JPH07156632A - Light position detecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a light position detecting device whereby good detecting accuracy can be always obtained without receiving an influence of position displacement of a light receiving sensor, to facilitate manufacture. CONSTITUTION:A detection element part 10 is provided with a light shield film 24 having an L-shaped slit comprising slits 24a, 24b, pair of photodiode arrays 26X, 26Y opposed to be arranged in the shield film 24 with a prescribed space to respectively receive slit lights of permeating the slits 24a, 24b and a light receiving part 26 having a signal processing circuit 28 for scanning each picture element of each photodiode array 26X, 26Y to take out a reception signal. In a microcomputer connected to the signal processing circuit 28, a picture element irradiated with light from just above the detection element part 10, that is, a picture element positioned just below the slits 24a, 24b is left as previously stored as a reference position, and based on a distance between this reference position and a picture element irradiated at present, a direction of solar radiation is calculated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a light position detecting device capable of detecting the incident direction of light and its intensity, and more particularly to controlling the temperature, blown amount, blown direction, etc. of conditioned air in an air conditioner for automobiles. The present invention relates to an optical position detection device suitable for

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an air conditioner for an automobile, in order to optimally control the temperature, the amount of air blown, the direction of the conditioned air, etc. according to the intensity of the solar radiation and the direction of the solar radiation, An optical position detecting device capable of detecting

As such an optical position detecting device, for example,
As disclosed in JP-A-56-64611,
2. Description of the Related Art There is known a sun angle measuring device including a light-shielding plate having a pinhole formed therein and a two-dimensional light-receiving sensor arranged so as to face the light-shielding plate. In this device, the light receiving sensor is arranged so that the center of the light receiving sensor is located directly below the pinhole, and the light receiving sensor determines the light receiving position of the light passing through the pinhole and irradiated onto the light receiving sensor. It is detecting. Then, the light irradiation angle is obtained based on the deviation of the light receiving position detected by the light receiving sensor from the center of the light receiving sensor.

[0004]

However, in such a device, there is a problem that an error occurs in the detected value unless the center of the light receiving element, which is the reference position, is accurately arranged right below the pinhole. . Further, as described above, since the accuracy of assembling the pinhole and the light receiving element affects the detection accuracy, it is necessary to assemble with high accuracy in order to improve the detection accuracy.
There was also the problem that it was difficult to manufacture.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides
An object of the present invention is to provide an optical position detection device that is easy to manufacture and can always obtain good detection accuracy without being affected by the positional deviation of the light receiving sensor.

[0006]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention, which has been made to achieve the above object, has a shield plate M1 provided with a light introduction port and a predetermined space between the shield plate as shown in FIG. The light receiving portion M2, which is arranged oppositely and has photoelectric conversion elements arranged two-dimensionally, and the output of the photoelectric conversion elements arranged in the light receiving portion are sequentially read to detect the light irradiation position on the light receiving portion. A light position including an irradiation position detecting means M3 for controlling the irradiation position and an irradiation angle calculating means M4 for calculating an irradiation angle of light based on a deviation of the irradiation position detected by the irradiation position detecting means from a preset reference position. An irradiation position storage unit M5 is provided, which is a detection device and stores in advance an irradiation position detected by the irradiation position detection unit when light is irradiated from a predetermined direction above the shield plate.
It is characterized in that the irradiation angle of light is calculated with the irradiation position stored in the irradiation position storage means as a reference position.

[0007]

In the optical position detecting device of the present invention configured as described above, the light transmitted through the introduction port formed in the light shielding plate is received by the photoelectric conversion element arranged in the light receiving section.

Then, the irradiation position detecting means detects the irradiation position of the light by sequentially reading the outputs of the photoelectric conversion elements arranged in the light receiving portion. On the other hand, the irradiation position storage means stores in advance the irradiation position detected by the irradiation position detection means when light is irradiated from a predetermined direction above the shield plate (for example, directly above), and the irradiation angle calculation means is stored. Is
With the irradiation position stored in the irradiation position storage means as a reference position, the irradiation angle of light is calculated based on the deviation of the irradiation position detected by the irradiation position detection means from this reference position.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 2, the optical position detecting device 1 of the present embodiment is
It is attached to the front position in the passenger compartment 3 of the automobile,
It is a so-called solar radiation sensor for detecting the intensity I and direction of insolation that intrudes into the interior (the left and right incident angle φ of solar radiation with respect to the straight-ahead direction of the vehicle and the elevation angle θ representing the insolation altitude), and in an automobile air conditioner, It is used to control the temperature of conditioned air, the amount of air blown, the direction of air blow, and so on.

As shown in FIG. 3, the optical position detecting device 1 includes a detecting element section 10, a clip terminal 12 serving as an electrode of the detecting element section 10, and the detecting element section 10 via the clip terminal 12.
Printed circuit board 1 for holding the connector and electrically connecting the external connector 14 from the air conditioner and the clip terminal 12
6 and the cylindrical casing 18 that holds the printed circuit board 16 and projects the detection element unit 10 from the opening, and is fitted and fixed to the opening edge of the cylindrical casing 18 to cover the detection element unit 10. It is composed of a light-transmitting filter 20 for protecting the detection element section 10 and a control microcomputer 30 (see FIG. 6) which will be described later and is electrically connected to the detection element section 10 by an external connector 14.

Here, as shown in FIG. 4A, the detection element portion 10 has a glass substrate 22 having a refractive index of 1.5 as the transparent member, and the above-mentioned light shielding formed on the surface of the glass substrate 22. It is composed of a light shielding film 24 as a plate and a light receiving portion 26 fixed to the back surface of the glass substrate 22.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the light shielding film 24 has an L-shaped slit formed on the surface of the glass substrate 22 by intersecting two slits 24a and 24b having a width of 0.6 mm at one end. However, the portions other than the slits 24a and 24b are for shielding sunlight, and are formed by printing or the like.

On the other hand, in the light receiving portion 26, as shown in FIG. 4B, a one-dimensional light receiving sensor is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the slits 24a and 24b at the positions facing the slits 24a and 24b. A photodiode array 26X, 2
6Y, and a signal processing circuit 28 for scanning the photodiode arrays 26X and 26Y and sequentially extracting light reception signals from the photodiodes forming the photodiode arrays 26X and 26Y.

Each photodiode array 26X, 26Y
Are formed by linearly arranging 100 photodiodes each having a cell size of 0.04 mm × 0.04 mm on the chip which is the main body of the light receiving unit 26. Of the circuit pattern formed on the chip and the circuit element provided on the circuit pattern.

Further, the light receiving portion 26 has the electrode pattern of the signal processing circuit 28 formed on its chip and the glass substrate 2
2 is fixed to the glass substrate 22 by soldering the electrode pattern formed on the glass substrate 22 as shown by H in FIG. 4A. The surface of the light receiving portion 26 other than the soldered portion is the glass substrate 22. It is protected by a silicone gel 29 having a refractive index of 1.4 provided between and.

In the optical position detecting device 1 of the present embodiment constructed as described above, as shown in FIG. 5, when sunlight A is incident, a part of the sunlight A is slits 24a, 24.
After passing through b, it becomes slit light B, and a part of each photodiode array 26X, 26Y is irradiated in accordance with the direction of solar radiation (that is, the incident angle φ and the elevation angle θ of sunlight).

At this time, each photodiode array 26
Regarding the number of pixels (the number of photodiodes) irradiated in X and 26Y, the width of slit light is 0.6 mm, and the pixel size (cell size of photodiodes) is 0.04 m.
Since it is m × 0.04 mm, it has about 15 pixels,
The center pixel (Xm, Yn) of the 15 pixels represents the center of the slit light B.

Therefore, each photodiode array 26
In X and 26Y, if the position (Xm, Yn) of the center pixel irradiated with the slit light B is detected, the center position P1 of the slit light on the light receiving unit 26 can be detected. , Based on the deviation from the reference position P0 when the sunlight A is incident from directly above the light position detection device 1,
It becomes possible to detect the incident angle φ and the elevation angle θ of sunlight.

The photodiode array 26X is
When the incident light from the slit 24b is irradiated, the position cannot be detected.
The incident light from 4b is arranged outside the position where it is irradiated after being refracted by the glass substrate 22. Similarly, since the photodiode array 26Y cannot detect the position when the incident light from the slit 24a is irradiated, the incident light from the slit 24a is refracted by the glass substrate 22 when the sun is at a low altitude. It is arranged outside of the position irradiated by. As a result,
Only the incident light from the slits 24a and 24b is irradiated to the photodiode arrays 26X and 26Y, respectively, and the center position P of the slit light is as described above.
1 can always be detected.

Next, the light receiving portion 26 fixed to the glass substrate 22 as described above is the glass substrate 22 and the clip terminal 1.
2, via the printed circuit board 16 and the external connector 14, it is connected to the microcomputer 30 for controlling the air conditioner. By this connection, the signal processing circuit 28 causes the power supply (VDD) of the microcomputer 30.
It is connected to a terminal and a ground (GND) terminal, receives power (VDD) from the microcomputer 30, and operates by receiving a reset signal (RST) and a clock signal (CLK) output from the microcomputer 30, and detects Outputs signal SOUT.

The circuit configuration and operation of the signal processing circuit 28 will be described below. In FIG. 6, a capacitor or a resistor is connected to the signal line between the microcomputer 30 and the light receiving unit 26, but this is for removing noise on the signal line and protecting the circuit. In the embodiment, it is provided on the printed circuit board 16.

As shown in FIG. 7, the signal processing circuit 28 includes a total of 200 photodiodes D1 to D200 constituting the photodiode arrays 26X and 26Y, respectively.
The capacitors C1 to C200 are connected in parallel, and the CMOS type transistors TR1 to TR200 for taking out the terminal voltages of the capacitors C1 to C200 to the outside and the CMOS type transistor TR0 for charging the capacitors C1 to C200 are connected. By providing each pixel, the detection circuits K1 to K200 are formed for each pixel of the photodiode arrays 26X and 26Y, and the capacitors C1 to C200 are sequentially charged with the reference voltage V1 for each detection circuit K1 to K200. After a predetermined time elapses, the photodiode D1
It is configured as a CMOS type image sensor that detects the amount of electric charge discharged via D200 and outputs it as a detection signal SOUT indicating the amount of light received by each of the photodiodes D1 to D200.

That is, the signal processing circuit 28 has a power supply voltage V
A voltage dividing resistor R1, which divides DD to generate a reference voltage V1,
R2 and the reference voltage V1 generated by the voltage dividing resistors R1 and R2 are used as charging voltages for the capacitors C1 to C200, and the transistors TR in the detection circuits K1 to K200 are used.
Buffer circuit 3 consisting of operational amplifier OP1 input to 0
2 and the transistor TR0 in each detection circuit K1 to K200
Is turned on at a predetermined charge timing (TPR) and starts charging the capacitors C1 to C200, and until a predetermined time elapses, within a specific detection circuit Kn (n: 1 to 200). Signal S for turning on the transistor TRn of
Rn and a shift register 34 that sequentially switches the detection circuit Kn that outputs the drive signal SRn from the detection circuits K1 to K200 at a predetermined switching timing (TSRT), and a detection circuit that the shift register 34 outputs the drive signal SRn. From the buffer circuit 36 at a timing (TCDS) immediately after the shift register 34 outputs the drive signal SRn, the buffer circuit 36 including the operational amplifier OP2 for extracting the terminal voltage VC of the capacitor Cn output from Kn via the transistor TRn. Output voltage (that is, the terminal voltage of the capacitor Cn) VC of the hold voltage VCH
Hold circuit 38, a differential amplifier circuit 40 for generating a signal according to the difference between the hold voltage VCH by this hold circuit 38 and the terminal voltage VC output from the buffer circuit 36 thereafter, and a differential amplifier circuit 40. An output circuit 42 for holding the output signal from the device at a predetermined timing (TSAM) and outputting it as a detection signal SOUT indicating the amount of light received by a specific pixel (that is, the photodiode Dn).
And the reset signal RS from the microcomputer 30
Transistor TR based on T and clock signal CLK
0, the shift register 34, the hold circuit 38, and the output circuit 42 are respectively connected to the timings TPR, TSRT, and TCDS.
, PR, S for operating with TSAM
And a timing signal generator 44 that generates RT, CDS, and SAM.

In the hold circuit 38, the timing signal CDS output from the timing signal generator 44 is Hi.
An analog switch SW1 and an analog switch S, which are turned on at the gh level and turned off at the low level.
A capacitor Ca that is charged to the same potential as the terminal voltage VC by the terminal voltage VC output from the buffer circuit 36 when W1 is turned on, and a terminal voltage of the capacitor Ca (that is, V
C) is output to the differential amplifier circuit 40 and a buffer circuit including an operational amplifier OP3.

The differential amplifier circuit 40 includes an operational amplifier O
Although it is a well-known one composed of P4 and resistors R3 to R6, in the present embodiment, a resistor is provided to the non-inverting input (+) of the operational amplifier OP4 which directly receives the terminal voltage VC output from the buffer circuit 36. Voltage dividing resistor R1, via R6
By applying the reference voltage V1 generated by R2, the voltage of the non-inverting input (+) becomes (VC + V1). That is, the differential amplifier circuit 40 outputs a voltage obtained by subtracting the hold voltage VCH by the hold circuit 38 from the voltage (VC + V1) of the non-inverting input (+).

Furthermore, in the output circuit 42, the timing signal SAM output from the timing signal generator 44 is Hi.
An analog switch SW2 and an analog switch S, which are turned on at the gh level and turned off at the low level.
It is composed of a capacitor Cb which is charged to the same potential as this signal by the output signal from the differential amplifier circuit 40 when W2 is turned on, and a buffer circuit composed of an operational amplifier OP5 which outputs the terminal voltage of the capacitor Cb as a detection signal SOUT. There is.

In the signal processing circuit 28 thus constructed, the timing signal generator 44 and the shift register 34 are reset when the reset signal RST from the microcomputer 30 is low level, and the reset signal RST is high level. Then, the timing signal generation unit 44 synchronizes with the clock signal CLK from the microcomputer 30 to generate the timing signals PR and SR.
T, CDS and SAM are generated to operate the transistor TR0, the shift register 34, the hold circuit 38 and the output circuit 42.

That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the reset signal RST from the microcomputer 30 changes from low level to high level.
When inverted to the gh level, the timing signal generator 44
After that, from the rising edge of the first input clock signal CLK1 to the rising edge of the next (second) input clock signal CLK2, the timing signal PR
And SRT to the transistor TR0 and the shift register 3
Output to 4 respectively.

Then, during this period, the transistor TR0 is turned on, and the capacitors C1 to C200 of all the detection circuits K1 to K200 are charged to the reference voltage V1. Further, the drive signal SR1 is output from the shift register 34, the transistor TR1 of the detection circuit K1 is turned on, and the buffer circuit 36 receives the terminal voltage VC of the capacitor C1 in the detection circuit K1. Is entered. In addition,
This state continues until the shift register 34 receives the next timing signal SRT.

Next, the timing signal generator 44 outputs the timing signal CDS from the rising of the second clock signal CLK2 to the rising of the next (third) input clock signal CLK3, The analog switch SW1 of the hold circuit 38 is turned on.

Then, during that period, the hold circuit 38
The terminal voltage VC of the capacitor C1 in the detection circuit K1 is input via the buffer circuit 36, and the hold circuit 38 holds the terminal voltage VC as the hold voltage VCH. That is, the hold circuit 38 has the capacitor C1 immediately after charging the capacitor C1 to the reference voltage V1.
The terminal voltage VC of is held.

After that, when the clock signal CLK is sequentially input from the microcomputer 30 and the seventh clock signal CLK7 is input, the timing signal generator 44 starts the next (eighth) clock signal from its rising edge. Timing signal S until CLK8 rises
The analog switch SW2 of the output circuit 42 that outputs AM
Turn on.

Then, during that time, the output signal from the differential amplifier circuit 40 is input to the output circuit 42, and thereafter, the signal is output from the output circuit 42 as a detection signal SOUT representing the amount of light received by the photodiode D1. Is output.
Here, in the detection circuit K1, after the hold circuit 38 holds the terminal voltage VC of the capacitor C1 until the output circuit 42 holds the output signal of the differential amplifier circuit 40, the electric charge accumulated in the capacitor C1 is held. However, since it is discharged according to the amount of light received by the photodiode D1, the output voltage of the differential amplifier circuit 40 output as the detection signal SOUT from the output circuit 42, that is, (VC + V1-VCH), is equal to the amount of light received by the photodiode D1. Accordingly, the larger the amount of received light, the smaller the amount.

If the photodiode D1 is not exposed to any light, the electric charge charged in the capacitor C1 is not discharged, so that the terminal voltage VC of the capacitor C1 does not change from the reference voltage V1 and the detection signal SOUT is the reference voltage V1. Becomes In this way, when the output circuit 42 holds the output signal from the differential amplifier circuit 40 and outputs the detection signal SOUT indicating the amount of light received by the photodiode D1,
The timing signal generator 44 outputs the timing signals PR and SRT to the transistor TR0 from the rising edge of the ninth clock signal CLK9 input thereafter to the rising edge of the next (tenth) input clock signal CLK10. , And the shift register 34, respectively, to start the operation of detecting the amount of received light with respect to the photodiode D2 which is the next pixel. Then, in the same procedure as above, all eight clock signals CLK are set as one unit. The detection operation of the amount of received light for the pixels is sequentially executed.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, the signal processing circuit 28 sequentially outputs the detection signal SOUT which indicates the amount of light received by the photodiodes D1 to D200 forming the photodiode arrays 26X and 26Y. Become. Of the detection signal SOUT, the first 100 pixels represent the amount of light received by the photodiodes D1 to D100 arranged in the X direction forming the photodiode array 26X, and the next 100 pixels represent the photodiodes. Since each of the photodiodes D101 to D200 arranged in the Y direction forming the array 26Y represents the amount of light received, one each
Of the detection signal SOUT of 00 pixels, about 15 pixels are shown in FIG.
By the reception of the slit light B shown in (1), the voltage becomes lower than the reference voltage V1, and the detection signal level becomes lower in the central pixel.

Next, the microcomputer 30 which detects the solar radiation intensity and direction (incident angle φ and elevation angle θ of sunlight) by using the detection element unit 10 and controls the air conditioner and the like will be described. The microcomputer 30 includes a CPU and RO
As shown in FIG. 6, an external switch 31 which is of a well-known type including M, RAM and the like and which is turned on / off by an external operation is provided. Then, based on the detection signal SOUT output from the signal processing circuit 28, the solar radiation intensity I
And the direction (solar incidence angle φ and elevation angle θ) of the solar radiation calculation process, and the reference position P used in the solar radiation calculation process.
In addition to the reference position setting process for storing the reference pixel (X0, Y0) corresponding to 0, an air conditioning control process for controlling the air conditioner is performed based on the solar radiation intensity and the solar radiation direction calculated by the solar radiation calculation process.

When the optical position detecting device 1 is turned on and the initialization of the microcomputer 30 is completed, the microcomputer 30 sets the RST signal of the signal processing circuit 28 to High level and starts the operation of the signal processing circuit 28. After that, the signal processing circuit 28 always outputs the detection signal SOUT.

Here, the reference position setting process executed by the microcomputer 30 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. This process is started by operating the external switch 31, and first in step 110,
The detection signal SOUT output from the signal processing circuit 28 is sampled for each pixel, and the position (Xm, Yn) of the center pixel (hereinafter referred to as the irradiation center pixel) of the pixel having the lowest level in the sampled detection signal SOUT is sampled. ) Is detected.

In the following step 120, step 110
The irradiation center pixel (Xm, Yn) detected in step 1 is stored as a reference pixel (X0, Y0) in a predetermined area provided in a RAM (not shown) of the microcomputer 30, and this processing ends. Note that the reference position setting process is performed before the use of the photodetection device 1 is started (at the time of shipment, etc.), light is emitted from directly above the detection element unit 10, and the slits 24 a and 24 b are irradiated. The pixel corresponding to the reference position P0 on the light receiving unit 26 shown in FIG. 5 is operated by operating the external switch 31 and operating the reference position setting process with the pixel positioned right below being irradiated with light. Is detected as the irradiation center pixel (Xm, Yn), and the irradiation center pixel (Xm, Yn) at this time is stored as the reference pixel (X0, Y0).

That is, as shown in FIG. 12, the light λ 0 emitted from directly above the detection element portion 10 and passing through the slit 24a is emitted to the pixel X12 located directly below the slit 24a in the photodiode array 26X, This pixel X12 is stored as the reference pixel X0 in the reference position setting process. Note that FIG. 12 shows the detection element unit 10 as shown in FIG.
(B) is a view seen from the bottom, and here, in order to simplify the description, the number of pixels on the photodiode array 26X is set to 21 and the glass substrate 22 between the light shielding film 24 and the light receiving portion 26 is Omitted. Further, although the slit 24a and the photodiode array 26X are described here, the slit 24b and the photodiode array 26Y operate in exactly the same manner, and the reference pixel Y.
0 is stored.

Next, the solar radiation intensity / direction calculation processing executed by the microcomputer 30 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, in step 210, similarly to step 110 of the reference position calculation process, the detection signal SOUT output from the signal processing circuit 28 is sampled for each pixel, and the pixel having the lowest level among the sampled detection signals SOUT is sampled. The irradiation center pixel (Xm, Yn) that is the center pixel of the irradiation center pixel is detected, and in the following step 220, the voltage value of the detection signal SOUT at the irradiation center pixel (Xm, Yn) is detected and converted to obtain the irradiation center pixel. The solar radiation intensity Io on (Xm, Yn) is calculated, and the routine proceeds to step 230.

In step 230, the irradiation center pixel (Xm, Yn) detected in step 210 is the reference pixel (X0, Y0) stored in advance by the reference position calculation process.
Based on the above, it is converted into the X component and the Y component of the vector indicating the sun direction. That is, the X component and the Y component are obtained by X = (Xm−X0) × L Y = (Yn−Y0) × L. L represents the distance between the centers of adjacent pixels in the photodiode arrays 26X and 26Y.

In the following step 240, step 230
Using the conversion result (X, Y) in step S1 and the solar radiation intensity Io on the irradiation center pixel (Xm, Yn) obtained in step 220, the solar radiation intensity I and direction (incident angle φ and elevation angle θ).
Is calculated and the present process is terminated.

The following formulas (1) to (4) are used to calculate the intensity I and direction of the solar radiation (incident angle φ and elevation angle θ).

[0045]

[Equation 1]

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the elevation angle θ'obtained from the slit light B incident on the light receiving portion 26 is equal to the slit 2
Since it is affected by the refractive index k of the glass substrate 22 and the silicone gel 29 which are the intermediate medium between 4a, 24b and the light receiving portion 26, first, the elevation angle θ'in the intermediate medium is obtained by the above formula (1), The value θ ′ and the refractive index k (= co
The elevation angle θ of the sunlight is calculated using the above equation (2) with sθ / cosθ ′) as a parameter.

In the above equation (1), t is the slit 24a, 24b and the photodiode array 26X, 2
6Y, that is, the thickness of the intermediate medium composed of the glass substrate 22 and the silicone gel 29. Also,
Thus, when the elevation angle θ of sunlight is calculated using the above formula (2), since the silicone gel 29 is much thinner than the glass substrate 22, the silicone gel 29 also has a refractive index of 1.
There is no problem even if the elevation angle θ is calculated assuming that the glass substrate 22 is No. 5 and the refractive index k in the above equation (2) is 1.5 of the refractive index of the glass substrate 22.

Next, since the incident angle φ is not affected by the refractive index k of the intermediate medium, it is obtained by using the above equation (3). The solar radiation intensity I is obtained by substituting the solar radiation intensity Io on the irradiation center pixel (Xm, Yn) into the above equation (4). For example, as shown in FIG. 12, when the light λ that passes through the slit 24a and illuminates the pixel X16 is applied to the detection element unit 10, the pixel X16 is detected as the irradiation center pixel in the solar radiation intensity / direction calculation process. Then, the distance 4L between the irradiation center pixel X16 and the already stored reference pixel X12 is obtained as the converted value X. Similarly, the converted value Y is also obtained, and the incident angle φ and the elevation angle θ are calculated based on these converted values (X, Y).

In the conventional device, the central pixel X11 is located directly below the slit 24a as shown in FIG. 12 because the central pixel of the photodiode array 26X, that is, the pixel X11 here is used as a reference pixel to calculate the solar radiation direction. If they are not arranged, an error will occur in the calculated angle.

Then, based on the intensity I and direction of the solar radiation (incident angle φ and elevation angle θ) calculated by the solar radiation intensity / direction calculation process in this way, the temperature, the amount of blown air, the amount of blown air, and the amount of blown air are controlled in the air volume control process. The direction etc. are controlled. As described above, in the optical position detecting device 1 of this embodiment,
The sunlight (slit light) transmitted through the L-shaped slits 24a, 24b is converted into a pair of photodiode arrays 26X,
26Y is used for detection, the irradiation center pixel when light is irradiated from directly above the detection element unit 10 is stored in advance as a reference pixel (X0, Y0), and the solar radiation direction is detected. In this case, the stored reference pixels (X0, Y
0) and the current irradiation center pixel (Xm, Yn) are calculated, and the solar radiation direction is calculated based on the calculated distance.

Therefore, according to the optical position detecting device 1 of the present embodiment, the pixel located directly below the slits 24a and 24b always becomes the reference pixel regardless of the assembling state of the photodiode arrays 26X and 26Y. Even if the diode arrays 26X and 26Y are assembled in a state of being displaced from a predetermined mounting position, unlike the conventional device in which the reference pixel is fixed to the predetermined pixel, the detection accuracy in the solar radiation direction does not deteriorate. , It is possible to always maintain good detection accuracy.

Further, in this embodiment, the slits 24a, 2a
It is necessary to assemble the light-shielding film 24 provided with 4b and the light receiving portion 26 provided with the photodiode arrays 26X and 26Y with a high precision as in the conventional device. 26
As for the assembling of X and 26Y, there is no problem as far as it is displaced in the longitudinal direction, so that the manufacturing is easy and the assembling cost can be reduced.

Further, in order to perform detection with higher accuracy, it is necessary to reduce the area of the pixel and increase the number of pixels, and in the conventional device, the light receiving sensor must be assembled with higher accuracy. In the present embodiment, it suffices to pay attention only to the interval where the light shielding film 24 and the light receiving portion 26 are arranged, and the accuracy can be easily improved.

Here, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the detecting element portion 10
The irradiation center pixel detected when light is applied from directly above is stored as a reference pixel, and the calculation is performed based on the stored reference pixel when calculating the solar radiation direction. By displacing the timing for detecting a shift with respect to the central pixel and reading the signal from the photodiode array in the signal processing circuit in reverse by the amount of the detected shift, each of the portions representing the X-direction pixel and the Y-direction pixel in the detection signal SOUT is shifted. The signal processing circuit 28 may be configured such that the central pixels of the respective pixels correspond to the reference pixels. In this case, from the viewpoint of the microcomputer 30, this is the same as when the central pixel of the photodiode arrays 26X and 26Y is the reference pixel, so that the conventional device can be used without changing the processing performed by the microcomputer of the conventional device. Can also be applied.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the light is emitted from directly above the detecting element portion 10 in order to set the reference pixel, but the light is not necessarily emitted from directly above the detecting element portion 10. It is also possible to irradiate light from above 10 with a direction having a predetermined angle, and use the irradiation center pixel detected at this time as the reference pixel.

In the above embodiment, the slits 24a,
Although the glass substrate 22 and the silicone gel 29 are arranged between 24b and the photodiode arrays 26X and 26Y, a mere space may be provided between the slits 24a and 24b and the photodiode arrays 26X and 26Y. .

Further, in the above embodiment, the detecting element unit 10
The L-shaped slits 24a and 24b are formed in the light shielding film 24, and the one-dimensional photodiode arrays 26X and 26Y are provided on the light receiving portion 26. However, as shown in FIG. A pinhole 24c is provided in the light shielding film 24, and the two-dimensional photodiode array 26 is provided on the light receiving portion 26.
Alternatively, the light receiving position on the light receiving unit 26 may be detected by disposing XY and detecting the photodiode having the highest light receiving level.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the detecting element section 1
0 was formed by providing the light shielding film 24 and the light receiving portion 26 on the front and back surfaces of the glass substrate 22, respectively. The light receiving portion is molded with a transparent resin having a refractive index of 1.4 to 1.5, The detection element unit 10 may be formed by forming a light shielding film on the surface of the resin. Further, for example, the detection element unit 10 may be formed by housing the light receiving unit in a hollow ceramic package and providing a glass substrate having a light shielding film formed in the upper opening of the ceramic package.

Next, in the above embodiment, the signal processing circuit 2
Although the light receiving unit 26 is configured as a CMOS type image sensor by means of No. 8, as the light receiving unit 26,
Not only the OS type image sensor but also the charge coupled device (CC
Various conventionally known light receiving devices such as an image sensor using D) can be used.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the two slits 24a, 24b are formed in an L shape by intersecting at one end, but the two slits are intersected with each other to form a cross-shaped slit. It suffices that the slits intersect on the extension line. In addition, next, the above two slits 24
The intersection angle of a and 24b does not necessarily have to be 90 degrees. In other words, the slits 24a and 24b may be arranged so that the incident position of the slit light changes depending on the solar radiation direction on the photodiode array arranged opposite to each other, and the solar radiation direction can be calculated from the changed position. It is not always necessary to make them orthogonal as in the above embodiment.

Similarly, the photodiode arrays arranged to face each slit do not necessarily have to be orthogonal to each other, and the photodiode arrays need not be formed in a straight line. That is, the photodiode array only needs to be able to detect the positions of the slit light in the X direction and the Y direction, and therefore, for example, the photodiode array may be bent in order to avoid it from the signal processing circuit.

Although the embodiment in which the optical position detecting device of the present invention is applied to a so-called solar radiation sensor for an automobile air conditioner has been described above, the optical position detecting device of the present invention is not limited to such a so-called solar radiation sensor. It can also be used as, for example, an optical position sensor that detects the incident direction and intensity of light from a predetermined light source, or a position sensor that further detects the mounting position of the sensor with the light source as the reference position from the detection result. .

In this case, it is necessary to appropriately select and use a photoelectric conversion element having a spectral sensitivity (absorption spectrum) according to the light source.

[0064]

As described above, in the optical position detecting device of the present invention, the light transmitted through the light introducing port provided in the shielding plate is used as a two-dimensional photoelectric conversion element. When calculating the irradiation angle of light, when the light is irradiated from the upper predetermined direction of the device, the pixel located at the center of irradiation is stored as a reference position, and this reference is stored. The irradiation angle is calculated based on the position.

Therefore, according to the optical position detecting device of the present invention, the pixel located immediately below the light introducing port is always the reference position regardless of the assembling state of the photoelectric converting element in the light receiving section. However, the accuracy of the calculated irradiation angle does not deteriorate even if the reference position is fixed to a predetermined pixel of the light receiving element, even if it is attached in a state of being displaced from the predetermined attachment position. , Can always maintain good accuracy.

Further, in the optical position detecting device of the present invention, since the reference position is set after the assembling, the photoelectric conversion element is placed at a predetermined position below the light inlet provided on the light shielding plate as in the conventional device. There is no need for precise assembly. Therefore, according to the optical position detecting device of the present invention, the manufacturing is easy and the assembling cost can be reduced.

Further, in order to perform more accurate detection, it is necessary to reduce the pixel area to increase the number of pixels, and in the conventional device, the photoelectric conversion element must be assembled with higher precision. In the present invention, since it is not necessary, the accuracy can be easily improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of an optical position detection device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing how the optical position detecting device 1 is attached to an automobile.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of the optical position detection device 1.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a detection element unit 10 of the optical position detection device 1.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an incident state of sunlight in the light position detection device 1.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a connection state between the optical position detection device 1 and a microcomputer 30 for air conditioning control.

FIG. 7 is an electric circuit diagram showing a circuit configuration of a signal processing circuit 28.

FIG. 8 is a time chart illustrating the operation of the signal processing circuit 28.

9 is a detection signal S output from the signal processing circuit 28. FIG.
It is explanatory drawing showing OUT.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a reference position setting process executed by the microcomputer 30.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an irradiation intensity / direction calculation process executed by the microcomputer 30.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a specific operation of processing in the microcomputer 30.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another configuration example of the light shielding film 24 and the light receiving section 26.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical position detection device 10 ... Detection element part 12 ... Clip terminal 14 ... External connector 16 ... Printed circuit board 18 ...
Cylindrical casing 20 ... Light transmitting filter 22 ... Glass substrate 24
... Light-shielding film 24a, 24b ... Slit 26 ... Light receiving part 26X, 26Y ... Photodiode array 28 ... Signal processing circuit 29 ... Silicone gel 30 ... Microcomputer 31 ... External switch

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A light-shielding plate provided with a light-introducing port, a light-receiving part which is arranged opposite to the light-shielding plate at a predetermined interval and in which photoelectric conversion elements are two-dimensionally arranged, and the light-receiving part is arranged in the light-receiving part. Irradiation position detecting means for sequentially reading the output of the photoelectric conversion element and detecting the irradiation position of the light on the light receiving part, and the irradiation position of the irradiation position detected by the irradiation position detecting means from a preset reference position. An irradiation position calculating device for calculating an irradiation angle of light based on a deviation, and a light position detecting device, which is detected by the irradiation position detecting device when light is irradiated from a predetermined direction above the shielding plate. An optical position characterized by providing an irradiation position storage means for storing the irradiation position in advance, and the irradiation angle calculation means calculating the irradiation angle of light using the irradiation position stored in the irradiation position storage means as a reference position. Detection device.