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Industrial position sensor

  • US 6,057,777 A
  • Filed: 07/31/1997
  • Issued: 05/02/2000
  • Est. Priority Date: 07/31/1997
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A spatial positioning system for determining the linear position of a movable object along a selected axis, comprising:

  • a target positioned at a location aligned with the selected axis;

    a broad beam optical energy emitter mounted on the movable object and directed at the target;

    an optical energy receiver mounted on the movable object and aligned to receive optical energy reflected by the target, the optical energy detector generating a receive signal indicating reception of the optical energy;

    a time of flight circuit coupled to the emitter and receiver and generating a flight time signal indicating the elapsed time from emission of the optical energy to reception of reflected optical energy; and

    a control circuit coupled to monitor the flight time signal and output a position signal indicating position of the movable object with respect to the target wherein the receive signal comprises a first signal indicating when the received power is greater than a preselected threshold and a second signal delayed from the first signal by an amount indicating the power of the received signal.

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