JP3409497B2 - Human body detection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain a human-body detection apparatus by which only a human body is detected clearly and by which the position of the human body can be detected by a method wherein the inclination of an output voltage by an infrared detection beam is detected and the existence of the human body is detected. CONSTITUTION: A condensing part 3 is moved back and forth or turned and moved by a stepping motor 7, an infrared detection region 4 in a prescribed range is scanned by an infrared detection means 6, and an infrared amount which is changed every moment due to a movement by a scanning operation is captured by an infrared sensor 1. Then, when the infrared amount is increased, a signal having an inclination of '+' is output via an amplifier 5, and, when the infrared amount is decreased, a signal having an inclination of '-' is output in the same manner. When a human being is captured within the region 4, the infrared amount which is incident on the sensor 1 is increased, and the signal having the inclination of '+' is output. Out of the inclinations, a part (a maximum inclination part) whose inclination is largest as compared with a change in the front part and the rear part is estimated to have captured the human body.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a human body detecting apparatus capable of detecting the presence and position of a human body by detecting infrared rays emitted from the human body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional human body detecting device of this type is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-12205.
As shown in FIG. 16, a louver 54 for varying the wind direction, which is rotationally driven by an electric motor, is provided at the front outlet of the air conditioner body 51, and the infrared temperature sensor 5 is provided at the tip of this louver.
The infrared temperature sensor 58 detects the location of a person in the room, and the detection signal allows the direction of the louver 54, that is, the wind direction to be set in the direction of the person.

[0003]

However, according to the conventional infrared temperature sensor as described above, since the temperature distribution in the room is sought, it is necessary to use an expensive radiation infrared thermometer or thermopile, which results in cost reduction. There was a problem in terms of. Further, in terms of the configuration, since the scanning means is the louver for varying the wind direction, there is a problem that the wind direction also changes at the same time during the human body detecting operation.

Further, since it is judged that a person exists in a place having a high temperature distribution, it is possible to distinguish them from a person near a window, at the sun, or when using a heater such as a hot carpet. There was a problem that it could not be done and gave an incorrect detection result.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a human body detecting apparatus capable of accurately detecting only a human body and also detecting the position where the human body exists. It is a thing.

Another object of the present invention is to obtain a human body detecting device in which changes in infrared detection output are stored as a plurality of patterns and the presence of a human body can be easily detected only by selecting the corresponding pattern. Is.

Further, another object of the present invention is to obtain a human body detecting device capable of accurately detecting the presence of a person even if the infrared detection outputs of this time and the past are slightly deviated in the scanning direction due to the detection accuracy, for example.

Further, there is provided a human body detection apparatus capable of accurately detecting the presence of a human body when the human body is detected by comparing a plurality of patterns and the required plurality of patterns are not prepared. It is intended for.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to obtain a human body detecting device quickly and with high accuracy by quickly aligning necessary data when a plurality of required patterns are not aligned.

Further, another object of the present invention is to provide a convenient human body detecting device capable of detecting a moving human body even when the infrared detecting means is in a stopped state.

Further, when the infrared detecting means detects the movement of the human body during the stop operation, the scanning operation can be immediately started to detect the human body promptly, and when the movement of the human body is being detected. By delaying the start of the scanning operation, it is an object of the present invention to obtain a human body detection device which eliminates unnecessary movement and improves the accuracy of human body detection.

It is also an object of the present invention to obtain a human body detecting device capable of expanding the temperature range that can be detected by obtaining the radiation amount in the infrared detection region and correcting the sensitivity of the infrared detecting means with this radiation amount. It was done.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In the human body detecting apparatus according to the present invention,
Infrared detecting means for detecting infrared rays emitted from the human body, scanning means for scanning the infrared detecting means within a predetermined range, and scanning or stopping the infrared detecting means by the scanning means and repeating each operation. The scanning control means for controlling, the scanning position detecting means for detecting the scanning position of the infrared detecting means scanned by the scanning means, and the inclination of the output voltage by the infrared detecting means for detecting the presence of the human body And a signal processing means.

In the human body detecting apparatus according to the present invention,
Infrared detecting means for detecting infrared rays emitted from the human body, scanning means for scanning the infrared detecting means within a predetermined range, and scanning or stopping the infrared detecting means by the scanning means and repeating each operation. Scanning control means for controlling, scanning position detecting means for detecting the scanning position of the infrared detecting means scanned by the scanning means, and storage means for storing the voltage output of the infrared detecting means over a plurality of scanning periods. Signal processing means for detecting the present output voltage gradient by the infrared detecting means and detecting the presence of a human body by comparing with the previous output voltage gradient stored in the storage means.

The signal processing means detects the maximum value of the slope of the output voltage by the infrared detecting means.

Further, the human body detecting apparatus according to the present invention comprises infrared detecting means for detecting infrared rays emitted from the human body,
Scanning means for scanning the infrared detecting means within a predetermined range, scanning control means for scanning or stopping the infrared detecting means by the scanning means and repeatedly controlling each operation, and scanning by the scanning means. A scanning position detecting means for detecting a scanning position of the infrared detecting means; and a storing means for preliminarily storing a combination of an inclination of the output voltage of the infrared detecting means in the current scanning and an inclination in the previous scanning as a plurality of patterns. A signal processing means for selecting a pattern stored in the storage means from a combination of inclinations of output voltages in each scan output from the infrared detection means, and detecting the presence of a human body from the pattern. is there.

If the deviation of the inclination of the voltage waveform output by each scan of the infrared detecting means in the scanning direction is within a predetermined time, it is included as the same scanning position. Immediately after the detection operation is started, the presence of the human body is detected by inference from a predetermined pattern. Further, immediately after the start of the detection operation, the stop operation time of the infrared detecting means is shortened to shift to the next scanning operation.

The infrared detecting means is adapted to detect a moving human body during the stopping operation. Further, the infrared detection area of the infrared detection means is stopped toward the scanning range where the human body is detected. Further, when the moving human body is detected during the stopping operation of the infrared detecting means, the scanning means starts scanning by the infrared detecting means.

Further, infrared detecting means for detecting infrared rays emitted from the human body, scanning means for scanning the infrared detecting means within a predetermined range, and scanning or stopping of the infrared detecting means by the scanning means. A scan control means for repeatedly controlling each of these operations, a scan position detection means for detecting the scan position of the infrared detection means scanned by the scan means, and a slope of the output voltage waveform from the infrared detection means are discriminated to determine the human body. Of the infrared detecting means, and infrared shielding means provided on both sides of the infrared detecting area of the infrared detecting means. The infrared detecting means detects infrared rays between the infrared shielding bodies. The amount of radiation in the infrared detection region is detected from the temperature of the infrared shielding means while scanning the region. Further, the sensitivity of the infrared detecting means is corrected by using the radiation amount of the infrared detecting area.

[Action]

In the human body detecting device constructed as described above, when the infrared detecting means is scanned within a predetermined infrared detecting area, the voltage waveform output from the infrared detecting means is determined if there is a person in the area. Since the amount of infrared rays to be detected becomes large, it changes greatly. That is, since it is considered that the portion of the change in the voltage waveform having the largest inclination has the largest change in the amount of infrared rays, it is determined that a person may be present in that portion. Next, by comparing the amount of infrared rays in the previous scan in this portion, if there is no gradient in the output voltage in the previous time, it can be determined that the human body is present in that region this time.

Further, a combination of the inclination of the output voltage of the infrared detecting means in the current scanning and the inclination of the previous scanning is stored as a plurality of patterns, and stored from the inclination of the voltage output from the infrared detecting means. The selected pattern is selected, and the presence of the human body is detected from this pattern.

Further, even if the output voltage of the infrared detecting means is displaced in the scanning direction, if it is within the predetermined range, it is determined that they are at the same scanning position, so that a slight movement of the human body is also affected. The human body can be detected without the need.

When the required number of patterns to be compared is not complete, by using only the existing patterns,
The human body can be detected. Further, the infrared detecting means can quickly detect the human body by performing the scanning operation quickly by shortening the stop operation time immediately after the start of the detection operation.

Further, even when the infrared detecting means is stopped, the infrared detecting operation is continued, and the infrared detecting means is directed to the infrared detecting area, so that when a person changes in the area, it is immediately detected. can do. Further, when a moving human body is detected during the stop operation of the infrared detecting means, the infrared detecting means is immediately scanned, so that it is possible to promptly deal with the case where the human body moves and the existing position is changed.

Further, it is possible to detect the amount of radiation in the infrared detection area by scanning the infrared detection means with the infrared shielding means provided outside the infrared detection area and measuring the temperature of the infrared shielding means. it can. Further, the sensitivity is corrected according to the temperature difference between the human body and the room temperature detected by using the detected radiation amount, and more accurate detection can be performed.

[0026]

【Example】

Example 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a human body detecting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is an infrared sensor composed of a pyroelectric element or the like for capturing infrared rays emitted from a human body and converting them into an electric signal. Reference numeral 2 denotes a condenser lens, which is arranged in front of the infrared sensor for condensing infrared rays radiated from a human body, for example, a Fresnel lens, and constitutes the condenser 3 together with the infrared sensor. Four
Indicates an infrared detection region of the light collecting unit 3. Reference numeral 5 denotes an amplifier that amplifies the output signal of the infrared sensor 1, and constitutes an infrared detecting means 6 together with the condensing unit 3.

Reference numeral 7 is a stepping motor which is a scanning means, and reciprocally or rotationally moves the condensing unit 3 to repeatedly scan the infrared detection region 4 within a predetermined entire detection region range. Reference numeral 9 is a signal processing means for processing the output signal from the infrared detecting means 6 to detect the position where the human body is present, 1
Reference numeral 0 is a scanning control means for controlling the scanning means 7, 11 is a scanning position detecting means for detecting the scanning position of the scanning means 7, and these signal processing means 9, scanning control means 10 and scanning position detecting means 11 are provided in the memory 12. Including a microcomputer 1
Processed in 3.

FIG. 2 shows an external view of the human body detecting means. A Fresnel lens 2 made of a material such as polyethylene that transmits infrared rays is fitted in the front surface of the human body detecting means, and is rotated and scanned by a stepping motor 7. Then, as shown in the cross-sectional view of the main part of FIG. 3, the light receiving portion (not shown) of the infrared sensor 1 is arranged on the center line of the rotation axis of the stepping motor 7.

FIG. 4 shows the infrared detection area of the infrared detection means 6. In the figure, reference numeral 14 indicates the entire detection area directly scanned by the stepping motor 7, and reference numeral 4 indicates the detection area which can be actually detected by the infrared sensor once. Therefore, when the infrared detecting means 6 is reciprocally moved by the stepping motor 7, for example, all the infrared detecting areas are covered.

Next, the operation will be described. Generally, a pyroelectric infrared sensor outputs a differential type signal when there is a change in the amount of received infrared light in that area. In the case of a single type pyroelectric infrared sensor, a signal having a slope of "+" is output when the amount of infrared light to the sensor increases, and a signal having a slope of "-" is output when the amount of infrared light to the sensor decreases. On the other hand, in the case of the dual-type pyroelectric infrared sensor, when the sensor is scanned, when the amount of infrared rays increases, a signal "-→ + →-" is output. Here, assuming that the temperature of the human body is about 36 degrees, this is higher than the normal temperature. Therefore, when the human body enters the infrared detection area, in the case of the single type, "+", in the case of the dual type A signal having a slope of "-→ + →-" is output to.

In the following, description will be made by using a dual type infrared sensor. When the infrared detection means 6 scans an infrared detection area in a predetermined range, the amount of infrared rays detected in the area changes every moment as the scanning moves. This change is captured by the infrared sensor 1, and a signal having a slope of "+" when the amount of infrared light increases and a slope of "-" when the amount of infrared light decreases is output through the amplifier 5. This change in output signal is shown in FIG. Of these, FIG. 5a shows the result based on the current scan, and FIG. 5b shows the result based on the previous scan.

When a human body is captured in the infrared detection area 4,
Since the amount of infrared rays incident on the infrared sensor 1 increases,
A signal having a slope of "-→ + →-" is output. The portion of the inclination having the largest inclination (hereinafter referred to as the maximum inclination portion) as compared with the change before and after the inclination is the portion having the maximum sensitivity, and is also the portion where the dual element of the pyroelectric infrared sensor is switched. It is thought that the human body was captured just in this part. Therefore, it is important to use this part to infer whether a human body exists.

In FIG. 5a, 15a, 15b, and 15c correspond to the maximum inclined portion, and it is possible that a human body exists at this position. On the contrary, it is determined that there is no human body in other positions. Note that a small change such as 15d is regarded as noise even if it has a maximum inclination compared to before and after the change. For example, when the sampling speed of the signal from the amplifier 5 fetched by the signal processing means 9 is 50 msec, the method is, for example, 50
A threshold may be provided such that noise is generated at mV / 50 Msec or less.

At this stage, the positions of 15a, 15b, and 15c are known only to the possibility that there is a person. However, in this method using the maximum inclined portion, since it is determined that the human body does not exist at other positions, it is not necessary to store all the information of the scanning range in the memory 12 of the microcomputer 13, and in this case, Since it is sufficient to store information on only these three maximum slope portions and the scanning position, it is possible to significantly save the memory capacity.

Then, these maximum slopes appeared 15
For each position of a, 15b, and 15c, it is determined whether or not a human body exists by comparing with the previous scanning result. FIG. 5b shows the result of the previous scan, in which 16a,
16b and 16c are the maximum inclined portions, respectively. After performing one scan, for example, an operation stop period of 1 minute is provided, and the scan is performed again, so that the scan is repeatedly performed.
You can get past waveforms for many generations. According to the method of using the maximum inclined portion as in the present invention, since the memory saving effect is large, many past scanning results can be accumulated with a small memory capacity.

Comparing FIGS. 5a and 5b, there is no maximum slope in FIG. 5b at the scan position corresponding to 15d in FIG. 5a. Therefore, it is considered that the human body does not exist there until the last time, and it is considered that the human body has moved during the current scanning, and it is determined that the human body exists in 15b. As for 15a and 15c, since the maximum inclined portions exist at the same scanning position, it is impossible to determine at this stage. In this case, the comparison with the previous scanning result is performed. By repeating such work, it is decided whether or not there is a human body.

For example, when it is not possible to determine even if it goes back to the teens, it is determined that it is a heat source whose position does not move, and it is determined that there is no human body at that position. Although the pyroelectric infrared sensor in this embodiment has a dual element, it goes without saying that the same effect can be obtained by using a single element pyroelectric infrared sensor.

Example 2. As described in the first embodiment, when a human body is present in the infrared detection area scanned by the scanning means, the infrared output captured by the infrared sensor 1 changes, and when the infrared sensor is a single element, a "+" In the case of the inclination and the dual element, a signal having an inclination of “− → + → −” is output. However, in fact, the same is true for other fixed heat sources such as a stove (hereinafter, referred to as a background object), so that it is possible to determine that a human body may exist. In the case of a single element, the current tilt is "+", but when it was not "+" the previous time, similarly in the case of a dual element, the current tilt is "-→ + →-". ,
If it was not "-→ + →-" last time, since each person has entered the area, "+" or "-→ + →"
It can be considered that it became "-". On the contrary, it can be definitely determined that there is no person in the place where the slope of the output signal is not "+" or "-→ + →-".

The concept of the discrimination operation as described above,
That is, the manner in which the maximum slope portion changes at the same scanning position of the output signal waveform obtained by the current scan and the output waveform obtained by the previous scan is summarized in 6 patterns as follows. (1) Pattern A: No maximum inclined portion → None (2) Pattern B: Maximum inclined portion → Same size (3) Pattern C: No maximum inclined portion → Yes (4) Pattern D: there is a maximum slope → no (disappeared) (5) Pattern E: there is a maximum slope → becomes even larger (6) Pattern F: there is a maximum slope → becomes smaller There is

The meanings of the above 6 patterns are described as follows: (1) Pattern A ... No person and no background (2) Pattern B ... People or background object (3) Pattern C. (4) Pattern D ... People came out (no more people) (5) Pattern E ... People came (6) Pattern F ... People came out (but there are still people or There is a background object)

The determination / non-determination of the presence / absence of a person based on the above 6 patterns will be described. Since it is a device for detecting a human body, the presence or absence of a background object is not taken into consideration. (1) Pattern A: confirmed, no person (2) Pattern B: undetermined (3) Pattern C: confirmed, person present (4) Pattern D: confirmed, person not present (5) Pattern E ..Definite, there are people (6) Pattern F ...

From the above judgment results, it is understood that the presence or absence of a person may be investigated in detail only in the case of pattern B and pattern F. FIG. 6 illustrates the state of each pattern by using the output waveform from the amplifier 5. In addition, the infrared sensor 1 shows an example in which a dual element is used. FIG. 6 shows the case of pattern A. FIG. 6a shows the previous output waveform, and FIG. 6b shows the current output waveform. Since there are no people or background objects this time, the maximum slope does not appear.

FIG. 7 shows the case of pattern B. FIG. 7a shows the previous output waveform, and FIG. 7b shows the current output waveform. The maximum slope is present in the output waveform this time, indicating that a person or a background object is present. Both output waveforms have the same maximum slope, indicating that a person or a background object exists in the same state.

FIG. 8 shows the case of pattern C. FIG. 8a shows the previous output waveform, and FIG. 8b shows the current output waveform. Last time, there were no people or background objects, so the maximum slope did not appear. However, in the output waveform this time, there is a maximum slope. It is thought that this is because people have moved. Of course, as a background object, it is assumed that a stove with a fire is brought in suddenly, but the possibility is relatively low, and even if it happens, it can be dealt with by subsequent processing. Therefore, it is assumed that people have moved here. Therefore, in this case, it indicates that a person was present.

FIG. 9 shows the case of pattern D. FIG. 9a shows the previous output waveform, and FIG. 9b shows the current output waveform. The last time the maximum slope appeared, but this time there are no people or background objects, so the maximum slope does not appear. After all,
It clearly shows the absence of people. FIG. 10 shows the case of pattern E. FIG. 10a shows the output waveform last time, and FIG. 10b shows the output waveform this time. Although the person or the background object was present last time, this time shows that the person has moved to the same position as in the case of the pattern C in FIG. That is, it indicates that a person exists.

FIG. 11 shows the case of pattern F. Figure 11
a shows the previous output waveform, and FIG. 11b shows the current output waveform. This time, it shows that a person has moved and left, but it shows that there is a person or a background object because the maximum slope still exists although it is smaller. Therefore, it is still impossible to establish that no person exists.

From the above, paying attention to the existence of a person, in the case of pattern C and pattern E, it is decided as "there is a person", and in the case of pattern A and pattern D,
It is understood that it is determined by "there is no person". In other words, only in the case of the pattern B and the pattern F, it is sufficient to perform a more detailed discrimination work.

First, looking at the case where the pattern of the output waveform this time is the pattern B, the judgment can be made by checking what the pattern of the output waveform of the previous time was. That is, in the case of the pattern C last time, it means that "a person has arrived and remains as it is", and it is determined that "there is a person". The same applies to the case of pattern E.
The pattern at the same position last time is pattern A and pattern D
In the case of, since it is impossible due to the meaning of the pattern, it need not be considered.

When the pattern this time is pattern F, it can be determined by checking what the pattern at the same position last time was. If the last time is pattern C,
It means "several people came from a state where there were no people and went out, but there are still people", so it is decided that there are people. However, in the case of pattern E, it can be seen that "there are people coming in, being in the state of leaving, and leaving", but in this case, it is possible that there were people before that, so it is possible to confirm. No, you have to examine the previous pattern.

Further, whether the current pattern is the pattern B or the pattern F, if the previous pattern is the pattern B or the pattern F, it is impossible to determine the presence or absence of a person. I have to look at the previous pattern. At this time, if the pattern B is before the pattern C or the pattern E, and the pattern F is before the pattern C, it is determined as "there is a person". In other cases, the previous pattern is further examined. I have to go.

In reality, it is not considered that the pattern F continues many times in succession, and what can actually occur is
This is the case where pattern B is continuous. In this case, it means that "a person or a background object cannot be determined, but the same object continues to exist at the same position". Here, if the pattern B continues for many generations in the past, it is regarded as a background object that does not move, and it is determined that it is not a person. Further, since there is almost no possibility, there is no need to consider it, but it is determined that the person is not a person even when the pattern F continues for many generations in the past or when the pattern E and the pattern F are repeated.

With the above concept, it becomes possible to judge "presence / absence of person" in all patterns. Therefore, the actual situation of such an idea will be described with reference to specific examples.

In FIGS. 1 to 4, the scanning control means 10 drives the stepping motor 7 to rotate the condensing unit 3, and the infrared detection area 4 is fixed with one end of the infrared detection area 14 as the origin. Scan to the other end at speed. After that, the scanning control means 10 moves the infrared detection region 14 again to the origin after a fixed time, for example, one minute, and the same scanning is performed. After that, this is repeated.

The infrared detection area 4 is the entire infrared detection area 14
While being scanned from the origin to the other end at a constant speed, the signal detected by the infrared sensor 1 and amplified by the amplifier 5 is taken into the signal processing means 9 at a constant time interval of, for example, 50 msec.

The scanning position detecting means 11 detects the scanning position by a method of detecting the rotation angle of the stepping motor 7 or a method of replacing the time from the start of measurement with a position. It adopts the method of counting the number and replacing it with the going position.

The output signal from the amplifier 5 fetched by the signal processing means 9 is subtracted by the signal sampled this time and the signal sampled last time, and is stored in the memory 12 as "gradient". Then, of the stocked “tilts”, the one that is larger than the front and back is set as the “maximum tilt”, and the scanning position corresponding to that is stored in the memory 12.

After the second scanning, the combination of the maximum inclination and the scanning position obtained by that scanning is compared with the combination of the maximum inclination and the scanning position obtained by the previous scanning,
Create a pattern. Then, this pattern and the scanning position are combined and stored in the memory 12. Then, the pattern information is stored retroactively to the required amount.
By this storage operation, information that is no longer needed is deleted one after another. By doing so, it is not necessary to store all the signals fetched from the amplifier, and it is possible to significantly save the memory capacity.

As a result of scanning the detection area under the same conditions several times, a slight deviation may occur in the scanning position where the maximum inclination appears. This is because of the repetition accuracy of the stepping motor, subtle changes in the apparent incident angle of infrared rays due to fluctuations in the air that exist between the object that emits infrared rays and the infrared sensor, subtle differences in sampling timing, and mechanical vibrations. , Constriction of the human body and slight movement of the shoulder are considered. As a result of the measurement, the deviation range of the scanning position was within ± 3 steps, and with one margin taken into consideration, the deviation within ± 4 steps, in this case, within ± 200 msec, was judged to be within the same range.

In this embodiment, the presence or absence of a human body is detected by comparing patterns. As described above, when the patterns are the pattern B and the pattern F, the corresponding previous pattern was examined. Furthermore, if the pattern was pattern B, the pattern before the first generation was examined. In this way, in this embodiment, if the pattern B continues to be traced back to the pattern before the teens stored in the memory 12, it is determined that it is not a person but a background object. By the way, in such an idea, there is a case where the human body is not detected until the past patterns are completed in the teens. For example, when the present invention is applied to an air conditioner such as an air conditioner, the user may feel inconvenience. . Therefore, it is necessary to be able to detect the presence of a person without the pattern information for the teens.

In this case, since a predetermined number of pieces of information are not available, there is a high possibility that an erroneous judgment will be made. At that time, "when there is a person, but there is no person" and "the position where there is no person" The following is taken into consideration in consideration of which causes the user discomfort.

For example, if the data up to the teens are not available and the pattern B is still present even if the data is stored in the memory 12, it is assumed that there is a person at the scanning position. This is because there is a maximum slope, so there is no doubt that there are people or background objects there,
I don't know which one. The idea is to leave it as a person for the time being. Even if they are wrong, they can make accurate judgments when they are in their teens and do not make the user feel inconvenient.

The following means is also effective when the comparison data immediately after the start of measurement is not available. Immediately after the start of measurement, the place where a measurement interval of 1 minute is usually taken is
For example, it is set to 20 seconds which is an interval of 1/3. By this means, it is possible to quickly arrange the required number of data, and it is possible to perform inference with higher accuracy.

Further, by continuously sampling the output signal from the amplifier 5 even during the stop operation for a certain period from the end of the scanning of the condensing unit 3 to the next scanning, the human body moving in the infrared detection region 4 is detected. Can be detected. This is because if a person moves within the infrared detection area 4, the amount of infrared rays collected by the light collecting unit 3 changes.

Further, it is also effective to orient the infrared detection area 4 in the direction in which the person detected during the immediately preceding scan exists during the stop operation for a certain period. By doing so, when the human body existing in the entire infrared detection region 14 moves, the information that the human body has moved can be known more quickly.

When the movement of the human body can be detected during the stopping operation of the light collecting unit 3 as described above, the following control is performed. Detecting the movement of the human body means that the existing position of the human body obtained in the previous scan has changed, so even if the movement for detection ends, it is still in stop operation. Also ends the stop operation and scans. As a result, it is possible to quickly detect the existing position of the human body.

Further, even when the stop operation period ends and the scanning is started, if the moving human body is still detected, the stop operation period can be extended. In this embodiment, a method using a pattern is used to detect the human body. All of these methods are executed in the microcomputer 13. This is programmed and executed by software, but using a pattern simplifies the program and increases the efficiency of creation work.

Example 3. 12 to 14 show another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the overall structure, and reference numerals 1 to 13 show the same components as those of the first embodiment. Reference numeral 30 denotes an infrared shielding body made of a material opaque to infrared rays such as aluminum, which is used as an infrared shielding means. Reference numeral 31 is a thermometer composed of a thermistor or the like for measuring the temperature of the infrared shield 30, and 32 is an amplifier for amplifying the output signal of the thermometer 31 and inputting it to the signal processing means 9.

As shown in FIG. 13, the infrared shields 30 are arranged on both sides of the front surface of the Fresnel lens 2 for condensing the infrared rays so as to block both outer ends of the infrared detection region 14, and the thermometer 31 is The infrared shield 30 is attached to the upper back surface so that the temperature can be measured directly. Although the infrared shielding body 30 uses a dedicated aluminum shielding plate, for example, when the apparatus is incorporated into an air conditioner or the like and used, the housing of the air conditioner can be used instead.

FIG. 14 shows an infrared detection area, where 1
Reference numeral 4 is an infrared whole detection area scanned by the stepping motor 7, and 34 is a shield area formed adjacent to both ends of the infrared whole detection area 14.

Next, the operation will be described. The stepping motor 7 rotates the infrared detecting section 3 to move the infrared detecting area 4 so as to be included in the infrared shielding area 34. Then, after a while, for example, after 5 seconds, the stepping motor 7 rotates the infrared detection area 4 in a direction to enter the infrared detection area 14. Then, the infrared shield 30
Then, the radiation amount corresponding to the temperature difference between the infrared whole detection region 14 and a portion adjacent thereto can be detected. Amplifier 3 at this time
The state of the output signal from 2 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 15, the temperature of the infrared shield 30 is 23 ° C., and the temperature of the entire infrared detection region adjacent thereto is 25 ° C. in FIG. 15a and 27 in FIG. 15b.
Output waveforms in the case of ° C and Fig. 15c are 21 ° C, respectively. The crest value also rises corresponding to the difference in temperature, and the radiation amount of all infrared detection regions 14 adjacent to each infrared shielding region 34 can be detected from the crest value.

Therefore, the peak value of the output waveform with respect to the temperature of the infrared shield 30 and the radiation amount of the infrared whole detection area adjacent thereto at that time is previously checked, and the correspondence table is provided in the microcomputer 13. It is possible to detect the radiation amount of the entire infrared detection region 14 adjacent to the infrared shielding region 34.

Instead of having the correspondence table in the microcomputer 13, fuzzy reasoning composed of rules and membership functions, or using a neural network with high generalization capability, is performed by software or hardware. The method of realizing and executing these is also effective from the viewpoint of more detailed reasoning and saving of microcomputer capacity. Further, the sensitivity of the infrared detection device can be corrected by using the radiation amount detected here.

The temperature of the human body is around 36 ° C. and is always stable. However, since the output from the human body obtained by scanning the condensing unit 3 is obtained by the difference with the radiation amount of the surroundings, it is small when the radiation amount of the surroundings is close to that of the human body, and is small with respect to the human body. The bigger it gets. When the amount of ambient radiation is quite small, the output waveform saturates. In the case of the human body detection method using the maximum gradient, there is no effect even in the case of a saturated waveform, but the problem occurs when the surrounding radiation amount approaches the human body.

When the human body and the surrounding radiation amount are close to each other, the output waveform becomes small, and as a result, the maximum inclination becomes small. Normally 50m for noise removal
There is no inclination below V / 50 msec. Such a threshold is provided, but the inclination caused by the human body may be regarded as noise.

In order to prevent such a situation, when it is detected that the amount of radiation around is large, a threshold level is lowered or the sensitivity of the amplifier 5 is increased.
Correct the sensitivity of the infrared detecting means. If the human body and the surrounding radiation amount are too close to each other, it is impossible to detect the human body in principle, but this method can raise the limit radiation amount.

[0076]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. (1) The human body is detected by detecting the inclination of the output voltage, which is the signal output from the infrared detecting means, so that the human body can be detected more accurately, and particularly the maximum value of the inclination is detected. Therefore, it is not necessary to store the waveforms of all the output voltages, the memory can be saved, and many voltage waveforms in the past can be used, and more accurate human body detection can be performed. Further, even when the waveform of the output voltage is saturated, accurate detection can be performed.

(2) Since a combination of inclinations of the voltage waveforms output from the infrared detecting means in each scan is stored as a pattern and the human body is detected by selecting this pattern, a complicated human body detection analysis algorithm is used. It can be simply summarized, and an execution program for microcomputer control can be easily created. Furthermore, the information for past detection can be used well without any small memory capacity of the microcomputer, and accurate human body detection is possible.

(3) Even if the inclination of the output voltage from the infrared detecting means is deviated in the scanning direction, they are at the same position as long as they are within the predetermined range. Therefore, the repeating accuracy of the motor at the time of scanning, air fluctuation, and mechanical It is possible to eliminate the influence of subtle deviation caused by vibration, deviation of sampling timing, and the like.

(4) Since the human body is detected by inference even when the number of patterns required for selecting a pattern is not uniform, it is possible to avoid inconvenience to the user.

(5) Since the stop operation time of the infrared detecting means is shortened immediately after the start of the detection, the necessary data can be quickly prepared and the human body can be detected quickly and with high accuracy.

(6) By continuing to detect infrared rays even during the stop operation of the infrared detecting means, it is possible to detect the forward / backward movement of the infrared detecting area. Further, in this case, when the human body is detected by the infrared detecting means, by pointing the infrared detecting means in that direction, when the human body moves, it can be detected more quickly.

(7) When the movement of the human body is detected during the stop operation of the infrared detecting means, the stop operation is ended and scanning is performed, so that the human body can be detected promptly. Further, since the scanning start time can be extended when the movement of the human body is being detected, it is possible to reduce unnecessary scanning operations and improve the accuracy of human body detection.

(8) By providing the infrared ray detecting means with the infrared ray shielding means so as to be adjacent to the infrared ray detecting area, from the output voltage obtained by scanning from the infrared ray shielding means to the detection area and the temperature of the shielding means. The amount of infrared radiation can be calculated. Further, by correcting the infrared detection sensitivity with the obtained radiation amount, the temperature range in which the human body can be detected can be expanded.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a human body detection device according to first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of infrared detection means of the human body detection apparatus according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of infrared detecting means of the human body detecting device according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an infrared detection region of the human body detection device according to Embodiments 1 and 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a waveform diagram of the output voltage by the infrared detecting means of the human body detecting device according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a waveform diagram of the output voltage by the infrared detecting means of the human body detecting device in the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a waveform diagram of the output voltage by the infrared detecting means of the human body detecting device in the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a waveform diagram of an output voltage by the infrared detecting means of the human body detecting device according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a waveform diagram of an output voltage by the infrared detection means of the human body detection device according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a waveform diagram of the output voltage by the infrared detecting means of the human body detecting device in the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a waveform diagram of an output voltage by the infrared detecting means of the human body detecting device according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a human body detection device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of infrared detecting means of a human body detecting apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing an infrared detection area of infrared detection means of a human body detection apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a waveform diagram of the output voltage by the infrared detecting means of the human body detecting device according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a human body detection device employed in a conventional air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 infrared sensor, 2 condenser lens, 3 condenser part, 4
Infrared detection area, 5 amplifiers, 6 infrared detection means, 7
Stepping motor, 9 signal processing means, 10 scanning control means, 11 scanning position detecting means, 12 memory, 13
Microcomputer, 14 infrared whole detection area, 3
0 infrared shielding means, 31 thermometer, 32 amplifier

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Masato Handa 3-18-1, Oga, Shizuoka City Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Shizuoka Factory (72) Inventor Akira Hidaka 3-18-1 Oka, Shizuoka Mitsubishi (56) Reference JP-A-2-52201 (JP, A) JP-A-1-110282 (JP, A) JP-A-2-196931 (JP, A) Jikken Sho 62 −12205 (JP, Y1) (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01V 8/12 F24F 11/02 G01J 1/02 G01V 8/14

Claims (12)

(57) [Claims] 1. An infrared detecting means for detecting infrared rays emitted from a human body, a scanning means for scanning the infrared detecting means within a predetermined range, and a scanning means for scanning or stopping the infrared detecting means. Scanning control means for repeatedly controlling each of these operations, scanning position detection means for detecting the scanning position of the infrared detection means scanned by the scanning means, and scanning means for scanning at a constant speed.
While detecting the slope of the output voltage by the infrared detection means ,
Of this slope, it is larger than the change before and after
A human body detection device comprising: a signal processing unit that stores information and detects the presence of a human body. 2. An infrared detecting means for detecting infrared rays emitted from a human body, a scanning means for scanning the infrared detecting means within a predetermined range, and a scanning means for scanning or stopping the infrared detecting means. Scan control means for repeatedly controlling these operations, scanning position detection means for detecting the scanning position of the infrared detection means scanned by the scanning means, and output of the infrared detection means while the scanning means scans at a constant speed. The slope of the voltage is detected and this
Information about the slope that is greater than the change before and after it
The presence of a human body by comparing the storage means for storing the current output voltage gradient over a plurality of scanning periods with the previous output voltage gradient stored in the storage means by detecting the current output voltage gradient by the infrared detection means. A human body detection device, comprising: a signal processing unit for detecting 3. The human body detecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the signal processing means detects the maximum value of the slope of the output voltage by the infrared detecting means. 4. An infrared detecting means for detecting infrared rays emitted from a human body, a scanning means for scanning the infrared detecting means within a predetermined range, and a scanning means for scanning or stopping the infrared detecting means. Scanning control means for repeatedly controlling each of these operations, scanning position detecting means for detecting the scanning position of the infrared detecting means scanned by the scanning means, inclination of the output voltage of the infrared detecting means in the current scanning and the previous time And a storage means for pre-storing a combination with the inclination in the scanning as a plurality of patterns, and a pattern to be stored in the storage means from a combination of the inclinations of the output voltage in each scan outputted from the infrared detecting means, A human body detection apparatus comprising: a signal processing unit that detects the presence of a human body from this pattern. 5. The human body detection device according to claim 4, wherein if the inclination of the voltage output by each scan of the infrared detection means in the scanning direction is within a predetermined time, it is included in the same scanning position. . 6. The human body detecting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the presence of the human body is detected by inference from a predetermined pattern immediately after the start of the detecting operation. 7. The human body detecting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein immediately after the detection operation is started, the stop operation time of the infrared detecting means is shortened to start the next scanning operation. 8. The human body detecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the infrared detecting means detects a moving human body during the stop operation of the scanning means. 9. The human body detection device according to claim 8, wherein the infrared detection area of the infrared detection means is stopped toward the scanning range in which the human body is detected. 10. The scanning device according to claim 8, wherein the scanning device starts the scanning operation when the infrared detecting device detects a moving human body during the stopping operation of the scanning device. Human body detection device. 11. An infrared detecting means for detecting infrared rays emitted from a human body, a scanning means for scanning the infrared detecting means within a predetermined range, and a scanning means for scanning or stopping the infrared detecting means. Scanning control means for repeatedly controlling each of these operations, scanning position detection means for detecting the scanning position of the infrared detection means scanned by the scanning means, and inclination of the output voltage from the infrared detection means are discriminated to determine the human body. Signal processing means for detecting the presence, and infrared shielding means arranged so as to shield the outside of the infrared detection region of the infrared detection means,
Human body detection device, characterized in that said infrared detector means with scanning the infrared detection area between the infrared shielding means from the temperature of the infrared ray shielding means has detected the infrared radiation amount of the infrared detection region. 12. The sensitivity of the infrared detecting means is corrected by using the radiation amount of the infrared detecting area.
1. The human body detection device according to 1.