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:
Aug. 03, 1999
Filed:
Jul. 10, 1996
Leonard H Bieman, Farmington Hills, MI (US);
Kevin G Harding, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Industrial Technology Institute, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Abstract
An optical method and system for measuring bore hole diameter, out-of-roundness and lobing and a probe for use therein are provided. A ring of structured light is initially formed or projected on the inner surface of a bore hole by optical components supported within a housing of the probe. A lens system also supported within the housing images the ring of light. Image merging lenses of the lens system reform the image at a video camera located at a window of the housing such that two or more arcs of the ring form a magnified image with the image of the arcs being shifted in space such that all the arcs can be viewed by the camera. The video camera image is captured by a frame grabber/computer. A computer calculates the location of the arcs and from this information determine bore diameter and other bore properties such as out-of-roundness and lobing. The method, system and probe have the ability to capture information around the entire bore without movement of the camera or any of the optical components supported within the housing.