JP2005309596A - Guide line built-in unit for automatic traveling and floor integrated with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a guide line built-in unit for automatic traveling for easily and inexpensively changing a guide route and a floor integrated with this. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of guide line built-in units 600 are prepared so that a guide line 602 to be read by an automatic traveling wheelchair for guiding the wheelchair to its destination is built in a floor segment, and those guidance line built-in units 600 are flatly combined so that a floor can be configured. At that time, the guide lines 602 of the identical pattern or different types of patterns are continuously connected to each other so that a guide route 200 for the automatic traveling wheelchair can be formed. The guide line built-in unit 600 may be built-in with an IC tag equipped with a non-volatile memory communicatively connected with the outside as well as the guide line 602. The guide lines 602 in the adjacently laid respective guide line built-in units 600 are connected through extra long parts. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a unit with a built-in guide line that is particularly suitable for an automatic traveling system for a wheelchair and a floor in which the unit is combined.

Japan is now heading toward an aged society, and many housing complexes, nursing homes, care houses and group homes for the elderly have been built.
However, physical ability gradually decreases as the elderly become older, and in particular, walking often becomes difficult due to pain in the legs and legs, and walking is reduced.
In addition, cerebral vascular disorders may cause paralysis of the right or left body, making it difficult to walk, and many elderly people withdraw into their rooms.

For elderly people who have difficulty walking like this, it is possible to use a self-propelled wheelchair for the handicapped person. There is a need to become proficient and it may be difficult for the elderly themselves to perform the operation.
Therefore, it is necessary to give sufficient consideration to safety for the elderly.

On the other hand, there is known a travel route guidance device (for example, Patent Document 1) that guides a route from a departure location to a destination by specifying a departure location and a destination. In general, there are many things that do not generally exist in the roadway or factory, such as indoor walls, furniture, obstacles, doors, etc., and it is necessary to guide them in consideration of these things.
Therefore, there is an urgent need to establish a wheelchair automatic driving system before the problem of shortage of caregivers becomes serious.
JP 2002-323333 A

By the way, the guide route for automatically driving the wheelchair is
i) Affixing magnetic tape to the floor, for example, as in an automated transport system in a factory or hospital,
ii) In advance of building construction, magnetic or radio wave wiring is buried in the frame surface under the floor,
iii) It is also possible to realize this by, for example, peeling off the floor material after the building is completed to form a groove on the surface of the housing, and burying magnetic and radio wave wiring in the groove.

However, the first method of attaching the magnetic tape to the floor surface has a problem in that it does not look good and deteriorates the appearance quality, and is easily peeled off and inferior in durability.
On the other hand, in the second and third methods of burying induction lines such as magnetic and radio wave wiring under the floor of the floor, there is no problem in appearance quality and durability as in the first method, but a guidance path is completed once. If this happens, a large-scale construction is required for the change, and there is a problem that it takes time and cost.

This guide route change work not only occurs when a resident changes due to moving, etc., but also changes in the physical capacity of the user such as changes in the physical ability of the user, changes in the household composition and lifestyle This also occurs when changing the room layout for reasons such as the above.
In addition to the above, each of the first to third methods can perform only route guidance, and cannot provide useful information such as danger avoidance information and position information to the wheelchair and its passengers. Such information provision not only contributes to improving the accuracy and reliability of automatic driving, but also can give the user a sense of security by improving the interface.

  The crucial difference between the automatic transport system in factories and hospitals and the wheelchair automatic driving system is that the wheelchair automatic driving system has some physical disabilities such as elderly people. It is that it is a person, or in some cases, a person whose self-judgment ability has declined.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide wheelchairs for elderly housing, nursing homes, hospitals, care houses, hotels, airports, supermarkets, department stores, public buildings, parks, etc. It is an object of the present invention to provide a self-driving unit with a built-in guide line that is easy to change the guide route and is low-cost, and a floor that is a combination of these.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following means.
That is, the invention relating to the unit with a built-in guide line according to claim 1 is characterized in that a guide line that is read by a self-propelled traveling body and guides the traveling body to a destination is built in the floor segment. .
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the induction line built-in unit according to the first aspect, an extra length portion is provided at at least one end of the induction line.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the induction line built-in unit according to the second aspect, the concave portion in which the extra length portion is accommodated is formed so as to open to the outer peripheral surface of the floor unit.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the induction line built-in unit according to any one of the first to third aspects, an IC tag capable of communicating with the outside and including a nonvolatile memory is incorporated. To do.

The invention according to claim 5 is a combination of a plurality of built-in induction line units according to any one of claims 1 to 4 in a plane,
At least one guide line pattern of the guide line built-in unit is different from guide line patterns of other guide line built-in units.
The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that, in the floor according to claim 5, the guide lines in each of the guide line built-in units laid side by side are connected via the extra length portion.

According to the above configuration, the guide line is not exposed to the floor surface or protrudes from the floor surface. Changing the guide route can be done by simply recombining the unit with built-in guide line (partial replacement if necessary). It becomes possible.
Further, even when the guide line built-in unit is displaced along the floor surface or the floor is deformed due to an earthquake, deflection, or the like, the displacement generated at that time is absorbed by the extra length portion.
Furthermore, if location information, warning information, route guidance information, etc. are recorded on the IC tag, route guidance using this recorded information together with the guidance line, and provision of useful information to the traveling body and its passengers Is possible.

According to the induction line built-in unit of the present invention and the floor combining this unit, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Since the guide line is built in the floor segment, the guide line is not exposed to the floor surface or protrudes from the floor surface, and the appearance quality and durability are excellent.
(2) Even if it is necessary to change the guide route, it is only necessary to rearrange the unit with a built-in guide line (partial replacement if necessary), eliminating the need for laborious and costly large-scale construction. Excellent for responding to changes in tenants, redesigning rooms, changing floor plans, etc.
(3) Since the floor surface remains smooth and the type of flooring can be arbitrarily selected, the installation location is not restricted.

(4) The floor segment color plan can be used as a floor sign.
(5) Even if the unit with built-in guide line is displaced along the floor, or the floor is deformed due to an earthquake or deflection, the misalignment generated at that time is absorbed by the extra length part. No disconnection occurs, and the accuracy and reliability of automatic driving are excellent.
(6) If location information, warning information, route guidance information, etc. are recorded on the IC tag, the accuracy and reliability of automatic driving can be improved by route guidance using this recorded information together with the guidance line. An improved interface can also give the user a sense of security.

Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a self-propelled wheelchair (self-propelled traveling body) 100 guided by a unit with a built-in guide line according to the present invention and a floor combined with the unit, and FIG. FIG. 1 (b) is a side view, FIG. 1 (c) is a front view, and shows the drive unit 101 with emphasis.

The automatic traveling wheelchair 100 shown in FIG. 1 shows an example in which a drive unit 101, an input / output device 105, and a controller 106 are installed on a normal wheelchair. The drive unit 101, the input / output device 105, and the controller 106 are shown. By removing the, it can be used as a normal wheelchair.
The drive unit 101 is equipped with a battery 102. The battery 102 drives a drive motor 103, and supplies power to a wheelchair control device (also referred to as an in-vehicle computer) 104, an input / output device 105, and the like.

The drive motor 103 is a DC motor for driving the moving tire 110, and drives the two moving tires 110 individually by the two drive motors 103. As a result, the traveling direction of the automatic traveling wheelchair 100 can be changed with a minimum turning radius.
The wheelchair control device (onboard computer) 104 is a computer control device for controlling the entire automatic traveling wheelchair 100, and also communicates with a host computer (described later), various automatic doors, and an automatic elevator (elevator). It has a function to send and receive.

  The input / output device 105 is an input / output device in which a touch panel, a speaker, a microphone, an optical flash, and the like are installed as necessary. The touch panel is used for inputting a destination and the like, the speaker is used for notifying the passenger of the automatic traveling wheelchair 100 of the driving situation information, and the microphone is used for inputting the destination information and the like by voice. And the light flash is used to notify the passenger of the alarm. In addition to setting the destination by the input / output device 105, necessary information for automatic driving is transmitted to the passenger by voice or a light flash as necessary to resolve anxiety during automatic driving.

  The controller 106 is a device for a passenger to manually operate the automatic traveling wheelchair 100. In an emergency, the automatic traveling wheelchair 100 can be stopped by operating the control lever 106a of the controller 106. The input / output device 105 and the controller 106 are attached to a place where a wheelchair user can easily operate. In particular, the controller 106 is attached to a necessary place in accordance with a user's physical ability such as a hand, a foot, and a jaw to control automatic driving, and a control lever 106a that allows free movement is incorporated. .

The sensor unit 107 includes an induction chip reader that reads an induction chip (IC tag) such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) embedded in the floor, and a magnetic line (induction line) such as a permanent magnet and a radio wave wiring embedded in the floor. ) Is provided.
The sensor unit 107 includes an in-vehicle camera, an ultrasonic sensor, an infrared sensor / human sensor for monitoring humans and animals, an obstacle and other wheelchairs for monitoring obstacles as necessary. Equipped with collision prevention sensors to prevent collisions.

The guiding tire 111 is a tire that stabilizes the traveling of the automatic traveling wheelchair 100.
The automatic traveling wheelchair 100 can be provided with a device that can be completely stopped by a large damper with an automatic stop function even when an obstacle suddenly approaches, a movable protective handrail for body protection, and the like.
The drive unit 101 is detachable and can be rented to a necessary person for a necessary period.
In order to charge the battery 102 of the automatic traveling wheelchair 100 at night or the like, when not in use, the battery 102 can be self-propelled to a certain place such as next to the bed and automatically charged.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of the taxiway 200 when the wheelchair automatic traveling system is installed in a 6-story building. In each floor, taxiways 301 to 306 are provided and various automatic doors (doors in a house) , Fire doors, etc.) 311 to 315 and automatic elevator doors 316 to 320 are provided.
The various automatic doors 311 to 315 and the automatic traveling wheelchair 100 are electrically collated by radio waves or magnetism, and are automatically opened and closed so that the traveling of the automatic traveling wheelchair 100 is not hindered. The automatic traveling wheelchair 100 transmits the information on the destination floor to the automatic elevator and automatically makes it land.

In the taxiways 301 to 306, a wheelchair detection sensor 330 is attached to an arbitrary place, each departure place, arrival place, each branch point, and the like, and one host computer 400 for performing overall movement management of each automatic traveling wheelchair is provided. Or install in multiple locations to manage the entire system.
Speakers, microphones, surveillance cameras, etc. are installed in the vicinity of the taxiways 301 to 306, and when trouble occurs, the wheelchair passengers can be contacted by voice, etc. Information such as a monitor image and sound can be sent to a place where the user is present so that necessary measures can be taken when a failure occurs.

FIG. 3 shows an example in which the guide path 200 is configured by continuously interconnecting the guide lines 602 built in the guide line built-in unit 600. In the figure, for the sake of illustration, only some of the induction line built-in units 600 are illustrated among the induction line built-in units 600 laid over substantially the entire surface of the floor.
The guide line 602 is read by the sensor unit 107 of the automatic traveling wheelchair 100 and guides the automatic traveling wheelchair 100 to a destination, and includes, for example, a permanent magnet, a radio wave wiring, an IC tag, and the like.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 8A, the guide line built-in unit 600 has an outer periphery of the floor segment 601 on the lower surface 601A of the floor segment 601 constituting a part of the floor. A groove 606 extending so as to connect the surfaces 601B is formed, and a guide line 602 is formed along the groove 606. The floor is formed by combining the plurality of guide line built-in units 600 in a plane. Has been built.
That is, since the guide line 602 is built in the floor segment 601, the guide line 602 is not exposed to the floor surface or protrudes from the floor surface, and is excellent in appearance quality and durability.

When constructing a floor by combining a plurality of built-in guide line units 600, at least one guide line pattern of the guide line built-in unit 600 is different from the guide line patterns of other guide line built-in units 600 as shown in FIG. If it is a thing, the guide path 200 of arbitrary patterns can be comprised by mutually interconnecting the guide lines 602 of the same pattern or a different pattern.
In other words, even if it is necessary to change the taxiway 200, the change work can be done simply by recombining the unit 600 with a built-in guide line (partial replacement if necessary), and no laborious and costly large-scale construction is required. Therefore, it is excellent in responding to changes in tenants, room redesigns, and floor plans.

5 and 6 show examples of the configuration of the guide line built-in unit 600 having different guide line patterns.
Among these, the induction line built-in unit 600 shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B is provided with a stop terminal 604 at one end of the induction line 602. As shown in FIG. , Toilets (WC), reception desks, information boards, and in front of windbreak rooms, etc. When the automatic traveling wheelchair 100 detects the stop end portion 604 during automatic traveling, the automatic traveling wheelchair 100 stops traveling.

Although not shown in FIGS. 5 to 6A, each induction line built-in unit 600 is connected to another induction line built-in unit 600 at least at one end of the induction line 602 as shown in FIG. A wiring connection portion 605 is provided for connection to the terminal.
At least one end of the guide line 602, that is, when the stop terminal portion 604 is provided at one end, only at the other end of the guide line 602, and when both ends are not provided with the stop terminal portion 604 At both ends of the guide line 602, extra length portions 608 that can protrude from the outer peripheral surface 601B of the floor segment 601 are provided.

This extra length portion 608 is an outer peripheral surface of the floor segment 601 that intersects with the guide line 602, that is, an outer periphery that comes into contact with another guide line built-in unit 600 when a plurality of built-in guide line built-in units 600 are combined to construct a floor. The wiring connection portion 605 is configured by being accommodated in a recess 605a formed so as to open on the surface 601B and the lower surface 601A of the floor segment 601.
As shown in the plan view of FIG. 7, the surplus portion 608 is not folded in the vertical direction, but is folded in a bellows shape in a substantially horizontal plane (a plane along the floor surface).

As shown in FIG. 7, the guide lines 602 in the respective guide line built-in units 600 laid side by side are connected to each other by using a connecting member 606, thereby connecting each extra length portion. Wired through 608.
That is, even if the guide line built-in unit 600 is displaced along the floor surface, or the floor is deformed due to an earthquake, deflection, or the like, the displacement generated at that time is absorbed by the extra length portion 608. There is no disconnection in the connection part, and the accuracy and reliability of automatic driving are excellent.

As the material of the floor segment 601, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, tile carpet and linoleum often used in a shared hallway in a building (the figure (a)), flooring often used in a dwelling unit (the figure ( b)), stones or pseudo-stones (Fig. (c)) often used for outdoor gardens and approach to the entrance are adopted.
When applying the induction line built-in unit 610 to the flooring, for example, as shown in FIG. 8B, the fitting convex portion 612 and the fitting convex portion 612 are fitted into the outer peripheral surface of the floor segment 611. A recess 613 may be formed.

  In addition, when the induction line built-in unit 620 is applied to an outdoor stone, pseudo stone, or the like, the concave portion 622 in the wiring connection portion 625 is formed on the induction line 602 so that a predetermined gap is formed between the induction line 602 and the like. It is preferable to take measures so that a load is applied from the floor segment 620 to the guide line 602 by forming it larger than the outer dimension.

The induction line built-in units 600, 610, and 620 have a built-in induction chip 603 such as an IC tag (sometimes referred to as a microchip) that can communicate with the outside and includes a nonvolatile memory.
Position information, warning information, route guidance information, and the like are recorded on the guidance chip 603, and an RFID reader mounted on the automatic traveling wheelchair 100 reads the information recorded on the guidance chip 603 to determine the position of the traveling route. While confirming, it is also possible to automatically travel while notifying warning information, route guidance information, etc. to the passengers as necessary.

As the notification means, (i) the voice guidance according to the situation is sent from the speaker mounted on the automatic traveling wheelchair 100, (ii) the interval and the type of the sound emitted from the speaker are changed according to the situation, (iii) the situation The character information and image information corresponding to the information is displayed on the touch panel.
In other words, if the guidance chip 603 is built in the guidance line built-in units 600, 610, and 620, the accuracy of automatic driving is improved by using the input information together with the guidance line 602, and reliability is improved. It is also possible to improve the user interface and give passengers a sense of security.

As described above, according to the induction line built-in units 600, 610, 620 and the floor in which this is combined according to the present embodiment, the induction line 602 is built in the floor segments 601, 611, 621. It is not exposed to the floor or protrudes from the floor, so it has excellent appearance quality and durability.
Moreover, even if it is necessary to change the guide path 200, the change work can be performed only by recombining the guide line built-in units 600, 610, and 620 (partially replacing if necessary), which requires a lot of labor and cost. It eliminates the need for complicated construction and is excellent in responding to changes in occupants, room redesigns, and floor plans.

As a result, it becomes easy to change the plan of the guide line 602 by changing the room or the like in the future, and the resident will not be hesitant to change the plan.
Moreover, since the floor surface remains smooth and the type of flooring can be arbitrarily selected, there is no restriction on the installation location.
Furthermore, the floor segment 601, 611, 621 can be used as a floor sign by the color plan.

Further, even if the guide line built-in units 600, 610, and 620 are displaced along the floor surface or the floor is deformed due to an earthquake or deflection, the displacement generated at that time is absorbed by the extra length portion. There is no disconnection between the connected parts, and the accuracy and reliability of automatic driving are excellent.
Furthermore, since position information, warning information, route guidance information, and the like are recorded on the guidance chip 603, the accuracy and reliability of automatic driving can be improved by performing route guidance using this recorded information together with the guidance line 602. In addition to the improvement, it is also possible to give a sense of security to the passenger of the automatic traveling wheelchair 100 by improving the interface.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said Example, A various design change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary.
For example, the taxiway 200 of the automatic traveling wheelchair 100 is combined with an electric transfer machine for nursing care (a self-propelled traveling body), and the passengers of the automatic traveling wheelchair 100 are transported to the toilet, bathroom, etc. in each room. It is possible to improve the convenience for the user.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example of the guide path, in which the guide path 200 is configured by embedding an RFID chip as a guide chip 211 for route guidance in the floor of the common hallway.
As shown in the figure, the guide chips 211 can be installed at predetermined intervals as long as they are within the range of their own sensitivity (for example, about 1 m).
However, if the installation interval is too narrow, the ranges of sensitivity may interfere with each other, and accurate information provision and route guidance may not be possible. It is preferable to arrange them.

An electronic cane that can communicate with an IC tag or the like is used. The electronic cane reads signals from the guide line 602 and the IC tag, informs the position of a straight route or an intersection due to a difference in sound, or announces a door or elevator by sound announcement. It is also possible to notify the positions of stairs, toilets, etc. and the start and end positions of the steps of the stairs.
For example, a straight-ahead route is notified with a one-second sound, such as “pip, pip”, an intersection is notified with a “pip, pip” sound, “automatic door”, “reception desk counter (elevator, men's toilet, girls) Turn right (left) to the restroom (staircase, staircase). ”,“ 10 steps upstairs. Finished ”.

In addition, regarding the voice, consideration may be given to mounting of a bone conduction speaker on an electronic wand in consideration of the use of a case where the surrounding noise is large or a person whose hearing ability is reduced.
Furthermore, a GPS function may be mounted on the electronic wand so that the position of the electronic wand user can be confirmed.

The figure which shows the structural example of the automatic traveling wheelchair induced | guided | derived to the guidance path formed in the floor which combined the unit with a built-in guide line of this invention, and this. The conceptual diagram at the time of installing the same taxiway in a 6-story building. The top view which shows the structural example of the same guiding path. The top view which shows the other structural example of the same taxiway. The top view which shows the structural example of the unit with a built-in induction line of this invention. The top view which shows the other structural example of the same induction line built-in unit. The principal part enlarged view of the part which combined the same induction line built-in unit. Sectional drawing which shows the structural example of the same induction line built-in unit.

Explanation of symbols

100 Automatic traveling wheelchair (self-propelled traveling body)
200 Guide path 211, 603 Guide chip (IC tag)
600, 610, 620 Guide line built-in unit 601 611 621 Floor segment 601B Outer peripheral surface 602 Guide line 608 Extra length 605a Recess

Claims (6)

  A guide line built-in unit, characterized in that a guide line that is read by a self-propelled traveling body and guides the traveling body to a destination is built in the floor segment.   2. The induction line built-in unit according to claim 1, further comprising an extra length portion at at least one end of the induction line.   The induction line built-in unit according to claim 2, wherein a recess in which the extra length is accommodated is formed so as to open to an outer peripheral surface of the floor unit.   The induction line built-in unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an IC tag capable of communicating with the outside and including a non-volatile memory is incorporated. A plurality of built-in induction line units according to any one of claims 1 to 4 are combined in a plane,
The floor characterized in that at least one guide line pattern of the unit with built-in guide line is different from the guide line pattern of another unit with built-in guide line. 6. The floor according to claim 5, wherein the guide lines in each of the guide line built-in units laid side by side are connected to each other through the extra length portion.

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