Position sensing based on ultrasound emission
First Claim
1. Apparatus for determining the disposition of an object relative to a reference frame, comprising:
- at least one field generator, which generates an electromagnetic field in a vicinity of the object;
at least one transducer, which is fixed to the object and which vibrates at a predetermined vibrational frequency and emits energy, responsive to an interaction of the electromagnetic field therewith;
one or more detectors in a vicinity of the object which detect the energy emitted by the transducer and generate signals in response thereto;
a signal processor which receives and processes the detector signals to determine coordinates of the object, the signal processor calculating the position and/or orientation of the at least one transducer by determining three position vector components and three components of angular orientation; and
a display for displaying the position and/or orientation of the at least one transducer.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An Apparatus for determining the disposition of an object relative to a reference frame includes at least one field generator, which generates an electromagnetic field in a vicinity of the object and at least one transducer, which is fixed to the object. The at least one transducer vibrates at a predetermined vibrational frequency and emits energy, responsive to an interaction of the electromagnetic field therewith. One or more detectors in a vicinity of the object are also utilized to detect the energy emitted by the transducer and generate signals in response thereto. A signal processor is also included for receiving and processing the detector signals to determine coordinates of the object.
193 Citations
29 Claims
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1. Apparatus for determining the disposition of an object relative to a reference frame, comprising:
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at least one field generator, which generates an electromagnetic field in a vicinity of the object; at least one transducer, which is fixed to the object and which vibrates at a predetermined vibrational frequency and emits energy, responsive to an interaction of the electromagnetic field therewith; one or more detectors in a vicinity of the object which detect the energy emitted by the transducer and generate signals in response thereto; a signal processor which receives and processes the detector signals to determine coordinates of the object, the signal processor calculating the position and/or orientation of the at least one transducer by determining three position vector components and three components of angular orientation; and a display for displaying the position and/or orientation of the at least one transducer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. Apparatus for determining the disposition of an object relative to a reference frame, comprising:
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at least one field generator, which generates an electromagnetic field in a vicinity of the object; a transducer, fixed to the object, which emits acoustic energy responsive to the electromagnetic field; one or more detectors at known positions in a vicinity of the object, which detect the acoustic energy emitted by the transducer and generate signals in response thereto; a signal processor which receives and processes the detector signals to determine coordinates of the object, the signal processor calculating the position and/or orientation of the at least one transducer by determining three position vector components and three components of angular orientation; and a display for displaying the position and/or orientation of the at least one transducer. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for determining the disposition of an object relative to a reference frame, comprising:
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fixing to the object a transducer, which vibrates at a vibrational frequency thereof; generating an electromagnetic field in a vicinity of the object; detecting energy, emitted by the transducer responsive to an interaction of the field with the transducer, the energy having a frequency dependent on the vibrational frequency of the transducer, at one or more locations in the reference frame and generating signals responsive thereto; processing the signals to determine coordinates of the object based on three vector components and three components of angular orientation; and displaying the position and/or orientation of the transducer. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification