JP2002350555A - Human presence detector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a human presence detector for detecting the direction of the human presence easily. SOLUTION: The human presence detector comprises pyroelectric sensors 8 and 9 that are the first sensor for detecting whether there is a person within a first detection range or not, and an infrared sensor 10 that is the second sensor for detecting whether there is a person within a second detection range that is narrower than the first detection range or not. After the pyroelectric sensors 8 and 9 detect whether there is a person within the first detection range or not, the infrared sensor 10 detects that there is a person within the second detection range to detect the direction of the person.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for detecting a direction of a person.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a pyroelectric sensor or a reflection type infrared sensor has been used as a sensor for detecting a person in the following manner.

For example, an air conditioner is provided with two pyroelectric sensors as human sensors at the lower center of an indoor unit.
The pyroelectric sensors are separated by about 20 cm from each other, and are configured to detect a range of 100 ° each.

According to this, since the detection ranges of both pyroelectric sensors overlap on the front of the air conditioner, the entire range is covered by 140 °, and the switch of the air conditioner is automatically turned on depending on whether or not there is a person in the room. In addition to turning on / off, when there is a person only in the detection range of one of the pyroelectric sensors, it can be seen that the adjustment is made so that the wind blows only to that side.

[0005] Some automatic faucets are equipped with a reflection type infrared sensor as a human (hand) sensor, and the valve is opened only when the hand comes in close proximity.

[0006]

However, in such a conventional device, the pyroelectric sensor has a relatively wide detection range and detects the movement of heat in the detection range.
Usually, since there is only a human heat source that moves in a room or the like, the heat source is used for human detection, but it is not possible to specify where in the detection range or in which direction the human is.

An infrared sensor has high directivity and detects whether there is a detection target near the front of the sensor. However, since it detects all objects within the detection range, it is necessary to specify whether it is a person. I can't.

[0008] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a person detecting device capable of easily detecting the direction in which a person is present.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 includes a first sensor for detecting whether or not a person is within a first detection range, and a first detection range for the first sensor. A second method for detecting whether or not a person is within a narrower second detection range
Having a sensor, and detecting, by the first sensor, whether or not a person is within the first detection range, and then detecting, by the second sensor, that a person is within the second detection range. Thus, a person detecting device that detects the direction in which the person is located is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first apparatus for detecting whether or not a person is within a first detection range.
A sensor, a second sensor rotatably disposed on the apparatus main body, for detecting whether or not a person is in a second detection range narrower than the first detection range, and a direction in which the second sensor is currently facing A rotation position sensor that detects a, a behavior determining unit that issues a command to rotate the second sensor when a person is detected by the first sensor, and a driving device that rotates the second sensor according to the command, When the second sensor is rotated to detect a person, a person position recognition unit that calculates a current direction of the person from information of the rotation position sensor is provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first apparatus for detecting whether or not a person is within a first detection range.
A second sensor provided in the apparatus main body to detect whether or not a person is in a second detection range narrower than the first detection range, and to cover the first detection range; After detecting a person by the first sensor, when one of the second sensors detects a person, the direction of the detected second sensor is changed to the direction of the current person. And a human position recognizing unit that calculates the following.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first sensor for detecting whether or not a person is within a first detection range, and determining whether or not a person is within a second detection range narrower than the first detection range. And a second sensor for detecting the direction in which the device body is currently facing is provided, and a rotation position sensor for detecting the direction in which the device body is currently facing is provided, and the first sensor detects a person. Sometimes, an action determining unit that issues a command to rotate the device body within the first detection range, a driving device that rotates the device body according to the command, and the device body is rotated within the first detection range. Thus, when the second sensor detects a person, the person detecting device has a person position recognizing unit that calculates the current direction of the person from the information of the rotational position sensor.

[0013] The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claims 1 to 4.
In addition to the configuration described in any one of the above, the first sensor,
It is a pyroelectric sensor or a sensor that performs direction recognition by sound.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the second aspect, a plurality of the first sensors are used, and a rotation range of the second sensor is set according to a detection state thereof. It is characterized by having done.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the sixth aspect, when a plurality of the first sensors are used, detection times of the respective sensors are integrated, and at a certain point in time, the integrated value of the integrated value is the largest. It is characterized in that it is determined that there is a person in the direction of the large sensor, and the rotation direction of the second sensor is set.

The invention described in claim 8 is the invention according to claims 1 to 7
In addition to the configuration described in any one of the above, the second sensor,
It is an infrared distance sensor, a sonar, or a sensor capable of image recognition.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the second aspect, a distance measuring sensor is used as the second sensor, and a person moves in a direction in which the detection distance is shortest within the range of the rotation operation. It is characterized in that it is determined that there is.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of any one of the first to ninth aspects, the apparatus itself is configured to be movable, and is in a stationary state when waiting for detection by the first sensor. And waiting for detection.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on embodiments.

[First Embodiment of the Invention] FIGS. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention.

First, the configuration will be described. In this embodiment, the human detection device of the present invention is applied to an interaction robot.

As shown in FIG. 1, this robot can run in an arbitrary direction on wheels 3 driven by a motor 2 with a robot body 1 as an “apparatus main body”.

The robot body 1 has an arm 5 driven by a motor 4 and a motor 6 as a "drive device".
The head 7 is arranged to be rotated about an axis along the vertical direction.

On the lower side of the robot body 1, a pair of left and right pyroelectric sensors 8 as "first sensors" are provided.
9, a far-infrared sensor 10 is provided on the head 7 as a "second sensor", and further detects the direction in which the far-infrared sensor 10 is currently facing, as shown in FIG. A head direction sensor 11 as a “rotational position sensor” is provided.

The head 7 has a CCD camera 14 as "visual detecting means" and an "audible detecting means".
Microphone 15 is provided.

Then, each of the sensors 8, 9, 10, 1
1, a CCD camera 14 and a microphone 15 are connected to a human position recognition unit 18 of a control device 17 as shown in FIG.

The pyroelectric sensors 8 and 9 correspond to the robot body 1
It is arranged on the left and right with a width of about 10 cm below the front of the
As shown in FIG. 3A, each sensor axis O
1, and O2 are mounted so as to extend upward at an angle of about 45 °, and as shown in FIG.

These pyroelectric sensors 8 and 9 correspond to (b) of FIG.
As shown in the figure, the human body is configured to detect a person within a first detection range of about 100 ° to the left and right, and can be detected within a first detection range of 180 ° or less as a whole on the front surface of the robot body 1. The first detection ranges of both sensors 8 and 9 are set so as to overlap in a range of about 20 ° in front.

Further, the infrared sensor 10 is configured to be rotatable integrally with the rotation of the head 7, and the second detection range in which the presence or absence of a person is detected by the infrared sensor 10 is shown in FIG. a) As shown by the oblique line A, the directivity is strong, and is narrower than the first detection range of the pyroelectric sensors 8 and 9;
Is a sufficiently narrow range in front of almost.

The human position recognizing section 18 is connected to an action determining section 19 as shown in FIG. 2, and when the pyroelectric sensors 8 and 9 detect a person, An instruction to rotate the sensor 10 is issued, and the infrared sensor 10 is rotated by the head 6 being rotated (swinged) within a range of the angle Y in FIG. It has become.

When the pyroelectric sensors 8 and 9 detect the direction, the person position recognizing unit 18 determines the direction (sign direction) in which a person seems to be present, based on which of the right and left sides the input is made. judge. If only left is detected, left is detected, only right is detected, right is detected.

When the person position recognizing section 18 detects the sign direction, the motor 6 is driven by a signal from the action determining section 19 in the direction and the head 7 on which the infrared sensor 10 is mounted is scanned once. ing.

When the infrared sensor 10 is rotated to detect a person, the current position of the person is calculated from the information of the head direction sensor 11 by the person position recognition unit 18. .

When a distance-measuring type is used for the infrared sensor 10 instead of the ON / OFF type, the direction in which the detection distance is shortest in the range where the head 7 is scanned may be determined as the direction in which a person is present. it can.

If the infrared sensor 10 does not detect the head 7 even when the head 7 is scanned, the direction in which a person is present cannot be specified, but the state where only the sign of the person is felt is maintained. Thus, when a person comes near the front of the robot and is detected by the infrared sensor 10, it is possible to immediately react as a person being found.

Signals from the tactile detection means 22 and the like in addition to the sensors 8 are input to the action determining section 19, and a display 23 is provided so that communication with a person can be performed based on the information. The specified video is
In addition, sound is output from the speaker 24.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 4A, from the robot stopped state, it is determined in step S1 whether or not the timer of the stopped state is longer than 10 seconds. If "YES", the process proceeds to step S2. , The mode is changed to the no-person act mode, and the process returns to step S1. In the no-person act mode, a predetermined operation is performed on the assumption that there is no person in front.

If "NO" is determined in the step S1, the stop timer is counted up in a step S3, and the process proceeds to a step S4, where it is determined whether or not the count value of the neutral waiting timer is larger than 3 seconds. Is done.
Thus, it is detected whether or not the body of the robot is stationary. By stopping, pyroelectric sensors 8 and 9
, An appropriate detection can be performed.

If the time is less than 3 seconds ("NO"), the timer counts up and returns to step S1, and if it is more than 3 seconds, the process proceeds to step S6, where the detection by the pyroelectric sensors 8 and 9 is performed. It is determined whether or not.

When there is no detection (when "NO"), the process returns to step S1, and when there is detection (when "YES"), the process proceeds to step S7.
It returns to step S1. In this human scanning state, the infrared sensor 10 is rotated in a predetermined direction and scanned.

In the human scan state, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4B, it is determined in step S8 whether or not the scan (head swing) has been completed. If "NO", the process proceeds to step S8 Returning to "YES", the process proceeds to step S9.

In step S9, it is determined whether or not there is a detection flag. If "YES", a human detection state is set in step S10. If "NO", a human detection waiting state is set in step S11. Then, the process returns to step S8.

FIG. 4 shows the human discovery state in step S10.
As shown in the flowchart of FIG.
It is determined whether or not the movement toward the person has been completed in 2 and “N
In the case of "O", the process returns to step S12, and in the case of "YES", the process proceeds to step S13, and the presence mode is set to the presence mode. In the presence mode, the behavior determining unit 19 performs a predetermined operation such as speaking on the assumption that a person is in front.

On the other hand, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4D, the waiting state for human detection in step S11 is determined in step S14 as to whether or not the count value of the neutral waiting timer is greater than one second. Time ("N
In the case of "O"), the timer is counted up in step S15, and the process returns to step S14.

If it is larger ("YES"), the process proceeds to step S16, and the detection state of the pyroelectric sensors 8, 9 is determined. When the detection state disappears, step S
The program proceeds to step 17 where it is stopped and proceeds to return. If the detection state has changed, in step S18, a human scan state is set, and the routine proceeds to return. Further, step S1
In 6, when there is a detection by the pyroelectric sensors 8 and 9,
Proceeding to step S19, it is determined whether or not there is a detection by the infrared sensor 10.

If there is a detection ("YES"), a human detection state is set in step S20, and the routine proceeds to return. If there is no detection ("NO"), the process proceeds to step S21, and it is determined whether or not the count value of the human detection waiting timer is longer than 10 seconds. If it is longer than 10 seconds ("YES"), the process proceeds to step S17. Advance and when small ("N
If "O"), the process proceeds to step S22, the human detection waiting timer is counted up, and the process proceeds to return.

After the pyroelectric sensors 8 and 9 detect whether a person is in the first detection range, the infrared sensor 10 detects that a person is in the second detection range. This makes it possible to easily detect the direction of the person.

[Second Embodiment of the Invention] FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.

In the second embodiment, the robot 12 as the "apparatus main body" is configured to be rotated by a driving device (not shown), and the robot body 1 of the robot 12 has a focus as a "first sensor". An electric sensor 8 and an infrared sensor 10 as a “second sensor” are fixedly disposed on the head 7.

The pyroelectric sensor 8 detects whether or not a person is within the first detection range θ1 and,
Is configured to detect whether or not a person is in a second detection range θ2 that is smaller than the first detection range θ1.

Further, a rotational position sensor (not shown) for detecting the direction in which the robot 12 is currently facing is provided.

When a person is detected by the pyroelectric sensor 8, the behavior determining unit similar to that of the first embodiment sends the robot 12
Is issued. In response to this command, the driving device rotates the robot 12 within the first detection range θ1 at the time of the detection.

When the robot 12 is rotated within the range θ1, the infrared sensor 1 and the robot 12 are rotated.
0 is rotated, and when a person is detected by the infrared sensor 10, information from a rotation position sensor for detecting the direction of the robot 12 is input to the person position recognition unit, and the current person is recognized by the person position recognition unit. Is calculated.

In the above embodiment, one infrared sensor 10 is rotatably provided as the "second sensor". However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the infrared sensor 10 may be of a fixed type so as to cover the first detection range. A plurality of second sensors are provided, and after one person is detected by the first sensor, when one of the second sensors detects a person, the direction in which the detected second sensor faces. It is also possible to calculate the current direction of the person from.

When a plurality of pyroelectric sensors 8 and 9 are used, the detection times of the sensors 8 and 9 are integrated, and it is determined that a person is present in the direction of the sensor 8 or 9 having the largest integrated value at a certain time. Alternatively, the rotation direction of the infrared sensor 10 can be set.

Further, it can be combined with the recognition of the sound source direction by the microphone 15. That is, the pyroelectric sensor 8,
When sound is detected by the microphone 15 in a state where detection by the microphone 9 is performed, a sound source is present in front of the robot, and the microphone 15 is detected without detection by the pyroelectric sensors 8 and 9.
When a sound is detected in, it is determined that a sound source is present behind the robot.

Further, a microphone 15 may be used as the "first sensor" instead of the pyroelectric sensors 8 and 9 to recognize the direction by sound.

A CCD which is a sensor capable of recognizing an image
The camera 14 is used in place of the infrared sensor 10 which is the “second sensor”, and in the state where the detection is performed by the pyroelectric sensors 8 and 9, the color designated in advance as a marker representing a person is C
When detected by the CD camera 14, it may be determined that a person is present in that direction. In addition, the distance L in FIG. 3 is measured using an infrared distance sensor capable of measuring a distance, and it can be determined that a person is present in a direction in which the detection distance is shortest within the range of the rotation operation. Also, a sonar can be used as the “second sensor”.

Further, each of the sensors 8, 9, 10, 1
1, 14 and 15 are not used exclusively by two types, but can be used simultaneously to detect a person by appropriately changing the combination depending on the input situation at that time.

[0061]

As described above, according to the present invention, the first sensor for detecting whether or not a person is within the first detection range, and the second detection which is smaller than the first detection range. A second sensor for detecting whether or not a person is within the range, and after detecting, by the first sensor, whether or not a person is within the first detection range, the second sensor detects whether or not there is a person within the second detection range. By detecting the presence of a person, the direction in which the person is located can be easily detected.

Further, by using the pyroelectric sensor as the first sensor, it is possible to easily recognize that the object entering the first detection range is a person.

Furthermore, if a plurality of first sensors are used and the range of rotation of the second sensor is set according to the detection state, it is not necessary to rotate the second sensor in an unnecessary direction, and more accurate direction detection can be performed. Can be performed in a short time.

Further, if a distance measuring sensor is used as the second sensor and it is determined that there is a person in the direction of the shortest detection distance within the range of the rotation operation, more accurate direction detection can be performed. Can be.

When a plurality of first sensors are used, the detection time of each sensor is integrated, and it is determined that a person is present in the direction of the sensor having the largest integrated value at a certain time.
If the rotation direction of the second sensor is set, more accurate direction detection can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a robot according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the robot according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating detection ranges of a pyroelectric sensor and an infrared sensor of the robot according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart in the case of detecting a robot person according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of a robot according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Robot torso (device main body) 8, 9 Pyroelectric sensor (first sensor) 10 Infrared sensor (second sensor) 11 Head direction sensor (rotational position sensor) 12 Robot 18 Human position recognition unit 19 Action determination unit

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (reference) G01V 1/00 G01V 11/00 11/00 9/04 J F term (reference) 2G005 AA04 3C007 AS00 AS14 BS09 BS27 CS08 CV08 HS27 KS04 KS11 KS20 KS31 KS36 KS39 KT02 KT11 KT15 KV06 KV11 KV18 KW07 MS15 WA03 WA16 WC06 WC25 3L060 AA08 CC11 DD07 EE01 3L061 BA01 BA07

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A first sensor for detecting whether a person is in a first detection range and a second sensor for detecting whether a person is in a second detection range narrower than the first detection range. The first sensor detects whether or not a person is within the first detection range, and then detects, by the second sensor, that a person is within the second detection range. A person detecting device for detecting a direction in which a person is present. 2. A first sensor fixed to an apparatus main body and detecting whether a person is within a first detection range, and a second sensor rotatably disposed on the apparatus main body and narrower than the first detection range.
A second sensor for detecting whether or not a person is within a detection range;
A rotation position sensor that detects a direction in which the second sensor is currently facing; an action determination unit that issues a command to rotate the second sensor when a person is detected by the first sensor; A driving device for rotating the two sensors, and a human position recognition unit that calculates a current direction of the person from information of the rotational position sensor when the second sensor is rotated and detects a person. Characteristic person detection device. 3. A first sensor that is fixed to the apparatus main body and detects whether a person is within a first detection range, and detects whether a person is within a second detection range smaller than the first detection range. A plurality of second sensors provided in the apparatus main body so as to cover the first detection range; and a second sensor of the second sensors after detecting a person by the first sensor. A human position recognizing unit that, when the sensor detects a person, calculates a current direction of the person based on a direction of the detected second sensor. 4. A first sensor for detecting whether a person is in a first detection range and a second sensor for detecting whether a person is in a second detection range narrower than the first detection range. A rotation position sensor that is disposed on the rotatable apparatus main body and detects a direction in which the apparatus main body is currently facing; and when the first sensor detects a person, the rotation is within the first detection range. An action determining unit that issues a command to rotate the device body, a driving device that rotates the device body in accordance with the command, and the second sensor is rotated by rotating the device body within the first detection range. A human position recognizing unit that calculates a current direction of the human based on information from the rotational position sensor when a human is detected. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first sensor is a pyroelectric sensor, or
The human detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sensor is a sensor that performs direction recognition by sound. 6. The human detection device according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of the first sensors are used, and a rotation range of the second sensor is set according to a detection state of the first sensors. 7. When a plurality of the first sensors are used, detection times of the respective sensors are integrated, and it is determined that a person is present in a direction of a sensor having a largest integrated value at a certain point in time. 7. The human detection device according to claim 6, wherein a rotation direction is set. 8. The infrared sensor, wherein the second sensor is an infrared distance sensor,
The human detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the human detection device is a sonar or a sensor capable of performing image recognition. 9. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a distance measuring sensor is used as the second sensor, and it is determined that a person is present in a direction in which the detected distance is shortest within the range of the rotation operation. Human detection device. 10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus itself is configured to be movable, and is configured to wait for detection in a stationary state when waiting for detection by the first sensor.
The human detection device according to any one of the above.