Apparatus for measuring the retroreflectance of materials
US8675194B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 12, 2011 |
| Grant date | Mar 18, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 17, 2031 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2021/551
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The present invention comprises various embodiments of a retroreflectometer capable of measuring the retroreflectance of a material. The retroreflectometer comprises an illumination path and a retroreflection path. The illumination path comprises focusing optics, a source aperture, a beamsplitter and a collimating lens. The retroreflection path comprises a focusing lens, a beamsplitter, a receiver aperture and a receiver. The source aperture shapes the transverse profile of the light to make it appropriate to the measurement. Focusing optics, such as a biconvex lens, may be placed between the light source and the source aperture. After the beam is reflected by the object under test, it enters the retroreflection path of the instrument. The focusing lens focuses the light through the beamsplitter and onto the receiver aperture. The receiver aperture may be the input slit for a spectrometer, or there may be optics, such as a lens or an optical fiber, that transfer the light from the aperture to the receiver. A photopically corrected detector, multiple detectors with filters or a spectrometer may be used in various embodiments of the present invention as the receiver.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.