KR20190016753A - Method and apparatus for evaluating imbalance during running and walking - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and a device for evaluating a left and right imbalance while running and walking, wherein an objective of the present invention is to provide the method and the device for evaluating the left and right imbalance while running and walking which can easily, effectively, and quantitatively evaluate the left and right imbalance generated while running and walking, by using portable equipment which can be easily worn by a regular person for exercise.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for evaluating imbalance in running and walking,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for evaluating left and right unbalance during running and walking, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for evaluating a left and right unbalance by comparing an unbalance between both feet during running and walking.

In general, it has been pointed out that the daily exercise of modern people is insufficient to maintain adequate physical health, and accordingly there is an unprecedented interest in a systematic exercise method that can effectively promote health. As one of the exercise methods meeting these demands, there is a walking or running exercise that anyone can easily do.

On the other hand, most of the human body is not completely balanced by lifestyle or natural condition. It is well known that the use of the hand is different for each person, such as right-handed / left-handed, as well as the right-handed / left-handed / When one of the feet is used mainly, the feet and leg muscles mainly used are strengthened more, but the problems such as joints are also sometimes accumulated. The lateral imbalance during running and walking refers to the degree of balance between the left and right feet on the foot due to the physical unbalance. In this way, the imbalance between the left and right feet during running and walking has a problem that the more the exercise, the worse the injury accumulation than the linear effect of health promotion. For example, in the case of a right-footed person who has a walking habit of unconsciously treading his / her right foot more strongly, even when climbing or jogging the stairs, A problem occurs.

In some cases, such as a professional athlete training center, special equipment may be provided to measure the degree of imbalance between the left and right, but even in such a case, the left and right muscular strength is measured only to measure the left and right imbalance many. In other words, even in the expert group, it is often not possible to equip them with a level of diagnostic accuracy by quantitatively measuring left and right imbalances of each step. Moreover, in the case of the general public, it is almost impossible to accurately measure such a problem.

As a technique for solving this lateral imbalance problem, a technique such as Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-0026235 ("Dual Belt Running Machine Having Close-Isolated Separate Left and Right Running Belts and Its Controlling Method ", Mar. 25, 2008) have. However, the treadmill according to the prior art is limited only to the control of the speed of the left and right running belts based on the 'body balance index' calculated in advance by measuring the weight of the feet on both feet, It is still impossible to quantify and measure the degree of imbalance.

1. Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-0026235 ("Dual belt running machine with close separated left and right running belts and control method thereof ", Mar. 25, 2008)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a portable device that can easily be worn and exercised, And an object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for evaluating imbalance in lateral and lateral directions during running and walking.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for evaluating a left and right imbalance in running and walking, comprising: an acceleration sensor (111); at least one sensor signal collecting unit (A _z ) measured by the sensor signal collecting unit (110), the method comprising the steps of: A motion type judgment step of judging whether the vehicle is walking or running from the pattern of the vertical acceleration (a _z ) graph; A step of deriving a judgment index for deriving at least one right / left unbalance judgment index calculated on the basis of the vertical acceleration (a _z ); A vertical acceleration from a moment when one of the selected feet on the left or right foot landing on the ground to a moment when the other foot lands on the ground is defined as a periodic signal of one cycle per one step a right and left unbalance judging step of judging whether the degree of fluctuation of the left and right unbalance judging index is larger than a predetermined criterion by using at least two or more cycles of data for the data a _z , An injury risk warning step of warning the user of a risk of injury when at least one of the degrees of variation of the left and right unbalance determination indices is greater than a predetermined reference, respectively; . ≪ / RTI >

Wherein the right and left unbalance determination step compares the left and right unbalance determination indices calculated on the left foot and the right and left unbalance condition indices calculated on the left foot for at least one consecutive two steps, The degree of lateral imbalance can be evaluated.

The right / left unbalance determination step may be configured to use the relative standard deviation of the left / right unbalance determination index in determining the degree of variation of the left / right unbalance determination index. In this case, in the case where the relative standard deviation of the left and right unbalance determination indices is plural, the right and left unbalance determination step may include a step of determining a degree of variation of the left and right unbalance determination indices by using the predetermined weight and the right and left unbalance determination indices The relative standard deviation of the relative standard deviation.

Further, the left and right unbalance determination indexes may be set to a maximum value of the vertical acceleration (a _z ) calculated by using the data for one period with respect to the vertical acceleration (a _z ) data appearing as a periodic signal when the exercise type is running Value, an impact amount during the stance time, a stance time, a flight time, an average vertical load rate, and a maximum vertical load rate.

In this case, the left and right unbalance determination index may be a maximum value of the vertical acceleration (a _z ).

Alternatively, the right and left unbalance determination indexes can be calculated by using the following equations as the amount of impact during the stance time, from the moment when the foot landed on the ground to the moment when the foot falls off the ground, as stance time.

(Where a _z : vertical acceleration, m: user mass)

Alternatively, the left and right imbalance determination index may be a stance time when the time from when the foot landed on the ground to the moment when the foot falls off the ground is a stance time.

Alternatively, the left / right unbalance determination index may be a flight time when the time from the moment the foot falls off the ground to the moment when the feet land on the ground is defined as the flight time.

Or said left and right unbalance determination index is an average vertical load rate during an impact time,

The average vertical load rate during the impact time is calculated as the product of the average slope during the user mass and the impact time, and the average slope value during the impact time can be calculated using the following equation.

(Here, a _z: vertical acceleration, mean: the average value calculating function, i: index number, t _i: i-th _{time, t i-1: i-} 1 th time, t _c: Start impact time, t _m: Impact end time)

Or said left and right unbalance determination index is a maximum vertical load rate during an impact time,

The maximum vertical load rate during the impact time is calculated as the product of the user's mass and the maximum slope during the impact time, and the maximum slope value during the impact time can be calculated using the following equation.

(Here, a _z: vertical acceleration, max: calculating a maximum value function, i: index number, t _i: i-th _{time, t i-1: i-} 1 th time, t _c: Start impact time, t _m : Impact end time)

Alternatively, the left / right unbalance determination index may be calculated by using the data for one cycle with respect to the vertical acceleration (a _z ) data appearing as a periodic signal when the type of exercise is gait, the one-step time length and the vertical acceleration a < _z >).

In this case, the left and right unbalance determination index may be one step time length.

Alternatively, the lateral imbalance determination index may be a minimum value of the vertical acceleration (a _z ).

In addition, the lateral imbalance evaluation method may further include: a noise elimination step of removing noise by passing the vertical acceleration (a _z ) through a predetermined bandpass filter before deriving the judgment index; As shown in FIG.

Also, the apparatus 100 for evaluating a left and right imbalance in running and walking according to the present invention includes at least one sensor signal collecting unit 110 including an acceleration sensor 111 and worn on an upper body except a user's arm; (A _z ), which is calculated based on the vertical acceleration (a _z ), and determines whether or not an alarm has been generated using the left and right unbalance determination indexes And a control unit (120) for controlling the control unit. An alarm unit 130 receiving an alarm generation control signal from the control unit 120 and alerting the user of the risk of injury; . ≪ / RTI >

At this time, when the type of exercise is the driving type, the control unit 120 calculates, as the left and right unbalance determination index, the up and down acceleration (a _z ) data, which is represented by a periodic signal, The maximum value of the direction acceleration (a _z ), the amount of impact during the stance time, the stance time, the flight time, the average vertical load rate, and the maximum vertical load rate. Alternatively, when the type of exercise is a gait, the control unit may calculate, as the left / right unbalance determination index, the one-step time length and the vertical acceleration calculated by using the data for one period with respect to the vertical acceleration data, And at least one selected from among the minimum values.

Also, the alarm unit 130 may be configured to output an alarm signal as user-recognizable information including sound, a picture, and an image.

Also, the left and right unbalance evaluating apparatus 100 may be configured to transmit injury risk data including the time of occurrence of the injury risk alarm and the left and right unbalance determination index values at the time point to the external database 140 for cumulatively storing .

According to the present invention, there is a great effect that it is possible to easily measure the imbalance of the left and right when the person himself / herself is walking or walking by using a device which can be easily carried and which can be easily worn on the body such as the head and waist . Especially in the situation where the majority of ordinary people exercise for health and self diagnosis is needed as in the modern times, it is possible to measure the imbalance between right and left when the person himself or herself does not use the professional management institution. And it has a remarkable improvement in convenience and economical efficiency.

Also, in terms of device configuration, according to the present invention, there is a great merit that only a sensor for measuring a dynamic physical quantity of a user like an acceleration sensor can be used. In other words, there have been various problems such as a problem of device durability and life span degradation by using a pressure sensor that recognizes walking by pressing by a user's foot, and problems of production and use of separate devices according to user's body dimensions. However, in the case of the present invention, since the technique of disposing the pressure sensor, which is the cause of such a problem, in the foot portion is completely excluded, various problems as described above are eliminated. Of course, it is natural that such advantages as the improvement of user convenience and the economical improvement of each user or producer can be obtained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is an embodiment of a lateral imbalance evaluation apparatus during traveling and walking according to the present invention. Fig.
2 is a schematic view of a lateral unbalance evaluating apparatus for running and walking according to the present invention;
3 is a flow chart of a lateral imbalance evaluation method during traveling and walking according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a graph of acceleration in the vertical direction during traveling and walking; FIG.
5 is a graph showing acceleration in the vertical direction at the time of traveling.
6 is a graph showing a maximum value in a vertical acceleration graph when driving.
Fig. 7 is a graph showing the amount of impact during the stance time in the vertical acceleration graph when traveling. Fig.
8 is a graph showing a stance time and a flight time in a vertical acceleration graph at the time of traveling.
9 is a graph showing a slope in a vertical acceleration graph when driving.
Fig. 10 is a vertical graph of acceleration during walking; Fig.

Hereinafter, a method and an apparatus for evaluating right and left unbalance during running and walking according to the present invention having the above-described configuration will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Right and left unbalance evaluation device

Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of a left and right unbalance evaluating apparatus according to the present invention, and Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a left and right unbalance evaluating apparatus according to the present invention. First, the configuration of the left and right unbalance evaluating apparatus of the present invention will be briefly described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. Hereinafter, a method and an apparatus for evaluating right and left unbalance during running and walking using the left and right unbalance evaluating apparatus will be described in detail.

To describe the left and right unbalance evaluating apparatus 100 of the present invention briefly, it is a device for evaluating a uniform degree of walking in running and walking, and notifying the user of the risk of injury that may occur as the walking becomes uneven. More specifically, it is as follows. When running and walking, lifestyle and natural condition, due to the left and right balance is not completely matched, imbalance can occur between the left and right feet (right and left unbalance problem).

It is well known that such a problem of imbalance of the left and right imbalance increases the badness of the posture and furthermore causes an irregularity on the ankle, the knee, and the back, leading to the injury. However, in the past, it has been difficult to measure and evaluate the imbalance of the left and right in real time even in the athlete training institute, and there is no accurate index to know how much the risk of injury occurs due to this imbalance. In the present invention, such lateral imbalance is quantified and evaluated as a judgment index, and if the level of injury is raised above a certain level, the user is informed of the degree of danger as an alarm. This allows the user to take appropriate measures such as stopping the running or walking properly, correcting the posture, replacing the running shoes, changing the walking or running course before the injury occurs, and ultimately, It is possible to greatly reduce the risk of injury.

The left and right unbalance evaluating apparatus 100 of the present invention includes a sensor signal collecting unit 110, a control unit 120, and an alarm unit 130, as shown in FIGS. In addition, the left and right imbalance evaluation apparatus 100 may further include a database 140. [

The sensor signal collecting unit 110 basically includes the acceleration sensor 111 and is worn on the upper body excluding the user's arm. The sensor signal collecting unit 110 may be single or plural. 1 shows an example in which the sensor signal collecting unit 110 is formed in two and is worn on each of the user's head and waist. In this case, the sensor signal collecting unit worn on the user's head is connected to the head- (110H), and a sensor signal collecting unit worn on the user's waist side can be divided into a waist side sensor signal collecting unit 110W. As shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 1, the head-side sensor signal collecting unit 110H, which is worn on the head side, is configured to be plugged into the ear like an earphone, and a waist- The collecting unit 110W may be configured to be attached to a belt. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the head-side sensor signal collecting unit 110H may be modified in various forms such as a hair band type, a glasses type, Of course. Also, although not shown in the drawing, the sensor signal collecting unit 110 may be worn anywhere on the upper body except the user's arm. For example, when the sensor signal collecting unit 110 is worn on the chest, , A form to be worn using a separate vest or harness, or the like.

The sensor signal collecting unit 110 basically includes the acceleration sensor 111 as described above. The acceleration sensor 111 may be selected from among sensors used for measuring accelerations in three axial directions, such as a shape having a built-in gyroscope. Meanwhile, the controller 120 may be directly provided to the sensor signal collecting unit 110 to perform calculation and control using the acceleration data signal collected by the acceleration sensor 111. [ Alternatively, the controller 120 may be implemented in an application form in a smartphone used in the past, and may be modified in various ways. That is, when the control unit 120 is implemented as a separate device from the sensor signal collecting unit 110, the acceleration data signal collected by the acceleration sensor 111 can be smoothly transmitted to the controller 120 The sensor signal collecting unit 110 may further include a communication unit 112. Such signal transmission may be performed by wire communication through wiring, wireless communication such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, or the like, and may be appropriately selected depending on the required conditions and required performance .

Hereinafter, in the present invention, vertical acceleration is used in evaluating the lateral imbalance, as will be described in detail later in the description of the lateral imbalance evaluation method of the present invention. Conventionally, most of the devices for measuring the user's motion state in relation to driving use a pressure sensor provided in shoes, footsteps, etc., which are pressed directly on foot, resulting in rapid damage of the sensor, There was a shortening problem. Of course, this causes problems such as poor pedestrian recognition and analysis accuracy due to device damage during use, and convenience and economy due to frequent device replacement. In addition, when such a device is provided in the shoe, a separate device is required for each user according to the size of the user's foot, thereby decreasing the convenience and economical efficiency of the user. In addition, And the like.

However, in the present invention, the concept of using the kick-down pressure in recognizing the motion related to the walking or running is completely eliminated and the acceleration measured in the upper body excluding the user's arm is used as shown in FIG. As described above, the present invention is completely different from the conventional art in the measurement position (prior art: foot / present invention: upper body except for the arm) and measurement physical quantity is completely different (prior art: pressure / invention: dynamic physical quantity such as acceleration) . At this time, the root cause of the various problems pointed out in the prior art comes from the technical arrangement that 'the pressure sensor is disposed at the foot part', and according to the present invention, the above- .

In the present invention, the vertical acceleration is used to quantify the lateral imbalance. In general, when the vehicle is running, the left and right movements in the head relatively and the left and right movements in the center of the mass of the user are more similar, and the back and forth movements in the waist and the back and forth movements in the center of mass of the user body are more similar appear. In addition, the up and down movements are similar in both upper body and mass center including head to waist. In addition, the arms are excluded from the upper body because the arm moves separately in the fore and aft direction in addition to the motion of the center of mass. Considering this point, the acceleration in the up-and-down direction may be measured at any of the upper bodies except the arms. In other words, the acceleration in the up-and-down direction appears fairly accurately even when measured on the upper body except for the arm, so that the measured values may be selectively used on either the head side or the waist side, The average value may be used.

The control unit 120 receives the signal from the sensor signal collecting unit 110 and derives at least one right and left unbalance judgment index calculated on the basis of the vertical acceleration a _z , To determine whether an alarm has occurred or not. More specifically, when the type of exercise is the driving type, the controller 120 calculates the vertical acceleration data (a _z ), which is a periodic signal, using the data for one period as the left and right unbalance determination index , The maximum value of the vertical acceleration (a _z ), the amount of impact during the stance time, the stance time, the flight time, the average vertical load rate, and the maximum vertical load rate, thereby quantifying and evaluating the lateral imbalance, The degree of danger is determined. Alternatively, when the type of exercise is a gait, the control unit 120 may use the data for one cycle with respect to the vertical acceleration data, which is a periodic signal, as the left and right unbalance determination index, One step time length, and the minimum value of the vertical acceleration. The left and right unbalance evaluation method performed by the controller 120 will be described in more detail while explaining the left and right unbalance evaluation method of the present invention.

The actual implementation of the controller 120 may be variously configured according to needs or purposes. For example, the controller 120 may be formed on an integrated circuit with the sensor signal collecting unit 110 on a single substrate, or may be formed as a separate dedicated device (I.e., an independent device made only for evaluation of the left and right unbalance), a separate computer, or the like, or may be implemented as an app on a smart phone that has been used as described above. As described above, when the control unit 120 is formed integrally with the sensor signal collecting unit 110, the signal may be received directly from the acceleration sensor 111. If the control unit 120 is formed separately from the sensor signal collecting unit 110, for example, in the form of a separate device or a smartphone application, the acceleration sensor 111 may receive a signal from the acceleration sensor 111 by wire or wireless communication. To be delivered.

The alarm unit 130 receives an alarm generation control signal from the control unit and alerts the user of the risk of injury. The control unit 120 derives at least one left and right unbalance determination index calculated based on the vertical acceleration a _z and determines whether or not an alarm is generated. If it is determined that the injury risk is greater than a predetermined reference, The control unit 130 controls the control unit 130 to generate an alarm, thereby informing the user of the danger.

The alarm unit 130 outputs an alarm signal as user-recognizable information including sound, a picture, and an image. For example, when the alarm unit 130 is configured as a speaker for outputting sound, a warning sound may be generated when the risk of injury is higher than a reference level. Alternatively, when the apparatus of the present invention is applied to augmented reality glasses such as Google Glass, the alert unit 130 outputs a red warning graphic image or an image in which such graphic characters flicker on the augmented reality glasses, / RTI > < RTI ID = 0.0 > " Or the alarm unit 130 is implemented as a thermoelectric element and is in direct or indirect contact with the user's skin. If the risk of injury is higher than the criterion, the alarm unit 130 may be cold or hot, thereby alerting the user. As another example, the alarm unit 130 may be configured to be recognized as a changeable braille type by a tactile sense for the case where the user is a blind person. As such, the alarm unit may be configured in any form as long as it can output an alarm signal as information recognizable by a user.

In addition, the left and right unbalance evaluating apparatus 100 may be configured to transmit the flood risk data including the time of occurrence of the flood risk alarm and the left and right unbalance determination index values at the time point to the external database 140 so as to accumulatively store the flood risk data . A user who needs such a walking or running motion analysis may be a general person who performs daily walking or jogging to promote health or an expert who is trained to improve physical ability. It is preferable that the change is made so as to be able to see the change. In addition, when a large amount of accumulated motion analysis data is accumulated, such data can be utilized as various types of statistical data or analysis, and thus can be used in various ways.

Right and left unbalance evaluation method

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a lateral imbalance evaluation method according to the present invention. The lateral imbalance evaluation method of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to Fig. The left and right unbalance evaluating method of the present invention includes the acceleration sensor 111 as described above. The vertical acceleration measured by using at least one sensor signal collecting unit 110, which is worn on the upper body excluding the user's arm, (a _z ) is used to quantify the risk of injury by deriving left and right unbalance judgment indices. To this end, the left and right unbalance evaluation method of the present invention may include a data collection step, an exercise type determination step, a judgment index derivation step, a right and left unbalance determination step, and an injury risk warning step. In addition, a noise removal step may be further included to increase the accuracy of the derivation of the left and right unbalance judgment indices. Each step shown in FIG. 3 will be described in more detail as follows.

In the data collecting step, the vertical acceleration a _z measured by the sensor signal collecting unit 110 is collected. Although the collected vertical acceleration (a _z ) may be used as it is, it is more preferable to pass through a predetermined band-pass filter to carry out a noise removing step of removing noise. At this time, the band-pass filter may be formed at a frequency of 0.1 to 5 Hz corresponding to, for example, a walking or running frequency of a general person. However, the range may be appropriately changed.

In the motion type determination step, it is determined whether the vehicle is walking or running from the pattern of the vertical acceleration (a _z ) graph. One of the distinguishing features of walking and running is that in the case of walking, one foot or both feet always touch the ground, while in the case of driving, one foot or both feet always float away from the ground. FIG. 4 shows an example of a vertical acceleration graph with respect to time during walking and running. In the case of the graph at the time of walking shown in FIG. 4 (A), it can be seen that an instantaneous peak occurs when both feet are placed on the ground. In the case of the graph at the time of running shown in FIG. 4 (B) It can be confirmed that there is a constant value interval in which the instantaneous vertical acceleration (a _z ) is the minimum value. In this way, it is possible to judge whether the motion of the current user is a walking or running by using the fact that the patterns of the graph of the vertical acceleration (a _z ) are different from each other in the case of walking and running.

In the determination indicator derivation step, at least one right and left unbalance determination index calculated based on the vertical acceleration (a _z ) is derived. At this time, the left and right unbalance determination indexes are calculated based on the maximum value of the vertical acceleration calculated by using the data for one cycle with respect to the vertical acceleration data appearing as a periodic signal when the exercise type is running, , A stance time, a flight time, an average vertical load rate, and a maximum vertical load rate. Alternatively, the left and right unbalance determination indexes may be selected from among the minimum values of the one-step time length and the vertical acceleration calculated by using the data for one cycle with respect to the vertical acceleration data appearing as a periodic signal when the type of exercise is gait At least one. Each judgment index will be described in detail later.

In the lateral imbalance determination step, it is determined whether the degree of variation of the left and right imbalance determination index is larger than a predetermined reference. Left and right imbalances can not be evaluated only with single step data, but must be evaluated using multiple step data. In the present invention, it is defined as a step from the moment when any one of the left foot or the right foot lands on the ground to the moment when the other foot lands on the ground. At this time, the vertical acceleration (a _z ) data is naturally represented as a periodic signal of one cycle per one cycle. As described above, evaluating the degree of imbalance between the left and right feet is a left-right unbalance evaluation. When a person walks, it must be left-right-left-right ... , The data of two consecutive steps (left-right or right-left) are necessarily required for the right / left unbalance evaluation.

Accordingly, in the left and right unbalance determination step of the present invention, at least two or more cycles of data are used for the vertical acceleration data appearing as a periodic signal of one cycle per one step, and the degree of variation of the left and right unbalance determination indices is predetermined The degree of the left / right unbalance is evaluated. More specifically, it is determined whether or not the degree of fluctuation calculated by comparing the right and left unbalance judgment indices calculated on the left foot and the right and left imbalance judgment indices calculated on the right foot with respect to at least one continuous two steps is greater than a predetermined reference Thereby evaluating the degree of imbalance between right and left.

As described above, it is judged whether the degree of variation of the left and right imbalance determination indexes calculated from the different steps is greater than a predetermined reference, thereby evaluating the right / left imbalance degree. More specifically, the right / left unbalance determination step uses the relative standard deviation of the left / right unbalance determination index in determining the degree of variation of the left / right unbalance determination index. Illustratively, when a person is continuously running, the 101st step (left foot), 102th step (right foot), 103th step (left foot) is performed using the vertical acceleration (a _z ) And calculates the left and right unbalance judgment indices, respectively. In order to evaluate the left and right unbalance, the judgment index value at the 101st step (left foot) is compared with the judgment index value at the 102nd step (right foot). At this time, if the relative standard deviation becomes, for example, 5% or more, it can be judged that the degree of left-right imbalance is poor. In the right / left unbalance determination step, if the left / right unbalance determination index is smaller than the predetermined reference, the alarm is not generated and the data collection step is returned to the data collection step.

In this case, the left and right unbalance determination indexes may be plural as described above. An alarm may be generated when only one of the plurality of determination indices is greater than or equal to the reference value, an alarm may be generated when all of the plurality of determination indices are greater than or equal to the reference, It is also possible to generate an alarm step by step. Or the sum of the products of the relative standard deviation of the left and right imbalance determination indices corresponding to the predetermined weight and the weight in determining the degree of variation of the right and left unbalance determination indices when the relative standard deviation of the left and right unbalance determination indices is plural, May be used. Specifically, for example, if the first indicator, the second indicator, and the third indicator are used as the left and right imbalance determination indices, and the respective weights are the first weight, the second weight, and the third weight, Finally, the left and right imbalance determination index can be obtained by the following equation.

Left and right unbalance indicator index = first weight * first indicator + second weight * second indicator + third weight * third indicator

(At this time, the first weight + the second weight + the third weight = 1)

In a more specific example of the above example, when the motion state is running, the first index may be determined as the maximum value of the vertical acceleration, the second index may be determined as the amount of impact during the stance time, and the third index may be determined as the stance time. Of course, this is an illustrative example, and it is of course possible that the appropriate one of the various judging indicators exemplified above as the first, second and third indicators can be changed and selected. Also, the above equations are also illustrative. In the above equation, three indices are used. However, a proper number of indices are selected according to the user's purpose or need, such as using two indices or using five indices It is also natural that it can be used.

In the injury risk warning step, when at least one of the left and right unbalance determination indices is greater than a predetermined reference, the user is warned of the risk of injury. As described above, the warning type of injury risk can be various forms such as sound, illustration, and image, and the user can take actions to reduce the risk of injury by actively receiving such an alert (end of exercise, correction of posture, Etc.) can greatly reduce the risk of injury.

Hereinafter, various examples of the left and right unbalance determination indices used in the present invention and the process of deriving the respective indicators will be described in more detail.

Referring back to FIG. 4, which is a graph of vertical acceleration versus time during walking and driving, the principle of distinguishing between walking and running will be described in more detail as follows. As shown in Fig. 4, the vertical acceleration (a _z ) appears periodically with respect to time (it is natural that the walking or running itself is a periodic exercise).

First, let 's describe the walking movement as follows. First, at the moment when the heel of one foot touches the ground, the toe of the other foot starts with the state where the foot is not dropped from the ground. In this state, the one foot supports the ground surface while the other foot comes off the ground, and the other foot moves forward as the foot sweeps through the air, and the human body also moves forward. And at the moment when the heel of this other foot touches the ground, the foot of one foot does not fall off from the ground, that is, the condition that the feet are supported is restored, and one step is performed. In this process, when the human body is moved forward while being supported only by one foot, the head of the person is not largely shaken up and down (a local minimum is formed at the vertical acceleration (a _z )), (The peak value is formed at the vertical acceleration (a _z )).

In other words, the walking movement can be divided into a section in which both feet are in a state of standing on the ground, and a section in which one foot is in a state of standing on the ground, and the fluctuation in the upward and downward directions is least when one foot is on the ground. 4 (A). As shown in this example, when the user's motion is a gait, the local minimum is defined as the intermediate support point in the vertical acceleration (a _z ) measured in the time domain do. Also, if the user's gait is a gait, the period in which the peak value is formed in the up-down acceleration (a _z ) measured in the time domain is determined as the biped support period, and the remaining period is determined as the support period.

Next, let 's describe the driving movement as follows. First, one foot from the front begins with the moment when the floor spurs (the other foot is floating in the air). In this state, as one foot rises from the ground, the human body moves forward while both feet float in the air, and both feet swing through the air, and the other foot comes forward. The other side of the foot comes into contact with the ground, and at the same time the moment of spurting the ground is done again, and a stepping motion is made. In this process, the human head is swung most vertically at the moment when the ground is sprung from one foot (the local maxima are formed at the vertical acceleration (a _z )), while in the state of floating in the air, (A constant value is formed at the vertical acceleration (a _z )).

In other words, the running exercise can be divided into a section in which both feet float in the air, and a section in which one foot is standing on the ground, and the fluctuation in the up and down directions is least when both feet are floating in the air. 4 (B). As shown in this example, when the user's motion is running, the local maximum is defined as the intermediate support point in the vertical acceleration (a _z ) measured in the time domain. do. Also, if the user's motion is traveling, the section that appears as a constant value in the vertical acceleration (a _z ) measured in the time domain is determined as a floating section, and the remaining section is determined as a pair of support sections. Here, the constant value appearing in the air floating period is a predetermined value of the signal level level when the accelerometer has no external force other than gravity, and can be appropriately determined to be a value close to approximately zero. In other words, the constant value is a reference value that makes it possible to determine the current stance. In this sense, it can be called a stance phase constant. In summary, when the up-down acceleration is smaller than the stance determination constant during running, And if it is large, it is discriminated as a pair of support sections.

In such a driving exercise, a time when one foot touches the ground is called a stance time, and a time when both feet float in the air is called a flight time. During the stance time, the vertical acceleration (a _z ) value has various values of 0 or more, while the vertical acceleration (a _z ) value is almost constant near zero during the flight time. In addition, the most impact is applied to the joint at the moment when the foot is sprung to the ground, and this impact appears as the first peak in the vertical acceleration graph. The time during this time is called impact time.

Evaluation of lateral imbalance during driving

In the present invention, as the right and left unbalance determination index, when the type of exercise is the running, the maximum value of the vertical acceleration (a _z ) in each step, the amount of impact during the stance time, the stance time, the flight time, And the maximum vertical load factor is selected and used. 5 is an example of a vertical acceleration graph at the time of traveling, and each index will be described in more detail below.

6 is a graph showing a maximum value in a vertical acceleration graph at the time of traveling. When the right and left unbalance determination indexes are selected as the maximum values of the vertical acceleration, the left and right unbalances can be evaluated by obtaining the maximum values of the vertical acceleration (a _z ) in each cycle as shown in FIG. 6 and comparing them .

7 is a graph showing the amount of impact during the stance time on the up-down acceleration graph at the time of traveling. As described above, the stance time is a time during which one foot touches the ground, that is, from the moment when the foot lands on the ground to the moment when the feet fall from the ground. In the time and vertical acceleration graphs shown in FIG. 7, the amount of impact can be calculated using the following equation.

(Where a _z : vertical acceleration, m: user mass)

When the left and right unbalance determination index is selected as the amount of impact during the stance time, the integration range can be set as the start / end of the stance time, and the amount of impact during the stance time in each cycle can be calculated. (The value of the area portion indicated by a dark color in FIG. 7 is the value of the impact amount during the stance time).

8 is a graph showing the stance time and the flight time in the vertical acceleration graph at the time of traveling. As described above, the stance time is a time during which one foot touches the ground, that is, from the moment when the foot lands on the ground to the moment when the feet fall from the ground. Also, the flight time is the time during which both feet float in the air, that is, from the moment the foot falls from the ground to the moment when the foot lands on the ground. During the stance time, the vertical acceleration (a _z ) value has various values of 0 or more, while the vertical acceleration (a _z ) value has an almost constant value close to zero during the flight time, and such stance time and flight Time is good.

If the stance time or flight time is maintained uniformly, the walking can be made uniform. Therefore, the stance time can be selected as the left / right unbalance determination index or the flight time can be selected as the left / right unbalance determination index.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing a slope in the vertical acceleration graph at the time of traveling, and a process of deriving the average slope and the maximum slope of the vertical acceleration a _z will be described. The average slope and the maximum slope are used to calculate an average vertical loading rate and an instantaneous vertical loading rate, respectively.

First, when the left and right unbalance determination index is selected as the average vertical load rate value during the impact time, the average vertical load rate during the impact time is calculated as a product of the average slope during the user mass and the impact time, and the average slope value during the impact time Is calculated using the following equation.

(Here, a _z: vertical acceleration, mean: the average value calculating function, i: index number, t _i: i-th _{time, t i-1: i-} 1 th time, t _c: Start impact time, t _m: Impact end time)

The impact start time is actually the moment when the foot lands on the ground. This can be determined as a time point when the vertical acceleration (a _z ) exceeds a predetermined reference value (for example, 0.3 m / s ² ) near 0 at a value of 0 or less. Here, the specific value of the reference value for determining the impact start time can be appropriately determined from a value of 0.5 m / s ² or less as in the above-described example. The impact end time is the time at which the first peak value appears and can be easily confirmed intuitively on the graph. The index i is an index of times digitized by dividing the time from the impact start time to the impact end time by n, and n may be appropriately determined as necessary.

The average slope value is thus an average value of n slope values obtained at each interval when n equally divided from the impact start time to the impact end time. FIG. 9 shows a graph of a vertical acceleration (a _z ) in one cycle. In this one cycle, the average slope value as described above can be obtained. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, during running, the graph of FIG. 9 is continuously repeated, and the average slope value as described above can be obtained for each cycle (that is, for each step).

On the other hand, when the left and right unbalance determination index is selected as the maximum vertical load factor value during the impact time, the maximum vertical load rate during the impact time is calculated as the product of the maximum slope during the user mass and the impact time, Is calculated using the following equation.

(Here, a _z: vertical acceleration, max: average value calculating function, i: index number, t _i: i-th _{time, t i-1: i-} 1 th time, t _c: Start impact time, t _m: Impact end time)

The maximum slope is the maximum value among the n slope values obtained from the impact start time to the impact end time in one cycle (one step) as described in the description of the average slope. As with the average slope value, this maximum slope value can be obtained for each period (i.e., every step).

Evaluation of left and right unbalance during walking

In the present invention, at least one of the one-step time length and the minimum value of the vertical acceleration (a _z ) is selected and used as the left and right unbalance determination index when the exercise type is a gait. 10 is an example of a vertical acceleration graph at the time of walking, and each index will be described in more detail below.

When the right and left unbalance determination indexes are selected as the one-step time length, a time length of one cycle in the vertical acceleration (a _z ) graph at the time of walking as shown in FIG. 10 can be determined as one step time length. Preferably, as shown in Fig. 10, the interval between the times at which the local maximum values appear in the vertical acceleration (a _z ) graph at the time of walking can be determined as a one-step time length.

When choosing the right and left unbalance determination indicator to the minimum value in the vertical direction acceleration (a _z), obtaining the minimum value of the vertical acceleration (a _z) in each cycle as shown in Figure 10, to evaluate the right and left unbalance by comparing them . At this time, as described above, the minimum value of the vertical acceleration (a _z ), that is, the time at which the local minimum value appears, is the intermediate support point, and the body of the person is moving forward while physically supported by only one foot It is a moment.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It goes without saying that various modifications can be made.

100: right and left unbalance evaluation device
110: sensor signal collecting unit
111: acceleration sensor 112:
110H: head side sensor signal collecting part
111H: Head side acceleration sensor 112H: Head side communication part
110W: waist side sensor signal collecting part
111W: Waist side acceleration sensor 112W: Waist side communication part
120: control unit 130: alarm unit
140: Database

Claims (20)

1. A method for evaluating an imbalance in a running and walking imbalance using at least one sensor signal collecting unit including an acceleration sensor and worn on an upper body excluding a user's arm,
A data collecting step of collecting the vertical acceleration measured by the sensor signal collecting unit;
A motion type judgment step of judging whether the vehicle is walking or running from the pattern of the vertical acceleration graph;
A step of deriving a judgment index for deriving at least one right and left unbalance judgment index calculated on the basis of the vertical acceleration;
When one foot selected from the left or right foot is referred to as one step from the moment when the foot is landed on the ground to the moment when the other foot is landed on the ground,
A method of evaluating the degree of left and right unbalance by judging whether the degree of fluctuation of the left and right unbalance determination index is greater than a predetermined reference by using at least two or more cycles of data for vertical acceleration data appearing as a periodic signal of one cycle per one cycle, An imbalance determination step;
An injury risk warning step of warning the user of a risk of injury when at least one of the degrees of variation of the left and right unbalance determination indices is greater than a predetermined reference, respectively;
And a left / right unbalance evaluation method for a running and a walking.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the right-
The left and right unbalance judgment index calculated on the left foot and the right and left unbalance judgment indexes calculated on the right foot are compared with the predetermined reference for at least one consecutive two steps, And evaluating the unbalance between the left and right sides during running and walking.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the right-
Wherein the relative standard deviation of the left and right unbalance determination indexes is used in determining the degree of variation of the left and right unbalance determination indexes.
4. The method according to claim 3,
When the relative standard deviation of the left and right unbalance determination indices is plural,
Wherein the sum of the products of the predetermined standard weight and the relative standard deviation of the right and left unbalance determination indexes corresponding to the weight is used in determining the degree of variation of the left and right unbalance determination indexes .
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the left-
If the type of exercise is driving,
The acceleration data obtained by using the data for one cycle with respect to the vertical acceleration data appearing as a periodic signal,
A maximum value of the vertical acceleration, an impact amount during the stance time, a stance time, a flight time, an average vertical load rate, and a maximum vertical load rate.
6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the left-
And the vertical acceleration is a maximum value of the acceleration in the vertical direction.
6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the left-
From the moment the foot lands on the ground to the moment the foot falls off the ground,
And the stiffness of the vehicle is calculated by using the following formula.

(Where a _z : vertical acceleration, m: user mass)
6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the left-
From the moment the foot lands on the ground to the moment the foot falls off the ground,
Stance time in the running and walking.
6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the left-
From the moment the foot falls from the ground to the moment the foot lands on the ground,
Wherein the traveling time is a traveling time and a traveling time.
6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the left-
As the average vertical load rate during the impact time,
The average vertical load rate during the impact time is calculated as the product of the average slope during the user mass and the impact time,
Wherein the average slope value during the impact time is calculated using the following equation.

(Here, a _z: vertical acceleration, mean: the average value calculating function, i: index number, t _i: i-th _{time, t i-1: i-} 1 th time, t _c: Start impact time, t _m: Impact end time)
6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the left-
As the maximum vertical load rate during impact time,
The maximum vertical load rate during the impact time is calculated as the product of the maximum slope during the user mass and the impact time,
Wherein the maximum inclination value during the impact time is calculated using the following equation.

(Here, a _z: vertical acceleration, max: calculating a maximum value function, i: index number, t _i: i-th _{time, t i-1: i-} 1 th time, t _c: Start impact time, t _m : Impact end time)
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the left-
If the type of exercise is walking,
The acceleration data obtained by using the data for one cycle with respect to the vertical acceleration data appearing as a periodic signal,
The one-step time length, and the minimum value of the up-and-down direction acceleration.
13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the left-
Wherein the distance between the left and right legs is one step time length.
13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the left-
And the vertical acceleration is the minimum value of the vertical acceleration.
The method according to claim 1,
Before the determination indicator derivation step,
A noise removing step of passing the vertical acceleration through a predetermined bandpass filter to remove noise;
Wherein the vehicle is driven by a driver.
At least one sensor signal collecting unit including an acceleration sensor and being worn on an upper body excluding a user's arm;
A controller for receiving at least one signal from the sensor signal collecting unit to derive at least one left and right unbalance judgment index calculated on the basis of the vertical acceleration and determining whether an alarm is generated or not using the left and right unbalance judgment index;
An alarm unit receiving an alarm generation control signal from the control unit and alerting the user of the risk of injury;
And a left / right unbalance evaluating unit for determining whether or not the vehicle is running.
17. The apparatus of claim 16,
If the type of exercise is driving,
Wherein said right and left unbalance determination indexes are calculated by using data for one cycle with respect to vertical acceleration data appearing as a periodic signal,
Wherein at least one of a maximum value of the vertical acceleration, an impact amount during the stance time, a stance time, a flight time, an average vertical load rate, and a maximum vertical load rate is derived.
17. The apparatus of claim 16,
If the type of exercise is walking,
Wherein said right and left unbalance determination indexes are calculated by using data for one cycle with respect to vertical acceleration data appearing as a periodic signal,
The one step time length, and the minimum value of the up-down direction acceleration are derived.
17. The apparatus of claim 16,
And outputs an alarm signal as user-recognizable information including sound, picture, and image.
17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the left-
Wherein the injury risk data including the time of occurrence of the injury risk alert and the value of the left and right unbalance determination index at the time point is transmitted to an external database and stored cumulatively.

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