OPTICAL SENSOR CHIP AND JAMMING PROTECTION DEVICE COMPRISING SUCH A CHIP

• US 20100108919A1
• Filed: 02/14/2008
• Published: 05/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Sofaly, Bernhard
• Application Number:
  US12/532,600
• Publication Number:
  US 20100108919A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 250/552
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/443 specially adapted for vehicle windows or roofs
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2900/55 Windows
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/30 the beams of light being detected by photocells
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/04 Systems determining the presence of a target
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 2203/14 for the transfer of light or images, e.g. for video-surveillance, for television or from a computer screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/22 including jamming detection and monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/68 using passive jamming, e.g. by shielding or reflection shielding of apparatus or components against electric or magnetic field H05K9/00

Abstract

An optical sensor chip, especially for an optical jamming protection device has a one-dimensional or two-dimensional array of photo-sensitive elements, especially photodiodes, a number of pre-processing switching circuits for respectively processing a detection signal of each element, and a programmable interface between the array and the pre-processing switching circuits, a pre-processing switching circuit being associable with each element by the interface. An optical jamming protection device has an emitter unit which is designed in such a way as to emit radiation in a spatial area, a detector unit for detecting a radiation field from the spatial area, and a control unit designed to identify an obstacle in a pre-determined monitoring region in the spatial area, by evaluating output signals of the detector unit. To this end, the detector unit comprises an above-mentioned sensor chip.

Claims

1. An optical sensor chip,

a one- or two-dimensional array of photosensitive elements,

a number of pre-processing circuits for processing a detection signal for a respective element, and

a programmable interface between the array and the pre-processing circuits, a pre-processing circuit being assignable to each element by means of the interface.

2. The sensor chip claim 1,

wherein

the array of photosensitive elements is two-dimensional,

the number of pre-processing circuits corresponds to the number of rows or the number of columns in the array, and

an element from a row or column of the array is assignable to one correlation circuit, respectively.

3. An optical anti-trap device, comprising:

an emitter unit which is set up to emit radiation into a spatial region,

a detector unit comprising a sensor chip according to claim 1 which is set up to detect a radiation field from the spatial region, and

a control unit which is embodied to detect an obstacle in a predefined monitored area in the spatial region by evaluating output signals of the detector unit.

4. The anti-trap device according to claim 3,

wherein the detector unit comprises a mapping optical system preceding the sensor chip in the direction of incidence of light.

5. The anti-trap device according to claim 3,

wherein the control unit is embodied for pulsed control of the emitter unit.

6. The anti-trap device according to claim 3,

wherein the emitter unit comprises at least one of a number of light-emitting diodes and a number of laser diodes.

7. The anti-trap device according to claim 3,

wherein the emitter unit comprises an optical system for forming an essentially fan-shaped beam.

8. The anti-trap device according to claim 3,

wherein, to detect an obstacle in the monitored area, the control unit is embodied to detect a spatially inhomogeneous change over time in the intensity of the radiation field on the basis of a comparison of the output signals of different photosensitive elements of the array.

9. The optical sensor chip according to claim 1, wherein the photosensitive elements are photodiodes.

10. The anti-trap device according to claim 3,

wherein the emitter unit comprises a lens with locally cylindrical surface shape.

11. An method for operating an optical sensor chip, comprising the steps of:

providing a one- or two-dimensional array of photosensitive elements,

processing a detection signal for a respective element by a number of pre-processing circuits, and

assigning a pre-processing circuit to each element by means of a programmable interface arranged between the array and the pre-processing circuits.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein

the array of photosensitive elements is two-dimensional,

the number of pre-processing circuits corresponds to the number of rows or the number of columns in the array, and wherein

an element from a row or column of the array is assignable to one correlation circuit, respectively.

13. A method of operating an anti-trap device using the method for operating an optical sensor chip according to claim 11, comprising the steps of:

emitting radiation into a spatial region by an emitter unit,

detect a radiation field from the spatial region by said method for operating an optical sensor chip, and

evaluating output signals from said method for operating an optical sensor chip to detect an obstacle in a predefined monitored area in the spatial region.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising the step of:

providing a mapping optical system preceding the sensor chip in the direction of incidence of light.

15. The method according to claim 13,

wherein the radiation is emitted through a pulsed control of the emitter unit.

16. The method according to claim 13,

wherein the emitter unit comprises at least one of a number of light-emitting diodes and a number of laser diodes.

17. The method according to claim 13,

wherein the emitter unit comprises an optical system for forming an essentially fan-shaped beam.

18. The method according to claim 13,

wherein, to detect an obstacle in the monitored area, the method comprises the step of detecting a spatially inhomogeneous change over time in the intensity of the radiation field on the basis of a comparison of the output signals of different photosensitive elements of the array.

19. The method according to claim 11, wherein the photosensitive elements are photodiodes.

20. The method according to claim 13,

wherein the emitter unit comprises a lens with locally cylindrical surface shape.