Patent ID: 6603539
Filing Date: 2003-08-05
Classification: G01B,G01S

Abstract:
A method for determining the spatial orientation of a movable target tracking mirror of a laser tracking system in which the direction of a primary measurement beam is changed by changing the spatial orientation of the target tracking mirror, direction changes of the primary measurement beam are detected by determining the spatial orientation of the target tracking mirror, and path length changes in the beam path of the primary measurement beam are detected with interferometric methods; characterized in that from the primary measurement beam at least two secondary measurement beams and secondary reference beams allocated to the secondary measurement beams are branched off, that the secondary measurement beams are directed in an unchangeable direction towards in each case a retroreflector movable with the target tracking mirror, that changes of the path length of the secondary measurement beams on movement of the target tracking mirror out of a predetermined zero orientation into an orientation to be determined are interferometrically detected, and that the interferometrically detected path length changes are used for computing the orientation of the target tracking mirror.