Distance determination

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10775151-B2
Application number	US-201616095692-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 22, 2016
Priority date	Apr 22, 2016
Publication date	Sep 15, 2020
Grant date	Sep 15, 2020

Abstract

In an example, distance determination can utilize an electronic device including an infrared sensor to detect a thermal signature of a subject at a first location and a thermal signature of the subject at a second location, a distance sensor to determine a distance of the subject at the first location from the electronic device, and a controller to determine a physical size based on the determined distance and the thermal signature of the subject at the first location, and determine a distance of the subject at a second location based on the physical size and a thermal signature of the subject at the second location.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. An electronic device, comprising:
an infrared sensor to detect a thermal signature of a subject at a first location and a thermal signature of the subject at a second location, wherein the first location and the second location are different;
a distance sensor to determine a distance of the subject at the first location from the electronic device; and
a controller to:
determine a physical size based on the determined distance and the thermal signature of the subject at the first location; and
determine, without a distance sensor, a distance of the subject at the second location based on the determined physical size of the subject and a thermal signature of the subject at the second location.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the controller is to determine the distance of the subject at the second location as a function of the physical size of the subject and the thermal signature of the subject at the second location.

3. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the distance sensor is a time of flight sensor and the infrared sensor is a passive infrared sensor.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the controller includes a look-up table, and wherein the look-up table stores the determined physical size.

5. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein a field of view of the infrared sensor is larger than a field of view of the distance sensor.

6. A controller comprising a processing resource in communication with a memory resource including instructions to:
determine a physical size of a subject based on a distance of the subject at a first location from a distance sensor and a thermal signature of the subject at the first location; and
determine, without a distance sensor, a distance of the subject at a second location based on the determined physical size of the subject and a thermal signature of the subject at the second location, wherein the first location and the second location are different.

7. The controller of claim 6 , including instructions to identify the subject as a particular subject based on the physical size of the subject.

8. The controller of claim 7 , including instructions to display content via a graphical user interface of an electronic device.

9. The controller of claim 8 , including instructions to display content relevant to the particular subject.

10. The controller of claim 9 , including instructions to cease display content to the particular subject when the particular subject exits a field of view of the infrared sensor.

11. A method, comprising:
detecting, via an infrared sensor, a thermal signature of a subject at a first location;
measuring, via a distance sensor, a distance from the distance sensor to the subject at the first location when the subject enters a field of view of the distance sensor;
determining a physical size of the subject based on the distance and the thermal signature; and
determining, without using a distance sensor, a distance from the infrared sensor to the subject at a second location in a field of view of the infrared sensor based on a thermal signature of the subject at the second location and the determined physical size of the subject, wherein the first location and the second location are different.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the method includes monitoring an ambient air temperature and an amount of ambient light associated with the thermal signature of the subject at the first location.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein determining the distance to the subject at the second location is based on:
the thermal signature of the subject at the second location; and
the determined physical size of the subject at the first location, the ambient air temperature at the first location, and the amount of ambient light at the first location.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the second location is outside a field of view of the distance sensor.

Assignees

• Hewlett Packard Development Co

Inventors

• Gutierrez Bravo Mauricio Ernesto
• Anand Rajat Sandeshkumar
• Campbell Robert
• Sheth Jay

Classifications

• G01S17/08 Primary

  for measuring distance only (indirect measurement G01S17/46; active triangulation systems G01S17/48) · CPC title

• G01S11/12

  using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves · CPC title

• G01S17/86

  Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders · CPC title

• G01B11/02 Primary

  for measuring length, width or thickness (G01B11/08 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G08B13/19

  using infrared-radiation detection systems {(G08B13/194 takes precedence)} · CPC title