Patents by Inventor Roland Gehring

Roland Gehring has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11480707
    Abstract: An optoelectronic sensor for detecting objects in a monitored zone is provided, wherein the sensor has a scanning unit that is movable about an axis of rotation and that has a plurality of scanning modules accommodated therein for a periodic scanning of the monitored zone and for a generation of corresponding received signals and that has a control and evaluation unit for acquiring information on the objects from the received signals; and wherein the scanning modules each comprise a light transmitter for transmitting a light beam and a light receiver for generating a respective received signal from the light beam remitted by the objects. A respective mirror element is here associated with the scanning modules to set an angle of elevation of a respective scanning plane detected by a scanning module with respect to a central scanning plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: SICK AG
    Inventors: Sascha Steinkogler, Roland Gehring, Konrad Winterer
  • Publication number: 20190243023
    Abstract: An optoelectronic sensor for detecting objects in a monitored zone is provided, wherein the sensor has a scanning unit that is movable about an axis of rotation and that has a plurality of scanning modules accommodated therein for a periodic scanning of the monitored zone and for a generation of corresponding received signals and that has a control and evaluation unit for acquiring information on the objects from the received signals; and wherein the scanning modules each comprise a light transmitter for transmitting a light beam and a light receiver for generating a respective received signal from the light beam remitted by the objects. A respective mirror element is here associated with the scanning modules to set an angle of elevation of a respective scanning plane detected by a scanning module with respect to a central scanning plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 30, 2019
    Publication date: August 8, 2019
    Inventors: Sascha STEINKOGLER, Roland GEHRING, Konrad WINTERER
  • Patent number: 9316724
    Abstract: An optoelectronic sensor (10), in particular a laser scanner, for the detection of objects in a monitored zone (20) having a more than one scanning plane is provided which comprises a light transmitter (12) for the transmission of a light beam (16), a drive (28) for generating a rotational movement, a deflection unit (18, 62) rotatable about an axis of rotation (30) by the drive (28) for the periodic deflection of the light beam (16), a light receiver (26) for generating a received signal from the light beam (22) remitted or reflected from the monitored zone (20), and comprising an evaluation unit (46) which is configured for the detection of the objects on the basis of the received signal, wherein the deflection unit (18, 62) can be tilted in order to vary the scanning plane. In this connection the drive (28) tilts the deflection unit (18, 62) at the same time as the rotational movement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2016
    Assignee: Sick AG
    Inventors: Roland Gehring, Ralf Ulrich Nubling, Sebastian Pastor
  • Patent number: 9193534
    Abstract: A detection system (10) is provided for installation at a conveyor belt (12) having at least one detection sensor (24, 26) for detecting object properties of objects (14) conveyed on the conveyor belt (14) and having an evaluation unit (36) for outputting object information derived from the object properties at a definable output point (34) of the conveyor belt (12). In this respect, the evaluation unit (36) is configured to divide the objects (14) into at least two object classes based on the object properties and an output point (34) can be defined for each object class at the conveyor belt (12).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: SICK AG
    Inventors: Roland Gehring, Jurgen Reichenbach
  • Patent number: 9191567
    Abstract: A camera system (10), in particular a camera-based code reading system, for detecting a stream of objects (14) moved relative to the camera system (14) is provided, wherein the camera system (10) has a plurality of detection units (18) each having an image sensor and a focusing unit (20) as well as at least one control unit (30, 32) to set the focal positions of the detection units (18) in a complementary manner on a simultaneous detection of a plurality of objects (14) such that as many objects (14) as possible are detected in focus by at least one detection unit (18). In this respect, an evaluation unit (32) is provided which is configured to compose image data of the detection units (18) to form a common image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2015
    Assignee: SICK AG
    Inventors: Roland Gehring, Jurgen Reichenbach
  • Patent number: 9141838
    Abstract: An optoelectronic sensor (100) for the detection of object information from a monitored zone (108) is provided, wherein the sensor (100) comprises a light transmitter (12) having an associated transmission optics (14) for the beam formation of a transmitted light beam (102, 20, 24) and for a limitation of its beam cross-section to a predefined diameter in a depth of field range; a light receiver (116) for the generation of a received signal from the reflected light beam (112); and a control and evaluation unit (118) for extracting object information from the received signal. In this connection, the transmission optics (14) has at least two optical part regions (18a-b) having different beam-forming properties and the optical part region (18a-b) which acts in a beam-forming manner with respect to the transmitted light beam (20, 24) can be set in order to vary the depth of field range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2015
    Assignee: SICK AG
    Inventors: Sascha Steinkogler, Roland Gehring
  • Patent number: 9111158
    Abstract: An illumination apparatus (10) is provided for a camera-based code reader (100) having a plurality of light transmitters (16) arranged in ring shape and in a fixed position with respect to a base housing part (12) and having a plurality of optical transmission systems (20) associated with the light transmitters (20) in a front housing (14) supported rotationally movably with respect to the base housing part (12), wherein the optical transmission systems (20) can be set to adapt the illumination by rotation of the front housing (14). The front housing (14) has a plurality of front lenses (20) and the front housing (14) is supported in a thread (15) with respect to the base housing part (12) so that front lenses (20) can be associated with the light transmitters (16) at a changed spacing by a rotational movement of the front housing (14).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: SICK AG
    Inventors: Ralf Ulrich Nübling, Roland Gehring, Richard Nopper
  • Publication number: 20150102110
    Abstract: An optoelectronic sensor (100) for the detection of object information from a monitored zone (108) is provided, wherein the sensor (100) comprises a light transmitter (12) having an associated transmission optics (14) for the beam formation of a transmitted light beam (102, 20, 24) and for a limitation of its beam cross-section to a predefined diameter in a depth of field range; a light receiver (116) for the generation of a received signal from the reflected light beam (112); and a control and evaluation unit (118) for extracting object information from the received signal. In this connection, the transmission optics (14) has at least two optical part regions (18a-b) having different beam-forming properties and the optical part region (18a-b) which acts in a beam-forming manner with respect to the transmitted light beam (20, 24) can be set in order to vary the depth of field range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 9, 2014
    Publication date: April 16, 2015
    Inventors: Sascha STEINKOGLER, Roland GEHRING
  • Publication number: 20150062369
    Abstract: An optoelectronic apparatus (10), in particular a camera-based code reader for the recording of rectified images is provided, comprising an image sensor (18) which records a source image from a monitored zone (12) and comprising a digital component (20), in particular an FPGA, which processes the source image. In this connection transformation parameters for the rectification of the source image (22) are stored in the digital component (20) and a transformation unit (24) is implemented at the digital component (20), with the transformation unit dynamically calculating a rectified image from the source image with reference to the transformation parameters.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 25, 2014
    Publication date: March 5, 2015
    Inventors: Roland GEHRING, Stephan WALTER, Dennis LIPSCHINSKI
  • Publication number: 20140166866
    Abstract: An optoelectronic sensor (10), in particular a laser scanner, for the detection of objects in a monitored zone (20) having a more than one scanning plane is provided which comprises a light transmitter (12) for the transmission of a light beam (16), a drive (28) for generating a rotational movement, a deflection unit (18, 62) rotatable about an axis of rotation (30) by the drive (28) for the periodic deflection of the light beam (16), a light receiver (26) for generating a received signal from the light beam (22) remitted or reflected from the monitored zone (20), and comprising an evaluation unit (46) which is configured for the detection of the objects on the basis of the received signal, wherein the deflection unit (18, 62) can be tilted in order to vary the scanning plane. In this connection the drive (28) tilts the deflection unit (18, 62) at the same time as the rotational movement.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2013
    Publication date: June 19, 2014
    Applicant: SICK AG
    Inventors: Roland GEHRING, Ralf Ulrich NUBLING, Sebastian PASTOR
  • Patent number: 8740083
    Abstract: A focus adjustment apparatus (10) for a code reader (100) is provided which has an objective (12) having at least one lens and a drive (18) with a cam plate (16) for the positional adjustment of the objective (12). The objective (12) is supported in a parallel guide (14) having a coupling unit (32, 34) for the coupling of the cam plate (16) so that a rotational movement of the cam plate (16) adjusts the position of the objective (12) in the parallel guide (14) with a parallel shift of the objective plane. The coupling unit (32, 34) has a press-on element (32) for the play-free coupling of the parallel guide (14) to the cam plate (16) and a counter-bearing element (34) between the press-on element (32) and the drive (18) for relieving the drive (18) from the press-on element (34).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2014
    Assignee: Sick AG
    Inventors: Christoph Anselment, Roland Gehring, Ulrich Nubling, Richard Nopper
  • Publication number: 20140036069
    Abstract: A camera system (10) for the detection of a flow of objects (14) moving relative to the camera system (10) is provided, wherein the camera system (10) comprises a plurality of detection units (18a-b) which respectively have an image sensor for the recording of image data from a detection zone (18a-b) which partly overlap and together cover the width of the flow of objects (14) and comprising an evaluation unit (28) for the combination of image data from the detection units (18a-b) to a common image, as well as for the identification of regions of interest in the image data. In this connection the evaluation unit (28) is configured, on combination, to only use image data of the same detection unit (18a-b) within a region of interest for the common image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 14, 2013
    Publication date: February 6, 2014
    Inventors: Roland GEHRING, Jurgen REICHENBACH
  • Publication number: 20140036135
    Abstract: A camera system (10), in particular a camera-based code reading system, for detecting a stream of objects (14) moved relative to the camera system (14) is provided, wherein the camera system (10) has a plurality of detection units (18) each having an image sensor and a focusing unit (20) as well as at least one control unit (30, 32) to set the focal positions of the detection units (18) in a complementary manner on a simultaneous detection of a plurality of objects (14) such that as many objects (14) as possible are detected in focus by at least one detection unit (18). In this respect, an evaluation unit (32) is provided which is configured to compose image data of the detection units (18) to form a common image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 8, 2013
    Publication date: February 6, 2014
    Inventors: Roland GEHRING, Jurgen REICHENBACH
  • Publication number: 20140034456
    Abstract: A detection system (10) is provided for installation at a conveyor belt (12) having at least one detection sensor (24, 26) for detecting object properties of objects (14) conveyed on the conveyor belt (14) and having an evaluation unit (36) for outputting object information derived from the object properties at a definable output point (34) of the conveyor belt (12).
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 3, 2013
    Publication date: February 6, 2014
    Inventors: Roland GEHRING, Jurgen REICHENBACH
  • Patent number: 8561907
    Abstract: A flicker-free illumination apparatus (28) for a code reader (10) has an illumination control (26) which is configured for a pulsed operation with an illumination intensity varying between light pulses (30) and pulse pauses (32). The illumination control (26) is further configured to maintain a non-zero illumination intensity during the pulse pauses (32), such that a basic intensity (34) remains.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Assignee: Sick AG
    Inventors: Ralf Ulrich Nübling, Roland Gehring
  • Publication number: 20130062414
    Abstract: A focus adjustment apparatus (10) for a code reader (100) is provided which has an objective (12) having at least one lens and a drive (18) with a cam plate (16) for the positional adjustment of the objective (12). The objective (12) is supported in a parallel guide (14) having a coupling unit (32, 34) for the coupling of the cam plate (16) so that a rotational movement of the cam plate (16) adjusts the position of the objective (12) in the parallel guide (14) with a parallel shift of the objective plane. The coupling unit (32, 34) has a press-on element (32) for the play-free coupling of the parallel guide (14) to the cam plate (16) and a counter-bearing element (34) between the press-on element (32) and the drive (18) for relieving the drive (18) from the press-on element (34).
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2012
    Publication date: March 14, 2013
    Applicant: SICK AG
    Inventors: Christoph ANSELMENT, Roland GEHRING, Ulrich NÜBLING, Richard NOPPER
  • Patent number: 8360316
    Abstract: An apparatus (10), in particular a code reader, for the taking of undistorted images of a surface of objects (14) moved on a conveying device (12) is set forth, wherein the apparatus (10) has a geometry detection sensor (18) which is made for the detection of the geometry of the objects (14) with reference to spacing data and/or to the remission behavior of the objects (14) as well as a line sensor (20), in particular a line camera, which can scan the objects (14) linewise for the generation of image data of the surface in a linear reading window (22) which forms an angle with the conveying direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2013
    Assignee: Sick AG
    Inventors: Jürgen Reichenbach, Roland Gehring, Michael Wiegers, Jan Reich
  • Publication number: 20120261472
    Abstract: An illumination apparatus (10) is provided for a camera-based code reader (100) having a plurality of light transmitters (16) arranged in ring shape and in a fixed position with respect to a base housing part (12) and having a plurality of optical transmission systems (20) associated with the light transmitters (20) in a front housing (14) supported rotationally movably with respect to the base housing part (12), wherein the optical transmission systems (20) can be set to adapt the illumination by rotation of the front housing (14). The front housing (14) has a plurality of front lenses (20) and the front housing (14) is supported in a thread (15) with respect to the base housing part (12) so that front lenses (20) can be associated with the light transmitters (16) at a changed spacing by a rotational movement of the front housing (14).
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 11, 2012
    Publication date: October 18, 2012
    Applicant: SICK AG
    Inventors: Ralf Ulrich NÜBLING, Roland GEHRING, Richard NOPPER
  • Patent number: 8245838
    Abstract: An apparatus, in particular a code reader, for the recording of images of objects (14) moved on a conveyor device (12), wherein the apparatus includes a line sensor (10), in particular a line camera, which can scan objects line wise for the generation of image data of the surfaces, as well as a speed determination device (26; 30), which can determine the speed of movement of the objects (14) with respect to the line sensor (10) or their conveyed distance. At the same time an evaluation unit (26) is provided, which is adapted to match the recording frequency of the line sensor (10) to the speed of movement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignee: Sick AG
    Inventors: Jürgen Reichenbach, Roland Gehring, Richard Nopper, Uwe Schöpflin, Reinhard Heizmann
  • Publication number: 20120111947
    Abstract: A flicker-free illumination apparatus (28) for a code reader (10) has an illumination control (26) which is configured for a pulsed operation with an illumination intensity varying between light pulses (30) and pulse pauses (32). The illumination control (26) is further configured to maintain a non-zero illumination intensity during the pulse pauses (32), such that a basic intensity (34) remains.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 7, 2011
    Publication date: May 10, 2012
    Applicant: SICK AG
    Inventors: Ralf Ulrich NÜBLING, Roland GEHRING