OPTICAL METHOD OF MEASURING DISTANCE TO MOBILE REFLECTING SURFACE AT SELECTED INSTANT IN TIME Russian patent published in 2011 - IPC G01B11/14 

FIELD: physics.

SUBSTANCE: method involves generation of laser radiation which is directed onto the measured object. Radiation reflected from the surface of the object is "collected" by a condenser, one focus of which lies on the surface of the object, and the other lies on the sensitive area of a photodiode. The time scale for measuring time instants is created by oscillations of a main generator. The laser is launched periodically, in multiples of the period of the main generator. The response signal of the photodiode is used to measure its position on the time scale in a selected period for launching the laser. For this purpose, the control voltage of a vernier generator is measured, as a result of which the vernier generator changes generation frequency. Consequently, the slope of the linear function of mutual phase shift of two generators. The time instant for changing the frequency of the vernier generator is determined analytically as the projection on the time axis of the point of intersection of linear functions of mutual phase shift of two generators, calculated before and after changing the control voltage. Each of the two parametres of the linear functions is calculated through accumulation and analysis of whole numbers of periods of the main generator, which are noted by changing the phase difference of the shift function, the period of the main generator which is noted by changing the phase difference. This period is "spanned" by the period of the vernier generator if it exceeds the period of the main generator, or the period of the vernier generator "fits" inside the period of the main generator if it less than the period of the latter. Processing of the formed array of numbers in order to obtain both parametres of the linear function of mutual phase shift of two generators is carried out using the theory of non-Euclidean continued fraction difference.

EFFECT: wider field of use.

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