WO2019066433A1

WO2019066433A1 - Visible light communication receiver

Info

Publication number: WO2019066433A1
Application number: PCT/KR2018/011315
Authority: WO
Inventors: 김상옥; 김병오; 윤상호; 노승완
Original assignee: ㈜유양디앤유
Priority date: 2017-09-29
Filing date: 2018-09-21
Publication date: 2019-04-04
Also published as: KR102089301B1; KR20190038076A

Abstract

A visible light communication receiver is disclosed. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the visible light communication receiver which comprises a main body; an interference blocking unit which includes an open incident surface on which a visible light signal is incident and a hollow through-path through which the visible light signal passes, which is disposed on a side of the main body, and in which the ratio of the height of the sidewall of the hollow through-path to the effective diameter of the open incident surface is 0.75 or more; a light receiving lens which is disposed at a lower portion of the hollow through-path and concentrates the visible light signal; a light receiving element which receives the visible light signal from the light receiving lens in a lower portion of the light receiving lens and converts the visible light signal into an electrical signal; and a signal processing unit which receives the electrical signal from the light receiving element and generates output data corresponding to the electrical signal is provided.

Description

Visible light communication receiver

The present disclosure relates to a visible light communication receiver.

The description in this section merely provides background information on this disclosure and does not constitute prior art.

BACKGROUND ART A light emitting element is a member that converts electricity into light and is used in many fields requiring light. Particularly, a light emitting device of a visible light wavelength range is used in a communication field, and is useful for visible light communication (VLC, Visible Light Communication) which can simultaneously perform a communication function while maintaining the illumination function.

Visible light communication is a technology that can be utilized in various fields, and can be particularly useful for providing information to the external terminal from information of the management server in a large shopping mall or a building.

However, in an environment using visible light communication, there may exist other light sources that emit interference visible light such as sunlight or other illumination, except for a light source that transmits a target visible light signal.

In this case, the visible light communication receiver may not properly receive the target visible light signal due to the interference visible light emitted from the ambient light source, or may receive the target visible light signal weakly, and the information can not be normally decoded.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to disclose a visible light communication receiver including an interference blocking unit to block unwanted interference visible light emitted from an ambient light source, thereby increasing a reception ratio of a target visible light signal.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, Wherein the ratio of the height of the sidewall of the hollow pipe passage to the effective diameter of the entrance opening face of the hollow pipe passage is 0.75 or more, An interference block; A light receiving lens disposed at a lower portion of the hollow pipe passage and concentrating a visible light signal; A light receiving element which receives a visible light signal from a light receiving lens in a lower part of the light receiving lens and converts the visible light signal into an electric signal; And a signal processing unit receiving the electric signal from the light receiving element and generating output data corresponding to the electric signal.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the visible light communication receiver has the effect of increasing the utilization of visible light communication by blocking the interference visible light by using the interference blocking unit and increasing the reception ratio of the target visible light signal.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a visible light communication system using a visible light communication receiver according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

2 is a perspective view of a visible light communication receiver in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

3 is an exploded view illustrating a configuration of a visible light receiving portion of the visible light communication receiver shown in FIG.

4 is a front view of an interference shield according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

5 is a block diagram illustrating a visible light communication receiver according to an embodiment of the present disclosure performing visible light communication with an external terminal.

6 is a front view of a visible light communication receiver including a first hollow and a control according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

7 is a front view of a visible light communication receiver including a second hollow in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is an exemplary view illustrating a visible light communication receiver including a first connection unit and a second connection unit according to an embodiment of the present invention connected to an external terminal.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to exemplary drawings. It should be noted that, in adding reference numerals to the constituent elements of the drawings, the same constituent elements are denoted by the same reference symbols as possible even if they are shown in different drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

In describing the components of the embodiment according to the present invention, the first, second, i), ii), a), b) and the like can be used. These codes are for distinguishing the constituent elements from other constituent elements, and the nature of the constituent elements, the order and the order of the constituent elements are not limited by those codes. It is to be understood that when a component is referred to as being "comprising" or "comprising" an element in the specification, it does not exclude other elements, unless explicitly contradicted by the description, .

1 is a block diagram illustrating a visible light communication system using a visible light communication receiver 30 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, a visible light communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a visible light communication transmitter 10, a management server 20, a visible light communication receiver 30, and an external terminal 40.

The visible light communication transmitter 10 can transmit the information data received from the management server 20 to the visible light communication receiver 30 using visible light.

The visible light communication transmitter 10 receives the information data from the management server 20 and adds the coordinate value of the predetermined light emitting element corresponding to the classification code included in the information data to the information data to modulate it into an electric signal, The light emitting element is blinked to convert the modulated electrical signal into a visible light signal and transmit it.

For example, when the visible light communication transmitter 10 receives the information data on the cookie advertisement from the management server 20, the visible light communication transmitter 10 adds the coordinate value preset in the cookie corner to the information data, Lt; / RTI >

Further, the modulated digital signal can be transmitted as a visible light signal by blinking the light emitting element corresponding to the coordinate value of the cookie corner.

The management server 20 stores the inputted information data through the operation of the manager and can transmit the information data to the visible light communication transmitter 10. [ Here, the information data may include information such as advertisement information, product information, discount information, location information, authentication information, classification code, and the like.

For example, the advertisement information may be information for delivering an advertisement for a product or a store to the user, and when the user is standing in front of a product shelf, information for delivering detailed information about the product displayed on the shelf .

Also, when the user transmits the location request information to the management server 20 through the external terminal 40, the location information corresponding to the location request information may be included in the information data.

The classification code included in the information data is a code for specifying a coordinate value. For example, when the classification code is " 101 ", the coordinate value corresponds to 1 in the first layer. A coordinate value corresponding to 13 may be displayed.

The classification code may be changed according to the method set by the administrator and included in the information data.

The management server 20 can receive the request signal and the login information from the external terminal 40. [ For example, when the user transmits the request information including the shopping discount information and the login information using the ID and password to the management server 20 through the external terminal 40, The controller 20 can transmit the information such as the current shopping discount information, the reserve of the logged-in user, favorite goods, etc. to the visible light communication transmitter 10 in the information data.

The visible light communication receiver 30 may receive the visible light signal from the visible light communication transmitter 10 using the visible light and display the output data corresponding to the visible light signal on the external terminal 40.

The visible light communication receiver 30 receives the visible light signal from the visible light communication transmitter 10 and converts it into an electric signal, demodulates the converted electric signal into output data, and transmits the output signal to the external terminal 40.

For example, it is possible to receive a visible light signal from the visible light communication transmitter 10 and convert it into a digital signal, demodulate the digital signal into information data for a confectionary advertisement, and allow the user to receive a confectionary advertisement through the external terminal 40 Can be displayed.

Meanwhile, the visible light communication receiver 30 is shown as being a separate device from the external terminal 40, but is not limited thereto, and may be included in the external terminal 40 as needed.

The external terminal 40 is a communication terminal capable of transmitting and receiving various data via a communication network according to a key operation of a user. The external terminal 40 may be a tablet PC, a laptop, a personal computer (PC) A smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a mobile communication terminal.

That is, the external terminal 40 is a terminal for performing data communication with the management server 20 via a network, and includes a memory for performing data communication, a microprocessor for executing and controlling various programs, and the like And the like.

Therefore, the external terminal 40 may be a broad concept that includes both a communication computing device capable of data communication with the management server 120 via a network. On the other hand, the external terminal 40 is preferably formed with a touch screen, but is not limited thereto.

The external terminal 40 may be a module connected to the visible light communication receiver 30 and displaying information data. Also, the external terminal 40 can transmit the request signal inputted through the user's operation to the management server 20 via the network, if necessary.

Here, the external terminal 40 may transmit the request signal to the management server 20 including the login information of the user and the location (coordinate value) of the user.

2 is a perspective view of a visible light communication receiver 30 in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.

3 is an exploded view showing a configuration of a visible light receiving portion of the visible light communication receiver 30 shown in Fig.

4 is a front view of an interference blocking section 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

5 is a block diagram showing that the visible light communication receiver 30 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure performs visible light communication with the external terminal 40. [

Referring to FIG. 2, the visible light communication receiver 30 includes a main body 100 and an interference blocking unit 200.

The main body 100 may be a box-shaped case in which various members constituting the visible light communication receiver 30 can be located. The main body 100 may include a first hollow 102 or a second hollow 106 at one side of the main body 100 where the interference shield 200 is disposed. A detailed description of the first hollow 102 and the second hollow 106 will be described with reference to Figs. 6 and 7, respectively.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the interference shield 200 may block at least a portion of visible light emitted from an unwanted light source, such as the sun, other illumination, or the like. Therefore, the interference shielding unit 200 can prevent interference from undesired visible light when receiving the desired visible light, which is emitted from the visible light communication transmitter 10.

Herein, an undesired visible light is referred to as an interference visible light, and a desired visible light is referred to as a visible light signal. Further, the other illumination that emits the interfering visible light may be a third visible light communication transmitter except for the visible light communication transmitter 10 that emits visible light signals, but the term visible light communication transmitter 10 used in describing the present invention Quot; refers only to the visible light communication transmitter 10 that emits a desired visible light signal. In addition, the sun, the third visible light communication transmitter, and the like are referred to as an interference light source 50.

The interference blocking unit 200 includes an incident opening surface 210 on which a visible light signal is incident, and a hollow penetrating path 220 through which a visible light signal passes.

It is preferable that the incidence opening surface 120 has a circular shape depending on the shape of the light receiving lens 110, but it is not limited thereto and may have a polygonal shape such as a triangle, a square, or the like.

Referring to FIG. 4, depending on the shape of the incident opening 210, the amount of interference visible light incident on the incident opening 210 may vary. Therefore, there is a need for a means for quantitatively expressing the amount of interference visible light incident on the entrance surface 210 irrespective of the shape of the entrance surface 210.

For this purpose, the diameter of a circle having the same area as the area of the incident opening surface 210 is defined as the effective diameter D. Even if the area is the same, the amount of interference visible light can naturally vary if it is a circle shape or not.

However, in most cases, the incidence opening surface 210 has a shape that surrounds the periphery of the light receiving lens 110 depending on the shape of the light receiving lens 110. In addition, whether or not the visible light signal is interfered with is determined by the interference visible light, It can be interpreted that if the incident opening surface 210 has the same area, that is, if the effective diameter D is the same, the possibility that a similar amount of interference visible light is incident also increases. have.

4, assuming that the side wall height H of the hollow passages 220 is the same, the smaller the effective diameter D of the incident opening surface 210 is, The amount of interference visible light is also reduced. However, since the visible light communication receiver 30 must be able to receive the visible light signal while avoiding interference visible light, it requires a light receiving lens 110 having a certain diameter or more.

Therefore, it is unreasonable to reduce the effective diameter D to a certain value or less, and adjusting the height H of the sidewall of the hollow passageway 220 may be regarded as a practical measure for preventing the interference of the visible light signal.

Referring again to FIG. 4, the hollow passageway 220 may be a passage through which the visible light signal passing through the incident opening 210 passes. In addition, as shown in Figs. 4 (a) to 4 (c), the interference visible light can also pass through the hollow penetrating path 220 together with the visible light signal.

At this time, depending on the height H of the sidewall of the hollow passageway 220, the amount of the interference visible light incident on the light receiving lens 110 may be varied, thereby varying the degree of interference of the visible light signal.

4 (a) to 4 (c) show the relationship between the sidewall height H (H) of the hollow penetrating passages 220 when the effective diameter D of the incident opening surface 210 and the position of the interference light source 50 are fixed The amount of interference visible light incident on the light receiving lens 110 changes. At this time, it is assumed that the shape of the incident opening surface 210 is the same.

A large amount of interference visible light is incident on the light receiving lens 110 in Fig. 4 (a) in which the sidewall height H is the lowest and in Fig. 4 (b) in which the sidewall height H is higher, The incident light is incident on the light receiving lens 110. Finally, in FIG. 4 (c) in which the height of the side wall is the highest, the interference visible light is completely blocked from the light receiving lens 110.

That is, as the height H of the sidewall of the hollow passageway 220 increases, the amount of interference visible light incident on the light receiving lens 110 decreases. However, if the height H of the sidewall of the hollow passageway 220 is excessively high, the appearance of the visible light communication receiver 30 is not good.

In order for visible light to be recognized by the visible light communication receiver 30 as a visible light signal, visible light above a certain threshold value must be incident on the light receiving lens 110. [ On the other hand, in order for interference to be generated in the visible light signal, the interference visible light above the threshold value must be incident on the light receiving lens 110.

Therefore, in order to avoid the interference of the visible light signal, it is not necessary to completely block the interference visible light from the light receiving lens 110, as shown in Fig. 4 (c). That is, the height H2 of the sidewall of the hollow passageway 220 should be only a value that allows interference visible light of less than a threshold value to be incident on the light receiving lens 110.

The effective diameter D of the entrance opening surface 210 and the height H of the sidewall of the hollow passageway 220 are limited in adjusting the numerical value and that the environment in which visible light communication is mainly used, The height H of the sidewall of the hollow passageway 220 and the effective diameter D of the entrance opening surface 210 of the hollow passageway 220 are determined in consideration of the distance between the lamps serving as the light source 10, ) Is most effective at 0.75 or more, and preferably the sidewall height H of the hollow passageway 220 is at least 6 mm.

Referring to FIG. 4, the interference visible light may be reflected by the inner wall of the hollow passageway 220, and the reflected interference visible light may enter the light receiving lens 110 to interfere with the visible light signal. Therefore, it is preferable that the inner wall of the hollow passageway 220 is black that does not cause reflection of interference visible light.

Referring to FIG. 3, the visible light communication receiver 30 further includes a light receiving lens 110 and a light receiving element 120.

The light receiving lens 110 is disposed below the hollow passage 220 to concentrate a visible light signal. The visible light signal collected by the light receiving lens 110 is transmitted to the light receiving element 120.

The light receiving element 120 receives the visible light signal from the light receiving lens 110 in the lower part of the light receiving lens 110, and converts the visible light signal into an electric signal.

3, the interference shield 200 is shown as a separate member from the main body 100, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the interference shield 200 may be a member integrated with the main body 100. FIG.

5, the visible light communication receiver 30 may include a light receiving lens 110, a light receiving element 120, a signal processing unit 130, and an information output unit 140.

The signal processing unit 130 receives the electric signal from the light receiving element 120 and generates output data corresponding to the electric signal.

The information output unit 140 may receive the output data from the signal processing unit 130 and transmit the output data to the external terminal 40.

6 is a front view of a visible light communication receiver 30 including a first hollow 102 and a control unit 150 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6, the visible light communication receiver 30 may include a first hollow 102, an interference blocking unit 200, and a control unit 150.

The main body 100 may include a first hollow 102 having a threaded sleeve 104 formed on one side of the main body 100 on which the interference shield 200 is disposed.

The interference shield 200 may be fastened to the main body 100 through a threaded sleeve 104 in a screwed manner. Therefore, the height H of the sidewall of the hollow through-passageway 220 protruding outward from the first hollow 102 can be adjusted according to the degree of fastening.

6 (a), when the interference shield 200 is rotated in the clockwise direction, the interference shield 200 has a larger number of parts to be coupled to the main body 100, It can move toward the inside. Accordingly, the hollow passageway 220 of the interference block 200 can have the shortest side wall height H1.

6 (b), when the interference shielding unit 200 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction, the interference shielding unit 200 has a smaller area to be coupled to the main body 100, ). &Lt; / RTI > Accordingly, the hollow passageway 220 of the interference block 200 can have the longest side wall height H2. At this time, the height H of the sidewall of the hollow penetrating path 220 includes the height of the portion of the first hollow 102 to which the interference blocking portion 200 is not fastened.

The side wall height H of the hollow passageway 200 can be freely adjusted within the range from H1 to H2 depending on the degree to which the interference shield 200 is fastened to the main body 100. [

The control unit 150 can adjust the degree to which the first hollow 102 and the interference blocking unit 200 are fastened according to the degree of interference of the visible light signal, Can be adjusted.

A method of determining the degree of interference of the visible light signal by the controller 150 may be a method of determining that interference occurs in the visible light signal when the visible light communication receiver 30 can not read data from the visible light signal for a predetermined time The illuminance of the visible light signal incident on the light receiving lens 110 and the illuminance of the interference visible light are measured and it is determined that the interference occurs when the difference is smaller than the predetermined value.

The user of the visible light communication receiver 30 can usually take the interference shielding unit 200 up to the height H1 and take it out to the height H2 only when performing visible light communication. Alternatively, the height H of the sidewall of the hollow passageway 220 may be automatically adjusted through the control unit 150 according to the surrounding environment.

As a result, the height H of the sidewall of the hollow passageway 220 becomes excessively high, thereby hindering the appearance of the visible light communication receiver 30. Further, the height H of the sidewall of the hollow passageway 220 can be freely adjusted according to the environment in which visible light communication is performed, thereby making visible light communication more efficient.

The visible light communication receiver 30 including the first hollow cavity 102 may be provided with a hollow hollow passageway 220 to prevent reflection of interference visible light that may occur in the inner wall of the hollow hollow passageway 220. [ Preferably, at least one of the inner side wall and the inner side wall of the first cavity 102 is made of black.

7 is a front view of a visible light communication receiver 30 including a second hollow 106 in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 7, the visible light communication receiver 30 may include a second hollow 106 and an interference shield 200.

The main body 100 may include a second hollow 106 having a shape recessed inward of the main body 100 while being disposed on one side of the main body 100 in which the interference shield 200 is disposed.

At least a portion of the sidewalls of the hollow passageway 220 may be formed in the second hollow 106. That is, the height H of the sidewall of the hollow passage 220 also includes at least a portion of the height of the second hollow 106. At this time, the light receiving lens 110 may be disposed inside the recessed shape of the second hollow 106.

Accordingly, even if the height H of the sidewall of the hollow passageway 220 is the same, the portion of the interference shield 200 projecting from the main body 100 is reduced, It is possible to prevent the appearance of the visible light communication receiver 30 from being deteriorated.

8 is an exemplary view illustrating a visible light communication receiver 30 including a first connection part 142 and a second connection part 144 connected to an external terminal 40 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

8, the visible light communication receiver 30 may include an information output unit 140 and the information output unit 140 may include a first connection unit 142 and a second connection unit 144 .

The first connection unit 142 may be coupled to the other side of the main body 100 to receive output data and the second connection unit 144 may be connected to the external terminal 40 to receive output data transmitted from the first connection unit 142, To the external terminal.

The first connection part 142 may be configured to be rotatable with respect to the second connection part 144. The first connection unit 142 is rotated by the information output unit 140. The first connection unit 142 and the second connection unit 144 may include a shaft member (not shown) The first connection part 142 may be connected to the first connection part 142 and the second connection part 142 may be connected to the first connection part 142. [ The first connection part 142 may be rotated by a screw fastening method, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The first connection portion 142 is rotatable with respect to the second connection portion 144 so that the light receiving lens 110 can be directed to the visible light communication transmitter 10 that emits visible light signals, It is possible to rotate the external terminal 40 toward the user's field of view so that the user can view the information displayed on the external terminal 40.

When the light receiving lens 110 faces the visible light communication transmitter 10, the interference shield 200 faces the visible light communication transmitter 10, so that the visible light communication receiver 30 receives the visible light signal, At the same time, the user can confirm the information displayed on the external terminal 40 in a comfortable posture.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present embodiment, and various modifications and changes may be made to those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the embodiments. Therefore, the present embodiments are to be construed as illustrative rather than restrictive, and the scope of the technical idea of the present embodiment is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present embodiment should be construed according to the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents thereof should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This patent application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2017-0128102 filed on September 29, 2017, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

main body;

An interference shielding part including an incident opening surface to which a visible light signal is incident and a hollow pipe passage through which the visible light signal passes, the interference shielding part being disposed on one side of the main body, the height of the sidewall of the hollow pipe passage to the effective diameter Wherein the ratio is 0.75 or more;

A light receiving lens disposed below the hollow pipe passage and concentrating the visible light signal;

A light receiving element which receives the visible light signal from the light receiving lens at a lower portion of the light receiving lens and converts the visible light signal into an electric signal; And

A signal processing unit for receiving the electric signal from the light receiving element and generating output data corresponding to the electric signal,

And a second light source for emitting visible light.
The method according to claim 1,

Wherein the main body includes a first hollow having a threaded sleeve formed on one side of the main body in which the interference blocking portion is disposed,

The interference blocking portion is tightened to the main body through the threaded sleeve by a screw fastening method, and the height of the sidewall of the hollow pipe passage protruding outward from the first hollow can be adjusted according to the degree of fastening

And a visible light receiver.
The method according to claim 1,

Wherein the main body includes a second hollow disposed at one side of the main body in which the interference blocking portion is disposed, the second hollow having a shape recessed inwardly of the main body,

Wherein at least a portion of the sidewalls of the hollow tube passageway is formed in the second hollow

And a visible light receiver.
The method according to claim 1,

The inner wall of the hollow pipe passage is made of black

And a visible light receiver.
3. The method of claim 2,

At least one of the inner wall of the hollow pipe passage and the inner wall of the first hollow is made of black

And a visible light receiver.
The method according to claim 1,

The side wall height of the hollow pipe passage is 6 mm or more

And a visible light receiver.
The method according to claim 1,

The incidence opening surface is circular

And a visible light receiver.
3. The method of claim 2,

And a control unit for controlling the degree of coupling of the first hollow and the interference blocking unit according to the degree of interference of the visible light signal,

Further comprising: a light source for emitting visible light;
The method according to claim 1,

An information output unit for receiving the output data from the signal processing unit and transmitting the output data to an external terminal,

Further comprising: a light source for emitting visible light;
10. The method of claim 9,

Wherein the information output unit comprises:

A first connection unit coupled to the other end of the main body to receive the output data and a second connection unit coupled to the external terminal and transmitting the output data received from the first connection unit to the external terminal,

Wherein the first connection portion is configured to be rotatable with respect to the second connection portion

And a visible light receiver.