JP3600477B2 - Pressure distribution analyzer and recording medium recording pressure distribution analysis program - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a pressure distribution analyzer that measures the pressure distribution of a moving object, analyzes the motion of the moving object from the measurement result, and outputs the characteristics as parameters.
[0002]
[Prior art]
There is a method in which a human being is targeted as a moving object, and a motion analysis is performed by measuring a ground contact state of a foot during a human motion. As a conventional technology, a device that displays a pressure distribution due to foot contact during exercise so that it can be visually analyzed, a device that determines a pressure center as a representative point of the pressure distribution, and a device that displays so that the pressure center can be visually determined, or There is a device for analyzing the locus of the center of pressure.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Although a device that displays the pressure distribution during exercise is easy for humans to understand, there is a problem that it takes time and effort in visual analysis. Further, since the device for displaying the foot pressure center locus represents the foot pressure distribution at one point, there is a problem that important information inherent in the foot pressure distribution is deleted. In the visual pressure distribution analysis, what force is applied to which part of the sole and at what timing is read, and extracting feature values that reflect such information is an issue for automatic analysis. ing.
[0004]
An object of the present invention is to provide a pressure distribution analyzer that automatically analyzes the spatial and temporal distribution of pressure when a moving object touches the ground, and a recording medium that records a pressure distribution analysis program.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The pressure distribution analyzer of the present invention,
Pressure sensing means for measuring the pressure distribution when the foot of the moving object touches the ground,
Sole area detecting means for detecting a sole area from the measured pressure distribution,
Part recognition means for recognizing, from the sole area, each part of the thumb, the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger, the little finger, the inside of the forefoot, the center of the forefoot, the outside of the forefoot, the middle foot, and the heel;
The sum of the pressures in the region of the part recognized by the part recognition means is calculated, the time of the load for each part is normalized by the contact period of the sole of the moving object, and the load value is calculated during the contact period of the sole of the same moving object. And a unit-based load detecting means for normalizing with the maximum load value .
Another pressure distribution analyzer of the present invention,
When the moving object passes through a predetermined surface, a pressure sensing means for measuring a pressure distribution when the object comes into contact with the ground,
A sole region detecting means for detecting a sole region of the moving object from the measured pressure distribution,
Part recognition means for recognizing a part registered in advance from the sole area;
Having a part-by-part load detecting means for calculating the sum of the pressures in the part area recognized by the part recognizing means,
When the part recognizing means receives a sole area of the moving object from the sole area detecting means and a template storing means for storing a template representing a method of dividing the sole of the moving object into the part, A connected region detecting means for detecting, as a connected region, a measurement point of a pressure distribution constituting a region as a connected region, and receiving a sole region of a moving object from the sole region detecting unit; The sole area is divided into small areas by matching the orientation and the size of the template stored in the storage means, each divided small area is output, and when the sole direction is received, the template storage means A template that reads the template from the template, aligns the orientation of the template with the sole direction, divides the sole area into small areas, and outputs each divided small area. When first receiving the small area divided by the matching means and the template matching means, the respective parts of the sole of the moving object are identified from the small area and the connected area received from the connected area detecting means, The part area is output to the sole direction detecting means, and when the small area is received for the second time from the template matching means, each part of the sole of the moving object is obtained from the small area and the connected area received from the connected area detecting means. And a part identification means for outputting the identified parts to the part-specific load detection means, and a sole direction detected from the part area output first by the part identification means, and output to the template matching means. A sole direction detecting means is included.
[0006]
By extracting the time change of the load for each part of the object plane, the spatial and temporal distribution of the pressure when the moving object touches the ground can be automatically analyzed.
[0007]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0008]
Referring to FIG. 1, the pressure distribution analyzer according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a pressure sensor 101, a bottom surface region detection unit 102, a region recognition unit 103, and a region surface load detection unit 104.
[0009]
The pressure sensor 101 measures a pressure distribution generated when the object contacts the ground, and outputs the measured pressure distribution to the bottom surface area detection unit 102 and the part load detection unit 104. The pressure distribution is obtained as time-series data by performing continuous measurement. The bottom surface area detection unit 102 detects the bottom surface area of the object from the pressure distribution, and outputs the detected area to the part recognition unit 103. In the pressure distribution during the measurement period, the bottom surface can be detected by selecting a point having a pressure value at each measurement point. The part recognition unit 103 recognizes a part registered in advance from the bottom surface of the object received from the bottom surface area detection unit 102, and outputs the recognized part to the part-specific load detection unit 104. The part-specific load detection unit 104 calculates the sum of the pressures in the part area at each time as the part load from the pressure distribution received from the pressure sensor 101 and the part area received from the part recognition unit 103, and calculates the calculated load for each part. Output the load value as time series data.
[0010]
Referring to FIG. 2, when receiving the bottom surface region of the object from the bottom surface region detection unit 102, the part recognition unit 103 detects, as a connection region, a connection region where pressure distribution measurement points constituting the bottom surface region are adjacent to each other. A detection unit 201 and a site determination unit 202 that determines which site on the object bottom surface the connection region corresponds to based on the position and size of the connection region, and outputs the site region to the site-specific load detection unit 104. .
[0011]
Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to an example of a contact pressure by a foot when a person walks. FIG. 3A shows the pressure distribution measured by the pressure sensor 101. This is the pressure distribution from the heel to the kick with your fingertips. The concentration represents a pressure value. The bottom surface area detecting unit 102 detects the sole from the pressure distribution. When a measurement point having a pressure value is selected in FIG. 3A, a sole area shown in FIG. 3B is obtained. The bottom area detection unit 102 outputs the detected sole area to the connected area detection unit 201. The connected region detection unit 201 divides the sole region into a plurality of connected regions and outputs the divided regions to the region determination unit 202. FIG. 4 shows an example of the separated area. The site determination unit 202 recognizes the sites of the six connection regions from K1 to K6. When five parts and six parts of the foot area other than the fingers are registered as the sole parts, which of K1 to K6 is identified. The identification method is performed according to the following rules.
(1) If the area of the connected area is S1 or more, it is a foot area other than the finger. (2) If the position of the connected area is above the foot area other than the finger, and if the area is S2 or less, it is a finger ( 3) The areas of the connection areas located at both ends among the plurality of connection areas recognized as fingers are compared, and the larger one is the thumb and the smaller one is the little finger. The connecting areas between them are recognized as the index finger, the middle finger, and the ring finger in the order in which they are located.
[0012]
In FIG. 4, K1 is recognized as a thumb, K2 is an index finger, K3 is a middle finger, K4 is a ring finger, K5 is a little finger, and K6 is a foot area other than a finger. The region determination unit 202 outputs the region for each region to the region-specific load detection unit 104. The part-specific load detection unit 104 calculates the sum of the pressures in each part region acquired by the part determination unit 202 from the pressure distribution at each time received from the pressure sensor 101.
[0013]
Referring to FIG. 5, upon receiving a template reading instruction, region recognition unit 103 outputs a stored template, and receives a bottom surface area of the object from bottom surface detection unit 102. A template reading command is issued to the unit 302, the template is received from the template storage unit 302, and the orientation and size of the template are adjusted to the bottom surface region of the object, thereby dividing the bottom surface region into each part and detecting each part region as a part load. It comprises a template matching unit 301 that outputs to the unit 104.
[0014]
Next, the operation of the template matching unit 301 will be described by taking as an example a case where the pressure distribution measured by the pressure sensor 101 and the bottom surface area detected by the bottom surface area detection unit 102 are the foot pressure distribution and the sole shown in FIG. I do. FIG. 6 shows an example of a template stored in the template storage unit 302. In the template shown in the figure, M1 indicates the inside of the forefoot, M2 indicates the center of the forefoot, M3 indicates the outside of the forefoot, M4 indicates the middle foot, and M5 indicates the heel. First, as shown in the center of FIG. 6, the maximum length direction of the sole area is detected, and the template is rotated such that the maximum length direction coincides with the long axis of the outer frame of the template. Next, the vertical and horizontal sizes of the template are changed so that the outer frame is inscribed in the sole area. After matching the sole region with the outer frame of the template, the sole region is divided according to each region of the template.
[0015]
Referring to FIG. 7, the part recognition unit 103 includes a connected area detection unit 201, a template collation unit 301, a template storage unit 302, and a part identification unit 401. The bottom area detection unit 102 detects the bottom area of the object from the pressure distribution received from the pressure sensor 101 and outputs the bottom area to the connected area detection unit 201 and the template matching unit 301. Upon receiving the bottom surface region of the object from the bottom surface region detection unit 102, the connected region detection unit 201 detects the connection region of the bottom surface region and outputs the connected region to the part identification unit 401. The template matching unit 301 divides the bottom surface region into small regions by matching the orientation and size of the template with the bottom surface region of the object received from the bottom surface region detection unit 102, and outputs the small region to the region identification unit 401. The part identification unit 401 identifies each part of the object bottom surface from the connected area received from the connected area detection unit 201 and the small area received from the template matching unit 301, and outputs each identified part area to the partial load detection unit 104.
[0016]
The operation of the region identification unit 401 will be described by taking as an example a case where the object bottom surface region output from the bottom surface region detection unit 102 and the template stored in the template storage unit 302 are the sole region and the template shown in FIG. First, the connection region (see FIG. 4) output from the connection region detection unit 201 is determined as a site. Next, a region excluding the determined region in the small region (see FIG. 6) output from the template matching unit 301 is defined as a region. Through the above processing, as shown in FIG. 8, the portions from L1 to L10 are detected. Each part is identified in the same manner as in the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3. In FIG. 8, L1 is the thumb, L2 is the index finger, L3 is the middle finger, L4 is the ring finger, L5 is the little finger, L6 is the inside of the forefoot, and L7 is The center of the forefoot, L8 is identified as the outside of the forefoot, L9 is identified as the midfoot, and L10 is identified as the heel. FIG. 9 shows an example in which the sole is divided into ten parts and the load change for each part is obtained. It can be seen from the figure that the ground contact status of the foot can be analyzed temporally and spatially by the load for each part.
[0017]
Referring to FIG. 10, site recognition unit 103 includes a connected region detection unit 201, a template storage unit 302, a template comparison unit 501, a site identification unit 502, and a bottom direction detection unit 503. Upon receiving the bottom area of the object from the bottom area detection unit 102, the template matching unit 501 issues a template reading command to the template storage unit 302. When the template is received from the template storage unit 302, the bottom area is divided into small areas by adjusting the orientation and size of the template to the object bottom area, and each small area is output to the part identification unit 502. When the bottom direction is received from the bottom direction detection unit 503, the template storage unit 302 is accessed to read the template, the orientation of the template is adjusted to the direction received from the bottom direction detection unit 503, and then the size is set to the object bottom. The bottom area is divided into small areas by matching the area, and each divided small area is output to the part identification unit 502.
[0018]
When a small area is first received from the template matching unit 501, the part identifying unit 502 identifies each part of the bottom surface of the object from the connected area received from the connected area detecting unit 201 and the small area received from the template matching unit 501. The respective region regions thus obtained are output to the bottom surface direction detection unit 503. When the small area received from the template matching unit 501 is the second time, each part of the object bottom is identified from the connected area received from the connected area detection unit 201 and the small area received from the template matching unit 501, and each identified part area is identified. Is output to the partial load detection unit 104.
[0019]
The bottom direction detection unit 503 detects the bottom direction from the region of the region received from the region identification unit 502, and outputs the detected direction to the template matching unit 501. The method of obtaining the bottom direction from the region of the part is performed based on a preset rule. For example, in the example of FIG. 8, a rule is set in which the direction connecting the centers of the region regions L2 and L10 is the bottom surface direction.
[0020]
With such a configuration, even if the template matching unit 301 in FIG. 7 cannot accurately detect the bottom surface direction, it is possible to correctly recognize a part.
[0021]
Further, an embodiment in which the temporal change of the load for each part output from the load detecting unit 104 for each part in each embodiment is normalized by the grounding period of the object surface, and the normalized load change for each part is output is also effective. is there. By the normalization processing, it is possible to compare the contact period for each part or to perform comparison with another walk having a different contact period. Assuming that the time on the horizontal axis in FIG. 9 is the ratio to the one-step contact period, FIG. 11 is obtained. From the figure, it can be easily read that L10 is always in contact with the ground for the first half of the grounding period of one step.
[0022]
Further, in the temporal change of the load for each part output from the load detection part 104 for each part in each embodiment, the embodiment in which the maximum load value and the time at that time are output as individual walking characteristics is also effective. . The data of 20 steps were collected by the two subjects A and B, and the maximum load of each part was obtained for 20 samples obtained by measuring the change in each part load from L1 to L10 shown in FIG. 8 from each step. FIG. 12 shows the result of calculating the average and the variation of the values. The load value for each part is normalized by the maximum value of all loads at each time. As a result of performing a T test, the maximum load value of the site except for L8 and L10 is significantly different among subjects (p <0.05). Also, the feature is that the load value of the finger on the subject A is large. Thus, it can be seen that the maximum value of the site-specific load is an effective individual feature.
[0023]
Next, FIG. 13 shows the result of calculating the average and the variation of the time when the load per part becomes maximum for the 20 samples. The time is normalized by one step of the contact time. The variation in the timing at which the maximum load is applied to both the subjects A and B is small, and it can be said that the timing at which each part is grounded most strongly during walking is constant with respect to the grounding period. In addition, as a result of the T test, the phase of the portion other than L9 at the maximum load has a significant difference among subjects (p <0.05).
[0024]
Thus, it can be seen that there is an effective personal feature at the time when the load by site is the first.
[0025]
FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of a pressure distribution analyzer according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. The pressure distribution analyzer of the present embodiment implements the pressure distribution analyzer of FIG. 2 on a computer such as a personal computer, and calculates a pressure sensor 601 (same as the pressure sensor 101) and a storage device 602 as a hard disk. An output device 603 such as a printer or a display that outputs the sum of the detected pressures, and a pressure distribution analysis program composed of processes of a bottom area detection unit 102, a part recognition unit 103, and a part-specific load detection unit 104 in FIG. A recording medium 604 such as an FD (floppy disk), CD-ROM, MO (magneto-optical disk) or the like is recorded, and a CPU 605 reads a pressure distribution analysis program from the recording medium 604 and executes the program. .
[0026]
2, 5, and 7 can be similarly implemented on a computer such as a personal computer.
[0027]
As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to the example of the pressure distribution at the time of human walking, but it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to the analysis of the pressure distribution at the time of animal walking.
[0028]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, a time-dependent change in load for each part of the object surface is extracted, and the spatial and temporal distribution of the pressure when the moving object comes into contact with the ground is automatically analyzed. And take no time.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a pressure distribution analyzer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a pressure distribution analyzer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of foot pressure distribution and sole detection.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example in which a part is recognized.
FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a pressure distribution analyzer according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of a template transformation process.
FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a pressure distribution device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a part is recognized.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a load for each part.
FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a pressure distribution analyzer according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a graph of an example in which a temporal change of a load for each part is normalized by a ground contact period of an object.
FIG. 12 is a graph showing an example of the average and the variation of the maximum value of the load for each part.
FIG. 13 is a graph showing an example of time averages and variations when the load for each part is maximized.
FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of a pressure distribution analyzer according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
101 Pressure sensor 102 Bottom area detection unit 103 Part recognition unit 104 Part-specific load detection unit 201 Connection area detection unit 202 Part determination unit 301 Template collation unit 302 Template storage unit 401 Part identification unit 501 Template storage unit 502 Part identification unit 503 Bottom direction Detector 601 Pressure sensor 602 Storage device 603 Output device 604 Recording medium 605 Data processing device

Claims (12)

Pressure sensing means for measuring the pressure distribution when the foot of the moving object touches the ground,
Sole area detecting means for detecting a sole area from the measured pressure distribution,
Part recognition means for recognizing, from the sole area, each part of the thumb, the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger, the little finger, the inside of the forefoot, the center of the forefoot, the outside of the forefoot, the middle foot, and the heel;
The sum of the pressures in the region of the part recognized by the part recognition means is calculated, the time of the load for each part is normalized by the contact period of the sole of the moving object, and the load value is calculated during the contact period of the sole of the same moving object. And a load detecting means for each part which normalizes with a maximum load value of the pressure distribution analyzer. A template storage unit that stores a template representing a method of dividing the sole of the moving object into the respective parts,
The pressure distribution analyzer according to claim 1, further comprising: a template matching unit configured to divide the sole region into the respective parts by adjusting the orientation and the size of the stored template to the sole region. A template storage unit that stores a template representing a method of dividing the sole of the moving object into the respective parts,
Receiving the sole area from the sole area detecting means, a connected area detecting means for detecting the adjacent one of the pressure distribution measurement points constituting the sole area as a connected area,
Template matching means for dividing the sole area into small areas by matching the orientation and size of the template stored in the template storage means to the sole area received from the sole area detection means,
A part for identifying each part of the sole of the moving object from the connected area detected by the connected area detecting means and the small area divided by the template matching means, and outputting each identified part to the part-specific load detecting means. The pressure distribution analyzer according to claim 1, further comprising identification means. When the moving object passes through a predetermined surface, a pressure sensing means for measuring a pressure distribution when the object comes into contact with the ground,
A sole region detecting means for detecting a sole region of the moving object from the measured pressure distribution,
Part recognition means for recognizing a part registered in advance from the sole area;
Having a part-by-part load detecting means for calculating the sum of the pressures in the part area recognized by the part recognizing means,
The part recognition means, a template storage means storing a template representing a method of dividing the sole of the moving object into the part, and receiving the sole area of the moving object from the sole area detecting means, A connection region detecting means for detecting, as a connection region, an adjacent measurement point of the pressure distribution forming the sole region, and a sole region of the moving object from the sole region detecting means; Dividing the sole region into small regions by matching the orientation and size of the template stored in the template storage means to the region, outputting each divided small region, and receiving the sole direction, A template is read from the template storage unit, and the orientation of the template is adjusted to the sole direction to divide the sole area into small areas and output the divided small areas. When a small area divided by the template matching means is first received, the respective parts of the sole of the moving object are identified from the small area and the connected area received from the connected area detecting means. The respective region regions are output to the sole direction detecting means, and when the small area is received a second time from the template matching means, the sole area of the moving object is obtained from the small area and the connected area received from the connected area detecting means. A part identification means for identifying each part and outputting each identified part to the part-specific load detection means, and a sole direction detected from a part area first output from the part identification means, and the template matching means Including a sole direction detecting means for outputting
Pressure distribution analyzer. The load according to claim 4 , wherein the load detecting means normalizes the time of the load according to the part in the ground contact period of the sole of the moving object, and normalizes the load value with the maximum load value during the contact period of the sole of the moving object. A pressure distribution analyzer according to any one of the preceding claims. The load detection means for each part, during the ground contact period of the same animal sole, the value when the load value of each part is maximum, and the time after normalization at that time as a part-specific load feature The pressure distribution analyzer according to claim 1 or 5, which outputs the pressure distribution. Sole area detection processing for detecting the sole area from the measured pressure distribution when the moving object's feet touch the ground,
A part recognition process for recognizing each part of the thumb, the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger, the little finger, the inside of the forefoot, the center of the forefoot, the outside of the forefoot, the middle foot, and the heel from the sole area;
The sum of the pressures in the region of the part recognized by the part recognition processing is calculated, the time of the load for each part is normalized by the contact period of the sole of the moving object, and the load value is calculated during the contact period of the sole of the same moving object. A recording medium storing a pressure distribution analysis program for causing a computer to execute a load detection process for each part normalized by the maximum load value of the above . 8. The part recognition process includes a template matching process that divides the sole region into the respective parts by matching the orientation and size of the template stored in the template storage unit with the sole region. The recording medium according to the above. When the part recognition processing receives the sole area of the moving object from the sole area detection processing, a connected area detection that detects, as a connected area, a measurement point of the pressure distribution constituting the sole area as an adjacent area. Processing,
Template matching processing for dividing the sole area into small areas by matching the orientation and the size of the template stored in the template storage means with the sole area received from the sole area detection processing;
A part that identifies each part of the sole of the moving object from the connected area detected in the connected area detection processing and the small area divided in the template matching processing, and outputs the identified part to the part-specific load detection processing. 8. The recording medium according to claim 7, including an identification process. When the moving object passes through a predetermined surface, a sole region detection process of detecting a sole region from a measured pressure distribution when the surface touches the ground,
In the part recognition processing for recognizing a part registered in advance from the sole area, when the sole area is received from the sole area detection processing, the measurement points of the pressure distribution forming the sole area are determined. A connected region detecting process of detecting an adjacent object as a connected region, and receiving a sole region of the moving object from the sole region detecting process, and the orientation of the template stored in the template storage means in the sole region By dividing the sole area into small areas by adjusting the size of the sole area, outputting each divided small area, and receiving the sole direction, the template is read from the template storage means, and the orientation of the template is determined. A template matching process that divides the sole region into small regions by matching the plantar direction and outputs each divided small region; The split is small regions when the received first identifies each part of the plantar region from the connecting region received from the connected area detecting process and the small region, outputs the part region which is identified plantar direction detection processing Then, when the small area is received for the second time by the template matching processing, each part of the sole of the moving object is identified from the small area and the connected area received by the connected area detection processing, and each identified part is identified as a part. A part identification process to be output to another load detection process; a part recognition process including a sole direction detection process to detect a sole direction from the part region output first from the part identification process and to output to the template matching process. ,
A recording medium recording a pressure distribution analysis program for causing a computer to execute the load detection processing for each part, which calculates the sum of the pressures in the part regions recognized in the part recognition processing. According to claim 10, said site-specific load detection process of site-specific loading time normalized to ground period plantar animal body, to normalize the load value at maximum load during the ground period of the same animal body plantar Recording medium. The site-specific load detection process, during the ground contact period of the same animal sole, the value when the load value of each site is maximum, and the time after normalization at that time as the site-specific load feature The recording medium according to claim 7 , wherein the recording medium is output.

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