Patent ID: 7630062

Claim:
A distance measuring apparatus comprising: a light source to output a pulsed measurement light towards a measurement target object; a light receiver to detect a reflected light from said measurement target object; a time difference detector to detect a delay time between an output timing of said measurement light and a detected timing of said reflected light by said light receiver; a calculator to calculate a distance from said measurement target object on the basis of the delay time detected by said time difference detector, said light receiver being provided with a photodiode to photo-electrically convert said reflected light, a diode which is connected in series to said photodiode and configured to clamp a light current generated in said photodiode and an amplifying circuit to amplify an output of said photodiode; an integration processor to integrate an output of said amplifying circuit; and a distance compensator to compensate said delay time or said distance in accordance with an output of said integration processor, wherein, said diode inputs an opposite direction current caused by diffusion of minor carriers accumulated in a junction capacitor of said diode with a reverse recovery property to said amplifying circuit when said reflected light is lost and said photodiode is turned off.