Abstract: A machine vision system and method of enhancing the imaging of an article which is comprised of optically translucent or semi-transparent material. Generally, the system includes a vision processor, a video camera, a computer, and an illuminator. The illuminator directs light, in a three dimensional space, at a surface of the material other than a surface to be imaged. The light which enters the translucent material is scattered isotropically within the material and emerges from the surface to be imaged, in effect illuminating the material. The illumination enhances contrast, that can be typically achieved with conventional lighting, between the material and its background or adjoining components permitting the machine vision system to clearly image and detect features of the article.

Abstract: The parallelism of two nominally parallel surfaces is determined by placing a planar reflector (50) on one surface and a cube beam splitter (52) on the other surface. The reflector is placed to reflect light in a direction normal to the plane of the reflector. The cube beam splitter is placed to reflect part of the light striking a first face (54) back in the opposite direction. The cube beam splitter also reflects part of the incident light towards the reflector so that the reflector reflects the light back to the cube beam splitter, causing the light to exit the first cube beam splitter face. An autocollimator (10) is provided to direct a beam of light (24) into the first face (54) of the cube beam splitter (52) and to display the divergence between the first and second reflected beam portions, the divergence corresponding to the degree of non-parallelism between the two surfaces.

Abstract: First and second plates (10 and 12), each having a reflective surface (14) opposite the reflective surface on the other plate, are aligned substantially parallel to each other by first separating the second plate (12) from the first one. A beam of collimated light (24) is then directed at the first plate (10) so the beam is reflected along a path lying in the field of view of a light detector (26). The second plate (12) is then positioned relative to the first plate (10) so that the beam (24) is reflected from the second plate onto the first plate for reflection therefrom onto the second plate so as to undergo at least one reverberation before being reflected from the second plate into the light detector so as to appear at substantially the same point before the plates were separated.

Abstract: A biconic connector (40) includes two plugs (44-44) each of which terminates a single fiber optical cable (55) and each of which includes a truncated conically shaped end portion (50). The connector also includes an alignment sleeve having back-to-back conically shaped cavities each of which is adapted to receive an end portion of a plug. In order to minimize loss through the connection, it becomes important for the centroid of the cross-sectional area of a light beam in the end face of the plug to be coincident with the axis of revolution of the conically shaped surface of plug. This is accomplished by holding the plug in a fixture such that its end portion is exposed and the fixture adapted to be turned about an axis of rotation. Images of a light beam launched into the optical fiber are acquired in a plane through the end face of the plug.

Abstract: The color of each of a plurality of wires 18(1) . . . 18(8) can be determined by first placing the wires proximate to a white background (31) and then directing a pair of light beams (36,38) thereat. Each of the red, green and blue spectral components in the light reflected from each wire and in the light reflected from the surface is simultaneously sensed by a separate one of three television cameras (40,42 and 44), respectively, having a separate one of a set of red, green and blue band pass filters (52,54 and 56), respectively, thereon. The output signal of the television cameras is processed by a machine vision system (58) which first computes the ratios of the red, green and blue spectral components of the light reflected from each wire to the red, green and blue spectral components, respectively, of the light reflected from the background.

Abstract: A biconic connector includes two plugs (44--44) each of which terminates a single fiber optical cable (55) and each of which includes a conically shaped end portion (50). The connector also includes an alignment sleeve having back-to-back conically shaped cavities each of which is adapted to receive an end portion of a plug. In order to minimize loss through a connection, it becomes important for the axis of the end portion of the core of the optical fiber in the conically shaped end portion of the plug to be coincident with the axis of revolution of the conically shaped end portion. This is accomplished by holding the plug in a fixture such that its conically shaped end portion is exposed and the fixture adapted to be turned about an axis of rotation. Images of light launched into the optical fiber are acquired in two planes at a plurality of positions spaced apart along a reference axis.

Abstract: An ultrasonic technique for remotely inspecting a body is described. A transducer (14), capable of generating and detecting ultrasonic signals, is coupled to the body. An ultrasonic signal (A.sub.o) is launched by the transducer (14) into the body (e.g. 10, 11) and is reflected by any imperfection (e.g. 12) therein. The effects of variations of the transmission coefficient between the transducer and the body are substantially eliminated by intentionally cutting a predetermined calibration notch (22) into the body under test. The analysis of the reflected ultrasonic signals at the notch (22) and at any imperfection (e.g. 12) within the body gives an indication of the quality of the body independently of the transducer/body transmission coefficient.