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. 18, 2011
Filed:
May. 30, 2007
Johan Carlèn, Vallentuna, SE;
Johan Carlèn, Vallentuna, SE;
Trimble AB, Danderyd, SE;
Abstract
A method for determining rotational position of a target in a target tracking System is disclosed. The target comprises a plurality of light emitting elements arranged circumferentially around the target. The target tracking System further comprises a tracker unit capable of detecting light emitted by said light emitting elements. The method comprises the Steps of emitting from said light emitting elements an omni-directional synchronization signal; detecting in the tracker unit said synchronization signal; activating said light emitting elements sequentially starting from a reference direction, wherein each light emitting element is activated for a predetermined time and emits light during the time it is activated; detecting in the tracker unit a time when a maximum amount of light is received from the target; and calculating the reference direction for the target relative to a coordinate System based on the time interval between detection of the synchronization signal and the detection of a maximum amount of light received from the target. An active target for use in the method is also disclosed.