JP2019053630A - Electronic device and adjustment method of measurement direction of measurement sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an electronic device capable of performing a more accurate measurement from a time point of entering an inclined road.SOLUTION: An on-vehicle apparatus 100 according to the present invention comprises: a distance measuring sensor 130 for measuring a distance to an object present in a traveling direction of a wheelchair 10; a position detecting unit 120 for detecting a current position of the wheelchair 10; inclined road detecting means for detecting presence or absence of an inclined road in the traveling direction of the wheelchair 10 on the basis of the detected current position and map data; determining means for determining, in a case an inclined road is detected, an approach angle when the wheelchair enters the inclined road; calculating means for calculating an inclination angle of the inclined road according to the determined approach angle; and adjusting means for adjusting a measurement direction of the distance measuring sensor 130 on the basis of the calculated inclination angle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for adjusting a measurement direction of a measurement sensor mounted on a moving body capable of traveling in a pedestrian space such as a wheelchair or a bicycle.

  There is a technology to measure the distance to obstacles around the vehicle by attaching a distance sensor such as sonar or laser sensor to the vehicle as an automatic driving or driving assistance. Can not be acquired correctly, it is possible to always keep the orientation of the sensor horizontal by using a technique such as a stabilizer. For example, the inter-vehicle distance measuring device disclosed in Patent Document 1 detects a pitching of a vehicle body when a wheel rides on a convex portion on a road surface, and adjusts the projection direction of laser light based on the detection result to accurately detect the inter-vehicle distance. It enables distance measurement. Further, the object detection method disclosed in Patent Document 2 stops the radar operation when the vertical amplitude exceeds a threshold value, and the obstacle detection device disclosed in Patent Document 3 drives the radar so as to be level with the road surface on a rough road. On the slope, the radar operation is stopped.

JP-A-5-100025 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-48179 JP 2004-301664 A

  As shown in FIG. 1, when the wheelchair 10 travels on a road R with a slope or a slope (hereinafter referred to as an inclined road), a distance measuring sensor (not shown) mounted on the wheelchair 10 is provided to the obstacle 12. It is necessary to measure the distance L2 to the obstacle 12 in the direction according to the gradient of the inclined road R, not the horizontal distance L1. For this reason, it is necessary to dynamically switch the direction of the distance measuring sensor according to the gradient of the inclined road R.

  In the conventional method, the degree of inclination of the moving body is calculated from the behavior of inertia sensors such as gyro sensors and acceleration sensors attached to the moving body, and the direction of the distance measuring sensor is changed according to the gradient. Without traveling a certain distance, the method cannot determine whether the change in the inertial sensor was due to stepping or hill driving, and therefore correct measurement during that period. There is a problem that distance cannot be performed.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (A), in the automobile 20 equipped with the navigation function, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the map data in which the step and the degree of the slope angle are registered is referred to in advance of the slope road R in advance. The direction of the sensor, headlight, and camera is adjusted to an angle that matches the slope of the inclined road R. However, the traveling direction A of the automobile 20 is along the direction of the inclined road R. However, in a moving body that travels in a pedestrian space such as a wheelchair or a bicycle, as shown in FIG. The direction B does not necessarily coincide with the traveling direction of the inclined road R, and may deviate from the traveling direction of the inclined road R in an oblique direction in order to relax the gradient of the inclined road R. That is, the approach angle λ of a wheelchair or the like to the inclined road R is not constant. Therefore, there is a problem that correct distance measurement cannot be performed simply by aligning the direction of the distance measurement sensor with the slope angle of the inclined road registered in the map data.

  The present invention solves such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device capable of performing more accurate measurement from the time of entering an inclined road and a method for adjusting the measurement direction of a measurement sensor. And

  An electronic device according to the present invention measures a distance to a position detection unit that detects a current position of a moving body, a direction detection unit that detects a traveling direction of the moving body, and an object that exists in the traveling direction of the moving body. Measuring means, an inclined road detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of an inclined road in the moving direction of the moving body based on the detected current position and traveling direction, and map data, and when the inclined road is detected Determining means for determining an approach angle when the mobile body enters the inclined road; calculating means for calculating a slope angle of the slope road according to the determined approach angle; and calculating the slope angle And adjusting means for adjusting the measuring direction of the measuring means.

  In a certain embodiment, the said adjustment means adjusts the measurement direction of the said measurement means before the time of a mobile body entering the said inclined road. In one embodiment, the map data includes a road link including slope information representing a slope angle θ, and the slope road detection unit detects a slope road based on the slope information. In one embodiment, in one embodiment, the inclination information includes a gradient angle θ and a gradient distance L, and the calculation means calculates the approach angle according to the following formula based on the gradient angle θ, the gradient distance L, and the approach angle λ. The corresponding gradient angle φ is calculated. In some embodiments, the mobile is a wheelchair. In one embodiment, the electronic device further includes notification means for notifying the presence of an object based on a measurement result of the measurement means.

  According to the present invention, an adjustment method for adjusting a measurement direction of a measurement sensor that measures a distance to an object mounted on a moving body includes detecting whether there is an inclined road in the traveling direction of the moving body, When an inclined road is detected, a step of determining a traveling angle when the moving body enters the inclined road, a step of calculating a gradient angle of the inclined road according to the determined traveling angle, Adjusting the measurement direction of the measurement sensor based on the calculated gradient angle before the moving body enters the inclined road based on the gradient angle.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to measure an object in a measurement direction corresponding to the gradient of the inclined road when entering the inclined road. Moreover, more accurate measurement can be performed by considering the approach angle to the inclined road.

It is a figure explaining the example which matches the angle of the ranging sensor mounted in the wheelchair with the slope of a slope. FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating a traveling direction when the automobile travels on a hill, and FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating a traveling direction when the wheelchair travels on a hill. It is a figure which shows an example of the vehicle-mounted apparatus mounted in the wheelchair which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical structure of the vehicle-mounted apparatus which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the map data utilized for a barrier free map. It is a figure which shows the functional structure of the adjustment program which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an inclined road typically. It is a flowchart which shows adjustment operation | movement of the measurement direction of the ranging sensor which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining the adjustment timing of the measurement direction of the distance measuring sensor by a present Example.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The electronic device according to the present invention may be a vehicle-mounted device that is fixedly mounted on the moving body, or may be a vehicle-mounted device that is removable from the moving body. The electronic device according to the present invention can be a portable information terminal (for example, a multifunctional mobile phone such as a smartphone or a notebook computer) that can be carried by a user on a mobile object. In addition, the moving body on which the electronic device is mounted can travel in the same space as a pedestrian, and is, for example, a wheelchair (electric or manual), a bicycle, or the like.

  An example of the in-vehicle device and the moving body according to the embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the in-vehicle device 100 of the present embodiment can be used in a battery-driven electric wheelchair 10, and the in-vehicle device 10 is mounted on the wheelchair 10 or carried by the user. It is a terminal. Further, the wheelchair 10 is provided with a detection means 30 for detecting an object in the traveling direction. The distance measuring sensor 130 irradiates the transmission wave in the measurement direction C, receives the reception wave when the transmission wave is reflected by the object, and measures the distance to the object from the time difference. The detection result of the distance measuring sensor 130 is presented to the user as information for supporting the driving of the wheelchair.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the in-vehicle device 100. As shown in the figure, the in-vehicle device 100 includes an input unit 110 that receives an instruction from a user, a position detection unit 120 that detects a current position of the wheelchair 10, an obstacle that exists in front of or in a traveling direction of the wheelchair, and the like. A distance measuring sensor 130 for measuring a distance to an object, an inertial sensor 140 such as an acceleration sensor or an angular velocity sensor, a navigation unit 150 for guiding a road around a current position of a wheelchair or a route to a destination, an external network, etc. A communication unit 160 that performs communication, a voice output unit 170 that outputs guidance voice and the like by the navigation unit 150, a display unit 180 that displays a road map and the like by the navigation unit 150, map data and software necessary for the in-vehicle device 100, and the like. Storage unit 190 for storing, actuator unit for adjusting the measurement direction (orientation) C of distance sensor 130 (drive Parts) 200, configured to include a control unit 210 for controlling each unit. In addition, the structure shown here is an example, for example, if the vehicle-mounted apparatus 100 is a smart phone, the vehicle-mounted apparatus 100 will contain a voice call function.

  The position detection unit 120 has a GPS reception function, and detects the current position of the wheelchair based on GPS signals from GPS satellites. The position detection unit 120 can also detect the current position using the detection result of the inertial sensor 140 in combination.

  The distance measuring sensor 130 is configured by, for example, a sonar or a radar, emits radio waves to an obstacle or other target object, and receives the reflected wave, thereby measuring the distance to the target object. The measurement result is provided to the control unit 200, and the control unit 200 gives a warning to the user when, for example, the distance to the object is equal to or less than a certain value. Alternatively, the control unit 200 uses the detection result of the distance measuring sensor 130 as necessary information for automatic driving of the wheelchair. Furthermore, the measurement direction C, which is a reference for the direction in which the distance measuring sensor 130 emits radio waves, can be adjusted by the actuator unit 200 and, as will be described later, according to the slope angle of an inclined road or the approach angle when entering the inclined road. Thus, the measurement direction C is adjusted.

  The navigation unit 150 reads map data around the current position of the wheelchair 10 detected by the position detection unit 120 and causes the display unit 180 to display the read map data. As shown in FIG. 5, the map data includes link data 152 relating to roads, node data 154 relating to intersections, facility data 156, and the like. The link data 152 includes a sidewalk along which a wheelchair travels in addition to a road on which the vehicle travels. In addition to link identification, link start and end coordinates, link direction, road type, number of lanes, etc., link data 152 includes an inclination identification 157 indicating whether the link is an inclined road, A step identification 158 indicating whether or not a step is included is included.

  In the case of an inclined road, the inclination information includes a gradient angle θ (for example, 0 °, 10 °, 15 °) indicating the gradient of the inclined road, and a link gradient distance L. When there is a step on the road, the step information includes information indicating the size of the step. When driving with a wheelchair, whether or not the road has an inclination and whether or not there is a step is very important information, and the navigation unit 150 displays the inclination information and the step on the road around the current position. When displaying information or searching for a route to a destination, it is possible to search for a barrier-free road having no slope or level difference.

  For example, the communication unit 160 can communicate with an external device or an external network via a wireless LAN, a wired LAN, WiFi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), short-range wireless communication, a public wireless network, or the like. To do. The navigation unit 150 can also access a server that distributes map data via the communication unit 160 and acquire map data therefrom. As will be described later, the actuator unit 200 adjusts the measurement direction C of the distance measuring sensor 130 under the control of the control unit 210 when an inclined road is detected in the traveling direction.

  In a preferred embodiment, the control unit 210 includes a microcontroller including a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and the ROM or the RAM can store various programs for controlling the operation of the in-vehicle device 100. In the present embodiment, the control unit 210 executes an adjustment program that adjusts the measurement direction C of the distance measuring sensor 130 in accordance with the traveling state of the wheelchair.

  FIG. 5 shows a functional configuration of the adjustment program. The adjustment program 300 of the present embodiment includes an inclined road detecting unit 310 that detects whether or not an inclined road exists in the traveling direction, an approach angle determining unit 320 that determines an approach angle when entering the inclined road, and an approach A gradient angle calculation unit 330 that calculates a gradient angle of an inclined road according to the angle; a sensor direction adjustment unit 340 that adjusts the measurement direction C of the distance measuring sensor 130 according to the gradient angle calculated by the gradient angle calculation unit 330; including.

  The inclined road detection unit 310 identifies the road on which the wheelchair is traveling based on the map data and the detection result of the position detection unit 120, and whether or not there is an inclined road in the traveling direction within a certain range from the current position. Is detected. The traveling direction is the same type of road that the wheelchair is currently traveling on, or a road that travels straight through the road, or the route to the destination when the navigation unit 150 searches for the route. As described above, the link data 152 includes the slope identification 157, and the slope road detection unit 310 detects the presence or absence of the slope road by the slope identification 157 of the link data 152 in the traveling direction.

  When an inclined road is detected in the traveling direction by the inclined road detecting unit 310, the approach angle determining unit 320 determines an approach angle when entering the inclined road. The determination of the approach angle determines the approach angle when the wheelchair enters the inclined road from the difference between the direction of the wheelchair 10 and the direction of the link of the inclined road. The azimuth of the wheelchair can be calculated from the detection result of the inertial sensor 140 (angular velocity sensor or gyro sensor), or can be calculated from the vector change of the current position detected by the GPS signal. Further, the direction of the inclined road may be calculated from the coordinates of the start point and end point of the link registered in the map data, or the direction data stored as the attribute data of the link data may be used. . In addition, it is estimated that the azimuth | direction of the wheelchair 10 when it determines by the approach angle determination part 320 is a azimuth | direction when it rushes into an inclined road.

  The gradient angle calculation unit 330 calculates an actual gradient angle of the inclined road according to the approach angle determined by the approach angle determination unit 320, and corrects the gradient angle on the map data. FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing an inclined road. In the figure, L is the slope distance of the slope road R registered in the map data, θ is the slope angle of the slope road R registered in the map data, λ is the approach angle to the slope road R, φ is The actual inclination angle when entering the inclined road R with the approach angle λ is shown. L, θ, and λ are known, and the gradient angle correction unit 330 calculates the actual gradient angle φ according to the following equation.

  The sensor direction adjustment unit 340 adjusts the measurement direction C of the distance measuring sensor 130 via the actuator unit 200 based on the gradient angle φ calculated by the gradient angle calculation unit 330. Preferably, the sensor direction adjustment unit 340 adjusts the direction of the distance measurement sensor 130 by the calculated gradient angle immediately before the wheelchair 10 reaches the inclined road. When the wheel speed sensor is attached to the wheelchair 10, the sensor direction adjustment unit 340 uses the speed information of the vehicle speed sensor or calculates the speed information from the change amount of the current position detected by the GPS signal. By dividing the distance from the current position of the wheelchair to the starting point of the inclined road by the speed, the time for the wheelchair to enter the inclined road is predicted, and the distance measuring sensor 130 is adjusted immediately before the predicted time.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the adjustment operation of the measurement sensor 130 in the measurement direction C, and FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the adjustment timing of the measurement sensor C in the measurement direction C. First, as the wheelchair 10 travels, the current position of the wheelchair is detected by the position detection unit 120 (S100), and the navigation unit 150 reads map data around the current position and displays it on the display unit 180 ( S102). At this time, inclination information and step information may be displayed on the road at the same time.

  Next, the inclined road detection unit 310 monitors whether or not the inclined road R exists in the traveling direction of the wheelchair (S104). The approach angle when the vehicle enters the inclined road R is determined (S106). Time T1 in FIG. 9 is the timing for detecting the inclined road R or determining the approach angle. When the approach angle is determined, the gradient angle calculation unit 330 calculates an actual gradient angle of the inclined road R according to the determined approach angle (S108).

  Next, the sensor direction adjustment unit 340 predicts the entry time to the inclined road R (time T2 in FIG. 9), and the wheelchair 10 reaches the straight line time Ta at time T2 or a certain distance before the inclined road R. Then, the measurement direction of the distance measuring sensor 130 is adjusted via the actuator unit 200 (S110).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the measurement direction C of the distance measuring sensor 130 is adjusted immediately before the wheelchair enters the inclined road, the distance can be measured when the wheelchair enters the inclined road. Further, since the measurement direction C is adjusted to an actual gradient angle φ according to the approach angle to the inclined road, accurate distance measurement can be performed during traveling on the inclined road.

  In the conventional case, the “inclined road determination + gradient angle estimation time” by the inertial sensor is a loss time in which correct distance measurement cannot be performed. Since the angle of the distance measuring sensor is adjusted, the loss time becomes zero. Furthermore, since the approach angle difference with respect to the slope (difference with the traveling direction of the road) is taken into consideration, it is possible to set the angle sensor with higher accuracy.

For example, when the electric wheelchair is calculated by traveling at 2 [km / h] per hour, the estimated time required for traveling on the slope is 1618 [ms].
For example, when the distance measurement sensor is installed at a ground height of 120 [mm] and an uphill gradient = 10 [°], and the distance is measured horizontally, the ground is detected 691 [mm] ahead, and the travel of 1618 [ms] is performed. During the time, an obstacle ahead of 691 [mm] cannot be detected.
If you move 1618 [ms] at a speed of 2 [km / h], the conventional method will not be able to measure the distance correctly while traveling 898 [mm] (for the vehicle length). Also, a 10 [m] gradient of 10 [m] On the other hand, when entering at an approach angle of 30 [°], the conventional method has an actual gradient angle φ≈4.98 [°], and a difference of about 5.02 ° is generated. In the present embodiment, the angle of the distance measuring sensor can be adjusted immediately in accordance with this angle difference.

  In the above embodiment, an electric wheelchair is exemplified as the moving body. However, the present invention is applied to a moving body capable of traveling in a pedestrian space such as a manual wheelchair, a bicycle, and a tricycle. The present invention is also applied to a case where a wheelchair or the like travels on a sidewalk that is a pedestrian space in addition to a road on which an automobile or the like travels.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention described in the claims. It can be changed.

10: Wheelchair 12: Obstacle 20: Automobile 100: On-vehicle device 110: Input unit 120: Position detection unit 130: Distance sensor 140: Inertial sensor 150: Navigation unit 160: Communication unit 170: Audio output unit 180: Display unit 190: Storage unit 200: Actuator unit 210: Control unit

Claims (7)

Position detecting means for detecting the current position of the moving body;
Direction detecting means for detecting a traveling direction of the moving body;
Measuring means for measuring a distance to an object existing in the traveling direction of the moving body;
Inclined road detection means for detecting the presence or absence of an inclined road in the traveling direction of the moving body based on the detected current position and traveling direction and map data;
A determination means for determining an approach angle when the mobile body enters the inclined road when the inclined road is detected;
Calculating means for calculating a slope angle of the inclined road according to the determined approach angle;
Adjusting means for adjusting the measuring direction of the measuring means based on the calculated gradient angle;
An electronic device. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment unit adjusts a measurement direction of the measurement unit before a time when a moving body enters the inclined road. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the map data includes a road link including inclination information representing a gradient angle θ, and the inclined road detection unit detects an inclined road based on the inclination information. The inclination information includes a gradient angle θ and a gradient distance L, and the calculation means calculates a gradient angle φ corresponding to the approach angle according to the following equation based on the gradient angle θ, the gradient distance L, and the approach angle λ. Item 4. The electronic device according to Item 3.

The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the moving body is a wheelchair. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that notifies the presence of an object based on a measurement result of the measurement unit. An adjustment method for adjusting a measurement direction of a measurement sensor that measures a distance to an object mounted on a moving body,
Detecting whether there is an inclined road in the moving direction of the moving body;
When the inclined road is detected, determining a traveling angle when the mobile body enters the inclined road; and
Calculating a slope angle of the inclined road according to the determined traveling angle;
Adjusting a measurement direction of the measurement sensor based on the calculated gradient angle before the moving body enters the inclined road based on the calculated gradient angle;
Including adjustment method.

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