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:
Jul. 13, 2021
Filed:
Mar. 29, 2018
Nikon Corporation, Tokyo, JP;
Jonathan Kyle Wells, San Francisco, CA (US);
Paul Derek Coon, Redwood City, CA (US);
Matthew D. Rosa, Tokyo, JP;
Johnathan Marquez, San Diego, CA (US);
Michael B. Binnard, Belmont, CA (US);
Steven Douglas Slonaker, San Mateo, CA (US);
Daniel Gene Smith, Tucson, AZ (US);
Stephen P. Renwick, Moss Beach, CA (US);
Brett Herr, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Abstract
A position encoder for monitoring position of an object includes a target pattern, an illumination system, an image sensor, and a control system. The illumination system generates (i) a first illumination beam that is directed toward and impinges on the target pattern, the first illumination beam having a first beam characteristic; and (ii) a second illumination beam that is directed toward and impinges on the target pattern, the second illumination beam having a second beam characteristic that is different than the first beam characteristic. The image sensor is coupled to the object and is spaced apart from the target pattern. The image sensor senses a first set of information from the first illumination beam impinging on the target pattern and senses a second set of information from the second illumination beam impinging on the target pattern. The control system analyzes the first set of information and the second set of information to monitor the position of the object.