DETECTOR FOR OPTICALLY DETECTING AT LEAST ONE OBJECT

• US 20140291480A1
• Filed: 12/18/2013
• Published: 10/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BASF SE
• Original Assignee: BASF SE
• Inventors: BRUDER, Ingmar, Thiel, Erwin, Send, Robert, Wonneberger, Henrike, Spiller, Simone Christina, Irle, Stephan
• Granted Patent: US 9,389,315 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 250/206
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 3/06 Use of electric means to obtain final indication
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/46 Indirect determination of position data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/66 Tracking systems using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/89 for mapping or imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/781 Details
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/786 the desired condition being maintained automatically
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0249 Determining position using measurements made by a non-stationary device other than the device whose position is being determined
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4816 of receivers alone

Abstract

A detector (110) for determining a position of at least one object (112) is proposed. The detector (110) comprises:

• • at least one transversal optical sensor (130), the transversal optical sensor (130) being adapted to determine a transversal position of at least one light beam (138) traveling from the object (112) to the detector (110), the transversal position being a position in at least one dimension perpendicular to an optical axis (116) of the detector (110), the transversal optical sensor (130) being adapted to generate at least one transversal sensor signal;
  • at least one longitudinal optical sensor (132), wherein the longitudinal optical sensor (132) has at least one sensor region (136), wherein the longitudinal optical sensor (132) is designed to generate at least one longitudinal sensor signal in a manner dependent on an illumination of the sensor region (136) by the light beam (138), wherein the longitudinal sensor signal, given the same total power of the illumination, is dependent on a beam cross-section of the light beam (138) in the sensor region (136);
  • at least one evaluation device (142), wherein the evaluation device (142) is designed to generate at least one item of information on a transversal position of the object (112) by evaluating the transversal sensor signal and to generate at least one item of information on a longitudinal position of the object (112) by evaluating the longitudinal sensor signal.

Claims

1. A detector comprising:

a transversal optical sensor, the transversal optical sensor being adapted to determine a transversal position of at least one light beam traveling from an object to the detector, the transversal position being a position in at least one dimension perpendicular to an optical axis of the detector, the transversal optical sensor being adapted to generate at least one transversal sensor signal;

a longitudinal optical sensor, wherein the longitudinal optical sensor has at least one sensor region, wherein the longitudinal optical sensor is designed to generate at least one longitudinal sensor signal in a manner dependent on an illumination of the sensor region by the light beam, wherein the longitudinal sensor signal, given the same total power of the illumination, is dependent on a beam cross-section of the light beam in the sensor region; and

an evaluation device, wherein the evaluation device is designed to generate at least one item of information on a transversal position of the object by evaluating the transversal sensor signal and to generate at least one item of information on a longitudinal position of the object by evaluating the longitudinal sensor signal.

2. The detector according to claim 1, wherein the transversal optical sensor is a photo detector having at least one first electrode, at least one second electrode and at least one photovoltaic material, wherein the photovoltaic material is embedded in between the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein the photovoltaic material is adapted to generate electric charges in response to an illumination of the photovoltaic material with light, wherein the second electrode is a split electrode having at least two partial electrodes, wherein the transversal optical sensor has a sensor region, wherein the at least one transversal sensor signal indicates a position of the light beam in the sensor region.

3. The detector according to claim 2, wherein electrical currents through the partial electrodes are dependent on a position of the light beam in the sensor region, wherein the transversal optical sensor is adapted to generate the transversal sensor signal in accordance with the electrical currents through the partial electrodes.

4. The detector according to claim 3, wherein the detector is adapted to derive the information on the transversal position of the object from at least one ratio of the currents through the partial electrodes.

5. The detector according to claim 2, wherein the photo detector is a dye-sensitized solar cell.

6. The detector according to claim 2, wherein the first electrode at least partially is made of at least one transparent conductive oxide, and wherein the second electrode at least partially is made of an electrically conductive polymer.

7. The detector according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the transversal optical sensor and the longitudinal optical sensor is a transparent optical sensor.

8. The detector according to claim 1, wherein the transversal optical sensor and the longitudinal optical sensor are stacked along the optical axis such that a light beam travelling along the optical axis both impinges on the transversal optical sensor and on the longitudinal optical sensor.

9. The detector according to claim 1, wherein the longitudinal optical sensor comprises at least one dye-sensitized solar cell.

10. The detector according to claim 9, wherein the longitudinal optical sensor comprises at least one first electrode, at least one n-semiconducting metal oxide, at least one dye, at least one p-semiconducting organic material, and at least one second electrode.

11. The detector according to claim 10, wherein both the first electrode and the second electrode are transparent.

12. The detector according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation device is designed to generate the at least one item of information on the longitudinal position of the object from at least one predefined relationship between the geometry of the illumination and a relative positioning of the object with respect to the detector.

13. The detector according to claim 1, furthermore comprising at least one illumination source.

14. The detector according to claim 1, wherein the detector has a plurality of longitudinal optical sensors, wherein the longitudinal optical sensors are stacked.

15. The detector according to claim 14, wherein the longitudinal optical sensors are arranged such that a light beam from the object illuminates all longitudinal optical sensors, wherein at least one longitudinal sensor signal is generated by each longitudinal optical sensor, wherein the evaluation device is adapted to normalize the longitudinal sensor signals and to generate the information on the longitudinal position of the object independent from an intensity of the light beam.

16. The detector according to claim 14, wherein a last longitudinal optical sensor is arranged in a manner that the light beam illuminates all other longitudinal optical sensors apart from the last longitudinal optical sensor, until the light beam impinges on the last longitudinal optical sensor, wherein the last longitudinal optical sensor is intransparent with respect to the light beam.

17. The detector according to claim 14, wherein the stack of at least two optical sensors is partially or fully immersed in an oil, in a liquid and/or in a solid material.

18. The detector according to claim 1, wherein the at least one transversal optical sensor and/or the at least one longitudinal optical sensor uses at least two different transparent substrates.

19. The detector according to claim 1, wherein the detector further comprises an imaging device.

20. The detector according to claim 1, wherein the detector further comprises an optically sensitive element.

21. The detector according to claim 20, wherein the optically sensitive element comprises a color wheel, a color drum, and/or a filter wheel using an elliptically polarizing filter.

22. The detector according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation device is adapted to generate the at least one item of information on the longitudinal position of the object by determining a diameter of the light beam from the at least one longitudinal sensor signal.

23. The detector according to claim 22, wherein the evaluation device is adapted to compare the diameter of the light beam with known beam properties of the light beam in order to determine the at least one item of information on the longitudinal position of the object.

24. The detector according to claim 1, wherein the longitudinal optical sensor is furthermore designed in such a way that the longitudinal sensor signal, given the same total power of the illumination, is dependent on a modulation frequency of a modulation of the illumination.

25. A human-machine interface comprising the detector according to claim 1, wherein the human-machine interface is designed to generate at least one item of geometrical information of the user by means of the detector wherein the human-machine interface is designed to assign to the geometrical information at least one item of information.

26. An entertainment device suitable for carrying out at least one entertainment function, wherein the entertainment device comprises the human-machine interface according to claim 25, wherein the entertainment device is designed to enable at least one item of information to be input by a player by means of the human-machine interface, wherein the entertainment device is designed to vary the entertainment function in accordance with the information.

27. A tracking system suitable for tracking the position of at least one movable object, the tracking system comprising the detector according to claim 1, the tracking system further comprising a track controller, wherein the track controller is adapted to track a series of positions of the object, each position comprising at least one item of information on a transversal position of the object at a specific point in time and at least one item of information on a longitudinal position of the object at a specific point in time.

28. A camera comprising the detector according to claim 1.

29. A method for determining a position of at least one object,

wherein at least one transversal optical sensor of a detector is used, wherein the transversal optical sensor determines a transversal position of at least one light beam traveling from the object to the detector, the transversal position being a position in at least one dimension perpendicular to an optical axis of the detector, wherein the transversal optical sensor generates at least one transversal sensor signal;

wherein at least one longitudinal optical sensor of the detector is used, wherein the longitudinal optical sensor has at least one sensor region, wherein the longitudinal optical sensor generates at least one longitudinal sensor signal in a manner dependent on an illumination of the sensor region by the light beam, wherein the longitudinal sensor signal, given the same total power of the illumination, is dependent on a beam cross-section of the light beam in the sensor region;

wherein at least one evaluation device is used, wherein the evaluation device generates at least one item of information on a transversal position of the object by evaluating the transversal sensor signal and wherein the evaluation device further generates at least one item of information on a longitudinal position of the object by evaluating the longitudinal sensor signal.

30-38. -38. (canceled)