JP2019005264A - Walking stick for visually impaired person - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To intuitively inform a visually impaired person of the direction of an obstacle. SOLUTION: An imaging means for imaging the front while using a cane and an image recognition for image information obtained by the imaging means are performed, and in which direction an obstacle including a person in the traveling direction of the user on the cane is in which direction. When an obstacle is detected by the image recognition means for detecting the presence, the pressurizing means 30 for applying a pressing force to the user's hand from the cane in the direction corresponding to the above direction, and the image recognition means. The pressurizing means 30 includes a pressurizing control means for generating a pressing force in a direction corresponding to the above direction. [Selection diagram] Fig. 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a cane for a visually impaired person for ensuring safe walking of a visually impaired person.

  Conventionally, various devices for safely guiding visually impaired persons have been considered. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a guidance device for a visually impaired person that can be safely guided even in a place where a marker such as a Braille block is not provided. Specifically, a cart body 10 having a rotating wheel 11, a motor driving device that drives the rotating wheel 11, a pole portion 12 attached to the cart portion 10, a grip portion 13, and the operator's force operation are detected. A force sensor 14 for controlling the motor drive device according to the force operation of the operator by the force sensor 14 and moving the guide device according to the intention of the operator.

  Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a guidance device for a visually impaired person that can provide more detailed information to a visually impaired person and guide it safely without using voice guidance. This apparatus has a plurality of vibration actuators, and changes information to be transmitted by changing the vibration state of the vibration actuators.

  Further, Patent Document 3 includes a sensor for detecting a step on a road surface and a display for walking guidance laid on the road surface in a middle portion of the cane while incorporating a vibrator in the cane. When a step is detected by the above method, an output from an earphone is output, and a vibrator is vibrated to notify a road surface step or an obstacle field.

  Patent Document 4 discloses a cane having a sensor, a detector, a diaphragm driving circuit, and a piezoelectric element diaphragm. In this cane, a vibration plate is provided in a portion of the hand of the cane and the vibration is transmitted to the hand, so that it is possible to reliably notify danger by vibration.

  Further, in Patent Document 5, a device that transmits infrared rays or radio waves is provided at the tip of the cane, and a switch that receives a reflection from the road or a signal from the road side is provided on the cane, and the reflection from the road or the road side is provided. When the switch is activated in response to the above signal, a device is disclosed that notifies a visually impaired person by sound, signal, or vibration.

  Further, in Patent Document 6, a vibrator is provided at a position where a little finger, an index finger, and a thumb are located when holding a cane, and a sensor for detecting an obstacle is provided on the cane, and the detection range of this sensor is divided into three. A device that controls vibration of a vibrator by associating three detection ranges with the position of the finger is disclosed. Since an obstacle is detected in any of the three detection ranges by giving vibration to any of the above three fingers, the presence range of the obstacle can be appropriately notified to the visually impaired. It is.

JP 2001-212189 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-202590 JP-A-6-343669 JP-A-5-146477 JP 2004-118821 A JP 2010-158472 A

  The devices described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have a problem that a visually impaired person needs to have a special device other than a white cane, which places a heavy burden on the visually impaired person.

  Since what is disclosed in Patent Documents 3 to 5 is a walking stick, it reduces the burden on the visually impaired and can notify danger and the like. However, there is a problem that it is not possible to appropriately notify in which direction the obstacle is. Furthermore, in Patent Document 6, since the range of the obstacle is notified by giving vibration to the finger, it is possible to know how far the obstacle is located. However, there is a problem that it is not possible to intuitively know the range of obstacles, such as the need to remember the relationship between the three fingers and the range of distance.

  The present invention has been made as a solution to the problems of the conventional device for informing an obstacle to the visually impaired person as described above, and its purpose is to intuitively inform the visually impaired person of the direction of the obstacle. An object of the present invention is to provide a cane for the visually impaired that can be appropriately avoided.

  A visually impaired person's wand according to the present invention is provided on a wand, and imaging means for imaging the front in the use state of the wand, and image recognition provided on the wand and image information obtained by the imaging means. , An image recognition means for detecting in which direction an obstacle including a person in the direction of travel of the user in the cane is located, and the user is provided in the cane and directed from the cane in a direction corresponding to the above direction. A pressurizing means for applying a pressing force to the hand, and generating a pressing force in a direction corresponding to the direction by the pressurizing means when an obstacle is detected by the image recognition means. And pressurizing control means for performing.

  In the cane for a visually impaired person according to the present invention, the image recognition means detects the direction of the obstacle by dividing it into a straight traveling direction, a straight traveling direction rightward direction, and a straight traveling direction leftward direction, and the pressurizing means is straight traveling The pressure control means applies an urging force to a different direction of the cane, and is divided into a direction corresponding to a direction, a rightward direction, a rightward direction, and a leftward direction, and the pressure control means detects an obstacle by the image recognition means. The pressing force is generated by the pressing means according to the direction.

  In the cane for the visually impaired according to the present invention, the image recognition means detects the size of the obstacle and the distance to the obstacle, and the pressure control means is the obstacle detected by the image recognition means. The size of the pressing force is changed according to the size of the object and the distance to the obstacle.

  The cane for the visually impaired according to the present invention includes a sensor for measuring the distance to the obstacle in addition to the camera.

  In the cane for a visually handicapped person according to the present invention, when the obstacle is detected from the state where the obstacle is not detected by the image recognition means, the pressurizing control means generates the pressing force. It is characterized by being stopped.

  In the cane for a visually impaired person according to the present invention, the pressurizing unit can apply a pressing force in a direction opposite to the straight traveling direction, and the pressurizing control unit detects a predetermined state by the image recognizing unit. In this case, the pressure control means executes an operation of applying a pressing force in the direction opposite to the straight traveling direction.

  In the cane for the visually impaired according to the present invention, the pressing means transmits a pressing force from the cane to the hand by rotation of a motor provided with a flywheel.

  In the cane for the visually impaired according to the present invention, the pressurizing means transmits the pressing force to the hand by a reciprocating motion of a mechanism that changes the rotational motion to a reciprocating motion.

  According to the present invention, image recognition is performed on the image information obtained by the imaging unit to detect in which direction an obstacle including a person in the traveling direction of the user on the cane is present, and the direction corresponding to the direction from the cane is supported. Since the pressing force is applied to the user's hand in the direction of the direction, the visually handicapped person can be intuitively notified that there is an obstacle in the direction of the pressurized hand.

The perspective view which shows embodiment of the walking stick for visually impaired persons based on this invention. It is a figure which shows the principal part of embodiment of the cane for visually impaired persons based on this invention, Fig.2 (a) is a side view, FIG.2 (b) is a front view. The block diagram which shows the principal part structure of 1st Embodiment of the cane for visually impaired persons based on this invention. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of embodiment of the walking stick for visually impaired persons based on this invention. The figure which shows an example of the image acquired by embodiment of the cane for visually impaired persons concerning this invention. The mechanism figure which shows the principal part structure of 1st Embodiment of the cane for visually impaired persons concerning this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a walking stick for a visually impaired person according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the visually impaired person can be provided with a guiding device 20 immediately below the grip 11 of the white cane 10 used by the visually impaired.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), the guiding device 20 includes a casing 21 having a quadrangular pyramid shape and each unit mounted thereon. The lower inclined surface 22 on the front surface of the housing 21 is provided with a hole 23 for inputting light to the camera 41 which is an imaging means, and a sensor 42 such as a radar, an ultrasonic sonar, an infrared sensor or the like beside the hole 23. A measurement window 24 for performing measurement according to is provided. For example, the sensor 42 emits radar radio waves, ultrasonic waves, or infrared rays, receives the reflected radio waves, ultrasonic waves, or infrared rays, and determines the distance depending on the time from the emission to reception and the speed of the radio waves, ultrasonic waves, or infrared rays. Can be sought.

  In the usage state of the white cane 10, the inclined surface 22 in which the hole 23 and the measurement window 24 are formed is a surface substantially perpendicular to a horizontal line extending forward. Therefore, in this state, the camera 41 can take an image of the horizontal front. The measurement direction by the measurement window 24 is also the same direction.

  The inside of the guidance device 20 is configured as shown in FIG. A battery 37 for supplying power to each unit is provided. Further, an image recognition device 36 that is an image recognition unit, a pressurization unit 30, and a control unit 35 that is a pressurization control unit are provided. A camera 41 is connected to the image recognition device 36. The camera 41 captures the front and obtains image information. The image recognition device 36 performs image recognition on image information obtained by the camera 41 and detects in which direction an obstacle including a person in the traveling direction of the user on the white cane 10 is located.

  The pressurizing means 30 applies a pressing force to the user's hand from the white cane 10 in a direction corresponding to the direction of the obstacle. In this embodiment, the pressurizing means 30 includes two flywheels 31 and 33 and motors 32 and 34 that rotate the flywheels 31 and 33. The flywheels 31 and 33 can be formed of an equivalent metallic disk having an appropriate thickness. The flywheel 31 has a rotational axis in the vertical direction and is rotated left and right by the motor 32. When rotating the shaft of the motor 32 in the left direction, since the flywheel 31 is provided on the shaft of the motor 32 at the start of rotation, an inertia moment acting on the motor 32 opposite to the rotation of the shaft acts. 32 receives a force to rotate right. Such a force that the motor 32 rotates to the right is transmitted to the white cane 10 via the guide device 20 to which the motor 32 is fixed, and corresponds to the right rotation of the white cane 10 on the hand holding the white cane 10. Pressure is applied.

  In the case of rotating the motor 32 to the right contrary to the above, since the flywheel 31 is provided on the shaft of the motor 32 at the start of rotation, the moment of inertia acts on the motor 32 opposite to the rotation of the shaft, The motor 32 receives a force that rotates counterclockwise. Such a force that causes the motor 32 to rotate counterclockwise is transmitted to the white cane 10 via the guide device 20 to which the motor 32 is fixed, and corresponds to the left rotation of the white cane 10 on the hand holding the white cane 10. Pressure is applied.

  The flywheel 33 is provided on the shaft of the motor 34 whose rotation axis is in the horizontal direction, and the shaft of the motor 34 rotates from the near side to the near side or from the near side to the near side. When the shaft of the motor 34 is rotated from the near side to the opposite side (right rotation in FIG. 3), since the flywheel 33 is provided on the shaft of the motor 34 at the start of the rotation, An inertia moment opposite to the rotation acts, and the motor 32 receives a force that rotates from the opposite side to the near side (left rotation). Such a force that the motor 34 rotates from the opposite side to the near side (left rotation) is transmitted to the white cane 10 via the guide device 20 to which the motor 34 is fixed, and is applied to the hand holding the white cane 10. Pressure corresponding to rotation (left rotation) from the opposite side of the white cane 10 to the front side is applied.

  When the shaft of the motor 34 is rotated from the opposite side to the near side (left rotation in FIG. 3), since the flywheel 33 is provided on the shaft of the motor 34 at the start of the rotation, A moment of inertia opposite to the rotation acts, and the motor 34 receives a force that rotates from the near side to the opposite side (rotates right). Such a force that the motor 34 rotates from the near side to the opposite side (right rotation) is transmitted to the white cane 10 via the guide device 20 to which the motor 34 is fixed, and is applied to the hand holding the white cane 10. Pressure corresponding to rotation (right rotation) of the white cane 10 from the near side to the opposite side is applied.

  The above rotation control is performed by the control device 35 which is a pressurizing control means. Further, a sensor 42 is connected to the control device 35, and distance information to the obstacle is given from the sensor 42 to the control device 35. The image recognition device 36 performs image recognition on the image information obtained by the camera 41 to detect in which direction an obstacle including a person in the traveling direction of the user in the white cane 10 is located, and the direction information is controlled by the control device. Send to 35. Here, it is assumed that the direction of the obstacle is detected by being divided into a straight traveling direction, a rightward traveling direction rightward direction, and a straight traveling direction leftward direction, and direction information is sent to the control device 35. The straight direction is detected when the image recognition device 36 recognizes the Braille block BK when the road condition is as shown in FIG. Further, when the Braille block BK does not exist, the road boundary line and the boundary stone S are recognized, the road boundary line and the boundary stone S are obtained, and the line parallel to the above line is obtained from the current position of the visually handicapped person. The direction is detected as a straight direction.

  The control device 35 receives the above direction information, and divides the direction into a direction corresponding to a straight direction, a right direction in the straight direction, and a left direction in the straight direction, and applies a pressing force in a different direction of the white cane 10. Take control. That is, when the obstacle is in the straight direction, the shaft of the motor 34 coupled to the shaft of the flywheel 33 is controlled to rotate from the opposite side to the near side (left rotation), and the white cane 10 is held. Control is performed so that pressure corresponding to rotation (right rotation) of the white cane 10 from the near side to the opposite side is applied to the hand.

  Further, when the obstacle is in the direction to the right of the straight traveling direction, the flywheel 31 rotates the shaft of the motor 32 coupled to the shaft to the left, and the portion of the white cane 10 provided with the guide device 20 rotates to the right. Control is performed so that the force to be applied is exerted and a right-rotating pressure is applied to the hand holding the white cane 10. Further, when the obstacle is in the direction to the left of the straight traveling direction, the flywheel 31 rotates the shaft of the motor 32 coupled to the shaft to the right, and the portion of the white cane 10 provided with the guide device 20 rotates to the left. Control is performed so that counterclockwise pressure is applied to the hand holding the white cane 10.

  In the visually impaired person's wand configured as described above, processing is performed as shown in the flowchart of FIG. That is, the visually handicapped person uses the white cane 10 (S11). At this time, the front is imaged by the camera 41 (S12). Although the imaging direction of the camera 41 changes depending on the use of the white cane 10, a wide-angle image is created as a whole, and the image recognition device 36 as image recognition means performs image recognition to detect the direction of the obstacle (S13).

  The control device 35 waits for the direction information of the obstacle to arrive (S14), and when the direction information arrives, rotates the corresponding motor to apply the pressure of the white cane 10 moving in the direction of the obstacle to the hand holding the white cane 10. (S15). As described above, the visually handicapped person can be intuitively notified that there is an obstacle in the direction of the pressurized hand. In the example of FIG. 5, since there is a person W on the front Braille block BK, this is notified as an obstacle. Further, since the trash can D is left on the left side before the people W, this is notified as an obstacle.

  In the above description, the distance to the obstacle detected by the sensor 42 is not considered, but the distance to the obstacle detected by the sensor 42 is used, or the image recognition device 36 serving as an image recognition unit performs image recognition. You may make it use the distance and magnitude | size to an obstruction. Specifically, the distance obtained from the sensor and the image recognition (for example, an average value when obtained from both) is obtained, and the control device 35 determines whether the distance is close or the size of the obstacle. You may make it change the magnitude | size of pressing force by changing the rotational speed which rotates a wheel. That is, as the distance becomes shorter and the size of the obstacle becomes larger, the rotational speed at which the flywheel is rotated may be increased to increase the magnitude of the pressing force.

  Further, when the state is changed from the state where the obstacle is detected by the image recognition device 36 which is the image recognition means to the state where the obstacle is no longer detected, the control device 35 which is the pressure control means generates the pressing force. You may make it stop. Further, the control device 35 that is a pressurization control means is an operation that applies a pressing force in the direction opposite to the straight traveling direction by the pressurization control means when a predetermined state is detected by the image recognition device 36 that is the image recognition means. May be executed. Further, all or part of the guiding device 20 (for example, a pressurizing unit) may be provided in the white cane 10.

  Furthermore, the pressurizing means 30 may be a mechanism that transmits a pressing force to the hand by a reed that performs a reciprocating motion of a mechanism that changes the rotational motion to a reciprocating motion. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, in the grip portion 11, the outer skin portion 51 is made of a deformable flexible plastic so that the outermost portion is covered with a non-slip cloth or leather, and the motor 52 </ b> A is disposed inside. A crank 54A coupled to the rotation shaft 53A is provided. A slider 56A sliding in the sliding tube 55A is connected between the crank 54A and the slider 56A by a linkage 57A. When the slider 56A jumps out, pressure is applied to the hand through the outer skin portion 51 to notify the direction of the obstacle.

  The motor 52A, the crank 54A, the sliding tube 55A, the slider 56A, and the linkage 57A are configured to notify the direction to the right of the straight traveling direction. The motor 52B, the crank 54B, the sliding tube 55B, the slider 56B, and the linkage 57B are configured to notify the direction to the left in the straight traveling direction. The same structure as FIG. 6 is provided in the grip 11 so that the two sliders move in the forward direction and the backward direction. As a result, the visually handicapped person can be intuitively notified that there is an obstacle in the direction of the pressurized hand as in the embodiment of the cane for the visually impaired person described in the embodiment of FIG. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 White cane 11 Grip part 12 Pole part 20 Guidance device 21 Case 22 Inclined surface 23 Hole 24 Measurement window 30 Pressurization means 31, 33 Flywheel 32, 34 Motor 35 Control device 36 Image recognition device 37 Battery 41 Camera 42 Sensor 51 Outer skin portion 52A, 52B Motor 53A Rotating shaft 54A, 54B Crank 55A, 55B Sliding tube 56A, 56B Slider 57A, 57B

Claims (8)

An imaging means provided on the cane for imaging the front in the use state of the cane;
Image recognition means provided on the cane for performing image recognition on the image information obtained by the imaging means, and detecting in which direction an obstacle including a person in the traveling direction of the user on the cane is located;
A pressure unit that is provided on the cane and applies a pressing force to the user's hand in a direction corresponding to the direction from the cane;
A pressure control means provided on the cane for generating a pressing force in a direction corresponding to the direction by the pressure means when an obstacle is detected by the image recognition means. A cane for the visually impaired. The image recognition means divides and detects the direction of the obstacle into a straight traveling direction, a straight traveling direction rightward direction, and a straight traveling direction leftward direction,
The pressurizing means is divided into a direction corresponding to a straight direction, a straight direction rightward direction, a straight direction leftward direction, and applies a pressing force in a different direction of the cane,
2. The cane for a visually impaired person according to claim 1, wherein the pressure control unit generates a pressing force by the pressure unit according to a direction in which an obstacle is detected by the image recognition unit. The image recognition means detects the size of the obstacle, the distance to the obstacle,
The vision according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pressure control means changes the magnitude of the pressing force according to the size of the obstacle detected by the image recognition means and the distance to the obstacle. Handicapped cane.   4. The visually impaired person's wand according to claim 3, further comprising a sensor for measuring a distance to the obstacle in addition to the camera.   The pressurization control unit stops the generation of the pressing force when the state is changed from the state in which the obstacle is detected by the image recognition unit to the state in which the obstacle is no longer detected. 5. The walking stick for the visually impaired according to any one of 4 above. The pressurizing means can apply a pressing force in the direction opposite to the straight direction,
2. The pressurization control unit, when a predetermined state is detected by the image recognition unit, causes the pressurization control unit to execute an operation of applying a pressing force in a direction opposite to a straight traveling direction. 5. The walking stick for the visually impaired according to any one of 5 above.   The visually impaired person wand according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the pressurizing means transmits a pressing force from the wand to the hand by rotation of a motor provided with a flywheel. 6. The visually impaired person according to claim 1, wherein the pressurizing means transmits a pressing force to a hand by a reed that performs a reciprocating motion of a mechanism that changes a rotational motion to a reciprocating motion. Cane.