Displacement measuring apparatus and velocity measuring apparatus which measure displacement amount of moving object

• US 8,760,635 B2
• Filed: 01/18/2011
• Issued: 06/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Fukuhara, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): RATCLIFFE, LUKE D
• Application Number:
  US13/008,402
• Publication Number:
  US 20110181865A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,253 Days
• Field of Search: 356/28, 356/622, 356600-608
• US Class Current: 356/28
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/30 the beams of light being detected by photocells
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 3/36 Devices characterised by the use of optical means, e.g. using infrared, visible, or ultraviolet light G01P3/68 takes precedence; gyrometers using the Sagnac effect, i.e. rotation-induced shifts between counter-rotating electromagnetic beams G01C19/64
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 3/68 using optical means, i.e. using infrared, visible, or ultraviolet light G01P3/80 takes precedence ; by reflection of waves G01S17/58

Abstract

A displacement measuring apparatus 100 which measures a displacement amount of a moving object 102 includes a light source that irradiates the moving object 102 using luminous flux emitted from a light emitting area 101, a photo diode array 104, 105 that includes a plurality of light receiving areas in a movement direction of the moving object 102 and that forms an image of the luminous flux reflected on a plurality of indentations 103 of the moving object 102 to receive light, and a measurement unit that measures the displacement amount of the moving object 102 based on a movement amount of a light emitting area image 106 that is formed on the photo diode array 104, 105 by forming the image of the luminous flux.

Claims

1. A displacement measuring apparatus for measuring a displacement amount of a moving object, the displacement measuring apparatus comprising:

a light source configured to irradiate the moving object using luminous flux emitted from a light emitting area;

a light receiving element including a plurality of light receiving areas arranged in a movement direction of the moving object, the light receiving element being arranged such that luminous flux emitted from the light emitting area and reflected from one concave portion, of a plurality of concave portions in the moving object, is converged on a light receiving surface of the light receiving element by reflection from the one concave portion, the luminous flux emitted from the light source being reflected only once by the one concave portion and then entering the light receiving surface; and

a measurement unit configured to measure the displacement amount of the moving object based on a movement amount of a light emitting area image that is formed on the light receiving element.

2. The displacement measuring apparatus according to claim 1 that meets the following condition:

0.275≦

We/Pd≦

0.87,

where We is a width of the light emitting area in the movement direction of the moving object, and Pd is a pitch between light receiving areas adjacent to each other in the movement direction of the moving object.

3. The displacement measuring apparatus according to claim 1,

further comprising the moving object;

wherein the concave portions are discretely or continuously provided on the moving object and have a shape including a radius of curvature which meets the following condition;

R=(L1+L2)/2,

where R is the radius of curvature of one of the plurality of concave portions, L1 is an optical path length from a light emitting point of the light source to a concave portion of the moving object, and L2 is an optical path length from the indentation of the moving object to the light receiving element.

4. The displacement measuring apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the concave portions are arranged in a periodic array so as to meet the following condition;

PI=Pd/2×

k,

where PI is an array period of the concave portions, Pd is a pitch between light receiving areas arranged adjacent to each other in the movement direction of the moving object, and k is a positive integer.

5. A velocity measuring apparatus including the displacement measuring apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the velocity measuring apparatus is arranged to detect a velocity of the moving object based on the displacement amount of the moving object determined by the displacement measuring apparatus in a predetermined time.

6. The displacement measuring apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the light source includes an even number of light emitting areas arranged in the movement direction of the moving object, and

wherein the displacement measuring apparatus meets the following condition:

7. The displacement measuring apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the concave portions are provided such that the light emitting area image is formed on the light receiving element by reflecting the luminous flux emitted from the light emitting area on the concave portions.

8. The displacement measuring apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the concave portions are provided such that the light emitting area image is formed on the light receiving element at same magnification by reflecting the luminous flux emitted from the light emitting area on the concave portions.

9. The displacement measuring apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the light source is configured to directly irradiate the moving object using the luminous flux emitted from the light emitting area, and

wherein the light receiving element is arranged such that the luminous flux from the light emitting area and reflected from the one concave portion is directly converged on the light receiving surface of the light receiving element.

10. The displacement measuring apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the one concave portion has a curved shape.

11. The displacement measuring apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the luminous flux emitted from the light source is reflected only once by the one concave portion so that the light source is imaged on the light receiving surface.

12. The displacement measuring apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the luminous flux emitted from the light source is reflected only once by the one concave portion so that the luminous flux is imaged on the light receiving surface.

13. A displacement measuring apparatus for measuring a displacement amount of a moving object, the displacement measuring apparatus comprising:

a light source including a light emitting area that emits luminous flux;

a light receiving element configured to receive luminous flux emitted from the light source and reflected from one concave portion, of a plurality of concave portions, formed closer to the light source in the moving object, the luminous flux being converged on a light receiving surface of the light receiving element by reflection from the one concave portion, the luminous flux emitted from the light source being reflected only once by the one concave portion and then entering the light receiving surface;

a measurement unit configured to measure the displacement amount of the moving object based on a movement amount of a light emitting area image that is formed on the light receiving element.

14. The displacement measuring apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein the concave portions are in a periodic array so as to meet the following condition:

PI=Pd/2×

k,

where PI is an array period of the concaves, Pd is a pitch between light receiving areas arranged adjacent to each other in the movement direction of the moving object, and k is a positive integer.

15. The displacement measuring apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein the concave portions are provided such that the light emitting area image is formed on the light receiving element by reflecting the luminous flux emitted from the light emitting area on the concave portions.

16. The displacement measuring apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein the concave portions are provided such that the light emitting area image is formed on the light receiving element at same magnification by reflecting the luminous flux emitted from the light emitting area on the concave portions.

17. The displacement measuring apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein the light receiving element is configured to directly receive the luminous flux emitted from the light source and reflected from the one concave portion.