JP6258879B2 - Guidance control system and method for small mobile and transport devices - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to traveling guidance technology, and more particularly to guidance control technology for guiding and supporting a small moving / transporting device such as a stroller or a wheelchair to a destination.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a pedestrian navigation system that guides a user from a current location to a destination is used as a system that conforms to a vehicle navigation system (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). In this system, the server searches the database for the optimal walking route from the departure point to the destination based on the departure point and destination input from the mobile terminal such as a smartphone, and provides information on the walking route. Is transmitted to the user's smartphone and displayed on the screen.

“DOCOMO Map Navigation”, https://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/service/information/map_navi/, NTT DOCOMO

  Manual propulsion vehicles such as strollers and wheelchairs include small moving / transporting devices (propulsion power-equipped manual propulsion vehicles) equipped with auxiliary or self-propelled propulsion power. For example, some baby strollers are equipped with an electric assist in which an electric motor is driven by a built-in battery and propulsion power is output when a handle is held. In addition, wheelchairs include wheelchairs with an electric assist that assists the electric motor with the power to push the hand rim and push from behind, and self-propelled electric wheelchairs that can also adjust the propulsion power and propulsion direction simply by operating the lever. .

  However, since the above-described conventional technology is intended for general users who can easily walk, obstacles that obstruct the passage of small mobile devices such as strollers and wheelchairs with propulsion power on the searched walking route. Things may exist. For example, if there are obstacles such as steps, stairs, escalators, hills, parked bicycles, etc. on the route, there is no problem for general users, but it is possible to use moving and transporting devices such as strollers and wheelchairs. If this is the case, it is necessary to lift and carry the moving / transporting device, or to search for another route. Therefore, in order to safely reach the destination while dealing with these obstacles, there is a problem that it takes more time and physical burden than expected.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a guidance support technology capable of guiding and supporting a small moving / transporting device such as a stroller or a wheelchair safely and easily to a destination.

In order to achieve such an object, a guidance control system according to the present invention is a guidance control system for guiding and controlling a small mobile / transport device having auxiliary or self-propelled propulsion power to a destination. The route information DB that stores route information such as information and obstacle information indicating the position of the obstacle, and the route information in the route information DB are referred to, and the optimum route from the current location avoiding the obstacle to the destination is derived. Based on the optimum route derivation unit, the current location of the small moving / transporting device, and the proximity of the small moving / transporting device detected by the proximity sensor, the small moving / transporting device is Guidance information deriving unit for deriving guidance information for safely passing without contacting a nearby object, and guidance for guiding and controlling the propulsion mechanism of the small mobile / transport device based on the guidance information And control unit, as a fault tolerant conditions used during the optimal path derivation, the allowable number of steps or acceptable detour distance at least the user is acceptable, and a user information DB for storing for each user, the optimal route deriving unit, The optimum route is derived within the range of the fault permissible condition relating to a user who uses the small mobile / transport device.

  In addition, one configuration example of the guidance control system according to the present invention is based on a detection output of a safety sensor that detects whether or not a handle portion of the small movement / conveyance device is gripped by a user. A safety control unit for detecting the safety state of the small movement / transport device, wherein the guidance control unit brakes the small movement / transport device when the safety state of the small movement / transport device is not detected. .

  In addition, one configuration example of the guidance control system according to the present invention includes a route status sensor that detects a route status at the current location, and the route related to the current location based on a detection result of the route status sensor and / or the proximity sensor. And a route information updating unit that updates route information in the information DB.

In addition, the guidance control method according to the present invention is a guidance control method for guiding and controlling a small mobile / transport device having auxiliary or self-propelled propulsion power to a destination, and shows map information and the position of an obstacle. A step of storing route information such as obstacle information in the route information DB, and an optimum route derivation step of deriving an optimum route from the current location avoiding the obstacle to the destination with reference to the route information in the route information DB; Based on the current location of the small moving / transporting device and the state of proximity of the small moving / transporting device detected by the proximity sensor, the small moving / transporting device contacts an object in the vicinity along the optimum route. Guidance information derivation step for deriving guidance information for safely passing without guidance, and guidance control step for guidance control of the propulsion mechanism of the small mobile / transport device based on the guidance information As fault tolerance conditions used during the optimal path derivation, the allowable number of steps or acceptable detour distance at least the user is acceptable, and a step of storing in a user information DB for each user, the optimal path derivation step, the The method includes a step of deriving the optimum route within the range of the fault permissible condition regarding the user who uses the small mobile / transport device.

  According to the present invention, based on the optimal route that avoids obstacles that obstruct the passage of small moving and transporting devices such as strollers and wheelchairs that exist on walking routes obtained with a general pedestrian navigation system, A small moving / transporting device is guided without contact with various objects in the vicinity. Therefore, it is possible to guide and assist the small mobile / transport device to the destination safely and easily without requiring time and physical burden for detouring the obstacle appearing on the walking route.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the guidance control system concerning 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the guidance control process of a guidance control system. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the guidance control system concerning 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the guidance control system concerning 3rd Embodiment.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
First, a guidance control system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the guidance control system according to the first embodiment.
This guidance control system 1 is used in a small-sized mobile / transport device (propulsion power-equipped manual propulsion vehicle) 20 having propulsion power for assisting or self-propelled among manual propulsion vehicles such as strollers and wheelchairs. It has a function of guiding and controlling the small moving / transporting device 20 from the destination to the destination.

  The guidance control system 1 includes, as main functional units, a data input processing unit 11, a current location deriving unit 12, an optimum route deriving unit 13, a guidance information deriving unit 14, a safety control unit 16, a guidance control unit 15, and a data input unit 21. A current location sensor 22, a proximity sensor 23, a safety sensor 25, a propulsion control unit 24, and a route information DB 31 are provided.

Among these functional units, the data input processing unit 11, the current location deriving unit 12, the optimum route deriving unit 13, the guidance information deriving unit 14, and the guidance control unit 15 are externally connected to the calculation processing unit 10 having a CPU and its peripheral circuits. This is realized by executing a program registered in advance from a device or a recording medium via a communication line by the CPU.
The data input unit 21, the current location sensor 22, the proximity sensor 23, and the propulsion control unit 24 are circuit units that are mounted on the small-sized moving / transporting device 20.
Further, the route information DB 31 and the user information DB 32 may be mounted on the calculation processing unit 10 or may be realized by a server device connected via a communication network such as a radio.

The data input processing unit 11 has a function of acquiring a destination input by a user through a data input unit 21 having a switch and a display screen.
The current location deriving unit 12 has a function of acquiring the current location of the small mobile device 20 according to the output from the current location sensor 22 such as GPS.

  The route information DB 31 is a database that stores route information such as map information and obstacle information indicating the position of the obstacle. The map information includes position information on a road on which a general vehicle travels, as well as position information such as a sidewalk and a passage where a pedestrian walks. The obstacle information includes, for example, steps, stairs, narrow passages, escalators, hills, parked bicycles, and various obstacles that prevent or make it difficult for a small moving / transporting device 20 such as a stroller or wheelchair to pass. Is included.

The user information DB 32 is a database that stores fault tolerance conditions used when deriving an optimum route for each user . The fault tolerance condition is information indicating how much fault each user can tolerate, such as the allowable number of steps allowed by each user and the allowable detour distance, and is registered in advance by the user. .

  The optimum route deriving unit 13 is configured to move from the current location acquired by the current location deriving unit 12 to the destination acquired by the data input processing unit 11 from the current location acquired based on the route information of the route information DB 31 and also the fault tolerance of the user information DB 32. It has a function of deriving an optimum route through which the transport device 20 can easily pass.

  At this time, the optimum route deriving unit 13 derives an optimum route that avoids a route that may cause a traffic obstruction of the small mobile device 20 based on the obstacle information included in the route information. For example, even if there are a plurality of entrances to a station, entrances with elevators are often limited. Therefore, an entrance with an elevator may be selected as the optimum route. Further, when there are a plurality of route candidates in an arbitrary route section, a route with a small height difference, a route with a wide route width, a route without a step, etc. may be selected.

  Further, if the fault tolerance condition of the user is registered, the route is derived within the range of the fault tolerance condition. For example, if 10 steps are registered as the allowable number of steps and 100 m is registered as the allowable detour distance, even a route including steps of 10 steps or less and a detour of 100 m or less is selected as the optimum route. As a result, the degree of freedom in deriving the optimum route is increased, and an efficient route can be derived for the entire route.

  The guidance information deriving unit 14 derives the optimum route deriving unit 13 based on the current location of the small moving / transporting device 20 derived by the current location deriving unit 12 and the vicinity of the small moving / transporting device 20 detected by the proximity sensor 23. As information for fine-tuning the optimal route, a function for deriving guidance information for safely passing along the optimal route without causing the small mobile / transport device 20 to contact various objects in the vicinity. Have. The guidance information is composed of detailed control information such as the propulsion speed and the propulsion direction of the small moving / transporting device 20.

  The proximity sensor 23 consists of sensors such as an infrared sensor and a camera, and cannot be registered in obstacle information such as obstacles existing around the small moving / transporting device 20, such as utility poles, guardrails, handrails, walls, and pedestrians. An actual position and a separation distance regarding a fine object are detected and output as a proximity situation. As for the proximity sensor 23, a sensor installed in advance on the route may be used in addition to the sensor mounted on the small movement / transport device 20.

The guidance control unit 15 has a function of guiding and controlling the propulsion mechanism of the small mobile device 20 by controlling the propulsion control unit 24 based on the guidance information derived by the guidance information deriving unit 14.
The propulsion control unit 24 has a function of controlling a propulsion mechanism such as steering and propulsion power of the small movement / transport device 20 in accordance with the control from the guidance control unit 15.

  As a method of controlling and guiding the propulsion mechanism of the small moving / transporting device 20, there is a method of steering-controlling the directions of tires and wheels based on the guidance information derived by the guidance information deriving unit 14. Thus, if the user pushes the small moving / transporting device 20 from behind to manually push it, the small moving / transporting device 20 can be guided along the direction of the tire.

  Further, there is a method of individually controlling the strength of propulsion power of each tire / wheel based on the guidance information derived by the guidance information deriving unit 14. In this case, propulsion power may be applied to the tires and wheels according to the propulsion operation by the user, and when manual propulsion by the user is detected, the propulsion power is assisted to the tires and wheels. May be.

[Operation of First Embodiment]
Next, the operation of the guidance control system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing guidance control processing of the guidance control system. The guidance control system 1 starts the guidance control process of FIG. 2 in response to the user's guidance instruction operation.

  First, the data input processing unit 11 acquires a destination input by the user through the data input unit 21 (step 100), and the optimum route derivation unit 13 acquires the destination and current location obtained by the data input processing unit 11. Based on the current location of the small moving / transporting device 20 derived by the deriving unit 12 and the route information from the route information DB 31, an optimum route through which the small moving / transporting device 20 can easily pass from the current location to the destination is derived ( Step 101). At this time, the optimum route deriving unit 13 derives an optimum route that avoids a route that becomes a traffic obstruction of the small mobile device 20 based on the obstacle information included in the route information.

  Next, the guidance information deriving unit 14 acquires the position of the obstacle present in the small moving / transporting device 20 as a nearby situation by the proximity sensor 23 (step 102), and the small moving / transporting derived by the current location deriving unit 12 Based on the current location of the device 20 and the proximity situation acquired by the proximity sensor 23, the small moving / transporting device 20 does not contact an object in the vicinity along the optimum route derived by the optimum route deriving unit 13. Then, guidance information necessary for safe passage is derived (step 103).

Subsequently, the guidance control unit 15 controls the propulsion control unit 24 based on the guidance information such as the propulsion speed and the propulsion direction derived by the guidance information deriving unit 14 and the safety state detected by the safety control unit 16 ( Step 104).
As a result, the propulsion control unit 24 controls the propulsion mechanism such as steering and propulsion power of the small movement / transport device 20 according to the control from the guidance control unit 15. It will be guided along the guidance information that is easy to pass.

  Thereafter, the guidance information deriving unit 14 determines whether or not the destination has been reached by comparing the current location with the destination (step 105). If the destination has not arrived at the destination (step 105: NO) Returning to step 102, the guidance control process is continued, and when the destination is reached (step 105: YES), the series of guidance control processes is terminated.

[Effect of the first embodiment]
Thus, in the present embodiment, the optimum route deriving unit 13 refers to route information such as map information and obstacle information indicating the position of the obstacle stored in the route information DB 31, and refers to the obstacle. An optimum route from the current location to the destination that has been avoided is derived, and the guidance information deriving unit 14 performs small size along the optimum route based on the current location and the state of proximity of the small mobile device 20 detected by the proximity sensor 23. By deriving guidance information for safely passing without causing the moving / transport device 20 to contact various objects in the vicinity, the guidance control unit 15 controls the propulsion control unit 24 based on the guidance information, The small moving / transporting device 20 is guided.

  Based on the optimum route that avoids obstacles that obstruct the passage of small moving and transporting devices 20 such as strollers and wheelchairs that exist on the walking route obtained by a general pedestrian navigation system. The small moving / transporting device 20 is guided without contact with the various objects. Therefore, it is possible to guide and assist the small movement / transport device 20 to the destination safely and easily without requiring time and physical burden for detouring the obstacle appearing on the walking route.

Further, in the present embodiment, a user information DB 32 is provided for storing the permissible fault condition used for deriving the optimal path for each user , and the optimal path deriving unit 13 determines the optimal path within the range of the fault allowable condition of the user. It may be derived. As a result, the degree of freedom in deriving the optimum route is increased, and an efficient route can be derived for the entire route.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, the guidance control system 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the guidance control system according to the second embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, as a method for controlling and guiding the propulsion mechanism of the small moving / transporting device 20, when assisting by applying propulsive power to the tire / wheel, the small moving / transporting device 20 does not move freely. Next, a configuration example for ensuring safety will be described.

In the present embodiment, the safety control unit 16 has a function of detecting the safe state of the small mobile device 20 based on the detection output of the safety sensor 25.
The safety sensor 25 is a sensor that is attached to a handle portion such as a stroller or a wheelchair, for example, and detects whether or not the user holds the handle portion.

When the safety control unit 16 does not detect the safety state of the small movement / conveyance device 20, the guidance control unit 15 stops guiding the small movement / conveyance device 20 based on the guidance information and instructs the propulsion control unit 24. The function of instructing the braking of the small moving / transporting device 20 immediately and the function of guiding the user that the small moving / transporting device 20 has been braked by the guide device 26 are provided.
The guide device 26 includes a screen display unit and a voice output unit, and has a function of guiding the user that the small movement / transport device 20 has been braked in accordance with an instruction from the guidance control unit 15. .

Thereby, when a user releases a handle part, guidance of small movement / conveyance device 20 based on guidance information is stopped, and small movement and conveyance device 20 is braked immediately. Thereby, the safe state of the small moving / transporting device 20 can be secured immediately.
Further, since the user is guided by the guide device 26 that the small-sized moving / transporting device 20 has been braked, the user's confusion and misunderstanding can be avoided.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, the guidance control system 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the guidance control system according to the third embodiment.
In the present embodiment, a configuration example for updating the route information in the route information DB 31 based on the route situation obtained by the route situation sensor 27 will be described.

In the present embodiment, the route information updating unit 17 has a function of updating the route information in the route information DB 31 related to the current position obtained by the current location deriving unit 12 based on the proximity situation obtained by the route situation sensor 27. doing.
The route status sensor 27 is composed of, for example, a six-axis sensor, and is a sensor that detects the status of the route at the current location, such as unevenness or inclination of the road surface.

For example, when a 6-axis sensor is used as the route status sensor 27, based on the detection result indicating the status of the route at the current location, such as road surface unevenness and inclination detected by the 6-axis sensor, The route information is updated by the route information update unit 17. The proximity sensor 23 may be used as the route status sensor 27, or the route information may be updated using the detection results from these two sensors together.
As a result, the route information in the route information DB 31 can be automatically enriched, and a more optimal route can be selected.

[Extended embodiment]
The present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Various changes that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention. In addition, each embodiment can be implemented in any combination within a consistent range.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Guidance control system, 10 ... Calculation processing part, 11 ... Data input processing part, 12 ... Present location derivation part, 13 ... Optimal route derivation part, 14 ... Guidance information derivation part, 15 ... Guidance control part, 16 ... Safety control part , 17 ... Route information update unit, 20 ... Small movement / transport device, 21 ... Data input unit, 22 ... Current location sensor, 23 ... Proximity sensor, 24 ... Propulsion control unit, 25 ... Safety sensor, 26 ... Guide device, 27 ... Route status sensor, 31 ... route information DB, 32 ... user information DB.

Claims (4)

A guidance control system that guides and controls a small mobile / transport device with auxiliary or self-propelled propulsion power to a destination,
Route information DB for storing route information such as map information and obstacle information indicating the position of the obstacle,
An optimum route deriving unit for deriving an optimum route from the current location avoiding the obstacle to the destination with reference to the route information in the route information DB;
Based on the current location of the small moving / transporting device and the state of the vicinity of the small moving / transporting device detected by the proximity sensor, the small moving / transporting device contacts an object in the vicinity along the optimum route. Guidance information deriving unit for deriving guidance information for safe passage,
A guidance control unit for guiding and controlling a propulsion mechanism of the small-sized moving / transporting device based on the guidance information ;
A user information DB that stores, for each user, at least the number of allowable steps or an allowable detour distance that can be permitted by the user as the failure permission condition used when deriving the optimum route;
The optimum route deriving unit derives the optimum route within the range of the fault permissible condition regarding a user who uses the small mobile / transport device . The guidance control system according to claim 1 ,
Based on the detection output of a safety sensor that detects whether or not the handle portion of the small moving / transporting device is gripped by a user, further comprising a safety control unit that detects the safety state of the small moving / transporting device,
The guidance control unit is configured to brake the small movement / transport device when a safety state of the small movement / transport device is not detected. In the guidance control system according to claim 1 or 2 ,
A route status sensor for detecting the status of the route at the current location;
A guidance control system, further comprising: a route information update unit that updates route information of the route information DB related to a current location based on a detection result of the route state sensor and / or the proximity sensor. It is a guidance control method for guiding and controlling a small mobile / transport device with auxiliary or self-propelled propulsion power to a destination,
Storing route information such as map information and obstacle information indicating the position of the obstacle in the route information DB;
An optimum route deriving step for deriving an optimum route from the current location avoiding the obstacle to the destination with reference to the route information in the route information DB;
Based on the current location of the small moving / transporting device and the state of the vicinity of the small moving / transporting device detected by the proximity sensor, the small moving / transporting device contacts an object in the vicinity along the optimum route. Guidance information deriving step for deriving guidance information for safe passage,
A guidance control step for guiding and controlling a propulsion mechanism of the small mobile / transport device based on the guidance information ;
Storing at least the number of allowable steps or allowable detour distance that can be permitted by the user as a failure permission condition used when deriving the optimum route in the user information DB for each user,
The optimal route deriving step includes a step of deriving the optimal route within the range of the fault permissible condition relating to a user who uses the small mobile / transport device .

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