BAROMETRIC ALTIMETER AND BAROMETRIC ALTIMETER FOR INDOOR USE

• US 20150292885A1
• Filed: 11/21/2013
• Published: 10/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Asahi Kasei Kabushiki Kaisha (Asahi Kasei Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Asahi Kasei Kabushiki Kaisha (Asahi Kasei Corporation)
• Inventors: Sasaki, Hiroyuki
• Granted Patent: US 9,574,877 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 25/00 Manufacturing, calibrating, cleaning, or repairing instruments or devices referred to in the other groups of this subclass testing, calibrating or compensating compasses G01C17/38
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 5/06 by using barometric means

Abstract

There is provided a barometric altimeter to detect a floor number at the current position in especially a high-rise building, and to calculate a height or a floor number more precisely. To this end, a barometric altimeter (100) stores, at a barometric pressure/height conversion coefficient storage unit (2), a plurality of barometric pressure/height conversion coefficients that is calculated beforehand based on temperature of air indoors in accordance with a month and a date, and an arithmetic expression, for which the plurality of barometric pressure/height conversion coefficients are used. For the actual operation, while a reference barometric pressure measurement/storage unit (1) measures and stores a barometric pressure at a position as reference barometric pressure, a current barometric pressure measurement unit (3) measures the barometric pressure at the position to be measured. Then a height calculation unit (5) calculates the height through predetermined calculation using the result of processing at these blocks.

Claims

1. A barometric altimeter, comprising:

a pressure sensor;

a reference barometric pressure measurement/storage unit configured to store a barometric pressure measurement by the pressure sensor at a height as reference barometric pressure;

a barometric pressure/height conversion coefficient storage unit configured to store a plurality of barometric pressure/height conversion coefficients to convert a barometric pressure measurement by the pressure sensor to a height, and an arithmetic expression using the plurality of barometric pressure/height conversion coefficients, wherein the barometric pressure/height conversion coefficients are calculated beforehand based on temperature of air indoors in accordance with a month and a date; and

a height calculation unit configured to receive height-measurement month and date information as an input, and to calculate a height or a variation in height at an indoor measurement position on a basis of the reference barometric pressure and the arithmetic expression including a barometric pressure/height conversion coefficient corresponding to the height-measurement month and date information among the plurality of barometric pressure/height conversion coefficients and on a basis of a barometric pressure measurement by the pressure sensor at the indoor measurement position.

2. The barometric altimeter according to claim 1, further comprising an indoor determination unit configured to detect whether the pressure sensor is present indoors.

3. The barometric altimeter according to claim 2, wherein the indoor determination unit detects whether the pressure sensor is present indoors or not based on a radio signal having different signal strength between indoors and outdoors.

4. The barometric altimeter according to claim 3, wherein the radio signal is a WiFi signal or a GPS signal.

5. The barometric altimeter according to claim 1, further comprising a barometric pressure/height conversion coefficient calculation unit configured to calculate the barometric pressure/height conversion coefficients based on temperature of air indoors to be input, wherein

the barometric pressure/height conversion coefficient calculation unit calculates the barometric pressure/height conversion coefficients based on temperature of air indoors and molecular weight or humidity of air indoors.

6. The barometric altimeter according to claim 1, further comprising:

a barometric pressure/height conversion coefficient calculation unit configured to calculate the barometric pressure/height conversion coefficients based on temperature of air indoors to be input; and

a humidity sensor configured to measure humidity indoors, wherein

the barometric pressure/height conversion coefficient calculation unit calculates the barometric pressure/height conversion coefficients based on temperature of air indoors and humidity indoors measured by the humidity sensor.

7. The barometric altimeter according to claim 5, further comprising a temperature sensor configured to measure temperature of air indoors, wherein

the barometric pressure/height conversion coefficient calculation unit calculates the barometric pressure/height conversion coefficients based on measurements by the temperature sensor.

8. The barometric altimeter according to claim 1, wherein

the barometric pressure/height conversion coefficients are set in accordance with four seasons, and

a season when a height is measured is input as the height-measurement month and date information.

9. A barometric altimeter for indoor use, comprising:

a height-measurement month and date information input unit configured to receive height-measurement month and date information as an input; and

an indoor height information output unit configured to output a value of height indoors or a variation in the height indoors based on the height-measurement month and date information.

10. The barometric altimeter for indoor use according to claim 9, further comprising a display configured to display the value of height indoors or a variation in the height indoors.

11. The barometric altimeter for indoor use according to claim 9, wherein the height-measurement month and date information is information on seasons.

12. The barometric altimeter for indoor use according to claim 9, further comprising a calendar, wherein the height-measurement month and date information input unit acquires the height-measurement month and date information from the calendar.