KR102459040B1 - Apparatus for detecting object - Google Patents

Abstract

An object sensing device is disclosed. The object detection device may include: an optical transmission module emitting infrared rays in a directed direction; A light receiving module comprising a light receiving sensor for detecting incident infrared rays and a light blocking part disposed to surround the light receiving sensor to block external light and having an opening formed in a direction in which the reflected light of infrared emitted by the light transmitting module is incident ; and determining whether an object exists in a direction in which the light transmitting module emits infrared rays using the infrared rays sensed by the light receiving module.

Description

Object detection device {APPARATUS FOR DETECTING OBJECT}

The present invention relates to an object detecting apparatus, and more particularly, to an object detecting apparatus capable of detecting the presence or absence of an object within a monitoring range using infrared rays.

The infrared sensor consists of a light emitting element that emits light of a certain frequency and a light receiving element that receives the light emitted from the light emitting element. Infrared rays generated from the light emitting device collide with the object and are reflected, and the light receiving device detects the reflected light to know the presence or absence of the object or the distance to the object.

Infrared sensors can be broadly divided into quantum type and thermal type. Quantum types include photodiodes, solar cells, etc. focusing on the photovoltaic effect, and there are PbS and CdS cells using the photoconductive effect. On the other hand, thermal sensors include a thermopile centered on the thermoelectric effect and PZT and LiTaO3 centered on the pyroelectric effect, and there are thermistors and bolometers that use the thermal conduction effect.

Although there is a pyroelectric sensor as a representative thermal sensor, there is no wavelength dependence of detection sensitivity and the response is slow. In contrast, the quantum infrared sensor has high sensitivity and fast response characteristics, but has a disadvantage in that it requires cooling of the sensor unit. In particular, since infrared interrupts used in remote controllers use so-called infrared from 780 nm to 1.5 μm, silicon photodiodes with wavelength sensitivity from visible to near-infrared light are used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an object detection device capable of improving accuracy and reliability by minimizing a detection error caused by external light and noise.

According to an embodiment, an optical transmission module emitting infrared rays in a direction; A light receiving module comprising a light receiving sensor for detecting incident infrared rays and a light blocking part disposed to surround the light receiving sensor to block external light and having an opening formed in a direction in which the reflected light of infrared emitted by the light transmitting module is incident ; and a control unit for determining whether an object exists in a direction in which the light transmitting module emits infrared light by using the infrared light detected by the light receiving module.

The light blocking part may be formed to extend in a traveling direction of the reflected light.

A diameter of the light blocking portion may be decreased along an incident direction of the reflected light.

The length and diameter of the light blocking part may be determined according to an incident angle of the reflected light.

A condensing lens may be disposed at the distal end of the light blocking unit.

A filter unit may be disposed at a front end of the light receiving sensor to filter light other than the wavelength band emitted from the light transmitting module.

A pattern lens may be disposed at the front end of the optical transmission module to emit radiated infrared rays in various angles.

The controller may control the bandwidth of infrared rays emitted from the optical transmission module according to the following equation.

[Equation]

(In the above equation, BW is the optical bandwidth of the optical transmission module, C is the speed of radio waves, and D is the sensing distance)

The optical transmission module may further include an output unit for outputting a notification signal to the outside when an object is present in a direction in which infrared rays are emitted.

The object detection apparatus may improve accuracy and reliability by minimizing a detection error caused by external light and noise.

1 is a schematic diagram of an object detection device according to an embodiment;
2 is a conceptual diagram of an object sensing device according to an embodiment;
3 is a schematic diagram of an optical transmission module according to an embodiment;
4 is a schematic diagram of a pattern lens according to an embodiment;
5 is a conceptual diagram of a pattern lens according to an embodiment;
6 is a conceptual diagram of an operation of an optical transmission module according to an embodiment;
7 is a schematic diagram of a light receiving module according to an embodiment;
8 is a schematic diagram of a light receiving sensor according to an embodiment;
9 is a schematic diagram of a light blocking unit according to an embodiment;
10 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an incident path of reflected light according to an embodiment;
11 is a schematic diagram of a condensing lens according to an embodiment;
12 is a conceptual diagram of an operation of a light receiving module according to an exemplary embodiment.

Since the present invention can have various changes and can have various embodiments, specific embodiments are illustrated and described in the drawings. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Terms including an ordinal number such as second, first, etc. may be used to describe various elements, but the elements are not limited by the terms. The above terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the second component may be referred to as the first component, and similarly, the first component may also be referred to as the second component. and/or includes a combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

When a component is referred to as being “connected” or “connected” to another component, it may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but it is understood that other components may exist in between. it should be On the other hand, when it is said that a certain element is "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that the other element does not exist in the middle.

The terms used in the present application are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present application, terms such as “comprise” or “have” are intended to designate that a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification exists, but one or more other features It is to be understood that this does not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in a commonly used dictionary should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and should not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present application. does not

Hereinafter, the embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the same or corresponding components are given the same reference numerals regardless of the reference numerals, and the overlapping description thereof will be omitted.

1 is a schematic diagram of an object detecting apparatus according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of an object detecting apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. 1 and 2 , an object detecting apparatus 1 according to an embodiment includes an optical transmission module 10 , a light reception module 20 , a control unit 30 , and an output unit 40 .

In the object sensing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment, the optical transmission module 10 , the optical reception module 20 , the control unit 30 and the output unit 40 are disposed on the same substrate 2 , but it is limited thereto. The control unit 30 and the output unit 40 may be disposed on separate substrates. When the control unit 30 and the output unit 40 are disposed on separate substrates, communication is performed through the wire 50 disposed on the substrate or communication is performed through a separate wireless communication module (not shown). can The optical transmission module 10 and the optical reception module 20 may be disposed on the substrate 2 spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance, and the spacing is a monitoring range, a wavelength band of light emitted from the optical transmission module 10, and optical transmission It may be determined according to interference between the module 10 and the light receiving module 20 .

The optical transmission module 10 radiates infrared rays of various wavelength bands to the outside under the control of the controller 30 , and the optical reception module 20 transmits the received infrared data to the controller 30 .

The controller 30 controls the operations of the optical transmission module 10 , the optical reception module 20 and the output unit 40 , and the optical transmission module 10 transmits the infrared rays using the infrared rays detected by the optical reception module 20 . It is possible to determine whether an object exists in the direction in which it is emitted. The controller 30 may control the output unit 40 according to the presence of an object to output a notification signal to the outside.

The output unit 40 may output a notification signal to the outside when an object exists in the direction in which the optical transmission module 10 emits infrared rays. The output unit 40 operates under the control of the control unit 30 and may include at least one of a visual output element and an audio output element for outputting a notification signal to the outside.

3 is a schematic diagram of an optical transmission module according to an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 3 , the optical transmission module 10 of the object sensing apparatus according to an embodiment may include an infrared light source emitting infrared rays in a direction it is directed. The infrared light source may be, for example, a light emitting diode (LED), and radiates in a direction oriented at a wavelength of a certain band under the control of the controller.

In the optical transmission module 10 , the bandwidth of the infrared rays radiated according to the following equation may be controlled by the control of the controller.

[Equation]

(In the above equation, BW is the optical bandwidth of the optical transmission module, C is the speed of radio waves, and D is the sensing distance)

The optical transmission module 10 may include a plurality of infrared light sources, and the plurality of infrared light sources may emit a multi-channel mixed pulse signal under the control of the controller.

4 is a schematic diagram of a patterned lens according to an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 4 , the pattern lens 11 may be disposed at the front end of the optical transmission module to radiate the radiated infrared rays at various angles. The pattern lens 11 may be disposed on the substrate to surround the optical transmission module, and a pattern may be formed on the inner surface along the infrared radiation direction.

A protrusion 111 for being fixed to the substrate along the periphery may be formed at the distal end of the pattern lens 11 .

5 is a conceptual diagram of a pattern of a pattern lens according to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to FIG. 5 , various types of patterns (a) to (h) may be formed on the inner surface of the pattern lens according to the range to which infrared rays are to be radiated. In the pattern, the radiation range and amount of infrared radiation can be adjusted according to the range to be monitored, the range to be intensively monitored, and the like.

6 is a conceptual diagram of an operation of an optical transmission module according to an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 6 , the infrared rays emitted from the optical transmission module are emitted at a predetermined angle through the pattern lens 11 .

7 is a schematic diagram of a light receiving module according to an embodiment, FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a light receiving sensor according to an embodiment, FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a light blocking unit according to an embodiment, and FIG. A conceptual diagram for explaining an incident path, FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a condensing lens according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7 , the light receiving module 20 according to an embodiment may include a light receiving sensor 21 , a light blocking unit 23 , a condensing lens 24 , and a filter unit 22 .

Referring to FIG. 8 , the light receiving sensor 21 according to an exemplary embodiment may be configured as a photodiode or a photodetector, detect incident infrared rays, and output the data to the controller. At this time, a filter unit 22 for filtering light other than the wavelength band emitted from the light transmission module is disposed at the front end of the light receiving sensor 21 , and the light receiving sensor 21 is incident through the filter unit 22 . It detects infrared rays in a specific band and transmits them to the control unit.

Referring to FIG. 9 , the light blocking unit 23 according to an embodiment is disposed to surround the light receiving sensor 21 to block external light, and an opening is formed in the direction in which the reflected light of infrared radiation emitted by the light transmitting module is incident. do. The light blocking part 23 may be formed to extend in the traveling direction of the reflected light, and may be made of an optically non-transmissive epoxy, plastic, polymer, metal, or the like.

The diameter of the light blocking part 23 may be formed to decrease along the incident direction of the reflected light. The light blocking unit 23 is designed to block natural light other than the reflected light, infrared rays emitted from the light transmission module, other external light and noise, but not block the reflected light reflected from the object. In this case, the length and diameter of the light blocking part 23 are determined according to the incident angle of the reflected light.

Referring to FIG. 10 , infrared rays emitted from the optical transmission module 10 are reflected from the object 100 and are incident on the optical reception module 20 . The angle of incidence of the reflected light depends on the position of the object, respectively, θ ₁ , θ ₂ . If θ ₃ , the diameter R of the outermost part of the light blocking part 23 is determined by θ ₁ , which is the minimum incident angle. Since the diameter of the light blocking portion 23 decreases according to the incident direction of the reflected light, the diameter R of the outermost portion of the light blocking portion means the maximum diameter of the light blocking portion. In addition, the incident angle of the reflected light may be determined according to the distance between the light transmitting module 10 and the light receiving module 20 and the distance between the light transmitting module 10 and the object 100 . Accordingly, the maximum diameter of the light blocking unit 23 is determined according to the minimum incident angle of the reflected light, and the minimum incident angle of the reflected light is the distance between the light transmitting module 10 and the light receiving module 20 and the light transmitting module 10 and the object. It may be determined according to the distance from (100).

Referring to FIG. 11 , a condensing lens 24 may be disposed at the distal end of the light blocking unit. The condensing lens 24 is disposed to cover the outermost part of the light blocking unit, and may serve to collect reflected light and guide it to the light receiving sensor.

12 is a conceptual diagram of an operation of a light receiving module according to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to FIG. 12 , natural light incident on the light receiving sensor 21 , infrared rays emitted from the light transmitting module, and other external light and noise are blocked by the light blocking unit 23 . The reflected light is guided into the light blocking unit 23 through the condensing lens 24 and is transmitted to the light receiving sensor 21 through the filter unit 22 .

The object detecting apparatus according to the embodiment may be mounted on the rear of a vehicle, a side mirror of a vehicle, a mirror of a bicycle, etc. to detect an object while driving and output a detection signal according to a detection situation.

The object detecting apparatus according to the embodiment effectively blocks external light and noise, thereby minimizing an error caused by natural light, a street light, etc., and can detect an object with high accuracy.

The term '~ unit' used in this embodiment means software or hardware components such as field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or ASIC, and '~ unit' performs certain roles. However, '-part' is not limited to software or hardware. '~unit' may be configured to reside on an addressable storage medium or may be configured to refresh one or more processors. Thus, as an example, '~' denotes components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, and processes, functions, properties, and procedures. , subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functions provided in the components and '~ units' may be combined into a smaller number of components and '~ units' or further separated into additional components and '~ units'. In addition, components and '~ units' may be implemented to play one or more CPUs in a device or secure multimedia card.

Although the above has been described with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art can variously modify and change the present invention within the scope without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below. You will understand that it can be done.

10: optical transmission module
11: filter lens
20: light receiving module
21: light receiving sensor
22: filter unit
23: light blocking unit
24: condensing lens
30: control unit
40: output unit

Claims (9)

an optical transmission module emitting infrared rays in the direction it is directed;
A light receiving module comprising a light receiving sensor for detecting incident infrared rays and a light blocking part disposed to surround the light receiving sensor to block external light and having an opening formed in a direction in which the reflected light of infrared emitted by the light transmitting module is incident ; and
A control unit for determining whether an object exists in a direction in which the light transmitting module emits infrared light using the infrared light detected by the light receiving module,
A filter unit for filtering light other than the wavelength band emitted from the light transmitting module is disposed at the front end of the light receiving sensor,
Natural light incident to the light receiving sensor, infrared light emitted from the light transmitting module, external light and noise are blocked by the light blocking unit,
The reflected light is guided into the light blocking unit and transmitted to the light receiving sensor through the filter unit,
The light receiving sensor detects infrared rays incident through the filter unit and transmits it to the control unit,
Further comprising a condensing lens disposed at the distal end of the light blocking portion,
The condensing lens is an object detecting device that covers the outermost part of the light blocking unit.
According to claim 1,
The light blocking unit is formed to extend in a traveling direction of the reflected light.
3. The method of claim 2,
A diameter of the light-blocking unit decreases along an incident direction of the reflected light.
4. The method of claim 3,
The length and diameter of the light blocking part are determined according to an incident angle of the reflected light.
delete delete According to claim 1,
An object sensing device disposed at a front end of the optical transmission module, with a pattern lens emitting the radiated infrared rays at various angles.
According to claim 1,
The control unit is an object sensing device for controlling the bandwidth of the infrared rays emitted from the optical transmission module according to the following equation.
[Equation]

(In the above equation, BW is the optical bandwidth of the optical transmission module, C is the speed of radio waves, and D is the sensing distance)
According to claim 1,
and an output unit for outputting a notification signal to the outside when an object exists in a direction in which the optical transmission module emits infrared rays.

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