WO2023202282A1

WO2023202282A1 - Lidar apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2023202282A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/081896
Authority: WO
Inventors: 陈源; 张正杰; 王世玮; 郑睿童
Original assignee: 探维科技(北京)有限公司
Priority date: 2022-04-20
Filing date: 2023-03-16
Publication date: 2023-10-26
Also published as: CN114518579A; CN114518579B

Abstract

An LiDAR apparatus, comprising a body (1) and cores (2). The cores (2) are arranged inside the body (1) and are provided with transmission modules (21) and reception modules (22), each transmission module (21) and the corresponding reception module (22) being arranged along the same plane, and the transmission direction of each transmission module (21) directly facing the corresponding reception module (22). A transmission light path adjustment assembly (211) is further arranged between each transmission module (21) and the corresponding reception module (22); and the transmission light path adjustment assemblies (211) can change a laser emission direction, so as to avoid directly facing the reception modules (22). The LiDAR apparatus has advantages of compact arrangement of internal components and a small overall structural size.

Description

lidar device

This disclosure claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on April 20, 2022, with application number 2022104130761 and the invention name "Lidar Device", the entire content of which is incorporated into this disclosure by reference.

Technical field

The present disclosure relates to lidar devices.

Background technique

Lidar systems have important civilian and military application value in three-dimensional environment measurement and perception. Lidar systems are developing rapidly in civil applications, especially in the fields of assisted driving and autonomous driving. Lidar systems are used to measure spatial distances and three-dimensional environments around vehicles. Reconstruction is a prerequisite for achieving high-precision automatic driving control.

As assisted driving and autonomous driving manufacturers gradually increase their demand for parameters such as the ultimate measurement distance and measurement accuracy of lidar systems, existing lidar systems usually adopt the following solutions: 1), use superimposed single-line laser transceiver devices to achieve multi-line However, as the number of transceiver devices increases, the height of the radar, the difficulty of assembly and adjustment, and the difficulty of mass production increase; 2) A line laser transceiver system is used to achieve multi-line scanning, but the transmitting system and the receiving system are the same The axes are stacked, making it difficult to lower the radar height.

In summary, as the demand for lidar systems for assisted driving and autonomous driving continues to increase, the problem of lidar being large and difficult to reduce has become increasingly prominent. Reducing the size and height of lidar has become an urgent need in the driving field.

Contents of the invention

(1) Technical problems to be solved

How to reduce lidar size and height.

(2) Technical solutions

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a lidar device is provided.

A lidar device, including: a body and a movement;

The movement is arranged inside the body and has a transmitting module and a receiving module;

Wherein, the transmitting module and the receiving module are arranged along the same horizontal plane, and the transmitting direction of the transmitting module is toward the receiving module;

A transmitting light path adjustment component is also provided between the transmitting module and the receiving module;

The emission light path adjustment component can change the laser emission direction so that it is no longer facing the receiving module.

Optionally, the emission light path adjustment component includes a emission light path reflector;

The emission light path reflector is arranged at an angle of 45° to the emission direction of the emission module.

Optionally, the emission light path adjustment component further includes a collimating lens arranged upstream of the emission light path reflector;

The collimating lens is arranged perpendicular to the emission direction of the emission module.

Optionally, the receiving module includes a receiving processor;

The receiving processing is arranged at the most downstream of the receiving module, and the plane where the receiving processor is located is perpendicular to the plane where the transmitting module is located.

Optionally, the receiving module includes a receiving lens and an incident light path adjustment component arranged sequentially along the incident direction;

Wherein, the incident optical path adjustment component can reflect the incident direction of the laser light received by the receiving lens, so that the laser light is vertically incident on the receiving processor.

Optionally, the incident light path adjustment component includes a first incident light path reflector and a second incident light path reflector arranged sequentially along the incident direction;

Wherein, the first incident light path reflector and the plane of the receiving lens are arranged at an angle of 45°;

The second incident light path reflector and the plane where the receiving processor is located are arranged at an angle of 45°.

Optionally, the receiving module includes a filter arranged upstream of the receiving lens;

The optical filter is arranged parallel and spaced apart from the receiving lens.

Optionally, the laser radar device further includes an optical rotating mirror arranged inside the body;

The optical rotating mirror includes a base and a plurality of reflective side surfaces that can rotate with the base;

Wherein, the reflective side is used to receive the laser signal emitted by the movement and adjust the direction of the laser signal so that it is reflected to the target object.

Optionally, two of the movement cores are provided in the body, and the two movement cores are respectively located on both sides of the optical rotating mirror and are distributed in a mirror image with respect to the center line in the length direction of the body.

Optionally, the angles between different reflective side surfaces and the base are different.

Optionally, a plurality of receiving probe heads in the receiving processor are directed vertically upward toward the transmitting module.

Compared with the existing technology, the technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure has the following advantages:

The laser radar device provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure includes a body and a movement; the movement is arranged inside the body and has a transmitting module and a receiving module; wherein the transmitting module and the receiving module are arranged along the same plane, and the transmitting direction of the transmitting module is facing towards A receiving module; a transmitting light path adjustment component is also provided between the transmitting module and the receiving module; the transmitting light path adjusting component can change the laser emission direction so that it no longer faces the receiving module.

In this laser radar device, the transmitting module and the receiving module are arranged along the same horizontal plane, that is, the transmitting module and the receiving module are at the same level, and the transmitting direction of the transmitting module is directed toward the receiving module, thus reducing the load of the movement. The overall height optimizes the utilization of the internal space of the body so that the arrangement of internal components can be more compact, ultimately achieving the beneficial effect of reducing its structural volume; in addition, the optical path adjustment component is used to adjust and change the emission direction of the laser, so that the laser emitted by the emission module can The path can be adapted to the internal structure of the movement, thereby making the internal structure layout of the lidar device more flexible, and priority can be given to reducing the overall volume when optimizing its internal structure layout.

Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosure. of this disclosure The objectives and other advantages may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the details of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure set forth in the accompanying drawings and description below.

In order to make the above objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure more obvious and understandable, optional embodiments are listed below and described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Description of the drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, for those of ordinary skill in the art, It is said that other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without exerting creative labor.

Figure 1 is an overall structural diagram of a lidar device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure (excluding the upper shell);

Figure 2 is a structural diagram of a movement in a laser radar device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 3 is a top view of the movement in the laser radar device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 4 is a left view of the movement in the laser radar device provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 5 is a structural diagram of an optical rotating mirror in a laser radar device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 6 is a structural diagram of the entire lidar device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Reference signs: 1. Body; 2. Movement; 21. Transmitting module; 211. Transmitting optical path adjustment component; 211a. Transmitting optical path reflector; 211b. Collimating lens; 22. Receiving module; 221. Receiving lens; 222. Incident light path adjustment component; 222a, first incident light path reflector; 222b, second incident light path reflector; 223, optical filter; 224, receiving processor; 3, optical rotating mirror; 31, reflective side.

Detailed ways

In order to understand the above objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure more clearly, the solutions of the present disclosure will be further described below. It should be noted that, as long as there is no conflict, the embodiments of the present disclosure and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other.

Many specific details are set forth in the following description to fully understand the present disclosure, but the present disclosure can also be implemented in other ways different from those described here; obviously, the embodiments in the description are only part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and Not all examples.

The terms "first", "second", etc. in the description and claims of the present disclosure are used to distinguish different objects, rather than to describe a specific order of objects. For example, the first camera and the second camera are used to distinguish different cameras, rather than to describe a specific order of the cameras.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, words such as “exemplary” or “for example” mean examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "such as" in the present disclosure is not intended to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. To be precise, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present relevant concepts in a specific manner. In addition, in the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise stated, the meaning of "plurality" refers to both one or more than two.

As shown in Figure 1, Figure 2 and Figure 6, the lidar device provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure includes a body 1 and a movement 2; the movement 2 is arranged inside the body 1 and has a transmitting module 21 and a receiving module 22; wherein, The transmitting module 21 and the receiving module 22 are arranged along the same horizontal plane, and the transmitting direction of the transmitting module 21 is toward the receiving module 22; a transmitting optical path adjustment component 211 is also provided between the transmitting module 21 and the receiving module 22; the transmitting optical path adjustment component 211 can change the laser The transmitting direction is such that it is no longer facing the receiving module 22 .

The transmitting module 21 in the laser radar device can be specifically configured as a laser array transmitter to transmit line laser signals; the transmitting module 21 and the receiving module 22 are disposed along the same horizontal plane, that is, the transmitting module 21 and the receiving module 22 are located in the same place. At the same level, the transmitting direction of the transmitting module 21 is also directed towards the receiving module 22, so that the overall height of the movement 2 can be reduced, thereby optimizing the internal space utilization of the body 1 in the laser radar device, so that the internal components can be arranged More compact, ultimately achieving the beneficial effect of reducing its structural volume; in addition, a transmitting light path adjustment component 211 is provided between the transmitting module 21 and the receiving module 22, and the transmitting light path adjusting component 211 is used to adjust and change the emission direction of the laser, so that the transmitting module 21 emits The generated laser path can adapt to the internal structure of the movement 2, thereby making the internal structural layout of the laser radar device more flexible, and priority can be given to reducing the overall volume of the entire machine when optimizing its internal structural layout.

To sum up, the lidar device provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure uses the transmitter module 21 A transmitting light path adjustment component 211 is added between the receiving module 22 and the receiving module 22 so that the laser path emitted by the transmitting module 21 can adapt to the spatial scene of the body 1 and ensure that the transmitting module 21 can normally emit laser signals to the detected target. The transmitting module 21 and the receiving module 22 are stacked on the side axis (that is, the transmitting module 21 and the receiving module 22 are arranged along the same horizontal plane), which improves the internal space utilization of the central body 1 and reduces the structural height, making the lidar device at the same level. When configured, its structural volume can be smaller and more compact, and its structural height can be lower.

In some specific implementations, the emission light path adjustment component 211 includes a emission light path reflector 211a; the emission light path reflector 211a is arranged at an angle of 45° to the emission direction of the emission module 21.

Specifically, as shown in Figure 3, the above-mentioned transmitting light path reflector 211a is preferably a total reflection mirror, and the transmitting light path reflector 211a and the transmitting direction of the transmitting module 21 are arranged at an angle of 45°, so that the reflected laser transmitting light path is in line with the direction of the transmitting module 21. The laser emission light paths before reflection will be perpendicular to each other, that is, the laser emission light path after reflection is vertically outward from the emission end face of the movement 2, so that the movement 2 can be positioned relative to the optical mirror 3 to have more features. More flexible options, especially when caliber 2 has more than two settings.

In some specific embodiments, the emission light path adjustment component 211 also includes a collimating lens 211b arranged upstream of the emission light path mirror 211a; the collimating lens 211b is arranged perpendicular to the emission direction of the emission module 21.

Specifically, as shown in Figure 3, the above "collimating lens 211b is located upstream of the transmitting optical path reflector 211a" means that along the transmitting direction of the laser signal in the transmitting module 21, the laser signal will first pass through the collimating lens 211b and then reach the transmitter. Optical path mirror 211a.

The above-mentioned collimating lens 211b can be specifically, but not limited to, a double plano-convex lens. Through the collimating lens 211b, the laser emitted by the transmitting module 21 can be collimated to achieve ideal laser emission.

In addition, the structural dimensions of the above-mentioned emission light path reflector 211a and collimating lens 211b themselves can be set to be miniature and compact, and can be directly fixed by glue or some other methods to flexibly be installed on the appropriate part of the inner shell wall of the body 1. So set the above emitted light The road reflector 211a and the collimating lens 211b will not increase the overall structural volume of the laser radar device.

In some specific implementations, the receiving module 22 includes a receiving processor 224; the receiving processor 224 is arranged at the most downstream of the receiving module 22, and the plane where the receiving processor 224 is located is perpendicular to the plane where the transmitting module 21 is located. Multiple receiving probes in the receiving processor can be set vertically upward toward the transmitting module, so that the length space, width space and height space inside the movement can be fully and reasonably utilized (especially the light can be The overall structure of the radar device in the It is installed on the inner bottom wall of the machine body and used as a carrying platform for carrying the launch module.

Specifically, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the above "receiving processor 224 is arranged at the most downstream of the receiving module 22" means that along the incident direction of the laser signal in the receiving module 22, the laser signal will finally reach the receiving processor. 224.

Specifically, the receiving processor 224 can be arranged along the horizontal plane x-y, and the transmitting module 21 can be arranged along the vertical plane y-z. In this way, the multiple receiving probe heads in the receiving processor 224 can be arranged vertically upward toward the transmitting module 21, so that The length space, width space and height space inside the movement 2 can be fully and reasonably utilized, that is, under the condition of setting up the same number of transmitting modules 21 and receiving modules 22, the integration effect of the movement 2 can be higher. , smaller size.

In some specific implementations, the receiving module 22 also includes a receiving lens 221 and an incident light path adjustment component 222 arranged sequentially along the incident direction; wherein the incident light path adjustment component 222 can reflect the incident direction of the laser received by the receiving lens 221, so that Normally incident on the receiving processor 224. The incident laser signal cannot directly enter the receiving probe in the receiving processor. However, by setting the incident light path adjustment component to reflect and change the direction of the incident laser, the incident laser can adapt to the structural layout inside the receiving module and enter the receiving processor normally. Receive the detector head instead of adjusting and changing the position of the receiving processor to adapt to the path of the incident laser. This also allows the receiving processor of the receiving module to prioritize simplifying the structural size of the receiving module. Optimize layout for size purposes.

Specifically, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the receiving lens 221 in the receiving module 22 is arranged along the vertical plane y-z, and the receiving probe in the receiving processor 224 is arranged upward along the z-axis, entering the receiving lens 221 The incident laser signal cannot directly enter the receiving probe in the receiving processor 224. However, by setting the incident light path adjustment component 222 to reflect and change the direction of the incident laser after being received by the receiving lens 221, the incident laser can adapt to the inside of the receiving module 22. The structural layout normally enters the receiving probe in the receiving processor 224, instead of adjusting and changing the position of the receiving lens 221 or the receiving processor 224 to adapt to the path of the incident laser. This also makes the receiving lens 221, The receiving processor 224 can be optimally arranged for the purpose of simplifying the structural size of the receiving module 22 .

In some specific implementations, the incident light path adjustment component 222 includes a first incident light path reflector 222a and a second incident light path reflector 222b arranged sequentially along the incident direction; wherein the first incident light path reflector 222a and the receiving lens 221 are located The plane is tilted at 45°; the second incident light path reflector 222b and the plane where the receiving processor 224 is located are tilted at 45°.

Specifically, as shown in Figures 2, 3, and 4, the first incident light path reflector 222a can be specifically positioned on a plane where the y-z plane is rotated 45° counterclockwise around the z axis, and the second incident light path reflector 222b can be specifically configured to Set on a plane where the x-y plane is rotated 45° clockwise around the x-axis, so that the incident laser that enters perpendicular to the receiving lens 221 is reflected for the first time by the first incident light path mirror 222a, and the direction changes to be in line with the y-axis. In the opposite direction, and after the second reflection by the second incident light path mirror 222b, the direction will change to the direction opposite to the z-axis and incident on the receiving probe in the receiving processor 224.

The above-mentioned first incident light path reflector 222a and second incident light path reflector 222b can also preferably be total reflection mirrors, and the structural dimensions of the first incident light path reflector 222a and the second incident light path reflector 222b themselves can be set to micro. It is compact and can be flexibly installed on the appropriate part of the inner shell wall of the body 1 directly through glue fixation or some other methods. Therefore, setting the above-mentioned emission light path reflector 211a and collimating lens 211b will not increase the size of the laser radar device. the overall structural volume.

In some specific implementations, the receiving module 22 includes an optical filter 223 arranged upstream of the receiving lens 221; the optical filter 223 and the receiving lens 221 are arranged in parallel and spaced apart.

Specifically, as shown in Figure 3, the above "filter 223 is disposed upstream of the receiving lens 221" means that along the incident direction of the laser signal in the receiving module 22, the incident laser signal will first pass through the filter 223 and then Reaching the receiving lens 221. Moreover, the optical filter 223 may be arranged parallel to the receiving lens 221 and spaced apart.

The above-mentioned filter 223 can be used to filter stray light (such as sunlight) that has a different wavelength from the laser signal to prevent it from entering the receiving module 22 through the receiving lens 221 .

In some specific implementations, the lidar device also includes an optical rotating mirror 3 disposed inside the body 1; the optical rotating mirror 3 includes a base and a plurality of reflective side surfaces 31 that can rotate with the base; wherein the reflective side surfaces 31 are used to receive Movement 2 emits a laser signal and adjusts the direction of the laser signal so that it is reflected to the target object.

Specifically, as shown in Figures 1 and 5, the base of the optical rotating mirror 3 can be connected to the output shaft of the motor, and the motor can drive the rotation thereof. During the operation of the optical rotating mirror 3, the base maintains stable rotation at a fixed frequency around the vertical central axis of the optical rotating mirror 3 itself. Multiple reflective side surfaces 31 surround the base and can rotate synchronously with the base, and the reflective side surfaces 31 rotate during the rotation process. The laser signal emitted by the transmitting module 21 can be received and the direction of the laser signal can be adjusted to reflect the laser signal to the target object. The echo signal after the laser signal is diffusely reflected on the target object is then reflected by the reflective side 31 and then received by the receiving module 22 . Through the rotation and sweeping of the optical rotating mirror 3, the unidirectional point cloud is converted into a spatial point cloud.

The number of the above-mentioned reflective side surfaces 31 is not limited to three in the figure, and can also be provided on two or four sides.

In some specific implementations, two movements 2 are provided in the body 1 , and the two movements 2 are respectively located on both sides of the optical rotating mirror 3 and are distributed in a mirror image with respect to the center line in the length direction of the body 1 .

Specifically, as shown in Figure 1, the two movements 2 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the center line in the length direction of the body 1 to make the overall structure design of the laser radar device more convenient and simple.

Of course, the specific number of cores 2 in the body 1 can also be added according to the actual needs of the lidar device, and the position of the cores 2 in the body 1 can also be adaptively adjusted according to the specific structure of the lidar device.

In some specific implementations, the angles between different reflective side surfaces 31 and the base are different.

Specifically, as shown in Figures 1 and 5, when the angles between the three reflective side surfaces 31 and the base are different, for example, the dihedral angles between the three reflective side surfaces 31 and the horizontal plane are 85°, 90° and 95° respectively, so The laser signal reflected by the measured object is reflected to the receiving system of the movement 2 through different reflection sides 31, and the point cloud effect is also different. It can be ensured that the measurement point cloud obtained by each movement 2 through each reflection side 31 does not emit light along the way. There is a position change in the z direction.

If each reflective side 31 of the optical rotating mirror is perpendicular to its base, this will cause the point clouds corresponding to different reflective sides 31 to jitter back and forth along the light emission direction z when splicing, and then the lidar device will have trouble acquiring point cloud data. When measurement errors occur, this problem can be well avoided because each reflecting side surface 31 of the optical rotating mirror 3 has a different angle from its base.

In some specific implementations, the plurality of receiving detection heads in the receiving processor 224 face vertically upward toward the transmitting module 21 .

The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. To simplify the description, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, all possible combinations should be used. It is considered to be within the scope of this manual.

The above embodiments only express several implementation modes of the present disclosure, and their descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, but they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. It should be noted that, for those of ordinary skill in the art, several modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present disclosure, and these all fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent disclosed should be determined by the appended claims.

Industrial applicability

In the laser radar device disclosed in this disclosure, by using the transmitting module 21 and the receiving module 22 A transmitting optical path adjustment component 211 is added between them so that the laser path emitted by the transmitting module 21 can adapt to the spatial scene of the body 1 and ensure that the transmitting module 21 can normally emit laser signals to the detected target. Under the premise, the transmitting module 21 Stacked with the receiving module 22 on the side axis (that is, the transmitting module 21 and the receiving module 22 are arranged along the same horizontal plane), which improves the internal space utilization of the central body 1 and reduces the structural height, so that the laser radar device can be configured in the same manner. , its structural volume can be smaller and more compact, its structural height can be lower, and it has strong industrial practicability.

Claims

A lidar device, characterized by including:

body(1);

The movement (2) is arranged inside the body (1) and has a transmitting module (21) and a receiving module (22);

Wherein, the transmitting module (21) and the receiving module (22) are arranged along the same horizontal plane, and the transmitting direction of the transmitting module (21) is toward the receiving module (22);

A transmitting light path adjustment component (211) is also provided between the transmitting module (21) and the receiving module (22);

The emission light path adjustment component (211) can change the laser emission direction so that it is no longer facing the receiving module (22).
The laser radar device according to claim 1, characterized in that the emission light path adjustment component (211) includes a emission light path reflector (211a);

The emission light path reflector (211a) and the emission direction of the emission module (21) are arranged at an angle of 45°.
The laser radar device according to claim 2, characterized in that the emission light path adjustment component (211) further includes a collimating lens (211b) arranged upstream of the emission light path reflector (211a);

The collimating lens (211b) is arranged perpendicularly to the emission direction of the emission module (21).
The lidar device according to claim 1, wherein the receiving module (22) includes a receiving processor (224);

The receiving processor (224) is arranged at the most downstream of the receiving module (22), and the plane where the receiving processor (224) is located is perpendicular to the plane where the transmitting module (21) is located.
The laser radar device according to claim 4, characterized in that the receiving module (22) includes a receiving lens (221) and an incident optical path adjustment component (222) arranged sequentially along the incident direction;

Wherein, the incident light path adjustment component (222) can reflect the receiving lens (221) The incident direction of the received laser light is such that it is vertically incident on the receiving processor (224).
The laser radar device according to claim 5, characterized in that the incident light path adjustment component (222) includes a first incident light path reflector (222a) and a second incident light path reflector (222b) sequentially arranged along the incident direction. ;

Wherein, the first incident light path reflector (222a) and the plane where the receiving lens (221) is located are tilted at 45°;

The second incident light path reflector (222b) and the plane where the receiving processor (224) is located are arranged at an angle of 45°.
The lidar device according to claim 5, wherein the receiving module (22) includes a filter (223) arranged upstream of the receiving lens (221);

The optical filter (223) and the receiving lens (221) are arranged in parallel and spaced apart.
The laser radar device according to claim 1, characterized in that the laser radar device further includes an optical rotating mirror (3) arranged inside the body (1);

The optical rotating mirror (3) includes a base and a plurality of reflective side surfaces (31) that can rotate with the base;

The reflective side (31) is used to receive the laser signal emitted by the movement (2) and adjust the direction of the laser signal so that it is reflected to the target object.
The laser radar device according to claim 8, characterized in that two of the movement cores (2) are provided in the body (1), and the two movement cores (2) are respectively located on the optical rotating mirror. (3) Both sides are mirror-image distributed with respect to the center line of the length direction of the body (1).
The lidar device according to claim 8, characterized in that the angles between the different reflective side surfaces (31) and the base are different.
The lidar device according to claim 1, characterized in that a plurality of receiving detection heads in the receiving processor (224) face vertically upward toward the transmitting module (21).