Patent ID: 8058602

Claim:
A long-length industry camera image sensor (LICIS) for flat surface inspection application, the LICIS functions to, expressed in an X-Y-Z Cartesian coordinate system, photoelectrically convert a pixel line image (PLI) of length L PL oriented along the X-direction into a corresponding line image signal (LIS), the LICIS comprises: a) a full-width linear image sensor (FLIS) of length L IS oriented along the X-direction and displaced from the PLI along the Z-direction by an imaging distance D IMG , wherein L IS is about equal to L PL , for converting an incident line image (ILI) onto top surface of the FLIS into said corresponding LIS; the FLIS comprises a multi-segment stitched sensor base board (SSBB) having a plurality of linearly stitched sensor board segments SBS j , j=(1, 2, . . . , M) where M>=1 with each SBS j converting an incident line image segment (ILI j ) of the ILI into a corresponding line image signal segment (LIS j ) of the LIS; wherein: a1) each SBS j further comprises: a base board (BB j ); and a plurality of linearly stitched linear sensor integrated circuit LSIC jk , k=(1, 2, . . . , N) located atop the base board where N>=1 with each LSIC jk converting an incident line image segment (ILI jk ) of the ILI j into a corresponding line image signal segment (LIS jk ) of the LIS j ; and a2) along the X-direction, each BB j further comprises a left-end anti-bumping profile and a right-end anti-bumping profile such that, when the BB j and BB j+1 are stitched together, the right-end anti-bumping profile of BB j , will engage the left-end anti-bumping profile of BB j+1 and accordingly guaranteeing: a minimum X-direction inter-IC clearance (IIC X ) between LSIC jN and LSIC j+1,1 ; and a maximum Y-direction inter-IC offset (IIO Y ) between LSIC jN and LSIC j+1,1 ; and b) a full-width linear rod lens (FLRL) of length L RL oriented along the X-direction and displaced from the PLI in the Z-direction by a working distance D WKG with D WKG <D IMG hence said FLRL being located intervening to the PLI and the FLIS, and wherein L RL is about equal to L PL and said D WKG is further selected with respect to D IMG such that the PLI gets focused by the FLRL into the ILI at the FLIS top surface with an imaging magnification factor of about 1:1; whereby the LICIS, with no built-in interior light source, senses a PLI of length L PL longer than that of a single sensor board segment via the combination of: inter-linear sensor integrated circuit image stitching on each base board BB j ; and inter-base board image stitching on the multi-segment stitched sensor base board SSBB.