Optical gauging system

Claim 1

AN OPTICAL GAUGING SYSTEM FOR ENGINEERING COMPONENTS COMPRISING A LIGHT SOURCE PRODUCING A LIGHT BEAM, MEANS FOR EFFECTING RELATIVE MOVEMENT IN A FIRST DIRECTION BETWEEN SAID LIGHT BEAM AND A COMPONENT TO BE GAUGED SUCH THAT SAID LIGHT BEAM IS INTERCEPTED BY SAID COMPONENT DURING SAID RELATIVE MOVEMENT FOR A TIME REPRESENTATIVE OF AT LEAST ONE DIMENSION OF SAID COMPONENT, MEANS FOR PRODUCING A TRAIN OF ELECTRICAL PULSES IN TIMED RELATION TO THE SPEED OF SAID RELATIVE MOVEMENT WHEREBY A CONSTANT NUMBER OF PULSES IS PRODUCED PER UNIT OF MOVEMENT, MEANS FOR PRODUCING A PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF PULSES EQUAL TO THE NUMBER OF SAID TIMED PULSES WHICH WOULD BE PRODUCED DURING THE INTERCEPTION OF SAID LIGHT BEAM BY A COMPONENT HAVING A GAUGED DIMENSION OF THE CORRECT VALUE, GATING MEANS FED WITH SAID TRAIN OF ELECTRICAL PULSES, LIGHT SENSITIVE MEANS SENSITIVE TO UNINTERCEPTED LIGHT FROM SAID BEAM FOR PRODUCING A SIGNAL CONTROLLING THE NUMBER OF PULSES GATED BY SAID GATING MEANS DURING SAID INTERCEPTION, AND MEANS FOR COMPARING THE LATTER NUMBER WITH SAID PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF PULSES REPRESENTING SAID CORRECT VALUE, AND INDICATING MEANS RESPONSIVE TO ANY DIVERGENCE, IN EXCESS OF ALLOWABLE TOLERANCE LIMITS, BETWEEN SAID NUMBER OF PULSES PRODUCED DURING SAID INTERCEPTION AND SAID PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF PULSES REPRESENTING SAID CORRECT VALUE FOR INDICATING THAT THE COMPONENT HAS AN INCORRECT DIMENSION.