Object detecting device, sensing device, and mobile object device

• US 10,114,110 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2016
• Issued: 10/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Imai, Shigeaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Abraham, Samantha K
• Application Number:
  US15/069,286
• Publication Number:
  US 20160274223A1
• Time in Patent Office: 960 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/42 Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates indirect measurement G01S17/46
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4815 using multiple transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4817 relating to scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4972 Alignment of sensor

Abstract

An object detecting device includes: a light source which includes a plurality of light emitting units arranged in a sub-scanning direction; a deflector which deflects light from the light source; and an optical detector which includes a plurality of light receiving units arranged in the sub-scanning direction so as to correspond to the plurality of light emitting units, and receives light deflected by the deflector and reflected by an object.

Claims

1. An object detecting device comprising:

a light source which includes a plurality of light emitting units arranged in an array in a sub-scanning direction and grouped into light emitting unit groups of non-adjacent light emitting units;

a deflector which deflects light from the light source to scan an area in a scanning direction; and

an optical detector which includes a plurality of light receiving units arranged in the sub-scanning direction so as to correspond to the plurality of light emitting units, and receives light deflected by the deflector and reflected by an object, wherein the non-adjacent light emitting units in each light emitting unit group are turned on simultaneously and at a different timing than the non-adjacent light emitting units in another light emitting unit group.

2. The object detecting device according to claim 1, wherein number of light emitting units is different from number of light receiving units.

3. The object detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the non-adjacent light emitting units of each light emitting unit group are electrically connected to each other.

4. The object detecting device according to claim 3, wherein each of the non-adjacent light emitting units in each light emitting unit group correspond to different light receiving units.

5. The object detecting device according to claim 1, wherein

each of the plurality of light emitting unit groups is turned on with a predetermined period, and

time after lighting of one light emitting unit group out of the plurality of light emitting unit groups finishes until lighting of a next light emitting unit group starts is shorter than the predetermined period.

6. The object detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of light receiving units includes a plurality of light receiving unit groups each formed of at least two light receiving units which are electrically connected to each other.

7. The object detecting device according to claim 6, wherein the at least two light receiving units are not adjacent to each other.

8. The object detecting device according to claim 6, wherein the at least two light receiving units correspond to different light emitting units.

9. The object detecting device according to claim 6, wherein lighting timings of the plurality of light emitting units are different from each other.

10. The object detecting device according to claim 9, wherein

each of the plurality of light emitting units is turned on with a predetermined period, and

time after lighting of one light emitting unit out of the plurality of light emitting units finishes until lighting of a next light emitting unit starts is shorter than the predetermined period.

11. The object detecting device according to claim 6, further comprising an amplifier commonly connected to the at least two light receiving units.

12. The object detecting device according to claim 1, further comprising amplifiers fewer than the light receiving units, wherein

at least two light receiving units out of the plurality of light receiving units are connected to the same amplifier at different timings.

13. The object detecting device according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of light emitting units includes a plurality of minute light emitting bodies.

14. A sensing device comprising:

the object detecting device according to claim 1; and

a monitoring control device which obtains moving information including at least one of presence, a moving direction, and a moving speed of an object based on an output of the object detecting device.

15. The sensing device according to claim 14 mounted on a mobile object, wherein

the monitoring control device determines whether there is danger based on at least one of positional information and the moving information of the object.

16. A mobile object device comprising:

the sensing device according to claim 14; and

a mobile object on which the sensing device is mounted.

17. A mobile object device comprising:

the object detecting device according to claim 1; and

a mobile object on which the object detecting device is mounted.