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:
Apr. 16, 2002
Filed:
May. 26, 1999
Lawrence Richard Ober, Pineville, NC (US);
Raymond Andrew Orr, Charlotte, NC (US);
Hand Held Products, Inc., Charlotte, NC (US);
Abstract
The present invention provides an apparatus and method for determining the dimension of an object. The apparatus of the present invention includes a transmitter that is positioned at a first point of interest on an object. The transmitter transmits a scanning light beam rotated at a predetermined angular velocity. Located at a second point of interest on the object is a target. At least a portion of the target defines a first plane that reflects the scanning light beam as the scanning light beam traverses across the target. To receive the reflected signal from the target, the apparatus of the present invention further includes a receiver positioned at the first point of interest. Additionally, the apparatus of the present invention includes a processor for processing the reflected signal and determining the dimensions of the object. In operation, the scanning light beam scans the target, where the radius of the arc that the light beam traverses across the target defines the dimension of the object. To determine the radius of the arc, the apparatus of the present invention uses the known width of the target, the angular velocity of the scanning light beam, and the time required for the scanning light beam to traverse the target. In addition to determining a dimension of an object, the present invention also provides apparatus and method for calibrating the measurement system and determining when the system is in steady state operation.