The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 14, 2020
Filed:
Jul. 27, 2017
Blackmore Sensors and Analytics, Llc, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Stephen C. Crouch, Bozeman, MT (US);
James Curry, Bozeman, MT (US);
Trenton Berg, Manhattan, MT (US);
Richard Funk, Bozeman, MT (US);
Kyle Oliver, Bozeman, MT (US);
Daniel Ferguson, Bozeman, MT (US);
BLACKMORE SENSORS & ANALYTICS, LLC, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
An apparatus is provided for using a square wave digital chirp signal for optical chirp range detection. A laser source emits an optical signal and a RF waveform generator generates an input digital chirp signal based on the square wave digital chirp signal. A frequency of the optical signal is modulated based on the input digital chirp signal. A splitter divides the optical signal into a transmit optical signal and a reference optical signal. A detector combines the reference optical signal and a return optical signal from an object. The detector generates an electrical output signal based on the combined reference optical signal and the return optical signal. A processor determines a range to the object based on a characteristic of a Fourier transform the electrical output signal. A method is also provided for using the square wave digital chirp signal for optical chirp range detection.