US 12,218,704 B2
Optical alignment system for optical communication devices
Maurice Herman Johan Draaijer, Ittervoort (NL); Jan Ekkel, Oss (NL); and Harry Broers, 's-Hertogenbosch (NL)
Assigned to SIGNIFY HOLDING B.V., Eindhoven (NL)
Appl. No. 18/017,719
Filed by SIGNIFY HOLDING B.V., Eindhoven (NL)
PCT Filed Jul. 16, 2021, PCT No. PCT/EP2021/069998
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jan. 24, 2023,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/023081, PCT Pub. Date Feb. 3, 2022.
Claims priority of application No. 20188028 (EP), filed on Jul. 28, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0275661 A1, Aug. 31, 2023
Int. Cl. H04B 10/116 (2013.01); H04B 10/112 (2013.01); H04B 10/67 (2013.01)
CPC H04B 10/116 (2013.01) [H04B 10/112 (2013.01); H04B 10/67 (2013.01)] 15 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of maintaining alignment of an optical communication beam, the method comprising:
generating, via a transmission unit, an optical communication beam along an imaginary alignment axis, the transmission unit comprising at least one unit detector, the optical communication beam having a beam path (BP) between the transmission unit and a receiving unit, the receiving unit comprising at least one detector portion and at least one reflector portion surrounding the at least one detector portion;
receiving at the at least one detector portion of the receiving unit, the optical communication beam;
preemptively altering the beam path relative to the imaginary alignment axis, using a predetermined motion;
detecting a potential misalignment of the imaginary alignment axis when at least a portion of the optical communication beam is received by the, at least one, unit detector of the transmission unit; and
aligning, using an alignment mechanism, the imaginary alignment axis relative to the center of the at least one detector portion based on the detected misalignment.