Tracking system
AssigneeThe Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in Her Britannic Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
InventorEdward Benjamin Hughes
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A tracking system is provided for tracking while determining the position of a point relative to a datum and includes a carriage (4) rotatably mounted on a frame (1) and which can rotate around a precision sphere (2). An interferometer (16) is mounted so as to rotate with the carriage (4), such that a mechanical center of rotation of the device and the measurement datum of the interferometer coincide at the same point.
Claims13
A tracking system for determining the position of a point relative to a datum, the point being located on a target, said tracking system comprising:
- a spherical guide;
- and
- a carriage adapted and arranged for rotating about at least a portion of said spherical guide, said carriage having a beam generating device and a displacement measuring device mounted thereon,
- said beam generating device being configured to generate a beam, said beam being directed toward said spherical guide and, after reflection therefrom, toward the target,
- said displacement measuring device being configured to receive at least a portion of said beam after said beam is reflected from the target such that said tracking system measures displacement of the target from said spherical guide, said spherical guide corresponding to the datum.
A method for determining the position of a target relative to a datum comprising the steps of:
- providing a spherical guide having a center point;
- generating a beam;
- directing the beam toward the spherical guide along a first path such that the beam reflects off the spherical guide and toward the target;
- receiving at least a portion of the beam reflected from the target;
- and
- interpreting the at least a portion of the beam received from the target.
A method for determining the position of a target relative to a datum comprising the steps of:
- providing a spherical guide having a center point;
- disposing an interferometer at a first distance from the center point;
- generating a beam;
- and
- directing the beam from the interferometer and toward the center point of the spherical guide such that the beam is reflected by an exterior surface of the spherical guide, thereby allowing the beam to be directed through the interferometer and toward the target.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.