JPS6253046B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a step length measuring device that is attached to shoes and measures the step length.

Stride length, running pitch, running speed, etc. are major factors in walking ability, so measuring them is extremely important for understanding walking ability.

However, although devices such as pedometers that count the number of steps have been known, in order to measure stride length, it is customary to install a means for measuring the length on the floor, so There were some drawbacks, such as the fact that measurements could only be taken in certain locations.

The present invention solves these difficulties and makes it possible to easily measure stride length at any location.
Ultrasonic transmitters and receivers are installed in the left and right shoes,
Ultrasonic waves can be sent and received between them, or a receiver can be installed in one shoe to receive the ultrasound reflected by the other shoe, and the stride length can be measured from the propagation time of the ultrasound between them. It is characterized by the following structure.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. In FIGS. 1 and 2, 1L and 1R represent left and right shoes, and 2L and 2R represent ultrasonic transmitters attached to their tips. 3L and 3R are ultrasonic receivers attached to the rear end of the shoes.
L and 1R are equipped with foot switches 4L and 4R that are activated when the shoes touch the ground during walking motion, and the transmitter/receiver and the foot switches are connected to a controller 5 that calculates, records, and displays the stride length.

The controller 5, as shown in FIG.
A trigger signal outputted by the operation of the foot switches 4L, 4R is input to the control circuit section, and an AND output signal is output to the output terminal 6L every time the trigger signals from the foot switches 4L, 4R are alternately input in the control circuit section. , 6R, and their output terminals 6L, 6R are connected to the ultrasonic generators of the transmitters 2R, 2L, and also connected to a timer for counting clocks from the clock generator, This allows pulsed ultrasonic waves to be transmitted from the transmitters 2L, 2R of the rear shoes to the receivers 3R, 3L of the front shoes when the shoes of both feet touch the ground during walking motion.
The receiver 3 is configured to be able to transmit to
The ultrasonic detectors L and 3R are connected to a timer, and the clock starts counting using the inputs from the output terminals 6L and 6R as a start signal. The counting is terminated using the sonic reception signal as a stop signal, and thereby the propagation time of the ultrasonic waves from the transmitters 2R, 2L to the receivers 3L, 3R, that is, the distance between them can be measured. Further, the timer section is configured to be able to measure the input interval time of the AND output signals that are alternately input, that is, the time required for one step of a walking motion.

The arithmetic unit connected to the above-mentioned timer receives the propagation time between the ultrasonic transmitter and receiver and the time required for each step each time you walk, and calculates the stride length, its average, and each step based on calculations based on these inputs. It is configured to calculate the required time, its average, average walking speed, etc., and sequentially input them to the recording section and display section of the next stage.

Next, the operation of the stride measuring device having the above configuration will be explained.

Now, if we look at the case where the right foot lands next to the left foot during a walking motion, firstly, when the right foot lands, the trigger signal is input to the control circuit from the foot switch 4L, which is activated when the left foot lands, and the foot switch 4R is activated. When activated, a trigger signal is input to the control circuit section, and an AND output signal is output to the output terminal 6R. This output signal from the output terminal 6R indicates that both feet are on the ground, and this output signal is input to the ultrasonic generator to determine the timing for emitting ultrasonic waves from the transmitter. A pulsed ultrasonic wave is transmitted from 2L toward the receiver 3R. At the same time, the output signal is input to the timer section to start measuring the propagation time of the ultrasonic wave from the transmitter 2L to the receiver 3R. When the ultrasonic wave reaches the receiver 3R, a stop signal is sent from the ultrasonic detector to the timer at that moment, and the timer ends the measurement of the propagation time of the ultrasonic wave.

Also, based on the AND output signal input from the above output terminal to the timer section, the measurement of the time required from the landing of the left foot to the landing of the right foot is finished, and the measurement of the time until the next landing of the left foot is started. be done.

After this, when the left foot touches the ground again during walking movement, the foot switch 4L is activated, and through the same operation as above, the ultrasonic wave is transmitted from the transmitter 2R to the receiver 3L.
The propagation time until the right foot touches the ground and the time from when the left foot touches the ground are measured.

The propagation time of the ultrasonic waves measured in this way between the transmitter and receiver and the time required for each step are sequentially input from the timer to the calculation unit, and the calculation in this calculation unit calculates the stride length and running speed for each step, and the time required for each step. The average value and the like are calculated, and these are sequentially recorded and displayed on the recording section and the display section.

The above calculation unit calculates the distance l0 between the transmitter and receiver by multiplying the propagation time of the ultrasonic wave between the transmitter and receiver by the propagation velocity (velocity of sound), and then applies a correction factor that takes into account the walking habits of each individual. By multiplying the distance in the walking direction, l is corrected to ₁ , and then a value _l depending on the size of the shoes is added to calculate the stride length, but since the direction of the shoes varies with each step, In such cases, it is not possible to accurately measure the stride length by correcting it using a fixed correction factor determined in advance. In such a case, as shown by chain lines in FIG. 2, another auxiliary receiver 7L, 7R is provided inside the left and right shoes 1L, 1R, respectively, and these are used to connect, for example, the transmitter 2L to the receiver. 3R, 7
The stride length can be accurately measured by simultaneously measuring the propagation time of the ultrasonic waves up to R, calculating the direction of the shoe from the time difference, and correcting it with a corresponding correction factor.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the ultrasonic waves from the transmitter attached to one shoe are received by the receiver attached to the other shoe, but the ultrasonic waves from the transmitter attached to one shoe are received by the receiver attached to the other shoe. It is also possible to configure a configuration in which the ultrasound waves are reflected by a reflector provided on the other shoe, the reflected ultrasonic waves are received by a receiver on one shoe, and the stride length is calculated from the propagation time during that time.

As described above, according to the step length measuring device of the present invention, not only can the step length be measured with an extremely simple configuration, but also there is no need to install any measuring means on the floor surface on which the person walks, so the walking location is limited. Furthermore, it can easily be used as a walking distance meter or walking speed meter, and therefore it is also possible to measure comprehensive walking ability.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the step length measuring device of the present invention in use, and FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram thereof. 1L, 1R...shoes, 2L, 2R...transmitter, 3
L, 3R...receiver, 4L, 4R...foot switch, 5...controller.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A foot switch that is activated when the shoe lands on the ground, a transmitter that transmits ultrasonic waves from one shoe to the other when the foot switch is activated, and a transmitter that receives the direct wave of the ultrasonic wave or the reflected wave from the other shoe. 1. A stride measuring device comprising: a receiver; a timer that measures the propagation time of ultrasonic waves from the transmitter to the receiver; and an arithmetic unit that calculates a stride based on the propagation time.