Three dimensional image capturing device and its laser emitting device

• US 20050041143A1
• Filed: 09/30/2004
• Published: 02/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PENTAX RICOH IMAGING COMPANY, LTD.
• Original Assignee: Pentax Corporation (Hoya Corporation)
• Inventors: Tani, Nobuhiro, Kakiuchi, Shinichi, Seo, Shuzo
• Granted Patent: US 7,116,371 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/370
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 3/08 Use of electric radiation detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/86 Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/894 3D imaging with simultaneous measurement of time-of-flight at a 2D array of receiver pixels, e.g. time-of-flight cameras or flash lidar
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4813 Housing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/486 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4863 Detector arrays, e.g. charge-transfer gates
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/207 using a single 2D image sensor

Abstract

A three-dimensional image capturing device comprises a plurality of laser devices, and an imaging device, such as a CCD, having a plurality of photo-diodes. Each of the laser devices radiates a pulse modulated laser beam so as to detect distance information or data relating to a topography of a measurement subject. The laser beam is radiated onto the measurement subject and a reflected light beam is sensed by the CCD. Signal charge corresponding to a distance from the image capturing device to the measurement subject is accumulated in each of the photo-diodes, and thus the above distance information is sensed. Each laser beam, respectively radiated from each of the laser devices, shares illuminating area at the distance of the measurement subject, so that radiant energy of each laser beam can be reduced by sharing a single distance measurement operation among the plurality of laser devices.

Claims

1. A laser emitting device applied in a three-dimensional image capturing device, comprising:

a plurality of laser devices that radiate pulse modulated laser beams irradiating a measurement subject for a distance measurement, said plurality of laser devices being separated into predetermined groups; and

a laser emitting operating processor that controls said laser devices to radiate laser beams concurrently in said group, wherein each laser device of said plurality of laser devices in each said predetermined group is disposed at predetermined intervals, each illuminating area of a laser beam radiated from said each laser device overlaps each other at a distance of said measurement subject.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein said each group of laser devices radiates laser beams at different timing.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein said plurality of laser devices are disposed at regular intervals along a periphery of a photographing lens in a circular arrangement.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein each said laser device in one of said groups is arranged with at least one laser device of the other groups disposed in between.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein a number of said plurality of laser devices is six, and each of said groups comprises a pair of laser devices that are disposed opposite each other with a center of said photographing lens in between.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein said plurality of laser devices is arranged at regular intervals along a line in a predetermined direction.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein a number of said plurality of laser devices is six, and each of said groups comprises two laser devices with two other laser devices disposed between.

8. A three-dimensional image capturing device, comprising:

a plurality of laser devices that radiate pulse modulated laser beams irradiating a measurement subject for a distance measurement, said plurality of laser devices being separated into predetermined groups;

an imaging device that accumulates a signal charge corresponding to a quantity of light received at said imaging device;

a signal charge accumulation control processor that controls an accumulating operation of the signal charge generated in said imaging device due to a reflected light beam of said laser beam, which is reflected by said measurement subject;

a signal charge integrating processor that repeatedly drives said signal charge accumulation control processor, so that said signal charge accumulated in said imaging device is integrated; and

a laser emitting operating processor that controls said laser devices to radiate laser beams concurrently in said group, wherein each of said laser devices in each said group is disposed at predetermined intervals, ach illuminating area of said laser beam radiated from said each laser device overlapping each other at the distance of said measurement subject.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein said each group of laser deices radiates laser beams at a different timing.

10. The device of claim 8, wherein said plurality of laser devices is disposed at regular intervals along a periphery of a photographing lens in circular arrangement.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein each said laser device in one of said groups is arranged with at least one laser device of the other groups disposed in between.

12. The device of claim 8, wherein said plurality of laser devices are arranged at regular intervals along a line in a predetermined direction.

13. A three-dimensional image capturing device, comprising:

a plurality of laser devices that radiate pulse modulated laser beams for a distance measurement in order to detect distance information related to a topography of a measurement subject;

an imaging device that accumulates a signal charge corresponding to a quantity of light received at said imaging device;

a laser radiating control processor that controls said plurality of laser devices to radiate said laser beams in a predetermined order, wherein each of said laser devices is disposed at predetermined intervals and each illuminating area of said laser beam radiated from said each laser device overlaps each other at a distance of said measurement subject;

a signal charge accumulation control processor that controls an accumulating operation of the signal charge generated in said imaging device due to a reflected light beam of said laser beam, which is reflected by said measurement subject; and

a signal charge integrating processor that repeatedly drives said signal charge accumulation control processor, so that said signal charge accumulated in said imaging device is integrated, wherein said laser radiating control processor controls said plurality of laser devices to successively and alternately radiate said reflected light beams, so that each of said laser beams may be received respectively in each of accumulating operations executed in said signal charge integrating processor.

14. The device according to claim 13, wherein said imaging device comprises:

a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements that accumulate said signal charge in each of said photoelectric conversion elements; and

a signal charge holding unit disposed adjacent to each of said photoelectric conversion elements, wherein said signal charge accumulated in each of said photoelectric conversion elements is transferred to each of corresponding said signal charge holding units for each of said accumulating operations executed in said signal charge integrating processor.

15. The device of claim 13, wherein said plurality of laser devices are disposed at regular intervals along a periphery of a photographing lens in a circular arrangement.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein said laser radiating control processor controls each of said laser devices, so that said laser beams are successively radiated from each of said laser devices around said circular arrangement.

17. The device of claim 15, wherein a number of said plurality of laser devices is six.

18. The device of claim 13, wherein said plurality of laser devices are arranged at regular intervals along a line in a predetermined direction.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein each of said laser devices repeatedly radiates said laser beams successively along said line.

20. The device of claim 18, wherein a number of said plurality of laser devices is six.