Humanoid detector and method that senses infrared radiation and subject size

• US 6,137,407 A
• Filed: 11/16/1999
• Issued: 10/24/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Nomura, Hitoshi, Akagawa, Keiichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Hofsass, Jeffery A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Previl, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US09/441,389
• Time in Patent Office: 343 Days
• Field of Search: 340/552, 340/541, 340/565, 340/500, 340/825.31, 340/583, 340/573, 340/573.1, 340/573.4, 340/567, 340/522, 340/555, 340/556, 340/557
• US Class Current: 340/552
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19 using infrared-radiation detection systems G08B13/194 takes precedence

Abstract

A humanoid detector for detecting a humanoid in a surveillance area that substantially reduces false intruder indications by having two types of sensors that provide two types of information of the surveillance area, is disclosed. A first sensor detects light images and determines a size of a moving object within the surveillance area and compares the size of detected moving objects to a threshold size to reduce intruder detection caused by small animals. A second sensor detects infrared radiation from the surveillance area provides a detected infrared radiation signal. A decision circuit receives the sensor signals and provides a decision signal that indicates a human intruder in the surveillance area when, simultaneously, the size of the moving body is greater than that of a small animal and the detected infrared radiation indicates that the moving body is a heat producing body. In order to compensate for differences in the sensors and to account for different physical properties in the surveillance area, the decision circuit holds high an intruder signal for a predetermined time from each sensor. Thus, if a signal occurs that indicates a moving body is larger than a small animal, that signal is held for a predetermined time interval and if a signal indicates a sufficient increase in the infrared radiation occurs while the moving body signal is being held, then the decision circuit determines that a human intruder has entered the surveillance area. The decision signal may be used to trigger an audible or visible indication.

Claims

1. A humanoid detector, comprising:

(a) a moving body detection sensor that detects a moving body in a first surveillance area and provides a moving body signal when a detected moving body exceeds a predetermined size;

(b) an infrared sensor that detects infrared radiation within a second surveillance area and provides an infrared detection signal when detected infrared radiation levels exceed a predetermined value; and

(c) a human body detection circuit that receives the moving body signal and the infrared detection signal, and provides a decision signal indicating that a humanoid body is in the first or second surveillance areas when the moving body detection sensor provides the moving body signal and the infrared sensor provides the infrared detection signal simultaneously.

2. The humanoid detector of claim 1, wherein the detected infrared radiation is an absolute level of infrared radiation that is radiating from the second surveillance area.

3. The humanoid detector of claim 1, wherein the detected infrared radiation is a change in the level of infrared radiation that is radiating from the second surveillance area.

4. The humanoid detector of claim 1, wherein the moving body detection sensor is a visible light image sensor that detects a moving body by detecting changes in luminescence level of pixel elements of the visible light image sensor.

5. The humanoid detector of claim 1 wherein the first and second surveillance areas are substantially coincident.

6. The humanoid detector of claim 1, wherein the human body detection circuit receives the infrared detection signal and holds the infrared detection signal for a predetermined time interval and the human body detection circuit provides the decision signal indicative of a humanoid in the first or second surveillance areas when the human body detection circuit receives the moving body signal while the human body detection circuit is holding the infrared detection signal.

7. The humanoid detector of claim 1 wherein the human body detection circuit receives the moving body signal and holds the moving body signal for a predetermined time interval and the human body detection circuit provides the decision signal indicative of a humanoid in the first or second surveillance areas when the human body detection circuit receives the infrared detection signal while the human body detection circuit is holding the moving body signal.

8. The humanoid detector of claim 1, wherein the infrared sensor is a pyroelectric infrared sensor.

9. The humanoid detector of claim 1, further comprising an intruder indicator that receives the decision signal and generates an intruder indication when the decision signal is indicative of a humanoid in the first or second surveillance areas.

10. A human body detection method, comprising the steps:

(a) detecting a moving subject using a visible light image of a surveillance area;

(b) detecting infrared radiation in the surveillance area; and

(c) determining a size of the mov ing subject; and

(d) providing a decision signal that is indicative of a human body in the surveillance area when the size of the moving subject exceeds a predetermined size and the detected infrared radiation exceeds a predetermined value simultaneously.

11. The human body detection method of claim 10, wherein the step of providing a decision signal indicative of a human body in the surveillance area occurs when the detected infrared radiation exceeds the predetermined value within a predetermined time interval after the size of the moving body exceeds the predetermined size.

12. The human body detection method of claim 10, wherein the step of providing a decision signal indicative of a human body in the surveillance area occurs when size of the moving body exceeds the predetermined size within a predetermined time interval after the detected infrared radiation exceeds the predetermined value.

13. The human body detection method of claim 10, further comprising the step of providing an alarm noise when the decision signal indicates a human body in the surveillance area.

14. The human body detection method of claim 10 wherein the step of detecting a moving subject using a visible light image comprises converting incident light on a photodiode into an electrical signal that is amplified and provided to a difference detection circuit that determines whether a level of luminescence has changed in the surveillance area by detecting a difference in successive electrical signals.

15. The human body detection method of claim 10 wherein the step of detecting a moving subject using a visible light image comprises focusing incident light onto an array of pixels that convert the incident light into electrical signals and detecting differences in time sequenced electrical signals in a difference detection circuit and providing a first binary signal that is indicative that a luminescence level has changed more than a threshold value and a second binary signal that is indicative that the luminescence level has not change more than the threshold value.

16. The human body detection method of claim 10 wherein the step of providing a decision signal that is indicative of a human body in the surveillance area when the size of the moving subject exceeds a predetermined size and the detected infrared radiation exceeds a predetermined value simultaneously comprises holding an infrared signal high for a first predetermined time interval after the onset of detecting infrared radiation greater than the predetermined value and holding a moving body signal high for a second predetermined time interval after the onset when the size of the moving body exceeds the predetermined size and providing the decision signal indicative of a human body in the surveillance area when the infrared signal and the moving body signal are high simultaneously.

17. The human body detection method of claim 16 wherein the first predetermined time interval is substantially equal to the second predetermined time interval.

18. A humanoid detector, comprising:

(a) a first sensor that receives incident light from a surveillance area and provides a first signal indicative of motion of a subject body in the surveillance area;

(b) a second sensor that receives infrared radiation from the surveillance area and provides a second signal indicative of the infrared radiation from the surveillance area; and

(c) decision circuits that receive the first and second signals, determine whether the first and second signals exceed respective first and second threshold values and provide a decision signal that indicates that a humanoid is present in the surveillance area when the first and second signals exceed their respective first and second threshold values simultaneously.

19. The humanoid detector of claim 18, wherein the first sensor comprises a plurality of solid-state pixel elements that convert incident light into electrical signals.

20. The humanoid detector of claim 19, wherein the first sensor further comprises the plurality of pixel elements arranged in a matrix of rows and columns and further including a plurality of difference detection circuits wherein each difference detection circuits receives time sequenced pixel signals and compares pixel signals generated at a first time and a second time from a corresponding pixel element to provide a difference signal that indicates that a luminescence level has changed at the corresponding pixel.

21. The humanoid detector of claim 20, wherein the difference signal is a sequence of binary signals and a first binary signal indicates that the luminescence level of a particular pixel changed more than a predetermined threshold value and a second binary signal indicates that the luminescence level did not change more than a predetermined threshold value.

22. The humanoid detector of claim 21, wherein the decision circuits determine a size of the subject body that moved by determining a number of first binary signals in a frame of the difference signals.

23. The humanoid detector of claim 18, wherein the first threshold value is a value of a number of pixels upon which a humanoid body would be imaged by a lens that focuses incident light on an array of photodiodes in a solid-state camera element.

24. The humanoid detector of claim 18, wherein the first threshold value is a value greater than a number of pixels upon which a small animal would be imaged by a lens that focuses incident light on an array of photodiodes in a solid-state camera element.

25. The humanoid detector of claim 18, wherein the second sensor is a pyroelectric infrared sensor.

26. The humanoid detector of claim 18, wherein the second sensor is a pyroelectric infrared image sensor.

27. The humanoid detector of claim 26, wherein the pyroelectric infrared image sensor has less than 10 pixel elements therein.

28. The humanoid detector of claim 18, further comprising an alarm that receives the decision signal and provides an audible noise when the decision signal indicates a human body is located in the surveillance area.

29. A humanoid detector, comprising:

(a) a first sensor having a plurality of solid-state pixel elements that convert incident light from a surveillance area into electrical signals and including a difference detection circuit that compares time sequenced electrical signals from the pixel elements to determine if a change in luminescence level occurs at each pixel element and wherein the first sensor provides a first signal indicative of the change in luminescence level;

(b) a second sensor comprising an infrared sensor that detects infrared radiation within the surveillance area and provides a second signal that is indicative of the detected infrared radiation; and

(c) a human body detection circuit that receives the first and second signals and that uses the first signal to determine a size of a subject area within the surveillance area in which the luminescence level changed and that provides a decision signal that indicates a humanoid presence in the surveillance area when the size of the subject area exceeds a predetermined size and the second signal exceeds a predetermined value simultaneously.