US 12,468,033 B2
Distance measurement by means of an active optical sensor system
Heiko Kurz, Hannover (DE); Marc-Michael Meinecke, Sassenburg (DE); Christoph Kottke, Berlin (DE); Patrick Runge, Berlin (DE); Pascal Rustige, Berlin (DE); Ronald Freund, Berlin (DE); and Michael Schwenkert, Ingolstadt (DE)
Assigned to VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT, Wolfsburg (DE); and AUDI AG, Ingolstadt (DE)
Filed by Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, Wolfsburg (DE); and AUDI AG, Ingolstadt (DE)
Filed on Mar. 9, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/690,811.
Claims priority of application No. 10 2021 105 770.1 (DE), filed on Mar. 10, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0291381 A1, Sep. 15, 2022
Int. Cl. G01C 3/08 (2006.01); G01S 7/484 (2006.01); G01S 7/4912 (2020.01); G01S 17/26 (2020.01); G01S 17/34 (2020.01); G01S 17/931 (2020.01)
CPC G01S 17/34 (2020.01) [G01S 7/484 (2013.01); G01S 7/4917 (2013.01); G01S 17/26 (2020.01); G01S 17/931 (2020.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for distance measurement using an active optical sensor system, comprising:
generating an initial pulse sequence with an initial frequency spectrum, which corresponds to a frequency comb, using a laser source, wherein the frequency comb comprises a plurality of modes with a respective mode frequency;
generating a first pulse sequence with a first frequency spectrum, which corresponds to a first part of the frequency comb, and a first reference pulse sequence with the first frequency spectrum based on the initial pulse sequence;
generating a second pulse sequence with a second frequency spectrum, which corresponds to a second part of the frequency comb different from the first part, and a second reference pulse sequence with the second frequency spectrum based on the initial pulse sequence;
emitting the first pulse sequence and the second pulse sequence towards an object;
determining a first distance of the object from the sensor system using at least one first heterodyne measurement based on the first reference pulse sequence and portions of the first pulse sequence reflected by the object; and
determining a second distance of the object from the sensor system using at least one second heterodyne measurement based on the second reference pulse sequence and portions of the second pulse sequence reflected by the object.