US 7,321,841 B2
Three-dimensional shape measuring method and measuring apparatus thereof
Kensaku Kaneyasu, Utsunomiya (Japan); Eisaku Hasegawa, Tochigi-ken (Japan); and Toshiyuki Kondo, Tochigi-ken (Japan)
Assigned to Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)
Appl. No. 10/562,969
PCT Filed Jun. 24, 2004, PCT No. PCT/JP2004/008890
§ 371(c)(1), (2), (4) Date Dec. 29, 2005,
PCT Pub. No. WO2005/001375, PCT Pub. Date Jan. 06, 2005.
Claims priority of application No. 2003-187247 (JP), filed on Jun. 30, 2003.
Prior Publication US 2006/0161382 A1, Jul. 20, 2006
Int. Cl. G06F 15/00 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 702—167  [702/168] 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of measuring a three-dimensional surface shape of a workpiece (W) by moving a three-dimensional measuring unit mounted on a robot to trace a surface of said workpiece (W), comprising the steps of:
setting and recording block data representing a measuring operation to cause said three-dimensional measuring unit to trace a predetermined area;
setting a length (U) and/or a height (h) of said workpiece (W);
selecting one of a plurality of basic shape types which is similar to a shape of said workpiece (W);
duplicating said block data such that a hypothetical block representing said block data covers an area to be measured of the surface of said workpiece (W) which is projected onto a hypothetical space, depending on the selected basic shape type and the length (U) and/or the height (h) of said workpiece (W);
measuring the surface shape of said workpiece (W) based on the duplicated block data; and
recording positional data representing the measured surface shape of said workpiece.