A lidar, detection system

Abstract

The application provides a laser radar and a detection system, and relates to the technical field of laser detection. In the laser radar, a laser is directed towards a first inclined surface of a prism; the prism is used for reversing laser signals incident on the first inclined surface and emitting the reversed laser signals from a second inclined surface; a mirror is located on a first light path and forms a preset included angle with the first light path; a lens is arranged on a second light path, and an optical axis of the lens is kept parallel to the second light path; a first rotating mechanism is used for driving the mirror to rotate around an axis at a first rotating speed; a second rotating mechanism is used for driving the prism to rotate around an axis at a second rotating speed; the mirror is further used for receiving echo signals of laser signals emitted into a scene to be detected through the lens and reflecting the received echo signals towards the second inclined surface of the prism; the prism is further used for reversing the echo signals incident on the second inclined surface and emitting the reversed echo signals from the first inclined surface; and a detector is arranged on a third light path. The application can improve the detection quality of the laser radar.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of laser detection technology, and in particular to a lidar and detection system. Background Technology

[0002] In laser detection scenarios, it is usually necessary to use lidar to detect the depth information of objects in the scene to be measured.

[0003] In related technologies, lidar includes a laser, a detector, a reflector, and a rotating mechanism, which drives the reflector to rotate. The laser emits a laser signal towards the reflector, which reflects the signal into the scene being measured, forming a scanning pattern. Objects within the scene receive the laser signal and reflect an echo signal. The reflector receives this echo signal and reflects it into the detector. Finally, the depth information of objects in the scene is determined based on the echo signal received by the detector.

[0004] While the above scheme can achieve rotational scanning, during the scanning process, as the reflector rotates, the angle of the laser signal emitted by the detector relative to the reflector also changes. This causes the scanning pattern formed by the laser signal reflected by the reflector into the scene under test to rotate, resulting in uneven distribution of the scanning pattern in the scene under test and reducing the detection quality of the lidar. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this application is to provide a lidar and detection system to improve the detection quality of lidar. The specific technical solution is as follows:

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a lidar, which includes: a laser, a prism, a mirror, a first rotating mechanism, a second rotating mechanism, a detector, and a lens. The prism supports inverting incident light rays and supports outgoing light rays rotating with itself, wherein:

[0007] The laser is directed toward the first inclined surface of the prism and is used to emit laser signals toward the first inclined surface;

[0008] The prism is used to invert the laser signal incident on the first inclined plane and to emit the inverted laser signal out from the second inclined plane;

[0009] The reflector is located on the first optical path and forms a preset angle with the first optical path to reflect the laser signal emitted from the second inclined surface. The first optical path is the optical path where the laser signal emitted from the second inclined surface of the prism is located.

[0010] The lens is disposed on the second optical path, and the optical axis of the lens remains parallel to the second optical path, for supporting the laser signal reflected by the reflector to pass through the lens and enter the scene to be tested. The second optical path is the optical path where the laser signal reflected by the reflector is located.

[0011] The first rotating mechanism is used to drive the reflector to rotate around the axis at a first rotational speed;

[0012] The second rotating mechanism is used to drive the prism to rotate around the axis at a second rotation speed, wherein the second rotation speed is used to make the rotation speed of the laser signal emitted from the second inclined surface consistent with the first rotation speed;

[0013] The reflector is also used to receive the echo signal of the laser signal incident on the scene to be tested through the lens, and to reflect the received echo signal to the second inclined surface of the prism.

[0014] The prism is also used to invert the echo signal incident on the second inclined plane and to emit the inverted echo signal from the first inclined plane, so that the position of the echo signal emitted from the first inclined plane relative to the detector remains unchanged.

[0015] The detector is positioned on the third optical path to receive the echo signal emitted from the first inclined surface of the prism. The third optical path is the optical path where the echo signal emitted from the first inclined surface of the prism is located.

[0016] In one embodiment of this application, the first rotating mechanism is used to drive the lens and the reflector to rotate around the same rotating axis at the first rotation speed.

[0017] In one embodiment of this application, the prism is a Dowell prism;

[0018] The second rotational speed is half the size of the first rotational speed.

[0019] In one embodiment of this application, the first rotating mechanism is a rotary table.

[0020] In one embodiment of this application, the second rotating mechanism is a hollow rotating mechanism, and the prism is disposed in the hollow part of the hollow rotating mechanism. The hollow rotating mechanism is used to clamp the prism and rotate it around an axis.

[0021] In one embodiment of this application, the lidar further includes a drive motor, which is connected to the first rotating mechanism via a first transmission mechanism, for driving the first rotating mechanism to rotate at the first speed.

[0022] The drive motor is also connected to the second rotating mechanism via a second transmission mechanism, and is used to drive the second rotating mechanism to rotate at the second speed.

[0023] In one embodiment of this application, the laser is a linear array laser;

[0024] The detector is a linear array detector.

[0025] In one embodiment of this application, the lidar further includes a detection station, on which the laser and the detector are disposed.

[0026] In one embodiment of this application, the lidar further includes a housing, and the laser, prism, reflector, first rotating mechanism, second rotating mechanism, and detector are encapsulated within the housing.

[0027] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a detection system, the detection system comprising: a processor and a lidar as described in any one of the first aspects, wherein:

[0028] The processor is communicatively connected to the laser and detector in the lidar;

[0029] The processor is used to control the laser to emit laser signals and obtain the echo signals received by the detector, and determine the detection results based on the obtained echo signals.

[0030] Beneficial effects of the embodiments in this application:

[0031] In the solution provided in this application embodiment, the lidar includes: a laser, a prism, a reflector, a first rotating mechanism, a second rotating mechanism, a detector, and a lens. The prism supports inverting incident light and allows outgoing light to rotate with itself. The laser faces the first inclined surface of the prism and is used to emit a laser signal towards the first inclined surface. The prism is used to invert the laser signal incident on the first inclined surface and emit the inverted laser signal from the second inclined surface. The reflector is located on the first optical path and forms a preset angle with the first optical path, used to reflect the laser signal emitted from the second inclined surface. The first optical path is the optical path containing the laser signal emitted from the second inclined surface of the prism. The lens is disposed on the second optical path, and the optical axis of the lens remains parallel to the second optical path, used to support the laser signal reflected by the reflector to pass through the lens and enter the scene to be measured. The two optical paths are: the optical path where the laser signal reflected by the reflector is located; the first rotating mechanism is used to drive the reflector to rotate around the axis at a first rotation speed; the second rotating mechanism is used to drive the prism to rotate around the axis at a second rotation speed, wherein the second rotation speed is used to: make the rotation speed of the laser signal emitted from the second inclined surface consistent with the first rotation speed; the reflector is also used to receive the echo signal of the laser signal incident on the scene under test through a lens, and reflect the received echo signal to the second inclined surface of the prism; the prism is also used to invert the echo signal incident on the second inclined surface, and emit the inverted echo signal from the first inclined surface, so that the position of the echo signal emitted from the first inclined surface relative to the detector remains unchanged; the detector is set on the third optical path to receive the echo signal emitted from the first inclined surface of the prism, wherein the third optical path is the optical path where the echo signal emitted from the first inclined surface of the prism is located. In this way, the second rotating mechanism can drive the prism to rotate, thereby causing the laser signal emitted by the prism to rotate accordingly, maintaining the same rotational speed as the reflector. The reflector can reflect the laser signal emitted by the prism through a lens to the scene under test, and perform a rotational scan of the scene under test. Similarly, the echo signal of the laser signal emitted into the scene under test passes through a lens and enters the reflector, which then reflects the echo signal back to the detector through the prism. In the above process, because the laser signal emitted by the prism rotates at the same speed as the reflector, the angle of the laser signal emitted by the prism relative to the reflector remains unchanged during the rotation. Therefore, the scan pattern formed in the scene under test will not rotate, ensuring that the scan pattern is uniformly distributed in the scene under test. It can be seen that the LiDAR provided in this application embodiment can improve the detection quality of the LiDAR.

[0032] In addition, in the solution provided in this application embodiment, the laser signal emitted by the laser can be rotated by rotating the reflector and prism. Moreover, the echo signal of the laser signal can enter the detector after passing through the lens, reflector and prism. In this way, when performing rotational scanning, there is no need to rotate the laser and detector, thereby ensuring the stability of the laser and detector, preventing field distortion caused by changes in the relative position of the laser signal and the reflector, avoiding the problem of complex power supply caused by the rotation of the laser and detector, and enabling the detector and laser to achieve co-path detection. The laser and detector can share the lens, reflector and prism for signal transmission and reception, ensuring that the detection aperture of the detector is not blocked, and reducing the complexity of the lidar. Attached Figure Description

[0033] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other embodiments can be obtained based on these drawings.

[0034] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a lidar provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0035] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the trajectory of light passing through a Dowell prism provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0036] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the distribution of the first type of laser scanning pattern in the field of view provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0037] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the distribution of the second type of laser scanning pattern in the field of view provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0038] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of another lidar structure provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a detection system provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0040] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on this application are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0041] To improve the detection quality of lidar, this application provides a lidar and a detection system, which will be described in detail below.

[0042] See Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a lidar structure provided in an embodiment of this application. The lidar includes: a laser 101, a prism 102, a reflector 103, a first rotating mechanism 104, a second rotating mechanism 105, a detector 106, and a lens 107. The prism 102 supports the inversion of incident light rays and supports the rotation of outgoing light rays with itself.

[0043] The laser 101 is oriented toward the first inclined surface of the prism 102 and is used to emit laser signals toward the first inclined surface;

[0044] Prism 102 is used to invert the laser signal incident on the first inclined plane and to emit the inverted laser signal out from the second inclined plane;

[0045] The reflector 103 is located on the first optical path and forms a preset angle with the first optical path. It is used to reflect the laser signal emitted from the second inclined surface. The first optical path is the optical path where the laser signal emitted from the second inclined surface of the prism 102 is located.

[0046] Lens 107 is disposed on the second optical path, and the optical axis of lens 107 remains parallel to the second optical path, so as to support the laser signal reflected by mirror 103 to pass through the lens and enter the scene under test;

[0047] The second optical path is the optical path where the laser signal reflected by mirror 103 is located;

[0048] The first rotating mechanism 104 is used to drive the reflector 103 to rotate around the axis at a first rotation speed;

[0049] The second rotating mechanism 105 is used to drive the prism 102 to rotate around the axis at a second rotation speed, wherein the second rotation speed is used to make the rotation speed of the laser signal emitted from the second inclined surface consistent with the first rotation speed.

[0050] The reflector 103 is also used to receive the echo signal of the laser signal incident on the scene to be tested through the lens 107, and to reflect the received echo signal to the second inclined surface of the prism 102.

[0051] Prism 102 is also used to invert the echo signal incident on the second inclined plane and to exit the inverted echo signal from the first inclined plane.

[0052] The detector 106 is positioned on the third optical path to receive the echo signal emitted from the first inclined surface of the prism 102.

[0053] The third optical path is the optical path where the echo signal emitted from the first inclined surface of the prism 102 is located.

[0054] The laser 101 mentioned above can be used to emit laser signals;

[0055] The aforementioned prism 102 supports the inversion of incident light rays and the rotation of outgoing light rays with itself. The prism 102 may include two inclined surfaces; for ease of description, either inclined surface of the prism 102 can be referred to as the first inclined surface, and the other as the second inclined surface. Light rays incident from either inclined surface of the prism 102 can exit from the other inclined surface, and the exiting light rays will be inverted relative to the incident light rays. Furthermore, while the incident light rays remain unchanged, as the prism 102 rotates, the outgoing light rays will also rotate, and there is a preset proportional relationship between the rotational speed of the outgoing light rays and the rotational speed of the prism 102 itself.

[0056] The aforementioned reflector 103 can reflect the received light;

[0057] The first rotating mechanism 104 is connected to the reflector 103 and can drive the reflector 103 to rotate around the central axis;

[0058] The lens 107 is disposed on the second optical path where the laser signal reflected by the reflector 103 is located, and the optical axis of the lens 107 is kept parallel to the second optical path. In this way, the laser signal reflected by the reflector 103 can pass through the lens 107 and enter the scene to be tested, which makes it easier for the lens 107 to converge and shape the laser signal, prevent the laser signal from diverging, and improve the accuracy of laser detection.

[0059] The second rotating mechanism 105 is connected to the prism 102, which can drive the prism 102 to rotate around the axis, and can make the rotation speed of the light emitted from the prism 102 keep the same direction and the same magnitude as the rotation speed of the reflector 103.

[0060] The aforementioned reflector 103 is also used to receive the echo signal of the reflected laser signal and reflect the received echo signal to the second inclined surface of the prism 102.

[0061] Prism 102 is also used to invert the echo signal incident on the second inclined plane and to emit the inverted echo signal out of the first inclined plane, so that the position of the echo signal emitted from the first inclined plane relative to the detector remains unchanged.

[0062] Detector 106 is positioned in the third optical path to receive the echo signal emitted from the first inclined surface of prism 102. The third optical path is defined as the optical path containing the echo signal emitted from the first inclined surface of prism 102.

[0063] The detector 106 can receive echo signals. After the laser signal comes into contact with an object, it is reflected by the object and an echo signal is obtained. The detector 106 can receive the echo signal and use the echo signal to measure the depth information of the object in the scene. This depth information can reflect the distance of the object relative to the lidar.

[0064] Specifically, in the application process, the laser 101 can emit laser signals toward the first inclined surface of the prism 102;

[0065] The laser signal enters from the first inclined surface of the prism 102 and exits from the second inclined surface. The exited laser signal is inverted and directed towards the reflector.

[0066] The reflector can direct the laser signal into the lens 107, so that the laser signal reflected by the reflector 103 can pass through the lens and be directed into the scene to be measured. The scene to be measured is the scene to be measured, such as a tunnel, mine, road, or inside a building.

[0067] Furthermore, during the above process, the first rotating mechanism 104 drives the reflector 103 to rotate around the axis at a first rotation speed. The reflector 103 can be understood as a rotating scanning mirror. As the reflector 103 rotates, it can uniformly reflect the laser signal to the scene under test, thereby realizing the rotational scanning of the scene under test.

[0068] The second rotating mechanism 105 drives the prism 102 to rotate around the axis at a second rotation speed. Since the prism 102 supports the output light to rotate with its own rotation, the laser signal emitted from the second inclined surface will also rotate as the prism 102 rotates. In addition, since the second rotation speed is the same as the first rotation speed, that is, the rotation speed of the laser signal emitted from the second inclined surface of the prism 102 is the same as the rotation speed of the reflector. This ensures that the laser signal emitted by the laser 101 can be evenly distributed in the field of view after passing through the prism 102, the reflector 103, and the lens 107, thereby achieving stable scanning of the scene to be tested.

[0069] When an object in the scene under test receives a laser signal, it can reflect the laser signal to obtain an echo signal.

[0070] The echo signal can be re-injected into lens 107, and the echo signal is injected into mirror 103 through lens 107. Mirror 103 can reflect the received echo signal and inject it into the second inclined surface of prism 102.

[0071] The aforementioned echo signal enters from the second inclined surface of prism 102 and exits from the first inclined surface, and the exited echo signal is inverted;

[0072] Since detector 106 is located on the third optical path, and the third optical path is the optical path where the echo signal emitted from the first inclined surface of prism 102 is located, detector 106 can receive the above echo signal and process the echo signal.

[0073] Furthermore, during the above process, the first rotating mechanism 104 drives the reflector 103 to rotate around the axis at a first rotation speed, and the second rotating mechanism 105 drives the prism 102 to rotate around the axis at a second rotation speed.

[0074] Since prism 102 supports the rotation of the emitted light as it rotates, the echo signal incident from the second inclined plane will also rotate as prism 102 rotates. In addition, since the second rotation speed is the same as the first rotation speed, the rotation speed of the laser signal emitted from the first inclined plane of prism 102 is the same as the rotation speed of the reflector for the echo signal. This ensures that the echo signal reflected by the reflector 103 can stably enter the detector after passing through the prism, thereby ensuring that the detector stably receives the echo signal.

[0075] In addition, in the above scheme, the optical path of the laser signal from the laser to the scene under test and the optical path of the laser signal echo signal from the scene under test into the detector are the same, so the lidar can achieve common path scanning and detection, ensuring the stability of the laser signal pattern and the echo signal pattern.

[0076] In the solution provided by the above embodiments, the second rotating mechanism can drive the prism to rotate, thereby causing the laser signal emitted by the prism to rotate accordingly and maintain the same rotational speed as the reflector. The reflector can reflect the laser signal emitted by the prism to the scene under test through a lens and perform a rotational scan on the scene under test. Similarly, the echo signal of the laser signal incident on the scene under test passes through a lens and enters the reflector, which then reflects the echo signal to the detector through the prism. In the above process, since the laser signal emitted by the prism rotates at the same speed as the reflector, the angle of the laser signal emitted by the prism relative to the reflector remains unchanged during the rotation. Therefore, the scan pattern formed in the scene under test will not rotate, ensuring that the scan pattern is uniformly distributed in the scene under test. It can be seen that the lidar provided by the above embodiments can improve the detection quality of lidar.

[0077] In addition, in the solution provided by the above embodiments, the laser signal emitted by the laser can be rotated by rotating the reflector and prism. Moreover, the echo signal of the laser signal can enter the detector after passing through the lens, reflector and prism. In this way, when performing rotational scanning, there is no need to rotate the laser and detector, thereby ensuring the stability of the laser and detector, preventing field distortion caused by changes in the relative position of the laser signal and the reflector, avoiding the problem of complex power supply caused by the rotation of the laser and detector, and enabling the detector and laser to achieve co-path detection. The laser and detector can share the above-mentioned lens, reflector and prism for signal transmission and reception, ensuring that the detection aperture of the detector is not blocked, and reducing the complexity of the lidar.

[0078] In addition, in the solution provided by the above embodiments, the laser and detector that require power supply do not need to rotate during the scanning process. This eliminates the need to consider how to supply power to the laser and detector during rotation when designing the lidar, thereby reducing the complexity of the lidar and thus reducing production costs.

[0079] The components of a lidar system will be described in detail below.

[0080] In one embodiment of this application, the aforementioned laser laser method may further include a third rotating mechanism, which drives the lens to rotate around an axis at a first rotational speed. This ensures that the rotational speed of the lens is consistent with the rotational speed of the reflector, guaranteeing that the lens remains on the second optical path and that the optical axis remains parallel to the second optical path.

[0081] In one embodiment of this application, the first rotating mechanism can also be used to drive the lens and the reflector to rotate around the same rotating axis at a first rotation speed.

[0082] In this way, the first rotating mechanism can synchronously drive the lens and the reflector to rotate around the same rotating axis at the same first rotation speed. While ensuring that the lens remains on the second optical path and the optical axis remains parallel to the second optical path, the rotation of the two components is driven by one rotating mechanism, avoiding the introduction of an additional rotating mechanism, thereby saving equipment resources.

[0083] In one embodiment of this application, the prism may be a right-angle prism, a chamfered prism, etc., and this application does not limit the embodiments thereto.

[0084] In one embodiment of this application, the prism is a Dowell prism; the magnitude of the second rotational speed is half the magnitude of the first rotational speed.

[0085] See Figure 2 , Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the trajectory of light rays passing through a Dove prism, as provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 2It is evident that the light rays emitted from a triangle with its acute angle pointing upwards, after passing through the Dowell prism, result in a triangle with its acute angle pointing downwards, demonstrating that the Dowell prism can flip light rays.

[0086] In addition, when the Dowell prism rotates, the outgoing light rays passing through the Dowell prism will rotate at twice the rotation speed of the Dowell prism itself. By using the Dowell prism and the reflector, it is possible to ensure that the laser scanning pattern is stably incident on the scene to be tested, which will be explained below through specific embodiments.

[0087] See Figure 3 , Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the distribution of a laser scanning pattern in the field of view without a Dove prism, as provided in an embodiment of this application. Assuming the laser is a linear array laser, the emitted laser signal is a linear array laser signal. This linear array laser signal, after entering the reflector, forms a linear spot. The reflector reflects the linear array laser signal into the scene, forming a linear scanning pattern. Without a Dove prism, the laser signal emitted by the laser directly enters the reflector. The reflector rotates, directing the laser signal into the field of view. In this case, as the reflector rotates, the relative position and angle between the linear laser and the reflector change. Initially, when the reflector rotates to 0°, the spot formed in the reflector is vertical, and the scanning pattern reflected into the scene is also vertical. During scanning, when the reflector rotates to 90°, the spot formed in the reflector is horizontal, and the scanning pattern reflected into the scene is also horizontal. This can easily lead to uneven distribution of the scan pattern in the field of view. The lidar samples sparsely in some parts of the field of view, densely in others, and cannot sample in some still. Ultimately, this causes distortion in the entire field of view, which is not conducive to target detection.

[0088] See Figure 4 , Figure 4This is a schematic diagram illustrating the distribution of a laser scanning pattern in the field of view when a Dowell prism is used, as provided in an embodiment of this application. Assuming the laser is a linear array laser, the laser signal emitted by the laser is a linear array laser signal. The linear array laser signal emitted by the laser enters the reflector and forms a linear spot. The reflector reflects the linear array laser signal into the scene, forming a linear scanning pattern. Because the Dowell prism supports inverting the incident light and allows the outgoing light to rotate at twice its own speed, when the Dowell prism rotates at half its initial speed, the outgoing light can be guaranteed to rotate at the initial speed. This ensures that the rotation speed of the outgoing light matches that of the reflector, preventing changes in the relative position and angle between the linear laser and the reflector. Initially, when the reflector rotates to 0°, the light spot formed in the reflector is vertical, and the scanned pattern reflected into the scene is also vertical. During scanning, when the reflector rotates to 90°, the laser signal rotates synchronously with the reflector via the Dowell prism. Therefore, the light spot formed in the reflector remains vertical, and the scanned pattern reflected into the scene also remains vertical. This ensures a uniform distribution of the scanned pattern within the field of view, achieving uniform sampling and facilitating target detection within the field of view.

[0089] In one embodiment of this application, the laser is a linear array laser. In this case, the laser signal emitted by the laser is a linear array laser signal.

[0090] Based on the above scheme, the detector is a linear array detector.

[0091] Specifically, after the linear laser signal emitted by the linear laser is incident on the scene to be tested, the echo signal obtained by the reflection of the objects in the scene is also a linear echo signal. Using the aforementioned linear array detector, it is convenient to receive and process the linear echo signal of the linear laser signal.

[0092] In addition, in one embodiment of this application, the laser can be a matrix laser, and correspondingly, the detector can also be a matrix detector.

[0093] In addition, the laser and detector mentioned above can also be circular, conical, arc-shaped, etc., and the embodiments of this application do not limit them.

[0094] In one embodiment of this application, the first rotating mechanism is a rotary table.

[0095] Specifically, the reflector can be fixedly connected to the rotating platform, so that the rotating platform can drive the reflector to rotate around the axis.

[0096] In one embodiment of this application, the reflector and the first rotating mechanism can be fixedly connected by a connector. The first end of the connector is fixedly connected to the center position of the reflector, and the second end of the connector is connected to the rotation center position of the rotating table. This facilitates the rotating table to drive the reflector to rotate around the axis where the center is located.

[0097] In addition, the aforementioned first rotating mechanism can also be a rotating mechanism, and the first rotating mechanism and the reflector can be connected through a transmission mechanism, thereby facilitating the first rotating mechanism to drive the reflector to rotate around the axis. The aforementioned transmission mechanism can be a track, transmission gear, transmission rod, etc.

[0098] In one embodiment of this application, the second rotating mechanism is a hollow rotating mechanism, and the prism is disposed in the hollow part of the hollow rotating mechanism. The hollow rotating mechanism is used to clamp the prism and rotate it around an axis.

[0099] Specifically, the second rotating mechanism is a hollow rotating mechanism, which can clamp and rotate the prism at the hollow part. In this way, the prism is not blocked by the second rotating mechanism, ensuring that the laser signal emitted by the laser can pass through the prism and enter the reflector.

[0100] In addition, the aforementioned second rotating mechanism can also be a non-hollow rotating mechanism. The second rotating mechanism and the prism can be connected through a transmission mechanism, thereby facilitating the second rotating mechanism to drive the prism to rotate around the axis. The transmission mechanism can be a track, transmission gear, transmission rod, etc.

[0101] In one embodiment of this application, the lidar further includes a detection station, on which a laser and a detector are disposed.

[0102] Specifically, the aforementioned detection station can be located on the third optical path where the echo signal emitted from the first inclined surface of the prism is located, and the aforementioned detection station can be perpendicular to the aforementioned third optical path. The aforementioned laser and detector can be mounted on the aforementioned detection station.

[0103] In one embodiment of this application, the lidar further includes a housing, and the laser, prism, reflector, first rotating mechanism, second rotating mechanism, and detector are encapsulated within the housing.

[0104] Specifically, the laser, prism, reflector, first rotating mechanism, second rotating mechanism, detector, etc. in the lidar can all be encapsulated in the lidar housing. The housing must ensure that the emitted laser signal and the incident echo signal are not blocked. In this way, the components in the lidar can be protected without affecting the normal operation of the lidar.

[0105] In one embodiment of this application, the lidar further includes a drive motor, which is connected to a first rotating mechanism via a first transmission mechanism, and is used to drive the first rotating mechanism to rotate at a first speed.

[0106] The drive motor is also connected to the second rotating mechanism through the second transmission mechanism, and is used to drive the second rotating mechanism to rotate at the second speed.

[0107] The first transmission mechanism can be a conveyor belt, gear, hinge, etc., and the second transmission mechanism can also be a conveyor belt, gear, hinge, etc. The first transmission mechanism and the second transmission mechanism can be the same or different.

[0108] Specifically, the drive motor drives the first rotating mechanism to rotate at a first speed through the first transmission mechanism, and the first rotating mechanism then drives the reflector to rotate at the first speed; the drive motor drives the second rotating mechanism to rotate at a second speed through the second transmission mechanism, and the second rotating mechanism then drives the prism to rotate at the second speed. The ratio between the transmission ratio of the first transmission mechanism and the transmission ratio of the second transmission mechanism is a preset ratio. In this way, when driven by the same drive motor through transmission mechanisms with different transmission ratios, the first rotating mechanism and the second rotating mechanism can maintain a stable speed ratio, which is the same as the preset ratio. As a result, the reflector and the prism can rotate at a stable speed ratio, thereby ensuring that the speed of the laser signal emitted from the second inclined surface of the prism is consistent with the speed of the reflector.

[0109] In the above scheme, the same drive motor drives the reflector and prism to rotate through different transmission mechanisms, which can ensure that the speed ratio between the reflector and prism remains stable, thereby ensuring the stability of the laser signal. This avoids the instability of the speed ratio between the reflector and prism caused by different mechanisms driving the rotation of the reflector and prism, thus improving the reliability of the lidar.

[0110] See Figure 5 , Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of another lidar structure provided in an embodiment of this application. The lidar includes: a linear array laser 501, a Dowell prism 502, a reflector 503, a rotating stage 504, a hollow rotating mechanism 505, a linear array detector 506, a detection stage 507, and a lens 508, wherein:

[0111] A linear array laser 501 and a linear array detector 506 are mounted on a detection stage 507.

[0112] The linear laser 501 faces the first inclined surface of the Dowell prism 502 and is used to emit laser signals toward the first inclined surface.

[0113] The Dowell prism 502 is used to invert the laser signal incident on the first inclined plane and to emit the inverted laser signal out from the second inclined plane.

[0114] The reflector 503 is located on the first optical path and forms a preset angle with the first optical path. It is used to reflect the laser signal emitted from the second inclined surface. The first optical path is the optical path where the laser signal emitted from the second inclined surface of the Daowei prism 502 is located.

[0115] Lens 508 is disposed on the second optical path, and the optical axis of lens 508 is parallel to the second optical path. It is used to converge and shape the laser signal reflected by mirror 503 and then project it into the field of view. The second optical path is the optical path where the laser signal reflected by mirror 503 is located.

[0116] The rotary table 504 is used to drive the reflector 503 and the lens 508 to rotate around the axis at a first speed.

[0117] The hollow rotating mechanism 505 is used to drive the Daowei prism 502 to rotate around the axis at a second rotation speed, wherein the second rotation speed is half of the first rotation speed;

[0118] Lens 508 is also used to receive the echo signal of the laser signal and send the echo signal to reflector 503;

[0119] The reflector 503 is also used to receive the aforementioned echo signal and reflect the received echo signal to the second inclined surface of the Dowell prism 502.

[0120] The Dowell prism 502 is also used to invert the echo signal incident on the second inclined plane and to exit the inverted echo signal from the first inclined plane.

[0121] Detector 506 is positioned on the third optical path to receive the echo signal emitted from the first inclined surface of the Daowei prism 502. The third optical path is the optical path where the echo signal emitted from the first inclined surface of the Daowei prism 502 is located.

[0122] In the solution provided by the above embodiments, the second rotating mechanism can drive the prism to rotate, thereby causing the laser signal emitted by the prism to rotate accordingly and maintain the same rotational speed as the reflector. The reflector can reflect the laser signal emitted by the prism to the scene under test through a lens and perform a rotational scan on the scene under test. Similarly, the echo signal of the laser signal incident on the scene under test passes through a lens and enters the reflector, which then reflects the echo signal to the detector through the prism. In the above process, since the laser signal emitted by the prism rotates at the same speed as the reflector, the angle of the laser signal emitted by the prism relative to the reflector remains unchanged during the rotation. Therefore, the scan pattern formed in the scene under test will not rotate, ensuring that the scan pattern is uniformly distributed in the scene under test. It can be seen that the lidar provided by the above embodiments can improve the detection quality of lidar.

[0123] In addition, in the solution provided by the above embodiments, the laser signal emitted by the laser can be rotated by rotating the reflector and prism. Moreover, the echo signal of the laser signal can enter the detector after passing through the lens, reflector and prism. In this way, when performing rotational scanning, there is no need to rotate the laser and detector, thereby ensuring the stability of the laser and detector, preventing field distortion caused by changes in the relative position of the laser signal and the reflector, avoiding the problem of complex power supply caused by the rotation of the laser and detector, and enabling the detector and laser to achieve co-path detection. The laser and detector can share the above-mentioned lens, reflector and prism for signal transmission and reception, ensuring that the detection aperture of the detector is not blocked, and reducing the complexity of the lidar.

[0124] This application provides a detection system, which will be described in detail below.

[0125] See Figure 6 , Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a detection system provided in an embodiment of this application. The detection system includes: a processor 601 and the aforementioned lidar 602, wherein:

[0126] The processor 601 is communicatively connected to the laser and detector in the lidar 602;

[0127] The processor 601 is used to control the laser to emit laser signals and obtain the echo signals received by the detector, and to determine the detection results based on the obtained echo signals.

[0128] The detection results may include the target's position and depth information within the field of view of the lidar 602.

[0129] Specifically, the processor can communicate with the laser and detector in the lidar, and the processor can control the laser to emit laser signals, for example, it can control the laser to emit laser signals at a preset frequency;

[0130] After the detector receives the echo signal of the laser signal, it can send the echo signal to the processor. The processor obtains the echo signal, processes the echo signal, and obtains the detection result.

[0131] In the solution provided by the above embodiments, the second rotating mechanism can drive the prism to rotate, thereby causing the laser signal emitted by the prism to rotate accordingly and maintain the same rotational speed as the reflector. The reflector can reflect the laser signal emitted by the prism to the scene under test through a lens and perform a rotational scan on the scene under test. Similarly, the echo signal of the laser signal incident on the scene under test passes through a lens and enters the reflector, which then reflects the echo signal to the detector through the prism. In the above process, since the laser signal emitted by the prism rotates at the same speed as the reflector, the angle of the laser signal emitted by the prism relative to the reflector remains unchanged during the rotation. Therefore, the scan pattern formed in the scene under test will not rotate, ensuring that the scan pattern is uniformly distributed in the scene under test. It can be seen that the lidar provided by the above embodiments can improve the detection quality of lidar.

[0132] In addition, in the solution provided by the above embodiments, the laser signal emitted by the laser can be rotated by rotating the reflector and prism. Moreover, the echo signal of the laser signal can enter the detector after passing through the lens, reflector and prism. In this way, when performing rotational scanning, there is no need to rotate the laser and detector, thereby ensuring the stability of the laser and detector, preventing field distortion caused by changes in the relative position of the laser signal and the reflector, avoiding the problem of complex power supply caused by the rotation of the laser and detector, and enabling the detector and laser to achieve co-path detection. The laser and detector can share the above-mentioned lens, reflector and prism for signal transmission and reception, ensuring that the detection aperture of the detector is not blocked, and reducing the complexity of the lidar.

[0133] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid state disk (SSD)).

[0134] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0135] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a related manner. Similar or identical parts between embodiments can be referred to mutually. Each embodiment focuses on describing the differences from other embodiments. In particular, the system embodiments are basically similar to the lidar embodiments, so the description is relatively simple; relevant parts can be referred to the descriptions of the method embodiments.

[0136] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application are included within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A lidar, characterized in that, The lidar includes: a laser, a prism, a reflector, a first rotating mechanism, a second rotating mechanism, a detector, and a lens. The prism supports inverting incident light rays and allows outgoing light rays to rotate with itself. The laser is directed toward the first inclined surface of the prism and is used to emit laser signals toward the first inclined surface; The prism is used to invert the laser signal incident on the first inclined plane and to emit the inverted laser signal out from the second inclined plane; The reflector is located on the first optical path and forms a preset angle with the first optical path to reflect the laser signal emitted from the second inclined surface. The first optical path is the optical path where the laser signal emitted from the second inclined surface of the prism is located. The lens is disposed on the second optical path, and the optical axis of the lens remains parallel to the second optical path. It is used to support the laser signal reflected by the reflector to be converged and shaped through the lens and then injected into the scene to be tested. The second optical path is the optical path where the laser signal reflected by the reflector is located. The first rotating mechanism is used to drive the reflector to rotate around the axis at a first rotational speed; The second rotating mechanism is used to drive the prism to rotate around the axis at a second rotation speed, wherein the second rotation speed is used to make the rotation speed of the laser signal emitted from the second inclined surface consistent with the first rotation speed; The reflector is also used to receive the echo signal of the laser signal incident on the scene to be tested through the lens, and to reflect the received echo signal to the second inclined surface of the prism. The prism is also used to invert the echo signal incident on the second inclined plane and to emit the inverted echo signal from the first inclined plane, so that the position of the echo signal emitted from the first inclined plane relative to the detector remains unchanged. The detector is positioned on the third optical path to receive the echo signal emitted from the first inclined surface of the prism. The third optical path is the optical path where the echo signal emitted from the first inclined surface of the prism is located.

2. The lidar according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first rotating mechanism is used to drive the lens and the reflector to rotate around the same rotating axis at the first rotation speed.

3. The lidar according to claim 1, characterized in that, The prism is a Dove prism; The second rotational speed is half the size of the first rotational speed.

4. The lidar according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first rotating mechanism is a rotary table.

5. The lidar according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second rotating mechanism is a hollow rotating mechanism, and the prism is disposed in the hollow part of the hollow rotating mechanism. The hollow rotating mechanism is used to clamp the prism and rotate it around an axis.

6. The lidar according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lidar also includes a drive motor, which is connected to the first rotating mechanism via a first transmission mechanism, and is used to drive the first rotating mechanism to rotate at the first speed. The drive motor is also connected to the second rotating mechanism via a second transmission mechanism, and is used to drive the second rotating mechanism to rotate at the second speed.

7. The lidar according to claim 1, characterized in that, The laser is a linear array laser; The detector is a linear array detector.

8. The lidar according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lidar also includes a detection station, on which the laser and the detector are mounted.

9. The lidar according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, The lidar also includes a housing, in which the laser, prism, reflector, first rotating mechanism, second rotating mechanism, and detector are encapsulated.

10. A detection system, characterized in that, The detection system includes: a processor and a lidar as described in any one of claims 1-9, wherein: The processor is communicatively connected to the laser and detector in the lidar; The processor is used to control the laser to emit laser signals and obtain the echo signals received by the detector, and determine the detection results based on the obtained echo signals.

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