Abstract:
Embodiments of the invention provide a method for visually designating a plurality of points in three-dimensional space using an apparatus including at least one laser configured to emit visible light, at least one lens configured to collimate the visible light emitted from the laser, a plurality of independently controllable reflective surfaces wherein each surface is configured to independently steer a portion of the collimated visible light dynamically in time, and a control means configured to adjust the steering of the collimated light. The method includes selecting a plurality of points on an arbitrary plane. A portion of the collimated visible light is steered to locations corresponding to the selected plurality of points on the arbitrary plane. And, at least one of the points of the plurality of points is illuminated with the portion of the collimated visible light. Alternatively, a plurality of non-planar points is selected in the three-dimensional space.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/225,714, entitled “Dynamic Laser Pointer,” filed on Sep. 6, 2011, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
     
    
     RIGHTS OF THE GOVERNMENT 
       [0002]    The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States for all governmental purposes without the payment of any royalty. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0004]    The present invention relates to a laser pointer, and more particularly to a laser pointer which can dynamically project a laser beam or beams onto remote objects. 
         [0005]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0006]    Since the manufacturing of affordable semiconductor laser sources, lasers are widely used as reliable, small size and weight sources of illumination. Contemporary laser pointers project laser beams onto remote objects such as presentations, remote targets, mechanical parts for aiding in identifying the objects or parts of the objects. However, contemporary laser pointers project a single spot, and the single spot is generally unable to cover a certain range of information so that the users need to wave or shake the laser point when attempting to indicate or emphasize certain areas of the image or part of the object. 
         [0007]    In order to overcome the above disadvantages of the conventional laser pointer with single spot, some non-spot laser pointers are also available. For example, some lasers pointers may be configured to project a linear image instead of a single spot, but the length of the linear image is generally unable to be adjusted. Other laser pointers may be disposed with a holographic element or a diffractive optical element so as to project non-spot laser images. By changing the holographic element, a different laser image is projected. But, even with the diffractive optical element, the size and location of the laser image is unable to be changed according to a user&#39;s needs. Thus, when the laser image is unable to label or cover a certain area, the user still needs to wave the laser pointer for emphasis. And, both the spot and non-spot lasers also only indicate one location at a time, again forcing the user to move the output of the laser pointer between multiple points on the object to emphasize those areas. 
         [0008]    What is needed, therefore, is a laser pointer that is able to more accurately project laser output on an object, presentation, etc. and enable a user to emphasize multiple locations simultaneously. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    Embodiments of the invention address the need in the art by providing, in a first aspect a method for visually designating a plurality of points in three-dimensional space. The method may be used with an apparatus including at least one laser configured to emit visible light, at least one lens configured to collimate the visible light emitted from the laser, a plurality of independently controllable reflective surfaces wherein each surface is configured to independently steer a portion of the collimated visible light dynamically in time, and a control means configured to adjust the steering of the collimated light. The method selects a plurality of points on an arbitrary plane. A portion of the collimated visible light is steered to locations corresponding to the selected plurality of points on the arbitrary plane. And, at least one of the points of the plurality of points on the arbitrary plane is illuminated with the portion of the collimated visible light. 
         [0010]    In another aspect of embodiments of the invention, the method selects a plurality of non-planar points in the three-dimensional space. A portion of the collimated visible light is steered to locations corresponding to the selected plurality of non-planar points in the three-dimensional space. And, at least one of the points of the non-planar plurality of points in the three-dimensional space is illuminated with the visible light. 
         [0011]    Additional objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with a general description of the invention given above, and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an embodiment employing a single laser; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of an embodiment employing multiple lasers; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of an alternate embodiment employing a single laser without a focusing lens. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is an assembly diagram of the embodiment in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is an isometric, cut-away view of the assembly diagram in  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  illustrates an instructional musical application of embodiments of the invention; 
           [0019]      FIGS. 7A and 7B  illustrate an instructional typing application of embodiments of the invention; and 
           [0020]      FIG. 8  illustrates an instructional application of embodiments of the invention in three dimensions. 
       
    
    
       [0021]    It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various features illustrative of the basic principles of the invention. The specific design features of the sequence of operations as disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes of various illustrated components, will be determined in part by the particular intended application and use environment. Certain features of the illustrated embodiments have been enlarged or distorted relative to others to facilitate visualization and clear understanding. In particular, thin features may be thickened, for example, for clarity or illustration. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0022]    Contemporary laser pointer devices project a laser beam onto remote objects producing a laser image spot, which may be shaped as a dot or a line, or any other shape by projecting the laser beam through diffractive optical elements. The remote object may be a presentation, a poster, a distant target, a mechanical part, etc. The laser pointer device may be handheld or attached to a handgun, power tool or any other type of equipment. There are many new small sized laser beam control devices such as micro-mirror arrays (MMA) controlled by micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). In these devices, micro-mirrors can change the direction of the laser beams up to approximately 30 degrees in two dimensions by applying small electrical signals to the electrodes of the device. Multiple laser beams may be controlled independently. Other types of laser beam steering devices may include liquid crystal optical phased arrays, piezo controlled mirrors and others. By coupling a laser beam steering device to a laser pointer, a new dynamic laser pointing apparatus may be constructed. The dynamic laser pointer may project multiple laser images (dots or lines) on to remote objects, and the location of the images may be controlled as a function of time by a microprocessor or other external electrical signals. 
         [0023]    Turning to the drawings, where like numbers denote like parts throughout the several views,  FIG. 1  illustrates the basic components of some embodiments of the invention. In this illustrated embodiment, a laser  10  projects visible light  12 , which is collimated by a lens  14 . Portions of the visible light  16   a - 16   d  are reflected by one or more individual mirrors  18   a - 18   d  making up a MEMS MMA  20 . The orientation of the mirrors  18   a - 18   d  within the MEMS MMA  20  may be individually and independently oriented. The reflected portions  22   a - 22   d,  in some embodiments, may be focused using a second lens  24  into one or more spots  26   a - 26   c  onto any arbitrary plane, or in the case of more than three spots to locations that may be in an arbitrary plane or that are nonplanar. Locations of these spots may be controlled electronically by adjusting the orientations of the mirrors within the MEMS MMA  20  using a USB connected personal computer or Smart Phone. Alternatively, a self-contained microprocessor, ASIC, or FPGA may also be used. 
         [0024]    Other embodiments of the invention may employ multiple lasers. For example, and as seen in  FIG. 2 , two lasers  28 ,  30  may be used. Other multiple laser embodiments may include more than two lasers. In some embodiments, each of these lasers may emit light at different wavelengths, producing a different color of visible light  32 ,  34 , such as red and blue respectively, for example. The visible light  32 ,  34  is projected toward a collimating lens  14  as above and portions of that light  36   a,    36   b,    38   a ,  38   b  are reflected by one or more individual mirrors  18   a - 18   d  making up the MEMS MMA  20 . Similarly, the focusing lens  24  focuses the reflected portions of light  36   a,    36   b ,  38   a,    38   b  into spots  40   a,    40   b,    42   a,  and  42   b.  As above, these spots may be directed to specific locations onto any arbitrary plane, or in the case of more than three spots to locations that may be in an arbitrary plane or that are nonplanar, electronically by individually controlling the mirrors in the MEMS MMA  20  using a USB connected personal computer or Smart Phone, or a self-contained microprocessor, ASIC, or FPGA. Spots  40   a,    40   b,    42   a,    42   b  may also be combined as a single spot, creating additional colors based on the mixing of the reflected laser light colors. With any of the embodiments above, the number of controllable spots produced by the embodiments is only limited by the reflective surface independently directing the portions of the visible light. 
         [0025]    In still other embodiments of the invention, the second focusing lens  24  may be omitted. Similar to the embodiments above and as seen in  FIG. 3 , laser  10  projects visible light  12  to collimating lens  14 . Portions of the visible light  44   a - 44   d  are reflected by one or more individual mirrors  18   a - 18   d  making up the MEMS MMA  20 . Each of these beams of light may be independently oriented in three dimensions. Additionally, without the additional focusing lens, the reflected beams  44   a - 44   d  may be pointed at any object within a beam angle range of approximately ±45 degrees, and independent of the distance of the object from the MEMS MMA  20 . Depending on the distance from the MEMS MMA  20 , the spots may not be as crisp as would those from the embodiments with the focusing lens, but due to the generally parallel nature of the collimated laser light, these spots may still be utilized to point to objects that are not limited to a particular focal plane. Locations of these spots may again be controlled electronically using a USB connected personal computer or Smart Phone. Alternatively, a self-contained microprocessor, ASIC, or FPGA may also be used. 
         [0026]    Utilizing a MEMS MMA  20  enables embodiments of the invention to direct the portions of the visible light  16   a - 16   d,    36   a - b ,  38   a - b , or  44   a - 44   d  independently of the other portions of the visible light. Additionally, devices such as MEMS MMA  20  can accommodate high power laser output, thus not limiting embodiments of the invention to low power devices. Using a high power laser in conjunction with MEMS MMA  20 , these embodiments may direct beams to virtually unlimited distances. While a MEMS MMA  20  is well suited to direct the portions of the visible light, other mirror or reflective devices that are capable of independent movement within the mirror or reflective device may also be utilized, such as liquid crystal optical phased arrays, piezo controlled mirrors, etc. 
         [0027]    Embodiments of the invention may be packaged in a number of ways. The embodiments may be configured as a hand held device or as a free standing device.  FIGS. 4 and 5  illustrate an embodiment of the invention in a free standing configuration. In this configuration, the laser  10  and the collimating lens  14  may be located in a housing  46 . Visible light  12  from the laser  10  is directed toward the collimating lens  14 . This light is then directed toward a beam splitter  48 , in some embodiments, where a portion of the visible light  12  is directed toward the MEMS MMA  20 . The reflected portions of the visible light  12  are then directed by the beam splitter  48  to an aperture  50  producing one or more visible spots  52 . Electronic controls  54  may also be included in the housing  46 , such as a processor or other integrated circuit as set forth above. Alternatively, a port, such as a USB port, may be configured in the housing  46  and may be used to control the laser  10  output as well as control the MEMS MMA  20 . 
         [0028]    In some embodiments, the housing  46  may be mounted on a free standing mounting configuration such as a base  56  and support member  58 . Support member  58  may have a first end  60  coupled with the base  56  and a second end  62  detachably coupled to the housing  46 , via a clamping  64  or other type mechanism. Such a mechanism may also allow the housing  46  to be positioned at different locations along a length of the support member  58 . Other embodiments, may attach the housing  46  to other rigid structures, or in some embodiments, housing  46  may be adapted to be hand held. 
         [0029]    Applications of the embodiments of the invention may include presentations, demonstrations, classroom training, entertainment, manufacturing, or any other application where it may be necessary to simultaneously point to or indicate more than one object and change the location of the pointing beams dynamically in time. For example, an embodiment of the invention may be used as a teaching tool for playing musical instruments. The laser spots may be projected onto various parts of the musical instrument and will change locations in accordance with the musical composition. As seen in  FIG. 6 , the dynamic laser pointer  66  may be programmed to display spots  52  on a piano keyboard  68 . These spots would dynamically change between keys on the keyboard  68  as an individual learns to play a new song. Multiple spots  52  may be displayed when multiple notes are to be played. Similarly the spots may be directed to the fret of a string instrument or keys on a woodwind instrument. Alternatively, the dynamic laser pointer  64  may be used as a typing aid, as seen in  FIGS. 7A and 7B , displaying spots  52  on particular keys on a computer or other keyboard  70  while learning to type. 
         [0030]    Additionally, with the in other embodiments, the dynamic laser pointer  72  may be used as a warning indicator, which may point bright beam spots on parts of a control panel of an aircraft, boat, or other vehicle, during training or as a safety device. Moreover, the dynamic laser pointer  72  may be mounted in the rear of an aircraft simulator, such as cockpit simulator  74  in  FIG. 8 . In this embodiment of the dynamic laser pointer  72 , light  12  from laser  10  may be collimated by lens  14  as with the embodiments above and directed toward MEMS MMA  20 . Here points of laser light  76   a - 76   c  may be simultaneously directed in three dimensions at multiple distances to different areas of the cockpit simulator  72  by individual mirrors  18   a - 18   c  during training or other exercises. 
         [0031]    While the present invention has been illustrated by a description of one or more embodiments thereof and while these embodiments have been described in considerable detail, they are not intended to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and method, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the scope of the general inventive concept.