Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.

Panasonic Electric Works Co., Ltd.

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Yamaju Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Motoo Ikari

Yuji Takada

Satoshi Furukawa

Kenichi Hagio

Ryo Taniguchi

Makoto Nishimura

Yusuke Hashimoto

Hiroyuki Yagyu

Tomoaki Matsushima

Yoshiaki Kanbe

Nobuyuki Miyagawa

Masato Kawashima

Shintaro Yamamoto

Hiroshi Matsuda

Yoshimitsu Nakamura

Yoshito Kato

Sadayuki Sumi

Toshiyuki Suzuki

Fumikazu Kurihara

Yasuo Ishiguro

Fumi Tsunesada

Haruhiko Momose

Yoshihiko Okuda

Atsuyuki Hirono

Tadashi Satake

Atsushi Hironaka

Masao Kawase

Yorinobu Murayama

Katsuhiro Teramae

Junpei Endo

Yoshihiro Matsumura

Eiji Nakamoto

Kyosuke Iribe

Yuki Yorifuji

Hideki Kawahara

Kenichi Kimura

Hideki Ohashi

Kazuhiro Horiuchi

Hitoshi Miyashita

Makio Asai

Yuji Yakada

Toshimitsu Isoi

Kaoru Shirakura

Nobuyuki Suzuki

An image processor is provided, which has the capability of detecting an object such as a human face from an image taken against the sun with high accuracy. An image signal provided from an image pickup unit is adjusted at an analog gain by an image adjuster. An out of the image adjuster is converted into a digital, and store in a memory. A feature of the object is extracted from this digital image data to detect an object area in the image. When the object area is not detected, an analog-gain controller sends that the image signal provided from the image pickup unit is adjusted at a different analog gain. Thus, the treatment of detecting the object area is repeated at different analog gains.

Image processor and face detector using the same

An image processing device for generating both of a distance image and a gray image from an electrical output of a light receiving element on the precondition that a light intensity-modulated at a modulation frequency is irradiated into a target space. This device has an image generator for generating the distance image having pixel values, each of which provides a distance value between an object in the target space and the device, in accordance with a phase difference between the irradiated light and the received light, and the gray image having pixel values, each of which provides a gray value of the object, in accordance with an intensity of the received light. By use of an output of the image generator, an outline of the object can be extracted.

Image processing device

A spatial information detecting device for accurately detecting information of a target space is provided. This device has photoelectric converters for receiving a reflection light from the space, in which a flashing light is being irradiated, a charge storage portion formed in each of the photoelectric converters by applying a control voltage to electrodes on each of the photoelectric converters, a controller for controlling the number of electrodes, to which the control voltage is applied, such that an area of the charge storage portion changes based on a flash cycle of the flashing light, and an amplitude-image generator for generating an amplitude image having pixel values, each of which is provided by a difference between electric charges collected in a lighting period of the flashing light by a charge storage portion and the electric charges collected in a non-lighting period of the flashing light by another charge storage portion.

Spatial information detecting device

A spatial information detecting apparatus using an intensity-modulated light has a photoelectric converter for receiving a light provided from a space, into which a light intensity-modulated by a predetermined modulation signal is being irradiated, and generating amounts of electric charges corresponding to an intensity of received light; charge discarding portion having an electrode for removing dispensable charges from the electric charges generated by the photoelectric converter according to a voltage applied to the electrode; charge storage portion for storing signal charges from the electric charges generated by the photoelectric converter; control circuit for controlling the voltage applied to the electrode at a timing synchronized with a period of the modulation signal to change a ratio of the signal charges stored in the charge storage portion to the electric charges generated by the photoelectric converter; charge ejector for outputting the signal charges from the charge storage portion; and an analyzer for determining spatial information from an output of the charge ejector. According to this apparatus, since the dispensable charges are previously removed from the electric charges generated by the photoelectric converter by the charge discarding portion, it is possible to improve S/N ratio and accurately determine the spatial information.

Light receiving device with controllable sensitivity and spatial information detecting apparatus with charge discarding device using the same

An object detecting device utilizes a pyroelectric sensor providing a sensing current, a voltage amplifier providing an amplified voltage proportional to the sensing current, and a level monitor providing a detection signal when the amplified voltage exceeds a detection threshold. The device has a standby mode where the voltage amplifier receives a limited source current to provide the voltage of low amplification, and the level monitor provides a wake-up signal when the low amplified voltage exceeds a preliminary threshold lower than the detection threshold. In response to the wake-up signal, the device is switched to an operation mode where the amplifier receives a rated source current to provide a voltage of high amplification for comparison with the detection threshold. Thus, the amplifier is kept to be less-power consuming in the absence of the wake-up signal, reducing a power requirement.

Object detecting device with a pyroelectric sensor

Disclosed is a distance measuring apparatus for measuring a distance to a target object also its shape precisely without influence of noise, which is applied to a invader monitoring system. This apparatus comprises a clock signal generator unit, a modulated light projector unit, a light receiver unit, and a demodulator unit, and obtains a range image presenting signal levels changing according to the distances to the objects including the target object by irradiating light onto the objects and receiving reflected light. In the demodulator unit, the range image is processed for evaluating and removing noise components, for interpolating and averaging noise removed region, and for selecting the target object region. Those processes are carried out from the following point of view, the variation of the distance signal levels, the received quantity of light, and the variation of the received quantity of light. Thus a range image without no noise and including substantially only the target object data is obtained, and therefore it is possible to measure a distance to the target object and its shape precisely without influence of noise.

Distance measuring apparatus

A method of producing plural device chips from a thin plate of a pyroelectric material comprises the following steps. First, plural device-forming regions each having an electrode and a circuit pattern for electrically connecting the electrodes are formed on each of front and rear surfaces of the thin plate to obtain a device substrate. By making an electrical connection between the circuit patterns, and grounding it, all of the device-forming regions on the device substrate are at the same potential. Next, a blast treatment is performed to the device substrate to remove a required region of the pyroelectric material, while leaving a bridge portion extending between adjacent device-forming regions and having the circuit patterns thereon, so that a device-chip aggregate is formed, in which adjacent device chips are coupled through the bridge portion. Subsequently, by removing the bridge portion, the device chip is separated from the device-chip aggregate.

Method of producing plural device chips from a thin plate of a pyroelectric material

An infrared ray receiving element includes a substrate made of a pyroelectric material and having at least one cantilever portion surrounded by a slit, in which at least a part of the cantilever portion in the substrate is uniformly polarized in the same direction and the remainder in the substrate includes a portion polarized at random. At least a pair of electrodes are respectively provided on a top surface and a bottom surface of the cantilever portion.

Infrared ray receiving element and infrared ray sensor using the same

A pyroelectric-type IR receiving element comprises a pyroelectric substrate which is fixed to a supporting body at its support ends and at least one rectangular patch formed in the substrate. The patch is formed on its opposite surfaces with first and second electrodes which are overlapped to each other. The substrate has a U-shaped slit composed of a pair of side slits and a base slit connecting the side slits. The U-shaped slit surrounds continuously three sides of the patch, so that the patch is supported by the substrate in a cantilever fashion at a cantilever end which is opposed to one of the support ends of the substrate. Since a thermal stress applied to the substrate when the substrate is exposed to a temperature change is absorbed by the U-shaped slit, a stress concentration to be considered is not developed in the patch. As a result, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of popcorn noise, while maintaining good IR sensitivity.

Pyroelectric-type IR receiving element and IR sensor using the same

An optically scanning displacement sensor is arranged to compute by means of a triangulation an inverse function from a first measured distance signal proportional to output position signals from a position detecting means which receiving reflected light from an object to be detected, and the first measured distance signal is multiplied at a linearity correcting means by a signal of a sum of the inverse function and a constant so as to compute a second measured distance signal, whereby a two-dimensional position detection can be realized with the least required memory capacity and the minimum adjusting process.

Optically scanning displacement sensor with linearity correction means

An optical displacement measuring system utilizing a triangulation is so arranged that light receiving means receives light reflected back from an object to be measured and generates a pair of output signals having mutually opposite values and responsive to a position of a light spot on the light receiving means. An operational means performs addition and subtraction over the pair of positional output signals and to obtain a ratio between the both added and subtracted output signals for generating a measured distance signal, and a linearity correcting means provides a mathematical correction number to one of the pair of positional output signals to correct any nonlinearity of the measured distance signal, for providing the linearity to the measured distance signal with a simple arrangement.

Optical displacement measuring system with nonlinearity correction

There is provided a photoelectric switch in which a beam reflected by an object to be detected is received in a trigonometric manner so that any failure in the distance measurement of the object can be prevented with employment of ordinary amplification circuit for received-light signals without enlarging the figure of the dynamic range of the circuit. In the switch, a circuit for comparing the ratio of the received-light signals to a predetermined operational level includes means for setting the nearest limit point for a set range of a detecting area to be farther than an intersection of the projected light beam with a line connecting centers of light-receiving lens and received-light detecting element so that the detection of the object can be made even when the dynamic range of the amplification circuit is saturated, whereby the presence of the object in the detecting area can be always discriminated even upon the dynamic range saturation of the amplification circuit.

Photoelectric switch with limit setting means to prevent disablement

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Kyoto, Japan

Motoo Ikari