The present invention relates generally to linear variable reflector sensors, and more particularly, to linear variable reflector systems containing a linear variable reflector sensor to measure displacement of an object.
Many aerospace applications use linear and rotary displacement measurements. These include such things as throttle lever position and flap position on aircraft. The sensor presently used to measure such linear and rotary displacement is the linear variable differential transformer (LVDT). These sorts of devices require electrical power and wiring to transmit the signal. As a result, LVDT based readouts are subject to electromagnetic pulses and electromagnetic interference. Although LVDT sensors are relatively lightweight transformers, reducing the weight will reduce costs and offer other advantages.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a linear variable reflector system that comprises a light source, a light transmitting member in optical communication with the light source, and a sensor in optical communication with the light transmitting member. Further, the sensor comprises a moveable transparent body, which may be made from glass, plastic or other transparent material with low inherent reflectance. A reflective material is deposited on the transparent moveable body, and at least one film is deposited over said reflective material, wherein said reflective material reflects light. Finally, the linear variable reflector system comprises a detector coupled to the sensor to detect displacement of the moveable transparent body.
In another embodiment of the present invention a method of measuring displacement is disclosed. The method comprises emitting a light from a light source, transmitting the light through a light transmitting member, providing a sensor having a moveable transparent body with a reflective material deposited thereon, the reflective material being of variable thickness across said transparent body, and a plurality of films deposited over said reflective material, reflecting the light using the sensor, detecting said reflected light with a detector, and sending a signal to a microprocessor indicative of displacement of said transparent body.
Objects and advantages together with the operation of the invention may be better understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in connection with the following illustrations, wherein:
a is a diagrammatic side view of the linear variable reflector of an embodiment of the present invention;
A linear variable reflector system of an embodiment of the present invention is shown in
The first and second LED 14 and 18 of the present embodiment emit light at 940 nm and 640 nm respectively. It should be understood, however, that light sources emitting light at different wavelengths can also be used, including light emitting diodes that emit light at different wavelengths than 940 nm and 640 nm disclosed herein. The 940 nm and 640 nm wavelength LEDs were specifically mentioned herein because they are commercially available.
The light emitted from the first and second LED 14 and 18 is transmitted through the optical fibers 22 through the 2×2 coupler 34 and through the second 2×1 coupler 42 to the sensor 50, which reflects the light. More specifically, the sensor 50 includes a linear variable reflector (LVR) 54, shown in
During operation of the linear variable reflector system 10, the first and second LED 14 and 18 are alternately turned on and off so that the detector outputs are alternating from the first LED 14 and then to the second LED 18. The signals from the power monitor detector 26 are processed by the signal processor 46 to correct the system output for long term changes and to notify a user if an LED burns out or drifts out of an allowable range. This includes compensating for changes in light coupling at the couplers 34, 42 and transmission losses of the optical fibers 22.
Further, functional blocks of the signal processor circuit of the linear variable system 10 are shown in
When the first and second LED 14 and 18 have constant current flowing therethrough the first and second LED light output will remain constant except for the following: (i) a slight drop with increasing temperature; or (ii) a very slow, steady decrease with time that reduces the output to one-half of the original value in about 100,000 hours.
The light output drop with temperature is accompanied by an increase in the voltage drop across the diode. This relationship between voltage drop and temperature is linear and can be used by the signal processor 46 to compensate for any light level changes due to temperature. The drop in light output with time is likewise associated with an increase in the voltage drop across the diode. The signal processor 46 can accordingly compensate for age variations of output as well as variations due to temperature.
Alternatively, the output voltage V7 from the power monitor detector 26 measures output from the first and second LED 14 and 18 directly. These signals can be used to compensate for changes in LED output that result from factors other than time and temperature, such as changes in splitter losses and changes in fiber cable losses.
The temperature sensor 67 shown in
The LVR 54 of an embodiment of the present invention is shown in
Shown in
If the optical system light loss is the same at wavelengths λ1 and λ2, then the ratio of the resultant signals Ψ at any give position does not change. In reality, neither R1 nor R2 behave as in the idealized case shown in
As previously stated, deposited on the transparent body 70 is a reflective material, such as gold, with non-uniform thickness and a dielectric stack of a plurality of thin films 78 that reflect light over the visible and near infrared portions of the spectrum. The reflectance of thin gold layers on glass is shown in
The pertinent information to the present invention is the change in reflectance with gold thickness at the two LED wavelengths 640 nm and 940 nm. As previously stated, these wavelengths are chosen because LED's with high output power are commercially available. It should be understood, however, that other wavelengths could be used as well. It is important to note that for a thickness change from 7.5 nm to 30 nm of gold, the change in the gold reflectance is roughly (70%/18%)˜4 at 640 nm and (90%/30%)˜3 at 940 nm. That is, the change in reflectance with gold thickness is not much different at the two wavelengths. Since it is necessary to ratio the signals at the two LED wavelengths to remove sensitivity to changes other than reflectance (see above), the value of the ratio 4/3=1.25 is not very sensitive to the reflectivity change either. To enhance the sensitivity to reflectivity changes the thin film reflector stack 78 shown in
The thin film reflector stack 78 involves multiple layers, preferably between 8 and 14 layers. The layers contain both low-reflective and high-reflective substances, such as zinc sulfide, magnesium fluoride and/or oxides of titanium, silicon, zirconium, hafnium and/or tantalum, and an additional gold base. The thicknesses of each layer varies between 10 nm and 500 nm and, excepting the gold layer, refractive indices between 1.3000 and 2.5000. A glass substrate is also included. Those skilled in the art will appreciate and be able to determine the precise configuration in terms of thicknesses, refractive indices and number of layers, and customization of the design formula is anticipated based upon the precise application and operating conditions.
All layers except for the gold are to be deposited with uniform thickness over the entire transparent substrate. As previously stated, the gold layer has variable, decreasing thickness along the length of the glass substrate in the range from 40 nm to 1 nm. The reflectance versus wavelength can be readily calculated. Shown in
The ratio of the data plotted in
It is straightforward to eliminate these nonlinearities by depositing the gold on the substrate in such a way that the thickness of the gold is a nonlinear function of position along the substrate. The result is shown in
Some residual nonlinearity remains, but a least squares analysis to a linear fit shows that the standard error is 1.3%. Therefore, the LVR coating of an embodiment of the present invention can be used to produce analog position sensors with a position accuracy better than 1.5% of the displacement range.
The embodiment produces an LVR that can be used with a fiber optic cable and signal processor. The LVR can be used to measure rotary and linear position instead of a linear variable differential transformer. The LVR is resistant to electrical interference from EMI/EMP and lightning strikes. The glass optical fiber that connects the LVR with the signal processor is not an electrical conductor so there is no interference or noise pickup on the transmission line. Further, the LVR has low weight. The LVR is a small rectangle of transparent material such as glass or plastic that is much lower weight than an LVDT. In addition, the LVR system has fewer components than an equivalent LVDT system. Additionally, the LVR has a small physical size compared to a typical LVDT system. Minimum size simplifies the deployment of the LVR for both linear and variable displacement measurement.
Finally, the use of a microprocessor signal conditioner enables compensation for manufacturing variations in the wavelength dependence of the optical coatings on the LVR transparent bodies and unit-to-unit variations in the emission wavelengths of the LED's. Each LVR system can be calibrated during manufacturing to account for variations in the composite wavelength dependencies of the components.
The invention has been described above and, obviously, modifications and alternations will occur to others upon a reading and understanding of this specification. The claims as follows are intended to include all modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the claims or the equivalent thereof.
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/562,651 filed on Apr. 15, 2004, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60562651 | Apr 2004 | US |