JP5105478B2 - Beam sensor - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a beam sensor that has a light projecting element, a light receiving element, and the like and is used in a security device.

In general, a beam sensor used in a security device is composed of a projector made up of a light projecting element and an optical block, and a light receiver made up of a light receiving element and an optical block. It is installed by being opposed to the position. Conventionally, as a beam sensor of this type, a light projecting unit 103a having two light projecting elements and an optical block has a vertically long base as shown in FIG. The light projectors 103 respectively disposed at the upper and lower ends of the light 102 and the light receiving units 105a formed in the same shape as the light projector 103 and having two light receiving elements and an optical block are disposed at the upper and lower ends of the vertically long base 104, respectively. And the received light receiver 105. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a publication relating to this type of beam sensor.
Japanese Patent No. 3096609

  However, in the beam sensor 101 as shown in FIG. 8, the four light projecting elements of the light projector 103 and the four light receiving elements of the light receiver 105 are paired, and four beams are transmitted from the light projector 103 to the light receiver 105. Since B1 to B4 are configured to emit light in one direction, they have the following disadvantages. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, when strong disturbance light L such as sunlight or a car headlight enters the light receiver 105 as shown by an arrow, the light receiving element of the light receiving unit 105a is saturated, and the projector The beam B1 to B4 from the 103 light projecting elements may not be received. In particular, such a phenomenon is likely to occur in the morning or evening when sunlight is likely to enter from the lateral direction. It has become.

  Further, when the projector 103 and the light receiver 105 are installed in the security target facility, it is necessary to adjust the optical axis of the light receiving element of the beam projected from the projector 103, for example, as described above. As described above, when sunlight is incident on the light receiver 105, the optical axis adjustment work itself tends to be troublesome, for example, the optical axis adjustment work becomes difficult. Furthermore, when the beam sensor 101 does not operate normally, it is necessary to determine which of the projector 103 and the light receiver 105 is broken. When determining the failure, for example, the light projector 103 is removed from the installation position. Therefore, it is necessary to make a judgment by preparing another projector or a light receiver, and it is easy to make trouble determination.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and its purpose is to prevent misinformation due to disturbance light such as sunlight, and to enable optical axis adjustment even in a state where disturbance light is received, It is another object of the present invention to provide a beam sensor that can easily perform self-diagnosis regarding a failure.

In order to achieve such an object, according to the first aspect of the present invention , the light projecting unit composed of the light projecting element and the optical block and the light receiving unit composed of the light receiving element and the optical block are arranged on the same base. A first light emitting / receiving device, a light receiving portion comprising an optical block and an optical block facing the light projecting portion of the first light projecting / receiving device, and a light projecting device and an optical block facing the light receiving portion of the first light projecting / receiving device. And a second light emitter / receiver disposed on the same base , and the light is projected from the light projecting element to the light receiving element between the first light emitter / receiver and the second light emitter / receiver. The first light projecting / receiving device and the second light projecting / receiving device are configured to output a light receiving level received by the light receiving unit of each of the light projecting / receiving devices, Each projector / receiver is switched to the self-diagnosis mode by the mode switch. A self-diagnosis result that can output a self-diagnosis result that is judged by whether or not the reflected beam of the beam projected from the light projecting unit of each projector / receiver is received by the light receiving unit of the projector / receiver in the changed state And an output unit .

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the first light projecting / receiving device in which the light projecting unit and the light receiving unit are disposed on the same base, and the light projecting unit and the light receiving unit of the first light projecting / receiving device are provided. Since the opposing light receiving unit and the light projecting unit are provided with the second light projecting / receiving device disposed on the same base, the light receiving elements of both opposing light projecting / receiving devices are not saturated simultaneously by disturbance light such as sunlight. Because it is possible to prevent false alarms from the beam sensor and to check the light reception level of both projectors and receivers, even if disturbance light is incident on one projector and receiver, The axis can be adjusted, and the optical axis adjustment work itself can be easily performed .

In addition, since the beam projected from the light projecting element to the light receiving element is set to be parallel or cross between the first light projecting / receiving device and the second light projecting / receiving device, both the light projecting / receiving devices are made parallel. The light emitting unit and the light receiving unit have different arrangement configurations and can be easily identified, and by using a cross, the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit of both light projecting and receiving units have the same component configuration and arrangement. The cost can be reduced.

Further, since the first light projecting / receiving device and the second light projecting / receiving device include a light receiving level output unit capable of outputting the light receiving level received by each light receiving unit, the optical axis adjustment work is further performed by displaying the light receiving level output unit or the like. It can be done easily.

Since the first light emitter / receiver and the second light emitter / receiver include a self-diagnosis result output unit capable of outputting the self-diagnosis result of each light emitter / receiver, a mirror or the like is provided at a predetermined position in front of each light emitter / receiver. By receiving the reflected beam of the beam that has been placed and projected by itself, it is possible to determine the state of the projector / receiver, and to easily perform self-diagnosis regarding the failure , as well as display and sound of the self-diagnosis result output unit The failure determination can be made more easily by the output.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 to 7 show an embodiment of a beam sensor according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a security device using the beam sensor, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the beam sensor, and FIGS. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation, FIG. 6 is a flowchart for the self-diagnosis mode, and FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a modification of the beam sensor.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the security guard device 1 includes a beam sensor 2 including a first projector / receiver 3 and a second projector / receiver 4 having the same configuration and arranged to face each other, and the beam sensor 2 is wired or wireless. A controller 5 connected thereto, a power supply device 6 for supplying power to the light emitters / receivers 3 and 4 of the controller 5 and the beam sensor 2, and the like are provided.

  The first light projector / receiver 3 has light emitting / receiving units 8 (two sets) arranged on the upper and lower ends of the vertically long base 7, and each light projecting / receiving unit 8 is arranged in a vertically connected state. A portion 8a and a light receiving portion 8b are provided. The second projector / receiver 4 is also configured in the same manner as the first projector 3, and the projector / receiver unit 8 in which the projector 8 a and the receiver 8 b are arranged in a connected state is provided at the upper and lower ends of the base 7. (2 sets) are arranged. Further, a light receiving level output unit 10 and a self-diagnosis result output unit 11 disposed on the printed circuit board 9 are provided between the upper and lower light projecting / receiving units 8 of the light projecting / receiving devices 3 and 4, respectively.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the light projecting / receiving unit 8 on the upper side of the first light projecting / receiving device 3 and the second light projecting / receiving device 4. Although not shown, the light projecting / receiving unit 8 on the lower side of both the light projecting / receiving devices 3 and 4 is configured in the same manner as in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the first light projecting / receiving device 3 and the second light projecting / receiving device 4 are a light projecting lens 13 and a light receiving lens 14 as optical blocks, a light projecting device 15, a light receiving device 16, and a light projecting device 15. A light projecting drive unit 17 that drives the light projecting drive unit 17, a light projecting control unit 18 that controls the light projecting drive unit 17, an amplifying unit 19 that amplifies the signal received by the light receiving element 16, and a signal amplified by the amplifying unit 19. A discrimination processing unit 20 that discriminates and processes the output, an output unit 21 that outputs a discrimination processing result of the discrimination processing unit 20, a mode switch (mode SW) 22 connected to the discrimination processing unit 20, and the like. Has been.

  The light projecting / receiving units 8 of the first light projecting / receiving device 3 and the second light projecting / receiving device 4 face each other, that is, the light projecting unit 8a and the light receiving unit 8b of the first light projecting / receiving device 3 and the second light projecting / receiving device 4 As shown in FIG. 1, the two beams B1 and B2 between the light projecting / receiving units 8 of the first light projecting / receiving device 3 and the second light projecting device 4 are respectively arranged by being arranged at the same position in the vertical direction. It is set to cross in the vertical direction. The same applies to the beams B3 and B4 of the light projecting / receiving units 8 on the lower side.

  The discrimination processing unit 20 of each of the light projecting and receiving devices 3 and 4 compares, for example, a signal received by the light receiving element 16 and amplified by the amplifying unit 19 with a predetermined reference value or the like, A moving body such as an intruder that has passed between the four is identified and a predetermined signal is output to the output unit 21, or a light reception signal received by the light receiving unit 8 b is processed and a light reception level is output to the output unit 21. Alternatively, various determinations and processes such as executing a self-diagnosis program to be described later are performed.

  The output unit 21 is configured to transmit various processing results processed by the discrimination processing unit 20 to the controller 5, and includes the light reception level output unit 10 and the self-diagnosis result output unit 11 described above. is doing. The light receiving level output unit 10 is composed of, for example, a voltage output terminal that can be measured by an LED meter or a tester, and a voice generating unit that can change a scale such as a piezoelectric diaphragm or a speaker. The unit 11 includes, for example, an LED and the sound generation unit. 2 are mounted on the printed circuit board 9 or the like, and are disposed, for example, between the upper and lower light projecting / receiving units 8 of the light projecting / receiving devices 3, 4.

  Next, the operation of the beam sensor 2 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. First, in the beam sensor 2, the first light projecting / receiving device 3 and the second light projecting / receiving device 4 are arranged to be opposed to each other at a predetermined position in the security target facility, and both the light projecting / receiving devices 3, 4 are controllers. It is installed by being connected to 5. When the beam sensor 2 is installed, both the light projecting and receiving devices 3 and 4 have the light receiving level output unit 10, so that the optical axis adjustment work of both the light projecting and receiving devices 3 and 4 can be performed using the light receiving level output unit 10. Done.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 3, both the light projecting and receiving devices 3 and 4 have a light projecting unit 8a, a light receiving unit 8b, and a light receiving level output unit 10, respectively. Therefore, even when disturbance light L such as sunlight is incident on the light emitter / receiver 3, for example, the light reception level from the light emitter / receiver 3 can be confirmed by the light emitter / receiver 4, and the disturbance light The optical axis adjustment operation can be performed regardless of the presence or absence of L. At this time, since the light receiving levels of both the light projecting / receiving devices 3 and 4 are the same, it is no longer necessary to perform level transmission as in the prior art from one light projecting / receiving device 3, 4 to the other light projecting / receiving device 4, 3. Further, complication of the configuration of the light projection control unit 18 and the discrimination processing unit 19 due to the coding of the light projection beam is suppressed.

  On the other hand, when the beam sensor 2 is set in a warning state by the operation of the controller 5 in the installed state of the beam sensor 2, a total of four light projecting units 3a and 4 between the four light projecting units 8a and 4b are disposed between the light receiving units 8b. When the beams B1 to B4 are projected in a cross state and an intruder passes between the light projecting and receiving devices 3 and 4 in this state, for example, all four beams B1 to B4 are blocked. The determination processing unit 20 determines that there is an intruder, and transmits an alarm signal to the controller 5 via the output unit 21. As a result, the occurrence of an abnormal state is detected by the beam sensor 2.

  In the alert state, as shown in FIG. 4, disturbance light L such as sunlight enters the second light projecting / receiving device 4 as indicated by an arrow in the morning, for example, and the light receiving element of the light receiving unit 8 b of the light projecting / receiving device 4. When 16 is saturated, for example, the beams B1 and B3 projected from the light projecting portion 8a of the first light projecting and receiving device 4 to the second light projecting and receiving device 4 become invalid, but the second light projecting and receiving device 4 The beam B2 from the light projecting portion 8b of the second light projecting / receiving device 4 to the light receiving portion 8b of the first light projecting / receiving device 3, B4 is normally projected, and an intruder can be detected by the beams B2 and B4.

  In addition, when the light receiving element 16 of one light projecting / receiving device 4 is saturated and two beams B1 and B3 in the same direction out of the four beams B1 to B4 are invalidated, the discrimination processing unit 20 receives the sun. It is set in advance so as to be determined to be due to strong disturbance light L such as light or a headlight of a car, so that the case where the two beams B1 and B3 become invalid can be determined as an abnormal state. The false alarm to the controller 5 is prevented. If the two beams B1 and B2 do not recover even after a preset time has elapsed, for example, the projector / receiver 4 is determined to be in an abnormal state such as a failure.

  In addition, according to the light projecting and receiving devices 3 and 4 of the beam sensor 2, self-diagnosis is possible. Hereinafter, this will be described based on the explanatory diagram of FIG. 5 and the flowchart of FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG. 6 is automatically executed in accordance with a program stored in advance in the discrimination processing unit 20. First, as shown in FIG. 5, the mirror 23 is placed at a distance of, for example, several centimeters to several tens of centimeters in front of the projectors 3 and 4 to be self-diagnosed (for convenience of explanation, the first projector and receiver 3). Deploy. When the mode switch 22 of the first projector / receiver 3 is switched from the normal mode side to the self-diagnosis mode side, the self-diagnosis mode is started (S100) as shown in FIG. 15 is driven and light projection (S101) is started from the light projecting unit 8a.

  When light projection is started in step S101, it is determined whether or not there is light reception within a preset predetermined time (S102). The predetermined time at this time is a time set in advance in the discrimination processing unit 19 in accordance with the distance between the first projector / receiver 3 and the mirror 23. In the case of the distance, for example, approximately 0 seconds is used. If “YES” in the determination S102, that is, if the beam B5 projected from the light projecting unit 8a is reflected by the mirror 23 and received by the light receiving unit 8b, the self-diagnosis is determined as OK. The OK output (S103) is performed by the LED and sound of the result output unit 11. On the other hand, if “NO” in the determination S102, that is, if the light beam B5 projected from the light projecting unit 8a is not received by the light receiving unit 8b even after a predetermined time has elapsed, it is determined as self-diagnosis NG and self-diagnosis is performed. The NG output (S104) by the LED and sound of the result output unit 11 is performed.

  When OK output or NG output is performed in steps S103 and S104, it is determined whether or not the self-diagnosis mode is completed (S105). If this determination S105 is “NO”, the process returns to step S101, and step S102. Repeat thereafter. If “YES” in the determination S105, that is, if the self-diagnosis result of the first light projector / receiver 3 is found and the mode switch 22 is switched to the normal mode, a series of self-diagnosis modes are ended (S106). . That is, according to this flowchart, the beam B5 projected from the light projecting unit 8a of the light projecting / receiving unit 8 of each projector / receiver 3, 4 is reflected by the mirror 23, and the reflected beam B5 is reflected by the own light receiving unit 8b. Depending on whether or not light is received, whether each of the projectors and receivers 3 and 4 is good or bad, that is, whether or not there is a failure, is self-diagnosis.

  By the way, in the above description, the case where the light emitting unit 8a and the light receiving unit 8b of the light projecting / receiving units 8 of both the light projecting / receiving devices 3 and 4 have the same arrangement form has been described. For example, as shown in FIG. The vertical relationship between the light projecting and receiving units 8a and 8b of the light projecting and receiving unit 8 of the first light projecting and receiving unit 3, and the upper and lower positions of the light projecting units 8a and 8b of the light projecting and receiving unit 8 of the second light projecting and receiving unit 4 It is also possible to reverse the positional relationship. In this case, each light projecting / receiving unit 8 may be arranged upside down on the base 7 and the common use of the light projecting / receiving unit 8 itself can be maintained. According to this arrangement, as shown in FIG. 7, the configurations of the first projector 3 and the second projector 4 are different, and the beams B1 to B4 between the two projectors 3 and 4 are parallel. It should be noted that the form of whether the beams B1 to B4 are cross or parallel is appropriately selected according to the form of the facility to be guarded, such as the distance between the two projectors and receivers 3 and 4.

  As described above, in the beam sensor 2 of the above-described embodiment, the first light projecting / receiving unit 3 in which the light projecting / receiving unit 8 having the light projecting unit 8a and the light receiving unit 8b is arranged at the upper and lower ends of the base 7, respectively. Similarly, since the second light projecting / receiving unit 8 having the light projecting / receiving unit 8 having the light projecting unit 8a and the light receiving unit 8b at the upper and lower ends on the base 7 is provided, 4 beams B1 to B4 can be set in both directions, and even if the light receiving element 16 receives strong disturbance light L such as sunlight and the beam in one direction becomes invalid, the beam in the other direction is effective. The light receiving elements 16 of both the light projecting and receiving devices 3 and 4 are not saturated at the same time. As a result, the incident of the strong disturbance light L is not detected as an abnormality or the like, and the false alarm of the beam sensor 2 can be prevented, and the highly reliable security guard device 1 can be obtained.

  Further, the beams B1 to B4 projected from the light projecting element 15 to the light receiving element 16 between the first light projecting / receiving apparatus 3 and the second light projecting / receiving apparatus 4 are set so as to cross in the vertical direction. The parts configuration and arrangement of the light projecting / receiving units 8 of the light projecting / receiving units 3 and 4 are the same, that is, both the light projecting / receiving units 3 and 4 have the same configuration, and the cost of the beam sensor 2 itself can be reduced. The security device 1 can be provided. Further, if the beams B1 to B4 between the first projector 3 and the second projector / receiver 4 are set in parallel, the arrangement configuration of the projector / receiver unit 8, the projector 8a, and the light receiver 8b of both the projector / receivers 3, 4 is set. However, it is easy to distinguish both the light projecting and receiving devices 3 and 4, and the installation work of the beam sensor 2 can be easily performed.

  Further, the light receiving level output unit 10 is provided in both the light projecting and receiving devices 3 and 4, and the light receiving level of both the light projecting and receiving devices 3 and 4 can be confirmed by the LED display and sound, etc., respectively. The optical axes can be adjusted by the light projectors 3 and 4, and for example, even when disturbance light is incident on one of the light projectors and light receivers 3 and 4, the light axes of the other light projectors and light receivers 4 and 3 can be adjusted. . As a result, it is not necessary to perform the optical axis adjustment while two workers communicate with each other through a transceiver or the like as in the prior art, and the optical axis adjustment work itself can be easily performed by, for example, one worker. In addition, the optical axis can be adjusted by both projectors and receivers 3 and 4, and the received light level is the same. Therefore, conventional level transmission is not required, and conventional light emitting pulses or circuits are used. Thus, the configuration and control of the light projection control unit 18 and the discrimination processing unit 19 can be simplified, and the beam sensor 2 advantageous in terms of cost can be obtained.

  Further, since the first light projecting / receiving device 3 and the second light projecting / receiving device 4 are each provided with a self-diagnosis result output unit 11 capable of outputting a self-diagnosis result, the first light projecting / receiving device 3 and the second light projecting / receiving device 4 are arranged at predetermined positions in front of the light projecting / receiving devices 3 and 4 By placing the mirror 23 and receiving the projected light by itself, the state of the light projecting and receiving devices 3 and 4 can be determined by LED display and sound, and self-diagnosis regarding failure and the like can be easily performed at the installation location. For example, the maintenance cost of the beam sensor 2 can be reduced.

  In the above embodiment, the beam sensor 2 in which two sets of the light projecting and receiving units 8 of the light projecting and receiving units 3 and 4 are provided on each base 7 has been described. For example, one set of the light projecting and receiving unit 8 is provided. It can also be applied to the case where three or more sets are provided. In addition, the specific shape of each of the light projecting and receiving devices 3 and 4 in the above embodiment, its block diagram, and the like are examples, and for example, in the block diagram of FIG. The present invention can be changed as appropriate without departing from the scope of the inventions.

  The present invention can be used for all beam sensors formed by a pair of light projecting and receiving devices each having at least one pair of light projecting units and light receiving units that can face each other.

The schematic block diagram which shows one Embodiment of the security guard apparatus using the beam sensor concerning this invention Block diagram of the beam sensor Explanatory drawing when adjusting the optical axis Explanatory diagram when the ambient light is incident Explanatory drawing during the self-diagnosis Flow chart showing operation during self-diagnosis Explanatory drawing which shows the modification of the beam sensor Illustration of a conventional beam sensor The explanatory drawing at the time of the sunlight incidence

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Security guard device, 2 ... Beam sensor, 3 ... 1st light emitter / receiver, 4 ... 2nd light emitter / receiver, 5 ... Controller, 6 ... Power supply device, 7 .. Base, 8... Projecting / receiving unit, 8a... Projecting unit, 8b... Light receiving unit, 10 .. Light receiving level output unit, 11. Projection lens, 14... Light reception lens, 15... Light projection element, 16... Light reception element, 17. Part, 20 ... discrimination processing part, 21 ... output part, 22 ... mode switch, 23 ... mirror, B1 to B5 ... beam, L ... disturbance light.

Claims (1)

A light projecting unit comprising a light emitting element and the optical block, a first emitter and receiver of a light receiving portion comprising a light receiving element and the optical block is placed on the same base, the light projecting portion of the first emitter and receiver A second light projecting / receiving unit in which a light receiving unit composed of a light receiving element and an optical block facing each other and a light projecting unit composed of a light projecting element and a light block facing the light receiving unit of the first light projecting / receiving unit are arranged on the same base. And equipped with
The beam projected from the light projecting element to the light receiving element between the first light projecting / receiving apparatus and the second light projecting / receiving apparatus is set to be parallel or crossed, and the first light projecting / receiving apparatus and the second light projecting / receiving apparatus. The light receiving level output unit that can output the light receiving level received by the light receiving unit of each light emitting and receiving unit, and the light emitting level of each light projecting and receiving unit in a state in which each light emitting and receiving unit is switched to the self-diagnosis mode by a mode switch. A self-diagnosis result output unit capable of outputting a self-diagnosis result that is determined based on whether or not a reflected beam of the beam projected from the unit is received by the light receiving unit of the projector / receiver. Sensor.

Images