Passage barrier with a sensor technology for detecting the presence of a person inside the passage barrier

1. A passage barrier ( 10 ) comprising:

partition walls ( 14 , 16 , 18 ) defining a passageway ( 12 ) therebetween;

at least one barrier element ( 34 ) for optionally opening or blocking the passageway ( 12 ), wherein the barrier element can be swivelled about a swivelling axis through a swivelling area ( 38 ) of the passageway ( 12 );

at least one sensor system that detects the presence of a person in the swivelling area, the sensor system comprising:

at least one sending unit ( 40 ) emitting detection waves, the sending unit ( 40 ) being arranged within one of the partition walls;

at least one reception unit ( 42 ) providing output signals in response to at least one of said detection waves, the reception unit ( 42 ) being arranged within another one of the partition walls opposite to said one of the partition walls; and

an evaluation unit for evaluating the output signals of the reception unit;

wherein the sending unit ( 40 ) and the reception unit ( 42 ) are located such that said at least one of the detection waves extends from the sending unit ( 40 ) through the swiveling area to the reception unit ( 42 ), and wherein the at least one barrier element ( 34 ) is at least partially made of a material transparent to said detection waves such that the at least one of the detection waves extending through the swivelling area ( 38 ) passes through the at least one barrier element ( 34 ) without disrupting or substantially changing a direction of the at least one of the detection waves.

2. The passage barrier ( 10 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the detection wave transparent material of the barrier element ( 34 ) is glass or plastic.

3. The passage barrier ( 10 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the sending unit ( 40 ) is connected to a source generating the detection waves via at least one waveguide ( 44 ).

4. The passage barrier ( 10 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the sending unit ( 40 ) comprises at least one deviation device ( 54 ) for the detection waves.

5. The passage barrier ( 10 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the partition walls ( 14 , 16 , 18 ) at least partially comprise a material transparent to the detection waves.

6. The passage barrier ( 10 ) according to claim 1 , wherein one side of the passageway ( 12 ) is defined by a pair of said partition walls ( 16 , 18 ), the pair of said partition walls ( 16 , 18 ) being in the same vertical plane, and the swivelling axis is positioned between the pair of said partition walls ( 16 , 18 ) in alignment with the plane.

7. The passage barrier ( 10 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the passage barrier ( 10 ) comprises a sensor for detecting a position of the barrier element ( 34 ).

8. The passage barrier ( 10 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one sending unit includes a plurality of sending units and the at least one reception unit includes a plurality of reception units, the plurality of sending units being positioned within the one of the partition walls such that the plurality of sending units are vertically and horizontally offset from each other, and the plurality of reception units being positioned within the another one of the partition walls such that each of the reception units is aligned with a respective one of said sending units.

9. The passage barrier ( 10 ) according to claim 1 , wherein an entire portion of the at least one barrier element that swivels through said swivelling area is made of the detection wave transparent material so as to not disrupt the at least one of the detection waves.

10. A passage barrier ( 10 ) comprising:

vertically extending partition walls ( 14 , 16 , 18 ) defining a passageway ( 12 ) therebetween;

at least one barrier element ( 34 ) for optionally opening or blocking the passageway ( 12 ), wherein the barrier element can be swivelled about a swivelling axis through a swivelling area ( 38 ) of the passageway ( 12 );

at least one sensor system that detects the presence of a person in the swivelling area, the sensor system including:

a plurality of sending units ( 40 ) emitting detection waves, the sending units ( 40 ) being arranged within one of the partition walls such that the sending units ( 40 ) are vertically and horizontally offset from each other;

a plurality of reception units ( 42 ) providing output signals in response to the detection waves, the reception units ( 42 ) being arranged within another one of the partition walls opposite to the one of the partition walls such that the reception units ( 42 ) are vertically and horizontally offset from each other; and

an evaluation unit for evaluating the output signals of the reception units;

wherein the sending units ( 40 ) and the reception units ( 42 ) are located such that at least one of the detection waves extends from at least one of the sending units ( 40 ) to a corresponding at least one of the reception units ( 42 ) through the swiveling area;

wherein the at least one barrier element ( 34 ) is made of a material transparent to the detection waves such that the at least one barrier element ( 34 ) is able to pass through the at least one of the detection waves extending through the swivelling area ( 38 ) without disrupting or changing direction of the at least one of the detection waves.

11. A method of operating a passage barrier ( 10 ) according claim 1 , wherein the output signals of the at least one reception unit are evaluated in dependence on a position of the at least one barrier element ( 34 ).