Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
356482000 | For distance or displacement measurement | 36 |
20080204759 | METHOD FOR DEMODULATING SIGNALS FROM A DISPERSIVE WHITE LIGHT INTERFEROMETRIC SENSOR AND ITS APPLICATION TO REMOTE OPTICAL SENSING - A method for demodulating signals from a dispersive, white light interferometer includes generating test interferometry spectra from an interferometer forming part of a sensor for various values of interferometer sensor optical path length. The various test spectra are correlated to a measured spectrum from the sensor to generate a correlation function. The sensor optical path length resulting in the correlation function value reaching a maximum is selected as the optical path length | 08-28-2008 |
20080252900 | OPTICAL TOMOGRAPHY SYSTEM - In an optical tomography system, polarization maintaining optical fibers are employed to guide a light beam emitted by a light source unit to a light dividing means, to guide a measuring light beam from the light dividing means to a probe, to guide the measuring light beam and a reflected light beam within the probe, to guide the reflected light beam from the probe to a combining means, and to guide a reference light beam from the light dividing means to the combining means. | 10-16-2008 |
20090066964 | DISPLACEMENT SENSOR BASED ON PHOTONIC CRYSTAL WAVEGUIDES - A displacement sensor comprising at least one pair of co-planar photonic crystal waveguide (PCWG) sections aligned along or parallel to a common axis and separated by a gap, one PCWG section of a pair operative to perform a displacement relative to the other section of the pair. In some embodiments, the sensor is linear, comprising two PCWG sections separated by a gap that forms a cross PCWG, the displacement sensing performed preferrably differentially between two edges of the cross PCWG. In other embodiments, the sensor includes Mach Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) configurations with gaps between fixed and moving PCWG sections. Displacement induced changes in the gap widths are reflected in changes in an output parameter of the MZI. | 03-12-2009 |
20090079990 | HOMODYNE LASER INTERFEROMETER PROBE AND DISPLACEMENT MEASUREMENT SYSTEM USING THE SAME - A low-cost homodyne laser interferometer probe of simple structure is provided which allows predetermined performance to be easily obtained by a simple adjustment, and a displacement measurement system using the same is also disclosed. The homodyne laser interferometer probe includes an optical fiber ( | 03-26-2009 |
20090219546 | Interferometric Gravity Sensor - A system for measuring gravity is disclosed. In the illustrative embodiment, the system uses a pair of retro-reflectors located on a free-falling test mass. These retro-reflectors enable the movement of the test mass to change the length of both a reference arm and sample arm in an interferometer system. As a result, gravity sensors in accordance with the present invention have higher sensitivity than prior-art interferometer-based gravity sensors. | 09-03-2009 |
20090257066 | Optical displacement measuring device - An optical displacement measuring device includes a diffraction grating, a reflecting optical system configured to irradiate two one-time diffracted beams diffracted at the diffraction grating on the diffraction grating again, and the reflecting optical system includes a first imaging element, a second imaging element, a first reflector, and a second reflector, wherein the focal length of the first imaging element and the focal length of the second imaging element are the same, the diffraction grating and first reflector are disposed around the focal position of the first imaging element, and the diffraction grating and second reflector are disposed around the focal position of the second imaging element, thereby suppressing influence of displacement of the diffraction grating as to other than a direction where a movement position is detected. | 10-15-2009 |
20090323077 | PRECISION LENGTH STANDARD FOR COHERENT LASER RADAR - This disclosure presents a version of a coherent laser radar system that is immune to environmental effects on Mach-Zehnder-configured interferometers and reference length standards comprising such systems. The present disclosure also describes methods and materials which alleviate interferometer drift due to vapor absorption using a polyimide coated polarization maintaining fiber to reduce the change in the length of a reference arm. | 12-31-2009 |
20100027025 | OPTICAL PROBE AND OPTICAL TOMOGRAPHIC IMAGING APPARATUS - An optical probe includes: an optical fiber; a substantially cylindrical ferrule integrally fixed to the optical fiber in the vicinity 2of the distal end of the fiber; a distal optical system for deflecting laser emitted from the optical fiber toward a subject to be measured; a holding portion for holding the distal optical system, the holding portion being supported by the ferrule rotatably about the optical axis of the optical fiber; a rotating oscillator slidably engaging with the outer circumferential surface of the ferrule; a driving unit for imparting oscillation in the direction of the optical axis to the rotating oscillator; and a coupling member for coupling the holding portion with the rotating oscillator elastically in the direction of the optical axis. The rotating oscillator rotates about the optical axis and reciprocates in the direction of the optical axis due to the oscillation applied from the driving unit. | 02-04-2010 |
20100079767 | DISPLACEMENT MEASUREMENT APPARATUS - A displacement measurement apparatus includes a first diffraction grating transmitting light from a light source and producing diffracted beams including first to third diffracted beams output in different directions; a second diffraction grating movable together with an object to be measured, provided in a plane parallel to the first diffraction grating, and reflecting the first to third diffracted beams transmitted through the first diffraction grating; a first photodetector receiving the first and second diffracted beams diffracted by the second diffraction grating; a second photodetector receiving at least the third diffracted beam transmitted through the first diffraction grating; and a calculation unit calculating displacement of the object in a first direction in accordance with the beams received by the first photodetector, and displacement of the object in a second direction, different from the first direction, in accordance with the beam received by the second photodetector. | 04-01-2010 |
20100097617 | REFERENCE SIGNAL GENERATING CONFIGURATION FOR AN INTERFEROMETRIC MINIATURE GRATING ENCODER READHEAD USING FIBER OPTIC RECEIVER CHANNELS - A reference mark configuration for an interferometric miniature grating encoder readhead using fiber optic receiver channels is provided. The readhead may include “primary” fibers that provide reference mark primary signals processed to generate a reference signal with accuracy of approximately 0.2 microns. In some embodiments, a zone grating type reference mark may be embedded in a periodic scale grating, and configured such that it provides strong reference mark primary signals without disrupting periodic incremental measurement signals associated with the periodic scale grating. In one embodiment, the readhead may include “secondary” fibers used to generate reference mark secondary signals processed to generate a reference signal with accuracy of approximately 20 nanometers. | 04-22-2010 |
20110075152 | Long Distance Optical Fiber Sensing System and Method - A long-distance fiber optic monitoring system having a sensing unit and an analyzer that is remotely located from the sensing unit is provided. The sensing unit comprises a source of optical energy for injecting optical energy into the fiber optical cable and an optical detector configured to detect an optical return signal from the optical fiber. The detected optical return signal is associated with an acoustic signal impinging on the optical fiber. The analyzer receives a signal from the remote sensing unit via the optical fiber that is representative of the optical return signal, and determines a location of a disturbance based at least on the received signal. The representative signal can be transmitted from the remote sensing unit to the analyzer as an optical signal or via a metallic wired included with the optical fiber. | 03-31-2011 |
20110109913 | SHORT COHERENCE INTERFEROMETRY FOR MEASURING FOR MEASURING SPACINGS - A short coherence interferometer for measuring several axially spaced-apart regions of a sample, especially of an eye, which has a measuring optical path, through which the measuring radiation falls on the sample, a tunable interferometer for the axial, relative retardation of parts of the radiation, wherein the axial relative retardation is assigned to the axial spacing of the regions and a detector for producing an interference signal from interfering measurement radiation, scattered or reflected back from the sample as sample radiation. The tunable interferometer divides the sample radiation into two parts, which are axially relatively retarded and superimposed so as to interfere. During the superimposition, the tunable interferometer forms individual radiations, which represent quadrature components of the sample radiation, and the detector detects the individual radiations. | 05-12-2011 |
20110164256 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MEASURING GEOMETRIC CHANGES OF EMBEDDED PASSIVE MATERIALS DURING A LAMINATION PROCESS | 07-07-2011 |
20110170113 | LASER-BASED COORDINATE MEASURING DEVICE AND LASER-BASED METHOD FOR MEASURING COORDINATES - A laser based coordinate measuring device measures a position of a remote target. The laser based coordinate measuring device includes a stationary portion, a rotatable portion, and at least a first optical fiber. The stationary portion has at least a first laser radiation source and at least a first optical detector, and the rotatable portion is rotatable with respect to the stationary portion. The first optical fiber system, which optically interconnects the first laser radiation source and the first optical detector with an emission end of the first optical fiber system, has the emission end disposed on the rotatable portion. The emission end emits laser radiation to the remote target and receives laser radiation reflected from the remote target with the emission direction of the laser radiation being controlled according to the rotation of the rotatable portion. | 07-14-2011 |
20120057169 | DEFLECTION MEASURING DEVICE ACCORDING TO THE INTERFEROMETER PRINCIPLE - An interferometer type deflection measuring device having a radiation source, a first fiber-optic means forming a first light path, a second fiber-optic means forming a second light path, a deflection body and an evaluation circuit, the first and second fiber-optic means receiving radiation from the radiation source on an input side, and radiation guided in the first and second fiber-optic means, respectively, being brought together on an output side with interference radiation being conveyed to the evaluation circuit for evaluation. The first fiber-optic means and the second fiber-optic means are arranged only on the deflection body, at least one of the first and second fiber-optic means being connected on the input side to the beam source with a single feed optical fiber and at least one of the first and second fiber-optic means being connected on the output side to the evaluation circuit by a single evaluation optical fiber. | 03-08-2012 |
20120113433 | OPTICAL METHOD FOR PRECISE THREE-DIMENSIONAL POSITION MEASUREMENT - We disclose a method for accurate three-dimensional position measurement in the field of nano-positioning using a single light beam and principles of interferometry to measure position. | 05-10-2012 |
20120162661 | Displacement Sensor with Embedded Coherent Electromagnetic Radiation Interferometer for Micro Scale Proximity Measurements - The present invention is an interferometer sensor which uses frequency modulated coherent electromagnetic radiation to noncontact measure the displacement of moving targets with high precision. The sensor has an embedded interferometer comprised of an electromagnetic radiation source, a plurality of electromagnetic waveguides, interferometric and extension waveguides, a refractive index gel, or angled end face and an electromagnetic radiation detector. | 06-28-2012 |
20120170047 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MEASURING A DISTANCE - This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for measuring a distance. In one aspect, the method includes actuating or releasing an interferometric modulator having a first surface and a second surface and measuring a distance between the first and second surfaces at a plurality of times during the actuation or release. In another aspect, the method includes illuminating, with a first laser beam having a first wavelength and with a second laser beam having a second wavelength different from the first wavelength, an interferometric modulator having a distance between a first surface which is at least partially reflective and a second surface which is at least partially absorptive, measuring a first intensity of the first laser beam modulated by the interferometric modulator and a second intensity of the second laser beam modulated by the interferometric modulator, and determining the distance based on the measured intensities. | 07-05-2012 |
20120194824 | INTERFEROMETRIC HETERODYNE OPTICAL ENCODER SYSTEM - An encoder interferometry system includes an interferometer positioned to receive first and second beams having different frequencies, in which the interferometer has at least one polarizing beam splitting element for directing the first beam along a measurement path to define a measurement beam and the second beam along a reference path to define a reference beam. The encoder interferometry system further includes a encoder scale positioned to diffract the measurement beam at least once, a detector positioned to receive the measurement and reference beams after the measurement beam diffracts from the encoder scale, and an output component positioned to receive the measurement and reference beams before they reach the detector and deflect spurious portions of the first and second beam away from the detector. | 08-02-2012 |
20130120758 | LASER ULTRASONIC MEASUREMENT SYSTEM WITH MOVABLE BEAM DELIVERY - A laser ultrasonic measurement system includes a first and a second laser source configured to generate a first and a second laser beam, respectively. A movable mechanical link is arranged to transmit the first laser beam. The movable mechanical link is formed by a plurality of rigid sections interconnected by rotating joints. A robot is configured to support and control the movement of at least a section of the mechanical link to transmit the first laser beam to an object. An optical scanner is positioned proximate to the mechanical link. The optical scanner is configured to direct the first and second laser beams onto the object. An interferometer is optically coupled to the optical scanner. The interferometer is configured to receive reflected light from the object and in response generate an electrical signal. The first laser source is kinematically mounted in a housing assembly. | 05-16-2013 |
20130128278 | Interferometric device with extrinsic optical fiber for measuring a physical parameter - An extrinsic optical fiber device ( | 05-23-2013 |
20130265583 | FIBER OPTIC POSITION SENSING SYSTEM - A fiber optic sensing system for determining the position of an object requires a light source, an optical fiber, a fiber optic splitter, a fiber tip lens, an optical detector and signal processing circuitry. Light emitted by the light source is conveyed via optical fiber and the splitter to the lens and onto an object, such that at least a portion of the light is reflected by the object and conveyed via fiber and the splitter to the detector. Signal processing circuitry coupled to the detector determines the position of the object with respect to the lens based on a characteristic of the reflected light. The system is suitably employed with a hydraulic accumulator having a piston, the position of which varies with the volume of fluid in the accumulator, with the system arranged to determine the position of the piston, from which the volume can be calculated. | 10-10-2013 |
20140355001 | Measuring Deflection in an Optical Fiber Sensor by Comparing Current and Baseline Frames of Speckle Interference Patterns - A sensor compares frames of pixels representing a speckle pattern caused by interference of light through an optical fiber to detect magnitudes of deflection of the fiber. A coherent light source illuminates the optical fiber. An image sensor captures the speckle pattern and frames of pixels produced by the image sensor are processed to determine deflection. A baseline frame is generated from frames previously received. Each frame is compared to the baseline frame to determine the cumulative amount of deflection on the fiber. To compensate for drift and large-scale movements of the optical fiber, the baseline frame is updated as frames are received. The processed output from comparing to the baseline frame has larger amplitude signals than from comparing to adjacent frames due to larger deflections over time since the baseline frame. Signal-to-Noise ratio is improved, and the processed output better matches a plot of the actual total deflection. | 12-04-2014 |
20150022820 | Measuring Device - A measuring device for the high-precision optical determination of distance or position includes a light source, at least one optical functional element in the form of a plane mirror or a measuring standard, and a detector system. At least two sub-beams are generated, of which at least one impinges on the functional element at least three times before the sub-beams propagate, interferingly superposed, in the direction of the detector system, via which at least one phase-encoded measuring signal is able to be generated from the superposed sub-beams. Between the impingements on the optical functional element, the sub-beam passes through at least two imaging elements, the imaging elements having imaging factors such that no location and directional shear of the interfering sub-beams results in the event the optical functional element tilts out of its setpoint position. | 01-22-2015 |
20150055138 | Measurement Device, System and Method - A measurement device ( | 02-26-2015 |
20150070709 | ELECTRO-OPTIC MODULATOR AND ELECTRO-OPTIC DISTANCE-MEASURING DEVICE - An electro-optic modulator includes a waveguide of a nonlinear optical material and an electrode line for generating an electrical field in a modulating region of the waveguide when a voltage is applied to the electrode line, thereby modulating light passing through the waveguide. Therein, the forward electro-optic response of the modulating region is the same as the backward electro-optic response; and the electro-optic response has a band-pass or a low-pass characteristic. A distance measuring device includes a light source emitting light, and such an electro-optic modulator arranged such that the emitted light passes through the electro-optic modulator in a first direction before being emitted from the distance measuring device, and after being reflected from a target passes through the electro-optic modulator in a second direction which is opposite to the first direction. | 03-12-2015 |
20150077758 | ELECTRO-OPTIC DISTANCE-MEASURING DEVICE - A distance measuring device includes a light source emitting light, and an integrated electro-optic modulator arranged such that the emitted light passes through an optical waveguide of the electro-optic modulator in a first direction before being emitted from the distance measuring device, and after being reflected from a target passes through the electro-optic modulator in a second direction which is opposite to the first direction. The forward electro-optic response of a modulating region of the electro-optic modulator is the same as the backward electro-optic response, and a center of gravity of the modulation is independent of modulation frequency. | 03-19-2015 |
20150077759 | Compact, Slope Sensitive Optical Probe - An optical probe system has a light source fiber-delivered and the detector fiber-coupled for analyzing carrier fringes using a line sensor to measure displacement and tilt. Simultaneous surface metrology to measure both the front and back surface of the same optic, is enabled provided the two surfaces are substantially parallel to within the measurement range. Alternatively, the front surface can be measured and then subsequently the back surface. | 03-19-2015 |
20150085297 | Coordinate Measurement System and Method - A position detection system is able to detect the three dimensional position of at least one target ( | 03-26-2015 |
20150098090 | Optical Position-Measuring Device - A position-measuring device for detecting the position of two objects movable relative to each other, includes a measuring standard that is joined to one of the two objects, as well as a scanning system for scanning the measuring standard, the scanning system being joined to the other of the two objects. The scanning system permits a simultaneous determination of position along a first lateral shift direction and along a vertical shift direction of the objects. To that end, on the part of the scanning system, two scanning beam paths are formed, in which a group of phase-shifted signals is able to be generated in each case at the output end from interfering partial beams of rays. In addition, via the scanning system, at least a third scanning beam path is formed, by which it is possible to determine position along a second lateral shift direction of the objects. The beam from a light source is able to be supplied to the scanning system via a first light guide and coupling-in optics in common for all three scanning beam paths. The interfering partial beams of rays produced in the three scanning beam paths are able to be coupled via common coupling-out optics, into a second light guide which supplies these beams of rays to a detector system. | 04-09-2015 |
20150103356 | Interferometer, System, and Method of Use - A compact, balanced, up to three degrees of freedom measuring interferometer which enables fiber delivery of an optical source without periodic nonlinearity, an interferometer system, and method for using an interferometer to measure up to three degrees of freedom is disclosed. | 04-16-2015 |
20150131106 | Evanescent Field Opto-Mechanical Displacement Sensor and Phase Shifter - A method and system described for sensing a displacement by receiving and propagating a laser light signal with an etched waveguide that is configured to enable an evanescent optical field above the waveguide surface. A movable perturber can be positioned so the perturber interacts with the evanescent optical field above the waveguide surface. An optical phase shift can be induced in the waveguide when the movable perturber is displaced in the evanescent optical field, and the optical phase shift can be measured with an optical readout circuit. | 05-14-2015 |
20150316373 | LONG BASE INCLINOMETER WITH OPTICAL MEASUREMENT - A tiltmeter to measure a variation in inclination of a structure from a given starting position. The tiltmeter has two pots, each pot contains an identical volume and identical height of an identical liquid. A communication device connects the two pots and allows the liquid to flow between the two pots by the principle of communicating vessels. Two optical measuring devices are provided, one optical measuring device per pot. Each optical measuring device measures a variation in height of the level of liquid in the associated pot. The optical measuring devices are fiber optic devices coupled to a common light source. | 11-05-2015 |
20160018210 | Fiber Optic Position Sensing System - A fiber optic sensing system for determining the position of an object requires a light source, an optical fiber, a fiber optic splitter, a fiber tip lens, an optical detector and signal processing circuitry. Light emitted by the light source is conveyed via optical fiber and the splitter to the lens and onto an object, such that at least a portion of the light is reflected by the object and conveyed via fiber and the splitter to the detector. Signal processing circuitry coupled to the detector determines the position of the object with respect to the lens based on a characteristic of the reflected light. The system is suitably employed with a hydraulic accumulator having a piston, the position of which varies with the volume of fluid in the accumulator, with the system arranged to determine the position of the piston, from which the volume can be calculated. | 01-21-2016 |
20160146661 | Fiber Optic Distributed Vibration Sensing With Wavenumber Sensitivity Correction - An apparatus and method for correcting the wavenumber sensitivity of a distributed fiber optic sensor are disclosed. The distributed fiber optic sensor is deployed in a region of interest to measure a characteristic of an incident acoustic wavefield. A composite response of the distributed sensor is determined based on backscatter optical signals generated by the sensor, where the composite response is indicative of a characteristic of an incident acoustic wavefield. The composite response includes at least a first response having a first wavenumber sensitivity and a second response having a second wavenumber sensitivity. The second wavenumber sensitivity is selected so that wavenumber notches of the first and second responses do not overlap. | 05-26-2016 |
20160178345 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONFORMAL IMAGING VIBROMETRY | 06-23-2016 |