Automatic electrically-driven wheelchair

Abstract

To provide an electrically-driven wheelchair that utilizes an automatic driving technology, enabling even a person with disability to reach his / her destination automatically.SOLUTION: An electrically-driven wheelchair that utilizes an automatic driving technology is provided, which comprises: a route processing unit that determines a route based on current location data obtained from a wireless unit and a destination set by a destination setting unit; a direction instruction unit that determines which direction the electrically-driven wheelchair should move in based on the route determined by the route processing unit and the current location data obtained from the wireless unit; a chair; main wheels that are located on both sides of the chair, and are driven by a motor; auxiliary wheels that determine the direction; and an actuator unit that moves the auxiliary wheels in a left-to-right direction. The automatic electrically-driven wheelchair is characterized by its ability to automatically travel to the destination by transmitting the direction determined by the direction instruction unit to the actuator unit, thereby allowing a person with disability to automatically reach his / her destination.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an automatic powered wheelchair. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, autonomous driving technology has seen evolution and widespread adoption at various levels.

[0003] Self-driving car levels range from 1 to 5, with levels 1 and 2 representing partial automation, level 3 representing conditional automation, level 4 representing high automation, and level 5 representing full automation. In particular, level 4 self-driving technology is the stage at which fully autonomous driving is possible without driver intervention under certain conditions, and is said to have the potential to revolutionize urban transportation systems.

[0004] The global automotive industry is actively working to advance and popularize autonomous driving technology, aiming to improve technology through advanced sensor technology, AI, and data collection in order to realize self-driving cars, and is also showing enthusiasm for achieving Level 5 fully autonomous driving. Japanese companies are also working to improve the safety of self-driving cars and contribute to the creation of smart cities, and these technological innovations are beginning to have a major impact on the self-driving car market.

[0005] The widespread adoption of self-driving vehicles has the potential to dramatically change the future of urban transportation, improving energy efficiency in cities, optimizing traffic flow, and increasing the accessibility of public transportation. This technological innovation is bringing new business opportunities not only to the traditional automotive industry, but also to industries such as IT, communications, and entertainment.

[0006] On the other hand, with regard to wheelchairs that are required in order to achieve a barrier-free society, electric wheelchairs such as those shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have appeared. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-037993 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2022-095277 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] The invention of Patent Document 1 is an electric wheelchair that is easy to transport, but its only features are portability and folding method, and it does not have the ability to drive independently. Similarly, the invention of Patent Document 2 is an electric wheelchair that can go up and down stairs, but it does not have the ability to drive automatically.

[0009] While autonomous driving technology is advancing in passenger cars, this technology has not yet been applied to electric wheelchairs, which has meant that wheelchair users have had to check a map while using their electric wheelchair. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to solve the above problem, the invention of claim 1 is an automated electric wheelchair comprising: a memory unit that stores map data; a display unit that retrieves the map data from the memory unit and displays the map; a destination setting unit that sets a destination from the map displayed on the display unit; a radio unit that grasps the current position; a route processing unit that determines a route from the current location data grasped from the radio unit and the destination set by the destination setting unit; a direction indicating unit that determines which way to go based on the route determined by the route processing unit and the current location data grasped from the radio unit; a chair; main wheels that are arranged on both sides of the chair and are driven by motors; auxiliary wheels that determine the direction; and an actuator unit that moves the auxiliary wheels left and right, wherein the direction determined by the direction indicating unit is transmitted to the actuator unit so that the wheelchair automatically heads towards its destination.

[0011] The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that the route processing unit is configured by an AI processing unit that has learned the route actually traveled. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an electric wheelchair that applies automatic driving technology, allowing people with disabilities to reach their destination automatically. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is an external view of an automatic electric wheelchair 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a functional configuration block diagram of an automatic driving system unit 160 of the automatic electric wheelchair 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an example of processing when the automatic electric wheelchair 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention is automatically driven using a navigation system 170. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of navigation displayed on a display unit 171 of a navigation system 170 of an automatic electric wheelchair 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of navigation displayed on a display unit 171 of a navigation system 170 of an automatic electric wheelchair 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are examples for explaining the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention to only these embodiments. Furthermore, the present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the present invention. Furthermore, the same components in each drawing will be designated by the same reference numerals whenever possible, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0015] [1. Example of the appearance of the automatic electric wheelchair 100] First, an example of the appearance of an automated electric wheelchair 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is an external view of an automated electric wheelchair 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic electric wheelchair 100 includes a chair 110, main wheels 130 arranged on both sides of the chair and driven by motors 120, auxiliary wheels 140 that determine direction, an actuator unit 150 that moves the auxiliary wheels 140 left and right, an automatic driving system unit 160, a navigation system 170, and a battery B.

[0017] As shown in the figure, the chair 110 is the main part of the automated electric wheelchair 100 where the passenger 200 sits. As shown in the figure, it may have the same shape as a regular commercially available wheelchair, or it may have the same shape as a regular chair used indoors that does not tire the passenger even during long periods of automated driving.

[0018] A main wheel 130 is provided on each side of the chair 110. Although not shown in the figure, the wheelchair 100 is also provided with a battery B. Battery B supplies power to the motor 4, the actuator unit 150, and the automatic driving system unit 160. Battery B is placed, for example, as shown in the figure, under the seat 111 of the chair 110. Battery B is provided with a battery management unit Bm, which measures battery B and determines the capacity of battery B.

[0019] The main wheels 130 are driven by the motors 120. The motors 120 and the main wheels 130 are controlled by the actuator unit 150 in response to instructions from the automatic driving system unit 160.

[0020] As shown in the figure, the auxiliary wheels 140 may be installed in front of the main wheels 130 or behind them, and the installation position does not matter. The actuator unit controls the auxiliary wheel left / right movement unit 141 in response to instructions from the automatic driving system unit 160, and the direction of the automatic electric wheelchair 100 is determined.

[0021] Although not shown, the actuator unit 150 is provided inside the motor 120 and the auxiliary wheel left / right movement unit 141, and converts instruction data from the automatic driving system unit 160 to operate each device.

[0022] The autonomous driving system unit 160 may be a rectangular parallelepiped housing as shown in Fig. 1, but any shape is acceptable. The function of the autonomous driving system unit 160 will be described later, and the installation location may be under the seat 111 as shown, but the location is not limited as long as it does not interfere with driving.

[0023] 1, or may be in the shape of a smartphone or tablet, and is not particularly limited. The function of the navigation 170 will be described later, and the installation location may be in front of the right armrest 180 as shown in the figure, but is not limited to a specific location as long as it does not interfere with operation by the passenger 200.

[0024] [2. Configuration of the Autonomous Driving System Unit 160] Next, the configuration of the automatic driving system unit 160 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0025] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of the autonomous driving system unit 160 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the autonomous driving system unit 160 includes a communication unit 161, an input / output interface unit 162, a processing unit 163, a storage unit 164, a system bus 165, an imaging unit 166, and a wireless unit 167.

[0026] The autonomous driving system unit 160 may be robust dedicated hardware, or may be a commercially available personal computer, tablet, smartphone, or the like.

[0027] The communication unit 161 is composed of a general-purpose communication protocol control unit, and connects to the Internet, a server, etc., and controls the communication state. Specifically, it transmits and receives map data 301, real-time road surface conditions, general situation data, etc.

[0028] The input / output interface unit 162 performs interface processing between the communication unit 161, the processing unit 163, the storage unit 164, the system bus 165, the photographing unit 166, the wireless unit 167, and other units.

[0029] Although the processing unit 163 is not shown, the functions of each unit can be realized by a CPU or the like executing a program stored in the storage unit 164. The functions of each unit in the processing unit 163 will be described below.

[0030] The destination setting unit 601 sets destination data 302 from a map displayed on the display unit 171 of the navigation system 170, which will be described later. Specifically, the destination setting unit 601 saves and stores the coordinates of the map data 301 sent from the navigation system 170 in RAM (RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY) or the storage unit 164.

[0031] The route processing unit 602 determines a route from current location data 303 obtained from the wireless unit 167 (described later) and destination data 302 set by the destination setting unit 601. Although specific operations are not particularly defined, the route processing unit 602 may operate by having the AI ​​processing unit 604 (described later) learn a route that has actually been traveled. Furthermore, the route processing unit 602 may not be provided in the processing unit 163 of the autonomous driving system unit 160, but may be provided in an external server and receive a route to the destination data 302 using the communication unit 161. Furthermore, the route processing unit 602 may be set in advance to distinguish between a case where the vehicle moves independently and a case where navigation is performed with or without the assistance of an assistant 250, and may determine a route based on the remaining charge of the battery B obtained from the battery management unit Bm.

[0032] The direction indication unit 603 determines which direction to go based on the route determined by the route processing unit 602, current location data 303 obtained from the wireless unit 167 (described later), and video data 304 captured by the imaging unit 166. While specific operations are not particularly defined, the direction indication unit 603 may operate by having the AI ​​processing unit 604 (described later) learn a route actually traveled. Furthermore, the direction indication unit 603 may not be provided in the processing unit 163 of the autonomous driving system unit 160, but may be provided in an external server and receive a route to the destination using the communication unit 161. Furthermore, the direction indication unit 603 may indicate directions separately for cases where the vehicle moves independently and cases where navigation is performed with or without the assistant 250, depending on a prior setting, and may indicate directions based on the remaining charge of the battery B obtained from the battery management unit Bm.

[0033] The AI ​​processing unit 604 is used by the route processing unit 602 and the direction indication unit 603, and provides real-time road conditions from the communication unit 161, learns the behavioral patterns of the passenger 200, recommends destinations, and further understands the skills of the passenger 200. The level of the autonomous vehicle of the AI ​​processing unit 604 is not particularly specified, but it is preferable that it is around level 3, that is, a state in which the automatic operation device takes over all driving operations in limited areas that meet specific driving environment conditions. Furthermore, the AI ​​processing unit 604 may learn routes depending on whether or not an assistant 250 is accompanying the vehicle, and may provide support instructions when the route processing unit 602 determines the route depending on whether or not the assistant 250 is accompanying the vehicle.

[0034] Furthermore, the AI ​​processing unit 604 may grasp the remaining charge of the battery B obtained by the battery management unit Bm. In this case, the remaining charge of the battery B is calculated and processed by the AI ​​processing unit 604, and supports route setting by the route processing unit 602 and direction indication by the direction indication unit 603.

[0035] The storage unit 164 is configured by, for example, a hard disk drive, a solid state drive (SSD), etc. The storage unit 164 stores map data 301 and the like.

[0036] The photographing unit 166 is mainly a camera device and a data generating unit, and photographs video data 304 and sends it to the storage unit 164, the direction indicating unit 503, and the AI ​​processing unit 504. The video data 304 is processed as real-time road surface conditions.

[0037] The wireless unit 167 communicates in accordance with a standardized wireless method such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark), and obtains the current location data 303 using an external server or the like. Alternatively, the wireless unit 167 may be equipped with a GPS (Global Positioning System) function for measuring a position, and obtain the current location data 303 without using an external server or the like.

[0038] [3. Example of automated driving using Navigation 170] Next, the automatic driving of the automatic electric wheelchair 100 using the navigation 170 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 3 to 5. Figure 3 is a flowchart showing an example of processing when the automatic electric wheelchair 100 according to this embodiment is automatically driven using the navigation 170, and Figures 4 and 5 are diagrams showing an example of navigation displayed on the display unit 171 of the navigation 170.

[0039] (Step S11) The navigation system 170 is provided with a display unit 171, which is a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display. The navigation system 170 can be operated by providing the display unit 171 with a touch panel function that can be used in place of buttons, or by providing a button unit 172 as shown in the figure. The display unit 171 displays a destination setting screen, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, and waits for input. The display unit 171 may display map data 301 received from the communication unit 161 or read from the storage unit 164, and may overlay and mark the current location mark 171a obtained by the wireless unit 167.

[0040] (Step S12) As shown in Fig. 4, the destination may be input in a destination input box 171c on the display unit 171 of the navigation system 170, or as shown in Fig. 5, a destination pin 171e may be placed by scrolling and tapping on the map data 308. Furthermore, an option for setting whether or not an assistant 250 is to be accompanied may be provided.

[0041] (Step S13) When the destination and whether or not an assistant 250 will be accompanied are set in the navigation 170, the automatic electric wheelchair 100 sends the set destination data 302 to the destination setting unit 601, and the destination setting unit 601 saves and memorizes the coordinates of the map data 301 in the RAM or the memory unit 164.

[0042] (Step S14) Next, the route processing unit 602 operates to determine a route from the current location data 303 obtained from the wireless unit 167 and the destination data 302 set in step S13. As an example of the operation, the AI ​​processing unit 604 may operate by learning the route actually traveled. Alternatively, the current location data 303 and the destination data 302 may be transmitted to an external server via the communication unit 161 to determine the route. Furthermore, the route may be determined based on whether or not the assistant 250 is accompanying the vehicle and the remaining charge of the battery B.

[0043] (Step S15) After step S14, the direction indication unit 603 determines which way to go based on the route determined by the route processing unit 602, the current location data 303 obtained from the wireless unit 167, and the video data 304 captured by the imaging unit 166, and transmits the direction to the actuator unit 150. The direction may also be determined based on the remaining charge of the battery B or whether or not an assistant 250 is accompanying the vehicle. The actuator unit 150 converts the data and operates the motor 120 and the auxiliary wheel left / right movement unit 141.

[0044] (Step S16) Steps S14 and S15 are repeated to continue the operation. If it is determined that the destination has been reached, the automatic driving is stopped. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 100 Automatic Electric Wheelchair 110 Chairs 111 Seat area 120 motor 130 Main wheel 140 Training wheels 150 Actuator section 160 Processing section 161 Communications Department 162 Input / Output Interface Section 163 Processing section 164 Storage section 165 System Bus 166 Photography Department 167 Radio Department 170 Navigation Section 171 Display section 172 Button section 180 Right armrest 190 Left armrest 200 passengers 250 Auxiliary 301 Map Data 302 Destination 303 Location Data 304 Video Data 601 Destination Setting Unit 602 Route Processing Unit 603 Direction indicator 604 AI processing section B Battery Bm Battery management unit

Claims

1. a storage unit that stores map data; a display unit that retrieves map data from the storage unit and displays the map; a destination setting unit for setting a destination from the map displayed on the display unit; A radio unit that grasps the current location, a route processing unit that determines a route based on current location data acquired from the wireless unit and a destination set by a destination setting unit; a direction indicating unit that determines which direction to go based on the route determined by the route processing unit and current location data obtained from the wireless unit; A chair and Main wheels are arranged on both sides of the chair and are driven by a motor; Training wheels that determine direction, an actuator unit that moves the auxiliary wheels left and right; The direction determined by the direction indicator is transmitted to the actuator unit, and the robot automatically heads toward the destination. An automatic electric wheelchair characterized by:

2. a battery section; The battery unit includes a battery management unit that measures the battery and grasps its capacity. Equipped with the route processing unit determines a route based on the battery capacity measured by the battery management unit.

2. The automatic electric wheelchair according to claim 1.

3. a battery section; The battery unit includes a battery management unit that measures the battery and grasps its capacity. Equipped with the direction indication unit determines a direction based on the battery capacity measured by the battery management unit.

2. The automatic electric wheelchair according to claim 1.

4. The route processing unit is configured by an AI processing unit that learns the route actually taken.

2. The automatic electric wheelchair according to claim 1.

5. The AI ​​processing unit learns the route actually taken along with the setting of whether or not an assistant is accompanied, and provides support instructions when the route processing unit determines the route.

5. The automatic electric wheelchair according to claim 4.

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