System and method for monitoring the presence of a person in a monitored area

• US 9,111,434 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2015
• Issued: 08/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Hohl, Fritz, Boehnke, Ralf
• Primary Examiner(s): Sung, Christine
• Application Number:
  US14/621,479
• Publication Number:
  US 20150161869A1
• Time in Patent Office: 186 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 2005/0077 Imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/10 using electric radiation detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0415 detecting absence of activity per se
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0469 Presence detectors to detect unsafe condition, e.g. infrared sensor, microphone G08B21/0476 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/22 responsive to presence or absence of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 3/10 using electric transmission; using electromagnetic transmission
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 5/36 using visible light sources

Abstract

A system and a corresponding method for monitoring the presence of a person in a monitored area, includes a passive radiometer that detects radiation emitted from a predetermined monitored area in a predetermined frequency range between 1 GHz and 100 THz and that generates a radiation signal from the detected radiation, a radiation signal processor that processes the radiation signal and that generates, based on the processed radiation signal, a monitoring signal indicating the presence or absence of a person in the monitored area, and an application controller that controls an application based on the monitoring signal.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring the presence of a subject in a monitored area, comprising:

a passive radiometric sensor that detects radiation emitted from a subject in a predetermined monitored area in a predetermined frequency range between 1 GHz and 100 THz and that generates a radiation signal from the detected radiation,

a radiation signal processor that processes said radiation signal to determine whether the subject is present in the predetermined monitored area and that generates, based on said processed radiation signal, a monitoring signal indicating the presence or absence of the subject in said monitored area, and

an application controller that controls an application to provide a predetermined response when said monitoring signal indicates that the subject is not present,

wherein said radiation signal processor generates said monitoring signal based on a comparison between said radiation signal, generated from an amount of radiation detected over a predetermined time, and a threshold determined at least during installation of the system.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the passive radiometric sensor comprises a line or an array of radiometers that detect radiation and that have a form of a line or array.

3. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a mechanic radiometer movement unit that effects a relative movement of the passive radiometric sensor with respect to the monitored area for scanning said monitored area.

4. The system according to claim 1, further comprising an electronic beam positioner that effects an electronic movement of a sensitivity profile of said passive radiometric sensor to scan said monitored area.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein said radiation signal processor is configured to generate said monitoring signal based on a comparison between said radiation signal, generated from radiation detected over a predetermined time, and a threshold signal.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein said threshold signals indicate a predetermined amount of radiation a radiometer detects over time.

7. The system according to claim 5, wherein said threshold signal is a number of radiometer units and/or pixels, at which radiation emitted from the subject within said monitored area is detected.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the radiation signal processor determines whether the subject is a human or an animal based on the number of radiometer units and/or pixels detected.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein said radiation signal processor is configured to generate said monitoring signal from a plurality of radiation signals.

10. The system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an application interface to which external devices carrying out said application can be coupled and through which said external devices can be controlled by said application controller.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein said passive radiometric sensor is integrated within a luminaire or lamp, within a light bulb.

12. The system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined monitored area is a bed.

13. The system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined response includes sending a wireless notification to a mobile device.

14. The system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined response includes an audible or visual notification.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the audible notification includes ringing of a bell and the visual notification includes turning on of a lamp.

16. The system according to claim 1, wherein the lamp is turned off when the subject is in the monitored area for a predetermined amount of time.

17. A method for causing a system to monitor presence of a subject in a monitored area, comprising:

detecting, with a passive radiometric sensor, radiation emitted from a subject in a predetermined monitored area in a predetermined frequency range between 1 GHz and 100 THz;

generating a radiation signal from the detected radiation;

processing, with a radiation processor, said radiation signal to determine whether the subject is present in the predetermined monitored area and generating, based on a comparison between said radiation signal, generated from an amount of radiation detected over a predetermined time, and threshold signals, a monitoring signal indicating the presence or absence of the subject in the monitored area, the threshold signals being determined at least during installation of the system, and

controlling, with an application processor, an application to provide a predetermined response when said monitoring signal indicates that the subject is not present in the monitored area.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with computer-readable instructions thereon that, when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method according to claim 17.