Development of Optical Measuring Device for Interior Dimensions of Automobiles

The developed measuring device is an optical noncontacting system which permits rapid measurement of complicated interior dimensions based on the principle of triangulation. A laser beam is projected from a small head of the device to various points to be measured and the reflected light is automatically searched by use of a photodetector to establish polar coordinates. The polar coordinate values are then converted into rectangular coordinate ones with a microcomputer, and can be represented on a panel and also punched out on a teletypewriter.