Optical probe assembly for detecting the position of an object surface and method
US4209252A · kind A · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 3, 1978 |
| Grant date | Jun 24, 1980 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 3, 1998 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01C3/32
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An optical probe assembly for detecting the position of an object surface, especially the position of a three-dimensional, curved surface such as a surface in a contact lens or the cornea of the eye, is disclosed herein. This assembly and its method of operation use a beam of light which is focused to a point and an arrangement for automatically causing this point to move or scan in a predetermined way relative to the object surface including reciprocally through the surface for causing light to be reflected back from the latter. During this scanning period, when the beam point is coincident with the object surface, the amount of light which is reflected back along the path of the incident beam is maximized and automatically detected. At the same time, the position of the beam point relative to a known reference is automatically monitored and in combination with the detected light is used for determining the position of the object surface relative to this reference.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.