LiDAR and its detection device

Abstract

A lidar, comprising: a main shaft (2), a radar rotor (17), an upper bin plate (7), a top cover (15) and a base (1); the upper bin plate (7) is fixedly arranged relative to the radar rotor (17), and the upper bin plate (7) is axially closer to the base (1) and farther from the top cover (15) relative to the lidar; the main shaft (2) is arranged perpendicular to the base (1) and is located between the upper bin plate (7) and the base (1). This lidar can shorten the wiring of each module, is convenient for installation and maintenance, and improves mechanical reliability.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of distance measurement, and particularly to a lidar. Background Art

[0002] Lidar is a general term for laser active detection sensor devices. Its working principle is roughly as follows: The transmitter of the lidar emits a laser beam. After the laser beam encounters an object, it undergoes diffuse reflection and returns to the laser receiver. The radar module multiplies the time interval between sending and receiving the laser beam by the speed of light and then divides the result by 2 to calculate the distance between the transmitter and the object.

[0003] In the existing lidar, in terms of the structure of the main shaft axis system, a structure design of a through shaft is mainly adopted. The so-called through shaft refers to the structure of the main shaft that extends from the top to the bottom of the lidar. The main shaft from the bottom to the top occupies the internal space of the lidar, which increases the difficulty of designing the ranging component or the radar rotor located above the lidar. Moreover, this through shaft design has a high cost, a complex mechanical structure, and an incompact shaft system design.

[0004] In addition, the current multi-line lidar has a one-to-one transceiver channel. For example, a 32-line lidar requires 32 pairs of emission light sources and receiving channels. And the rotating scanning lidar has a continuous development trend of having an increasingly large longitudinal (vertical) field of view and an increasing number of scanning beam bundles. This development trend requires an increasing number of channels for the lidar. An increasing number of channels may make the cost of the lidar higher, the internal space tense, the volume increase, and the difficulty of arranging the emission end space increase.

[0005] In the existing lidar, in terms of the structure of the main shaft axis system, a structure design of a through shaft is mainly adopted, and the main shaft extends from the top to the bottom of the lidar. Thus, when designing the detection device, a transmitting mirror is needed to deflect the optical path to avoid the main shaft, and the structure design of the detection device is relatively complex. Moreover, the multi-line lidar has a one-to-one transceiver channel, that is, each emission light source has an optoelectronic sensing element corresponding to it. When in use, the optical paths of each pair of emission light sources and optoelectronic sensing elements need to be aligned and adjusted manually, which may increase the difficulty of using the lidar and reduce the usage efficiency.

[0006] In addition, the early lidar was a single-line lidar, that is, there was only one laser and one detector, and its scanned target range was limited, which was prone to missing the detected target. To make up for the shortcomings of the single-line lidar, multi-line lidars have increasingly become the focus of research and commercial use. Existing multi-line lidars often have problems of high cost and excessive energy consumption.

[0007] The content in the background technology section is only the technology known to the applicant and does not necessarily represent the prior art in this field.

[0008] Disclosed content

[0009] The purpose of the present application is to provide a lidar, which can reduce the space occupied by the main shaft passing through the entire lidar from top to bottom, and facilitate and simplify the structural arrangement of the components on the radar rotor above the main shaft.

[0010] To solve the above technical problems, an embodiment of the present application discloses a lidar, including a main shaft, a radar rotor, an upper bin plate, a top cover and a base;

[0011] The upper bin plate is fixedly arranged relative to the radar rotor, and the upper bin plate is relatively closer to the base and farther from the top cover in the axial direction of the lidar;

[0012] The main shaft is perpendicular to the base and is located between the upper bin plate and the base.

[0013] Optionally, the lidar further includes a rotating bracket and a driving motor;

[0014] The rotating bracket includes a first part and a second part. The first part is a hollow structure and is adapted to be sleeved on the main shaft. The second part is a disc surface structure perpendicular to the first part and is adapted to be coupled with the radar rotor. The second part includes at least three rotating sub-brackets. The first end of each rotating sub-bracket is coupled to the first part, and the second end of each rotating sub-bracket is coupled to the edge of the disc surface of the second part. The driving motor is adapted to drive the radar rotor to rotate through the rotating bracket.

[0015] Optionally, a support flange is further provided at the coupling position of the second end of each rotating sub-bracket and the edge of the disc surface. The protruding direction of the support flange is away from the base, and the radar rotor is adapted to be coupled with the rotating bracket through the support flange.

[0016] Optionally, the lidar further includes a lower bin plate, and the lower bin plate is located between the upper bin plate and the base and is arranged around the main shaft.

[0017] Optionally, the lidar further includes a wireless power supply component located between the upper bin plate and the lower bin plate. The wireless power supply component includes a wireless transmitting coil, a wireless receiving coil, a transmitting circuit board and a receiving circuit board;

[0018] The wireless transmitting coil, the wireless receiving coil, the transmitting circuit board and the receiving circuit board are all arranged around the main shaft;

[0019] The wireless transmitting coil and the transmitting circuit board are fixedly arranged relative to the main shaft, and the wireless receiving coil and the receiving circuit board are fixedly arranged relative to the radar rotor;

[0020] The wireless transmitting coil is electrically connected to the transmitting circuit board, and the wireless receiving coil is electrically connected to the receiving circuit board.

[0021] Optionally, the lidar further includes a drive motor, the drive motor includes a magnet and an armature, both the magnet and the armature are arranged around the main shaft, and the magnet is farther from the main shaft relative to the armature, and the magnet is coupled to the transmitting circuit board.

[0022] Optionally, the lidar further includes a drive motor, the drive motor includes a magnet and an armature, both the magnet and the armature are arranged around the main shaft, and the magnet is farther from the main shaft relative to the armature, and the transmitting circuit board is electrically connected to the armature to supply power to the armature.

[0023] Optionally, the drive motor is a DC motor.

[0024] Optionally, the lidar further includes an angle measurement component, the angle measurement component is arranged around the main shaft, and is farther from the main shaft relative to the wireless power supply component.

[0025] Optionally, the lidar further includes a cable interface, and the cable interface is used to connect the lidar to an external device outside the lidar.

[0026] The embodiments of the present application include, but are not limited to, the following effects:

[0027] 1) Adopting a non-through main shaft structure, by compressing and stacking components such as upper and lower deck plates, transmitting and receiving circuit boards, and the main shaft at a position below the lidar to form a flattened platform, the space occupied by the main shaft passing through the entire radar from top to bottom is reduced, which facilitates and simplifies the setting of the structure of the ranging component and the like arranged above or below the main shaft.

[0028] 2) The support flange on the rotating bracket improves the rotational stability of the radar rotor part above the main shaft, and reduces the influence of rotation on the overall life of the machine and the radar imaging quality.

[0029] 3) Since the hollow lower deck plate is sleeved on the main shaft, that is, the main shaft passes through the lower deck plate, the main shaft can provide better support for the rotating bracket and can improve the stability of the radar.

[0030] 4) Most existing lidars use relatively complex disk motors to drive the lidar rotor, while the present application uses a DC motor to drive the lidar rotor. The DC motor has the characteristics of simple structure and low cost, so the cost and complexity of the lidar can be reduced.

[0031] 5) By arranging the angle measurement component such as the code disk on the outermost side close to the lidar housing, the accuracy of the measured angle can be improved, thereby improving the measurement accuracy of the lidar.

[0032] 6) The drive motor uses a magnet as the rotor and the armature as the stator. The magnet does not need to be powered, while the armature is electrically connected to the transmitting circuit board and is powered by the lower chamber board, reducing the power supply pressure of the wireless power supply component.

[0033] Another object of the present application is to provide a lidar and its detection device. The extending directions of the transmitting support body and the receiving support body in the lidar are parallel to each other, that is, they are arranged basically symmetrically relative to each other, and the positions of the components on the optical path are relatively fixed. The structure is simple, so the alignment and adjustment of the optical path can be reduced or avoided.

[0034] To solve the above technical problems, one aspect of the present application discloses a detection device of a lidar, including a lens barrel, a beam emitting device, a transmitting lens assembly, a receiving lens assembly, and a photoelectric processing device;

[0035] The lens barrel includes a transmitting support body and a receiving support body, and the extending directions of the transmitting support body and the receiving support body are parallel to each other;

[0036] The transmitting lens assembly is located inside the transmitting support body and on the optical path of the detection beam emitted by the beam emitting device; the receiving lens assembly is located inside the receiving support body and on the optical path of the echo beam received by the photoelectric processing device.

[0037] It can be understood that the transmitting support body and the receiving support body can be integrated, that is, two support bodies obtained by separating a lens barrel by a light shielding plate, or two independent support bodies, and the side walls of the support bodies are made of light shielding materials.

[0038] By arranging the transmitting and receiving lens assemblies in the lens barrel with parallel extending directions, the outgoing direction of the detection beam and the incident direction of the echo beam can be made approximately parallel, without the need to turn the beam, and the structural settings of the optical devices are relatively simple, reducing or avoiding the alignment and adjustment of the optical path.

[0039] In another aspect of the present application, the beam emitting device includes an emission circuit board, which is located outside the emission support and is disposed at the rear end of the emission support, where the rear end of the emission support is the other end opposite to the end from which the emission support emits the detection beam; the optoelectronic processing device includes a reception circuit board, which is located outside the reception support and is disposed at the rear end of the reception support, where the rear end of the reception support is the other end opposite to the end that receives the echo beam of the reception support. An emission magnetic shielding member is disposed at the rear end of the emission circuit board for shielding the electromagnetic signals emitted by the emission circuit board; a reception magnetic shielding member is disposed at the rear end of the reception circuit board for shielding the electromagnetic signals emitted by the reception circuit board. The emission magnetic shielding member and the reception magnetic shielding member can be two separate components or integrated, without limitation here, and they can block the electromagnetic crosstalk between the emission circuit board and the reception circuit board and reduce the noise of the circuit.

[0040] In another aspect of the present application, the front end face of the emission support has an emission hole, and the detection beam is adapted to be emitted from the emission support through the emission hole; the front end face of the reception support has a reception hole, and the echo beam is adapted to be incident on the reception support through the reception hole; and the lens barrel further includes an emission light shield and a reception light shield. The emission light shield is located outside the front end face of the emission support and is perpendicular to the front end face of the emission support, and the reception light shield is located outside the front end face of the reception support and is perpendicular to the front end face of the reception support. The emission light shield and the reception light shield can respectively isolate the detection beam emitted from the emission hole and the echo beam received by the reception hole, and try to avoid the interference between the detection beam emitted from the emission hole and the echo beam received by the reception hole, reducing the noise points in the point cloud map.

[0041] Another aspect of the present application discloses a lidar, which includes a detection device, a main shaft, an upper housing plate, a top cover, and a base;

[0042] The upper housing plate is fixedly arranged relative to the detection device and is located below the support platform of the detection device, and the upper housing plate is relatively closer to the base and farther from the top cover in the axial direction of the detection device;

[0043] The main shaft is perpendicular to the base and is located between the upper housing plate and the base;

[0044] The detection device can rotate 360° around the main shaft to achieve scanning in the horizontal direction.

[0045] The lidar adopts a non-through main shaft structure. By stacking components such as the upper and lower deck plates, the transmitting and receiving circuit boards, and the main shaft in a compressed manner at a position slightly below the lidar, a flattened platform is formed, reducing the space occupied by the main shaft passing through the entire lidar from top to bottom. Therefore, the detection devices disclosed in various aspects of this application can be installed on the flattened platform for convenient use. This design is beneficial for the independent maintenance and independent upgrade of the detection devices and the components in the flattened platform. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] The accompanying drawings, which form a part of this disclosure, are used to provide a further understanding of this disclosure. The schematic embodiments and descriptions thereof of this disclosure are used to explain this disclosure and do not constitute an improper limitation to this disclosure. In the drawings:

[0047] Figure 1 According to some embodiments of this application, a schematic cross-sectional view of the lidar is shown;

[0048] Figure 2 According to some embodiments of this application, a schematic structural view of the flattened platform of the lidar is shown;

[0049] Figure 3 According to some embodiments of this application, a schematic cross-sectional view of the flattened platform of the lidar is shown; Figure 3A According to some embodiments of this application, a schematic view of the code disk is shown; Figure 3B A schematic view of the uplink communication and downlink communication is shown;

[0050] Figure 4 According to some embodiments of this application, a schematic structural view of the rotating bracket is shown;

[0051] Figure 5 According to some embodiments of this application, a schematic structural view of the main shaft is shown.

[0052] Figure 6 According to some embodiments of this application, a schematic structural view of the detection device of the lidar is shown;

[0053] Figure 7 According to some embodiments of this application, an exploded view of the detection device is shown;

[0054] Figure 7A According to some embodiments of this application, a cross-sectional view of the transmitting support is shown;

[0055] Figure 7B According to some embodiments of this application, a cross-sectional view of the receiving support is shown;

[0056] Figure 8 According to some embodiments of this application, a schematic view of the beam emitting device and the optoelectronic processing device is shown.

[0057] Figure 9 According to some embodiments of the present application, a schematic cross-sectional view of a lidar flattening platform is shown;

[0058] Figure 10 According to some embodiments of the present application, a schematic cross-sectional view of a lidar is shown;

[0059] Figure 11 According to some embodiments of the present application, a schematic structural view of a communication component in a main shaft is shown;

[0060] Figure 12 An exploded view of a detection device of a lidar according to the third aspect of the present application is shown;

[0061] Figure 12A An exploded schematic view of a transmitting lens assembly, a receiving lens assembly, a beam transmitting device, and a beam receiving device is shown;

[0062] Figure 13 A schematic view of a transmitting lens assembly and a receiving lens assembly is schematically shown;

[0063] Figure 14A A schematic view of the transmitting lens assembly disposed in a groove inside a transmitting support is shown;

[0064] Figure 14B A schematic view of the receiving lens assembly disposed in a groove of a receiving support is shown;

[0065] Figure 15 A schematic optical path diagram of a lidar for detection is shown;

[0066] Figure 16 The optical path change of the beam emitted from the emission light source of one group after passing through the transmitting lens assembly in the emission optical path is shown;

[0067] Figure 17 The field of view formed by four groups of emission light sources is schematically shown;

[0068] Figure 18 The scan line distribution of the field of view formed by four groups of emission light sources is shown;

[0069] Figure 19 A detection device of a lidar according to an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0070] Figure 20 It is a schematic diagram of the principle of a drive circuit for a signal transmitter used in a lidar in the prior art;

[0071] Figure 21 It is a schematic structural view of a transmission circuit of a lidar provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] Figure 22 Another structural schematic diagram of the transmitting circuit of the lidar provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0073] Figure 23 Yet another structural schematic diagram of the transmitting circuit of the lidar provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0074] Figure 24 A structural schematic diagram of the lidar provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0075] Figure 25 A flowchart of the ranging method based on lidar provided by the embodiment of the present application.

[0076] Figure 26 A schematic diagram of the principle structure of a signal receiver for lidar in the prior art;

[0077] Figure 27 A structural schematic diagram of the receiving circuit of the lidar provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0078] Figure 28 Another structural schematic diagram of the receiving circuit of the lidar provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0079] Figure 29 A flowchart of the ranging method based on lidar provided by the embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0080] In the following, only some exemplary embodiments are briefly described. As those skilled in the art will recognize, the described embodiments can be modified in various different ways without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the drawings and the description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.

[0081] In the description of the present disclosure, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. It is only for the convenience of describing the present disclosure and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, it should not be construed as a limitation to the present disclosure. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the described features. In the description of the present disclosure, "a plurality" means two or more unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0082] In the description of the present disclosure, it should be noted that unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "mounted", "connected", "coupled" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection: it can be a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or a connection capable of mutual communication; it can be directly connected, or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the internal communication of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present disclosure can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0083] In the present disclosure, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the first feature being "on" or "under" the second feature may include the direct contact between the first and second features, or may include the situation where the first and second features are not in direct contact but in contact through additional features therebetween. Moreover, the first feature being "above", "over" and "on top of" the second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or merely indicates that the first feature has a higher horizontal height than the second feature. The first feature being "below", "beneath" and "underneath" the second feature includes that the first feature is directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or merely indicates that the first feature has a lower horizontal height than the second feature.

[0084] The following disclosure provides many different embodiments or examples for implementing different structures of the present disclosure. To simplify the disclosure of the present disclosure, the components and settings of specific examples are described below. Of course, they are only examples and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. In addition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and / or reference letters in different examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplification and clarity and does not itself indicate the relationship between the various embodiments and / or settings discussed. In addition, the present disclosure provides examples of various specific processes and materials, but those of ordinary skill in the art can be aware of the application of other processes and / or the use of other materials.

[0085] The preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the preferred embodiments described herein are only used to illustrate and explain the present disclosure and are not used to limit the present disclosure.

[0086] Exemplary embodiments of the present application include, but are not limited to, a lidar.

[0087] The present application will use the terms commonly adopted by those skilled in the art to describe various aspects of the exemplary embodiments to convey the essence of their work to other technicians in the field. However, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that some alternative embodiments can be practiced using parts of the described aspects. For the purpose of explanation, specific numbers, materials, and configurations are elaborated to provide a thorough understanding of the exemplary embodiments. However, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that alternative embodiments can be implemented without specific details. In other cases, some well-known features are omitted or simplified to avoid confusing the exemplary embodiments.

[0088] To make the purpose, technical solutions, and advantages of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0089] The first aspect

[0090] According to some embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, a lidar is disclosed. Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of the lidar, Figure 2 and Figure 3 respectively show a schematic structural diagram and a schematic cross-sectional diagram of the flattened platform of the lidar. As Figure 1 shown, the main axis 2 of the lidar is located in the lower half of the entire lidar and does not axially penetrate the entire lidar, thereby reducing the space occupied by the main axis penetrating the entire lidar from top to bottom, facilitating and simplifying the setting of the structure of the ranging component and the like above the main axis.

[0091] Specifically, referring to Figure 1 、 Figure 2 andFigure 3 The laser radar may include a base 1, a main shaft 2, a housing 16, a radar rotor (detection device) 17, a rotating bracket 3, a top cover 15, an upper plate 7, a lower plate 8, a bearing 6, a wireless power supply component, a DC motor, a communication component (not shown), a code disk 13, and a cable interface 14. The main shaft 2 is located in the space formed by the upper plate 7 and the base 1 and is perpendicular to the base 1. Figure 4 and Figure 5 It can be seen from the specific structures of the rotating bracket 3 and the main shaft 2 shown respectively that after the main shaft 2 penetrates the lower warehouse plate 8, the lower end 2B is fixed on the main shaft seat 1A, so the stability of the laser radar can be improved. In addition, the upper end 2A of the main shaft 2 can be sleeved on the hollow first part 3A of the rotating bracket 3. In addition, it can be understood that in other embodiments of the present invention, the main shaft 1 may not be set to pass through the lower warehouse plate 8, but is located on the lower warehouse plate 8, that is, the lower warehouse plate 8 is set below the lower end of the main shaft seat 1A.

[0092] like Figure 4 As shown, the first part 3A of the rotating bracket 3 is perpendicular to the second part 3B of the disk surface structure, and the first part 3A is sleeved on the main shaft 2. The second part 3B is coupled to the radar rotor 17, and, in an exemplary embodiment, the second part 3B includes three rotating sub-brackets 3c, the first end of each rotating sub-bracket 3c is coupled to the first part 3A, and the second end of each rotating sub-bracket 3c is coupled to the edge of the disk surface of the second part 3B. A supporting flange 3d is also provided at the coupling point between the second end of each rotating sub-bracket 3c and the edge of the disk surface, and the protruding direction of the supporting flange 3d is away from the base 1. The radar rotor 17 can be coupled to the rotating bracket 3 through the through hole on the supporting flange 3d, thereby improving the stability of the rotation of the radar rotor 17 part above the main shaft 2 and reducing the impact of the rotation on the service life of the whole machine and the radar imaging quality. It can be understood that the number of rotating sub-brackets can be more than three, and can also be any number greater than three, and the number of supporting flanges can also be any number greater than three. In addition, the rotating bracket may also adopt other structures suitable for being sleeved on the main shaft and supporting the radar rotor, which is not limited here.

[0093] The upper storage board 7 is arranged at a part closer to the base on the axial direction of the lidar, and is located above the disk surface of the rotating bracket 3. The upper storage board 7 is fixedly arranged relative to the radar rotor 17, that is, the upper storage board 7 can rotate with the rotating bracket 3, and is mainly used for processing various signals output from and transmitted to each device on the radar rotor 17. It can be understood that the upper storage board 7 can also have other functions and can also have other names, which are not limited thereto. The lower storage board 8 is mainly used for processing various signals received from and to be sent to each device on the radar rotor 17. It can be understood that the lower storage board 8 can also have other functions or other names, which are not limited thereto. It should be noted that since the specific internal structure of the radar rotor 17 has nothing to do with the implementation of the solution to be embodied in this embodiment, as long as the radar rotor 17 can rotate and can complete distance detection, the internal structure of the radar rotor 17 is not shown.

[0094] In a specific implementation, the communication component may include a first communication module and a second communication module. The first communication module is fixedly arranged relative to the radar rotor 17 and is electrically connected to the upper storage board 7, and the second communication module is fixedly arranged relative to the main shaft 2 and is electrically connected to the lower storage board 8.

[0095] In an embodiment of the present invention, the wireless power supply component may be located between the upper storage board 7 and the lower storage board 8, and specifically may include a wireless transmitting coil 12, a wireless receiving coil 11, a transmitting circuit board 10, and a receiving circuit board 9. The wireless transmitting coil 12, the wireless receiving coil 11, the transmitting circuit board 10, and the receiving circuit board 9 are all arranged around the main shaft 2. The wireless transmitting coil 12 and the transmitting circuit board 10 are fixedly arranged relative to the main shaft 2, the wireless receiving coil 11 and the receiving circuit board 9 are fixedly arranged relative to the radar rotor 17, and the wireless transmitting coil 12 and the wireless receiving coil 11 move relative to each other and are used to supply power to the drive motor and each device on the radar rotor 17, such as a ranging component arranged in the radar rotor 17 and fixedly arranged relative to the radar rotor 17.

[0096] The drive motor is arranged around the main shaft 2 and drives the radar rotor 17 sleeved on the rotating bracket 3 to rotate relative to the main shaft 2 or the base 1 by driving the rotating bracket 3 to rotate. Here, the drive motor can be a DC motor, and the DC motor includes a magnet 5 and an armature 4. The magnet 5 and the armature 4 both arranged around the main shaft 2 can be interchanged in their functional roles as stator and rotor. For example, the magnet 5 can be set as the rotor and the armature 4 as the stator. The magnet 5 is sleeved outside the armature 4 and is farther from the main shaft 2. Since the magnet 5 does not need to be powered, the lower storage plate 8 is electrically connected to the armature 4 to supply power to the armature 4 in a wired connection form, so the power supply pressure of the wireless power supply component can be reduced. It can be understood that in other embodiments of the present invention, the magnet 5 and the armature 4 of the DC motor can also be set with other functional roles. For example, the magnet 5 is used as the motor stator and is coupled to the transmitting circuit board 10, and the armature 4 is used as the motor rotor and can be powered by the wireless power supply component. In addition, the drive motor in the present application can also be other types of drive motors, not limited to DC motors. Existing lidars mostly use disc motors, and the structure of disc motors is complex. However, the lidar in the present application uses a DC motor, and the DC motor has the characteristics of simple structure and low cost, so the complexity of the lidar can be reduced.

[0097] In a specific implementation, a code disk 13 can be used as the angle measurement component. The code disk 13 is arranged around the main shaft 2 and is farther from the main shaft 2 than the wireless power supply component, that is, the code disk 13 is arranged at the farthest position from the main shaft 2 in the circumferential direction, close to the circumferential wall of the outer shell of the base 1. By arranging the code disk 13 on the outermost side, or close to the outer shell 16, the accuracy of the angle measured by the code disk can be improved.

[0098] Figure 3A The code disk 13 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. As Figure 3A shown, the code disk 13 is generally in a ring shape and can be arranged around the main shaft 2. The code disk 13 has, for example, a plurality of gaps or coding marks regularly distributed for use by optoelectronic elements for measurement. The code disk 13 can rotate synchronously with the upper storage plate 7 and the radar rotor 17, for example. During its rotation, optoelectronic components (not shown) can identify or determine the rotation angle of the radar rotor 17 through the gaps or coding marks on the code disk 13, and perform angle orientation on the radar rotor 17, so as to determine the scanning angle of the lidar in the horizontal direction.

[0099] In addition, the cable interface 14 is used to connect the lidar to other electronic devices, such as other lidars or electronic devices, so that the signals inside the current lidar can be transmitted to the outside of the current lidar. The cable interface 14 can be waterproof and can prevent the influence of water ingress into the lidar on signal transmission, thereby improving the waterproof ability of the radar. The working process of the above lidar is as follows:

[0100] The second communication module sends the ranging command information sent by the lower bin plate 8 to the first communication module. For example, it is sent in the form of an optical signal, that is, the so-called uplink optical signal transmission or uplink communication. The first communication module sends the ranging command information to the ranging component arranged inside the radar rotor 17 through the upper bin plate 7. After receiving the ranging command information, the ranging component starts the ranging task;

[0101] The ranging result information generated by the ranging component during the ranging task is processed by the upper bin plate 7 and then sent to the second communication module through the first communication module. For example, it is sent in the form of an optical signal, that is, the so-called downlink optical signal transmission or downlink communication. After receiving the ranging result information through the second communication module control component, relevant analysis and processing are carried out on it.

[0102] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in order to avoid crosstalk between uplink and downlink communications, different wavelengths are used for uplink and downlink communications. Compared with uplink communication, the downlink communication has a larger amount of transmitted data and a faster speed. According to an example, a laser around 904 nm can be used as the optical communication transmitting unit for downlink communication, and an LED red light is used as the optical communication transmitting unit for uplink communication. Figure 3B The schematic diagrams of uplink and downlink communications are shown, where the arrow pointing down represents downlink communication; the arrow pointing up represents uplink communication. As Figure 3B shown, for downlink communication, a first optical communication transmitting unit L1, such as a laser around 904 nm in wavelength, is arranged on the upper bin plate 7, and a first optical communication receiving unit R1 is arranged on the lower bin plate 8, and the wavelength of the optical signal that it can receive or process corresponds to that of the first optical communication transmitting unit L1; for uplink communication, a second optical communication transmitting unit L2, such as a red light LED, is arranged on the lower bin plate 8, and a second optical communication receiving unit R2 is arranged on the upper bin plate 7, and the wavelength of the optical signal that it can receive or process corresponds to that of the second optical communication transmitting unit L2. Therefore, the first communication module includes the first optical communication transmitting unit L1 and the second optical communication receiving unit R2, and the second communication module includes the second optical communication transmitting unit L2 and the first optical communication receiving unit R1. Additionally, as Figure 3B shown, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, both the first communication module and the second communication module are arranged inside the main shaft 2 to save space.

[0103] Since the divergence angle of the light emitted by the optical communication transmitting unit of the uplink and downlink communication module is relatively large, basically one-to-one transceiver is sufficient. That is, the first communication module and the second communication module can each include an optical communication transmitting unit and an optical communication receiving unit. Therefore, the structure of the communication component is relatively simple. Different wavelengths are used for the uplink and downlink communications, which can also reduce interference and improve the communication efficiency. Additionally, in terms of position, the modules for the uplink and downlink communications are both arranged at the axial center position. Specifically, whether on the upper storage plate or the lower storage plate, the first communication module and the second communication module are both arranged at a position relatively close to the center of the circumferential section of the main shaft 2. The communication device itself is not large in volume and can be placed at the center position of the circumferential section, so the space can be effectively utilized.

[0104] In addition, during the operation of the above lidar, the wireless transmitting coil 12 and the wireless receiving coil 11 rotate relative to each other, and the wireless power supply component can supply power to the ranging component arranged within the lidar rotor 17 so that the ranging component performs the ranging task. At the same time, for the code disk 13 for measuring the angle, during the operation of the lidar, the rotation angle of the lidar (i.e., the horizontal scanning angle of the lidar) is measured.

[0105] The following embodiments summarize further technical solutions of the present application:

[0106] Embodiment 1: A lidar, comprising a main shaft, a lidar rotor, an upper storage plate, a top cover, and a base;

[0107] The upper storage plate is fixedly arranged relative to the lidar rotor, and the upper storage plate is relatively closer to the base and farther from the top cover in the axial direction of the lidar;

[0108] The main shaft is arranged perpendicular to the base and is located between the upper storage plate and the base.

[0109] Embodiment 2: The lidar according to Embodiment 1, further comprising a rotating bracket and a driving motor;

[0110] The rotating bracket includes a first part and a second part. The first part is of a hollow structure and is adapted to be sleeved on the main shaft. The second part is a disk surface structure perpendicular to the first part and is adapted to be coupled to the lidar rotor. The second part includes at least three rotating sub-brackets. The first end of each rotating sub-bracket is coupled to the first part, and the second end of each rotating sub-bracket is coupled to the edge of the disk surface of the second part. The driving motor is adapted to drive the lidar rotor to rotate through the rotating bracket.

[0111] Embodiment 3: For the lidar according to Embodiment 2, at the coupling position between the second end of each of the rotating sub-brackets and the edge of the disk surface, a support flange is further provided, the protruding direction of the support flange deviates from the base, and the radar rotor is adapted to be coupled to the rotating bracket through the support flange.

[0112] Embodiment 4: For the lidar according to Embodiment 1 or 2, it further includes a lower storage plate, and the lower storage plate is located between the upper storage plate and the base and is arranged around the main shaft.

[0113] Embodiment 5: For the lidar according to Embodiment 4, it further includes a wireless power supply component located between the upper storage plate and the lower storage plate, and the wireless power supply component includes a wireless transmitting coil, a wireless receiving coil, a transmitting circuit board, and a receiving circuit board;

[0114] The wireless transmitting coil, the wireless receiving coil, the transmitting circuit board, and the receiving circuit board are all arranged around the main shaft;

[0115] The wireless transmitting coil and the transmitting circuit board are fixedly arranged relative to the main shaft, and the wireless receiving coil and the receiving circuit board are fixedly arranged relative to the radar rotor;

[0116] The wireless transmitting coil is electrically connected to the transmitting circuit board, and the wireless receiving coil is electrically connected to the receiving circuit board.

[0117] Embodiment 6: For the lidar according to any one of Embodiments 2 to 5, it further includes a driving motor, and the driving motor includes a magnet and an armature. Both the magnet and the armature are arranged around the main shaft, and the magnet is farther from the main shaft relative to the armature. The magnet is coupled to the transmitting circuit board.

[0118] Embodiment 7: For the lidar according to any one of Embodiments 2 to 5, the lidar further includes a driving motor, and the driving motor includes a magnet and an armature. Both the magnet and the armature are arranged around the main shaft, and the magnet is farther from the main shaft relative to the armature. The transmitting circuit board is electrically connected to the armature to supply power to the armature.

[0119] Embodiment 8: For the lidar according to any one of Embodiments 2 to 7, the driving motor is a DC motor.

[0120] Embodiment 9: For the lidar according to any one of Embodiments 5 to 8, it further includes an angle measurement component. The angle measurement component is arranged around the main shaft and is farther from the main shaft relative to the distance between the wireless power supply component and the main shaft.

[0121] Embodiment 10: The lidar according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 9 further includes a cable interface for connecting the lidar to an external device outside the lidar.

[0122] The second aspect

[0123] Illustrative embodiments of the second aspect of the present application include, but are not limited to, a detection device of a lidar and the lidar.

[0124] According to some embodiments of the present application, a lidar is disclosed. The sectional structure of the lidar is as Figure 1 shown, Figure 6 and Figure 7 show a schematic structural view and an exploded view of the detection device of the lidar, Figure 2 show a schematic structural view of the flattened platform of the lidar, Figure 9 show a sectional schematic view of the flattened platform of the lidar. As Figure 1 shown, the main shaft 2 of the lidar is located in the lower half of the entire lidar and does not axially penetrate the entire lidar, thereby reducing the space occupied by the main shaft penetrating the entire lidar from top to bottom, facilitating and simplifying the setting of the structure of the detection device above the main shaft.

[0125] Specifically, referring to Figure 1 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 , Figure 2 , Figure 9 and Figure 10 , the lidar may include a base 1, a main shaft 2, a rotating bracket 3, a support platform 18, a detection device (radar rotor) 17, a top cover 15, a housing 16, an upper bin plate 7, a lower bin plate 8, a bearing 6, a wireless power supply assembly (11 and 12), a DC motor, a communication component 19, a code disk 13, and a cable interface 14.

[0126] The main shaft 2 penetrates between the upper bin plate 7 and the base 1 and is perpendicular to the base 1. The main shaft 2 is a hollow structure, and the communication component 19 is arranged in the main shaft 2. The detection device 17 is located in the space formed by the upper bin plate 7, the top cover 15, and the housing 16. Driven by the DC motor, in one embodiment of the present invention, the upper bin plate 7, the detection device 17, and the housing 16 can rotate together around the main shaft 2 by 360 degrees to achieve scanning of the lidar in the horizontal direction.

[0127] In another embodiment of the present invention, driven by the DC motor, the upper bin plate 7 and the detection device 17 can also rotate inside the housing 16 to achieve scanning of the lidar in the horizontal direction. It can be understood that in the present application, the horizontal direction refers to the direction perpendicular to the main shaft 2.

[0128] As shown in Figure 6 and Figure 7 shown, the detection device 17 includes: a support platform 18 located above the upper bin plate 7, and a lens barrel, a beam emitting device 703, an emission lens assembly, a receiving lens assembly, an optoelectronic processing device 704, a light shielding plate 711, an emission magnetic shielding member 705, and a receiving magnetic shielding member 706 that are located above the support platform 18 and fixedly arranged relative to the support platform 18. The lens barrel includes an emission support body 701 and a receiving support body 702 separated by the light shielding plate 711, wherein the extending directions of the emission support body 701 and the receiving support body 702 are parallel to each other, and the emission support body 701 and the receiving support body 702 are symmetrically arranged relative to the light shielding plate 711.

[0129] In a specific implementation, the emission support body 701 and the receiving support body 702 can also be an integral structure, as long as they can be used to install and fix the emission lens assembly and the receiving lens assembly. It can be understood that the top cover 15 and the outer shell 16 can be separately arranged or integrally arranged, and in order to facilitate the emission of the emission beam and the reception of the echo beam, at least a part of the above-mentioned outer shell 16 is transparent.

[0130] In a specific implementation, referring to Figure 7 and Figure 7B , on the end face of the front end of the emission support body 701, there are an emission hole 707 and an emission light shielding plate 709. A stepped structure 713 is provided on the top of the emission support body 701, and this stepped structure 713 can be used to reduce the weight of the emission support body 701. And, there is a groove 712 on the inner wall of the emission support body 701, and the groove 712 is used to install the emission lens assembly. Specifically, the emission lens assembly can include optical devices such as a collimator and a converging lens. With reference to Figure 8 , a beam emitting device 703 is provided outside the rear end of the emission support body 701. The beam emitting device 703 includes an emission circuit board 703A and m×n emission light sources 703B. The m×n emission light sources 703B are arranged on the emission circuit board 703A in a staggered manner in the vertical direction. As shown in Figure 8 , for example, 4×16 emission light sources 703B, and every 16 emission light sources 703B are arranged in a column in the vertical direction. At least one of m and n is a natural number greater than 1. When in use, the detection beam emitted by the multiple emission light sources 703B passes through the emission lens group and then exits through the emission hole 707 into the space to be measured. Among them, the emission light shielding plate 709 is perpendicular to the front end face of the emission support body 701, and is located on the same side of the light shielding plate 711 as the emission hole 707. It can block the detection beam from exiting through the emission hole 707, being reflected by the outer shell 16, and entering the receiving hole 708, avoiding interfering with the echo beam received by the receiving hole 708 and reducing the noise points in the scanned point cloud map.

[0131] Similarly, referring toFigure 7 and Figure 7A It can be seen that a receiving hole 708 and a receiving light-shielding plate 710 are provided on the front end face of the receiving support 702. A stepped structure 714 is provided on the top of the receiving support 702, and the stepped structure 714 can be used to reduce the weight of the receiving support 702. In addition, a groove 712* is provided on the inner wall of the receiving support 702, and the receiving lens assembly is installed in the groove 712*. Specifically, the receiving lens assembly may include optical devices such as a converging lens. An optoelectronic processing device 704 is provided outside the rear end of the receiving support 702. The optoelectronic processing device 704 includes a receiving circuit board 704A and a plurality of optoelectronic sensing elements 704B. i×j optoelectronic sensing elements 704B are provided on the receiving circuit board 704A, and at least one of i and j is a natural number greater than 1. For example, Figure 8 the receiving circuit board shown has m×n optoelectronic sensing elements 704B corresponding to m×n transmitting light sources 703B, that is, at this time i = m and j = n. In addition, it can be understood that in other embodiments, the relationship between the optoelectronic sensing elements 704B and the light-emitting light sources 703B may not be one-to-one. For example, it may be a one-to-many relationship or a many-to-one relationship.

[0132] In use, the echo beam is incident on the receiving support 702 through the receiving hole 708, and after being converged by the receiving lens assembly, it is incident on the optoelectronic sensing elements 704B on the receiving circuit board 704A. Among them, the receiving light-shielding plate 710 is located on the front end face of the receiving support 702 and is perpendicular to the end face. The receiving light-shielding plate 710 and the receiving hole 708 are both located on one side of the light-shielding plate 711, and can block the detection beam emitted from the emission hole 707 from entering the receiving hole 708 after being reflected by the housing 16, avoiding interference with the echo beam received by the receiving hole 708 and reducing the noise points in the scanned point cloud map.

[0133] It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the positions of the respective optical devices in the receiving lens assembly and the transmitting lens assembly are fixed inside the receiving support 702 and the transmitting support 701, and the positions of the receiving circuit board 704A and the transmitting circuit board 703A can be accurately determined (that is, located at the rear ends of the receiving support 702 and the transmitting support 701), so as to reduce the assembly and adjustment of the whole machine to a certain extent.

[0134] It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the optoelectronic sensing elements 704B and the emission light sources 703B can be arranged in one-to-one correspondence, or the numbers can be different, which is not limited herein. In addition, in order to facilitate the alignment of the optoelectronic sensing elements 704B and the emission light sources 703B, one of the optoelectronic sensing elements 704B and the emission light sources 703B can be fixedly arranged, and the other can be arranged to be adjustable. In addition, when the multiple emission light sources 703B are working, they can emit light beams in sequence or simultaneously.

[0135] As described above, the positions of the emission circuit board 703A and the receiving circuit board 704A can be accurately determined at the rear ends of the emission support 701 and the receiving support 702 respectively, so that the assembly and adjustment of the whole machine can be reduced.

[0136] The emission magnetic shielding member 705 is arranged on one side surface of the emission circuit board 703A, and this side surface is opposite to the rear end of the emission support 701. The emission magnetic shielding member 705 is used to shield the electromagnetic signals generated by the emission circuit board 703A; the receiving magnetic shielding member 706 is arranged on one side surface of the receiving circuit board 704A, and this side surface is opposite to the rear end of the receiving support 702, and is used to shield the electromagnetic signals generated by the receiving circuit board 704A.

[0137] The following combines Figure 2 、 Figure 4 、 Figure 5 、 Figure 9 to illustrate the flat platform of the present application. As shown in the figure, after the main shaft 2 penetrates the lower bin plate 8, the lower end portion 2B is fixed on the main shaft seat 1A, so the stability of the lidar can be improved. In addition, the upper end portion 2A of the main shaft 2 can be sleeved in the hollow first part 3A of the rotating bracket 3. In addition, it can be understood that in other embodiments of the present invention, the main shaft 2 may not pass through the lower bin plate 8, but be located above the lower bin plate 8, that is, the lower bin plate 8 is arranged at the lower end of the main shaft seat 1A.

[0138] Such as Figure 4As shown, the first part 3A of the rotating bracket is perpendicular to the second part 3B of the disc surface structure, and the first part 3A is sleeved on the main shaft 2. The second part 3B is coupled to the housing 16, and in an exemplary embodiment, the second part 3B includes three rotating sub-brackets 3c, the first end of each rotating sub-bracket 3c is coupled to the first part 3A, and the second end of each rotating sub-bracket 3c is coupled to the edge of the disc surface of the second part 3B. A supporting flange 3d is also provided at the coupling point between the second end of each rotating sub-bracket 3c and the edge of the disc surface, and the protruding direction of the supporting flange 3d is away from the base 1. The upper warehouse plate 7 can be coupled to the rotating bracket 3 through the through hole on the supporting flange 3d, thereby improving the stability of the rotation of the detection device 17 part and reducing the impact of the rotation on the service life of the whole machine and the quality of radar imaging. It can be understood that the number of rotating sub-brackets can be more than three, and can also be any number greater than three, and the number of supporting flanges can also be any number greater than three. In addition, the rotating bracket can also adopt other structures suitable for being sleeved on the main shaft and receiving the upper warehouse plate 7, which are not limited here.

[0139] The upper storage plate 7 is arranged at the part closer to the base in the axial direction of the laser radar, and is located above the disc surface of the rotating bracket 3, and the upper storage plate 7 is fixed relative to the rotating bracket 3, that is, the upper storage plate 7 can rotate with the rotating bracket 3, and is mainly used to process various signals output from various components on the detection device 17 and transmitted to various components on the detection device 17. It can be understood that the upper storage plate 7 can also have other functions and other names, and is not limited to this. The lower storage plate 8 is mainly used to process various signals received from various components on the detection device 17 and to be sent to various components on the detection device 17. It can be understood that the lower storage plate 8 can also have other functions or have other names, and is not limited to this.

[0140] In the specific implementation, Figure 11As shown, the communication component 19 may include a light-emitting element 19A and a photoelectric sensing element 19D that constitute the first communication module, as well as a light-emitting element 19C and a photoelectric sensing element 19B that constitute the second communication module. The light-emitting element 19A and the photoelectric sensing element 19D of the first communication module are fixedly arranged relative to the rotating bracket 3 and are electrically connected to the upper bin plate 7. The light-emitting element 19C and the photoelectric sensing element 19B of the second communication module are fixedly arranged relative to the main shaft 2 and are electrically connected to the lower bin plate 8. The wavelength of the light beam emitted by the light-emitting element 19A is different from the wavelength of the light beam emitted by the light-emitting element 19C. Specifically, the light-emitting element 19C emits a light beam with a wavelength of λ1. The light-emitting element 19C and the photoelectric sensing element 19D can use the light beam with a wavelength of λ1 for upstream communication, that is, transmit some command information of the lower bin plate 8 to the upper bin plate 7. The light-emitting element 19A emits a light beam with a wavelength of λ2. The light-emitting element 19A and the photoelectric sensing element 19B can use the light beam with a wavelength of λ2 for downstream communication, that is, transmit some information detected by the detection device 17 through the upper bin plate 7 to the lower bin plate 8. Since the lidar sets the main shaft 2 below the detection device and there are many components in the flattened platform, setting the communication component 19 in the hollow main shaft 2 can effectively save space in the flattened platform and facilitate the placement of other components in the platform.

[0141] It can be understood that in practical applications, a communication component with a different number of light-emitting elements and photoelectric sensing elements from those in Figure 11 can be set, which is not limited herein. For example, considering that the amount of downstream data transmission is larger than that of upstream data transmission, the number of light-emitting elements can be set in the second communication module to be more than the number of light-emitting elements set on the first communication module. It can be understood that the light-emitting element can be any device capable of emitting light, including but not limited to laser diodes, light-emitting diodes, organic light-emitting diodes, laser emitters, etc. The photoelectric sensing element refers to any sensor capable of performing photoelectric information conversion, including but not limited to phototubes, photomultiplier tubes, photoresistors, photodiodes, phototransistors, photovoltaic cells, avalanche diodes, etc.

[0142] In an embodiment of the present invention, the wireless power supply component may be located between the upper bin plate 7 and the lower bin plate 8. Specifically, it may include a wireless transmitting coil 12, a wireless receiving coil 11, a transmitting circuit board 10, and a receiving circuit board 9. The wireless transmitting coil 12, the wireless receiving coil 11, the transmitting circuit board 10, and the receiving circuit board 9 are all arranged around the main shaft 2. The wireless transmitting coil 12 and the transmitting circuit board 10 are fixedly arranged relative to the main shaft 2. The wireless receiving coil 11 and the receiving circuit board 9 are fixedly arranged relative to the rotating bracket 3. The wireless transmitting coil 12 and the wireless receiving coil 11 move relative to each other and are used to supply power to the drive motor and the detection device 17.

[0143] The drive motor is arranged around the main shaft 2, and drives the outer shell 16, the detection device 17, and the upper bin plate 7 sleeved on the rotary bracket 3 to rotate relative to the main shaft 2 or the base 1 by driving the rotary bracket 3 to rotate. Here, the drive motor can be a DC motor, and the DC motor includes a magnet 5 and an armature 4, both of which are arranged around the main shaft 2. Refer to Figure 9 , the magnet 5 is arranged around the main shaft 2 and fixedly connected to the rotary bracket 3. The armature 4 is also arranged around the main shaft 2. The armature 4 is formed by winding coils around silicon steel sheets, so the cross-section of the armature 4 is similar to a cross shape. There is a certain gap between the armature 4 and the magnet 5. In addition, the armature fixing ring 41 is arranged around the main shaft 2 and is respectively connected to the armature 4 and the wireless power transmission board 10 to fix the armature 4 to the wireless power transmission board 10. The magnet 5 and the armature 4 can be interchanged in their functional roles as the stator and rotor. For example, the magnet 5 can be set as the rotor and the armature 4 as the stator. The magnet 5 is sleeved outside the armature 4 and is farther away from the main shaft 2. Since the magnet 5 does not need to be powered, the lower bin plate 8 is electrically connected to the armature 4 to supply power to the armature 4 in a wired connection form, so the power supply pressure of the wireless power supply component can be reduced. It can be understood that in other embodiments of the present invention, the magnet 5 and the armature 4 of the DC motor can also be set with other functional roles. For example, the magnet 5 is used as the motor stator and is coupled to the transmitting circuit board 10, and the armature 4 is used as the motor rotor and can be powered by the wireless power supply component. In addition, the drive motor in the present application can also be other types of drive motors, not limited to DC motors. Existing lidars mostly use disc motors, and the structure of disc motors is complex. The lidar in the present application uses a DC motor, and the DC motor has the characteristics of simple structure and low cost, so the complexity of the lidar can be reduced.

[0144] In a specific implementation, a code disk 13 can be used as the angle measurement component. The code disk 13 is arranged around the main shaft 2 and is farther away from the main shaft 2 relative to the wireless power supply component, that is, the code disk 13 is arranged at the farthest distance from the main shaft 2, close to the peripheral wall of the outer shell of the base 1. By arranging the code disk on the outermost side close to the outer shell, the accuracy of the code disk for measuring the angle can be improved. The code disk 13 is as Figure 3A shown and will not be elaborated here.

[0145] In addition, the cable interface 14 is used to connect the lidar to other electronic devices, such as other lidars or electronic devices, so that the signals inside the current lidar can be transmitted to the outside of the current lidar. The cable interface 14 can be waterproof and can prevent the influence of water ingress into the lidar on signal transmission, thereby improving the waterproof ability of the lidar.

[0146] The working process of the above lidar is as follows:

[0147] The optical emission element 19C sends the detection instruction information sent by the lower bin plate 8 in the form of an optical signal to the photoelectric sensing element 19D, which is the so-called uplink optical signal transmission or uplink communication. After the photoelectric sensing element 19D performs photoelectric conversion on the detection instruction information, it sends the detection instruction information to the detection device 17 through the upper bin plate 7. After receiving the detection instruction information, the detection device 17 starts to perform the detection task. Specifically, after the emission circuit board 703A receives the detection instruction information, it controls a plurality of emission light sources 703B to emit detection beams into the space to be measured. After the photoelectric sensing element 704B on the receiving circuit board 704A receives the echo beam incident through the receiving hole 708, it performs photoelectric conversion to generate detection result information.

[0148] The detection result information is sent to the photoelectric sensing element 19B in the form of an optical signal through the optical emission element 19A after being processed by the upper bin plate 7, which is the so-called downlink optical signal transmission. After the photoelectric sensing element 19B performs photoelectric conversion on the detection result information, it sends it to the lower bin plate, and the lower bin plate sends the received detection result information to the control component so that the control component can perform relevant analysis and processing on the detection result information.

[0149] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, different wavelengths are used for uplink communication and downlink communication. Compared with uplink communication, the downlink communication has a larger amount of transmitted data and a faster speed. According to an example, a laser around 904 nm can be used as the optical communication emission unit for downlink communication, and an LED red light is used as the optical communication emission unit for uplink communication. The specific structures of uplink communication and downlink communication are similar to those shown Figure 3B and will not be elaborated here.

[0150] In addition, during the operation of the above lidar, the wireless transmission coil 12 rotates relative to the wireless reception coil 11, and the wireless power supply component can supply power to the detection device 17 so that the detection device 17 performs the detection task. At the same time, for the code disk 10 for measuring the angle, during the operation of the lidar, the rotation angle of the lidar is measured.

[0151] The existing lidar requires the emission and reception optical paths to be provided with reflectors to avoid the main axis for the through main axis setting. However, the non-through main axis structure of the present application forms a flattened platform at the lower position of the lidar, and there is no problem of optical path occlusion caused by the main axis, and there is no need for a reflector to deflect the optical path, that is, the emission and reception optical paths can be set basically in parallel. For example, for the above 4×16 emission light sources 703B and the corresponding 4×16 photoelectric sensing elements 704B, two sets of reflectors can be cancelled, and the multi-line lidar can achieve a complex alignment process without one-to-one correspondence between the emission and reception bundles, thereby reducing optical alignment or having no optical alignment.

[0152] The technical solutions of the further application are summarized in the following embodiments:

[0153] Embodiment 1 may include a detection device for a lidar, including a barrel, a beam emitting device, an emission lens assembly, a receiving lens assembly, and a photoelectric processing device;

[0154] The barrel includes an emission support and a receiving support, and the extending directions of the emission support and the receiving support are parallel to each other;

[0155] The emission lens assembly is located inside the emission support and on the optical path of the detection beam emitted by the beam emitting device;

[0156] The receiving lens assembly is located inside the receiving support and on the optical path of the echo beam received by the photoelectric processing device.

[0157] Embodiment 2 may include the detection device for the lidar described in Embodiment 1. The detection device further includes a light isolation plate, which is arranged between the emission support and the receiving support and is parallel to the extending directions of the emission support and the receiving support.

[0158] Embodiment 3 may include the detection device for the lidar described in Embodiment 1 or 2. Wherein, the beam emitting device includes an emission circuit board, and the emission circuit board is located outside the emission support and arranged at the rear end of the emission support, where the rear end of the emission support is the other end opposite to the end from which the emission support emits the detection beam;

[0159] The photoelectric processing device includes a receiving circuit board, and the receiving circuit board is located outside the receiving support and arranged at the rear end of the receiving support, where the rear end of the receiving support is the other end opposite to the end at which the receiving support receives the echo beam.

[0160] Embodiment 4 may include the detection device for the lidar described in any one of Embodiments 1 to 3. The detection device further includes:

[0161] An emission magnetic shielding member, arranged at the rear end of the emission circuit board, for shielding the electromagnetic signal generated by the emission circuit board; and

[0162] A receiving magnetic shielding member, arranged at the rear end of the receiving circuit board, for shielding the electromagnetic signal generated by the receiving circuit board.

[0163] Embodiment 5 may include the detection device for the lidar described in any one of Embodiments 1 to 4. Wherein, the beam emitting device further includes an emission light source, and the photoelectric processing device further includes a photoelectric sensing element, wherein:

[0164] m×n of the emission light sources are arranged on the emission circuit board; and

[0165] i×j of the photoelectric sensing elements are arranged on the receiving circuit board;

[0166] wherein, m, n, i, and j are natural numbers greater than 1.

[0167] Embodiment 6 may include the detection device of the lidar according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 5, wherein, an emission hole is provided on the front end face of the emission support body, and a detection light beam is adapted to emit from the emission support body through the emission hole; a reception hole is provided on the front end face of the reception support body, and the echo light beam is adapted to enter the reception support body through the reception hole; and

[0168] the lens barrel further includes an emission light shield and a reception light shield, the emission light shield is located outside the front end face of the front end of the emission support body and is perpendicular to the front end face of the emission support body, and the reception light shield is located outside the front end face of the front end of the reception support body and is perpendicular to the front end face of the reception support body.

[0169] Embodiment 7 may include the detection device of the lidar according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 6, wherein, at least one groove is provided on the inner wall of the emission support body for fixing the emission lens assembly; and

[0170] at least one groove is provided on the inner wall of the reception support body for fixing the reception lens assembly.

[0171] Embodiment 8 may include the detection device of the lidar according to Embodiment 1. The detection device further includes a support platform, and the lens barrel, the light beam emitting device, the emission lens assembly, the reception lens assembly, and the photoelectric processing device are located above the support platform and are fixedly arranged relative to the support platform.

[0172] Embodiment 9 may include a lidar, which includes: the detection device according to Embodiment 8, a main shaft, an upper storage plate, a top cover, and a base;

[0173] the upper storage plate is fixedly arranged relative to the detection device and is located below the support platform of the detection device, and the upper storage plate is relatively closer to the base and farther from the top cover in the axial direction of the detection device;

[0174] the main shaft is arranged perpendicular to the base and is located between the upper storage plate and the base;

[0175] the detection device can rotate 360° in the horizontal direction relative to the main shaft.

[0176] Embodiment 10 may include the lidar described in Embodiment 9, and the lidar further includes a rotating bracket and a driving motor;

[0177] The rotating bracket includes a first part and a second part. The first part is a hollow structure and is adapted to be sleeved on the main shaft. The second part is a disc surface structure perpendicular to the first part and is adapted to support the support platform. The second part includes at least three rotating sub-brackets. The first end of each rotating sub-bracket is coupled to the first part, and the second end of each rotating sub-bracket is coupled to the edge of the disc surface of the second part. The driving motor is adapted to drive the support platform to rotate through the rotating bracket.

[0178] Embodiment 11 may include the lidar described in Embodiment 9 or 10, and further includes a housing. The housing is located above the base and is connected to the periphery of the support platform of the detection device.

[0179] Embodiment 12 may include the lidar described in Embodiment 10, and the lidar further includes a communication component;

[0180] The main shaft is provided as a hollow structure, and the communication component is disposed inside the main shaft.

[0181] Embodiment 13 may include the lidar described in Embodiment 12. Wherein, the communication component includes a first communication module and a second communication module. The first communication module is relatively fixed to the detection device, and the second communication module is relatively fixed to the base;

[0182] The first communication module includes at least one light emitting element, the second communication module includes at least one photoelectric sensing element, and the at least one photoelectric sensing element of the second communication module is located on the optical path of the light beam emitted by the at least one light emitting element of the first communication module.

[0183] Embodiment 14 may include the lidar described in Embodiment 13. Wherein, the second communication module further includes at least one light emitting element, the first communication module further includes at least one photoelectric sensing element, and the at least one photoelectric sensing element of the first communication module is located on the optical path of the light beam emitted by the at least one light emitting element of the second communication module.

[0184] Embodiment 15 may include the lidar described in Embodiment 14. Wherein, the wavelength of the light beam emitted by the at least one light emitting element of the first communication module is different from the wavelength of the light beam emitted by the at least one light emitting element of the second communication module.

[0185] The third aspect

[0186] Exemplary embodiments of the third aspect of the present application include, but are not limited to, a detection device of a lidar and the lidar. The third aspect of the present application is mainly based on the above-mentioned second aspect. Therefore, in the following description, the differences from the second aspect will be mainly described, and the same or similar parts will not be elaborated again.

[0187] Figure 12 Shown is a detection device (radar rotor) 17 of a lidar according to the third aspect of the present application, which is, for example, disposed in Figure 1 the housing 16 as shown. Figure 12 And Figure 7 similar to the structure shown, additionally shown are a transmitting lens assembly 715 and a receiving lens assembly 716. The following will describe them in detail respectively.

[0188] As Figure 12 shown, the transmitting support 701 and the receiving support 702 are substantially symmetric structures, and both are disposed on the support platform 18. The support platform 18 is, for example, substantially circular. Therefore, the junction of the transmitting support 701 and the receiving support 702 (such as the position of the light shielding plate 711) can be located substantially on a diameter of the support platform 18, so as to evenly distribute the weight of the detection device 17 on the support platform 18 as much as possible and minimize the imbalance that may occur during high-speed rotation.

[0189] As Figure 12 shown, the transmitting lens assembly 715, for example, includes a plurality of lenses, which are disposed in a groove 712 inside the transmitting support 701 (as Figure 7B shown). The transmitting lens assembly 715 may, for example, include optical devices such as a collimator and a converging lens. A beam emitting device 703 is disposed at the rear end of the transmitting support 701. During use, the detection beam emitted by the beam emitting device 703 is modulated and shaped by the transmitting lens group 715 and then exits through the emission hole 707 into the space to be measured.

[0190] As Figure 12 shown, the receiving lens assembly 716, for example, may include a plurality of lenses, which are disposed in a groove 712* of the receiving support 702 (as Figure 7A shown). The receiving lens assembly 716 includes optical devices such as a converging lens. During use, the echo beam enters the receiving support 702 through the receiving hole 708, and after being converged by the receiving lens assembly 716, it is incident on a photoelectric sensing element 704B on the receiving circuit board 704A. Figure 12A Shown is an exploded view of the transmitting lens assembly 715, the receiving lens assembly 716, the beam emitting device 703, and the beam receiving device 704.

[0191] Figure 13 Schematically shown is a schematic diagram of the transmitting lens assembly 715 and the receiving lens assembly 716.Figure 14A A schematic diagram showing the emission lens assembly 715 disposed in the groove 712 inside the emission support 701 is shown. Figure 14B A schematic diagram showing the reception lens assembly 716 disposed in the groove 712* of the reception support 702 is shown.

[0192] Reference Figure 13 、 Figure 14A and Figure 14B As shown, the emission lens assembly 715 includes two plano-convex lenses (preferably plano-convex lenses of the same specification, that is, lenses 715c and 715d), a symmetric biconvex lens (that is, lens 715b), and a diaphragm (on the side close to the emission hole 707, that is, lens 715a); the reception lens assembly 716 includes lens 716a, lens 716b, and lens 716c, and also includes a filter (that is, filter 716d) on the side far from the reception hole 708 for filtering out stray light. According to an embodiment of the present application, the emission lens assembly 715 is a telecentric lens group, where lens 715d is disposed close to the beam emission device 703, can receive the laser beam from the beam emission device 703, after deflection, the beam is incident on other lens assemblies such as a collimating lens, configured to collimate and emit the deflected laser beam.

[0193] In addition, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the lens 716d closest to the beam reception device 704 in the reception lens assembly 716, and the lens 715d closest to the beam emission device 703 in the emission lens assembly 715, are located in the middle of the support platform, and the two are substantially in the same plane, and the line connecting the two or the overall center of gravity passes through the center of the support platform 18. Generally, the sizes and weights of the lens 716d and the lens 715d are relatively large. Therefore, disposing the two in the middle of the support platform is beneficial to reducing the moment of inertia of the detection device 17 during high-speed rotation.

[0194] In addition, similar to Figure 7 the stepped structure 713 disposed on the outer end of the emission support 701, and the stepped structure 714 disposed on the outer end of the reception support 702, can reduce the weights of the emission support 701 and the reception support 702, and at the same time, since the stepped structure is located at the outer end, it can also reduce the moment of inertia of the detection device 17 during high-speed rotation.

[0195] Figure 8 It is shown that the beam emission device 703 includes four groups of emission light sources 703B, with 16 emission light sources 703B in each group, for example, arranged in a column in the vertical direction; the beam reception device 704 also includes four groups of photoelectric sensing elements 704B, with 16 photoelectric sensing elements 704B in each group, preferably arranged in a column in the vertical direction. Figure 15The schematic optical path diagram for detection by the lidar is shown, where, for clarity, the transmitting lens assembly and the receiving lens assembly are omitted.

[0196] Figure 15 In it, OB represents the object to be detected. As Figure 15 shown, a part of the light beam emitted from the transmitting light source 703B, after being incident on the object OB to be detected (the square on the object OB to be detected represents the light spot generated by the light beam from the transmitting light source 703B on the object OB to be detected), generates diffuse reflection, and part of the light beam is reflected back to the photoelectric sensing element 704B. For example, the emitted light beam 190at is incident on the object OB to be detected to generate a light spot a, and part of the light beam 190ar generated by the diffuse reflection is received by one of the receiving units of the photoelectric sensing element 704B. Another example is that the emitted light beam 190bt is incident on the object OB to be detected to generate a light spot b, and part of the light beam 190br generated by the diffuse reflection is received by another receiving unit of the photoelectric sensing element 704B. The signal generated by the photoelectric sensing element 704B undergoes signal processing such as amplification and filtering, and then further processed, so that parameters such as the distance and azimuth of the object OB to be detected can be obtained. It should be noted that there can be various corresponding relationships between the numbers of the transmitting and receiving units in this application. For example, they can correspond one by one, or one transmitting unit can correspond to multiple receiving units, or multiple transmitting units can correspond to one receiving unit. In addition, the relative positional relationship of the basically corresponding transmitting and receiving units is the same. For example, the transmitting unit that emits the light beam 190at is located at a relatively lower position in the column formed by the entire transmitting light source 703B, and the receiving unit that receives the light beam 190ar is basically also located at a relatively lower position in the column formed by the entire photoelectric sensing element 704B. The transmitting unit that emits the light beam 190bt is located at a relatively upper position in the column formed by the entire transmitting light source 703B, and the receiving unit that receives the light beam 190br is basically also located at a relatively upper position in the column formed by the entire photoelectric sensing element 704B.

[0197] Figure 16 It shows the change in the optical path of the light beam emitted from the transmitting light source 703B in a group after passing through the transmitting lens assembly in the transmitting optical path. Figure 17 Schematically shows the field of view formed by four groups of transmitting light sources 703B. Figure 17 The yellow, red, green, and blue in it respectively correspond to the emitted light of the four groups of transmitting light sources 703B, Figure 16 The purple emitted light in it corresponds to Figure 17 the red emitted light on the right in Figure 17 As shown, the longitudinal field of view of the detection device 17 of the lidar is about 106°. At the center position of the field of view, the angular resolution is the smallest, which is 1.5°. At the edge of the field of view, the angular resolution is the largest, which is 2.3°. The average angular resolution of the entire field of view is about 1.7°, and the distribution of the scanning lines is asFigure 18 as shown

[0198] Figure 19 The detection device 17 of the lidar according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. Compared with Figure 6 the structure of Figure 19 In the detection device 17 in, an optical fiber 717 is arranged in front of the emission hole 707, which is used to scatter a part of the emitted light energy or light beam, so as to provide a supplementary solution for the near-field detection blind area, thereby not increasing the background noise of the detector. Specifically, the optical fiber 717 can be arranged at a position relatively outside the center of the emission hole 707, so as to avoid too many emitted light beams being scattered by the optical fiber 717. This method of compensating the near-field detection blind area is particularly advantageous when the optoelectronic sensing element 704B uses a SiPM detector. The lower limit of the power response of the SiPM detector is very low, and generally, the method of supplementing the blind area by supplementing the lateral field of view of the receiving end needs to be avoided. Therefore, a blind area compensation scheme of scattering a part of the light energy into the receiving line of sight by a single optical fiber is designed at the front end of the emission, thereby not increasing the background noise of the detector. By adding the optical fiber 717, the blind area can be shortened from 0.4 m to 0.01 m.

[0199] The fourth aspect

[0200] It should be noted that, without conflict, the embodiments in the present application and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. The fourth aspect of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings and in combination with the embodiments.

[0201] Please refer to Figure 20 , which shows Figure 20 a schematic diagram of the principle of a single-line signal transmission circuit of a lidar in the prior art.

[0202] As Figure 20 shown, the single-line signal transmission circuit 100 of the lidar includes: a switch device driver 101, a switch device 102, a light-emitting device 103, and an energy storage capacitor 104. Among them, a pulse signal is input to the input end of the switch device driver 101. The output of the switch device driver 101 is electrically connected to the switch device 102. The switch device 102 can be a switching triode. The output end of the switch device driver 101 can be electrically connected to the gate of the switching triode 102. The source of the switching triode is connected to the ground. The positive electrode of the light-emitting device 103 is electrically connected to the high-level signal line (HV), and the negative electrode of the light-emitting device is electrically connected to the drain of the switching triode 102. In addition, the energy storage capacitor 104 is used as an energy storage element, one end inputs a high-level signal, and the other end is connected to the ground. In addition, the end of the energy storage capacitor that inputs the high-level signal is electrically connected to the input end of the light-emitting device 103.

[0203] When the voltage of the pulse signal output by the above-mentioned switch device driver 101 is greater than the turn-on voltage of the switching transistor 102, the drain and source of the switching transistor 102 are turned on, and the current will flow from the high-voltage signal line through the light-emitting device 103, the drain and source of the switching transistor 102, so that the light-emitting device 103 emits a transmissible optical signal. The intensity of the optical signal can be controlled by the magnitude of the signal voltage output through the high-level signal line HV. In addition, the duration of the optical signal emitted by the light-emitting device 103 can be controlled by the pulse signal output by the switch device driver 101.

[0204] For a multi-line lidar, it usually includes multiple light-emitting devices. In the prior art, a switch device driver is provided for each light-emitting device. On the one hand, it is not conducive to reducing the volume of the lidar; on the other hand, since the cost of the switch device driver is relatively high, the cost of the multi-line lidar is also relatively high.

[0205] To solve the above problems, the present application adopts a signal distributor in the emission circuit of the lidar to drive more switching devices with fewer switch device drivers, thereby reducing the number of devices included in the emission circuit of the lidar, which is conducive to reducing the volume of the lidar. In addition, since the cost of the signal distributor is lower than that of the switch device driver, the cost of the lidar can be reduced, which is conducive to further promoting the lidar.

[0206] Please refer to Figure 21 , Figure 21 which shows a schematic structural diagram 160 of the emission circuit of the lidar provided by the embodiment of the present application.

[0207] As Figure 21 shown, the emission circuit 200 of the lidar includes a control signal generator 201, a switch device driver 202, a first signal distributor 203, a plurality of switch devices 204, and a plurality of light-emitting devices 205.

[0208] In this embodiment, the number of the light-emitting devices 205 can be any integer greater than 1. For example, 16, 26, 32, 64, etc.

[0209] The number of the switch devices 204 can be equal to the number of the light-emitting devices. Each switch device 204 corresponds to each light-emitting device 205 one by one.

[0210] The switch device driver 202 is adapted to drive the switch device 204.

[0211] The output terminal of the control signal generator 201 is electrically connected to the input terminal of the switching device driver 202. The output terminal of the switching device driver 202 is electrically connected to the signal input terminal of the first signal distributor 203. The first signal distributor 203 includes a plurality of output terminals. Each output terminal of the first signal distributor 203 corresponds to a switching device 204 one by one. Each output terminal of the first signal distributor 203 is electrically connected to the input terminal (such as the gate of a switching triode) of the switching device 204 corresponding to this output terminal. Each switching device 204 corresponds to a light-emitting device 205 one by one. For each switching device 204, the drain of the switching device 204 is electrically connected to the negative electrode of the light-emitting device 205 corresponding to the switching device 204, and the positive electrode of the light-emitting device 205 corresponding to the switching device 204 is electrically connected to the high-voltage signal line (HV).

[0212] The control signal generator 201 is used to generate a trigger signal. Usually, the positive and negative amplitudes of the trigger signal may not match the turn-on voltage and pinch-off voltage of the switching device.

[0213] The function of the switching device driver 202 is to turn on and drive the switching device 204 under the trigger of the trigger signal generated by the control signal generator 201. The width of the pulse output by the switching device driver 202 is used to control the conduction time of the switching device 204, thereby controlling the duration of the light signal emitted by the light-emitting device. The signal output by the switching device driver 202 can control the conduction and turn-off of the switching device 204.

[0214] In some application scenarios, the above switching device driver can be a GaN switching device driver. The GaN switching device driver has a simple design, can achieve an extremely fast propagation delay of 2.5 nanoseconds and a minimum pulse width of 1 nanosecond. Using the GaN switching device driver makes the control signal of the switching device more accurate. It can be used to control various switching devices.

[0215] The first signal distributor 203 includes a signal input terminal, a plurality of output terminals, and at least one addressing signal input terminal. The number of output terminals of the first signal distributor 203 can match the number of light-emitting devices 205 used in the emission circuit of the lidar. The number of output terminals of the first signal distributor 203 can be greater than or equal to the number of the above light-emitting devices 205. At least one addressing signal input terminal of the first signal distributor 203 can input an addressing signal. The output terminal corresponding to the addressing signal can be determined according to the addressing signal. The first signal distributor 203 can transmit the pulse signal input to the first signal distributor 203 and converted by the switching device driver to the output terminal determined by the addressing signal.

[0216] In this embodiment, the switching device 204 can be various types of switching triodes, such as silicon-based field effect transistors, silicon-based MOS transistors, etc.

[0217] In some application scenarios, the above-mentioned switching device 204 can be a GaN switching device, such as a silicon-based GaN field effect transistor, a GaN-based field effect transistor, etc.

[0218] The GaN switching device has the advantages of high temperature resistance, easy integration, fast response speed, etc., and is suitable as a switching device for a multi-line lidar.

[0219] Corresponding to these application scenarios, the above-mentioned switching device driver 202 can be a GaN switching device driver.

[0220] The above-mentioned light-emitting device 205 can be various light-emitting devices. In some application scenarios, the above-mentioned light-emitting device can be an inorganic semiconductor light-emitting device, such as a semiconductor light-emitting diode (Light Emitting Diode, LED), a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser, Vcsel), an edge-emitting laser (EdgeEmitting Lasers, EEL), etc.

[0221] In this embodiment, the number of switching device drivers 202 can be one. The number of output terminals of the first signal distributor 203 can match the number of switching devices 204. In this way, all the switching devices can be driven by using one switching device driver. Compared with setting a corresponding switching device driver for each switching device 204, the number of switching device drivers in the above embodiment is greatly reduced. On the one hand, the cost of the emission circuit of the lidar can be reduced; on the other hand, the number of devices used in the emission circuit of the lidar can be reduced, thereby reducing the volume occupied by the emission circuit of the lidar.

[0222] Please refer to Figure 22 , Figure 22 which shows another structural schematic diagram 260 of the emission circuit of the lidar provided by the embodiment of the present application.

[0223] As Figure 22 shown, the emission circuit 300 of the lidar includes a control signal generator 301, at least two switching device drivers 302, at least two first signal distributors 303, a plurality of switching devices 304 and a plurality of light-emitting devices 305, and a second signal distributor 306.

[0224] In this embodiment, the number of light-emitting devices 305 can be any integer greater than 1. For example, 16, 26, 32, 64, etc.

[0225] The number of switching devices 304 may be equal to the number of light-emitting devices. Each switching device 304 corresponds to each light-emitting device 305 one by one.

[0226] The switching device driver 302 is adapted to drive the switching device 304. The number of switching device drivers 302 is greater than or equal to 2. The number of switching device drivers 302 may be equal to the number of first signal distributors 303. Each switching device driver 302 corresponds to each first signal distributor 303 one by one.

[0227] The connection relationship between the switching device 304 and the light-emitting device 305 may refer to Figure 21 the description of the illustrated embodiment and will not be elaborated here.

[0228] In this embodiment, the number of first signal distributors 303 may be greater than or equal to 2.

[0229] Each first signal distributor 303 may include a signal input terminal, at least one addressing signal input terminal, and at least two output terminals. The sum of the number of output terminals of the above at least two first signal distributors 303 may match the number of switching devices 304. For example, the sum of the number of output terminals of each first signal distributor 303 is equal to the number of switching devices 304. Each switching device 304 may correspond to one output terminal of one first signal distributor 303 one by one.

[0230] For each first signal distributor 303, the signal input terminal of the first signal distributor 303 is electrically connected to the signal output terminal of the corresponding switching device driver 302 of the first signal distributor 303; the addressing signal input terminal is electrically connected to the addressing signal line. For each output terminal of the first signal distributor 303, the output terminal is electrically connected to the input terminal of the corresponding switching device 304 of the output terminal.

[0231] An electrical connection is achieved between the control signal generator 301 and the above at least two switching device drivers 302 through a second signal distributor 306.

[0232] The second signal distributor 306 includes a first input terminal, at least one second input terminal, and at least two first output terminals; wherein, the first input terminal is electrically connected to the control signal output terminal of the control signal generator 301. At least one second input terminal is electrically connected to the first addressing signal line. The number of first addressing signal lines may be greater than or equal to 1. At each moment, one first output terminal of the second signal distributor 306 may be determined according to the signals transmitted on each first addressing signal line. Each first output terminal is electrically connected to the input terminal of a corresponding switching device driver. In this embodiment, each switching device driver 302 corresponds to each first output terminal one by one.

[0233] The number of output terminals of each first signal distributor 303 can be less than Figure 22 the number of switching devices used in the transmitting circuit 300 of the lidar shown.

[0234] The number of first output terminals of the second signal distributor 306 can match Figure 22 the number of switching device drivers 302 used in the transmitting circuit 300 of the lidar shown. For example, the number of first output terminals of the second signal distributor 306 can be equal to the number of switching device drivers 302 used in the transmitting circuit 300 of the lidar.

[0235] Taking the number of light-emitting devices 305 being 64 as an example for illustration. The number of first output terminals of the second signal distributor 306 can be 2, and the number of output terminals of the first signal distributor can be 32. Or, the number of first output terminals of the first signal distributor is 4, and the number of output terminals of the first signal distributor can be 16. Or, the number of first output terminals of the second signal distributor is 8, and the number of output terminals of the first signal distributor is 8, etc.

[0236] The transmitting circuit of the lidar provided in this embodiment realizes the purpose of reducing the switching device drivers for driving multiple switching devices by arranging a first signal distributor and a second signal distributor in the transmitting circuit of the lidar. It can reduce the cost of the transmitting circuit of the lidar and help to reduce the volume of the transmitting circuit.

[0237] Please refer to Figure 23 , Figure 23 which shows another schematic structural diagram 400 of the transmitting circuit of the lidar provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0238] In this embodiment, the transmitting circuit 400 of the lidar includes a control signal generator 401, at least two switching device drivers 402, at least two first signal distributors 403, a plurality of switching devices 404 and a plurality of light-emitting devices 405, and at least two third signal distributors 406.

[0239] In this embodiment, the number of light-emitting devices 405 can be any integer greater than 1. For example, 16, 26, 32, 64, etc.

[0240] The number of switching devices 404 can be equal to the number of light-emitting devices 405. Each switching device 404 corresponds to each light-emitting device 405 one by one.

[0241] The switch device driver 402 is adapted to drive the switch device 404. The number of switch device drivers 402 is greater than or equal to 2. The number of switch device drivers 402 can be equal to the number of the first signal distributors 403. Each switch device driver 402 corresponds to each first signal distributor 403 one by one.

[0242] The connection relationship between the switch device 404 and the light emitting device 405 can be referred to Figure 21 the description of the illustrated embodiment, which will not be elaborated here. The connection relationship between the first signal distributor 403 and the switch driver can be referred to Figure 22 the description of the illustrated embodiment, which will not be elaborated here.

[0243] In this embodiment, the third signal distributor 406 includes a third input terminal, at least one fourth input terminal, and at least two second output terminals.

[0244] The control signal generator 401 can include at least two groups of control signal output terminals. Among the at least two groups of control signal output terminals of the control signal generator, only one group of control signal output terminals is in an effective working state at each moment. Each group of control signal output terminals corresponds to a third signal distributor one by one. One group of control signal output terminals of the control signal generator 401 is electrically connected to the third input terminal of the third signal distributor corresponding to this control signal output terminal.

[0245] At least one fourth input terminal of the third signal distributor 406 is electrically connected to the second addressing signal line. The addressing signal on the second addressing signal line is used to instruct the third distributor to transmit the input signal to the output terminal specified by the addressing signal of the third distributor.

[0246] The total number of the second output terminals corresponding to the above at least two third signal distributors 406 can be equal to the total number of the above switch devices 402.

[0247] Each second output terminal corresponds to a switch device driver 402 one by one.

[0248] Each second output terminal is electrically connected to the input terminal of a switch device driver 402 corresponding to this second output terminal.

[0249] In this embodiment, the number of output terminals of each first signal distributor 403 can be less than Figure 23 the number of switch devices used in the transmitting circuit 400 of the lidar shown.

[0250] The total sum of the number of output terminals of each third signal distributor 406 can be Figure 23matches the number of switching device drivers used in the transmitting circuit 400 of the lidar shown. For example, the sum of the number of third output terminals of each third signal distributor 406 can be equal to the number of switching device drivers 402 used in the transmitting circuit 400 of the lidar.

[0251] As Figure 23 shown, in this embodiment, the number of control signal output terminals of the control signal generator 401 can be 4 groups. The number of third signal distributors can be 4. The number of first signal distributors can be 8.

[0252] In some application scenarios of this embodiment, the number of light emitting devices used in the transmitting circuit 400 of the above lidar is 64. In these application scenarios, the third signal distributor can be a 2-way signal distributor. The above first signal distributor can be an 8-way signal distributor.

[0253] The following describes the specific working process. The 4 groups of control signal output terminals of the control signal generator can be T-AP / N, T-BP / N, T-CP / N, and T-DP / N respectively. The 4 third signal distributors 406 can be A, B, C, and D respectively. The trigger signals output by T-AP / N, T-BP / N, T-CP / N, and T-DP / N are transmitted to the respective third input terminals of the above A, B, C, and D at different times. Here, T-AP / N represents the T-AP signal (positive signal) output terminal and the T-AN signal (negative signal) output terminal. The same applies to T-BP / N, T-CP / N, and T-DP / N. After the trigger signal is transmitted to the third signal distributor (such as A, B, C, or D), taking A as an example, A corresponds to two possible output terminals: O-AP / N1 and O-AP / N2. The addressing signal input to the fourth input terminal of A can control A to transmit the trigger signal to the O-AP / N1 terminal or the O-AP / N2 terminal. If the trigger signal is transmitted to the O-AP / N1 terminal, the switching device driver electrically connected to the O-AP / N1 output terminal will be triggered into the working state. The driving signal emitted by the switching device driver 402 is distributed to a switching device 404 after passing through the first signal distributor 403. The length of the above driving signal can be determined by the time interval during which O-AP1 and O-AN1 act on the above switching device 404 respectively. The length of the driving signal emitted by the switching device driver 402 can determine the conduction duration of the above switching device 404. When the switching device 404 is conducting, the light emitting device 405 emits light under the action of the HV signal. The above driving signal and the HV signal determine the energy of the detection signal emitted by the light emitting device 405. At the same time, only one of the trigger signals output by T-AP / N, T-BP / N, T-CP / N, and T-DP / N has a signal.

[0254] In addition, the number of control signal output terminals of the control signal generator 401 can be 4, the third signal distributor 406 can be a 4-way signal distributor, and the number of the third signal distributors 406 can be 4. The first signal distributor 403 can be a 4-way signal distributor. The number of the first signal distributors 403 can be 16.

[0255] In addition, the number of control signal output terminals of the control signal generator 401 can be 2, the third signal distributor 406 can be a 4-way signal distributor, and the number of the third signal distributors 406 can be 2. The first signal distributor 403 can be an 8-way signal distributor, etc., and the number of the first signal distributors 403 can be 8.

[0256] As can be seen from the above, it is possible to set the product of the number of output terminals of the first signal distributor 403, the number of control signal terminals of the control generator 401, and the number of output terminals of the third signal distributor 406 to be equal to the number of light-emitting devices used in the emission circuit of the lidar, and all can achieve driving more switching devices with fewer switching device drivers 402, achieving the purpose of reducing the number of devices used in the signal emission circuit and reducing the cost of the lidar.

[0257] The emission circuit of the lidar provided in this embodiment realizes the purpose of reducing the switching device drivers for driving multiple switching devices by arranging the first signal distributor and the second signal distributor in the emission circuit of the lidar. It can reduce the cost of the emission circuit of the lidar and help to reduce the volume of the emission circuit. Thus, the purpose of reducing the cost of the lidar and reducing the volume of the lidar is achieved.

[0258] Please refer to Figure 24 , Figure 24 which shows a schematic structural diagram 500 of a lidar provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0259] As Figure 24 shown, the lidar 500 includes a signal emission device and a signal reception device. Among them, the signal emission device includes the emission circuit of the lidar as Figure 21 、 Figure 22 、or Figure 23 shown.

[0260] The above-mentioned lidar can be used for distance measurement, obstacle recognition, etc. The lidar may include, for example, other features mentioned in the first aspect, second aspect, and third aspect of the present application.

[0261] Please refer to Figure 25 , Figure 25 which shows a schematic flowchart 600 of the ranging method of the lidar provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0262] In this embodiment, the lidar can be Figure 24 the lidar shown. The signal transmitting device of the lidar can include, for example Figure 21 , Figure 22 or Figure 23 the signal transmitting circuit shown.

[0263] The signal transmitting device includes a plurality of light emitting devices. The lidar can control the plurality of light emitting devices to sequentially emit detection signals.

[0264] For every two adjacent light emitting devices among the plurality of light emitting devices, the two adjacent light emitting devices are sequentially regarded as a first light emitting device and a second light emitting device according to the order of emitting detection signals. The first detection signal emitted by the first light emitting device corresponds to a first flight time.

[0265] As shown in Figure 25 , the ranging method of the lidar can include:

[0266] Step 601, the signal transmitting device controls the plurality of light emitting devices to sequentially emit detection signals. For every two adjacent light emitting devices, the time interval between controlling the first light emitting device and the second light emitting device to sequentially emit the first detection signal and the second detection signal is greater than the first flight time.

[0267] Step 602, the signal receiving device receives the echo signals respectively generated when each detection signal encounters an obstacle.

[0268] Step 603, based on the emission time of each detection signal and the reception time of each echo signal, determine the flight time of each detection signal.

[0269] Step 604, determine the distance between the obstacle and the lidar according to the flight time.

[0270] In this embodiment, the two adjacent light emitting devices here refer to two light emitting devices adjacent in the emission order. In some application scenarios, the above two adjacent light emitting devices can also be two light emitting devices adjacent in space.

[0271] In this embodiment, for each light emitting device, the signal transmitting device can control the conduction time of the switching device corresponding to the light emitting device to control the time when the light emitting device emits a detection signal.

[0272] In addition, the signal transmitting device can also control the intensity of the HV signal input to the positive electrode of each light emitting device to control the light intensity of the light emitted by each light emitting device.

[0273] For every two adjacent light-emitting devices in a light-emitting device in terms of emission time, the light-emitting device that emits a detection signal first among the two adjacent light-emitting devices can be regarded as the first light-emitting device, and the light-emitting device that emits a detection signal later can be regarded as the second light-emitting device. The time when the detection signal corresponding to the first light-emitting device is emitted can be the first time, and the time when the detection signal corresponding to the second light-emitting device is emitted can be the second time. The time difference between the second time and the first time can be greater than the first flight time of the detection signal emitted by the first light-emitting device.

[0274] The flight time (Time of Flight, ToF) of each detection signal can be considered as the time interval between the moment when the detection signal is emitted and the moment when the echo signal formed by the detection signal encountering an obstacle is received.

[0275] The time interval between the detection signals successively emitted by two adjacent light-emitting devices is set to be greater than the flight time of the detection signal that is emitted earlier among the detection signals emitted by the two adjacent light-emitting devices, so the crosstalk between two adjacent light-emitting devices can be reduced.

[0276] For each detection signal, the product of the flight time of the detection signal and the speed of light can be regarded as the distance between the lidar and the obstacle.

[0277] For a lidar using multiple light-emitting devices, when measuring an obstacle, multiple initial distances between the lidar and the obstacle can be obtained by the multiple light-emitting devices. Each initial distance corresponds to the detection signal emitted by a light-emitting device.

[0278] The above multiple initial distances can be synthesized to determine a more accurate distance between the lidar and the above obstacle.

[0279] In some optional implementation manners, step 603 above can further include: for each detection signal, based on the emission time of the detection signal, the reception time of the echo signal corresponding to the detection signal, and a pre-determined compensation time, determine the flight time of the detection signal.

[0280] The above compensation time is mainly used to compensate for the deviation of the flight time caused by the parasitic capacitance in the emission circuit of the lidar.

[0281] The transmitting circuit of the lidar generates parasitic capacitance. The existence of the parasitic capacitance consumes the driving pulse signal input to the gate of the switching device. Taking the moment when the driving pulse signal sent by the switching device driver reaches the turn-on voltage of the light-emitting device as the reference moment, the existence of the above-mentioned parasitic capacitance causes the actual conduction moment of the light-emitting device to be later than the above-mentioned reference moment. If the flight time of the detection signal is calculated based on the above-mentioned reference moment, the actual flight time of the detection signal will be less than the measured flight time of the detection signal, making the measured distance between the lidar and the obstacle inaccurate.

[0282] The method of calibration testing can be used to measure the time difference between the actual conduction moment of the light-emitting device and the above-mentioned reference moment, and use the above-mentioned time difference as the compensation time. When calculating the flight time of the detection signal, the time difference between the time interval between the above-mentioned reference moment when the detection signal is sent by the light-emitting device and the moment when the echo signal generated by the detection signal encountering the obstacle is received, and the above-mentioned compensation time is determined as the flight time of the detection signal for calculating the distance.

[0283] By compensating the flight time of the detection signal, the flight time of the detection signal for calculating the distance is made closer to the actual flight time of the detection signal, thereby making the measured distance between the lidar and the obstacle more accurate.

[0284] The embodiment of the present application also provides a signal processing method applicable to a lidar, including:

[0285] Controlling a signal generator to output a trigger signal to a switching device driver;

[0286] Through the first signal distributor, sequentially outputting the driving signals output by each switching device driver in at least one switching device driver to the switching device to control the opening and closing of the switching device; and

[0287] Controlling the light emission of the light-emitting device through the opening and closing of the switching device.

[0288] The fourth aspect of the present application relates to the transmitting circuit of the lidar and the signal processing method at the transmitting end. The transmitting circuits 200, 300, and 400 and the signal processing method therein can be combined with the lidar in the first aspect, second aspect, and third aspect of the present application, for example, used as the transmitting circuit of the lidar and the signal processing method therein. For example, referring to Figure 7 and Figure 8 , an external part of the rear end of the emission support 701 is provided with a light beam emitting device 703, and the light beam emitting device 703 includes an emission circuit board 703A and m×n emission light sources 703B. The light-emitting devices 205, 305, and 405 in the transmitting circuit of the fourth aspect of the present application can be used as Figure 8The emission light source 703B therein. Meanwhile, for example, other components of the emission circuit in the fourth aspect of the present application, such as a control signal generator, a switch device driver, a first signal distributor, a second signal distributor, a third signal distributor, a plurality of switch devices, etc., can also be integrated on the emission circuit board 703A, so that the technical solution and signal processing method of the lidar emission circuit in the fourth aspect of the present application can be combined into the aforementioned lidar. This combination is easily understandable to those skilled in the art and does not require creative labor, so it will not be elaborated here.

[0289] The fifth aspect

[0290] It should be noted that, without conflict, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of the present application can be combined with each other. The present application will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings and in conjunction with the embodiments.

[0291] Please refer to Figure 26 , which shows a schematic diagram of a principle structure of a signal receiver for a lidar in the prior art.

[0292] The signal receiver of the lidar may include a plurality of optoelectronic signal receivers. The optoelectronic signal receivers are used to convert the received optical signals into electrical signals.

[0293] As Figure 26 shown, the signal receiving circuit in the existing lidar includes a plurality of signal receiving sub-units 70. Each signal receiving sub-unit 70 includes an optoelectronic signal receiver 71, a signal amplifier 72, and a voltage comparator 73.

[0294] Each signal receiving sub-unit 70 can correspond to a light-emitting device in the lidar emission device. For each signal receiving sub-unit 70, the optoelectronic signal receiver 71 in the signal receiving sub-unit 70 can receive the echo signal returned by the detection signal emitted by the light-emitting device corresponding to the signal receiving sub-unit 70 when it encounters an obstacle. Here, the echo signal is a relatively weak optical signal. And convert the echo signal into an electrical signal. The signal amplifier 72 in the signal receiving sub-unit 70 amplifies the above electrical signal. The amplified electrical signal is a continuous voltage signal. The voltage comparator 73 in the signal receiving sub-unit 70 is used to convert the above continuous voltage signal into a pulse voltage signal.

[0295] Further analysis of the echo signal can be performed according to the pulse voltage signal.

[0296] Since existing lidar is multi-line lidar, the transmitting end includes multiple light-emitting devices. Correspondingly, the signal receiving end may include multiple optoelectronic signal receivers. For each optoelectronic signal receiver, a corresponding signal amplifier needs to be set. In this way, the number of devices included in the lidar is large and the cost is high, which is not conducive to the large-scale promotion of lidar.

[0297] To address the above problems, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application can be adopted.

[0298] Please refer to Figure 27 , Figure 27 which shows a schematic structural diagram of a receiving circuit of a lidar provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0299] As Figure 27 shown, the receiving circuit 800 of the lidar includes multiple optoelectronic signal receivers 801, a first signal selector 802, a signal amplifier 803, and a voltage comparator 804.

[0300] The number of optoelectronic signal receivers 801 can be any natural number greater than or equal to 1. For example, 8, 16, 24, 64, etc. The number of optoelectronic signal receivers can be set according to specific application scenarios. The above optoelectronic signal receivers can be, for example, phototubes, photomultiplier tubes, silicon photocells, photodiodes, avalanche photodiodes, PIN photodiodes, silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), single photon avalanche diodes (Spad), etc.

[0301] For each optoelectronic signal receiver, the operating time of the optoelectronic signal receiver can be controlled to match the time when the light-emitting device of the signal transmitting end of the lidar corresponding to the optoelectronic signal receiver emits a detection signal. For example, for an optoelectronic signal receiver, the operating time of the optoelectronic signal receiver can be controlled to start from the time when the light-emitting device of the signal transmitting end of the lidar corresponding to the optoelectronic signal receiver emits a detection signal and end after the optoelectronic signal receiver receives the echo signal of the above detection signal.

[0302] In this embodiment, the output end of each optoelectronic signal receiver 801 can correspond one-to-one with a signal input end of the first signal selector 802. The output end of each optoelectronic signal receiver 801 can be electrically connected to the signal input end of the first signal selector 802 corresponding to the output end of the optoelectronic signal receiver 801. The first signal selector 802 can have an address signal input end. The address signal input end can be electrically connected to the address signal line. The address signal input through the address signal input end can control which signal input end of the first signal selector 802 the signal transmitted to itself is transmitted to the output end of the first signal selector 802. The address signal on the above address signal line and the control signal for controlling the working time of each optoelectronic signal receiver can match each other.

[0303] The output end of the first signal selector 802 is electrically connected to the signal input end of the signal amplifier 803. In some application scenarios, the signal output by the optoelectronic signal receiver 801 can be a current signal, and the signal amplifier 803 can convert the input current signal into a voltage signal and amplify the voltage signal. In some other application scenarios, the signal output by the optoelectronic signal receiver 801 can be a voltage signal, and the signal amplifier 803 can amplify the voltage signal output by the optoelectronic signal receiver input to it. Generally, the voltage signal output by the signal amplifier 803 is a continuous voltage signal.

[0304] The voltage comparator 804 is used to convert the continuous voltage signal output by the signal amplifier 803 into a pulse voltage signal. The voltage comparator 804 has a first input end and a second input end. The output end of the signal amplifier 803 is electrically connected to the first input end of the voltage comparator 804, and the second input end of the voltage comparator 804 is electrically connected to the preset threshold voltage signal line. The threshold voltage transmitted on the above preset threshold voltage signal line can vary according to the application scenario.

[0305] In some application scenarios, multiple optoelectronic signal receivers 801 can be arranged on the same carrier. Two first signal selectors 802, two signal amplifiers 803, and two voltage comparators 804 can also be arranged on this carrier. In these application scenarios, the above-mentioned multiple optoelectronic signal receivers 801 can be divided into two groups. Each group of optoelectronic signal receivers 801 corresponds to one first signal selector 802. For example, if the total number of the above-mentioned optoelectronic signal receivers 801 is 16, the 16 optoelectronic signal receivers 801 can be divided into two groups, with 8 optoelectronic signal receivers 801 in each group. Each of the 8 optoelectronic signal receivers 801 in each group corresponds to one first signal selector 802. The output terminals of the optoelectronic signal receivers 801 in each group are respectively and correspondingly connected to the respective signal input terminals of the first signal selector 802 corresponding to the optoelectronic connectors 801 in this group. The output terminal of the first signal selector 802 can be electrically connected to the signal input terminal of a signal amplifier 803. The signal amplifier 803 can have an enable signal input terminal. The output terminal of each signal amplifier 803 can be electrically connected to the first input terminal of a voltage comparator 804. The second input terminal of the voltage comparator 803 is connected to a preset threshold voltage signal line.

[0306] In this way, in the signal receiving circuit of a lidar, by using a first signal selector between multiple optoelectronic signal receivers and signal amplifiers, the electrical signals output by different optoelectronic signal receivers can be input into a smaller number of signal amplifiers in a preset order. Compared with arranging a signal amplifier for each optoelectronic signal receiver in a lidar, the solution provided in this embodiment reduces the number of signal amplifiers used, lowers the cost of the lidar, and is conducive to the further popularization of the lidar.

[0307] Please refer to Figure 28 , which shows another schematic structural diagram of the receiving circuit of the lidar provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0308] Same as the Figure 27 embodiment shown, Figure 28 the receiving circuit 900 of the lidar shown includes multiple optoelectronic signal receivers 901, a first signal selector, a signal amplifier, and a voltage comparator 904.

[0309] Different from the Figure 27 embodiment, in this embodiment, multiple optoelectronic signal receivers 901, at least one signal amplifier, and at least one voltage comparator are divided into at least two receiving circuit subgroups.

[0310] For each receiving circuit subgroup, the receiving circuit subgroup may include at least two optoelectronic signal receivers 901, at least one signal amplifier, and a voltage comparator 905. Among them, an electrical connection is achieved between the at least two optoelectronic signal receivers 901 and the at least one signal amplifier through at least one first signal selector.

[0311] In this embodiment, the number of the first signal selectors may be 2, 3, or other numbers. The number of the first signal selectors may be less than the number of the optoelectronic signal receivers.

[0312] For each receiving circuit subgroup, the connection relationships among the optoelectronic signal receivers, the first signal selector, the signal amplifier, and the voltage comparator thereon may refer to Figure 27 the description of the illustrated embodiment and will not be elaborated here.

[0313] In some application scenarios, the above-mentioned multiple optoelectronic signal receivers 901, at least one signal amplifier, and at least one voltage comparator 905 are divided into four receiving circuit subgroups (such as Figure 28 BANKA, BANKB, BANKC, and BANKD shown). For each receiving circuit subgroup (such as BANKA), the receiving circuit subgroup includes at least two optoelectronic signal receivers 901, at least one signal amplifier, and a voltage comparator 905. An electrical connection is achieved between the at least two optoelectronic signal receivers 901 and the at least one signal amplifier through at least one first signal amplifier. The number of the signal amplifiers may be one, two, or multiple. The number of the signal amplifiers may be less than the number of the optoelectronic signal receivers 901.

[0314] In this embodiment, each of the above-mentioned receiving circuit subgroups (such as Figure 28The BANK A shown may also include a second signal selector 904. The output terminals of the signal amplifiers included in the receiving circuit subgroup (such as BANK A) are respectively and electrically connected to the signal input terminals of the second signal selector 904 in one-to-one correspondence. The output terminal of the second signal selector 904 is electrically connected to the first input terminal of the voltage comparator 905 of the receiving circuit subgroup. The second input terminal of the voltage comparator 905 is electrically connected to the preset threshold voltage signal line VTHA. It can be understood that for the receiving circuit subgroup BANK B, its corresponding preset threshold voltage signal line is VTHB; for the receiving circuit subgroup BANK C, its corresponding preset threshold voltage signal line is VTHC; for the receiving circuit subgroup BANK D, its corresponding preset threshold voltage signal line is VTHD. However, since BANK B, BANK C, and BANK D are blocked by BANK A, they are not shown one by one. However, for their specific solutions, those skilled in the art can refer to the illustration of BANK A for understanding. The structural diagrams of BANK B, BANK C, and BANK D are the same as that of BANK A. In addition, since the receiving circuit subgroups BANK A, BANK B, BANK C, and BANK D are arranged in sequence in the vertical direction, and the detection requirements for obstacles of the receiving circuit subgroups at different vertical positions may be different, VTHA, VTHB, VTHC, and VTHD may be different.

[0315] In some application scenarios, the number of optoelectronic signal receivers 901 included in the signal receiving circuit of the above lidar is 64. For each receiving circuit subgroup, the receiving circuit subgroup may include 16 optoelectronic signal receivers 901, 2 first signal selectors, 2 signal amplifiers, 1 second signal selector 904, and 1 voltage comparator 905. Among them, the output terminals of the first 8 optoelectronic signal receivers 901 among the above 16 optoelectronic signal receivers 901 are respectively and electrically connected to the signal input terminals of the first first signal selector 9021 in one-to-one correspondence; the output terminals of the last 8 optoelectronic signal receivers 901 are respectively and electrically connected to the signal input terminals of the second first signal selector 9022 in one-to-one correspondence. Both the first first signal selector 9021 and the second first signal selector 9022 have address signal input terminals. In some application scenarios, the address signal input terminals of the first first signal selector 9021 and the second first signal selector 9022 may both be electrically connected to the address signal lines A0, A1, and A2. The signals transmitted on the address signal lines A0, A1, and A2 are used to determine which input signal the first first signal selector and the second first signal selector select as the output. In some other application scenarios, the address signal lines corresponding to the address signal input terminals of the first first signal selector 9021 and the second first signal selector 9022 may be independent of each other. In this way, more relatively independent selections can be made.

[0316] The output terminal of the first first signal selector 9021 is electrically connected to the signal input terminal of the first signal amplifier 9031; the output terminal of the second signal selector 9022 is electrically connected to the signal input terminal of the second signal amplifier 9032. The output terminals of the first signal amplifier 9031 and the second signal amplifier 9032 are respectively electrically connected to the signal input terminals of the second signal selector 904.

[0317] Both the first signal amplifier 9031 and the second signal amplifier 9032 have an enable signal input terminal. The enable signal input terminal is electrically connected to the enable signal line. For BANKA, the enable signal line is ENA as Figure 28 shown; for BANKB, the enable signal line is ENB as Figure 28 shown; for BANKC, the enable signal line is ENC as Figure 28 shown; for BANKD, the enable signal line is END as Figure 28 shown. The second signal selector 904 has an address signal input terminal, and the address signal input terminal is electrically connected to the address signal line A3.

[0318] The output terminal of the second signal selector 904 is electrically connected to the first input terminal of the voltage comparator 905. The second input terminal of the voltage comparator 905 is electrically connected to the preset threshold voltage signal line VTHA. After passing through the voltage comparator 905, the above-mentioned BANKA outputs a pulse voltage signal PA, BANKA outputs a pulse voltage signal PB, BANKC outputs a pulse voltage signal PC, and BANKD outputs a pulse voltage signal PD.

[0319] For each BANK (such as BANKA), multiple optoelectronic signal receivers 901 of this BANK can be arranged in an optoelectronic signal receiver array (such as Figure 28 shown in a single-column arrangement). The 16 optoelectronic signals coming out of the optoelectronic signal receiver array first pass through 2 8-way signal selectors 9021 and 9022, then enter 2 broadband signal amplifiers 9031 and 9032, and then pass through the 2-way signal selector 904. After being combined into one path or selecting one path, they enter the voltage comparator 905 and are compared with the threshold VTHA. If it is greater than the threshold VTHA, a pulse signal is output, and then it is converted into a low-voltage differential signal for subsequent analysis and processing.

[0320] In addition, for each path formed by the optoelectronic signal receivers 901, the threshold VTHA can be different because different paths may correspond to different detection requirements. In each optoelectronic signal receiver array, only the signal generated by one of the optoelectronic signal receivers can be selected at any given time for amplification and comparison, and the threshold VTHA of the comparator can be dynamically adjusted. The threshold VTHA can be related to the preset detection distance of the lidar, for example. For targets that are close or highly reflective, the echo signal is too strong, so that the pulse width of the signal amplifier cannot reflect the echo signal strength. In this case, the threshold needs to be appropriately lowered to obtain the reflectivity information. In other words, the lower the preset detection distance, the higher the threshold; the higher the preset detection distance, the lower the threshold.

[0321] Reference Figure 28 , the optoelectronic signal receivers of BANKA, BANKB, BANKC, and BANKD are arranged vertically in sequence. For the optoelectronic signal receivers in BANKA, which are relatively on the edge, the detection requirement may be to measure long distances, that is, to detect distances as far as possible. Then the threshold voltage VTHA corresponding to BANKA is relatively low; similarly, for the optoelectronic receiving units in BANKB, which are relatively in the center, the detection requirement may be a higher density but a shorter distance, so the threshold voltage VTHB corresponding to BANKB is relatively high.

[0322] The signal amplifier has an enable signal input terminal (control switch). Controlled by the enable signal (such as Figure 28 the enable signals transmitted on the enable signal lines ENA, ENB, and EBC shown), it can be controlled to turn off when detection is not required, so the power consumption can be reduced. Since it takes 1 - 2 us for the signal amplifier to recover from the low-power state, the enable signal needs to be given in advance. For example, if it is required that the signal amplifier starts to work at time t2, the enable signal can be sent to the signal amplifier at the time point (t2 - [1 - 2 us]) in the design of the enable signal, so that the signal amplifier can start to enter the working state exactly at t2.

[0323] Compared with Figure 27 the embodiment shown, in this embodiment, the signal receiving circuit of the lidar is divided into at least two receiving circuit subgroups. Each subgroup has at least two optoelectronic signal receivers, at least one first signal selector, and at least one voltage comparator, which can improve the speed of the echo signal of the received detection signal. On the one hand, it can reduce the cost of the laser, and on the other hand, it can also ensure the response speed of the lidar. This is beneficial to the further popularization of the lidar.

[0324] In addition, the lidar provided in the embodiments of the present application. The lidar includes a signal transmitting device and a signal receiving device. The signal receiving device includes the signal receiving circuit of the lidar provided in the embodiment shown in FIG. 31 or FIG. 32. The lidar may include, for example, other features mentioned in the first aspect, second aspect, third aspect, and fourth aspect of the present application.

[0325] Please refer to Figure 29 , which shows a schematic flowchart of a ranging method of the lidar provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0326] As Figure 29 shown, the ranging method 1000 of the lidar includes the following steps:

[0327] Step 1001, the signal transmitting device controls a plurality of light emitting devices to sequentially emit detection signals.

[0328] Step 1002, each photoelectric signal receiver included in the signal receiving device sequentially receives the echo signals respectively generated when each of the detection signals encounters an obstacle.

[0329] Step 1003, based on the emission time of each detection signal, the reception time of each echo signal, and the pre-determined compensation time, the flight time of each detection signal is sequentially obtained.

[0330] Step 1004, determine the distance between the obstacle and the lidar according to the flight time.

[0331] Here, the flight time (Time of Flight, ToF) of each detection signal can be considered as the time interval between the moment when the detection signal is emitted and the moment when the echo signal formed by the detection signal encountering an obstacle is received.

[0332] For each detection signal, the product of the flight time of the detection signal and the speed of light can be regarded as the distance between the lidar and the obstacle.

[0333] The above-mentioned compensation time is mainly used to compensate for the deviation of the flight time caused by the parasitic capacitance in the receiving circuit of the lidar. The above-mentioned parasitic capacitance may be caused by the first signal selector and / or the second signal selector.

[0334] The receiving circuit of the lidar will generate parasitic capacitance. The existence of parasitic capacitance will consume voltage. The rising time of the rising edge of the pulse signal voltage output by the voltage comparator is later than the rising time of the rising edge of the pulse voltage signal theoretically generated by the echo signal when there is no parasitic capacitance in the signal receiving circuit. Therefore, the actual flight time of the detection signal will be less than the measured flight time of the detection signal, making the measured distance between the lidar and the obstacle inaccurate.

[0335] The method of calibration test can be used to measure the time difference between the rising time of the rising edge of the pulse signal voltage output by the voltage comparator and the rising time of the rising edge of the pulse voltage signal theoretically generated by the echo signal when there is no parasitic capacitance in the signal receiving circuit, and the above time difference is used as the compensation time. When calculating the flight time of the detection signal, the time interval between the above reference time when the detection signal is emitted by the light emitting device and the time when the echo signal generated by the detection signal encountering an obstacle is received, minus the above compensation time, is determined as the flight time of the detection signal for calculating the distance.

[0336] An embodiment of the present application further provides a signal processing method applicable to a lidar, including:

[0337] Converting the received optical signal into an electrical signal through a plurality of optoelectronic signal receivers;

[0338] Sequentially outputting the electrical signals output by each optoelectronic signal receiver among the plurality of optoelectronic signal receivers to a signal amplifier through a first signal selector;

[0339] Amplifying the received electrical signal through the amplifier; and

[0340] Comparing the amplified electrical signal with a threshold voltage through a voltage comparator, and outputting a pulse voltage signal according to the comparison result.

[0341] Wherein the threshold voltage is related to the detection requirements of the lidar.

[0342] The fifth aspect of the present application relates to the receiving circuit of the lidar and the signal processing method at the receiving end. The receiving circuits 800, 900 and the signal processing method therein can be combined with the lidars in the first aspect, second aspect, third aspect and fourth aspect of the present application, for example, used as the receiving circuit of the lidar and the signal processing method therein. For example, referring to Figure 7 and Figure 8 , an optoelectronic processor 704 is externally provided at the rear end of the receiving support 702, and the optoelectronic processor 704 includes a receiving circuit board 704A and a plurality of optoelectronic sensing elements 704B provided on the receiving circuit board. The optoelectronic signal receivers 801, 901 in the receiving circuit of the fifth aspect of the present application can be used as Figure 8The photoelectric sensing element 704B in it can also integrate other components of the receiving circuit in the fifth aspect of the present application, such as a signal generator, a first signal selector, a second signal selector, a voltage comparator, etc., on the receiving circuit board 704A at the same time. Thus, the technical solution and signal processing method of the lidar receiving circuit in the fifth aspect of the present application can be combined into the aforementioned lidar. In addition, the technical solution and signal processing method of the lidar receiving circuit in the fifth aspect of the present application can be easily combined with the technical solution and signal processing method of the lidar transmitting circuit in the fourth aspect of the present application. Such combination is easily understandable to those skilled in the art and does not require any creative labor, so it will not be elaborated here.

[0343] In the drawings, some structural or method features may be shown in a specific arrangement and / or order. However, it should be understood that such specific arrangement and / or order may not be required. Instead, in some embodiments, these features may be arranged in a manner and / or order different from that shown in the illustrative drawings. Additionally, the inclusion of a structural or method feature in a particular figure does not imply that such a feature is required in all embodiments, and in some embodiments, these features may not be included or may be combined with other features.

[0344] It should be noted that in the examples and descriptions of this patent, relational terms such as first and second are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "comprise", "include" or any other variant thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article or device comprising a series of elements not only includes those elements but also includes other elements not expressly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. Without further limitation, an element defined by the statement "comprising one" does not exclude the presence of another identical element in the process, method, article or device comprising the element.

[0345] It should be noted that in the examples and the description of this patent, relational terms such as first and second are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the term "comprising", "including" or any other variant thereof is intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device comprising a series of elements not only includes those elements, but also includes other elements not expressly listed, or further includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. Without further limitation, an element defined by the statement "comprising one" does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article or device comprising said element.

[0346] Although this application has been illustrated and described by reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that various changes may be made thereto in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of this application.

Claims

1. A detection device for a lidar, characterized in that, It includes an optical barrel, a beam emitting device, an emitting lens assembly, a receiving lens assembly, and an optoelectronic processing device; The optical barrel includes an emitting support and a receiving support, and the extending directions of the emitting support and the receiving support are parallel to each other; The emitting lens assembly is located inside the emitting support and on the optical path of the detection beam emitted by the beam emitting device; The receiving lens assembly is located inside the receiving support and on the optical path of the echo beam received by the optoelectronic processing device; The beam emitting device includes an emitting circuit board and a plurality of emitting light sources. The emitting circuit board is located outside the emitting support and is arranged at the rear end of the emitting support, and the plurality of emitting light sources are arranged on the emitting circuit board in a staggered manner in the vertical direction; The optoelectronic processing device includes a receiving circuit board, and the receiving circuit board is located outside the receiving support and is arranged at the rear end of the receiving support; The detection device further includes a light shielding plate, which is arranged between the emitting support and the receiving support. The emitting circuit board is located on one side of the light shielding plate, and the receiving circuit board is located on the other side of the light shielding plate.

2. The detection device of the lidar according to claim 1, characterized in that, The light shielding plate is parallel to the emitting support and the receiving support.

3. The detection device of the lidar according to claim 1, wherein, The rear end of the emitting support is the other end opposite to the end from which the emitting support emits the detection beam; The rear end of the receiving support is the other end opposite to the end at which the receiving support receives the echo beam.

4. The detection device of the lidar according to claim 3, characterized in that, It further includes: An emitting magnetic shielding member, arranged at the rear end of the emitting circuit board, for shielding the electromagnetic signal generated by the emitting circuit board; and A receiving magnetic shielding member, arranged at the rear end of the receiving circuit board, for shielding the electromagnetic signal generated by the receiving circuit board.

5. The detection device of the lidar according to claim 1, characterized in that, The optoelectronic processing device further includes optoelectronic sensing elements, where: m×n of the emitting light sources are arranged on the emitting circuit board; and i×j of the optoelectronic sensing elements are arranged on the receiving circuit board; where, m, n, i, and j are natural numbers greater than 1.

6. The detection device of the lidar according to claim 1, characterized in that, The front end face of the emitting support has an emitting hole, and the detection beam is adapted to be emitted from the emitting support through the emitting hole; the front end face of the receiving support has a receiving hole, and the echo beam is adapted to be incident on the receiving support through the receiving hole; and The optical barrel further includes an emitting light shielding plate and a receiving light shielding plate. The emitting light shielding plate is located outside the front end face of the emitting support and is perpendicular to the front end face of the emitting support, and the receiving light shielding plate is located outside the front end face of the receiving support and is perpendicular to the front end face of the receiving support.

7. The detection device of the lidar according to claim 1, characterized in that, At least one groove is provided on the inner wall of the emitting support for fixing the emitting lens assembly; and At least one groove is provided on the inner wall of the receiving support for fixing the receiving lens assembly.

8. The detection device of the lidar according to claim 1, characterized in that, It further includes a support platform, and the optical barrel, the beam emitting device, the emitting lens assembly, the receiving lens assembly, and the optoelectronic processing device are located above the support platform and are fixedly arranged relative to the support platform.

9. A lidar, characterized in that, Comprising the detection device according to any one of claims 1-8, further comprising a main shaft, an upper bin plate, a top cover, and a base; The upper bin plate is fixedly arranged relative to the detection device and is located below the support platform of the detection device, and the upper bin plate is relatively closer to the base and farther from the top cover in the axial direction of the detection device; The main shaft is arranged perpendicular to the base and is located between the upper bin plate and the base; The detection device can rotate 360° around the main shaft to achieve scanning in the horizontal direction.

10. The lidar according to claim 9, characterized in that, Further comprising a rotating bracket and a driving motor; The rotating bracket includes a first part and a second part. The first part is a hollow structure and is adapted to be sleeved on the main shaft. The second part is a disc surface structure perpendicular to the first part and is adapted to support the detection device. The second part includes at least three rotating sub-brackets. The first end of each rotating sub-bracket is coupled to the first part, and the second end of each rotating sub-bracket is coupled to the edge of the disc surface of the second part. The driving motor is adapted to drive the detection device to rotate through the rotating bracket.

11. The lidar according to claim 10, wherein Further comprising a housing, which is located above the base and is connected to the periphery of the support platform of the detection device.

12. The lidar according to claim 10, characterized in that, Further comprising a communication component; The main shaft is arranged as a hollow structure, and the communication component is arranged inside the main shaft.

13. The lidar according to claim 12, characterized in that, The communication component includes a first communication module and a second communication module. The first communication module is relatively fixed to the detection device, and the second communication module is relatively fixed to the base; The first communication module includes at least one light-emitting element, and the second communication module includes at least one photoelectric sensing element. The at least one photoelectric sensing element of the second communication module is located on the light path of the light beam emitted by the at least one light-emitting element of the first communication module.

14. The lidar according to claim 13, wherein, The second communication module further includes at least one light-emitting element, and the first communication module further includes at least one photoelectric sensing element. The at least one photoelectric sensing element of the first communication module is located on the light path of the light beam emitted by the at least one light-emitting element of the second communication module.

15. The lidar according to claim 14, characterized in that, The wavelength of the light beam emitted by the at least one light-emitting element of the first communication module is different from the wavelength of the light beam emitted by the at least one light-emitting element of the second communication module.

16. The lidar according to claim 9, wherein Further comprising a hollow lower bin plate, which is sleeved on the main shaft and is located between the upper bin plate and the base.

17. The lidar according to claim 16, characterized in that, Further comprising a wireless power supply component located between the upper bin plate and the lower bin plate. The wireless power supply component includes a wireless transmitting coil, a wireless receiving coil, a wireless transmitting circuit board, and a receiving circuit board; The wireless transmitting coil, the wireless receiving coil, the wireless transmitting circuit board, and the receiving circuit board are all arranged around the main shaft; The wireless transmitting coil and the wireless transmitting circuit board are fixedly arranged relative to the main shaft, and the wireless receiving coil and the receiving circuit board are fixedly arranged relative to the radar rotor; The wireless transmitting coil is electrically connected to the wireless transmitting circuit board, and the wireless receiving coil is electrically connected to the receiving circuit board.

18. The lidar according to claim 17, characterized in that, It further includes a drive motor, the drive motor includes a magnet and an armature, both the magnet and the armature are arranged around the main shaft, and the magnet is farther from the main shaft relative to the armature, and the magnet is coupled to the wireless transmission circuit board.

19. The lidar according to claim 17, characterized in that, It further includes a drive motor, the drive motor includes a magnet and an armature, both the magnet and the armature are arranged around the main shaft, and the magnet is farther from the main shaft relative to the armature, and the wireless transmission circuit board is electrically connected to the armature to supply power to the armature.

20. The lidar according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that, The drive motor is a DC motor.

21. The lidar according to claim 17, wherein, It further includes an angle measurement component, the angle measurement component is arranged around the main shaft and is farther from the main shaft than the wireless power supply component.

22. The lidar according to claim 9, wherein, It further includes a cable interface, and the cable interface is used to connect the lidar to an external device.

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