Patent Description:
In the related art, a depth camera mainly includes a laser emitting module and a laser receiving module. The laser emitting module is used to emit a laser beam to a target object, and the laser receiving module is used to receive the reflected laser beam. In order to increase the field of view of the emitted laser beam, it is necessary to increase the optical power of the laser beam, that is, increase the electric power of the laser emitting module.

However, as the electric power of the laser emitting module increases, the laser emitting module will generate more heat, which brings up higher requirements on the heat dissipation performance of the depth camera and is not conducive to the long-time operation of the depth camera.

<CIT> discloses an apparatus having an integrated two-dimensional image capture and three-dimensional time-of-flight depth capture system. The integrated two-dimensional image capture and three-dimensional time-of-flight depth capture system includes an illuminator to generate light for the time-of-flight depth capture system. The illuminator includes an array of light sources and a movable lens assembly. The movable lens assembly is to movably direct an emitted beam of the light to one of any of a plurality of locations within the illuminator's field of view to form an illuminated region of interest within the illuminator's field of view. The illuminated region of interest has a size that is smaller than the illuminator's field of view. <NPL> disclosesoptical beam scanners for airborne and space-based laser radar, on-machine-inspection systems, factory automation systems, and optical communication systems. A laser beam steering system based on dithering two complementary (positive and negative) microlens arrays is described. When the two microlens arrays are translated relative to one another in the plane parallel to their surfaces, the transmitted light beam is scanned in two directions. Scanning speeds up to <NUM> with a pair of <NUM>-mm aperture microlens arrays designed for input from a HeNe laser are demonstrated. The output beam covers a discrete <NUM> x <NUM> spot scan pattern with about <NUM> mrad separation and only <NUM> p. rad of beam divergence, in close agreement with design predictions.

<CIT> discloses embodiments of apparatus and methods for generating a three-dimensional (3D) representation of a scene (also known as 3D sensing) using a time-of-flight imaging system. In particular, the present techniques provide an apparatus comprising a time-of- flight imaging camera system that emits illumination having a spatially- nonuniform intensity over a field of view of the sensor that is moved across at least part of the field of view of a sensor using an actuation mechanism.

In order to solve the above technical problems, an objective of the disclosure is to provide a laser emitting module, a depth camera and an electronic device that can increase the field of view of an emitted laser beam.

According to a first aspect of the disclosure, a laser emitting module is provided, and including:.

The laser deflection assembly includes a first lens array assembly and a second lens array assembly;.

Optionally, the first lens array assembly includes a first transparent plate and a plurality of first lens units;.

Optionally, orthographic projections of all the first lens units on the plane where the beam outlet is located are within the beam outlet; and
orthographic projections of all the second lens units on the plane where the beam outlet is located are within the beam outlet.

The laser deflection assembly further includes a circuit board assembly and an actuator;.

Optionally, the actuator is any one of a voice coil motor, a micro-electro-mechanical system motor, a shape memory alloy motor and an ultrasonic motor.

The circuit board assembly includes a first circuit board and a second circuit board;.

Optionally, the emitting assembly includes a third circuit board, a frame and a laser chip;.

Optionally, the emitting assembly further includes a collimating lens; and
the collimating lens is between the beam outlet and the laser chip, and the collimating lens is connected to an inner wall of the frame.

According to a second aspect of the disclosure, a depth camera is provided, and including:.

Optionally, the laser receiving module includes a fourth circuit board, a bracket and a sensor chip;.

Optionally, the laser receiving module further includes a receiving lens and a narrowband filter;.

According to a third aspect of the disclosure, an electronic device is provided, and including:.

The technical solutions provided by the examples of the disclosure at least have the following beneficial effects:
When the laser emitting module provided by the examples of the disclosure is used to emit the laser beam, the laser beam is emitted from the beam outlet of the emitting assembly and passes through the laser deflection assembly. When the laser beam passes through the laser deflection assembly, since the laser deflection assembly can change the angle of deviation of the laser beam by translating its position relative to the beam outlet, the irradiation direction of the laser beam can be adjusted, which is equivalent to realizing scanning of the laser beam within a certain angle, that is, increasing the field of view of the laser beam.

Besides, since the laser emitting module provided by the examples of the disclosure does not increase the optical power of the laser beam in the process of increasing the field of view of the laser beam, the electric power of the laser emitting module will not be increased, the overheating problem does not exist, and the depth camera can operate for a long time.

In order to illustrate the technical solutions in some embodiments of the disclosure, the accompanying drawings required in the description of embodiments will be briefly described below. The accompanying drawings in the description below are some embodiments of the disclosure, and those of ordinary skill in the art can obtain other accompanying drawings according to these drawings without any creative work.

In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the disclosure clearer, the embodiments of the disclosure will be described in further detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

A depth camera, belonging to a 3D camera, can detect the depth of field of a shooting space.

In the related art, depth cameras mainly include the following three types: structured light depth cameras, binocular stereo vision depth cameras and optical time-of-flight depth cameras.

The optical time-of-flight depth camera refers to the TOF (Time of flight) camera, mainly including a laser emitting module and a laser receiving module. The laser emitting module is configured to emit a laser beam to a target object, and the laser receiving module is configured to receive the reflected laser beam. The time difference between the emitted laser beam and the received laser beam is used to calculate the depth of field of the target object. In order to make the laser beam irradiate more target objects, the field of view of the emitted laser beam needs to be increased, and thus, the optical power of the laser beam needs to be increased, that is, the electric power of the laser emitting module is increased.

In order to solve the above technical problems, embodiments of the disclosure provide a depth camera. <FIG> is a structural schematic diagram of the depth camera. As shown in <FIG>, the depth camera includes a laser emitting module <NUM> and a laser receiving module <NUM>. The laser receiving module <NUM> and the laser emitting module <NUM> are arranged side by side. The laser emitting module <NUM> can change an angle of deviation of the laser beam, and thus, can adjust the irradiation direction of the laser beam, which is equivalent to realizing scanning of the laser beam within a certain angle, that is, increasing the field of view of the laser beam.

Besides, since changing the angle of deviation of the laser beam does not need to increase the optical power of the laser beam, the electric power of the laser emitting module <NUM> will not be increased, thus the overheating problem is solved, and the depth camera can operate for a long time. In addition, when the electric power remains unchanged, the power consumption of the depth camera will not increase, and the power conversion efficiency will not decrease, so that the performance of the depth camera is ensured.

As mentioned above, it can be known that the reason why the depth camera can increase the field of view of the laser beam without increasing the optical power of the laser beam is that the laser emitting module <NUM> can change the angle of deviation of the emitted laser beam, which will be explained below.

<FIG> is a structural schematic diagram of the laser emitting module <NUM>. With reference to <FIG>, in an embodiment, the laser emitting module <NUM> may include an emitting assembly <NUM> and a laser deflection assembly <NUM>.

<FIG> is a sectional view of <FIG> taken along line A-A. With reference to <FIG>, the emitting assembly <NUM> is provided with a beam outlet 11a, and the beam outlet 11a is configured to emit a laser beam. The laser deflection assembly <NUM> is located at the beam outlet 11a and is movable relative to the beam outlet 11a, the laser deflection assembly <NUM> is configured to change the angle of deviation of the laser beam emitted from the beam outlet 11a when the laser deflection assembly <NUM> is translated relative to the beam outlet 11a, and an included angle is formed between a translation direction of the laser deflection assembly <NUM> and a center line of the laser beam emitted from the beam outlet 11a.

When the laser emitting module <NUM> according to the disclosure is used to emit the laser beam, the laser beam is emitted from the beam outlet 11a of the emitting assembly <NUM> and passes through the laser deflection assembly <NUM>. When the laser beam passes through the laser deflection assembly <NUM>, since the laser deflection assembly can change the angle of deviation of the laser beam by translating its position relative to the beam outlet, the irradiation direction of the laser beam can be adjusted, which is equivalent to realizing scanning of the laser beam within a certain angle, that is, increasing the field of view of the laser beam.

Besides, since the laser emitting module <NUM> according to the disclosure does not increase the optical power of the laser beam in the process of increasing the field of view of the laser beam, the electric power of the laser emitting module <NUM> will not be increased, the overheating problem does not exist, and the depth camera can operate for a long time.

It should be noted that "an included angle is formed between the translation direction of the laser deflection assembly <NUM> and the center line of the laser beam emitted from the beam outlet 11a" means that the translation direction of the laser deflection assembly <NUM> is different from the direction of the center line of the laser beam emitted from the beam outlet 11a. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the translation direction of the laser deflection assembly <NUM> may be perpendicular to the center line of the laser beam emitted from the beam outlet 11a. This design allows the laser deflection assembly <NUM> to be translated for a small distance to achieve large deflection of the laser beam.

It can be seen that the laser deflection assembly <NUM> plays a key role in the process of increasing the field of view of the laser beam. The laser deflection assembly <NUM> will be further described below.

Referring to <FIG>, in an embodiment, the laser deflection assembly <NUM> may include a first lens array assembly <NUM> and a second lens array assembly <NUM>.

The first lens array assembly <NUM> is located at the beam outlet 11a, the second lens array assembly <NUM> is located at a side of the first lens array assembly <NUM> facing away from the emitting assembly <NUM>, and the second lens array assembly <NUM> is capable of being translated relative to the first lens array assembly <NUM>.

In the above embodiment, since the first lens array assembly <NUM> is located in the beam outlet 11a and the second lens array assembly <NUM> is located at the side of the first lens array assembly <NUM> facing away from the emitting assembly <NUM>, the laser beam emitted from the emitting assembly <NUM> can be transmitted through the first lens array assembly <NUM> and the second lens array assembly <NUM> sequentially, and finally emitted out of the laser emitting module.

When the second lens array assembly <NUM> is in the original position, the laser beam is transmitted through the first lens array assembly <NUM> and the second lens array assembly <NUM> sequentially, and the laser beam will not be deflected. When the second lens array assembly is laterally translated relative to the first lens array assembly <NUM>, since the position of the second lens array assembly <NUM> is deflected relative to the first lens array assembly <NUM>, the laser beam will be deflected after being transmitted through the second lens array assembly <NUM>. As the movement stroke of the second lens array assembly <NUM> changes, the angle of deviation of the laser beam also changes accordingly, so that the angle of deviation of the laser beam is controllable, that is, the field of view of the laser beam is controllable.

In some embodiments, the first lens array assembly <NUM> and the second lens array assembly <NUM> may be made of optical plastics or semiconductor materials, so that the first lens array assembly <NUM> and the second lens array assembly <NUM> can have good light transmittance and structural strength.

Referring to <FIG>, in an embodiment, the first lens array assembly <NUM> includes a first transparent plate <NUM> and a plurality of first lens units <NUM>. More than one first lens units <NUM> are connected to the first transparent plate <NUM> and are arranged in an array, and an orthographic projection of the array formed by more than one first lens units <NUM> on a plane where the beam outlet 11a is located at least partially overlaps with the beam outlet 11a.

The second lens array assembly <NUM> includes a second transparent plate <NUM> and a plurality of second lens units <NUM>. More than one second lens units <NUM> are all connected to the second transparent plate <NUM> and are arranged in an array, and an orthographic projection of the array formed by more than one second lens units <NUM> on the plane where the beam outlet 11a is located at least partially overlaps with the beam outlet 11a.

The second lens units <NUM> are in one-to-one correspondence to the first lens units <NUM>, and an orthographic projection of the second lens unit <NUM> on the first transparent plate <NUM> at least partially overlaps with the corresponding first lens unit <NUM>.

In the above embodiment, the first transparent plate <NUM> and the second transparent plate <NUM> both function as a carrier to respectively support the first lens units <NUM> and the second lens units <NUM>. After being emitted from the beam outlet 11a, the laser beam is transmitted through the first lens units <NUM> and split into a plurality of laser beams which are respectively emitted toward the corresponding second lens units <NUM>. When the second lens array assembly <NUM> is in the original position, the principal axis of the first lens unit <NUM> overlaps with the principal axis of the corresponding second lens unit <NUM>, and the laser beam will not be deflected after being transmitted through the second lens unit <NUM>. After the second lens array assembly <NUM> is moved laterally, the principal axes of the first lens unit <NUM> and the corresponding second lens unit <NUM> are spaced apart and in parallel, and the laser beam will be deflected after being transmitted through the second lens unit <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the first lens unit <NUM> and the second lens unit <NUM> may both be biconvex lenses, and the first lens unit <NUM> and the second lens unit <NUM> have the same radius. Such a design not only facilitates the design of the movement logic of the second lens array assembly <NUM>, but also facilitates the centralized purchasing of the first lens units <NUM> and the second lens units <NUM>, which is conducive to the control over the cost of the laser emitting module. The first lens unit <NUM> has a radius of <NUM>-<NUM>.

Based on the original position, the lateral translation stroke of the second lens array assembly <NUM> does not exceed the radius of the second lens unit <NUM>. The laser beam deflection formed within the lateral translation stroke can satisfy the demands for the field of view. If the lateral translation stroke of the second lens array assembly <NUM> is too large, it is not conducive to the miniaturization design of the laser emitting module.

In some embodiments, outer edges of the first lens unit <NUM> and the second lens unit <NUM> have the same shape, such as a circle, a quadrilateral, a hexagon, etc., which is not limited in the disclosure.

It can be known that the orthographic projection of the array formed by the plurality of first lens units <NUM> on the plane where the beam outlet 11a is located at least partially overlaps with the beam outlet 11a. That is, the orthographic projection of the array formed by the plurality of first lens units <NUM> on the plane where the beam outlet 11a is located may either include the beam outlet 11a or be included in the beam outlet 11a. The same is true for a projection relationship between the second lens units <NUM> and the beam outlet 11a.

In some embodiments, orthographic projections of all the first lens units <NUM> on the plane where the beam outlet 11a is located are located within the beam outlet 11a. Orthographic projections of all the second lens units <NUM> on the plane where the beam outlet 11a is located is located within the beam outlet 11a. Such a design can prevent the beam outlet 11a from blocking the first lens units <NUM> and the second lens units <NUM>. In such cases, the first lens array assembly <NUM> can be located in the beam outlet 11a, so that the structure of the laser emitting module is more compact, which is conducive to the miniaturization design.

In other embodiments, the beam outlet 11a is located within the orthographic projection of the array formed by the plurality of first lens units <NUM> on the plane where the beam outlet 11a is located, and the beam outlet 11a is located within the orthographic projection of the array formed by the plurality of second lens units <NUM> on the plane where the beam outlet 11a is located. Such a design can prevent the laser beam from exuding from the processing range of the first lens units <NUM> and the second lens units <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, in an embodiment, the laser deflection assembly <NUM> further includes a circuit board assembly <NUM> and an actuator <NUM>. The circuit board assembly <NUM> is located outside the beam outlet 11a and is connected to the emitting assembly <NUM>. The actuator <NUM> is located at a side of the circuit board assembly <NUM> facing away from the emitting assembly <NUM> and is connected to the circuit board assembly <NUM>, an actuation direction of the actuator <NUM> is perpendicular to the center line of the laser beam emitted from the beam outlet 11a, and the second lens array assembly <NUM> is connected to the actuator <NUM>.

In the above embodiment, the circuit board assembly <NUM> serves as a carrier of the actuator <NUM> and provides electric power for the actuator <NUM>, so that the actuator <NUM> can drive the second lens array assembly <NUM> to move in the actuation direction. The actuation direction refers to the direction in which the actuator <NUM> can drive the component to move.

In some embodiments, the actuator <NUM> may be any one of a voice coil motor, a micro-electro-mechanical system motor, a shape memory alloy motor and an ultrasonic motor.

In the above embodiment, micro-actuators, such as the voice coil motor (VCM), the micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) motor, the shape memory alloy (SMA) motor and the ultrasonic motor (USM) are adopted, and by utilizing its extremely small size, the occupied space can be reduced, and the second lens array assembly <NUM> can be effectively driven.

For example, the voice coil motor has a similar operating principle to a loudspeaker, and has the characteristics of high frequency response and high accuracy. The main principle of the voice coil motor is to control the stretching position of a leaf spring by changing the magnitude of the direct current of the coil in the voice coil motor in a permanent magnetic field, thereby driving the leaf spring to reciprocate in a certain direction (actuation direction). When the actuator <NUM> is a voice coil motor, the second lens array assembly <NUM> is located inside the actuator <NUM>, and the outer edge of the second lens array assembly <NUM> is connected to the leaf spring, so that the lateral movement of the second lens array assembly <NUM> is driven by the reciprocation of the leaf spring.

The operating principle of the shape memory alloy motor is to generate actuation by using the expansion and contraction characteristics of shape memory alloy. The expansion and contraction direction is the actuation direction. When the actuator <NUM> is a shape memory alloy motor, the second lens array assembly <NUM> is located inside the actuator <NUM>, and the outer edge of the second lens array assembly <NUM> is connected to the shape memory alloy, so that the lateral movement of the second lens array assembly <NUM> is driven by the expansion and contraction of the shape memory alloy.

In order to control the actuator <NUM>, in some embodiments, the circuit board assembly <NUM> includes a first circuit board <NUM> and a second circuit board <NUM>.

The first circuit board <NUM> is sandwiched between the actuator <NUM> and the beam outlet 11a, the middle of the first circuit board <NUM> is provided with a light transmitting hole 1241a, and the light transmitting hole 1241a is opposite to the beam outlet 11a. One end of the second circuit board <NUM> is connected to the first circuit board <NUM>, and the other end of the second circuit board <NUM> is connected to the emitting assembly <NUM>.

In the above embodiment, the first circuit board <NUM> is configured to carry the actuator <NUM> and provide electric power for the actuator <NUM>. With the connection of the second circuit board <NUM>, the first circuit board <NUM> can be connected to the emitting assembly <NUM>, so that the emitting assembly <NUM> can be used to provide electric power for the first circuit board <NUM>, and thus, the structure of the laser emitting module <NUM> is more compact, which is conducive to the miniaturization design of the depth camera.

In some embodiments, the first circuit board <NUM> may be a printed circuit board, and the second circuit board <NUM> may be a flexible circuit board. Thus, the actuator <NUM> can be carried more stably due to the structural strength of the printed circuit board, and the first circuit board <NUM> can be connected to the emitting assembly <NUM> conveniently due to the flexibility of the flexible circuit board.

In some embodiments, the second circuit board <NUM> is located outside the emitting assembly <NUM>, which can thereby prevent the second circuit board <NUM> from affecting the normal operation of the emitting assembly <NUM>.

How the laser beam is deflected by the laser deflection assembly <NUM> has been described above, and the emitting assembly <NUM> will be described below.

Referring to <FIG>, in an embodiment, the emitting assembly <NUM> may include a third circuit board <NUM>, a frame <NUM> and a laser chip <NUM>.

One end of the frame <NUM> is connected to a surface of the third circuit board <NUM>, and the other end of the frame <NUM> is provided with the beam outlet 11a. The laser chip <NUM> is located in the frame <NUM> and is connected to the surface of the third circuit board <NUM>.

In the above embodiment, the third circuit board <NUM> is configured to carry the frame <NUM> and the laser chip <NUM> and provide electric power for the laser chip <NUM>. The frame <NUM> is hollow inside, and is configured to accommodate the laser chip <NUM>. The laser chip <NUM> is configured to emit the laser beam, so that the laser beam penetrates through the space inside the frame <NUM> and is emitted from the beam outlet 11a.

In some embodiments, the third circuit board <NUM> may be a printed circuit board. Thus, the frame <NUM> and the laser chip <NUM> can be carried more stably due to the structural strength of the printed circuit board.

In some embodiments, the laser chip <NUM> may be a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL). The laser chip <NUM> includes a substrate and a chip body. One surface of the substrate is connected to the third circuit board <NUM>, and the other surface of the substrate is connected to the chip body.

In some embodiments, both a laser chip driver <NUM> and an actuator driver <NUM> are connected to the third circuit board <NUM> and located on the same side of a bracket <NUM>. Such a design can make the structure of the laser emitting module <NUM> more compact, which is conducive to the miniaturization design of the depth camera.

In order to ensure all the laser beams emitted from the beam outlet 11a are collimated laser beams, in an embodiment, the emitting assembly <NUM> further includes a collimating lens <NUM>. The collimating lens <NUM> is located between the beam outlet 11a and the laser chip <NUM>, and the collimating lens <NUM> is connected to the inner wall of the frame <NUM>. With such a design, the laser beam is collimated by the collimating lens <NUM> before being emitted from the beam outlet 11a, so that all the laser beams emitted from the beam outlet 11a are collimated laser beams. Thus, the interference of the laser beams can be better controlled.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of a light path of the laser beam. The operating process of the laser emitting module <NUM> will be described below with reference to <FIG>.

The laser beam is emitted by the laser chip <NUM>, collimated by the collimating lens <NUM>, and then emitted out of the emitting assembly <NUM> from the beam outlet 11a. The laser beam emitted out of the emitting assembly <NUM> is transmitted through the corresponding first lens unit <NUM> and second lens unit <NUM> sequentially. When the second lens array assembly <NUM> is in the original position, the principal axis of the first lens unit <NUM> overlaps with the principal axis of the corresponding second lens unit <NUM>, and the laser beam will not be deflected after being transmitted through the second lens unit <NUM> (with reference to the upper part of <FIG>). After the second lens array assembly <NUM> is moved laterally (slightly moved leftwards in <FIG>), the principal axes of the first lens unit <NUM> and the corresponding second lens unit <NUM> are spaced apart and in parallel, and the laser beam will be deflected leftwards after being transmitted through the second lens unit <NUM>.

According to the geometric relationship, the following relationship is satisfied between the lateral displacement stroke of the second lens array assembly <NUM> and the angle of deviation of the laser beam: <MAT>.

θ is the angle of deviation of the laser beam, x is the transversal displacement stroke of the second lens array assembly <NUM>, p is the distance between the corresponding first lens unit <NUM> and second lens unit <NUM>, and FNO is the F-number of a focusing lens (not shown). The focusing lens is one of other components of the depth camera, and is configured to focus the laser beam transmitted through the second lens array assembly <NUM>.

It can be seen that under the condition that the distance between the corresponding first lens unit <NUM> and second lens unit <NUM> and the F-number of the focusing lens remain unchanged, the angle of deviation of the laser beam can be controlled by controlling the transversal displacement stroke of the second lens array assembly <NUM>.

The laser receiving module <NUM> will be described below.

<FIG> is a sectional view of <FIG> taken along line B-B. With reference to <FIG>, in an embodiment, the laser receiving module <NUM> includes a fourth circuit board <NUM>, a bracket <NUM> and a sensor chip <NUM>.

The bracket <NUM> is connected to a surface of the fourth circuit board <NUM>, the bracket <NUM> is provided with a beam inlet 22a, the beam inlet 22a is located on a surface of the bracket <NUM> facing away from the fourth circuit board <NUM>, and the beam inlet 22a and the beam outlet 11a have the same orientation. The sensor chip <NUM> is located within the bracket <NUM> and is connected to the surface of the fourth circuit board <NUM>, and the sensor chip <NUM> is opposite to the beam inlet 22a.

In the above embodiment, the fourth circuit board <NUM> is configured to carry the bracket <NUM> and the sensor chip <NUM> and provide electric power for the sensor chip <NUM>. The sensor chip <NUM> is configured to receive a laser beam entering from the beam inlet 22a, thereby calculating the depth of field. The bracket <NUM> covers the outside of the sensor chip <NUM>, and is configured to support other components and protect the sensor chip <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the fourth circuit board <NUM> may be a printed circuit board. Thus, the bracket <NUM> and the sensor chip <NUM> can be carried more stably due to the structural strength of the printed circuit board.

In some embodiments, the laser receiving module <NUM> may further include a receiving lens <NUM> and a narrowband filter <NUM>.

The receiving lens <NUM> is located at the beam inlet 22a and is connected to the bracket <NUM>. The narrowband filter <NUM> is located at the beam inlet 22a and is sandwiched between the receiving lens <NUM> and the bracket <NUM>.

The receiving lens <NUM> is configured to converge the reflected laser beam, so that the laser beam can pass through the narrowband filter <NUM>, enter the bracket <NUM> from the beam inlet 22a after being filtered, and thus be sensed by the sensor chip <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, in an embodiment, the depth camera further includes a reinforcing plate <NUM>. The laser emitting module <NUM> and the laser receiving module <NUM> are connected to the same surface of the reinforcing plate <NUM>.

In the above embodiment, the reinforcing plate <NUM> is configured to reinforce the third circuit board <NUM> and the fourth circuit board <NUM>, thereby improving the structural strength of the third circuit board <NUM> and the fourth circuit board <NUM> and further improving the structural strength of the depth camera.

In some embodiments, the laser emitting module <NUM> and the laser receiving module <NUM> respectively extend to form a first flexible circuit board <NUM> and a second flexible circuit board <NUM> so as to serve as a connector, which thereby facilitates the connection with the other components in the depth camera.

In some embodiments, the first flexible circuit board <NUM> extending from the laser emitting module <NUM> is connected to the third circuit board <NUM>, and the second flexible circuit board <NUM> extending from the laser receiving module <NUM> is connected to the fourth circuit board <NUM>. Besides, the first flexible circuit board <NUM> extending from the laser emitting module <NUM> and the second flexible circuit board <NUM> extending from the laser receiving module <NUM> are located on the same side. Such a design can make the structure more compact, which is conducive to the miniaturization design of the depth camera.

Through the configured laser emitting module, the depth camera provided by the embodiments of the disclosure can satisfy the requirements on large deflection angle, high scanning rate, high pointing accuracy, low loss, low power consumption and high stability. Besides, when the laser emitting module is used to emit laser beams, a laser beam can be pointed randomly within a larger field of view, and the laser beam can be deflected from one angle to another angle with a small increment, and can stay on the target object for a required time.

<FIG> is a structural schematic diagram of an electronic device according to the embodiments of the disclosure. The electronic device may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer or the like. Referring to <FIG>, the electronic device includes a shell <NUM> and a depth camera <NUM>.

The depth camera <NUM> is the depth camera shown in <FIG>, and the depth camera <NUM> is located in the shell <NUM>.

The electronic device includes the depth camera shown in <FIG>, and thus, can have all the beneficial effects of the depth camera, which will not be repeated here.

Claim 1:
A laser emitting module, comprising:
an emitting assembly (<NUM>) has a beam outlet (11a), and the beam outlet (11a) is configured to emit a laser beam; and
a laser deflection assembly (<NUM>) is at the beam outlet (11a) and is movable relative to the beam outlet (11a),
the laser deflection assembly (<NUM>) is configured to change an angle of deviation of the laser beam emitted from the beam outlet (11a) when the laser deflection assembly (<NUM>) is translated relative to the beam outlet (11a), and an included angle is between a translation direction of the laser deflection assembly (<NUM>) and a center line of the laser beam emitted from the beam outlet (11a);
wherein the laser deflection assembly (<NUM>) comprises a first lens array assembly (<NUM>), a second lens array assembly (<NUM>), a circuit board assembly (<NUM>) and an actuator (<NUM>);
the first lens array assembly (<NUM>) is at the beam outlet (11a);
the second lens array assembly (<NUM>) is at a side of the first lens array assembly (<NUM>) facing away from the emitting assembly (<NUM>), and the second lens array assembly (<NUM>) can be translated relative to the first lens array assembly (<NUM>);the circuit board assembly (<NUM>) is outside the beam outlet (11a) and is connected to the emitting assembly (<NUM>);
the actuator (<NUM>) is at a side of the circuit board assembly (<NUM>) facing away from the emitting assembly (<NUM>) and is connected to the circuit board assembly (<NUM>), and an actuation direction of the actuator (<NUM>) is perpendicular to the center line of the laser beam emitted from the beam outlet (11a); and
the second lens array assembly (<NUM>) is connected to the actuator (<NUM>);
wherein the circuit board assembly (<NUM>) comprises a first circuit board (<NUM>) and a second circuit board (<NUM>);
the first circuit board (<NUM>) is sandwiched between the actuator (<NUM>) and the beam outlet (11a), a light transmitting hole (1241a) is in a middle of the first circuit board (<NUM>), and the light transmitting hole (1241a) is opposite to the beam outlet (11a);
one end of the second circuit board (<NUM>) is connected to the first circuit board (<NUM>), and the other end of the second circuit board (<NUM>) is connected to the emitting assembly (<NUM>); and
the first circuit board (<NUM>) is a printed circuit board and is configured to carry the actuator (<NUM>) and provide electric power for the actuator (<NUM>), and the second circuit board (<NUM>) is a flexible circuit board.