JPH10307985A - Device for detecting walking position and device for guiding passage for pedestrian - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To precisely detect a walking position. SOLUTION: A navigation device 14 that is equipped integrally with a transmitter 5 near the abdomen of a walker 40 is fitted. Both legs of the walker 40 are fitted with receivers 31 and 32. A transmitter 56 and the receivers 31 and 32 are connected to one another with a cable. The transmitter 56 and the receivers 31 and 32 constitute a three-dimensional magnetic sensor and detects positions and moving direction of the receivers 31 and 32 in relation to the transmitter 56, that is, moving distance and moving direction of the legs 41 and 42. Map matching is made in the navigation device 14 and the position of the walker 40 is displayed also on a map. Since the both legs 41 and 42 are attached with the receivers 31 and 32 as relative position sensors, it becomes possible to directly detect actual walking of the walker 40 and to detect the precise position of walking.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to, for example, a method in which a predetermined position (eg, starting position) is shifted to a desired position (destination position)
The present invention relates to a walking position detection device that detects a current walking position when walking up to a walking position.

[0002] The present invention also relates to a pedestrian route guidance device that guides a pedestrian on a walking route by displaying a pedestrian's position superimposed on a map.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art As a prior art, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.
There is a pedestrian route guidance device published in Japanese Patent Publication No. This device uses G as a means for detecting the current position of a pedestrian.
A PS receiver and a geomagnetic sensor are used, and a gyro and a geomagnetic sensor are used as means for detecting a walking direction.

The pedestrian route guidance apparatus according to the prior art includes a road information storage unit and a target value input unit. For example, in order to guide a pedestrian to a target position input by the target value input unit, The pedestrian's current position is superimposed on the map to guide the route visually, or the route is guided by voice, and furthermore, the route is guided by a vibrator that vibrates the pedestrian. Have been.

[0005]

However, according to this conventional technique, the above-mentioned GPS receiver, geomagnetic sensor, gyro and / or geomagnetic sensor are used as means for detecting the current position of the pedestrian. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to detect the position of the pedestrian with sufficient accuracy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a walking position detecting device capable of detecting a position of a pedestrian with high accuracy.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a pedestrian route guidance apparatus that can display the accurate position of a pedestrian over a map.

[0008]

A walking position detecting device according to the present invention comprises a relative position sensor mounted on each of the left and right feet of a pedestrian, and an output of the left and right relative position sensors.
Walking position detecting means for calculating a three-dimensional walking distance and a walking direction to detect the position of the pedestrian.

According to the present invention, by mounting the relative position sensor on each of the left and right feet of the pedestrian, it is possible to directly detect the actual pedestrian's walking, and it is possible to detect the position with high accuracy.

In this case, by mounting the relative position sensor on each of the left and right shoes, as a result, the relative position sensor can be easily mounted on the foot of the pedestrian.

In the present invention, it is preferable to mount the relative position sensor below the ankle. However, the portion below the knee is equivalent to that when the sensor is mounted below the ankle by simple calibration. The relative position can be detected with an accuracy of.

In addition, the pedestrian route guidance device of the present invention has a three-dimensional walking distance and a three-dimensional walking distance based on the outputs of the relative position sensors mounted on the left and right feet of the pedestrian, respectively. It is characterized by having walking position detecting means for calculating a direction to detect the position of a pedestrian, and a navigation device for displaying the position of the pedestrian detected by the walking position detecting means on a map in a superimposed manner.

According to the present invention, it is possible to display an accurate position of a pedestrian on a map in a superimposed manner.

In this case, in order to use a car navigation system widely used at present, a distance wheel pulse converting means and an angular velocity calculating means are provided, and the walking distance obtained from the relative position sensor by these means is calculated. In addition to the conversion into the wheel pulse, the walking angular velocity is determined from the calculated walking direction, and the determined wheel pulse and angular velocity are input to the automobile navigation device. For this reason, the exact walking position of the pedestrian can be displayed on the map displayed on the display means of the automobile navigation device.

[0015]

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

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram of a pedestrian route guidance device 10 of this embodiment having a walking position detection device 12 of this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a pedestrian route guidance apparatus 1 shown in FIG.
0 shows a mechanical configuration.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the pedestrian route guidance device 10 is composed of a walking position detection device 12 and a navigation device 14 connected thereto in terms of an electric circuit.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, the pedestrian route guidance device 10 is mechanically constructed of a portable unit 2 carried by a pedestrian.
0, and receivers 31 and 32 as relative position sensors connected to the portable unit 20 via cables 21 and 22, respectively. The portable unit 20 includes a navigation device 14 and a control main unit 18 integrally connected to the navigation device 14.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a use state in which the pedestrian route guidance device 10 is carried by a pedestrian 40.

As shown schematically in FIG. 3, in use, the portable unit 20 is usually attached to the abdomen on the waist of the pedestrian 40 by means of a belt or the like (not shown), and the receiver 31 is used. , 32 are attached to shoes 41, 42 put on the left and right feet, respectively, via attachment means such as clips. In this case, the receiver 31 is the right shoe 4
1 and the receiver 32 is mounted on the left shoe 42. In this embodiment, the receivers 31 and 32 and the portable unit 20 are connected via connectors (not shown) by the cables 21 and 22, but may be connected using wireless communication such as infrared communication. .

As shown in FIG. 1, the walking position detecting device 12
Is composed of a three-dimensional magnetic sensor 44 and a calculator 46 to which the output is supplied. In addition, the control main unit 18 constituting the portable unit 20 is configured to include the entire calculation unit 46 and a part of the three-dimensional magnetic sensor 44.

The three-dimensional magnetic sensor 44 uses a device for obtaining a so-called virtual reality, and the control body 18
A magnetic field is generated from the transmitter 56 through the drive circuit 54 under the control of the control unit 52 built in the receiver 31 and the receivers 31 and 3 placed in the magnetic field MF.
2 is measured by a detection circuit 58 in a time-division manner, and the control unit 52 controls each receiver 3 based on the measurement result.
XYZ three-dimensional coordinates and Euler angles of 1, 32 (3 pitches, yaw, and roll that define the azimuth of the object with respect to the reference axis)
Angle parameters). The detection output is supplied to the walking distance calculation unit 62 and the walking direction calculation unit 72, and the walking distance from the reference position (reset position) is calculated by the walking distance calculation unit 62.
, And the walking direction for each walking is calculated by the walking direction calculator 72, and the calculated walking direction is supplied to the navigation device 14.

As shown in FIG. 4, the navigation device 14 includes a navigation system main body 61, a CD-ROM (map information storage means) 60 in which map information necessary for road walking, road management and the like is stored (recorded). , This CD-
An information reproducing unit 63 for reading map information recorded in the ROM 60, a display (display means) 64 for displaying map information including character information, a speaker (sound output means) 65 for outputting sound, and a navigation system It has an operation unit 66 in which button switches for operating the main body 61 and the like are arranged, and a controller 70 for controlling the operation of each of these components. The three-dimensional walking distance and walking direction are supplied as data to the controller 70 from the calculation unit 46.

The navigation system body 61 includes a high-precision gas rate sensor type navigation system, a GPS type navigation system, a geomagnetic sensor type navigation system, an inertial navigation type navigation system, and the like. They may be used in combination.

In practice, the three-dimensional magnetic sensor 44 and the calculation unit 4
6 and the navigation device 14, respectively,
As is well known, each microcomputer includes a microprocessor (MPU) corresponding to a central processing unit (CPU) and a plurality of microcomputers functioning as control / processing / judgment means and the like. A read-only memory (ROM) in which an input / output device, an I / O port, a control program, a system program, a look-up table and the like are written in advance, and a random access memory (RAM: write / write) for temporarily storing processing data. This is provided as an LSI device in which a read memory) and an interrupt processing circuit are integrated on one chip.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described in detail.

First, the pedestrian 40 wears the pedestrian route guidance device 10. Then, when a reset button (not shown) of the operation unit 66 on the navigation device 14 is pressed, measurement with that position as the initial position is started.
By this reset operation, the calculation unit 46 and the three-dimensional magnetic sensor 44 are also reset. Then, it is assumed that the pedestrian 40 has started walking in the direction of the arrow P shown in FIG. 3 (also referred to as the walking direction P or the traveling direction P).

In this case, a high-frequency alternating current of about 10 kHz output from the control unit 52 constituting the three-dimensional magnetic sensor 44 is supplied to the transmitter 56 as a current signal through the drive circuit 54.

The magnetic field M generated by the transmitter 56
F is output from the control main unit 18 and its output magnetic field MF
Is detected by the detection circuit 58 via the receivers 31 and 32 attached to the left and right shoes 41 and 42 of the pedestrian 40, and is sent to the control unit 52.

The control unit 52 determines the three-dimensional relative position TR of the receivers 31 and 32 using the position of the transmitter 56 as a reference position (origin coordinates) based on the detected intensity distribution.
(X, y, z) and TL (x, y, z) are continuously measured and sent to the calculation unit 46.

The calculation unit 46 calculates the three-dimensional relative position TR (x,
y, z) and TL (x, y, z) are stored in a time-series manner in a memory (not shown). The processing in the calculation unit 46 is performed by the walking distance calculation unit 62 or the walking direction calculation unit 72 unless otherwise specified.

Next, the calculation unit 46 detects the contact positions of the shoes (also referred to as feet) 41 and 42 from the trajectories of the three-dimensional relative positions TR and TL stored in the memory.

The ground position of the shoes 41, 42 is determined by the locus of the three-dimensional relative position TR of the right foot 41 (the receiver 31 attached thereto) shown in FIG. It can be detected from the locus of the three-dimensional relative position TL of the left foot 42 (the receiver 32 attached thereto) in FIG. That is, when walking, the foot 41 (receiver 31) and the foot 42 (receiver 32) are in a state where one of the feet is substantially grounded,
Since the remaining feet have the property of being raised obliquely upward from the grounded position and then being lowered diagonally downward in the walking direction to reach the next grounded position, in FIG.
The position represented by c is the grounding position (also referred to as a grounding point) of the right foot 41 (receiver 31) (the right foot 41 has moved from the grounding position a to the next grounding position b via the upper position a '. ), The positions represented by reference numerals b and d in FIG.
It can be seen that the left foot 42 has moved to the next touching position c from the touching position b via the upper position b '.

By defining the contact position in this way, the contact position can be detected as a three-dimensional relative position.
For this reason, the present invention can be applied to not only a flat walkway but also a rugged walkway that goes up and down stairs.

In this embodiment, the straight line distance between the grounding position of one foot and the next grounding position is called the distance between grounding positions (corresponding to a general step length), and the grounding position of the right foot 41 The distance between them is Rd (see FIG. 5), and the distance between the contact positions of the left foot 42 is Ld (see FIG. 6).

Next, the three-dimensional relative position TR = a, a ',
c ′, TL = b, b ′, d ′, ground positions a, c,
The relative movement direction and relative movement distance of the feet 41 and 42 are obtained from b, d,. The three-dimensional relative positions TR, TL
Medium, ground position (this is also a three-dimensional relative position) a,
Symbols of c, b, d, etc. relating to the ground position are TRe.
(A), TRe (c), TLe (b), and TLe (d). Therefore, to be precise, the relative movement direction and the relative movement distance are determined from the three-dimensional relative positions TRe and TLe related to the ground contact position except for the positions a ′ and b ′ above the three-dimensional relative positions TR and TL. I will ask.

When the walking direction P is a linear direction, as shown in a plan view of FIG. 7, the grounding positions a, c, and e in the three-dimensional relative position TRe of the right foot 41 and the three From the contact positions b and d in the three-dimensional relative position TLe, the relative movement distance is half the distance Rd1 of the distance between the contact positions ac (the distance between the contact positions of the right foot 41) Rd1 and the distance between the contact positions bd ( The distance Ld2 / 2 is half the distance between the grounding positions of the left foot 42) Ld2, and the distance Rd3 / 2 is half the distance Rd3 between the grounding positions ce (the distance between the grounding positions of the right foot 41).

In FIG. 7, for example, a moving distance from the contact position b to the contact position e, that is, an absolute distance (also referred to as a moving distance) D, represented by a symbol D, is represented by symbols D1, D2,
When represented by D3, the absolute distance D is D = D1 + D2 + D3
= (Rd1 / 2) + (Ld2 / 2) + (Rd3 / 2) is calculated by the walking distance calculation unit 62 and supplied to the navigation device 14. As described above, in this embodiment, the moving distance D is obtained by setting the coordinate of one foot at the ground contact position as the origin (fixed point) and reducing the distance Rd or Ld between the ground positions of the other moving foot to １ ／. It can be thought of as a distance.

In this case, the moving direction (walking direction) H is, for example, H = H1, H indicated by an arrow parallel to the traveling direction P.
2, the data in the same direction of H3 are the moving distance calculation points c, d,
e, and a pair of data (D
1, H1), (D2, H2) and the like are supplied to the navigation device 14.

When the walking direction P is changed from the linear direction, as shown in a plan view of FIG.
Similarly to the example in FIG. 7, for example, a distance Rd1 / 2 that is half of the distance between the contact positions ac (the distance between the contact positions of the right foot 41) Rd1.
Is the moving distance D1. The movement direction H is defined as a walking locus before and after the same foot, for example, an angle (relative angle) θ = θ2 between the ground point ac and the ground point ce. Therefore, at the contact point c, the relative angle θ = 0 °, at the contact point d, the relative angle θ = θ1, and at the contact point e, the relative angle θ = θ.
The moving direction H represented by an absolute angle (the accumulated angle from the initial position) is, for example, H at the contact point f.
4 = θ1 + θ3 + θ5, and H5 = θ2 at the ground point g
+ Θ5. This is set as a walking direction, calculated by the walking direction calculation unit 72, and sent to the navigation device 14.

The controller 7 of the navigation device 14
0 is the walking distance D and walking direction H obtained for the left and right feet 41 and 42, calculated by the calculation unit 46 of the control main unit 18.
The information reproducing unit 63 performs map matching with the map information reproduced from the CD-ROM 60, and displays the current position of the pedestrian 40 on the screen of the display 64 (see FIG. 2) with a marker 80 (see FIG. 2). Is displayed over the map 81. By performing the map matching, the display image can be displayed so as to match the actual direction. Of course, a so-called head-up display or north-up display may be used. Further, it is also possible to output the current position of the pedestrian 40 from the speaker 65 by voice.

Further, when the current position has not changed for a certain period of time, it can be recognized that the walking is stopped. When the walking is stopped, by moving the portable unit 20 in which the transmitter 56 is built, it is possible to display or confirm by voice whether or not the moving direction is the correct direction.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the receivers 31, 32, which are relative position sensors, are attached to the left and right feet 41, 42 of the pedestrian 40, respectively, and the actual walking of the pedestrian 40 is directly detected. Therefore, highly accurate position detection can be performed, and as a result, navigation with less error can be performed.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, since the receivers 31, 32, which are relative position sensors, are attached to the shoes 41, 42, the detected positions can be used as data as they are. As described above, since the detected position can be used as data as it is, it is preferable that the receivers 31 and 32 be mounted below the ankle, but the present invention is applied to a leg portion below the knee. In that case, by measuring the length from the foot to its attachment part, the position can be detected with a simple configuration with the same accuracy as when attached below the ankle be able to. In addition, the portable unit 20 is attached to the vicinity of the abdomen by a belt. However, for example, a configuration may be adopted in which only the display 64 is separated and carried, and the rest is carried on the back. Alternatively, the mobile phone may be carried around the neck or shoulder.

FIG. 9 shows the configuration of a pedestrian route guidance apparatus 10A according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The pedestrian route guidance apparatus 10A of FIG. 9 is an example.
Is different from the pedestrian route guidance apparatus 10 of FIG. 1 in that a calculating unit 46 is included in the walking distance calculating unit 6 in the calculating unit 46.
2 as a calculation unit 46A provided with a distance wheel pulse conversion unit 90 connected to 2 and an angular velocity conversion unit 92 connected to the walking direction calculation unit 72, and as a device in which the navigation device 14 is changed to a car navigation device 14A. I have. The calculating unit 46A and the three-dimensional magnetic sensor 44 constitute the walking position detecting device 12A.

The car navigation system 14A is currently widely used and commercially available. This car navigation device 14A uses a wheel pulse output from a wheel pulse sensor (for example, 4 pulses for one rotation of the wheel) as an input signal for distance, and a yaw rate, that is, a yaw rate as an input signal for direction. , Using angular acceleration. As is well known, the car navigation device 14A converts the number of wheel pulses into a distance,
The direction is obtained by integrating the angular acceleration.

Therefore, in the pedestrian route guidance apparatus 10A of FIG. 10, the walking distance calculated by the walking distance calculation unit 62 is converted into wheel pulses (for example, one wheel pulse is output for every 40 cm of walking distance). .) On the other hand, the walking direction calculated by the walking direction calculation unit 72 is differentiated with respect to time and converted into angular acceleration (time change of angle).

With the configuration as shown in FIG. 10, the low-cost automobile navigation device 14A mass-produced can be used as it is for pedestrians. As a result, the pedestrian shown in FIG. Route guidance device 10
With the same guide performance (accuracy) as that of the first embodiment, it is possible to obtain the effect that the pedestrian route guidance device 10A with reduced cost can be created.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can adopt various configurations without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0052]

As described above, according to the present invention, the moving distance and the moving direction of the pedestrian's left and right feet are calculated accurately, so that the position of the pedestrian can be precisely (accurately). Can be detected.
In addition, the use of the navigation device achieves an effect that the accurate position of the pedestrian can be displayed on the map in a superimposed manner.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a mechanical configuration of the example of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a use state of the apparatus of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a navigation device in the example of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagram provided for explaining calculation of a walking distance.

FIG. 6 is a diagram used to explain the calculation of a walking distance.

FIG. 7 is a diagram used for explaining a calculation of a walking distance and a walking direction in straight walking.

FIG. 8 is a diagram used for explaining a calculation of a walking distance and a walking direction in a curved walk;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 10A ... pedestrian route guidance device 12, 12A ...
Walking position detecting device 14 Navigation device 14A Automotive navigation device 18 Control main body 20 Portable portion 21, 22 Cable 31, 32 Receiver 40 Pedestrian 41 Right foot (shoes) 42 Left foot (shoes) 44 ... three-dimensional magnetic sensors 46, 46A ... calculation unit 56 ... transmitter 62 ... walking distance calculation unit 72 ... walking direction calculation unit 90 ... distance wheel pulse conversion unit 92 ... angular velocity conversion unit

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A relative position sensor mounted on each of the left and right feet of a pedestrian, and a three-dimensional walking distance and a walking direction are calculated based on outputs of the left and right relative position sensors to detect the position of the pedestrian. A walking position detecting device, comprising: 2. The walking position detecting device according to claim 1, wherein said relative position sensor is mounted on each of left and right shoes. 3. A relative position sensor mounted on each of the left and right feet of the pedestrian, and a three-dimensional walking distance and a walking direction are calculated based on outputs of the left and right relative position sensors to detect the position of the pedestrian. 1. A pedestrian route guidance device comprising: a walking position detecting unit that performs the navigation; and a navigation device that displays the position of the pedestrian detected by the walking position detecting unit in a superimposed manner on a map. 4. A relative position sensor mounted on each of the left and right feet of the pedestrian, and a three-dimensional walking distance and a walking direction are calculated based on outputs of the left and right relative position sensors to detect the position of the pedestrian. Walking position detecting means, distance wheel pulse converting means for converting the walking distance detected by the walking position detecting means into wheel pulses, angular velocity calculating means for obtaining a walking angular velocity from the walking direction detected by the walking position detecting means, A vehicle navigation device to which the wheel pulse and the walking angular velocity are supplied, wherein the position of the pedestrian is superimposed and displayed on a display map of the vehicle navigation device. Route guidance device. 5. The pedestrian route guidance device according to claim 3, wherein the relative position sensor is mounted on left and right shoes, respectively.