Optical Sensor Door Intent Detection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing automatic door motion sensors often result in false positives, wasting power and mechanical resources by opening doors for individuals who do not intend to enter, due to their inability to differentiate intent and movement accurately.

Innovation Solution

A system utilizing an optical sensor to capture and process frames of the environment, classifying the presence of individuals, estimating their direction, speed, and orientation, and transmitting commands to the door controller based on these parameters to conserve resources and accurately determine entry intent.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Extent of automation

If traditional motion sensors with brightness thresholds are used, then the door can be operated automatically, but false positives occur that waste power and mechanical resources

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveautomatic door operationVSAvoidpower waste from false positives

Core Design Contradiction:

Extent of automationVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The system transitions from static brightness threshold detection to dynamic multi-parameter analysis, continuously monitoring direction, speed, orientation, and temporal patterns to adaptively determine entry intent, thereby reducing false positives while maintaining automatic operation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The invention changes the detection parameters from simple brightness thresholds to multiple parameters including direction vectors, speed measurements, orientation angles, and temporal sequences, enabling more accurate differentiation between genuine entry intent and false positive motions

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Extent of automation

If traditional motion sensors are used, then automatic door operation is achieved, but the ability to differentiate intent and movement accurately deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveautomatic door operationVSAvoiddifferentiation of intent and movement

Core Design Contradiction:

Extent of automationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system adds dimensional depth to motion detection by incorporating directional vectors, orientation angles, and temporal dimensions, transforming simple 2D pixel brightness changes into multi-dimensional motion analysis that accurately captures human intent and movement patterns

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

3Loss of energy

If image processing with multiple parameters is implemented, then false positives are reduced, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvereduction of false positivesVSAvoidprocessing system complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of energyVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The processing system is segmented into specialized modules: motion detection module, direction estimation module, orientation analysis module, and intent determination module, allowing each component to handle specific tasks efficiently and reducing overall system complexity through functional decomposition

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

4Device complexity

If simple brightness threshold detection is used, then device complexity is minimized, but false positives increase wasting mechanical resources

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesensor system simplicityVSAvoidmechanical resource waste

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The invention replaces simple mechanical threshold-based switching with intelligent image processing algorithms that analyze motion patterns, direction, and orientation, substituting computational intelligence for mechanical simplicity to eliminate resource-wasting false positives

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS12159415B2More efficient automatic door sensing

Publication Date: 2024.12.03 CAPITAL ONE SERVICES LLC

AI summary

In some implementations, a processing device may receive, from an optical sensor, a plurality of frames encoding images of an environment of a door. The processing device may estimate, using the plurality of frames, a direction and a speed associated with at least one person included in the plurality of frames. Accordingly, the processing device may transmit a command to a controller associated with the door based on the direction and the speed.