted: 2025-02-11 - Earliest claimed: 2019-07-26 - Assignees: NEC Corporation - Applicants: NEC Corporation - Inventors: Akira Tsuji - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12223634B2 ## CPC - G06T 7/0004: {Industrial image inspection} - G01S 7/4808: {Evaluating distance, position or velocity data} - G01S 7/4972: {Alignment of sensor} - G01S 17/89: for mapping or imaging - G06T 2207/10028: Range image; Depth image; 3D point clouds - G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL - G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES ## Abstract An inspection apparatus (10) includes: a three-dimensional sensor (11) configured to irradiate a member to be inspected with a beam and acquire point cloud data of the member to be inspected based on at least amplitude information of light; a direction identifying unit (12) configured to identify a predetermined direction in which there are the largest number of the point cloud data in the reference coordinate system which is coordinate axes for the member to be inspected; and a tilt amount determination unit (13) configured to determine a tilt amount for changing an arrangement of the reference coordinate system so that the number of the point cloud data in the predetermined direction increases in the eigen coordinate system which is coordinate axes for the three-dimensional sensor (11). ## Claims ### Claim 1 An inspection apparatus comprising: a three-dimensional sensor configured to irradiate a member to be inspected with a beam and acquire point cloud data of the member to be inspected based on at least amplitude information of light; wherein the inspection apparatus is configured to: identify a predetermined direction in which there are a largest number of the point cloud data in a reference coordinate system being coordinate axes for the member to be inspected; and determine a tilt amount for changing an arrangement with respect to the reference coordinate system so that a number of the point cloud data in the predetermined direction increases in an eigen coordinate system being coordinate axes for the three-dimensional sensor. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, further configured to change a posture of the three-dimensional sensor so that the eigen coordinate system tilts with respect to the reference coordinate system in accordance with the tilt amount. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The inspection apparatus according to claim 2, further configured to: perform re-acquisition of the point cloud data of the member to be inspected after a change of the posture of the three-dimensional sensor; perform re-detection of the predetermined direction based on the re-acquired point cloud data; re-determine the tilt amount when the angle difference is equal to or greater than a threshold, value; and change, when of the tilt amount has been re-determined, the posture of the three-dimensional sensor in accordance with the re-determined tilt amount, wherein the inspection apparatus is configured not to re-determine the tilt amount when an angle difference between a detection result in the previously predetermined direction and a detection result in the currently predetermined direction is less than the threshold value. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, further configured to detect the predetermined direction based on a distribution of the point cloud data. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The inspection apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the distribution is a variance. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, further configured to determine the tilt amount so that the predetermined direction and the direction in which a resolution is the highest among the scanning directions of the beam emitted from the three-dimensional sensor are orthogonal. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, further configured to create superimposed point cloud data in which the point cloud data acquired more than one time by the three-dimensional sensor are superimposed on one another. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) The inspection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the member to be inspected is a deformed steel bar. ### Claim 9 A measuring method comprising: by a three-dimensional sensor adapted to acquire point cloud data based on at least amplitude information of light, irradiating a member to be inspected with a beam and acquiring the point cloud data; identifying a predetermined direction in which there are a largest number of the point cloud data in a reference coordinate system being coordinate axes for the member to be inspected; and determining a tilt amount for changing an arrangement with respect to the reference coordinate system so that a number of the point cloud data in the predetermined direction increases in an eigen coordinate system being coordinate axes for the three-dimensional sensor. ### Claim 10 A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a program for causing a computer to: cause a three-dimensional sensor adapted to acquire point cloud data based on at least amplitude information of light to irradiate-a member to be inspected with a beam and acquiring the point cloud data; identify a predetermined direction in which there are a largest number of the point cloud data in a reference coordinate system being coordinate axes for the member to be inspected; and determine a tilt amount for changing an arrangement with respect to the reference coordinate system so that number of the point cloud data in the predetermined direction increases in an eigen coordinate system being coordinate axes for the three-dimensional sensor.