Touch detection device for competitive swimming

Abstract

To provide a touch detection device for competitive swimming that can solve the problems of high costs and false detection caused by the large influence of waves and the like. [Solution] The competitive swimming touch detection device is installed in a competitive swimming pool and includes a bag 2 filled with gas and a sensor unit 3 that detects changes in the pressure of the gas inside the bag 2. The bag 2 is flexible and is configured so that it bends at points pressed by a swimmer's touch, and this bending changes the pressure of the gas inside the bag 2. Using gas as the medium makes it easy to handle.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a touch detection device for competitive swimming used in competitive swimming pools. [Background technology]

[0002] As touch detection devices for competitive swimming, Patent Document 1 discloses one that uses an EMFi (Electromechanical Film) sensor, and Patent Document 2 discloses one that uses a plastic bag filled with liquid. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-137029 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 52-146034 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the device described in Patent Document 1 has the problem of being costly. Also, the device described in Patent Document 2 has a configuration in which the plastic bag is pressed flatly by a front plate provided in front of the bag, which causes a problem of being significantly affected by waves and the like, resulting in false detection.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its main object is to provide a touch detection device for competitive swimming that can solve the above problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, one aspect of the present invention is a touch detection device for competitive swimming that is provided in a competitive swimming pool and comprises a bag body filled with liquid and a sensor unit that detects pressure changes of the liquid within the bag body, the bag body being flexible and configured so that areas that are pressed in a point-like manner by the swimmer's touch will bend, and this bending changes the pressure of the gas within the bag body. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a touch detection device for competitive swimming that can detect the touch of a swimmer with high accuracy at low cost. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view showing the configuration of a touch detection device for competitive swimming according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] Cross section AB of Figure 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a front view showing the configuration of a touch detection device for competitive swimming according to a second embodiment. [Figure 4] Cross section of Fig. 3 C-D. [Figure 5] FIG. 11 is a front view showing the configuration of a touch detection device for competitive swimming according to a third embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a front view showing the configuration of a touch detection device for competitive swimming according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a sensor signal processing unit. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a sensor signal correction unit. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure executed by a sensor signal correction unit. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a signal waveform of a pressure sensor when touched. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] (Embodiment 1) Fig. 1 is a front view showing the configuration of a touch detection device for competitive swimming of embodiment 1, and Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AB of Fig. 1. A touch detection device for competitive swimming of this embodiment (hereinafter simply referred to as "touch detection device") 11 includes a substrate 1, a bag body 2, a pressure sensor 3, and a sensor signal processing unit 4.

[0010] The substrate 1 is a rectangular plate-like member in a plan view, and its back surface (the surface at the back in FIG. 1 ) is installed in close contact with the wall surface 100 of the competitive swimming pool. The bag body 2 is composed of a flexible resin tube and is filled with a gas, such as air. Tubular bags are commercially available, for example, made of soft polyvinyl chloride with an outer diameter of 6 mm and an inner diameter of 3 mm (Sanyo Chemical: Oil-resistant fuel tube). Even when the external pressure increases by approximately 0.5 atmospheres, the tube shape changes only slightly, maintaining the internal space and flexibility to the touch. Since the water depth of a competitive swimming pool is approximately 2 m, the water pressure does not increase by more than 0.2 atmospheres, so the internal space of the bag is maintained. Alternatively, the internal air pressure of the bag may be set higher than the water pressure to maintain the space. The pressure sensor 3 detects pressure changes of the liquid in the bag body 2. The sensor signal processing unit 4 is electrically connected to the pressure sensor 3 and processes the sensor signal output from the pressure sensor 3.

[0011] As shown in Figure 1, the bag body 2 is bent in a spiral shape and extends on the surface of the substrate 1. Therefore, the bag body 2 is formed so that a straight portion and a bent portion that is bent in a plan view are continuous. This allows the bag bodies 2 to be densely arranged on a two-dimensional plane, so that the bag bodies 2 can reliably receive the touch of a competitive swimmer.

[0012] One end of the bag 2 is sealed with a plug and attached to the center of the surface of the substrate 1, and the other end is connected to a pressure sensor 3. The pressure sensor 3 outputs a voltage proportional to the pressure. The relationship between the output voltage VO (V) and the pressure P (MPa) can be expressed by Equation 1. Equation 1: VO = 20 P + 0.5

[0013] When the tube-shaped bag body 2 is pressed at a point by the touch of a swimmer's fingertips or the like, the pressed area bends. The gas inside the bag body 2 is normally maintained at a constant pressure, but when a specific area of ​​the bag body 2 bends as described above, the pressure of the gas changes in response to the bending. The touch detection device 11 is able to detect the swimmer's touch by detecting such pressure changes in the liquid inside the bag body 2.

[0014] As described above, when a swimmer touches the bag 2 and presses it at a point, the force is concentrated in a small area of ​​the bag 2, causing the gas pressure inside the bag 2 to rise instantaneously. Based on this pressure change, the touch can be detected with high accuracy. Even if the tube shrinks slightly due to water pressure, as long as the space is maintained, the pressure will increase further due to the swimmer's touch, making it possible to detect the touch.

[0015] When the bag 2 is touched by a swimmer, the sensor signal of the pressure sensor 3 changes as shown in the graph in Figure 10. The time from the touch until the signal starts to change varies depending on the distance from the touched point on the bag 2 to the pressure sensor 3, but since the speed at which pressure is transmitted is fast at around 300 m / s, there is not a significant delay. When the pressure is set to 0.1 MPa (approximately 1 atmosphere), V0 is 2.5 V. When the peak value V1 of the voltage change due to the touch is around 20 mV, this means that a pressure change of 0.001 MPa has occurred. An amplifier can be added to amplify the signal.

[0016] The sensor signal of the pressure sensor 3 is input to and processed by the sensor signal processing unit 4. Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the sensor signal processing unit. The sensor signal processing unit 4 includes a low-pass filter 21, a high-pass filter 22, a comparison unit 23, and an output unit 24.

[0017] The low-pass filter 21 removes noise components from the sensor signal. The high-pass filter 22 removes changes in the sensor signal due to aging of the bag body 2 or changes in installation conditions. The comparison unit 23 compares the signal voltage with a reference voltage and outputs a signal when the signal voltage exceeds the reference voltage. For example, a touch can be detected by setting the reference voltage for touch detection to approximately 2.6 V. A hysteresis circuit may be added to prevent false detection due to vibrations in the sensor signal. The output unit 24 also sends a pulse signal of a fixed width to another device, such as an external stopwatch. The other device performs a predetermined process based on the pulse signal to determine the time of touch by the swimmer.

[0018] (Embodiment 2) FIG. 3 is a front view showing the configuration of a touch detection device according to a second embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along CD in FIG. 3. A touch detection device 12 according to this embodiment includes a resin bag 6 filled with a gas such as air. The bag 6 has a rectangular shape in a plan view and an outer diameter slightly smaller than that of the substrate 1. The bag 6 is connected to one end of a tube 6a. The other end of the tube 6a is connected to the pressure sensor 3. The configurations of the substrate 1, the pressure sensor 3, and the sensor signal processing unit 4 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and therefore will not be described.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of support materials (corresponding to "restriction portions") 5 are provided inside the bag body 6. The support materials 5 are thread-like members that connect the front and back surfaces of the bag body 6, and are arranged in a matrix at predetermined intervals. In this way, the support materials 5 connect the front and back surfaces of the bag body 6, and therefore restrict the expansion of the length of the bag body 6 in the thickness direction. Furthermore, the support materials 5 are bendable in the thickness direction of the bag body 6. Therefore, the support materials 5 do not restrict the shortening of the length of the bag body 6 in the thickness direction. The length of the support materials 5 is, for example, about 6 mm. The support materials may be strong enough to prevent the bag body from collapsing due to external pressure caused by water pressure, thereby eliminating the space, or the internal air pressure may be set to be equal to or greater than the water pressure.

[0020] When the swimmer touches the bag body 6 and presses it at a point, the pressed portion of the bag body 6 bends, as in the first embodiment, and the pressure of the gas inside the bag body 6 changes accordingly. The touch detection device 12 is able to detect the touch of the swimmer based on this change in the pressure of the gas inside the bag body 6.

[0021] In this embodiment, the support material 5 restricts the expansion of the thickness direction length of the bag body 6. This prevents the thickness direction length of the bag body 6 from exceeding a certain level, making it possible to accurately detect changes in gas pressure caused by the swimmer's touch. However, since the support material 5 does not restrict the thickness direction length of the bag body 6 from being shortened, pressure on the bag body 6 caused by the swimmer's touch is not inhibited.

[0022] In this embodiment, a support material 5 is provided inside the bag body 6, but the support material 5 does not have to be provided. Furthermore, the support material 5 does not have to be bendable in the thickness direction of the bag body 6. Note that a member similar to this support material 5 may be provided inside the bag body of other embodiments. For example, inside the tubular bag body 2 in embodiment 1, a thread-like support material 5 may be provided that connects two opposing points on the circumference.

[0023] (Embodiment 3) 5 is a front view showing the configuration of a touch detection device according to a third embodiment. Similar to the first embodiment, the touch detection device 13 according to the present embodiment includes a tubular bag body 2. The bag body 2 is bent in a serpentine shape and extends on the surface of the substrate 1. Therefore, the bag body 2 is formed so that a straight portion and a bent portion that is bent in a plan view are continuous. This allows the bag bodies 2 to be densely arranged on a two-dimensional plane, similar to the first embodiment.

[0024] A flexible resin sheet member 7 is provided on the upper surface of the bag body 2 (the front side in FIG. 5 ). A plurality of through-holes are formed in the sheet member 7. However, the number of through-holes may be one or none. The bag body 2 and the sheet member 7 are connected by a connecting member such as a string. In this embodiment, the bag body 2 is touched by a swimmer via the sheet member 7. Even if the swimmer's fingertips or the like are located in an area where the bag body 2 is not provided (for example, between adjacent tubes), the sheet member 7 is pressed, and the bag body 2 is also pressed, causing a change in the pressure of the gas inside the bag body 2. The sheet member 7 is flexible, and when pressed in a point-like manner by the swimmer's fingertips or the like, the pressed area bends. As a result, the bag body 2 is also pressed in a point-like manner by the swimmer's touch. Note that a member similar to the sheet member 7 may be provided on the upper surface of bags in other embodiments.

[0025] The touch detection device 13 includes two pressure sensors 3 and a two-input sensor signal correction unit 30 electrically connected to each pressure sensor 3. Each pressure sensor 3 is connected to each end of the bag body 2. When the bag body 2 is touched by a swimmer, each of the two pressure sensors 3 detects a change in pressure of the liquid inside the bag body 2.

[0026] 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of sensor signal correction unit 30. Sensor signal correction unit 30 includes two sensor signal processing units 31 having the same configuration as sensor signal processing unit 4 in the first embodiment, a microcomputer 32, and an output unit 33 that outputs a pulse signal of a constant width to an external device such as a stopwatch.

[0027] In this embodiment, the sensor signal correction unit 30 corrects the touch time depending on the difference in touch position. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure executed by the sensor signal correction unit 30. The microcomputer 32 first executes a predetermined initialization process (S1). Thereafter, when a change in the gas pressure inside the bag body 2 occurs due to the swimmer's touch, each sensor signal processing unit 31 receives an input of the detection time of that pressure change from each pressure sensor 3. The microcomputer 32 calculates the difference between these detection times (S2).

[0028] The difference in detection time occurs according to the distance between the position where the bag body 2 is pressed by the swimmer's touch and each pressure sensor 3. Therefore, based on this difference in detection time, the position where the bag body 2 is touched (hereinafter referred to as "touch position") can be identified.

[0029] Next, the microcomputer 32 calculates the time (hereinafter referred to as "delay time") from when the swimmer touches the bag until the change in gas pressure caused by that touch is detected (S3). This delay time can be calculated if the touch position can be identified. For example, if the touch position is at the center of the tubular bag body 2, the delay time TL0 can be found by dividing the distance (L / 2) from each pressure sensor 3 to the center of the bag body 2 by the pressure propagation speed VP (Equation 2). Formula 2: TL0=(L / 2) / VP On the other hand, if the touch position is closest to any of the pressure sensors 3, the delay time TL1 is 2·TLO. The microcomputer 32 calculates the delay time using the touch position identified based on the result of step S2.

[0030] In addition, if a sensor signal is received from only one of the two pressure sensors 3, the microcomputer 32 executes fail-safe processing (S4), such as outputting an abnormality signal indicating that the other pressure sensor 3 is faulty (always keeping the output signal ON or sending an error code).

[0031] Finally, the microcomputer 32 outputs a signal indicating the acquired delay time to the output unit 33 (S5). An external device that receives this signal uses the delay time to correct the touch time, thereby obtaining an accurate touch time.

[0032] The delay time is an example of correction information used to correct the touch time. Alternatively, the sensor signal correction unit 30 may output the difference in detection time obtained in step S2 to an external device as correction information. Various other pieces of information obtained based on the difference in detection time can also be used as correction information.

[0033] (Fourth embodiment) FIG. 6 is a front view showing the configuration of a touch detection device according to a fourth embodiment. Similar to the first and second embodiments, the touch detection device 14 of this embodiment includes a tube-shaped bag 2. The bag 2 has two vertical sections 2a extending vertically in the figure and multiple horizontal sections 2b extending horizontally between the vertical sections 2a. One end of each vertical section 2a is connected to a pressure sensor 3. Both ends of each horizontal section 2b are connected to the corresponding vertical section 2a, and the vertical sections 2a and horizontal sections 2b are internally connected. This configuration has the effect of shortening delay time. The configurations of the substrate 1, the two pressure sensors 3, and the sensor signal correction section 30 are the same as those of the third embodiment, and therefore will not be described here.

[0034] In this embodiment as well, the bag body 2 is formed so that a straight portion and a bent portion that is bent in a plan view are continuous, which allows the bag bodies 2 to be densely arranged on a two-dimensional plane.

[0035] The sensor signal correction unit 30 operates in the same manner as in the case of embodiment 3. This makes it possible to obtain corrected information on the touch time.

[0036] (Other embodiments) If the pressure applied to the bag 2, 6 changes due to a change in the amount of water in a competitive swimming pool, the output voltage of the pressure sensor 3 also changes, causing a change in the reference voltage for determining touch. In such cases, setting the pass frequency of the high-pass filter 22 provided in the sensor signal processor 4, 31 to approximately 0.01 Hz or less eliminates this effect, since the output does not change with changes over a period of 100 seconds or more. Furthermore, by creating a small hole in the bag or tube in the air and exposing it to atmospheric pressure, a highly sensitive sensor based on atmospheric pressure can be used. Furthermore, the difference in pressure between inside and outside the sensor can be reduced even if the tube changes over time or the air or water pressure changes. A small hole has little effect on the rapid pressure change caused by touch, and therefore has little impact on touch detection.

[0037] In the above-described third and fourth embodiments, the pressure sensors 3 are disposed at both ends of the tubular bag body 2, but the pressure sensors 3 may be disposed at different locations. Furthermore, the number of pressure sensors 3 is not limited to two, and may be three or more. Increasing the number of pressure sensors 3 can improve accuracy and fail-safe performance. The locations and numbers of these pressure sensors 3 are the same as in the first and second embodiments.

[0038] In the touch detection devices of the above-described embodiments, the bags 2 and 6 are provided on the substrate 1, but this is not limiting. For example, the bags 2 and 6 may be attached directly to the wall of a competitive swimming pool. (Addendum) (Appendix 1) a bag body provided in the competitive swimming pool and filled with gas; a sensor section connected to the bag body and converting a pressure change of the gas inside the bag body into an electric signal; and, a sensor signal processing unit that processes the electrical signal output from the sensor unit and detects a signal voltage; Equipped with The bag is flexible and configured to bend at a point where it is pressed by the swimmer's touch, and the pressure of the gas inside the bag changes due to the bending. detecting the touch when the sensor signal processing unit detects a signal voltage exceeding a predetermined reference voltage; Touch detection device for competitive swimming. (Appendix 2) The bag is tubular. 2. The touch detection device for competitive swimming according to claim 1. (Appendix 3) The bag body is formed so that a straight portion and a bent portion that is bent in a plan view are continuous. 3. The touch detection device for competitive swimming according to claim 2. (Appendix 4) Flexible sheet member Furthermore, The bag body is connected to the sheet member and is touched by the swimmer via the sheet member. 4. A touch detection device for competitive swimming according to claim 2 or 3. (Appendix 5) One or more through holes are formed in the sheet member. 5. The touch detection device for competitive swimming according to claim 4. (Appendix 6) A restricting portion that restricts expansion of the length in the thickness direction is provided inside the bag body. 6. A touch detection device for competitive swimming according to any one of appendix 1 to 5. (Appendix 7) The restricting portion is bendable in the thickness direction of the bag body. 7. A touch detection device for competitive swimming according to claim 6. (Appendix 8) The regulating portion has a strength sufficient to maintain the internal space even when the external water pressure is higher than the internal gas pressure to a certain extent. 8. The touch detection device for competitive swimming according to claim 7. (Appendix 9) A plurality of the sensor units are provided, a correction unit that generates correction information for correcting the time of the touch based on a difference between the detection times of the sensors; 8. A touch detection device for competitive swimming according to any one of appendixes 1 to 7. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 11-14 Touch detection device for competitive swimming 1 board 2,6 bag body 3 Pressure Sensor 4. Sensor signal processing section 5 Support material 7 Sheet material 21 Low-pass filter 22 High-pass filter 23 Comparison section 24 Output section 30 Sensor signal correction unit 31 Sensor signal processing unit 32 Microcomputer 33 Output section 100 Wall

Claims

1. a bag body provided in the competitive swimming pool and filled with gas; a sensor section connected to the bag body and converting a pressure change of the gas inside the bag body into an electric signal; and, a sensor signal processing unit that processes the electrical signal output from the sensor unit after passing it through a high-pass filter whose lower limit frequency of the pass band is set to 0.01 Hz or less, and detects a signal voltage; Equipped with The bag is flexible and configured to bend at a point where it is pressed by the swimmer's touch, and the pressure of the gas inside the bag changes due to the bending. detecting the touch when the sensor signal processing unit detects a signal voltage exceeding a predetermined reference voltage; Touch detection device for competitive swimming.

2. The bag is made of a material strong enough to maintain the internal space even if the external pressure increases by 0.5 atmospheres. The touch detection device for competitive swimming according to claim 1.

Images