Invention Grant
- Patent Title: Range imaging apparatus and method
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Application No.: US17046130Application Date: 2019-04-04
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Publication No.: US11947009B2Publication Date: 2024-04-02
- Inventor: Juha Kostamovaara , Pekka Keränen
- Applicant: OULUN YLIOPISTO
- Applicant Address: FI Oulu
- Assignee: Oulun yliopisto
- Current Assignee: Oulun yliopisto
- Current Assignee Address: FI Oulu
- Agency: Nixon & Vanderhye PC
- Priority: FI 185336 2018.04.09
- International Application: PCT/FI2019/050271 2019.04.04
- International Announcement: WO2019/197717A 2019.10.17
- Date entered country: 2020-10-08
- Main IPC: G01S7/48
- IPC: G01S7/48 ; G01S7/481 ; G01S7/4861 ; G01S17/06 ; G01S17/89

Abstract:
A semiconductor laser source of a transmitter (102) in a range imaging apparatus (100) generates an optical pulse at repeated moments, and outputs spatially separate optical beams towards a target zone (114), such that the semiconductor laser source outputs each of the spatially separate of the optical beams at different moments from each other. A detector (105) of a receiver (104) comprises single-photon sub-detector units, at least two groups of the single-photon sub-detector units have separate field of views towards the target zone (114), and the at least two groups of sub-detector units are associated with different optical beams of the spatially separated optical beams on the basis of the separate field-of-views. A timing unit (106) determines a value corresponding to a time-of-flight of the optical pulse output at each of the repeated moments on the basis of a signal from a group of the sub-detector units associated with an optical beams output at said moment. In an embodiment, the semiconductor laser source comprises a plurality of sub-source units each of which may output a unique optical beam. In an embodiment, the timing unit (106) comprises a selector and a number of time-to-digital converters (108). The receiver selector connects a number of the sub-detector units, which detect the optical pulse (110) and the number of which corresponds to the number of output beams, with the number of the time-to-digital converters (108). In an embodiment, the apparatus (100) comprises an electric power source (192) which supplies a constant electric power to the semiconductor laser source at each of the repeated moments in order to increase brightness of the optical beams. Elongated optical beams may be produced by a laser diode bar (several emitting stripes) and a cylinder lens system or a holographic diffuser. Partially overlapping optical beams may provide illuminated rectangles of the optical beams on the target (112).
Public/Granted literature
- US20210026011A1 RANGE IMAGING APPARATUS AND METHOD Public/Granted day:2021-01-28
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