Vehicle LIDAR system

• US 10,386,488 B2
• Filed: 05/26/2015
• Issued: 08/20/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Ridderbusch, Heiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Baghdasaryan, Hovhannes
• Application Number:
  US15/311,588
• Publication Number:
  US 20170090034A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,547 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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 7/4814 of transmitters alone
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4817 relating to scanning
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/183 having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL]

Abstract

A vehicle LIDAR system, including: a solid-state laser having a brightness of at least 100 kW/(mm² sr), which is designed to emit laser pulses having a wavelength of at least 900 nm and a maximum power per laser pulse of at least 50 W; at least one movably situated mirror for deflecting the laser pulses in the direction of objects to be detected; a receiver for detecting the laser pulses reflected by the objects.

Claims

1. A vehicle LIDAR system, comprising:

a solid-state laser having a brightness of at least 100 kW/(mm² sr), which is designed to emit laser pulses having a wavelength of at least 900 nm and a maximum power per laser pulse of at least 50 W;

at least one movably situated mirror to deflect the laser pulses in a direction of an object to be detected; and

a receiver to detect the laser pulses reflected by the object.

2. The vehicle LIDAR system as recited in claim 1, wherein the solid-state laser is designed as a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser.

3. The vehicle LIDAR system as recited in claim 1, wherein the mirror is movable in two different directions.

4. The vehicle LIDAR system as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one mirror includes two mirrors, which are each movable in a different direction.

5. The vehicle LIDAR system as recited in claim 1, wherein the mirror is movable at least one of magnetically and piezoelectrically.

6. The vehicle LIDAR system as recited in claim 1, wherein a diameter of the mirror is greater than or equal to 1 mm.

7. The vehicle LIDAR system as recited in claim 1, wherein a diameter of the mirror is greater than or equal to 3 mm.

8. The vehicle LIDAR system as recited in claim 1, wherein the mirror is movable across at least an angle of 20°

.

9. The vehicle LIDAR system as recited in claim 1, wherein the mirror is movable across at least an angle of 30°

.

10. The vehicle LIDAR system as recited in claim 1, wherein the mirror has a reflectivity of at least 80%.

11. The vehicle LIDAR system as recited in claim 1, wherein the mirror has a reflectivity of at least 90%.

12. The vehicle LIDAR system as recited in claim 1, wherein the mirror is a microelectromechanical mirror.

14. The vehicle LIDAR system as recited in claim 1, wherein a diameter of the mirror is between 3 mm and 5 mm.

16. The vehicle LIDAR system as recited in claim 1, wherein a duty cycle of the laser pulses emitted by the solid-state laser is between 1% and 2%.

18. The vehicle LIDAR system as recited in claim 1, wherein the laser pulses emitted by the solid-state laser each has a pulse duration of less than 1 ns.

13. A vehicle LIDAR system for detecting objects in surroundings of a vehicle, the vehicle LIDAR system comprising:

a solid-state laser having a brightness of at least 100 kW/(mm² sr), which is designed to emit laser pulses having a wavelength of at least 900 nm and a maximum power per laser pulse of at least 50 W;

at least one movably situated mirror to deflect the laser pulses in a direction of an object to be detected, the object being in the surroundings of the vehicle; and

a receiver to detect the laser pulses reflected by the object.

15. The vehicle LIDAR as recited in claim 13, wherein a diameter of the mirror is between 3 mm and 5 mm.

17. The vehicle LIDAR system as recited in claim 13, wherein a duty cycle of the laser pulses emitted by the solid-state laser is between 1% and 2%.

19. The vehicle LIDAR system as recited in claim 13, wherein the laser pulses emitted by the solid-state laser each has a pulse duration of less than 1 ns.