Distortion detector

• US 6,817,246 B1
• Filed: 03/05/2002
• Issued: 11/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Franz Rottner, Siegfried Pieper
• Original Assignee: Innotec Europe GmbH
• Inventors: Winkler, Reinhard, Rottner, Franz, Pieper, Siegfried
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams, Hezron
• Assistant Examiner(s): SAINT SURIN, JACQUES M
• Application Number:
  US10/070,509
• Time in Patent Office: 987 Days
• Field of Search: 735/73, 735/74, 735/75, 735/89, 735/96, 736/55, 736/57, 736/05, 736/50
• US Class Current: 73/573
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/16 for measuring the deformation in a solid, e.g. optical strain gauge

Abstract

A device for detecting different conditions of a component, such as distorted conditions, movements and loaded conditions. Said device comprises a transmitter and a receiver which are located independently on at least one component at a distance from one another and an evaluation unit. The transmitter emits an electromagnetic wave (such as e.g. a laser beam), or a focused particle beam to the receiver. The spatial resolution can be increased by multiple reflections from a mirror and a semi-transparent mirror.

Claims

1. A device to detect a state of a component, the device comprising:

a receiver disposed on the component and having a light-sensitive surface;

a transmitter disposed on the component at a distance from the receiver and configured to emit a focused beam outside of the component to the receiver; and

an evaluation unit, wherein the transmitter and the receiver are disposed in such a way that a deformation of the component effects a corresponding position shift of the beam.

2. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the state of the component include at least one of a deformation state, a loading state, and a movement of the component.

3. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the receiver includes at least one of a PSD transducer and an image processing element.

4. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the focused beam includes at least one of a focused light beam, a focused electromagnetic wave, a focused acoustic wave, and a focused particle beam.

5. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the transmitter and the receiver are each disposed in a holder on the component.

6. The device as recited in claim 1 further comprising a reflector within a path of the beam.

7. The device as recited in claim 6 wherein the reflector reflects the beam towards the receiver.

8. The device as recited in claim 6 further comprising a holder and wherein the reflector is connected to the component via the holder.

9. The device as recited in claim 6 wherein the transmitter is disposed in a first holder and the reflector is disposed at a distance from the transmitter in a second holder, and the transmitter, receiver, and reflector are disposed on the component in a shared housing.

10. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the light-sensitive surface of the receiver has a resolution of at least 1000 d.

11. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the transmitter emits at least one laser beam.

12. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the transmitter, the receiver and the reflector are disposed in a flexible housing.

13. The device as recited in claim 12 wherein the transmitter and the receiver are disposed on a first side of the housing and the reflector is disposed on an opposite second side of the housing.

14. The device as recited in claim 12 wherein the housing has one of a round and a rectangular shape.

15. The device as recited in claim 12 wherein the housing is in the form of a drill bore in the component.

16. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the receiver is associated with an evaluation logic circuit in order to determine the deformation of the component.

17. The device as recited in claim 1 further comprising at least one semi-transparent layer disposed within a path of the beam from the transmitter to the receiver.

18. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein at least one of the transmitter and the receiver has a round shape.

19. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein at least one of the transmitter and the receiver has a rectangular shape.

20. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the focused beam is a punctiform beam.

21. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the receiver and the transmitter are disposed on an interior of the component.

22. A device to detect various states of a component, the device comprising:

a clamping element having at least two contact parts and defining a first bore;

a plate clamped to the component using the clamping element, the plate defining a second bore aligned with the first bore;

a receiver having a light-sensitive surface disposed on the plate;

a transmitter disposed on the plate at a distance from the receiver, the transmitter configured to emit a focused beam outside of the component to the receiver.

23. The device as recited in claim 22 wherein the focused beam is a punctiform beam.