Patent ID: 9664791
Date: 2017-05-30
CPC Classifications: E03C,G01S,G01V

Claim:
1. A person-detecting sensor for detecting a person, as a detection object, located within a predetermined detection distance range, the person-detecting sensor comprising: an imaging unit that includes an imaging element in which a plurality of pixels is arrayed either one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally; a light-emitting unit disposed offset from the imaging unit in a predetermined direction, wherein an imaging operation control unit that controls an imaging operation carrying out light emission by the light-emitting unit and light receiving by the imaging unit; a readout unit that reads out from the imaging unit its output imaging data, as a received-light waveform representing the distribution of received-light values for each of the plurality of pixels in the imaging element; a range-finding unit that identifies position where the reflected light is incident in a light-receiving region, which is a region in which pixels constituting the imaging element are arrayed in the predetermined direction, and that decides whether distance to the detection object derivable by the principle of triangulation from the incident position falls within the predetermined detection distance range; a specular reflection decision unit that decides whether the reflected light includes specularly-reflected light; and a detection determination unit that determines a detection object to be under detection when the detection object is decided by the range-finding unit to be within the predetermined detection distance range and the reflected light is decided by the specular reflection decision unit not to include specularly-reflected light, and that determines no detection object is under detection when the reflected light is decided by the specular reflection decision unit to include specularly-reflected light, even when the detection object is decided by the range-finding unit to be within the predetermined detection distance range; wherein the specular reflection decision unit is for performing a first decision routine, a second decision routine and a third decision routine,