Absolute distance meter that measures a moving retroreflector
First Claim
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1. A laser tracker device capable of absolute distance measurement without using an incremental interferometer and capable of scanning three dimensional coordinate positions of a moving external retroreflector or other moving target surfaces comprising:
- a source of laser light that is amplitude or intensity modulated and sent to and returned from the moving external retroreflector or other moving target surfaces to the laser tracker device along a measurement path;
an opto-electronic component to convert the laser light returned from the retroreflector or target surfaces along the measurement path into a first electrical signal;
conditioning electronics for conditioning the first electrical signal to create a second electrical signal;
digitizing electronics to produce digitized values of the second electrical signal;
a digital signal processor for receiving the digitized values of the second electrical signal wherein the digital signal processor comprises at least a phase extractor module structured to execute a velocity dependant phase extractor function upon the digitized values and wherein the digital signal processor calculates an absolute distance d to the moving retroreflector or other target moving at a velocity v; and
at least two angular encoders for determining coordinate angles to the retroreflector or other target surface wherein the data processor computes three dimensional coordinate positions of the retroreflector or other target based on at least the absolute distance d and the coordinate angles.
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Abstract
A laser device and method capable of one or more dimensional absolute distance measurements and/or surface scanning and/or coordinate measurements of a moving external retroreflector or other moving target surfaces without using an incremental interferometer.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A laser tracker device capable of absolute distance measurement without using an incremental interferometer and capable of scanning three dimensional coordinate positions of a moving external retroreflector or other moving target surfaces comprising:
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a source of laser light that is amplitude or intensity modulated and sent to and returned from the moving external retroreflector or other moving target surfaces to the laser tracker device along a measurement path; an opto-electronic component to convert the laser light returned from the retroreflector or target surfaces along the measurement path into a first electrical signal; conditioning electronics for conditioning the first electrical signal to create a second electrical signal; digitizing electronics to produce digitized values of the second electrical signal; a digital signal processor for receiving the digitized values of the second electrical signal wherein the digital signal processor comprises at least a phase extractor module structured to execute a velocity dependant phase extractor function upon the digitized values and wherein the digital signal processor calculates an absolute distance d to the moving retroreflector or other target moving at a velocity v; and at least two angular encoders for determining coordinate angles to the retroreflector or other target surface wherein the data processor computes three dimensional coordinate positions of the retroreflector or other target based on at least the absolute distance d and the coordinate angles. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A laser device capable of one dimensional absolute distance measurement of a moving external retroreflector or other moving target surfaces without using an incremental interferometer comprising:
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a source of laser light that is amplitude or intensity modulated and sent to and returned from the moving external retroreflector or other moving target surfaces to the laser device along a measurement path; an opto-electronic component to convert the laser light returned from the retroreflector or target surfaces along the measurement path into an electrical signal; digitizing electronics to produce digitized values of the electrical signal; a digital signal processor for receiving the digitized values of the electrical signal wherein the digital signal processor comprises at least a phase extractor module structured to execute a velocity dependant phase extractor function upon the digitized values and wherein the digital signal processor calculates an absolute distance d to the moving retroreflector or other target moving at a velocity v. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A laser tracker device capable of absolute distance measurement without using an incremental interferometer and capable of scanning three dimensional coordinate positions of a moving external retroreflector or other moving target surfaces comprising:
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a source of laser light that is amplitude or intensity modulated and sent to and returned from the moving external retroreflector or other moving target surfaces to the laser tracker device along a measurement path; an opto-electronic component to convert the laser light returned from the retroreflector or target surfaces along the measurement path into a first electrical signal; conditioning electronics for conditioning the first electrical signal to create a second electrical signal; digitizing electronics to produce digitized values of the second electrical signal; a digital signal processor for receiving the digitized values of the second electrical signal wherein the digital signal processor calculates an absolute distance d to the moving retroreflector or other target moving at a velocity v and executes a velocity dependant phase extractor function upon the digitized values; at least two angular encoders for determining coordinate angles to the retroreflector or other target surface wherein the data processor computes three dimensional coordinate positions of the retroreflector or other target based on at least the absolute distance d and the coordinate angles; a position detector; and wherein the digital signal processor processes a Kalman filter to synchronize the absolute distance d measurements with position detector measurements from the position detector and to provide an estimation of distance and speed of the moving external retroreflector or other moving target surfaces as a function of time and in the presence of noise.
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19. A laser device capable of one dimensional absolute distance measurement of a moving external retroreflector or other moving target surfaces without using an incremental interferometer comprising:
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a source of laser light that is amplitude or intensity modulated and sent to and returned from the moving external retroreflector or other moving target surfaces to the laser device along a measurement path; an opto-electronic component to convert the laser light returned from the retroreflector or target surfaces along the measurement path into an electrical signal; digitizing electronics to produce digitized values of the electrical signal; a position detector; a digital signal processor for receiving the digitized values of the electrical signal wherein the digital signal processor calculates an absolute distance d to the moving retroreflector or other target moving at a velocity v and wherein the digital signal processor during the calculation also processes a Kalman filter to synchronize the absolute distance d measurements with position detector measurements from the position detector and to provide an estimation of distance and speed of the moving external retroreflector or other moving target surfaces as a function of time and in the presence of noise.
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20. A method capable of one dimensional absolute distance measurement of a moving external retroreflector or other moving target surfaces without using an incremental interferometer comprising:
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sending and returning a source of laser light that is amplitude or intensity modulated and sent to and returned from the moving external retroreflector or other moving target surfaces to the laser device along a measurement path; converting the laser light returned from the retroreflector or target surfaces along the measurement path into an electrical signal; digitizing values of the electrical signal; receiving the digitized values of the electrical signal; executing a velocity dependant phase extractor function upon the digitized values; and calculating an absolute distance d to the moving retroreflector or other target moving at a velocity v.
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21. A laser tracker method capable of absolute distance measurement without using an incremental interferometer and capable of scanning three dimensional coordinate positions of a moving external retroreflector or other moving target surfaces comprising:
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sending and returning a source of laser light that is amplitude or intensity modulated and sent to and returned from the moving external retroreflector or other moving target surfaces to the laser tracker device along a measurement path; converting the laser light returned from the retroreflector or target surfaces along the measurement path into a first electrical signal; conditioning the first electrical signal to create a second electrical signal; producing digitized values of the second electrical signal; receiving the digitized values of the second electrical signal and executing a velocity dependant phase extractor function upon the digitized values; calculating an absolute distance d to the moving retroreflector or other target moving at a velocity v; and determining coordinate angles to the retroreflector or other target surface; and computing three dimensional coordinate positions of the retroreflector or other target based on at least the absolute distance d and the coordinate angles.
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Specification