JP6233248B2 - Gripping state determination device, gripping state determination method, input device, input acquisition method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for determining a gripping state.

Various types of devices have been devised as devices for a vehicle driver to perform input operations on in-vehicle devices.
Since the touch panel display currently popular as an input device is mainly disposed on the center console between the driver's seat and the passenger seat, it is necessary to move the hand to perform the operation. That is, since a certain load is applied to perform the operation, there is a problem that the operation during the operation is difficult to perform.

  As an input device that can reduce the driver's load for the input operation, for example, there is an input device described in Patent Document 1. The input device described in Patent Document 1 has a touch sensor built in the entire circumference of the steering wheel, and the driver can perform input to the in-vehicle device by performing an operation of moving a hand on the steering wheel. .

In the input device described in Patent Document 1, since input is performed by a sensor provided along the circumference of the steering wheel, only one-dimensional information can be input.
On the other hand, the input device described in Patent Document 2 employs a configuration in which a touch sensor is disposed around a surface touched by a driver of a steering wheel to acquire input by contact. According to such a configuration, it is possible to perform a gesture input by a touch operation on a two-dimensional plane.

JP 2009-248629 A JP 2013-079056 A

  In order to perform gesture input using a touch sensor, it is necessary to store data for specifying a gesture in advance and perform matching with information output from the touch sensor. For example, when the region in contact with the finger moves to the right by a predetermined distance within a predetermined time, it can be determined that a gesture “right swipe” has been performed. Patent Document 2 describes a configuration in which a gesture is specified by comparing a pattern stored in advance with information acquired from a touch sensor.

However, the apparatus described in Patent Document 2 also has a problem.
When a gesture operation is performed with the steering wheel held, the range in which the gesture finger (mainly the thumb or forefinger) can move greatly varies depending on how the steering wheel is gripped. For example, as compared with the normal gripping method as shown in FIG. 8A, when the gripping method is deep such that the entire hand is located at the back as shown in FIG. Narrow. Similarly, when the index finger is standing as shown in FIG. 8C, the movable range of the thumb is narrower than when the index finger is held as shown in FIG. 8A.

In this way, when the range of movement of the finger changes depending on how it is gripped, even if the user intends to perform the same operation, the distance that the finger moves on the touch sensor changes, so there are cases where the gesture cannot be recognized correctly. Occur.
In order to solve this problem, it is necessary to determine how freely the finger of the user holding the grip (for example, the steering wheel) moves.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a gripping state determination apparatus that obtains information for estimating the degree of freedom of movement of a user's finger gripping a gripping device.

  In order to solve the above problems, the gripping state determination device according to the present invention defines a plurality of patterns associated with a movable range of a finger, and to which pattern the gripping method performed by the user with respect to the gripping portion belongs. It took the composition of judging.

  Specifically, a gripping state determination device that has a gripping part and a contact sensor disposed on the surface of the gripping part, and classifies how the user grips the gripping device by hand according to a pattern A first information acquisition unit configured to acquire information from the contact sensor and acquire a contact distribution representing a distribution of a contact position of the user's hand; and a hand on the grip unit based on the contact distribution. A second information acquisition unit that acquires a gripping position that is a position of the hand, or a hand shape that is a shape of a hand that is gripping the gripping unit, and a movable range of the finger in a state where the gripping unit is gripped A gripping pattern storage means for storing a plurality of gripping patterns; and a gripping pattern determination means for determining a corresponding gripping pattern based on the acquired gripping position or hand shape. That.

A gripping device is a device that a user grips and uses by hand, and is typically a steering wheel of a vehicle, but is not limited thereto. A grip part is a part where a user's hand is placed, for example, the outer peripheral part of a steering wheel.
A contact sensor is disposed on the surface of the grip portion. The contact sensor is a sensor that can detect the contact position of the operator's finger, and is typically a flat plate sensor used in a touch pad, but a plurality of sensors are arranged. May be.
The contact sensor may be arranged anywhere as long as it can detect the contact position of the hand of the operator holding the grip portion. For example, when the gripping device is a steering wheel, the contact sensor may cover the entire outer periphery of the wheel, or may be disposed only on a part of the outer periphery. Moreover, you may arrange | position only to the surface which faces a driver | operator. Further, the contact sensor does not necessarily need to be in contact with the hand as long as it can detect that the operator's hand is in contact with the grip portion. For example, an embedded proximity sensor may be used.

The first information acquisition unit is a unit that acquires information from the contact sensor and acquires or generates a contact distribution that is data representing the distribution of the contact position of the user's hand. For example, data obtained by plotting the distribution of contact positions on a two-dimensional plane can be acquired.
The second information acquisition means is means for acquiring a grip position that is a position of the hand on the grip portion or a hand shape that is a shape of the hand gripping the grip portion. The grip position is information representing the relative position of the user's hand with respect to the grip portion. For example, when the grip portion is a torus-like instrument, the coordinates in the direction along the great circle may be used, or the coordinates in the direction along the small circle may be used. Moreover, these combinations may be sufficient. The hand shape is information representing the shape of the user's hand holding the grip portion. The hand shape may be any information as long as it is related to the hand shape. For example, the direction in which a predetermined finger is extended may be represented by an angle.

The grip pattern storage means is a means for storing a plurality of grip patterns in association with the movable range of the finger in a state where the grip portion is gripped, and the grip pattern determination means is based on the acquired grip position or hand shape. It is a means for determining a pattern.
According to such a configuration, the movable range of the user's finger can be uniquely determined by determining the grip pattern based on the contact distribution.

  Further, the grip pattern storage means stores the grip pattern in association with a corresponding grip position or hand shape, and the grip pattern determination means responds based on the similarity to the acquired grip position or hand shape. The gripping pattern to be determined may be determined.

  The grip pattern is preferably determined based on the degree of similarity with the associated grip position or hand shape. For example, the condition may be that the gripping position or the hand shape matches, or that the error regarding the gripping position or the hand shape is within a threshold value. When there are a plurality of candidates, the similarity may be the highest.

  Further, the grip portion has a torus shape, and the hand shape is represented by first angle information indicating a direction in which the user's index finger is extended in a state where the user is gripping the grip portion. It may be characterized by that.

  A torus is a so-called donut-shaped torus. When the gripping portion is an annular one, the movable range of other fingers may change greatly depending on the angle of the index finger when gripping. Therefore, the angle of the index finger with respect to the reference angle is used as the hand shape. Thereby, a more appropriate gripping pattern can be determined.

  The gripping position may be represented by first position information representing a position of the user's hand in the latitude direction and second position information representing a position of the user's hand in the meridian direction. Good.

  The latitude direction is the direction along the great circle, and the meridian direction is the direction along the small circle. When the grip portion has a torus shape, the degree of freedom of movement of the finger is limited depending on the grip location. Therefore, information indicating the position in the direction along the great circle and the position (that is, the depth) in the direction along the small circle is used as the gripping position. Thereby, a more appropriate gripping pattern can be determined.

  Further, the gripping pattern determining means may obtain the similarity after weighting each of the acquired first angle information, first position information, and second position information. Good.

  For example, the weight is increased for values that greatly contribute to the determination of the movable range of the finger, and the weight is decreased for other values. By doing so, the grip pattern can be determined with higher accuracy.

  In addition, an input device according to the present invention includes a gripping unit for a user to grip with a hand, a contact sensor disposed on a surface of the gripping unit, the above-described gripping state acquisition device, and a temporal change in the contact distribution. And gesture determination means for determining a gesture made by the user based on the determined gripping pattern.

  As described above, when the gripping method with respect to the gripping portion is changed, the movable range of the finger is changed, and the movement amount of the finger is changed, so that the gesture recognition accuracy may be lowered. On the other hand, in the input device according to the present invention, since the gesture is determined based on the grip pattern associated with the movable range of the finger, it is possible to suppress a decrease in recognition accuracy due to a change in gripping method.

The gripping device may be a vehicle steering wheel.
Since the input device according to the present invention can perform an input operation without releasing the hand from the grip portion, the input device can be particularly suitably applied to a device for steering a vehicle.

  Further, the grip pattern determination means may periodically determine the grip pattern again.

  When the user grips the steering wheel again, the movable range of the finger changes, and the gesture recognition accuracy may be reduced. Therefore, the grip pattern may be re-determined periodically. By doing so, it is possible to follow the change in grip and maintain the gesture recognition accuracy.

  Further, the grip pattern determining means may determine the grip pattern again after detecting that the user has gripped the grip portion again based on the contact distribution.

  The redetermination of the grip pattern may be performed only when the user grips the steering wheel again. It can be detected based on the acquired contact distribution that the user has re-gripped the steering wheel.

  Note that the present invention can be specified as a gripping state determination device or an input device including at least a part of the above means. The present invention can also be specified as a gripping state determination method or an input acquisition method including at least a part of the above processing. The above processes and means can be freely combined and implemented as long as no technical contradiction occurs.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain information for estimating the degree of freedom of movement of a user's finger holding the holding device.

1 is an external view of a steering wheel according to a first embodiment. It is a system configuration figure of the input device for vehicles concerning a first embodiment. It is an example of the sensor information which a sensor information acquisition part produces | generates. It is a 1st figure explaining a holding pattern. It is a 2nd figure explaining a holding | grip pattern. It is a 3rd figure explaining a holding | grip pattern. It is the 4th figure explaining a grasping pattern. It is an example of the holding | grip pattern table which concerns on 1st embodiment. It is a figure explaining the method of extracting position information and angle information. It is a process flowchart figure of the input device which concerns on 1st embodiment. It is a figure which illustrates how to grasp a steering wheel.

(First embodiment)
<System configuration>
The vehicle input device according to the first embodiment is a device that acquires a gesture operation performed by a driver and outputs a corresponding signal to an external in-vehicle terminal. The vehicle input device according to the first embodiment includes a steering wheel 10 and a control device 20. The system configuration will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a physical configuration of the steering wheel 10.
Reference numeral 11 denotes a portion that the driver holds with both hands in a normal driving operation, and is a holding portion in the present invention. Hereinafter, the steering wheel refers to the entire wheel shown in FIG. 1, and the term “gripping portion” is used when referring to a portion where the driver's hand is placed (an outer peripheral portion of the steering wheel).
Reference numerals 12A and 12B are contact sensors disposed on the surface of the gripping portion. The contact sensor covers the gripping part so as to wrap around the gripping part 11, and is arranged in two parts: a part touched by the right hand (12A) and a part touched by the left hand (12B).

  The contact sensors 12A and 12B may be any sensors as long as the position where the driver's finger is in contact with the grip portion can be detected. For example, an electrostatic sensor that detects a change in capacitance may be used, or a pressure sensor may be used. In the present embodiment, the contact sensor is a sensor that can divide the detection surface into a plurality of regions and output the position of the region where contact is detected. The contact sensor should just be a sensor which can detect the contact in several places simultaneously. For example, one that can detect contact at a plurality of locations with a single sensor or a set of sensors that detect contact at a single location may be used.

  Hereinafter, the contact sensor 12 </ b> A disposed in the right hand portion and the contact sensor 12 </ b> B disposed in the left hand portion are collectively referred to as the contact sensor 12. In the description of the embodiment, an example in which only the movement of the right hand is detected using the contact sensor 12A will be described, but the same process for detecting the movement of the left hand may be separately performed. Alternatively, the information output from the contact sensors 12A and 12B may be combined, and processing may be performed assuming that the information is a virtual sensor.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of the vehicle input device according to the present embodiment.
The control device 20 is a device that acquires information from the contact sensor 12 disposed on the steering wheel 10, determines a gesture based on an input operation performed by the driver, and outputs a corresponding signal to the in-vehicle terminal 30.
The control device 20 may be realized by hardware designed exclusively, or may be realized by a computer having a CPU, a main storage device, and an auxiliary storage device. When implemented by a computer, each unit illustrated in FIG. 2 functions by loading a program stored in the auxiliary storage device into the main storage device and executing it by the CPU (CPU, main storage device, auxiliary storage device). Are not shown). Hereinafter, each means which comprises the control apparatus 20 is demonstrated.

The sensor information acquisition unit 21 is a means for acquiring information from the contact sensor 12, and is a first information acquisition means in the present invention. The sensor information acquisition unit 21 generates a bitmap representing the detection result of the contact sensor based on the information acquired from the contact sensor 12. The bitmap is referred to as sensor information.
FIG. 3 is an example of sensor information generated by the sensor information acquisition unit 21. A rectangular bitmap 300 corresponds to the developed contact sensor 12A wound around the gripping portion (the upper and lower ends are omitted). In the example of FIG. 3, the area where the contact sensor detects contact is shown in black (the white line represents the position of the hand). Hereinafter, a region where the contact sensor detects contact is referred to as a contact region.

The grip pattern storage unit 22 is a means for storing information (grip pattern) that defines how to grip when the driver grips the grip unit 11. The grip pattern is a classification of “how the user (driver) puts his hand on the grip portion”, and the grip pattern storage unit 22 stores a plurality of grip patterns.
The gripping pattern determination unit 23 is a unit that determines the corresponding gripping pattern using the sensor information acquired from the contact sensor 12 and the information stored in the gripping pattern storage unit 22. The second information acquisition in the present invention Means and gripping pattern determination means.
How to define the grip pattern and how to determine the corresponding grip pattern based on the sensor information will be described later.

The gesture determination unit 24 is a unit that acquires changes in sensor information with time and determines what gesture has been performed by the driver. Specifically, the sensor information is periodically acquired from the sensor information acquisition unit 21 and it is determined whether the change in the sensor information matches the stored gesture pattern. Thereby, for example, it is possible to make a determination such as “a right swipe operation has been performed” or “a double tap operation has been performed”.
The gesture determination unit 24 is a gesture determination unit in the present invention.

  The operation information output unit 26 is means for converting the content of the operation input determined by the gesture determination unit 24 into a signal that can be interpreted by the in-vehicle terminal 30. For example, when the operation input determined by the gesture determination unit 24 is a left swipe, a signal for moving the pointer to the left is generated and transmitted. If the operation input determined by the gesture determination unit 24 is a double tap, a signal indicating input confirmation is generated and transmitted.

  The in-vehicle terminal 30 is an operation target terminal, and is typically a smartphone, a tablet computer, a car navigation system, an in-vehicle AV system, or the like. Moreover, the vehicle-mounted terminal 30 has a display means (not shown) and can display a screen. For example, the screen may be displayed on a head-up display provided in the driver's seat, or may be projected on the windshield. Although it may display on a liquid crystal display device etc., it is preferable that it is an apparatus which a driver | operator can visually recognize without moving eyes | visual_axis.

<Problems of conventional technology>
Next, a specific example of the grip pattern will be given and problems of the prior art will be described.
First, the grip pattern will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4D. A region represented by reference numeral 400 corresponds to the developed contact sensor 12A wound around the grip portion. In the present embodiment, the sensor information is a bitmap as shown in FIG. 3, but in FIG. 4, the position of the hand is represented using a figure for easy understanding.

  FIG. 4A is an example of a standard grip pattern (hereinafter referred to as pattern A) in the present embodiment. FIG. 4B is a gripping pattern (pattern B) corresponding to the case where the driver is gripping the gripping portion (that is, near the 1 o'clock direction when the steering wheel is viewed from the front). FIG. 4C shows a grip pattern (pattern C) corresponding to the case where the driver is gripping the back side of the grip portion. FIG. 4D shows a grip pattern (pattern D) corresponding to the case where the driver's index finger is placed close to the thumb. Thus, a plurality of grip patterns are defined depending on how the driver's hand is placed.

Next, the movable range of the finger will be described. The movable range of the finger is a range in which the finger can freely move in a state where the driver holds the grip portion. For example, the region represented by reference numeral 401A in FIG. 4A is the movable range of the thumb in the pattern A, and the region represented by reference numeral 402A is the movable range of the index finger in the pattern A.
On the other hand, applicants' research has shown that the range of movement of the driver's finger changes depending on how the steering wheel is gripped. For example, when the driver grips the upper part of the grip (near the 1 o'clock direction) as in pattern B, compared to when the driver grips the right side (near the 3 o'clock direction) as in pattern A, the index finger The movable range becomes narrower (reference numeral 402B).
Further, when the driver grips the back side of the gripping part as in pattern C, the movable range of the index finger is narrower than pattern A (reference numeral 402C).

  The change in the movable range is related not only to the position where the hand is placed on the gripping part, but also to the direction in which the finger extends. For example, when the angle between the index finger and the thumb is small as in pattern D, the movable range of the thumb is narrower than pattern A (reference numeral 401D). This is because the presence of the index finger limits the movement of the thumb.

  In this way, the movable range of the driver's finger changes depending on how the grip portion is gripped.However, in the conventional method, the gesture performed by the driver is determined in order to determine the gesture without considering the movable range of the finger. A case that cannot be recognized correctly occurs. For example, in the in-vehicle device, it is assumed that there is a gesture input function of “turn the page of the displayed screen” by “swiping the thumb more than a predetermined distance”. The predetermined distance is determined based on the movable range of the finger (for example, the width of the region 401A) in a state where the driver actually grips the grip portion, but when the movable range of the finger becomes narrow as in the pattern D. An input operation cannot be performed with a single gesture. On the other hand, if the size of the area 401D is used as a reference, an unintended input may be made with a slight finger movement.

  Therefore, in the input device according to the present embodiment, a plurality of grip patterns are defined for each movable range of the finger, a corresponding grip pattern is specified based on sensor information, and gesture determination is performed in consideration of the grip pattern. I do.

<Grip pattern definition method>
Next, a method for defining a grip pattern will be described. FIG. 5 is an example of a table (gripping pattern table) in which the patterns A to D described above are defined by numerical values. The table is stored in the grip pattern storage unit 22. The grip pattern is defined by three pieces of information: X coordinate, Y coordinate, and angle θ. Three values will be described with reference to FIG. 6 which is an example of sensor information.

  The X coordinate and the Y coordinate are coordinate values on the grip part, and are values indicating where the driver's hand is on the grip part. The position of the driver's hand can be represented by, for example, a point representing the hand (representative point) and the coordinates of the point. The representative point can be, for example, the center (reference numeral 601) of the palm (the thumb ball) corresponding to the base of the thumb. Other points may be used as long as they can be extracted based on sensor information. However, for example, when using a fingertip or the like, it is affected by the length of the finger, so there is little influence due to individual differences. The location is preferred. The X coordinate and the Y coordinate described above are the first position information and the second position information in the present invention.

  The angle θ is an angle representing in which direction the index finger extends. The extending direction of the index finger is represented by an angle (angle θ) formed with the X axis in FIG. Usually, the angle θ ranges from 0 degrees to 90 degrees. The angle θ obtained here is the first angle information in the present invention.

  When the present invention is applied to a steering wheel, for example, the Y coordinate corresponds to a gripping position in the circumferential direction of the steering wheel, and the X coordinate is a gripping position (so-called grip depth in a direction orthogonal to the circumferential direction of the steering wheel). ). In addition, the angle θ may correspond to the angle of the index finger with respect to a cross section perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the steering wheel.

<Determination method of grip pattern>
Next, a method for comparing the three pieces of information described above with the acquired sensor information and determining a corresponding gripping pattern will be described.

First, the gripping pattern determination unit 23 acquires sensor information in a bitmap format, and acquires coordinates (X coordinate, Y coordinate) of a point representing a hand (representative point). The coordinates of the representative point can be obtained by a known method.
When the present invention is applied to a steering wheel, for example, the Y coordinate defines a plurality of regions along the circumferential direction of the steering wheel, and is determined by whether or not there is a point representing the hand in each region. You may do it. The plurality of regions can be divided so that, for example, the central angle formed by the arc along the circumferential direction of the steering wheel is 45 degrees.

  Next, the gripping pattern determination unit 23 acquires the extending direction of the index finger and acquires the angle θ based on the sensor information. The angle θ can be acquired by, for example, pattern matching with respect to sensor information. For example, it can be obtained by extracting the uppermost region of the contact region extending in the left-right direction, specifying the extension direction of the index finger, and measuring the angle formed with the X axis.

The gripping pattern determination unit 23 compares the above three values acquired based on the sensor information with the three values recorded in the gripping pattern table, and calculates an evaluation value representing the degree of similarity for each gripping pattern.
In this embodiment, the sum of the differences of the three values is used as the evaluation value. That is, the smaller the evaluation value, the more similar the grip pattern is. In the present embodiment, the grip pattern having the smallest evaluation value is set as a grip pattern corresponding to the acquired sensor information.
When the grip pattern is determined, the grip pattern determination unit 23 transmits information on the grip pattern to the gesture determination unit 24. The information related to the grip pattern may be a grip pattern identifier or may be template information for gesture determination corresponding to the grip pattern.

<Gesture determination processing>
The gesture determination unit 24 periodically acquires sensor information from the sensor information acquisition unit 21 independently of the processing described above, and determines a gesture based on the sensor information.
The gesture determination unit 24 acquires a template corresponding to the grip pattern (a template used for determining a gesture) based on the information transmitted from the grip pattern determination unit 23, and determines the gesture using the template. I do. For example, if the current gripping pattern has a small movable area of the thumb, a template that can recognize a gesture with a smaller motion is selected.

For example, in the default state (pattern A), it is assumed that there is a template that “determines that a right flick has been performed when the part in contact with the finger has moved 10 points to the right”. On the other hand, in the pattern D, since the movable range of the thumb is narrowed, instead of the default template, “determining that a right flick has been performed when the part in contact with the finger has moved 5 points to the right” Template. The point mentioned here is a virtual unit that represents the amount of finger movement.
In this way, by using the grip pattern defined based on the movable range of the finger and changing the template used for determining the gesture, it is possible to recognize the gesture as intended by the driver regardless of how to hold it. it can.

<Process flowchart>
Next, gripping pattern determination processing performed by the input device according to the first embodiment will be specifically described with reference to FIG. The process shown in FIG. 7 is periodically executed while the main key of the vehicle is on. In this example, it is assumed that the grip pattern table corresponding to the right hand is stored in the format shown in FIG.

  First, in step S11, the sensor information acquisition unit 21 acquires information from the contact sensor 12, and generates sensor information. Here, when the predetermined time has not elapsed since the previous processing in step S11, a waiting time (for example, 5 seconds) is inserted until the predetermined time is reached.

  In step S <b> 12, the gripping pattern determination unit 23 acquires first and second position information and first angle information from the bitmap that is sensor information by the method described above. Here, if acquisition of a value fails, the process may be returned to step S11, or the process may proceed to the next step assuming that a default value has been obtained.

  In step S13, the gripping pattern determination unit 23 compares the gripping pattern table stored in the gripping pattern storage unit 22 with the value acquired in step S12 to obtain an evaluation value, and the gripping value with the lowest evaluation value is obtained. Determine the pattern. When the grip pattern is determined, information regarding the grip pattern is transmitted to the gesture determination unit 24, and the process proceeds to step S11.

  In addition, the gesture determination unit 24 determines a gesture by a process independent of the process of FIG. 7 using a template corresponding to the grip pattern notified from the grip pattern determination unit 23.

Thus, in the input device according to the present embodiment, the grip pattern is determined based on the position where the hand is placed on the grip portion and the extending direction of the index finger, and a template corresponding to the determined grip pattern is used. Determine the gesture.
As described above, since the movable range of the finger changes depending on how to grip the grip portion, if the grip pattern is not specified, the movement amount of the finger changes depending on how to grip, and the gesture intended by the driver cannot be recognized correctly. There is a fear. On the other hand, in the input device according to the present embodiment, the grip pattern associated with the movable range of the finger is defined and classified, so that the gesture can be recognized with higher accuracy.

The evaluation value may be obtained by a method other than the exemplified method as long as the similarity with the gripping pattern can be obtained. For example, an error rate may be used instead of a value difference, or an evaluation value may be obtained after normalizing a range of values.
Further, each of the three values may be multiplied by a predetermined weight. For example, for elements that greatly contribute to the determination of the movable range of the finger, the weight may be increased. For example, weighting may be performed so that the influence of the Y coordinate is larger than the influence of the X coordinate and / or the angle θ.

  In the first embodiment, the grip pattern table is stored in the grip pattern storage unit 22 in advance, but the grip pattern table may be acquired or updated by learning. For example, the information may be updated by calibration or the like.

(Second embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the gripping pattern is re-determined periodically by repeatedly performing the process of FIG. 7 every time a predetermined time elapses. On the other hand, the second embodiment is an embodiment that detects that the driver has re-gripped the steering wheel based on the sensor information, and re-determines the grip pattern.
Since the configuration of the vehicular input device according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, detailed description is omitted, and only the differences will be described.

In the second embodiment, in step S11, after detecting that the steering wheel is re-gripped, the process proceeds to the subsequent steps. Re-gripping detection can be performed by, for example, periodically acquiring and monitoring sensor information. For example, if the area of the contact area increases again after reaching 0, it can be determined that the driver has repositioned his hand, that is, re-gripping has occurred. The same applies when the number of points representing contact becomes 0 and then increases again. In step S11, when sensor information is repeatedly acquired and re-gripping is detected, the process proceeds to step S12, and the grip pattern is determined by the same method as in the first embodiment.

  Note that the method of detecting that re-gripping has occurred is not limited to the method described above. For example, it may be determined that re-gripping has occurred based on the number of contact areas, the variation rate of the area, or the variation amount. For example, when a variation of 30% or more occurs with respect to the area and number of the contact areas, it may be determined that re-gripping has occurred.

(Modification)
The above embodiment is merely an example, and the present invention can be implemented with appropriate modifications within a range not departing from the gist thereof.
For example, in each embodiment, the steering wheel is used as a gripping device, but any device may be used as long as it is a torus-shaped or cylindrical device that is gripped and used by an operator. For example, a control stick or a master controller may be used.

  Further, a handle (assist grip) provided in a passenger compartment of an automobile, a handle for a rear seat occupant provided on the back side of the backrest of the front seat, a handle (door grip) provided on a door trim, and the like may be used. In these cases, the Y coordinate may correspond to the grip position in the longitudinal direction of the handle, and the X coordinate may correspond to the grip position (so-called grip depth) in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the handle. Further, the angle θ may correspond to the angle of the index finger with respect to a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the handle.

  In the description of the embodiment, the contact sensor 12A and the contact sensor 12B are arranged apart from each other, but may be arranged without a gap. Moreover, it is good also as one contact sensor.

  In the description of the embodiment, the input device is illustrated. However, the gesture determination unit 24 and the operation information output unit 25 may be omitted, and the input device may be implemented as a device (a gripping state determination device) that outputs a corresponding gripping pattern. In this case, the determined gripping pattern may be delivered in combination with a gesture determination device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Steering wheel 12 Contact sensor 20 Control apparatus 21 Sensor information acquisition part 22 Gripping pattern memory | storage part 23 Gripping pattern determination part 24 Gesture determination part 25 Operation information output part 30 In-vehicle terminal

Claims (11)

A gripping state determination apparatus that includes a gripping unit and a contact sensor disposed on a surface of the gripping unit, and classifies a gripping device used by a user by a hand according to a pattern.
First information acquisition means for acquiring information from the contact sensor and acquiring a contact distribution representing a distribution of contact positions of the user's hand;
Based on the contact distribution, a second information acquisition unit that acquires a gripping position that is a position of the hand on the gripping part or a hand shape that is a shape of a hand gripping the gripping part;
Gripping pattern storage means for storing a plurality of gripping patterns associated with the movable range of the finger in a state of gripping the gripping part;
A gripping pattern determining means for determining a corresponding gripping pattern based on the acquired gripping position or hand shape;
A gripping state determination device. The grip pattern storage means stores the grip pattern in association with a corresponding grip position or hand shape,
The grip pattern determination means determines a corresponding grip pattern based on the acquired grip position or similarity to the hand shape.
The gripping state determination device according to claim 1. The gripping part has a torus shape,
The hand shape is represented by first angle information indicating a direction in which the user's index finger is extended in a state where the user is gripping the grip portion.
The holding state determination apparatus according to claim 2. The gripping position is represented by first position information representing the position of the user's hand in the latitude direction and second position information representing the position of the user's hand in the meridian direction.
The holding state determination apparatus according to claim 3. The grip pattern determination means obtains the similarity after weighting each of the acquired first angle information, first position information, and second position information.
The gripping state determination device according to claim 4. A gripping part for the user to grip by hand;
A contact sensor disposed on the surface of the gripping part;
First information acquisition means for acquiring information from the contact sensor and acquiring a contact distribution representing a distribution of contact positions of the user's hand;
Based on the contact distribution, a second information acquisition unit that acquires a gripping position that is a position of the hand on the gripping part or a hand shape that is a shape of a hand gripping the gripping part;
Gripping pattern storage means for storing a plurality of gripping patterns associated with the movable range of the finger in a state of gripping the gripping part;
A gripping pattern determining means for determining a corresponding gripping pattern based on the acquired gripping position or hand shape;
Gesture determining means for determining a gesture made by the user based on a temporal change in the contact distribution and the determined gripping pattern;
An input device. The gripping device is a vehicle steering wheel.
The input device according to claim 6. The grip pattern determination means periodically determines the grip pattern.
The input device according to claim 7. The gripping pattern determination means performs redetermination of the gripping pattern after detecting that the user has gripped the gripping part based on the contact distribution.
The input device according to claim 7 or 8. A gripping state determination method performed by a gripping state determination device that includes a gripping part and a contact sensor disposed on the surface of the gripping part and that determines how to grip the gripping device that the user grips and uses. There,
A first information acquisition step of acquiring information from the contact sensor and acquiring a contact distribution representing a distribution of a contact position of the user's hand;
Based on the contact distribution, a second information acquisition step of acquiring a grip position that is a position of a hand on the grip portion or a hand shape that is a shape of a hand gripping the grip portion;
Based on the acquired grip position or hand shape, a grip pattern determination step for determining a corresponding grip pattern from a plurality of grip patterns associated with a movable range of a finger in a state of gripping the grip portion;
A gripping state determination method. An input acquisition method performed by an input device having a grip part for a user to grip by hand and a contact sensor disposed on a surface of the grip part,
A first information acquisition step of acquiring information from the contact sensor and acquiring a contact distribution representing a distribution of a contact position of the user's hand;
Based on the contact distribution, a second information acquisition step of acquiring a grip position that is a position of a hand on the grip portion or a hand shape that is a shape of a hand gripping the grip portion;
Based on the acquired grip position or hand shape, a grip pattern determination step for determining a corresponding grip pattern from a plurality of grip patterns associated with a movable range of a finger in a state of gripping the grip portion;
A gesture determination step of determining a gesture performed by the user based on a temporal change in the contact distribution and the specified gripping state;
Input acquisition method.

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