US5418608A — Three dimensional mapping systems and methods

Claim 1

Independent Claim 204 words

A system for three dimensional mapping of a submarine surface which comprises: a light source for projecting a beam of collimated light that is reflective from said submarine surface including a laser, scanning means to intercept said beam and project it in a first direction onto a selected area of said surface forming thereon a raster of pixels each with controlled X and Y coordinates and thereby produce a reflection of said raster in a second direction, scanner processor means to control said X and Y coordinates, focus means capable of intercepting said raster reflection and focusing it as a scan image on a reception plane offset spatially from said scanning means, a position sensitive photodiode assembly defined by a photoreceptive planosurface, said planosurface being positioned substantially on said reception plane to sense said scan image and said assembly being capable of converting each pixel of said reflected raster into a pair of differential currents corresponding to the X and Y coordinates of said each pixel received on said planosurface, signal processor means to calculate by triangulation from said differential currents range value voltages for said pixels, and graphic display means to convert said range value voltages into a visual representation of said surface.

Claim 2

Independent Claim 204 words

A system for three dimensional mapping of a submarine surface which comprises: a light source for projecting a beam of collimated light that is reflective from said submarine surface including a laser, scanning means to intercept said beam and project it in a first direction onto a selected area of said surface forming thereon a raster of pixels each with controlled X and Y coordinates and thereby produce a reflection of said raster in a second direction, scanner processor means to control said X and Y coordinates, focus means capable of intercepting said raster reflection and focusing it as a scan image on a reception plane offset spatially from said scanning means, a position sensitive photodiode assembly defined by a photoreceptive planosurface, said planosurface being positioned substantially on said reception plane to sense said scan image and said assembly being capable of converting each pixel of said reflected raster into a pair of differential currents corresponding to the X and Y coordinates of said each pixel received on said planosurface, signal processor means to calculate by triangulation from said differential currents range value voltages for said pixels, and graphic display means to convert said range value voltages into a visual representation of said surface.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 28 words

The system of claim 1 that further comprises an NTSC video camera capable of viewing said selected area of said submarine surface to provide a visual reference thereof.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 10 words

The system of claim 1 wherein said beam is continuous.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 11 words

The system of claim 1 wherein said beam is temporally pulsed.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 19 words

The system of claim 1 wherein said light source includes means to confine the cross-sectional area of said beam.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 35 words

The system of claim 1 wherein said scanning means comprises a first mirror and first motor means to move said first mirror to cause said beam to move stepwise into a series of horizontal positions.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 35 words

The system of claim 6 wherein said scanning means comprises a second mirror and second motor means to move said second mirror to cause said beam to move stepwise into a series of vertical positions.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 14 words

The system of claim 1 wherein said position sensitive photodiode assembly comprises intensifier means.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 21 words

The system of claim 8 wherein said intensifier means is a 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation image intensifier or combination thereof.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 13 words

The system of claim 8 wherein said intensifier is a gated image intensifier.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 13 words

The system of claim 8 wherein said intensifier is a non-gated image intensifier.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 14 words

The system of claim 1 wherein said scanning means is a synchronous scan device.

Claim 14

Independent Claim 159 words

A method for three dimensional mapping of a submarine surface which comprises: emitting from a light source a beam of collimated light that is reflective from said submarine surface, intercepting said beam and projecting it at a first position in a first direction onto a selected area of said surface as a raster of pixels each with controlled X and Y coordinates to thereby produce from said surface a reflection of said raster in a second direction, at a second position offset spatially from said first position, focusing said reflection of said raster onto a reception plane, causing each pixel of said reflection of said raster focused on said reception plane to produce a pair of differential currents corresponding to the X and Y coordinates on said reception plane of said each pixel, calculating from said differential currents range value voltages for said pixels, and converting via triangulation said range value voltages into a visual representation of said surface.

Claim 15

Independent Claim 159 words

A method for three dimensional mapping of a submarine surface which comprises: emitting from a light source a beam of collimated light that is reflective from said submarine surface, intercepting said beam and projecting it at a first position in a first direction onto a selected area of said surface as a raster of pixels each with controlled X and Y coordinates to thereby produce from said surface a reflection of said raster in a second direction, at a second position offset spatially from said first position, focusing said reflection of said raster onto a reception plane, causing each pixel of said reflection of said raster focused on said reception plane to produce a pair of differential currents corresponding to the X and Y coordinates on said reception plane of said each pixel, calculating from said differential currents range value voltages for said pixels, and converting via triangulation said range value voltages into a visual representation of said surface.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 82 words

The method of claim 13 wherein said calculation step is conducted in accordance with the following formulae: ##EQU3## and wherein: Z is the value sought by the calculation, x is the derived coordinate associated with the X-axis on said reception plane, H is the angle of said spatial offset of said second position from said first position, f is the focal length of said focusing. and K 1 +K 2 is the non-zero separation between said first position and said second position.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 35 words

The method of claim 13 wherein the field of view of said focusing at said second position is a minor portion of said selected area and is synchronized with said projecting at said first position.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 33 words

The method of claim 13 wherein said triangulation involves determining the deviation between the actual position of said each pixel on said reception plane and a predetermined reference position on said reception plane.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1998-05-22	1998-11-21	1999-05-23	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2002-05-22	2002-11-21	2003-05-23	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2006-05-22	2006-11-21	2007-05-23	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Three dimensional mapping systems and methods

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