GB2557317A

GB2557317A - Load-detecting flooring

Info

Publication number: GB2557317A
Application number: GB1620740.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Geoffrey Manby David
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2016-12-06
Filing date: 2016-12-06
Publication date: 2018-06-20
Also published as: GB201620740D0

Abstract

A load-detecting flooring 100 suitable for detecting the presence and position of a load on the said flooring. The flooring 100 comprises a flooring layer 108, such as common flooring mediums (carpet, vinyl etc), one or more load detecting circuit layers 102 and one or more controllers. In the embodiment where there is more than one circuit layer, a load is detected due to the circuit layers moving closer together. The circuit layer(s) may be integral with the flooring layer or may be attachable to the flooring layer. Furthermore, the load-detecting flooring may be incorporated into a series of panels, connectable by both physical and electrical means, to create a load-detecting flooring system. The circuit layer may be attached to the flooring layer by deposition, more specifically by printing the circuit on.

Description

(71) Applicant(s):

David Geoffrey Man by

Cobbles Cottage, 3 Challengers Hill, Steeple Claydon, Buckinghamshire, MK18 2PD, United Kingdom (72) Inventor(s):

David Geoffrey Man by (56) Documents Cited:

GB 2511356 A GB 2064222 A EP 2028466 A1

GB 2324373 A EP 2343805 A2 US 20140215928 A1 (58) Field of Search:

INT CL G01L, G06F, G08B, H01H Other: WPI, EPODOC (74) Agent and/or Address for Service:

Barker Brettell LLP

100 Hagley Road, Edgbaston, BIRMINGHAM, B16 8QQ, United Kingdom (54) Title of the Invention: Load-detecting flooring Abstract Title: Load detecting flooring (57) A load-detecting flooring 100 suitable for detecting the presence and position of a load on the said flooring. The flooring 100 comprises a flooring layer 108, such as common flooring mediums (carpet, vinyl etc), one or more load detecting circuit layers 102 and one or more controllers. In the embodiment where there is more than one circuit layer, a load is detected due to the circuit layers moving closer together. The circuit layer(s) may be integral with the flooring layer or may be attachable to the flooring layer. Furthermore, the load-detecting flooring may be incorporated into a series of panels, connectable by both physical and electrical means, to create a load-detecting flooring system. The circuit layer may be attached to the flooring layer by deposition, more specifically by printing the circuit on.

1/3

Figure 2a

2/3

Figure 2b

Figure 3

218

210·

200

212

3/3

Figure 4

102

104

134

LOAD-DETECTING FLOORING

The present invention relates to load-detecting flooring for determining the instance and/or position of a load being placed on said flooring. The invention further relates to a load-detecting flooring panel comprising said load-detecting flooring, a loaddetecting flooring system comprising said load-detecting flooring and a controller, and a method of manufacture of said load-detecting flooring.

There are many instances where it may be advantageous to detect loading on a floor. Such instances may relate to computer control of devices such as robots, intruder detection, and the general tracking of people or objects. Commonly, such devices have been limited to the use of pressure sensors and the like to detect when a load is placed on a floor over the or each pressure sensor.

However, there are limitations in the use of such systems. For example, the installation of pressure sensing mats either under or over flooring provides limited coverage for sensors. This means that there will be areas of floor which are not capable of sensing load or may allow the avoidance of the load-sensing altogether by a person seeking to do so. It is also apparent that known sensing systems may be troublesome to install.

In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a load-detecting flooring for detecting a load on a surface, the flooring comprising:

a flooring layer;

a load-detecting circuit on the flooring layer;

the load-detecting circuit having a changeable state dependent on a load on the flooring, a change in the state being detectable by a suitable controller.

Thus, it is possible for a load to be detected on a floor. This may be advantageous for such tasks as the tracking of objects or intruders, detection and control of the movement of robots, the positioning of personnel, or simply the detection of a load.

The controller to which the loading-detecting circuit is connectable may additionally be able to determine the position of a load on the flooring. Such a feature would result in the flooring being more useful.

The flooring layer may comprise a flooring medium such as carpet, linoleum, vinyl, or similar.

The load-detecting circuit may be integral with the flooring layer or may alternatively be attachable to the flooring layer.

The load-detecting circuit may be deformable under load.

The load-detecting circuit may include at least two circuit layers, the circuit layers moving closer together upon application of a load onto the flooring layer.

The state of the load-detecting circuit may comprise at least one of resistance, capacitance, or piezoelectrics to indicate the application of a load.

In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a load-detecting flooring panel comprising a load-detecting flooring according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the load-detecting flooring panel includes connection means for connecting to one or more such load-detecting flooring panels.

The connection means may include both physical connection means and electrical connection means.

In accordance with a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a load-detecting flooring system comprising:

load-detecting flooring according to the first aspect of the invention; and a controller configured to sense an alteration in the state of the load-detecting circuit in order to determine that a load is on the load-detecting flooring.

The load-detecting flooring system may comprise at least two load-detecting flooring panels in accordance with the second aspect of the invention.

At least one additional controller may be provided that is connected to one or more of the load-detecting flooring panels.

In accordance with a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of forming load-detecting flooring according to the first aspect of the invention, the method comprising the steps of:

putting a load-detecting circuit onto a flooring layer; and connecting the load-detecting circuit to a controller, the controller being configured to identify that a load is on the flooring later by an alteration in the state of the load-detecting circuit.

The step of putting the load-detecting circuit onto the flooring layer may include a deposition step.

The deposition step may include a printing step.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a depiction of the circuitry associated with an embodiment of loaddetecting flooring in accordance with the first aspect of the invention;

Figure 2a is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a load-detecting flooring system in accordance with the third aspect of the invention;

Figure 2b is a perspective view of a single flooring panel of Figure 2a, in accordance with the second aspect of the invention;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a load-detecting flooring system in accordance with the third aspect of the invention; and

Figure 4 is a diagrammatical view of a load-detecting circuit suitable for use in the load-detecting flooring of Figure 1.

Referring firstly to Figure 1, a flooring medium 100 is depicted which includes a loaddetecting circuit 102. The load-detecting circuit 102 comprises an array of sensor panels 104 which are interconnected by electrical connectors 106. Further electrical connectors 106 then lead from each row and column of the array to a controller (not shown).

The load-detecting circuit 102 is on a flooring layer 108 which is part of the flooring medium 100 which may be, for example, carpet, linoleum, vinyl, or similar, and in the depicted example the load-detecting circuit 102 is deposited on the underside of said flooring layer 108. Due to its direct deposition, the load-detecting circuit 102 may be considered to be integral with the flooring layer 108. Other methods of producing a flooring layer 108 with an integral load-detecting circuit 102 will be apparent to the skilled person.

By depositing the load-detecting circuit 102 on the underside of the flooring layer 108, the flooring is capable of being laid easily by a carpet-fitter or other tradesman, without any specialist tools or knowledge required.

Alternatively, the load-detecting circuit may be attachable to the flooring layer. For example, the load-detecting circuit may be manufactured on a separate flooring membrane which is then attached to the flooring layer either prior to or during the installation process. In this way, the manufacturing process can be simplified by avoiding the requirement to include the load-detecting circuit on many different flooring mediums. Instead, a single flooring membrane can be manufactured which is then fitted or attached to any one of a plurality of flooring media. Attachment may be made by self-adhesive, other forms of adhesive, or fastenings, for example.

Each sensor panel 104 of the array detects whether or not it is subject to loading. Depending on the construction of each sensor panel 104, it may additionally be possible for each sensor panel 104 to detect the force applied to it and relay this to the controller in addition to the fact that that there is or is not a load present. The structure of the sensor panels 104 will be discussed in more detail in relation to Figure 4.

The size of each sensor panel 104 may be changed depending on the size of objects which are required to be detected and the desired resolution of the flooring. For example, if it is only desirable for large objects to be detected in low resolution such that it is possible to locate them on a floor, then large sensor panels 104 may be used which are sized of a similar magnitude to the large object. Alternatively, where large objects must be detected in higher resolution, perhaps in order to detect a more precise position or in order that the size of the object is discernible from the sensor array, then smaller sensor panels 104 and a greater resolution may be chosen. Preferably, for simplicity, the flooring will use sensor panels 104 of a uniform size and distribution, as shown in Figure 1.

The size of sensor panels may range from a size of the order of 3 mm each side to detect small objects or in high resolution, up to the order of 30 cm each side for the detection of a person’s foot, for example, or even larger, dependent only on the desired load-detecting characteristics of a particular system.

The load-detecting flooring may be made in such a way that it is modular, as shown in Figure 2a. As shown, the floor 110 of a room 112 is covered in twelve load-detecting panels 114 each of which is formed of load-detecting flooring. Each load-detecting panel 114 is connected either directly or indirectly to a controller 116 which is configured to monitor signals received from the load-detecting panels 114 in order to determine whether a load is present and on which load-detecting panel 114. Depending on the layout of the load-detecting circuit 102 on each load-detecting panel 114, the signals may also be usable by the controller 116 to locate the load on whichever load-detecting panel 114. The logic required to compute such signals is well-known to those skilled in the art and therefore further description of this logic is omitted.

As shown, wired connections 118 are used in the depicted embodiment for the connections of the load-detecting panels 114 to the controller 116. The controller 116 is then powered either by mains electricity, a battery, or a combination of both. The controller 116 can further communicate either wirelessly or via wires with a remote receiver on, for instance, a computer. In place of wired connections, any other form of communication may be used, such as a wireless connection.

The depicted wired connections 118 run only from the ends of each column of loaddetecting panels 114 to the controller 116. Therefore, connection means 120 are used to interconnect the load-detecting panels 114. These connection means 120, as shown in Figure 2b, include both a physical connection means in the form of a plug 122, which may be inserted into a corresponding socket 124 on an adjacent load-detecting panel 114, and an electrical connection means in the form of a number of electrical contacts 126, the contacts 126 being electrically-connectable with corresponding contacts within the corresponding socket 124. Although the physical connection means and electrical connection means are therefore shown as being part of a single connection means 120, they may be separated from one another. Alternatively, either or both of the physical connection means and electrical connection means may be omitted when not necessary, for example when physical connection is undesirable or when electrical connection is achieved wirelessly.

A second embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 3. As can be seen, the embodiment is not modular and instead the load-detecting flooring medium 200 extends over the full extent of the floor 210 of the room 212. Of course, the loaddetecting flooring could alternatively extend over only a proportion of the floor. As the load-detecting flooring is not modular, only a single wired connection 218 is required to connect the load-detecting flooring to the attached controller 216.

In order to apply the load-detecting flooring of Figure 3, the flooring medium 200 may be cut to size before fitting. The reverse of the flooring medium may then be (or previously have been) printed with the load-detecting circuit or have the loaddetecting circuit adhered thereon. If the floor is too large or shaped in a manner that a single expanse of flooring medium 200 is inadequate, multiple lengths of flooring medium may be joined together in situ. Multiple individual sensor panels of whatever size is desired can be distributed over a single piece of flooring, so as to detect load at whichever resolution is required.

An example sensor panel 104 is shown diagrammatically in Figure 4. The sensor panel 104 comprises an insulating substrate 128 within which a load-detecting circuit 102 is formed. The circuit 102 may be formed be deposition or other manufacturing methods. Two plates 130 are formed in the circuit 102 either side of an insulator 132, producing a capacitor 134. When a load is placed on the insulating substrate 128, which itself is attached to or integrally formed with a flooring layer (not shown), the plates 130 change their positional relationship with the upper plate moving closer to the lower plate. This movement results in the capacitance of the capacitor 134 changing, which can be detected by a controller which is in communication with the electrical connectors 106.

The sensor panels may form a thin-film tactile sensor array, the output of which is received by a data acquisition circuit box which forms a part of the controller. Each sensor panel will therefore output a signal related to the detected load on that sensor panel which can then be amalgamated with the signals from the other sensor panels in order that the controller may construct an overview of the loading across the loaddetecting circuit. Advantageously, a thin-film tactile sensor array may be of the order of <lmm in thickness, and thus will not affect the thickness of the flooring medium itself.

The sensor panels used in the present invention may be of any well-known type and may work through changes in capacitance or resistance, use of the piezoelectric effect, or any other working principle of a load-detection sensor. The working principle of such devices will be well-known to the person skilled in the art and therefore further description is omitted.

Claims

1. A load-detecting flooring for detecting a load on a surface, the flooring comprising:

a flooring layer;

a load-detecting circuit on the flooring layer;

the load-detecting circuit having a changeable state dependent upon a load on the flooring, a change in the state being detectable by a suitable controller.

2. A load-detecting flooring according to claim 1, wherein the load-detecting circuit is connectable to a controller that is configured to sense an alteration in the state of the load-detecting circuit in order to determine the position of a load on the flooring.

3. A load-detecting flooring according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the flooring layer comprises a flooring medium such as carpet, linoleum, vinyl, or similar.

4. A load-detecting flooring according to any preceding claim, wherein the loaddetecting circuit is integral with the flooring layer.

5. A load-detecting flooring according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the loaddetecting circuit is attachable to the flooring layer.

6. A load-detecting flooring according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the load-detecting circuit is deformable under load.

7. A load-detecting flooring according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the load-detecting circuit includes at least two circuit layers, the circuit layers moving closer together upon the application of a load onto the flooring.

8. A load-detecting flooring according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the state of the load-detecting circuit comprises at least one of the resistance, capacitance, or piezoelectrics to indicate the application of a load.

9. A load-detecting flooring panel comprising load-detecting flooring according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the load-detecting flooring panel includes connection means for connecting to one or more such load-detecting flooring panels.

10. A load-detecting flooring panel according to claim 9, wherein the connection means includes both physical connection means and electrical connection means.

11. A load-detecting flooring system comprising: load-detecting flooring according to any of claims 1 to 8; and a controller configured to sense an alteration in the state of the load-detecting circuit in order to determine that a load is on the load-detecting flooring.

12. A load-detecting flooring system according to claim 11, comprising at least two load-detecting flooring panels according to claim 9 or claim 10.

13. A load-detecting flooring system according to claim 12, wherein at least one additional controller is provided that is connected to one or more of the load-detecting flooring panels.

14. A method of forming load-detecting flooring according to any of claims 1 to 8, the method comprising the steps of:

putting a load-detecting circuit onto a flooring layer; and connecting the load-detecting circuit to a controller, the controller being configured to identify that a load is on the flooring layer by an alteration in the state of the load-detecting circuit.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein the step of putting the load-detecting circuit onto the flooring layer includes a deposition step.

16. A method according to claim 15, wherein the deposition step includes a printing step.

Intellectual

Property

Office

Application No: GB1620740.9 Examiner: Anna Rice