JPH04358206A - Method and device for automatic control - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To transmit the intension of an operator for device control such as start or the like to a device only by turning the eyes by comparing a pulse for driving a light source with a signal from a photosensor and outputting a control signal when the both are coincident. CONSTITUTION:A light source 11 to be driven by the pulse and a photosensor 12 to receive light reflected from the retinas are optically coaxially arranged, the pulse for driving the light source and the signal from the photosensor are optically coaxially arranged, the pulse for driving the light source is compared with the signal from the photosensor 12 and when the both are coincident, the control signal is outputted. In this case, it is preferable for the light source 11 to use an infrared light source so as to avoid the optical characteristics of the human eyes or the influence of disturbance light and also, it is preferable for the pulse driving the light source 11 to use a random pulse so as to distinguish the disturbance light and the reflected light. Therefore, without requiring the state of making the operator's hands free, the intension of the operator for the operation control such as start, etc., can be smoothly and surely transmitted to the device only by turning the eyes.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an automatic control method and device that can perform control operations, especially start operations, on various devices by looking at them, and in particular an automatic control method that is advantageously used for copy start of a copying machine. and devices.

0002

[Prior Art] Setting various operations and operating conditions in various devices, including office machines such as copying machines, is largely dependent on the microcomputer built into the device and its peripheral equipment, but the operator who handles the device The start operation based on decision-making is left to the operator to press a switch with his/her finger or foot.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, when using a copying machine to make multiple types of copies in succession, the operator must press the copy button each time the original is replaced, which is troublesome for the operator. . In addition, when a thick book is used as an original, both hands must be occupied because the book must be positioned and pressed against the original projection plate so that there is no gap. Yes, it can be difficult to press the copy button.

[0004] Although the method of leaving the start operation to the switch-on is an excellent method in terms of transmitting the operator's intention to the device without error, it requires the operator's hand to turn on the switch. There are still cases where it is unsatisfactory in that it needs to be kept free.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to transmit the operator's intention to control the device, such as starting, to the device by simply looking at the device, without requiring the operator's hands to be free. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an automatic control method and device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a non-contact type automatic control capable of reliably controlling the start of the apparatus by confirming that the light is reflected from the operator's eyes without being affected by ambient light. A method and apparatus are provided.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic start method for a copying machine which eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks of conventional copying machines and allows a non-contact starting operation of the copying machine.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] According to the present invention, a light source driven by a pulse and a light sensor that receives reflected light from the retina are arranged optically coaxially, and the pulse for driving the light source and the light An automatic control method is provided which is characterized by comparing signals from a sensor and outputting a control signal when the two match.

According to the present invention, there is also provided a method for automatically starting copying in a copying machine, which comprises arranging a light source driven by pulses and a light sensor for receiving reflected light from the retina optically coaxially; An automatic start method for a copying machine is provided, which comprises comparing a light source driving pulse with a signal from an optical sensor and outputting a copy start signal when the two match.

Although any light source can be used as the light source, it is preferable to use an infrared light source in order to avoid the optical characteristics of the human eye and the influence of ambient light. The pulse that drives the light source is also used to distinguish between disturbance light and reflected light.
Preferably, it is a random pulse. In order to arrange the light source and the optical sensor optically coaxially, the arrangement of the optical system can be simplified by connecting them through a half mirror.

[0011] In the present invention, if the light source driving pulse and the signal from the optical sensor are compared, and when they match and a signal caused by blinking is detected, a control signal is output, thereby eliminating the influence of ambient light. By eliminating the effects of light and accidental retinal reflection, it becomes even more reliable to prevent malfunctions of the device.

In another aspect of the present invention, a light source and a light sensor for receiving retinal reflected light are arranged optically coaxially through a half mirror, a pulse generator and a lamp driver for driving the light source, and a light sensor. an amplifier for amplifying the signal from the pulse generator, a comparator for comparing the pulse from the pulse generator with the signal from the optical sensor amplifier, and monitoring the output of the comparator to output a control signal in a predetermined setting state. A non-contact type is provided, which is characterized by comprising a computing unit that performs the following operations.

[0013]

[Operation] The present invention utilizes the principle that when light enters near the visual axis, the retina of the human eye acts like a corner cube, reflecting the light in the direction of incidence.

In "FIG. 3" for explaining the structure of the eye, the eye 7 includes, from the light incident side, a cornea 1, an iris 2, and a crystalline lens 3.
, and the retina 4. Since the retina 4 is located at the focal point of the crystalline lens 3 and is approximately spherical, when the incident light 5 is incident near the visual axis, the reflected light 6 from the retina 4 is reflected almost coaxially with the incident light 5. This phenomenon is known as the so-called red-eye phenomenon, in which when a person's eyes are photographed in a dark place with a flash, their eyes appear red.

In the present invention, a light source driven by a pulse and a light sensor that receives reflected light from the retina are arranged optically coaxially, and the light reflected by the retina is coaxial with the pulse of human light incident on the retina. The reflected light pulse is received by an optical sensor. The received reflected light pulse is converted into an electrical pulse signal, amplified if necessary, then the light source driving pulse and this pulse signal are compared, and when the two match, the operator controls the light source and optical sensor. When the position is observed and the reflected light from the retina is confirmed, a control signal, for example a start signal, is output.

"FIG. 2" is a timing chart of an example of each pulse signal used in the method of the present invention, where A is a pulse signal for driving a light source, B is a pulse signal received by an optical sensor (amplified if necessary), and C indicates the output from the comparison circuit, respectively. That is, ON and OFF of the light source driving pulse A
When ON and OFF of the light reception pulse signal B match, the signal C from the comparison circuit becomes a match signal H, and this match signal H causes a control signal such as a start to be output.

[0017] Since the illumination light of offices, workshops, factories, etc. is visible light, if an infrared light source is used as the light source and the reflected infrared light is received, the influence of ambient light can be further blocked. becomes possible. In addition, in the specific example shown in "Figure 2", random pulses are used as pulses for driving the light source, but in this case the light source turns ON and OFF randomly, so there is no possibility of identity between the incident light and the reflected light. The advantage is that the comparison can be made accurately. Furthermore, human eyes generally blink unconsciously about once every few seconds, but this blinking can also be used consciously as a control signal for starting, etc. That is, in addition to comparing the identity of both pulses, it is checked whether a blink signal (for example, the act of blinking twice within 2 seconds) is input as a reflected light signal, and this blink signal is also detected. If the start signal is output when the signal is input, more advanced control becomes possible.

According to the present invention, the operator's intention to control the device, such as starting, can be smoothly and reliably conveyed to the device simply by directing the operator's eyes, without requiring the operator's hands to be free. The advantage of location is achieved.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1, which shows the arrangement of an example of the device of the present invention, an eye sensor generally designated by 10 is made up of a small box, and inside this eye sensor 10 is a light source 1.
1. A light receiving sensor 12 and a half mirror 13 are housed. A sensor window 14 is provided on the wall of the eye sensor 10, and an optical filter 15 for blocking unnecessary light is fitted into the sensor window 14, if desired.

On the optical axis 16 passing through the sensor window 14, a half mirror 13 is provided inclined at an angle of about 45 degrees, and a light source 11 is mounted on the half mirror 13 in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis 16. Further, a light receiving sensor 12 is provided on the optical axis extension line passing through the half mirror 13, so that the light source 11 and the light receiving sensor 12 are located on the same optical axis 16.

The light source 11 is driven by a lamp driver 17, which is provided with a pulse generator, preferably a random pulse generator 18, for controlling the pulses of the light source. On the other hand, the light receiving sensor 1
2 is electrically connected to an amplifier 19, and after converting the optical pulse received by the sensor 12 into an electrical pulse signal, it amplifies it to a predetermined voltage or current.

A pulse signal A from the pulse generator 18;
A comparator 20 is provided to compare the pulse signal B from the light receiving sensor 12, and an arithmetic unit 21 monitors the comparison output C from the comparator 20 and outputs a control signal D in a predetermined setting state. It is provided.

"FIG. 4" shows the eye sensor 10 of "FIG. 1".
2 is a diagram showing an actual usage state in which the copying machine 22 is attached to a copying machine 22. FIG. The operation will be explained below.

The light source 11 is blinked by a lamp driver 17 based on a pulse signal A (A in FIG. 2) from a pulse generator 18. This light pulse passes through a half mirror 13 and an optical filter 15 and is projected along an optical axis 16. The optical filter 15 preferably transmits infrared light and blocks visible light, and selects the light spectrum from the light beam 11 and prevents outside light from entering.

In "FIG. 4", when the operator of the copying machine 22 looks at the eye sensor 10, the light beam from the eye sensor 10 coincides with the optical axis of the operator's eye 7, and the principle explained in connection with "FIG. 3" is realized. The light reflected from the retina is detected by eye sensor 1.
reaches 0.

In "FIG. 1", this light beam passes through an optical filter 15, then a half mirror 13, and reaches the light receiving sensor 12, where it receives an electrical pulse signal B (B in "FIG. 2").
is converted to

The pulse signal A from the generator 18 and the received pulse signal B are compared by a comparator 20, and the output C (C in FIG. 2) is determined whether this output is due to the operator's will or not. It is sent to the computing unit 21 to determine whether or not this is the case, and if it is determined that it is the operator's intention, a control signal D such as a copy start signal is output.

As the light source 11, a light emitting diode such as gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium phosphide (GaP),
Gallium arsenide phosphorus (GaAs1-xPx) and the like are used, and among these, gallium arsenide-based infrared light emitting diodes and infrared light emitting type light emitting diodes for optical communication are preferably used.

On the other hand, as an optical sensor, various light receiving elements for infrared detection, such as Ge, Se, InSb, PbS
, PbSe, PbTe, etc., phototransistors, photothyristors, photodiodes, PIN photodiodes, avalanche photodiodes, etc. are used.

[0030]

According to the present invention, a light source driven by a pulse and a light sensor that receives reflected light from the retina are arranged optically coaxially, and the pulse for driving the light source and the signal from the light sensor are By comparing the two and outputting a control signal when the two match, the operator's intention to control operations such as starting can be determined by simply looking at the operator, without requiring the operator's hands to be free. The information can be transmitted smoothly and reliably to the device, thereby enabling automatic control, especially on/off control, of various devices such as copying machines without contact.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a layout diagram of an example of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a timing chart of each signal used in the present invention, that is, a light source driving pulse signal A, a light reception pulse signal B, and a comparison output signal C.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the optical structure of the eye.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is installed in a copying machine;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Cornea 2 Iris 3. Crystalline lens 4 Retina 5 Incident light 6 Reflected light 7th 10 Device (eye sensor) 11 Light source 12 Light receiving sensor 13 Half mirror 14 Sensor window 15 Optical filter 16 Optical axis 17 Lamp driver 18 Pulse generator 19 Amplifier 20 Comparator 21 Arithmetic unit 22 Copy machine

Claims (7)

[Claims] Claim 1: A light source driven by pulses and a photosensor that receives reflected light from the retina are arranged optically coaxially, and the pulses for driving the light source and the signal from the photosensor are optically coaxially arranged. An automatic control method characterized by comparing a light source driving pulse with a signal from an optical sensor, and outputting a control signal when the two match. 2. The automatic control method according to claim 1, wherein the light source is an infrared light source. 3. The automatic control method according to claim 1, wherein the light source and the optical sensor are arranged optically coaxially via a half mirror. 4. The automatic control method according to claim 1, wherein the pulse for driving the light source is a random pulse. 5. The automatic control method according to claim 1, wherein the light source driving pulse and the signal from the optical sensor are compared, and when they match and a signal due to blinking is detected, a control signal is output. 6. A method for automatically starting copying in a copying machine, wherein a light source driven by a pulse and a light sensor that receives reflected light from the retina are arranged optically coaxially, and the pulse for driving the light source is An automatic start method for a copying machine characterized by comparing a signal from an optical sensor and outputting a copy start signal when the two match. 7. A light source and a light sensor for receiving retinal reflected light arranged optically coaxially via a half mirror, a pulse generator and a lamp driver for driving the light source, and a signal for amplifying the signal from the light sensor. an amplifier, a comparator for comparing the pulse from the pulse generator and the signal from the optical sensor amplifier, and a computing unit that monitors the output of the comparator and outputs a control signal in a predetermined setting state. A non-contact automatic control device featuring: