JP4452785B2 - Sensory substitution device - Google Patents

Description

  In the present invention, the presence / absence and shape of the front obstacle can be sensed by the forward / backward movement of the handheld device body by feeding and winding the wire in accordance with the presence / absence of the front obstacle and the shape of the obstacle. It is related with the sensory substitution device which was made.

  Conventionally, as a device for detecting a front object of a visually handicapped person, for example, JP-A-8-332198 (Patent Document 1) discloses a reflector based on a delay time from transmission of an ultrasonic wave to reception of a reflected wave. The system which calculates | requires the distance to this and notifies a visually impaired person of the result by an audio | voice is disclosed. However, visually impaired people sense a lot of information by the surrounding sounds heard by their ears, so notifying the presence of an obstacle by voice can be a noise that hinders the acquisition of other important information. There were no problems.

  In JP 2001-33552 A (Patent Document 2), ultrasonic waves are transmitted at different carrier frequencies in different directions in front of walking to measure distances, and the distance and direction to the obstacle are notified by vibration. Technology is disclosed. However, even if the distance or area to the obstacle is informed by the difference in the frequency or the vibration area, it is not intuitive, so it is difficult for the user to recognize it.

  Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-33553 (Patent Document 3) discloses a technique for detecting an obstacle that cannot be reached by a white cane with ultrasonic waves. However, what kind of user is notified is disclosed. There is no.

  Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-296024 (Patent Document 4) discloses a technique for detecting a step just before using an ultrasonic sensor, but the presence of an obstacle ahead of the white cane does not reach. Presence / absence cannot be detected.

  Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-235538 (Patent Document 5), Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-237777 (Patent Document 6), and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-306553 (Patent Document 7) disclose a reflector of transmitted ultrasonic waves. A technique for recognizing the reflector based on the reflected wave information from is disclosed. However, there is no description on how to notify a visually impaired person when this apparatus recognizes a reflector.

In this way, in the conventional technology, the presence or form of an obstacle ahead of the white cane that is not reachable by the white cane is intuitively notified to the visually impaired person without obstructing the sensitive auditory function of the visually impaired person. I could not.
JP-A-8-332198 JP 2001-33552 A JP 2001-33553 A JP 2002-296024 A JP 2001-235538 A JP 2001-237777 A JP 2002-306553 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional technical problems, and intuitively determines whether or not there is an obstacle in front of the visually handicapped person who cannot reach the white cane, and its shape. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sensory substitute device that can notify without disturbing the function of the auditory sense.

  The sensory substitution device of the invention of claim 1 is a distance measuring sensor that wirelessly measures a distance to an obstacle ahead, a reel that feeds and winds a wire, and a feeding length that monitors a feeding length of the wire from the reel. According to the measurement distance of the sensor and the distance measuring sensor, the wire is allowed to be fed out to the reel by a length corresponding to the measurement distance backward from the current feeding amount, or wound by an excessive feeding length. A reel controller to be taken and a fastener attached to the rear end of the wire.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the sensory substitution device according to the first aspect, the reel controller includes a tension sensor that senses the tension of the wire, and the reel controller includes a tension greater than or equal to a predetermined value when the tension sensor feeds the wire to the reel. The wire is fed out only when it is detected.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the sensory substitution device according to the first or second aspect, the distance measuring sensor emits an ultrasonic wave forward, receives a reflected wave thereof, and based on a round-trip time of the ultrasonic wave, the front The ultrasonic sensor measures the distance to the obstacle.

  According to the present invention, the rear end of the wire is fixed to the user's body, for example, a belt, by the fastener, and the device is held in the hand and the wire is always stretched, and is forwardly moved, and can be moved up and down and left and right. For example, the reel controller adjusts the winding length of the wire according to the distance to the obstacle in front, shortens the wire feeding distance for the obstacle protruding forward, and winds the wire Pull the device body back to the body to inform the proximity of the obstacle.For example, when there is no obstacle in the front, such as an open door opening, the wire is extended long and the device is moved forward in the range where the arm extends. It is possible to inform the absence of an obstacle by allowing it to move for a long time, and it can be used by moving the device body back and forth on the surface scanned with the device body. Not to disturb the work of the hearing to get information that is important for the visually impaired who have a keen hearing intuitively can make Kant, yet because it does not use the sound to the person.

  Further, by always applying a slight tension to the wire, the wire is not loosened and the usability is improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a sensory substitution device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a wearing state thereof. As shown in FIG. 1, a sensory substitution device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a distance measuring sensor 2, a microcomputer 3, a motor drive circuit 4 controlled by the microcomputer 3, a reel drive motor 5, and a fastener at the tip. A reel 6 for feeding and winding the wire 9 with a ring 10, a magnetic sensor 7 prepared for applying a certain tension to the wire 9, and a rotary encoder 8 for monitoring the rotation angle of the motor 5. ing. These elements are accommodated in a main body 11 having a size that can be held by hand except for the wire 9. As shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus main body 11 is provided with a start button 12, and by pressing this button, the microcomputer 3 initializes and starts the apparatus.

  The ultrasonic distance measuring sensor 2 includes a 38 kHz oscillator 20, an ultrasonic drive circuit 21, an ultrasonic transmitter 22 that transmits ultrasonic waves, an ultrasonic receiver 23 that receives ultrasonic reflected waves, an amplification detector 24, a counter 25, and An 8 kHz oscillator 26 is provided.

  The 38 kHz oscillator 20 oscillates at 38 kHz to generate ultrasonic waves, and the drive circuit 21 transmits ultrasonic waves from the ultrasonic transmitter 22 at predetermined timings. The ultrasonic receiver 23 receives a sound wave in an ultrasonic band from a predetermined direction (front), and the amplification detector 24 amplifies the received sound wave and detects only a sound wave in the 38 kHz band as a reflected wave. This detection output is output to the counter 25. The counter 25 counts the pulses of the 8 kHz oscillator 25 for each transmission operation of the drive circuit 21 and outputs the pulse count number when receiving the detection output.

  The motor drive circuit 4 has a current limit. When a DC motor is used as the motor, when the DC motor is overloaded while a current is applied and does not rotate, the energy of the DC motor generates a large amount of heat, which may burn the motor. Therefore, in order to prevent the motor from burning, the motor drive circuit 4 has a current limiting function. The motor 5 is rotated forward and backward by the motor drive circuit 4 to simultaneously rotate the reels 6 connected by an elastic joint, and the wire 9 is fed or wound. The reel 6 is coupled to the output shaft of the motor 5 by a joint made of an elastic material, and is itself supported in a state where it can move flexibly to some extent. The magnetic sensor 7 is fixed to the main body 11 side, detects when the reel 6 is displaced from the home position in the free state due to the tension of the wire 9, and outputs it to the microcomputer 3 as tension information. The rotary encoder 8 outputs the rotation angle of the motor 5 or the reel 6 as a pulse to the microcomputer 3.

  The microcomputer 3 knows the current motor rotation angle (reel wire winding amount), converts the distance when the pulse count is received from the counter 25 of the distance measuring sensor 2, and converts the wire from the reel 6 accordingly. 9 calculates the amount of feeding or winding, calculates the motor current and rotation direction corresponding to it, outputs it as it is in winding, and inputs it when receiving tension detection information in feeding. The feeding command is output to the motor drive circuit 4 only for a while and until the feeding amount reaches a predetermined amount.

  Next, the operation of the sensory substitution device 1 having the above configuration will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the ring 10 is attached to the belt 14 of the user 13, or the rear end of the wire 9 is connected to the body of the user 13 by other methods.

  Then, when the user 13 holds the apparatus main body 11 in his / her hand and holds it slightly forward of the body and presses the start button 12, the apparatus 1 is activated. The microcomputer 3 initializes the apparatus when the start button 12 is pressed, and sets the current feeding amount of the wire 9 to the initial state amount.

  Subsequently, when the user 13 moves the main body 11 horizontally in a state where the wire 9 is stretched, if there is an obstacle ahead, the distance to the obstacle 15, for example, according to the distance of the obstacle If the distance is far, the feeding amount of the wire 9 is extended, and the main body 11 goes farther away from the body. Conversely, if the distance to the obstacle in front is short, the wire 9 is forcibly wound around the reel 6 and is fed out. Reduce the amount.

  As shown in FIG. 3, it is assumed that the initial state is S1, and an obstacle 15 (for example, a wall) is present ahead in this state. From this state, when the user moves horizontally to the states S2 to S4 while applying a slight tension to the wire 9, for example, there is a door door 17 between the obstacles 15 and 16, and the door is opened. Since the distance measurement of the distance measuring sensor 2 becomes infinite, the reel 6 is rotated in the feeding direction and the wire 9 is fed. When the main body 11 is further moved to the position of S5, the distance to the obstacle 16 is measured again, and the wire 9 is forcibly wound up to the feeding amount corresponding to the measurement distance.

  When a distance analysis is performed using a 38 kHz ultrasonic wave and a pulse count number of 8 kHz, a resolution of 2.2 cm can be obtained with one pulse. This is because 1/8 kHz = 125 μs, and the speed of sound 340 [m / s] × 125 [μs] ÷ 2 (reciprocation) = 2.2 [cm]. Therefore, if it is 100 counts, it can be felt that an obstacle exists in front 2.2 m of the main body.

  As described above, in the sensory substitution device according to the present embodiment, the body 11 held by the user 13 in his / her hand is kept in a state where the wire 9 is slightly stretched (while tension is applied), and the front is horizontally scanned. Then, the main body 11 moves back and forth according to the uneven state of the front obstacle, and the user can intuitively feel the presence or absence of the front obstacle and the uneven state. In addition, if the apparatus is moved in the vertical direction, it is possible to intuitively perceive unevenness in the vertical direction. For example, you can feel the steps of the front stairs.

  The microcomputer 3 is provided with a storage device so that the distance measurement data at the time of scanning is stored, and the distance measurement data is reproduced later to incorporate the function of controlling the feeding amount and winding amount of the wire 9. The shape can be reproduced in other places.

  Further, as the distance measuring sensor 2, a laser sensor, a visible light sensor, an optical phase sensor that is widely used for autofocusing can be used instead of the ultrasonic sensor, and any sensor that can measure the distance wirelessly can be used. It is not limited.

The functional block diagram of one embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing of the use condition of the said embodiment. Operation | movement explanatory drawing of the said embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 Sensory substitution device 2 Distance sensor 3 Microcomputer 4 Motor drive circuit 5 Motor 6 Reel 7 Magnetic sensor 8 Rotary encoder 9 Wire 10 Ring

Claims (3)

A distance measuring sensor that wirelessly measures the distance to the obstacle ahead,
A reel for unwinding and winding the wire;
A feed length sensor for monitoring a feed length of the wire from the reel;
A reel that allows the reel to be fed out by a length corresponding to the measured distance to the rear of the reel in accordance with the measurement distance of the distance measuring sensor, or to be wound up by the excess payout length. A controller,
A sensory substitute device comprising a fastener attached to a rear end of the wire. A tension sensor for sensing the tension of the wire;
2. The sensory substitution device according to claim 1, wherein the reel controller feeds the wire only when the tension sensor detects a predetermined tension or more when feeding the wire to the reel. The distance measuring sensor is an ultrasonic sensor that radiates an ultrasonic wave forward, receives a reflected wave thereof, and measures a distance to the obstacle ahead based on a round-trip time of the ultrasonic wave. The sensory substitution device according to claim 1 or 2.

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