Patent ID: 7599046
Filing Date: 2009-10-06
Classification: G01S

Abstract:
1. A method for determination of a distance using an optical signal, comprising the steps of: generating an optical target signal; transmitting the target signal by an optical transmitter on a target, wherein said target signal is reflected on the target; receiving the target signal by an optical receiver; transforming the target signal to an analog evaluation signal, the evaluation signal having a phase information which depends on the distance to be measured; digitizing the analog evaluation signal in an analog-to-digital converter, wherein the analog-to-digital converter has a given resolution; evaluating the phase information of the digitized evaluation signal in an arithmetic unit, wherein phase resolution quanta of the arithmetic unit depend on the resolution of the analog-to-digital converter; modulating the phase of the analog evaluation signal such that the analog evaluation signal reaches said analog-to-digital converter in phase-modulated form, wherein the phase modulation of the analog evaluation signal is matched to the analog-to-digital converter by shifting the phase of the evaluation signal on both sides around a middle phase position.