US 12,461,240 B2
Time-of-flight apparatus and method
Rachit Mohan, Stuttgart (DE); Ward Van Der Tempel, Muizen (BE); Michiel Timmermans, Stuttgart (DE); Ye Chen, Stuttgart (DE); and Qing Ding, Stuttgart (DE)
Assigned to Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation, Kanagawa (JP)
Appl. No. 17/440,681
Filed by Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation, Kanagawa (JP)
PCT Filed Mar. 12, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/056656
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 17, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/193161, PCT Pub. Date Oct. 1, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 19165010 (EP), filed on Mar. 25, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0179087 A1, Jun. 9, 2022
Int. Cl. G01C 3/08 (2006.01); G01S 7/4914 (2020.01); G01S 17/894 (2020.01)
CPC G01S 17/894 (2020.01) [G01S 7/4914 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A time-of-flight apparatus, comprising:
a light source for emitting a light pulse to a scene;
a photo-detection portion for detecting at least the light pulse reflected from the scene within a first photo-detection time interval, wherein the photo-detection portion includes at least one photo-detection element; and
a measurement circuitry configured to:
drive, within a measurement time interval including the first photo-detection time interval, the at least one photo-detection element for detecting the light pulse reflected from the scene, and
drain, within the measurement time interval and after the first photo-detection time interval, electrons from the at least one photo-detection element
wherein the measurement circuitry further includes an overflow gate, and wherein the measurement time interval further includes an overflow time interval, in which the at least one photo-detection element is drained.