ToF camera module, camera device and equipment
By setting up a polarization filtering module between the emitting laser module and the induction chip module in the ToF camera, the diffuse reflected light signal is filtered, and the problem of unstable performance of the induction chip is solved, and detection reliability and shooting quality are improved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202421061076.0
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-05-15
- Publication Date
- 2025-04-15
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-05-15
AI Technical Summary
The reliability of the detection induction chip in the ToF camera is not ideal and its performance is unstable. It is mainly due to the interference of diffuse reflected light signals, which leads to the unstable intensity of the optical signal received by the induction chip.
A polarization filtering module is set up between the emitting laser module and the induction chip module, mainly a linear polarization plate, which is used to filter diffusely reflected light signals and output parallel light in a single polarization state, thereby suppressing interference from diffusely reflected light signals.
By suppressing interference from diffuse reflected light signals, the light signals sensed by the induction chip module are within a stable range, improving the reliability and stability of induction monitoring, and simplifying the laser's lighting power control and camera structure design.
Smart Images
Figure CN222762265U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present application belongs to the field of camera module technology, and in particular relates to a ToF camera module, a camera device and equipment. Background Art
[0002] The device that uses ToF (Time-of-Flight) technology to image is called a ToF camera or a ToF camera, which can achieve three-dimensional imaging. In the ToF camera, a vertical cavity surface emitting laser and an imaging chip are provided. The laser emits an infrared signal to the object being photographed, and the imaging chip receives the reflected signal from the object being photographed, thereby realizing the shooting operation. Among them, the vertical cavity surface emitting laser is provided with light-emitting elements arranged in an array. When shooting, different light-emitting elements will light up in an orderly manner according to certain rules, thereby emitting infrared signals in an orderly manner. The corresponding imaging chip also needs to accurately identify which light-emitting element the received reflected signal comes from. For this reason, a sensor chip for monitoring the working status of the laser and a sensor chip for marking the light-emitting element that is lit are also provided in the ToF camera.
[0003] There is an optical path space between the laser and the sensor chip so that the sensor chip can receive the light signal from the light-emitting element. The structural holes and surfaces in the camera are usually designed and simulated so that when each light-emitting element is lit, the light signal received by the sensor chip is within an appropriate preset range, neither too large nor too small. However, the diffuse reflection of the light signal in the camera also makes the intensity of the light signal sensed by the sensor chip unstable to a certain extent, which is easy to exceed the preset range and affect the detection reliability. Summary of the invention
[0004] The present application provides a ToF camera module, camera device and equipment, aiming to at least solve the technical problems of poor detection reliability and unstable performance of the detection sensor chip in the ToF camera to a certain extent.
[0005] A ToF camera module provided in an embodiment of the present application includes: a housing, a transmitting laser module, a sensing chip module and a polarization filter module;
[0006] The sensing chip module and the emitting laser module are arranged in the housing at intervals to sense the start / stop state and the lighting position of the emitting laser module;
[0007] The polarization filter module is arranged between the emitting laser module and the sensing chip module to filter the diffusely reflected light and output parallel light in a single polarization state.
[0008] In some embodiments, the polarization filter module includes a linear polarizer, and the linear polarizer is disposed between the emitting laser module and the sensing chip module.
[0009] In some embodiments, the light transmitted by the linear polarizer is P-polarized light.
[0010] In some embodiments, the linear polarizer has a transmittance of 50%.
[0011] In some embodiments, the linear polarizer can be disposed in the housing so as to be deflected around an axis, wherein the deflection plane of the linear polarizer is parallel to the line connecting the emitting laser module and the sensing chip module and the axis is perpendicular to the line connecting the emitting laser module and the sensing chip module.
[0012] In some embodiments, the polarization filtering module further comprises: a driving mechanism;
[0013] The driving mechanism is connected to the linear polarizer to drive the linear polarizer to deflect.
[0014] In some embodiments, the driving mechanism includes a driving motor, which is connected to the linear polarizer and drives the linear polarizer to deflect to a preset position according to the lighting position of the emitting laser module.
[0015] In some embodiments, the emitting laser module comprises a vertical cavity surface emitting laser.
[0016] In another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a camera device is provided, comprising the ToF camera module.
[0017] Another aspect of the embodiments of the present application further provides a device including the above-mentioned camera device.
[0018] The embodiments of the present application have at least the following beneficial effects:
[0019] The ToF camera module, camera device and equipment provided by the embodiments of the present application, by setting the polarization filter module between the transmitting laser module and the sensing chip module as a filtering structure, mainly filters the messy diffuse reflection light signal, suppresses the interference of the diffuse reflection light signal, so that the light signal sensed by the sensing chip module is within a stable range, and ensures the reliability and stability of its sensing monitoring. On the other hand, through the filtering effect of the polarization filter module, the interference of the diffuse reflection light signal can be greatly suppressed, so that the light signal output by the transmitting laser module to the sensing chip module can be stably and reasonably controlled without excessively considering the influence of diffuse reflection, thereby simplifying the control operation of the transmitting laser module and improving the shooting quality to a certain extent; at the same time, it also simplifies the design difficulty of the structural holes and surfaces in the camera to a certain extent. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.
[0021] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structural layout of the ToF camera module in an embodiment of the present application is shown;
[0022] Figure 2 Shows Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the inner structure of the housing of the ToF camera module;
[0023] Figure 3 Shows Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the outer structure of the housing of the ToF camera module;
[0024] Figure 4 Shows Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the ToF camera module;
[0025] Figure 5 Shows Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the filtering principle of the polarization filtering module of the ToF camera module.
[0026] Reference numerals:
[0027] 100-ToF camera module, 110-housing, 111-partition rib, 112-light leakage groove, 120-transmitting laser module, 130-sensing chip module, 140-polarization filter module, 141-linear polarizer, 141a-rotating shaft, 142-driving motor, 150-receiving module, 160-flexible circuit board. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0028] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.
[0029] In addition, the present application may repeat reference numbers and / or reference letters in different examples, and such repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity, and does not in itself indicate the relationship between the various embodiments and / or settings discussed. In addition, the present application provides various specific examples of processes and materials, but those of ordinary skill in the art may recognize the application of other processes and / or the use of other materials.
[0030] The present application is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments:
[0031] The ToF camera is capable of performing stereo depth measurement and has a wide range of uses. It mainly includes a transmitting laser module and a receiving module. The transmitting laser module sequentially lights up the light-emitting elements at different positions inside it to continuously send infrared signals to the photographed object, and the sensing chip module receives the reflected signal from the photographed object to achieve the shooting operation. Since the light-emitting elements at different positions need to be lit, it is necessary to accurately monitor and sense the start and stop working status of the transmitting laser module and calibrate the position of lighting and light emission, so as to accurately associate the reflected signal and the transmitting signal; accordingly, a sensing chip is provided in the ToF camera for correspondingly sensing the light signal leaked from the transmitting laser module, so as to monitor the start and stop working status and lighting position of the transmitting laser module.
[0032] However, the light signal from the transmitting laser will experience uncontrollable diffuse reflection inside the camera, resulting in large fluctuations in the intensity and energy of the light signal received by the sensing chip, resulting in unsatisfactory stability of the working performance and sensing reliability of the sensing chip; at the same time, in order to consider the influence of diffuse reflection and ensure that the energy and intensity of the light signal received by the sensing chip are within an appropriate range, it is necessary to design the laser's lighting power control in a targeted manner, which also increases the difficulty and complexity of the laser's lighting power control to a certain extent; on the other hand, when forming the light leakage structure holes and surfaces of the sensing light signal channel inside the camera, it is also necessary to consider the influence of diffuse reflection, which to a certain extent also increases the difficulty of designing the internal structure of the camera.
[0033] To this end, the embodiments of the present application provide a ToF camera module, a camera device and equipment, which can effectively suppress the diffuse reflection effect of the sensing light signal in the camera, improve the working performance stability and sensing reliability of the sensing chip, and also reduce the difficulty of controlling the lighting of the laser and the difficulty of forming the light leakage structure hole to a certain extent.
[0034] See also Figure 1 and Figure 4The ToF camera module 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application includes a housing 110, a transmitting laser module 120 and a receiving module 150, which respectively realize the transmission of infrared signals and the reception of reflected signals; and also includes: a sensing chip module 130 and a polarization filter module 140; wherein the sensing chip module 130 is arranged on one side of the transmitting laser module 120, and senses the light signal leaked from the transmitting laser module 120, so as to monitor the start and stop working state of the transmitting laser module 120, and can identify the calibrated illuminated position or the illuminated light-emitting element. The polarization filter module 140 is arranged between the transmitting laser module 120 and the sensing chip module 130, and can filter the messy diffuse reflection light signal and output parallel light of a single polarization state, so as to suppress the interference of the diffuse reflection light signal, so that the light signal sensed by the sensing chip module 130 is within a stable range, and the reliability and stability of its sensing monitoring are ensured.
[0035] On the other hand, since the influence of diffuse reflection light signals can be suppressed by the polarization filter module 140, it is not necessary to consider the influence of diffuse reflection too much when designing the lighting power and lighting control operation of the transmitting laser module 120, thereby simplifying the control operation of the transmitting laser module 120 to a certain extent. Similarly, when implementing the profile structure design inside the housing 110, it is not necessary to consider the influence of diffuse reflection too much, thereby reducing the difficulty of the structural design inside the housing 110 to a certain extent.
[0036] It is worth noting that the emitting laser module 120 can not only emit infrared signals to the photographed object, but also output sensing light signals to the sensing chip module 130 , and provide a light leakage structure on the housing 110 to facilitate the passage of the sensing light signals.
[0037] See also Figure 2 In some embodiments, a partition rib 111 may be provided inside the housing 110 to separate and form an area for accommodating the transmitting laser module 120 and the receiving module 150, thereby separating the light source in the transmitting laser module 120 from the imaging chip in the receiving module 150, and to a certain extent avoiding diffuse reflection and leakage of light signals from interfering with imaging.
[0038] Correspondingly, a light leakage groove 112 may be provided on the partition rib 111 to allow the sensing light signal to pass through and then be sensed and captured by the sensing chip module 130 .
[0039] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2In some embodiments, the polarization filtering module 140 includes a linear polarizer 141, which is disposed between the emitting laser module 120 and the sensing chip module 130, and outputs a linear polarized light signal in a single polarization state, so that the control of the optical signal energy is more precise, thereby improving the monitoring reliability and working stability of the sensing chip module 130 to a certain extent.
[0040] See also Figure 2 and Figure 5 In some embodiments, the light transmitted by the linear polarizer 141 is P polarized light; thus, the linear polarizer 141 can be formed into a thin strip structure with a small overall height to adapt to the installation conditions in the housing 110. On the other hand, the thin strip structure also has a large filtering area, thereby improving the filtering effect to a certain extent and improving the effect of suppressing the influence of diffuse reflection.
[0041] Of course, the transmitted light of the linear polarizer 141 may also be S-polarized light. By reasonably setting the shape and specifications of the linear polarizer 141, the installation requirements and filtering effects can be met, and no specific limitation is made here.
[0042] In some embodiments, the transmittance of the linear polarizer 141 is 50%, and filtering is performed at a stable standard, and the lighting power control of the reflective laser module 120 is convenient, which helps to maintain low energy consumption and reduce energy consumption as a whole. Of course, it is not excluded that special polarizers with different transmittances are selected for special working conditions, and no specific limitation is made here.
[0043] In some embodiments, the linear polarizer 141 may be a polarizer based on a grating structure, and a polarization filtering function mechanism is realized by etching a grating structure on the lens.
[0044] In some embodiments, the emitting laser module 120 includes a vertical cavity surface emitting laser, and the light-emitting elements are arranged in an array on a chip substrate and are lit in an orderly manner according to a preset mode to send infrared signals to the object being photographed.
[0045] After the transmitting laser module 120, the sensing chip module 130 and the receiving module 150 are assembled in place, the sensing accuracy can be calibrated. The intensity of the light signal received by the sensing chip module 130 is calibrated by deflecting the linear polarizer 141, so that the intensity of the light signal received by the sensing chip module is within a stable sensing range, so as to ensure the stability and reliability of its working state.
[0046] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2In some embodiments, considering that the positions of the light-emitting elements lit in the emitting laser module 120 are different, the position of the light source delivered to the sensing light signal is constantly changing, so that the optical path of the sensing light signal and the energy intensity reaching the sensing chip module 130 have slight changes. In order to further improve the control accuracy of the sensing light signal intensity, the linear polarizer 141 can be set in a fixed manner that can be slightly deflected, that is, the linear polarizer 141 can be set in the housing 11 to be deflected around a rotation axis 141a. Specifically, the deflection plane of the linear polarizer 141 is parallel to the line connecting the emitting laser module 120 and the sensing chip module 130, and the rotation axis 141a is perpendicular to the line connecting the emitting laser module 120 and the sensing chip module 130.
[0047] Therefore, after the transmitting laser module 120, the sensing chip module 130 and the receiving module 150 are assembled in place, the sensing accuracy can be calibrated. The intensity of the light signal received by the sensing chip module 130 is calibrated by deflecting the linear polarizer 141, and each lighting position and the deflection angle of the linear polarizer are correspondingly associated. Therefore, when the transmitting laser module 120 is working and a certain position is lit, the linear polarizer 141 is deflected by a preset angle to be in an appropriate position, ensuring that the transmitted polarized light signal is in an appropriate intensity range, so as to ensure that the sensing chip module 130 can stably and reliably sense the start and stop state and the lighting position of the transmitting laser module 120.
[0048] In some embodiments, the linear polarizer 141 can be deflected around an axis by an external driving structure, or the deflection of the linear polarizer 141 can be achieved by installing a driving mechanism 142 on the housing 110 .
[0049] In some embodiments, the driving mechanism 142 may include a driving motor, which is connected to the linear polarizer 141 and drives the linear polarizer 141 to deflect to a preset position according to the lighting position of the emitting laser module 120 .
[0050] It is worth noting that the drive motor is fixed on the housing 110 and can be directly connected to the rotating shaft 141a to realize the deflection of the linear polarizer 141. The drive motor can also be connected to the control chip of the camera 100, and under the unified control of the control chip of the ToF camera 100, the deflection of the linear polarizer 141 is controlled based on the working state and lighting position of the emitting laser module 120.
[0051] See also Figure 4In some embodiments, the control chip of the ToF camera 100 is integrated on the mounting terminal and connected to the transmitting laser module 120, the receiving module 150, the sensing chip module 130 and the driving motor through a flexible circuit board 160 to achieve signal reception and control operations.
[0052] In another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a camera device is provided, comprising the ToF camera module.
[0053] Another aspect of the embodiments of the present application further provides a device including the above-mentioned camera device.
[0054] The embodiments of the present application have at least the following beneficial effects:
[0055] The ToF camera module, camera device and equipment provided by the embodiments of the present application, by setting the polarization filter module between the transmitting laser module and the sensing chip module as a filtering structure, mainly filters the messy diffuse reflection light signal, suppresses the interference of the diffuse reflection light signal, so that the light signal sensed by the sensing chip module is within a stable range, and ensures the reliability and stability of its sensing monitoring. On the other hand, through the filtering effect of the polarization filter module, the interference of the diffuse reflection light signal can be greatly suppressed, so that the light signal output by the transmitting laser module to the sensing chip module can be stably and reasonably controlled without excessively considering the influence of diffuse reflection, thereby simplifying the control operation of the transmitting laser module and improving the shooting quality to a certain extent; at the same time, it also simplifies the design difficulty of the structural holes and surfaces in the camera to a certain extent.
[0056] In the present application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may include that the first and second features are in direct contact, or may include that the first and second features are not in direct contact but are in contact through another feature between them. Moreover, a first feature being "above", "above" and "above" a second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being "below", "below" and "below" a second feature includes that the first feature is directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.
[0057] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise" and "counterclockwise" indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.
[0058] It should be noted that all directional indications in the embodiments of the present application are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement status, etc. between the components in a certain specific posture. If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.
[0059] In this application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "connection", "fixation", etc. should be understood in a broad sense. For example, "fixation" can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise clearly defined. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.
[0060] In addition, the descriptions of "first", "second", etc. in this application are only for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of this application, the meaning of "plurality" is two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.
[0061] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "example", "specific example", or "some examples" etc. means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In addition, those skilled in the art may combine and combine different embodiments or examples described in this specification.
[0062] In addition, the technical solutions between the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but they must be based on the fact that they can be implemented by ordinary technicians in this field. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or cannot be implemented, it should be deemed that such combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection required by this application.
[0063] Although the embodiments of the present application have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present application, and the scope of the present application is defined by the claims and their equivalents.
Claims
1. A ToF camera module, characterized in that: include: Housing, transmitting laser module, sensing chip module and polarization filter module; The sensing chip module and the emitting laser module are arranged in the housing at intervals to sense the start / stop state and the lighting position of the emitting laser module; The polarization filter module is arranged between the emitting laser module and the sensing chip module to filter the diffusely reflected light and output parallel light in a single polarization state.
2. The ToF camera module according to claim 1, wherein: The polarization filter module includes a linear polarizer, and the linear polarizer is arranged between the emitting laser module and the sensing chip module.
3. The ToF camera module according to claim 2, wherein: The light transmitted by the linear polarizer is P polarized light.
4. The ToF camera module according to claim 3, wherein: The transmittance of the linear polarizer is 50%.
5. The ToF camera module according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that: The linear polarizer can be rotatably arranged in the housing around an axis, wherein the deflection plane of the linear polarizer is parallel to the line connecting the emitting laser module and the sensing chip module and the axis is perpendicular to the line connecting the emitting laser module and the sensing chip module.
6. The ToF camera module according to claim 5, characterized in that: The polarization filtering module further includes: a driving mechanism; The driving mechanism is connected to the linear polarizer to drive the linear polarizer to deflect.
7. The ToF camera module according to claim 6, wherein: The driving mechanism includes a driving motor, which is connected to the linear polarizer and drives the linear polarizer to deflect to a preset position according to the lighting position of the emitting laser module.
8. The ToF camera module according to claim 1, wherein: The emitting laser module includes a vertical cavity surface emitting laser.
9. A camera device, characterized in that: Comprising the ToF camera module according to any one of claims 1 to 8.
10. A device, characterized in that: A camera device comprising the camera device according to claim 9.