Patent ID: 6333782
Filing Date: 2001-12-25
Classification: G01C

Abstract:
A distance measuring apparatus comprising:light projecting means for projecting a light beam toward an object at a distance to be measured;light detecting means for detecting reflected light of the light beam projected toward and reflected from the object, at a reception position according to the distance to the object and outputting a position signal according to the reception position;computing means for performing an operation based on the position signal from said light detecting means to generate a distance computation value according to the distance to the object;integrating means comprising an integrating capacitor, said integrating means charging or discharging said integrating capacitor according to the distance computation value generated by said computing means to integrate the distance computation value;detecting means for detecting the distance to the object, based on distance data corresponding to the distance computation value integrated in said integrating means;charging means for charging said integrating capacitor by supplying a constant current for a fixed time; andvoltage calculating means for calculating a voltage of said integrating capacitor after charging by said charging means, wherein said detecting means detects the distance to the object, based on a correction voltage calculated by said voltage calculating means in a ranging routine, a reference voltage of said integrating capacitor preliminarily calculated before executing the ranging routine, and the distance data.