Patent · US Expired

Optical displacement measurement system

US6407815B2 · kind B2 · utility

15Cited by
11References
13Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateJul 1, 1999
Grant dateJun 18, 2002
Priority date
Expiry dateJul 1, 2019

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01D5/38
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

An optical displacement measurement system that can detect the position of an object with an enhanced degree of resolution, wherein a coherent beam La is focussed on the lattice plane of a diffraction grating and, at the same time, a diffracted beam Lb is focussed on the light receiving plane of a light receiving means 3. The length of the optical path of any diffracted laser beam that passes through the aperture of a second focussing means 5 remains invariable. Therefore, if the optical axis of the diffracted beam Lb is deviated, the spot where it is focussed on the light receiving plane of the light receiving means 3 is not shifted and hence the length of the optical path will not change. Two diffracted laser beams having in equal length of optical path are made to interfere with each other in order to detect the phase difference. The displaced postion of the diffraction grating coherent beam La1 is then measured on the basis of the phase difference.

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