Optical object detection system incorporating fiber optic coupling

A system for the detection of objects comprising:

• a source of optical energy;
• at least one transmitter port coupled to the source of optical energy for transmitting optical energy to a field of illumination;
• a first receiver port located at a first location and embracing afield field of reception having a first area of overlap with the field of illumination so as to receive optical energy transmitted form the at least one transmitter port and reflected by an object present in the first area of overlap;
• a second receiver port located at a second location spaced from the first location and embracing a second field of reception having a second area of overlap with the field of illumination so as to receive optical energy transmitted by the at lest one transmitter and reflected by an object present in the second area of overlap;
• a receiver for receiving optical energy and for producing a signal representative thereof;
• fiber optic coupling means coupling to the first and second receiver ports to the receiver;
• means for sequentially activating the first and second receiver ports during each cycle of activation of the system;
• and
• processing means for processing the signal produced by the receiver to sequentially detect the presence of an object in the first or second area of overlap.

A system for use in a vehicle to detect objects in the vicinity of the vehicle, the system comprising:

• a source of optical energy;
• a plurality of spaced transmitter ports for respectively transmitting optical energy to a plurality of fields of illumination;
• transmission fiber optic coupling means coupling the source of optical energy to the plurality of transmitter ports;
• a plurality of receiver ports embracing respectively a plurality of fields of reception each having an area of overlap in the vicinity of the vehicle with each of the plurality of fields of illumination so as to receive optical energy transmitted from one of the plurality of transmitter ports and reflected by an object present in an area of overlap;
• a receiver for receiving optical energy and for producing a signal representative thereof;
• reception fiber optic coupling means coupling the plurality of receiver ports to the receiver;
• means for sequentially activating each of the plurality of transmitter ports with each of the plurality of receiver ports during each cycle of activation of the system;
• and
• processing means for processing the signal produced by the receiver in response to each activation to sequentially detect the presence of an object in each of the areas of overlap in the vicinity of the vehicle.