JP2016105068A - Distance measurement device and distance measurement method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a distance measurement device 1 suitable for miniaturization and weight reduction.SOLUTION: A distance measurement device 1 measures a distance to a measured object. A laser source 100 projects a laser beam in a specific shape onto the measured object. A tilt driving mechanism 20 inclines the laser source 100 by a designated angle. A photographing portion 30 photographs a spot of a laser beam projected in a specific shape onto the measured object by the laser source 100 for an initial position and a position tilt driven by the designated angle by the tilt driving mechanism 20 and acquires image data 610. A calculation portion 510 of a distance between spots calculates an actual distance between spots on the basis of a distance between the spots within the image data 610 photographed by the photographing portion 30 and a ratio of a known length included in the specific shape. A measured object distance calculation portion 520 calculates a distance to the measured object on the basis of the actual distance between the spots calculated by the calculation portion 510 of the distance between the spot and the designated angle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a distance measuring device and a distance measuring method, and more particularly to a distance measuring device and a distance measuring method for performing distance measurement by image recognition.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been a distance measuring device that includes a camera and measures a distance from an object to be measured by image recognition.
For example, in Patent Document 1, a city block distance between each small region of a pair of images including a reference image and a comparison image captured by a stereo camera is calculated, and a discrete value of the city block distance in units of pixels is minimized. A stereo image ranging device that searches for a small area as a corresponding small area and performs distance measurement according to the principle of triangulation using a pixel shift amount corresponding to a distance to an object in the corresponding small area as a parallax. The point at which the discrete value of the city block distance in pixel units is the minimum is a temporary corresponding point, and the city block distance is continuously distributed based on the change in the city block distance before and after the temporary corresponding point, and Based on the difference between the position of the local minimum when the distribution of the city block distance is considered symmetrical around the local minimum and the difference between the temporary corresponding point and the local minimum, Distance measuring apparatus according to the stereo image, characterized in that a means for interpolating the following resolution 1 pixel disparity by elementary shift amount is described.
In the apparatus of Patent Document 1, a convergence angle is obtained from parallax (angle difference) by a stereo camera, and calculation is performed based on the principle of triangulation along with a known baseline distance.

JP 2000-283755 A

  However, since the distance measuring device described in Patent Document 1 uses a stereo camera, there is a problem in that the size and weight when mounting is increased, and the load of image processing becomes very large. It was.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a distance measuring device that is suitable for small size and light weight and has a small image processing load.

The distance measuring device of the present invention is a distance measuring device that measures a distance L to a measurement object, a laser light source that irradiates the measurement object with a laser in a specific shape, and the measurement object by the laser light source. An imaging unit that captures an image of the laser spot irradiated to the specific shape and acquires image data, a tilt driving mechanism that tilts the laser light source or the imaging unit by a specified angle θ, an initial position, and the tilt driving mechanism With respect to the position tilt-driven by the designated angle θ, the distance between the spots Δ in the image data photographed by the photographing means and the ratio of the known lengths included in the specific shape are calculated between the spots. From the spot distance calculation means for calculating the actual distance Δ ′, the actual distance Δ ′ between the spots calculated by the spot distance calculation means, and the specified angle θ, Characterized in that it comprises a measurement object distance calculating means for calculating the distance L to the object to be measured.
With this configuration, since the number of cameras is one as compared to a stereo camera, the weight and size can be reduced, and the load of image processing can be reduced.

In the distance measuring apparatus of the present invention, the specific shape is a circle or an ellipse having a direction perpendicular to the direction of the specified angle θ as a longitudinal direction, and the diameter of the circle or the long or short axis of the ellipse. Is the known length.
By configuring in this way, a circular shape or an elliptical shape having a longitudinal direction can be used, so that the error can be reduced even when the beam contour on the image data is somewhat blurred compared with the case where the laser beam diameter is small. it can.

In the distance measuring apparatus of the present invention, the specific shape is two laser beams irradiated in parallel to the measurement object, and an interval between the laser beams in a direction orthogonal to the direction of the specified angle θ is set. The length is the known length.
With this configuration, if the length between the centers of the two laser beams is detected, the distance Δ between the spots can be detected with high accuracy, and therefore the actual distance Δ ′ can be calculated with high accuracy.

In the distance measuring apparatus according to the present invention, the inter-spot distance calculating means recognizes a location corresponding to the specific shape in the image data, and determines the distance between the spots in the image data from the number of pixels at the recognized location. Δ is calculated.
With this configuration, the distance can be easily calculated based on the number of pixels.

In the distance measuring apparatus according to the present invention, the tilt driving mechanism includes a movable body to which an optical unit including the laser light source or the imaging unit is attached, and an axis that intersects the optical axis direction of the laser light source or the imaging unit. Two support mechanisms for swingably supporting the movable body, and driving means for driving the movable body about the axis, and the support mechanism are separated from the movable body in two axial directions. A swinging shaft is provided at a position overlapping with the driving means in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis direction of the laser light source or the photographing means.
With this configuration, in the method of the present invention, compared with the method of swinging by supporting the lower end and upper end of the movable body with a pivot or the like (hereinafter referred to as “pivot support method”). Since the moving shaft is provided at a position overlapping the driving means, if the pivot support system and the system of the present invention are swung at the same angle, the method of the present invention reduces the displacement of the movable body, and the movable body and It becomes difficult to contact the fixed body. Therefore, in the pivot support system and the system of the present invention, if the gap between the magnet and the coil is the same, the system of the present invention can increase the inclination of the indicated angle θ.

In the distance measuring apparatus of the present invention, the driving means is a magnetic driving means including a magnet and a coil, and the laser light source or the photographing means is tilted by causing a current corresponding to the specified angle θ to flow through the coil. It is characterized by.
With this configuration, the laser light source can be tilted to the specified angle θ only by a current command without a shake detection element such as a gyro sensor.

In the distance measuring apparatus of the present invention, the tilt driving mechanism tilts the laser light source by a specified angle θ.
With this configuration, the laser light source is lighter than the photographing means, so that the driving force is small.

The distance measuring method of the present invention is a distance measuring method executed by a distance measuring device that measures a distance L to an object to be measured, irradiating the object to be measured with a laser in a specific shape, and irradiating the specific shape. An image of the laser spot is taken by a photographing means, and the irradiated laser of the specific shape or the photographing means is tilted by a designated angle θ, and an initial position and a position that is tilt-driven by the designated angle θ are The actual distance Δ ′ between the spots is calculated from the distance Δ between the spots in the image photographed by the photographing means and the ratio of the known lengths included in the specific shape, and the calculated spot The distance L to the object to be measured is calculated from the actual distance Δ ′ between them and the specified angle θ.
With such a configuration, the distance measuring apparatus has a single camera as compared with a stereo camera, so that the weight can be reduced and the size can be reduced, and the load of image processing can be reduced.

  According to the present invention, a small-sized configuration is obtained by photographing a spot irradiated with a laser having a specific shape at an initial position and a position tilted by a specified angle θ by a tilt drive mechanism and calculating a distance L from the photographed image. A distance measuring device that is lightweight and has a low image processing load can be provided.

1 is a perspective view showing a schematic appearance of a distance measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the control structure of the distance measuring device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the ranging process which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram of the ranging process which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram of the ranging process which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram of the ranging process which concerns on other Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram of the ranging process which concerns on other Embodiment 2 of this invention.

<Embodiment>
[Configuration of ranging device 1]
First, with reference to FIG. 1, the structure of the mechanism part of the distance measuring device 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention is demonstrated.
The distance measuring device 1 measures the distance L to the measurement object 2 (FIG. 4). The distance measuring device 1 includes, for example, a smartphone (Smart Phone), a portable PC (Personal Computer), a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Data Assistant), a dedicated terminal, a digital camera (Digital Camera), an in-vehicle camera, an action cam, and the like. A small, lightweight terminal having an image capturing function.
The distance measuring device 1 can also be used for measuring distances and lengths of vehicles such as automobiles, ships and trains, machine tools, robots, construction equipment, factory machine actuators, and the like.

  The mechanism unit of the distance measuring device 1 includes an optical unit 10, a tilt drive mechanism 20, an imaging unit 30 (imaging unit), and a fixed body 40.

The optical unit 10 includes an optical element such as a laser light source 100 and a lens.
The laser light source 100 irradiates the object 2 to be measured with a laser having a specific shape S. In the embodiment of the present invention, the specific shape S is a circular shape having a specific diameter that allows the photographing unit 30 to confirm the shape across pixels. In the present embodiment, the specific diameter is about several mm to several tens cm. The laser wavelength of the laser light source 100 is a general visible wavelength of red to green to blue to purple, or a mixed color white. In addition to this, the wavelength of the laser may be a non-visible wavelength that can be captured as an image by the imaging unit 30, such as a near infrared ray.
The optical element includes a concavo-convex lens or prism made of glass or resin for keeping the laser in a circular shape having a specific diameter. In the present embodiment, the object 2 to be measured is irradiated with the laser having a specific shape in a circular shape in a range of at least several centimeters to several hundreds of meters with little diffusion.
Note that the optical element may include a mechanism, a diaphragm, and the like for switching the laser from a circular shape having a specific diameter to a mode in which the circular shape is diffused and using the laser as illumination of the photographing unit 30. .

The tilt drive mechanism 20 is a mechanism for tilting the laser light source 100 by a specified angle θ. The tilt drive mechanism 20 includes the optical unit 10, a movable body 200, a support mechanism 210, and a drive unit 220.
The movable body 200 is a member such as a shaft to which the optical unit 10 is attached.
The support mechanism 210 is a bearing such as two bearings that swingably support the movable body 200 about an axis (X axis) intersecting the optical axis P of the laser light source 100. This axis is shown as the X-axis in this embodiment. Further, the support mechanism 210 is provided with swinging shafts 211 at two locations spaced apart in the X-axis direction between the movable body 200 and the fixed body 40. In FIG. 1, the directions perpendicular to the X axis are the Y axis and the Z axis, and the direction along the optical axis P (lens optical axis, optical axis of the optical element) is the Z axis.
The drive unit 220 drives the movable body 200 around the X axis. Specifically, the drive unit 220 is a magnetic drive unit such as an actuator or a motor including a coil 221 (FIG. 2) and a magnet 222. The drive unit 220 is fixed to the fixed body 40 by pivotally supporting the support mechanism 210. The drive unit 220 is provided at a position overlapping the support mechanism 210 with respect to the X axis.

The imaging unit 30 is a still image and / or moving image imaging unit that includes a charge-coupled device (CCD), a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor, and a shutter such as a mechanical or electronic shutter.
The imaging unit 30 captures the spot of the laser irradiated on the measurement target object 2 in a specific shape, and acquires image data 610 (FIG. 2). At this time, the imaging unit 30 acquires the image data 610 for the initial position when the laser light source 100 of the optical unit 10 is irradiated and the position where the tilt driving mechanism 20 is tilt-driven by the specified angle θ from the initial position. . In this embodiment, the shutter is released during the laser irradiation and driving, and the light trace of the laser light source 100 is captured as a “blurred image”.

The fixed body 40 is a member for supporting the movable body 200 so as to be swingable about the X axis via the support mechanism 210. The fixed body 40 can be attached to the case of the distance measuring device 1, and at least one surface is opened so as to transmit the light from the laser light source 100 and the imaging unit 30.
In addition, in FIG. 1, the fixed body 40 was described in the box shape. However, the shape of the fixed body 40 is arbitrary.

Next, the control configuration of the distance measuring device 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
The distance measuring device 1 includes a control unit 50 and a storage unit 60 in addition to the mechanism unit described above.
The control unit 50 is a control calculation means such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a microcontroller, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The control unit 50 includes various I / O (Input / Output) circuits, a current measurement circuit, and an A / D converter (Analog to Digital Converter). The control unit 50 may include an accelerator for image recognition.
The storage unit 60 is a non-temporary storage medium such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory (Flash Memory), and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive).

  The control unit 50 includes a drive photographing instruction unit 500 (drive photographing instruction unit), a spot distance calculation unit 510 (spot distance calculation unit), and a measurement target distance calculation unit 520 (measurement target distance calculation unit). Contains.

The drive shooting instruction unit 500 controls the optical unit 10, the tilt drive mechanism 20, and the shooting unit 30 at the start and end of distance measurement.
When starting the distance measurement, the drive photographing instruction unit 500 opens the shutter of the photographing unit 30 and starts photographing the measurement target object 2 (FIG. 1). On this basis, the drive photographing instruction unit 500 reads the angle current value table 600 and controls the current corresponding to the designated angle θ to flow through the coil 221. Then, the laser light source 100 is driven by the designated angle θ by the drive unit 220. Thereafter, the drive shooting instruction unit 500 closes the shutter of the shooting unit 30 and acquires the image data 610.
1 and 2 show an example in which there are similar drive units 220 on the left and right sides of the X axis, but the magnetic drive means may be provided only on one side. Further, the drive photographing instruction unit 500 may start photographing after detecting that the measurement object 2 and the photographing unit 30 are substantially perpendicular to each other using an ultrasonic sensor (not shown) or the like.

  The inter-spot distance calculation unit 510 calculates the distance Δ of the number of pixels between spots in the image data 610 captured by the imaging unit 30. Specifically, the spot-to-spot distance calculation unit 510 recognizes a spot location corresponding to a specific shape from the image data 610 by various image recognition. Then, the spot-to-spot distance calculation unit 510 counts the number of pixels between the spots of the recognized specific shape, and calculates the distance Δ of the number of pixels between the spots. Further, the spot-to-spot distance calculation unit 510 calculates the pixel length A corresponding to the “known length” A ′ included in the specific shape from the location corresponding to the recognized specific shape. This “known length” A ′ is the diameter of a circle in a circular shape in this embodiment. In addition, the spot-to-spot distance calculation unit 510 reads the specific shape data 620 from the storage unit 60 and calculates the “known length” A ′ and the “known length” A ′ of the pixels corresponding to the specific shape. The ratio with the length A is calculated. The spot-to-spot distance calculation unit 510 calculates the actual distance Δ ′ between spots from the calculated ratio and the distance Δ of the number of pixels.

The measured object distance calculation unit 520 calculates the distance L to the measured object 2 from the actual distance Δ ′ between spots calculated by the inter-spot distance calculation unit 510 and the specified angle θ. The formula for this calculation is the following formula (1):

Distance L = actual distance Δ ′ / tan θ (1)

In addition, the storage unit 60 stores an angular current value table 600, image data 610, and specific shape data 620.
The angle current value table 600 is a table of current values corresponding to a plurality of designated angles θ. When a current is passed through the coil 221 according to the value of the angular current value table 600, the tilt drive mechanism 20 is tilted to the indication angle θ.
The image data 610 is image data acquired by the photographing unit 30. The image data 610 is, for example, a file in a format such as BMP (Bitmap) or JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group). The image data 610 may be a still image file obtained by extracting and extracting a still image from moving image data.
The specific shape data 620 includes definition data of a specific shape, data of “known length” A ′ included in the specific shape, and the like. In the present embodiment, the specific shape data 620 includes data of a length corresponding to the diameter of the circular laser irradiated from the optical unit 10.

  The drive photographing instruction unit 500, the spot-to-spot distance calculation unit 510, and the measured object distance calculation unit 520 are executed when the control unit 50 executes a control program (not shown) stored in the storage unit 60. Perform each function.

[Ranging process according to the embodiment of the present invention]
Next, distance measurement processing according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the distance measuring process of the present embodiment, a laser beam is irradiated onto the measurement object 2 (FIG. 4) in a specific shape, the movable body 200 is rotated around the X axis, and the irradiated laser beam with the specific shape is designated at the specified angle θ. Just tilt. At this time, laser spot images are taken at the initial position and the position tilt-driven by the specified angle θ. Then, the actual distance Δ ′ between the spots is calculated from the distance Δ of the number of pixels between the spots in the photographed image and the ratio of the known lengths included in the specific shape. Finally, the distance L to the measurement object 2 is calculated from the calculated actual distance Δ ′ between the spots and the specified angle θ.
In the distance measurement processing of the present embodiment, the control unit 50 mainly executes a control program stored in the storage unit 60 using hardware resources in cooperation with each unit.
Hereinafter, the distance measurement processing of the present embodiment will be described in detail for each step with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

(Step S101)
First, the drive imaging instruction unit 500 performs laser irradiation imaging start processing.
When starting the distance measurement, the drive shooting instruction unit 500 moves the tilt drive mechanism 20 to the initial position, instructs the shooting unit 30 to open the shutter, and starts shooting.
Further, the value corresponding to the specified angle θ is read from the angle current value table 600 of the storage unit 60.
In this state, the optical unit 10 and the measurement object 2 are opposed to the optical axis P substantially perpendicularly.

(Step S102)
Next, the driving photographing instruction unit 500 performs a tilt driving process.
The drive photographing instruction unit 500 starts to supply current to the coil 221 of the drive unit 220 of the tilt drive mechanism 20.
At this time, the drive photographing instruction unit 500 monitors the current flowing through the coil 221 by the current measurement circuit.

(Step S103)
Next, the drive photographing instruction unit 500 determines whether or not a prescribed current flows corresponding to the values in the angular current value table 600. When the current measurement circuit detects that the current has flowed so as to be inclined by the specified angle θ, the drive photographing instruction unit 500 determines Yes. In other cases, the control unit 50 determines No.
In the case of Yes, the drive shooting instruction unit 500 advances the process to step S104.
In the case of No, the drive shooting instruction unit 500 returns the process to step S102 and continues to monitor the current.

(Step S104)
When the current flows so as to be tilted by the specified angle θ, the drive imaging instruction unit 500 performs a laser irradiation drive end process.
The drive photographing instruction unit 500 instructs the photographing unit 30 to close the shutter and acquire the image data 610. Thereby, the image data 610 is saved from the photographing unit 30 to the storage unit 60 by DMA (Direct Memory Access) transfer or the like.

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the relationship of the spots when the laser is irradiated and tilted will be described.
The side view of FIG. 4 shows that the optical unit 10 is tilted downward from the initial position by a specified angle θ.
The left figure of FIG. 5 shows the spot of the measurement object 2 immediately after laser irradiation.
The right diagram in FIG. 5 shows a blurred image that is actually acquired as a light trace of a spot that is tilted by a specified angle θ.

(Step S105)
Next, the spot-to-spot distance calculation unit 510 performs spot-to-spot distance calculation processing.
The spot distance calculation unit 510 reads the specific shape data 620. The spot-to-spot distance calculation unit 510 recognizes the stored image data 610 and detects a specific shape. In the case of the present embodiment, the spot-to-spot distance calculation unit 510 recognizes, for example, a light trace in which a circular spot having a color corresponding to the wavelength of the laser has moved.
According to FIG. 5, the inter-spot distance calculation unit 510 calculates the pixel length A corresponding to the “known length” A ′ included in the specific shape.

Further, the spot-to-spot distance calculation unit 510 recognizes a spot having a specific shape S by the laser at the initial position, and recognizes the maximum length of the spot as a diameter. The spot-to-spot distance calculation unit 510 calculates the number of pixels having this diameter as the pixel length A.
The spot-to-spot distance calculation unit 510 also calculates a distance Δ of the number of pixels, which is a distance on the image between spots in the image data 610. The spot-to-spot distance calculation unit 510 recognizes the spot of the laser having the specific shape S ′ after the inclination of the specified angle θ in the blurred image. The spot-to-spot distance calculation unit 510 recognizes the position of the line (long axis) having the maximum length in the direction perpendicular to the inclination direction with respect to the spot of S ′. Then, the inter-spot distance calculation unit 510 calculates the total number of images between the diameter of the spot of S and the line of the spot of S ′ as the distance Δ of the number of pixels between the spots.

The spot-to-spot distance calculation unit 510 calculates the actual distance Δ ′ from the relationship of the following formula (2).

Pixel length A: “known length” A ′
= Distance of the number of pixels Δ: Actual distance Δ ′ (2)

Thereby, the actual distance Δ ′ between the spots can be accurately calculated from the pixel length A.

Note that the spot-to-spot distance calculation unit 510 may correct this because the spot of S ′ is slightly distorted because the circular laser is tilted.

(Step S106)
Next, the measured object distance calculation unit 520 performs a measured object distance calculation process.
The measured object distance calculation unit 520 calculates the distance L to the measured object 2 from the actual distance Δ ′ between the spots and the specified angle θ using the above equation (1).
The measured object distance calculation unit 520 outputs the calculated distance L. At this time, the measured object distance calculation unit 520 may display the actual distance L on a display (not shown) or other equipment, or may output only a numerical value so as to be used for processing of other programs. Good.
Thus, the distance measuring process according to the embodiment of the present invention is completed.

[Main effects of this embodiment]
With the configuration described above, the following effects can be obtained.
Conventionally, in the technique as disclosed in Patent Document 1, distance measurement is performed by performing image processing using a stereo camera.
On the other hand, the distance measuring device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention irradiates the measured object 2 with a laser in a specific shape in the distance measuring apparatus 1 that measures the distance L to the measured object 2. A laser light source 100, an image capturing unit 30 that captures a laser spot irradiated to the object 2 to be measured in a specific shape by the laser light source 100 and acquires image data 610, and a tilt drive mechanism that tilts the laser light source 100 by a specified angle θ. 20, an initial position, and a position Δ that is tilt-driven by the tilt driving mechanism 20 by a specified angle θ, a distance Δ between spots in the image data 610 photographed by the photographing unit 30, and a known shape included in the specific shape The spot-to-spot distance calculation unit 510 that calculates the actual distance Δ ′ between spots from the length ratio, and the actual distance between spots calculated by the spot-to-spot distance calculation unit 510 And a delta 'and the specified angle theta, characterized in that it comprises a measurement object distance calculating part 520 which calculates the distance L to the object 2 to be measured.
With this configuration, since the number of cameras is one as compared with a stereo camera, the weight and size can be reduced. In addition, the load of image processing can be reduced. In addition, distance measurement in real time (real time) is possible.

Conventionally, there has been a distance measuring device that performs distance measurement by measuring a laser reflection time or the like.
However, in such a conventional distance measuring device, the wavelength of the laser for distance measurement is fixed.
On the other hand, the distance measuring device 1 according to the present embodiment can perform distance measurement as long as the wavelength of the laser that can be imaged by the imaging unit 30, including infrared rays and the like. For this reason, for example, a laser whose wavelength can be changed or a laser for a photographing light source can be used for distance measurement.

In the distance measuring device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the specific shape is a circular shape whose longitudinal direction is a direction orthogonal to the direction of the specified angle θ, and the diameter or length of the circle is the known value. It is characterized by a length.
With this configuration, the pixel length A can be easily calculated simply by calculating the diameter of the circle in the image data 610. Moreover, since it is circular, even if the measurement object 2 is slightly inclined, the pixel length A can be easily calculated, and the measurement accuracy of the distance L can be increased.

In the distance measuring apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the spot-to-spot distance calculation unit 510 recognizes a location corresponding to a specific shape in the image data 610, and the image data 610 is calculated from the number of pixels at the recognized location. It is characterized in that a distance Δ between the spots is calculated.
With this configuration, since the distance Δ between spots can be detected based on the number of pixels, the distance L can be easily calculated while reducing the burden of length recognition from the image.

In the distance measuring apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the tilt driving mechanism 20 has an X that intersects the movable body 200 to which the optical unit 10 including the laser light source 100 is attached and the optical axis direction of the laser light source 100. There are two support mechanisms 210 that swingably support the movable body 200 around the axis, and a drive unit 220 that drives the movable body 200 around the X axis. The support mechanism 210 is connected to the movable body 200 in the X axis direction. Oscillating shafts 211 are provided at two positions separated from each other at positions overlapping the drive unit 220 in the X-axis direction.
With this configuration, compared to the pivot support system in which the movable body is supported by the pivot and oscillated, the distance measuring device 1 according to the present embodiment is configured from the X-axis direction orthogonal to the direction of the optical axis P. When viewed, the support mechanism 210 is provided at a position overlapping the drive unit 220. For this reason, when the pivot support method and the measuring apparatus 1 of the present embodiment are compared, the displacement of the movable body 200 is reduced when the movable body 200 is swung, and the movable body 200 and the fixed body 40 are unlikely to contact each other. Become. For this reason, in the pivot support method and the measuring apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, if the gap between the magnet and the coil is the same, the measuring apparatus 1 of the present embodiment may increase the inclination of the specified angle θ. It becomes possible, and it becomes possible to incline to the measurement object 2 at an appropriate angle.

In the distance measuring device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the driving unit 220 is a magnetic driving unit including a magnet 222 and a coil 221, and a laser corresponding to a specified angle θ flows through the coil 221. The light source 100 is tilted. With such a configuration, the pointing angle can be tilted only by a current command without a shake detection element such as a gyro sensor. For this reason, the structure of the ranging apparatus 1 can be simplified and cost can be reduced.

In addition, the distance measuring device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the tilt driving mechanism 20 tilts the laser light source 100 by a specified angle θ.
With this configuration, the laser light source 100 is lighter in weight than the imaging unit 30, so that the driving force is smaller than when the imaging unit 30 is included in the movable body 200 and the whole is tilted. For this reason, current consumption required for tilting the laser light source 100 can be reduced, and imaging can be performed while tilting quickly.

[Other Embodiments]
<Other embodiment 1>
In the above embodiment, the specific shape of the laser is described as a circular shape having a specific diameter. However, the specific shape of the laser can be other than circular.
According to FIG. 6, as another embodiment 1 of the present invention, an elliptical shape whose longitudinal direction is a direction orthogonal to the direction of the specified angle θ is the length of the major axis of the elliptical shape is “known length”. It is also possible to use an elliptical specific shape.
In this case, for the spot of the specific shape S2 at the initial position of the elliptical shape and the spot of the specific shape S2 ′ after the inclination of the indication angle θ, the length of the major axis in the longitudinal direction is acquired as the pixel length A described above. . Thereby, the distance L can be calculated as in the above-described embodiment.
By using an elliptical shape with a long longitudinal direction in this way, the error can be reduced even if the beam contour is somewhat blurred compared to a circular shape with a small laser diameter. That is, when the blur becomes larger than the spot diameter, the error is reduced by increasing the length of the spot.

<Other embodiment 2>
Further, according to FIG. 7, as another embodiment 2 of the present invention, the specific shape is two laser beams irradiated in parallel to the object 2 to be measured, and is orthogonal to the direction of the specified angle θ. It is also possible to configure the distance between the laser beams in the direction to be a known length.
With this configuration, the length between the spots of S3a and S3b, which has a specific shape by the two lasers, can be calculated as the pixel length A corresponding to the “known length” A ′. At this time, if the distance between the centers of the two lasers is detected as the pixel length A based on the laser beam intensity or the like, it can be detected with high accuracy.
For this reason, the actual distance Δ ′ can be accurately calculated. Further, since an optical element for expanding the diameter of the laser or making it oval is not necessary, the cost can be reduced.

<Other embodiments>
In the above-described embodiment, other embodiment 1, and other embodiment 2, the position where the laser light source 100 is tilt-driven from the initial position to the specified angle θ while the photographing unit 30 is open. It described so that the image of the to-be-measured target object 2 might be acquired. However, the imaging unit 30 may be configured to acquire images separately at the initial position and the tilt-driven position. In addition, the imaging unit 30 may acquire a moving image from the initial position to the tilt driven position and recognize the specific shape of the initial position and the tilt driven position.
With this configuration, in the case of a complicated specific shape, the specific shape can be recognized more easily than a blurred image. In addition, it becomes easy to recognize the specific shape itself by comparing the image data between the initial position and the tilt driven position. In addition, distance measurement can be performed even in a configuration in which the photographing unit 30 does not have a shutter, or while a moving image is being captured.

In the above-described embodiment, other embodiments 1, and other embodiments 2, the laser is described as being tilted from the top to the bottom with respect to the X axis. However, the laser may be tilted from bottom to top, from side to side, or at an angle.
With this configuration, it is possible to flexibly configure the shooting and ranging. In addition, by tilting the laser up and down or left and right regardless of the initial position, the waiting time until the distance measurement is completed can be reduced.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, other embodiment 1, and other embodiment 2, the configuration in which the laser is tilt-driven has been described. However, distance measurement can be performed by the same method even if the photographing unit 30 is tilt-driven by the specified angle θ instead of the laser. In this case, in the arrangement relationship as shown in FIG. 1, it is possible to include the camera in the optical unit 10 of the movable body 200 and replace the laser light source 100 with the position of the imaging unit 30.

That is, the distance measuring apparatus having such another configuration is a distance measuring apparatus that measures the distance L to the object 2 to be measured, the laser light source 100 that irradiates the object 2 to be measured with a laser in a specific shape, and a laser. An image capturing unit 30 that captures a laser spot irradiated to the object 2 to be measured 2 in a specific shape by the light source 100 to acquire image data 610, a tilt drive mechanism 20 that tilts the image capturing unit 30 by a specified angle θ, and an initial position Then, with respect to the position tilt-driven by the specified angle θ by the tilt driving mechanism 20, the distance Δ between spots in the image data 610 photographed by the photographing unit 30 and the ratio of the known length included in the specific shape. A spot-to-spot distance calculating unit 510 that calculates an actual distance Δ ′ between spots, an actual distance Δ ′ between spots calculated by the spot-to-spot distance calculating unit 510, and a specified angle θ. , Characterized in that it comprises a measurement object distance calculating part 520 which calculates the distance L to the object 2 to be measured.
In addition, the distance measuring device having such another configuration includes a tilt driving mechanism 20 having a movable body 200 to which the optical unit 10 including the photographing unit 30 is attached and an X axis that intersects the optical axis direction of the photographing unit 30. Two support mechanisms 210 that swingably support the movable body 200 and a drive unit 220 that drives the movable body 200 about the X axis. The support mechanism 210 is separated from the movable body 200 in the X axis direction. The swinging shaft 211 is provided at a position overlapping the driving unit 220 in the X-axis direction at two locations.
In the distance measuring apparatus having such another configuration, the driving unit 220 is a magnetic driving unit including a magnet 222 and a coil 221, and a current corresponding to a specified angle θ is caused to flow through the coil 221, thereby causing the photographing unit 30. It is characterized by tilting.
When configured in this manner, it is possible to perform distance measurement simply by adding a fixed laser light source to an imaging unit with a camera shake correction function, and cost can be reduced.

In addition, the angle current value table 600 may include a value of a specific time that is a time from when the current is supplied until the angle is tilted to the indicated angle θ.
In this case, a real time timer (not shown) or the like detects that a specific time has elapsed since the current was passed through the coil 221, and the drive shooting instruction unit 500 reaches the specified angle θ when the specific time has elapsed. You may judge that
With this configuration, the image data 610 can be acquired after the optical unit 10 is reliably tilted by the tilt drive mechanism 20. For this reason, the accuracy of distance measurement can be improved.

Further, as described above, the laser may be tilted at an accurate angle by an angle sensor instead of tilting to the specified angle θ by the current.
As a result, the distance can be measured with high accuracy, and the distance measuring apparatus 1 can be configured flexibly.

  Note that the configuration and operation of the above-described embodiment are examples, and it is needless to say that the configuration and operation can be appropriately changed and executed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Distance measuring apparatus 2 Target object 10 Optical unit 20 Tilt drive mechanism 30 Image pick-up part 40 Fixed body 50 Control part 60 Storage part 100 Laser light source 200 Movable body 210 Support mechanism 211 Oscillation shaft 220 Drive part 221 Coil 222 Magnet 500 Drive Imaging instruction unit 510 Distance between spots calculation unit 520 Object distance calculation unit 600 Angular current value table 610 Image data 620 Specific shape data

Claims (8)

In a distance measuring device that measures the distance L to the object to be measured,
A laser light source for irradiating the object to be measured with a laser in a specific shape;
Imaging means for capturing image data by capturing a spot of the laser irradiated on the object to be measured in the specific shape by the laser light source;
A tilt drive mechanism that tilts the laser light source or the imaging means by a specified angle θ;
A distance Δ between the spots in the image data captured by the imaging unit and a known length included in the specific shape with respect to an initial position and a position tilt-driven by the tilt driving mechanism by the specified angle θ. The inter-spot distance calculating means for calculating the actual distance Δ ′ between the spots from the ratio of
Measurement object distance calculation means for calculating a distance L to the measurement object from the actual distance Δ ′ between the spots calculated by the inter-spot distance calculation means and the specified angle θ. Ranging device characterized by. The specific shape is a circle or an ellipse whose longitudinal direction is a direction orthogonal to the direction of the specified angle θ, and the diameter of the circle or the major axis or minor axis of the ellipse is the known length. The distance measuring device according to claim 1, wherein: The specific shape is two laser beams irradiated in parallel to the object to be measured, and an interval between the laser beams in a direction orthogonal to the direction of the specified angle θ is the known length. The distance measuring device according to claim 1. The spot distance calculation means includes:
The location corresponding to the specific shape in the image data is recognized, and the distance Δ between the spots in the image data is calculated from the number of pixels of the recognized location. The distance measuring device according to claim 1. The tilt drive mechanism is
A movable body to which an optical unit including the laser light source or the imaging unit is attached;
Two support mechanisms for swingably supporting the movable body about an axis intersecting the optical axis direction of the laser light source or the imaging means;
Driving means for driving the movable body around the axis,
The support mechanism is provided with swinging shafts at two positions spaced apart from the movable body in the axial direction so as to overlap the driving means in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction of the laser light source or the photographing means. The distance measuring apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the distance measuring apparatus is characterized in that: The driving means includes
A magnetic driving means including a magnet and a coil;
6. The distance measuring device according to claim 5, wherein the laser light source or the imaging unit is tilted by causing a current corresponding to the specified angle θ to flow through the coil. The distance measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tilt driving mechanism tilts the laser light source by a specified angle θ. In the distance measuring method executed by the distance measuring device that measures the distance L to the object to be measured,
Irradiate the object to be measured with a laser in a specific shape,
An image of the laser spot irradiated to the specific shape is taken by the photographing means,
Tilt the irradiated laser of the specific shape or the imaging means by a specified angle θ,
From the initial position and the position tilt-driven by the specified angle θ, the distance Δ between the spots in the image photographed by the photographing means, and the ratio of the known lengths included in the specific shape, Calculate the actual distance Δ 'between the spots,
A distance measuring method, wherein a distance L to the object to be measured is calculated from the calculated actual distance Δ ′ between the spots and the specified angle θ.

Images