Patent ID: 7053992
Filing Date: 2006-05-30
Classification: G01C,G01S

Abstract:
1. A method for calibrating a rangefinder having a transmitter for emitting a beam towards a target and a receiver for detecting a reflected beam, wherein an uncalibrated flight time of the beam and the reflected beam is measured by a counter, the method comprising: determining a first relationship between flight times and target ranges, wherein the first relationship has a corresponding first slope; generating a first simulated range measurement by measuring a first discharge time of a capacitor; generating a second simulated range measurement by measuring a second discharge time of the capacitor; calculating a second relationship between flight times and target ranges based on the first and second simulated range measurements, wherein the second relationship has a corresponding second slope; using the second relationship to correlate an uncalibrated range measurement to the first relationship; and determining a distance to a target.