Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
356139100 | Photodetection of inclination from level or vertical | 26 |
20090002690 | Inclination detection methods and apparatus - 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. | 01-01-2009 |
20090051905 | Optical Inclination Sensor - An optical inclination sensor is provided having at least one reflective surface and at least two separate optical fibers having ends spaced from a reflective surface. As the reflective surface tilts with respect to a pre-determined reference position the gap lengths between the fiber ends and the reflective surface change and the differences in these gap lengths is used to calculate an angle of inclination with respect to a reference position. The optical inclination sensor can include at least one mass attached to a housing and moveable with respect to the housing as the mass and housing are rotated about one or more axes. Optical strain sensors are disposed a various locations between the mass and housing so that as the mass moves with respect to the housing, each one of the optical strain sensors are placed in compression or tension. The housing can be a generally u-shaped housing having two arms and a base section with the mass disposed within the housing. Alternatively, the housing includes a first beam, and the mass is a second beam arranged generally orthogonal to the first beam and pivotally attached thereto. The optical strain sensors are disposed between the first beam and the second beam. The optical strain sensors are placed in tension or compression as the second beam pivots with respect to the first beam. | 02-26-2009 |
20090059212 | Inclined detector - An inclined detector comprises: a detector body provided with an interior containing space including a lower alcove which is funnel-shaped; a pair of detection components including a transmitting component and a receiving component, wherein, the transmitting component is used to transmit a first signal which goes through the said containing space of the detector body, and the receiving component is used to receive the first signal transmitted by the transmitting component; and a ball disposed in the containing space of the detector body, wherein the ball stays at the bottom center of the lower alcove of the containing space when in a static state. By such arrangements, when the detector body is inclined to make the ball leave the former place where the ball is when in a static state, the receiving component will transmit a second signal for controlling after receiving the first signal transmitted by the transmitting component. | 03-05-2009 |
20090231573 | ANGLE MEASURING DEVICE AND METHOD - By diffracting light emitted from a collimator lens into lights of different orders by a transmission diffraction grating, applying the diffracted lights to a flat surface of an object, forming the light that has been reflected on the flat surface of the object and thereafter retransmitted through the transmission diffraction grating into an image in a position located apart from the optical axis of the outgoing light and measuring the angle of the object with respect to the optical axis of the collimator lens using the image location and the order of the light formed as the image, the angle in a wide range can be measured with a high resolving power. | 09-17-2009 |
20100188654 | TILT SENSOR - A tilt sensor capable of detecting more diverse orientations is to be provided. The tilt sensor includes a light emitting element and a plurality of photodetectors, a rolling element, and a hollow portion that accommodates the rolling element so as to allow the rolling element to roll in all of x-, y-, and z-direction, and to locate the rolling element, according to a direction of the gravity, at one of detecting positions including a complete blocking position that inhibits light from the light emitting element from reaching any of the photodetectors, a plurality of partial blocking positions that inhibits the light from the light emitting element from reaching at least one but not all of the photodetectors, and a nonblocking position that permits the light from the light emitting element to reach all of the photodetectors, and two of the detecting positions are each located on a respective end portion of the hollow portion in the x-, y-, and z-direction. | 07-29-2010 |
20100195094 | Inclination detection methods and appratus - 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. | 08-05-2010 |
20100220319 | TILT SENSOR - A tilt sensor includes a body, a light emitting device, a first photosensitive device, a second photosensitive device, and a moving element. The body can tilt in a plurality of tilt directions. The light emitting device is disposed at the body for providing a light beam. The first photosensitive device is disposed at the body and at one side of the light emitting device. The second photosensitive device is disposed at the body and at another side of the light emitting device. The moving element is disposed at the body. When the body tilts toward different tilt directions, the moving element moves toward different tilt directions so that the light beam emitted by the light emitting device directly transmits to the first photosensitive device and the second photosensitive device or is sheltered from directly transmitting to at least one of the first photosensitive device and the second photosensitive device. | 09-02-2010 |
20100231898 | Inclination Detector and Laser Marker - An inclination detector includes: a casing; a light source installed in the casing; a reflector being suspended with a suspender to be at a certain position in the casing and reflecting a light beam from the light source to a direction different from a light axis direction; and a detector that outputs a signal corresponding to a projected position of the light beam, and an inclination of the casing is detected based on the projected position of the light beam reflected by the reflector. | 09-16-2010 |
20100271624 | SCALE WITH CORNER LOAD SENSOR AND METHOD FOR MEASURING TILTS RESULTING FROM CORNER LOADS - A weighing scale, e.g. a top-pan scale, having a scale pan ( | 10-28-2010 |
20100321673 | ROTARY LASER EMITTING APPARATUS - A rotary laser emitting apparatus includes a rotary body, a foundation configured to rotatably support the rotary body about an axis, a laser light emitting section contained in the rotary body and configured to emit laser light in a direction orthogonal to a rotation axis of the rotary body, a relative slope detecting mechanism configured to detect an amount of deviation of the rotation axis of the rotary body from the axis of the foundation as a relative slope signal, and a transmitting section configured to transmit the relative slope signal detected by the relative slope detecting mechanism. | 12-23-2010 |
20110026015 | OPTICAL LEVEL MEASUREMENT DEVICE AND METHOD - A method and system for determining a level of a substance in a container, the method comprises emitting one pulse from a light source in a field of illumination toward a surface of said substance in said container. A backscatter signal of said pulse is detected by an optical detector. A lidar trace is created from said backscatter signal, said lidar trace including at least one reflection peak; A surface reflection is identified among said at least one reflection peak in said lidar trace, said surface reflection being a reflection of said pulse from said surface. The surface reflection is signal-fitted to provide a fitted surface trace. A level of said substance is determined in said container using said fitted surface trace. | 02-03-2011 |
20110032519 | SYSTEM FOR DETECTING THE INCLINATION OF LIGHT SOURCES, IN PARTICULAR OF PRECISION APPROACH SLOPE INDICATORS OF AN AIRPORT RUNWAY - The present invention relates to a system for detecting the inclination of one or more light beams, having at least one sharp colour transition, emitted by one or more light sources, in particular PAPIs or APAPIs, comprising measuring means ( | 02-10-2011 |
20110102778 | Geometric Error Measuring Device - A geometric error measuring device includes a measuring module and at least one (quadrant) photodiode. The measuring module has an emitting deice, which may emit at least one light ray; the photodiode may receive the incident ray. Also, the trajectory of the incident ray is parallel with the direction of measurement. If there is no geometric error, the position of the incident light ray will coincide with the position of the measured light ray. If there is a geometric error, the position of the measured light ray will not coincide with the position of the incident light ray. After the data are processed and calculated, geometric errors in straightness, squareness and rotational angles (pitch, yaw and roll) may be obtained. These geometric errors may then be corrected in the setup of a machine. | 05-05-2011 |
20110216310 | OPTICAL SENSING DEVICE WITH ROTATING TYPE SHADING ASSEMBLY - An optical sensing device includes a shell, at least one light emitting member, a rotating type shading assembly and at least one optical sensing member. The shell is formed with a black-body condition space having a light emitting chamber, a shading chamber and at least one optical sensing chamber. The light emitting member projects a light beam. The rotating type shading assembly includes a pivot and a shading member. The shading member is pivotally connected to the pivot in the shading chamber, and has a weight center offset from the pivot center. When the optical sensing device is tilted, the shading member is rotated to make the weight center located in a lowering azimuth with respect to the pivot. The optical sensing member is arranged in the optical sensing chamber, and senses the light beam to accordingly send out a sensing signal. | 09-08-2011 |
20110235026 | TILT SENSOR WITH POWER SAVING MECHANISM - A tilt sensor with power-saving mechanism is provided. The tilt sensor includes a light-emitting element, a blocking object displaceable in an accommodating space on a baseboard, at least two first light sensors, a second light sensor and a control module. The first and the second light sensors respectively sense a light amount and a light amount variation according to the relative position of the light-emitting element and the blocking object. During a power-saving mode, when the light amount variation is larger than a specific value, the control module makes the light-emitting element work in a working mode to emit light according to a first current. During the work mode, when the light amount does not change or the light amount variation is smaller than a threshold value, the control module makes the light-emitting element work in the power-saving mode to emit light according to a second current. | 09-29-2011 |
20110235027 | OPERATION METHOD TO OPERATE TILT SENSOR - An operation method to operate a tilt sensor with power-saving mechanism is provided. The operation method comprises the steps as follows. An accommodating space is provided such that a blocking object is displaceable in the accommodating space according to the gravity. A working mode is performed such that a light-emitting element emits light according to a first current and at least two first light sensors sense a light amount to determine a tilt angle of the tilt sensor. When the light amount doesn't change or when a light amount variation sensed by a second light sensor is smaller than the threshold value within a predetermined time period, a power-saving mode is performed such that the light-emitting element emits light according to a second current smaller than the first current. When the light amount variation is larger than the specific value during the power-saving mode, the working mode is performed. | 09-29-2011 |
20120092653 | System and method of aligning a sample - A system and method of use thereof that enables determining and setting sample alignment based on the location of, and geometric attributes of a monitored image formed by reflection of an electromagnetic beam from a sample and into an image monitor, which beam is directed to be incident onto the sample along a locus which is substantially normal to the surface of the sample. | 04-19-2012 |
20130021599 | OPTOELECTRONIC INCLINATION SENSOR - An optoelectronic inclination sensor determines the inclination of a reference plane relative to the horizontal. A sensor body has a liquid layer, the free surface of which represents a horizon that can be inclined relative to the reference plane, forming an optical boundary to the adjacent medium. A light source disposed below the liquid layer emits a light beam onto the boundary. An optical sensor surface below the liquid layer detects the light beam reflected by the boundary. An analysis unit determines the inclination of the reference plane as a function of the amount of light received by the sensor surface. A deflecting element for deflecting or initially totally reflecting the beam is disposed between the source and the liquid layer. The beam is inclined as a result of said deflection or initial total reflection. A second total reflection occurs at the boundary in both the inclined and non-inclined orientation. | 01-24-2013 |
20130329218 | GEODETIC TARGET AND POSITION DETERMINATION SYSTEM - A geodetic target | 12-12-2013 |
20140022539 | USE OF A SKY POLARIZATION SENSOR FOR ABSOLUTE ORIENTATION DETERMINATION IN POSITION DETERMINING SYSTEMS - A method for determining absolute orientation of a platform is disclosed. In one embodiment, a first sky polarization data set for a first time Ti is measured using a sky polarization sensor disposed on a platform. A second sky polarization data set is obtained at a second time Tj. A difference in orientation between the first sky polarization data set and the second sky polarization data set is determined using an orientation determiner. The difference in orientation is provided as at least one orientation parameter for the platform at time Tj. The at least one orientation parameter is used to provide a direction relative to a reference point on the platform. | 01-23-2014 |
20140071441 | PRECISION APPROACH PATH INDICATOR MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS AND METHODS - Precision approach path indicator (PAPI) measurement systems and methods are described herein. One system includes a number of light sensor modules, wherein each light sensor module is configured to determine an intensity of a beam of light from a PAPI unit, a memory, and a processor configured to execute executable instructions stored in the memory to determine a transition angle of the beam of light from the PAPI unit, an elevation angle of the beam of light with respect to horizontal, and a width of a transition region of the beam of light, based, at least in part, on the intensity of the beam of light determined by each light sensor module. | 03-13-2014 |
20150062569 | OPTICAL SENSOR - An optical sensor that a deterioration of detecting accuracy is suppressed is provided, and an optical sensor that an increase of the number of components and an increase of a physical constitution are suppressed is provided. The optical sensor has a light receiving element having a light receiving surface to receives light, a detector detecting an inclination of the light receiving surface in the vertical direction, and a correction portion correcting an output signal of the light receiving element based on an output signal of the detector. Furthermore, the optical sensor includes a raindrop detector detecting a raindrop, a light detector detecting an incident light, and a storage part storing these things. The raindrop detector includes a light emitting element, a first light receiving element, (212), and a first lens. The light detector includes a second light receiving element and a second lens. | 03-05-2015 |
20150300807 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR MONITORING MULTIPLE MIRROR ARRAYS IN AN ILLUMINATION SYSTEM OF A MICROLITHOGRAPHIC PROJECTION EXPOSURE APPARATUS - Microlithographic illumination system includes individually drivable elements to variably illuminate a pupil surface of the system. Each element deviates an incident light beam based on a control signal applied to the element. The system also includes an instrument to provide a measurement signal, and a model-based state estimator configured to compute, for each element, an estimated state vector based on the measurement signal. The estimated state vector represents: a deviation of a light beam caused by the element; and a time derivative of the deviation. The illumination system further includes a regulator configured to receive, for each element: a) the estimated state vector; and b) target values for: i) the deviation of the light beam caused by the deviating element; and ii) the time derivative of the deviation. | 10-22-2015 |
20150308825 | LASER BEAM HORIZONTAL TRUENESS TESTING DEVICE AND CORRESPONDING METHOD - The invention relates to a laser beam horizontal trueness testing device for a laser beam projection device for construction and/or interior design work. The laser beam projection device is equipped with a beam self-leveling functionality. The laser beam horizontal trueness testing device has a telescope with an attenuating filter, a magnifying objective, and a flat image sensor for capturing an image of a laser beam incident on the objective. Components of the laser beam horizontal trueness testing device further include a natural inclination compensator and an analyzing unit which is designed to automatically ascertain an image position of the laser beam captured in the image by processing the image. According to the invention, the flat image sensor is arranged on an image plane of the objective, and the analyzing unit is additionally designed to quantify the laser beam horizontal trueness. | 10-29-2015 |
20160161253 | Tilt Detecting Device - A tilt detecting device comprising, a light source for projecting a pattern, a liquid component having a free liquid surface and for rear-surface reflecting by the free liquid surface, a photodetection element for photodetecting a reflection image of the rear-surface reflected pattern, and an arithmetic processing unit, wherein the arithmetic processing unit is adapted to scan a predetermined range of a photodetection surface of the photodetection element as many times as required and performs averaging processing to a photodetection signal as detected and calculates a barycentric position of the pattern based on signals subjected to averaging processing. | 06-09-2016 |
20190145760 | AN IMAGE CAPTURING SYSTEM AND A METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE POSITION OF AN EMBOSSED STRUCTURE ON A SHEET ELEMENT | 05-16-2019 |