公开(公告)号：US20230367016A1

公开(公告)日：2023-11-16

申请号：US18356396

申请日：2023-07-21

Applicant: TOPPAN Inc.

Inventor： Tomohiro NAKAGOME ,  Satoshi TAKAHASHI

IPC: G01S17/89 ,  G01S17/10 ,  G01S7/484 ,  G01S7/4865 ,  G01S7/48

CPC classification number: G01S17/89 ,  G01S7/4808 ,  G01S7/484 ,  G01S7/4865 ,  G01S17/10

Abstract: A range imaging device includes a light-receiving unit including a pixel circuit including a photoelectric conversion element that generates charge according to incident light and N (N≥3) charge storage units that integrate charge in frame cycle, and a pixel drive circuit that turns on or off transfer transistors that transmit charge to the charge storage units at integration timing synchronizing with light pulses to distribute and integrate charge; a light source that emits light pulses; a range image processing unit that calculates a distance to object based on charge integrated in the charge storage units; and a measurement control unit that determines measurement zone to which the measurement distance belongs and which is set according to zone threshold set according to distance, integrates charge according to integration time set in the zone, and emits light pulses by increasing pulse period of light pulses according to increase of the integration time.

公开(公告)号：US20240022833A1

公开(公告)日：2024-01-18

申请号：US18355978

申请日：2023-07-20

Applicant: TOPPAN Inc.

Inventor： Kunihiro HATAKEYAMA ,  Tomohiro NAKAGOME

IPC: H04N25/705

CPC classification number: H04N25/705

Abstract: A range imaging device includes a light source unit, a light-receiving unit that includes pixel driving circuit and a pixel including a photoelectric conversion element and charge storage units, a storage unit that stores table information in which electric charge ratios are associated with corresponding distances to an object, and a range image processing unit that determines a measured distance to an object using the table information and the amounts of electric charge accumulated in the charge storage units. The range image processing unit calculates the electric charge ratio based on the amounts of electric charge accumulated in the charge storage units, acquires the corresponding distance associated with the calculated electric charge ratio from the table information, and determines the measured distance using the acquired corresponding distance.

公开(公告)号：US20220278155A1

公开(公告)日：2022-09-01

申请号：US17678304

申请日：2022-02-23

Applicant: TOPPAN Inc.

Inventor： Yu OOKUBO ,  Tomohiro NAKAGOME

IPC: H01L27/146 ,  G02B3/00 ,  G01S17/894 ,  G01S7/4863 ,  G01S7/481

Abstract: A photoelectric conversion element includes a substrate and an optical element. The substrate has a first surface on which reflected light reflected from an object is incident, and includes a first semiconductor region and a second semiconductor region, the second semiconductor region being formed in a direction perpendicular to the first surface and extended from the first surface toward an inside of the substrate. The optical element is positioned on a first surface side of the substrate and collects the reflected light to the second semiconductor region. The first semiconductor region includes a first conductive type semiconductor, the second semiconductor region includes a second conductive type semiconductor. The substrate and the optical element are structured such that a relational expression 0.95*exp(−α(λ)*z)≤B(z)/A1≤1.05*exp(−α(λ)*z) is established at a distance z=z0 when A1≥A2 is satisfied and a distance z0=In(2)/α(λ) is established.

公开(公告)号：US20230367018A1

公开(公告)日：2023-11-16

申请号：US18357546

申请日：2023-07-24

Applicant: TOPPAN Inc.

Inventor： Tomohiro NAKAGOME ,  Yu OOKUBO ,  Satoshi TAKAHASHI ,  Hiroshige GOTO

IPC: G01S17/894 ,  G01S7/4865 ,  G01S17/10

CPC classification number: G01S17/894 ,  G01S7/4865 ,  G01S17/10

Abstract: A range imaging device includes a light source unit, a light-receiving unit, and a range image processing unit that computes a distance to an object. The range image processing unit performs multiple measurements different in relative timing relationship between an emission timing and an accumulation timing, extracts a feature amount based on the amounts of charge accumulated at the measurements, determines whether reflection light of a light pulse has been received by pixels in a single path or via multipath propagation, based on tendency of the extracted feature amount, and calculates the distance to the object present in a measurement space in accordance with a result of the determination.

公开(公告)号：US20230358863A1

公开(公告)日：2023-11-09

申请号：US18351658

申请日：2023-07-13

Applicant: TOPPAN Inc.

Inventor： Satoshi TAKAHASHI ,  Tomohiro NAKAGOME

IPC: G01S7/4863 ,  G01S17/10

CPC classification number: G01S7/4863 ,  G01S17/10

Abstract: A range imaging device including: a light source unit; a light receiving unit that includes a pixel and a pixel driving circuit, the pixel including a photoelectric conversion device and three or more charge storage units; and a range image processing unit. To cause charge corresponding to reflected light of a light pulse reflected by an object to be distributed to and stored in two of the charge storage units, the range image processing unit performs control so that the charge corresponding to the reflected light is stored in the two of the charge storage units for different reflected light storage times in a single frame period according to an intensity of the reflected light.

公开(公告)号：US20230258777A1

公开(公告)日：2023-08-17

申请号：US18306631

申请日：2023-04-25

Applicant: TOPPAN Inc.

Inventor： Yu OOKUBO ,  Tomohiro NAKAGOME

IPC: G01S7/481 ,  G01S17/894 ,  G01S7/4865

CPC classification number: G01S7/4816 ,  G01S17/894 ,  G01S7/4865

Abstract: A range imaging device includes a semiconductor substrate, and a pixel circuit formed at a surface of the semiconductor substrate and including a photoelectric conversion device, charge storages, transfer MOS transistors, and one or more charge drainage MOS transistors positioned on a drainage path. The photoelectric conversion device formed at the surface of the semiconductor substrate has an N-sided polygonal shape, total number of the transfer MOS transistors and the charge drainage MOS transistor is N or more, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 5, and the N-sided polygonal shape of the photoelectric conversion device has N sides including at least one first side at which the charge drainage MOS transistor is positioned, and second sides other than the at least one first side such that each of the second sides is a side at which a corresponding one of the transfer MOS transistors is positioned.

公开(公告)号：US20230412934A1

公开(公告)日：2023-12-21

申请号：US18460743

申请日：2023-09-05

Applicant: TOPPAN Inc.

Inventor： Yu OOKUBO ,  Tomohiro NAKAGOME ,  Kunihiro HATAKEYAMA ,  Hiroshige GOTO ,  Satoshi TAKAHASHI ,  Yasuyuki HITSUOKA

IPC: H04N25/20 ,  H04N25/62 ,  H04N25/77

CPC classification number: H04N25/20 ,  H04N25/62 ,  H04N25/77

Abstract: A range imaging device includes a light source unit that emits light pulses to a measurement space; a light-receiving unit including a photoelectric conversion element that generates charge according to light incident from the space, a pixel circuit including charge storage units in which the charge is integrated in a frame cycle, and a pixel drive circuit that performs switching operation of transfer transistors to distribute the charge to the storage units for integration at integration timing synchronizing with emission of the pulses; and a distance calculation unit that calculates a distance between object in the space and the light-receiving unit based on charge determined by a first charge integrated in each storage unit. The calculation unit calculates the distance by subtracting a second charge from each first charge, the second charge being noise charge as an integrated charge other than the charge distributed and integrated by the switching operation.

公开(公告)号：US20220181375A1

公开(公告)日：2022-06-09

申请号：US17682195

申请日：2022-02-28

Applicant: TOPPAN Inc.

Inventor： Tomohiro NAKAGOME ,  Yu OOKUBO

IPC: H01L27/146

Abstract: A photoelectric conversion device including a substrate including a charge generation region, a dielectric layer formed on the substrate, and a phase adjustment layer formed on the dielectric layer and having an upper surface and a lower surface. In a cross-sectional view of the photoelectric conversion device, a first plane extends parallel to the substrate in contact with the upper surface of the phase adjustment layer, a second plane is the lower surface of the phase adjustment layer, and the phase adjustment layer is formed such that the reflected light which has entered the first plane perpendicularly to the photoelectric conversion device and travels from the first plane to the second plane has an optical path length that varies depending on a position where the reflected light is incident on the first plane.

公开(公告)号：US20230333218A1

公开(公告)日：2023-10-19

申请号：US18340932

申请日：2023-06-26

Applicant: TOPPAN Inc.

Inventor： Kunihiro HATAKEYAMA ,  Tomohiro NAKAGOME

IPC: G01S7/4863 ,  G01S17/89

CPC classification number: G01S7/4863 ,  G01S17/89

Abstract: A range imaging apparatus includes a light source unit that emits light pulse to a measurement space, a light receiver including pixels and a pixel driver circuit, and a range image processor that determines a measurement distance to a subject placed in the space. Each pixel includes a photoelectric conversion device that generates electric charge corresponding to incident light and charge accumulators that store the electric charge, the circuit distributes and stores the charge to each accumulator at a predetermined point in time synchronized with emission of the pulse, the processor acquires waveform information indicating degree of distortion of waveform of rectangular signal having distorted waveform, corrects, based on the information, charge amounts each indicating an amount of the electric charge stored when the waveform has no distortion, and determines the distance using the charge amounts, and the signal is used in signal processing performed until the distance is determined.

公开(公告)号：US20230262357A1

公开(公告)日：2023-08-17

申请号：US18306365

申请日：2023-04-25

Applicant: TOPPAN Inc.

Inventor： Yu OOKUBO ,  Tomohiro NAKAGOME

IPC: H04N25/71 ,  H04N25/77

CPC classification number: H04N25/71 ,  H04N25/77

Abstract: A range imaging device includes a semiconductor substrate, and a pixel circuit formed at a surface of the substrate and including a photoelectric conversion device, charge storages, transfer MOS transistors, and charge drainage MOS transistors. The conversion device has rectangular shape on the surface of the conversion device, the transfer transistors include 2M transfer transistors, the charge drainage transistors include 2N charge drainage transistors, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, M transfer transistors are positioned on each long side of the conversion device symmetrically to an x-axis parallel to the long sides and through a center of the conversion device, the M transfer transistors on one long side face the M transfer transistors on the other long side, and the 2N charge drainage transistors are positioned on respective short sides of the conversion device.