Non-contact gaging system and method for contoured panels having specular surfaces

A system for fabricating curved panels having specular surfaces including one or more processing stations and one or more conveyors for conveying the panel from station to station during processing, one of the processing stations including an apparatus for gaging the shape of the panel as the panel is conveyed in a first direction generally parallel to the first dimension of the panel, the apparatus comprising;

• at least two displays, each display projecting a preselected contrasting pattern,
• at least two cameras, each one of the cameras being uniquely paired with one of the displays, wherein each display and camera pair are mounted in a spaced-apart relationship a known distance and angle from the surface of the panel such that the camera detects the reflected image of the pattern projected on the surface of the panel from its associated display, and wherein each of the display and camera pairs are spaced apart from each other at least in a second direction across the second dimension of the panel such that each camera detects the reflected image of the pattern projected on the surface of the panel from only its associated display, and wherein the patterns detected by the cameras together cover the entire surface in the direction of the second dimension of the panel;
• and
• a programmable control including at least one processor programmed to execute logic for controlling each of the cameras to acquire at least one image of the reflected pattern of the associated display on the panel as the panel is conveyed across the path of the projected pattern in the first direction, logic for analyzing and combining the data acquired by the cameras to construct surface data representative of the surface of the panel, and logic for comparing the surface data of the panel to a pre-defined surface shape to determine the degree of conformance of the formed panel to the pre-defined surface contour.

A method for gaging the shape of a curved panel having a specular surface, the panel having a first dimension and a second dimension, wherein the panel is curved at least about one or more axes of curvature which are generally parallel to the first dimension, the method including at least the steps of:

• conveying the panel in a first direction generally parallel to the first dimension of the panel;
• projecting a preselected contrasting pattern from each of at least two displays onto the surface of the panel
• providing at least two cameras, each one of the cameras being uniquely paired with one of the displays, wherein each display and camera pair are mounted in a spaced-apart relationship a known distance and angle from the surface of the panel for detecting the reflected image of the pattern projected on the surface of the panel from its associated display, and wherein each of the display and camera pairs are spaced apart from each other at least in a second direction across the second dimension of the panel such that each camera detects the reflected image of the pattern projected on the surface of the panel from only its associated display, and wherein the patterns detected by the cameras together cover the entire surface in the direction of the second dimension of the panel;
• and
• controlling each of the cameras to acquire at least one image of the reflected pattern of the associated display on the panel as the panel is conveyed across the path of the projected pattern in the first direction;
• analyzing and combining the data acquired by the cameras to construct surface data representative of the surface of the panel;
• and
• analyzing the data representative of the surface of the panel to determine optical characteristics of the panel.