Apparatus for determining relative positioning of objects and related methods
First Claim
1. An apparatus for determining relative positioning of first and second objects being relatively movable, the apparatus comprising:
- a laser source carried by the first object for generating a source laser beam toward the second object;
a target optical element carried by the second object for generating a first reflected beam and a second diverging reflected beam from the source laser beam;
a detector carried by the first object for detecting the first reflected beam and the second diverging reflected beam; and
a controller connected to said detector for determining a range between said detector and target optical element based upon a size of the second diverging reflected beam and for determining at least one other positional degree of freedom quantity based upon the first reflected beam and the second diverging reflected beam.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for determining relative positioning of first and second objects being relatively movable may include a laser source carried by the first object for generating a source laser beam toward the second object, and a target optical element carried by the second object for generating a first reflected beam and a second diverging reflected beam from the source laser beam. Furthermore, a detector may be carried by the first object for detecting the first reflected beam and the second diverging reflected beam. A controller may also be connected to the detector for determining a range between the detector and target optical element based upon a size of the second diverging reflected beam. The controller may also determine at least one other positional degree of freedom quantity (e.g., lateral/vertical displacement, pitch angle, yaw angle, and/or roll angle) based upon the first reflected beam and the second diverging reflected beam.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. An apparatus for determining relative positioning of first and second objects being relatively movable, the apparatus comprising:
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a laser source carried by the first object for generating a source laser beam toward the second object;
a target optical element carried by the second object for generating a first reflected beam and a second diverging reflected beam from the source laser beam;
a detector carried by the first object for detecting the first reflected beam and the second diverging reflected beam; and
a controller connected to said detector for determining a range between said detector and target optical element based upon a size of the second diverging reflected beam and for determining at least one other positional degree of freedom quantity based upon the first reflected beam and the second diverging reflected beam. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An apparatus for determining relative positioning of first and second objects being relatively movable, the apparatus comprising:
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a laser emitter and a beam splitter downstream therefrom both carried by the first object and cooperating to generate a source laser beam toward the second object;
a lens carried by the second object for generating a first reflected beam and a second diverging reflected beam from the source laser beam;
a detector carried by the first object for detecting the first reflected beam and the second diverging reflected beam; and
a controller connected to said detector for determining a range between said detector and lens based upon a size of the second diverging reflected beam. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. An apparatus for determining relative positioning of first and second objects being relatively movable, the apparatus comprising:
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a laser source carried by the first object for generating a source laser beam toward the second object;
a target optical element carried by the second object for generating a first reflected beam and a second diverging reflected beam from the source laser beam;
a detector carried by the first object for detecting the first reflected beam and the second diverging reflected beam; and
a controller connected to said detector for determining a range between said detector and target optical element based upon a size of the second diverging reflected beam, said controller further defining a first roll angle reference pattern;
said target optical element having a hologram associated therewith for imparting a second roll angle reference pattern to one of the first reflected beam and second diverging reflected beam;
said controller also determining a roll angle based upon the first and second roll angle reference patterns. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method for determining relative positioning of first and second objects being relatively movable, the method comprising:
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generating a source laser beam toward the second object;
generating a first reflected beam and a second diverging reflected beam from the source laser beam using a target optical element carried by the second object;
detecting the first reflected beam and the second diverging reflected beam using a detector carried by the first object;
determining a range between the detector and target optical element based upon a size of the second diverging reflected beam; and
determining at least one other positional degree of freedom quantity based upon the first reflected beam and the second diverging reflected beam. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
calculating a first centroid for the first reflected beam and a second centroid for the second diverging reflected beam; and
determining positions of the first and second centroids.
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35. The method of claim 33 wherein the at least one other positional degree of freedom quantity comprises at least one of vertical displacement, lateral displacement, pitch angle, and yaw angle.
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36. The method of claim 33 further comprising defining a first roll angle reference pattern;
- wherein the target optical element has a pattern generator associated therewith for imparting a second roll angle reference pattern to one of the first reflected beam and second diverging reflected beam; and
wherein determining the at least one other positional degree of freedom quantity comprises determining a roll angle based upon the first and second roll angle reference patterns.
- wherein the target optical element has a pattern generator associated therewith for imparting a second roll angle reference pattern to one of the first reflected beam and second diverging reflected beam; and
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37. The method of claim 36 wherein the pattern generator comprises a diffractive optical element (DOE).
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38. The method of claim 33 further comprising determining at least one of alignment error data and second object position data based upon the determined range and the determined at least one other positional degree of freedom quantity.
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39. The method of claim 33 wherein the target optical element comprises a lens.
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40. The method of claim 39 wherein the lens has a flat rear surface and a convex front surface.
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41. The method of claim 33 wherein the target optical element comprises a corner cube.
Specification