Displacement and velocity sensor
First Claim
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1. A sensor system for calculating a displacement of a sensor relative to a surface, the sensor system comprising:
- at least one light source for directing a plurality of light beams along a plurality of respective beam paths toward the surface for reflection therefrom;
a means for maintaining a substantially constant spatial relationship between the beam paths;
a means for operating on reflected light for each beam path to measure a respective distance between the surface and the sensor for each beam path;
a means for receiving reflected light for each beam path to determine a respective velocity between the surface and the sensor for each beam path; and
a means for processing the velocities and the distances to calculate a sensor displacement relative to the surface.
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Abstract
A sensor system that is attachable to a moving object to calculate a displacement of the object relative to a fixed surface includes three laser light sources. The sources are fixedly aligned to direct beams along three respective beam paths toward the surface. Reflections from the surface are then received by the sensor system and used to calculate a relative velocity between the sensor and surface. The velocity is then integrated to compute a displacement. These displacements are transmitted via wireless link to a receiving station which uses the displacements to track and locate the object.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A sensor system for calculating a displacement of a sensor relative to a surface, the sensor system comprising:
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at least one light source for directing a plurality of light beams along a plurality of respective beam paths toward the surface for reflection therefrom;
a means for maintaining a substantially constant spatial relationship between the beam paths;
a means for operating on reflected light for each beam path to measure a respective distance between the surface and the sensor for each beam path;
a means for receiving reflected light for each beam path to determine a respective velocity between the surface and the sensor for each beam path; and
a means for processing the velocities and the distances to calculate a sensor displacement relative to the surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A sensor system for calculating a displacement of a sensor relative to a surface, the sensor system comprising:
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at least one light source for directing a plurality of outgoing light beams along a plurality of respective beam paths toward the surface for reflection therefrom to create a plurality of incoming beams;
a structural member for maintaining a spatial relationship between the beam paths substantially constant;
at least one detector for receiving the plurality of incoming beams;
a mixer coupled with the detector for combining an outgoing light beam with an incoming light beam for at least one beam path to determine a respective frequency difference between the incoming and outgoing light beams; and
a processor coupled with the detector to calculate a respective distance between the surface and the sensor for each beam path and use the frequency difference and calculated distance to determine a velocity between the surface and the sensor, said processor configured to integrate the velocity to determine a displacement of the sensor relative to a surface. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for calculating a displacement of an object relative to a surface, the method comprising the steps of:
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attaching a light unit to the object for movement therewith, the light unit configured to generate a plurality of light beams along a plurality of respective beam paths, the beam paths being maintained at a constant spatial relationship relative to each other;
receiving light reflected from the surface along each beam path;
using the received light to measure a respective distance between the surface and the light unit for each beam path; and
analyzing the received light for each beam path to determine a respective velocity between the surface and the sensor for each beam path; and
processing the velocities and the distances to calculate a displacement of the object relative to the surface. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification