MULTIPLE-FIELD-OF-VIEW SCANNERLESS OPTICAL RANGEFINDER IN HIGH AMBIENT BACKGROUND LIGHT
First Claim
1. A multiple-field-of-view scannerless optical rangefinder operating in pulsed Time-Of-Flight operation for use in high ambient background light, the rangefinder comprising:
- an optical emitter for emitting a train of very brief light pulses, said train of light pulses having a broad field-of-illumination (FOI), said optical emitter having a LED light source and driver electronics;
a multi-channel optical receiver (MCOR) for detecting optical return signals, each detection channel of said multi-channel optical receiver having a photodetector with a photosensitive surface, an instantaneous field of view of each said detection channel having a horizontal and a vertical extent determined by dimensions of each respective said photosensitive surface and being adapted to output a channel return signal waveform, an overall field-of-view (FOV) of said multi-channel optical receiver encompassing each said instantaneous field of view, said field-of-illumination encompassing said overall field-of-view, said multi-channel optical receiver having analog front-end electronics for conditioning said channel return signal waveforms, said MCOR outputting conditioned channel return signal waveforms;
an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) for receiving and converting said conditioned channel return signal waveforms from said MCOR into digital format;
a control and processing unit (CPU) operatively connected to said optical emitter, said MCOR and said ADC,for generating a pulse trigger signal to trigger said optical emitter into emitting said train of pulses,for sending a synchronization trigger signal to said MCOR for starting said detection of said optical return signals, andfor processing said conditioned channel return signal waveforms in digital format;
a data interface for receiving processed channel return signal waveforms from said CPU and preparing output data;
wherein a peak present in any of said optical return signal waveforms is a signature of an object located within said instantaneous field of view.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A multiple-field-of-view scannerless optical rangefinder operating in pulsed Time-Of-Flight operation for use in high ambient background light is described. The rangefinder comprises an optical emitter having a LED light source and driver electronics, emitting a train of light pulses having a broad field-of-illumination (FOI); a multi-channel optical receiver (MCOR) for detecting optical return signals, an overall field-of-view (FOV) encompassing each channel instantaneous FOV, the FOI encompassing the overall FOV, the multi-channel optical receiver having analog front-end electronics; an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) for receiving and converting the waveforms into digital format; a control and processing unit (CPU) for generating a pulse trigger signal, sending a synchronization trigger signal to the MCOR for starting the detection of the optical return signals, and for processing the waveforms in digital format; a data interface; wherein a peak present in any of waveforms is a signature of an object located within the instantaneous FOV.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A multiple-field-of-view scannerless optical rangefinder operating in pulsed Time-Of-Flight operation for use in high ambient background light, the rangefinder comprising:
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an optical emitter for emitting a train of very brief light pulses, said train of light pulses having a broad field-of-illumination (FOI), said optical emitter having a LED light source and driver electronics; a multi-channel optical receiver (MCOR) for detecting optical return signals, each detection channel of said multi-channel optical receiver having a photodetector with a photosensitive surface, an instantaneous field of view of each said detection channel having a horizontal and a vertical extent determined by dimensions of each respective said photosensitive surface and being adapted to output a channel return signal waveform, an overall field-of-view (FOV) of said multi-channel optical receiver encompassing each said instantaneous field of view, said field-of-illumination encompassing said overall field-of-view, said multi-channel optical receiver having analog front-end electronics for conditioning said channel return signal waveforms, said MCOR outputting conditioned channel return signal waveforms; an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) for receiving and converting said conditioned channel return signal waveforms from said MCOR into digital format; a control and processing unit (CPU) operatively connected to said optical emitter, said MCOR and said ADC, for generating a pulse trigger signal to trigger said optical emitter into emitting said train of pulses, for sending a synchronization trigger signal to said MCOR for starting said detection of said optical return signals, and for processing said conditioned channel return signal waveforms in digital format; a data interface for receiving processed channel return signal waveforms from said CPU and preparing output data; wherein a peak present in any of said optical return signal waveforms is a signature of an object located within said instantaneous field of view. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification