KR20100033634A - Distance estimation apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An apparatus and a method for measuring a distance are provided to enable a user to estimate a real size of an object image by providing a horizontal distance with an object. CONSTITUTION: A distance measuring device includes a lineal distance measuring unit(210), an angle measuring unit(220), and a controller(230). The lineal distance measuring unit generates a distance measurement signal and obtains lineal distance information to a control position of an object by receiving the distance measurement signal which is reflected from an object. The angle measuring unit obtains angle information from a surface to the control position of the object based on the position of the distance measuring device. The controller calculates the object information from the angle information and the obtained lineal distance information and calculates the height information of the object and a horizontal distance from the distance measuring device to the object.

Description

Distance estimation apparatus and method

The present invention relates to a method of measuring a distance from a subject or a height of a subject, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for measuring a horizontal distance from a subject or a height of a subject using measured linear distances and tilt angles. .

In recent years, mobile phones are rapidly spreading as a necessity for personal communication means regardless of gender, age, or young age. Multifunctional mobile communication terminals with added video playback functions are being released.

On the other hand, among the apparatuses for measuring the distance to the conventional target, there was a laser range finder (LRF). The laser range finder emits a laser, receives a laser returning back to the target, measures the time when the laser returns to the target, and then calculates the distance from this time. However, products that have a function of measuring distance in portable terminals such as mobile phones, PDAs, portable game consoles, and digital cameras have not yet been released.

In addition, the above-described conventional distance measuring device was only able to measure the distance that the laser is transmitted and received, that is, only the linear distance between the distance measuring device and the target.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a distance measuring device that provides a horizontal distance rather than a straight distance with a subject, which is devised to solve the above-described problem.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a distance measuring apparatus for calculating and providing a height of a subject to be photographed by a user.

According to one aspect of the invention, a distance measuring device is disclosed.

A distance measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention generates a distance measuring signal, and receives a distance measuring signal reflected from the subject, the linear distance measuring unit for obtaining the linear distance information to the aiming position of the subject; An angle measuring unit configured to obtain angle information from an earth surface to an aiming position of the subject based on the position of the distance measuring device; And a controller configured to calculate the subject information, the horizontal distance information from the distance measuring device to the subject and height information of the subject, according to the obtained linear distance information and measured angle information. .

The distance measuring device may include a camera unit for obtaining image data of the subject; And a display unit which displays the obtained image data and the subject information.

The angle measuring unit, the tilt sensor for detecting the inclination information on the ground surface of the distance measuring device; And an angle calculating unit for obtaining the angle information by using the sensed tilt information.

The linear distance measuring unit may be configured to obtain the linear distance information based on a receiving unit receiving the reflected distance measuring signal and a time difference between the generation time and the receiving time of the distance measuring signal. Including a linear distance calculation unit, the distance measurement signal may be characterized in that the laser or ultrasonic.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a distance measuring method is disclosed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a distance measuring method comprising: (a) generating a distance measuring signal; (b) receiving the distance measuring signal reflected from the subject, and obtaining linear distance information up to the aiming position of the subject; (c) acquiring angle information from the ground surface to the aiming position of the subject based on the position of the distance measuring device; And (d) calculating at least one of the subject information, the horizontal distance information from the distance measuring device to the subject and the height information of the subject according to the obtained linear distance information and measured angle information. It includes.

The method for measuring distance may include obtaining image data of the subject after step (d); And when the image data is displayed in the display area, displaying the subject information together.

Step (c) may include detecting slope information of the ground surface of the distance measuring device; And calculating the angle information by using the sensed tilt information.

In the step (b), the linear distance information may be obtained based on the time difference between the generation time and the reception time of the distance measurement signal, and the distance measurement signal may be a laser or an ultrasonic wave.

Therefore, the present invention provides an effective separation distance to the user by providing a horizontal distance rather than a straight distance with the subject.

In addition, the present invention has an effect of providing the information on the height of the subject to allow the user to determine the actual size of the displayed subject image.

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Terms including ordinal numbers, such as second and first, may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the second component may be referred to as the first component, and similarly, the first component may also be referred to as the second component. And / or < / RTI > includes any combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

When a component is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it may be directly connected to or connected to that other component, but it may be understood that other components may be present in between. Should be. On the other hand, when a component is said to be "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there is no other component in between.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art and shall not be construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

Prior to the detailed description of the drawings, it is to be clear that the division of the components in the present specification is only divided by the main function of each component. That is, two or more components to be described below may be combined into one component, or one component may be provided divided into two or more for each function. Each of the components to be described below may additionally perform some or all of the functions of other components in addition to the main functions of the components, and some of the main functions of each of the components are different. Of course, it may be carried out exclusively by. Therefore, the presence or absence of each component described through this specification should be interpreted functionally, and for this reason, the configuration of the components according to the distance measuring device of the present invention is within the limits to achieve the object of the present invention. Clearly, it may be different from step 3.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and the same or corresponding components will be denoted by the same reference numerals regardless of the reference numerals and redundant description thereof will be omitted.

1 is a view illustrating a distance measurement state of a user according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the distance measuring device 110 of the present invention aims at the highest point of a tree (subject 120) spaced from a certain distance.

The present invention calculates the horizontal distance (c) of the distance measuring device 110 and the subject 120 or the height (b) of the subject 120 when the distance measuring apparatus 110 is aiming at a certain portion of the subject 120. do.

In detail, the distance measuring device 110 may use the distance measuring signal (laser or ultrasonic wave) to determine the distance between the distance measuring device 110 and the aiming position on the object 120 (hereinafter, “linear distance”) with the subject 120. ”, A) is measured. The distance measuring device 110 detects an inclined angle (tilt information x) to aim the subject 120.

Thereafter, the distance measuring device 110 may calculate the horizontal distance or the height of the subject 120 using the measured straight distance a and the slope information x.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the distance measuring device 110 may calculate a horizontal distance through the following [Equation 1].

[Equation 1]

c = a * cos (y)

Here, y is angle information from the ground surface to the aiming position of the subject 120 based on the position of the distance measuring device 110. In this case, y may be calculated through Equation 2 below as shown in FIG. 1.

[Equation 2]

y = 90-x

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the distance measuring device 110 may calculate the height b of the subject 120 through Equation 3 below.

&Quot; (3) "

b = a * sin (y)

Here, y may be calculated through Equation 3 above as angle information from the ground surface to the aiming position of the subject 120 based on the position of the distance measuring device 110 as described above.

Hereinafter, the present specification will be described with reference to the embodiment of Figure 1 as a representative throughout.

On the other hand, the distance measuring device 110 of the present invention includes all the devices that aim the subject 120, the horizontal distance and the height of the subject 120 to measure. For example, the distance measuring device 110 may be included in, or mounted on, a communication terminal. In particular, the distance measuring device 110 may be a communication terminal capable of performing a photographing function (for example, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular phone, a personal communication service (PCS) phone, a WCDMA phone, a CDMA-2000 phone, and an MBS). (Mobile Broad and System) phones, PCs (Personal Computers), hand-held PCs (Notebook PCs), etc. As another example, the distance measuring device 110 may be implemented with all devices that perform a function of capturing an image, such as a digital camera or a camcorder.

Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 2, the operation of the distance measuring device 110 will be described in detail by dividing into a functional unit.

2 is a block diagram of the distance measuring device 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the distance measuring device 110 includes a linear distance measuring unit 210, an angle measuring unit 220, a control unit 230, a camera unit 240, a display unit 250, an input unit 260, and storage. It may include a portion 270.

The linear distance measuring unit 210 generates a distance measuring signal and receives a distance measuring signal reflected from the subject 120. The linear distance measuring unit 210 receives the reflected distance measurement signal and obtains linear distance information up to the aiming position of the subject 120. Hereinafter, the operation of the linear distance measuring unit 210 will be described in detail by dividing the function by function.

The linear distance measuring unit 210 includes a transmitting unit 212, a receiving unit 214, and a linear distance calculating unit 216.

The transmitting unit 212 generates the distance measuring signal to the aiming position of the subject 120. Here, the distance measurement signal may be a laser or an ultrasonic wave. That is, the transmission unit may be implemented as a laser light emitting unit or an ultrasonic wave generating unit.

The receiving unit 214 receives a distance measuring signal (ie, laser or ultrasonic wave) that is reflected (or scattered) from the subject 120.

The linear distance calculating unit 216 obtains the linear distance information a by using the received distance measurement signal. Specifically, the linear distance calculating unit 216 is based on the time difference between the time when the transmitting unit 212 generated the distance measuring signal and the time when the receiving unit 214 received the distance measuring signal reflected (or scattered). , The linear distance a can be calculated. That is, the linear distance calculating unit 216 may calculate the linear distance by substituting the time difference and the traveling speed of the laser (or ultrasonic wave) in the formula of distance = speed * time.

The angle measuring unit 220 acquires angle information from the ground surface to the aiming position of the subject 120 based on the position of the distance measuring device 110. Hereinafter, the operation of the angle measuring unit 220 will be described in detail by dividing the function by function.

The angle measuring unit 220 includes a tilt sensor 222 and an angle calculating unit 224.

The tilt sensor 222 detects tilt information about the ground surface of the distance measuring device 110, that is, information about x in the illustrated example of FIG. 1.

Here, the tilt sensor 222 may be a geomagnetic sensor. The geomagnetic sensor detects the magnetic field of the earth and continuously outputs the direction in which the sensor is placed with respect to the earth's magnetic field, that is, the degree of rotation about the magnetic north. As a result, the geomagnetic sensor detects the tilt of the earth surface of the distance measuring device 110 equipped with the sensor. can do.

Examples of the geomagnetic sensor include MR (Magneto Resistive), MI (Magneto Inductive), and Flux Gate. Since the geomagnetic sensor is a known technology, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The angle calculation unit 224 calculates the angle information y from the ground surface to the aiming position of the subject 120 based on the position of the distance measuring device 110 using the sensed tilt information x.

Referring to FIG. 1, the angle calculation unit 224 may calculate the angle information y through Equation 2 described above.

The controller 230 calculates the subject 120 information according to the linear distance information and the angle information. Here, the subject 120 information includes one or more of the horizontal distance information from the distance measuring device 110 to the subject 120 and the height information of the subject 120.

The controller 230 calculates horizontal distance information. Referring to FIG. 1, the controller 230 receives a obtained by the linear distance measuring unit 210 and y obtained by the angle measuring unit 220. In addition, the controller 230 may calculate horizontal distance information by using a and y transmitted from Equation 1 described above.

In addition, the controller 230 calculates height information of the subject 120. Referring to FIG. 1, the controller 230 receives a obtained by the linear distance measuring unit 210 and y obtained by the angle measuring unit 220. The controller 230 may calculate height information of the subject 120 using the above-described Equation 3 and a and y.

The controller 230 is an internal functional element of the distance measuring device 110 according to the present invention (for example, the linear distance measuring unit 210, the angle measuring unit 220, the control unit 230, the camera unit 240) , Display unit 250, input unit 260, storage unit 270, etc.).

The camera unit 240 acquires image data of the subject 120. Although not shown in the drawings, the camera unit 240 may include an image sensor that converts and outputs light incident through the lens into an electrical signal.

The camera unit 240 may be a digital camera for acquiring still image data, or may be a camcorder for acquiring moving image data. The implementation technology of the camera unit 240 is a technique well known in the art, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The display unit 250 visually outputs the image data obtained by the camera unit 240. In addition, the display unit 250 displays the horizontal distance or height together with the image data under the control of the controller 230. The display unit 250 may be a display module such as an LCD window that visually displays an image to the user.

The input unit 260 includes an input module such as a keypad or a touch screen for input control of the distance measuring device 110. In particular, the input unit 260 may include a hot key on the display unit 250 such that the horizontal distance or the height of the subject 120 is displayed together with the image data (or the display is deleted).

The storage unit 270 includes a read only memory (ROM), a flash memory, a random access memory (RAM), and the like. The ROM stores a program for processing and controlling the controller 230 and various reference data. The RAM provides a working memory of the controller 230, and the flash memory provides an area for storing various updatable data for storage.

In the present specification, the measuring unit, the angle measuring unit 220, the control unit 230, the camera unit 240, the display unit 250, the input unit 260, and the storage unit 270 of the distance measuring device 110 are expressed functionally. It was. That is, each functional part is represented separately. However, this is for convenience of description and may be implemented in one circuit (micro circuit as one logic unit). In particular, although the linear distance measuring unit 210 and the angle measuring unit 220 have been described as being implemented separately from the control unit 230, the linear distance measuring unit 210 and the angle measuring unit 220 may be implemented as a single circuit included in the control unit 230.

Hereinafter, a distance measuring method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described step by step with reference to FIG. 3.

3 is a flow chart of a distance measurement process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, a process of calculating a horizontal distance from the subject 120 and a height of the subject 120 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described. In particular, a distance measuring method using a laser signal in measuring the linear distance and using a geomagnetic sensor in detecting the inclination of the distance measuring device 110 will be described as a representative embodiment.

In operation S310, the distance measuring device 110 emits a laser signal to the aimed subject 120. The laser signal is emitted to an aiming position where the distance measuring device 110 aims at the subject 120.

Subsequently, in step S320, the distance measuring device 110 receives the laser signal reflected or scattered from the subject 120.

Subsequently, in step S330, the distance measuring apparatus 110 obtains a straight line distance information with respect to the subject 120, that is, referring to FIG. 1.

The distance measuring device 110 may obtain a time difference between the light emission time and the light reception time, and calculate the linear distance by substituting the time difference and the transmission speed of the laser into a formula of distance = speed * time.

In operation S340, the distance measuring device 110 detects an inclination angle (tilt information) of the distance measuring device 110 to aim the object 120 using the geomagnetic sensor. Referring to the embodiment of FIG. 1, the distance measuring device 110 obtains an angle, x, at which the distance measuring device 110 is inclined with respect to the ground surface.

Subsequently, in step S350, the distance measuring device 110 calculates angle information from the ground surface to the aiming position of the subject 120 using the sensed tilt information.

For example, referring to the embodiment of FIG. 1, the distance measuring device 110 calculates y by substituting the detected slope information, x, in Equation 2 (y = 90−x).

In operation S360, the distance measuring apparatus 110 calculates horizontal distance information and height information of the subject 120 using the linear distance information acquired in step S340 and the angle information obtained in step S350.

Referring to the embodiment of FIG. 1, the horizontal distance information c may be calculated by substituting the linear distance information and the angle information obtained in Equation 1 (c = a * cos (y)). In addition, the height information of the subject 120 may be calculated by substituting the linear distance information and the angle information obtained in [Equation 3] (b = a * sin (y)).

In operation S370, the distance measuring device 110 acquires image data of the subject 120 through the mounted camera module. Acquisition of the image data may be photographing or video photographing. In addition, the image data may be acquired in an acquisition process for displaying the image data of the subject 120 on the display area even when a shooting event does not occur (for example, image data acquisition in a preparation process of a digital camera). It may be.

Subsequently, in step S380, the distance measuring apparatus 110 may display the horizontal distance information and the height information of the subject 120 (the subject 120 information) calculated in step S360 together with the obtained image data. In this case, the distance measuring apparatus 110 may display the overlay 120 by overlaying the calculated object 120 information on the acquired image data. Alternatively, the distance measuring device 110 may apply the subject 120 information to a part of the pixel layer of the image data (a preset position such as upper left or lower right or a position where the pixel having the null value as the pixel value is the most). And insert image data into which the subject 120 information is inserted.

Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 4, a screen displaying information on the subject 120 along with image data according to an exemplary embodiment will be described.

4 is a view of a screen displayed on the distance measuring device 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The distance measuring device 110 displays the subject 120 information together with the image data obtained on the display unit 250. The distance measuring device 110 acquires and displays image data of the tree (the subject 120) illustrated in FIG. 1. The distance measuring device 110 further displays the horizontal distance calculated on the upper left side of the display unit 250 and the height information of the subject 120.

Referring to FIG. 4, the user may know that the horizontal distance from the distance measuring device 110 to the subject 120 is 10 m, and the height of the subject 120 is 20 m.

Thus, according to the present invention, the user can know the horizontal distance rather than the straight distance to the specific object by using the distance measuring device 110, and also has the advantage of knowing the actual height of the subject 120.

The invention can also be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording devices in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored.

For example, the computer-readable recording medium may include a ROM, a RAM, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical data storage device, and the like.

It may also include the implementation in the form of a carrier wave (for example, transmission over the Internet).

The computer readable recording medium can also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.

And functional programs, codes and code segments for implementing the present invention can be easily inferred by programmers in the art to which the present invention belongs.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It will be understood that the invention may be varied and varied without departing from the scope of the invention.

1 is a view of the distance measurement of the user according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram of a distance measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a flow chart of the distance measurement process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a view of a screen displayed on the distance measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

110: distance measuring device 120: subject

210: linear distance measuring unit 212: transmitting unit

214: receiving unit 216: distance calculating unit

220: angle measuring unit 222: tilt sensor

224: angle calculation unit 230: control unit

240: camera portion 250: display portion

260: input unit 270: storage unit

Claims (8)

In the distance measuring device for measuring the distance to the aimed subject, A linear distance measuring unit configured to generate a distance measuring signal, receive a distance measuring signal reflected from the subject, and obtain linear distance information to an aiming position of the subject; An angle measuring unit configured to obtain angle information from an earth surface to an aiming position of the subject based on the position of the distance measuring device; And A distance including a controller configured to calculate the subject information, the horizontal distance information from the distance measuring device to the subject and height information of the subject according to the obtained linear distance information and measured angle information. Measuring device. The method of claim 1, A camera unit obtaining image data of the subject; And And a display configured to display the acquired image data and the subject information. The method of claim 1, The angle measuring unit, An inclination sensor configured to detect inclination information on the ground of the distance measuring device; And And an angle calculating unit for obtaining the angle information by using the sensed tilt information. The method of claim 1, The linear distance measuring unit, A transmitting unit generating the distance measuring signal; A receiving unit for receiving the reflected distance measuring signal; And A linear distance calculating unit for obtaining the linear distance information based on the time difference between the occurrence time and the reception time of the distance measurement signal, And the distance measuring signal is a laser or an ultrasonic wave. In the method for measuring the distance to the object aimed by the distance measuring device, (a) generating a ranging signal; (b) receiving the distance measuring signal reflected from the subject, and obtaining linear distance information up to the aiming position of the subject; (c) acquiring angle information from the ground surface to the aiming position of the subject based on the position of the distance measuring device; And (d) calculating the subject information, the horizontal distance information from the distance measuring device and the height information of the subject, based on the obtained linear distance information and measured angle information; Distance measurement method that includes. The method of claim 5, After step (d), Acquiring image data of the subject; And And displaying the subject information together when the image data is displayed on the display area. The method of claim 5, In step (c), Sensing slope information of the ground surface of the distance measuring device; And And calculating the angle information by using the sensed tilt information. The method of claim 5, In step (b), The linear distance information is obtained based on the time difference between the occurrence time and the reception time of the distance measurement signal. The distance measuring signal is a distance measuring method, characterized in that the laser or ultrasonic.

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