US 12,222,455 B2
Time of flight apparatus and method
Manuel Amaya-Benitez, Stuttgart (DE); Ward Van Der Tempel, Muizen (BE); Kaji Nobuaki, Kanagawa (JP); and Hiroaki Nishimori, Tokyo (JP)
Assigned to Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation, Kanagawa (JP)
Appl. No. 17/276,114
Filed by Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation, Kanagawa (JP)
PCT Filed Sep. 17, 2019, PCT No. PCT/EP2019/074858
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Mar. 12, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/058264, PCT Pub. Date Mar. 26, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 18195353 (EP), filed on Sep. 19, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2022/0050185 A1, Feb. 17, 2022
Int. Cl. G01C 3/08 (2006.01); G01S 7/484 (2006.01); G01S 7/4865 (2020.01); G01S 17/89 (2020.01)
CPC G01S 7/4865 (2013.01) [G01S 7/484 (2013.01); G01S 17/89 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A time-of-flight apparatus, comprising:
a light source for emitting light to a scene;
a light detector for detecting light from the scene; and
circuitry, the circuitry being configured to:
acquire a frame of detected light from the light detector, wherein the frame corresponds to a predetermined time interval, and
drive the light source for emitting light during active light time intervals of the frame, wherein the active light time intervals are controlled such that the light energy accumulated within the frame is below a predetermined maximum value, and wherein the frame is divided into the active light time intervals during which light is emitted to the scene.