KR102334432B1 - Lidar optical system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a lidar optical system, and relates to a rotating laser module, a rotating reflecting mirror, a rotating driving unit for rotating the laser module and the reflecting mirror, located at both ends of the rotating driving unit, the laser module and A power transmission unit for transmitting rotational power to the reflection mirror and a control unit for controlling rotational operation of the rotational driving unit, the laser module and the reflection mirror and emission of a laser beam, the laser module, the reflection mirror, and the rotation As it consists of a case body with a built-in driving unit and the power transmission unit, it has a structure in which the laser module and the reflective mirror are rotated to scatter reflection and refraction angles to maximize spatial scanning performance to secure spatial data and laser Sensing performance can be improved by applying a configuration in which a plurality of beam generators are stacked.

Description

LIDAR OPTICAL SYSTEM

The present invention relates to a lidar optical system, and more particularly, to a lidar optical system capable of improving scanning performance by providing a laser module and a reflective mirror that rotate by the operation of a motor of a rotation driving unit.

Recently, a laser radar device (LIDAR - Light Detection And Ranging) has been widely used to detect surrounding terrain or objects in a car or a mobile robot.

Such a lidar system irradiates laser light into the surrounding area and uses the time and intensity of the reflected light reflected off the surrounding object or terrain to measure the distance, speed, and shape of the measurement target, or to scan the surrounding object or terrain. It is a device that can

In addition, such a lidar system is widely applied in various fields such as sensors for detecting obstacles in front of robots and unmanned vehicles, radar guns for speed measurement, aerial geo-mapping devices, 3D ground surveys, and underwater scanning.

Recently, LiDAR systems have been developed for driving assistance applications that can alert the driver or automatically perform measures to control the speed of a vehicle when a dangerous situation occurs due to obstacles in front or on the side, or in applications such as tractors operating without a driver. The field of application of the automatic driving device is expanding.

As a background art of the present invention, it is known related to a lidar optical system in Korean Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-2016-0114445 (2016.10.05.).

However, in the background art, a plurality of first laser light sources emitting infrared light of a first wavelength, a plurality of first laser light sources disposed adjacent to the first laser light source, and emitting infrared light having a second wavelength different from the first wavelength 2 laser light sources, a first detector that receives light reflected from an object after being emitted by the first laser light source and converts it into an electrical signal, and is disposed adjacent to the first detector and is emitted by the second laser light source There is a difference from the structure in which the laser module rotates as it includes a second detector that receives the reflected light from the object and converts it into an electrical signal after being processed.

In addition, a panoramic scan lidar that scans while turning 360 degrees is widely applied among lidar devices, and "Method and device for following objects, particularly for traffic monitoring" of US Patent No. 7,880,643 (February 1, 2011) In ", a technology in which a sensor detects a moving object by irradiating a laser on the sensor plane is disclosed, but it is different from the configuration in which the laser module and the reflective mirror are interlocked and rotated as in the present invention.

The present invention devised to solve the problems of the prior art as described above has an object to maximize the scanning performance of the LIDAR by scattering the reflection and refraction angles of the laser beam through the rotation of the laser module and the reflection mirror.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to improve sensing performance by applying a configuration in which a plurality of laser beam generators are stacked.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is a main task to provide a lidar optical system capable of stable operation.

LiDAR optical system according to an aspect of the present invention for solving the above technical problem, a rotational driving unit for rotating a laser module, a rotating reflecting mirror, rotating the laser module and the reflecting mirror, the rotational driving unit A power transmission unit for transmitting rotational power to the laser module and the reflection mirror and a control unit for controlling rotational operation of the laser module and the reflection mirror and the rotational driving unit and the emission of the laser beam are located at both ends of the It characterized in that it consists of a case body in which the laser module, the reflection mirror, the rotation driving part and the power transmission part are built.

In addition, in the laser module of the present invention, a control circuit board including a laser beam transmitter for generating a laser of a specific frequency band and a laser beam receiver for receiving a reflected laser beam is disposed on four sides of the laser module, respectively It is characterized in that it consists of a structure.

In addition, the one or more control circuit boards of the laser module of the present invention may be arranged in a stacked manner with a predetermined distance so that the laser beam transmitter has a position in a vertical direction, that is, a difference in a vertical position.

In order to solve the above technical problem, a lidar optical system according to another aspect of the present invention includes: a laser module rotatably installed by a vertical axis; a mirror which is installed rotatably or rotatably by a horizontal axis and reflects at least a portion of the laser beam of the laser module; and a motor coupled to the vertical axis and the horizontal axis to provide a rotational force, wherein the laser module is disposed on different sides at different heights and includes a plurality of pairs of laser beam transmitters and laser beam receivers .

In addition, the laser module may include four pairs of laser beam transmitters and laser beam receivers arranged to irradiate a laser beam or receive a reflected laser beam in four directions perpendicular to the vertical axis and perpendicular to or parallel to each other. .

In addition, the vertical axis of the laser module and the rotation axis of the motor may be coupled to enable power transmission by a pair of gears that change the rotation direction to a right angle.

In addition, the horizontal axis of the mirror and the rotation axis of the motor may be disposed parallel to each other and may be coupled to enable power transmission by at least one gear.

In addition, the lidar optical system of the present invention may further include a case for accommodating the laser module, the mirror, and the motor. A window or a light-transmitting member that emits light emitted through the mirror to the outside and passes a laser beam coming from the outside may be provided on one side of the case.

In addition, the lidar optical system of the present invention, a control circuit board on which the laser beam transmitter and the laser beam receiver are mounted; and a control unit or a control circuit provided on the control circuit board.

In addition, the lidar optical system of the present invention may further include a main printed circuit board connected to the control circuit board and disposed under the motor. A communication unit having an interface for transmitting and receiving signals and data with a vehicle control device mounted on a vehicle may be disposed on the printed circuit board.

In addition, the control unit or the control circuit may be configured such that the laser beams of the plurality of laser beam transmitters are irradiated toward the mirror or the window or the light-transmitting member according to the rotational force of the motor. It can be implemented to control timing. The control unit or the control circuit may include a switching element activated in response to the timing.

In addition, the mirror may be a plate-shaped double-sided mirror.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the laser module and the reflective mirror have a rotating structure, thereby scattering reflection and refraction angles to maximize spatial scan performance to secure spatial data.

In addition, the present invention has the effect of improving the sensing performance by applying a configuration in which a plurality of laser beam generators are stacked.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is an effect of providing a lidar optical system capable of stable operation.

1 is an external perspective view of a lidar optical system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an internal configuration diagram of a lidar optical system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a detailed configuration diagram of a laser module according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the laser module of FIG. 3 as viewed from above.
5 is an exemplary diagram showing an operating state of a lidar optical system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The terms or words used in the present specification and claims should not be construed as being limited to their ordinary or dictionary meanings, and the inventor may properly define the concept of the term in order to best describe his invention. Based on the principle that there is, it should be interpreted as meaning and concept consistent with the technical idea of the present invention.

Therefore, the configuration shown in the embodiments and drawings described in this specification is only the most preferred embodiment of the present invention and does not represent all of the technical idea of the present invention, so various equivalents that can be substituted for them at the time of the present application It should be understood that there may be water and variations.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is an external perspective view of a lidar optical system according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an internal configuration diagram of a lidar optical system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an embodiment of the present invention It is a detailed configuration diagram of the laser module 110 according to the 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the laser module 110 of FIG. 3 as viewed from above.

The lidar optical system of the present invention may be generally applied to a vehicle, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, the lidar optical system according to the present invention can be applied not only to vehicles but also to movable objects such as robots, ships, helicopters, and drones, and can also be applied without limitation to fixed objects such as buildings, columns, and towers where movement is restricted. can

As shown, the lidar optical system of the present invention includes a control unit 150 serving as a main control board, a rotating laser module 110 and a rotating reflecting mirror 120 .

In addition, a rotation driving unit 130 for rotating the laser module 110 and the reflection mirror 120 in a specific direction, and located at both ends of the rotation driving unit 130, the laser module 110 and the reflection The mirror 120 may be configured to further include a power transmission unit 140 that transmits the power of the rotation driving unit 130 .

In addition, the laser module 110 , the reflection mirror 120 , the rotation driving unit 130 , the power transmission unit 140 , and the control unit 150 may be mounted on the main body case 100 .

The body case includes a light-transmitting member 101 for facilitating transmission of the laser beam and protecting the body case.

The laser module 110 of the present invention includes a laser beam transmitter 115 that generates a laser in a specific frequency band and a laser beam that receives a laser beam that is reflected back from the laser beam emitted from the laser beam transmitter 115. A control circuit board including a pair of receivers 116 is basically configured.

As the laser beam transmitter 115, a laser oscillation device generally used in a lidar device may be used.

Therefore, the control circuit board is a series of PCB boards, and the laser beam A unit 111 including the laser beam transmitting unit 115 and the laser beam receiving unit 116 and the transmitting lens 118 and the receiving lens 117 . ), each of the control circuit boards including the laser beam B section 112, the laser beam C section 113 and the laser beam D section 114, including the laser beam A to D section, is It is made by being disposed on four sides of the module (110).

In addition, the positions of the laser beam A part 111 to the laser beam D part 114 are arranged in a stacked manner with a certain distance to have a difference of 90 degrees from each other and a difference between the upper and lower positions. .

This is because the sensing performance can be improved as a plurality of laser beams including the laser beam transmitter 115 and the laser beam receiver 116 are stacked.

The laser module 110 irradiates the laser beams of the laser beam A 111 to D 114 while rotating about the laser module rotation axis.

On the other hand, the reflective mirror 120 of the present invention reflects the laser beam emitted from the laser beam A 111 to the laser beam D 114, and rotates about the reflective mirror rotation axis.

The reflection mirror 120 is made of a material and member having excellent reflection, such as a mirror, a prism, and a metal surface.

The rotation driving unit 130 of the present invention includes a motor that is a rotation generating device, and a reducer that receives power from the motor and transmits power to the laser module rotation shaft and the reflective mirror rotation shaft.

When the motor is driven, the laser module rotating shaft and the reflecting mirror rotating shaft are rotated through the reducer, and the laser module 110 and the reflecting mirror 120 are also rotated.

When the rotary driving unit 130 does not include a speed reducer, a geared motor including a speed reducer in the motor is used or a low speed motor without a speed reduction function is used so that the axis of the low speed motor is the rotation axis of the laser module. And it can be directly connected to the reflective mirror rotation shaft.

In order to transmit the rotational power of the rotational driving unit 130, the rotational driving unit 130 has a power transmission unit 140 connected to the laser module rotation shaft at both ends and a power transmission unit 140 connected to the reflective mirror rotation shaft. installed to connect with

The power transmission unit 140 may be formed in the form of a spur gear, a helical gear, a bevel gear, etc., and may be configured through a more detailed set of gear units to effectively transmit rotational power. have.

In addition, when applying the power transmission means for the interlocking action of the rotation of the power transmission unit 140, there is no particular limitation thereto. For example, various power transmission methods such as a rope transmission method, a chain transmission method, a friction wheel transmission method, and a belt transmission method may be applied, and may be directly linked using a separate drive motor.

The laser module 110 and the reflection mirror 120 of the present invention may be respectively rotationally driven, and the control unit 150 may further include a control unit 150 for interlocking and synchronizing each rotational driving.

The control unit 150 may control the rotation of the reflection mirror 120 to be interlocked at once by using the rotational movement according to the driving of the rotation driving unit 130 . Through this, it is possible to facilitate precise identification of the laser scanning position and to enable more precise laser scanning.

5 is an exemplary diagram showing an operating state of a lidar optical system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 5, the operation of the lidar optical system will be described.

When the user starts driving the lidar optical system, the control unit 150 drives the motor of the rotation driving unit 130 .

The rotational power of the motor rotates the laser module rotation shaft through the power transmission unit 140 on the side of the laser module 110, so that the laser beam A portion 111 and the laser beam B of the laser module 110 having four sides. The part 112, the laser beam C part 113 and the laser beam D part 114 are rotated.

On the other hand, when the control unit 150 operates the laser beam transmitter 115 configured in each of the laser beam A portion 111 to the laser beam D portion 114 , laser light is emitted and the reflection mirror 120 . ) is investigated. The reflection mirror 120 may be simply referred to as a mirror.

The reflective mirror 120 rotates the reflective mirror 120 by using the rotational power of the motor to rotate the reflective mirror rotation shaft through the power transmission unit on the reflective mirror 120 side.

The laser light irradiated to the reflection mirror 120 is reflected and emitted to the periphery of the LIDAR optical system.

On the other hand, the emitted laser light is reflected back to the surrounding object, terrain, etc. is returned to the LIDAR optical system. The laser light reflected from the surroundings and returned is incident on the laser beam receiving unit 116 through the reflection mirror 120 in the reverse order from when it is emitted, and the laser beam receiving unit 116 detects the returned laser light and the The data is transmitted to the control unit 150 .

That is, the laser light emitted toward the reflection mirror 120 may have a predetermined emission angle in the horizontal direction according to the rotation of the laser module 110 , and a predetermined reflection angle in the vertical direction according to the rotation of the reflection mirror 120 . can have In addition, the laser light emitted from the laser module 110 disposed at a higher position than the reflective mirror 120 may be irradiated in the horizontal direction without being reflected by the reflective mirror.

According to the combination of the emission angle and the reflection angle, the lidar system may have a two-dimensional scan range of a predetermined area within a predetermined distance range in front of the window. In addition, the lidar system of this embodiment is laser by the rotation of the laser module 110 and the rotation of the reflection mirror 120 and by the pairs of the laser beam transmitter and receiver of different heights arranged in the laser module 110 It is possible to three-dimensionally scan the area in front of the lidar system where the beam is irradiated and reflected within a certain distance.

The controller 150 may obtain information on surrounding objects, terrain, etc. by analyzing data on the reflected laser light. More specifically, by using the obtained data, the distance to the object, direction, speed, temperature, material distribution, concentration characteristics, etc. can be extracted, and two-dimensional and three-dimensional images can be implemented if necessary. .

As described above, the lidar system according to the present embodiment may perform laser scanning through the rotating laser module 110 and the rotating reflective mirror 120 . This is because the scanning performance of the lidar can be maximized by scattering the reflection and refraction angles of laser light through the rotation of the laser module 110 and the reflection mirror 120 of the present invention.

Accordingly, although the above description has been made for an embodiment of the present invention, it is natural that various modifications are possible in addition to that.

For example, a lidar optical system according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a laser module that is rotatably installed by a vertical axis; a mirror which is installed rotatably or rotatably by a horizontal axis and reflects at least a portion of the laser beam of the laser module; and a motor coupled to the vertical axis and the horizontal axis to provide a rotational force, wherein the laser module is disposed at different heights on different sides and provided with a plurality of pairs of laser beam transmitters and laser beam receivers. can The mirror may be a plate-shaped double-sided mirror.

In this case, the laser module may include four pairs of laser beam transmitters and laser beam receivers arranged to irradiate a laser beam or receive a reflected laser beam in four directions orthogonal to the vertical axis and perpendicular to or parallel to each other. have.

In addition, the vertical axis of the laser module and the rotational axis of the motor may be coupled to transmit power by a pair of gears that change the rotational direction to a right angle.

In addition, the horizontal axis of the mirror and the rotation axis of the motor may be arranged parallel to each other and coupled to be capable of transmitting power by at least one gear.

In addition, the lidar optical system of the present invention may further include a case for accommodating the laser module, the mirror, and the motor. A window or a light-transmitting member that emits light emitted through the mirror to the outside and passes a laser beam coming from the outside may be provided on one side of the case.

In addition, the lidar optical system of the present invention, a control circuit board on which the laser beam transmitter and the laser beam receiver are mounted; and a control unit or a control circuit provided on the control circuit board.

In addition, the lidar optical system of the present invention may further include a communication unit installed on the control circuit board and connected to the control unit or the control circuit. The communication unit may have an interface connected to the vehicle control device.

In addition, the control unit or the control circuit controls the irradiation period or timing of the laser beam transmitter according to the rotational force by the motor so that the laser beams of the plurality of laser beam transmitters are irradiated toward the mirror or the window or the light-transmitting member. can be implemented. The control unit or the control circuit may include a switching element activated in response to the timing.

As described above, in the detailed description of the present invention, preferred embodiments have been described, but those of ordinary skill in the art will not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the following claims. It will be understood that various modifications and variations of the present invention can be made.

Therefore, the technical spirit of the present invention should not be limited to the above-described embodiments of the present invention, and should be defined by the claims as well as the claims and equivalents.

100: body case 101: light-transmitting member
110: laser module 111: laser beam A part
112: laser beam B part 113: laser beam C part
114: laser beam D part 115: laser beam transmitter
116: laser beam receiving unit 117: outgoing lens
118: receiving lens 120: reflection mirror
130: rotation driving unit 140: power transmission unit
150: control unit

Claims (13)

a laser module for generating a laser;
a reflective mirror that reflects the generated laser;
a rotation driving unit for rotating the laser module and the reflection mirror;
a power transmission unit positioned at both ends of the rotation driving unit to transmit rotational power to the laser module and the reflective mirror;
a control unit for controlling the rotation operation of the rotation driving unit, the laser module and the reflection mirror, and emission of the laser beam; and
A lidar optical system including a case body in which the laser module, the reflection mirror, the rotation driving unit and the power transmission unit are built. According to claim 1,
The laser module is a lidar on which a control circuit board including a pair of a laser beam transmitter that generates a laser of a specific frequency band and a laser beam receiver that receives a reflected and returned laser beam is arranged on four sides of the laser module, respectively. optical system. 3. The method of claim 2,
The laser beam transmitting unit and the laser beam receiving unit constitute a laser beam unit,
The positions of the plurality of laser beam units are each,
are disposed at an angle of 90 degrees from each other on the surface of the laser module,
A lidar optical system disposed so that the upper and lower positions are different from each other on the surface of the laser module. A laser module that generates a laser and is rotatably installed by a vertical axis;
a mirror which is installed rotatably or rotatably by a horizontal axis and reflects at least a portion of the laser beam generated from the laser module; and
and a motor for providing rotational force by coupling a rotational shaft to the vertical shaft and the horizontal shaft,
The laser module is made of a plurality of surfaces, and a laser beam unit is disposed on each of the plurality of surfaces,
In the plurality of surfaces, each of the laser beam units is disposed so that the upper and lower positions are different from each other,
Each of the laser beam units includes a laser beam transmitter and a laser beam receiver, a lidar optical system. 5. The method of claim 4,
The laser module has four surfaces, and the laser beam unit is disposed on each of the four surfaces, respectively. 5. The method of claim 4,
A lidar optical system in which the vertical axis of the laser module and the rotational axis of the motor are coupled to transmit power by a pair of gears that change the rotational direction to a right angle. 5. The method of claim 4,
A lidar optical system in which the horizontal axis of the mirror and the rotation axis of the motor are disposed parallel to each other and are coupled to each other to transmit power by at least one gear. 5. The method of claim 4,
Further comprising a case for accommodating the laser module, the mirror and the motor,
A lidar optical system in which a window or a light-transmitting member for emitting light emitted through the mirror to the outside and passing a laser beam coming from the outside is provided on one side of the case. 9. The method of claim 8,
a control circuit board on which the laser beam transmitter and the laser beam receiver are mounted; and
LiDAR optical system further comprising a controller or control circuit provided on the control circuit board. 10. The method of claim 9,
Further comprising a main printed circuit board connected to the control circuit board and disposed under the motor,
In the printed circuit board, a LiDAR optical system in which a communication unit having an interface for transmitting and receiving signals and data with a vehicle control device mounted on a vehicle is disposed. 10. The method of claim 9,
The control unit or the control circuit determines the irradiation period or the irradiation timing of the laser beams of the laser beam transmitters according to the rotational force by the motor so that the laser beams of the plurality of laser beam transmitters are irradiated toward the mirror or the window or the light-transmitting member. Controlling lidar optical system. 12. The method of claim 11,
The control unit or the control circuit is a lidar optical system including a switching element that is activated in response to the timing. 5. The method of claim 4,
The mirror is a plate-shaped double-sided mirror lidar optical system.

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