JP2008010351A - Proximity switch device and lighting control system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a proximity switch device and a lighting control system capable of easily performing detection sensitivity of a detection object without carrying out any electric treatment. <P>SOLUTION: The proximity switch device 1 is provided with infrared-ray emission means 14, 15 for radiating infrared rays, infrared-ray receiving means 16, 17 detecting reflective infrared rays reflected by an object, an infrared-ray transmitting member 18 arranged between the object and the infrared-ray receiving means 16, 17 for shielding visible light and transmitting the infrared rays at a given transmittance, and load control means 13, 20 reversibly controlling an on/off operation of a load 10 each time the reflective infrared rays are detected by the infrared-ray receiving means 16, 17. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a proximity switch device capable of turning on and off a load by approaching a switch, and a lighting control system including the proximity switch device.

  Proximity switch devices have been proposed in which the load is turned on and off in a non-contact manner by reflecting the infrared light emitted from the infrared light emitting element with a finger or hand and detecting it with the infrared light receiving element. In this proximity switch device, a detection target such as a finger or a hand is detected based on the magnitude of reflected infrared light detected by the infrared light receiving element, and the detection sensitivity for the distance from the infrared light receiving element to the detection target is set.

  For example, the reflected wave reflected by holding the hand is received by the light receiver, the noise contained in the reflected wave is removed by the filter circuit, and the detection wave is amplified by the amplification circuit to adjust the detection sensitivity. An optical signal type switching device has been proposed (see Patent Document 1). This prior art optical signal type switching device first removes the noise contained in the signal from the light receiver by the filter circuit and then amplifies it by the amplifier circuit, so that the harmonic component due to the distortion of the output of the amplifier circuit is removed. It is no longer determined that the light signal is from the projector, and malfunction can be prevented.

In addition, a light emitting element that irradiates light through a window toward a detection target and a light receiving element that receives reflected light from the detection target are arranged coaxially and spaced apart from the position of the window by a predetermined distance. And a reflection type photosensor configured so that the detection sensitivity reaches a peak has been proposed (see Patent Document 2). In the conventional reflective optical sensor, the optical sensor detects the dirt and water droplets at the shortest distance with high sensitivity even when dirt or water droplets adhere to the light-transmitting window portion due to the above-described configuration requirements. Instead, the original detection target such as a finger or a hand is accurately detected.
JP 2004-289518 A (page 5, FIG. 1) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-181157 (page 5, FIG. 1)

  Since the optical signal type switch device of Patent Document 1 changes the amplification factor of the amplifier circuit in accordance with the detection distance with respect to the detection target, a gain switching switch is required. For this reason, the layout of the switch on the board and the structure of the housing for housing the board may be restricted, and there is a problem that there is an adverse effect due to external noise due to the routing of the wiring to the switch. Further, when changing the detection sensitivity, the switch is opened and the switch is operated, which is troublesome and makes it difficult to save labor.

  In the reflection type optical sensor of Patent Document 2, for example, the light irradiation angle of the light emitting element is set so that the detection sensitivity is maximized (peak) at a position separated from the position of the window portion by a predetermined distance. The setting is performed every time according to a predetermined distance from the position of the part, and there is a drawback that the setting is troublesome and requires labor.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a proximity switch device and a lighting control system that can easily detect the detection sensitivity of a detection target without performing electrical processing.

  The proximity switch device according to claim 1 includes infrared light emitting means for emitting infrared light; infrared light receiving means for detecting reflected infrared light reflected by the object; and disposed between the object and the infrared light receiving means. An infrared transmitting member that blocks visible light and transmits the infrared light at a predetermined transmittance; and load control means that reversely controls on / off of the load every time the reflected infrared light is detected by the infrared light receiving means; It is characterized by having.

  In the present invention and each of the following inventions, each configuration is as follows unless otherwise specified.

  The “object” is not limited to a human body such as a finger or a hand, but may be any object that reflects infrared rays, such as a metal plate or a bar.

  The infrared transmitting member is not particularly limited in material and shape as long as it blocks visible light and transmits infrared light emitted from the infrared light emitting means with a predetermined transmittance. By blocking visible light in the infrared transmitting member, noise in the infrared light receiving means is suppressed.

  The load may be anything that consumes power, such as a lighting lamp or a ventilation fan.

  “Every time a reflected infrared ray is detected” means that the reflected infrared ray is detected from a state where the reflected infrared ray is not detected, and does not include the case where the reflected infrared ray is continuously detected.

  “Load on / off inversion control” refers to turning off when the load is in the on state and turning on when the load is in the off state. This inversion control may be immediate control or delay control.

  According to the present invention, the infrared light emitted from the infrared light emitting means and reflected by the object is transmitted to the infrared transmitting member, so that the reflected infrared light is detected by the infrared light receiving means according to the transmittance of the infrared transmitting member. The Therefore, the detection sensitivity for the object can be easily adjusted by providing the infrared transmitting member having a predetermined transmittance according to the setting of the detection distance between the infrared light receiving means and the object.

  The proximity switch device according to claim 2 is the proximity switch device according to claim 1, wherein the infrared transmission member is a flat plate whose infrared transmittance decreases at a constant rate as the thickness increases. The infrared transmittance is determined by the thickness.

  To reduce the detection distance between the infrared light receiving means and the object (reduce the detection sensitivity for the object), increase the thickness of the infrared transmitting member to reduce the transmitted infrared light, and the detection distance between the infrared light receiving means and the object. In order to increase the value (increase the detection sensitivity with respect to the object), the thickness of the infrared transmitting member is reduced to increase the transmitted infrared ray.

  According to the present invention, since the infrared transmitting member is formed of a flat plate whose infrared transmittance decreases at a constant rate as the thickness increases, the predetermined transmittance can be set by the thickness. The detection sensitivity for the object can be adjusted by providing an infrared transmitting member having a predetermined thickness in accordance with the setting of the detection distance between the infrared light receiving means and the object.

  The proximity switch device according to a third aspect of the present invention is the proximity switch device according to the first aspect, wherein the infrared transmitting member is printed with a paint on the surface, and the infrared transmittance varies depending on the thickness of the paint film or the print pattern. Is determined.

  The infrared transmittance is a ratio of infrared rays that are transmitted through the infrared transmitting member and emitted from the infrared rays that are incident on the infrared transmitting member.

  When the infrared transmittance is changed depending on the thickness of the coating film, the coating is formed of a material that transmits infrared rays. Here, in order to reduce the detection sensitivity for an object, the thickness of the coating film is increased to reduce the transmitted infrared rays, and in order to increase the detection sensitivity for the object, the coating film thickness is decreased to transmit. Try to increase the infrared. Further, when the infrared transmittance is changed by the printing pattern of the coating material, the coating material may not be infrared transmission material. The color of the paint is not particularly limited.

  According to the present invention, the predetermined transmittance of the infrared transmitting member can be determined by the thickness of the paint film or the printing pattern. Then, according to the setting of the detection distance between the infrared light receiving means and the object, the detection sensitivity for the object can be easily adjusted by providing an infrared transmitting member having a predetermined paint film thickness or print pattern.

  A proximity switch device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the proximity switch device according to the third aspect, wherein the infrared transmitting member is made of a film that can be attached.

  According to the present invention, the detection sensitivity of an object can be easily adjusted or changed by attaching an infrared transmitting member made of a film and having a predetermined infrared transmittance between the infrared light receiving means and the object.

  A proximity switch device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the proximity switch device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects; an illumination load that is controlled to be turned on / off by the proximity switch device, and an appliance provided with the illumination load. And a lighting device having a main body.

  According to the present invention, there is provided an illumination control system including an illumination device in which an illumination load is on / off controlled by the proximity switch device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

  According to the first aspect of the invention, since the infrared transmitting member having a predetermined infrared transmittance is provided between the infrared light receiving means and the object, the configuration of the proximity switch device for setting the detection distance of the object can be simplified. The proximity switch device can be formed at low cost.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the infrared transmitting member is formed of a flat plate whose infrared transmittance decreases at a constant rate as the thickness increases, the infrared transmitting member having a predetermined thickness is referred to as an infrared receiving unit. The proximity switch device can be easily provided between the object and the manufacturing cost of the proximity switch device.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the infrared transmitting member having the coating film thickness or the printing pattern of the predetermined paint is provided between the infrared light receiving means and the object, labor saving in setting the detection distance of the object is achieved. Therefore, the proximity switch device can be formed at low cost.

  According to the invention of claim 4, it is possible to save the space of the proximity switch device by attaching an infrared transmitting member made of a film and having a predetermined infrared transmittance, and to adjust or change the detection sensitivity for an object. Labor saving can be achieved.

  According to invention of Claim 5, the illumination control system which comprises the illuminating device by which illumination load is controlled on-off by the proximity switch apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 4 can be provided.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a proximity switch device, (a) is a schematic front view, (b) is a schematic side view, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway schematic side view of the proximity switch device, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a three-wire illumination control system using the proximity switch device. .

  In FIG. 1, the proximity switch device 1 is formed to have a container body 2 that is formed in a substantially box shape and stores electronic components and the like, and a mounting frame 3 that fixes the container body 2. The container body 2 is provided with a rectangular plate 4 on the front surface 2a, a translucent plate 5 through which infrared radiation and reflected light pass and a translucent plate through which display light passes. 6 are arranged.

  The proximity switch device 1 is disposed in the building by the mounting frame 3 being screwed to a switch box provided inside the building such as a wall. As shown in FIG. 2, a decorative cover 7 is attached so as to cover the attachment frame 3.

  FIG. 4 shows a three-wire illumination control system 8 using the proximity switch device 1. The illumination control system 8 includes the proximity switch device 1 and the illumination device 9. The illuminating device 9 has an illumination load 10 as a load and an appliance body 11 in which the illumination load 10 is disposed. The illumination load 10 is connected in parallel to the AC power source Vs and is controlled to be turned on / off by the proximity switch device 1.

  The proximity switch device 1 includes a power supply unit 12 connected to an AC power supply Vs, a main control unit 13 that performs various controls, and an infrared LED light emitting unit 15 having an infrared light emitting diode (hereinafter referred to as infrared LED) 14. Infrared light receiving detector 17 having phototransistor 16 for receiving infrared light, infrared LED 14 and infrared transmissive member 18 disposed in front of phototransistor 16, translucent plate 6, and container 2. The display / SW operation unit 19 and a load control interface (I / F) unit 20 that reversely controls on / off of the illumination load 10 are provided.

  The power supply unit 12 converts the AC voltage of the AC power supply Vs into a predetermined DC voltage to generate a circuit drive power supply. The main control unit 13 includes a microcomputer that is driven by a circuit drive power supply from the power supply unit 12, and is configured to perform various controls such as control of the load control I / F unit 20.

  The infrared LED light emitting unit 15 radiates infrared rays from the infrared LED 14 at a predetermined timing based on the control of the main control unit 13. For example, infrared rays are radiated from the infrared LED 14 at a time interval of 100 ms for 10 ms. Infrared rays emitted from the infrared LED 14 pass through the infrared transmission member 18 and are emitted forward from the translucent plate 5. The infrared LED 14 and the infrared LED light emitting unit 15 form infrared light emitting means.

  The infrared light receiving detector 17 is configured to detect a reflected infrared ray in which an infrared ray emitted from the infrared LED 14 is reflected by an object among infrared rays received by the phototransistor 16. The detection of the reflected infrared light is performed, for example, when the timing of the infrared light emitted from the infrared LED 14 and the timing of the infrared light received by the phototransistor 16 are synchronized, the infrared light received by the phototransistor 16 is transmitted from the infrared LED 14. It is determined that the emitted infrared ray is a reflected infrared ray reflected by an object. The object is usually a human hand or finger held close to the front of the translucent plate 5. Infrared light received by the phototransistor 16 enters from the translucent plate 5 and passes through the infrared transmitting member 18. The phototransistor 16 and the infrared light receiving detector 17 form an infrared light receiving means for detecting the reflected infrared light.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the infrared LED 14 and the phototransistor 16 are provided so as to protrude from a box body 21 provided in the container body 2, and each periphery is surrounded by a wall plate 22. The wall plate 22 prevents the infrared radiation emitted from the infrared LED 14 from directly entering the phototransistor 16. The box 21 houses the remaining components of the proximity switch device 1 excluding the infrared LED 14 and the phototransistor 16.

  An infrared transmitting member 18 is disposed on the wall plate 22 so as to face the infrared LED 14 and the phototransistor 16. The infrared transmitting member 18 is attached to the wall plate 22 or fixed by screws.

  The infrared transmitting member 18 is formed of a rectangular flat plate whose infrared transmittance decreases at a constant rate as the thickness increases, is formed to have a predetermined thickness, and has a predetermined infrared transmittance. The infrared transmitting member 18 is made of, for example, an acrylic material and includes a pigment that blocks visible light, or an interference film that blocks visible light is formed on the surface. In other words, the infrared transmitting member 18 blocks visible light and transmits the infrared rays emitted from the infrared LED 14 and the reflected infrared rays reflected by the object, respectively, and adjusts the reflected infrared rays detected by the infrared light receiving detector 17. is doing.

  In FIG. 4, the reflected infrared light detected by the infrared light receiving detection unit 17 is processed by the main control unit 13. The main control unit 13 calculates the reflected infrared light that the infrared light receiving detection unit 17 continuously detects at the predetermined timing. When the hand or finger is not held in front of the translucent plate 5 and the continuous reception of the reflected infrared light by the phototransistor 16 is interrupted, the calculation process is terminated. When the infrared light receiving detector 17 detects the reflected infrared light again, the previous calculation processing is reset and the continuous reflected infrared light is calculated again. When the reflected infrared light detected by the infrared light receiving detector 17 is equal to or higher than a predetermined value (predetermined intensity), a control signal for reversely controlling the on / off of the illumination load 10 is sent to the load control I / F 20.

  The display / SW operation unit 19 displays a control state by the main control unit 13 and has a switch (not shown) for operation input by the user. In the display, the display color passing through the translucent plate 6 and the intensity of transmitted light are changed according to the on / off control of the illumination load 10.

  The load control I / F unit 20 includes, for example, a relay, and is configured to reversely control the lighting load 10 according to a control signal from the main control unit 13. That is, the main control unit 13 controls the load control I / F unit 20 so that the on / off of the illumination load 10 is reversed and controlled every time the reflected infrared ray of a predetermined value or more is detected by the infrared light receiving detection unit 17. . The main control unit 13 and the load control I / F unit 20 form load control means that reversely controls on / off of the illumination load 10 in response to detection of the reflected infrared rays.

  Next, the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  The main control unit 13 and the load control I / F unit 20 as load control means reversely control ON / OFF of the illumination load 10 every time the reflected infrared ray of a predetermined value or more is detected by the infrared light receiving detection unit 17. And the intensity | strength of the said reflected infrared rays detected by the infrared light reception detection part 17 increases / decreases according to the distance of the plate 4 and objects, such as a hand and a finger | toe. For example, when the distance between the plate 4 and the object increases, the ratio of the reflected infrared light reflected by the object in the infrared radiation emitted from the infrared LED 14 decreases, and the ratio of the reflected infrared light received by the phototransistor 16 decreases. Become.

  When the reflected infrared ray of a predetermined value or more is detected by the infrared light receiving detection unit 17 in a state where the distance between the plate 4 and the object is large, for example, when a person passes in front of the proximity switch device 1, the illumination load 10 is There arises a problem that the inversion control is performed undesirably. Therefore, detection of the reflected infrared light is adjusted so that when the object is located at a predetermined distance from the plate 4, the infrared light receiving detection unit 17 detects the reflected infrared light of a predetermined value or more. That is, the detection sensitivity for the object is adjusted.

  The adjustment for the detection of the reflected infrared light is performed by an infrared transmitting member 18 provided between the infrared LED 14 and the phototransistor 16 and the light transmitting plate 5. The infrared ray transmitting member 18 transmits infrared rays emitted from the infrared LED 14 and reflected infrared rays from an object incident on the phototransistor 16. Thereby, each intensity | strength of the said infrared rays and the said reflected infrared rays reduces, when the infrared rays transmissive member 18 permeate | transmits. The infrared transmission member 18 is configured such that the infrared transmittance is set to a predetermined transmittance, and when the object is located at a predetermined distance from the plate 4, the reflected infrared ray of a predetermined value or more is detected by the infrared light receiving detector 17. I try to do it.

  Since the infrared transmitting member 18 blocks visible light, the visible light passing therethrough becomes very small as the thickness thereof increases, so that noise in the infrared light receiving detector 17 is suppressed.

  As described above, the infrared transmissive member 18 having a predetermined infrared transmittance is provided between the infrared LED 14 and the phototransistor 16 and the translucent plate 5 in accordance with the detection distance of the object from the plate 4. The detection sensitivity can be easily adjusted. Since only the infrared transmitting member 18 is provided between the infrared LED 14 and the phototransistor 16 and the light transmitting plate 5, the configuration for adjusting the detection sensitivity with respect to the object is simple. 1 can be formed at low cost.

  Further, since the infrared transmitting member 18 is a flat plate whose infrared transmittance decreases at a constant rate as the thickness increases, a predetermined infrared transmittance corresponding to the detection distance of the object from the plate 4 is set to a predetermined thickness. It can be determined by Therefore, by providing the outer-line transmitting member 18 having a predetermined thickness between the infrared LED 14 and the phototransistor 16 and the translucent plate 5, the detection sensitivity for an object can be easily adjusted, and the proximity switch The device 1 can be formed at low cost.

  The infrared transmitting member 18 may be provided between the phototransistor 16 and the light transmitting plate 5. In this case, the infrared transmitting member 18 is changed so that the infrared transmittance is lowered.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  5 and 6 show a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a schematic front view of a proximity switch device, and FIG. 6 is a schematic front view of an infrared transmitting member showing different transmittances. Note that the same parts as those in FIG.

  The proximity switch device 24 shown in FIG. 5 is affixed with an infrared transmission member 25 made of a film so as to cover the light transmission plate 5 in place of the infrared transmission member 18 in the proximity switch device 1 shown in FIGS. It is a thing. On the surface 25 f of the infrared transmitting member 25, a small circle printed body 26 is printed with a predetermined printing pattern with a paint. The printed body 26 does not transmit infrared rays. The quantity of the print body 26 is set (determined) in the print pattern so that when the object is located at a predetermined distance from the plate 4, the infrared light receiving detection unit 17 detects the reflected infrared ray of a predetermined amount or more. )

  The infrared transmitting member 25 can be changed according to the detection distance of the object from the plate 4. FIG. 6 shows that the degree of infrared transmission of the infrared transmitting member 25 differs depending on the printing pattern of the printed body 26. Since the infrared transmitting member 25a shown in FIG. 6 (a) has the largest number of printed bodies 26, the infrared transmitting member 25e shown in FIG. 6 (e) has the least number of printed bodies 26. Transmits infrared rays. Therefore, as the detection distance of the object from the plate 4 is increased, the sensitivity adjustment to the object can be easily performed by sequentially using the infrared transmitting member 25a to the infrared transmitting member 25e. And it can also affix on the upper surface of the translucent plate 5 so that the infrared transmission member 25a thru | or the infrared transmission member 25e may overlap.

  As described above, setting the detection distance of the object from the plate 4, that is, adjusting the detection sensitivity with respect to the object, can be easily performed by simply attaching the infrared transmitting member 25 made of a film to the light transmitting plate 5. Thereby, space saving of the proximity switch device 24 and labor saving in the adjustment can be achieved, and the proximity switch device 24 can be formed at low cost.

  The infrared transmitting member 25 may print the surface 25f with an infrared transmitting paint and determine the predetermined infrared transmittance according to the thickness of the paint film, regardless of the number of the printed bodies 26. .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a proximity switch apparatus which shows the 1st Embodiment of this invention, (a) is a schematic front view, (b) is a schematic side view. Similarly, the schematic front view of the proximity switch apparatus of the state arrange | positioned by the construction. Similarly, the partially cutaway schematic side view of the proximity switch device. Similarly, the block diagram which shows the 3-wire type illumination control system using a proximity switch apparatus. Schematic front view of a proximity switch device showing a second embodiment of the present invention Similarly, the schematic front view of the infrared rays transparent member which shows different transmittance | permeability.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,24 ... Proximity switch device 8 ... Illumination control system 9 ... Illumination device 13 ... Main control part 15 which comprises load control means ... Infrared LED light emission part 17 as infrared light emission means ... Infrared light reception detection as infrared light reception means Units 18, 25 ... Infrared transmitting member 20 ... Load control interface (I / F) unit constituting load control means

Claims (5)

Infrared light emitting means for emitting infrared light;
Infrared receiving means for detecting reflected infrared light reflected by the object;
An infrared transmitting member disposed between the object and the infrared light receiving means, which blocks visible light and transmits the infrared light at a predetermined transmittance;
Load control means for reversing and controlling on / off of the load each time the reflected infrared light is detected by the infrared light receiving means;
Proximity switch device characterized by comprising.   2. The proximity switch according to claim 1, wherein the infrared transmitting member is a flat plate whose infrared transmittance decreases at a constant rate as the thickness increases, and the infrared transmittance is determined by the thickness. apparatus.   2. The proximity switch device according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the infrared transmitting member is printed with a paint, and the infrared transmittance is determined by the thickness of the paint film or the print pattern.   4. The proximity switch device according to claim 3, wherein the infrared transmitting member is made of a film that can be attached. A proximity switch device according to any one of claims 1 to 4;
An illumination load having an illumination load that is controlled to be turned on and off by the proximity switch device, and a fixture main body in which the illumination load is disposed;
A lighting control system comprising:

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