Optical receiver for area location system
First Claim
1. An optical receiving unit for an optical location system, which locates a radiation emitting target in a defined area divided into sections, comprising:
- a lens in the general shape of a sphere made from a transparent material, having a front side for receiving radiation and a back side for emanating said radiation to a number of sensors; and
a number of sensors spaced from said back side of said lens, wherein each sensor is associated with at least one section of said area; and
wherein said sensors are arranged behind said lens with variable spacing between them, such that each sensor has a position relative to other sensors that is determined by its distance from its associated section.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An optical receiver for use with an optical location system that locates a target in a defined area. A spherical lens is placed over the area. The area is divided into sections, with a sensor associated with each section. These sensors receive light transmitted through the lens, and are positioned relative to each other and with respect to the lens, such that each sensor receives emitted light from the same size section if the target is located in its section. The height of each sensor may be adjusted so that each sensor receives light of the same intensity if the target is located in its section.
80 Citations
22 Claims
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1. An optical receiving unit for an optical location system, which locates a radiation emitting target in a defined area divided into sections, comprising:
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a lens in the general shape of a sphere made from a transparent material, having a front side for receiving radiation and a back side for emanating said radiation to a number of sensors; and a number of sensors spaced from said back side of said lens, wherein each sensor is associated with at least one section of said area; and wherein said sensors are arranged behind said lens with variable spacing between them, such that each sensor has a position relative to other sensors that is determined by its distance from its associated section. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of making an optical receiver for locating a target in a defined area divided into sections, comprising the steps of:
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selecting a lens in the general shape of a sphere and having known refractive properties for receiving light from all sections of the area at its front side; locating a number of sensors behind said lens, such that there is a one to one correspondence between sections of said area and said sensors; and using ray tracing techniques to space said sensors from each other, with variable spacing, such that each sensor receives light from a maximum area of its section with a minimum of light from other sections. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An optical location system for locating a light emitting target in a defined area, comprising:
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an optical transmitter for attachment to a target object to be located; an optical receiver having a lens in the general shape of a sphere made from a transparent material, having a front side for receiving light from an area in which a target is to be located and a back side for emanating said light to a number of sensors, and having number of point sensors spaced from said back side of said lens, wherein the number of sensors corresponds to the number of sections of said area, and wherein said sensors are arranged behind said lens with variable spacing between them such that each sensor has a position relative to other sensors and a distance from said lens that is determined by its distance from its corresponding section; and a processor means for matching the output of said sensors to a section of the location area.
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20. An optical receiving unit for an optical location system, which locates a radiation-emitting target in a defined area divided into sections, comprising:
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a lens in the general shape of a sphere having a front side for receiving radiation and a back side for emanating said radiation to a number of sensors; and a number of sensors spaced from said back side of said lens wherein each sensor is associated with at least one section of said area; and wherein said sensors are arranged behind said lens in a predetermined pattern, with each sensor having a height above said lens and a size that is determined by the distance of that sensor from its associated section. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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Specification