US 12,313,432 B2
Analog optical positioning sensor, method, and circuit
Richard Kirby, Heber City, UT (US); Fraser Smith, Salt Lake City, UT (US); and Marc Olivier, Salt Lake City, UT (US)
Assigned to Sarcos Corp., Salt Lake City, UT (US)
Filed by SARCOS CORP., Salt Lake City, UT (US)
Filed on Jun. 23, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/340,415.
Prior Publication US 2024/0426638 A1, Dec. 26, 2024
Int. Cl. G01D 5/34 (2006.01); G01B 11/26 (2006.01); G01B 11/02 (2006.01); G01B 11/14 (2006.01)
CPC G01D 5/34 (2013.01) [G01B 11/26 (2013.01); G01B 11/02 (2013.01); G01B 11/14 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A sensor for measuring a relative displacement, the sensor comprising:
a pattern projector that generates a patterned light and is mechanically coupled to a first structure;
an image forming system that forms a focused image of the patterned light on a multielement photodetector;
the multielement photodetector that is coupled to a second structure, wherein the multielement photodetector comprises a plurality of photodetectors that generate respective analog input signals that are proportional to an amount of light received from the focused image that is incident on a respective photodetector; and
analog circuitry that outputs an analog signal that is proportional to the relative displacement of the first structure and the second structure by performing mathematical operations on the respective analog input signals of the plurality of photodetectors using analog circuit components.