Back to results
US 8,411,257 B2Granted
Folded path laser rangefinder architecture and technique incorporating a single circuit board for mounting of both laser emitting and detecting elements
AssigneesLaser Technology, Inc., Kama-Tech (HK) Limited
InventorJeremy G. Dunne
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A handheld, folded-path, laser rangefinder architecture and technique incorporating a single circuit board for mounting of both the laser emitting and detecting elements is disclosed. The architecture disclosed provides an efficient and low cost design for a laser rangefinder, and by eliminating the conventional provision of separate circuit boards for the laser transmitting and receiving elements, reduces the overall size of the unit and its cost of manufacture by concomitantly eliminating unnecessary interconnecting cables and the like.
Claims34
A rangefinding instrument comprising:
- a housing;
- an ocular pathway disposed through said housing for viewing and aiming said instrument towards a target;
- a single circuit board disposed within said housing, said circuit board having two major surfaces thereof;
- a signal emitting device affixed to a first one of said two major surfaces of said circuit board;
- a signal detecting device affixed to said first one of said two major surfaces of said circuit board in a substantially coplanar relationship to said signal emitting device;
- a first signal redirector for intercepting a signal transmitted from said signal emitting device and redirecting said transmitted signal toward said target;
- and
- a second signal redirector for intercepting a received signal reflected from said target in response to said transmitted signal and redirecting said received signal toward said signal receiving device.
5 more elements
A rangefinding instrument comprising:
- a generally elongated handheld housing;
- a single circuit board disposed within said housing said circuit board having two major surfaces thereof;
- laser emitting and laser detecting elements in a substantially coplanar relationship with each other and each respectively affixed to a first one of said two major surfaces of said circuit board;
- a first beam redirecting structure for directing transmitted laser signals from said laser emitting element toward a target;
- and
- a second beam redirecting structure for directing target reflected laser signals toward said laser detecting element.
3 more elements
A method for constructing a laser rangefinder comprising:
- providing a housing having an ocular pathway associated therewith;
- mounting a circuit board within said housing;
- affixing a laser emitting element and a laser detecting element to a first side of said circuit board in a substantially coplanar relationship;
- firstly redirecting transmitted laser energy from said laser emitting element substantially 90 degrees to a target along said ocular pathway, said transmitted laser energy defining a laser transmit path;
- and
- secondly redirecting reflected laser energy from said target substantially 90 degrees to said laser detecting element, said reflected laser energy defining a laser receive path.
3 more elements
A rangefinding instrument comprising:
- a generally elongated handheld housing;
- a single circuit board disposed within said housing said circuit board having two major surfaces thereof;
- laser emitting and laser detecting elements each respectively affixed to at least one of said two major surfaces of said circuit board;
- a first beam redirecting structure for directing transmitted laser signals from said laser emitting element toward a target;
- and
- a second beam redirecting structure for directing target reflected laser signals toward said laser detecting element
- wherein said circuit board is movable within said housing to align said transmitted and target reflected laser signals to said laser emitting and laser detecting elements.
4 more elements
A method for constructing a laser rangefinder comprising:
- providing a housing having an ocular pathway associated therewith;
- mounting a circuit board within said housing;
- affixing a laser emitting element and a laser detecting element to said circuit board;
- firstly redirecting transmitted laser energy from said laser emitting element substantially 90 degrees to a target along said ocular pathway, said transmitted laser energy defining a laser transmit path;
- secondly redirecting reflected laser energy from said target substantially 90 degrees to said laser detecting element, said reflected laser energy defining a laser receive path;
- inserting a first plano-convex lens in said laser transmit path;
- and
- inserting a second plano-convex lens in said laser receive path,
- inserting a first plano-concave lens in said laser transmit path between said first plano-convex lens and said laser emitting element;
- and
- inserting a second plano-concave lens in said laser receive path between said second plano-convex lens and said laser detecting element.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.