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:
Oct. 29, 2002
Filed:
Jun. 14, 2001
Don Odell, Milton, VT (US);
Ascension Technology Corporation, Burlington, VT (US);
Abstract
Position and orientation determination uses stationary fan beam sources and rotating mirrors to sweep fan beams. In a first embodiment, a single motor has an elongated drive shaft with mirrors mounted on it, the reflective faces of which lie either in common planes or face in opposite directions. Fan beams are generated by stationary laser beam sources aimed at each mirror. As the mirrors rotate, each stationary source is reflected off a particular mirror and into a measuring space in a predictable pattern of movement. Electrical circuitry is provided with knowledge of the rotative position of the mirrors at any given time. A sensor attached to the object to be measured detects time of arrival of impinging scanning beams. At least one of the fan-shaped beams is skewed with respect to other beams, and at least two of the fan-shaped beams have origins sufficiently separated to allow accurate triangulation of the position and orientation of the sensor over various regions of the measuring space. In this way, accurate measurement of position and orientation may be carried out. In a second embodiment, separate drive motors are provided, each of which carries a mirror with the drive shafts of the motors preferably being parallel to one another and with the reflective surfaces of the mirrors lying in either common planes or parallel planes. A method is also disclosed.