JPH0741483U - Object detection device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To provide a small object detection device using light with low power consumption. [Structure] The lighting light of the fluorescent lamp 10 includes lighting noise corresponding to the frequency of the commercial power supply. Therefore, when the switching circuit 23 is turned on for a period of time several times the cycle of lighting noise (cycle of commercial power supply) and power is supplied to the light receiving circuit 24, there is no object between the fluorescent lamp 10 and the light receiving element 6. If
The light receiving element 6 detects the lighting noise at least once and outputs a detection signal. The detection signal is the amplification circuit 25.
Are amplified, integrated by the waveform shaping circuit 26, shaped in waveform, and converted into a received light signal K which is a rectangular wave. On the other hand, when there is an object between the fluorescent lamp 10 and the light receiving element 6 (for example, when the user stands), the light receiving element 6 cannot detect the lighting noise, and the light receiving circuit 24
Does not output the light reception signal K. Therefore, the microcomputer 22 can detect the object based on the light reception signal K.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an object detection device, and more particularly to a device that detects the presence of an object by detecting the projection light from a light source that also serves as illumination and detecting whether the projection light is blocked by an object such as a human body. It is a thing.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an object detection device that detects an object using light reflection has been widely used in various fields of consumer and industry.

In such an object detection device, first, light is projected from a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode. When an object such as a human body is present in the space where the light is projected, the projected light from the light emitting element hits the object and is reflected. The presence or absence of an object is detected by detecting the reflected light with a light receiving element such as a photodiode. That is, when the light receiving element detects the reflected light, it is determined that the object exists, and when the reflected light is not detected, it is determined that the object does not exist.

[0004]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 A commercial power supply or a battery is used as a power supply for the object detection device using such light. When a battery is used as a power source, it is general to use a battery having a long battery life such as a lithium battery and to suppress the wear of the battery by intermittently emitting light from a light emitting element at a constant cycle. As a result, the battery life is extended and battery replacement work is reduced.

However, in recent years, it has been required to further reduce the power consumption of the object detection device. Therefore, even if the light emitting element emits light intermittently, it has become impossible to satisfy the required low power consumption. Further, it is also required to make the object detection device smaller.

The present invention has been made in order to satisfy the above-mentioned requirements, and an object thereof is to provide a small object detection device using light, which consumes less power.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The present invention is based on an illumination light source that generates a lighting noise of a certain period, a light receiving element that receives the projection light from the illumination light source, and an object in front of the light receiving element based on the detection signal of the light receiving element. The point is that it is provided with a determining means for determining whether or not it exists.

[0008]

[Action]

 Therefore, according to the present invention, since the object is detected by using the projection light of the illumination light source, there is less power consumption in the light emitting element compared to the case where the light emitting element is provided separately from the illumination light source. Only low power consumption can be achieved. In addition, according to the present invention, the device can be miniaturized because the light emitting element and its drive circuit are not provided.

[0009]

【Example】

 An embodiment in which the object detecting device of the present invention is embodied in an automatic washing device for a flush urinal for men (hereinafter referred to as morning glory) will be described with reference to the drawings.

2 and 3 show the mounting state of the morning glory 1 of this embodiment. The morning glory 1 is attached to the front side of the wall surface 2 of the toilet A (inside the toilet A room), and a solenoid valve 4 is connected to a water supply pipe (water pipe) 3 connected to the morning glory 1. When the electromagnetic opening / closing valve 4 is opened, washing water is supplied from the water supply pipe 3 to the bosh 1. On the contrary, when the electromagnetic opening / closing valve 4 is closed, the supply of washing water from the water supply pipe 3 to the bosh 1 is shut off.

The control box 5 is attached to the back side of the wall surface 2 (outside the washroom A room) slightly above the morning glory 1, and the surface plate 5 a of the control box 5 is exposed on the wall surface 2. The surface plate 5a is provided with a light receiving element 6 composed of a photodiode or a phototransistor, and a control box 5 is provided with a controller 7 and a battery 8.

A fluorescent lamp 10 for illumination in the washroom A is attached to a wall surface 9 facing the wall surface 2 to which the morning glory 1 is attached. The height of the fluorescent lamp 10 is the same as that of the light receiving element 6, and the light receiving element 6 is illuminated by the direct light B from the fluorescent lamp 10. Therefore, when the user stands in front of the morning glory 1, the direct light B from the fluorescent lamp 10 is blocked by the user, and the light receiving element 6 is not illuminated by the direct light. Moreover, since the height of the fluorescent lamp 10 is the same as that of the light receiving element 6, the distance of the direct light B becomes short and the illuminance at the light receiving element 6 becomes high. Note that the fluorescent lamp 10 is not an inverter fluorescent lamp, but an ordinary type that is turned on by a commercial power source. Therefore, the direct light B of the fluorescent lamp 10 contains lighting noise corresponding to the frequency of the commercial power supply.

FIG. 1 shows an electric block circuit of this embodiment. A battery 8 having a long battery life such as a lithium battery supplies power to the constant voltage circuit 20 and the valve drive circuit 21 in the controller 7.

The constant voltage circuit 20 is composed of a three-terminal regulator, and supplies a stable DC voltage to each of a microcomputer (hereinafter abbreviated as a microcomputer) 22 and a switching circuit 23 in the controller 7.

The microcomputer 22 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a read-only memory (ROM) that stores a control program, and a readable and writable memory (RAM) that temporarily stores a result of a user detection operation described below. ), An input / output interface, etc. Then, the microcomputer 22 outputs the command signal S to the switching circuit 23 for a fixed time (for example, 100 msec) at regular intervals (for example, 0.7 sec interval).

The valve drive circuit 21 opens and closes the electromagnetic opening / closing valve 4 including a self-holding solenoid valve based on a command signal from the microcomputer 22. That is, each time the valve drive circuit 21 outputs a pulse-shaped timing signal, the open / closed state of the electromagnetic on-off valve 4 is switched, and when the timing signal is not output, the open / closed state before that is maintained as it is.

The switching circuit 23 is on / off controlled based on a command signal S from the microcomputer 22. Then, the switching circuit 23 supplies the power supplied from the constant voltage circuit 20 to the light receiving circuit 24 when turned on, and cuts off the power supply to the light receiving circuit 24 when turned off.

The light receiving circuit 24 can operate only when power is supplied from the switching circuit 23. Since the command signal S from the microcomputer 22 is output at constant intervals for a constant time, the switching circuit 23 also supplies power to the light receiving circuit 24 for a constant time at constant intervals. Therefore, the light receiving circuit 24 can be operated by turning on the power supply for a fixed time (for example, 100 msec) at a constant interval (for example, 0.7 sec). Thus, the reason why the light receiving circuit 24 is intermittently operated by using the switching circuit 23 is to suppress the consumption of the battery 8 to prolong the service life of the battery 8 and to reduce the labor for battery replacement. is there.

The light receiving circuit 24 includes an amplifier circuit 25 and a waveform shaping circuit 26. The amplifier circuit 25 amplifies the detection signal of the light receiving element 6 and outputs it to the waveform shaping circuit 26. The waveform shaping circuit 26 integrates the output signal of the amplifier circuit 25 and then shapes the waveform to generate a light reception signal K, which is output to the microcomputer 22.

In the present embodiment thus configured, when the user is not standing in front of the morning glory 1, the light receiving element 6 is illuminated by the direct light B from the fluorescent lamp 10. Therefore, the light receiving element 6 directly detects the lighting noise of the light B and outputs a detection signal, and the light receiving circuit 24 generates a light reception signal K from the detection signal.

FIG. 4 shows the detection signal of the light receiving element 6 and the light receiving signal K. Since the fluorescent lamp 10 is turned on by the commercial power source, the lighting light contains a lighting noise of a cycle (20 msec or 17 msec) corresponding to the frequency (50 Hz or 60 Hz) of the commercial power source. Therefore, when the switching circuit 23 is turned on for a time several times as long as the cycle (for example, 100 msec) and power is supplied to the light receiving circuit 24, the light receiving element 6 detects the lighting noise at least once and detects the lighting noise. It will output a signal. The detection signal is amplified by the amplification circuit 25, integrated by the waveform shaping circuit 26, and then shaped by the waveform. Therefore, the detection signal of the light receiving element 6 due to the lighting noise is converted into the light receiving signal K which is a rectangular wave.

On the other hand, when the user stands in front of the morning glory 1, the direct light B from the fluorescent lamp 10 is blocked by the user and the light receiving element 6 is not illuminated by the direct light B. Then, the light receiving element 6 cannot directly detect the lighting noise of the light B and does not output the detection signal, and the light receiving circuit 24 does not output the light receiving signal K.

Therefore, based on the received light signal K, the microcomputer 22 can detect whether or not the user is standing in front of the morning glory 1. That is, the microcomputer 22 outputs the command signal S at regular intervals (for example, 0.7 sec intervals) for a fixed time (for example, 100 msec) to operate the light receiving circuit 24. When the light receiving signal K from the light receiving circuit 24 is input, the microcomputer 22 determines that the user is not standing in front of the morning glory 1 (that is, "user non-detection"), and the light receiving signal K is not input. Determines that the user is standing in front of morning glory 1 (that is, “user detection”).

As described above, in this embodiment, by detecting the lighting noise from the fluorescent lamp 10 for lighting in the washroom A by the light receiving element 6, it is separated from the light source for lighting as in the conventional example. An object (in this case, the user of the morning glory 1) can be accurately detected without providing a light emitting element. Moreover, as described above, the power consumption of the controller 7 can be suppressed by intermittently operating the light receiving circuit 24 using the switching circuit 23. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the power consumption as compared with the conventional example in which the light emitting element is provided, and in addition, the control box 5 and the surface plate 5a are provided because the light emitting element and the driving circuit thereof are not provided. It can be miniaturized.

By the way, the operation of detecting the user by the microcomputer 22 is repeated every time the command signal S is output (for example, every 0.7 seconds). Then, when the determination result “user detection” follows the determination result “non-user detection”, the microcomputer 22 performs the pre-washing process on the morning glory 1. That is, the microcomputer 22 controls the valve drive circuit 21 to open the electromagnetic on-off valve 4 for a certain period of time to supply a certain amount of cleaning water from the water supply pipe 3 to the morning glory 1 to clean the morning glory 1. This makes it possible for the user to comfortably add small amounts and keep the morning glory 1 from getting dirty.

Subsequently, when the determination result of “user detection” is followed by the determination result of “user non-detection”, the microcomputer 22 indicates that the user, who has finished adding small amounts, stands in front of the morning glory 1. It is determined that they have left, and the morning glory 1 is post-washed. That is, the microcomputer 22 controls the valve drive circuit 21 to open the electromagnetic on-off valve 4 for a certain period of time to supply a certain amount of washing water from the water supply pipe 3 to the morning glory 1 and to clean it by the user's small use. Washed morning glory 1

As described above, in the automatic washing device for the morning glory 1 according to the present embodiment, when the user who intends to take a small dose stands in front of the morning glory 1 and the morning glory 1 is washed (pre-cleaning process), When the user, who has finished adding, leaves the morning glory 1 from the front, the morning glory 1 is washed again (post-cleaning treatment). Therefore, the morning glory 1 can be kept clean at any time.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but may be carried out as follows. 1) The fluorescent lamp 10 is replaced with an inverter fluorescent lamp, an incandescent lamp, or natural light, and the user of the morning glory 1 is detected by the intensity of illuminance in the light receiving element 6. That is, when the user stands in front of the morning glory 1, the light B is directly blocked, and the illuminance at the light receiving element 6 decreases. On the other hand, when the user is not standing in front of the morning glory 1, the light B is not directly blocked, so that the illuminance at the light receiving element 6 does not decrease. When the illuminance at the light receiving element 6 changes in this way, the level of the detection signal of the light receiving element 6 changes accordingly, and the level of the light receiving signal K also changes. Therefore, the microcomputer 22 can determine whether the user is standing in front of the morning glory 1 based on the change in the level of the received light signal K.

2) A hood surrounding the light receiving element 6 is provided so that only the light B is directly incident on the light receiving element 6. In this case, since the reflected light other than the direct light B is not incident on the light receiving element 6, the light receiving element 6 can more reliably detect the lighting noise of the direct light B, and the effect of the above-described embodiment. Can be further increased.

3) The pre-cleaning process is performed when the determination result of “user detection” continues twice after the determination result of “user non-detection”. In addition, after the determination result of “user detection”, the determination result of “user non-detection” continues twice, the post-cleaning process is performed. In this case, even if the user simply crosses the front of the morning glory 1 or the user's body shakes during small use, the user detection operation can be performed more reliably, and the pre-cleaning process and the post-cleaning process can be performed. No more mistaken processing.

4) Replace the battery 8 with a DC power supply device and supply power from a commercial power supply. 5) The constant voltage circuit 20 is omitted. 6) The DC voltage stabilized by the constant voltage circuit 20 is also supplied to the valve drive circuit 21.

7) Incorporate not only the morning glory 1 but also an automatic cleaning device for various sanitary appliances such as a wash basin. 8) In addition to automatic cleaning equipment for sanitary equipment, embody it in other object detection equipment such as automatic doors and FA equipment.

9) It is carried out by appropriately combining the above 1) to 8).

[0034]

[Effect of device]

 As described in detail above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a small object detection device that uses light and has low power consumption.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an electric block circuit diagram of an embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in an automatic washing device for a flush urinal for men (morning glory).

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view of a washroom schematically showing an attached state of a flush urinal for men (morning glory) according to an embodiment.

3 is a front view of the flush urinal for men (morning glory) shown in FIG. 2. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a waveform chart for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

6 ... Light receiving element, 10 ... Fluorescent lamp as light source for illumination, 22
... Microcomputer as judging means

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A light source for illumination (10) which generates a lighting noise of a constant cycle, a light receiving element (6) for receiving projection light from the light source for illumination (10), and a light receiving element (6) thereof. An object detection device comprising: a determination unit (22) for determining whether an object is present in front of the light receiving element (6) based on a detection signal.