Patent US4146924A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US4146924A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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System for visually determining position in space and/or orientation in space and apparatus employing same
Assignee: Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
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Filing: 1975-09-22
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Granted: 1979-03-27
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Expires: 1995-09-22
Abstract
Abstract Visual system for determining position in space and/or orientation in three-dimensional space for purposes, for example, of directing or instructing an industrial robot to perform manipulative acts and apparatus employing the visual system. The system includes a portable object arbitrarily movable in three-dimensional space and possessing the discernible properties of position in space and/or orientation in space. One or more sensors extract visual information or image data from the portable object and convert the same to an electric signal or signals. A computer is connected to receive the signal or signals which are analyzed and, in the case of the industrial robot, the information obtained is used to prepare operating instructions.
Inventors
- 👤 John R. Birk
- 👤 Robert B. Kelley
- 👤 David A. Seres
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 18:35
CPC Classifications
B; B25; B25J; B25J13/00; B25J13/08; B25J13/088; B25J13/089; B25J19/00; B25J19/02; B25J19/021; B25J19/023; B25J9/00; B25J9/16; B25J9/1679; B25J9/1692; G; G06; G06T; G06T1/00; G06T1/0014
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 66
Claim 1
Independent Claim
136 words
A visual system to determine at least one of position in space and orientation in space and having, in combination: portable means arbitrarily movable in space and possessing the discernible properties of at least one of position in space and orientation in space; sensor means operatively disposed to extract visual information from the portable means and operable to convert it to an electrical signal; computer means that receives said electrical signal from the sensor means and evaluates the same to provide an indication of at least one of position in space and orientation in space; and means to specify the manner in which the visual information is to be interpreted by the computer means, said means to specify being operable to effect arbitrary interpretations of the manner in which the visual information is to be interpreted.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
136 words
A visual system to determine at least one of position in space and orientation in space and having, in combination: portable means arbitrarily movable in space and possessing the discernible properties of at least one of position in space and orientation in space; sensor means operatively disposed to extract visual information from the portable means and operable to convert it to an electrical signal; computer means that receives said electrical signal from the sensor means and evaluates the same to provide an indication of at least one of position in space and orientation in space; and means to specify the manner in which the visual information is to be interpreted by the computer means, said means to specify being operable to effect arbitrary interpretations of the manner in which the visual information is to be interpreted.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
16 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 1 in which the portable means comprises light means.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the light means comprises a single source of light.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
17 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 3 wherein the single source is a light emitting diode.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
33 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 3 that includes means operatively connected to sequence the single source of light to permit orientation in space to be computed using a sequence of images.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
35 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 2 wherein sequencing of the light means is effected by modulating the light output of the source as a function of time and on a predetermined sequencing schedule.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
15 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the light means comprises liquid crystals.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
17 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the light means comprises an array of lights.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
16 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the light means includes a legible code.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
15 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the light means comprises laser means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
21 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the light means comprises a plurality of lights independently movable in space.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
19 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the light means comprises a plurality of individual light sources.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
24 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 12 that further includes means to sequence the light sources ON and OFF in a predetermined fashion.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
18 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 12 wherein the light means comprises two distinct sources of light.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
23 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 12 wherein the light means comprises three point sources of light disposed in a triangular configuration.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
19 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 12 wherein the individual light sources emit different frequencies from one another.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
17 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the light means is a distributed light source.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
24 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 17 wherein the distributed light source comprises non-resolvable multiple lights each acting effectively as a point source.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
21 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 18 wherein the multiple lights are light emitting diodes disposed adjacent to one another.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
25 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 18 wherein some of the lights differ from others in terms of the frequency of radiation emitted therefrom.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
19 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the light means comprises a plurality of clusters of lights.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
19 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the light means comprises a plurality of distributed light sources.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
16 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means to specify is a keyboard.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
15 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 23 wherein the keyboard means comprises binary devices.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
16 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 23 wherein the keyboard means comprises finite state devices.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
16 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 23 wherein the keyboard means comprises continuous state devices.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
17 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means to specify is voice input means.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
44 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the portable means comprises light means and in which said means to specify comprises means to modulate the light means in terms of either intensity of frequency or in terms of both intensity and frequency.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
34 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means to specify comprises fixed program means to specify the manner in which the visual information is to be interpreted by the computer means.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
32 words
Apparatus that includes the visual system of claim 1 and that further includes a robot, said computer means acting to control robot actions and movement on the basis of said visual information.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
22 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 30 wherein said robot is part of and performs automated functions in connection with a machine tool.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
14 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 30 wherein the means to specify is a keyboard.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
65 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 30 in which the portable means has two lights separated from one another and which includes means to change the distance between the light, the orientation of an imaginary line segment between the two lights serving as a source of orientation information and the position of the center of said imaginary line segment serving as a source of position information.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
66 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 30 in which the portable means comprises a plurality of lights separated from one another and means to change the distance between the individual lights, the orientations of imaginary line segments between the lights of said plurality serving as sources of orientation information and the position of the center of said imaginary line segments serving as a source of position information.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
22 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the sensor means comprises a television camera positioned to view the portable means.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
16 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the portable means comprises indirect light means.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
24 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 36 wherein the portable means comprises visually detectable objects and which includes means to irradiate said objects.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
22 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 37 wherein the visually detectable objects reflect light when irradiated by said means to irradiate.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
28 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 37 wherein the visually detectable objects are fluorescent and in which the means to irradiate is a source of ultraviolet radiation.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
16 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 39 wherein the visually detectable objects are liquid crystals.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
18 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the sensor means comprises a plurality of television cameras.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
18 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the sensor means comprises a solid state imaging array.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
77 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the portable means comprises a plurality of individual sources of light disposed in an array, each source acting effectively as a point source of light in the system, and wherein the sensor means comprises a television camera positioned to view the plurality of sources and to extract visual information from which can be determined the position in space of said point source and the orientation of the array.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
33 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 43 wherein the sensor means comprises a plurality of television cameras positioned to view the plurality of sources and to obtain position and orientation information therefrom.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
76 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the portable means comprises three individual sources of light disposed in a triangular configuration, each source acting effectively as a point source of light in the system and wherein the sensor means comprises two television cameras positioned to view the three sources and to extract visual information from which can be determined the position in space of said source and the orientation in space of said configuration.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
41 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 45 that further includes means to sequence the individual sources of light ON and OFF and to provide an indication to the computer means as to whether an individual source is ON or OFF.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
29 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 45 wherein the three individual sources of light differ from one another in terms of the frequency of light emitted from each.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
40 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 1 in which the portable means includes a plurality of individual units each of which unit is movable independently in space, each said unit serving to provide visual information to the sensor means.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
19 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 1 in which the portable means comprises a plurality of three-dimensional objects.
Claim 51
Dependent Claim
14 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 49 wherein the three-dimensional objects are blocks.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
20 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 49 wherein said blocks are cubes whose sides are individually and distinctively coded.
Claim 53
Dependent Claim
29 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 51 wherein the distinctive coding of the sides of the cubes obtains from the sensitivity of the individual sides to incident radiation.
Claim 54
Dependent Claim
24 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the portable means contains a code that can be read and interpreted by a human.
Claim 55
Dependent Claim
19 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 1 in which the portable means comprises a plurality of two-dimensional objects.
Claim 56
Dependent Claim
34 words
A visual system as claimed in claim 1 that further includes fiducial or reference means which occupies a spatial reference position from which can be determined other spatial positions of interest in the system.
Claim 57
Dependent Claim
78 words
A machine that includes said system in claim 55 and wherein said space is the working volume or region of the machine, interaction among the fiducial or reference means, the sensing means and the computer means serving to establish said spatial reference position within said working volume, the portable means thereafter being located in said space relative to the said spatial reference position and other elements of the machine within the space being located by the portable means.
Claim 58
Independent Claim
101 words
A method of conveying at least one of position and orientation information that comprises: introducing to a space of interest at least one visually detectable object which possesses the discernible properties of a+ least one of position and orientation; sensing the presence of said object in said space to provide a signal that contains information or data relative to at least one of position and orientation of the object; arbitrarily specifying the manner in which said information or data is to be interpreted; and analyzing the information or data conveyed by the signal to extract therefrom said properties of the object.
Claim 59
Independent Claim
101 words
A method of conveying at least one of position and orientation information that comprises: introducing to a space of interest at least one visually detectable object which possesses the discernible properties of a+ least one of position and orientation; sensing the presence of said object in said space to provide a signal that contains information or data relative to at least one of position and orientation of the object; arbitrarily specifying the manner in which said information or data is to be interpreted; and analyzing the information or data conveyed by the signal to extract therefrom said properties of the object.
Claim 60
Dependent Claim
21 words
A method as claimed in claim 57 wherein a plurality of visually detectable objects are introduced to the space of interest.
Claim 61
Independent Claim
161 words
A system to instruct a robot and having, in combination: portable means arbitrarily movable in space and possessing the discernible properties of at least one of position in space and orientation in space, said portable means comprising two lights separated from one another and movable with respect to one another; means to change the distance between the two lights, the orientation of an imaginary line segment between the two lights serving as a source of visual orientation information and the position of the center of said imaginary line segment serving as a source of visual position information; sensor means operatively disposed to extract visual information from the portable means that receives said electrical signal from the sensor means; and computer means that evaluates the same to provide an indication of at least one of position in space and orientation in space; and a robot, said computer means serving to control robot actions and movement on the basis of said visual information.
Claim 62
Independent Claim
161 words
A system to instruct a robot and having, in combination: portable means arbitrarily movable in space and possessing the discernible properties of at least one of position in space and orientation in space, said portable means comprising two lights separated from one another and movable with respect to one another; means to change the distance between the two lights, the orientation of an imaginary line segment between the two lights serving as a source of visual orientation information and the position of the center of said imaginary line segment serving as a source of visual position information; sensor means operatively disposed to extract visual information from the portable means that receives said electrical signal from the sensor means; and computer means that evaluates the same to provide an indication of at least one of position in space and orientation in space; and a robot, said computer means serving to control robot actions and movement on the basis of said visual information.
Claim 63
Dependent Claim
154 words
A visual system to determine position in space and orientation in space and having, in combination: portable means arbitrarily movable in space and possessing the discernible properties of at least one of position in space and orientation in space, said portable means comprising a plurality of individual sources of light disposed in an array, each source acting effectively as a point source of light in the system; sensor means operatively disposed to extract visual information from the portable means and operable to convert it to an electrical signal, said sensor means comprising a television camera positioned to view the plurality of sources and to extract visual information from which can be determined the position in space of said point source and the orientation of the array; and computer means that receives said electrical signal from the sensor means and evaluates the same to provide an indication of position in space and orientation in space.
Claim 64
Dependent Claim
154 words
A visual system to determine position in space and orientation in space and having, in combination: portable means arbitrarily movable in space and possessing the discernible properties of at least one of position in space and orientation in space, said portable means comprising a plurality of individual sources of light disposed in an array, each source acting effectively as a point source of light in the system; sensor means operatively disposed to extract visual information from the portable means and operable to convert it to an electrical signal, said sensor means comprising a television camera positioned to view the plurality of sources and to extract visual information from which can be determined the position in space of said point source and the orientation of the array; and computer means that receives said electrical signal from the sensor means and evaluates the same to provide an indication of position in space and orientation in space.
Claim 65
Independent Claim
118 words
A system to determine at least one of position in space and orientation in space and having, in combination: portable means arbitrarily movable in space and possessing the discernible properties of at least one of position in space and orientation in space; sensor means operatively disposed to extract spatial information from the portable means and operable to convert it to an electrical signal; computer means that receives said electrical signal from the sensor means and evaluates the same to provide an indication of at least one of position in space and orientation in space; and fiducial or reference means which occupies a spatial reference position from which can be determined other spatial positions of interest in the system.
Claim 66
Independent Claim
118 words
A system to determine at least one of position in space and orientation in space and having, in combination: portable means arbitrarily movable in space and possessing the discernible properties of at least one of position in space and orientation in space; sensor means operatively disposed to extract spatial information from the portable means and operable to convert it to an electrical signal; computer means that receives said electrical signal from the sensor means and evaluates the same to provide an indication of at least one of position in space and orientation in space; and fiducial or reference means which occupies a spatial reference position from which can be determined other spatial positions of interest in the system.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1982-03-26 | 1982-09-25 | 1983-03-27 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1986-03-26 | 1986-09-25 | 1987-03-27 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1990-03-26 | 1990-09-25 | 1991-03-27 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |