Portable laser scanning system and scanning methods having a motor amplitude regulator circuit
First Claim
1. A miniature, hand-held scanning device for repetitively scanning a target, said device having a laser beam generating means, at least one high speed scanning motor, and a motor amplitude regulator circuit for controlling said scanning motor, said motor amplitude regulator circuit comprising means for operating said scanning motor at resonance, and means for automatically controlling the amplitude of oscillation of the shaft of said scanning motor, said controlling means being driven from a single feedback signal obtained from the scanning motor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A lightweight hand-held scanning device for repetitively scanning a laser light source across a target having a laser light generating means and at least one high speed scanning motor controlled by a motor amplitude regulator circuit which automatically controls the amplitude of oscillation of the shaft of the high speed scanning motor. The amplitude control is accomplished by using a closed loop control system that supplies the ac stator windings of the scanning motor with periodic triangular current waveforms for energizing and de-energizing the ac stator coils. The signal that closes the control loop is a feedback signal obtained from the dc stator windings of the motor which indicates the amplitude of oscillation. By controlling the amplitude of oscillation, the high speed scanning motor can maintain a consistent scanning speed and use less power.
35 Citations
19 Claims
- 1. A miniature, hand-held scanning device for repetitively scanning a target, said device having a laser beam generating means, at least one high speed scanning motor, and a motor amplitude regulator circuit for controlling said scanning motor, said motor amplitude regulator circuit comprising means for operating said scanning motor at resonance, and means for automatically controlling the amplitude of oscillation of the shaft of said scanning motor, said controlling means being driven from a single feedback signal obtained from the scanning motor.
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5. A miniature, hand-held scanning device for repetitively scanning a target with laser light, said device having a laser beam generating means and at least one high speed scanning motor, said motor having a stator, dc stator windings, ac stator windings, a rotor, a shaft connected to said rotor having light reflecting means attached thereto and being operable to oscillate in alternate circumferential directions, and a motor amplitude regulator circuit for automatically controlling the amplitude of oscillation of the shaft of said scanning motor and for operating said motor at or near resonance, said circuit comprising:
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feedback means coupled to the dc stator windings for obtaining a feedback signal, said feedback signal being a generated voltage induced in the dc stator windings; amplitude error signal means coupled to said feedback means for comparing said feedback signal with a reference signal having a predetermined voltage to output an amplitude error signal representative of a difference between the amplitude of oscillation of the shaft of the scanning motor and the reference signal; and motor control means coupled to said error signal means and the ac stator windings for adjusting the amplitude of oscillation of the shaft of said scanning motor in response to the amplitude error signal. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for repetitively scanning a target with light by automatically controlling the amplitude of oscillation of a scanning motor having light reflective means mounted on a shaft thereof, comprising:
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obtaining a single feedback signal from the scanning motor; and adjusting the amplitude of oscillation of the motor shaft in response to the single feedback signal. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A method for repetitively scanning a target with light by automatically controlling the amplitude of oscillation of a scanning motor, said motor having a stator, dc stator windings, ac stator windings, a rotor and a shaft connected to the rotor having a light reflective means mounted thereon and being operable to oscillate in alternate circumferencial directions, said method comprising:
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obtaining a feedback signal from the dc stator windings, said feedback signal being a generated voltage induced in the dc stator windings; combining said feedback signal with a reference signal having a predetermined amplitude to output an amplitude error signal representative of the difference between the amplitude of oscillation of the shaft of the scanning motor and the reference signal amplitude; and adjusting the amplitude of oscillation of the scanning motor shaft in response to the amplitude error signal. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification