JPS61179135A - Electronic machinery with reaction time measuring function - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an electronic device equipped with a function that allows easy measurement of physical condition, etc.

[Conventional technology]

Normally, people are required to have a certain level of attentiveness and reflex motor skills in their work or daily life. These abilities decrease as fatigue, sleepiness, inebriation, etc. increase.

Therefore, in order to ensure safety in daily life and prevent mistakes from occurring at work, it is desirable to easily measure one's own physical condition and, depending on the results, change one's activity schedule, take a break, or take some preventive measures. . A flicker test is well known as a method for obtaining physical condition information for behavioral management. Other than that, changes in the time required for a response from sensing a stimulus such as sound, light, or tactile sensation, or a sudden change thereof, to performing a predetermined action can also be used because they are correlated with physical condition. However, there are few examples of devices that apply the latter principle to easily test and display physical condition. As far as the inventor was aware, there was a game calculator technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-36576, which was designed to be used for games based on the final display arrangement in a game calculator for enjoying slot machine-like play. In addition to the score itself, the score is adjusted according to the length of the key operation, so that you can know the physical condition, etc., and it is not intended to directly display the physical condition etc. (,
It did not respond well to behavioral management demands.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The present invention provides the time required for the response (hereinafter referred to as reaction time).
Or display directly related information as the result of a simple test, and have a function that allows you to easily check your physical condition or aptitude for a specific work, such as a wristwatch (mobile clock), table clock, pocket calculator, electronic memo ( Wristwatch-type or notebook-type electronic devices with information storage functions), electronic devices with information reception and display functions such as televisions, equipped as one of the auxiliary functions of information processing equipment such as office computers, personal computers, word processor sensors, etc. The purpose of this invention is to realize an electronic device having only the above-mentioned functions, and to provide the configuration of a technical solution for this purpose.

[Means for solving problems]

A means for causing an electronic device to suddenly change a display state operating in its reaction time measurement mode, an external operation signal generating means, and a time interval from when the display state changes until the external operation signal is generated. The present invention includes means for measuring, and means for displaying the measured time interval or information as a function thereof.

[Effect]

The electronic device to which the present invention is applied is set to reaction rate measurement mode as necessary. Alternatively, perform an operation to start the measurement function. Then, after a certain amount of time has passed,
A means for changing the display device of the electronic device operates, and the display state changes unexpectedly for the subject. Examples of changes in the display state include, in the case of a visual display, a static display starts moving, a moving display stops, at least a part of a display element appears or disappears, and the operation of a dynamic display. changes in patterns or other aspects; changes in relationships between series of display elements;
Or, the display color may further change. In the case of acoustic display, examples include the occurrence and disappearance of single tones and mixed tones, changes in pitch, timbre, and intensity, and changes in modulation state. When the examinee notices such a change in the display, he or she immediately operates the manual switch, touches the touch key, performs voice input, or performs input operations using other sensors, and these input operations generate external operation signals. A generating means outputs an operation signal. −
The force measuring means measures the time interval from the time when the display changes to the time when the external operation signal is generated. These measured values (for example, how many seconds O1, or the number of clock pulses for counting fillets per hour) may be used as is, or these values may be changed to other numerical values, symbols, display positions, patterns, colors, changes in brightness, etc. It is converted and displayed by the display means.

〔Example〕

This will be explained below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 6 are front views of various wristwatches that are embodiments of the present invention, and particularly show the display surfaces thereof.

The first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is an analog display electronic timepiece that takes measurements using the second hand movement, and is changed from time display mode to reaction time mode by operating a mode changeover switch 2 provided on a timepiece body 1. Indicates the standby state after setting. The second hand 5 is rapidly advanced from the position in the time display mode to the 0 second position (illustrated) for measurement, and then stops.

Reference numeral 4 designates an IJ dial located at the 3 o'clock position, 6 a minute hand, and 7 an hour hand, each of which is driven by a pulse motor and a gear train like a normal crystal watch. The second hand 5 suddenly starts moving after a certain waiting time has elapsed. User of the watch (i.e. subject)
As soon as you notice an unexpected movement of the hands, operate the stop button 6 to stop the movement of the hands.

Since the second hand 5 moves at a speed several tens of times faster than the normal hand movement, even if the time from the start of hand movement to when the stop button is pressed, that is, the reaction time, is slightly different, there will be a difference in the second hand stop position. By providing a scale 8 as shown in the figure in the range of stopping positions corresponding to the reactions of ordinary people, it is possible to judge how slow the reaction speed is at the current situation. When returning to normal time mode, each hand will of course return to the correct time display state.

The second embodiment shown in FIG. 2 also relates to an analog display type electronic timepiece. (In the following examples, common parts are given common numbers.) The figure shows a standby state immediately after mode conversion. The analog display in this example is a two-hand type with a minute hand 5 and an hour hand 6, and the minute hand 5 points to 0 minutes (12 o'clock direction) and is in a measurement waiting state. The disc 9 is provided on a gear train shaft having a small reduction ratio from the rotor of the illustrated pulse motor (in this embodiment, the reduction ratio is 2 relative to the rotor of a two-pole pulse motor).

Four marks 10 are drawn on the top surface as shown. Each mark is colored. The colors are alternately colored in the circumferential direction, for example red, green, red and green. In the standby state, the red mark 1 appears through the window 11 on the dial.
is in a state where it can be seen through. When the predetermined time has passed and the start time arrives, the step motor, which had been stationary, suddenly rotates by one pulse, and the mark 10 seen through the window 11 moves to the next one, so the color seen through the window suddenly changes. Changes from red to green.

The subject presses stop button 3 as soon as he/she recognizes this color change.
operate. The temperature function included in the additional function section of the circuit inside the watch body 1 measures and stores the elapsed time from the measurement start point to the point in time when a signal is generated by the operation of the stop button 3. A number of hand movement drive pulses proportional to the measurement time are created and immediately applied to the pulse motor, which drives the hand 6 and then stops. Therefore, the time required for the reaction can be read by the position of the minute hand 5 relative to the scale marked on the dial.

FIG. 3 shows a third embodiment of a digital display type timepiece. Reference numeral 12 denotes a digital display section using liquid crystal or the like, and its display surface further comprises a numeric display section 16 and a mark display section 14 in which ten display elements are arranged in a band shape. The numeric display section normally displays the time, and the strip display section usually indicates the day of the week, AM/PM, etc. depending on the lighting position, or indicates the 0.1 second range of the time measurement result in the stopwatch function mode. be able to. In the reaction time measurement mode, first, only one mark on the left end of the band-shaped mark display section 14 lights up and enters a standby state, and then the display state changes suddenly, such as when it suddenly moves or another mark lights up. The time from this point until the stop operation is performed is measured, and the measurement results are displayed on the mark display section 14 as a bar graph in 10 steps. Of course, numbers or comment characters related to the reaction rate may be displayed on the number display section 16 at the same time.

FIG. 4 shows an analog clock according to a fourth embodiment.

As in the second embodiment, the disk 9 is gear-coupled to the rotor shaft of a two-pole pulse motor, but in this example, the reduction ratio is 3, and 0 is set at 6 equal points on the circumference. Numeral marks 10 from 5 to 5 are printed. Further, the disc 10 is located above the dial, so that all marks can be viewed simultaneously. This embodiment is a two-hand timepiece whose hands are moved by one drive pulse every 10 seconds, and the disc 9 rotates once per minute in the normal mode. In the reaction time measurement mode, the machine moves rapidly to the position shown in the figure where the number 0 matches the indicator 16 on the dial at the lowest point, and then waits. Since the disc 9 suddenly starts rotating clockwise and stops when the stop operation is performed, by reading the number opposite to the indicator 16 while the disc 9 is stopped, the reaction time, which is ranked from 1 to 5, can be read. . The rotational speed of the disk 90 during measurement is selected so that the rotation of the disk 901 approximately corresponds to the longest reaction time of an ordinary person, for example, 0.1 to 0.3 seconds. The interval of the driving pulses may not be constant (of course, it may be set; for example, it may be set to gradually increase or decrease so that a large number of experimental sample data are distributed approximately equally to each rank. Now, let's make the disc 9 stop once or twice. (In this example, this corresponds to a not-so-large hand movement of 1 or 2 minutes in the time display.) When you return to the normal time display mode, the hands move forward. If the time is ahead after the measurement, the hands will stop and wait until the correct time catches up, but as mentioned above, the amount of movement of the hands during measurement is too large. In any case, the normal time display can be restored in a short time.Therefore, in this example, there is no need to have a pulse motor that can reverse rotation or a reverse drive waveform generation circuit.

FIG. 5 shows a fifth embodiment of the digital watch. This embodiment is similar to the third embodiment, except that the marks are displayed in two columns 14 and 15. In the standby state of the reaction time measurement mode, each mark display section is in a lit state in which the bar graph repeatedly moves from end to end in an elongated manner, with the tip extending from left to right in 0.5 to 2 seconds. At this time, the movement speeds of the sub-bar graphs in the mark display section 14 and the second mark display section 15 are equal.

In other words, do the tips of two adjacent bar graphs repeat elongation and disappearance in unison, or do they move in parallel, with each tip making a mark and urinating at intervals of several frames? are doing. Then, at the same time as the reaction time measurement starts (((()) the moving speed of the tip of only one of the bar graphs in the mark display section 14 and the second mark display section 15 suddenly changes to, for example, twice that of the other.

The subject detects this change and immediately presses button 3 to perform a stop operation. The measured reaction time is displayed, for example, on the numerical display section 16 in seconds. The figure shows an example of the display state immediately after the measurement is completed.

The advantage of having the subject detect and respond to changes in movement speed is that the starting point of the change is relatively difficult to detect, compared to the case where the subject moves from rest to movement, as in the previous embodiment, and requires less attentional effort. Since it requires more weight, it is more likely to be influenced by the fatigue level, and the correlation between the fatigue level and the measurement result is further improved.

FIG. 6 shows a sixth embodiment. Although it is similar in appearance to the third embodiment, the manner in which the mark moves during standby and during measurement is different.

On the mark display section 14, for example, two out of ten marks are always lit during standby.

However, the lighting positions of these two marks change randomly, or the two marks move in a rather dizzying manner, moving in tandem at a constant speed. The motion state is the same during measurement, but the number of marks involved is 1.
The number increases. The aim of this method is to increase the gaze effort required to detect changes in the number of moving mark points, as in the previous example.

In addition, countless other embodiments not shown or variations of the above-described embodiments are conceivable. Even with an analog display, you can suddenly increase or decrease the speed of the pointer or rotating body during standby or measurement, or change the direction of movement from motion to stop regardless of whether it is analog or digital. Alternatively, the temporal pattern of intermittent motion may be changed. In the digital display system, Japanese character segment) -? Dot segments may be used to suddenly change the display of numbers or symbols. In color display, changes in display colors may be used.

The display contrast may be changed without changing the pattern, including monochrome, or the lamp for display illumination may be suddenly turned on. Furthermore, the sound output may be changed (suddenly sounded or the pitch, tone, or volume is changed). In short, it is sufficient to make some kind of sudden and sudden change in the display mode.

In terms of operation, the start switch may be pressed after mode switching, and then the standby state may be turned off. Alternatively, mode switching may be performed using a start switch.

Furthermore, the present invention can control the movement state of the display device during standby or measurement as described above (for example, rapid forwarding of the pointer, rapid movement of the liquid crystal band display, display of the measured value by the pointer, mark position, or number). In addition, since the operation methods such as mode switching and start/stop are extremely similar to those of a multi-function watch that includes analog and digital stopwatch functions, knowing the aspects and specifications of the embodiments will help you design control circuits and systems. It goes without saying that the configuration is possible for those skilled in the art, but just to be sure, the detailed operation of the circuit system of the present invention will be explained using an example having a microcomputer type circuit.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of the operation of the reaction time measurement function circuit portion of the circuit system corresponding to the first embodiment.

It is assumed that a clock circuit that continuously outputs a time signal every second, for example, without interruption, or a clock signal generating circuit for counting time on the other side, exists separately outside the illustrated range, and the flowchart will be described below.

Reference numeral 60 denotes an initial setting stage, which consists of block groups 61 to 66. At block 61, a reaction time measurement mode is entered by manual operation. However, if the timing of the hand movement drive is affected, block 62 causes the process to proceed to the next step to wait until the end of the drive. Block 66 resets the back counter, which is an up/down counter, and sets a countdown operating state.

When the watch is in a mode other than the normal time display, the back counter adds and stores the time signal that should normally be the hand movement drive signal in the time mode (for example, the frequency division output signal every second in a watch with a second hand). , or further refers to a counter function that adds the amount of movement when the hands move due to other functions, taking into account directionality, and always stores the difference between the original time and the current hand position. In block 64, the second hand is rapidly forwarded in the normal rotation direction to return to zero, resulting in the state shown in FIG.

The amount of movement of the second hand to return to zero is counted down on the back counter. In block 35, the back counter is switched to an up-counting state, and in block 66, the time signal (per second) is added. 40 is a measurement preparation stage in which the waiting time is randomly determined within a predetermined range so as to provide an unexpected start for the subject. (Generally speaking, in order to feel that the operation has started unexpectedly, the waiting time does not necessarily have to be a random number; for example, even if it is a fixed time of several seconds or more, it becomes difficult to accurately predict the starting point, or (This may be selected cyclically by providing a seed waiting time) Block 41
Now, enter a random number within the specified range into the timer counter,
Start counting the separately prepared clock pulses.

The standby state continues until it is determined that this count matches the random number set in block 44. If it is detected in block 42 that an erroneous stop operation has been performed during standby, some error indication is preferably made in block 46 (for example, the pointer moves back and forth) and the measurement preparation is restarted again. 50 is a reaction time measurement stage. At block 51, fast forwarding of the seconds/hand is started, and at the same time an upper limit of the reaction time is set and a counter is started for stopping the measurement at a predetermined time. If the counter reaches a full count before the stop operation in block 52, a signal is also sent to block 46 to display an error and start over from the standby state. When it is detected in block 56 that a stop operation has been performed within a predetermined time, the display is fast-forwarded in block 54 and the time counter is stopped, and in block 55, the reaction time is displayed and the reaction time count value is stored. Ru.

The display may remain at the stopped position as shown in FIG. 1, or may be moved to a different position as a function of the reaction time count value.

60 is a re-measurement preparation stage, blocks 61 and 62
If it is determined that the predetermined time has passed without returning to the mode, it is assumed that the subject has the intention of re-measuring, and in block 66, the second hand is returned to zero for re-measuring, the reaction time counter is reset, and the measurement preparation stage 40 Return to If a mode return or mode switching operation is performed, this is detected in block 61 and the process moves to post-processing stage 70. In block 71, the average value of several measured values (the number of counts stored in the reaction time counter) is calculated and displayed by the hand position (each of the above displays will be displayed on the display section in the case of a watch that also has a digital display section). It may be expressed as a numerical value, etc.). (Although not shown, it would be even better if past personal data is memorized and the ratio or difference with the current data is displayed.) Block 7
In step 2, the timing of the state change and the time signal is shifted to prevent interference as shown in block 62, then the back counter is stopped in block 76, the second hand is returned to zero in block 74, and the time signal is stored in the back counter in block 75. The normal time display position is returned to the normal time display position by rapid forward rotation or reverse rotation according to the numerical value, and the measurement mode is terminated as shown in block 76.

Note that although flowcharts for other embodiments are not particularly shown, it can be easily assumed that they can be realized with some changes.

That is, in addition to changes depending on how the display changes, for example, in the case of a digital display clock, a back counter or fast forward function is not necessary, and the time count value, reaction time count value, etc. can be switched and displayed using a common decoder. Further various modifications are possible.

Furthermore, this function is suitable not only for watches but also as an additional function for calculators, electronic notebooks, office automation equipment, and the like.

〔Effect of the invention〕

With the above configuration, the present invention has the following effects.

First, it is possible to know the reaction characteristics, physical condition, etc. of the subject through simple operations. It can also be incorporated as an additional function into existing analog, digital, or combination clocks.
It can be done by simply adding a logic circuit without requiring special sensors or light emitting elements with large current consumption, so it is technically easy and can be done at a low cost compared to the added value. There are no strict requirements regarding brightness, so it can be used anywhere and at any time.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 6 are front views of each embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the operation of the first embodiment. 2...Mode selection switch, 6...Start/stop switch, 5...Second hand, 6...
...Minute hand, 8...Scale, 9...Disk, 10...Mark, 11...Window, 14...
... Mark display section, 15... Second mark display section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] means for suddenly changing the display state, operating in the reaction time measurement mode; external operation signal generating means; means for measuring the time interval from when the display state changes until the external operation signal is generated; An electronic device with a reaction time measurement function, comprising means for displaying the measured time interval or information as a function thereof.