Method and apparatus for determining position of points on article

Claim 1

A method for locating and inspecting apertures on the surface of an article in an aperture inspecting system comprising the steps of: detecting apparent positional information of said apertures from an image of the arrangement of said apertures; detecting a relative difference between said apparent positional information and predetermined positional information according to design data of the arrangement of said apertures; modifying said apparent positional information by said relative difference, which modified information is transmitted to a subsequent system for positioning said aperture in place for inspecting; receiving a beam reflected from one surface of said article on which said aperture is opened, said beam including information of an outer edge of a periphery of said aperture; receiving another beam projected from the opposite side of said article through said aperture, said beam including information of a cross-section of said aperture; and obtaining a deformation value of said edge by comparing the received information regarding said aperture.

Claim 2

A method for locating and inspecting apertures on the surface of an article in an aperture inspecting system comprising the steps of: detecting apparent positional information of said apertures from an image of the arrangement of said apertures; detecting a relative difference between said apparent positional information and predetermined positional information according to design data of the arrangement of said apertures; modifying said apparent positional information by said relative difference, which modified information is transmitted to a subsequent system for positioning said aperture in place for inspecting; receiving a beam reflected from one surface of said article on which said aperture is opened, said beam including information of an outer edge of a periphery of said aperture; receiving another beam projected from the opposite side of said article through said aperture, said beam including information of a cross-section of said aperture; and obtaining a deformation value of said edge by comparing the received information regarding said aperture.

Claim 4

An apparatus for inspecting apertures arranged on the surface of an article with a predetermined relationship between each other, comprising: means for obtaining an image of arrangement of said apertures, comprising a first lamp for projecting a beam through said apertures and a first TV camera for receiving the beam from said first lamp, said image including apparent positional information of the arrangement of said aperture; means for inspecting an aperture comprising second and third lamps and a microscope connected to a second TV camera, in which said second lamp projects a beam from one side of the article onto a surface thereof, said third lamp projects another beam from the other side of the article through said aperture, and said microscope alternately receives the beam from said second lamp reflected by the article surface, including information of an outer edge of a periphery of said aperture, and the other beam from said third lamp transmitted through said aperture, including information of a cross-section of said aperture, said information being sequentially transmitted to said second TV camera; a table disposed underside from said means and movable in three-dimensional directions by means of a drive, while holding said article substantially horizontal; and a computer, first, for receiving said apparent positional information of said apertures from said first TV camera, modifying the apparent position of said aperture by comparing said information with a predetermined arrangement of the respective apertures preset therein, and generating a series of signals to said drive for said table so that each aperture is sequentially aligned with the axis of said microscope for inspection and, second, for receiving said information of the outer edge of said aperture and of the cross-section of said aperture from said second TV camera and obtaining a deformation value of an outer edge of the periphery of said aperture.

Claim 5

An apparatus for inspecting apertures arranged on the surface of an article with a predetermined relationship between each other, comprising: means for obtaining an image of arrangement of said apertures, comprising a first lamp for projecting a beam through said apertures and a first TV camera for receiving the beam from said first lamp, said image including apparent positional information of the arrangement of said aperture; means for inspecting an aperture comprising second and third lamps and a microscope connected to a second TV camera, in which said second lamp projects a beam from one side of the article onto a surface thereof, said third lamp projects another beam from the other side of the article through said aperture, and said microscope alternately receives the beam from said second lamp reflected by the article surface, including information of an outer edge of a periphery of said aperture, and the other beam from said third lamp transmitted through said aperture, including information of a cross-section of said aperture, said information being sequentially transmitted to said second TV camera; a table disposed underside from said means and movable in three-dimensional directions by means of a drive, while holding said article substantially horizontal; and a computer, first, for receiving said apparent positional information of said apertures from said first TV camera, modifying the apparent position of said aperture by comparing said information with a predetermined arrangement of the respective apertures preset therein, and generating a series of signals to said drive for said table so that each aperture is sequentially aligned with the axis of said microscope for inspection and, second, for receiving said information of the outer edge of said aperture and of the cross-section of said aperture from said second TV camera and obtaining a deformation value of an outer edge of the periphery of said aperture.