JP6764435B2 - sensor - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a sensor. It is a sensor including a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and can be called a motion sensor, a distance measuring sensor, a proximity sensor, or the like depending on how it is used and when it is used.

Various types of sensors as detection elements / detection devices have been conventionally known. For example, there is a sensor that senses the presence of an object and reacts, and among these, a sensor that senses the presence of a human body and reacts is called a motion sensor. Proximity sensors are often used to detect nearby objects. The proximity sensor is used, for example, to detect the presence or absence of paper with a facsimile machine, or to detect the presence or absence of a human face with a mobile terminal. Distance measuring sensors are also used to detect a certain distance.

There is no clear definition for these various sensors, and in reality they are duplicated and used in the same way.

The sensor in the present application can be called a motion sensor, a distance measuring sensor, a proximity sensor, etc., depending on how it is used and when it is used, and includes detection elements / detection devices having various names and applications. It is a thing.

As a detection method with a sensor, there is a method using magnetism or radio waves, but in this application, the sensor uses a light emitting element and a light receiving element.

When detecting the presence or absence of paper with the above-mentioned facsimile device, the distance between the sensor and the paper is mechanically determined, and the light reflectance is also determined. A sensor can be configured with a relatively simple combination of light receiving elements. That is, a simple transmissive or reflective photo interrupter can be used.

On the other hand, there are cases where it is used while sitting like a toilet bowl, and there are cases where a man stands and uses it, and there are individual differences in the position of the person who uses it, and the clothes of the person who uses it vary and the reflectance is different. In that case, the configuration of the sensor will not be easy.

Conventionally, a detection sensor called PSD (Position Sensitive Photodetector), in which the resistance value changes depending on the position of an optical spot, has been mainly used for this purpose.

It is configured to include an infrared light emitting diode (IR / LED) which is a light emitting element and a PSD which is a light receiving element. Light is emitted from an infrared light emitting diode (IR / LED) driven by an LED drive circuit, which is reflected by a reflecting object (for example, a human body), and the reflected light is incident on the PSD. The position where the reflected light is incident on the PSD (the spot position of the light) changes according to the distance between the human body and the sensor. The balance of the signal current extracted from the PSD changes as the spot position of the light incident on the PSD changes. The balance of this signal current is detected by a signal processing circuit to which the PSD is connected, and the distance between the human body and the sensor is detected (Patent Documents 1 and 2).

In this way, the principle of triangulation is applied to measure the distance to an object (for example, the human body). There is a problem that the optical system requires a considerable cost.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-172565 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-18258

Transistor Gijutsu June 2007, pp. 244-249

In PSD that applies the principle of conventional triangulation, the optical system requires a considerable cost, and not only the product cost is high, but also there is a problem that only a limited range can be measured. For example, the distance between the sensor and the object is in the range of 4 to 30 cm, 20 to 150 cm, and the like. This is due to the length of the PSD. In PSD, the distance is measured at the position where the light hits, and if that position deviates from PSD, it cannot be measured. The longer the distance that can be measured by PSD, the higher the price. In addition, it is necessary to change the lens system depending on the measurement range. Further, since the distance is measured at the position where the reflected light is collected, the accuracy of the lens system is required. In addition, glossy reflectors, mirrors, glass, etc. have the drawback that they cannot be measured well due to the influence of virtual images.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to propose a sensor that can be provided at a low price by being able to perform accurate detection and set various detection ranges.

[1]
A sensor including a light emitting element and a light receiving element, wherein the light emitting element is made of a Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting LASER (VCSEL), and the light receiving element is made of a remote control light receiving element.

[2]
The sensor of [1], in which a concave lens is provided on the side of the light emitting element facing the detection target, and the directivity angle of light emitted from the VCSEL is widened.

[3]
The sensor of [1] in which a plurality of VCSELs constituting the light emitting element are provided.

[4]
The sensor of [3] that sets the detection range by logical operation.

[5]
A filter is provided on the detection target side of the sensor via a light-shielding object, and the light-shielding object is made of an elastic material and is located between the filter and the light-shielding object and on the side surface of the light-shielding object and the detection object of the sensor. The sensor of [1] is provided at a position where the light emitted from the VCSEL is reflected by the filter and is prevented from entering the remote control light receiving element.

[6]
The sensor of [5], wherein a fitting portion for inserting and removing the light-shielding object is formed on the side surface of the detection object of the sensor.

[7]
The sensor of [1], which controls a circuit for emitting light from the VCSEL with a microcomputer and controls a light emission output from the VCSEL by using an auto gain control circuit (AGC circuit) for the circuit.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a sensor that can be provided at a low price by enabling accurate detection and setting of various detection ranges.

The schematic which shows the principle of the detection range of the sensor of this invention. Schematic diagram of an embodiment in which the directivity angle of a light emitting element (VCSEL) is reduced to 30 degrees in a light-shielding case. Schematic diagram showing a filter, a light-shielding object, and a detection range in an integrated sensor. The schematic diagram which mounted the chip LED type VCSEL and the remote control light receiving element on the glass epoxy board. The schematic view which inserted the substrate of FIG. 4 into a light-shielding case. Schematic cross-sectional view of a sensor made by bonding a chip to a glass epoxy substrate and sealing the resin with two molds of transparent resin and light-shielding resin. The schematic diagram which shows the fitting part of a sensor and a shading object. The schematic diagram for demonstrating the detection range by the logical operation when two VCSELs are used. The schematic diagram explaining the detection range when the VCSEL and the remote control light receiving element are separated.

Hereinafter, embodiments and examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and examples, and is a technique grasped from the description of the scope of claims. It can be changed in various ways within the target range.

The sensor of this embodiment is a sensor including a light emitting element and a light receiving element, in which the light emitting element is made of a Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting LASER (VCSEL) and the light receiving element is made of a remote control light receiving element.

In PSDs that have been used conventionally, where infrared light emitting elements (IR / LED) have been used, a surface emitting laser chip called Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (in the present specification, claims, "VCSEL" It may be expressed as).

Further, in the PSD that has been used conventionally, the place where the PSD chip is used is replaced with a remote control light receiving element that operates by receiving a signal from the remote control transmitter in the remote control device.

Therefore, the assembly of the sensor of this embodiment can be performed in the same manner as the conventional PSD sensor. In addition, the assembly can be basically the same as that of the conventional reflective photo interrupter.

Since the light emitted from the VCSEL is laser light, the straightness of the light is strong. By irradiating this laser light in a certain range and receiving the reflected light that hits the detected object with the remote control light receiving element, it is possible to accurately detect whether or not there is an object.

In IR / LED, which has been used as a light emitting element in conventional PSD, light is diverged, which affects the detection accuracy. In addition, since IR / LED has a large attenuation of light with respect to distance, it is necessary to pass a large current as compared with a laser.

The basic principle of the sensor of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Hereinafter, the light emitting element in the description of the embodiments and examples of the present invention refers to a VCSEL, and the light receiving element refers to a remote control light receiving element.

As shown in FIG. 1, the light emitting range of the light emitting element 1 is a range surrounded by lines A and B. The light receiving range of the light receiving element 3 is a range surrounded by C and D lines. The range surrounded by the point EFGH where these four lines intersect is the range in which the object (detected object) can be detected. That is, the laser light emitted from the VCSEL hits the object, and the reflected light enters the light receiving element 3.

The light emitting element 1 can be configured to transmit using an optical modulation circuit (not shown) in the same manner as the transmitter of the remote controller. The light receiving element 3 can be connected to a microcomputer (not shown) to receive the signal in the same manner as the remote control light receiving element in the conventional remote control device.

As is well known, many channels can be assigned to transmission / reception in the remote control device. Utilizing this, in this embodiment in which a remote control light receiving element is used as the light receiving element, a plurality of VCSELs as light emitting elements can be used.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8, in the case of a sensor in which the light emitting elements 1 and 2 are adopted, the channel 1 can be assigned to the transmission of the light emitting element 1 and the channel 2 can be assigned to the transmission of the light emitting element 2. In this way, by adopting dozens of light emitting elements and assigning each channel to each light emitting element, it is possible to obtain a sensor having dozens of light emitting elements to which dozens of channels are assigned.

In the case of a sensor that uses a plurality of VCSELs as shown in FIG. 8, for example, if the light emitting element 1 and the light emitting element 2 are transmitted at the same time, the light receiving element 3 may interfere with each other, but in that case, the transmissions do not overlap. It may be transmitted alternately. That is, when the light emitting element 1 is on, the light emitting element 2 is turned off. When the light emitting element 2 is on, the light emitting element 1 may be turned off.

Similarly, when the number of light emitting elements is three or more, interference can be avoided by selecting the light emitting elements and performing duty drive.

As described above in this embodiment, when a plurality of light emitting elements are used, a logical range can be set by each logical operation including AND, NAND, OR, NOR, etc. of each detection range. In this way, the detection range of the sensor according to this embodiment can be set by a logical operation.

In the case of the sensor of this embodiment described above, the number of light emitting elements does not need to be particularly limited. Therefore, the number of channels may be increased as needed. By using the above logical range and multiple channels, various detection ranges can be set and various applications are possible.

According to the sensor of this embodiment, both the VCSEL and the remote control light receiving element are highly versatile and inexpensive parts, do not require a complicated lens, and can limit the detection area within the range of light emission and light reception, so that the development cost is also high. The unit price of the product can be suppressed to 1/2 or less as compared with the conventional product by PSD.

Further, if two or more light emitting elements are used, a complicated detection range can be constructed by a logical operation of the detection range.

In particular, remote control light receiving elements are used in many home appliances such as TVs, air conditioners, videos, audios, and lighting fixtures, and can be combined with a microcomputer to identify many signals. Manufacturers of remote control light receiving elements include Sharp Corporation, ROHM Co., Ltd., EVERLIGHT ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., Vishay, etc. There are many manufacturers of VCSELs, and they are famous for being installed in the iphone (registered trademark) X (trade name). Both the light emitting element and the light receiving element are currently available for less than 20 yen, and a sensor combining these can realize less than half the price compared to the conventional product.

<VCSEL as a light emitting element>
In the sensor of this embodiment, VCSEL is used as the light emitting element. VCSELs are surface emitting lasers, and there are various wavelengths.

The remote control light receiving element used for the light receiving element in the sensor of this embodiment is generally a Si-based light receiving element, and its peak wavelength sensitivity is around 900 nm.

Therefore, the VCSEL used for the light emitting element in the sensor of this embodiment is compatible with the one having a wavelength of 780 nm to 980 nm.

Currently, 850 nm is cheap and has a large production volume, so a VCSEL of 850 nm is used in this embodiment.

There are single mode and multi mode VCSELs, but since they are for sensors, the cheaper one is sufficient. At present, the multi-mode is cheap, so the multi-mode one is used in this embodiment.

What is important in this embodiment is the pointing angle of the VCSEL. Generally, a laser is intended to narrow the pointing angle to make a spot, but in the embodiment of the present invention, it is expanded to irradiate a certain range.

For example, a VCSEL multimode chip manufactured by Optowell has a directivity angle of 14 to 30 degrees.

When it is necessary to widen the directional angle, as an example, a concave lens can be provided on the side of the light emitting element facing the detection object to widen the directional angle of light emitted from the light emitting element.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the light emission of the VCSEL chip 4 is widened by the concave lens-shaped resin mold 5.

For example, the concave lens-shaped resin mold 5 shown in FIG. 2 can be used by widening the directivity angle to 40 degrees, and the outer case 6 can be used by focusing on 30 ° C. In this way, the directional angle may be designed according to the purpose.

Since VCSEL emits laser light, it has good straightness of light, and if it is stopped down to 30 ° C., it goes straight in that range. However, the IR / LED generally used in the conventional PSD sensor diverges the light. Therefore, even if the directional angle is adjusted as described above, the detection accuracy is deteriorated.
<Remote control light receiving element as a light receiving element>
In this embodiment, a remote control light receiving element that operates by receiving a signal from a remote control transmitter in the remote control device is used as the light receiving element. This may be a general remote control light receiving element, and most manufacturers' remote control light receiving elements such as Sharp Corporation, ROHM Co., Ltd., Photoelectronics Co., Ltd., EVERLIGHT ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., Vishay, etc. Can be used.

The remote control light receiving element is basically an optical modulation method, and detects a signal on a carrier frequency such as 36 KHz, 38 KHz, or 40 KHz. At present, the 38KHz product has the highest sales volume and is the cheapest. The carrier frequency may be selected as needed without being limited to 38 KHz.

<Assembly as a sensor>
The sensor of this embodiment has a method of separating light emission and light reception and using them as individual parts, and a method of putting them in a case or the like and using them as one. Here, the method of assembling the integrated sensor will be described.

Also for the integrated type 1) As shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 5, the method of using the VCSEL and the remote control light receiving element separately, and putting them in a case that blocks infrared light,
2) As shown in FIG. 6, the VCSEL chip 15 and the remote control light receiving element chip 16 are directly assembled on the printed circuit board (light-shielding black substrate) 17, and the element portion is molded by transfer molding with the infrared translucent resin 18, and the transfer is performed. There is a method of making a light-shielding resin case 19 on the outside by molding or injection molding.

Since the sensor of this embodiment basically uses a VCSEL chip instead of the IR / LED chip in the conventional PSD sensor and uses a remote control light receiving element chip instead of the conventional PSD chip, it is assembled. The method can be realized in the same way as the conventional one.

That is, since the assembly method is basically the same for the conventional reflective photo interrupter, the sensor of this embodiment can be assembled in the same manner. For example, Sharp's photo interrupter, GP series may be referred to.

However, it is necessary to consider that the remote control light receiving element has very high sensitivity.

By connecting an optical modulation circuit to the remote control light receiving element, it is possible to prevent general disturbance light from being picked up.

However, if the light emitted from the sensor itself leaks through the inside of the sensor itself to the light receiving side of the remote control light receiving element, the S / N deteriorates.

Therefore, in this embodiment, shading between light emission and light reception is very important. This is the difference from the conventional photo interrupter assembly.

In the photo interrupter, there are many cases where the insertion port at the time of element insertion is unsealed. However, in the case of the present embodiment, after the light emitting element and the light receiving element are inserted into the light shielding case, it is desirable to seal the light emitting element and the light receiving element with a light shielding resin so that light leakage does not occur except for the light emitting and light receiving openings.

FIG. 4 shows an example of surface mounting on a glass epoxy substrate 11 using VCSEL 9 of a chip LED type package and a remote control light receiving element 10. Since a general glass epoxy substrate transmits infrared light, a light-shielding glass epoxy black substrate is used for the substrate 11.

FIG. 4 In the illustrated embodiment, the substrate 11 has a notch portion 12. FIG. 5 shows an example in which this is placed in the light-shielding case 13.

There is a notch 12 on the light emitting side 9 of the substrate on which the light emitting element is deployed and the light receiving side 10 of the substrate on which the light receiving element is deployed, and a part of the resin of the case enters the notch 12 to block light. are doing.

After being inserted into the case 13, in order to prevent light leakage from the insertion port, both the light emitting side and the light receiving side are sealed with a light-shielding resin having a high thixo property.

The wiring 14 of the substrate 11 made of a black substrate made of glass epoxy having a light-shielding property is exposed to the outside, and a connector or the like is connected to the wiring 14 to make an electrical connection.

FIG. 6 shows a chip in which a light receiving element and a light emitting element are assembled directly on a glass epoxy circuit board 17.

Here, too, the glass epoxy substrate 17 uses a black substrate having a high light-shielding property. The VCSEL chip 15 and the remote control light receiving chip 16 are die-bonded to the substrate 17, and after wire bonding, the resin 18 is formed by a primary transfer mold using an epoxy resin or a silicone resin that transmits infrared rays.

Then, the resin 19 is subjected to a secondary transfer mold using a light-shielding resin that blocks infrared rays.

The light-shielding resin is a resin having an effect of shielding infrared rays by containing carbon black or the like in the resin.

Epoxy type resin 19 is generally used. However, the resin 19 may be formed by an injection mold using a light-shielding thermoplastic resin instead of the secondary transfer mold.

As mentioned above, light leakage inside the sensor causes deterioration of the performance of the sensor. Even a small amount of light leakage lowers the S / N ratio, becomes a noise component in the light receiving circuit, and deteriorates the detection accuracy. Therefore, it is desirable to make the light blocking on the light emitting side and the light receiving side as perfect as possible.

In assembly as a sensor, when the sensor of this embodiment is actually used, a filter is usually placed in front of the sensor (that is, on the side of the object to be detected by the sensor) due to dustproof or appearance problems. In many cases, it is desirable to consider this point.

In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, a filter 7 made of synthetic resin is provided on the front surface of the sensor (that is, on the detection target side of the sensor).

When the laser light from the light emitting element 1 hits the filter 7 and is reflected and enters the light receiving element 3, this also becomes a noise component and lowers the S / N.

The reflections described above occur on the outer and inner surfaces of the filter 7. In order to reduce this effect, the light-shielding object 8 can be provided between the sensor and the filter 7.

It is desirable that the light-shielding object 8 is in close contact with both the sensor and the filter 7. Therefore, a stretchable infrared ray-impermeable material, for example, a black rubber-like material can be used.

The difference in distance between the sensor and the filter 7 can be dealt with by adopting an inset structure as shown in FIG. 7, for example. In this way, the structure is such that the light-shielding object 8 can be inserted and removed, and the fitting portion is provided on the front surface of the sensor (that is, on the detection target side of the sensor).

This can be dealt with by preparing several types of light-shielding objects 8 made of elastic materials corresponding to the distance between the sensor and the filter 7 and replacing them according to the fitting portion 20.

A light-shielding object 8 made of an elastic material such as a rubber member may be attached to the front surface of the case 6 constituting the sensor (that is, the side surface of the object to be detected by the sensor) with double-sided tape.

By doing so, the reflection on the outer surface of the filter 7 can be cut, and the reflection on the inner surface can be significantly reduced.

<How to drive the sensor>
An example of the driving method of the sensor of this embodiment will be described.

In general, many home appliance computers are equipped with a remote control drive circuit and a remote control light receiving circuit. The VCSEL constituting the light emitting element of the sensor of the present embodiment is connected to the remote control drive circuit. Further, the remote control light receiving element constituting the light receiving element of the sensor of the present embodiment is connected to the remote control light receiving circuit.

By doing so, it is possible to realize the driving of the sensor of the present embodiment.

Various signal codes such as manufacturer, model, and channel are assigned to the transmission signal of the remote control drive circuit to prevent interference.

When two VCSELs constituting the light emitting element are used in the sensor of the present embodiment, for example, different codes of channel 1 and channel 2 are assigned to each VCSEL, and the signals are transmitted alternately so as not to overlap. Just do it.

In the sensor of the present embodiment, the laser beam from the VCSEL constituting the light emitting element hits the detection object, the reflected light enters the remote control light receiving circuit via the remote control light receiving element, and the channel 1 signal and the channel 2 signal are received. .. This can be processed by AND, OR, etc. by logical operation, and the detection range can be set.

<Use of AGC circuit>
In the sensor of the present embodiment, a circuit for emitting light from the VCSEL as a light emitting element can be controlled by a microcomputer, and an AGC circuit can be used for the circuit to control the light emission output from the VCSEL.

The AGC circuit is an auto gain control circuit.

When the sensor of this embodiment is used, for example, in a Western-style toilet, if it is surrounded by a white wall with good reflectance, it may malfunction due to unexpected reflected light.

In preparation for such a case, if it is determined that there is a detected object in the absence of a detected object, it is connected to the VCSEL that constitutes the light emitting element so as to reduce the output on the light emitting side until it is determined that there is no detected object. It is controlled by the microcomputer.

For example, you may instruct to reduce the current flowing through the VCSEL.

If there is an AGC circuit, the opposite is also possible.

That is, if it is determined that there is no detected object, it can be dealt with by increasing the current flowing through the VCSEL.

In short, it can be dealt with if there is a program that can control the current flowing through the VCSEL with a microcomputer.

In this way, even if a problem occurs after the sensor is installed, the AGC circuit can automatically detect the optimum conditions and deal with them.

(Example 1)
VCSEL is used as the light emitting element. A commercially available remote control light receiving element is used as the light receiving element.

The light emitting element 1 and the light receiving element 3 are arranged side by side as shown in FIG. 3 and are housed in a light shielding case 6 that does not allow infrared rays to pass through. Structural parts known to conventional sensors such as a drive circuit to which a light emitting element 1 and a light receiving element 3 are connected, a detection circuit, and the like are not shown.

As shown in FIG. 3, the light-shielding case 6 has an opening, in which the directional angles for light emission and light reception are determined.

The portion where the light emitting range A to B and the light receiving range C to D overlap, that is, the portion surrounded by EFGH is the theoretical detection range.

In actual use, the filter 7 is usually provided on the front surface of the sensor (that is, on the side of the object to be detected by the sensor) due to dustproof and appearance problems. As a material for the filter 7, an acrylic filter such as polycarbonate acrylic that transmits infrared rays is often used.

The reflective sensor shown in FIG. 3 is greatly affected by this filter. That is, the light on the light emitting side is reflected by the filter 7 and enters the light receiving side. This worsens the S / N of detection.

Further, since the dimensional error of the opening on the light emitting side and the light receiving side also appears as an error in the detection range, the detection range is determined with a slight margin.

For example, in the case of a specification that does not detect at 30 cm, it can be dealt with by putting the F point of the detection range in FIG. 3 further inside than 30 cm (downward side in FIG. 3) to allow a margin.

The drive on the light emitting side is based on the same principle as that of the remote control transmitter, and the same carrier frequency as that on the light receiving side is modulated and transmitted.

The light of the VCSEL has a strong straightness, the attenuation of the light is small compared to the distance, and the flowing current can be smaller than that of the IR / LED.

The IR / LED for remote control passes a pulse current of 500mA to 1A, but the VCSEL can be used with a pulse drive of 2mA to 100mA, so it is also suitable for driving with a battery.

3 In the illustrated embodiment, the filter 7 is provided on the detection target side of the sensor via the light-shielding object 8. The light-shielding object 8 is made of an elastic material and is in close contact between the filter 7 and the light-shielding object 8 and between the light-shielding object 8 and the side surface of the detection object of the sensor, and the light emitted from the light emitting element 1 is reflected by the filter 7 and received. It is arranged at a position that prevents it from entering the element 3.

In order to improve the light-shielding characteristic of blocking the reflected light by the light-shielding object 8, it is important that the light-shielding object 8 is in close contact with the sensor side and the filter 7 side. Normally, the sensor including the filter 7 and the light-shielding case 6 is separate. Therefore, when actually mounting the sensor, an error may occur in the distance between the filter 7 and the light-shielding case 6 constituting the sensor. In consideration of this point, it is desirable that the light-shielding object 8 is made of an elastic material. For example, it is better to make it from a rubber-like elastic substance. As an example, a black rubber containing carbon black that does not allow infrared rays to pass through is used as a light-shielding object 8, and the elasticity of the rubber is used between the filter 7 and the light-shielding object 8 and between the light-shielding object 8 and the side surface of the detection object of the sensor. Adjust so that there are no gaps between them, and make them adhere to each other.

(Example 2)
An example in which two light emitting elements are used is shown in FIG.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the light emitting elements 1 and 2 are arranged on the left and right sides with the light receiving element 3 inside. If necessary, two light emitting elements may be arranged on one side.

Also in this embodiment, the light emitting elements 1 and 2 are VCSELs, and the light receiving element is a remote control light receiving element.

When two light emitting elements are used, the detection range can be narrowed or widened by logical operation such as AND or OR.

That is, there is an advantage that the options for setting the detection range are increased.

More specifically, the light emitting range of the light emitting element 1 is a portion surrounded by A line and B line, and the light emitting range of the light emitting element 2 is a portion surrounded by J line and K line.

The light receiving range of the light receiving element 3 is a range surrounded by C and D lines.

Therefore, the range detected by the logical operation AND is the portion where these ranges overlap, that is, the range surrounded by YQGXRE in FIG.

FIG. 8 shows an example in which two light emitting elements are used, but by increasing the number of light emitting elements if necessary, it is possible to set various detection ranges by applying logical operations.

(Example 3)
Although Examples 1 and 2 have described an integrated sensor, Example 3 showing an example in FIG. 9 is a sensor when the light emitting element and the light receiving element are separate.

The integrated type is not very suitable for detecting a detected object away from the sensor because the distance between the light emitting element and the light receiving element is short.

In order to detect a detected object away from the sensor, it is preferable to use the light receiving element and the light emitting element separately. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, it is more suitable to use the light emitting element and the light receiving element separately for detecting the opening and closing of the door and the passage of the detected object at a distance of 1.5 m or more.

In the example shown in FIG. 9, the detection range is the portion surrounded by EFGH.

In the case of a motion sensor used for a style toilet, the motion sensor is installed behind the buttocks of the toilet seat. It is required to detect that a person is sitting on the toilet seat and not react when the elasticity is standing in front of the toilet seat and doing some extra work. In addition, the people who use it include adults and children, fat people and thin people, and they have various sitting styles and various clothes.

In addition, as an example of the demand for the motion sensor, it is detected even if it is in close contact with the sensor while wearing black clothes (reflectance> 20%), and it is worn in white clothes (reflectance <90%). If it is more than 30 cm away, it is required not to detect it.

Conventional sensors using PSD may not be able to detect when they are in close contact with the sensor.

When the sensor of the present invention is used as a motion sensor, it can be provided as a motion sensor that can meet such a demand.

1 Light emitting element (VCSEL)
2 Light receiving element (remote control light receiving element)
3 Light emitting element (VCSEL)
4 Light emitting element chip (VCSEL chip)
5 Resin concave lens 6 Light-shielding resin case 7 Filter 8 Light-shielding object 9 Chip LED type light emitting element (chip LED type VCSEL)
10 Chip LED type light receiving element (chip LED type remote control light receiving element)
11 Glass epoxy board (black board)
12 Notch of glass epoxy board 13 Light-shielding resin case 14 Wiring of glass epoxy board 15 Light emitting element chip (VCSEL chip)
16 Remote control light receiving element chip 17 Glass epoxy board (black board)
18 Transfer mold translucent resin 19 Secondary mold light-shielding resin 20 Fitted parts A to Y Light emitted or received represents the transmission range and its intersection.

Claims (3)

It is configured to include a light emitting element made of a VCSEL and a light receiving element made of a remote control light receiving element that operates by receiving a signal from a remote control transmitter in a remote control device, and a signal code transmitted from the VCSEL is transmitted from the remote light receiving element. It is a sensor that detects an object to be detected by receiving it with a light receiving element .
A plurality of the VCSELs constituting the light emitting element are provided, and the plurality of VCSELs transmit different signal codes so that the signals do not overlap.
The detection range is set by processing each different signal code detected by the light receiving element composed of the remote control light receiving element by a logical operation.
Sensor . A filter is provided on the detection target side of the sensor via a light-shielding object, and the light-shielding object is made of an elastic material, and is located between the filter and the light-shielding object, and the detection of the light-shielding object and the sensor. The sensor according to claim 1, which is provided in a detachable structure at a position where the light emitted from the VCSEL is reflected by the filter and enters the remote control light receiving element so as to be in close contact with the side surface of the object. .. It is configured to include a light emitting element made of a VCSEL and a light receiving element made of a remote control light receiving element that operates by receiving a signal from a remote control transmitter in a remote control device, and a signal code transmitted from the VCSEL is transmitted from the remote control light receiving element. Detects the object to be detected by receiving with the light receiving element
It ’s a sensor
A filter is provided on the detection target side of the sensor via a light-shielding object, and the light-shielding object is made of an elastic material, and is located between the filter and the light-shielding object, and the detection of the light-shielding object and the sensor. A sensor that is detachably attached to a position that is in close contact with the side surface of an object and prevents light emitted from the VCSEL from being reflected by the filter and entering the remote control light receiving element .

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