Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.

Panasonic Electric Works Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Yuji Takada

Yusuke Hashimoto

Fumi Tsunesada

Motoo Ikari

Fumikazu Kurihara

Teruki Hatatani

Hiroshi Matsuda

Takayuki Nishikawa

Atsushi Hironaka

Ryo Taniguchi

Suguru Fukui

Kenji Imai

Shinji Sakamoto

Yoshiaki Honda

Yoshifumi Watabe

Makoto Nishimura

Satoshi Furukawa

Hiroshi Ohashi

Atsuyuki Hirono

Nobuyuki Miyagawa

Masato Kawashima

Toshio Fujimura

Yoshimitsu Nakamura

Hiroyuki Yagyu

Masanori Hayashi

Hiromitsu Inoue

Tomoaki Matsushima

Kenichi Hagio

Minoru Kumahara

Toshiki Yamane

Hisanobu Tanaka

Masato Shinotani

Yorinobu Murayama

Katsuhiro Teramae

Keisuke Yoshikawa

Shintaro Yamamoto

Masahiro Kodoh

Makio Asai

Yoshihiko Sugimoto

Tomizo Terasawa

Kenichi Kimura

Hideo Mori

A fire alarm system, determining existence or nonexistence of a fire by using an ultrasound wave, comprises a sound wave generator and a sound wave detector to detect sound waves propagated through two propagation paths having different lengths each other. The system comprises a calculation means for calculating a pressure ratio between a first sound pressure, which is a sound pressure of a sound wave propagated through a first propagation path, and a second sound pressure, which is a sound pressure of a sound wave propagated through a second propagation path, and a smoke density estimator. The smoke density estimator calculates a change ratio between the pressure ratio calculated by the calculation means and a predetermined standard pressure ratio, and determines a smoke density from the change ratio based on a predetermined relational expression describing the relation between the change ratio and the smoke density, and determines existence of a fire when the smoke density exceeds a predetermined threshold.

Fire alarm system

A photodetector capable of improving dynamic range for input signals is provided. This photodetector includes a photoelectric converting portion, a charge separating portion, a charge accumulating portion, a barrier electrode formed the charge separating portion and the charge accumulating portion, and a barrier-height adjusting portion electrically connected to the barrier electrode. Undesired electric charges such as generated when environment light is incident on the photoelectric converting portion are removed by the charge separating portion. A potential barrier with an appropriate height is formed under the barrier electrode by applying a voltage to the barrier electrode according to an electric charge amount supplied from the charge separating portion to the barrier-height adjusting portion. Electric charges flowing from the charge separating portion into the charge accumulating portion over the potential barrier are provided as an output of the photodetector.

Photodetector and spatial information detecting device using the same

A compact image pickup device with high sensitivity is provided, which is suitable for a spatial information detecting apparatus. The image pickup device has a plurality of image pickup units arranged on a semiconductor substrate. Each of the image pickup units has a light receiving array of photoelectric conversion elements for generating electric charges corresponding to a received-light amount, a transfer array of charge transfer elements, an accumulation array of charge accumulation elements each having a greater charge storage capacity than a saturation charge amount of the photoelectric conversion element, and a charge-amount adjusting portion configured to determine an amount of undesired electric charges to be separated from the electric charges generated by each of the photoelectric conversion elements. The transfer array and the light receiving array are arranged in a line in a vertical direction. The accumulation array is disposed adjacent to the transfer array in a horizontal direction.

Image pickup device, spatial information detecting apparatus using the same device and method for taking out received-light output from the same device

The present invention provides a smoke sensor of sound wave type that excels in responsiveness and has a low probability of false detection. The smoke sensor has a sound wave generating unit that provides an ultrasound wave to a monitoring space, a sound wave receiving unit that receives the ultrasound wave from the sound wave generating unit via the monitoring space, and a signal processing unit that detects an abnormality of the monitoring space by using an output of the sound wave receiving unit. The signal processing unit includes a smoke density estimation unit that estimates a smoke density in the monitoring space on the basis of a difference between the output of the sound wave receiving unit and a standard value, and a smoke density determination unit that determines the abnormality of the monitoring space by comparing the smoke density estimated by the smoke density estimation unit with a predetermined threshold.

Smoke sensor of the sound wave type including a smoke density estimation unit

A spatial information detecting device is provided, which is capable of reducing the possibility that a saturation phenomenon is caused by the influence of an environmental light. This device includes a photoelectric converting portion for receiving a signal light from a target space to generate electric charges, a charge separating portion for separating electric charges corresponding to a constant amount of a bias component as undesired electric charges from the electric charges generated by the photoelectric converting portion, a charge accumulating portion for accumulating the remaining electric charges as effective electric charges reflecting a fluctuation component of the signal light, a barrier control electrode for forming a potential barrier between the charge separating portion and the charge accumulating portion, and a charge take-out portion for outputting the effective electric charges as an received-light output. By controlling a voltage applied to the barrier control electrode to change a height of the potential barrier, it is possible to adjust an amount of electric charges flowing from the charge separating portion into the charge accumulating portion over the potential barrier.

Spatial information detecting device and photodetector suitable therefor

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 wireless sensor device including a sensor configured to sense a target object and provide a sensor signal of varying levels indicative of condition of the target object, a signal processing circuit configured to amplify the sensor signal and provide an amplified electric analog signal, and a detection circuit configured to receive the amplified analog signal and provide a detection output when the electric analog signal goes beyond a predetermined detection threshold. A radio transmitter transmits a radio detection signal in response to the detection output. A power supply is configured to provide an electric power to the signal processing circuit and the radio transmitter and includes a power generating element which converts an external energy into the electric power to be accumulated in the power supply. A controller activates the radio transmitter only in response to the detection output, permitting the radio transmitter to generate the radio detection signal.

Wireless sensor device

In an apparatus using an intensity-modulated light for detection of spatial information based upon light intensity of light reflected from a target space, a timing synchronization circuit is provided to synchronize a phase of the intensity-modulated light from a light-emitting element with a timing of operating a light-receiving element receiving the intensity-modulated light. The light-receiving element is caused to operate for enabling the detection of intensity of the received light for each of a plurality of phase regions within one cycle of the intensity-modulated light. The timing synchronization circuit functions to compare a cyclic variation determining the operation of the light-receiving element with a cyclic variation associated with an output from a light-emitting element driving circuit in order to keep a constant phase difference between these two cyclic variations.

Spatial information detecting apparatus

A spatial information detection system, which is capable of, even when detecting spatial information from a common target space by use of a plurality of detection devices, achieving accurate detection without causing interference between the detection devices. Each of the detection devices has a light emitting source for projecting light intensity-modulated with a modulation period into the target space, a photodetector for receiving light from the target space, and an evaluation portion for detecting the spatial information of the target space from a change between the light projected from the light emitting source and the light received by the photodetector. The system includes a timing control portion for controlling the timings of projecting the lights from the light emitting sources such that a light projection period of the light emitting source of one of the detection devices does not overlap with the light projection period of the light emitting source of another detection device.

Spatial information detection system including a plurality of detection devices with nonoverlapping light projection periods

A spatial information detection device is provided, which is capable of, even under the condition that an environmental light having intensity fluctuations exists in a target space, projecting a light intensity-modulated with a predetermined modulation signal from a light emitting source into the target space, receiving light from the target space with a photodetector, and detecting spatial information of the target space from a change between the light projected from the light emitting source and the light received by the photodetector. This device has a smoothing unit configured to integrate, over a predetermined integration period, a fluctuation component in a prescribed phase zone of the modulation signal with respect to an electric charge amount generated by receiving the environmental light in the electric charge amount generated at the photodetector by receiving the light from the target space, thereby smoothing the fluctuation component.

Spatial information detection device and spatial information detection system using the same

A light detecting elementincluding an element formation layerwhich contains a well regionA surface electrodeis formed on the layerthrough an insulating layerThe regioncontains an electron holding regionThe regioncontains a hole holding regionThe layercontains a control electrodefacing the regionthrough the layerElectrons and holes are generated at the layerThere are two selected states. In one state, by controlling each electric potential applied to the electrodeselectrons are gathered at the regionwhile holes are held at the regionIn another state, recombination is stimulated between the electrons and the holes. After the recombination, the remaining electrons are picked out as received light output.

Light detecting element and control method of light detecting element

A photodetector is provided, which has the capability of preventing a reduction in dynamic range for a signal light even under a plenty of environmental light to stably obtain a received light output. This photodetector has an accumulation electrode and a holding electrode, which are formed on a photoelectric converting portion through an insulating layer, and a control unit for controlling timings of applying voltages to these electrodes and polarities of the voltages. One of electrons and holes generated in the photoelectric converting portion is accumulated in an accumulation region formed by applying the voltage to the accumulation electrode, and the other is accumulated in a holding region formed by applying the voltage to the holding electrode. Then, the electrons and holes accumulated in the accumulation region and the holding region are recombined, so that remaining electrons or holes not recombined are output.

Photodetector, spatial information detecting device using the photodetector, and photo detection method

A range image sensor comprising a light source, a light detecting element, a sensor control stage and an image construction stage. The image construction stage calculates a distance value for each image element in a range image based on each electric charge picked up after a specific detection period of different detection periods by the sensor control stage, and then constructs the range image. The specific detection period is one of one or more detection periods during which the light detecting element does not reach saturation, and is one detection period during which a value related to the quantity of light received from the object space becomes maximum of that of the one or more detection periods.

Range image sensor

An infrared detecting device for reducing current consumption while maintaining performance is disclosed. The device includes a drive power supply circuit which comprises a current generating circuit and a distribution circuit, and which supplies a drive current to each of signal circuits comprising an I/V conversion circuit, a voltage amplification circuit, a detection circuit and an output circuit. The current generating circuit includes a reference current source, a fixed current source providing a fixed current based on the reference current and a variable current source providing a variable current stepped up or down to any different currents based on the reference current. The distribution circuit distributes the drive current to a part of the signal circuits based on the current from the fixed current source and distributes the drive current to a remaining part of the signal circuits based on the current from the variable current source.

Infrared detecting device

An infrared sensor package has a dielectric support which is molded from a plastic material to have a sensor mount for securing a pyroelectric element as well as an IC mount for securing an IC chip that processes a signal from the pyroelectric element. The support is molded over to be integral with metal parts. The metal parts include sensor conductors for interconnection of the pyroelectric element with the IC chip, and I/O conductors for interconnection of the IC chip with I/O pins. The sensor conductors as well as the I/O conductors are both molded into and integrally with the dielectric support.

Infrared sensor package

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Kyoto, Japan

Yuji Takada