Patent ID: 7460982

Claim:
An apparatus for displaying a numeric value corresponding to the volume of a segment of an item comprising: a support surface for supporting said item; a sensor support able to be stroked over said item to be positioned above any selected section of said item from any other position along said item; a visual indicator providing a visual indication extending across said item of each successive section of said item corresponding to each successive position of said sensor support assumed in being stroked along said item, said visual indicator comprising a visible light projector arrangement carried by said sensor support projecting a visible elongated pattern of light onto and extending in a direction lying across said item at each corresponding section of said item over which said sensor support is located in each successive position of said sensor support in being moved along said item; a detector arrangement which generates signals corresponding to the movement of said sensor support in being stroked over said item from said any other position to be positioned above said any selected section; a sensor arrangement generating signals corresponding to the contour of the segment of said item stroked over by said sensor support as said sensor support is moved to be positioned above said any selected section of said item; a signal processor responsive to said signals generated by said detector arrangement and said sensor arrangement to compute therefrom the volume of the selected segment of said item defined by movement of said sensor support in moving over said item from said other position to a position over said selected section of said item; and, a display displaying a numeric value corresponding to said volume of said selected segment of said item as computed by said signal processor with said sensor support in position above said any selected section of said item with said visual indicator at the same time providing a visual indication on said item of said selected section as said display displays said numeric volume.