Lens system

• US 9,229,107 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2014
• Issued: 01/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Longhorn Automotive Group LLC (Alpha Alpha Intellectual Partners LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intellectual Ventures Holding 81 LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Bell, Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): Stock, Jr., Gordon J
• Application Number:
  US14/458,566
• Publication Number:
  US 20140347495A1
• Time in Patent Office: 510 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/002 for measuring two or more coordinates
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/06 Systems determining position data of a target
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/66 Tracking systems using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 19/0066 in the form of an LED array
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 19/0085 for use with both a detector and a source , e.g. in a transceiver, G02B19/009, G02B19/0095 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 19/009 for use with infrared radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0006 Arrays G02B3/02, G02B5/188 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/08 with discontinuous faces, e.g. Fresnel lens diffractive Fresnel lenses G02B5/1876
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/33 Transforming infrared radiation cameras or camera modules for generating image signals from infrared radiation H04N23/20; circuitry of SSIS for transforming infrared radiation into image signals H04N25/20

Abstract

A fragmented lens system for creating an invisible light pattern useful to computer vision systems is disclosed. Random or semi-random dot patterns generated by the present system allow a computer to uniquely identify each patch of a pattern projected by a corresponding illuminator or light source. The computer may determine the position and distance of an object by identifying the illumination pattern on the object.

Claims

1. A system for transmitting a pattern of lights, the system comprising:

a cluster of lenses including a plurality of lenses; and

a condenser lens configured to;

receive the pattern of lights; and

concentrate each light in the pattern of lights toward a center of the cluster of lenses,

the cluster of lenses configured to;

receive concentrated pattern of lights from the condenser lens; and

concurrently focus and transmit each of the lights of the received concentrated pattern of lights in a plurality of directions.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the pattern of lights comprises infrared light that is detectable by a camera but not by an eye of a human observer interacting with an object illuminated by at least a portion of the lights transmitted from the cluster of lenses.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the condenser lens receives the pattern of lights from a light source.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the cluster of lenses includes a Fresnel lens.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the received pattern of lights is an irregular pattern.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein a first pattern of light transmitted by one of the lenses from the cluster of lenses overlaps with a second pattern of light transmitted by another of the lenses from the cluster of lenses.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the pattern of lights transmitted by the cluster of lenses is aperiodic along at least one dimension.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a camera configured to detect a pattern of light on an object illuminated by at least a portion of the lights transmitted from the cluster of lenses; and

a computing device configured to determine a location of the object in space based on at least the detected pattern of light on the object.

9. A method comprising:

concentrating, via a condenser lens, a plurality of lights arranged in a pattern towards a central location of a cluster of lenses including a plurality of lenses;

receiving the concentrated plurality of lights from the condenser lens at each of the plurality of lenses within the cluster of lenses; and

concurrently focusing, from the cluster of lenses, the concentrated and received plurality of lights in a plurality of directions.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said plurality of lights include infrared light that is not detectable by an eye of a human observer interacting with an object illuminated by at least a portion of the infrared light.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein said concentrating comprises concentrating the plurality of lights towards a center of the cluster of lenses including a Fresnel lens.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein light focused from the cluster of lenses comprises an irregular pattern.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein light focused from the cluster of lenses includes a first pattern of light overlapping with a second pattern of light.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein light focused from the cluster of lenses includes a pattern which is aperiodic along at least one dimension.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

detecting a pattern of light on an object illuminated by at least a portion of the focused plurality of lights; and

determining a location of the object in space based on at least the detected pattern of light on the object.

16. A system for transmitting a pattern of light, the system comprising:

a cluster of lenses, the cluster of lenses being configured to receive emitted light from each of a plurality of emitters and transmit a concentrated plurality of lights in a plurality of directions; and

a condenser lens located between said plurality of emitters and said cluster of lenses, the condenser lens concentrating light from each of the plurality of emitters towards a center of the cluster of lenses.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the plurality of emitters includes light emitting diodes configured to generate infrared light that is not detectable by an eye of a human observer.

18. The system of claim 16, further comprising a computing device configured to analyze images of a pattern formed by light projected from each of the emitters via the condenser lens and the cluster of lenses on an object to determine a location of the object in space based on at least the pattern of light on the object.