초록 ▼

An optical proximity imaging method and apparatus in which the proximity of glass surface to another surface is determined by frustration of total internal reflection of light energy from the glass surface to develop a light area pattern, calibrating gray scale densities of the pattern so that level

An optical proximity imaging method and apparatus in which the proximity of glass surface to another surface is determined by frustration of total internal reflection of light energy from the glass surface to develop a light area pattern, calibrating gray scale densities of the pattern so that levels of density correspond to increments of surface proximity, and displaying a facsimile of the gray scale image to indicate variations in surface proximity. The pattern of frustrated totally reflected light energy is preferably magnified and the magnified image recorded by a television camera, the output of which is fed, in a preferred embodiment, to an oscilloscope capable of displaying a three axis image in which one of the three axes is determined by variation in gray scale density. In another embodiment, the output of the television camera is fed through a colorizer to assign different colors to different gray scale densities and a colored facsimile of the pattern image presented on a CRT screen.

대표청구항 ▼

Apparatus for displaying variations in proximity between a given surface of a transmissive body and another surface, said apparatus comprising: an optically transmissive body having a reflecting surface and a pair of angularly disposed planar surfaces between which said reflecting surface is located

Apparatus for displaying variations in proximity between a given surface of a transmissive body and another surface, said apparatus comprising: an optically transmissive body having a reflecting surface and a pair of angularly disposed planar surfaces between which said reflecting surface is located with one of said planar surfaces being a light energy entrance surface and the other a light energy exit surface, said planar surface being oriented so that light energy introduced at said planar entrance surface is normally reflected totally from the interior of said reflecting surface to said planar exit surface so that a light pattern of variable intensity emerges from said planar exit surface due to the frustration of total internal reflection from said reflecting surface as said reflecting surface is brought sufficiently proximate another surface; means for displaying an observable image of said light pattern such that variations in the denisty of the image of the said light pattern represent proximity variations between said other surface and said reflecting surface; and means for resolving variations of gray scale density in said image of said light pattern to obtain the variations of proximity between said reflecting surface and said other surface.