Automatic calibration technique for time of flight (TOF) transceivers

• US 8,274,037 B2
• Filed: 01/25/2011
• Issued: 09/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intersil Americas LLC (Renesas Electronics Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Intersil Americas LLC (Renesas Electronics Corporation)
• Inventors: Ritter, David W., Craddock, Carl Warren, Golden, Philip
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, SANG H
• Application Number:
  US13/013,173
• Publication Number:
  US 20110181892A1
• Time in Patent Office: 609 Days
• Field of Search: 356/3, 356/614, 356/213, 356/228, 356/229, 250/214.1, 250/214.A, 250/241.R, 250/338.1, 324/76.77
• US Class Current: 250/214.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/46 using a capacitor
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 9/00 Measuring optical phase difference devices or arrangements for controlling the phase of light beams G02F1/01; Determining degree of coherence; Measuring optical wavelength spectrometry G01J3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/55 Specular reflectivity
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/08 for measuring distance only indirect measurement G01S17/46; active triangulation systems G01S17/48
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/101 Devices sensitive to infrared, visible or ultraviolet radiation

Abstract

A system and method for automatically calibrating a Time-of-Flight (TOF) transceiver system for proximity/motion detection, is provided. Moreover, the system comprises a component that senses a signal (e.g., current or voltage) at an light emitting diode (LED), an attenuator, a signal injector at a sensor and a switching circuit that toggles between a normal mode (e.g., when signal from the sensor is input to the sensor front end) and a calibration mode (e.g., when signal from the attenuator is input to the sensor front end). During the calibration mode, the sensor front end identifies the phase delay error within the signal path, including board and/or package parasitic, and accounts for the phase delay error during proximity/motion detection in the normal mode.

Claims

1. A method for use in calibrating a system that includes

a driver configured to produce a drive signal that can be used to drive a light emitting element with the drive signal to thereby cause a light signal to be emitted,

an optical sensor configured to produce a sensor signal that is indicative of a portion of the light signal that reflects from one or more objects and is incident on the optical sensor, and

circuitry configured to produce at least one of a time and phase delay measurement based on a sensor signal produced by the optical sensor, wherein the at least one of the time and phase delay measurement can be used to determine at least one of a distance and presence of one or more objects relative to the optical sensor;

the method comprising;

(a) during a calibration mode,

(a.1) using the driver to produce a drive signal;

(a.2) providing a version of the drive signal to the circuitry configured to produce the at least one of the time and phase delay measurement; and

(a.3) using the circuitry configured to produce the at least one of the time and phase delay measurement to determine the at least one of the time and phase delay introduced by the system; and

(b) during an operational mode, using the at least one of the time and phase delay introduced by the system, as determined during the calibration mode, to calibrate at least one of an actual time and phase delay measurement that is made by the circuitry configured to produce at least one of the time and phase delay measurement.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) includes, during the operational mode:

(b.1) using the driver to produce a drive signal that drives a light emitting element to thereby cause a light signal to be emitted;

(b.2) using the optical sensor to produce a sensor signal that is indicative of a portion of the light signal that reflects from one or more objects and is incident on the optical sensor;

(b.3) producing the at least one of the actual time and phase delay measurement based on the sensor signal; and

(b.4) using the at least one of the time and phase delay introduced by the system, as determined at step (a.3), to calibrate the at least one of the actual time and phase delay measurement produced at step (b.3).

3. The method of claim 2, wherein step (b.4) comprises correcting the at least one of the actual time and phase delay measurement produced at step (b.3) to account for the at least one of the time and phase delay introduced by the system as determined at step (a.3).

4. The method of claim 2, wherein step (b.4) comprises subtracting the at least one of the time and phase delay introduced by the system, as determined at step (a.3), from the at least one of the actual time and phase delay measurement produced at step (b.3).

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

step (a.1) includes using the driver to produce a drive signal having a same power and amplitude as is produced during the operational mode; and

step (a.2) includes attenuating the drive signal produced by the driver, or a sensed version thereof, to thereby produce an attenuated version of the drive signal, and providing the attenuated version of the drive signal to the circuitry configured to produce the at least one of the time and phase delay measurement.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

step (a.1) includes using the driver to produce a drive signal having a reduced at least one of power and amplitude compared to a drive signal produced during the operational mode; and

step (a.2) includes providing the drive signal having the reduced at least one of power and amplitude, or a sensed version thereof, to the circuitry configured to produce the at least one of the time and/or and phase delay measurement.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the circuitry configured to produce the at least one of the time and phase delay measurement includes front end circuitry.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the front end circuitry includes one or more amplifiers, one or more filters, and one or more demodulators, each of which can cause a delay that can contribute to the at least one of the time and phase delay introduced by the system.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the circuitry configured to produce the at least one of the time and phase delay measurement also includes an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and a digital signal processor (DSP).

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

(c) detecting the at least one of the distance and presence of one or more objects relative to the optical sensor based on the calibrated at least one of the time and phase delay measurement.

11. A system, comprising:

a driver configured to produce a drive signal that can be used to drive a light emitting element to thereby cause a light signal to be emitted;

an optical sensor configured to produce a sensor signal that is indicative of a portion of the light signal that reflects from one or more objects and is incident on the optical sensor; and

circuitry configured to produce at least one of a time and phase delay measurement based on the sensor signal produced by the optical sensor, wherein the at least one of the time and phase delay measurement can be used to determine at least one of a distance and presence of one or more objects relative to the optical sensor;

wherein the system can operate in a calibration mode and an operational mode;

wherein during the calibration mode,

the driver produces a drive signal;

the circuitry configured to produce the at least one of the time and phase delay measurement receives a version of the drive signal, and based thereon, determines the at least one of the time and phase delay introduced by the system; and

wherein during the operational mode,

the circuitry configured to produce the at least one of the time and phase delay measurement uses the at least one of the time and phase delay introduced by the system, as determined during the calibration mode, to calibrate at least one of an actual time and phase delay measurement that is made by the circuitry.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein during the operational mode:

the driver produces a drive signal that drives a light emitting element to thereby cause a light signal to be emitted;

the optical sensor produces the sensor signal that is indicative of a portion of the light signal that reflects from one or more objects and is incident on the optical sensor;

and

the circuitry configured to produce the at least one of the time and phase delay measurement produces the at least one of the actual time and phase delay measurement based on the sensor signal, and calibrates the at least one of the actual time and phase delay measurement based on the at least one of the time and phase delay introduced by the system, as determined during the calibration mode.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein during the operational mode:

the circuitry configured to produce the at least one of the time and phase delay measurement calibrates the at least one of the actual time and phase delay measurement by correcting the at least one of the actual time and phase delay measurement to account for the at least one of the time and phase delay introduced by the system, as determined during the calibration mode.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein during the operational mode:

the circuitry configured to produce the at least one of the time and phase delay measurement calibrates the at least one of the actual time and phase delay measurement by subtracting the at least one of a time and/or and phase delay introduced by the system, as determined during the calibration mode, from the at least one of the actual time and phase delay measurement.

15. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

an attenuator;

wherein during the calibration mode

the drive signal produced by the driver has a same power and amplitude as is produced during the operational mode; and

the attenuator attenuates the drive signal produced by the driver, or a sensed version thereof, to thereby produce an attenuated version of the drive signal that is provided to the circuitry configured to produce the at least one of the time and phase delay measurement.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein during the calibration mode:

the drive signal produced by the driver has a reduced at least one of power and amplitude compared to the drive signal produced during the operational mode; and

the drive signal having the reduced at least one of power and amplitude, or a sensed version thereof, is provided to the circuitry configured to produce the at least one of the time and phase delay measurement.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the circuitry configured to produce the at least one of the time and phase delay measurement includes front end circuitry.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the front end circuitry includes one or more amplifiers, one or more filters, and one or more demodulators, each of which can cause a delay that can contribute to the at least one of the time and phase delay introduced by the system.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the circuitry configured to produce the at least one of the time and phase delay measurement also includes an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and a digital signal processor (DSP).

20. The system of claim 19, wherein, during the operational mode, the DSP is configured to detect the at least one of the distance and presence of one or more objects relative to the optical sensor based on at least one of a calibrated time and phase delay measurement.