Patent ID: 6778219
Filing Date: 2004-08-17
Classification: G01S,H04N

Abstract:
A three-dimensional image capturing device, comprising:a light source that irradiates a distance measuring light beam to a standard subject, to which the distance from said device to a surface of said standard subject is known, and a measurement subject, to which the distance from said device to a surface of said measurement subject is unknown, said distance measuring light beam being a pulsed beam, said measurement subject reflecting said distance measuring light beam to generate a reflected light beam pulse; a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements that receive said reflected light beam pulse coming from said standard subject and said measurement subject, so that electric charge corresponding to an amount of said received reflected light beam is accumulated in each of said photoelectric conversion elements; a signal charge holding unit disposed adjacent to each of said photoelectric conversion elements; an electric charge discharging processor that discharges unwanted charge accumulated in each of said photoelectric conversion elements, so that an accumulating operation of signal charge is started in each of said photoelectric conversion elements; a signal charge transfer processor that transfers said signal charge accumulated in said photoelectric conversion elements to said signal charge holding unit; a signal charge integrating processor that drives said electric charge discharging processor and said signal charge transfer processor alternately to integrate said signal charge in said signal charge holding unit, so that distance information, corresponding to a distance from said device to said surface of each of said standard subject and said measurement subject, is sensed; and an error sensing processor that senses an error of said distance information to said measurement subject, based on said signal charge integrated in said signal charge integrating processor when using said standard subject.