WO2013031481A1 - Object proximity and contact detection device - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] Provided is a device capable of detecting contact with or proximity to a living organism without greatly constraining the behavior of the living organism. [Solution] The proximity or contact detection device of this invention is provided with an application unit for applying an electrical signal to an application-side conductor disposed in proximity to a living organism, a measurement unit for detecting an electrical signal produced by application by the application unit to a measurement-side conductor disposed in proximity to the living organism and generating a reception signal that includes signal intensity, and a state estimation unit for estimating the proximity state between living organisms on the basis of the reception signal and a preset estimation equation. The proximity or contact detection device is disposed in proximity to a series of objects in which the application side conductor and the measurement side conductor have an electrical resistance no greater than that of the skin of the living organism.

Description

Object proximity or contact detection device

The present invention relates to a technique for detecting proximity or contact between objects, or both, and particularly to a technique applicable to detection of proximity or contact of organisms, or both.

Conventionally, as a method for detecting the proximity or contact of an object, a method for detecting a current between objects, a method for detecting pressure, a method for recognizing an object of a camera image, a method using electrostatic coupling, and the like are known. However, the method using current or pressure can detect contact but cannot detect proximity. In addition, the approach based on the recognition of the camera image can detect proximity, but cannot detect proximity or contact at the blind spot position of the camera. On the other hand, the method using electrostatic coupling can detect proximity or contact at any part without blind spots even when the object moves such as a human body.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes a plant switch that detects a proximity and contact by detecting a change in capacitance that occurs in the vicinity of a human body or a plant when the human body approaches or contacts the plant. Yes.
Patent Document 2 describes a performance device that detects contact between two human bodies that are in contact with two grounded electrodes, and generates a sound based on the detection result.
Patent Document 3 describes a human body communication system that performs communication through a communication path using a human body as a medium or a communication path established by contact between human bodies.

JP 2007-115655 A JP 2008-058742 A Japanese Patent No. 4284875

However, in the plant switch described in Patent Document 1, the high-frequency power source for charging the plant and the detection means for detecting the change in the capacitance of the plant are electrically connected to the power source line fixed to the environment by a lead wire. Must be grounded. Therefore, in order to detect contact and proximity between autonomously moving organisms that are not electrically grounded, the movement of the organisms is greatly limited.

In the performance device described in Patent Document 2, the two human bodies must be in contact with the electrodes fixed to the detection unit. Therefore, the action of the human body to be detected is greatly restricted.

In the human body communication system described in Patent Document 3, data communication can be performed between communication adapters via a communication path formed by contact of a human body equipped with a communication adapter, but contact or proximity between human bodies is detected. Can not do it.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and greatly restricts the movement of an object between contact and / or proximity between objects (for example, between individuals of different organisms or between body parts of the same individual). It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for detecting without doing so.

The proximity or contact detection device of the present invention includes an application unit including an application-side conductor disposed in the vicinity of the first object, a signal application unit that applies an electric signal to the application-side conductor, and a second object A measurement-side conductor arranged near the measurement-side conductor, a signal measurement unit that detects an electric signal generated in the measurement-side conductor and generates a reception signal including at least the intensity of the electric signal, and the reception signal And a state estimation unit that estimates the proximity state between the first object and the second object in a stepwise manner based on a preset estimation equation indicating the relationship between the proximity state and the received signal. The application-side conductor and the measurement-side conductor are disposed in the vicinity of a series of objects having an electrical resistance equal to or lower than the skin of the first object and the second object, and the application-side conductors are connected to the series of objects. It is preferable that the measurement-side conductor is not normally fixed.

According to the proximity or contact detection device of the present invention, it is possible to detect contact and proximity between objects without greatly restricting the operation of the objects.

FIG. 1 is an overall view showing a configuration of a proximity or contact detection device and arrangement on a human body in the first embodiment. FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the application unit. FIG. 2B is a diagram showing the arrangement of the bottom antenna of the application unit. FIG. 3A is a block diagram showing the configuration of the measurement unit. FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of the bottom antennas of the measurement unit. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the proximity or contact detection device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the distance between human bodies and the strength of the received signal. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the contact area and the intensity of the received signal. FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams showing the relationship between the contact position at the arm and the strength of the received signal. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a method for estimating the proximity state between human bodies. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a method for estimating a contact site. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table used for estimating a contact site. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a method for estimating the contact area. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a method for estimating the contact position. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the proximity or contact detection device on a plurality of organisms. FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an application unit and a measurement unit sharing a conductor. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the proximity or contact detection device on one organism. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a proximity or contact detection device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the proximity or contact detection device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a method of associating signal strength with each frequency in the transmission / reception control unit. FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the signal intensity for each frequency and the proximity or contact state between human bodies. FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a human body stands upright on a table. FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the human body on the table is in close proximity and is not in contact. FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a game machine to which the proximity or contact detection device is applied. FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of a game machine with stairs. FIG. 24A is a top view showing an example of a game machine provided with a foot-shaped sign. FIG. 24B is a side view showing an example of a game machine provided with a foot-shaped sign. FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing the calibration operation of the game machine. FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating an example of operation of the game machine. FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing the operation of the game machine after the game is started.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same element and description may be abbreviate | omitted. In this specification, an “object” constitutes a circuit with an application-side conductor or a measurement-side conductor arranged in the vicinity, and can propagate an electric field generated according to an electric signal applied to the application-side conductor. It is a substance, and the material includes a semiconductor or a conductor. For example, examples of the object include living organisms such as human bodies and animals, and inanimate objects such as robots, home appliances, and electronic devices (including inanimate parts, arms, doors, and the like). The “object” may include an insulator as long as it can propagate an electric field. Here, “an object that propagates an electric field” refers to an object in which the intensity of the electric field increases around the object. In the following embodiments, a human body will be described as an example of an object to be measured.
(First embodiment)

FIG. 1 is an overall view showing the configuration of the proximity or contact detection device 1 of the first embodiment and the arrangement on the human body. The proximity or contact detection device 1 includes an application unit 10, a measurement unit 20, and a state estimation unit 30. In FIG. 1, the application unit 10 and the measurement unit 20 are not electrically connected to a conductor fixed to the environment with a conducting wire. The application unit 10 and the measurement unit 20 are not normally grounded. As described above, in the embodiment of FIG. 1, measurement is possible without restricting the operation of the human body (object) because the conductor is not physically connected to the conductor fixed to the environment by wire or the like. Here, “grounded” means that a low impedance path is provided for the current flowing through the circuit to return to the power source. A bottom antenna, which will be described later, is not physically connected to the ground or floor by wire or the like, but can be electrostatically coupled to the ground or floor, and is grounded in a state of electrostatic coupling. However, the bottom antenna is movable, and the bottom antenna is not grounded in a state where it is separated from the ground or floor and is not electrostatically coupled. Such a state is normally called not grounded. If the application unit 10 and the measurement unit 20 are provided on a platform serving as a scaffold without being attached to an object, for example, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 20 to 24, a conductor fixed to the environment. It may be grounded by being physically connected to the cable by wire or the like. The measurement unit 20 communicates with the state estimation unit 30 by being electrically connected by wire or wirelessly.

The application unit 10 is arranged near the human body 11, and the measurement unit 20 is arranged near the human body 21, and in FIG. The application unit 10 and the measurement unit 20 may be arranged so as to be in contact with the human bodies 11 and 21, respectively, and if they are about 20 mm, they are connected by electrostatic coupling. May be. Hereinafter, such an arrangement with an interval of about 0 mm to 20 mm will be described as an arrangement in the vicinity.

Moreover, the state estimation unit 30 and the measurement unit 20 may be arranged adjacent to each other or separated from each other. For example, the state estimation unit 30 may be arranged in the vicinity of the human body 21 similarly to the measurement unit 20, or may be configured to execute its function with another device separated from the human body 21.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the application unit 10. The application unit 10 includes an application-side conductor 110 and a signal application unit 100 that applies an electrical signal to the application-side conductor 110.
The signal applying unit 100 includes a transmitter 101, an amplifier 102, a capacitor 103, a storage battery 104, and a case 105 that accommodates these components.

The transmitter 101 generates a periodic electrical signal or a signal obtained by synthesizing the periodic electrical signal, and outputs this signal to the amplifier 102. For example, the oscillator 101 outputs a sine wave signal having a constant frequency.
The amplifier 102 amplifies the electrical signal input from the transmitter 101 and applies it to the application-side conductor 110 via the capacitor 103.

When an electrical signal is applied to the application-side conductor 110, an electric field 12 that fluctuates in accordance with the electrical signal is generated on the surface of the human body 11 and its surroundings as shown in FIG. When the human body 21 approaches or comes into contact with the human body 11, the electric field 12 propagates and an electric field 22 is generated around the human body 21. The measurement unit 20 measures the fluctuation of the electric field 22.

The case 105 is, for example, a metal rectangular parallelepiped box. As described above, since the signal applying unit 100 is configured by a simple circuit, the case 105 can be small, for example, about 75 mm × 50 mm × 30 mm.

Further, the shape of the case 105 is not limited to a rectangular parallelepiped, and may be other shapes such as a sphere and a band. The material of the case 105 is preferably a conductor that can shield electromagnetic waves that are noise sources of electrical signals, but other materials may be used. For example, the same effect can be obtained by shielding the entire room using the present invention with a conductor.

The storage battery 104 supplies power to the transmitter 101 and the amplifier 102. Since the signal voltage applied to the application-side conductor 110 by the signal applying unit 100 does not have to be as large as about 3 V, a small battery such as a button-type battery is sufficient for the storage battery 104.

The application-side conductor 110 includes at least a top antenna 111, and more preferably includes a top antenna 111 and a bottom antenna 112 that are a set of conductors. These antennas are made of a conductor, such as copper foil. When a metal foil such as a copper foil is used in this way, the proximity or contact detection device 1 can be reduced in size and thickness.
The top antenna 111 is disposed near the human body 11, for example, near the ankle. The top antenna 111 is connected to the amplifier 102 via the capacitor 103.

The bottom antenna 112 is connected to the ground (reference voltage) of the circuit of the signal applying unit 100 and functions as a reference electrode. In FIG. 2B, the bottom antenna 112 is disposed on the sole 15 of the foot 14 of the human body 11 and can be grounded by being electrostatically coupled to the floor surface.

The top antenna 111 and the bottom antenna 112 are arranged in the vicinity of the human body 11. That is, it may be in direct contact with the human body 11 or there may be clothes or the like between the human body 11.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the measurement unit 20. The measurement unit 20 includes a measurement-side conductor 210 and a signal measurement unit 200 that detects an electrical signal generated in the measurement-side conductor 210.
The signal measuring unit 200 includes a tuning circuit 201, an amplifier 102, a storage battery 204, and a case 205 that houses these components.

The tuning circuit 201 extracts, for example, a sine wave signal having a constant frequency from the electrical signal generated in the measurement-side conductor 210, generates a reception signal, and outputs the reception signal to the amplifier 202. This received signal includes at least information on the strength of the electric signal generated in the measurement-side conductor 210. The received signal may further include frequency and / or phase information.
The amplifier 202 amplifies the reception signal input from the tuning circuit 201 and outputs the amplified signal to the state estimation unit 30. The reception signal may be transmitted wirelessly.

The case 205 is a metal cuboid box like the case 105, but the shape and material are not limited to this as in the case 105. Similarly to the case 105, the case 205 can be small. Note that the state estimation unit 30 may be housed inside the case 205.
The storage battery 204 supplies power to the tuning circuit 201 and the amplifier 202. Similar to the storage battery 104, a small storage battery 204 such as a button-type battery is sufficient.

The measurement-side conductor 210 includes at least a top antenna 211, and more preferably includes a top antenna 211 and a bottom antenna 212 that are a set of conductors. Similar to the top antenna 111 and the bottom antenna 112, the top antenna 211 and the bottom antenna 212 are made of a conductor, for example, copper foil.
The top antenna 211 is disposed near the human body 21, for example, near the ankle. The top antenna 211 is connected to the tuning circuit 201.

The bottom antenna 212 is connected to the case 205 and functions as a reference electrode. In FIG. 3B, the bottom antenna 212 is disposed on the sole 25 of the foot 24 of the human body 21 and can be grounded by being electrostatically coupled to the floor surface.

The top antenna 211 and the bottom antenna 212 are arranged in the vicinity of the human body 21. That is, it may be in direct contact with the human body 21 or there may be clothes or the like between the human body 21.

By arranging the bottom antenna 112 and the bottom antenna 212 in the vicinity of the floor surface 13 as described above, the reference potentials of the application side conductor 110 and the measurement side conductor 210 can be made uniform. This is because the application-side conductor 110 and the measurement-side conductor 210 are connected to the floor surface 13 by electrostatic coupling. Therefore, the signal measuring unit 200 can detect an electric signal without normally grounding the application conductor 110 and the measurement-side conductor 210.

In addition, in order to align the reference potentials of the application unit 10 and the measurement unit 20, the bottom antennas 112 and 212 are arranged at a short distance, or the electrical resistivity is about the human skin or less, such as a concrete floor surface. It is necessary to arrange the bottom antennas 112 and 212 in the vicinity of the same object, or to electrically connect the grounds of the application unit 10 and the measurement unit 20 to each other. As described above, if the potentials of the bottom antennas are aligned or substantially aligned using electrostatic coupling, it is not essential to dispose the bottom antenna near the floor surface 13.

Hereinafter, the operation of the proximity or contact detection device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the signal application unit 100 applies an electrical signal to the application-side conductor 110 (step S1001). The signal measuring unit 200 generates a reception signal including at least the signal strength of the electric signal from the electric signal, and sends this to the state estimating unit 30 (step S1002). The received signal may include frequency and / or phase in addition to signal strength. The state estimation unit 30 calculates at least the signal strength from the received signal, estimates the proximity state based on the signal strength (step S1003), and ends the process. In step S <b> 1003, the state estimation unit 30 estimates the proximity state from a preset estimation equation indicating the relationship between the proximity state and the reception signal and the input reception signal. A program for causing the computer to execute such an operation is created and executed by the state estimation unit 30.

The state estimation unit 30 may further generate proximity state information including the result estimated from the received signal in step S1003. Here, “proximity state” means whether or not an object is in contact or whether or not an object is in proximity, the area of a contact portion (contact area) when the object is in contact, Part or position, or the shortest distance (proximity distance) between the two objects when the object is not in contact with each other, the relative positional relationship (including posture) between the two objects or the degree of proximity (" The “proximity degree” means the ratio or area of a portion that is closer than a certain distance (threshold) between both objects. For example, the surface of an object is divided into small grid-like regions at equal intervals. The shortest distance from the center of gravity of each small region to another object can be obtained, and the shortest distance can be obtained by the number of small regions having a threshold value or less). The “proximity state information” is information indicating the positional relationship between the organisms, and is “proximity state” information. In addition, when the proximity state is estimated step by step, not only whether or not an object is in contact, but if it is not in contact, it is estimated whether or not the object is in proximity, and / or is in contact The case is to estimate the contact area, the height of the proximity, the part in contact with the object, the position, and the like.

The state estimation unit 30 may further output the proximity state information to another device, for example, a portable information processing device worn by the human body 21. Accordingly, the information processing device can be operated according to the proximity or contact state.

Hereinafter, an example of creating the estimation formula used in step S1003 will be described using experimental results. FIG. 5, FIG. 6, FIG. 7 (a), and FIG. 7 (b) are diagrams showing experimental results obtained by actually measuring the relationship between the signal strength of the received signal and the proximity state between the human bodies. In these experiments, the signal sampling frequency is about 10 Hz, and the value of the signal intensity is 0 when the distance between human bodies is sufficiently large and there is no proximity or contact.

FIG. 5 shows the distance between the human body and the intensity of the received signal when the human body 11 wearing the application unit 10 and the human body 21 wearing the measuring unit 20 face each other and the distance between the two bodies is changed. Show the relationship. Here, the distance is the distance between the human body 11 and the body front surface of the human body 21. The intensity of the received signal is an average value of the signal intensity when the distance is maintained for about 3 seconds. The horizontal axis represents distance, the unit is m (meter), the vertical axis represents signal intensity, and the unit is V (volt).
In addition, mounting | wearing means that each structure is arrange | positioned in the vicinity of the organism.
As shown in FIG. 5, the signal intensity increases exponentially as the distance decreases.

FIG. 6 shows that the human body 11 wearing the application unit 10 and the human body 21 wearing the measuring unit 20 face each other at a distance of 0.5 m, and the human body 21 is in the palm of each part (palm, elbow, head, shoulder). The intensity of the received signal when touching the waist. The left bar of each part is the intensity of the received signal when the palm of one hand is in contact with the palm of the hand, and the right bar is the intensity of the received signal when the palm of both hands is in contact. The signal intensity is an average value of the signal intensity when the contact state is maintained for about 3 seconds. The horizontal axis represents the contact area, the vertical axis represents the signal intensity, and the unit is V (volts).

比較 When comparing the signal intensity when touching with the palm of one hand, a clear difference in signal intensity is seen depending on the contacted part. The same applies to the case of contact with the palms of both hands. From this, it can be seen that when the contact area is constant, the contact site can be estimated from the signal intensity.

Also, the signal intensity when each part touches with the palm of one hand is about one-half of the signal intensity when touched with the palm of both hands. From this, it is understood that the contact area can be estimated when the contact site is constant.

7 (a) and 7 (b) show the contact position and the intensity of the received signal when the human body 21 wearing the measuring unit 20 touches the arm of the human body 11 wearing the applying unit 10 with its hand. It is a figure which shows the relationship. The human body 11 faces the human body 21 at a distance of 0.5 m, and the human body 11 and the human body 21 stand upright. The human body 11 extends its arms straight forward and horizontally with the ground. The human body 21 comes into contact with the arm portion of the human body 11 with the palm, and the palm is continuously moved along the arm portion of the human body 11 while the palm is in contact with the human body 11. The movement was performed at a constant speed for about 10 seconds. The horizontal axis represents time, the unit is s (seconds), the vertical axis represents signal intensity, and the unit is V (volts).

FIG. 7A shows the relationship between the time when the contact position is moved from the shoulder of the human body 11 to the palm, and FIG. 7B shows the relationship between the time when the contact position is moved from the palm to the shoulder and the intensity of the received signal. Respectively. Note that the contact start and end times are times when the signal intensity greatly changes at the times indicated by “shoulder” or “palm” and arrows on the drawing.

Since the top antennas 111 and 211 of the application unit 10 and the measurement unit 20 are arranged near the ankles of the human body 11 and the human body 21, respectively, the distance between them monotonously as the contact position moves from the shoulder to the palm. To increase. 7A and 7B that the signal intensity decreases monotonously as the contact position moves from the shoulder to the palm, and increases monotonously as the contact position moves from the palm to the shoulder. That is, the signal intensity is substantially proportional to the distance of the path between the application unit 10 and the measurement unit 20.

As described above, when the distance on the path along the skeleton of the human body between the application unit 10 and the measurement unit 20 changes as the contact position changes, the obtained signal strength is a reference position, In this case, it can be seen that the distance between the shoulder and the contact position is almost proportional to the distance.
Hereinafter, the estimation of the proximity state in the state estimation unit 30 will be specifically described.
First, a method for estimating the proximity state between the human body 11 and the human body 21 based on the signal intensity will be described with reference to FIG.
The state estimation unit 30 calculates the signal strength from the received signal input from the signal measurement unit 200 (step S101).

The state estimation unit 30 determines whether or not the calculated signal strength is greater than a preset first threshold (step S102). Here, when the case where the distance between the human body 11 and the human body 21 is 0.4 m or less is defined as proximity, the first threshold value is set to, for example, 0.2 V from FIG.

If the signal intensity is not greater than the first threshold (the determination result in step S102 is false), the state estimation unit 30 estimates that the human body 11 and the human body 12 are neither in contact nor in proximity (step S103). finish.

If the signal strength is greater than the first threshold (the determination result in step S102 is true), the state estimation unit 30 determines whether the signal strength is greater than a preset second threshold (step S102). S104). Here, the second threshold value can be set to 1.7 V, for example, from FIG.

If the signal strength is not greater than the second threshold (the determination result in step S104 is false), the state estimation unit 30 estimates that the human body 11 and the human body 12 are not in contact but are close to each other (step S104). ) End the process.

When the signal strength is larger than the second threshold (the determination result in step S104 is true), the state estimation unit 30 estimates that the human body 11 and the human body 21 are in contact (step S105), and ends the process. .

When estimating only whether or not the human body 11 and the human body 21 are close to each other, if the determination result in step S102 is true, the signal strength and the second threshold value are not compared in step S104. The processing may be terminated after estimation. Similarly, when estimating only whether or not they are in contact, only the comparison between the signal strength and the second threshold is performed, and the comparison between the signal strength and the first threshold (steps S102 and S103) is omitted. Also good.
With reference to FIG. 9, a method for estimating a contact site based on signal intensity will be described.
The state estimation unit 30 calculates the signal strength from the received signal input from the signal measurement unit 200 (step S201).

The state estimation unit 30 refers to a table stored in advance in a memory (not shown) to estimate a contact site (step S202). This memory may be a memory built in the state estimation unit 30 or a removable external memory.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a table created based on the experimental results assuming that the human body 21 is in contact with any one of the palm, elbow, head, shoulder, and waist of the human body 11 with both palms. This table has a lower limit value and an upper limit value of signal intensity for each contact area. The state estimation unit 30 compares the signal intensity calculated in step S201 with the numerical value in the table, and estimates a part corresponding to a signal intensity larger than the lower limit value and lower than the upper limit value as a contact part. For example, when the signal intensity is 0.70V, it is larger than the lower limit value 0.60V and is equal to or lower than the upper limit value 0.80V, so the contact site is estimated to be an elbow.
A method for estimating the contact area based on the signal intensity will be described with reference to FIG. Here, it is assumed that the human body 21 contacts a specific part of the human body 11 with one or both palms.
The state estimation unit 30 calculates the signal strength from the received signal input from the signal measurement unit 200 (step S301).

State estimation unit 30 determines whether or not the calculated signal strength is greater than a preset third threshold. The expression “signal intensity> third threshold value” is an example of an estimation expression. When the contact site is the head, the third threshold value is set to 0.70 V, for example, from FIG.

If the signal intensity is not greater than the third threshold (the determination result in step S302 is false), the state estimation unit 30 estimates that the human body 21 is in contact with a specific part of the human body 11 with one palm. (Step S303) The process ends.

When the signal intensity is greater than the third threshold (the determination result in step S302 is true), the state estimation unit 30 estimates that the human body 21 is in contact with a specific part of the human body 11 with both palms ( Step S304) The process is terminated.

In addition, when the contact part is determined in advance, the contact area itself is estimated as a function of the signal intensity, for example, in addition to alternatively estimating whether the contact is with one palm or with both palms, as in this example. You can also

Finally, a method for estimating the contact position from the signal intensity will be described with reference to FIG. Here, it is assumed that the human body 21 is in a specific part, for example, a hand, and contacts a specific range of the human body 11, for example, an arm portion from the shoulder to the palm.
The state estimation unit 30 calculates the signal strength from the received signal input from the signal measurement unit 200 (step S401).

The state estimation unit 30 calculates the distance between the contact site and the reference point, for example, the trunk, using the calculated signal intensity and the estimation formula (step 402), and ends the process. This estimation expression is an expression for explaining the relationship between experimental data obtained in advance and the relationship between the distance between the contact site and the reference point and the signal distance. For example, for the experimental data regarding the relationship between the distance and the signal strength, a regression equation is described in which the distance is an explanatory variable and the signal strength is an objective variable.

Note that when the measurement target is a living body having a foot such as the human body 11 or 21, the electrical grounding state changes with the movement of the foot such as walking or jumping. For this reason, the state estimation unit 30 may further detect a change in the received signal accompanying a change in the grounding state.

For example, the received signals acquired at predetermined time intervals are compared, and the voltage difference between the received signals is 1.8 V, which is larger than the voltage variation due to the change in the contact position or the distance between the human bodies 11 and 21. If this is the case, it is estimated that the foot movement has been performed. Note that the predetermined time interval is set so that a state in which the foot is raised during the movement of the foot and a state in which both feet are on the ground can be acquired. For example, if it is assumed that a person walks about two steps per second, the time may be set to about 0.25 seconds.

Accordingly, it is possible to easily estimate the proximity state between the organisms regardless of the ground contact state, and it is possible to detect the proximity state without greatly restricting the movement of the organism to be measured.
The state estimation unit 30 estimates the proximity state using each of the above methods alone or in combination.

In addition, the state estimation unit 30 may estimate the proximity state based on the shift between the phase of the electrical signal included in the received signal and the phase of the original signal applied to the application-side conductor 110 by the signal application unit 100. good. This is because when the electric signal propagates as an electric field between organisms, the phase shift increases as the propagation path becomes longer, and the distance between the organisms is estimated from the phase shift. Regarding the correlation between the phase shift and the distance, the correlation function can be obtained by linear interpolation by experimentally acquiring the phase shift at a plurality of distances.

In addition, when the signal application unit 100 applies electrical signals to the application-side conductor 110 at a plurality of frequencies and the signal measurement unit 200 generates a reception signal for each frequency, the state estimation unit 30 has a plurality of frequencies corresponding to the plurality of frequencies. The proximity state may be estimated based on the received signal.

This is done, for example, as follows. First, a table in which a combination of a plurality of signal intensity data and a plurality of phase shift data respectively corresponding to a plurality of frequencies corresponding to several proximity states is associated with a specific proximity state is stored in a memory or the like. deep. The similarity between the signal strength data and phase shift data of this table and the signal strength data and phase shift data for each frequency of the received signal is evaluated by the reciprocal of the Euclidean distance. It is estimated that the proximity state associated with the frequency with the highest similarity is the proximity state at the time of reception. In addition, the similarity may be evaluated by another distance scale, or a pattern recognition method may be used.

As described above, in the proximity or contact detection device 1, since the signal applying unit 100 and the signal measuring unit 200 are configured by a non-grounded circuit, components that restrain movement such as movement or posture change of a biological object to be measured For example, a cable for grounding is not required. Moreover, since it can drive with the small storage batteries 104 and 204, the proximity | contact or the contact detection apparatus 1 is comprised small and lightweight.
With such a configuration, the proximity or contact detection device 1 can detect proximity or contact without greatly restricting the movement of the organism even if the organism moves autonomously.

Since the proximity or contact detection device 1 can detect various proximity states between living organisms, an intuitive interface of a device, a life log device including proximity or contact information, measurement of body movement skills with contact, and It can be applied to uses such as analysis.

The estimation of the contact part can be applied to the measurement and analysis of the human body movement skill accompanied by the contact. For example, the number and order of punching of each part of the human body in boxing can be measured. The same applies to the estimation of the contact area.

The estimation of the contact position can be applied to an operation interface using the human body itself as an input device. For example, the contact state can be output to a portable music player, and a button such as “play” or “stop” can be pressed depending on the position. Further, when the contact position is moved from the palm to the shoulder, the volume of the music player is increased. Conversely, when the contact position is moved, the volume is decreased, so that the arm portion can be operated as if there is a slide type volume controller.

The living body is not limited to a human body, and may be an object having a characteristic that an electric field generated by an electrical signal applied to the application-side conductor 110 is distributed on the surface thereof. The same applies to the following embodiments.
(Second Embodiment)

In the first embodiment, the case where the measurement target is the human body 11 and the human body 21 or 2 organisms has been described, but the number of the target organisms may be one or three or more. If there is one organism, at least the application unit 10 and the measurement unit 20 are arranged in the vicinity of the organism. If there are a plurality of organisms, the application unit 10 is arranged in the vicinity of one or more organisms, and if the measurement unit 20 is arranged in one or more organisms, the application with the organism in which the measurement unit 20 is arranged is applied. The proximity state between the organisms in which the unit 10 is arranged can be estimated.

FIG. 13 shows an arrangement example of the proximity or contact detection device 1 when there are three or more organisms. A set of the application unit 10 and the measurement unit 20 is arranged in the vicinity of each of the human bodies 41, 42, 43, 44. In FIG. 13, the state estimation unit 30 is also arranged in the vicinity of each measurement unit 20, but is not limited thereto.

When both the application unit 10 and the measurement unit 20 are arranged in the vicinity of one organism, as shown in FIG. 14, a set of conductors 310, that is, a top antenna 311 and a bottom antenna 312, are applied to the application-side conductor 110. And may also serve as the measurement-side conductor 210. At this time, the top antenna 311 is connected to the amplifier 102 and the tuning circuit 201, respectively. The bottom antenna 312 is connected to the case 105 of the signal applying unit 100 and the case 205 of the signal measuring unit 200, respectively.

When the set of conductors 310 functions as the application-side conductor 110, an electric signal is applied from the amplifier 102, and when the set of conductors 310 functions as the measurement-side conductor 210, an electric signal is output to the tuning circuit 201.
As described above, when the application-side conductor 110 and the measurement-side conductor 210 are shared by a pair of conductors 310, the proximity or contact detection device 1 can be further downsized.

In addition, since the application unit 10 and the measurement unit 20 are arranged in the vicinity of each of the human bodies 41, 42, 43, and 44 that are measurement targets, the contact state between any other human body and any human body is estimated. can do.

Thus, when the human body which is all the measurement objects is wearing the application unit 10 and the measurement unit 20, the signal application unit 100 adds identification information for identifying each human body to the electric signal to apply the application-side conductor 110 or The configuration may be such that it is applied to a set of conductors 310. In this case, if the signal measuring unit 200 generates a received signal including an identification signal and stores in advance a table in which the identification information and each human body are associated with each other in the memory, the state estimation unit 30 identifies the human body that is in contact with or close to the human body. it can. For example, when the state estimation unit 30 attached to the human body 41 detects contact or proximity with another human body, it may estimate which of the human bodies 42, 43, or 44 is in contact with or in close proximity to. it can.
If this configuration is applied to a life log device that records human behavior, proximity or contact information with other people can be automatically recorded.

FIG. 15 shows an arrangement example of the proximity or contact detection device 1 when there is one organism. In order to detect proximity or contact between two parts of the human body 51, for example, the human body 51 wears the application unit 10 near the left wrist and the measurement unit 20 near the chest. This is because, when the living organism is a human body, it is considered that most of the contacts are touching other parts by hand. The application unit 10 is arranged near the wrist, and the measurement unit 20 is arranged so as to align the reference potential with this.

If the living organism is not a human body, for example, if it is a dog, there are many contacts with other parts of the nose or feet, so the application unit 10 is attached to the vicinity of the nose or toes. Similarly, in the case of home appliances and robots that are mostly composed of other objects, for example, electrical conductors, the application unit 10 is mounted on a site that often comes into contact with other sites. The reference potentials are aligned as described in the first embodiment.
Note that the proximity state estimation formula in the state estimation unit 30 is determined through separate experiments.

According to this configuration, the proximity or contact detection device 1 can estimate the proximity state between different parts of one organism, and can be applied to an operation interface of the device.

Further, if both the estimation formula for estimating the proximity state between the parts of the organism and the estimation formula for estimating the proximity state between the organisms are stored in the memory, the organism to which the proximity or contact detection device 1 is attached is stored. It is possible to estimate both the proximity of the two parts and the proximity state of the other proximity or the living body equipped with the contact detection device 1.
(Third embodiment)

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the proximity or contact detection device 2 according to the third embodiment. The proximity or contact detection device 2 includes a plurality of application units 10, a measurement unit 20, and a state estimation unit 40, and the state estimation unit 40 includes a transmission / reception control unit 50. As shown in FIG. 16, when there are a plurality of target organisms, each state estimation unit 40 is shared, and the estimation operation is performed by collectively receiving the received signals from each measurement unit 20. There may be.
Hereinafter, the operation of the proximity or contact detection device 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

The signal applying unit 100 applies an electric signal having an electric signal having a plurality of frequencies, for example, an electric signal synthesized from a plurality of sinusoidal signals having different frequencies (step S1701). The signal measurement unit 200 detects an electrical signal generated in the measurement-side conductor 210, generates a reception signal including at least the signal strength, and outputs this to the state estimation unit 40 (step S1702).
The transmission / reception control unit 50 of the state estimation unit 40 calculates the signal strength from the reception signal output from the measurement unit 20, and associates each frequency with the signal strength (step S1703).

Hereinafter, the correspondence will be specifically described with reference to FIG. The signal applying unit 10 applies an electric signal at a transmission frequency that changes with time as shown in FIG. A plurality of measuring units 20 corresponding to a plurality of different frequencies respectively obtain electrical signals that change over time. For example, as shown in FIG. 18B, the measurement unit 20 corresponding to the transmission frequency f3 is a time zone where the transmission frequency is f3, that is, between the times t3n and t3n + 1, when the transmission frequency is f3. A reception signal that changes in time is generated in such a manner that the reception intensity is a3 and the value is 0 in other time zones. Similarly, for the transmission frequencies f2 and f1, the corresponding measurement units 20 generate reception signals that change with time as shown in FIGS. 18 (c) and 18 (d). In this way, the signal strengths a3, a2, and a1 are associated with the frequencies f3, f2, and f1, respectively. For example, when there are three frequencies, the correspondence is performed by setting the signal intensity corresponding to each frequency as a three-dimensional vector value.

The state estimation unit 40 estimates at least one of proximity, contact degree, and posture from the signal intensity associated with each frequency, the three-dimensional vector value in the above example (step S1704), and performs processing. finish.

Here, the proximity is an index that is higher as the human body is closer and lower as it is farther away, and in this embodiment, the distance between the human bodies is an area of the human body surface within 20 mm. . The contact degree is an index indicating the contact strength between human bodies, and in this embodiment, the contact degree is the area of the portion of the human body surface that is in contact between human bodies. Note that another index may be used for the proximity. For example, the reciprocal of the closest distance between human bodies may be used. Similarly, another index may be used for the degree of contact. For example, the number of times of contact per unit time may be used.

Hereinafter, the estimation method in the state estimation unit 40 will be specifically described. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing experimental results in which the inventors actually measured the relationship between the signal intensity for each frequency and the proximity or contact state between human bodies. In this experiment, two tables on which the application-side conductive unit 110 and the measurement-side conductive unit 210 are arranged were prepared, and a human body was placed on each of the two tables to perform proximity and contact operations. FIG. 20 shows an example of a state where a person stands upright on the table. When the human body is standing upright, neither proximity nor contact is made, but proximity and / or contact can be achieved by changing the posture or moving the limbs.

State 1 is a state in which the human body to be measured is not on either of the two platforms. State 2 is a state in which the human body stands upright only near the center of the table 1. The state 3 is the state of FIG. 20 in which the human body rides on the stand 1 and the stand 2 respectively.

In state 4, as shown in FIG. 21, the human bodies are on the base 1 and the base 2, respectively, and the human bodies extend their arms forward while tilting the torso toward each other, and the hands are close to each other's chest. Although it is, it is in the state which is not touching. In this state, the degree of proximity is high and the degree of contact is zero.

State 5 is a state in which the human body rides on the base 1 and the base 2 respectively, and the human bodies are in contact with each other only by extending their arms without bringing the torso close to each other. Specifically, it is a state where the right hand of each other is put out in the air and is in contact with only the tip of the index finger. This state has low proximity and low contact.

State 6 is a state in which the human body is on the platform 1 and the platform 2 and the people are embracing each other with their arms around the upper body. In this state, the degree of proximity is high and the degree of contact is also high.

In state 7, the human body rides on each of the pedestal 1 and the pedestal 2 and the arms are extended forward in the same manner as in the state 4 so that the hands are close to each other's chests, but not in contact with each other. is there. In this state, the degree of proximity is low and the degree of contact is zero.
In FIG. 19, the frequency f1 is 20 MHz, the frequency f2 is 10 MHz, and the frequency f3 is 1 MHz.

Comparing state 1 and state 2, and state 1 and state 3, it can be seen that the signal intensity for f1 is greatly influenced by whether or not each conductive part is arranged in the vicinity of the human body. On the other hand, comparing the states 4, 5 and 6, it can be seen that the signal intensity with respect to f1 is not significantly affected by the proximity and the contact degree, and comparing the states 4 and 7 is influenced by the posture. Note that f1 is 20 MHz here, but according to another experiment by the inventors, there is a characteristic that if it is about 10 MHz to 30 MHz, the presence / absence of the human body and the change in posture are similarly high.

Similarly, when each state is compared, it can be seen that f2 is sensitive to proximity and f3 is sensitive to contact. In addition, if f2 was about 3 MHz to about 10 MHz and f3 was about 500 kHz to 3 MHz, the same characteristics were obtained.

In order to estimate the proximity and the contact degree from the signal intensity of each frequency using the difference in the tendency with respect to the proximity and the contact degree for each frequency, a known pattern using a three-dimensional vector of the signal intensity as a feature amount A recognition method may be used. For example, 3D vectors are acquired as learning data with high proximity, which is a high proximity state, and low proximity, which is a low proximity state, and high proximity is recognized by a probability model such as HiddenHMarcov Model (HMM). Create a recognizer that can. The likelihood of the recognizer may be a proximity, a recognizer with a high proximity, or a recognizer with a low proximity may be created, and the function of each likelihood may be set as a proximity as shown in Equation 1.

When Equation 1 is used, it is possible to obtain the magnitude of the likelihood of relative proximity.

Also, for example, the proximity may be defined using the identification likelihood of a pattern recognition method such as a support vector machine (SVM) or a neural network. The same applies to the degree of contact.

Also, proximity and contact degree may be defined by linear combination of three signal intensities. For example, the signal intensities of f1, f2, and f3 are defined as p1, p2, and p3, respectively, and the proximity is defined as in Equation 2 using weighting factors w1, w2, and w3.

Since f2 is sensitive to proximity, w2 may be set large, and w1, w2, and w3 may be determined heuristically from the signal strength in other states.

As described above, the proximity or contact detection device 2 can control the degree of proximity between the plurality of objects and / or the degree of contact and / or the global posture without greatly restricting the movement of the objects as the plurality of measurement objects. Each can be detected independently.
(Embodiment 4)

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a configuration of the game machine 3 to which the proximity or contact detection device 1 or 2 is applied. The application unit 10 and the measurement unit 20 are the same as those in the first embodiment and the second embodiment. The application unit 10 and the measurement unit 20 may be arranged in the vicinity of the object to be measured. For example, when the object is a human body, the human body may be worn, or the human body may stand, sit, or lean on it. It may be arranged in a shape that can be used. If it is not a type to be worn, the application unit 10 and the measurement unit 20 are arranged in the vicinity of the human body as shown in FIG. For example, by providing a step as shown in FIG. 20, a staircase as shown in FIG. 23, a foot shape as shown in FIG. Is for a certain time.

Similar to the state estimation unit 40, the state estimation unit 60 estimates the proximity and contact state of the measurement target from the measurement data, and further outputs proximity contact information including signal strength to the information presentation unit 70.
The information presentation unit 70 may be anything as long as it stimulates human vision and / or hearing, such as a liquid crystal display or a speaker.

FIG. 24A shows a top view of the game machine 3 with a foot shape, and FIG. 24B shows a bottom view of the game machine 3 with a foot shape. An example of the calibration operation in the game machine 3 is shown in FIG. In the game machine 3, the application unit 10 and the measurement unit 20 are arranged on two platforms, respectively.

First, the information presentation unit 70 presents information for guiding the human body to get on the table (step S2501). This is performed by applying visual and / or auditory stimuli. The state estimation unit 60 calculates the signal intensity val1 corresponding to the frequency f1 that is highly sensitive to the presence or absence of a human body (step S2502). The state estimation unit 60 determines whether or not val1 has exceeded a certain threshold th1 (step S2503), and near the time point t1, the signal strength corresponding to f2 having high sensitivity in proximity and f3 having high sensitivity in contact are obtained. The signal intensities corresponding to are calculated and set as the minimum output values minval2 and minval3 at the respective frequencies (step S2504). Here, for example, th1 is set such that t1 is the signal intensity corresponding to f1 at the moment when one foot is put on and the other foot is raised. As a result, the reference values of the signal strengths corresponding to f2 and f3 can be set in a state where the human body is not in close proximity or in contact without presenting a complicated instruction from the information presentation unit.

As shown in FIG. 26, the information presentation unit 70 electrically connects operation buttons such as game mode selection, and the state estimation unit 60 has performed a start operation such as pressing both buttons by both human bodies. Whether the signal intensity corresponding to f2 and f3 at time t2 is stored in a memory or the like as midval2 and midval3 (step S2506). As a result, the signal intensities corresponding to f2 and f3 when the human body is in the reference posture can be stored, and the calibration error can be reduced.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing the operation of the game machine 3 after the game starts. The state estimation unit 60 calculates signal strengths val1, val2, and val3 corresponding to f1, f2, and f3, respectively, after the game is started (step S2701), and val2c is obtained by correcting val2 and val3 using equations 1 and 2. , Val3c is calculated (step S2702).
(Formula 1) val2c = (val2-minval2) / (midval2-minval2)
(Formula 2) val3c = (val3-minval3) / (midval3-minval3)
The state estimation unit 60 estimates the proximity p and the contact degree c from the formulas 3 and 4 using the preset proximity estimation formula fp and the contact degree estimation formula fc (step S2703).
(Formula 3) fp (val1, val2c, val3c)
(Formula 4) fc (val1, val2c, val3c)
Note that fp and fc are functions as described in the second embodiment, for example. Thereby, the error at the time of estimation by the physique of a human body, the kind of shoes, etc. is reduced.
The state estimation unit 60 outputs proximity state information including the proximity p and the contact c (step S2704).

The information presenting unit 70 presents information that stimulates visual and / or auditory senses such as outputting an image or outputting a sound based on the input proximity state information (step S2705). The information presentation unit 70 increases the volume of sound as the proximity p included in the proximity state information increases, displays a graphic when the contact degree c exceeds a certain threshold, or a graphic displayed according to the posture The information is presented using the proximity state as an input.

As described above, the game machine 3 detects proximity and contact between the users without greatly restricting the movement of the target user, and enables game play with physical interaction.
In addition, you may connect the application part 10 and the measurement part 20 to the conductor laid on the floor under the stand, and may reduce the influence on the output by the kind of floor surface.
(Other variations)
Although the present invention has been described based on each embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the following cases are also included in the present invention.

(1) When all or part of the proximity or contact detection device is configured by a computer system including a microprocessor, a memory, a hard disk unit, and the like. The memory or the hard disk unit stores a computer program that achieves the operation of each of the above devices, and the microprocessor operates according to the computer program.

(2) When all or part of the proximity or contact detection device is configured by one system LSI (Large Scale Integration). The system LSI has the same configuration as the computer system of (1).

(3) When the proximity or contact detection device is entirely or partially configured with a removable IC card or a single module. Note that the IC card and the module have the same configuration as the computer system of (1).

(4) A method of realizing the operation of each embodiment by computer processing. Also, a computer program for realizing these methods by a computer, or a digital signal composed of this computer program.

The computer program or the digital signal is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Alternatively, a computer program or digital signal is transmitted via a telecommunication line or the like.
(5) You may combine the said embodiment and the said modification, respectively.

As described above, the proximity or contact detection device and method according to the present invention have the effect that the contact and proximity of an object (for example, a living organism) can be detected without greatly restricting the motion of the object, and the game It is useful for entertainment equipment such as a game machine, medical equipment that performs input / output of a game machine, for example, improvement of interpersonal ability, measurement device for research and the like.

1, 2 Proximity or contact detection device 10 Application unit 11, 21, 41, 42, 43, 44, 51 Human body 12, 22 Electric field 13 Floor 14, 24 Foot 15, 25 Foot 20 Measurement unit 30, 40, 60 State Estimation unit 50 Transmission / reception control unit 70 Information presentation unit 100 Signal application unit 101 Transmitter 102, 202 Amplifier 103 Capacitor 104, 204 Storage battery 105, 205 Case 110 Application- side conductor 111, 211, 311 Top antenna 112, 212, 312 Bottom antenna 200 Signal measurement unit 201 Tuning circuit 202 Amplifier 204 Storage battery 205 Case 210 Measurement-side conductor 310 A set of conductors

Claims (12)

1. An application unit including an application-side conductor disposed in the vicinity of the first object, and a signal application unit that applies an electrical signal to the application-side conductor;
   A measurement unit including: a measurement-side conductor disposed in the vicinity of the second object; and a signal measurement unit that detects an electric signal generated in the measurement-side conductor and generates a reception signal including at least the intensity of the electric signal; ,
   A state estimation unit that estimates the proximity state between the first object and the second object in a stepwise manner based on the received signal and an estimation equation indicating a relationship between the proximity state and the reception signal set in advance; Proximity or contact detection device characterized by the above.
2. An application unit including an application-side conductor disposed in the vicinity of the first object, and a signal application unit that applies an electrical signal to the application-side conductor;
   A measurement unit including: a measurement-side conductor disposed in the vicinity of the second object; and a signal measurement unit that detects an electric signal generated in the measurement-side conductor and generates a reception signal including at least the intensity of the electric signal; ,
   A state estimation unit that estimates a proximity state between the first object and the second object based on the reception signal and a presumption equation indicating a relationship between the proximity state and the reception signal,
   Neither the application unit nor the measurement unit is normally grounded. The proximity or contact detection device, wherein:
3. The received signal further includes at least one of a frequency and a phase of an electrical signal generated in the measurement-side conductor,
   The proximity or contact detection device according to claim 1, wherein the state estimation unit estimates a proximity state from the intensity, the frequency, and / or the phase using the estimation formula.
4. The signal applying unit applies electrical signals having a plurality of different frequencies to the application-side conductor,
   The state estimation unit includes a transmission / reception control unit that calculates signal strength from the received signal and associates signal strength with each of the plurality of frequencies,
   The state estimation unit further estimates at least one of a degree of proximity, a contact area, and a posture between the first object and the second object from a signal intensity associated with each frequency. The proximity or contact detection device according to claim 1 or 2.
5. The proximity or contact detection device according to claim 4, wherein the signal application unit applies an electrical signal whose frequency changes with time to the application-side conductor.
6. The said application side conductor and the said measurement side conductor are arrange | positioned in a series of object vicinity which has the electrical resistance below the skin of a 1st object and a 2nd object. The Claims 1-5 characterized by the above-mentioned. The proximity or contact detection device according to any one of the above.
7. The first object and the second object each have a foot, and the application-side conductor and the measurement-side conductor each include a reference conductor disposed on the foot. Item 7. The proximity or contact detection device according to any one of items 6.
8. The proximity or contact detection device according to claim 7, wherein the state estimation unit detects a change in an electrical grounding state accompanying a movement of the foot as a change in a received signal.
9. The first object and the second object are the same object,
   The proximity or contact detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the state estimation unit estimates proximity and a contact state between different parts of the object.
10. The proximity estimation unit according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the status estimation unit generates proximity status information including a result of the estimated proximity status, and outputs the proximity status information to another device. Contact detection device.
11. The proximity or contact detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the first object and the second object are organisms.
12. The proximity or contact detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 11,
    A game machine comprising: an information presentation unit that presents information that stimulates visual and / or auditory senses according to a change in the proximity state information, using the proximity state information as an input.

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