Device for monitoring spatial areas
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A monitoring device that produces a light curtain for monitoring spatial areas (2), comprising:
- a combination of at least one emitter (3) for emitting radiation pulses into an area and at least one receiver (4) for receiving emitted radiation as reflected from an object within the area,the emitted radiation pulses forming a reflectorless light curtain,said at least one receiver having a semiconductor sensor (7) with a plurality of light-sensitive elements (6) with short-time integration for mapping a predefined spatial area (2) within the area into which the radiation pulses are emitted;
wherein,the spatial area is defined by a predefined distance value range,said at least one emitter and said at least one receiver are located on a same side of the spatial area,the at least one receiver (4) is connected to an evaluation unit, the evaluation unit comprising a runtime determining unit (9) connected to said plurality of light-sensitive elements (6),said runtime determining unit (9)generates a distance image of the object based on a measuring runtime (T) of the radiation pulses emitted from the emitter (3) to the object and reflected back to the elements (6) of the sensor (7) and calculating a distance value of the object from the receiver (4), anddetermines whether the monitored object is one of i) in front of the spatial area (2) and ii) behind the spatial area (2) based on a comparison of the calculated distance value to the predefined distance value range,wherein said emitter and said receiver are reflectorless and the device is free of any reflectors.
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Abstract
A monitoring device (1) for spatial areas (2) includes emitters (3) that emit radiation pulses that are reflected by objects located within the spatial areas (2) toward receivers (4). The receivers (4) are connected to a run time determining unit (9) with whose aid a distance image of an object within the spatial areas (2) can be generated. A selection unit (10) evaluates the distance images and generates a detection signal at an output (11) when predetermined distance values occur in the distance images.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. A monitoring device that produces a light curtain for monitoring spatial areas (2), comprising:
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a combination of at least one emitter (3) for emitting radiation pulses into an area and at least one receiver (4) for receiving emitted radiation as reflected from an object within the area, the emitted radiation pulses forming a reflectorless light curtain, said at least one receiver having a semiconductor sensor (7) with a plurality of light-sensitive elements (6) with short-time integration for mapping a predefined spatial area (2) within the area into which the radiation pulses are emitted;
wherein,the spatial area is defined by a predefined distance value range, said at least one emitter and said at least one receiver are located on a same side of the spatial area, the at least one receiver (4) is connected to an evaluation unit, the evaluation unit comprising a runtime determining unit (9) connected to said plurality of light-sensitive elements (6), said runtime determining unit (9) generates a distance image of the object based on a measuring runtime (T) of the radiation pulses emitted from the emitter (3) to the object and reflected back to the elements (6) of the sensor (7) and calculating a distance value of the object from the receiver (4), and determines whether the monitored object is one of i) in front of the spatial area (2) and ii) behind the spatial area (2) based on a comparison of the calculated distance value to the predefined distance value range, wherein said emitter and said receiver are reflectorless and the device is free of any reflectors. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13)
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10. A monitoring device that produces a light curtain for monitoring a spatial area (2), comprising:
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an infrared wavelength radiation pulse emitter (3) configured to emit infrared wavelength radiation pulses to form a reflectorless light curtain covering a predefined spatial area, the spatial area being defined by a predefined distance value range; a receiver (4) configured to receive the radiation pulses as reflected back from an object, the emitter and receiver being on a same side of the spatial area, the receiver comprising an optical system (5) that maps the received reflected radiation pulses onto pixels (6) of a sensor (7) so that the pixels'"'"' exposure to the received reflected radiation pulses charges each pixel to measure a quantity of radiation energy acquired by each pixel; and a runtime determining unit (9) connected to the pixels and configured i) to calculate a distance value of the object from the receiver, and ii) using the distance value, to determine whether the object is outside the spatial area, wherein, generating the distance value comprises emitting a first radiation pulse from the emitter and activating the pixels for a first time interval (t1) to measure a first exposure to the pixels of the first radiation pulse, and emitting a second radiation pulse from the emitter and activating the pixels for a second time interval (t2) to measure a second exposure to the pixels of the second radiation pulse, the first and second time intervals being of different durations, the first and second exposure measurements at each pixel determining a runtime (T) of the radiation pulses from the emitter to the object and back to each pixel, and using the determining runtime in calculating the distance value of the object from the receiver, the distance value being used to determine whether the object is outside the spatial area, the calculated distance value being outside the predefined distance value range corresponding to the spatial area indicating the object being outside the spatial area, wherein the emitter and the receiver are reflectorless and the device is free of any reflectors. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A monitoring device that produces a light curtain for monitoring a spatial area (2), comprising:
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a radiation pulse emitter (3) configured to form a reflectorless light curtain covering a predefined spatial area by emitting radiation pulses; a receiver (4) configured to receive radiation pulses as reflected back from an object, the emitter and receiver being on a same side of the spatial area, the receiver comprising an optical system (5) that maps the received reflected radiation pulses onto pixels (6) of a sensor (7); and a runtime determining unit (9) connected to the pixels and configured to determine that a first object is outside the spatial area upon receiving radiation pulses reflected from the first object located outside the spatial area, and issue a detection signal upon receiving radiation pulses reflected from objects located inside the spatial area, wherein, the runtime determining unit calculates a distance value of the first object from the receiver, and uses the calculated distance value to determine that the first object is outside the spatial area, calculating the distance value comprises emitting first and second radiation pulses, of different time durations, from the emitter and measuring corresponding respective radiation exposures at one pixel of the pixels to determining a runtime (1) of the first and second radiation pulses from the emitter to the first object and back to the one pixel, and using the determined runtime to calculate the distance value of the first object from the receiver, the calculated distance value being outside a predefined distance value range corresponding to the spatial area indicating the first object being outside the spatial area, wherein the emitter and the receiver are reflectorless and the device is free of any reflectors.
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Specification