Patent Document ID: 4630203
Application ID: 06565932
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. Apparatus for the determination of the three-dimensional coordinates of a contour of an object, the images of the contour being identifiable, the apparatus comprising: radiation means for emitting radiation from at least two spaced locations; film means for exposure to said radiation, the film means being exposed to said radiation means in said at least two spaced locations whereby at least a first and a second two-dimensional image of the contour are formed on the film means at spaced locations; calibration means for determining the spatial coordinates of the radiation means; means for determining the two-dimensional coordinates of said first and second two-dimensional images of the contour; processing means for processing said two-dimensional coordinates of said first and second images in which a point is selected on one of said first and second images and is correlated with a point on the other of said first and second images; correspondence means for performing said correlation in which an algorithm is used to determine a minimum value for the length of the normal transversal drawn between skew rays of radiation from said two spaced locations, which skew rays connect the two spaced locations to respective points on said first and second images, said minimum value thereby defining a corresponding pair of two-dimensional coordinates for each three-dimensional coordinate, which three-dimensional coordinate represents a point on the identifiable contour of the object, whereby corresponding coordinates on said first and second images are identified and processed in pairs, each processed coordinate pair and the spatial coordinates of the radiation means providing the three-dimensional coordinates of a point on the identifiable contour.