摘要 |
A distance measuring apparatus for measuring a distance to an object of concern includes a clock pulse generator for generating a clock pulse signal at a predetermined frequency, a pulsed laser for emitting a light pulse to the object, a photodetection circuit for detecting an echo light pulse resulting from reflection of the light pulse at the object, an analogue-to-digital converter for converting an electric signal output from the photo-detection circuit to digital data under the timing of the clock pulse signal, and a memory for sequentially storing the digital data output from the analogue-to-digital converter on a time-serial basis, and a processing unit for processing the data stored in the memory to thereby arithmetically determine the distance to the object on the basis of a peak appearing in an echo wavefrom reconstituted from the data, a time lapse from the emission of the light pulse to the appearance of the peak, and the frequency of the clock signal. High accuracy distance measurement can be realized with improved linearity and SN ratio. By synthesizing an echo waveform from the data obtained through a plurality of light pulse emissions, resolution of the distance measurement can be enhanced.
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