Optics: measuring and testing – Angle measuring or angular axial alignment – With photodetection remote from measured angle
Patent
1989-07-27
1991-04-23
Wallace, Linda J.
Optics: measuring and testing
Angle measuring or angular axial alignment
With photodetection remote from measured angle
356 1, 356 4, 356141, 2502033, G01C 310, G01C 100
Patent
active
050095013
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to locating systems for use in a wide variety of applications.
Many applications are primarily directed to the domestic market and particularly for use with video games where interaction is required between targets on a screen and a toy gun or other toy weapon, and possibly the relative location of players of the games and the screen during the playing of the game. Other main interest arises where a user of a video screen wishes to interact with images on the screen to respond to interrogation by or to control those images, for example to select items on a menu displayed on the screen by remotely pointing towards chosen regions of the screen. In this context a shopping list could be compiled, that is programmed into a machine, by selectively pointing to items in turn which appear amongst a displayed list of available items.
In specific applications of interest it is necessary for a remotely hand held implement (toy gun, etc.,) or for a remotely situated body to be able to determine the relative position of the implement or body. The fixing of the relative location also enables decisions to be made at the remote position to alter that position as may be required or if relayed to the target or screen for the target or screen to respond accordingly, for example, when the gun is pointing at a target on the screen.
According to the invention there is provided a locating system for a body in which the body is movable relative to a fixed reference station, the system including two transmitter and receiver pairs in which the transmitters form one directional transmitter and are situated at the body and the receivers form one directional receiver and are situated at the reference station, means for monitoring the intensity of radiation received by each receiver and means for synchronising the radiation of each transmitter with the monitoring of the intensity, and computer means programmed to determine the direction of the body from the reference station (angle B) and the direction of the reference station from the body (angle A), using a comparison of radiation received between each receiver of the directional receiver from a single transmitter to give the direction of the transmitters from the directional receiver and using a comparison of radiation received by one receiver of the directional receiver from two transmitters of the directional transmitter to give the direction of the receivers from the directional transmitter, in which one or more of the transmitters is controllable to transmit radiation command signals and the receivers are arranged to receive the command signals, including switching means for the transmitter or transmitters to initiate radiation command signals to enable an operator to selectively point at a target and then issue a command radiation signal for execution by the reference station.
The locating system may include three or more transmitters at the body and three or more receivers at the reference station forming two or more different directional transmitters and two or more different directional receivers respectively arranged to form a number of transmitter and receiver pairs for two or more planes in which the computer means is programmed to determine the direction of the body from the reference station and the direction of the reference station from the body in three dimensions.
The computer may be programmed to determine the distance of the body from the reference station using a summation of the radiation received from the transmitters.
The radiation may be pulsed infrared radiation.
The transmitter may be arranged to transmit in four directions positioned equally around a central pointing axis of the body each at approximately 15.degree. to the central axis and the receivers comprise four directional elements positioned equally around a central axis with each element positioned at approximately 15.degree. to a central receiving axis.
In many applications knowledge or calculation of the actual relative positions will be required but in some applications onl
REFERENCES:
patent: 3917412 (1975-11-01), Stoutmeyer et al.
patent: 4583862 (1986-04-01), Ferrar et al.
patent: 4649504 (1987-03-01), Krouglicof et al.
patent: 4836778 (1989-06-01), Baumrind et al.
patent: 4840069 (1989-06-01), Hampton et al.
Fenner David F.
Menown John S.
Sisson Thomas E.
Wallace Linda J.
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