TW202043729A - Visibility meter, visibility measurement method, and street light device and operation method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A visibility meter, a visibility measurement method, and a street light device and an operation method thereof are provided. The visibility measurement method includes: transmitting a visible light laser through an optical transmitter; receiving the visible light laser through an optical sensor to generate a sensed result; and calculating a visibility according to the sensed result.

Description

Visibility meter, visibility measurement method, street lamp device and operation method thereof

The invention relates to a visibility meter, a visibility measurement method, a street lamp device and an operation method thereof.

Visibility (visibility) refers to a measure of the distance at which objects or light can be clearly distinguished. Traditional transmissometers use electromagnetic waves with a wavelength of about 550 nanometers to measure visibility. The transmissive visibility meter has a light transmitter and a light sensor. When the light is transmitted from the light transmitter to the light sensor, haze or smoke in the air will attenuate the light. According to this, the transmissive visibility meter can calculate the visibility based on the degree of light attenuation. However, the transmissive visibility meter can only judge the visibility based on the concentration of haze or smoke. Therefore, if the main factor affecting visibility is fog, the sensing result of the traditional transmissive visibility meter will not be able to present the true visibility of the environment.

The invention provides a fog-based visibility measurement method and a visibility meter, which can calculate the visibility according to the fog.

The visibility meter of the present invention is used to sense fog to determine visibility. Visibility meter includes: controller, light transmitter and light sensor. The optical transmitter is coupled to the controller. The light transmitter is configured by the controller to transmit visible light laser. The light sensor is coupled to the controller. The light sensor receives the visible light laser to generate a sensing result, and the controller calculates the visibility according to the sensing result.

The fog-based visibility measurement method of the present invention includes: transmitting visible light laser through a light transmitter; receiving visible light laser through a light sensor to generate a sensing result; and calculating visibility based on the sensing result.

The invention also provides a street lamp device and an operation method thereof.

The street lamp device of the present invention includes a light emitting module, a driving circuit and a visibility meter. The visibility meter includes a light transmitter, a light sensor, and a controller. The light emitting module emits illuminating light. The driving circuit is coupled to the light-emitting module, and the driving circuit is used to drive the light-emitting module. The light transmitter is configured to transmit visible light lasers. The light sensor is configured to receive visible light laser to generate a sensing result. The controller is coupled to the light transmitter, the light sensor, and the driving circuit. The controller calculates the visibility according to the sensing result, and configures the driving circuit according to the visibility to adjust the color temperature of the light-emitting module.

The operation method of the street lamp device of the present invention includes: transmitting visible light laser through a light transmitter; receiving visible light laser through a light sensor to generate a sensing result; calculating visibility according to the sensing result; and adjusting the color temperature of the street light device according to the visibility.

Based on the above, the visibility meter of the present invention can calculate the visibility of the environment by comparing the sensing result of the visible light laser with the reference value. The street lamp device of the present invention can automatically adjust the color temperature (color temperature) according to visibility.

In order to make the above-mentioned features and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, the following specific embodiments are described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In order to make the content of the present invention more comprehensible, the following embodiments are specifically cited as examples on which the present invention can indeed be implemented. In addition, wherever possible, elements/components/steps with the same reference numbers in the drawings and embodiments represent the same or similar components.

FIG. 1 is a functional circuit diagram of a visibility meter 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The visibility meter 10 is, for example, a transmissive visibility meter. The visibility meter 10 is used to sense fog to determine visibility. Please refer to FIG. 1, the visibility meter 10 includes a controller 110, a light transmitter 120, a light sensor 130 and a hygrometer 140.

The controller 110 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), or other programmable general-purpose or special-purpose micro-control unit (MCU), microprocessor, digital signal processor, programmable controller, and other similar components Or a combination of the above elements.

The light transmitter 120 is coupled to the controller 110 and is configured by the controller 110 to transmit a visible light laser, where the visible light laser is, for example, a blue laser, but the invention is not limited thereto. The light sensor 130 is coupled to the controller 110 and receives the visible light laser from the light transmitter 120 to generate a sensing result corresponding to the visible light laser. In addition, the light sensor 130 can also receive ambient light to calculate ambient brightness. The light sensor 130 is, for example, an RGB color sensor. The light sensor 130 can use the blue channel of the RGB color sensor to measure the visible light laser as a blue laser to generate a corresponding sensing result. In addition, since the green light spectrum sensed by the green channel of the RGB color sensor is closer to the ambient light source, the sensor 130 can use the green channel of the RGB color sensor to measure the ambient brightness.

In some embodiments, the light sensor 130 further includes at least one of an infrared sensor and an ultraviolet sensor or a combination thereof. The infrared sensor or the ultraviolet sensor can assist the green channel of the RGB color sensor to measure the environmental brightness, so that the measured environmental brightness includes a wider spectrum of information.

The hygrometer 140 is coupled to the controller 110 and used to sense environmental humidity. The controller 110 may determine whether to activate the optical transmitter 120 (or the optical sensor 130) according to the environmental humidity. When the ambient humidity is low, fog is not easy to produce, so the measurement of visibility is not necessary. Accordingly, the controller 110 can configure the optical transmitter 120 (or the optical sensor 130) to turn off, so as to save power. When the ambient humidity is high, fog is more likely to be generated, so the controller 110 can be configured with the optical transmitter 120 (or the optical sensor 130) so that the optical transmitter 120 (or the optical sensor 130) is higher than a humidity according to the environmental humidity. The threshold is activated, so the optical transmitter 120 (or the optical sensor 130) can transmit (or receive) the visible light laser to measure visibility.

Compared with other wavelengths of electromagnetic waves, the opacity of blue lasers with a wavelength between 360nm and 480nm is most easily affected by fog. When the concentration of the fog changes, the shielding rate of the blue laser will greatly change. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the sensitivity of the blue laser to fog according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the curve BL corresponds to blue laser, and the curve R corresponds to infrared. When the concentration of mist changes, the degree of change of curve BL is much higher than that of curve R. In other words, the change in the concentration of the mist can be easily measured by observing the change in the sensing result of the blue laser. If the path length of the blue laser is too low, the sensing result of the blue laser will not change significantly, making it difficult for the controller 110 to calculate the visibility based on the sensing result. Therefore, the path length of the blue laser needs to be higher than a preset value. In an embodiment, the path length of the visible light laser between the optical transmitter 120 and the optical sensor 130 is, for example, greater than or equal to 50 cm.

In this embodiment, the controller 110 may calculate the shielding rate according to the sensing result generated by the light sensor 130, thereby converting the shielding rate into visibility, where the shielding rate represents the degree to which light is not allowed to pass. The higher the coverage rate, the lower the visibility. For example, if the path of the blue laser between the light transmitter 120 and the light sensor 130 is filled with substances such as fog, haze, smoke, or particulate matter (PM), these substances will attenuate the light. . Accordingly, the shielding rate of the blue laser will increase. The controller 110 determines that the visibility is low based on the high obscuration rate.

…公式（1） 其中S為遮蔽率、IR為代表參考值的光強度（luminous intensity）並且IM為代表感測結果的光強度。Specifically, the controller 110 may calculate the shielding rate according to the sensing result and a reference value pre-stored in the controller 110. The calculation formula of the shielding rate is shown in the following formula (1):

…Formula (1) where S is the shielding rate, IR is the luminous intensity representing the reference value, and IM is the luminous intensity representing the sensing result.

In order to prevent light sources or dirt from outside from affecting the blue laser's sensing results so that the controller 110 calculates an inaccurate shielding rate, the controller 110 can dynamically adjust the reference value according to changes in the environment, thereby correcting based on external factors. The calculated occlusion rate of the affected sensing result. The reference value needs to be updated when the sensing result of the blue laser is not affected by external factors. In one embodiment, when the environmental humidity is low, it means that the sensing result of the blue laser is less likely to be affected by fog. Therefore, the controller 110 can update the aforementioned reference value according to the environmental humidity being lower than a humidity threshold. In another embodiment, when the ambient brightness is low, it means that the sensing result of the blue laser is less likely to be affected by external light sources. Therefore, the controller 110 can update the aforementioned reference value according to the ambient brightness being lower than a brightness threshold.

…公式（2） 其中S為遮蔽率、I1為代表參考值的光強度並且I2為代表感測結果的光強度。3A is a schematic diagram of the optical transmitter 120 and the optical sensor 130 according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the path length P1 of the visible light laser B between the optical transmitter 120 and the optical sensor 130 is greater than or equal to 50 Cm, but the present invention is not limited to this. 3A, the controller 110 judges according to the ambient brightness sensed by the light sensor 130 that there is no light source that affects the blue laser sensing result, and judges the surrounding humidity of the visibility meter 10 according to the ambient humidity sensed by the hygrometer 140 After the ambient humidity is low, the controller 110 can configure the light transmitter 120 to transmit the blue laser (or visible light) B and configure the light sensor 130 to receive the blue laser B. After the light sensor 130 generates the light intensity I1 representing the sensing result in response to the received blue laser B, the controller 110 may update the reference value IR as shown in formula (1) to the light intensity I1. When the visibility meter 10 wants to measure the visibility, the controller 110 can calculate the obscuration rate and the visibility corresponding to the obscuration rate according to the updated reference value (ie, light intensity I1). Taking FIG. 3B as an example, FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram of the optical transmitter 120 and the optical sensor 130 according to another embodiment of the present invention. When fog appears between the light transmitter 120 and the light sensor 130, the light sensor 130 can generate a light intensity I2 representing the sensing result in response to the received blue laser B. Then, the controller 110 can calculate the shielding rate according to the sensing result (ie, light intensity I2) and the updated reference value (ie, light intensity I1), as shown in the following formula (2):

…Formula (2) where S is the shielding rate, I1 is the light intensity representing the reference value, and I2 is the light intensity representing the sensing result.

4 is a flow chart of a visibility measurement method based on mist according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the aforementioned visibility measurement method can be implemented by the visibility meter 10 shown in FIG. 1.

In step S401, the controller 110 determines whether the environmental humidity is higher than a second humidity threshold. If the environmental humidity is higher than the second humidity threshold, step S402 is executed. The second humidity threshold is used as a reference for whether the controller 110 activates the optical transmitter 120 (or the optical sensor 130). If the ambient humidity is higher than the second humidity threshold, it means that mist is likely to be generated in the air, which will reduce visibility. Therefore, in step S402, the controller 110 activates the optical transmitter 120 and the optical sensor 130 to calculate the visibility when the environmental humidity is higher than the second humidity threshold. On the other hand, if the environmental humidity is lower than or equal to the second humidity threshold, step S403 is executed. The second humidity threshold can be adjusted by the user of the visibility meter 10 according to the environment. For example, the second humidity threshold is 90%, but the present invention is not limited to this.

In step S403, the controller 110 determines whether the environmental humidity is higher than a first humidity threshold. If the environmental humidity is higher than the first humidity threshold, step S404 is executed. In step S404, the controller 110 does not update the reference value stored in the controller 110. If the environmental humidity is lower than or equal to the first humidity threshold, step S405 is executed. The first humidity threshold is used as a reference for whether the controller 110 updates the reference value stored in the controller 110. If the environmental humidity is lower than or equal to the first humidity threshold, it means that the sensing result of the blue laser is less likely to be affected by fog. Therefore, it is more suitable to update the reference value when the environmental humidity is lower than or equal to the first humidity threshold. The first humidity threshold can be adjusted by the user of the visibility meter 10 according to the environment. For example, the first humidity threshold is 70%, but the present invention is not limited to this. In an embodiment, the second humidity threshold is higher than the first humidity threshold, but the invention is not limited to this.

In step S405, the controller 110 determines whether the environmental brightness is lower than the brightness threshold. If the environmental brightness is higher than or equal to the brightness threshold, step S404 is executed. If the environmental brightness is lower than the brightness threshold, step S406 is executed. In step S406, the controller 110 updates the reference value stored in the controller 110. When the ambient brightness is lower than the brightness threshold, it means that the sensing result of the blue laser is less likely to be affected by external light sources. Therefore, it is more suitable to update the reference value when the ambient brightness is lower than the brightness threshold. Specifically, the controller 110 may configure the light transmitter 120 to transmit the blue laser B and configure the light sensor 130 to receive the blue laser B. After the light sensor 130 generates the light intensity I1 representing the sensing result in response to receiving the blue laser B, the controller 110 may update the reference value IR as shown in formula (1) to the light intensity I1.

After performing step S402, S404 or step S406, in step S407, the visibility meter 10 waits for a period of time, and then returns to step S401. If the user of the visibility meter 10 wants to update the color temperature of the illumination light of the light-emitting element at a higher frequency, the user can configure a short period of time. If the user of the visibility meter 10 wants to update the color temperature of the illumination light of the light-emitting element at a lower frequency to save the power consumed by the visibility meter 10, the user can configure a long time period.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a street lamp system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The multiple street lamp devices 510, 520, and 530 in FIG. 5 are sequentially arranged beside the road 400 to generate multiple illumination areas 511, 521, and 531, respectively. In one embodiment, a plurality of visibility meters 10 as shown in FIG. 1 may be installed on the street light devices 510, 520, and 530, respectively, so as to adjust the color temperature of the street light devices 510, 520, and 530 according to the visibility. The street lamp devices 510, 520, and 530 are, for example, the street lamp device 70 shown in FIG. 7. For example, when the vehicle 600 passes through the illuminated area 511, the visibility meter 10 (not shown in the figure) installed in the street light device 510 can automatically determine that the illuminated area 511 is not foggy (high visibility). The street light device 510 provides 100% white light in response to high visibility. The aforementioned white light is, for example, illuminating light with a color temperature of 5000K, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

When the vehicle 600 passes through the illuminated area 521, the visibility meter 10 (not shown in the figure) installed in the street light device 520 can automatically determine that the illuminated area 521 is slightly foggy (with slightly lower visibility). The street light device 520 provides 50% yellow light and 50% white light in response to a slightly lower visibility. The aforementioned yellow light is, for example, illuminating light with a color temperature of 1700K, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

When the vehicle 600 passes through the illuminated area 531, the visibility meter 10 (not shown in the figure) installed in the street light device 530 can automatically determine that the illuminated area 531 is in dense fog (low visibility). The street light device 530 provides 100% yellow light in response to low visibility.

Accordingly, in this embodiment, multiple visibility meters 10 can be installed on the street lamp devices 510, 520, and 530, respectively. In order to measure the visibility of the corresponding lighting area. Therefore, the street lamp devices 510, 520, and 530 of this embodiment can effectively adjust the color temperature of the illumination light automatically according to the visibility of the corresponding illumination area.

In one embodiment, the street lamp device 510, 520, or 530 does not need to have the ability to measure visibility, and can adjust the color temperature of the illumination light according to the change in visibility. For example, assume that the street light device 510 is the street light device 70 shown in FIG. 7, and the street light device 520 is the street light device 80 shown in FIG. 8. After the street lamp device 510 with the visibility meter 10 measures the visibility, the street lamp device 510 may send a message including the visibility to the street lamp device 520. The street lamp device 520 can adjust the color temperature of the illumination light according to the visibility. In another embodiment, after the street light device 510 with the visibility meter 10 measures the visibility, the street light device 510 may transmit the color temperature configuration corresponding to the visibility to the street light device 520. The street lamp device 520 can adjust the color temperature of the illumination light according to the color temperature configuration.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a fog-based visibility measurement method according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the aforementioned visibility measurement method can be implemented by the visibility meter 10 shown in FIG. 1. In step S601, the visible light laser is transmitted through the optical transmitter 120. In step S602, the visible light laser is received by the light sensor 130 to generate a sensing result. In step S603, the visibility is calculated according to the sensing result.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of a street lamp device 70 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The street lamp device 70 includes a color temperature control module 710, a driving circuit 720, a light emitting module 730, and an AC to DC converter 740. The street lamp device 70 may be coupled to an external power supply device 750, and the power supply device 750 may be, for example, a commercial power supply. The color temperature control module 710 is coupled to the AC-DC converter 740 and includes the visibility meter 10 and the wireless transceiver 712 as shown in FIG. 1. The driving circuit 720 is coupled to the color temperature control module 710 (more specifically, the driving circuit 720 is coupled to the controller 110 in the visibility meter 10) and the power supply device 750. The driving circuit 720 includes a first driver 721 and a second driver 722 respectively coupled to the controller 110. The light emitting module 730 is coupled to the driving circuit 720 and includes a first light emitting unit 731 and a second light emitting unit 732. The first driver 721 is coupled to the first light emitting unit 731 and drives the first light emitting unit 731 to emit illumination light. The second driver 722 is coupled to the second light-emitting unit 732 and drives the second light-emitting unit 732 to emit illumination light. The power supply device 750 respectively provides AC power signals PS1 and PS2 to the first driver 721 and the second driver 722, and provides AC power signals PS3 to the AC-to-DC converter 740. The AC-to-DC converter 740 converts the AC power signal PS3 into a DC power signal PS4, and provides the DC power signal PS4 to the color temperature control module 710.

Compared with lighting with high color temperature (for example, sunlight with a color temperature of 5000K), lighting with a low color temperature (for example: match light with a color temperature of 1700K) has better penetration. Therefore, in the case of low visibility, the driving circuit 720 can adjust the color temperature of the illumination light emitted by the light emitting module 730, so that the illumination light can be seen more clearly. Specifically, the controller 110 of the visibility meter 10 can calculate the visibility, and configure the driving circuit 720 according to the visibility to adjust the color temperature of the illumination light emitted by the light-emitting module 730. The first light emitting unit 731 of the light emitting module 730 has a first color temperature and the second light emitting unit 732 has a second color temperature, wherein the first color temperature is lower than the second color temperature. The first color temperature is, for example, match light of 1700K, and the second color temperature is, for example, sunlight of 5000K, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The driving current value DI1 used to drive the first light emitting unit 731 is inversely proportional to the visibility, and the driving current value DI2 used to drive the second light emitting unit 732 is proportional to the visibility. In other words, the driving circuit 720 increases the driving current value DI1 and decreases the driving current value DI2 based on the decrease in visibility, thereby reducing the color temperature of the light-emitting module 730. On the other hand, the driving circuit 720 increases the color temperature of the light-emitting module 730 based on the increase in visibility.

The wireless transceiver 712 transmits and receives signals in a wireless manner. The wireless transceiver 712 may also perform operations such as low noise amplifying (LNA), impedance matching, frequency mixing, up-down conversion, filtering, amplification, and the like. The wireless transceiver 712 supports communication protocols including ZigBee (ZigBee), long range (LoRa), Bluetooth (Bluetooth), or low-power wide-area network (LPWA), but the present invention is not limited thereto. .

In this embodiment, the wireless transceiver 712 is coupled to the controller 110 in the visibility meter 10. In an embodiment, the controller 110 may transmit a message including visibility to an external electronic device through the wireless transceiver 712. In another embodiment, the controller 110 of the street light device 70 can transmit the color temperature configuration corresponding to the visibility to the external electronic device through the wireless transceiver 712. For example, the controller 110 of the street light device 70 can transmit the visibility or the color temperature configuration corresponding to the visibility to the street light device 80 as shown in FIG. 8 through the wireless transceiver 712, so as to configure the illumination light emitted by the street light device 80 Color temperature.

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of a street lamp device 80 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The difference between the street lamp device 80 and the street lamp device 70 illustrated in the previous embodiment is that the color temperature control module 810 of the street lamp device 80 does not include the visibility meter 10. The color temperature control module 810 of the street lamp device 80 in this embodiment includes a controller 811 and a wireless transceiver 812. The controller 811 is coupled to the wireless transceiver 812 and receives messages from external electronic devices through the wireless transceiver 812. For example, the controller 811 can receive the information including the visibility or the color temperature configuration corresponding to the visibility from the street light device 70 through the wireless transceiver 812. Then, the controller 811 can configure the driving circuit 820 to adjust the color temperature of the light-emitting module 830 according to the visibility or color temperature configuration. The specific color temperature adjustment method is the same as that of the street lamp device 70 illustrated in the previous embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an operation method of a street lamp device according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the operation method may be implemented by the street lamp device 70 shown in FIG. 7 or the street lamp device 80 shown in FIG. 8. In this embodiment, the street light device 70 with the visibility meter 10 is used as a master street light device (master street light device). The street light device 70 can configure the color temperature of the illumination light emitted by the street light device 80 as a slave street light device according to the measured visibility. In step S901, the controller of the street light device determines whether the street light device is the master street light device. If the street light device is the master control street light device, step S902 is entered. If the street light device is not the master street light device, go to step S912. In this embodiment, the controller 110 of the street light device 70 can determine that the street light device 70 is the master control street light device and then execute step S902. The controller 811 of the street light device 80 may determine that the street light device 80 is not the master street light device and then execute step S912. In step S912, the controller 811 of the street light device 80 receives information about the visibility or the color temperature configuration corresponding to the visibility from the external electronic device (for example, the street light device 70) through the wireless transceiver 812. The controller 811 can adjust the color temperature of the street lamp device 80 according to the related information.

In step S902, the controller 110 of the street lamp device 70 determines whether the visibility is higher than the visibility threshold. Specifically, the visibility meter 10 of the street light device 70 can measure visibility and environmental humidity. The controller 110 may determine whether the visibility is higher than the visibility threshold according to the measured visibility. If the visibility is higher than the visibility threshold, step S903 is executed. If the visibility is lower than or equal to the visibility threshold, step S904 is executed. The visibility higher than the visibility threshold indicates good visibility. Therefore, in step S903, the controller 110 configures the driving circuit 720 to adjust the illumination light emitted by the light emitting module 730 to a high color temperature. On the other hand, visibility lower than or equal to the visibility threshold indicates poor visibility. Therefore, in step S904, the controller 110 configures the driving circuit 720 to adjust the illumination light emitted by the light-emitting module 730 to a low color temperature.

In step S905, the controller 110 stores the judgment result generated in step S902 to an external storage medium. In step S906, the controller 110 uploads the visibility and environmental humidity measured by the visibility meter 10 to the cloud server through the wireless transceiver 712. In step S907, the controller 110 determines whether the information related to visibility and environmental humidity is successfully transmitted. If the related information is successfully transmitted, step S911 is entered. In step S911, the controller 110 transmits information related to the visibility or the color temperature configuration corresponding to the visibility to the external electronic device (for example, the street lamp device 80) through the wireless transceiver 712.

If the transmission of the related information fails, step S908 is entered. In step S908, the controller 110 retransmits information about visibility and environmental humidity through the wireless transceiver 712. In step S909, the controller 110 determines whether the number of retransmissions of the related information is higher than the retransmission threshold. If the number of retransmissions is higher than the retransmission threshold, step S910 is entered. If the number of retransmissions is lower than or equal to the retransmission threshold, step S908 is entered. In step S910, the controller 110 stores the transmission failure message of the information related to the visibility and the environmental humidity to the external storage medium, and then proceeds to step S911.

After performing step S911 or step S912, the street lamp device 70 or the street lamp device 80 waits for a period of time, and then returns to step S901.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an operation method of a street lamp device according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the operation method may be implemented by the street lamp device 70 shown in FIG. 7 or the street lamp device 80 shown in FIG. 8. In step S1001, the visible light laser is transmitted through the light transmitter. In step S1002, a visible light laser is received by a light sensor to generate a sensing result. In step S1003, the visibility is calculated according to the sensing result. In step S1004, the color temperature of the illumination light of the street lamp device is adjusted according to the visibility.

In the above embodiment, it is mentioned that the path length P1 of the visible light laser B between the optical transmitter 120 and the optical sensor 130 is greater than or equal to 50 cm. The structure of the visibility meter 10a will be specifically described below to further illustrate how the path shape of the visible light laser B achieves a path length P1 greater than or equal to 50 cm.

Fig. 11A is a perspective view of a visibility meter according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 11B is an exploded perspective view of the visibility meter of Fig. 11A. Please refer to FIGS. 11A and 11B at the same time. In this embodiment, in addition to the controller 110, the optical transmitter 120, and the optical sensor 130 mentioned in FIG. 1, the visibility meter 10a also includes a housing 210 and at least A light path changing element (a plurality of light path changing elements 220 are schematically shown). The light transmitter 120 and the light sensor 130 are disposed on the housing 210, where the light transmitter 120 is embedded on the platform 212 of the housing 210, and the light sensor 130 is inserted into the groove 214 of the housing 210. The light path changing element 220 is disposed on the housing 210 to change the path of visible light laser. Here, the outer shape of the housing 210 is embodied in a figure of eight, and the light path changing elements 220 are arranged at the four corners of the housing 210. The light path changing elements 220 are, for example, a mirror, a beam splitter, or a mirror, but not so. Is limited. In other words, the path shape of the visible light laser between the optical transmitter 120 and the optical sensor 130 in this embodiment is a figure of eight.

Furthermore, the visibility meter 10a of this embodiment further includes two protective covers 230 and a bird pin 240. The protective cover 230 covers the opposite sides 211 and 213 of the housing 210, wherein the light transmitter 120, the light sensor 130, the housing 210 and the light path changing element 220 are located between the protective cover 230. The anti-bird needle 240 is disposed on the upper surface 215 of the housing 210 to prevent birds from staying on the visibility meter 10a and affecting the sensing structure. As shown in FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B, the bird pin 240 is connected by the connecting portion 242, which can increase the structural strength of the plastic.

In addition, the visibility meter 10a of this embodiment further includes an assembly base 250, which is disposed under the housing 210 and can be used for assembly with a socket (not shown) of a smart street lamp (not shown). Of course, the way of pasting can also be used to assemble the visibility meter 10a of this embodiment with a general street lamp (such as the street lamp device 510, 520 or 530 in FIG. 5). Since the visibility meter 10a of this embodiment can be directly installed on the socket of the smart street lamp, the color temperature of the street lamp can be adjusted in real time according to the measured visibility, and it has the advantages of convenient assembly, saving man-hours and labor.

In short, since the path shape of the visible light laser between the optical transmitter 120 and the optical sensor 130 of this embodiment is embodied in a figure eight shape, and the path length is greater than or equal to 50 cm, the reliability can be effectively improved. The light path direction of the visible light laser is changed by the setting of the light path changing element 220, and the visible light transmission path is folded to reduce the volume of the visibility meter 10a, which can increase the measuring distance but does not make the size of the visibility meter 10a too large.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned figure-eight path shape. In other embodiments, please refer to FIG. 12A, the path shape S1 of the visible light laser B between the optical transmitter 120 and the optical sensor 130 of this embodiment embodies an inverted figure eight; or, please refer to FIG. 12B, The path shape S2 of the visible light laser B between the optical transmitter 120 and the optical sensor 130 of the embodiment embodies a triangle-like shape; or, please refer to FIG. 12C, the optical transmitter 120 and the optical sensor 130 of this embodiment The path shape S3 of the visible light laser B in between is embodied in an S shape; or, please refer to FIG. 12D, the path shape S4 of the visible light laser B between the optical transmitter 120 and the light sensor 130 in this embodiment is embodied as a pentagonal Star shape. That is to say, the path length of the visible light laser B between the optical transmitter 120 and the optical sensor 130 is greater than or equal to 50 cm on the horizontal plane, but this embodiment is not limited to this.

In an embodiment not shown, the visibility meter can also have a structural design that is placed flat on the street lamp device, as long as the optical path changing element makes the path length of the visible light laser between the light transmitter and the light sensor on the horizontal plane The measuring distance is greater than or equal to 50 cm, which can improve the accuracy of visibility detection.

In summary, the visibility meter of the present invention uses a blue laser to sense the fog to calculate the visibility of the environment. In addition, the color temperature of the illuminating light of the light-emitting element is adjusted according to the visibility, so that even if the light-emitting element is in a low-visibility environment, the illuminating light generated by the light-emitting element can be clearly seen by people. In addition, the visibility meter of the present invention calculates the visibility by comparing the sensing result with a reference value, wherein the reference value can be dynamically updated. Therefore, even if the external light source or dirt affects the blue laser sensing result, the visibility meter of the present invention can still accurately calculate the visibility based on the updated reference value. On the other hand, the street lamp device of the present invention can automatically adjust the color temperature according to the visibility. A street light device with the ability to measure visibility may be equipped with a wireless transceiver, and the measured visibility or color temperature configuration corresponding to the visibility can be transmitted to other street lights through the wireless transceiver.

The elements, actions or instructions used in the detailed description of the disclosed embodiments of the present invention should not be construed as being absolutely critical or necessary to the present invention unless explicitly described as such. Moreover, as used herein, the indefinite article "a" can contain more than one item. If it is intended to refer to only one item, then the term "single" or similar language will be used. In addition, as used herein, the term "any of" before a list of multiple items and/or multiple item types is intended to include the items and/or item types individually or in combination with other items and/or Other item types are "any one of", "any combination of", "any multiple of" and/or "any combination of multiple". In addition, as used herein, the term "collection" is intended to include any number of items, including zero. Furthermore, as used herein, the term "number" is intended to include any number, including zero.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the technical field can make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention shall be determined by the scope of the attached patent application.

10.10a: Visibility meter 110, 811: Controller 120: Optical Transmitter 130: light sensor 140: Hygrometer 210: Shell 211, 213: side surface 212: platform 214: Groove 215: upper surface 220: Optical path changing element 230: Protective cover 240: Anti-bird needle 242: Connection 250: Assemble the base 400: road 510, 520, 530, 70, 80: street light device 511, 521, 531: lighting area 600: Vehicle 710, 810: Color temperature control module 712, 812: wireless transceiver 720, 820: drive circuit 721, 821: first drive 722, 822: second drive 730, 830: light-emitting module 731, 831: the first light-emitting unit 732, 832: second light-emitting unit 740, 840: AC to DC converter 750, 850: power supply equipment B: Visible laser/blue laser BL, R: Curve DI1, DI2, DI3, DI4: drive current value I1, I2: light intensity P1: path length PS1, PS2, PS3, PS5, PS6, PS7: AC power signal PS4, PS8: DC power signal S1, S2, S3, S4: path shape S401, S402, S403, S404, S405, S406, S407, S601, S602, S603, S901, S902, S903, S904, S905, S906, S907, S908, S909, S910, S911, S912, S913, S1001, S1002 S1003, S1004: steps

Fig. 1 is a functional circuit diagram of a visibility meter according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the sensitivity of the blue laser to fog according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of an optical transmitter and an optical sensor according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram of an optical transmitter and an optical sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a fog-based visibility measurement method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a street lamp system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 6 is a flowchart of a fog-based visibility measurement method according to another embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 7 is a functional block diagram of a street lamp device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 8 is a functional block diagram of a street lamp device according to another embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 9 is a flowchart of a method of operating a street lamp device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 10 is a flowchart of a method of operating a street lamp device according to another embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 11A is a perspective view of a visibility meter according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 11B is an exploded perspective view of the visibility meter of Fig. 11A. 12A to 12D are schematic diagrams illustrating the path shape of the visible light laser between the light transmitter and the light sensor according to various embodiments of the present invention.

10: Visibility meter

110: Controller

120: Optical Transmitter

130: light sensor

140: Hygrometer

Claims (15)

A visibility meter is used to sense fog to determine visibility, and the visibility meter includes: Controller An optical transmitter coupled to the controller, and the optical transmitter is configured by the controller to transmit visible light laser; and A light sensor, coupled to the controller, the light sensor receiving the visible light laser to generate a sensing result, wherein The controller calculates the visibility according to the sensing result. According to the visibility meter described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, the visible light laser is a blue laser. According to the visibility meter described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, the controller calculates the visibility according to the sensing result and a reference value. The visibility meter described in item 3 of the scope of patent application includes: A hygrometer is coupled to the controller, and the hygrometer is used to sense environmental humidity, wherein the controller updates the reference value according to the environmental humidity being lower than a first humidity threshold. The visibility meter described in item 3 of the scope of patent application includes: The hygrometer is coupled to the controller, and the hygrometer is used to sense the environmental humidity, wherein the light transmitter is activated when the environmental humidity is higher than a second humidity threshold, so as to transmit the visible light laser. The visibility meter according to item 3 of the scope of patent application, wherein the light sensor receives ambient light to calculate ambient brightness, and the controller updates the reference value according to the ambient brightness being lower than a brightness threshold. The visibility meter described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein the path length of the visible light laser between the optical transmitter and the optical sensor is greater than or equal to 50 cm. The visibility meter according to item 7 of the scope of patent application, wherein the path shape of the visible light laser between the light transmitter and the light sensor includes a figure eight, an inverted figure eight, a triangle-like, an S-shape or Pentagram. The visibility meter described in item 7 of the scope of patent application includes: A housing, the light transmitter and the light sensor are arranged on the housing; and At least one light path changing element is arranged on the housing to change the path of the visible light laser. A fog-based visibility measurement method includes: Transmit visible light laser through optical transmitter; Receiving the visible light laser by a light sensor to generate a sensing result; and The visibility is calculated based on the sensing result. A street lamp device includes: Light-emitting module A driving circuit coupled to the light emitting module, wherein the driving circuit is used to drive the light emitting module; and Visibility meter, including: Optical transmitter, configured to transmit visible light laser; A light sensor configured to receive the visible light laser to generate a sensing result; and The controller is coupled to the optical transmitter, the optical sensor, and the driving circuit, wherein the controller calculates visibility according to the sensing result, and configures the driving circuit according to the visibility to adjust the The color temperature of the light-emitting module. The street lamp device according to the 11th item of the scope of patent application, wherein the light emitting module includes a first light emitting unit and a second light emitting unit, wherein the first light emitting unit has a first color temperature, and the second light emitting unit has Two color temperatures and the first color temperature is lower than the second color temperature. The street lamp device according to item 12 of the scope of patent application, wherein the first driving current value of the first light-emitting unit is inversely proportional to the visibility, and the second driving current value of the second light-emitting unit is directly proportional to the visibility . The street lamp device described in item 11 of the scope of patent application further includes: A wireless transceiver is coupled to the controller, wherein the controller transmits a message including the visibility or a color temperature configuration corresponding to the visibility to an external electronic device through the wireless transceiver. An operation method of a street lamp device includes: Transmit visible light laser through optical transmitter; Receiving the visible light laser by a light sensor to generate a sensing result; Calculate visibility based on the sensing result; and The color temperature of the street lamp device is adjusted according to the visibility.

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