Methods for calculating distance using depth sensor and apparatuses performing the same

• US 9,823,067 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2014
• Issued: 11/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Min, Dong Ki, Kim, Wang Hyun, Jung, Sun Hwa, Kim, Tae Chan, Jung, Hye Kyoung
• Primary Examiner(s): Ratcliffe, Luke
• Application Number:
  US14/448,673
• Publication Number:
  US 20150070684A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,209 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 3/08 Use of electric radiation detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/32 using transmission of continuous waves, whether amplitude-, frequency-, or phase-modulated, or unmodulated
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/89 for mapping or imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4914 of detector arrays, e.g. charge-transfer gates

Abstract

A method of calculating, using a depth sensor, a distance excluding an ambiguity distance including outputting a modulated light signal output from a light source to an object, receiving the modulated light signal reflected by the object, calculating a distance between the light source and the object using the reflected modulated light signal input to photo gates in conjunction with demodulation signals supplied to the photo gates, the calculating including calculating, using the modulated light signal, at least one distance farther than a maximum measurable distance, and setting the at least one distance to be equal to the maximum measurable distance may be provided. A range of the distance farther than the maximum measurable distance can be determined according to a duty ratio of the modulated light signal.

Claims

1. A method of calculating, using a depth sensor, a distance excluding an ambiguity distance, the method comprising:

outputting a modulated light signal output from a light source to an object;

receiving a modulated light signal input from the object, the modulate light signal input being the modulated light signal output reflected by the object;

calculating a distance between the light source and the object using the modulated light signal input to photo gates in conjunction with demodulation signals supplied to the photo gates, the calculating including calculating, using the modulated light signal input, at least one distance farther than a maximum measurable distance; and

setting the at least one distance farther than the maximum measurable distance to be equal to the maximum measurable distance to remove the ambiguity distance.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a range of the distance farther than the maximum measurable distance is determined according to a duty ratio of the modulated light signal input.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a duty ratio of each of the demodulation signals and the modulated light signal input is determined to be 1/(2n), where n is a natural number.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the maximum measurable distance is determined according to Dmax=c/(2f),

where Dmax is the maximum measurable distance, c is a speed of light, and f is a frequency of the modulated light signal input.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein

the at least one distance farther than the maximum measurable distance includes a plurality of farther distances, and

the calculating calculates a distance of a first region among the farther distances as a distance equal to the maximum measurable distance and calculates a distance of a second region among the farther distances as a distance equal to or less than the maximum measurable distance.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first region and the second region are periodically repeated.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a depth image based on results of the setting on a display.

7. An image processing system comprising:

a light source configured to output a modulated light signal to an object;

a depth sensor pixel configured to output a pixel signal using demodulation signals and the modulated light signal reflected by the object;

a readout circuit configured to output image data corresponding to the pixel signal; and

an image signal processor configured to calculate a distance between the light source and the object based on the image data, the image signal processor configured to calculate, using the modulated light signal, at least one distance farther than a maximum measurable distance to be a distance equal to the maximum measurable distance.

8. The image processing system of claim 7, wherein a range of the distance farther than the maximum measurable distance is determined according to a duty ratio of the modulated light signal.

9. The image processing system of claim 7, wherein a duty ratio of each of the modulated light signal and the demodulation signals is determined to be 1/(2n), where n is a natural number.

10. The image processing system of claim 7, wherein the maximum measurable distance is determined according to Dmax=c/(2f), and

where Dmax is the maximum measurable distance, c is a speed of light, and f is a frequency of the modulated light signal.

11. The image processing system of claim 7, wherein the at least one distance farther than the maximum measurable distance includes a plurality of farther distances, and

the image signal processor calculates a distance of a first region among the farther distances as a distance equal to the maximum measurable distance and calculates a distance of a second region among the farther distances as a distance equal to or less than the maximum measurable distance, and

the first region and the second region are periodically repeated.

12. The image processing system of claim 7, wherein the depth sensor pixel and the readout circuit are embodied in a first chip, and the image signal processor is embodied in a second chip.

13. The image processing system of claim 12, wherein the first chip and the second chip are packaged into one package.

15. A method of calculating a distance using a depth sensor comprising:

outputting a modulated light signal output from a light source to an object;

receiving, using an image sensor, a modulated light signal input from the object, the modulate light signal input being the modulated light signal output reflected by the object;

generating, using the image sensor, image data in conjunction with demodulation signals; and

processing, using an image signal processor, the image data to calculate a measured distance between the light source and the object such that at least one distance farther than a maximum measurable distance is set to be equal to a maximum measurable distance.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein

a duty ratio of the modulated light signal input and each of the demodulation signals is determined to be 1/(2n), where n is a natural number, and

a range of the distance farther than the maximum measurable distance is determined according to the duty ratio of the modulated light signal.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the maximum measurable distance is determined according to Dmax=c/(2f), where Dmax is the maximum measurable distance, c is a speed of light, and f is a frequency of the modulated light signal input.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the processing includes dividing the measured distance normalized by the maximum measurable distance into a plurality of sections using at least one correlation function, the correlation function derived from a difference between two pixel signals associated with one sub pixel of a unit pixel of the image sensor.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the processing includes determining a corresponding section by comparing a value of the correlation function with respect to a reference value.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

displaying a depth image based on results of the processing on a display.