Method and means for projecting images in a contour projector
AssigneeOptical Gaging Products, Inc.
InventorAlbert G. Choate
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A workpiece is mounted in a contour projector machine so that at least one of two opposed sides thereof can be observed by the operator. The side observed by the operator is illuminated by a surface illuminator, and an image thereof is projected onto the machine's projection screen also to be observed by the operator. The side of the workpiece opposite to the side observed by the operator is illuminated by a contour projector, which projects a contour image of the workpiece onto the projection screen simultaneously with the image of the illuminated surface observed by the worker, thus producing on the screen upright an unreversed images of both the contour and the observed side of the workpiece.
Claims8
In a contour projector machine of the type having a projection screen positioned to be viewable by the operator of the machine, and a work support for removably holding a workpiece in an operative position in which one of two opposed sides of the workpiece is also positioned to be viewable by the operator, the improvement comprising
- first mirror means positioned to face said one side of a workpiece held in said operative position,
- means for directing a first beam of light along a first axis onto to said first mirror means for redirection thereby in one direction along a second axis coplanar with said first axis, and onto the surface of said one side of said workpiece, thereby to cause an image of said surface to be projected in the opposite direction along said second axis and onto said first mirror means,
- means for directing a second beam of light onto the other of said two opposed sides of said workpiece along an axis coaxial of and coplanar with said second axis, thereby to project a contour image of said workpiece onto said first mirror means in registry with said image of said surface, and
- projection means including relay lens means interposed between said first mirror means and said screen, and operative to project said registering images from said first mirror means onto said screen along optical axes coplanar with said first and second axes, and in such manner that the images on said screen are viewable by the operator in erect and unreversed positions with respect to the workpiece as viewed by the operator.
A method of projecting onto the projection screen of a contour projector machine registering, upright and unreversed images of both the contour and one of two opposed sides of a workpiece, which is mounted in the machine to have said one side thereof visible to the machine operator, comprising
- simultaneously projecting first and second beams of light coaxially of each other onto opposite sides of said workpiece to illuminate said opposite sides,
- projecting registering images of the contour of said workpiece, and the illuminated surface of said one side of the workpiece, onto the face of a first mirror, which is mounted in a plane extending transversely of the axis of said beams,
- projecting said registering contour and surface images from said first mirror, and through a series of relay lenses, onto said projection screen, and in such manner that the images on said screen are upright and unreversed with respect to the workpiece as viewed by the operator of the machine, and
- during the projection of said images onto said first mirror, and onto said projection screen, maintaining the optical axes of said projected images in a common plane containing the common axis of said beams of light.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.