Patent ID: 7777900

Claim:
A method of optically inspecting parts, the method comprising: supporting a part having a width along a measurement axis; scanning the part with an array of planes of radiation wherein each of the planes have a width greater than the width of the part so that the part occludes each of the planes of radiation to create a corresponding array of unobstructed left and right planar portions of the planes of radiation passing by and not blocked by the supported part wherein each of the unobstructed left and right planar portions contains an amount of radiation which is representative of a respective geometric dimension of the part; measuring the amount of radiation present in each of the unobstructed left and right planar portions to obtain measurement signals; processing the measurement signals to obtain raw data; providing calibration data; and processing the calibration data and the raw data to obtain measurements of the part without the need to measure radiation blocked or reflected by the supported part.