Detection assembly, receiving module, detection apparatus, and terminal device

Abstract

A detection assembly (400), a receiving module, a detection apparatus, and a terminal device, relating to the technical field of radars, and used for reducing a blind zone distance. The detection assembly (400) comprises a first detection area (410) and a second detection area (420), wherein the first detection area (410) is used for receiving a first echo signal of a first field of view, the second detection area (420) is used for receiving a second echo signal of a second field of view, and at least part of the first field of view and at least part of the second field of view do not overlap. By arranging two detection areas, two receiving fields of view and a transmitting field of view form different overlapping areas, one overlapping area is close to the overlapping position, and the other overlapping area is far from the overlapping position; the detection area far from the overlapping position can be used for detecting a long-distance target, the detection area close to the overlapping position can be used for short-distance blind zone compensation, and the two detection areas are complementary to each other; and the effect of short-distance blind zone compensation can be achieved while long-distance detection is achieved, so that a blind zone distance of the detection assembly (400) is effectively reduced.

Description

A detection component, receiving module, detection device and terminal equipment

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on December 19, 2023, with application number 202311759391.0 and application name "A detection component, receiving module, detection device and terminal equipment", all contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of detection technology, and in particular to a detection component, a receiving module, a detection device and a terminal device. Background Art

[0004] With the advancement of science and technology, intelligent devices such as smart transportation equipment, smart home appliances, industrial equipment, robots, and vehicles are gradually becoming part of people's daily lives. Because LiDAR can perceive the surrounding environment, identify and track moving targets based on this perception, and can also perform path planning in conjunction with navigation systems and map data, LiDAR is gradually being applied to intelligent devices and playing an increasingly important role.

[0005] Currently, lidars can be categorized as either co-located transmitters and receivers or separate transmitters and receivers, depending on whether the transmit and receive paths are coaxial. As shown in Figure 1a, co-located transmitters and receivers utilize the same optical system for both laser transmission and echo reception. Their transmit and receive paths lie on the same optical axis, L, resulting in no blind spots. However, to separate the transmit and receive signals, an additional isolation switch is required, resulting in significant return loss and low echo energy utilization. Compared to co-located transmitters and receivers, as shown in Figure 1b, separate transmitters and receivers utilize independent transmit and receive optical systems to directly separate the transmit and echo signals, eliminating the need for an isolation switch. This improves echo energy utilization. However, the transmit and receive fields of view of separate transmitters and receivers only begin to overlap at longer distances (i.e., blind zone distance h1). The overlapping field of view area falls within the detector's detectable range, while the area outside the overlapping field of view falls within the detector's blind zone. The longer the blind zone distance, the poorer the separate transmitter and receiver radar's detection performance for close-range targets, posing a challenge to achieving high detection performance for separate transmitter and receiver radars.

[0006] In summary, how to reduce the blind spot distance is a technical problem that needs to be urgently solved for radars with separate transmitters and receivers. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present application provides a detection component, a receiving module, a detection device and a terminal device for reducing the blind spot distance.

[0008] In a first aspect, the present application provides a detection component, comprising a first detection area and a second detection area, the first detection area being used to receive a first echo signal of a first field of view, and the second detection area being used to receive a second echo signal of a second field of view, wherein the first field of view and the second field of view are at least partially non-overlapping.

[0009] In the above scheme, by setting up two detection areas, the two receiving fields of view corresponding to the two detection areas can form different overlapping areas with the transmitting field of view, wherein the overlapping position of one overlapping area is close, and the overlapping position of the other overlapping area is far. The detection area with a long overlapping position can be used to detect long-distance targets, while the detection area with a short overlapping position can be used to fill in blind spots at close range. The two detection areas complement each other and can achieve the effect of filling in blind spots at close range while achieving long-distance detection, effectively reducing the blind spot distance of the detection component. In addition, both detection areas are configurations on the receiving side and will not affect the light receiving and transmitting paths. Therefore, this scheme can also reduce the blind spot distance while minimizing the increase of stray light to improve the detection performance of the detection component.

[0010] In one possible design, the detection range of the first field of view is different from the detection range of the second field of view. This allows the minimum detection range of the first field of view to be different from the minimum detection range of the second field of view, and the field of view corresponding to the smaller minimum detection range can be used to fill in the gaps in the other field of view.

[0011] In one possible design, some or all of the detection units in the first detection area and some or all of the detection units in the second detection area are turned on simultaneously, or turned on in different frames, or turned on at different wavelengths in the same frame. When turned on simultaneously, the effect of long-range detection and short-range blind spot filling can be achieved simultaneously. When turned on in different frames or at different wavelengths in the same frame, the effect of long-range detection and short-range blind spot filling can be achieved alternately. By configuring multiple activation modes, the desired activation mode can be flexibly selected according to the actual scenario, making the detection component applicable to more scenarios.

[0012] In one possible design, the first detection area and the second detection area belong to different detectors. Exemplarily, the detector may be an array detector, such as a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) or a single photon avalanche diode (SPAD), or a non-array detector, such as an avalanche photodiode (APD) or a pin-type photodetector.

[0013] In the above design, two detectors are set up, one of which can be used as the main detector and the other as the blind spot detector. In this way, only the main detector or the blind spot detector needs to be turned on or off to achieve separate control of ranging and blind spot filling, without the need to improve the original structure of the detector, and the development difficulty is relatively low.

[0014] In another possible design, the first detection area and the second detection area belong to different detection areas of the same detector. For example, the detector may be an array detector, such as a SiPM or SPAD, and the first detection area includes a portion of the array detector, and the second detection area includes another portion of the array detector.

[0015] In the above design, by combining different areas on the array detector to receive echo signals, one area can be used for long-distance detection, and the other area can be used for close-range blind spot filling. In this way, different areas of the same detector can be used to achieve the effect of simultaneous long-distance measurement and blind spot filling without the need to introduce new detectors, which can save the volume and cost of the detection components.

[0016] In one possible design, the detection assembly operates in a row scanning mode, with the first detection area and the second detection area located in different rows of the detector; or in a column scanning mode, with the first detection area and the second detection area located in different columns of the detector. In this way, the positional relationship between the two detection areas can be matched to the operating mode of the detection assembly.

[0017] In one possible design, the activated detection units in the first or second detection zones occupy the length of a row or column of detectors, or half the length of a row or column of detectors, or part of a row or column of detectors. With this design, the first or second detection zones can be configured in a variety of ways on the detector, allowing for flexible configuration based on actual scenario requirements to meet actual detection needs.

[0018] In one possible design, the activated detection units in the first detection zone and the activated detection units in the second detection zone each occupy a row or column of the detector, or half of a row or half of a column of the detector. In this way, the first detection zone and the second detection zone have relatively regular positions and areas on the detector, which facilitates switching between the two detection zones from an on state to an off state, or vice versa.

[0019] In one possible design, the detection component operates in a row-scan mode, with the first detection area occupying a row of the detector and the second detection area occupying a portion of each row in at least one row of the detector, with the occupied portions not repeating across columns. Alternatively, the detection component operates in a column-scan mode, with the first detection area occupying a column of the detector and the second detection area occupying a portion of each column in at least one column of the detector, with the occupied portions not repeating across rows. In this way, when the second detection area is activated, only one blind spot-filling detection unit on each column (or row) will be exposed to light, thereby ensuring accurate positioning of the blind spot-filling signal for each column (or row), adapting to the column-scan (or row-scan) operating mode.

[0020] In one possible design, the detection assembly operates in a row-scanning mode, with the activated detection units in the first detection area and the activated detection units in the second detection area located in different columns and occupying the length of a detector row. Alternatively, the detection assembly operates in a column-scanning mode, with the activated detection units in the first detection area and the activated detection units in the second detection area located in different rows and occupying the length of a detector column. This ensures that only one detection unit in a column (or row) is activated at a time, both for range finding and for blind spot compensation. This helps maintain accurate positioning of the readout signal for each column (or row) and adapts the processing capabilities of the processing chip.

[0021] In one possible design, the second detection area includes multiple sub-areas, which are discontinuous. In this way, the detection units used for blind spot filling do not cover all columns (or rows), but rather leave some columns (or rows) idle. This can achieve a partial blind spot filling effect while saving some column processing resources and adapting to the limited processing capabilities of the processing chip.

[0022] In one possible design, the second detection area is located on one side or on two opposite sides of the first detection area. In this way, the detection units on the detector located on one side or both sides of the first detection area can be used to achieve the effect of filling blind spots in one direction or two directions.

[0023] In one possible design, the number and positions of the detection units turned on in the second detection area are configured based on the region of interest. In this way, the detection units in the second detection area can detect the target in the region of interest, thereby achieving accurate positioning of the target of interest.

[0024] In a second aspect, the present application provides a receiving module, comprising the detection component in the above-mentioned first aspect or any one of the designs of the above-mentioned first aspect, so that the receiving module can have the beneficial effects of the above-mentioned first aspect.

[0025] In one possible design, the receiving module may further include a receiving optical system for transmitting the echo signal to the detection assembly. Optionally, the receiving optical system may collimate the echo signal before transmitting it to the detection assembly, so that the echo signal is perpendicularly incident on the detection assembly, thereby improving the detection assembly's efficiency in receiving the echo signal.

[0026] In a third aspect, the present application provides a detection device, comprising the receiving module in the above-mentioned second aspect or any one of the designs of the above-mentioned second aspect.

[0027] In a possible design, the detection device may further include a transmitting module, which is used to emit a detection signal.

[0028] In a possible design, the detection device may further include a processing module, which is used to process the echo signal to obtain target-related information.

[0029] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a terminal device, comprising the detection device in the above third aspect or any one of the designs of the above third aspect.

[0030] The technical effects that can be achieved in the above-mentioned second to fourth aspects can refer to the description of the beneficial effects in the above-mentioned first aspect, and will not be repeated here one by one. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] FIG1a exemplarily shows a schematic structural diagram of a combined transmitting and receiving radar;

[0032] FIG1b exemplarily shows a schematic structural diagram of a radar with separate transmitter and receiver locations;

[0033] FIG1c exemplarily shows a schematic structural diagram of an array detector;

[0034] FIG2 exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of a possible application scenario provided by the present application;

[0035] FIG3a exemplarily shows a schematic structural diagram of a dual-laser transmit-receive radar provided by the industry;

[0036] FIG3 b exemplarily shows a schematic structural diagram of a bi-directional transmitting and receiving radar with a blind spot filling structure provided by the industry;

[0037] FIG4 exemplarily shows a schematic structural diagram of a detection assembly provided by the present application;

[0038] FIG5 exemplarily shows a diagram of overlapping fields of view corresponding to a detection area provided by the present application;

[0039] FIG6 exemplarily shows a schematic structural diagram of a detection assembly provided in Embodiment 1;

[0040] FIG7a exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of a start-up timing provided by the present application;

[0041] FIG7 b exemplarily shows another start-up timing diagram provided by the present application;

[0042] FIG7c exemplarily shows another start-up timing diagram provided by the present application;

[0043] FIG8 exemplarily shows a structural diagram of a detection assembly provided in the second embodiment;

[0044] FIG9a exemplarily shows a diagram of an array structure of a detector corresponding to a scanning mode provided by the present application;

[0045] FIG9 b exemplarily shows a diagram of the array structure of a detector corresponding to a column scanning mode provided by the present application;

[0046] FIG10a exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of a setting method of a detection area provided by the present application;

[0047] FIG10b exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of another setting method of the detection area provided by the present application;

[0048] FIG11a exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of another detection area setting method provided by the present application;

[0049] FIG11b exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of another setting method of the detection area provided by the present application;

[0050] FIG11c exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of another detection area setting method provided by the present application;

[0051] FIG12a exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of another setting method of the detection area provided by the present application;

[0052] FIG12b exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of another setting method of the detection area provided by the present application;

[0053] FIG12c exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of another detection area setting method provided by the present application;

[0054] FIG13a exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of another setting method of the detection area provided by the present application;

[0055] FIG13b exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of another detection area setting method provided by the present application;

[0056] FIG13c exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of another detection area setting method provided by the present application;

[0057] FIG14 exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of a process of alternately opening detection areas provided by the present application;

[0058] FIG15a exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of a process of simultaneously opening detection areas provided by the present application;

[0059] FIG15b exemplarily shows another flow diagram of simultaneously opening detection areas provided by the present application;

[0060] FIG15c exemplarily shows another process diagram of simultaneously opening detection areas provided by the present application;

[0061] FIG16a exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of a process for simultaneously opening detection areas provided by the present application;

[0062] FIG16b exemplarily shows another flow diagram of simultaneously opening detection areas provided by the present application;

[0063] FIG17 exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the architecture of a detection device provided in the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0064] The embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0065] The following is an explanation of some of the terms used in this application. It should be noted that these explanations are for the purpose of facilitating understanding by those skilled in the art and do not limit the scope of protection claimed in this application.

[0066] 1. Transmit Field of View (T-FOV) and Receive Field of View (R-FOV)

[0067] The emission field of view can be understood as the range of view covered by the laser signal emitted by the laser within the detection area. Typically, the laser signal spreads out in a conical shape centered on the laser. Therefore, the emission field of view is conical in space and can be triangular in profile, as shown in Figure 1b.

[0068] The receiving field of view can be understood as the range of the detector's received echo signals within the detection area. Only the active detection units on the detector can receive echo signals. Therefore, it can also be considered the coverage area of ​​the echo signals received by the active detection units on the detector. This coverage area is usually conical in space and triangular in profile, as shown in Figure 1b.

[0069] 2. Wave Position

[0070] Wave position is the abbreviation of beam position or beam center position. A laser radar usually requires multiple wave positions for one frame of detection in the detection space. The number of wave positions is related to the angular range of the scanning component's one scan. For example, if the radar pitch range is 0 to 20° and the scanning component's angular range is 5° each time, then to cover the entire pitch range, the scanning component needs to rotate at least four times, which requires 4 wave positions. In each wave position, the laser will emit multiple laser signals to detect the area corresponding to the current wave position. After the detection is completed, it will switch to the next wave position (for example, by changing the scanning angle of the scanning component to achieve wave position switching). The laser will emit multiple laser signals again to detect the area corresponding to the next wave position. The process is repeated until the entire detection area is detected.

[0071] 3. Detection unit.

[0072] A detection unit, also known as a detection pixel or a photosensitive unit, is the smallest unit in an array detector used to receive echo signals, as shown in Figure 1c. An array detector is an array structure composed of multiple rows and columns of detection units. Usually, only some of the detection units in an array detector are used as readout units, and the other detection units are not used for readout. For example, taking the column scanning mode as an example, although the array detector shown in Figure 1c contains 16 rows of detection units, only the 6th to 10th rows of detection units shown in the middle area A may be used as readout rows, while the other rows are not used for readout and are additional rows in the array detector. These additional rows can usually be used as calibration rows to ensure that the array detector can be applied to different radar scenarios. For example, due to different detection scenarios, or due to manufacturing and installation errors in the same detection scenario, the echo signals corresponding to different radars may be focused on different rows of the array detector. For example, the echo signals corresponding to Lidar 1 may be focused on rows 6-10 of the array detector, while the echo signals corresponding to Lidar 2 may be focused on rows 4-8 of the array detector. Therefore, when the array detector is used in Lidar 1, the detection elements in rows 6-10 can be used as readout rows, while when used in Lidar 2, the detection elements in rows 4-8 can be used as readout rows. Furthermore, the calibration row can be used to calibrate the readout rows of the same radar. For example, as a radar ages, the detection scenario may change or the optical components may shift, causing the echo signal focus position to shift. Therefore, echo testing can be performed periodically on the calibration row in conjunction with the current readout row to determine the rows on the array detector where the echo signals are currently focused, and these rows can then be updated as readout rows. For example, if after a period of time the echo signal focus area changes to lines 8 to 12 instead of lines 6 to 10, the readout lines can be modified to lines 8 to 12, and the remaining lines can be used as new calibration lines to be used in conjunction with the new readout lines for the next calibration operation. It is understood that these additional detection units may also have other functions, which are not specifically limited in this application.

[0073] For ease of explanation, the following description will refer to the detection units used for readout as the first detection units, and the detection units not used for readout as the second detection units. During operation of the array detector, the second detection units are deactivated (or inoperative or unlit), while any detection unit in the first detection unit may be activated (or operative or lit) or deactivated. Whether activated or deactivated depends on the radar's operating mode, as described below. An activated detection unit receives echo signals and converts them into electrical signals, while an inactivated detection unit does not convert the echo signals into electrical signals, regardless of whether an echo signal is received.

[0074] 4. Radar working mode.

[0075] For scanning radars, their operating modes can include row scanning and column scanning. When the radar operates in row scanning mode, the laser emits a horizontal line beam, and the scanning component scans the horizontal line beam row by row within a vertical angle range (horizontal line beams can be emitted multiple times at each angle). Each horizontal line beam should be focused on a row of detection units of the detector. Therefore, the detector can turn on a row of detection units to combine the information of the echo signals received on the row of detection units to perform target detection or point cloud construction, etc. Similarly, when the radar operates in column scanning mode, the laser emits a vertical line beam, and the scanning component scans the vertical line beam row by row within a horizontal angle range (vertical line beams can be emitted multiple times at each angle). Therefore, the detector can turn on a row of detection units to combine the information of the echo signals received on the row of detection units to perform target detection or point cloud construction, etc.

[0076] The previous text introduced some of the terms involved in this application. The following text introduces the possible application scenarios of this application.

[0077] In one possible implementation, the detection component provided by the present application can be integrated into a receiving module, the receiving module can be integrated into a detection device, and the detection device can be installed on a vehicle. The detection device may include, for example, but is not limited to, a laser radar. Please refer to Figure 2, which exemplifies a possible application scenario of the present application, in which the detection device is installed at the front bumper of the vehicle as an example. It can be understood that the detection device can also be installed at other locations of the vehicle, such as around the headlights, around the rearview mirrors, near the doors, at the rear bumper, behind the windshield or on the roof, etc., to capture information about the vehicle's surroundings. When the detection device is installed behind the windshield, it has a lower requirement for no gravel collision risk, will not affect the appearance of the vehicle, and the front windshield itself has window heating, demisting, and wiper cleaning functions.

[0078] Taking the detection device installed on a vehicle as an example, refer to Figure 2. The working principle of the detection device is as follows: the detection device emits a light beam into the detection area. If there is a target in the detection area, the target can reflect the received light beam back to the detection device (also known as an echo signal). The detection device then determines the target's related information based on the echo signal. Specifically, the detection device can obtain the vehicle's longitude and latitude, speed, direction, or related information (such as the target's distance, speed, and / or posture) of targets within a certain range (such as other surrounding vehicles, pedestrians, or obstacles) in real time or periodically. Furthermore, optionally, the detection device can send this acquired information to a control device in the vehicle, so that the control device can perform vehicle path planning, braking, or starting based on this acquired information. For example, the longitude and latitude can be used to determine the vehicle's location, or the speed and direction can be used to determine the vehicle's driving direction and destination for a period of time in the future, or the distance of surrounding objects can be used to determine the number and density of obstacles around the vehicle. Furthermore, optionally, the function of an advanced driving assistant system (ADAS) can be combined to achieve assisted driving or automatic driving of the vehicle.

[0079] It should be understood that the above application scenarios are only examples, and the detection device provided in this application (including the detection component provided in this application) can also be applied to other possible scenarios, not limited to the scenarios exemplified above. For example, the detection device can also be installed in a roadside unit (RSU) as a roadside traffic detection device for realizing intelligent vehicle-road cooperative communication, etc. For another example, the detection device can also be applied to other means of transportation as an information collection source for path planning to assist the driver in achieving or automatically achieving safe driving. Other means of transportation may include but are not limited to ships, airplanes, drones, trains, subways, automated guided vehicles (AGVs) or unmanned transport vehicles, etc. For another example, the detection device can also be applied to a terminal device or a component provided in a terminal device. The terminal device may be, for example, a smartphone, smart home device, smart manufacturing equipment, medical equipment, industrial equipment, and a robot, etc. They are not listed here one by one. It should be noted that the application scenarios described in this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solution of this application and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided in this application.

[0080] In addition, the above application scenarios can be applied to, for example, unmanned driving, assisted driving, intelligent driving, autonomous driving, connected vehicles, optical communications, security monitoring, biomedicine, surveying and mapping (such as three-dimensional mapping, remote sensing mapping), meteorological research, biomass and vegetation research, air quality monitoring, and aviation and aerospace applications.

[0081] As described in the background technology, the transmitting and receiving fields of view of the transmitting and receiving radars overlap at a long distance, resulting in a long blind spot distance, which makes the transmitting and receiving radars have poor detection performance for close-range targets, or even unable to detect close-range targets.

[0082] To solve the above problems, some solutions consider adding blind spot compensation laser sources or blind spot compensation structures to the transmission optical path of the transmitting and receiving radar to change the transmitting field of view, and then change the overlapping area of ​​the transmitting field of view and the receiving field of view, so as to achieve the purpose of reducing the blind spot distance. For example:

[0083] Solution 1, please refer to Figure 3a, which shows the structure of a dual-laser transceiver radar provided by the industry. Two lasers are set in this structure, namely laser 1 and laser 2. Laser 1 can be considered as the laser in a traditional transceiver radar, such as the laser shown in Figure 1b. Laser 2 can be considered as a newly added blind spot laser, which is set between laser 1 and the detector. With this design, the transmission field of view of the transceiver radar becomes a combination of the transmission field of view 1 of laser 1 and the transmission field of view 2 of laser 2. The position where these two transmission fields of view 1 and 2 overlap with the receiving field of view is closer to the front, and the overlapping area is larger. The blind spot distance h2 is smaller than the blind spot distance h1 of the traditional transceiver radar shown in Figure 1b, which can achieve the effect of close-range blind spot filling. However, the additional addition of lasers will obviously increase the radar transmission power consumption, resulting in higher heat dissipation requirements for the radar system. It may also introduce more stray light due to the additional transmission beam, affecting detection performance.

[0084] Solution 2, see Figure 3b, which shows a structural diagram of a bi-directional transmit / receive radar with an additional blind spot structure provided by the industry. In this structure, a blind spot structure is added behind the transmitting optical system. The blind spot structure is used to split the light emitted by the laser, so that part of the light forms the blind spot field of view, and the other part of the light continues to be used as the transmitting field of view to detect targets. The position where the blind spot field of view overlaps with the receiving field of view is further forward than the transmitting field of view, so that the blind spot distance h3 in this structure can be smaller than the blind spot distance h1 shown in Figure 1b. However, the additional blind spot structure will also increase the radar transmission power consumption, resulting in higher heat dissipation requirements for the radar system. The presence of the blind spot structure will also cause the main detection optical path to be split, affecting the range of the main detection field of view. At the same time, it will also introduce additional stray light into the main detection optical path, affecting the effective detection of targets by the main detection optical path.

[0085] In summary, while both solutions offered by the industry can reduce blind spot distances, they both require the placement of additional optical components in the transmit optical path. This not only increases radar power consumption but also introduces more stray light, impacting long-range radar detection. In other words, reducing blind spots by changing the transmit field of view still has significant shortcomings, and other methods need to be explored to address system blind spots.

[0086] In view of this, the present application provides a detection component, which sets two detection areas so that one detection area can be used to fill the blind spot of the other detection area, so as to achieve the purpose of reducing the system detection blind spot without affecting the emission light path to avoid introducing stray light.

[0087] The detection assembly and detection device proposed in this application are described in detail below with reference to specific drawings.

[0088] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0089] In addition, in this application, "duration" does not refer to an absolute duration, and a certain engineering error can be allowed. "Distance" does not refer to an absolute distance, and a certain engineering error can be allowed. The form of the timing diagram does not refer to an absolute form, as long as it has the same rising, stable or falling trend. For example, the rising edge (or falling edge) can be a vertical rise (or fall), or a step-like rise (or fall), or there can be a certain slope, or it can have a certain curvature, and so on. For another example, the state of a high level or a low level can be presented as a straight line, or it can be a wave-like change, or it can be a sawtooth-like change, or it can be a curve fluctuation, and so on.

[0090] Please refer to Figure 4, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a detection assembly provided by the present application. As shown in Figure 4, the detection assembly 400 includes a first detection area 410 and a second detection area 420. The first detection area 410 is used to receive a first echo signal of a first field of view, and the second detection area 420 is used to receive a second echo signal of a second field of view. The first field of view and the second field of view are at least partially non-overlapping, such as the first field of view and the second field of view do not overlap at all, or the first field of view and the second field of view partially do not overlap. The figure takes partial non-overlap as an example. For example, in order to distinguish them from the transmitting field of view, the present application refers to the first field of view as the first receiving field of view and the second field of view as the second receiving field of view. However, it should be understood that the first field of view and the second field of view may also have other names. For example, in some scenarios, the first field of view may also be referred to as the first range, the first echo range or the first receiving range, and the second field of view may also be referred to as the second range, the second echo range or the second receiving range. The present application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0091] Optionally, the detection distance range of the first receiving field of view is different from the detection distance range of the second receiving field of view. It can be understood that the minimum detection distance in the detection distance range of the first receiving field of view is greater than or less than the minimum detection distance in the detection distance range of the second receiving field of view. For example, Figure 4 takes the example of the minimum detection distance of the first receiving field of view being greater than the minimum detection distance of the second receiving field of view. Please refer to Figure 5, which shows the overlapping relationship between the fields of view corresponding to the two detection areas in the detection assembly shown in Figure 4, wherein Figure 5 (A) shows the overlapping relationship between the first receiving field of view and the transmitting field of view, and Figure 5 (B) shows the overlapping relationship between the second receiving field of view and the transmitting field of view. Combining Figures 4 and 5, the first receiving field of view only begins to overlap with the transmitting field of view at a farther distance h1, where h1 is the minimum detection distance of the first detection area 410, that is, the first detection area 410 can detect some targets located at h1 and beyond. The second receiving field of view begins to overlap with the transmitting field of view at distance h0, which is the minimum detection distance of the second detection area 420. This means that the second detection area 420 can detect targets located at h0 and beyond. Because h0 is smaller than h1, the combination of the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 allows the detection assembly 400 to detect targets located at h0 and beyond. The blind spot distance of the detection assembly 400 is reduced from h1 to h0, achieving a close-range blind spot compensation effect.

[0092] Furthermore, optionally, different detection distance ranges can be achieved by configuring different distances between the detection area and the light source assembly 200. For example, still taking the scheme shown in Figure 4 as an example, the distance between the second detection area 420 and the light source assembly 200 can be configured to be smaller than the distance between the first detection area 410 and the light source assembly 200. In this way, the position where the first receiving field of view corresponding to the first detection area 410 overlaps with the transmitting field of view will be further back, and the first detection area 410 can detect targets at a farther distance and can be used as a far-range measurement area. The position where the second receiving field of view corresponding to the second detection area 420 overlaps with the transmitting field of view will be further forward, and the second detection area 420 can detect targets at a closer distance and can be used as a blind spot filling area. Among them, the far-range measurement area and the blind spot filling area are both configurations on the receiving side and will not affect the light receiving and light transmission paths of the detection device. In this way, by changing the receiving field of view range to change the overlapping range of the receiving field of view and the transmitting field of view while avoiding the increase of stray light, the purpose of reducing the system detection blind spot can be achieved.

[0093] Furthermore, optionally, the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 may belong to different detectors, or may belong to different detection areas of the same detector. These two solutions are described in detail below.

[0094] Implementation Plan 1

[0095] Please refer to Figure 6, which shows a schematic structural diagram of a detection component provided in the first embodiment. In combination with Figures 4 and 6, the detection component 400 may include a detector 1 and a detector 2. The first detection area 410 belongs to the detector 1, and the second detection area 420 belongs to the detector 2. The detector 1 and the detector 2 are different detectors. Exemplarily, either detector 1 or detector 2 may be an array detector, such as a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) or a single photon avalanche diode (SPAD), or a non-array detector, such as an avalanche photodiode (APD) or a pin tube photodetector, without specific limitation.

[0096] Optionally, as shown in FIG6 , the light source assembly 200 emits a first light beam (e.g., a laser beam, also referred to as a detection signal). This first light beam is shaped by the transmitting optical system 300 and then irradiated onto targets at different distances. It is then reflected by targets at different distances to form echo signals. The echo signals are optically processed by the receiving optical system 500 and then returned to the detectors 1 and 2. Due to their different positions, detectors 1 and 2 will form different receiving fields of view after processing by the receiving optical system 500, forming different overlapping areas with the transmitting field of view, thereby enabling detection of targets at different distances, enabling detectors 1 and 2 to complement each other. For example, FIG6 takes the example of detector 2 being closer to the light source assembly 200 than detector 1. Detector 1 is the main detector and can be used to detect long-range targets, such as targets at distance h1 and beyond. Detector 2 is the blind spot detector and can be used to detect close-range targets, such as targets at distance h0 and beyond. The combination of detectors 1 and 2 can achieve the effect of close-range blind spot compensation while simultaneously detecting at long distances.

[0097] Furthermore, optionally, detector 1 and detector 2 may use the same photosensitive chip, but correspond to different processing chips. For example, detector 1 and detector 2 may be arranged on the same photosensitive chip, and the detection device may include a first processing chip and a second processing chip. Detector 1 is connected to the first processing chip via wiring and some electrical components arranged on the photosensitive chip, and detector 2 is connected to the second processing chip via wiring and some electrical components arranged on the photosensitive chip. After detector 1 is turned on, it can sense the echo signal of the first receiving field of view and generate an electrical signal. The electrical signal is processed by the first processing chip and outputs point cloud information of the distant target, thereby realizing long-distance target detection. After detector 2 is turned on, it can sense the echo signal of the second receiving field of view and generate an electrical signal. The electrical signal is processed by the second processing chip and outputs point cloud information of the close-range target, thereby realizing close-range blind spot filling.

[0098] Further, optionally, detector 1 and detector 2 may have multiple start-up modes. For example, please refer to Figures 7a, 7b and 7c, which show three possible start-up timing diagrams corresponding to the two detectors. The diagram takes high-level triggering to turn on and low-level triggering to turn off as an example, but it should be understood that in other schemes, low-level triggering to turn on and high-level triggering to turn off may also be used. This application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0099] Below, some concepts involved in Figures 7a to 7c are introduced.

[0100] As shown in Figures 7a through 7c, F_SYNC refers to the on-time sequence in frames. Within the detection duration of a frame, F_SYNC can remain on for a long time before being turned off and remaining on until the end of the frame. For example, if the detection duration of a frame is 66ms, F_SYNC can be on for the first 44ms and off for the last 22ms. The first 44ms can be used to receive and sense echo signals, while the last 22ms is primarily reserved for echo processing by the processing chip. Furthermore, after receiving echo signals in the first 44ms, some synchronization processing of the echo signals may also be involved. In contrast to F_SYNC, S_SYNC refers to the on-time sequence in slots. During the F_SYNC on-time period in each frame, S_SYNC is on for a period, with one period corresponding to the detection of one slot. For example, assuming that one frame corresponds to n wave positions (Slot_1 to Slot_n), where n is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, each time the scanning component rotates to a wave position, S_SYNC is turned on for a period of time to receive and sense the echo signal at that wave position. After that, S_SYNC is turned off until the scanning component rotates to another wave position, at which point S_SYNC is turned on again, and the cycle continues until the detection of n wave positions in the current frame is completed.

[0101] Next, the three opening modes shown in FIG. 7 a to FIG. 7 c are described in detail.

[0102] In one example, see Figure 7a, Detector 1 and Detector 2 can be activated simultaneously. For example, within any frame, after the scanning assembly rotates to a certain wavelength, Detector 1 and Detector 2 can be activated by a high-level trigger. Detector 1 detects long-range targets at that wavelength, while Detector 2 detects close-range targets at that wavelength, achieving simultaneous detection. This activation mode allows for simultaneous detection of long-range targets while also providing close-range blind spots.

[0103] In another example, referring to Figure 7b, detectors 1 and 2 can be enabled in different frames, for example, they can be enabled alternately in different frames. For example, using alternating activation within a single frame as an example, detector 1 can be enabled at every wavelength in frames 1, 3, ..., and disabled in frames 2, 4, ...; detector 2 can be enabled at every wavelength in frames 2, 4, ..., and disabled in frames 1, 3, .... In this way, detector 1 can be used for long-range detection in frames 1, 3, ..., while detector 2 can be used for close-range blind spot detection in frames 2, 4, ..., thus achieving the effect of alternating long-range detection and blind spot detection in different frames.

[0104] It should be noted that FIG7b only uses a single frame of alternating activation as an example, but it should be understood that the number of frames of alternating activation can be one frame or multiple frames, and the number of frames of alternating activation can be the same or different. For example, it can be a single frame of alternating activation, such as detector 1 turning on for one frame, detector 2 turning on for one frame, detector 1 turning on for one frame, detector 2 turning on for one frame, ..., it can also be multiple frames of alternating activation, such as detector 1 turning on for two frames, detector 2 turning on for two frames, detector 1 turning on for two frames, detector 2 turning on for two frames, ..., it can also be a combination of single and multiple frames of alternating activation, such as detector 1 turning on for one frame, detector 2 turning on for one frame, detector 1 turning on for two frames, detector 2 turning on for two frames, ..., it can also be irregular alternating activation, such as detector 1 turning on for two frames, detector 2 turning on for one frame, detector 1 turning on for one frame, detector 2 turning on for three frames, ..., and so on. There are many other possible alternating methods, which are not listed here one by one.

[0105] In another example, referring to Figure 7c, detectors 1 and 2 can be enabled at different wavelengths in the same frame, for example, they can be enabled alternately at different wavelengths, where the number of wavelengths enabled alternately can be one or more, and the number of wavelengths enabled alternately can be the same or different. For example, taking single-wavelength alternating activation as an example, in any frame, detector 1 can be enabled at wavelengths Slot_1, Slot_3, ..., Slot_n-1, and not at wavelengths Slot_2, Slot_4, ..., Slot_n; detector 2 can be enabled at wavelengths Slot_2, Slot_4, ..., Slot_n, and not at wavelengths Slot_1, Slot_3, ..., Slot_n-1. In this way, detector 1 can be used for long-distance detection in wave positions Slot_1, Slot_3, ... Slot_n-1, while detector 2 can be used for close-range blind spot filling in wave positions Slot_2, Slot_4, ... Slot_n. In this way, the effect of alternating long-distance measurement and blind spot filling in different wave positions in the same frame can be achieved.

[0106] It is understandable that in addition to the activation modes shown in Figures 7a to 7c, detectors 1 and 2 may also have other activation modes. For example, in another activation mode, a wave position may correspond to multiple sub-periods, and detectors 1 and 2 may be activated in different sub-periods of a wave position, such as being activated alternately in different sub-periods, thereby achieving the effect of alternating distance measurement and blind spot filling in different sub-periods of the same wave position. In addition, the activation modes in Figures 7a to 7c above may be combined with each other to obtain other activation modes. For example, in another activation mode, detectors 1 and 2 are activated simultaneously in frame 1, activated alternately in frames 2 and 3, and activated alternately in different wave positions of frame 4. For another example, in another activation mode, detectors 1 and 2 are activated alternately in units of two frames from frames 1 to 4, activated simultaneously in frame 5, and activated alternately in different wave positions of frame 6. There are many other possible activation modes, and this application will not list them one by one.

[0107] Optionally, when the detector is a non-array detector, the aforementioned "turning on the detector" means energizing the detector so that it can receive light signals and convert them into electrical signals. When the detector is an array detector, the aforementioned "turning on the detector" can be understood as turning on the area on the detector where the detection units used for readout are located. For example, for detectors 1 and 2 of the same 100×100, if detector 1 uses rows 30 to 60 as readout rows, and detector 2 uses rows 50 to 80 as readout rows, then when turning on detector 1, it can be understood as turning on rows 30 to 60 in detector 1, and when turning on detector 2, it can be understood as turning on rows 50 to 80 in detector 2. However, this is only one possible way of turning on the detector. With the advancement of processing power or changes in readout mode, in the future, array detectors may also use all detection units or detection units in calibration rows as readout units, so that the detection units turned on in detectors 1 and 2 may also include detection units in non-readout rows. This application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0108] Further, optionally, taking the area where the detection units for readout on the detector 2 are turned on as an example, when the working mode of the detection device is row scanning, the light source assembly 400 emits a horizontal line beam, which should be focused on a row of detection units of the detector 2 at a time. Assuming that the readout rows of the detector 2 are rows 30 to 60, the detection units in rows 30 to 60 can be turned on in each wave position to obtain the target information at that wave position in combination with the information of the echo signals on the detection units in these rows. Conversely, when the working mode of the detection device is column scanning, the light source assembly 400 emits a vertical line beam, which should be focused on a column of detection units of the detector 2 at a time. Assuming that the readout columns of the detector 2 are columns 40 to 70, the detection units in columns 40 to 70 can be turned on in each wave position to obtain the target information at that wave position in combination with the information of the echo signals on the detection units in these columns.

[0109] In the above-mentioned embodiment 1, detector 1 can be considered as a detector in an existing radar with separate transmitters and receivers, such as the detector shown in Figure 1b, Figure 3a or Figure 3b, and detector 2 can be considered as a newly added detector in the existing radar with separate transmitters and receivers. Detector 2 is closer to the light source assembly 200 than detector 1. Therefore, the position where the second receiving field of view corresponding to detector 2 overlaps with the transmitting field of view is closer to the front. Detector 2 can be used as a blind spot detector to provide a certain close-range blind spot effect when detector 1 is used for long-range target detection. In addition, by configuring two detectors separately, it is only necessary to turn on or off the two detectors to achieve separate control of distance measurement and blind spot filling without the need to improve the original structure of the detector, and the development difficulty is relatively low.

[0110] Implementation Plan 2

[0111] Please refer to Figure 8, which shows a structural schematic diagram of a detection component provided in the second embodiment. In combination with Figures 4 and 8, the detection component 400 may include a detector 3, and the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 belong to different detection areas in the detector 3. Exemplarily, the detector 3 may be an array detector, such as but not limited to SiPM or SPAD. Figure 8 takes the detector 3 as a 4×4 array detector as an example, and the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 each occupy one of the detection units. However, it should be understood that the detector 3 can also be an array detector of any row and column, the first detection area 410 may include one or more detection units in the detector 3, and the second detection area 420 may also include one or more detection units in the detector 3, and the detection units included in the two detection areas are different.

[0112] Optionally, the first detection area 410 may include one or more detection units on the detector 3 used for readout, and the second detection area 420 may include one or more detection units on the detector 3 other than the detection units used for readout, such as one or more detection units used for calibration. Conventional array detectors only use the detection units used for readout to receive echo signals. However, the second embodiment also utilizes the detection units originally used for calibration in the array detector. By allowing these calibration detection units to participate in the reception of echo signals, a receiving field of view different from that of the detection units used for readout can be generated, enabling target detection at different distances and thereby filling in the gaps in the detection units used for readout.

[0113] Optionally, when the detection device operates in row scanning mode, the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 may be located in different rows of the detector 3. When the detection device operates in column scanning mode, the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 may be located in different columns of the detector 3. For example, please refer to Figures 9a and 9b, which respectively illustrate the array structure diagrams of the detector 3 corresponding to the row scanning mode and the column scanning mode. The diagrams take the detector 3 as a 10×16 array detector as an example. Referring to Figure 9a, when the detector 3 operates in row scanning mode, if the detector 3 uses rows 4 to 7 as readout rows, the first detection area 410 may include one or more detection units in rows 4 to 7, and the second detection area 420 may include one or more detection units in rows 1 to 3 and rows 8 to 10. Similarly, please refer to Figure 9b. When the detector 3 operates in the column scanning mode, if the detector 3 uses columns 5 to 9 as readout columns, the first detection area 410 may include one or more detection units in columns 5 to 9, and the second detection area 420 may include one or more detection units in columns 1 to 4 and 10 to 16.

[0114] Furthermore, optionally, the second detection area 420 may be located on one side or on two opposite sides of the first detection area 410. For example, taking the detector 3 in the row scanning mode shown in FIG9a as an example: in one example, the second detection area 420 may include only one or more detection units in rows 1 to 3 of the detector 3. In this case, the second detection area 420 is located only on the lower side of the first detection area 410; or, in another example, the second detection area 420 may include only one or more detection units in rows 8 to 10 of the detector 3. In this case, the second detection area 420 is located only on the upper side of the first detection area 410; or, in yet another example, the second detection area 420 includes both one or more detection units in rows 1 to 3 of the detector 3 and one or more detection units in rows 8 to 10 of the detector 3. In this case, the second detection area 420 is located on both opposite sides of the first detection area 410, i.e., the upper side and the lower side.

[0115] To facilitate explanation of the solution, the following description uses the detector 3 operating in row scanning mode as an example to first describe the arrangement of the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 on the detector 3. However, it should be understood that the present application is not limited to this arrangement, and the detector 3 may also operate in column scanning mode. In this case, the description of the rows on the detector 3 is replaced with columns, and this application will not repeat this description one by one.

[0116] In one possible implementation, when the detector 3 operates in the row scanning mode, any one of the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 may occupy one row, one or more rows, or a portion of one row, or a portion of each of the multiple rows of the detector 3. Several examples are given below to illustrate this.

[0117] In Example A1, first detection area 410 and second detection area 420 each occupy a row of detector 3. For example, first detection area 410 includes a row of detection cells in a readout row, and second detection area 420 includes a row of detection cells in a non-readout row. For example, referring to Figures 10a and 10b, when the readout rows of detector 3 are rows 4 to 7, first detection area 410 may include a row of detection cells in rows 4 to 7, such as the detection cells in row 5 shown in Figure 10a or the detection cells in row 7 shown in Figure 10b. Second detection area 420 may include a row of detection cells in rows 1 to 3 and rows 8 to 10, such as the detection cells in row 8 shown in Figure 10a or 10b.

[0118] Optionally, the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 may be adjacent or non-adjacent. For example, using the configuration shown in FIG10a , the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 are separated by several rows of detection units, and the two detection areas are non-adjacent. As a result, the corresponding receiving fields of view are relatively far apart, which provides a better blind spot compensation effect at close ranges. However, using the configuration shown in FIG10b , the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 are adjacent. Although the difference in their receiving fields of view is not significant, they can still achieve a certain blind spot compensation effect.

[0119] In example A2, the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 both occupy at least two rows of the detector 3. For example, the first detection area 410 includes at least two rows of detection units in a readout row, and the second detection area 420 includes at least two rows of detection units in a non-readout row. For example, referring to Figures 11a, 11b, and 11c, taking the example of first detection area 410 including all detection cells in a readout row, when the readout rows of detector 3 are rows 7 to 10, first detection area 410 may include all detection cells in rows 7 to 10, and second detection area 420 may include at least two rows of detection cells in rows 1 to 6 and 11 to 16. For example, as shown in Figure 11a, the first detection area 410 may include only the rows of detection cells located above and not adjacent to the first detection area 410, or as shown in Figure 11b, the second detection area 420 may include both the rows of detection cells located above and not adjacent to the first detection area 410 and the rows of detection cells located below and not adjacent to the first detection area 410, as shown in Figure 11c. There are many possible configurations, which are not listed here.

[0120] In Example A3, the first detection area 410 occupies at least one row of the detector 3, and the second detection area 420 occupies a portion of each row of at least one row of the detector 3 (referred to as a partial row). For example, the first detection area 410 includes at least one row of detection cells in a readout row, and the second detection area 420 includes a portion of detection cells in at least one row not in a readout row. For example, referring to Figures 12a, 12b, and 12c, taking the example of the first detection area 410 including all detection cells in a readout row, the second detection area 420 may include only the multiple sub-areas S1 to S5 located above the first detection area 410, as shown in Figure 12a, or only the multiple sub-areas S6 to S9 located below the first detection area 410, as shown in Figure 12b, or may include both the multiple sub-areas S1 to S5 located above the first detection area 410 and the multiple sub-areas S6 to S9 located below the first detection area 410, as shown in Figure 12c.

[0121] Optionally, each sub-area may include one or more detection units, and the detection units included in each sub-area do not overlap in the column, or there is partial overlap. For example, according to the arrangement in FIG12a, any two of the five sub-areas S1 to S5 on the upper side do not overlap in the column, and according to the arrangement in FIG12b, any two of the four sub-areas S6 to S9 on the lower side do not overlap in the column. In this way, when the second detection area 420 is turned on, only one detection unit in each sub-area on each column will be sensitive to light, thereby ensuring accurate positioning of the readout signal for each column and adapting to the column scanning working mode. For example, according to the configuration shown in Figure 12c, although the five upper sub-areas S1-S5 and the four lower sub-areas S6-S9 do not overlap in columns, they may overlap in columns. For example, the upper sub-area S2 partially overlaps with the lower sub-area S6 in columns, the upper sub-area S3 partially overlaps with the lower sub-area S7 in columns, and the upper sub-area S5 partially overlaps with the lower sub-area S9 in columns. This configuration ensures accurate positioning of some columns while combining the overlapping columns to detect stronger echo signals, thereby improving echo reception efficiency.

[0122] Furthermore, optionally, the multiple sub-areas in the second detection unit 420 are discontinuous in the columns. In other words, the second detection area 420 only occupies part of the length of a row of the detector 3. For example, the five sub-areas S1 to S5 in FIG12a are spaced apart in the columns, and the four sub-areas S6 to S9 in FIG12b are also spaced apart in the columns. Although the five sub-areas S1 to S5 on the upper side and the four sub-areas S6 to S9 on the lower side in FIG12c partially overlap in the columns, there will still be some gaps in the columns after merging. In this way, the detection unit used to fill in the blind spots will not cover all the columns, but will leave some columns idle. This can save some processing resources in some columns while achieving a partial blind spot filling effect, and adapt to the limited processing capabilities of the processing chip.

[0123] In Example A4, the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 both occupy a portion of each of at least one row of the detector 3. The detection cells in the first detection area 410 and the detection cells in the second detection area 420 are located in different columns of the detector 3 and together occupy the length of a row of the detector 3. For example, the first detection area 410 may include a portion of the detection cells in at least one readout row of the detector 3, the second detection area 420 may include a portion of the detection cells in at least one non-readout row of the detector 3, and the detection cells in the first detection area 410 and the detection cells in the second detection area 420 do not overlap in columns. For example, referring to Figures 13a, 13b, and 13c, taking the example of a first detection area 410 comprising multiple sub-areas in a readout row, the second detection area 420 may include only the multiple sub-areas located above the first detection area 410, as shown in Figure 13a, or only the multiple sub-areas located below the first detection area 410, as shown in Figure 13b, or may include both the multiple sub-areas located above and below the first detection area 410, as shown in Figure 13c. The sub-areas in the second detection area 420 may be located in the same row or in different rows. Regardless of the arrangement, the sub-areas in the second detection area 420 are located in the columns where the sub-areas in the first detection area 410 are missing, so that both occupy the length of a row of the detector 3. This ensures that only one detection unit in a column is activated at a time for both range finding and blind spot filling, maintaining accurate positioning of the readout signal for each column.

[0124] Optionally, in the above-mentioned examples A3 and A4, the second detection area 420 includes several relatively discrete detection units away from the first detection area 410. The position, combination (binning) method, number, distance from the first detection area 410, and spacing between different detection units of these detection units can be configured according to the region of interest of the detection device. For example, the region of interest of the detection device can be determined in advance based on the posture of the detection device in the actual application scenario, and the detection units corresponding to the region of interest can be selected from the non-readout rows of the detector 3 to form the second detection area 420. In addition, the detection units included in the second detection area 420 can also be dynamically updated, such as according to the user's instructions, or automatically updated according to changes in the actual application scenario, so that the second detection area 420 can flexibly change with changes in the scene, thereby improving the blind spot filling effect and the adaptability to the actual application scenario.

[0125] It should be noted that Examples A1 to A4 above merely illustrate several possible configurations of the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420. In an actual detection assembly 400, the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 may also be configured in other ways. For example, in another example, the first detection area 410 occupies a portion of each of at least one row of the detector 3, and the second detection area 420 occupies at least one row of the detector 3. In another example, the first detection area 410 occupies a row of the detector 3, and the second detection area 420 occupies at least two rows of the detector 3. In another example, both the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 occupies a portion of each of at least one row of the detector 3, and the detection units in the first detection area 410 and the detection units in the second detection area 420 partially overlap in columns, or there are gaps in columns. There are many other possible configurations, and they are not listed here.

[0126] In addition, this application only defines the columns occupied by each detection area in the row scanning mode, while the rows occupied by each detection area can be set arbitrarily. For example, in the row scanning mode, the rows occupied by the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 can be completely repeated, partially repeated, or not repeated at all. Similarly, in the column scanning mode, the columns occupied by the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 can be completely repeated, partially repeated, or not repeated at all. This application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0127] Next, the activation modes of the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 are described.

[0128] In one possible implementation, similar to the first implementation, all or some of the detection units in the first detection area 410 and all or some of the detection units in the second detection area 420 may be enabled simultaneously, or enabled in different frames, or enabled at different wavelengths in the same frame, or enabled in a combination of at least two of these three modes. The specific activation sequence can be found in the description of the first implementation. Here, we will use the configurations shown in Figures 10a to 13c as examples to illustrate the specific activation process.

[0129] In one example, taking the setting shown in FIG10a as an example, assuming that the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 are alternately turned on in different frames or different wave positions of the same frame, please refer to FIG14, which shows a start-up flow chart of alternating the two detection areas, where T is the alternating period, such as the duration of one frame or the duration of one wave position. For example, taking the alternating start of a single frame as an example, in combination with FIG14 and FIG7b, assuming that the detection duration of one frame is 66ms, then during the F_SYNC start period of a certain frame (such as the first 44ms), the 5th row of detection units corresponding to the first detection area 410 is turned on as each wave position Slot is turned on, and all detection units except the 5th row of detection units are not turned on. The 5th row of detection units can sense the echo signal reflected by the distant target at each wave position to achieve detection of the distant target. After the 66ms of that frame complete, the next frame begins. The 5th row of detection units corresponding to the first detection area 410 switches off, and the 8th row of detection units corresponding to the second detection area 420 switches on again as each slot opens. This allows them to sense the echo signals reflected by close-range targets at each slot, enabling detection of close-range targets. The close-range targets detected in this frame can be used to fill in the gaps in the previous frame's detection results. After the 66ms of the current frame complete, the 8th row of detection units corresponding to the second detection area 420 switches off again, and the 5th row of detection units corresponding to the first detection area 410 switches on again as each slot opens. This alternating cycle continues until detection is complete.

[0130] Using the activation scheme shown in FIG14 , all detection units in the first detection area 410 and all detection units in the second detection area 420 are alternately activated. When the first detection area 410 is activated, the activated detection units in the first detection area 410 occupy the length of a row of the detector 3. When the second detection area 420 is activated, the activated detection units in the second detection area 420 also occupy the length of a row of the detector 3. In this way, by alternately activating the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420, the first receiving field of view and the second receiving field of view can be operated alternately, thereby achieving the effect of alternating distance measurement and blind spot filling.

[0131] In another example, taking the setting shown in Figure 10b as an example, assuming that the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 are turned on at the same time, please refer to Figure 15a, which shows an opening flow chart of the two detection areas being turned on at the same time. This scheme divides the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 into a left half and a right half, respectively. The left half of the first detection area 410 and the right half of the second detection area 420 are jointly turned on, and the right half of the first detection area 410 and the left half of the second detection area 420 are jointly turned on. T is the period of alternating opening of the two major parts, such as the length of a frame or the length of a wave position. Exemplarily, taking one wave position alternating once as an example, combined with Figure 15a and Figure 7c, during the opening period of one wave position, the left half of the first detection area 410 and the right half of the second detection area 420 are turned on together, and the left half of the first detection area 410 is used to sense the echo signal reflected back by the long-distance target at this wave position, and the right half of the second detection area 420 is used to sense the echo signal reflected back by the close-range target at this wave position, so as to achieve close-range blind spot filling while performing long-distance detection at this wave position. After the on-time period of that wave position ends, the next wave position arrives. The left half of the first detection area 410 and the right half of the second detection area 420 are switched off. The right half of the first detection area 410 and the left half of the second detection area 420 are then turned on together. The right half of the first detection area 410 is used to sense the echo signals reflected by long-range targets at this wave position, and the left half of the second detection area 420 is used to sense the echo signals reflected by close-range targets at this wave position. This allows long-range detection at this wave position while also achieving close-range blind spot compensation. Afterwards, when the next wave position arrives, the right half of the first detection area 410 and the left half of the second detection area 420 are switched off again. The left half of the first detection area 410 and the right half of the second detection area 420 are then turned on together. This alternation continues until the detection ends.

[0132] Using the activation scheme shown in FIG15a , half of the detection units in the first detection area 410 and half of the detection units in the second detection area 420 are jointly activated. During each activation, the activated detection units in the first detection area 410 occupy half the length of a row of detectors 3, and the activated detection units in the second detection area 420 also occupy half the length of a row of detectors 3. Together, the activated detection units in the first detection area 410 and the activated detection units in the second detection area 420 occupy the length of a row of detectors 3. In this way, by activating a portion of the first detection area 410 and a portion of the second detection area 420 each time, distance measurement and blind spot filling can be achieved simultaneously.

[0133] It will be appreciated that FIG15a divides each detection area into two parts of equal length. This is merely an example. Any detection area may be divided into two or more parts, and the lengths of the different parts may be the same or different. For example, in another example, referring to FIG15b, the first detection unit 410 and the second detection unit 420 may each be divided into two parts, but one part occupies more than half the length of a row of detectors 3, while the other part occupies less than half the length of a row of detectors 3. In this way, by jointly activating the long part of one detection unit and the short part of the other detection unit, it is possible to ensure that the detection units activated at each time occupy the length of a row of detectors 3. For another example, referring to FIG15c, the first detection unit 410 and the second detection unit 420 may each be divided into three parts. By jointly activating two parts of one detection unit and a part of another detection unit that is not in the same column, it is possible to ensure that the detection units activated at each time occupy the length of a row of detectors 3. And so on, and so on, are not listed here one by one.

[0134] It should be noted that the length of the detector 3 occupied by the detection units turned on at one time can be determined by the processing capacity of the photosensitive chip. For example, the existing photosensitive chip can only perform photosensitive processing on one row of detection units of the detector at a time. Therefore, in order to adapt to the processing capacity of the photosensitive chip, the above-mentioned method configures the detection units in the first detection area 410 and the detection units in the second detection area 420 turned on each time to occupy the length of one row of the detector 3, so as to maximize the use of the processing capacity of the photosensitive chip while obtaining the effect of achieving both distance measurement and blind spot filling at the same time, while not exceeding the processing capacity of the photosensitive chip, thereby ensuring the accuracy of the photosensitive processing. However, it should be understood that with the development of chip technology or some improvement schemes for photosensitive chips, future photosensitive chips or some existing photosensitive chips may or may already have the processing capacity of more than one row of detection units. In this case, the detector may also turn on detection units of more than one row length each time it is turned on. This application does not make specific restrictions on this.

[0135] In another example, taking the configuration shown in FIG12c or FIG13c as an example, assuming that the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 are turned on at the same time, please refer to FIG16a and FIG16b, which show the activation flow charts of the two detection areas being turned on simultaneously in these two configurations. In combination with FIG16a, FIG12c and FIG7a, or FIG16b, FIG13c and FIG7a, during the activation period of each wave position, all detection units of the first detection area 410 and all detection units of the second detection area 420 are turned on together. The first detection area 410 is used to sense the echo signal reflected by the long-distance target at the wave position, and the second detection area 420 is used to sense the echo signal reflected by the close-range target at the wave position, so as to achieve the effect of simultaneous detection and blind spot filling at each wave position.

[0136] With the activation scheme in FIG16a , during each activation, the activated detection units in the first detection area 410 occupy the length of one row of the detector 3, and the activated detection units in the second detection area 420 occupy a portion of the length of one row of the detector 3. With the activation scheme in FIG16b , during each activation, the activated detection units in the first detection area 410 occupy a portion of the length of one row of the detector 3, and the activated detection units in the second detection area 420 also occupy a portion of the length of one row of the detector 3. The activated detection units in the first detection area 410 and the activated detection units in the second detection area 420 together occupy the length of one row of the detector 3. This allows the number of activated detection units to match the processing capability of the existing photosensitive chip, thereby ensuring the accuracy of the photosensitive processing of the echo signal.

[0137] It should be noted that Figures 14 to 16b above merely illustrate several possible activation schemes. The first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 may also have other activation schemes. For example, when the configuration shown in Figure 10b, Figure 12c, or Figure 13c is adopted, the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 may be alternately activated in frames or wave positions. Alternatively, when the configuration shown in Figure 10a is adopted, the first detection area 410 and the second detection area 420 may each be divided into at least two parts. By combining some parts of the first detection area 410 and some parts of the second detection area 420, both long-range detection and short-range blind spot compensation can be achieved. There are many other possible activation schemes, which are not listed here one by one.

[0138] In the above-mentioned second embodiment, by combining the non-read detection units and the read detection units on the array detector to receive the echo signal, the read detection units can be used for long-distance detection, while the non-read detection units can be used for close-range blind spot filling. In this way, different areas of the same detector can be used to achieve the effects of long-distance measurement and blind spot filling without the need to introduce new detectors, thereby saving the volume and cost of the detection components.

[0139] It should be noted that, in the various components and structures given in this application, if there is no special explanation and logical conflict, they can be combined to form other possible implementation plans according to their internal logical relationships. The two implementation plans given above are only examples. For example, in another implementation plan, two detectors can be set in combination with the above implementation plans one and two, wherein each detector includes two detection areas, and the two detectors can be turned on at the same time, turned on in different frames, or turned on at different wave positions in the same frame, and when each detector is turned on, the two detection areas in the detector can start at the same time or be turned on alternately in units of frames or wave positions, and so on. Alternatively, in another implementation plan, two detectors can be set, but one of the detectors is only provided with one detection area, and the other detector is provided with two detection areas. And so on, there are many possible implementation plans, which are not listed here one by one.

[0140] Based on the structure of the detection assembly described above, the present application further provides a receiving module, as shown in FIG17 . The receiving module may include any of the detection assemblies described above, such as the detection assembly 400 in any of the embodiments shown in FIG4-6 and FIG8-16b . When enabled, the detection assembly may be configured to receive an echo signal, which is an optical signal generated by a light beam emitted by the transmitting module after being reflected by a target in the detection area. The detection assembly may also convert the optical signal into an electrical signal.

[0141] 17 , the receiving module may further include a receiving optical system, such as the receiving optical system 500 in any of the embodiments shown in FIG4-6 and FIG8 . The receiving optical system is also generally referred to as a receiving lens, which can be used to transmit the echo signal reflected by the target to the detection component.

[0142] Furthermore, the receiving optical system can optionally perform optical shaping on the echo signal, such as beam collimation, so that the beam is converted into collimated light and then irradiated vertically on the detection component, thereby increasing the energy of the beam received by the detection component.

[0143] It is understandable that the receiving optical system may include a lens assembly, such as a collimating lens group. Exemplarily, other optical elements may also be included, such as multiple lenses, and the lenses may be spherical lenses (such as concave lenses, or convex lenses, etc.), or may be aspherical lenses. The combination of multiple spherical lenses and / or aspherical lenses helps to improve the quality of receiving the returned light, thereby improving the imaging quality and reducing the aberration of the optical imaging system. It should be understood that there are many different types of convex lenses and concave lenses, for example, convex lenses include biconvex lenses, plano-convex lenses and concave-convex lenses, and concave lenses include biconcave lenses, plano-concave lenses and concave-convex lenses. The present application does not limit the types of convex lenses and concave lenses.

[0144] Furthermore, the receiving module may optionally include an optical transmission medium (not shown), which is located between the detection assembly and the receiving optical system and is used to transmit the echo signal emitted by the receiving optical system to the detection assembly. The optical transmission medium can be any medium capable of transmitting light, such as, but not limited to, an optical fiber or a waveguide.

[0145] Based on the structure and functional principle of the receiving module described above, the present application can also provide a detection device, see Figure 17. The detection device may include the receiving module in any of the above embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0146] Furthermore, the detection device may optionally include a transmitting module (see FIG17 ), which is configured to emit a light beam toward the detection area. Optionally, the light beam emitted by the transmitting module may be a line beam. For example, in a row scanning mode, the transmitting module may emit a horizontal line beam, and in a column scanning mode, the transmitting module may emit a vertical line beam.

[0147] Furthermore, optionally, the emission module may include a light source assembly and an emission optical system. Please refer to FIG17 . The light source assembly is used to emit a light beam, and the emission optical system is used to shape the light beam.

[0148] Exemplarily, the light source assembly can be a point light source or an array light source. The array light source can be a one-dimensional array light source (also known as a linear array type) or a two-dimensional array (also known as a planar array type). The light source in the point light source or array light source can include, but is not limited to, an edge emitting laser (EEL), a laser diode (LD), a diode pumped solid state laser (DPSS), or a fiber laser.

[0149] Exemplarily, the emitting optical system may also be generally referred to as an emitting lens, and may include one or more lenses, such as a collimator and a homogenizer. The collimator can be used to collimate the light beam, and the homogenizer can be used to homogenize the energy of the light beam, or it can also be used to change the divergence angle of the light beam. Optionally, the collimator can be a lens that can achieve a focusing function, such as a convex lens. The convex lens may include, for example, but is not limited to a spherical mirror, a cylindrical mirror or an aspherical mirror. The cylindrical mirror may include, for example, but is not limited to a plano-convex cylindrical mirror (or a plano-convex cylindrical lens), a plano-concave cylindrical mirror (or a plano-concave cylindrical lens), a double convex cylindrical mirror (double convex cylindrical lens) and a double concave cylindrical mirror (double concave cylindrical lens), etc. Optionally, the homogenizer may be a microlens array (MLA) or a diffractive optical element (DOE), etc. MLA is an array composed of lenses with a clear aperture and relief depth of micrometers. It not only has the basic functions of traditional lenses such as focusing and imaging, but also has the characteristics of small unit size, high integration, high precision and easy production. Using a microlens array as a homogenizing mirror group can improve the optical performance of the emission module.

[0150] Further, optionally, the detection device may also include a scanning component, please refer to Figure 17, the scanning component can be used to project the light beam shaped by the transmitting optical system into the detection area. Specifically, the scanning component can be used to change the scanning angle of the scanning component to change the propagation direction of the light beam from the transmitting optical system to the detection area, thereby realizing scanning of the detection area. The scanning component can also be used to project the light beam reflected back by the target to the receiving optical system. Specifically, the scanning component can be used to change the scanning angle of the scanning component to change the propagation direction of the light beam reflected back by the target, thereby irradiating the light beam to the receiving optical system. Exemplarily, the scanning component can be, for example, a polyhedron (such as an octahedron, a hexahedron or a tetrahedron) rotating mirror, a micro electro-mechanical system (MEMS) galvanometer or a swinging mirror. The scanning module can rotate in a continuous operation mode, or it can rotate in a stepping operation mode, and this application does not limit this.

[0151] In one possible implementation, the scanning assembly can be a one-dimensional scanning assembly. The light beam emitted by the transmitting optical system is distributed in a first direction, and the scanning assembly can scan in a second direction to achieve a two-dimensional scan of the detection area. For example, the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction. Using a one-dimensional scanning assembly for scanning helps simplify the structure of the transmitting module, reduce the complexity of the detection device, and improve scanning efficiency.

[0152] Furthermore, optionally, the detection device may further include a window, as shown in FIG17 . The window may be used to isolate the internal components of the detection device from the influence of the external environment.

[0153] Furthermore, the detection device may optionally include a processing module (see Figure 17 ). This processing module can be used to control the operating modes of the transmitting and receiving modules to achieve detection of the detection area. Optionally, the processing module can be used to process the electrical signals from the receiving module to obtain target-related information. Furthermore, based on the determined target-related information, the vehicle can plan a driving path, for example, to avoid obstacles along the route or enable autonomous driving.

[0154] Exemplarily, the processing module may include one or more processing units, and the processing unit may be a circuit with signal (or data) processing capabilities. In one implementation, the processing unit may be a circuit with instruction reading and execution capabilities, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), or a digital signal processor (DSP); in another implementation, the processing unit may implement certain functions through the logical relationship of a hardware circuit, and the logical relationship of the hardware circuit is fixed or reconfigurable, such as a hardware circuit implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA). In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of the processing unit loading a configuration document to implement the hardware circuit configuration can be understood as the process of the processing unit loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units. In addition, the processing unit can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a neural network processing unit (NPU), a tensor processing unit (TPU), a deep learning processing unit (DPU), etc. For example, it can also be an application processor (AP), an image signal processor (ISP), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. Among them, different processing units can be independent devices or integrated into one or more processors. Exemplarily, the above-mentioned detection device can be, for example, a lidar.

[0155] It should be noted that the detection device architecture given in Figure 17 is only an example. In other examples, the detection device may include more, fewer or different structures, and each structure may include more, fewer or different components. The components shown or not shown may be combined or divided in any way, and this application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0156] Based on the structure and functional principle of the detection device described above, the application can also provide a terminal device. The terminal device may include the detection device in any of the above embodiments. Exemplarily, the terminal device can be, for example, a vehicle (such as a car, a truck, a motorcycle, a bus, a ship, an airplane, a helicopter, an amusement vehicle, an amusement park vehicle, a construction vehicle, a tram, a golf cart, a train, an unmanned vehicle, an intelligent vehicle and a digital vehicle, etc.), a robot, a surveying and mapping equipment, an intelligent home appliance (such as a TV, a sweeping robot, an intelligent desk lamp, a sound system, an intelligent lighting system, an electrical control system, a home background music, a home theater system, an intercom system, or a video surveillance system, etc.), an intelligent manufacturing equipment (such as an industrial equipment, a lawn mower, etc.), an intelligent transportation equipment (such as an AGV, an unmanned transport vehicle, or a truck, etc.), or an intelligent terminal (a mobile phone, a computer, a tablet computer, a handheld computer, a desktop computer, a headset, an audio system, a wearable device, an on-board device, a virtual reality device, an augmented reality device, etc.), etc.

[0157] In this application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "plurality" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, wherein A and B can be singular or plural. "At least one of the following (row / individual / column)" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items (individuals) or plural items (individuals). For example, at least one of a, b or c (row / individual / column) can represent: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", wherein a, b, c can be single or multiple. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. In addition, in this application, the words "exemplarily" and "optionally" are used to represent examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "example" or "optional" should not be interpreted as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Alternatively, it can be understood that the use of the word "example" or "optional" is intended to present concepts in a specific manner and does not constitute a limitation on this application.

[0158] It will be appreciated that the various numerical numbers involved in this application are merely for the purpose of describing the distinctions made, and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The size of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not imply the order of execution, and the order of execution of each process should be determined by its function and inherent logic. Terms such as "first", "second", and similar expressions are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any of their variations are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, for example, comprising a series of steps or units. Methods, systems, products, or devices are not necessarily limited to those steps or units clearly listed, but may include other steps or units that are not clearly listed or that are inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices.

Claims

1. A detection component, characterized in that: including a first detection area and a second detection area; The first detection area is used to receive a first echo signal of a first field of view; The second detection area is used to receive a second echo signal of a second field of view; The first field of view and the second field of view at least partially do not overlap.

2. The detection assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that The detection distance range of the first field of view is different from the detection distance range of the second field of view.

3. The detection assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: Some or all of the detection units in the first detection area and some or all of the detection units in the second detection area are turned on simultaneously, or turned on in different frames, or turned on at different wave positions in the same frame.

4. The detection assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The first detection area and the second detection area belong to different detectors, or belong to different detection areas of the same detector.

5. The detection assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that The detector is any of the following types: an avalanche photodiode APD, a pin tube photodetector, a silicon photodiode SiPM or a single photon avalanche diode SPAD.

6. The detection assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that The working mode of the detection component is row scanning, and the first detection area and the second detection area are located in different rows of the detector; or the working mode of the detection component is column scanning, and the first detection area and the second detection area are located in different columns of the detector.

7. The detection assembly according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that: The turned-on detection units in the first detection area or the second detection area occupy the length of one row or one column of the detector, or occupy the length of half a row or half a column of the detector, or occupy the length of part of one row or part of one column of the detector.

8. The detection assembly according to any one of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that: The turned-on detection units in the first detection area and the turned-on detection units in the second detection area each occupy a row or a column of the detector, or each occupy a half of a row or a half of a column of the detector.

9. The detection assembly according to any one of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that: The working mode of the detection component is row scanning, the first detection area occupies a row of the detector, the second detection area occupies a part of each row in at least one row of the detector, and the occupied parts are not repeated on the column; or, the working mode of the detection component is column scanning, the first detection area occupies a column of the detector, the second detection area occupies a part of each column in at least one column of the detector, and the occupied parts are not repeated on the row.

10. The detection assembly according to any one of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that: The working mode of the detection component is row scanning, and the detection units turned on in the first detection area and the detection units turned on in the second detection area are located in different columns and occupy a total length of one row of the detector; or, the working mode of the detection component is column scanning, and the detection units turned on in the first detection area and the detection units turned on in the second detection area are located in different rows and occupy a total length of one column of the detector.

11. The detection assembly according to any one of claims 4 to 10, characterized in that: The second detection area includes a plurality of sub-areas, and the plurality of sub-areas are discontinuous.

12. The detection assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that: The second detection area is located on one side or on two opposite sides of the first detection area.

13. The detection assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that: The number and positions of the turned-on detection units in the second detection area are configured based on the region of interest.

14. A receiving module, characterized in that: Comprising a detection assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. The receiving module according to claim 14, characterized in that: Also includes a receiving optical system; The receiving optical system is used to transmit the echo signal to the detection component.

16. A detection device, characterized in that: Comprising the receiving module as claimed in claim 14 or 15.

17. The detection device according to claim 16, characterized in that Also includes launch module; The transmitting module is used to send out a detection signal.

18. The detection device according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that: Also includes processing modules; The processing module is used to process the echo signal to obtain target related information.

19. A terminal device, characterized in that: Comprising a detection device as claimed in any one of claims 16 to 18.

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