Three Dimensional LIDAR System With Targeted Field of View
First Claim
1. A light detection and ranging (LIDAR) device, comprising:
- a light emission and collection engine configured to rotate about an axis of rotation, the light emission and collection engine including,a plurality of light emitting elements each emitting a beam of illumination light from the LIDAR device at a different angle with respect to the axis of rotation, wherein at least one of the plurality of light emitting elements is configured to emit a beam of illumination light that is parallel or nearly parallel with the axis of rotation, wherein each beam of illumination light emitted from the light emission and collection engine illuminates a different spot of a three dimensional environment with a measurement pulse of illumination light;
a plurality of light detecting elements each corresponding to one of the plurality of light emitting elements, wherein each of the plurality of light detecting elements detects an amount of the measurement pulse reflected from each different spot of the three dimensional environment illuminated by each corresponding beam of illumination light and generates an output signal indicative of the detected amount of light; and
a computing system configured to;
receive the output signal indicative of the detected amount of light;
convert the output signal to a digital signal; and
determine a time of flight of the measurement pulse from the LIDAR device to the particular spot of the three dimensional environment and back to the LIDAR device based on the digital signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A plurality of beams of illumination light are emitted from a LIDAR device over a range of angles and scanned about an axis of rotation. The range of angles includes the axis of rotation. Intermediate electronics boards provide mechanical support and electrical connectivity between a rotating electronics board and various elements of a light emission and collection engine. One or more of the optical elements of the collection optics, the illumination optics, or both, is constructed from one or more materials that absorb light outside of a predetermined wavelength range. An overmolded lens is fixedly coupled to one or more of the light detecting elements to collect incoming light over a larger range of angles. A lens element is disposed in the light path between a light emitting element and the illumination optics to flatten the intensity distribution of light emitted from the light emitting element to reduce peak intensity.
79 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A light detection and ranging (LIDAR) device, comprising:
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a light emission and collection engine configured to rotate about an axis of rotation, the light emission and collection engine including, a plurality of light emitting elements each emitting a beam of illumination light from the LIDAR device at a different angle with respect to the axis of rotation, wherein at least one of the plurality of light emitting elements is configured to emit a beam of illumination light that is parallel or nearly parallel with the axis of rotation, wherein each beam of illumination light emitted from the light emission and collection engine illuminates a different spot of a three dimensional environment with a measurement pulse of illumination light; a plurality of light detecting elements each corresponding to one of the plurality of light emitting elements, wherein each of the plurality of light detecting elements detects an amount of the measurement pulse reflected from each different spot of the three dimensional environment illuminated by each corresponding beam of illumination light and generates an output signal indicative of the detected amount of light; and a computing system configured to; receive the output signal indicative of the detected amount of light; convert the output signal to a digital signal; and determine a time of flight of the measurement pulse from the LIDAR device to the particular spot of the three dimensional environment and back to the LIDAR device based on the digital signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A light detection and ranging (LIDAR) device, comprising:
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a light emission and collection engine configured to rotate about an axis of rotation, the light emission and collection engine including, a plurality of light emitting elements each emitting a beam of illumination light from the LIDAR device at a different angle with respect to the axis of rotation, wherein at least one of the plurality of light emitting elements is configured to emit a beam of illumination light that is parallel or nearly parallel with the axis of rotation, wherein each beam of illumination light emitted from the light emission and collection engine illuminates a different spot of a three dimensional environment with a measurement pulse of illumination light; a plurality of light detecting elements each corresponding to one of the plurality of light emitting elements, wherein each of the plurality of light detecting elements detects an amount of the measurement pulse reflected from each different spot of the three dimensional environment illuminated by each corresponding beam of illumination light and generates an output signal indicative of the detected amount of light; a rotating electronics board having a planar surface arranged perpendicular to the axis of rotation, wherein the rotating electronics board rotates with the light emission and collection engine; and two or more intermediate electronics boards each coupled to the rotating electronics board such that a planar surface of each of the intermediate electronics boards is oriented perpendicular to the planar surface of the rotating electronics board, wherein the two or more intermediate electronics boards are mechanically and electrically coupled to the light emission and collection engine. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method comprising:
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emitting a plurality of beams of illumination light from a LIDAR device into a three dimensional environment over a range of angles that includes an axis of rotation of a plurality of light emitting elements of the LIDAR device, the plurality of beams of illumination light each illuminate a different spot of the three dimensional environment with a measurement pulse of illumination light; detecting the plurality of measurement pulses reflected from each different spot of the three dimensional environment illuminated by the plurality of beams of illumination light; generating a plurality of output signals each indicative of one of the plurality of reflected measurement pulses; converting each of the plurality of output signals to a digital signal; and determining a time of flight of each measurement pulse from the LIDAR device to each particular spot of the three dimensional environment and back to the LIDAR device based on each of the digital signals. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification