Human-body detecting device, image forming apparatus, human-body detecting method, and computer program product

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9712708-B2
Application number	US-201615070543-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 15, 2016
Priority date	Mar 19, 2015
Publication date	Jul 18, 2017
Grant date	Jul 18, 2017

Abstract

A human-body detecting device includes a first sensor and a control unit. The first sensor outputs a first signal according to a distance between the human-body detecting device and a user. The control unit finds a first weighted average of first signals weighted with a first weight and a second weighted average of the first signals weighted with a second weight different from the first weight, and detects, when a difference between the first weighted average and the second weighted average has exceeded a predetermined value, that the user is located within a predetermined range from the human-body detecting device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A human-body detecting device comprising:
circuitry configured to:
output signals according to a distance between the human-body detecting device and a user,
weigh the signals with a first weight to generate a first weighted average of the signals,
weigh the signals with a second weight to generate a second weighted average of the signals, the second weight being different from the first weight,
calculate a difference between the first weighted average and the second weighted average, and
detect, when the difference between the first weighted average and the second weighted average has exceeded a predetermined value, that the user is located within a predetermined range from the human-body detecting device.

2. The human-body detecting device according to claim 1 , wherein the second weight average is greater than the first weight average.

3. The human-body detecting device according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to detect ambient temperature of the human-body detecting device and invalidate a results of user detection using the signals when the ambient temperature detected by the circuitry has exceeded a predetermined temperature.

4. The human-body detecting device according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to change the predetermined value according to an input signal.

5. An image forming apparatus comprising the human-body detecting device according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to cause the image forming apparatus to return from an energy-saving mode when the human-body detecting device has detected that the user is located within the predetermined range from the image forming apparatus.

6. A human-body detecting method implemented by circuitry, the method comprising:
generating signals according to a distance between a human-body detecting device and a user;
weighing the signals with a first weight to generate a first weighted average of the signals;
weighing the signals with a second weight to generate a second weighted average of the signals, the second weight being different from the first weight;
calculating a difference between the first weighted average and the second weighted average; and
detecting, when the difference between the first weighted average and the second weighted average has exceeded a predetermined value, that the user is located within a predetermined range from the human-body detecting device.

7. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having a computer program causing a computer to serve as a control circuit that executes:
generating signals according to a distance between a human-body detecting device and a user;
weighing the signals with a first weight to generate a first weighted average of the signals;
weighing the signals with a second weight to generate a second weighted average of the signals, the second weight being different from the first weight;
calculating a difference between the first weighted average and the second weighted average; and
detecting, when the difference between the first weighted average and the second weighted average has exceeded a predetermined value, that the user is located within a predetermined range from the human-body detecting device.

8. The human-body detecting device according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to generate the first weighted average by using a signal obtained from a sensor of the circuitry, and generate the second weighted average by using a signal that is obtained by the sensor at the same time when the signal used for generating the first weighted average is obtained.

Assignees

• Miyata Yushi
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Miyata Yushi

Classifications

• H04N1/00896 Primary

  using a low-power mode, e.g. standby · CPC title

• H04N2201/0094

  Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception · CPC title