DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MEASURING A QUANTITY OVER A SPATIAL REGION

• US 20110056286A1
• Filed: 09/01/2010
• Published: 03/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Peter Alexander Jansen
• Original Assignee: Peter Alexander Jansen
• Inventors: Jansen, Peter Alexander
• Application Number:
  US12/873,897
• Publication Number:
  US 20110056286A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/149
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/188 for accumulated errors, e.g. by coupling inertial systems with absolute positioning systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 1/02 Means for indicating or recording specially adapted for thermometers
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 2213/00 Temperature mapping
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/17 Systems in which incident light is modified in accordance with the properties of the material investigated where the material investigated is optically excited causing a change in wavelength of the incident light G01N21/63
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/86 Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders

Abstract

The present invention enables the measurement and determination of a quantity over a selected spatial region by providing a device that incorporates a sensor for the measurement of the quantity and a spatial subsystem for determining the spatial information comprising a spatial position and/or orientation of the device when the measurement is made. A processing module integrated with the device operates on a dataset of multiple measurements correlated with spatial information and provides a determination of the quantity over the selected spatial range, either directly based on the measured data point and the spatial information or via a sensor fusion algorithm such as an interpolation algorithm. The results may be displayed on the device, for example, on a graphical display, or may be transmitted to a remote processor for subsequent processing and/or display.

Claims

1. A measurement device comprising:

a sensor;

a spatial subsystem for determining, at a time substantially simultaneous with a measurement of a quantity by said sensor, spatial information comprising one of a position of said device relative to a reference position, an orientation of said device relative to a reference orientation, and a combination thereof;

a power source;

a user interface;

a housing; and

a processing subsystem comprising a processor and memory;

wherein said processing subsystem is adapted to provide, based on a dataset comprising measurements of said quantity made by said sensor and said spatial information provided by said spatial subsystem, a determination of said quantity over a selected spatial region.

2. The device according to claim 1 wherein said spatial subsystem comprises one or more spatial and inertial sensors selected from the list comprising an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a gyroscope, and a global positioning system.

3. The device according to claim 1 wherein said sensor is adapted to provide a single measurement at a given point in time.

4. The device according to claim 1 wherein said sensor is adapted to provide an array of measurements at a given point in time, wherein said array of measurements corresponds to one of an array of spatial directions, and array of spatial positions, and a combination thereof.

5. The device according to claim 1 wherein said sensor is adapted to measure said quantity locally at a location corresponding to said device.

6. The device according to claim 5 wherein sensor is further adapted to measure said quantity in a selected direction relative to said device.

7. The device according to claim 1 wherein said sensor comprises a distance sensor, wherein a distance along a pre-selected direction relative to said device, between said device and an object, is measured.

8. The device according to claim 1 wherein said device further comprises a distance sensor, wherein a distance along a pre-selected direction relative to said device, between said device and an object, is measured at a time substantially simultaneous with a measurement made by said sensor, and wherein said dataset further comprises a measurement of said distance.

9. The device according to claim 1 wherein said determination of said quantity over a selected spatial region comprises a discrete set of measurements made by said sensor.

10. The device according to claim 1 wherein said determination of said quantity over a selected spatial region is obtained by spatially interpolating said measurements made by said sensor.

11. The device according to claim 1 wherein said sensor measures a quantity selected from the list comprising optical, electromagnetic, spatial, magnetic, acoustic, distance, thermal, chemical, biological, nuclear, temporal, and electrical quantities.

12. The device according to claim 1 further comprising one or more additional sensors, wherein each additional sensor is adapted to measure a quantity, wherein said processing subsystem is adapted to provide, based on a set of measurements made by said sensors and spatial information provided by said spatial subsystem, a determination of said quantities over said selected spatial region.

13. The device according to claim 12 wherein a user may select a single sensor for the determination of a single quantity over a selected spatial region.

14. The device according to claim 1 further comprising a chronometer, wherein said device provides, at a time substantially simultaneous with a measurement made by said sensor, a measurement of one of an absolute time or a time delay relative to a reference time.

15. The device according to claim 1 further comprising a display.

16. The device according to claim 1 further comprising a communication subsystem, wherein one of said dataset, said determination of said quantity over a selected spatial region, and a combination thereof may be transmitted to a remote processing system.

17. The device according to claim 16 wherein said communication subsystem comprises one of a wireless transmitter and a wireless transceiver.

18. The device according to claim 1 comprising a handheld device.

19. The device according to claim 1 wherein said device is mounted to a system adapted for one of rotation, translation, and a combination thereof.

20. A method of measuring a quantity over a selected spatial region with a device comprising a sensor and a spatial subsystem, comprising the steps of:

a) measuring a quantity with said sensor within said selected spatial region;

b) measuring spatial information with said spatial subsystem at a time substantially simultaneous with said measurement of said quantity, said spatial information comprising one of a position of said device relative to a reference position, an orientation of said device relative to a reference orientation, and a combination thereof;

c) repeating steps (a)-(b) one or more times within said selected spatial region; and

d) providing, based on a dataset comprising measurements of said quantity made by said sensor and said spatial information, a determination of said quantity over said selected spatial region.

21. The method according to claim 20 wherein said spatial subsystem comprises one or more spatial and inertial sensors selected from the list comprising an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a gyroscope, and a global positioning system.

22. The method according to claim 20 wherein a single measurement is obtained from said sensor at a given point in time.

23. The method according to claim 20 wherein an array of measurements is obtained from said sensor at a given point in time, wherein said array of measurements correspond to one of an array of spatial directions, and array of spatial positions, and a combination thereof.

24. The method according to claim 20 wherein said quantity is locally measured at a location corresponding to said device.

25. The method according to claim 24 wherein sensor is further adapted to measure said quantity in a selected direction relative to said device.

26. The method according to claim 20 wherein said sensor comprises a distance sensor, wherein a distance along a pre-selected direction relative to said device, between said device and an object, is measured in step (a).

27. The method according to claim 20 wherein said device further comprises a distance sensor, wherein a distance along a pre-selected direction relative to said device, between said device and an object, is measured at a time substantially simultaneous with a measurement made by said sensor in step (a), and wherein said dataset further comprises a measurement of said distance.

28. The method according to claim 20 wherein said step of providing a determination of said quantity over a selected spatial region comprises providing a discrete set of measurements made by said sensor.

29. The method according to claim 20 wherein said step of providing a determination of said quantity over a selected spatial region is obtained by spatially interpolating said measurements made by said sensor.

30. The method according to claim 20 wherein said step of measuring a quantity with said sensor comprises measuring a quantity selected from the list comprising optical, electromagnetic, spatial, magnetic, acoustic, distance, thermal, chemical, biological, nuclear, temporal, and electrical quantities.

31. The method according to claim 20 further comprising, in step (a), measuring one or more additional quantities with one or more additional sensors, wherein in step (d), a determination of said quantities is provided over said selected spatial region.

32. The method according to claim 31 wherein a user may select a single sensor for the determination of a single quantity over a selected spatial region.

33. The method according to claim 20 further comprising measuring, at a time substantially simultaneous with a measurement made by said sensor, temporal information comprising an absolute time or a time delay relative to a reference time.

34. The method according to claim 33 wherein in step (d), said spatial information and said temporal information are included in said dataset and one of a velocity of said device, an acceleration of said device, or a combination thereof is determined at the time of each said measurement.

35. The method according to claim 20 further comprising providing said determination of said quantity over said selected spatial region to a user on a display.

36. The method according to claim 20 further comprising transmitting one of said dataset, said determination of said quantity over a selected spatial region, and a combination thereof to a remote processing system.

37. The method according to claim 20 wherein said measurements are obtained at fixed time intervals.

38. The method according to claim 20 wherein said measurements are performed when initiated by a user.

39. The method according to claim 20 wherein said quantity comprises a spatial location of one or more walls, and wherein said determination of said quantity over a selected location comprises a determination of said spatial location of one or more walls over said selected spatial region.