US5453686A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Pulsed-DC position and orientation measurement system
Assignee: CHITTENDEN BANK
•
Filing: 1993-04-08
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Granted: 1995-09-26
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Expires: 2013-04-08
Abstract
Abstract A remote object position and orientation determining system employs electromagnetic coupling to sense the position and orientation of a remote object. A plurality of electromagnetic fields are generated having steady state components by applying time-division multiplexed pulsed DC signals to a plurality of field generating elements having spatially independent components defining a source reference coordinate frame. In this manner, the fields are distinguishable from one another. The generated electromagnetic fields are sensed with a remote sensor having a plurality of passive field-sensing elements having spatially independent elements in order to detect the rate-of-change of each of the generated electromagnetic fields. The output of the remote sensors are integrated in order to establish the steady state components of the generated electromagnetic fields. The steady state components are resolved into remote object position and orientation relative to the source reference coordinate frame.
Inventors
- 👤 Peter T. Anderson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 10:55
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01S; G01S5/00; G01S5/02; G01S5/0247
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 49
Claim 1
Independent Claim
218 words
An apparatus for determining the position and orientation of a remote object relative to a reference coordinate frame comprising: a source having a plurality of field generating elements, wherein said field generating elements generate electromagnetic fields and have spatially independent components defining a source reference coordinate frame; a driver, wherein said driver applies to said plurality of field generating elements, signals which generate a plurality of electromagnetic fields, wherein said driver generates pulsed-DC Signals that are applied sequentially to said field generating elements, defining a field generation cycle, whereby said electromagnetic fields have steady state components and are time-division multiplexed, said electromagnetic fields being distinguishable from one another; a remote sensor having a plurality of field sensing elements, wherein said field sensing elements sense each of said generated electromagnetic fields and have spatially independent components; and a processor, wherein said processor processes the output of said sensor into remote object position and orientation relative to said source reference coordinate frame, said processor including a signal integrator that is adapted to integrating the output of at least one of said sensing elements over a given period of time in order to establish the steady state components of said generated electromagnetic field and a calculator that is adapted to calculate remote object position and orientation from the steady state components.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
218 words
An apparatus for determining the position and orientation of a remote object relative to a reference coordinate frame comprising: a source having a plurality of field generating elements, wherein said field generating elements generate electromagnetic fields and have spatially independent components defining a source reference coordinate frame; a driver, wherein said driver applies to said plurality of field generating elements, signals which generate a plurality of electromagnetic fields, wherein said driver generates pulsed-DC Signals that are applied sequentially to said field generating elements, defining a field generation cycle, whereby said electromagnetic fields have steady state components and are time-division multiplexed, said electromagnetic fields being distinguishable from one another; a remote sensor having a plurality of field sensing elements, wherein said field sensing elements sense each of said generated electromagnetic fields and have spatially independent components; and a processor, wherein said processor processes the output of said sensor into remote object position and orientation relative to said source reference coordinate frame, said processor including a signal integrator that is adapted to integrating the output of at least one of said sensing elements over a given period of time in order to establish the steady state components of said generated electromagnetic field and a calculator that is adapted to calculate remote object position and orientation from the steady state components.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
17 words
The apparatus in claim 1 wherein said given period of time is one said field generation cycle.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
21 words
The apparatus in claim 2 wherein said processor samples said integral approximately at the end of each of said pulsed-DC signals.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
21 words
The apparatus in claim 2 wherein said processor samples said integral a plurality of times during each of said pulsed-DC signals.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
20 words
The apparatus in claim 1 wherein processor samples said integral approximately at the end of each of said pulsed-DC signals.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
21 words
The apparatus in claim 5 wherein said processor samples said integral a plurality of times during each of said pulsed-DC signals.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus in claim 1 wherein each of said field sensing elements is a passive sensor that responds to the rate-of-change of said electromagnetic fields.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
17 words
The apparatus in claim 1 wherein said given period of time is one said field generation cycle.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
27 words
The apparatus in claim 1 wherein said processor resets said integrator after said given period of time and samples said integral before and after resetting said integrator.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
27 words
The apparatus in claim 1 wherein said signal integrator is adapted to integrate the outputs of all of said sensing elements over said given period of time.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
20 words
The apparatus in claim 1 wherein said processor includes a programmed computer and wherein said programmed computer defines said integrator.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
156 words
An apparatus for determining the position and orientation of a remote object relative to a reference coordinate frame comprising: a source having a plurality of field generating elements, wherein said field generating elements generate electromagnetic fields and have spatially independent components defining a source reference coordinate frame; a driver, wherein said driver applies sequentially to said plurality of field generating elements pulsed-DC signals which are time-division multiplexer, defining a field generation sequence, in order to generate a plurality of electromagnetic fields that have steady state components and are distinguishable from one another; a remote sensor having a plurality of passive field sensing elements that are responsive to the rate-of-change of said generated electromagnetic fields in order to sense each of said generated electromagnetic fields, said sensing elements having spatially independent components; and a processor, wherein said processor processes the output of said sensor into remote object position and orientation relative to said source reference coordinate frame.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
156 words
An apparatus for determining the position and orientation of a remote object relative to a reference coordinate frame comprising: a source having a plurality of field generating elements, wherein said field generating elements generate electromagnetic fields and have spatially independent components defining a source reference coordinate frame; a driver, wherein said driver applies sequentially to said plurality of field generating elements pulsed-DC signals which are time-division multiplexer, defining a field generation sequence, in order to generate a plurality of electromagnetic fields that have steady state components and are distinguishable from one another; a remote sensor having a plurality of passive field sensing elements that are responsive to the rate-of-change of said generated electromagnetic fields in order to sense each of said generated electromagnetic fields, said sensing elements having spatially independent components; and a processor, wherein said processor processes the output of said sensor into remote object position and orientation relative to said source reference coordinate frame.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
63 words
The apparatus in claim 12 wherein said processor includes a signal integrator, wherein said integrator integrates the output of all of said field sensing elements over a given period of time in order to produce an integral for each said output, and a calculator, wherein said calculator calculates remote object position and orientation relative to said source reference coordinate frame from said integrals.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
17 words
The apparatus in claim 13 wherein said given period of time is one said field generation cycle.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
21 words
The apparatus in claim 13 wherein calculator samples each said integral approximately at the end of each of said pulsed-DC signals.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
22 words
The apparatus in claim 13 wherein said calculator samples each said integral a plurality of times during each of said pulsed-DC signals.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
27 words
The apparatus in claim 13 wherein said processor resets said integrator after said given period of time and samples said integral before and after resetting said integrator.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
101 words
The apparatus in claim 17 wherein said calculator calculates remote position and orientation from a matrix S where ##EQU2## where XsrcXsen=AD(XSRC,Xinteg)-0.75AD(RESET,Xinteg)-0.25AD(NOSRC,Xinteg) XsrcYsen=AD(XSRC,Yinteg)-0.75AD(RESET,Yinteg)-0.25AD(NOSRC,Yinteg) XsrcZsen=AD(XSRC,Zinteg)-0.75AD(RESET,Zinteg)-0.25AD(NOSRC,Zinteg) YsrcXsen=AD(YSRC,Xinteg)-0.50AD(RESET,Xinteg)-0.50AD(NOSRC,Xinteg) YsrcYsen=AD(YSRC,Yinteg)-0.50AD(RESET,Yinteg)-0.50AD(NOSRC,Yinteg) YsrcZsen=AD(YSRC,Zinteg)-0.50AD(RESET,Zinteg)-0.50AD(NOSRC,Zinteg) ZsrcXsen=AD(ZSRC,Xinteg)-0.25AD(RESET,Xinteg)-0.75AD(NOSRC,Xinteg) ZsrcYsen=AD(ZSRC,Yinteg)-0.25AD(RESET,Yinteg)-0.75AD(NOSRC,Yinteg) ZsrcZsen=AD(ZSRC,Zinteg)-0.25AD(RESET,Zinteg)-0.75AD(NOSRC,Zinteg) and where, for X, Y and Z sources and X, Y and Z sensor integrators, AD(iSRC, jinteg) is the sampled integrator value for the jth sensor integrator; while the ith source is transmitting, AD(RESET, jinteg) is the sampled integrator value for the jth sensor integrator during an integrator reset interval, and AD(NOSRC, jinteg) is the sampled integrator value for the jth sensor integrator during an interval when no transmission source is transmitting.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
20 words
The apparatus in claim 14 wherein said processor includes a programmed computer and wherein said programmed computer defines said integrator.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
16 words
The apparatus in claim 12 wherein each of said field sensing elements is a dipole antenna.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
152 words
An apparatus for determining the position and orientation of a remote object relative to a reference coordinate frame comprising: a source having a plurality of field generating elements, wherein said field generating elements generate electromagnetic fields and have spatially independent components defining a source reference coordinate frame; a driver, wherein said driver applies sequentially to said plurality of field generating elements pulsed-DC signals which are time-division multiplexed in order to generate a plurality of electromagnetic fields that have steady state components and are distinguishable from one another; a remote sensor having a plurality of passive field sensing elements that are responsive to the rate-of-change of said generated electromagnetic fields in order to sense each of said generated electromagnetic fields, said sensing elements having spatially independent components; and an integrator, wherein said integrator integrates the output of said remote sensor in order to establish the steady state components of said generated electromagnetic fields.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
152 words
An apparatus for determining the position and orientation of a remote object relative to a reference coordinate frame comprising: a source having a plurality of field generating elements, wherein said field generating elements generate electromagnetic fields and have spatially independent components defining a source reference coordinate frame; a driver, wherein said driver applies sequentially to said plurality of field generating elements pulsed-DC signals which are time-division multiplexed in order to generate a plurality of electromagnetic fields that have steady state components and are distinguishable from one another; a remote sensor having a plurality of passive field sensing elements that are responsive to the rate-of-change of said generated electromagnetic fields in order to sense each of said generated electromagnetic fields, said sensing elements having spatially independent components; and an integrator, wherein said integrator integrates the output of said remote sensor in order to establish the steady state components of said generated electromagnetic fields.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
22 words
The apparatus in claim 21 including a processor, wherein said processor resolves said steady state components into remote object position and orientation.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
20 words
The apparatus in claim 21 wherein said processor includes a programmed computer and wherein said programmed computer defines said integrator.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
172 words
A method of determining the position and orientation of a remote object relative to a reference coordinate frame comprising: generating a plurality of electromagnetic fields in a source reference coordinate frame, said fields having spatially independent components and being distinguishable from one another, wherein said generating includes applying pulsed-DC signals sequentially to a plurality of field generator elements having spatially independent components, defining a field generation cycle, whereby said electromagnetic fields have steady state components and are time-division multiplexed; sensing said generated electromagnetic fields with a remote sensor having a plurality of field sensing elements, said sensing elements having spatially independent components in order to detect each of said generated electromagnetic fields; and processing the output of said remote sensor into remote object position and orientation relative to said source reference coordinate frame by integrating the output of said field sensor over a given period of time in order to establish the steady state components of said generated electromagnetic fields and resolving said steady state components into remote object position and orientation.
Claim 28
Independent Claim
172 words
A method of determining the position and orientation of a remote object relative to a reference coordinate frame comprising: generating a plurality of electromagnetic fields in a source reference coordinate frame, said fields having spatially independent components and being distinguishable from one another, wherein said generating includes applying pulsed-DC signals sequentially to a plurality of field generator elements having spatially independent components, defining a field generation cycle, whereby said electromagnetic fields have steady state components and are time-division multiplexed; sensing said generated electromagnetic fields with a remote sensor having a plurality of field sensing elements, said sensing elements having spatially independent components in order to detect each of said generated electromagnetic fields; and processing the output of said remote sensor into remote object position and orientation relative to said source reference coordinate frame by integrating the output of said field sensor over a given period of time in order to establish the steady state components of said generated electromagnetic fields and resolving said steady state components into remote object position and orientation.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 24 wherein said processing includes integrating the output of said field sensor over a given period of time that is one said transmission cycle.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 25 wherein said processing includes sampling said integral approximately at the end of each of said pulsed-DC signals.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 25 wherein said processing includes sampling said integral a plurality of times during each of said pulsed-DC signals.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 24 wherein said processing includes sampling said integral approximately at the end of each of said pulsed-DC signals.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 24 wherein said processing includes sampling said integral a plurality of times during each of said pulsed-DC signals.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 24 wherein said sensing includes use of passive sensing elements that respond to the rate-of-change of said electromagnetic fields.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 24 wherein said processing includes resetting said integral after said given period of time.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 31 including sampling said integral before and after said resetting.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
47 words
The apparatus in claim 24 wherein said processing includes integrating the outputs of all of said field sensing elements over said given period of time in order to produce multiple integrals, sampling said multiple integrals and calculating said remote object position and orientation from the sampled integrals.
Claim 38
Independent Claim
125 words
A method of determining the position and orientation of a remote object relative to a reference coordinate frame comprising: generating a plurality of electromagnetic fields by applying time-division multiplexed pulsed-DC signals to a plurality of field generating elements, defining a field generation cycle, said field generating elements having spatially independent components defining a source reference coordinate frame, whereby said fields have steady state components and are distinguishable from one another; sensing said generated electromagnetic fields with a remote sensor having a plurality of passive field sensing elements having spatially independent components in order to detect the rate-of-change of each of said generated electromagnetic fields; and resolving the output of said remote sensor into remote object position and orientation relative to said source reference coordinate frame.
Claim 39
Independent Claim
125 words
A method of determining the position and orientation of a remote object relative to a reference coordinate frame comprising: generating a plurality of electromagnetic fields by applying time-division multiplexed pulsed-DC signals to a plurality of field generating elements, defining a field generation cycle, said field generating elements having spatially independent components defining a source reference coordinate frame, whereby said fields have steady state components and are distinguishable from one another; sensing said generated electromagnetic fields with a remote sensor having a plurality of passive field sensing elements having spatially independent components in order to detect the rate-of-change of each of said generated electromagnetic fields; and resolving the output of said remote sensor into remote object position and orientation relative to said source reference coordinate frame.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 34 wherein said resolving includes integrating the output of said passive field sensor over a given period of time in order to produce an integral for each said independent component, and calculating remote object position and orientation from the integrals.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 35 wherein said resolving includes integrating over a given period of time that is one said field generation cycle.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 35 wherein said resolving includes sampling each said integral approximately at the end of each of said pulsed-DC signals.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 35 wherein said resolving includes sampling each said integral a plurality of times during each of said pulsed-DC signals.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 35 wherein said resolving includes resetting said integral after said given period of time.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 39 including sampling said integral before and after said resetting.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
102 words
The method of claim 40 wherein said resolving includes calculating remote position and orientation from a matrix S where ##EQU3## where XsrcXsen=AD(XSRC,Xinteg)-0.75AD(RESET,Xinteg)-0.25AD(NOSRC,Xinteg) XsrcYsen=AD(XSRC,Yinteg)-0.75AD(RESET,Yinteg)-0.25AD(NOSRC,Yinteg) XsrcZsen=AD(XSRC,Zinteg)-0.75AD(RESET,Zinteg)-0.25AD(NOSRC,Zinteg) YsrcXsen=AD(YSRC,Xinteg)-0.50AD(RESET,Xinteg)-0.50AD(NOSRC,Xinteg) YsrcYsen=AD(YSRC,Yinteg)-0.50AD(RESET,Yinteg)-0.50AD(NOSRC,Yinteg) YsrcZsen=AD(YSRC,Zinteg)-0.50AD(RESET,Zinteg)-0.50AD(NOSRC,Zinteg) ZsrcXsen=AD(ZSRC,Xinteg)-0.25AD(RESET,Xinteg)-0.75AD(NOSRC,Xinteg) ZsrcYsen=AD(ZSRC,Yinteg)-0.25AD(RESET,Yinteg)-0.75AD(NOSRC,Yinteg) ZsrcZsen=AD(ZSRC,Zinteg)-0.25AD(RESET,Zinteg)-0.75AD(NOSRC,Zinteg) and where, for X, Y and Z sources and X, Y and Z sensor integrators, AD(iSRC, jinteg) is the sampled integrator value for the jth sensor integrator; while the ith source is transmitting, AD(RESET, jinteg) is the sampled integrator value for the jth sensor integrator during an integrator reset interval, and AD(NOSRC, jinteg) is the sampled integrator value for the jth sensor integrator during an interval when no transmission source is transmitting.
Claim 47
Independent Claim
115 words
A method of determining the position and orientation of a remote object relative to a reference coordinate frame comprising: generating a plurality of electromagnetic fields having steady state components by applying time-division multiplexed pulsed-DC signals to a plurality of field generating elements having spatially independent components defining a source reference coordinate frame, whereby said fields are distinguishable from one another; sensing said generated electromagnetic fields with a remote sensor having a plurality of passive field sensing elements having spatially independent elements in order to detect the rate-of-change of each of said generated electromagnetic fields; and integrating the output of said remote sensor in order to establish the steady state components of said generated electromagnetic fields.
Claim 48
Independent Claim
115 words
A method of determining the position and orientation of a remote object relative to a reference coordinate frame comprising: generating a plurality of electromagnetic fields having steady state components by applying time-division multiplexed pulsed-DC signals to a plurality of field generating elements having spatially independent components defining a source reference coordinate frame, whereby said fields are distinguishable from one another; sensing said generated electromagnetic fields with a remote sensor having a plurality of passive field sensing elements having spatially independent elements in order to detect the rate-of-change of each of said generated electromagnetic fields; and integrating the output of said remote sensor in order to establish the steady state components of said generated electromagnetic fields.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 42 including resolving said established steady state components into remote object position and orientation.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
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| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1998-09-25 | 1999-03-27 | 1999-09-26 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
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