Patents Examined by Amir J Askarian
  • Patent number: 10663593
    Abstract: In an aspect of the invention, a projector apparatus (20) with a distance image acquisition device includes a projection image generation unit (28), a difference value acquisition unit (101) that acquires a difference value between distance information of a first distance image acquired at a first timing and distance information of a second distance image acquired at a second timing, a determination unit (103) that determines whether the body to be projected is at a standstill on the basis of the difference value acquired by the difference value acquisition unit (101), a projection instruction unit (105) that outputs a command to project an image generated by the projection image generation unit (28) to the body to be projected, and a projection control unit (107) that controls a projection operation of the projector apparatus (20) on the basis of the projection command output from the projection instruction unit (105).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventors: Junya Kitagawa, Tomoyuki Kawai, Yasuhiro Shinkai, Tomonori Masuda, Yoshinori Furuta
  • Patent number: 10663322
    Abstract: A distance measuring device comprises a motor (120), a control box (130) and a code disc (150). Relative rotation occurs between the control box (130) and the code disc (150) driven by the motor. A point position tooth (151A) is comprised on the code disc (150). The control box (130) comprises a distance measuring unit (142), a detection part (144) and a control unit (140). The detection part (144) comprises a light emitter (1440) and a light receiver (1441) which are correspondingly arranged. The control box (130) is rotated relative to the code disc (150), so that the point position tooth (151A) passes through a corresponding position between the light emitter (1440) and the light receiver (1441); the control unit (140) receives the signal output of the light receiver (1441), judges the information on alignment status of the point position tooth (151A) with the corresponding position, and sends a start or stop operation instruction to the distance measuring unit (142) on the basis of the status information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: ECOVACS ROBOTICS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Jinju Tang
  • Patent number: 10663565
    Abstract: A time of flight sensor device is provided that is capable of generating accurate information relating to propagation time of emitted light pulses using a small number of measurements or data captures. By generating pulse time of flight information using a relatively small number of measurement cycles, object distance information can be generated more quickly, resulting in faster sensor response times. Embodiments of the time of flight sensor can also minimize or eliminate the adverse effects of ambient light on time of flight measurement. Moreover, some embodiments execute time of flight measurement techniques that can achieve high measurement precision even when using relatively long light pulses having irregular, non-rectangular shapes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Frederic Boutaud, Mei Li
  • Patent number: 10648795
    Abstract: A distance measuring apparatus measures a distance to a target based on reflected light in response to launched laser beam. A distance measuring process includes generating a difference binary image from first and second range images that are respectively generated in states without and with the target in front of a background and represent distances to each of range measurement points, extracting a first region greater than a first threshold from a non-background region of the difference binary image made up of non-background points, grouping adjacent points on the second range image into groups of adjacent points having close distance values, for each point within the first region, to extract second regions corresponding to the groups, and extracting a third region smaller than a second threshold from the second regions, to judge that each point within the third region is edge noise.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2020
    Assignee: FUJITSU LIMITED
    Inventor: Satoru Ushijima
  • Patent number: 10641896
    Abstract: A distance measurement device includes a deriving unit that derives a dimension of a real-space region corresponding to an interval between a plurality of pixels associated with in-image irradiation positions derived as positions, which correspond to irradiation positions of laser beams onto a subject, within a captured image acquired by imaging the subject by an imaging unit, based on a distance measured by a measurement unit, an interval between a plurality of designated pixels, and a focal length of the imaging unit, and an output unit that derives derivation accuracy corresponding to an actually present factor based on a first correspondence relation between assumption factors assumed as factors influencing in-image irradiation positions and derivation accuracy derived by the deriving unit, and outputs information based on the derived derivation accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: FUJIFILM CORPORATION
    Inventor: Masahiko Sugimoto
  • Patent number: 10641874
    Abstract: A lidar system includes a light source, a scanner, and a receiver and is configured to detect remote targets located up to RMAX meters away. The receiver includes a detector with a field of view larger than the light-source field of view. The scanner causes the detector field of view to move relative to the instantaneous light-source field of view along the scan direction, so that (i) when a pulse of light is emitted, the instantaneous light-source field of view is approximately centered within the detector field of view, and (ii) when a scattered pulse of light returns from a target located RMAX meters away, the instantaneous light-source field of view is located near an edge of the field of view of the detector and is contained within the field of view of the detector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: Luminar Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Scott R. Campbell, Lane A. Martin, Matthew D. Weed, Jason M. Eichenholz
  • Patent number: 10634792
    Abstract: A control device includes a communication unit, a storage, and a position estimator. The position estimator updates a position of the first wireless communication device by using a difference between first reception quality and third reception quality and a difference between second reception quality and fourth reception quality. A first response signal includes at least the first reception quality calculated when a first control signal is received by the first wireless communication device and the second reception quality of a second response signal calculated when the second response signal is received by the first wireless communication device, and a third response signal includes at least the third reception quality of a third control signal and the fourth reception quality of a fourth response signal calculated when the fourth response signal is received by the first wireless communication device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2020
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellctual Property Corporation of America
    Inventors: Junichi Morita, Naganori Shirakata, Hiroshi Takahashi, Kazuma Nishiyasu
  • Patent number: 10627496
    Abstract: System, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to a photonic apparatus including integrated phase measurement. The photonic apparatus includes a phase shifter operably connected with a source optical waveguide to receive a source light wave and to shift a source phase of the source light wave to produce a shifted light wave with a shifted phase that is different from the source phase. The photonic apparatus includes an output optical waveguide connected with the phase shifter to provide the shifted wave and a reference optical waveguide operably connected with the source optical waveguide to provide the source light wave. The photonic apparatus includes a combiner to combine the shifted light wave with the source light wave to produce a combined light wave. The photonic apparatus includes a detector to determine a difference in phases between the shifted phase and the source phase as embodied in the combined wave.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2020
    Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Paul Donald Schmalenberg, Tsuyoshi Nomura, Jae Seung Lee
  • Patent number: 10620318
    Abstract: A single-line-extracted pure rotational Raman lidar system, including: a transmitter unit configured to emit extremely narrow-band laser light that is guided into atmosphere zenithward; a receiver unit configured to collect backscattered signals from the atmosphere; and a data acquisition and control unit configured to deliver data and guarantee automatic operation of the lidar system orderly. The transmitter unit employs a powerful injection-seeded Nd: YAG laser to emit 532.23 nm laser beam with a pulse energy of approximately 800 mJ, a repetition rate of 30 Hz and linewidth of <0.006 cm?1. The lidar system has an optical bandwidth of approximately 30 pm for the two Raman channels and an optical bandwidth of 0.3 nm for an elastic channel, as well as a field of view of approximately 0.4 mrad. The two Raman channels extract the N2 anti-Stokes pure rotational Raman line signals with J=6 and 16, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignee: WUHAN UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Fan Yi, Miao Weng, Fuchao Liu, Yunpeng Zhang, Changming Yu, Yujin He, Ying Tan, Yang Yi, Xiangliang Pan
  • Patent number: 10612915
    Abstract: A system for active co-boresight measurement includes a detector, first and second steering mirrors, and a controller. The detector detects a portion of a transmission beam emitted by a transmitter and a portion of a received beam received from a remote terminal. The controller instructs the first steering mirror to scan the detected portion of the received beam to determine an alignment position. The controller controls a position of the first steering mirror to align the portion of the received beam with the alignment position on the detector, and controls a position of the second steering mirror to align the detected portion of the transmission beam with a defined position on the detector. The detected portion of the received beam at the alignment position and the detected portion of the transmission beam at the defined position correspond to the received beam and the transmission beam being aligned.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2020
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric Douglas Miller, Kevin Michael Birnbaum, Chien-Chung Chen, Andrew Todd Grier
  • Patent number: 10605920
    Abstract: The present disclosure describes refresh control methods for generating distance data and optoelectronic modules that are operable to provide distance information at a predetermined refresh rate, but with a reduction in overall power consumption attributable to the distance determinations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2020
    Assignee: ams Sensors Singapore Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Yang Liu, Vincenzo Condorelli
  • Patent number: 10605919
    Abstract: A method for processing echo pulses of an active 3D sensor to provide distance measurements of surroundings in front of the active 3D sensor includes defining a near range distance from the active 3D sensor and defining a last echo distance from the active 3D sensor greater than said defined near range distance. The method includes receiving a sequence of echo pulses of a signal emitted by the active 3D sensor and subjecting the sequence of echo pulses to a pre-defined trigger condition such that only those echo pulses are taken into consideration which fulfill the predefined trigger condition. The method also includes determining, from the echo pulses which fulfill the predefined trigger condition and that are received from distances greater than a defined near range distance, a first echo pulse and an adaptive echo pulse, and providing distance measurements of the surroundings in front of the 3D sensor using the determined first echo pulse and the determined adaptive echo pulse.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2020
    Assignee: Hensoldt Sensors GmbH
    Inventors: Patrick Kramper, Thomas Muensterer
  • Patent number: 10578721
    Abstract: A lidar device comprises: a laser emitting unit for including a plurality of VCSEL elements emitting a laser beam; a metasurface for including a plurality of beam steering cells arranged in a form of two-dimensional array by a row direction and a column direction, wherein the plurality of beam steering cells guide the laser beam by using nanopillars; wherein the nanopillars included in the plurality of beam steering cells form a subwavelength pattern, wherein the increase of an attribute related to at least one of the width, height, and number per unit length of the nanopillars is repetitive along the direction from the center of the metasurface to the position of the row corresponding to the plurality of beam steering cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2020
    Assignee: SOS LAB CO., LTD
    Inventors: Jun Hwan Jang, Hee Sun Yoon
  • Patent number: 10571570
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes emitting, by a light source of a lidar system, multiple optical pulses using multiple alternating pulse repetition intervals (PRIs) that include a first PRI and a second PRI, where the first PRI and the second PRI are not equal. The method also includes detecting, by a receiver of the lidar system, multiple input optical pulses and generating, by a processor of the lidar system, multiple pixels. Each pixel of the multiple pixels corresponds to one of the input optical pulses, and each pixel includes a PRI associated with a most recently emitted optical pulse of the multiple optical pulses. The method also includes determining a group of neighboring pixels for a particular pixel of the multiple pixels and determining whether the particular pixel is range-wrapped based at least in part on the PRI associated with each pixel of the group of neighboring pixels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2020
    Assignee: Luminar Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: David L. Paulsen, Christopher Gary Sentelle, Zachary Heylmun, Matthew Hansen
  • Patent number: 10564264
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a detection light ranging apparatus and method. The detection light ranging apparatus of the disclosure comprises: a detection light emitting circuit that emits detection light; a first optical assembly that divides the detection light into a first sub-detection light and a second sub-detection light; a second optical assembly that receives the second sub-detection light and causes the second sub-detection light to be emitted after being reflected at least once after being reflected by the measured object; and a timing circuit that receives the first sub-detection light and starts timing to obtain a first time, and receives the second sub-detection light emitted after being reflected at least once and finishes timing to obtain a second time. The detection light ranging apparatus of the disclosure can solve the technical problem of poor measuring precision of the prior ranging apparatuses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2020
    Assignees: BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO., LTD., BEIJING BOE DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yuandan Chen, Yajun Han, Chuang Sha, Kefang Wu, Lingling Feng, Min Zhang
  • Patent number: 10557703
    Abstract: A distance measuring device and a method for determining a distance are provided. The method includes: illuminating an object with a sequence of the light pulses, capturing one arriving light pulse corresponding to an intensity Ie,l within a first integration gate, and outputting a signal value U1, capturing another arriving light pulse corresponding to the intensity Ie,l within a second integration gate, and outputting a signal value U2, capturing one arriving light pulse corresponding to an intensity Ie,h within the first integration gate and outputting a signal value U3, capturing the other arriving light pulse corresponding to the intensity Ie,h within the second integration gate and outputting a signal value U4, and calculating the distance between the distance measuring device and the object based on U1, U2, U3, and U4.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2020
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Limited
    Inventor: Chris Yates
  • Patent number: 10557924
    Abstract: A lidar device comprises: a laser emitting unit for including a plurality of VCSEL elements emitting a laser beam; a metasurface for including a plurality of beam steering cells arranged in a form of two-dimensional array by a row direction and a column direction, wherein the plurality of beam steering cells guide the laser beam by using nanopillars; wherein the nanopillars included in the plurality of beam steering cells form a subwavelength pattern, wherein the increase of an attribute related to at least one of the width, height, and number per unit length of the nanopillars is repetitive along the direction from the center of the metasurface to the position of the row corresponding to the plurality of beam steering cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2020
    Assignee: SOS LAB CO., LTD
    Inventors: Jun Hwan Jang, Hee Sun Yoon
  • Patent number: 10539666
    Abstract: A device includes a light source (1) for generating light with a single wavelength; a modulator (3) for modulating the light generated into transmission light; a beam scanner (7) for carrying out beam scanning by which the transmission light modulated is radiated, and the light reflected is received; a beam scanning controller (8) for controlling the radiation direction; a signal processing unit (12) for performing wind measurement through heterodyne detection using the light generated and the corresponding received light; and an optical axis corrector (9) for correcting the optical axis angular shift between the transmission light and the received light, which accompanies the beam scanning, with respect to the received light used by the signal processing unit (12) or the transmission light used by the beam scanner (7), on the basis of the radiation direction of the beam scanner (7), the angular speed of the beam scanning and the wind measurement distance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2020
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Yusuke Ito, Masaharu Imaki, Shumpei Kameyama