US Patent 7800643 Image obtaining apparatus

The image obtaining apparatus realizes a function of detecting the distance, tilt, and/or attitude of an object, irrespective of the distance between the image obtaining apparatus and the object, while reducing the size and the cost of the apparatus. The apparatus includes: an image obtaining camera which obtains an image of an object; a light projecting unit which projects each spotlight parallel or approximately parallel to the optical axis of the image obtaining camera onto the object; a detecting unit which detects the distance between the image obtaining camera and the object based on the position of the spotlight, projected by the light projecting unit, on the object image obtained by the image obtaining camera.