Patent ID: 11947038
Assignee: CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, INC.
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 12:
13. A method in a LIDAR system that compensates for transmitter unit drift while filtering out wavelengths of light associated with sunlight, the LIDAR system comprising a transmitting portion including the transmitter unit constructed and arranged to generate light, and transmitter lens structure for projecting the light so as to illuminate an area in front of the system; and a receiving portion including receiver lens structure for receiving light reflected from an object in an area in front of the system, and photodetector structure for detecting the received light, the method comprising the steps of:
providing an actively tunable narrow band optical filter structure upstream of the photodetector structure, the filter structure being constructed and arranged to filter out wavelengths of light not associated with a transmitted wavelength of the system, prior to being received by the photodetector structure,
detecting light passing through the filter structure,
based on the detected light, changing optical filtering of the filter structure to change the wavelengths of light permitted to pass through the filter structure so as to compensate for drifting or broadening of a wavelength of the transmitter unit,
wherein the step of changing optical filtering of the filter structure includes heating and rotating the filter structure.