Apparatus for extracting pattern features

An apparatus for extracting configurational features of an object having a plurality of surfaces for a robot machine, comprising:

• a two-dimensional laser pattern projection device comprising a semiconductor laser, a collimating lens, a lens support, supporting springs, a lens holder, a moving coil, and a magnetic circuit, for projecting laser light in a two-dimensional pattern, and in a projecting direction by deflecting a laser beam generated by said semiconductor laser by moving said collimating lens in a direction perpendicular to a light axis of the laser beam;
• a three-dimensional position calculating device for calculating a three-dimensional position of a point illuminated by the laser light, and for determining a three-dimensional position of a measurement surface based on said three-dimensional position and information relating to a basic shape of said measurement surface;
• and
• a configurational feature extracting means for extracting configurational features of said object having a plurality of surfaces, based on the three-dimensional position of the measurement surface;
• wherein said three-dimensional position calculating device determines the surface parameters relating to the three-dimensional position of the measurement surface from the three-dimensional positions of a plurality of points, and the number of constituting surfaces is determined from successive comparisons of the surface parameters obtained in each sequential calculation of the three-dimensional positions.

An apparatus for extracting configurational features of an object having a plurality of surfaces for a robot machine, comprising:

• a two-dimensional laser pattern projection device comprising a semiconductor laser, a collimating lens, a lens support, supporting springs, a lens holder, a moving coil, and a magnetic circuit, for projecting laser light in a two-dimensional pattern, and in a projecting direction by deflecting a laser beam generated by said semiconductor laser by moving said collimating lens in a direction perpendicular to a light axis of the laser beam;
• a three-dimensional position calculating device for calculating a three-dimensional position of a point illuminated by the laser light, and for determining a three-dimensional position of a measurement surface based on said three-dimensional position and information relating to a basic shape of said measurement surface;
• and
• a configurational feature extracting means for extracting configurational features of said object having a plurality of surfaces, based on the three-dimensional position of the measurement surface;
• wherein the configurational feature extracting means includes a pattern recognition device for classifying the position of the two-dimensional laser pattern on the object surfaces into a plurality of predetermined cases based on a number of feature points outputted from surface parameters which are determined by the three-dimensional position calculating device, and further includes a pattern information generating device for altering the projection direction and the two-dimensional pattern of the laser light in accordance with classified surfaces of the position of the laser pattern determined by said pattern recognition device.