Method and apparatus for determining three-dimensional position, orientation and mass distribution
US6025726A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 30, 1998 |
| Grant date | Feb 15, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 30, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03K2217/960775
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A quasi-electrostatic sensing system surrounds an electrically conductive mass with an electric field, the magnitude of which is sensed at one or more locations to resolve a property of interest concerning the mass. The object intercepts a part of the electric field extending beween the AC-coupled "sending" electrode and the other "receiving" electrodes, the amount of the field intercepted depending on the size and orientation of the sensed mass, whether or not the mass provides a grounding path, and the geometry of the distributed electrodes. Because the response of the field to an object is a complex nonlinear function, adding electrodes can always distinguish among more cases. In other words, each electrode represents an independent weighting of the mass within the field; adding an electrode provides information regarding that mass that is not redundant to the information provided by the other electrodes. A "forward model" that relates the behavior of the system to variations in the property to be measured is established, and "inversion" of this model facilitates recovery of the property based on system behavior. The invention is amenable to a wide variety of usages including th…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.