Renishaw Metrology Limited

John I Rosser

An optical inspection probe, used on a coordinate measuring machine, includes a sensing module having a CCD array and an imaging module releasably mountable thereon. The position of a feature on the surface is measured using the probe by calculating the instant of time at which an image of the feature will pass across a predesignated pixel Q.sub.c of the array. The calculation is performed on the basis of the relative velocity of the probe and the surface as determined from two consecutively scanned image frames of the CCD array. The probe may be used to determine, for example, the position of an edge of a surface by moving the probe laterally with respect to the surface or, may be used to measure the position of a predetermined height of a surface by projecting a light beam onto the surface at an angle to the optical axis and measuring the position of the resulting spot on the surface.

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North Woodchester, United Kingdom

John I Rosser