JP2020187042A - Optical distance measurement device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technique that allows an optical distance measurement device to efficiently receive incident light and disturbance light without increasing the number of components.SOLUTION: An optical distance measurement device 20 comprises a light reception unit 60 having a plurality of light reception regions La2, Lb2, Lc2, and Ld2 for receiving incident light and implementing light reception of the incident light in units of light reception region, and a light emission unit 40 for implementing light emission of the irradiation light so as to correspond exclusively to each light reception region. When the light reception unit receives the incident light in response to the emission of the irradiation light by the light emission unit, another different light reception region from one light reception region is turned on to enter into a light reception state during a period when the one light reception region corresponding to the emission of the irradiation light of the plurality of light reception regions is turned on to enter into the light reception state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

The present disclosure relates to an optical ranging device.

There is known an optical ranging device that measures the distance to an object by irradiating light and receiving the reflected light reflected by the object with a light receiving element. Such an optical ranging device may simultaneously receive ambient light as noise together with reflected light. There is known an optical ranging device that separately provides a light receiving region for receiving incident light and a light receiving region for receiving ambient light to remove the influence of ambient light from the incident light (for example, Patent Document 1). ).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-176750

In such an optical ranging device, the number of parts increases because it includes a light receiving region that detects only ambient light. Therefore, there has been a demand for an optical ranging device that can efficiently receive ambient light and incident light while suppressing an increase in the number of parts.

The present disclosure can be realized in the following forms.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, an optical ranging device (20) is provided. This optical ranging device has a plurality of light receiving regions (La2, Lb2, Lc2, Ld2) for receiving incident light, and a light receiving unit (La2, Lb2, Lc2, Ld2) that executes light reception of the incident light in each of the light receiving regions as a unit. 60) and a light emitting unit (40) that exclusively irradiates the irradiation light corresponding to each of the light receiving regions. When the incident light is received by the light receiving unit in response to the irradiation of the irradiation light by the light emitting unit, one of the plurality of light receiving regions corresponding to the irradiation of the irradiation light is turned on to receive the light receiving state. Within the period of the above, another light receiving area different from the one light receiving area is turned on to put the light receiving state.

According to the optical ranging device of this form, the ambient light is received by the other light receiving regions within the period in which the incident light is received by one of the light receiving regions. Since one light receiving unit executes control to receive the ambient light in the other light receiving area within the period in which the incident light is received in one light receiving area, the incident light and the ambient light are received without increasing the number of parts. In addition, it is possible to efficiently receive the incident light and the disturbance light without providing a period for receiving only the disturbance light.

The present disclosure can also be realized in various forms other than the optical ranging device. For example, it can be realized in the form of an optical ranging method, a vehicle equipped with an optical ranging device, a control method for controlling the optical ranging device, and the like.

The schematic block diagram of the optical ranging device of 1st Embodiment. Schematic block diagram showing an optical system. The explanatory view which shows typically the structure of the light receiving array. Explanatory drawing which shows typically the structure of the light receiving element included in a pixel. Schematic configuration diagram of the SPAD calculation unit. Explanatory drawing which shows the detection method of the peak signal corresponding to the reflected light. A timing chart showing a method of receiving ambient light and incident light. The explanatory view which shows the relationship between the disturbance light and the incident light used for the calculation of the peak signal in 2nd Embodiment.

A. First Embodiment:
The optical distance measuring device 20 is a device that optically measures a distance. As shown in FIG. 1, the optical ranging device 20 emits irradiation light for ranging and receives reflected light from an object, and a SPAD that processes a signal obtained from the optical system 30. It includes a calculation unit 100. The optical system 30 includes a light emitting unit 40 that emits laser light as irradiation light, a projection unit 50 that reflects the irradiation light and projects it onto a predetermined region, and incident light including reflected light and ambient light from an object. A light receiving unit 60 for receiving light is provided.

Details of the optical system 30 are shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the light emitting unit 40 includes a semiconductor laser element (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a laser element) 41 that emits a laser beam for distance measurement, a circuit board 43 incorporating a drive circuit of the laser element 41, and a laser element. It includes a collimating lens 45 that makes the laser beam emitted from 41 into parallel light. The laser element 41 is a laser diode capable of oscillating a so-called short pulse laser. In the present embodiment, the laser element 41 constitutes a rectangular laser emitting region by arranging a plurality of laser diodes along the vertical direction. The pulse width of the laser beam of the laser element 41 is about 5 nsec. By using a short pulse of 5 nsec, the resolution of distance measurement is improved.

The projection unit 50 is composed of a so-called one-dimensional scanner. The projection unit 50 includes a mirror 54, a rotary solenoid 58, and a rotating unit 56. The mirror 54 reflects the laser beam that is collimated by the collimated lens 45. The rotary solenoid 58 receives a control signal Sm from the control unit 110, which will be described later, and repeats forward rotation and reverse rotation within a predetermined angle range. The rotating portion 56 is driven by the rotary solenoid 58, repeats forward rotation and reverse rotation on a rotating axis with the vertical direction as the axial direction, and scans the mirror 54 in one direction along the horizontal direction. The laser beam incident from the laser element 41 via the collimating lens 45 is reflected by the mirror 54 and scanned along the horizontal direction by the rotation of the mirror 54. FIG. 1 conceptually shows the scanning range of the irradiation light as the measurement range 80.

When there is an object such as a person or a car, the laser beam output from the optical ranging device 20 is diffusely reflected on the surface of the object, and a part of the laser beam returns to the mirror 54 of the projection unit 50 as reflected light. This reflected light is reflected by the mirror 54, is incident on the light receiving lens 61 of the light receiving unit 60 as incident light together with the ambient light, is collected by the light receiving lens 61, and is incident on the light receiving array 65.

Next, the configuration of the light receiving array 65 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. The light receiving array 65 is configured by arranging a plurality of pixels 66 in two dimensions. As shown in FIG. 3, the light receiving array 65 is divided into a plurality of light receiving regions including light receiving regions La2, Lb2, Lc2, and Ld2 arranged in a straight line. The light emitting unit 40 exclusively executes irradiation of the irradiation light corresponding to each light receiving region La2, Lb2, Lc2, Ld2 via the projection unit 50, and each light receiving region La2, Lb2, Lc2, Ld2 respectively. Is executed as one unit to receive the incident light.

In FIG. 1, the irradiation regions La1, Lb1, Lc1, Ld1 corresponding to the irradiation direction of the irradiation light corresponding to each light receiving region La2, Lb2, Lc2, Ld2 are conceptually shown in the measurement range 80. For example, when the irradiation region La1 in the measurement range 80 is irradiated with the irradiation light, the light receiving array 65 in the light receiving region La2 is turned on so that the reflected light can be received. Similarly, the irradiation region Lb1 corresponds to the light receiving region Lb2, the irradiation region Lc1 corresponds to the light receiving region Lc2, and the irradiation region Ld1 corresponds to the light receiving region Ld2. As described above, in the optical ranging device 20 of the present embodiment, the projection unit 50 controls the irradiation direction of the irradiation light to each irradiation region La1, Lb1, Lc1, Ld1 and each irradiation region La1, Lb1, Lc1, Ld1. The ON / OFF control of the light receiving regions La2, Lb2, Lc2, and Ld2 corresponding to the above is executed in association with each other, and the measurement range 80 is sequentially measured.

FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the pixel 66. As shown in FIG. 4, the pixel 66 is composed of a plurality of light receiving elements 68 arranged so as to have H elements in the horizontal direction and V elements in the vertical direction. In the present embodiment, five light receiving elements 68 are formed in each of the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, but one light receiving element 68 may be used, or any number of light receiving elements 68 may be used. An avalanche photodiode (APD) is used as the light receiving element 68, but a PIN photodiode may also be used.

As shown in the equivalent circuit of FIG. 4, each light receiving element 68 connects a quenching resistor Rq and an avalanche diode Da in series between the power supply Vcc and the ground line, and inputs the voltage at the connection point to the inverting element INV. Then, it is converted into a digital signal with the voltage level inverted. The state of the other input of the AND circuit SW can be switched by the selection signal SC. Since the selection signal SC is used to specify which light receiving element 68 of the light receiving array 65 to read, it is also called an address signal. If the address signal SC is set to high level H in accordance with the timing at which each light receiving element 68 receives light, the output signal of the AND circuit SW, that is, the output signal Sout from each light receiving element 68 changes the state of the avalanche diode Da. It becomes a reflected digital signal.

The output signal Sout is a pulse signal generated by receiving incident light including reflected light and ambient light in which the irradiation light is reflected by the object OBJ existing in the scanning range and returned. The pulse signal output by the light receiving element 68 is input to the SPAD calculation unit 100.

FIG. 5 shows the details of the SPAD calculation unit 100. The SPAD calculation unit 100 calculates the distance from the time Tf from the time when the laser element 41 outputs the irradiation light pulse until the light receiving element 68 receives the reflected light pulse to the object OBJ. The SPAD calculation unit 100 is provided with a well-known microprocessor and memory, and the CPU executes a program prepared in advance to perform processing necessary for distance measurement. The SPAD calculation unit 100 adds a CPU and memory to an integrated circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or a programmable logic circuit such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device) capable of programming an internal circuit. It may be a mode to provide. The SPAD calculation unit 100 includes a control unit 110 that controls the entire system, an addition unit 120, a histogram generation unit 130, a peak detection unit 140, and a distance calculation unit 150.

The adder 120 is a circuit that adds the outputs of the light receiving elements 68 included in the pixels 66 constituting the light receiving array 65. When the incident light pulse is incident on one pixel 66, each light receiving element 68 included in the pixel 66 operates. The fact that the pixel 66 is composed of a plurality of SPADs depends on the characteristics of the SPAD. The SPAD can detect only one photon incident, but the detection of the SPAD by the limited light from the object OBJ must be probabilistic. The addition unit 120 of the SPAD calculation unit 100 adds the output signal Sout from the SPAD, which can detect the incident light only stochastically.

The histogram generation unit 130 adds the addition results of the addition unit 120 a plurality of times to generate a histogram, and outputs the histogram to the peak detection unit 140. The peak detection unit 140 analyzes the signal intensity input from the histogram generation unit 130 to detect the peak position (time) of the signal corresponding to the reflected light. FIG. 6 schematically shows a method of detecting a peak of a signal corresponding to a reflected light pulse.

Each graph shown in FIG. 6 is a graph in which the horizontal axis is the time axis and the vertical axis is the signal strength. As described above, each of the light receiving regions La2, Lb2, Lc2, and Ld2 of the light receiving array 65 receives the reflected light from the object OBJ as incident light including ambient light as noise. The histogram generation unit 130 uses a histogram of signal intensity including a signal corresponding to the incident light shown in the upper left of FIG. 6 (hereinafter, also referred to as an incident signal) to a signal corresponding to the disturbance light (hereinafter, disturbance) shown in the lower left of FIG. Subtract the average value of the signal strength (also called a signal). As a result, as shown on the right side of FIG. 6, the signal intensity corresponding to the reflected light contained in the incident light appears as a peak. The peak detection unit 140 determines that the portion having the highest frequency in the histogram is the peak.

When the peak of the signal corresponding to the reflected light is detected by the peak detection unit 140, the distance calculation unit 150 detects the time Tf from the emission of the irradiation light pulse to the peak of the reflected light pulse, thereby detecting the target. The distance D to the object is detected. The detected distance D is output to, for example, a driving support device equipped with the optical distance measuring device 20. The distance D may be output to a control device for various moving objects such as a drone, a train, and a ship equipped with the optical distance measuring device 20 in addition to the driving support device, and is used alone as a fixed distance measuring device. May be done.

As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 110 has a command signal SL for determining the light emission timing of the laser element 41 with respect to the circuit board 43 of the light emitting unit 40, and an address for determining which light receiving element 68 is to be activated. In addition to the signal SC, the signal St instructing the histogram generation timing to the histogram generation unit 130 and the control signal Sm to the rotary solenoid 58 of the projection unit 50 are output. By outputting these signals at a predetermined timing by the control unit 110, the SPAD calculation unit 100 detects the object OBJ existing in the measurement range 80 together with the distance D to the object OBJ.

Next, using the timing chart of FIG. 7, a method of receiving light of incident light and ambient light executed by the optical ranging device 20 of the present embodiment will be described. On the uppermost stage of FIG. 7, ON / OFF control of the projection unit 50 for each irradiation region is shown. Below that, ON / OFF control of each light receiving region La2, Lb2, Lc2, Ld2 of the light receiving array 65 is shown. The ON / OFF control of each light receiving region La2, Lb2, Lc2, Ld2 represents a control for individually switching between a light receiving state and a non-light receiving state for each light receiving region La2, Lb2, Lc2, Ld2, and is controlled by the control unit 110. This is realized by selectively inputting the address signal SC to the light receiving element 68 belonging to each light receiving region La2, Lb2, Lc2, Ld2. The horizontal axis is the time axis and is common to the control of each part.

The uppermost part of FIG. 7 shows the control of the irradiation direction of the irradiation light by the projection unit 50 to each irradiation area La1, Lb1, Lc1, Ld1, and below that of FIG. 7, each irradiation area La1, The ON / OFF control of the light receiving regions La2, Lb2, Lc2, and Ld2 corresponding to Lb1, Lc1, and Ld1 is shown.

In the optical ranging device 20 of the present embodiment, one of the light receiving regions La2, Lb2, Lc2, and Ld2 is turned on to detect the incident light, and the other light receiving region is put into the light receiving state within the period. Is also turned on to control the light reception state. For example, at time t1, the light receiving region of the light receiving region Lc2 is also turned on during the period in which the light receiving region La2 corresponding to the irradiation region La1 is turned on so that the reflected light can be received. Control is performed. At this time, since the light receiving region Lc2 is not associated with the irradiation region La1, it is possible to receive more ambient light than the reflected light. As described above, in the optical ranging device 20 of the present embodiment, the other light receiving regions are controlled so as to receive a large amount of ambient light within the period in which the incident light is received by one light receiving region. At this time, it is preferable that one light receiving region that receives reflected light and another light receiving region that receives ambient light in parallel during the same period are separated from each other. This is because the closer the light receiving region for receiving the ambient light is to the light receiving region for receiving the reflected light, the more the reflected light as noise can be received together with the ambient light.

In the optical ranging device 20 of the present embodiment, the timing of turning on each irradiation region La1, Lb1, Lc1, Ld1 and the timing of turning on the light receiving regions La2 to Ld2 corresponding to each irradiation region La1 to Ld1 are simultaneously turned on. Control to be. As a result, a period from the time when the control unit 110 outputs the command signal SL to the light emitting unit 40, that is, the time when the laser element 41 of the light emitting unit 40 actually emits light (hereinafter, “delay period””. Also referred to as), each light receiving region La2 to Ld2 is in a light receiving state.

Next, at time t2, the irradiation light is irradiated to the irradiation region Lb1 by the projection unit 50, the light receiving region Lb2 is turned on to be in a light receiving state capable of receiving the reflected light, and the light is received to receive the ambient light. Control is performed so that the region Ld2 is also turned on. The combination of the light receiving region Lb2 and the light receiving region Ld2 is based on the fact that the light receiving region Lb2 and the light receiving region Ld2 are arranged at positions separated from each other, as in the relationship between the light receiving region La2 and the light receiving region Lc2 described above.

Similarly, at time t3, the control unit 110 controls to turn on the light receiving region Lc2 corresponding to the irradiation region Lc1 and to turn on the light receiving region La2 to receive the ambient light. At time t4, the light receiving region Ld2 corresponding to the irradiation region Ld1 is turned on, and the light receiving region Lb2 is turned on to receive the ambient light. After the time t5, the control from the time t1 to the time t5 is repeated.

Next, a method of calculating the signal intensity of the reflected light executed by the optical ranging device 20 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7. As described above, the SPAD calculation unit 100 detects the peak corresponding to the reflected light by subtracting the average value of the signal strength of the disturbance signal from the histogram of the signal strength of the incident signal. In FIG. 7, the relationship between the disturbance signal and the incident signal used for peak detection of the reflected light is conceptually represented by the directions D11, D12, D13, and D14.

As shown in the directions D11, D12, D13, and D14, the light receiving region for acquiring the incident signal and the disturbance signal used for detecting the peak of the signal intensity corresponding to the reflected light is controlled to be the same. For example, the direction D11 is a histogram of the incident signal detected in the light receiving region La2 at time t5, and a mean value of the signal intensities of the disturbance signal detected by the light receiving region La2 during the period when the light receiving region Lc2 is turned on at time t3. Indicates that the signal intensity of the reflected light is calculated using. As described above, in the present embodiment, the incident signal corresponding to the incident light detected by one light receiving region and the disturbance corresponding to the disturbance light detected by this one light receiving region within the period when the other light receiving region is turned on. Use with a signal.

As described above, according to the optical ranging device 20 of the present embodiment, the ambient light is emitted to the other light receiving region within the period in which the incident light is received by one of the light receiving regions La2, Lb2, Lc2, and Ld2. The control to receive light is executed. Since the control for receiving the ambient light to the other light receiving region is executed by one light receiving array 65 within the period during which the incident light is received by one light receiving region, the incident light and the ambient light can be obtained without increasing the number of parts. Can receive light, and can efficiently receive incident light and ambient light without providing a separate period for receiving only ambient light.

According to the optical ranging device 20 of the present embodiment, the peak of the signal intensity corresponding to the reflected light is detected by using the disturbance signal and the incident signal detected in the same light receiving region. By using the incident light and the disturbance light received in the light receiving region at the same position, the detection accuracy of the disturbance signal included in the incident signal can be improved, and the detection accuracy of the reflected light can be improved.

According to the optical ranging device 20 of the present embodiment, one light receiving region for receiving reflected light and another light receiving region for receiving ambient light in parallel during the same period are arranged so as to be separated from each other. It is possible to suppress the problem that the reflected light as noise is incident on the other light receiving region that receives the disturbance light together with the disturbance light.

In the optical ranging device 20 of the present embodiment, a plurality of three or more light receiving regions including the light receiving regions La2, Lb2, Lc2, and Ld2 are linearly arranged. By further providing a third light receiving region such as the light receiving region Lb2 between the light receiving regions separated from each other such as the light receiving region La2 and the light receiving region Lc2, the region between the separated light receiving regions can be efficiently used for the incident light. It is possible to detect ambient light. In the present embodiment, four regions consisting of light receiving regions La2, Lb2, Lc2, and Ld2 are linearly arranged, and two regions separated from each other, such as light receiving region La2 and light receiving region Lc2, and light receiving region Lb2 and light receiving region Ld2. Since the light receiving regions are combined, the incident light and the ambient light can be received more efficiently.

According to the optical ranging device 20 of the present embodiment, the timing of turning on each irradiation region La1, Lb1, Lc1, Ld1 and the timing of turning on the light receiving regions La2 to Ld2 corresponding to each irradiation region La1 to Ld1. Are controlled to be at the same time. As a result, the light receiving regions La2 to Ld2 can receive ambient light within the delay period from the time when the light emitting unit 110 is instructed to emit light to the time when the light emitting unit 40 actually emits light. Therefore, one light receiving region can efficiently detect the disturbance light by utilizing the delay period, and can acquire the disturbance light immediately before acquiring the incident light, so that the detection accuracy of the reflected light can be improved. .. Further, since the acquisition of the disturbance light and the acquisition of the incident light can be acquired in the same light receiving region, the detection accuracy of the disturbance signal included in the incident signal can be improved, and the detection accuracy of the reflected light can be improved.

B. Second embodiment:
The optical ranging device 20 of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The configuration of each part of the optical ranging device 20 of the second embodiment is the same as that of the optical ranging device 20 of the first embodiment, but the method of calculating the signal intensity of the reflected light is different from that of the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 conceptually shows the relationship between the disturbance signal and the incident signal used by the SPAD calculation unit 100 for detecting the peak of the reflected light in the second embodiment by the directions D21, D22, D23, and D24. As shown in the directions D21, D22, D23, and D24, the period for acquiring the incident signal and the disturbance signal used for detecting the peak of the signal intensity corresponding to the reflected light is controlled to be the same. For example, in the direction D21, the signal intensity of the reflected light is calculated by using the histogram of the incident signal detected in the light receiving region La2 at time t1 and the average value of the signal intensities of the disturbance signal detected in the light receiving region Lc2 during the same period. Represents to do. As described above, in the present embodiment, the incident signal corresponding to the incident light detected by one light receiving region and the ambient light detected by the other light receiving region within the same period during the period when one light receiving region is turned on. The disturbance signal corresponding to is used.

According to the optical ranging device 20 of the second embodiment, the incident signal detected by one light receiving region and the disturbance signal detected by the other light receiving region while the one light receiving region detects the incident signal. It is used to detect the peak of the signal intensity corresponding to the reflected light. By using the incident light received during the same period and the ambient light, it is possible to detect the ambient light according to the environment at the time of receiving the incident light, and it is possible to improve the detection accuracy of the reflected light.

C. Other embodiments:
(C1) In each of the above embodiments, the light receiving array 65 is composed of four light receiving regions La2, Lb2, Lc2, and Ld2 arranged in a straight line, but the light receiving region is not limited to four. In addition to the number of 2, the mode may include any number of light receiving regions of 3 or more. The arrangement of the light receiving regions may be any shape according to the shape of the irradiation region of the irradiation light, such as a square shape or a circular shape, even if it is not linear. Further, the regions may be arranged so as not to be adjacent to each other but to be separated from each other.

(C2) In each of the above embodiments, positions such as the light receiving region La2 and the light receiving region Lc2, the light receiving region Lb2 and the light receiving region Ld2, where the light receiving region that receives the ambient light and the light receiving region that receives the incident light are separated from each other. Although the relationship is shown, light receiving regions having a positional relationship adjacent to each other, such as the light receiving region La2 and the light receiving region Lb2, the light receiving region Lb2 and the light receiving region Lc2, and the light receiving region Lc2 and the light receiving region Ld2, may be used. ..

(C3) In each of the above embodiments, a signal is used by using the disturbance signal and the incident signal received in the light receiving regions that are separated from each other, such as the light receiving region La2 and the light receiving region Lc2, and the light receiving region Lb2 and the light receiving region Ld2. The intensity is calculated, but the disturbance signal detected in the light receiving area of the adjacent positional relationship such as the light receiving area La2 and the light receiving area Lb2, the light receiving area Lb2 and the light receiving area Lc2, the light receiving area Lc2 and the light receiving area Ld2, etc. An incident signal may be used.

(C4) In each of the above embodiments, the projection unit 50 is composed of a one-dimensional scanner including one planar mirror, but the two mirrors may be combined to form a two-dimensional scanner and intersect with each other. It may be configured as a two-dimensional scanner by one mirror rotating on two rotation axes. The projection unit 50 is not limited to a flat mirror, and may be composed of various mirrors such as a polygon mirror, a polyhedral mirror, a MEMS mirror, and a galvano mirror.

(C5) In each of the above embodiments, the light receiving element 68 includes a SPAD such as a pin photodiode or an avalanche photodiode, but it may be composed of a light receiving element other than the SPAD. For example, as the light receiving element 68, a photocell or a photomultiplier tube using the external photoelectric effect (photoelectron emission), a phototransistor using the internal photoelectric effect of the semiconductor, a photoconductive cell, or an image sensor may be used. , A thermocouple for radiation that detects heat due to light absorption, or a thermopile may be used.

(C6) In each of the above embodiments, a coaxial optical system in which the optical axis of the irradiation light of the projection unit 50 and the optical axis of the light reception are aligned with each other is adopted, but the optical axis of the irradiation light and the optical axis of the light reception An different axis type optical system different from the above may be adopted.

The controls and methods thereof described in the present disclosure are realized by a dedicated computer provided by configuring a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions embodied by a computer program. May be done. Alternatively, the controls and methods thereof described in the present disclosure may be implemented by a dedicated computer provided by configuring the processor with one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. Alternatively, the control unit and method thereof described in the present disclosure may be a combination of a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions and a processor composed of one or more hardware logic circuits. It may be realized by one or more dedicated computers configured. Further, the computer program may be stored in a computer-readable non-transitional tangible recording medium as an instruction executed by the computer.

The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be realized by various configurations within a range not deviating from the gist thereof. For example, the technical features of the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in each embodiment described in the column of the outline of the invention are for solving a part or all of the above-mentioned problems, or a part of the above-mentioned effects. Or, in order to achieve all of them, it is possible to replace or combine them as appropriate. Further, if the technical feature is not described as essential in the present specification, it can be appropriately deleted.

20 optical ranging device, 40 light emitting part, 60 light receiving part, La2 to Ld2 light receiving area

Claims (5)

Optical ranging device (20)
A light receiving unit (60) having a plurality of light receiving regions (La2, Lb2, Lc2, Ld2) for receiving the incident light and executing the light receiving of the incident light in each of the light receiving regions as a unit.
A light emitting unit (40) that exclusively executes irradiation of irradiation light corresponding to each of the light receiving regions is provided.
When the incident light is received by the light receiving unit in response to the irradiation of the irradiation light by the light emitting unit,
Within the period in which one of the plurality of light receiving regions corresponding to the irradiation of the irradiation light is turned on to be in the light receiving state, another light receiving region different from the one light receiving region is turned on to be in the light receiving state. To do,
Optical ranging device. The incident signal corresponding to the incident light detected by the one light receiving region during the period when the one light receiving region is in the light receiving state and the one light receiving region are detected during the period when the other light receiving region is in the light receiving state. The optical ranging device according to claim 1, wherein the signal intensity corresponding to the irradiation light is calculated by using the disturbance signal corresponding to the disturbance light. The incident signal corresponding to the incident light detected by the one light receiving region during the period when the one light receiving region is in the light receiving state and the other light receiving region are detected during the period when the one light receiving region is in the light receiving state. The signal intensity corresponding to the irradiation light is calculated by using the disturbance signal corresponding to the disturbance light.
The optical ranging device according to claim 1. The optical ranging device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the one light receiving region and the other light receiving region are arranged at positions separated from each other. The plurality of light receiving regions are composed of three or more light receiving regions arranged in a straight line.
The optical ranging according to claim 4, wherein at least a third light receiving region different from the one light receiving region and the other light receiving region is provided between the one light receiving region and the other light receiving region. apparatus.

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