Laser emitting devices, lidar, and smart devices

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of lidar technology and discloses a laser emitting device, lidar, and intelligent device. The laser emitting device includes: a laser emitting array comprising at least one laser emitting plate, wherein multiple laser emitting units are disposed on the laser emitting plate at a position located on the actual focal plane of the laser emitting mirror group; the multiple laser emitting units are irregularly arranged along the direction perpendicular to the principal optical axis of the laser emitting mirror group, so that the light spot formed by the laser emitted by each laser emitting unit after passing through the laser emitting mirror group meets preset requirements. Through the above method, this invention solves the problem caused by excessive aberrations in the emitting mirror group.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of lidar technology, specifically to a laser emitting device, lidar, and intelligent device. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of science and technology, lidar is widely used in intelligent equipment such as autonomous driving, intelligent robot navigation, and drones, and is widely applied in scenarios such as environmental detection and spatial modeling. LiDAR is a radar system that uses laser beams to detect the position, velocity, and other characteristics of target objects. Its working principle is to first emit a detection laser beam towards the target object, then compare the received reflected signal from the target object with the emitted signal, process it, and obtain relevant information about the target object, such as parameters like target distance, azimuth, altitude, velocity, attitude, and shape.

[0003] During the research process, the inventors of this application discovered that, due to the limitations of the laser emitting mirror itself, when the laser emitting mirror group receives the laser signal emitted by the laser emitting unit, the aberration will be too large when the vertical field of view is large, resulting in inaccurate measurement accuracy. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above problems, embodiments of the present invention provide a laser emitting device, a lidar, and a smart device to solve the problem of excessive aberrations in the emitting mirror group in the prior art.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, this application provides a laser emitting device, including a laser emitting array and a laser emitting mirror group;

[0006] The laser emitting array includes at least one laser emitting plate, on which multiple laser emitting units are disposed at the position of the actual focal plane of the laser emitting mirror group; the multiple laser emitting units are irregularly arranged along the vertical direction of the principal optical axis of the laser emitting mirror group so that the light spot formed by the laser emitted by each laser emitting unit after passing through the laser emitting mirror group meets the preset size requirements.

[0007] Furthermore, the preset size requirement is determined based on the emission field of view of the laser emitting mirror group.

[0008] Furthermore, laser emitting units are sparsely arranged on the laser emitting plate at positions corresponding to the regions where the emission field of view of the laser emitting mirror group is greater than or equal to the second preset threshold; and laser emitting units are densely arranged on the laser emitting plate at positions corresponding to the regions where the emission field of view of the laser emitting mirror group is less than the second preset threshold.

[0009] Furthermore, in the region on the laser emitting plate where the emission field of view of the laser emitting mirror group is greater than or equal to the second preset threshold, the plurality of laser emitting units are arranged in an arc shape along the direction perpendicular to the main optical axis of the laser emitting mirror group; in the region on the laser emitting plate where the emission field of view of the laser emitting mirror group is less than the second preset threshold, the plurality of laser emitting units are arranged in a straight line along the direction perpendicular to the main optical axis of the laser emitting mirror group.

[0010] Furthermore, the multiple laser emitting units on the laser emitting plate are arranged in an arc shape along the direction perpendicular to the main optical axis of the laser emitting mirror group.

[0011] Furthermore, the plurality of laser emitting units are respectively disposed on both sides of the laser emitting plate.

[0012] Furthermore, the arc of the multiple laser emitting units arranged in an arc on each of the laser emitting boards is different.

[0013] Furthermore, the laser emitting device also includes an emission grating; the emission grating is disposed at the emission end of the laser emitting plate and is used to isolate the laser emitted by each of the laser emitting units.

[0014] Furthermore, the emitting grating has through holes at positions corresponding to the laser emitting plate, and light-blocking strips are provided between the through holes.

[0015] Furthermore, a spacer is provided between the through hole and each laser emitting unit on the laser emitting plate.

[0016] This application also proposes a lidar that uses the laser emitting device described in the above embodiments.

[0017] This application also proposes an intelligent device that uses the lidar described in the above embodiments.

[0018] As can be seen from the above, the embodiments of this application irregularly arrange the laser emitting unit at the focal plane position of the laser emitting mirror group, so that it is at the optimal focal position of the laser emitting mirror group after comprehensively considering aberrations, so that the emitted light spot reaches the optimal state and reduces problems such as dragging points and high reflection dilation on the point cloud.

[0019] The above description is merely an overview of the technical solution of the present invention. In order to better understand the technical means of the present invention and to implement it in accordance with the contents of the specification, and to make the above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, specific embodiments of the present invention are described below. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of preferred embodiments. The accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the invention. Furthermore, the same reference numerals denote the same parts throughout the drawings. In the drawings:

[0021] Figure 1 A structural diagram of the laser emitting device provided in an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0022] Figure 2 A side view of a laser emitting plate provided in an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0023] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a laser emitting unit arrangement provided in another embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0024] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the emission grating provided in an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0025] Figure 5 The actual optical path diagram of the laser emitting device provided in the embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0026] The reference numerals in the detailed embodiments are as follows:

[0027] Laser emitting mirror assembly 100, first lens 102, second lens 104, third lens 106, fourth lens 108, emitting grating 200, first through hole 202, first light-blocking strip 203, second through hole 204, third through hole 206, spacer 207, laser emitting array 300, first laser emitting plate 302, first laser emitting unit 3021, second laser emitting unit 3022, third laser emitting unit 3023, fourth laser emitting unit 3024, second laser emitting plate 304. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The embodiments of the technical solution of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. These embodiments are merely illustrative of the technical solution of the present invention and are therefore intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0029] LiDAR (LiDAR) works by emitting a detection laser beam at a target object, then comparing the received reflected signal with the emitted signal, processing the data, and obtaining information about the target object. The positional relationship between the laser emitting lens and the laser emitting unit affects the detection performance of the LiDAR. Ideally, the focal plane of the laser emitting lens is a plane. However, due to the inherent characteristics of the laser emitting lens assembly, the actual focal plane at the edges of the assembly is often forward of the focal plane at the center, making the actual focal plane of the laser emitting lens assembly not a plane, but a curved or arc-shaped surface. In practical use, the applicant has found that current laser emitting units are arranged in a straight line relative to the laser emitting lens, and most of them regard the focal plane as an ideal state. They do not take into account the limitations of the characteristics of the laser emitting lens group itself. Since the actual focal plane at the edge of the laser emitting lens group is often forward of the focal plane at the center position under a large vertical field of view, the actual focal plane of the laser emitting lens group is not a plane. If the laser emitting units are arranged in a straight line relative to the laser emitting lens, the aberrations will be large when the vertical field of view is large, and each emitting device cannot be at the optimal focal position. This makes it impossible for the emitted light spot of each emitting device to reach the optimal state.

[0030] This application provides a laser emitting device, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the laser emitting device includes a laser emitting array 300 and a laser emitting mirror group 100. The laser emitting array 300 includes multiple laser emitting plates 302, which may be two or more. Multiple laser emitting units 3022 are disposed on each laser emitting plate 302 at a position located on the actual focal plane of the laser emitting mirror group 100. The laser emitting units 3022 are irregularly arranged along the direction perpendicular to the principal optical axis of the laser emitting mirror group, so that the light spot formed by the emitted laser from each laser emitting unit after passing through the laser emitting mirror group meets a preset size requirement. In this embodiment, the light outlets of the multiple laser emitting units 3022 are set to be located on the actual focal plane. The preset size requirement for the light spot is determined by those skilled in the art based on the emission field of view of the laser emitting mirror group 100 set according to the specific scenario; this embodiment does not impose specific limitations. Figure 1 As shown, considering the aberrations of the laser emitting lens, the actual focal planes of the laser emitting lens group are not on the same plane. In this embodiment, the position of the laser emitting unit is set according to the actual focal plane positions of each part of the laser emitting lens group, and an irregular arrangement is used before and after emission, such as... Figure 2As shown, this ensures that each laser emitting unit, after comprehensively considering aberrations, is located at the optimal focal plane position of the laser emitting mirror group, thus achieving the optimal output light spot. In this embodiment, the actual focal plane of the laser emitting mirror group is the true focal plane of the laser emitting mirror group 100, which is obtained by pre-fitting and calculating based on the optical parameters of the laser emitting mirror group 100 (including parameters such as the material and shape of each optical element in the laser emitting mirror group).

[0031] The laser emitting mirror group 100 is used to receive laser signals emitted by the plurality of laser emitting units 3022, and to adjust the laser signals before emitting them. Preferably, the laser emitting mirror group 100 includes a first lens 102, a second lens 104, a third lens 106, and a fourth lens 108, used to adjust the laser signals emitted by the laser emitting units before emitting them. The focal plane of the laser emitting mirror group needs to comprehensively consider the optical characteristics of each of the first, second, third, and fourth lenses. In particular, the fourth lens, as the direct incident surface of the laser emitting unit in practical applications, has a large diameter and has the greatest impact on the emission of the laser emitting unit. Therefore, in this embodiment, when determining the actual focal plane of the laser emitting mirror group 100, the optical characteristics of each of the first, second, third, and fourth lenses will be comprehensively considered, and then a fitting process will be performed to determine the actual focal plane of the laser emitting mirror group 100.

[0032] In this embodiment, due to the limitations of the laser emitting mirror group 100, the closer the position on the laser emitting plate is to the optical axis of the laser emitting mirror group 100, the closer the actual focal plane is to the ideal focal plane, i.e., the closer it is to a plane; conversely, the farther the position is from the optical axis of the laser emitting mirror group 100, the further forward the actual focal plane is, and the closer it is to a curved surface. Therefore, in the region on the laser emitting plate where the emission field of view of the laser emitting mirror group 100 is greater than or equal to a second preset threshold, the plurality of laser emitting units are arranged in an arc shape along the vertical direction of the principal optical axis of the laser emitting mirror group. In the region on the laser emitting plate where the emission field of view of the laser emitting mirror group is less than the second preset threshold, the plurality of laser emitting units are arranged in a straight line along the vertical direction of the principal optical axis of the laser emitting mirror group. This embodiment does not specifically limit the specific value of the second preset threshold; those skilled in the art can set it accordingly based on the actual focal plane of the laser emitting mirror group 100. Specifically, laser emitting units are sparsely arranged at positions corresponding to the regions on the laser emitting plate where the emission field of view of the laser emitting mirror group is greater than or equal to the second preset threshold; and laser emitting units are densely arranged at positions corresponding to the regions on the laser emitting plate where the emission field of view of the laser emitting mirror group is less than the second preset threshold.

[0033] In this embodiment of the invention, preferably, on each laser emitting plate, the plurality of laser emitting units are arranged in an arc shape along the direction perpendicular to the principal optical axis of the laser emitting mirror group. This arrangement facilitates the production and manufacturing of the laser emitting plate. Furthermore, while considering the vertical field of view of the laser emitting mirror group, this embodiment also considers the aberration problem of the horizontal field of view of the laser emitting mirror group. In setting up each laser emitting plate, in addition to arranging the laser emitting units on each laser emitting plate in an arc or irregular manner, the overall setting of each laser emitting plate is coordinated so that the plurality of laser emitting units on all laser emitting plates are arranged in a concave shape relative to the laser emitting mirror, so that all laser emitting units are located on the actual focal plane of the laser emitting mirror group 100 to the greatest extent possible. That is, due to the constraints of the laser emitting mirror group 100, the actual focal plane of the laser emitting mirror group 100 is a concave curved surface; therefore, each laser emitting unit on each laser emitting plate is arranged on this concave curved surface.

[0034] In this embodiment, the laser emitting unit is irregularly positioned at the focal plane of the laser emitting mirror group, so that it is located at the optimal focal position of the laser emitting mirror group after comprehensively considering aberrations, so that the emitted light spot reaches the optimal state and reduces problems such as dragging points and high inversion dilation on the point cloud.

[0035] In another embodiment of the present invention, the inventors of this application discovered that current laser emitting units, when arranged in a large horizontal array, result in a large horizontal field of view in order to accommodate space. This large horizontal field of view leads to a much larger emitted light spot from the horizontal array at a large angle compared to a zero-degree horizontal angle. Based on this, this application also proposes a new laser emitting plate, in which multiple laser emitting units are respectively arranged on both sides. For example... Figure 3As shown, an exemplary first laser emitting plate 302 and a second laser emitting plate 304 are provided. Taking the first laser emitting plate 302 as an example, a first laser emitting unit 3021 and a second laser emitting unit 3022 are respectively arranged on the left and right sides of the laser emitting mirror group 100 on the first laser emitting plate 302, and there is a certain horizontal distance between each laser emitting plate. In this way, the laser emitting units that were originally arranged on two laser emitting plates are arranged on one laser emitting plate. In one embodiment, the horizontal distance between each laser emitting plate remains unchanged, and the number of laser emitting units is the same, so that the number of laser emitting plates is reduced by half compared with the prior art, effectively reducing the space of the entire laser emitting plate, making the light spot emitted at large angles smaller in the horizontal field of view, and reducing the aberration in the horizontal field of view. In another embodiment, while the number of laser emitting plates and the horizontal distance remain unchanged compared with the prior art, the number of laser emitting units that can be arranged is doubled, which can effectively increase the vertical resolution of the laser emitting units. In this embodiment of the invention, while the first laser emitting unit 3021 and the second laser emitting unit 3022 are arranged on the left and right sides of the first laser emitting plate 302 facing the laser emitting mirror group 100, they can also be combined with the positions arranged on the actual focal plane in the above embodiment. This allows the laser emitting units to be arranged on the left and right sides of the first laser emitting plate 302 facing the laser emitting mirror group 100, and to be arranged on each of the laser emitting plates 302 at positions located on the actual focal plane of the laser emitting mirror group 100. The laser emitting units 3022 are arranged irregularly along the direction perpendicular to the main optical axis of the laser emitting mirror group.

[0036] To ensure consistent horizontal spacing between laser emitting units, preferably, the spacing between laser emitting plates is equal to the thickness of the laser emitting plate. This ensures that the spacing between laser emitting units on the same laser emitting plate and the spacing between laser emitting units on different laser emitting plates are equal.

[0037] Similarly, in order to position the laser emitting unit on the focal plane of the laser emitting mirror group, the third laser emitting unit 3023 and the fourth laser emitting unit 3024 are arranged in an arc shape with the first laser emitting unit 3021 and the second laser emitting unit 3022.

[0038] As shown above, by setting laser emitting units on both sides of the laser emitting plate, the number of laser emitting plates can be reduced by half, effectively reducing the space occupied by the emitting plates, halving the horizontal angle, reducing the large-angle emission spot size, decreasing the divergence angle, concentrating the emission energy, increasing the ranging distance, and reducing problems such as point cloud dragging and high-inflection dilation. At the same time, the number of laser emitting arrays can be doubled without changing the number of emitting plates. With the same space, the extra arrays can be used to increase the vertical resolution.

[0039] Furthermore, to improve the laser emission effect of the laser emitting device, an emission grating 200 is added to the laser emitting device based on the above embodiment, such as... Figure 1 and Figure 4 As shown, the emission grating is disposed between the laser emission array 300 and the laser emission mirror group 100. In use, the emission grating 200 is disposed at one end closer to the laser emission array 300 to isolate each laser emission unit. By setting the emission grating, the emission spot of the laser emission unit can be effectively reduced.

[0040] Specifically, such as Figure 4 As shown, through holes 202, 204, and 206 are provided on the emitting grating at positions corresponding to the laser emitting plate, and a light-blocking strip 203 is provided between the through holes 202 and 204. For an emitting plate with continuously arranged laser emitting units, a large-angle channel can be provided, that is, the through holes corresponding to multiple laser emitting units can be integrated to form a strip shape. For a single laser emitting unit, a through hole 206 can be provided individually. In short, the arrangement of the through holes needs to match the laser emitting units. One through hole can be used for each emitting unit, or multiple emitting units can share one through hole, or a column or row arrangement can be used. When multiple laser emitting units correspond to one through hole 206, a spacer 207 can be provided within the through hole at positions between the laser emitting units on the laser emitting plate to isolate the laser emitting units within the same through hole. The emitting grating can be a plane, an inclined plane, or a curved surface, etc.

[0041] As can be seen from the above, the embodiments of this application further add an emission grating. By using the emission grating to block out areas with low energy density of the light spot, the size of the emission spot is reduced, thereby reducing problems such as dragging points and high inverse dilation on the point cloud.

[0042] Figure 5The diagram shows the optical path of the laser emitting unit proposed in this embodiment. As can be seen, multiple laser emitting units are irregularly arranged on each laser emitting plate in the laser emitting array 300. These laser emitting units are irregularly arranged according to the position of the focal plane of the laser emitting mirror group. The emitted laser light, after being blocked by the laser grating, forms a smaller spot and achieves better emission. The light is directly incident on the laser emitting mirror group and adjusted by the group before being directed towards the scanned object, optimizing the emitted spot size of the laser emitting unit and reducing issues such as point cloud drag and high-reflection dilation.

[0043] Furthermore, this application also proposes a lidar, which includes the laser emitting device mentioned in the above embodiments. The laser emitting device includes a laser emitting array and a laser emitting mirror group. The laser emitting array includes multiple laser emitting plates, and multiple laser emitting units are arranged on each laser emitting plate at a position located on the focal plane of the laser emitting mirror group. The laser emitting units are irregularly arranged along the focal plane of the laser emitting mirror group. The laser emitting mirror group is used to receive the laser signals emitted by the multiple laser emitting units, and adjust the laser signals before emitting them.

[0044] Furthermore, the multiple laser emitting units on the laser emitting plate are arranged in an arc shape, and the multiple laser emitting units between each laser emitting plate are arranged in a concave shape. The laser emitting units may be located on the focal plane of the laser emitting mirror assembly.

[0045] Furthermore, multiple laser emitting units are respectively arranged on both sides of each laser emitting plate, and the distance between each laser emitting plate is equal to the thickness of the laser emitting plate, which can effectively reduce the space of the emitting plate and make the light spot emitted at a large angle smaller in the horizontal field of view.

[0046] Furthermore, the laser emitting unit further includes an emission grating; the emission grating is disposed at one end of the laser emitting plate and is used to isolate each laser emitting unit. Through holes are provided on the emission grating at positions corresponding to those on the laser emitting plate, and light-blocking strips are provided between the through holes. Spacers are provided within the through holes and between each laser emitting unit on the laser emitting plate. By using the emission grating to block out areas of low energy density, the size of the emitted light spot is reduced, mitigating problems such as spot dragging and high inflection dilation in the point cloud.

[0047] This application also proposes a smart device that uses the lidar proposed in the above embodiments. The specific structure of the lidar is the same as that in the above embodiments, and will not be described again here.

[0048] It should be noted that, unless otherwise stated, the technical or scientific terms used in the embodiments of the present invention should have the ordinary meaning as understood by those skilled in the art to which the embodiments of the present invention pertain.

[0049] In the description of this embodiment of the invention, the technical terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing the embodiments of the invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the embodiments of the invention.

[0050] Furthermore, technical terms such as "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. In the description of embodiments of the present invention, "a plurality of" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly defined.

[0051] In the description of this embodiment of the invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, technical terms such as "installation," "connection," "joining," and "fixing" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in the embodiments of the invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0052] In the description of this embodiment of the invention, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, "above" or "below" the second feature can mean that the first feature is in direct contact with the second feature, or that the first feature is in indirect contact with the second feature through an intermediate medium. Furthermore, "above," "over," and "on top" of the second feature can mean that the first feature is directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply that the first feature is at a higher horizontal level than the second feature. "Below," "below," and "under" the second feature can mean that the first feature is directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply that the first feature is at a lower horizontal level than the second feature.

[0053] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to limit them. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features therein. These modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, and they should all be covered within the scope of the claims and specification of the present invention. In particular, as long as there is no structural conflict, the various technical features mentioned in the embodiments can be combined in any way. The present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein, but includes all technical solutions falling within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A laser emitting device, characterized in that, Includes laser emitting arrays and laser emitting mirror groups; The laser emitting array includes at least one laser emitting plate, and multiple laser emitting units are arranged on the laser emitting plate at the position of the actual focal plane of the laser emitting mirror group. The multiple laser emitting units are irregularly arranged along the vertical direction of the principal optical axis of the laser emitting mirror group so that the light spot formed after the laser emitted by each laser emitting unit passes through the laser emitting mirror group meets the preset size requirements. The preset size requirement is determined based on the emission field of view of the laser emitting mirror group; On the laser emitting plate, laser emitting units are sparsely arranged at the positions corresponding to the regions where the emission field of view of the laser emitting mirror group is greater than or equal to the second preset threshold. On the laser emitting plate, laser emitting units are densely arranged at positions corresponding to the regions where the emission field of view of the laser emitting mirror group is less than the second preset threshold. In the region on the laser emitting plate where the emission field of view of the laser emitting mirror group is greater than or equal to the second preset threshold, the plurality of laser emitting units are arranged in an arc along the direction perpendicular to the main optical axis of the laser emitting mirror group; In the region on the laser emitting plate where the emission field of view of the laser emitting mirror group is less than the second preset threshold, the plurality of laser emitting units are arranged in a straight line perpendicular to the main optical axis of the laser emitting mirror group.

2. The laser emitting device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The plurality of laser emitting units are respectively disposed on both sides of the laser emitting plate.

3. The laser emitting device as described in any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that, The arc of the multiple laser emitting units arranged in an arc on each laser emitting plate is different.

4. The laser emitting device as described in any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that, The laser emitting device also includes an emission grating; The emission grating is disposed at the emission end of the laser emission plate and is used to isolate the laser emitted by each laser emission unit.

5. The laser emitting device as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The emitting grating has through holes at positions corresponding to the laser emitting plate, and light-blocking strips are arranged between the through holes.

6. The laser emitting device as described in claim 5, characterized in that, A spacer is provided in the through hole at a position corresponding to each laser emitting unit on the laser emitting plate.

7. A lidar, characterized in that, Includes the laser emitting device as described in any one of claims 1-6.

8. A smart device, characterized in that, Including the lidar as described in claim 7.

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