JP3162816U - Blind person guidance system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a guidance system for safely and smoothly guiding a visually impaired person by introducing a system for guiding a danger.
The electronic chip is arranged along a walking path and transmits position information; and a portable terminal that a visually handicapped person carries when walking, and communicates with the electronic chip to check a walking position. The portable terminal is a communication means for communicating with the electronic chip, a confirmation means for confirming whether or not the communication area with the electronic chip is in communication with the electronic chip, and a walking history for storing the walking history by communication with the electronic chip. Storage means and alarm means for transmitting an alarm to a visually handicapped person when an electronic chip that transmits danger information is recognized.
[Selection] Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a visually-impaired person guidance system, and more particularly to a visually-impaired person guidance system that safely and smoothly guides a visually impaired person by introducing a system that guides danger.

When a visually impaired person walks, an assistant is accompanied or guided by a guide dog, etc., but guide blocks for visually impaired persons are installed mainly on the street, and visually impaired persons themselves check these with a walking stick. It is possible to pass.
Since this visually impaired guidance block has irregularities on the surface, it is unstable for the visually impaired and difficult to walk, and the projection of the block is traced with a white cane while avoiding the projection of the block. . Moreover, it may become an obstacle for the passage of general pedestrians, wheelchair users, elderly people and the like.
In view of this, JP 2003-109176 A and JP 2003-131556 A have been proposed in which a visually handicapped person is guided by an electronic system regardless of the guide block.
JP 2003-109176 A JP 2003-131556 A

However, even when a visually handicapped person is guided by the electronic system, there is no effective means for reliably transmitting a dangerous area or an inaccessible area. For example, on a station platform, blocks for guiding visually impaired people are laid in a horizontal line near the front edge of the platform and used as a boundary line. It cannot be confirmed, and an accident that falls on the track occurs.
Therefore, in addition to the guidance block and the like, if the surrounding situation can be transmitted in detail to the visually handicapped person with voice and a Braille panel, it is possible to walk more safely.

  The present invention has been made to solve the conventional problems, and the purpose of the present invention is to provide a visual disturbance that is guided safely and smoothly by introducing a system for guiding the danger to the visually impaired. It is to provide a person guidance system.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the visually impaired person guidance system according to claim 1, an electronic chip that is arranged along a walking path and transmits positional information, and a visually impaired person carries when walking, and the electronic A portable terminal that communicates with the chip and confirms the walking position, and the portable terminal communicates with the electronic chip to determine whether or not the communication with the electronic chip is in a communication area with the electronic chip. Confirmation means for confirming, walking history storage means for storing walking history by communication with an electronic chip, and alarm means for transmitting an alarm to a visually impaired person when an electronic chip for transmitting danger information is recognized It is characterized by.

  The visually impaired person guidance system according to claim 2, wherein the walking history storage means has a function of storing a walking route by communicating with an electronic chip, and further stores the walking route. It is provided with a navigation function that collates the walking history with the current position and guides the distance and direction to the target point by voice.

  The visually impaired person guidance system according to claim 3, wherein the portable terminal has an image photographing function for photographing the periphery of the walking path, and remotely transmits the photographed image. A transmission function is provided.

  In the visually impaired person guidance system according to claim 4, the visually impaired person guidance system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the portable terminal has a call function for making a call to a remote place.

  The visually impaired person guidance system according to claim 5 is characterized in that in the visually impaired person guidance system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the portable terminal is built in a stick.

By adopting the above configuration, the present invention has the following effects.
The visually impaired person guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic chip is arranged along the walking path and transmits positional information, and the visually impaired person carries the apparatus while walking, and communicates with the electronic chip to confirm the walking position. Since it comprises a mobile terminal, a visually handicapped person can walk while checking the walking path with the mobile terminal.
In addition, the portable terminal includes a communication unit that communicates with the electronic chip, and a confirmation unit that confirms whether or not the mobile terminal is in a communicable area with the electronic chip through communication with the electronic chip. It is possible to reliably detect whether or not there is.
And since the walk history memory | storage means which memorize | stores a walk history by communication with an electronic chip is provided, the route which walked previously can be guided smoothly.
Further, when an electronic chip that transmits danger information is recognized, an alarm means for transmitting an alarm to a visually impaired person is provided, so that the dangerous area can be reliably detected and an accident can be prevented.

  In the visually impaired person guidance system according to claim 2, a navigation function is provided for collating the stored walking history with the current position and guiding the distance and direction to the target point by voice. It is done in detail and makes it easy for visually impaired people to walk to their destination.

  In the visually impaired person guidance system according to claim 3, since the video shooting function for shooting around the walking path is provided and the transmission function for remotely transmitting the shot video is provided, the video can be used even if an unexpected accident occurs. The cause can be traced through and a crime prevention effect can be obtained.

  In the visually impaired person guidance system according to the fourth aspect, since the portable terminal has a call function for making a call to a remote place, it is possible to receive guidance such as a walking path and a current position from the remote place.

  In the visually handicapped person guidance system according to claim 5, since the portable terminal is incorporated in the stick, an electronic system can be used in combination while being used as a conventional stick for the visually handicapped person.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for realizing the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the visually impaired person guidance system of the present invention has electronic chips 1 storing position information installed at predetermined intervals on a walking path, and those terminals are carried by a terminal (stick 2) carried by a visually impaired person. This is a system for walking while checking the chip 1. The electronic chip is arranged so as not to form irregularities on the walking path.
When the sensor of the walking stick 2 senses the electronic chip, it vibrates or sounds to the visually handicapped person to convey that it is a walking path.

The electronic chip 1 has a function of storing information related to the installation position and transmitting the information by radio waves. This electronic chip transmits its position information to a portable terminal (stick) of a visually impaired person via an infrared signal and other radio waves.
The electronic chip stores position information such as names of towns, roads, and intersections in addition to absolute position information of longitude and latitude.
As shown in FIG. 2, the power source of the electronic chip 1 includes an individual solar panel 3 and a battery, and generates electricity by sunlight in the daytime and uses the accumulated power at night. Or, in a building such as a building, power is supplied by indoor wiring. Or it is based on a method of collecting and arranging solar battery facilities and supplying electric power from the aggregated facilities to a certain range.
The transmitted electric wave of the electronic chip has a reach distance of about 50 cm, and the distance between the electronic chip 1 and the adjacent electronic chip 1 is set to about 90 cm. As a result, the radio waves between adjacent electronic chips are continuous, and no radio wave blank zone exists.
In the figure, reference numeral 3a denotes a transmitter that emits radio waves.

The electronic chip 1 can be applied as long as it has a function of communicating with a mobile terminal of a visually impaired person, and an RFID electronic chip that does not have a special power source can also be used.
RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) uses radio waves for object recognition. When an IC chip storing various information is embedded in the object and radio waves are transmitted from a read / write terminal, the IC chip A device that reacts to radio waves and uses its power to send information such as the ID code of the recording unit to the read / write terminal again, and to transmit / receive information. The RFID tag reads from the read / write terminal. In addition, writing to an electronic chip is also possible. Since the RFID tag does not require its own battery, it can be used semipermanently.
This RFID contains a resonance circuit composed of an antenna coil and a capacitor, an IC chip, and the like in a resin case.
In addition, since the RFID system performs data communication using an antenna provided in each of the tag and the reader / writer, communication is possible even if the tag is separated from the reader / writer by several tens of centimeters to several meters.

As shown in FIG. 3, the walking stick 2 incorporates various electronic circuits into a walking stick used by a general visually handicapped person, and a handle 4 bent in a horizontal direction so that the visually handicapped person can easily hold it. It is comprised by the cane part 5 extended from the handle 4 below.
The handle 4 is formed with streak-like irregularities to prevent slipping, and a rubber 6 is attached to the tip of the cane.
Further, a switch 7 is disposed in the handle 4 portion, and the switch 7 is operated to turn on and off the electronic circuit built in the stick. A battery 8 (rechargeable lithium battery) is accommodated in the wand, and electricity is supplied from the battery 8 to an electronic circuit. A solar panel 9 for charging is connected to the battery.
A communication unit 10 including a sensor, an antenna, and the like that communicate with the electronic chip is built in the cane.
The communication unit 10 is arranged on the top of the stick from the viewpoint of preventing damage due to impact during walking, but it can also be arranged on the tip of the stick to maintain good communication sensitivity with the electronic chip. The attachment site is arbitrary as long as it can secure communication with the electronic chip.

Next, FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an electronic circuit built in the stick.
As shown in FIG. 4, the electronic circuit of the portable terminal includes a communication unit 11 that communicates with the electronic chip via the communication unit 10, a confirmation unit 12 that confirms a distance from the electronic chip through communication with the electronic chip, and an electronic chip. Is provided with walking history storage means 13 for recognizing chip position information and storing walking history, and alarm means 14 for transmitting an alarm when an electronic chip storing danger information is recognized.
These electronic circuits are connected to a speaker 15, an earphone jack, and a vibration 16 that provide voice guidance to visually impaired persons.
The alarm means 14 operates the speaker 15 and the vibration 16 to transmit the danger to the visually impaired.

The communication means 11 operates by receiving radio waves transmitted from the electronic chip, or transmits radio waves to the electronic chip and receives the reaction radio waves.
The confirmation means 12 is a circuit for confirming whether or not the communication means maintains communication with the electronic chip, and confirms whether or not the reaction radio wave with the electronic chip can be received with a certain intensity.
When it can be confirmed with a certain intensity, the vibration 16 is activated to vibrate the handle or to emit sound through the earphone.

The communication means 11 communicates with an electronic chip installed on the walking path. The communication distance of the electronic chip is set to 50 cm to 1 m. When set to 50 cm, the distance between adjacent electronic chips is 90 cm. By setting the distance to 90 cm, it is possible to walk while continuously receiving radio waves from adjacent electronic chips without generating a blank area where radio waves transmitted from the electronic chip do not reach the walking line.
When the communication distance of the electronic chip is 50 cm, it is desirable to arrange the communication unit 10 at the tip of the stick in order to ensure good communication with the stick.
The communicable range is transmitted to the visually handicapped person by vibration through an earphone and sound and vibrator. A visually handicapped person can walk while detecting this and confirming that it is a walking path. Since the transmission function stops when it is out of the communication range, it recognizes that it has left the walking path. In this case, the user returns to the original position, confirms the position of the electronic chip, and walks again at a position where radio waves can be received.

The walking history storage means 13 sequentially stores the identification signals of the electronic chips communicated with walking, and stores the route and direction of walking.
This walking history storage means 13 stores the identification signal of the electronic chip recognized first, the identification signal recognized in the middle, and the identification signal recognized last. Then, it is possible to memorize where the route is reached via what route.
As for the method of recognizing the starting point and the destination of the walking history storage means, the switch 7 is turned on and the identification signal of the first recognized electronic chip and the identification signal of the last recognized electronic chip are stored within a certain time. In addition to this, the identification signal of the first electronic chip after the stick is switched on is recognized as the starting point, and the identification signal of the electronic chip immediately before being switched off is recognized as the destination.
This walking history storage means can store a plurality of routes in addition to a round trip by separately operating buttons.
The alarm means 14 recognizes the danger signal stored in the electronic chip in advance, and when the information in which the danger signal is stored is recognized, the alarm means 14 changes the vibration of the voice alarm and vibration 16 through the speaker 15 to notify.

Next, the navigation function will be described.
When the navigation device 17 is activated by a button operation or the like during walking, the identification signal of the electronic chip currently recognized is compared with the walking history stored in the walking history storage means 13.
As a result, when the same identification signal as the identification signal of the electronic chip 1 in the walking history storage means 13 is confirmed, the distance to the starting point or destination of the walking history including the identification signal of the electronic chip is detected. .
This distance information can be detected by calculating from position information included in the electronic chip.
The detected distance information is, for example, guided to a visually handicapped person through an earphone, a speaker, etc. as voice guidance such as “It is approximately OO meters to area A”.
In addition, guidance such as “Area is in the right direction”, “Straight”, “Right curve”, “Left curve”, etc. can be provided at the branch point.

As this navigation function, electronic map information is stored in a storage device of a stick beforehand, and longitude / latitude information obtained by communication with an electronic chip is compared with electronic map information, and a place name According to the above, voice guidance is given such as “Current location is XX Street XX address ○ No.”, “Current location is XX meters from XX intersection”, or “XX building entrance”.
As another means, data relating to place name guidance may be incorporated in the electronic chip in advance, and the communication means may read this information and provide voice guidance via the electronic circuit of the stick.

A guide device 20 shown in FIG. 6 is installed in a specific place such as a dangerous area on a walking path.
The guide device 20 recognizes an identification mark made of an IC chip or the like incorporated in a stick, and emits a sound from the speaker 21 when a visually handicapped person carrying the stick approaches within 5 to 10 m. Further, the details of the danger level can be confirmed on the Braille panel 22 just below the voice that is uttered.
The walking stick 2 is provided with a common electronic identification mark, and a radio wave transmitted from the guide device 20 is detected by the identification mark to detect that a visually handicapped person has approached.
Then, voice guidance is provided to indicate that the vehicle is an intersection, a pedestrian crossing, a staircase, a train, and the like, and the details are displayed on the Braille panel 22.
In addition to being supplied by wiring, the power of the guide device is constituted by a solar panel 23 and a storage battery using a battery. In addition to providing nighttime lighting, etc., the system is operated and maintained such as system maintenance and safety patrol so that visually impaired persons can walk with peace of mind through profits from advertising revenues and the like.

Next, the visually impaired person guidance system according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
The visually impaired person guidance system according to the present embodiment is configured to include a photographing function such as a camera and a telephone call function such as a telephone in addition to the stick of the first embodiment.
Since the handle 4 is formed on the walking stick 2, a part that faces forward is inevitably determined when the handle 4 is gripped and walked. Therefore, the lens 18 of the camera is arranged at a part that faces forward.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the lens 18 is disposed at the bent portion of the walking stick 2. This lens 18 consists of a wide-angle lens, and can photograph wide ahead in the walking direction.
The walking stick 2 has a built-in wireless telephone such as a mobile phone and PHS, and the earphone / microphone wiring is extended from these telephone devices. And it is set as the structure which can be connected to the rescue facility, security facility, home etc. which were preset by button operation etc.
In addition, a light emitting unit 19 is disposed on the top of the stick so that it can be notified of an emergency by flashing in an emergency.
If you walk with the shooting function activated while walking, you can send an emergency video such as an accident to a remote location, record the transmission information, and search for the cause of the accident. can get.
Further, by combining the shooting function and the call function, it is possible to provide guidance on the current position of the walking path, the presence / absence of an obstacle, the direction, etc. while confirming the image from a remote place.

  Although the embodiments have been described above, the specific configuration of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and design changes and the like within a range not departing from the gist of the invention are also included in the present invention.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of a visually impaired person guidance system. It is a perspective view which shows an electronic chip. It is a schematic block diagram of a stick. It is a block diagram of an electronic circuit. It is a schematic block diagram of the stick which concerns on 2nd Example. It is explanatory drawing of a guide apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electronic chip 2 Stick 3 Solar panel 4 Handle 5 Cane part 6 Rubber 7 Switch 8 Battery 9 Solar panel 10 Communication part 11 Communication means 12 Confirmation means 13 Walking history storage means 14 Alarm means 15 Speaker 16 Vibration 17 Navigation function 18 Lens 19 Light emission Part 20 Guide device 21 Speaker 22 Braille panel 23 Solar panel 24 Advertisement

Claims (5)

An electronic chip that is arranged along the walking path and transmits position information;
A visually handicapped person carries when walking, and consists of a portable terminal that communicates with the electronic chip to check the walking position,
The portable terminal includes a communication unit that communicates with the electronic chip, a confirmation unit that confirms whether the mobile terminal is in a communicable area with the electronic chip through communication with the electronic chip, and a walking that stores a walking history through communication with the electronic chip. A visually impaired person guidance system comprising: history storage means; and alarm means for transmitting an alarm to a visually impaired person when an electronic chip that transmits danger information is recognized.   The visually impaired person guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the walking history storage means includes a navigation function for collating the stored walking history with the current position and guiding the distance and direction to the target point by voice. .   3. The visually impaired person guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the portable terminal has an image capturing function for capturing an image around a walking path, and a transmission function for remotely transmitting the captured image.   The visually impaired person guidance system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the portable terminal has a call function for making a call with a remote place.   The visually impaired person guidance system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the portable terminal is configured to be incorporated in a walking stick.

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