Patent Application
20220404494
This disclosure relates generally to laser rangefinders. More specifically, but not exclusively, the disclosure relates to daylight visible laser rangefinders, multi-spectral laser rangefinders, underwater range finding devices, utility locator devices employing laser rangefinders, and associated apparatus, systems, and methods.
There are many situations where it may be necessary or advantageous to measure the distance to a target. In such situations, a rangefinder may be employed in finding such distance measurements. Though a multitude of different types of rangefinders are known in the art (e.g., RADAR, SONAR or other acoustic rangefinders, microwave rangefinders, optical rangefinders, altimeters, ultrasonic rangefinders, or other types of rangefinders), laser-based rangefinders (referred to herein as laser rangefinders) may be the most common due to cost, physical package size, accuracy, and/or the need for a highly focused beam to direct at targets.
Known laser rangefinders may either use a pulsed or, most commonly, a continuous wave laser to calculate a distance measurement. Pulsed laser rangefinders may determine distances by emitting a laser beam aimed at a target and calculate the time of flight from light reflected from the target. Pulsed laser rangefinders are often very limited in range thus most rangefinders configured for accurate and longer distance measurements favor the use of continuous wave lasers. Known continuous wave lasers may instead emit a modulated continuous wave laser beam at known frequencies that may reflect light off a target. Upon receiving the reflected light the continuous wave rangefinder may use phase shift measurements in order to determine distances. Such continuous wave rangefinders, generally operating at near-infrared wavelengths, require that the gain of the emitted laser be adjusted in order to produce reflected light having useable amplitudes at a corresponding photodetector, generally a PIN photodiode. As known continuous wave laser rangefinders generally operate at wavelengths difficult to see in some common environments, such as in daylight, they may often be paired with a viewfinder allowing the rangefinder to be aimed at a target. In many applications, the reliance on aiming via a viewfinder may be impractical or unduly cumbersome.
There are very few laser rangefinders known in the art that attempt to resolve the need to rely upon a viewfinder by using a green or other daylight visible laser to quickly and easily select and aim at a target. Whereas this often solves the need to quickly and easily select and aim at a target, the use of daylight visible wavelength introduces a number of other complications that known daylight visible laser rangefinders fail to address. For instance, the output strength of the emitted laser may generally be limited to 5 mW for human safety concerns. Further, the efficiency of commonly used PIN photodiodes or similar photodetectors are greatly reduced in the visible light spectrum thus making the detecting of the reflected light difficult. Likewise, the power of emitted lasers may not be adjusted to keep the amplitude of the reflected light in a range useable by the photodetector due to the complication of ensuring the emitted laser remains safely in the visible light spectrum. As known daylight visible laser rangefinders fail to address the above, such known daylight visible laser rangefinders further fail to efficiently and/or accurately measure distances and/or have a very slow response time in generating measurements.
Accordingly, there is a need to address the above described as well as other problems in the art.
This disclosure relates generally to laser rangefinders. More specifically, but not exclusively, the disclosure relates to daylight visible laser rangefinders, multi-spectral laser rangefinders, underwater range finding devices, utility locator devices employing laser rangefinders, and associated methods.
In one aspect, the disclosure relates to a daylight visible laser rangefinder. The daylight visible laser rangefinder may include a laser element emitting a daylight visible continuous wave laser modulated at a known frequency or frequencies. As used herein, the term “daylight visible” as in “daylight visible laser” may refer to light, generally as a laser, at wavelengths that may be readily detectable by the human eye in daylight conditions (e.g., at wavelengths perceptible at photopic lighting conditions as understood via the luminous efficiency function describing the average spectral sensitivity of human visual perception of brightness of light at different wavelengths). The daylight visible laser rangefinder may further include a receiver element to receive reflected light, referred to herein as “reflected light input,” generated by reflection of the emitted laser off a target. Such a receiver element may include a sensing element having one or more avalanche photodiodes, avalanche photodiode arrays, silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), and/or like photodetector sensors for receiving the reflected light input and generating a corresponding electrical input signal. The receiver element may further include a gain control element to vary the gain of the sensing element. The daylight visible laser rangefinder may further include a phase detector to measure the phase of emitted lasers and input signals. A processing element may be included having one or more processors to calculate phase differences between the emitted laser and input signals in determining distance measurements. Such distance measurements, as well as instructions relating to generating such distance measurements, may be stored in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. The daylight visible laser rangefinder may further include a housing element to encapsulate or partially encapsulate the various laser rangefinder elements, isolate the receiver element from light sources other than the reflected light input to the extent possible, and further have one or more windows or other openings such that the emitted laser and reflected light input may travel between rangefinder laser element/receiver element and the external environment. In some embodiments, the housing may be waterproof wherein the daylight visible laser rangefinder may be used in an underwater environment. A power element may further be included for portioning of electrical power to the various powered elements of the daylight visible laser rangefinder.
In another aspect, the disclosure relates to a multi-spectral continuous wave laser rangefinder. The multi-spectral laser rangefinder may include a plurality of laser elements each emitting a continuous wave laser modulated at a known frequency or frequencies and operating at different wavelengths. One such laser element may generate an emitted laser at a daylight visible frequency. The multi-spectral laser rangefinder may further include a plurality of receiver elements such that one receiver element corresponds to one laser element. Each receiver element may receive reflected light input generated by reflection of the emitted laser from its corresponding laser element off a target. It should be noted that the term “target,” in such multi-laser embodiments, may refer to a small aimed-at area wherein the surface contact point of multiple lasers are slightly spaced apart. Each receiver element may include a sensing element having one or more avalanche photodiodes, avalanche photodiode arrays, silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), and/or like photodetector sensors for receiving the reflected light input of the corresponding laser element and generating corresponding electrical input signals. The receiver element may further include a gain control element to vary the gain of the sensing element. A phase detector may measure the phase of each emitted laser and each of the corresponding input signal. A processing element may be included having one or more processors to calculate phase differences between the emitted lasers and input signals received in determining distance measurements. Such distance measurements, as well as instructions relating to generating such distance measurement, may be stored in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. The multi-spectral laser rangefinder may further include a housing element to encapsulate or partially encapsulate the various multi-spectral laser rangefinder elements, isolate the receiver element from light sources other than the reflected light input to the extent possible, and further have one or more windows or other openings such that the emitted laser and reflected light input may travel between rangefinder laser elements/receiver elements and the external environment. In some embodiments, the housing may be waterproof wherein the multi-spectral laser rangefinder may be used in an underwater environment. A power element may further be included for portioning of electrical power to the various powered elements of multi-spectral laser rangefinder.
In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a utility locator device including a laser rangefinder (also referred to herein as “range finding utility locator device” or simply “utility locator device”) of the present invention which may be one of the daylight visible laser rangefinders or multi-spectral laser rangefinders described herein. The range finding utility locator device may include a locator subsystem having one or more antennas and associated receiver circuitry to receive magnetic signals emitted by utility lines which may be buried in the ground. A user interface and input element may receive input commands from a user and further communicate data relating to distance measurements, utility line positions, and mapping information to a user. The range finding utility locator device may include a laser rangefinder of the present invention (e.g., the daylight visible laser rangefinders or multi-spectral laser rangefinders described herein). A processing element may be included having one or more processors to carry out methods associated with determining positions of utility lines based on the magnetic signals and to further calculate phase differences between the emitted lasers and corresponding ones of the reflected light input in determining distance measurements. A memory element may be included in a range finding utility locator device having one or more non-transitory memories to store instructions relating to determining utility line positions and resulting positions as well as for storing instructions relating to calculating of distance measurements and the resulting calculated distance measurements. A housing element may be included to house electronics and other components associated with utility locator device elements and included laser rangefinder. A power element may further be included for portioning of electrical power to the various powered elements of range finding utility locator device.
In another aspect, the present disclosure includes a method as described correlating data of range finding utility locator devices of the present disclosure. The method may include, a range finding utility locator device determining positions/orientation of utility line(s) relative to range finding utility locator device and determining geolocation/orientation/pose data for the range finding utility locator device. The method may further include the laser rangefinder of the range finding utility locator device determining distance measurement to a target. Positions/orientations of utility line(s) relative to utility locator device, the geolocation/orientation/pose data for the utility locator device, and distance measurement to a target may be correlated to resolve positions of each in the world frame. Correlated data may be stored in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories.
In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a method for determining distance measurements via a laser rangefinder of the present invention. The method may include emitting one or more continuous wave lasers modulated at a known frequency or frequencies. One emitted laser may be a daylight visible laser. The emitted laser(s) may contact a target and reflect light generating “reflected light input(s).” In another step, reflected light input(s) may be received at sensing element(s) in the receiver element(s) that may include one or more avalanche photodiodes, avalanche photodiode arrays, silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), and/or like photodetector sensors to appropriate levels. In another step, the gain of a sensing element may be adjusted to achieve appropriate amplitude levels. In another step, electrical input signal(s) corresponding to the reflected light input(s) may be generated by the sensing element. In another step, the phase(s) of emitted laser(s) and input signal(s) may be measured. In another step, the measured phases of each emitted laser and corresponding input signal may be compared. In another step, distance measurement(s) may be calculated based on differences in measured phases of each emitted laser and corresponding input signal. In another step, distance measurement(s) and/or associated information may be stored in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. In another step, distance measurement(s) and/or associated information may be communicated to a user/other device.
In another aspect, the present disclosure includes a method for evaluating multiple distance measurements. The method may include generating multiple distance measurements and sorting measurements based on whether they meet a variance threshold. As used herein, the term “variance threshold” may refer to a range of distance measurements wherein distance measurements that fall outside the acceptable range may indicate an invalid or incorrect distance measurement due to some error. The variance threshold may, for instance, be a percentage difference between distance measurements, a maximum or minimum in difference in total distance measurement, or other like metric. The distance measurements meeting the variance threshold may, in some embodiments, be used. For instance, distance measurements meeting the variance threshold may be averaged or have a weighted average applied thereto in the calculation of a singular distance measurement. In some embodiments, all distance measurements that meet the variance threshold may be used. Optionally, the valid distance measurement(s) and/or associated information may be displayed on a user interface. The valid distance measurement(s) and/or associated information may be stored on a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. Distance measurements that do not meet the variance threshold may be invalid and may identify potential problems with distance measurements. Optionally, invalid distance measurements may be interpreted to identify additional information regarding the target (e.g., the presence of fluorescence in the target or the like). Optionally, the targets associated with invalid distance measurements may be electronically tagged (referring to a designation given to laser rangefinder targets that may have particular significance at the target geolocation). For instance, such an electronic tag may designate the target as having fluorescence or be associated with a distance measurement problem or the like. Optionally, the invalid distance measurements, interpreted information, associated tag, and/or other associated information may be displayed on a user interface device. In another optional step, the method may include storing invalid distance measurements, interpreted information, associated tag, and/or other associated information in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories.
In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing optical windows. The method may include scoring square or other polygonal shapes into a sheet of optical window material, breaking each optical window defined by the scored window shape away from the sheet of optical window material, and applying adhesive to each optical window for securing in, on, or to a port or about some other opening.
In another aspect, the present disclosure may include a method for determining the depth of a utility line relative to the ground surface. The method may include determining positions/orientations of utility line(s) relative to a range finding utility locator device that includes a depth measurement of each utility line relative to the sense antennas in the range finding utility locator device, determining the geolocation and orientation/pose of the range finding utility locator device, and determining distance measurement(s) to a target via a laser rangefinder in the range finding utility locator device. The method may further include calculating the height of the laser rangefinder in the range finding utility locator device from the ground surface, determining the height of the laser rangefinder relative to the sense antennas in the range finding utility locator device, calculating the height of the sense antennas from the ground surface, and calculating the depth of the utility line(s) relative to the ground surface. The depth(s) relative to the ground surface at the geolocation and associated information may be stored in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. Optionally, the depth(s) of the utility line(s) relative to the ground surface and associated information may be displayed on a user interface.
In another aspect, the present disclosure may include a method for determining fluorescence in a target via a multi-spectral laser rangefinder. The method may include determining distance measurements to the same target via a multi-spectral laser rangefinder (e.g., a green laser) having one laser element emitting a substantially fluorescent excitation wavelength laser and another laser element emitting a substantially non-fluorescent excitation wavelength laser (e.g., a red laser), determining if the distance measurements agree to within a predetermined threshold, and detecting fluorescence wherein distance measurements do not agree to within the predetermined threshold and the fluorescent excitation wavelength laser is in error. The method may further include storing fluorescent designations for targets and/or associated information in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memory elements. Optionally, the fluorescent designation and associated information may be displayed on a user interface. In some embodiments, the fluorescent targets may be electronically tagged to notate significance of the fluorescent target at the corresponding geolocation.
In another aspect, the present disclosure may include a method for determining the color of a target via a multi-spectral laser rangefinder. The method may include emitting two or more lasers at different known wavelengths at a target via a multi-spectral laser rangefinder, receiving reflected light input from each laser contacting the target, adjusting the gain to a sensing element, determining a reflected values data set (e.g., including measures of phase, amplitudes of received reflected light input, gain levels, frequencies, or other attributes of the reflected light inputs) for each reflected light input that may include various attributes of the reflected light input, and determining the color of the target based on reflected values via statistical modeling correlating color to particular reflected values data sets or ratios of reflected value data sets between reflected light inputs. The method may further include storing the color and/or associated information in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. Optionally, the color and/or associated information may be displayed via a user interface.
In another aspect, the present disclosure may include a method for determining the surface material of an area scanned via a multi-spectral laser rangefinder. The method may include determining target colors and associated reflected value data sets for a plurality of targets via a multi-spectral laser rangefinder moved about an area, grouping targets based on the time in which target is sampled, positional relationships between targets, and/or similarity in reflected value data sets, determining average colors for each group, and determining the surface material from the average colors of the group. The method may further include storing surface materials and/or associated information in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. Optionally, the surface material and/or associated information may be displayed via a user interface.
In another aspect, the present disclosure includes a method for focusing cameras via a laser rangefinder of the present disclosure. The method may including a laser rangefinder of the present disclosure that further includes or couples to one or more cameras for generating images of a target to determine distance measurement(s) to the target, using the calculated distance measurement to focus the camera(s), generating one or more images that include the target, and storing the distance measurement(s), image(s), and/or associated information on a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. Optionally, the method may further include displaying the distance measurement(s), image(s), and/or associated information on a user interface.
In another aspect, the present disclosure includes a method for navigating underwater environments using a laser rangefinder of the present disclosure. The method may include determining one or more distance measurements via a laser rangefinder of the present disclosure, determining whether the distance measurement(s) fall inside a predetermined threshold, and moving the underwater vehicle when the distance measurement(s) do not fall inside the predetermined threshold or detecting a potential impending collision wherein the distance measurement(s) do fall inside the predetermined threshold. Where a potential impending collision has been detected, an alert may notify a user/operator and/or the movement of the underwater vehicle may be halted or redirected. Optionally, the position information of the underwater vehicle may be updated via distance measurements. The distance measurement(s), position, and/or associated information may optionally be displayed in a user interface and/or stored on a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories.
In another aspect, the present disclosure may include a method for characterizing the seafloor using a multi-spectral underwater laser rangefinder of the present disclosure. The method may include emitting two or more lasers at a target using a multi-spectral underwater laser rangefinder, generating reflected light inputs from emitted lasers contacting and reflecting off the target, receiving reflected light inputs at the sensing element of corresponding receiver elements wherein the gain to the sensing element is controlled to compensate for attenuated amplitudes of the received reflected light inputs, and determining a reflected values data set for each reflected light input that may include various attributes of the reflected light inputs. The method may further include determining the color of the target based on reflected values via statistical modeling correlating color to particular reflected values data sets or ratios of reflected value data sets between reflected light inputs, storing the color and/or associated information in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories, and repeating the aforementioned steps to determine the color and/or associated information for a plurality of targets. The method may further include grouping targets based on the time in which a target is sampled, positional relationships between targets, and/or similarities in reflected value data sets, determining the average color for each group, determining the characterization of the seafloor for each group based on average color, and storing the seafloor characterizations and/or associated information in a memory element having on or more non-transitory memories. Optionally, the method may further include displaying the seafloor characterizations and/or associated information on a user interface.
In another aspect, the present invention may include a method for detecting leaks in underwater pipes using an underwater laser rangefinder of the present disclosure. The method may include injecting or including dye in an underwater pipe, selecting a target, determining distance measurements along the underwater pipe using an underwater laser rangefinder, and determining, for each distance measurement, whether the distance varies outside a predetermined threshold. The method may further include detecting leaks when the distance measurement varies outside the predetermined threshold or no leak when the distance measurement does not vary outside the predetermined threshold and storing leak information associated with the target location along the pipe and/or distance measurements and/or other associated information in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memory elements. Optionally, the method may include displaying the leak information associated with the target location along the pipe and/or distance measurements and/or other associated information on a user interface.
In another aspect, the present disclosure may include a combined underwater scaling and range finding device. The combined underwater scaling and range finding device may include a laser scaling apparatus for determining the scale of underwater objects. It may further include at least two scaling lasers at a known distance apart for emitting lasers at a target, a camera for generating one or more images of the target and laser contact points, a processing element having one or more processors to determine a measurement of scale from the image(s) containing the laser contact points, and a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories to store the scale measurement and associated information. The combined underwater scaling and range finding device may further include a laser rangefinder of the present invention configured for underwater use to determine one or more distance measurements to the same target. The laser rangefinder may be a daylight visible laser rangefinder or multi-spectral laser rangefinder of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the combined underwater scaling and range finding device may couple to or be included in an underwater vehicle or other host device.
In another aspect, the present disclosure may include a method for generating scale and distance measurements of a target via a combined underwater scaling and range finding device of the present disclosure. The method may include using a laser rangefinder to emit one or more lasers at a target and determining one or more distance measurements to the target from reflected light input(s). The method may further include using a laser scaling apparatus to emit lasers from a pair of parallel scaling lasers having a known distance apart at the same target, generating one or more images of the target area that include laser contacts from the camera of the laser scaling apparatus, and determining a scaling measurement from the image(s) of the target including the scaling lasers. Optionally, the scaling measurement may be refined using the determined distance measurement(s). The method may further include storing the scaling measurement, distance measurement(s), image(s), and/or associated information in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. Optionally, the method may include displaying the scaling measurement, distance measurement(s), image(s), and/or associated information on a user interface.
Various additional aspects, features, and functions are described below in conjunction with the appended Drawings.
The present application may be more fully appreciated in connection with the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
As used herein, the term “daylight visible” may refer to light at wavelengths that may be readily detectable by the human eye in daylight conditions. That is, “daylight visible” or “daylight visible lasers” herein may be at wavelengths perceptible at photopic lighting conditions as understood via the luminous efficiency function describing the average spectral sensitivity of human visual perception of brightness of light at different wavelengths. It should also be noted that though a green laser is provided as the example for a daylight visible laser, other wavelength lasers readily perceivable by the human eye under photopic lighting conditions may be considered daylight visible lasers. This may be in contrast to red lasers as commonly used in the art that generally range in the 650 to 700 nm wavelengths which largely fall outside the range of perceivable light in photopic lighting conditions.
As used herein, the term “position” refers to a location in space, typically in three-dimensional (X, Y, Z coordinates or their equivalent) space, as well as a “pose” of the source at that location relative to some other device or location. The pose may be the orientation at that particular location. For example, a range finding utility locator device embodiment may have a position that includes a geolocation in three dimensional space relative to the world frame (e.g., GNSS coordinates plus an altitude) as well as a pose or orientation describing the direction and degree of tilt of the range finding utility locator device with respect to the world frame.
As used herein, “target” may refer to the point or collection of nearby points at which a laser rangefinder device of the present invention may be aimed at such that an emitted laser or lasers may contact the target. It should be noted that the term “target,” in such multi-laser embodiments, may refer to a small aimed at area wherein the surface contact point of multiple lasers may be slightly spaced apart.
The term “emitted laser” may refer to the outgoing laser beam emitted by a laser rangefinder of the present invention. The emitted laser, upon contacting a target may reflect light referred to herein as the “reflected light input.” It should be noted that the reflected light input may include some ambient light. A receiver element may sense the reflected light input for purposes of calculating distance measurements. Reflected light input may further be converted to a corresponding electrical signal, referred to herein as the “input signal,” via the sensing element.
The term “laser rangefinder” may refer to any of the rangefinder embodiments including daylight visible, multi-spectral, underwater, and/or other rangefinders included in a host device. As used herein, the term “laser rangefinder” may be proceeded with the term “daylight visible” when referring to embodiments having at least one daylight visible laser elements and the term “laser rangefinder” may be proceeded with the term “multi-spectral” when referring to embodiments having two or more laser elements operating at different wavelengths wherein one or more may be daylight visible or other lasers. Likewise, the term “laser rangefinder” may be proceeded with the term “underwater” when referring to embodiments configured for use in underwater environments (e.g., having a waterproof housing and/or other modifications for use in underwater environments).
The term “substantially fluorescent excitation wavelength laser” may refer to any wavelength laser that substantially excites the fluorescence of a target (e.g., fluorescent paint markings or the like). For instance, a green laser is given herein as an example of a fluorescent excitation wavelength laser due to its proficiency at exciting the fluorescence of a target. The term “substantially non-fluorescent excitation wavelength laser” may refer to any wavelength laser that fails to or largely fails to excite the fluorescence of a target. For instance, a red laser is given herein as an example of a fluorescent excitation wavelength laser due to its substantial failure to excite the fluorescence of a target. It should be noted that though a red laser is provided as a “substantially non-fluorescent excitation wavelength laser,” in use a red laser may result in some fluorescence excitation though, in most applications, substantially less so than the exemplary fluorescent excitation wavelength green laser. The term “range finding utility locator device” may refer to a utility locator device configured to sense magnetic signals from utility lines which may be buried in the ground (e.g., utility lines with an inherent current or having an AC current coupled thereon or the like), determine and/or map positions/orientations of utility lines, and further include a laser rangefinder in keeping with the present invention. Additional details regarding utility locator devices may be found in the incorporated applications below.
As used herein, the term “variance threshold” may refer to a range of distance measurements wherein distance measurements that fall outside the acceptable range may indicate an invalid or incorrect distance measurement due to some error. The variance threshold may, for instance, be a percentage difference between distance measurements, a maximum or minimum in difference in total distance measurement, or other like metric.
The terms “electronically tag,” “electronically tagging,” “electronically tagged,” or simply “tag,” “tagging,” or “tagged” may refer to a designation given to laser rangefinder targets that may have particular significance. Such tags may generally include a geolocation or other position as well as user input and/or other data included in a data set associated with the tag. Such a tag and associated data set may be stored in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories that is stored by the laser rangefinder and/or host device. For instance, in the range finding utility locator devices herein, some embodiments may tag certain laser rangefinder targets and associate a determined color, presence of fluorescence, user input (e.g., a user providing a typed or audio input note stating “manhole cover” or “transformer” or other notations regarding the tag and/or target and/or environment and/or other information that may pertain to utility locating), and/or other input data. In some embodiments, a user may initiate tagging a target through the press of a button or like input. In other embodiments, the initiation of tagging a target may be automated through image/pattern recognition, artificial intelligence or other algorithms.
The term “reflected values” or “reflected values data set” may refer to various attributes of reflected light inputs. For instance, in some embodiments, such reflected values may be or include measures of phase, amplitudes of received reflected light input, gain levels, frequencies, or other attributes of the reflected light inputs. In various embodiments, such reflected values data sets and/or ratios or other comparisons of reflected values data sets may be used to determine information regarding laser rangefinder targets and/or the target's environment.
This disclosure relates generally to laser rangefinders. More specifically, but not exclusively, the disclosure relates to daylight visible laser rangefinders, multi-spectral laser rangefinders, underwater range finding devices, utility locator devices employing laser rangefinders, and associated methods.
The disclosures herein may be combined in various embodiments with the disclosures in co-assigned patents and patent applications including: U.S. Pat. No. 7,009,399, issued Mar. 7, 2006, entitled OMNIDIRECTIONAL SONDE AND LINE LOCATOR; U.S. Pat. No. 7,136,765, issued Nov. 14, 2006, entitled A BURIED OBJECT LOCATING AND TRACING METHOD AND SYSTEM EMPLOYING PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS ANALYSIS FOR BLIND SIGNAL DETECTION; U.S. Pat. No. 7,221,136, issued May 22, 2007, entitled SONDES FOR LOCATING UNDERGROUND PIPES AND CONDUITS; U.S. Pat. No. 7,276,910, issued Oct. 2, 2007, entitled A COMPACT SELF-TUNED ELECTRICAL RESONATOR FOR BURIED OBJECT LOCATOR APPLICATIONS; U.S. Pat. No. 7,288,929, issued Oct. 30, 2007, entitled INDUCTIVE CLAMP FOR APPLYING SIGNAL TO BURIED UTILITIES; U.S. Pat. No. 7,298,126, issued Nov. 20, 2007, entitled SONDES FOR LOCATING UNDERGROUND PIPES AND CONDUITS; U.S. Pat. No. 7,332,901, issued Feb. 19, 2008, entitled LOCATOR WITH APPARENT DEPTH INDICATION; U.S. Pat. No. 7,443,154, issued Oct. 28, 2008, entitled MULTI-SENSOR MAPPING OMNIDIRECTIONAL SONDE AND LINE LOCATOR; U.S. Pat. No. 7,498,797, issued Mar. 3, 2009, entitled LOCATOR WITH CURRENT-MEASURING CAPABILITY; U.S. Pat. No. 7,498,816, issued Mar. 3, 2009, entitled OMNIDIRECTIONAL SONDE AND LINE LOCATOR; U.S. Pat. No. 7,336,078, issued Feb. 26, 2008, entitled MULTI-SENSOR MAPPING OMNIDIRECTIONAL SONDE AND LINE LOCATORS; U.S. Pat. No. 7,518,374, issued Apr. 14, 2009, entitled RECONFIGURABLE PORTABLE LOCATOR EMPLOYING MULTIPLE SENSOR ARRAYS HAVING FLEXIBLE NESTED ORTHOGONAL ANTENNAS; U.S. Pat. No. 7,557,559, issued Jul. 7, 2009, entitled COMPACT LINE ILLUMINATOR FOR BURIED PIPES AND CABLES; U.S. Pat. No. 7,619,516, issued Nov. 17, 2009, entitled SINGLE AND MULTI-TRACE OMNIDIRECTIONAL SONDE AND LINE LOCATORS AND TRANSMITTER USED THEREWITH; U.S. Pat. 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No. 11,175,427, issued Nov. 16, 2021, entitled BURIED UTILITY LOCATING SYSTEMS WITH OPTIMIZED WIRELESS DATA COMMUNICATION; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/531,533, filed Nov. 19, 2021, entitled INPUT MULTIPLEXED SIGNAL PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHODS; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/540,239, filed Dec. 1, 2021, entitled DUAL SENSED LOCATING SYSTEMS AND METHODS; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/541,057, filed Dec. 2, 2021, entitled COLOR-INDEPENDENT MARKER DEVICE APPARATUS, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/540,231, filed Dec. 2, 2021, entitled AUTO-TUNING CIRCUIT APPARATUS AND METHODS; U.S. Pat. No. 11,193,767, issued Dec. 7, 2021, entitled SMART PAINT STICK DEVICES AND METHODS; U.S. Pat. No. 11,199,521, issued Dec. 14, 2021, entitled RESILIENTLY DEFORMABLE MAGNETIC FIELD CORE APPARATUS AND APPLICATIONS; U.S. Pat. No. 11,204,246, issued Dec. 21, 2021, entitled DUAL SENSED LOCATING SYSTEMS AND METHODS; U.S. Provisional Patent Application 63/293,828, filed Dec. 26, 2021, entitled MODULAR BATTERY SYSTEMS INCLUDING BATTERY INTERFACE APPARATUS; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/563,049, filed Dec. 28, 2021, entitled SONDE DEVICES WITH A SECTIONAL FERRITE CORE; U.S. Provisional Patent Application 63/306,088, filed Feb. 2, 2022, entitled UTILITY LOCATING SYSTEMS AND METHODS WITH FILTER TUNING FOR POWER GRID FLUCTUATIONS; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/687,538, filed Mar. 4, 2022, entitled ANTENNAS, MULTI-ANTENNA APPARATUS, AND ANTENNA HOUSINGS; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/694,640, filed Mar. 14, 2022, entitled UTILITY LOCATORS WITH RETRACTABLE SUPPORT STRUCTURES AND APPLICATIONS THEREOF; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/694,656, filed Mar. 14, 2022, entitled ELECTROMAGNETIC MARKER DEVICES FOR BURIED OR HIDDEN USE; U.S. Pat. No. 11,280,934, issued Mar. 22, 2022, entitled ELECTROMAGNETIC MARKER DEVICES FOR BURIED OR HIDDEN USE; U.S. Pat. No. 11,300,597, issued Apr. 12, 2022, entitled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR LOCATING AND/OR MAPPING BURIED UTILITIES USING VEHICLE-MOUNTED LOCATING DEVICES; U.S. Pat. No. 11,300,700, issued Apr. 12, 2022, entitled SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF USING A SONDE DEVICE WITH A SECTIONAL FERRITE CORE STRUCTURE; U.S. Pat. No. 11,300,701, issued Apr. 12, 2022, entitled UTILITY LOCATORS WITH RETRACTABLE SUPPORT STRUCTURES; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/728,949, filed Apr. 25, 2022, entitled BURIED UTILITY LOCATOR GROUND TRACKING APPARATUS, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/731,579, filed Apr. 28, 2022, entitled BURIED UTILITY MARKER DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS; and U.S. Pat. No. 11,333,786, issued May 17, 2022, entitled BURIED UTILITY MARKER DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS. The content of each of the above-described patents and applications is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. The above applications may be collectively denoted herein as the “co-assigned applications” or “incorporated applications.”
In one aspect, the disclosure relates to a daylight visible laser rangefinder. The daylight visible laser rangefinder may include a laser element emitting a daylight visible continuous wave laser modulated at a known frequency or frequencies. The daylight visible laser rangefinder may further include a receiver element to receive a reflected light input generated by reflection of the emitted laser off a target. Such a receiver element may include a sensing element having one or more avalanche photodiodes, avalanche photodiode arrays, silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), and/or like photodetector sensors for receiving the reflected light input and generating a corresponding electrical input signal. The SiPM may, in some embodiments, be or include the MICROFC-10010 SiPM publically available from ON Semiconductor®. The receiver element may further include a gain control element to vary the gain of the sensing element. The daylight visible laser rangefinder may further include a phase detector to measure the phase of emitted lasers and input signals. A processing element may be included having one or more processors to calculate phase differences between the emitted laser and input signals received by the receiver element in determining distance measurements. Such distance measurements, as well as instructions relating to generating such distance measurements, may be stored in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. The daylight visible laser rangefinder may further include a housing element to encapsulate or partially encapsulate the various laser rangefinder elements, isolate the receiver element from light sources other than the reflected light input to the extent possible, and further having one or more windows or other openings such that the emitted laser and reflected light input may travel between rangefinder laser element/receiver element and the external environment. In some embodiments, the housing may be waterproof wherein the daylight visible laser rangefinder may be used in an underwater environment. A power element may further be included for portioning of electrical power to the various powered elements of the daylight visible laser rangefinder.
In another aspect, the laser element of the daylight visible laser rangefinders of the present disclosure may include and emit multiple lasers. Such embodiments may include a plurality of receiver elements such that each laser may include a corresponding receiver element. In some such embodiments, the plurality of lasers may each operate at different wavelengths.
In another aspect, the disclosure relates to a multi-spectral laser rangefinder. The multi-spectral laser rangefinder may include a plurality of laser elements each emitting a continuous wave laser modulated at a known frequency or frequencies and operating at different wavelengths. At least one laser may be at a daylight visible wavelength. The multi-spectral laser rangefinder may further include a plurality of receiver elements such that one receiver element corresponds to one laser element. Each receiver element may receive reflected light input generated by reflection of the emitted laser from its corresponding laser element off a target. Each receiver element may include a sensing element having one or more avalanche photodiodes, avalanche photodiode arrays, silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), and/or like photodetector sensors for receiving the reflected light input of the corresponding laser element and generating corresponding electrical input signals. The SiPM may, in some embodiments, be or include the MICROFC-10010 SiPM publically available from ON Semiconductor®. The receiver element may further include a gain control element to vary the gain of the sensing element. A phase detector may measure the phase of each emitted laser and each of the corresponding input signal. A processing element may be included having one or more processors to calculate phase differences between the emitted lasers and input signals received in determining distance measurements. In some embodiments, temperature, ambient light levels, gain levels, waveform amplitude or shape may be factored into adjusting distance measurements. Such distance measurements, as well as instructions relating to generating such distance measurement, may be stored in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. The multi-spectral laser rangefinder may further include a housing element to encapsulate or partially encapsulate the various multi-spectral laser rangefinder elements, isolate the receiver element from light sources other than the reflected light input to the extent possible, and further having one or more windows or other openings such that the emitted laser and reflected light input may travel between rangefinder laser elements/receiver elements and the external environment. In some embodiments, the housing may be waterproof wherein the multi-spectral laser rangefinder may be used in an underwater environment. A power element may further be included for portioning of electrical power to the various powered elements of the multi-spectral laser rangefinder.
In another aspect the laser rangefinders of the present disclosure, which may be a daylight visible laser range finder or multi-spectral laser rangefinder as described herein, may further include one or more bandpass filters.
In another aspect the laser rangefinders of the present disclosure, which may be a daylight visible laser range finder or multi-spectral laser rangefinder as described herein, may include a housing element made of or including carbon-fiber filled injection moldable plastic. For instance, the housing element may be or include portions made from Ultem™ filaments publically available from SABIC Global Technologies or like materials for blocking ambient light from the receiver element to the extent possible and may have like low coefficient of thermal expansion.
In another aspect the laser rangefinders of the present disclosure, which may be a daylight visible laser range finder or multi-spectral laser rangefinder as described herein, may include square windows adhered or otherwise secured to the inside or outside of the housing elements. In some embodiments, the optical windows are or include alkali-aluminosilicate sheet glass. The windows may optionally be chemically strengthened.
In another aspect the laser rangefinders of the present disclosure, which may be a daylight visible laser range finder or multi-spectral laser rangefinder as described herein, wherein at least one laser element emits a green or other daylight visible laser.
In another aspect the laser rangefinders of the present disclosure, which may be a daylight visible laser range finder or multi-spectral laser rangefinder as described herein, may further be included in a utility locator device configured to determine and/or map utility line positions. In some such embodiments, the utility locator device may include one or more cameras to generate images of the ground surface or other distance measurement target of the laser rangefinder. The laser dot may optionally be visible in the camera image(s).
In another aspect, the laser rangefinders, which may be a daylight visible laser range finder or multi-spectral laser rangefinder as described herein, may further include one or more user input controls (e.g., buttons, touchscreen, or like user input ability). Likewise, the laser rangefinders of the present disclosure, including multi-spectral continuous wave laser rangefinders, may include a user interface to communicate distance measurements to a user (e.g., graphical user interface, audio speakers, or the like).
In another aspect, the laser rangefinders of the present disclosure, which may be a daylight visible laser range finder or multi-spectral laser rangefinder as described herein, may further include a temperature sensor to measure the ambient temperature of the environment, lasers, and/or associated circuitry. In such embodiments temperature measurements may factor in calculating distance measurements.
In another aspect, the laser rangefinders of the present disclosure, which may be a daylight visible laser range finder or multi-spectral laser rangefinder as described herein, may include a gain control element wherein the gain control element adjusts the bias voltage to the sensing element to control the gain of the sensing element. In yet other embodiments, the sensing element may include a signal amplifier (e.g., a transimpedance amplifier or the like) for amplifying input signals. In some such embodiments, the gain control element may vary the gain of the signal amplifier to control the gain of the sensing element. For example, the gain control element may be or include a programmable gain amplifier.
In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a utility locator device including a laser rangefinder (also referred to herein as “range finding utility locator device” or simply “utility locator device”) of the present invention which may be one of the daylight visible laser rangefinders or multi-spectral laser rangefinders described herein. The range finding utility locator device may include a locator subsystem having one or more antennas and associated receiver circuitry to receive magnetic signals emitted by utility lines which may be buried in the ground. A user interface and input element may receive input commands from a user and further communicate data relating to utility line positions, distance measurements, mapping information, and information related to distance measurements, utility line positions, and mapping information to a user. The range finding utility locator device may include a laser rangefinder of the present invention (e.g., the daylight visible laser rangefinders or multi-spectral laser rangefinders described herein). A processing element may be included having one or more processors to carry out methods associated with determining positions of utility lines based on the magnetic signals and to further calculate phase differences between the emitted lasers and corresponding ones of the reflected light inputs in determining distance measurements. A memory element may be included in a range finding utility locator device having one or more non-transitory memories to store instructions relating to determining utility line positions and resulting positions as well as for storing instructions relating to calculating of distance measurements and the resulting calculated distance measurements. The range finding utility locator device may include a housing element to encase electronics and other components associated with utility locator device elements and included laser rangefinder. A power element may further be included for portioning of electrical power to the various powered elements of range finding utility locator device.
In another aspect, the range finding utility locator device embodiments of the present disclosure may further include one or more cameras for generating images of the ground surface or other distance measurement target of the laser rangefinder.
In another aspect, the range finding utility locator device embodiments of the present disclosure may further include one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and/or inertial navigation systems (INS) to resolve position, orientation, and pose for the range finding utility locator device.
In another aspect, the present disclosure includes a method as described correlating data of range finding utility locator devices of the present disclosure. The method may include a range finding utility locator device determining positions/orientation of utility line(s) relative to range finding utility locator device and determining geolocation/orientation/pose data for range finding utility locator device. The method may further include the laser rangefinder of the range finding utility locator device determining distance measurement to a target. The laser rangefinder target may optionally be electronically tagged. The tag may be a designation given to laser rangefinder targets that may have particular significance. Such a tag may generally include a geolocation or other position as well as user input and/or other data included in a data set associated with the tag. Such data sets and associated tags may be stored in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories that is stored by the laser rangefinder and/or host device. Optionally, camera(s) of the range finding utility locator device may generate image(s) that include the laser rangefinder target. Position(s)/orientation(s) of utility line(s) relative to utility locator device, the geolocation/orientation/pose data for utility locator device, distance measurement to a target, and optional image(s) may be correlated to resolve positions of each in the world frame. The correlated data may further be correlated with an electronic map of the area. Correlated data may be stored in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. In an optional step, correlated data and/or maps may be displayed on an electronic display.
In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a method for determining distance measurements via a laser rangefinder of the present invention. The method may include emitting one or more continuous wave lasers modulated at a known frequency or frequencies. One emitted laser may be a daylight visible laser. The emitted laser(s) may contact a target and reflect light generating “reflected light input(s).” In an optional step, out of band light may be filtered out at the receiver element. In another step, reflected light input(s) may be received at sensing element(s) in the receiver element(s) that may include one or more avalanche photodiodes, avalanche photodiode arrays, silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), and/or like photodetector sensors. The SiPM may, in some embodiments, be or include the MICROFC-10010 SiPM publically available from ON Semiconductor®. In another step, the gain of a sensing element may be adjusted to achieve appropriate amplitude levels. In another step, input signal(s) corresponding to the reflected light input(s) may be generated. In another step, the phase(s) of emitted laser(s) and input signal(s) may be measured. In another step, the measured phases of each emitted laser and corresponding input signal may be compared. In another step, distance measurement(s) may be calculated based on differences in measured phases of each emitted laser and corresponding input signal. In an optional step, calculated distance measurements may be adjusted based on ambient light level, signal noise, gain settings, waveform shape(s) and/or amplitude(s) of the input signal(s). In an optional step wherein multiple distance measurements are calculated, the multiple distance measurements may be evaluated to select or otherwise determine a single calculated distance measurement. For instance, in some embodiments an average or weighted average may be calculated. The weighted average may, for example, be based on potential error or another quality/confidence metric or based on other contributing information influencing the distance measurement. In some embodiments, a method may be used to evaluate distance measurements. In yet further embodiments, all distance measurements may be used. In another step, distance measurement(s) and/or associated information may be stored in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. In another step, distance measurement(s) and/or associated information may be communicated to a use and/or other device(s).
In another aspect, the present disclosure includes a method for evaluating multiple distance measurements. The method may include generating multiple distance measurements and sorting measurements based on whether they meet a variance threshold. As used herein, the term “variance threshold” may refer to a range of distance measurements wherein distance measurements that fall outside the acceptable range may indicate an invalid or incorrect distance measurement due to some error. The variance threshold may, for instance, be a percentage difference between distance measurements, a maximum or minimum in difference in total distance measurement, or other like metric. The distance measurements meeting the variance threshold may, in some embodiments, be used. For instance, distance measurements meeting the variance threshold may be averaged or have a weighted average applied thereto in the calculation of a singular distance measurement. In some embodiments, all distance measurements that meet the variance threshold may be used. Optionally, the valid distance measurement(s) and/or associated information may be displayed on a user interface. The valid distance measurement(s) and/or associated information may be stored on a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. Distance measurements that do not meet the variance threshold may be invalid and may identify potential problems with distance measurements. Optionally, invalid distance measurements may be interpreted to identify additional information regarding the target (e.g., the presence of fluorescence in the target or the like). Optionally, the targets associated with invalid distance measurements may be electronically tagged (referring to a designation given to laser rangefinder targets that may have particular significance at the target geolocation). For instance, such an electronic tag may designate the target as having fluorescence or being associated with a distance measurement problem or the like. Optionally, the invalid distance measurements, interpreted information, associated tag, and/or other associated information may be displayed on a user interface device. In another optional step, the method may include storing invalid distance measurements, interpreted information, associated tag, and/or other associated information which may be stored in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories.
In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing optical windows. The method may include scoring polygonal shapes into a sheet of optical window material, breaking each optical window defined by the scored window shape away from the scored sheet of optical window material, and applying adhesive to each optical window for securing to a port or other opening. In an optional step, the method may include deburring or otherwise smoothing the edges of the optical window prior to the application of the adhesive. Likewise, the method may include optional steps for applying bandpass filter coating and/or chemically strengthening the optical windows. In some embodiments, the optical window material may be or includes alkali-aluminosilicate sheet glass. Likewise, the adhesive may be 3M™ VHB™ tape or other very high or ultra-high bond tape. In some embodiments, the polygonal shapes scored into the sheet of optical window material may be squares.
In another aspect, the present disclosure may include a method for determining the depth of a utility line relative to the ground surface. The method may include determining positions/orientations of utility line(s) relative to a range finding utility locator device that includes a depth measurement of each utility line relative to the sense antennas in the range finding utility locator device, determining the geolocation and orientation/pose of the range finding utility locator device, and determining distance measurement(s) to a target via a laser rangefinder in the range finding utility locator device. The method may further include calculating the height of the laser rangefinder in the range finding utility locator device from the ground surface, determining the height of the laser rangefinder relative to the sense antennas in the range finding utility locator device, calculating the height of the sense antennas from the ground surface, and calculating the depth of the utility line(s) relative to the ground surface. The depth(s) relative to the ground surface at the geolocation and associated information may be stored in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. Optionally, the depth(s) of the utility line(s) relative to the ground surface and associated information may be displayed on a user interface.
In another aspect, the present disclosure may include a method for determining fluorescence in a target via a multi-spectral laser rangefinder. The method may include determining distance measurements to the same target via a multi-spectral laser rangefinder (e.g., a green laser) having one laser element emitting a substantially fluorescent excitation wavelength laser and another laser element emitting a substantially non-fluorescent excitation wavelength laser (e.g., a red laser), determining if the distance measurements agree to within a predetermined threshold, and detecting fluorescence wherein distance measurements do not agree to within the predetermined threshold and the fluorescent excitation wavelength laser is in error. The method may further include storing fluorescent designations for targets and/or associated information in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memory elements. Optionally, the fluorescent designation and associated information may be displayed on a user interface. In some embodiments, the fluorescent targets may be electronically tagged to notate significance of the fluorescent target at the corresponding geolocation. It should be noted that though a red laser is provided as a “non-fluorescent excitation wavelength laser,” in use a red laser may result in some fluorescent excitation though, in most applications, less so than the exemplary green laser.
In another aspect, the present disclosure may include a method for determining the color of a target via a multi-spectral laser rangefinder. The method may include emitting two or more lasers at different known wavelengths at a target via a multi-spectral laser rangefinder, receiving reflected light input from each laser contacting the target, adjusting the gain to a sensing element, determining a reflected values data set (e.g., including measures of phase, amplitudes of received reflected light input, gain levels, frequencies, or other attributes of the reflected light inputs) for each reflected light input that may include various attributes of the reflected light input, and determining the color of the target based on reflected values via statistical modeling correlating color to particular reflected values data sets or ratios of reflected value data sets between reflected light inputs. The method may further include storing the color and/or associated information in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. Optionally, the color and/or associated information may be displayed via a user interface.
In another aspect, the present disclosure may include a method for determining the surface material of an area scanned via a multi-spectral laser rangefinder. The method may include determining target colors and associated reflected value data sets (e.g., including measures of phase, amplitudes of received reflected light input, gain levels, frequencies, or other attributes of the reflected light inputs) for a plurality of targets via a multi-spectral laser rangefinder moved about an area, grouping targets based on the time in which target is sampled, positional relationships between targets, and/or similarities in reflected value data sets, determining average colors for each group, and determining the surface material from the average colors of the group. The method may further include storing surface materials and/or associated information in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. Optionally, the surface material and/or associated information may be displayed via a user interface.
In another aspect, the present disclosure includes a method for focusing cameras via a laser rangefinder of the present disclosure. The method may including a laser rangefinder of the present disclosure that further includes or couples to one or more cameras for generating images of a target to determine distance measurement(s) to the target, using the calculated distance measurement to focus the camera(s), generating one or more images that include the target, and storing the distance measurement(s), image(s), and/or associated information on a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. Optionally, the method may further include displaying the distance measurement(s), image(s), and/or associated information on a user interface.
In another aspect, the present disclosure includes a method for navigating underwater environments using a laser rangefinder of the present disclosure. The method may include determining one or more distance measurements via a laser rangefinder of the present disclosure, determining whether the distance measurement(s) fall inside a predetermined threshold, and moving the underwater vehicle when the distance measurement(s) do not fall inside the predetermined threshold or detecting a potential impending collision when the distance measurement(s) do fall inside the predetermined threshold. Where a potential impending collision has been detected, an alert may notify a user/operator and/or the movement of the underwater vehicle may be halted or redirected. Optionally, the position information of the underwater vehicle may be updated via distance measurements. The distance measurement(s), position, and/or associated information may optionally be displayed in a user interface and/or stored on a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories.
In another aspect, the present disclosure may include a method for characterizing the seafloor using a multi-spectral underwater laser rangefinder of the present disclosure. The method may include emitting two or more lasers at a target using a multi-spectral underwater laser rangefinder, generating reflected light inputs from emitted lasers contacting and reflecting off the target, receiving reflected light inputs at the sensing element of corresponding receiver elements wherein the gain to the sensing element is controlled to compensate for attenuated amplitudes of the received reflected light inputs, and determining a reflected values data set for each reflected light input that may include various attributes of the reflected light inputs. The method may further include determining the color of the target based on reflected values via statistical modeling correlating color to particular reflected values data sets or ratios of reflected value data sets between reflected light inputs, storing the color and/or associated information in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories, and repeating the aforementioned steps to determine the color and/or associated information for a plurality of targets. The method may further include grouping targets based on the time in which the target is sampled, positional relationships between targets, and/or similarities in reflected value data sets, determining the average color for each group, determining the characterization of the seafloor for each group based on average color, and storing the seafloor characterizations and/or associated information in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. Optionally, the method may further include displaying the seafloor characterizations and/or associated information on a user interface.
In another aspect, the present invention may include a method for detecting leaks in underwater pipes using an underwater laser rangefinder of the present disclosure. The method may include injecting or including dye in an underwater pipe, selecting a target and determining distance measurements along the underwater pipe using an underwater laser rangefinder, and determining, for each distance measurement, whether the distance varies outside a predetermined threshold. The method may further include detecting leaks wherein the distance measurement varies outside the predetermined threshold or no leak wherein the distance measurement does not vary outside the predetermined threshold and storing leak information associated with the target location along the pipe and/or distance measurements and/or other associated information in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memory elements. Optionally, the method may include displaying the leak information associated with the target location along the pipe and/or distance measurements and/or other associated information on a user interface.
In another aspect, the present disclosure may include a combined underwater scaling and range finding device. The combined underwater scaling and range finding device may include a laser scaling apparatus for determining the scale of underwater objects further including at least two scaling lasers at a known distance apart for emitting lasers at a target, a camera for generating one or more images of the target and laser contact points, a processing element having one or more processors to determine a measurement of scale from the image(s) containing the laser contact points, and a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories to store the scale measurement and associated information. The combined underwater scaling and range finding device may further include a laser rangefinder of the present invention configured for underwater use to determine one or more distance measurements to the same target. The laser rangefinder may be a daylight visible laser rangefinder or multi-spectral laser rangefinder of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the combined underwater scaling and range finding device may couple to or be included in an underwater vehicle or other host device.
In another aspect, the present disclosure may include a method for generating scale and distance measurements of a target via a combined underwater scaling and range finding device of the present disclosure. The method may include using a laser rangefinder to emit one or more lasers at a target and determining one or more distance measurements to the target from reflected light input(s). The method may further include using a laser scaling apparatus to emit lasers from a pair of parallel scaling lasers having a known distance apart at the same target, generating one or more images of the target area that includes laser contacts from the camera of the laser scaling apparatus, and determining a scaling measurement from the image(s) of the target including the scaling lasers. Optionally, the scaling measurement may be refined using the determined distance measurement(s). The method may further include storing the scaling measurement, distance measurement(s), image(s), and/or associated information in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. Optionally, the method may include displaying the scaling measurement, distance measurement(s), image(s), and/or associated information on a user interface.
Various additional aspects, features, and functions are described below in conjunction with the embodiments shown in
It is noted that as used herein, the term, “exemplary” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect, detail, function, implementation, and/or embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects and/or embodiments unless specifically described as such.
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It should be noted that “daylight visible” as used herein may refer to light, generally in the form of lasers, at wavelengths that may be readily detectable by the human eye in daylight conditions. For instance, as shown in
It should be noted that the daylight visible laser rangefinder module 100 of
In some embodiments, the daylight visible rangefinder module 100 of
In yet other embodiments, a daylight visible laser rangefinder module, which may be the daylight visible laser rangefinder module 100 of
It should further be noted that in some daylight visible laser embodiments that include multiple laser elements, the different laser elements may operate at different wavelengths and at least one laser element may operate in daylight visible wavelengths.
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A bandpass filter 222 included in the receiver element 220 may filter out noise influences at out of band frequencies but allow the in band reflected light input 221 through to a sensing element 226. The bandpass filter 222 may be calibrated to account for phase shifts. Further in the receiver element 220, a collimator 224 may focus the reflected light input 221 to include the sensing element 226. The sensing element 226 may receive the reflected light input 221 and convert the light to a corresponding electrical signal referred to herein as the “input signal.” The sensing element 226 may further be or include a photodetector 228 (e.g., one or more avalanche photodiodes, avalanche photodiode arrays, silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), and/or other like photodetector sensors for sensing the reflected light input 221). The SiPM may, in some embodiments, be or include the MICROFC-10010 SiPM publically available from ON Semiconductor®. In some embodiments, the sensing element 226 may likewise include a signal amplifier 230 (e.g., a transimpedance amplifier or the like) to amplify the input signals.
The receiver element 220 may further include a gain control element 232 for varying the gain of the sensing element 226 to appropriate levels for receiving reflected light input 221 and compensating for the change in amplitude due to the attenuation of light signals of the modulated emitted laser 211 and the resulting reflected light input 221. It should be noted that the varying of gain to the sensing element 226 may be achieved in different ways. In
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Adjustments to the calculation of distance measurement may be made based on other available data. For instance, the ambient light data and waveform data (e.g., data relating to the waveform shape and amplitude of the input signal) from the sensing element 226 may be communicated to the processing element 248 and may be compensated for in the calculation of distance measurements. Likewise, a temperature sensor 250 may optionally be include to supply the processing element 248 with temperature data allowing for temperature (e.g., environment, lasers, and/or associated circuitry temperatures) to be compensated for in the calculation of distance measurements. In some embodiments, the gain levels may be considered in calculations of distance measurements.
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A bandpass filter 322 included in the receiver element 320 may filter out noise influences at out of band frequencies but allow in band reflected light input 321 through to a sensing element 326. The bandpass filter 322 may be calibrated to account for phase shifts. Further in the receiver element 320, a collimator 324 may focus the reflected light input 321 to include a sensing element 326. The sensing element 326 may receive the reflected light input 321 and convert the light to a corresponding electrical input signal. The sensing element 326 may further be or include a photodetector 328 (e.g., one or more avalanche photodiodes, avalanche photodiode arrays, silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), and/or other like photodetector sensors for sensing the reflected light input 321). The SiPM may, in some embodiments, be or include the MICROFC-10010 SiPM publically available from ON Semiconductor®. In some embodiments, the sensing element 320 may likewise include a signal amplifier 330 (e.g., a transimpedance amplifier or the like) to amplify the input signals.
The receiver element 320 may further include a gain control element 332 for varying the gain of the sensing element 326 to appropriate levels for receiving reflected light input 321 and compensating for the change in amplitude due to the attenuation of light signals of the modulated emitted laser 311 and the resulting reflected light input 321. It should be noted that the varying of gain to the sensing element 326 may be achieved in different ways. In
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Adjustments to the calculation of distance measurement may be made based on other available data as well. For instance, the ambient light data and waveform data (e.g., data relating to the waveform shape and amplitude of the input signal) from the sensing element 326 may be communicated to the processing element 348 and may be compensated for in the calculation of distance measurements. Likewise, a temperature sensor 350 may optionally be include to supply the processing element 348 with temperature data allowing for temperature (e.g., environment, lasers, and/or associated circuitry temperatures) to be compensated for in the calculation of distance measurements. In some embodiments, the gain levels may be considered in calculations of distance measurements.
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It should be noted that despite showing two lasers in the multi-spectral laser rangefinder module 500 of
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It should be noted that the multi-spectral laser rangefinder module 500 of
In some embodiments, the multi-spectral rangefinder module 500 of
In yet other embodiments, a multi-spectral laser rangefinder, which may be the multi-spectral laser rangefinder module 500 of
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A bandpass filter 622a and 622b included in each respective receiver element 620a and 620b may filter out noise influences at out of band frequencies but allow in band reflected light input 621a and 621b through to a corresponding sensing element 626a or 626b. The bandpass filter 622a and 622b may be calibrated to account for phase shifts. It should be noted that the bandpass filters 622a and 622b may be configured for the different wavelengths of reflected light inputs such as the reflected light inputs 621a and 621b. Further, in the receiver elements 620a and 620b, a collimator 624a or 624b may focus the reflected light input 621a or 621b to the corresponding sensing element 626a or 626b. The sensing elements 626a and 626b may receive the reflected light inputs 621a and 621b and convert the light to corresponding electrical input signals. The sensing elements 626a and 626b may each further be or include a photodetector 628a or 628b (e.g., one or more avalanche photodiodes, avalanche photodiode arrays, silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), and/or other like photodetector sensors for sensing the reflected light inputs 621a or 621b). The SiPM may, in some embodiments, be or include the MICROFC-10010 SiPM publically available from ON Semiconductor®. In some embodiments, the sensing elements 626a or 626b may likewise include a signal amplifier 630a or 630b (e.g., a transimpedance amplifier or the like) to amplify the input signals.
The receiver elements 620a and 620b may further include a gain control element 632a or 632b for varying the gain of the sensing element 626a or 626b to appropriate levels in receiving reflected light inputs 621a and 621b and compensating for the change in amplitude due to the attenuation of light signals of the modulated emitted lasers 611a and 611b and the resulting reflected light inputs 621a and 621b. It should be noted that the varying of gain to the sensing elements 626a and 626b may be achieved in different ways. In
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In some embodiments, such as with the multi-spectral laser rangefinder 600b illustrated in
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A bandpass filter 722a and 722b included in each respective receiver element 720a and 720b may filter out noise influences at out of band frequencies but allow in band reflected light inputs 721a and 721b through to a corresponding sensing element 726a and 726b. The bandpass filter 722a and 722b may be calibrated to account for phase shifts. It should be noted that the bandpass filters 722a and 722b may be configured for the different spectral frequencies of reflected light inputs such as the reflected light inputs 721a and 721b. Further in the receive elements 720a and 720b, a collimator 724a or 724b may focus the reflected light inputs 721a or 721b to the corresponding sensing element 726a or 726b. The sensing elements 726a and 726b may receive the reflected light inputs 721a and 721b and convert the light to corresponding electrical input signals. The sensing elements 726a and 726b may each further be or include a photodetector 728a or 728b (e.g., one or more avalanche photodiodes, avalanche photodiode arrays, silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), and/or other like photodetector sensors for sensing the reflected light inputs 721a or 721b). The SiPM may, in some embodiments, be or include the MICROFC-10010 SiPM publically available from ON Semiconductor®. In some embodiments, the sensing elements 726a or 726b may likewise include a signal amplifier 730a or 730b (e.g., a transimpedance amplifier or the like) to amplify the input signals.
The receiver elements 720a and 720b may further include a gain control element 732a or 732b for varying the gain of the sensing elements 726a and 726b to appropriate levels for receiving reflected light inputs 721a and 721b and compensating for the change in amplitudes due to the attenuation of light signals of the modulated emitted lasers 711a and 711b and the corresponding reflected light inputs 721a and 721b. It should be noted that the varying of gain to the sensing elements 726a and 726b may be achieved in different ways. In
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In some embodiments, such as with the multi-spectral laser rangefinder 700b illustrated in
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It should be noted that in daylight visible laser rangefinders and multi-spectral laser rangefinders of the present disclosure, the embodiments may include any number of laser element and corresponding receiver element pairings. Turning to
Each corresponding receiver element 820a, 820b, to 820n, receiving reflected light inputs 821a, 821b, to 821n, may include an optional bandpass filter (e.g., the bandpass filter 222 of
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In some embodiments, such as with the multi-spectral laser rangefinder 800b illustrated in
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wherein
is the phase normalized to one period of the modulation frequency, tperiod is the time of one period of the modulation frequency, and c is the speed of light. In an optional step 1050, calculated distance measurements may be adjusted based on ambient light levels, signal noise, gain settings, waveform shape(s) and/or amplitude(s) of the input signal(s), temperature, or the like.
In an optional step 1055 wherein multiple distance measurements are calculated, the multiple distance measurements may be evaluated to optionally determine or select or otherwise determine a single calculated distance measurement as well as optionally determine additional information regarding the target/environment. For instance, such evaluation may, in some embodiments, sort distance measurements that are “valid” and “invalid” wherein additional target/environment information may be interpreted from the invalid distance measurement responses (e.g., detecting of fluorescence present on the ground surface for utility locating via range finding utility locator device of the present disclosure). Further, in some embodiments this evaluation may include an average or weighted average to be calculated. The weighted average may, for example, be based on potential error or other quality/confidence metric or based on other contributing information influencing the distance measurement. In some embodiments, a method, such as the method 1100 of
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From decision step 1104, if one or more distance measurements fall outside the predetermined variance threshold the method may proceed to step 1112. In the step 1112, the one or more distance measurements may be considered invalid distance measurements and the invalid measurement(s) may be used to identify a potential problem with the distance measurement(s). For instance, the invalid distance measurement(s) may indicated a problematic target surface or malfunction with the corresponding laser element/receive element pairing or the like. In an optional step 1114, invalid distance measurement(s) may be used to interpret additional information regarding the target. For instance, the step 1114 may be or include the method 1120 for determining fluorescence described in
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In a decision step 1124, it may be determined whether the distance measurements agree to within a predetermined threshold. For instance, some small variance in distance measurements may be tolerated but larger differences in distance measurements may indicate a problem with one or more of the generated distance measurements. Such a threshold may account for small normally occurring variances in distance measurements but exclude larger variances that may indicate a problem. Turning to step 1126, if the distance measurements do agree to within the predetermined threshold, no fluorescence has been detected in the target and the distance measurement(s) may be used for the intended purpose. In a step 1128, the distance measurement(s) may optionally be displayed on a user interface. In a step 1130, distance measurement(s) may be stored on a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories.
From the decision step 1124, if distance measurements do not agree to within the predetermined threshold the method 1120 may proceed to another decision step 1132. In the decision step 1132, it may be determined if the error is from the fluorescent excitation wavelength laser (e.g., a green laser). For instance, such a determination may be based on an excessive change in measurement from prior measurements and/or based on the determined distance measurement falling outside a predetermined range of possible or probable distance measurements. In a step 1134, fluorescence may be detected in the target wherein the distance measurement of a substantially non-fluorescent excitation wavelength laser (e.g., a red laser) may be the valid distance measurement(s). If multiple distance measurements are valid, all valid distance measurements may apply and be used. In an optional step 1136, the fluorescent target may be electronically tagged. For instance, in locating and mapping utility lines it may be useful to detect fluorescent paint markings on the ground. The various range finding utility locator devices herein (e.g., range finding utility locator device 1200 of
From the decision step 1132, if the distance measurement error is not from the fluorescent excitation wavelength laser (e.g., green laser), the method 1120 may proceed to step 1142. In the step 1142, the distance measurement error may be determined to be caused by a different issue.
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In various embodiments, the laser range finding utility locator devices (e.g., laser range finding utility locator devices 1200) may be any of a variety of utility locator devices known or developed in the art including, for example, the various utility locator device embodiments disclosed in the incorporated applications for receiving magnetic field components of electromagnetic signals (e.g., the magnetic signals 1230 of
From these multiple magnetic field sources, the laser range finding utility locator device may then determine, in multi-dimensional space (typically in three-dimensional space), the position and pose of each source. Examples of simultaneously receiving and processing multiple magnetic field signals from different sources are described in various of the incorporated applications. In an exemplary embodiment, the range finding utility locator devices may include a dodecahedral antenna array or other similar antenna arrays to receive and process multiple simultaneous signals and determine magnetic field tensor gradients associated with the source. Examples of signal processing circuitry and implementation details for determining positional information from received magnetic field signals in a range finding utility locator device, including with a dodecahedral antenna array or other similar antenna array configurations that provide multiple simultaneous signals usable to determine magnetic field tensor gradients associated with the source, are described in the various co-assigned incorporated patent and patent applications, including, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 10,031,253 issued Jul. 24, 2018 entitled GRADIENT ANTENNA COILS AND ARRAYS FOR USE IN LOCATING SYSTEMS as well as other of the incorporated applications.
In implementations with a dodecahedral antenna array or other similar or equivalent antenna array configurations (such as, for example, octahedral antenna arrays, multiple nested antenna arrays, and the like oriented to receive magnetic field signal information sufficient to calculate tensor data), the utility locator device may include hardware and software for determining magnetic field tensor values associated with the magnetic fields provided from the tracked distance measuring device and optionally one or more buried utilities or other conductors and may store this information in a non-transitory memory for subsequent processing or transmission to a post-processing computing device or system.
In some system embodiments, the range finding utility locator device may determine position data that includes a position and pose as well as a depth of a received signal associated with utility lines such as method embodiment 1300 as illustrated in
In some method embodiments, Ms values may be fit into or be used to determine values for a lookup table providing the approximate signal origin location Sp. The lookup table may, for example, be derived from inverse trigonometric relationships between measured b-field vectors with gradient vectors. In some embodiments, the angle between the magnetic field and the gradient of the magnitude may be calculated from measurement set Ms values. The resultant angle may be used with a lookup table to determine a magnetic latitude descriptive of the signal's source position relative to the utility locator. In other embodiments, rather than a lookup table, an approximate origin location estimate Sp may be calculated in step 1304. For example, Sp may be calculated from the inverse trigonometric relationship between measured b-field vectors with gradient vectors.
In step 1306, a predicted signal source orientation and power, notated herein as Bm, may be determined based on approximate origin location Sp, at step 1304, and b-field values may be determined from signals at one or more antenna arrays. For instance, b-field values may be b-field measurements from a tri-axial antenna array or b-field estimates from a dodecahedral antenna array given an origin location Sp. In step 1308, a set of expected field measurements defined as Cs may be determined from the magnetic field model of a dipole signal at approximate signal source location Sp having a predicted orientation and power BM given a known antenna array configuration, such as a dodecahedral antenna array. In step 1310, an error metric Err may be determined, where Err=|Ms−Cs|. In step 1312, the approximate signal origin estimate Sp may be iteratively varied, providing a corresponding update to Cs, until a minimum Err is achieved. In step 1314, the Cs set resulting in the minimized Err value may be determined, representative of the signal model for the received signal having a position (a location in space and orientation) and power.
In alternate method embodiments for determining the position of received signals, data from accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopic sensors, other inertial sensors and/or other similar sensor types, as well as additional global navigation sensors within the tracked distance measurement device, may be used to determine or refine position, which may include location and pose/orientation data. Such method embodiments may be used in, for example, utility locator devices or other signal detection/tracking devices with antennas or antenna arrays and processing circuitry that is unable to calculate gradient tensors, as an addition to devices that are unable to calculate gradient tensors, or where gradient tensor calculations are not used for signal processing. Such methods may be used to determine the origin location of the received signal or signals using, for example, steps 1302 and 1304 of method 1300 described in
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Some laser range finding utility locator device embodiments of the present disclosure may generate multiple images of the rangefinder target. In some such embodiments, the images may overlap and the rangefinder target may be present in the overlap area.
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It should be noted that a distance dantennas between the laser rangefinder and sense antennas of the laser range finding utility locator device 1630 may be known as both exist in the same rigid body of the laser range finding utility locator device 1630. A height hantennas may describe the vertical distance from the laser rangefinder 1632 to a sense antenna array 1634.
The sense antenna array 1634 may sense magnetic fields 1650 from one or more utility lines in the ground, such as a utility line 1652, in determining the location and orientation/pose thereof (e.g., via the method 1300 of
In use, a range finding utility locator device, such as the range finding utility locator device 1630, may be carried thus suspending the sense antennas 1634 above the ground. Whereas the depth measurement dutility between the sense antennas 1634 and the utility line 1652 is valuable to locating and mapping utility lines, it may be more advantageous to know the depth of a utility line or lines, such as the utility line 1652, relative to the ground surface. This measurement of the depth of the utility line 1652 relative to the ground surface may be notated herein as dtrue and may be determined via method 1660 of
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In a subsequent step 1668, the height of the laser rangefinder in the range finding utility locator device from the ground surface, notated herein as htarget, may be calculated. For instance, the height from the laser rangefinder of the laser range finding utility locator device to the ground, htarget, may be found where htarget=dtarget*cos αpose.
In another step 1670, the height of the laser rangefinder relative to the sense antennas in the range finding utility locator device, notated herein as hantennas, may be calculated. For instance, the height of the laser rangefinder relative to the sense antennas in the range finding utility locator device, hantennas, may be found wherein hantenna=dantennas*cos αpose.
In a step 1672, the height of the sense antennas from the ground surface may be calculated. For instance, given the calculated height from the htarget relative to the laser range finder from step 1668 and the calculated height between the laser rangefinder and sense antennas hantennas, from step 1670, the height from the sense antennas of the laser range finding utility locator device to the ground surface hground may be found wherein hground=htarget−hantennas.
In a step 1674, a depth of the utility line(s) relative to the ground surface may be calculated. For instance, the depth of the utility line(s) relative to the ground surface, notated as dtrue, may be found wherein dtrue=dutility−hground and dutility is the depth measurement relative to the sense antennas of the range finding utility locator device from step 1662.
In a step 1676, the depth(s) relative to the ground surface at the laser range finding utility locator device geolocation and associated information may be stored in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. In an optional step 1678, the depth(s) relative to the ground surface and associated information may be displayed on a user interface.
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The reflected light inputs 1921a and 1921b may each pass through one of the windows 1904 on the corresponding receiver element 1920a or 1920b and optionally through a bandpass filter 1922a and 1922b to filter out noise influences at out of band frequencies but allow in band reflected light inputs 1921a and 1921b through. The bandpass filter 1922a and 1922b may be calibrated to account for phase shifts. It should be noted that the bandpass filters 1922a and 1922b may be configured for the different wavelengths of reflected light inputs such as the reflected light inputs 1921a and 1921b. Further in the receive elements 1920a and 1920b, a collimator 1924a or 1924b may focus the reflected light inputs 1921a or 1921b to the corresponding sensing element 1926a or 1926b. The sensing elements 1926a and 1926b may receive the reflected light inputs 1921a and 1921b and convert the light to corresponding electrical input signals. The sensing elements 1926a and 1926b may each further be or include a photodetector 1928a or 1928b (e.g., one or more avalanche photodiodes, avalanche photodiode arrays, silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), and/or other like photodetector sensors for sensing the reflected light inputs 1921a or 1921b). The SiPM may, in some embodiments, be or include the MICROFC-10010 SiPM publically available from ON Semiconductor®. In some embodiments, the sensing elements 1926a or 1926b may likewise include a signal amplifier 1930a or 1930b (e.g., a transimpedance amplifier or the like) to amplify the input signals.
The receiver elements 1920a and 1920b may further include a gain control element 1932a or 1932b for varying the gain of the sensing element 1926a or 1926b to appropriate levels in receiving reflected light inputs 1921a and 1921b and compensating for the change in amplitude due to the attenuation of light signals of the modulated emitted lasers 1911a and 1911b and the resulting reflected light inputs 1921a and 1921b. It should be noted that the varying of gain to the sensing elements 1926a and 1926b may achieved in different ways. For instance, in some embodiments, the gain control elements 1932a and 1932b may vary the gain to the sensing elements 1926a and 1926b by controlling the bias voltage to the photodetectors 1928a or 1928b. For instance, wherein the photodetectors 1928a and 1928b may be a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) the operating voltage may have a range of 24-32 volts DC. The SiPM may, in some embodiments, be or include the MICROFC-10010 SiPM publically available from ON Semiconductor®. Adjusting the bias voltage may adjust the sensitivity of the SiPM (or other photodetectors 1928a or 1928b) and thereby compensate for attenuated amplitudes of the received corresponding reflected light inputs 1921a and 1921b and corresponding input signals. In other embodiments, the gain to the sensing element may be adjusted by the introduction of a programmable gain amplifier (PGA) coupled to a transimpedance amplifier or like signal amplifier.
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In some embodiments, the underwater vehicle 2002 (or, in alternative embodiments, other terrestrial or aerial vehicle) may utilize a laser rangefinder of the present disclosure, such as the underwater laser rangefinder 2000, for navigation (e.g., using the method 2100 of
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If the distance does fall in the predetermined threshold, in a step 2116 a potential impending collision may be detected and, optionally, an alert may notify a user/operator and/or the movement of the underwater vehicle may be halted or redirected. The method 2100 may continue on to the step 2110, wherein the distance measurement(s) may be used to update positioning information of the underwater vehicle. In an optional step 2112, the distance measurement(s), position information, and/or other associated information may be displayed on a user interface. In an optional step 2114, the distance measurement(s), position information, and/or other associated information may be stored in a memory element having one or more non-transitory memories. The method 2100 may optionally repeat after the optional step 2114.
In some embodiments, an underwater laser rangefinder in keeping with the present disclosure (e.g., the underwater laser rangefinder 1900a of
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The reflected light inputs 2221a and 2221b may each pass through one of the windows 2204 on the corresponding receiver element 2220a or 2220b and optionally a bandpass filter 2222a and 2222b to filter out noise influences at out of band frequencies but allow in band reflected light inputs 2221a and 2221b. The bandpass filter 2222a and 2222b may be calibrated to account for phase shifts. It should be noted that the bandpass filters 2222a and 2222b may be configured for the different wavelengths of reflected light inputs such as the reflected light inputs 2221a and 2221b. Further in the receiver elements 2220a and 2220b, a collimator 2224a or 2224b may focus the reflected light inputs 2221a or 2221b to the corresponding sensing element 2226a or 2226b. The sensing elements 2226a and 2226b may receive the reflected light inputs 2221a and 2221b and convert the light to corresponding electrical input signals. The sensing elements 2226a and 2226b may each further be or include a photodetector 2228a or 2228b (e.g., one or more avalanche photodiodes, avalanche photodiode arrays, silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), and/or other like photodetector sensors for sensing the reflected light inputs 2221a or 2221b). The SiPM may, in some embodiments, be or include the MICROFC-10010 SiPM publically available from ON Semiconductor®. In some embodiments, the sensing elements 2220a or 2220b may likewise include a signal amplifier 2230a or 2230b (e.g., a transimpedance amplifier or the like) to amplify the input signals.
The receiver elements 2220a and 2220b may further include a gain control element 2232a or 2232b for varying the gain of the sensing elements 2226a or 2226b to appropriate levels for receiving reflected light inputs 2221a and 2221b and compensating for the change in amplitude due to the attenuation of light signals of the modulated emitted lasers 2211a and 2211b and the resulting reflected light inputs 2221a and 2221b. It should be noted that the varying of gain to the sensing elements 2226a and 2226b may be achieved in different ways. For instance, in some embodiments, the gain control elements 2232a and 2232b may vary the gain to the sensing elements 2220a and 2220b by controlling the bias voltage to the photodetectors 2228a or 2228b. For instance, wherein the photodetectors 2228a and 2228b may be a silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), the operating voltage may have a range of 24-32 volts DC. The SiPM may, in some embodiments, be or include the MICROFC-10010 SiPM publically available from ON Semiconductor®. Adjusting the bias voltage may adjust the sensitivity of the SiPM (or other photodetectors 2228a or 2228b) and thereby compensate for attenuated amplitudes of the received corresponding reflected light inputs 2221a and 2221b and corresponding input signals. In other embodiments, the gain to the sensing element may be adjusted by the introduction of a programmable gain amplifier (PGA) coupled to a transimpedance amplifier or like signal amplifier.
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In some embodiments, such as with the multi-spectral laser rangefinder 2200b illustrated in
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In some known underwater applications, the scaling of an object may be achieved by pairs of lasers (referred to herein as “scaling lasers”) at known distances apart that emit highly parallel lasers. The laser rangefinders of the present disclosure may further be coupled to or included in such scaling laser devices so as to further provide distance measurements.
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The underwater laser rangefinder 2520 may generate one or more emitted lasers, such as an emitted laser 2521, that may contact the target 2530 and reflect light, such as a reflected light input 2523, back to the underwater laser rangefinder 2520 in determining a distance measurement to the target 2530. As such, the combined underwater scaling and range finding device 2500 may generate a measurement of the scale of the target 2530 as well as a distance to the target 2530. The distance measurement, in some embodiments, may further be used to refine the scale measurement. The underwater laser rangefinder 2520 is illustrated in
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The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, functions, and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein and, for example, in a processor or processing element as described herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, firmware, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. A processing element may further include or be coupled to one or more non-transitory memory storage elements such as ROM, RAM, SRAM, or other memory elements for storing instructions, data, and/or other information in a digital storage format.
In one or more exemplary embodiments, the functions, methods and processes described may be implemented in whole or in part in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or encoded as one or more instructions or code on a non-transitory processor-readable medium and may be executed in one or more processing elements. Processor-readable media includes computer storage media. Storage media may be any available non-transitory media that can be accessed by a computer, processor, or other programmable digital device.
By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.
It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps or stages in the processes and methods disclosed are examples of exemplary approaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the processes may be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. Any method claims may present elements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented or inclusion of all steps or inclusion of alternate or equivalent steps unless explicitly noted.
Those of skill in the art would understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.
Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps may have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the disclosure.
The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, processes, methods, and/or circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed in a processing element with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.
The steps or stages of a method, process or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium such as a non-transitory memory may be externally coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium and/or read and execute instructions from the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a device such as described herein another device. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components. Instructions to be read and executed by a processing element to implement the various methods, processes, and algorithms disclosed herein may be stored in a non-transitory memory or memories of the devices disclosed herein.
It is noted that as used herein that the terms “component,” “target,” “element,” or other singular terms may refer to two or more of those things. For example, a “component” may comprise multiple components. Moreover, the terms “component,” “element,” or other descriptive terms may be used to describe a general feature or function of a group of components, elements, or other items.
The presently claimed invention is not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistent with the disclosures herein and their equivalents as reflected by the claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. A phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, b and c.
The previous description of the disclosed aspects is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use embodiments of the presently claimed invention. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the invention is not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the following claims and their equivalents.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/212,713, entitled DAYLIGHT VISIBLE & MULTI-SPECTRAL LASER RANGEFINDERS AND ASSOCIATED METHODS AND UTILITY LOCATOR DEVICES, filed on Jun. 20, 2021, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for all purpose.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63212713 | Jun 2021 | US |
