Contactless button system

Abstract

We provide a non-contact button system with high sensing accuracy and low installation costs. [Solution] The non-contact button system of the present invention comprises a plurality of buttons, a distance sensor having a plurality of sensing areas and installed between the plurality of buttons so as to face the direction of pressing the buttons, and a control unit that selects one of the plurality of buttons using information about an object sensed by the distance sensor. The non-contact button system according to the present invention has the advantages of high object recognition accuracy and low installation cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a contactless button system, and particularly to a contactless button system provided with a ToF (Time of Flight) sensor.

Background Art

[0002] In high-rise buildings such as buildings and condominiums, elevators are installed to facilitate vertical movement. Users who board an elevator usually 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 for detecting a change in capacitance, but in either case, contact of a finger with the button is required. In recent years, hygiene has been regarded as an important issue in public facilities, and particularly, methods for minimizing contact of hands where there are many contaminants 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 contactless method and can be easily applied to existing elevators has been proposed.

[0004] One method for realizing a contactless (or non-contact) button system having high sensing accuracy is to use a ToF (Time of Flight) sensor. However, a structure in which a ToF sensor is applied to each elevator button has a problem that the existing buttons must be replaced.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a contactless button system provided with a ToF sensor, which has high sensing accuracy and low installation cost.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve these problems, the present invention provides a contactless button system comprising: a plurality of buttons; a distance sensor having a plurality of sensing areas and positioned between the plurality of buttons so as to face the direction of pressing the buttons; and a control unit that selects one of the plurality of buttons using information about an object sensed by the distance sensor.

[0007] Preferably, the control unit is configured to select the button when the distance to the object changes in a way that sequentially decreases. Alternatively, the control unit may be configured to select the button only when the distance to the object changes in a way that sequentially decreases.

[0008] Preferably, the control unit can prevent the selection of the button from occurring if the object approaches the sensing area corresponding to the front of the distance sensor, ignoring the approach of the object.

[0009] Preferably, the control unit can be configured to select the button according to the direction of change in the sensing area where the object is sensed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] 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 installation costs. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [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 details the operation of the non-contact button system shown in Figure 1 when an object approaches normally. [Figure 5] This diagram illustrates the operation of the non-contact button system shown in Figure 1 when an object with a large surface area approaches. [Figure 6] Figure 1 illustrates the operation of the non-contact button system based on the direction of movement of an object. [Figure 7] This figure illustrates the configuration and operation of a non-contact button system according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] 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.

[0013] 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.

[0014] The ToF sensor is installed between buttons 102a and 102b so as to face the direction of pressing (indicated by arrows in Figure 1). The ToF sensor is also installed in front of the surface 107 on which the buttons 102a and 102b are installed, so as to have multiple sensing areas 106a, 106b, 106c, and 106d perpendicular to the direction of pressing. The ToF sensor can generate information about the sensing area where an object is located, along with the distance to the object 108 located in the sensing areas 106a, 106b, 106c, and 106d.

[0015] A multi-zone ToF sensor, which has multiple sensing areas adjacent to each other in the lateral direction, can be used as a ToF sensor. A multi-zone ToF sensor can recognize not only the distance to an object but also the sensing area in which the object exists.

[0016] 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 transmits information about the distance to the object 108 and information about the sensing area where the object 108 is located to the control unit. The control unit operates to select one of the multiple buttons 102a and 102b based on the distance information and sensing area information transmitted from the ToF sensor. The control unit maps sensing area 106a to button 102a and sensing area 106d to button 102b. In the case of object 108 shown in Figure 1, object 108 is present in all sensing areas 106a, 106b, 106c, and 106d, but since the distance to object 108 in sensing area 106a is the closest from the distance measuring unit 104, the control unit operates to select button 102a, which is located on the upper side.

[0017] 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.

[0018] 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, 208b.

[0019] For the contactless button system 100 according to the present 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.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the ToF (Time of Flight) sensor shown in FIG. 2. As shown in the figure, 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 Emitting 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.

[0021] 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, 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 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, and measures the distance to the object 108.

[0022] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining in detail the operation of the non-contact button system 100 shown in FIG. 1 when the objects 402 and 404 approach normally. FIG. 4(a) shows the case where the object 402 heads towards the upper button 102a, and FIG. 4(b) shows the case where the object 404 heads towards the lower button 102b.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 4(a), when the object 402 is a hand with the index finger protruding and the index finger heads towards the upper button 102a, the object 402 is sensed in all the sensing regions 106a, 106b, 106c, and 106d. The distance to the object 402 detected by the distance measurement unit 104 is the closest in the sensing region 106a, similar in the sensing regions 106b and 106c, and the farthest in the sensing region 106d. In this case, the control unit operates so that the upper button 102a mapped to the sensing region 106a is selected.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 4(b), when the object 404 is a hand with the index finger protruding and the index finger heads towards the lower button 102b, the object 404 is sensed in some of the sensing regions 106c and 106d. The distance to the object 404 detected by the distance measurement unit 104 is relatively far in the sensing region 106c and relatively close in the sensing region 106d. In this case, the control unit operates so that the lower button 102b mapped to the sensing region 106d is selected.

[0025] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the non-contact button system 100 shown in FIG. 1 when an object 502 having a large area approaches.

[0026] When the object 502 shown in Figure 5 approaches the non-contact button system 100, the object 502 is sensed in all sensing areas 106a, 106, 106c, and 106d. The distance to the object 502 detected by the distance measuring unit 104 is relatively far in sensing areas 106a and 106d, and relatively close in sensing areas 106b and 106c. Sensing areas 106b and 106c are located vertically in front of the distance measuring unit 104 (i.e., the ToF sensor), and the distance measuring unit 104 is located between buttons 102a and 102b. In this way, when the closest distance is detected in sensing areas 106b and 106c, which are vertically in front of the distance measuring unit 104, the control unit can ignore the approach of object 502 because it is difficult for it to identify the button. Furthermore, if the distance detected in the sensing area 106a mapped to button 102a and the distance detected in the sensing area 106d mapped to button 102b are roughly similar and the distance difference is small, it is difficult to identify the selected button, and therefore the control unit can ignore object 502.

[0027] Figure 6 illustrates the movement of objects 602 and 604 in the non-contact button system 100 shown in Figure 1, depending on their direction of movement.

[0028] In the case of object 602, the closest distance is detected in the sensing region 106a, and the distance to object 602 in the sensing region 106a gradually changes in the direction of decreasing distance over a predetermined period of time during the button selection process. When the distance to the object changes in a way that sequentially decreases in the sensing region where the closest distance is detected, the control unit determines that the movement of object 602 is a normal button selection process and ensures that a specific button is selected.

[0029] When object 604 moves like the hand of a visually impaired person searching for Braille, the closest distance is detected in the sensing area 106d, but gradual changes in distance over a predetermined period of time in the sensing area 106d are not detected. In this case, the control unit of the distance measuring unit 104 ignores object 604 and prevents contactless button selection, ensuring that button selection is only performed by touch.

[0030] Figure 7 illustrates the configuration and operation of a non-contact button system 700 according to another embodiment of the present invention, where Figure 7(a) shows the case when object 708 moves upward and Figure 7(b) shows the case when object 710 moves downward. As illustrated, the non-contact button system 700 comprises a plurality of (exemplary) buttons 702a, 702b and a distance measuring unit 704. The distance measuring unit 704 comprises a ToF sensor and a control unit, as described in detail in relation to the distance measuring unit 104.

[0031] The ToF sensor is installed between buttons 702a and 702b so as to face the direction of pressing (indicated by arrows in Figure 7). The ToF sensor is also installed in front of the surface 705 on which the buttons 702a and 702b are installed, so as to have multiple sensing areas 706a, 706b, 706c, and 706d perpendicular to the direction of pressing. The ToF sensor can generate information about the sensing area where an object is located, along with the distance to the object 708 and 710 located in the sensing areas 706a, 606b, 706c, and 706d.

[0032] As shown in Figure 7(a), when object 708 moves upward to select a specific button of the non-contact button system 700, the sensing area where the shortest distance to object 708 is sensed changes in the direction of 706d->706c->706b->706a. In this case, the control unit operates to select the upper button 702a. As shown in Figure 7(b), when object 710 moves downward, the sensing area where the shortest distance to object 710 is sensed changes in the direction of 706a->706b->706c->706d. In this case, the control unit operates to select the lower button 702b. In this way, the control unit can determine the user's gesture based on the direction of change in the sensing area and perform button selection accordingly.

[0033] 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.

[0034] 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; a distance sensor having a plurality of sensing areas and positioned between the plurality of buttons so as to face the direction of pressing the buttons; and a control unit that selects one of the plurality of buttons using information about an object sensed by the distance sensor.

2. The contactless button system according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit is configured to select the button when the distance to the object changes to sequentially decreasing.

3. The contactless button system according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit ignores the approach of an object when the object approaches the sensing area corresponding to the front of the distance sensor.

4. The contactless button system according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit is configured to select the button according to the direction of change of the sensing area in which the object is sensed.

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