# US 2014/0192340 A1 · Measurement system and measuring method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0192340 A1 - Document ID: US20140192340A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/908,238 - Filed: 2013-06-03 - Published: 2014-07-10 - Earliest claimed: 2013-01-08 - Assignees: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. - Applicants: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. - Inventors: Shingo NISHIKATA; Yuki UCHIYAMA; Hiroyuki DAIGO; Takuya KOYAMA; Hiroki UCHIDA - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140192340A1 ## CPC - G01C 3/02: Details - G01S 7/4026: {Antenna boresight} - G01S 17/46: Indirect determination of position data - G01S 17/74: Systems using reradiation of electromagnetic waves other than radio waves, e.g. IFF, i.e. identification of friend or foe - G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S) - G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES ## Abstract A ranging apparatus transmits an optical input signal to an optical signal input/output unit mounted on a measurement target. The optical signal input/output unit receives the optical signal and transmits an optical output signal applied with an optical change, to the ranging apparatus. The ranging apparatus receives the optical output signal, measures a propagation distance from a light source a the light receiving unit through the optical signal input/output unit, and measures a relative position of the optical signal input/output unit based on the propagation distance. Thus, a distributed aperture radar is realized from the ranging apparatus and the optical signal input/output unit. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A measuring system comprising: an optical signal input/output unit mounted on a measurement target, and configured to receive an optical input signal and output an optical output signal obtained by applying an optical change to the optical input signal, an optical signal including the optical input signal and the optical output signal; and a ranging apparatus configured to transmit the optical input signal to said optical signal input/output unit, receive the optical output signal from said optical signal input/output unit, measure a propagation distance of an optical signal from a transmission point of the optical input signal to a reception point of the optical output signal based on the optical output signal, and measure a relative position of said optical signal input/output unit based on the propagation distance. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The measuring system according to claim 1, wherein said ranging apparatus comprises: a light source configured to transmit the optical input signal to said optical signal input/output unit; a light receiving unit configured to receive the optical output signal from said optical signal input/output unit; and a measuring unit configured to measure the propagation distance of the optical signal from said light source to said light receiving unit through said optical signal input/output unit based on the optical output signal, and measure the relative position of said optical signal input/output unit based on the propagation distance. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The measuring system according to claim 2, wherein said ranging apparatus comprises one or more light sources and one or more light receiving units, wherein as independent propagation paths of the light signal from said one or more light sources to said one or more light receiving units through said optical signal input/output unit, there are three propagation paths in case of the 3-dimensional measurement and two propagation paths in case of the 2-dimensional measurement, wherein said one or more light sources respectively transmits the optical signals to said optical signal input/output unit, and said one or more light receiving units respectively receive the optical signals from said optical signal input/output unit, and wherein said measuring unit measures the propagation distance of the optical signal from said light source to said light receiving unit through said optical signal input/output unit. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The measuring system according to claim 1, wherein the measurement target comprises one or more optical signal input/output units, and wherein said one or more optical signal input/output units respectively outputs the optical signals obtained by applying the optical change peculiar to said optical signal input/output units to the optical input signal. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The measuring system according to claim 4, wherein each of said plurality of optical signal input/output units carries out a modulation to the optical input signal based on a modulation pattern which is peculiar to said optical signal input/output unit and outputs the optical output signal, and wherein said ranging apparatus identifies each of the optical output signals based on said modulation patterns. ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) The measuring system according to claim 4, wherein each of said optical signal input/output units carries out a polarization to the optical input signal based on a polarization pattern which is peculiar to said optical signal input/output unit, and outputs the optical output signal, and wherein said ranging apparatus identifies each of the optical output signals based on the polarization patterns. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The measuring system according to claim 1, wherein said measuring system comprises one or more measurement targets, wherein each of said one or more measurement targets comprises three or more said optical signal input/output units in case of the 3-dimensional measurement and two or more optical signal input/output units in case of the 2-dimension measurement, and wherein said ranging apparatus measures the relative position of each of said three or more optical signal input/output units mounted on said each measurement target, and measures a relative direction of said measurement target based on the relative positions. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The measuring system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said measurement target and said ranging apparatus is a mobile unit, and wherein said ranging apparatus sequentially transmits the optical input signal to said optical signal input/output unit, receives the optical output signal from said optical signal input/output unit, measures the propagation distance of the optical signal from the transmission point of the optical input signal to the reception point of the optical output signal based on the optical output signal, and measures the relative position of said optical signal input/output unit based on said propagation distance. ### Claim 9 A ranging apparatus comprises: a light source configured to transmit an optical input signal to an optical signal input/output unit of a measurement target; a light receiving unit configured to receive an optical output signal as the optical input signal applied with an optical change, from said optical signal input/output unit; and a measuring unit configured to measure a propagation distance of the optical signal from said light source to said light receiving unit through said optical signal input/output unit based on the optical output signal, and measure a relative position of said optical signal input/output unit based on the propagation distance. ### Claim 10 A measuring method comprising: transmitting an optical input signal from a ranging apparatus to an optical signal input/output unit mounted on a measurement target; receiving the optical signal from said ranging apparatus by said optical signal input/output unit and transmitting an optical output signal as an optical input signal applied with an optical change, to said ranging apparatus; receiving the optical output signal as the optical signal from said optical signal input/output unit by said ranging apparatus; measuring a propagation distance of the optical signal from a transmission point of the optical input signal to a reception point of the optical output signal applied with the optical change based on the optical signal applied with the optical change, by said ranging apparatus; and measuring a relative position of said optical signal input/output unit based on the propagation distance. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The measuring method according to claim 10, further comprising: measuring a relative direction of the measurement target based on the three or more relative positions of said optical signal input/output unit mounted on the measurement target.