JP2019122472A - Walking guide device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a walking guide device capable of changing the orientation of a wheel smoothly even when used for a long period of time.SOLUTION: A walking guide device includes: a frame 10 with a central axis O1 extending in one direction X, which is formed long along the central axis O1; a wheel 20 rotatably supported at the end on one side of the frame 10; a handle 30 supported at the end on the other side of the frame 10, which is rotatable around the central axis O1 with respect to the frame 10; a steering mechanism 40 provided to the frame 10 for rotating the handle 30; an obstacle detection sensor 50 provided to the frame 10 for detecting an obstacle ahead in a travelling direction; and a control part 70 provided to the frame 10, which controls the steering mechanism 40 based on a result of detection by the obstacle detection sensor 50.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a walking guidance device.

Conventionally, a walking guidance device as shown in the following Patent Document 1 is known. In this walking guidance device, the wheel is connected to the lower end portion of the frame via the rotation shaft, and the grip held by the user is connected to the upper end portion of the frame.
And a user can guide a walk of a user by a walk guidance device because a user walks while grasping a grip. In addition, by rotating the wheel about the rotation axis with respect to the frame, it is possible to change the direction of the wheel with respect to the frame in accordance with the path of the user.

JP, 2014-236903, A

  However, in the conventional walking guidance device, the wheel is rotatable relative to the frame about the rotation axis connected to the lower end of the frame. For this reason, dust from the ground on which the wheels come in contact easily enters the rotating shaft, and there has been a possibility that the direction of the wheels with respect to the frame can not be smoothly changed in long-term use.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a walking guidance device capable of smoothly changing the direction of the wheel even in long-term use.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned subject, a walk guidance device concerning the present invention has a central axis prolonged in one way, and a frame formed long along the central axis, and an end of one side of the frame A wheel rotatably supported, a handle supported at the other end of the frame, and a handle rotatable about the central axis with respect to the frame; and the handle provided on the frame A steering mechanism for rotating the steering wheel, an obstacle detection sensor provided on the frame and detecting an obstacle ahead in the traveling direction, and the steering mechanism provided on the frame and based on the detection result by the obstacle detection sensor And a control unit that controls the control unit.

  As described above, in the above configuration, the steering mechanism provided on the frame causes the steering wheel supported at the other end of the frame to rotate around the central axis O1 with respect to the frame. That is, the relative rotation between the handle and the frame changes the orientation of the wheel supported at one end of the frame relative to the handle.

Therefore, for example, when the walking guiding device is used by arranging one direction in which the central axis of the frame extends along the vertical direction, a portion that rotates with respect to the frame when changing the direction of the wheel is It becomes possible to arrange away from the ground.
Thereby, it is possible to suppress the dust from the ground entering the portion which rotates with respect to the frame, and the direction of the wheel can be smoothly changed even in long-term use.

  Further, the walking guidance device may be provided with the brake mechanism provided on the wheel and brake the wheel, and the control unit may control the brake mechanism based on a detection result by the obstacle detection sensor. .

  In this case, the walking guidance device includes the brake mechanism, and the control unit controls the brake mechanism based on the detection result by the obstacle detection sensor. Thus, the brake mechanism brakes the wheels to improve the safety of the user.

  Further, the obstacle detection sensor in the walking guidance device includes a support block fixed to the frame, and two image sensors supported by the support block and measuring a distance to the ground. One image sensor may be spaced apart in the direction of travel.

  In this case, two image sensors supported by the support block are spaced apart in the direction of travel. Therefore, for example, when one direction in which the central axis of the frame extends is arranged to be inclined with respect to the vertical direction, and this walking guidance device is used, two image sensors are arranged at an interval in the vertical direction. The Rukoto.

Here, if two image sensors are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, two images shifted in the vertical direction can be obtained, and it is recognized that the distance to an object to be detected extending in the horizontal direction is different. Can.
Thus, the two image sensors can accurately detect a laterally extending structure located in front of the user. Therefore, the user's safety can be more effectively improved by accurately detecting an obstacle such as a step, a wall, a fence, etc. which significantly impedes the user's walking.

  In addition, the steering mechanism in the walking guidance device includes a motor for rotating the steering wheel, and an internal power supply for supplying power to the motor, and the motor and the internal power supply are on the user side of the frame. , And may be arranged linearly along the one direction.

In this case, the motor and the internal power supply are located on the user side of the frame. For this reason, for example, when using this walking guidance device in a posture where the wheel located at one end of the frame is located forward of the steering wheel, the motor and the internal power supply It becomes possible to arrange.
As a result, the center of gravity of the frame, the motor, and the internal power supply can be lowered, and a stable state can be achieved.

  Further, the motor and the internal power supply are arranged in line along one direction in which the central axis of the frame extends. For this reason, it can suppress that a motor and an internal power supply are bulky in the direction which cross | intersects one direction with respect to a flame | frame, and can make a walk guidance apparatus into a compact structure.

  Further, the walking guidance device includes a rod-like steering amount presentation unit extending from the internal power source toward the steering wheel and having an end on the steering wheel side as a free end, and the steering wheel side of the steering amount presentation unit The end of the may extend to a position close to the handle.

In this case, the steering amount presentation unit contacts the user's hand in accordance with the rotation of the steering wheel even if the user can not visually recognize the direction of the wheel, for example, because the user pays attention to the front. It becomes possible to make it easy.
Thus, the user can reliably grasp that the direction of the wheel has changed with respect to the steering wheel from the direction in which the steering amount presentation unit contacts the hand.

Further, the rotation axis of the wheel in the walking guidance device may be located forward in the traveling direction with respect to the central axis.
In this case, since the central axis of the frame is offset from the rotation axis of the wheel, when the frame is rotated about the rotation axis of the wheel, the frame can be prevented from rotating significantly in the front-rear direction. The operability of the walking guidance device can be improved.

  According to the present invention, the direction of the wheel can be smoothly changed even in long-term use.

It is a side view of a walk guidance device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is an enlarged view of the steering wheel vicinity of the walking guidance apparatus shown in FIG. It is an enlarged view of a wheel periphery of a walk induction device shown in Drawing 1, and is a figure showing a fork with a virtual line. In the walking guidance device shown in FIG. 1, it is a figure which shows the state which the steering wheel rotated.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, a walking guidance device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the walking guidance device 1 according to the present embodiment guides the walking of the user, for example, by a user who needs assistance when walking such as a blind person or the like. In the following description, the forward traveling direction of the user is simply referred to as forward, and the backward traveling direction is simply referred to as backward. Further, the vertical direction in a state where the user is standing is simply referred to as the vertical direction.

  The walking guidance device 1 has a central axis O1 extending in one direction X, and is rotatably supported by the frame 10 formed long along the central axis O1 and one end of the frame 10 A wheel 20 and a handle 30 supported at the other end of the frame 10 and rotatable relative to the frame 10 about a central axis O1 are provided.

The frame 10 is formed of, for example, a metal pipe or the like. The rotation axis O2 of the wheel 20 is disposed at a position shifted forward with respect to the central axis O1 of the frame 10. The rotation axis O2 of the wheel 20 extends in a direction orthogonal to the central axis O1 of the frame 10.
At one end of the frame 10, a fork 11 is connected. The fork 11 is provided with a support plate 11A whose front and back faces face in a direction along the rotation axis O2 of the wheel 20. The support plates 11A are arranged in a pair at intervals in a direction along the rotation axis O2 of the wheel 20. The wheels 20 are disposed between the pair of support plates 11A.

The rotation axis O2 of the wheel 20 is rotatably supported while being sandwiched between the pair of support plates 11A. Thus, the wheel 20 is rotatably supported by the frame 10.
The fork 11 is provided with a rotation number sensor (not shown) that detects the rotation number of the wheel 20.
Of the front and back surfaces of one of the support plates 11A, a support shaft 11B that protrudes in the orthogonal direction is formed on the back surface facing the wheel 20 side. A gap is provided between the tip of the support shaft 11B and the wheel 20.

The handle 30 is formed, for example, by bending a metal pipe. The outer diameters of the frame 10 and the handle 30 are equal to each other.
The handle 30 is L-shaped in side view. The handle 30 includes a stem 31 extending in one direction X, and a grip 32 extending from an end of the stem 31 opposite to the wheel 20 with respect to the central axis O1 of the frame 10. The grip 32 extends at a right angle to the stem 31.
The grip 32 is a portion gripped by the user when walking. That is, the grip 32 side with respect to the central axis O1 is the user side.

As shown in FIG. 2, the end of the stem 31 opposite to the grip 32 is inserted into the inside of the frame 10. The stem 31 is rotatably supported about the central axis O1 with respect to the frame 10.
A first gear 31 </ b> A is provided on a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the stem 31 which is continuous with the frame 10 and the one direction X. The first gear 31A may be formed directly on the outer peripheral surface of the stem 31, or a cylindrical gear member may be externally fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the stem 31.

The frame 10 is provided with a steering mechanism 40 for rotating the steering wheel 30. The steering mechanism 40 includes a motor 41 that rotates the steering wheel 30, and an internal power supply 42 that supplies power to the motor 41.
The motor 41 and the internal power supply 42 are arranged in line along the one direction X on the user side of the frame 10.

The motor 41 is fixed to a part of the outer peripheral surface at one end of the frame 10, which is located on the user side with respect to the central axis O1. The motor 41 is disposed such that the shaft 41A faces the handle 30 in one direction X.
The shaft 41A of the motor 41 is provided with a second gear. The second gear is engaged with the first gear 31 </ b> A in the stem 31 of the handle 30.

The internal power supply 42 is disposed on the side of the wheel 20 along the direction X with respect to the motor 41 on the outer peripheral surface of the frame 10 in a state of being accommodated in the cylindrical cover 43.
A secondary battery is used as the internal power supply 42, and can be charged by the power from the external power supply as needed. The internal power supply 42 is electrically connected to the motor 41 by a wire (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 4, when the shaft 41A of the motor 41 rotates, the stem 31 and the grip 32 are framed by rotating the first gear 31A about the central axis O1 as the second gear rotates. Relative to the center axis O1.
Therefore, the direction in which the grips 32 of the handle 30 extend with respect to the frame 10 changes, so that the direction of rotation of the wheel 20 with respect to the user changes. Thereby, the wheel 20 can be steered.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the frame 10 is provided with an obstacle detection sensor 50 for detecting an obstacle ahead.
The obstacle detection sensor 50 includes a support block 51 fixed to the frame 10, and two image sensors 52 supported by the support block 51 and measuring the distance to the ground. The two image sensors 52 are spaced apart in the traveling direction.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the wheel 20 is provided with a brake mechanism 60 for braking the wheel 20.
The brake mechanism 60 includes a linear actuator 61 and a brake pad 62 that contacts the inner surface of the wheel of the wheel 20 by the drive of the linear actuator 61.

The linear actuator 61 is fixed to the inner surface of the support plate 11A of the fork 11. The brake pad 62 is rotatably supported by a support shaft 11B formed on the inner surface of the support plate 11A of the fork 11.
The rod of the linear actuator 61 is connected to a portion of the brake pad 62 opposite to the wheel 20 via a spring (not shown). When the rod of the linear actuator 61 is displaced toward the inner surface of the wheel at the wheel 20, the brake pad 62 is rotated about the support shaft 11B and pressed against the inner surface of the wheel at the wheel 20, thereby braking the wheel 20. Can.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the walking guidance device 1 also includes a control unit 70 provided on the frame 10. The control unit 70 controls the steering mechanism 40 and the brake mechanism 60 based on the detection result of the obstacle detection sensor 50. The control unit 70 is provided inside the support block 51. The control unit 70 has an attitude angle sensor (not shown) that detects an attitude angle (pitch, roll, yaw) of the walking guidance device 1.

  The control unit 70 is electrically connected to the obstacle detection sensor 50, the motor 41 of the steering mechanism 40, and the linear actuator 61 of the brake mechanism 60. The control unit 70 recognizes the moving speed of the walking guidance device 1 by the rotation speed sensor, and recognizes the front situation based on the signal from the attitude angle sensor and the detection result from the obstacle detection sensor 50. The control unit 70 brakes or steers the walking guidance device 1 based on the information.

The walking guidance device 1 also includes a bar-like steering amount presentation unit 80 that extends from the internal power source 42 toward the steering wheel 30 and whose free end is on the steering wheel 30 side.
The steering amount presentation unit 80 is formed of, for example, a synthetic resin material having elasticity. The steering amount presentation unit 80 is attached to the other end of the one direction X of the cover 43 that accommodates the internal power supply 42. In the illustrated example, the end of the steering amount presentation unit 80 is inserted into the cover 43.

The steering amount presentation unit 80 contacts the user's hand when the handle 30 is turned. That is, when the handle 30 rotates, the frame 10 and the wheel 20 rotate relative to the handle 30 around the central axis O1 because the user holds the handle 30. Become.
At this time, when the steering amount presentation unit 80 attached to the cover 43 of the internal power supply 42 rotates with the frame 10 with respect to the handle 30, the end on the steering wheel 30 side in the steering amount presentation unit 80 is a user Touch your hands. As a result, the user recognizes that the wheel 20 has turned in the direction in which the steering amount presentation unit 80 contacts.

Here, the end on the steering wheel 30 side of the steering amount presentation unit 80 extends to a position close to the steering wheel 30. In the illustrated example, the steering amount presentation unit 80 extends to a position close to the grip 32 of the steering wheel 30 along one direction X.
Therefore, when the user grips the grip 32, the user's hand is easily touched.

Next, how to use the walking guidance device 1 will be described.
When the user uses the walking guidance device 1, the walking guidance device 1 is disposed such that the wheel 20 is positioned forward of the grip 32 while gripping the grip 32. That is, the frame 10 is inclined in such a manner as to extend rearward as it goes from one side to the other side in the one direction X.
Then, as the user walks forward, the wheels 20 rotate forward to guide the user's walking.

  When the obstacle detection sensor 50 detects a front obstacle, the control unit 70 can drive and brake the brake mechanism 60. At this time, since the image sensor 52 is disposed at an interval in the vertical direction, an obstacle having a laterally extending feature is accurately detected.

Further, the control unit 70 drives the steering mechanism 40 to change the course of the user.
Whether the control unit 70 brakes or steers can be arbitrarily selected according to the state of the obstacle ahead. In addition, when the moving speed to the front is increased by the weight of the walking guidance device 1 like downhill, the control unit 70 gently brakes the wheel 20 based on the moving speed detected by the rotation sensor. It is also good.

  As described above, the steering mechanism 40 provided on the frame 10 rotates the handle 30 supported at the other end of the frame 10 with respect to the frame 10 about the central axis O1. That is, the relative rotation of the handle 30 and the frame 10 changes the orientation of the wheel 20 supported at one end of the frame 10 with respect to the handle 30.

Therefore, for example, when one direction X in which the central axis O1 of the frame 10 extends is disposed along the up and down direction, and the walking guidance device 1 is used, the direction of the wheel 20 is changed with respect to the frame 10 It is possible to arrange the pivoting part away from the ground.
As a result, dust from the ground can be prevented from entering the portion rotating with respect to the frame 10, and the direction of the wheel 20 can be smoothly changed even in long-term use.

  In addition, the walking guidance device 1 includes the brake mechanism 60, and the control unit 70 controls the brake mechanism 60 based on the detection result of the obstacle detection sensor 50. As a result, the brake mechanism 60 brakes the wheel 20, whereby the safety of the user can be improved.

  Further, two image sensors 52 supported by the support block 51 are arranged at intervals in the traveling direction. Therefore, for example, in the case where the one direction X in which the central axis O1 of the frame 10 extends is arranged to be inclined with respect to the vertical direction and this walking guidance device 1 is used, the two image sensors 52 are vertically spaced Will be placed.

Here, when the two image sensors 52 are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, two images shifted in the vertical direction can be obtained, and it is recognized that the distance to the detection object extending in the horizontal direction is different. be able to.
Thereby, the two image sensors 52 can detect a structure which is located in front of the user and extends in the lateral direction with high accuracy. Therefore, the user's safety can be more effectively improved by accurately detecting an obstacle such as a step, a wall, a fence, etc. which significantly impedes the user's walking.

  Further, the motor 41 and the internal power supply 42 are disposed on the user side of the frame 10. Therefore, for example, when using the walking guidance device 1 in a posture where the wheel 20 located at one end of the frame 10 is located forward of the handle 30 in the advancing direction, the wheel 20 is located below the frame 10 , The motor 41 and the internal power supply 42 can be arranged. As a result, the center of gravity of the frame 10, the motor 41, and the internal power supply 42 can be lowered, and a stable state can be achieved.

  Further, the motor 41 and the internal power supply 42 are arranged in line along the one direction X along which the central axis O1 of the frame 10 extends. For this reason, it can suppress that the motor 41 and the internal power supply 42 bulky in the direction which cross | intersects the direction X with respect to the flame | frame 10, and can make the walk guidance apparatus 1 into a compact structure.

In addition, even if the user can not visually recognize the direction of the wheel 20 because the user pays attention to the front, for example, the steering amount presentation unit 80 contacts the user's hand according to the rotation of the steering wheel 30. It becomes possible to make it easy.
Thus, the user can reliably grasp that the orientation of the wheel 20 with respect to the steering wheel 30 has been changed from the direction in which the steering amount presentation unit 80 contacts the hand.

  Further, since the center axis O1 of the frame 10 is offset from the rotation axis O2 of the wheel 20, when the frame 10 is rotated about the rotation axis O2 of the wheel 20, the frame 10 is largely rotated in the front-rear direction. Can be suppressed, and the operability of the walking guidance device 1 can be improved.

  The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  For example, although the above-mentioned embodiment showed composition provided with brake mechanism 60 controlled by control part 70, it is not restricted to such a mode. The walking guidance device 1 may not include the brake mechanism 60.

In the above embodiment, the obstacle detection sensor 50 includes the two image sensors 52, and the two image sensors 52 are arranged at intervals in the traveling direction. However, the present invention is limited to such an embodiment. Absent.
Two image sensors 52 may be laterally spaced with respect to the user, or one image sensor 52 may be provided. The obstacle detection sensor 50 may be a sensor other than the image sensor 52 such as a length measurement sensor or LIDAR.

  In the above embodiment, the motor 41 and the internal power supply 42 of the steering mechanism 40 are arranged in a straight line along the one direction X on the user side of the frame 10. It is not limited to such an aspect. The motor 41 and the internal power supply 42 may not be arranged in a straight line, and their positional relationship can be arbitrarily changed.

  Moreover, although the said embodiment showed the structure provided with the steering amount presentation part 80 extended toward the steering wheel 30 from the internal power supply 42, it is not restricted to such an aspect. The walking guidance device 1 may not include the steering amount presentation unit 80.

  In addition, it is possible to replace components in the embodiment with known components as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the above-described modifications may be combined as appropriate.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 walk induction apparatus 10 frame 20 wheel 30 steering wheel 41 steering mechanism 41 motor 42 internal power supply 50 obstacle detection sensor 51 support block 52 image sensor 60 brake mechanism 70 control part 80 steering amount presentation part O1 central axis O2 rotation axis X one direction

Claims (6)

A frame having a central axis extending in one direction and elongated along the central axis;
A wheel rotatably supported at one end of the frame;
A handle supported at the other end of the frame and rotatable relative to the frame about the central axis;
A steering mechanism provided on the frame for rotating the steering wheel;
An obstacle detection sensor provided on the frame and detecting an obstacle ahead in the traveling direction;
And a controller for controlling the steering mechanism based on the detection result of the obstacle detection sensor. A brake mechanism provided on the wheel for braking the wheel;
The walking guiding device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the brake mechanism based on a detection result by the obstacle detection sensor. The obstacle detection sensor includes a support block fixed to the frame;
And two image sensors that are supported by the support block and that measure the distance to the ground;
The walking guidance device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the two image sensors are spaced apart in the traveling direction. The steering mechanism includes a motor that rotates the steering wheel.
And an internal power supply for supplying power to the motor.
The motor and the internal power supply according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the motor and the internal power supply are arranged in a straight line along the one direction on the user side of the frame. Walking guidance device. And a rod-like steering amount presentation unit extending from the internal power source toward the steering wheel and having an end on the steering wheel side as a free end,
The walking guidance device according to claim 4, wherein an end on the steering wheel side of the steering amount presentation unit extends to a position close to the steering wheel.   The walking guide apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a rotation axis of the wheel is located forward in a traveling direction with respect to the central axis.

Images