Device for determining the distance to an outer surface of a roll of material and related method
AssigneeSTMicroelectronics S.r.l.
InventorsJohn Bloomfield, Kenneth Weiner
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A sensing device is for sensing an outer surface of a roll of material. An infrared (IR) laser source is configured to direct IR laser radiation to the outer surface of the roll of material. A single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) detector is configured to receive reflected IR laser radiation from the outer surface of the roll of material. A controller is coupled to the IR laser source and the SPAD detector to determine a distance to the outer surface of the roll of material based upon a time-of-flight of the IR laser radiation.
Claims21
A sensing device for sensing an outer surface of a roll of material comprising:
- a plurality of infrared (IR) laser sources, each laser source comprising a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) configured to direct an IR laser radiation beam to the outer surface of the roll of material, wherein the outer surface of the roll of material extends in a direction orthogonal to a direction of the IR laser radiation and orthogonal to a direction of a first diameter of the roll of material;
- a single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) detector comprising an array of single photon avalanche diodes configured to detect reflected IR laser radiation beams from the outer surface of the roll of material;
- and
- a controller coupled to said plurality of IR laser sources and said SPAD detector to determine a distance to the outer surface of the roll of material based upon a calculated time-of-flight of the IR laser radiation beams reflected from the outer surface of the roll of material and detected by the SPAD detector, wherein
- said IR laser sources, SPAD detector, and controller are formed as a single integrated circuit (IC) and
- said controller is configured to determine a quantity of material on the roll of material based on a distance measured between the outer surface of the roll of material and the IC.
A sensing device for sensing an outer surface of a roll of material comprising:
- a plurality of infrared (IR) laser sources configured to direct IR laser radiation beams to the outer surface of the roll of material, each of said IR laser sources comprising a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL);
- a single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) detector configured to detect reflected IR laser radiation beams from the outer surface of the roll of material, said SPAD detector comprising an array of single photon avalanche diodes;
- and
- a controller coupled to said plurality of IR laser sources and said SPAD detector to determine a distance to the outer surface of the roll of material based upon a calculated time-of-flight of the IR laser radiation beams reflected from the outer surface of the roll of material and detected by the SPAD detector, wherein the IR laser sources and the SPAD are integrated into a single integrated circuit (IC), the IR laser sources being implemented with GaAs technology.
A method of sensing an outer surface of a roll of material comprising:
- using a plurality of infrared (IR) laser sources, each comprising a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) to direct an IR laser radiation beam to the outer surface of the roll of material wherein the outer surface of the roll of material extends in a direction orthogonal to a direction of the IR laser radiation and orthogonal to a direction of a first diameter of the roll of material;
- using a single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) detector comprising an array of single photon avalanche diodes to detect reflected IR laser radiation beams from the outer surface of the roll of material;
- and
- determining a distance to the outer surface of the roll of material based upon a calculated time-of-flight of the IR laser radiation beams reflected from the outer surface of the roll of material and detected by the SPAD detector, wherein the IR laser sources, SPAD detector, and controller are formed as a single integrated circuit (IC).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.