Sensing location of an object with line image projection and rotation
AssigneeDiffracto Ltd.
InventorTimothy R. Pryor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus and method for sensing the presence or location of an object in a plane perpendicular to a reference axis is disclosed. An optical detector using triangulation techniques is used to sense the presence or rough location of the object. A contact detector is then used to determine the precise location of the object. The presence or location of the object can also be detected in a plane including the reference axis. The probe device containing the two detectors is preferably moved quickly while the rough location is determined and more slowly to determine the precise location. The contact detector can be an optical contact probe moved by an auxiliary moving device attached to a main moving device. Various optical contact detectors are also disclosed.
Claims16
An apparatus for sensing the location of an object comprising:
- a projection means for projecting a line of light onto a surface of the object adjacent a feature of the object;
- a light detector means for detecting light;
- an imaging means for imaging the projected line of light from an angle offset from a projection axis of the projected line of light onto said light detector means;
- a rotation means for rotating the projected line of light on the surface of the object such that the projected line of light intersects the feature;
- and
- a location detecting means for detecting the location of the imaged line of light on said light detector means and hence a distance to the object as well as a location of one point of the feature of the object.
A method for sensing the location of an object comprising the steps of:
- projecting a line of light onto a surface of the object adjacent a feature of the object;
- imaging the projected line of light from an angle offset from a projection axis of the projected line of light onto a matrix photodetector array;
- rotating the projected line of light on the surface of the object such that the projected line of light intersects the feature;
- and
- detecting the location of the imaged line of light on the photodetecor array and hence a distance to the object as well as a location of the feature of the object.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.