By Motion Detection Patents (Class 342/28)
  • Patent number: 5337082
    Abstract: A method of and apparatus for providing information which may be used in making traffic management decisions for limited access highways is disclosed. The method and apparatus employs microwave radar to obtain information bearing signals which are processed to determine the vehicle direction and speed. The apparatus includes the capability of emulating in-the-road or on-the-road sensors to provide output pulse pairs which appear as if generated by switch closures. The method and apparatus also has the capability of providing "wake-up" signals commensurate with a predetermined number of consecutive vehicles which pass a preselected point traveling at an abnormally low speed. Because the method and apparatus are vehicle direction sensitive, the capability of monitoring traffic flow by looking across lanes is also present.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 1992
    Date of Patent: August 9, 1994
    Assignee: Whelen Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Thomas M. Fredericks
  • Patent number: 5287111
    Abstract: The Doppler shift motion detector has an effective motion detection range which can be changed by changing the power level and thus without changing the motion detection circuitry. The Doppler shift motion detector also has a self test for the wave transmitter and receiver which can be carried out without requiring placing a moving object in the monitoring area. The Doppler shift signal generated when the power level is changed is used to check the detector for the self test and is ignored by the detector alarm output circuitry when the power level is changed. An anti-masking feature is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 1992
    Date of Patent: February 15, 1994
    Assignee: Shmuel Hershkovitz
    Inventor: Pinhas Shpater
  • Patent number: 5262783
    Abstract: A unit for detecting a moving person or object by means of doppler frequency shift. The unit comprises a microwave circuit board (1) accommodating an oscillator and a mixer, and an antenna board (2) carrying transmit (8) and receive (9) patch arrays. In the assembled unit the two boards (1,2) are disposed adjacent one another. Coupling between the microwave circuit and the antenna arrays is achieved by two slots (6,11) resonant at the oscillator fundamental frequency and formed in a ground plane (5) on the microwave board (1). Feed striplines (7,10,12) on the two boards (1,2) lie orthogonal to the slots (6,11) and are terminated in T-sections (15,14). The stripline/slot arrangement suppresses emission at the oscillator second harmonic frequency. The antenna board (2) has no electrical connection to the microwave circuit, enabling the radiated beam shape to be changed by simply replacing the antenna board with one having a different patch array pattern.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 1992
    Date of Patent: November 16, 1993
    Assignee: GEC-Marconi Limited
    Inventors: Andrew G. Philpott, Ian R. Aldred, Robert T. J. Dodd, Reginald F. Humphryes
  • Patent number: 5237330
    Abstract: Intrusion detection apparatus including a microwave transmitter comprising a generally unshielded dielectric resonating oscillator, whose parasitic field is radiated within a volume and Doppler detection apparatus for sensing received Doppler signals reflected by a moving object within the volume.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 1992
    Date of Patent: August 17, 1993
    Assignee: Visonic Ltd.
    Inventors: Kotlicki Yaacov, Moshe Kotlicki, Alexander Baber
  • Patent number: 5196826
    Abstract: Both a motion detector and a presence detector receive doppler shifted reflected microwave radiation to detect the passage of a person or an animal in a field of view. The motion sensor is adapted to detect the passage of a person or an animal near a doorway and to actuate the doorway in response thereto, to permit the passage of the person or animal thereto. The presence detector detects "swaying motion" of a person or an animal in a field of view much closer to the location of the sensor as its gain is much lower than that of the motion detection channel. In addition the presence detector is activated only in the event the motion sensor is deactivated. The output signals from the motion sensor and presence sensor are gated through an OR gate and to a timer to activate the door opener.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 1991
    Date of Patent: March 23, 1993
    Assignee: C & K Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Gordon S. Whiting
  • Patent number: 5150123
    Abstract: A field disturbance monitor system which senses changes in a reflected signal caused by animate objects compared to inanimate objects in the same zone. The system employs a microprocessor which controls the system. A transmitter transmits a pulses microwave signal in response to a control signal from the microprocessor. A receiver receives a return signal which represents a reflection of the transmitted signal. A sample and hold circuit senses and holds the magnitude of the pulsed signal. Analog to digital conversion is obtained, whereby a ramp generator generates a ramp voltage which is compared with the magnitude of the received signal by a comparator. The microprocessor measures the time it takes the ramp voltage to rise to the magnitude of the detected signal. The microprocessor continuously computes a recursive short term average and compares this average value with a recursive long-term average. Deviations between the two time periods are the result of a disturbance within the monitoring field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 1991
    Date of Patent: September 22, 1992
    Assignee: Microwave Sensors
    Inventors: David P. Orlowski, Larry Eccleston, Earl R. Goodrich, II
  • Patent number: 5113191
    Abstract: A sensing circuit is assumed to produce in phase and quadrature Doppler signals. The relative phase of these signals is used to determine the passage of object such that correctly related zero passages in the two signals are counted, and the count state within certain periods of time yields information to check the significance of signals as genuine Doppler signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 1990
    Date of Patent: May 12, 1992
    Assignee: Dornier GmbH
    Inventors: Udo Knepper, Franz Lutz, Viktor Beyer
  • Patent number: 5049887
    Abstract: An apparatus for determining a target position within a selected range segment includes a range gate generator which provides a range gate signal that enables a detector for a time interval corresponding to the range segment and a signal generator, responsive to the range gate signal, which provides a signal having an amplitude which varies with time. The output signal of the signal generator is sampled by a sample and hold circuit. A control signal generator enabled during the range gate interval couples a switching signal to the sample and hold circuit which, upon the reception of a target reflected signal, causes the sample and hold circuit to switch from the sampling mode to the hold mode. The signal amplitude in the hold mode is a representation of the target position within the range gate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 1990
    Date of Patent: September 17, 1991
    Assignee: Sperry Marine Inc.
    Inventors: Michael R. Henning, Thomas M. Woolfolk
  • Patent number: 5020108
    Abstract: Various selected characteristics of digital (or analog) signals in an electrical circuit are converted into audible signals and transmitted as a sound pattern(s) through a speaker or headphones to a user. Such selected signal characteristics include pulse width, duty cycle, activity level (state changes), repetitive pattern comparison, and sampled signal level. Some representative types of differentiable noise or sounds include clicks, pitch, harmonics, noise bursts, ticks and tocks, and voice stopped consonants. By matching selected noise types with selected characteristics an audible display is generated which represents to the user various characteristics of the sampled signal either individually or collectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 1989
    Date of Patent: May 28, 1991
    Inventor: Thomas D. Wason
  • Patent number: 4970517
    Abstract: A microwave horn having a narrow radiation beam characteristic is energized by a Gunn oscillator coupled to a driver/detector that turns the Gunn oscillator on for a small fraction of a period to produce a sequence of detected pulses representative of an item being sensed that is amplified by an A.C. amplifier and filtered with gain controlled by a sensitivity potentiometer that energizes a threshold detector to produce threshold pulses that trigger hold-off circuitry to produce an output pulse when the threshold pulse is outside the duration of the output pulse. A hold-off potentiometer controls the duration of each output pulse. An output driver amplifies the output pulse and delivers it to an output terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 1982
    Date of Patent: November 13, 1990
    Assignee: Alpha Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: Heyward S. Williams
  • Patent number: 4961039
    Abstract: A moving object detecting device is arranged for detection in time series of an angle of respective received-wave signals at every moment with respect to basic axes in a vector plane, the basic axes being a pair of intermediate signals obtained by converting frequency deviation components of the received-wave signals responsive to incident on a wave receiver of reflected waves of radiated energy by a wave radiator from an object moving in a supervisory zone. Such moving object can be thereby detected at a high precision, irrespective of how quickly or slowly it moves within the zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 1988
    Date of Patent: October 2, 1990
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazumasa Yamauchi, Hiromitsu Inoue, Susumu Katayama
  • Patent number: 4870663
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for selecting different modes of operation of a means used for counting objects in a given area, such as persons waiting in an elevator lobby. In the method, the movements of the objects are monitored with at least one Doppler radar by observing the Doppler frequencies of the signals reflected by the objects. The method is characterized in that the operation of the means is switched between two modes of operation, so that the mode of operation primarily carrying out the counting of objects on the basis of their stopping and starting is used during a given time interval, and the mode of operation primarily observing merely the movements of the objects is used during another given time interval.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 1988
    Date of Patent: September 26, 1989
    Assignee: Kone Elevator GmbH
    Inventors: Hannu Kulju, Risto Kontturi
  • Patent number: 4797675
    Abstract: This disclosure concerns a procedure for counting the number of stopping objects, such as persons who are coming to wait for an elevator or equivalent. The movements and stopping of the objects are followed by the aid of at least one Doppler radar, whose output signal amplitude changes are used to identify the change of velocity of the objects. The number of objects stopping is calculated from the magnitude of the amplitude changes and/or from the number of Doppler radar pulses recorded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 1987
    Date of Patent: January 10, 1989
    Assignee: Elevator GmbH
    Inventor: Seppo Ovaska
  • Patent number: 4791420
    Abstract: A radar detector/security device for cars in which the antenna structure of a radar wave detection circuit that drives a warning means when a radar wave is detected is utilized to radiate a local oscillation signal and receive a signal reflected from a dielectric body. The Doppler shift produced by the movement of the dielectric body is detected as a beat component of the local oscillation signal. This beat component causes an incorporated security function to activate a security circuit. The radar detection circuit or the security circuit can be selectively utilized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 1987
    Date of Patent: December 13, 1988
    Assignee: The Weston Corporation
    Inventor: Yoshihiko Baba
  • Patent number: 4731611
    Abstract: A stripline Doppler Radar includes at least one high-frequency oscillator, a first stripline conductor connected to the oscillator, a second stripline conductor spaced from the first stripline conductor, at least one receiving diode connected to the second stripline conductor, an antenna connected to the second stripline conductor, low frequency external electrical terminals, filters connected between the stripline conductors and the external electrical terminals for inhibiting leakage of high-frequency power through the external electrical terminals, and a dielectric resonator adjustable in position from a location between the stripline conductors to a location partially covering one of the stripline conductors for conducting power delivered by the oscillator through the stripline conductors and the dielectric resonator to the receiving diode and the antenna, and for adjusting power radiated through the antenna, power received through the antenna and power transmitted from the oscillator through the resonato
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 1984
    Date of Patent: March 15, 1988
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Jorg Muller, Andreas Reppekus
  • Patent number: 4697184
    Abstract: An outdoor microwave transceiver area intrusion detection system includes circuitry for both amplitude and frequency modulation of the microwave carrier signal pulses, which are transmitted at approximately a 50% duty cycle pulses, from a radar antenna to a target. The return signal is mixed with a portion of the transmitted signal to produce first and second doppler frequency signals which are amplified and sampled during a narrow gating pulse. The two resulting sampled doppler frequency signals are alternately switched, in synchronization with the amplitude and frequency modulation signals, into first and second sample/hold circuits to reconstruct the first and second doppler frequency signals. The reconstructed signals are coupled to a differential amplifier to obtain a "range signal" which is proportional to the phase difference between the first and second doppler signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 1984
    Date of Patent: September 29, 1987
    Assignee: Southwest Microwave
    Inventors: James Cheal, James R. Fitzsimmons, Edward J. Foley
  • Patent number: 4692763
    Abstract: Audio frequency Doppler signals output from a radar are encoded and presented to left and right speakers of a headset. The Doppler signals are encoded so that the auditory effect produced by sounds emanating from the left and right speakers are perceived by an operator as originating from a particular location in space. In a preferred embodiment in-phase and quadrature Doppler signal outputs from a coherent radar couple through an optional phase shift to the left and right speakers. Sounds having phase differences dependent upon whether a target is approaching or receding result. The operator hears these sounds and perceives the sounds as being located toward the left or right.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 1985
    Date of Patent: September 8, 1987
    Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
    Inventor: Ralph C. Gregg, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4673183
    Abstract: A golf playing arrangement which includes a fairway, a tee area at one end of the fairway, a plurality of radar ground surveillance units located on the fairway at successively greater distance from the tee area, a central processing unit and a video display terminal and putting green adjacent the tee area. Each of the ground surveillance units detects golf balls moving on the ground in a predetermined circular area containing the unit. The central processing unit calculates and the computer terminal visually displays the distance of the unit furthest from the tee area which detects a golf ball moving therethrough, and the sum of a succession of such distances. This arrangement permits a golfer to play a golf-like game without the need to follow a ball from tee to green.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1987
    Inventor: Francis B. Trahan
  • Patent number: 4672379
    Abstract: A doppler radar transceiver comprising a transceiving module including a reflex circuit having a single transistor which simultaneously acts as both an oscillator and an amplifier. A capacitor and a resistor are provided in the transistor base element bias circuit to reduce the source impedance of the base bias current to said transistor in the doppler signal frequency band without effecting the radar frequency system of the transceiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 9, 1987
    Inventor: Frank W. Bishop