JP2007143886A - Electric wheelchair system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the danger when a problem such as malfunction or malfunction of an input signal occurs in an electric wheelchair.
An electric wheelchair 10 according to the present invention controls the operation of its own device based on an input signal from the outside, and controls a drive unit 8 for electric driving and an operation of the drive unit 8. A control unit 5, and the control unit 5 includes a restriction condition determination unit 5 a that determines whether or not a restriction condition indicating a state in which the operation of the drive unit 8 should be restricted, and a drive unit according to the determination result. An operation restriction unit 5b for restricting the operation of
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric wheelchair that controls the operation of its own device based on an external input signal (for example, a biological signal detected by an operator).

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been proposed a technique that uses a user's myoelectric signal as a man-machine interface in controlling assistive devices for persons with disabilities such as wheelchairs, artificial hands, and prosthetic legs. For example, in Patent Document 1, an electric wheelchair or the like based on a feature vector obtained from a user's biological signal and a teaching signal supplied from the user, as an alternative to the robot configuration for controlling the home appliance as shown in FIG. A technique for controlling the above is disclosed. The robot shown in FIG. 19 includes a sensor unit connected to various sensors, an image recognition unit connected to a camera, and a voice recognition unit connected to a microphone. Is included.

Further, in Patent Document 1, an adaptive learning function using a neural network is adopted to reduce a burden for a disabled person who becomes a user to adapt to the operation or control of a disabled person auxiliary device. A technique for estimating the control content intended by the user from the biological signal of the user by learning is proposed. By using biological signals such as myoelectric potential signals, it is possible to control the handicapped assistive device even for a handicapped person who cannot perform operations by movement of fingers, hands, feet, and the like.
JP 2001-331250 A (published on November 30, 2001)

  The following problems have occurred in the conventional electric wheelchair as the assisting device for the disabled person.

  When generating a control signal for controlling an electric wheelchair based on an operator's biological signal, the accuracy and appropriateness of the control signal generated by using the above-described neural network can be improved. It is difficult to always generate an accurate control signal based on the biological signal.

  However, since the electric wheelchair is usually a means for moving the handicapped person, the malfunction causes a serious accident such as a traffic accident or a fall from a staircase or a slope. In addition, if the input signal is temporarily interrupted due to some reason such as an operator's sudden illness, the electric wheelchair becomes uncontrollable, resulting in a very dangerous state.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electric wheelchair that can reduce a danger when a problem such as malfunction or malfunction of an input signal occurs. .

  In order to solve the above problems, an electric wheelchair according to the present invention is an electric wheelchair that controls the operation of its own device based on an input signal from the outside, and includes a drive unit for electrically driving, A control unit that controls the operation, and the control unit determines whether or not the input state of the input signal satisfies a limit condition indicating a state in which the operation of the drive unit should be limited And an operation restriction unit that restricts the operation of the drive unit when the restriction condition determination unit determines that the input state of the input signal corresponds to the restriction condition.

  According to the above configuration, in the operation of the control unit, the limiting condition determining unit determines whether or not the input state of the input signal corresponds to the predetermined limiting condition, and as a result of this determination, the input state of the input signal is When it is determined that the restriction condition is satisfied, the operation restriction unit restricts the operation of the driving unit. Applicable examples of the limiting conditions include a case where input of an input signal is interrupted for a predetermined time or an input signal having an amplitude exceeding the normal range. Moreover, although the aspect of restriction | limiting of operation | movement is not specifically limited, For example, the aspect of stopping operation | movement of an electric wheelchair or not accepting a new instruction input etc. can be considered.

  Thereby, since the danger when problems, such as malfunctioning and a malfunction of an input signal, can be reduced, it becomes possible to use or control an electric wheelchair more safely.

  In order to solve the above problems, an electric wheelchair according to the present invention is an electric wheelchair that controls the operation of its own device based on an input signal from the outside, and includes a drive unit for electrically driving, A control unit that controls the operation, and the control unit determines whether or not the operation state of the drive unit satisfies a limit condition indicating a state in which the operation should be limited, and The limiting condition determining unit includes an operation limiting unit that limits the operation of the driving unit when the operating state of the driving unit is determined to satisfy the limiting condition.

  According to the above configuration, in the operation of the control unit, the limiting condition determining unit determines whether the operation state of the driving unit satisfies a predetermined limiting condition, and as a result of the determination, the input signal is input. When it is determined that the state corresponds to the restriction condition, the operation restriction unit restricts the operation of the drive unit.

  Applicable examples of the above restriction conditions include attempts to perform a plurality of operations that should not be performed continuously, such as when the operation of the drive unit has the same operation content over a predetermined time, or sudden stop after sudden start And the like.

  Examples include a case where input of an input signal is interrupted for a predetermined time, or a case where an input signal having an amplitude exceeding the normal range is input. Moreover, although the aspect of restriction | limiting of operation | movement is not specifically limited, For example, the aspect of stopping operation | movement of an electric wheelchair or not accepting a new instruction input etc. can be considered.

  Thereby, since the danger when problems, such as malfunctioning and a malfunction of an input signal, can be reduced, it becomes possible to use or control an electric wheelchair more safely.

  Moreover, in order to solve the said subject, the electric wheelchair which concerns on this invention WHEREIN: It is preferable that the said input signal is input via the radio | wireless communication from the outside in said structure.

  According to said structure, since the said input signal is input via the radio | wireless communication from the outside, the operator can control an electric wheelchair from a remote place.

  As a result, the operator can not only use the electric wheelchair as a means of movement as a part of his / her body, but also remotely control the electric wheelchair as his / her own agent (agent), so that it can be used in a variety of situations. It becomes possible to use it. For example, an operator who is bedridden can remotely operate the electric wheelchair and cause the electric wheelchair to work at a remote location.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the electric wheelchair according to the present invention has the above-described configuration, wherein the input signal is a biological signal detected from an operator, and the control unit performs neural processing on the biological signal. It is preferable to generate a control signal for controlling the operation of the driving unit by inputting to the network.

  According to the above configuration, the operator does not need to control the electric wheelchair by complicated button operation or lever operation due to the presence of his / her biological signal and a neural network that receives the biological signal. For example, since the electric wheelchair can be controlled based on a biological signal such as myoelectric potential signal of the operator, even the disabled person who cannot operate by movement of fingers, hands, feet, etc. Can be operated.

  In order to solve the above problems, an electric wheelchair according to the present invention has an imaging unit that generates image data according to a surrounding captured image, and image data generated by the imaging unit externally in the configuration described above. It is preferable to provide a transmission unit for transmission.

  According to said structure, the circumference | surroundings of an electric wheelchair are image | photographed by the imaging | photography part, and the image data are transmitted with respect to an external device. Therefore, it is easy for the receiver of the image data (the receiver may be the same as the operator or may be different from the operator) to remotely understand the operation status of the electric wheelchair and the surrounding environment. Become.

  According to the electric wheelchair according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the danger when a malfunction or an input signal malfunction occurs. In addition, the electric wheelchair according to the present invention can be used for various purposes according to a wide range of situations by being remotely operated.

An electric wheelchair 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
· System configuration)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the electric wheelchair 10. The electric wheelchair 10 includes an input unit 1 that detects an operator's biological signal, a biological signal processing unit 2 that performs signal preprocessing for extracting a feature amount from the biological signal, an operator's intention and The neural network (NN) unit 3 that outputs the posterior probability for the state, and the operator's intention and state are identified based on the posterior probability output by the NN unit 3, and the entropy calculated from the posterior probability is used for identification. Based on the output signal processing unit 4 for determining a command to be transmitted from the command group arranged hierarchically based on the identified result, and an instruction input to the electric wheelchair 10 or its operation. A database that enables the control unit 5 to be controlled and various parameters used in the biological signal processing unit 2, the NN unit 3, or the output signal processing unit 4 to be stored and called for each individual operator. 6 and a transmission unit 7 that transmits the command determined by the output signal processing unit 4 to the drive unit 8 by wire or wireless [infrared, ultrasonic, or radio waves (for example, wireless LAN standards such as IEEE802.11b, g, a)]. And a drive unit 8 for electrically driving the electric wheelchair 10.

  The biological signal input to the input unit 1 may be an electrical signal obtained from an operator's biological body or any biological signal that can be converted into an electrical signal. Typical examples of such biological signals include signals such as muscle myoelectric potential signals, brain potential signals, and brain magnetic field signals. In addition, there are skin signals, blood flow, muscle sounds, nystagmus, peripheral body temperature, blood pressure, heart sounds, pulse pressure, etc., as biological signals for obtaining deep information inside the living body. Therefore, it can be intentionally controlled, and can be used as an input signal of a remote controller using the biological signal of the present invention. Furthermore, as surface biosignals, 1) voice or simple utterance using a microphone for the input device, 2) shape of a part such as a limb using a bending sensor using an optical fiber for the input device, and 3) Body posture and motion acceleration using gyros, strain sensors, acceleration sensors, etc. 4) Body posture and motion acceleration using vision sensor that captures image changes 5) Pressure distribution using pressure sensor , 6) posture of the limb using a position sensor by ultrasonic waves or light, 7) temperature of the palm using a radiation thermometer, 8) eyeball position using a gaze sensor, 9) wind force or breathing temperature by breathing Various signals such as a signal by, etc. can be used.

  The control unit 5 is composed of a CPU or the like and has a function for controlling the operation of the entire electric wheelchair 10. The control unit 5 includes a limiting condition determination unit 5 a and an operation limiting unit 5 b as its internal configuration. As described later, the restriction condition determination unit 5a determines whether the input state input to the input unit 1 or the operation state of the drive unit 8 corresponds to a predetermined restriction condition indicating a state in which the operation of the drive unit 8 should be restricted. It is a functional block for determining whether or not. The operation restriction unit 5b is a functional block that restricts the operation of the drive unit 8 based on the determination result of the restriction condition determination unit 5a.

  The drive unit 8 supplies a power source for the electric wheelchair 10 and performs various operations of the electric wheelchair 10 such as movement, speed and direction change thereof, and operations of various electronic devices such as a display (described later) provided in the electric wheelchair 10. It is a drive member which controls. That is, the drive unit 8 includes a motor that obtains rotational force by electric drive, various gear devices, a driving force transmission member, and various electronic circuits that control these.

  In the above description, the configuration of the electric wheelchair 10 is described on the assumption that all components are provided integrally as a configuration of the wheelchair. However, as will be described later, for some configurations, the electric wheelchair 10 is provided. The external configuration may be used.

  In using the electric wheelchair 10, first, a sensor corresponding to a biological signal used for control of the remote controller is mounted on the operator's body. The biological signal is input to the input portion of the biological signal. Here, signals such as muscle myoelectric potential signals, brain potential signals, or brain magnetic field signals are used as the biological signals. As is well known, these signals are input using different input terminals or different input devices, so that they are selected so as to suit the operator and input means ( It is desirable to switch between input 1, input 2,..., Input n). The biological signal from the selected input terminal or input device is further extracted by the biological signal processing unit with the feature value of the biological signal. At this time, the operator can know the input signal, the operation status of the remote controller, and the recognition status by transmitting the input signal from the control unit 5 and the signal about the feature amount.

  Prior to the operation of the electric wheelchair 10, in order to adapt the remote controller to various conditions and states such as the degree of failure of the operator, the biological signal selected by the operator, individual differences included therein, time fluctuation due to fatigue, sweating, It is preferable to extract neural network learning data for the position where the electrode is stretched. As a result of executing the neural network learning by inputting the teacher signal to the teacher signal input unit, the control command intended by the operator can be estimated from the biological signal of the operator. When there are a plurality of operators, the data of each operator is extracted and stored in the database unit 6.

  The output signal processing unit 4 identifies the intention and state of the operator based on the posterior probability output by the NN unit. In identification, it is preferable to avoid misidentification based on entropy calculated from the posterior probability.

Further, the controller 5 uses a display (to be described later) where information handled by the remote controller such as the measured biological signal, the extracted feature value, the posterior probability of the operation of the controller, or the identification result of the user is appropriately provided. It is preferable to communicate to the user.
(2. Remote operation)
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration example when an operator remotely operates the electric wheelchair 10. In the figure, an input unit 1, a biological signal processing unit 2, an NN unit 3, an output signal processing unit 4, a control unit 5, and a database unit 6 are handled by a controller 1 including a sensor unit and a personal computer (PC). ing. A control signal from the controller 1 is transmitted via a router (corresponding to the transmission unit 7 in FIG. 1) to the controller 2 or the drive unit 8 built in the electric wheelchair 10 by wireless LAN.

  In said structure, the remote control of the electric wheelchair 10 is possible by connecting communication with the controller 1 and the controller 2 by wireless LAN. That is, the biological signal obtained from the operator is transmitted to the controller 1 using wireless communication. The controller 1 estimates the operator's operation intention from the biological signal, and sends the estimation result to the controller 2 using a wireless LAN, thereby operating the electric wheelchair 10.

  When performing such remote operation, the electric wheelchair 10 includes an imaging unit that generates image data according to surrounding captured images, and a transmission unit that transmits the image data generated by the imaging unit to the outside. It is preferable.

  For example, the electric wheelchair 10 is preferably provided with an intelligent type interface unit as shown in FIG. The interface unit shown in FIG. 3 includes a liquid crystal display that can be controlled to rotate in any direction by the action of a driving low-speed motor, a camera (imaging unit), a microphone, an IRLED remote controller (described later) provided in the liquid crystal display, A controller 2 built in the arm table of the electric wheelchair 10 is provided. By using such an interface unit, the operator of the electric wheelchair 10 can check the state (images and sounds) around the electric wheelchair 10 even from a place away from the electric wheelchair 10. It is possible to talk with 10 surrounding people. In addition, a camera and a microphone are also provided on the operator (controller 1) side, and an image photographed by the camera is displayed on the display of the electric wheelchair 10, and a sound picked up by the microphone is output from the speaker of the electric wheelchair 10. You can also. That is, according to these configurations, the electric wheelchair 10 can be utilized as a communication tool or agent that realizes real-time remote communication.

  As described above, if the operator remotely controls the electric wheelchair 10 using the Internet communication including the wireless LAN, in principle, the operator is located in a room different from the operator. Even if it is a case, even if it is a case where the electric wheelchair 10 is located in a foreign country, it is possible to operate remotely without any problem.

  In addition, it is conceivable that the configuration other than the input unit 1 is provided in the electric wheelchair 10 (controller 2) during remote operation. However, if a biological signal is directly transmitted to the electric wheelchair 10, a large amount of data is transmitted. The system operation may become unstable because it is too large or the load on the system is too large.

In contrast, according to the configuration of FIG. 2, the controller 1 configured by the sensor unit and the personal computer (PC) only transmits the determined control signal when the control content to be instructed to the electric wheelchair 10 is determined. Can be sent. As a result, it is possible to stabilize the system operation by reducing the data transfer amount in the wireless operation. For example, when a myoelectric signal is detected as a biological signal, if a measurement signal (equivalent to 8 bytes) is transmitted once per 0.5 second per channel, the total speed at 32 channels / second is 2 channels. Although it is necessary to continue transmitting data, if a method of transmitting only the determined control signal is employed, it is considered that data transmission of about 2 bytes / second is sufficient.
(3. Operation interface)
When the operator operates the electric wheelchair 10, the control command form that can be used by the operator, for example, the number of options, is determined based on information recorded in the database, and is hierarchically adapted to each operator. It is preferable to select a target operation from a simple operation menu. FIG. 4 is an example of an operation menu presented to the operator. In the operation menu of FIG. 4, operation commands (forward / backward, etc.) are displayed. When the operator performs an operation of selecting a command, commands such as forward / backward are sequentially selected. When a desired command is selected, the operator can input an operation instruction by performing an operation for determining the command. The bar shown on the right side of FIG. 4 represents the time until automatic stop (described later). When the belt-like display in the bar gradually extends from the lower side of the bar and reaches the upper side of the bar, the electric wheelchair 10 is Stop automatically.

  The operator can select an instruction operation by giving a predetermined biological signal to the electric wheelchair 10 while confirming such an operation menu. In other words, the operator controls the drive unit 8 of the electric wheelchair 10 by inputting a biological signal to the input unit 1, and performs various operations of the electric wheelchair 10, such as movement, speed or direction change thereof, operations of various interface units, and the like. Can be controlled.

  However, when a biological signal is used as an input signal, it may be erroneously identified due to various noises. In order to reduce the risk of controlling the electric wheelchair 10 based on such misidentification, the electric wheelchair 10 is continuously operated by the same operation instruction (N times, can be changed to an arbitrary number). It is also preferable to execute the instruction only when the identification result is given. However, the “stop” instruction may not be preferably adopted in order to ensure operational safety.

  It is also preferable that the operator can control other external devices not only through the operation of the electric wheelchair 10 itself but also through the operation or control of the electric wheelchair 10. For example, the electric wheelchair 10 mounts the remote controller which operates household appliances, and when the operator gives the instruction | indication to the electric wheelchair 10, the structure which the electric wheelchair 10 controls these household appliances can be considered.

  For example, an IRLED remote controller having directivity of 360 degrees in all directions can be provided as the remote controller. Since the IRLED remote controller uses infrared rays, a control signal cannot be sent to a controlled device such as a home appliance in a situation where a wall is separated. In such a case, the electric wheelchair 10 is remotely operated. For example, the electric wheelchair 10 may be moved to a position where infrared rays reach the controlled device.

  If these configurations are employed, the utility value of the electric wheelchair 10 can be further increased as an operator's agent. In other words, the operator can not only use the electric wheelchair as a means of movement as a part of his / her body, but also remotely operate the electric wheelchair as his / her own agent (agent) for a wide variety of situations. It can be used. For example, an operator who is bedridden can remotely operate the electric wheelchair and cause the electric wheelchair to work at a remote location.

  Further, the electric wheelchair 10 (agent) may automatically move to the destination by storing the moving range (for example, indoor room structure) in the electric wheelchair 10 as map information. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of such map information. If there is such map information, the operator can easily perform remote operation simply by instructing the destination of the electric wheelchair 10 (agent) while confirming the display of the display provided in the controller 1 described above. can do.

An example of the operation flow of the electric wheelchair 10 having the above function is as shown in FIG.
(4. Operation restriction)
The electric wheelchair 10 includes a restriction condition determination unit 5a and an operation restriction unit 5b as an internal configuration of the control unit 5 (see FIG. 1). As described above, the limiting condition determination unit 5a is a functional block that determines whether the input signal or the operating state of the driving unit 8 satisfies a predetermined limiting condition indicating a state in which the operation of the driving unit 8 should be limited. is there. The operation restriction unit 5b is a functional block that restricts the operation of the drive unit 8 based on the determination result of the restriction condition determination unit 5a.

Hereinafter, specific operation examples of these functional blocks will be described.
(4-1. Example of operation restriction based on input signal state)
In the operation of the control unit 5, the limiting condition determination unit 5 a determines whether or not the input state of the input signal corresponds to a predetermined limiting condition, and as a result of this determination, the input state of the input signal corresponds to the limiting condition. If it is determined, the operation restriction unit 5b restricts the operation of the drive unit 8.

  Applicable examples of the limiting conditions include a case where input of an input signal is interrupted for a predetermined time or an input signal having an amplitude exceeding the normal range.

  For example, when a periodic signal of about 2 Hz to 5 Hz is transmitted from the control unit 5 separately from the original control signal, and the input of the periodic signal is interrupted, the electric wheelchair 10 is connected to the input side. It is determined that the operation of the apparatus is abnormal, and subsequent instructions are not accepted. Thereby, even if it is a case where abnormality arises in an input device or its peripheral device, malfunction and runaway operation of electric wheelchair 10 can be avoided.

Another example is a configuration in which the electric wheelchair 10 is stopped when the electric wheelchair 10 does not receive an input signal for a predetermined time (automatic stop). That is, when the operator cannot operate the electric wheelchair 10 for some reason, the electric wheelchair 10 is stopped because the electric wheelchair 10 collides with an obstacle if the electric wheelchair 10 continues to travel. .
(4-2. Example of operation restriction based on operation state of drive unit)
In the operation of the control unit 5, the limiting condition determination unit 5 a determines whether or not the operation state of the driving unit 8 satisfies a predetermined limiting condition, and as a result of this determination, the input state of the input signal is set to the limiting condition. If it is determined that this is the case, the operation restriction unit 5 b restricts the operation of the drive unit 8.

  Applicable examples of the above restriction conditions include attempts to perform a plurality of operations that should not be performed continuously, such as when the operation of the drive unit has the same operation content over a predetermined time, or sudden stop after sudden start And the like.

  For example, the operator may continue to operate for an excessively long time because he / she is conscious that the instruction input based on the biological signal is properly performed. In such a case, the control signal is continuously applied to the electric wheelchair 10, and the operation of the electric wheelchair 10 may be unintended by the operator. Therefore, in the electric wheelchair 10, once the operation instruction is received, the received signal is ignored for a predetermined time thereafter. However, this does not apply if special instructions for emergency stop are given for safety.

As another example, when the operator inputs a new instruction while the electric wheelchair 10 is traveling, the electric wheelchair 10 is temporarily stopped. As described above, even when the operator does not select the stop command, the electric wheelchair 10 that has been traveling is temporarily stopped to cause the electric wheelchair 10 to collide with an obstacle due to an operation delay or the like. Can be avoided.
(4-3. Example of operation flow)
FIG. 7 shows an example of the operation flow of the electric wheelchair 10 (agent) having the operation restriction function when the operator is on board.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the above function can be implemented even when the electric wheelchair 10 (agent) is remotely operated. In this case, the electric wheelchair 10 determines whether or not to restrict the operation of the drive unit 8 based on the signal reception state from the controller 1 or the operation state of the controller 2 or the drive unit 8.

  2 shows an example of the operation flow on the controller 1 side [operator side] and the controller 2 side [agent (electric wheelchair) side] when the electric wheelchair 10 is remotely operated. Nine.

According to these configurations, it is possible to reduce the danger when a problem such as malfunction or malfunction of the input signal occurs, so that the use or control of the electric wheelchair can be made safer.
(5. Authentication function)
The electric wheelchair 10 preferably has an authentication function in accordance with an input of a predetermined operation (biological signal) by the operator. In other words, the operator defines five operations in advance and registers them in the electric wheelchair 10 by a combination of operations that he can perform (for example, three operations of dorsiflexion, palm flexion, and gripping). The operator determines in advance five actions and registers them in the electric wheelchair 10 by a combination of actions that he can perform (for example, three actions of dorsiflexion, palm flexion, and gripping).

  And when operating the electric wheelchair 10, the electric wheelchair 10 can authenticate that he is a regular operator by inputting the registered operation | movement in the order. For example, the electric wheelchair 10 allows the operator to perform authentication input through a biological signal in accordance with a predetermined screen of the operation menu, and allows the user to proceed to the next operation menu only when the authentication is correct.

  FIGS. 10 and 11 are graphs showing the state of an electromyogram (IEMG) signal corresponding to such an operation input. In FIG. 10, the two-channel myoelectric potential (IEMG) signals measured from each electrode, the number corresponding to the identified motion (number of motions), and muscle strength information (force information) are shown from the top. When the operator's muscle strength information (force information) exceeds a certain threshold, the control unit 5 determines that some operation is being performed, and based on the myoelectric potential (IEMG) signal, the operation of the operator ( Number of movements). FIG. 11 shows a state in which a first threshold value and a second threshold value are set for a myoelectric potential signal of about 2 mV at maximum, and an operation determination based on the myoelectric potential signal is performed according to these threshold values. That is, if the myoelectric potential signal is between the first threshold value and the second threshold value for a predetermined time (t seconds), the state (1) is determined, while the myoelectric potential signal is second for a predetermined time (t seconds). If it is equal to or greater than the threshold value, it is determined as state (2). The set value for the predetermined time (t seconds) is arbitrary.

As a result, even if the operator has an obstacle and it is difficult to perform an input operation using a keyboard or a mouse, the electric wheelchair can perform an authentication operation.
(6. Usage example of electric wheelchair)
A usage example and usage scenes of the electric wheelchair 10 according to the present embodiment will be briefly described.
(6-1. Usage Example 1)
Even if a bedridden person wants to turn off the TV in the next room, the TV in the next room cannot usually be operated by the infrared controller. If the electric wheelchair 10 according to the present embodiment is remotely operated, the TV in the adjacent room can be turned off by moving the electric wheelchair 10 to the adjacent room and operating the IRLED remote controller provided (FIG. 12).
(6-2. Usage example 2)
Even when the user forgets to make a recording reservation for a desired TV program and goes on a trip, the video device can be controlled to make a recording reservation by remotely operating the electric wheelchair 10 through the Internet line from the travel destination (FIG. 13). ).
(6-3. Use Example 3)
A person who is bedridden can remotely communicate with a person in a remote room while confirming each other's image and sound through a built-in camera and microphone by remotely operating the electric wheelchair 10 (FIG. 14). ).

In addition, the electric wheelchair 10 is placed in a facility such as a nursing home (a nursing home), and a friend or family member far away from the facility uses the interface unit or communication tool described above to talk to the people in the facility. Or by remotely operating the electric wheelchair 10, free communication can be achieved.
(6-4. Usage example 4)
Even from a travel destination, it is possible to remotely control the electric wheelchair 10 and monitor the state of every place in the home through the camera and microphone provided (FIG. 15).
(6-5. Usage example 5)
When an operator gets on the electric wheelchair 10 and goes out to the museum, the above-mentioned interface unit or communication tool is used to show or talk to a person at a remote place. Can enjoy painting together (Fig. 16).
(6-6. Usage example 6)
Even when the operator gets out of the electric wheelchair 10 and unexpected accidents occur (such as running out of battery in the electric wheelchair, the wheel falling into a groove on the road, etc.) The above-mentioned interface unit or communication tool can be used to make an emergency call for help from a remote person (FIG. 17).
(6-7. Usage example 7)
Furthermore, in the usage example 6, even if the passenger of the electric wheelchair 10 cannot perform an appropriate operation, the person who has received an emergency call uses the camera of the interface unit or the communication tool described above, It is also possible to remotely control the electric wheelchair 10 while moving it to a safe place while checking the surrounding situation (FIG. 18).

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. That is, embodiments obtained by combining technical means appropriately changed within the scope of the claims are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  Even when the operator is on board, or even when the operator is remotely operated by wireless communication or the like, it can be widely used for an electric wheelchair or a part thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a block diagram which shows embodiment of this invention and shows the principal part structure of an electric wheelchair. It is a figure which shows the system structural example in case an operator operates an electric wheelchair remotely. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of an intelligent type interface unit. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation menu shown to an operator. It is a figure which shows an example of the map information which an electric wheelchair has. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation | movement flow of the electric wheelchair which has an operation | movement restriction function. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation | movement flow in the state in which the operator boarded the electric wheelchair (agent) which has an operation | movement restriction | limiting function. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation | movement flow by the side of an operator in the case of operating an electric wheelchair remotely. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation | movement flow by the side of an agent (electric wheelchair) in the case of operating an electric wheelchair remotely. It is the figure which showed the mode of the myoelectric potential (IEMG) signal according to motion input. It is the figure which showed the mode of the myoelectric potential (IEMG) signal according to action input, and a threshold value. It is a figure which shows one usage example of the electric wheelchair which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the other usage example of the electric wheelchair which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the other usage example of the electric wheelchair which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the other usage example of the electric wheelchair which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the other usage example of the electric wheelchair which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the other usage example of the electric wheelchair which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the other usage example of the electric wheelchair which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows a prior art and shows the principal part structure of the robot which controls household appliances.

Explanation of symbols

1 Input Unit 2 Biological Signal Processing Unit 3 Neural Network (NN) Unit 3
4 Output signal processing unit 5 Control unit 6 Database unit 7 Transmission unit 8 Drive unit 10 Electric wheelchair

Claims (5)

An electric wheelchair that controls the operation of the aircraft based on an input signal from the outside,
A drive unit for electric driving;
A control unit for controlling the operation of the drive unit,
The controller is
A limiting condition determination unit that determines whether the input state of the input signal corresponds to a limiting condition indicating a state in which the operation of the driving unit should be limited;
An electric wheelchair comprising: an operation restriction unit that restricts an operation of the drive unit when the restriction condition determination unit determines that an input state of the input signal corresponds to the restriction condition. An electric wheelchair that controls the operation of the aircraft based on an input signal from the outside,
A drive unit for electric driving;
A control unit for controlling the operation of the drive unit,
The controller is
A limiting condition determination unit that determines whether or not the operating state of the driving unit corresponds to a limiting condition indicating a state in which the operation should be limited;
An electric wheelchair comprising: an operation restriction unit that restricts the operation of the drive unit when the restriction condition determination unit determines that the operation state of the drive unit satisfies the restriction condition.   The electric wheelchair according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the input signal is input via wireless communication from the outside. The input signal is a biological signal detected from an operator,
The electric wheelchair according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control unit generates a control signal for controlling an operation of the driving unit by inputting the biological signal to a neural network. . 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a photographing unit that generates image data corresponding to a surrounding photographed image; and a transmission unit that transmits the image data generated by the photographing unit to the outside. The described electric wheelchair.

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