US 11,914,078 B2
Calibration of a depth sensing array using color image data
David Silver, Haifa (IL); Moshe Laifenfeld, Haifa (IL); and Tal Kaitz, Kiryat Ono (IL)
Assigned to APPLE INC., Cupertino, CA (US)
Appl. No. 17/268,963
Filed by APPLE INC., Cupertino, CA (US)
PCT Filed Sep. 2, 2019, PCT No. PCT/US2019/049252
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Feb. 17, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/055619, PCT Pub. Date Mar. 19, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/731,914, filed on Sep. 16, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0208262 A1, Jul. 8, 2021
Int. Cl. G01S 7/497 (2006.01); G01S 17/86 (2020.01); G01S 17/89 (2020.01)
CPC G01S 7/497 (2013.01) [G01S 17/86 (2020.01); G01S 17/89 (2013.01)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An imaging apparatus, comprising:
a radiation source, which is configured to emit a first number, greater than one, of pulsed beams of optical radiation toward a target scene;
an array of a second number of sensing elements, configured to output signals indicative of respective times of incidence of photons on the sensing elements, wherein the second number exceeds the first number;
objective optics configured to form a first image of the target scene on the array of sensing elements;
an image sensor, which is configured to capture a second image of the target scene in registration with the first image; and
processing and control circuitry, which is coupled to receive the signals from the array and is configured to identify, responsively to the signals, areas of the array on which pulses of optical radiation reflected from corresponding regions of the target scene are incident, and to process the signals from the sensing elements in the identified areas in order to measure depth coordinates of the corresponding regions of the target scene based on the times of incidence, while identifying, in response to the second image, one or more of the regions of the target scene as no-depth regions,
wherein the processing and control circuitry is configured, when the signals output from one or more of the identified areas of the array are below a minimum threshold, while the regions of the target scene corresponding to the one or more of the identified areas are not identified as no-depth regions, to recalibrate the array so as to select one or more new areas of the array from which to receive the signals for processing.