Denso Corporation

Gac Corporation

Kenichi Yanai

Noriyuki Ozaki

Hiroto Nakatani

Shinji Kashiwada

Teiyuu Kimura

Tomohisa Yoshimi

Shinji Nanba

Kazuhisa Onda

Fumiaki Mizuno

Tomoyasu Watanabe

Masahiko Ito

Teiyu Kimura

Masashi Totokawa

Yoshihide Tachino

Taiji Kawachi

Toshiaki Nagai

Mitsuhiro Kiyono

Tatsuya Ikegami

Shingo Imura

Yuuichi Sekine

Shun Takizawa

Yuichi Minamiyama

Yoshifumi Nishida

Taketoshi Mori

Tatuya Harada

Tomomasa Sato

An optical detector is configured to project a projection beam toward a measurement area and detect a return beam from the measurement area. The optical detector includes: a projecting optical system that forms a projection optical axis to project the projection beam; a receiving optical system that forms a receiving optical axis to receive the return beam, and a housing having a housing chamber to house the projecting optical system and the receiving optical system, and an optical window for the projection beam and the return beam to travel between the housing chamber and the measurement area. The projection optical axis and the receiving optical axis are offset from each other to define an overlap region inside the housing chamber where footprints of the projection beam and the return beam overlap with each other.

Optical detector

An optical detector includes a light emitter having a light emitting window extended in an extension direction to emit a projection beam from the light emitting window toward a measurement area and to detect a return beam from the measurement area. The optical detector includes a scanning mirror that scans by reflecting the projection beam. The scanning mirror swings within a finite angular range around a rotation axis that is along a direction corresponding to the extension direction.

An optical ranging device includes a light emitting section provided with a semiconductor laser element having a light emitting region whose length in a first direction is more than that in a second direction intersecting the first direction. The device measures the distance to an object based on the time from light emission from the light emitting section to reception of the light by a light receiving section. A plurality of light emitting regions may be provided in the light emitting section such that they are separated in the second direction and abut or partially overlap each other in the first direction so that the light emitting regions are continuous in the first direction.

Optical ranging device, laser light emitting device, and method for manufacturing the same

A light emitting element emits a modulated light modulated in a pattern having a repetitive period toward a space. A driving unit drives the light emitting element. A light receiving element distributes charges corresponding to an incident light containing a reflected light obtained by reflecting the modulated light on an object to storage capacitors and stores the distributed charges. A control unit controls an exposure of the light receiving element. A signal processing unit measures a distance to the object by using a value sampled by the light receiving element. The control unit controls the exposure of the light receiving element to give a sensitivity to at least one high-order harmonic. The signal processing unit linearly combines a component of a fundamental wave with a component of the at least one high-order harmonic to measure the distance to the object.

Time-of-flight distance measurement device and method for same

A signal-to-noise ratio and measurement precision is increased in electrode units disposed on the left and right sides of a steering wheel. A plurality of electrode units is disposed in the left and right handholds of a steering wheel. The contact impedances of all the electrode units are measured. A pair of left and right electrode units to be used to measure an electrocardiographic signal is designated from among the electrode units whose measured contact impedances are less than or equal to a first threshold. The results of measurement of an electrocardiographic signal by the designated electrode units are added in order to minimize noise. An electrode unit with high contact impedance is used to measure induction noise and remove the induction noise component from the electrocardiographic signal measurement result.

Biosignal measuring equipment

A drowsiness detecting apparatus has a pulse wave sensor and a determination circuit. The sensor is provided to a steering wheel to detect a pulse wave of a vehicle driver gripping the steering wheel. The determination circuit generates a thorax pressure signal indicative of the depth of breathing by envelope-detecting a pulse wave signal of the sensor and determines whether the driver is drowsy by comparing a pattern of the thorax pressure signal with a reference pattern. The display and the buzzer notify the driver and any other passengers in the vehicle of the drowsiness of the driver by a visual indication and buzzing sound, respectively. A body surface motion may be used as a signal that indicates the depth of breathing.

Drowsiness detecting apparatus and method

A breath monitor includes: a plurality of sensors for detecting a load derived from a human lying on a bed and for outputting a sensor signal corresponding to the load; and breath signal computation means. The sensors are disposed under the human with a predetermined arrangement. The breath signal computation means converts each sensor signal to a frequency domain so that a spectrum of each sensor signal is obtained, selects the sensors on the basis of the converted sensor signals, and computes a breath signal on the basis of the sensor signals outputted from the selected sensors.

Breath monitor

A pressure-sensitive sensor includes two base films opposite to each other, a pair of electrodes provided on the two base films, and first and second pressure-sensitive resistors provided by two layers on the electrodes to form a predetermined gap therebetween. Further, a contact state between the first and second pressure-sensitive resistors is changed in accordance with a pressure applied to at least one of the base films, and a resistance between the electrodes is changed in accordance with the contact state between the pressure-sensitive resistors. In addition, each of the pressure-sensitive resistors is constructed with a binder resin having an elasticity modulus in a range between 10 and 1000 Mpa, and electrical conductive particles each of which is coated with a polymer. Accordingly, the pressure-sensitive sensor including the pressure-sensitive resistors can accurately detect a pressure in a range between 1 and 20 kPa.

Pressure-sensitive resistor and pressure-sensitive sensor using the same

The input/output system of the present invention includes a sheet-like input/output unit that includes wiring and a connection box that is attached to an edge of the sheet-like input/output unit. The connection box includes a housing that is attached so as to sandwich the sheet-like input/output unit and internally encloses a circuit board that is connected to the wiring. The housing includes a slit through which the sheet-like input/output unit passes and whose upper and lower edges are curved and means for fixing the sheet-like input/output unit that is disposed inside to the slit. Since the means for fixing the sheet-like input/output unit is disposed inside to the slit, the edges of the slit are narrow but formed with large radii of curvature, so that the sheet-like input/output unit is not folded over at the slit part. The slit can also be sealed by attaching packing to the edge of the slit.

Biological information detection system

A microcomputer included in a respiratory monitoring system selects sensors that have output signals related to respiration of a person from sensors detecting forces applied by the person. To select the sensors, levels of the signals are compared between a respiratory frequency band and another frequency band. If the level of the signal in the respiratory frequency band is predetermined times higher than that of the signal in the other frequency band, the sensor is selected. The respiratory curve is produced based on weight signals outputted from the selected sensors.

Respiratory monitoring system

A pressure sensor includes a pair of base films, a pair of electrodes, a layer of pressure-sensitive resistor, a spacer, and a projection. The electrodes are located between the base films. The layer of pressure-sensitive resistor is located between the base films to be distant from one of the electrodes by a predetermined gap. The spacer is located outside the layer of pressure-sensitive resistor between the base films and used for forming the gap. The projection is located on an outer surface of one of the base films in order to decrease the lowest pressure that can be detected by the pressure sensor. The contact state between the layer of pressure-sensitive resistor and one of the electrodes varies to vary the resistance between the electrodes when a pressure acts on the projection.

Pressure sensor

A respiration monitoring system monitors the state of disorder of the respiratory system of a sleeping patient based on the detection of respiratory body movement without the need of putting sensors directly on the patient's body. The system includes weight sensors that produce weight signals attributable to the patient's respiratory body movement. From weight signals having a frequency band of respiration, a respiratory body movement signal is produced, and the fall of blood oxygen saturation which occurs at obstructive apnea of the sleeping patient is determined based on the variation pattern of the amplitude of respiratory body movement signal. The occurrence and frequency of the fall of blood oxygen saturation are displayed on a display unit.

Respiratory disease monitoring system

An infant condition monitoring system has a sensor sheet including uniformly arranged plural pressure sensitive load cells. An ECU in an electronic unit connected to the sensor sheet calculates an infant's breathing signal, sleeping posture and weight data. Those signal and data are converted into data signals to modulate a carrier signal thereby. A transmitter in the electronic unit transmits a radio signal resulting from the modulation. A monitoring unit is constructed to be carried by a care provider. A receiver in the monitoring unit demodulates the received radio signal. An ECU reproduces the data signals including the breathing signal, sleeping posture and weight data, and determines a respiration rate, sleeping posture and weight. A display displays the respiration rate, sleeping posture and weight, and a speaker produces an output sound in correspondence with the breathing signal.

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Nisshin, Japan

Kenichi Yanai