Device and method of optical range imaging

US11366230B2 · kind B2 · utility

Inventors

• Ralph Spickermann · Redwood City, US
• Srinath Kalluri · Aliso Viejo, US
• Siddharth Jain · Survanagiri, IN

Key dates

• Filing date: May 30, 2019
• Grant date: Jun 21, 2022
• Expiry date: Oct 28, 2040

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01S17/931
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

An optical device creates 3D images comprising a field of points, each point comprising horizontal, vertical, and distance metrics. The device comprises an illumination subsystem, comprising light sources, such as LEDs, a non-resonant beam steering element such as a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMs) mirror, beam-shaping optics, a beam director plate, and a diffuser. The device also comprises an imaging subsystem with one or more optical detector chips that measure time-of-flight (TOF). Devices may dynamically and sequentially images solid-angle sub-regions of interest, in an arbitrary order, out of a total FOV, using eye-safe illumination. The corresponding received image portions are stitched together. The beam steering element is non-resonant, allowing arbitrary and rapid changes to its pointing vector. Beam shaping optics generates rectangular solid-angle illumination. One detector chip integrates light from one sub-region while another chip is reads out image data.