JP2000342537A - Device and method for warning eye fatigue - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To judge fatigue based on the actual feeling of an operator by basing on the movement of eyeballs in the operating state of an operator. SOLUTION: In this device, an eyeball movement detecting part 31 detects the eyeball movement of an operator, an input detecting part 32 detects the operating situation of data input, then a transmission control part 33 compares detecting data of the eyeball movement detected in the middle of succeeding the operation of data input with eyeball movement reference data to judge the presence/absence of the fatigue of eyes and, at the time of judging the fatigue of the eyes, issues warning from a display 60 and a speaker 70. Thus, it becomes possible to judge fatigue based on the actual feeling of an operator by basing on the movement of the eyeballs in the operating state of an operator.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an eye fatigue warning device and an eye fatigue warning method, and more particularly, to an eye fatigue warning device and an eye fatigue warning method for detecting fatigue of an operator watching a display and alerting the operator of fatigue. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an eye fatigue warning device is disclosed in
3-236120 and JP-A-7-312707
An eye fatigue warning device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H10-260926 is known. In the former eye fatigue warning device, an area for displaying a guidance message is provided on the display, and it is determined whether response to the guidance message has been appropriately made based on response data from the keyboard. If the response is inappropriate, the guidance message is displayed in reverse video to inform the user. In this way, an object of the present invention is to reduce eye movement during an input operation and prevent eye fatigue.

[0003] In the latter eye fatigue warning device, the entire surface of an operation input device including a monitor device, a trackball and an instruction screen is photographed by a camera. An object of the present invention is to display a video signal indicating an operation of the operator and a video signal relating to video editing on a monitor, and to minimize eye movement during operation input to prevent fatigue of the eyes of the operator.

The above-mentioned eye fatigue warning devices all attempt to reduce eye movement and reduce fatigue, but they cannot eliminate eye fatigue at all, and the operator is overworked during long hours of work. Therefore, according to the eye fatigue warning method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-255669, fatigue is measured by the number of blinks of the operator to notify the fatigue.

[0005]

The above-mentioned conventional eye fatigue warning apparatus has the following problems. Since it is not possible to determine whether or not the operator is in the work state, for example, even while the operator is at rest, there is a possibility that this is erroneously determined as eye fatigue. Further, the eyeball movement has individuality for each operator, and when the reference value is fixed, a fatigue determination that does not match the actual feeling of the operator is performed, and this is also an erroneous determination.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has an eye fatigue warning device and an eye fatigue system capable of performing a fatigue determination in accordance with an actual feeling of an operator based on eye movements in an operation state of the operator. The purpose is to provide a warning method.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 comprises: an eye movement detecting means for detecting an eye movement of an operator; a work situation detecting means for detecting a work situation of data input; Fatigue detection means for comparing the eye movement detection data detected during the data input work with the eye movement reference data to determine the presence or absence of eye fatigue, and warns the operator when eye fatigue is determined And a warning means for issuing.

[0008] That is, the eye movement detecting means detects the eye movement of the operator, and the work situation detecting means detects the work situation of data input. Then, the fatigue presence / absence determination means compares the eye movement detection data detected during the data input work continuation with the eye movement reference data, and determines whether or not there is eye fatigue and determines that there is eye fatigue. The warning means issues a warning to the operator.

At this time, since the work situation of the data input is detected by the work situation detecting means, the eye movement under the situation where the work is continued is to be determined, and during the break or other operating work is performed. No determination will be made in a situation where it has not been done. As a result, the disturbance in the determination is eliminated, the fatigue determination that matches the actual feeling of the operator is performed, and the determination result is transmitted to the operator.

The eye movement detecting means only needs to detect the eye movement of the operator, and as an example of the configuration, in the invention according to claim 2, in the eye fatigue warning device according to claim 1, the eye movement detecting means Is configured to detect eye movement based on the number of blinks per unit time obtained from the position of the viewpoint of the operator and the moving speed and acceleration of the eye. That is, in this way, by detecting a complex eye movement as a simple number of blinks, the subsequent comparison judgment is easily performed, and the system is simplified and the accuracy of the judgment is improved.

As an example of a specific configuration of the eye movement detecting means in this case, in the invention according to claim 3, in the eye fatigue warning device according to claim 2, the eye movement detecting means is proportional to the up, down, left, right inclination of the eyeball. Then, the position of the viewpoint of the operator and the moving speed and acceleration of the eyeball are measured by the generated potential difference. That is, the eye movement detecting means measures the position of the viewpoint of the operator, the moving speed and the acceleration of the eye, based on the potential difference generated in proportion to the up, down, left, and right inclinations of the eye, and inputs the measured data to the computer.

The work status detecting means may be any device that detects the work status of data input. As an example of the configuration, in the invention according to claim 4, the eye fatigue according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is provided. In the warning device, the eye movement detecting means automatically records the detection data of the eye movement during the continuation of the work, and the work situation detecting means automatically records the data input count and the work time data. That is, the eye movement detecting means records the eye movement data during the work together with the work situation, and generates eye movement reference data based on the recorded data.

As described above, it is assumed that the determination of fatigue is made based on the eye movement reference data corresponding to each personality of the operator, and the determination is made to be more realistic for the operator.
The fatigue determination means may be any device that determines whether or not there is eye fatigue by comparing eye movement detection data detected during continuation of the data input operation with eye movement reference data. And eye movement reference data to determine the presence or absence of eye fatigue, or, if necessary, the presence or absence of eye fatigue based on an operator's work pattern or the like. There may be.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, as an example of the structure of the means for determining the presence or absence of fatigue in the former case,
In the eye fatigue warning device described in the above, the fatigue determination means is configured to automatically generate eye movement reference data based on eye movement detection data and input data stored after the start of the work. That is, the fatigue existence determination means automatically generates eye movement reference data based on the eye movement detection data and input data stored after the start of the work,
Eye movement reference data is generated according to not only the personality of the operator but also a physical condition that may change with each operation, and fatigue determination is performed in accordance with the physical condition of the operator.

As an example of the eye movement reference data, in the invention according to claim 6, in the eye fatigue warning apparatus according to claim 5, the eye movement reference data is eye movement detection data stored first after work is started. The configuration is as follows. That is, the fatigue determination means automatically generates eye movement reference data as eye movement detection data stored first when the work is started, so that not only the personality of the operator but also the possibility of changing at every work is considered. Fatigue judgment according to a certain physical condition is performed by a simple calculation.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, as an example of the structure of the means for determining the presence or absence of fatigue in the latter case,
Alternatively, in the eye fatigue warning device according to any one of claims 6, the fatigue determination unit calculates the time from the start of the work to the time when the warning is issued and the work is interrupted, as the standard operation time, and calculates the standard operation time. After the completion of the operation, the fatigue of the operator is determined based on the lapse of the standard operation time without detecting the eye movement. That is, the fatigue determination unit calculates the time from the start of the work to the suspension of the work after the warning is issued as the standard operation time. And after the standard operating time can be calculated, regardless of the detection of eye movement,
The operator's fatigue is determined based on the elapse of the standard operation time.

Usually, in a computer used by a similar operator, the fatigue judgment reflecting the personality of the operator can be calculated temporally, so that the standard operation time is automatically determined based on the past judgment results, Is to make a fatigue judgment based on the reference. Therefore, with a simple determination system, for example, an accurate fatigue determination is performed in a computer such as a notebook personal computer having a small working capacity.

As described above, the method of warning eye fatigue is not necessarily limited to a physical device. As an example, in the invention of claim 7, the eye movement of the operator and the work status of data input are described. Detects and compares eye movement detection data detected during data input work with eye movement reference data to determine whether or not the eyes are fatigued. Is issued. That is, the present invention is not necessarily limited to a physical device, and is effective as a method.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an eye fatigue warning device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

The eye fatigue warning device 10 includes an eye movement output unit 20, a computer 30, a keyboard 40, a pointing device 50, a display 60 and a speaker 7.
0 is provided. With such a configuration, the eye movement output unit 20 outputs the eye movement to the computer 30 by EOG (a potential difference caused by the vertical and horizontal movement of the eye). The keyboard 40 and the pointing device 50 are data input devices to the computer 30.

The display 60 and the speaker 70 are
This is a device that outputs data from the computer 30, and in the present invention, corresponds to a warning unit that issues a warning to an operator. The computer 30 includes an eye movement detecting unit 31, an input detecting unit 32, a transmission control unit 33, and a data recording unit 34. The eye movement detecting section 31 includes the eye movement output section 2
The position (X coordinate, Y coordinate) of the operator's eyeball, the moving speed and acceleration of the eyeball are measured by EOG from 0,
Based on the measurement result, the number of blinks per unit time is detected. In this sense, the eye movement detecting section 31 constitutes an eye movement detecting means according to the present invention.

The input detection unit 32 detects the start of work and the state of work based on inputs from the keyboard 40 and the pointing device 50. In this sense, the input detection unit 32 constitutes a work situation detection unit according to the present invention. The work status is to determine that the operator has continuously performed the work if there is an input within a preset unit time, and to determine that the work has been interrupted if there is no input. This unit time is
Three minutes is one guideline, but it can be changed by the operator so that an appropriate work situation can be determined according to the personality of the operator and the type of work.

The transmission control unit 33 compares the eye movement data during the work with the eye movement reference data in the data recording unit 34 based on the eye movement data from the eye movement detection unit 31 and the work data from the input detection unit 32. The fatigue state of the eyes of the operator is determined based on whether or not a predetermined threshold value is exceeded. If the user is in a fatigue state, the display 60
Alternatively, a signal for notifying the speaker 70 of the fatigue state is issued. Therefore, the transmission control unit 33 that determines the eye fatigue state of the operator by comparing the eye movement data and the eye movement reference data constitutes the fatigue presence / absence determination unit according to the present invention in this sense.

It is said that the number of blinks decreases when the operator's eyes continue to look at the monitor or the like, and becomes about 1/3 or less of the normal state. Therefore, the threshold value is generally set to 1/3 of the number of blinks per unit time set as the eye movement reference data. However, the threshold value can be adjusted by the operator according to the personality of the operator and the type of work. is there. The data recording section 34 records the eye movement data from the eye movement detecting section 31 and the work data from the input detecting section 32.

Next, the overall operation of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the first input data is input to the input detection unit 32 by operating the keyboard 40 or the pointing device 50 (step S100), it is always determined whether or not input has been performed within a unit time, and if there is no input within that time. For example, data input and determination of whether or not the work is continued are repeated until it is determined that the work is not continued and it is determined that the work is continued (step S110). If there is an input within the unit time, it is determined that the work is continued, and the work continuation time of the keyboard 40 or the pointing device 50 is recorded in the data recording unit 34 (step S120).

Then, the measurement of the eye movement is started by the eye movement output section 20 (step S130), and the position (X coordinate, Y coordinate) of the operator's viewpoint is detected by the eye movement output section 20 (step S140). Then, the movement speed and acceleration of the eyeball of the operator are detected by the eyeball movement output unit 20 (step S150). In the eye movement detecting section 31, the position (X
Blinks are extracted based on the coordinates (Y coordinates), the moving speed and the acceleration of the eyeball, and the number of blinks per unit time is detected (step S160). Then, the number of blinks per unit time is automatically recorded in the data recording unit 34, and the eye movement reference data is generated based on the storage in the data storage unit 34. One of the types is selected and set (step S170).

First, the number of blinks recorded per unit time, which is recorded first after the start of work, is used as eye movement reference data. Secondly, the largest number of blinks per unit time recorded one after another after the start of work is set as eye movement reference data. Thirdly, after the work is started, the average value of the top several of the blinks per unit time recorded one after another as the eye movement reference data.

It is preferable that the number is about three. However, when the unit time for determining the continuation of the work is short, the number may be increased. The transmission control unit 33 compares whether or not the number of blinks per unit time recorded in step S170 is equal to or less than a threshold value calculated from the eye movement reference data. It is determined whether or not there is (step S180). If it is not determined to be fatigued, the process returns to step S100, and the same means as described above is repeated.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the user is tired, a warning is issued to the display 60 or the speaker 70 for eye fatigue (step S190). For example, display 6
When a message such as “Your eyes are tired. Let's refresh.” Is output from the display 60, a warning of fatigue is issued from the display 60. Therefore, it is determined whether or not the work is continued based on the presence or absence of the input within the unit time from the keyboard 40 or the pointing device 50.

If the operation is continued, the number of blinks per unit time is detected from the position of the viewpoint of the operator and the moving speed and acceleration of the eyeball, and the detected eyeball movement data is compared with the eyeball movement reference data. For this reason,
If it is determined that eye fatigue has occurred during the work, the operator can be notified of the eye fatigue through the display 60 or the speaker 70. In addition, since the eye movement reference data is automatically generated based on the eye movement data of the keyboard 40 or the pointing device 50 while the work is being performed, fatigue determination suited to the personality of the operator can be performed, and reliability can be improved. .

Next, regarding a second embodiment of the present invention,
This will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Step S
Steps 200 to S245 are performed in step S245 in FIG.
This is the same means as from 100 to step S190. When a warning is output in step S245, the display 60
Alternatively, the time when the data is output to the speaker 70 is stored in the data recording unit 3.
4 and the time when the operator is actually working is recorded in the data recording unit 34 (step S250).

Steps S200 to S255 are repeated to statistically process the time from the start of the work to the fatigue of the eyes and the time until the work is interrupted, and from the start of the work of the operator to the time when the work should be interrupted due to the fatigue. The standard operation time T is calculated (step S255). Also,
After calculating the standard operation time T, the system is executed in the following order without executing steps S215 to S255.

The first input data is input by the operation of the keyboard 40 or the pointing device 50 to the input detecting section 32.
Is input (step S200), it is always determined whether or not an input has been made within a unit time, and if there is no input within the time, it is determined that the work is not continued and it is determined that the work is continued. The data input and the determination of whether or not to continue the work are repeated (step S205).

If there is an input within the unit time, it is determined that the work is continued, and the work continuation time of the keyboard 40 or the pointing device 50 is recorded in the data recording unit 34 (step S210). It is determined whether or not the standard operation time T has elapsed since the start of the actual work. If the standard operation time T has not elapsed, steps S200 to S210 are performed.
And step S260 are repeatedly executed. And
When the standard operating time T has elapsed, a warning of eye fatigue is output to the display 60 or the speaker 70 (step S2).
65). Then, a warning of fatigue is issued from the display 60 or the speaker 70.

Therefore, from the start of the operation, the display 60
Alternatively, a time during which the work is actually interrupted after outputting a message warning of eye fatigue to the speaker 70 is detected, and the standard operating time T is automatically calculated based on the calculation time. As a result, the standard operation time T is a time that matches the personality of the operator who worked when calculating the standard operation time T.

From the next time, the standard operation time T
, The fatigue determination according to the individuality can be performed by a simple system when the same operator uses the computer 30 having the standard operation time T. That is, highly reliable fatigue determination can be performed with a simple system.

As described above, when the eye movement detecting section 31 detects the eye movement of the operator and the input detecting section 32 detects the work status of the data input, the transmission control section 33 detects the data input while the work is continuing. The eye movement detection data is compared with the eye movement reference data, and the presence or absence of eye fatigue is determined. When it is determined that the eye is fatigued, a warning is issued from the display 60 and the speaker 70. It is possible to make a fatigue determination in accordance with the actual feeling of the operator, based on the eyeball movement at the time.

[0038]

As described above, the present invention can provide an eye fatigue warning device capable of making a fatigue judgment based on the actual feeling of the operator based on the eye movement in the working state of the operator. . According to the second aspect of the present invention, by detecting a complex eye movement as a simple number of blinks, it is possible to clearly perform the subsequent comparison determination, thereby simplifying the system and improving the accuracy of the determination. .

Further, according to the invention of claim 3,
By measuring the movement of the eyeball based on the potential difference, the measurement data can be easily input to the computer. Further, according to the invention of claim 4, since the eye movement data during the work can be recorded together with the work situation, it is possible to generate the eye movement reference data based on the recorded data, which is unique to the operator. Judgment of fatigue can be made based on the eye movement reference data, and the judgment can be made more appropriate for the operator.

Further, according to the invention of claim 5,
The eye movement reference data is automatically generated in accordance with not only the personality of the operator but also the physical condition that changes with each operation, so that the fatigue determination can be performed according to the physical condition of the operator.
Further, according to the invention of claim 6, it is possible to perform a fatigue determination in accordance with not only the personality of the operator but also the physical condition that changes with each operation by a simple calculation.

Further, according to the invention of claim 7,
By applying the same method to a computer used by a similar operator, it is possible to perform better fatigue judgment. Fatigue determination can be performed. Claim 8
According to the invention described in the above, an eye fatigue warning method capable of making a fatigue determination based on the actual feeling of the operator based on the eye movement in the working state of the operator can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an eye fatigue warning device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation in the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 eye fatigue warning device 20 eye movement output unit 30 computer 31 eye movement detection unit 32 input detection unit 33 transmission control unit 34 data recording unit 40 keyboard 50 pointing device 60 display 70 speaker

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An eye movement detecting means for detecting an eye movement of an operator, a work situation detecting means for detecting a work situation of data input, a detection data of an eye movement detected during a continuation of data input work, and an eye movement reference. An eye fatigue warning device comprising: fatigue determination means for comparing the data with the data to determine the presence or absence of eye fatigue; and warning means for issuing a warning to an operator when the fatigue is determined. 2. The eye fatigue warning device according to claim 1, wherein the eye movement detecting means is configured to perform eye movement based on the number of blinks per unit time obtained from the position of the viewpoint and the movement speed and acceleration of the eye by the operator. An eye fatigue warning device characterized by detecting the following. 3. The eye fatigue warning device according to claim 2, wherein the eye movement detecting means detects the position of the viewpoint of the operator, the moving speed of the eye, and the potential difference generated in proportion to the vertical and horizontal inclination of the eye. An eye fatigue warning device characterized by measuring acceleration. 4. The eye fatigue warning device according to claim 1, wherein the eye movement detecting means automatically records detection data of eye movement during continuation of the work, and An eye fatigue warning device, wherein the situation detecting means automatically records data input count and work time data. 5. The eye fatigue warning device according to claim 4, wherein the fatigue determination unit automatically generates eye movement reference data based on eye movement detection data and input data stored after the start of the work. An eye fatigue warning device, characterized in that: 6. The eye fatigue warning device according to claim 5, wherein the eye movement reference data is eye movement detection data stored first after work is started. . 7. The eye fatigue warning device according to claim 5, wherein the fatigue determination unit determines a time from when the work is started to when the work is interrupted after a warning is issued by a standard operating time. An eye fatigue warning device characterized in that after the standard operation time has been calculated, the fatigue of the operator is determined based on the lapse of the standard operation time without detecting the eye movement. 8. An eye movement of an operator and a work status of data input are detected, and eye movement detection data detected during continuation of the data input work are compared with eye movement reference data to determine whether there is eye fatigue. A warning is issued to the operator when it is determined that there is eye fatigue.