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:
Jun. 01, 1993
Filed:
Sep. 04, 1991
Kenneth A Bird, New Paltz, NY (US);
Douglas Y Kim, Poughkeepsie, NY (US);
Stephen J Kish, Hyde Park, NY (US);
Julius J Lambright, Hopewell Junction, NY (US);
Kurt R Muller, Hopewell Junction, NY (US);
Lawrence D Thorp, Yorktown Heights, NY (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus for the inspection and handling of surface level defects is taught. Briefly stated, the object to be inspected is positioned. A Laser light is polarized into at least one orientation and then reflected off of a rotated polygon mirror. This causes the light to 'move' over the area of interest. A plurality of fiber optic bundles are used to receive and conduct the reflected light back to photomultipliers. The photomultiplers convert the light into electrical signals while associated electronics digitize the signals, keeping track of pixels which are produced. By keeping track of pixel edge boundaries and determining if certain thresholds are exceeded or not met as appropriate, the area of interest can be checked for a variety of defects. By comparison of the defects to a reference base, the defects and hence the items inspected can be categorized.