Optical blade clearance probe
AssigneePrime Photonics, LC
InventorDaniel Kominsky
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The sensor comprises a beam of electromagnetic radiation projecting across a gap between the stationary member and the translating member, a reference detector having a reference FOV and a signal detector having a signal FOV. The sensor is to be mounted on the stationary member. The electromagnetic radiation beam, the reference FOV and the signal FOV intersect in a volume including the gap, and the gap is calculated from the reflected electromagnetic radiation received by the reference and signal detectors. The gap can be determined from a ratio between a rise time in the signal pulse and a rise time in the reference pulse, or a ratio between a fall time in the signal pulse and a fall time in the reference pulse, or a ratio between a delay time in the signal pulse and a delay time in the reference pulse, among other features.
Claims22
A sensor comprising:
- a source of electromagnetic radiation to be mounted on a stationary member to project an electromagnetic radiation beam across a gap toward at least one translating member;
- a reference detector having a reference field of view (FOV) and a signal detector having a signal FOV to be mounted on the stationary member,
- wherein the electromagnetic radiation beam, the reference FOV and the signal FOV intersect in a volume including said gap,
- wherein a feature of the translating member is measured from the reflected electromagnetic radiation received by the reference detector and by the signal detector.
A method for measuring a gap between a stationary member and at least one translating member comprising the steps of:
- i. projecting a beam of electromagnetic radiation across said gap;
- ii. providing a reference field of view (FOV) and a signal FOV across said gap;
- wherein the beam of electromagnetic radiation, the reference FOV and the signal FOV intersect in a volume that includes said gap;
- iii. receiving reflected electromagnetic radiation through the reference FOV and the signal FOV as the translating member moves through the beam of electromagnetic radiation;
- iv. calculating said gap from time markers on pulses derived from at least one of a signal pulse received from the signal FOV and a reference pulse received from the reference FOV.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.