Optoelectronic apparatus and method for alignment

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9746691-B2
Application number	US-201514661246-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 18, 2015
Priority date	Mar 24, 2014
Publication date	Aug 29, 2017
Grant date	Aug 29, 2017

Abstract

An optoelectronic apparatus ( 10 ) having a light transmitter ( 22 ) and/or a light receiver ( 16 ) and an optics ( 24, 14 ) arranged in front of the light transmitter ( 22 ) and/or the light receiver ( 16 ) is provided that has an adaptive lens ( 26 ) with variable tilt. In this respect an alignment unit ( 18 ) is provided which is configured to tilt the adaptive lens ( 26 ) in such a way that manufacturing tolerances and/or assembly tolerances are compensated.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An optoelectronic apparatus comprising:
a light receiver configured as a camera having an image sensor and having optics arranged in front of the light receiver, wherein the optics comprise an adaptive lens with variable tilt,
an alignment unit configured to tilt the adaptive lens so as to compensate manufacturing tolerances and/or assembly tolerances,
wherein the alignment unit is configured to identify and read at least one image feature and a position of the image feature in a recording of the image sensor and to store the recording of the image sensor, the recording of the image sensor comprising the position, and to adjust the alignment of a replacement image sensor to a same position as that of a previous image sensor by tilting the adaptive lens of the replacement image sensor in such a way that to position a viewing field of the replacement image sensor to achieve said same position.

2. The optoelectronic apparatus in accordance with claim 1 ,
wherein the alignment unit has a storage element in order to store tilt positions of the adaptive lens as aligned work settings, the tilt positions being taught during a manufacturing process.

3. The optoelectronic apparatus in accordance with claim 1 ,
wherein the adaptive lens is a liquid lens or a gel lens.

4. The optoelectronic apparatus in accordance with claim 1 ,
wherein the adaptive lens has segmented control elements in the circumferential direction.

5. An optoelectronic apparatus comprising at least two image sensors in front of which a respective optics having an adaptive lens with variable tilt is arranged and configured to permit exchange of the image sensors, wherein the respective viewing fields of the image sensor have an overlap region, the apparatus comprising:
an alignment unit configured to identify at least one image feature in the overlap region and to align the viewing fields of the image sensors with respect to one another by tilting at least one adaptive lens with reference to the image feature to achieve a desired alignment with respect to an overall viewing field,
wherein the sensors store said image feature and a position of the image feature with respect to its image sensor and the optoelectronic apparatus reads in the image feature and the position of the image feature and tilts its adaptive lens to position the image feature is present in a recording of its image sensor at the position.

6. The optoelectronic apparatus in accordance with claim 5 ,
that is configured as a camera having an image sensor as a light receiver.

7. The optoelectronic apparatus in accordance with claim 5 ,
wherein the adaptive lens is a liquid lens or a gel lens.

8. The optoelectronic apparatus in accordance with claim 5 ,
wherein the adaptive lens has segmented control elements in the circumferential direction.

9. A method for the exchange of an optoelectronic apparatus having an image sensor and receiving optics with an adaptive lens arranged in front of the image sensor, the method comprising:
storing, with an optoelectronic apparatus to be exchanged, at least one image feature and a position of the image feature with respect to the image sensor of the optoelectronic apparatus to be exchanged;
reading, with an optoelectronic apparatus provided for the exchange, the image feature and the position of the image feature; and
tilting the adaptive lens of the optoelectronic apparatus provided for the exchange in such a way that the image feature is present in a recording of the image sensor of the optoelectronic apparatus provided for the exchange at the position, so as to adjust the alignment of the image sensor of the optoelectronic apparatus provided for the exchange to a same position as that of the image sensor of the optoelectronic apparatus to be exchanged.

10. A method for the mutual alignment of at least two optoelectronic apparatuses which each comprise an image sensor and an optics having an adaptive lens with variable tilt arranged in front of the image sensor, wherein the viewing fields of the image sensors have an overlap region,
the method comprising the steps of:
identifying at least one image feature in the overlap region;
storing at least one image feature and a position of the identified image feature with respect to the image sensor;
aligning the viewing fields of the image sensors with respect to one another with reference to the image feature by tilting at least one adaptive lens to achieve a desired alignment the image sensors with respect to an overall viewing field so as to compensate for manufacturing tolerances and/or assembly tolerances; and
identifying and reading at least one image feature in a recording of the image sensors and storing the recording of each of the image sensors, the recording of each of the image sensors comprising a position of the image sensor.

Assignees

• Sick Ag

Inventors

• Strohmeier Dirk
• Schneider Florian
• Bertz Denise

Classifications

• H04N5/2254

  Electricity · mapped topic

• G01V8/20

  using multiple transmitters or receivers · CPC title

• H04N17/002

  for television cameras · CPC title

• G02B26/004 Primary

  based on a displacement or a deformation of a fluid · CPC title

• G02B1/06

  made of fluids in transparent cells · CPC title