TW202005689A - Smart shoes - Google Patents

Abstract

A pair of smart shoes includes a left insole and a right insole each includes a distance detecting module, a pressure detecting module and a vibration plate. The distance detecting modules are configured to detect the distance between the feet of a user and an obstacle and determine the status of user feet. The pressure detecting modules are configured to detect the pressure of the user feet, thereby providing further information for determining the status of user feet. The vibration plate is configured to provide tactile feedback to the user's feet for improving the virtual reality experience.

Description

Smart shoes

The invention relates to a smart shoe, especially a smart shoe applied in virtual reality.

Virtual reality (VR) is the use of computer technology to simulate a three-dimensional and highly realistic three-dimensional space. When the user wears a special display device and enters, it will produce the illusion of being in reality. In this virtual reality space, the operator can interact with virtual objects or other players.

In addition to VR headsets, some manufacturers have introduced VR shoes and VR gloves to create better immersive experiences in virtual reality. For example, in the Japanese commercial Cerevo's foot motion feedback system Taclim, users can directly wear sandals-shaped VR shoes, which are equipped with accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetic field sensors and pressure sensors to track the user's Foot movement status, and can be used with the Lighthouse position tracking system used by Vive. However, the above-mentioned prior art VR shoes include multiple instrument components and weigh nearly 1 kg, making it difficult for consumers to use for a long time.

The present invention provides a smart shoe including an insole for detachably fixing to a user's foot; a distance detection module including at least a first distance sensor and a second distance sensor A sensor, a third distance sensor, and a fourth distance sensor, which are respectively disposed on the front side, the back side, the left side, and the right side of the insole; and a processing unit, which is used to determine the first to fourth distances The distance data measured by the sensor determines the distance between the foot and an obstacle.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a smart shoe 100 applied to virtual reality in an embodiment of the present invention. The smart shoe 100 includes two distance detection modules 11 and 12, two pressure sensing modules 21 and 22, two vibration plates 31 and 32, and two processing units 41 and 42. The distance detection modules 11 and 12 are respectively used to detect the distance between the user's left and right feet and the surrounding obstacles, and respectively determine the movement state of the user's left and right feet. The pressure sensing modules 21 and 22 are used to detect the pressure of the user's left and right feet, thereby providing information to assist in determining the user's movement state. Based on the distance data measured by the distance detection modules 11-12 and the pressure data measured by the pressure sensing modules 21-22, the processing units 41 and 42 can determine the position and movement state of the user's feet. According to the plot of the virtual reality, the vibration plates 31 and 32 can provide corresponding tactile feedback at the bottom of the user's feet, thereby enhancing the gaming experience.

2 and 3 are schematic diagrams of the appearance of the smart shoe 100 in the embodiment of the present invention. The smart shoe 100 can be implemented as two sets of removable left insole 100L and right insole 100R. FIG. 2 shows a top view of the left insole 100L and the right insole 100R. The distance detection module 11 includes at least four distance sensors AL1 to AL4, which are respectively disposed on the front, rear, left, and right sides of the left insole 100L. The distance detection module 12 includes at least four distance sensors AR1 to AR4, which are respectively disposed on the front side, the rear side, the left side, and the right side of the right insole 100R. The pressure sensing module 21 includes at least three pressure sensors BL1 to BL3 respectively disposed on the surface of the left insole 100L corresponding to the left side of the left foot forefoot, the right side of the left foot forefoot, and the position of the left heel. The pressure sensing module 22 includes at least three pressure sensors BR1 to BR3 respectively disposed on the surface of the right insole 100R corresponding to the left side of the right foot forefoot, the right foot forefoot, and the position of the right heel. The vibration plate 31 may be disposed at the surface of the left insole 100L corresponding to the center of the left foot, and the vibration plate 32 may be disposed at the surface of the right insole 100R corresponding to the center of the right foot. The processing unit 41 may be wrapped inside the left insole 100L (not shown), and the processing unit 42 may be wrapped inside the right insole 100R (not shown).

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the left insole 100L and the right insole 100R may be provided with a plurality of sets of fixing straps 51 and 52, respectively, and thus may be fixed to the bottom of the user's left shoe 61 and right shoe 62, respectively. However, the manner in which the left insole 100L and the right insole 100R are fixed to the user's shoes does not limit the scope of the present invention.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the distance sensors in the distance detection modules 11 and 12 may use infrared sensing technology or ultrasonic sensing technology, and the pressure sensors in the pressure sensing modules 21 and 22 may be A Hall-based magnetoelectric effect or a piezoelectric effect (piezoelectric effect) is used for the pressure-sensing element, and the vibration plates 31 and 32 may include piezoelectric materials to provide tactile feedback. However, the sensing technology or the tactile feedback technology adopted by the distance detection modules 11-12, the pressure sensing modules 21-22 and the vibration plates 31-32 does not limit the scope of the present invention.

In virtual reality applications, the user can wear the smart shoe 100 of the embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 3, and the distance detection modules 11 and 12 can detect the user and the surrounding obstacles or other players, respectively. the distance. Once it is determined that the distance is less than a predetermined value, the smart shoe 100 may issue a warning message (or instruct the system to issue a warning message) to prevent the user from being injured by hitting an obstacle.

4 to 6 are schematic diagrams of the middle distance detection modules 11 and 12 of the smart shoe 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. For illustration purposes, the distances measured by the distance sensors AL1~AL4 in the distance detection module 11 on the left insole 100L are represented by LF, LB, LL, and LR, respectively, while the distance detection module 12 on the right insole 100R The distances measured by AR1~AR4 are represented by RF, RB, RL and RR respectively, and GND represents the position of the floor.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the user’s left leg makes a forward kick or a foot lift, etc., which will make the left toe point upward. At this time, the front side of the left insole 100L is the distance LF measured by the sensor AL1 It will be much larger than the distance LB measured by the rear side distance sensor AL2. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the user’s right leg makes a kick-toe or tiptoe motion that will make the toe point downward. At this time, the distance RF measured by the front side of the right insole 100R from the sensor AR1 will be It is much smaller than the distance RB measured by the rear-side distance sensor AR2. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the user makes a stand-up action with both feet parallel, and at this time, the distance LR measured by the sensor AL4 on the right side of the left insole 100L and the distance sensor AR3 on the left side of the right insole 100R The measured distance RL will be substantially the same, and the values of RL and LR are quite small.

7 to 11 are schematic diagrams of the pressure sensing modules 21 and 22 in the smart shoe 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. For the purpose of illustration, the pressure values measured by the pressure sensors BL1~BL3 in the pressure sensing module 21 on the left insole 100L are respectively represented by P1~P3, and the pressure sensing in the pressure sensing module 22 on the right insole 100R The pressure values measured by BR1~BR3 are represented by Q1~Q3 respectively. The upper part of Figures 7~11 shows the outline of the user's different postures, and the lower part of Figures 7~11 shows the pressure values measured by the pressure sensing modules 21 and 22 in the different postures of the user.

In Figure 7, the user stands upright or his feet are parallel. At this time, the user's body center of gravity is maintained at the center, so the left insole 100L and the right insole 100R are equally stressed, that is, P1≒Q1, P2≒Q2 And P3≒Q3. In addition, because the force of the heel of the feet of the normal person in the normal standing position will be slightly greater than the force of the toes of the feet, the pressure values P3 and Q3 obtained at this time will be higher than the values of P1~P2 and Q1~Q2.

In Figure 8, the user makes a reclining motion in a standing position with both feet upright or feet parallel. At this time, the user's body center of gravity is maintained at the center in the left and right directions, so the left insole 100L and the right insole 100R are equally stressed. That is, P1≒Q1, P2≒Q2 and P3≒Q3. In the front-rear direction, since the backward movement will increase the force on the heel of the feet and reduce the force on the toes of the feet, the pressure values P1~P2 and Q1~Q2 obtained at this time will be lower than those shown in Figure 7 Example, and the pressure values P3 and Q3 will be higher than the example shown in Figure 7.

In Figure 9, the user makes a forward flexion in a standing posture or with both feet in a standing position. At this time, the user's body center of gravity is maintained at the center in the left and right directions, so the left insole 100L and the right insole 100R are equally stressed, and That is, P1≒Q1, P2≒Q2 and P3≒Q3. In the front-back direction, the forward pressure will reduce the force on the heel of the feet and increase the force on the toes of the feet, so the pressure values P1~P2 and Q1~Q2 obtained at this time will be higher than those shown in Figure 7 Example, and the pressure values P3 and Q3 will be lower than the example shown in Figure 7.

In Figure 10, the user makes a standard push-up preparation. At this time, the user's body center of gravity is maintained at the center in the left and right directions, so the left insole 100L and the right insole 100R are equally stressed, that is, P1≒Q1, P2 ≒Q2 and P3≒Q3. In the front-rear direction, since the standard preparations for standing on the ground will make the center of gravity completely concentrated on the toes and hands of both feet, the pressure values P1~P2 and Q1~Q2 obtained at this time will be higher than the embodiment shown in Figure 7 , And the pressure values P3 and Q3 will be much lower than the embodiment shown in Figure 5 (close to 0).

In Figure 11, the user makes a lunge forward with the left foot forward. At this time, most of the user's body center of gravity is supported by the left foot, and a small part of the user's body center of gravity is supported by the right toe. Therefore, the pressure value P1 obtained at this time ~P3 will be greater than the pressure value Q1~Q3, and the pressure value Q3 is close to 0.

In the embodiments of the present invention, the distance detection modules 11-12 and the pressure sensing modules 21-22 may include more distance sensors and more pressure sensors, thereby improving the accuracy of judgment. However, the number of distance sensors and pressure sensors does not limit the scope of the present invention.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the distance and pressure of the left and right feet can be set according to different operation postures of the user in advance, and then stored in the form of a look-up table. In addition, according to the user's weight or habitual center of gravity, a calibration procedure can be performed before performing VR content. For example, the user is required to perform simple actions such as standing, squatting or one-leg squatting to obtain the baseline for determining each user . During the execution of VR content, the smart shoe of the present invention can compare the distance data measured by the distance detection module with the pressure data measured by the pressure sensing module against the lookup table and the baseline, so as to accurately determine the user's The state of foot movement.

In summary, the present invention provides a smart shoe for virtual reality, which can be implemented into two sets of removable right and left insoles, which are lightweight and easy to wear. The distance detection module in the smart shoe can detect the distance between the user's left and right feet and the surrounding obstacles. In addition to avoiding accidental injuries, it can also determine the movement state of the user's left and right feet. The pressure sensing module in the smart shoe can detect the pressure of the user's left and right feet, thereby providing information to assist in judging the user's movement state. The vibration plate in the smart shoe can provide corresponding tactile feedback on the sole of the user's foot, thereby enhancing the virtual reality experience. The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all changes and modifications made in accordance with the scope of the patent application of the present invention shall fall within the scope of the present invention.

11.12‧‧‧Distance detection module 21, 22‧‧‧ Pressure sensing module 31, 32‧‧‧ Vibration plate 41, 42‧‧‧ Processing unit 51, 52‧‧‧ Fixing belt 61‧‧‧ left Shoes 62‧‧‧Right shoes 100‧‧‧Smart shoes 100R‧‧‧Right insole 100L‧‧‧Left insole AL1~AL4, AR1~AR4‧‧‧Distance sensor BL1~BL3, BR1~BR3‧‧‧Pressure Sensors P1~P3, Q1~Q3 ‧‧‧ pressure values LF, LB, LL, LR, RF, RB, RL, RR‧‧‧ distance

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a smart shoe applied to virtual reality in an embodiment of the present invention. Figures 2 and 3 are schematic diagrams of the appearance of smart shoes in an embodiment of the present invention. 4 to 6 are schematic diagrams of a smart shoe mid-distance detection module in operation according to an embodiment of the invention. 7 to 11 are schematic diagrams of the operation of the pressure sensing module in the smart shoe according to the embodiment of the invention.

31, 32‧‧‧ Vibrating plate

100‧‧‧smart shoes

100R‧‧‧Right insole

100L‧‧‧Left insole

AL1~AL4, AR1~AR4‧‧‧‧ distance sensor

BL1~BL3, BR1~BR3 ‧‧‧ pressure sensor

Claims (9)

A smart shoe includes: a first insole for detachably fixing a first foot of a user; a first distance detection module including at least a first distance sensor, a A second distance sensor, a third distance sensor, and a fourth distance sensor, which are respectively disposed on the front side, the back side, the left side, and the right side of the first insole; and a first processing unit for The distance between the first foot and a first obstacle is determined according to the distance data measured by the first to fourth distance sensors. The smart shoe according to claim 1, further comprising: a first pressure detection module including at least a first pressure sensor, a second pressure sensor, and a third pressure sensor, The surface of the first insole corresponds to the left side of the sole before the first foot, the right side of the sole before the first foot, and the position of the heel of the first foot. The smart shoe according to claim 2, wherein the first processing unit is further used to determine the posture of the first foot according to the pressure data measured by the first to third pressure sensors. The smart shoe according to claim 1, further comprising: a second insole for detachably fixing to a second foot of the user; a second distance detection module including at least a first Five distance sensors, a sixth distance sensor, a seventh distance sensor, and an eighth distance sensor, which are respectively disposed on the front, rear, left, and right sides of the second insole; and one The second processing unit is used to determine the distance between the second foot and a second obstacle according to the distance data measured by the fifth to eighth distance sensors. The smart shoe according to claim 4, further comprising: a first pressure detection module including at least a first pressure sensor, a second pressure sensor, and a third pressure sensor, The surface of the first insole corresponding to the left side of the sole before the first foot, the right side of the sole before the first foot, and the position of the heel of the first foot; and a second pressure detection module, including at least A fourth pressure sensor, a fifth pressure sensor, and a sixth pressure sensor are respectively disposed on the surface of the second insole corresponding to the left side of the foot in front of the second foot and the foot in front of the second foot Right, and the position of the heel of the second foot. The smart shoe according to claim 5, wherein the first processing unit is further used to determine the posture of the first foot according to the pressure data measured by the first to third pressure sensors, and the second The processing unit is further used to determine the posture of the second foot according to the pressure data measured by the fourth to sixth pressure sensors. The smart shoe according to claim 1, further comprising a vibrating plate disposed on the surface of the first insole to provide a tactile feedback. The smart shoe according to claim 1 or 4, wherein each distance sensor is an infrared sensor or an ultrasonic sensor. The smart shoe according to claim 1 or 4, wherein each pressure sensor is a pressure-sensitive element using Hall magnetoelectric effect or piezoelectric effect.

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