JP2003098265A - Condition detector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately and quickly detect a state of an object, and to allow use in a bath room. SOLUTION: This condition detector 1 is provided with an existence detecting means 10 for detecting the presence of the object 2 within a three-dimensional detection range, an in-plane detecting means 20 for detecting the existence of the object 2 in a specified plane within the detection range, and a determination means 30 for reception-processing an output from the existence detecting means 10 and an output from the in-plane detection means 20 to determine the condition of the object 2. The existence detecting means 10 has an image pick-up device 11 for viewing the specified plane within the detection range, and an image processor 12 for generating a differential image between images in two different points.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a state detecting device, and more particularly to a state detecting device for detecting the presence and posture of an object or a person in a target area.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the aging of the population, accidents in bathrooms have been attracting attention as a social problem. Particularly in the bathroom, heart failure and stroke often occur, and along with this, cases such as drowning in the bathtub stand out. It is necessary to detect any of these problems as early as 1 minute or 1 second and apply resuscitation in order to save lives and reduce post-ulcer, and in general households, the bathroom is often a private room, For the early detection of troubles in the bathroom, a detection device for quickly detecting it is required.

A motion detection sensor has been proposed as a detection device as described above. A typical example is capturing an image of a bathroom, dividing the acquired image into multiple partial images, detecting whether there is movement of the target object from the change in brightness and color for each partial image, and It is an object for determining whether or not a person taking a bath is moving, depending on the movement status of the partial image. In addition, it is not for bathrooms, but as a device that detects the state of a person in a private room including falls, it combines an infrared image sensor mounted on the ceiling and a heat ray height sensor mounted on the wall surface and having a certain height as the detection area. There has been proposed a device for determining the state of a person in a room from mutual outputs. This device sets the detection height area of the sensor on the wall surface appropriately to determine whether the person in the room has a low posture or a high posture, that is, whether the person is in a fall state or not. Can be detected.

[0004]

However, according to the conventional device as described above, since the motion sensor detects the presence or absence of motion, for example, even if a person taking a bath has no trouble at all, If it is not moving, it will be determined to be in a dangerous state. Therefore, in order not to judge that the dangerous state is more than necessary, it is possible to judge that it is a dangerous state when there is no motion for a long time. I can't judge,
The discovery of trouble will be delayed.

On the other hand, the above-mentioned combination of the infrared image sensor and the heat ray height sensor can detect whether the person in the room is in a fall state or not in the normal room boundary of the room. However, since there is warm water, it is difficult for the heat ray height sensor to function effectively and it is difficult to detect the state.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a state detecting device which can detect the state of an object quickly and accurately and can be used even in a bathroom.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the state detecting device 1 according to the invention according to claim 1 has an object within a three-dimensional detection range as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, for example. Presence detecting means 10 for detecting the presence of 2; in-plane detecting means 20 for detecting the presence of the object 2 in a specific plane within the detection range; and output from the presence detecting means 10 and in-plane detecting means 20. And output from
Determination processing means 30 for determining the state of the object 2;
The presence detection unit 10 is obtained by the imaging device 11 that looks into the specific plane within the detection range, and the imaging device 11.
Image processing apparatus 1 for generating difference images between images at two different time points
2 and.

With this configuration, the presence detecting means 10
Since the in-plane detection means 20 and the determination processing means 30 are provided, the output from the presence detection means 10 and the in-plane detection means 20.
It is possible to provide a state detection device that can quickly and accurately detect the state of the target object by receiving and processing the output from the target object and processing the result to determine the state of the target object 2, and that can be used even in the bathroom. it can.

Further, as described in claim 2, in the state detecting device 1 according to claim 1, the image pickup device 11 is a color image pickup device for detecting three components of colors forming a color space,
The image processing device 12 is configured to generate a difference image of each of 1 to 3 components selected from the 3 components.

Further, as described in claim 3, in the state detecting device 1 according to claim 1, the image pickup device 11 is a color image pickup device for detecting three components of colors forming a color space,
The image processing device 12 may be configured to calculate a vector-to-vector distance of a vector composed of two to three components selected from the three components or an angle formed by the vectors to generate a difference image.

Further, as described in claim 4, in the state detection device 1 according to any one of claims 1 to 3, one of the two different time points detects the object 2 at the time point. It may be a point in time when it does not exist within the range.

Further, as described in claim 5, in the state detecting device 1 according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the two different time points are an arbitrary detection time point and slightly before that. It may be the time point.

In order to achieve the above object, the in-plane detection means 20 according to the invention according to claim 6 has an object 2 in a specific plane within a three-dimensional detection range as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, for example. An in-plane detection means 20 for detecting the presence of
A light beam generating means 21 for emitting a light beam in the specific plane, which is installed at a predetermined position in the detection range; and a retroreflective element 22 arranged at a position irradiated by the light beam emitted from the light beam generating means 21. A light flux detecting means 21 for detecting the light flux reflected by the retroreflective element 22; a light flux generating means 21 for deflecting the propagation direction of the light flux within the specific plane in a variable deflection angle. Has 27.

Further, as described in claim 7, in the in-plane detection means 20 according to claim 6, the light flux is a light flux modulated at a specific frequency; the light flux detection means 21 is near the modulation frequency. The light flux in the frequency band may be detected and amplified.

In order to achieve the above object, the state detecting device 1 according to the invention according to claim 8 detects the presence of an object 2 within a three-dimensional detection range as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, for example. Presence detection means 10; In-plane detection means 20 for detecting the presence of the object in a specific plane within the detection range; Receiving an output from the presence detection means 10 and an output from the in-plane detection means 20 And a processing unit 30 for determining the state of the target object 2;
Reference numeral 0 has an image pickup device 11 that looks into the specific plane within the detection range, and an image processing device 12 that generates a difference image between images at two different time points obtained by the image pickup means 11; Reference numeral 20 denotes a light beam generating means 2 for emitting a light beam within the specific plane installed at a predetermined position in the detection range.
1, a retroreflective element 22 arranged at a position irradiated by the light flux emitted from the light flux generating means 21, and a light flux detecting means 21 for detecting the light flux reflected by the retroreflective element 22. The generating means 21 has a light beam deflecting means 27 for deflecting the propagation direction of the light beam in a variable deflection angle within the specific plane.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same or corresponding members are designated by the same reference numerals or similar reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a state detection device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Also, FIG. 2 (a)
2 is a front view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is a top view of FIG. In the figure, the object 2 exists within the detection range of the bathroom 3. The detection range is the entire bathroom 3. The object 2 is a person in this embodiment. In addition, the bathroom 3 includes a bathtub 4, a ceiling 5, a wall surface 6, and a washing room 7. Also wall 6
Is composed of a front wall surface 61, a left side wall surface 62, a back surface wall 63, and a right side wall surface 64 (hereinafter simply referred to as wall surfaces 61, 62, 63, 64, or simply wall surface 6 when not distinguished). Further, the bathtub 4 is installed adjacent to the washing area 7.

On the ceiling 5, a presence detecting device 10 is installed as a presence detecting means for detecting the presence of the person 2 in the detection range. An in-plane detection device 20 is installed on the wall surface 6 as an in-plane detection unit that detects the presence of the person 2 in a specific plane of the detection range. The specific plane is set to a predetermined height. The predetermined height is, for example, about the height of the head when the person 2 is sitting. Further, it is more preferable that the predetermined height is set at a position slightly higher than the upper end of the bathtub 4, as shown in FIG. If the height is set to a predetermined value in this way, it is possible to easily and reliably determine the submerged state of the person 2 in the bathtub 4 by the determination of the state of the person 2 described below. Further, the state detection device 1 is configured to include an existence detection device 10, an in-plane detection device 20, a calculation device 30 as a determination processing unit, and a notification device 40.

Now, the in-plane detection device 20 as the first embodiment will be described. The in-plane detection device 20 includes a light detection device 21 as a light flux generating means and a retroreflective element 22.
It is configured to include and. The light detection device 21 is also a light flux detecting means and a light flux deflecting means. The light detection device 21 is installed at a predetermined height of the wall surface 6.

Further, the retroreflective element 22 is used in the photodetector 2
On the wall surface 6 facing 1 is installed in a strip shape at substantially the same height as the photodetector 21. Further, the light detection device 21 may be installed at a particularly corner portion of the detection range, for example, a corner portion between the wall surface 61 and the wall surface 62. By installing in this way, the whole bathroom 3 can be set as the detection range. Also in this case,
The deflection angle of the light flux 200 of the photo-detecting device 21 to be described later by the deflection mirror should be about 90 degrees in comparison with the case where the deflection angle is close to 180 degrees when it is installed on the wall surface 6 at the center of the bathroom 3. Therefore, it is very advantageous. In the above, the in-plane detection device 20 is installed as described above, but it is not limited to this, and it may be appropriately determined depending on the range to be detected and the installation environment.

The retroreflective element 22 receives the incident light beam 200.
Is mainly reflected in the incident direction. The retroreflective element 22 is, for example, one in which small glass spheres are studded on the base, or a large number of small triangular prisms are densely arranged, and a commercially available one can be used.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), the retroreflective element 22 may have a plurality of step portions 22a formed on its reflecting surface. In the retroreflective element 22, the amount of light reflected in the incident direction tends to decrease as the incident angle of the light flux 200 becomes shallower. Therefore, in the retroreflective element 22, by forming the plurality of step portions 22a, the incident angle of the light flux 200 can be made close to vertical, and the reduction of the reflected light amount can be suppressed. Further, the step portion 22a may change the angle of the reflecting surface as shown in (a) in accordance with the incident angle of the light flux 200, or (b).
As shown in FIG. 3, the light beam may be formed at a constant angle only in the portion where the incident angle becomes extremely shallow. Further, as shown in FIG. 3C, the retroreflective element 22 may have a curved surface 22b formed on the reflecting surface thereof so that the incident angle of the light flux 200 becomes closer to vertical.

With reference to the schematic diagram of FIG.
An example of the configuration will be described. The light detection device 21 includes a light source 23, an irradiation lens 24, a beam splitter 25, a light receiving element 26,
The deflection mirror 27 and the controller 28 are included. The photodetector 21 emits the light flux 200 substantially horizontally. The light detection device 21 is controlled by the controller 28.

The light source 23 is typically a semiconductor laser or L
It is ED. The light detection device 21 can be downsized by using a semiconductor laser or an LED for the light source 23. The light flux 200 is emitted from the light source 23 to the irradiation lens 2
The light is emitted as a focused light beam that is slightly focused through the beam path 4.
As the emitted light beam 200, coherent light such as a semiconductor laser may be used, but since it is not an aberration-free optical system and does not require large brightness, a general light source is used. It doesn't matter. Although the light flux 200 is a focused light flux in the above, it may be a parallel light flux or a gently diffused diffused light flux. Further, the light flux diameter of the light flux 200 may be set so that it enters the retroreflective element 22 with an appropriate light flux diameter. The diameter of the light flux 200 is more preferably set smaller than the width of the retroreflective element 22.

Further, the light source 23 performs modulation at a constant frequency in order to distinguish it from ambient light when the light receiving element 26 detects the light flux 200 which will be described later. The modulation is an operation in which, for example, the generation (emission) of the light flux 200 is repeatedly stopped periodically. In this case, the generation of the light flux 200 may be stopped, for example, by stopping the light emission of the light source 23 or by rotating the light shielding plate or the slit. In addition to the above, the modulation may also change the output of the light source 23 depending on the intensity of ambient light. The modulation may be performed by the controller 28.

The light beam 200 emitted from the light source 23 via the irradiation lens 24 as a slightly focused light beam is transmitted through the beam splitter 25, reaches the directing mirror 27, and is reflected. The reflected light flux 200 becomes a gentle diffused light flux and enters the retroreflective element 22 with an appropriate light flux diameter close to the width of the retroreflective element 22. The light flux 200 reflected by the retroreflective element 22 returns to the original optical path, and the deflection mirror 2
The light is reflected at 7 and enters the beam splitter 25. Then, the light flux 200 that has entered the beam splitter 25 is reflected by the beam splitter 25 and enters the light receiving element 26,
It is detected by the light receiving element 26. The deflection mirror 27 is typically a polygon mirror, and the light receiving element 26 is typically a photodiode.

As the deflecting mirror 27, there are a resonance mirror, a galvano mirror, etc. in addition to the structure of a polygon mirror. However, when high speed deflection is not required, the plane mirror is made almost vertical to the horizontal plane. It may be installed and rotated about an axis substantially perpendicular to the horizontal plane.

Further, as shown in the schematic view of FIG. 5, the plane mirror 27 is installed at about 45 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane, is rotated about an axis substantially perpendicular to the horizontal plane, and the light is reflected on a straight line including this rotation axis. An axis may be provided to deflect the reflected light as the mirror rotates. Further, instead of the deflecting mirror 27, an ultrasonic deflector which is a transmissive deflector may be used.

The deflecting mirror 27 can be rotated by a motor (not shown) about a rotation axis in a direction substantially vertical to the horizontal plane. The light flux 200 is reflected in the directions of 200 ′ and 200 ″, respectively, when the deflection mirror 27 is rotated to a position of 27 ′ or 27 ″. Therefore, the light flux 200 emitted from the photodetector 21 is
By the deflecting mirror 27, the light is deflected along the retroreflective element 22 installed in a strip shape on the wall surface 6 of the bathroom 3, and almost the entire interior of the bathroom 3 can be scanned at this height.

The photo-detecting device 21 detects the presence of the person 2 depending on whether or not the amount of light assumed by the controller 28 has returned to the light-receiving element 26. In addition, the light detection device 21
Of the light received by the light receiving element 26, the light of the modulated frequency from the light source 23 may be amplified and detected. In this way, the light detection device 21 can distinguish the light flux 200 reflected by the retroreflective element 22 from the ambient light, and thus can detect the presence of the person 2 more accurately.

When the estimated amount of light returns to the light receiving element 26, the controller 28 outputs the fact that the presence of the person 2 is detected to the arithmetic unit 30 as a first detection signal. The first detection signal also includes the detection position of the presence of the person 2. The detection position can be obtained from the deflection angle, and the deflection angle can be known from the rotation angle of the motor, the time after the light beam 200 has passed a certain position such as the end of the retroreflective element 22, and the like. Further, the photo-detecting device 21 may output only the presence of the person 2 on the specific plane as the first detection signal.

When the person 2 is in the optical path from the photodetector 21 to the retroreflective element 22, the emitted light flux 200 hits the person 2 and is scattered.
The light amount of the light flux 200 returning to the light detection device 21 is very small as compared with the case where the person 2 is not in the optical path. Therefore, when the person 2 exists on the specific plane at any place in the detection range, the photodetector 21 receives the light receiving element 2
The amount of light returning to 6 becomes smaller than expected, and this can be known. The amount of light incident on the light receiving element 26 is
Since there is a very large difference between the case where the person 2 is present and the case where the person 2 is not present, even if there is a disturbing substance such as steam in the bathroom 3, it is unlikely to be affected.

Further, the in-plane detection device 20 includes an imaging element,
It may be a one-dimensional light-receiving unit including a light-receiving element having a light-receiving region in a specific plane. Hereinafter, a configuration example in this case will be described.

An in-plane detection device 20 'as a second embodiment will be described with reference to the schematic view of FIG. As shown in, the one-dimensional light receiving unit 51 includes an imaging lens 53, a one-dimensional light receiving element array 54 as a light receiving element, and a signal processing unit 52. The light detection device 21 is installed at a predetermined height of the wall surface 6. The one-dimensional light receiving element array 54 is typically a linear sensor. In addition, the one-dimensional light receiving unit 51
Is a corner portion of the detection range, for example, the wall surface 61 and the wall surface 6.
It is good to install it at the corner with 2. By installing in this way, the whole bathroom 3 can be set as the detection range. Further, in this case, the angle of view of the one-dimensional light receiving section 51 is about 90 degrees when it is installed on the wall surface 6 at the center of the bathroom 3 in contrast to the angle of view of close to 180 degrees. Become.

The linear sensor 54 generally uses a CCD and is easily available. Also linear sensor 5
No. 4 can be sufficiently used even if a plurality of photodiodes are arranged in series as a small region so that the output can be taken out from each element. Since the linear sensor 54 has a large difference between when the object is imaged and when the object is not present, the presence of the object can be reliably detected. Further, although the linear sensor 54 is used in the present embodiment, it may be one light receiving element having a rectangular light receiving region that covers the width of the specific plane. In the case of such one light receiving element, since the image of the object is applied to a part of the light receiving element, the change in the output of the light receiving element due to the presence or absence of the object is small, but the configuration is simplified. be able to.

In this embodiment, the image forming lens 53 is used as the image forming element. However, any element can be used as long as it has an effect of allowing the light emitted from the specific plane to enter the linear sensor 54. For example, detection is desired. If the area is very bright and the sensitivity of the linear sensor 54 is sufficient, a pinhole can be used. Further, by arranging the cylindrical lens so that its ridgeline is included in a specific plane,
Only the light flux emitted from the specific plane enters the linear sensor 54, and the presence of the object on the specific plane can be detected.

The one-dimensional light receiving section 51 forms an image of the person 2 existing on a specific plane on the linear sensor 54. When the image of the person 2 existing on the specific plane is formed on the image forming plane including the linear sensor 54 by the image forming lens 53, the image of the person 2 is formed on the specific plane including the optical axis of the image forming lens 53 and the linear sensor 54. A part of the existing person 2 forms an image on the linear sensor 54. The signal processing unit 52 detects the presence of the person 2 in a specific plane based on whether the light amount of a part of the image of the person 2 formed on the linear sensor 54 is within the expected range or the change in the image. To do. Accordingly, the signal processing unit 52 detects that the person 2 exists in the specific plane when the person 2 has a posture higher than the predetermined height.

When it is detected that the person 2 exists in the specific plane, the signal processing unit 52 outputs the fact that the presence of the person 2 is detected to the arithmetic unit 30 as a first detection signal. The first detection signal also includes the detection position of the presence of the person 2. The detection position is the linear sensor 54.
It can be obtained from the position of the image of the person 2 above. Also,
The one-dimensional light receiving unit 51 may output only the presence of the person 2 on the specific plane as the first detection signal.

The presence detection device 10 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The presence detection device 10 has a ceiling 5
The optical axis is installed almost vertically in the central part of the. The presence detection device 10 is configured to include an imaging device 11 and an image processing device 12.

The image pickup device 11 is provided at the substantially central portion of the ceiling 5.
It is installed with the optical axis facing vertically downward. The image pickup device 11 is configured to include an image forming lens and an image pickup element, and is typically a CCD camera. Furthermore C
The CD camera 11 is capable of detecting three color components and acquiring a color image composed of the three components. The three components of the detected color are typically red (R), green (G), and blue (B).
(Hereinafter, it is simply referred to as RGB.) However, even if any two components of the three components are mixed, the remaining one component does not become, that is, the three components may be independent combinations. The other three components include, for example, CMY, HSV, YCbCr, YUV, and Y.
IQ, XYZ, L * a * b *, L * u * v * etc.,
Any of these may be used. Further, any of these can be easily converted from RGB.

The CCD camera 11 is connected to and controlled by the image processing device 12. The image processing device 12 is, for example, a microcomputer. In addition, the image processing device 12
May be provided in the arithmetic device 30 described later.

The image processing device 12 is configured to generate a difference image of images at two different time points acquired by the CCD camera 11. Further, in the image processing device 12, C
An image storage unit 13 for storing the color image acquired from the CD camera 11 is provided. The image at two different time points is one of the two different time points when the person 2 is not within the detection range of the bathroom 3. That is, it is an image at an arbitrary detection time and a time when the person 2 does not exist. Further, the image at the time when the person 2 does not exist is used as the reference image.

The images at two different time points may be an arbitrary detection time point and a time point slightly before the detection time point. Slightly before may be before a sufficient time interval to monitor the movement of the person 2. In this case, it is short when it is desired to monitor a slight movement of the person 2, and for example, if the movement amount of the person 2 does not become too large and is substantially the same position, for example, about 0.1 seconds. Good. Alternatively, the period is 1 to 10 (1/30 to 1/3) of the television period. In addition, when it is desired to monitor the rough movement of the person 2 or to monitor the person 2 having little movement, it is long, for example, 10
It may be about a second. However, if it is too long for the monitoring of the elderly, detection of the state may be delayed and it may be important, so it is not appropriate to set it to 5 minutes or the like.

The image processing device 12 uses the RGB of the color image.
It is configured to calculate the inter-vector distance or the angle formed by the vectors composed of two or three components selected from to generate a difference image. First, the image processing device 12 determines, from a color image, for each corresponding pixel,
An RGB color space is formed in the case of three components, and a color plane is formed in the case of two components.

The diagram of FIG. 8 shows the RGB color space in an orthogonal coordinate system. Here, the color space vectors C1 and C2 of the colors respectively obtained from the images at the two time points can be expressed by the following equations. C1 = α ₁ R + β ₁ G + γ ₁ B C2 = α ₂ R + β ₂ G + γ ₂ B (1) α, β, and γ are the brightness of each of RGB.

The image processing device 12 uses the color space vector C1.
The difference image is generated by setting the area having a large angle between C2 and C2 as the area where the person 2 exists. Further, a difference image may be generated by extracting a region in which the distance between the color space vectors C1 and C2 is large. As a result, it is possible to extract a region in which the color has changed in the detection region, and thus it is possible to obtain a difference image in which the region in which the person 2 exists is extracted.

Further, the image processing device 12 may be configured to generate a difference image of each of 1 to 3 components selected from RGB of a color image. The image processing device 12 is
From the images at the two time points, the difference is calculated for each corresponding pixel for each corresponding pixel. Then, the image processing device 12 generates the difference image from the difference between the respective components, and
It is possible to obtain an image in which a region where is present is extracted. Further, if the component taking the difference is one component, the amount of calculation can be reduced and high-speed processing is possible, and if the component taking the difference is three components, the image of the person 2 can be extracted accurately.

Further, the image processing device 12 detects the person 2 within the detection range from the difference image thus obtained. This detection is determined by the presence or absence of the person 2 on the difference image. The presence / absence of the person 2 may be determined based on the size and color of the extracted area on the difference image. At the same time, the image processing device 12 also detects the detected position of the person 2 within the detection range. The position is detected from the position of the area where the person 2 exists on the difference image. Moreover, although the detected position is detected accurately, it may be detected whether it is an approximate position, for example, whether it is present in the bathtub 4 or the washing room 7, or only the presence thereof is detected. .

Then, the image processing device 12 outputs the fact that the presence of the person 2 is detected to the arithmetic device 30 as a second detection signal. The second detection signal also includes the detection position of the presence of the person 2. Further, the image processing device 12
If the person 2 is following the movement of the person 2, the position of the person 2 can be detected more reliably. For example, if the movement of the person 2 is detected and ends in the bathtub 4, it means that the person 2 exists in the bathtub 4. If the movement ends outside the bathtub 4, the movement of the washing room 7 or the bathroom 3 is detected. It means that it has gone out, and it is understood that it does not exist at least in the bathtub 4.

As a result, the image processing device 12 can detect the presence of the person 2 based on the change in color, so that, for example, the steam in the bathroom or the surface of the bathtub is reflected, and the AC power supply periodically changes the illumination. It is possible to obtain an image in which the region in which the person 2 is present is extracted while reducing the adverse effects caused by the above. In addition, even if the bathroom wall surface has a beige color or the like, which is close to the skin color at first glance, the presence of the person 2 can be accurately detected.

In this case, as described above, the images at the two time points may be either the reference image at the arbitrary detection time point and the time point at which the person 2 does not exist, or the arbitrary detection time point and the time point slightly before the reference time point. Even in such a case, the presence of the person 2 can be detected by tracking the fluctuation of the image in time series. Further, the presence detection device 10 can be configured by using a motion sensor using ultrasonic waves or infrared rays. However, especially in a bathroom, the presence of the device can be detected because the movement of the water surface and the temperature of hot water become disturbance factors. Since it becomes difficult, it is preferable to image the detection range as described above and detect the presence of the person 2 based on color components, changes in brightness, and the like.

With reference to the block diagram of FIG. 9, the arithmetic unit 3
An example of the configuration of 0 will be described. The arithmetic unit 30 is typically a personal computer or a microcomputer. The arithmetic unit 30 includes a control unit 31 and controls the state detecting device 1. An interface 35 is connected to the control unit 31, and the presence detection device 10, the in-plane detection device 20, and the notification device 40 are connected to the control unit 3 via the interface 35.
Connected to 1 and controlled. A storage unit 34 is connected to the control unit 31 and can store data such as input information and calculated information. Further arithmetic device 3
0 indicates the detection information input from the presence detection device 10 and the in-plane detection device 20 via the interface 35, and stores the detection information.
4 is configured to store in time series. The detection information is a first detection signal, a first detection signal output from the presence detection device 10, and a second detection signal output from the in-plane detection device 20.

The control unit 31 is also connected to an input device 36 for inputting information for operating the state detecting device 1 and an output device 37 for outputting a result processed by the state detecting device 1. The input device 36 is, for example, a touch panel, a keyboard or a mouse, and the output device 37 is, for example, a display, a printer or an alarm device. Although the input device 36 and the output device 37 are shown as being externally attached to the arithmetic unit 30 in the present drawing, they may be incorporated therein.

Further, in the control unit 31, the presence detecting device 1
0 and the in-plane detection device 20 through which the detection information is input via the interface 35 and processed to determine the state of the person 2.

The determination processing section 32 uses the first information as the detection information.
The state of the person 2 within the detection range is determined from the detection signal of 1 and the second detection signal. In this determination, for example, when the presence detecting device 10 detects the presence of the person 2 and the in-plane detecting device 20 does not detect the presence of the person 2, the presence of the person 2 in the bathroom 3 may be detected. Without it, it does not exist on the specific plane, so it is determined to have fallen. Further, in this case, since the presence detection device 10 also detects the position of the person 2, it is also determined whether the person 2 is lying down in the washroom 7 or lying down in the bathtub 4, that is, submerged in water. Further person 2
When it is determined that the user is lying down, the determination processing unit 32
Can determine that there is an emergency and perform an operation such as issuing an external notification immediately by the notification device 40 via the interface 35. Further, when it is determined that the situation is an emergency, a speaker (not shown) provided in the bathroom 3 may call the person 2 to make an external notification when there is no response.

Here, the determination result of the state of the person 2 by the determination processing unit 32 is reported to the outside. The notification device 40 will be described. The reporting device 40 reports the determination result of the state of the person 2 by the determination processing unit 32 to the outside. In the notification device 40, the state of the person 2 within the detection range determined by the determination processing unit 32, the information about the sound acquired from a microphone (not shown) provided in the bathroom 3, and the like are provided outside the bathroom 3 and in the living room. And a wireless communication device using wireless communication for delivering to another place such as a dining room or a bedroom, and a wired communication device using a power line or a dedicated line. The information sent by these communication devices can be used to send an emergency message, make an alarm sound, or give a light sign. Also, these information and messages can be sent to a person 2 or a device at a distant place through a fixed telephone line, a data communication line, a CATV line, a mobile telephone line or the like.

In the above, the detection range is described as the entire bathroom 3, but the detection range may be the bathtub 4. This is because in the case of the bathroom 3, a fall accident in the washroom 7 also frequently occurs, but in the case of an accident that is life-threatening or leaves a residual disorder, the bathtub 4
This is because most of the accidents were submerged in water.

As shown in the schematic view of FIG. 10, if the in-plane detection device 20 is installed near the boundary between the bathtub 4 and the washing area 7, and only the top of the bathtub 4 is set as a detection range, that is, a specific plane, a shower or the like is displayed. The affected detection area can be minimized,
The submergence accident can be detected more reliably. The presence detection device 10 may use only the bathtub 4 as the detection area, but may use the entire bathroom 3 as the detection area.

Since the state detection device 1 detects the presence of the person 2 in the bathtub 4 not only by the presence detection device 10 but also by the in-plane detection device 20, the immediately preceding person 2 is in the bathtub 4. It can also be detected whether it exists on a specific plane. In this way, the state detection device 1 can reliably detect the presence of the person 2 in the bathtub 4, and thus minimizes unnecessary calls to the person 2 from the speaker (not shown) provided in the bathroom 3. The state of submersion of the person 2 in the bathtub 4 can be determined more accurately, and a quick external notification can be made.

According to the present embodiment as described above, even in the bathroom, the state of the person 2 can be judged and a dangerous state such as the person 2 falling can be detected reliably and promptly. Also,
Since the submerged state in the bathtub can be detected accurately, early detection is possible and false alarms at that time can be reduced. Also, when there is a person 2 in the washroom, even if a fall is detected,
It is possible to select a response depending on the location of the person 2, such as slowly calling into the bathroom, reducing unnecessary calls and reporting, and giving priority to prompt reporting when the person 2 is in the bathtub. , It is possible to combine the use of a comfortable and comfortable bathroom with emergency response.

[0061]

As described above, according to the present invention, presence detecting means for detecting the presence of an object within a three-dimensional detection range and presence of the object within a specific plane within the detection range are detected. The in-plane detection means for detecting, the determination processing means for receiving and processing the output from the presence detection means and the output from the in-plane detection means, and determining the state of the object, the presence detection Since the means has an image pickup device that looks into the specific plane within the detection range and an image processing device that generates a difference image of images at two different time points obtained by the image pickup device, it is possible to quickly determine the state of the object. In addition, it is possible to provide a state detection device that can be accurately detected and can be used in the bathroom.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an outline of a state detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a front view (a) and a side view (b) of the state detection device in the case of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the shape of a retroreflective element used in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a photodetector used in the first embodiment of the invention.

5 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of an in-plane detection device in the case of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of an in-plane detection device used in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a presence detection device used in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a color space vector used in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of an arithmetic unit used in the embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a front view (a) and a side view (b) of the state detection device in the case of FIG. 1 when the detection range of the in-plane detection device is set only on the bathtub.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 State detection device 2 people 3 bathrooms 4 bathtub 6 wall surfaces 7 washroom 10 Presence detection device 11 CCD camera 12 Image processing device 20 In-plane detection device 21 Photodetector 22 Retroreflective element 23 Light source 24 irradiation lens 25 beam splitter 26 Light receiving element 27 deflection mirror 30 arithmetic unit 31 Control unit 32 Judgment processing unit 40 reporting device 51 One-dimensional light receiving part 52 processing unit 53 Imaging lens 54 Linear sensor 200 luminous flux

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Hiroaki Aoki             1-Kamimaruko Sannomachi, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa             1390-40 Keio University Graduate School of Science and Engineering             Within (72) Inventor Yasuhiro Takemura             28 Sumitomo Osaka, 6-6 Rokubancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo             Inside Cement Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kazuhiro Ajimura             28 Sumitomo Osaka, 6-6 Rokubancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo             Inside Cement Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Toshiharu Takei             28 Sumitomo Osaka, 6-6 Rokubancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo             Inside Cement Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2D005 FA00                 5C086 AA22 BA04 CA12 CA28 CB16                       CB36 DA01 DA33 EA26 EA36                       EA40 EA41 EA50 FA06

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. Presence detection means for detecting the presence of an object within a three-dimensional detection range; in-plane detection means for detecting the presence of the object within a specific plane within the detection range; A determination processing unit that receives and processes the output from the detection unit and the output from the in-plane detection unit to determine the state of the object; and the presence detection unit is the identification within the detection range. It has an image pickup device which looks into a plane and an image processing device which generates a difference image of images at two different time points obtained by the image pickup device; a state detection device. 2. The image pickup device is a color image pickup device for detecting three components of colors forming a color space, and the image processing device obtains a difference image of each of 1 to 3 components selected from the 3 components. The state detection device of claim 1, wherein the state detection device is configured to generate. 3. The image pickup device is a color image pickup device for detecting three components of colors forming a color space, and the image processing device is a vector formed of two or three components selected from the three components. 2. The state detection device according to claim 1, wherein the state detection device is configured to calculate an inter-vector distance or an angle formed by the vectors to generate a difference image. 4. The state detection device according to claim 1, wherein one of the two different time points is a time point when the object does not exist within the detection range. 5. The state detection device according to claim 1, wherein the two different time points are an arbitrary detection time point and a time point slightly before the arbitrary detection time point. 6. In-plane detection means for detecting the presence of an object in a specific plane within a three-dimensional detection range; a light beam provided in a predetermined position within the detection range. A light beam generating means for emitting the light beam; a retroreflective element arranged at a position irradiated by the light beam emitted from the light beam generating means; and a light beam detecting means for detecting the light beam reflected by the retroreflective element. The light flux generating means has a light flux deflecting means for deflecting the propagation direction of the light flux in a deflection angle variable within the specific plane; in-plane detecting means. 7. The luminous flux is a luminous flux modulated at a specific frequency; the luminous flux detecting means is configured to detect and amplify a luminous flux in a frequency band near the modulation frequency.
The in-plane detection means according to claim 6. 8. Presence detection means for detecting the presence of an object within a three-dimensional detection range; in-plane detection means for detecting the presence of the object within a specific plane within the detection range; A determination processing unit that receives and processes the output from the detection unit and the output from the in-plane detection unit to determine the state of the object; and the presence detection unit is the identification within the detection range. The image pickup device has a plane view and an image processing device for generating a difference image between images obtained at different two points of time obtained by the image pickup means; the in-plane detection means is installed at a predetermined position in the detection range. A luminous flux generating means for emitting a luminous flux in the specified plane, a retroreflective element arranged at a position irradiated by the luminous flux emitted from the luminous flux generating means, and the luminous flux reflected by the retroreflective element Luminous flux to detect A detecting means, and the light flux generating means has a light flux deflecting means for deflecting a propagation direction of the light flux in a deflection angle variable within the specific plane;