TWI750520B - 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 present invention relates to a visibility meter, a visibility measurement method, a street lamp device and an operation method thereof.

Visibility is a measure of the distance at which an object or light can be clearly identified. Conventional 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 light is transmitted from the light transmitter to the light sensor, haze or smoke in the air attenuates the light. Accordingly, the transmissive visibility meter can calculate the visibility according to the attenuation degree of light. However, transmissive visibility meters can only judge visibility based on the concentration of haze or smoke. Therefore, if the main factor affecting the visibility is fog, the sensing result of the traditional transmissive visibility meter will not be able to present the real visibility of the environment.

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

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

The fog-based visibility measurement method of the present invention includes: transmitting visible light lasers through an optical transmitter; receiving visible light lasers through a light sensor to generate sensing results; and calculating visibility according to the sensing results.

The present 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 illumination light. The driving circuit is coupled to the light emitting module, wherein the driving circuit is used for driving the light emitting module. The optical transmitter is configured to transmit visible laser light. 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, wherein the controller calculates the visibility according to the sensing result, and configures the driving circuit to adjust the color temperature of the light emitting module according to the visibility.

The operation method of the street lamp device of the present invention includes: transmitting visible light laser through an optical 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 lamp 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 light device of the present invention can automatically adjust the color temperature according to the visibility.

In order to make the above-mentioned features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the following embodiments are given and described in detail with the accompanying drawings as follows.

10, 10a: Visibility meter

110, 811: Controller

120: Optical Transmitter

130: Light sensor

140: Hygrometer

210: Shell

211, 213: side surfaces

212: Platform

214: Groove

215: Upper surface

220: Optical path changing element

230: Protective cover

240: Anti-bird needle

242: Connector

250: Assemble the base

400: Road

510, 520, 530, 70, 80: street light installations

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: Lighting module

731, 831: the first light-emitting unit

732, 832: the second light-emitting unit

740, 840: AC to DC converter

750, 850: Power supply equipment

B: visible light laser/blue light 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 shapes

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.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the sensitivity of blue light laser to fog according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3A is a schematic diagram of a light transmitter and a light sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3B is a schematic diagram of a light transmitter and a light 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 light 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 light device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of a street light device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a street light device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a street light device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

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 optical transmitter and the optical sensor according to various embodiments of the present invention.

In order to make the content of the present invention more comprehensible, the following specific embodiments are taken as examples by which the present invention can indeed be implemented. Additionally, where possible, elements/components/steps using the same reference numerals in the drawings and embodiments represent the same or similar parts.

FIG. 1 is a functional circuit diagram of a visibility meter 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the visibility meter 10 is, for example, a transmission type visibility meter. The visibility meter 10 is used to sense fog to judge the 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 A general-purpose or special-purpose microcontroller unit (MCU), microprocessor, digital signal processor, programmable controller, other similar elements, or a combination of the foregoing.

The light transmitter 120 is coupled to the controller 110, and is configured by the controller 110 to transmit visible light lasers, wherein the visible light lasers are, for example, blue light lasers, 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 blue laser light to generate a corresponding sensing result. In addition, since the green light spectrum that can be sensed by the green channel of the RGB color sensor is closer to the ambient light source, the light 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 ambient brightness, so that the measured ambient brightness contains information of a wider spectrum.

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

Compared with electromagnetic waves of other wavelengths, the opacity of blue laser light with wavelengths between 360 nm and 480 nm is most easily affected by fog. When the concentration of fog changes, the shading rate of blue laser light will change greatly. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the sensitivity of blue light laser to fog according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the curve BL corresponds to blue light laser, and the curve R corresponds to infrared light. When the concentration of the fog changes, the change degree of the curve BL is much higher than that of the curve R. In other words, the change in the concentration of the fog can be easily measured by observing the change in the sensing result of the blue light laser. If the path length of the blue laser is too low, the change of the sensing result of the blue laser will be insignificant, making it difficult for the controller 110 to calculate the visibility according to the sensing result. Therefore, the path length of the blue laser needs to be higher than a predetermined value. In one 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 can calculate the shading rate according to the sensing result generated from the light sensor 130, so as to convert the shading rate into visibility, where the shading rate represents the degree that light is not allowed to pass through. The higher the occlusion rate, the lower the visibility. For example, if the path of the blue laser light 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 shading rate of blue laser will be improved high. The controller 110 determines that the visibility is low based on the high occlusion rate.

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 can calculate the shading rate according to the sensing result and a reference value pre-stored in the controller 110 . The formula for calculating the shading rate is shown in the following formula (1):

where S is the shading rate, IR is the luminous intensity representing the reference value and IM is the luminous intensity representing the sensing result.

In order to prevent the light source or dirt from the outside from affecting the sensing result of the blue light laser, so that the controller 110 can calculate an inaccurate shading rate, the controller 110 can dynamically adjust the reference value according to the change of the environment, so as to correct the reference value based on the external factors. The shadowing rate calculated by the sensing result of the influence. The reference value needs to be updated when the blue light laser sensing result is not affected by external factors. In one embodiment, when the ambient humidity is low, the sensing result representing the blue light is less likely to be affected by fog. Therefore, the controller 110 can update the aforementioned reference value according to the ambient humidity being lower than a humidity threshold. In another embodiment, when the ambient brightness is low, the sensing result representing the blue light is less likely to be affected by the external light source. Therefore, the controller 110 can update the aforementioned reference value according to the ambient brightness being lower than a brightness threshold.

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, wherein the path length P1 of the visible 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. Referring to FIG. 3A , the controller 110 determines that there is no light source that affects the sensing result of the blue light laser according to the ambient brightness sensed by the light sensor 130 , and determines the ambient humidity around the visibility meter 10 according to the ambient humidity sensed by the hygrometer 140 . After the ambient humidity is low, the controller 110 may configure the light transmitter 120 to transmit blue laser light (or visible light laser light) B and configure the light sensor 130 to receive blue light laser light B. After the light sensor 130 generates the light intensity I1 representing the sensing result in response to the received blue light B, the controller 110 can update the reference value IR 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 shading rate and the visibility corresponding to the shading rate according to the updated reference value (ie, the 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 occurs 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 light B laser. Next, the controller 110 can calculate the shading rate according to the sensing result (ie, the light intensity I2 ) and the updated reference value (ie, the light intensity I1 ), as shown in the following formula (2):

where S is the shading rate, I1 is the light intensity representing the reference value and I2 is the light intensity representing the sensing result.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a fog-based visibility measurement method 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 ambient humidity is higher than a second humidity threshold. If the ambient humidity is higher than the second humidity threshold, step S402 is executed. The second humidity threshold is used as whether the controller 110 activates the light transmitter 120 (or the light sensor detector 130). If the ambient humidity is higher than the second humidity threshold, it means that fog is likely to be generated in the air, resulting in reduced visibility. Therefore, in step S402, the controller 110 enables the light transmitter 120 and the light sensor 130 to calculate the visibility when the ambient humidity is higher than the second humidity threshold. On the other hand, if the ambient 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 thereto.

In step S403, the controller 110 determines whether the ambient humidity is higher than a first humidity threshold. If the ambient 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 ambient 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 the controller 110 to update the reference value stored in the controller 110 . If the ambient humidity is lower than or equal to the first humidity threshold, it means that the sensing result of the blue light laser is less likely to be affected by the fog. Therefore, it is more suitable to update the reference value when the ambient 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 thereto. In one embodiment, the second humidity threshold is higher than the first humidity threshold, but the invention is not limited thereto.

In step S405, the controller 110 determines whether the ambient brightness is lower than the brightness threshold. If the ambient brightness is higher than or equal to the brightness threshold, step S404 is executed. If the ambient 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 When the threshold is set, the sensing result representing the blue light is less likely to be affected by the external light source. Therefore, it is more suitable to update the reference value when the ambient brightness is lower than the brightness threshold. Specifically, the controller 110 can configure the light transmitter 120 to transmit blue laser light B and configure the light sensor 130 to receive blue light laser light 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 can update the reference value IR shown in formula (1) to the light intensity I1.

After performing steps S402, S404 or 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 illuminating light of the light-emitting element at a higher frequency, the user can configure a short time period. If the user of the visibility meter 10 wants to update the color temperature of the illuminating light of the light-emitting element at a lower frequency to save the power consumption of the visibility meter 10 , the user can configure a long time period.

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

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

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

Accordingly, in this embodiment, a plurality of visibility meters 10 can be installed on the street light devices 510 , 520 and 530 respectively. Thereby, the visibility of the corresponding lighting area is measured. Therefore, the street light devices 510 , 520 and 530 of this embodiment can effectively and automatically adjust the color temperature of the illumination light according to the visibility of the corresponding illumination area.

In one embodiment, the street light device 510 , 520 or 530 does not need to have the ability to measure the visibility, and can also adjust the color temperature of the illumination light according to the change of the visibility. For example, it is assumed 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 light device 510 with the visibility meter 10 measures the visibility, the street light device 510 can transmit a message including the visibility to the street light device 520 . The street light 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 can configure a color temperature corresponding to the visibility It is transmitted to the street light device 520 . The street light 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 light device 70 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The street light 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 light device 70 may be coupled to an external power supply device 750, and the power supply device 750 may be, for example, commercial power. The color temperature control module 710 is coupled to the AC-to-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 provides the AC power signals PS1 and PS2 to the first driver 721 and the second driver 722 respectively, and provides the AC power signal PS3 to convert the AC to DC device 740. The AC-to-DC converter 740 converts the AC power signal PS3 into the DC power signal PS4 and provides the DC power signal PS4 to the color temperature control module 710 .

Compared with illumination light with high color temperature (eg, sunlight with a color temperature of 5000K), lighting light with a low color temperature (eg, 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 illuminating light emitted by the light emitting module 730, so that the illuminating 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 for driving the first light-emitting unit 731 is inversely proportional to the visibility, and the driving current value DI2 for driving 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 reduced 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 improved visibility.

The wireless transceiver 712 transmits and receives signals wirelessly. The wireless transceiver 712 may also perform operations such as low noise amplifying (LNA), impedance matching, frequency mixing, up-conversion, filtering, amplification, and the like. The wireless transceiver 712 supports ZigBee, long range (LoRa), Bluetooth (Bluetooth) or low-power wide-area network (low-power wide-area network, LPWA) and other communication protocols, 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 one embodiment, the controller 110 may transmit the information including the visibility to the external electronic device through the wireless transceiver 712 . In another embodiment, the controller 110 of the street light device 70 may 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. color temperature.

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of a street light device 80 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The difference between the street light device 80 and the street light device 70 shown in the previous embodiment is that the color temperature control module 810 of the street light device 80 does not include the visibility meter 10 . The color temperature control module 810 of the street light 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 may 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 . Next, the controller 811 may 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 shown in the previous embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a street light device according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the operation method can be the street light device 70 shown in FIG. 7 or the The street light device 80 shown in FIG. 8 is implemented. In this embodiment, the street light device 70 having the visibility meter 10 is used as a 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 main control street light device. If the street light device is the main control street light device, then go to step S902. If the street light device is not the main control 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 main control street light device and then execute step S902. The controller 811 of the street light device 80 can determine that the street light device 80 is not the main control 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 an external electronic device (eg, the street light device 70 ) through the wireless transceiver 812 . The controller 811 can adjust the color temperature of the street light device 80 according to the relevant information.

In step S902, the controller 110 of the street light 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 ambient humidity. The controller 110 can 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. If the visibility is higher than the visibility threshold, the visibility is good. 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 below or equal to the visibility threshold represents The visibility is poor. 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 information about the visibility and ambient 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 about visibility and ambient humidity is successfully transmitted. If the transmission of the relevant information is successful, the process proceeds to step S911. In step S911 , the controller 110 transmits the information related to the visibility or the color temperature configuration corresponding to the visibility to the external electronic device (eg, the street light device 80 ) through the wireless transceiver 712 .

If the transmission of the relevant information fails, go to step S908. In step S908 , the controller 110 retransmits the relevant information of visibility and ambient 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, go to step S910. If the number of retransmissions is lower than or equal to the retransmission threshold, go to step S908. In step S910, the controller 110 stores the failure message of the transmission of the information related to the visibility and the ambient humidity in the external storage medium, and then proceeds to step S911.

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

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a street light device according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the operation method can be performed by the street light device 70 shown in FIG. 7 . Or the street light device 80 as shown in FIG. 8 is implemented. In step S1001, the visible light laser is transmitted through the optical 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 light device is adjusted according to the visibility.

In the above embodiment, it is mentioned that the path length P1 of the visible 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 that the path length P1 is greater than or equal to 50 cm.

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 FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B at the same time. In this embodiment, the visibility meter 10a includes, in addition to the controller 110 , the optical transmitter 120 and the optical sensor 130 mentioned in FIG. 1 , a casing 210 and at least a A light path changing element (a plurality of light path changing elements 220 are schematically shown). The optical transmitter 120 and the optical sensor 130 are disposed on the casing 210 , wherein the optical transmitter 120 is embedded on the platform 212 of the casing 210 , and the optical sensor 130 is inserted into the groove 214 of the casing 210 . The light path changing element 220 is disposed on the casing 210 to change the path of the visible light laser. Here, the outer shape of the casing 210 is embodied in a figure-8 shape, and the optical path changing elements 220 are arranged at four corners of the casing 210, wherein the optical path changing elements 220 are, for example, a reflector, a beam splitter, or a mirror, but not in this way. 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-eight shape.

Furthermore, the visibility meter 10a of this embodiment further includes two protections The cover body 230 and the anti-bird needle 240 . The protective cover 230 covers opposite side surfaces 211 and 213 of the casing 210 , wherein the optical transmitter 120 , the light sensor 130 , the casing 210 and the optical path changing element 220 are located between the protective covers 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 anti-bird needle 240 is connected by the connecting portion 242 , which can increase the structural strength of the plastic.

In addition, the visibility meter 10a of the present embodiment further includes an assembly base 250 disposed below the casing 210 for assembly with a socket (not shown) of a smart street light (not shown). Of course, the visibility meter 10a of this embodiment can also be assembled with a general street light (such as the street light device 510 , 520 or 530 in FIG. 5 ) by sticking. Since the visibility meter 10a of this embodiment can be directly installed on the socket of the smart street light, the color temperature of the street light can be adjusted in real time according to the measured visibility, and 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 in this embodiment is a figure-8 shape, and the path length is greater than or equal to 50 cm, the reliability can be effectively improved. The optical path direction of the visible light laser can be changed through the setting of the optical path changing element 220, and the volume of the visibility meter 10a can be reduced by folding the visible light transmission path, which can increase the measuring distance without making the size of the visibility meter 10a too large.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned 8-shaped path shape. In other embodiments, please refer to FIG. 12A , the path shape S1 of the visible laser B between the optical transmitter 120 and the optical sensor 130 in this embodiment is embodied as an inverted figure-8 shape; or First, 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 this embodiment is embodied as a triangle; or, please refer to FIG. 12C , the light of this embodiment The path shape S3 of the visible light laser B between the transmitter 120 and the light sensor 130 is embodied in an S shape; or, please refer to FIG. 12D , the visible light between the light transmitter 120 and the light sensor 130 in this embodiment is The path shape S4 of the laser B is embodied in a pentagram. That is to say, the above-mentioned path length of the visible laser B between the optical transmitter 120 and the optical sensor 130 is greater than or equal to 50 cm in the measurement distance on the horizontal plane, but the embodiment is not limited to this.

In the embodiment not shown, the visibility meter can also have a structure design that is placed on the street light device, as long as the path length of the visible light laser between the optical transmitter and the optical sensor is on the horizontal plane by the optical path changing element. If the measurement distance is greater than or equal to 50 cm, the detection accuracy of the visibility meter can be improved.

To sum up, the visibility meter of the present invention uses blue light laser to sense fog to calculate the visibility of the environment. Moreover, the color temperature of the illumination 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 illumination light produced by the light-emitting element can be clearly seen by the personnel. 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 light source or dirt from the outside affects the sensing result of the blue light laser, 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 light device of the present invention can automatically adjust the color temperature according to the visibility. The street light device with the ability to measure the visibility can be equipped with a wireless transceiver, and the measured visibility or the color temperature corresponding to the visibility is configured through the wireless transceiver. Send to other street lights.

No element, act, or instruction used in the detailed description of the disclosed embodiment of the invention should be construed as critical or essential to the invention unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the indefinite article "a" can include more than one item. If it is intended to refer to only one item, then the term "single" or similar language will be used. Further, as used herein, the term "any of" preceding a list of items and/or categories of items is intended to include that item and/or category of items, individually or in combination with other items and/or Other item categories "any of," "any combination of," "any of," and/or any combination of ". Furthermore, as used herein, the term "collection" is intended to Any number of items are included, including zero. Also, as used herein, the term "number" is intended to include any number, including zero.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above by the 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. Therefore, The protection scope of the present invention shall be determined by the scope of the appended patent application.

10: Visibility meter

110: Controller

120: Optical Transmitter

130: Light sensor

140: Hygrometer

Claims (14)

A visibility meter for sensing fog to judge visibility, the visibility meter comprising: a controller; an optical transmitter coupled to the controller, the optical transmitter is configured by the controller to transmit visible light laser, wherein The visible light laser is a blue light laser; and a light sensor is coupled to the controller, the light sensor receives the visible light laser to generate a sensing result, wherein the controller calculates according to the sensing result the visibility. The visibility meter of claim 1, wherein the controller calculates the visibility according to the sensing result and a reference value. The visibility meter according to claim 2, further comprising: a hygrometer, coupled to the controller, the hygrometer is used for sensing ambient humidity, wherein the controller is based on the fact that the ambient humidity is lower than the first A humidity threshold is used to update the reference value. The visibility meter of claim 2, further comprising: a hygrometer, coupled to the controller, the hygrometer is used for sensing ambient humidity, wherein the optical transmitter is based on the ambient humidity being higher than A second humidity threshold is activated to transmit the visible light laser. The visibility meter of claim 2, wherein the light sensor receives ambient light to calculate ambient brightness, and the controller updates the reference value based on the ambient brightness being below a brightness threshold. The visibility meter according to claim 1, wherein a 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 claim 6, wherein the path shape of the visible light laser between the light transmitter and the light sensor comprises a figure-8 shape, an inverted figure-8 shape, a triangle-like shape, an S-shape or Pentagram. The visibility meter according to claim 6, further comprising: a casing, the optical transmitter and the optical sensor are arranged on the casing; and at least one optical path changing element arranged on the casing on the shell to change the path of the visible laser. A fog-based visibility measurement method, comprising: transmitting visible light laser through an optical transmitter, wherein the visible light laser is blue light laser; receiving the visible light laser through a light sensor to generate a sensing result; and according to the sensing The result calculates the visibility. A street lamp device, comprising: a 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 a visibility meter, comprising: an optical transmitter configured to transmit visible light Laser, in which the visible light The laser is blue light; a light sensor is configured to receive the visible light laser to generate a sensing result; and a controller is coupled to the light transmitter, the light sensor and the driving circuit, wherein the The controller calculates the visibility according to the sensing result, and configures the driving circuit to adjust the color temperature of the light emitting module according to the visibility. The street lamp device according to claim 10, wherein the light-emitting module comprises 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 a first light-emitting unit. Two color temperatures and the first color temperature is lower than the second color temperature. The street lamp device of claim 11, wherein a first driving current value of the first lighting unit is inversely proportional to the visibility, and a second driving current value of the second lighting unit is proportional to the visibility . The street light device of claim 10, further comprising: a wireless transceiver coupled to the controller, wherein the controller transmits information including the visibility or corresponding to the visibility through the wireless transceiver The color temperature profile for visibility is communicated to external electronics. An operation method of a street lamp device, comprising: transmitting visible light laser through an optical transmitter, wherein the visible light laser is blue light laser; receiving the visible light laser through a light sensor to generate a sensing result; calculating visibility according to the sensing result ;as well as The color temperature of the street light device is adjusted according to the visibility.

Images