Contactless button system

Abstract

We provide a non-contact button system with high sensing accuracy and low manufacturing costs. [Solution] The present invention comprises a plurality of buttons, an end TOF sensor installed at the upper or lower end of a line in which the plurality of buttons are arranged so as to face the plurality of buttons, and a control unit that selects one of the plurality of buttons using distance information of an object sensed by the ToF sensor. The non-contact button system according to the present invention has the advantages of high object recognition accuracy and low manufacturing cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a non-contact button system, and particularly to a non-contact button system provided with a distance sensor.

Background Art

[0002] In high-rise buildings such as buildings and condominiums, elevators are installed to facilitate vertical movement. It is common for users boarding an elevator to move to the destination floor or open and close the elevator door by pressing the touch buttons of the elevator on which the floor numbers are displayed with their fingers.

[0003] Conventional elevator touch buttons are of a pressing method or a capacitance method that detects changes in capacitance, but in either case, contact of a finger with the button is required. In recent years, the hygiene of public facilities has been regarded as an important issue, and particularly, methods for minimizing contact with hands where many contaminants exist have been studied. Therefore, in order to reduce the spread of infectious diseases by elevator touch buttons installed in subway stations, airports, hospitals, etc., a structure that can register the destination floor by a non-contact method and can be easily applied to already installed elevators has been proposed.

[0004] One way to realize a non-contact button system with high sensing accuracy is to use a distance sensor. However, a structure in which a distance sensor is applied to each elevator button requires all buttons to be replaced, which increases the manufacturing cost of the button system. Such an increase in manufacturing cost is particularly serious when the number of elevator buttons is large, such as in a high-rise building.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a non-contact button system provided with a ToF sensor that has high sensing accuracy and low manufacturing cost.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve these problems, the present invention provides a contactless button system comprising: a plurality of buttons; an end distance sensor installed at the end of a line in which the plurality of buttons are arranged, facing the plurality of buttons; and a control unit that selects one of the plurality of buttons using distance information of an object sensed by the distance sensor.

[0007] Preferably, the sensing direction of the distance sensor is parallel to the surface on which the plurality of buttons are installed. Furthermore, the distance sensor is installed in a manner that protrudes outward from the button installation surface.

[0008] Preferably, the system further includes a central distance sensor positioned in the middle of the button arrangement line so as to face the opposite side of the end distance sensor.

[0009] Preferably, the control unit ignores the approach of the object when it approaches the button from the side of the button. However, the control unit effectively processes the approach of the object when it approaches the button from the front of the button.

[0010] Preferably, the end distance sensor is a multi-zone sensor having a plurality of adjacent sensing regions in the lateral direction. The control unit effectively processes the approach of the object only when the object sequentially passes through at least two of the plurality of sensing regions of the end ToF sensor.

[0011] Preferably, the distance sensor is a ToF sensor. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] The non-contact button system equipped with a distance sensor according to the present invention, as described above, has the advantages of high object recognition accuracy and low manufacturing cost. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] This figure illustrates the configuration and operation of a contactless button system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a detailed diagram of the distance measuring unit. [Figure 3] Figure 2 shows the configuration diagram of the ToF (Time of Flight) sensor. [Figure 4] This figure illustrates the configuration and operation of a non-contact button system according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] Figure 4 illustrates the operation of the non-contact button system based on the direction of movement of an object. [Figure 6] This figure illustrates the configuration and operation of a non-contact button system according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] This figure illustrates the configuration and operation of a non-contact button system according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] To fully understand the present invention, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments of the present invention can be modified in various forms, and the scope of the invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described in detail below. These embodiments are provided to give a more complete explanation of the invention to a person of average skill in the art. Accordingly, the shapes of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated to emphasize a clearer explanation. It should be noted that identical components in each drawing may be indicated by the same reference numerals. Detailed descriptions of known functions and configurations that are deemed to unnecessarily obscure the gist of the invention are omitted.

[0015] Figure 1 illustrates the configuration and operation of a non-contact button system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention, where Figure 1(a) is a front view and Figure 1(b) is a side view. As shown, the non-contact button system 100 comprises a plurality of (exemplary) buttons 102a, 102b and a distance measuring unit 104. The distance measuring unit 104 comprises a ToF sensor as a distance sensor and a control unit for button selection, as will be described in detail below.

[0016] The ToF sensor is installed at the end of a line in which multiple buttons 102a and 102b are arranged, so as to face all of the buttons 102a and 102b. Since the multiple buttons 102a and 102b are arranged vertically, the ToF sensor can be installed at the upper or lower end along the vertical arrangement line. The ToF sensor is also installed so as to have a sensing area 106 in front of the surface 107 on which the multiple buttons 102 are installed. To facilitate the realization of such a sensing area 106, the ToF sensor is installed in a form that protrudes outward from the button mounting surface 107.

[0017] When an object 108 approaches to select a specific button on the non-contact button system 100, the ToF sensor of the distance measuring unit 104 senses the distance to the object 108 and transmits information about the sensed distance to the control unit. The control unit operates so that one of the multiple buttons 102a, 102b is selected based on the distance information to the object 108 transmitted from the ToF sensor.

[0018] Figure 2 is a detailed configuration diagram of the distance measuring unit 104 shown in Figure 1. As shown, the distance measuring unit 104 comprises a power supply unit 202, a control unit 204, a ToF sensor 206, relays 208a and 208b, and a circuit board 210.

[0019] The power supply unit 202 receives power from the outside and converts it into a power supply for driving the distance measurement unit 104. The ToF sensor 204 senses the distance to an object within the sensing area as a distance sensor. The control unit 206 determines a selected button from the distances sensed by the ToF sensor 204, generates a control signal according to the determination result, and provides it to the selected relay. When a control signal is provided from the control unit 206, the relay 208a causes the button 102a to be selected, and the relay 208b causes the button 102b to be selected. The circuit board 210 provides electrical connections between the components 202, 204, 206, 208a, and 208b.

[0020] For the non-contact button system 100 according to this embodiment, since only the distance measurement unit 104 needs to be installed in an existing button system, the installation is easy and the installation cost is low.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the ToF (Time of Flight) sensor shown in FIG. 2. As shown, the ToF sensor 204 includes a transmission unit 302 and a reception unit 304. For example, the transmission unit is composed of a VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emittng Laser), and the reception unit is composed of a SPAD (Single Photon Avalanche Diode). The distance measurement unit 104 can include a glass plate 306 or the like in front of the ToF sensor 204 to prevent contamination or damage to the ToF sensor 204.

[0022] The transmission unit 302 sends out infrared rays, and the reception unit 304 receives the reflected infrared rays. For example, the FOI (Field of illumination) of the transmission unit 302 is approximately 40 degrees, and the FOV (Field of View) of the reception unit 304 is 30 to 60 degrees in the Y-axis direction and 30 to 42 degrees in the X-axis direction. The ToF sensor 204 measures the distance to the object 108 by measuring the time from the point when infrared rays are sent out from the transmission unit 302 to the point when the signal reflected by the object 108 is received by the reception unit 304.

[0023] Figure 4 illustrates the configuration and operation of a non-contact button system 400 according to another embodiment of the present invention, where Figure 4(a) is a front view and Figure 4(b) is a left side view. As shown, the non-contact button system 400 comprises a plurality of buttons 402 and distance measuring units 404a and 404b. The distance measuring units 404a and 404b include a ToF sensor as a distance sensor and a control unit for button selection.

[0024] Multiple buttons are arranged horizontally along 10 array lines 403 and vertically along 2 array lines 405a and 405b. ToF sensors can be installed at the right or left end along the horizontal array line 403, or at the upper or lower end along the vertical array lines 405a and 405b, facing the buttons on the same array line. In the non-contact button system 400 shown in Figure 4, since there are fewer vertical array lines 405a and 405b, it is advantageous to install distance measuring units 404a and 404b at the upper or lower end of the vertical array lines, as this reduces the number of ToF sensors that can be installed. Distance measuring unit 404a is installed to face the buttons arranged along the same array line 405a, and distance measuring unit 404b is installed to face the buttons arranged along the same array line 405b.

[0025] As distance sensors in the distance measuring units 404a and 404b, multi-zone ToF sensors with multiple adjacent sensing regions 406a, 406b, 406c, and 406d in the lateral direction may be used. Multi-zone ToF sensors can recognize not only the distance to an object but also the sensing region in which the object exists. The distance measuring units 404a and 404b are installed so that the ToF sensors have multiple sensing regions 406a, 406b, 406c, and 406d sequentially according to the distance, in front of the surface 407 on which the multiple buttons 402 are installed. To facilitate the realization of such sensing regions 406a, 406b, 406c, and 406d, the distance measuring units 404a and 404b are installed in a form that protrudes outward from the button installation surface 407.

[0026] When an object 408 approaches to select a specific button of the non-contact button system 400, the ToF sensors of the distance measuring units 404a and 404b sense the distance to the object 408 and transmit the sensed distance information to the control unit. The control unit operates so that one of the multiple buttons 402 is selected based on the distance information to the object 408 transmitted from the ToF sensor.

[0027] Figure 5 illustrates the operation of objects 502a and 502b in the non-contact button system 400 shown in Figure 4, depending on their direction of movement. Since object 502a approaches the button 402 normally from the front in order to select a specific button, the control units provided in the distance measuring units 404a and 404b effectively handle the approach of such object 502a. For example, if a visually impaired person is feeling around with their hand to confirm Braille, and approaches the button 402 from the side, as object 502b does, the control unit ignores the approach of object 502b. Therefore, the non-contact button system 400 can prevent malfunctions in response to the feeling of a visually impaired person, as it ensures that a specific button is selected only when object 502b touches the button. As shown in Figure 5, when the distance measuring unit 404a is equipped with a multi-zone ToF sensor, the control unit effectively processes the approach of an object and selects a specific button only when the object sequentially passes through at least two of the multiple sensing regions 406a, 406b, 406c, and 406d of the ToF sensor.

[0028] Figure 6 illustrates the configuration and operation of a non-contact button system 600 according to another embodiment of the present invention, where Figure 6(a) is a front view and Figure 6(b) is a left side view. As shown, the non-contact button system 600 comprises a plurality of buttons 602 and distance measuring units 604a, 604b, 604c, and 604d. The distance measuring units 604a, 604b, 604c, and 604d each include a ToF sensor as a distance sensor and a control unit for button selection.

[0029] As shown in Figure 6(b), if the number of buttons 602 arranged on array lines 605a and 605b is greater than the sensing area of ​​the ToF sensor provided by the distance measuring unit, the distance measuring unit can be installed not only at the upper end but also at the lower end of array lines 605a and 605b. A distance measuring unit 604a installed at the upper end of array line 605a, facing the lower buttons, senses whether the buttons arranged in the upper half of array line 605a are selectable. A distance measuring unit 604b installed at the lower end of array line 605a, facing the upper buttons, senses whether the buttons arranged in the lower half of array line 605a are selectable. A distance measuring unit 604c installed at the upper end of array line 605b, facing the lower buttons, senses whether the buttons arranged in the upper half of array line 605b are selectable. The distance measuring unit 604d, positioned at the lower end of the array line 605b with the upper button facing it, senses whether the buttons arranged in the lower half of the array line 605b are selectable or not.

[0030] In Figure 6(b), object 608a is located only in sensing region 606a and is therefore sensed by distance measuring unit 604a, and object 608b is located only in sensing region 606b and is therefore sensed by distance measuring unit 604b. However, when an object like 608c is located in multiple sensing regions 606a and 606b, multiple distance measuring units 604a and 604b sense the approach of the object, and multiple buttons may be selected. In this case, the control is such that only the distance measuring unit that sensed the closest distance selects a button, thus preventing malfunctions. To achieve this, distance measuring units 604a, 604b, 604c, and 604d may be configured to share the sensed distance information with each other.

[0031] Figure 7 illustrates the configuration and operation of a non-contact button system 700 according to yet another embodiment of the present invention, where Figure 7(a) is a front view and Figure 7(b) is a left side view. As shown, the non-contact button system 700 comprises a plurality of buttons 702 and distance measuring units 704a, 704b, 704c, and 704d. The distance measuring units 704a, 704b, 704c, and 704d each include a ToF sensor as a distance sensor and a control unit for button selection.

[0032] As shown in Figure 7(b), if the number of buttons 702 arranged on array lines 705a and 705b is greater than the sensing area of ​​the ToF sensor provided by the distance measuring unit, the distance measuring unit can be installed not only at the upper (or lower) end of array lines 705a and 705b but also in the center. A distance measuring unit 704a installed at the upper end of array line 705a, facing the lower buttons, senses whether the buttons arranged in the upper half of array line 705a are selectable. A distance measuring unit 704b installed in the center of array line 705a, facing the lower buttons (i.e., facing in the opposite direction to the distance measuring unit 704a), senses whether the buttons arranged in the lower half of array line 705a are selectable. A distance measuring unit 704c installed at the upper end of array line 705b, facing the lower buttons, senses whether the buttons arranged in the upper half of array line 705b are selectable. The distance measuring unit 704d, positioned in the center of the array line 705b so as to face the lower button (i.e., facing in the opposite direction from the distance measuring unit 704c), senses whether the buttons arranged in the lower half of the array line 705b are selectable or not.

[0033] In Figure 7(b), object 708a is located only in sensing region 706a and is therefore sensed by distance measuring unit 704a, and object 708b is located only in sensing region 706b and is therefore sensed by distance measuring unit 704b. However, if object 708c is located in multiple sensing regions 706a and 706b, multiple distance measuring units 704a and 704b may sense the approach of object 708c, and multiple buttons may be selected. In this case, malfunctions can be prevented by controlling the system so that only the distance measuring unit that sensed the closest distance selects a button. To achieve this, distance measuring units 704a, 704b, 704c, and 704d may be configured to share the sensed distance information with each other.

[0034] Although not shown in the diagram, the system can be equipped with a separate sensor with a long recognition range to determine whether or not an object is present. If no object is detected, the ToF sensor for position recognition installed on the button can be controlled to enter a low-power state, thereby reducing overall power consumption.

[0035] The embodiments of the present invention described above are merely illustrative, and a person with ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Therefore, it will be understood that the present invention is not limited to the forms mentioned in the detailed description above. Accordingly, the true scope of technical protection of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of ​​the appended claims. Furthermore, the present invention should be understood to include the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims and all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes within that scope.

Claims

1. A contactless button system comprising: a plurality of buttons; an end distance sensor installed at the end of a line in which the plurality of buttons are arranged, so as to face the plurality of buttons; and a control unit that selects one of the plurality of buttons using distance information of an object sensed by the distance sensor.

2. The non-contact button system according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensing direction of the distance sensor is parallel to the surface on which the plurality of buttons are installed.

3. The non-contact button system according to claim 2, characterized in that the distance sensor is installed on the button mounting surface in a manner that protrudes outward.

4. The non-contact button system according to claim 1, further comprising a central distance sensor installed in the middle portion of the button arrangement line so as to face the opposite side of the end distance sensor.

5. The non-contact button system according to claim 1, characterized in that the end distance sensor is a multi-zone sensor having a plurality of adjacent sensing areas in the lateral direction.

6. The contactless button system according to claim 5, characterized in that the control unit effectively processes the approach of the object only when the object sequentially passes through at least two of the plurality of sensing regions of the end distance sensor.

7. The non-contact button system according to claim 1, characterized in that the distance sensor is a ToF sensor.

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