Abstract: A displacement sensor comprising an imaging unit and an image processing unit. The imaging unit comprises a two dimensional imaging device and a drive control unit. The two dimensional imaging device includes a group of light receiving pixels arranged in a matrix so as to correspond to a field of view of a standard imaging unit, a plurality of vertical shift registers corresponding to different columns of the pixels, and a horizontal register for receiving the outputs of the vertical shift registers from top stages thereof, a photosensitive pixel region being defined in a prescribed horizontal band having a sufficiently narrower width than that would be provided by the total number of horizontal lines and interposed between a front optically black pixel region and a back optically black pixel region.

Abstract: An optical displacement sensor takes in a plurality of images of a target object by projecting a slit beam of light and using a two-dimensional image taking element by changing the image taking conditions each time. Parameters defining these conditions affecting the brightness of the obtained image are varied. From each of these images including an image of a portion of the sectional contour line of the target object, a segmented image satisfying a specified maximum brightness condition is extracted and a synthesized image is generated by gathering such segmented images. The target object is inspected from such synthesized image.

Abstract: An optical displacement sensor takes in a plurality of images of a target object by projecting a slit beam of light and using a two-dimensional image taking element by changing the image taking conditions each time. Parameters defining these conditions affecting the brightness of the obtained image are varied. From each of these images including an image of a portion of the sectional contour line of the target object, a segmented image satisfying a specified maximum brightness condition is extracted and a synthesized image is generated by gathering such segmented images. The target object is inspected from such synthesized image.

Abstract: A displacement sensor comprising an imaging unit and an image processing unit. The imaging unit comprises a two dimensional imaging device and a drive control unit. The two dimensional imaging device includes a group of light receiving pixels arranged in a matrix so as to correspond to a field of view of a standard imaging unit, a plurality of vertical shift registers corresponding to different columns of the pixels, and a horizontal register for receiving the outputs of the vertical shift registers from top stages thereof, a photosensitive pixel region being defined in a prescribed horizontal band having a sufficiently narrower width than that would be provided by the total number of horizontal lines and interposed between a front optically black pixel region and a back optically black pixel region.