JP2011101283A - Ultrasonic sensor apparatus and sensor position variable setting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ultrasonic sensor apparatus and a sensor position variable setting device which arbitrarily set a plurality of desired sensing angle ranges by using one ultrasonic sensor. <P>SOLUTION: The ultrasonic sensor apparatus includes: the ultrasonic sensor 11 which transmits/receives ultrasonic waves; and a horn part 12 which functions in transmission/reception to set directivity of the ultrasonic sensor 11. In a horn mechanism 13, a sensor transfer holding mechanism 20, with a means for holding the ultrasonic sensor 11 and for changing an installation position of the ultrasonic sensor 11 along the centerline of the horn part 12, is arranged in parallel. Then, the sensor transfer holding mechanism 20 is constituted by including: a male screw member 21 which transfers the ultrasonic sensor 11 along the centerline of the horn part 12 while fixing and holding the ultrasonic sensor 11 at its tip part; a male screw member holding mechanism 22 which permits reciprocation of the male screw member 21 along the centerline to be held; and a transfer force energizing mechanism 30 which energizes transfer force to the male screw member 21. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic sensor device and a sensor position variable setting device, and in particular, by changing the relative positional relationship between materials of an ultrasonic sensor and a horn unit disposed on the ultrasonic sensor, the orientation of the horn unit is changed. The present invention relates to an ultrasonic sensor device and a sensor position variable setting device that can variably set characteristics.

In recent years, the range of use of ultrasonic sensors has been expanded and used for various purposes such as position detection devices for self-propelled personal robots such as for toys and position detection devices for electronic pens.
On the other hand, since there is no universal type of ultrasonic sensor, it is common to place a plurality of sensors having characteristics suitable for the application.

  When the ultrasonic sensor device is equipped with an ultrasonic sensor of the same frequency, the degree of opening of the entire horn unit installed on the ultrasonic wave transmission / reception side, that is, the length of the entire horn unit and the spread of the opening unit It is determined by the degree.

Moreover, the horn part of an ultrasonic sensor apparatus is for improving the directivity of an ultrasonic sensor, and in many cases, the horn part has a dedicated horn shape part for a long distance or a short distance.
This type of horn part is formed so as to surround the ultrasonic wave transmission surface of the ultrasonic sensor and the ultrasonic wave transmission / reception space region located on the front surface thereof, and further obtains ultrasonic reception sensitivity and sharp directivity during transmission / reception. It is formed in a conical shape.

FIG. 7A is an explanatory diagram showing a change in length of a horn-shaped portion of a conventional horn member, and FIG. 7B is a correlation diagram showing sensitivity (or attenuation) or directivity of an ultrasonic sensor.
In FIG. 7A, the horn member 121 specially designed for long distance use has a total length 3L from the transmitting surface 101a of the ultrasonic sensor 101 to the opening, for example, 3 of the total length L of the horn member 111 for short distance. It is set to be doubled. Further, the total length of the horn-shaped portion of the horn member for medium distance (not shown) is set to twice that for short distance (that is, 2L).

The ultrasonic sensor devices 110 and 120 individually including the horn members configured as described above have sensitivity (or attenuation) or directivity as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7B, for a short distance, in the case of the horn member 111 having the full length L of the horn-shaped portion, a sensing angle range that extends in a substantially spindle shape at about 120 degrees is obtained. In the case of the horn member 121 having a horn-shaped portion having a total length of 3L, a sensing angle range that extends in a substantially spindle shape at about 60 degrees is obtained. In the case of a medium distance, the detection angle range is between these ranges. That is, the directivity becomes sharper in proportion to the increase in the total length L, but the spread sensitivity to a wide range is greatly reduced.

This type of ultrasonic sensor device is used as an obstacle sensing device, for example. FIG. 8 shows an example in which this ultrasonic sensor device is mounted as an obstacle sensing device on, for example, a self-propelled personal robot.
The robot 200 shown in FIG. 8 has been conventionally known as having a technology that enables a self-running state to be maintained while avoiding an obstacle.

  Here, FIG. 8A is a front view of the personal robot, and FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 8A. In FIG. 8A, on the bottom surface of the robot main body 201, at least three driving wheels 211 and 211 (two are disclosed in the figure) for making this a self-propelled type are in a 360 degree direction. It is provided so that the direction can be changed.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the robot body 200 includes an ultrasonic sensor device 120 having a horn portion 121 for a long distance and an ultrasonic wave having a horn portion 111 for a short distance. A sensor device 110 is provided in the vertical direction in the figure. Here, reference numeral 101 denotes an ultrasonic sensor that outputs low-frequency ultrasonic waves that can be propagated in the air. The ultrasonic sensor devices 120 and 110 are equipped with the same frequency.
As described above, by providing the two ultrasonic sensor devices 120 and 110, two different sensing angle ranges for the long distance and the short distance shown in FIG. 7B can be obtained. ing.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 03-113386 and 05-143155 are known as prior arts related to the ultrasonic sensor devices 120 and 110.
Among them, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 03-113386, an efficient ultrasonic transceiver capable of adjusting the resonance frequency can be obtained by making the length of the cylindrical portion from the electroacoustic transducer to the horn portion variable. The technical contents to the effect have been proposed.
Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-143155, a distance sensor for a cleaning robot is provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction, so that the distance from the wall surface of the room can be detected correctly regardless of where the cleaning robot is located. The technical content to the effect is proposed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 03-113386 JP 05-143155 A

  However, in the related art described above, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 8, for example, in order to obtain two different sensing angle ranges, for a long distance with a narrow directivity and a short distance with a wide directivity. Therefore, it is necessary to separately provide ultrasonic sensors having different horn members. For this reason, there has been a disadvantage that the entire apparatus is greatly increased in cost. Further, when switching between long distance use and short distance use, the measurement target range is set in a stepwise manner, and there is an inconvenience that there is a blind spot that cannot be measured, particularly when used at a stop.

(Object of invention)
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an ultrasonic sensor device and a sensor position variable setting device capable of arbitrarily setting a plurality of desired sensing angle ranges using one ultrasonic sensor. The purpose is to provide

In order to achieve the above object, an ultrasonic sensor device according to the present invention functions as an ultrasonic sensor that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves for aerial propagation, and functions when ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received by the ultrasonic sensors. A horn mechanism provided with a horn part for setting
The ultrasonic sensor device according to the present invention further includes means for holding the ultrasonic sensor and changing the installation position of the ultrasonic sensor along the center line of the horn unit in the horn mechanism described above. A sensor transfer holding mechanism is also provided.

  Then, a male screw member that moves the sensor transfer holding mechanism along the center line of the horn portion while the ultrasonic sensor is fixedly held at the tip thereof, and the male screw member reciprocates along the center line. And a male screw member holding mechanism that holds the male screw member and a transfer force biasing mechanism that biases the male screw member along a center line of the horn portion. It is characterized by.

In order to achieve the above object, the variable sensor position setting device according to the present invention holds the ultrasonic sensor disposed in the horn portion at one end and is disposed along the center line of the horn portion. A male screw member, a male screw member holding mechanism that holds the male screw member so as to be reciprocally movable along a center line thereof, and a transfer force biasing mechanism that biases the male screw member to reciprocate along the center line thereof. I have.
Furthermore, the sensor position variable setting device according to the present invention includes a male screw holding unit that holds the male screw member while allowing the male screw member to reciprocate along the center line. A male screw holding unit is provided with a guide mechanism that prevents the male screw member from rotating and sets a range of reciprocal movement of the male screw member.

  The present invention is configured as described above, and the ultrasonic sensor is installed in the horn so as to be reciprocable along the center line. Therefore, according to this, by setting the equipment position variably with one ultrasonic sensor, The directivity (sensing angle range) can be variably set continuously, and the directivity for long distance, short distance, and even medium distance can be variably set continuously, so that switching use The generation of blind spots at the time can be reliably eliminated, and the horns with different lengths can be switched easily for long-distance, short-distance, and medium-distance with a single device. It is possible to provide an ultrasonic sensor device and a sensor position variable setting device that have an excellent effect that it is possible to effectively reduce the cost of the entire device in this respect, because it is not necessary to install a plurality of devices including a unit.

It is the side view which carried out the partial cross section which shows 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an operation example of the first embodiment disclosed in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2A is an explanatory diagram illustrating a sharp state of directivity for a long distance in which an ultrasonic sensor is disposed in a deep portion of the horn portion; (B) is explanatory drawing which shows the state with a wide directivity for short distances by moving an ultrasonic sensor moderately to the opening part side of a horn part. FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a comparative example of the directivity of the operation of the first embodiment disclosed in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3A is a switching operation of two ultrasonic sensors in the related technology described above (FIG. 7B). FIG. 3B is an explanatory diagram showing the range of directivity change obtained in this case, and the ultrasonic sensor according to the first embodiment is continuously moved from the position shown in FIG. 2A to the position shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the range of the directivity change obtained when it changes. 4A and 4B are views showing a second embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 4A is a side view of a section of the ultrasonic sensor, and FIG. 4B is a front view seen from the direction of arrow A in FIG. is there. 5A and 5B are views showing a third embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 5A is a side view in which an ultrasonic sensor is partially sectioned, and FIG. 5B is a front view seen from the direction of arrow A in FIG. is there. FIG. 6A is a diagram showing the relationship between the position of the electronic pen and the directivity of the receiver when any one of the above embodiments of the present invention is used as a receiver of the electronic pen device. FIG. 6B is an explanatory diagram showing a case of a short distance and a wide directivity state. FIG. 7A is a diagram showing two ultrasonic sensor devices having different horn lengths in the related art. FIG. 7A shows that the length of the horn portion for a long distance is three times the length of the horn portion for a short distance. FIG. 7B is a diagram showing the difference in directivity sharpness resulting from the difference in the length of the horn part for short distance, medium distance, and long distance. FIG. 7A is a diagram showing an example in which two ultrasonic sensor devices having different horn lengths in a related technology are mounted on a self-propelled personal robot. FIG. FIG. 7B is an explanatory diagram showing the position, and FIG. 7B shows the state when the far distance of two ultrasonic sensor devices is mounted on the top and the near distance is mounted on the bottom of FIG. 7A. It is a schematic sectional drawing in alignment with the line.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.
First, in FIG. 1, the code | symbol 10 shows the ultrasonic sensor apparatus with which the abdominal part 1A of the self-propelled personal robot was equipped. This ultrasonic sensor device 10 functions at the time of transmission / reception of ultrasonic waves by the ultrasonic sensor 11 that transmits / receives ultrasonic waves for propagation in the air, and sets the directivity (directivity characteristics) of the ultrasonic sensor 11. And a horn mechanism 12 having a horn portion 13 for performing the above operation.

The horn portion 13 includes a cylindrical space portion 13A that allows the ultrasonic sensor 11 to be installed and allows the ultrasonic sensor 11 to reciprocate.
The horn portion 13 is provided continuously and integrally with the cylindrical space portion 13A on the opening side of the cylindrical space portion 13A (opened in the left direction in FIG. 1), and the ultrasonic sensor. 11 includes a sound wave guide unit 13B that guides the ultrasonic waves transmitted and received by 11 and identifies the directivity of the ultrasonic waves described above.

  In the first embodiment, the length of the sonic guide portion 13B and the length of the sonic guide portion 13B with respect to the length L of the cylindrical space portion 13A is as follows. It is set to 2 times 2L. That is, the overall length of the horn portion 13 is set to 3 L, which is three times the tube length L of the cylindrical space portion 13A.

  Thereby, the ultrasonic waves transmitted and received by the ultrasonic sensor 11 provided in the cylindrical space portion 13A are radiated or arrived from the sound wave guide portion 13B to the outside with directivity determined by the position, as will be described later. Ultrasound is focused and guided.

  Here, the sound wave guide portion 13B of the horn portion 13 is formed in a cross-sectional trumpet shape having an opening 12a in the left end portion direction of FIG. The trumpet-shaped curve of the sound wave guide portion 13B forms a logarithmic curve, which effectively reduces energy loss during the input / output of ultrasonic waves during operation of the ultrasonic sensor.

  The horn mechanism 12 is provided with a sensor transfer holding mechanism 20 having means for holding the ultrasonic sensor 11 and changing the installation position of the ultrasonic sensor 11 along the center line CL of the horn portion 13. Has been.

  Specifically, the sensor transfer holding mechanism 20 has a male screw member 21 that transfers the ultrasonic sensor 11 while firmly holding the ultrasonic sensor 11 at the tip thereof, and the male screw member 21 can reciprocate along the center line CL. A male screw member holding mechanism 22 for holding, and a transfer force biasing mechanism 30 for biasing the male screw member 21 along the center line of the male screw member 21 are provided.

  Here, the ultrasonic sensor 11 disposed in the horn portion 13 described above is held at one end portion, and the male screw member 21 disposed along the center line CL of the horn portion 13 and the male screw member 21 are provided. A male screw member holding mechanism 22 that holds the male screw member 21 so as to freely reciprocate along the center line CL, and a transfer force biasing mechanism 30 that biases the male screw member 21 to reciprocate along the center line CL. A variable setting device is configured.

  The male screw member holding mechanism 22 includes a male screw holding unit 23 that holds the male screw member 21 while allowing the male screw member 21 to reciprocate along the center line CL, and a male screw holding unit 23. The guide mechanism portion 24 is provided and prevents the rotational operation of the male screw member 21 and sets the range of reciprocal movement of the male screw member 21.

  Thereby, the male screw member 21 is reciprocated along the center line CL without rotating while holding the ultrasonic sensor 11, and directivity for long distance or short distance (ultrasonic spreading angle) is allowed. Within a predetermined angle range, the variable setting is continuously made.

  Specifically, the guide mechanism 24 includes a through long hole 24A formed in the male screw member 21 along the center line CL of the male screw member 21, and the male screw from the male screw holding unit 23 side to the through long hole 24A. The guide pin 24B is inserted through the holding unit 23. The guide pin 24B is fixed to the male screw holding unit 23.

  Thereby, the male screw member 21 is engaged with the guide pin 24B at the through-hole 24A portion, and is set so as to be able to reciprocate along the center line CL of the horn portion 13 in a state where the rotation is blocked.

  Here, the holding unit 23 is fixedly held by the base member 1B in the abdomen 1A of the above-described self-propelled personal robot at the lower end, and further, The cylindrical space portion 13A is held from the outside.

  The male screw member 21 described above has a sensor holding portion 21A for holding the ultrasonic sensor 11 in the horn portion 13 at one end portion, and is driven by the transfer force biasing mechanism 30 at the other end portion. A driven portion 21B is provided. The driven portion 21B is configured by a driven screw portion in the first embodiment. The length E of the driven screw portion (driven portion) 21B is set to a dimension larger than the reciprocating movement distance F of the ultrasonic sensor 11 provided in the horn portion 13 described above.

  Further, the transfer force biasing mechanism 30 is externally engaged with the driven screw portion (driven portion) 21B of the male screw member 21 and externally driven screw portion 32 for biasing the transfer force to the driven screw portion. And a drive motor 33 that rotationally drives the circumscribed drive screw portion 32 at a low speed, and a motor control unit 34 that controls the rotational operation of the drive motor 33.

  Here, the circumscribed drive screw portion 32 employs a reverse screw with respect to the driven screw portion (driven portion) 21B of the male screw member 21 described above as the screw structure in the first embodiment. Thus, the circumscribed drive screw portion 32 can smoothly mesh with the driven screw portion (driven portion) 21B of the male screw member 21 so that the rotational force of the drive motor 33 can be smoothly transmitted to the male screw member 21. It has become.

The drive motor 33 is configured to be capable of normal rotation and reverse rotation, and the motor control unit 34 arbitrarily sets the normal rotation or reverse rotation and rotation speed of the drive motor 33 based on a command (not shown) input from the operator. It is configured to be controllable.
As a result, the male screw member 21 can reciprocate the ultrasonic sensor 11 held at the tip thereof in minute units along the center line CL of the horn unit 13, and thus the directivity of the ultrasonic sensor 11 can be reduced. The size is variably set in minute units.

(Overall operation)
Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described.
First, after the ultrasonic sensor 11 in the horn unit 13 is arranged in the state (deepest part) of FIG. 2 (A), when the entire apparatus is set to the operating state, the direction of the ultrasonic wave output from the ultrasonic sensor 11 is set. The narrowing fan-shaped spread Ks shown in FIG. 2A due to the focusing action of the horn portion 13 is set, and the long-distance directivity Ks having a narrow spread (increase in sensitivity) is set. In this case, if the capture target is within this narrow directivity, it can be easily captured even at a considerably long distance. In the figure, the star symbol a indicates the position of the captured object to be captured.

Next, the transfer force biasing mechanism 30 described above is operated to set the ultrasonic sensor 11 to the state shown in FIG. 2B (the movement distance F in FIG. 1 is moved).
In this case, in the transfer force urging mechanism 30, the motor control unit 34 is operated in accordance with a command from the operator and the control command is transmitted to the drive motor 33, whereby the male screw member 21 is rotationally driven, and FIG. 2 is moved in the direction of the arrow P, whereby the ultrasonic sensor 11 held at the tip of the male screw member 21 moves the movement distance F described above, and is set to the state of FIG. .

  During this time, the rotational transfer force of the drive motor 33 is transmitted to the driven screw portion 21 of the male screw member 21 via the circumscribed driving screw portion 32 that is a driving screw portion, and the driven screw portion 21 causes the central axis of the male screw member 21 to be transmitted. It is converted into a linear transfer force along.

  In this case, in the conversion to the linear transfer force by the driven screw portion 21, the male screw member 21 is reciprocally held by the male screw member holding mechanism 22 and its rotation operation is blocked by the guide mechanism portion 24. Therefore, the driven screw portion 21 is also set so as not to rotate. For this reason, the rotational force of the circumscribed drive screw portion 32, which is the driving screw portion, is reliably and efficiently converted into a linear moving force along the central axis by the driven screw portion 21, whereby the ultrasonic sensor 11 described above is It is linearly transferred with high accuracy and held at the transfer destination.

  In the state of FIG. 2 (B), the ultrasonic sensor 11 is located near the opening 13a of the horn portion 13, and this causes the focusing action of the horn portion 13 to be somewhat relaxed, and FIG. 2 (B). And a wide directivity Kw for short distance is set (a corresponding decrease in sensitivity). In this case, if the capture object b exists within this wide directivity Kw, it is possible to easily capture even a thing that deviates considerably from the center line CL. That is, the capture range is expanded. In the figure, the star mark b indicates the position of the captured object to be captured.

Here, the above contents are summarized as follows.
At the time of distance measurement, the ultrasonic motor 11 can be arranged at an arbitrary position in the front-rear direction in the horn unit 13 by rotating the drive motor 33 forward / reversely by the motor control unit 34 of FIG. . As described with reference to FIG. 1, the characteristics of the ultrasonic sensor 11 change by changing the position of the ultrasonic sensor 11 with respect to the horn shape. FIGS. 2A and 2B show the positional relationship between the self-propelled personal robot, the measurement objects a and b, the horn unit 13, and the ultrasonic sensor 11.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 2A, when the ultrasonic sensor 11 is arranged on the back side (deep part) of the horn part 13, the measurement target range (directivity) becomes a long-distance narrow-angle directivity Ks, and is self-propelled. The type personal robot can measure the distance of the object to be measured a far away.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the ultrasonic sensor 11 is arranged outside the horn unit 13 (position close to the opening 12a), the measurement target range (directivity) becomes a short-distance wide-angle directivity Kw. The self-propelled personal robot can easily measure the distance of the measurement object b at a short distance at a wide angle.

  In the transfer force biasing mechanism 30 in the first embodiment, the driven screw portion (driven portion) 21B of the male screw member 21 is engaged with the driven screw portion 21B in a circumscribed state, and the transfer force is applied to the driven screw portion. However, the present invention does not limit the transfer force biasing mechanism to the driven screw portion (driven portion) 21B to the externally driven screw portion 32. For example, a combination of worm gears having different directions may be used.

(Effect of 1st Embodiment)
The first effect is that the measurement target range can be covered steplessly or in multiple steps.
In the known related technology in which the two ultrasonic sensors for long-distance narrow angle and short-distance wide angle shown in FIG. 3 (A) are mounted, the measurement target range K1 in FIG. 3 (A) has a stepped shape. When this is mounted on a self-propelled personal robot, the measurement object a located at the coordinate position (S1, S3) cannot be measured.

  On the other hand, in the first embodiment, the distance between the long-distance narrow angle and the short-distance wide angle can be adjusted steplessly. Therefore, when the self-propelled personal robot is equipped with this, the measurement target range K2 is as shown in FIG. As shown in B), the shape has no step, and the measurement object a located at the coordinate position (L1, S3) of the self-propelled personal robot can be measured. As a result, the measurement function is improved and the safety performance of the product is improved.

The second effect is that the apparatus can be miniaturized. Conventionally, in order to have a wide range to be measured, measures such as mounting a plurality of ultrasonic sensors having different characteristics or mounting a plurality of same-type ultrasonic sensors by changing the horn shape have been taken.
On the other hand, in the first embodiment, the characteristic can be arbitrarily varied with one ultrasonic sensor and a fixed horn shape, and the measurement object can be widened. The mounting space for sensors and horns can be greatly reduced.

  According to the third effect, the number of parts can be reduced for the same reason as the second effect, and the cost of the entire apparatus can be reduced.

  Thus, since the ultrasonic sensor device of the first embodiment is configured and functions as described above, according to this, the ultrasonic sensor 11 is placed in the horn portion 12 along the center line CL. Since it is equipped so as to be able to reciprocate, the directivity (sensing angle range) can be continuously variably set by variably setting the position of the equipment with one ultrasonic sensor 11, and for long distances. The directivity for short distances and even for medium distances can be continuously variably set, so that it is possible to reliably eliminate the generation of blind spots when switching and use a single device. Since it is easy to switch between distance, short distance, and medium distance, it is not necessary to install multiple devices with horn parts with different lengths, which reduces the overall cost of the device. Can effectively reduce It is possible to provide an ultrasonic sensor device and sensor position variably setting device exhibits an excellent effect that.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
Here, the same code | symbol shall be used about the structural member same as each structural member in 1st Embodiment mentioned above.

The second embodiment is characterized in that the directivity of the ultrasonic sensor in the ultrasonic sensor device is variably set by an external operation by the operator.
Here, FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of the ultrasonic sensor device 40 according to the third embodiment, and FIG. 4B is a front view seen from the direction of arrow A in FIG.

  The ultrasonic sensor device 40 according to the second embodiment functions at the time of ultrasonic wave transmission / reception by the ultrasonic sensor 11 and the ultrasonic sensor 11 as in the case of the first embodiment disclosed in FIG. A horn mechanism 12 having a horn portion 13 for setting the directivity of the ultrasonic sensor 11, and the ultrasonic sensor 11 of the horn mechanism 12 are held and the ultrasonic sensor 11 is placed on the center line CL of the horn portion. And a sensor transfer holding mechanism 41 that changes the installation position along the line.

  Among these, the sensor transfer holding mechanism 41 has a male screw member 21 that moves along the center line CL of the horn portion 13 while the ultrasonic sensor is firmly held at the tip thereof, and the male screw member 21 is located at the center line. A male screw member holding mechanism 22 that allows the male screw member 21 to reciprocate along, and a transfer force that urges the male screw member 21 along a center line CL of the horn portion 13. And an urging mechanism 42.

  In the second embodiment, the transfer force urging mechanism 42 that urges the male screw member 21 with a transfer force includes a disk-like drive dial 42A screwed to the driven screw portion 21B of the male screw member 21, and this A fixed position holding member 42B is provided which is engaged with the drive dial 42A and allows the rotation of the drive dial 42A to keep the distance between the drive dial 42A and the horn mechanism 12 constant.

  Reference numeral 44 denotes a housing that houses the ultrasonic sensor device 40. A fixed position holding member 42B is fixedly mounted on the inner bottom 44A of the housing 44. Further, the upper surface cover 44B portion of the housing 44 is provided with a long hole portion 44Ba for projecting the drive dial 42A toward the upper surface, and the drive projecting from the long hole portion 44Ba portion is provided. An operator can drive the dial 42A.

According to the second embodiment, the directivity of the ultrasonic sensor 11 described above can be manually switched by an external operation by an operator between a long distance, a short distance, and a medium distance. Is extremely easy and the workability is very good.
Other configurations and the operation and effects thereof are the same as those of the first embodiment described above.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
Here, the same code | symbol shall be used about the structural member same as each structural member in 1st Embodiment mentioned above.

  The third embodiment is configured to variably set the directivity of the ultrasonic sensor in the ultrasonic sensor device by an external operation by the operator, as in the case of the second embodiment disclosed in FIG. 4 described above. It has the feature in the point. Here, FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of the ultrasonic sensor device 50 according to the third embodiment, and FIG. 5B is a front view seen from the direction of arrow A in FIG.

  As in the case of the first embodiment (FIG. 1) described above, the ultrasonic sensor device 50 according to the third embodiment functions when the ultrasonic sensor 11 and ultrasonic waves are transmitted / received by the ultrasonic sensor 11. A horn mechanism 12 having a horn portion 13 for setting the directivity of the ultrasonic sensor 11, and the ultrasonic sensor 11 of the horn mechanism 12 are held along the center line CL of the horn portion. And a sensor transfer holding mechanism 51 for changing the installation position.

  The sensor transfer holding mechanism 51 has a male screw member 21 that transfers the ultrasonic sensor along the center line CL of the horn portion 13 while firmly holding the ultrasonic sensor at its tip, and the male screw member 21 extends along the center line CL. A male screw member holding mechanism 52 that holds the male screw member 21 while allowing the male screw member 21 to reciprocate, and a transfer force that urges the male screw member 21 along a center line CL of the horn portion 13. Force mechanism 53.

  Among these, the male screw member holding mechanism 52 holds the male screw member 21 at the driven screw portion 21B portion of the male screw member 21 described above and reciprocates while the male screw member 21 rotates along its center line CL. It is configured to include a male screw holding member 52A that permits the above. The male screw member holding mechanism 52 described above is configured by the male screw holding member 21A and the female screw portion 21B provided on the male screw holding member 21A corresponding to the driven screw portion 21B.

  Further, when the length of the screw portion on the horn portion 13 side in the state set in FIG. 5 of the driven screw portion (driven portion) 21B is R, this R is provided in the horn portion 13 described above. Further, the dimension is set to be larger than the reciprocation distance F of the ultrasonic sensor 11 (R> F).

Further, in the third embodiment, the transfer force biasing mechanism 53 is constituted by a disk-like drive dial fixed to the end of the male screw member 21 opposite to the ultrasonic sensor 11 side. Reference numeral 55 denotes a housing that houses the horn portion 13 and the male screw member holding mechanism 52.
The above-described male screw member holding mechanism 52 is fixedly mounted on the inner bottom 54A of the casing 54.

  Further, an extended portion 21C in a state where a screw is not attached is extended to the outside of the housing 54 at the end of the driven screw portion 21B of the male screw member 21 described above. A disk-shaped drive dial constituting the transfer force biasing mechanism 53 is fixedly mounted on the extended portion 21C of the driven screw portion 21B.

For this reason, when the operator rotates the drive dial (transfer force urging mechanism) 53 from the outside, the ultrasonic sensor 11 described above rotates together with the male screw member 2 in accordance with the rotation direction, and the horn portion 13 is rotated. Are reciprocated minutely and continuously along the center line CL, and at the same time, the position is set with high accuracy. This third embodiment is a structure suitable for a device having a relatively short depth.
Other configurations and the effects thereof are the same as those of the first embodiment described above.

[Application example]
Of the above-described embodiments, the second to third embodiments can be effectively used as a receiving device such as an electronic pen system.
This electronic pen system is a system in which the position of a pen having an ultrasonic transmitter is measured by a receiving device (receiver) having an ultrasonic sensor, and drawing data is sent to a personal computer. FIG. 6 shows an outline of the usage state.

  As shown in FIG. 6, for example, when the receiver 40 and the display projection range 70 are used apart from each other, the measurement target range Ks of the receiver 40 is set for a long distance and narrow angle. Conversely, when the receiver 40 and the display projection range 70 are used close to each other, the measurement target range Kw of the receiver 40 is set for a short-distance wide angle.

  When the directivity (directivity characteristic) of the ultrasonic sensor device is variably set during use and precise measurement is required as in this electronic pen system, the manual variable structure can be used for manual operation. The ultrasonic sensor devices according to the second to third embodiments of the method are highly practical.

  The present invention can be used for a distance measuring device using ultrasonic waves and general electronic devices similar thereto.

10, 40, 50 Ultrasonic sensor device 11 Ultrasonic sensor 12 Horn mechanism 13 Horn portion 13A Cylindrical space portion 13B Sound wave guide portion 20, 41, 51 Sensor transfer holding mechanism 21 Male screw member 21A Sensor holding portion 21B Driven screw portion ( Driven part)
22, 52 Male screw member holding mechanism 23 Holding unit 24 Guide mechanism portion 24A Through-hole 24B Guide pin 30, 42 Transfer force biasing mechanism 32 External drive screw portion 33 Drive motor 34 Motor control portion 42A Drive dial 42B Fixed position holding member 53 Drive dial (transfer force biasing mechanism)
a, b Obstacle Ks Measurement range (for long-distance narrow angle)
Kw measurement target range (for bacteria distance wide angle)
CL center line

Claims (9)

Ultrasonic sensor device having an ultrasonic sensor that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves for propagation in the air, and a horn mechanism that includes a horn unit that functions when ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received by the ultrasonic sensors and sets the directivity of the ultrasonic sensors In
The horn mechanism is provided with a sensor transfer holding mechanism that includes means for holding the ultrasonic sensor and changing the installation position of the ultrasonic sensor along the center line of the horn unit,
A male screw member that moves the sensor transfer holding mechanism along the center line of the horn while holding the ultrasonic sensor firmly at its tip, and the male screw member reciprocates along the center line. A male screw member holding mechanism that allows and holds the male screw member and a transfer force biasing mechanism that biases a transfer force along a center line of the horn portion with respect to the male screw member. An ultrasonic sensor device. The ultrasonic sensor device according to claim 1,
The horn portion is integrated with the cylindrical space portion on the opening side of the cylindrical space portion, and the cylindrical space portion that allows the ultrasonic sensor to be installed and the reciprocating movement of the ultrasonic sensor. An ultrasonic sensor device comprising: a sound wave guide unit that guides an ultrasonic wave that is provided and is transmitted and received by the ultrasonic sensor and that specifies the directivity of the ultrasonic wave. The ultrasonic sensor device according to claim 2,
The male screw member has a sensor holding portion for holding the ultrasonic sensor in the horn portion at one end portion, and a driven portion driven by the transfer force biasing mechanism is formed at the other end portion. An ultrasonic sensor device characterized by having a configuration. The ultrasonic sensor device according to claim 3,
A male screw holding unit that holds the male screw member while allowing the male screw member to reciprocate along the center line, and a rotation operation of the male screw member that is provided in the male screw holding unit. An ultrasonic sensor device comprising: a guide mechanism unit that blocks and sets a range of reciprocal movement of the male screw member. The ultrasonic sensor device according to claim 3,
While configuring the driven portion of the male screw member with a driven screw portion,
The transfer force biasing mechanism meshes with the driven screw portion of the male screw member in a circumscribing state and an external drive screw portion that biases the transfer force to the driven screw portion, and the circumscribed drive screw portion in a low speed state. An ultrasonic sensor device comprising: a drive motor that is rotationally driven by a motor; and a motor control unit that controls a rotational operation of the drive motor. The ultrasonic sensor device according to claim 5,
The guide mechanism portion is loosely inserted through the male screw holding unit from the male screw holding unit side through a through long hole formed in the male screw member along the center line of the male screw member. An ultrasonic sensor device comprising a guide pin. The ultrasonic sensor device according to claim 2,
The transfer force urging mechanism includes a disk-like drive dial screwed into the driven screw portion of the male screw member, and the drive dial is allowed to rotate while being engaged with the drive dial. An ultrasonic sensor device comprising a fixed-position holding member that always holds a separation distance from a horn mechanism constant. The ultrasonic sensor device according to claim 2,
A male screw that holds the male screw member in a state in which the male screw member holding mechanism is screwed to the driven screw portion of the male screw member and allows the male screw member to reciprocate while rotating along the center line. With a holding member for
The ultrasonic sensor device, wherein the transfer force urging mechanism is constituted by a disk-shaped drive dial fixed to an end of the male screw member opposite to the ultrasonic sensor side. The ultrasonic sensor disposed in the horn portion is held at one end, and a male screw member disposed along the center line of the horn portion, and the male screw member is reciprocally held along the center line. A male screw member holding mechanism; and a transfer force urging mechanism for urging the male screw member to reciprocate along a center line thereof, wherein the male screw member is reciprocated along the center line. A male screw holding unit that holds the male screw member while allowing the male screw member to be held, and a guide mechanism that is provided in the male screw holding unit and prevents a rotational movement of the male screw member and sets a range of reciprocating movement of the male screw member. A sensor position variable setting device characterized by comprising.

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