DISTANCE IMAGE CAPTURING DEVICE AND DISTANCE IMAGE CAPTURING METHOD

• Main Authors: HATAKEYAMA KUNIHIRO, NAKAGOME TOMOHIRO
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: 25.10.2023
• Subjects: ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION ORRERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; MEASURING; MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; NAVIGATION; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY; PHYSICS; RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; SURVEYING; TESTING

To provide a distance image capturing device and a distance image capturing method with which it is possible to calculate a distance even when an accumulation count in each subframe is changed.SOLUTION: A distance image capturing device comprises: a light source unit; a light receiving unit that includes a pixel provided with a photoelectric conversion element and a plurality of charge storage units and a pixel drive circuit that allocates the charge to, and has stored in, each of the charge storage units; and a distance image processing unit that calculates a distance to a subject that is present in a measurement space. A plurality of subframes including a first and a second subframe is provided for each frame. The distance image processing unit exercises control so that last storage timing at which a charge is stored in the charge storage unit of the pixel at slowest timing in the first subframe and first storage timing at which a charge is stored in the charge storage unit of the pixel at earliest timing in the second subframe become the same timing, with respect to timing at which irradiation with a light pulse is executed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5 【課題】各サブフレームにおける積算回数を変更した場合であっても距離を算出することができる距離画像撮像装置、及び距離画像撮像方法を提供する。【解決手段】光源部と、光電変換素子及び複数の電荷蓄積部を具備する画素と、前記電荷蓄積部のそれぞれに前記電荷を振り分けて蓄積させる画素駆動回路とを有する受光部と、前記測定空間に存在する被写体までの距離を算出する距離画像処理部と、を備え、１フレームには、第１サブフレーム及び第２サブフレームを含む複数のサブフレームが設けられ、前記距離画像処理部は、前記第１サブフレームにおいて前記画素が具備する電荷蓄積部に最も遅いタイミングで電荷を蓄積させる最後蓄積タイミングと、前記第２サブフレームにおいて前記画素が具備する電荷蓄積部に最も早いタイミングで電荷を蓄積させる最初蓄積タイミングとが、前記光パルスを照射するタイミングに対して同じタイミングとなるように制御する。【選択図】図５