Time-of-flight camera with guided light
First Claim
1. A gaming system comprising:
- a game console including a first controller; and
a time-of-flight 3D camera for illuminating a camera field of view and capturing return image light reflected by an object in the camera field of view, the time-of-flight 3D camera operatively connected to the game console for calculating a distance measurement of the object, the time-of-flight 3D camera comprising;
a light source configured to emit source light along an optical axis;
a collimator configured to receive and collimate the source light to create collimated light;
a refractive diffuser that is operable to be tuned to the camera field of view and configured to receive and diffuse the collimated light to create refracted light, wherein the refracted light has a varying intensity profile that is characterized by an intensity (I) that becomes lower toward the optical axis and higher away from the optical axis, the refractive diffuser configured to guide the refracted light to illuminate only a portion of the camera field of view to reduce wasted source light, wherein the intensity (I) of the refracted light increases as an angle θ
between the refracted light and the optical axis increases; and
a light collector having a photosensitive surface configured to receive the return image light to be used for calculating the distance measurement of the object.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A gaming system comprising a time-of-flight 3D camera and related method for illuminating a camera field of view and capturing return image light are disclosed herein. In one example, the time-of-flight 3D camera includes a light source configured to emit source light along an optical axis, and a collimator configured to receive and collimate the source light to create collimated light. A refractive diffuser is operable to be tuned to the camera field of view and configured to receive and diffuse the collimated light to create refracted light having a varying intensity profile. The refractive diffuser is further configured to guide the refracted light to illuminate only a portion of the camera field of view to reduce wasted source light.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A gaming system comprising:
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a game console including a first controller; and a time-of-flight 3D camera for illuminating a camera field of view and capturing return image light reflected by an object in the camera field of view, the time-of-flight 3D camera operatively connected to the game console for calculating a distance measurement of the object, the time-of-flight 3D camera comprising; a light source configured to emit source light along an optical axis; a collimator configured to receive and collimate the source light to create collimated light; a refractive diffuser that is operable to be tuned to the camera field of view and configured to receive and diffuse the collimated light to create refracted light, wherein the refracted light has a varying intensity profile that is characterized by an intensity (I) that becomes lower toward the optical axis and higher away from the optical axis, the refractive diffuser configured to guide the refracted light to illuminate only a portion of the camera field of view to reduce wasted source light, wherein the intensity (I) of the refracted light increases as an angle θ
between the refracted light and the optical axis increases; anda light collector having a photosensitive surface configured to receive the return image light to be used for calculating the distance measurement of the object. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. In a time-of-flight 3D camera operatively connected to a game console, a method for illuminating a camera field of view and capturing return image light reflected by an object in the camera field of view, comprising:
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emitting source light from a light source along an optical axis of the camera; collimating the source light to create collimated light; diffusing the collimated light to create refracted light having a varying intensity profile that is characterized by an intensity (I) that becomes lower toward the optical axis and higher away from the optical axis, the intensity (I) of the refracted light increasing as an angle θ
between the refracted light and the optical axis increases;guiding the refracted light to illuminate only a portion of the camera field of view and reduce wasted source light; and receiving the return image light on a photosensitive surface of a light collector for calculating a distance measurement of the object. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A gaming system comprising:
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a game console including a first controller; and a time-of-flight 3D camera for illuminating a camera field of view and capturing return image light reflected by an object in the camera field of view, the time-of-flight 3D camera operatively connected to the game console for calculating a distance measurement of the object, the time-of-flight 3D camera comprising; a light source configured to emit source light along an optical axis; a collimator configured to receive and collimate the source light to create collimated light; a refractive diffuser that is operable to be tuned to the camera field of view and configured to receive and diffuse the collimated light to create refracted light, wherein the refracted light has a varying intensity profile that is characterized by an intensity (I) of the refracted light having a relationship to an angle θ
between the refracted light and the optical axis that is characterized by I=1/cos4 θ
, the refractive diffuser configured to guide the refracted light to illuminate the camera field of view to reduce wasted source light;a light collector having a photosensitive surface configured to receive the return image light and generate an input signal to be used for calculating the distance measurement of the object, wherein at least two features of the object are both in a planar field of view imaging surface or both in a spherical field of view imaging surface, the at least two features of the object are both characterized by a shared reflectance value, and a magnitude of an irradiance at the photosensitive surface is substantially equivalent for the return image light reflected by the at least two features of the object; and a second controller configured to process the input signal and generate an output signal based thereon that indicates a depth of the object in the camera field of view.
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Specification