# US 12,007,478 B2 · Distance measuring device, distance measuring system, distance measuring method, and program

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- Number: US 12,007,478 B2
- Document ID: US12007478B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/982,405
- Filed: 2019-03-14
- Published: 2021-03-11
- Granted: 2024-06-11
- Earliest claimed: 2018-03-26
- Assignees: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Hiroshi Koshida; Shinzo Koyama; Motonori Ishii; Shigetaka Kasuga
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12007478B2

## CPC

- G01S 17/10: using transmission of interrupted, pulse-modulated waves (determination of distance by phase measurements G01S17/32)
- G01S 17/894: Three-dimensional [3D] imaging with simultaneous measurement of time-of-flight at a two-dimensional [2D] array of receiver pixels, e.g. time-of-flight cameras or flash lidar
- G01C 3/06: Use of electric means to obtain final indication
- G01S 7/4816: {of receivers alone}
- G01S 7/4863: Detector arrays, e.g. charge-transfer gates
- G01S 7/4865: Time delay measurement, e.g. time-of-flight measurement, time of arrival measurement or determining the exact position of a peak (peak detection in noise, signal conditioning G01S7/487)
- G01S 17/89: for mapping or imaging
- G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S)

## Abstract

A distance measuring device is to be connected to a wave transmission module to transmit a measuring wave and a wave reception module including a first wave receiver and a second wave receiver, both of which receive the measuring wave reflected from a target. In this distance measuring device, a first wave reception period in which the first wave receiver receives the measuring wave and a second wave reception period in which the second wave receiver receives the measuring wave overlap with each other on a time axis. In addition, in this distance measuring device, a time lag is provided between respective beginning times of the first and second wave reception periods. The time lag is shorter than either the first wave reception period or the second wave reception period.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A distance measuring device comprising a distance calculating unit configured to calculate a distance to a target, the distance measuring device being configured to receive, from a wave reception module including a first wave receiver and a second wave receiver, a result of wave reception by the first wave receiver and a result of wave reception by the second wave receiver, both of the first wave receiver and the second wave receiver being configured to receive the measuring wave that has been transmitted from a wave transmission module and reflected from the target,
a first wave reception period in which the first wave receiver receives the measuring wave and a second wave reception period in which the second wave receiver receives the measuring wave overlapping with each other on a time axis, a time lag being provided between a beginning time of the first wave reception period and a beginning time of the second wave reception period, the time lag being shorter than either the first wave reception period or the second wave reception period,
the distance calculating unit is configured to calculate the distance to the target based on:
at least one of a post-start-of-wave-reception period or a pre-start-of-wave-reception period, the post-start-of-wave-reception period being either the first wave reception period or the second wave reception period in which the measuring wave has been received for the first time, the pre-start-of-wave-reception period being a wave reception period that has begun at a beginning time earlier by one unit than a beginning time of the post-start-of-wave-reception period;
at least one of a post-end-of-wave-reception period or a pre-end-of-wave-reception period, the post-end-of-wave-reception period being either the first wave reception period or the second wave reception period that has begun for the first time at a beginning time later than a wave reception period in which the measuring wave has been received, the pre-end-of-wave-reception period being a wave reception period that has begun at a beginning time earlier by one unit than a beginning time of the post-end-of-wave-reception period; or
a series of wave reception periods from the post-start-of-wave-reception period through the pre-end-of-wave-reception period.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The distance measuring device of claim 1, wherein the measuring wave is light.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The distance measuring device of claim 1, wherein
each of the first wave receiver and the second wave receiver includes a plurality of partial wave receivers arranged in a first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction,
two of the plurality of partial wave receivers, which are adjacent to each other in the first direction, belong to mutually different wave receivers, and
two of the plurality of partial wave receivers, which are adjacent to each other in the second direction, belong to mutually different wave receivers.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The distance measuring device of claim 1, wherein
the first wave receiver and the second wave receiver are arranged in a first direction, and
each of the first wave receiver and the second wave receiver includes a plurality of partial wave receivers arranged in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

### Claim 5

A distance measuring device comprising a distance calculating unit configured to calculate a distance to a target, the distance measuring device being configured to receive, from a wave reception module including a plurality of wave receivers configured to receive the measuring wave that has been transmitted from a wave transmission module and reflected from the target, results of wave reception by the plurality of wave receivers,
respective wave reception periods in which the plurality of wave receivers receive the measuring wave overlapping with each other on a time axis, a time lag being provided between respective beginning times of the plurality of wave reception periods, the time lag being shorter than each of the plurality of wave reception periods,
the distance calculating unit is configured to calculate the distance to the target based on:
at least one of a post-start-of-wave-reception period or a pre-start-of-wave-reception period, the post-start-of-wave-reception period being out of the plurality of wave reception periods in which the measuring wave has been received for the first time, the pre-start-of-wave-reception period being a wave reception period that has begun at a beginning time earlier by one unit than a beginning time of the post-start-of-wave-reception period;
at least one of a post-end-of-wave-reception period or a pre-end-of-wave-reception period, the post-end-of-wave-reception period being out of the plurality of wave reception periods that has begun for the first time at a beginning time later than a wave reception period in which the measuring wave has been received, the pre-end-of-wave-reception period being a wave reception period that has begun at a beginning time earlier by one unit than a beginning time of the post-end-of-wave-reception period; or
a series of wave reception periods from the post-start-of-wave-reception period through the pre-end-of-wave-reception period.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The distance measuring device of claim 5, wherein
the plurality of wave receivers is as many as the plurality of wave reception periods.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

A distance measuring system comprising:
the distance measuring device of claim 1;
the wave transmission module; and
the wave reception module.

### Claim 8

A distance measuring method comprising:
receiving, from a wave reception module including a plurality of wave receivers configured to receive the measuring wave that has been transmitted from a wave transmission module and reflected from a target, results of wave reception by the plurality of wave receivers,
respective wave reception periods in which the plurality of wave receivers receive the measuring wave overlapping with each other on a time axis, a time lag being provided between respective beginning times of the plurality of wave reception periods, the time lag being shorter than each of the plurality of wave reception periods,
the distance measuring method further comprising calculating the distance to the target based on:
at least one of a post-start-of-wave-reception period or a pre-start-of-wave-reception period, the post-start-of-wave-reception period being out of the plurality of wave reception periods in which the measuring wave has been received for the first time, the pre-start-of-wave-reception period being a wave reception period that has begun at a beginning time earlier by one unit than a beginning time of the post-start-of-wave-reception period;
at least one of a post-end-of-wave-reception period or a pre-end-of-wave-reception period, the post-end-of-wave-reception period being out of the plurality of wave reception periods that has begun for the first time at a beginning time later than a wave reception period in which the measuring wave has been received, the pre-end-of-wave-reception period being a wave reception period that has begun at a beginning time earlier by one unit than a beginning time of the post-end-of-wave-reception period; or
a series of wave reception periods from the post-start-of-wave-reception period through the pre-end-of-wave-reception period.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program designed to cause a computer system to execute the distance measuring method of claim 8.