Transmitter, receiver, and system with relative position detecting functionality between transmitters and receivers
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- transmitting from at least one emitter a first pulse of a first energy beam, the first beam creating a first field with a first varying intensity gradient having a first direction substantially transverse to a propagation direction of the first beam;
transmitting from the at least one emitter a second pulse of a second energy beam, the second beam creating a second field having a uniform intensity in a second direction substantially transverse to a propagation direction of the second beam;
transmitting from the at least one emitter a third pulse of a third energy beam, the third beam creating a third field with a second varying intensity gradient having a third direction substantially transverse to a propagation direction of the third beam, wherein the third direction is substantially perpendicular to the first direction, wherein there is a time period wherein the at least one emitter does not transmit any of the first, second, and third beams;
receiving at a plurality of detectors a portion of each of the first, second, and third fields;
for a respective one of the plurality of detectors and for each of the first, second, and third fields, determining a value corresponding to an illumination level of the portion of the respective field received by the respective detector, wherein the values corresponding to the first and third fields are indicative of relative position between the respective detector and the at least one emitter;
for the respective detector, determining a value during at least a portion of the time period;
for the respective detector, determining two first component values indicative of relative position between the respective detector and the at least one emitter based upon the values for the first, second, and third fields and the value determined during the time period, wherein one of the first component values is indicative of relative position corresponding to an axis parallel to the first direction, and wherein the other of the first component values is indicative of relative position corresponding to an axis parallel to the third direction;
determining two second component values for another of the plurality of detectors, wherein the two second component values are indicative of relative position between the respective detector and the at least one emitter based upon the values for the first, second, and third fields and the value determined during the time period;
forming a first vector using the first component values;
forming a second vector using the second component values; and
determining, using the first and second vectors, relative rotation between the at least one emitter and a receiver comprising the plurality of detectors.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method is disclosed that includes transmitting from an emitter a pulse of an energy beam. The beam creates a field with a varying gradient, where the gradient has a direction substantially transverse to a propagation direction of the beam. One or more detectors receive a portion of the field. For a respective one of the one or more detectors, a value is determined corresponding to an illumination level of the portion of the field received by the detector, wherein the value of the field is indicative of relative position between the detector and the emitter. A transmitter includes an emitter adapted to transmit an energy beam, the beam creating a field with a varying gradient. The gradient has a direction substantially transverse to a propagation direction of the beam. The transmitter further includes control circuitry adapted to cause the emitter to transmit the energy beam for a first duration.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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transmitting from at least one emitter a first pulse of a first energy beam, the first beam creating a first field with a first varying intensity gradient having a first direction substantially transverse to a propagation direction of the first beam; transmitting from the at least one emitter a second pulse of a second energy beam, the second beam creating a second field having a uniform intensity in a second direction substantially transverse to a propagation direction of the second beam; transmitting from the at least one emitter a third pulse of a third energy beam, the third beam creating a third field with a second varying intensity gradient having a third direction substantially transverse to a propagation direction of the third beam, wherein the third direction is substantially perpendicular to the first direction, wherein there is a time period wherein the at least one emitter does not transmit any of the first, second, and third beams; receiving at a plurality of detectors a portion of each of the first, second, and third fields; for a respective one of the plurality of detectors and for each of the first, second, and third fields, determining a value corresponding to an illumination level of the portion of the respective field received by the respective detector, wherein the values corresponding to the first and third fields are indicative of relative position between the respective detector and the at least one emitter; for the respective detector, determining a value during at least a portion of the time period; for the respective detector, determining two first component values indicative of relative position between the respective detector and the at least one emitter based upon the values for the first, second, and third fields and the value determined during the time period, wherein one of the first component values is indicative of relative position corresponding to an axis parallel to the first direction, and wherein the other of the first component values is indicative of relative position corresponding to an axis parallel to the third direction; determining two second component values for another of the plurality of detectors, wherein the two second component values are indicative of relative position between the respective detector and the at least one emitter based upon the values for the first, second, and third fields and the value determined during the time period; forming a first vector using the first component values; forming a second vector using the second component values; and determining, using the first and second vectors, relative rotation between the at least one emitter and a receiver comprising the plurality of detectors. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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- 5. The method of c1aim 1, wherein the at least one emitter comprises first and second emitters, the first emitter transmitting the first energy beam and the second emitter transmitting the second energy beam.
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21. A receiver comprising:
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a plurality of detectors adapted to receive a portion of a first field of a first energy beam, the first field having a first varying intensity gradient having a first direction substantially transverse to a propagation direction of the first beam, the plurality of detectors further adapted to receive a portion of a second field of a second energy beam, the second field having a second varying intensity gradient having a second direction substantially transverse to a propagation direction of the second beam, the plurality of detectors further adapted to receive a portion of a third field of a third energy beam, the third field having a uniform intensity in a third direction substantially transverse to a propagation direction of the third beam; and detector circuitry coupled to the plurality of detectors and adapted to determine values for a respective one of the plurality of detectors and for each of the first, second, and third fields, each value corresponding to an illumination level of a portion of the respective field received by the respective detector, the detector circuitry further adapted to use the values to determine relative position between the respective detector and at least one emitter that emitted the first, second and third energy beams, wherein the detector circuitry is further adapted to determine a value during at least a portion of a time period when the at least one emitter does not transmit any of the first, second, and third beams, wherein the detector circuitry is further adapted to determine two first component values indicative of relative position between the respective detector and the at least one emitter based upon the values for the first, second, and third fields and the value determined during the time period, wherein one of the first component values is indicative of relative position corresponding to an axis parallel to the first direction, and wherein the other of the first component values indicative is of relative position corresponding to an axis parallel to the second direction, wherein the detector circuitry is further adapted to determine two second component values for another of the plurality of detectors, wherein the two second component values are indicative of relative position between the respective detector and the at least one emitter based upon the values for the first, second, and third fields and the value determined during the time period, wherein the detector circuitry is further adapted to form a first vector using the first component values and to form a second vector using the second component values, wherein the first and second vectors are used to determine relative rotation between the at least one emitter and the receiver. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification