The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to optical sensor devices, and, more particularly, to sensors that use light based time of flight measurement to generate distance or depth information.
The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects described herein. This summary is not an extensive overview nor is it intended to identify key/critical elements or to delineate the scope of the various aspects described herein. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
In one or more embodiments, a time of flight sensor device is provided, comprising an emitter component configured to emit a light pulse at a first time during each measuring sequence of at least two measuring sequences of a distance measurement operation; a photo-sensor component comprising a photo-detector, the photo-detector comprising; a photo device configured to generate electrical energy in proportion to a quantity of received light, a first measuring capacitor connected to the photo device via a first control line switch controlled by a first gating signal, a second measuring capacitor connected to the photo device via a second control line switch controlled by a second gating signal, and a third measuring capacitor connected to the photo device via a third control line switch controlled by a third gating signal, wherein the photo-sensor component is configured to, for each measuring sequence of the at least two measuring sequences, set the first gating signal, at a second time during the measuring sequence defined relative to the first time, and reset the first gating signal at a third time during the measuring sequence defined relative to the first time, wherein setting the first gating signal at the second time and resetting the first gating signal at the third time causes a first portion of the electrical energy to be stored in the first measuring capacitor, set the second gating signal at the third time and reset the second gating signal at a fourth time during the measuring sequence defined relative to the first time, wherein setting the second gating signal at the third time and resetting the second gating signal at the fourth time causes a second portion of the electrical energy to be stored in the second measuring capacitor, and set the third gating signal at the fourth time and reset the third gating signal at a fifth time during the measuring sequence defined relative to the first time, wherein setting the third gating signal at the fourth time and resetting the third gating signal at the fifth time causes a third portion of the electrical energy to be stored in the third measuring capacitor, wherein the second time, the third time, the fourth time, and the fifth time are delayed within a second measuring sequence of the at least two measuring sequences relative to a first measuring sequence of the at least two measuring sequences; and a distance determination component configured to determine a propagation time for the light pulse based on first measured values of the first portion of the electrical energy measured on the first measuring capacitor for the at least two measuring sequences, second measured values of the second portion of the electrical energy measured on the second measuring capacitor for the at least two measuring sequences, and third measured values of the third portion of the electrical energy measured on the third measuring capacitor for the at least two measuring sequences.
Also, one or more embodiments provide a method for measuring a distance of an object, comprising generating, by a photo device of a photo-detector of a time of flight sensor device comprising a processor, electrical energy in proportion to a quantity of light received at the photo device; performing, by the time of flight sensor device, a distance measuring operation comprising at least two measuring sequences, wherein the performing comprises, for each measuring sequence of the at least two measuring sequences: emitting a light pulse at a first time within the measuring sequence, setting a first gating signal at a second time during the measuring sequence defined relative to the first time, resetting the first gating signal at a third time during the measuring sequence defined relative to the first time, wherein the setting the first gating signal and the resetting the first gating signal causes a first portion of the electrical energy to be stored in a first measuring capacitor corresponding to the first gating signal, setting a second gating signal at the third time, resetting the second gating signal at a fourth time during the measuring sequence defined relative to the first time, wherein the setting the second gating signal and the resetting the second gating signal causes a second portion of the electrical energy to be stored in a second measuring capacitor corresponding to the second gating signal, setting a third gating signal at the fourth time, and resetting the third gating signal at a fifth time during the measuring sequence defined relative to the first time, wherein the setting the third gating signal and the resetting the third gating signal causes a third portion of the electrical energy to be stored in a third measuring capacitor corresponding to the third gating signal, and wherein the second time, the third time, the fourth time, and the fifth time are shifted in time within a second measuring sequence of the at least two measuring sequences relative to a first measuring sequence of the at least two measuring sequences; and determining, by the time of flight sensor device, a propagation time for the light pulse based on first measured values of the first portion of the electrical energy measured on the first measuring capacitor for the at least two measuring sequences, second measured values of the second portion of the electrical energy measured on the second measuring capacitor for the at least two measuring sequences, and third measured values of the third portion of the electrical energy measured on the third measuring capacitor for the at least two measuring sequences.
Also, according to one or more embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided having stored thereon instructions that, in response to execution, cause a time of flight sensor device comprising a processor and a photo device that generates electrical energy in proportion to a quantity of received light, to perform operations, the operations comprising performing a distance measurement operation comprising at least a first measuring sequence and a second measuring sequence, wherein the performing comprises, for each measuring sequence of the first measuring sequence and the second measuring sequence: initiating emission of a light pulse at a first time within the measuring sequence, setting a first gating signal at a second time during the measuring sequence defined relative to the first time, resetting the first gating signal at a third time during the measuring sequence defined relative to the first time, wherein the setting the first gating signal and the resetting the first gating signal causes a first portion of the electrical energy to be stored in a first measuring capacitor corresponding to the first gating signal, setting a second gating signal at the third time, resetting the second gating signal at a fourth time during the measuring sequence defined relative to the first time, wherein the setting the second gating signal and the resetting the second gating signal causes a second portion of the electrical energy to be stored in a second measuring capacitor corresponding to the second gating signal, setting the third gating signal at the fourth time, and resetting the third gating signal at a fifth time during the measuring sequence defined relative to the first time, wherein the setting the third gating signal and the resetting the third gating signal causes a third portion of the electrical energy to be stored in a third measuring capacitor corresponding to the third gating signal, wherein the second time, the third time, the fourth time, and the fifth time of the second measuring sequence are delayed within the second measuring sequence relative to the second time, the third time, and the fifth time of the first measuring sequence; and determining a propagation time for the light pulse based on first measured values of the first portion of the electrical energy measured on the first measuring capacitor for the first measuring sequence and the second measuring sequence, second measured values of the second portion of the electrical energy measured on the second measuring capacitor for the first measuring sequence and the second measuring sequence, and third measured values of the third portion of the electrical energy measured on the third measuring capacitor for the first measuring sequence and the second measuring sequence.
To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certain illustrative aspects are described herein in connection with the following description and the annexed drawings. These aspects are indicative of various ways which can be practiced, all of which are intended to be covered herein. Other advantages and novel features may become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawings.
The subject disclosure is now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding thereof. It may be evident, however, that the subject disclosure can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate a description thereof.
As used in this application, the terms “component,” “system,” “platform,” “layer,” “controller,” “terminal,” “station,” “node,” “interface” are intended to refer to a computer-related entity or an entity related to, or that is part of, an operational apparatus with one or more specific functionalities, wherein such entities can be either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component can be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, a hard disk drive, multiple storage drives (of optical or magnetic storage medium) including affixed (e.g., screwed or bolted) or removable affixed solid-state storage drives; an object; an executable; a thread of execution; a computer-executable program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a server and the server can be a component. One or more components can reside within a process and/or thread of execution, and a component can be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. Also, components as described herein can execute from various computer readable storage media having various data structures stored thereon. The components may communicate via local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network such as the Internet with other systems via the signal). As another example, a component can be an apparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical parts operated by electric or electronic circuitry which is operated by a software or a firmware application executed by a processor, wherein the processor can be internal or external to the apparatus and executes at least a part of the software or firmware application. As yet another example, a component can be an apparatus that provides specific functionality through electronic components without mechanical parts, the electronic components can include a processor therein to execute software or firmware that provides at least in part the functionality of the electronic components. As further yet another example, interface(s) can include input/output (I/O) components as well as associated processor, application, or Application Programming Interface (API) components. While the foregoing examples are directed to aspects of a component, the exemplified aspects or features also apply to a system, platform, interface, layer, controller, terminal, and the like.
As used herein, the terms “to infer” and “inference” refer generally to the process of reasoning about or inferring states of the system, environment, and/or user from a set of observations as captured via events and/or data. Inference can be employed to identify a specific context or action, or can generate a probability distribution over states, for example. The inference can be probabilistic—that is, the computation of a probability distribution over states of interest based on a consideration of data and events. Inference can also refer to techniques employed for composing higher-level events from a set of events and/or data. Such inference results in the construction of new events or actions from a set of observed events and/or stored event data, whether or not the events are correlated in close temporal proximity, and whether the events and data come from one or several event and data sources.
In addition, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or.” That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from the context, the phrase “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, the phrase “X employs A or B” is satisfied by any of the following instances: X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from the context to be directed to a singular form.
Furthermore, the term “set” as employed herein excludes the empty set; e.g., the set with no elements therein. Thus, a “set” in the subject disclosure includes one or more elements or entities. As an illustration, a set of controllers includes one or more controllers; a set of data resources includes one or more data resources; etc. Likewise, the term “group” as utilized herein refers to a collection of one or more entities; e.g., a group of nodes refers to one or more nodes.
Various aspects or features will be presented in terms of systems that may include a number of devices, components, modules, and the like. It is to be understood and appreciated that the various systems may include additional devices, components, modules, etc. and/or may not include all of the devices, components, modules etc. discussed in connection with the figures. A combination of these approaches also can be used.
Time of Flight (TOF) optical sensors—such as photo detectors or multi-pixel image sensors—are generally used to detect distances of objects or surfaces within a viewing range of the sensor. Such sensors can include, for example, photo detectors that measure and generate a single distance data point for an object within range of the detector, as well as multi-pixel image sensors comprising an array of photo-detectors that are each capable of generating a distance data point for a corresponding image pixel.
Some types of TOF sensors that employ pulsed light illumination measure the elapsed time between emission of a light pulse to the viewing field (or viewing space) and receipt of a reflected light pulse at the sensor's photo-receiver. Since this time-of-flight information is a function of the distance of the object or surface from the sensor, the sensor is able to leverage the TOF information to determine the distance of the object or surface point from the sensor.
d=(c/2)t (1)
where c is the speed of light, and t is the measured time of the round trip for the pulse from the emitter 104 to the object 108 and back to the sensor 106.
Emitter 104 of the TOF sensor 112 emits a short pulse 110 into the viewing field. Objects and surfaces within the viewing field, such as object 108, reflect part of the pulse's radiation back to the TOF sensor 112, and the reflected pulse is detected by sensor 106 (e.g., a photo-detector or a photo-sensor such as a photo-diode). Since the speed of light c is a known constant and the time t elapsed between emission and reception of the pulse 110 can be measured, the distance measurement components 102 can determine the distance between the object 108 and the sensor by calculating half of the round-trip distance, as given by equation (1) above. Collectively, the distance information obtained for all pixels of the viewing space yields depth map data for the viewing space. In some implementations, distance measurement components 102 can include a timer that measures the arrival time of the received pulse relative to the time at which emitter 104 emitted the pulse. In general, the TOF sensor 112 generates information that is representative of the position in time of the received pulse.
When radiation of the reflected pulse is incident on the photo-receivers or photo-detectors that make up sensor 106, the incident light is converted into an electrical output proportional to the intensity of the incident light. The distance measurement components 102 then recover and analyze the electrical output in order to identify the pulse, thereby determining that the reflected pulse has been received at the sensor 106. Accurate distance measurement using light pulse time delay estimation depends upon reliable recovery and representation of the reflected light pulse and its time related characteristics.
In some implementations, the photo-detectors of sensor 106 accumulate electrical charges based on the exposure duration of the sensor 106 to the received light pulse radiation relative to a time reference. The accumulated charges translate into a voltage value that is used by the distance measurement components 102 to recognize the pulse. Once the pulse is identified, the distance measurement components 102 can estimate the time that the reflected pulse was received at the TOF sensor relative to the time that the pulse was emitted, and the distance can be estimated based on this time using equation (1) (or another distance determination equation or algorithm that defined distance as a function of light pulse propagation time).
The photo-detector 202 includes a photo device 210 (e.g., a photo-diode and a capacitor (PD Cap)) that generates and stores electrical charges when exposed to light, such as pulsed light from a reflected pulse as well as ambient light. The magnitude of the electrical charge is proportional to the intensity of the light incident on the photo device 210. The photo device 210 is connected to a first switch 204 enabled by an anti-blooming control (TAB) and a second switch 208 enabled by a capture control line (TX1). Switches 204 and 208 can be transistors or other types of switching devices. The charges generated by and stored on the photo device 210 are diverted when the TAB switch 204 is active (e.g., when a logical high control signal is applied to the gate of the TAB switch 204 causing it to become conductive), thereby clearing the charges from the photo device 210. The photo device 210 is connected to a measuring capacitor (e.g., a floating diffusion (FD) capacitor or another type of measuring capacitor) 206 via the control line TX1.
With this configuration, the charges generated by the photo device 210 can also be transferred to the measuring capacitor 206 when the TX1 switch 208 is active (e.g., when a logical high control or gating signal is applied to the gate of the TX1 switch 208). The amount of charge Q stored on the measuring capacitor 206 (transferred from the photo device 210) creates a voltage V on the measuring capacitor (per V=Q/C, where C is the capacitance of the measuring capacitor) that can be read by an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 212 via an amplifier 214. The ADC 212 converts the magnitude of the voltage to a proportional digital value. In some implementations, to ensure that a sufficiently high level of charge has been accumulated to yield a sufficiently high voltage value that can be accurately measured, photo-detector 202 may be configured to base the distance measurement on a series of received pulses rather than a single received pulse. In such implementations, ADC 212 may be configured to read the magnitude of the voltage on measuring capacitor 206 after a defined number of pulses have been received, such that the voltage on measuring capacitor 206 represents an accumulation of a series of pulses. The accumulated charge (and corresponding voltage) stored on the measuring capacitor 206 can be cleared when a logical high control signal is applied to the gate of the reset (RST) switch 218. The RST switch 218, control line TX1, measuring capacitor 206, and input of the amplifier 214 are connected to the same node 216.
The output of the ADC 212—that is, the digital value representing the amount of electrical charge on measuring capacitor 206—is provided to the distance measurement components 102, which use the value to calculate the propagation time (or time of flight) and corresponding distance for an emitted light pulse.
As photo-detector 202 receives pulsed light, it develops charges that are captured and integrated into the measuring capacitor 206. In this way, each pixel corresponding to a photo-detector 202 generates time-related information and amplitude information (based on charge values) based on received light pulses backscattered by an object in the viewing field illuminated by the emitter component 404.
The time at which the TAB control signal goes low and the TX1 control signal goes high—referred to as the sampling point or split point—is defined to be a constant time relative to the time of emission of the light pulse 316. In the illustrated example, the sampling point occurs at time t2, which is set to be a fixed time relative to the time t1 corresponding to the trailing edge of the emitted pulse 316 (the sampling time may also be defined relative to the leading edge of the emitted pulse 316 in some embodiments). When the TAB control signal goes low and the TX1 control signal goes high at the sampling point (at time t2), the accumulated electrical charge generated by the photo device 210 in response to received light begins transferring to the measuring capacitor 206.
As shown in
Since the time at which the reflected pulse 312 is received is a function of the distance of the object or surface from which the pulse 312 was reflected, the amount of the trailing portion of the reflected pulse that is collected by measuring capacitor 206 as a fraction of the total received pulse is also a function of this distance. Accordingly, at the completion of the first stage of the measuring cycle, distance determination component 408 stores a value (e.g., voltage V1b or a corresponding value of an electrical charge) representing the amount of charge stored on measuring capacitor 206 after completion of the sequence illustrated in
Similar to the timing sequence depicted in
As can be seen by comparing
In general, the nearer the object or surface is to the TOF sensor 112, the earlier in time the reflected pulse (pulse 312 or 330) will be received, and thus the smaller the trailing portion of the pulse charge that will be collected by measuring capacitor 206 during the first stage, and similarly the larger the charge represented by the leading portion of the pulse that will be collected during the second stage. Accordingly, after completion of the first and second stages of the measuring cycle depicted in
As demonstrated by the example timing diagrams depicted in
In the case of photo-detectors that collect received light pulse information using multiple measuring capacitors, there is an assumption that the values of the measuring capacitors and corresponding reading channels are identical. That is, it is assumed that the measuring capacitors have identical capacitance values, and that each measuring capacitor and its associated reading channel will therefore deliver the same electrical output for a given light input.
Realistically, however, there are a number of factors that may produce differences between the measuring channels. For example, there may be small capacitance differences between the measuring capacitors due to engineering tolerances. These capacitance differences may also vary as a function of temperature. There may also be differences in the gain of the analog components and conversion characteristics of the ADC 212 associated with each reading channel, which can further distort the distance calculations.
These mismatches between the measuring capacitors and their associated reading channels can be addressed by measuring the mismatches and differences so that the effects of the mismatches can be compensated for when processing the measured data and calculating the distance. However, this approach can be costly in terms of the amount of data that must be measured and stored, increased calibration time, and increased computing time that is required to execute the mismatch corrections. Moreover, the correction and compensation factors may have to be adjusted over the life of the sensor to account for variations due to temperature and age.
To address these and other issues, one or more embodiments of the present disclosure provide a TOF sensor device that employs multiple measuring capacitors per pixel, and that minimizes the effects of unbalanced reading paths and device mismatch without the need for capacitor and reading channel baseline calibration. In one or more embodiments, a photo-sensitive pixel (photo-detector) used for detecting and measuring pulses of light may have two, three, or more measuring capacitors, each connected to its own reading channel. The photo-detector can execute multiple measuring sequences for a given distance measurement operation, permuting the role of each measuring capacitor for each of the measuring sequences. The data collected by these multiple measuring sequences can then be aggregated to determine the propagation time and corresponding distance. This method can improve the overall accuracy of the TOF sensor device without requiring implementation of extensive pixel-level calibration or temperature compensation, thereby saving calibration time, memory space, and computing time.
One or more embodiments of this disclosure also provide a TOF sensor device capable of extending its total sensing distance using multiple measuring sequences for each distance measuring operation. Such embodiments can execute two or more iterations of a measuring sequence, where the gating signal control sequence for each measuring sequence is offset in time relative to a previous sequence. This yields a greater number of sampling points within which a reflected pulse can be detected and measured, resulting in a total measurable time of flight range that is greater than a measuring operation that uses a fixed timing for the gating signals. In various embodiments, this technique for increasing measurable time of flight distance can be implemented together with or independent of the capacitor role permutation technique described above.
TOF sensor device 402 can include an emitter component 404, a photo-sensor component 406, a distance determination component 408, a control output component 412, a user interface component 414, one or more processors 416, and memory 418. In various embodiments, one or more of the emitter component 404, photo-sensor component 406, distance determination component 408, control output component 412, user interface component 414, the one or more processors 416, and memory 418 can be electrically and/or communicatively coupled to one another to perform one or more of the functions of the TOF sensor device 402. In some embodiments, one or more of components 404, 406, 408, 412, and 414 can comprise software instructions stored on memory 418 and executed by processor(s) 416. TOF sensor device 402 may also interact with other hardware and/or software components not depicted in
Emitter component 404 can be configured to control emission of light by the TOF sensor device 402. TOF sensor device 402 may comprise a laser or light emitting diode (LED) light source under the control of emitter component 404. Emitter component 404 can generate pulsed light emissions directed to the viewing field, so that time-of-flight information for the reflected light pulses can be generated by the TOF sensor device 402 (e.g., by the distance determination component 408).
Photo-sensor component 406 can be configured to convert light energy incident on a photo-receiver or photo-detector array to electrical energy for respective pixels of a viewing space, and selectively control the storage of the electrical energy in various electrical storage components (e.g., measuring capacitors) for distance analysis. Distance determination component 408 can be configured to determine a propagation time (time of flight) for emitted light pulses for respective pixels of the viewing space based on the stored electrical energy generated by the photo-sensor component 406, and to further determine a distance value of an object or surface corresponding to a pixel within the viewing space based on the determined propagation time.
The control output component 412 can be configured to analyze and control one or more sensor outputs based on results generated by the distance determination component 408. This can include, for example, sending an analog or digital control signal to a control or supervisory device (e.g., an industrial controller, an on-board computer mounted in a mobile vehicle, etc.) to perform a control action, initiating a safety action (e.g., removing power from a hazardous machine, switching an industrial system to a safe operating mode, etc.), sending a feedback message to one or more plant personnel via a human-machine interface (HMI) or a personal mobile device, sending data over a safety network, or other such signaling actions. In various embodiments, control output component 412 can be configured to interface with a plant network (e.g., a control and information protocol network, and Ethernet/IP network, a safety network, etc.) and send control outputs to other devices over the network connection, or may be configured to send output signals via a direct hardwired connection.
User interface component 414 can be configured to receive user input and to render output to the user in any suitable format (e.g., visual, audio, tactile, etc.). In some embodiments, user interface component 414 can be configured to communicate with a graphical user interface (e.g., a programming or development platform) that executes on a separate hardware device (e.g., a laptop computer, tablet computer, smart phone, etc.) communicatively connected to TOF sensor device 402. In such configurations, user interface component 414 can receive input parameter data entered by the user via the graphical user interface, and deliver output data (e.g., device status, health, or configuration data) to the interface. Input parameter data can include, for example, normalized pulse shape data that can be used as reference data for identification of irregularly shaped pulses, light intensity settings, minimum safe distances or other distance threshold values to be compared with the measured distance value for the purposes of determining when to initiate a control or safety output, or other such parameters. Output data can comprise, for example, status information for the TOF sensor device 402, alarm or fault information, parameter settings, or other such information.
The one or more processors 416 can perform one or more of the functions described herein with reference to the systems and/or methods disclosed. Memory 418 can be a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions and/or information for performing the functions described herein with reference to the systems and/or methods disclosed.
Similar to the single-capacitor photo-detector 202 described above, charges generated by photo device 514 in response to incident light is transferred to one of the measuring capacitors C0, C1, or C2, where the measuring capacitor that receives the charge is determined by the states of control line (or gating) switches 510, which are controlled by gating signals TX0, TX1 and TX2. Specifically, a high gating signal TX0 causes switch 510a to become conductive, which causes the charge generated by the photo device 514 to be transferred to measuring capacitor C0. Similarly, a high gating signal TX1 causes the switch 510b to become conductive, causing the charge generated by the photo device 514 to be transferred to measuring capacitor C1. A high gating signal TX2 causes switch 510c to become conductive, causing the charge generated by photo device 514 to be transferred to measuring capacitor C2. During a measuring sequence, only one of the gating signals TX0, TX1, or TX2 is activated at a given time, and the timing of each gating signal determines when the charges generated by photo device 514 are directed to, and accumulated into, the corresponding measuring capacitor.
During times when none of the gating signals TX0, TX1, or TX2 are active, the TAB gating signal on the TAB switch 512 is set high, which keeps the TAB switch 512 conductive so that any charges generated by the photo device 514 are drained. This keeps the photo device 514 free of charges until measurement information is to be captured. While any of the gating signals TX0, TX1, or TX2 are set high, the gating signal on the TAB switch 512 is set low. Photo-detector 502 also includes three reset switches 518 respectively connected to the three measuring capacitors C0, C1, and C2 and controlled by an RST gating signal. When the RST gating signal is set high, the reset switches 518 become conductive and connect the measuring capacitors C0, C1, and C2 to ground, clearing the charges (and corresponding voltages) stored on the measuring capacitors.
This multi-capacitor architecture allows electrical charge generated by photo device 514 in response to a single received light pulse to be separated (or split) and stored in different measuring capacitors by switching from one active gating signal to another while the pulsed light is illuminating the pixel. The time of transition from one gating signal to another is referred to herein as the split point or sampling point, since this transition time determines where, along the received pulse waveform, the received pulse is divided or split.
Gating signal timing charts 604, 606, and 608 represent the timings of the TX0, TX1, and TX2 gating signals, respectively. The TX0, TX1, and TX2 gating signals illustrated in
Also at time Ts01, the TX1 gating signal turns on and remains high for the duration of gating time Tw (the same duration as the TX0 gating signal), as shown in the TX1 gating timing chart 606. At the end of the gating time Tw, the TX1 gating signal turns off at time Ts12 (also defined relative to the leading edge of the TX0 gating signal). While the Tx1 gating signal is high, light-driven charges from photo device 514 are transferred to measuring capacitor C1 (FD1) as charge Q1, as shown by the increasing Q1 curve between time Ts01 and Ts12 in timing chart 616 (FD1 Cap Charge).
In this scenario, the time-of-flight of the emitted pulse, which is a function of the distance of the object or surface from which the pulse was reflected, is such that the leading edge of reflected pulse 622 is received at the photo device 514 while the TX2 gating signal is on. Consequently, this leading edge 628 of the reflected pulse is captured as a portion of charge Q1 in measuring capacitor C1. Thus, at time Ts12, charge Q1 on measuring capacitor C1 is representative of the leading edge portion (shaded region 628) of reflected pulse 622 as well as any ambient light received at the photo device 514 while the TX1 control signal is high. That is, the amount of charge Q1 (or voltage V1) stored on measuring capacitor C1 is proportional to the shaded region 630 of timing chart 610 (representing the amount of ambient light collected during the duration of the TX1 high signal) plus the shaded region 628 (representing the leading portion of the received pulse 622 without ambient light).
At time Ts12, the TX1 gating signal goes low and the TX2 gating signal goes high, causing the charges from the photo device 514 to begin transferring to the third measuring capacitor C2. The TX2 gating signal is held high for duration Tw (the same gating time used for the TX0 and TX1 gating signals), and is then switched low. The FD2 Cap Charge timing chart 618 illustrates the rise in the accumulated charge on measuring capacitor C2 during this duration. When the TX2 gating signal goes low, the transfer of charge to measuring capacitor C2 ceases, and the amount of charge on C2 levels to a value Q2 (corresponding to voltage V2). Since time Ts12 occurs while reflected pulse 622 is being received in this example scenario, this timing captures the trailing edge portion of the reflected pulse as a portion of charge Q2 on measuring capacitor C2. Thus, charge Q2 represents the trailing edge portion of received pulse 622 (represented by shaded region 632) plus the amount of ambient light collected while the TX2 gating signal was high (represented by shaded region 634).
Using this gating signal timing, and for the pulse time-of-flight represented in
In contrast to the scenario described above in which the pulse time of flight is longer, in this scenario the reflected pulse 718 is received while the TX0 gating signal is still high. Consequently, the charge Q0 on measuring capacitor C0 is not only representative of ambient light, as in
As can be seen in the respective timing diagrams of
The time within the pulse period at which the received pulse is split is referred to as the sampling point. In the case of pulse cycles in which the pulse has a relatively long time of flight (as in
Once charges Q0, Q2, and Q3 have been accumulated in their respective measuring capacitors for a given pulse sequence, distance determination component 408 of TOF sensor device 402 can identify the sampling point based on a comparison of the charge or voltage values on the measuring capacitors. In an example embodiment, distance determination component 408 can calculate the following two possible pulse amplitude values:
Amplitude 1=V0+V1−2·V2 (2)
Amplitude 2=V1+V2−2·V0 (3)
Equations (2) and (3) assume that the voltages V0, V1, and V2 were captured by measuring capacitors having equal capacitance (or by the same measuring capacitor in the case of single-capacitor configurations). Equation (2) represents the amplitude of the light pulse in the scenario in which the sampling point is Ts01 (that is, the scenario illustrated in
Equation (3) represents the amplitude of the light pulse in the scenario in which the sampling point is Ts12 (that is, the scenario illustrated in
Distance determination component 408, which may not possess a priori knowledge of which sampling point will split the received reflected pulse into two parts for a given pulse sequence, can determine the sampling point by identifying the largest of the two calculated amplitudes determined according to equations (2) and (3) above. For example, the largest of the two calculated amplitudes may taken to represent the correct scenario. If distance determination component 408 determines that Amplitude 1 is greater than Amplitude 2, the sampling point is assumed to be Ts01. Alternatively, if distance determination component 408 determines that Amplitude 2 is greater than Amplitude 1, the sampling point is assumed to be Ts12. Other techniques for identifying the correct sampling point (Ts01 or Ts12), and the corresponding correct distance equation, are also within the scope of one or more embodiments.
A measuring sequence carried out by the TOF sensor device 402 comprises at least one pulse period with at least one active gating signal during that pulse period. The measuring sequence comprises at least two phases—a pulsing phase and a readout phase.
In some embodiments, TOF sensor device 402 can repeat the pulse period—comprising the sequence depicted in
The vertical dashed lines 904 represent the sampling points at which each received pulse 910 is split (Ts01 in the example illustrated in
At the end of this burst sequence, photo-sensor component 406 activates a read-out signal 906 to trigger a reading of the accumulated charges Q0, Q1, and Q2 (or corresponding voltages V0, V1, and V2) from respective measuring capacitors C0, C1, and C2. For embodiments in which the readout channels for the respective measuring capacitors use an ADC 504, as in the architecture depicted in
The quantity of charges transferred into each of the measuring capacitors depends on the position of the pulse relative to the sampling point.
In the example depicted in
Qu is the total amount of charge generated by the received light pulse 1004 without ambient light (that is, the sum of the leading and trailing edge portions, represented by the shaded area Qu in
Since measuring capacitor C0 stores charge representative of only ambient light when the sampling time is Ts12, then
Q0=QA (6)
and the total charge generated by pulse 1004 is given by
Qu=Q1+Q2−2·Q0 (7)
The charge accumulated in each measuring capacitor generates a voltage based on the capacitance value of each capacitor. Assuming the capacitances of measuring capacitors C0, C1, and C2 are C0, C1, and C2, respectively, the charge accumulated on each measuring capacitor is related to the voltage measured on each capacitor according to the following:
Q0=C0·V0 (8)
Q1=C1·V1 (9)
Q2=C2·V2 (10)
where V0, V1, and V2 are the voltages on measuring capacitors C0, C1, and C2, respectively.
Solving equation (4) for tp and substituting equations (6) and (7), the time of flight tp can be expressed as
and substituting equations (8), (9), and (10) yields
Similarly, solving equation (5) for tp and making the same substitutions yields
If all three measuring capacitors C0, C1, C2 are assumed to have the same capacitance value (that is, C0=C1=C2) and the reading channels are assumed to have the same gain, the capacitances can be factored out of equation (11) to yield
However, realistically, there may be mismatch between the capacitances of the measuring capacitors and between the gains of the reading channels due to engineering tolerances or temperature variances. If α0, α1, and α2 are multipliers representing the variations, for the respective read-out channels, of the conversion factor from charge to voltage (either analog or digital) versus the nominal value, then equation (14) can be rewritten as
The variation values α0, α1, and α2 are unknown and may be different for each single pixel, and may also vary over temperature. These variations can be compensated for through calibration (e.g., by measuring a, values for each capacitor of each pixel), and by performing correction and compensation.
According to another method, three different measurements (or a number of measurements equal to the number of measuring capacitors being used for each pixel) can be performed, with the roles of the measuring capacitors being changed for each measurement. In an example approach, the roles can be changed using a circular permutation or circular shift. Three sets of voltage values are thereby obtained from the three measurements—(V0, V1, V2) triplets—and three different values of tp, can be computed from the three sets of values. Referring to the three measurements as a, b, and c, the three values of tp are given by
Eliminating the three unknown variables α0, α1, and α2, and setting a such that
yields
Finally, removing a from numerator and denominator yields
Equation (21) is independent from mismatch and other variations associated with the readout of charge values captured in the measuring capacitors of a given pixel. Thus, to obtain the propagation time in a manner that eliminates the effects of capacitor and reading channel mismatch, embodiments of TOF sensor device 402 can perform three measuring sequences for a given distance measurement operation, with each measuring sequence having the same characteristics except that the roles of the measuring capacitors are changed between measuring sequences by re-ordering the timing of the gating signals.
As shown in
After completion of the first measuring sequence, the RST signal 1104b is pulsed, causing the charges on the measuring capacitors to be cleared, and the second measuring sequence (second permutation (b)) begins. For the second measuring sequence, the TOF sensor device 402 controls the gating signals according to a second permutation (permutation b), whereby the gating signals are set in the order of [TX1, TX2, TX0]. This ordering of gating signals causes the roles of the measuring capacitors to be shifted relative to the first measuring sequence. The shifting of roles accords to a circular shift, such that gating signal TX0—which was the first gating signal in the first measuring cycle—is reassigned to be the last gating signal, and the other two gating signals TX1 and TX2 are moved forward in time such that TX1 is now the first gating signal and TX2 is now the second gating signal. This ordering of gating signals causes the received pulse 1106b (corresponding to emitted pulse 1108b) to be split between measuring capacitors C1 and C2, with measuring capacitor C0 measuring ambient light. When the read-out signal 1102b is pulsed, the voltages stored on measuring capacitors C0, C1, and C2 are read and stored by the photo-sensor component 406 as V0b, V1b, and V2b, respectively.
After completion of the second measuring sequence, the RST signal 1104c is pulsed, causing the charges on the measuring capacitors to be cleared again, and the third measuring sequence begins. For the third measuring sequence, the gating signals are controlled according to a third permutation (third permutation (c)), whereby the order of the gating signals is again shifted according to a circular shift so that the signals are set in the order of [TX2, TX0, TX1]. This permutation causes the received pulse 1106c (corresponding to emitted pulse 1108c) to be split between measuring capacitors C0 and C2, with measuring capacitor C1 measuring ambient light. When the read-out signal 1102c is pulsed, the voltages stored on measuring capacitors C0, C1, and C2 are read and stored by the photo-sensor component 406 as V0c, V1c, and V2c, respectively.
Since the present example assumes a pixel architecture that uses three measuring capacitors (e.g., the architecture illustrated in
The example illustrated in
This multi-measurement technique can produce accurate time of flight measurements—and corresponding pixel-wise distance calculations—in a manner that accounts for variations and mismatches between measuring capacitance values of the measuring capacitors and associated channels without the need to measure these mismatches and perform calibrations to compensate for the mismatches as part of the distance measurement processing.
In some embodiments, TOF sensor device 402 may be an industrial safety device configured to serve as a sensor for an industrial safety system. In such implementations, the control output component 412 can be configured to generate a safety output in response to a determination that the distance value calculated by distance determination component 408 satisfies a defined criterion. In an example scenario, TOF sensor device 402 may be configured to monitor an area surrounding a hazardous industrial machine or automation system to ensure that people or objects (e.g., vehicles such as fork lifts) do not approach the hazardous area within a defined minimum safe distance. Accordingly, control output component 412 can be configured to generate a safety output in response to determining that the distance measured and calculated by the distance determination component 408 is less than the defined minimum safe distance. In some applications, the hazardous area may be defined as a distance range that begins a first distance away from the TOF sensor device 402 and ends at a second, longer distance area from the TOF sensor device. In such applications, the control output component 412 may be configured to generate the safety output signal in response to determining that the measured distance is within this distance band defined by the first and second distances.
The action initiated by the safety output signal can depend on the type of safety application within which the TOF sensor device 402 is being used. In various non-limiting examples, the safety output signal generated by control output component 412 may be configured to disconnect power from the monitored automation system or machine, place the system or machine in a safe mode (e.g., a slow operation mode), send a notification to one or more client devices to alert personnel that a person or object has been detected within the hazardous area, or perform other such safety actions.
In the example described above in connection with
For each of the two gating sequences, a light pulse 1202 is emitted, a corresponding reflected pulse 1204 is received, and photo-sensor component 406 cycles through gating signals TX0, TX1, and TX2 as described in previous examples. For the first instance of emitted pulse 1202 (sequence A), the gating signals are cycled as indicated by sequence A in
Upon completion of sequence A, the voltages (or charges) stored on the three measuring capacitors are read and stored as results of the first measuring sequence, the measuring capacitors are cleared, emitter component 404 emits another light pulse 1202, and photo-sensor component 406 cycles the gating signals again, this time in accordance with the timing indicated by sequence B in
In this example, the timing of gating sequence B is set such that the first gating signal (TX0b) is initiated at the same time, within the pulse period, at which the third gating signal of sequence A (TX2a) was initiated. This timing causes the TX0b and TX2a gating signals to have the same start and stop times relative to the start of the pulse period. Controlling the gating signals such that sequence A and sequence B overlap in this manner yields four sampling points—Ts01a, Ts12a, Ts01b, and Ts12b—that are separated from each other by a duration of pulse width Tw. At the end of sequence B, the voltages (or charges) accumulated on the measuring capacitors are again read and stored.
In the example illustrated in
After completion of both sequences A and B, the distance determination component 408 can make a determination as to which of the voltages—sequence A V0, sequence A V1, sequence A V2, sequence B V0, sequence B V1, or sequence B V2—correspond to the leading and trailing edges (if there is no object in the portion of the viewing field associated with the photo-detector, the voltage measurements will only report ambient light; accordingly, if all of the measured voltages are below a defined threshold indicative of the absence of a pulse, the photo-detector assumes that no object is present and bypasses the distance calculation for the present measuring sequence). If the sampling point is Ts01a or Ts12b, all but two of these voltages will be expected correspond to ambient light only, and so distance determination component 408 can identify the leading and trailing edge voltages by identifying the two voltages that are greater than the other four voltages (which will be approximately equal to one another). If these two voltages are sequence A voltages, the distance can be calculated based on equation (14) using the three voltages measured and recorded from sequence A. Alternatively, if the leading and trailing edge voltages are sequence B voltages, the distance can be calculated based on equation (14) using the three voltages measured and recorded from sequence B (replacing sampling time Ts12 in that equation with the appropriate sampling time Ts01a, Ts12a, Ts01b, or Ts12b determined to have split the received pulse). The correct sampling time can also be identified by applying equations (2) and (3) to the measured voltages for each sequence.
If the sampling point is Ts12a, the leading edge voltage will be V1 of sequence A, while the trailing edge voltage will be correspond to both V2 of sequence A and V0 of sequence B since the reflected pulse is received within the overlap area between sequence A and sequence B. Similarly, if the sampling point is Ts01b, the leading edge voltage will be both V2 of sequence A and V0 of sequence B, while the trailing edge voltage will be V1 of sequence B only. Accordingly, if the distance determination component 408 determines that V2 of sequence A and V0 of sequence B are equal to one another and also greater than the voltages corresponding to ambient light only, it is assumed that the sampling point is either Ts12a or Ts01b. To identify which of the two sampling points is correct, the distance determination component 408 can then determine which of sequence A V1 or sequence B V1 is the higher voltage. If sequence A V1 is higher than sequence B V1, then the sampling point is assumed to be Ts12a, and the distance is calculated based on equation (14) using the sequence A voltages. Alternatively, if sequence B V1 is higher than sequence A V1, the sampling point is assumed to be Ts01b, and the distance is calculated based on equation (14) using the sequence B voltages.
By increasing the number of possible sampling points using two or more offset iterations of the gating signals as illustrated in
This technique for increasing the measurable distance of TOF sensor device 402 can be performed for any TOF sensor that uses three measuring capacitors for each pixel, regardless of whether the TOF sensor implements permutation of measuring capacitors as described above in connection with
Although this smaller offset between gating signal sequences results in a smaller measurable distance relative to the larger offset illustrated in
In contrast to the scenario depicted in
Distance determination component 408 can use any suitable technique to combine the two sets of voltages to produce a final propagation time value. In an example implementation, assuming that the sequence A and sequence B voltages are given by [V0, V1, V2]A and [V0, V1, V2]B, respectively, distance determination component 408 may compute two different propagation times tpA and tpB using the respective to voltage sets (e.g., based on equation (14)), and average the two propagation times to yield a final propagation time from which the distance is calculated (e.g., using equation (1)). Alternatively, distance determination component 408 may select one of the propagation times tpA or tpB based on a selection criterion and use the selected propagation time to compute the distance. For embodiments in which control output component 412 is configured to trigger a safety output in response to detection of objects within a defined distance of the sensor device, the distance determination component 408 may be configured to select the smaller propagation time (corresponding to the shortest distance) to ensure that the safety output is reliably triggered with the lowest possible latency. Other techniques for combining the two propagation times tpA and tpB are also within the scope of this disclosure.
Although the examples depicted in
Also, while the examples described above in connection with
Initially, at 1402, an integer variable N is set equal to 0. Integer N tracks the number of measuring sequences performed by the TOF sensor device. For the example three-capacitor embodiment, three measuring sequences will be executed to obtain a single distance measurement, and so the measuring sequence will be executed for N=0 to 2.
At 1404, for the three-capacitor TOF sensor device in which each photo-detector of the TOF sensor device's pixel array comprises three measuring capacitors C0, C1, and C2 which are respectively gated by three corresponding gating signals TX0, TX1, and TX2, measuring capacitor C0 is assigned the role of first capacitor, capacitor C1 is assigned the role of second capacitor, and capacitor C2 is assigned the role of third capacitor. Likewise, gating signal TX0 (corresponding to capacitor C0) is assigned the role of first signal, gating signal TX1 (corresponding to capacitor C1) is assigned the role of second signal, and gating signal TX2 (corresponding to capacitor C2) is assigned the role of third signal. These role designations determine the order in which the gating signals are triggered in the present Nth measuring sequence, and consequently the order in which the measuring capacitors receive charge from the TOF sensor device's photo device.
At 1406, the first signal designated at step 1404 is set, causing electrical charge generated by the photo-detector in proportion to received light to be transferred to the first capacitor (also designated at step 1404). At 1408, a light pulse is emitted into the viewing space by the TOF sensor device. Emission of the light pulse can be timed such that the falling edge of the light pulse corresponds to the falling edge of the first gating signal (see step 1410 below).
At 1410, at a time t=Ts01 corresponding to an end of a gating signal duration Tw measured from the time that the first gating signal was set at step 1406, the first signal is reset, causing charges to cease transferring to the first capacitor. At the same time or approximately the same time, the second signal is set, causing electrical charge generated by the photo-detector to begin transferring to the second capacitor. At 1412, at a time t=Ts12 corresponding to the end of the gating signal duration Tw measured from the time that the second signal was set at step 1410, the second signal is reset, causing charges to cease transferring to the second capacitor. At the same time or approximately the same time, the third signal is set, causing electrical charge generated by the photo-detector to begin transferring to the third capacitor.
The methodology continues with the second part 1400b illustrated in
Although the methodology depicts steps 1406-1414 as executing only once during the Nth measuring sequence before the measuring capacitor voltages are measured at step 1416, in some embodiments the Nth measuring sequence may be a burst sequence in which steps 1406-1414 are repeated multiple times with the current measuring capacitor and gating signal role designations so that a measurable amount of charge is accumulated on each of capacitors C0, C1, and C2.
After clearing the measuring capacitor charges at step 1418, a determination is made at step 1420 as to whether N is equal to 2, indicating that three measuring sequences have been completed. If N is equal to 2 (YES at step 1420), the methodology proceeds to the third part 1400C, to be discussed below. Alternatively, if N does not equal 2 (NO at step 1420), the methodology proceeds to step 1422, where N is incremented by one, representing the next measuring sequence. At 1424, the roles of the measuring capacitors C0, C1, and C2, as well as the roles of the gating signals TX0, TX1, and TX2, are reassigned. In some embodiments, the role reassignment can accord to a circular shift. For example, after completion of the first measuring sequence (N=0) in which the roles are assigned according to step 1404, the second measuring sequence (N=1) performs a circular shift of the roles, such that C1 and TX1 are assigned the roles of first capacitor and first signal, respectively; C2 and TX2 are assigned the roles of second capacitor and second signal, respectively; and C0 and TX0 are assigned the roles of third capacitor and third signal, respectively. For the third measuring sequence (N=2), the roles are again shifted at step 1424, such that C2 and TX2 are assigned the roles of first capacitor and first signal, respectively; C0 and TX0 are assigned the roles of second capacitor and second signal, respectively; and C1 and TX1 are assigned the roles of third capacitor and third signal, respectively. The circular shifting of the roles can be performed in either direction. Although the illustrated methodology assumes a circular shift, other approaches for varying the roles of the capacitors and gating signals between measuring sequences can be used without departing from the scope of one or more embodiments, provided each of the measuring capacitors is only assigned to a given role once for a given distance measurement operation.
After reassignment of the roles at step 1424, the methodology returns to step 1406, and steps 1406-1418 are repeated using the new role assignments in order to obtain another set of values of the first voltage, the second voltage, and the third voltage. Since the roles have been reassigned relative to the previous measuring sequence, the first, second and third voltages will be measured from different measuring capacitors relative to the previous measuring sequence.
Reassignment of roles at step via circular shift at step 1424 and execution of the measuring sequence at steps 1406-1418 using the new roles are repeated until three measuring sequences have been completed (N is equal to 2 at step 1420). In general, the number of measuring sequences to be completed is equal to the number of measuring capacitors used in the photo-detector. When N is determined to be equal to 2 at step 1420, the three iterations of the measuring sequence will have produced three sets of first, second, and third voltages.
In the present example, it is assumed that the received pulse corresponding to the pulse emitted at step 1408 is received at the photo-detector at a time that causes the pulse to be split at time t−Ts12. When N is determined to be equal to 2 (YES at step 1420), the methodology continues to the third part 1400C illustrated in
For scenarios in which the received pulse is received at a time that causes the pulse to be split at time t=Ts01, steps 1426-1430 are modified such that the sum of the three stored first voltages will yield the leading edge voltage, the sum of the three stored second voltages will yield the trailing edge voltage, and the sum of the three stored third voltages will yield the yield the ambient voltage.
At 1432, a propagation time for the emitted light pulse—that is, the time between emission of the pulse and receipt of the pulse at the photo-detector—is calculated based on the measured and calculated values of V0, V1, V2 obtained at steps 1426-1430 above. For example, the propagation time tp can be determined by the TOF sensor device's distance determination component 408 based on equation (14) (or a reasonable variation thereof) using the summed voltages V0, V1, V2, the width of the emitted light pulse T0, and the time Ts12 of the sampling point measured relative to the falling edge of the emitted pulse (note that equation (21) represents a rewritten version of equation (14) showing the sums of the measured voltages). In general, distance determination component 408 can determine the propagation time tp by subtracting the summed ambient light voltage V0 from both the summed leading edge (plus ambient light) voltage V1 and the summed trailing edge (plus ambient light) voltage V2 to obtain summed voltages proportional to the leading and trailing edges, respectively, of the received reflected pulse. Distance determination component 408 can then determine the ratio of the resulting summed leading edge voltage (without ambient light) to the total of the summed leading and trailing edge voltages (also without ambient light), multiply this ratio by the total time duration T0 of the received light pulse, and add the sampling point time Ts12 to this product to obtain the propagation time tp. In some embodiments, other techniques can be used at step 1432 to derive the propagation time from the calculated values of V0, V1, V2 (e.g., the center-of-mass method).
At 1434, a distance of an object or surface from the TOF sensor device is calculated based on the propagation time tp calculated at step 1432 (e.g., using equation (1)). At 1436, a sensor output is controlled at least in part based on the distance calculated at step 1434. For example, in the case of a TOF sensor device used as an industrial safety sensor, the sensor output may be a safety output signal triggered in response to a determination that the distance is less than a defined minimum safe distance.
As noted above, while the general methodology described above in connection with
Initially, at 1502, a gating sequence tracking variable N is set equal to 1, representing the first gating sequence. At 1504, a delay time TDELAY is initialized. Delay time TDELAY represents a delay time between the start of the present pulse period and initiation of the gating sequence. As will be described below, this delay time TDELAY is offset for each measuring sequence.
At 1506, a light pulse is emitted into a viewing space by the TOF sensor device at time t=0. At 1508, a determination is made as to whether the current time t is equal to TDELAY. If t does not equal TDELAY (NO at step 1508), the methodology waits until t is equal to TDELAY (YES at step 1508), then proceeds to step 1510. Although the present example assumes that initialized TDELAY is greater than zero (that is, TDELAY occurs after the light pulse is emitted at time t=0), in some embodiments initialized TDELAY may be less than zero, such that the first iteration of the gating signals described below begins before the light pulse is emitted.
At 1510, a first gating signal TX0 of a pixel of the TOF sensor device is set, causing electrical charge generated by a photo-detector in proportion to received light to be transferred to a first measuring capacitor C0 of the pixel's photo-detector. At 1512, at time t=Ts01N corresponding to an end of a gating signal duration Tw (measured relative to the start of the first gating signal TX0 at step 1510, such that t=Ts01N=TDELAY+Tw), the first gating signal TX0 is reset, ending transfer of charges to the first measuring capacitor C0. At the same time or approximately the same time, a second gating signal TX1 is set, causing the electrical charge generated by the photo-detector to begin transferring to a second measuring capacitor C1.
At 1514, at a time t=Ts12N corresponding to an end of the gating signal duration Tw (measured relative to the start of the second gating signal TX1 at step 1512, such that t=Ts12N=TDELAY+2Tw), the second gating signal TX1 is reset, ending transfer of charges to the second measuring capacitor C1. At the same time or approximately the same time, a third gating signal TX2 is set, causing the electrical charge generated by the photo-detector to begin transferring to a third measuring capacitor C2. Although gating signal duration Tw is assumed to be constant across all measuring sequences in the present example, in some embodiments Tw may be a function of the sequence tracking integer N.
The methodology continues with the second part 1500B illustrated in
At 1526, a determination is made as to whether sequence tracking integer N is equal to NTOTAL, which represents the total number of gating sequences to be executed. If N is not equal to NTOTAL (NO at step 1526), the methodology proceeds to step 1528, where sequence tracking integer N is incremented by one. At 1530, TDELAY is set equal to the current value of TDELAY plus a gating offset time TGATING OFFSET. Offset time TGATING OFFSET is the time by which consecutive gating sequences are offset from one another. For example, in the scenario described above in connection with
Steps 1506-1524 are executed NTOTAL times, with TDELAY being increased by TGATING OFFSET for each iteration. This results in NTOTAL sets of recorded voltage values [V0N, V1N, and V2N]. When NTOTAL iterations have been completed (YES at step 1526), the methodology proceeds to the third part 1500C illustrated in
At 1532, M propagation times tpM are calculated for the emitted light pulse based on respective sets of measured values [V0N, V1N, V2N] (measured at steps 1518-1522) for each Nth gating sequence in which the reflected pulse is detected, where M is the number of gating sequences in which the reflected pulse is detected. The number of gating sequences in which the pulse is detected depends on the size of TGATING OFFSET relative to the width of the received light pulse. For example, if TGATING OFFSET is twice the pulse width (as in the example depicted in
The gating sequences that detect the received light pulse can be identified based on a comparison of relative magnitudes of the measured values [V0N, V1N, V2N] for each set. For example, for a gating sequence in which the received pulse is not detected, measured values [V0N, V1N, V2N] for that sequence will be substantially equal to one another (representative of ambient light only). For gating sequences in which the received pulse is detected, one or two of the measured values [V0N, V1N, and V2N] for that sequence will be larger than a third value of the set (in most cases, two of the values representing a leading edge and trailing edge will be larger than the third value representing ambient light; however, in less likely scenarios in which the pulse falls exactly between two sampling points, one value may be representative of the entire received pulse). In most cases, the reflected pulse is detected by a measuring sequence if the time t=Ts01N or t=Ts12N for that sequence coincides with a duration during which the reflected pulse is being received by the photo-detector.
Once the M sets of values [V0N, V1N, and V2N] representing detection of the light pulse have been identified, each of the M propagation times tpM can be calculated in step 1532 based on equation (14) (or a reasonable variation) using values [V0N, V1N, and V2N]M (and replacing time Ts12 with the appropriate sample point time corresponding to the Mth set of measured values [V0N, V1N, and V2N]M).
At 1534, the M propagation times tpM are aggregated or filtered to yield a derived propagation time tp. For scenarios in which the reflected pulse is detected by only one gating sequence, the derived propagation time tp is derived based solely on the values [V0N, V1N, and V2N] corresponding to the gating sequence that detected the pulse. If the reflected pulse is detected by more than one gating sequence, the M propagation times tpM are aggregated or filtered using any suitable technique. For example, propagation time tp can be derived by averaging the M propagation times tpM, by selecting one of the M propagation times tpM that satisfies a selection criterion (e.g., the smallest propagation time), by eliminating a subset of the M propagation times tpM that are determined to be outside a defined tolerance, or by using another combination or filtering technique.
Although steps 1532 and 1534 determine a propagation time tp based on a determination of M propagation times tpM calculated from M sets of values [V0N, V1N, and V2N], some embodiments may use the multiple measurements [V0N, V1N, and V2N] to calculate the propagation time tp using other methods (e.g., a center of mass method using two sets of measurements).
At 1536, a distance of an object or surface from the TOF sensor device is calculated based on the propagation time tp derived at step 1534 (e.g., using equation (1) or a reasonable variation). At 1538, a sensor output is controlled based on the distance derived at step 1536.
Although the two methodologies described above in connection with
Embodiments, systems, and components described herein, as well as control systems and automation environments in which various aspects set forth in the subject specification can be carried out, can include computer or network components such as servers, clients, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), automation controllers, communications modules, mobile computers, on-board computers for mobile vehicles, wireless components, control components and so forth which are capable of interacting across a network. Computers and servers include one or more processors—electronic integrated circuits that perform logic operations employing electric signals—configured to execute instructions stored in media such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), a hard drives, as well as removable memory devices, which can include memory sticks, memory cards, flash drives, external hard drives, and so on.
Similarly, the term PLC or automation controller as used herein can include functionality that can be shared across multiple components, systems, and/or networks. As an example, one or more PLCs or automation controllers can communicate and cooperate with various network devices across the network. This can include substantially any type of control, communications module, computer, Input/Output (I/O) device, sensor, actuator, and human machine interface (HMI) that communicate via the network, which includes control, automation, and/or public networks. The PLC or automation controller can also communicate to and control various other devices such as standard or safety-rated I/O modules including analog, digital, programmed/intelligent I/O modules, other programmable controllers, communications modules, sensors, actuators, output devices, and the like.
The network can include public networks such as the internet, intranets, and automation networks such as control and information protocol (CIP) networks including DeviceNet, ControlNet, safety networks, and Ethernet/IP. Other networks include Ethernet, DH/DH+, Remote I/O, Fieldbus, Modbus, Profibus, CAN, wireless networks, serial protocols, and so forth. In addition, the network devices can include various possibilities (hardware and/or software components). These include components such as switches with virtual local area network (VLAN) capability, LANs, WANs, proxies, gateways, routers, firewalls, virtual private network (VPN) devices, servers, clients, computers, configuration tools, monitoring tools, and/or other devices.
In order to provide a context for the various aspects of the disclosed subject matter,
With reference to
The system bus 1618 can be any of several types of bus structure(s) including the memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus or external bus, and/or a local bus using any variety of available bus architectures including, but not limited to, 8-bit bus, Industrial Standard Architecture (ISA), Micro-Channel Architecture (MSA), Extended ISA (EISA), Intelligent Drive Electronics (IDE), VESA Local Bus (VLB), Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), Universal Serial Bus (USB), Advanced Graphics Port (AGP), Personal Computer Memory Card International Association bus (PCMCIA), and Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI).
The system memory 1616 includes volatile memory 1620 and nonvolatile memory 1622. The basic input/output system (BIOS), containing the basic routines to transfer information between elements within the computer 1612, such as during start-up, is stored in nonvolatile memory 1622. By way of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory 1622 can include read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory 1620 includes random access memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM is available in many forms such as synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM).
Computer 1612 also includes removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media.
It is to be appreciated that
A user enters commands or information into the computer 1612 through input device(s) 1636. Input devices 1636 include, but are not limited to, a pointing device such as a mouse, trackball, stylus, touch pad, keyboard, microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, TV tuner card, digital camera, digital video camera, web camera, and the like. These and other input devices connect to the processing unit 1614 through the system bus 1618 via interface port(s) 1638. Interface port(s) 1638 include, for example, a serial port, a parallel port, a game port, and a universal serial bus (USB). Output device(s) 1640 use some of the same type of ports as input device(s) 1636. Thus, for example, a USB port may be used to provide input to computer 1612, and to output information from computer 1612 to an output device 1640. Output adapters 1642 are provided to illustrate that there are some output devices 1640 like monitors, speakers, and printers, among other output devices 1640, which require special adapters. The output adapters 1642 include, by way of illustration and not limitation, video and sound cards that provide a means of connection between the output device 1640 and the system bus 1618. It should be noted that other devices and/or systems of devices provide both input and output capabilities such as remote computer(s) 1644.
Computer 1612 can operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as remote computer(s) 1644. The remote computer(s) 1644 can be a personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a workstation, a microprocessor based appliance, a peer device or other common network node and the like, and typically includes many or all of the elements described relative to computer 1612. For purposes of brevity, only a memory storage device 1646 is illustrated with remote computer(s) 1644. Remote computer(s) 1644 is logically connected to computer 1612 through a network interface 1648 and then physically connected via communication connection 1650. Network interface 1648 encompasses communication networks such as local-area networks (LAN) and wide-area networks (WAN). LAN technologies include Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), Copper Distributed Data Interface (CDDI), Ethernet/IEEE 802.3, Token Ring/IEEE 802.5 and the like. WAN technologies include, but are not limited to, point-to-point links, circuit switching networks like Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDN) and variations thereon, packet switching networks, and Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL).
Communication connection(s) 1650 refers to the hardware/software employed to connect the network interface 1648 to the system bus 1618. While communication connection 1650 is shown for illustrative clarity inside computer 1612, it can also be external to computer 1612. The hardware/software necessary for connection to the network interface 1648 includes, for exemplary purposes only, internal and external technologies such as, modems including regular telephone grade modems, cable modems and DSL modems, ISDN adapters, and Ethernet cards.
What has been described above includes examples of the subject innovation. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the disclosed subject matter, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the subject innovation are possible. Accordingly, the disclosed subject matter is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
In particular and in regard to the various functions performed by the above described components, devices, circuits, systems and the like, the terms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component which performs the specified function of the described component (e.g., a functional equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure, which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary aspects of the disclosed subject matter. In this regard, it will also be recognized that the disclosed subject matter includes a system as well as a computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the acts and/or events of the various methods of the disclosed subject matter.
In addition, while a particular feature of the disclosed subject matter may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes,” and “including” and variants thereof are used in either the detailed description or the claims, these terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.”
In this application, the word “exemplary” is used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the word exemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion.
Various aspects or features described herein may be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineering techniques. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computer readable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips . . . ), optical disks [e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD) . . . ], smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., card, stick, key drive . . . ).
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