KR20150004743A - Laser lader system - Google Patents

Abstract

A laser radar system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first transmitting and receiving unit that sequentially irradiates a first laser beam to a plurality of positions in a first field of view and receives reflected light, And a second transmission / reception unit that sequentially irradiates the beams and receives reflected light, wherein each of the first transmission / reception unit and the second transmission / reception unit is fixed to a payload, and searches for the first and second viewing ranges It is performed independently.

Description

[0001] LASER LADER SYSTEM [0002]

The present invention relates to a laser radar system, and more particularly, to a laser radar system for obtaining three-dimensional images and images.

A three-dimensional image system is used to secure image contents displayed by a three-dimensional display TV or the like. In addition, the three-dimensional image system can be used to monitor natural environments such as long-range military targets and landslides, and to secure three-dimensional images around various vehicles necessary for the operation of unmanned autonomous vehicles.

Although the 3D image of poor quality can play a role in some areas, recently, the application area has been rapidly expanded, and accordingly, there is a tendency to demand a high quality three-dimensional image in various environments. Recently, a laser radar system (Laser Radar System) has become popular for realizing high quality three-dimensional image.

However, it is a reality that a laser radar system, which requires a high production cost, is needed to obtain a high resolution or a frame rate of three-dimensional image. In the present invention, a laser radar system capable of variously changing the search range at low cost and easily changing the required resolution or frame rate will be provided.

It is an object of the present invention to minimize efforts such as alignment of optical paths between a light-emitting path and a light-receiving path for securing an optimum performance required for obtaining a three-dimensional image, reduce the overall implementation cost, System.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a laser radar system capable of relatively easily eliminating or reducing blind spots that are not detected when mounted on a vehicle or the like.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a laser radar system capable of being driven with a large area or wide angle with respect to a target.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a laser radar system in which the resolution of three-dimensional image data can be set differently for each region.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional image by simultaneously analyzing long distance data providing a high SNR mode for a narrow angle and near data providing a low SNR mode for a wide angle. A laser radar system capable of acquiring data of a long distance for a region of interest and obtaining condition data of a wide region for other regions by using a method of conditionally driving at the same time, And a method for acquiring a target image thereof.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a laser radar system including: a first transmitting / receiving unit that sequentially irradiates a first laser beam to a plurality of positions in a first field of view and receives reflected light; And a second transmitting and receiving unit that sequentially irradiates a second laser beam to a plurality of positions and receives reflected light, wherein each of the first transmitting and receiving unit and the second transmitting and receiving unit is fixed to a payload, Performs an independent search for the field of view.

According to the laser radar system of the present invention, it is possible to provide three-dimensional images of various positions and viewing ranges according to characteristics of a payload.

Further, according to the laser radar system of the present invention, it is possible to realize a plurality of irradiation ranges through a combination of the light-emitting units and to search for a wide area at the same time.

In addition, the laser radar system of the present invention can reduce or eliminate blind spots that are hidden by a part of a vehicle's hood or system in order to implement a vehicle or various application systems.

Further, the laser radar system of the present invention provides a laser radar system including at least one light receiving lens having different wide angle characteristics, so that the distance data of a high SNR mode for a relatively narrow angle and the low SNR mode Dimensional image can be acquired simultaneously.

In addition, the laser radar system of the present invention can provide a simple structure in which signals received through at least one light receiving unit can be processed in one signal processing module. Therefore, the laser radar system of the present invention is very advantageous in terms of implementation cost.

Further, by providing a laser radar system using one or more light emitting units operating at different time zones, it is possible to implement a system that provides a wider area scan, an efficient blind spot resolution, and different resolutions for different areas as needed.

1 is a view illustrating a laser radar system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view showing an exemplary transmission / reception unit constituting a laser radar system according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a view illustrating an example of a technique in which a fixed light receiving unit detects a position of a light emitting unit proposed in the present invention by checking a different position with time.
4 is a diagram exemplarily showing a large area photodetector of the present invention.
5 is a view illustrating a laser radar system according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a view showing an exemplary structure of the reflector of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary transmission / reception area of the laser radar system 200 shown in FIG.
FIG. 8 is a view showing transmission and reception field-of-view (ROI) in a laser radar system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a view showing transmission and reception field-of-view ranges configured in a laser radar system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a timing diagram exemplarily showing transmit and receive beams of the laser radar system of FIG. 9 in the time domain.
11 is a view showing transmission and reception field-of-view ranges configured in the laser radar system according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.
12 is a view illustrating a laser radar system according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a view showing an exemplary structure of a light-transmitting portion for separating one laser pulse shown in FIG. 12 into at least two beams. FIG.
FIG. 14 shows an example of the configuration of the sections to be detected by the light receiving section of FIG.
Fig. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the sections of Fig. 14 cut along the cutting line A-A '. Fig.
16 is a view showing another embodiment of the light emitting portion of the laser radar system.
FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the sections of FIG. 16 taken along line B-B '. FIG.
18A and 18B are diagrams showing multisection operation when the laser radar system of the present invention is applied to an automotive application.
Figs. 19A and 19B are diagrams showing a multi-section operation according to another embodiment of the vehicle application of the laser radar system of the present invention. Fig.
20 is a view showing another embodiment of applying the laser radar system of the present invention to a vehicle application.
FIG. 21 is a view schematically showing a section of the sections of FIG. 20; FIG.
22 is a diagram showing a method of constructing sections according to another embodiment of a vehicular laser radar system.

The foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and are intended to provide further explanation of the claimed invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein but may be embodied in other forms. The embodiments disclosed herein are provided so that the disclosure can be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

The terminology used in this application is used only to describe a specific embodiment and is not intended to limit the invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present application, the terms "comprises" or "having" and the like are used to specify that there is a feature, a number, a step, an operation, an element, a component or a combination thereof described in the specification, But do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the relevant art and are to be interpreted in an ideal or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined in the present application Do not.

In this specification, when it is mentioned that a certain element includes an element, it means that it may further include other elements. In addition, each embodiment described and illustrated herein includes its complementary embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, only parts necessary for understanding the operation according to the present invention will be described, and descriptions of other parts will be omitted in order to avoid obscuring the gist of the present invention.

1 is a view illustrating a laser radar system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1, the laser radar system 100 of the present invention includes a first transmitting and receiving unit 110 and a second transmitting and receiving unit 120 having different viewing ranges or regions of interest (hereinafter referred to as ROIs) .

The first transmission / reception unit 110 sequentially irradiates the laser beam with the lapse of time. A light emitting unit (not shown) included in the first transmitting and receiving unit 110 irradiates laser pulses in a direction corresponding to the first transmission field of view ROI1_TX. That is, the first transmission / reception unit 110 sequentially irradiates the laser pulses for scanning the irradiation field included in the first transmission field-of-view range ROI1_TX sequentially in the left-right direction or the up-down direction.

The first transmission / reception unit 110 receives the reflected laser light irradiated from the light-transmitting portion and reflected on the target. The first transmission / reception unit 110 will include a light receiving unit (not shown) for receiving reflected light of an area corresponding to the first reception view range ROI1_RX. In particular, the light-receiving unit may include a large-area photodetector for detecting reflected laser light incident sequentially. However, it is to be understood that the type of the photodetector constituting the light receiving portion is not limited to this, and may be variously configured as a single photodetector, a split photodetector, an array type photodetector, or the like. The first transmission / reception unit 110 may construct a three-dimensional image of a region corresponding to the first reception field-of-view range (ROI1_RX) with reference to the reflection time or intensity of the reflection light detected by the large area photodetector. Here, the first reception field-of-view range ROI1_RX may be set to be relatively wider than the first transmission field-of-view range ROI1_TX. The configuration of the first transmission / reception unit 110 will be described in more detail in the following figures.

The second transmitting and receiving unit 120 scans and detects different viewing ranges (ROI2_TX, ROI2_RX) as compared with the first transmitting and receiving unit 110. [ The second transceiver unit 120 will particularly irradiate the laser beam at the second transmission field of view ROI2_TX at another time of the first transceiver unit 110. [ And the second transmission / reception unit 120 will receive and detect the reflected laser light in the area corresponding to the second reception field-of-view range (ROI2_RX). The second transmission / reception unit 120 sequentially irradiates the laser beam to an area corresponding to the second transmission field-of-view range (ROI2_TX) as time elapses. The configuration of the second transmission / reception unit 120 may be the same as that of the first transmission / reception unit 110. [

The first and second transmission and reception units 110 and 120 may be installed in a direction fixed to the mounting body to be mounted. For example, the centers of the viewing ranges of the first and second transmitting and receiving units 110 and 120 may be mounted on the payload so as to have a difference in the fixed angle K, respectively. This is because the first and second transmitting and receiving units 110 and 120 include a transmitting unit and a large area photodetector capable of detecting a three-dimensional image with high resolution without rotating. This structure will be described in detail in Figs. 2 to 4, which will be described later. The first transmission view range (ROI1_TX) or the second transmission view range (ROI2_TX) may be configured as asymmetrical with respect to the payload. In addition, the first transmission view range (ROI1_TX) or the second transmission view range (ROI2_TX) may be configured as a circular sector having a center around the payload, but may also be non-circular. That is, by increasing or decreasing the power of the pulse laser relatively at a specific angle, the shape of the first transmission view range (ROI1_TX) or the second transmission view range (ROI2_TX) becomes non-circular around the payload.

In addition, although it has been described that the laser radar system 100 includes two first and second transmitting / receiving units 110 and 120 for irradiating laser beams to different time slots, the present invention is not limited thereto. The first and second transmitting and receiving units 110 and 120 may further include a third transmitting and receiving unit for irradiating a laser beam to different time slots and detecting reflected light. The transmission / reception field-of-view range of the third transmission / reception unit may be configured so as not to overlap or overlap with the transmission / reception field-of-view range of the first and second transmission / reception units 110 and 120. It is preferable that the transmission / reception visual range ranges of the first to third transmission / reception units are overlapped in order to solve the detection blind spot.

In addition, the laser radar system 100 may further include a controller (not shown) for constructing a three-dimensional image with reference to the detection signals of the first and second transmission / reception units 110 and 120, respectively. The control unit may synthesize the three-dimensional image coordinates or the reflection image information by referring to the detection signals of the reflected lights corresponding to the respective reception view ranges (ROI1_RX, ROI2_RX) and the intensity of the detected reflection time or reflected light. In addition, based on the traveling direction, the traveling angle, the traveling speed, the traveling information, the weather information about the loading body, the dust, and the mounting position in the loading body of the first and second transmitting and receiving units 110 and 120, And may variably control at least one of the first transmission field-of-view range (ROI1_TX) or the second transmission field-of-view range (ROI2_TX), the scanning speed, the number of points to be scanned, and the laser power.

FIG. 2 is a view showing an exemplary transmission / reception unit constituting a laser radar system according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the first transceiver unit 110 may include a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit. Here, although only the first transmission / reception unit 110 has been schematically described, the second transmission / reception unit 120 may be similarly configured. Therefore, a detailed description of the structure of the second transmission / reception unit 120 will be omitted.

The laser pulse output from the pulse laser generator 111 passes through the light-transmitting optical system 112. Light emitted from the light-emitting optical system 112 is irradiated to a desired area of the target 114 through the optical deflector 113, that is, different areas depending on time. Here, the light-emitting optical system 112 may be omitted depending on the application, or may be configured to have a constant divergence angle using a diffuser. The light-emitting optical system 112 and the optical deflector 113 may be implemented in one form or in a different order. The laser light irradiated to the specific region is incident on the target 114 and is reflected.

The laser light reflected from the target 114 passes through a fixed optical filter 115 blocking other noise light and then passes through a fixed light receiving lens 116 for focusing, . Here, the order of the optical filter 115 and the light receiving lens 116 may be mutually different, and the optical filter 115 is an optional component.

In the present invention, the light-receiving unit may be configured to include a fixed light-receiving lens 116 and a light detector 117. The fixed light receiving portion collects all or a part of the laser beam reflected to the target 114. And the collected light is detected through a single or large area, or a divided or arrayed photodetector 117. In addition, the light receiving unit may further include a module capable of controlling the temperature or changing the performance of the detection module according to the temperature to maintain a constant performance of the photodetector 117 whose characteristics are sensitively changed according to the temperature. The light receiving portion of the present invention may additionally include a module (for example, an RF combiner) having at least one optical amplifier and adding the outputs of the respective optical amplifiers. Through this module, the output of the optical amplifier can be provided as a single signal.

A light deflector 113 (or a reflector) may be disposed between the light source irradiated by the pulse laser 111 and the target 114. The optical deflector 113 causes the laser beam irradiated by the pulse laser 111 to be irradiated to another position of the target 114 with the lapse of time.

The laser radar system 110 of the present invention may be irradiated with laser beams at different positions with time in the optical deflector 113. Therefore, the large-area photodetector 117 can detect the reflected light reflected at different positions over time. The laser radar system 110 may further include a signal reading unit (not shown) for reading the laser beam detected by the large area photodetector 117.

Further, the laser radar system of the present invention calculates the distance or / and the reflected light intensity information of each observation point to the target 114 using the laser beam information read by the signal reading unit, and calculates the distance And / or an image processing unit for determining a three-dimensional image of the target 114 using the reflected light intensity information.

In the laser radar system of the present invention, distance and / or reflected light intensity information is used in three-dimensional image determination. That is, when viewed from the aircraft, the distance information will be detected at the same height on the asphalt pavement and the grounded soil. Therefore, it is preferable to use the reflected light intensity information to distinguish the pavement road and the ground surface with different reflectance ratios for accurate three-dimensional image determination.

In addition, the laser radar system 110 of the present invention may further include a camera for acquiring a two-dimensional image of the target 114. In this case, the image processing unit may also perform a function of correcting or synthesizing the three-dimensional image and the two-dimensional image acquired by the camera.

The light receiving portion may be implemented with a device (e.g., TEC, temperature controller) for maintaining a temperature-sensitive photodetector at a constant temperature to have the same characteristics. In addition, the laser radar system 110 may further include a signal processing module capable of processing the time difference of the laser reflected from the analog signal generated in the light receiving unit, the size of the reflected laser, and the like. Thereafter, a three-dimensional image can finally be formed in an analyzing apparatus for transmitting and displaying data through a connection cable using various communication protocols such as USB and Gigabit Ethernet.

That is, the image processing unit calculates another position according to time, and analyzes the incident laser light at that time to calculate the distance and / or the reflected light intensity information. A three-dimensional image and an image are obtained using the calculation results of the distance and / or the reflected light intensity information. Here, although the explanation has been given for the analyzing apparatus to display, it is also possible to process only the processing board, and then directly receive and process the actual application (when the three-dimensional image such as the vehicle and the robot can be immediately recognized and processed).

In FIG. 2, the light path of the light emitting portion and the light path of the light receiving portion are expressed differently, which is referred to as a dual axis (Bi-axial) structure. As another example, it will be appreciated that the present invention can also be implemented as a single-axis or uni-axial structure when the optical path of the light-transmitting portion and the optical path of the light-receiving portion are identical.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating an example of a technique in which a fixed light receiving unit detects a position of a light emitting unit proposed in the present invention by checking a different position with time. 3, there is shown a laser radar system 110 including a pulsed laser 111, a light deflector 113, a target 114, a receiving lens 116, and a photodetector 117.

Here, in order to illustrate the type to be scanned, it is to be understood that the laser radar system scans in one dimension (line shape) on a plane, but in reality it is scanning forward in a two dimensional plane. At this time, the pattern to be scanned can be variously applied not only to two-dimensional plane coordinates at the same interval, but also to other coordinates such as circular coordinates and different intervals. Such a pattern can be implemented by applying an appropriate driving signal to the optical scanner, and can determine the quality of a three-dimensional image. That is, the scanning operation of the present invention is to scan each observation point with respect to a target with each laser beam pulse, instead of spreading a laser beam by spreading the surface thereof, Is cumulative, it scans any area regularly. It will be appreciated that the optical scanner may be used with optical modules such as optical mirrors and beam splitters.

Incidentally, in FIG. 3, a light-transmitting optical system 112 (for example, an optical system) is provided between the pulse laser 111 and the optical deflector 113. The optical filter 115 and the like of FIG. 2 may further be included between the target 114 and the light receiving lens 116. The optical filter 115 of FIG. 2 may further include, for example, a collimator or the like.

In addition, a method of examining different positions with respect to the target 114 with respect to time may be variously changed or modified by design. For example, the optical deflector 113 may sequentially irradiate laser pulses to a plurality of positions of the target 114 over time using a motor-driven Galvano Mirror. Alternatively, the optical deflector 113 can control the optical path by a polygonal rotating mirror driven by a motor. Alternatively, the light deflector 113 may be implemented by an electro-optic scanner. An electro-optical scanner (electro-optical scanner) is a type of optical waveguide that controls the direction of incident light by an electrical signal applied to an electrode. Alternatively, the optical deflector 113 may be implemented using a fiber array laser. The optical fiber array laser can be implemented as AWG (Arrayed Waveguide Grating). The optical fiber array laser can irradiate a target through a plurality of optical fiber tips that differently direct an incoming laser beam to AWG or to have different wavelengths. Accordingly, optical scanning is possible at different wavelengths or at different time intervals. The optical deflector 113, which is implemented by an electro-optical scanner or a fiber array laser, has an advantage that no physical driving unit is present. Therefore, in this case, there is an advantage that it is strong against impact, and has less vibration and noise.

The optical deflector 113 of the present invention may be a stepping motor, a BLDC motor, a rotating mirror, an electromagnet galvanometer mirror, an acoustooptic deflector, a two-axis driving scan mirror, A MEMS scanner, and MEMS reflectors. And a light deflector 113 for two-dimensional scanning can be implemented through a combination of homogeneous or heterogeneous scanners. In addition, the light-transmitting unit including the light-emitting optical system 112 of the present invention may further include a configuration (hereinafter, referred to as 'optical pulse beam width controller') for controlling the beam width of the optical pulse. The optical pulse beam width controller may comprise a collimator, a beam expander, a lens, or the like, or a combination of at least two of them.

4 is a diagram exemplarily showing a large area photodetector of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, the photodetector 117 (see FIG. 2) of the present invention may have a single light receiving detection surface or a light receiving surface divided into at least two or more. Here, although a quadrangular photodetector is taken as an example, the photodetector may be implemented in various forms such as a hexagon, a circle, and an ellipse.

The large-area photodetector of the present invention is not a single detector having a diameter of 20 to 50 um, which is a diameter of a detector for a general optical communication, and a laser pulse signal sent by a light-emitting unit reflects an optical signal region coming through a fixed light- And a light receiving area that can be included. In the present invention, the large area means a size of not less than 100 μm and less than 1 mm, and may mean a size of 1 mm or more depending on the case. In other words, in the present invention, it is understood that the large area has an area capable of detecting almost all optical signals emitted. This is because the positions at which the reflection signal enters the light receiving unit are changed corresponding to different irradiation positions with respect to the target with respect to time of the light transmitting unit.

Generally, the width of the laser pulse is several ns and tens of ns. In order to detect this, the operation speed of the photodetector must be fast. When the light receiving area is increased, the output capacitance of the photodetector increases and the operation speed becomes slow , Which results in a problem that a short laser pulse can not be detected. In order to solve such a problem, the large area photodetector may be configured not only in the form of a single photodetector but also in a photodetector designed in various structures. For example, a large area photodetector may be composed of a plurality of unit photodetectors to reduce parasitic capacitance. That is, the large-area photodetector according to the present invention may be constituted by two or more divided photodetectors, and each unit pixel is assembled into one large-area photodetector.

Since one optical pulse can be reflected in more than one position, the large area photodetector can detect more than two optical signals. This means that two or more three-dimensional point clouds can occur with one optical pulse. Therefore, the large area photodetector according to the present invention can operate in a weather condition such as dust, snow, or rain in the air using the multiple detection function. That is, according to the scanning operation of the present invention, since the laser beam can be reflected from two or more positions in the target corresponding to one laser beam pulse irradiation, the two or more reflected laser beams are detected to generate two or more coordinate information.

The large area photodetector 117 may be implemented in various manners, such as a PN junction photodiode based on silicon or InP or a semiconductor substrate, a PIN photodiode, and an APD photodiode.

As described above, in the present invention, a large-area photodetector 117 is used, whereas in the prior art, a photodetector array is used. In the case of the prior art, since the incident light is driven to have different time information, each avalanche photo-diode (APD), which is a photodetector, has different time differences. That is, it is difficult to implement an ROIC in which each pixel has time information and is analyzed independently for each pixel. On the other hand, in the present invention, for example, TOF (Time of Flight, time information) for the light entering the two APDs is the same, so that there is an advantage that the circuit configuration of the ROIC and the signal processing module is not complicated in order to analyze it.

That is, a signal processing module that processes the output of one (single) photodetector by using the large area photodetector 117 of the present invention, a circuit of the signal processing module that processes the output of the two or more photodetectors, The same method may be implemented. However, the process of adding each photodetector output to one output (for example, an RF combiner or an RF combiner) must be added on the assumption that the outputs of the respective photodetectors are temporally the same. Thereafter, it is not important whether the signal comes from one photodetector (Single APD) or from a plurality of unit photodetectors (Unit APD), and it can be integratedly processed. Therefore, even if the present invention employs an array type photodetector (Array APD) structure as in the prior art, a method of processing a signal output from one photodetector (Single APD) by integrating all the electrical signals from each pixel All you have to do is implement a signal processing module that is easy to implement. In other words, it is understood that the divided photodetector of the present invention includes both a unit photodetector (Unit APD), a plurality of unit photodetectors, and an array type photodetector (array APD).

5 is a view illustrating a laser radar system according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5, the laser radar system 200 may irradiate laser beams output at different times through one reflector 230 (or a scanner) to different transmission viewports ROI_TX.

The first light source 210 and the second light source 220 generate and output laser pulses in different time frames, respectively. The laser pulses generated by the first light source 210 and the second light source 220 may be divided into an even pulse (LE) and an odd pulse (LO), for example. The even pulses LE and the odd pulses LO have the same period, but at least one of the pulse position, the pulse width, and the pulse intensity may be composed of different laser pulses. It will be well understood that the even pulses LE and the odd pulses LO may be composed of laser pulses of different periods. Although not shown, each of the first light source 210 and the second light source 220 may include a laser pulse generator and a light deflector. In addition, optical modules such as optical mirrors and beam splitters can be disposed.

The first light source 210 and the second light source 220 may be implemented to include one or more light sources such as a Master Oscillator Power Amplifier (MOPA), a Diode Pumped Solid State Laser (DPSSL), and an optical direct modulator. Also, the first light source 210 and the second light source 220 may be configured to have a high repetition rate (PRF). Each of the first light source 210 and the second light source 220 can provide a three-dimensional image of a wider angle of view range (ROI) by scanning different sections using a high repetition rate. In addition, if two or more sections are configured for the overlapping area or the same area, a relatively high frame rate can be ensured for the space.

Generally, in order to scan a QVGA (320x240) image at 30 frames per second (fps), a repetition rate of at least 230 kHz is required, which can be easily implemented by MOPA. In the case of a method of recognizing a space by spreading a beam in the prior art, the repetition rate is several Hz because it requires a very high laser pulse power (several mJ / pulse), whereas the laser radar system according to the present invention uses laser pulses Is not a method of irradiating a large area at one time, it requires much less laser power, and thus, a high-speed laser pulse having a high repetition rate can be produced.

The reflector 230 reflects the even pulses LE and the odd pulses LO provided from the first light source 210 and the second light source 220 at different viewing angles. The reflector 230 reflects the even-numbered pulse LE and irradiates it at a certain point in the first transmission field-of-view range ROI1_TX. The reflector 230 then reflects the odd pulse LO to illuminate at a point in the second transmission field of view ROI2_TX. The even pulse (LE) and the odd pulse (LO) are sequentially applied to the first transmission view range (ROI1_TX) and the second transmission view range (ROI2_TX) at the time when the reflector (230) In this way, the first light source 210 and the second light source 220 having different time frames can be scanned by the single reflector 230 in different transmission viewing ranges (ROIs).

Here, the method for irradiating the even-numbered pulse LE and the odd-numbered pulse LO at different points in the first transmission field-of-view range ROI1_TX and the second transmission field-of-view ROI2_TX may be variously modified. For example, the illumination angle of the even pulse (LE) and the odd pulse (LO) can be changed over time by controlling the optical deflector provided in the first light source (210) and the second light source (220). Alternatively, the first transmission field of view ROI1_TX and the second transmission field of view ROI2_TX may be configured only by adjusting the position of the reflector 230 without adjusting the optical deflector provided in the first light source 210 and the second light source 220. [ can do. Of course, the combined operation of the optical deflector and the reflector 230 included in the first and second light sources 210 and 220 constitutes the first transmission view range ROI1_TX and the second transmission view range ROI2_TX It is also possible.

Here, the configuration of the beam width controller for adjusting the beam width BW1 of the laser beam FLB corresponding to the even pulse LE may be further included in the first light source 210. [ For example, the configuration of at least one of a collimator, a beam expander, and a lens is included in the first light source 210 so that the beam width BW1 of the laser beam corresponding to the even pulse LE I will define it. Similarly, the configuration of the beam width controller for adjusting the beam width BW2 of the laser beam SLB corresponding to the odd pulse LO can be included in the second light source 220. [

In addition, an overlapping area SPA may exist between the first transmission view range (ROI1_TX) and the second transmission view range (ROI2_TX). However, this overlapping area is not a serious problem considering that the even pulse (LE) and the odd pulse (LO) are irradiated in substantially different time frames. The overlap area SPA may be minimized by adjusting the incident angle of the optical deflector of the first light source 210 and the second light source 220 to the reflector 230 of the even pulse LE and the odd pulse LO. In some cases, if there are no invisible sections, it is possible to arrange them so that there is no overlapping area.

In the laser radar system 200 described above, the light receiving portion is not specifically shown or described. However, the light receiving portion may include the first and second light receiving portions each including the light receiving lens and the light detector described above. The first light receiving portion may be configured to have a reception visual field range for receiving reflected light of the even pulse LE. And the second light receiving portion may be set to have a reception viewing range (ROI) for receiving reflected light for the odd pulse LO. The reception visual field range constituted by the first light receiving section and the second light receiving section may be overlapped.

In addition, it is also possible to receive reflected light of the first transmission field-of-view range (ROI1_TX) and the second transmission field of view range (ROI2_TX) through one light-receiving unit. One light-receiving unit may actually be one photodetector. Alternatively, one photodetector may be regarded as a photodetector unit that combines the outputs of two or more photodetectors of the STUD type and the amplifiers of the amplifiers of two or more photodetectors.

FIG. 6 is a view showing an exemplary structure of the reflector of FIG. 5; 6, the reflector 230 reflects even-numbered pulses LE and odd pulses LO at different angles to generate an even section (ES) and an odd section (hereinafter referred to as an odd section) (ROI) corresponding to the OS (OS).

The reflector 230 may include, for example, a mirror 235 having a single reflection plane. The mirror 235 can rotate around a rotation axis in a specific angle range. By rotation of the mirror 235 with time, the even pulse (LE) and the odd pulse (LO) can be irradiated to the range of the even section (ES) and the odd section (OS), respectively. Of course, the even section (ES) and the od section (OS) may or may not include the overlap area (SPA). However, the mutual influence can be neglected by the even pulse (LE) and the od pulse (LO) which are irradiated at different times. Of course, the even section (ES) and the odd section (OS) represent transmission areas. Accordingly, the even section (ES) and the odd section (OS) representing the reception area will each be configured to be wider than the transmission area. Preferably, the even and odd sections OS and ES of the transmission region are arranged such that the incident angle A of the even pulse LE and the odd pulse LO or the rotation of the mirror 235, Angle may be controlled.

The beams of the even and odd pulses LE and LO are incident on the reflector 230 at a difference of an angle A. Even though the mirror 235 constituting the reflector 230 rotates, the beams of the even pulses LE and the od pulses LO reflected by the reflector 235 are still reflected by the reflector 230 at an angle A when the reflector 230 is a plane mirror, . In practice, a curved mirror can be used for the reflector 230, in which case the angle A can vary depending on the reflection point. Using a structure sharing one reflector 230, it is possible to set the scan area by adjusting only the incident angle A of the even pulse (LE) and the odd pulse (LO). Therefore, the configuration of the light-transmitting portion of the laser radar system 200 can be simplified and the volume can be reduced. Also, when the reflector 230 is employed as a curved mirror, the range of the even section ES and the odd section OS may be set by the radius of curvature of the mirror.

Here, although the structure of the light receiving portion is not shown, it can be easily configured by the large area photodetector described in Figs. Therefore, detailed description of the configuration and function of the light receiving unit will be omitted.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary transmission / reception area of the laser radar system 200 shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 7, it is shown that two temporally separated laser pulses can be irradiated to different sections through one scanner, and the reflected light for each section can be received.

A transmission section indicating the range of the area where the even pulse LE is irradiated through one or more scanners (or reflectors) may be represented by a section TX_E shown by the left dotted line in the drawing. And the transmission section indicating the range of the area where the order pulse LO is irradiated through one scanner can be represented by the section TX_O shown by the dotted line to the right of the drawing. Here, although the transmission sections TX_E and TX_O are displayed so as not to overlap with each other, they may overlap each other as described above.

Receiving sections representing the receiving area of the reflected light may also overlap each other. The receiving section for receiving the reflected light for the even pulse LE can be represented by the section RX_E shown by the left solid line in the drawing. And the reception section indicating the range of the reception area for receiving the reflected light for the order pulse LO can be represented by the section RX_O shown by the solid line on the right side of the drawing. Here, the receiving sections RX_E and RX_O may overlap each other. The reflected light corresponding to each of the receiving sections RX_E and RX_O substantially enters the large area photodetector at different times.

FIG. 8 is a view showing transmission and reception field-of-view (ROI) in a laser radar system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 8, the laser radar system of the present invention is capable of scanning in all directions 360 °. For example, the field of view of the laser radar system according to the third embodiment may include transmission / reception field ranges T1 / R1, T3 / R3, and T5 / R5 configured by even shots, (T2 / R2, T4 / R4, T6 / R6) composed of the transmission / reception field-of-view ranges Here, although the embodiment is described with respect to 360 degrees, the transmission and reception field-of-view ranges within the wide angle such as 120 deg., 180 deg., 270 deg.

The transmission viewing ranges T1, T3, T5 constituted by even shots can be configured to perform scanning with a 120 DEG difference from the center of the payload, respectively. In addition, the reception field-of-view ranges R1, R3, and R5 can be configured to detect reflected light with a 120 DEG difference from the center of the payload. However, the reception viewing ranges R1, R3, and R5 may have wider wide angles than the corresponding transmission viewing ranges T1, T3, T5. Here, the transmission / reception field-of-view range T1 / R1 may be configured through one light source, a light deflector, and a photodetector unit. In this case, the transmission / reception visual range (T3 / R3) and the transmission / reception visual range (T5 / R5) may each be composed of a single light source, a light deflector, and a transceiver unit. At this time, the light sources of each of the transceiving units should be controlled to have the same laser pulse phase. That is, the synchronization of the pulse laser generated in the light source of each of the independently constituted transmission and reception units should be accompanied.

In the modified embodiment, each of the transmission visual ranges T1, T3, and T5 may be configured by separating laser pulses output from one light source and the optical deflector into three directions by an optical splitter .

The transmission viewing ranges T2, T4 and T6 constituted by odd shots can be configured in an area rotated by 60 degrees with respect to the transmission viewing ranges T1, T3 and T5, respectively. Each of the reception field-of-view ranges R2, R4, R6 will form a larger area than each of the transmission field-of-views T1, T3, T5. Here, each of the transmission / reception field range pairs T2 / R2, T4 / R4, and T6 / R6 may be constituted by one transmission / reception unit, or one laser pulse may be separated by a light separator. (T1 / R1, T3 / R3) that operate in the same phase as the transmission / reception field range pairs T2 / R2, T4 / R4 and T6 / R6 corresponding to the same phase as described above. , T5 / R5) may overlap each other. However, by assigning the laser pulses of the reception field range pairs T1 / R1, T3 / R3, T5 / R5 and the transmission / reception field range pairs T2 / R2, T4 / R4, T6 / It is possible to eliminate the ambiguity about the position of the reflected signal.

It is possible to perform scanning with respect to all directions of 360 degrees without a blind spot according to the configuration of the transmission / reception visual range constituted by the laser radar system of the present invention. In addition, the transmission viewing ranges T1, T3, and T5 and the transmission viewing ranges T2, T4, and T6 may be set to have different viewing angles, or may be adjusted to have different search distances. In addition, the phase of each of the transmission visual areas T1, T3, and T5 and the phase of each of the transmission visual areas T2, T4, and T6 may be adjusted to any angle other than 120 degrees.

9 is a view showing transmission and reception field-of-view ranges configured in a laser radar system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 9, the transmission / reception unit 250 will include at least two light emitting units and one light receiving unit for irradiating laser pulses at different times (for example, Even pulse and Odd pulse). The field-of-view range by the laser radar system includes a first transmission field-of-view range (ROI_TX1) and a second transmission field-of-view range (ROI_TX2) configured by an even shot. The first transmission field-of-view range ROI_TX1 will be constituted by a laser pulse corresponding to an even shot. The first transmission field-of-view range (ROI_TX1) may be configured to have a relatively wide viewing angle by the first light-transmitting unit of the transmission / reception unit 250. [ The second transmission field-of-view range (ROI_TX2) will be constituted by an odd shot that is irradiated by the second light-transmitting unit of the transmission / reception unit 250. The second transmission field of view ROI_TX2 may be configured to have a relatively narrow reagent angle. The first transmission field of view ROI_TX1 and the second transmission field of view ROI_TX2 may have a certain field of view overlapping with each other. However, since the reflected signals are easily distinguished by the laser pulses irradiated at different times, the overlapped field of view is not a problem at all.

The reception field-of-view range (ROI_RX) is configured to cover the first transmission field-of-view range (ROI_TX1) and the second transmission field-of-view range (ROI_TX2) through at least one light-receiving unit. That is, the light receiving unit of the transmission / reception unit 250 can receive both of the even shot and the odd shot. Since the reflected light of each of the Even shot and the Odd shot is received in different time slots, it is easily identifiable. Accordingly, the detection results for the first transmission view range (ROI_TX1) and the second transmission view range (ROI_TX2) can be easily distinguished.

FIG. 10 is a timing diagram exemplarily showing transmit and receive beams of the laser radar system of FIG. 9 in the time domain. 10, even pulses constituting the first transmission visual field range (ROI_TX1), odd pulses constituting the second transmission visual field range (ROI_TX2), and odd pulses constituting the second transmission visual field range The reflected light is exemplarily shown.

The laser beam of the even pulse is irradiated to any one point of the first transmission field-of-view range ROI_TX1 at each of the timings T1, T3, T5, .... On the other hand, the laser beam of the odd pulse is irradiated to any one point of the second transmission field-of-view range (ROI_TX2) at each of the timings T2, T4, .... As a result, the first transmission field-of-view range (ROI_TX1) and the second transmission field-of-view range (ROI_TX2) will be constituted by laser beams irradiated in different time slots.

In addition, the light receiving unit will detect reflected light incident at different time slots. For example, the reflected light for the even pulses irradiated at the time point T1 will all be received before the time point T2 when the odd pulse is irradiated. That is, the size of the time slot allocated to the even pulse and the odd pulse will be provided at a time interval during which all the reflected light can be received. The configuration of this time slot is equally configured between the timings T2 and T3.

11 is a view showing transmission and reception field-of-view ranges configured in the laser radar system according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 11, the laser radar system of the present invention is capable of scanning all directions 360 degrees through laser pulses having three phase differences. The field of view of the laser radar system according to the fourth embodiment is exemplified by transmission / reception field ranges (T1 / R1, T2 / R2) composed of 1/3 phase pulses and 2/3 phase pulses (T5 / R5, T6 / R6) composed of field ranges (T3 / R3, T4 / R4) and a 3/3 phase pulse.

Here, the transmission viewing ranges T1 and T2 may be configured to perform scanning with a 180 [deg.] Difference from the center of the payload, respectively. In addition, the reception view ranges R1 and R2 will be configured in a similar manner to the corresponding transmission view ranges T1 and T2. Here, the transmission / reception field-of-view range T1 / R1 formed by the 1/3 phase pulse can be constituted by one light source, a light deflector, and a photodetector unit. Also, the transmission / reception field range (T2 / R2) constituted by the 1/3 phase pulse may be composed of one light source, a light deflector, and a photodetector unit. Alternatively, each of the transmission field-of-view ranges T1 and T2 may be constituted by separating the laser pulses of 1/3 phase outputted from one light source and the optical deflector into two directions by the optical isolator. The transmission / reception unit configuration of this type may be applied to the transmission / reception view ranges (T3 / R3, T4 / R4) and the transmission / reception view ranges (T5 / R5, T6 / R6).

However, the configuration of the laser radar system according to the third to fifth embodiments may be selected and changed by the user according to the object to be detected, the characteristics of the payload, and various purposes.

12 is a view illustrating a laser radar system according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 12, the laser radar system 300 shows a structure in which one scanner is shared and light detection is possible for a plurality of sections.

The first light source 310 generates the even pulse LE. The even pulse LE generated by the first light source 310 is deflected by the optical deflector 320 and is incident on the optical isolator 330. One of the even-numbered pulses LE separated by the optical isolator 330 is irradiated to the irradiation surface corresponding to the first section (Section 1). The other one of the plurality of even pulses LE separated by the optical isolator 330 is irradiated to the area corresponding to the third section (Section 3) by the mirror 335. In some cases, the third section (Section 3) may be directly irradiated without using a separate mirror 335.

The reflected light of the even-numbered pulses (LE) irradiated onto the target of the first section (Section 1) is detected by the first light receiving section 340. And the reflected light of the even-numbered pulses LE irradiated on the target of the third section (Section 3) is detected by the third light-receiving portion 345. Here, the first light receiving section 340 and the third light receiving section 345 may each include a large area photodetector. In addition, each of the first light receiving portion 340 and the third light receiving portion 345 may further include a light receiving lens or an optical filter.

The second light source 350 generates the odd pulse LO. The odd pulse (LO) generated by the second light source (350) is deflected by the optical deflector (360) and is incident on the optical isolator (370). One of the odd pulses LO separated by the optical isolator 370 is irradiated to an area corresponding to the fourth section (Section 4). The other one of the plurality of odd pulses LO separated by the optical isolator 370 is irradiated to the area corresponding to the second section (Section 2) by the mirror 375. In addition, another one of the odd pulses LO separated by the optical isolator 370 may be directly irradiated to the second section (Section 3) without using a separate mirror 375.

The reflected light of the odd pulse LO irradiated on the target of the second section (Section 2) is detected by the second light receiving portion 380. The reflected light of the odd pulse LO irradiated to the target of the fourth section (Section 4) is detected by the fourth light receiving portion 385. Here, the second light receiving unit 380 and the fourth light receiving unit 385 may each include a large area photodetector. In addition, each of the second light receiving unit 380 and the fourth light receiving unit 385 may further include a light receiving lens or an optical filter.

The signals detected by the first to fourth light receiving units 340, 345, 380 and 385 may be processed by the control unit 390 and configured as a three-dimensional image. The control unit 390 detects an even unit for processing a signal detected by the first light receiving unit 340 and the third light receiving unit 345 and a second light receiving unit 380 and a fourth light receiving unit 385 And an odd unit for processing a received signal. The received light for each of the sections is detected by a large area photodetector. And the control unit 390 may process the integrated three-dimensional image information for each of the sections based on the irradiation time and the position information.

In the above, the configuration of the laser radar system in which at least two sections are constituted by using one scanner (light source, optical deflector) has been described. However, it will be appreciated that one scanner may be used to construct at least three sections that do not overlap. That is, the optical path of one laser pulse may be irradiated by the optical separator at at least three different angles. In addition, the order of sections and the like can be variously changed.

FIG. 13 is a view showing an exemplary structure of a light-transmitting portion for separating one laser pulse shown in FIG. 12 into at least two beams. FIG. Referring to FIG. 13, a light-emitting unit that separates the even-numbered pulses LE and emits light in different directions includes a first light source 310, a light deflector 320, a light separator 330, and a mirror 335. Here, the mirror 335 and the optical isolator 330 can be omitted.

The first light source 310 may be a pulse laser that generates an even pulse LE. Here, the laser radar system having two time frames of the even pulse (LE) and the odd pulse (LO) is exemplarily shown, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The light emitting unit may be realized by a method of irradiating a plurality of sections with laser pulses in three or more time frames by time division.

The light deflector 320 irradiates the light beam LE generated by the first light source 310 to the light separator 330. A diffuser or a collimator may be provided between the optical deflector 320 and the first light source 310 to control the divergence angle of the generated beam. The light output from the optical deflector 320 is incident on the optical isolator 330.

The optical isolator 330 separates the even pulses LE provided from the optical deflector 320 into two optical paths. The even pulses LE transmitted through the optical isolator 330 will be irradiated to the region corresponding to the first section (Section 1). The even pulse (LE) reflected by the optical isolator 330 is reflected again by the mirror 335. The mirror 335 causes the even pulse LE to be irradiated to the area corresponding to the third section (Section 3). Therefore, it has been described that one laser beam can be irradiated in two or more sections. It will be appreciated that the configuration of the optical splitter 330 and the mirror 335 may be added to irradiate one laser beam to three or more sections. As described above, the mirror 335 and the optical isolator 330 can be omitted.

FIG. 14 shows an example of the configuration of the sections to be detected by the light receiving section of FIG. Referring to FIG. 14, exemplary forms of the first to fourth sections sensed by the first to fourth light receiving portions 340, 345, 380, and 385 are illustrated.

The first light receiving portion 340 and the third light receiving portion 345 for receiving the reflected light of the even-numbered pulses LE irradiated by the light transmitting portion receive the reflected light corresponding to the first section 1 and the third section 3 . The second light receiving portion 380 and the fourth light receiving portion 385 for receiving the reflected light of the odd pulse LO irradiated from the light emitting portion receive the reflected light corresponding to the second section (Section 2) and the fourth section (Section 4) Lt; / RTI >

 Here, the overlapping areas may exist in the first section (Section 1) and the second section (Section 2). However, the reflected light of the first section (Section 1) is the reflected light of the even pulse (LE), and the reflected light of the second section (Section 2) is the reflected light of the odd pulse (LO). Therefore, the influence of mutual interference can be ignored because the light is reflected in different time frames. This overlapping area may also exist between the second section (Section 2) and the third section (Section 3), and between the third section (Section 3) and the fourth section (Section 4). However, since each of the adjacent sections has different time frames, there is no problem in the reception performance of the reflected light.

15 is a cross-sectional view of the sections of Fig. 14 cut along the cutting line A-A '. Fig. Referring to FIG. 15, as each of the sections is alternately assigned the even pulse EVEN and the odd pulse ODD, they do not overlap in the time frame even if there is a spatially overlapping area.

The first section (Section 1) will include a transmitting section (TS1) and a receiving section (RS1). The transmitting section TS1 is shown by a dotted line and the receiving section RS1 is shown by a solid line. The transmitting section TS1 is constituted by an even pulse (LE) irradiated in the light transmitting section shown in Fig. 10, and the receiving section RS1 will be constituted by the light receiving section in Fig. The second section (Section 2) will include a transmit section (TS2) and a receive section (RS2). The transmitting section TS2 is shown by a dotted line, and the receiving section RS1 is indicated by a solid line. Here, although the transmission sections TS1 and TS2 are displayed so as not to overlap with each other, it is preferable that the transmission sections TS1 and TS2 overlap in a practical application. However, even if the transmission sections TS1 and TS2 are overlapped, there is no great problem because beams can be irradiated in different time frames and reflected light can be received. In addition, even when the receiving sections RS1 and RS2 are overlapped with each other, the receiving point of the reflected light received by the photodetector also changes because the receiving point of the reflected light differs. Therefore, even if adjacent reception sections are overlapped, it is possible to discriminate because different laser pulses of the time frame are received.

The relationship between the first section and the second section is the same as the second section and the third section and the third section and the fourth section, ). ≪ / RTI > The configuration of a plurality of scan regions in the laser radar system driven by these two time frames has been exemplified. However, the arrangement of the light-emitting section and the light-receiving section may be two-dimensionally rather than straight, the time frame may be set to three or more, and the shapes of the sections may be set to be a square, a regular hexagon, or various shapes.

16 is a view showing another embodiment of the light emitting portion of the laser radar system. 16, the even and odd pulses LO and LO irradiated from the optical start point OSP can be separated into four sections having two time frames by the optical isolators 410 and 420 have. Although we did not place mirrors here, mirrors can be used to further modify the light path.

The even pulses LE and the odd pulses LO output from the optical start point OSP toward the center of the circle CL1 or the circle CL2 are reflected or transmitted by the optical splitter 420. [ A section A is formed by an even pulse EVEN reflected by the optical isolator 420. And a B section (Section B) is formed by an odd pulse ODD reflected by the optical isolator 420. [ It will be appreciated that the A section (Section A) and the B section (Section B) may have mutually overlapping regions.

The even pulses EVEN and odd pulses ODD transmitted through the optical isolator 420 are reflected by the optical splitter 410. And a C section (Section C) is constituted by the even pulse EVEN reflected by the optical isolator 410. And a D section (Section D) is constituted by the odd pulse ODD reflected by the optical splitter 410. It will be appreciated that there may be mutually overlapping regions between the B section and the C section and between the C section and the D section.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the sections of FIG. 16 taken along line B-B '. FIG. 17, as each of the sections is alternately assigned the even pulse EVEN and the odd pulse ODD, there is no overlap in the time frame even if there is a spatially overlapping area.

A section (Section A) will include a transmit section (TS_A) and a receive section (RS_A). The transmission section TS_A is shown by a dotted line, and the reception section RS_A is indicated by a solid line. The transmission section TS_A is constituted by an even pulse irradiated by the light emitting section and the receiving section RS_A is constituted by the setting of the light receiving section. The B section (Section B) will include a transmit section (TS_B) and a receive section (RS_B). The transmitting section TS_B is shown by a dotted line, and the receiving section RS_B is indicated by a solid line. Here, the transmission sections TS_B and TS_B may be set so as not to overlap each other. However, even if the transmission sections TS_A and TS_B are overlapped, there is no great problem because the beams are irradiated in different time frames and the reflected light can be received. In addition, even when the receiving sections RS_A and RS_B overlap each other, the receiving point of the reflected light received by the photodetector also changes because the receiving point of the reflected light differs. Therefore, even if adjacent reception sections are overlapped, it is possible to discriminate because different laser pulses of the time frame are received. In order to completely eliminate the detected area, it is preferable to overlap them.

The relationship between Section A and Section B is equally applicable to Section B and Section C and to Section C and Section D, . The configuration of a plurality of scan regions in the laser radar system driven by these two time frames has been exemplified. However, the arrangement of the light-emitting section and the light-receiving section may be two-dimensionally arranged instead of straight, the time frame may be set to three or more, and the shapes of the sections may be square,

18A and 18B are diagrams showing multisection operation when the laser radar system of the present invention is applied to an automotive application.

Referring to FIG. 18A, the laser radar system can irradiate even pulses to five regions and receive reflected light for each region. Here, the laser radar system can be implemented by separating one ibn pulse into five sections using an optical isolator or by five individual pulse lasers having the same time frame. Here, although the detection distances and the viewing angles of the respective sections are shown to be the same, the present invention is not limited thereto. Each of the sections # 1, # 3, # 5, # 7, and # 9 may be adjusted to have different detection distances and viewing angles. That is, each of the sections # 1, # 3, # 5, # 7, and # 9 may have the same or different view range (ROI).

Referring to FIG. 18B, the laser radar system can irradiate odd pulses to four areas and receive reflected light for each area. Here, the laser radar system can be implemented by separating one odd pulse into four sections using a light separator, or four individual pulse lasers having the same time frame. Here, each of the sections # 2, # 4, # 6, and # 8 may have the same or different view range (ROI). The number of sections shown in Figs. 16A and 16B is five and four, respectively. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and one group may be composed of a single section or another number.

Figs. 19A and 19B are diagrams showing a multi-section operation according to another embodiment of the vehicle application of the laser radar system of the present invention. Fig.

Referring to Fig. 19A, the laser radar system can irradiate an even pulse to one section (# 1) in the front direction and receive reflected light in one section. Here, since the laser radar system searches for the traveling direction of the vehicle, the section # 1 can be configured with a relatively long and narrow field of view range. The section # 1 corresponding to the even pulse may be set to detect a target with a relatively narrow viewing angle and a long distance L1.

Referring to Fig. 19B, the laser radar system can include two sections (# 2, # 3) for irradiating an odd pulse. Each of the sections # 2 and # 3 may be configured to have a relatively wide viewing angle and a short range L2 of the field of view ROI as compared to the section # 1. Here, Figs. 19A and 19B are configured to include one and two sections, respectively, but the number of sections can be changed.

20 is a view showing another embodiment of applying the laser radar system of the present invention to a vehicle application. Referring to FIG. 20, the laser radar system is configured to allocate even pulses to one section and to assign odd pulses to two sections.

The laser radar system can transmit one even pulse to the section # 1 and receive the reflected light therefrom. Since the first section (# 1) is a region for scanning the traveling direction of the vehicle, it can be configured to detect a relatively long distance target with a relatively narrow viewing angle.

The laser radar system can irradiate an odd pulse with two sections # 2 and # 3, and can receive reflected light for each area. Here, the laser radar system can separate an odd pulse generated by one pulse laser into two sections using a light separator. Alternatively, the laser radar system may generate two separate pulsed lasers with the same time frame to illuminate each of the second and third sections # 2, # 3.

Here, each of the second and third sections # 2 and # 3 may have the same or different view range (ROI). In the drawing, the viewing angle of the third section (# 3) is shown larger than the second section (# 2). That is, the sections # 2 and # 3 corresponding to the odd pulse can be configured so as to provide a relatively wider field of view range (ROI) for the third section (# 3) have. It will further be appreciated that the second and third sections (# 2, 3) may additionally comprise one section.

FIG. 21 is a view schematically showing a section of the sections of FIG. 20; FIG. Referring to Figure 21, the second and third sections # 2 and # 3 corresponding to the odd pulse Odd are interposed between the first section # 1 corresponding to the even pulse (Even) . As described above, even if there is an area overlapping spatially between the first and second sections # 1 and # 2 or between the first and third sections # 1 and # 3, they do not overlap in the time frame.

The first section (# 1) will include a transmission section (TS_1) and a reception section (RS_1). The transmission section TS_1 is shown by a solid line, and the reception section RS_1 is indicated by a dotted line. The transmitting section TS_1 may be constituted by an even pulse irradiated by the light emitting section and the receiving section RS_1 may be constituted by the light receiving section. The second section (# 2) will include a transmitting section (TS_2) and a receiving section (RS_2). The transmission section TS_2 is shown by a solid line, and the reception section RS_1 is indicated by a dotted line. Here, the transmission sections TS_1 and TS_2 are indicated as having overlapping areas. However, even if the transmission sections TS_1 and TS_2 overlap, there is no significant problem since beams can be irradiated in different time frames and reflected light can be received. In addition, even when the receiving sections RS_1 and RS_2 are overlapped with each other, the receiving point of the reflected light received by the photodetector differs because the receiving point of the reflected light differs. Therefore, even if adjacent reception sections are overlapped, it is possible to discriminate because different laser pulses of the time frame are received.

The relationship between the first section # 1 and the second section # 2 can be applied to the first section # 2 and the third section # 3. However, as described above, the viewing angle of the third section (# 3) may be relatively larger than the viewing angle of the second section (# 2). The configuration of a plurality of scan regions in the laser radar system driven by these two time frames has been exemplified. However, the arrangement of the light-emitting section and the light-receiving section may be two-dimensionally rather than straight, the time frame may be set to three or more, and the shapes of the sections may be set to be a square, a regular hexagon, or various shapes.

22 is a diagram showing a method of constructing sections according to another embodiment of a vehicular laser radar system. Referring to FIG. 18, the sections of the transmission and reception units of the laser radar system may be configured to have various viewing ranges (ROIs) according to positions.

For example, two transmission / reception units 500a and 500b may be mounted in front of the vehicle corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle. The transmission / reception units 500c and 500d may be mounted on the side of the vehicle. The transmission / reception units 500e and 500f may be mounted on the rear side of the vehicle.

The two transmitting and receiving units 500a and 500b mounted on the front side can scan the target using laser pulses A and B having different time frames. In addition, the sections 510 and 520 constituted by the two transmitting and receiving units 500a and 500b can be configured to have different viewing ranges (ROIs).

The two transceiving units 500c and 500d mounted on the side can scan the target using laser pulses C and D which are different from each other or have the same time frame. The ROIs of the sections constituting the transceiving units 500c and 500d mounted on the sides may have a wide viewing angle at a relatively short distance than that at the front.

In addition, the transceiving units 500e and 500f which are responsible for the rearward or backward side can scan the target using laser pulses E and F having different or the same time frame. The ROIs of the sections constituting the transceiving units 500e and 500f mounted at the side may have a wide viewing angle at a relatively short distance than that at the front.

The present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should be considered in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all differences within the scope of equivalents thereof should be construed as being included in the present invention.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and equivalents.

110: first transmission / reception unit
111: Pulsed laser
112: light-emitting optical system
113: Light Scattering
114: Target
115: Optical filter
116: receiving lens
117: large area photodetector
210: a first light source
220: second light source
230: reflector
235: Mirror
250: Transceiver unit
310, 350: Light source
320 and 360:
330, 370: optical isolator
335, 375: mirror
340: first light receiving section
345: Third light receiving section
380: second light receiving section
385: Fourth light receiving section
390:
410, 420: optical isolator

Claims (28)

A first transmitting and receiving unit that sequentially irradiates a first laser beam to a plurality of positions in a first field of view and receives reflected light; And
And a second transmission / reception unit which sequentially irradiates the second laser beam to a plurality of positions in the second field-of-view range and receives reflected light,
Wherein each of the first transmitting and receiving unit and the second transmitting and receiving unit is fixed to a payload and independently performs search for the first field of view and the second field of view. The method according to claim 1,
The first transmission / reception unit comprises:
A first light source for generating the first laser beam;
A first reflector for deflecting the first laser beam output from the first light source and irradiating the first laser beam to the first field of view;
Wherein the first laser beam includes a first light receiving portion that receives reflected light reflected from a target,
The second transmission / reception unit comprises:
A second light source for generating the second laser beam;
A second reflector for deflecting the second laser beam output from the second light source and irradiating the second laser beam to the second field of view;
And a second light receiving section for receiving the reflected light of which the second laser beam is reflected from the target. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the first laser beam and the second laser beam are respectively irradiated in different time slots. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the time slots irradiated with the first laser beam and the second laser beam are alternately assigned to a laser radar system, 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the first light receiving unit and the second light receiving unit each include a photodetector for outputting a detection signal for the received reflected light, wherein the photodetector includes a single structure photodetector, an array type photodetector, a large area photodetector, ≪ / RTI > detectors. 3. The method of claim 2,
A first reflector for irradiating the first laser beam to a plurality of positions in the first field of view and a second reflector for irradiating the second laser beam to a plurality of positions in the second field of view are formed as one shared reflector Laser radar system. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the shared reflector is formed of a curved mirror or a planar mirror, the first field of view and the second field of view being defined by a laser angle defined by an angle of incidence of the first laser beam and the second laser beam or a radius of curvature of the curved mirror, Radar system. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the first light receiving portion and the second light receiving portion are formed as one shared light receiving portion for receiving reflected light of each of the first and second transmission visual fields. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first field of view includes a first transmission field of view in which the first laser beam is sequentially irradiated and the second field of view includes a second transmission field of view in which the second laser beam is sequentially irradiated, Radar system. 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the first field of view includes a first field of view range for receiving reflected light of the first laser beam and the second field of view includes a second field of view for receiving reflected light of the second laser beam, Radar system. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the first reception field-of-view range is equal to or greater than the first transmission field-of-view range, and wherein the second reception field-of-view range is equal to or greater than the second transmission field-of-view range. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a control unit for synthesizing the three-dimensional image coordinates or the reflection image information with reference to the detection signal sequentially output in accordance with the detection of the reflected light from the first transmission / reception unit and the second transmission / reception unit and the detected reflection time or reflection intensity Laser radar system. 13. The method of claim 12,
Further comprising a camera for obtaining a two-dimensional image of the first field of view or the second field of view, wherein the controller synthesizes or corrects the two-dimensional image and the three-dimensional image. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the control unit controls the first to the second transmission and reception units based on the traveling direction, the traveling angle, the traveling speed, the traveling information, the weather information of the payload around the payload, and the installation position in the payload of the first and second transmission / 2 field-of-view range, scan speed, number of points to be scanned, and laser power. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the controller adjusts the first and second field-of-view ranges by increasing or decreasing the transmission power of the first or second transmission / reception unit. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a first optical isolator that irradiates the first laser beam to a plurality of positions in the first field of view range and irradiates the first laser beam to a plurality of positions in a third field of view range that does not overlap with the first field of view range Laser radar system. 17. The method of claim 16,
Further comprising a second optical isolator for irradiating the second laser beam to a plurality of positions in the second field of view and for irradiating the second laser beam to a plurality of positions in a fourth field of view that do not overlap the second field of view Laser radar system. 18. The method of claim 17,
A first reflection mirror for reflecting the first laser beam separated from the first optical splitter to a plurality of positions in the third field of view, and a second reflection mirror for separating the second laser beam separated from the second optical splitter from the fourth field- And a second reflection mirror for reflecting the light reflected by the first reflection mirror to a plurality of positions of the second reflection mirror, 19. The method of claim 18,
An overlap region between said first field of view and said second field of view, between said second field of view and said third field of view, and between said third field of view and said fourth field of view. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a third transmitting / receiving unit for irradiating a third laser beam to at least one third field-of-view range having the overlapping area with the first field-of-view range or the second field-of-view range and receiving reflected light, And the second laser beam is irradiated in a time slot different from the first and second laser beams irradiated to an area overlapping the third field-of-view range. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein each of the first transmission / reception unit and the second transmission / reception unit has a field of view covering at least one of front, rear, and rear areas based on the traveling direction of the payload. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first visual field range and the second visual field range have different detection distances or detection angles. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first field of view and the second field of view are asymmetrical or non-circular relative to the payload. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the visual range corresponding to the front of the payload among the first visual range and the second visual range includes a longer detection distance or a smaller detection angle than a visual range covering the rear or side. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein at least one field of view of the first and second field-of-view ranges of the side of the payload is shorter than the field-of-view of the front, and the detection angle is larger. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein at least one field of view covering the rear of the payload among the first and second field-of-view ranges has a shorter detection distance than a field-of-view covering the side, The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the control unit performs a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) operation using detection information obtained from at least one of the first and second transmission / reception units. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first field of view includes an area overlapping the second field of view.

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