APPARATUS FOR MEASURING DISTANCE AND METHOD THEREOF

• US 20130242089A1
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Published: 09/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Innotek Company Limited (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Innotek Company Limited (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: LIM, Sung Hyun, KIM, Jun Chul
• Granted Patent: US 9,784,577 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/135
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/026 by measuring distance between sensor and object G01B11/0608 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 11/02 Picture taking arrangements specially adapted for photogrammetry or photographic surveying, e.g. controlling overlapping of pictures
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 3/08 Use of electric radiation detectors

Abstract

Disclosed are an apparatus for measuring a distance and a method thereof. The apparatus includes a camera module and a film having a reference pattern. The camera module includes an infrared LED transmission unit to transmit an infrared LED light toward the film.

Claims

1. An apparatus for measuring a distance, the apparatus comprising:

a camera unit photographing an object;

a light transmission unit irradiating a light onto the object;

a film provided at an outlet of the light transmission unit and having a pattern allowing only a portion of light to be projected onto the object; and

a module unit calculating a distance from the object by using a size of a pattern projected onto the object which is obtained from an image of the camera unit.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pattern has at least one of a circular shape, a triangular shape, a rectangular shape, and a diamond shape.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light transmission unit transmits an infrared light.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the light transmission unit includes at least one infrared LED.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the module unit comprises:

an infrared light reception unit receiving the infrared light;

a measuring unit measuring the size of the pattern projected onto a surface of the object;

a comparing unit comparing the measured size of the pattern with an intrinsic parameter; and

a calculating unit calculating the distance based on a value detected by the comparing unit.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the infrared light reception unit includes an infrared filter.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a display unit displaying the calculated distance data.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the size of the pattern projected onto a surface of the object is determined depending on a distance between the camera module and the object.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the size of the pattern projected onto the surface of the object is proportional to the distance between the camera module and the object.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus for measuring the distance is mounted at a rear portion of a vehicle to measure the distance from the object located at a rear of the vehicle.

11. A method of measuring a distance, the method comprising:

transmitting an infrared light from a camera module toward an object such that the infrared light passes through a film having a reference pattern;

projecting a pattern onto a surface of the object by the transmitted infrared light;

detecting a size of the projected pattern;

comparing the detected size of the pattern with an intrinsic parameter; and

calculating a distance from the object based on the detected value.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the detecting of the size of the projected pattern is performed by collecting information of the pattern projected onto the surface of the object through a filter formed in the camera module.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the reference pattern has at least one of a circular shape, a triangular shape, a rectangular shape, and a diamond shape.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the size of the pattern projected onto the surface of the object is determined depending on a distance between the camera module and the object.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the size of the pattern projected onto the surface of the object is proportional to the distance between the camera module and the object.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the camera module is mounted at a rear portion of a vehicle to measure the distance from the object located at a rear of the vehicle.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the camera module includes an infrared LED to emit the infrared light.