Abstract: An optical probe for measuring various parameters of bent tube comprises a somewhat V-shaped working head having first and second interconnected arms and slightly inwardly projecting end sections. Light sensitive diode arrays are mounted at the intersecting ends of the arms, and laser diode point light sources are mounted at the projecting end sections for directing sharply defined diverging light beams toward the arrays. A small diameter tube positioned within the sensitive area occludes sections of the light sensitive arrays to enable computation of the position of the centerline of the tube. Moving the probe in a scanning path along the tube enables a large number of measurements to be made for defining points on a best fit line that averages many measurements. From measured slopes of tangents from each laser to the circumference of a large tube of known tube diameter, coordinates of offsets of a point on the tube centerline are calculated.

Abstract: An optical probe for measuring various parameters of bent pipe comprises a substantially U-shaped housing defining a sensitive area across which light is projected from within the housing toward first and second light sensors mounted to the legs of the probe and having fields of view directed toward the inner portion of the probe. A pipe positioned within the sensitive area of the probe occludes sections of the fields of view of the sensors, which occluded sections have a direct relation to the position of the pipe with respect to the probe. Positions of the occluded sections of the fields of view defines the position of the pipe relative to the probe. By moving the probe in a scanning path along the pipe, a large number of measurements are made so that a best fit line will effectively average a large number of measurements to more accurately define three dimensional position and orientation of the pipe centerline.