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AssigneeErwin Sick GmbH Optik-Elektronik
InventorGunter Fetzer
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An optical electronic distance sensor utilizes a V-light barrier in which a light transmitter 11 transmits a substantially parallel light beam 14 at a defined angle and a light receiver 12 receives a substantially parallel light beam 15 at a defined angle and delivers an electrical output signal dependent on the intensity of the received light beam. The distance of the intersection of the transmitted and received light beam paths, i.e. the apex of the V, from the light transmitter and receiver defines the sensing distance of the light barrier and is adjusted by adjusting the separation of the light transmitter and receiver. For this purpose the light transmitter and receiver are displaceably mounted on a mounting rail. The distance sensor is particularly useful in indoor carparks for determining the presence or absence of a vehicle in a parking space.
V-light barrier apparatus for sensing the presence and absence of an object on a surface, comprising a straight mounting rail extending in a first direction, a light transmitter mounted on said rail and constructed to transmit a parallel beam of light along a transmitted beam path at a fixed and invariable angle relative to said rail, a light receiver mounted on said rail and constructed to receive a parallel beam of light along a received beam path at a fixed and invariable angle relative to said rail, with the transmitted beam path and the received beam path intersecting over an intersection region at a distance from said rail, means enabling movement of said light transmitter and said light receiver along said rail to adjust their relative separation, and thereby said distance, to bring said intersection region into coincidence with one of said surface and said object without varying the size or shape of said intersection region, and means for securing said light transmitter and said light receiver to said mounting rail.
In optical electronic distance sensing apparatus including light transmitting means for directing transmitted light at a surface and light receiving means for receiving transmitted light reflected from said surface and providing an electrical signal in response thereto, the improvement wherein:
Adjustable V-light barrier apparatus having a range of resolved distances of constant predetermined magnitude for sensing the presence or absence of an object on a surface, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.