IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,563,304
Granted Patent B2
US 12,563,304 · App. 18/681,095 · Granted Feb 24, 2026

Measurement device, measurement method, program

Inventors: Susumu Takatsuka (Tokyo, JP); Hiroki Tetsukawa (Tokyo, JP); Hidehito Sato (Tokyo, JP)
Assignee: SONY GROUP CORPORATION
H04N23/74G01N15/075H04N23/10H04N23/51H04N23/60
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,563,304
App. No.
18/681,095
Granted
Feb 24, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A measurement device includes: a vision sensor that is arranged facing an illumination surface of an illumination unit emitting light, and acquires pixel data asynchronously in accordance with the amount of light incident on each of a plurality of pixels arranged two-dimensionally; an imaging control unit that causes the vision sensor to capture an image; and a measurement unit that measures information related to a target object on the basis of the image captured by the imaging unit.

Claims (54)

1 . A measurement device, comprising:

an illumination source including a plurality of light-emitting elements;

a vision sensor that is arranged facing an illumination surface of the illumination source emitting light, and acquires pixel data asynchronously in accordance with an amount of light incident on each of a plurality of pixels arranged two-dimensionally; and

circuitry configured to

control the vision sensor to capture an image,

measure information related to a target object based on the image captured by the vision sensor,

control the illumination source to emit light from a subset of the plurality of light-emitting elements of the illumination source,

calculate the number of particles that are imaged by the vision sensor when the subset of the plurality of light-emitting elements is caused to emit light, and

control the illumination source to emit light from all of the plurality of light-emitting elements of the illumination source in a case where the number of particles that was calculated is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

2 . The measurement device according to claim 1 , wherein

the vision sensor includes a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the plurality of light-emitting elements, and

the circuitry is further configured to

drive a subset of the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the subset of the plurality of light-emitting elements caused to emit light.

3 . The measurement device according to claim 1 , wherein

the vision sensor includes a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the plurality of light-emitting elements, and

the circuitry is further configured to

drive all of the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements of the vision sensor when all of the plurality of light-emitting elements of the illumination source are caused to emit light.

4 . The measurement device according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a cell that is provided between the illumination source and the vision sensor and has an opening through which particles can flow in and out, wherein

the circuitry is further configured to

control the illumination source to emit light from the subset of the plurality of light-emitting elements corresponding to the opening of the cell.

5 . The measurement device according to claim 2 , wherein

the circuitry is further configured to

control the illumination source to cause the subset of the plurality of light-emitting elements of the illumination source to emit light of a predetermined wavelength and cause another subset of the plurality of light-emitting elements to emit light of a different wavelength.

6 . The measurement device according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a cell that is provided between the illumination source and the vision sensor and has an opening through which particles can flow in and out; and

a movement mechanism configured to move the cell to a first position located between the illumination source and the vision sensor, and a second position away from between the illumination source and the vision sensor, wherein

the circuitry is further configured to

move the cell to the first position or the second position by driving the movement mechanism.

7 . The measurement device according to claim 4 , further comprising:

a light-shielding housing that houses the illumination source, the vision sensor, and the cell, and blocks light from entering inside from the outside.

8 . The measurement device according to claim 7 , further comprising:

a conduction unit that has one end side connected to the opening of the cell so as to have a predetermined angle, wherein

the light-shielding housing houses the one end side of the conduction unit.

9 . The measurement device according to claim 1 , wherein

the circuitry is further configured to

calculate the number of target objects detected at each of a plurality of different wavelengths based on each of images captured by the vision sensor when light of the plurality of different wavelengths is emitted from the illumination source, and

determine a wavelength at which the most target objects are detected, as a wavelength of light that is to be emitted from the illumination source in a measurement by the circuitry.

10 . The measurement device according to claim 1 , wherein

the circuitry is further configured to

calculate the number of target objects detected at each of a plurality of different wavelengths based on each of images captured by the vision sensor when light of the plurality of different wavelengths is emitted from the illumination source, and

determine a wavelength at which a specific number or more of target objects are detected with the least amount of power consumption, as a wavelength of light that is to be emitted from the illumination source in a measurement by the circuitry.

11 . The measurement device according to claim 1 , wherein

the circuitry is further configured to

calculate the number of target objects detected at each of a plurality of different wavelengths based on each of images captured by the vision sensor when light of the plurality of different wavelengths is emitted from the illumination source, and

determine a wavelength at which a specific number or more of target objects are detected with the least amount of noise, as a wavelength of light that is to be emitted from the illumination source in measurement by the circuitry.

12 . A measurement method comprising:

causing a vision sensor to capture an image by acquiring pixel data asynchronously in accordance with an amount of light incident on each of a plurality of pixels arranged two-dimensionally, the vision sensor being arranged facing an illumination surface of an illumination source that includes a plurality of light-emitting elements emitting light;

measuring information related to a target object based on the image captured by the vision sensor; and

controlling the illumination source to emit light from a subset of the plurality of light-emitting elements corresponding to an opening of a cell that is provided between the illumination source and the vision sensor and has the opening through which particles can flow in and out.

13 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program that causes a measurement device to execute processing of:

causing a vision sensor to capture an image by acquiring pixel data asynchronously in accordance with an amount of light incident on each of a plurality of pixels arranged two-dimensionally, the vision sensor being arranged facing an illumination surface of an illumination source emitting light;

measuring information related to a target object based on the image captured by the vision sensor, and

driving a movement mechanism to move a cell that is provided between the illumination source and the vision sensor and has an opening through which particles can flow in and out, to a first position located between the illumination source and the vision sensor or to a second position away from between the illumination source and the vision sensor.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 5, 2024
From: TAKATSUKA, SUSUMU; TETSUKAWA, HIROKI; SATO, HIDEHITO
To: SONY GROUP CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 066346/0836 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2021-138154 · Aug 26, 2021 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20240276104A1 · Aug 15, 2024
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