NL2002897C2 - Floor-tile and floor-system comprising a plurality of such floor-tiles. - Google Patents

Description

Floor-tile and floor-system comprising a plurality of such floor-tiles

The invention relates to a floor-tile for a flooring system comprising at least one sensor for sensing the presence of an object, such as a human body-part, an animal, or a nonliving object.

5 Such a floor-tile is known from WO 90/10920.

The known floor-tile is part of a floor-system having a matrix of pressure sensitive sensors, means to determine the position of anyone of said sensors, means to determine a change of state of anyone of said sensors, clock means, and detection 10 means to detect a change in state of anyone of said sensors within a time period determined by said clock means.

A disadvantage of the known floor-tile and floor-system is that, it is rather complicated and therefore prone to malfunctioning. Furthermore, the known floor-tile and floor-system gen-15 erate heavy data traffic for reading out the sensor or sensors of this system.

It is an object of the invention to provide a reliable floor-tile and floor-system which is less prone to malfunctioning and which is easily extendible without need to employ com-20 plicated read-out electronics and without need to adapt same to the number of tiles that make up the floor-system.

A further objective is to provide a floor-tile and a floor-system in which the sensing of the presence of an object requires little energy.

25 In order to at least in part meet the objectives as mentioned above the floor-tile and floor-system of the invention are characterized by one or more of the appended claims. It is expressly pointed out that the term floor—tile as used in this application does not restrict the scope of the floor-tiles to 30 specific dimensions. On the contrary, a single floor-tile of the invention may cover an area as large as a ballroom.

The floor-tile of the invention is embodied with the features that the at least one sensor is an electrode pair for providing an electrical field that is usable to detect the pres-35 ence of a human body-part, - and that it comprises: a) bus-lines for feeding the at least one electrode pair, 2 b) switches for connecting or disconnecting the at least one electrode pair to the bus-lines, c) digital selection means comprising selection-lines (9, 10) for operating the switches, 5 - and that both the bus-lines and the selection-lines extend in the tile from a first end to a second end that is opposite to the first end, so as to arrange that placing a next tile's first end adjacent to the second end of a previous tile provides uninterrupted bus-lines and selection-lines extending 10 in the adjacent tiles.

Particularly, the above-mentioned features make possible that a floor-system that is made up of such floor-tiles can be easily extended with the number of tiles that are required for making a complete floor without thereby necessitating the 15 use of complicated electronics for read-out and control of the electrode-pairs that make up the sensors.

A further aspect of the floor-tile of the invention is that the digital selection means comprises a clock-line and a data-line, and a flip-flop having an input and an output that 20 are connected to the data-line, and which flip-flop is further connected to the clock-line so as to cause that upon each clock-pulse, data present on the data-line connection with the flip-flop's input transfers to the data-line connection with the flip-flop's output, and that the flip-flop's output operates the 25 switches for connecting or disconnecting the at least one electrode-pair to or from the bus-lines. In this manner it is arranged that for instance with a number of adjacent, floor-tiles a selective read out of the sensors can be accomplished due to the fact that the flip-flops of the concerning floor-tiles operate 30 as a distributed shift-register. This shift-register provides the selection in a cyclical manner of only a single electrodepair from a particular row of electrode pairs that make up the sensors, for detecting whether an object, such as a human body part is present near the sensor formed by the selected electrode 35 pair.

The invention is also embodied in a floor-system comprising a plurality of floor-tiles as discussed above. The floor-system of the invention is further embodied such that, it comprises at least one selection controller to which the selec-40 tion-lines are connected, and at least one measurement-unit con- 3 nected to the bus lines to measure an electrical parameter that pertains to the electrode-pair that due to the operation of the selection controller is switched to the bus-lines.

Further it will be appreciated by the person skilled in 5 the art from the foregoing description of the separate floor-tiles, that in the floor-system of the invention for each row of floor-tiles there is only a single selection controller necessary.

The invention will hereinafter be further elucidated 10 with reference to the drawing.

In the drawing: - Fig. 1 shows schematically a single sensor that may form part of a floor-tile according to the invention; - Fig. 2 shows an image of three adjacent floor-tiles 15 together with the sensor electronics forming part of these floor-tiles, and - Fig. 3 shows a schematic drawing of an electronic control system that applies to the floor-system of the invention.

20 Wherever in the figures the same reference numerals are applied, these numerals refer to the same parts.

With reference first to Fig. 2 three adjacent floor-tiles are shown, indicated with reference numerals 1, 1', and 1".

25 Each of the floor-tiles 1, 1', 1" comprises at least one sensor 2 for sensing the presence of an object. In the shown embodiment each of the tiles 1, 1', 1" has four sensors 2. The operation of said sensors 2 is best explained with reference to Fig. 1.

30 Fig. 1 shows a single sensor 2, which is embodied as an electrode pair 3, 4, which together provide an electrical field that is usable for detecting the presence of a an object.

Fig. 1 further shows that in each floor-tile 1 there are bus-lines 5, 6 for feeding the electrode pair 3, 4 and 35 switches 7, 8 for connecting or disconnecting the electrode pair 3, 4 to or from the bus-lines 5, 6.

The sensor 2 of the invention is further provided with digital selection means comprising said switches 7,8 and selection lines 9, 10 for operating said switches 7, 8.

4

As Fig. 1 schematically shows but which is clearly apparent from what is shown in Fig. 2, both the bus-lines 5, 6 and the selection lines 9, 10 extend in for instance tile 1 from a first end 11 to a second end 12 that is opposite to the first 5 end 11. This arranges that placing a first end 11' of a neighbouring tile 1' next to the second end 12 of a previous tile 1, provides uninterrupted bus-lines 5, 6 and selection lines 9, 10, respectively, extending in both adjacent tiles 1, 1'. For clarity purposes the ends 11, 12 and 11', 12' of the ad-10 jacent tiles 1 and 1' are shown with reference to the electrical lines that are comprised in the respective tiles 1 and 1'.

With reference again to Fig. 1 it is shown that the tiles 1, 1', 1" also comprise digital selection means in the form of a clock-line 10 and a data-line 9, and further a flip-15 flop 13 having an input 14 and an output 15 that are connected to the data-line 9 such that the flip-flop 13 forms part of the data-line 9 extending from the first end 11 to the second end 12 of the tile.

The flip-flop 13 is further connected to the clock-line 20 10 and responds to the clock pulses that are provided on the clock-line 10 such that data present on the data line connection with the flip-flop's input 14 transfers to the data-line connection with the flip-flop's output 15 upon each clock pulse. Further the flip-flop's output 15 connects to the switches 7, 8 for 25 connecting or disconnecting the electrode pair 3, 4 to or from the bus-lines 5, 6.

With reference again to Fig. 2 the flip-flop's 13 of a tile 1 and the flip-flops 13' of a neighbouring tile 1' embody in the manner explained in the previous paragraph the function 30 of a shift register in which data entering a most left one of the flip-flops is moved through the series of flip-flops 12, 13, embodying as it were a shift register provided in the adjacent tiles 1 and 1'. The clock pulses on the clock-lines 10 in this manner arrange that the respective switches 7, 8 of adjacent 35 sensors 2 and 2' are sequentially activated. In this way a sequential read-out of said sensors 2 and 2' is carried out.

The invention is also embodied in a floor-system comprising a plurality of floor-tiles 1, 1', 1" in accordance with 5 the invention and which comprises at least one selection controller to which the selection lines 9, 10 are connected. Such selection controllers are indicated in Fig. 3 with reference numeral 19. Any such selection controller 19 operates on a row of 5 floor-tiles 1, 1', 1" and in this particular case as shown in Fig. 3 each floor-tile 1, 1', 1" comprises a single line of sensors 2. The selection controller 19 in this manner controls the selection of a particular sensor 2. All floor-tiles with their individual selection controllers 19 thus form the floor-system 10 of the invention. It is again expressly pointed out that this is only a preferred embodiment and that also other arrangements are possible. When a tile 1, 1', 1'', has more strings of sensors - as is the case in the embodiment of Fig. 2 - the strings of sensors of a tile may for instance share one selection control-15 ler.

The respective selection controllers 19 are all connected to a central processor 15, which is preferably also embodied with at least one measurement unit 16. Said measurement unit 16 is connected to the bus-lines 5, 6 for measuring an 20 electrical parameter that pertains to (see Fig. 1) the electrode-pair 3, 4 that at a particular time is switched to the bus-lines 5, 6 due to the operation of the cyclical operation of the selection controller 19.

The central processor unit 15 may have a connection, 25 for instance through the internet 17 with a monitoring facility 18 to detect any predefined situation with respect to the floor-system that requires appropriate action in response thereto.

The applicant expressly points out that the description with reference to the drawing of a preferred embodiment of the 30 floor-tile and floor-system of the invention is to be understood as intended for strictly illustrative purposes without intent to restrict the claims to anything less than accords to the contribution that the invention provides to the pertinent prior art. The scope of protection is therefore to be understood strictly 35 in accordance with the appended claims without said claims being deemed restrictive to the provided example of a preferred embodiment .

Claims (4)

1. Vloertegel (1, 1', 1'') voor een vloersysteem omvattend ten minste één sensor voor het waarnemen van de aanwezigheid van een object, met het kenmerk, dat de ten minste ene sensor (2) een elektrodepaar (3, 4) is voor het verschaffen 5 van een elektrisch veld dat bruikbaar is voor het detecteren van de aanwezigheid van een object, - en dat deze omvat: a) buslijnen (5, 6) voor het voeden van het ten minste ene elektrodepaar (3, 4), 10 b) schakelaars (7, 8) voor het verbinden of loskoppelen van het ten minste ene elektrodepaar (3, 4) aan of van de buslijnen (5, 6), c) digitale selectiemiddelen omvattende selectielijnen (9, 10) voor het bedienen van de schakelaars (7, 15 8), - en dat zowel de buslijnen (5, 6) als de selectielijnen (9, 10) in de tegel (1, 1', 1'') verlopen van een eerste uiteinde (11) naar een tweede uiteinde (12) tegenovergelegen het eerste uiteinde (11) teneinde te 20 veroorzaken dat het plaatsen van een eerste uiteinde (11') van een volgende tegel (1') naast het tweede uiteinde (12) van een voorgaande tegel (1) ononderbroken buslijnen (5, 6) en selectielijnen (9, 10) verschaft die verlopen in de naastliggende tegels (1, 1', 1''),Floor tile (1, 1 ', 1' ') for a floor system comprising at least one sensor for detecting the presence of an object, characterized in that the at least one sensor (2) is an electrode pair (3, 4 ) is for providing an electric field useful for detecting the presence of an object, and comprising: a) bus lines (5, 6) for supplying the at least one electrode pair (3, 4 B, switches (7, 8) for connecting or disconnecting the at least one electrode pair (3, 4) to or from the bus lines (5, 6), c) digital selection means comprising selection lines (9, 10) for operating the switches (7, 15, 8), and that both the bus lines (5, 6) and the selection lines (9, 10) in the tile (1, 1 ', 1' ') run from a first end ( 11) to a second end (12) opposite the first end (11) to cause the placing of a first end (11 ') of a next tile (1') adjacent to the the second end (12) of a preceding tile (1) provides uninterrupted bus lines (5, 6) and selection lines (9, 10) that run in the adjacent tiles (1, 1 ', 1' '), 2. Vloertegel volgens conclusie 1, met het kenmerk, dat de digitale selectiemiddelen een kloklijn (10) en een datalijn (9) omvatten en een flip-flop (13) met een ingang (14) en een uitgang (15) die verbonden zijn met de datalijn (9) en welke flip-flop (13) verder verbonden is met de kloklijn (10) teneinde 30 te verzorgen dat bij iedere klokpuls data die aanwezig is op de datalijnverbinding met de ingang (14) van de flip-flop overgaat naar de datalijnverbinding met de uitgang (15) van de flip-flop en dat de uitgang (15) van de flip-flop de schakelaars (7, 8) bedient voor het verbinden of loskoppelen van de ten minste ene 35 elektrodepaar (3, 4) aan of van de buslijnen (5, 6).Floor tile according to claim 1, characterized in that the digital selection means comprise a clock line (10) and a data line (9) and a flip-flop (13) with an input (14) and an output (15) connected with the data line (9) and which flip-flop (13) is further connected to the clock line (10) in order to ensure that at every clock pulse data that is present on the data line connection passes to the input (14) of the flip-flop to the data line connection to the output (15) of the flip-flop and that the output (15) of the flip-flop operates the switches (7, 8) for connecting or disconnecting the at least one electrode pair (3, 4 ) to or from the bus lines (5, 6). 3. Vloersysteem omvattende een meertal vloertegels (1, 1') overeenkomstig conclusie 1 of 2, met het kenmerk, dat deze ten minste één selectieregelaar (19) omvat waarmee de selectielijnen (9, 10) verbonden zijn en ten minste één meeteenheid (16) verbonden met de buslijnen (5, 6) voor het meten van een elektrische parameter die betrekking heeft op het 5 elektrodepaar (3, 4) die ten gevolge van de werking van de selectieregelaar (19) geschakeld is naar de buslijnen (5, 6).Floor system comprising a multilevel floor tile (1, 1 ') according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises at least one selection controller (19) to which the selection lines (9, 10) are connected and at least one measuring unit (16) ) connected to the bus lines (5, 6) for measuring an electrical parameter relating to the electrode pair (3, 4) which is connected to the bus lines (5, 6 as a result of the operation of the selection controller (19) ). 4. Vloersysteem volgens conclusie 3, met het kenmerk, dat voor iedere rij vloertegels ten minste één selectieregelaar (19) aanwezig is.Floor system according to claim 3, characterized in that at least one selection controller (19) is provided for each row of floor tiles.