EP2225583A1

EP2225583A1 - Locating device

Info

Publication number: EP2225583A1
Application number: EP08866102A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Reiner Krapf; Heiko Braun; Michael Mahler; Christoph Wieland; Ulli Hoffmann
Original assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
Current assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
Priority date: 2007-12-21
Filing date: 2008-10-31
Publication date: 2010-09-08
Also published as: US8686891B2; CN101952740A; DE102007062997A1; WO2009083302A1; US20100328137A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a locating device, in particular a hand-guided locating device, with a locating unit (36) for detecting the presence of an object (16, 18) arranged in an examination object (14) by means of an examination signal (38), which has a polarization unit (50) provided for a procedure with the examination signal (38), and with a housing (20) for taking up the locating unit (36), which has a longitudinal axis (24). It is proposed that in at least one operating mode the polarization unit (50) specifies at least one first polarization plane (52, 54) aligned obliquely to the longitudinal axis (24).

Description

tracking device

State of the art

The invention is based on a locating device according to the preamble of claim 1.

A hand-held locating device has already been proposed, which is provided for locating objects which are arranged in an examination subject and are not visible by means of a radiation of an examination signal. It has a housing which is moved by a user by hand along a surface. The locating device further comprises a polarization unit, which is provided for a polarization of the examination signal.

Advantages of the invention

The invention is based on a locating device, in particular a hand-held locating device, with a locating unit for detecting the presence of an object arranged in an examination subject by means of an examination signal having a polarization unit provided for a procedure with the examination signal, and with a housing for receiving the locating unit having a longitudinal axis.

It is proposed that in at least one operating mode, the polarization unit specifies at least one first polarization plane, which is oriented obliquely to the longitudinal axis. In the case of an evaluation process of the examination signal, the precision can thus advantageously be increased by reducing unwanted interference factors. The examination signal is designed in particular as a high-frequency electromagnetic signal. This is an electromagnetic Signal to be understood, which has a frequency of at least 500 MHz, such as a radar signal. A "process with" the examination signal is to be understood as meaning, in particular, a transmission process, a reception process and / or further processing operations for the examination signal which appear to be meaningful to a person skilled in the art. "Provided" is understood to mean in particular specially designed, equipped and / or programmed become.

If the housing is elongated, e.g. formed cuboid, corresponds to the longitudinal axis of the main extension direction and the longitudinal direction of the housing. Preferably, in a locating process, the longitudinal axis of the housing is aligned parallel to the surface of the examination object. In addition, the housing in particular has a preferred side, which faces the surface of an examination subject during a locating process. Here, the main direction of extension of this page can be understood by the longitudinal axis. If the page is square, should be understood by the longitudinal axis of a page bisector of the page. The longitudinal axis may be further characterized by a marking means attached to the housing, such as e.g. a notch or an arrow, be marked.

A polarization plane which is oriented "obliquely" to the longitudinal axis should be understood to mean a plane of polarization whose normal direction is oriented obliquely to the longitudinal axis An oblique alignment of two directions relative to one another should be understood to mean an orientation which deviates from the parallelism and the orthogonality. In particular, the obliquely aligned directions form an acute angle.

Particularly advantageously, the locating device is designed as a hand-held locating device, which is used in particular for locating objects in a wall or a floor. In this case, the longitudinal axis in the examination of a wall typically and in particular corresponds to the horizontal or the vertical direction in accordance with the regulations. The locating unit is in particular provided for locating objects which have a defined main extension direction or orientation, such as, in particular, elongate objects, for example lines. In typical and in particular prescribed conditions of use, there is a relationship between the longitudinal axis of the locating device and a typical orientation of objects in the examination subject. By means of the invention, a preferred ratio of this polarization plane to typical orientations of objects in the examination subject is advantageously created by the orientation of a plane of polarization relative to the longitudinal axis. In particular, it can be achieved by the invention that in the investigation of a wall at least one polarization plane is oriented obliquely relative to horizontally and vertically directed objects in the wall.

It is also proposed that the locating device has a gripping means for gripping by a user in a locating operation, which is coupled to the housing, whereby a hand-held locating device can be achieved with a high ease of use. A "grip means" is to be understood as meaning, in particular, a means which is intended to be gripped by a user under prescribed conditions of use.The grip means may in particular be a component which is different from the housing and which is directly coupled to the housing, and / or it may The gripping means may further correspond to the housing, which is gripped by a user's hand during a locating process.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is proposed that the polarization plane form an angle of approximately 45 ° with the longitudinal axis. In this way, an orientation of the plane of polarization can be achieved, which is advantageously adapted to common orientations of objects in a subject of investigation, such as in particular lines in a wall or under a floor. It is particularly suitable for the location of objects in the examination subject, which are aligned parallel or orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the locating device. An angle which is formed by a plane and a direction should, in particular, be understood to mean the angle which is formed by the direction and the orthogonal projection of the direction into the plane. Further, at an angle formed by a plane and a direction, the angle formed by the direction and the normal direction to the plane can be understood. Furthermore, at an angle, which "approx. 45 ° ", an angle shall be understood to deviate by not more than 10%, advantageously not more than 5% of 45 °.

Furthermore, it is proposed that the polarization plane in at least one operating mode is a transmission polarization plane which is assigned to at least one transmission channel for transmitting the examination signal. A "transmission channel" is to be understood in particular as a means or a collection of means, in particular electrical lines and / or electronic function blocks, which, starting from the output of a signal generation unit which serves to generate the examination signal in an electrical form, convert the In this case, the transmission channel has at least one transmission antenna arrangement with at least one antenna and may additionally comprise further components. tel, which are provided for processing the examination signal between its generation by the signal generating unit and its emission by means of the transmitting antenna arrangement. The polarization unit preferably has a polarization means which, in cooperation with the transmitting antenna arrangement, serves to generate a test signal polarized in the transmission polarization plane. The polarizing means may be different from the transmitting antenna arrangement - for example formed as a filter - or it may preferably be formed integrally with the transmitting antenna arrangement in that a transmitting antenna - which is designed, for example, as a dipole antenna - predetermines the transmitting polarization plane by its configuration.

It is further proposed that the polarization plane in at least one operating mode

Reception polarization level, which is associated with at least one receiving channel for receiving the examination signal. A "receiving channel" is to be understood in particular as a means or a collection of means, in particular electrical lines and / or electronic function blocks, which serve to receive the examination signal and, in particular, to process the examination signal in a form suitable for an evaluation unit In this case, the reception channel has at least one receiving antenna arrangement and may additionally comprise further means which are provided for processing the examination signal between its reception and its evaluation by means of the evaluation unit a proportion of the examination signal in the

Reception polarization plane is used. The polarizing means may be different from the receiving antenna arrangement - for example formed as a filter - or it may be formed integrally with the receiving antenna arrangement by a receiving antenna - which is formed for example as a dipole antenna - by their configuration, the receiving polarization level vorgab. The receive antenna order may be different from a transmit antenna arrangement. Preferably, the receiving antenna arrangement is identical to the transmitting antenna arrangement.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is proposed that the polarization unit specifies at least one second polarization plane, which is different from the first polarization plane, as a result of which increased flexibility and increased information density can be achieved. In this context, it is proposed that in at least one operating mode one of the polarization planes is a transmit polarization plane which is assigned to at least one transmit channel for transmitting the examination signal, and another one of the polarization planes is a receive polarization plane comprising at least one receive channel for receiving the examination signal assigned. In this way, a particularly advantageous evaluation process of the examination signal can be achieved by receiving the examination signal in a receiving polarization plane different from the transmission polarization plane. During a locating process, a substantial part of the radiated examination signal is typically reflected on the surface of the examination object, this component reflected in the transmission polarization plane striking the locating unit again. Targeted reception and subsequent evaluation of a portion of the examination signal in a receiving polarization plane different from the transmission polarization plane can advantageously avoid interference effects caused by the reflected component, such as, in particular, superimposition of a useful signal carrying a relevant location information by the reflected component. In this case, the property of objects, given by the material and / or the design, of using the polarization plane of a wave striking the object is advantageously used. Due to the oblique arrangement of the transmitting polarization plane and / or the receiving polarization plane relative to the longitudinal axis, a particularly effective locating of objects in the examination subject can be achieved, which - as realized in the majority of cases - are aligned parallel or orthogonal to the longitudinal axis.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, it is proposed that the polarization planes are arranged orthogonal to one another, whereby an advantageous symmetry can be achieved in a process with the examination signal.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, it is proposed that the polarization planes are arranged at an angle to each other. In this way, an effective location of objects can be achieved whose orientation in the examination subject essentially corresponds to the oblique orientation of one of the polarization planes.

It is also proposed that the second polarization plane be aligned parallel or orthogonal to the longitudinal axis, whereby an effective location in a wide range of applications can be achieved. A particularly high degree of application flexibility can furthermore be achieved if the polarization unit has a rotating means which is intended to rotate the alignment of at least one polarization plane relative to the longitudinal axis. The rotating means may be provided for a mechanically and / or electrically controlled drive. It can be embodied as a servomotor or as a further drive means which appears expedient to the person skilled in the art.

In addition, the ease of use can be increased when the locating device has a chassis, which is provided for guiding the locating unit over a surface of the examination subject in a preferential movement direction, wherein the polarization plane is arranged obliquely relative to the preferential movement direction. In particular, the preferential movement direction is aligned perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the housing.

The invention is further based on a method for locating an object arranged in an examination object with a locating device in which a housing of the locating device is moved over a surface of the examination object.

It is proposed that an examination signal polarized in a transmission polarization plane is transmitted into the examination subject, wherein the transmission polarization plane is aligned obliquely to a longitudinal axis of the housing. In the case of an evaluation process of the examination signal, the precision can thus advantageously be increased by reducing unwanted interference factors.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention it is proposed that the examination signal is received in at least one receiving polarization plane different from the transmission polarization plane. This can be achieved by receiving the examination signal in one of the

Transmitting polarization plane different receiving polarization level a particularly advantageous evaluation of the examination signal can be achieved. Targeted reception and subsequent evaluation of a portion of the examination signal in a reception polarization plane different from the transmission polarization plane can advantageously prevent interference effects caused by a reflected component of the examination signal, such as, in particular, superimposition of a useful signal carrying relevant location information by the reflected component. A high information density can also be achieved if the examination signal is received in a plurality of receiving polarization planes which are different from the transmission polarization plane. In this case, the method can also be adapted to different orientations of objects in the examination object.

It is also proposed that the examination signal is received in the transmission polarization plane. As a result, an effective location of objects can be achieved, which cause no rotation of a wave striking them.

Furthermore, it is proposed that the examination signal is received in the transmitting polarization plane and in at least one receiving polarization plane different from the transmitting polarization plane, whereby an effective localization in a wide range of applications can be achieved.

In this context, further location information can advantageously be obtained if the examination signal is received in the transmission polarization plane and in a plurality of reception polarization planes that are different from the transmission polarization plane.

drawing

Further advantages emerge from the following description of the drawing. In the drawings, embodiments of the invention are shown. The drawing, the description and the claims contain numerous features in combination. The person skilled in the art will expediently also consider the features individually and combine these into meaningful further combinations.

Show it:

1 shows a locating device which is moved along a surface of a wall to be examined,

2 shows the arrangement of the locating device in front of the wall in a side view,

3 shows a schematic illustration of a locating unit of the locating device with an antenna arrangement, FIGS. 4a to 4c are explanatory drawings for describing different locating modes;

5 shows the arrangement of three polarization planes in a locating mode,

Fig. 6 shows the arrangement of two mutually oblique polarization planes in a further detection mode and

Fig. 7 the locating device in an alternative embodiment with a chassis.

Description of the embodiments

1 shows a hand-held locating device 10, which is moved by a user, not shown, along a surface 12 of an examination object 14. The examination subject 14 is designed as a wall in which objects 16, 18 to be located, which are invisible to the user, are arranged. The article 16 is formed as a water conduit which extends vertically in the wall while the article 18 corresponds to an electrical conduit which is horizontally aligned. Alternatively, the examination subject 14 may be designed as a floor to be examined. In this case, the objects 16, 18 are aligned horizontally and, for example, in each case parallel to a length or a width of a room.

The locating device 10 has a housing 20, which is formed substantially cuboid. The housing 20 has a longitudinal direction, which is referred to as the main extension direction 22 and corresponds to the direction of the length of the housing 20 forming cuboid. The main extension direction 22 is further characterized by the longitudinal axis 24 of the housing, which is aligned parallel to the main extension direction 22 and contains the center of mass of the locating device 10. The longitudinal axis 24 may further be an aligned parallel to the main extension direction 22 axis containing an edge of the housing 20. In the housing 20, in fact integrated into an operating side 26, a display unit 28 formed as an LCD display and an input unit 30, which has at least one key. The housing 20 further has a preferred side 31, which is arranged opposite the operating side 26 and faces a test object during a locating process (see FIG. 2). The main extension direction, ie the longitudinal direction, of the side 31 can be understood as the "longitudinal axis" 24. If the side 31 is of square design, a "lateral axis" is understood to mean, in particular, a side bisector of the side 31. If the housing 20 has a circular symmetry, for example if the operating side 26 and the side 31 are disc-shaped, then this corresponds to FIG "Longitudinal axis" of a preferred direction of the housing, which is predetermined for example by a mark, a label of the housing or by a reading direction of a display unit.

For movement of the locating device 10 along the surface 12, the housing 20 is held by a user in one hand. Here, the housing 10 forms a handle means 32 which is encompassed for holding the locating device 10 in the movement along the surface 12 of a user's hand. Alternatively or additionally, a grip means may be attached to the housing 20 or integrally formed on the housing 20. The locating device 10 further includes preferential directions of movement 34 for movement of the housing 20 along the surface 12. These preferred directions of movement 34 are defined relative to the longitudinal axis 24 of the housing 20, namely, they are aligned perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 24 of the housing 20.

FIG. 2 shows the arrangement of the locating device 10 in front of the examination subject 14 to be examined, in a side view. To carry out a locating operation, the locating device 10 has a locating unit 36, which is arranged within the housing 10. This is in the figures

1 and 2 shown schematically. The locating unit 36 is provided to detect the presence of the objects 16, 18 arranged in the examination subject 14. This is done in a known manner by means of an examination signal 38, which is designed as a high frequency electromagnetic signal, in particular as a radar signal. The examination signal 38 is generated in a first step by an electronic signal generation unit 40. This one is about one

Transmit transmission channel (see Figure 3) to an antenna array 42, which serves for the radiation of the examination signal 38. In this case, the antenna arrangement 42 serves as a transmission unit, which transmits the examination signal 38 as a transmission signal 44 into the examination object 14. This transmission signal 44 is reflected by at least one of the objects 16, 18 and received as a reception signal 46 by the antenna arrangement 42 designed as a reception unit.

The locating unit 36 is shown in more detail in a detailed view in Figure 3, with the arrangement of the signal generating unit 40 and the antenna assembly 42. The received from the antenna assembly 42 received signal 46 is transmitted to an evaluation unit 48, which is provided for its evaluation. From an evaluation process, information about the

Position, in particular the depth in the examination subject 14, the dimensions and the type of objects 16, 18, are obtained, which are then displayed by means of the display unit 28. The locating unit 36 also has a polarization unit 50, which is provided for operations with the examination signal 38. In particular, it gives two different polarization planes 52, 54 in which the examination signal 38 is transmitted and / or received. The various combinations of transmit and receive modes in the polarization planes 52, 54 will be described in more detail below. The polarization planes 52, 54 are shown schematically by dash-dotted lines in FIG. The polarization unit 50 may be a separate unit from the antenna arrangement 42, which is connected downstream of the antenna arrangement 42. Here, the polarization unit 50 may be formed as a filter unit. In a preferred embodiment, which is shown in FIG. 3, the polarization unit 50 is formed in one piece with the antenna arrangement 42. In this case, the planes of polarization 52, 54 are given by the alignment of antennas 56, 58, which are in each case designed in particular as dipole antennas with a preferred radiation plane which corresponds to the desired polarization plane. The locating unit 36 also has a control unit 60, which is provided for performing at least one locating mode. For this purpose, the control unit 60 is provided with a computing unit (not shown) and with a memory unit in which control commands that can be executed by the arithmetic unit are stored. To execute a locating mode, the control unit 60 is in operative connection with the signal generating unit 40 and with the evaluation unit 48.

According to the invention, in at least one locating mode of the control unit 60, at least one polarization plane 52, 54 predetermined by the polarization unit 50 is arranged obliquely relative to the longitudinal axis 24. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the polarization planes 52, 54 are arranged orthogonally relative to one another. The polarization plane 52, 54 forms an angle OCi ⁼ 45 ° or O ^ = 135 ° with the longitudinal axis 24. Here, the polarization planes 52, 54 are also oriented obliquely to the preferred direction of movement 34, namely they form an angle of 45 ° and 135, respectively ° with the preferential movement direction 34.

In a first detection mode, which is performed by the control unit 60, the polarization plane 52 is associated with a transmission channel 62, via which the examination signal 38 is sent as a transmission signal 44, wherein the polarization plane 52 is referred to as transmit polarization plane 53. As a result, the transmission signal 44 is designed as a polarized signal whose polarization plane corresponds to the transmission polarization plane 53. This is achieved by putting the transmission channel 62 in operative connection with the antenna 56. The transmission signal 44 is then transmitted in a polarization plane which is oriented obliquely relative to the longitudinal axis 24 and to the main extension direction 22. The transmission signal 44 polarized in the transmission polarization plane 53 accordingly strikes the objects 16, 18 with a plane of polarization that is oblique to the orientation of the objects 16, 18. It is assumed that these objects 16, 18 have the property of rotating this polarization plane. The reception signal 46 stimulated thereby is received by the antenna arrangement 42. In this case, the polarization plane 54 is assigned to a receiving channel 64, the polarization plane 54 being designated as the receiving polarization plane 55. A signal component of the received signal 46 in the receiving polarization plane 55 is hereby evaluated by the evaluation unit 48. This is achieved by setting the receive channel 64 in operative connection with the antenna 58. By this receiving operation in a polarization plane, namely the receiving polarization plane 55, which is different from the transmitting polarization plane 53, the portion of the examination signal 38 is received and subsequently evaluated, the polarization of which is rotated by the objects 16, 18. The portion of the examination signal 38, which has an unchanged polarization in the transmitting polarization plane 53 and which is excited to a substantial extent by a reflection on the surface 12 of the examination subject 14, is not present in the receiving channel 64, whereby an undesired superimposition of the

Useful signal, which is formed by the proportion in the receiving polarization plane 55, is avoided. This useful signal, which carries the desired location information, can then be evaluated with high accuracy in the evaluation unit 48. If the polarization unit 50 is designed as a filter unit, it has a filter which is permeable to a signal component of the examination signal 38 arranged in the plane of polarization 54. Here are more

Signal components, in particular a signal component in the transmission polarization plane 53, at least substantially suppressed, in particular completely suppressed.

FIGS. 4a, 4b, 4c show the signal generation unit 40, the evaluation unit 48 and the antenna arrangement 42. The transmission channel 62 is in operative connection with the signal generation unit 40, while the reception channel 64 is in operative connection with the evaluation unit 48. The execution of different locating modes is described schematically by means of an allocation unit 66 which is provided to associate with the signal generation unit 40 or the evaluation unit 48 the antenna 56 and / or the antenna 58. It should be noted that this representation is used to explain the different locating modes and is not directed to a preferred realized construction of the locating unit 36. This allocation unit 66 is designed as an example and, for the sake of clarity, as a switch unit having switches 68. The transmission signal 44 is also shown schematically and it is to illustrate the Principle only the proportions of the received signal 46 shown, which are used for an evaluation.

FIG. 4 a shows the locating mode described above. Here, the signal generating unit 40 is associated with the antenna 56, so that the transmission channel 62 includes this antenna 56. Furthermore, the evaluation unit 48 is assigned exclusively the antenna 58, so that the reception channel 64 comprises the antenna 58. By means of the switch 68.4, the reception channel 64 is separated from the antenna 56 and thus from the transmission channel 62. Different configurations can be achieved by means of the allocation unit 66. For example, a reversal of the configuration described above can be achieved by assigning the antenna 56-and thus the plane of polarization 52-to the reception channel 64, while assigning the antenna 58-and thus the polarization plane 54-to the transmission channel 62.

Another locating mode, which is shown in FIG. 4 b, is to evaluate exclusively a portion of the examination signal 38 which is polarized in the transmitting polarization plane 53.

This detection mode is realized in that the receiving channel 64 with the antenna 56, which - as described above - is used to send the examination signal 38 in the transmitting polarization plane 53, is set in operative connection by means of the switch 68.4 and separated by the switch 68.3 from the antenna 58 becomes. Receiving the examination signal 38 in the transmission polarization plane 53 is particularly suitable for the location of objects which have no sufficient or no influence on the polarization of a wave which strikes them, such as e.g. for locating plate-shaped metal objects.

In a further locating mode, which is shown in FIG. 4 c, it is provided to evaluate a portion of the examination signal 38 in the polarization plane 54 in addition to the receiving operation described in the locating mode of FIG. 4 b. In this case, the receiving channel 64 is in operative connection both with the antenna 56 and with the antenna 58. In this case, a location mode is carried out, wherein an examination signal 38 is transmitted in the transmission polarization plane 53 and is received both in this transmission polarization plane 53 and in the reception polarization plane 55.

In further embodiment variants of these locating modes, a transmission process and a reception process can take place simultaneously, or the reception process and the transmission process can be separated from one another in terms of time. The locating modes described above, in which the polarization planes 52, 54 are formed obliquely to the longitudinal axis 24, are particularly suitable for locating objects which are parallel or orthogonal to a reference direction of the examination object 14. Such a reference direction is, for example, the horizontal or the vertical direction in the case of a wall or a room length or a room width in the case of a floor. In order to achieve an effective location in the case of an arrangement of an object of the examination subject 14 oblique relative to this reference direction, the following embodiments of locating modes by means of the polarization unit 50 are proposed.

FIG. 5 shows a further locating mode in which the polarization unit 50 has more than two

Specifies polarization levels. In addition to the polarization planes 52, 54 shown in FIG. 3, the polarization unit 50 predetermines a further polarization plane 70, which is arranged obliquely relative to the polarization planes 52, 54. For example, the polarization plane 70 may be aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis 24. In a further embodiment, it may be aligned orthogonal to the longitudinal axis 24. The polarization planes 52, 54 are, as described above, for locating objects in the examination subject 14 that are parallel or orthogonal to a reference direction of the examination subject 14, and the polarization plane 70 can be advantageously used to locate objects that are relative to this reference direction obliquely, in particular at an angle of 45 °, are aligned. According to the embodiment of FIG. 5, a locating mode is provided, in which the examination signal 38 in one of the

Polarization planes 52, 54, 70 is sent and in which two more polarization planes are received. By way of example, a configuration is shown in which the transmission signal 44 is transmitted in the polarization plane 52 forming the transmission polarization plane 53 and the reception signal 46 in the polarization plane 54 forming the reception polarization plane 55 and in the polarization plane 70 forming a reception polarization plane 71 , Will be received. Furthermore, a further locating mode is provided, in which additionally a reception of the received signal 46 takes place in the transmitting polarization plane 53.

A locating mode shown in FIG. 6 may provide for the planes of polarization 52, 54 to be oriented obliquely to one another. For example, the plane of polarization 52 may be as in the configuration

3, with an angle of 45 ° relative to the longitudinal axis 24 be aligned obliquely, the polarization plane 54 forms an acute angle with the plane of polarization 52. In particular, as shown by way of example in the figure, the polarization plane 54 may be aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis 24. These locating modes of Figures 3, 5 and 6 can be determined by various antenna arrangements. In a further embodiment, which is shown in FIGS. 4 a, 4 b and 4 c, a rotating means 72 can be provided which serves to rotate the alignment of at least one of the polarization planes 52, 54 relative to the longitudinal axis 24. This turning means 72 may optionally be incorporated in the locating device 10, which is emphasized by dashed lines in FIGS. 4a, 4c and 4c. It is designed in particular as a servomotor and can be controlled by the control unit 60.

FIG. 7 shows an alternative embodiment of the locating device 10 of FIG. 1. In this case, components which remain the same are given the same reference numerals, with only the differences from the embodiment described above being discussed in order to avoid repetition. The locating device 10 in the embodiment of Figure 7 has a chassis 74, which is provided for guiding the housing 20 - and thus the locating unit 36 disposed therein - over the surface 12 of the examination object 14 in the preferred direction of movement 34. In this embodiment, the preferred direction of movement 34 is predetermined by means of the chassis 74. The chassis 74 has four wheels 76, which roll on a movement along the examination subject 14 on its surface 12. The chassis 74 is associated with a not further shown displacement sensor device which serves to detect a distance traveled by the housing 20 distance.

Claims

claims

1. Locating device, in particular hand-held locating device, having a locating unit (36) for detecting the presence of a subject (16, 18) arranged in an examination subject (14) by means of an examination signal (38), one for a procedure with the examination signal (36). 38) provided with a housing (20) for receiving the locating unit (36) having a longitudinal axis (24), characterized in that in at least one operating mode, the polarization unit (50) at least a first plane of polarization ( 52, 54) which is aligned obliquely to the longitudinal axis (24).

2. Locating device according to claim 1, characterized by a gripping means (32) for gripping by a user in a locating process, which is coupled to the housing (20).

3. Locating device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the polarization plane (52, 54) forms an angle of approximately 45 ° with the longitudinal axis (24).

4. Locating device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the polarization plane (52) in at least one operating mode, a transmitting polarization plane (53) which is associated with at least one transmission channel (62) for transmitting the examination signal (38).

5. Locating device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the polarization plane (54) in at least one operating mode a Empfangspolarisations- level (55), which is associated with at least one receiving channel (64) for receiving the examination signal (38).

6. Locating device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the polarization unit (50) at least one second polarization plane (54, 52, 70) dictates, which is different from the first polarization plane (52, 54).

7. Locating device according to claim 6, characterized in that in at least one operating mode, one of the polarization planes (52, 54) is a transmit polarization plane (53) associated with at least one transmit channel (62) for transmitting the examination signal (38), and a another of the polarization planes (52, 54) is a receiving polarization plane (55) which is associated with at least one receiving channel (64) for receiving the examination signal (38).

8. Locating device according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the polarization planes (52, 54) are mutually orthogonal.

9. Locating device according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the polarization planes (52, 70) are arranged obliquely to each other.

10. Locating device according to one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that the second polarization plane (70) is aligned parallel or orthogonal to the longitudinal axis (24).

11. Locating device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the polarization unit (50) at least two further polarization planes (52, 54, 70) pretends.

12. Locating device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the polarization unit (50) has a rotation means (72) which is provided, the alignment of at least one polarization plane (52, 54, 70) relative to the longitudinal axis (24) rotate.

13. Locating device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by a chassis (74), which is provided for guiding the locating unit (36) over a surface (12) of the examination subject (14) in a preferential movement direction (34), wherein the polarization plane (52 , 54) is arranged obliquely relative to the preferential movement direction (34).

14. A method for locating an object (16, 18) arranged in an examination subject (14) with a locating device (10), in particular according to one of the preceding claims, in which a housing (20) of the locating device (10) has a surface (12 ) of the examination subject (14), characterized in that an examination signal (38) polarized in a transmitting polarization plane (53) is transmitted into the examination subject (14), the transmitting polarization plane (53) being inclined to a longitudinal axis (24) of the Housing (20) is aligned.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that the examination signal (38) is received in at least one of the transmitting polarization plane (53) different receiving polarization plane (55).

16. Method according to claim 15, characterized in that the examination signal (38) is received in a plurality of receiving polarization levels (55, 71) different from the transmission polarization level (53).

17. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that the examination signal (38) in the transmission polarization plane (53) is received.

18. Method according to claim 14, characterized in that the examination signal (38) is received in the transmission polarization plane (53) and in at least one different receiving polarization plane (55) from the transmission polarization plane (53).

19. Method according to claim 18, characterized in that the examination signal (38) is received in the transmitting polarization plane (53) and in a plurality of receiving polarization planes (55, 71) different from the transmitting polarization plane (53).