JP7302622B2 - optical rangefinder - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to optical ranging devices.

2. Description of the Related Art As an optical distance measuring device, an optical distance measuring device is known that includes a light emitting portion that emits irradiation light and a light receiving portion that receives light including reflected light of the irradiation light. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses an optical distance measuring device provided with a light guide for guiding light for detecting failure of an optical system to a light receiving section.

JP 2018-100880 A

However, in Patent Document 1, in addition to the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit, a light guiding unit for failure detection is provided. There is

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, an optical ranging device (100) is provided. This optical distance measuring device includes a light emitting unit (40) that emits irradiation light (IL) and a light receiving unit (40) that outputs a signal corresponding to the intensity of incident light including reflected light (RL) of the emitted irradiation light 60), a housing (82) housing the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit, and a distance measuring unit ( 23) and an abnormality detection unit (25) for executing abnormality detection processing for detecting an abnormality of the light emitting unit using reflected light (RL) of the irradiation light emitted during a period in which the distance measurement processing is not performed. and a scanning unit (50) for mechanically reciprocally scanning the emitted irradiation light within a predetermined scanning angle range (NR), wherein the irradiation light emitted in the distance measurement process and the abnormality The irradiation light emitted in the detection process is scanned over the same scanning angle range .

According to the optical distance measuring device of this aspect, since the abnormality detection process for detecting an abnormality in the light emitting unit is performed using the reflected light of the irradiation light emitted while the distance measuring process is not performed, Abnormality of the light emitting unit can be detected without providing a light guiding unit for detecting abnormality. For this reason, it is possible to suppress an increase in the number of parts of the optical rangefinder, thereby suppressing an increase in the size of the optical rangefinder.

The present disclosure may also be embodied in various forms. For example, it can be realized in the form of an abnormality detection device for an optical rangefinder, an abnormality detection method for an optical rangefinder, a computer program for realizing these devices and methods, and a storage medium storing such a computer program. .

1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of an optical distance measuring device as an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure of control processing executed in the optical distance measuring device; 4 is a timing chart of control processing; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining regions divided using scanning angles; It is a timing chart of control processing in the second embodiment.

A. First embodiment:
The optical distance measuring device 100 shown in FIG. 1 detects the distance to the object OB by emitting illumination light IL and receiving reflected light RL reflected by the object OB. The optical distance measuring device 100 is used by being mounted on a vehicle, for example. In this embodiment, the optical ranging device 100 is LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging). The optical distance measuring device 100 includes a light emitting section 40 , a light receiving section 60 , a scanning section 50 and a control device 10 . The optical distance measuring device 100 further includes a housing 80 , and the light emitting section 40 , the light receiving section 60 and the scanning section 50 are housed in an internal space surrounded by inner wall surfaces of the housing 80 . The optical distance measuring device 100 has a predetermined scanning angle range NR, and the irradiation light IL is emitted by the light emitting unit 40 and the light receiving unit is set in units of unit scanning angles obtained by dividing the scanning angle range NR into a plurality of angles. By executing the reception of the reflected light RL by 60, detection points are acquired over the entire scanning angle range NR, and distance measurement is realized. Note that FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of the optical distance measuring device 100 and an optical path for ease of explanation, and the optical path does not match the actual optical path.

The light emitting unit 40 includes a plurality of light sources LD1, LD2, LD3, and LD4, and emits irradiation light IL per unit scanning angle. The light sources LD1, LD2, LD3 and LD4 are infrared laser diodes, and emit infrared laser light as irradiation light IL. The light emitting unit 40 controls the light sources LD1, LD2, LD3 by driving signals having a pulse driving waveform in response to light emission control signals that instruct the light sources LD1, LD2, LD3, and LD4 to emit light, which are input from the control device 10 for each unit scanning angle. and LD4 to emit infrared laser light.

The light-receiving unit 60 includes a light-receiving element array and a light-receiving lens (not shown), and performs light-receiving processing for outputting a detection signal indicating a detection point in response to receiving the reflected light RL of the irradiation light IL emitted from the light-emitting unit 40. . The light-receiving element array is a planar light sensor in which a plurality of light-receiving elements are arranged two-dimensionally. For example, SPADs (Single Photon Avalanche Diodes) and other photodiodes constitute each light-receiving element. The term "light-receiving pixel" is sometimes used as the minimum unit of light-receiving processing, that is, a light-receiving unit corresponding to a detection point. means any of the light-receiving pixels configured by The light receiving unit 60 outputs to the control device 10 an incident light intensity signal corresponding to the amount of incident light or the intensity of the incident light incident on each light receiving pixel in units of scanning angles at which light is emitted by the light emitting unit 40 . In addition to the reflected light RL, the light receiving unit 60 receives environmental light (disturbance light) such as sunlight, light from street lights, light from other vehicles, and light reflected from the object OB. can.

The scanning unit 50 reciprocally scans the irradiation light IL emitted from the light emitting unit 40 within the scanning angle range NR. The scanning unit 50 includes an electric motor 52 and a scanning mirror 51 . That is, the scanning unit 50 is a scanning unit that has a mechanical movable part that scans the scanning mirror 51 by the electric motor 52 .

The electric motor 52 has an electric motor driver (not shown). A rotation angle sensor (not shown) for detecting the rotation angle of the electric motor 52 is arranged on the electric motor 52 . The electric motor driver receives a rotation angle signal input from the rotation angle sensor and receives a rotation angle instruction signal output by the control device 10 to change the voltage applied to the electric motor 52 to control the rotation angle of the electric motor 52 . The electric motor 52 is, for example, an ultrasonic motor, a brushless motor, or a brush motor, and has a well-known mechanism for reciprocating within the scanning angle range NR. A scanning mirror 51 is attached to the electric motor 52 .

The scanning mirror 51 is a reflector for scanning the irradiation light IL emitted from the light emitting unit 40 in the horizontal direction, that is, a mirror body. Realized. The scanning mirror 51 may be a polygonal mirror, for example, a polygon mirror, or a single-sided mirror provided with a vertically swinging mechanism, or another single-sided mirror that is vertically swung. It may have a body. Irradiation light IL is scanned according to the rotation angle of scanning mirror 51, and when scanning mirror 51 is at a predetermined rotation angle, as indicated by the solid line in FIG. It is injected into the measurement area MR. As indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 1, the illumination light IL that is not emitted from the window 82 is reflected and scattered inside the housing 80 . In the following description, of the reflected light RL of the illumination light IL, the illumination light IL reflected by the object OB in the measurement area MR will be referred to as the "reflected light RLm for distance measurement". The internally scattered light reflected within 80 is also called "clutter reflected light RLc". The reflected light for distance measurement RLm enters the housing 80 from the measurement region MR through the window 82 and reaches the light receiving section 60, as indicated by the solid line in FIG. On the other hand, the clutter reflected light RLc is reflected by the wall surface inside the housing 80 and reaches the light receiving section 60, as indicated by the dashed line in FIG.

The control device 10 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 20 as an arithmetic section, a memory 15 as a storage section, and an input/output interface 11 as an input/output section. The CPU 20, the memory 15 and the input/output interface 11 are connected via an internal bus so as to be bidirectionally communicable. The memory 15 includes a ROM and a RAM. The CPU 20 functions as a control section 21 , a distance measurement section 23 and an abnormality detection section 25 by expanding and executing a program (not shown) stored in the memory 15 . The CPU 20 may be a single CPU, a plurality of CPUs executing each program, or a multitasking CPU capable of simultaneously executing a plurality of programs.

The control unit 21 controls the motor 52 , the light emitting unit 40 and the light receiving unit 60 to control the overall operation of the optical distance measuring device 100 .

The distance measuring unit 23 uses the detection signal input from the light receiving unit 60 to calculate the time (TOF: Time of Flight) from the irradiation of the irradiation light IL to the reception of the reflected light for distance measurement RLm. measures the distance to the object OB. In the following description, the measurement of the distance to the object OB executed by the distance measurement unit 23 will be referred to as "distance measurement processing". In the present embodiment, the ranging process is performed when the irradiation light IL is forward-scanned in one direction in the scanning angle range NR.

The abnormality detection section 25 detects abnormality of the light emitting section 40 (the light sources LD1, LD2, LD3 and LD4). The abnormality detection unit 25 causes the light sources LD1, LD2, LD3, and LD4 to emit light at different timings when the ranging process is not performed, and detects an abnormality for each of the light sources LD1, LD2, LD3, and LD4. The clutter reflected light RLc is used for abnormality detection. Since the clutter reflected light RLc is light reflected from the light emitting unit 40 at a close distance, the intensity of the clutter reflected light RLc is significantly higher than that of the ambient light and the range finding reflected light RLm. Therefore, by using the signal value when the light receiving section 60 receives the clutter reflected light RLc, the abnormality of LD1, LD2, LD3 and LD4 can be detected with high accuracy. For example, an abnormality such as a state in which the light intensity of each of the light sources LD1, LD2, LD3 and LD4 is lower than normal, and a state in which each of the light sources LD1, LD2, LD3 and LD4 does not emit light is detected. In the following description, detection of an abnormality in the light emitting unit 40 executed by the abnormality detection unit 25 will be referred to as "abnormality detection processing". In the present embodiment, the abnormality detection process is performed when the illumination light IL is back-scanned in one direction in the scanning angle range NR, that is, when the scanning angle scanned in one direction in the distance measurement process is changed to is performed while returning to the scan angle of .

The light receiving section 60, the light emitting section 40 and the electric motor 52 are connected to the input/output interface 11 via respective control signal lines. A light emission control signal is transmitted to the light emitting unit 40 , an incident light intensity signal is received from the light receiving unit 60 , and a rotation angle instruction signal is transmitted to the electric motor 52 .

The control process shown in FIG. 2 is performed at predetermined time intervals, for example, several 100 ms, from the time the vehicle control system is started until it is stopped, or from when the start switch of the vehicle is turned on until the start switch is turned off. Executed repeatedly. In step S10, the distance measurement unit 23 executes distance measurement processing. Specifically, the distance measuring unit 23 causes the light emitting unit 40 to emit the irradiation light IL, and causes the scanning unit 50 to scan the irradiation light IL in one direction in the scanning direction. The distance measuring unit 23 calculates the TOF using the received light signal of the reflected light RLm, and measures the distance to the object OB.

In step S20, the abnormality detection unit 25 executes abnormality detection processing. In the abnormality detection process of the present embodiment, any one of the four light sources LD1, LD2, LD3, and LD4 is targeted for abnormality detection, and the presence or absence of abnormality in the light source is detected. Specifically, first, the abnormality detection unit 25 emits the irradiation light IL only to the light sources LD1, LD2, LD3, and LD4 whose abnormality is to be detected, and the scanning unit 50 emits the irradiation light IL to the other side of the scanning direction ( Scanning is performed in the direction opposite to the direction in which the irradiation light IL is scanned in the distance measurement process. Next, the abnormality detection unit 25 acquires the incident light intensity signal of the clutter reflected light RLc, compares the signal value of the incident light intensity signal with a predetermined reference value, and determines the intensity of the light source emitting the irradiation light IL. Detect the presence or absence of anomalies. For example, when the signal value of the incident light intensity signal of the clutter reflected light RLc is smaller than a predetermined reference value, it is detected that an abnormality in which the light amount of the light source has decreased has occurred. Further, for example, when the value indicated by the incident light intensity signal of the clutter reflected light RLc is 0 (zero), it is detected as an abnormal state in which the light source does not emit light. As will be described later with reference to FIG. 3, in order to detect whether or not there is an abnormality in all of the four light sources LD1, LD2, LD3, and LD4, the target of abnormality detection is sequentially changed, and the abnormality detection process is performed four times. need to run.

In the timing chart shown in FIG. 3, the horizontal axis indicates time, and the vertical axis indicates the scanning angle of the irradiation light IL. When the control process is started at time t0, step S10 described above is executed, and the distance measurement process is executed during period Ts from time t0 to time t1. During the period Ts, the light source LD1 intermittently emits short pulses by duty control. The on-duty ratio is, for example, 1% or less. At this time, the emitted irradiation light IL is scanned in a scanning angle range from -M [deg] to M [deg]. In this embodiment, the period Ts is 100 milliseconds, for example.

When the distance measurement process ends at time t1, the above-described step S20 is executed, and the abnormality detection process for the light source LD1 is executed during the period Ti from time t1 to time t2. During the period Ti, the light source LD1 intermittently emits short pulses by duty control. The on-duty ratio when the abnormality detection process is executed may be smaller than the on-duty ratio when the distance measurement process is executed. The light source LD, which is a laser diode, has a light emission time life, and the light emission time life of the light source LD can be effectively used by being driven at an on-duty ratio that emits the amount of light required for abnormality detection processing. . At this time, the illumination light IL is emitted from the light source LD1, which is the target of abnormality detection, and the illumination light IL is not emitted from the other light sources LD2, LD3, and LD4. The emitted irradiation light IL is scanned in the other side of the scanning direction, specifically, in a scanning angle range from M [deg] to -M [deg]. Therefore, the scanning angle in the distance measurement process and the scanning angle in the abnormality detection process of the light source LD1 are the same. In this embodiment, the period Ti is, for example, 20 milliseconds. Note that the period Ti is not limited to 0 milliseconds, and can be any time from 5 milliseconds to 30 milliseconds, for example. The period Ti is preferably shorter than the period Ts described above.

When the abnormality detection process for the light source LD1 ends at time t2, the distance measurement process is performed during a period Ts from time t2 to time t3. Thereafter, during a period Ti from time t3 to time t4, abnormality detection processing for the light source LD2 is performed. Similar to the abnormality detection process for the light source LD1, the irradiation light IL is emitted only from the light source LD2, which is the target of abnormality detection, and the emitted irradiation light IL is scanned in the scanning angle range from M [deg] to -M [deg]. Scanned.

After the distance measurement process is performed during the period Ts from time t4 to time t5, the abnormality detection process for the light source LD3 is performed during the period Ti from time t5 to time t6. The illumination light IL is emitted only from the light source LD3, which is the target of abnormality detection, and the emitted illumination light IL is scanned in the scanning angle range from M [deg] to -M [deg].

After the distance measurement process is performed during the period Ts from time t6 to time t7, the abnormality detection process for the light source LD4 is performed during the period Ti from time t7 to time t8. The irradiation light IL is emitted only from the light source LD4, which is the target of abnormality detection, and the emitted irradiation light IL is scanned in the scanning angle range from M [deg] to -M [deg]. After that, the distance measurement process and the abnormality detection process for each of the light sources LD1, LD2, LD3 and LD4 are sequentially repeated until the control system of the vehicle or the start switch of the vehicle is turned off.

According to the optical distance measuring device 100 of the present embodiment having the above configuration, the illumination light IL emitted during the period Ti in which the distance measurement process is not executed uses the clutter reflected light RLc reflected inside the housing 80. Since the abnormality detection process for detecting the abnormality of the light emitting unit 40 is executed by the light emitting unit 40 , the abnormality of the light emitting unit 40 can be detected without providing a light guide unit for detecting the abnormality of the light emitting unit 40 . Therefore, an increase in the number of parts of the optical rangefinder 100 can be suppressed, and an increase in the size of the optical rangefinder 100 can be suppressed.

The illumination light IL emitted in the distance measurement process and the illumination light IL emitted in the abnormality detection process are both scanned in the same scanning angle range NR. And there is no need to switch the processing of the scanning unit 50 . Therefore, it is possible to prevent the control of the light emitting unit 40 and the scanning unit 50 from becoming complicated. Since the abnormality detection process is executed at different timings for the light sources LD1, LD2, LD3 and LD4, the light sources LD1, LD2, LD3 and LD4 are caused to emit light at the same timing to detect the abnormality of each of the light sources LD1, LD2, LD3 and LD4. Abnormality of each of the light sources LD1, LD2, LD3 and LD4 can be detected with high precision compared to the configuration that does. That is, since the light sources LD1 to LD4 are controlled to emit light at intervals of several microseconds during the ranging process, it is difficult to identify the light source LD in which an abnormality has occurred. On the other hand, during the abnormality detection process as described above, the light sources LD1 to LD4 are controlled to emit light independently during each abnormality detection process period, so it is easy to identify the light source LD in which an abnormality has occurred.

B. Second embodiment:
In the abnormality detection process according to the first embodiment, the irradiation light IL emitted from each of the light sources LD1, LD2, LD3, and LD4 is scanned in the same scanning angle range (from M [deg] to −M [deg]). rice field. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, the scanning angle range of the irradiation light IL differs for each of the light sources LD1, LD2, LD3 and LD4. In this embodiment, the scanning angle range NR is divided into a plurality of areas using the scanning angle, and irradiation light IL is emitted from different light sources LD1, LD2, LD3, and LD4 to each of the divided areas.

As shown in FIG. 4, the scanning angle range NR is divided into four regions Ar1, Ar2, Ar3 and Ar4 according to scanning angles. Specifically, the first area Ar1 is an area corresponding to a range of scanning angles from M [deg] to N [deg] in the scanning angle range NR. The second area Ar2 is an area corresponding to a range of scanning angles from N [deg] to zero [deg] in the scanning angle range NR. The third area Ar3 is an area corresponding to a range of scanning angles from zero [deg] to -N [deg] in the scanning angle range NR. The fourth area Ar4 is an area corresponding to a range of scanning angles from -N [deg] to -M [deg] in the scanning angle range NR. It should be noted that the scanning angles M and N can be arbitrarily set through experiments or the like.

The first area Ar1 is scanned with the irradiation light IL emitted from the light source LD1. The second area Ar2 is scanned with the irradiation light IL emitted from the light source LD2. The irradiation light IL emitted from the light source LD3 is scanned over the third area Ar3. The fourth area Ar4 is scanned with the irradiation light IL emitted from the light source LD4. Therefore, in the second embodiment, it is possible to detect abnormalities in all the light sources LD1, LD2, LD3, and LD4 in one return scan after execution of the ranging process.

In the timing chart of the control process in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the horizontal axis indicates time, and the vertical axis indicates the scanning angle of the irradiation light IL. When the control process is started at time t0, the ranging process is executed during the period Ts up to time t1. At this time, the irradiation light IL is scanned in a scanning angle range from -M [deg] to M [deg].

When the distance measurement process ends at time t1, the abnormality detection process for each of the light sources LD1, LD2, LD3 and LD4 is sequentially executed during a period Ti from time t1 to time t5. Specifically, the abnormality detection process for the light source LD1 is performed from time t1 to time t2, the abnormality detection for the light source LD2 is performed from time t2 to time t3, and the abnormality detection for the light source LD3 is performed from time t3 to time t4. , the abnormality detection of the light source LD4 is executed from time t4 to time t5. In the abnormality detection process of the light source LD1, the illumination light IL is emitted from the light source LD1, which is the target of abnormality detection, to the first area Ar1, and the light IL is emitted from the position corresponding to the scanning angle M [deg] to the scanning angle N [deg]. The irradiation light IL is scanned toward the position where the As in the first embodiment, the abnormality detection unit 25 uses the incident light intensity signal of the clutter reflected light RLc to detect whether or not there is an abnormality in the light source LD1.

In the abnormality detection process of the light source LD2, the illumination light IL is emitted from the light source LD2, which is the target of abnormality detection, to the second region Ar2, and the irradiation light IL is emitted from the position corresponding to the scanning angle N [deg] to the scanning angle zero [deg]. Irradiation light IL is scanned toward the position, and the presence or absence of abnormality in the light source LD2 is detected. In the abnormality detection process of the light source LD3, the irradiation light IL is emitted from the light source LD3, which is the target of abnormality detection, to the third area Ar3, and the position corresponding to the scanning angle zero [deg] is changed to the scanning angle -N [deg]. The irradiation light IL is scanned toward the corresponding position, and the presence or absence of abnormality in the light source LD3 is detected. In the abnormality detection process of the light source LD4, the irradiation light IL is emitted from the light source LD4, which is the target of abnormality detection, to the fourth area Ar4, and the scanning angle -M [deg] is emitted from the position corresponding to the scanning angle -N [deg]. The irradiation light IL is scanned toward the position corresponding to , and the presence or absence of abnormality in the light source LD4 is detected.

According to the optical distance measuring device of the second embodiment having the above configuration, the light emitting unit 40 uses different light sources for each of the four regions Ar1, Ar2, Ar3, and Ar4 divided by the scanning angle in the abnormality detection process. Since the irradiation light IL is emitted using LD1, LD2, LD3 and LD4, it is possible to detect an abnormality in each of the light sources LD1, LD2, LD3 and LD4 in one backward scan. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the time required to detect an abnormality in each of the light sources LD1, LD2, LD3 and LD4.

C. Other embodiments:
(1) In each of the above-described embodiments, the optical ranging device 100 detects an abnormality of the light emitting unit 40 using the clutter reflected light RLc that is reflected within the housing 80 from the irradiation light IL emitted during the non-ranging period Ti. Although the process is executed, the abnormality detection process may be executed using the reflected light from the body of the vehicle, for example, the roof or the bonnet, which is always at a constant distance from the optical rangefinder 100 .

(2) In each of the above embodiments, the abnormality detection section 25 directly uses the detection signal output from the light receiving section 60, that is, the incident intensity signal, in the abnormality detection process. However, during the abnormality detection process, an environment such as reflected light incident from the outside of the housing 80 in response to light emitted from the light emitting unit 40 or reflected light incident from the outside of the housing 80 in response to artificial light such as sunlight or street lights Light also enters the light receiving section 60 . Therefore, in order to improve the accuracy of the abnormality detection process, the abnormality detection unit 25 increases the SN of the clutter reflected light RLc, that is, increases the SN of the incident intensity signal corresponding to the clutter reflected light RLc in the detection signal. processing may be performed. As described above, the clutter reflected light RLc, which is reflected light from inside the housing 80 close to the light emitting unit 40, has a much shorter TOF and a higher incident intensity than ambient light. So, for example,
(a) The abnormality detection unit 25 applies a time filter to the detection signal from the light receiving unit 60, and performs time filter processing for extracting a detection signal in a time range corresponding to the TOF of the clutter reflected light RLc, An increase in the SN of the incident intensity signal of the clutter reflected light RLc may be realized. In this case, the incident intensity signal due to the ambient light having a longer TOF than the clutter reflected light RLc is excluded, and the SN of the incident intensity signal of the clutter reflected light RLc is increased. Note that the processing of the time filter may be performed in the abnormality detection section 25 or may be performed in the light receiving section 60 according to the control signal from the abnormality detection section 25 .
(b) The abnormality detection unit 25 may increase the SN of the incident intensity signal of the clutter reflected light RLc by reducing the light receiving sensitivity of the light receiving unit 60, that is, by reducing the signal amplification amount. Since the incident intensity signal of the clutter reflected light RLc is sufficiently stronger than the incident intensity signal of the ambient light, by reducing the light receiving sensitivity, the incident intensity signal due to the ambient light is no longer received. , the SN of the incident intensity signal of is increased.
(c) The abnormality detection unit 25 may decrease the light emission intensity of the light emission unit 40 to shorten the detection distance and increase the SN of the incident intensity signal of the clutter reflected light RLc. Since the housing 80 is closer to the light emitting unit 40 than an external object, by reducing the light emission intensity, the clutter reflected light RLc from the housing 80 is incident on the light receiving unit 60, while the light emitting unit The emitted light does not reach an external object located far away from 40, or the ambient light, which is the reflected light from the external object, is difficult to enter the light receiving unit 60, and the incident intensity signal of the clutter reflected light RLc decreases. SN is increased.

(3) In each of the above embodiments, the optical distance measuring device 100 having the scanning unit 50 that performs mechanical scanning has been described. An optical rangefinder with a non-mechanical scanner may be used. As the non-mechanical scanning unit, for example, a scanning unit that does not have a moving part and repeatedly scans a scanning angle range electronically, such as a liquid crystal scanner or an optical phased array (OPA), can be used. Even when these non-mechanical scanning units are used, there are non-range-finding periods, so the above-described abnormality detection processing can be executed during the non-range-finding periods.

(4) In each of the above-described embodiments, the light emitting unit 40 is provided with the four light sources LD1, LD2, LD3, and LD4 as the plurality of light sources. The light emitting unit 40 may include two, three, or five or more light sources.

(5) Each unit, such as a control unit, described in the present disclosure, and the techniques thereof, are provided by configuring a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions embodied by a computer program. It may also be implemented by a dedicated computer. Alternatively, the units, such as the control unit, and the techniques described in this disclosure may be implemented by a dedicated computer provided by configuring the processor with one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. Alternatively, the control units and techniques described in this disclosure can be implemented by a combination of a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions and a processor configured by one or more hardware logic circuits. It may also be implemented by one or more dedicated computers configured. The computer program may also be stored as computer-executable instructions on a computer-readable non-transitional tangible recording medium.

The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be implemented in various configurations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the technical features in the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in the respective modes described in the Summary of the Invention column may be used to solve some or all of the above problems, or Substitutions and combinations may be made as appropriate to achieve part or all. Also, if the technical features are not described as essential in this specification, they can be deleted as appropriate.

23 Distance measuring unit 25 Abnormality detecting unit 40 Light emitting unit 60 Light receiving unit 80 Housing IL Irradiated light RL, RLc Reflected light OB Object

Claims (5)

An optical ranging device (100),
a light emitting part (40) for emitting irradiation light (IL);
a light receiving section (60) for outputting a signal according to the intensity of incident light including reflected light (RL, RLm, RLc) of the emitted irradiation light;
a housing (80) housing the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit;
a distance measurement unit (23) that performs a distance measurement process for measuring a distance to an object (OB) according to the intensity of the incident light;
an abnormality detection unit (25) for executing abnormality detection processing for detecting an abnormality of the light emitting unit using reflected light (RL) of the irradiation light emitted during a period in which the distance measurement processing is not performed;
a scanning unit (50) for mechanically reciprocally scanning the emitted irradiation light within a predetermined scanning angle range (NR), wherein the irradiation light emitted in the distance measurement process and the abnormality detection process An optical distance measuring device in which both the emitted light and the emitted light are scanned over the same scanning angle range . An optical ranging device (100),
a light emitting part (40) for emitting irradiation light (IL);
a light receiving section (60) for outputting a signal according to the intensity of incident light including reflected light (RL, RLm, RLc) of the emitted irradiation light;
a housing (80) housing the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit;
a distance measurement unit (23) that performs a distance measurement process for measuring a distance to an object (OB) according to the intensity of the incident light;
an abnormality detection unit (25) for executing abnormality detection processing for detecting an abnormality of the light emitting unit using reflected light (RL) of the irradiation light emitted during a period in which the distance measurement processing is not performed;
a scanning unit (50) for electronically repeatedly scanning the emitted irradiation light in a predetermined scanning angle range (NR), wherein the irradiation light emitted in the distance measurement process and the abnormality detection process An optical distance measuring device in which both the emitted light and the emitted light are scanned over the same scanning angle range. An optical ranging device (100),
a light emitting unit (40) that includes a plurality of light sources and emits irradiation light (IL);
a light receiving section (60) for outputting a signal according to the intensity of incident light including reflected light (RL, RLm, RLc) of the emitted irradiation light;
a housing (80) housing the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit;
a scanning unit that reciprocally scans the emitted irradiation light within a predetermined scanning angle range;
a control unit (21) for controlling the scanning angle of the scanning unit;
a distance measurement unit (23) that performs a distance measurement process for measuring a distance to an object (OB) according to the intensity of the incident light;
An abnormality detection unit (25) for executing abnormality detection processing for detecting an abnormality of the light emitting unit using reflected light (RL) of the irradiation light emitted during a period in which the distance measurement processing is not performed, an abnormality detection unit that executes the abnormality detection process at different timings for each of the light sources;
wherein, in the abnormality detection process, the light emitting unit emits the irradiation light using the different light sources for each of the plurality of areas divided using the scanning angle. The optical distance measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
The anomaly detection unit detects an anomaly of the light emitting unit using reflected light (RLc) of the irradiation light reflected within the housing. The optical distance measuring device according to claim 4 ,
The anomaly detection unit increases the SN of the reflected light (RLc) reflected within the housing to detect an anomaly of the light emitting unit.

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