Floor plan model of a building for the visually impaired
The floor plan model facilitates tactile understanding of building layouts through three-dimensional components and braille labels, addressing the challenge of spatial awareness for visually impaired individuals and reducing collision risks.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- HACHINOHE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
- Filing Date
- 2024-10-09
- Publication Date
- 2026-04-21
AI Technical Summary
Visually impaired individuals face difficulties in grasping the interior decoration and flow line of buildings, leading to increased accident risks such as collisions.
A floor plan model comprising a base material with three-dimensional members representing exterior and interior walls, differentiated by thickness and material, and incorporating braille labels for tactile perception and scale rods for size reference, allowing tactile exploration of building layouts.
Enables visually impaired individuals to understand and navigate building interiors through tactile interaction, reducing accident risks by enhancing spatial awareness.
Smart Images
Figure 2026067712000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a floor plan model of a building for visually impaired persons.
Background Art
[0002] In recent years, the aging and declining birthrate of visually impaired persons have been progressing. In particular, in Japan, the number of people who have become blind midway due to the effects of glaucoma, cataracts, etc. is on the increase. With the increasing trend of elderly visually impaired persons, there are concerns about accidents such as collisions in the residences of visually impaired persons.
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0003] When designing a residence for a visually impaired person, in order to reduce accidents such as collisions in the residence, it is important for the visually impaired person to grasp the interior decoration of rooms, corridors, etc. in the building that is the residence and consider the flow line. However, it is difficult for visually impaired persons to grasp the interior decoration based on the conventional floor plan of a building.
[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a floor plan model of a building for visually impaired persons that is suitable for visually impaired persons to grasp the interior decoration of a building.
Means for Solving the Problems
[0005] The present invention provides a floor plan model of a building for visually impaired persons, comprising a base material on which a floor plan of a building is depicted, and three-dimensional members including outer members and inner members provided so as to conform to the floor plan and extend in a direction perpendicular to the base material, wherein a plurality of spaces existing in the building are defined by the three-dimensional members (Invention 1).
[0006] According to such an invention (Invention 1), a visually impaired person can grasp the interior decoration of rooms, corridors, etc. in a building by touching the three-dimensional members with fingers. Therefore, the visually impaired person can consider the flow line in the building based on the grasped interior decoration.
[0007] The above invention (Invention 1) may have a scale of 1 / 25 or more of the actual dimensions of the building (Invention 2).
[0008] According to this invention (Invention 2), it is easier to realize living rooms and corridors in a floor plan model that are sized to be easily traced by visually impaired people with their fingers. Therefore, visually impaired people can better understand the interior of living rooms, corridors, and other areas within a building.
[0009] The above inventions (Inventions 1 and 2) further include a scale rod for determining the scale of the plan view model, wherein the scale rod may have a height equivalent to the standard human height in the plan view model (Invention 3).
[0010] According to this invention (Invention 3), visually impaired individuals can determine the standard human height in a floor plan model by touching the scale rod with their fingers. As a result, visually impaired individuals can more easily understand the interior of rooms, corridors, and other areas within a building.
[0011] In the above inventions (Inventions 1-3), the plurality of spaces may include a corridor, and the corridor may have a width that allows the fingers of a visually impaired person to pass through (Invention 4).
[0012] According to this invention (Invention 4), visually impaired persons can trace the corridors inside a building with their fingers. Therefore, visually impaired persons can more easily understand the corridors inside a building.
[0013] In the above inventions (Inventions 1-4), the thickness of the outer member and the thickness of the inner member may be different (Invention 5).
[0014] According to this invention (Invention 5), a visually impaired person can easily determine which is the outer member and which is the inner member by touching them with their fingers.
[0015] In the above inventions (Inventions 1-5), the height of the inner member may be in the range of 4 mm to 6 mm (Invention 6).
[0016] In conventional interior models, the exterior and interior walls have heights based on actual dimensions. Therefore, for visually impaired people, the interior walls themselves can be an obstruction, making it difficult to touch rooms and corridors with their fingers. According to this invention (Invention 6), the height of the interior members is not too high, so the interior members themselves do not hinder touching rooms and corridors with their fingers as much. Therefore, visually impaired people can better understand the rooms and corridors within a building.
[0017] The above inventions (inventions 1-6) further include a floor member provided in accordance with the plan view and superimposed on the base material, and the floor member may be made of a different material for each of the multiple spaces (invention 7).
[0018] According to this invention (Invention 7), a visually impaired person can perceive differences between multiple spaces by the difference in tactile sensation of floor materials when touched with their fingers.
[0019] The above inventions (inventions 1-6) further include a floor member provided on top of the base material as shown in the plan view, and the floor member having a different thickness may be used for each of the plurality of spaces (invention 8).
[0020] According to this invention (Invention 8), a visually impaired person can perceive differences between multiple spaces by feeling the difference in the thickness of floor materials with their fingers.
[0021] The above inventions (inventions 1-8) may further include braille labels provided in each of the plurality of spaces and on which information for each space is stamped (invention 9).
[0022] According to this invention (Invention 9), visually impaired persons can grasp information such as the name of each space by touching the braille labels with their fingers. [Effects of the Invention]
[0023] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a floor plan model of a building for visually impaired persons suitable for visually impaired persons to grasp the interior decoration of a building.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0024] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of a floor plan model of a building for visually impaired persons according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view (photograph) showing an example of a floor plan model of a building for visually impaired persons according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
[0025] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. The present invention is not limited only to the embodiments described below, and the described embodiments are merely examples for explaining the technical features of the present invention. The shapes and dimensions shown in each drawing are merely shown to facilitate understanding of the content of the present invention, and do not correctly reflect the actual shapes and dimensions.
[0026] FIG.1 is a plan view showing an example of a floor plan model of a building for visually impaired persons according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.2 is a perspective view (photograph) showing an example of a floor plan model of a building for visually impaired persons according to an embodiment of the present invention. The floor plan model 100 of a building for visually impaired persons (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as the floor plan model 100) includes a base material 10 on which a floor plan 11 of the building is depicted, and a three-dimensional member 20 including an outer member 21 and an inner member 22 provided so as to extend in accordance with the floor plan 11 and in a direction perpendicular to the base material 10. A plurality of spaces existing in the building are defined by the three-dimensional member 20.
[0027] The exterior members 21 include the building's exterior walls, doors and windows located flush with the exterior walls, and other members that define the building's outer edge. The interior members 22 include the building's interior walls, doors and windows located flush with the interior walls. The multiple spaces defined by the three-dimensional members 20 include living rooms, corridors, and the like. Examples of living rooms include the master bedroom, Western-style room, living room / dining room / kitchen, and Japanese-style room, as illustrated in Figure 1.
[0028] For visually impaired individuals, it is difficult to understand the interior of a building, such as rooms and corridors, based on conventional floor plans. However, with the floor plan model 100 in this embodiment, visually impaired individuals can understand the interior of a building, such as rooms and corridors, by touching the three-dimensional components 20 with their fingers. Specifically, the interior includes the configuration, positional relationships, and size of rooms and corridors. Therefore, visually impaired individuals can consider the flow of movement within the building based on the understood interior. This makes it possible to design buildings for visually impaired individuals that are suitable for reducing accidents such as collisions within the building.
[0029] The floor plan model 100 may have a scale of 1 / 25 or greater of the actual dimensions of the building.
[0030] Conventional interior models are made to a scale of 1 / 50 or 1 / 100 of the actual building dimensions. However, interior models with such scales have the drawback of being too small for visually impaired people to feel and understand the interior of rooms and corridors within a building. If the floor plan model 100 has a scale of 1 / 25 of the actual building dimensions, it is easier to realize rooms and corridors that are sized to be easily traced by the fingers. Therefore, visually impaired people can better understand the interior of rooms and corridors within a building.
[0031] The floor plan model 100 may have a scale of 1 / 25 of the actual dimensions of the building. There is no particular upper limit to the scale of the floor plan model 100. Considering ease of handling, the upper limit to the scale of the floor plan model 100 is, for example, 1 / 20.
[0032] The plan model 100 may further include a scale bar 30 for determining the scale of the plan model 100. The scale bar 30 may have a height equivalent to the standard human height in the plan model 100, for example.
[0033] If the floor plan model 100 is equipped with a scale rod 30, visually impaired individuals can determine the standard height of a person in the floor plan model 100 by touching the scale rod 30 with their fingers. Therefore, visually impaired individuals can more easily understand the interior of rooms, corridors, and other areas within a building by touching the scale rod 30 with their fingers and then touching the three-dimensional components 20 with their fingers.
[0034] The scale bar 30 is erected, for example, on the base material 10. The height of the scale bar 30 is set appropriately according to the scale of the plan model 100. For example, if the plan model 100 has a scale of 1 / 25 of the actual dimensions of the building, the height of the scale bar 30 is in the range of 60 mm to 68 mm. This corresponds to the average height of a person being between 150 cm and 170 cm.
[0035] In the example shown in Figure 1, the scale bar 30 is located near the entrance of the building. However, the location of the scale bar 30 is not limited to the example in Figure 1. In addition to being near the entrance of the building, the scale bar 30 may also be located in various spaces.
[0036] As described above, the multiple spaces defined by the three-dimensional member 20 include living rooms, corridors, etc. Examples of living rooms include the master bedroom, Western-style room, living room / dining room / kitchen, and Japanese-style room, as illustrated in Figure 1. In the floor plan model 100, the corridor may have a width that allows the fingers of a visually impaired person to pass through.
[0037] In the floor plan model 100, if the corridor is wide enough for the fingers of a visually impaired person to pass through, the visually impaired person can trace the corridor inside the building with their fingers. Therefore, the visually impaired person can better understand the corridors inside the building.
[0038] The width of the corridor in the floor plan model 100 is set appropriately according to the scale of the floor plan model 100. For example, if the floor plan model 100 has a scale of 1 / 25 of the actual dimensions of the building, the width of the corridor will be in the range of 30 mm to 48 mm.
[0039] In the plan view model 100, the thickness of the outer member 21 and the thickness of the inner member 22 may be different. With such a configuration, a visually impaired person can easily determine which is the outer member 21 and which is the inner member 22 by touching them with their fingers.
[0040] More specifically, as shown in Figure 1, the thickness of the outer wall of the outer member 21, excluding doors and windows, may be different from the thickness of the inner wall of the inner member 22, excluding doors and windows. With such a configuration, visually impaired persons can easily determine which is an outer wall and which is an inner wall by touching them with their fingers. This also makes it easy to identify doors and windows located between outer walls, and doors and windows located between inner walls.
[0041] As shown in Figure 1, the thickness of the outer member 21 may be greater than the thickness of the inner member 22. In this case, the thicknesses of the outer member 21 and the inner member 22 may be set according to the scale of the plan view model 100. For example, the thickness of the outer member 21 may be in the range of 4 mm to 5 mm, and the thickness of the inner member 22 may be in the range of 2 mm to 3 mm.
[0042] Although not shown in the diagram, the thickness of the outer member 21 may be less than the thickness of the inner member 22.
[0043] In the plan view model 100, the height of the inner member 22 may be in the range of 4 mm to 6 mm.
[0044] In conventional building interior models, the exterior and interior walls have heights based on actual dimensions. Therefore, for visually impaired people, the interior walls themselves can be an obstruction, making it difficult to touch rooms and corridors with their fingers. In contrast, if the height of the interior members 22 is in the range of 4 mm to 6 mm, the height of the interior members 22 is not too high, so the interior members 22 themselves do not obstruct the ability to touch rooms and corridors with their fingers. As a result, visually impaired people can better understand the rooms and corridors within a building.
[0045] The height of the inner member 22 may be 5 mm.
[0046] In the plan model 100, the height of the outer member 21 may be based on actual dimensions. With this configuration, visually impaired persons can easily determine the position and size of doors and windows included in the outer member 21 by touching them with their fingers.
[0047] The plan view model 100 may further include a floor member 40 that is provided in accordance with the plan view 11 and superimposed on the base material 10.
[0048] Floor members 40 made of different materials may be used in each of the multiple spaces. With such a configuration, visually impaired persons can perceive the differences between the multiple spaces by the differences in the tactile sensation of the floor members 40 when touched with their fingers.
[0049] In the example shown in Figure 1, different floor materials 40 are used in each of the multiple spaces, such as the master bedroom, Western-style room, living room / dining room / kitchen (LDK), and Japanese-style room. Therefore, visually impaired individuals can distinguish between the master bedroom, Western-style room, LDK, and Japanese-style room by the difference in tactile sensation of the floor materials 40 when touched with their fingers.
[0050] Examples of floor members 40 made of different materials include sheet members with different embossing processes, sheet members with different surface roughness, and sheet members with different elasticity.
[0051] Although not shown in the diagram, floor members 40 with different thicknesses may be used for each of the multiple spaces. With such a configuration, visually impaired persons can perceive the differences between the multiple spaces by feeling the difference in thickness of the floor members 40 with their fingers.
[0052] Examples of floor members 40 having different thicknesses include floor members 40 with thickness differences of approximately 3 mm to 5 mm. For example, by using floor members 40 with different thicknesses in adjacent spaces, these spaces can be distinguished more effectively.
[0053] The plan model 100 may further include braille labels in each of the multiple spaces, on which information about each space is imprinted. With this configuration, visually impaired persons can grasp information such as the name of each space by touching the braille labels with their fingers.
[0054] Braille labels are placed, for example, within each space. The information stamped on the braille labels includes, for example, the name of the space, the names of facilities such as toilets and kitchens, the names of storage areas, and the area of the space.
[0055] Although not shown in the illustration, the plan view model 100 may further include a removable roof member that covers the upper part of the three-dimensional member 20. With such a configuration, a visually impaired person can grasp the overall shape of the building by touching the roof member with their fingers, and then remove the roof member to grasp the interior of the building, such as living rooms and corridors.
[0056] The material used to form the plan model 100 is not particularly limited. For example, paper, plastic, polystyrene foam, wood, etc., can be used as the material for forming the plan model 100. The base material 10, three-dimensional members 20, scale rods 30, floor members 40, and roof members may each be made of different materials.
[0057] The floor plan model of a building for the visually impaired according to the present invention has been described above based on the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible. For example, three-dimensional members corresponding to installable furniture, etc., may be further arranged in each space of the floor plan model 100. [Explanation of symbols]
[0058] 100 Plan Model 10 Base material 11. Floor plan 20 Three-dimensional components 21 Outer member 22 Inner member 30 scale rod 40 Floor components
Claims
1. A base material on which a floor plan of the building is drawn, A three-dimensional member including an outer member and an inner member provided in accordance with the plan view and extending perpendicularly to the base material, Equipped with, Multiple spaces within the building are defined by the aforementioned three-dimensional member. A floor plan model of a building designed for the visually impaired.
2. A scale of 1 / 25 or more of the actual dimensions of the aforementioned building, A floor plan model of a building for the visually impaired, as described in claim 1.
3. The aforementioned plan view model is further equipped with a scale bar for determining the scale, The scale rod has a height equivalent to the standard human height in the plan view model. A floor plan model of a building for the visually impaired, as described in claim 1.
4. The aforementioned multiple spaces include corridors, The aforementioned corridor has a width that allows the fingers of a visually impaired person to pass through. A floor plan model of a building for the visually impaired, as described in claim 1.
5. The thickness of the outer member and the thickness of the inner member are different. A floor plan model of a building for the visually impaired, as described in claim 1.
6. The height of the inner member is in the range of 4 mm to 6 mm. A floor plan model of a building for the visually impaired, as described in claim 1.
7. The floor member is further provided in accordance with the above plan view and superimposed on the base material, Each of the aforementioned multiple spaces is provided with a floor member made of a different material. A floor plan model of a building for the visually impaired, as described in claim 1.
8. The floor member is further provided in accordance with the above plan view and superimposed on the base material, Each of the aforementioned multiple spaces is used with the floor member having a different thickness. A floor plan model of a building for the visually impaired, as described in claim 1.
9. Each of the aforementioned multiple spaces is provided with a braille label on which information about each space is stamped, A floor plan model of a building for the visually impaired, as described in claim 1.