Kick Sensor Performance Evaluation Fixture

Abstract

To provide a kick sensor performance evaluation jig capable of obtaining highly accurate evaluation results by controlling the upward angle and the speed of a kick motion while obtaining the same results as when a person kicks in the performance evaluation of the kick sensor mounted on vehicles.SOLUTION: The kick sensor performance evaluation jig includes: a support machine frame; a drive source supported by the support machine frame; a foot body arranged so as to swing back and forth by the power of the drive source; a foot part provided rotatably in the lower part of the foot body; a connection arm constituting a link mechanism together with the foot body; and an interlocking mechanism that changes the angle of the foot with respect to the foot body as the foot body swings.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a kick sensor performance evaluation jig for evaluating the performance of a capacitive kick sensor.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, when evaluating the performance of a capacitive kick sensor, an operator actually performs a kicking motion for performance evaluation. However, in order for an operator to actually perform a kicking motion, it requires a great deal of labor and time, and furthermore, it is not always possible to perform a consistent motion, so there may be variations in the evaluation results.

[0003] Therefore, in recent years, an evaluation jig has been used that can evaluate the performance of a kick sensor without an operator performing a kicking motion by swinging a jig imitating a human foot back and forth in a pendulum manner.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, the above-described conventional evaluation jig enables object detection of a kick sensor by a pendulum motion, but it does not imitate the movement of a human foot, and there is a risk of performing an evaluation different from the reaction when actually used by a human.

[0005] In addition, the kick sensor to be evaluated is a capacitive type that detects a change in capacitance. The change in capacitance when the jig is operated in a pendulum manner is different from the change in capacitance when a human actually performs a kicking motion, so the evaluation accuracy is not sufficient.

[0006] In addition, in the conventional evaluation jig, since an operator manually rotates it upward as the initial motion of the pendulum motion, although the trajectory of the jig is constant, it is difficult to make the speed constant every time, and there is a risk of variation in the reaction of the sensor.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a kick sensor performance evaluation jig capable of accurately evaluating the performance of a kick sensor.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] In order to solve the above conventional problems, it is characterized by comprising a support frame, a drive source supported by the support frame, a leg main body portion provided so as to be swingable back and forth by the power of the drive source, a foot portion rotatably provided at the lower portion of the leg main body portion, a connecting arm constituting a link mechanism together with the leg main body portion, and an interlocking mechanism for changing the angle of the foot portion with respect to the leg main body portion as the leg main body portion swings.

[0009] Further, the interlocking mechanism is characterized by comprising a first rotating body that rotates by a pivot provided at a connecting portion between the leg main body portion and the connecting arm, a second rotating body that rotates by a pivot provided at a connecting portion between the leg main body portion and the foot portion, and an endless interlocking belt suspended between the first rotating body and the second rotating body.

[0010] Further, at least one of the leg main body portion and the foot portion is characterized by being covered with a dummy foot cover imitating a human foot.

[0011] Further, in order to correct the capacitance detected by the kick sensor, it is characterized by including a capacitor that reproduces the capacitance of a human with respect to the ground.

[0012] Further, it is characterized by including a control device capable of electrically controlling the power of the drive source.

Effects of the Invention

[0013] According to the invention described in claim 1, by swinging the leg main body portion back and forth by the power from the drive source to reproduce the kicking operation, the manual swinging operation of the jig performed during the conventional performance evaluation becomes unnecessary, and the kicking operation can be reproduced at a constant speed, enabling a more accurate performance evaluation of the kick sensor.

[0014] Further, according to the inventions of claim 1 and claim 2, by changing the angle of the foot portion with respect to the leg main body portion in conjunction with the swinging of the leg main body portion by the interlocking mechanism, it is possible to reproduce the rotation of the ankle that occurs when a person actually performs a kicking motion, that is, the extension motion of the toe tip, and it is possible to perform a more accurate performance evaluation of the kick sensor.

[0015] According to the invention described in claim 3, by covering at least one of the leg main body portion and the foot portion with a dummy foot cover imitating a human foot and approximating the area of the kick sensor performance evaluation jig detected by the kick sensor to the area of a human foot, it is possible to reproduce the change in capacitance when a person actually performs a kicking motion, and it is possible to obtain equivalent results.

[0016] The capacitance detected by the kick sensor includes, in addition to the capacitance that changes between the kick sensor and the foot when a person actually performs a kicking motion, the capacitance of the person with respect to the ground. According to the invention described in claim 4, by providing a capacitor that reproduces the capacitance of the person with respect to the ground described above in the kick sensor performance evaluation jig and performing correction, a state equivalent to the case when a person actually performs a kicking motion is reproduced, and a more accurate performance evaluation of the kick sensor can be performed.

[0017] According to the invention described in claim 5, the operation of the kick sensor performance evaluation jig can be electrically controlled, and the angle of lifting and the speed of lifting in the kicking motion can be freely changed, enabling an evaluation of whether the sensitivity adjustment (determination of whether it is a kicking motion) of the sensor is accurate.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0019] The gist of this invention is that, when evaluating the performance of a capacitance-type kick sensor that detects changes in capacitance, by reproducing the raising and lowering of the leg and the extension of the toe (ankle rotation operation) when the leg is raised, which are the operations when a person actually performs a kicking operation, it is possible to perform a more accurate performance evaluation compared to a conventional simple pendulum-type jig.

[0020] In addition, the change in capacitance detected by the kick sensor becomes a larger value as an object approaches the sensor. That is, the detected capacitance changes according to the area of the object that has entered the detection range of the kick sensor. Therefore, the kick sensor performance evaluation jig is also characterized in that by covering it with a dummy foot cover that mimics a human foot, it can reproduce the change in capacitance that occurs between the kick sensor and a human foot when a person actually performs a kicking operation towards the kick sensor.

[0021] In addition, when a person actually performs a kicking motion, the value of the capacitance of the person with respect to the ground, apart from the capacitance generated between the kicking sensor and the foot described above, also greatly affects the response of the kicking sensor. Therefore, it is also characterized in that a capacitor that reproduces the capacitance of the person with respect to the ground is provided, and the capacitance generated in the kicking sensor performance evaluation jig is corrected to reduce the error when a person actually performs a kicking motion.

[0022] Also, when actually evaluating the performance of the kicking sensor, by changing various conditions such as the angle of leg lifting and the time required for a series of kicking motions, the performance evaluation of the kicking sensor itself and the determination of whether the opening and closing instructions for the door are correctly set are performed. Therefore, it is also characterized in that by electrically controlling the power of the drive source, the lifting angle and the lifting speed can be mechanically changed and the same conditions can be repeated.

[0023] [1. Configuration of the kicking sensor performance evaluation jig] The configuration of the kicking sensor performance evaluation jig according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the embodiment of the present invention, the case where the kicking sensor performance evaluation jig according to the present invention is used for evaluating the performance of a kicking sensor provided under the rear bumper of an automobile will be described as an example. However, the evaluation target by the kicking sensor performance evaluation jig according to the present invention is not limited to the kicking sensor provided under the rear bumper of an automobile, and for example, any device that uses a capacitance-type sensor such as a kicking sensor provided under the side of an automobile to detect the opening and closing of a side door and detects a kicking motion may be used.

[0024] Reference numeral S shown in FIG. 1 indicates a kicking sensor, and reference numeral V indicates a vehicle equipped with the kicking sensor S. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M according to this embodiment mainly includes a support frame 100 installed on the ground G, a drive source 210 supported by the support frame 100, a leg body portion 310 provided in a state where it can swing back and forth by the power of the drive source 210, a foot portion 320 rotatably provided at the lower portion of the leg body portion 310, a connecting arm that constitutes a link mechanism L together with the leg body portion 310, and an interlocking mechanism 500 that changes the angle of the foot portion 320 with respect to the leg body portion 310 as the leg body portion 310 swings. Hereinafter, the direction of the kicking operation, that is, with the toe side of the foot portion 320 (FIGS. 1 and 2(a) show left side views) as the front, will be described.

[0025] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the support frame 100 includes a base frame 110 formed by placing a square bar-shaped frame member on the ground G and forming it in a substantially U-shape in plan view, a support frame 120 formed by vertically installing a square bar-shaped frame member on the base frame 110 and forming it in a gate shape in front view, mounting brackets 130 provided at predetermined vertical intervals on both side surfaces of the support frame 120, and an assembly tool 140 that can be detachably attached to the mounting brackets 130 and enables assembly with a drive unit 200 having a drive source 210 described later.

[0026] The assembly tool 140 has side surfaces located on the left and right outer sides and upper and lower surfaces, and forms a substantially U-shape in front view by these surfaces. With the opening 141 side facing the inside (left and right inside) of the support frame 120, it is fixed to the mounting bracket 130 using bolts, nuts, etc. The left and right assembly tools 140 are provided in a state where the opening 141 sides face each other at the same height position with respect to each support column portion constituting the support frame 120. Further, in this embodiment, three mounting brackets 130 are provided at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction on both side surfaces of the support frame 120, and the assembly tool 140 is fixed to the highest mounting bracket 130 (see FIGS. 1 to 3). However, the mounting position of the assembly tool 140 can be appropriately changed according to the type of the replaceable leg unit 300 described later. In addition, although the mounting brackets 130 are configured to be provided in threes on both the left and right side surfaces of the support frame 100, it is not necessarily limited to this, and at least one or more may be provided on each side surface.

[0027] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the drive source 210 mainly constitutes a drive unit 200 together with a substantially L-shaped drive source mounting tool 220, a power transmission unit 230 that transmits the power from the drive source 210, and a transmission unit support 240 that supports the power transmission unit 230 and enables attachment to the support frame 100. The drive unit 200 receives the attachment of a leg unit 300 described later and generates power for the kicking operation performed by the leg unit 300.

[0028] The drive source mounting tool 220 is a bent plate-shaped member having a substantially L-shaped bent shape. It follows the L shape along the rectangular parallelepiped outer shape of the drive source 210 and receives the attachment of the drive source 210 composed of a motor or the like. The drive source mounting tool 220 positions one plate surface portion forming the L shape below the drive source 210 and the other plate surface portion on the left side of the drive source 210, thereby supporting the drive source 210. Further, an insertion hole (not shown) is provided in the other plate surface portion of the drive source mounting tool 220. This insertion hole is an opening for inserting the output shaft 211 for outputting the power of the drive source 210. The drive source 210 is provided in a direction in which the protruding direction of the output shaft 211 is to the left.

[0029] An output pulley 231 that rotates integrally with the output shaft 211 is provided on the end side of the output shaft 211 extending from the above-described drive source 210.

[0030] The transmission unit support 240 has left and right side walls and an upper surface portion, forming a substantially U-shape when viewed from the front, and is provided with the opening side facing downward. The transmission unit support 240 extends the left and right side walls rearward (the right direction in FIGS. 1 and 2(a)), and forms a frame attachment portion 241 (see FIG. 3) that can be inserted and attached to the opening 141 of the fixture 140 provided on the support frame 100. Specifically, the frame attachment portion 241 has a vertical dimension substantially the same as the interval between the upper and lower surface portions of the fixture 140, and is attached in a state of being inserted into the fixture 140 from the front side with the fixture 140 as a guide rail.

[0031] On the upper part of the upper surface portion of the transmission unit support 240, a drive source attachment 220 to which the drive source 210 is attached is attached and supported. Inside the U-shape of the transmission unit support 240, a drive shaft 250 having a leg unit attachment portion 251 for attaching the leg unit 300 is provided so as to be horizontally mounted.

[0032] The drive shaft 250 extends in the same direction as the output shaft 211 extending from the drive source 210, and is inserted through an insertion hole (not shown) of the transmission unit support 240 to the outside. A drive pulley 232 that rotates integrally with the drive shaft 250 is provided on the end side of the drive shaft 250.

[0033] The power transmission unit 230 includes a transmission belt 233, which is an endless interlocking belt suspended between the above-described output pulley 231 and the drive pulley 232, and the two pulleys 231, 232. The power transmission unit 230 transmits the rotational power of the output shaft 211 extending from the drive source 210 to the drive shaft 250. Specifically, the output pulley 231 rotates integrally with the output shaft 211, and transmits the rotational power to the drive pulley 232 via the transmission belt 233, thereby rotating the drive shaft 250 that is integral with the drive pulley 232.

[0034] In the present embodiment, the power transmission unit 230 is composed of two pulleys 231 and 232 and an endless belt (transmission belt 233) suspended therefrom to transmit the power from the drive source 210 to the drive shaft 250. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and for example, it may be composed of a sprocket and a chain. Also, as described above, the drive unit 200 is attached by inserting the machine frame attachment portion 241 formed on the transmission unit support 240 into the fixture 140 provided on the support machine frame 100. Thus, it is not necessary to perform a complicated operation such as tightening bolts and nuts while lifting the drive unit 200 which is relatively heavy, and it can be easily attached.

[0035] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the leg body portion 310 includes a vertically long plate-shaped upper leg portion 311 having a drive unit attachment portion 312 corresponding to the leg unit attachment portion 251 of the drive unit 200 and enabling attachment to the drive shaft 250 at the upper part, and a vertically long plate-shaped lower leg portion 313 integrally provided at the lower part of the upper leg portion 311. Further, at the joint portion of the upper leg portion 311 and the lower leg portion 313, an insertion hole (not shown) for inserting the first pivot shaft 421 provided on the connecting arm 400 described later is formed, and at the lower part of the lower leg portion 313, an insertion hole (not shown) for inserting the second pivot shaft 321 described later is formed.

[0036] The foot portion 320 is formed of a plate-shaped member having a shape imitating a human foot in a side view, and has a second pivot shaft 321 at the upper part for inserting into the insertion hole formed in the lower part of the lower leg portion 313. That is, the foot portion 320 can be attached by inserting the second pivot shaft 321 into the insertion hole of the lower leg portion 313. The foot portion 320 is rotatably supported with respect to the lower leg portion 313 by the second pivot shaft 321.

[0037] The above-mentioned leg body part 310 and the foot part 320 are combined to form a leg unit 300. The leg unit 300 is attached to the drive shaft 250 by a drive unit attachment part 312 provided at the upper part of the leg body part 310. As the drive shaft 250 rotates, the entire leg unit 300 can swing like a pendulum in the front-rear direction. For attaching the leg unit to the drive unit 200, methods such as using bolts, nuts, screws, etc. can be considered. In this embodiment, the leg unit 300 is configured to be attached to the lower part of the drive unit 200. However, as long as the leg unit 300 is swingably supported and the power from the drive source 210 can be transmitted to the leg unit 300, the attachment position, shape, etc. are not limited. Also, it is preferable to prepare a plurality of types of the leg unit 300 with different lengths of the thigh part 311 and the calf part 313. This is because there are physical differences among people who actually perform the kicking operation, and the detection results of the kick sensor S vary due to these physical differences. Therefore, for the length of the leg unit 300, a plurality of types are prepared assuming users such as the average length of Japanese men, the average length of Japanese women, the average length of American men, and the average length of American women. In practice, the performance evaluation of the kick sensor S is carried out while appropriately replacing these leg units 300.

[0038] The connecting arm 400 is composed of a vertical arm 410 rotatably provided on the rear side (the right side in FIGS. 1 and 2) of the drive unit 200, and a horizontal arm 420 rotatably provided at the lower part of the vertical arm 410 and horizontally provided with respect to the ground G. The vertical arm 410 is provided in a state of being rotatably supported by a rotation support portion 235 with respect to an arm support plate 234 installed between the rear end portions of the left and right machine frame attachment portions 241 of the drive unit 200. The rotation support 235 supports the upper end portion of the vertical arm 410 with the left - right direction as the axial direction. Further, a pivot block 411 for pivotally supporting the horizontal arm 420 is provided at the lower part of the vertical arm 410. One end of the horizontal arm 420 is rotatably connected to the vertical arm 410 by the pivot block 411 of the vertical arm 410. The horizontal arm 420 is provided with a first pivot 421 on the other end side, and is supported with respect to the leg body portion 310 in a state where the first pivot 421 is inserted into an insertion hole formed in the joint portion between the upper leg portion 311 and the lower leg portion 313 of the leg body portion 310. Therefore, the vertical arm 410 forming the connecting arm 400 is connected in parallel with the upper leg portion 311 of the leg body portion 310, and the horizontal arm 420 is connected in parallel with a line horizontal to the ground G that draws a straight line from the drive shaft 250 of the drive unit 200 to the vertical arm 410 provided on the drive unit 200. That is, the leg body portion 310 and the connecting arm 400 form a link mechanism L in which the facing sides are parallel to each other and the connecting portions of the respective sides are rotatable. The link mechanism L is configured such that the first side and the second side facing each other vertically are the machine frame attachment portion 241 and the horizontal arm 420 respectively, and the third side and the fourth side facing each other front - rear are the upper leg portion 311 and the vertical arm 410 respectively, and these first to fourth sides form a parallel link. And, in a mode where the third side by the upper leg portion 311 is extended downward, a lower leg portion 313 configured to be linear together with the upper leg portion 311 is provided.

[0039] The linkage mechanism 500 is formed by a first rotating body 510 that rotates integrally with a first pivot 421 provided on the connecting arm 400, a second rotating body 520 that rotates integrally with a second pivot 321 provided on the foot portion 320, and an endless linkage belt body 530 suspended between the two rotating bodies 510 and 520. In the figure showing this embodiment, the two rotating bodies 510 and 520 and the linkage belt body 530 constituting the linkage mechanism 500 are illustrated as a pulley and an endless belt, respectively, but are not limited thereto, and may be constituted by, for example, a sprocket and a chain. This linkage mechanism 500 has a configuration in which the linkage belt body 530 is suspended between the first rotating body 510 that rotates integrally with the first pivot 421 and the second rotating body 520 provided below the first rotating body 510. In such a configuration, the second rotating body 520 rotates following the rotation of the first rotating body 510. Further, since the second rotating body 520 is provided integrally with the second pivot 321 provided on the foot portion 320, the second pivot 321 can be rotated by the rotation of the first pivot 421 provided on the lateral arm 420 of the connecting arm 400 described above.

[0040] The above-described link mechanism L and the linkage mechanism 500 are configured to rotate the foot portion 320 in accordance with the kicking operation of the leg main body portion 310 of the leg unit 300. That is, it is possible to reproduce the extension operation of the ankle that occurs when a person actually raises the leg. Here, the kicking operation of the leg main body portion 310 is a forward rotation operation of the upper leg portion 311 and the lower leg portion 313 that rotate integrally about the drive shaft 250 as the rotation center. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 4(a), when the leg body 310 performs a kicking motion from the state before the kicking motion, due to the power from the drive source 210, when the leg body 310 performs the kicking motion, as shown in Fig. 4(b), the horizontal arm 420 of the connecting arm 400 that forms the link mechanism L together with the leg body 310 will be driven to keep parallel to the state before the motion. At this time, although the first pivot 421 does not actually rotate, it will be in a state of rotating counterclockwise in a left side view as a relative movement with the leg body 310. That is, when the leg body 310 performs a kicking motion, the drive source 210 will transmit power clockwise in a left side view. However, the clockwise rotation motion of the leg body 310 and the motion of maintaining the horizontal arm 420 of the link mechanism L parallel to the state before the motion cause a relative displacement at the first pivot 421, and as a result, the interlocking belt 530 suspended on the first rotating body 510 will be rotated counterclockwise. Then, the second rotating body 520 that suspends the interlocking belt 530 together with the first rotating body 510 is rotated counterclockwise, and by rotating the second pivot 321 integrated with the second rotating body 520, the extension motion of the ankle can be reproduced. By using such a link mechanism L and an interlocking mechanism 500, when reproducing the extension motion of the ankle accompanying the kicking motion, it can be achieved with only one drive source 210.

[0041] As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M according to this embodiment, in addition to the configuration described above, further includes a dummy foot cover 600 that imitates a human foot, a capacitor 700 for reproducing the capacitance of a human with respect to the ground G, and a control device 800 for controlling the power of the drive source 210.

[0042] Incidentally, the change in capacitance detected by the kick sensor S occurs when an object approaches or moves away from the sensor. In other words, the capacitance value changes depending on the area of the object that has entered the detection range of the sensor. Therefore, the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M can reproduce the change in capacitance that occurs between the kick sensor S and the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M when a person performs a kicking motion by attaching a dummy foot cover 600 that mimics a human foot to the leg unit 300 that performs the kicking motion.

[0043] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the dummy foot cover 600 can reproduce the area and shape of a human foot by covering a part of the lower leg portion 313 and the entire foot portion 320. As shown in FIG. 5, the dummy foot cover 600 includes a lower leg cover 610 that covers the lower leg portion 313 and a foot cover 620 that covers the foot portion 320. The lower leg cover 610 and the foot cover 620 each have a shape mimicking the corresponding part of the human body, and are formed of a non-electrically conductive resin material as a cover body 601. An electrically conductive film 602 is attached to the front side of the cover body 601.

[0044] The lower leg cover 610 is a substantially semi-cylindrical cover member having a shin-shaped configuration with the rear side and both upper and lower sides being open sides. The lower leg cover 610 is attached to the lower leg portion 313 so as to cover the front side and both left and right sides of the lower leg portion 313. The foot cover 620 is a cover member having a shoe-shaped configuration with the rear side and the upper side being open sides. The foot cover 620 is attached to the foot portion 320 so as to cover the front side, the upper side, and both left and right sides of the foot portion 320. The lower leg cover 610 and the foot cover 620 are attached to the lower leg portion 313 or the foot portion 320 in a fixed state by an appropriate method such as attachment with an adhesive tape or fixation with a fixture such as a bolt.

[0045] By attaching the dummy foot cover 600 to the leg unit 300, the foot portion 320 and the lower half of the lower leg portion 313 that will be detected by the kick sensor S, that is, the portion corresponding to the toe to the shin of a human foot, are made to have a shape mimicking an actual human foot, thereby reproducing the change in capacitance that occurs between the kick sensor S and the foot during a kicking motion.

[0046] In this embodiment, the dummy foot cover 600 is configured to cover the lower half of the lower leg portion 313 and the entire foot portion 320. However, it may also be configured to cover the entire leg unit or only the portion corresponding to the detection range of the kick sensor S. Further, the lower leg cover 610 and the foot cover 620 may form the dummy foot cover 600 as an integral cover body with each other. Also, a configuration in which the leg unit 300 and the dummy foot cover 600 are integrated is also conceivable.

[0047] As described above, by covering the leg unit 300 with the dummy foot cover 600, the capacitance generated between the kick sensor S and the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M can be reproduced. However, when a person actually performs a kick motion toward the kick sensor S, the capacitance of the person with respect to the ground G also affects the detection of the kick sensor S. That is, there may be a difference in the capacitance detected by the kick sensor S when a person actually performs a kick motion, based only on the change in capacitance generated between the kick sensor S and the person's foot reproduced by covering the leg unit 300 with the dummy foot cover 600. Therefore, the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M according to this embodiment includes a capacitor 700 that reproduces the capacitance of a person with respect to the ground G, thereby correcting the capacitance detected by the kick sensor S and enabling more reliable performance evaluation of the kick sensor S. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6(a), when a person P standing on the ground G performs a kick motion toward the kick sensor S, in addition to the capacitance Ca generated between the person and the kick sensor S, there is a capacitance Cb of the person with respect to the ground G. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6(b), the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M according to this embodiment reproduces the capacitance Ca generated between the person's foot and the kick sensor S by the configuration that reproduces the above-described kick motion of the person and the dummy foot cover 600 that mimics the person's foot. Further, with respect to the capacitance Cb of the person P with respect to the ground G, the capacitance Cb is reproduced by providing the capacitor 700 in the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M. In this way, the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M includes a capacitor 700 for correcting the capacitance detected by the kick sensor S.

[0048] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the capacitor 700 is attached to the support frame 100 and is connected to the electrically conductive film 602 of the pseudo-foot cover 600 by electrical wiring (not shown). At this time, since the pseudo-foot cover 600 described above is formed of a non-electrically conductive resin, it can be electrically separated from the leg main body portion 310, and is not affected by the drive source 210 or the control device 800 to be described later. Thus, the capacitance of a person with respect to the ground G can surely flow to the electrically conductive film 602 attached to the front surface of the pseudo-foot cover 600. That is, the pseudo-foot cover 600 can electrically separate the capacitor 700 and the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M. As shown in FIG. 6(b), the capacitance detected by the kick sensor S can be made only the capacitance Ca generated between the kick sensor S and the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M and the capacitance Cb of a person with respect to the ground reproduced by the capacitor 700. Thereby, the evaluation accuracy of the kick sensor S by the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M can be improved.

[0049] In the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M according to the present embodiment, the capacitor 700 is provided on the support frame 120 (right side in the front view) of the support frame 100. However, the location where the capacitor 700 is provided is not limited to this, and it may be provided anywhere as long as it does not interfere with the kicking operation.

[0050] In order to correctly evaluate the performance of the kick sensor S, the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M needs to perform the same kicking operation repeatedly. Furthermore, by controlling the time related to the kicking operation and the upward swing angle of the leg main body portion 310, more reliable performance evaluation can be performed. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M according to the present embodiment is provided with a control device 800 above the drive unit 200.

[0051] The control device 800 includes a plurality of operation units 810 that turn on / off the power of the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M and perform operations such as changing the angle and speed, and a display unit 820 that checks the set state by the operation unit 810. The control device 800 has a configuration in which, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) as an arithmetic processing device that executes various arithmetic processes and controls, storage devices such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a ROM (Read Only Memory), input / output devices such as an input / output interface for data input / output, and peripheral circuits such as a clock circuit are connected by a bus or the like. The CPU of the control device 800 performs arithmetic processing according to various programs stored in a ROM or the like. By including the control device 800, the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M controls the power of the drive source 210 to repeatedly perform a certain kick operation, and can control the lifting angle of the kick operation performed by the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M and the speed related to a series of kick operations.

[0052] In the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M according to the present embodiment, the control device 800 is provided on the upper part of the drive unit 200, but is not limited thereto, and may be provided on the support frame 120, for example. Further, the control device 800 only needs to be able to control the operation of the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M and check its control state, and the operation unit 810 and the display unit 820 do not necessarily need to be provided in the same place. For example, the operation unit 810 may be provided on the support frame 120, and the display unit 820 may be provided as software in a computer that displays the result of the performance evaluation.

[0053] [2. About the method for evaluating the performance of the kick sensor] Next, a method for evaluating the performance of the kick sensor using the kick sensor performance evaluation jig according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The method for evaluating the performance of the kick sensor described below is performed by the CPU of the control device 800 reading and executing a predetermined control program stored in a storage device such as a RAM.

[0054] The vertical axis of the graphs shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 represents the capacitance C, and the horizontal axis represents the time T. C1 represents the threshold value of the capacitance C preset for the kick sensor S, and T1 represents the threshold value of the time T preset for the kick sensor S. Also, C2 represents the upper limit value that reacts when it is assumed that the object detected by the kick sensor S is a human foot, and T2 represents the second threshold value provided to exclude operations faster than the fastest time from lifting to lowering the foot when the operation detected by the kick sensor S is assumed to be a kick operation.

[0055] The threshold value C1 of the capacitance C is a certain preset value. The control device 800 determines whether the approaching object is a human foot based on whether the detected capacitance C exceeds the threshold value C1 of the capacitance C. Specifically, the value of the capacitance C detected by the kick sensor S is displaced by the area of the object, and as the object approaches the kick sensor S, the area detected by the sensor becomes relatively large, and accordingly the value of the capacitance C becomes large. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7(b), an object with a value below the threshold value C1 of the capacitance C can be determined to be smaller than the area of a human foot. For example, it can be determined that an animal such as a cat or a small dog or a ball has approached and that it is not a human foot, that is, it is not a human kick operation.

[0056] Also, when the value of the capacitance C is below the threshold value C1, it is possible that the distance between the kick sensor S and the object is far. In this case, as described above, the area detected by the sensor becomes relatively small when the distance from the kick sensor S is far, and even an object having the same area as a human foot is not detected as a human kick operation. This is not simply to give an instruction to open or close the door only when a kicking motion is made at a certain distance, but it has the effect of making it possible to evaluate the detection range of the kick sensor S. Specifically, by gradually moving away from the kick sensor S the object whose detection is normally performed and its motion at the position where a kicking motion would be made to normally open or close the door, it is possible to determine up to what distance accurate detection can be performed. That is, it makes it possible to determine whether the detection range of the kick sensor S is accurately within a predetermined range.

[0057] The threshold value T1 of the time T is set as a range from the detection start time Ta detected exceeding the value of the threshold value C1 of the capacitance C to a reference time Tb which is a certain time. After the kick sensor S detects a value exceeding the threshold value C1 of the capacitance C, by determining whether it then falls below the threshold value C1 of the capacitance C within the threshold value T1 of the time T, it is possible to determine whether a series of operations is a kicking motion. Specifically, by setting the threshold value T1 of the time T, as shown in FIG. 7(a), when the detection end time Tc at which the capacitance C falls below the threshold value C1 is within the reference time Tb, that is, within the threshold value T1 of the time T, from the detection start time Ta at which the capacitance C exceeds the threshold value C1, the control device 800 determines the detected motion as a kicking motion and gives an instruction to open or close the door. Also, by setting the threshold value T1 of the time T, it is possible to prevent false detection when the foot is within the detection range of the kick sensor S when loading or unloading luggage on the loading platform, or when there is an obstacle under the sensor. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7(c), when the detection end time Tc at which the capacitance C falls below the threshold value C1 is detected to be longer than the reference time Tb from the detection start time Ta at which the capacitance C exceeds the threshold value C1, it can be determined that the operation has not been completed within the threshold value T1 of the time T, and it can be determined that the detected operation is not a kicking motion and the door is not opened or closed.

[0058] In addition to the threshold value C1, an upper limit value C2 can be set in advance for the value of the capacitance C. This upper limit value C2 is a value for determining with higher accuracy whether the object detected by the kick sensor S is a human foot. That is, as shown in Fig. 8(a), when the capacitance C exceeding the upper limit value C2 is detected, it is determined that an object with an area larger than that of a human foot is detected, and false detection can be prevented by not issuing an instruction to open or close the door. Also, setting the upper limit value C2 also helps prevent the kicking up of the foot during the kick operation from being too large and actually kicking the vehicle body. That is, when an object with an area equivalent to that of a human foot approaches the kick sensor S, by setting the distance between the object and the sensor in advance as the upper limit value C2, the distance at which the object may come into contact can be excluded, and the risk of accidentally kicking the vehicle body during the actual kick operation can be minimized.

[0059] In addition to the threshold value T1 of this time T, the elapsed time up to the fastest time Td can be set in advance as a second threshold value T2. This second threshold value T2 is for determining whether the detection end time Tc is detected as longer than the fastest time Td. An operation in which the time during which a value exceeding the threshold value C1 of the capacitance C is detected falls within T2 is determined not to be a kick operation because the movement is too fast. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 8(b), when the detection end time Tc at which the capacitance C falls below the threshold value C1 after the detection start time Ta at which the capacitance C exceeds the threshold value C1 is shorter than the second threshold value T2, that is, when the detection end time Tc is shorter than the fastest time Td, the control device 800 determines that it is not a kick operation. By setting the second threshold value T2 in this way, it is possible to prevent accidentally opening or closing the door when an unexpected obstacle passes through the detection range of the kick sensor S.

[0060] The kick sensor performance evaluation jig M evaluates whether the detection range of the kick sensor S described above is correctly set, and also checks whether the setting of the threshold value C1 of the capacitance C and the threshold value T1 of the time T (including this value if the upper limit value C2 of the capacitance C and the second threshold value T2 of the time T are set) is correctly performed and conducts a performance evaluation.

[0061] As described above, the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M reproduces the area of an actual human foot by attaching a pseudo-foot cover 600 that mimics a human foot to the leg unit 300. In addition, the capacitance of a human with respect to the ground G that occurs when a person standing upright on the ground G performs a kicking motion is reproduced by a capacitor 700 and transmitted to the electrically conductive film 602 provided on the pseudo-foot cover 600, so that the change in capacitance during a human kicking motion can be more reliably reproduced. Further, the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M that reproduces the kicking motion up to the extension of a human ankle by a link mechanism L and an interlocking mechanism 500 can control the lifting angle and the speed from lifting to lowering in its operation by a control device 800. With these configurations, a high reproducibility of a human kicking motion is obtained, and by performing a certain repetitive motion by machine control, it becomes possible to surely evaluate the performance of the kick sensor S.

[0062] As a specific method for evaluating the detection range of the kick sensor S, as shown in FIG. 1, the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M is installed behind the vehicle V equipped with the kick sensor S to be evaluated. Then, with the kicking motion speed of the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M fixed at a constant speed, the lifting angle and the front-rear position with respect to the vehicle V are changed. In this way, by changing the installation position and the lifting angle from the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M to the kick sensor S, the detection range of the kick sensor S can be evaluated from the trajectory of the kicking motion of the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M. In addition, from the confirmed detection range, it is possible to evaluate whether the threshold value C1 of the capacitance C is correctly set.

[0063] Next, as a method for evaluating whether the threshold value T1 of the time T related to the kick operation provided to determine whether the operation sensed by the kick sensor S is a kick operation is correctly set, it can be performed by fixing the position and the lifting angle of the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M and changing the lifting speed. That is, in a state where the angle at which the kick sensor S reacts, the distance, and the maximum lifting angle at a certain speed exceeding the threshold value C1 of the capacitance C have been determined by the above-described evaluation method, the position and the lifting angle are fixed, and the evaluation is performed with only the lifting speed as a variable. By gradually increasing the lifting speed of the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M to a speed at which the sensor no longer reacts, and conversely, gradually decreasing the lifting speed to a speed at which the sensor no longer reacts, it is possible to evaluate whether the threshold value T1 of the time T is as per the predetermined setting.

[0064] That is, the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M can evaluate whether the detection range of the kick sensor S and whether the threshold value C1 of the capacitance C are the predetermined values due to the change in the position with respect to the vehicle V and the change in the lifting angle of the kick operation. Based on the value of this threshold value C1 of the capacitance C, it is possible to evaluate whether the determination as to whether it is a human foot is correctly made. In addition, the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M can evaluate whether the threshold value T1 of the time T is the predetermined value due to the change in the lifting speed. Based on this threshold value T1 of the time T, it is possible to evaluate whether the determination as to whether the detected operation is a kick operation is correctly made.

[0065] The above-described method for evaluating the performance of the kick sensor S is an example, and the actual evaluation method is not limited to this. That is, the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M according to the present invention has the above-described features, and thus can evaluate the performance of the kick sensor S more accurately and quickly than the conventional performance evaluation methods. The specific performance evaluation method using the kick sensor performance evaluation jig M is not limited to the above-described content.

[0066] The various effects described above are merely the most preferable effects resulting from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are not limited to those described in this embodiment.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0067] M Kick sensor performance evaluation jig G Ground V Vehicle S Kick sensor 100 Support frame 110 Base frame 120 Support frame 130 Mounting bracket 140 Assembly tool 141 Opening 200 Drive unit 210 Drive source 211 Output shaft 220 Drive source mounting tool 230 Power transmission unit 231 Output pulley 232 Drive pulley 233 Transmission belt 240 Transmission unit support 241 Frame mounting part 250 Drive shaft 251 Leg unit mounting part 300 Leg unit 310 Leg body part 311 Upper leg part 312 Drive unit mounting part 313 Lower leg part 320 Foot part 321 Second pivot 400 Connecting arm 410 Vertical arm 411 Pivoting piece 420 Horizontal arm 421 First pivot L Link mechanism 500 Interlocking mechanism 510 First rotating body 520 Second rotating body 530 Interlocking belt body 600 Artificial foot cover 601 Cover body 602 Electrically conductive film 610 Lower leg cover 620 Foot cover 700 Capacitor 800 Control device 810 Operation part 820 Display part

Claims

1. A kick sensor performance evaluation jig for evaluating the performance of a kick sensor that detects a change in capacitance and detects a person's kicking motion, comprising: a support frame; a drive source supported by the support frame; a leg body portion provided in a state capable of swinging back and forth by the power of the drive source; a foot portion rotatably provided at the lower part of the leg body portion; a connecting arm that constitutes a link mechanism together with the leg body portion; a kick sensor performance evaluation jig, characterized by comprising an interlocking mechanism that changes the angle of the foot portion with respect to the leg body portion as the leg body portion swings.

2. The interlocking mechanism includes a first rotating body that rotates by a pivot provided at a connecting portion between the leg body portion and the connecting arm, a second rotating body that rotates by a pivot provided at a connecting portion between the leg body portion and the foot portion, and an endless interlocking belt suspended between the first rotating body and the second rotating body. The kick sensor performance evaluation jig according to claim 1, characterized by comprising the same.

3. The kick sensor performance evaluation jig according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that a dummy foot cover imitating a human foot is provided on at least one of the leg body portion and the foot portion.

4. The kick sensor performance evaluation jig according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by comprising a capacitor that reproduces the capacitance of a human with respect to the ground in order to correct the capacitance detected by the kick sensor.

5. The kick sensor performance evaluation jig according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by comprising a control device that controls the operation of the drive source.

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