Sensor and a method for measuring distances to, and/or physical properties of, a medium
First Claim
1. A sensor for sensing the distances to a medium and/or displacements and the physical properties of said medium comprising:
- a housing;
at least one pair of solid light guides each having an input end face and an output end face;
at least one source of light and at least one light intensity measuring means;
the input end face of a first light guide being optically coupled to a source of light and the output end face of a second light guide being optically coupled to a light intensity measuring means;
means for isolating said light guides from each other while at least the faces thereof are located in close proximity to each other;
each of said faces being cut at an angle θ
with respect to the optical axis of its waveguide and said axis forming an angle α
therebetween;
the apparatus being such that, upon operation, the light emerging from the output end portion of said first light guide impinges on a surface of a medium at an angle of incidence β
, and wherein β
=ƒ
(α
,θ
).
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention provides a sensor for sensing the distances to a medium and/or displacements and the physical properties thereof, including a housing, at least one pair of solid light guides each having an input end face and an output end face, at least one source of light and at least one light intensity measuring means, the input end face of a first light guide being optically coupled to a source of light an d the output end face of a second light guide being optically coupled to a light intensity measuring means, the light guides being optically isolated from each other while at least the faces thereof are located adjacent to each other, each of the faces being cut at an angle θ with respect to the optical axis of its waveguide, so as to include an angle a between the axes thereof, the arrangement being such that, upon operation, the light emerging from the output end portion of the first light guide impinges on a surface of a medium at an angle of incidence β, and wherein β=ƒ(α,θ). The invention also provides a method for measuring the displacement of a body.
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Citations
11 Claims
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1. A sensor for sensing the distances to a medium and/or displacements and the physical properties of said medium comprising:
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a housing; at least one pair of solid light guides each having an input end face and an output end face; at least one source of light and at least one light intensity measuring means; the input end face of a first light guide being optically coupled to a source of light and the output end face of a second light guide being optically coupled to a light intensity measuring means; means for isolating said light guides from each other while at least the faces thereof are located in close proximity to each other; each of said faces being cut at an angle θ
with respect to the optical axis of its waveguide and said axis forming an angle α
therebetween;the apparatus being such that, upon operation, the light emerging from the output end portion of said first light guide impinges on a surface of a medium at an angle of incidence β
, and wherein β
=ƒ
(α
,θ
). - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification
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- Resources
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Current AssigneePhone - Or Limited
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Original AssigneePhone - Or Limited
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InventorsParitsky, Alexander, Kots, Alexander
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Primary Examiner(s)Font, Frank G.
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Assistant Examiner(s)Punnoose, Roy M.
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Application NumberUS09/037,137Time in Patent Office862 DaysField of Search356/375, 356/73.1, 356/336, 356/338, 356/39, 356/440, 385/31, 350/96.1US Class Current356/623CPC Class CodesG01B 11/026 by measuring distance betwe...G01D 5/26 characterised by optical tr...
