OBJECT DETECTING DEVICE AND INFORMATION ACQUIRING DEVICE

• US 20120327310A1
• Filed: 08/28/2012
• Published: 12/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: MORIMOTO, Takaaki, Umeda, Katsumi
• Application Number:
  US13/596,991
• Publication Number:
  US 20120327310A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/734
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 3/08 Use of electric radiation detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/46 Indirect determination of position data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/497 Means for monitoring or calibrating

Abstract

An information acquiring device has a light source which emits light of a predetermined wavelength band; a projection optical system which projects the light emitted from the light source toward the target area with a predetermined dot pattern; a light receiving element which receives reflected light reflected on the target area for outputting a signal; a storage which stores a reference template in which a plurality of reference segment areas are set on a reference pattern of the light to be received by the light receiving element; and an updating section which updates the reference template. In this arrangement, the updating section updates the reference template, based on a displacement to be detected when a referenced segment area set in the reference template is actually measured.

Claims

1. An information acquiring device for acquiring information on a target area using light, comprising:

a light source which emits light of a predetermined wavelength band;

a projection optical system which projects the light emitted from the light source toward the target area with a predetermined dot pattern;

a light receiving element which receives reflected light reflected on the target area for outputting a signal;

a storage which stores a reference template in which a plurality of reference segment areas are set on a reference pattern of the light to be received by the light receiving element; and

an updating section which updates the reference template, wherein

the updating section updates the reference template, based on a displacement of a referenced segment area set in the reference template at the time of actual measurement.

2. The information acquiring device according to claim 1, wherein

the updating section configures an updated template by:

performing a matching operation between the reference pattern, and an actual measurement pattern of the light received by the light receiving element at the time of actual measurement,

setting an updated pattern area from a position, on the actual measurement pattern, of the referenced segment area set on the reference pattern,

applying the reference pattern to the set updated pattern area for setting an updated pattern, and

setting a plurality of updated segment areas in the set updated pattern.

3. The information acquiring device according to claim 2, wherein

the updated pattern area is set by shifting or deforming, in a direction perpendicular to an alignment direction in which the light source and the light receiving element are aligned, a reference pattern area having the reference pattern, based on a displacement amount of the referenced segment area on the light receiving element in the perpendicular direction.

4. The information acquiring device according to claim 3, wherein

the referenced segment area is set at two areas away from each other in the perpendicular direction, and at other two areas that are located away from each other in the perpendicular direction and do not overlap the two areas in the perpendicular direction.

5. The information acquiring device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a temperature sensor which detects a temperature in the information acquiring device, wherein

the updating section updates the reference template, in the case where a change in the temperature detected by the temperature sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

6. An object detecting device, comprising:

an information acquiring device which acquires information on a target area using light,

the information acquiring device including;

a light source which emits light of a predetermined wavelength band;

a projection optical system which projects the light emitted from the light source toward the target area with a predetermined dot pattern;

a light receiving element which receives reflected light reflected on the target area for outputting a signal;

a storage which stores a reference template in which a plurality of reference segment areas are set on a reference pattern of the light to be received by the light receiving element; and

an updating section which updates the reference template, wherein

the updating section updates the reference template, based on a displacement of a referenced segment area set in the reference template at the time of actual measurement.

7. The object detecting device according to claim 6, wherein

the updating section configures an updated template by:

performing a matching operation between the reference pattern, and an actual measurement pattern of the light received by the light receiving element at the time of actual measurement,

setting an updated pattern area from a position, on the actual measurement pattern, of the referenced segment area set on the reference pattern,

applying the reference pattern to the set updated pattern area for setting an updated pattern, and

setting a plurality of updated segment areas in the set updated pattern.

8. The object detecting device according to claim 7, wherein

the updated pattern area is set by shifting or deforming, in a direction perpendicular to an alignment direction in which the light source and the light receiving element are aligned, a reference pattern area having the reference pattern, based on a displacement amount of the referenced segment area on the light receiving element in the perpendicular direction.

9. The object detecting device according to claim 8, wherein

the referenced segment area is set at two areas away from each other in the perpendicular direction, and at other two areas that are located away from each other in the perpendicular direction and do not overlap the two areas in the perpendicular direction.

10. The object detecting device according to claim 6, wherein:

the information acquiring device further includes a temperature sensor which detects a temperature in the information acquiring device, and

the updating section updates the reference template, in the case where a change in the temperature detected by the temperature sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold value.