APPARATUS AND METHOD

• US 20170254899A1
• Filed: 02/16/2017
• Published: 09/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Fukada, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 10,209,358 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/04 Systems determining presence of a target
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/102 using transmission of pulses having some particular characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/107 using frequency agility of carrier wave
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/524 Transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/527 Extracting wanted echo signals Doppler systems G01S15/50

Abstract

A transmission unit is caused to transmit a first wave from a transmission unit that transmits waves, and a second wave. Based on a first reflected wave of the first wave and a second reflected wave of the second wave, it is determined whether there is an object outside of the apparatus.

Claims

1. An apparatus having a sensor including a transmission unit for transmitting a wave and a reception unit for receiving a wave from outside, the apparatus comprising:

a transmission control unit configured to cause the transmission unit to transmit a first wave and a second wave whose wavelength is shorter than the first wave; and

a determination unit configured to determine whether there is an object outside of the apparatus, based on a first reflected wave received by the reception unit for the first wave and a second reflected wave received by the reception unit for the second wave.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission control unit causes the transmission unit to alternatingly transmit the first wave and the second wave.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second wave is for detecting an object at a detection distance shorter than a detection distance by the first wave;

and

further comprising;

a generation unit configured to generate signal for determining detection of the object based on a reception signal output from the reception unit in accordance with each of the first wave and the second wave, and

wherein the generation unit generates the signal for determining detection of the object from the reception signal output from the reception unit and a reference signal in accordance with each of the first wave and the second wave.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the reference signal includes a signal indicating a first threshold that corresponds to the first wave and a signal indicating a second threshold that corresponds to the second wave.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the first threshold is higher than the second threshold.

6. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the reference signal includes a first mask signal for masking the reception signal during a first interval that corresponds to the first wave and a second mask signal for masking the reception signal during a second interval that corresponds to the second wave.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the first interval is longer than the second interval.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a number of pulses of the first wave is greater than a number of pulses of the second wave.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a frequency of the first wave is greater than a frequency of the second wave.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a drive strength for a clock driver for causing the transmission unit to transmit the first wave is greater than a drive strength for the clock driver for causing the transmission unit to transmit the second wave.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the sensor is an ultrasonic transducer.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is an image forming apparatus for forming images.

13. A method executed in an apparatus having a sensor including a transmission unit for transmitting a wave and a reception unit for receiving a wave from outside, the method comprising:

causing the transmission unit to transmit a first wave and a second wave whose wavelength is shorter than the first wave;

and

determining whether there is an object outside of the apparatus, based on a first reflected wave received for the first wave and a second reflected wave received for the second wave.