Microsecond time of flight (μTOF) sensor
US11994627B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 13, 2020 |
| Grant date | May 28, 2024 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 12, 2043 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01S17/87
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An example μTOF is a flexible, small, sensor unit that uses modulated light to measure distance. The architecture of the sensor allows for many use cases. Use cases include the classic single emitter, single detector topology, but also include capability for operability as a full multi-input, multi-output (MIMO) system. In a MIMO configuration, the emitters and detectors can be arranged in a configuration similar to an RF antenna array or any number of other configurations from a single emitter/detector pair to vast dispersions of emitters and detectors. By coding the signal output by each emitter with a unique pseudo-noise (PN) or similar sequence, reflected signals received at the detector can be separated from each other, providing path distances between each emitter-detector pair. Given the robustness and noise immunity of PN sequences, this approach works well even with signal levels well below the noise floor. Using the measured path distances from each sensor to each emitter, the locations of objects in the scene can be extracted by triangulation.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.