US 12,306,350 B2
Increasing rate of lidar measurements
Mehdi Asghari, La Canada Flintridge, CA (US); Nirmal Chindhu Warke, Saratoga, CA (US); and Majid Boloorian, San Diego, CA (US)
Assigned to SiLC Technologies, Inc., Monrovia, CA (US)
Filed by SiLC Technologies, Inc., Monrovia, CA (US)
Filed on Oct. 5, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/494,822.
Prior Publication US 2023/0104453 A1, Apr. 6, 2023
Int. Cl. G01C 3/08 (2006.01); G01S 7/4912 (2020.01); G01S 17/06 (2006.01); G01S 17/58 (2006.01)
CPC G01S 7/4912 (2013.01) [G01S 17/06 (2013.01); G01S 17/58 (2013.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system, comprising:
a LIDAR system configured to output a system output signal such that the system output signal can be reflected by an object located outside of the LIDAR system,
the system also being configured to receive a system return signal that includes light from the reflected LIDAR output signal,
the system return signal and the system output signal each carrying a first channel,
the LIDAR system configured to combine light that is from the system return signal and that carries the first channel with a reference signal so as to produce a composite signal beating at a beat frequency;
electronics that operate the LIDAR system such that the first channel has a series of chirp cycles, each chirp cycle including a linear chirp section where a frequency chirp of the channel is linear,
multiple different sample periods falling within each of the linear chirp sections,
the electronics being configured to calculate LIDAR data for each of the sample periods,
the electronics calculating the LIDAR data for a sample period from the beat frequency of the composite signal during the sample period, and
the LIDAR data for a sample period indicates the radial velocity and/or distance between the LIDAR system and the object; and
wherein the multiple channels include a second channel and the LIDAR chip is configured to combine light that is from the system return signal and that carries the second channel with a second reference signal so as to produce a second composite signal beating at a second beat frequency.