The present invention relates to a light source device, a detection device, and an electronic apparatus.
In recent years, light detection devices that irradiate an object with light, receive the light returning from the object, and detect the state of the object are being utilized in diverse fields. A rider system is for example disclosed in patent literature 1 that detects the presence of an object and measures the distance to the target object by the laser beam. The rider system includes a light source device that utilizes a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) as a light source and emits light emitted from the VCSEL through the lens.
PTL 1: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2007-214564
When light from a light source widened by a projection optical system is emitted in a wide range, the light illuminance on the irradiated surface may be non-uniform due to an aberration in the projection optical system. In light source devices of the known art, no study focused on this type of problem of achieving uniform illuminance on the irradiated surface. However, in detection devices that receive and detect reflected light, improving the detection accuracy is extremely important when projecting light from a light source device uniformly onto an irradiated surface.
The present invention is rendered based on an awareness of the above described problem, and has the object of providing a light source device with superior illuminance uniformity of the irradiated light.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a light source device includes a light source and a projection optical system. The light source includes a plurality of light emitters. The projection optical system is configured to emit light emitted from the light source. A light emission amount per unit area in a light emission region of the light source corresponding to an irradiated region where a magnification of the projection optical system is relatively large, is larger than a light emission amount per unit area in a light emission region corresponding to an irradiated region where a magnification of the projection optical system is relatively small.
An aspect of the present invention can therefore achieve a light source device with superior uniformity of illuminance of irradiated light, by setting the light emitting amount of the light source so as to cancel out irregularities in the illuminance caused by the projection optical system.
The embodiments of the present invention are described next while referring to the accompanying drawings.
As illustrated in
The reflected light that is reflected by the detection target object 12 after being projected onto it from the light source device 11 is optically guided to the photodetector 13 by way of a light-receiving optical system 18 having a light collecting (focusing) function. The photodetector 13 includes a photoelectric conversion element, the light that the photodetector 13 receives is photo-electrically converted and sent as an electrical signal to the signal control circuit 17. The signal control circuit 17 calculates the distance to the detection target object 12 based on the time difference between the projected light (light emission signal input from the light source drive circuit 16) and the received light (received light signal input from the photodetector 13). Therefore, in the distance measurement device 10, the photodetector 13 functions as a detector that detects light emitted from the light source device 11 that is reflected by the detection target object 12. The signal control circuit 17 functions as a calculator that obtains information relating to the distance to the detection target object 12 based on a signal from the photodetector 13 (detector part).
A partial cross-sectional structure of the surface emitting laser 20 corresponding to each of the surface emitting laser elements 21 is illustrated in
When each of the electrodes 28U and 28D apply electrical current to the active layer 26, amplification occurs in the upper multilayer film reflecting mirror 24U and the lower multilayer film reflecting mirror 24D on the laminated structure and a laser beam is oscillated. The emission intensity of the laser beam is changed according to the applied current amount. The current constriction layer 27 boosts the efficiency of the electric current applied to the active layer 26 and lowers an oscillation threshold value. The maximum current amount that can be applied increases as the current pass-through region 27a of the current constriction layer 27 becomes larger (widens), and the maximum output of the laser beam that can be oscillated increases, but on the other hand has the characteristic of raising the oscillation threshold.
Compared to edge emitting lasers, characteristics of VCSEL include easily forming light emitting elements into two-dimensional arrays, allowing multi-point beams by dense placement of light emitting elements. The VCSEL also allows a high degree of freedom in placement of light emitting elements and except for structural restrictions such as on the placement of electrodes, can be installed at any optional position on the substrate.
As illustrated in
The structure of the projection optical system of the present invention is not limited to the example illustrated in
The irradiated region on the irradiated surface P2 in the standard state of the projection optical system 15 is illustrated in
How far to shift the condenser lens 30 from the standard state to the irradiated region adjustment state will differ depending on the projection optical system 15, the specifications for the surface emitting laser 20, and each type of condition. In the structure of the present embodiment, the fully irradiated region E3 with a wide angle and moreover uniform luminance is obtained by shifting the condenser lens 30 to the object side (the side approaching the light emitting surface P1) in a range from 15% to 24%, relative to the distance from the light emitting surface P1 of the surface emitting laser 20 to the condenser lens 30 (equivalent to focal length of the condenser lens 30) in the standard state. When the amount that the condenser lens 30 is shifted falls below the lower limit (15%) of the above described range, the irradiated region on the irradiated surface P2 corresponding to each of the surface emitting laser elements 21 contracts and the non-irradiated regions E2 appear as illustrated in
On the projection optical system 15, besides the above described method for shifting the position of the condenser lens 30 in the optical axial direction, a method for changing the lens surface curvature of the projection lens 31 can also achieve the projection that does not emit light onto the non-irradiated region E2. More specifically, a conjugate image from each of the surface emitting laser elements 21 is input (incident) to the projection lens 31 and set to widen the image from each of the surface emitting laser elements 21 by setting the curvature of the lens surface of the projection lens 31. Moreover, the projection lens 31 is in this way selected to obtain an appropriate irradiated range (fully irradiated region E3) not including the non-irradiated region E2. This method can be applied just by exchanging the projection lens 31 according to the target irradiation range, without changing the combination and the layout of the condenser lens 30 and the surface emitting laser 20, and also reduces the worker's burden of having to perform settings and adjustments.
For the method that adjusts the irradiated area on the projection optical system 15, the method that shifts the position of the condenser lens 30 in the optical axial direction can be concomitantly used with the method that changes the curvature of the lens surface of the projection lens 31 (exchanges the projection lens 31).
In the distance measurement device 10 in
To obtain the fully irradiated region E3 as illustrated in
When there is a shift in the position in the perpendicular direction on the optical axis, between the projection optical system 15 and the surface emitting laser 20, the light emission angle of the light emitted from the light source device 11 will shift (deviate). When the light emission angle of the light emitted from the light source device 11 shifts (deviates) greatly from the field angle of the light-receiving optical system 18 (
The light source device 11 in the state including an adjuster mechanism for adjusting the position of the optical element in order to prevent the above circumstances and obtain the performance just as designed is illustrated in
The first position adjuster 80 is hereafter described. The condenser lens 30 is supported on the inner side of a lens holder 83, and the lens holder 83 is installed on the inner side of a condenser lens barrel 84. The lens holder 83 is supported by way of a moving part 85 to allow movement along the optical axial direction relative to the condenser lens barrel 84. The moving part 85 includes a female screw (helicoid) formed on the inner circumferential surface of the condenser lens barrel 84, and a male screw on the outer circumferential portion of the lens holder 83 is threadably mounted on the female screw. The lens holder 83 moves in the optical axial direction for allowing position adjustment while rotating around the optical axis of the condenser lens 30 as the center along the female screw in the moving part 85. The forming range (range that the female screw is formed in the condenser lens barrel 84) in the optical axial direction of the moving part 85 as illustrated in
The second position adjuster 81 is hereafter described. The projection lens 31 is supported on the inner side of a lens holder 86, and the lens holder 86 is installed on the inner side of a projection lens barrel 87. The projection lens barrel 87 is installed on the outer side of the condenser lens barrel 84, and the center axis of the condenser lens barrel 84 and the center axis of the projection lens barrel 87 are positioned concentrically. The lens holder 86 is supported via a moving part 88 to allow movement in the optical axial direction relative to the projection lens barrel 87. The moving part 88 includes a female screw (helicoid) formed on the inner circumferential surface of the projection lens barrel 87, and in this structure, a male screw on the outer circumferential portion of the lens holder 86 threadably engages with the female screw. The lens holder 86 moves in the optical axial direction for allowing position adjustment while rotating around the optical axis of the projection lens 31 as the center along the female screw of the moving part 88. The forming range (range that the female screw is formed in the projection lens barrel 87) in the optical axial direction of the moving part 88 as illustrated in
The first position adjuster 80 and the second position adjuster 81 will prove sufficient if capable of accurately controlling the position of the lens holder 83, and are not limited to a screw mechanism such as the moving part 85 and the moving part 85 as described above. As a modification, a structure may be employed that a cam (cam groove) rather than the female screw may be formed on the circumferential surface of the condenser lens barrel 84 and the circumferential surface of the projection lens barrel 87, and a cam follower is installed on the lens holder 83 and the lens holder 86 that moves the lens holder 83 and the lens holder 86 in the optical path direction by guiding the cam follower by way of the cam. Alternatively, a structure may be employed so that the lens holder 83 and the lens holder 86 are supported to allow movement relative to the guide part (guide shaft, guide groove, etc.) extending in the optical path direction, the lens holder 83 and the lens holder 86 are threadably engaged by way of a feed screw extending in the optical path direction, so that the lens holder 83 and the lens holder 86 are guided by the guide part to allow movement in the optical path direction by the rotation of the feed screw. The drive power for the moving the lens holder 83 and the lens holder 86 in the optical path direction may be applied manually or may be applied by a drive device such as a motor.
When the position of the condenser lens 30 or the projection lens 31 has deviated from the design value, lighting onto the irradiated surface P2 by the fully irradiated region E3 (
The third position adjuster 82 is hereafter described. The surface emitting laser 20 is supported on an electronic circuit board 90. Components necessary for driving the surface emitting laser 20 such as the light source drive circuit 16 (
The structure of the adjuster mechanism 91 for the third position adjuster 82 can be appropriately selected. One example is a structure employing a dual-step movement stage in the adjuster mechanism 91. The first step of the movement stage and the second step of the movement stage in the adjuster mechanism 91 are combined so as to allow relative movement along the first guide part (guide axis and guide groove, etc.) extending in a first direction perpendicular to the light axis. The first step of the movement stage is fixed to the electronic circuit board 90. The second step of the movement stage is supported to allow movement along the second guide part (guide axis and guide groove, etc.) extending in a second direction (direction different from the first direction) perpendicular to the light axis, relative to the condenser lens barrel 84. This type of structure allows changing the positional relationship between the electronic circuit board 90 and the condenser lens barrel 84 (and the projection lens barrel 87) in an optional direction perpendicular to the light axis. The drive power for moving each movement stage of the adjuster mechanism 91 in a direction perpendicular to the light axis may be applied manually or may be applied by a drive device such as a motor.
As a different example of the third position adjuster 82, an insertion part fixed to the electronic circuit board 90 is inserted into the interior of the condenser lens barrel 84. Three or more support parts capable of changing the amount of protrusion in the inward radial direction are installed on the condenser lens barrel 84 at different positions in the circumferential direction. The position of the electronic circuit board 90 is set by supporting the insertion part by way of these support parts. Changing the relative amount of protrusion of each support part in the inward radial direction of the condenser lens barrel 84 allows adjusting the position of the electronic circuit board 90 relative to the condenser lens barrel 84 in a direction perpendicular to the light axis.
The condenser lens barrel 84 and the projection lens barrel 87 are configured to match the light axis of the respectively supported condenser lens 30 and the light axis of the projection lens 31. Then, by utilizing the third position adjuster 82, the centers of the surface emitting laser 20 relative to the optical axis of the condenser lens 30 and the projection lens 31 can be aligned by adjusting the position of the surface emitting laser 20 and the electronic circuit board 90 relative to the condenser lens barrel 84 and the projection lens barrel 87. Deviations in the emission angle of light emitted from the light source device 11 can in this way be prevented, and the non-irradiated region from the light source device 11 relative to the light-receiving field angle in the light-receiving optical system 18 can be reduced, so that the distance measuring accuracy in the distance measurement device 10 can be improved.
As described above, by utilizing the first position adjuster 80, the second position adjuster 81, and the third position adjuster 82, to adjust the respective positional relationships of the surface emitting laser 20, the condenser lens 30, and the projection lens 31, the mounting deviations of each portion of the light source device 11 relative to the design values and the positional deviations of each portion of the light source device 11 that occur over time along with usage by the user can be easily corrected.
In the light source device 11 in
However, when the light from each of the surface emitting laser elements 21 of the surface emitting laser 20 widens by way of the projection optical system 15, the effect from distortion aberration may cause distortion in the image on the irradiated surface P2. In other words, image magnification will differ according to the irradiated region. Even in the above described case of projecting light on the fully irradiated region E3, illuminance irregularities (variations in illuminance due to the different region on the irradiated surface P2) caused by distortion on the image surface occur. These illumination irregularities are caused by aberrations in the projection optical system 15 that emits the widened light and might possibly occur in both the standard state in
Distortion aberration includes pincushion distortion that contracts the center of the image and stretches out the peripheral part, and barrel distortion that expands the center of the image and contracts the peripheral part. In pincushion distortion, the image on the irradiated surface P2 becomes greatly distorted (stretched out) the more the surface emitting laser elements 21 are mounted toward the peripheral part on the light emitting surface P1 of the surface emitting laser 20 and the illuminance per unit area (light amount) decreases. In barrel distortion, the image on the irradiated surface P2 becomes greatly distorted (stretched out) the more the surface emitting laser elements 21 are mounted toward the center on the light emitting surface P1 of the surface emitting laser 20 and the illuminance per unit area (light amount) decreases.
In the light source device 11 of the present embodiment, setting the surface emitting laser 20 prevents illuminance irregularities on the irradiated surface P2 caused by an aberration in the projection optical system 15. In other words, in the surface emitting laser 20, the light emission amount per unit area of the light emitting region corresponding to the irradiated region where the magnification by the projection optical system 15 is relatively large, is set larger than the light emission amount per unit area in the light emitting region corresponding to the irradiated region where the magnification by the projection optical system 15 relatively small. Measures to make this type of illuminance uniform are a first state that changes the spacing between the surface emitting laser elements 21, and a second state that makes different the light emission amounts of the surface emitting laser elements 21.
The first state illuminance uniformity that changes the spacing between the surface emitting laser elements 21 is described. This setting example deals with the case that light from the surface emitting laser 20 widens to a wide angle during projection by the projection optical system 15 and pincushion distortion consequently occurs in the image on the irradiated surface P2.
The illuminance distribution Tv1 for equidistant placement of the surface emission laser elements 21 is a curve shape with the lighting range in the center as the strongest value and the intensity declining while proceeding to the peripheral area due to the effects of the distortion aberration from the projection optical system 15. In this illuminance distribution Tv1, the angle width in the horizontal direction equivalent to an illuminance of 80% of the peak value where illuminance is most intense, is 106 degrees.
Here, as illustrated in
As one example of the present embodiment, the surface emitting laser elements 21 are placed as described below. The surface emitting laser 20 includes a total of 411 surface emitting laser elements 21 with 21 elements per each row/column in the vertical and horizontal directions within the light emitting surface P1 having a square shape with both of the dimensions in the vertical and horizontal directions are 1.44 mm. A surface emitting laser element 21Q (see
As seen from the surface emitting laser element 21Q in the center, the distance to one adjacently placed surface emitting laser element 21 is set as a1, the distance to the second placed surface emitting laser element 21 is set as a2, and the distance to the nth placed surface emitting laser element 21 is set as an (n=1, 2, . . . m). The maximum number of surface emitting laser elements 21 that can be placed in respective rows in the horizontal direction and columns in the vertical direction is set as N=2m+1(m≥1), the maximum distance that the surface emitting laser element 21 can be placed is set as b (am=b), the distance an satisfies the following relation.
an=b−α(N−1/2−n)β
In the present embodiment, N=21, b=0.7 mm, and an=0.7 mm when N=10. Under these conditions, when finding the values for constants a, p at which the illuminance on the irradiated surface P2 becomes uniform, the values are α=0.05, β=1.15 regardless of the horizontal direction or the vertical direction. Then, the distance between the surface emitting laser element 21 at the farthest outer position and the surface emitting laser element 21 on that adjacent inner side on the light emitting surface P1 is a spacing with a minimum value of 49.6 μm regardless of the horizontal direction or the vertical direction. The spacing gradually increases between the adjacent surface emitting laser elements 21 towards the center, and the spacing (a1) between the surface emitting laser element 21Q in the center and the surface emitting laser element 21 on the next outer side is a maximum value of 80 μm.
The illuminance distribution on the irradiated surface P2 when the surface emitting laser elements 21 are placed at a density so as to satisfy the density for the above described condition is illustrated in
A suitable value for the density placement of the surface emitting laser elements 21 can be calculated and set at the design stage, according to the specifications such as for the projection optical system 15 and the surface emitting laser 20. In other words, the aberration in the projection optical system 15 is known at the design stage so illuminance irregularities in the irradiated region occurred from the effects by the aberration can also be calculated. Then, within the light emitting surface P1 of the surface emitting laser 20, by setting a higher placement density of the surface emitting laser elements 21 on the light emitting surface P1 side (by narrowing the spacing between the adjacent surface emitting laser elements 21), the light emission amount can be increased per unit area, and a uniform illuminance distribution can be obtained the closer to the region corresponding to the irradiated region where the projected image is relatively stretched out on the irradiated surface P2 (irradiated region with low illuminance per unit area). By carrying out a simulation on a computer for the design and calculating the density placement of the surface emitting laser elements 21 based on the optical design of the projection optical system 15, the surface emitting laser 20 optimized for the projection optical system 15 can be achieved without requiring the bother of performing measurement and adjustment tasks.
Illuminance uniformity can be achieved through density placement of the surface emitting laser elements 21 without having to change the light emission intensity of each of the surface emitting laser elements 21 so that there is no need to control the change in the amount of electrical current applied to each of the surface emitting laser elements 21. A compact light source drive circuit 16 capable of controlling the electrical current to the surface emitting laser 20 can therefore be achieved.
When the barrel distortion occurs in the image on the irradiated surface P2, unlike the example illustrated in
In the present embodiment, the spacing of the adjacent surface emitting laser elements 21 are set to different hierarchical arrangements in the respective horizontal direction and the vertical direction, however, a structure may be employed that includes an area of uniform spacing between the adjacent surface emitting laser elements 21, and an area of different spacing between the adjacent surface emitting laser elements 21. For example, a structure that sets uniform spacing for the adjacent surface emitting laser elements 21 from the center of the light emitting surface P1 to a predetermined range, and that sets different spacing for the adjacent surface emitting laser elements 21 only on the periphery of the light emitting surface P1 may be employed. Alternatively, a structure that sets uniform spacing for the adjacent surface emitting laser elements 21 from the periphery of the light emitting surface P1 to a predetermined range, and sets different spacing for the adjacent surface emitting laser elements 21 just in the center of the light emitting surface P1 may be employed. To what extent and in which area to set the spacing of the light emitting surface P1 may be selected as needed according to the effect from the distortion aberration of the projection optical system 15.
Next, the second state illuminance uniformity carried out by varying the light emission amounts of the surface emitting laser elements 21 of the surface emitting laser 20 is described. This setting example deals with the case that light from the surface emitting laser 20 widens to a wide angle during projection by the projection optical system 15, and consequently pincushion distortion occurs in the image on the irradiated surface P2. The spacing between the adjacent surface emitting laser elements 21 is set to a fixed spacing.
The illuminance distribution on the irradiated surface P2 when the light emission amount for each of the surface emitting laser elements 21 of the surface emitting laser 20 is set the same is illustrated in
When the same light emission is set for each surface emitting laser element 21, the illuminance distribution Tv2 is a bell-shaped curve that has the peak in intensity at the center of the lighting range and progressively weakens towards the periphery due to the effect from the distortion aberration in the projection optical system 15. In this illuminance distribution Tv2, the angle width in the horizontal direction equivalent to the illuminance of 80% of the peak value where the illuminance is most intense, is 57 degrees.
In this embodiment, as illustrated in
As one example, the applied current amount for each surface emitting laser element 21 is set so that light is emitted with average outputs of 1 W in region F1 at the center, 1.06 W in region F2 and region F3 on one outer side of region F1, and 1.29 W in region F4 and region F5 on the outermost periphery. The sizes of the current pass-through region 27a of the current constriction layer 27 are set to 9 μm in region F1, 9.2 μm in region F2 and region F3, and 10 μm in region F4 and region F5 that correspond to the differences in the applied current amount.
The illuminance distribution on the irradiated surface P2 when the applied current amount for each of the regions F1 to F5 is set as described above is illustrated as an illuminance distribution Tw2 in
When the barrel distortion occurs on the irradiated surface P2, unlike the above example describing dealing with the pincushion distortion, the amount of current that is applied to the surface emitting laser elements 21 is increased proceeding from region F4 and region F5 on the peripheral side towards the region F1 at the center side in the surface emitting laser 20. In other words, the light emission amount per unit area is set to become large at region F1 at the center side, and the light emission amount per unit area is set to become small at region F4 and region F5 on the periphery side.
The applied current amount for each surface emitting laser element 21 can be changed by control from the light source drive circuit 16 so dynamic adjustment of the illuminance distribution can be performed after completion of the light source device 11.
The above method is the method that changes the amount of current applied to the each surface emitting laser element 21, however, even by just changing the size of the current pass-through region 27a of current constriction layer 27 after setting the amount of current applied to each surface emitting laser element 21 to a fixed value, the light emission amount of the each surface emitting laser element 21 can be changed and an effect of uniform illuminance on the irradiated surface P2 is obtained. By reducing the size of the current pass-through region 27a, the oscillation threshold of the surface emitting laser element 21 becomes low so that compared to the surface emitting laser element 21 with relatively large size of the current pass-through region 27a, the average output of light that is emitted when a fixed amount of current is applied becomes large. Therefore, within the light emitting surface P1, the more the surface emitting laser element 21 is at a position requiring the increase of the light intensity, the smaller the size of the current pass-through region 27a becomes. However, the size of the current pass-through region 27a is determined by the selectable range according to the electrode structure of each surface emitting laser element 21 so that the settings must be made within the applicable range.
In the present embodiment, the light emitting surface P1 is divided into five regions F1 to F5 in the horizontal direction and controlled to provide different light emission amounts for the surface emitting laser elements 21 in each region. Unlike the present embodiment, the light emission amount of the surface emitting laser elements 21 grouped into a plurality of regions in the vertical direction can be controlled, or the light emission amount of the surface emitting laser elements 21 in each region separated into tile types in both the horizontal direction and the vertical direction can be controlled. Moreover, a shape other than a tile (box) shape may be set in different ranges for the surface emitting laser elements 21. Also, even in cases where there are a small number of the surface emitting laser elements 21, all of the surface emitting laser elements 21 can be controlled at different light emission amounts.
As described above, the illumination uniformity can be performed in the irradiated region by joint use of the first method (
A concept view of the boundary where a large difference in illumination occurs is illustrated in
In
The light emitting surface P1 and the irradiated surface P2 in this way have a corresponding relationship so that by changing the range of the setting for placing the surface emitting laser elements 21 on the light emitting surface P1 side, the shape of the irradiated region on the irradiated surface P2 can be changed. Therefore, in the distance measurement device 10 (
As described above, in the light source device 11 to which the present invention is applied, the light emission amount per unit area in the light emitting region of the surface emitting laser 20 is changed according to the irradiated region so as to reduce irregularities in the illumination caused by effects from aberrations in the projection optical system 15. In this way, a high quality light source device 11 that is satisfactory for both projecting wide angle light onto the object for irradiating and illuminance uniformity can be obtained. By projecting light with superior illuminance uniformity from the light source device 11, the detection accuracy in the distance measurement device 10 (or a general-purpose device including applications other than distance measurement) utilizing the light source device 11 can be improved.
Examples applying the light source device 11 described above in various types of electronic apparatuses are described while referring to
In the application example in
The detection device 50 is mounted directly near the hand part 55 on the articulated arm 54. The detection device 50 is installed so that the light projection direction matches the direction the hand part 55 faces, and the target article 56 and the peripheral region are set as the detection target. The detection device 50 receives the reflected light from the irradiated region including the target article 56 at the photodetector 13, generates image data in an image processor 57 (performs image capture), and determines the various types of information relating to the target article 56 in a determination part 58. Specifically, the information detected by utilizing the detection device 50 is a distance to the target article 56, a shape for a target article 56, a position for a target article 56, and mutual position relation when there is a plurality of target articles 56 present, etc. A drive controller 59 then controls the operation of the articulated arm 54 and the hand part 55 based on determination results in the determination part 58 to grasp the target article 56 and move, etc.
The application example in
During authentication of the user, light from the light source device 11 of the detection device 50 installed in the portable information terminal 60 is projected towards a user 61 using the portable information terminal 60. The photodetector 13 of the detection device 50 receives the light reflected from the user 61 and the periphery, and the image processor 62 generates image data (performs image capture). A determination part 63 determines the coincidence that the image information from capturing an image of the user 61 by way of the detection device 50 matches the preregistered user information and decides whether the user 61 is the registered user or not. Specifically, the contours (profile and irregularities) of the face, the ears, and the head of the user 61 are measured and can be utilized as user information.
The application example in
In the example in
The light source device 11 for the detection device 50 installed onboard the vehicle 64 emits light toward a driver 65 operating the vehicle 64. The photodetector 13 of the detection device 50 receives the light reflecting from the user 65 and the periphery, and an image processor 66 generates image data (performs image capture). A determination part 67 determines information such as the face (expression) or stance of the user 65 based on image information obtained by capturing the driver 65. A drive controller 68 then controls the braking and steering based on determination results from the determination part 67 and performs appropriate drive support according to the state of the driver 65. For example, when the driver taking his eyes off the road is detected or dozing while driving is detected, the drive controller 68 can automatically reduce the vehicle speed or automatically stop the vehicle.
The application example in
The detection device 50 is installed in the moving unit 70. The detection device 50 emits light in the forward movement direction and the peripheral region of the moving unit 70. In a room interior 71 serving as the movement area of the moving unit 70, a desk 72 is placed in the forward movement direction of the moving unit 70. Among the light projected from the light source device 11 of the detection device 50 installed in the moving unit 70, the light reflected from the desk 72 and its periphery is received at the photodetector 13 of the detection device 50, and the optically-electrically converted electrical signal is sent to a signal processor 73. The signal processor 73 internally calculates information relating to the room interior 71 layout such as the distance to the desk 72, the position of the desk 72, and the peripheral state of other than the desk 72 based on the electrical signals sent from the photodetector 13. A determination part 74 determines the movement path and movement speed of the moving unit 70 based on this calculated information and a drive controller 75 controls the driving of the moving unit 70 (operation of the motor serving as the drive force) based on determination results from the determination part 74.
In the application example in
The present invention is described above based on the represented embodiment, however, the present invention is not limited by the above described embodiments and may include all manner of modifications and improvements within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
In the above described embodiment, the surface emitting laser 20 is utilized for overall surface light emission by arraying the surface emitting laser elements 21 in the horizontal direction and in the vertical direction as the light source, however, a line type light source having a light emitting region only in a specified direction such as a horizontal direction or a vertical direction may also be utilized.
Besides the VCSEL of the above described embodiment, edge emitting lasers and light emitting diodes (LED) may be utilized as the light source. As described above, the VCSEL has advantages in the points of forming a two-dimensional light emitting region and allowing a high degree of freedom in placement of the light emitting regions, however, even if light sources other than VCSEL are utilized, the same effect as in the above described embodiment can be obtained by appropriately setting the light emission intensity and the placement of each light emission element.
10 Distance measurement device
11 Light source device
13 Photodetector (detector part)
14 Light source
15 Projection optical system
16 Light source drive circuit
17 Signal control circuit (calculation part)
18 Light-receiving optical system
20 Surface emitting laser (light source)
21 Surface emission laser element (light emitter)
27 Current constriction layer
30 Condenser lens (light condensing optical element)
31 Projection lens (magnifying optical element
50 Detection device
54 Articulate arm (electronic apparatus)
60 Portable information terminal (electronic apparatus)
64 Vehicle (electronic apparatus)
70 Moving unit (electronic apparatus)
80 First position adjuster
81 Second position adjuster
82 Third position adjuster
E1 Irradiated region
E2 Non-irradiated region
E3 Fully irradiated region
H Non-light emission area
P1 Light emitting surface
P2 Irradiated surface
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2019-046772 | Mar 2019 | JP | national |
2019-225299 | Dec 2019 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2020/010664 | 3/11/2020 | WO | 00 |