Patent ID: 7005629
Filing Date: 2006-02-28
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
1. An optical system having a light source means and a detector means for detecting one or more articles which by means of a conveyer move or are temporarily stationary under the light source means and detector means, where said article(s) has/have at least one reflective portion, and where light is emitted towards the article(s) from the light source means and reflected back towards the detector means, characterized in that at a distance above the conveyor there is provided a lens that is common to the light source means and the detector means; that the light source means and the detector means are located in or essentially in a same plane which is parallel to the lens plane and coincident with a focal plane of the lens; that the light source means consists of n light sources; and that the detector means consists of n cameras, where n≧2, thereby forming n light source/camera pairs to permit height dimension determination using at least two of the n cameras to provide a stereoscopic viewing of said article(s); that all pairs, each consisting of one light source and one camera, are in the same focal plane; that a point halfway between the light source and the camera in each pair is on the optical axis of the lens; and that the optical axis of the lens is coincident with an axis perpendicular to the focal plane and is located halfway between the light source means and the detector means.