Sensor Serial Multiple Sampling Time Resolution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing distance measurement technologies using pulse-based runtime procedures face challenges in achieving high time and amplitude resolution with simple hardware, due to the need for precise measurement of signal periods and high sampling rates.
Innovation Solution
A sensor and procedure that utilize a pulse-based runtime procedure (DTOF) with an analog-digital converter operating in serial multiple sampling mode, where the reception pulse is digitized multiple times with different delays, allowing for improved time and amplitude resolution without requiring high-performance hardware.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If high sampling rates (tens or hundreds of GHz) are used to achieve high time resolution for distance measurement, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the high-speed sampling task into multiple sequential low-speed sampling operations. Instead of using a single high-frequency ADC, the system performs multiple measurements at lower sampling rates and combines them through computational processing to achieve the equivalent of high-speed sampling. This segments the temporal resolution requirement across multiple measurement cycles.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs periodic transmission of measurement pulses and periodic sampling at lower rates. By repeating measurements multiple times and combining the results through statistical or computational methods, the system achieves high effective sampling rates without requiring hardware capable of operating at those frequencies continuously. The periodic nature allows low-speed ADCs to capture sufficient information when aggregated over multiple cycles.
2Measurement precision
If multiple delay channels with parallel sampling are used to improve time resolution, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple sequential sampling operations into a single computational process. Instead of maintaining multiple parallel sampling channels that would each consume power simultaneously, the system performs sampling sequentially and combines the data through processing. This temporal merging of operations reduces the peak power requirements and total energy consumption compared to spatial parallelism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates multiple virtual sampling channels through computational copying rather than physical duplication. By digitally replicating and processing sampled data through different computational paths (equivalent to multiple delay channels), the system achieves the functionality of parallel hardware channels without the associated power consumption and hardware complexity.
3Device complexity
If pulse reconstruction methods with 1-bit conversion are used to reduce hardware requirements, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates due to loss of amplitude information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary sampling at moderate resolution before final evaluation. By capturing amplitude information at intermediate precision levels during the sampling phase, the system preserves sufficient data for accurate distance calculation without requiring either high-speed high-resolution ADCs or losing all amplitude information through 1-bit conversion. The preliminary capture of amplitude data enables subsequent precise timing extraction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the sampling parameters (rate, resolution, number of samples) based on the specific measurement requirements and signal characteristics. Rather than using fixed high-resolution high-speed sampling, the system adapts the sampling parameters to achieve the necessary measurement precision with lower hardware requirements. This may involve increasing the number of samples at lower resolution or adjusting sampling timing to optimize the use of available amplitude information.
Data Source
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Figure 5a~5e
AI summary
A sensor (10) for determining a transit time is specified, which emits a signal pulse (14), generates a received pulse from the received signal pulse (20), an analog-to-digital converter (38) for digitizing the received pulse, at least one delay path (34) with a delay element to supply the received pulse to the analog-to-digital converter (38) at least twice with different delay times and to generate a first sampling and at least one second sampling of the received pulse and thus multiple sampling of the received pulse with different amplitudes and/or timing, as well as a control and evaluation unit (26) which is designed to determine a transit time using the first sampling and the second sampling.In this arrangement, a switching element (36, 42) is arranged between the receiver (22) and the analog-to-digital converter (38), which selectively directs the received pulse either not via a delay path (32, 34), via a delay path (34) a different number of times and/or via different delay paths (341..n) and thus supplies the received pulse to the analog-to-digital converter (38) for serial multiple sampling successively with different delays.