Non-contact profile measurement system

1. A measurement system comprising:

a sensor chassis configured to capture a substantially 360° profile of an object within a predetermined work zone

a control unit for receiving and processing data received from said sensor chassis;

said sensor chassis comprises a plurality of contour sensors, each substantially aligned with said work zone so that an object within said work zone is at least partially within the field of view (FOV) of each of said contour sensors;

each of said contour sensors is configured to generate and output data representative of at least a partial profile of an object within the contour sensors respective FOV;

the sensor chassis is further configured to allow for the capture of a substantially 360 profile of an object in the work zone without any part of the measurement system coming in contact with the object;

said control unit is further configured to correlate a coordinate space associated with at least two or more contour sensors with a common coordinate space, generate profile data representative of a substantially 360 profile of a predetermined object; and

the control unit is further configured to correlate the coordinate space associated with a reference template with said common coordinate space and to compare said profile data with said reference template to determine differences between said profile data and said reference template.

2. The measurement system of claim 1 wherein said contour sensors are aligned with said work zone, so as to allow for the collective capture of substantially a 360° view of the object within said work zone.

3. The measurement system of claim 1 wherein said contour sensors are aligned so as to allow for the collective capture of a substantially 360° view of an object within said work zone.

4. The measurement system of claim 3 wherein said contour sensors are substantially radially aligned with the center of said work zone.

5. The measurement system of claim 3 wherein said contour sensors are substantially radially aligned with the center of said work zone at 90° intervals about the work zone.

6. The measurement system of claim 1 wherein one or more of said contour sensors comprises an illumination unit configured to generate and output a light beam of a predetermined wavelength, and a detector unit responsive to light of said predetermined wavelength.

7. The measurement system of claim 1 wherein one or more of said contour sensors comprise a “sheet of light” contour sensor.

8. The measurement system of claim 1 wherein one or more of said contour sensors comprise a flying spot of light contour sensor.

9. The measurement system of claim 1 wherein said sensor chassis is configured to allow said contour sensors to be rotatably adjusted about said work zone.

10. The measurement system of claim 1 wherein said control unit comprises a visualization module for generating data to cause textual or graphical information to be displayed on an associated display device.

11. The measurement system of claim 1 wherein said control unit comprises a measurement module for carrying out a predetermined calculation.

12. The measurement system of claim 11 wherein said measurement module is further configured to calculate the distance between features of a profile based upon identified control points.

13. The measurement system of claim 11 wherein said measurement module is further configured to calculate an angle of a feature in a profile based upon two identified line segments.

14. The measurement system of claim 11 wherein said measurement module is further configured to determine variance between a profile and a predetermined profile reference.

15. The measurement system of claim 11 wherein said measurement module is further configured to determine the radius and center point of an arc.

16. The measurement system of claim 1 wherein said control unit further comprises a registration module for establishing a correlation between a first coordinate system and a second coordinate system.

17. The measurement system of claim 16 wherein said first coordinate system comprises a sensor coordinate system and said second coordinate system comprises a chassis coordinate system.

18. The system of claim 1 wherein said control unit is configured to determine the diameter of an object within the work zone.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein said control unit is further configured to determine a diameter of said work piece based upon application of a best fit of a circle of a known diameter to the points represented by said coordinate values.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein said control unit is configured to output data representing the value of said diameter.

21. The system of claim 1 wherein one or more of said contour sensors comprise a detector unit for receiving light reflected from an object within said work zone.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein one or more of said plurality of contour sensors is configured to generate data representing coordinate values for points along the profile of at least a portion of an object within a respective FOV based upon received light reflected from said object.

23. The system of claim 1 wherein said control unit is further configured to determine a center point of said work piece based upon application of a best fit of a circle of a known diameter to the points represented by said coordinate values.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein said control unit is configured to output data representative of the coordinate values for said center point.

25. The system of claim 1 wherein one or more of said contour sensors comprise a detection unit for receiving light reflected from said object.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein said detection unit comprises a charged coupled device (CCD).

27. The system of claim 1 wherein one or more of said contour sensors comprises an ultrasonic sensor responsive to ultrasonic radiation.

28. The system of claim 1 wherein one or more of said contour sensors comprises a detector unit responsive to radiation of a predetermined wavelength.

29. The measurement system of claim 28 wherein one or more of said contour sensors further comprises an emitter for emitting radiation of said predetermined wavelength.

30. The measurement system of claim 1 wherein one or more of said contour sensors comprises a stereo imaging sensor.

31. A measurement system comprising:

a sensor chassis configured to capture a substantially 360° profile of an object within a predetermined work zone;

a control unit for receiving and processing data received from said sensor chassis;

said sensor chassis comprises a plurality of contour sensors, each substantially aligned with said work zone so that an object within said work zone is at least partially within the field of view (FOV) of each of said contour sensors;

each of said contour sensors is configured to generate and output data representative of at least a partial profile of an object within the contour sensors respective FOV;

the sensor chassis is further configured to allow for the capture of a substantially 360 profile of an object in the work zone without any part of the measurement system coming in contact with the object; and—

said control unit is further configured to correlate a coordinate space associated with at least two or more contour sensors with a common coordinate space and generate profile data representative of a substantially 360° profile of the object in the work zone.

32. The method system of claim 31 wherein the control unit is further configured to correlate the coordinate space associated with a reference template with said common coordinate space; and

compare said profile data with said reference template to determine differences between said profile data and said reference template.