Abstract: A non-contacting, electro-optical system adapted automatically to measure the contour of a shaped object held in a fixture with its contoured surface presented to an electro-optical triangulation rangefinder assembly. The assembly is constituted by a pivoted laser beam illuminator and a pivoted automatic tracker mounted for rotation at spaced pivot points on a supporting beam, the line extending between these points forming a triangulation baseline. The illuminator is caused to swing through a sector whereby the laser beam spot scans across the surface of the object being tested from one edge to the other. The angles assumed by the illuminator and those assumed by the tracker in the course of a scan are determined and fed to a computer in which the value of the baseline is stored, the computer calculating the changing spot location by triangulation.

Abstract: A defocusable electro-optical system for scanning the near-specular surface of an object to be examined with a light beam to produce a reflected-light pattern that depends on the relative reflectivity of the different components which make up the surface. The system includes a light source producing an illumination beam that is directed by a scanning mechanism through an objective which focuses the beam onto the surface to be examined. The beam reflected from the surface is directed toward a photodetector through a field stop that defines the size of the viewed area when the object surface lies in the focal plane. The viewed object surface is illuminated in a manner imaging thereon an image of the light source comparable in size to the field stop, so that when the object surface lies in the focal plane the light source image is coincident therewith.

Abstract: A non-contacting, electro-optical system adapted automatically to measure the contours of helicopter rotor blades and other shaped objects at high speed and with a high degree of accuracy. An object to be measured is held in a fixture with its contoured surface presented to an electro-optical triangulation rangefinder assembly supported on a carriage that is caused to step incrementally from one end of the object to the other. The assembly is constituted by a pivoted laser beam illuminator and a pivoted automatic tracker mounted for rotation at spaced pivot points on a carriage beam, the line extending between these points forming a triangulation baseline. At each carriage step, the assembly is activated to cause the illuminator to swing through a sector whereby the laser beam spot scans across the surface of the object being tested from one edge to the other.

Abstract: A high-speed technique for making accurate dimensional measurements of objects without physically touching the objects. The technique involves generating a low-divergence, collimated light beam which acts to silhouette the object to be measured to produce an image thereof that can be viewed and analyzed by a programmed electro-optical scanner in a manner yielding highly accurate dimensional information substantially independent of the location of the object relative to the viewer.