Range detecting method and apparatus
First Claim
1. A method of detecting a range of an object comprising the steps of:
- (a) deriving first and second images of said object along different sight lines;
(b) electrically sensing said first and second images to produce an electrical analog signal for each image element of said first and second images;
(c) quantizing said electrical analog signal to produce quantized data for each image element of the first and second images;
(d) storing the quantized data on N successive elements of the first image and successively storing, on one set-by-set basis, the quantized data on each of a plurality of different sets of N successive elements of the second image;
(e) comparing the stored quantized data on said set of the N successive elements of the second image with the stored quantized data on the N successive elements of the first image at every time the quantized data on a set of the N successive elements of the second image are stored;
(f) detecting, through said comparison process, a set of the N successive elements of the second image which can be regarded as being substantially identical with the N successive elements of the first image; and
(g) determining the range of the object on the basis of a location, within the second image, of said set of the N successive elements of the second image which has been regarded as being substantially identical with the N successive elements of the first image through said detection process.
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Abstract
A range detecting method and apparatus of a construction, in which first and second images of an object to be formed by a range finding optical system with a relative positional parallax corresponding to the object distance are scanned purely electrically by the use of one or more photo-sensor arrays, then analog image element signals concerning these first and second images obtained at this time are sequentially converted into two-value signals, after which the two-value signals are stored, as inputs, in first and second digital storing device where the coincidence and non-coincidence of these digital image scanning signals stored in these first and second storing devices are detected by means of a coincidence detecting device, while one of these image scanning signals are relatively shifted bit by bit with respect to other image scanning signals, and the shift bit quantities required until the digital image scanning signals of the same bit numbers concerning these first and second images may become optimumly coincided, thereby finding out the object distance from the shift bit quantities.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method of detecting a range of an object comprising the steps of:
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(a) deriving first and second images of said object along different sight lines; (b) electrically sensing said first and second images to produce an electrical analog signal for each image element of said first and second images; (c) quantizing said electrical analog signal to produce quantized data for each image element of the first and second images; (d) storing the quantized data on N successive elements of the first image and successively storing, on one set-by-set basis, the quantized data on each of a plurality of different sets of N successive elements of the second image; (e) comparing the stored quantized data on said set of the N successive elements of the second image with the stored quantized data on the N successive elements of the first image at every time the quantized data on a set of the N successive elements of the second image are stored; (f) detecting, through said comparison process, a set of the N successive elements of the second image which can be regarded as being substantially identical with the N successive elements of the first image; and (g) determining the range of the object on the basis of a location, within the second image, of said set of the N successive elements of the second image which has been regarded as being substantially identical with the N successive elements of the first image through said detection process. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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2. An apparatus for detecting the range of an object comprising:
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(a) optical means arranged to form first and second images of said object along different sight lines; (b) image sensing means arranged to receive said first and second images to produce an electrical analog signal for each image element of said first and second images; (c) quantization means for quantizing said electrical analog signal to produce quantized data for each image element of said first and second images; (d) data storing means adapted to store the quantized data on N successive elements of said first image and to successively store, on one set-by-set basis, the quantized data on a plurality of different sets of N successive elements of said second image; (e) comparison means for comparing the stored quantized data on said set of the N successive elements of the second image with the stored quanitzed data on the N successive elements of the first image at every time the quantized data on a set of the N successive elements of the second image are stored in said data storing means; (f) detection means for detecting, based on an output from said comparison means, a set of the N successive elements of the second image which can be regarded as being substantially identical with the N successive elements of the first image; and (g) range determination means for determining the range of the object on the basis of a location, within the second image, of said set of the N successive elements of the second image which has been regarded as being substantially identical with the N successive elements of the first image by said detection means. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification