SYSTEM AND METHOD OF MEASURING FLOW VELOCITY IN THREE AXES
First Claim
1. A light detection and ranging (LIDAR) system for measuring flow velocity in three axes, said system comprising:
- at least one rotationally operated optical element;
a LIDAR arrangement of optical elements for generating a coherent beam of light and directing said coherent beam of light substantially on a first optical path incident on said at least one rotationally operated optical element which directs said coherent beam of light from said system along a second optical path of a predetermined pattern, said at least one rotationally operated optical element also for receiving reflections of said coherent beam of light from particles along said predetermined pattern and directing said beam reflections to said LIDAR arrangement of optical elements;
a light detector;
said LIDAR arrangement of optical elements for directing said beam reflections to said light detector which converts said beam reflections into representative electrical signals;
processing means coupled to said light detector for detecting electrical signal bursts from said electrical signals, each signal burst being representative of light beam reflections from at least one particle substantially at a corresponding position along said predetermined pattern, and for computing a Doppler frequency for each of a selected plurality of detected electrical signal bursts from the signal content thereof, said processing means for associating said selected plurality of detected electrical signal bursts with their corresponding positions along said predetermined pattern and for computing a three axis flow velocity measurement from at least three of the selected plurality of computed Doppler frequencies and their corresponding positions along said predetermined pattern.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A LIDAR system for measuring flow velocity in three axes comprises: a LIDAR arrangement of optical elements for generating a coherent beam of light and directing the coherent beam of light by at least one rotationally operated optical element from the system with a predetermined pattern, the at least one rotationally operated optical element also for receiving reflections from particles along the predetermined pattern and directing the beam reflections to a light detector which converts the beam reflections into representative electrical signals; and a processor for detecting bursts from the electrical signals which are representative of light beam reflections from at least one particle substantially at a corresponding position along the predetermined pattern, and for computing a Doppler frequency for each of a selected plurality of detected bursts from the signal content thereof. The processor also capable of associating the selected plurality of detected bursts with their corresponding positions along the predetermined pattern and for computing a three axis flow velocity measurement from at least three of the selected plurality of computed Doppler frequencies and their corresponding positions along the predetermined pattern. A method of measuring flow velocity in three axes is further disclosed.
56 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A light detection and ranging (LIDAR) system for measuring flow velocity in three axes, said system comprising:
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at least one rotationally operated optical element;
a LIDAR arrangement of optical elements for generating a coherent beam of light and directing said coherent beam of light substantially on a first optical path incident on said at least one rotationally operated optical element which directs said coherent beam of light from said system along a second optical path of a predetermined pattern, said at least one rotationally operated optical element also for receiving reflections of said coherent beam of light from particles along said predetermined pattern and directing said beam reflections to said LIDAR arrangement of optical elements;
a light detector;
said LIDAR arrangement of optical elements for directing said beam reflections to said light detector which converts said beam reflections into representative electrical signals;
processing means coupled to said light detector for detecting electrical signal bursts from said electrical signals, each signal burst being representative of light beam reflections from at least one particle substantially at a corresponding position along said predetermined pattern, and for computing a Doppler frequency for each of a selected plurality of detected electrical signal bursts from the signal content thereof, said processing means for associating said selected plurality of detected electrical signal bursts with their corresponding positions along said predetermined pattern and for computing a three axis flow velocity measurement from at least three of the selected plurality of computed Doppler frequencies and their corresponding positions along said predetermined pattern. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. Method of measuring flow velocity in three axes, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating a coherent beam of light and directing said coherent beam of light into space substantially along an optical path of a predetermined pattern;
receiving reflections of said coherent beam of light from particles in space along said predetermined pattern;
converting said light beam reflections into representative electrical signals;
detecting electrical signal bursts from said electrical signals, each signal burst being representative of light beam reflections from at least one particle substantially at a corresponding position along said predetermined pattern;
computing a Doppler frequency for each of a selected plurality of detected electrical signal bursts from the signal content thereof, associating said selected plurality of detected electrical signal bursts with their corresponding positions along said predetermined path; and
computing a three axis flow velocity measurement from at least three of the selected plurality of computed Doppler frequencies and their corresponding positions along said predetermined path. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification