Patent ID: 7676114

Claim:
A method of reconstructing a surface profile of a surface of an object, the method comprising the steps of: creating a binary string consisting of a series of “1”s and “0”s; projecting a binary pattern of light onto a flat reference surface not comprising the surface of the object, said binary pattern being constructed in accordance with the binary string such that bright and dark bands of light correspond, respectively, to “1”s and “0”s of the binary string; shifting the same binary pattern with respect to the flat reference surface multiple times; at each position of the binary pattern with respect to the flat reference surface, obtaining an image of the binary pattern illuminating the flat reference surface and creating a unique binary codeword for each respective point on the flat reference surface depending upon whether the point is illuminated during each shift of the binary pattern; then projecting the binary pattern of light onto the surface of the object, shifting the same binary pattern with respect to the surface of the object multiple times; at each position of the binary pattern with respect to the surface of the object, obtaining an image of the binary pattern illuminating the surface and creating a unique binary codeword for each respective point on the surface depending upon whether the point is illuminated during each shift of the binary pattern; and thereafter with respect to each predetermined point on the surface, comparing the unique codeword created from the surface of the object against the unique codeword created from the flat reference surface to find matching codewords, and calculating a height of the point relative to the flat reference surface.