Friday 10 January 2014

NIKON CORPORATION : "Stereo Vision Camera for Laser Radar" in Patent ... - 4

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Politics Government Week — A patent application by the inventor Robertson, Alec (Palo Alto, CA), filed on June 11, 2013, was made available online on January 2, 2014, according to news reporting originating from Washington, D.C., by VerticalNews correspondents.


This patent application is assigned to Nikon Corporation.


The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Laser radar systems provide simple, convenient non-contact measurements that aid single-operator object inspection. Laser radar systems are particularly useful for inspection applications in which large objects are to be measured such as in the manufacture and assessment of aircraft, automobile, wind turbine, satellite, and other oversized parts. Some conventional laser radar systems are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,733,609; 4,824,251; 4,830,486; 4,969,736; 5,114,226; 7,139,446; 7,925,134; and Japanese Patent 2,664,399 which are incorporated herein by reference. In such laser radar systems, a laser beam is directed to and scanned over a target surface, and portions of the laser beam that are reflected or scattered back to the laser radar are detected and processed to provide target information.


“In some cases, selecting an intended target area for laser radar measurement can be difficult. While a laser radar can provide a precise scan, laser radar scanning is generally not well suited to covering a large field of view or identifying a particular feature of interest among many target features.”


In addition to the background information obtained for this patent application, VerticalNews journalists also obtained the inventor’s summary information for this patent application: “Combining laser radar systems with cameras or other imaging systems can permit complementary depth measurement, stereoscopic imaging, and enhanced camera-based targeting of a laser radar. Parallax errors that can be introduced with a single camera and non-stereoscopic imaging can be reduced or eliminated with dual imaging systems that evaluate more than one target image obtained along differing axes. Such parallax errors can be especially difficult at short target distances.


“In some examples, measurement apparatus comprise an imaging system configured to provide at least one image of a target area. An optical scanning system is coupled to the imaging system and configured to scan a target area portion based on a selected target area in the at least one image. In some embodiments, the imaging system is configured to provide at least two images associated with different imaging axes. In other examples, the imaging system includes a first camera configured to produce a first image associated with a first axis and a second camera associated with a second axis. In still further examples, an image processor is coupled to provide target distance based on the at least one image. According to some examples, the image processor is configured to provide a depth map of at least a portion of the target associated with the target area. In a representative example, the scanning system is a laser radar system that includes a first rotational stage and a second rotational stage configured to provide rotations of a scan axis of the laser radar system about orthogonal rotational axes, and the axes of the imaging system are configured to rotate with the scan axis.


“In some examples, apparatus comprise an imaging system configured to provide at least two images of a target area, wherein the images are associated with different imaging axes. An optical scanning system is coupled to the imaging system and configured to scan a portion of the target area. In some examples, the optical scanning system is configured to scan the portion of the target area based on the at least two images. In additional examples, the imaging system includes a first camera configured to produce a first image associated with a first axis and a second camera associated with a second axis. According to some embodiments, an image processor is coupled to provide a target distance based on the at least two images or to provide a depth map of at least a portion of the target associated with the target area based on the at least two images. In representative embodiments, the optical scanning system includes at least one laser coupled to direct an optical beam to a target and an optical detection system configured to receive a portion of the optical beam from the target and to establish an estimate of a target distance based on the received portion. The optical scanning system is configured to scan the optical beam over the target area and establish distance estimates associated with a plurality of locations in the target area. In some examples, the imaging axes are parallel axes, and the optical scanning system is configured to scan a laser beam over a target along a scan axis that is parallel to the imaging axes. In representative embodiments, the scan axis is equidistant from the imaging axes and the scan axis and the imaging axes are coplanar. Typically, the optical scanning system includes a beam steering system configured to rotate the scan axis and the imaging axes in an azimuthal direction about an azimuthal axis and in an elevational direction about an elevational axis. In some embodiments, the imaging axes and the scan axis intersect the azimuthal axis or the elevational axis. In still other examples, the first and second cameras are secured to the beam steering assembly. The optical scanning system can be a laser radar system or a laser tracking system.


“Methods comprise obtaining a stereoscopic image of a target area and directing an interrogation optical beam of an optical scanning system to the target area. In some examples, a portion of the target area to be scanned is selected based on the stereoscopic image. In typical examples, stereoscopic images of the target are obtained as the interrogation beam is directed to the target. In some examples, the stereoscopic image based on a first image and a second image that are associated with different imaging axes. According to some embodiments, the interrogation beam is directed along a scan axis, and the scan axis and the imaging axes are parallel. In further examples, the interrogation beam is scanned by rotating the scan axis an azimuthal direction about an azimuthal axis and in an elevational direction about an elevational axis. In some examples, the imaging axes and the scan axis intersect the azimuthal axis or the elevational axis. In some alternatives, the stereoscopic image is based on first second images obtained with first and second cameras, respectively. In typical examples, the first and second cameras are secured to a beam steering assembly configured to rotate the scan axis.


“Inspection systems comprise a stereoscopic camera system configured to provide an image of a target and a controller configured to select a scan area based on the image. An optical beam scanning system is configured to scan an optical beam in the selected scan area and a detection system is configured to provide target dimensions for a plurality of target surface locations. In some examples, the beam scanning system is configured to scan imaging axes associated with the stereoscopic image and a scan axis of the optical beam scanning system. According to some examples, the imaging axes and the scan axis are parallel and coplanar, and the beam scanning system is configured to provide elevational and azimuthal scanning. In some alternatives, a target surface evaluator is configured to indicate deviations of the target surface from a reference target surface that is defined by a target surface design. In some embodiments, the indicated deviation is provided based on a determination of whether the target surface corresponds to the target surface design with a design tolerance.


“The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying figures.


BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS


“FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a laser rangefinder that includes a stereoscopic camera system.


“FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a laser rangefinder that includes a stereoscopic camera system.


“FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a laser rangefinder that includes a stereoscopic camera system with a single image sensor.


“FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a laser rangefinder that includes a stereoscopic camera system with cameras directed along intersecting axes.


“FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an alternative laser rangefinder that includes a stereoscopic camera system.


“FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a representative inspection system that includes a stereoscopic camera and an optical beam scanner.


“FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a representative method inspecting a surface.


“FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a representative method of tracking a tooling ball that is secured to a substrate or target.


“FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a representative manufacturing system that includes a laser radar or other profile measurement system to manufacture components, and assess whether manufactured parts are defective or acceptable.


“FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a representative manufacturing method that includes profile measurement to determine whether manufactured structures or components are acceptable, and if one or more such manufactured structures can be repaired.”


URL and more information on this patent application, see: Robertson, Alec. Stereo Vision Camera for Laser Radar. Filed June 11, 2013 and posted January 2, 2014. Patent URL: http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2Sect2=HITOFFu=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.htmlr=4503p=91f=Gl=50d=PG01S1=20131226.PD.OS=PD/20131226RS=PD/20131226


Keywords for this news article include: Nikon Corporation.


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NIKON CORPORATION : "Stereo Vision Camera for Laser Radar" in Patent ... - 4

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