Light curtain protection system featuring a passive optical module
First Claim
1. A light curtain protection system for monitoring a protected field of view, the light curtain protection system comprising:
- an active optical module having an emitter and a receiver, the emitter and the receiver disposed adjacent to each other to form a transceiving pair;
a passive optical module configurable to be separated from the active optical module by a detection field, and optically aligned with the active optical module to receive an incident light signal from the active optical module and return a reflected light signal to the active optical module, the passive optical detection module comprising;
a reflector aligned with the active optical module to redirect the incident light signal to form the reflected light signal;
a polarization control module to impart a first predetermined polarization to the reflected light signal such that the reflected light signal received by the receiver corresponds to a second predetermined polarization;
an optical barrier having at least one optical aperture; and
,a collimating lens configured to focus the incident light signal, received via the detection field, to the reflector through the optical aperture;
a controller operably coupled to the active optical module; and
,a data store operably coupled to the controller, wherein the data store comprises a program of instructions that, when executed by the controller, causes the controller to perform operations to detect an object, the operations comprising;
transmit, via the emitter, the incident light signal towards the passive optical module; and
,receive, via the receiver, the reflected light signal from the passive optical module.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus and associated methods relate to a light curtain protection system having a passive optical module arranged to receive, from an active optical module, a light signal such that a reflector reflects, through a polarization control module, the light signal to be received by a receiver in the active optical module. In an illustrative example, the polarization control module includes a half-wave plate aligned with the reflector to impart a first predetermined polarization to the reflected light signal such that the reflected light signal corresponds to a second predetermined polarization when received by the receiver. The polarization control module includes optical elements, such as, for example, a linear polarizer, to receive the reflected light such that the optical elements polarizes the received reflected light signal to correspond to a predetermined polarization. In some examples, the light curtain protection system may advantageously require operating power only for the active optical module.
27 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A light curtain protection system for monitoring a protected field of view, the light curtain protection system comprising:
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an active optical module having an emitter and a receiver, the emitter and the receiver disposed adjacent to each other to form a transceiving pair; a passive optical module configurable to be separated from the active optical module by a detection field, and optically aligned with the active optical module to receive an incident light signal from the active optical module and return a reflected light signal to the active optical module, the passive optical detection module comprising; a reflector aligned with the active optical module to redirect the incident light signal to form the reflected light signal; a polarization control module to impart a first predetermined polarization to the reflected light signal such that the reflected light signal received by the receiver corresponds to a second predetermined polarization; an optical barrier having at least one optical aperture; and
,a collimating lens configured to focus the incident light signal, received via the detection field, to the reflector through the optical aperture; a controller operably coupled to the active optical module; and
,a data store operably coupled to the controller, wherein the data store comprises a program of instructions that, when executed by the controller, causes the controller to perform operations to detect an object, the operations comprising; transmit, via the emitter, the incident light signal towards the passive optical module; and
,receive, via the receiver, the reflected light signal from the passive optical module. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A light curtain protection system for monitoring a protected field of view, the light curtain protection system comprising:
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an active optical module having an emitter and a receiver, the emitter and the receiver disposed adjacent to each other to form a transceiving pair; a passive optical module configurable to be separated from the active optical module by a detection field, and optically aligned with the active optical module to receive an incident light signal from the active optical module and return a reflected light signal to the active optical module, the passive optical detection module comprising; a reflector aligned with the active optical module to redirect the incident light signal to form the reflected light signal; and
,a polarization control module to impart a first predetermined polarization to the reflected light signal such that the reflected light signal received by the receiver corresponds to a second predetermined polarization; an optical barrier having at least one optical aperture; and
,a collimating lens configured to focus the incident light signal, received via the detection field, to the reflector through the optical aperture. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification