# US 10,313,599 B2 · Motion sensor device having plurality of light sources > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,313,599 B2 - Document ID: US10313599B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/423,625 - Filed: 2014-06-25 - Published: 2015-08-06 - Granted: 2019-06-04 - Earliest claimed: 2013-07-01 - Assignees: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America - Applicants: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America - Inventors: Ryuji Fuchikami - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10313599B2 ## CPC - G01C 3/06: Use of electric means to obtain final indication - G01S 5/16: using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves - G01S 17/46: Indirect determination of position data - H04N 7/18: Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast - H04N 23/651: {for reducing power consumption by affecting camera operations, e.g. sleep mode, hibernation mode or power off of selective parts of the camera} - H04N 23/71: Circuitry for evaluating the brightness variation - G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S) - G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION ## Abstract A motion sensor device including: an image sensor; first and second light sources; and control circuitry configured to control the image sensor and the first and second light sources. The control circuitry is configured to: repeatedly perform the operation of making the image sensor capture a first frame with light emitted from the first light source at a first time, the operation of making the image sensor capture a second frame with light emitted from the second light source at a second time, and the operation of generating information about the distance to an object based on first and second images that have been gotten by capturing the first and second frames, respectively, and control the respective quantities of light emitted from the first and second light sources individually by reference to information that has been collected through the previous or earlier image capturing session. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A motion sensor device comprising: an image sensor; first and second light sources; and control circuitry configured to control the image sensor and the first and second light sources, wherein the control circuitry is configured to: repeatedly perform image capturing sessions, wherein each image capturing session comprises: the operation of making the image sensor capture a first frame with light emitted from the first light source at a first time, the operation of making the image sensor capture a second frame with light emitted from the second light source at a second time, and the operation of generating information about a distance to an object based on first and second images that have been gotten by capturing the first and second frames, respectively, and control the respective brightness of the first and second light sources individually based on the respective pixel values of the first and second images collected during a previous image capturing session, such that: when a first luminance of the object derived from a first image gotten by capturing the first frame is below a second luminance of the object derived from a second image gotten by capturing the second frame in an image capturing session, the brightness of the second light source is decreased for a subsequent image capturing session. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The motion sensor device of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is configured to generate the information about the distance to the object based on a first luminance of the object derived from a first image gotten by capturing the first frame and a second luminance of the object derived from a second image gotten by capturing the second frame. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The motion sensor device of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is configured to generate the information about the distance based on the ratio of the first and second luminances. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The motion sensor device of claim 2, wherein the control circuitry is configured to generate the information about the distance by correcting at least one of the first and second luminances according to the respective quantities of light emitted from the first and second light sources. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The motion sensor device of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is configured to control the respective quantities of light emitted from the first and second light sources based on the respective signal to noise (S/N) ratios of the first and second images that have been gotten through the previous or earlier image capturing session. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The motion sensor device of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is configured to control the respective quantities of light emitted from the first and second light sources based on the respective luminance distributions of the first and second images that have been gotten through the previous or earlier image capturing session. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The motion sensor device of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is configured to control the respective quantities of light emitted from the first and second light sources based on the respective distances and/or kinetic momenta of the object in the first and second images that have been gotten through the previous or earlier image capturing session. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The motion sensor device of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is configured to either turn one of the first and second light sources OFF or switch the light source into a low-output mode if, in a situation where the object image is not included in at least one of the first and second images, the light source was in ON state when the image not including the object image was captured. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The motion sensor device of claim 8, wherein the control circuitry is configured to lessen the influence of background light by subtracting one of the first and second images which has been captured with one of the first and second light sources either turned OFF or switched into the low-output mode from the other image. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The motion sensor device of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is configured to enter a standby mode if the object image is not included in any of the first and second images, and capture, in the standby mode, the first frame with light emitted from the first light source and the second frame with the second light source either turned OFF or switched into a low-output mode, and exit from the standby mode if a value representing the difference between first and second images gotten by capturing the first and second frames is greater than a threshold value. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The motion sensor device of claim 1, further comprising a third light source, wherein the control circuitry is configured to: repeatedly perform the operation of making the image sensor capture a first frame with light emitted from the first light source at a first time, the operation of making the image sensor capture a second frame with light emitted from the second light source at a second time, the operation of making the image sensor capture a third frame with light emitted from the third light source, and the operation of generating information about the distance to an object based on first, second and third images that have been gotten by capturing the first, second and third frames, respectively, and control the respective quantities of light emitted from the first, second and third light sources individually by reference to information that has been collected through the previous or earlier image capturing session. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The motion sensor device of claim 11, wherein the control circuitry is configured to either turn at least one of the first, second and third light sources OFF or switch the light source into a low-output mode if, in a situation where the object image is not included in at least one of the first, second and third images, the light source was in ON state when the image not including the object image was captured. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The motion sensor device of claim 12, wherein the control circuitry is configured to turn at least one of the first, second and third light sources OFF or switch the light source into the low-output mode and then save capturing the frame to be obtained when the light source is in ON state. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The motion sensor device of claim 12, wherein the control circuitry is configured to subtract, after at least one of the first, second and third light sources has been either turned OFF or switched into the low-output mode, an image gotten by capturing a frame associated with that light source from an image gotten by capturing a frame associated with another light source, of which the output has not been changed. ### Claim 15 (depends on 12) The motion sensor device of claim 12, wherein the control circuitry is configured to have, after at least one of the first, second and third light sources has been either turned OFF or switched into the low-output mode, the light source in the OFF state or in the low-output mode get back to a normal ON state by reference to information about at least one of the distance and kinetic momentum of the object in an image to be gotten when another light source, of which the output has not been changed, is turned ON. ### Claim 16 (depends on 11) The motion sensor device of claim 11, wherein the control circuitry is configured to generate information about the distance to the object based on the luminance of the object derived from the first image gotten by capturing the first frame, the luminance of the object derived from the second image gotten by capturing the second frame, and the luminance of the object derived from the third image gotten by capturing the third frame. ### Claim 17 (depends on 11) The motion sensor device of claim 11, wherein the control circuitry is configured to enter a standby mode if the object image is not included in any of the first, second and third images, and capture, in the standby mode, the first frame with light emitted from the first light source and the second frame with the second light source either turned OFF or switched into a low-output mode but not capture the third frame, and exit from the standby mode if a value representing the difference between first and second images gotten by capturing the first and second frames is greater than a threshold value. ### Claim 18 (depends on 10) The motion sensor device of claim 10, wherein the control circuitry is configured to lower a shooting frame rate in the standby mode.