Omron Corporation

Koji Iguchi

Mitsuhiro Yoneda

Yusuke Iida

Ryosuke Tsuzuki

Tetsuya Nosaka

Kazuo Tsuboi

Kiyohiko Gondo

Koyo Ozaki

Shoichi Ohnaka

Osamu Harada

Masahiro Ikumo

Hideyuki Kishiba

A sensor device measuring a distance to an object includes: a light projection unit repeatedly emitting detection light toward the object; a light reception unit receiving reflected light of the detection light and outputting a binarized light reception signal (RT); a light projection oscillation unit controlling the emission of the detection light and outputting a start signal synchronized with the emission of the detection light; a counter measurement unit starting counting of the RT when receiving the RT and the start signal, and outputting a stop signal corresponding to a feature point of the RT; a delay line measurement unit outputting a delay line output signal corresponding to the delay time of the RT near the feature point of the RT when receiving the RT and the stop signal; and a distance calculation unit calculating the distance to the object based on the delay line output signal.

Sensor device and measurement method

A displacement sensor includes an emitting unit periodically emitting pulse signals; a receiving unit receiving reflection signals generated from the pulse signals and reflected by an object and outputs binary signals that indicate signal intensity of the received reflection signals; a waveform summation unit generating a summation waveform by accumulating temporal waveforms of the binary signals for the respective corresponding periods of time with reference to emission timings of the corresponding pulse signals; a distance calculation unit calculating a value that indicates a distance to the object on the basis of waveform features corresponding to waveform features of the pulse signals that appear in the summation waveform; and a reception signal amount calculation unit calculating a reception signal amount that is intensity of the reflection signals received by the receiving unit on the basis of feature amounts indicated by cumulative values that appear in the summation waveform.

Displacement sensor

In a sensor system including a plurality of photoelectric sensor units, a light projecting period arbitrarily determined in each type is provided and mutual interference is prevented between identical types. The sensor system includes the plurality of sensor units coupled by a connector unit while a signal can be transmitted. Each of the sensor units retains type information thereof, and sets a unique identification number by transmitting the signal to each other. Each sensor unit operates after a delay time determined according to the identification number thereof elapses with a synchronous signal as a starting point. The synchronous signal is transmitted with a predetermined period from the sensor unit having a specific identification number in the plurality of sensor units. The delay time of each sensor unit is determined such that an operating period is matched with a predetermined period determined in each piece of the type information.

Sensor system having a plurality of coupled sensors

An optical card having visible data marked on a base layer and a substantially transparent optical data recording layer formed over the base layer. A protective layer is laminated over the optical data recording layer. The visible data marked on the base may be marked in an ink visible only at a nonvisual wavelength, such as infrared. A reader scans the visible data marked on the base layer, since the optical recording layer covering the base layer is substantially transparent.

Optical card with printing visible below the optical recording

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Fukuchiyama, Japan

Koji Iguchi