IP Library Granted Patent US 12,710,356
Granted Patent B2
US 12,710,356 · App. 18/464,425 · Granted Aug 18, 2026

Optical inspection method, non-transitory storage medium, and optical inspection apparatus

Inventors: Hiroshi Ohno (Tokyo, JP); Hiroya Kano (Kawasaki Kanagawa, JP); Takahiro Kamikawa (Yokohama Kanagawa, JP); Hideaki Okano (Yokohama Kanagawa, JP); Sayuri Suzuki (Kawasaki Kanagawa, JP); Chisa Hirakawa (Kawasaki Kanagawa, JP); Akifumi Ohno (Kawasaki Kanagawa, JP); Yoshiaki Takagi (Kawasaki Kanagawa, JP)
Assignees: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA; TOSHIBA INFORMATION SYSTEMS (JAPAN) CORPORATION
G01N21/255G01N21/01G01N21/55G01N21/8806G01N21/8851G01N2021/1776G01N2021/3155G01N2021/4711G01N2021/555G01N2021/556G01N2021/559G01N21/57G01N21/6402G01N2021/8835G01N2021/8845G01N21/95
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,710,356
App. No.
18/464,425
Filed
Sep 11, 2023
Granted
Aug 18, 2026
Kind
B2
Art Unit
2877
USPC
356/432
Abstract

According to an embodiment, an optical inspection method includes: causing a wavelength selection portion to selectively pass light components including at least two different wavelength spectra from an object point and causing an imaging portion including at least two color channels configured to receive the light components of the wavelength spectra to capture the object point; defining the light components of the at least two different wavelength spectra as signal vectors having different directions based on light reception data in the at least two color channels for the object point; and estimating spread of a direction distribution of light at the object point based on the directions of the signal vectors.

Claims (44)

1 . An optical inspection method comprising:

causing a wavelength selection portion to selectively pass light components including at least two different wavelength spectra from an object point and causing an imaging portion including at least two color channels configured to receive the light components of the wavelength spectra to capture the object point;

defining the light components of the at least two different wavelength spectra as signal vectors having different directions based on light reception data in the at least two color channels for the object point; and

estimating spread of a direction distribution of light at the object point based on the directions of the signal vectors,

wherein:

the wavelength selection portion includes:

a first set in which a plurality of wavelength selection regions different from each other are arranged; and

a second set in which the plurality of wavelength selection regions are arranged in the same array as the first set, and

the wavelength selection portion introduces a periodic background noise component into a captured image.

2 . The optical inspection method according to claim 1 , wherein the signal vectors are vectors having, as an end point, a point on a color coordinate space on which pixel values of the at least two color channels are plotted on coordinates orthogonal to each other.

3 . The optical inspection method according to claim 1 , wherein the estimating includes collating a captured image by the light reception data with a reference image and estimating the spread of the direction distribution of the light at the object point.

4 . The optical inspection method according to claim 1 , wherein the wavelength selection portion is positioned closer to the object point than the imaging portion.

5 . A non-transitory storage medium storing an optical inspection program configured to cause a computer to execute:

causing a wavelength selection portion to selectively pass light components including at least two different wavelength spectra from an object point and causing an imaging portion including at least two color channels configured to receive the light components of the wavelength spectra to capture the object point;

defining the light components of the at least two different wavelength spectra as signal vectors having different directions based on light reception data in the at least two color channels for the object point; and

estimating spread of a direction distribution of light at the object point based on the directions of the signal vectors,

wherein:

the wavelength selection portion includes:

a first set in which a plurality of wavelength selection regions different from each other are arranged; and

a second set in which the plurality of wavelength selection regions are arranged in the same array as the first set, and

the wavelength selection portion introduces a periodic background noise component into a captured image.

6 . The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 5 , wherein the wavelength selection portion is positioned closer to the object point than the imaging portion.

7 . An optical inspection apparatus comprising one or more processors configured to read out the optical inspection program defined in claim 5 from the non-transitory storage medium and execute the optical inspection program.

8 . An optical inspection apparatus comprising one or more processors configured to

cause a wavelength selection portion to selectively pass light components including at least two different wavelength spectra from an object point and cause an imaging portion including at least two color channels configured to receive the light components of the wavelength spectra to capture the object point;

define the light components of the at least two different wavelength spectra as signal vectors having different directions based on light reception data in the at least two color channels for the object point; and

estimate spread of a direction distribution of light at the object point based on the directions of the signal vectors,

wherein:

the wavelength selection portion includes:

a first set in which a plurality of wavelength selection regions different from each other are arranged; and

a second set in which the plurality of wavelength selection regions are arranged in the same array as the first set, and

the wavelength selection portion introduces a periodic background noise component into a captured image.

9 . The optical inspection apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising an optical system configured to make the signal vectors corresponding to the light components of the at least two different wavelength spectra linearly independent of each other.

10 . The optical inspection apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising:

the imaging portion including the color channels controlled by the one or more processors;

the wavelength selection portion configured to selectively pass the light components including the at least two different wavelength spectra from the object, the wavelength selection portion being provided between the object point and the imaging portion; and

a shielding portion configured to shield light that is configured to be captured without passing through the wavelength selection portion.

11 . The optical inspection apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein

the first set and the second set of the wavelength selection portion respectively include:

a first wavelength selection region that is configured to shield a light component of at least one wavelength not included in a light component of a first wavelength spectrum and

a second wavelength selection region that is configured to shield a light component of at least one wavelength not included in a light component of a second wavelength spectrum in light components including at least two different wavelength spectra, and

the shielding portion includes a shielding region provided between the first wavelength selection region and the second wavelength selection region and configured to shield the light component of the first wavelength spectrum and the light component of the second wavelength spectrum.

12 . The optical inspection apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the first set and the second set are arranged on the same surface.

13 . The optical inspection apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the wavelength selection portion is positioned closer to the object point than the imaging portion.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 24, 2023
From: OHNO, HIROSHI; KANO, HIROYA; KAMIKAWA, TAKAHIRO; OKANO, HIDEAKI; SUZUKI, SAYURI; HIRAKAWA, CHISA; OHNO, AKIFUMI; TAKAGI, YOSHIAKI
To: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA; TOSHIBA INFORMATION SYSTEMS (JAPAN) CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 065323/0745 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2023-045753 · Mar 22, 2023 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20240319078A1 · Sep 26, 2024
References Cited (34)
US 5675407A · Geng · 1997 [cited by applicant]
US 6384917B1 · Fradkin · 2002 [cited by examiner]
US 7505149B2 · Ishiba · 2009 [cited by examiner]
US 8345252B2 · Nisper · 2013 [cited by examiner]
US 10113910B2 · Brunk · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 10648920B2 · Taglione · 2020 [cited by examiner]
US 10732102B2 · Ohno et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 10812786B2 · Ohno et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 11852591B2 · Naruse · 2023 [cited by examiner]
US 20040263832A1 · Jones et al. · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 20080246966A1 · Oomori · 2008 [cited by examiner]
US 20110007333A1 · Ishii · 2011 [cited by examiner]
US 20120032973A1 · Sano · 2012 [cited by examiner]
US 20140268105A1 · Bills et al. · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 20150016711A1 · Tin · 2015 [cited by examiner]
US 20150130925A1 · Park · 2015 [cited by examiner]
US 20160202048A1 · Meng et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20180047208A1 · Marin · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 20180180534A1 · Noda · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 20210131961A1 · Ohno · 2021 [cited by examiner]
US 20210293723A1 · Ohno · 2021 [cited by examiner]
US 20210375003A1 · Ihara · 2021 [cited by examiner]
US 20220086326A1 · Ohno et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
CN 108827981A1 · 2018 [cited by applicant]
JP 200524560A · 2005 [cited by applicant]
JP 2016128816A · 2016 [cited by applicant]
JP 2018128436A · 2018 [cited by applicant]
JP 2019124542A · 2019 [cited by applicant]
JP 2019203796A · 2019 [cited by applicant]
JP 202176423A · 2021 [cited by applicant]
JP 202249881A · 2022 [cited by applicant]
Walton L. Howes, “Rainbow schlieren and its applications,” Applied Optics, vol. 23, No. 14, pp. 2449-2460 (1984). [cited by applicant]
Hiroshi Ohno, “One-shot three-dimensional measurement method with the color mapping of light direction,” OSA Continuum, vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 840-848, DOI: 10.1364/OSAC.417511 (2021). [cited by applicant]
Japan Patent Office, Office Action in JP App. No. 2023-045753 (May 26, 2026). [cited by applicant]