WO2021047878A1 - Effective operation of presence sensors having overlapping sensing regions - Google Patents

Effective operation of presence sensors having overlapping sensing regions Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2021047878A1
WO2021047878A1 PCT/EP2020/073383 EP2020073383W WO2021047878A1 WO 2021047878 A1 WO2021047878 A1 WO 2021047878A1 EP 2020073383 W EP2020073383 W EP 2020073383W WO 2021047878 A1 WO2021047878 A1 WO 2021047878A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
sensors
sensor
detection
overlapping
presence sensors
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PCT/EP2020/073383
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French (fr)
Inventor
Matthias Wendt
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Signify Holding B.V.
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Publication of WO2021047878A1 publication Critical patent/WO2021047878A1/en

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
    • H05B47/00—Circuit arrangements for operating light sources in general, i.e. where the type of light source is not relevant
    • H05B47/10—Controlling the light source
    • H05B47/105—Controlling the light source in response to determined parameters
    • H05B47/115—Controlling the light source in response to determined parameters by determining the presence or movement of objects or living beings
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02B—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
    • Y02B20/00—Energy efficient lighting technologies, e.g. halogen lamps or gas discharge lamps
    • Y02B20/40—Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Definitions

  • the invention generally relates to presence sensors for detecting the presence and/or motion of persons and/or other objects. More specifically, the invention is related to a system including at least two presence sensors, each being configured to detect a presence and/or a motion of an object in different segments of a sensing region, wherein the sensing regions of the at least two presence sensors comprise overlapping segments. Moreover, the invention is related to a method for operating the at least two presence sensors of the system.
  • presence sensors are used which detect the presence and/or motions of persons and other objects in a room.
  • the detection signals of such detector can used for switching and/or dimming luminaires.
  • luminaires can be switched on or their brightness can be increased when the presence or motion of a person is detected in an area of a room and the luminaires can be switched off or their brightness can be reduced when the presence or motion of a person is no longer detected.
  • the sensors may be coupled via a wired or wireless communication network to a control unit, which receives the sensor signals and controls the luminaires based on the sensor signals.
  • the sensors may similarly be coupled to a control unit which may control certain devices on the basis of the received sensor signals.
  • Modem presence sensors have a large widening sensing region with a relative large opening angle.
  • the sensing region may include several segments and, in each segment, the presence and/or motion of an object can be detected separately.
  • the sensors are arranged such that their sensing region partly overlap in some segments of the sensing region of reach sensor. If the sensors are mounted on the ceiling of a room facing downwards to the floor, for example, the overlap of the widening sensing areas ensures that there are no gaps between the sensing areas from the floor up a certain height.
  • all these sensors indicate the detection of the presence and/or motion to the control unit by sending corresponding control messages via the network.
  • the invention suggests a system including at least two presence sensors, each being configured to detect a presence and/or a motion of an object in different segments of its sensing region, wherein the sensing region of each of the at least two presence sensors comprises at least one overlapping segment which overlaps with a segment of the sensing region of another one of the at least two presence sensors.
  • a first of the least two presence sensors is configured to send a detection notification via a communication network to a receiver in response to the detection of a presence and/or a motion of an object in the overlapping segment of the first presence sensor
  • a second of the at least two presence sensors is configured to selectively deactivate the overlapping segment of its sensing region and/or not to send a detection notification to the receiver via the communication network in response to the detection of a presence and/or a motion of an object in the overlapping segment of the sensing region of the second presence sensor alone.
  • the receiver is generally only notified about the detection of the presence and/or motion of an object in the overlapping segments of the sensing regions of the first and second of the at least two presence sensors by the first presence sensor.
  • a redundant detection notification about the detection of the presence and/or motion of the same object in the overlapping segments of the presence sensors’ sensing regions by the second presence sensor is avoided because the second of the at least two presence sensors selectively deactivates the overlapping segment of its sensing region so that the presence and/or motion of an object in this segment is not detected by this sensor and/or the second of the at least two presence sensor does not send a detection notification to the receiver via the communication network in response to the detection of a presence and/or motion of an object in the overlapping segment of its sensing region alone.
  • the second of the at least two presence sensors is configured to send a detection notification to the receiver via the communication network in response to the detection of a presence and/or a motion of an object in the overlapping segment of the sensing region of the second presence sensor if the second presence sensor does not determine within a predetermined time period of the detection that the first of the at least two presence sensors sends a detection notification to the communication network.
  • a fallback solution is provided which ensures that the receiver is notified about the detection of the presence and/or motion of the object in the overlapping segment of the sensing region of the presence sensor in case the first of the at least two sensors does not transmit a detection notification, e.g. due to a failure.
  • the sensing region of the second of the at least two presence sensors comprises at least one segment not overlapping with a segment of the sensing region of the first of the at least two presence sensors and the second of the at least two presence sensors is configured to send a detection notification to the receiver via the communication network in response to the detection of a presence and/or motion of an object in said at least one segment.
  • the transmission of detection notifications by the second of the at least two presence sensors is only blocked (or delayed in the aforementioned embodiment) with respect to segment of the sensing region of this presence sensor, which overlaps with a segment of the sensing region of the first of the at least two presence sensors.
  • the second of the at least two presence sensors transmits detection notifications in response to a detection of the presence and/or motion of an object alone, i.e. in the conventional manner.
  • One embodiment of the invention includes that the overlapping segment of the sensing region of the second of the at least two presence sensor is manually preconfigured in the second of the at least two presence sensors.
  • a planner may manually determine the overlapping segment of the sensing region of the at least two presence sensors and may manually configure the second of the at least two presence sensors not to transmit detection notifications in response to detections of the presence and/or motion of objects in this segment as described above.
  • a further embodiment of the invention includes that the system further comprises a configuration unit configured to determine the overlapping segment of the first and second of the at least two presence sensors by determining segments of the sensing regions of the at least two presence sensors in which the at least two presence sensors essentially simultaneously detect the presence and/or motion of an object. It is an advantage of this embodiment that the overlapping segment of the sensing regions of the at least two presence sensors is determined automatically by the configuration unit.
  • the configuration unit may particularly be included in one of the at least two presence sensors or in a control unit connected to the at least two presence sensors via the communication network.
  • the configuration unit may determine the overlapping segment of the sensing regions of the at least two presence sensor in the normal operation of the system including the sensors. In a further implementation, the configuration unit may determine the overlapping segments of the first and second sensing regions of the at least two presence sensors in a dedicated learning phase. In the learning phase, a robot may be moving in the sensing regions of the at least two presence sensors. Thus, the configuration unit can determine the overlapping segments of the first and second of the at least two presence sensors by determining segments of the sensing regions of the at least two presence sensors in which the at least two presence sensors essentially simultaneously detect the presence and/or motion of the robot.
  • each of the at least two presence sensors comprises a camera having a field-of-view including the sensing region of the respective sensor and the system further includes a configuration unit configured to determine the overlapping segments of the sensing regions of the at least two presence sensors on the basis of images acquired by means of the cameras.
  • the images acquired by means of the cameras are portioned into image segments corresponding to the segments of the sensing regions of the at least two presence sensors and the configuration unit is configured to determine the overlapping segments of the sensing regions of the at least two presence sensors on the basis of image segments overlapping upon having overlaid the images acquired by the cameras over each other using an image registration procedure.
  • the receiver receiving the detection notification of the first of the at least two presence sensors may comprise a control unit configured to control at least one controlled device on the basis of the detection notification received from the first or second of the at least two presence sensors.
  • the controlled device may particularly comprise a luminaire.
  • the luminaire may be switched on, or the brightness of the luminaire may be increased on the basis of the detection notification, when an object, such as a person, is detected by means of the first (or second) of the at least two presence sensors.
  • the communication network may be a wireless communication network.
  • the wireless communication may be configured in accordance with a suitable known network specification, such as, for example the Zigbee specification.
  • the invention suggests a method for operating at least two presence sensors, each being configured to detect a presence and/or a motion of an object in different segments of its sensing region, wherein the sensing region of each of the at least two presence sensors comprises at least one overlapping segment which overlaps with a segment of the sensing region of another one of the at least two presence sensors.
  • the method comprises (i) a first of the least two presence sensors sending a detection notification via a communication network to a receiver in response to the detection of a presence and/or a motion of an object in the overlapping segment of the first presence sensor, and (ii) a second of the at least two presence sensors selectively deactivates the overlapping segment of its sensing region and/or not sending a detection notification to the receiver via the communication network in response to the detection of a presence and/or a motion of an object in the overlapping segment of the sensing region of the second presence sensor alone.
  • heating system of claim 1 and the method of claim 13 have similar and/or identical preferred embodiments, in particular, as defined in the dependent claims.
  • Fig. 1 schematically and exemplarily shows components of a system including presence and/or motion sensors with overlapping sensing regions
  • Fig. 2 schematically and exemplarily illustrates overlapping sensing regions of two presence and/or motion sensors.
  • Fig. 1 schematically and exemplarily shows components of a system including presence motion sensors la, b with overlapping sensing regions 2a, 2b.
  • two sensors la, b are shown by way of example.
  • the system may likewise include more than two sensors la, b with overlapping sensing regions 2a, b.
  • the system may additionally comprise further presence and/or motions sensors having sensing regions which do not overlap with the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b (such further presence and/or motion sensors are not shown in the figure).
  • the sensors la, b are connected to a control unit 3 via a communication network 8.
  • the communication network 8 may be a wireless network, which may be configured in accordance with the Bluetooth or Zigbee standard, for example. However, the communication network 8 may likewise be a wired network with a suitable configuration.
  • the control unit 3 is coupled to one or more controlled devices 4, 5, which are controlled by the control unit 3 based on detection signals received from the presence and/or motion sensors la, b.
  • the controlled devices 4, 5 are luminaires arranged in the vicinity of the sensors la, b such that the luminaires illuminate a region including the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b.
  • the control unit 3 may control the luminaires 4 to change their operating state on the basis of detection signals of the sensors la, b.
  • the control unit 3 may switch the luminaires on and off or control a dimming level of the luminaires based on these detection signals.
  • the control unit 3 may switch the luminaires on or increase their brightness if the sensors la, b detect the presence and/or motion of a person or another object. If the sensors la, b no longer detect the presence and/or motion of a person and/or another object, the control unit 3 may switch the luminaires off or reduce their brightness.
  • the sensors la, b may be configured as presence sensors which are able to detect the presence of persons and/or other objects independent of their motion.
  • the sensors la, b may include passive infrared sensors, which are sensitive to the heat radiation of the persons, for example.
  • the sensors la, b may be configured as motion sensors which are able to detect motion of an object in their sensing regions 2a, b and, thus, also detect the presence of an object in the sensing regions 2a, b when it is moving.
  • the sensors la, b may include microwave or ultrasound sensors, for example, which can be configured as known to the person skilled in the art.
  • each of the sensors la, b has a widening sensing region 2a, b, which corresponds to the field-of-view of the respective sensor la, b and which is directed in a certain direction.
  • the direction of the sensing region 2a, b is particularly understood as the direction of the widening of the sensing region 2a, b.
  • the sensing region 2a, b is essentially rotation-symmetrical with respect to an axis, and, in this case, the direction of the sensing region 2a, b corresponds to a direction along this axis away from the sensor la, b.
  • the sensors la, b are preferably mounted in a plane, which is also referred to as mounting plane herein.
  • the sensors la, b are employed in a lighting system in which luminaires are controlled based on the sensor signals as described above, the sensors la, b may be mounted on the ceiling of the room, for example, which also corresponds to the mounting plane in this embodiment.
  • the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b may be directed essentially perpendicular to the mounting plane and essentially parallel to each other.
  • the sensing regions 2a, b may particularly be directed downward to the floor of the room.
  • each of the sensors la, b comprises several segments, in which the sensor la, b can detect the presence and/or motion of persons and/or other objects separately.
  • each detection event can be assigned to one or more specific segments of the sensing region 2a, b and the sensor la, b, can determine individual segments in which the presence and/or motion of a person or another object is detected.
  • each sensor la, b may comprise a plurality of separate sensor elements, which are sometimes also referred as sensor pixels, and to each segment of the overall sensing region 2a, b of these sensor la, b one sensor element may be assigned which has a sensing region corresponding to the segment.
  • the corresponding message preferably also specifies the segment of the sensing region 2a, b of the sensor la, b in which the presence and/or motion of the object is detected.
  • Fig. 2 schematically and exemplarily shows sections of overlapping sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b in one embodiment.
  • the sensors la, b are mounted in a ceiling of a room - which, thus, corresponds to the mounting plane of the sensor la, b - and the sensing region 2a, b of each of the sensors la, b is directed in a downward direction towards the floor of the room.
  • the sensing region 2a, b of each of the sensors la, b is directed in a downward direction towards the floor of the room.
  • the sensing region 2a, b of each of the sensors la, b is divided into a number of segments.
  • the segments of the sensing region 2a of the sensor la are denoted with capital letters as A-M and the segments of the sensing region 2b of the sensor lb are denoted with small letters i-t.
  • A-M capital letters
  • i-t small letters
  • each of the sensors la, b When the presence and/or motion of an object in the overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b is detected by each of the sensors la, b, each of the sensors la, b would conventionally send a message indicating the detection to the control unit 3 via the communication network 8. However, this would lead to a high and unnecessary network load. As a result, the remaining bandwidth available in the communication network 8 for sending other messages, such as control commands transmitted by the control unit 3, would be significantly reduced, or the network 8 may even get overloaded due to the unnecessary redundant messages sent by the sensors la, b.
  • each of the overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b is assigned to one of the sensors la, b and, in the normal operation of the system, only this sensor la, b - which is also referred to as the responsible sensor la, b for the segment herein below - indicates the detection of the presence and/or motion of an object in the respective segment to the control unit 3.
  • the responsible sensor la, b for the segment herein below - indicates the detection of the presence and/or motion of an object in the respective segment to the control unit 3.
  • all overlapping segments are assigned to the sensor la.
  • different overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b may also be assigned to different sensors 2a, b.
  • the other sensor lb to which the respective segment has not been assigned and which is also referred as sensor lb, which is silent with respect to the respective segment, may be able to detect the presence and/or motion of an object in the respective segment in one embodiment. However, this sensor lb remains silent upon the detection of the presence and/or motion of an object in the segment in the normal operation of the system. This means that the sensor lb does not notify the control unit 3 about the detection in the normal operation.
  • the silent sensor lb with respect to an overlapping segment may selectively deactivate the respective segment, e.g. by deactivating the sensor element or pixel having the segment as its individual sensing region.
  • this sensor lb is not capable of detecting the presence and/or motion of objects in the respective segment in this embodiment.
  • other segments of the sensing region 2b of this sensor lb are preferably still activated so that the presence and/or motion of objects can be detected by the sensor lb in these segments.
  • the sensor lb may monitor the communication network 8 upon having detected the presence and/or motion of an object in the overlapping segment. In so doing, the sensor lb may check whether the sensor la responsible for the segment indicates the detection of the presence and/or motion of the object in the segment within a time interval starting with the detection of the presence and/or motion of the object in the sensor lb to which the segment is not assigned.
  • this sensor lb determines that the other sensor la transmits a message indicating the detection of the presence and/or motion of the object within the time interval, it remains silent, i.e. it does not transmit a further message indicating the detection of the presence and/or motion of the object to the control unit. However, if the sensor lb does not receive any message indicating the detection of the presence and/or motion of the object in the time interval, it transmits such a message to the control unit 3 itself.
  • a fallback solution is provided which ensures that the control unit 3 is notified about the detection of the presence and/or motion of the object in the overlapping segment in case the sensor la to which the segment is assigned does not transmit a corresponding indication to the control unit 3, e.g. due to a failure.
  • the responsible sensor la can operate in the conventional way. This means that the responsible sensor la sends a message notifying the control unit 3 about a detection in response to each detection of the presence and/or motion of an object in the responsible sensor la.
  • the sensor lb which is not responsible for a certain segment is preferably configured accordingly. In this configuration, it is specified that the sensor lb does not send a notification in response to the detection of the presence and/or motion of an object in the respective segment alone. Further, it may be specified that the respective segment is deactivated or activated.
  • the segment may further be specified that the sensor 2b reports the detection of the presence and/or motion of an object in the respective segment to the control unit 3, if it does not receive a corresponding notification about the detection of the presence and/or motion of an object in the respective segment from the sensor la within a time interval as described above.
  • Fig. 2 With respect to the assignment of overlapping segment to the sensor la, it depends on the position of an object which segments of the sensing regions 2a, b overlap such that the object is simultaneously detected therein. In the configuration illustrated in Fig. 2, it particularly depends on the distance of the object from the mounting plane of the sensors la, b. This is due to the fact that different segments overlap in different distances from the mounting plane of the sensors la, b. In Fig.
  • the upper body part 201 of a person is schematically shown and it is apparent that in the region of the person’s waist (approximately corresponding to table height), the presence and/or motion of the person is simultaneously detected in the segments A and o, B and p, C and q, D and r, E and s as well as F and t. In the shoulder region of the person, the presence and/or motion of the person is simultaneously detected in the segments A and s as well as B and t.
  • the assignment of the overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b to the responsible sensor la is preferably carried out by a planner on the basis of the known geometry and relative arrangement of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b and their segments, and the planner pre-configures the sensors la, b.
  • the planner particularly provides configuration information for the sensor lb, which is not responsible for the overlapping segments.
  • the configuration information specifies the configuration of this sensor lb as the silent sensor with respect to the overlapping segments, as described above.
  • the configuration information may be provided to the sensor lb in any suitable manner.
  • the configuration information may be transmitted to the sensor lb via the communication network 8 and, upon having received the configuration information, the sensor lb may set its configuration according to the information.
  • the overlapping segments may be determined by the planner with respect to a certain distance from the mounting plane of the sensors la, b.
  • the planner determines segments of the sensing regions of the sensors la, b which overlap such that an object with a certain distance from the mounting plane of the sensors la, b is simultaneously detected in the segments.
  • the planner may select the responsible sensor la, b for each of the pair of segments and provides configuration information to the other sensor la, b as described above.
  • the distance from the mounting plane in which the planner determines the overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b may particularly be selected such that it corresponds to about 20 centimeters above table height (i.e. about 1 meter measured from the floor of the room). This ensures that the presence and/or motion of sitting persons are correctly detected by the sensors la, b.
  • the responsible sensor la, b for the overlapping segments can be selected arbitrarily among the sensors la, b monitoring the overlapping segments.
  • the sensor la, b is selected as the responsible sensor which has a larger overall sensing region la, b and/or which senses typical motions for a longer period of time. For instance, if one sensor la, b is overlooking a corridor or a typical movement path in a room, this sensor la, b may be selected as the responsible sensor rather than an adjacent sensor.
  • the overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b may be automatically determined in a learning procedure.
  • a configuration unit 6 monitors the detection signals provided by the sensors la, b when one or more objects move in an area including the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b, such as for example a room in which the sensors la, b are operated, and determines in which segments of their sensing areas 2a, b, the sensors la, b essentially simultaneously detect the presence and/or motion of an object.
  • the configuration unit 6 may check whether the second sensor la, b reports the detection of the presence and/or motion of an object in one segment of its sensing region 2a, b within a certain small time interval around the time of receipt of the notification from the first sensor la, b. If this is the case, the configuration unit 6 determines that the relevant segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b are overlapping.
  • the configuration unit 6 selects one of the sensors la, b as the responsible sensor la, b and sends configuration information to the other sensor la, b for configuring this sensor as the silent sensor with respect to the overlapping segments, as described above.
  • the configuration unit 6 further checks whether the notifications about detection events which are received from two (or more) sensors within the aforementioned time interval originate from neighboring sensors la, b having overlapping sensing regions 2a, b. If also this check is affirmative, the configuration unit 6 proceeds with the selection of the responsible sensor la, b for one or more overlapping segments of their sensing regions la, b among the sensors la,b having reported the detection and with configuring the other sensor(s) la,b as described above.
  • the configuration unit 6 may be included in the control unit 3 and may be notified about the detection events in the segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b by means of corresponding messages sent via the communication network 8 and received in the control unit 3.
  • Each message may include an identification of the sensor la, b from which the message originates, and on the basis of the identification and further on the basis of information stored in the configuration unit 6, which identifies neighboring sensors la, b using their identification, the configuration unit 6 may carry out the aforementioned optional check whether detection notifications received from different sensors la, b within the time interval originate from neighboring sensors la,b.
  • the configuration unit 6 may be included in a further central device.
  • the central device may be arranged in the vicinity of the sensors la, b and may be coupled to the communication network 8. This makes it possible that the central device and the configuration unit 6 included therein receive the detection notifications of the sensors la, b via the communication network 8.
  • the central device may likewise be a remote device to which the detection notifications are forwarded via a further network, such as the Internet, e.g. by the control unit 3.
  • the configuration unit 6 is included in one of the sensors la, b of each group of neighboring sensors having overlapping sensing regions 2a, b.
  • the configuration unit 6 is internally notified about detection events occurring in the sensor la, b including the configuration unit 6 and it receives the notification about detection events occurring in other sensors la, b via the communication network 8 in order to determine overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the group of neighboring sensors.
  • the configuration unit 6 may carry out the optional check whether a detection notification received from another sensor la, b originates from a neighboring sensor included in the group on the basis of the sensor identifications included in the notification messages and further on the basis of information stored in the configuration unit 6, which identifies the neighboring sensors la, b included in the group.
  • the configuration unit 6 may evaluate the received signal strength of the radio signals carrying the messages and may determine that a notification message originates from a neighboring sensor la,b only in case the received signal strength is higher than a threshold, which may be pre-configured in the configuration unit and which is preferably selected larger than the received signal strength of radio signals received from other sensors la,b which are further away and which do not belong to the group of sensors 1.
  • the learning procedure may be carried out during the normal operation of the system.
  • the configuration unit 6 continuously determines overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b as described above while the area including the sensors la, b is populated in the normal manner by the objects moving in this area in the everyday operation of the system. For instance, if the sensors la, b are mounted in a room, such as an office, the configuration unit 6 continuously determines overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b while persons move in the room in the normal manner.
  • the overlap of the segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b are determined with respect to the position of objects which the objects, e.g. persons in a room, occupy in the normal operation of the system.
  • the configuration unit 6 it will usually take some time until the configuration unit 6 has determined all or a larger number of overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b and during this time the sensors la, b transmit redundant detection notifications in response to the detection of the presence and/or motion of objects in the overlapping segments by the sensors la, b (on the basis of these notifications, the configuration unit 6 determines the overlapping segments).
  • the learning procedure is carried out in a dedicated learning phase.
  • the area including the sensors la, b e.g. a room such as an office
  • the objects moving in the area in the normal operation of the system e.g. persons moving in the room.
  • a robot may move in the area.
  • the robot may particularly move in the area along a defined path that is planned such that the robot traverses essentially all overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b during the learning phase. Further, the robot may move in the area in a defined distance from the mounting plane of the sensors la, b.
  • this distance may correspond to a certain level over table height, particularly to about 20 centimeters above table height, when the sensors are mounted on a ceiling of a room.
  • the robot may be configured as a robot vehicle or a drone, for example. Further, the robot is configured such that its presence and/or motion can be detected by the sensors la, b. Thus, if the sensors la, b include heat sensors, for example, the robot may include a heat source detectable by the sensors la, b.
  • the no redundant detection notifications are transmitted by the sensors la, b during the normal operation of the system following the learning phase in response to the detection of the presence and/or motion of objects in the overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors determined during the learning phase.
  • the sensors la, b are equipped with cameras 7a, b and the configuration unit 6 determines the overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b on the basis of images acquired using the cameras.
  • the camera 7a, b of each sensor la, b is arranged such that its field-of-view is aligned with the sensing region 2a, b of the respective sensor la, b.
  • the field- of-view of the camera 7a, b comprises the sensing region 2a, b of the sensor la, b.
  • the field-of-view and, thus, the images acquired by the camera 7a, b are partitioned into image segments which correspond to the segments of the sensing region 2a, b of the sensor la, b.
  • This partitioning can be effected on the basis of the known relative arrangement between the field-of-view of the camera 7a, b and the sensing region 2a, b of the sensor la, b.
  • the camera 7a, b of each sensor la, b acquires an image when the sensors la, b are arranged at their intended mounting position.
  • the acquired camera images are transmitted to the configuration unit 6.
  • the configuration unit 6 then carries out a registration procedure in order to (partly) overlay the images over each other such that the same objects shown in each of the images are arranged at the same position.
  • the image registration procedure may be carried as known to the person skilled in the art.
  • the configuration determines the overlapping image segments and further determines the overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b on the basis of the overlapping image segments.
  • the overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b are those segments which correspond to the overlapping image segments.
  • a single unit or device may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims.
  • the mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

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Abstract

The invention relates to a system including presence sensors (1a, 1b), having sensing regions (2a; 2b) comprising an overlapping segment. A first of the sensor (1a; 1b) is configured to send a detection notification in response to the detection of a presence and/or a motion of an object in the overlapping segment of the first sensor (1a; 1b), and a second of the sensors (1a; 1b) is configured to selectively deactivate the overlapping segment of its sensing region (2a, 2b) and/or not to send a detection notification in response to the detection of a presence and/or a motion of an object in the overlapping segment of the sensing region of the second sensor (1a; 1b) alone. Moreover, the invention relates to a method for operating the presence sensors (1a, 1b). For instance, the presence sensors (1a; 1b) may be used for controlling luminaires.

Description

Effective operation of presence sensors having overlapping sensing regions
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention generally relates to presence sensors for detecting the presence and/or motion of persons and/or other objects. More specifically, the invention is related to a system including at least two presence sensors, each being configured to detect a presence and/or a motion of an object in different segments of a sensing region, wherein the sensing regions of the at least two presence sensors comprise overlapping segments. Moreover, the invention is related to a method for operating the at least two presence sensors of the system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In lighting systems and in other applications, presence sensors are used which detect the presence and/or motions of persons and other objects in a room. In lighting systems, the detection signals of such detector can used for switching and/or dimming luminaires. In particular, luminaires can be switched on or their brightness can be increased when the presence or motion of a person is detected in an area of a room and the luminaires can be switched off or their brightness can be reduced when the presence or motion of a person is no longer detected. For this purpose, the sensors may be coupled via a wired or wireless communication network to a control unit, which receives the sensor signals and controls the luminaires based on the sensor signals. In other applications, the sensors may similarly be coupled to a control unit which may control certain devices on the basis of the received sensor signals.
Modem presence sensors have a large widening sensing region with a relative large opening angle. The sensing region may include several segments and, in each segment, the presence and/or motion of an object can be detected separately. Typically, the sensors are arranged such that their sensing region partly overlap in some segments of the sensing region of reach sensor. If the sensors are mounted on the ceiling of a room facing downwards to the floor, for example, the overlap of the widening sensing areas ensures that there are no gaps between the sensing areas from the floor up a certain height. However, when an object is positioned and/or moves in overlapping segments of two or more sensors, all these sensors indicate the detection of the presence and/or motion to the control unit by sending corresponding control messages via the network. These lead to a high load in the network so that the remaining bandwidth available in the network is significantly reduced, or the network may even become overloaded.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to reduce the load imposed on a communication network by presence and/or motion sensor having overlapping sensing regions for indicating the detection of the presence and/or motion of objects in these sensing region.
In accordance with one aspect, the invention suggests a system including at least two presence sensors, each being configured to detect a presence and/or a motion of an object in different segments of its sensing region, wherein the sensing region of each of the at least two presence sensors comprises at least one overlapping segment which overlaps with a segment of the sensing region of another one of the at least two presence sensors. A first of the least two presence sensors is configured to send a detection notification via a communication network to a receiver in response to the detection of a presence and/or a motion of an object in the overlapping segment of the first presence sensor, and a second of the at least two presence sensors is configured to selectively deactivate the overlapping segment of its sensing region and/or not to send a detection notification to the receiver via the communication network in response to the detection of a presence and/or a motion of an object in the overlapping segment of the sensing region of the second presence sensor alone.
Thus, in the system accordance with the invention, the receiver is generally only notified about the detection of the presence and/or motion of an object in the overlapping segments of the sensing regions of the first and second of the at least two presence sensors by the first presence sensor. A redundant detection notification about the detection of the presence and/or motion of the same object in the overlapping segments of the presence sensors’ sensing regions by the second presence sensor is avoided because the second of the at least two presence sensors selectively deactivates the overlapping segment of its sensing region so that the presence and/or motion of an object in this segment is not detected by this sensor and/or the second of the at least two presence sensor does not send a detection notification to the receiver via the communication network in response to the detection of a presence and/or motion of an object in the overlapping segment of its sensing region alone. Hereby, the load imposed to the communication network is reduced. In one embodiment of the invention, the second of the at least two presence sensors is configured to send a detection notification to the receiver via the communication network in response to the detection of a presence and/or a motion of an object in the overlapping segment of the sensing region of the second presence sensor if the second presence sensor does not determine within a predetermined time period of the detection that the first of the at least two presence sensors sends a detection notification to the communication network. In this embodiment a fallback solution is provided which ensures that the receiver is notified about the detection of the presence and/or motion of the object in the overlapping segment of the sensing region of the presence sensor in case the first of the at least two sensors does not transmit a detection notification, e.g. due to a failure.
In further embodiment of the invention, the sensing region of the second of the at least two presence sensors comprises at least one segment not overlapping with a segment of the sensing region of the first of the at least two presence sensors and the second of the at least two presence sensors is configured to send a detection notification to the receiver via the communication network in response to the detection of a presence and/or motion of an object in said at least one segment. Thus, the transmission of detection notifications by the second of the at least two presence sensors is only blocked (or delayed in the aforementioned embodiment) with respect to segment of the sensing region of this presence sensor, which overlaps with a segment of the sensing region of the first of the at least two presence sensors. With respect to other segments, the second of the at least two presence sensors transmits detection notifications in response to a detection of the presence and/or motion of an object alone, i.e. in the conventional manner.
One embodiment of the invention includes that the overlapping segment of the sensing region of the second of the at least two presence sensor is manually preconfigured in the second of the at least two presence sensors. In this embodiment, a planner may manually determine the overlapping segment of the sensing region of the at least two presence sensors and may manually configure the second of the at least two presence sensors not to transmit detection notifications in response to detections of the presence and/or motion of objects in this segment as described above.
A further embodiment of the invention includes that the system further comprises a configuration unit configured to determine the overlapping segment of the first and second of the at least two presence sensors by determining segments of the sensing regions of the at least two presence sensors in which the at least two presence sensors essentially simultaneously detect the presence and/or motion of an object. It is an advantage of this embodiment that the overlapping segment of the sensing regions of the at least two presence sensors is determined automatically by the configuration unit. The configuration unit may particularly be included in one of the at least two presence sensors or in a control unit connected to the at least two presence sensors via the communication network.
In a related implementation, the configuration unit may determine the overlapping segment of the sensing regions of the at least two presence sensor in the normal operation of the system including the sensors. In a further implementation, the configuration unit may determine the overlapping segments of the first and second sensing regions of the at least two presence sensors in a dedicated learning phase. In the learning phase, a robot may be moving in the sensing regions of the at least two presence sensors. Thus, the configuration unit can determine the overlapping segments of the first and second of the at least two presence sensors by determining segments of the sensing regions of the at least two presence sensors in which the at least two presence sensors essentially simultaneously detect the presence and/or motion of the robot.
In a further embodiment comprising an automatic determination of the overlapping sensor segment of the sensing regions of the at least two presence sensors, each of the at least two presence sensors comprises a camera having a field-of-view including the sensing region of the respective sensor and the system further includes a configuration unit configured to determine the overlapping segments of the sensing regions of the at least two presence sensors on the basis of images acquired by means of the cameras. In a related embodiment of the invention, the images acquired by means of the cameras are portioned into image segments corresponding to the segments of the sensing regions of the at least two presence sensors and the configuration unit is configured to determine the overlapping segments of the sensing regions of the at least two presence sensors on the basis of image segments overlapping upon having overlaid the images acquired by the cameras over each other using an image registration procedure.
The receiver receiving the detection notification of the first of the at least two presence sensors (or - in the fallback solution explained above - of the second of the at least two presence sensors) may comprise a control unit configured to control at least one controlled device on the basis of the detection notification received from the first or second of the at least two presence sensors. The controlled device may particularly comprise a luminaire. For instance, the luminaire may be switched on, or the brightness of the luminaire may be increased on the basis of the detection notification, when an object, such as a person, is detected by means of the first (or second) of the at least two presence sensors. The communication network may be a wireless communication network. The wireless communication may be configured in accordance with a suitable known network specification, such as, for example the Zigbee specification.
In accordance with a further aspect, the invention suggests a method for operating at least two presence sensors, each being configured to detect a presence and/or a motion of an object in different segments of its sensing region, wherein the sensing region of each of the at least two presence sensors comprises at least one overlapping segment which overlaps with a segment of the sensing region of another one of the at least two presence sensors. The method comprises (i) a first of the least two presence sensors sending a detection notification via a communication network to a receiver in response to the detection of a presence and/or a motion of an object in the overlapping segment of the first presence sensor, and (ii) a second of the at least two presence sensors selectively deactivates the overlapping segment of its sensing region and/or not sending a detection notification to the receiver via the communication network in response to the detection of a presence and/or a motion of an object in the overlapping segment of the sensing region of the second presence sensor alone.
It shall be understood that the heating system of claim 1 and the method of claim 13 have similar and/or identical preferred embodiments, in particular, as defined in the dependent claims.
It shall be understood that a preferred embodiment of the present invention can also be any combination of the dependent claims or above embodiments with the respective independent claim.
These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the following drawings:
Fig. 1 schematically and exemplarily shows components of a system including presence and/or motion sensors with overlapping sensing regions, and
Fig. 2 schematically and exemplarily illustrates overlapping sensing regions of two presence and/or motion sensors.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
Fig. 1 schematically and exemplarily shows components of a system including presence motion sensors la, b with overlapping sensing regions 2a, 2b. In the figure, two sensors la, b are shown by way of example. However, the system may likewise include more than two sensors la, b with overlapping sensing regions 2a, b. Moreover, the system may additionally comprise further presence and/or motions sensors having sensing regions which do not overlap with the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b (such further presence and/or motion sensors are not shown in the figure). The sensors la, b, are connected to a control unit 3 via a communication network 8. The communication network 8 may be a wireless network, which may be configured in accordance with the Bluetooth or Zigbee standard, for example. However, the communication network 8 may likewise be a wired network with a suitable configuration. The control unit 3 is coupled to one or more controlled devices 4, 5, which are controlled by the control unit 3 based on detection signals received from the presence and/or motion sensors la, b.
In one embodiment, the controlled devices 4, 5 are luminaires arranged in the vicinity of the sensors la, b such that the luminaires illuminate a region including the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b. The control unit 3 may control the luminaires 4 to change their operating state on the basis of detection signals of the sensors la, b. In particular, the control unit 3 may switch the luminaires on and off or control a dimming level of the luminaires based on these detection signals. In this respect, the control unit 3 may switch the luminaires on or increase their brightness if the sensors la, b detect the presence and/or motion of a person or another object. If the sensors la, b no longer detect the presence and/or motion of a person and/or another object, the control unit 3 may switch the luminaires off or reduce their brightness.
The sensors la, b, may be configured as presence sensors which are able to detect the presence of persons and/or other objects independent of their motion. For this purpose, the sensors la, b may include passive infrared sensors, which are sensitive to the heat radiation of the persons, for example. As an alternative, the sensors la, b may be configured as motion sensors which are able to detect motion of an object in their sensing regions 2a, b and, thus, also detect the presence of an object in the sensing regions 2a, b when it is moving. In this implementation, the sensors la, b may include microwave or ultrasound sensors, for example, which can be configured as known to the person skilled in the art. Such sensors emit microwave radiation or ultrasound waves and detect motion of objects in their sensing regions based on the phase shift of the microwave radiation or ultrasound waves reflected by the objects and received in the sensors. Further, each of the sensors la, b has a widening sensing region 2a, b, which corresponds to the field-of-view of the respective sensor la, b and which is directed in a certain direction. The direction of the sensing region 2a, b is particularly understood as the direction of the widening of the sensing region 2a, b. Typically, the sensing region 2a, b is essentially rotation-symmetrical with respect to an axis, and, in this case, the direction of the sensing region 2a, b corresponds to a direction along this axis away from the sensor la, b.
The sensors la, b are preferably mounted in a plane, which is also referred to as mounting plane herein. In case, the sensors la, b are employed in a lighting system in which luminaires are controlled based on the sensor signals as described above, the sensors la, b may be mounted on the ceiling of the room, for example, which also corresponds to the mounting plane in this embodiment. The sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b may be directed essentially perpendicular to the mounting plane and essentially parallel to each other. In case the mounting plane corresponds to the ceiling of a room, the sensing regions 2a, b may particularly be directed downward to the floor of the room.
Moreover, the sensing region 2a, b of each of the sensors la, b, comprises several segments, in which the sensor la, b can detect the presence and/or motion of persons and/or other objects separately. Thus, each detection event can be assigned to one or more specific segments of the sensing region 2a, b and the sensor la, b, can determine individual segments in which the presence and/or motion of a person or another object is detected. In order to achieve a sensing region 2a, b having several segments, each sensor la, b may comprise a plurality of separate sensor elements, which are sometimes also referred as sensor pixels, and to each segment of the overall sensing region 2a, b of these sensor la, b one sensor element may be assigned which has a sensing region corresponding to the segment. When a sensor la, b reports the detection of the presence and/or motion of an object to the control unit 3, the corresponding message preferably also specifies the segment of the sensing region 2a, b of the sensor la, b in which the presence and/or motion of the object is detected.
Fig. 2 schematically and exemplarily shows sections of overlapping sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b in one embodiment. In this embodiment, the sensors la, b are mounted in a ceiling of a room - which, thus, corresponds to the mounting plane of the sensor la, b - and the sensing region 2a, b of each of the sensors la, b is directed in a downward direction towards the floor of the room. In the illustrative example shown in Fig.
2, the sensing region 2a, b of each of the sensors la, b is divided into a number of segments. In the figure, the segments of the sensing region 2a of the sensor la are denoted with capital letters as A-M and the segments of the sensing region 2b of the sensor lb are denoted with small letters i-t. In the illustrated example, it is assumed that the segments A-F of the sensing region 2a of the sensor la and the segments o-t of the sensing region 2b of the sensor lb partly overlap.
When the presence and/or motion of an object in the overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b is detected by each of the sensors la, b, each of the sensors la, b would conventionally send a message indicating the detection to the control unit 3 via the communication network 8. However, this would lead to a high and unnecessary network load. As a result, the remaining bandwidth available in the communication network 8 for sending other messages, such as control commands transmitted by the control unit 3, would be significantly reduced, or the network 8 may even get overloaded due to the unnecessary redundant messages sent by the sensors la, b.
Therefore, each of the overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b is assigned to one of the sensors la, b and, in the normal operation of the system, only this sensor la, b - which is also referred to as the responsible sensor la, b for the segment herein below - indicates the detection of the presence and/or motion of an object in the respective segment to the control unit 3. In this respect, it is assumed in the following that all overlapping segments are assigned to the sensor la. However, it is to be understood that different overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b may also be assigned to different sensors 2a, b.
The other sensor lb, to which the respective segment has not been assigned and which is also referred as sensor lb, which is silent with respect to the respective segment, may be able to detect the presence and/or motion of an object in the respective segment in one embodiment. However, this sensor lb remains silent upon the detection of the presence and/or motion of an object in the segment in the normal operation of the system. This means that the sensor lb does not notify the control unit 3 about the detection in the normal operation. In a further embodiment, the silent sensor lb with respect to an overlapping segment, may selectively deactivate the respective segment, e.g. by deactivating the sensor element or pixel having the segment as its individual sensing region. As a consequence, this sensor lb is not capable of detecting the presence and/or motion of objects in the respective segment in this embodiment. However, other segments of the sensing region 2b of this sensor lb are preferably still activated so that the presence and/or motion of objects can be detected by the sensor lb in these segments.
If the sensor lb which is silent with respect to an overlapping segment is operated to detect the presence and/or motion of objects in the overlapping segment, i.e. if the overlapping segment is not deactivated, the sensor lb may monitor the communication network 8 upon having detected the presence and/or motion of an object in the overlapping segment. In so doing, the sensor lb may check whether the sensor la responsible for the segment indicates the detection of the presence and/or motion of the object in the segment within a time interval starting with the detection of the presence and/or motion of the object in the sensor lb to which the segment is not assigned. If this sensor lb determines that the other sensor la transmits a message indicating the detection of the presence and/or motion of the object within the time interval, it remains silent, i.e. it does not transmit a further message indicating the detection of the presence and/or motion of the object to the control unit. However, if the sensor lb does not receive any message indicating the detection of the presence and/or motion of the object in the time interval, it transmits such a message to the control unit 3 itself. Hereby, a fallback solution is provided which ensures that the control unit 3 is notified about the detection of the presence and/or motion of the object in the overlapping segment in case the sensor la to which the segment is assigned does not transmit a corresponding indication to the control unit 3, e.g. due to a failure.
In order to implement the assignment of overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b and the corresponding aforementioned operation of the sensors la, b, the responsible sensor la can operate in the conventional way. This means that the responsible sensor la sends a message notifying the control unit 3 about a detection in response to each detection of the presence and/or motion of an object in the responsible sensor la. The sensor lb which is not responsible for a certain segment is preferably configured accordingly. In this configuration, it is specified that the sensor lb does not send a notification in response to the detection of the presence and/or motion of an object in the respective segment alone. Further, it may be specified that the respective segment is deactivated or activated. If the segment is activated, it may further be specified that the sensor 2b reports the detection of the presence and/or motion of an object in the respective segment to the control unit 3, if it does not receive a corresponding notification about the detection of the presence and/or motion of an object in the respective segment from the sensor la within a time interval as described above.
With respect to the assignment of overlapping segment to the sensor la, it can be seen in Fig. 2 that it depends on the position of an object which segments of the sensing regions 2a, b overlap such that the object is simultaneously detected therein. In the configuration illustrated in Fig. 2, it particularly depends on the distance of the object from the mounting plane of the sensors la, b. This is due to the fact that different segments overlap in different distances from the mounting plane of the sensors la, b. In Fig. 2, the upper body part 201 of a person is schematically shown and it is apparent that in the region of the person’s waist (approximately corresponding to table height), the presence and/or motion of the person is simultaneously detected in the segments A and o, B and p, C and q, D and r, E and s as well as F and t. In the shoulder region of the person, the presence and/or motion of the person is simultaneously detected in the segments A and s as well as B and t.
In one embodiment, the assignment of the overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b to the responsible sensor la is preferably carried out by a planner on the basis of the known geometry and relative arrangement of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b and their segments, and the planner pre-configures the sensors la, b. In so doing, the planner particularly provides configuration information for the sensor lb, which is not responsible for the overlapping segments. The configuration information specifies the configuration of this sensor lb as the silent sensor with respect to the overlapping segments, as described above. The configuration information may be provided to the sensor lb in any suitable manner. In one embodiment, the configuration information may be transmitted to the sensor lb via the communication network 8 and, upon having received the configuration information, the sensor lb may set its configuration according to the information.
The overlapping segments may be determined by the planner with respect to a certain distance from the mounting plane of the sensors la, b. Thus, the planner determines segments of the sensing regions of the sensors la, b which overlap such that an object with a certain distance from the mounting plane of the sensors la, b is simultaneously detected in the segments. Upon having determined pairs of overlapping segments in such a way, the planner may select the responsible sensor la, b for each of the pair of segments and provides configuration information to the other sensor la, b as described above. When the detection signals of the sensors la, b are used to control luminaires in a room, such as an office, and when the mounting plane of the sensors la, b corresponds to the ceiling of the room, the distance from the mounting plane in which the planner determines the overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b may particularly be selected such that it corresponds to about 20 centimeters above table height (i.e. about 1 meter measured from the floor of the room). This ensures that the presence and/or motion of sitting persons are correctly detected by the sensors la, b.
In principle, the responsible sensor la, b for the overlapping segments can be selected arbitrarily among the sensors la, b monitoring the overlapping segments. However, in one embodiment, the sensor la, b is selected as the responsible sensor which has a larger overall sensing region la, b and/or which senses typical motions for a longer period of time. For instance, if one sensor la, b is overlooking a corridor or a typical movement path in a room, this sensor la, b may be selected as the responsible sensor rather than an adjacent sensor.
In further embodiments, the overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b may be automatically determined in a learning procedure. In the learning procedure, a configuration unit 6 monitors the detection signals provided by the sensors la, b when one or more objects move in an area including the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b, such as for example a room in which the sensors la, b are operated, and determines in which segments of their sensing areas 2a, b, the sensors la, b essentially simultaneously detect the presence and/or motion of an object.
Thus, upon having been notified that a first sensor la, b has detected the presence and/or motion of an object in a certain segment of its sensing region 2a, b, the configuration unit 6 may check whether the second sensor la, b reports the detection of the presence and/or motion of an object in one segment of its sensing region 2a, b within a certain small time interval around the time of receipt of the notification from the first sensor la, b. If this is the case, the configuration unit 6 determines that the relevant segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b are overlapping. For the overlapping segments determined in this manner, the configuration unit 6 selects one of the sensors la, b as the responsible sensor la, b and sends configuration information to the other sensor la, b for configuring this sensor as the silent sensor with respect to the overlapping segments, as described above.
If more than one object moves in the area including the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b and if the system includes further sensors not having sensing regions overlapping with the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b, the configuration unit 6 further checks whether the notifications about detection events which are received from two (or more) sensors within the aforementioned time interval originate from neighboring sensors la, b having overlapping sensing regions 2a, b. If also this check is affirmative, the configuration unit 6 proceeds with the selection of the responsible sensor la, b for one or more overlapping segments of their sensing regions la, b among the sensors la,b having reported the detection and with configuring the other sensor(s) la,b as described above. If the check is not affirmative, this means that the sensors la, b reporting the detection events have independently detected different objects. Therefore, the configuration ignores the detection events in case the check is not affirmative. In one embodiment, the configuration unit 6 may be included in the control unit 3 and may be notified about the detection events in the segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b by means of corresponding messages sent via the communication network 8 and received in the control unit 3. Each message may include an identification of the sensor la, b from which the message originates, and on the basis of the identification and further on the basis of information stored in the configuration unit 6, which identifies neighboring sensors la, b using their identification, the configuration unit 6 may carry out the aforementioned optional check whether detection notifications received from different sensors la, b within the time interval originate from neighboring sensors la,b.
As an alternative, the configuration unit 6 may be included in a further central device. The central device may be arranged in the vicinity of the sensors la, b and may be coupled to the communication network 8. This makes it possible that the central device and the configuration unit 6 included therein receive the detection notifications of the sensors la, b via the communication network 8. However, the central device may likewise be a remote device to which the detection notifications are forwarded via a further network, such as the Internet, e.g. by the control unit 3.
In a further embodiment, the configuration unit 6 is included in one of the sensors la, b of each group of neighboring sensors having overlapping sensing regions 2a, b. In this embodiment, the configuration unit 6 is internally notified about detection events occurring in the sensor la, b including the configuration unit 6 and it receives the notification about detection events occurring in other sensors la, b via the communication network 8 in order to determine overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the group of neighboring sensors. In this embodiment, the configuration unit 6 may carry out the optional check whether a detection notification received from another sensor la, b originates from a neighboring sensor included in the group on the basis of the sensor identifications included in the notification messages and further on the basis of information stored in the configuration unit 6, which identifies the neighboring sensors la, b included in the group. Alternatively, particularly if the notification messages do not include identifications of the sensors la,b transmitting these messages, the configuration unit 6 may evaluate the received signal strength of the radio signals carrying the messages and may determine that a notification message originates from a neighboring sensor la,b only in case the received signal strength is higher than a threshold, which may be pre-configured in the configuration unit and which is preferably selected larger than the received signal strength of radio signals received from other sensors la,b which are further away and which do not belong to the group of sensors 1. In one embodiment, the learning procedure may be carried out during the normal operation of the system. In this embodiment, the configuration unit 6 continuously determines overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b as described above while the area including the sensors la, b is populated in the normal manner by the objects moving in this area in the everyday operation of the system. For instance, if the sensors la, b are mounted in a room, such as an office, the configuration unit 6 continuously determines overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b while persons move in the room in the normal manner.
It is an advantage of this embodiment that the overlap of the segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b are determined with respect to the position of objects which the objects, e.g. persons in a room, occupy in the normal operation of the system. However, it will usually take some time until the configuration unit 6 has determined all or a larger number of overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b and during this time the sensors la, b transmit redundant detection notifications in response to the detection of the presence and/or motion of objects in the overlapping segments by the sensors la, b (on the basis of these notifications, the configuration unit 6 determines the overlapping segments).
In a further embodiment, the learning procedure is carried out in a dedicated learning phase. In the learning phase, the area including the sensors la, b (e.g. a room such as an office) is preferably not populated by the objects moving in the area in the normal operation of the system (e.g. persons moving in the room). Rather, a robot may move in the area. The robot may particularly move in the area along a defined path that is planned such that the robot traverses essentially all overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b during the learning phase. Further, the robot may move in the area in a defined distance from the mounting plane of the sensors la, b. For instance, this distance may correspond to a certain level over table height, particularly to about 20 centimeters above table height, when the sensors are mounted on a ceiling of a room. The robot may be configured as a robot vehicle or a drone, for example. Further, the robot is configured such that its presence and/or motion can be detected by the sensors la, b. Thus, if the sensors la, b include heat sensors, for example, the robot may include a heat source detectable by the sensors la, b.
It is an advantage of this embodiment that the no redundant detection notifications are transmitted by the sensors la, b during the normal operation of the system following the learning phase in response to the detection of the presence and/or motion of objects in the overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors determined during the learning phase.
In a further embodiment, the sensors la, b are equipped with cameras 7a, b and the configuration unit 6 determines the overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b on the basis of images acquired using the cameras.
The camera 7a, b of each sensor la, b is arranged such that its field-of-view is aligned with the sensing region 2a, b of the respective sensor la, b. This means that the field- of-view of the camera 7a, b comprises the sensing region 2a, b of the sensor la, b. Further, the field-of-view and, thus, the images acquired by the camera 7a, b are partitioned into image segments which correspond to the segments of the sensing region 2a, b of the sensor la, b. This partitioning can be effected on the basis of the known relative arrangement between the field-of-view of the camera 7a, b and the sensing region 2a, b of the sensor la, b.
In order to determine the overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b, the camera 7a, b of each sensor la, b acquires an image when the sensors la, b are arranged at their intended mounting position. The acquired camera images are transmitted to the configuration unit 6. The configuration unit 6 then carries out a registration procedure in order to (partly) overlay the images over each other such that the same objects shown in each of the images are arranged at the same position. The image registration procedure may be carried as known to the person skilled in the art. In the next step, the configuration determines the overlapping image segments and further determines the overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b on the basis of the overlapping image segments. Here, the overlapping segments of the sensing regions 2a, b of the sensors la, b are those segments which correspond to the overlapping image segments.
Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.
In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality.
A single unit or device may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.
Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.

Claims

CLAIMS:
1. System including at least two presence sensors (la, lb), each being configured to detect a presence and/or a motion of an object in different segments of its sensing region (2a, 2b), wherein the sensing region (2a; 2b) of each of the at least two presence sensors (la, lb) comprises at least one overlapping segment which overlaps with a segment of the sensing region (2a; 2b) of another one of the at least two presence sensors (la, lb), wherein a first of the least two presence sensors (la; lb) is configured to send a detection notification via a communication network (8) to a receiver (3) in response to the detection of a presence and/or a motion of an object in the overlapping segment of the first presence sensor (la; lb), wherein a second of the at least two presence sensors (la; lb) is configured to send a detection notification to the receiver (3) via the communication network (8) in response to the detection of a presence and/or a motion of the object in the overlapping segment of the sensing region of the second presence sensor (la; lb) only if the second presence sensor (la; lb) does not determine within a predetermined time period of the detection that the first of the at least two presence sensors (la, lb) sends a detection notification to via the communication network (8).
2. System as defined in claim 1, wherein the second of the at least two presence sensors (la; lb) is further configured to selectively deactivate the overlapping segment of its sensing region (2a, 2b) in response to the detection of a presence and/or a motion of an object in the overlapping segment of the sensing region of the second presence sensor (la; lb).
3. System as defined in claim 1, wherein the sensing region (2a; 2b) of the second of the at least two presence sensors (la, lb) comprises at least one segment not overlapping with a segment of the sensing region (2a; 2b) of the first of the at least two presence sensors (la, lb) and wherein the second of the at least two presence sensors (la, lb) is configured to send a detection notification to the receiver (3) via the communication network (8) in response to the detection of a presence and/or motion of an object in said at least one segment.
4. System as defined in claim 1, wherein the overlapping segment of the sensing region (2a; 2b) of the second of the at least two presence sensors (la, lb) is manually preconfigured in the second of the at least two presence sensors (la, lb).
5. System as defined in claim 1, further comprising a configuration unit (6) configured to determine the overlapping segments of the first and second of the at least two presence sensors (la, lb) by determining segments of the sensing regions (2a 2b) of the at least two presence sensors (la, lb) in which the at least two presence sensors (la, lb) essentially simultaneously detect the presence and/or motion of an object.
6. System as defined in claim 5, wherein the configuration unit (6) is included in one of the at least two presence sensors (la, lb) or in a control unit (3) connected to the at least two presence sensors (la, lb) via the communication network (8).
7. System as defined in claim 5, wherein the object is a robot moving in the sensing regions (2a, 2b) of the at least two presence sensors (la, lb).
8. System as defined in claim 1, wherein each of the at least two presence sensors (la, lb) comprises a camera (7a; 7b) having a field-of-view including the sensing region (2a; 2b) of the respective presence sensor (la, lb) and wherein the system further includes a configuration unit (6) configured to determine the overlapping segments of the sensing regions (2a, 2b) of the at least two presence sensors (la, lb) on the basis of images acquired by means of the cameras (7a, 7b).
9. System as defined in claim 8, wherein the images acquired by means of the cameras (7a, 7b) are portioned into image segments corresponding to the segments of the sensing regions (2a, 2b) of the at least two presence sensors (la, lb) and wherein the configuration unit (6) is configured to determine the overlapping segments of the sensing regions (2a, 2b) of the at least two presence sensors (la, lb) on the basis of image segments overlapping upon having overlaid the images acquired by the cameras (7a, 7b) over each other using an image registration procedure.
10. System as defined in claim 1, further comprising the receiver, wherein the receiver comprises a control unit (3) configured to control at least one controlled device (4;
5) on the basis of the detection notification received from the first or second of the at least two presence sensors (la, lb).
11. System as defined in claim 10, wherein the at least one controlled device comprises a luminaire (4; 5).
12. System as defined in claim 1, wherein the communication network (8) is a wireless communication network.
13. Method for operating at least two presence sensors (la, lb), each being configured to detect a presence and/or a motion of an object in different segments of its sensing region (2a; 2b), wherein the sensing region (2a; 2b) of each of the at least two presence sensors (la, lb) comprises at least one overlapping segment which overlaps with a segment of the sensing region (2a; 2b) of another one of the at least two presence sensors (la, lb), the method comprising: a first of the least two presence sensors (la, lb) sending a detection notification via a communication network (8) to a receiver (3) in response to the detection of a presence and/or a motion of an object in the overlapping segment of the first presence sensor (la; lb), a second of the at least two presence sensors (la, lb) sending a detection notification to the receiver (3) via the communication network (8) in response to the detection of a presence and/or a motion of the object in the overlapping segment of the sensing region (2a; 2b) of the second presence sensor (la; lb) only if the second presence sensor (la; lb) does not determine within a predetermined time period of the detection that the first of the at least two presence sensors (la, lb) sends a detection notification to via the communication network (8).
PCT/EP2020/073383 2019-09-11 2020-08-20 Effective operation of presence sensors having overlapping sensing regions WO2021047878A1 (en)

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