JP2001202590A - Guide device for vision-impaired person - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a guide device for a vision-impaired person, which gives more detailed information to a vision-impaired person and can safely guide him without giving sound guidance. SOLUTION: The device is provided with a truck main body 11 having rotary wheels 11, a pole 12 fitted to the truck main body 11, a grip part 13 installed in the pole part 12, an obstacle detection device detecting an obstacle and a vibration part which is installed in the grip part 13 and changes a vibration state in accordance with the output of the obstacle detection device. The vibration part has plural vibration actuators which independently operate and the information to be transmitted in changed by changing the vibration situation of the vibration actuator.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a visually impaired guidance device for safely guiding a visually impaired person.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as means for guiding a visually impaired person, a Braille block has been laid along a sidewalk. A visually impaired person obtains information such as a sidewalk position and a traveling direction from a Braille block using a white stick.

[0003] In such a system, the amount of information is limited, danger information such as a current position and a step cannot be obtained, and there has been a drawback that sufficient safe guidance cannot be performed.

[0004] Therefore, in Utility Model Registration No. 3029797, for example, a barcode indicating that there is a stairway descending forward on the floor surface of the station premises is displayed, and this barcode is read by a barcode reader provided on a stick. There has been proposed a safety walking guidance device configured to convey it to a visually impaired person by voice.

[0005] According to the above method, it is possible to inform a visually impaired person of information such as stairs by voice. However, it is important for the visually impaired person to listen to the surrounding sounds because they are blind. However, there is a problem in that guidance by voice makes it difficult to hear other external sounds.

As a method for safely guiding a visually impaired person, there is a ferrite induction method. According to this method, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-146577, a ferrite powder, which is a magnetic substance, solidified with a binder such as resin or cement is embedded as a marker.
On the other hand, a sensor for detecting ferrite is provided at the tip of the white cane, and the presence or absence of ferrite turns on and off the vibration of the diaphragm provided on the grip part of the cane, transmitting the vibration to the hand of the visually impaired and guiding Is what you do. In addition, an alarm transmission device that informs the danger in advance at a dangerous place, etc. is provided in advance, and an alarm receiving antenna is provided on the walking stick, so that when approaching a dangerous place, the voice guidance of "dangerous" is provided. Make up. As described above, the visually impaired person is guided more safely by informing the visually impaired person of a plurality of pieces of information such as guidance by vibration and danger information by voice.

[0007]

However, according to the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-146577, information is transmitted to a visually impaired person by a single method of determining whether or not to apply vibration. The amount is limited, and without other means such as an alarm oscillator, information such as obstacles cannot be transmitted to the visually impaired. Further, when information is transmitted by voice, as described above, there is a problem that it is difficult to hear sounds in the outside world.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and can provide more detailed information to a visually impaired person without guiding a voice and can safely guide the visually impaired person. It is an object of the present invention to provide a guidance device for the visually impaired.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises means for detecting an obstacle, and a vibrating section for changing a vibration state according to an output from the detecting means, wherein the vibrating sections operate independently. A plurality of vibration actuators that change the information to be transmitted by changing the vibration state of the vibration actuator.

The present invention also provides a truck having rotating wheels, a pole attached to the truck, a grip provided on the pole, means for detecting an obstacle, and the grip. A vibration unit that changes a vibration state according to an output of the detection unit, the vibration unit includes a plurality of vibration actuators that operate independently, and changes a vibration state of the vibration actuator. It is characterized in that the information to be transmitted is changed.

Further, the present invention is preferably provided with a driving device for driving the rotating wheel, and controlling the driving device in accordance with an output of the obstacle detecting means.

Further, the present invention is preferably provided with position detecting means for detecting the position of the own vehicle, and transmitting the position information from the position detecting means by changing the vibration state of the vibration actuator of the vibration part.

[0013] According to the above-mentioned configuration, information on an obstacle ahead can be transmitted to the visually impaired person in detail without using voice, so that the visually impaired person can walk without anxiety.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a visually impaired person M uses the guidance device for visually impaired people of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the guidance device for visually impaired people.

In the guidance device for the visually impaired, a pole 12 is attached to a bogie main body 10 having rotating wheels 11 so as to be freely movable back and forth, using a universal joint or the like.
A grip 13 is provided at the tip of the pole 12. The grip section 13 is provided with a vibration section 130 as described later. The vibrating unit 130 includes a plurality of vibration actuators that vibrate individually and individually apply vibration to the palms or finger pads. An obstacle detecting device 21 for detecting an obstacle is provided in the bogie main body 10, and information such as a sidewalk R and the like is provided in accordance with a signal from the obstacle detecting device 21.
Visually impaired person M via a vibration actuator provided in
To communicate. An auxiliary wheel 15 is provided in front of the carriage body 10.
Is provided.

The above-described obstacle detecting device 21 is, for example,
Equipped with a sensor that can detect height information of the ground at short and medium distances, and a sensor that measures the distance of obstacles horizontally. Determine if it is an obstacle.

As shown in FIG. 1, the visually impaired person M moves on the sidewalk R using the guidance device for visually impaired persons while holding the grip 13. Based on the output from the obstacle detection device 21, the guidance device for the visually impaired determines whether or not there is a dangerous object such as an obstacle in front of the visually impaired person M who wants to walk. This is given to each vibration actuator of the grip 13 attached. The visually impaired person M grasps the road condition by the vibration of the vibration actuator and walks safely according to the guidance of the guidance device for the visually impaired person.

The present invention basically performs the above-described operation, and a specific configuration and control thereof will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG.
Reference numeral 3 designates a shape which can be easily grasped by five fingers.
35 are provided. These vibration actuators 13
2 to 135 are individually driven to vibrate according to the output from the obstacle detection device 21 as described later. The vibration actuators 132 to 135 are
In this embodiment, the grip portion 13 is provided on a portion corresponding to the belly of the finger gripped by the little finger from the index finger.

The grip 13 is provided with an operation switch 131 which is turned on / off by a thumb. The operation switch 131 controls the drive of the motor by turning on and off the switch 131 when a drive motor for assisting the driving of the wheels 11 is provided, for example, as described later. It is. With the assistance of the motor, the control of the device is performed, such as reducing the pressing force on the device.

The structure of the vibration actuators 131 to 135 is, for example, as shown in FIG. 7A, a structure in which an external diaphragm 137 is vibrated by using a solenoid 136, or as shown in FIG. In addition, a device using a piezoelectric element 138, a device using an eccentric motor 139 as shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the guiding device for the visually impaired according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration of the guiding device for the visually impaired according to the present invention.

In this embodiment, the carriage body 10
Inside, an obstacle detection device 21, a motor driving device 30, a position detection device 50, a control unit 20 for controlling them, and a power supply 60 including a rechargeable battery are provided.

In this embodiment, the obstacle detecting device 21 is a sensor 2 for detecting height information of the ground at a short distance.
1a, a sensor 21b that detects height information of the ground at a medium distance
And a sensor 21c for horizontally measuring the distance to the obstacle. These sensors 21a, 21b and 21c emit laser light such as infrared rays or emit ultrasonic waves. And
The reflected light or reflected wave is detected by the obstacle detection device 21, and the detection result is given to the control unit 20. The control unit 20 determines whether there is a step in the forward traveling route and whether the vehicle is traveling up or down, or determines whether there is an impassable obstacle.
2. Vibration control is performed.

In this embodiment, a position detecting device 50 for detecting the position of the vehicle is provided. The position detecting device 50 is a satellite navigation device (GPS: Global Pos).
An absolute position and a relative position are detected by an ionizing system and an autonomous navigation device, the own vehicle position is determined, and the own vehicle position is provided to the control unit 20. The control unit 20
Based on the detection from the position detection device 50, various kinds of information are transmitted to the visually impaired person M by a combination of the vibrations of the vibration actuators 132.

The control unit 20 controls a motor driving device 30 for rotating and driving the wheels 11, and drives the wheels based on an output from the obstacle detecting device 21 and the like. Assistance can be provided to reduce the pressing force.

In the above-described obstacle detecting device 21, information on an obstacle located in front of the guiding device for the visually impaired is given to a control circuit 20 composed of a microcomputer or the like. The control circuit 20 determines the state according to the output of the obstacle detection device 21, and
Turn on / off the vibration of 2. That is, the control unit 20 gives a control signal to each drive circuit 132a of the vibration actuator 132, and
32 are controlled. The control unit 20 performs the vibration control so as to change the vibration state of each of the vibration actuators 132...
It conveys information such as road conditions.

When a power switch for performing assist or the like is input by the operation switch 131, the control unit 20 drives the motor driving device 30. In this embodiment, the wheels 11 are driven to rotate forward and / or backward by driving means such as a motor.

The control unit 20 controls the motor drive circuit 31 based on the output from the obstacle detection device 21. For example, when there is a danger of colliding with an obstacle, the control unit 20 stops the motor 32, If necessary, the motor is driven to rotate in the backward direction to perform a braking operation.

Further, in accordance with the position information from the position detecting device 50, the control unit 20 transmits, through the vibration unit 130, what place the visually impaired person M is passing based on the geographic information.

Each of these controls is performed by the program memory 40
Is executed based on the program stored in the data memory 41, and other area information and the like are stored in the data memory 41.

Next, an example of the position detecting device 50 is shown in FIG.
2 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The position detection device 50
An autonomous navigation sensor 502 including an angular velocity sensor for detecting the rotational angular velocity of the trolley 10 and a distance sensor for detecting the traveling distance of the trolley 10, a GPS receiver 502 for positioning the current position and current azimuth of the trolley 10 by satellite navigation, and autonomous navigation A vehicle position calculation device 501 that calculates a vehicle position based on inputs from the sensor 503 and the GPS receiver 502. The vehicle position calculated by the vehicle position calculation device 501 is provided to the control unit 20. Recording medium reading device 505
Reads map data from a map database 504 stored in a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or the like, and sends the map data to the control unit 20.

Based on the vehicle position from the vehicle position calculation device 501, the control unit 20 grasps the surrounding conditions and the like from the map data and determines whether or not the vehicle is approaching an intersection.
These information are given to the vibration unit 130. When the visually impaired person M inputs the departure position and the destination in advance, the control unit 20
Stores position data for the departure position and the destination in the data memory 41, and creates recommended route guidance data according to a safe route. Then, in accordance with this data, the control unit 20 sets the respective vibration actuators 132 of the vibration unit 130
, And the visually impaired person M can be guided based on the own vehicle position data of the own vehicle position calculating device 501.

Next, the three sensors 21a, 21b, 21
The operation of the obstacle detection device 21 using c will be described with reference to FIGS.

The sensor 21a is a short distance sensor, for example, 2
The sensor 21b detects the height information of the ground at a distance of 50 cm, for example, the sensor 21b detects the height information of the ground at a distance of 50 cm, and the sensor 21c detects the height information of the ground at a height of 30 cm. To detect the distance to an obstacle in a horizontal position. The sensors 21a and 21b emit infrared laser light, ultrasonic waves, and the like, and measure reflected light and reflected waves of the laser and the like from the ground. The distance is measured by the measured reflected light or the like.

For example, when the reflected light or the reflected wave is detected by the sensor 21c, it is found that there is an obstacle ahead. In this embodiment, for example, when the sensor 21c measures that there is an obstacle within 5 m, it recognizes that there is an obstacle ahead and detects the distance by reflected light or reflected wave.

Next, measurement of a step on the ground will be described.
As shown in FIG. 9, when the measurement distance is d and the angle of the optical axis is θ,

The height h from the ground can be calculated by h = dsin θ.

As shown in FIG. 8A, in the case of a plane having no step, the height ha calculated based on the measured distance of the sensor 21a is equal to the height hb calculated based on the measured distance of the sensor 21b. Become. When the heights calculated from the outputs of the sensors 21a and 21b are equal, the control unit 20 determines that the plane has no step. Actually, since there are some irregularities on the sidewalk or the like, the outputs based on the two sensors 21a and 21b are not equal even on a plane which is generally said to have no step. Therefore, if the height ha calculated based on the measurement distance of the sensor 21a and the height hb calculated based on the measurement distance of the sensor 21b are within a difference based on unevenness that does not feel as a step when walking normally, The control unit 20 determines that the heights of the two are equal, determines that the road has no steps, and controls the vibration unit 130 and the like.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8B, when there is a low step at the front, the height ha calculated based on the measured distance of the sensor 21a is changed to the height ha calculated based on the measured distance of the sensor 21b. Hb. The control unit 20 is h
If a <hb, it is determined that there is a low step ahead. Also in this case, when there is a difference equal to or greater than the height of the unevenness that does not feel as a step when walking normally, the control unit 20 determines that there is a step and controls the vibration unit 130 and the like.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8C, when there is a high step in the front, if the sensor 21c can measure the distance, there is an obstacle such as a wall or a stair in the front. However, if there is a step such that the sensor 21c cannot measure the distance, the height ha calculated based on the measured distance of the sensor 21a is larger than the height hb calculated based on the measured distance of the sensor 21b. Become. When ha <hb, the control unit 20 determines that there is a high step ahead. Also in this case, when there is a difference equal to or more than the height of the unevenness that does not feel as a step when walking normally, the control unit 20 determines that there is a step and controls the vibration unit and the like.

Next, the sensors 21a, 21b, 2
If the determination is only based on 1c, a step measurement error may occur due to a road surface condition or a measurement error. For visually impaired people, guidance must be performed sufficiently safely. Therefore, in the present invention, in order to more reliably grasp the flatness of the road, the determination routine shown in FIGS.
The calculation is performed based on the output from each of the sections 1b, and the three states are taken into consideration, so that the road condition such as a step is grasped more reliably.

The controller 20 calculates the height h based on the output from the sensors 21a (21b) (step S1).
The calculated height h is stored as hnew (step S2).

Then, for example, the height hold calculated one second ago is subtracted from the currently calculated height, and the step hste is calculated.
p is obtained (step S3).

Subsequently, the height href, which is set in advance as a step height, is compared with the calculated height hstep (step S4). If the calculated height is larger than the reference step, it is determined that there is a step (step S5), and then it is determined whether hstep is smaller than 0 (step S6). If it is smaller than 0, it is determined that the step is a descending step (step S7), hnew is set to hold (step S16), the process returns to step S1, and the next determination operation is performed.

In step S6, hstep
Is determined to be greater than 0, it is determined that the step is an upward step (step S8), hnew is set to hold (step S16), the process returns to step S1, and the next determination operation is performed.

On the other hand, if the calculated height is smaller than the reference step in step S4, it is determined that the plane continues (step S10), and then hstep
Is determined to be 0 (step S11). If it is 0, it is determined that the inclination does not change (step S1).
3), hnew is set to hold (step S1)
6), returning to step S1 to enter the next determination operation.

If it is not 0, then hstep is 0
It is determined whether it is smaller than (Step S12). If it is smaller than 0, it is determined that the slope is going down (step S14), and hnew is set to hold (step S1).
6), returning to step S1 to enter the next determination operation.

In step S12, hste
If it is determined that p is greater than 0, it is determined that the slope is going up (step S15), hnew is set to hold (step S16), the process returns to step S1, and the next determination operation is performed.

In this way, even if the heights based on the outputs of the sensors 21a and 21b are equal, the presence or absence of a step is determined in a time series, and it is more reliably determined whether or not there is a step.

The data measured in time series are stored in the data memory 41, and based on the data memory 41, whether the vehicle is currently moving uphill, returning from the uphill to a flat road, or If the vehicle has gone downhill or vice versa, the controller 20 further determines the amount of increase or decrease in the level difference and measures the level of the gradient in time series to determine how much the gradient is. Can be determined. Based on this determination, the assist amount of the motor drive device 30 may be controlled as described later.

If an inclination sensor or the like for detecting the direction of gravity is provided in the bogie main body 10 to measure the inclination of the bogie main body 10, the absolute value of the inclination can be measured, and the inclination can be controlled by the controller 20. , It is possible to detect more accurate ups and downs of the road.

When data indicating that an obstacle is present ahead is always output from the sensor 21c, the control unit 20 determines that there is an impassable obstacle ahead.

The sensor 21c is moved up and down and left and right to some extent by a motor or the like, and if a state in which there is an obstacle ahead by the sensor 21 continues for a predetermined time, the control unit 20 moves the sensor up and down and left and right. Then, the distance to the obstacle can be calculated, and the type of the obstacle can be specified. For example, if the obstacle is a staircase,
Since the distance to the obstacle is different by moving it up and down, if the distance data based on the type of stairs is stored in the data memory 41, the control unit 20 refers to the data memory 41 to determine the obstacle. The type can be almost specified.

Further, by moving the obstacle left and right, it is possible to determine whether the obstacle can be avoided by moving the obstacle left and right such as a telephone pole. By storing characteristic data in the data memory 41 in advance, the sensor 2
If an obstacle is specified by the output from 1c and the vehicle can be evacuated to the left or right according to the obstacle, such information may be transmitted to the disabled person using the vibration unit 130.

Next, the road condition and each vibration actuator 1
32 will be described with reference to FIG. still,
In FIG. 13, a mark “x” indicates a state without vibration, and a mark “○” indicates a state with vibration.

When the control unit 20 determines that the road is flat and there is no obstacle based on the detection result by the obstacle detection device 21 described above, all the vibration actuators 132... Are stopped.

When the control unit 20 determines that there is an obstacle and the approaching step is approaching based on the detection result by the obstacle detection device 21 described above, only the vibration actuator 132 vibrates, and the other vibration actuators 133, 134, and 135 operate. Vibration stops.

When the control unit 20 determines that there is an obstacle and the approach step is the closest, based on the detection result of the obstacle detection device 21 described above, the vibration actuators 132 and 13
3 vibrates, and the other vibration actuators 134 and 135 stop vibrating.

When the control unit 20 determines that there is an obstacle and the approaching step is approached based on the detection result by the obstacle detection device 21 described above, the vibration actuators 132 and 134
Vibrates, and the other vibration actuators 133 and 135 are in a state where the vibration stops.

When the control unit 20 determines that there is an obstacle and that the descending step is the closest, based on the result of detection by the obstacle detecting device 21 described above, the vibration actuators 132 and 13
3 and 134 vibrate, and the other vibration actuators 135 stop vibrating.

When the control unit 20 determines that an obstacle is present and the wall approaches, based on the result of detection by the obstacle detection device 21 described above, the vibration actuators 132 and 135
Vibrates, and the other vibration actuators 133 and 134 are in a state where the vibration stops.

According to the result of the detection by the obstacle detecting device 21 described above, the control unit 20 determines that there is an obstacle and the wall is closest.
Is determined, the vibration actuators 132, 133 and 1
35 vibrates, and the other vibration actuator 134 is in a state where the vibration stops.

When the control unit 20 that is in a dangerous state determines from the detection result of the obstacle detection device 21 described above,
All the vibration actuators 132 vibrate to notify a dangerous state.

The above combination of vibrations is an example,
What is necessary is just to determine suitably according to a use.

As described above, the vibration actuators 132.
By combining the presence or absence of the vibration, more detailed information can be provided to the visually impaired person M without using sound or the like. Then, by performing analog control of the magnitude of the vibration, the obstacle information can be further increased.
Further, by vibrating the vibration cycle at a cycle like a Morse code, more information such as the name of an intersection can be provided to the visually impaired person M from the fingertip.

Further, by using the position detecting device 50, not only obstacle information on the traveling route but also geographical information can be transmitted to the visually impaired person M by a combination of vibrations of the vibration actuators 132. At this time, since a plurality of vibration actuators 132 are provided, language information and the like can be transmitted to the operator as vibration as code information. Since such information does not pass through sound information, it can be used very effectively for visually impaired persons who need to always grasp the surrounding situation using sound information.

Further, if the operator sets the position information that the operator wants to go to, such as the position information of the store to which he always goes, the specific code vibration information is emitted when he arrives at the place, so as to meet the needs of the visually impaired. Guidance can be provided.

Also, as described above, in the case of performing route guidance using the position detection device 50, if information such as turning right or turning left is performed based on a combination of the presence or absence of vibration of the vibration actuators 132. The route can be guided reliably.

The guide device for the visually impaired in this embodiment includes the motor drive device 30 for assisting the wheels 11 as described above. The one shown in FIG.
The one assisted by one motor 32 and the one shown in FIG. 15 are those in which the respective wheels 11a and 11b are independently driven by two motors 32a and 32b.

When a power switch for performing assist or the like is input by the operation switch 131, the control unit 20 drives the motor driving device 30. In this embodiment, wheels 11 (11a, 11b) are connected to motor 32 (3
2a, 32b), it is driven to rotate forward and / or backward. For example, in the case of a flat road, the motor 32
The assist amount by (32a, 32b) is reduced, and the assist amount is increased when the vehicle is going uphill. In addition, when the vehicle goes downhill, the control unit 20 may apply a brake.
Controls the motor drive device 30 according to the detection result from the obstacle detection device 21.

The control unit 20 includes an obstacle detection device 21
Control the motor drive circuit 31 based on the output from
For example, if there is a danger of colliding with an obstacle,
The motor 32 (32a, 32b) is stopped, and if necessary, the motor 32 is driven to rotate in the backward direction to perform a braking operation, thereby operating to avoid danger.

As shown in FIG. 15, when each of the wheels 11a and 11b is configured to be individually drivable, when the route is guided using the position detecting device 50, the vehicle turns right or left. In addition to notifying the information such as bending to the presence or absence of the vibration of the vibration actuators 132, the driving amount of each of the motors 32a and 32b is controlled so that the carriage main body 10 is moved in each direction. it can.

In the embodiment described above, the wheels are driven by using the motor driving device.
It is also possible to use a track instead of wheels and to drive the track. By using the caterpillar, the bogie main body can be easily moved irrespective of steps such as stairs. Means for moving the carriage body may use other methods.

In the above embodiment, the case where an optical sensor or an ultrasonic sensor is used as the obstacle detecting device 21 has been described. However, an obstacle can be detected by another method. For example, as shown in FIG.
An obstacle can be detected by image processing using the CD camera 21d. A virtual traveling path P is provided in the image captured by the CCD camera 21d as shown in FIG.
The captured image becomes a grayscale image according to the distance. The closer it is, the whiter it gets, and the farther it gets black. The image density discontinuity of the virtual traveling path P is checked, and if there is a discontinuity, it can be determined that there is a step or an obstacle.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a case where a stereo camera is arranged in a horizontal direction, and FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing a case where a stereo camera is arranged in a vertical direction. As shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, a stereo camera may be used to detect an obstacle.

In the above embodiment, the guide device for the visually impaired in which the bogie main body 10 is provided with the pole 12 and the grip portion 13 has been described, but the present invention can also be applied to a wand-shaped guide device. FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing a cane-shaped guidance device for a qualified person with a disability. In this embodiment, a rotating wheel 11c is provided at the tip of the pole 12, and an obstacle detector 21 and a control unit 20 are provided in the pole 12. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 described above, the grip section 13 is provided with the vibration section 13 having a plurality of vibration actuators. Also in this device, based on the output from the obstacle detector 21, the control unit 20 determines whether or not there is a dangerous object such as an obstacle in front of the visually impaired person M trying to walk. It is given to each vibration actuator of the attached grip portion 13 to guide the visually impaired person M.

[0078]

As described above, according to the present invention, information on obstacles ahead can be transmitted to the visually impaired person in detail, so that the visually impaired person can walk without anxiety.
Moreover, since the sense of hearing the surrounding sounds is not hindered, various information can be obtained without any hindrance to understanding the surrounding environment by the sound information.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a visually impaired person uses the guidance device for visually impaired people of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a guidance device for the visually impaired according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a guidance device for the visually impaired of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a grip used in the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an example of a grip used in the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of a circuit configuration of the guidance device for the visually impaired according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a vibration actuator used in the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the obstacle detection device used in the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a relationship diagram for measuring a height.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for measuring the height of a step.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a routine for determining flatness of a road.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a position detection device used in the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between an obstacle and a vibration state of a vibration actuator.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a motor drive used in the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a motor drive used in the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing an example of another obstacle detection device used in the present invention.

17 is a diagram showing an example of an image pattern in the obstacle detection device shown in FIG.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing an example of another obstacle detection device used in the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a schematic view showing an example of another obstacle detection device used in the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram of a guidance device for the visually impaired according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Bogie main body 11 Wheel 12 Pole 13 Grip part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus comprising: means for detecting an obstacle; and a vibrating section for changing a vibration state in accordance with an output from the detecting means, wherein the vibrating section has a plurality of vibration actuators which operate independently. A guidance device for the visually impaired, wherein information to be transmitted is changed by changing a vibration state of the vibration actuator. 2. A trolley having rotating wheels, a pole attached to the trolley, a grip provided on the pole, means for detecting an obstacle, and a trolley provided on the grip. A vibration unit that changes the vibration state according to the output of the detection unit, wherein the vibration unit has a plurality of vibration actuators that operate independently, and transmits information to be transmitted by changing the vibration state of the vibration actuator. A guiding device for the visually impaired, which is changed. 3. The guidance device for a visually handicapped person according to claim 2, further comprising a driving device for driving the rotating wheel, wherein the driving device is controlled in accordance with an output of the obstacle detecting means. 4. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a position detecting means for detecting a position of the own vehicle, wherein the position information from the position detecting means is transmitted by changing a vibration state of a vibration actuator of a vibration part. Guidance device for the visually impaired.