| US 7,491,957 B2 | ||
| Optical displacement sensor | ||
| Atsushi Kitamura, Nagano-ken (Japan); Sawa Tanabe, Nagano-ken (Japan); and Shinya Suzuki, Nagano-ken (Japan) | ||
| Assigned to Minebea Co., Ltd., Nagano-Ken (Japan) | ||
| Filed on Oct. 13, 2006, as Appl. No. 11/580,762. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 2005-319872 (JP), filed on Nov. 02, 2005. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2007/0097362 A1, May 03, 2007 | ||
| Int. Cl. G01N 21/86 (2006.01); G01J 1/04 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 250—559.32 [250/227.11] | 12 Claims |
| 1. An optical displacement sensor structure comprising:
a reference segment and a measurement segment;
one light source disposed at one of the reference segment and the measurement segment;
at least one light receiving element disposed at the other one of the reference segment and the measurement segment, at which
no light source is disposed; and
at least one optical fiber, which is wound to form a coil, wherein light emitted from the light source is introduced into
the optical fiber from a circumferential surface of the optical fiber and exits out from an end face of one end portion of
the optical fiber so as to proceed toward the light receiving element, whereby the light emitted from the light source is
received by the light receiving element, and displacement of the measurement segment relative to the reference segment with
regard to two axis directions in a plane perpendicular to an optical axis of the light emitted from the light source can be
measured according to light receiving conditions.
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