JP2008173251A - Ascending and descending motion detecting apparatus and activity meter using it - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ascending and descending motion detecting apparatus which improves a degree of accuracy of detecting ascending and descending motions of a human body and an activity meter using it. <P>SOLUTION: The activity meter is equipped with: the ascending and descending motion detecting apparatus 10 including an acceleration detecting means 1 attached to the human body for detecting each speed of acceleration in the front-back direction, the width direction, and the height direction of the human body; a first arithmetic means 2 for calculating a walking pitch of the human body based on a norm which takes each speed of acceleration obtained by the acceleration detecting means 1 as a vector component; a second arithmetic means 3 for calculating a determination value comprising a ratio of the speed of acceleration in the height direction to the speed of acceleration in the front-back direction; a storage means 4 in which a data table showing a relationship between a range of the determination values included during the ascending walking, the descending walking, and the flatland walking respectively and the walking pitch; and an ascending and descending determining means 5 for determining the ascending and descending motions of the human body by comparing the determination value obtained by applying the walking pitch calculated by the first arithmetic means to the data table and the determination value calculated by the second arithmetic means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ascending / descending motion detecting device for detecting an operation when a person ascends / descends a stairs and the like, and an activity meter using the same.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an activity meter that calculates an activity amount composed of kinetic energy consumed by human actions has been provided.

  As this type of activity meter, many devices that include an acceleration sensor mounted on the human body and calculate the activity amount based on the acceleration of the human body detected by the acceleration sensor have been proposed. In an activity meter using an acceleration sensor, for example, the activity amount is calculated using the correlation between the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor and the activity amount. In this correlation, if the acceleration increases, the activity amount Also grows.

  By the way, when calculating the amount of activity in the activity meter as described above, there is no particular problem if a person is walking on a flat ground, but when a person goes up and down stairs or slopes, it is accurate. There is a risk that the amount of active activity cannot be obtained.

  This is due to the fact that the magnitude of acceleration differs from that on flat ground due to the impact of the landing of the foot, the influence of gravity, and the like when climbing and descending. In other words, when going uphill, the acceleration tends to be small compared to the flat ground, and when going down, the acceleration tends to be large compared to the flat ground. This is because when walking down> walking during flat ground> walking during climbing, the actual amount of activity is during walking ascending> walking during flat ground> walking during descending.

  Therefore, in order to calculate an accurate activity amount in the activity meter as described above, it is desirable to detect whether or not a person has moved up and down stairs or hills (whether or not a human body has moved up and down).

Therefore, in addition to the acceleration sensor for calculating the amount of activity, consumption including an atmospheric pressure sensor as a sensor for detecting a change in atmospheric pressure in accordance with the up-and-down movement and determining the human body's body movement A calorie calculation device has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-347021

  In an apparatus that detects the lifting and lowering movement of a human body using an atmospheric pressure sensor as in Patent Document 1, the altitude is predicted based on the output of the atmospheric pressure sensor, and the amount of activity is corrected according to the change in atmospheric pressure during walking.

  However, the change in atmospheric pressure is easily affected by indoor air conditioning and atmospheric pressure control, and it is difficult to detect the raising and lowering movement of the human body at a height difference of about 1st floor to 2nd floor (1 floor or 2 floors) Good detection accuracy could not be obtained.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ascending / descending motion detecting device capable of improving the detecting accuracy of the ascending / descending motion of a human body and an activity meter using the same.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the invention of claim 1, acceleration detection means that is mounted on the human body and detects each acceleration in the front-rear direction, the width direction, and the height direction of the human body, and each obtained by the acceleration detection means A first calculation means for calculating a norm having acceleration as a vector component and calculating a feature quantity of the norm based on the calculated norm; and the acceleration in the height direction and the acceleration in the front-rear direction obtained by the acceleration detection means; And a data table indicating the relationship between the range of the determination value included in each of the ascending walking, the descending walking, and the flat ground walking, and the norm feature amount. And comparing the determination value obtained by fitting the feature quantity of the norm calculated by the first calculation means with the data table and the determination value calculated by the second calculation means Characterized in that it comprises a lifting determination means to perform more determination of the human body of the lifting operation.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when a person walks up ascending a staircase or a hill, the acceleration in the height direction of the human body and the acceleration in the front-rear direction are smaller than those during walking on a flat ground, while the person walks down the stairs or hill. Focusing on the fact that when walking down, the acceleration in the height direction of the human body increases compared to walking on a flat ground and the acceleration in the front-rear direction of the human body decreases compared with walking on a flat ground. Therefore, the detection accuracy of the lifting motion of the human body can be improved. Further, in determining whether the human body moves up and down, the relationship between the range of determination values included in each of ascending walking, descending walking, and flat ground walking and the norm feature amount calculated by the first computing means is shown. Since the data table is used, it is possible to prevent erroneous determination due to the change in the range of the determination value accompanying the change in the feature quantity of the norm, so that it is possible to further improve the detection accuracy of the human body lifting operation.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, acceleration detection means for detecting accelerations in the front-rear direction, width direction, and height direction of the human body that are worn on the human body, and a norm that calculates each acceleration obtained by the acceleration detection means as a vector component are calculated. In addition, a first calculation means for calculating a norm feature amount based on the calculated norm, and a determination value comprising a ratio between the acceleration in the height direction and the acceleration in the front-rear direction obtained by the acceleration detection means is calculated. Calculated by the second calculation means, the storage means for storing the correlation between the determination value and the norm feature amount in each of the ascending walking, the descending walking, and the flat ground walking, and the first calculating means Elevation determination means for determining a human body elevating motion by comparing a determination value obtained by fitting a norm feature amount to an arithmetic expression and a determination value calculated by the second calculation means. And said that you are.

  According to the invention of claim 2, when a person walks up a stairs or a hill, the acceleration in the height direction of the human body and the acceleration in the front-rear direction are smaller than those on a flat ground, while the person walks down the stairs or hill. Paying attention to the fact that the acceleration in the height direction of the human body is larger than that in walking on flat ground and the acceleration in the front and rear direction of the human body is smaller than in walking on flat ground when walking down, and the acceleration in the height direction of the human body and the longitudinal direction of the human body Since the ratio to the acceleration of the human body is used as the determination value for the lifting / lowering motion of the human body, the detection accuracy of the lifting / lowering motion of the human body can be improved. Further, in determining whether the human body moves up and down, an arithmetic expression is used that indicates the correlation between the determination value in each of the ascending walking, the descending walking, and the flat ground walking and the norm feature amount calculated by the first computing means. Therefore, it is possible to prevent erroneous determination due to the change in the determination value accompanying the change in the feature quantity of the norm, so that it is possible to further improve the detection accuracy of the lifting operation of the human body.

  According to a third aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the second calculation means is configured to use a ratio of the vertical acceleration to the longitudinal acceleration as a determination value, and the up / down determination means If the determination value calculated by the second calculating means is smaller than the boundary value at the time of ascending walking and walking on the flat ground in the determination value obtained by applying the feature quantity of the norm to the data table, it is determined that it is at the time of ascending walking, If the determination value calculated by the second calculating means is larger than the boundary value between the walking at the time of descending walking and the walking at the flat ground in the determination value obtained by fitting the feature quantity of the norm to the data table, it is determined that the vehicle is at the time of descending walking. It is comprised as follows.

  According to the invention of claim 3, when the person walks up the stairs or hill, the acceleration in the height direction of the human body and the acceleration in the front-rear direction are smaller than those during walking on the flat ground, while the person goes down the stairs or hill. Focusing on the fact that when walking down, the acceleration in the height direction of the human body increases compared to walking on flat ground and the acceleration in the front-rear direction of the human body decreases compared to walking on flat ground. Since the acceleration ratio is used as the determination value for the human body lifting operation, the detection accuracy of the human body lifting operation can be improved. In addition, in determining whether the human body is moving up or down, the norm is used because a data table indicating the relationship between the range of determination values included in each of ascending walking, descending walking, and flat ground walking and the norm feature amount is used. Therefore, it is possible to prevent erroneous determination due to a change in the range of the determination value associated with a change in the feature amount of the human body, thereby further improving the detection accuracy of the raising / lowering operation of the human body.

  According to invention of Claim 4, based on the raising / lowering motion detection apparatus of any one of Claims 1-3, the norm feature-value calculated by the 1st calculating means, and the determination result of the raising / lowering determination means. An exercise intensity calculating means for calculating exercise intensity is provided.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the raising / lowering motion of the human body can be detected with high accuracy, the exercise intensity can be accurately evaluated, and as a result, an accurate amount of activity can be calculated.

  The inventions of claims 1 and 2 have the effect that the lifting and lowering motion of the human body can be accurately detected.

  The invention according to claim 4 has an effect that it is possible to accurately evaluate the exercise intensity, and as a result, it is possible to calculate an accurate amount of activity.

(Embodiment 1)
As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the activity meter of the present embodiment includes an acceleration detection means 1 that is attached to a human body and detects accelerations in the front-rear direction, the width direction, and the height direction of the human body, and the acceleration detection means 1 A first computing means 2 for calculating a norm having the respective accelerations obtained by the above as vector components and calculating a feature quantity of the norm based on the calculated norm; and a longitudinal direction of the human body obtained by the acceleration detecting means 1 A second calculation means 3 for calculating a determination value R comprising a ratio of the acceleration and the acceleration in the height direction of the human body, and a range and norm of the determination value R included in each of ascending walking, descending walking, and flat ground walking A storage unit 4 in which a data table (see Table 1 below) indicating the relationship with the feature amount is stored, a determination value R obtained by fitting the feature amount of the norm calculated by the first calculation unit to the data table, and the first value 2 operations And a lifting operation detector 10 and a lifting determination unit 5 for determining the human body elevating operation by comparing the judgment value R calculated in step.

  The activity meter calculates exercise intensity I based on the norm feature value calculated by the first calculation means 2 and the determination result of the lift determination means 5 in addition to the lifting motion detection device 10 described above. Means 6, display means 7 for displaying the calculation result of exercise intensity calculation means 6, operation means (not shown) for performing on / off operation of the activity meter, and a housing (not shown) for storing them ).

  The casing is made of, for example, a resin molded product and is formed in a size that can be carried by a person. The first calculation means 2, the second calculation means 3, the elevation determination means 5, and the exercise intensity calculation means 6 are, for example, hardware resources such as a microcomputer housed in the housing and information on the hardware resources. It is realized by software that performs the calculation, processing, etc.

  The acceleration detecting means 1 is, for example, a three-axis acceleration sensor (not shown) that outputs each of three-axis accelerations perpendicular to each other in an analog format, and samples the output of the three-axis acceleration sensor at a predetermined period in a digital format. And an acceleration detection circuit (not shown) for converting into an output. Here, as shown in FIG. 1B, the three-axis acceleration sensor is a front-rear (traveling) direction of the human body P (a direction indicated by an arrow x in FIG. 1B). And the height (vertical) direction of the human body P (the direction indicated by the arrow y in FIG. 1B, hereinafter referred to as “y-axis direction”). 1B is attached to the human body P so as to be able to detect acceleration in the direction indicated by the arrow z and hereinafter referred to as “z-axis direction”. Note that the acceleration detection circuit may be provided with a function of correcting a deviation between each axis of the three-axis acceleration sensor and each of the x-axis direction, the y-axis direction, and the z-axis direction.

  As the three-axis acceleration sensor, for example, an acceleration sensor using a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) having a small size and low power consumption is used. As the acceleration sensor, a piezoresistive acceleration sensor, a capacitance acceleration sensor, or the like can be used. As the triaxial acceleration sensor, a sensor that can output a triaxial acceleration value by combining a biaxial acceleration sensor and a monoaxial acceleration sensor may be used. It is also possible to use one that can output a three-axis acceleration value.

  The acceleration value of each axis output from the acceleration detection means 1 is output to the first calculation means 2 and the second calculation means 3, respectively, as shown in FIG.

The first calculation means 2 is configured to calculate the walking pitch p [number of steps / min] of the human body P as the norm feature value and output it to the elevation determination means 5. In calculating the walking pitch p, first, for the input acceleration of each axis, a norm with the acceleration of each axis as a vector component is calculated. Here, if the acceleration in the x-axis direction is Ax _i , the acceleration in the y-axis direction is Ay _i , and the acceleration in the z-axis direction is Az _i , the norm is (Ax _i ² + Ay _i ² + Az _i ² ) ^1/2 (Where i is an integer indicating the sampling number of each acceleration). The walking pitch p is performed by detecting at least two peak positions of the norm calculated as described above. Here, if the time interval between the two detected peak positions is t _p and the number of peaks or valleys existing between the two peak positions is n _p , the walking pitch p is expressed by the following equation (1). Is done.

The first calculation means 2 is configured to calculate the norm fluctuation average Sa as the norm feature quantity and output it to the elevation determination means 5. Here, the fluctuation average Sa of the norm uses the fluctuation average Sx of the acceleration Ax _{i in} the x-axis direction, the fluctuation average Sy of the acceleration Ay _{i in} the y-axis direction, and the fluctuation average Sz of the acceleration Az _{i in} the z-axis direction. For example, Sa = (Sx _i ² + Sy _i ² + Sz _i ² ) ^1/2 , and the fluctuation average Sx can be obtained as a standard deviation of the acceleration Ax _{i in} the x-axis direction. That is, the fluctuation average Sx can be expressed by the following equation (2). In calculating the standard deviation, unbiased variance is used instead of sample variance. N is an integer indicating the number of times each acceleration is sampled in a certain time.

  Similarly, the fluctuation averages Sy and Sz can be expressed by the following equations (3) and (4), respectively.

  Therefore, the fluctuation average Sa of the norm is expressed by the following equation (5).

The second calculation means 3 calculates a determination value R that is a ratio of the acceleration Az _i in the z-axis direction and the acceleration Ax _{i in the} x-axis direction obtained by the acceleration detection means 1, and determines whether the calculated determination value R is raised or lowered It is comprised so that it may output to the means 5. In this embodiment, a ratio of the acceleration Az _{i in} the z-axis direction to the acceleration Ax _{i in} the x-axis direction is used as the determination value R. Such a determination value R is a variation average of the acceleration Ax _{i in} the x-axis direction. It is expressed by the following equation (6) using Sx and the fluctuation average Sz of the acceleration Az _{i in} the z-axis direction.

  The raising / lowering determining means 5 is based on the walking pitch p calculated by the first calculating means 2, the determination value R calculated by the second calculating means 3, and the data table stored in the storage means 4. The movement is determined, and the determination result is output to the exercise intensity calculating means 6 together with the variation average Sa.

  Here, the data table stored in the storage means 4 shows the relationship between the range of the judgment value R included in each of the walking during ascending walking, descending walking, and walking on flat ground and the walking pitch p. In the embodiment, a data table as shown in Table 1 below is used. However, in this data table, when the walking pitch p exceeds 100, the walking pitch p is regarded as 100 and the calculation is performed. The range of the walking pitch p at the top of the data table indicates the range of the walking pitch p at the time of walking, the range of the walking pitch p at the middle of the data table indicates the range of the walking pitch p at the time of racing, and the walking pitch at the bottom of the data table. The range of p indicates the range of the walking pitch p when traveling.

  If the walking pitch p calculated by the first computing means 2 is applied to the data table shown in Table 1, the boundary value at the time of descending walking and walking on the flat ground in the determination value R (hereinafter referred to as “descending boundary value”). B1 and a boundary value (hereinafter, referred to as “rising boundary value”) B2 at the time of ascending walking and walking on a flat ground at the determination value R are obtained. Referring to the data table shown in Table 1, the value of the falling boundary value B1 is −0.0066 * p + 1.25, and the rising boundary value B2 is 0.6 if p <80, and p ≧ 80. 0.5.

  Therefore, when the determination value R calculated by the second calculation means 3 is larger than the descending boundary value B1, the ascending / descending determining means 5 determines that it is during descending walking, and when it is smaller than the ascending boundary value B2, it is during ascending walking. If the rising boundary value B2 or more and the falling boundary value B1 or less, it is determined that the vehicle is walking on a flat ground. For example, when the walking pitch p calculated by the first calculation means 2 is 70 and the determination value R calculated by the second calculation means 3 is 0.8, the descending boundary value B1 = 0.788, the ascent Since the boundary value B2 = 0.6, the raising / lowering determining means 5 determines that the person is descending and walking. Further, when the walking pitch p is 90 and the determination value R calculated by the second calculation means 3 is 0.45, the descending boundary value B1 = 0.656 and the rising boundary value B2 = 0.5. Therefore, the ascending / descending determining means 5 determines that the ascending walking.

  The exercise intensity calculation means 6 is an exercise intensity I consisting of a “METs” value, which is used in the American Sports Medicine Association, for example, indicating how many times the energy consumption during exercise is greater than the energy consumption during rest. It is comprised so that calculation of these may be performed. In the exercise intensity calculation means 6 in the present embodiment, when calculating the exercise intensity I, an arithmetic expression representing the correlation between the exercise intensity I and the fluctuation average Sa during ascending walking, descending walking, and flat ground walking is used. Used. As shown in FIG. 2, these arithmetic expressions are based on the measured values of the exercise intensity I during ascending walking, descending walking and walking on a flat ground, and the measured values of the fluctuation average Sa at that time. It can be obtained by performing multiplication or the like to obtain an approximate expression. In the graph shown in FIG. 2, the straight line indicated by A is an approximate straight line based on the exercise intensity I and the fluctuation average Sa during ascending walking, and the equation is I = 10.0 * Sa + 1.0 (regression coefficient = 10 0.0, constant = 1.0). In addition, the straight line indicated by B in FIG. 2 is an approximate straight line based on the exercise intensity I and the fluctuation average Sa when walking down, and the equation is I = 4.1 * Sa + 1.0 (regression coefficient = 4.1, Constant = 1.0). In addition, the straight line indicated by C in FIG. 2 is an approximate straight line based on the exercise intensity I and the fluctuation average Sa when walking on a flat ground, and the equation is I = 6.1 * Sa + 1.0 (regression coefficient = 6.1, Constant = 1.0).

  In such exercise intensity calculating means 6, an arithmetic expression to be used is selected from the above three arithmetic expressions according to the determination result of the elevation determining means 5, and the variation average Sa is substituted into the selected arithmetic expression. Is used to calculate the exercise intensity I. The exercise intensity calculating means 6 is configured to calculate an activity amount indicating the energy consumption amount of the human body using the calculated exercise intensity I. In addition, since the conventionally well-known method can be employ | adopted as a calculation method of the active mass using the exercise intensity I, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The display means 7 includes an image display device (not shown) such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) and the like, and the determination result of the elevation determination means 5, the exercise intensity I and the amount of activity calculated by the exercise intensity calculation means 6. It is comprised so that it may display on an image display apparatus. Further, the display means 7 stores the determination result of the elevation determination means 5 and the exercise intensity I and the amount of activity calculated by the exercise intensity calculation means 6 in the storage means 4 so as to leave a history of the exercise state. It is configured.

  The operation means includes a switch for on / off operation of the activity meter, a switch for starting calculation of the activity amount, a switch for resetting the display of the activity amount, and a switch for displaying the history of the exercise state stored in the storage means 4 Etc.

According to the ascending / descending motion detection apparatus 10 described above, the z-axis direction acceleration Az _i and the x-axis direction acceleration Ax _i are smaller than those when walking on a flat ground when a person walks up a stairs or a hill. Focusing on the fact that when a person walks down a stairs or a hill, the acceleration Az _{i in} the z-axis direction is larger than that when walking on a flat ground, and the acceleration Ax _{i in the} x-axis direction is smaller than that when walking on a flat ground. Since the ratio of the acceleration Az _{i in the} z-axis direction to the acceleration Ax _{i in the} direction is used as the determination value R for the lifting / lowering movement of the human body, the detection accuracy of the lifting / lowering movement of the human body can be improved.

  By the way, it has been confirmed by actual measurement that the range of the judgment value R included in each of the ascending walk, the descending walk, and the flat ground walking changes with the change of the walking pitch p. For this reason, if the range of the determination value R is always constant, even if the determination value R is the same, the determination result varies depending on the value of the walking pitch p, and this causes erroneous determination. For example, when the walking pitch p is 50, it is determined that R> 0.92 when walking down, R <0.6 when climbing, and 0.6 ≦ R ≦ 0.92, when walking on flat ground. When the walking pitch p is 90, it is determined that R> 0.656 when walking down, R <0.5 when climbing, and 0.5 ≦ R ≦ 0.656 when walking on flat ground. Therefore, when R is 0.656 <R ≦ 0.92, if the walking pitch p is 50, it is determined that the vehicle is walking on a flat ground, but if the walking pitch p is 90, the vehicle is descending and walking. Determined.

  On the other hand, in the lifting motion detection apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, when determining the lifting motion of the human body, the range of the determination value R and the walking pitch included in each of the ascending walking, the descending walking, and the flat ground walking. Since a data table (see Table 1 above) showing the relationship with p is used, it is possible to prevent erroneous determination due to a change in the range of the determination value R accompanying a change in the walking pitch p. Can be further improved.

  Moreover, according to the activity meter of this embodiment provided with the said raising / lowering motion detection apparatus 10, since the raising / lowering motion of a human body can be detected with a sufficient precision, exercise intensity can be evaluated correctly and, as a result, accurate activity The amount can be calculated.

  In the elevation determination means 5 in this embodiment, the determination value calculated by the second calculation means 3 than the descending boundary value B1 obtained by fitting the walking pitch p calculated by the first calculation means 2 to the data table. If R is large, it is determined that the vehicle is descending and walking, but the value of the descending boundary value B1 is when the descending walking is performed if the determination value R calculated by the second calculating means 3 is equal to or greater than the descending boundary value B1. It is good also as a value which judges with. Similarly, the ascending boundary value B2 may be a value that determines that it is during ascending walking if the determination value R calculated by the second computing means 3 is equal to or less than the ascending boundary value B2.

  By the way, in the 1st calculating means 2 in this embodiment, although the walking pitch p of the human body P and the fluctuation | variation average Sa are calculated as a feature-value of norm, the feature-value of norm is not restricted to these. However, any value that has a correlation with the determination value R may be used.

In the second calculation means 3 in the present embodiment, the determination value R uses Sz / Sx as the ratio of the acceleration Az _{i in} the z-axis direction to the acceleration Ax _{i in the} x-axis direction. The ratio of the acceleration Ax _{i in} the x-axis direction to the acceleration Az _{i in the} direction, that is, Sx / Sz may be used. In this case, if the determination value R is smaller than 1 / B1 which is the reciprocal of the descending boundary value B1, it is determined that the person is descending walking, and if it is larger than 1 / B2 which is the inverse of the ascending boundary value B2, it is determined that the ascending walking is performed. If it is 1 / B1 or more and 1 / B2 or less, it may be determined that the vehicle is walking on a flat ground.

  In addition, the data table stored in the storage unit 4 in the present embodiment shows the relationship between the range of the determination value R included in each of the ascending walking, the descending walking, and the flat ground walking and the walking pitch p. However, as the data table, a table indicating the relationship between the range of the determination value R included in each of the ascending walking, the descending walking, and the flat ground walking and the norm variation average Sa may be used. In this case, since it is not necessary to calculate the walking pitch p, the amount of calculation by the first calculation means 2 can be reduced, so that the processing time can be shortened.

(Embodiment 2)
The activity meter of the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the lifting / lowering motion detection device 10 performs the lifting / lowering determination using an arithmetic expression instead of the data table as shown in Table 1 above. Note that a description of the same configuration is omitted.

In the storage means 4 in the present embodiment, the approximation calculated by performing the least square method or the like based on the actually measured values of the determination value R and the walking pitch p during ascending walking, descending walking, and walking on a flat ground. An arithmetic expression consisting of an expression is stored. In the present embodiment, as the determination value R, the ratio of the acceleration Az _{i in} the z-axis direction to the acceleration Ax _{i in} the x-axis direction, that is, Sz / Sx is used. In the following description, for simplification of description, the determination value R at the time of ascending walking is indicated by R1, the determination value R at the time of walking on a flat ground is indicated by R2, and the determination value R at the time of walking down is indicated by R3. An arithmetic expression indicating the correlation between the determination value R1 and the walking pitch p is the following expression (7), and an arithmetic expression indicating the correlation between the determination value R2 and the walking pitch p is the following expression (8). The arithmetic expressions indicating the correlation between R3 and the walking pitch p are respectively expressed by the following expressions (9).

  In the up / down determination means 5 in the present embodiment, the determination values R1 to R3 are obtained by substituting the walking pitch p calculated by the first calculation means 2 into the above formulas (7) to (9), and the second calculation is performed. A residual dk = | Rk−R | (where k is 1, 2, 3) between the determination value R calculated by the means 3 and each of the determination values R1 to R3 is obtained, and the value is among the residuals d1 to d3. The state corresponding to the smallest is output as the determination result. For example, when the walking pitch p calculated by the first calculation means 2 is 70 and the determination value R calculated by the second calculation means 3 is 0.8, the determination value R1 = 0.4822, the determination value R2 = 0.7527, determination value R3 = 0.8272, residual d1 = 0.3187, residual d2 = 0.0473, and residual d3 = 0.0272. It is determined that the state corresponds to the smallest residual d3, that is, when walking down. When the walking pitch p is 90 and the determination value R calculated by the second calculation means 3 is 0.45, the determination value R1 = 0.4682, the determination value R2 = 0.6707, and the determination value R3. = 0.6952 and the residual d1 = 0.182, the residual d2 = 0.2207, and the residual d3 = 0.4552. According to the ascending / descending determination unit 5, the residual d1 having the smallest value is supported. It is determined that the vehicle is in a state of walking, that is, during ascending walking.

According to the lifting motion detection apparatus 10 described above, as in the first embodiment, the ratio of the variation average Sz of the acceleration Az _i in the z-axis direction to the variation average Sx of the acceleration Ax _{i in} the x-axis direction is determined as the lifting motion of the human body. Since it is used as the determination value R, it is possible to improve the detection accuracy of the raising / lowering operation of the human body.

  By the way, it has been confirmed by actual measurement that the determination value R during ascending walking, descending walking, and flat ground walking varies with a change in walking pitch p. Therefore, if the value of the determination value R during ascending walking, walking down and walking on a flat ground is always constant, the determination result varies depending on the value of the walking pitch p even if the determination value R is the same. This will cause misjudgment.

  On the other hand, in the lifting / lowering motion detection device 10 according to the present embodiment, when determining the lifting / lowering motion of the human body, the correlation between the determination value R and the walking pitch p during ascending walking, descending walking, and flat ground walking. Is used, the erroneous determination caused by the change in the determination value R accompanying the change in the walking pitch p can be prevented. Therefore, as in the first embodiment, the detection accuracy of the raising / lowering motion of the human body can be further improved.

  Moreover, according to the activity meter of this embodiment provided with the said raising / lowering motion detection apparatus 10, since the raising / lowering motion of a human body can be detected with a sufficient precision, exercise intensity can be evaluated correctly and, as a result, accurate activity The amount can be calculated.

  By the way, in the present embodiment, in each case of ascending walking, descending walking, and flat ground walking, an arithmetic expression (corresponding to the above formula (7) to 7) that indicates the correlation between the determination value R (R1 to R3) and the walking pitch p. (9)) is used, but only an arithmetic expression (the above expression (8)) indicating the correlation between the determination value R2 during walking on a flat ground and the walking pitch p may be used. In this case, the determination value R2 obtained by substituting the walking pitch p calculated by the first calculation means 2 into the calculation formula (8) is compared with the determination value R calculated by the second calculation means 3, If the result is R <0.9 * R2, when walking up, R> 1.1 * R2, if walking down, and if 0.9 * R2 ≦ R ≦ 1.1 * R2, walking on flat ground. May be determined. In this way, the number of necessary arithmetic expressions can be reduced, and the amount of calculation in the elevation determination means 5 can be reduced, so that the processing time can be shortened.

  Moreover, although the arithmetic expression memorize | stored in the memory | storage means 4 in this embodiment shows the relationship between the determination value R and the walking pitch p, what shows the relationship between the determination value R and the fluctuation | variation average Sa is used. You may do it. In this case, since it is not necessary to calculate the walking pitch p, the amount of calculation by the first calculation means 2 can be reduced, so that the processing time can be shortened.

(A) is a block diagram of the active mass meter of Embodiment 1, (b) is explanatory drawing of the detection direction of an acceleration. It is a graph which shows the correlation with the fluctuation | variation average of norm, and exercise intensity.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Acceleration detection means 2 1st calculation means 3 2nd calculation means 4 Memory | storage means 5 Elevation determination means 6 Exercise intensity calculation means 10 Elevation motion detection apparatus

Claims (4)

Acceleration detecting means for detecting each acceleration in the front-rear direction, the width direction, and the height direction of the human body attached to the human body;
A first computing means for calculating a norm having each acceleration obtained by the acceleration detecting means as a vector component and calculating a feature quantity of the norm based on the calculated norm;
Second calculation means for calculating a determination value comprising a ratio of the acceleration in the height direction and the acceleration in the front-rear direction obtained by the acceleration detection means;
A storage means storing a data table indicating a relationship between a range of determination values and a norm feature amount included in each of ascending walking, descending walking, and flat ground walking;
Ascent / descent determination for determining the lifting / lowering motion of the human body by comparing the determination value obtained by fitting the feature quantity of the norm calculated by the first calculating means to the data table and the determination value calculated by the second calculating means And a lifting operation detecting device. Acceleration detecting means for detecting each acceleration in the front-rear direction, the width direction, and the height direction of the human body attached to the human body;
A first computing means for calculating a norm having each acceleration obtained by the acceleration detecting means as a vector component and calculating a feature quantity of the norm based on the calculated norm;
Second calculation means for calculating a determination value comprising a ratio of the acceleration in the height direction and the acceleration in the front-rear direction obtained by the acceleration detection means;
A storage means for storing an arithmetic expression indicating a correlation between a determination value and a feature amount of the norm at the time of ascending walking, when walking down, and when walking on a flat ground;
Ascent / descent determination for determining the lifting / lowering motion of the human body by comparing the determination value obtained by fitting the feature quantity of the norm calculated by the first calculating means with the determination value and the determination value calculated by the second calculating means And a lifting operation detecting device. The second calculating means is configured to use a ratio of the vertical acceleration to the longitudinal acceleration as a determination value,
The ascending / descending determining means is when ascending walking if the determination value calculated by the second calculating means is smaller than the boundary value at the time of ascending walking and walking on the flat ground in the determining value obtained by fitting the feature quantity of the norm to the data table. If the judgment value calculated by the second computing means is larger than the boundary value between the walking and the flat ground walking in the judgment value obtained by fitting the feature quantity of the norm to the data table, the walking is going down The lifting / lowering motion detection device according to claim 1, wherein the device is configured to determine that it is time.   The exercise intensity calculating means for calculating exercise intensity based on the feature quantity of the norm calculated by the first calculating means and the determination result of the raising / lowering determining means according to any one of claims 1 to 3. An activity meter characterized by comprising.

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