Color measurement engine with parallel detectors
View Patent ↗A color measurement instrument includes a housing and illuminators, a two-dimensional photodetector array, and an optics system within the housing. A UV filter wheel closes the housing to prevent contaminants from entering the housing. The filter wheel supports UV filters and non-UV glass that can be selectively aligned with the illuminators. The photodetectors can be read in parallel, and each photodetector includes a unique spectral filter. The optics system delivers light from the sample target area equally to each of the photodetectors.
1. A color measurement instrument comprising:
an illuminator adapted to direct radiation onto a sample target area;
a two-dimensional array of photodetectors adapted to receive radiation reflected from the sample target area, and adapted to be read in parallel; and
optics adapted to direct light from a plurality of points in the sample target area generally equally onto each photodetector.
2. A color measurement instrument as defined in claim 1 further comprising a plurality of spectral filters each associated with one of said photodetectors, said spectral filters having non-identical filtering properties.
3. A color measurement instrument as defined in claim 1 wherein said photodetectors are arranged in a square array.
4. A color measurement instrument as defined in claim 3 wherein said array includes sixteen said photodetectors arranged in a four-by-four array.
5. A color measurement instrument as defined in claim 1 wherein said photodetectors are integral portions of a single substrate.
6. A photodetector assembly comprising:
a one-piece substrate including a plurality of photodetectors arranged in a two-dimensional array;
a plurality of spectral filters having non-identical filtering properties, each said spectral filter associated with one of said photodetectors; and
optics adapted to direct light from each point in the sample target area generally equally onto each photodetector.
7. A photodetector assembly as defined in claim 6 wherein the filtering properties of each spectral filter are different from the filtering properties of the other spectral filters.
8. A photodetector assembly as defined in claim 6 , wherein said photodetectors can be read in parallel.
9. A photodetector assembly as defined in claim 6 wherein said photodetectors are arranged in a square array.
10. A photodetector assembly as defined in claim 9 wherein sixteen of said photodetectors are arranged in a four-by-four array.