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. 10, 2006
Filed:
Nov. 21, 2001
Dahai Yu, Redmond, WA (US);
Richard M. Wasserman, Redmond, WA (US);
Dahai Yu, Redmond, WA (US);
Richard M. Wasserman, Redmond, WA (US);
Mitutoyo Corporation, Kawasaki, JP;
Abstract
A method and apparatus for tracing an edge contour of an object in three dimensional space is provided. The method and apparatus is utilized in a computer vision system that is designed to obtain precise dimensional measurements of a scanned object. In order to save focusing time during an automatic tracing measurement, multiple images may be collected and saved for a number of Z heights for a particular position of the XY stage. These saved images can later be used to calculate a focal position for each edge point trial location in the selected XY area rather than requiring a physical Z stage movement. In addition, a Z height extrapolation based on the Z heights of previous edge points can significantly speed up the searching process, particularly for objects where the Z height change of a contour is gradual and predictable.