JPH056983Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a power switch for a cane for guiding visually impaired people, particularly a cane with a built-in sensor.

[Conventional technology]

Guide dogs and white canes have long been used as walking aids for visually impaired people. Recently, canes with built-in sensors have been developed (Reference Sensor Technology
Vol. 3 No. 7 (1983)). This cane detects signs installed on the road surface and transmits the detection signal to the user's hand as a vibration, allowing visually impaired people to safely and reliably reach their destination using this cane. It became. As shown in FIG. 4, this cane has a sensor 5 at the tip of the cane body for detecting a marker, and inside the cane body there is a drive circuit 4 and a battery 3 which amplify the detection output and drive the vibrator 6 of the handle 2. Built-in.

A power switch 1 is provided on the handle 2, and heretofore, a very common push type or slide type switch has been used as the switch 1.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

By the way, the user operates the power switch 1 with his finger to turn it on or off, but it is difficult for visually impaired people to check whether the switch is on or off. difficult,
It is also highly uncertain. If the device is left unattended without being turned off by mistake, the battery may run out and the device will not operate the next time it is used, which actually increases psychological anxiety for the user. Currently, sensors and their drive circuits have lower power consumption and can be used continuously for more than 10 hours. However, as long as it is battery-powered,
There is a limit to the usage time.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a cane with a switch structure that eliminates the problem of forgetting to turn off the power switch, which is the drawback of the conventional type, and allows the power to be turned on only when desired.

[Means for solving problems]

This invention has a sensor at the tip of the cane body that detects a marker, and the drive circuit and battery that receives the output of the sensor and drives the vibrator provided in the handle of the cane body are built in the cane body. A cane for guiding visually impaired people, characterized in that it has a handle that deforms in response to external pressure, and a power switch that operates in conjunction with the deformation of the handle and constitutes a power supply circuit of the drive circuit. It is.

[Effect]

Visually impaired people use canes by holding them in their hands for large and low movements. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 1, the power switch 11 is installed in the handle 12 of the main body of the cane so that the power switch 11 is turned ON only when the cane is held in the hand.
It has built-in. The switch 11 is connected to a battery 3 and a drive circuit 4 for a sensor (not shown), and is covered by a flexible member of a handle 12. Therefore, external pressure is applied to the switch 11 by the force of gripping the handle 12, forming a contact point, and power is turned on. The contacts are designed to make contact even with low pressure, and the contacts are reliably formed with just a light squeeze. Furthermore, since there are many contact points and they are distributed over a wide area, the switch will not malfunction due to differences in the position or pressure of the hand gripping the handle.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows an example in which a membrane switch is used as the power switch 11 to be incorporated into the handle 12 of a cane. Membrane switch is spacer 1
A pair of sheets 1 supported by 3 and placed at regular intervals
Conductive films 15, 15 as contacts on the opposing surfaces of 4, 14.
It has been established. 16 is a reinforcing plate that supports the switch. The operating stroke of this switch is
It is 0.1 to 0.5 mm, and if this switch is installed as a power switch 11 within the flexible skin material of the handle 12 of the cane body, by grasping it, the contact will be configured with a very light touch, and the power will be reliably turned on. can be invested.

Figure 3 shows a power switch 1 located in the center of the handle 12.
An example is shown in which a membrane switch is placed on both sides to achieve multiple contact points over a wide area. The handle 12 is made of soft resin to provide a soft feel when touching it with the hand. In addition, the wall thickness is changed and it is divided into a soft part and a strong part. The soft part is in contact with the contacts of the power switch 11, making it easier to turn on the switch. On the other hand, the thicker part of the handle 12 is relatively hard and serves as a structural member to maintain the strength of the cane. In this way, by adopting a corrugated shape for the handle 12 and making the protrusion hard, the power switch 11 can be accidentally turned on even if the cane is propped up when not in use or laid down.
It never turns ON. Other components are the same as in FIG. 4.

Additionally, the cane's circuitry incorporates a power-off delay circuit to allow the user to momentarily weaken their hand grip and continue operating even if the power switch is turned off.

Although an embodiment using a membrane switch has been shown above, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be realized by using a micro switch with a light touch or a method of turning the power on and off by changing capacitance.

[Effect of idea]

As described above, the present invention not only eliminates the need to forget to turn off the power switch, but also allows you to judge the remaining amount of the battery by holding it in your hand and feeling how long it has actually been used. The psychological burden on the user can be greatly reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a sectional view of the main parts showing the basic structure of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a sectional view showing an example of a power switch;
The figure is a sectional view showing an embodiment incorporating the switch shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a conventional example. 3... Battery, 4... Drive circuit, 5... Sensor, 6... Vibrator, 11... Power switch, 1
2...Handle.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A cane for guiding visually impaired people, which has a sensor at the tip of the cane body that detects a marker, and has a drive circuit and battery built into the cane body that receives the output of the sensor and drives a vibrator provided in the handle of the cane body. A cane for guiding a visually impaired person, characterized in that it has a handle that deforms in response to external pressure, and a power switch that operates in conjunction with the deformation of the handle and constitutes a power supply circuit of the drive circuit.