CN117163783A - Non-contact button input device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a non-contact button input device, which is characterized by comprising: a button that detects a physical input by a user; and a non-contact button part automatically registering an input of the button under a predetermined condition when an approach of an object to a sensing area formed in front of the button is sensed, the non-contact button part comprising: a proximity sensor forming a sensing area from a surface of the button to a position spaced apart by a first sensing distance; and a remote sensor forming a sensing area from a surface of the button to a position at a second sensing distance farther than the first sensing distance, judging validity of proximity of the object by comprehensively considering whether the remote sensor senses the object and whether the proximity sensor senses the object, and determining whether to register the button through the non-contact button part.

Description

Non-contact button input device and method

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a non-contact type button input device and method, and more particularly, to a non-contact type button input device and a non-contact type button input method using the same, which can perform button input by recognition of a non-contact sensor even if a user does not directly touch a finger with the button when requesting a specific service of an elevator.

Background

Generally, elevators are provided in various buildings constructed for living or business so that people or goods smoothly move in a vertical direction. An elevator is a representative longitudinal vehicle capable of moving people or goods to a destination floor rapidly while moving in a vertical direction inside a building.

A hoistway is formed inside a building so that an elevator car can move in a vertical direction, and elevator platforms are provided on each floor of the building so that passengers can go up and down to the elevator car moving along the hoistway.

In order to make use of a user of an elevator capable of requesting a desired service, it is common to provide a hoistway button input device including an up button and a down button at each floor elevator landing of a building where the elevator operates so that the user can call an elevator car, and to provide a car button input device including a target floor input button enabling the user to select a floor to be addressed and a door opening/closing button indicating opening and closing of a door inside the elevator car.

The conventional button input device is generally constituted by a touch button that operates by direct physical contact. Since the conventional button input device requires a user to directly press a button with a part of his body such as a finger, there is a concern that the user may be contaminated with bacteria, viruses, or the like, and there is a problem that various infections may be caused or a medium for transmitting infectious diseases may be caused.

In particular, with recent popularity of viruses such as covd-19, people-to-people unwilling to contact with each other has continued to exist. In fact, since the case where the passenger who uses the elevator together with the confirmators of the covd-19 receives the confirmatory judgment has also occurred, the passenger is not likely to press the button of the elevator, and is concerned about the air transmitted from the button to the infection.

In order to prevent the transmission of virus infection by using the elevator button as a medium, a method of sterilizing the contact surface of the elevator button or attaching an antibacterial film to the button at any time, etc. have been studied, but both of these methods cannot be fundamental solutions because physical contact of the user is required.

In fact, a certain time is required until the virus disappears, and there is a possibility of infection until that time, and the effect of the disinfectant or the antibacterial film is significantly reduced due to long-term use, thus causing various inconveniences such as the need for periodic replacement.

Therefore, a contactless (unit) technology capable of recognizing a button input using a contactless sensor without direct contact in an elevator is also increasing.

In the proximity input method using the noncontact sensor, when a user brings a finger close to the surface of a button, the approach of the user's finger is sensed, and the button input is automatically registered, and the like, and there is an advantage that the user does not need to directly contact the button, and virus spread using the button as a medium can be prevented.

However, in this manner, even in the case where the user does not intend, the action of the button is automatically performed as long as the approach of the object is perceived, resulting in a number of inconveniences. In addition, there may be a problem in that power consumption increases due to nonsensical actions of the elevator performed by erroneous recognition of the button.

Therefore, when a proximity input method using a non-contact sensor is applied, a technique for performing effective control is currently required to be able to judge the validity of the case where the proximity of an object to a button is actually a user's intention to perform button input, and to operate an elevator only for an input for which the validity is verified.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem to be solved

The present invention provides a non-contact type button input device, which can automatically input buttons through recognition of a non-contact type sensor without a user's finger directly touching the buttons when requesting specific services of an elevator, thereby finally preventing virus infection from being transmitted through the button input device arranged inside/outside the elevator and providing a convenient and comfortable environment for the user using the elevator.

Further, the present invention provides a noncontact button input device that can determine whether or not the behavior of a user's finger approaching a button is actually the behavior of the user's finger to be input, and that can significantly improve the reliability, when the approach input method using a noncontact sensor as described above is applied.

The technical problems of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned technical problems, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

Means for solving the problems

According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, there is provided a non-contact button input device comprising: a button that detects a physical input by a user; and a non-contact button part automatically registering an input of the button under a predetermined condition when an approach of an object to a sensing area formed in front of the button is sensed, the non-contact button part comprising: a proximity sensor forming a sensing area from a surface of the button to a position spaced apart by a first sensing distance; and a remote sensor forming a sensing area from a surface of the button to a position at a second sensing distance farther than the first sensing distance, judging validity of proximity of the object by comprehensively considering whether the remote sensor senses the object and whether the proximity sensor senses the object, and determining whether the button is registered through the non-contact button part.

At this time, it is possible to determine that the proximity is valid only when the object is sensed by the long-distance sensor and the object is not sensed by the short-distance sensor, and thus to perform the registration of the button by the non-contact button portion.

The proximity sensor and the remote sensor may be respectively constituted by a combination of an infrared emitter that emits infrared light as light and a phototransistor that receives reflected light reflected by an object present in the sensing region from the infrared emitted from the infrared emitter.

The noncontact button section may further include a sensor driving circuit for driving the proximity sensor and the remote sensor.

The phototransistor may convert the light amount of the reflected light into electric energy and output a sensing value expressed as a sensor voltage value, and the sensor driving circuit may compare the sensor voltage value with a set voltage value in a comparator formed inside and output a detection signal indicating whether an object is detected in the sensing region.

Detection signals of objects from the proximity sensor and the distant sensor may be separately generated, respectively.

The first sensing distance of the proximity sensor and the second sensing distance of the distant sensor may be adjusted by adjusting a first set voltage value for comparison with a sensor voltage value output from the proximity sensor and a second set voltage value for comparison with a sensor voltage value output from the distant sensor.

The current flowing through the phototransistor can be limited by adjusting the resistance value of the sensor driving circuit, thereby adjusting the sensitivity of the proximity sensor and the remote sensor, and setting the sensitivity of the proximity sensor and the remote sensor to be different.

The non-contact button part may further include an MCU (micro control unit) that processes the detection signal, determines the validity of the approach to the object detected in the sensing area, and generates a button input signal and transmits the button input signal to the control panel for the approach determined to be valid.

On the other hand, according to another aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, there may be provided a non-contact button input method using a non-contact button input device including a non-contact sensor that senses an object formed in a sensing area in front of a button and automatically registers input of the button, the non-contact sensor being constituted by a combination of a close-range sensor and a far-range sensor that can detect the object in an area that is spaced more widely from a surface of the button than the close-range sensor, the non-contact button input method comprising the steps of: the near-distance sensor and the far-distance sensor respectively detect whether an object exists in a sensing area formed by the near-distance sensor and the far-distance sensor, and generate a detection signal which indicates whether the object is detected; collecting and managing near-range input data generated by object detection of the near-range sensor and far-range input data generated by object detection of the far-range sensor; judging whether the proximity of the object is the intentional input of the button or the unintentional input of the button is effective based on the short-distance input data and the long-distance input data; generating an input signal of the button for the proximity of the object determined to have the validity; and sending an input signal of the button to a control panel, the control panel controlling actions related to functions assigned to the button.

The step of determining the validity may include: confirming whether a close input count and a far input count exceed a set critical value, and performing fault processing on the button when the close input count exceeds the critical value, wherein the close input count represents that an object is detected by the close sensor, and the far input count represents that the object is detected by the far sensor; confirming whether the short-distance input count is more than 1, and ending the function and initializing when the short-distance input count is more than 1; and in the case where a plurality of the buttons are provided, confirming whether the remote input count received simultaneously is 2 or more at the same time, and when it is 2 or more, executing an exception processing function including a termination and initialization function.

In the step of judging the validity, it is possible to judge that the validity is present and generate an input signal of the button only when only one of the long-distance input counts is generated and the short-distance input count is not generated for a specific button.

Effects of the invention

According to the invention, even if the user using the elevator does not directly contact the button, the proximity of the object such as the finger of the user can be sensed by the non-contact sensor positioned adjacent to the button, so that the input of the button can be automatically realized, thereby having the effect of preventing the transmission and diffusion of virus infection by using the elevator button as a medium and providing a convenient and comfortable environment for the user using the elevator.

Further, according to the present invention, since the number of times the elevator button is physically pressed is reduced, the effects of improving durability and prolonging life of the button can be expected even when the elevator button is used for a long time.

In particular, the non-contact button input device according to the present invention can use two non-contact sensors and recognize as a long-distance sensor and a short-distance sensor, thereby distinguishing whether the behavior of bringing an object such as a finger close to the button is actually used for inputting the button or is unintended, and judging the validity thereof, and thus can have significantly improved reliability as compared with the conventional manner.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the above-described effects, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood from the following description.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a non-contact button input device according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view showing the structure of a non-contact button part built in the non-contact button input device according to the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing a method of judging the effectiveness of proximity of a button by a non-contact button input apparatus according to the present invention.

Description of the reference numerals

1: non-contact button input device

100: push button

200: non-contact button part

2100: sensor unit

2110: proximity sensor

2111: infrared emitter

2112: phototransistor

2120: remote sensor

2121: infrared emitter

2122: phototransistor

2130: sensor driving circuit

2200: sensing control part

2210: I/O interface part

2220：MCU

2230: communication interface part

Detailed Description

For a full understanding of the present invention, its operational advantages, and objects and effects attained by its practice, reference should be made to the drawings and to the matters described in the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred embodiments of the invention.

The matters shown in the drawings in the present specification are illustrated for the convenience of description of the embodiments of the present invention, and may be slightly different from the actual embodiment. The dimensions of the various elements illustrated in the figures may be exaggerated and reduced for purposes of illustration and are not intended to represent actual dimensions.

The terminology used in the description presented herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. For example, in this specification, "comprising" a component means that other components are not excluded unless stated otherwise, but other components may also be included.

Further, it should be understood that when one component is "connected" to another component includes not only direct connection but also indirect connection, and that other components may exist between these 2 components. The singular forms may be interpreted to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described below are provided to facilitate a person skilled in the art to understand the technical idea of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a non-contact button input device according to the present invention, and fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a non-contact button section built in the non-contact button input device according to the present invention. And, fig. 3 is a flowchart showing a method of judging validity of contact of a button based on the non-contact type button input apparatus according to the present invention.

For reference, fig. 1 shows a car button input device provided in an elevator landing of each floor of a building where an elevator is provided, but it is apparent in advance that the technical spirit of the present invention is equally applicable to a car button input device provided inside an elevator car.

Referring to fig. 1, a non-contact button input apparatus 1 according to the present invention may include: a button 100 provided on a control panel (not shown) for controlling the operation of the elevator so as to be able to request a service related to the operation of the elevator; and a non-contact button part 200 provided at a position adjacent to the button 100 to sense the approach of an object to the button 100 and automatically register it as an input of the button 100.

The button 100 physically detects a button operation by a user. The button 100 is provided so that a user can directly press the button with a finger or the like to request elevator service, and various known methods including a contact switch (contact switch), a non-contact switch (non-contact switch) and the like can be used.

For each button 100, a command or user selection corresponding thereto may be assigned. For example, as shown in the figure, in the case where the non-contact type button input device 1 according to the present invention is a hoistway button input device mounted on a hoistway, the buttons 100 may be assigned the function of calling an elevator corresponding to the lifting direction. If the noncontact button input device 1 according to the present invention is a car button input device provided inside an elevator car, it is possible to assign a target floor selection, door opening and closing functions, and the like to each button 100.

An identifier 101, such as a graphic, a number, or a character, may be displayed on each button 100 to represent the function of the button. In the illustrated embodiment, a "Λ" or "v" shaped logo 101 is displayed on each button 100 so that the user can know that the corresponding button has a function of calling an elevator corresponding to the lifting direction.

Each button 100 may include a display unit for displaying the operation state of the button. For example, the display portion may be implemented by, for example, an LED lighting mode, so that the user can visually confirm that the input of the button 100 is registered.

On the other hand, according to the setting regulations of the elevator, in order for visually impaired people, a button displaying braille is additionally provided. Therefore, in the case where the non-contact button input device 1 according to the present invention is applied to an elevator for visually impaired persons, braille portions 102 showing the functions of the respective buttons in braille are formed on the respective buttons 100 so as to enable the visually impaired persons to recognize. The braille portion 102 may be formed below the logo 101 on the button 100.

The non-contact button part 200 is provided at a position adjacent to the button 100, senses whether an object is approaching the button 100, and judges the validity of the sensed contact, and when judging that the validity is present, automatically registers the input of the button 100 even if there is no direct physical contact of the button 100.

That is, the non-contact type button input device 1 according to the present invention is configured such that a user can request a desired service by directly pressing the button 100 or by approaching an object such as a finger to the button 100, thereby enabling the user to use a contact or non-contact type input method according to his/her preference.

The noncontact button portion 200 and the buttons 100 can be configured in a one-to-one correspondence manner so that the proximity to each button 100 can be perceived and the validity thereof can be determined, and the validity determination of the proximity will be described in more detail later.

Hereinafter, the structure and operation of the non-contact button portion 200 capable of realizing non-contact input by a user in the non-contact button input device 1 according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to fig. 2 to 3.

The noncontact button portion 200 is configured to be provided at a predetermined position adjacent to the button 100, and to sense the approach to operate the corresponding button 100, and may be configured to be incorporated in the body of the noncontact button input device 1, and only a transmission window allowing transmission of infrared rays emitted from infrared ray emitters 2111 and 2121 and reflected light reflected from an object is exposed to the surface of the body.

Accordingly, fig. 1 may be regarded as a transmission window showing only the noncontact button portion 200. Further, in the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the transmission window of the non-contact button part 200 is shown as being disposed at a right-side adjacent position of the button 100, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The transmission window of the noncontact button portion 200 may be located at any position around the button 100 as long as the proximity to the button 100 can be easily sensed, and of course, the transmission window of the noncontact button portion 200 may be provided in the button 100.

Referring to fig. 2, the non-contact button part 200 according to the present invention may be composed of a sensing part 2100 and a sensing control part 2200.

The sensor section 2100 may be constituted by a combination of 2 noncontact sensors including a close-range sensor 2110 and a long-range sensor 2120, and may include a sensor driving circuit 2130 for driving the close-range sensor 2110 and the long-range sensor 2120. Among them, the proximity sensor 2110 and the long-distance sensor 2120 may each be constituted of a proximity sensor (proximity sensor), but the terms "close distance" and "long distance" are used according to the difference in the relative recognition distances so as not to be misinterpreted.

The close range sensor 2110 and the far range sensor 2120 may be constituted by a combination of infrared emitters (infrared emitters) 2111, 2121 that emit light and phototransistors (photo transmitters) 2112, 2122 that receive light emitted by the object reflection, respectively.

The short-distance sensor 2110 and the long-distance sensor 2120 are also known by name to use infrared rays as a light source. Infrared rays are light rays having a wavelength in a region larger than that of visible rays recognizable by humans, and are classified into near infrared rays, mid infrared rays, and far infrared rays according to the wavelength bands, and the near-infrared rays (more preferably, near infrared rays in the 950nm wavelength band) may be used as light sources for the near-infrared sensors 2110 and the far-infrared sensors 2120, and the near-infrared rays have less influence of scattering in the atmosphere than the visible rays and have excellent reflection characteristics.

Each of the sensors 2110, 2120 forms a sensing area in front of each of the buttons 100 by near infrared rays emitted from the infrared emitters 2111, 2121, and the phototransistors 2112, 2122 receive reflected light reflected by an object (for example, a user's finger or the like) approaching the sensing area, thereby sensing an input attempt of the buttons 100.

For this purpose, the infrared emitters 2111, 2121 and the phototransistors 2112, 2122 of the respective sensors 2110, 2120 may be arranged toward the front surface (toward the direction in which the object approaches) of the non-contact button input device 1 according to the present invention, and the near infrared rays emitted from the infrared emitters 2111, 2121 and the reflected light reflected by the object can be transmitted through a transmission window formed on the main body or button 100 of the non-contact button input device 1 according to the present invention.

When a current is applied from the sensor driving circuit 2130 to the infrared emitters 2111, 2121 of the respective sensors 2110, 2120, near infrared rays are emitted. The current driving method of the sensor driving circuit 2130 is a constant current driving method based on a set resistance value. That is, the light quantity of the near infrared rays emitted from the infrared emitters 2111, 2121 may vary according to the resistance value set in the sensor driving circuit 2130, which may vary according to the electrical characteristics of the infrared emitters 2111, 2121 and the use environment.

The phototransistors 2112 and 2122 receive reflected light of near infrared rays emitted from the infrared emitters 2111 and 2121 and reflected by an object such as a finger, and convert the received reflected light into electric energy to output a sensing value corresponding to the light quantity. That is, the electric energy converted by the phototransistors 2112, 2122 becomes sensing data of the close range sensor 2110 and the long range sensor 2120.

Specifically, the phototransistors 2112 and 2122 are devices that change the current flowing between an internal collector (collector) and an emitter (emitter) according to the amount of incident light. When light reflected by a finger or other object from near infrared rays emitted from the infrared emitters 2111, 2121 enters the phototransistors 2112, 2122, a current is generated, and the phototransistors 2112, 2122 output a voltage value (hereinafter, referred to as a "sensor voltage value") generated according to the current flowing between the collector and the emitter as a sensing value.

The magnitude of the current flowing inside the phototransistors 2112, 2122 depends on the amount of reflected light that is reflected. Since it is substantially inversely proportional to the distance of the object and the amount of reflected light, the current flowing inside the phototransistors 2112, 2122 increases as the target object is closer. For example, as the finger approaches the infrared emitters 2111 and 2121, the amount of reflected light increases, and the current flowing through the phototransistors 2112 and 2122 increases. Conversely, the farther the finger is from the infrared emitters 2111, 2121, the less light is reflected, and thus the current flowing in the phototransistors 2112, 2122 decreases. The sensor voltage values output from phototransistors 2112, 2122 are scaled inversely according to the increase/decrease of the current.

That is, the phototransistors 2112, 2122 output the sensor voltage value generated by the received reflected light as a sensing value, the sensor voltage value output from the phototransistors 2112, 2122 is transmitted to a comparator (comparator) formed inside the sensor driving circuit 2130, and by comparing with a preset set voltage value, it can be determined whether or not the corresponding output can be regarded as the perception of the object.

Specifically, the comparator inside the sensor driving circuit 2130 can compare the sensor voltage value received from the phototransistors 2112 and 2122 with a set voltage value preset inside the sensor driving circuit 2130, and can output a signal that is classified as a "High" value or a "Low" value. When the sensor voltage value is equal to or higher than the set voltage value inside the sensor driving circuit 2130, a "high" value is output, which means that the proximity is perceived by the sensors 2110, 2120. In contrast, when the sensor voltage value is smaller than the set voltage value inside the sensor driving circuit 2130, a "low" value is output, which means that the sensors 2110, 2120 do not sense proximity.

On the other hand, the sensor driving circuit 2130 can adjust the sensitivity of the sensors 2110 and 2120 by limiting the current flowing through the phototransistors 2112 and 2122 by adjusting the resistance value. For example, when the current flowing through the phototransistors 2112 and 2122 is reduced, the sensor voltage value of the sensor driving circuit 2130 is saturated immediately even if the finger is away, which means that the sensitivity is increased. Conversely, when the current flowing through the phototransistors 2112 and 2122 is increased, the sensor voltage value of the sensor driving circuit 2130 does not immediately saturate even if a finger approaches, which means that the sensitivity is low.

In the present invention, the sensitivity of each sensor 2110, 2120 can be set to be different by adjusting the resistance values of the near sensor 2110 and the far sensor 2120 to be different.

More specifically, the present invention allows the proximity sensor 2110 to sense only the proximity of an object detected at a near location and the long-range sensor 2120 to sense the proximity of an object detected relatively far from the proximity sensor 2110 by adjusting the resistance value of the sensor driving circuit 2130.

In the present invention, the set voltage values of the 2 sensor driving circuits 2130 may be set for the short-distance sensor 2110 and the long-distance sensor 2120, respectively. That is, in the sensor driving circuit 2130, a set voltage value for comparison with a sensor voltage value (sensing value) output from the proximity sensor 2110 and a set voltage value for comparison with a sensor voltage value (sensing value) output from the remote sensor 2120 may be set to different values.

For example, the sensor voltage value output from the short-range sensor 2110 may be compared with a first set voltage value to output a high/low signal, and the sensor voltage value output from the long-range sensor 2120 may be compared with a second set voltage value to output a high/low signal, so that the high/low signals may be output from the sensors 2110, 2120, respectively.

The sensor driving circuit 2130 can be designed so that the set voltage value of each sensor 2110, 2120 is adjusted by the internal voltage value adjusting section, and the distance between the long-distance sensing and the short-distance sensing can be directly adjusted by a developer.

As described above, the present invention applies 2 non-contact sensors as the close sensor 2110 and the remote sensor 2120 having different sensitivities in order to judge the effectiveness of the approaching action to the button 100 according to whether the 2 sensors 2110, 2120 detect the results.

The present invention can determine an effective input only when the proximity of an object is sensed by the long-range sensor 2120 and the proximity of an object is not sensed by the short-range sensor 2110. That is, if the proximity of the object is sensed only by the remote sensor 2120, the user is regarded as desiring to request the elevator service by using the button 100 corresponding to the non-contact button portion 200 where the proximity is sensed, and the input of the proximity is automatically registered.

In addition, the registration of the button input by the noncontact button portion 200 may provide an identification that the user can confirm that the user has registered his own input. For example, the user's request may be visually notified by lighting up a display portion of the button 100 in which the input is registered or the like.

On the other hand, if the proximity of the object is detected by both the long-distance sensor 2120 and the short-distance sensor 2110, this may be regarded as a behavior in which the user directly presses the button 100 or confirms the braille section 102 of the button 100 or a behavior in which the button 100 or its peripheral section is touched meaningless, and in this case, it is determined that the input is not valid, and the input is not registered. In the case where the user input is not registered, the display portion of the button 100 may not be turned on.

As described above, the recognition distances of the proximity sensor 2110 and the remote sensor 2120 for the approaching object may be set to be different, and the effectiveness of the approaching to the button 100 can be determined by the difference in the recognition distances between the respective sensors 2110, 2120.

The recognition distances of the close-range sensor 2110 and the long-range sensor 2120 are not limited to specific values, but as a result of repeated experiments, it is shown that the reliability of judgment effectiveness is highest when the close-range sensor 2110 is set to have a recognition distance of 0 to 5mm from the sensor surface and the long-range sensor 2120 has a recognition distance of 25 to 30mm from the sensor surface. The recognition distance of the sensors 2110 and 2120 refers to the sensing area sensed by each of the sensors 2110 and 2120.

The sensing control part 2200 may include an I/O interface part 2210, an MCU (micro control unit) 2220, and a communication interface part 2230.

The high/low signal output from the sensor section 2100, more specifically, the high/low signal output from the comparator of the sensor driving circuit 2130 is input to the MCU2220 through the I/O interface section 2210. The exact voltage level of the high/low value output by the comparator is not specified. Accordingly, the structure of the I/O interface section 2210 may be different according to the output state of the comparator.

The MCU2220 processes the high/low signal output from the sensor section 2100 to determine the validity of the approach to the button 100, and generates an input signal to the button 100 only when it is determined to have the validity.

That is, the sensing unit 2100 detects the approaching state of the object to the button 100 by the proximity sensor 2110 and the remote sensor 2120, applies a signal corresponding to the detected approaching state to the MCU2220, and the MCU2220 determines the validity of the signal received from the sensing unit 2100, so that it is possible to determine whether the input signal of the button 100 is output or not, register the input determined to be valid, and simultaneously light the corresponding button 100, thereby displaying the registered state of the button 100.

As described above, the MCU2220 may be regarded as a processor that processes the signal output from the sensor section 2100 to generate a control command related to the operation of the elevator.

Hereinafter, a method for judging the effectiveness of the approach of the non-contact button input device 1 to the button 100 according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to fig. 3. The determination as to the availability of proximity may be accomplished through a signal processing and communication interface of the MCU 2220.

First, the MCU2220 may set the number of buttons 100 to accept input (step S100). After the number of buttons 100 is set, a timer interrupt (timer interrupt) of 1ms period is used to sequentially execute.

In the first step, long-distance input data and short-distance input data corresponding to the set number of buttons 100 are collected (step S200). Here, the long-distance input data may refer to a high/low signal output from the sensing section 2100 by the sensing of the long-distance sensor 2120, and the short-distance input data may refer to a high/low signal output from the sensing section 2100 by the sensing of the short-distance sensor 2110. If long-distance/short-distance input data (in the case of outputting a high signal) is received, the input count of the corresponding button 100 is increased. In contrast, the input count process in the case where the input data is not received (in the case where the low signal is output) is "0". Remote/close data of each button 100 are managed separately.

Next, an "exceptional process" regarding an action error case or a case where the user does not request a service using the non-contact sensor may be performed (step S300).

The non-contact input method using the proximity sensor is advantageous in terms of hygiene because the user does not directly touch the buttons, but there is a possibility that a problem of incorrect operation of registering input of buttons due to unintended proximity of the user may occur in that other buttons around the touch sensor are recognized together when the user wants to press a specific button. The unintended approach of the user may be detected by other body parts of the user standing close to the input device or by an article such as a bag worn by the user, or by placing a product such as an express item in a position adjacent to the input device.

In order to prevent the erroneous operation of the button input as described above, it is necessary to determine that only the reflected light received by the intentional approach of the user is a valid input, and the "exceptional processing" described below relates to a method of processing so as to avoid automatically executing the input of the button 100 by the unintentional approach when it is determined that the approach of the object to the button 100 is not the input for the purpose of inputting the button 100.

(1) First, it is checked whether or not the long distance/short distance input count to the button 100 is the maximum value or more (step S310). Wherein the maximum value may be a preset value. When the long-distance/short-distance input count is equal to or greater than the maximum value, it is possible to recognize that the long-distance/short-distance input is continuously received due to an error of the sensors 2110, 2120 or an abnormal operation of the sensor driving circuit 130, and to perform a fault process on the corresponding button 100. The malfunction processing of the buttons 100 can be regarded as a process of ignoring long-distance/short-distance inputs to the corresponding buttons 100 and confirming only the actions of the remaining buttons 100.

(2) Second, it is checked whether or not the close range input count to the button 100 is 1 or more (step S320). In any case, the button 100 may be considered to be a button 100 directly pressed or a braille section 102 or the like on the button 100, and thus the function is terminated and restarted (invalidation processing and initialization) as long as the button is in contact with or near a finger or an object within 0 to 5mm from the sensor surface when a short-distance input count is received, and this is not intended to be a service request operation by a non-contact system using the sensors 2110 and 2120.

(3) Third, it is confirmed whether or not the count of the remote inputs simultaneously received from the plurality of buttons 100 provided on the non-contact button input device 1 is 1 or more (step S330). The state in which the short-distance input count is not received but only the long-distance input count is received may be regarded as a behavior in which the user requests the service in a noncontact manner using the sensors 2110 and 2120, but in a case where 2 or more long-distance input counts are simultaneously received, there is a possibility that the user does not intentionally input the short-distance input count. For example, it may be a behavior of intentionally causing only the remote sensor to recognize by palm of the hand, or a case where the body of a person or some object is not intentionally located within the remote sensing area, or the like. As described above, even when the number of buttons for which the number of remote inputs received simultaneously is 1 or more is 2 or more, the function is ended and restarted (invalidation processing and initialization). However, there may be a case where 2 or more users want to make non-contact input at the same time, and therefore in this case, it is preferable to provide the user with information indicating that the input of the button 100 is not registered in a visual manner or in voice.

If none of the above three exception handling functions is met and the remote input count of the specific button 100 reaches the "input success count", the MCU2220 may generate an input signal of the corresponding button 100 and transmit the generated signal to the elevator control panel through the communication interface 2230 (step S400).

Wherein, inputting the success count means setting the detection time of the object. In order to prevent an object passing at a very short time instant at a position close to the front of the button 100 from causing the input of the button 100 to be registered, the object is acquired as an effective input only in a case where the object stays in the sensing area of the button 100 for a predetermined time or more. If the input success count is set to 50ms, the long-distance input count is increased by a 1ms interrupt, so long-distance input count is always received when the cycle is repeated 50 times, which can be regarded as reaching the success count. The input success count is a value that can be set in advance in the MCU2220, and can be changed according to the intention of the developer.

That is, in the present invention, when only a remote input to one button 100 is perceived at a specific point of time, it can be recognized as a service request to the corresponding button 100, whereby the problem of automatically registering an input of the button 100 due to unintentional meaningless behavior of the user can be solved.

The communication interface section 2230 transmits a signal generated by the MCU2220 to an elevator control panel performing overall control of an elevator. The communication interface section 2230 and the MCU2220 and the elevator control panel may be wired connected through various ports and/or cables or transceived data through a short-range wireless communication module such as bluetooth or WiFi.

In either the contact type or the contactless type, as long as an input of the button 100 is generated, the elevator control panel performs an operation control of the elevator such as control related to an elevator car call, floor selection, and opening and closing of doors based on an input signal of the button 100 received from the MCU 2220.

In the non-contact button input apparatus 1 according to the present invention, not only can the elevator user directly press the button 100 to input, but also if the user brings a finger or the like close to the button 100, the operation of the corresponding button 100 is perceived in the sensing area of the sensors 2110, 2120, so that the service request can be automatically implemented.

According to the present invention as described above, since the user can automatically register input as if the button 100 is directly pressed by recognition of the noncontact sensors 2110 and 2120 without directly touching the button 100 and bringing a finger or the like close to the button 100, it is possible to provide a convenient and comfortable service to the user and to prevent the spread and spread of virus infection by using the elevator button as a medium.

Further, according to the present invention, since the number of times the elevator button is physically pressed is reduced, the effects of improving durability and prolonging life of the button when used for a long time can be expected.

In particular, the non-contact type button input device 1 according to the present invention can minimize the malfunction of the elevator caused by unintended input perceived in the sensing area of the button 100, and has an advantage in that it can improve the operation efficiency of the elevator and provide a service with excellent reliability.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described, and that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (12)

1. A non-contact button input device, comprising:

a button that detects a physical input by a user; and

a non-contact button part for automatically registering the input of the button under a predetermined condition when the object is sensed to be approaching to a sensing area formed in front of the button,

the noncontact button section includes:

a proximity sensor forming a sensing area from a surface of the button to a position spaced apart by a first sensing distance; and

a remote sensor forming a sensing area from a surface of the button to a position spaced apart by a second sensing distance farther than the first sensing distance,

by comprehensively considering whether the distant sensor senses an object and whether the close sensor senses an object, the effectiveness of the approach of the object is judged, and it is determined whether the button is registered by the non-contact button portion.

2. The non-contact button input apparatus of claim 1 wherein,

in a case where only the object is sensed by the long-distance sensor and the object is not sensed by the short-distance sensor, it is judged that the proximity is valid, so that the registration of the button is performed by the non-contact button section.

3. The non-contact button input apparatus of claim 1 wherein,

the proximity sensor and the remote sensor are respectively composed of a combination of an infrared emitter that emits infrared rays as light and a phototransistor that receives reflected light reflected by an object existing in the sensing region from the infrared emitted from the infrared emitter.

4. The non-contact button input apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein,

the noncontact button section further includes a sensor driving circuit for driving the proximity sensor and the remote sensor.

5. The non-contact button input apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein,

the phototransistor converts the light quantity of the reflected light into electric energy and outputs a sensing value expressed as a sensor voltage value,

the sensor driving circuit compares the sensor voltage value with a set voltage value in a comparator formed inside, and outputs a detection signal indicating whether or not an object is detected in the sensing region.

6. The non-contact button input apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein,

detection signals of objects from the proximity sensor and the remote sensor are separately generated.

7. The non-contact button input apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein,

the first sensing distance of the proximity sensor and the second sensing distance of the remote sensor are adjusted by adjusting a first set voltage value for comparison with a sensor voltage value output from the proximity sensor and a second set voltage value for comparison with a sensor voltage value output from the remote sensor.

8. The non-contact button input apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein,

the current flowing through the phototransistor is limited by adjusting the resistance value of the sensor driving circuit, thereby adjusting the sensitivity of the proximity sensor and the remote sensor, and setting the sensitivity of the proximity sensor and the remote sensor to be different.

9. The non-contact button input apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein,

the non-contact button part further includes an MCU that processes the detection signal, determines the validity of the approach to the object detected in the sensing area, and generates a button input signal and transmits the button input signal to the control panel for the approach determined to be valid.

10. A non-contact button input method, using a non-contact button input device including a non-contact sensor that senses an object formed in a sensing area in front of a button and automatically registers input of the button,

the non-contact sensor is composed of a combination of a proximity sensor and a remote sensor capable of detecting an object in a region spaced apart from the surface of the button more widely than the proximity sensor,

the non-contact button input method comprises the following steps:

the near-distance sensor and the far-distance sensor respectively detect whether an object exists in a sensing area formed by the near-distance sensor and the far-distance sensor, and generate a detection signal which indicates whether the object is detected;

collecting and managing near-range input data generated by object detection of the near-range sensor and far-range input data generated by object detection of the far-range sensor;

judging whether the proximity of the object is the intentional input of the button or the unintentional input of the button is effective based on the short-distance input data and the long-distance input data;

generating an input signal of the button for the proximity of the object determined to have the validity; and

an input signal of the button is sent to a control panel, which controls actions related to the functions assigned to the button.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein,

the step of judging the validity includes:

confirming whether a close input count and a far input count exceed a set critical value, and performing fault processing on the button when the close input count exceeds the critical value, wherein the close input count represents that an object is detected by the close sensor, and the far input count represents that the object is detected by the far sensor;

confirming whether the short-distance input count is more than 1, and ending the function and initializing when the short-distance input count is more than 1; and

in the case where a plurality of the buttons are provided, it is confirmed whether or not the remote input count received simultaneously is 2 or more at the same time, and when it is 2 or more, an exception processing function including a termination and initialization function is executed.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein,

in the step of judging the validity,

when only one long-distance input count and no short-distance input count occur for a specific button, the validity is determined, and an input signal of the button is generated.