Detector for determining a position of at least one object

• US 9,958,535 B2
• Filed: 04/20/2017
• Issued: 05/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BASF SE
• Original Assignee: BASF SE
• Inventors: Send, Robert, Bruder, Ingmar, Thiel, Erwin, Irle, Stephan
• Primary Examiner(s): Punnoose, Roy M
• Application Number:
  US15/492,007
• Publication Number:
  US 20170219694A1
• Time in Patent Office: 376 Days
• Field of Search: 356614
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/213 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. cameras, photodiodes or infrared cells A63F13/219, A63F13/655 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/428 involving motion or position input signals, e.g. signals representing the rotation of an input controller or a player's arm motions sensed by accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1093 using visible light
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/14 for measuring distance or clearance between spaced objects or spaced apertures G01B11/26 takes precedence; rangefinders G01C3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/32 using transmission of continuous waves, whether amplitude-, frequency-, or phase-modulated, or unmodulated
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/42 Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates indirect measurement G01S17/46
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/46 Indirect determination of position data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/86 Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/89 for mapping or imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/783 using amplitude comparison of signals derived from static detectors or detector systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4812 transmitted and received beams following a coaxial path
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4816 of receivers alone
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4817 relating to scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/497 Means for monitoring or calibrating
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/10 Beam splitting or combining systems polarising systems G02B27/28; mixing and splitting light signals using optical waveguides G02B6/28; beam shaping, e.g. changing the cross-sectional area, by dividing or superposing multiple light beams G02B27/0905
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/144 using partially transparent surfaces without spectral selectivity G02B27/147 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0325 using a plurality of light emitters or reflectors or a plurality of detectors forming a reference frame from which to derive the orientation of the object, e.g. by triangulation or on the basis of reference deformation in the picked up image

Abstract

A detector (118) for determining a position of at least one object (112) is disclosed, the detector (118) comprising:

• • at least one longitudinal optical sensor (120), wherein the longitudinal optical sensor (120) has at least one sensor region (124), wherein the longitudinal optical sensor (120) is at least partially transparent, wherein the longitudinal optical sensor (120) is designed to generate at least one longitudinal sensor signal in a manner dependent on an illumination of the sensor region (124) by at least one light beam (126) traveling from the object (112) to the detector (118), wherein the longitudinal sensor signal, given the same total power of the illumination, is dependent on a beam cross-section of the light beam (126) in the sensor region (124);
  • at least one illumination source (114) adapted to illuminate the object (112) with illumination light (115) through the longitudinal optical sensor (120); and
  • at least one evaluation device (136), wherein the evaluation device (136) is designed to generate at least one item of information on a longitudinal position of the object (112) by evaluating the longitudinal sensor signal.

Claims

1. A scanning system for determining a position of at least one object, said scanning system comprising at least one detector comprising:

at least one longitudinal optical sensor, wherein the longitudinal optical sensor has at least one sensor region, wherein the longitudinal optical sensor is at least partially transparent, wherein the longitudinal optical sensor is designed to generate at least one longitudinal sensor signal in a manner dependent on an illumination of the sensor region by at least one light beam traveling from the object to the detector, wherein the longitudinal sensor signal, given the same total power of the illumination, is dependent on a beam cross-section of the light beam in the sensor region;

at least one illumination source adapted to scan illumination light through at least one scan region in space and illuminate the at least one object with the illumination light through the longitudinal optical sensor; and

at least one evaluation device, wherein the at least one evaluation device is designed to generate at least one item of information on a longitudinal position of at least one point of the at least one object in said scan region relative to the at least one detector by evaluating the longitudinal sensor signal.

2. The scanning system according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation device is designed to generate the at least one item of information on the longitudinal position of the at least one object from at least one predefined relationship between a geometry of the illumination of the sensor region by the light beam and a relative positioning of the at least one object with respect to the at least one detector.

3. The scanning system according to claim 2, wherein the predefined relationship between the geometry of the illumination of the sensor region by the light beam and the relative positioning of the at least one object with respect to the at least one detector is taking account of a known power of the illumination.

4. The scanning system according to claim 2, wherein the predefined relationship between the geometry of the illumination of the sensor region by the light beam and the relative positioning of the at least one object with respect to the at least one detector is taking account of a modulation frequency with which the illumination light is modulated.

5. The scanning system according to claim 2, wherein the illumination source is adapted to send out at least two light beams having differing optical properties.

6. The scanning system according to claim 5, wherein the at least two light beams have differing spectral properties.

7. The scanning system according to claim 5, wherein the at least two light beams are modulated with different modulation frequencies.

8. The scanning system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one illumination source adapted to scan illumination light through at least one scan region in space scans the illumination light through the at least one scan region in a continuous fashion.

9. The scanning system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one illumination source adapted to scan illumination light through at least one scan region in space scans the illumination light through the at least one scan region in a stepwise fashion.

10. The scanning system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one detector further comprises at least one reflective element, wherein the at least one reflective element is adapted to reflect the illumination light before illuminating the at least one object.

11. The scanning system according to claim 10, wherein the at least one reflective element is a movable reflective element adapted to be adjusted to at least two different positions, wherein, in the at least two different positions, the illumination light is reflected into different directions.

12. The scanning system according to claim 10, wherein the at least one reflective element is adapted to reflect light in the infrared spectral range, wherein light in the visible spectral range is transmitted.

13. The scanning system according to claim 10, wherein the at least one reflective element is selected from a mirror;

a semitransparent mirror;

a prism;

a dichroitic mirror; and

a beam splitter cube.