The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 13, 1987
Filed:
Apr. 30, 1985
J Bradford Merry, Annapolis, MD (US);
Lawrence B Brown, Annapolis, MD (US);
Chesapeake Laser Systems, Inc., Lanham, MD (US);
Abstract
A system for tracking a random seam on a surface for the purposes of, for example, welding or inspecting the seam. The sensing assembly in the system comprises a laser and a scattered light detector. The beam from the laser is scanned across the seam via an acousto-optical deflector in the range of 170-2100 scans per second, thereby providing accurate tracking of the seam while allowing the system to move longitudinally along the seam in the range of 3.3 to 10 inches per second. The scanning width is reduced, or windowed, to decrease the amount of data received by the detector and the system's overall control system to allow the higher speeds in the range while maintaining the desired tracking accuracy by decreasing data processing time.