KR20180031929A - Curved mirror optics LIDAR system - Google Patents

Abstract

A curved mirror optics 360° LIDAR system is disclosed. The curved mirror optics 360° LIDAR system includes a pulse light output optical source unit, a coupling optical system which connects an optical source to an optical system to remove light interruption due to a component like an electric line and can output a single channel or multi-channel output, the optical system composed by using one or more curved mirrors so as to receive scattered light and emit output light, a rotating device which can perform 360° scanning by using a motor, etc., and dose not interrupt a light path, and a detection unit for detecting the received light. The 360° scanning can be performed by minimizing a light transmitting type element.

Description

Curved mirror optics 360 ° LIDAR system {Curved mirror optics LIDAR system}

The present invention relates to a curved mirror optics 360 ° LIDAR system.

It is expected that small unmanned robot technology such as drone will be introduced in real life, and it is essential to install LIDAR system which enables autonomous driving of such a device.

In the conventional LIDAR system, condensation and beam divergence correction were performed by using an optical system composed of a lens. However, a transmissive optical system such as a lens has loss due to reflection and transmission due to reflection on the surface, and chromatic aberration due to wavelength and surface shape An error may occur due to spherical aberration, and the weight of the entire system is increased due to the weight of the reflective type device, which makes it difficult to mount the device in a miniaturized device.

The present invention provides a LIDAR system capable of scanning and receiving a signal without minimizing a transmission type optical system and using a reflection type optical system without transmission loss and signal distortion due to aberration and performing 360 degree scanning through 360 degree rotation.

According to the present invention, a 360 ° LIDAR system is a coupling optical system that connects a light source and an optical system so that there is no light interruption due to a pulse light output light part or a wire, and can perform a single channel or multi-channel output, A rotating device that can scan 360 ° using an optical system or a motor configured by using one or more curved mirrors to receive scattered light, a rotation device that does not block the path of light, and a detector that detects received light And it is possible to scan 360 ° by minimizing the transmission type device.

According to the present invention, by using the LIDAR system using the curved mirror, it is light in comparison with the LIDAR system using the lens, so that the 2D information can be obtained without affecting the running of the small unmanned robot equipment such as the drone.

Further, according to the present invention, since there is no distortion of the optical signal, accurate 2D data can be obtained, and it is expected to be utilized in a small unmanned robot or the like.

1 is a diagram illustrating a LIDAR system using a curved mirror according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a diagram illustrating an LIDAR system using a curved mirror according to another embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a diagram illustrating a multi-channel forming LIDAR system using a waveguide splitter.
4 is a diagram showing a LIDAR system including a condensing optical system using a Fresnel lens.
5 is a diagram showing an LIDAR system including a condensing optical system using a curved optical system.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the technical spirit of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein but may be embodied in other forms. Rather, the embodiments disclosed herein are provided so that the disclosure can be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

In this specification, when an element is referred to as being on another element, it may be directly formed on another element, or a third element may be interposed therebetween. Further, in the drawings, the thicknesses of the films and regions are exaggerated for an effective explanation of the technical content.

Also, while the terms first, second, third, etc. in the various embodiments of the present disclosure are used to describe various components, these components should not be limited by these terms. These terms have only been used to distinguish one component from another. Thus, what is referred to as a first component in any one embodiment may be referred to as a second component in another embodiment. Each embodiment described and exemplified herein also includes its complementary embodiment. Also, in this specification, 'and / or' are used to include at least one of the front and rear components.

The singular forms "a", "an", and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It is also to be understood that the terms such as " comprises "or" having "are intended to specify the presence of stated features, integers, Should not be understood to exclude the presence or addition of one or more other elements, elements, or combinations thereof. Also, in this specification, the term "connection " is used to include both indirectly connecting and directly connecting a plurality of components.

In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

The LIDAR system according to the embodiments of the present invention can fundamentally eliminate chromatic aberration distortion caused by different refractive indexes according to wavelengths by constituting an optical system using a reflective element such as a curved mirror instead of a transmissive element such as a lens, A compact, lightweight LIDAR system can be constructed without heavy and bulky lenses.

According to the present invention, a 360 ° LIDAR system is a coupling optical system that connects a light source and an optical system so that there is no light interruption due to a pulse light output light part or a wire, and can perform a single channel or multi-channel output, A rotating device that can scan 360 ° using an optical system or a motor configured by using one or more curved mirrors to receive scattered light, a rotation device that does not block the path of light, and a detector that detects received light And it is possible to scan 360 ° by minimizing the transmission type device.

Further, in the coupling optical system, it is possible to design the optical path so as not to block the path of the pulse output light and the received light by adjusting the optical path using a mirror or the like.

In addition, in the coupling optical system, a multi-channel light source can be output by using a coupler, a waveguide splitter, a grating,

In addition, the optical system can be configured to scan and receive light using a curved mirror in the optical system configuration.

In addition, a curved mirror such as a parabolic mirror, a hyperbolic mirror, a spherical mirror, or an elliptical mirror may be used as the curved mirror, and the focus of the curved mirror may be positioned at the light source and the detection unit.

In addition, a mechanical device structure can be designed so that the optical system can be rotated by using a motor or the like to perform 360-degree scanning.

In addition, in the optical system configuration, the aberration of the divergent light by the curved mirror can be corrected by using a lens or a mirror.

In addition, the mechanical device structure can be designed so that the optical path can be scanned and received by 360 degrees without blocking the optical path.

Also, the size of the detector optical system can be reduced by using a holographic lens, a Fresnel lens, or the like in the optical system of the detection unit.

In addition, the size of the detection unit can be reduced by superimposing the optical path using the plane or curved mirror in the detection optical system configuration.

In addition, the optical axis of the light source and the detector may be different from each other in the light source and the light receiving unit, and the light source unit and the detection unit may be located on the same plane without blocking each other.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the scope of the present invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. It will also be appreciated that many modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.

1:
2: Curved mirror aberration correction lens
3: Scanning and receiving surface mirror
4: Optical path superposition mirror
5: Detector
6: Rotating mechanism
7: waveguide splitter
8: Convex surface mirror
9: Focused Fresnel lens

Claims (1)

pulse light output light source unit;
A coupling optical system that connects a light source and an optical system so that there is no light interception due to components such as electric wires, and can perform a single channel or multi-channel output;
An optical system configured by using at least one curved mirror so that the output light can be irradiated and the scattered light can be received;
A rotating device that enables 360 ° scanning using a motor and does not block the path of light; And
And a detection unit for detecting the received light,
A 360 ° LIDAR system with curved mirror optics capable of scanning 360 ° with minimal transmission elements.

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