US 11,754,682 B2
LIDAR system with spatial beam combining
Alga Lloyd Nothern, III, Seattle, WA (US); Jonathan A. Morarity, Seattle, WA (US); and Thomas Nonn, Kenmore, WA (US)
Assigned to Microvision, Inc., Redmond, WA (US)
Filed by Microvision, Inc., Redmond, WA (US)
Filed on May 30, 2019, as Appl. No. 16/426,920.
Prior Publication US 2020/0379090 A1, Dec. 3, 2020
Int. Cl. G01S 7/481 (2006.01); G01S 7/4865 (2020.01); G01S 17/89 (2020.01); G01S 17/931 (2020.01); G01S 17/10 (2020.01); G01S 7/48 (2006.01); G01S 13/42 (2006.01)
CPC G01S 7/4817 (2013.01) [G01S 7/4802 (2013.01); G01S 7/4815 (2013.01); G01S 7/4865 (2013.01); G01S 13/426 (2013.01); G01S 17/10 (2013.01); G01S 17/89 (2013.01); G01S 17/931 (2020.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus comprising:
a first laser light source;
a first optical device positioned to focus light from the first laser light source into a first fanned beam having a first major axis and a first minor axis;
a second laser light source;
a second optical device positioned to focus light from the second laser light source into a second fanned beam having a second major axis and a second minor axis;
a first scanning mirror to scan at least a first portion of the first fanned beam in a first scan direction in a field of view; and
a second scanning mirror to scan at least a first portion of the second fanned beam in the first scan direction in the field of view, where the first scanning mirror does not scan the first portion of the second fanned beam and the second scanning mirror does not scan the first portion of the first fanned beam, and wherein the first scan direction is substantially parallel to both the first major axis of the first fanned beam and the second major axis of the second fanned beam in the field of view, and wherein the first scanning mirror scans at least the first portion of the first fanned beam and second scanning mirror scans at least the first portion of the second fanned beam such that the first major axis of the first fanned beam is substantially coincident with the second major axis of the second fanned beam in the field of view.