JP2001074769A - Acceleration sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an acceleration sensor having a high degree of freedom in the installation place in which a game machine or an apparatus having an operation evaluation function/advice function concerning to operation of a vehicle can be provided additionally with an acceleration measuring function at low cost. SOLUTION: Detection parts comprising slits 21b arranged such that two photocouplers 21c, 21d or coils can read out signals having a phase difference, or a reflection layer or a magnetic layer are provided on the periphery of a circular or semicircular rotatable plate 21a and an eccentric weight 21e is provided on the rotary shaft 21g of the plate 21a so that acceleration of an object can be measured according to the law of inertia as the moving speed thereof is varied.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an acceleration sensor mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile and measuring acceleration in a predetermined direction accompanying the movement of the vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a piezoelectric material has been used as an impact sensor for protecting a driver or the like in the event of a collision, and a piezoresistive type acceleration sensor utilizing the fact that the electric resistance changes due to the strain has been used. Was often done. Piezoresistive accelerometers have sufficient reliability in terms of accuracy but are expensive to manufacture, and it is generally difficult to use them for other purposes, such as input devices for computer games. . In addition, it is necessary to set a horizontal direction and a vertical direction (position adjustment) after installing in a car, and if it is not set accurately, there is a disadvantage that accuracy is reduced. Furthermore, the degree of freedom of the installation place of the accelerometer is low, for example, it cannot be installed in a place inclined at a predetermined angle or more.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a high degree of freedom of an installation place and a driving evaluation for a game machine or a vehicle. It is an object of the present invention to provide an acceleration sensor capable of adding an acceleration measuring function to a device having a function / advising function at low cost.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an acceleration sensor, and an object of the present invention is to provide a slit or a reflection layer or a slit or a reflection layer arranged so that signals having a phase difference can be read by two photocouplers or coils. By providing a detection part composed of a magnetic layer on the periphery of a circular or semi-circular rotatable plate and providing an eccentric weight on the rotation axis of the plate, the movement speed of the object to be measured can be changed. This is achieved by measuring the magnitude of the acceleration of the object according to the law of inertia. Further, it is also achieved by providing the eccentric weight integrally on the plate side without providing the eccentric weight on the rotation shaft side. Furthermore, the object to be measured is a vehicle, and the object is more effectively achieved by being housed in a case having an attachment that can be detachably attached to a predetermined position of the vehicle.

[0005]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An acceleration sensor according to the present invention
An annular slit or reflective layer (or magnetic layer) arranged so that signals having a phase difference can be read by two photocouplers (or coils) is formed in a circular or semicircular rotatable plate, and the rotation of this plate is performed. By providing an eccentric weight on the moving shaft or the plate itself, the acceleration is measured in accordance with the law of inertia with a change in the moving speed of an object such as a vehicle to be measured.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the structure of an acceleration sensor according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the acceleration sensor 21
Is a rotatable disk 21a, a slit group 21b formed on the disk at a predetermined pitch, and a first photocoupler 21.
c, second photocoupler 21d, steel ball weight (eccentric weight) 2
1e, an eccentric weight support 21f, a rotating shaft 21g, and a bearing 22h. The two photocouplers (light-emitting / light-receiving photosensor set) 21c and 21d are each 1
Disk 2 so that signals having a phase difference of 80 degrees can be read
The photocouplers 21c and 21d detect the phase shift and detect the direction of acceleration (+ G, -G). The eccentric weight 21e is supported by the eccentric weight support 21f, and rotates with the disk 21a around the rotation axis 21g according to the law of inertia with a change in the moving speed of the object on which the acceleration sensor 21 is mounted. Has become.

When the acceleration sensor 21 having such a structure is installed such that the surface of the disk 21a is parallel to the traveling direction of the vehicle, the eccentric weight 21e is provided every time the vehicle is accelerated or decelerated.
Moves to rotate the disk 21b. At this time, the disk 21
By detecting the positional relationship of the slits 21b on a and the number of slits moved, the direction and intensity of acceleration can be measured.

The eccentric weight 21e is not provided on the rotating shaft side via the eccentric weight support 21f, but is formed integrally with the disk 21a (groove formation or integral molding) near the periphery of the disk 21a. It is good also as composition. Further, the shape of the disk 21a is not limited to the abyss but may be a semicircle.
Further, a reflective layer (reflective area and non-reflective area) may be provided in place of the slit group 21b to form a reflective disk-shaped graduation plate, and acceleration may be detected by photoelectrically converting light reflected from the reflective layer. . Further, instead of using a transmission type or reflection type detection sensor utilizing photoelectric conversion, for example, instead of providing the slit group 21b, a magnetic layer is provided around the disk and the photocoupler 21 is provided.
A pickup coil may be provided instead of c and 21d, and a magnetic detection sensor that detects acceleration by using a voltage generated according to a change in magnetic flux may be used. In the case of a magnetic sensor, a Hall element or a M
A configuration using an R element may be used.

Next, an information processing apparatus to which the acceleration sensor according to the present invention is applied will be described.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the external shape of a portable information processing apparatus to which the above-mentioned acceleration sensor 21 is applied. The information processing apparatus of the present example measures acceleration including at least the front-rear direction or the left-right direction or both directions of the running vehicle by the acceleration sensor 21 and evaluates the driving skill of the driver with respect to the vehicle based on the measurement data of the acceleration. In addition, advice relating to driving of the vehicle is displayed by voice or the like according to the evaluation result. Also,
The computer game is advanced by logic incorporated in advance using measured acceleration data as variables.

In FIG. 2, the size of the main body case 10 is equivalent to the size of a portable small game machine using a computer (a so-called “mini liquid crystal game machine” which is about the size of a child's palm). . Body case 10
A display unit 11, a function key group 12, an LED light-emitting unit 13, and a sound output unit 14 are provided on the surface of. Display unit 11
Can use a liquid crystal display or any other suitable display element, and displays the measurement data of the acceleration sensor, the evaluation result of the driving skill based on the measurement data, the progress screen of the game, a message for the user, and the like. The function key group 12 is used for switching functions of the apparatus and other purposes. L
The ED light emitting unit 13 directly appeals the acceleration / deceleration strength of the vehicle to the driver's vision. The voice unit 14 detects the driving mode during driving and transmits an alarm message or the like to the driver by voice.

An unillustrated locking member (attachment) is provided integrally or detachably on the back surface of the main body case 10, and the main body case 10 can be detachably attached to a predetermined position of the vehicle via the locking member. Attached to. The sensor for detecting the acceleration of the traveling vehicle in a predetermined direction (front-back direction, left-right direction, etc.) is built in the main body case 10 in this example.
The main body case 10 may be mounted, for example, in accordance with the direction of the arrow A in the drawing in accordance with the traveling direction of the vehicle. In the case of an automobile, the dashboard, a louver of an air conditioner outlet, a wind visor, and other slopes are used. It can be attached to any part including the part which has been done. The information processing apparatus of this example has a function of displaying advice related to driving of a vehicle including an alarm message on the display unit 11 and the LED light emitting unit 13 and also displaying a voice from the voice unit 14 as described above. Therefore, it is possible to recognize a driving advice or the like without mounting it at a position where the driver can see.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a basic configuration of an information processing apparatus according to the present invention.
The input / output of each element shown in FIG. 2 is performed at the same time as the acceleration sensor 21 (single or plural) is connected to the PU 20.
Acceleration sensor 2 used as vehicle acceleration measuring means
Reference numeral 1 denotes a sensor for measuring acceleration including at least the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, or both directions. A sensor that detects acceleration in a predetermined direction using the law of inertia or a piezoresistive acceleration sensor is used. Built in the main body case 10 (or a sensor unit is connected to the connection part)
Is done. The central processing unit (CPU) 20 has a storage device 2
2 is built-in or connected, and stores data such as input data, measurement data, and calculation results together with the operation program.

In the information processing apparatus according to the present invention, the data from the acceleration sensor 21 is analyzed from both the amplitude and frequency by the operation program, and the progress of the game and the evaluation of the driving skill are performed. For example, as the driving skill evaluation, the acceleration sensor 2
1 to recognize the magnitude and frequency of changes in acceleration, deceleration, and traveling direction related to the traveling of the vehicle based on the detection data, and based on the recognition result, perform safe driving of the driver (such as the degree of skill or improvement of the driving technique, etc.) ) Is evaluated, and the driving skill is evaluated by judging the degree of dangerous driving (driving to be suppressed including violent driving) for each element such as sudden acceleration, sudden braking, sudden steering, and meandering driving. And give various advices to the driver.

As described above, the acceleration sensor 2 according to the present invention
1 is applied to an information processing apparatus to measure the magnitude of acceleration in the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the like resulting from driving the vehicle while being detachably mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile, a bicycle, and a motorcycle. Realization of a portable information processing device with an acceleration sensor that can evaluate and advise driving skills related to vehicle driving and estimate road conditions by performing information processing with a relatively inexpensive configuration. Can be. Further, by using the contents of the input data from the acceleration sensor 21 as input parameters for the game progress, and using the driving situation and the driving results as the main elements of the game development, the input means of the computer game machine is enlarged, and the key operation is performed. Thus, it is possible to provide a novel game machine that is not a direct input type.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the acceleration sensor is incorporated in the main body case 10 of the information processing apparatus has been described as an example. However, the acceleration sensor is housed in the unit case and can be detachably attached to a predetermined position of the vehicle. The sensor unit may be configured by providing a mountable attachment, and the sensor unit may be connected to the information processing device via a connection unit.

[0018]

As described above, according to the acceleration sensor according to the present invention, an accelerometer which is relatively inexpensive and has a high degree of freedom in installation location can be constructed, and a driving evaluation function relating to game equipment and vehicle driving can be provided. / It is possible to add an acceleration measurement function to a device having an advice function at low cost. For example, it is possible to provide equipment that can measure and evaluate driving aspects for vehicles such as bicycles, two-wheeled vehicles, and bicycles, which can be used for enlightenment of safe driving and that, for example, characters are switched according to driving conditions. It is possible to provide a novel game machine.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of an acceleration sensor according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of an external shape of a portable information processing device to which the acceleration sensor according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a basic configuration of the information processing apparatus in FIG. 2;

[Description of Signs] 10 Body case 11 Display unit 12 Function key group 13 LED light emitting unit 14 Audio output unit 20 CPU 21 Acceleration sensor 21a Disk 21b Slit group 21c First photocoupler 21d Second photocoupler 21e Eccentric weight 21f Eccentric weight Support 21g Rotating shaft 21h Bearing 22 Storage device

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A peripheral portion of a circular or semicircular rotatable plate having a detection portion formed of a slit, a reflective layer, or a magnetic layer arranged so that signals having a phase difference can be read by two photocouplers or coils, respectively. An acceleration sensor for measuring the magnitude of the acceleration of the object according to the law of inertia with a change in the moving speed of the object to be measured by providing an eccentric weight on the rotation axis of the plate. . 2. The acceleration sensor according to claim 1, wherein the eccentric weight is not provided on the rotation shaft side but is provided integrally on the plate side. 3. The object to be measured is a vehicle,
The acceleration sensor according to claim 1, wherein the acceleration sensor is housed in a case having an attachment that can be detachably attached to a predetermined position of the vehicle.