LIDAR system including holographic imaging optics

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12253604-B2
Application number	US-202017420515-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 26, 2020
Priority date	Mar 18, 2019
Publication date	Mar 18, 2025
Grant date	Mar 18, 2025

Abstract

A LIDAR system for detecting objects within an observation area. The LIDAR system includes an illumination unit for illuminating the observation area using multiple light radiations, each having a different wavelength, multiple separate spatial areas of the observation area, which are presently detected by a detection area of the LIDAR system, being temporally consecutively illuminated in each case with another of the light radiations; and a detection unit for detecting the light radiations reflected by objects, including at least one detection array, which is individually assigned to the particular detection area and is made of up of a detector for detecting the light radiations from the spatial areas presently detected by the detection area, and a holographic imaging optics for focusing the respective light radiations onto the detector.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A LIDAR system for detecting objects within an observation area, comprising:
an illumination unit configured to illuminate the observation area using multiple light radiations, each having a different wavelength and being emitted in the form of light beams, multiple separate spatial areas of the observation area, which are presently covered by a detection area of the LIDAR system, being temporally consecutively illuminated in each case with another of the light radiations; and
a detection unit configured to detect the light radiations reflected by objects in the observation area, including at least one detection array, which is individually assigned to the particular detection area and is made of up of a detector configured to detect the light radiations from the spatial areas presently covered by the detection area and a holographic imaging optics configured to focus the respective light radiations onto the detector, the holographic imaging optics being configured, for each of the light radiations which are focused onto the detector, to focus a particular light radiation of the light radiations from only one spatial area, which is individually assigned to the particular light radiation and presently covered by the detection area, onto the detector.

2. The LIDAR system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the holographic imaging optics includes at least one holographic optical element.

3. The LIDAR system as recited in claim 2 , wherein the holographic optical element includes multiple holograms, which are configured to each focus one of the light radiations from a respective other of the spatial areas presently detected by the particular detection area onto the detector.

4. The LIDAR system as recited in claim 3 , wherein at least one of the holograms is a transmission geometry volume hologram.

5. The LIDAR system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the illumination unit includes a photoemitter array including multiple photoemitters, which each emit one of the light radiations.

6. The LIDAR system as recited in claim 5 , wherein a respective passive optics made up of at least one diffractive optical element and/or a holographic optical element is assigned to individual ones of the photoemitters, the passive optics being configured to split the light radiation emitted by the particular photoemitter in the form of a light beam into at least two subbeams, each illuminating a different spatial area of the observation area.

7. The LIDAR system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the detection unit includes multiple detection arrays which are situated spatially offset from one another and are each made up of a respective detector and a respective holographic optical element individually assigned to the detection arrays, detection areas of the detection arrays each covering different spatial areas of the observation area.

8. The LIDAR system as recited in claim 7 , wherein the detection arrays of the detection unit are situated in a focal plane of a shared imaging optics.

9. The LIDAR system as recited in claim 1 , wherein all spatial areas of the observation area which are presently covered by detectors of the detection unit define a present field of view of the LIDAR system, the LIDAR system being configured to scan the entire observation area using a scanning movement of the present field of view along a predefined scanning direction.

10. The LIDAR system as recited in claim 1 , wherein an optical bandpass filter is assigned to at least one of the at least one detection array, which only allows light radiation having certain wavelengths to pass.

11. A holographic imaging optics for a LIDAR system, comprising:
at least one holographic optical element including multiple holograms, each particular hologram of the holograms being configured to focus a particular light radiation which is individually assigned to the particular hologram, from a respective spatial area which is individually assigned to the particular light radiation onto a detector which is individually assigned to the holographic optical element.

Assignees

• Bosch Gmbh Robert

Inventors

• Ramsteiner Ingo
• Fiess Reinhold

Classifications

• G03H1/0248

  Volume holograms · CPC title

• G02B5/32

  Holograms used as optical elements · CPC title

• G01S7/4817

  relating to scanning · CPC title

• G01S7/4816

  of receivers alone · CPC title

• G01S7/4815

  using multiple transmitters · CPC title