US7310431B2 — Optical methods for remotely measuring objects

Claim 1

Independent Claim 140 words

A method to remotely measure the geometrical attributes of an object of known shape using reflected intensity from said object, the method comprising the following steps: (a) illuminating said object with a light source of known wavelength with an optical pattern of known pattern shape; (b) optically capturing in a single snapshot and without wavelength discrimination at said known wavelength an image using solely intensity data reflected by said object to observe a reflected pattern on said object from said light source, using a camera whose location and orientation are known with respect to said light source; (c) executing a first computer-implemented process to locate a plurality of key points in said image obtained by said camera; and (d) executing a second computer-implemented process to obtain a plurality of geometrical attributes of said object using said plurality of key points.

Claim 2

Independent Claim 140 words

A method to remotely measure the geometrical attributes of an object of known shape using reflected intensity from said object, the method comprising the following steps: (a) illuminating said object with a light source of known wavelength with an optical pattern of known pattern shape; (b) optically capturing in a single snapshot and without wavelength discrimination at said known wavelength an image using solely intensity data reflected by said object to observe a reflected pattern on said object from said light source, using a camera whose location and orientation are known with respect to said light source; (c) executing a first computer-implemented process to locate a plurality of key points in said image obtained by said camera; and (d) executing a second computer-implemented process to obtain a plurality of geometrical attributes of said object using said plurality of key points.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 33 words

The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) includes obtaining geometrical attributes corresponding to at least one of a box, a cube, a rectangular parallelepiped, a circle, a sphere, and a cylindroid.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 26 words

The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) includes determining a straight-line distance of two points identified as being on said image of said object.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 20 words

The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) includes determining a surface-line distance of two points on said object.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 19 words

The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) includes determining an angle of two lines on said object.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 19 words

The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) includes determining a center of a line on said object.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 19 words

The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) includes determining a mid-point of a line on said object.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 16 words

The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) includes determining a center of said object.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 25 words

The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) includes determining at least one of a width, a length and a depth of said object.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 16 words

The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) includes determining a perimeter of said object.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 24 words

The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) includes determining at least one of a surface area, volume, and weight of said object.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 42 words

The method of claim 1 , wherein step (b) includes illuminating at least one of a straight line, a straight line with tick marks, a plurality of parallel lines, a plurality of intersecting lines, a grid, and a plurality of known shapes.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 27 words

The method of claim 1 , further including enhancing said image of said reflected light pattern captured by said camera to more accurately locate said key points.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 17 words

The method of claim 1 , wherein step (c) includes executing instructions for performing a Hough Transformation.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 32 words

The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) includes executing instructions for performing a triangulation to obtain a three dimensional coordinate of at least one of said plurality of key points.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 24 words

The method of claim 1 , wherein step (c) includes performing an edge following process to find locations of key points in said image.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 43 words

The method of claim 1 , wherein said object is a rectangular parallelepiped and said optical pattern intersects one face of said rectangular parallelepiped on at least five points and intersects a face orthogonal to said face on at least one additional point.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 22 words

The method of claim 1 , wherein said object is a rectangular parallelepiped and said optical pattern is a pair of lines.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 24 words

The method of claim 1 , wherein said object is a rectangle and said optical pattern intersects said rectangle on at least five points.

Claim 21

Independent Claim 142 words

A system to remotely measure the geometrical attributes of an object of known shape, the system comprising: a processor; a memory storing at least one software module; a first optical system projecting an optical pattern of a known pattern shape and known wavelength on said object; a second optical system in a known position relative to said first optical system and having a field of view encompassing at least a reflected pattern from said object and responsive solely to intensity of reflections from said object to capture in a single snapshot and without wavelength discrimination at said known wavelength an image reflected by said object; wherein said at least one software module is executable by said processor to locate a plurality of key points in an image captured by said second optical system, and to calculate three dimensional world-coordinates of said points.

Claim 22

Independent Claim 142 words

A system to remotely measure the geometrical attributes of an object of known shape, the system comprising: a processor; a memory storing at least one software module; a first optical system projecting an optical pattern of a known pattern shape and known wavelength on said object; a second optical system in a known position relative to said first optical system and having a field of view encompassing at least a reflected pattern from said object and responsive solely to intensity of reflections from said object to capture in a single snapshot and without wavelength discrimination at said known wavelength an image reflected by said object; wherein said at least one software module is executable by said processor to locate a plurality of key points in an image captured by said second optical system, and to calculate three dimensional world-coordinates of said points.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 33 words

The system of claim 20 , wherein said at least one software module is executable by said processor to locate said plurality of key points in said image using a Hough Transformation process.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 28 words

The system of claim 20 , wherein said at least one software module is executable by said processor to determine geometric measurements using said plurality of key points.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 43 words

The system of claim 20 , wherein said at least one software module is executable by said processor to transfer said image to a companion device having processing power and to use said processing power of said companion device to execute module instructions.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 24 words

The system of claim 20 , wherein said second optical system includes a camera sensor that detects a reflected portion of said optical pattern.

Claim 27

Dependent Claim 21 words

The system of claim 20 , wherein said second optical system is substantially sensitive to optical energy of said optical wavelength.

Claim 28

Dependent Claim 21 words

The system of claim 20 , wherein operation of said first optical system and said second optical system is substantially synchronous.

Claim 29

Independent Claim 111 words

A method to remotely measure geometrical attributes of an object of known shape, the method comprising the following steps: a) drawing on said object, using a light source of known wavelength, a pattern of known pattern shape, and an additional pattern of known shape and size; b) using a camera to optically capture in a single snapshot without wavelength discrimination at said known wavelength an image using solely intensity of reflection to observe patterns on said object; c) applying image processing to locate a plurality of key points in said image obtained by the said camera; and d) applying geometrical processing to obtain a plurality of geometrical attributes of said object.

Claim 30

Independent Claim 111 words

A method to remotely measure geometrical attributes of an object of known shape, the method comprising the following steps: a) drawing on said object, using a light source of known wavelength, a pattern of known pattern shape, and an additional pattern of known shape and size; b) using a camera to optically capture in a single snapshot without wavelength discrimination at said known wavelength an image using solely intensity of reflection to observe patterns on said object; c) applying image processing to locate a plurality of key points in said image obtained by the said camera; and d) applying geometrical processing to obtain a plurality of geometrical attributes of said object.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	2010-12-17	2011-06-18	2011-12-18	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2014-12-17	2015-06-18	2015-12-18	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2018-12-17	2019-06-18	2019-12-18	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Optical methods for remotely measuring objects

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