JPH09196614A - Light emitter position detection device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: [PROBLEMS] To provide a light emitter position detection device that accurately detects the position of a light emitter with a simple configuration. A transmissive member 4 disposed between light receiving elements 1 and 2 is disposed perpendicularly to a parallel direction in which the light receiving elements are arranged, and a base side (one end side) of the transmissive member 4 and a light incident side (the other end). Side) and a light transmittance different from each other, the root side is the low transmission portion 5, and the incident side is the high transmission portion 6. By making 100% of light reach at least one of the light receiving elements 1 and 2, and comparing and calculating the intensities of the light reaching the light receiving elements 1 and 2, the position of the light emitter 3 can be adjusted in multiple directions. Can be detected by.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transmitter for emitting infrared rays, such as a remote controller, and a light emitter position detecting device for detecting the positions of light sources such as infrared rays, visible light, and ultraviolet rays.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a room air conditioner, in order to blow air toward a person in the room, the position of the remote controller that controls the room air conditioner is assumed to be the position of the person in the room, and the position of the remote controller exists. There is a technology that blows air to the occupants by blowing air into the room. There is a light emitter position detection device for detecting the position of a light emission source (remote control or the like) for such an application.

In the conventional light emitter position detecting device, in order to detect the light emitters at various positions, for example, a plurality of photodiodes are generated by causing a difference in the transmittance of infrared rays transmitted through the light transmitting side transmissive member. It is known that the light receiving amount divided into a plurality of stages is received, and the direction and the position of the light emitting light source are specified by the light receiving amount corresponding to each stage (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-58596).

This conventional example will be further described with reference to FIG. Reference numerals 100 and 101 denote first and second photodiodes for receiving infrared rays emitted from the remote controller, and the infrared rays are received via a transmitting member 102 that transmits the infrared rays to be received. A plurality of transmissive members 102 are provided on one side in a stepwise manner, and infrared rays entering each photodiode are configured to differ depending on the incident angle. As a result, the infrared rays (indicated by arrows) received by the respective photodiodes are different in the amount of light received by the transmitting member 102 depending on the incident angle, and it is possible to detect the direction and position of the light emitting body due to this difference. Become.

[0005]

However, in such a device, when there are many positions and directions to be specified,
The transparent member 102 also has to be divided into a large number and overlapped, which causes a problem that the structure becomes complicated. Further, the transmissive member 102 (on the right side in the drawing) in the overlapped portion has a problem that the transmissivity difference is easily approached, which makes it difficult to accurately detect and divide a plurality of positions.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a light emitter position detection device which has a simple structure for detecting the position of the light emitter and has a higher detection accuracy.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a light emitter position detecting device capable of detecting the position of the light emitter by further subdividing it.

[0008]

To this end, in the invention according to claim 1, a plurality of light receiving elements which receive light from a light emitting body through a transmissive member which transmits light and emit a light receiving signal in response to the received light. And a direction detecting means for calculating the comparison result of the comparing means to detect the position of the light-emitting body. The member is configured into a plurality of sections such that the light transmittance on one end side and the light transmittance on the other end side are different, the one end side is arranged between the light receiving elements, and the other end side is far from the light receiving element. It is characterized in that it is arranged so that.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the transmissive member is arranged at a right angle to the parallel direction in which the light receiving elements are arranged.

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that one end side of the transmitting member is lower than the light transmittance on the other end side.

The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the transmitting member is constituted by one plate-shaped structure.

The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the transmissive member is configured so as to be movable in the parallel direction in which the light receiving elements are arranged or attached at different positions.

In the invention according to claim 6, one end side of the transmissive member is formed substantially perpendicular to the parallel direction of the light receiving elements,
The other end side is formed along the parallel direction and is connected to the one end side in a T shape.

In the invention according to claim 7, the other end side of the transmissive member is configured such that the light transmissivity of both ends thereof is higher than the light transmissivity of the central part in the parallel direction in which the light receiving elements are arranged, and the central part in the parallel direction. It is characterized in that the dimension of the portion is larger than the thickness of one end side to be connected.

In the invention according to claim 8, the transmissive member is arranged perpendicular to the parallel direction in which the light receiving elements are arranged, and forms three sections having different light transmittances, and the three sections are on one end side. It is characterized in that it has a configuration in which the transmittance increases from the other side to the other side.

The invention according to claim 9 is characterized in that a plurality of transmissive members are arranged at intervals in the parallel direction of the light receiving elements.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

First Embodiment Hereinafter, the present example will be described with reference to the drawings, but configurations shown with the same reference numerals in the respective embodiments show the same or corresponding configurations.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the present apparatus. In the figure, reference numerals 1 and 2 each are a light receiving element which is composed of a phototransistor or the like and constitutes a light receiving means. The light receiving elements 1 and 2 receive the light from the light emitting body 3 and convert it into an electric signal. Generally, a phototransistor has a directional characteristic with respect to a light receiving direction as shown in FIG. 6 and different sensitivities with respect to different incident directions, but has the same sensitivity with respect to an axially symmetric direction. Similarly to the conventional phototransistor, the light receiving elements 1 and 2 of the present example are also provided with symmetrical directivities in their axes, and are further arranged in parallel and close to the light incident surface side. In the case of the present example, the proximity means that the light receiving amount is substantially the same regardless of the incident direction. In the light receiving elements 1 and 2 of the present example, they have symmetrical directivities in the axes and are arranged close to each other. Therefore, in the case where there is no transmissive member, which will be described later, the light emitting element 3 is irrelevant regardless of the incident direction. It is possible to obtain substantially the same amount of received light regardless of the strength of the signal due to the difference in the distance between the light receiving elements 1 and 2.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a transmissive member which is made of celluloid resin or the like and has a plate-like shape and which converts the light transmittance (FIG. 2). The transmissive member 4 has a low transmissive portion 5 having low light transmissivity on one end side (root side) and a high transmissive portion 6 having higher light transmissivity than the low transmissive portion 5 on the other end side (tip end side). Yes, the boundary between the low transmission portion 5 and the high transmission portion 6 is indicated by 4a. In this example, the transmittance of the low transmission portion 5 is 50%, and the transmittance of the high transmission portion 6 is 0%. In order to make the transmittance different, a known means such as attaching a colored film to one end side or forming a slit on the other end side may be used. The transmissive member 4 is arranged at the center of the light receiving elements 1 and 2 in the parallel direction and is provided perpendicularly to the parallel direction. One end side (the low transmissive portion 5) is located between the light receiving elements 1 and 2. 2, and the other end side (highly transparent portion 6) is installed far from the light receiving elements 1 and 2. In the figure, one end side of the transmissive member 4 is shown as extending to a straight line passing through the centers of the light receiving elements 1 and 2, but the light of the light emitting body 3 to be detected is transmitted to the respective light receiving elements 1 and 2. If it is within the reachable range, it does not need to be extended to the above straight line.

Reference numerals 7 and 8 denote amplifiers connected to the light receiving elements 1 and 2 for amplifying electric signals from the light receiving elements 1 and 2. Reference numeral 9 denotes a microcomputer, which compares the intensity of light by reading the A / D converted signal transmitted from the amplifiers 7 and 8, and the comparison result of the comparing means 10 to calculate the position of the light emitter. The direction detecting means 11 for detecting In addition, reference numeral 12 denotes a surface plate, which is a part of a housing of a room air conditioner, a television, or the like equipped with this device (FIG. 5).

FIGS. 3 and 4 are plan views for explaining the positional relationship between the light emitter and the light receiving means, and the range in which the light emitter 3 can exist is divided into ABCDEs. In FIG. 3, for example, the light-emitting body 3 in the range D and the light-emitting body 3 in the range E show different amounts of light incident on the light receiving element 1. Similarly, in FIG. It is shown that the amount of light incident on the light receiving element 2 of the light emitting body 3 in each range is different.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which the position of the light-emitting body 3 can be detected in five directions by the two light-receiving elements 1 and 2 and the transmissive member 4 formed in two sections. That is, the light of the light emitting body 3 in the range A is received by the light receiving element 1.
Is 100% incident, it is indicated by a circle, but at the same time, the range A
The light of the light-emitting body 3 in FIG. 2 is blocked by the low-transmission portion 5 of the transmissive member 2 and thus is incident on the light-receiving element 2 by 0%, which is indicated by x. Further, the light of the light emitting body 3 in the range B is 100% incident on the light receiving element 1, and at the same time, the light of the light emitting body 3 in the range B is blocked by the high transmissive portion 6 of the transmissive member 2. The incident light is incident on the light receiving element 2 by 50%. Further, the light of the light emitting body 3 in the range C is 100% to the light receiving element 1.
It is indicated by a circle that is incident, and at the same time, the light of the light emitting body 3 in the range C is also indicated by a circle that is 100% incident on the light receiving element 2. The range D is the reverse of the range B, and the range E is the reverse of the range A. Therefore, the amount or intensity of the light from the light emitter 3 should be
The position of the light-emitting body 3 can be set to 5 even if it is divided into three stages of △ ×.
The principle that can be detected in direction is understood. That is, the division of the transmittance of the transmissive member 4 with respect to the total number of resolutions of the direction detection means 11 can be significantly reduced.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart for the arithmetic processing of the direction detecting means 11. Note that ABCD in FIG.
The symbol E represents the range ABCDE shown in FIG.
When the electric signal from the light receiving element 1 is a and the electric signal from the light receiving element 2 is b, the comparison means 10 compares a and b, for example, a> b in step 1.
That is, whether the light emitter 3 is on the front side (range C) of the light receiving elements 1 and 2, or to the left (range A, B) or to the right (range D,
E) Sort out. Here, in the case of YES, the direction detecting means 11 calculates ka = b / a in step 2 and determines in step 3 whether 1 ≧ ka> 0.75, for example. Here, in the case of YES, that is, k
If the value of a (that is, b / a) is close to 1, it is detected that the light emitter 3 is on the front side (range C) of the light receiving elements 1 and 2. If NO in step 3, proceed to step 4 to perform an operation of 0.75 ≧ ka> 0.25, and if YES, determine that the light emitter 3 is in the range B. If NO, Is in the range A.

If NO in step 1, the front side (range C) or the right side (range D, E) is determined, and the direction detecting means 11 calculates kb = a / b in step 5. Further, in step 6, 1 ≧ kb> 0.75 is calculated.
In the case of YES here, it is determined that the light emitter 3 is in the range C, and in the case of NO, 0.75 ≧ k in step 7 further.
b> 0.25, and if YES, light emitter 3
Is determined to be in the range C, and if NO is determined to be in the range E.

In this example, the position of the light emitter 3 is determined on the basis of the incidence rate (0%, 50%, 100% of three levels) on the light receiving element, and therefore 0 corresponding to the middle of each value is set. .25
And the value of 0.75 are used to facilitate the illuminator 3.
More accurately identifies the location of. Therefore, the values of 0.25 and 0.75 in FIG. 7 are not exact, and
The value of 0.25 may be set to 0.2 or 0.3, or the value of 0.75 may be set to 0.8 or 0.7 as appropriate.

In the light emitter position detecting device having the above structure, when the light emitter 3, which is a remote controller for a room air conditioner or a TV, emits light, the light receiving elements 1 and 2 receive the light and convert the light signals into electric signals, respectively, and an amplifier 7 is provided. Send to. Amplifier 7
The electric signal amplified by is subjected to A / D conversion (not shown) and then compared by the comparison means 10, and the result is transmitted to the direction detection means 11. Then, the direction detecting means 11 performs the arithmetic processing shown in FIG. 7 to determine that the position of the light emitter 3 is in any of the five directions.

As described above, according to the light emitter position detecting apparatus of this example, one transmissive member 4 is divided into two sections so that the light transmissivity on one end side and the light transmissivity on the other end side are different. The light receiving elements 1 and 2 are arranged between the light receiving elements 1 and 2 on one end side.
Of the light-emitting element 3 by converting the amount or intensity of light incident on the light-receiving elements 1 and 2 into five types by a simple configuration in which the light-receiving elements 1 and 2 are arranged so as to be close to The position can be detected with five resolutions.

Further, in order to have the capability of detecting positions in five directions, whether there is incident light on the light receiving element (eg, 100% transmittance), or not (eg, 0% transmittance), or weak (eg, transmittance). Since three types of transmittance (50% transmittance) are used, the boundaries of the transmittance are reduced compared to the case where five transmittances are generated and used to realize five resolutions. Since the error generated near the boundary is reduced and the number of judgment elements is smaller than the total number of resolutions, accurate direction detection with high sensitivity can be performed, and more stable and accurate detection can be performed. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a highly accurate light emitter position detection device with a simple configuration.

Further, since the transmissive member 4 is arranged at a right angle to the parallel direction in which the light receiving elements 1 and 2 are lined up, 100% of incident light always enters either of the light receiving elements 1 and 2.
Each light receiving element 1 is not affected by the signal strength due to the distance,
The light reaching 2 can be detected accurately.

Further, the high transmission part 6 which is one end side of the transmission member 4 farther from the light receiving elements 1 and 2 is higher than the light transmittance of the low transmission part 5 which is the other end side closer to the light receiving elements 1 and 2. Therefore, it is easy to pass light passing through one end side, and thus it is easy to maintain the accuracy of detecting the position of the light emitter.

Further, since the transmissive member 4 is composed of one plate-shaped structure, it is possible to detect the positions of the light emitters in multiple directions with an extremely simple structure.

Note that the room air conditioner or the like is often not installed in the center of the room or the wall but installed in one corner of the room. In this case, as shown in FIG. 8, the transmissive member 4 may be arranged so as to be biased to one of the light receiving elements 1 and 2. That is, in the structure shown in FIG. 8, the holding means 13 for holding the root portion 4b of the transmissive member 4 is configured to be movable in the direction parallel to the light receiving elements as shown by the arrow in the figure, so that the transmissive member 4 can be moved.
Can be set at any position. However, a plurality of holding means 13 for holding the transmissive member 4 are formed in the parallel direction of the light receiving elements so as to be fitted into the root portion 4b of the transmissive member 4 in a concavo-convex manner, and the holding position of the transmissive member 4 is fixed. You may.

In the example of FIG. 8, the detected range on the right side of the drawing is narrowed, and the detection accuracy of the light-emitting body 3 on the right side is correspondingly increased. That is, the transmissive member 4 is configured to be movable in the parallel direction in which the light receiving elements 1 and 2 are arranged side by side or to be attached at different positions, so that the transmissive member 4 is suitable for a room air conditioner or the like installed in a biased position in the room. A position detecting means can be provided.

Embodiment 2 In the above-mentioned embodiments, the transparent member 4 is formed in a flat plate shape, but in this example, the transparent member has a different form. FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the present embodiment.
It shows that the position of can be detected in five directions. The configuration other than the transparent member 14 is the same as in the first embodiment.
Therefore, the description is omitted.

The transmissive member 14 includes a low transmissive portion 15 installed perpendicularly to the parallel direction of the light receiving elements 1 and 2, and a high transmissive portion connected in a T-shape on the light incident side of the low transmissive portion 15. Part 1
6 is comprised. That is, the high transmission portion 16 is formed along the direction in which the light receiving elements 1 and 2 are arranged side by side. Therefore, the low transmission portion 15 (one end side) is arranged between the light receiving elements 1 and 2 so as to be close to the light receiving elements 1 and 2, and the high transmission portion 16 (other end side) is arranged to be far from the light receiving elements 1 and 2. Also in this example, the light transmittance of the low-transmitting portion 15 is 0%, and the light transmittance of the high-transmitting portion 16 is 50%. Therefore, the direction detecting means 11
The calculation processing by may be the same as in FIG. Further, the length dimensions of the low-transmission portion 15 and the high-transmission portion 16 may be appropriately set in consideration of the application, the usage status of the light emitting body 3, and the like.

In the light emitter position detecting apparatus according to the present example, the light of the light emitter 3 in the range B and the range D is transmitted (50%) as compared with the case where a transparent member formed in a plate shape (I shape) is used. Since the member to be arranged is along the parallel direction in which the light receiving elements 1 and 2 are arranged, the distance that the transmissive member 14 projects from between the light receiving elements 1 and 2 to the light incident side is small, and the size can be further reduced. It will be possible. The position detection capability and the like are basically the same as those of the first embodiment.

Third Embodiment In the first embodiment, the transparent member 4 is divided into two sections having different transmissivities, but in this example, the transparent member 4 is divided into three different sections. explain. Since the configuration other than the transmitting member is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a state in which the position of the light emitting body 3 can be detected in seven directions by the two light receiving elements 1 and 2 and the transmissive member 20 formed in three sections. In the figure, reference numeral 20 denotes a transmissive member, which is made of a material having good transmissivity such as a single plate-shaped celluloid. The transmissive member 20 is formed from the incident side in the order of the high transmissive portion 21, the medium transmissive portion 22, and the low transmissive portion 23. In this example, the transmissivity of the high transmissive portion 21 is 60% and the transmissive portion 22 is 30%. The transmittance of the low transmission portion 23 is 0%.

As can be seen from FIG. 10, the light from the range A reaches the light receiving element 1 by 100% and reaches the light receiving element 2 by 0%. Light from the range B reaches the light receiving element 1 by 100% and reaches the light receiving element 2 by 30%. Light from the range C reaches the light receiving element 1 by 100% and reaches the light receiving element 2 by 60%. Light from the range D reaches the light receiving element 1 by 100% and reaches the light receiving element 2 by 100%. The light from the range E reaches 60% to the light receiving element 1 and 100% to the light receiving element 2. The light from the range F reaches the light receiving element 1 by 30% and reaches the light receiving element 2 by 100%. Light from the range G reaches the light receiving element 1 by 0% and reaches the light receiving element 2 by 100%.
That is, 100% transmittance is ◯, 60 is □, and 30 is 30
% Is indicated by Δ and 0% is indicated by ×, and it means that 100% of incident light is incident on either of the light receiving elements 1 and 2.

In this example, since the light receiving elements 1 and 2 are closely arranged in parallel, and both light receiving elements can obtain substantially the same amount or intensity of light when the transmissive member 20 is not provided. By comparing received light signals emitted from the two light receiving elements 1 and 2 and performing arithmetic processing, it is possible to detect from which of the seven ranges the light incident on the light receiving elements 1 and 2 is emitted. That is, the transmittances of the different sections 21, 22, and 23 divided into the transmissive member 20 are 60% and 3 respectively.
Since they are 0% and 0%, respectively, in steps 2 to 5 and steps 6 to 9 in the flowchart of FIG.
Values such as 5, 0.15 and the like may be set and set in the same manner as in FIG. 7. By the calculation of the direction detecting means 11 shown in FIG. 11, it becomes possible to detect the position of the light emitting body 3 in the seven ranges A to G.

In other words, the position detection ability in 7 directions as a whole can be obtained only by judging the four stages of the reaching light reaching each of the light receiving elements 1 and 2 of 100%, 60%, 30% and 0%. Easy to achieve. It should be noted that even if the transmissive member 4 is further increased in the number of sections having different transmissivities and the transmissivity is set to be higher on the incident side, it can be realized in the same manner as in this example, but its position detection capability is (2 × (n + 1) ) -1). At this time, both the light receiving elements 1 and 2 should be able to decompose the light intensity of (n + 1).

According to the present embodiment, the direction detecting means 11
Since the number of judgment elements is smaller than the total resolution number of
Accurate direction detection with high sensitivity can be performed, and the means for achieving the same can be extremely simplified.

Fourth Embodiment In the second embodiment, the T-shaped transparent member 14 is used, but in this example, the transmittance of the high transparent portion is divided. FIG. 12 is a plan view showing the present embodiment, and shows how the position of the light emitter 3 can be detected in seven directions. The configuration other than the transmissive member 14 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

The transmissive member 14 is a low transmissive portion 15 installed perpendicularly to the parallel direction in which the light receiving elements 1 and 2 are arranged, and a high transmissive portion 15 connected to the light incident side of the low transmissive portion 15 in a T-shape. It is composed of the transmission part 16. Therefore, the low transmission part 15 (one end side)
Is arranged between the light receiving elements 1 and 2 so as to be close to the light receiving elements 1 and 2, and the high transmission portion 16 (the other end side) is arranged to be far from the light receiving elements 1 and 2. The high transmissive portion 16 is composed of an end portion 18, a central portion 17, and an end portion 19 in this order in the direction in which the light receiving elements 1 and 2 are arranged side by side. The size of the central portion 17 in the side by side direction is low on one end side of the transmissive member 14. It is made larger than the thickness of the transmission part 15. The light transmittance of the low transmission portion 15 is 0%, the transmittance of the central portion 17 of the high transmission portion 16 is 30%, and both ends 1
The transmittance of each of 8 and 19 is 70%, which is higher than the transmittance of the central portion 17. In this example, with this configuration, when the light from the range ABFG reaches the light receiving elements 1 and 2, the amount or intensity of the reaching light is different.

The structures of the comparing means 10 and the direction detecting means 11 after the light receiving elements 1 and 2 have received the light are the same as those in the third embodiment, so that the description thereof will be omitted, but the transmittance of the transmitting member 14 is different. Regarding the points, the numerical value for the calculation of the direction detecting means 11 may be changed appropriately (FIG. 13). That is,
The light received by the light receiving elements 1 and 2 is 0% of the light of the light emitting body 3 and 3
The values may be replaced with values of 0.15, 0.50, and 0.85 corresponding to the middle of the values of 0%, 70%, and 100% (the value with the smallest error). However, these values may be changed appropriately. Further, the length dimensions of the low-transmission portion 15 and the high-transmission portion 16 may be appropriately set in consideration of the application, the usage status of the light emitting body 3, and the like.

In the light emitter position detecting device of the present embodiment having the above-described structure, the transmittance of the both ends 18, 19 of the highly transparent portion 16 which is one end of the T-shaped transparent member 14 is set to be higher than that of the central portion 17. Since the light is received by the light receiving elements 1 and 2 only in four steps of 0%, 30%, 70%, and 100%, the position of the light emitter 3 is detected in seven ranges as a whole. It becomes possible.

Therefore, a large number of positions can be detected with a simple structure, and the high-transmission portion 16 for changing the light transmittance is along the direction in which the light-receiving elements 1 and 2 are arranged side by side.
In No. 5, only the incident light from the range A and the range G is transmitted (0%), and the projection amount of the transmissive member to the incident side can be reduced as compared with the plate-shaped (I-shaped) type, and the size can be made compact. The position detection capability and the like are basically the same as those of the third embodiment.

Fifth Embodiment In the first embodiment, one transmissive member is used, but in this example, two transmissive members are used to further enhance the position detection capability. Note that the configuration of this example is the same as that of the first embodiment except for the transparent member, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

In FIG. 13, the light emitting element 3 is formed by the two light receiving elements 1 and 2 and the transmissive members 30 and 31 formed in two sections.
FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a state in which the position of can be detected in nine directions. Both the transmissive members 30 and 31 are made of a material having good transmissivity such as a plate-shaped celluloid. Both the transmissive members 30 and 31 have high transmissive portions 32 and 3 from the incident side, respectively.
3, the low transmission portions 34 and 35 are formed in this order. In this example, the high transmission portions 32 and 33 have a transmittance of 75% and the low transmission portions 34 and 35.
Has a transmittance of 45%. That is, also in this example, the transmissive members 30 and 31 have different transmissivities on the one end side and the other end side, and the transmissive members 30 and 31 are closer to the light receiving elements 30 and 31 on the one end side and farther to the other end. Are arranged as follows. The distance between the transparent members 30 and 31 and the distance between the transparent members 30 and 31 and the light receiving elements 1 and 2 may be set appropriately.

In FIG. 14, 100% of the light reaches the light receiving element 1 from the range A, and about 20% of the light reaching the light receiving element 2 is transmitted through the low transmission portions 34 and 35 of the transmissive members 30 and 31. Becomes Similarly, the light reaching the light receiving element 1 from the range B is 100%, and the light reaching the light receiving element 2 is about 34%. Similarly, from the range C to the light receiving element 1
00%, almost 56% for light receiving element 2, 100% for range D to light receiving element 1, 75% for light receiving element 2, 100% for range E to light receiving element 1, 100% for light receiving element 2 From F to 75% for the light receiving element 1 and 100 for the light receiving element 2.
%, Range G to 56% for light receiving element 1, 100% for light receiving element 2, range H to 34% for light receiving element 1, 100% for light receiving element 2 and 20% for range I to light receiving element 1. The light receiving element 2 reaches 100%.

FIG. 14 shows the case where the reaching light is 100%.
75% in □, 56% in △ ', 34% in △, 2
0% is shown by x, but the light receiving element 1 from any range,
100% of the light reaches either of the two. In the present example as well, the configurations of the comparison unit 10 and the direction detection unit 11 are the same, so description thereof will be omitted. In short, a method of providing a threshold at a specific signal level and distributing the thresholds may be used.

According to the light emitter position detecting apparatus of this example, the transmissive member 30 in which the light receiving elements 1 and 2 are arranged in the parallel direction,
With a simple configuration in which 31 is arranged between the light receiving elements 1 and 2,
The light receiving elements 1 and 2 are 100%, 75%, 56%,
The light emitter 3 can be detected in nine directions by detecting the five types of arrival light of 34% and 20%, and thus the position can be detected in multiple directions with a simple configuration.

[0053]

According to the invention of claim 1, the transparent member is
A plurality of sections are configured so that the light transmittance on one end side and the light transmittance on the other end side are different, the one end side is arranged between the light receiving elements, and the other end side is located far from the light receiving element. This has the effect that the position of the light emitter can be detected in multiple directions with a simple configuration in which the light emitters are arranged.

Furthermore, in the invention according to claim 2, since the transmissive member is arranged at a right angle to the parallel direction in which the light receiving elements are arranged, 100% of incident light always enters one of the light receiving elements and the distance is increased. There is an effect that the ratio of the light reaching the light receiving element can be accurately detected without being affected by the intensity of the signal due to.

Further, in the invention according to claim 3, since the one end side of the transmissive member farther from the light receiving element is higher than the light transmittance of the other end side closer to the light receiving element, it is easy to pass the light passing through the one end side. This has the effect of making it easier to maintain the detection accuracy of the position of the light emitter.

In the invention according to claim 4, since the transmissive member is composed of one plate-shaped structure, it has the effect of being able to detect the positions of the light emitters in multiple directions with an extremely simple structure.

Further, in the invention according to claim 5, since the transmitting member is configured to be movable in the parallel direction in which the light receiving elements are arranged side by side or to be attached at different positions, for example, a device such as a room air conditioner is installed in a room. Even in the case of being located in a biased position, there is an effect that the detection accuracy can be increased for the side that is frequently used.

Further, in the invention according to claim 6, one end side of the transmissive member is formed substantially perpendicular to the parallel direction of the light receiving elements, and the other end side is formed along the parallel direction to form a T-shape with the one end side. Since they are connected in a circular shape, the distance that the transmissive member projects from between the light receiving elements 1 and 2 toward the incident side is small compared to the case where a transmissive member formed simply in a plate shape (I shape) is used, and it is compact. It has the effect that can be converted.

Further, in the invention according to claim 7, the light transmissivity on the other end side of the transmissive member is different between the central portion and both end portions thereof, and the dimension of the central portion in the parallel direction is one end side to be connected. With a simple configuration in which the thickness is larger than the thickness, the effect that the positions of the light emitters in more directions can be detected accurately can be obtained.

Further, in the invention according to claim 8, the transmissive member is arranged perpendicularly to the parallel direction in which the light receiving elements are arranged, and forms three sections having different light transmittances.
Since the two sections have a configuration in which the transmittance increases in order from one end side to the other end side, there is an effect that the positions of the light emitters having more transmittance directions than the two sections can be detected.

In the invention according to claim 9, since a plurality of transmissive members are arranged at intervals in the direction in which the light receiving elements are arranged side by side, one transmissive member is added to one that simply uses one transmissive member. The simple configuration of increasing the number has the effect of dramatically increasing the number of light-emitting body detection directions.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a transparent member according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a characteristic diagram of the light receiving element according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a plan view according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a plan view according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a plan view according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 and 2 are light receiving elements, 3 is a light emitter, 4, 14, 20, 3
0, 31 are transparent members, 5, 15, 23 are low transparent parts, 6,
Reference numerals 16 and 21 are high transmission portions, 10 is comparison means, 11 is direction detection means, 13 is holding means, 17 is central portion, 18 and 19 are end portions, and 22 is medium transmission portion.

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A light receiving means having a plurality of light receiving elements for receiving light from a light emitting body through a light transmitting member and transmitting a light receiving signal according to the received light, and a plurality of the light receiving means from the light receiving means. Comprising a comparing means for comparing signals and a direction detecting means for calculating the comparison result of the comparing means to detect the position of the light emitter, the transmitting member is provided with a light transmittance on one end side and a light on the other end side. A light emitter position detecting device characterized in that the light emitter position is formed into a plurality of sections having different transmittances, one end side of which is arranged between the light receiving elements and the other end side is arranged far from the light receiving element. . 2. The transparent member is arranged at a right angle to a direction in which the light receiving elements are arranged side by side.
The light emitter position detection device described. 3. The light emitter position detection device according to claim 1, wherein one end side of the transmissive member has a lower light transmittance than the other end side. 4. The light emitter position detection device according to claim 1, wherein the transmissive member is composed of one plate-shaped structure. 5. The light emitter position detection device according to claim 1, wherein the transmissive member is configured to be movable or attachable to different positions in a direction in which the light receiving elements are arranged side by side. 6. The transparent member has one end side formed substantially perpendicular to the parallel direction of the light receiving elements, and the other end side formed along the parallel direction and connected to the one end side in a T-shape. The light emitter position detection device according to claim 1, wherein 7. The other end side of the transmissive member is configured such that the light transmissivity of both ends thereof is higher than the light transmissivity of the central part in the parallel direction in which the light receiving elements are arranged, and the dimensions of the central part are connected in the parallel direction. 7. The light emitter position detecting device according to claim 6, wherein the thickness is larger than the thickness on one end side. 8. The transmissive member is arranged perpendicular to the parallel direction in which the light receiving elements are arranged, and forms three sections having different light transmittances, and the three sections are sequentially arranged from one end side to the other end side. 2. The light emitter position detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the light emitter position detecting device has a structure having a high transmittance. 9. The light emitter position detection device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of transmissive members are arranged at intervals in the parallel direction of the light receiving elements.