JP2024020890A - detection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a detection device capable of appropriately detecting the presence or absence of a detection object.

SOLUTION: A detection device 1 includes: an irradiation part 20 for irradiating a predetermined area 12 with light; a reflected light detection part 30 for detecting light reflected by a detection object 2 when the detection object 2 exists in an area 12; a transmitted light detection part 40 for detecting the light when the detection object 2 does not exist in the area 12; and a determination part 60 for determining that the detection object 2 is present in the area 12 when at least one of a case where the reflected light detection part 30 detects the light and a case where the transmitted light detection part 40 does not detect the light.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

COPYRIGHT: (C)2024,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a detection device that detects an object.

Conventionally, detection devices for detecting objects have been used. As such a detection device, there is one that detects a target object using light (for example, Patent Document 1).

Patent Document 1 describes an optical coupling device. This optical coupling device includes a light-emitting element that emits light toward a passage through which an object to be detected passes, a light-receiving element for transmission that receives light from the light-emitting element that has passed through the object to be detected in the passage, and a light-receiving element for transmitting light that is reflected by the object to be detected in the passage. The detection target object is identified based on the amount of light received by each of the transmission light receiving element and the reflection light receiving element.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-168234

The optical coupling device described in Patent Document 1 connects blank paper and glossy paper passing through a path based on an output voltage corresponding to the amount of light received by a transmission light receiving element and an output voltage corresponding to the amount of light received by a reflection light receiving element. It is distinguished from transparent paper. That is, in the optical coupling device described in Patent Document 1, identification (judgment) is performed based on one of the output voltage according to the amount of light received by the transmission light receiving element and the output voltage according to the amount of light received by the reflection light receiving element. ing. For example, depending on the configuration and installation location of the optical coupling device, the location where the object to be detected may be identified (detected) may be illuminated with light from sources other than the light emitting element. The presence or absence of the object to be detected may not be appropriately detected by identification (judgment) based on one of the output voltage that corresponds to the amount of light received by the reflection light receiving element and the output voltage that corresponds to the amount of light received by the reflection light receiving element.

Therefore, there is a need for a detection device that can appropriately detect the presence or absence of a detection target.

The characteristic configuration of the detection device according to the present invention includes: an irradiation unit that irradiates light toward a predetermined area; and when a detection target exists in the area, the detection device emits the light reflected by the detection target. a reflected light detector that detects the light; a transmitted light detector that detects the light when the detection target is not present in the area; and a transmitted light detector that detects the light when the reflected light detector detects the light; A determination unit that determines that the object to be detected is present in the area when at least one of the cases in which the transmitted light detection unit does not detect the light is satisfied. be.

With such a characteristic configuration, it is possible to determine whether or not a detection target exists in a predetermined area based on the detection result of at least one of the reflected light detection section and the transmitted light detection section. For this reason, there are cases where it is possible to determine the presence of a detection target in a predetermined area based only on the detection results of the reflected light detector, and cases where it is possible to determine that a detection target exists in a predetermined area based only on the detection results of the transmitted light detector. Not only in cases where it is possible to determine that the object exists, but also in situations where there is ambient light, for example, the detection results of both the reflected light detection unit and the transmitted light detection unit indicate that the detection target exists in a predetermined area. It is possible to determine whether or not the Therefore, it is possible to appropriately detect the presence or absence of the object to be detected.

Further, the determination unit determines that the detection target object is present in the area when the reflected light detection unit detects the light and the transmitted light detection unit does not detect the light. Then, it is suitable.

With this configuration, it is possible to determine whether or not a detection target exists in a predetermined area based on the detection results of both the reflected light detection section and the transmitted light detection section. Therefore, even in a situation where there is ambient light, for example, it is possible to appropriately detect the presence or absence of the object to be detected.

Further, the detection device is configured to have a first state in which the reflected light detection unit detects the light and the transmitted light detection unit stops detecting the light, and a first state in which the reflected light detection unit detects the light and the transmitted light detection unit stops detecting the light within a predetermined time. The apparatus further includes a state switching section that switches states of the reflected light detection section and the transmitted light detection section so as to include a second state in which light detection is stopped and the transmitted light detection section detects the light. , the determination unit includes one of the detection result of the reflected light detection unit in the latest first state and the detection result of the transmitted light detection unit in the second state, and the detection result of the reflection light detection unit in the immediately preceding first state. It is preferable to make the determination based on the detection result of the light detection section and the other of the detection results of the transmitted light detection section in the second state.

With this configuration, it is not necessary to put both the reflected light detection section and the transmitted light detection section into a state where they can detect light at the same time, so it is possible to reduce the power consumption of the detection device. Become.

In addition, when the determination unit continues to determine that the detection target exists in the area, the determination unit determines the detection result of the reflected light detection unit and the detection result of the transmitted light detection unit. When one of them changes, it is determined that the amount of the detection target at the time of the change is smaller than the amount of the detection target at the time when it is determined that it exists. It is possible to configure

With such a configuration, it becomes possible to determine the remaining amount of the object to be detected. Therefore, if the object to be detected requires replenishment, it is possible to replenish the object before it becomes empty.

Further, it is preferable that the irradiation section is provided so that its height from the area is different from the height of each of the reflected light detection section and the transmitted light detection section from the area.

With such a configuration, the detection accuracy of the reflected light detection section can be improved by arranging the irradiation section so that the detection target object easily reflects the light irradiated from the irradiation section. Further, by arranging the irradiation section so that the detection target object easily blocks the light irradiated from the irradiation section, it is possible to improve the detection accuracy of the transmitted light detection section.

FIG. 2 is a transparent perspective view of a dispenser equipped with the detection device of the first embodiment. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a detection device according to a second embodiment. It is an example of the detection target object by the detection apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating operations of a reflected light detection section and a transmitted light detection section. It is a figure explaining the judgment by a judgment part. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating determination when the remaining amount is low. It is a figure explaining the judgment by a judgment part. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the arrangement of an irradiation section, a reflected light detection section, and a transmitted light detection section according to another embodiment. It is a figure showing the judgment by the judgment part concerning other embodiments.

1. First Embodiment A detection device according to the present invention is capable of detecting the presence or absence of a detection target in a predetermined area. The detection device 1 of this embodiment will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dispenser 101 equipped with a detection device 1 of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of the detection device 1 in FIG. 1 (portions other than the detection device 1 are plan views). The detection device 1 of this embodiment detects a toothbrush 2A as the detection target object 2. Therefore, in the following description, the detection target object 2 will be described as a toothbrush 2A. Note that, in FIG. 1, the dispenser 101 is shown with the housing 100 shown through for easy understanding.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the detection device 1 includes an irradiation section 20, a reflected light detection section 30, a transmitted light detection section 40, and a determination section 60, and each functional section is a component of the toothbrush 2A. In order to perform processing related to presence/absence detection, it is constructed of hardware, software, or both, with a CPU as the core component. In this embodiment, the determination unit 60 is mounted on the substrate 3.

The irradiation unit 20 irradiates light toward a predetermined area 12 . The predetermined area 12 corresponds to a space (detection space) provided for detecting the presence of the toothbrush 2A in the detection device 1. The irradiation unit 20 may be configured using, for example, an infrared LED (light-emitting diode). The irradiation unit 20 irradiates light toward such an area 12. It is preferable that the light (infrared rays in this embodiment) emitted from the irradiation unit 20 be condensed in the area 12 . This makes it possible to irradiate light with high intensity toward the area 12, thereby making it possible to prevent erroneous detection by the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40, which will be described later.

The reflected light detection unit 30 detects the light reflected by the toothbrush 2A when the toothbrush 2A is present in the area 12. As described above, the irradiation unit 20 irradiates the area 12 with light. When the above-mentioned toothbrush 2A is present in the area 12, the reflected light detection unit 30 is located at a position to detect the light reflected by the toothbrush 2A after being irradiated by the irradiation unit 20, and is located in the area 12. When the toothbrush 2A is not present in the toothbrush 2A, the toothbrush 2A is provided at a position where the light emitted from the irradiation unit 20 is not detected. Note that when the toothbrush 2A is not present in the area 12, the reflected light detection unit 30 may receive light (disturbance light) having an intensity lower than the intensity of the light reflected by the toothbrush 2A. This allows the reflected light detection unit 30 to output different detection results depending on the state where the toothbrush 2A is present in the area 12 and the state where the toothbrush 2A is not present in the area 12. Such a reflected light detection section 30 may be configured using, for example, a photodetector.

In this embodiment, the reflected light detection section 30 is configured to output a voltage having a voltage value corresponding to the intensity of the detected light. That is, when the light reflected by the toothbrush 2A is not input, the reflected light detection unit 30 outputs a voltage of a voltage value (for example, 0V) that is less than or equal to a preset value, and detects the light reflected by the toothbrush 2A. is configured to output a voltage proportional to the intensity of the input.

The transmitted light detection unit 40 detects light when the toothbrush 2A is not present in the area 12. The transmitted light detection unit 40 is located at a position where the light emitted from the irradiation unit 20 is detected when the above-mentioned toothbrush 2A is not present in the area 12, and the toothbrush 2A is present in the area 12. In this case, the toothbrush 2A is provided at a position where the light emitted from the irradiation section 20 is blocked by the toothbrush 2A and is not input to the transmitted light detection section 40. Note that, when the toothbrush 2A is present in the area 12, the transmitted light detection unit 40 detects a light emitted from the irradiation unit 20 with a lower intensity than the intensity of the light emitted from the irradiation unit 20 when the toothbrush 2A is not present in the area 12. Light (disturbance light) may be input. This allows the transmitted light detection unit 40 to output different detection results depending on the state where the toothbrush 2A is present in the area 12 and the state where the toothbrush 2A is not present in the area 12. Like the reflected light detection section 30, the transmitted light detection section 40 may also be configured using, for example, a photodetector.

In this embodiment, the transmitted light detection section 40 is configured to output a voltage having a voltage value corresponding to the intensity of the detected light. That is, when the toothbrush 2A is present in the area 12, the transmitted light detection unit 40 outputs a voltage that is less than or equal to a preset value (for example, 0V); If not, the configuration is configured to output a voltage with a voltage value proportional to the intensity.

The determination unit 60 determines that the toothbrush 2A is in the area 12 when at least one of the cases where the reflected light detection unit 30 detects light and the case where the transmitted light detection unit 40 does not detect light is established. It is determined that it exists. The case where the reflected light detection section 30 detects light is the case where the light emitted from the irradiation section 20 is reflected by the toothbrush 2A, and the reflected light detection section 30 detects the reflected light. The case where the transmitted light detection unit 40 is not detecting light means that the light emitted from the irradiation unit 20 is blocked by the toothbrush 2A, and the transmitted light detection unit 40 is not detecting the light irradiated from the irradiation unit 20. This is the case where there is no. Therefore, the determination unit 60 determines that the toothbrush 2A is present in the area 12 when the light emitted from the irradiation unit 20 is reflected by the toothbrush 2A and the reflected light detection unit 30 detects the reflected light. However, if the light emitted from the irradiation section 20 is blocked by the toothbrush 2A and the transmitted light detection section 40 does not detect the light emitted from the irradiation section 20, the toothbrush 2A is present in the area 12. It is determined that there is.

As a result, regardless of the light reflection characteristics of the materials constituting the toothbrush 2A (i.e., even if the toothbrush 2A is made using a material that reflects light, the toothbrush 2A may be made using a material that transmits light). Even if the toothbrush 2A is present in the area 12 of the detection device 1, the presence of the toothbrush 2A can be detected.

Here, in this embodiment, the detection device 1 is incorporated into a dispenser 101 that dispenses foamy toothpaste. The dispenser 101 includes a bottle 102 in which liquid toothpaste is stored, a pump 103 that sucks the liquid toothpaste from the bottle 102, discharges the sucked liquid toothpaste and also discharges air at a predetermined pressure, and a discharge port that discharges the foam toothpaste. 104.

As described above, when the detection device 1 detects the presence of the toothbrush 2A in the area 12, the pump 103 sucks a predetermined amount of liquid toothpaste from the bottle 102 via the suction pipe 105. The pump 103 discharges the sucked liquid toothpaste into a discharge pipe 106, and also discharges air at a predetermined pressure into an air discharge pipe 107 communicating with the discharge pipe 106. As a result, the liquid toothpaste discharged into the discharge pipe 106 is turned into a foam at the confluence portion 108 of the discharge pipe 106 with the air discharge pipe 107. Foamy toothpaste (liquid toothpaste made into foam) is discharged from the discharge port 104 .

In this way, the detection device 1 can be configured by being incorporated into a dispenser 101 that dispenses a predetermined object (for example, foam toothpaste) when the detection device 1 detects the presence of the detection target 2. Further, the dispenser 101 may be a device that dispenses not only foam toothpaste, but also, for example, hand soap, or a device that dispenses a disinfectant liquid such as alcohol. Of course, the dispenser 101 may be a device that dispenses not only a liquid but also a solid or a gas.

Here, depending on the location where the detection device 1 is provided, light (disturbance light) different from the light emitted by the irradiation unit 20 may exist. In such a place, the detection device 1 periodically detects the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40 when the irradiation section 20 is emitting light and when it is not emitting light. It is preferable to detect light in advance and make a determination based on these detection results.

Specifically, the reflected light detection section 30 detects light both when the irradiation section 20 is emitting light and when the irradiation section 20 is not emitting light. Here, the detection result of the reflected light detection section 30 when the irradiation section 20 is emitting light is V1ON, and the detection result of the reflected light detection section 30 when the irradiation section 20 is not emitting light is V1OFF. do.

Similarly, the transmitted light detection section 40 also detects light both when the irradiation section 20 is emitting light and when the irradiation section 20 is not emitting light. Here, the detection result of the transmitted light detector 40 when the irradiator 20 is emitting light is V2ON, and the detection result of the transmitted light detector 40 when the irradiator 20 is not emitting light is V2OFF. do.

The determination unit 60 acquires the detection results from the reflected light detection unit 30 and the transmitted light detection unit 40, calculates the difference between V10FF and V10N (i.e., V10FF-V10N) as D1, and calculates the difference between V20FF and V20N (i.e., , V20FF-V20N) as D2.

When the toothbrush 2A is detected by the reflected light detection section 30, if the toothbrush 2A is not present in the area 12, the reflected light detection section 30 receives only ambient light regardless of whether or not the irradiation section 20 is irradiating light. Since the light is incident, the value of D1 becomes close to zero (substantially zero). On the other hand, when the toothbrush 2A is present in the area 12, the value of D1 becomes large because the light is incident on the reflected light detection section 30 when the irradiation section 20 irradiates the light. Therefore, when the value of D1 exceeds a predetermined threshold value, it can be determined that the toothbrush 2A is present.

On the other hand, when the toothbrush 2A is detected by the transmitted light detection section 40, when the toothbrush 2A is not present in the area 12, light is incident on the transmitted light detection section 40 only when the irradiation section 20 irradiates light. Therefore, the value of D2 becomes large. On the other hand, when the toothbrush 2A is present in the area 12, regardless of whether or not the irradiation unit 20 is irradiating light, only ambient light is incident on the transmitted light detection unit 40, so the value of D2 is close to zero. (approximately zero). Therefore, when the value of D2 is less than a predetermined threshold value, it can be determined that the toothbrush 2A is present.

As described above, according to the detection device 1 of the present embodiment, when the toothbrush 2A is detected by one or both of the detection using reflected light and the detection using transmitted light, it is possible to detect that the toothbrush 2A is present in the area 12. It is possible to determine that there is a In addition, objects that are difficult to detect using transmitted light (such as objects that transmit light, such as transparent objects) are detected using reflected light, and objects that are difficult to detect using reflected light (such as opaque, black objects, etc.) ) can be detected using transmitted light. That is, since the detection device 1 is configured to include both the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40, one of the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40 detects an object that is difficult to detect. , the other of the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40 can perform detection, and it is also possible to perform appropriate detection even in an environment where there is ambient light.

Note that when producing (manufacturing) the detection device 1, the detection limit may be checked and adjusted in advance (calibration is performed) by changing the intensity of light emitted by the irradiation unit 20 (emission intensity) under specific conditions. This makes it possible to absorb variations caused by the combination of the irradiation section 20 assembled in the detection device 1, the reflected light detection section 30, and the transmitted light detection section 40, and maintain stable detection accuracy (detection accuracy). .

2. Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the detection device 1 will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram schematically showing the configuration of the detection device 1 of the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the detection device 1 of this embodiment includes a stage 10, an irradiation section 20, a reflected light detection section 30, a transmitted light detection section 40, a state switching section 50, a determination section 60, and a notification section 70. Each functional unit is constructed of hardware, software, or both, with the CPU as the core component, in order to perform processing related to detecting the presence or absence of the detection target object 2.

The stage 10 is configured such that the detection target object 2 can be placed thereon. The detection target object 2 is an object whose presence or absence is detected by the detection device 1. FIG. 4 shows an example of a detection target object 2 that can be detected by the detection device 1. As shown in FIG. 4, in the detection device 1, the objects 2 to be detected are a plastic bottle containing milk coffee, a plastic bottle containing milk tea, a paper cup, a white aluminum can, and an object drawn with a red oil-based pen. It is possible to detect the presence or absence of white paper, cardboard with a thickness of about 5 mm, aluminum foil with a thickness of about 11 μm, a toothbrush whose handle is made of opaque material, and human fingers. In this embodiment, a paper cup 2B will be described as an example of the detection target object 2.

In FIG. 3, the stage 10 is provided on a base 11 and is configured to be smaller than the base 11. The stage 10 and the base part 11 may be integrally molded, or may be molded separately from each other, and the stage 10 may be fixed on the base part 11. Moreover, the stage 10 and the base part 11 may have the same size in plan view, but in this case, the stage 10 and the base part 11 may be configured without providing the base part 11.

The irradiation unit 20 irradiates light toward a predetermined area 12 . In this embodiment, the area 12 is set above the stage 10. Therefore, the irradiation unit 20 irradiates light toward the area 12 set above the stage 10. The irradiation unit 20 may be configured using, for example, an infrared LED (light-emitting diode). Further, it is preferable that the light (infrared rays in this embodiment) emitted from the irradiation unit 20 be condensed in the area 12 . This makes it possible to irradiate light with high intensity toward the area 12, thereby making it possible to prevent erroneous detection by the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40, which will be described later.

The reflected light detection unit 30 detects the light reflected by the paper cup 2B when the paper cup 2B is present in the area 12. As described above, the irradiation unit 20 irradiates the area 12 with light. The reflected light detection unit 30 is located at a position to detect the light reflected by the paper cup 2B after being irradiated from the irradiation unit 20 when the detection target 2 described above is present in the area 12. , when the detection target object 2 does not exist in the area 12, it is provided at a position where the light emitted from the irradiation unit 20 is not detected. Note that, when the paper cup 2B is not present in the area 12, the reflected light detection unit 30 detects light even if light (disturbance light) with an intensity lower than the intensity of the light reflected by the paper cup 2B is input. good. As a result, it is possible to cause the reflected light detection unit 30 to output different detection results depending on the state where the paper cup 2B exists in the area 12 and the state where the paper cup 2B does not exist in the area 12. Become. Such a reflected light detection section 30 may be configured using, for example, a photodetector.

In this embodiment, the reflected light detection section 30 is configured to output a voltage having a voltage value corresponding to the intensity of the detected light. That is, when the light reflected by the paper cup 2B is not input, the reflected light detection unit 30 outputs a voltage of a voltage value (for example, 0V) that is less than or equal to a preset value, and detects the light reflected by the paper cup 2B. When light is input, a voltage having a voltage value proportional to the intensity of the light is output.

The transmitted light detection unit 40 detects light when the paper cup 2B is not present in the area 12. The transmitted light detection unit 40 is located at a position where the light emitted from the irradiation unit 20 is detected when the above-mentioned paper cup 2B is not present in the area 12. In this case, the light emitted from the irradiation section 20 is blocked by the paper cup 2B and is provided at a position where it is not input to the transmitted light detection section 40. Note that the transmitted light detection section 40 detects that when the paper cup 2B is present in the area 12, the intensity of the light emitted from the irradiation section 20 is lower than when the paper cup 2B is not present in the area 12. Intense light (disturbance light) may be input. This allows the transmitted light detection unit 40 to output different detection results depending on the state where the paper cup 2B exists in the area 12 and the state where the paper cup 2B does not exist in the area 12. Become. Like the reflected light detection section 30, the transmitted light detection section 40 may also be configured using, for example, a photodetector.

In this embodiment, the transmitted light detection section 40 is configured to output a voltage having a voltage value corresponding to the intensity of the detected light. That is, when the paper cup 2B exists in the area 12, the transmitted light detection unit 40 outputs a voltage that is less than or equal to a preset value (for example, 0V), and when the paper cup 2B exists in the area 12, If not, the configuration is configured to output a voltage with a voltage value proportional to the intensity.

The state switching section 50 switches the states of the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40 so that the first state and the second state are included within a predetermined period of time. The states of the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40 are the driving states of the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40, and specifically, the states in which light can be detected and the state in which light can be detected. This corresponds to a state in which detection of is stopped. The first state is a state in which the reflected light detection section 30 detects light and the transmitted light detection section 40 stops detecting light. Therefore, in the first state, only the reflected light detecting section 30 of the reflected light detecting section 30 and the transmitted light detecting section 40 is allowed to detect light. The second state is a state in which the reflected light detection section 30 stops detecting light and the transmitted light detection section 40 detects light. Therefore, in the second state, out of the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40, only the transmitted light detection section 40 is allowed to detect light.

A first state and a second state are included within a predetermined period of time, when a state including one first state and one second state is defined as one state. It means that the state is repeated periodically. This period may be, for example, about several tens of microseconds to several hundred milliseconds. Therefore, the state switching section 50 changes the states of the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40 so as to periodically repeat a state including the first state and the second state within a predetermined period of time. Switch.

FIG. 5 shows a timing chart showing the processing in the detection device 1. In FIG. 5, the horizontal axis is shown as a time axis. As shown in FIG. 5A, the irradiation unit 20 starts irradiating light toward the area 12 at t0. With the start of light irradiation, the state switching section 50 changes the state of the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40 to the first state (in FIG. 5, the first state is "X") between t0 and t1. ). That is, from t0 to t1, as shown in FIG. 5(B), the reflected light detection unit 30 is in a state where it can detect light, and as shown in FIG. 5(C), In this case, the transmitted light detection section 40 is in a state where it stops detecting light. At this time, if the paper cup 2B does not exist in the area 12, the light emitted from the irradiation unit 20 will not be reflected by the paper cup 2B, so light (excluding ambient light) will be input to the reflected light detection unit 30. Not done. Therefore, as shown in (E) of FIG. 5, the output (voltage) of the reflected light detection section 30 becomes equal to or less than a preset value (hereinafter referred to as "0"). At this time, as described above, the transmitted light detection section 40 is in a state where it stops detecting light, so as shown in FIG. 5(F), the output (voltage) of the transmitted light detection section 40 is ) is less than or equal to a preset value (hereinafter referred to as "0").

Subsequently, the state switching section 50 changes the state of the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40 to the second state (the second state is shown as "Y" in FIG. 5) between t1 and t2. Make it. That is, from t1 to t2, as shown in FIG. 5(B), the reflected light detection unit 30 is in a state where it stops detecting light, and as shown in FIG. 5(C), Then, the transmitted light detection section 40 is brought into a state in which it can detect light. At this time, since the light emitted from the irradiation section 20 is not blocked by the paper cup 2B, the light emitted from the irradiation section 20 is input to the transmitted light detection section 40. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5F, the output (voltage) of the transmitted light detection section 40 becomes larger than the preset value (hereinafter referred to as "1"). Note that at this time, as described above, the reflected light detection section 30 is in a state where it stops detecting light, so the output (voltage) of the reflected light detection section 30 is changed as shown in (E) of FIG. ) becomes 0.

In the present embodiment, the state switching section 50 provides a waiting period between switching the states of the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40 to the second state and then switching them to the first state. . In the example of FIG. 5, during the standby period, both the reflected light detector 30 and the transmitted light detector 40 stop detecting light. This state is a standby state, and this state is shown as "Z" in FIG. That is, from t2 to t3, as shown in FIG. 5(B), the reflected light detection unit 30 is in a state where it stops detecting light, and as shown in FIG. 5(C), In this case, the transmitted light detection section 40 is in a state where it stops detecting light. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5F, the output (voltage) of the transmitted light detection section 40 and the output (voltage) of the reflected light detection section 30 are zero. Similarly, while the irradiation section 20 is emitting light, the state switching section 50 changes the states of the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40 into the first state, the second state, and the standby state. Switch sequentially.

Returning to FIG. 3, the determination unit 60 determines that the paper cup 2B exists in the area 12 when the reflected light detection unit 30 detects light and the transmitted light detection unit 40 does not detect light. do. When the reflected light detection unit 30 detects light and the transmitted light detection unit 40 does not detect light, the light emitted from the irradiation unit 20 is reflected by the paper cup 2B, and the reflected light is detected by the reflected light detection unit 30, and the light emitted from the irradiation unit 20 is blocked by the paper cup 2B, and the transmitted light detection unit 40 detects the light irradiated from the irradiation unit 20. If not. Therefore, the determination unit 60 determines that when the light emitted from the irradiation unit 20 is reflected by the paper cup 2B and the reflected light detection unit 30 detects the reflected light, and the light irradiated from the irradiation unit 20 is If the transmitted light is blocked by the paper cup 2B and the transmitted light detection unit 40 does not detect the light emitted from the irradiation unit 20, it is determined that the paper cup 2B exists in the area 12.

Here, as described above, in this embodiment, the states of the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40 are switched by the state switching section 50 between the first state, the second state, and the standby state. Therefore, the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40 are never in a state where they can detect light at the same time. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the determination unit 60 selects one of the detection result of the reflected light detection unit 30 in the latest first state and the detection result of the transmitted light detection unit 40 in the second state, and the detection result of the most recent first state. Based on the other of the detection result of the reflected light detection unit 30 in the second state and the detection result of the transmitted light detection unit 40 in the second state, it is determined whether the paper cup 2B exists in the area 12.

One of the latest detection result of the reflected light detection section 30 in the first state and the detection result of the transmitted light detection section 40 in the second state is the current state of the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40. , when the state switching unit 50 switches to the first state, the detection result of the reflected light detection unit 30 corresponds to the state switching unit 50, and the current state of the reflected light detection unit 30 and the transmitted light detection unit 40 corresponds to the state switching unit 50. 50, the detection result of the transmitted light detector 40 corresponds. The other of the detection result of the reflected light detection section 30 in the immediately previous first state and the detection result of the transmitted light detection section 40 in the second state is the current state of the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40. , when the state switching unit 50 switches to the first state, the detection result of the transmitted light detection unit 40 in the immediately previous second state corresponds to the current state of the reflected light detection unit 30 and the transmitted light detection unit 40. When the state has been switched to the second state by the state switching unit 50, the detection result of the reflected light detection unit 30 in the immediately previous first state corresponds to the state. Therefore, as described above, when one first state and one second state are one state, the determination section 60 determines whether the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40 in the one state are Based on each detection result, it is determined whether or not the paper cup 2B exists in the area 12.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5(D), assume that the paper cup 2B is placed in the area 12 at t5. Between t6 and t7, the reflected light detection section 30 detects light and the transmitted light detection section 40 is in the first state in which it stops detecting light, so as shown in (E) of FIG. , t6 to t7, the light reflected by the paper cup 2B is detected by the reflected light detection section 30. At this time, as described above, the transmitted light detection section 40 is in a state where it stops detecting light, so as shown in (F) of FIG. 5, the output (voltage) of the transmitted light detection section 40 is , becomes 0. In this case, in the second state between t4 and t5 immediately before the first state between t6 and t7, the light emitted from the irradiation unit 20 is input to the transmitted light detection unit 40, and the light is detected. . Therefore, the determination unit 60 determines that the paper cup 2B is not present in the area 12 at t7, as shown in FIG. 5(G).

Subsequently, from t7 to t8, the reflected light detection section 30 is in a state where it stops detecting light, and the transmitted light detection section 40 is in a second state in which it is possible to detect light. be. At this time, the light emitted from the irradiation section 20 is blocked by the paper cup 2B. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5(F), the output of the transmitted light detection section 40 becomes 0 between t7 and t8. In this case, in the first state between t6 and t7 immediately before the second state between t7 and t8, as described above, the reflected light detection section 30 detects the light reflected by the paper cup 2B. There is. Therefore, the determination unit 60 determines that the paper cup 2B is present in the area 12 at t8, as shown in FIG. 5(G).

Furthermore, after the standby state between t8 and t9, the light reflected by the paper cup 2B is detected by the reflected light detection unit 30 between t9 and t10, as shown in (E) of FIG. . In addition, during the immediately preceding second state from t7 to t8, as described above, the light emitted from the irradiation section 20 is blocked by the paper cup 2B, and the output of the transmitted light detection section 40 becomes 0. There is. Therefore, the determination unit 60 determines that the paper cup 2B exists in the area 12 at t10, as shown in FIG. 5(G). The determination unit 60 makes determinations in the same manner below.

FIG. 6 shows the determination result by the determination section 60 according to the detection result of the reflected light detection section 30 and the detection result of the transmitted light detection section 40. In FIG. 6, the detection result when the reflected light detection unit 30 detects reflected light is indicated as “detection”, and the detection result when the reflected light detection unit 30 does not detect reflected light is indicated as “non-detection”. shown. Further, the detection result when the transmitted light detection unit 40 is detecting the light irradiated from the irradiation unit 20 is indicated as “detection”, and the light irradiated from the irradiation unit 20 is blocked, and the transmitted light detection unit 40 The detection result when the light is not detected is indicated as "non-detection".

As shown in FIG. 6, the determination unit 60 determines whether the area 12 It is determined that the paper cup 2B exists. If the detection result of the reflected light detection unit 30 is “non-detected” or the detection result of the transmitted light detection unit 40 is “detected,” the determination unit 60 determines that the paper cup 2B exists in the area 12. It is determined that it has not been done. The determination result of the determination unit 60 is transmitted to the notification unit 70, which will be described later. Note that in this embodiment, as described above, the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40 do not detect light at the same time, but the state of detecting light is alternately switched by the state switching section 50. There is. Therefore, the above-described case where the detection result of the reflected light detection section 30 is "detection" and the detection result of the transmitted light detection section 40 is "non-detection" means that in the first and second states that are continuous with each other, This means that the detection result of the reflected light detection section 30 is "detection" and the detection result of the transmitted light detection section 40 is "non-detection."

Returning to FIG. 3, the notification unit 70 provides notification when the determination unit 60 determines that the paper cup 2B is present in the area 12. The notification unit 70 may be configured to provide notification by, for example, turning on or blinking a light, or may be configured to provide notification by outputting audio from a speaker. Further, if a display device is provided, a display indicating that the paper cup 2B exists in the area 12 may be displayed on the screen of the display device.

Here, in the present embodiment, the detection target object 2 is a paper cup 2B as an example, but the detection target object 2 is, for example, a plastic bottle 2C containing milk coffee or a plastic bottle 2C containing milk tea. In this case, the determining unit 60 can determine whether the amount of milk coffee or milk tea contained in the plastic bottle 2C is decreasing.

When the determination unit 60 continues to determine that the detection target object 2 exists in the area 12, the determination unit 60 selects one of the detection results of the reflected light detection unit 30 and the transmitted light detection unit 40. When one of these changes, it is determined that the amount of the detection target 2 at the time of the change is smaller than the amount of the detection target 2 at the time when it is determined that it exists. When the state in which it is determined that the detection target object 2 exists in the area 12 continues, as shown in FIG. The PET bottle 2C is filled with milk coffee or milk tea up to the height between it and the photodetector 40. In FIG. 6, this state corresponds to the case where the detection result of the reflected light detection section 30 is "detection" and the detection result of the transmitted light detection section 40 is "non-detection". 30 corresponds to the case where the light reflected by the detection target object 2 is detected, and the transmitted light detection section 40 does not detect the light irradiated from the irradiation section 20. In addition, in the example of FIG. 7, the height H1 from the base part 11 of the part of the irradiation part 20 that irradiates light, and the height H2 of the part of the transmitted light detection part 40 from the base part 11 that detects light. , are configured equally to each other.

When one of the detection result of the reflected light detection section 30 and the detection result of the transmitted light detection section 40 changes, as shown in FIG. This is a state in which the liquid level of milk coffee or milk tea contained in the plastic bottle 2C has dropped to a position lower than the height between the bottle 2C and the transmitted light detection unit 40. In this state, the detection result of the reflected light detection section 30 is "detection", and the detection result of the transmitted light detection section 40 changes to "detection". Specifically, the reflected light detection section 30 detects the reflected light, and the transmitted light detection section 40 detects the light emitted from the irradiation section 20 that has passed through the plastic bottle 2C. Furthermore, depending on the object to be detected 2, the detection result of the reflected light detection section 30 may change to "non-detection", and the detection result of the transmitted light detection section 40 may remain "non-detection". Specifically, the reflected light detection unit 30 no longer detects reflected light, and the transmitted light detection unit 40 does not detect the light irradiated from the irradiation unit 20 that has passed through the plastic bottle 2C.

The determination unit 60 is configured such that the reflected light detection unit 30 continues to detect reflected light, and the transmitted light detection unit 40 detects the light irradiated from the irradiation unit 20 that has passed through the plastic bottle 2C. Or, when the reflected light detection section 30 stops detecting the reflected light and the transmitted light detection section 40 does not detect the light emitted from the irradiation section 20 that has passed through the PET bottle 2C. The amount of milk coffee or milk tea contained is determined by the reflected light detection section 30 detecting the light reflected by the detection object 2 and the transmitted light detection section 40 detecting the light irradiated from the irradiation section 20. It is determined that the amount of milk coffee or milk tea contained in the plastic bottle 2C is smaller than the amount when the bottle 2C is not used.

FIG. 8 shows the determination result of the remaining amount by the determination section 60 according to the detection result of the reflected light detection section 30 and the detection result of the transmitted light detection section 40. In FIG. 8, similarly to FIG. 6, the detection result when the reflected light detection section 30 is detecting reflected light is shown as "detection", and the detection result when the reflected light detection section 30 is not detecting reflected light is shown as "detection". The result is indicated as "not detected". Further, the detection result when the transmitted light detection section 40 is detecting the light transmitted through the detection target object 2 is indicated as "detection", and the detection result when the transmitted light detection section 40 is not detecting light is indicated as "detection". Indicated as "not detected".

As shown in FIG. 8, the determination unit 60 determines whether the reflected light detection unit 30 and the transmitted light detection unit 40 change, that is, the detection result of the reflected light detection unit 30 remains “detection” and the detection result of the transmitted light detection unit 40 changes to “detection”. When the state changes from "non-detection" to "detection", it is determined that the remaining amount of milk coffee or milk tea in the plastic bottle 2C has become small. Further, the determination unit 60 detects a state in which the detection result of the reflected light detection unit 30 changes from “detection” to “non-detection” and the detection result of the transmitted light detection unit 40 remains “non-detection”. When the amount changes to , it is determined that the remaining amount of milk coffee or milk tea in the plastic bottle 2C is low.

As shown in FIG. 8, the determination unit 60 determines whether the detection result of the reflected light detection unit 30 is “detection” and the detection result of the transmitted light detection unit 40 is “non-detection” continues. If so, it is determined that the remaining amount of milk coffee or milk tea in the plastic bottle 2C is not low. Further, the determination unit 60 determines that the detection result of the reflected light detection unit 30 is “detected” from the state where the detection result of the reflected light detection unit 30 is “detection” and the detection result of the transmitted light detection unit 40 is “non-detection”. When the detection result of the transmitted light detection unit 40 changes to "detected", it is determined that the PET bottle 2C containing milk coffee or milk tea has been removed from the area 12.

In FIG. 5, the reflected light detection section 30 detects light between t15 and t16, and the transmitted light detection section 40 detects the light emitted from the irradiation section 20 between t16 and t17. Therefore, at t17, the determining unit 60 determines that the remaining amount has decreased compared to the remaining amount up to that point. In (G) of FIG. 5, in order to facilitate understanding, the wave height value of the determination result is shown as a wave height value lower than the wave height value before t17.

3. Other Embodiments In the first embodiment, the toothbrush 2A was used as the detection object 2, and in the second embodiment, the paper cup 2B was used as the detection object 2. However, the toothbrush 2A and the paper cup 2B are examples of the detection object 2, and the detection device 1 can also be configured to detect an object different from the toothbrush 2A and the paper cup 2B as the detection object 2. be.

In the embodiment described above, the detection device 1 has been described using an example in which the detection device 1 includes one irradiation section 20, but the detection device 1 can also be configured to include two irradiation sections 20. In this case, one of the two irradiators 20 is used to irradiate light that is reflected by the detection target 2, and the other of the two irradiators 20 is used to irradiate light that is transmitted through the detection target 2. It is recommended to use it to irradiate.

In the embodiment described above, the irradiation section 20 has been described as being configured using an infrared LED, but the irradiation section 20 can also be configured using an LED that irradiates visible light. In this case, the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40 are preferably capable of detecting visible light.

In the embodiment described above, the detection device 1 includes the state switching section 50 that switches the states of the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40 so that the first state and the second state are included within a predetermined time. Although the detection device 1 has been described as having the state switching unit 50, it is also possible to configure the detection device 1 without the state switching unit 50. In this case, the reflected light detection section 30 and the transmitted light detection section 40 are configured to continuously detect light, and at the same timing, the reflected light detection section 30 detects the reflected light and the transmitted light detection section 40 detects the reflected light. When the unit 40 does not detect the light emitted from the irradiation unit 20, the determination unit 60 may determine that the detection target object 2 is present in the area 12.

In the embodiment described above, when the determination unit 60 continues to determine that the detection target 2 exists in the area 12, the determination unit 60 uses the detection result of the reflected light detection unit 30 and the transmitted light detection unit 40. When one of the detection results changes, it is determined that the amount of the detection target 2 at the time of the change is smaller than the amount of the detection target 2 at the time when it is determined that it exists. It was explained as follows. However, when the determination unit 60 continues to determine that the detection target 2 exists in the area 12, the detection result of the reflected light detection unit 30 and the detection result of the transmitted light detection unit 40 Even if one of them changes, it is not necessary to determine that the amount of the detection target 2 at the time of the change is smaller than the amount of the detection target 2 at the time when it is determined that it exists. . In this case, the determination unit 60 may determine that the detection target object 2 has been removed from the area 12.

In the above embodiment, in FIG. 7, the heights of the irradiation section 20, the reflected light detection section 30, and the transmitted light detection section 40 from the area 12 are uniform, that is, the light in the irradiation section 20 is irradiated. It has been explained that the height H1 of the part from the base part 11 and the height H2 of the part from the base part 11 that detects light in the transmitted light detection part 40 are configured to be equal to each other. For example, the irradiation unit 20 can be provided so that the height from the area 12 is different from the height of the reflected light detection unit 30 and the transmitted light detection unit 40 from the area 12. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 9A, the height H1 from the base part 11 of the part of the irradiation part 20 that irradiates light is higher than the base part of the part of the transmitted light detection part 40 that detects light. 11, or as shown in FIG. , the height H2 of the portion of the transmitted light detection section 40 that detects light from the base section 11 may be configured to be lower than the height H2.

In the above embodiment, in the example of FIG. 7, the determination unit 60 changes the state in which the detection result of the reflected light detection unit 30 is “detection” and the detection result of the transmitted light detection unit 40 is “non-detection” to When the detection result of the light detection section 30 remains "detection" and the detection result of the transmitted light detection section 40 changes from "non-detection" to "detection", when the detection result enters the plastic bottle 2C. It was explained that it is determined that the remaining amount of milk coffee or milk tea in the cup is running low. For example, when the object to be detected 2 is stored in a container that does not reflect light instead of the plastic bottle 2C, as shown in FIG. The height H1 is configured to be higher than the height H2 of the portion of the transmitted light detection section 40 that detects light from the base section 11. In such a configuration, when the light irradiated from the irradiation section 20 is reflected on the liquid surface of the detection target 2 as shown in FIG. 10, the detection result of the reflected light detection section 30 is "detection". The determination unit 60 changes from the state where the detection result of the transmitted light detection unit 40 is “non-detection” to the state where the detection result of the reflected light detection unit 30 is “detection” to “non-detection”, and It is also possible to configure such that when the detection result of the transmitted light detector 40 changes to a state where it remains "non-detected", it is determined that the remaining amount of the detection target object 2 has decreased.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention can be used for the detection apparatus which detects an object.

1: Detection device 2: Detection target 2A: Toothbrush 2B: Paper cup 2A: Plastic bottle 12: Area 20: Irradiation section 30: Reflected light detection section 40: Transmitted light detection section 50: State switching section 60: Judgment section

Claims (5)

an irradiation unit that irradiates light toward a predetermined area;
a reflected light detection unit that detects the light reflected by the detection target when the detection target exists in the area;
a transmitted light detection unit that detects the light when the detection target is not present in the area;
The object to be detected exists in the area when at least one of the cases where the reflected light detection section detects the light and the case where the transmitted light detection section does not detect the light is established. a determination unit that determines that the
A detection device comprising: The determination unit determines that the detection target exists in the area when the reflected light detection unit detects the light and the transmitted light detection unit does not detect the light. Detection device according to item 1. a first state in which the reflected light detector detects the light and the transmitted light detector stops detecting the light within a predetermined time; and a first state in which the reflected light detector stops detecting the light and simultaneously further comprising a state switching section that switches the states of the reflected light detection section and the transmitted light detection section so that the transmitted light detection section includes a second state in which the transmitted light detection section detects the light;
The determination unit selects one of the detection result of the reflected light detection unit in the latest first state and the detection result of the transmitted light detection unit in the second state, and the reflected light in the immediately preceding first state. The detection device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the determination is made based on the detection result of the detection unit and the other of the detection results of the transmitted light detection unit in the second state. When the determination unit continues to determine that the detection target exists in the area, the determination unit determines whether the detection result of the reflected light detection unit or the detection result of the transmitted light detection unit is According to claim 2, when one of the detection targets changes, it is determined that the amount of the detection target at the time of the change is smaller than the amount of the detection target at the time when it is determined that it exists. The detection device described. 5. The detection device according to claim 4, wherein the irradiation section is provided so that its height from the area is different from the height of each of the reflected light detection section and the transmitted light detection section from the area.

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