Graphic overlay for measuring dimensions of features using a video inspection device

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to graphic overlays for measuring feature dimensions using video inspection equipment.

Video inspection equipment (or optics), such as a video endoscope or borescope, identifies anomalies (e.g., holes or dents) on the object, which may result from, for example, damage, wear, corrosion, or improper installation. and can be used to inspect surfaces of objects for analytical purposes. Video inspection equipment can be used to capture and display a two-dimensional image of a viewed surface showing anomalies and to calculate the dimensions of the anomalies on the surface. This two-dimensional image of the surface can be used to generate three-dimensional data of the surface, which provides three-dimensional coordinates (eg, (x, y, z)) of points on the surface.

However, in some instances, it may be difficult for the user to precisely place the cursor at the desired location on the two-dimensional image to take measurements. For example, in depth measurements, it can be difficult to visually calculate the deepest point of a crater or hole and place a cursor just by looking at a 2D image or a 3D point cloud view. Similarly, when taking length measurements for example of a slot or weld, the straight line formed between the points should be perpendicular (e.g. not diagonal) to each of the walls to provide the correct width of the slot or weld. ), it can be difficult to visually calculate the points on either side of the slot or weld and place the cursor. Similarly, it may be difficult for the user to accurately place the cursor on the edge of a rounded turbine blade edge.

<p><patcit num="1"><text>U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0317816</text></patcit></p>

A graphic overlay is disclosed for measuring feature dimensions using video inspection equipment. An advantage that may be realized in the practice of some disclosed embodiments is the ability to make accurate measurements of features of interest.

In one embodiment, a method for measuring features is disclosed. The method includes the steps of displaying an image of a viewing target on a monitor, calculating three-dimensional coordinates of points on the surface of the viewing target using a central processing unit, and using a pointing device. positioning one or more measurement cursors on the image using a central processing unit; calculating measurement points corresponding to the positions of the at least one measurement cursor using the central processing unit; wherein the edge plane passes through the measurement points; and using a central processing unit to calculate distances between points on the surface of the object being viewed and the edge plane. using a central processing unit to compare the distances between a plurality of points on the surface of the object to be viewed and the edge plane with a predetermined distance threshold; and displaying a graphic overlay of the edge plane over pixels in the image associated with the plurality of points on the surface of the viewing object.

In another embodiment, the method comprises the steps of displaying an image of a viewing target on a monitor and using a central processing unit to calculate three-dimensional coordinates of points on the surface of the viewing target. , using a pointing device to position a first measurement cursor and a second measurement cursor on the image; and using a central processing unit to locate a first measurement point corresponding to the position of the first measurement cursor. using the central processing unit to calculate a second measurement point corresponding to the position of the second measurement cursor; using the central processing unit to calculate the first measurement point and the second measurement; and calculating, using a central processing unit, a first edge plane, the first edge plane being perpendicular to the three-dimensional line and the first passing through one measurement point; using a central processing unit to calculate distances between a plurality of points on the surface of the object being viewed and the first edge plane; comparing distances between a plurality of points on the surface of the viewing object and the first edge plane with a predetermined distance threshold; and displaying a graphic overlay of the first edge plane over pixels in the image associated with the plurality of points on the surface of the viewing object.

In yet another embodiment, the method comprises the steps of displaying an image of the viewing target on a monitor and using a central processing unit to calculate three-dimensional coordinates of points on the viewing target surface. and positioning a first measurement cursor, a second measurement cursor, and a third measurement cursor on the image using the pointing device; and positioning the first measurement cursor using the central processing unit. calculating a corresponding first measurement point; using the central processing unit to calculate a second measurement point corresponding to the position of the second measurement cursor; calculating a third measurement point corresponding to the position of the measurement cursor of , and using a central processing unit to calculate a three-dimensional reference straight line between the first measurement point and the second measurement point; , using the central processing unit to calculate a three-dimensional length line between the third measurement point and the three-dimensional reference line; and using the central processing unit to calculate the first edge plane. wherein the first edge plane is perpendicular to the three-dimensional straight line and passes through the first measurement point and the second measurement point; calculating distances between the points of interest and the first edge plane; comparing with a distance threshold; and displaying the graphic overlay.

In yet another embodiment, the method comprises the steps of displaying an image of the viewing target on a monitor and using a central processing unit to calculate three-dimensional coordinates of points on the viewing target surface. and selecting one or more reference plane points from a plurality of points on the surface of the viewing object using a pointing device; and calculating the reference plane using a central processing unit, wherein the reference The plane is calculated based on one or more of the reference plane points; placing a measurement cursor on the image using a pointing device; and corresponding to the position of the measurement cursor using a central processing unit. calculating a measurement point; using a central processing unit to calculate a depth plane, the depth plane being parallel to a reference plane and passing through the measurement point; calculating distances between a plurality of points on the surface of the viewing object and the depth plane using a central processing unit; comparing the distance between the depth plane with a predetermined distance threshold; and displaying a graphical overlay of the plane.

The above embodiments are merely exemplary. Other embodiments are within the scope of the disclosed subject matter.

So that the features of the invention may be understood, the detailed description of the invention may be had by reference to specific embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It is noted, however, that the drawings depict only particular embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. This is because the scope of the disclosed subject matter encompasses other embodiments. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis generally being placed on illustrating features of particular embodiments of the invention. In the drawings, the same numbers are used throughout the various figures to indicate the same parts.

<figref num="1">1 is a block diagram of an exemplary video inspection device; FIG.</figref><figref num="2">4 is an exemplary image acquired by a video inspection instrument of an object surface of a viewing object having an anomaly in an exemplary embodiment;</figref><figref num="3">3 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method for automatically identifying the deepest points of surface anomalies in the viewing object shown in the image of FIG. 2, in an exemplary embodiment; FIG.</figref><figref num="4">4 shows an exemplary reference plane calculated by the video inspection equipment;</figref><figref num="5">4 illustrates an exemplary region of interest calculated by video inspection equipment;</figref><figref num="6">4 illustrates another exemplary region of interest calculated by video inspection equipment;</figref><figref num="7">2 is a graphical representation of an exemplary profile of the object surface of the viewing object shown in the image of FIG. 1, according to an exemplary embodiment;</figref><figref num="8">4 is another image acquired by a video inspection device of a viewing object surface having anomalies in an exemplary embodiment;</figref><figref num="9">FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a method for displaying three-dimensional data for inspecting the surface of the viewing object shown in the image of FIG. 8, in an exemplary embodiment;</figref><figref num="10">FIG. 4 is a representation of a subset of surface points in a point cloud diagram; FIG.</figref><figref num="11">FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method for displaying a two-dimensional image of a viewing object concurrently with an image depicting a three-dimensional shape of the viewing object, in another exemplary embodiment.</figref><figref num="12">2D and stereo image representations of viewing objects;</figref><figref num="13">2 is a display of a two-dimensional image of a viewing object with measurement cursors and a rendered image of a three-dimensional shape of the viewing object in the form of a depth profile image with measurement markers.</figref><figref num="14">Fig. 2 shows a display of a two-dimensional image of a viewing object with measurement cursors and a rendered image of a three-dimensional shape of the viewing object in the form of a point cloud diagram with measurement markers.</figref><figref num="15A">FIG. 4B is another exemplary image obtained by video inspection equipment of a turbine blade with a missing corner in another exemplary embodiment; FIG.</figref><figref num="15B">FIG. 15B is a three-dimensional point cloud representation of a turbine blade with a chipped corner as shown in FIG. 15A in another exemplary embodiment;</figref><figref num="15C">FIG. 4B is another exemplary image obtained by video inspection equipment of a turbine blade with a missing corner in another exemplary embodiment; FIG.</figref><figref num="16">4 shows the relationship between image pixels, sensor pixels, reference plane coordinates and target surface coordinates.</figref><figref num="17">FIG. 4B is another exemplary image obtained by video inspection equipment of a turbine blade with a missing corner in another exemplary embodiment; FIG.</figref><figref num="18">Side-by-side 2D/3D view of measurement plane and reference profile.</figref><figref num="19A">Techniques are presented for marking images with graphic overlays (or masks) to visualize defined reference planes, such as measurement planes.</figref><figref num="19B">Techniques are presented for marking images with graphic overlays (or masks) to visualize defined reference planes, such as measurement planes.</figref><figref num="20">FIG. 11 shows a point cloud diagram of an object with lines of sight to provide a visual indication of the orientation of the tip of the probe of the imaging inspection equipment.</figref><figref num="21">2D shows a 2D image alongside a 3D point cloud view of an object in an exemplary embodiment.</figref><figref num="22A">Another two-dimensional image is shown alongside a point cloud view of an object in an exemplary embodiment.</figref><figref num="22B">Fig. 3 shows the geometric relationship between the edge viewing angle of the video inspection equipment and the reference plane;</figref><figref num="23A">Side-by-side displaying a 2D image of a viewing object with a hole or depression, with the measurement cursor positioned far from the deepest point, and a 3D point cloud diagram of the hole or depression showing a graphic overlay (or mask) of the depth plane It is an image.</figref><figref num="23B">23B is an enlarged view of a two-dimensional image of a viewing object with a hole or depression shown in FIG. 23A showing a graphical overlay of the depth plane; FIG.</figref><figref num="24A">Side-by-side displaying a two-dimensional image of a viewing object with a hole or depression and a three-dimensional point cloud view of the hole or depression showing a graphic overlay of the depth plane, with the measurement cursor positioned closer to the deepest point than in FIG. 23A. It is an image.</figref><figref num="24B">24B is an enlarged view of a two-dimensional image of a viewing object with a hole or depression shown in FIG. 24A showing a depth plane graphic overlay; FIG.</figref><figref num="25">FIG. 10 is a side-by-side image displaying a two-dimensional image of a viewing object with a hole or depression with the measurement cursor placed at the deepest point and a three-dimensional point cloud view of the hole or depression showing a graphical overlay of the depth plane;</figref><figref num="26">2D is a side-by-side image displaying a 2D image of a viewing object with a hole or depression with the measurement cursor positioned far from the deepest point and a 3D point cloud view of the hole or depression showing a graphical overlay of the depth plane.</figref><figref num="27">FIG. 10 is a side-by-side image displaying a two-dimensional image of a viewing object with a hole or depression with the measurement cursor placed at the deepest point and a three-dimensional point cloud view of the hole or depression showing a graphical overlay of the depth plane;</figref><figref num="28">FIG. 10 is a side-by-side image displaying a 2-D image of the area between the turbine blade tip and the shroud and its 3-D point cloud diagram showing a graphical overlay of the depth plane; FIG.</figref><figref num="29A">FIG. 10 is a side-by-side image displaying a two-dimensional image of the slot with the measurement cursors placed obliquely to each other and a three-dimensional point cloud view of the slot showing a graphic overlay of the edge plane.</figref><figref num="29B">FIG. 10 is a side-by-side image displaying a two-dimensional image of the slot and a three-dimensional point cloud view of the slot showing a graphic overlay of the edge plane, with the measurement cursors placed directly on each other;</figref><figref num="30A">FIG. 10 is a side-by-side image displaying a 2-dimensional image of the turbine blade edge and a 3-dimensional point cloud view of the turbine blade edge showing a graphic overlay of the edge plane, with the measurement cursor not placed on the edge of the turbine blade; FIG.</figref><figref num="30B">FIG. 10 is a side-by-side image displaying a 2-dimensional image of a turbine blade edge with measurement cursors placed on the edge of the turbine blade and a 3-dimensional point cloud view of the turbine blade edge showing a graphic overlay of the edge plane;</figref><figref num="31">4 shows an exemplary flowchart of a method for measuring features in an exemplary embodiment;</figref>

Embodiments of the disclosed subject matter relate to graphic overlays for measuring dimensions of features on or near an object using video inspection equipment. For example, an inspector using video inspection equipment to identify and measure the dimensions of an anomaly on an object (e.g., a crack in a turbine blade) places the measurement cursor over a pixel in the image of the object and repairs the anomaly. Measure the dimensions of the anomaly to determine if maintenance is required. To facilitate accurate measurements, a semi-transparent graphic overlay can be placed over the pixels of the image of interest associated with the location of the measurement cursor. A semi-transparent graphic overlay provides a visual indication to the user when making a measurement of the anomaly of interest whether or not the measurement cursor is positioned correctly to make an accurate measurement of the anomaly. For example, if the measurement cursor is not positioned correctly, a semi-transparent graphic overlay clearly indicates to the user that the cursor must be repositioned to obtain an accurate measurement of the dimensions of the anomaly. . Other embodiments are within the scope of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary video inspection device 100. As shown in FIG. It will be appreciated that the video inspection device 100 shown in FIG. 1 is exemplary, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to a particular video inspection device 100 or a particular configuration of components within the video inspection device 100 .

Imaging inspection equipment 100 may include an elongated probe 102 comprising an insertion tube 110 and a head assembly 120 positioned at the distal end of insertion tube 110 . Insertion tube 110 can be a flexible tubular section through which all interconnections between head assembly 120 and probe electronics 140 pass. Head assembly 120 may include probe optics 122 for directing and collecting light from object 202 to imager 124 . Probe optics 122 may comprise, for example, a lens singlet, or a lens having multiple components. Imager 124 may be a solid state CCD or CMOS image sensor for capturing images of viewing object 202 .

A removable tip or adapter 130 may be positioned at the distal end of head assembly 120 . Detachable tip 130 includes tip viewing optics 132 (e.g., lenses, windows, or apertures) that cooperate with probe optics 122 to direct and collect light from viewing target 202 onto imager 124 . ). The detachable tip 130 also includes illumination LEDs ( not shown). Tip 130 may also provide side viewing capability by including a waveguide (eg, a prism) that directs the camera field of view and light output sideways. The tip 130 may also be provided with stereo optics or structured-light projecting elements for use in measuring three-dimensional data of the viewing surface. Elements that may be included in tip 130 may also be included in probe 102 itself.

Imager 124 may include a plurality of pixels arranged in a plurality of rows and columns, and may generate image signals in the form of analog voltages representing light incident on each pixel of imager 124 . Image signals are transmitted through imager hybrid 126, which provides electronics for signal buffering and conditioning, and imager hybrid 126, which provides wiring for control and video signals, between imager hybrid 126 and imager interface electronics 142. It can be transmitted to harness 112 . The imager interface electronics 142 include a power supply, a timing generator for generating the imager clock signal, an analog front end for digitizing the imager video output signal, and processing the digitized imager video data to make it more useful. and a digital signal processor for rendering video formats.

Imager interface electronics 142 are part of probe electronics 140 that provide a set of functions for operating video inspection equipment 100 . Probe electronics 140 may also include calibration memory 144 that stores calibration data for probe 102 and/or tip 130 . Communicates with imager interface electronics 142 to determine and set gain and exposure settings, stores and retrieves calibration data to/from calibration memory 144, and controls light delivered to viewing object 202 However, a microcontroller 146 for communicating with the central processing unit (CPU) 150 of the video inspection equipment 100 may also be included in the probe electronics 140 .

Further, in addition to communicating with microcontroller 146 , imager interface electronics 142 may also communicate with one or more video processors 160 . A video processor 160 may receive video signals from the imager interface electronics 142 and output signals to various monitors 170 , 172 including an integrated display 170 or an external monitor 172 . Integrated display 170 may be an LCD screen incorporated in video inspection equipment 100 for displaying various images or data (e.g., images of viewing object 202, menus, cursors, measurement results) to the inspector. . External monitor 172 may be a video monitor or computer-type monitor that is connected to video inspection equipment 100 for displaying various images or data.

The video processor 160 can send/receive commands, status information, streaming video, still video images, and graphic overlays to/from the CPU 150, and can also perform image capture, image enhancement, merging graphic overlays, distortion correction, frame It may consist of FPGAs, DSPs, or other processing elements that provide functions such as averaging, scaling, digital zooming, overlaying, merging, flipping, motion detection, and video format conversion and compression.

CPU 150 provides a host of other functions, including image, video, and audio storage and recall functions, system control, and measurement processing, as well as a joystick 180, buttons 182, keypad 184, and/or microphone. It can be used to manage the user interface by receiving input via 186. Joystick 180 may be manipulated by a user to perform operations such as menu selection, cursor movement, slider adjustment, and articulation control of probe 102, and may include push button functionality. Buttons 182 and/or keypad 184 may also be used to send menu selections and user commands to CPU 150 (eg, freezing or saving a still image). Microphone 186 can be used by the examiner to send voice commands to freeze or save still images.

Video processor 160 may also communicate with video memory 162, which is used by video processor 160 for frame buffering and temporary storage of data during processing. CPU 150 may also communicate with CPU program memory 152 for storing programs executed by CPU 150 . Additionally, CPU 150 may communicate with volatile memory 154 (eg, RAM) and non-volatile memory 156 (eg, flash memory devices, hard drives, DVDs, or EPROM memory devices). Non-volatile memory 156 is the main storage for streaming video and still images.

CPU 150 may also communicate with computer I/O interface 158, which provides various interfaces for peripherals and networks (such as USB, Firewire, Ethernet, audio I/O, and wireless transceivers). This computer I/O interface 158 may be used to store, retrieve, transmit and/or receive still images, streaming video or audio. For example, a USB "thumb drive" or CompactFlash memory card may be plugged into computer I/O interface 158 . Additionally, video inspection equipment 100 may be configured to transmit image frame data or streaming video data to an external computer or server. The video inspection equipment 100 can incorporate the TCP/IP communication protocol suite and can be connected to a wide area network including multiple local and remote computers, each of which also incorporates the TCP/IP communication protocol suite. can be incorporated. By incorporating the TCP/IP protocol suite, video inspection equipment 100 incorporates several transport layer protocols, including TCP and UDP, and several different layer protocols, including HTTP and FTP.

Although FIG. 1 depicts certain components as a single component (eg, CPU 150), it will be appreciated that multiple separate components may be used to perform the functions of CPU 150.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary image 200 acquired by video inspection equipment 100 of an object surface 210 of a viewing object 202 having an anomaly 204 in an exemplary embodiment of the invention. In this example, the anomaly 204 is shown as a depression in which material has been removed from the object surface 210 of the viewing object 202 at the anomaly 204 by damage or wear. The anomalies 204 shown in this exemplary embodiment are merely examples and the methods of the present invention may be applied to other types of irregularities (eg, cracks, corrosion pits, coating loss, surface deposits, etc.). be understood. Once the image 200 has been acquired and the anomaly 204 has been identified, the image 200 is quantified with the dimensions of the anomaly 204 (e.g., height or depth, length, width, area, volume, point to line, profile slice, etc.). ) can be used to calculate In one embodiment, the image 200 used may be a two-dimensional image 200 of the object surface 210 of the viewing object 202, including the anomaly 204. FIG.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary method for automatically identifying the deepest points of anomalies 204 on the object surface 210 in the viewing object 202 shown in the image 200 of FIG. 2, in an exemplary embodiment of the invention. 300 is a flow diagram. The steps depicted in the flow diagram of FIG. 3 may be performed in a different order than the order shown in the flow diagram, and it is understood that not all of the steps are required in certain embodiments. be understood.

At step 310 of exemplary method 300 (FIG. 3), a user uses video inspection equipment 100 (eg, imager 124) to scan a viewing object 202 having an anomaly 204, as shown in FIG. At least one image 200 of a target surface 210 may be acquired and displayed on a video monitor (eg, integrated display 170 or external monitor 172). In one embodiment, image 200 may be displayed in the measurement mode of the video inspection equipment.

At step 320 of exemplary method 300 (FIG. 3), video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) performs a three-dimensional analysis of a plurality of surface points on object surface 210 of viewing object 202, including the surface point of anomaly 204. Coordinates (eg, (x, y, z)) can be calculated. In one embodiment, video inspection equipment may generate three-dimensional data from image 200 to calculate three-dimensional coordinates. Several different existing techniques (e.g., stereo, scanning systems, stereo triangulation, structured light methods (phase shift analysis, phase shift moire, laser dot projection, etc.), etc.) provide images of the target surface 210. It can be used to provide the three-dimensional coordinates of surface points at 200 (FIG. 2).

Most such techniques involve the use of calibration data that specifically includes optical property data used to reduce errors in the 3D coordinates that would otherwise result from optical distortions. occurs. In some techniques, three-dimensional coordinates may be calculated using one or more images captured in close time proximity, which may include projection patterns and the like. A reference to three-dimensional coordinates calculated using the image 200 may also include three-dimensional coordinates calculated using one or more images 200 of the target surface 210 captured at close time, as described. It should be appreciated that the image 200 displayed to the user during the action may or may not actually be used to calculate the three-dimensional coordinates.

At step 330 of exemplary method 300 (FIG. 3), video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) may calculate reference plane 250, as shown in FIG. In some embodiments, reference surface 250 may be flat, while in other embodiments reference surface 250 may be curved. Similarly, in one embodiment, reference surface 250 may be in the form of a plane, and in other embodiments, reference surface 250 may be in the form of different shapes (eg, cylindrical, spherical, etc.). For example, the user may use the joystick 180 (or other pointing device (eg, mouse, touch screen)) of the video inspection equipment 100 to move the object 202 near the anomaly 204 to calculate the reference plane. , one or more reference surface points on the target surface 210 may be selected.

In one embodiment, a total of three reference plane points 221, 222, 223 are located on the object surface 210 of the viewing object 202 near the anomaly 204 for making depth measurements of the anomaly 204, as shown in FIG. Selected above, three reference plane points 221 , 222 , 223 are selected on the target surface 210 near the anomaly 204 . In one embodiment, multiple reference surface points 221 , 222 , 223 on object surface 210 of viewing object 202 point reference surface cursors 231 , 232 , 233 (or other pointing devices) to multiple points on object surface 210 . can be selected by placing pixels 241, 242, 243 of image 200 corresponding to reference plane points 221, 222, 223 of . In an exemplary depth measurement, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) may calculate three-dimensional coordinates of each of multiple reference plane points 221, 222, 223. FIG.

Three-dimensional coordinates of three or more surface points near one or more of the three reference surface points 221, 222, 223 selected on the target surface 210 near the anomaly 204 are located on the reference surface 250 (e.g., plane). In one embodiment, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) performs curve fitting of the three-dimensional coordinates of three reference plane points 221, 222, 223 to create a reference plane 250 (eg, plane) can be calculated.

k_0RS+k_1RS1.x_iRS+k_2RS.y_iRS1=z_iRS(1) However, (x_iRS, y_iRS, z_iRS) are the coordinates of any three-dimensional point on the defined reference plane 250, and k_0RS, k_1RS, and k_2RSis the coefficient obtained by curve fitting of the 3D coordinates.

Note that multiple reference plane points (ie, at least as many points as the number of k coefficients) are used to perform the curve fitting. Curve fitting (eg, least squares method) finds the best k-factor for the points used. As a result, the k factor defines a plane or other reference plane 250 close to the 3D point used. However, if more points than the number of k coefficients are used in the curve fitting, when substituting the x and y coordinates of the points used in the plane equation (1), the z result is generally does not exactly match the z-coordinate of the point due to possible noise and deviation from the plane. Thus, x_iRS1and y_iRS1can be any value and the resulting z_iRSis x_iRS, y_iRSshows z in the defined plane at . Therefore, the coordinates given in these equations may be for any precise point on the defined surface, not necessarily the point used in the fitting to calculate the k factor. .

In other embodiments, only one or two datum points are selected, so that k_0RS, k_1RS, and k_2RSSince three points are required to calculate , curve fitting based only on the 3D coordinates of these reference plane points cannot be used. In this case, the video inspection device 100 (for example, the CPU 150) identifies a plurality of pixels near each pixel of the image corresponding to a plurality of points on the target surface 210 near the reference plane point, , which enables curve fitting to calculate the reference plane 250 .

Although the exemplary reference plane 250 has been described as being calculated based on the reference plane points 221, 222, 223 selected by the reference plane cursors 231, 232, 233, in other embodiments, the reference plane 250 uses a pointing device to place a reference surface shape 260 (e.g., circle, square, rectangle, triangle, etc.) near the anomaly 204; 262, 263, 264. The reference plane points 261, 262, 263, 264 of the shape 260 may be points selected by a pointing device or other points on or near the shape's perimeter that may be sized to enclose the anomaly 204. It should be understood that

At step 340 of exemplary method 300 (FIG. 3), video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) locates region of interest 270 near anomaly 204 based on the reference plane points of reference plane 250, as shown in FIG. Calculate Region of interest 270 includes multiple surface points of anomaly 204 . In one embodiment, region of interest 270 is formed by forming a region of interest shape 271 (eg, a circle) based on two or more of reference plane points 221 , 222 , 223 . In another embodiment, region of interest 270 forms a cylinder perpendicular to reference plane 250 that passes through or near two or more of reference plane points 221, 222, 223. can be calculated by letting Referring again to FIG. 4, regions of interest may be formed within the reference surface shape 260 and the reference surface points 261 , 262 , 263 , 264 .

Although the exemplary region of interest shape 271 of FIG. 5 is formed by passing through the reference surface points 221, 222, 223, in another embodiment, a smaller diameter reference surface shape is formed by passing through the reference surface points. It can be formed by passing through the neighborhood only. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a region of interest 280 is formed by passing a region of interest shape 281 (eg, a circle) past two reference surface points 221, 222, where the diameter of circle 281 is , less than the distance between the two reference plane points 221,222. It will be appreciated that the region of interest shapes 271 , 281 and regions of interest 270 , 280 may or may not be displayed on the image 200 .

After regions of interest 270, 280 are calculated, in step 350 of exemplary method 300 (FIG. 3), video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) generates reference plane 250 from each of a plurality of surface points within the regions of interest. Calculate the distance (ie, depth) to In one embodiment, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) calculates the distance of a straight line extending between reference plane 250 and each of the plurality of surface points within regions of interest 270, 280, where: This straight line intersects the reference plane 250 at right angles.

In step 360 of exemplary method 300 (FIG. 3), the video inspection equipment calculates the surface point furthest from reference surface 250 (eg, selects the surface point with the longest straight line extending to reference surface 250). Calculate the location of the deepest surface point 224 within the regions of interest 270, 280 by . As used herein, the "deepest point" or "deepest surface point" is the point of a recess that is furthest from the reference plane 250 or the point of a convexity that is furthest from the reference plane 250 (i.e., the highest point). point). The video inspection device 100 locates the deepest surface point 224 within the regions of interest 270, 280 on the image by, for example, displaying a cursor 234 (FIG. 5) or other graphical indicator 282 (FIG. 6) at the deepest surface point 224. can be identified. Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the video inspection device 100 detects the depth 290 (inches or millimeters) of the deepest surface point 224 within the regions of interest 270, 280 on the image 200 (i.e., the deepest surface point 224 to the reference plane 250). By automatically displaying a cursor 234 or other graphical indicator 282 ( FIG. 6 ) at the deepest surface point 224 within the region of interest 270 , 280 , the video inspection instrument 100 allows the user to locate the deepest surface within the anomaly 204 . Not having to manually locate point 224 reduces the time required to perform depth measurements and improves depth measurement accuracy.

Once the cursor 234 is displayed at the deepest surface point 224 within the region of interest 270, 280, the user may select that point to acquire and save the depth measurement. The user may also move the cursor 234 within the regions of interest 270,280 to calculate the depth of other surface points within the regions of interest 270,280. In one embodiment, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) may monitor movement of cursor 234 and detect when cursor 234 stops moving. When the movement of cursor 234 stops for a predetermined amount of time (eg, 1 second), video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) moves the vicinity of cursor 234 (eg, a predetermined circle centered on cursor 234). , and automatically move the cursor 234 to that location.

FIG. 7 is a graphical representation of an exemplary profile 370 of object surface 210 of viewing object 202 shown in image 200 of FIG. In this exemplary profile 370, a datum plane 250 is shown extending between two datum plane points 221,222 and between respective datum plane cursors 231,232. The location and depth 290 of the deepest surface point 224 within the region of interest are also shown in the graphical representation. In another embodiment, a point cloud diagram may also be used to show the deepest surface points 224 .

FIG. 8 is another image 500 acquired by video inspection equipment 100 of an object surface 510 of a viewing object 502 having an anomaly 504 in an exemplary embodiment of the invention. Similarly, in this example, anomaly 504 is shown as a depression in which material has been removed from object surface 510 of viewing object 502 at anomaly 504 by damage or wear. The anomaly 504 shown in this exemplary embodiment is merely an example, and the methods of the present invention may be applied to other types of irregularities (eg, cracks, corrosion pits, coating loss, surface deposits, etc.). be understood. Once the image 500 has been acquired and the anomaly 504 identified, the image 500 is used to calculate the dimensions of the anomaly 504 (eg, height or depth, length, width, area, volume, point-to-line, profile slice, etc.). can be used for In one embodiment, the image 500 used may be a two-dimensional image 500 of the object surface 510 of the viewing object 502, including the anomaly 504. FIG.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a method 600 for displaying three-dimensional data for inspecting object surface 510 of viewing object 502 shown in image 500 of FIG. 8, in an exemplary embodiment of the invention. is. The steps depicted in the flow diagram of FIG. 9 may be performed in a different order than the order shown in the flow diagram, and it is understood that not all of the steps are required in certain embodiments. be understood.

At step 610, as shown in FIG. 8, the operator acquires an image 500 of the object surface 510 of the viewing object 502 having an anomaly 504 and displays it on a video monitor (eg, integrated display 170 or external monitor 172). ), the video inspection equipment 100 may be used to display. In one embodiment, image 500 may be displayed in the measurement mode of the video inspection equipment.

In step 620, CPU 150 of video inspection equipment 100 generates three-dimensional coordinates (x_iS1, y_iS1, z_iS1) can be calculated. In one embodiment, video inspection equipment may generate 3D data from image 500 to calculate 3D coordinates. As mentioned above, several different existing techniques (e.g., stereo, scanning systems, structured light methods (phase-shift, phase-shift moire, laser dot projection, etc.), etc.) are used to detect points on the image 500 of the target surface 510. It can be used to provide 3D coordinates.

At step 630, as shown in FIG. 8, the operator uses the joystick 180 (or other pointing device (eg, mouse, touch screen)) of the video inspection equipment 100 to make certain types of measurements. , a plurality of measurement points on the object surface 510 of the viewing object 502 in the vicinity of the anomaly 504 may be selected. The number of measurement points selected depends on the type of measurements to be made. Certain measurements (e.g. length, profile) may require the selection of two measurement points, while other measurements (e.g. point-to-line, area, multi-segment) require three or more. measurement point selection. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, a total of four measurement points 521, 522, 523, 524 are measured on the object surface of the viewing object 502 near the anomaly 504 to make depth measurements of the anomaly 504. Selected on 510, three of the measurement points 521, 522, 523 are selected on the surface of interest 510 in the vicinity of the anomaly 504, and a fourth measurement point 524 is selected to be the deepest point of the anomaly 504. be done. In one embodiment, a plurality of measurement points 521 , 522 , 523 , 524 on object surface 510 of viewing object 502 align cursors 531 , 532 , 533 , 534 (or other pointing devices) on object surface 510 . It can be selected by placing pixels 541 , 542 , 543 , 544 of the image 500 corresponding to the plurality of measurement points 521 , 522 , 523 , 524 . In an exemplary depth measurement, video inspection device 100 may calculate three-dimensional coordinates in a first coordinate system for each of a plurality of measurement points 521, 522, 523, 524. FIG. The method of the present invention is not limited to depth measurements or measurements with a selection of four measurement points, but rather applies to various types of measurements with different numbers of points, including those mentioned above. It will be understood.

At step 640, CPU 150 of video inspection equipment 100 may calculate reference plane 550, as shown in FIG. For the exemplary depth measurement of anomaly 504 shown in FIG. Three-dimensional coordinates of one or more surface points can be used to calculate a reference plane 550 (eg, plane). In one embodiment, the video inspection device 100 provides three-dimensional coordinates (x_iM1, y_iM1, z_iM1) may be performed to calculate an expression for the reference surface 550 (eg, plane), which has the form:

k_0RS1+k_1RS1.x_iRS1+k_2RS1.y_iRS1=z_iRS1(2) However, (x_iRS1, y_iRS1, z_iRS1) are the coordinates of any three-dimensional point in the first coordinate system on the defined reference plane 550, and k_0RS1, k_1RS1, and k_2RS1is the coefficient obtained by curve fitting the three-dimensional coordinates in the first coordinate system.

Note that multiple measurement points (ie at least as many points as the number of k coefficients) are used to perform the curve fitting. Curve fitting (eg, least squares method) finds the best k-factor for the points used. As a result, the k factor defines a plane or other reference plane 550 close to the 3D point used. However, if more points than the number of k coefficients are used in the curve fitting, when substituting the x and y coordinates of the points used in the plane equation (2), the z result is generally does not exactly match the z-coordinate of the point due to possible noise and deviation from the plane. Thus, x_iRS1and y_iRS1can be any value and the resulting z_iRS1is x_iRS1, y_iRS1shows z in the defined plane at . Therefore, the coordinates given in these equations may be for any precise point on the defined surface, not necessarily the point used in the fitting to calculate the k factor. .

In another embodiment, only two measurement points are selected for a particular measurement (e.g. length, profile) so that k_0RS1, k_1RS1, and k_2RS1Since three points are required to calculate , curve fitting based only on the 3D coordinates of these two measurement points cannot be used. In this case, the video inspection device 100 identifies a plurality of pixels in respective neighborhoods of pixels in the image that correspond to a plurality of points on the target surface 510 in respective neighborhoods of the measurement point and provides a three-dimensional representation of these points. Calculate the coordinates, thereby allowing curve fitting to calculate the reference plane 550 .

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the video inspection device 100 includes a plurality of frames 562 (eg, rectangles) in the reference plane 550 that form a frame 562 (eg, a rectangle) around the anomaly 504 and the measurement points 521, 522, 523, 524. The three-dimensional coordinates of frame point 560 in the first coordinate system (x_iF1, y_iF1, z_iF1) can be calculated, which can later be used to indicate the position of the reference plane 550 .

Once the reference plane 550 has been calculated, in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. A measurement (eg, of depth) of anomaly 504 may be made by calculating the distance between 550 . The accuracy of this depth measurement is determined by the accuracy with which the plurality of measurement points 521 , 522 , 523 , 524 on the object surface 510 of the viewing object 502 are selected. As noted above, it is often difficult to determine the contours of the anomaly 504 in the image 500 from the two-dimensional image, and is too small to reliably determine the locations of the multiple measurement points 521, 522, 523, 524. It can be small or inadequate. Therefore, often the operator desires more detail in the region of the anomaly 504 in order to assess the accuracy of the location of these measurement points 521,522,523,524. Thus, while some video inspection equipment 100 may provide a point cloud view of the entire image 500, this view may not provide the required level of detail of the anomaly 504 as previously described. In order to provide a more meaningful view of the target surface 510 of the area around the measurement points 521, 522, 523, 524 than that provided by a point cloud view of the entire three-dimensional data of the image 500, the present invention The method of generates a subset of 3D data within a region of interest.

At step 650, CPU 150 of video inspection equipment 100 may establish a second coordinate system that is different from the first coordinate system. In one embodiment, the second coordinate system may be based on the reference plane 550 and the plurality of measurement points 521 , 522 , 523 and 524 . The video inspection device 100 is positioned near an average position 525 of three-dimensional coordinates of points on a reference plane 550 corresponding to two or more of the plurality of measurement points 521, 522, 523, 524 on the target surface 510. so that the origin of the second coordinate system (x_O2, y_O2,z_O2)=(0, 0, 0) (eg, by projecting the measurement points 521, 522, 523, and 524 onto the reference plane 550 and calculating the average position 525 on the reference plane 550). In some cases, the three-dimensional coordinates of points on reference plane 550 corresponding to measurement points 521, 522, 523 may be the same. However, in some situations, due to noise and/or small variations in the target surface 510, the measurement points 521, 522, 523 are not exactly located on the reference plane 550 and therefore have different coordinates. .

When calculating the points on the reference plane 550 corresponding to the measurement points 521, 522, 523, 524 on the object surface 510, it is preferable to apply the concept of the direction of a straight line, which is x, y , and tells the relative slope of a straight line in the z-plane, and can be used to establish perpendicular or parallel lines. For a given line passing through two 3D coordinates (x1, y1, z1) and (x2, y2, z2), the linear directions (dx, dy, dz) can be defined as follows.

dx=x2-x1(3) dy=y2-y1(4) dz=z2-z1(5) Given a point on a line (x1,y1,z1) and direction of the line (dx,dy,dz) Assuming a straight line can be defined by:

<math num="1"><img file="JP7204359B2_D0001.tif" /></math> Therefore, given either one of the x, y, or z coordinates, the other two can be calculated. Parallel lines have the same or linearly scaled straight direction. Two straight lines with directions (dx1, dy1, dz1) and (dx2, dy2, dz2) are perpendicular to each other if dx1·dx2+dy1·dy2+dz1·dz2=0(7).

The directions of all straight lines perpendicular to the reference plane defined using equation (2) are given by:

dx_RSNMore=-k_1RS(8)dy_RSNMore=-k_2RS(9) dz_RSNMore=1(10) Based on the formulas (6) and (8) to (10), the surface point (x_S,y_S,z_S.) can be defined as:

<math num="2"><img file="JP7204359B2_D0002.tif" /></math> In one embodiment, a point (x_iS1, y_iS1, z_iS1) of the point on the reference plane 550 (x_iRS1, y_iRS1, z_iRS1) (for example, the three-dimensional coordinates of the points on the reference plane 550 corresponding to the measurement points 521, 522, 523, and 524 in the first coordinate system) are the directions given by equations (8) to (10). and (x_iS1, y_iS1, z_iS1) and perpendicular to the reference plane 550 and calculating the coordinates of the intersection of this straight line and the reference plane 550 . Therefore, from equations (2) and (11),

<math num="3"><img file="JP7204359B2_D0003.tif" /></math> x_iRS1=k_1RS1.(z_iS1-z_iRS1)+x_iS1(13)y_iRS1=k_2RS.(z_iS1-z_iRS1)+y_iS1(14).

In one embodiment, these steps (equations (3)-(14)) are used to calculate the three-dimensional coordinates of points on the reference plane 550 corresponding to the measurement points 521, 522, 523, 524. can be As a result, the average position 525(x_M1avg, y_M1avg, z_M1avg) can be calculated. This results in the origin of the second coordinate system (x_O2, y_O2, z_O2)=(0, 0, 0) but average position 525(x_M1avg, y_M1avg, z_M1avg) can be assigned and placed in the vicinity of

Center the region of the anomaly 504 by placing the origin of the second coordinate system near the mean position 525 within the region of the anomaly 504 and the z-value being the perpendicular distance from each surface point to the reference plane 550 . The point cloud diagram can now be rotated, allowing the depth map color scale to show the height or depth of the surface points from the reference plane 550 .

To utilize this second coordinate system, in step 660, CPU 150 of video inspection equipment 100 extracts various points (eg, multiple surface points, multiple measurement points 521, 522, 523, 524, frame point 560). A three-dimensional coordinate in the first coordinate system (such as a point on the reference plane 550 containing the x_i1, y_i1, z_i1) to the three-dimensional coordinates (x_i2, y_i2, z_i2).

In one embodiment, a coordinate transformation matrix ([T]) may be used to transform coordinates according to:

([x_i1 y_i1 z_i1]-[x_M1avg y_M1avg z_M1avg])*[T]=[x_i2 y_i2z_i2](15) where [T] is the transformation matrix.

In non-matrix form, the three-dimensional coordinates in the second coordinate system can be calculated by:

x_i2=(x_i1-x_M1avg)*T₀₀+(y_i1-y_M1avg)*T₁₀+(z_i1-z_M1avg)*T₂₀(16)y_i2=(x_i1-x_M1avg)*T₀₁+(y_i1-y_M1avg)*T₁₁+(z_i1-z_M1avg)*T₂₁(17)z_i2=(x_i1-x_M1avg)*T₀₂+(y_i1-y_M1avg)*T₁₂+(z_i1-z_M1avg)*T₂₂(18) where the transformation matrix values are the new x, y, and z axis linear direction values in the first coordinate system.

At step 670 , CPU 150 of video inspection equipment 100 computes a subset of a plurality of surface points within a region of interest on object surface 510 of viewing object 502 . In one embodiment, the region of interest is the object of view 502 surrounding a plurality of selected measurement points 521, 522, 523, 524 to minimize the amount of three-dimensional data used for the point cloud map. It can be a limited area on surface 510 . It will be appreciated that step 670 of calculating the subsets can occur before or after transform step 660 . For example, if the subset calculation in step 670 is performed after the transformation step 660, video inspection equipment 100 may determine the coordinates of all surface points, including those that lie outside the region of interest, and determine which of these points are in the region of interest. may be converted before computing whether it is in Alternatively, if the subset calculation in step 670 is performed before transform step 660, video inspection equipment 100 need only transform the coordinates of the surface points that lie within the region of interest.

In one embodiment, the region of interest includes each point on the reference plane 550 corresponding to the measurement points 521, 522, 523, 524 and the average position 525 of these points on the reference plane 550 (if done after transformation The origin of the second coordinate system (x_O2, y_O2, z_O2)=(0, 0, 0) or (x_M1avg, y_M1avg, z_M1avg)) (d_MAX) can be determined by calculating In one embodiment, the region of interest is a certain threshold distance (d_ROI)(e.g., this is less than the maximum distance (d_ROI=d_MAX) or slightly larger than the maximum distance (e.g., 20% larger) (d_ROI=1.2*d_MAX)) that has a corresponding point on the reference plane 550 (ie, when projected onto the reference plane). For example, if the average position 525 in the second coordinate system is (x_O2, y_O2, z_O2)=(0, 0, 0), then from that position, the point (x_iRS2, y_iRS2, z_iRS2) is given by

<math num="4"><img file="JP7204359B2_D0004.tif" /></math> Similarly, the average position 525 in the first coordinate system is (x_M1avg, y_M1avg, z_M1avg), then from that position, the point (x_iRS1, y_iRS1, z_iRS1) is given by

<math num="5"><img file="JP7204359B2_D0005.tif" /></math> The surface points are within the region of interest threshold distance (d_ROI) less than the distance value (d_iRS1or d_iRS2), and thus within the region of interest, the video inspection instrument 100 may write the three-dimensional coordinates of the surface point and the color of the pixel corresponding to the depth of the surface point to the point cloud map file. In this exemplary embodiment, the region of interest is in the form of a cylinder containing surface points within the radius of the cylinder. It will be appreciated that other shapes and methods for calculating the region of interest may be used.

The region of interest may also be defined based on the depth of the anomaly 504 on the object surface 510 of the viewing object 502 calculated by the video inspection equipment 100 in the first coordinate system. For example, if the depth of anomaly 504 measures 0.005 inches (0.127 mm), then the region of interest is based on the distance from one or more of measurement points 521, 522, 523, 524 to reference plane 550: It may be defined as including only points that have a distance (or z-dimension) within a specified range (±0.015 inches (0.381 mm)) from the reference plane 550 . If a surface point has a depth value within the region of interest, video inspection equipment 100 may write the three-dimensional coordinates of the surface point and the color of the pixel corresponding to the depth of the surface point to the point cloud map file. If a surface point has a depth value outside the region of interest, video inspection device 100 may not include that surface point in the point cloud map file.

In step 680, as shown in FIG. 10, monitors 170, 172 of video inspection equipment 100 render a subset of a plurality of surface points in three-dimensional coordinates in a second coordinate system, with origin 725 at the center of the figure. A dimensional view (eg, a point cloud view) 700 may be displayed. In one embodiment (not shown), the display of point cloud diagram 700 may include a color map indicating the distance between each surface point in the second coordinate system and reference plane 750 (e.g., a particular depth The first point of is indicated with a shade of red corresponding to its depth, the second point at a different depth is indicated with a shade of green corresponding to its depth). The displayed point cloud diagram 700 may also include the locations of multiple measurement points 721 , 722 , 723 , 724 . To assist the operator in viewing the point cloud diagram 700, the video inspection device 100 also provides a line between two or more of the plurality of measurement points 721, 722, 723 in three-dimensional coordinates of the second coordinate system. 3D line points 771 , 772 , 773 can be calculated along the lines of , and these line points 771 , 772 , 773 can be displayed in the point cloud diagram 700 . Point cloud diagram 700 may also include depth line 774 from measured point 724 intentionally placed at the deepest point of anomaly 504 to reference plane 750 . In one embodiment, video inspection equipment 100 may determine if depth line 774 exceeds tolerance specifications or other thresholds and provide a visual or audible indication or alert of such occurrence.

The displayed point cloud diagram 700 may also include a plurality of frame points 760 forming a frame 762 on the reference plane 750 in the second coordinate system to indicate the position of the reference plane 750 . In another embodiment, the displayed point cloud diagram 700 may also include a scale indicating vertical distance from the reference plane 750 .

As shown in FIG. 10, by limiting the data in the point cloud view 700 to points within the region of interest and rotating the view around a point 725 at the center (eg, origin) of the region of interest, the operator can more easily Anomaly 504 may be analyzed directly to determine whether the depth measurements and placement of measurement points 721, 722, 723, 724 are accurate. In one embodiment, the operator may change the position of one or more of the measurement points 721, 722, 723, 724 in the point cloud diagram 700 if correction is required. Alternatively, if correction is required, the operator may return to the two-dimensional image 500 of FIG. 8, reselect one or more of the measurement points 521, 522, 523, 524, and repeat the process.

In another embodiment, monitors 170, 172 of video inspection equipment 100 render three-dimensional view 700 of a subset of a plurality of surface points in three-dimensional coordinates in a first coordinate system without any coordinate transformation. can be displayed. In this embodiment, the point cloud diagram 700 based on the original coordinates also assists the operator, including displaying a color map, the positions of multiple measurement points, a three-dimensional line point, a depth line, a frame, or a scale. It may include the various features described above.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method 800 for displaying a two-dimensional image of a viewing object concurrently with an image depicting a three-dimensional shape of the viewing object, in another exemplary embodiment. It is noted that the steps depicted in the flow diagram of Figure 11 may be performed in a different order than the order shown in the flow diagram, and that not all of the steps are required in certain embodiments. be understood.

In step 810 of the exemplary method (FIG. 11), as shown in FIG. 12, the video inspection equipment 100 (eg, the imager 124 of FIG. 1) scans at least the object surface 911 of the viewing object 910 with an anomaly 912. A single two-dimensional image 903 is acquired and displayed on a first side 901 of a display 900 (eg, integrated display 170, external monitor 172, or user interface touch screen). In one embodiment, two-dimensional image 903 is displayed in the measurement mode of video inspection device 100 .

In step 820 of exemplary method 800 (FIG. 11), as shown in FIG. 12, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150 of FIG. 1) detects a plurality of surface points 913 on object surface 911 of viewing object 910. , 914 (eg, (x, y, z)). In one embodiment, the video inspection equipment generates 3D data from the 2D image 903 in order to calculate the 3D coordinates. FIG. 12 shows a two-dimensional first stereo image 903 of the viewing object 910 on the first side 901 of the display 900 and a corresponding two-dimensional stereo image 903 of the viewing object 910 on the second side 902 of the display 900. A display 900 with a second stereo image 904 . In one embodiment, the video inspection device 100 (eg, CPU 150) finds matching surface points 915, 916 on the corresponding two-dimensional second stereo image 904 and then the two-dimensional first stereo image 904. Pixels between a plurality of surface points 913, 914 (or pixel regions (e.g., 4×4 regions) on image 903 and corresponding surface points 915, 916 on the corresponding two-dimensional second stereo image 904). Distance parallax (pixel distance Calculate the three-dimensional coordinates (eg, (x, y, z)) of a plurality of surface points 913, 914 on the two-dimensional first stereo image 903 by calculating the three-dimensional coordinates based on the disparity). use stereo technology to As shown in FIGS. 12-14, references herein to two-dimensional images with respect to stereo images 903, 904 refer to both the first (left) stereo image 903 and the second (right) stereo image 904 or It will be appreciated that one may be included.

Several different existing techniques (e.g., stereo, scanning systems, stereo triangulation, structured light methods (phase shift analysis, phase shift moire, laser dot projection, etc.), etc.) provide a two-dimensional image 903 (Fig. 12) can be used to provide the three-dimensional coordinates of the surface points 913, 914 in 12). Most such techniques involve the use of calibration data that specifically includes optical property data used to reduce errors in the 3D coordinates that would otherwise result from optical distortions. occurs. In some techniques, three-dimensional coordinates may be calculated using one or more two-dimensional images captured in close time, which may include projection patterns and the like. A reference to three-dimensional coordinates calculated using two-dimensional image 903 may also include three-dimensional coordinates calculated using one or more two-dimensional images of target surface 911 captured at close time. It is well understood that the two-dimensional image 903 displayed to the operator during the described operations may or may not actually be used to calculate the three-dimensional coordinates.

In step 830 of exemplary method 800 (FIG. 11), at least a portion of two-dimensional image 903 of viewing object 910 with measurement cursors 931, 932 is displayed on display 900, as shown in FIGS. A rendered image 905 of a three-dimensional shape of at least a portion of an object surface 911 of a viewing object 910 displayed on a first side 901 is displayed on a second side 902 of the display 900 . Compared to FIG. 12, the second (right) stereo image 904 in display 900 has been replaced with rendered image 905 . In one embodiment, the video inspection device 100 (eg, CPU 150) calculates the three-dimensional coordinates of a plurality of surface points 913, 914 on the target surface 911 of the viewing target 910 prior to positioning and displaying the measurement cursors 931, 932. (eg, (x, y, z)) is initiated (and completed in one embodiment). The exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 displays a single rendered image 905 of the three-dimensional shape of the object surface 911 of the viewing object 910 displayed on the second side 902 of the display 900. Although shown, it will be appreciated that more than one rendered image 905 may be displayed with or without the two-dimensional image 903 .

In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 13, rendered image 905 is depth profile image 906 showing the three-dimensional shape of object surface 911 of viewing object 910 , including anomaly 912 . In another exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 14, the rendered image 905 is a point cloud diagram 907 showing the three-dimensional shape of an object surface 911 of a viewing object 910, including an anomaly 912. FIG. In the exemplary point cloud diagram 907 shown in FIG. 14, only a subset of the three-dimensional coordinates of the surface points 913, 914 on the object surface 911 of the viewing object 910 are displayed in the region of interest based on the positions of the measurement cursors 931, 932. It is In another embodiment, the point cloud diagram 907 displays all of the calculated three-dimensional coordinates of surface points 913 , 914 on the object surface 911 of the viewing object 910 . In one embodiment, for example, if the display is a user interface touch screen, the user may rotate point cloud 907 using the touch screen.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, a point cloud diagram 907 includes surface points of an object surface 911 of a viewing object 910 and a reference plane 960 (eg, one or more of a plurality of measurement cursors 931, 932). (reference plane calculated using the 3D coordinates of the neighborhood of )) to indicate the distance between them. For example, a first point at a particular depth is indicated with a shade of red corresponding to that depth, and a second point at a different depth is indicated with a shade of green corresponding to that depth. A color depth scale 908 is provided to show the relationship between the colors shown in the point cloud 907 and their respective distances from the reference plane 960 . In one embodiment, the point cloud 907 may be flattened to graphically smooth transitions between adjacent points in the point cloud 907 .

Once the 3D coordinates of a plurality of surface points 913 , 914 on the object surface 911 of the viewing object 910 are calculated, the user can make measurements of the 2D image 903 .

In one embodiment, video inspection device 100 saves a split view of two-dimensional image 903 and rendered image 905 as an image. The video inspection equipment 100 also generates a first (left) stereo image 903 and a second stereo image 903 as shown in FIG. The original full stereo image (eg, grayscale only) and calibration data of the (right) stereo image 904 may be saved as metadata. Alternatively, video inspection equipment 100 may store the calculated 3D coordinates and/or disparity data as metadata, which reduces processing time during recall but increases file size. .

In step 840 of exemplary method 800 (FIG. 11), measurement cursors 931, 932 are placed (using a pointing device) on two-dimensional image 903 and displayed, as shown in FIGS. This allows the video inspection device 100 (eg, CPU 150) to calculate the dimensions (eg, height or depth, length, width, area, volume, point-to-line, profile slice, etc.) of the anomaly 912. become. In another embodiment in which the two-dimensional images are not stereo images, the video inspection device 100 (eg, CPU 150) also determines the dimensions (eg, height or depth, length, width, area, volume, point-to-line, profile, etc.) of the anomaly 912. slices, etc.) can be calculated, measurement cursors 931, 932 (as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14) can be placed on the two-dimensional image 903. FIG. In yet another embodiment, instead of being placed on the two-dimensional image 903, the measurement cursors are placed (using a pointing device) on the second side 902 of the display 900, at least on the object surface 911 of the viewing object 910. It can be placed on the rendered image 905 of some three-dimensional shape.

In the exemplary display 900, a first measurement cursor 931 is positioned at a first measurement point 921 on the object surface 911 of the viewing object 910, and a second measurement cursor 932 is positioned at the object surface 911 of the viewing object 910. Located at a second measurement point 922 on 911 . Since the three-dimensional coordinates of the measurement points 921, 922 on the object surface 911 of the viewing object 910 are known, the user can perform geometric measurements (eg depth or length measurements) on the object surface 911. Yes, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) may calculate measured dimension 950 as shown in FIGS. In the example shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, measurement line 933 is displayed on two-dimensional image 903 .

A rendered image 905 of the three-dimensional shape of the object surface 911 of the viewing object 910 is displayed on the display 900 to assist in positioning measurement cursors 931, 932 on the two-dimensional image 903 to make geometric measurements. Displayed on side 902 of 2. In conventional systems with stereo or non-stereo two-dimensional images, these measurement cursors 931, 932 (as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14) are based solely on the views provided by the two-dimensional image 903. However, this may not allow for accurate placement and accurate measurement of the measurement cursors 931,932.

In step 850 of exemplary method 800 (FIG. 11), measurement markers 941, 942 corresponding to measurement cursors 931, 932 placed on two-dimensional image 903 are viewed as shown in FIGS. An object 910 is displayed on a rendered image 905 of the three-dimensional shape of the object surface 911 . For example, a first measurement marker 941 is shown on the rendered image 905 at the same three-dimensional coordinates of the object surface 911 of the viewing target 910 as the first measurement cursor 931, and a second measurement marker 942 is the second measurement marker. is shown on the rendered image 905 with the same three-dimensional coordinates of the object surface 911 of the viewing object 910 as the measurement cursor 932 of . In the exemplary point cloud diagram 907 shown in FIG. 14, measurement line markers 943 corresponding to measurement lines 933 (eg, depth measurement lines) of the two-dimensional image 903 are displayed. The rendered image 905 of the three-dimensional shape of the object surface 911 of the viewing object 910, displayed simultaneously with the two-dimensional image 903 of the object surface 911 of the viewing object 910, allows the user to make more accurate geometric measurements. allows to place the measurement cursors 931, 932 more precisely. In yet another embodiment, when a measurement cursor is placed (using a pointing device) on rendered image 905 , the measurement indicium corresponding to the measurement cursor is displayed on two-dimensional image 903 .

In one embodiment, as the user changes the positions of the measurement cursors 931, 932 within the two-dimensional image 903, the video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) is controlled so that the user can envision new measurements substantially in real time. are the positions of the measurement markers 941, 942 corresponding to the measurement cursors 931, 932 and the rendered image 905 of the three-dimensional shape of the object surface 911 of the viewing object 910 (eg, the region of interest or depth color) automatically. In another embodiment, after the measurement cursors 931 , 932 are positioned within the two-dimensional image 903 , the measurement markers 941 , 942 may be repositioned within the rendered image 905 .

In yet another embodiment, when a measurement cursor is placed (using a pointing device) on the rendered image 905 and a measurement marker corresponding to the measurement cursor is displayed on the two-dimensional image 903, the user can Changing the position of the measurement cursor in 905 causes the video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) to change the position of the measurement marker corresponding to the measurement cursor so that the user can envision a new measurement substantially in real time. It updates automatically and the 2D image is also changed. In another embodiment, the measurement marker may be repositioned within the two-dimensional image 903 after the measurement cursor is positioned on the rendered image 905 .

At step 860 of exemplary method 800 (FIG. 11), as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150), based on the positions of measurement cursors 931, 932, the user asks: A measured dimension 950 for a particular geometric measurement (eg, depth or length measurement) is calculated and displayed on the display 900 . In another embodiment, the measured dimensions may be displayed in rendered image 905 on display 900 .

As shown in FIGS. 12-14, softkeys 909 provide the user with various functions (e.g., view diagram, cancel, add measurement, next measurement, option, delete) during image acquisition and measurement execution. , annotation, image capture, reset, zoom, full image/measured image, depth map on/off, etc.). In one embodiment, when the user activates either the two-dimensional image 903 or the rendered image 905, the particular softkeys 909 displayed may change based on the active image.

FIG. 15A is another exemplary image 1001 acquired by the video inspection equipment 100 of a turbine blade 1010 and shroud 1015 with a missing corner (indicated by polygon 1050) in another exemplary embodiment. be. In one embodiment, the image 1001 used may be a two-dimensional image 1001 of the surface 1013 of the object being viewed (turbine blade 1010). In a further example, the two-dimensional images can be stereo images. As shown in FIG. 15A, a user uses video inspection equipment 100 (eg, imager 124) to acquire at least one image 1001 of surface 1013 of turbine blade 1010 and displays it on a video monitor (eg, an integrated It may be displayed on display 170 or external monitor 172). In one embodiment, image 1001 may be displayed in the measurement mode of video inspection device 100 .

Image inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) may calculate three-dimensional coordinates (eg, (x, y, z)) of multiple surface points on object surface 1013 of viewing object 1010. In one embodiment, the image The inspection equipment can generate three-dimensional data from the image 1001 in order to calculate the three-dimensional coordinates.The three-dimensional coordinates of the surface points on the object surface 1013 of the viewing object 1010 are the coordinates of the displayed two-dimensional image 1001. Several different existing techniques (e.g., stereo, scanning systems, stereo triangulation, structured light methods (phase shift analysis, phase shift moire, laser dot projection, etc.), etc.) can be used to identify the target surface 1013 1001 (FIG. 15A) of the image 1001. In one embodiment, the video inspection instrument 100 uses a diffuse inspection light source without a structured light pattern to provide a 2D An image 1001 is acquired and three-dimensional surface coordinates are calculated using one or more images captured by the structured light pattern projected onto the object.In such cases, the structured light pattern is diffuse It can be projected with the inspection light source disabled.

Similarly, most of such techniques involve the use of calibration data that specifically includes optical property data used to reduce errors in 3D coordinates that would otherwise be caused by optical distortions. A coordinate error occurs. In some techniques, three-dimensional coordinates may be calculated using one or more images captured in close time proximity, which may include projection patterns and the like. In one embodiment, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) may use calibration data to calculate the coordinates of target surface points. In one example, the calibration data may be specific to the video inspection equipment 100 being used and may include sensor and optics information necessary to calculate actual dimensions and distances. In another example, the calibration data may include ray equations for correlating each pixel of the sensor with a particular point on the viewing object.

A reference to three-dimensional coordinates calculated using image 1001 may also include three-dimensional coordinates calculated using one or more images 1001 of target surface 1013 captured at close time, as described. It should be understood that the image 1001 displayed to the user during the action may or may not actually be used to calculate the three-dimensional coordinates. In one embodiment, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) combines multiple captured images to generate a composite image with enhanced detail or reduced noise as compared to a single image. may be averaged together.

As shown in FIG. 15A, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) may calculate a three-dimensional reference plane 1020 (eg, the measurement plane indicated by the dashed line extending across the image). In some embodiments, the reference surface 1020 may be flat, while in other embodiments the reference surface 1020 may be curved. Similarly, in one embodiment, the reference surface 1020 may be in the form of a plane, while in other embodiments the reference surface 1020 may be in the form of different shapes (eg, cylindrical, spherical, etc.). For example, a user may use the joystick 180 (or other pointing device (e.g., mouse, touch screen)) of the video inspection equipment 100 to move 1 on the image 1001 of the target surface 1013 of the viewing target 1010 (turbine blade). More than one reference plane point 1021, 1022, 1023 may be selected.

In one embodiment, a total of three reference plane points 1021, 1022, 1023 are selected on the image 1001 of the object surface 1013 of the viewing object 1010, as shown in FIG. 15A. In one embodiment, multiple reference surface points 1021 , 1022 , 1023 on the object surface 1013 of the viewing object 1010 point the reference surface cursors 1031 , 1032 , 1033 (or other pointing devices) to multiple points on the object surface 1013 . can be selected by placing at reference plane pixels 1041, 1042, 1043 of image 1001 corresponding to reference plane points 1021, 1022, 1023 of . The video inspection device 100 (for example, the CPU 150) can calculate three-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of reference plane points 1021, 1022, 1023. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 15A, CPU 150 of video inspection equipment 100 may calculate reference plane 1020 . In the exemplary area measurement shown in FIG. 15A, the three-dimensional coordinates of three reference plane points 1021, 1022, 1023, or three or more near one or more of the three reference plane points 1021, 1022, 1023 The 3D coordinates of the surface points can be used to calculate the reference plane 1020 (eg, plane). As described above, in one embodiment, the video inspection device 100 performs curve fitting of the three-dimensional coordinates of the three reference plane points 1021, 1022, 1023 to the reference plane 1020 (eg, extending infinitely in all directions). plane) can be calculated. In one embodiment, video inspection device 100 (eg, CPU 150) performs curve fitting of the three-dimensional coordinates of surface points associated with pixels near reference surface cursors 1031, 1032, 1033 to obtain the above equation ( The formula for the reference plane 1020 (eg, plane) can be calculated as described in 1). In another embodiment, the curve fitting may use only the 3D coordinates of surface points associated with neighboring pixels of only one of the reference surface cursors 1031 , 1032 , 1033 for the reference surface 1020 . In another embodiment, the 3D coordinates of a single selected datum plane point make the datum plane a plane at z=10 mm (the z-axis is along the central optical axis of the borescope's field of view). To that end, it can be used by video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150). In another example, a single cursor establishes a plane, e.g., through the three-dimensional surface coordinates associated with the cursor position, and orthogonal to the plane of the viewing optical system, or parallel to the principal axis of the viewing optical system. by setting the reference plane tocan be used to define In a further example, four or more selected coordinates may establish various curved reference surfaces, such as spherical, cylindrical, or other surface shapes, as reference surfaces. In a further example, multiple cursors can be used to fit curved surfaces such as spheres, cylinders, and the like. In another embodiment, one or more cursors can be used to select an area of pixels, i.e., an area within a circular cursor, and the reference plane is a three-dimensional plane associated with the selected area or areas. It can be calculated by fitting a plane or other surface to the dimensional surface coordinates.

As shown in FIG. 15A, turbine blade 1010 lacks a corner (indicated by polygon 1050). The present disclosure provides methods and instruments for measuring features on or near an object, including features that may have portions missing or spaced from the object. For example, a turbine blade 1010 may be inspected to determine if the tip or corner of the blade 1010 has been damaged. In such cases, the relevant feature to be measured (eg, the missing corner dimension) is not on the surface 1013 of the turbine blade 1010 itself, but instead extends into the space beyond the surface 1013 of the turbine blade 1010. there is Therefore, measurements using only the 3D coordinates of points on the surface 1013 of the turbine blade 1010 do not provide the desired information (missing area, missing edge length, etc.). As described below, once the reference planes 1020 have been established, the user can select areas not on the surface of the object to be viewed 1010 that do not have surface points on the surface 1013 of the turbine blade 1010 associated with them. By placing measurement cursors 1034, 1035, 1036, 1037 on the image 1001, measurements of geometric dimensions such as length, point-to-line, area, or multiple length measurements may be performed.

In one embodiment, a total of four measurement cursors 1034, 1035, 1036, 1037 are positioned over measurement cursor pixels 1044, 1045, 1046, 1047 of image 1001, as shown in FIG. 15A. As described below, calibration causes the three-dimensional trajectory associated with each two-dimensional measurement cursor pixel 1044, 1045, 1046, 1047 in image 1001 to be aligned with measurement cursor pixels 1044, 1045, 1046, Where the trajectory line from each measurement cursor pixel 1044, 1045, 1046, 1047 of the image 1001 is placed (eg, the interpolation is (which may be the fractional pixel position used), is known and used to calculate where the reference plane 1020 intersects in three-dimensional space. As seen in FIG. 15A, once the projected reference plane points 1024, 1025, 1026, 1027 on the reference plane 1020 are known, the user can calculate the three-dimensional Measurements such as length, point-to-line, area, multiple length measurements, etc. may be performed based on the coordinates. For example, as shown in FIG. 15A, the user selects first side 1051 (provides the length of the missing portion of the blade's first edge 1011), second side 1052 (the length of the blade's second edge 1012). providing the length of the missing portion), and measurements of the area forming the polygon 1050 with the third side 1053 may be performed.

FIG. 15B is a three-dimensional point cloud view 1002 of turbine blade 1010 and shroud 1015 with missing corners (represented by polygon 1050), as shown in FIG. 15A, in another exemplary embodiment. display. A 3D point cloud diagram 1002 showing 3D surface points of turbine blade 1010, reference plane 1020, and projected reference plane points 1024, 1025, 1026, 1027 may be used by the user to ensure that the measurements are taken properly. allows a better visualization of the As shown in FIG. 15B, a point cloud diagram 1002 may contain calculated three-dimensional surface coordinates on a viewing object 1010, which may be shown as individual points, a mesh, or a continuous surface. The three-dimensional coordinates associated with the measurement cursors 1034, 1035, 1036, 1037 may be shown as dots or spheres, etc., with interconnecting lines (edges 1051, 1052, 1053, A polygon 1050) with 1054 may be included. Also, the reference plane 1020 and its position may be represented by additional features such as rectangles or squares. Thus, the 3D point cloud diagram 1002 allows the user to visualize the measurements in 3D space in order to ensure that the measurements are properly made. Making such determinations using only the two-dimensional image 1001 can be very difficult. In one embodiment, the 3D point cloud view 1002 is displayed concurrently with the 2D image 1001, and the 3D point cloud view 1002 is automatically updated when the measurement cursor is repositioned within the 2D image 1001. be. In another embodiment, the user may choose to view either the 2D image 1001 or the 3D point cloud 1002 individually.

FIG. 15C is another example image 1003 obtained by the video inspection equipment 100 of the corner-defective turbine blade 1010 in another example embodiment. In some cases it may be useful to use both the 3D coordinates of a projected reference plane point (a point away from the viewing object) and the 3D coordinates of a surface point on the viewing object to make the measurements. . Referring to FIG. 15C, an area measurement (polygon 1070) can be performed using reference plane 1020. Referring to FIG. In the illustrated embodiment, four measurement cursors 1071, 1072, 1073, 1074 can be selected, two measurement cursors 1071, 1072 positioned on the surface 1013 of the viewing object 1010, two measurement cursors 1073 , 1074 are positioned away from surface 1013 of viewing object 1010 . Two measurement cursors 1071, 1072 placed on the surface 1013 of the viewing object 1010 are used to measure the three-dimensional coordinates of a surface point on the surface 1013 of the viewing object 1010 and the three-dimensional coordinates of a projected reference plane point on the reference plane 1020. is placed on the pixel associated with . Two measurement cursors 1073, 1074, positioned away from the surface 1013 of the viewing object 1010, are associated with the three-dimensional coordinates of the projected reference plane points on the reference plane 1020, but on the surface 1013 of the viewing object 1010. It is located on a pixel that is not associated with the 3D coordinates of the top surface point. The measurement consists of the three-dimensional coordinates of surface points located on the surface 1013 of the viewing object 1010 associated with two measuring cursors 1071, 1072 and two measuring cursors spaced apart from the surface 1013 of the viewing object 1010. The three-dimensional coordinates of the projected reference plane points on the reference plane 1020 associated with 1073, 1074 can be utilized. Alternatively, the measurements may utilize the three-dimensional coordinates of the projected reference plane points on the reference plane 1020 associated with all four measurement cursors 1071,1072,1073,1074. In another embodiment, the video inspection device 100 allows the user to measure two measurement cursors 1071 placed on the surface 1013 of the viewing object 1010; Regarding 1072 it is possible to choose whether to use the 3D coordinates of a surface point on the surface 1013 of the viewing object 1010 or the 3D coordinates of a projected reference plane point on the reference plane 1020 . In one example, when measuring the gap between the turbine blade 1010 and the shroud 1015, a plane can be established (using three cursors on pixels with associated 3D coordinates) with respect to the shroud 1015 and the blade A measurement plane can be established with respect to 1010, another cursor is used to set the projected point of the edge of the blade 1010, and the perpendicular distance from the plane to the point is calculated.

FIG. 16 shows the relationship between image pixels, sensor pixels, reference surface coordinates, and target surface coordinates, according to aspects described herein. For example, as described below, pixels on display 1101 may be related to pixels on sensor 1102, which may be related to points C on the surface of object 1100 by the ray equation. In the illustrated embodiment, a user may establish a reference plane 1130 by selecting at least one point A on the surface of object 1100 . For example, reference plane 1130 can be a plane that intersects object 1100 at point A. FIG.

In one example, a user may wish to perform measurements of features of object 1100 using reference surface 1130 . In such a case, the user can locate the first pixel of the feature on display 1101 (pixel P_D.). In such a case, pixel P on display 1101_D.is, for example, the pixel P_S.can be mapped to In addition, pixel P on sensor 1102_S.can be mapped to the projected 3D reference plane coordinates B on the reference plane 1130 . In the illustrated example, pixel P on sensor 1102_S.can also be related to the 3D surface coordinates C on object 1100, which are the 3D coordinates of the feature itself calculated using the captured image. Thus, pixel P_scan have both associated 3D surface coordinates and projected 3D reference plane coordinates, either of which can be used to compute the measurement result. In one example, the 3D surface coordinates C are subject to 3D data noise and therefore do not accurately represent the surface of object 1100 . In this case, measurements calculated using the projected 3D reference plane coordinates B may be more accurate than those calculated using the coordinates C. In another example, coordinate C may accurately represent the surface of object 1100, and the user may choose to use coordinate C rather than coordinate B to use in calculating the measurement results.

In certain implementations, the measurement system may include a sensor with a certain capture resolution, such as a 640×480 charge-coupled device (CCD). Furthermore, the measurement system may have user interfaces with different display resolutions, such as 1024×768 pixels. In such cases, when the user selects a cursor position on the user interface screen, the selected screen pixels may be mapped to sensor pixels. Referring to the pinhole camera model, for example, if the display resolution is 1024×768 and the capture resolution is 640×480, the capture columns (col) and rows can be calculated as follows.

capture column = display column * 640/1024 = display column * 0.625 capture row = display row * 480/768 = display row * 0.625 line}={9.581, 62.919}. In such cases, bilinear interpolation is used between capture pixels (9,62), (10,62), (9,63), (10,63) to interpolate the ray equation for the equivalent pixels. can be

In one example, the ray equation is

x_{r, c}(z) = a_{r, c}*z and y_{r, c}(z)=b_{r, c}*z and a_{r, c}and b_{r, c}is pixel dependent.

In such cases, the interpolation coefficients may be calculated as follows.

k_c1=column-(int)column=9.581-9=0.581k_c0=1-k_c1=0.419k_r1= row - (int) row = 62.919-62 = 0.919k_r0=1-k_r1=0.081a_{9.581、62.919}=k_c0*k_r0*a_9、62+k_c1*k_r0*a_10、62+k_c0*k_r1*a_9、63+k_c1*k_r1*a_10、63b_{9.581、62.919}=k_c0*k_r0*b_9、62+k_c1*k_r0*b_10、62+k_c0*k_r1*b_9、63+k_c1*k_r1*b_10、63A similar bilinear interpolation technique can be used to calculate the x, y, z surface coordinates associated with the displayed or captured image pixel coordinates.

In one particular example, the ray equation can be used to map between two-dimensional image pixels and reference plane coordinates as follows.

The plane equation can be expressed as follows.

The formula for the z=z0+c*x+d*y ray can be expressed as follows.

x=a*z;y=b*z In such a case the intersection can be solved as follows.

zi=z0+c*a*zi+d*b*zizi*(1-c*ad*b)=z0zi=z0/(1-c*ad*b) For example, substituting zi into the ray equation gives xi , yi can be obtained. Thus, for a given two-dimensional display or captured image pixel coordinate, the associated projected three-dimensional reference plane coordinates xi, yi, zi can be calculated. For a given measurement, one or more projected three-dimensional reference plane coordinates associated with two-dimensional image pixel coordinates of one or more measurement cursors are calculated. One or more projected 3D reference plane coordinates are then used to calculate the geometric dimensions of the feature being viewed.

In view of the above, embodiments of the present invention enable the use of a vision inspection system to measure the dimensions of features on or near the surface of an object. The technical effect is to allow accurate measurement of features of interest in the absence or low accuracy of 3D data.

As shown in FIGS. 15A and 15C, typical measurements made by the video inspection equipment 100 for a missing corner turbine blade 1010 are the area of the missing corner, the length of the missing portion of the first edge 1011 of the blade 1010, and the length of the missing portion of the blade 1010. 1051 and the length 1052 of the missing portion of the second edge 1012 of the blade 1010 . However, in order to make measurements in the reference plane 1020, the user must visually determine if the measurement cursor 1037 is precisely positioned where the tip or corner of the defect to be used was. , which can be difficult to extrapolate. Additionally, if the user wishes to know the area and two lengths 1051, 1052 of the missing corner, the user can place the cursors to establish a reference plane, then measure area and two point-to-line measurements. and thus requires some cursor positioning. In addition, point-to-line measurements provide lengths 1051, 1052 of missing edge portions exhibiting right-angled corners that are not applicable in many cases.

FIG. 17 is another example image 1004 obtained by the video inspection equipment 100 of a turbine blade 1010 with a missing corner in another example embodiment. As described below, the video inspection device 100 can detect when a missing corner area measurement is being performed and determine the missing corner area and the missing edge portion lengths 1051, 1052. Simplify measurements for automatic acquisition. As explained above, in one embodiment, a total of three reference surface points 1021, 1022, 1023 are associated with reference surface cursors 1031, 1032, 1033 (or other pointing devices), as shown in FIGS. ) at reference plane pixels 1041, 1042, 1043 of the image 1001 corresponding to a plurality of reference plane points 1021, 1022, 1023 on the object surface 1013, the image 1004 of the object surface 1013 of the viewing object 1010 is obtained. can be selected above. CPU 150 of video inspection equipment 100 may then calculate reference plane 1020 as described above. The user may then select the option to perform planimetry.

In one embodiment, a total of four measurement cursors 1034, 1035, 1036, 1037 are positioned over the measurement cursor pixels 1044, 1045, 1046, 1047 of the image 1001, as shown in FIGS. 15A and 17. FIG. Video inspection equipment 100 may then calculate projected reference plane points 1024 , 1025 , 1026 , 1027 associated with measurement cursor pixels 1044 , 1045 , 1046 , 1047 on reference plane 1020 .

In one embodiment, when video inspection device 100 (eg, CPU 150) calculates reference plane 1020 (eg, measurement plane) and determines that the user is performing area measurements as shown in FIGS. 15A and 17, The video inspection device 100 may then determine whether the user is making a missing corner measurement. For example, in one embodiment, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) calculates the total distance between each of measurement cursors 1034, 1035, 1036, 1037 and all three reference surface cursors 1031, 1032, 1033. , the measurement cursor 1037 with the greatest distance from the reference plane cursors 1031, 1032, 1033 can be identified. Next, the video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) may calculate the angle (α) between the two lines 1051, 1052 pointing to its measurement cursor 1037 within the area polygon 1050. FIG. When the angle (α) is within the range of 45 degrees to 135 degrees, the image inspection device 100 (for example, the CPU 150) determines that the user is measuring the missing corner, and calculates the area, angle (α), and lengths 1051(A) and 1052(B) of missing edge portions of the blade edges 1011 and 1012 are automatically calculated and displayed in a text box 1083, for example. In addition, the video inspection equipment 100 (e.g., CPU 150) moves the measurement cursor 1037 from the turbine blade to assist the user in positioning the measurement cursor 1037 where the tip or corner of the defect to be used was located. calculating and displaying a first edge extension line 1081 extending along the first edge 1011 of the turbine blade and a second edge extension line 1082 extending along the second edge 1012 of the turbine blade from the measurement cursor 1037; A visual aid is provided for the user to align these edge extensions 1081, 1082 with the turbine blade edges 1011, 1012 to properly place the measurement cursor 1037. As shown in FIG. 17, the first edge extension line 1081 and the second edge extension line 1082 are straight lines in three-dimensional space, but appear as curved lines in the two-dimensional image 1004.

In view of the above, embodiments of the present invention enable measuring missing corner dimensions of turbine blades using a vision inspection system. The technical effect is to allow accurate measurement of missing corner area and length using a minimal number of cursor placements which speeds up the measurement.

The reference planes described herein measure dimensions that are important when performing inspections using various measurements of a viewing object (e.g., depth, depth profile, or area depth profile measurements). It is important that the reference plane is aligned with and accurately represents the physical object surface, since it is used for Noise in the 3D surface coordinates chosen as reference surface points can tilt the reference surface relative to the actual surface and degrade the accuracy of subsequent measurements. Visual indications, such as translucent graphic overlays 1240, 1280, are provided to assist the user in determining the correspondence between the reference surface and the target surface, as described below and shown in FIGS. 19A and 19B. It can be located on a pixel in the two-dimensional image that has an associated surface point with a three-dimensional surface coordinate that is less than a predetermined distance from the three-dimensional reference plane. For example, pixels of interest near the reference plane may be highlighted (overlaid) with a contrasting color, such as green, to provide a graphic overlay. In another example, the video inspection device 100 can also help a user determine the correspondence between a reference plane and a target surface in a 3D point cloud view, which surface points are at a predetermined distance from the 3D reference plane. Display an indication of which has 3D coordinates less than . Surface points of interest near the reference plane may be defined by simple metrics such as Cartesian distance or z-value distance to allow for easy calculations. Figures 19A and 19B illustrate techniques for marking images with graphic overlays to visualize defined reference planes, such as measurement planes.

FIG. 19A shows a reference plane 1220 that is poorly aligned to the target surface 1210. FIG. A reference plane 1220 is established based on the placement of reference plane cursors 1231 , 1232 , 1233 on the image 1201 as shown in the image 1201 of the surface 1210 of the viewing object 1202 containing the anomaly 1204 . A semi-transparent graphic overlay 1240 is overlaid on pixels in the two-dimensional image 1201 that have associated surface points with three-dimensional surface coordinates that are less than a predetermined distance from the three-dimensional reference plane 1220 . As shown in FIG. 19A, only a small portion of reference surface 1220 is covered by graphic overlay 1240 and reference surface 1220 may be tilted or otherwise poorly aligned with target surface 1210 . It is shown. Therefore, measurements made of anomaly 1204 using this reference plane 1220 are likely to be inaccurate. With the graphical overlay 1240, the user is prompted by the graphical overlay 1240 to change the reference cursor position to find a better matching reference plane 1220 with better coverage.

FIG. 19B shows a fully aligned reference plane 1260 in which the reference plane 1260 is almost completely covered with a graphic overlay 1280. FIG. A reference plane 1260 is established based on the placement of reference plane cursors 1271 , 1272 , 1273 on the image 1241 as shown in the image 1241 of the surface 1250 of the viewing object 1242 containing the anomaly 1244 . A semi-transparent graphic overlay 1280 is overlaid on pixels in the two-dimensional image 1241 that have associated surface points with three-dimensional surface coordinates that are less than a predetermined distance from the three-dimensional reference plane 1260 . As shown in FIG. 19A, the entire reference surface 1260 is covered by a graphic overlay 1280, indicating that the reference surface 1260 is properly aligned with the object surface 1250. FIG. Therefore, measurements made of anomaly 1244 using this reference plane 1260 are likely to be accurate. The presence of graphic overlay 1280 informs the user that the cursor position does not need to be changed.

In one example, the graphic overlay may update in real time as the cursor is moved by the user. In other examples, for measurement types such as depth profile and regional depth profile measurements, the graphic overlay may be shown temporarily when the cursor is moved and when cursor movement is stopped. may be erased after a few seconds from For depth measurements, the graphic overlay may be displayed whenever the reference plane cursor is active, and may be hidden when the fourth cursor or result is active. In another example, the graphic overlay may be displayed whenever the reference surface is active.

To determine whether to place a graphic overlay on a pixel in the two-dimensional image, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) determines if the pixel is less than a predetermined distance from the three-dimensional reference plane (or three-dimensional Determine if it is associated with a surface point with 3D coordinates (within a given distance from the reference surface). In some embodiments the distance between the surface point and the reference plane may be calculated as a vertical distance, while in other embodiments the distance may be a non-vertical distance.

In one embodiment, a pixel may be included in the graphic overlay if its associated surface point is within a distance to the reference plane of +/-1% of the surface point's z-value. In one embodiment, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) may perform coordinate transformation such that the transformed z value for all points on the reference plane is z=0. Next, for a given surface point, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) may compare the surface point's actual (untransformed) z-value with the transformed z-value. If the absolute value of the transformed z-value (which provides the perpendicular distance from the reference plane) is less than 1% of the actual z-value, the pixel associated with that surface point may be included in the graphic overlay.

In another embodiment that does not require coordinate transformation, for each pixel, video inspection equipment 100 (e.g., CPU 150) computes the vertical projection onto the reference plane and computes the distance from the surface point to the reference plane in the vertical direction. can. If this vertical distance is less than 1% of the actual z-value, the pixel associated with that surface point may be included in the graphic overlay. For example, if the distance is 0.08 mm and the z-value of a surface point is 10.0 mm, the pixel associated with that surface point may be included in the graphic overlay.

In another embodiment that does not require vertical distance, for each pixel, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) calculates the actual z-coordinate of the surface point and the corresponding projection on the reference plane projected from this surface point. The z-coordinate of the point may be calculated, but in this case such projections are not necessarily vertical. If the difference between the z-value on the reference plane and the z-value of the corresponding surface point is less than 1% of either z-value, the pixel associated with that surface point may be included in the graphic overlay.

In view of the above, embodiments of the present invention make it possible to determine whether a reference surface is properly aligned with, and accurately represents, a physical object surface. The technical effect is to provide more accurate measurements with reference planes.

In some instances, it may be difficult for a user to understand when viewing a two-dimensional image or point cloud diagram that the tip of the probe of the visual inspection instrument is aimed at the object under inspection. For example, it can be difficult for a user to understand how to adjust the viewpoint. FIG. 20 illustrates field of view lines 1331, 1332, 1333, 1334 extending from field origin 1330 (0, 0, 0) to provide a visual indication of the orientation of the tip of the probe of video inspection equipment 100 with respect to object 1310. A full image point cloud view 1300 of an object 1310 is shown for display. As shown in FIG. 20, the reference plane 1320 and its position may be represented by additional features such as rectangles or squares. In one embodiment, the user may turn line of sight 1331, 1332, 1333, 1334 on or off as desired.

In some applications involving the reference surfaces described herein, the reference surface involves a feature that may be a considerable distance from the reference surface, which may include at least one surface point that is not located on the reference surface. It may be desirable to make measurements in If the reference surface is a reference plane, such measurements can be described as in-plane measurements for out-of-plane surface points.

FIG. 21 shows a two-dimensional image 1401 alongside a point cloud view 1402 of an object 1410 having top 1411 and bottom 1412 surfaces. As shown in FIG. 21, a reference plane 1420 is established based on the placement of reference plane cursors 1431 , 1432 , 1433 on the image 1401 . As described above, by calibration, the three-dimensional trajectories associated with each pixel associated with each of the reference plane cursors 1431, 1432, 1433 are projected to reference plane points 1424, 1425, 1426 on the reference plane 1420. To calculate, it is known and used to calculate where the trajectory line intersects the reference plane 1420 in three-dimensional space. In one embodiment, the user measures the distance on the reference surface 1420 from the first edge 1413 between the top surface 1411 and the bottom surface 1412 to the point of interest 1450 on the bottom surface 1412 that is not on the reference surface 1420. You may wish to This measurement is, for example, a first measurement line 1441 (reference line) between a first measurement cursor 1434 (reference plane point 1424) and a second measurement cursor 1435 (second reference point 1425), and a second A second measurement line 1441 between one measurement line 1441 (reference line) and a third measurement cursor 1436 (reference surface point 1426) located at a point on the reference surface corresponding to the location of the point of interest on the bottom surface 1412. can be performed using point-to-line measurements with measurement lines 1442 of .

As seen in image 1401 and point cloud diagram 1402 of FIG. A third measurement cursor 1436 (and Finding the exact location of the corresponding datum point 1426) can be difficult. To assist the user, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) provides guide lines (eg, guide line 1460) on point cloud diagram 1402 to guide the user in placing third measurement cursor 1436. can assist

In one embodiment, when measurements are being performed with respect to reference plane 1420 (eg, a measurement plane), video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) is perpendicular to reference plane 1420 and projected from measurement cursor 1436. Identify a point on the target surface (eg, bottom surface 1412) in the vicinity (eg, within 0.1 mm) of a straight line passing through the projected reference plane point 1426. FIG. Once such surface points are found, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) extends vertically from the three-dimensional coordinates on reference surface 1420 that correspond to measurement cursors 1436 (or corresponding reference surface points 1426). A guiding line 1460 is provided in the point cloud diagram 1402 . In one embodiment, spheres are placed at surface points (eg, points of interest 1450 as shown in point cloud diagram 1402 of FIG. 21). This guiding line 1460 helps the user to place the third measurement cursor 1436 on the reference plane 1420 of the two-dimensional image 1401 at a position corresponding to the point of interest 1450 in order to make an accurate measurement. Accordingly, the user may move third measurement cursor 1436 within two-dimensional image 1401 until guiding line 1460 associated with third measurement cursor 1436 contacts bottom surface 1412 at point of interest 1450 . In one embodiment, guideline 1460 may optionally be hidden or shown.

Some inspections with the video inspection device 100 require the user to place the measurement cursor on the edge of the object. For example, FIG. 22A shows another two-dimensional image 1501 alongside a point cloud view 1502 of an object (turbine blade 1510) in an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 22A, the edge 1512 of the turbine blade 1510 has an indentation 1513 that may have been caused, for example, by a stone or other foreign object that has passed through the turbine engine. In one embodiment where the user may wish to measure the dimensions of the recess 1513, the user may place the first measurement cursor 1541 and the second measurement cursor 1542 on the edge 1512 of the turbine blade 1510. , and a third measurement cursor 1543 can be placed at the edge of the recess 1513 . The three measurement cursors 1541, 1542, 1543 are the first measurement line 1551 (reference line) between the first measurement cursor 1541 and the second measurement cursor 1542 and the first measurement line 1551 (reference line). It can be used to make a point-to-line measurement of the depth of the depression 1513 using a second measurement line 1552 between the third measurement cursor 1543 . The length of second measurement line 1552 provides the depth of recess 1513 .

In many cases, the three-dimensional coordinates of points on edge 1512 of turbine blade 1510 are not available or not very accurate. Thus, as with the missing corner measurements described above, point-to-line measurements of the indentation 1513 can be made at the reference plane (eg, the measurement plane). A datum plane 1520 is established on the surface 1511 of the turbine blade 1510 for which three-dimensional coordinates are available and highly accurate based on placement of datum plane cursors 1531 , 1532 , 1533 on the image 1501 . Once the reference plane 1520 is established, use the three-dimensional coordinates of the projected reference plane points 1521, 1522, 1523 on the reference plane 1520 associated with the measurement cursors 1541, 1542, 1543 as shown in Figures 22A and 22B. A point-to-line measurement of the depression 1513 can then be made relative to the reference plane 1520 .

The accuracy of this measurement depends on the accuracy of the user's placement of the first measurement cursor 1541 and the second measurement cursor 1542 on the actual edge 1512 of the turbine blade 1510 . For example, measurements can be made by the user so that the projected datum points 1521, 1522 on the datum plane 1520, associated with the measurement cursors 1541, 1542, accurately reflect the geometric position of the actual edge 1512 of the turbine blade 1510. It depends on the accuracy with which the first measurement cursor 1541 and the second measurement cursor 1542 are placed on the actual edge 1512 of the turbine blade 1510 . Often the edge 1512 of the turbine blade 1510 is rounded or curved and the actual edge 1512 of the turbine blade 1510 curves away from the surface 1511 of the turbine blade 1510 as shown in Figure 22A. and is not on the reference plane 1520.

22B shows the geometric relationship between the edge viewing angle (θ) of video inspection equipment 100 and the reference plane 1520. FIG. As shown in FIGS. 22A and 22B, an edge visual angle line 1570 (or below Depending on the edge viewing angle (θ) between the illustrated edge viewing plane 1572) and the reference plane 1520 or the surface 1511 of the turbine blade 1510, the user may place the first measurement cursor 1541 on the edge 1512 of the turbine blade 1510. One may not realize that the actual edge 1512 of the turbine blade 1510 cannot be seen when attempting to place it. For example, as shown in FIG. 22B, based on the edge viewing angle (θ), the user may place the first measurement cursor 1541, intended to be placed on the actual edge 1512 of the turbine blade 1510, instead of on the edge 1512. Imprecisely placed at a point on turbine blade 1510 . As shown in FIG. 22B, due to the inaccurate cursor placement, the distance (B) between the projected reference plane points 1521, 1523 on the reference plane 1520 associated with the measurement cursors 1541, 1543 (i.e. Measured depth) would have been measured based on the exact projection reference plane point 1571 that would have been produced if the first measurement cursor 1541 had been placed on the actual edge 1512, the recess Less than the actual depth (A) of 1513. This error occurs if the edge viewing angle (θ) between the edge viewing line 1570 (or the edge viewing plane 1572 discussed below) and the reference plane 1520 or the surface 1511 of the turbine blade 1510 is close to 90 degrees (or edge viewing plane 1572). If the edge viewing angle (φ) between the viewing line 1570 (or the edge viewing plane 1572 described below) and the reference plane 1520 or the plane 1580 perpendicular to the surface 1511 of the turbine blade 1510 is close to 0 degrees, avoid it would have been possible to

In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 22A and 22B, the video inspection device 100 provides a visual indication to the user when the viewpoint for the position where the measurement cursor is positioned on the edge is undesirable (eg, far from vertical). A warning system that provides a visual or audible warning may be used. Point-to-line measurements or other measurements involving two or more measurement cursors 1541, 1542 positioned along the edge 1512 of the object 1510 to form a first measurement line 1551 (reference line), involving the edge 1512 of the object 1510 In one embodiment involving measurements (area, length, depth, etc.) of the video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150), the measurement cursors 1541, 1542 are positioned near an edge (eg, edge 1512 of turbine blade 1510). Use edge detection to determine if it is aligned. Once one or more measurement cursors 1541 , 1542 are positioned along edge 1512 , video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150 ) determines the three-dimensional coordinates (0, 0, 0) of origin 1560 of field of view and of turbine blade 1510 . An edge viewing plane 1572 may be calculated based on the three-dimensional coordinates associated with the measurement cursors 1541 , 1542 placed along the edge 1512 . In one embodiment, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) then calculates an edge viewing angle (θ) between edge viewing plane 1572 and reference plane 1520, as shown in FIG. 22B. Ideally, this is 90 degrees (vertical) for the best edge viewing angle for cursor placement on the edge. In another embodiment, the video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) includes an edge viewing plane 1572 and three-dimensional coordinates associated with measurement cursors 1541, 1542 located along the edge 1512 of the turbine blade 1510. , and a plane 1580 perpendicular to the reference plane 1520, the edge viewing angle (φ) is calculated. Ideally, this is 0 degrees (parallel) for the best edge viewing angle for cursor placement on the edge. The calculated edge viewing angle (θ or φ) is outside the acceptable angular range or exceeds (or falls below) the threshold (eg, when θ is less than 60 degrees or φ is greater than 30 degrees), video inspection equipment 100 displays a warning message 1503 to the user (eg, "To improve accuracy, Please capture with a more vertical field of view."). The boundaries of the text box 1504 indicating the measurement and edge viewing angle may be colored with a warning color (orange) and flash to warn the user. Additionally, the edge viewing line 1570 lying on the edge viewing plane 1572 and perpendicular to the first measurement line 1551 (reference line) may also be shown in the point cloud diagram 1502 in a warning color (eg, orange). As shown in FIG. 22A, a point cloud diagram 1502 includes lines of sight 1561, 1562, 1563, 1564 and a representation of a reference plane 1520, which the user can use to improve the edge viewing angle for more accurate cursor placement. Assists in repositioning the probe tip of the video inspection equipment.

In the exemplary point-to-line measurements shown in FIGS. 22A and 22B, in addition to placing a first measurement cursor 1541 and a second measurement cursor 1542 on the edge 1512 of the turbine blade 1510, a third measurement A cursor 1543 is placed along the edge of the recess 1513 . Similarly, in Figures 17A and 17C, a third or fourth measurement-related cursor, offset from the first two measurement cursors, may also be placed on another edge of the object. In one embodiment, in addition to calculating the edge viewing plane 1572 based on the first two measurement cursors 1541, 1542 forming the first measurement line 1551 (reference line), the video inspection device 100 (eg, The CPU 150) can also determine whether the third measurement cursor 1543 is near an edge and whether the edge is parallel or perpendicular to the first measurement line 1551 (reference line). Depending on the three-dimensional coordinates (0, 0, 0) of the field of view origin 1560 and the three-dimensional coordinates associated with the third measurement cursor 1543 and the direction of the detected edge, the video inspection device 100 (eg, CPU 150) A point view plane can be calculated based on additional points offset from the third measurement cursor 1543 in a direction parallel or perpendicular to the first measurement line 1551 (reference line). In one embodiment, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150 ) then calculates the point viewing angle between the point viewing plane and reference plane 1520 . Ideally, this is 90 degrees (vertical) for the best viewing angle for cursor placement on the edge. In another embodiment, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) calculates the point view plane and three-dimensional coordinates associated with third measurement cursor 1543 and an additional point offset from third measurement cursor 1543. Calculate the point-of-view angle between a plane perpendicular to the reference plane 1520, including. Ideally, this is 0 degrees (parallel) for the best viewing angle for cursor placement on the edge.

Next, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) calculates a selected viewing angle between the edge viewing angle and the point viewing angle, and then determines whether the selected viewing angle should issue a warning. used to For example, (i) none of the measurement cursors 1541, 1542, 1543 are near an edge, or (ii) at least one of the first measurement cursor 1541 or the second measurement cursor 1542 is near an edge and the second If the 3 measurement cursors 1543 are near the edge, the selected viewing angle is the larger of the edge viewing angle and the point viewing angle. If at least one of the first measurement cursor 1541 or the second measurement cursor 1542 is near the edge but there is no third measurement cursor 1543, the selected viewing angle is the edge viewing angle. If neither the first measurement cursor 1541 nor the second measurement cursor 1542 is near the edge, but the third measurement cursor 1543 is near the edge, the selected viewing angle is the point viewing angle. If the selected viewing angle (θ or φ) is outside the acceptable angular range or exceeds (or falls below) a threshold, video inspection equipment 100 displays a warning message 1503 (e.g., "Improve accuracy") to the user. Please capture with a field of view more perpendicular to the cursor near the edge, so that the The boundaries of the text box 1504 indicating the measurement and edge viewing angle may be colored with a warning color (orange) and flash to warn the user.

In view of the above, embodiments of the present invention warn the user when the viewing angle may result in incorrect cursor placement. The technical effect is to provide more accurate measurements with cursor placement.

In some situations, users may wish to perform measurements on or near turbines that may have blades with curved edge profiles. For example, if the damage occurs along an edge, the user may need to measure how far the damage extends from the edge. Additionally, the user may use a grinding tool to remove material from the edges around the damage. In such cases, the user may need to measure both the damage from the original curved edge and the depth of grind to ensure that a profile is achieved that does not create stress concentrations that can cause failure. A point-to-line measurement that does not account for blade edge curvature may not provide the desired information.

Advantages that may be realized using the techniques presented herein include the use of reference profiles, go beyond point-to-line measurements, and may be able to account for the curvature of objects such as turbine blade edges. In one embodiment, a three-dimensional reference profile is formed using points along the edge of the undamaged blade and then invoked when measuring with images of the damaged or repaired blade. This allows measurements from the curved original surface. In such a case, a reference plane is used to match the reference profile to the plane of the blade in three-dimensional space, both in forming and invoking the reference profile.

When a profile is invoked for use on a damaged or smoothed (ground) blade, the reference profile is aligned with the remaining unaltered edge of the blade in three-dimensional space. obtain. There are several ways this can be done. One example uses the 3D coordinates associated with the reference surface cursor to establish an alternate coordinate system for the original image from which the reference profile is formed and the second image from which it is called, and then this The alternative coordinate system is used to form a profile in three-dimensional space, which is then reconstructed. Therefore, by placing the reference plane cursor at the same position on the blade in both images, the invoked reference profile will be the blade in the first image from which the reference profile was formed, regardless of changes in viewing position or viewing angle. is placed in the same position and orientation in 3D space as

Alternatively, the reference profile to be called may be placed directly on the 3D view. The location of the called reference profile can also be indicated in the two-dimensional image by identifying the two-dimensional pixel whose pixel ray passes within the maximum distance of the called reference profile in three-dimensional space. . In another embodiment, the three-dimensional coordinates forming the reference profile may be calculated using a CAD model or physical example of the blade, which are then imported and aligned to the blade. can be placed. In another embodiment, the system can store multiple reference profiles and the user can recall one or more for use. In another embodiment, the system may use the called reference profile to calculate the geometric dimensions. For example, the shortest distance between the called reference profile and the user-specified 3D surface coordinates or projected 3D reference plane coordinates may be calculated.

FIG. 18 shows a side-by-side 2D/3D view of the reference profile formed by the measurement plane (3 connected cursors) and the other 7 cursors. The reference profile uses a 3D cubic spline fit to better follow the curved edge profile with only a few cursors as shown in the point cloud. In this case, the reference profile is formed using 3D surface coordinates, but could also be formed using projected 3D measurement surface coordinates. The 3D surface coordinates of the cursor position can be saved to represent the reference profile.

Using video inspection equipment to identify specific surface points or between surfaces, including measurements from blade tip to shroud gap, hole or recess depth, pipe inside diameter, weld height, vane lock, gap width, etc. Various measurements can be performed to calculate the depth or height of the . For example, FIGS. 23A-25 show various two-dimensional and three-dimensional (point cloud) diagrams that can be used to measure the depth of a pit or depression. One of the challenges of making such depth measurements can be accurately placing the measurement cursor at a point, such as the deepest point of a hole or depression. A semi-transparent depth plane graphic overlay 1650 (e.g., light blue) is provided to assist the user in positioning the measurement cursor 1634 at the deepest point, as described below and shown in Figures 23A-25. are less than a predetermined distance from depth plane 1652 that is parallel to reference plane (e.g., plane) 1620 and passes through measurement point 1624 corresponding to the position of measurement cursor 1634. may be placed on the pixel associated with the surface point having the

FIG. 23A shows a two-dimensional image 1602 of a viewing object 1604 with a hole or depression 1605 and a graphical overlay 1650 of the depth plane (e.g., bright blue) with the measurement cursor 1634 positioned far from the deepest point. A side-by-side image 1601 displaying a 3D point cloud view 1603 of a depression 1605. FIG. FIG. 23B is an enlarged view of a two-dimensional image 1602 of a viewing object 1604 with a hole or depression 1605 shown in FIG. 23A showing a depth plane graphic overlay 1650 .

In one embodiment, a total of three reference surface cursors 1631, 1632, 1633 (or other pointing devices) are placed on a two-dimensional image 1602 or point cloud 1603 to form a reference surface 1620, as shown in FIG. 23A. placed above. As described with respect to FIGS. 19A and 19B, a reference plane overlay 1640 (eg, green) is drawn from the three-dimensional reference plane 1620 to help the user determine the correspondence between the reference plane 1620 and the target surface 1604. can be located on pixels in the two-dimensional image 1602 or point cloud 1603 that have associated surface points with three-dimensional surface coordinates that are less than the distance of .

The depth measurements shown in FIGS. 23A and 23B require the measurement cursor 1634 to be placed at the deepest point of the hole or depression 1605 in order to accurately measure the depth 1670 of the anomaly. To assist the user in accurately positioning the measurement cursor 1634, the video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) places a measurement parallel to a reference plane (eg, plane) 1620 and corresponding to the position of the measurement cursor 1634. A depth plane 1652 passing through the surface point 1624 can be calculated. The video inspection device 100 then uses the two-dimensional surface coordinates associated with the surface points that have three-dimensional surface coordinates that are less than a predetermined distance from the depth plane 1652 to help the user locate the measurement cursor 1634 at the deepest point. A semi-transparent depth-plane graphic overlay 1650 (eg, light blue) may be placed over the pixels in image 1602 and point cloud 1603 .

To determine whether to place depth plane graphic overlay 1650 over a pixel in the two-dimensional image, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) determines if the pixel is closer than a predetermined distance from depth plane 1652. is associated with a surface point having a 3D coordinate that is also smaller (or within a predetermined distance from depth plane 1652). In some embodiments, the distance between surface points and depth plane 1652 may be calculated as a vertical distance, while in other embodiments the distance may be a non-vertical distance. In one embodiment, the surface points of interest near the depth plane 1652 are separated by a fixed vertical distance (eg, ±0.1 mm), a variable vertical distance, or a z-value distance, etc., to allow for easy calculation. It may be defined by a simple metric. In one embodiment, depth plane graphic overlay 1650 includes any surface point that has a vertical distance from depth plane 1652 that is less than 0.2% of the z value of surface point 1624 . In another embodiment, depth plane graphic overlay 1650 includes any surface point that has a vertical distance from depth plane 1652 that is less than 1% of measured depth 1670 .

In one embodiment, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) may perform a coordinate transformation such that the transformed z-value for all points on depth plane 1652 is z=0. Next, for a given surface point, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) may compare the surface point's actual (untransformed) z-value with the transformed z-value. If the absolute value of the transformed z-value (which provides the perpendicular distance from the reference plane) is less than 0.2% of the actual z-value, the pixel associated with that surface point may be included in the graphic overlay.

In another embodiment that does not require coordinate transformation, for each pixel, video inspection equipment 100 (e.g., CPU 150) computes the perpendicular projection onto depth plane 1652 and finds the distance from the surface point to depth plane 1652. It can be calculated vertically. If this vertical distance is less than 0.2% of the actual z-value, the pixel associated with that surface point may be included in the graphic overlay.

In another embodiment that does not require vertical distance, for each pixel, video inspection equipment 100 (e.g., CPU 150) calculates the actual z-coordinate of the surface point and the corresponding projection on depth plane 1652 from this surface point. One can calculate the z-coordinate of the projection point, in which case such projections are not necessarily in the vertical direction. If the difference between the z-value on the depth plane 1652 and the z-value of the corresponding surface point is less than 0.2% of either z-value, the pixel associated with that surface point may be included in the graphic overlay. .

As shown in FIGS. 23A-25, if the resulting depth measurement is negative, indicating that the measurement point 1624 is below the reference plane 1620, use the depth color gradient overlay 1660 to with a first color 1662 (eg, red) indicating the deepest point (farthest from the reference plane 1620) and a second color 1661 (eg, dark blue) indicating the shallowest point (closest to the depth plane 1652); Highlight areas deeper than the measurement cursor 1634 and the associated measurement point 1624 . In one embodiment, the color of the depth plane graphic overlay 1650 should be differentiated from the gradient colors of nearby depths (e.g., a lighter blue overlay is used for the shallowest point gradient, while a darker blue overlay is used for the shallowest gradient). distinguish it from an overlay). In one embodiment, the depth color gradient overlay 1660 highlights surface points below the depth plane 1652 to the deepest point of the anomaly. The color overlay may be changed, pre-programmed and/or selected by the user or by other means.

The video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) is connected to the measurement points 1624 to avoid including undesirable or irrelevant surface points in the depth plane graphic overlay 1650, eg, the reference plane 1620 and the depth plane. A flooding operation can be performed to search for surface points to be included in the scaling of depth color gradient overlay 1660 that are deeper than planes intermediate between plane 1652 . In this way, the unconnected negative areas are not part of the scaling of the depth color gradient overlay 1660, but instead of including the depth color gradient overlay 1660 excessively, such as distant points on other surfaces. Keep it scaled to the region of interest. In one embodiment, the flooding operation starts with the pixel associated with the measurement surface cursor 1634 and/or the measurement point 1624 and determines which pixels are connected to that pixel. If these pixels are associated with surface points deeper than the plane halfway between the reference plane 1620 and the depth plane 1652, they are included as connection points for the flooding operation. Pixels connected to those pixels are then similarly evaluated. Once the flooding operation is complete, the depth color gradient overlay 1660 may be scaled based on the deepest points identified by the flooding operation.

In one example, the depth plane graphic overlay 1650 may be updated in real time as the measurement cursor 1634 is moved by the user. In other examples, for measurement types such as, for example, depth profile and regional depth profile measurements, the depth plane graphic overlay 1650 may be shown when the measurement cursor 1634 is active and the measurement result is Can be turned off when active. In one embodiment, when the last measurement cursor 1634 is positioned and the measurement result is displayed and activated, the depth plane graphic overlay 1650 is briefly displayed and hidden until the cursor is activated. A graphical overlay 1650 of the depth plane being measured and a real-time display of the depth color gradient overlay 1660 allow the user to more accurately position the measurement cursor 1634 over the desired surface point (e.g., the deepest point of the hole or depression 1605). can do.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 23A and 23B, when the measurement cursor 1634 is positioned far from the deepest point of the hole or depression 1605, the depth plane graphic overlay 1650 and the depth color gradient overlay 1660 are aligned with the measurement cursor. Several points deeper than measuring point 1624, indicating that 1634 should be moved toward the deepest point (eg, indicated by first color 1662 (eg, red) of depth color gradient overlay 1660). Indicates that there is a surface point. This is also shown in the point cloud diagram 1603 of FIG. 23A, where the depth 1670 of the measurement cursor 1634 and the associated measurement point 1624 are located far from the deepest point 1662 of the hole or depression 1605.

A relatively large area of depth color gradient overlay 1660 in FIGS. 23A and 23B indicates to the user that there are some surface points deeper than measurement point 1624 associated with measurement cursor 1634, for example. As shown in FIGS. 24A and 24B, as the measurement cursor 1634 moves toward a deeper point (indicated by the first color 1662 (eg, red) on the depth color gradient overlay 1660), the depth color gradient The area of overlay 1660 decreases, indicating that measurement cursor 1634 is nearing its deepest point. In particular, the depth color gradient overlay 1660 of FIGS. 24A and 24B shows fewer surface points in the depth color gradient overlay 1660 to indicate to the user that there are fewer surface points deeper than the measured points 1624. FIG. Guided by depth plane graphic overlay 1650 and depth color gradient overlay 1660, in FIG. 1624) is precisely located at the deepest point of the hole or recess 1605, as evidenced by the lack of a visible depth color gradient overlay 1660. The depth 1670 of the measurement points 1624 associated with the measurement cursor 1634 from the reference plane 1620 is shown in the point cloud diagram 1603 of FIG.

26 and 27 are graphic overlays 1750 of depth planes and depth color gradient overlays on 2D and 3D (point cloud) views 1702 and 1703 used to measure the depth of a hole or depression 1705. Here is another example of the use of 1760. As shown in FIG. 26, when the measurement cursor 1734 is positioned far from the deepest point of the hole or depression 1705, the depth plane graphic overlay 1750 and the depth color gradient overlay 1760 (transition from shallow point 1761 to deepest point 1762). ) indicates that the measurement cursor 1734 should be moved toward the deepest point (eg, indicated by the first color 1762 (eg, red) of the depth color gradient overlay 1760), the measurement point 1724 indicates that there are some surface points deeper than This is also illustrated in point cloud diagram 1703 of FIG. 26, where depth 1770 of measurement cursor 1734 and associated measurement point 1724 are located far from deepest point 1762 of hole or depression 1705 .

The relatively large area of depth color gradient overlay 1760 in FIG. 26 indicates that there are some surface points deeper than measurement point 1724 associated with measurement cursor 1734. Guided by depth plane graphic overlay 1750 and depth color gradient overlay 1760, FIG. 1724) is precisely located at the deepest point of the hole or recess 1705, as evidenced by the lack of a visible depth color gradient overlay 1760. The depth 1770 of the measurement points 1724 associated with the measurement cursor 1734 from the reference plane 1720 is shown in the point cloud diagram 1703 of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 26 and 27, the inspected hole or depression 1705 has a relatively flat bottom at its deepest point down to the depth plane graphic overlay 1750, with some at or near the maximum depth. shows that there is a surface point of

FIG. 28 is a side-by-side image 1801 displaying a two-dimensional image 1802 of the area between the tip of the turbine blade 1805 and the shroud 1806 and its three-dimensional point cloud 1803 showing a graphical overlay of the depth plane. This depth measurement (or height measurement) can provide a tip-to-shroud distance or clearance 1870 for inspection of the turbine. As in the examples of FIGS. 23A to 25, the reference plane 1820 is calculated based on the three reference plane cursors shown in FIG. The tip-to-shroud measurement shown in FIG. 29 requires the measurement cursor 1834 to be placed at the edge or tip of the turbine blade 1805 in order to accurately measure the depth (tip-to-blade clearance 1870). In the example shown in FIG. 29, the measurement cursor 1834 is positioned over the turbine blade 1805 and a graphical overlay of the depth plane is provided to assist the user in positioning the measurement cursor 1834 over the edge or tip of the turbine blade 1805. A three-dimensional surface coordinate 1850 (eg, light blue) that is parallel to a reference plane (eg, plane) 1820 and less than a predetermined distance from a depth plane 1852 that passes through a measurement point 1824 corresponding to the position of the measurement cursor 1834. may be located on the pixel associated with the surface point with . The depth plane graphic overlay 1850 of FIG. can be confident that it is located at the point representing In this embodiment, there is no color gradient because the depth measurement (tip clearance 1870) is positive.

Using video inspection equipment, various measurements can be performed to calculate the length between surface points or surfaces, including measuring the width of a weld or slot. For example, FIGS. 29A-29B show various two-dimensional and three-dimensional (point cloud) views used to measure slot width. In some instances, there can be a challenge in making slot length measurements, as the straight line formed between the points is perpendicular to each of the walls (e.g. , not oblique), it can be difficult to visually calculate the points on either side of the slot and place the cursor. To assist the user or other positioning means to position the measurement cursors 1931, 1932 on the walls 1905, 1906 of the slot 1904, as described below and as shown in FIGS. 1950 (e.g., light blue) and a second semi-transparent edge plane graphic overlay 1960 for the measurement points corresponding to the positions of the measurement cursors 1931, 1932, respectively. 1921, 1922 on pixels associated with surface points having 3D surface coordinates less than a predetermined distance from the first edge plane 1952 and the second edge plane 1962 perpendicular to the 3D line 1970 between 1921 and 1922. obtain.

FIG. 29A is a two-dimensional image 1902 of a slot 1904 having a first wall 1905 and a second wall 1906 with measurement cursors 1931, 1932 placed on the first wall 1905 and the second wall 1906 obliquely to each other. and a side-by-side image 1901 displaying a three-dimensional point cloud view 1903 of a slot 1904 showing a first translucent edge-plane graphic overlay 1950 (e.g., light blue) and a second translucent edge-plane graphic overlay 1960. be.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 29A, a first measurement cursor 1931 is placed on a two-dimensional image 1902 or point cloud diagram 1903 on a first measurement point 1921 on the first wall 1905 of the slot 1904. be done. Similarly, a second measurement cursor 1932 is placed on the two-dimensional image 1902 or point cloud 1903 on the second measurement point 1922 on the second wall 1906 of the slot 1904 . For the length measurement shown in FIG. 29A, measurement cursors 1931, 1932 can be positioned opposite each other to accurately measure the width of slot 1904. FIG. In some instances, the measurement cursors 1931 should be placed directly opposite each other. To assist the user in accurately placing the measurement cursors 1931,1932, the video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) can calculate a three-dimensional straight line 1970 between the measurement points 1921,1922. Next, the video inspection device 100 (for example, the CPU 150) performs a first measurement that is perpendicular (normal) to the three-dimensional straight line 1970 and that passes through the first measurement point 1921 corresponding to the position of the first measurement cursor 1931. An edge plane 1952 can be calculated. Subsequently, the video inspection equipment 100 moves the first edge plane 1952 from the first edge plane 1952 to less than a predetermined distance 3 to assist the user in placing the first measurement cursor 1931 on the first wall 1905 of the slot 1904 . A first translucent edge plane graphic overlay 1950 (eg, light blue) may be placed over the pixels in the two-dimensional image 1902 and point cloud 1903 associated with surface points having dimensional surface coordinates. The video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) also generates a second measurement cursor perpendicular (normal) to the three-dimensional straight line 1970 (and/or parallel to the first edge plane 1952) and corresponding to the position of the second measurement cursor 1932. A second edge plane 1962 passing through the two measurement points 1922 can be calculated. Subsequently, the video inspection device 100 allows the user to place the second measurement cursor 1932 onto the second wall 1906 of the slot 1904 and vice versa, for example a direct reflection of the first measurement cursor 1931 .

To determine whether to place an edge plane graphic overlay 1950, 1960 over a pixel in the two-dimensional image, the video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) determines whether the pixel is a predetermined distance from the edge plane 1952, 1962. It may be determined whether it is associated with a surface point having a 3D coordinate that is less than the distance (or within a predetermined distance from the edge plane 1952, 1962). In some embodiments the distance between the surface points and the edge planes 1952, 1962 may be calculated as a vertical distance, while in other embodiments the distance may be a non-vertical distance. In one embodiment, the edge plane graphic overlay 1950, 1960 includes any surface point that has a vertical distance from the edge plane 1952, 1962 less than 0.2% of the x value of the measurement point 1921, 1922. In another embodiment, the edge plane graphic overlay 1950, 1960 includes any surface point that has a vertical distance of less than 1% of the measured length 1970 from the edge plane 1952, 1962. FIG.

In one example, the edge plane graphic overlays 1950, 1960 may be updated in real time as the measurement cursors 1931, 1932 are moved by the user. In another example, the edge plane graphic overlays 1950, 1960 may be shown when the measurement cursors 1931, 1932 are active, and may be turned off when measurement results are active. In one embodiment, when a second measurement cursor 1932 is positioned and the measurement results are displayed and activated, the edge plane graphic overlays 1950, 1960 are briefly displayed and hidden until the cursor is activated. The real-time display of the edge plane graphic overlay 1950, 1960 being measured allows the user to determine the desired surface points (eg, the three-dimensional straight line 1970 formed between the measurement points 1921, 1922 perpendicular to the walls 1905, 1906, respectively). Measurement cursors 1931 , 1932 can be placed more accurately on the points on each side of the slot 1904 (eg, not oblique) and can provide the exact width of the slot 1904 .

For example, as shown in FIG. 29A, if the three-dimensional straight line 1970 between the measurement cursors 1931, 1932 (and measurement points 1921, 1922) is not perpendicular (eg, oblique) to the walls 1905, 1906 of the slot 1904. , edge plane graphic overlays 1950, 1960 and edge planes 1952, 1962 are not aligned with the walls 1905, 1906 to indicate to the user that one or both of the measurement cursors 1931, 1932 may need to be repositioned. . Otherwise, the measured length of the three-dimensional straight line 1970 that is oblique to the walls 1905, 1906 of the slot 1904 may provide an inaccurate measurement of the width of the slot 1904 (ie, too wide).

As shown in FIG. 29B, the three-dimensional straight line 1970 between the cursors 1931, 1932 (and of the measurement points 1921, 1922) is perpendicular (eg, not diagonal) to the walls 1905, 1906 of the slot 1904. When the two measurement cursors 1932 are moved, the edge plane graphic overlays 1950, 1960 and edge planes 1952, 1962 are aligned with the walls 1905, 1906 to show that the measured width of the slot 1904 is accurate.

Video inspection equipment is used to perform a variety of measurements to calculate the distance from a point to a line, including measuring edge damage on turbine blades and measuring width/length of gaps, grooves, or welds can do. For example, FIGS. 30A-30B show various two-dimensional and three-dimensional (point cloud) views used to measure damage to the edges of turbine blades. In some instances, a challenge that arises in making point-to-line measurements on the edge of a turbine blade is to find a point on the actual edge of the turbine blade to provide an accurate measurement of the damaged area. It can be difficult to visually determine and place the cursor there. As described below and as shown in FIGS. 30A-30B, a first semi-transparent edge-plane graphic overlay 2050 (eg, light blue) and a second semi-transparent edge-plane graphic overlay 2060 are printed. Such visual indications may be placed on pixels associated with surface points having three-dimensional surface coordinates less than a predetermined distance from first edge plane 2052 and second edge plane 2062, respectively. The edge planes 2052, 2062 are aligned with the first measurement cursor 2034 and the second measurement cursor 2035 to help the user position the measurement cursors 2034, 2035 on the edge 2005 of the turbine blade 2004 and the edge of the missing portion 2006. are perpendicular to the three-dimensional length straight line 2070 between the third measurement cursor 2036 and the three-dimensional reference line 2071 between the projected reference plane points 2024, 2025 corresponding to the positions of the measurement cursors 2034, 2035, 2036 , 2026 can be passed.

FIG. 30A shows a two-dimensional image 2002 of an edge 2005 of a turbine blade 2004 with a missing portion 2006 and graphic overlays 2050, 2060 of the edge plane, where measurement cursors 2034, 2035 are not placed on the edge 2005 of the turbine blade 2004. A side-by-side image 2001 displaying a three-dimensional point cloud view 2003 of the edge 2005 of the blade 2004. FIG.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 30A, video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) uses the three-dimensional reference plane formed by reference plane cursors 2031, 2032, 2033 as described above with respect to FIGS. 15A and 17. 2020 (eg, the measurement plane) can be calculated. For example, as shown in FIG. 30A, a total of three measurement cursors 2034, 2035, 2036 can then be placed over measurement cursor pixels 2044, 2045, 2046 of image 2001 to perform point-to-line measurements. The 3D trajectory associated with each 2D measurement cursor pixel 2044, 2045, 2046 of the image 2001 is projected onto the reference plane 2020 at the projected reference plane points 2024, 2025, 2026 associated with the measurement cursor pixels 2044, 2045, 2046. , where the trajectory line from each measurement cursor pixel 2044, 2045, 2046 of the image 2001 is located (which can be, for example, a fractional pixel position where interpolation is used) and the reference plane Known and used to calculate where 2020 intersects.

To perform point-to-line measurements, the video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) can calculate a reference line 2071 between the projected reference plane points 2024,2025 corresponding to the measurement cursors 2034,2035. The video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) can then calculate a three-dimensional length straight line 2070 between the projection reference plane point 2026 corresponding to the third measurement cursor 2036 and the reference line 2071. The video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) is perpendicular (normal) to the three-dimensional length straight line 2070 and passes through first and second projection reference plane points 2024, 2025 corresponding to the measurement cursors 2034, 2035. A first edge plane 2052 can be calculated. Subsequently, the video inspection instrument 100 will display a second projection to help the user position the measurement cursors 2034, 2035 so that the corresponding projected reference plane points 2024, 2025 correspond to the actual edge 2005 of the turbine blade 2004. Graphical overlay 2050 of the first translucent edge plane over pixels in the two-dimensional image 2002 and point cloud diagram 2003 associated with surface points having three-dimensional surface coordinates less than a predetermined distance from one edge plane 2052 (eg bright blue).

The video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) also has a first line perpendicular (normal) to the three-dimensional length line 2070 (and/or parallel to the first edge plane 2052) and positioned at the edge of the defect 2006. A second edge plane 2062 can be calculated that passes through a third projected reference plane point 2026 corresponding to the position of the three measurement cursors 2036 . Video inspection equipment 100 then places a second image on pixels in two-dimensional image 2002 and point cloud 2003 associated with surface points having three-dimensional surface coordinates that are less than a predetermined distance from second edge plane 2062 . A translucent border plane graphic overlay 2060 (eg, bright blue) may be placed.

To determine whether to place the edge plane graphic overlay 2050, 2060 over a pixel in the two-dimensional image, the video inspection equipment 100 (eg, CPU 150) determines whether the pixel is a predetermined distance from the edge plane 2052, 2062. Determine if it is associated with a surface point having a 3D coordinate that is less than the distance (or within a given distance from the edge plane 2052, 2062). In some embodiments the distance between the surface points and the edge planes 2052, 2062 may be calculated as a vertical distance, while in other embodiments the distance may be a non-vertical distance. In one embodiment, the edge plane graphic overlay 2050, 2060 includes any surface point that has a vertical distance from the edge plane 2052, 2062 that is less than 0.2% of the x-value of the surface point 2021, 2022. In another embodiment, the edge plane graphic overlays 2050, 2060 include any surface point that has a vertical distance of less than 1% of the three-dimensional length line 2070 from the edge planes 2052, 2062. FIG.

In one example, the edge plane graphic overlays 2050, 2060 may be updated in real-time as the measurement cursors 2034, 2035, 2036 are moved, eg, by a user. In another example, the edge plane graphic overlays 2050, 2060 may be shown when the measurement cursors 2034, 2035, 2036 are active, and may be turned off when measurement results are active. In one embodiment, when the third measurement cursor 2036 is positioned and the measurement result is displayed and activated, the edge plane graphic overlays 2050, 2060 are briefly displayed and hidden until the cursor is activated. The real time display of the edge plane graphic overlays 2050, 2060 being measured allows the user to more accurately place the measurement cursors 2034, 2035 on the actual edge 2005 of the turbine blade 2004 and on the edge of the missing portion 2006. .

For example, as shown in FIG. 29A, if the measurement cursors 2034, 2035 are not positioned on the actual edge 2005 of the turbine blade 2004, the first edge plane graphic overlay 2050 and the first edge plane 2052 will be the turbine Not aligned with the edge 2005 of the blade 2004, indicating that one or both of the measurement cursors 2034, 2035 need to be repositioned. Otherwise, the measured length of the three-dimensional length line 2070 provides an inaccurate measurement of the length of the missing portion 2006.

As shown in FIG. 30B, when the measurement cursors 2034, 2035 are placed on the actual edge 2005 of the turbine blade 2004, the first edge plane graphic overlay 2050 and the first edge plane 2052 of the turbine blade 2004 Aligned with the actual edge 2005, it indicates to the user that the measured length of the missing portion 2006 is correct.

FIG. 31 shows an exemplary flowchart of a method 2100 for measuring features in an exemplary embodiment. At step 2101, an image to be viewed can be displayed on a monitor. At step 2102, the central processing unit can compute the three-dimensional coordinates of a plurality of points on the surface of the viewing object. At step 2103, the pointing device may be used to place one or more measurement cursors on the image. At step 2104, the central processing unit may calculate measurement points corresponding to the positions of the at least one measurement cursor. At step 2105, the central processing unit can compute the edge plane, which passes through the measurement points. At step 2106, the central processing unit may compute the distances between the points on the surface of the viewing object and the edge plane. At step 2107, the central processing unit may compare the distances between the points on the surface of the viewing object and the edge plane with a predetermined distance threshold. At step 2108, a graphic overlay of the edge plane is displayed over pixels in the image associated with points on the surface of the viewing object that have a distance to the depth plane below a predetermined distance threshold.

In view of the above, embodiments of the present invention make it possible to determine whether the measurement cursors are correctly positioned when making measurements. A technical effect is, for example, to provide a more accurate measurement of anomalies on a subject. For example, if the dimension of the anomaly exceeds a tolerance specification or other threshold, the inspector can take preventative action (ie, shut down the machine or equipment) until repairs are made.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, aspects of the invention may be embodied as a system, method, or computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.), or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. can take Note that all of these may be generically referred to herein as "services," "circuits," "electrical circuits," "modules," and/or "systems." Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer-readable media having computer-readable program code embodied therein. .

Any combination of one or more computer readable media may be utilized. A computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, device, or instrument, or any suitable combination thereof. but not limited to these. More specific examples (non-exhaustive list) of computer readable storage media are: electrical connections with one or more wires, portable computer diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage device, magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof including. In the context of this document, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium capable of containing or storing a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, device, or apparatus.

Program code and/or executable instructions embodied in a computer readable medium may be any suitable medium including, but not limited to, wireless, wired, fiber optic cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination thereof. may be sent using

Computer program code for carrying out operations of aspects of the present invention may be written in conventional procedural programming languages, such as object-oriented programming languages, such as Java®, Smalltalk, or C++, and the "C" programming language, or similar programming languages. It may also be written in a combination of one or more programming languages, including language. Program code may be written entirely on your computer (equipment), partly on your computer as a separate software package, partly on your computer, partly on a remote computer, or entirely remote. It may run on a computer or server. In the last case, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer via any kind of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), and this connection may over the Internet using a provider) to an external computer.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be supplied to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce the machine, thereby rendering the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus These instructions executed by provide the means for performing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions, which may direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other equipment, to function in a particular manner may also be stored on the computer readable medium, thereby rendering flowcharts and/or Or, instructions stored on a computer-readable medium, including instructions for performing the functions/acts specified in the block or blocks of the block diagrams, manufacture the article of manufacture.

Computer program instructions may also be used to provide a process for instructions executed on a computer or other programmable device to perform the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. may be loaded into a computer, other programmable data processing device, or other equipment to cause the computer, other programmable device, or other equipment to perform a series of operational steps to produce a computer-implemented process. .

When a claim uses the phrase "at least one" with reference to multiple elements, this is intended to mean at least one or more of the listed elements, and is not limited to at least one of each element. For example, "at least one of element A, element B, and element C" is intended to indicate element A alone, element B alone, or element C alone, or any combination thereof. "At least one of element A, element B, and element C" is not intended to be limited to at least one of element A, at least one of element B, and at least one of element C.

This written description is intended to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any device or system and performing any associated method. I am using an example. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other embodiments, if they have structural elements that do not differ from the language of the claims, or if they contain equivalent structural elements that do not substantially differ from the language of the claims, are patentable. within the scope of the claims.

[Embodiment 1]

A method for measuring features, comprising the steps of displaying an image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) of a viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) on a monitor (170, 172). and three-dimensional coordinates of a plurality of points on the surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of the viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) using the central processing unit (150) and one or more measurement cursors (931, 932, 1434, 1435, 1436, 1541, 1542, 1436, 1541, 1542, 1436, 1541, 1542, 1436, 1541, 1542, 1436, 1541, 1542, 1542, 1542, 1435, 1436, 1542, 1436, 1542, 1435, 1436, 1542, 1435, 1436, 1542, 1542, 1542, 1542, 1542, 1542, 1542, 1432, 1432, 1434, 1435, 1436, 1541, 1542) 1543, 1634, 1931, 1932, 2034, 2035, 2036) and at least one measurement cursor (931, 932, 1434, 1435, 1436, 1541, 1542) using said central processing unit (150); , 1543, 1634, 1931, 1932, 2034, 2035, 2036); calculating edge planes (1952, 1962, 2052, 2062), said edge planes (1952, 1962, 2052, 2062) passing through said measurement points (921, 922, 1624, 1921, 1922) and using a central processing unit (150) to determine the plurality of points on the surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of the viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) and the calculating distances between edge planes (1952, 1962, 2052, 2062); comparing said distance between said plurality of points on (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) and said edge plane (1952, 1962, 2052, 2062) with a predetermined distance threshold;and surfaces (210, 510, 911, 911, 510, 911, displaying graphic overlays (1950, 1960, 2050, 2060) of edge planes on pixels in said image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) associated with said plurality of points on 1210, 1250); and a method.

[Embodiment 2]

A method for measuring features, comprising the steps of displaying an image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) of a viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) on a monitor (170, 172). and three-dimensional coordinates of a plurality of points on the surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of the viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) using the central processing unit (150) calculating a first measurement cursor (931, 1434, 1541, 1931, 2034) and a second measurement cursor on said image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) using a pointing device (180); Positioning cursors (932, 1435, 1542, 1932, 2035) and corresponding positions of said first measurement cursors (931, 1434, 1541, 1931, 2034) using said central processing unit (150) and corresponding to the positions of said second measurement cursors (932, 1435, 1542, 1932, 2035) using said central processing unit (150) a step of calculating second measurement points (922, 1922); and calculating a first edge plane (1952, 2052) using said central processing unit (150), wherein said first edge plane (1952, 2052) is perpendicular to said three-dimensional straight line (1970, 2070) and passes through said first measurement point (921, 1921), using a central processing unit (150) between said plurality of points on the surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of said viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) and said first edge plane (1952, 2052) and calculating the distance of said viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) comparing said distance between said plurality of points on the surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) and said first edge plane (1952, 2052) with a predetermined distance threshold and a surface (210, 510, 911 displaying a graphic overlay (1950, 2050) of a first edge plane over pixels in said image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) associated with said plurality of points on said plurality of points (1950, 1250); and a method.

[Embodiment 3]

calculating a second edge plane (1962, 2062) using said central processing unit (150), wherein said second edge plane (1962, 2062) corresponds to said three-dimensional straight line (1970, 2070); ) and passing through said second measurement point (922, 1922) and using a central processing unit (150) to determine the surface of said viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) calculating distances between said plurality of points on (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) and said second edge plane (1962, 2062); between said plurality of points on the surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of said viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) and said second edge plane (1962, 2062) with a predetermined distance threshold; and the viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) graphics of a second edge plane on pixels in said image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) associated with said plurality of points on surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of and displaying an overlay (1960, 2060).

[Embodiment 4]

3. A method according to embodiment 2, wherein said image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) of said viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) is a two-dimensional image.

[Embodiment 5]

The image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) of the viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) is the surface ( 210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) is a three-dimensional view of said plurality of points.

[Embodiment 6]

The first measurement points (921, 1921) correspond to the positions of the first measurement cursors (931, 1434, 1541, 1931, 2034) of the viewing objects (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242). ) is a point on said surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250).

[Embodiment 7]

between said plurality of points on the surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of said viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) and said first edge plane (1952, 2052) 3. The method of embodiment 2, wherein said distance is a vertical distance.

[Embodiment 8]

A method for measuring features, comprising the steps of displaying an image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) of a viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) on a monitor (170, 172). and three-dimensional coordinates of a plurality of points on the surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of the viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) using the central processing unit (150) calculating a first measurement cursor (931, 1434, 1541, 1931, 2034), a second measurement cursor on said image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) using a pointing device (180); positioning cursors (932, 1435, 1542, 1932, 2035) and third measurement cursors (1436, 1543, 2036); 931, 1434, 1541, 1931, 2034); , 1435, 1542, 1932, 2035); calculating said third measurement cursor (1436, 1543, 2036); calculating a three-dimensional reference straight line (2071) between measurement points (922, 1922); (2071) to calculate a three-dimensional length straight line (1970, 2070); and using said central processing unit (150) to calculate a first edge plane (1952, 2052). and said first edge plane (1952, 2052) is perpendicular to said three-dimensional straight line (1970, 2070).and passing through said first measurement point (921, 1921) and said second measurement point (922, 1922); calculating distances between a plurality of points on the surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of the surface (910, 1202, 1242) and said first edge plane (1952, 2052); The plurality of points on the surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of the viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) and the first edge plane ( 1952, 2052) with a predetermined distance threshold; and said viewing object (202) having a distance to said first edge plane (1952, 2052) below said predetermined distance threshold. a first edge plane graphic overlay (1950, 2050).displaying a graphic overlay (1950, 2050) of a first edge plane over pixels in said image associated with points.displaying a graphic overlay (1950, 2050) of a first edge plane over pixels in said image associated with points.

[Embodiment 9]

calculating a second edge plane (1962, 2062) using said central processing unit (150), wherein said second edge plane (1962, 2062) corresponds to said three-dimensional length line (1970); , 2070) and passing through said third measurement point (2026); calculating distances between said plurality of points on (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) and said second edge plane (1962, 2062); between said plurality of points on the surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of said viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) and said second edge plane (1962, 2062) with a predetermined distance threshold; and the viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) graphics of a second edge plane on pixels in said image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) associated with said plurality of points on surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of and displaying an overlay (1960, 2060).

[Embodiment 10]

9. A method according to embodiment 8, wherein said image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) of said viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) is a two-dimensional image.

[Embodiment 11]

The image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) of the viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) is the surface ( 210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) is a three-dimensional view of said plurality of points.

[Embodiment 12]

One or more fiducials from said plurality of points on said surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of said viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) using a pointing device (180) selecting surface points (221, 222, 223, 261, 262, 263, 264, 1021, 1022, 1023); , 1020, 1130, 1220, 1260, 1320, 1420, 1520, 1620, 1720, 1820, 2020), wherein the reference planes (250, 550, 750, 960, 1020, 1130, 1220, 1260 , 1320, 1420, 1520, 1620, 1720, 1820, 2020) based on said one or more of said reference plane points (221, 222, 223, 261, 262, 263, 264, 1021, 1022, 1023) wherein said first measurement point (921, 1921) is on said reference plane (250 , 550, 750, 960, 1020, 1130, 1220, 1260, 1320, 1420, 1520, 1620, 1720, 1820, 2020).

[Embodiment 13]

between said plurality of points on the surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of said viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) and said first edge plane (1952, 2052) 9. The method of embodiment 8, wherein said distance is a vertical distance.

[Embodiment 14]

A method for measuring features, comprising the steps of displaying an image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) of a viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) on a monitor (170, 172). and three-dimensional coordinates of a plurality of points on the surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of the viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) using the central processing unit (150) from a plurality of points on said surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of said viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) using a pointing device (180). selecting one or more reference plane points (221, 222, 223, 261, 262, 263, 264, 1021, 1022, 1023); , 750, 960, 1020, 1130, 1220, 1260, 1320, 1420, 1520, 1620, 1720, 1820, 2020), wherein the reference planes (250, 550, 750, 960, 1020, 1130 , 1220, 1260, 1320, 1420, 1520, 1620, 1720, 1820, 2020) are said one of said reference surface points (221, 222, 223, 261, 262, 263, 264, 1021, 1022, 1023) a measuring cursor (931, 932, 1434, 1435, 1436, 1541, 1436, 1541) on said image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) using said pointing device (180); 1542, 1543, 1931, 1932, 2034, 2035, 2036); , 1931, 1932, 2034, 2035, 2036), calculate the measurement points (921, 922, 1624, 1921, 1922)and calculating a depth plane (1652, 1752, 1852) using the central processing unit (150), wherein the depth plane (1652, 1752, 1852) is the reference plane ( 250, 550, 750, 960, 1020, 1130, 1220, 1260, 1320, 1420, 1520, 1620, 1720, 1820, 2020) and the measurement points (921, 922, 1624, 1921, 1922) passing through said plurality of points on a surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of said viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) using said central processing unit (150); and said depth plane (1652, 1752, 1852); comparing distances between said plurality of points on a surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) and said depth plane (1652, 1752, 1852) with a predetermined distance threshold; on the surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of the viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) with a distance to the depth plane (1652, 1752, 1852) below a threshold displaying a graphical overlay (1650, 1750, 1850) of a depth plane over pixels in said image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) associated with a plurality of points.and said plurality of points on a surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of said viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) using said central processing unit (150); calculating distances between said depth planes (1652, 1752, 1852); comparing distances between said plurality of points on (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) and said depth plane (1652, 1752, 1852) with a predetermined distance threshold; on the surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of the viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) with a distance to the depth plane (1652, 1752, 1852) below displaying a graphical overlay (1650, 1750, 1850) of a depth plane over pixels in said image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) associated with points of .and said plurality of points on a surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of said viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) using said central processing unit (150); calculating distances between said depth planes (1652, 1752, 1852); comparing distances between said plurality of points on (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) and said depth plane (1652, 1752, 1852) with a predetermined distance threshold; on the surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of the viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) with a distance to the depth plane (1652, 1752, 1852) below displaying a graphical overlay (1650, 1750, 1850) of a depth plane over pixels in said image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) associated with points of .and displaying a graphic overlay (1650, 1750, 1850).and displaying a graphic overlay (1650, 1750, 1850).

[Embodiment 15]

Associate with said plurality of points on the surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of said viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) deeper than said depth plane (1652, 1752, 1852) displaying a depth color gradient overlay (1660, 1760) over pixels in said image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) obtained, said surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250 ) of the point on the depth plane ( 1652, 1752, 1852).

[Embodiment 16]

The plurality of points on the surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of the viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) and the reference plane (250) using a central processing unit (150) , 550, 750, 960, 1020, 1130, 1220, 1260, 1320, 1420, 1520, 1620, 1720, 1820, 2020); the plurality of points on the surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of the viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) and the reference plane (250, 550, 750, 960, 1020, 1130, 1220, 1260, 1320, 1420, 1520, 1620, 1720, 1820, 2020) with a predetermined distance threshold; Surface of said viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) with distance to 550, 750, 960, 1020, 1130, 1220, 1260, 1320, 1420, 1520, 1620, 1720, 1820, 2020 Graphic overlays (1650, 1750, 1850) of reference planes on pixels in said image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) associated with said plurality of points on (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) ). The method of embodiment 14, further comprising displaying .

[Embodiment 17]

15. A method according to embodiment 14, wherein said image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) of said viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) is a two-dimensional image.

[Embodiment 18]

The image (200, 500, 903, 1201, 1241) of the viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) is the surface ( 210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) is a three-dimensional view of said plurality of points.

[Embodiment 19]

The measurement points (921, 922, 1624, 1921, 1922) correspond to the measurement cursors (931, 932, 1434, 1435, 1436, 1541, 1542, 1543, 1634, 1931, 1932, 2034, 2035, 2036). 15. A method according to embodiment 14, which is a point on said surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of said viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) corresponding to a position.

[Embodiment 20]

between said plurality of points on the surface (210, 510, 911, 1210, 1250) of said viewing object (202, 502, 910, 1202, 1242) and said depth plane (1652, 1752, 1852) 15. The method of embodiment 14, wherein said distance is a vertical distance.

100 Video inspection equipment

102 probe

110 insertion tube

112 imager harness

120 head assembly

122 Probe optics

124 imager

126 imager hybrid

130 Detachable tip, adapter

132 Front viewing optical system

140 probe electronics

142 Imager interface electronics

144 calibration memory

146 microcontroller

150 CPU

152 CPU program memory

154 Volatile memory

156 non-volatile memory

158 Computer I/O interface

160 video processor

162 video memory

170 integrated display

172 external monitor

180 joystick

182 button

184 key pad

186 microphone

200 image

202 Observation target

204 anomaly

210 surface

221 Base point

222 Base point

223 Base point

224 deepest surface point

231 reference plane cursor

232 reference plane cursor

233 reference plane cursor

234 Cursor at deepest point

241 pixel

242 pixel

243 pixel

250 Reference plane

260 Reference surface shape

261 Base point

262 Base point

263 Base point

264 Base point

270 area of interest

271 Shape of region of interest

280 area of interest

281 Shape of region of interest, circle

282 Graphic indicator of deepest point

290 depth

300 Method

310 Image of surface (step)

320 3D (step) of surface points

330 Reference surface (step)

340 Region of interest (step)

350 Depth (step) of surface points within the region of interest

360 Deepest surface point location and depth (step)

370 profile

500 image

502 Observation target

504 anomaly

510 surface

521 measuring point

522 measuring point

523 measuring point

524 measuring point

525 average position

531 cursor

532 cursor

533 cursor

534 cursor

541 pixel

542 pixel

543 pixel

544 pixel

550 Reference plane

560 frame point

562 flame

600 Method

610 Image of surface (step)

620 3D (step) of surface points

630 Measuring point (step)

640 Reference surface (step)

650 Average point/origin (step)

660 conversion (step)

670 subset (step)

680 display (step)

700 Rendering 3D diagram, point cloud diagram

721 measuring point

722 measuring point

723 measuring point

724 measuring point

725 origin

750 Reference plane

760 frame point

762 flame

771 straight point

772 straight point

773 straight point

774 depth line

800 Method

810 2D image of target surface (step)

820 3D coordinates of target surface point (step)

830 Displaying 2D and 3D images (steps)

840 Measurement cursor (step) on 2D image

850 Measurement mark (step) on 3D image

860 Measurement dimension (step)

900 display

901 First side (display)

902 Second side (display)

903 2D image

904 2nd stereo image

905 Rendered image of 3D shape

906 depth profile image

907 point cloud diagram

908 color depth scale

909 soft key

910 Observation target

911 surface

912 anomaly

913 first surface point

914 second surface point

915 first matching surface point

916 second matching surface point

921 First measuring point

922 Second measuring point

931 First measurement cursor

932 Second measurement cursor

933 measuring line

941 First measurement mark

942 Second measurement mark

943 geometric measurement sign

950 measuring dimensions

960 Reference plane

1001 image

1002 point cloud image

1003 image

1004 image

1010 Turbine blades, viewing target

1011 first edge of turbine blade

1012 Second edge of turbine blade

1013 Target surface

1020 Reference plane

1021 Base point

1022 Base point

1023 Base point

1024 projection base point

1025 projection base point

1026 projection base point

1027 projection base point

1031 reference plane cursor

1032 reference plane cursor

1033 reference plane cursor

1034 measurement cursor

1035 measurement cursor

1036 measurement cursor

1037 measurement cursor

1041 Reference plane cursor pixel

1042 Reference plane cursor pixel

1043 Reference plane cursor pixel

1044 Measurement cursor pixel

1045 Measurement cursor pixel

1046 Measurement cursor pixel

1047 Measurement cursor pixel

1050 polygon (missing corner)

1051 first edge

1052 second side

1053 3rd side

1070 polygon

1071 measurement cursor

1072 measurement cursor

1073 measurement cursor

1074 measurement cursor

1081 first edge extension

1082 second edge extension

1083 Text box

1100 subject

1101 display

1102 sensor

1130 Reference plane

1201 image

1202 Observation target

1204 anomaly

1210 surface

1220 Reference plane

1231 reference plane cursor

1232 reference plane cursor

1233 reference plane cursor

1240 overlay

1241 image

1242 Observation target

1244 anomaly

1250 surface

1260 Reference plane

1271 reference plane cursor

1272 reference plane cursor

1273 reference plane cursor

1280 overlay

1300 point cloud diagram

1310 subject

1320 Reference plane

1330 origin

1331 line of sight

1332 line of sight

1333 line of sight

1334 line of sight

1401 2D image

1402 point cloud diagram

1410 subject

1411 top surface

1412 Underside

1413 first edge

1420 Reference plane

1424 projection base point

1425 projection reference plane point, second reference point

1426 projection base point

1431 reference plane cursor

1432 reference plane cursor

1433 reference plane cursor

1434 First measurement cursor

1435 Second measurement cursor

1436 Third measurement cursor

1441 First line of measurement

1442 First line of measurement

1450 Interest point (second edge)

1460 guidance line

1501 image

1502 point cloud diagram

1503 warning message

1504 Text box

1510 Target, turbine blade

1511 surface

1512 edge

1513 depression

1520 Reference plane

1521 projection base point

1522 projection base point

1522 projection base point

1531 reference plane cursor

1532 reference plane cursor

1533 reference plane cursor

1541 First measurement cursor

1542 Second measurement cursor

1543 Third measurement cursor

1551 First line of measurement

1552 Second line of measurement

1560 origin

1561 line of sight

1562 line of sight

1563 line of sight

1564 line of sight

1570 edge line of sight

1571 Accurate projection datum point

1572 edge viewing plane

1580 vertical plane

1601 image

1602 2D image

1603 point cloud diagram

1604 subject

1605 hole or dimple

1620 Reference plane

1624 measuring point

1631 reference plane cursor

1632 reference plane cursor

1633 reference plane cursor

1634 measurement cursor

1640 reference plane overlay

1650 Depth plane graphic overlay

1652 depth plane

1660 depth color gradient overlay

1661 second color

1662 deepest point, first color

1670 Depth to measurement cursor

1701 image

1702 2D image

1703 point cloud diagram

1705 hole or dimple

1720 Reference plane

1724 measuring point

1734 measurement cursor

1750 Depth plane graphic overlay

1752 depth plane

1760 depth color gradient overlay

1761 second color

1762 deepest point, first color

1770 Depth to measurement cursor

1801 image

1802 2D image

1803 point cloud diagram

1805 Turbine blades, viewing target

1806 shroud

1820 Reference plane

1824 measuring point

1834 measurement cursor

1850 Depth plane graphic overlay

1852 depth plane

1870 Distance or clearance from tip to shroud

1901 image

1902 2D image

1903 point cloud diagram

1904 slot

1905 1st wall slot

1906 second wall slot

1921 First measuring point

1922 Second measuring point

1931 First measurement cursor

1932 Second measurement cursor

1950 Graphic overlay on first edge plane

1952 first edge plane

1960 Graphic overlay on the second edge plane

1962 second edge plane

1970 3D straight line (length)

2001 image

2002 2D image

2003 point cloud diagram

2004 Turbine blades, viewing target

2005 turbine blade edge

2006 Missing edge of turbine blade

2020 Reference plane

2024 1st projected reference plane point

2025 Second projected reference plane point

2026 3rd Projected Reference Plane Point

2031 reference plane cursor

2032 reference plane cursor

2033 reference plane cursor

2034 First measurement cursor (straight line)

2035 Second measurement cursor (straight line)

2036 Third measurement cursor (point)

2044 First measurement cursor pixel

2045 Second measurement cursor pixel

2046 Third measurement cursor pixel

2050 Graphic overlay on first edge plane

2052 first edge plane

2060 Graphic overlay on the second edge plane

2062 second edge plane

2070 3D straight line (length)

2071 reference line

2100 Method

2101 display step

2102 3D surface point

2103 Measurement cursor placement step

2104 Measuring point step

2105 edge plane

2106 edge plane distance

2107 edge plane distance comparison

2108 Display of graphic overlays on edge planes