Measurement apparatus, measurement method and non-transitory computer readable recording medium with program stored thereon

• US 10,048,087 B2
• Filed: 08/28/2015
• Issued: 08/14/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: Nakajima, Mitsuyasu, Yamamoto, Ryohei
• Primary Examiner(s): Desta, Elias
• Application Number:
  US14/839,641
• Publication Number:
  US 20160061859A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,082 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0219 Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/112 Gait analysis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1123 Discriminating type of movement, e.g. walking or running A61B5/1116, A61B5/112 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1126 using a particular sensing technique
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/12 executed aboard the object being navigated; Dead reckoning
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 22/006 Pedometers

Abstract

A measurement apparatus including: a first sensor which continuously acquires a vertical direction acceleration generated in accordance with a traveling movement of a user, a second sensor which continuously acquires a travel direction acceleration generated in accordance with the traveling movement, a first determination unit which determines, based on a continuous change of the vertical direction acceleration and the travel direction acceleration, a plurality of landing points of time each being a point of time when a foot of the user lands, and a first acquiring unit which acquires, based on the plurality of landing points of time, a period required for one step of the user in the traveling movement.

Claims

1. A measurement apparatus comprising:

a judgement unit which judges whether a traveling movement of a user is a running movement or a walking movement,

a first sensor which continuously acquires a vertical direction acceleration generated in accordance with the traveling movement of the user,

a second sensor which continuously acquires a travel direction acceleration generated in accordance with the traveling movement, and

a first determination unit which determines a plurality of landing points of time each being a point of time when a foot of the user lands based on a continuous change of the vertical direction acceleration and the travel direction acceleration when the judgement unit judges that the traveling movement of the user is the running movement, and which determines the plurality of landing points of time based on only the continuous change of the vertical direction acceleration between the continuous change of the vertical direction acceleration and the travel direction acceleration when the judgement unit judges that the traveling movement of the user is the walking movement.

2. The measurement apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a first acquiring unit which acquires a change in the travel direction acceleration,

wherein the judgement unit judges that the traveling movement of the user is the running movement in a case in which the change in the travel direction acceleration is larger than a first predetermined value, and the judgement unit judges that the traveling movement of the user is the walking movement in a case in which the change in the travel direction acceleration is equal to or smaller than the first predetermined value.

3. The measurement apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a second determination unit which determines, based on the continuous change of the vertical direction acceleration, a plurality of taking extreme value points of time each being a point of time where the vertical direction acceleration takes an extreme value,

wherein the first determination unit determines the plurality of landing points of time based on the plurality of taking extreme value points of time.

4. The measurement apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, in a case in which an upward direction of the vertical direction is positive, the second determination unit searches along a waveform showing the continuous change of the vertical direction acceleration toward a positive direction of a time axis from each of a plurality of taking positive slope points of time each being a point of time where the waveform showing the continuous change of the vertical direction acceleration takes a positive slope and the vertical acceleration is a second predetermined value, and the second determination unit determines a plurality of points of time each being a point of time where the vertical direction acceleration takes a local maximum as the plurality of taking extreme value points of time.

5. The measurement apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, in a case in which a downward direction of the vertical direction is positive, the second determination unit searches along a waveform showing the continuous change of the vertical direction acceleration toward a positive direction of a time axis from each of a plurality of taking positive slope points of time each being a point of time where the waveform showing the continuous change of the vertical direction acceleration takes a negative slope and the vertical direction acceleration is a second predetermined value, and the second determination unit determines a plurality of points of time each being a point of time where the vertical direction acceleration takes a local minimum as the plurality of taking extreme value points of time.

6. The measurement apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, when the judgement unit judges that the traveling movement of the user is the running movement, the first determination unit searches along a waveform showing a continuous change of the travel direction acceleration toward a negative direction of a time axis from each of the taking extreme value points of time, and finds a plurality of points of time each being a point of time where the travel direction acceleration takes an extreme value for the first time to determine the points of time as the plurality of landing points of time.

7. The measurement apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, when the judgement unit judges that the traveling movement of the user is the running movement, in a case in which a forward direction of the travel direction is positive, the first determination unit searches along a waveform showing a continuous change of the travel direction acceleration toward a negative direction of a time axis from each of the taking extreme value points of time, and finds a plurality of points of time each being a point of time where the travel direction acceleration takes a negative extreme value for the first time to determine the points of time as the plurality of landing points of time.

8. The measurement apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, when the judgement unit judges that the traveling movement of the user is the running movement, in a case in which a backward direction of the travel direction is positive, the first determination unit searches along a waveform showing a continuous change of the travel direction acceleration toward a negative direction of a time axis from each of the taking extreme value points of time, and finds a plurality of points of time each being a point of time where the travel direction acceleration takes a positive extreme value for the first time to determine the points of time as the plurality of landing points of time.

9. The measurement apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, when the judgement unit judges that the traveling movement of the user is the running movement, in a case in which an upward direction of the vertical direction is positive, the first determination unit determines, as the plurality of landing points of time, a plurality of taking positive slope points of time each being a point of time where a waveform showing the continuous change of the vertical direction acceleration takes a positive slope and the vertical direction acceleration is a second predetermined value.

10. The measurement apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, when the judgement unit judges that the traveling movement of the user is walking movement, in a case in which a downward direction of the vertical direction is positive, the first determination unit determined, as the plurality of landing points of time, a plurality of taking positive slope points of time each being a point of time where a waveform showing the continuous change of the vertical direction acceleration takes a negative slope and the vertical direction acceleration is a second predetermined value.

13. The measurement apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an acquiring unit which acquires a time interval between a first landing point of time among the plurality of landing points of time and a second landing point of time that is adjacent to the first landing point of time as a period required for one step in the traveling movement.

11. A measurement method comprising:

judging whether a traveling movement of a user is a running movement or a walking movement,

acquiring continuously a vertical direction acceleration generated in accordance with the traveling movement of the user,

acquiring continuously a travel direction acceleration generated in accordance with the traveling movement,

determining a plurality of landing points of time each being a point of time when a foot of the user lands based on a continuous change of the acquired vertical direction acceleration and the travel direction acceleration when judging that the traveling movement of the user is the running movement, and determining the plurality of landing points of time based on only the continuous change of the vertical direction acceleration between the continuous change of the vertical direction acceleration and the travel direction acceleration when judging that the traveling movement of the user is the walking movement.

12. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium which stores an executable program that is read by a computer to make a controlling unit execute operations comprising:

judging whether a traveling movement of a user is a running movement or a walking movement,

acquiring continuously a vertical direction acceleration generated in accordance with a traveling movement of a user,

acquiring continuously a travel direction acceleration generated in accordance with the traveling movement,

determining, based on a continuous change of the acquired vertical direction acceleration and the travel direction acceleration, a plurality of landing points of time each being a point of time when a foot of the user lands based on a continuous change of the acquired vertical direction acceleration and the travel direction acceleration when judging that the traveling movement of the user is the running movement, and determining the plurality of landing points of time based on only the continuous change of the vertical direction acceleration between the continuous change of the vertical direction acceleration and the travel direction acceleration when judging that the traveling movement of the user is the walking movement.