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:
Sep. 18, 1990
Filed:
Jan. 23, 1989
Erik K Antonsson, Pasadena, CA (US);
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (US);
Abstract
Automatic acquistion and anaylsis for three-dimensional surface geometries is accomplished by use of an opto-electronic technique which exploits large-linear-area lateral-photo-effect-diodes and employs a reflected, tightly focused light spot. The technique consists of one very small light spot pulsed for example at 10,000 Hertz with a 50% duty cycle. The light spot is focused on the surface to be measured and scanned across it stopping for, in one example, 50 microseconds each time it is illuminated. The diode detectors mounted in the focal plane of a pair of cameras, return azimuth and elevation information for each spot. Knowledge of the location and orientation of the cameras, as well as calibration corrections for each camera, completes the information necessary to reconstruct the full three-dimensional location of each reflected light spot.