Three-dimensional optical volume measurement for objects to be categorized
US6369401B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 10, 1999 |
| Grant date | Apr 9, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 10, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01B11/0608
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A three-dimensional measurement system and method for objects, such as oysters, projects one or more laser lines onto a surface on which the object is currently located. The laser lines are picked up as parallel lines by a camera where no object is located on the surface. When an object is located on the surface, the camera obtains an image that includes lines displaced from the parallel lines as a result of the lines impinging on portions of the object that have a particular height associated therewith. The displacement data allows a processor to determine the height of the object at various positions of the object can be obtained. Volume can be obtained using a binary image of the object to calculate area from the height data. The object can then be classified according to its volume.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.