Optical triangulation measurement apparatus and method

• Main Authors: Monks, Timothy Peter, Riley, Jeremy William, Briggs, Michael Thomas
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 16.04.2024
• Subjects: CALCULATING; COMPUTING; COUNTING; ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRICITY; IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL; MEASURING; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS; MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEARDIMENSIONS; PHYSICS; PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION; TESTING

An apparatus and method for inspecting an object by optical triangulation, where the signal of interest in a captured image corresponds to an interaction between a light beam and an environment surrounding the object rather than between a light beam and the object itself. The surrounding environment may be configured to interact in a manner that is detectable by filling it with a flowable scattering medium, e.g. a gas, mist or vapour comprising a suspension of fine particles in air. Light that is scattered by the flowable scattering medium is visible in a captured image. Where the flowable scattering medium is not present, e.g. because the object blocks it, the scattered signal is less. A boundary of a scattered signal region may thus provide information about the location of an object.