Distance image capturing device and distance image capturing method

Abstract

To provide a distance image pickup device that satisfies a safety standard for a human body even if pulse light is continuously radiated, and satisfies the number of times of accumulating an amount of electric charges necessary for measurement of a distance in charge accumulation units.SOLUTION: The present invention comprises: a light receiving unit having a plurality of pixel circuits each including a photoelectric converter that generates electric charges according to incident light and N (N≥3) charge accumulation units that accumulate electric charges in a frame period, and a pixel drive circuit that performs on / off processing of a transfer transistor transferring electric charges to the charge accumulation units at accumulation timing synchronized with light pulses to distribute and accumulate the electric charges; a light source unit that radiates the light pulses; a distance image processing unit that determines a distance to a subject on the basis of, the amount of electric charges accumulated in the charge accumulation units; and a measurement control unit that accumulates electric charges in any one of measurement zones set to a zone threshold set according to the distance with the number of times of integration set to the measurement zone to which the measured distance belongs, increases the pulse period of the light pulses according to increase in the number of times of integration, and performs radiation of the light pulses.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a distance image capturing device and a distance image capturing method. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there have been distance imaging devices that use the time-of-flight (ToF) method to measure the distance to a subject based on the flight time of light by taking advantage of the fact that the speed of light is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The ToF distance imaging device includes a light source unit that irradiates light, and an imaging unit that includes a pixel array in which a plurality of pixel circuits that detect light for measuring distance are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix (array). Each of the pixel circuits includes, as a component, a photoelectric conversion element (e.g., a photodiode) that generates a charge corresponding to the intensity of light. With this configuration, the ToF range image pickup device can obtain (capture) information on the distance between itself and a subject, and an image of the subject, in a measurement space (three-dimensional space).

[0003] A ToF range imaging device measures distance based on the delay time from when radiation light is emitted to when the reflected light reflected by a subject is received. However, because the amount of charge generated by the photosensor changes depending on the intensity of the incident light, the intensity of the reflected light decreases as the distance to the subject increases (light intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance). Since the ToF range image pickup device determines the delay time based on the amount of charge stored in the charge storage section, the measurement accuracy improves as the signal-to-noise ratio increases.

[0004] For this reason, the exposure time, which is the time it takes for a photoelectric conversion element to accumulate electric charges generated in accordance with the intensity of incident light in a charge accumulation section, is changed in accordance with the distance from the ToF type distance image capturing device to the subject (see, for example, Patent Document 2). This allows the exposure time for accumulating charge to be increased as the distance increases, thereby increasing the amount of charge accumulated in the charge accumulation section of the TOF sensor, thereby maintaining the accuracy of distance measurement. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2004-294420 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2012-185171 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, in the case of a TOF sensor that uses a pulsed method for irradiating light, by changing the number of integrations (which is a parameter similar to the exposure time, since the exposure time is determined by the number of integrations), the number of emissions from the laser light source also changes in the same way. For this reason, if the number of integrations is simply increased because the distance is long, there is a possibility that the pulsed light emitted from the laser light source will not satisfy safety standards that stipulate the effects on the human body (JIS C 6801, which stipulates so-called eye-safety, etc.), such as the maximum permissible exposure (MPE). Therefore, in order to satisfy safety standards, the number of times the charge can be accumulated is limited, and it may not be possible to accumulate an amount of charge sufficient for measurement in the charge accumulation section, making it impossible to improve the accuracy of measurement.

[0007] Furthermore, unlike ordinary laser products which avoid emitting laser light towards the human body, TOF distance imaging devices intentionally and continuously irradiate laser light onto subjects, including humans, in order to measure distance. For this reason, taking into consideration that the subject includes humans, it is necessary to implement measurement control that reduces the effect of laser light on humans and satisfies the above-mentioned safety standards (for example, by limiting the exposure to less than the maximum allowable exposure). In addition, it is necessary to reduce the cumulative amount of exposure to laser light emitted to humans over a long period of time.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a distance image capturing device and a distance image capturing method that meet safety standards for the human body (eye-safe) even when pulsed light is continuously irradiated, and that can satisfy the accumulation count for accumulating the amount of charge required to measure distance in a charge accumulation section. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the distance image pickup device of the present invention includes a light receiving unit having a photoelectric conversion element that generates a charge corresponding to incident light that is light incident from a measurement space that is a space to be measured, N (N≧3) charge accumulation units that accumulate the charge in a frame period, a plurality of pixel circuits each including a transfer transistor that transfers the charge from the photoelectric conversion element to each of the charge accumulation units, a pixel drive circuit that performs on / off processing of each of the transfer transistors in each of the charge accumulation units to allocate and accumulate the charge at a predetermined accumulation timing synchronized with the irradiation of a light pulse, a light source unit that irradiates the measurement space with the light pulse, a distance image processing unit that obtains the distance to a subject present in the measurement space as a measured distance based on the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units, and a measurement zone that is set according to zone thresholds that are set corresponding to a plurality of distances from the light receiving unit to which the measured distance belongs, and a distance measurement zone that is set according to zone thresholds that are set corresponding to a plurality of distances from the light receiving unit ... the amount of charge accumulated in the measured distance based on the amount of charge accumulated in the charge accumulation units. The charge storage unit Accumulation of electric charge Control it so that As the number of integrations increases, The light source unit The pulse period of the light pulse is increased to irradiate the light pulse. Control so that A measurement control unit is provided. The measurement control unit increases the pulse period by increasing the period during which the electric charge does not remain in the photoelectric conversion element after the electric charge is distributed, while keeping the pulse width of the optical pulse and the storage time in the electric charge storage unit constant, as the number of integrations increases. It is characterized by:

[0010] The distance image capturing device of the present invention is characterized in that the measurement control unit determines the measurement zone in which the measured distance, which is measured to be the shortest distance within any area in which each of the pixel circuits is arranged, is included by comparing the measured distance with each of the zone thresholds.

[0011] The distance image pickup device of the present invention includes a light source unit which irradiates a measurement space, which is a space to be measured, with a light pulse, a photoelectric conversion element which generates an electric charge corresponding to the light incident from the measurement space, a plurality of pixel circuits each having N (N≧3) charge accumulation units which accumulate the electric charge in a frame period, and a pixel drive circuit which performs on / off processing of each transfer transistor in each of the charge accumulation units to allocate and accumulate the electric charge at a predetermined accumulation timing synchronized with the irradiation of the light pulse, a distance image processing unit which calculates the distance to an object present in the measurement space as a measured distance based on the amount of electric charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units, and a distance image processing unit which calculates a total amount of electric charge due to reflected light of the light pulse from the object in the measurement space from the amount of electric charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units, and judges which measurement zone the total amount of electric charge belongs to based on a zone threshold value set corresponding to the total amount of electric charge, and calculates a measurement zone according to the total amount of electric charge based on an accumulation count set for the judged measurement zone. The charge storage unit Accumulation of electric charge Control it so that As the number of integrations increases, The light source unit The pulse period of the light pulse is increased to irradiate the light pulse. Control so that A measurement control unit is provided. The measurement control unit increases the pulse period by increasing the period during which the electric charge does not remain in the photoelectric conversion element after the electric charge is distributed, while keeping the pulse width of the optical pulse and the storage time in the electric charge storage unit constant, as the number of integrations increases. It is characterized by:

[0012] The distance image capturing device of the present invention comprises: a light receiving section having a pixel drive circuit which performs on / off processing of each of the transfer transistors in each of the charge accumulation sections at a predetermined accumulation timing synchronized with the irradiation of a light pulse, and distributes and accumulates the charge; a light source section which irradiates the measurement space with the light pulse; and a light detection circuit which detects the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation sections based on the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation sections. a distance image processing unit that calculates a distance to a subject existing in the measurement space as a measurement distance, and a measurement control unit that calculates a total amount of charge due to reflected light of the light pulse from the subject in the measurement space from the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units, determines to which measurement zone the total amount of charge belongs based on a zone threshold value set corresponding to the total amount of charge, controls the charge accumulation units to accumulate charge based on an accumulation count set for the determined measurement zone, and controls the light source unit to increase the pulse period of the light pulse to irradiate the light pulse as the accumulation count increases, The measurement control unit determines a charge ratio (reference value) between the largest total charge amount in any area in which each of the pixel circuits is arranged and a reference charge amount, which is an amount of charge generated by reflected light of the light pulse reflected by an object of any distance and reflectivity, and compares the charge ratio with each of the zone threshold values ​​to determine the measurement zone in which the total charge amount is included.

[0013] The distance image capturing device of the present invention is characterized in that the measurement control unit determines a background light charge amount, which is the amount of charge corresponding to background light, from the amount of accumulated charge in the charge accumulation unit, and selects the combination corresponding to the background light charge amount from a plurality of combinations of the number of accumulations and the pulse period in each of the measurement zones.

[0014] The distance image pickup device of the present invention is teeth , the pulse width of the light pulse per unit storage time, the time during which the transfer transistor is on when distributing to the charge storage section, and the number of integrations per unit storage time are used to obtain Obtained , the amount of charge due to reflected light from an object And , before It is characterized in that the value is set to a value within the amount of accumulation in the charge accumulation section.

[0015] The distance image pickup device of the present invention is teeth The amount of charge generated by background light is subtracted from the amount of accumulated charge, which is the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units. Ta Add the result of the subtraction Required The total charge amount is It is characterized by:

[0016] The distance image capturing device of the present invention is characterized in that, for each of the accumulation counts for the measurement zone, the pulse width of the light pulse per unit accumulation time and the time during which the transfer transistor is on are each set to a constant time, and the irradiation period of the light pulse is made to correspond to the accumulation count, thereby adjusting the amount of exposure of the subject to the emitted light pulse.

[0017] In the range image pickup device of the present invention, the reference charge amount is set for each of a predetermined distance and a predetermined reflectance. Cage The charge amount ratio is characterized in having a correlation with each of the attenuation rate due to distance and the attenuation rate due to reflectance.

[0018] In the distance imaging device of the present invention, the measurement control unit detects the number of integrations selected in the measurement zone for a certain period or in a distance range in a measurement zone where the measured distance is different from the distance range of the current measurement zone. Will be to messenger It is characterized by continued use.

[0019] In the range imaging device of the present invention, the measurement control unit continues the integration number selected in the measurement zone for a certain period or until the charge amount ratio included in a measurement zone different from the current measurement zone is detected. messenger It is characterized by continued use.

[0020] The distance image pickup device of the present invention is characterized in that the pixel circuit is provided with a charge discharge circuit that discharges the charge generated by the photoelectric conversion element during times other than when the charge is being stored in the charge accumulation section.

[0021] The distance image pickup method of the present invention is a method for controlling a distance image pickup device including a plurality of pixel circuits each including a photoelectric conversion element, a plurality of charge accumulation sections, and a transfer transistor, a light source section, a pixel driving circuit, a distance image processing section, and a measurement control section, and includes a step of the light source section irradiating a light pulse into a measurement space which is a space to be measured, a step of the pixel driving circuit distributing and accumulating, at a predetermined accumulation timing synchronized with the irradiation of the light pulse, charges generated by the photoelectric conversion element in response to incident light from the measurement space in each of N (N≧3) charge accumulation sections by turning on and off each of the transfer transistors which transfer the charges from the photoelectric conversion element to the charge accumulation sections, a step of the distance image processing section determining the distance to a subject present in the measurement space as a measured distance based on the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation sections, and a step of the measurement control section determining which of measurement zones the measured distance belongs to, which are set according to zone thresholds set corresponding to a plurality of distances from the distance image pickup device, and determining the measured distance based on an accumulation count set for the determined measurement zone. The charge storage unit Accumulation of electric charge Control it so that As the number of integrations increases, The light source unitThe pulse period of the light pulse is increased to irradiate the light pulse. Control so that Including the process In the process of controlling, the measurement control unit increases the pulse period by increasing the period during which the electric charge does not remain in the photoelectric conversion element after the electric charge is distributed, while keeping the pulse width of the optical pulse and the storage time in the electric charge storage unit constant, as the number of integrations increases. It is characterized by:

[0022] A distance image capturing method of the present invention is a method for controlling a distance image capturing device including a plurality of pixel circuits each including a photoelectric conversion element, a plurality of charge accumulation sections, and a transfer transistor, a light source section, a pixel drive circuit, a distance image processing section, and a measurement control section, the method including a step of the light source section irradiating a measurement space which is a space to be measured with a light pulse, and a step of the pixel drive circuit transferring charges generated by the photoelectric conversion element in response to incident light from the measurement space to each of N (N≧3) charge accumulation sections at a predetermined accumulation timing synchronized with the irradiation of the light pulse, the transfer of the charges from the photoelectric conversion element to the charge accumulation sections. a step of performing on / off processing for each transistor to divide and accumulate the charges; a step of the distance image processing unit determining, as a measured distance, a distance from the distance image pickup device to a subject present in the measurement space based on the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units; and a step of a measurement control unit determining, from the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units, a total amount of charge due to reflected light of the light pulse from the subject in the measurement space, and judging to which measurement zone the total amount of charge belongs based on a zone threshold value set corresponding to the total amount of charge, and judging to which measurement zone the total amount of charge belongs based on an integration count set for the determined measurement zone. The charge storage unit Accumulation of electric charge Control it so that As the number of integrations increases, The light source unit The pulse period of the light pulse is increased to irradiate the light pulse. Control so that Including the process In the process of controlling, the measurement control unit increases the pulse period by increasing the period during which the electric charge does not remain in the photoelectric conversion element after the electric charge is distributed, while keeping the pulse width of the optical pulse and the storage time in the electric charge storage unit constant, as the number of integrations increases. It is characterized by: Further, a distance image pickup method of the present invention is a method for controlling a distance image pickup device including a plurality of pixel circuits each including a photoelectric conversion element, a plurality of charge accumulation sections, and a transfer transistor, a light source section, a pixel driving circuit, a distance image processing section, and a measurement control section, the method comprising the steps of: a step of the light source section irradiating a measurement space which is a space to be measured with a light pulse; a step of the pixel driving circuit distributing and accumulating, at a predetermined accumulation timing synchronized with the irradiation of the light pulse, charges generated by the photoelectric conversion element in response to incident light from the measurement space in each of N (N≧3) charge accumulation sections by performing on / off processing on each of the transfer transistors which transfer the charges from the photoelectric conversion element to the charge accumulation sections; a step of the distance image processing section determining, as a measured distance, the distance from the distance image pickup device to a subject present in the measurement space based on the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation sections; and a step of the measurement control section controlling the charge accumulation sections to determine the distance from the distance image pickup device to a subject present in the measurement space as a measured distance. and a step of determining which measurement zone the total charge belongs to based on a zone threshold value set corresponding to the total charge, controlling the charge accumulation unit to accumulate charge based on an accumulation count set for the determined measurement zone, and controlling the light source unit to increase the pulse period of the light pulse and irradiate the light pulse as the accumulation count increases, wherein in the controlling step, the measurement control unit determines a charge ratio between the largest total charge in an arbitrary area in which each of the pixel circuits is arranged and a reference charge amount which is a charge amount generated by reflected light of the light pulse reflected by an object of an arbitrary distance and reflectivity, and compares the charge ratio with each of the zone threshold values ​​to determine the measurement zone in which the total charge is included. Effect of the Invention

[0023] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a distance image capturing device and a distance image capturing method that satisfy safety standards for the human body (eye-safe) even when pulsed light is continuously irradiated, and that are capable of satisfying the accumulation count for accumulating the amount of charge required to measure distance in a charge accumulation section. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a range image pickup device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the configuration of a pixel circuit 321 arranged in a range image sensor 32 in the range image pickup device of the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 3] 11 is a diagram showing a timing chart for transferring charges generated in the photoelectric conversion element PD to each of the charge accumulation sections CS. FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a measurement control unit 43 in the distance image pickup device of the first embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the relationship between the number of integrations and the light pulse period in eye-safe mode and the maximum allowable exposure amount. [Figure 6] 4 is a conceptual diagram for explaining measurement zone determination performed by a zone determination unit 432 in the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 7] 13 is a diagram showing an example of an integrated number table set for each measurement zone in the zone-specific operating condition storage unit 436. FIG. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of a process for calculating the distance between the distance image sensor 32 and the subject S by the distance image pickup device 1 of the first embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram illustrating measurement zone determination performed by a zone determination unit 432 in the second embodiment. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of a process for calculating the distance between a distance image sensor 32 and a subject S by the distance image pickup device 1 of the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] <First embodiment> Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a distance image pickup device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The distance image pickup device 1 shown in Fig. 1 is a ToF type distance image pickup device, and includes a light source unit 2, a light receiving unit 3, and a distance image processing unit 4. Fig. 1 also shows a subject S, which is an object to which the distance is measured in the distance image pickup device 1. The distance image pickup element is, for example, a distance image sensor 32 (described later) in the light receiving unit 3.

[0026] The light source section 2 irradiates a light pulse PO into a space to be photographed, in which a subject S, the distance of which is to be measured by the distance image pickup device 1, exists, under the control of the distance image processor 4. The light source section 2 is, for example, a surface-emitting semiconductor laser module such as a Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL). The light source section 2 includes a light source device 21 and a diffusion plate 22.

[0027] The light source device 21 is a light source that emits laser light in a near-infrared wavelength band (for example, a wavelength band of 850 nm to 940 nm) that becomes a light pulse PO to be irradiated to the subject S. The light source device 21 is, for example, a semiconductor laser light emitting element. The light source device 21 emits pulsed laser light in response to control from the timing control unit 41. The diffusion plate 22 is an optical component that diffuses the laser light in the near-infrared wavelength band emitted by the light source device 21 to a surface area to be irradiated onto the subject S. The pulsed laser light diffused by the diffusion plate 22 is emitted as a light pulse PO and is irradiated onto the subject S.

[0028] The light receiving unit 3 receives reflected light RL of the light pulse PO reflected by a subject S to be measured for distance in the range image pickup device 1, and outputs a pixel signal corresponding to the received reflected light RL. The light receiving unit 3 includes a lens 31 and a range image sensor 32. The lens 31 is an optical lens that guides the incident reflected light RL to the range image sensor 32. The lens 31 outputs the incident reflected light RL to the range image sensor 32 side, and causes the light to be received (incident) by a pixel circuit provided in the light receiving region of the range image sensor 32.

[0029] The range image sensor 32 is an imaging element used in the range image capturing device 1. The range image sensor 32 includes a plurality of pixel circuits 321 arranged in an array (two-dimensional arrangement, in other words, in a lattice pattern) in a two-dimensional light receiving area, and a pixel drive circuit 322 that controls each of the pixel circuits 321. The pixel circuit 321 includes one photoelectric conversion element (e.g., a photoelectric conversion element PD described later), a plurality of charge accumulation units (e.g., charge accumulation units CS1 to CS4 described later) corresponding to the one photoelectric conversion element, and components that distribute charges to the respective charge accumulation units.

[0030] The distance image sensor 32 distributes the charges generated by the photoelectric conversion elements to each charge accumulation section according to the control of the timing control section 41. The distance image sensor 32 also outputs a pixel signal according to the amount of charge distributed to the charge accumulation section. The distance image sensor 32 has a plurality of pixel circuits arranged in a two-dimensional matrix, and outputs a pixel signal for one frame corresponding to each pixel circuit.

[0031] The distance image processing unit 4 controls the distance image pickup device 1 and calculates the distance to the subject S. Distance image processing unit 4 includes a timing control unit 41, a distance calculation unit 42, and a measurement control unit 43. The timing control unit 41 controls the timing of outputting various control signals required for distance measurement according to the control of the measurement control unit 43. The various control signals here are, for example, a signal for controlling the irradiation of the light pulse PO, a signal for distributing the reflected light RL to a plurality of charge accumulation units, a signal for controlling the number of distributions per frame, etc. The number of distributions is the number of times (accumulation number) that the process of distributing electric charges to the charge accumulation units CS (see FIG. 2) is repeated.

[0032] The distance calculation unit 42 outputs distance information calculated based on the pixel signal output from the distance image sensor 32 under the control of the measurement control unit 43. The distance calculation unit 42 calculates the delay time Td from the irradiation of the light pulse PO to the reception of the reflected light RL based on the amount of charge accumulated in the multiple charge accumulation units CS. The distance calculation unit 42 calculates the distance from the distance image pickup device 1 to the subject S according to the calculated delay time Td.

[0033] The measurement control unit 43 selects, for each mode of the frames repeated in a frame period, a light pulse irradiation condition selection mode for selecting the number of accumulations (i.e., the number of times the light pulse PO is emitted) and the irradiation period of the light pulse PO (the pulse period which is the period for irradiating the light pulse) according to the distance to the subject, and a distance measurement charge amount acquisition mode for setting the normal frame for measuring the distance from the distance image capturing device 1 to the subject S (measurement of the measurement distance). Then, the measurement control section 43 controls the timing in the timing control section 41 and the calculation in the distance calculation section 42 in accordance with each of the light pulse irradiation condition selection mode and the measured distance and charge amount acquisition mode (described in detail later).

[0034] That is, the distance image pickup device according to this embodiment calculates the distance between the subject and the distance image sensor 32 based on the charge accumulated in the charge accumulation unit CS. For this reason, when the intensity of incident light is high and the charge generated in the photoelectric conversion element exceeds the capacity of the charge accumulation unit CS in calculating the measured distance, the distance between the distance image pickup device 1 and the subject S cannot be accurately obtained by calculating the measured distance. Furthermore, as the distance from the distance image capture device 1 to the subject S increases and as the reflectance of the subject S decreases, the intensity of the reflected light generated by the reflection of the light pulse PO on the subject S decreases. This causes a decrease in the charge generated by the reflected light in the photoelectric conversion element, which in turn causes the accuracy of the calculation of the measured distance to decrease due to the influence of noise, making it necessary to increase the number of integrations.

[0035] The above-mentioned process is performed as an auto exposure process, which controls the number of times of integration or the number of times of emission of the light pulse PO, depending on the amount of charge stored in the charge storage section. Here, if the intensity of the reflected light decreases, the number of integrations is increased to increase the number of times that the charge generated in the photoelectric conversion element by the reflected light is accumulated, and the amount of charge required to calculate the measured distance is accumulated in the charge accumulation element, thereby improving the accuracy of the obtained distance.

[0036] On the other hand, if the number of integrations is simply increased in order to measure the distance, the number of times the light pulse PO is emitted increases, and the laser light is intentionally and continuously irradiated onto subjects, including humans. For this reason, in this embodiment, taking into consideration that the subject includes humans, the effect of the laser light on humans is reduced and measurement control is performed to satisfy eye-safety standards (for example, by limiting the exposure to not exceed the maximum allowable exposure) (detailed processing will be described later).

[0037] With this configuration, in the distance image capturing device 1, the light source unit 2 irradiates a light pulse PO in the near-infrared wavelength band onto the subject S, and the light receiving unit 3 receives the reflected light RL that is reflected by the subject S, and the distance image processing unit 4 outputs distance information measuring the distance between the subject S and the distance image capturing device 1. Although FIG. 1 shows the distance image pickup device 1 having the distance image processing section 4 therein, the distance image processing section 4 may be an element provided outside the distance image pickup device 1.

[0038] Here, the configuration of the pixel circuit 321 in the distance image sensor 32 will be described. Fig. 2 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the configuration of the pixel circuit 321 arranged in the distance image sensor 32 in the distance image pickup device of the first embodiment of the present invention. The pixel circuit 321 in Fig. 2 is an example configuration including, for example, four pixel signal readout units RU1 to RU4. The configuration of the pixel circuit 321 in this embodiment is just one example, and the pixel circuit 321 has a configuration of three or more pixel signal readout units, i.e., n units (n≧3).

[0039] The pixel circuit 321 includes one photoelectric conversion element PD, a charge discharging transistor GD, and four pixel signal readout units RU (RU1 to RU4) that output voltage signals from corresponding output terminals O. Each pixel signal readout unit RU includes a transfer transistor G, a floating diffusion FD, a charge storage capacitance C, a reset transistor RT, a source follower transistor SF, and a selection transistor SL. The floating diffusions FD (FD1, FD2, FD3, FD4) and the charge storage capacitances C (C1, C2, C3, C4) configure charge storage units CS (CS1, CS2, CS3, CS4).

[0040] 2, the pixel signal readout unit RU1, which outputs a voltage signal from the output terminal O1, includes a transfer transistor G1 (transfer MOS transistor), a floating diffusion FD1, a charge storage capacitance C1, a reset transistor RT1, a source follower transistor SF1, and a selection transistor SL1. In the pixel signal readout unit RU1, the floating diffusion FD1 and the charge storage capacitance C1 form a charge storage unit CS1. The pixel signal readout units RU2, RU3, and RU4 have a similar configuration.

[0041] The photoelectric conversion element PD is a buried photodiode that photoelectrically converts incident light, generates charges according to the incident light, and accumulates the generated charges. In this embodiment, the incident light is incident from the space to be measured. In pixel circuit 321, the photoelectric conversion element PD photoelectrically converts incident light to generate electric charges, which are then distributed to each of four charge accumulation units CS (CS1 to CS4), and each voltage signal corresponding to the amount of electric charge distributed is output to distance image processing unit 4. Furthermore, the configuration of the pixel circuit arranged in the distance image sensor 32 is not limited to a configuration having four pixel signal readout units RU (RU1 to RU4) as shown in FIG. 2, but may be a pixel circuit having a configuration including one or more pixel signal readout units RU.

[0042] In driving the pixel circuit 321 of the distance image pickup device 1, a light pulse PO is emitted for an irradiation time To, and reflected light RL is received by the distance image sensor 32 after a delay time Td. The pixel drive circuit 322, under the control of the timing control section 41, synchronizes with the irradiation of the light pulse PO and supplies accumulation drive signals TX1 to TX4 to the transfer transistors G1, G2, G3, and G4 at their respective timings to redirect the charges generated in the photoelectric conversion element PD, causing them to be accumulated in the charge accumulation sections CS1, CS2, CS3, and CS4 in that order.

[0043] The pixel driving circuit 322 controls each of the reset transistor RT and the selection transistor SL by driving signals RST and SEL, respectively, converts the charges accumulated in the charge storage unit CS into an electrical signal by the source follower transistor SF, and outputs the generated electrical signal to the distance calculation unit 42 via the output terminal O. Furthermore, under the control of the timing control section 41, the pixel driving circuit 322 causes the charge generated in the photoelectric conversion element PD to flow to the power supply VDD in response to the driving signal RSTD, thereby discharging the charge (erasing the charge).

[0044] FIG. 3 is a timing chart showing the transfer of the charges generated by the photoelectric conversion elements PD to the charge accumulation sections CS. In the timing chart of Fig. 3, the vertical axis indicates the pulse level, and the horizontal axis indicates time. Also shown is an accumulation cycle repeated during the charge accumulation period in a frame. The relative relationship on the time axis between the optical pulse PO and the reflected light RL, the timing of each of the accumulation drive signals TX1 to TX4 supplied to the transfer transistors G1 to G4, and the timing of the drive signal RSTD supplied to the charge discharging transistor GD are shown.

[0045] The timing control unit 41 causes the light source unit 2 to irradiate the measurement space with a light pulse PO. As a result, the light pulse PO is reflected by the subject and received by the light receiving unit 3 as reflected light RL. The photoelectric conversion element PD generates charges corresponding to the background light and the reflected light RL. The pixel driving circuit 322 controls the on / off of each of the transfer transistors G1 to G4 to transfer the charges generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD to each of the charge accumulation units CS1 to CS4. That is, the pixel drive circuit 322 supplies each of the accumulation drive signals TX1 to TX4 as an "H" level signal with a predetermined time width (the same width as the irradiation time To, ie, the pulse width of the light pulse) to the transfer transistors G1 to G4, respectively.

[0046] The pixel driving circuit 322, for example, turns on a transfer transistor G1 provided on a transfer path that transfers charges from the photoelectric conversion element PD to the charge accumulation unit CS1. As a result, the charges photoelectrically converted by the photoelectric conversion element PD are accumulated in the charge accumulation unit CS1 via the transfer transistor G1. Thereafter, the pixel driving circuit 322 turns off the transfer transistor G1. As a result, the transfer of charges to the charge accumulation unit CS1 is stopped. In this way, the pixel driving circuit 322 accumulates charges in the charge accumulation unit CS1. The same is true for the other charge accumulation units CS2, CS3, and CS4.

[0047] At this time, during the charge accumulation period in which charge is distributed to the charge accumulation sections CS (the period in which charge is accumulated in each of the charge accumulation sections CS in a frame), an accumulation cycle (a period in which charge is accumulated and integrated) in which each of the accumulation drive signals TX1, TX2, TX3, and TX4 is supplied to the transfer transistors G1, G2, G3, and G4, respectively, is repeated. Then, charges corresponding to incident light are transferred from the photoelectric conversion element PD to the charge accumulation units CS1, CS2, CS3, and CS4, respectively, via the transfer transistors G1, G2, G3, and G4. A plurality of accumulation cycles are repeated during the charge accumulation period. As a result, charges are accumulated in the charge accumulation units CS1, CS2, CS3, and CS4, respectively, for each accumulation cycle of the charge accumulation units CS1, CS2, CS3, and CS4 in the charge accumulation period.

[0048] In addition, when the pixel driving circuit 322 repeats the accumulation cycle of each of the charge accumulation units CS1, CS2, CS3, and CS4, after the transfer (relocation) of charge to the charge accumulation unit CS4 is completed, it supplies an "H" level driving signal RSTD to the charge discharging transistor GD, which is provided on the discharge path that discharges charge from the photoelectric conversion element PD, to turn it on. As a result, before the accumulation cycle for the charge accumulation unit CS1 starts, the charge discharging transistor GD discards the charge generated in the photoelectric conversion element PD after the accumulation cycle for the previous charge accumulation unit CS4 (i.e., resets the photoelectric conversion element PD).

[0049] The pixel driving circuit 322 sequentially performs signal processing such as A / D conversion on the voltage signals from all the pixel circuits 321 arranged in the light receiving section 3 in units of rows (horizontal arrangement) of the pixel circuits 321. Thereafter, pixel driving circuit 322 outputs the voltage signals after signal processing to distance calculation section 42 in the order of the columns arranged in light receiving section 3.

[0050] As described above, the pixel driving circuit 322 accumulates charges in the charge accumulation units CS and discards the charges photoelectrically converted by the photoelectric conversion elements PD over one frame. This causes charges corresponding to the amount of light received by the distance image pickup device 1 during a predetermined time period to be accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units CS. The pixel driving circuit 322 outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units CS for one frame to the distance calculation unit 42.

[0051] Due to the relationship between the timing of irradiating the light pulse PO and the timing of accumulating charges in each of the charge accumulation units CS (CS1 to CS4), the charge accumulation unit CS1 holds an amount of charge corresponding to external light components such as background light before irradiating the light pulse PO. The charge accumulation units CS2, CS3, and CS4 hold charges corresponding to the reflected light RL and external light components, respectively. The distribution (allocation ratio) of the amount of charge allocated to the charge accumulation units CS2 and CS3, or the charge accumulation units CS3 and CS4, is a ratio according to the delay time Td from when the light pulse PO is reflected by the subject S to when it is incident on the range image pickup device 1.

[0052] Returning to FIG. 1, the distance calculation unit 42 uses this principle to calculate the delay time Td using the following equation (1) or (2). Td=To×(Q3-Q1) / (Q2+Q3-2×Q1) …(1) Td=To+To×(Q4-Q1) / (Q3+Q4-2×Q1) …(2) Here, To is the period during which the light pulse PO is irradiated, Q1 is the amount of charge accumulated in the charge accumulation unit CS1, Q2 is the amount of charge accumulated in the charge accumulation unit CS2, Q3 is the amount of charge accumulated in the charge accumulation unit CS3, and Q4 is the amount of charge accumulated in the charge accumulation unit CS4. For example, when Q4=Q1, the distance calculation unit 42 calculates the delay time Td using equation (1), and when Q2=Q1, the distance calculation unit 42 calculates the delay time Td using equation (2).

[0053] In formula (1), charges generated by reflected light are accumulated in the charge accumulation units CS2 and CS3, but not in the charge accumulation unit CS4. On the other hand, in formula (2), charges generated by reflected light are accumulated in the charge accumulation units CS3 and CS4, but not in the charge accumulation unit CS2. In addition, in equation (1) or (2), it is assumed that the component corresponding to the external light component among the amount of charge accumulated in the charge accumulation units CS2, CS3, and CS4 is the same amount as the amount of charge accumulated in the charge accumulation unit CS1.

[0054] Distance calculation unit 42 calculates the round trip distance to subject S by multiplying the delay time obtained by equation (1) or (2) by the speed of light (velocity). Then, the distance calculation unit 42 calculates the distance from the distance image sensor 32 (that is, the distance image pickup device 1) to the subject S by dividing the round trip distance calculated above by 2 (delay time Td×c (speed of light) / 2).

[0055] In addition, time Trs indicates the period during which the drive signal RSTD supplied to the charge discharging transistor GD is set to the “H” level so that the charge generated by the input light does not remain in the photoelectric conversion element PD (charge does not accumulate) after the distribution of charge from the photoelectric conversion element PD to the charge storage unit CS4 in one cycle of the accumulation period in Figure 3 is completed. By adjusting the time Trs while keeping the pulse width of the light pulse PO and the accumulation time in the charge accumulation section CS (the on-time of the transfer transistor G) constant, it is possible to control the irradiation period of the light pulse PO to be changed arbitrarily.

[0056] Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the measurement control unit 43 in the distance image pickup device of the first embodiment. In Fig. 4, the measurement control unit 43 includes an initial operating condition setting unit 431, a zone determination unit 432, a zone operating condition setting unit 433, an operation control unit 434, an initial value storage unit 435, and a zone-specific operating condition storage unit 436. When the initial operating condition setting unit 431 is in a light pulse irradiation condition selection mode for selecting each of the accumulated numbers according to the distance to the subject, the initial operating condition setting unit 431 reads the preset initial operating light pulse irradiation conditions from the initial value storage unit 435.

[0057] The initial operation light pulse irradiation conditions are combinations of the distance from the distance image capture device 1 to the subject S, the reference number of accumulations (number of times light pulses are emitted), which is the number of accumulations set in response to the case where the reflectance of the subject S is unknown, and the accumulation period. Here, the accumulation period is one cycle in Fig. 3 and corresponds to the irradiation period, which is the interval at which the light pulse PO is irradiated, and the period is adjusted according to the number of accumulations (number of irradiations) so that the above-mentioned time Trs satisfies eye-safety. In other words, as the number of accumulations increases, the length of the time Trs is adjusted to increase the irradiation period so that the amount of exposure satisfies eye-safety.

[0058] In addition, the reference number of accumulations under the initial operating light pulse irradiation conditions is determined as the number of accumulations at which, for example, when an object with a reflectivity of 50% is located at the minimum measurement distance of the distance image capturing device 1 (0.5 m as an example), the charge generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD due to the reflected light RL generated when the light pulse PO is reflected by the object is accumulated in the charge accumulation unit CS, and the charge accumulated in the charge accumulation unit CS is accumulated to reach approximately half the maximum accumulation capacity of the charge accumulation unit CS.

[0059] The optical pulse period under the initial operation optical pulse irradiation conditions is adjusted by changing the time Trs. Here, the period from the time Ts when the optical pulse PO is irradiated to the end of the accumulation period is calculated as 2To (pulse width of the optical pulse) + Trs, and the pulse period is 3To + Trs. The number of integration times is set by the zone operating condition setting unit 433 in accordance with the measurement zone determined by the zone determination unit 432, as described above. On the other hand, the light pulse period is determined as a period that does not exceed the maximum allowable exposure amount determined by the set number of integrations and the intensity and pulse width of the light pulse used. In this embodiment, the intensity and pulse width of the light pulse used, and the accumulation time in the charge accumulation unit CS (the on-time of the transfer transistor G) are all fixed constants.

[0060] Then, under the above-mentioned initial operation light pulse irradiation conditions, the operation control unit 434 controls each of the light source unit 2 and the light receiving unit 3 as a light pulse irradiation condition selection mode, and distributes and accumulates the electric charge generated in the photoelectric conversion element PD by the light pulse PO in each of the charge accumulation units CS1, CS2, CS3, and CS4. As a result, the distance calculation unit 42 calculates the distance (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the reference measurement distance) from the distance image sensor 32 (i.e., the distance image capturing device 1) to the subject S under the initial operating light pulse irradiation conditions (i.e., the light pulse irradiation condition selection mode) based on the amount of accumulated charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units CS1, CS2, CS3 and CS4.

[0061] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the number of integrations and the light pulse period in eye-safe and the maximum allowable exposure amount. In Fig. 5, the vertical axis shows the number of integrations, and the horizontal axis shows the pulse period. The pulse width is 8 ns for the solid line, 12 ns for the dashed line, 16 ns for the one-dot chain line, and 20 ns for the two-dot chain line. FIG. 5 shows limit lines of the maximum allowable exposure amount determined by the number of integrations and the pulse period, which are obtained corresponding to each pulse width of the light pulse PO of a predetermined intensity. For example, when an optical pulse with a pulse width of 8 ns is used, the combinations of the number of integrations and pulse widths above the solid line indicate that they exceed the maximum allowable exposure. The same is true for the other combinations of pulse widths of 12 ns, 16 ns, and 20 ns, respectively.

[0062] For example, when the light pulse PO is set to have a pulse width of 12 ns as shown by the dashed line, if the number of accumulations is increased from 50,000 to 160,000 at a pulse period of 90 ns, the coordinate point determined by the number of accumulations and the pulse period will be located above the dashed line. In other words, if the pulse period is 90 ns and the number of integrations is 160,000, it will exceed the eye-safe standard defined by a pulse width of 12 ns.

[0063] Therefore, when the number of integrations is set to 160,000, the pulse period is extended to 110 ns, and the coordinate point determined by the number of integrations and the pulse period is moved to a position below the dashed line. As a result, the coordinate point is located below the broken line, and even if the number of integrations is set to 160,000 and the light pulse PO with a pulse width of 12 ns is repeatedly irradiated 160,000 times, the eye-safe standard defined by the pulse width of 12 ns is not met (the standard is satisfied). In this embodiment, based on the relationship between the pulse width, the number of integrations, and the pulse period shown in Fig. 5, the light pulse period (i.e., the time Trs) that meets the eye-safe standard for each number of integrations is set in accordance with the intensity of the light pulse PO and the pulse width of the light pulse PO used.

[0064] Furthermore, when the irradiation cycle for irradiating the light pulse PO is short, the charges stored in each charge storage unit CS are read out after the charges are accumulated in each charge storage unit CS for a set number of times. After the charge is read out, the various processes described above, such as calculation of the distance to the subject and correction, are carried out based on the amount of charge read out from the charge storage unit CS. At this time, since the time within one frame is limited, the longer the time that can be used for distance calculations, corrections, etc., the lighter the load required for calculations and the more stable the system operation becomes. For this reason, in a normal setting, from the viewpoint of lengthening the time available for distance calculation, correction, and the like, it is more suitable to have a shorter irradiation period for emitting the light pulses PO.

[0065] On the other hand, if the irradiation cycle for emitting the light pulses PO is too short, the delay time until the reflected light from a distant subject returns becomes long, and there is a possibility that the reflected light will be incident during the irradiation cycle in which the next integration is performed. Therefore, the length of the irradiation time Trs during one accumulation is set to a certain value or more. However, as mentioned above, a shorter irradiation cycle improves the stability of system operation, so the irradiation cycle must be set taking into account the number of accumulations and eye safety considerations.

[0066] Returning to FIG. 4, the zone determination unit 432 extracts, as a reference measurement distance, the minimum distance within the area of the pixel circuit 321 at a preset position obtained by the distance calculation unit 42 under the above-described initial operation light pulse irradiation conditions. Then, the zone determination unit 432 compares the extracted reference measurement distance with preset distance thresholds (zone thresholds, for example, distance thresholds LB1 and LB2 described later) to determine which measurement zone the reference measurement distance is included in.

[0067] FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the determination of the measurement zone performed by the zone determination unit 432 in the first embodiment. The measurement zones are provided with a measurement zone Z1, a measurement zone Z2, and a measurement zone Z3 in order of increasing distance from the distance image capturing device 1. Here, the boundaries of the measurement zones Z1, Z2, and Z3 are set by distance thresholds LB1 and distance threshold LB2, respectively.

[0068] Also, the distance thresholds LB1 and LB2 are in the relationship of LB1 < LB2 (a relationship where LB2 is a greater distance than LB1), and are obtained through experiments such as whether the required amount of charge for the measurement distance can be acquired so as to satisfy the integration count and the pulse period that satisfy eye safety, and are set in advance as predetermined distances. Then, if the reference measurement distance is less than the distance threshold LB1, the zone determination unit 432 determines that the object is within the distance range of the measurement zone Z1. Also, if the reference measurement distance is greater than or equal to the distance threshold LB1 and less than the distance threshold LB2, the zone determination unit 432 determines that the object is within the distance range of the measurement zone Z2. If the reference measurement distance is greater than or equal to the distance threshold LB2, the zone determination unit 432 determines that the object is within the distance range of the measurement zone Z3. In this embodiment, three measurement zones are described, but any number of two or more may be formed.

[0069] Returning to Fig. 4, the zone operation condition setting unit 433 selects one of the multiple accumulated counts set in the measurement zone determined by the zone determination unit 432. In this embodiment, the light pulse period is set to a fixed time in each measurement zone. That is, in the same measurement zone, the light pulse period is set as a time that satisfies eye-safety (see Fig. 5) in the case of the maximum accumulated count, and is the same time for any accumulated count. In addition, a plurality of integration times are set for each measurement zone in accordance with the intensity of background light (external light amount).

[0070] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an accumulation count table set for each measurement zone in the zone-specific operating condition storage unit 436. Fig. 7 shows, for example, an accumulation count table corresponding to each of measurement zones Z1, Z2, and Z3. FIG. 7(a) shows an accumulation count table TBL1 for measurement zone Z1, FIG. 7(b) shows an accumulation count table TBL2 for measurement zone Z2, and FIG. 7(c) shows an accumulation count table TBL3 for measurement zone Z3. Also, the accumulation period differs for each measurement zone, with measurement zone Z1 being 90 ns, measurement zone Z2 being 100 ns, and measurement zone Z3 being 110 ns, with the time Trs becoming longer by 10 ns as the measurement zone becomes farther away (in other words, each time the maximum accumulation count in the accumulation count table increases). In all of measurement zones Z1, Z2, and Z3, the pulse width of the light pulse PO, the intensity of the light pulse light, and the accumulation time in the charge accumulation unit CS (the on time of the transfer transistor G) are the same and constant.

[0071] For example, in measurement zone Z1 (accumulation period 90 ns), when the background light amount is 100,000 Lux, that is, when the maximum accumulation capacity of the charge accumulation unit CS is 4080 LSB (east significant bit), the amount of charge accumulated by the background light is 3000 LSB, and the number of accumulations is 15,000. Similarly, in the case of 30,000 Lux, the amount of charge accumulated due to background light is 1,000 LSB, and the number of integrations is 25,000. In the case of 10,000 Lux, the amount of charge accumulated due to background light is 300 LSB, and the number of integrations is 30,000. When there is no background light, the amount of charge accumulated due to background light is 0 LSB, and the number of integrations is 35,000.

[0072] Returning to FIG. 4, the zone operation condition setting unit 433 acquires from the distance calculation unit 42 the amount of charge accumulated in the charge accumulation unit CS1, that is, the amount of background light charge (amount of external light signal). Then, the zone operating condition setting unit 433 refers to the integrated number table in the zone operating condition storage unit 436 that corresponds to the measurement zone determined by the zone operating condition setting unit 433 . The zone operation condition setting unit 433 reads out the number of integrations corresponding to the obtained amount of background light charge from the referenced integration number table. At this time, the zone operating condition setting unit 433 also reads out the accumulation period associated with the accumulation count table. As a result, the zone operating condition setting unit 433 obtains (calculates) each of the number of integrations and the accumulation period as the operating light pulse irradiation conditions corresponding to the measurement zone.

[0073] Then, in a ranging charge amount acquisition mode, the operation control unit 434 controls each of the light source unit 2 and the light receiving unit 3 under the above-mentioned operating light pulse irradiation conditions determined by the zone operation condition setting unit 433, and distributes and accumulates the charge generated by the light pulse PO in each of the charge accumulation units CS1, CS2, CS3, and CS4. As a result, the distance calculation unit 42 calculates the distance (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the measured distance) from the distance image sensor 32 (i.e., the distance image capturing device 1) to the subject S under operating light pulse irradiation conditions (i.e., the distance measurement charge amount acquisition mode) based on the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units CS1, CS2, CS3 and CS4.

[0074] 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the distance image pickup device 1 of the first embodiment for calculating the distance between the distance image sensor 32 and the subject S. When the distance image pickup device 1 is started, the process starts from the following step S1. Step S1: The initial operating condition setting unit 431 reads the initial operating light pulse irradiation conditions from the initial value storage unit 435 . Then, the initial operating condition setting unit 431 outputs the read initial operating light pulse irradiation conditions to the operation control unit 434.

[0075] Step S2: When the initial operation light pulse irradiation conditions are supplied, the operation control unit 434 controls each of the light source unit 2 and the light receiving unit 3 in the light pulse irradiation condition selection mode. That is, the light source unit 2 irradiates the light pulse PO in a predetermined cycle, that is, in accordance with the accumulation cycle and the reference number of integrations (number of irradiations) under the initial operation light pulse irradiation conditions. In addition, the pixel driving circuit 322 distributes and accumulates the charges generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD in response to the reflected light RL in the charge accumulation units CS1, CS2, CS3, and CS4 in each of the pixel circuits 321 based on the accumulation period and reference accumulation count under the initial operation light pulse irradiation conditions. Then, the distance calculation unit 42 calculates the distance (reference measurement distance) based on the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units CS1, CS2, CS3, and CS4.

[0076] Step S3: Zone determination section 432 acquires the minimum value of the distances calculated by distance calculation section 42 in a preset region of pixel circuits 321 as a reference measured distance. Then, the zone determination unit 432 compares the distance threshold LB1 and the distance threshold LB2, which is a distance that exceeds the distance threshold LB1, with the acquired reference measured distance to determine which is larger.

[0077] At this time, if the reference measurement distance is less than the distance threshold value LB1, the zone determination section 432 determines that the object closest to the distance image capturing device 1 is included within the distance range of the measurement zone Z1. Furthermore, when the reference measurement distance is equal to or greater than the distance threshold LB1 and less than the distance threshold LB2, the zone determination unit 432 determines that the object closest to the distance image capturing device 1 is included within the distance range of the measurement zone Z2. Furthermore, when the reference measurement distance is equal to or greater than the distance threshold value LB2, the zone determination section 432 determines that the object closest to the distance image pickup device 1 is included within the distance range of the measurement zone Z3. Then, the zone determination unit 432 outputs the determined type of measurement zone to the zone operating condition setting unit 433.

[0078] Step S4: When the type of measurement zone determined by the zone determination unit 432 is supplied to the zone operation condition setting unit 433, the zone operation condition setting unit 433 acquires the operating light pulse irradiation conditions corresponding to the measurement zone. At this time, the zone operating condition setting unit 433 acquires from the distance calculation unit 42 the amount of charge (corresponding voltage value) of background light that was calculated by the pixel circuit 321 used when calculating the reference measurement distance.

[0079] Then, the zone operating condition setting unit 433 refers to the integration coefficient table in the zone operating condition storage unit 436 that corresponds to the measurement zone acquired from the zone determination unit 432 . The zone operating condition setting unit 433 reads out an integration coefficient corresponding to the amount of charge of the background light from the integration coefficient table that it refers to. At this time, the zone operating condition setting unit 433 also extracts and reads out the accumulation period added to the integration coefficient table from which the integration coefficients have been read out.

[0080] Step S5: The zone operation condition setting unit 433 outputs each of the acquired integration coefficients and accumulation cycles to the operation control unit 434 as operation light pulse irradiation conditions. When the operation light pulse irradiation conditions are supplied, the operation control unit 434 sets the operation state, such as the number of times (accumulation number) that the light pulse is irradiated in the light source unit 2 and the distribution of electric charge from the photoelectric conversion element PD of the light receiving unit 3 to each of the charge accumulation units CS, in the distance measurement electric charge amount acquisition mode.

[0081] Step S6: The light source unit 2 then irradiates the light pulse PO at a predetermined period, that is, in accordance with the accumulation period and the number of irradiations (integrated number) under the operating light pulse irradiation conditions. In addition, the pixel driving circuit 322 distributes and accumulates the charges generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD in response to the reflected light RL in the charge accumulation units CS1, CS2, CS3, and CS4 in each of the pixel circuits 321 depending on the accumulation period and the number of accumulations under the operating light pulse irradiation conditions. Then, the distance calculation unit 42 calculates the distance based on the amount of charge stored in each of the charge storage units CS1, CS2, CS3, and CS4.

[0082] Step S7: The zone determination unit 432 extracts pixel circuits 321 having the minimum distance value and the maximum distance value calculated by the distance calculation unit 42 in a preset pixel circuit 321 region. Then, the zone determination unit 432 reads out the charge amount (voltage value) of the charge accumulation unit CS having the largest charge amount among the charge accumulation units CS1, CS2, CS3, and CS4 at each of the minimum distance value and the maximum distance value.

[0083] At this time, if the voltage value corresponding to the minimum distance value is below a preset lower threshold value, or if the voltage value corresponding to the maximum distance value exceeds a preset upper threshold value, the zone determination unit 432 proceeds to step S1. If the voltage value corresponding to the minimum distance value mentioned above falls below a preset lower threshold, or if the voltage value corresponding to the maximum distance value exceeds a preset upper threshold, it indicates that the object closest to the distance image capturing device 1 is no longer in the measurement zone corresponding to the current operating light pulse irradiation conditions, and the light pulse irradiation condition selection mode must be performed again to change the measurement zone.

[0084] If the voltage value corresponding to the minimum distance is equal to or greater than the preset lower threshold and the voltage value corresponding to the maximum distance is equal to or less than the preset upper threshold, zone determination unit 432 proceeds to step S6. If the voltage value corresponding to the minimum distance value mentioned above is equal to or greater than a preset lower threshold value and the voltage value corresponding to the maximum distance value is equal to or less than a preset upper threshold value, this indicates that the object closest to the distance image capturing device 1 is present in the measurement zone corresponding to the current operating light pulse irradiation conditions, and since there is no need to change the measurement zone, measurement of the measurement distance is continued using the ranging charge acquisition mode.

[0085] Here, the lower limit threshold is a threshold that indicates that an amount of charge sufficient to measure the measurement distance while maintaining accuracy has not been obtained. On the other hand, the upper limit threshold is set as an amount of charge exceeding a predetermined percentage (for example, 95%) of the maximum storage capacity of the charge storage section, and is a threshold indicating that the charge storage section may be saturated. In addition, in this embodiment, the above-mentioned lower threshold and upper threshold are used to check whether or not the measurement zone has been changed, but the light pulse irradiation condition selection mode may be performed every predetermined number of frames. In this configuration, for example, in step S7, if the number of processed frames exceeds a frame threshold, which is a preset number of frames, the process proceeds to step S1, whereas if it is equal to or less than the frame threshold, the process proceeds to step S6.

[0086] As described above, according to this embodiment, in the light pulse irradiation condition selection mode, the reference measurement distance between the distance image capture device 1 and the subject obtained at the standard accumulation number is compared with each of the distance thresholds LB1 and LB2, and the measurement zone in which the subject is located (the measurement zone in which the subject closest to the capture device is located) is determined from the comparison result, and the accumulation number (i.e., the number of irradiations) at which the distance can be calculated with a predetermined accuracy and the irradiation period that satisfies eye-safety for that accumulation number are extracted as the light pulse irradiation conditions for the subject, and in the distance measurement charge amount acquisition mode, light pulses are irradiated according to the light pulse conditions, and the charge generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD for each irradiation is distributed to each charge accumulation unit and accumulated, so that the accumulation number for accumulating the amount of charge required for measuring the distance in the charge accumulation unit is satisfied, and the safety standard for the human body (eye-safety) can be satisfied even when pulsed light is continuously irradiated.

[0087] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, in the accumulation count table for each measurement zone, the accumulation count is set corresponding to each background light amount (external light amount), so that it is possible to select the accumulation count corresponding to the background light amount measured in the light pulse irradiation condition selection mode, and it is possible to easily prevent the charge accumulation section from being saturated due to the influence of the background light amount.

[0088] <Second embodiment> A second embodiment of the present invention will now be described. The range image pickup device according to the second embodiment of the present invention has a similar configuration to that of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. Only the operations that differ from those of the range image pickup device of the first embodiment will be described below.

[0089] In this embodiment, the measurement control unit 43 determines the number of accumulations and the irradiation period corresponding to the intensity of the reflected light from the subject S so that the charge storage unit does not become saturated and so that safety standards for the human body can be met even when pulsed light is continuously irradiated. Then, the measurement control unit 43 causes the light source unit 2 to emit a light pulse PO in each of the frames repeated in the frame period based on the calculated number of accumulations and irradiation cycle, and controls the timing control unit 41 to distribute and accumulate in the charge accumulation unit the charge generated by the photoelectric conversion element in the pixel circuit (pixel circuit 321) described later in response to the incident light, and to control the calculation in the distance calculation unit 42 (described in detail later).

[0090] In this embodiment, unlike the first embodiment in which the measurement zone is selected based on the distance between the distance image capture device 1 and the subject, the measurement zone is selected based on the intensity of light reflected from the subject, so the combination of the distance between the distance image capture device 1 and the subject and the reflectance of the subject becomes the parameter used to select the measurement zone. In addition, since the reference charge amount is set for each of a specified distance and a specified reflectance, the charge amount ratio also correlates with each of the attenuation rate due to the distance between the distance image capturing device 1 and the subject, and the attenuation rate due to the reflectance of the subject.

[0091] At this time, the zone determination unit 432 obtains the amount of charge (signal amount) generated by the reflected light RL from the amount of charge of each of the charge accumulation units CS2, CS3, and CS4 supplied from the pixel driving circuit 322, excluding the amount of charge of the background light. Then, the zone determination unit 432 adds up the amounts of charge (voltage values) stored in the charge storage units CS2, CS3, and CS4 to obtain the total amount of charge generated by the reflected light RL.

[0092] Moreover, the zone determination unit 432 reads out a reference charge amount (reference value) from the initial value storage unit 435, divides the total charge amount by the reference charge amount, and calculates a charge amount ratio as the division result. Here, the reference charge amount is written and stored in advance in the initial value storage unit 435, and the charge amount due to the reflected light RL of the light pulse PO from an object is acquired using the pulse width of the light pulse PO per unit accumulation time, the time during which the transfer transistor G is in an on state when distributing the charge generated in the photoelectric conversion element PD to each of the charge accumulation units CS, and the reference number of integration times per unit accumulation time, and the acquired charge amount is set as a numerical value within the accumulation amount of the charge accumulation unit CS (for example, about half the maximum accumulation capacity of the charge accumulation unit CS). Here, the unit accumulation time is the time of one cycle shown in FIG. Moreover, the reference number of integrations is the number of integrations set in the light pulse irradiation condition selection mode, as already described in the first embodiment.

[0093] FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the measurement zone determination performed by the zone determination unit 432 in the second embodiment. In this embodiment, the measurement zone is a zone in which the intensity of the reflected light RL ranges from strong (large numerical value) to weak (small numerical value), and measurement zones Z1, Z2, and Z3 are provided in the order of decreasing intensity from strong to weak. Here, the boundaries of the measurement zones Z1, Z2, and Z3 are set by the charge amount ratio threshold (zone threshold) LC1 and the charge amount ratio threshold LC2, respectively.

[0094] In addition, the charge amount ratio threshold LC1 and the charge amount ratio threshold LC2 have a relationship of LC1>LC2 (a charge amount ratio relationship in which LC1 is greater than LC2), and are determined by experiments to determine whether the charge accumulation unit CS is not saturated and the amount of charge required to calculate the measurement distance can be obtained, and are set in advance as a charge amount ratio corresponding to a predetermined accumulated charge amount. If the charge amount ratio is equal to or greater than the charge amount ratio threshold LC1, the zone determination unit 432 determines that the object is within the measurement condition range of the measurement zone Z1.

[0095] Moreover, if the charge amount ratio is less than the charge amount ratio threshold LC1 and is equal to or greater than the charge amount ratio threshold LC2, the zone determination unit 432 determines that the object is within the measurement condition range of the measurement zone Z2. If the charge amount ratio is less than the charge amount ratio threshold LC2, the zone determination unit 432 determines that the object is within the measurement condition range of the measurement zone Z3.

[0096] Here, the measurement condition range indicates the range of the measurement zone, and indicates the range of intensity of reflected light RL that is determined by the distance from the distance image capture device to the target object, or the magnitude of the reflectance of the surface of the target object, or both the distance and the reflectance. In this embodiment, three measurement zones are described, but any number of two or more measurement zones may be used. In the above, the charge ratio of all pixel circuits 321 in the distance image sensor 32 is calculated and used to select the measurement zone, but a predetermined area (for example, the central area of ​​the distance image sensor 32) may be set in advance, and the charge ratio of the pixel circuits 321 in this predetermined area may be calculated to select the measurement zone.

[0097] Further, in the zone-specific operating condition storage unit 436, an integrated number table corresponding to each measurement zone is written and stored in advance. This accumulation count table has the same configuration as the accumulation count table of FIG. 7 described in the first embodiment. Also, similarly to the first embodiment, in all of measurement zones Z1, Z2, and Z3, the pulse width of the light pulse PO, the intensity of the light pulse light, and the accumulation time in the charge accumulation section CS (the on time of the transfer transistor G) are the same and constant.

[0098] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the distance image pickup device 1 of the second embodiment for calculating the distance between the distance image sensor 32 and the subject S. When the distance image pickup device 1 is started, the process starts from the following step S11. Step S11: The initial operating condition setting unit 431 reads the initial operating light pulse irradiation conditions from the initial value storage unit 435 . Then, the initial operating condition setting unit 431 outputs the read initial operating light pulse irradiation conditions to the operation control unit 434.

[0099] Step S12: When the initial operation light pulse irradiation conditions are supplied, the operation control unit 434 controls each of the light source unit 2 and the light receiving unit 3 in the light pulse irradiation condition selection mode. That is, the light source unit 2 irradiates the light pulse PO in a predetermined cycle, that is, in accordance with the accumulation cycle (that is, the irradiation cycle) and the reference accumulation number in the initial operation light pulse irradiation condition.

[0100] In addition, the pixel driving circuit 322 distributes and accumulates the charges generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD in response to the reflected light RL in the charge accumulation units CS1, CS2, CS3, and CS4 in each of the pixel circuits 321 based on the accumulation period and reference accumulation count under the initial operation light pulse irradiation conditions. Then, the distance calculation section 42 calculates and obtains the distance from the range image pickup device 1 to each of the subjects based on the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation sections CS1, CS2, CS3, and CS4.

[0101] The zone determination unit 432 acquires from the distance calculation unit 42 the amounts of charge Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 accumulated in the charge accumulation units CS1, CS2, CS3, and CS4, respectively. The zone determination section 432 subtracts the charge amount Q1 of the charge accumulation section CS1, that is, the charge amount generated by background light, from each of the charge amounts Q2, Q3, and Q4. Then, the zone determination unit 432 adds up each of the electric charge amounts Q2, Q3, and Q4 after subtracting the electric charge amount Q1 of the background light, i.e., each of the electric charge amounts generated by the reflected light RL, and calculates the total electric charge amount as the addition result (obtaining the total electric charge amount).

[0102] Step S13: The zone determination unit 432 acquires the maximum total charge amount in a preset region of the pixel circuit 321 as a reference total charge amount. Moreover, the zone determination unit 432 reads out the reference charge amount from the initial value storage unit 435, subtracts the reference total charge amount by the reference charge amount, and calculates the charge amount ratio. Then, the zone determination unit 432 compares the calculated charge amount ratio with a charge amount ratio threshold LC1 and a charge amount ratio threshold LC2 for a charge amount ratio below the charge amount ratio threshold LC1.

[0103] At this time, when the charge amount ratio is equal to or greater than the charge amount ratio threshold value LC1, the zone determination unit 432 determines that the object with the strongest intensity of the reflected light RL is included within the measurement condition range of the measurement zone Z1. Furthermore, if the charge ratio is less than the charge ratio threshold LC1 and greater than or equal to the charge ratio threshold LC2, the zone determination unit 432 determines that the object with the strongest intensity of the reflected light RL is included within the measurement condition range of the measurement zone Z2. Furthermore, when the charge amount ratio is less than the charge amount ratio threshold LC2, the zone determination unit 432 determines that the object with the strongest reflected light intensity is included within the measurement condition range of the measurement zone Z3. Then, the zone determination unit 432 outputs the determined type of measurement zone to the zone operating condition setting unit 433.

[0104] Step S14: When the type of measurement zone determined by the zone determination unit 432 is supplied to the zone operation condition setting unit 433, the zone operation condition setting unit 433 acquires the operating light pulse irradiation conditions corresponding to the measurement zone. At this time, the zone operation condition setting unit 433 acquires from the zone determination unit 432 the amount of charge of the background light (corresponding voltage value) that was calculated when the pixel circuit 321 used when calculating the charge amount ratio calculated the amount of accumulated charge.

[0105] Then, the zone operating condition setting unit 433 refers to the integration coefficient table in the zone operating condition storage unit 436 that corresponds to the measurement zone acquired from the zone determination unit 432 . The zone operating condition setting unit 433 reads out an integration coefficient corresponding to the amount of charge of the background light from the integration coefficient table that it refers to. At this time, the zone operating condition setting unit 433 also extracts and reads out the accumulation period added to the integration coefficient table from which the integration coefficients have been read out.

[0106] Step S15: The zone operation condition setting unit 433 outputs each of the acquired integration coefficients and accumulation cycles to the operation control unit 434 as operation light pulse irradiation conditions. When the operation light pulse irradiation conditions are supplied, the operation control unit 434 sets the operation states of the circuits in each of the light source unit 2 and the light receiving unit 3 in the distance measurement charge amount acquisition mode.

[0107] Step S16: The light source unit 2 then irradiates the light pulse PO at a predetermined period, that is, in accordance with the accumulation period and the number of irradiations (integrated number) under the operating light pulse irradiation conditions. In addition, the pixel driving circuit 322 distributes and accumulates the charges generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD in response to the reflected light RL in the charge accumulation units CS1, CS2, CS3, and CS4 in each of the pixel circuits 321 depending on the accumulation period and the number of accumulations under the operating light pulse irradiation conditions. Then, the distance calculation unit 42 calculates the distance based on the amount of charge stored in each of the charge storage units CS1, CS2, CS3, and CS4.

[0108] Step S17: The zone determination unit 432 extracts the minimum total charge amount in each of the pixel circuits 321 in the range image sensor 32 and the pixel circuit 321 with the maximum total charge amount. Then, the zone determination unit 432 compares the minimum value of the total charge amount with a preset lower threshold, and also compares the maximum value of the total charge amount with a preset upper threshold.

[0109] At this time, if the minimum value of the total charge amount falls below a preset lower threshold or if the maximum value of the total charge amount exceeds a preset upper threshold, the zone determination unit 432 advances the process to step S11. If the minimum value of the total charge amount mentioned above falls below a preset lower threshold, or if the maximum value of the total charge amount exceeds a preset upper threshold, it indicates that the target object used to select the measurement zone is no longer present in the measurement zone corresponding to the current operating light pulse irradiation conditions, and the light pulse irradiation condition selection mode must be performed again to change the measurement zone.

[0110] Furthermore, if the voltage value corresponding to the minimum distance is equal to or greater than the preset lower threshold and the voltage value corresponding to the maximum distance is equal to or less than the preset upper threshold, the zone determination unit 432 advances the process to step S16. If the minimum value of the total charge amount mentioned above is equal to or greater than a predetermined lower threshold and the maximum value of the total charge amount is equal to or less than a predetermined upper threshold, this indicates that the target object used to select the measurement zone is present in the measurement zone corresponding to the current operating light pulse irradiation conditions, and there is no need to change the measurement zone, so measurement of the measurement distance is continued using the ranging charge amount acquisition mode.

[0111] In the above-described embodiment, when the target object, which is the subject used to select the measurement zone, is no longer present in the measurement zone corresponding to the current operating light pulse irradiation conditions, the process returns to the light pulse irradiation condition selection mode, and when the target object is present in the measurement zone, the process determines whether to continue the distance charge acquisition mode. However, when the number of measurement zones is small, such as two or three, if the minimum value of the total charge amount falls below a preset lower threshold or if the maximum value of the total charge amount exceeds a preset upper threshold, the configuration may be such that the light pulse irradiation condition selection mode is not entered, but the corresponding measurement zone setting is switched to and the ranging charge amount acquisition mode is continued.

[0112] As described above, according to this embodiment, the measurement zone in which the subject is present and which reflects the strongest reflected light RL is determined for the distance imaging device by dividing the accumulated charge amount obtained at the standard number of accumulations in the light pulse irradiation condition selection mode by the standard charge amount which is a standard value, and determining the measurement zone in which the subject is present based on the charge amount ratio obtained as a result of the division. Distance measurement can be performed under light pulse irradiation conditions which are set so that the charge accumulation unit CS in the measurement zone is not saturated. Therefore, even if the distance between the distance imaging device and the subject or the reflection intensity of the subject is unknown, saturation of the accumulated charge amount in the charge accumulation unit CS can be prevented.

[0113] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the distance imaging device divides the accumulated charge amount obtained at the standard number of accumulations in the light pulse irradiation condition selection mode by the standard charge amount which is a standard value to determine the measurement zone in which the subject is present, based on the charge amount ratio obtained as the division result. As the light pulse irradiation conditions in the measurement zone, the number of accumulations (i.e., the number of irradiations) at which the distance can be calculated with a predetermined accuracy and the irradiation period which satisfies eye-safety for that number of accumulations are extracted. In the ranging charge amount acquisition mode, light pulses are irradiated according to the light pulse conditions, and the charge generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD for each irradiation is distributed to each charge accumulation unit and accumulated, thereby satisfying the accumulation number for accumulating the amount of charge required for distance measurement in the charge accumulation unit, and also satisfying the safety standard for the human body (eye-safety) even when pulsed light is continuously irradiated.

[0114] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, in the accumulation count table for each measurement zone, the accumulation count is set corresponding to each background light amount (external light amount), so that it is possible to select the accumulation count corresponding to the background light amount measured in the light pulse irradiation condition selection mode, and it is possible to easily prevent the charge accumulation section from being saturated due to the influence of the background light amount.

[0115] As the configurations of the first and second embodiments described above, a distance image capturing device using TOF technology has been described. However, the application of the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can also be applied to a sensor having a structure in which a photodiode such as an RGB-IR (Red Green Blue-Infrared Radiation) sensor supplies one charge accumulation section. In addition, if the charge storage section stores charges generated by a photodiode due to incident light, the present invention can also be applied to a charge coupled device (CCD) image sensor or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor.

[0116] Furthermore, in each of the above-mentioned first and second embodiments, a configuration having four pixel signal readout units RU1 to RU4 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and a configuration having three pixel signal readout units RU, or a configuration having five or more pixel signal readout units RU, that is, a configuration having three or more pixel readout units RU, can be performed by performing the same processing as in this embodiment, in which "for the distance imaging device, a measurement zone in which a subject reflecting the strongest reflected light RL is present is determined by dividing the accumulated charge amount obtained at a reference number of integrations in the light pulse irradiation condition selection mode by a reference charge amount which is a reference value, and the measurement zone in which the subject is present is determined based on the charge amount ratio obtained as a result of the division, and distance measurement is performed under light pulse irradiation conditions which are set so that the charge accumulation unit CS in the measurement zone is not saturated," thereby making it possible to prevent saturation of the accumulated charge in the charge accumulation unit CS even if the distance between the distance imaging device and the subject or the reflection intensity of the subject is unknown.

[0117] In addition, for a configuration having three or more pixel signal readout units RU, by performing the same processing as in this embodiment, in which "for a distance imaging device, a measurement zone in which a subject reflecting the strongest reflected light RL exists is determined by dividing the accumulated charge amount obtained at a standard number of accumulations in a light pulse irradiation condition selection mode by a standard charge amount which is a standard value, and the measurement zone in which the subject exists is determined by the charge amount ratio obtained as the division result, and as the light pulse irradiation conditions in the measurement zone, an accumulation number (i.e., number of irradiations) at which the distance can be calculated with a predetermined accuracy and an irradiation period that satisfies eye-safety for that accumulation number are extracted, and in a ranging charge amount acquisition mode, light pulses are irradiated according to the light pulse conditions, and the charge generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD for each irradiation is distributed to each charge accumulation unit and accumulated, the charge amount is accumulated," it is possible to satisfy the accumulation number for accumulating the amount of charge necessary for distance measurement in the charge accumulation unit and to satisfy the safety standard for the human body (eye-safety) even when pulsed light is continuously irradiated.

[0118] In addition, even in a configuration having three or more pixel signal readout units RU, by performing processing similar to that of this embodiment in which "in the accumulation count table for each measurement zone, the accumulation count is set corresponding to each background light amount (external light amount), and therefore the accumulation count corresponding to the background light amount measured in the light pulse irradiation condition selection mode is selected," it is possible to easily prevent the charge accumulation unit from becoming saturated due to the influence of the background light amount.

[0119] Furthermore, in the first and second embodiments, in a configuration with four pixel signal readout units RU1 to RU4, the pixel signal readout unit RU1 has been described as being fixed for measuring background light. However, in a configuration with three or more pixel signal readout units RU, even if any of the pixel signal readout units RU are not fixed for background light, and the pixel signal readout unit RU with the smallest amount of accumulated charge is selected as the pixel signal readout unit RU that reads out the background light by comparing the accumulated charge amounts of each of the pixel signal readout units RU, by performing processing similar to that of the first and second embodiments, it is possible to find the number of accumulations that satisfies the number of accumulations that accumulates the amount of charge required for measuring distance in the charge accumulation unit, satisfies safety standards for the human body (eye-safe) even when pulsed light is continuously irradiated, and does not saturate each of the charge accumulation units CS. [Explanation of symbols]

[0120] 1...Distance image capture device 2...Light source section 3...Light receiving section 31...Lens 32...Distance image sensor (distance image sensor) 321...Pixel circuit 322...Pixel driving circuit 4. Distance image processing section 41...Timing control section 42...Distance calculation section 43...Measurement control section 431...Initial operating condition setting unit 432…Zone determination section 433...Zone operating condition setting section 434...Operation control unit 435…Initial value storage unit 436…Zone-specific operating condition memory section CS1, CS2, CS3, CS4...Charge storage section FD1, FD2, FD3, FD4...Floating diffusion G1, G2, G3, G4...Transfer transistors GD: Charge drain transistor PD: Photoelectric conversion element PO: Light pulse RL…Reflected light RT1, RT2, RT3, RT4...Reset transistors S…Subject SF1, SF2, SF3, SF4...Source follower transistors SL1, SL2, SL3, SL4...Selection transistors

Claims

1. a plurality of pixel circuits each including a photoelectric conversion element that generates an electric charge according to incident light that is light incident from a measurement space that is a space to be measured, N (N≧3) charge accumulation units that accumulate the electric charge in a frame period, and a transfer transistor that transfers the electric charge from the photoelectric conversion element to each of the charge accumulation units; a pixel drive circuit that performs on / off processing of each of the transfer transistors in each of the charge accumulation units at a predetermined accumulation timing synchronized with irradiation of a light pulse, and distributes and accumulates the charges; A light receiving unit having a light source unit that irradiates the measurement space with the light pulse; a distance image processing unit that calculates a distance to a subject present in the measurement space as a measured distance based on the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units; a measurement control unit that determines which of measurement zones set according to zone thresholds set corresponding to a plurality of distances from the light receiving unit the measured distance belongs to, controls the charge storage unit to store charge according to an accumulation count set for the determined measurement zone, and controls the light source unit to increase the pulse period of the light pulse and irradiate the light pulse as the accumulation count increases; Equipped with The measurement control unit increases the pulse period by increasing a period during which the electric charge does not remain in the photoelectric conversion element after the electric charge is distributed, while keeping the pulse width of the optical pulse and the storage time in the electric charge storage unit constant, as the number of integrations increases. A distance image capturing device comprising:

2. The measurement control unit, Based on the measured distance that is measured as the shortest distance within any area in which each of the pixel circuits is arranged, the measurement zone in which the measured distance is included is determined by comparing the measured distance with each of the zone thresholds.

2. The distance imaging device according to claim 1.

3. a plurality of pixel circuits each including a photoelectric conversion element that generates an electric charge according to incident light that is light incident from a measurement space that is a space to be measured, N (N≧3) charge accumulation units that accumulate the electric charge in a frame period, and a transfer transistor that transfers the electric charge from the photoelectric conversion element to each of the charge accumulation units; a pixel drive circuit that performs on / off processing of each of the transfer transistors in each of the charge accumulation units at a predetermined accumulation timing synchronized with irradiation of a light pulse, and distributes and accumulates the charges; A light receiving unit having a light source unit that irradiates the measurement space with the light pulse; a distance image processing unit that calculates a distance to a subject present in the measurement space as a measured distance based on the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units; a measurement control unit that calculates a total amount of charge due to reflected light of the light pulse from the subject in the measurement space from the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units, determines which measurement zone the total amount of charge belongs to based on a zone threshold value set corresponding to the total amount of charge, controls the charge accumulation units to accumulate charge based on an accumulation count set for the determined measurement zone, and controls the light source unit to increase the pulse period of the light pulse and irradiate the light pulse as the accumulation count increases; Equipped with The measurement control unit increases the pulse period by increasing a period during which the electric charge does not remain in the photoelectric conversion element after the electric charge is distributed, while keeping the pulse width of the optical pulse and the storage time in the electric charge storage unit constant, as the number of integrations increases. A distance image capturing device comprising:

4. A plurality of pixel circuits each including a photoelectric conversion element that generates an electric charge corresponding to incident light that is light incident from a measurement space that is a space to be measured, N (N≧3) charge accumulation units that accumulate the electric charge during a frame period, and a transfer transistor that transfers the electric charge from the photoelectric conversion element to each of the charge accumulation units; a pixel drive circuit that performs on / off processing of each of the transfer transistors in each of the charge accumulation units at a predetermined accumulation timing synchronized with irradiation of a light pulse, and distributes and accumulates the charges; A light receiving unit having a light source unit that irradiates the measurement space with the light pulse; a distance image processing unit that calculates a distance to a subject present in the measurement space as a measured distance based on the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units; a measurement control unit that calculates a total amount of charge due to reflected light of the light pulse from the subject in the measurement space from the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units, determines which measurement zone the total amount of charge belongs to based on a zone threshold value set corresponding to the total amount of charge, controls the charge accumulation units to accumulate charge based on an accumulation count set for the determined measurement zone, and controls the light source unit to increase the pulse period of the light pulse and irradiate the light pulse as the accumulation count increases; Equipped with The measurement control unit, A charge amount ratio is calculated between the largest total charge amount in an arbitrary region in which each of the pixel circuits is arranged and a reference charge amount, which is a charge amount generated by reflected light of the light pulse reflected by an object of an arbitrary distance and reflectivity, and the charge amount ratio is compared with each of the zone threshold values ​​to determine the measurement zone in which the total charge amount is included. A distance image capturing device comprising:

5. The measurement control unit, A background light charge amount, which is a charge amount corresponding to background light, is obtained from the accumulated charge amount in the charge accumulation unit, and a combination corresponding to the background light charge amount is selected from a plurality of combinations of the number of integrations and the pulse period in each of the measurement zones.

5. The distance imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the distance imaging device is a distance sensor.

6. The reference charge amount is The pulse width of the light pulse per unit accumulation time, the time during which the transfer transistor is on when distributing to the charge accumulation section, and the amount of charge due to the reflected light from the object obtained using the number of integrations per unit accumulation time are set as a numerical value within the accumulation amount of the charge accumulation section.

5. The distance imaging device according to claim 4.

7. The reference charge amount is the total charge amount obtained by adding up the subtraction results obtained by subtracting the charge amount generated by background light from the accumulated charge amount, which is the charge amount accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units.

7. The distance imaging device according to claim 4 or 6.

8. For each of the integration times for the measurement zone, the pulse width of the light pulse per unit accumulation time and the time during which the transfer transistor is in an on state are set to constant times, and the irradiation period of the light pulse is made to correspond to the integration times, thereby adjusting the exposure amount of the subject to the radiated light pulse.

8. The distance imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the distance imaging device is a distance sensor.

9. The reference charge amount is set for each of a predetermined distance and a predetermined reflectance, and the charge amount ratio has a correlation with each of the attenuation rate due to the distance and the attenuation rate due to the reflectance.

8. The distance imaging device according to claim 4, 6 or 7.

10. The measurement control unit, The number of integrations selected in the measurement zone is continued to be used for a certain period of time or until the measured distance is detected in a distance range in the measurement zone different from the distance range of the current measurement zone.

3. The distance imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the distance imaging device is a distance sensor.

11. The measurement control unit, The number of integrations selected in the measurement zone is continued to be used for a certain period of time or until the charge amount ratio included in a measurement zone different from the current measurement zone is detected.

10. The distance imaging device according to claim 4, 6, 7 or 9.

12. The pixel circuit is provided with a charge drain circuit that drains the charge generated by the photoelectric conversion element during a period other than when the charge is stored in the charge storage section.

12. The distance imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the distance imaging device is a distance sensor.

13. A distance image capturing method for controlling a distance image capturing device including a plurality of pixel circuits, each of which is formed of a photoelectric conversion element, a plurality of charge accumulation units, and a transfer transistor, a light source unit, a pixel drive circuit, a distance image processing unit, and a measurement control unit, a step of irradiating a measurement space, which is a space to be measured, with a light pulse by the light source unit; a step in which the pixel driving circuit, at a predetermined accumulation timing synchronized with the irradiation of the light pulse, allocates and accumulates the charges generated by the photoelectric conversion element in response to the incident light from the measurement space in each of N (N≧3) charge accumulation sections by performing on / off processing on the transfer transistors that transfer the charges from the photoelectric conversion element to the charge accumulation sections; a step in which the distance image processing unit calculates a distance to a subject present in the measurement space as a measurement distance based on the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units; the measurement control unit determines which of the measurement zones set according to zone thresholds set corresponding to a plurality of distances from the distance image capture device the measurement distance belongs to, controls the charge storage unit to store charge according to an accumulation count set for the determined measurement zone, and controls the light source unit to increase the pulse period of the light pulse and irradiate the light pulse as the accumulation count increases; Including, In the step of controlling, the measurement control section increases the pulse period by increasing the period during which the electric charge does not remain in the photoelectric conversion element after the electric charge is distributed, while keeping the pulse width of the optical pulse and the storage time in the electric charge storage section constant, as the number of integrations increases. A distance image capturing method comprising:

14. A distance image capturing method for controlling a distance image capturing device including a plurality of pixel circuits, each of which is formed of a photoelectric conversion element, a plurality of charge accumulation units, and a transfer transistor, a light source unit, a pixel drive circuit, a distance image processing unit, and a measurement control unit, a step of irradiating a measurement space, which is a space to be measured, with a light pulse by the light source unit; a step in which the pixel driving circuit, at a predetermined accumulation timing synchronized with the irradiation of the light pulse, allocates and accumulates the charges generated by the photoelectric conversion element in response to the incident light from the measurement space in each of N (N≧3) charge accumulation sections by performing on / off processing on the transfer transistors that transfer the charges from the photoelectric conversion element to the charge accumulation sections; a step in which the distance image processing unit calculates, as a measurement distance, a distance from the distance image pickup device to a subject existing in the measurement space based on the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units; a measurement control unit determining a total amount of charge due to reflected light of the light pulse from the subject in the measurement space from the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units, determining which measurement zone the total amount of charge belongs to based on a zone threshold set corresponding to the total amount of charge, controlling the charge accumulation units to accumulate charge based on the number of accumulations set for the determined measurement zone, and controlling the light source unit to increase the pulse period of the light pulse and irradiate the light pulse as the number of accumulations increases; Including, In the step of controlling, the measurement control section increases the pulse period by increasing the period during which the electric charge does not remain in the photoelectric conversion element after the electric charge is distributed, while keeping the pulse width of the optical pulse and the storage time in the electric charge storage section constant, as the number of integrations increases. A distance image capturing method comprising:

15. A distance image capturing method for controlling a distance image capturing device including a light source unit, a pixel drive circuit, a distance image processing unit, and a measurement control unit, each of the pixel circuits including a photoelectric conversion element, a plurality of charge storage units, and a transfer transistor, a step of irradiating a measurement space, which is a space to be measured, with a light pulse by the light source unit; a step in which the pixel driving circuit, at a predetermined accumulation timing synchronized with the irradiation of the light pulse, allocates and accumulates the charges generated by the photoelectric conversion element in response to the incident light from the measurement space in each of N (N≧3) charge accumulation sections by performing on / off processing on the transfer transistors that transfer the charges from the photoelectric conversion element to the charge accumulation sections; a step in which the distance image processing unit calculates, as a measurement distance, a distance from the distance image pickup device to a subject existing in the measurement space based on the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units; a measurement control unit determining a total amount of charge due to reflected light of the light pulse from the subject in the measurement space from the amount of charge accumulated in each of the charge accumulation units, determining which measurement zone the total amount of charge belongs to based on a zone threshold set corresponding to the total amount of charge, controlling the charge accumulation units to accumulate charge based on the number of accumulations set for the determined measurement zone, and controlling the light source unit to increase the pulse period of the light pulse and irradiate the light pulse as the number of accumulations increases; Including, In the process of controlling, the measurement control unit A charge amount ratio is calculated between the largest total charge amount in an arbitrary region in which each of the pixel circuits is arranged and a reference charge amount, which is a charge amount generated by reflected light of the light pulse reflected by an object of an arbitrary distance and reflectivity, and the charge amount ratio is compared with each of the zone threshold values ​​to determine the measurement zone in which the total charge amount is included. A distance image capturing method comprising:

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