• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
  • 同族专利
  • 引用文献
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  • 优先权
    • 专利摘要:
    A method for controlling, parameterizing and / or calibrating a sensor unit (10) used for illumination control, which has an image sensor (11) for acquiring digital image information and a controller (15) for evaluating the image information and producing a brightness signal (S) representing the daylight. comprises the following steps: providing a reference or control object (20, 30) and arranging this reference or control object (20, 30) in an area detected by the image sensor (11), acquiring image information representing the reference or control object (20, 30), evaluating the image information by the controller (15) and deriving control, parameterization or calibration information.
    公开号:AT14924U1
    申请号:TGM292/2014U
    申请日:2014-08-01
    公开日:2016-08-15
    发明作者:Gerd Zeidler
    申请人:Zumtobel Lighting Gmbh；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    description
    METHOD FOR CONTROLLING, PARAMETERIZING OR CALIBRATING A SENSOR UNIT USED FOR LIGHTING CONTROL
    The present invention relates to a method by which a used for lighting control sensor unit is to be controlled, parameterized and / or calibrated. The sensor unit is a unit based on an image or pixel sensor that acquires and evaluates digital image information. Furthermore, the invention relates to a corresponding sensor unit.
    Starting point for the invention are the currently common method for light control, in which determined by means of a sensor not directly emitted by the lamp light but instead the area to be illuminated is detected. In this so-called look-down light control, a light sensor thus measures the illuminance in the area to be illuminated and generates a corresponding signal. A tax or. Control unit can then keep the level of illumination in the area by a corresponding control of the lights using the measured value transmitted by the light sensor. This means that the luminaires are controlled in such a way that, for example, in a region to be illuminated, a constant brightness is present independently of the daylight incident from the outside. Such look-down sensors are typically mounted on the ceiling of a room to be illuminated.
    The currently used light sensors usually have a simple photodiode as a transducer. Depending on the optics used, the measured value obtained in this case is proportional to the average reflected light quantity of the area observed or detected by the sensor and thus a measure of the illuminance in the room. This proportionality factor is typically assumed to be constant. Color or color temperature measurements are not possible with such sensors due to the system.
    When commissioning a corresponding look-down light control, the actual illuminance in the detection range of the light sensor is first measured with the help of a special measuring device, a so-called lux meter, and the lighting is adjusted so that the required light level is achieved. The control unit is calibrated or enabled in this way to assign an illuminance to the measured value of the sensor and to keep it constant at the desired value during later operation.
    However, this approach only leads permanently to a satisfactory result when the reflection factor in the detection range of the sensor remains permanently constant. This reflection factor indicates how much light is reflected from a surface onto the sensor and thus depends on the objects located in the detection area. For example, if the reflection factor changes due to the use of a new floor covering, new furniture, changes in work equipment at the desk and the like, the sensor's reading also changes without any actual change in illuminance. This leads to a malfunction of the system, as this tries to compensate for the supposed change in light.
    To avoid this problem novel sensor units have been proposed in which a pixel sensor or a camera sensor is used as a transducer. In principle, therefore, these are image sensors which determine digital image information of an area detected by the optics of the sensor. By means of suitable optics and appropriate evaluation algorithms, a variety of information regarding the space to be illuminated can then be obtained. On the one hand, of course, information regarding the currently present brightness can be obtained, on the other hand, the information can also be used to detect the presence of persons, so that such systems simultaneously also represent a presence or movement sensor. Such a multifunctional sensor is described, for example, in DE 10 2012 207 170 A1 of the Applicant.
    However, a problem of such intelligent sensors relates to the still required start-up using the measuring instrument described above, the lux meter for setting the required light levels. In order to be able to obtain correct brightness information on the basis of the image information, this sensor must also be calibrated during commissioning, since in turn the reflection properties influence the image and brightness level detected by the image sensor. Furthermore, an accurate light color or light color temperature measurement is only possible if the sensor has been calibrated accordingly.
    The present invention is therefore the task of providing a novel way in particular for calibrating a correspondingly intelligent sensor available, which is easy and quick to implement.
    The object is achieved by a method for controlling, parameterizing and / or calibrating a sensor unit used for lighting control with the features of claim 1. Advantageous developments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims. Furthermore, the object is achieved by a sensor unit having the features of claim 10.
    The solution according to the invention is fundamentally based on the knowledge that when using a correspondingly intelligent sensor unit which is based on an image sensor for acquiring digital image information, a calibration does not necessarily have to take place with the aid of a lux meter. Instead, the sensor unit can already be enabled to measure the light level and the light color absolutely and correctly if, at least in the context of a calibration, it looks at a reference object with known properties and then evaluates the corresponding image data.
    The present invention therefore proposes a method for controlling, parameterizing and / or calibrating a sensor unit used for lighting control, wherein the sensor unit has an image sensor for acquiring digital image information and a controller for evaluating the image information and creating a signal representing the lighting situation and wherein the method comprises the following steps: a) providing a reference or control object and arranging this reference or control object in an area detected by the image sensor, b) capturing image information containing the reference or control object and c) evaluating the image information by the controller and deriving control, parameterization or calibration information.
    Furthermore, the invention proposes a sensor unit for use in lighting control, which has • an image sensor for acquiring digital image information and • a controller for evaluating the image information and creating a brightness signal representing the daylight, wherein the controller is designed for this purpose in recognizing, when evaluating the image information acquired by the image sensor, a reference or control object arranged in the region detected by the image sensor and deriving control, parameterization or calibration information from the associated image information.
    Finally, it is thus provided that the intelligent sensor recognizes and detects an object within the area detected by it, whose reflection and optionally further optical properties are known to it. This in turn means that when evaluating the image information, the controller can take into account the influence of the reflection of the light reflected from the reference object and, accordingly, can deduce the actual brightness information from the originally measured luminance values. As a result, the system can operate self-adjusting and a complex commissioning with the help of a lux meter is no longer required.
    Preferably, the reference object is designed as simple as possible and designed so that it can be used in many ways. In the simplest embodiment, therefore, the reference object can represent a simple sheet of white paper, which fulfills certain properties with respect to the reflection factor and the color. White paper, which is used for example by default for copying, is within certain limits suitable for this purpose and could accordingly be readily used as a reference object for carrying out the method according to the invention.
    In this case, the system is preferably designed such that the controller automatically recognizes when evaluating the image information that in the area detected by the sensor unit, a corresponding reference object, by means of which a calibration is to be performed, is located. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is therefore provided that the reference object is identified in a corresponding manner, so that this is automatically detected when evaluating the image information. One possibility for this would be, for example, to give the reference object, for example the paper, a characteristic form which is recognized immediately. However, it is particularly preferably provided that the reference object is printed with a corresponding identifier, which is embodied for example in the form of a barcode, a so-called QR code or another machine-readable identifier. As already mentioned, this marking is designed in such a way that, on the one hand, the sensor unit is able to recognize it, and on the other hand, enough white surface remains to carry out the actual measurement. At the same time, the idea of printing the reference object has the advantage that the resulting contrasts in the image acquired by the sensor allow more accurate information, which is required for the calibration of the sensor unit, to be obtained.
    A particular advantage of the inventive solution is that, as indicated above, a recalibration can be performed at any time. This may be necessary if other conditions arise due to changes in the environment that may affect the result sensed by the sensor unit. In such a case, the reference object can now be introduced in a simple manner into the region detected by the sensor unit, thereby initiating the calibration. In this case, it can preferably be provided that an object is successively positioned several times at different locations within the area covered by the sensor unit. Alternatively, several reference objects could be arranged at the same time. In both cases, this leads to an increase in the information on the basis of which the calibration is carried out, so that overall a better result is achieved.
    It should also be noted that the procedure according to the invention not only used to calibrate the sensor unit but also, for example, based on the same principle, a control of the sensor unit could be performed. For example, it would be conceivable for the sensor unit to have different operating modes and to be able to switch between these different operating modes. For this purpose, it can now be provided that, in turn, a corresponding control object, which is detected as part of the image evaluation, is positioned in the detection area of the image sensor. The corresponding control information, which then ultimately cause the sensor unit to assume a particular mode of operation, may be coded - again, for example, in the form of a bar code - or otherwise graphically encoded. Also in this case, it is then provided that the controller automatically recognizes this as part of the evaluation of the image information and generates and carries out a corresponding control information based thereon.
    Finally, it is known, for example from the above-described application of the Applicant that within the detected image area of the sensor targeted individual areas can be defined, which are evaluated and their information is then used for lighting control. It was originally proposed that such areas are defined, for example, in the context of a corresponding user interface, that is, the sensor unit communicates with, for example, a PC or another operating device, via which then a corresponding definition of such areas is made. Again, however, the concept of the present invention could also be used for such purposes. That is, a corresponding control object, which in turn can be a suitably printed sheet of paper in the simplest way, is positioned in the detection range of the sensor and thereby defines, for example, the center of a corresponding evaluation area, which is then considered separately when evaluating the image data. The corresponding control information must in turn be coded accordingly by the printing or shaping of the control object and can then define, for example, the extent of the area and / or its shape.
    Ultimately, therefore, the concept according to the invention can be used in many ways in order to control or parameterize a sensor unit using an image sensor in a wide variety of ways. In particular, however, brings the solution of the invention advantages in terms of calibration of the sensor with it, since now consuming measures for commissioning can be omitted.
    The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows schematically the arrangement of a sensor unit according to the invention in a room to be illuminated and the use of reference objects for calibrating the sensor unit; Figure 2 shows the structure of a sensor unit according to the present invention; Figures 3a and 3b conceivable reference objects for calibrating the sensor unit GE according to the method according to the invention and Figure 4 shows the use of the inventive concept for determining certain evaluation areas in the image area detected by the sensor.
    Figure 1 shows first generally the arrangement of the sensor unit according to the invention in a room to be illuminated. The sensor unit designated by the reference numeral 10 is usually arranged on the ceiling of the room generally provided with the reference numeral 100 to be illuminated. It serves to control light sources not shown in detail, with the aid of which the space 100 is to be illuminated. In particular, these light sources should, for example, illuminate a workstation 101 which is formed on the surface of a desk 105. In the room, however, there are other objects such as shelves 106 and the like, which influence the lighting situation due to their reflection properties. Furthermore, daylight can enter the room through a window, not shown in detail.
    The usual regulation or control of the light sources takes place in that detected by means of a sensor, here with the aid of sensor unit 10 according to the invention, the lighting situation and in particular the present at the table surface or the workstation 101 brightness is determined. On the basis of this information, the light sources are then controlled in such a way that, for example, during a work period at the workstation 101 a desired brightness is present, which makes working pleasant.
    Compared to a classic look-down light sensor, which is directed directly to the workplace 101 to be evaluated and outputs a single brightness signal, while the complex configured sensor unit 10 is able to obtain more diverse information regarding the lighting situation , The structure of this sensor unit 10 is shown schematically in FIG. 2, a central element of which is a pixel or image sensor 11 to which an optic 12 is assigned, wherein the image sensor 11 and optics 12 collect digital image information with respect to the captured image area. As shown in Figure 1, the optic 12 is preferably designed so that there is a very large viewing angle and, accordingly, ideally the entire space is detected.
    The data acquired by the image sensor 11 are then first processed by a conditioning unit 13 and then evaluated by a further unit 14. The units 13 and 14 may optionally be integrated together in a corresponding controller 15 of the sensor unit 10, which is ultimately responsible for the output of a signal representing the lighting situation signal S. This signal S, which corresponds in principle to the brightness signal detected by a simple light sensor, can then be used for further illumination control. As already mentioned, however, the use of the image sensor 11 with subsequent image data processing offers significantly more diverse possibilities for obtaining information with regard to the lighting situation. At the same time, the image data may be used to obtain information regarding the presence of persons and the like.
    Even with this intelligent and multifunctional sensor unit 10, however, there is the problem that the data acquired by the image sensor 11 initially represent no absolute brightness information but merely represent luminance values. These values depend strongly on how, for example, the light emitted by the artificial light sources is reflected by the various surfaces of the space 100. Without knowledge of these reflection properties, it is thus not possible to obtain absolute brightness and, in particular, no information regarding the color or color temperature of the light on the basis of the luminance values.
    While so far for calibration of brightness sensors special Lux meter were used, now comes a much easier to be performed method for calibrating the sensor unit 10 is used. As schematically illustrated in FIG. 1, the method is based on the idea of arranging reference objects 20 whose properties are known within the image area captured by the sensor unit 10 or the camera with the optics 12. In particular, the reflection and color properties of these reference objects 20 are known.
    In the illustrated embodiment come as reference objects 20 in a simple manner sheets of white paper used. For example, it may be plain copy paper whose reflection factor and color properties are known. It is assumed here that correspondingly white copy paper has approximately the same properties with regard to the above-mentioned parameters.
    The image captured by the image sensor 10 with respect to these reference paper sheets 20 is thus influenced by the known properties of the paper (reflection factor and color). That is, the luminance values with respect to the image data of these sheets 20 make it possible to obtain absolute brightness and color information. Since, at least approximately, it can be assumed that the lighting situation in the vicinity of the reference paper sheets 20 is identical, the sensor 10 is thus enabled to detect how far away the light reflected on other surfaces of the image area is, being affected. However, this in turn makes it possible to determine the absolute brightness and possibly also the color or color temperature of the light during later operation of the system from the luminance values with respect to these areas. For the calibration, therefore, it is no longer necessary to use a separate measuring device, which has to be coupled to the sensor unit 10, so that the calibration can be carried out quickly and easily by the consumer.
    Ideally, the reference objects, so the sheets 20 are designed such that the controller 15 of the sensor unit 10 when evaluating the image data automatically detects the sheets so reference objects and performs a calibration. In a simple way, this can be realized by marking the sheets 20 in a special way and recognizing this marking during image evaluation. This could be done, for example, by the leaves having a certain characteristic shape.
    In a particularly preferred manner, however, the sheets 20 are printed with certain characteristic identifiers. Two examples of this are shown in FIGS. 3 a and 3 b, whereby a bar code 21 is used in the variant according to FIG. 3 a and a so-called QR code is used in the variant according to FIG. 3 b. The advantage of this approach is also that the reference objects can be recreated at any time by simply reprinting them. This also constitutes a particular advantage of the present invention, since the reference objects are available at all times and, accordingly, a recalibration of the sensor unit 20 can be carried out by the user himself at any time. Of course, the reference objects are also extremely inexpensive and easy to manufacture.
    Ideally, as shown in FIG. 1, several sheets 20 are simultaneously arranged in the area covered by the sensor unit 10 for calibrating the sensor unit 10. As already mentioned, the calibration according to the invention is based on the idea of deriving calibration parameters for the entire image area, ie for each pixel of the acquired image data, on the basis of the measurements of the reference objects. It is advantageous if several reference objects are in the detection range of the camera, since then the calibration parameters can be interpolated between the reference objects and thereby the measurement signal is further improved. Of course, it would also be conceivable to successively position a reference object at different positions, but this approach is more complex and associated with a greater amount of time.
    Ultimately, therefore, the procedure of the invention offers numerous advantages over previously known calibration. Thus, due in particular to the known properties of the reference objects, the adjustment of the sensor by means of a separate lux meter is omitted. Rather, the system operates according to the invention self-adjusting, that is, even with changes in the environment, it is possible to keep the illumination level constant. This can be ensured by the fact that either the reference objects remain permanently in the detection range of the camera or in the event that a change is made, a new calibration is performed, which can be done very quickly.
    In addition, the solution according to the invention also makes it possible to determine the light color temperature or the light color temperature much more accurately than is the case with the algorithms for an image sensor commonly used in digital cameras. These algorithms implicitly assume the presence of white or gray objects in the image. If these are not available, the color temperature measurement is faulty. While white or gray objects are commonly found in typical office environments, colored lighting can prevent automatic recognition of these objects unless the white objects are uniquely identifiable by the sensor, as provided for in the present invention. recognizable.
    Finally, another advantage is, in particular, that the method according to the invention does not require a hardware-based expansion of the known multifunctional sensor units. Ultimately, only image processing and recognition of certain objects need to be implemented in software accordingly, but this does not result in any significant additional costs in terms of manufacturing the sensor unit.
    It should be noted that although the inventive concept has been explained in particular based on the idea of calibration of the sensor unit, but the invention is actually much more versatile.
    Thus, by means of appropriate codes on the paper sheets the system commands of all kinds can be transmitted. It would be conceivable, for example, for the printed codes to represent specific commands which on the one hand are used to control the sensor unit or even an illumination system coupled to the sensor unit.
    In this case, it is essential that the codes are recognizable by the sensor unit 10, but the color of the paper or its reflection properties are less important in this case. However, the simplest way to create these control objects is to print sheets accordingly.
    Another way to use the principle according to the invention is shown schematically in Figure 4, in turn, the known from Figure 1 space 100 is shown. With the help of two control objects, however, the sensor unit 10 is now not calibrated but instead parameterized.
    For example, with the aid of the illustrated sheet 30, which is placed in the middle of the table 105 and printed with a corresponding coding, it can be made clear that the corresponding area represents a workstation having a special evaluation area in the evaluation for the subsequent brightness control represents. On the other hand, a second sheet 31 is arranged in the area of the door 107 of the room and serves, for example, to define an area in which the presence or movement of persons is to be determined by evaluating the image information. As a result, the sensor unit 10 can be configured very simply in order to obtain a wide variety of information for the brightness control during the later operation.
    The inventive concept thus represents a further development by which the use according to multifunctional sensor units is significantly simplified and made more comfortable.
    权利要求:
    Claims (16)
    [1]
    claims
    Method for controlling, parameterizing and / or calibrating a sensor unit (10) used for lighting control, the sensor unit (10) having an image sensor (11) for acquiring digital image information and a controller (15) for evaluating the image information and creating a brightness signal (S) representing the daylight, and wherein the method comprises the following steps: a) providing a reference or control object (20, 30) and arranging this reference or control object (20, 30) in one of the image sensor ( 11) detected area, b) detecting image information containing the reference or control object (20, 30), c) evaluating the image information by the controller (15) and deriving control, parameterization or calibration information.
    [2]
    2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the reference or control object (20, 30) has known color and / or reflection properties and based on the image information regarding the reference or control object (20, 30) a calibration of the sensor unit (10).
    [3]
    3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the calibration is carried out on the basis of a plurality of reference or control objects (20, 30), preferably simultaneously arranged in the region detected by the image sensor.
    [4]
    4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the reference or control object (20, 30) has a control command characterizing form o-the surface property.
    [5]
    5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the control command causes an adjustment of an operating parameter of the sensor unit (10), for example, the selection of an operating mode or the marking of a specific area to be evaluated.
    [6]
    6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the control command for driving with the sensor unit (10) connected to light sources is used.
    [7]
    7. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is the reference or control object (20, 30) is a sheet of paper.
    [8]
    8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that the paper has a printing, by which it is coded as a reference object and / or a control information.
    [9]
    9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that it is the printing to a bar code or a QR code.
    [10]
    10. Sensor unit (10) for use in the lighting control, which has • an image sensor (11) for acquiring digital image information and • a controller (15) for evaluating the image information and creating a brightness signal (S) representing the daylight, wherein the controller (15) is adapted, when evaluating the image information acquired by the image sensor (11), to recognize a reference or control object arranged in the region detected by the image sensor (11) and to derive control, parameterization or calibration information from the associated image information.
    [11]
    11. Sensor unit according to claim 10, characterized in that the reference or control object (20, 30) has known color and / or reflection properties, and the controller (15) is designed based on the image information with respect to the reference or control object (20 , 30) perform a calibration of the sensor unit (10).
    [12]
    12. Sensor unit according to claim 11, characterized in that the controller (15) is designed to carry out the calibration on the basis of a plurality of reference or control objects (20, 30), preferably simultaneously arranged in the region detected by the image sensor.
    [13]
    13. Sensor unit according to one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that the controller (15) is adapted to generate based on a shape or surface property of the reference or control object (20, 30) a control command.
    [14]
    14. Sensor unit according to one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that it is the reference or control object (20, 30) is a sheet of paper.
    [15]
    15. Sensor unit according to claim 14, characterized in that the paper has a printing, by which it is coded as a reference object and / or control information.
    [16]
    16. Sensor unit according to claim 15, characterized in that the printing is a bar code or a QR code. For this 2 sheets of drawings
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    同族专利:
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    法律状态:
    2021-04-15| MM01| Lapse because of not paying annual fees|Effective date: 20200831 |
    优先权:
    申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题
    DE102014208206.4A|DE102014208206A1|2014-04-30|2014-04-30|Method for controlling, parameterizing or calibrating a sensor unit used for lighting control|
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