DISTANCE MEASURING DEVICE AND SOLID-STATE IMAGE SENSOR

摘要

In a distance measuring device, a drive controller generates an emission timing signal and an exposure timing signal in accordance with a measurement condition. A light source irradiates light in response to the emission timing signal. A solid-state image sensor has a group of pixels arranged in a matrix pattern and divided into a plurality of regions on a line-by-line basis, and performs an exposure process on a selected one of the regions in response to the exposure timing signal. An imaging signal processor obtains distance information by performing an arithmetic operation on a signal output from the solid-state image sensor. The drive controller generates mutually different measurement conditions to the plurality of the regions of the solid-state image sensor.

主权项

1. A distance measuring device which utilizes a time of flight (TOF) technique, the device comprising:
a light source configured to emit light in accordance with an emission timing signal; a drive controller configured to generate, in accordance with a predetermined measurement condition, the emission timing signal and an exposure timing signal corresponding to the emission timing signal; a solid-state image sensor having a group of pixels arranged in a matrix pattern, the group being divided into a plurality of regions on a line-by-line basis, the solid-state image sensor performing an exposure process on a selected one of the regions in response to the exposure timing signal, and outputting, as a signal, charges stored in the group of the pixels; and an imaging signal processor configured to obtain distance information by performing an arithmetic operation on the signal output from the solid-state image sensor, wherein the drive controller generates the emission timing signal and the exposure timing signal for each of the plurality of regions of the solid-state image sensor in accordance with respective different measurement conditions.