Patent ID: 7242017

Claim:
A device to detect and/or characterize individual moving objects having very small dimensions which comprises: a photo electric sensor having at least one light beam emitter and at least one light beam receiver, wherein objects that are to be measured move through an optical path of the photo electric sensor, a plurality of first optical waveguides having first inputs connected to the at least one light beam emitter, the plurality of first optical waveguides having first outputs simultaneously emitting light beams which form the optical path of the photo electric sensor, a plurality of second optical waveguides having second inputs simultaneously receiving at least a portion of the light beams emitted by respective optical waveguides of the plurality of first optical waveguides, the plurality of second optical waveguides having second outputs connected to the light beam receiver, the first outputs of the plurality of first optical waveguides and the second inputs of the plurality of second optical waveguides being arranged in an alternating manner in the form of a ring on a common plane, each of the first outputs of the plurality of first optical waveguides and the second inputs of the plurality of second optical waveguides directed radially toward the center of the ring, and an evaluation unit which is coupled to the light beam receiver and records the change in light intensity of the photo electric sensor produced by the objects passing through the optic path.