A new type of range sensing method adopting a mirror tunnel optics and based on the principle of triangulation have been developped. A mirror tunnel is placed between an observation lens and an object to be measured; a bright spot or a shadow grating is projected on to the object through the observation lens; the bright spot or the shadow grating is observed through the observation lens after reflection with the mirror tunnel; range information can be determined based on the principle of trianguration. The width of an optical system can be reduced to remarkably smaller than the effective base line of the triangulation, and it may be suitable to miniaturize a range sensing system such as an optical stylus, a proximity sensor, a miniaturized moire topography system and so on.

Date Published: 16 July 1986
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 0599, Optics in Engineering Measurement, (16 July 1986); doi: 10.1117/12.952411

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 0599:
Optics in Engineering Measurement
William F. Fagan, Editor(s)