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. 05, 2011
Filed:
Feb. 14, 2010
Applicant:
Andreas Glimm, Weimar, DE;
Inventor:
Andreas Glimm, Weimar, DE;
Assignee:
Trimble Navigation Limited, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G01C 1/00 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
Abstract
Apparatus and methods for detecting inclination employ a point source of light from which light is emitted through a lens toward a reflective surface of a liquid contained in a vessel. Light reflected from the surface passes through the lens to form a defocused image of the point source on a two-dimensional array of detector elements. Data acquired from the array represents intensity of the light incident on each of the detector elements. A center of gravity representing inclination of the vessel is determined from the data.