Optics for vehicle occupant monitoring systems
AssigneeNeonode Inc.
InventorsBjörn Alexander Jubner, Lars Bertil Sparf, Robert Sven Pettersson, Hans Anders Jansson
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Abstract
A focusing optical part, including a plastic body, suitable for being delivered on a tape and reel and mounted on a PCB by an automated mounting machine, the plastic body including a concave mirror including a center aperture input surface through which light enters the plastic body, a convex mirror opposite the center aperture, wherein the concave mirror and the convex mirror form a reflective objective that reflects and focuses the light inside the plastic body, and an exit surface surrounding the convex mirror, through which focused light exits the plastic body.
Claims19
A focusing optical part, comprising a plastic body, suitable for being delivered on a tape and reel and mounted on a PCB by an automated mounting machine, the plastic body comprising:
- a concave mirror comprising a center aperture input surface through which light enters said plastic body;
- a convex mirror opposite the center aperture, wherein said concave mirror and the convex mirror form a reflective objective that reflects and focuses the light inside said plastic body;
- and
- a concave exit surface surrounding said convex mirror, through which focused light exits said plastic body, wherein said exit surface is formed to minimize refraction of the focused light.
A spherical coordinate sensor comprising:
- a circuit board;
- at least one light emitter mounted on said circuit board, each light emitter operable when activated to project light across a detection zone;
- a focusing optical part mounted on said circuit board and receiving light from the detection zone, comprising;
- a concave mirror comprising a center aperture input surface through which light enters the focusing optical part;
- a convex mirror opposite the center aperture, wherein said concave mirror and the convex mirror form a reflective objective that reflects and focuses the light inside the focusing optical part;
- and
- an exit surface surrounding said convex mirror, through which focused light exits the focusing optical part;
- a camera comprising a plurality of pixel sensors, mounted on said circuit board beneath said focusing optical part such that when the received light enters said focusing optical part at a three-dimensional angle of incidence, comprising a polar angle and an azimuth angle, denoted (θi, φj), more light arrives at a respective camera pixel sensor than at any of the other camera pixel sensors;
- and
- a processor connected to said at least one light emitter and to said camera, the processor being configured to determine a polar angle, θ, and an azimuth angle, φ, of a reflective object within the detection zone relative to said focusing optical part, based on the camera pixel sensor that detects the greatest amount of the object's reflection.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.