Patent · US Active

Increased dynamic range for time-of-flight (ToF) lidar systems

US11536812B2 · kind B2 · utility

0Cited by

5References

20Claims

0Family size

Assignee

APTIV TECHNOLOGIES AG · BB

Inventors

Geng Fu · Clifton Park, US
Chenghui Hao · Kokomo, US
Denis Rainko · Essen, DE
Ali Haddadpour · Boston, US
Roman Dietz · Berlin, DE

Key dates

Filing date	Jun 23, 2020
Grant date	Dec 27, 2022
Priority date	—
Expiry date	Apr 24, 2041

Classification

Technology area (CPC G)Physics
CPC primaryG01S17/931
WIPO fieldMeasurement
WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

This document describes techniques and systems to increase the dynamic range of time-of-flight (ToF) lidar systems. The described lidar system adjusts, based on the energy of a first return pulse, the bias voltage of a photodetector for other return pulses of the object pixel. The bias voltage can be adjusted down for highly-reflective or close-range objects. Similarly, the bias voltage can be increased for low-reflectivity or long-range objects. The ability of the described lidar system to adjust the bias voltage of the photodetector for each object pixel increases the dynamic range of the lidar system without additional hardware or a complex readout. The increased dynamic range allows the described lidar system to maintain a long-range capability, while accurately measuring return-pulse intensity for detecting close-range or highly-reflective objects.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.