Distance measuring apparatus and distance measuring method
First Claim
1. A distance measuring apparatus comprising:
- an image acquisition section for imaging reflected light which has been emitted from the apparatus, has passed through a slit, and has then been reflected off a surface of a target object to be measured;
an emission control section for controlling an emission time of the light which is emitted and passes through the slit during a time an image is being scanned by the image acquisition section, and for changing an intensity of the received light in the image acquisition section; and
a distance calculation section for calculating the distance to the object based on the image taken by the image acquisition section by referring to a positional relationship between a light emission position of the light passing through the slit and an image position.
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Abstract
A distance measuring apparatus is provided which utilizes a light-section method capable of measuring both close objects and far away objects without adjusting the dynamic range of an imaging camera. The apparatus comprises: an image acquisition section for imaging reflected light which has been emitted from the apparatus, has passed through a slit, and has then been reflected off the surface of a target object; an emission control section for controlling the emission time of the slit light during the time an image is being scanned by the image acquisition section, and for changing the intensity of the received light in the image acquisition section; and a distance calculation section for calculating the distance to the object based on the image taken by the image acquisition section and a positional relationship between a light emission position of the slit light and an image position.
21 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A distance measuring apparatus comprising:
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an image acquisition section for imaging reflected light which has been emitted from the apparatus, has passed through a slit, and has then been reflected off a surface of a target object to be measured;
an emission control section for controlling an emission time of the light which is emitted and passes through the slit during a time an image is being scanned by the image acquisition section, and for changing an intensity of the received light in the image acquisition section; and
a distance calculation section for calculating the distance to the object based on the image taken by the image acquisition section by referring to a positional relationship between a light emission position of the light passing through the slit and an image position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. The distance measuring method comprising the steps of:
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emitting light which has passed through a slit onto a target object to be measured;
imaging light reflected by the object by an imaging section;
based on the obtained image, measuring a distance to the object by referring to a positional relationship between a light emission position of the light which has passed through the slit and an image position; and
when the light passed through the slit is projected onto the object, varying an emission time of the light passed through the slit within a time period during which the imaging section scans the image. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
pixels of a lower brightness than a predetermined second threshold value are removed from the obtained images to generates images for a timing in which a relatively weak light is being projected; and
the distance is measured based on the generated images.
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11. The distance measuring method according to claim 8, wherein the emission time is determined so that a brightness distribution of the light reflected by the object is uniform based on the obtained image.
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12. The distance measuring method according to claim 8, wherein the intensity of the light reflected by the object is changed at a scanning period by changing the emission time in synchronization with a scanning period.
Specification