Accurate target orientation measuring system
First Claim
1. A system for accurate target orientation measurement, comprising:
- a target capable of pitch and yaw movements;
a measurement retro-reflector disposed within the target for transmitting a received laser beam, the measurement retro-reflector having an aperture disposed therein for transmitting the laser beam;
a reference retro-reflector disposed within the target for transmitting only background radiation, wherein the reference retro-reflector is substantially similar to the measurement retro-reflector and is located adjacent to the measurement retro-reflector;
a laser light sensor that registers an image of the transmitted laser beam and the transmitted background radiation; and
a processing unit that receives position information of the laser beam image and the background radiation image and determines pitch and yaw movement of the target based on the received position information, wherein a size of the aperture is smaller than a critical size above which the background radiation image interferes with the laser beam image, the background radiation image formed from the background light radiation.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for accurate determination of target orientation in a laser tracking system. A target aperture is configured to produce spatially distinct laser beam and background images. A processing unit is configured to determine a centroid of the laser beam image position using information collected from detected images, such as laser beam and background images. The laser beam image centroid position is used to determine an accurate target orientation. In one example, a process for determining target orientation includes the steps of collecting a background image passing through a first retro-reflector at a first laser light sensor; 2) collecting a measurement image passing through a second retro-reflector at a second laser light sensor; 3) establishing a common positional reference point for the measurement image and the background image; 4) subtracting the background image from the measurement image based on the common positional reference point.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A system for accurate target orientation measurement, comprising:
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a target capable of pitch and yaw movements; a measurement retro-reflector disposed within the target for transmitting a received laser beam, the measurement retro-reflector having an aperture disposed therein for transmitting the laser beam; a reference retro-reflector disposed within the target for transmitting only background radiation, wherein the reference retro-reflector is substantially similar to the measurement retro-reflector and is located adjacent to the measurement retro-reflector; a laser light sensor that registers an image of the transmitted laser beam and the transmitted background radiation; and a processing unit that receives position information of the laser beam image and the background radiation image and determines pitch and yaw movement of the target based on the received position information, wherein a size of the aperture is smaller than a critical size above which the background radiation image interferes with the laser beam image, the background radiation image formed from the background light radiation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for accurate target orientation determination, comprising:
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collecting a background image from background radiation transmitted through a first retro-reflector disposed within the target; collecting a measurement image from a laser beam and the background radiation transmitted through a second retro-reflector disposed within the target; establishing a reference point within each of the background image and the measurement image; and subtracting the background image from the measurement image using the reference points established for each of the background image and the measurement image. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for accurate target orientation determination, comprising:
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collecting a background image at a position on a laser light sensor predetermined to be spatially separate from a laser beam image; collecting the laser beam image from a laser beam passing through an aperture disposed within a target and impinging on the laser light sensor; determining a centroid of the laser beam image; and determining an orientation of the target from a position of the centroid. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification