JP7652013B2 - Detection device, detection unit - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a detection device and a detection unit.

Conventionally, detection devices that detect objects based on the reflected light of light emitted from a light source are known. One such example of a detection device is an automatic pest animal capture device that releases a trigger for opening and closing a door of a box trap based on the detection output signal of a reflective photosensor having a light-emitting section and a light-receiving section.

In the conventional device described above, the reflective photosensor is installed facing downward, and the light emitted from the light source is irradiated downward. For this reason, in the conventional device, the object to be detected can be detected in the area below the light source, but it is difficult to detect the object to be detected in areas other than this area.

The disclosed technology aims to expand the area onto which light is irradiated.

The disclosed technology is a detection device having a first light source that emits a first light, a second light source that emits a second light in a direction different from the direction of emission of the first light, a light receiving unit that receives reflected light of the first light or reflected light of the second light, a black shielding plate that surrounds a light source substrate on which the first light source, the second light source, and the light receiving unit are provided, and a transparent member that transmits the first light and the second light to the outside of an outer frame that surrounds the black shielding plate.

The area illuminated by the light can be expanded.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the external appearance of a detection unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the detection unit as viewed from above. 2 is a perspective view of the detection unit as viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1 . 3 is an enlarged view of the periphery of a window portion of the detection device in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a light source substrate. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of a transparent substrate and a transparent film. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the shape of a transparent film. 11 is a diagram showing the relationship between the emission angle of infrared light with respect to the detection box and the detectable area. FIG. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of a detection device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the function of a control circuit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a determination table according to the first embodiment; 10 is a diagram showing an example of temperature characteristic information indicating a relationship between the output intensity of visible light and infrared light and the temperature inside the detection unit. FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a detection unit according to a second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a detection unit according to a third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a comparative example. FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a detection system according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a gateway according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 illustrates a hardware configuration of a gateway according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a functional configuration of an aggregation device according to a fourth embodiment; FIG. 23 is a first diagram illustrating an example of aggregated data according to the fourth embodiment; FIG. 23 is a second diagram illustrating an example of aggregated data according to the fourth embodiment; FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an aggregation device according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 illustrates a modified example of the functional configuration of the aggregation device.

(First embodiment)
The first embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the appearance of a detection unit of the first embodiment. In the following description, for convenience, the Z-axis direction in the figure is the up-down direction, the Y-axis direction in the figure is the front-rear direction, and the X-axis direction in the figure is the left-right direction.

The detection unit 100 of this embodiment includes a detection device 200, a detection box 300, fixing members 400, 410, and vibration absorbing members 420, 500.

The detection device 200 has an internal light source and detects a detection object that has entered the detection box 300. In this embodiment, the detection object may be, for example, a harmful animal or insect. The detection box 300 is for capturing the detection object.

The fixing members 400, 410 are members for fixing the detection device 200 and the detection box 300, and may be, for example, metal plates. The vibration absorbing members 420, 500 are members for absorbing vibrations of the detection box 300 when a detection target enters the detection box 300, and may be, for example, sponges.

In this embodiment, the detection device 200 and the detection box 300 are each formed with a window portion 210, 310.

The detection device 200 and the detection box 300 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction and fixed by the fixing member 400. At this time, the detection device 200 and the detection box 300 are fixed so that the surface on which the window portion 210 is formed and the surface on which the window portion 310 is formed face each other. Furthermore, the detection device 200 and the detection box 300 are fixed so that light irradiated from the light source inside the detection device 200 passes through the window portion 210 (first window portion) and the window portion 310 (second window portion) and is irradiated into the detection box 300.

In the example of FIG. 1, the detection box 300 is disposed to the left of the detection device 200, but the arrangement of the two is not limited to this. The detection box 300 may be disposed to the right of the detection device 200. In addition, the detection target in this embodiment may be, for example, a pest or a harmful animal.

The detection device 200 of this embodiment has multiple light sources that emit light of different wavelengths, and detects an object that has entered the detection box 300 based on the reflected light of the light emitted from the light sources. The details of the detection device 200 will be described later.

The detection box 300 has an opening 320 and a lid 330. When an object to be detected enters the detection box 300, the lid 330 mechanically closes the opening 320 and captures the object to be detected.

Next, the detection device 200 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 2A and 2B. Figure 2A is a perspective view of the detection unit 100 as viewed from above, and Figure 2B is a perspective view of the detection unit 100 as viewed from the direction of arrow A in Figure 1. Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the periphery of the window portion of the detection device in Figure 2.

The detection device 200 of this embodiment has an outer frame 220, and a window portion 210 is formed on the surface of the outer frame 220 facing the detection box 300. The outer frame 220 may be fixed to the fixing member 410 and the detection box 300 via, for example, a fixing member 430. The fixing member 430 is, for example, a hinge. The fixing member 410 fixes the detection device 200 to the fixing member 400. The fixing members 400, 410 are, for example, metal plates.

A transparent substrate 240 is fitted into the window portion 210 formed in the outer frame 220 and is fixed to the window portion 210 by any method. Furthermore, in this embodiment, a transparent film 245 is placed on the transparent substrate 240. In other words, the window portion 210 is covered by the transparent substrate 240 and the transparent film 245.

In other words, the window portion 210 in this embodiment is covered by a transparent substrate 240, which is a transparent member, and a transparent film 245, which is another transparent member.

The transparent substrate 240 of this embodiment may be realized, for example, from hard polyvinyl chloride having an optical refractive index of 1.53 and an optical transmittance of approximately 80%. The transparent film 245 may be realized from polyvinyl chloride having an optical refractive index of 1.66 and an optical transmittance of approximately 85%.

The optical refractive index and optical transmittance of the transparent substrate 240 and the transparent film 245 are not limited to the above-mentioned values, but may be any value as long as the optical refractive index of the transparent film 245 is higher than the optical refractive index of the transparent substrate 240. In other words, in the detection device 200 of this embodiment, the optical refractive index of another transparent member placed above the transparent member (on the light source side) is higher than the optical refractive index of the transparent member.

In addition, in this embodiment, when the transparent substrate 240 is placed parallel to the XY plane (horizontal plane), the transparent film 245 is placed so that the transparent film 245 has an angle with respect to the XY plane. The arrangement of the transparent substrate 240 and the transparent film 245 will be described in detail later.

In the detection device 200, the outer frame 220 includes a detection unit 230, a control board 250, a communication module 260, and a power source 270. In addition, a vibration absorbing member 221 may be disposed between the outer frame 220 and the detection box 300.

The detection unit 230 detects a detection target that has entered the detection box 300. The control board 250 is equipped with a control circuit that controls the operation of the detection unit 230. Details of the control board 250 will be described later.

The communication module 260 includes an antenna for the detection device 200 to communicate with an external device. Specifically, the communication module 260 is an example of a transmission unit that transmits a notification to an external device indicating that the detection unit 230 has detected an object to be detected.

The power supply 270 is a power source that supplies power to the detection unit 230 and the control board 250. Specifically, the power supply 270 may be a general battery, a dry cell, etc.

The detection unit 230 of this embodiment has a black shielding plate 231, light source boards 232-1 and 232-2, LEDs (light emitting diodes) 233-1 and 233-2, infrared light sources 234-1 and 234-2, reflectors 235-1 and 235-2, and light receiving units 236-1 and 236-2.

In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between the light source boards 232-1, 232-2, the LEDs 233-1, 233-2, the infrared light sources 234-1, 234-2, the reflectors 235-1, 235-2, and the light receiving units 236-1, 236-2, they will be referred to as the light source board 232, the LEDs 233, the infrared light source 234, the reflector 235, and the light receiving unit 236.

In addition, in the following description, the configuration including the light source board 232, the LED 233, the infrared light source 234, the reflector 235, and the light receiving unit 236 may be referred to as the optical system.

The black shielding plate 231 is arranged to cover the optical system. In other words, the optical system is surrounded by the black shielding plate 231, the transparent substrate 240, and the transparent film 245 such that the transparent substrate 240 and the light source substrate 232 are adjacent to each other in the left-right direction.

The black shielding plate 231 of this embodiment may have a shape in which, for example, a central portion 280 of the length L in the front-to-rear direction of the outer frame 220 is raised and has a slope that slopes downward from the central portion toward the front and rear. The central portion 280 is the portion that includes the center line C that divides the length L in half.

Each of the light source substrates 232-1 and 232-2 may be fixed to the black shielding plate 231 in any manner so as to be positioned above the transparent film 245. In other words, the transparent film 245 is disposed between the transparent substrate 240 and the light source substrate 232.

In addition, light source board 232-1 (first light source board) and 232-2 (second light source board) are each provided with LEDs 233-1 and 233-2, infrared light sources 234-1 and 234-2, and light receiving units 236-1 and 236-2.

More specifically, in this embodiment, LEDs 233-1, 233-2 and infrared light sources 234-1, 234-2 are provided on the upper surface (front surface) of each of the light source substrates 232-1, 232-2, and light receiving units 236-1, 236-2 are provided on the rear surface of each of the light source substrates 232-1, 232-2.

In addition, each of the light source substrates 232-1 and 232-2 is fixed on the transparent substrate 240 so that the surface is inclined downward in the forward and backward directions from the central portion 280 of the length L in the front-to-rear direction of the outer frame 220.

Specifically, each of the light source boards 232-1 and 232-2 is fixed to the black shielding plate 231 by a fixing jig 247. The fixing jig 247 may be fixed to the black shielding plate 231 by a screw 248 as shown in FIG. 2B. Furthermore, the fixing method is not limited to fixing by the screw 248. The fixing jig 247 may be fixed to the black shielding plate 231 by, for example, double-sided tape. Furthermore, each of the light source boards 232-1 and 232-2 is connected to the control board 250 by a cable and a connector.

The front surface of the light source board 232 is the surface on which the LEDs 233 and the infrared light source 234 are mounted. The back surface of the light source board 232 is the surface opposite to the front surface, and is the surface on which the light receiving unit 236 is mounted.

In this embodiment, an infrared absorbing member may be provided between the light source board 232-1 and the light source board 232-2. By providing this infrared absorbing member, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of erroneous detection, such as the infrared light emitted from the infrared light source 234 provided on one of the light source boards 232 being detected by the light receiving unit 236 provided on the other light source board 232.

The LEDs 233-1 and 233-2 irradiate visible light perpendicularly to the upper surfaces of the light source substrates 232-1 and 232-2. In FIG. 2A, the region irradiated with visible light is region R3. The wavelength range of the visible light emitted from the LED 233 in this embodiment is, for example, about 500 nm to 600 nm. The LED 233 in this embodiment is an example of a third light source or another light source, and the visible light is an example of a third light or another light.

The visible light emitted from LED 233-1 is reflected by reflector 235-1, passes through window 210 covered by transparent substrate 240, and illuminates the inside of detection box 300. Visible light emitted from LED 233-2 is reflected by reflector 235-2, passes through window 210 and window 310, both covered by transparent substrate 240, and illuminates the inside of detection box 300.

Infrared light sources 234-1 and 234-2 are provided with prisms 237-1 and 237-2, respectively, in the direction in which infrared light is emitted. Specifically, infrared light source 234-1 has prism 237-1 provided on the front side (positive side of the Y axis) in the front-to-rear direction of detection device 200, and infrared light source 234-2 has prism 237-2 provided on the rear side (negative side of the Y axis) in the front-to-rear direction of detection device 200.

In this embodiment, the infrared light source 234 is provided with a prism 237 to radially diffuse the infrared light. In this embodiment, by diffusing the infrared light radially in this manner, the infrared light that passes through the windows 210 and 310 is irradiated over a wide area within the detection box 300.

In FIG. 2A, the region where the detection target can be detected by infrared light emitted from infrared light source 234-1 is shown as region R1, and the region where the detection target can be detected by infrared light emitted from infrared light source 234-2 is shown as region R2. In the following description, a region where the detection target can be detected by at least either visible light or infrared light may be referred to as a detectable region. Therefore, each of regions R1, R2, and R3 is a detectable region.

In this embodiment, the infrared light source 234 is an example of a light source, and infrared light is an example of light. Furthermore, the infrared light source 234-1 is an example of a first light source, and the infrared light emitted from the infrared light source 234-1 is an example of the first light. Furthermore, the infrared light source 234-2 is an example of a second light source, and the infrared light emitted from the infrared light source 234-2 is an example of the second light.

Furthermore, infrared light that does not pass through the window portion 210 is absorbed by the black shielding plate 231. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the light receiving unit 236 is provided on the surface of the light source board 232 opposite the surface on which the infrared light source 234 is arranged. Therefore, in this embodiment, infrared light that does not pass through the window portion 210 is not detected by the light receiving unit 236, and erroneous detection can be prevented. The arrangement of the LEDs 233 and the infrared light sources 234 on the light source board 232 will be described in detail later.

In this embodiment, the wavelength range of the infrared light emitted from the infrared light source 234 is approximately 800 nm to 1150 nm.

The reflectors 235-1 and 235-2 are fixed inside the black shielding plate 231 by any method, such as screws or double-sided tape. The reflectors 235-1 and 235-2 are attached to positions facing the upper surface of the light source substrate 232, and reflect visible light emitted from the LEDs 233-1 and 233-2 in a direction perpendicular to the light source substrates 232-1 and 232-2.

In this embodiment, reflectors 235-1 and 235-2 may be made of a material and have a color that corresponds to visible light.

The reflectance of the reflector 235 to visible light is at least greater than the reflectance of the inner surface of the black shielding plate 231 to visible light. The reflector 235 may be detachable from the black shielding plate 231. In this case, the reflectance of the reflector 235 can be repeatedly changed by changing the material and color used for the reflector 235. The installation position, installation angle, and reflectance of the reflector 235 are appropriately set so that the reflected visible light from the reflector 235 is irradiated inside the detection box 300.

The light receiving units 236-1 and 236-2 are provided on the rear surfaces of the light source substrates 232-1 and 232-2, respectively, and receive reflected light that passes through the window 210 and is transmitted through the transparent substrate 240. The light receiving units 236-1 and 236-2 detect the detection object by receiving infrared light reflected from the detection object irradiated with infrared light and infrared light reflected from the detection object irradiated with visible light. The light receiving unit 236 in this embodiment may be realized by an infrared light sensor such as an infrared photodiode or an infrared phototransistor, for example.

In this way, the detection device 200 of this embodiment has a plurality of light source boards 232 on which a plurality of light sources 233, 234 that irradiate light of different wavelengths in different directions are provided. The detection device 200 of this embodiment also has a black shielding plate 231 and a transparent member (transparent board 240) that cover the above-mentioned plurality of light source boards (232), and another transparent member (transparent film 245) that is disposed between the light source board and the transparent member.

In addition, in this embodiment, the control board 250 and the light source board 232 are described as being separate, but the control board 250 and the light source board 232 may be formed as an integrated board. In this case, the light source board 232 may be a region that protrudes from the control board 250. In this case, when the control board 250 is arranged parallel to the XY plane, the light source board 232 is formed so as to be inclined downward (in the negative Z-axis direction) with respect to the XY plane.

The detection box 300 of this embodiment has an outer frame 305 and a light collecting hole 340. The light collecting hole 340 may be formed on a surface of the outer frame 305 that faces the surface on which the window portion 310 is formed. Also, the light collecting hole 340 does not have to be provided.

A vibration absorbing member 420 is disposed between the detection box 300 and the fixed member 400. In addition, a vibration absorbing member 510 is disposed between the detection box 300 and the vibration absorbing member 500.

In addition, the vibration absorbing members 420, 500, and 510 are not essential components of the detection unit 100, and the detection unit 100 does not necessarily have to have them.

In addition, in this embodiment, the control board 250 and the light source board 232 are provided separately, so there is no optical interference and detection accuracy can be improved. In addition, by arranging the control board 250 in a position separate from the light source board 232, it is possible to prevent wiring from disrupting the optical system.

In addition, the detection unit 100 of this embodiment is provided with vibration absorbing members 420, 500, 510 and cushion 210, etc., which can prevent the impact of the detection object from being directly transmitted to the detection device 200. In addition, since the detection unit 100 is unlikely to generate loud noises or vibrations, it can be installed unobtrusively. Furthermore, since the detection unit 100 of this embodiment is unlikely to generate vibrations, the optical system can be stabilized, the detection accuracy of the intrusion of the detection object can be improved, and the frequency of breakdowns can be reduced.

Next, the arrangement of the LEDs 233, infrared light source 234, and prism 237 on the light source board 232 will be described with reference to FIG.

Figure 4 is a diagram explaining the light source board. In the example of Figure 4, light source board 232-1 is used as an example. In the case of light source board 232-2, the forward direction of light source board 232-1 is the rear direction.

In this embodiment, an LED 233-1, an infrared light source 234-1, and a prism 237-1 are arranged on the light source board 232-1.

Prism 237-1 is provided in front of LED 233-1 (positive direction on the Y axis). Prism 237 has a semi-cylindrical front surface 237a that protrudes in front of infrared light source 234 (positive direction on the Y axis), and a back surface 237b. Prism 237 diffuses infrared light incident on back surface 237b so that it spreads radially in the left-right direction (X axis direction), and emits it forward from front surface 237a (positive direction on the Y axis, direction of arrow D1 shown in Figure 3).

In this embodiment, the LED 233-1 emits visible light in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the light source substrate 232-1 (the direction of the arrow E1 shown in FIG. 3).

In addition, the light source board 232-1 in this embodiment is inclined downward toward the front at an inclination angle of approximately 15° with respect to the XY plane (horizontal plane).

As a result, the direction of the infrared light emitted from the prism 237 is tilted downward toward the front at an inclination angle of approximately 15° with respect to the XY plane (horizontal plane). Also, the direction of the visible light emitted from the LED 233 is tilted forward (positive direction of the Y axis) at an inclination angle of approximately 15° with respect to the XZ plane (vertical plane).

Next, the arrangement of the transparent substrate 240 and the transparent film 245 will be described with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of the transparent substrate and the transparent film. FIG. 5(A) is a diagram for explaining the case where the transparent substrate 240 and the transparent film 245 are arranged parallel to each other, and FIG. 5(B) is a diagram for explaining the case where the transparent film 245 is arranged at an angle with respect to the transparent substrate 240.

In addition, in FIG. 5, the relationship between the light source substrate 232-1 and the transparent substrate 240 and transparent film 245 will be described as an example. In the example of FIG. 5, the optical refractive index of the transparent substrate 240 is 1.53, and the optical refractive index of the transparent film 245 is 1.66.

As shown in FIG. 5(A), when the transparent substrate 240 and the transparent film 245 are arranged parallel to the XY plane, the infrared light emitted from the infrared light source 234-1 passes through the transparent film 245, which has a large optical refractive index, and enters the transparent substrate 240, which has a small optical refractive index.

Therefore, in the example of FIG. 5(A), angle θ1 is equal to angle θ2. Note that angle θ1 is the angle of infrared light with respect to surface 245a of transparent film 245 when infrared light is incident on transparent film 245, and is the elevation angle with respect to surface 245a of transparent film 245. Angle θ2 is the angle of infrared light exiting from transparent substrate 240 with respect to back surface 240b of transparent substrate 240, and is the depression angle with respect to back surface 240b of transparent substrate 240.

In this embodiment, the depression angle of the transparent substrate 240 with respect to the rear surface 240b can be considered as the emission angle from the detection device 200 into the detection box 300.

The surface 240a of the transparent substrate 240 is the surface facing the back surface 245b of the transparent film 245, and the back surface 240b of the transparent substrate 240 is the surface opposite the surface 240a and facing the detection box 300. The surface 245a of the transparent film 245 is the surface facing the back surface of the light source substrate 232, and the back surface 245b of the transparent film 245 is the surface facing the surface 240a of the transparent substrate 240 and is the surface opposite the surface 245a.

In contrast, in the present embodiment shown in FIG. 5(B), the transparent film 245 is tilted with respect to the transparent substrate 240 so that the transparent film 245 moves away from the transparent substrate 240. In other words, in the example of FIG. 5(B), the transparent film 245 is tilted at an angle θ11 so that it rises from the central portion 280 toward the forward direction (positive direction of the Y axis). The forward direction (positive direction of the Y axis) is, for example, the traveling direction of the infrared light emitted from the infrared light source 234-1.

In this case, the angle θ21 of the infrared light with respect to the surface 245a of the transparent film 245 is equal to the elevation angle θ1 and the inclination angle θ11 of the transparent film 245, and is greater than the elevation angle θ1.

In FIG. 5(B), the depression angle θ2 is smaller than the depression angle θ2 in FIG. 5(A).

In this embodiment, the smaller the depression angle θ2 with respect to the back surface 240b of the transparent substrate 240, the wider the range illuminated by the infrared light. In other words, the area in the detection box 300 in which the detection object can be detected becomes wider.

In addition, in this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 5(B), the transparent film 245 is tilted to increase the distance between the light source substrate 232-1 and the transparent substrate 240. Specifically, the distance H2 between the surface 240a of the transparent substrate 240 and the light source substrate 232-1 shown in Fig. 5(B) can be increased compared to the distance H1 between the surface 240a of the transparent substrate 240 and the light source substrate 232-1 shown in Fig. 5(A).
In this embodiment, by increasing the distance between the infrared light source 234 and the transparent substrate 240 in this manner, damage to the infrared light source 234 on the light source substrate 232 due to vibration of the detection box 300 can be suppressed.

In addition, in this embodiment, the transparent film 245 is also tilted with respect to the transparent substrate 240 for the light source substrate 232-2 so that the transparent film 245 moves away from the transparent substrate 240. In other words, the transparent film 245 is tilted so that it rises from the central portion 280 toward the rear (negative Y-axis direction).

Therefore, in this embodiment, the shape of the transparent film 245 is as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the shape of the transparent film. In this embodiment, the transparent film 245 has a V-shape in which the front portion 245A and the rear portion 245B are inclined so as to be symmetrical about the center line C, with the front portion 245A and the rear portion 245B being in front of the center line C and rear portion 245B.

Specifically, the transparent film 245 has a shape in which the surface facing the transparent substrate 240 in the front portion 245A is surface 245a1, and the surface facing the transparent substrate 240 in the rear portion 245B is surface 245b1, and the angle θa of surface 245a1 with respect to the horizontal plane P is the same as the angle θb of surface 245b1 with respect to the horizontal plane P.

In this embodiment, by forming the transparent film 245 in this shape, it is possible to reduce the angle between the infrared light irradiated from the infrared light source 234-1 and the infrared light irradiated from the infrared light source 234-2 and the rear surface of the transparent substrate 240. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to irradiate infrared light to a region R1 (see FIG. 2A) from near the opening 320 to near the center line C, and a region R2 (see FIG. 2A) from near the center line C to the innermost part within the detection box 300.

In addition, in this embodiment, the central portion of the detection box 300 is irradiated with reflected visible light emitted from the LED 233. In other words, in this embodiment, light with a wavelength different from infrared light can be irradiated to the area R3 directly to the side of the light source board 232 in the detection box 300.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, at least one of the first light and the second light (infrared light) or the third light (visible light) can be irradiated onto the area from near the opening 320 of the detection box 300 to the innermost part, thereby expanding the area in which the detection target can be detected.

This concludes the explanation of the detection device 200. Next, we will explain the detection box 300.

The detection box 300 of this embodiment has light absorption properties for infrared light and visible light inside. In other words, the inner surface of the detection box 300 has a reflectance of approximately 0% for infrared light and visible light. Therefore, for example, if no object is present in region R1 inside the detection box 300, the infrared light and visible light are absorbed by the inner surface of the detection box 300 and are not reflected.

In the detection box 300 of this embodiment, the reflectance of the inner surfaces (the inner surface of the top wall portion, the inner surface of the bottom wall portion, and the inner surface of the side wall portion) is less than 0.1% (a suitable example of "reflectance that does not react to infrared light"). In addition, in this embodiment, the "reflectance of the inner surface of the detection box" is the ratio of the amount of reflected infrared light (emitted light) to the amount of incident infrared light on the inner surface of the detection box 300.

As a result, the detection box 300 of this embodiment can prevent infrared light or visible light from being reflected on the inner surface of the detection box 300, which can lead to the false detection of an object even when no object is present inside the detection box 30 (within the space to be detected).

Specifically, for example, the inner surface of the detection box 300 may be made of black ABS resin, styrene, cardboard, or the like, thereby suppressing the reflectance of infrared light.
In this case, the entire detection box 300 may be made of these materials, or only the inner surface of the detection box 300 may be made of these materials. Also, for example, the inner surface of the detection box 300 may be covered with various infrared light absorbing materials (for example, polyurethane resin-based infrared light absorbing materials) to suppress the reflectance of infrared light (for example, to less than 2%). In this case, the infrared light absorbing material may be a plate, sheet, film, paint, or the like. The reflectance that does not react to infrared light may be determined according to the light receiving sensitivity of the light receiving unit 236.

In addition, in the detection box 300 of this embodiment, a tilt sensor may be provided on the lid 330. The tilt sensor changes the voltage when the device is tilted.

In this embodiment, a tilt sensor is attached to the lid 330 of the detection box 300, so that it can detect when the lid 330 has changed from a horizontal state in which it is stored above the opening 320 to a vertical state by closing the lid. Specifically, if the tilt sensor outputs 0 [V] in the horizontal state and 3 [V] in the vertical state, then when the lid 330 is closed, the output of the tilt sensor changes from 0 [V] to 3 [V].

In this embodiment, the detection box 300 may detect the capture of the detection object based on the change in this signal.

In addition, in the detection unit 100 of this embodiment, when the detection box 300 detects the capture of the detection object by the tilt sensor, it may notify the detection device 200 of the capture of the detection object.

Upon receiving this notification, the detection device 200 can detect the timing at which the object to be detected is captured by activating the LED 233 and the infrared light source 234.

The tilt sensor may be a four-way tilt sensor or a two-way tilt sensor. If a four-way tilt sensor is used, it can detect when the detection box 300 is tilted due to an earthquake or the like.

The detection box 300 of this embodiment may also be provided with a gesture sensor. The gesture sensor may be provided on the interior upper surface of the detection box 300. In this embodiment, by providing the gesture sensor, the movement (motion) of the detection object can be detected by the gesture sensor. Therefore, in this embodiment, the accuracy of detection of the entry of the detection object can be increased.

The gesture sensor may also be configured to close the lid 330 when the movement direction of the detection object is backward from the entrance toward the back. In this way, it is possible to capture the detection object that has entered the detection box 300 with a high probability.

In this embodiment, the gesture sensor may be, for example, an optical gesture sensor module, and can detect objects up to about 5 cm in height. Therefore, the detection box 300, which is 6 cm in height, was able to detect the object without any problems.

表１では、透明基板２４０に対する透明フィルム２４５の傾斜角を変化させたときの、透明フィルム２４５の表面２４５ａに対する赤外光の仰角、透明基板２４０の表面２４０ａに対する赤外光の仰角、検知ボックス３００への赤外光の出射角、透明基板２４０から光源基板２３２までの距離、検知可能領域を測定した結果を示している。 Next, with reference to FIG. 7 and Tables 1 and 2, the positional relationship between the light source substrate 232 and the transparent substrate 240 when the angle of the transparent film 245 with respect to the transparent substrate 240 in the detection device 200 of this embodiment is changed will be described.

Table 1 shows the results of measuring the elevation angle of infrared light relative to surface 245a of transparent film 245, the elevation angle of infrared light relative to surface 240a of transparent substrate 240, the emission angle of infrared light to detection box 300, the distance from transparent substrate 240 to light source substrate 232, and the detectable area when the inclination angle of transparent film 245 relative to transparent substrate 240 is changed.

Note that the detectable area in Table 1 refers to the length in the front-to-rear direction of the area where infrared light is irradiated onto the detection box 300.

In addition, in Table 1, measurements were performed with the wavelength of the visible light emitted from the LED 233 set to 520 nm and the wavelength of the infrared light emitted from the infrared light source 234 set to 950 nm.

The inner surface of the detection box 300 is black (reflectance of infrared light is less than 0.1%), and the dimensions of the detection box 300 are 60 mm in height.

As can be seen from Table 1, in the detection device 200 of this embodiment, the transparent substrate 240 is arranged parallel to the horizontal plane, and by changing the angle between the transparent film 245 and the transparent substrate 240, the light source substrate 232 can be separated from the transparent substrate 240 and the emission angle into the detectable area can also be made shallow.

For example, comparing the Comparative Example in Table 1 with Examples 1 to 3, in the case of Example 1, the detectable area is 25 cm wider than the Comparative Example, in the case of Example 2, the detectable area is 61 cm wider than the Comparative Example, and in the case of Example 3, the detectable area is 120 cm wider than the Comparative Example. In particular, the detectable area in Example 3 is approximately twice as wide as that of the Comparative Example.

In the case of Example 3, it is necessary to take into consideration the reflection of infrared light by the surface 240a of the transparent substrate 240. For this reason, in the detection device 200, it is desirable to set the emission angle with respect to the detection box 300 to the angle in Example 1 (25 degrees) or the angle in Example 2 (20 degrees), or an angle between them. In other words, in the detection device 200, it is preferable to tilt the transparent film 245 with respect to the transparent substrate 240 so that the emission angle with respect to the detection box 300 is about 20 degrees to 25 degrees.

In this embodiment, this allows the detectable area within the detection box 300 to be expanded.

Figure 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between the emission angle of infrared light with respect to the detection box and the detectable area. In Figure 7, H3 indicates the height of the detection box 300. As shown in Figure 7, it can be seen that the smaller the emission angle of infrared light with respect to the detection box 300, the wider the detectable area becomes in the forward and backward directions.

Specifically, it was found that in order to increase the detectable range to 120 cm or more with one infrared light source 234, the emission angle (angle from the horizontal) of the infrared light should be 25 degrees, and in order to increase the detectable range to 160 cm or more, the emission angle (angle from the horizontal) of the infrared light should be 20 degrees. Furthermore, it was found that in order to increase the detectable range to 220 cm or more with one infrared light source 234, the emission angle (angle from the horizontal) of the infrared light should be 15 degrees.

In this embodiment, the inside of the detection box 300 is described as the area detectable by the detection device 200, but the detectable area is not limited to the inside of the detection box 300. For example, in this embodiment, the detection box 300 does not have to be provided. In this case, the space irradiated with at least one of visible light and infrared light irradiated from the window portion 210 of the detection device 200 becomes the detectable area.

In other words, if the detection box 300 does not exist, the detectable area changes depending on the height of the free space, which corresponds to the height of the detection box 300. However, the width (length) of the detectable area shown in FIG. 7 is only proportional to the distance from the transparent substrate 240 to the light source substrate 232, and it still depends on the emission angle of the infrared light.

表２からわかるように、赤外光の出射角が３０度である例４の場合の検知可能領域は１７１ｃｍであり、赤外光の出射角が２５度である例５の場合の検知可能領域は２３１ｃｍであった。 Table 2 below shows the detectable areas when the height of detection box 300 is 1 m and the emission angles of infrared light are 25 degrees and 30 degrees.

As can be seen from Table 2, the detectable range in Example 4 where the emission angle of the infrared light is 30 degrees is 171 cm, and the detectable range in Example 5 where the emission angle of the infrared light is 25 degrees is 231 cm.

In addition, in the detection device 200 of this embodiment, the area R3 (see FIG. 2) directly to the side of the light source board 232 is less likely to be irradiated with infrared light, and more likely to be irradiated with visible light emitted from the LED 233.

Therefore, in this embodiment, a reflector 235 is installed inside the black shielding plate 231, facing the light source board 232, so that visible light is irradiated onto region R3.

In this embodiment, the material of the reflector 235 is effective as long as it is a color other than black. However, if the reflector 235 is white, the reflected light may be too strong and the light receiving unit 236 may detect the reflected light even when the object to be detected is not present.

尚、反射板２３５の材料は、アクリル、塩化ビニール等であってよい。表３では、反射板２３５を設置しない場合を比較例とし、反射板２３５を水色とした場合を例６、緑色とした場合を例７とした。 Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in Table 3 below, the colors of the reflector 235 were light blue and green and evaluated as examples.

The material of the reflector 235 may be acrylic, vinyl chloride, etc. In Table 3, a comparative example is a case where the reflector 235 is not provided, an example 6 is a case where the reflector 235 is light blue, and an example 7 is a case where the reflector 235 is green.

In this case, in the comparative example, the detection target in the region R3 directly to the side of the light source board 232 is not detected. In contrast, in both examples 6 and 7, it was found that the detection target in the region R3 directly to the side of the light source board 232 can be detected.

Therefore, in this embodiment, by providing the reflector 235, the area directly to the side of the light source board 232 on which the infrared light source 234 is arranged can be made the detectable area. In this embodiment, the area R3 is the area directly to the side of the light source board 232, but in other words, the area R3 can be said to be an area located opposite the light source board 232.

Next, the operation of the detection device 200 of this embodiment will be described. The hardware configuration of the detection device 200 of this embodiment will be described below.

Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a detection device of the first embodiment. The detection device 200 of this embodiment includes an LED 233, a light receiving unit 236, a control circuit 600, a power supply 270, a communication module 260, a GPS (Global Positioning System) unit 290, and a temperature sensor 295. These components are connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other via a communication path B (e.g., a bus, a wiring pattern, a connector, a cable, etc.).

The control circuit 600 of this embodiment is a circuit mounted on the control board 250. In this embodiment, the GPS unit 290, temperature sensor 295, etc. may also be mounted on the control board 250.

The control circuit 600 of this embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 601, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 602, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 603, a memory 604, a drive circuit 605, and a drive circuit 606.

The CPU 601 controls the overall operation of the detection device 200. The ROM 602 stores programs executed by the CPU 601. The RAM 603 is used as a work area for the CPU 601. The memory 604 stores various data. For example, a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD) is used as the memory 604.

The drive circuit 605 controls the emission of visible light by the LED 233. For example, the drive circuit 605 causes the LED 233 to emit visible light by supplying power from the power source 270 to the LED 233. The drive circuit 606 controls the emission of infrared light by the infrared light source 234. For example, the drive circuit 606 causes the infrared light source 234 to emit infrared light by supplying power from the power source 270 to the infrared light source 234.

The communication module 260 transmits and receives various data between the detection device 200 and the external device by performing wireless communication with the external device. For example, the communication module 260 transmits detection result data indicating the result of detecting an object to the external device based on control from the control circuit 600. For example, the wireless communication method used by the communication module 260 may be Wi-Fi (registered trademark), wireless LAN (Local Area Network), etc.

The GPS unit 290 receives radio waves from GPS satellites to calculate the current position of the detection device 200 and output position information indicating the current position. The GPS unit 290 may also output time information indicating the current time together with the position information.

The temperature sensor 295 detects the temperature inside the detection unit 230 and outputs temperature information representing the detected temperature.

Next, the function of the control circuit 600 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a diagram explaining the function of the control circuit of the first embodiment.

The control circuit 600 of this embodiment includes a light emission control unit 610, an object detection unit 620, a dimension determination unit 630, a position information acquisition unit 640, a timing unit 650, an output unit 660, and an intensity adjustment unit 670.

The light emission control unit 610 controls the light emission of the LED 233 and the light emission of the infrared light source 234. For example, when the power of the detection device 200 is switched ON, the light emission control unit 610 causes the LED 233 to emit visible light and the infrared light source 234 to emit infrared light.

The object detection unit 620 detects a detection target object present in the detection box 300 based on the detection signal output from the light receiving unit 236. For example, the object detection unit 620 determines that a detection target object has been detected when the output level of the detection signal output from the light receiving unit 236 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

The dimension determination unit 630 determines the dimensions of the detection object present in the detection box 300 based on the detection signal output from the light receiving unit 236. In this embodiment, the dimension determination unit 630 determines that the larger the detection signal level is, the larger the size of the detection object is.

Specifically, the dimension determination unit 630 holds a determination table 631 and determines the dimensions of the detected object based on the determination table 631. Details of the determination table 631 will be described later.

The location information acquisition unit 640 acquires location information representing the current location of the detection device 200 from the GPS unit 290. The clock unit 650 measures the current time and outputs time information representing the current time.

The output unit 660 associates the object detection result by the object detection unit 620 with the object dimension determination result by the dimension determination unit 630, position information, and time information, and outputs the result to an external device via the communication module 260.

The intensity adjustment unit 670 acquires temperature information indicating the temperature inside the detection unit 230 from the temperature sensor 295, and adjusts the relative intensities of the visible light emitted from the LED 233 and the infrared light emitted from the infrared light source 234 according to the temperature inside the detection unit 230 indicated by the temperature information.

Specifically, the intensity adjustment unit 670 holds temperature characteristic information 671 that indicates the relationship between the output intensity of visible light and infrared light and the temperature inside the detection unit 230, and adjusts the intensity of visible light and infrared light by referring to the temperature characteristic information 671. Details of the temperature characteristic information 671 will be described later.

For example, the light emission control unit 610 is realized by the drive circuits 605 and 606 shown in FIG. 8. Also, for example, the object detection unit 620, the dimension determination unit 630, the position information acquisition unit 640, the timing unit 650, the output unit 660, and the intensity adjustment unit 670 are realized by the CPU 601 shown in FIG. 8 executing a program stored in the ROM 602.

The judgment table 631 will be described below with reference to FIG. 10. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a judgment table in the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, the judgment table 631 associates the object to be detected with the output level of the detection signal output from the light receiving unit 236.

By referring to the judgment table 631 of this embodiment, the detected object is judged to be a corresponding object according to the output level of the detection signal output from the light receiving unit 236. For example, when the output level of the detection signal is 3.0 [V], the size judgment unit 630 judges that the detected object is a pest.

Next, the temperature characteristic information 671 will be described with reference to FIG. 11. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of temperature characteristic information indicating the relationship between the output intensity of visible light and infrared light and the temperature inside the detection unit.

As shown in FIG. 11, the output intensity of infrared light and visible light varies depending on the environmental temperature. Therefore, the detection device 200 of this embodiment adjusts the relative intensity of the visible light emitted from the LED 233 and the infrared light emitted from the infrared light source 234 using the intensity adjustment unit 670 depending on the temperature inside the detection unit 230.

In addition, the control circuit 600 of this embodiment may have, for example, an environment detection unit that detects environmental information related to the environment within the detection device 200.

The environment detection unit may be, for example, an odor sensor that detects an odor, and the environment information related to the environment may be, for example, an odor detection signal that represents the detected odor.
When an odor detection signal is acquired from the environment detection unit, the output unit 660 may associate the odor detection signal with the detection result of the object to be detected by the object detection unit 620 and output it to an external device via the communication module 260.

Also, for example, when the value indicating odor becomes equal to or exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the output unit 660 may output a notification to that effect, or a notification that the object to be detected within the detection target space or detectable area is a living thing, to an external device via the communication module 260.

As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to expand the area irradiated with at least one of visible light and infrared light, thereby expanding the area in which the object to be detected can be detected.

Second Embodiment
The second embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the angle at which infrared light is emitted from the transparent substrate 240 is changed instead of using the transparent film 245. Therefore, in the following description of the second embodiment, the differences from the first embodiment will be described, and the same reference numerals as those used in the description of the first embodiment will be given to components having the same functional configuration as the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

Figure 12 is a diagram illustrating the detection unit of the second embodiment. Instead of using a transparent film 245, the detection device 200A of this embodiment differs between angle θ3, which is the angle of the infrared light emitted from the transparent substrate 240 relative to the rear surface 240b of the transparent substrate 240, and angle θ4. Angle θ3 is the angle of the infrared light emitted from the infrared light source 234-1 relative to the rear surface 240b. Angle θ4 is the angle of the infrared light emitted from the infrared light source 234-2 relative to the rear surface 240b.

In this embodiment, by varying the angle of the infrared light emitted from each infrared light source 234, it is possible to detect the object to be detected in the entire area within the detection box 300, including the area R3 directly to the side of the light source board 232.

Now, referring to Table 4, the angle of the infrared light emitted from the back surface 240b of the transparent substrate 240 relative to the back surface 240b of the transparent substrate 240 will be described. Table 4 shows the results of a study on the angle of infrared light that can detect a detection object present in the area directly to the side of the light source substrate 232. Note that here, the detection object in the detection box 300 is a piece of blue nonwoven fabric rolled up to a diameter of about 2 cm.

表４からわかるように、透明基板２４０の裏面２４０ｂに対する、透明基板２４０から出射する赤外光の角度が７０度以上になると、赤外光源２３４の発光により照射された赤外光が検知されることがわかる。

As can be seen from Table 4, when the angle of the infrared light emitted from the transparent substrate 240 with respect to the rear surface 240b of the transparent substrate 240 is 70 degrees or more, the infrared light irradiated by the emission of the infrared light source 234 can be detected.

Furthermore, from Table 4, it can be seen that by setting the angle of the infrared light emitted from the transparent substrate 240 to the back surface 240b of the transparent substrate 240 at 60 degrees and providing a reflector 235, an object to be detected that is present in the area directly to the side of the light source substrate 232 can be detected.

From this, it can be seen that in this embodiment, the visible light reflected by the reflector 235 raises the temperature of the object inside the detection box 300, causing the object to generate infrared rays, and the light receiving unit 236 receives the infrared rays generated by the object.

As a result, in this embodiment, the light source board 232-1 and the infrared light source 234-1 are positioned so that the angle θ3 is 60 degrees. Also, in this embodiment, the light source board 232-2 and the infrared light source 234-2 are positioned so that the angle θ4 is 45 degrees.

Furthermore, in the detection device 200A of this embodiment, the fixing jig 247 is positioned offset from the central portion 280. Specifically, the fixing jig 247 is offset from the central portion 280 toward the positive side of the Y axis, and the light source board 232-2 is positioned in the positive direction of the Y axis from the center line C.

In this embodiment, by arranging the light source board 232 and the infrared light source 234 in this manner, it is possible to make the region R2 reach the innermost part of the detection box 300, while also making the region R3 directly to the side of the light source board 232 a detectable region. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the region irradiated with infrared light in the detection box 300 is expanded, and the region from the opening 320 of the detection box 300 to the innermost part can be made a detectable region.

Note that although region R3 is the region directly to the side of light source board 232, this is not limited to this. In this embodiment, for example, if detection device 200A is placed below detection box 300, region R3 will be the region directly below light source board 232. This positional relationship is common to all embodiments.

Third Embodiment
The third embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The third embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that the size of the reflector is different. Therefore, in the following description of the third embodiment, the differences from the second embodiment will be described, and the same reference numerals as those used in the description of the second embodiment will be given to components having the same functional configuration as the second embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

Figure 13 is a diagram illustrating the detection unit of the third embodiment. In the detection device 200B of this embodiment, the arrangement of the fixing jig 247, the light source board 232, and the infrared light source 234 is the same as in the second embodiment. In addition, the detection device 200B of this embodiment has reflectors 235-1A and 235-2.

In this embodiment, reflector 235-1A has a larger area than reflector 235-2. Specifically, for example, if reflector 235-2 is a rectangle with short sides of 1.5 cm and long sides of 5 cm, reflector 235-1A may be a square with sides of 5 cm. By making reflectors 235-1A and 235-2 this size, the area of reflector 235-1A is approximately 3.3 times that of reflector 235-2.

In this embodiment, by making reflector 235-1A larger than reflector 235-2, the reflected visible light emitted from LED 233-1 is sufficiently irradiated into detection box 300. In other words, the amount of visible light irradiated into detection box 300 increases.

In this manner, in this embodiment, the amount of visible light irradiated into the detection box 300 is increased, thereby increasing the heat of the detection object in the detection box 300. As a result, the amount of infrared light emitted from the detection object is increased. In this embodiment, by increasing the amount of infrared light emitted from the detection object in this manner, it becomes possible for the light receiving unit 236 to detect the detection object.

In this embodiment, the amount of visible light irradiated into the detection box 300 is increased to detect changes in the amount of heat inside the detection box 300. Therefore, in this embodiment, the area from the opening 320 to the innermost part of the detection box 300 can be used as the area R2a where the light receiving unit 236-2 can detect the detection target.

In this embodiment, only the light receiving unit 236-2 may be used to detect the object to be detected. Also, in this embodiment, the transparent film 240 and the window portions 210, 310 are the same size as in the first and second embodiments, but in this embodiment, the transparent film 240 and the window portions 210, 310 may be larger than those in the first and second embodiments.

The effects of the second and third embodiments will be described below with reference to FIG. 14. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a comparative example.

In the detection device 200a shown in FIG. 14, the method of attaching the light source board 232 to the fixing jig 247 and the arrangement of the infrared light source 234 on the light source board 232 are the same as in the second embodiment, and the position of the fixing jig 247 is the same as in the first embodiment. Therefore, in the detection device 200a, the light source boards 232-1 and 232-2 are arranged so that the center points of the light source boards 232-1 and 232-2 are located on the center line C.

In this case, the angle between the infrared light emitted from the light source substrate 232-1 and the rear surface 240b of the transparent substrate 240 is 60 degrees, resulting in an area Ra where the object cannot be detected.

In the second and third embodiments described above, the center points of the light source substrates 232-1 and 232-2 are shifted from the center line C toward the opening 320, thereby preventing the occurrence of an area Ra where it is impossible to detect the object to be detected and expanding the area irradiated with light.

(Fourth embodiment)
The fourth embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The fourth embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the fourth embodiment is a system including a plurality of detection devices 200. Therefore, in the following description of the fourth embodiment, differences from the first embodiment will be described, and components having the same functional configuration as those in the first embodiment will be given the same reference numerals as those used in the description of the first embodiment, and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

Figure 15 is a diagram showing an example of a detection system according to the fourth embodiment. Figure 15 shows an example in which the detection system 1000 is applied to a building. Note that the application of the detection system 1000 is not limited to buildings.

The detection system 1000 of this embodiment includes multiple detection devices 200, gateways 800A-800E, and an aggregation device 900. The detection devices 200 are arranged on each floor of a building. The detection devices 200 arranged on the first floor of a building are denoted as detection devices 200a1-200ai. The detection devices 200 arranged on the second floor of a building are denoted as detection devices 200b1-200bj. The detection devices 200 arranged on the third floor of a building are denoted as detection devices 200c1-200ck. The detection devices 200 arranged on the fourth floor of a building are denoted as detection devices 200d1-200dm. When referring to the entire detection devices, they are referred to as detection devices 200.

The gateway 800 relays communication between each detector 200 and the aggregation device 900. The gateways 800 are placed on each of the first to fourth floors of the building. The gateway 800A on the first floor is connected to the detector devices 200a1 to 200ai, collects information output from the detector devices 200a1 to 200ai, and transmits it to the aggregation device 900. The gateway 800B on the second floor is connected to the detector devices 200b1 to 200bj, collects information output from the detector devices 200b1 to 200bj, and transmits it to the aggregation device 900. The gateway 800C on the third floor is connected to the detector devices 200c1 to 200ck, collects information output from the detector devices 200c1 to 200ck, and transmits it to the aggregation device 900. The gateway 800D on the fourth floor is connected to the detector devices 200d1-200dm, collects information output from the detector devices 200d1-200dm, and transmits it to the aggregation device 900.

The aggregation device 900 is a device that aggregates the detection results obtained from each detection device 200. In this embodiment, the aggregation device 900 is a computer terminal such as a personal computer, a smartphone, or a tablet, or a server device. The aggregation device 900 is also an example of an "information processing device." A gateway 800E is connected to the aggregation device 900. The gateway 800E is wirelessly connected to each of the gateways 800A to 800D.

The aggregation device 900 and the gateway 800E are connected via a communication network (Internet, wired LAN, wireless LAN, etc.) or wireless communication (LPWA (Low Power Wide Area), etc.). The gateway 800 is not essential. For example, if the aggregation device 900 is directly connected via wireless communication, the gateway 800E connected to the aggregation device 900 is not required. Also, if the detection device 200 is directly connected via wireless communication, the gateway 800 connected to the detection device 200 is not required.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a gateway according to the fourth embodiment. The gateway 800 according to this embodiment includes a device control unit 811, an input/output unit 812, and a wireless communication unit 813. The device control unit 811 controls the overall operation of the gateway 800.

Specifically, the device control unit 811 controls relaying of transmission and reception of information, commands, etc. via the input/output unit 812 and the wireless communication unit 813. The input/output unit 812 transmits and receives information, commands, etc. to the detection device 200 or the aggregation device 900 via wired communication or wireless communication. The wireless communication unit 813 transmits and receives information, commands, etc. to other gateways 800 via wireless communication.

Figure 17 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of a gateway according to the fourth embodiment. The gateway 800 includes a CPU 801, a ROM 802, a RAM 803, a first communication interface (I/F) 804, and a second communication I/F 805.

The CPU 801, ROM 802, and RAM 803 realize the functions of the device control unit 811. The functions of the CPU 801, ROM 802, and RAM 803 are similar to those of the CPU 201, ROM 202, and RAM 203 in the first embodiment. The device control unit 811 may be realized by a program execution unit such as the CPU 801, or may be realized by a circuit, or may be realized by a combination of a program execution unit and a circuit.

The first communication I/F 804 realizes the function of the input/output unit 812. The second communication I/F 805 realizes the function of the wireless communication unit 813. For example, the first communication I/F 804 and the second communication I/F 805 may be configured with a communication circuit.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of an aggregation device of the fourth embodiment. The aggregation device 900 includes a device control unit 910, a memory unit 921, an input/output unit 922, an operation unit 923, and a display unit 924.

The memory unit 921 stores various types of information. For example, the memory unit 921 stores output information of the equipment control unit 910, etc. The memory unit 921 may store information about the building in which the detection device 200 is installed. For example, the information about the building may include the structure of the building, etc.

The input/output unit 922 is connected to the gateway 800E via wired or wireless communication, and transmits and receives information, commands, etc. to the gateway 800E.

The operation unit 923 accepts input of operations, information, and commands from the user of the aggregation device 900, and outputs them to the device control unit 910. The display unit 924 displays various information (e.g., aggregated data).

The device control unit 910 has an information acquisition unit 911, an aggregation unit 912, a dimension determination unit 913, a time information output unit 914, a prediction unit 915, and an output unit 916.

The information acquisition unit 911 acquires information transmitted from each detection device 200 via the input/output unit 922. The information acquired by the information acquisition unit 911 includes, for example, identification information of the detection device 200, position information of the detection device 200, time information, the detection result of the object, the determination result of the object's dimensions, etc.

The dimension determination unit 913, like the dimension determination unit 630 of the detection device 200, determines the dimensions of the object detected by each detection device 200. However, if the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 911 includes a determination result of the object's dimensions, the dimension determination unit 913 may determine the object's dimensions based on the determination result.

The time information output unit 914 outputs time information. For example, the time information output unit 914 may measure the current time and output time information representing the current time, similar to the clock unit 650 of the detection device 200. However, if the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 911 includes time information, the time information output unit 914 may output the time information.

The prediction unit 915 predicts the movement of an object from the object detection results of each detection device 200. For example, when a detection device 200 that does not detect an object exists around a detection device 200 that detects an object, the prediction unit 915 predicts that the object's movement direction is the direction from the detection device 200 that detected the object to the detection device 200 that does not detect the object. However, this is not limited to this, and the prediction unit 915 may predict the object's movement direction using any known method.

The aggregation unit 912 generates aggregated data that aggregates information acquired from each component of the device control unit 910. For example, the aggregation unit 912 may aggregate information output from the information acquisition unit 911, the dimension determination unit 913, and the time information output unit 914 to generate aggregated data as shown in FIG. 19. Also, for example, the aggregation unit 912 may aggregate information output from the information acquisition unit 911, the dimension determination unit 913, the time information output unit 914, and the prediction unit 915 to generate aggregated data as shown in FIG. 20.

The output unit 916 outputs the aggregated data output from the aggregation unit 912. For example, the output unit 916 causes the display unit 924 to display the aggregated data output from the aggregation unit 912. Also, for example, the output unit 916 causes the storage unit 921 to store the aggregated data output from the aggregation unit 912.

Figure 19 is a first diagram showing an example of aggregated data in the fourth embodiment. In Figure 19, the aggregated data includes information that associates the identification information of the detection device 200, whether an object was detected, the position of the detection device 200 in the building, and the date and time of the object detection. In addition to the information in Figure 19, the aggregated data may also include information indicating the dimensions of the detected object.

Figure 20 is a second diagram showing an example of aggregated data in the fourth embodiment. In Figure 20, the aggregated data includes the position of each detection device 200 on a diagram showing each floor of a building, whether or not each detection device 200 has detected an object (if "yes," a dot is displayed in the diagram), and the predicted direction of movement of the object (an arrow is displayed in the diagram).

Fig. 21 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of an aggregation device of the fourth embodiment. As shown in Fig. 21, the aggregation device 900 includes a CPU 901, a ROM 902, a RAM 903, a memory 904, a communication I/F 905, an operation I/F 906, and a display device 907.

The CPU 901, ROM 902, and RAM 903 realize the functions of the device control unit 910 shown in FIG. 18. The functions of the CPU 901, ROM 902, and RAM 903 are similar to those of the CPU 201, ROM 202, and RAM 203 in the first embodiment. The device control unit 910 may be realized by a program execution unit such as the CPU 901, or may be realized by a circuit, or may be realized by a combination of a program execution unit and a circuit.

The memory 904 realizes the function of the storage unit 921 shown in FIG. 18. The memory 904 is configured with a storage device such as a volatile or non-volatile semiconductor memory, HDD, or SSD. The memory 904 may include a ROM 902 and/or a RAM 903.

The communication I/F 905 realizes the functions of the input/output unit 922 shown in FIG. 18. For example, the communication I/F 905 may be configured with a communication circuit. The operation I/F 906 realizes the functions of the operation unit 923. The operation I/F 906 may include input devices such as buttons, dials, keys, a touch panel, a microphone for voice input, and a camera for image input.

The display device 907 realizes the function of the display unit 924 shown in FIG. 18. The display device 907 may be a display such as a liquid crystal panel, an organic electroluminescence (EL), an inorganic electroluminescence (EL), or an electronic paper display. The display device 907 may be a touch panel that also serves as the operation I/F 906. The display device 907 may include a speaker.

As described above, the detection system 1000 of this embodiment includes a plurality of detection devices 200 and an aggregation device 900. The aggregation device 900 includes an information acquisition unit 911 that acquires detection result information representing the object detection result from each of the plurality of detection devices 200, an aggregation unit 912 that generates aggregated data by aggregating the plurality of pieces of detection result information acquired by the information acquisition unit 911, and an output unit 916 that outputs the aggregated data generated by the aggregation unit 912.

As a result, the detection system 1000 can output aggregated data that consolidates the detection results of the detection devices 200 placed in various locations. Furthermore, the detection system 1000 according to the second embodiment can reduce false detections by each detection device 200, thereby improving the accuracy of the aggregated data.

In addition, in the detection system 1000 of this embodiment, the aggregation device 900 further includes a prediction unit 915 that predicts the movement of an object based on the aggregated data generated by the aggregation unit 912.

This allows the detection system 1000 of this embodiment to predict the movement of a potentially moving object.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a modified example of the functional configuration of an aggregation device. For example, the aggregation device 900 may be configured to include a computer terminal 900A and a server device 900B. Note that the hardware configurations of the computer terminal 900A and the server device 900B are the same as those of the aggregation device 900 according to the second embodiment.

The computer terminal 900A includes an equipment control unit 910A, a memory unit 921A, an input/output unit 922A, an operation unit 923A, and a display unit 924A. The equipment control unit 910A includes an information acquisition unit 911A, an aggregation unit 912A, a dimension determination unit 913A, a time information output unit 914A, and an output unit 916A. The functions of the above components of the computer terminal 900A are similar to those of the components of the same name included in the aggregation device 900 according to the second embodiment.

The input/output unit 922A is connected to the input/output unit 922B of the server device 900B via wired or wireless communication, and transmits and receives information, commands, and the like to the server device 900B. The output unit 916A outputs the aggregated data acquired from the aggregation unit 912 to the display unit 924 and the server device 900B, etc.

The server device 900B includes a device control unit 910B, a memory unit 921B, an input/output unit 922B, an operation unit 923B, and a display unit 924B. The device control unit 910B includes an information acquisition unit 911B, an aggregation unit 912B, a prediction unit 915B, and an output unit 916B. The functions of the above components of the server device 900B are similar to those of the same components included in the aggregation device 900 according to the second embodiment.

The prediction unit 915B predicts the movement of objects in each detection device 200 using information acquired from the computer terminal 900A. The aggregation unit 912B generates aggregated data that aggregates the information acquired from the computer terminal 900A and the prediction results of the prediction unit 915B. The output unit 916B outputs the aggregated data generated by the aggregation unit 912B to the display unit 924B, etc.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention as described in the claims.

For example, the detection device 200 may be used without being combined with the detection box 300. In other words, the detection device 200 may be used not only for the purpose of detecting an object inside the detection box 300, but also for the purpose of detecting an object inside another detection target space (e.g., a room, etc.).

In the embodiment, the LED 233 is used as a light source of visible light that is irradiated to an area that is difficult to irradiate with infrared light from the infrared light source 234, but the invention is not limited to this and may be used for other purposes. For example, the LED 233 may be used in an initialization check operation of the detection device 200. In this case, when the detection device 200 is turned on, the detection device 200 turns on the LED 233 for a certain period of time to check the power supply status.

Then, the detection device 200 turns on only the LED 233. Furthermore, while the infrared light source 234 is on, the detection device 200 turns on and then turns off the LED 233. At this time, for example, since there is no object to be detected within the detection box 300, the detection device 200 does not detect the object to be detected. The detection device 200 determines the detection result of the light receiving unit 236 at this time to be the initial state.

The detection device 200 may detect the presence or absence of a detection target based on changes in the detection result from the initial state. This allows the detection device 200 to detect a detection target without continuously turning on the LED 233 and the infrared light source 234 during operation, enabling energy savings.

In addition, all the numbers such as ordinal numbers and quantities used above are merely examples to specifically explain the technology of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the exemplified numbers. In addition, the connections between the components are merely examples to specifically explain the technology of the present invention, and the connections that realize the functions of the present invention are not limited to these.

The division of blocks in the functional block diagram is just one example, and multiple blocks may be realized as one block, one block may be divided into multiple blocks, and/or some functions may be transferred to other blocks. Furthermore, the functions of multiple blocks having similar functions may be processed in parallel or in a time-shared manner by a single piece of hardware or software.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Detection unit 200 Detection device 210, 310 Window portion 220, 305 Outer frame 230 Detection portion 231 Black shielding plate 232 Light source board 233 LED
234 Infrared light source 235 Reflector 236 Light receiving section 240 Transparent substrate 245 Transparent film 250 Control substrate 260 Communication module 270 Power source 300 Detection box 320 Opening 330 Lid

JP 2019-180325 A

Claims (12)

A first light source that emits a first light, and a second light source that emits a second light in a direction different from the direction in which the first light is emitted;
a light receiving unit that receives a reflected light of the first light or a reflected light of the second light;
a black shielding plate surrounding a light source substrate on which the first light source, the second light source, and the light receiving unit are provided;
A detection device having a transparent member that allows the first light and the second light to pass through to the outside of an outer frame that surrounds the black shielding plate. The detection device according to claim 1, wherein the midpoint between the position of the first light source and the position of the second light source is a position different from the center line of the transparent member. The black shielding plate has a reflector disposed at a position facing the light source substrate,
The reflector is
a first reflector provided above the first light source;
a second reflector provided above the second light source;
3. The detection device according to claim 1, wherein the first reflector has an area larger than that of the second reflector. The light source substrate is
a third light source is provided that emits a third light having a wavelength different from that of the first light and the second light in a direction different from that of the first light and the second light,
The detection device according to claim 3 , wherein the reflector reflects the third light. the light source substrate includes a first light source substrate on which the first light source is provided and a second light source substrate on which the second light source is provided,
an infrared absorbing member is provided between the first light source substrate and the second light source substrate;
The detection device according to claim 4 , wherein the third light source arranged on the first light source board and the third light source arranged on the second light source board each emit the third light in a different direction. The detection device according to claim 1 , further comprising a transmission section for transmitting a detection signal indicating that the light receiving section has received the reflected light to an external device. the outer frame having a first window portion formed at a position overlapping the transparent member;
The detection device according to claim 1 , wherein the outer frame is mounted on a vibration absorbing member. The detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the transparent member is disposed adjacent to the light source substrate. A detection unit having a detection device and a detection box,
The detection device includes:
A first light source that emits a first light, and a second light source that emits a second light in a direction different from the direction in which the first light is emitted;
a light receiving unit that receives a reflected light of the first light or a reflected light of the second light;
a black shielding plate surrounding a light source substrate on which the first light source, the second light source, and the light receiving unit are provided;
a transparent member that transmits the first light and the second light to the outside of an outer frame that surrounds the black shielding plate;
a first window portion formed in the outer frame at a position corresponding to the transparent member;
The detection box includes:
a second window portion formed at a position opposite to the first window portion;
An opening for allowing a detection object to enter the detection box;
a lid portion that detects the entry of the object to be detected and closes the opening portion. A light source that emits light, and another light source that emits another light having a wavelength different from that of the light in a direction different from the direction in which the light is emitted;
a light receiving unit that receives a reflected light of the light and a reflected light of the other light;
a black shielding plate and a transparent member surrounding a light source substrate on which the light source, the other light source, and the light receiving unit are provided;
A detection device having the transparent member and another transparent member disposed between the transparent member and the light source substrate. The detection device according to claim 10, wherein the other transparent member is arranged at an incline relative to the transparent member so as to rise in the direction in which the other light travels. A detection unit having a detection device and a detection box,
The detection device includes:
A light source that emits light, and another light source that emits another light having a wavelength different from that of the light in a direction different from that of the light,
a light receiving unit that receives a reflected light of the light and a reflected light of the other light;
a black shielding plate and a transparent member surrounding a light source substrate on which the light source, the other light source, and the light receiving unit are provided;
Another transparent member disposed between the transparent member and the light source substrate;
an outer frame surrounding the black shielding plate and having a first window portion formed at a position corresponding to the transparent member;
The detection box includes:
a second window portion formed at a position opposite to the first window portion;
An opening for allowing a detection object to enter the detection box;
a lid portion that detects the entry of the object to be detected and closes the opening portion.

Images