Laser radar

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11624809-B2
Application number	US-202016987363-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 6, 2020
Priority date	Mar 8, 2018
Publication date	Apr 11, 2023
Grant date	Apr 11, 2023

Abstract

The laser radar includes: a light source configured to emit laser light; an optical system configured to shape the laser light into a line beam that is long in one direction, and project the line beam; a scanner configured to perform scanning with the line beam in a short side direction of the line beam; and a configuration for causing light intensity of the line beam to be different in a long side direction of the line beam. The light intensity of the line beam is caused to be different, for example, by a controller controlling emission power of a plurality of light emitting portions disposed in the light source along a direction corresponding to the long side direction of the line beam.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A laser radar comprising:
a light source configured to emit laser light;
an optical system configured to shape the laser light into a line beam that is long in one direction, and project the line beam;
a scanner configured to perform scanning with the line beam in a short side direction of the line beam;
a configuration for causing light intensity of the line beam to be different in a long side direction of the line beam; and
a controller configured to control the light source, wherein
the light source includes a plurality of light emitting portions for the laser light that are disposed along a direction corresponding to the long side direction, and
the controller causes the light intensity of the line beam to be different in the long side direction of the line beam by controlling output of the light emitting portions.

2. The laser radar according to claim 1 , wherein the light intensity of the line beam is adjusted such that the light intensity on an end side in the long side direction is reduced to be lower than to that at a center portion in the long side direction.

3. The laser radar according to claim 1 , wherein the controller causes the light intensity of the line beam to be different such that the light intensity on an end side in the long side direction is increased to be higher than that at a center portion in the long side direction, by controlling the output of the light emitting portions.

4. The laser radar according to claim 1 , wherein
the light source includes a plurality of laser diodes disposed so as to be aligned in the direction corresponding to the long side direction, and
the light intensity of the line beam is caused to be different in the long side direction by causing emission abilities of the plurality of laser diodes to be different from each other.

5. The laser radar according to claim 1 , wherein the optical system includes an adjusting lens configured to cause the light intensity in the long side direction of the line beam to be different in the long side direction.

6. The laser radar according to claim 1 , wherein
the optical system includes a magnifying lens configured to spread the laser light emitted from laser diodes, in the direction corresponding to the long side direction of the line beam, and
the scanner is disposed on a laser diode side with respect to the magnifying lens.

7. The laser radar according to claim 6 , wherein
the magnifying lens has a lens surface curved only in one direction, and
the scanner performs scanning with the laser light in a direction parallel to a generatrix of the lens surface, thereby performing scanning with the line beam in the short side direction.

8. The laser radar according to claim 6 , wherein
the optical system includes a collimator lens, and
the scanner is disposed between the collimator lens and the magnifying lens.

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Man Co Ltd

Inventors

• Noguchi Hitoshi
• Takeda Eiji

Classifications

• G01S7/484

  Transmitters · CPC title

• G02B26/10

  Scanning systems · CPC title

• G01S7/4817 Primary

  relating to scanning · CPC title

• G01S7/4815 Primary

  using multiple transmitters · CPC title

• G01S17/42

  Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates (indirect measurement G01S17/46) · CPC title