WO2023028750A1

WO2023028750A1 - An apparatus for detecting entry and exit by crossing a virtual line

Info

Publication number: WO2023028750A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/115312
Authority: WO
Inventors: Anthony Garon Yeh; Si QIAO
Original assignee: Versitech Limited; Aicity Technology Holding Limited
Priority date: 2021-08-30
Filing date: 2021-08-30
Publication date: 2023-03-09

Abstract

An entry/exit detection apparatus has two separate signal transmitters (T1,T2) with a signal blocking device (SBD) in-between them. Based on this apparatus, a virtual line (16) is established for detecting whether an object or a person (A) crossed the virtual line (16) and entered or exited from a place or vehicle which has the virtual line (16) at its entrance. The place may be a building, market, shop, restaurant, bank, school, lift (elevator), room, or car. When the object or person (A) with the portable device crosses this virtual line, the motion is detected by the detector monitoring signal from the two transmitters. The portable device will be able to detect and recognize it has crossed the virtual line automatically based on the signals received from these two signal transmitters.

Description

AN APPARATUS FOR DETECTING ENTRY AND EXIT BY CROSSING A VIRTUAL LINE

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an apparatus for accurately determining whether an object or a person has entered or exited a place or vehicle, and more particularly to the detection of the entry or exit from a location based on a portable device equipped with a signal receiver carried by a person or object.

Background of the Invention

It is frequently important to detect accurately whether an object or a person has entered or exited a place or vehicle. This can be for reasons of security, i.e., to make sure the person is in an authorized location or vehicle, or for reasons of revenue collection, e.g., to note when a person has entered an event venue or a toll vehicle. While a traditional way of making the determination is by means of personnel at the entrance, this can be relatively expensive, time consuming and inaccurate. Thus, it would be an advantage to be able to make the detection by an apparatus.

Several attempts have been made in the past to automate the detection of entry and exit from a location, often by way of a video camera. For example, US Patent No. 9,064,349 discloses a virtual sensor and monitoring technology that detects a person in an area facing one surface of a door. A television camera is installed to capture an image around the door and detect entry into and exit from a room based on a change in the captured image. However, this approach requires expensive video camera technology and complex computer vision technology to detect whether a person has entered or left the room.

US Patent No. 8,165,348 discloses a system that detects objects crossing virtual boundary lines in a video region of interest in various scenarios without utilizing explicit object detection and tracking techniques at the intersection of the virtual boundary line. It includes two person-detection sensors provided along the travelling direction of an aisle around a doorway that detect a person who enters the room or exits out of the room based on a time difference in detection signals detected by the two person-detection sensors. This system determines that a person (human) moves in a direction from a person-detection sensor first and then to another person-detection at another point along the pathway, i.e. if a person reaches sensor A outside the entrance and then reaches sensor B inside the entrance, the person is considered to have entered the place, and vice versa when exiting. This method requires the placement of two devices at a distance apart from each other, thus it is unsuitable for entrance in narrow places such as the lift and vehicle. Also, it cannot be used if the entrance path is very short. It further requires use of video camera technology to carry out the detection. This method is for counting purposes and does not inform the user of whether he or she has entered or exited a particular location.

Another counting device is disclosed in Japan Patent No. 2002-216100A. This device counts the number of persons entering a door of a building using three (3) sensors. One sensor is placed before the door, one on top of the door and the third after the door. The system will detect a person who enters the door or exits the door in accordance with the order of reactions of the three sensors. In this patent, the third auxiliary sensor is used to prevent false detection caused by movement of a person who does not pass through the door. It requires the placing of sensors at 3 spaced locations.

US Patent No. 9,606,261 discloses the use of a person detector (which is mainly a video camera) to detect a person in an area facing one surface of a door. A door open/close detector is used to detect whether the door is in an open or closed state. When a detected state of the door switches from a closed state to an open state or an open-state to a closed state, person detection information will be recorded, and the person will be considered to have entered the door. However, it does not accurately determine whether the person has in fact entered the space through the door.

The use of video camera and image detection technology is both expensive and complicated, yet as discussed above, it still does not guarantee accurate results. At best, these methods and apparatus are relatively good for counting purposes, but do not readily inform the user of whether he or she has actually entered or exited a particular area. In particular, video methods can be used to record and count the number of people entering and exiting a venue. QR codes and RFID (like Octopus) can also be used to assist in detecting and counting the number of people entering and exiting a venue, as opposed to determining whether any one person is within the area. However, the QR code method is not automatic and RFID requires the user to be close to the receiver and to activate it manually. In addition, motion detector and infra-red methods can be used for detecting and counting the number of people entering and exiting a venue, but do not guarantee that a person is in or outside a particular area.

It has also been proposed to use a transmitter located near the entrance of a zone and a portable device carried by an object or person to determine whether the object or person is within the zone. However, determining whether the object or person is within the zone is difficult with an existing signal transmitter because the transmitted signal is spheroidal. An object or a person inside or outside a place or vehicle with the portable device is equally distant from the signal transmitter located at its entrance (FIG. 1) . Because of this, it is difficult to timely and accurately know whether an object or a person has entered or exited a place or vehicle.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention is a new apparatus and method for combining signals from transmitters defining a Virtual Line in order to detect an object or a person entering or exiting a place or vehicle while carrying a portable device equipped with a signal receiver. Thus, it solves the problem of determining whether an object or a person has entered or exited a place or vehicle. It can also be used as a counting device to provide information on the number of people or objects that have entered or left the space.

Furthermore, the apparatus of the present invention can be conveniently put at the entrance (one location) of a place or vehicle to detect whether an object or a person has crossed the Virtual Line to determine whether it has entered or exited a place or vehicle. It does not rely on the simple detection of two signals located a distance apart, thus avoiding signal confusion that can occur when the two signals are too close to each other. Instead, the present invention uses two separate signal transmitters with a signal blocking device between them. This allows the system to determine whether an object or a person carrying a portable device equipped with a signal receiver has entered or exited a place or vehicle. This is achieved by comparing the two signals transmitted by the two signal transmitters and blocked by the signal blocking device when an object or a person crosses the Virtual Line created by this apparatus. By putting the transmission apparatus at the entrance of a place or vehicle, the portable device will be able to determine automatically the time when an object or a person with the portable device equipped with signal receiver enters or exits the place or vehicle.

This apparatus is compact, portable and flexible. No additional deployment space is required. It can also be used as an entry/exit counting device.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawing (s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent when considered in connection with the following detailed description and appended drawings in which like designations denote like elements in the various views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a designated space with a single transmitter at its entrance/exit;

FIG. 2A is a diagram of a designated space with two transmitters separated by a signal blocking device at the entrance/exit according to the present invention, and FIG. 2B shows the radiation pattern of the two transmitters with and without the blocking device;

FIGS. 3A is a diagram of a designated space illustrating a virtual line at its entrance according to the present invention and an object or person with a receiver moving from outside to inside the space, and FIG. 3B is a graph of transmitter signal strength at a receiving device moving along a traveling path so as to cross the virtual line; and

FIG. 4A is a diagram of a designated space illustrating a virtual line at its entrance according to the present invention and an object or person with a receiver moving from inside to outside the space, and FIG. 4B is a graph of transmitter signal strength at a receiving device moving along a traveling path so as to cross the virtual line.

Detailed Description of the Invention

As shown in FIG. 1 with a single transmitter T located at the entrance 10 to a place or vehicle 12, it is difficult to detect whether an object or a person A with a portable device equipped with a signal receiver has entered or exited from the place or vehicle (location) 12 because the transmitted signal 14 is spheroidal. An object or a person A inside or outside of location 12 is at an equal distance from the signal transmitter T when it is located at the entrance 10 and thus will receive an equal strength signal. Because of this, it is difficult to know whether an object or a person A with the portable device has entered or exited location 12.

The present invention is an entry/exit detection apparatus that has two separate signal transmitters T ₁, T ₂ with a signal blocking device (SBD) in-between them (FIG. 2) . Based on this apparatus, this invention creates a virtual line 16 for detecting an object or a person with a portable device equipped with a signal receiver that enters or exits from a place or vehicle, such as a building, market, shop, restaurant, bank, school, lift (elevator) , room, or car, truck, boat or airplane by monitoring the transmitted signals from the apparatus of the present invention when the object or person crosses this virtual line 16 (FIGS. 3 and 4) .

FIG. 2A shows the transmitter T ₁ on the outside of the location 12 and primarily transmitting radiation toward the outside because the SBD blocks much of the radiation from passing from one side of it (outside the location) to the other side of it (inside the location) . Transmitter T ₂ is located on the inside of the location 12 adjacent to the transmitter T ₁ and the SBD. As a result, its radiation is primarily transmitted toward the inside because the SBD blocks much of its radiation from passing from the inside to the outside. FIG. 2B shows a comparison of the radiation patterns from T ₁ and T ₂ without the SBD (on the right) and with the SBD (on the left) . With no SBD, the signals are nearly identical both inside and outside. However, with the SBD between them, the signal from T ₁ is smaller toward the inside (small red dotted half circle at the top in FIG. 2B) and larger toward the outside (larger solid red half circle at the bottom in FIG. 2B) . Oppositely, with the SBD between the transmitters, the signal from T ₂ is smaller toward the outside (small green dotted half circle at the bottom in FIG. 2B) and larger toward the inside (larger solid green half circle at the top in FIG. 2B) .

FIG. 3A shows the transmitter T ₁ on the outside of the location 12 and primarily transmitting radiation toward the outside (represented by the bottom half of the larger solid red circle around the transmitters) because the SBD blocks much of the radiation from passing from one side of it (outside the location) to the other side of it (inside the location) . The signal from transmitter T ₁ on the inside is represented by the smaller dotted red circle on the upper half of the smaller circle around the transmitters. Because the SBD is aligned with the entrance 10 it creates a virtual line 16 at the entrance.

Transmitter T ₂ is located on the inside of the location 12 adjacent the transmitter T ₁ and the SBD. As a result, its radiation is primarily transmitted toward the inside as represented by the top half of the larger solid green half circle around the transmitters because the SBD blocks much of its radiation from passing from the inside to the outside. The signal from transmitter T ₂ on the outside is represented by the smaller dotted green half circle on the bottom half of the smaller circle around the transmitters. Thus, the radiation from transmitter T ₂ reinforces the virtual line 16.

A receiver carried by a person A ₁ standing outside the location will receive primarily radiation from transmitter T ₁, while a receiver carried by a person A ₂ standing inside the location 12 will primarily receive a radiation signal from transmitter T ₂. FIG. 3B shows the relative strengths of the signals from T ₁ and T ₂ during travel along the path 18 from the A ₁ outside to A ₂ inside. At the virtual line the signals from T ₁ and T ₂ are equal. Movement along the path 18 toward the inside causes the signal from T ₂ to become larger than the one from T ₁, and movement toward the outside causes the signal from T ₁ to become larger than the one from T ₂. Thus, by determining with a detector at the receiver which signal is stronger the user can determine whether the receiver is inside or outside of the place or vehicle 12.

FIG. 3B is intended to show the receiver moving from outside A ₁ to inside A ₂, so starting at the left A ₁ the signal T ₂ is larger and when the user is inside the location A ₂, i.e., to the right of the virtual line, the signal T ₁ becomes larger. FIG. 4A is like FIG. 3A. However, FIG. 4B illustrates the receiver moving from inside A ₂ to outside A ₁, so starting at the left the signal T ₁ is larger and when the user is outside, i.e., A ₂ to the right of the virtual line, the signal T ₂ becomes larger, but to the left of the virtual line A ₁, signal T ₁ becomes larger.

The transmitters can be of any convenient type and will serve the purpose of the present invention. For example, the transmitters can be Bluetooth beacons broadcasting their identifier to nearby portable devices. In addition, the SBD may be made of metal, plaster, concrete, bulletproof glass, etc. that can absorb or block the transmitter signal and is provided with a flat shape to weaken the signal transmitting from the opposite transmitter or a horn shape to enhance the directivity of signal transmission shape, and that can be aligned with the entrance. A device suitable for the receiver is any portable device equipped with signal receivers such as smartphones, tablets, notebooks, and smart watches. Further, an application program installed on the portable device may be used for computing the received signals to determine which signal is larger, T1 or T2?

By using this innovative entry/exit detection apparatus, a virtual line is created by the signal blocking device SBD which is placed in-between the two signal transmitters T ₁ and T ₂. Without the innovative Signal Blocking Device, the signals of T ₁ and T ₂ received by the portable device equipped with a signal receiver carried by an object or a person are the same inside and outside a place or vehicle (FIG. 2A) . With the present invention the use of the Signal Blocking Device causes the T ₁ and T ₂ signals received by the portable device inside and outside a place or vehicle to be different.

Although the two signal transmitters which are close to each other will be transmitting the same strength of signal, the signal received for signal transmitter T ₁ outside a place or vehicle will be stronger than signal transmitter T ₂ because the T ₂ signal will be weakened by the SBD when signal T ₂ is received outside the location. (FIGS. 3A and 3B) . The signal strength of T ₁ and T ₂ will be reversed when the signal receiver is inside the location (FIGS. 4A and 4B) .

The virtual line created by the Signal Blocking Device (SBD) will help the portable device equipped with a signal receiver carried by an object or a person to determine, e.g., with a detector, whether that object or person (A) has entered or exited a location 12. When an object or a person A with the portable device travels from A ₁ to A ₂ (arrow 18 facing upward in FIG. 3A) , it will first receive a strong signal from T ₁ and a weak signal from T ₂ before crossing the Virtual Line 16. After crossing the Virtual Line to enter location 16, the received signal strength of T ₁ and T ₂ will be reversed, i.e., the T ₁ signal will be weaker than the T ₂ signal. By detecting the changing pattern of the relatively stronger signal from T ₁ and the weaker signal from T ₂ before A crosses the Virtual Line from A ₁ outside the location to A ₂ inside the location, the position of the receiver within or without the location can be determined. In effect the relatively weaker signal from T ₁ but strong signal from T ₂ after A crosses the Virtual Line, determines that A has moved along line 18 from A ₁ to A ₂ and has entered the location 12. The intersection of the change of signal strength of T ₁ and T ₂ after crossing the Virtual Line will determine whether an object or a person carrying a portable device equipped with a signal receiver has entered a place or vehicle (FIG. 3B) . This is the reverse when A moves from A ₂ to A ₁, i.e. moving from inside to outside a place or vehicle (arrow 18 facing downward in FIG. 4A) .

If an object or a person carrying a portable device equipped with a signal receiver such as a smartphone, a tablet, a notebook, or a smart watch, the user will be able to identify his or her entry and exit time from the location 12. Thus, the invention will help to detect and confirm whether an object or a person has entered or exited a place or vehicle. The portable device carried by the user can operate as both the receiver and detector for determining whether the person carrying the portable device is inside or outside the location. Further, if the system covers multiple separated locations, the GPS application information integrated in the portable device can be combined with the entrance/exit information to determine which location is being accessed.

In addition to determining whether a person or object has entered or exited from a location, the present invention can be used as a counting device to provide information on the number of people or objects that have entered or left the space. To accomplish this a memory or storage device and an adder is required to detect each occurrence and to save the result. Also, if the location 12 is a vehicle for hire, the determination that the person is inside the vehicle can be used to initiate a charge for riding in the vehicle. Further, if the location is the site of an event, the determination that the person is inside the event area can initiate a charge for the event. In the case of the toll vehicle or the event location, the receiver can be a portable device equipped with a signal receiver such as a smartphone, a tablet, a notebook, or a smart watch with a credit application so that the charge is automatically billed to a customer account.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof; it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and that the embodiment is merely illustrative of the invention, which is limited only by the appended claims. In particular, the foregoing detailed description illustrates the invention by way of example and not by way of limitation. The description enables one skilled in the art to make and use the present invention, and describes an embodiment, adaptation, variation, and method of use of the present invention.

Claims

An entry/exit detection apparatus for determining whether an object or a person has entered into or exited from a particular location, comprising:

a first signal transmitter and a second signal transmitter located adjacent the first signal transmitter, but with a signal blocking device in-between them, said transmitters and blocking device being located at an entrance to the location;

wherein said blocking device is aligned with a path across the entrance, said first signal transmitter being on the side of the blocking device facing into the location and primarily radiating a first signal into the location, and the second signal transmitter being on the side of the blocking device facing outside the location and primarily radiating a second signal outside of the location so as to create a virtual line at the entrance where the two signals are substantially equal;

a portable device carried by the object or person including at least one signal receiver for receiving signals from the transmitters; and

a detector included within the portable device for determining whether the object or person is inside or outside the location based on the relative strength of the first and second signals received by the signal receiver and computed by an application installed in the detector.
The entry/exit detection apparatus according to claim 1

wherein the blocking device is a sheet that can absorb or block the transmitter signal, such as of metal, plaster, concrete, bulletproof glass material, with the first transmitter on one side of the sheet and the second transmitter on the other side of the sheet, and

wherein the sides of the sheet are aligned with the entrance.
The entry/exit detection apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the transmitters are devices that can transmit signals, for example, Bluetooth beacons broadcasting their identifier to nearby portable devices.
The entry/exit detection apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the portable device is a device that is equipped with a signal receiver, such as a smartphone, a tablet, a notebook or a smart watch.
The entry/exit detection apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the signal receiver installed on portable device is a receiver that can receive signals transmitted by a transmitter, such as a Bluetooth module.
The entry/exit detection apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the portable device equipped with signal receiver is implemented to achieve the entry/exit detection through application programs installed on the smartphone, the tablet, the notebook or the smart watch, respectively.
The entry/exit detection apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the apparatus further includes a memory and adder so as to form a counting device to provide information on the number of people or objects that have entered or left the space.
The entry/exit detection apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the location is a vehicle for hire and the determination that the person is inside the vehicle initiates a charge for riding in the vehicle.
The entry/exit detection apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the location is the site of an event and the determination that the person is inside the event initiates a charge for the event.
The entry/exit detection apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the portable device is a smartphone, a tablet, a notebook, or a smart watch, with a credit application so that the charge for ridding in the vehicle can be automatically billed to a customer account.
The entry/exit detection apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the portable device is a smartphone, a tablet, a notebook, or a smart watch, with a credit application so that the charge for attending the event can be automatically billed to a customer account.

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