US 12,436,244 B2
Time-of-flight distance measuring methods and related distance measuring systems
Meng-Ta Yang, Guangdong (CN); and Chung-Te Li, Guangdong (CN)
Assigned to SHENZHEN GOODIX TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD., Guangdong (CN)
Filed by SHENZHEN GOODIX TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD., Guangdong (CN)
Filed on Sep. 7, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/468,062.
Application 17/468,062 is a continuation of application No. PCT/CN2020/095029, filed on Jun. 9, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2021/0405162 A1, Dec. 30, 2021
Int. Cl. G01S 7/48 (2006.01); G01S 7/4861 (2020.01); G01S 7/4863 (2020.01)
CPC G01S 7/4861 (2013.01) [G01S 7/4863 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A time-of-flight (TOF) distance measuring method, comprising:
intermittently transmitting a plurality of first pulses from a pulse generation unit, wherein the plurality of first pulses are reflected by a target to generate a plurality of first reflected signals;
controlling a TOF sensor to selectively perform a first signal sampling or a second signal sampling upon the plurality of first reflected signals respectively to generate a first sampling result, wherein there is a first time difference between a starting time point of the first signal sampling and a transmitting time point of the first pulse corresponding to the first signal sampling, and the first signal sampling lasts for a first predetermined time, and there is a second time difference between a starting time point of the second signal sampling and a transmitting time point of the first pulse corresponding to the second signal sampling, and the second signal sampling lasts for second predetermined time, and the first time difference is smaller than the second time difference;
detecting TOFs of the plurality of first pulses from the pulse generation unit to the TOF sensor according to the first sampling result; and
determining a distance between the target and a reference position according to the TOFs,
wherein the first predetermined time comprises at least one sampling interval adjacent to the starting time point of the first predetermined time; and the second predetermined time comprises the at least one sampling interval adjacent to the starting time point of the second predetermined time,
wherein a number of the sampling interval in the first predetermined time is greater than a number of the sampling interval in the second predetermined time.