Three dimensional image capturing device and its laser emitting device

• US 7,116,371 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2004
• Issued: 10/03/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: PENTAX RICOH IMAGING COMPANY, LTD.
• Original Assignee: Pentax Corporation (Hoya Corporation)
• Inventors: Tani, Nobuhiro, Kakiuchi, Shinichi, Seo, Shuzo
• Primary Examiner(s): Ometz, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Nhan T.
• Application Number:
  US10/952,790
• Publication Number:
  US 20050041143A1
• Time in Patent Office: 733 Days
• Field of Search: 348/348, 396/109
• US Class Current: 348/348
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 3/08 Use of electric radiation detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/86 Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/894 3D imaging with simultaneous measurement of time-of-flight at a 2D array of receiver pixels, e.g. time-of-flight cameras or flash lidar
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4813 Housing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/486 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4863 Detector arrays, e.g. charge-transfer gates
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/207 using a single 2D image sensor

Abstract

A three-dimensional image capturing device comprises a plurality of laser devices, and an imaging device, such as a CCD, having a plurality of photo-diodes. Each of the laser devices radiates a pulse modulated laser beam so as to detect distance information or data relating to a topography of a measurement subject. The laser beam is radiated onto the measurement subject and a reflected light beam is sensed by the CCD. Signal charge corresponding to a distance from the image capturing device to the measurement subject is accumulated in each of the photo-diodes, and thus the above distance information is sensed. Each laser beam, respectively radiated from each of the laser devices, shares illuminating area at the distance of the measurement subject, so that radiant energy of each laser beam can be reduced by sharing a single distance measurement operation among the plurality of laser devices.

Claims

1. A laser emitting device applied in a three-dimensional image capturing device, comprising:

a plurality of laser devices that radiate pulse modulated laser beams irradiating a measurement subject for a distance measurement, said plurality of laser devices being separated into predetermined groups having plural laser devices; and

a laser emitting operating processor that controls said laser devices to radiate laser beams concurrently in each of said predetermined groups, wherein each laser device of said plurality of laser devices in each of said predetermined groups is disposed at predetermined intervals, each illuminating area of a laser beam radiated from said each laser device overlapping each other at a distance of said measurement subject, wherein each of said predetermined groups comprises a pair of laser devices that are disposed opposite each other with a center of a photographing lens in between.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein said each group of laser devices radiates laser beams at a different timing.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein said plurality of laser devices are disposed at regular intervals along a periphery of a photographing lens in a circular arrangement.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein at least one laser device of a predetermined group is disposed between said plural laser devices forming another predetermined group.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein a number of said plurality of laser devices is six.

6. A three-dimensional image capturing device, comprising:

a plurality of laser devices that radiate pulse modulated laser beams irradiating a measurement subject for a distance measurement, said plurality of laser devices being separated into predetermined groups having plural laser devices;

an imaging device that accumulates a signal charge corresponding to a quantity of light received at said imaging device;

a signal charge accumulation control processor that controls an accumulating operation of the signal charge generated in said imaging device due to a reflected light beam of said laser beam, which is reflected by said measurement subject;

a signal charge integrating processor that repeatedly drives said signal charge accumulation control processor, so that said signal charge accumulated in said imaging device is integrated; and

a laser emitting operating processor that controls said laser devices to radiate laser beams concurrently in each of said predetermined groups, wherein each of said laser devices in each of said predetermined groups is disposed at predetermined intervals, each illuminating area of said laser beam radiated from said each laser device overlapping each other at the distance of said measurement subject, wherein each of said predetermined groups comprises a pair of laser devices that are disposed opposite each other with a center of a photographing lens in between.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein said each group of laser devices radiates laser beams at a different timing.

8. The device of claim 6, wherein said plurality of laser devices is disposed at regular intervals along a periphery of a photographing lens in circular arrangement.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein at least one laser device of a predetermined group is disposed between said plural laser devices forming another predetermined group.