Spring-loaded target carrier for laser tracking

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10508917-B1
Application number	US-201715492894-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Apr 20, 2017
Priority date	Apr 20, 2017
Publication date	Dec 17, 2019
Grant date	Dec 17, 2019

Abstract

Exemplary practice of the present invention provides a carriage including a body having a void, a vertical rod passing through the void, four legs arranged rectangularly and projecting obliquely downward and outward from the body, and a vertical coil spring coaxially encompassing a lower portion of the vertical rod. The carriage is coupled with a retroreflective laser target at the bottom of the vertical rod whereby the top of the spring pushes against the bottom of the body and the bottom of the spring pushes against the top of the target. The target continuously adjusts in height so that the bottom of the target remains in constant spring-tension contact with the surface on which the carriage sits or travels, supported by its legs. The carriage is electromechanically propelled, and laser tracking is conducted to direct laser beams at and receive laser retroreflections from the target at various surface locations. According to some inventive embodiments, one or more weights are implemented, in lieu of or in addition to a spring, to exert a downward force upon the target.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A laser tracking system comprising a laser target assembly, said laser target assembly including a generally rectangular member, four legs, a shaft, a coil spring, and a retroreflective target, said generally rectangular member characterized by four corners and a central aperture extending therethrough, said four legs each connected to said generally rectangular member at a said corner of said rectangular member, said shaft passing through said central aperture, said retroreflective target connected to said shaft at an end of said shaft, said coil spring circumscribing said shaft so as to exert respective tensile forces against said rectangular member and said retroreflective target, wherein said laser target assembly is positionable upon a surface at each of plural locations of said surface whereby said legs and said retroreflective target are contiguous said surface, and wherein at each said location of said surface said retroreflective target is contiguous said surface in accordance with spring-loading associated with said coil spring.

2. The laser tracking system of claim 1 , wherein said surface is a configuratively variable surface.

3. The laser tracking system of claim 1 , wherein said retroreflective target is a spherically mounted retroreflector.

4. The laser tracking system of claim 1 , further comprising a laser tracker for emanating laser light striking said retroreflective target and for receiving laser light reflecting from said retroreflective target.

5. A carriage for an object, the carriage comprising:
a body having a vertical through-hole and a body bottom, said body characterized by a vertical longitudinal geometric plane;
four legs attached to said body at said body bottom, each said leg oriented at an oblique angle outward with respect to said vertical longitudinal geometric plane;
a vertical rod characterized by a vertical geometric axis and passing through said vertical through-hole so as to be moveable vertically up-and-down, said vertical rod having an upper rod end and a lower rod end, said vertical rod extending above and below said through-hole, said rod capable of attachment to a laser tracking target at said lower rod end;
a vertical spring characterized by said vertical geometric axis and encompassing said vertical rod, said vertical spring having an upper spring end and a lower spring end, said vertical spring pressing upon said body bottom at said upper spring end, said vertical spring pressing upon an attached said object at said lower spring end, said vertical spring exerting tension upon the attached said object in the direction of said vertical geometric axis.

6. The carriage of claim 5 , wherein the attached said object is a spherically mounted retroreflector.

7. The carriage of claim 5 , wherein the carriage is positionable upon a surface whereby said legs and the attached said object contact said surface and whereby said tension is exerted by said vertical spring upon the attached said object so that the attached said object presses against a surface below the attached said object.

8. The carriage of claim 7 , wherein each said leg includes a straight stem and a spheroidal foot connected to said straight stem.

9. The carriage of claim 5 , wherein said legs are attached to said body in a rectangular arrangement that is bisected by said horizontal geometric plane, and wherein said legs are each oriented outward at the same said oblique angle with respect to said horizontal geometric plane.

10. The carriage of claim 9 , wherein the carriage is positionable upon a surface whereby said legs and the attached said object contact said surface and whereby said tension is exerted by said vertical spring upon the attached said object so that the attached said object presses against a surface below the attached said object.

11. The carriage of claim 10 , wherein each said leg includes a straight stem and a spheroidal foot connected to said straight stem.

12. The carriage of claim 11 , wherein the attached said object is a laser tracking target, and wherein at said bottom rod end said rod is magnetically attractive for effecting said attachment to said laser tracking target at said lower rod end.

13. A laser target device for use in association with a laser tracking apparatus, the laser target device comprising:
a body having a vertical through-hole and a body bottom, said body characterized by a vertical longitudinal geometric plane;
four legs attached to said body at said body bottom, each said leg oriented at an oblique angle outward with respect to said vertical longitudinal geometric plane;
a vertical rod characterized by a vertical geometric axis and passing through said vertical through-hole so as to be moveable vertically up-and-down, said vertical rod having an upper rod end and a lower rod end, said vertical rod extending above and below said through-hole;
a retroreflective target for receiving a laser beam from a laser tracking apparatus, said retroreflective target attached to said rod at said bottom rod end;
a vertical spring characterized by said vertical geometric axis and encompassing said vertical rod, said vertical spring having an upper spring end and a lower spring end, said vertical spring pressing upon said body bottom at said upper spring end, said vertical spring pressing upon said retroreflective target at said lower spring end, said vertical spring exerting tension upon the attached said retroreflective target in the direction of said vertical geometric axis.

14. The laser target device of claim 13 , wherein said retroreflective target is a spherically mounted retroreflector.

15. The laser target device of claim 13 , wherein the laser target device is positionable upon a surface whereby said legs and said retroreflective target contact said surface and whereby said tension is exerted by said vertical spring upon said retroreflective target so that said retroreflective target presses against a surface below said retroreflective target.

16. The laser target device of claim 15 , wherein each said leg includes a straight stem and a spheroidal foot connected to said straight stem.

17. The laser target device of claim 13 , wherein said legs are attached to said body in a rectangular arrangement that is bisected by said horizontal geometric plane, and wherein said legs are each oriented outward at the same said oblique angle with respect to said horizontal geometric plane.

18. The laser target device of claim 17 , wherein the laser target device is positionable upon a surface whereby said legs and said laser tracking target contact said surface and whereby said tension is exerted by said vertical spring upon said retroreflective target so that said retroreflective target presses against a surface below said retroreflective target.

19. The laser target device of claim 18 , wherein each said leg includes a straight stem and a spheroidal foot connected to said straight stem.

20. The laser target device of claim 19 , wherein said retroreflective target is magnetically attached to said rod at said bottom rod end.

Assignees

• The United States As Represented By The Secretary Of The Navy
• Us Navy

Inventors

• Bharatia Pinkesh D
• Santoro Robert J
• Cifelli Nicholas R
• Storms Scott A
• Violante Patrick J

Classifications

• G01S7/4811

  common to transmitter and receiver · CPC title

• G01B11/03

  by measuring coordinates of points · CPC title

• G01C15/02 Primary

  Means for marking measuring points · CPC title

• G01S17/89 Primary

  for mapping or imaging · CPC title