Lidar scanning system
US5006721A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 23, 1990 |
| Grant date | Apr 9, 1991 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 23, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01S7/4811
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A LIDAR scanning system having a rotating multifaceted polygon mirror for transmitting modulated light from one of its facets to a surface. Diffuse light reflected off said surface is received by another facet of the polygon mirror and reflected to a photo detector. The phase difference between the transmitted and received light is then used to compute the range of the surface from the scanning system. The intensity of the returned light is used to create a gray scale image of the surface. The use of separate optical paths for the transmitted and returned light, and a small scanned field of view results in an improved signal-to-noise ratio.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.