DEVICE FOR IDENTIFYING CHANGE IN VERTICAL DIRECTION BY USING AIR PRESSURE MEASUREMENT VALUE

• US 20160091309A1
• Filed: 05/23/2014
• Published: 03/31/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Asahi Kasei Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Asahi Kasei Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: SASAKI, Hiroyuki
• Granted Patent: US 10,113,869 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/04 by terrestrial means G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 5/06 by using barometric means
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 3/62 Devices characterised by the determination or the variation of atmospheric pressure with height to measure the vertical components of speed measuring pressure in general G01L

Abstract

An identifying device includes a vertical direction speed calculation unit configured to calculate a speed in a vertical direction of an air pressure measurement unit from an air pressure value measured by the air pressure measurement unit, the vertical direction speed determination unit configured to determine a magnitude of the speed in the vertical direction, a vertical direction continuous distance calculation unit configured to calculate a continuous distance of movement in the vertical direction based on the speed in the vertical direction calculated by the vertical direction speed calculation unit and the determination result of the vertical direction speed determination unit, and a vertical direction movement determination unit configured to determining whether the air pressure measurement unit is moving in the vertical direction or not in accordance with whether or not the vertical direction continuous distance is more than a predetermined threshold value.

Claims

1. A device for identifying a change in a vertical direction by using an air pressure measurement value, the device comprising:

an air pressure measurement unit configured to measure an air pressure;

a speed calculation unit configured to calculate a speed in a vertical direction of the air pressure measurement unit based on an air pressure measurement value measured by the air pressure measurement unit;

a continuous movement distance calculation unit configured to calculate a continuous movement distance in the vertical direction of the air pressure measurement unit based on the speed in the vertical direction obtained by the speed calculation unit; and

a vertical direction movement determination unit configured to determine that the air pressure measurement unit moves in the vertical direction based on the speed in the vertical direction and the continuous movement distance calculated by the continuous movement distance calculation unit.

2. The device for identifying the change in the vertical direction by using the air pressure measurement value according to claim 1, wherein

the device comprises a vertical direction speed determination unit configured to determine whether or not the speed in the vertical direction is more than a speed threshold value which is set beforehand, and

the vertical direction movement determination unit is configured to determine that the air pressure measurement unit moves in the vertical direction when the vertical direction speed determination unit determines that the absolute value of the speed in the vertical direction is more than the speed threshold value and the absolute value of the continuous movement distance calculated by the continuous movement distance calculation unit is more than a movement distance threshold value which is set beforehand, and

the vertical direction movement determination unit is configured not to determine that the air pressure measurement unit moves in the vertical direction when the vertical direction speed determination unit determines that the absolute value of the speed in the vertical direction is more than the speed threshold value and the absolute value of the continuous movement distance is not more than the movement distance threshold value.

3. The device for identifying the change in the vertical direction by using the air pressure measurement value according to claim 2, wherein the vertical direction movement determination unit is configured to determine that the air pressure measurement unit is not moving in the vertical direction when it is determined that the absolute value of the speed in the vertical direction is more than the speed threshold value and the absolute value of the continuous movement distance is not more than the movement distance threshold value.

4. The device for identifying the change in the vertical direction by using the air pressure measurement value according to claim 1, wherein the vertical direction movement determination unit is configured to determine whether or not the air pressure measurement unit moves in the vertical direction based on the speed in the vertical direction and the continuous movement distance.

5. The device for identifying the change in the vertical direction by using the air pressure measurement value according to claim 4, wherein

the device comprises a vertical direction speed determination unit configured to determine whether or not the speed in the vertical direction is more than a speed threshold value which is set beforehand, and

the vertical direction movement determination unit is configured to determine that the air pressure measurement unit moves in the vertical direction when the vertical direction speed determination unit determines that the absolute value of the speed in the vertical direction is more than the speed threshold value and the absolute value of the continuous movement distance calculated by the continuous movement distance calculation unit is more than a movement distance threshold value which is set beforehand, and

the vertical direction movement determination unit is configured to determine that the air pressure measurement unit does not move in the vertical direction when the vertical direction speed determination unit determines that the absolute value of the speed in the vertical direction is more than the speed threshold value and the absolute value of the continuous movement distance is not more than the movement distance threshold value.

6. The device for identifying the change in the vertical direction by using the air pressure measurement value according to claim 3, wherein the continuous movement distance calculation unit is configured to calculate the continuous movement distance by integrating movement amounts of the air pressure measurement unit per unit time based on the speed in the vertical direction while the absolute value of the speed in the vertical direction is more than the speed threshold value, and to reset the continuous movement distance is reset to zero while the absolute value of the speed in the vertical direction is not more than the speed threshold value.

7. The device for identifying the change in the vertical direction by using the air pressure measurement value claim 1, the device further comprising:

an altitude calculation unit configured to perform altitude calculation based on the air pressure measurement value; and

a storage unit in which a reference air pressure at a predetermined altitude or floor used when the altitude calculation unit performs the altitude calculation is stored,

wherein the reference air pressure stored in the storage unit is corrected based on the air pressure measurement value while the air pressure measurement unit is determined not to be moving in the vertical direction.

8. The device for identifying the change in the vertical direction by using the air pressure measurement value according to claim 1, wherein it is identified which of an elevator, an escalator, or stairs is moving equipment used to move the air pressure measurement unit based on the speed in the vertical direction, while the vertical direction movement determination unit determines that the air pressure measurement unit is moving in the vertical direction.

9. The device for identifying the change in the vertical direction by using the air pressure measurement value according to claim 8, the device further comprising an acceleration meter configured to measure an acceleration in the vertical direction,

wherein while the vertical direction movement determination unit determines the moving equipment used to move the air pressure measurement unit is an escalator or stairs, it is identified which of a state of walking on a moving escalator, a state of being stationary on a moving escalator, and a state of descending or ascending stairs, the user holding the air pressure measurement unit is in, based on the speed in the vertical direction and the acceleration measured by the acceleration meter.

10. The device for identifying the change in the vertical direction by using the air pressure measurement value according to claim 9, the device further comprising a stairs movement identifying unit configured to identify that the user is in a stationary state on a moving escalator when the user is determined not to be in a walking state based on the acceleration measured by the acceleration meter, and to subtract from the absolute value of the speed in the vertical direction calculated by the speed calculation unit, the absolute value of a predetermined walking speed in the vertical direction corresponding to a speed in the vertical direction that is caused in a case where the user walks on an escalator or descends or ascends stairs when the user is determined to be in a walking state based on the acceleration,

wherein the stairs movement identifying unit is configured to identify that the user is in a state of walking on a moving escalator when a subtraction result obtained by subtracting the absolute value of the walking speed in the vertical direction from the absolute value of the speed in the vertical direction is more than a threshold value which is set beforehand, and to identify that the user is descending or ascending stairs, when the subtraction result is equal to or less than the threshold value.

11. The device for identifying the change in the vertical direction by using the air pressure measurement value according to claim 10, the device further comprising a floor map display unit configured to display a floor map of a floor where the user is located,

wherein the floor map display unit is configured to coordinate a current location of the user with a location of the moving equipment on the floor map, which is one of an elevator, an escalator, and stairs, that is identified to be used to move by the user, or to coordinate a movement direction of the user with the location of the moving equipment on the floor map.

12. An air pressure-type vertical direction movement identifying device comprising:

an air pressure sensor configured to output an air pressure signal;

a vertical direction speed signal output unit configured to input the air pressure signal, and to output a first signal indicating a speed in a vertical direction of the air pressure sensor;

a vertical direction movement distance signal output unit configured to input the first signal, and to output a second signal indicating a vertical direction movement distance of the air pressure sensor; and

a vertical direction movement signal output unit configured to input the first signal and the second signal, and to output a third signal indicating that the air pressure sensor moves in the vertical direction.

13. The air pressure-type vertical direction movement determine device according to claim 12, wherein the third signal indicates that moving equipment used to move the air pressure sensor is an escalator or stairs.

14. The air pressure-type vertical direction movement determine device according to claim 13, wherein the vertical direction movement signal output unit is configured to further output a fourth signal indicating that the moving equipment is an elevator.

15. A floor map display device comprising:

the air pressure-type vertical direction movement determine device according to claim 14; and

a floor map display unit configured to display a floor map of a floor where a user is located, based on the third signal and the fourth signal.

16. The floor map display device according to claim 15, wherein the floor map display unit is configured to coordinate a current location of the user with a location of the moving equipment on the floor map, which is one of the elevator, the escalator, and the stairs, that is determined to be used to move by the user, or to coordinate a movement direction of the user with the location of the moving equipment on the floor map.