Increased Accuracy and Resolution for Optic Position Sensors

The present invention relates to fiber optic transmissions and reception of information from optical positions sensors, and more particularly to a process for providing a high resolution capability.

Optical position sensors have been disclosed in previous patents, including Kinney et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,726; Arnett U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,910; Kinney et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,105; and Halliday U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,978. These prior patents provide methods and devices for the encoding and decoding of binary modulated light spectrum in order to recover encoded intelligence. Halliday U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,978 discloses a method of detecting and decoding a received Manchester Encoded, Gray Coded data word signal, and is incorporated by reference herein. The object of the present invention is to provide an improved high resolution capability for optic position sensors. The enhanced resolution capability of the position sensor is provided by analog tracks on a mask which effects a much finer measurement than that previously accomplished by a digital data bit pattern. It is the object of the present invention to provide an optic position sensor that utilizes a digital data bit pattern or word signal providing the capability of measuring or determining with high resolution the percentage or amount of travel sensed by the sensor.

The present invention provides solutions to the above by providing a method of encoding a signal for high resolution detection and decoding of the encoded signal, comprising the steps of: providing a mask having a start bit, digital data bits, analog data bit, and stop bit; and displacing the mask to effect uniquely and continuously an output signal whereby the output signal is an encoded signal representing the displacement of the encoded mask. The invention also effects solutions to the above by providing a position sensor mask which encodes a signal and enables high resolution detection and decoding of the encoded signal, the mask comprising a start bit, digital data bits, analog data bit, and a stop bit .

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an optic position sensor mask pattern utilized in the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a graph of a data word signal in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a graph of the data word signal of FIG. 2 after filtering to enhance peaks of the signal.

FIG. 1 is a mask pattern utilized in accordance with the present invention to provide an optic position sensor with high resolution capability. The mask illustrates a vertical stack-up of digital position word signals starting with a first signal at position 00h and increasing to position 08h and beyond that for subsequent positions. Each digital data bit pattern or word signal includes along the axial axis of the graph a start bit followed by eight digital data bits, an analog or vernier track, and a stop bit. The vernier track extends axially a distance equivalent to approximately twice the width of a prior digital data bit. The digital data word signals may comprise Manchester Encoded, Gray Coded data word signals in accordance with Halliday U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,978.

In order to provide a high resolution capability of the optic position sensor, the mask pattern includes the analog or vernier region 12 wherein the analog track 10 provides a continuous representation of position as the optic position sensor moves the mask from one digital data signal to the adjacent digital data signal, such as from the data word signal position 00h to the data word signal for position 01h. The analog or vernier track 10 will be imaged by a charge couple device ("CCD") spectrometer within the position sensing system to produce a signal peak in the CCD output that moves linearly with position movement, as described in Kinney et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,726. The data signal illustrated in the graph of FIG. 2 shows the peaks representing the start bit, digital data bits, stop bit, and vernier bit. The output signal of the CCD spectrometer may then be filtered to enhance the peaks of the signal, as illustrated in FIG. 3, to enable accurate measurement of the positions of the start, data, stop, and vernier peaks by means of a typical differencing filter. Once the peak positions are found they are used to define the vernier bit region range 12 illustrated in FIG. 3. The ratio of the position of the vernier bit peak 10 relative to its range 12 provides a measurement of the percentage of travel that has occurred within any digital data bit or between any two adjacent data bits illustrated in FIG. 1. An example of one way to accomplish this would be the ratio of the vernier bit peak to the measurement range being determined by a software algorithm which can be executed by a microprocessor.

The result is that the position information can be encoded and decoded with a resolution of approximately one part in sixteen thousand as a result of the use of an analog or vernier track in each encoded signal. This is an improvement of approximately two orders of magnitude in the ability to measure accurately the sensed position.