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US 5,631,738 AGranted
Laser ranging system having reduced sensitivity to surface defects
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Company
InventorEdwin M. C. Childers
Life of this patent
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AssigneeHewlett-Packard Company
InventorEdwin M. C. Childers
Estimating the term…
An improved apparatus and method for measuring the distance between a known point and a point of the surface of a component having an imperfection therein. The apparatus includes an optical range finding system having a light source that generates a collimated beam of light for illuminating the point on the surface of the component and a detector for receiving light reflected from the point on the surface. The detector generates a signal indicative of the distance between the known point and the point of illumination. The present invention utilizes an actuator for moving the component in a plane perpendicular to a line from the known point to the point on the surface such that the collimated beam scans an area larger than the imperfection. The output of the detector is averaged over the scanned area to provide a distance measurement that is less sensitive to the imperfection.
An apparatus for measuring the distance between a known point and a measurement point on a surface of a component having an imperfection therein, said apparatus comprising:
In a method for operating an optical range finding system for determining the distance between a known point and a measurement point on a surface of a component having an imperfection in the surface, said range finding system comprising a light source that generates a collimated beam of light that illuminates said measurement point of said surface and a detector for receiving light reflected from said point and generating a signal indicative of the distance between said known point and said point on said surface, the improvement comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.