Patent ID: 7002480
Filing Date: 2006-02-21
Classification: B60S,G01N,G06K,Y10S

Abstract:
1. An object sensor having a light source for total reflection, wherein a sensing surface is an outer surface of a transparent substrate from which incident light emitted from the light source for total reflection and led in the transparent substrate is reflected, the object sensor comprising: a light-receiving unit for detecting extraneous light incident from the outside through the sensing surface and reflected light reflected from the sensing surface of the light source for total reflection; an object sensing unit for detecting a reduction change in signal level due to the change of the reflection condition on the sensing surface by an object in a light detection signal detected by the light-receiving unit so as to detect the presence of the object; and an extraneous light quantity increase detection unit for detecting the presence or absence of the increase, due to a raindrop deposited on the detection surface, of the amount of extraneous light received by the light-receiving unit, wherein when the presence of an object is detected by the object sensing unit and the increase in the light quantity is detected by the extraneous light quantity increase detection unit, the object sensor estimates the occurrence of a flashing phenomenon.