JPH07159517A - Light transmitting/receiving portion of optical radar device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a light transmitting/receiving portion of an optical radar in which a light transmitter portion, a light receiver portion, and a light reflector portion that includes a light reflector for checking the direction of light transmission from the light transmitter portion and angle adjusting mechanisms for the reflector, are arranged optimally with respect to one another and the angle adjusting mechanisms of the light reflector are improved. CONSTITUTION:A light transmitting portion 10 and a light receiving portion 20 are disposed adjacent to each other and a light reflector portion 30 including a light reflector 31 and angle adjusting mechanisms 32 to 35, 36a, 36b for making the optical axis of the reflector coincide with the direction of light transmission from the light transmitter portion 10 or with the direction of light received by the light receiver portion 20 is disposed adjacent to either or both of the light receiver portion 10 and the light transmitter portion 20. The angle adjusting mechanisms of the light reflector 31 each have a fixed body (frame panel 42, etc.) disposed behind the light reflector 31, an elastic body (O-ring 35, etc.) intervening between the fixed body and the light reflector 31, and binding means 34, 36a, 36b for binding three portions around the light reflector 31 to the fixed body while compressing the elastic body and permitting variations in the interval between each of them and the fixed body.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a light transmitting / receiving portion of an optical radar device used as a vehicle-mounted radar device, and more specifically, a light reflecting portion for confirming a light transmitting direction. The present invention relates to a transmitting / receiving unit of an optical radar device provided.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Optical radar devices have been developed as on-vehicle radar devices. This optical radar device emits a pulsed light beam in front of a vehicle, and a light transmitting / receiving unit that receives a light beam reflected by an object such as a preceding vehicle and returned by a photoelectric conversion element, and emits a light beam. And a distance detector that detects the distance to the object that generated the reflected light based on the time required to receive the reflected light.

The direction of the light beam emitted from the light transmitting section of the light transmitting / receiving section varies due to the deviation of the center of the light beam of the light emitting element from the optical axis of the light transmitting lens. For this reason, when attaching the light transmitting / receiving unit of such an optical radar device to the vehicle, it is necessary to confirm the light transmitting direction and match the attachment angle with the traveling direction of the vehicle. However, when invisible light such as infrared rays is used as the light-transmitting beam, there is a disadvantage that the light-transmitting direction cannot be visually confirmed. A device for resolving this inconvenience is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 5-9525 related to the applicant's prior application.

According to the above invention, the light reflecting portion including the reflecting mirror and the angle adjusting mechanism of the reflecting mirror is attached between the light transmitting portion and the light receiving portion, and the angle adjusting mechanism is operated at the assembly stage. , The optical axis of the reflecting mirror is aligned with the light sending direction of the light sending beam. When mounting this transmitter and receiver on the vehicle,
The visible light generated by using a handy light source such as a flashlight is applied to the light reflection part and the reflected light from the reflecting mirror is visually checked to confirm the light transmission direction of the light transmission beam and to the vehicle. The mounting angle of is adjusted.

[0005]

According to the optical radar device of the above-mentioned prior application, a reflecting mirror for confirming the light transmitting direction is installed between the light transmitting portion and the light receiving portion. However, the inventor subsequently discovered that such mutual placement was not optimal and there was room for improvement. Therefore, another object of the present invention is to provide an optical radar device in which the mutual arrangement of the light reflecting portion, the light transmitting portion, and the light receiving portion is optimized.

Further, according to the transmitting / receiving section of the optical radar device of the above-mentioned prior application, the angle adjusting mechanism for adjusting the optical axis of the reflecting mirror is realized by four screws. However, the present inventor subsequently discovered that such an angle adjusting mechanism is not optimal in terms of easiness of operation and there is room for improvement. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an optical radar device which facilitates the optical axis adjustment work by improving the angle adjusting mechanism of the reflecting mirror.

[0007]

According to the light transmitting / receiving section of the optical radar device of the present invention, the light transmitting section and the light receiving section are arranged adjacent to each other, and the light reflecting section is adjacent to the light receiving section or the light transmitting section. Are arranged. According to a preferred embodiment, the light transmitting section, the light receiving section, and the light reflecting section are arranged so that their centers are substantially aligned with each other, and the light reflecting section is adjacent to one of the light receiving section and the light transmitting section. It is arranged. According to another aspect of the present invention, the angle adjusting mechanism of the light reflecting portion includes a fixed body disposed behind the light reflecting body, and an elastic body interposed between the fixed body and the light reflecting body. Restraint means for restraining the peripheral portion of the light reflector to the fixed body while compressing the elastic body and permitting a change in the distance from the fixed body.

[0008]

According to the present invention, instead of disposing the light reflecting portion between the light transmitting portion and the light receiving portion as shown in FIG.
As shown in (A), the light transmitting portion and the light receiving portion are arranged adjacent to each other, and the light reflecting portion is arranged outside thereof, for example, adjacent to the light receiving portion as shown in the drawing. In FIG. 6, the directivity of the light transmitting unit (spatial distribution of the light transmitting beam) is shown by a solid line, and the directivity of the light receiving unit (spatial distribution of light receiving sensitivity) is shown by a broken line. The detectable range of the optical radar device is a hatched area where the areas indicated by the respective directivities intersect.
This detectable range increases as the distance between the light transmitter and the light receiver decreases. Therefore, according to the present invention, the distance between the light transmitting unit and the light receiving unit can be reduced as compared with the case of the prior art, and accordingly, the detection range of the optical radar device can be expanded.

According to the angle adjusting mechanism of the present invention, the three locations on the peripheral portion of the light reflecting body compress the elastic body interposed between the light reflecting body and the change in the distance from the fixed body. While being bound by this fixed body. By realizing such a restraint means with a screw or the like that can be operated from the front, the labor and time required for the angle adjustment can be significantly reduced.

[0010]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the structure of a light transmitting / receiving section of an optical radar device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing the reflecting mirror of FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial perspective view showing the reflecting mirror and its peripheral portion in an enlarged manner.
2 is a perspective view of the light transmitting / receiving unit of FIG. 1. FIG. First, referring to the cross-sectional view of FIG. 1, in this light transmitting / receiving unit, the light transmitting unit 10 and the light receiving unit 20 are arranged adjacent to each other, and further adjacent to the light receiving unit 20 and opposite to the light transmitting unit 10. The light reflecting portion 30 is arranged on the side. The light transmitting unit 10, the light receiving unit 20, and the reflecting unit 30 are arranged so that their centers are located substantially on a straight line. The light transmitting unit 10 is composed of a light emitting element 11 such as a laser diode and a light transmitting lens arranged in front of it. The light receiving unit 20 is a light receiving element 21 such as an avalanche photo diode and a light receiving lens arranged in front of it. It consists of and.

The light transmitting lens 12 of the light transmitting unit 10 and the light receiving unit 2
The zero light receiving lens 22 is held on the frame body 42 whose peripheral portion is held by the housing 44. A plurality of holding bars 43a, 4
The printed wiring board 41 held by the frame body 42 via 3b ... Is installed substantially parallel to the frame body 42 and facing the frame body 42. The light emitting element 11 and the light receiving element 21 are arranged on the printed wiring board 41. Light transmitter 1
At 0, the transmission of the light beam emitted in front of the light-transmitting lens 12 due to the position shift between the center of the light beam emitted from the light-emitting element 11 and the optical axis of the light-transmitting lens 12. Variations occur in the direction. In order to adjust the light receiving direction of the light receiving unit 20 according to the scattered light sending directions, the relative position is adjusted between the light receiving element 21 and the light receiving lens 22. The adjustment of the relative position is performed by adjusting the position of the holding body 23 that holds the light receiving lens 22 in the vertical direction in FIG. 1 and in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface.

The light reflecting section 30 has a reflecting mirror 31 for confirming the light sending direction of the light sending section 10, and an angle adjustment for matching the optical axis of the reflecting mirror 31 with the light sending direction of the light sending section 10. And a mechanism. This angle adjusting mechanism includes a flat plate 32 for holding the reflecting mirror 31 in the central portion, mounting holes 33 formed on three sides of the peripheral portion of the flat plate 32, and a frame body 42 at positions substantially corresponding to these mounting holes. A screw hole 34 formed in
An O-ring 35 which surrounds these screw holes 34 and is arranged between the flat plate 32 and the frame body 42, flat head screws 36a, 36b,
And 36c. The three countersunk screws 36a, 36b and 36c are screwed into the screw holes 34 formed on the frame 42 through the mounting holes 33 formed on the flat plate 32 and the central portion of the O-ring 35, respectively. .

As shown in the enlarged partial perspective view of FIG. 3, an orthogonal coordinate system (X,
(Y, Z), the flat head screws 36a and 36c are arranged along the X axis, and the flat head screws 36a and 36b are arranged along the Y axis. It is fixed on the flat plate 32 by adjusting the screwing depth of the flat head screw 36c into the corresponding screw hole 34 while the screwing depth of the flat head screw 36a to the corresponding screw hole 34 is fixed. The angle of the reflecting mirror 31 around the Y axis (in the horizontal direction in the drawing) is adjusted. Further, with the depth of engagement of the flat head screw 36a into the corresponding screw hole 34 fixed, the flat head screw 3
By adjusting the screwing depth of the corresponding 6b into the corresponding screw hole 34, the angle (in the vertical direction in the figure) around the Y axis of the reflecting mirror 31 fixed on the flat plate 32 is adjusted. . Thus, by adjusting the screwing depths of the flat head screws 36b and 36c with the flat head screw 36a fixed in the screwing depth, the flat plate 32 around the X axis and the Y axis orthogonal to the optical axis is adjusted. Rotation angle can be adjusted independently.

As shown in the enlarged partial cross-sectional view of FIG. 2, the mounting holes 3 corresponding to the inclined surfaces of the head undersides of the flat head screws 36a and 36b.
Unlike the case of the prior art, the inner peripheral surface of No. 3 is not in the state of surface contact, but is close to point contact as illustrated in the case of the countersunk screw 36a, or the line as illustrated in the case of the countersunk screw 36b. Contact in a state close to contact. That is, the support mechanism for the flat plate 32 by the three flat head screws is a simple support for restraining the displacement in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction while allowing the flat plate 32 to rotate around the X-axis and the Y-axis. It will be close. As a result, two axes (X axis and Y axis) orthogonal to the optical axis direction (Z axis direction) are formed.
The rotation of the flat plate 32 about the axis is extremely smooth.
Furthermore, since the O-ring that can be deformed not only in the optical axis direction but also in the lateral direction is used as the elastic body, the adhesion between the frame body 42, the flat plate 32 and the elastic body is improved, and so-called play is significantly reduced. It As a result, extremely accurate angle adjustment can be performed.

The ring-shaped projections 37 formed on the peripheral portions of the O-rings 35 have a function of holding the corresponding O-rings 35 in their respective interiors and limit the distance between the flat plate 32 and the frame 42. Has a function of avoiding the inconvenience that the O-ring 35 is excessively crushed.

The detection of the light transmitting direction, the adjustment of the light receiving direction, and the adjustment of the optical axis of the reflecting mirror 31 are performed as follows. First, with the glass plate 45 removed from the housing 44, the light transmitting / receiving unit of FIG. 1 is fixed to an appropriate place such as a table, and the light emitting element 11 is caused to emit light. By detecting the arrival position of the light beam emitted from the light emitting element 11 from the position of the detection light receiving element in front of the light transmitting / receiving section, the light transmitting direction of the light transmitting section 10 is detected. Next, the light emitting element for detection arranged at a predetermined position in front of the light transmitting / receiving section is caused to emit light, and the light beam emitted from this light emitting element for detection is received by the light receiving element 21 while adjusting the position of the light receiving lens 22. By doing so, the light receiving direction of the light receiving unit 20 is adjusted.

Finally, the detection light emitting element arranged at a predetermined position in front of the light transmitting / receiving section is caused to emit light to illuminate the reflecting mirror 31, and the reflected light from the reflecting mirror 31 is set to a predetermined area in front of the light transmitting / receiving section. By operating the angle adjusting mechanism so that the light receiving element for detection arranged at the location can receive the light, the optical axis of the reflecting mirror 31 is substantially aligned with the light transmitting direction of the light transmitting unit 10. This angle adjustment can be realized by rotating the heads of the countersunk screws 36b and 36c from the front by turning the screw, so that the operation is much easier than the angle adjustment mechanism of the prior art which requires an operation from the rear. .

The configuration in which the light reflecting portion 30 is arranged adjacent to the light receiving portion 20 has been described above. However, the light reflecting section 30 may be arranged adjacent to the light transmitting section 10.

In addition, the structure in which the light transmitting section 10, the light receiving section 20 and the light reflecting section 30 are arranged so that their centers are aligned with each other has been illustrated. However, as representatively shown in the perspective view of FIG. 5 by the light transmitting lens 12, the light receiving lens 22, and the reflecting mirror 31, the light transmitting unit 10 and the light receiving unit 30 are arranged adjacent to each other and adjacent to both of them. The light reflecting portions may be arranged above each of them.

Further, an example has been described in which the optical axis of the reflecting mirror 31 is adjusted so as to substantially coincide with the light sending direction of the light sending section 10.
However, it is also possible to adjust the optical axis of the reflecting mirror 31 so as to substantially coincide with the light receiving direction of the light receiving section 20.

Further, the structure in which the reflecting mirror 31 is attached to the flat plate 32 is illustrated. However, the reflecting mirror 31 may be omitted by mirror-finishing the surface of the flat plate 32.

Further, the example in which the angle adjusting mechanism is constructed by using the screw groove formed in the frame plate 42 and the flat head screw screwed into the screw groove has been described. However, the tip portion of the opening 32 of the flat plate 32
It is also possible to realize an angle adjusting mechanism by a bolt that is planted on the side of the frame body 42 while projecting forward from 3 and a nut that is screwed to this tip portion.

[0023]

As described in detail above, in the transmitter / receiver of the radar device according to the present invention, instead of disposing the light reflector between the transmitter and the receiver, the transmitter and the receiver are arranged. Since and are arranged adjacent to each other and the light reflecting portion is arranged on the outside thereof, the distance between the light transmitting portion and the light receiving portion can be reduced, and the detectable range of the object as the radar device can be expanded.

Further, according to the angle adjusting mechanism of the light reflecting portion according to the present invention, the three portions of the peripheral portion of the light reflecting body compress the elastic body interposed between the light reflecting body and the fixed body. Since it is configured to be constrained by this fixed body while allowing the change of the interval of, it is possible to greatly reduce the labor and time required for angle adjustment by realizing such restraint means with a screw that can be operated from the front. To be done.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a configuration of a light transmitting / receiving unit of an optical radar device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing an enlarged view of a light reflecting portion 30 and its peripheral portion in FIG.

3 is an enlarged partial perspective view showing a light reflecting portion 30 of FIG. 1 and a peripheral portion thereof in an enlarged manner. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the light transmitting / receiving unit of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a light transmitting / receiving unit of an optical radar device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the operation of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Light transmitter 20 Light receiver 30 Light reflector 31 Reflector (Reflector) 32 Flat plate (movable body) 33 Opening 34 Screw hole 35 O-ring (elastic body) 36a, 36b Flat head screw (screw) 42 Frame body (fixed body) )

Front page continued (72) Inventor Takeshi Hasebe 69-206 Mita Nagareyama, Chiba Prefecture (72) Inventor Jun Nishino 2-1910 Nisshin-cho, Omiya City, Saitama Prefecture Kansei Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Takeda Omiya, Saitama Prefecture 1910 Nisshin-cho, Ichi, Kansai

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A light transmitting section for transmitting a light beam, a light receiving section for receiving the light beam emitted from the light transmitting section and reflected by an object, a light reflector and an optical axis of the light reflector. A light-transmitting / receiving unit of an optical radar device comprising: a light-reflecting unit including an angle adjusting mechanism that is adjusted to substantially match a light-transmitting direction of a light-transmitting unit or a light-receiving direction of the light-receiving unit. And the light receiving section is disposed adjacent to each other, and the light reflecting section is disposed adjacent to one or both of the light receiving section and the light transmitting section. 2. The light transmitting unit, the light receiving unit, and the light reflecting member according to claim 1, wherein the centers of the light transmitting unit, the light receiving unit, and the light reflecting member are arranged substantially on a straight line, and the light reflecting member of the light receiving unit or the light transmitting unit is arranged. A light transmitting / receiving unit of an optical radar device, which is arranged adjacent to one side. 3. The angle adjusting mechanism for the light reflector according to claim 1, wherein the fixing body is arranged behind the light reflecting body, and is interposed between the fixing body and the light reflecting body. An elastic body and restraint means for restraining the peripheral portion of the light reflector to the fixed body while compressing the elastic body and permitting a change in the distance from the fixed body. And a light receiving / receiving section of an optical radar device. 4. The fixing means according to claim 3, wherein the restraint means has three mounting holes formed at three positions on a peripheral portion of the light reflector, and three fixing holes so as to substantially correspond to the respective mounting holes. An optical radar comprising: a screw hole formed in the body; and a screw screwed into each of the screw holes formed in the fixed body through each of mounting holes formed in the light reflector. Transmitter / receiver of the device. 5. The light transmitting / receiving unit of the optical radar device according to claim 4, wherein the screw is a flat head screw. 6. The transmitting / receiving unit of an optical radar device according to claim 3, 4 or 5, wherein the elastic body is an O-ring. 7. A light transmitting unit for transmitting a light beam, a light receiving unit for receiving the light beam emitted from the light transmitting unit and reflected by an object, a light reflector and an optical axis of the light reflector. A light-transmitting / receiving unit of an optical radar device, comprising: a light-reflecting unit including an angle adjusting mechanism that is adjusted so as to substantially match a light-transmitting direction of a light-transmitting unit or a light-receiving direction of the light-receiving unit. The angle adjusting mechanism includes a fixed body disposed behind the light reflector, an elastic body interposed between the fixed body and the light reflector, and three locations of a peripheral portion of the light reflector. A transmitting / receiving unit of an optical radar apparatus, comprising: a restraining unit that restrains the elastic body while compressing the elastic body and allowing a change in a distance between the elastic body and the fixed body.