JP2001004367A - Distance measurement computing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To heighten the accuracy and speed of distance measurement without increasing the scale of an arithmetic circuit in such a way that the number of pieces of corresponding pixel data to be housed in memory is 256 pieces when the number of pixels for every one line sensor is increased, for example, to 1024 pieces in a device for transmitting exposure data to the memory of a distance detecting part corresponding to a pair of line sensors for every cycle of exposure from a light receiving means provided with image sensors comprised of a pair of line sensors above the image forming plane of a pair of lenses and measuring distances within the visual field of each line sensor. SOLUTION: For measuring distances in the area of the whole angle of visibility of line sensors, a data processing part 100 first converts four pixels of exposure data S20 by averaging, etc., into one pixel of data to form 256 pieces of data for every one line sensor. Then by transmitting the data to a distance detecting part, a part 90A for extracting an object of distance measurement obtains the location of a partial angle of visibility in which the object is present within the whole angle of visibility and transmits location information S90F to a processing part 100. Then the processing part 100 selects the 256 pieces of data for every line sensor on the location of the partial angle of visibility from the exposure data S20 and transmits it to the distance detecting part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention detects the distance of an object such as a preceding vehicle existing in the field of view of an image sensor from a pair of light intensity data by at least one image sensor for preventing collision of the vehicle. This is a distance measuring arithmetic device suitable for performing a distance measuring operation without increasing the scale and operating frequency of a distance measuring arithmetic circuit in an integrated circuit, particularly while increasing the density of optical sensors (pixels) of an image sensor. The present invention relates to a distance measurement arithmetic device that achieves both improvement and speed-up of distance measurement time.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an autofocus camera, a technique is known in which a pair of image sensors is used to capture a subject as an object and accurately detect the distance to the target from the so-called optical parallax of the pair of images. In the case of a camera, it is customary to detect the distance of an object captured in front of the viewfinder. -1
No. 41311 is disclosed by the present applicant.
Hereinafter, the outline will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1, a pair of lenses 11 and 12 are provided.
Are arranged at a so-called base line length b, and detect a distance d to a target 1 as a subject in a direction of an angle θ when viewed from the midpoint of the base line length b.

Each of the light-receiving elements 21 and 22 has a plurality of photosensors such as photodiodes, each of which is a pixel, arranged in a line, and the amount of light received by each photosensor (also referred to as light intensity data, video data, pixel data, and sensor data). Are a pair of image sensors composed of a so-called CCD linear sensor array configured to be read out in a shift register form by a CCD element attached to each optical sensor.

[0005] The image sensors 21 and 22 are located at a position separated from the corresponding lenses 11 and 12 by a focal length f, and images I1 and I2 of the object 1 are placed on the lenses 1 and 12 respectively.
1 and 12 form images via different optical paths L1 and L2, respectively.

Now, assuming that the object 1 is located at the point at infinity, the images I1 and I2 are imaged at positions P1 and P2 inclined by an angle θ from the optical axes of the lenses 11 and 12, but the object 1 is finite. At the distance d, the images I1 and I2 are formed at positions shifted from these reference positions P1 and P2 by σ1 and σ2, respectively. If σ = σ1 + σ2, the distance d of the object 1 is expressed by the following equation irrespective of the angle θ from the principle of triangulation.

[0007]

D = bf / σ (1) Here, since the base line length b and the focal length f are constants, if the sum σ of the shifts of the images I1 and I2 from the positions P1 and P2 corresponding to the angle θ is detected, the distance becomes d is obtained. Note that the distance d is actually
Is used as the index instead of. Object 1
If the origin at which the angle θ indicating the direction is taken is the midpoint of the base line length b as shown in FIG. 13, σ1 = σ2.

Below the image sensors 21 and 22, image data D1 and D2, each of which is a set of data of, for example, 8-bit data, representing the amount of light received by each of the optical sensors are schematically shown.

In order to determine the distance index σ of the object 1 in the direction of the angle θ, the object 1 is calculated from these video data D1 and D2.
Field parts Dp1 and Dp corresponding to the field of view suitable for capturing
2 are extracted as shown at the bottom, and further, from these visual field portions Dp1 and Dp2, subgroups d1 and dp, respectively.
2 are extracted while normally shifting the light intensity data one by one to form combinations Ck (k = 0 to km) sequentially, and for each combination Ck, both subgroups d1 and d2
Test the correlation between

Thus, while shifting the subgroups d1 and d2 containing the light intensity data representing the images I1 and I2 from each other,
When the combination number k indicating the maximum correlation between them is obtained, the distance khi index σ to be obtained is very simply added / subtracted from this number k and the extraction positions with respect to the reference positions P1 and P2 corresponding to the angle θ between the visual field portions Dp1 and Dp2. Can be calculated by

In the case of an autofocus camera, the position of the imaging lens is adjusted in accordance with the distance index σ obtained in this manner, thereby focusing on the object 1 at a specific angle θ from the front of the finder. can do.

However, in the prior art as described above, the angle θ
Can be specified to detect the distance of the object 1 in that direction, but it is not possible to find the object 1 such as a leading car in an unspecified direction, for example, in order to prevent collision of a self-operating vehicle. The angle direction and distance cannot be detected.

In the case of collision prevention, it is necessary that an unknown object can be detected without imposing a burden on the driver to specify the object to be detected. In addition, since it is common for the backgrounds of the image sensors 21 and 22 to have backgrounds, roads, and a plurality of vehicles at a distance from each other, the subject 1 such as a leading vehicle is clearly identified from them. It is necessary that the distance can be detected while the distance can be accurately detected without being misled by the mixture. Furthermore, in order to reliably prevent a collision, it is desirable that the object 1 can be detected within as short a time as possible.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-7353 filed by the applicant of the present invention
No. 9 discloses a technique for solving this problem. The outline will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the image sensor means 20 and the preceding vehicle 1 showing how to set the field of view to capture the detection target. An optical unit 10 having lenses 11 and 12 shown in an enlarged circle at a head portion of a car 3 shown on the left side of the figure, and an image sensor unit 20 having image sensors 21 and 22.
Are mounted in the form of a small module, and a pair of image sensors 21 and 22 arranged in a substantially vertical direction captures a detection target 1 which is a preceding vehicle in front of the vehicle in a substantially vertical view.

FIG. 15 is a schematic view showing an example of the configuration of various means together with optical means for forming an image on the image sensor means 20. Although the optical means 10 and the image sensor means 20 shown in the upper part of FIG. 15 are actually placed vertically as shown in FIG. 14, they are shown in a horizontal posture for convenience of illustration.

The image sensors 21 and 22 in each image sensor means 20 correspond to the corresponding lens 11,
An analog light detection signal received through the optical sensor 12 and sequentially taken out from each of the optical sensors is amplified by an amplifier 23, converted into digital data by an A / D converter 24, and temporarily stored in a memory 25. The data is read as a pair of video data D1 and D2 into a distance detection unit 70 described later.

One of a plurality of visual fields set for capturing an object in a vertical visual field of the image sensors 21 and 22 is indicated by a visual field angle φ toward the optical means 10, and its direction is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, an angle (direction angle) θ is formed with respect to the horizontal direction.

The distance detecting means 70 may be constituted by hardware or an electronic circuit in order to increase the distance detecting speed in a plurality of visual field directions. In the example of FIG. 15, a memory 71 for storing the above-mentioned video data D1 and D2 is provided. A plurality of unit distance detection circuits 72 and the like operating in parallel are integrated, and for example, an integrated circuit that is a so-called gate array is used for this.

Each unit distance detection circuit 72 detects a distance in each viewing direction in the manner described with reference to FIG. 13, and extracts the viewing portions DP1 and DP2 from the video data D1 and D2, respectively. The subgroups d and d2 were extracted sequentially, and the correlation was tested for each subgroup pair while sequentially extracting the subgroups dl and d2.
From the shift of the extraction positions of l and d2 from the visual field portions DPl and DP2, the distance for each visual field direction is usually calculated in the form of the index σ.

In order to take advantage of the features of this method, it is preferable that a plurality of visual fields cover a desired range in the vertical visual field of the image sensors 21 and 22 without omission, that is, that adjacent visual fields at least overlap. Actually, it is preferable to set the angle of each visual field to be relatively narrow to increase the number of visual fields and to set the overlap between the visual fields to be large. For example, it is desirable to set a large number of visual fields having a width of 20 to 30 out of several hundred optical sensors of the image sensor by shifting one optical sensor at a time.

Each unit distance detection circuit 72 calculates the distance index σ from the video data Dl and D2 in the memory 71,
The visual field portions DPl and DP2 or the partial groups dl and d2 corresponding to the relevant visual field are cut out and sequentially or collectively read for each data. In the figure, the relationship between the memory 71 and the unit distance detection circuit 72 is simply represented by a thin line that shows both. Is shown in

The object detecting means 80 detects the object 1 from the detection results of the distance detecting means 70, in the example shown, from a plurality of distance indices σ calculated by the unit distance detecting circuit 72. It is preferable that the processor 90 is loaded in advance as software, a plurality of distance indices σ are read from the distance detecting means 70 in the memory 91, temporarily stored, and given to this.

The distance detected by the distance detecting means 70 in the direction of each visual field is continuously transmitted to the target detecting means 80 by a desired value, for example, a distance shorter than the distance D on the road surface with respect to the visual field direction at an angle θ as shown in FIG. Only when the detection target 1 is shown, it is determined that the detection target 1 actually exists in the range in the visual field direction.

In the distance detection, a correlation value between a pair of subgroups dl and d2 extracted from the video data D1 and D2 is calculated in the form of a sum of absolute values of differences between corresponding data. It is very advantageous to obtain each correlation value calculated by the distance detection circuit 72 by adding or subtracting only the difference between the correlation value and the correlation value of the unit circuit adjacent thereto. This will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 16A shows a pair of sub-groups dl and d from which pairs of visual field portions DP1 and DP2 corresponding to each visual field are extracted from video data D1 and D2, and a correlation value is to be calculated from them.
FIG. 6 shows how two pairs are extracted. The two visual field portions DPl and DP2 in the figure are for two adjacent visual fields, and are shifted from each other by, for example, one optical sensor. Each 2
The calculation is simplified by paying attention to the point that the calculation of the correlation value regarding the hatched portion in the subgroups dl and d2 is common.

FIG. 16 (b) shows a main part of a circuit example for such a simplified calculation. The video data D1 and D2 shown at the top of the figure are used to convert the two subgroups dl described above from each other.
And the position from which d2 is extracted. In the lower right part of the figure, two main parts of the unit distance detection circuit 72 are shown, and on the left side, a common calculation circuit 73 is shown. The common calculation portion is read to calculate the sum 絶 対 of the absolute value of the difference between the corresponding data. An input with a small circle on the right side means that the difference is obtained by adding the complement of each input data.

The illustrated portion of the unit distance detection circuit 72 is composed of an addition circuit, and the addition circuits 72a and 72b each having a small circle on one of its inputs take the difference by adding the complement of the data in the same manner as above. The addition circuit 72C, which is actually for subtraction and has no small circle in the input, means that it is for addition as it is.

Also, the left side of the two unit distance detection circuits 72 in FIG. 16B is for the pair of upper subgroups in FIG. 16A, and the right side is for the pair of autopsy groups on the lower side. This is for calculating a correlation value.

Addition circuit 7 of left unit distance detection circuit 72
2a receives the data of one photosensor, which is the non-common part on the left side of the upper subgroup pair, takes the absolute value of the difference, and the adding circuit 72C adds this to the calculation result of the common calculating circuit 73. To produce a correlation value for the upper subgroup pair.

The correlation value calculated by the left unit distance detecting circuit 72 and the result of the subtraction by the adding circuit 72a are given to the adding circuit 72b of the right unit distance detecting circuit 72 to generate a difference between the two.

The addition circuit 72a in the unit distance detection circuit 72 on the right side receives the data of one photosensor, which is the right non-common part of the pair of the lower subgroup, takes the absolute value of the difference, and adds the data. The circuit 72C adds this result to the subtraction result of the addition circuit 72b to generate a correlation value for the pair of the lower subgroup.

As can be easily understood from the above, by providing the same circuit as the unit distance detecting circuit 72 on the right side further repeatedly, the visual field portions DP1 and DP2 in FIG. Correlation values can be calculated for pairs of subgroups of the same k-th combination Ck extracted from the pair.

The same applies to other combinations of the subgroup pairs. As described above, according to the aspect of FIG. 16, the calculation part of the correlation value of each unit distance detection circuit 72 can be configured by a simple combination of the addition circuits.

[0034]

By using the above-mentioned prior art, even when calculating the distance in all directions of view, the calculation load is greatly reduced, and high-speed ranging can be performed. By the way, especially when measuring the distance of a traveling vehicle on a highway, it accurately detects a car traveling several tens to hundreds of meters ahead, and at the same time measures the distance at high speed to measure the relative speed with the own vehicle. Must be repeated. In this case, narrowing the field of view for distance measurement in order to reduce the calculation load makes it difficult to detect a necessary vehicle when the vehicle suddenly enters from another lane or when the own vehicle changes lanes. Because it is difficult.

In order to increase the accuracy and speed of the distance measurement, the circuit having the configuration as shown in FIG. 15 is increased in scale and the number of pixels of the image sensor is increased to increase the resolution of the image. It is possible to increase the speed.

However, an increase in the size of the circuit as it is leads to an increase in cost, and an increase in the operating frequency is not desirable because the reliability may be adversely affected.

Therefore, according to the present invention, while increasing the pixel density (and thus the number of pixels) of the image sensor, the circuit scale of the distance detecting means is made relatively small as compared with the image sensor, and the operating frequency of the circuit is reduced. It is an object of the present invention to provide a distance measurement arithmetic device capable of suppressing an increase in the cost and reliability without a problem, and capable of achieving both an improvement in distance measurement accuracy and an increase in distance measurement speed.

[0038]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a distance measuring apparatus comprising a pair of lenses (11, 12) having optical axes parallel to each other and forming an image on the same plane. On the imaging plane, one or more lines of line sensors (21a to 21a)
n, or a pair of light receiving means (20
A) corresponds to each lens, and the rows of line sensors forming a pair are arranged so as to be on the same straight line, respectively. Are sequentially output from one end side of the line sensor to the other end side (via the A / D converter 24 and the memory 25 for one pixel) so that the viewing directions of the pixels forming a pair match each other, Further, this output (via the line sensor selector 26) is repeated for every line in the arrangement order of the pair of line sensors for each exposure cycle (T), and one line sensor is output.
A predetermined first number of pixels (eg, less than the number of pixels for a line (for example, 1024) and at least capable of detecting a partial viewing angle area where a distance measurement target within the entire viewing angle area corresponding to this one line may exist). Using a pair of pixel data storage means (sensor data memory 71) for storing pixel data (sensor data D1, D2) of 256 pixels, for example, and using the pixel data stored in the pair of pixel data storage means, First and / or a plurality of second distance measurement sharing means (full field of view) having distance detection means (distance detection circuit 72S) for performing distance measurement in each direction of the entire field of view corresponding to pixel data in the data storage means In order to measure the distance in the entire viewing angle region corresponding to each line sensor of the pair of light receiving means, and the distance detecting unit 70V for sharing the angle and the distance detecting units 70A (70A1, 70A2, etc.) for partially sharing the viewing angle, Pair receiving From the pixel data output from the means, by performing processing such as selection and conversion of pixel data, the pixel data of all pairs of line sensors (hereinafter referred to as the line sensor) in which the number of pixel data per line sensor line is equal to the first pixel number. ,
One unit or a plurality of units (for example, two or four units) of the transfer unit screen data are collectively or separately generated, and each of the transfer unit screen data is converted into a first unit by one unit for each exposure cycle. First data processing means (data processing unit 100) provided to the distance measuring and sharing means, and each transfer unit screen data provided by the first data measuring and sharing means from the first data processing means over one or a plurality of exposure periods. From the distance measurement information for each pair of pixel data corresponding to each pair of line sensors, a part corresponding to the one or more second distance measurement sharing means in the entire viewing angle region of each line sensor. Based on the partial viewing angle area extraction means (distance measurement target extraction unit 90A) for detecting the position of the viewing angle area, and the position detection information (distance measurement target position information S90F) of the partial viewing angle area extraction means, a pair of Light receiving means From all the pixel data output for one exposure cycle, the transfer unit screen data at the position of the partial viewing angle area for each of the detected second distance measurement sharing means is selected, and Second data processing means (data processing unit 100) to be provided to the corresponding second distance measuring and sharing means, and transfer unit screen data provided by the second data processing means to each of the second distance measuring and sharing means. For detecting the distance of the object to be measured in each partial viewing angle region from the information on the distance measurement for each pair of line sensors performed for the pair of line sensors (distance measurement target extraction unit 90A)
And

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the first data processing means is (100 (112)) and the pair of light receiving means is provided. The pixel data corresponding to all the pixels is subjected to exposure from all the pixel data output from the pair of light receiving units in the order of the exposure cycle or from all the pixel data output in one exposure cycle and stored in the temporary storage unit (memory 101). By repeating the division and selection of one unit of the transfer unit screen data in the order of the pixel arrangement in each cycle, a plurality of units (for example, four units) are obtained.
Is generated as transfer unit screen data, and the generated transfer unit screen data is sequentially provided to the first distance measuring and sharing means for each exposure cycle.

Further, the distance calculation apparatus according to the third aspect is the first aspect of the invention.
Wherein the first data processing means (100 (122)) converts all the pixel data output as one exposure cycle from the pair of light receiving means.
By performing averaging or thinning selection for each of a plurality of (for example, four) pixels in the order of the pixel arrangement, the pixel data for each of the plurality of pixels is converted into pixel data for each one pixel, and the transfer unit screen is displayed. Generate one unit of data,
The generated transfer unit screen data is provided to the first distance measuring and sharing means in one exposure cycle.

Further, the distance calculation apparatus according to the fourth aspect is the first aspect of the invention.
In the distance measurement arithmetic device described in (1), an average or thinning selection is performed for every predetermined plurality (for example, two) of pixels in the order of pixel arrangement for all pixel data output from the pair of light receiving means as one exposure cycle. Thus, the pixel data of each of the plurality of pixels is converted into pixel data of one pixel, and the number of pixels per line sensor line is smaller than the total number of pixels and larger than the first pixel number. When the pixel data having the number of pixels (e.g., 512) is referred to as primary conversion pixel data, the first data processing means becomes 100 (132), and all the light receiving means of the pair of light receiving means become 100 (132).
Pixel data corresponding to the next converted pixel data is output as all the primary converted pixel data obtained from all the pixel data respectively output from the pair of light receiving means in the order of the exposure cycle or as one exposure cycle from the pair of light receiving means. Temporary memory means (memory 101) which is converted from all the pixel data
By repeating the divisional selection of the primary conversion pixel data for one unit of the transfer unit screen data for each exposure cycle from the total primary conversion pixel data stored in For example, two (2) transfer unit screen data are generated, and each generated transfer unit screen data is sequentially provided to the first distance measuring and sharing unit for each exposure cycle.

Further, the distance measuring arithmetic unit according to the fifth aspect is the first aspect of the invention.
In the distance measurement arithmetic device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the first distance measuring and sharing means (acting as the distance detecting unit 70) also functions as the second distance measuring and sharing means.

That is, in the present invention, with respect to the image sensor, the number of pixels of the image sensor (line sensor) for each line (one line) is increased, the density of the pixel array is increased, and the resolution of image detection is increased. On the other hand, the distance detecting means sets the number of pixel data (sensor data) per line sensor to be taken for each exposure cycle for distance measurement to be smaller than the number of pixels for one line sensor, so that the entire field of view is once every exposure cycle. Although it is not sufficient to measure a corner area (that is, an area having a viewing angle φ that can be seen over the entire image sensor 21 or 22 in FIG. 15), it is estimated that a distance measurement target exists. By making the number sufficient to measure the distance only in the viewing angle region, the scale of the circuit of the distance detecting means is made smaller than that of the image sensor, and increase in calculation load, device cost, operating frequency and the like are suppressed.

Then, first, the position (direction) of a partial viewing angle area where a distance measurement target can exist is detected from the ranging information of the entire viewing angle area, and then the distance measurement is performed only in the partial viewing angle area. The distance measurement in the entire viewing angle area is repeated as described below. The distance measurement is performed with low spatial resolution or spatial resolution (the spatial resolution also corresponds to the distance between distances, and therefore also corresponds to the distance measurement accuracy (distance resolution)).

On the other hand, the distance measurement in the partial viewing angle region is performed by performing the distance measurement with the highest accuracy (resolution) both spatially and temporally at each exposure cycle (that is, at the highest measurement speed). , High ranging accuracy and speed.

In order to perform such a high-speed distance measurement operation in a different view angle area and a full view angle area, a means 100 for processing sensor data is added between the image sensor and the distance detection means. This data processing means performs different processing on the sensor data from the image sensor for the entire viewing angle area distance measurement and for the partial viewing angle area distance measurement, and periodically processes the processed sensor data of the different processing. And outputs the signals in parallel or outputs the signals in parallel to the distance detecting means.

Since the processing of the sensor data involves selection of the sensor data and very simple averaging and thinning, the sensor data processing means 100 can be realized by a simple small-scale electronic circuit.

By the way, even though distance measurement with reduced resolution is performed in the entire viewing angle area, the allowable condition for the resolution that can be reduced differs depending on the object to be measured and the purpose of distance measurement. Is divided into three cases as follows.

(1) Even if it takes a plurality of exposure cycles to detect the object to be measured in the entire viewing angle area, it is necessary to perform high-density (high-resolution) distance measurement spatially (that is, more spatially than temporal resolution). (When resolution is required), (2) When distance measurement needs to be completed in one exposure cycle even if the accuracy of detection of the distance measurement target in the entire viewing angle area becomes low (that is, every exposure cycle (high speed)) If you need more time resolution than spatial resolution, such as the need to repeat ranging within the entire viewing angle area),
(3) In the middle of the above cases (1) and (2), a case where moderate accuracy and speed are required to detect the distance measurement target within the entire viewing angle area.
(That is, if you need both spatial and temporal resolution.)

FIGS. 3 and 4 are illustrations of the concepts (1) and (2). In both figures, Vw is the field of view as the entire viewing angle region (all columns) captured from the image sensors of each column when the image sensors 21 and 22 are composed of a plurality of columns, and Vo is the field of view from the image sensors of each column. This is a region of interest consisting of all of the partial viewing angle regions (all columns) in which it is assumed that the object to be measured in the entire viewing angle region exists, and each point Pm in these two regions Vw and Vo has a field of view Vw. And distance measuring points as points measured in the attention area Vo. The distance measuring points Pm in the attention area Vo have the highest density corresponding to each pixel of the image sensor, and the distance measurement of each point Pm in the attention area Vo is performed for each exposure cycle.

FIG. 3 shows the concept of distance measurement in the above case (1), and the density of the distance measurement points Pm in the field of view Vw and the attention area Vo is similarly high. In this case, each point Pm in the field of view Vw
Is performed by multiplying a plurality of exposure cycles.

On the other hand, FIG. 4 shows the concept of distance measurement in the case of the above (2). The density of the distance measurement points Pm in the area of the field of view Vw is coarser than the density of the distance measurement points Pm in the attention area Vo. . In this case, the distance measurement of each point Pm in the field of view Vw is performed for each exposure cycle, but each point corresponds to a plurality of pixels of the image sensor, and data of one pixel is thinned out for each of the plurality of pixels. Determined by averaging and used for ranging. Hereinafter, each of the above cases (1), (2), and (3) will be described as embodiments 1, 2, and 3 of the present invention, respectively.

[0053]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (Embodiment 1) First, an embodiment in which a spatial resolution is required rather than a temporal resolution in distance measurement in the entire viewing angle region will be described. In the present embodiment, a plurality of exposure cycles (in this example, a process of detecting a region of interest Vo where a distance measurement target may exist from the field of view Vw (in other words, a process of detecting a part of the entire viewing angle region from the entire viewing angle region)). In this case, the distance is measured at intervals of one pixel by using pixel data (sensor data) of all image sensors.

However, only a part of the sensor data is used for the distance measurement in a part of the viewing angle area, so that the number of sensor data used for the distance measurement is reduced, the distance measurement time is shortened, and the distance is measured every exposure cycle. The distance is measured to make it easier to catch the temporal change of the object to be measured. This distance measurement method is effective when accuracy is required for distance measurement within the entire viewing angle range and when high-speed distance measurement of a distance measurement target is required.

In the following, the distance measurement in the entire viewing angle area and the distance measurement in the partial viewing angle area are performed by one distance detecting means (Embodiment 1-1), and the two distance detecting means share each other. A description will be given of each case (Example 1-2).

(Embodiment 1-1) The data processing unit 10 shown in FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the distance measurement arithmetic device according to the embodiment 1-1, where 0 is set to 100 (111). The difference between FIG. 1 and FIG. 15 or points to be supplemented is described below. Reference numerals 21 and 22 denote image sensors composed of a plurality of individual image sensors 21a to 21n and 22a to 22n, respectively. Individual image sensors for one line (one line) are also referred to as line sensors for distinction. Note that the arrangement of the optical sensors (pixels) on the line sensor is also called a sensor line. Here, the line sensor 21
a and 22a,..., 21n and 22n are each a pair.

A line sensor selector 26 repeatedly selects one pair of line sensors at a time and sequentially selects all the line sensors 21a to 21n and 22a to 22n for each exposure cycle.

Each line sensor is 1024 in this example.
The number of pixels (optical sensors) and the amount of received light (pixel data, sensor data, video data, and light intensity data) of each pixel is determined by the direction of the field of view of the paired pixels on a pair of line sensors. In order to match, the line sensor is sequentially transferred from one end to the other end (in this example, from the right end to the left end) in synchronization with the clock, and enters the A / D converter 24 via the selector 26 and the amplifier 23.

Then, the data is converted into 8-bit digital data for each pixel by the A / D converter 24 and sent to the next stage data processing unit 100 as exposure sensor data S20 via the memory 25 for one pixel.

Accordingly, all the sensor data in the image sensors 21 and 22 are stored in the data processing section 100 every exposure cycle.
Will be sent to In FIG. 1, the units 21 to 26 are collectively referred to as a light receiving unit 20A.

The data processing unit 100 (111, 12
1 and 131) for the exposure sensor data S20 input from the image sensor side, according to the full viewing angle area ranging mode and the partial viewing angle area ranging mode, as described later. 100 types (111-13
Processing according to 1) is performed, and processed sensor data S100
Is sent to the distance detection unit 70.

The distance detecting section 70 has basically the same configuration as the distance detecting means 70 shown in FIG.
-1 (the same applies to later-described embodiments 2-1 and 3-1), a distance of at least 256 bytes corresponding to a pair of line sensors is required to measure the distance in at least a part of the viewing angle area. Pair of sensor data (pixel data, video data) D1, D2
And a plurality of parallel operations so that the visual field portions DP1 and DP2 shown in FIG. 16 can be set at intervals of one pixel (thus, distance measurement can be performed for each visual field direction at an interval of one pixel). And a distance detection circuit 72S including a unit distance detection circuit 72.

Then, the distance detecting unit 70 according to the present embodiment 1-1
In the later-described embodiments 2-1 and 3-1 as well, according to the processed sensor data S100 (S100V or S100A) corresponding to the entire viewing angle region or the partial viewing angle region transmitted from the data processing unit 100. , Respectively, the sensor data S1
The distance for each viewing direction within the entire viewing angle area or a part of the viewing angle area is detected by distance measurement using 00, and is output as distance data S70 (S70V or S70A).

Numeral 90A denotes a distance measuring object extracting unit comprising a processor. In the full viewing angle area distance measuring mode, one or more distance detecting units 70 (four in the present embodiment 1-1, and four in the later-described embodiment 2-1). In this case, one distance data S7 is output over the exposure cycle of Example 3-1.
A part to be viewed in detail from 0V, that is, a part of the viewing angle area where it is estimated that there is an object to be actually measured (for example, a car located closest to the road ahead of the road on which the vehicle runs) The position (direction) is detected, and distance measurement target position information S9 is detected.
Notify to the data processing unit 100 as 0F.

In the embodiment 1-1 (the same applies to the embodiments 2-1 and 3-1 to be described later), the distance measuring object extracting unit 90A sends the data processing unit 100 a full view angle area measurement. A command to switch between the distance mode and the partial viewing angle area distance measurement mode is also sent.

In the partial-viewing-angle area ranging mode, the distance-measuring target extracting section 90A calculates the distance to be measured from the distance data S70A for the partial viewing-angle area output from the distance detecting section 70 for each exposure cycle. And outputs it as distance measurement target distance data S90 (for example, to a driver or a control unit of an automobile).

FIG. 5 schematically shows the data flowing between the means of FIG. 1 and the switching status thereof in this embodiment. FIG.
Is the data processing unit 100 (11
The configuration of 1) and an example of the flow of exposure sensor data S20 and processed sensor data S100, which are input / output sensor data, are shown. The data processing unit 100 includes a distance measurement target extraction unit 90A.
Processed sensor data S output in the full viewing angle area ranging mode and the partial viewing angle area ranging mode in accordance with the above instruction.
100 is switched to S100V and S100A, respectively.

FIG. 7 (the same applies to FIGS. 8 to 12).
In the input / output sensor data of the data processing unit 100 indicated by the wide arrow, the numbers # 1 to # 12 described in the arrows are acquired by exposing the image sensor 21 or 22 for convenience of explanation. After that, it means the number of the exposure cycle when inputting to the data processing unit 100, and the scale T of the length of the arrow corresponds to one exposure cycle.

In this example, the image sensor 21 or 22
Each line sensor is composed of 1024 pixels per line, and data of one pixel is represented by one byte of digital value. Here, assuming that the logarithm of the line sensors of the image sensors 21 and 22 is m, the image sensors 21 and 22
Outputs one byte of data for each pixel of the pair every T / 1024 × m seconds, so that one pair of sensor data of the line sensor is transmitted every T / m seconds. The transmission for m pairs of line sensors as all sensor data ends in T seconds, and every sensor data (m pairs) newly exposed every T seconds is transmitted to the data processing unit 100 as S20.

The distance detection circuit 72S, which is a calculation function part in the distance detection unit 70, has only a distance calculation processing capability using a pair of sensor data of 256 pixels every T / m seconds. Are 256 bytes each, and the distance detection unit 70 sends a T /
It is assumed that only processed sensor data S100 corresponding to 256 pixels per 1 line sensor is received in m seconds.

In FIG. 7, in the entire viewing angle area ranging mode,
The data processing unit 11 receives a command from the distance measurement target extraction unit 90A.
1 temporarily stores m pairs of exposure sensor data S20 of 1024 bytes per line sensor line from the image sensors 21 and 22 in the exposure period # 1 in the memory 101, and stores the exposure periods # 1 to # During four,
Taking out m pairs of sensor data of 256 bytes per line sensor line in the order of the address of the pixel array every T seconds and sending it as processed sensor data S100V are repeated for four exposure cycles, and the total viewing angle takes a total of 4T seconds The minute sensor data S100V is transmitted to the distance detection unit 70.
Therefore, during the exposure cycles # 2 to # 4, the image sensors 21 and
Exposure sensor data S20 arriving at data processing unit 111 from 22 will be ignored.

Whenever the pair of sensor data S100V of 256 bytes per line sensor transmitted from the data processing unit 111 is received from the data processing unit 111, the distance detecting unit 70 measures the distance within the viewing angle of 256 bytes. The distance measurement data is sent to the distance measurement target extraction unit 90A as distance data S70V for all viewing angles.

As a result, the distance measurement target extraction unit 90A has a total of four
The position (direction) of a part of the viewing angle at which the object to be measured is estimated to be present is detected from the distance data S70V for all viewing angles received during T seconds, and the position is detected during the exposure period # 4. The position information is transmitted to the communication unit 105 of the data processing unit 111 as position information S90F.

Now, based on the distance data S70V for all viewing angles input from the distance detection unit 70, the distance measurement target extraction unit 90A temporarily sets the 256th pixel out of 1024 pixels per line of a certain line sensor as the center. If it is detected that an object is captured, the center pixel number is transmitted to the data processing unit 100 as distance measurement target position information S90F.

As a result, the data processing section 111 shifts to the operation in the partial viewing angle area ranging mode, and the subsequent exposure periods # 5 to #
During the exposure period 8, the distance measurement target position information S90 in the exposure sensor data S20 input from the image sensor is set every exposure cycle T seconds.
M pairs of sensor data of 256 bytes per line sensor line at the position designated by F (in the above example, 256 bytes around the 256th pixel of the line sensor, specifically 128 From the third
The process of extracting the data of the pixels up to the 83rd pixel) and transmitting it to the distance detecting unit 70 as partial viewing angle sensor data S100A is repeated.

As described above, when the partial viewing angle data S100A is transmitted four times during the exposure periods # 5 to # 8,
The operation shifts again from the exposure cycle # 9 to the next operation in the full viewing angle area ranging mode.

As shown in FIG. 7, the data processing section 111 includes exposure sensor data S20 for one exposure cycle for the entire viewing angle region (in this example, m pairs of 1024 bytes per line sensor). ) Is transmitted to the distance detection unit 70, and transmission data (2 in this example) to the distance detection unit 70 for each exposure cycle T / m is stored.
A control unit 103 for controlling an address of the memory 101 to specify an area of (each pair of 56 bytes);
In the case of the partial view angle area ranging mode, 1024 bytes of exposure sensor data S20 arrived from the image sensor every T / m seconds, which is 1024 bytes per line sensor line.
Selection for selecting and outputting only sensor data (in the above example, data of the 128th pixel to 383th pixel for the line sensor in the above example) at the position of the partial viewing angle area where the object to be measured may exist. Device 102, a switch 104 for switching the output from the memory 101 and the output from the selector 102 for each ranging mode, and determining which viewing direction is to be viewed as a partial viewing angle region from the ranging object extraction unit 90A. The communication unit 105 is configured to receive distance measurement target position information S90F and the like as an instruction.

(Embodiment 1-2) The data processing unit 10 shown in FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the distance measurement arithmetic device according to the embodiment 1-2, where 0 is set to 100 (112). In FIG. 2, two distance detection units 70V and 70A are provided in parallel, and the distance measurement function of the distance detection unit 70 of FIG. 70A is assigned to each of them, thereby speeding up the distance measurement calculation.

In the embodiment 1-2 (the same applies to the embodiments 2-2 and 3-2), the distance detectors 70V and 70V
The configuration of A is the same as the configuration of the distance detection unit 70 described in the embodiment 1-1.

FIG. 6 shows an outline of data flowing between the units shown in FIG. 2 in the embodiment 1-2. However, in FIG. 6, a plurality of distance detection units 70 </ b> A sharing distance measurement in a partial viewing angle region are provided, and even when there are a plurality of partial viewing angle regions where a distance measurement target can exist, each partial viewing angle An example in which the distance measurement in the area can be shared by the distance detection units 70A1, 70A2,.

In FIG. 6, there is no need to switch the distance measuring mode of the distance detecting section between the full viewing angle area and a part of the viewing angle area as shown in FIG. 5, so that there is no switching of flowing data depending on the distance measuring mode.

FIG. 8 shows the structure of the data processing unit 112 and its input / output sensor data S20 and S1 in the embodiment 1-2.
An example of the flow of 00 is shown. In this example, the data processing unit 112
In the distance detection unit 70V, m pairs of exposure sensor data S20 of 1024 bytes per line sensor line from the image sensor taken into the memory 101 in the exposure cycle # 1 are stored in the exposure cycle # 1 to the exposure cycles # 1 to # 4. , 256 pixels per line sensor per exposure cycle in the pixel array order.
The sensor data is divided into m pairs of sensor data of bytes and sent as processed sensor data S100V for the entire viewing angle over a total of 4 exposure cycles (4T seconds), and again to exposure cycles # 5 to # 8, ie, 4 exposure cycles The same operation is repeated every time.

Whenever the distance detecting section 70V receives a pair of processed sensor data S100V of 256 bytes,
Immediately, distance measurement is performed on the received data, and the distance measurement result is sent to the distance measurement target extraction unit 90A as distance data S70V for all viewing angles.

The distance measuring object extraction unit 90A immediately detects the position of the object to be measured from all the viewing angle distance data S70V for the four exposure cycles, and determines the exposure cycle # 4 for every four exposure cycles.
The distance measurement target position information S90F is transmitted to the data processing unit 112 during # 8,.

Therefore, the data processing unit 112 supplies the distance detection unit 70A with 1024 signals per line sensor input for each exposure cycle during the exposure cycles # 1 to # 4.
Of the m pairs of byte exposure sensor data S20, 256 bytes per line sensor line at the position specified by the distance measurement target position information S90F transmitted to the data processing unit 112 in the exposure cycle # 0 (not shown). The m pairs of sensor data are respectively assigned to the respective one exposure periods # 1, # 2,
... Processed sensor data S1 for a part of the viewing angle every # 4
Transmit as 00A.

Similarly, during exposure periods # 5 to # 8, processing for a part of the viewing angle at the position designated by distance measurement target position information S90F transmitted to data processing unit 112 in exposure period # 4. ... # 8 for each of the exposure cycles # 5, # 6,.
The switching to the transmission of the processed sensor data S100A at the position designated by the new distance measurement target position information S90F is repeated every four exposure cycles.

As described above, in the embodiment 1-1, the distance measurement of the entire viewing angle region and the distance measurement of the partial viewing angle region are repeated every eight exposure cycles. In the case of 2, it is repeated every four exposure cycles, and the temporal resolution is doubled. Note that the configuration of the data processing unit 112 in FIG. 8 is a configuration in which the switch 104 is omitted from FIG.

(Embodiment 2) Next, an embodiment in a case where a temporal resolution is required rather than a spatial resolution in distance measurement in the entire viewing angle region will be described. In the present embodiment, the process of detecting a region of interest Vo where a distance measurement target may exist from the field of view Vw (in other words, the process of detecting a part of the entire viewing angle region from the entire viewing angle region) is performed in one exposure cycle (that is, At the highest speed).

For this reason, in the distance measurement in the entire viewing angle area, a fixed number of sensor data, or a fixed number of sensor data averaged out from a sensor data string for each line of the image sensor output for each exposure cycle, is used. Is used, the number of sensor data used for distance measurement is reduced, and the calculation load is reduced. However, sensor data that is not thinned out is used for distance measurement in a part of the viewing angle area.

In the following, the case where the distance measurement in the entire viewing angle region and the distance measurement in the partial viewing angle region are performed by one distance detecting means (Embodiment 2-1) and the two distance detecting means share each other. A description will be given separately for the case (Example 2-2).

(Embodiment 2-1) Data processing unit 10 in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the distance measurement arithmetic device according to the embodiment 2-1 where 0 is set to 100 (121). FIG. 5 similarly applies to this embodiment.

FIG. 9 shows the structure of the data processing unit 121 and its input / output sensor data S20 and S1 in the embodiment 2-1.
An example of the flow of 00 is shown. In this example, the data processing unit 121 outputs m pairs of exposure sensor data S20 of 1024 bytes for each line of the line sensor from the image sensors 21 and 22 output for each exposure cycle in the case of distance measurement within the entire viewing angle area. On each line of the sensor data in each column, four bytes of data of four pixels arranged in order are averaged and converted into sensor data of one byte.

(Note that, as a method of converting 4 bytes of data for 4 pixels into 1 byte, other than that, the original pixel data string of 1 pixel interval is simply decimated to extract only pixel data of 4 pixel intervals. As a result, the pixel data used for distance measurement in the entire viewing angle area is 256 bytes for each line of the line sensor.
1 is a line sensor for every T / m second, 256 bytes per line, one pair for all m pairs in one exposure cycle, and the average full view angle sensor data as shown by the black wide arrows in FIG. The data is transmitted to the distance detection unit 70 as S100Vm.

In this example, the data processing section 12 is set to the exposure cycle # 1.
1 is immediately processed as described above, and sent to the distance detecting section 70 as the average full viewing angle sensor data S100Vm within the exposure period # 1, and the distance detecting section 70 Data S100Vm
The distance measurement target position information S90F is sent to the data processing unit 100 within this exposure cycle # 1 based on the distance measurement result using

As a result, the data processing unit 121 performs the following three exposure cycles # 2, # 3,
102 for each line sensor line arriving at # 4
In the 4-byte m pairs of exposure sensor data S20, 256 bytes of m pairs of partial view angle sensor data for each line sensor at a position designated by the distance measurement target position information S90F within the exposure cycle # 1 in the exposure cycle # 1 S100A is the distance detector 7
Send to 0.

The data processing section 121 performs the following exposure cycle #
The same processing as the exposure sensor data S20 of the exposure periods # 1 to # 4 is repeated for the exposure sensor data S20 of the fifth to # 8, respectively.

The configuration of the data processing unit 121 in this case is as follows. The memory 101 in FIG. 7 is used to generate the average full-viewing-angle sensor data S100Vm in the case of distance measurement in the entire viewing-angle area. The configuration is such that the averaging circuit 106 can be realized by an adder and a register for one byte or four bytes.

(Embodiment 2-2) Data processing unit 10 in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the distance measurement arithmetic device according to the embodiment 2-2 where 0 is set to 100 (122). FIG. 6 similarly applies to this embodiment.

FIG. 10 shows the structure of the data processing unit 122 and its input / output sensor data S20 and S20 in the embodiment 2-2.
100 shows an example of the flow. In this example, the data processing unit 122
Is for the distance detection unit 70V that is responsible for all viewing angle areas.
The exposure sensor data S20 of the exposure periods # 1, # 2, # 3,...
Is processed in the same manner as the respective exposure sensor data S20, and is sent as sensor data S100Vm for the average total viewing angle of m pairs of 256 bytes for each line of the line sensor.
, Based on the distance measurement result using the transmitted sensor data S100Vm, the respective exposure periods # 1, # 2, # 3,.
..Distance measurement target position information S90F in data processing unit 10
Send to 0.

Thus, the data processing unit 122 outputs m pairs of input sensor data S20 of 1024 bytes per line sensor for each of the exposure cycles # 2, # 3, # 4,.
The m pairs of 256 bytes for each line sensor at the position specified by the distance measurement target position information S90F in the immediately preceding exposure periods # 1, # 2, and # 3 are partially divided by the viewing angle. The data is sent to the distance detection unit 70A as sensor data S100A. In this case, the configuration of the data processing unit 122 is such that the memory 101 in FIG. 8 is replaced with an averaging circuit 106 similar to that in FIG.

(Embodiment 3) Next, an embodiment in which a certain degree of temporal resolution and spatial resolution are required for distance measurement in the entire viewing angle region will be described. In the present embodiment, for example, the attention area Vo in which the distance measurement target may exist from the field of view Vw
(In other words, the process of detecting a part of the entire viewing angle area from within the entire viewing angle area) is set between the first and second embodiments (in this example, every two exposure cycles). In addition, the intervals for thinning out or averaging pixels are also intermediate between the first and second embodiments (in this example, at intervals of two pixels). However, sensor data that is not thinned out is used for distance measurement in a part of the viewing angle area.

In the following, the distance measurement in the entire viewing angle region and the distance measurement in the partial viewing angle region are performed by one distance detecting means (third embodiment).
-1) and a case where the two distance detecting means share each (Example 3-2).

(Embodiment 3-1) Data processing unit 10 in FIG.
A case where 0 is set to 100 (131) is a block diagram showing a configuration of the distance measurement arithmetic device in the embodiment 3-1. FIG. 5 similarly applies to this embodiment.

FIG. 11 shows the structure of the data processing section 131 and its input / output sensor data S20 and S20 in the embodiment 3-1.
100 shows an example of the flow. In this example, the data processing unit 131
Is a column for each line of sensor data in m pairs of exposure sensor data S20 of 1024 bytes for each line sensor output from the image sensor 21 or 22 for each exposure cycle in the case of distance measurement within the entire viewing angle area. In the above, two bytes of data for two pixels arranged in order are averaged and converted into sensor data of one byte.

(Note that, as a method of converting two bytes of data for two pixels into one byte at a time, the original pixel data string of one pixel interval is simply decimated to extract only pixel data of two pixel intervals. As a result, the pixel data used for distance measurement in the entire viewing angle area is m pairs of 512 bytes for each line sensor line, and the data processing unit 131 has 512 bytes of m for each line sensor line. The data for the pair is transmitted to the distance detection unit 70 as sensor data S100Vm for the average total viewing angle over two exposure cycles, with m pairs of 256 bytes per line in one exposure cycle.

In this example, the data processing section 131 detects the sensor data S20 that has arrived at the exposure cycle # 1 from the image sensor.
Is processed as described above through the averaging circuit 106 and stored in the memory 101, and the stored line sensor 1
Of the m pairs of data of 512 bytes for each line, m pairs of 256 bytes arranged in the pixel arrangement order are set to the exposure cycle # 1, and the remaining 256 bytes are set to the exposure cycle # 2 as the sensor data S100Vm for the average total viewing angle. This is sent to the detection unit 70. Therefore, the data processing unit 1 is switched from the image sensor to the exposure cycle # 2.
The exposure sensor data S20 to be input to 00 is ignored.

The distance detection unit 70 sends the distance measurement target position information S90F to the data processing unit 131 within the exposure cycle # 2 based on the distance measurement result using the sensor data S100Vm received over the two exposure cycles.

As a result, the data processing section 131 sets one for each line of the line sensor arriving at the subsequent exposure periods # 3 and # 4.
In the m pairs of exposure sensor data S20 of 024 bytes, the m pairs of exposure sensor data S20 of 256 bytes for each line sensor line at the position specified by the distance measurement target position information S90F within the exposure cycle # 2 are partially It is sent to the distance detection unit 70A as the viewing angle sensor data S100A.

Data processing unit 13 in the embodiment 3-1
1 is a combination of FIG. 7 and FIG.
1 has a configuration in which a memory 101 for partially storing sensor data is added to the next stage of the averaging circuit 106 of the data processing unit 111 in FIG.

(Embodiment 3-2) Data processing unit 10 in FIG.
The case where 0 is set to 100 (132) is a block diagram showing the configuration of the distance measurement arithmetic device in the embodiment 3-2. FIG. 6 similarly applies to this embodiment.

FIG. 12 shows the structure of the data processing unit 132 and the input / output sensor data S20 and S20 in the embodiment 3-2.
100 shows an example of the flow. In this example, the data processing unit 132
Is for the distance detection unit 70V that is responsible for all viewing angle areas.
102 for each line sensor line that arrived at exposure cycle # 1
The average of the 4-byte m pairs of exposure sensor data S20 is averaged to the 512-byte m-pairs of each line sensor line as described in the input sensor data S20 of the exposure period # 1 of the embodiment 3-1 via the averaging circuit 106. Sensor data S1 for all viewing angles
00Vm, stored in the memory 101, and transmitted in two exposure periods # 1 and # 2 for each pair of m lines of 256 bytes per line sensor.
The processing of processing the exposure sensor data S20 arriving at the above and sending it in the exposure cycles # 3 and # 4 is repeated at intervals of two exposure cycles.

Therefore, the distance detecting unit 70V calculates the distance measurement results for two exposure cycles for the average total view angle sensor data S100Vm for m pairs of 512 bytes per line sensor received during the two exposure cycles. The distance measurement target position information S90F based on the exposure cycles # 2, # 4,.
During the transmission, the data is transmitted to the data processing unit 132.

Thus, the data processing unit 132 instructs the distance detection unit 70A, which is partly responsible for the viewing angle area, to set the m / m of 1024 bytes per line sensor coming from the image sensor in the exposure periods # 3 and # 4. Exposure sensor data S
20, the m pairs of partial viewing angle sensor data S100A of 256 bytes per line sensor at the position specified by the distance measurement target position information S90F received from the distance detection unit 70V during the exposure cycle # 2. The exposure sensor data S20 received from the image sensor in the exposure cycles # 5 and # 6 is taken out from the exposure sensor data S20 in the exposure cycles # 5 and # 6.
V of the partial view angle sensor data S100A at the position specified by the distance measurement target position information S90F received from V.
Are taken out and sent to the exposure cycles # 5 and # 6, respectively, at intervals of two exposure cycles.

Data processing unit 13 in Embodiment 3-2
12, the data processing unit 1 shown in FIG.
A configuration in which a memory 101 for partially storing sensor data is added to the next stage of the averaging circuit 106 of FIG.

Although FIGS. 8, 10 and 12 show the case where there are two distance detecting units, the distance detecting unit 70V detects a plurality of predetermined viewing angle regions where a distance measuring object can exist, by detecting a plurality of predetermined viewing angle regions. When the data processing units 112 and 12
2 and 132, by increasing the number of selectors 102 for selecting sensor data S100A corresponding to a partial viewing angle from the exposure sensor data S20 arriving from the image sensor, measurement of a plurality of partial viewing angle regions provided as shown in FIG. , Which are responsible for the distances, have partial viewing angle sensor data S100A1,
It is also possible to send S100A2... To perform distance measurement (that is, to set a plurality of attention areas Vo in FIGS. 3 and 4).

[0116]

According to the present invention, a pair of image sensors consisting of one or more lines of line sensors is arranged on the image plane of the pair of lenses, and the image data of the image sensor is obtained from the sensor data on the pair of image sensors. In a device that measures the distance in each visual field direction in the field of view and detects the distance to the object, the resolution of the distance measurement is increased by increasing the pixel density (accordingly, the number of pixels) of the line sensor, while the distance detection unit measures the distance Therefore, the number of sensor data per line sensor taken at one time for each exposure cycle is smaller than the number of pixels for one line sensor, and it is not enough to measure the distance within the entire viewing angle area at once for each exposure cycle. However, it is sufficient to measure the distance only in a part of the viewing angle area where the object to be measured can exist, and sensor data output by the image sensor for each exposure cycle is provided between the image sensor and the distance detecting means. First, the distance detection means sets the sensor data acquisition time as a plurality of exposure cycles so as to reduce the calculation load for the entire viewing angle area where there are many ranging points (lower temporal resolution). The distance is measured by thinning out or averaging the number of sensor data taken in one exposure cycle from the sensor data for the entire viewing angle area (by lowering the spatial resolution (hence, the distance resolution)), and measuring the distance. After detecting the position of the partial viewing angle area where the object to be distanced can exist from the distance information, a series of steps to measure only the partial viewing angle area with the highest temporal and spatial resolution. Since the operation is repeated, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) The object to be measured can be measured at high speed and with high accuracy without extremely increasing the circuit scale or the operating speed of the circuit of the distance measuring device. (2) When the means for processing the sensor data is realized by an electronic circuit, it can be realized with almost no change in the conventional distance calculation circuit.

(3) Distance measurement according to the present invention can be performed by adding only a means for processing sensor data to a conventional device that measures distance only in the entire viewing angle region and does not distinguish the partial viewing angle region. The device can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a distance measurement arithmetic device as an embodiment of the invention according to claim 5;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a distance measurement arithmetic device as an embodiment of the invention according to claims 1 to 4;

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of the invention mainly relating to claim 2;

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of the invention mainly relating to claims 3 and 4;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the flow of input / output data of each unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the flow of input / output data of each unit in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a data processing unit and a flow of input / output sensor data according to the embodiment 1-1.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a data processing unit and an example of a flow of input / output sensor data according to the embodiment 1-2.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a data processing unit and an example of a flow of input / output sensor data according to the embodiment 2-1.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a data processing unit and an example of a flow of input / output sensor data according to the embodiment 2-2.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a data processing unit and an example of a flow of input / output sensor data according to the embodiment 3-1.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a data processing unit and an example of a flow of input / output sensor data according to the embodiment 3-2.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional distance detection method.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional relationship between an image sensor unit and a preceding vehicle showing how to set a field of view to capture a detection target.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of various conventional means together with optical means for forming an image on an image sensor means.

FIG. 16 shows an advantageous mode of a conventional distance detecting means;
FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between video data, a visual field portion, and a subgroup for the purpose of explanation, and FIG. 3B is a circuit diagram illustrating a main configuration of a unit distance detection circuit in association with the subgroup.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Optical means 11, 12 Lens 20A Light receiving means 21 (21a-21n), 22 (22a-22n)
Image Sensors 21a to 21n, 22a to 22n Line Sensor 23 Amplifier 24 A / D Converter 25 Memory for One Pixel 26 Line Sensor Selector 70 (70V, 70A) Distance Detector 70V Full View Angle Allocated Distance Detector 70A Partial View Angle Allocated distance detection unit 71 Sensor data memory 72S Distance detection circuit 90A Distance measurement target extraction unit 100 (111, 112, 121, 122, 131, 1)
32) Data processing section D1, D2 Sensor data in sensor data memory 71 S20 Exposure sensor data from image sensor S70 (S70V, S70A) Distance data S70V Distance data for all viewing angles S70A (S70A1, S70A2, ...) Partial view angle distance data S90 Distance measurement target data S90F Distance measurement target position information S100 (S100V, S100A) Processed sensor data S100V Processed sensor data for all view angles S100A (S100A1, S100A2,...) Sensor data processed for the viewing angle

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F-term (reference) 2F065 AA02 AA06 BB05 BB15 CC11 DD03 DD06 FF05 FF09 FF24 FF44 HH02 HH13 JJ02 JJ05 JJ09 JJ25 LL04 QQ03 QQ23 QQ25 QQ42 UU05 2F112 AC06 BA05 BA06 FA05

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A pair of light receiving means having one or more lines of line sensors on an imaging plane of a pair of lenses whose optical axes are parallel to each other and form an image on the same plane, corresponding to each lens,
The lines of the paired line sensors are arranged so as to be on the same straight line, respectively. The output is sequentially performed from one end of the line sensor to the other end thereof in synchronization with each other, and this output is performed for all rows in the arrangement order of the pair of line sensors in each exposure cycle. Less than the number of pixels
The first predetermined range which can at least detect a partial viewing angle region where a distance measurement target within the entire viewing angle region corresponding to the line may exist.
A pair of pixel data storing means for storing pixel data of the number of pixels, and using the pixel data stored in the pair of pixel data storing means, each direction of the entire field of view corresponding to the pixel data of the pixel data storing means. A first and / or a plurality of second distance measurement sharing means having distance detection means for performing distance measurement for each, and a distance measurement in an entire viewing angle region corresponding to each line sensor of a pair of light receiving means. In addition, from the pixel data output from the pair of light receiving means, processing such as selection and conversion of pixel data is performed.
The number of pixel data per line sensor line is the first
This one unit or a plurality of units of pixel data (hereinafter referred to as transfer unit screen data) for all lines of a pair of line sensors equal to the number of pixels are collectively or separately generated, and each transfer unit screen data is subjected to an exposure cycle. A first data processing means provided to the first distance measuring and sharing means by one unit each time, and a first distance measuring and sharing means which is one bit from the first data processing means;
Or, from the information on the distance measurement for each pixel data corresponding to each pair of line sensors performed on each transfer unit screen data given over a plurality of exposure cycles, the one or more of the one or more A partial viewing angle area extracting means for detecting a position of a partial viewing angle area corresponding to each of the second distance measuring and sharing means, based on position detection information of the partial viewing angle area extracting means,
From the whole pixel data output from the pair of light receiving means as one exposure cycle, the transfer unit screen data at the position of the partial viewing angle area for each of the detected second distance measuring sharing means is selected. A second data processing means provided to a second distance-sharing means respectively corresponding to one exposure cycle, and transfer unit screen data provided by the second data processing means to each of the second distance-sharing means. Means for detecting the distance of the object to be measured in each partial viewing angle region from information on the distance measurement performed for each image data corresponding to each pair of line sensors. apparatus. 2. The distance measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first data processing means outputs pixel data corresponding to all pixels of said pair of light receiving means from said pair of light receiving means in the order of exposure cycle. From all the pixel data to be output or from all the pixel data output in one exposure cycle and stored in the temporary storage means,
By repeatedly selecting and dividing one unit of the transfer unit screen data for each exposure cycle in the order of the pixel arrangement, transfer unit screen data for a plurality of units is generated. A distance measurement arithmetic unit which is sequentially provided to a first distance measurement sharing unit every time. 3. The distance measuring arithmetic device according to claim 1, wherein said first data processing means determines a predetermined pixel order for all pixel data output as one exposure cycle from a pair of light receiving means. By performing averaging or thinning selection for each of the plurality of pixels, the pixel data for each of the plurality of pixels is converted into pixel data for each one pixel to generate one unit of the transfer unit screen data. A distance measurement calculation device wherein the generated transfer unit screen data is provided to a first distance measurement sharing means in one exposure cycle. 4. The distance measuring arithmetic device according to claim 1, wherein all pixel data output as one exposure cycle from the pair of light receiving means is averaged or thinned for a predetermined plurality of pixels in the order of pixel arrangement. By performing the selection, the pixel data for each of the plurality of pixels is converted into pixel data for each one pixel, and the number of pixels per line sensor line is smaller than the total number of pixels and smaller than the first pixel number. When the pixel data having the larger number of second pixels is referred to as primary conversion pixel data, the first data processing unit converts pixel data corresponding to all the primary conversion pixel data of the pair of light receiving units into: As described above, all the primary converted pixel data obtained from all the pixel data respectively output from the pair of light receiving means in the order of the exposure cycle, or all the pixel data output as one exposure cycle from the pair of light receiving means. From the total primary conversion pixel data converted to the temporary storage means and dividing and selecting the primary conversion pixel data for one unit of the transfer unit screen data for each exposure cycle in the order of the pixel arrangement. A distance calculating unit for generating transfer unit screen data for a plurality of units by repeating the transfer unit screen data, and sequentially providing the generated transfer unit screen data to the first distance measuring and sharing unit for each exposure cycle; . 5. The distance measuring operation device according to claim 1, wherein said first distance measuring and sharing means also functions as a second distance measuring and sharing means. Distance measurement calculation device.