KR20140075480A - Walk Assist Device for the Elderly and the Infirm - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a walk assist device for the elderly and the weak which includes a main body which has a plurality of drive wheels on the bottom and a handle which controls the travelling and direction of the main body. The walk assist device includes: a pair of left and right side mirrors which are mounted on the right and left sides of the handle so that a user can see a rear view with the naked eye; a pair of left and right microphones which are mounted on the right and left side mirrors or both sides of the main body and collect sound from surroundings; and a display unit which visually displays control signals generated by a micom which determines the size of sound collected by the microphone and generates control signals corresponding to the size of sound so that a user can recognize the direction and size of sound.

Description

[0002] Walk Assist Device for the Elderly and the Infirm [0003]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for assisting the aged of the elderly, and more particularly, to a device for assisting the elderly to walk, and more particularly to an elderly person with poor hearing and vision, The present invention relates to a walking aid.

Generally, a walking aids are used as an assistive device when the patient, the elderly person, and the disabled or the legs or the disabled are walking, and the walking aids allow the body to be supported while being lightly walked or moved to another place.

Such a conventional walking aiding device has various operation modes, such as an operation handle portion which can be operated by holding it by hand and pushing or pulling it, and a body which is connected to the lower side of the operation handle portion, And a plurality of wheels provided at a lower end of the body.

Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-0330123 (Apr. 04, 2003) discloses a frame having a frame extending from a front wheel and folded into upper and lower ends by a hinge coupled to a middle portion, and a handle formed at an upper end of the frame; A chair which is connected to a lower end of the frame and is folded by a hinge; a bag which is formed at a lower end of the frame and is located at the back of the chair back and is folded by a hinge; A driving brake formed on the rear wheel and driven and controlled by a cable extending from the hand brake of the handle, and a rear wheel, which is formed on the rear wheel, And a braking brake for stepping on the foot to assist the elderly in walking.

However, there is no means for the user to recognize a warning sound such as a horn of the vehicle, which informs the danger signal when the vehicle approaches the walker, when the elderly person with weak hearing or sight, or visually or deaf Therefore, there is a problem that the risk of safety accidents of walker users becomes very high.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems and it is an object of the present invention to provide an elderly person's walking assistant capable of recognizing the sound of a nearby vehicle or a safe walk, I want to.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a walking assistance apparatus for a person with a walking disability, comprising a main body having a plurality of traveling wheels at its lower end and a handle provided to control the running of the main body and to control the direction of the main body. A pair of left and right side mirrors respectively mounted on left and right sides of the handle so that the user can visually recognize the rear side; A pair of left and right side mirrors or a pair of right and left microphones mounted on both left and right sides of the main body to acquire sounds generated in the surrounding environment; A display unit for visually displaying a direction and a sound size of a sound generated by a microcomputer by a control signal generated by a microcomputer for generating a control signal corresponding to a sound volume, The present invention provides a walking aid for the elderly.

Preferably, the side mirror includes a camera for capturing an image in a rear state and displaying the photographed image on the display unit.

Preferably, the display unit is selectively illuminated in accordance with the direction of the sound acquired through the microphone on the front surface facing the user holding the handle, and is displayed visually through a lighting region of the lamps installed in multi- And a second display unit.

Preferably, the display unit includes a second display unit for displaying the captured image of the backward state of the user holding the handle so that the user can visually confirm the captured image.

Preferably, the handle is operated to generate vibration selectively in accordance with the direction of the sound acquired through the microphone, and generates a vibration of a different intensity according to the acquired sound to thereby tactilely display the third display unit .

More preferably, the third display unit includes a pair of left and right vibration motors disposed inside the hollow pipe provided in the handle to rotate the eccentric member when power is applied thereto, and a pair of right and left vibration motors disposed inside the hollow pipe And a projection projecting from the surface.

The present invention as described above has the following effects.

(1) As a side mirror and a camera, a rear object is identified and photographed so that the user can visually confirm the danger, thereby recognizing the danger of the surrounding environment. Direction and the size thereof is visually displayed through the lighting means, so that the aged person who is weak in hearing or the hearing-impaired person can visually confirm the risk situation in which the sound is represented by the sound from the left or right side, have.

(2) According to the size of the noise or the horn sound of the vehicle acquired from the microphone, the size of the sound is displayed tactilely through the handle provided with the vibration motor as well as the direction in which the sound is generated so that the elderly or visually impaired Since the dangerous situation represented by sound can be tactually confirmed and promptly responded, the safety of the walker can be improved.

Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a walking aids for the elderly according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a third display unit employed in the walking aid for the elderly according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The above objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the elderly person's walking assistant 100 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a main body 10 having a plurality of traveling wheels, such as front and rear traveling wheels 11 and 12, The main body 10 is provided with a grip 20 for controlling the driving and controlling the direction of the main body so that the user can recognize the audible sound of the vehicle in which the elderly person or the disabled who is weak in hearing, And includes a side mirror 110, a microphone 120, and a display unit 130 to enable safe walking.

The main body 10 is formed of a frame formed by bending a hollow pipe made of a lightweight material such as aluminum. The main body 10 is provided with a seat 30 for allowing a user to sit comfortably, .

The side mirror 110 is a mirror member mounted on both left and right sides of the handle 20 so that the user holding the handle 20 connected to the main body 10 can visually recognize the rear side.

The side mirror 110 is preferably assembled through a flexible member 112 capable of bending deformation so that the installation angle can be easily adjusted according to the user's physical condition or vision.

It is preferable that the side mirror 110 is provided with a camera 114 for photographing a rear view image and displaying the photographed image on the display unit 130 for confirmation.

Here, the camera 114 may be installed in an inner space of a cover on which the side mirrors are mounted so as to expose a lens on the mirror surface of the side mirror 110, or may be provided on the left and right sides of the handle 20 with other flexible members .

The microphone 120 is mounted on each of the right and left side mirrors 110 or both left and right sides of the main body 10 so as to acquire various types of sounds generated in the environment of the walker.

The microphone 120 may be replaced with an acoustic sensor that senses sounds such as a horn sound, a sudden brake sound, and an alarm sound of a vehicle generated on both sides of the walker.

The display unit 130 receives the size of sound obtained from the microphone 120, compares the received sound value with a predetermined default value to determine whether to display the sound, and generates a control signal corresponding to the sound size. And the like.

The control signal generated by the microcomputer visually displays a direction and a magnitude of sound to be generated by the user.

The display unit 130 is selectively turned on according to the direction of the sound obtained at the front facing the user holding the knob 20 and displayed visually through the lighting region of the lamps installed in multi- The first display portion 132 is provided.

Accordingly, when a horn sound is generated in a vehicle approaching the left or right side while the user, such as the aged person with weak hearing or the hearing-impaired person, is walking while gripping the knob, The microcomputer compares the reference value with the reference value, determines whether the display is through the display unit 130, determines the size of the obtained sound, and determines the direction according to the position of the obtained sound to generate a control signal.

According to the control signal of the microcomputer, the first display unit of the display unit 130 displays the corresponding light of the left and right side lighting regions so that the direction and the size of the sound of the horn can be visually recognized by the elderly or the hearing- And selectively illuminates a lighting area of a lamp provided in a multistage manner according to the size of the obtained sound. Thus, the elderly person or the hearing-impaired person with poor hearing can visually check the first display unit to detect danger.

In addition, the user can visually check the rear view displayed through the second display unit 132 through the camera 114 to recognize a dangerous situation.

The display unit 130 may include a camera 114 provided on the left and right side mirrors 110 or a rear camera for holding a handle by another camera provided on both left and right sides of the main body 10, And a second display unit 134 for displaying the photographed image so as to be visually confirmed.

It is preferable that the second display unit 134 is installed close to the first display unit 132 which is turned on according to the direction and size of the sound obtained through the microphone.

On the other hand, in the handle 20 to be held by the user of the walker, vibrations are selectively generated in accordance with the direction of the sound acquired through the microphone 120, and the user operates a pair of right and left And a third display unit 136 including a vibration motor 136a.

The vibration motor 136a provided on the third display unit 136 generates vibrations of a corresponding intensity according to the magnitude of the sound acquired through the microphone, The visually impaired can indirectly confirm the magnitude of the horn sound along with the direction of the horn sound.

The third display unit 136 includes a pair of left and right vibration motors 136a disposed inside the hollow pipe 29 constituting the handle 20 to rotate the eccentric member 136b when power is applied thereto, And a protrusion 136c protruding from the inner surface of the hollow pipe 29 to contact the outer surface of the eccentric member 136b.

Accordingly, when a horn sound is generated in a vehicle approaching the left or right side while a user such as an aged person with low vision or a visually impaired person grasps the handle and strolls, the horn sound obtained through the microphone 120 The microcomputer determines whether vibration has occurred through the vibration motor 136a of the third display unit 136 in comparison with the reference value, determines the size of the obtained sound, determines the direction according to the position of the obtained sound Thereby generating a control signal.

According to the control signal of the microcomputer, in the first display portion of the display unit 130, the direction and the size of the horn sound can be tactilely recognized through the handle of the elderly or visually impaired, It is possible to confirm the generation position of the horn sound by selectively operating the vibration motor corresponding to the position where the horn sound is generated in the vibration motors on both sides.

The vibrating motor 136a has a vibrating motor 136a and a vibrating motor 136b that vibrates the vibrating motor 136a and vibrates the vibrating motor 136a in accordance with the magnitude of the sound obtained through the microphone 120, , The aged and visually impaired can detect and cope with the danger through vibration.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

10: Body
20: Handle
110: Side mirror
120: microphone
130:
132: first display section
134: second display section
136: Third display section

Claims (6)

1. A walking aid for a senior citizen comprising a main body having a plurality of traveling wheels at a lower end thereof and a handle provided to control traveling of the main body and to control the direction of the main body,
A pair of left and right side mirrors respectively mounted on left and right sides of the handle so that the user can visually recognize the rear side;
A pair of left and right side mirrors or a pair of right and left microphones mounted on both left and right sides of the main body to acquire sounds generated in the surrounding environment;
A display unit for visually displaying a direction in which a sound is generated and a magnitude of a sound by a control signal generated by a microcomputer for generating a control signal corresponding to the magnitude of the sound, And an elderly person walking on the floor. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the side mirror includes a camera for photographing a backward state as an image and displaying the photographed image on the display unit so that the side mirror can be checked. The method according to claim 1,
The display unit is selectively illuminated in accordance with the direction of the sound acquired through the microphone on the front surface facing the user holding the handle, and the display unit displays the first And a display unit. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the display unit includes a second display unit for displaying an image of the backward state of the user holding the knob so that the user can visually confirm the image. The method according to claim 1,
And a third display unit that is operated to generate vibration selectively in accordance with the direction of the sound acquired through the microphone and generates tactile vibration of different intensity according to the size of the acquired sound, Walking aids for the elderly. 6. The method of claim 5,
The third display unit includes a pair of left and right vibration motors disposed inside the hollow pipe provided on the handle to rotate the eccentric member when power is applied thereto and a pair of right and left vibration motors projecting from the inner surface of the hollow pipe And a protruding portion.

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