Patent · US Active

Optoelectronic distance measuring device

US7760337B2 · kind B2 · utility

2Cited by
5References
11Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateOct 28, 2008
Grant dateJul 20, 2010
Priority date
Expiry dateFeb 13, 2029

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01S7/491
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

An optoelectronic distance measuring device includes a frequency modulator generating a high-frequency modulation signal, an emitter emitting a high-frequency modulated measuring beam to an object to be measured, an avalanche photodiode receiving a reflected measuring beam from the object and generating a corresponding high-frequency reflected measuring signal, and a signal generating device generating a high-frequency mixer signal connected with the avalanche photodiode. The high-frequency mixer signal is applied to the avalanche photodiode and mixed with the high-frequency reflected measuring signal to provide a low-frequency measuring signal which contains phase information for calculating a distance to be measured. In this manner, measuring error due to phase drift is eliminated without the need for an extra internal reference optical path and an mechanical switching device so that the structure of the device is simplified significantly and manufacturing costs are reduced.

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