Patent ID: 7684054
Filing Date: 2010-03-23
Classification: G01B,G05B

Abstract:
1. An inspection system for a component having a length, a width, and an axis, the system comprising: a rotatable fixture for holding and rotating the component so that the held component rotates with the fixture during a rotational scan and the held component does not move along its length during a linear scan; a light source disposed on a first side of the fixture to project a plane of light having a width wider than the width of the component onto one side of the held component to obtain left and right portions of the projected plane of light passing by and not blocked by the held component; an optical detector disposed on a second side of the fixture opposite the first side and the other side of the held component, the detector having a field of view in the form of inspection plane wider than the width of the component to detect the left and right portions, thereby enabling the detector to image left and right portions of the outer edges of the held component and to provide corresponding electrical signals representative of left and right outer profiles of the component imaged by the detector; a translation stage for supporting the light source and the detector on the opposite first and second sides of the fixture and for linearly moving the light source and detector in unison along the length of the component during the linear scan wherein the axis is substantially perpendicular to the plane of light throughout the entire linear scan; and a processor in communication with the detector, the fixture and the translation stage, the processor: