Room occupancy sensing apparatus and method
First Claim
1. A method of sensing occupancy in a room, wherein the method comprises the following steps:
- delivering a series of light pulses via one or more waveguides to one or more output nodes located in the room, the scene in the room reflecting the light pulses emitted by the one or more output nodes to give for each emitted light pulse a reflected light pulse,detecting each reflected light pulses as a waveform,monitoring for a difference between (a) the shape of the detected waveform of a first reflected light pulse reflected from the pulse emitted from an output node and (b) the shape of the detected waveform of a second reflected light pulse from the same output node, and performing such a monitoring step in respect of each of the output nodes, anddetecting movement in the room by means of detecting such a difference between the shapes of the detected waveforms from a same output node.
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Abstract
A building comprising a plurality of rooms (10) includes a room occupancy sensing apparatus. A light source (20) emits a series of light pulses (22), a plurality of waveguides deliver light from the light source to output nodes (60) located in the rooms, and a signal capture unit (30) receives output signals resulting from light reflected by objects in the rooms. The apparatus detects movement, of for example a person (40), in a room and ascertains the room concerned by virtue of (i) detecting a difference between the shape of the waveform of the signal (24 i) received at the signal capture unit (30) in response to a first emitted light pulse and the shape of the waveform of the signal (24m) received at the signal capture unit in response to a second emitted light pulse and (ii) relating said reflected light pulses to the appropriate output node and therefore to the room (10) associated with that output node (60).
63 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of sensing occupancy in a room, wherein the method comprises the following steps:
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delivering a series of light pulses via one or more waveguides to one or more output nodes located in the room, the scene in the room reflecting the light pulses emitted by the one or more output nodes to give for each emitted light pulse a reflected light pulse, detecting each reflected light pulses as a waveform, monitoring for a difference between (a) the shape of the detected waveform of a first reflected light pulse reflected from the pulse emitted from an output node and (b) the shape of the detected waveform of a second reflected light pulse from the same output node, and performing such a monitoring step in respect of each of the output nodes, and detecting movement in the room by means of detecting such a difference between the shapes of the detected waveforms from a same output node. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A room occupancy sensing apparatus comprising:
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at least one light source for emitting a series of light pulses, two or more output nodes for locating in each of a plurality of rooms, a plurality of waveguides for delivering light from the light source to the two or more output nodes, at least one signal capture unit arranged to receive output signals resulting from light reflected by objects in the plurality of rooms, and a signal processor, wherein the apparatus is arranged so as to be able to distinguish between output signals resulting from a light pulse delivered to an output node associated with a room and reflected by an object in the room, and output signals resulting from a light pulse delivered to any output node associated with any different room and reflected by an object in that different room, and the signal processor configured to compare the shape of the waveform of a signal received at the at least one signal capture unit in response to a first light pulse emitted by an output node with the shape of the waveform of a signal received at the at least one signal capture unit in response to a second light pulse emitted by that output node, whereby the apparatus is able both to detect movement in a room and to ascertain the particular room in which movement has occurred by virtue of (i) detecting a difference between the shapes of the waveforms of the signals received by the at least one signal capture unit resulting from reflected light pulses from such first and second light pulses emitted by a same output node and (ii) relating said reflected light pulses to the room concerned. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification