Moving platform roll sensor system
US9631954B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 4, 2014 |
| Grant date | Apr 25, 2017 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 6, 2035 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01D5/3473
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A moving platform roll sensor system comprises an ellipsometric detector capable of detecting a polarized beam within the detector's line-of-sight, and measuring the beam's polarization state, such that the polarization state indicates the rotational orientation of the moving platform with respect to a predefined coordinate system. The ellipsometric detector comprises a venetian blind component through which the polarized beam passes, arranged such that the intensity of the exiting beam varies with its incident angle with respect to the moving platform, a polarizing beamsplitter which splits the exiting beam into components having orthogonal circular polarizations, the relative intensities of which vary with the relative polarization vector of the beam, and first and second detectors which receive the first and second orthogonal circular components and generate respective outputs that vary with the intensities of their received components. The beamsplitter preferably comprises a quarter wave plate and a polarization grating.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.