JPH04192571A - Sensor unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect a movement direction even by using one sensor unit by a method wherein one or more gaps are formed in an actuator and the direction of rotation of the actuator is detected. CONSTITUTION:At a sensor unit, an actuator 1 which performs a rotary motion around a shaft 3 is combined with a photointerrupter 2 arranged so as to be shut off and conducted by the rotary motion of the actuator 1. At the sensor unit, one or more gaps (a) are formed in the actuator 1, and the direction of rotation of the actuator 1 is detected. That is to say, when a moving object is moved from the left direction to the right direction, the actuator 1 is turned clockwise around the shaft. The photointerrupter 2 detects a position at (b) and, after that, detects the gap (a). After that, it detects a part (c) and the actuator is turned up to a position (c') at the outside of the point (c). Thereby, it is possible to detect whether the object exists or not and its movement direction by using one sensor unit.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a sensor unit that is used for automatic control of equipment and detects the presence or absence of an object and the direction of movement.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 3, a sensor unit is composed of an actuator IO that rotates around a rotating shaft 12 and a photointerrupter 11, and when a moving object moves the actuator 10, the photointerrupter 11 is activated. Move (rotate) to a position where it does not block the photo interrupter 1.
The presence or absence of an object was detected by the change in the output signal of No. 1.

Furthermore, a plurality of sensor units having the above configuration are arranged on the axis along which the object moves to detect the moving direction of the object.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional example described above, multiple sensor units are required to detect the direction of movement, which increases the cost and also hinders miniaturization. .

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks.
The aim is to make it possible to detect the direction of movement even with a single sensor unit.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides one or more gaps in an actuator used in combination with a photointerrupter, thereby detecting the presence or absence of an object and the direction of movement using one sensor unit. This makes it detectable.

[Example code] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In Fig. 1, 1 is an actuator, and a rotating shaft 3
Rotational movement is possible around . 2 is a photointerrupter, and the photointerrupter 2 has a high level "1" at a portion of the actuator gap a, and a low level "0" at a portion bSc that blocks the photointerrupter.

Further, b is a position where the actuator is at rest and the photointerrupter is blocked, and a notch d is provided to maintain balance at this time. e is the part in contact with the moving object.

In the sensor unit with the above configuration, when a moving object passes from the right to the left in FIG. Rotate to position b'.

The output of the photointerrupter at this time is shown in FIG. 2(A).

Next, when the moving object moves from the left direction to the right direction in FIG. is detected and then rotated to a position C' outside of C. The output of the photo interrupter at this time is
It is shown in (B) of the figure.

In the above embodiment, one gap was provided in the actuator 1, but the present invention is not limited to this. The direction can be determined with high precision.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, there is provided a sensor that combines an actuator that rotates about a rotating shaft and a photointerrupter that is arranged to be interrupted and conductive by the rotational movement of the actuator. In the unit, the rotation direction of the actuator is detected by providing one or more gaps in the actuator,
The presence or absence and direction of a moving object passing through the sensor unit can be detected.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a sensor unit showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an output waveform diagram of the photointerrupter shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a conventional sensor unit. l is the actuator 2 is the photointerrupter a is the air gap (Fig. 1)

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a sensor unit that combines an actuator that rotates about a rotational axis and a photointerrupter that is arranged to be interrupted and conductive by the rotational movement of the actuator, the actuator can be controlled by providing one or more gaps in the actuator. A sensor unit characterized by detecting the rotational direction of.