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. 01, 1997
Filed:
Dec. 01, 1995
John Miller, Auburn, NY (US);
TeleEngineering, Inc., New Foundland, NJ (US);
Abstract
An optical scanner transmits a light beam from the forward end of a moving track vehicle with the beam inclined toward the direction of movement toward another vehicle on the track. A highly reflective retroreflector tape is secured to the rear end of the other vehicle having an effective reflector region offset from the location of the transmission of the beam at the scanner. The angle of inclination and the amount of offset geometry are proportional to the distance between the vehicles. The scanner senses the return beam which is coaxial with the transmitted beam using a Schmitt trigger circuit to sense the threshold level of the returned beam. The resulting output signal is used to stop the moving vehicle at a predetermined spacing from the other vehicle.