System architecture design for time-of-flight system having reduced differential pixel size, and time-of-flight systems so designed
First Claim
1. A method for determining depth information associated with an object, comprising:
- detecting light reflected from the object during a first operating regime using a pixel array, the pixel array includes one or more photodetectors in electrical communication with an integration capacitor, the integration capacitor is associated with a first direction of integration during the first operation regime;
sampling a first set of intermediate values associated with the integration capacitor and transferring the first set of intermediate values to digital circuitry located outside the pixel array during the first operating regime;
detecting light reflected from the object during a second operating regime subsequent to the first operating regime using the pixel array, the integration capacitor is associated with a second direction of integration different from the first direction of integration during the second operation regime;
sampling a second set of intermediate values associated with the integration capacitor and transferring the second set of intermediate values to the digital circuitry located outside the pixel array during the second operating regime;
determining the depth information associated the object based on the first set of intermediate values and the second set of intermediate values using the digital circuitry located outside the pixel array, the integration capacitor is not reset during or between the first operating regime and the second operating regime; and
outputting the depth information associated the object from the digital circuitry.
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Abstract
Embodiments of the present invention provide methods to produce a high performance, feature rich TOF system, phase-based or otherwise using small TOF pixels, single-ended or preferably differential, as well as TOF systems so designed. IC chip area required for pixels is reduced by intelligently off-loading or removing from within the pixel certain components and/or functionality. In some embodiments during a single TOF system capture period, analog values from each pixel are repeatedly sampled and converted to digital values, which are combined and manipulated on the sensor chip. Combining this plurality of values enables appropriately compact data from the sensor chip. Embodiments of the present invention implement a TOF system with high ambient light resilience, high dynamic range, low motion blur and dealiasing support, while advantageously reducing pixel area size relative to prior art TOF pixels.
201 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for determining depth information associated with an object, comprising:
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detecting light reflected from the object during a first operating regime using a pixel array, the pixel array includes one or more photodetectors in electrical communication with an integration capacitor, the integration capacitor is associated with a first direction of integration during the first operation regime; sampling a first set of intermediate values associated with the integration capacitor and transferring the first set of intermediate values to digital circuitry located outside the pixel array during the first operating regime; detecting light reflected from the object during a second operating regime subsequent to the first operating regime using the pixel array, the integration capacitor is associated with a second direction of integration different from the first direction of integration during the second operation regime; sampling a second set of intermediate values associated with the integration capacitor and transferring the second set of intermediate values to the digital circuitry located outside the pixel array during the second operating regime; determining the depth information associated the object based on the first set of intermediate values and the second set of intermediate values using the digital circuitry located outside the pixel array, the integration capacitor is not reset during or between the first operating regime and the second operating regime; and outputting the depth information associated the object from the digital circuitry. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. One or more processor readable storage devices containing processor readable code for programming one or more processors to perform a method for determining depth information associated with a moving object comprising the steps of:
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detecting light reflected from the moving object during a first operating regime using a pixel array, the pixel array includes a first pixel detector in electrical communication with an integration capacitor, the integration capacitor is associated with a first direction of integration during the first operation regime; sampling a first set of intermediate values associated with the integration capacitor during the first operating regime; detecting light reflected from the moving object during a second operating regime subsequent to the first operating regime using the pixel array, the integration capacitor is associated with a second direction of integration different from the first direction of integration during the second operation regime; sampling a second set of intermediate values associated with the integration capacitor during the second operating regime; determining the depth information associated with the moving object based on the first set of intermediate values and the second set of intermediate values, the pixel array is not reset during the first operating regime or the second operating regime, the pixel array is not reset between the first operating regime and the second operating regime; and outputting the depth information associated with the moving object. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. A time-of-flight system for determining depth information associated with an object, comprising:
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a pixel array, the pixel array to detect light during a first operating regime reflected from the object, the pixel array includes a first pixel detector for electrical communication with an integration capacitor, the integration capacitor is associated with a first direction of integration during the first operation regime, the pixel array to detect light during a second operating regime subsequent to the first operating regime reflected from the object, the integration capacitor is associated with a second direction of integration different from the first direction of integration during the second operation regime, the integration capacitor is not reset during or between the first operating regime and the second operating regime; and digital circuitry to communicate with the pixel array, the digital circuitry to receive a sampling of a first set of intermediate values associated with the integration capacitor during the first operating regime, the digital circuitry receives a sampling of a second set of intermediate values associated with the integration capacitor during the second operating regime, the digital circuitry to determine the depth information associated with the object based on the first set of intermediate values and the second set of intermediate values. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification