Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for position and orientation measurement using a magnetic field and retransmission

US4642786A · kind A · utility

310Cited by
15References
25Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateMay 25, 1984
Grant dateFeb 10, 1987
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 25, 2004

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01V3/104
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

Disclosed herein are method and apparatus for position and orientation measurement using a magnetic field and retransmission thereof. In a first embodiment, three coils are deployed as a three-axis antenna. A magnetic field is transmitted sequentially from the three coils each of which coil comprises the transmitter and receiver. Three passive resonant circuits are used as retransmitters and attached to an object the position and orientation of which are to be measured. The three coils, one from each of the retransmitters, are deployed as a three-axis antenna. In a second embodiment of the present invention, the three coils mentioned above with reference to the first embodiment are deployed merely as a three-axis receiver. As such, a separate coil is provided for the purpose of transmission. The three-axis retransmitter is attached to the object, the position and orientation of which are to be determined. In a third embodiment of the present invention, a transmitter coil is provided as well as a single resonant circuit retransmitter. In conjunction with these coils, nine coils are deployed as three-axis antennas which operate as receivers to receive the retransmissions from the ret…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.