Patent ID: 7271381

Claim:
A device to detect individual moving objects having very small dimensions, comprising: a photo electric sensor having at least one light beam transmitter and one light beam receiver, objects that are to be measured moving through the optical path of the photo electric sensor, the optical path of the photo electric sensor being shaped like a disk whose thickness (h) is within the order of magnitude of the objects that are to be measured; a first bundle of optical waveguides whose inputs are connected to the light beam transmitter and whose outputs are arranged in a row alongside each other, the light beams emitted by the outputs forming the optical path of the photo electric sensor, a second bundle of optical waveguides which are arranged in a row alongside each other whose inputs pick up the light beams emitted by the first bundle of optical waveguides and whose outputs are connected to the light beam receiver, and an evaluation unit which is coupled to the light beam transmitter and the light beam receiver and which registers a change in the received light intensity of the photo electric sensor produced by the objects passing through the optical path; the cross-section (h) of the detection volume in the direction of movement of the objects being significantly smaller than the cross-section transverse to the direction of movement of the objects; wherein the evaluation unit comprises a first amplifier connected to the light beam receiver, an adder connected to the output of the first amplifier, a second amplifier connected to the output of the adder, a threshold value switch connected to the output of the second amplifier and a microprocessor control connected to the threshold value switch.