US3897156A — Structure for measuring the average diameter of a…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 170 words

Structure to produce a measure of the average diameter of a selected, approximately circular, cross-section of an object, which comprises: means for producing a first set of signals representing a first diameter of said object at said selected cross-section; means for producing a second set of signals representing a second diameter of said object at said selected cross-section; and means for processing said first set of signals and said second set of signals to produce said measure of said average diameter; wherein said means for producing a first set of signals and said means for producing a second set of signals each comprise a linear array of photosensitive elements formed on a chip of semiconductor material; lens means for focusing light representing a diameter of said object on said photosensitive elements; and means for scanning said photosensitive elements to generate a sequence of pulses representing the incident energy detected by adjacent photosensitive elements in said linear array, said pulses comprising a set of signals representing said diameter of said object.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 170 words

Structure to produce a measure of the average diameter of a selected, approximately circular, cross-section of an object, which comprises: means for producing a first set of signals representing a first diameter of said object at said selected cross-section; means for producing a second set of signals representing a second diameter of said object at said selected cross-section; and means for processing said first set of signals and said second set of signals to produce said measure of said average diameter; wherein said means for producing a first set of signals and said means for producing a second set of signals each comprise a linear array of photosensitive elements formed on a chip of semiconductor material; lens means for focusing light representing a diameter of said object on said photosensitive elements; and means for scanning said photosensitive elements to generate a sequence of pulses representing the incident energy detected by adjacent photosensitive elements in said linear array, said pulses comprising a set of signals representing said diameter of said object.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 45 words

Structure as in claim 1 wherein said means for producing a first set of signals and said means for producing a second set of signals each include in addition; means of illuminating said object thereby to generate said light representing said diameter of said object.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 146 words

Structure for producing a measure of the average diameter of a selected, approximately circular, cross-section of an object and a measure of the shift in location of said cross-section from its expected location, which comprises: means for producing a first set of signals representing a first diameter of said object at said selected cross-section; means for producing a second set of signals representing a second diameter of said object at said selected cross-section; means for processing said first set of signals and said second set of signals to produce said measure of said average diameter; and means for measuring the shift in location of said cross-section from its expected location by measuring the difference between the first diameter and the second diameter of said cross-section measured by said means for producing a first set of signals and said means for producing a second set of signals.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 146 words

Structure for producing a measure of the average diameter of a selected, approximately circular, cross-section of an object and a measure of the shift in location of said cross-section from its expected location, which comprises: means for producing a first set of signals representing a first diameter of said object at said selected cross-section; means for producing a second set of signals representing a second diameter of said object at said selected cross-section; means for processing said first set of signals and said second set of signals to produce said measure of said average diameter; and means for measuring the shift in location of said cross-section from its expected location by measuring the difference between the first diameter and the second diameter of said cross-section measured by said means for producing a first set of signals and said means for producing a second set of signals.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 11 words

Structure as in claim 3 wherein said object is a log.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 164 words

Structure for measuring the curvature of a substantially cylindrical object possessing a center line through the center of all cross-sections of said object, said structure comprising: means for producing a plurality of first sets of signals representing a plurality of first diameters of said object at a plurality of selected cross-sections; means for producing a plurality of second sets of signals representing a plurality of second diameters of said object at said plurality of selected cross-sections; and means for measuring the curvature of said object by calculating from said plurality of first sets of signals and said plurality of second sets of signals the shifts in the locations of the center line of said object at said plurality of selected cross-sections of said object as said object, on the one hand, and said means for producing a plurality of first sets of signals and said means for producing a plurality of second sets of signals, on the other hand, move relative to each other.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 164 words

Structure for measuring the curvature of a substantially cylindrical object possessing a center line through the center of all cross-sections of said object, said structure comprising: means for producing a plurality of first sets of signals representing a plurality of first diameters of said object at a plurality of selected cross-sections; means for producing a plurality of second sets of signals representing a plurality of second diameters of said object at said plurality of selected cross-sections; and means for measuring the curvature of said object by calculating from said plurality of first sets of signals and said plurality of second sets of signals the shifts in the locations of the center line of said object at said plurality of selected cross-sections of said object as said object, on the one hand, and said means for producing a plurality of first sets of signals and said means for producing a plurality of second sets of signals, on the other hand, move relative to each other.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 13 words

Structure as in claim 5 wherein said substantially cylindrical object is a log.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 178 words

Structure to produce a measure of the average diameter of a selected, approximately circular, cross-section of an object, which comprises: means for producing a first set of signals representing a first diameter of said object at said selected cross-section; means for producing a second set of signals representing a second diameter of said object at said selected cross-section; and means for processing said first set of signals and said second set of signals to produce said measure of said average diameter; wherein said means for producing a first set of signals is oriented substantially perpendicular to said means for producing a second set of signals; and wherein said means for producing a first set of signals has a first center line, said means for producing a second set of signals has a second center line, and said means for producing a first set of signals and said means for producing a second set of signals are located such that said first center line and said second center line each make an angle of approximately 45* with the vertical.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 178 words

Structure to produce a measure of the average diameter of a selected, approximately circular, cross-section of an object, which comprises: means for producing a first set of signals representing a first diameter of said object at said selected cross-section; means for producing a second set of signals representing a second diameter of said object at said selected cross-section; and means for processing said first set of signals and said second set of signals to produce said measure of said average diameter; wherein said means for producing a first set of signals is oriented substantially perpendicular to said means for producing a second set of signals; and wherein said means for producing a first set of signals has a first center line, said means for producing a second set of signals has a second center line, and said means for producing a first set of signals and said means for producing a second set of signals are located such that said first center line and said second center line each make an angle of approximately 45* with the vertical.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 69 words

Structure as in claim 7 wherein said means for producing a first set of signals and said means for producing a second set of signals each comprises a linear sequence of photo-sensitive devices, each photo-sensitive device being capable of being operated to store an amount of charge representative of the total light from a given segment of space occupied by said object being measured by said linear array means.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 55 words

Structure as in claim 8 wherein the segment of space represented by the light impinging on any one photo-sensitive element in said means for producing a first set of signals or in a means for producing said second set of signals corresponds to a linear distance along the respective dimension being measured of said object.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 39 words

Structure as in claim 7 wherein the nominal distances from said means for producing a first set of signals and said means for producing a second set of signals to the center of said cross section are approximately equal.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 33 words

Structure as in claim 7 wherein said means for producing a first set of signals and said means for producing a second set of signals each comprise a linear array of photo-sensitive elements.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1978-07-28	1979-01-27	1979-07-29	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1982-07-28	1983-01-27	1983-07-29	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1986-07-28	1987-01-27	1987-07-29	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Structure for measuring the average diameter of an approximately circular cross-section of an object

Abstract

Inventors

Bibliographic Details

Claims Analysis

References Cited (Backward Citations)

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Assigned Categories & Tags

Assign Category Tag