JP2001236141A - Device for correcting posture - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for correcting posture to be used for correcting deteriorated posture of a worker to use a computer to ideal posture. SOLUTION: This device corrects the deteriorated posture to the one at an ideal state by providing a three-dimensional information measuring part 9 to measure three-dimensional information of body regions of the worker, a posture information calculating part 11 to calculate posture information between the worker and work equipment based on the three-dimensional information measured by the three-dimensional information measuring part 9, an ideal posture information storage part 14 to store the posture information of the worker at an ideal posture state, a comparison part 18 to mutually compare the posture information during work calculated by the posture information calculating part 11 with ideal posture information at the ideal posture state stored in the ideal posture information storage part 14 and to output posture correction information when a comparison result exists outside of an allowable range and a warning display part to issue a warning regarding posture correction based on the posture correction information to be outputted from the comparison part 18.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a posture correcting device for correcting a deteriorated posture of a worker operating a work device near a work device including a display to an ideal posture.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently,
The number of jobs using the computer while looking directly at the display has increased, and the number of complaints about physical disorders has increased along with this. Therefore, a comfortable working environment for using the computer has been demanded. This comfortable working environment not only improves the basic performance of the computer and increases the processing speed,
Pointing on the screen is easy, security is assured and safe to use, and the work environment is personalized.

[0003] Among these comfortable working environments, with regard to a customized working environment, the height of the work chair and the work chair, the adjustment of the tilt angle of the display, etc. are properly adjusted with respect to the ideal posture of the worker. Must be secured. The ideal posture is, as shown in FIG.
The posture in which the height of the work desk and the work chair and the inclination angle of the display are appropriately adjusted are referred to as the posture in which the back is extended, and the bad posture is conversely as shown in FIGS. 7B to 7D. This refers to a posture in which the buttocks of the worker are shifted forward, a posture in which the operator leans forward too much, or a posture in which the back is round.

However, it is not always easy for an operator to maintain an ideal posture. At first, even if the ideal posture can be maintained, the posture gradually deteriorates while using the computer, and there is a problem that the body becomes tired without noticing the deterioration of the posture.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-20998 discloses a method in which a three-dimensional position of a body part is measured by a pair of cameras to determine the direction of a face and used as pointing means on a screen instead of a mouse. ing. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-269358 discloses a technique relating to face recognition using three-dimensional shape data, but none of the publications discloses a technique relating to a working posture of an operator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described problems, and is intended to correct a deteriorated posture of an operator operating a work device at a position near a work device including a display to an ideal posture. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a posture correcting device used for a vehicle.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a three-dimensional apparatus for measuring three-dimensional information of a body part of an operator operating a work device at a position near the work device including a display. Information measuring means, posture information calculating means for calculating posture information of the worker based on the three-dimensional information measured by the three-dimensional information measuring means, and the posture information calculated by the posture information calculating means is allowed. Determining means for determining whether the position information is within the range; and a work environment improvement information output means for outputting work environment improvement information when the determination means determines that the posture information is not within the allowable range. It is characterized by having.

According to this, in the initial setting stage, if the height of the display, the inclination angle, the height of the work chair, etc. are not ideal for the worker, the work environment improvement information is output. The work environment can be set to an ideal state based on the work environment improvement information.

Preferably, the work environment improvement information includes at least one of information related to a display height, a display inclination angle, and a work chair height. According to this, since the elements necessary for improving the work environment are presented, the work environment can be efficiently improved.

[0010] Further, when a display means for displaying the work environment improvement information output by the work environment improvement information output means is provided, the work environment improvement information is easily recognized, and the work environment improvement information is displayed. Based on this, the worker can easily improve the working environment such as the height of the display, the tilt angle, the height of the work chair, and the like.

Further, based on the work environment improvement information output by the work environment improvement information output means, at least one of a display height, a display inclination angle, and a work chair height is adjusted. When the drive control means is provided, the work environment such as the height of the display, the inclination angle, the height of the work chair, and the like can be automatically improved.

On the other hand, another object of the present invention is a three-dimensional information measuring means for measuring three-dimensional information of a body part of a worker operating the work equipment at a position near the work equipment including a display, and Posture information calculating means for calculating posture information of the worker based on the three-dimensional information measured by the information measuring means; ideal posture information storage means for storing posture information of the worker in an ideal posture state; The posture information during the work calculated by the information calculation means and the posture information in the ideal posture state stored in the ideal posture information storage means are compared with each other, and when the comparison result is outside the allowable range, the posture correction information is obtained. Posture information comparing means for outputting the posture correction information output from the posture information comparing means, based on the posture correction information, warning means for warning about posture correction,
It is characterized by having.

According to this, when the posture of the worker is deteriorated, a warning regarding posture correction is issued, so that the worker can correct the deteriorated own posture to a correct posture.

In the posture information comparing means, when the deviation amount between the posture information during the work and the ideal posture information exceeds a predetermined value and the deviation amount continues for more than a predetermined time, the comparison result is obtained. Is desirably determined to be out of the allowable range. According to this, no warning is given for temporary posture deterioration, and a warning is issued only when the posture deterioration has continued for a predetermined time or more, so that it is possible to avoid troublesome frequent warnings at an appropriate time. Posture can be corrected.

The posture information includes a distance between the worker's head and the central axis of the display, an inclination angle of the worker's head with respect to the central axis of the display, a distance between the worker's head and the display, It is preferable to include at least one of the inclination angles of the operator's chest with respect to the central axis in that the relative positional relationship between the display and the operator can be grasped more accurately.

Further, when the posture information is position information of a plurality of positions in the body part of the worker, it is possible to accurately grasp the positional relationship between the parts of the body part.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 are schematic diagrams showing a state in which a worker is working, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electric configuration of a posture correcting device.

1 to 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a computer as work equipment, 2 denotes a keyboard connected to the computer 1 via a cord, 3 denotes a work desk whose height is adjustable, and 4 denotes a computer that operates the computer 1. The worker 5 is a work chair whose height can be adjusted. The worker 4 sits on the work chair 5 facing the computer 1 and operates the keyboard 2 in front of the work chair.

The computer 1 has a display 6 and a computer main body 7 for performing various processes integrated with each other, and is mounted substantially at the center of the work desk 3. The computer body 7 incorporates a posture correcting device 8. It should be noted that a computer for controlling the device different from the computer 1 on which the worker 4 works may be provided.

The display 6 displays the result of the operation by the operator 4 and other information on a display screen 6a on the front side thereof. The display 6 can adjust the tilt angle in the front-rear direction with respect to the computer main body 1. A line (dotted line in FIGS. 2 and 3) extending from the center of the display screen in the direction directly opposite to the display 6 is the central axis of the display 6.

As shown in FIG. 4, the posture correcting device 8 includes a three-dimensional information measuring unit 9 having two cameras 9a, a body part extracting unit 10, a posture information calculating unit 11, and an initial setting mode. Determination unit 12, working environment improvement information output unit 13, ideal posture information storage unit 14, display unit 15 or drive control unit 16 to be used, posture information storage unit 17, comparison unit 18, allowable value storage unit used in the work posture measurement mode 19, a warning display unit 20 is provided.

The three-dimensional information measuring section 9 measures the three-dimensional information of the upper body of the worker 4 sitting on the work chair 5 based on the images taken from the two cameras 9a by a stereo method. The surface position of the upper body is output as three-dimensional coordinate data.

These two cameras 9a simultaneously capture a two-dimensional image and a three-dimensional image of the upper body of the worker 4, and are fixed in a predetermined posture on both sides in the width direction at the lower front of the display 6. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in an ideal posture state, the central axes (dash-dot lines) of both cameras 9a and the central axis of the display 6 intersect at a point near the head of the worker 4 and have different angles. , The upper body of the worker 4 sitting on the chair is reliably imaged. The measurement of the three-dimensional information is performed at a preset time interval or at a time interval desired by the worker 4, but since the posture of the worker 4 does not change at high speed, for example, the frequency is once every several seconds. The measurement may be performed at.

The body part extracting unit 10 extracts the contours of the head 4a and the chest 4b of the worker 4 from the two-dimensional images captured from the two cameras 9a of the three-dimensional information measuring unit 9,
The head 4a and the body 4b are cut out.

The posture information calculation unit 11 is configured to calculate, in the three-dimensional coordinate data output from the three-dimensional information measurement unit 9, a portion corresponding to the head 4 a and the body 4 b cut out by the body part extraction unit 10. Is calculated based on the three-dimensional coordinate data. In this embodiment, as the posture information, the distance h between the head 4a of the worker 4 and the central axis of the display 6, the inclination angle α of the head 4a with respect to the central axis of the display 6, the distance from the head 4a to the display 6 L, the angle β of the chest 4b with respect to the central axis of the display 6 is calculated.

In the initial setting mode, the determination unit 12 determines whether the posture information calculated by the posture information calculation unit 11 is within an allowable range. While the posture information is output to the ideal posture information storage unit 14, if the posture information is out of the allowable range, the posture information is output to the work environment improvement information output unit 13.

The posture information calculating unit 11 calculates the inclination angle of the body by measuring a plurality of points (for example, both shoulders, chest, abdomen, etc.) of the body 4b of the worker 4 as posture information. The determination unit 12 may determine whether the posture of the worker 4 is good or not based on whether the difference between the inclination angle of the body 4b and the inclination angle of the head 4a is within an allowable range. The posture information calculating unit 11 measures a plurality of representative points (for example, eyes, both shoulders, chest, abdomen, etc.) of the head 4a and the body 4b of the worker 4 as posture information, and determines the determination unit. In 12, the quality of the posture may be determined based on whether or not each of those points is within the allowable distance range.

The ideal posture information storage unit 14 stores the posture information sent from the determination unit 12 as ideal posture information.

The work environment improvement information output unit 13 outputs the work environment improvement information to the display unit 15 or the drive control unit 16 based on the posture information when the posture information is sent from the determination unit 12. Things. In this embodiment,
The work environment improvement information is an adjustment amount necessary to achieve an ideal work desk and work chair height and a display tilt angle.

The display unit 15 outputs the work environment improvement information output from the work environment improvement information output unit 14 using a part of the display screen 6a of the display 6, and provides the worker 4 with the work environment. This is a warning. Accordingly, the worker 4 manually adjusts the height of the work desk, the height of the work chair, or the tilt angle of the display based on the work environment improvement information displayed on the display so as to be in an ideal state. adjust.

Based on the work environment improvement information output from the work environment improvement information output unit 14, the drive control unit 16 sets the height of the work desk, the height of the work chair, or the inclination angle of the display to ideal. The drive mechanism automatically controls the raising and lowering mechanism of the work desk 2, the raising and lowering mechanism of the work chair 5, and the angle adjusting mechanism of the display 6 so as to achieve a proper state.

On the other hand, the posture information storage unit 17 stores the posture information during the work calculated by the posture information calculation unit 11. That is, in the working posture measurement mode,
The three-dimensional information of the upper body of the worker 4 is measured at predetermined time intervals by the three-dimensional measuring unit 9, the posture information is calculated by the posture information calculating unit 11, and stored in the posture information storage unit 17 while being sequentially updated. .

The comparison unit 18 compares the ideal posture information stored in the ideal posture information storage unit 14 with the posture information stored in the posture information storage unit 17 every predetermined time when the posture information is updated. When the comparison result exceeds the deviation allowable value and the deviation allowable time stored in the allowable value storage unit 19, the posture correction information is output.

The permissible value storage unit 19 determines the amount of deviation between the ideal posture information stored in the ideal posture information storage unit 14 and the posture information stored in the posture information storage unit 17. The maximum value to be stored is stored as a permissible deviation value, and the time (or the number of times) permitted when a deviation exceeding the permissible deviation value occurs continuously is stored as a permissible continuous deviation time (or permissible number of deviations). It is. The deviation allowable value and the continuous deviation allowable time are set as described above because, when the worker notices the deterioration of the posture and corrects the posture by himself, the operator waits for the worker's voluntary correction without issuing a warning, and This is because a warning for posture correction is issued only when the posture deterioration is not noticed for a predetermined time or more.

The warning display section 20 outputs a warning regarding posture correction using a part of the display screen of the display based on the posture correction information output from the comparing section 18. For example, "Your posture is getting worse"
Such a message or more specifically, a message such as `` Let's stretch your back because your body is leaning too far forward '' may be displayed, but simply turning on or flashing the lamp etc. will show the posture deterioration May be.

Next, the operation of the posture correcting apparatus will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

First, in S101, the worker 4 sets the work chair 5
And stretch your back so that your posture is in the ideal state,
The height of the work desk 3 and the work chair 5 and the angle of the display 6 in the front-rear direction are manually adjusted, and the process enters the initial setting mode in S102.

In the initial setting mode, at S103, 3
An image of the upper body of the worker 4 in the ideal state is captured by the two cameras 9a of the dimensional information measuring unit 9, and three-dimensional information of the upper body of the worker 4 in the ideal state is measured by the stereo method based on the image. The surface position of the upper body of the worker 4 is output as three-dimensional coordinate data.

Then, in S104, the body part extracting unit 10
, The two cameras 9a of the three-dimensional information measuring unit 9
Head 4a and chest 4 from the two-dimensional image captured by
The outline of b is extracted, and the head 4a and the body 4b are cut out.

In step S105, the posture information calculation unit 11 calculates the head of the worker 4 based on the three-dimensional coordinate data of the positions corresponding to the head 4a and the chest 4b cut out by the body part extraction unit 10. Attitude information comprising a distance h of the central axis of the display 6 with respect to the display 4a and an inclination angle α, a distance L from the head 4a of the operator 4 to the display 6, and an inclination angle β of the central axis of the display 6 with respect to the chest 4b of the operator 4. Is calculated.

In step S106, the determination unit 12 determines whether the posture information calculated by the posture information calculation unit 11 is within an allowable range. If the posture information is outside the allowable range (NO in S106), S107
The work environment improvement information output unit 13 outputs work environment improvement information. Then, in step S108, the height of the work desk, the height of the work chair, or the tilt angle of the display is manually or automatically adjusted, and the step S1 is performed until the posture information falls within the allowable range.
03 to S108 are repeated. On the other hand, if the posture information is within the allowable range (YES in S106), in S109, the posture information is used as ideal posture information in the ideal posture information storage unit 1.
4 to exit the initial setting mode and enter the work posture measurement mode of S110.

When entering the work posture measurement mode, S111
Then, images of the upper body of the worker 4 are captured by the two cameras 9a of the three-dimensional information measuring unit 9 at predetermined time intervals, and three-dimensional information of the upper body of the worker 4 is measured based on the images by the stereo method. The surface position of the upper body of the worker 4 is output as three-dimensional coordinate data.

Then, in S112, the body part extracting unit 10
, The two cameras 9a of the three-dimensional information measuring unit 9
Head 4a and chest 4 from the two-dimensional image captured by
The outline of b is extracted, and the head 4a and the chest 4b are cut out.

In step S113, the posture information calculator 11 calculates the center axis of the display 6 based on the three-dimensional coordinate data of the part corresponding to the head 4a and the chest 4b cut out by the body part extractor 10. , The position h of the head 4a and the inclination angle α, the distance L from the display 6 to the head 4a, and the inclination angle β of the chest 4b with respect to the central axis of the display 6 are calculated.

In step S114, the posture information calculated by the posture information calculation unit 11 is stored in the posture information comparison unit 17, and in step S115, the comparison unit 18 stores the ideal posture information stored in the ideal posture information storage unit 14. The posture information is compared with the posture information stored in the posture information storage unit 17, and it is determined whether or not the comparison result exceeds the deviation allowable value and the continuous deviation allowable time stored in the allowable value storage unit 19. to decide. If the comparison result does not exceed the deviation allowable value and the continuous deviation allowable time (YES in S115), S111 to S111 are performed.
If the operation of S115 is repeated, and if it exceeds (NO in S115), posture correction information is output to the warning display unit 20 in S116.

Then, in step S117, the warning display unit 20, which has received the posture correction information, sets the position based on the posture correction information.
A warning about the posture correction is displayed on the display screen 6a of the display 6.
In step S118, the worker 4 corrects his or her own posture to an ideal posture by stretching his / her back based on the warning about the posture correction.

In this way, during the operation, the posture state of the worker is monitored, and if the posture deteriorates, a warning is issued. As a result, the worker can work in the correct posture.

In this embodiment, the warning display section 20 is provided on the output side of the comparing section 18 to visually issue a warning about the posture correction. However, the warning about the posture correction is audibly provided by voice or the like. It may be a thing.

The posture information includes a distance h between the central axis of the display 6 and the head 4a, an inclination angle α of the head 4a with respect to the display 6, a distance L from the display 6 to the head 4a, and a central axis of the display 6. Is the angle β of the chest 4b with respect to, but other posture information may be used as long as the position and posture of the worker can be specified.

The two cameras 9a are connected to the display 6
Is fixed to the lower side in the width direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this. If the upper body of the worker 4 sitting on the chair can be imaged, the upper part or the side of the display 6 may be fixed. Alternatively, the camera 9a may be separate from the display 6.

The head 4a and the chest 4b of the worker 4
Although the stereo method was used to measure the three-dimensional information, the method is not limited to this, and another method such as a light section method may be used.

[0053]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the height of the display, the inclination angle, the height of the work chair, and the like are not ideal for the worker, the work environment improvement information is output. Therefore, the work environment can be set to an ideal state based on the work environment improvement information.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the working environment can be effectively and reliably improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, by displaying the work environment improvement information, the worker can easily improve the work environment.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, it is possible to automatically adjust the height and the inclination angle of the display and the height of the work chair.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the posture of the worker is deteriorated, the posture correction information is output. Therefore, based on the posture correction information, the worker corrects his or her own posture to the correct posture. Can be.

According to the present invention, when the worker does not notice the posture deterioration continuously for a predetermined time or more while avoiding the trouble of frequently giving a warning when the posture is deteriorated temporarily. Can be given only to the user, and a highly practical posture correcting device can be obtained.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to accurately grasp the relative positional relationship between the worker and the work equipment.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to accurately grasp the positional relationship between the body parts.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a computer or the like in which a posture correcting device according to an embodiment of the present invention is incorporated.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the computer and the like in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view showing the computer and the like in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the posture correcting device.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of the posture correcting apparatus in an initial setting mode.

6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the posture correcting device in the working posture measurement mode, and is a continuation of the flowchart of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a side view showing an ideal posture and a bad posture of a worker.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Computer 2 ... Keyboard 3 ... Work desk 4 ... Worker 5 ... Work chair 6 ... Display 7 ... Computer body 8 ... Position correcting device

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takashi Kondo 2-3-13 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inside Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Akira Murakawa Azuchi-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka 2-3-13, Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kenji Tsuji 2-3-113, Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoshitaka Isogai Osaka Osaka International Building Minolta, Inc. 2-3-1-13 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka (72) Inventor Yasushi Yasuda 2-3-113 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Osaka International Building Minolta F-term ( Reference) 2F065 AA04 AA37 CC16 FF05 JJ05 JJ05 JJ19 JJ26 QQ01 QQ21 QQ25 QQ31 RR00 SS09 SS13 TT00 TT08 5L096 AA09 BA02 CA05 DA01 DA03 FA66 FA67 GA 06

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A three-dimensional information measuring means for measuring three-dimensional information of a body part of a worker who operates the work equipment at a position near a work equipment including a display, and a three-dimensional information measured by the three-dimensional information measurement means. Posture information calculating means for calculating posture information of the worker based on dimensional information; determining means for determining whether the posture information calculated by the posture information calculating means is within an allowable range; A work environment improvement information output unit that outputs work environment improvement information when it is determined that the posture information is not within the allowable range. 2. The posture correcting device according to claim 1, wherein the work environment improvement information includes at least one of display height, display inclination angle, and work chair height. 3. The posture correcting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying work environment improvement information output by said work environment improvement information output means. 4. Adjusting at least one of a display height, a display tilt angle, and a work chair height based on the work environment improvement information output by the work environment improvement information output means. The attitude correcting device according to claim 1, further comprising a drive control unit that performs the driving control. 5. A three-dimensional information measuring means for measuring three-dimensional information of a body part of an operator operating the working equipment at a position near the working equipment including a display, and a three-dimensional information measured by the three-dimensional information measuring means. Posture information calculating means for calculating posture information of the worker based on dimensional information; ideal posture information storage means for storing posture information of the worker in an ideal posture state; and work calculated by the posture information calculating means The posture information in the middle and the posture information in the ideal posture state stored in the ideal posture information storage means are compared with each other, and posture information comparing means for outputting posture correction information when the comparison result is outside the allowable range, And a warning unit for issuing a warning regarding posture correction based on the posture correction information output from the posture information comparison unit. 6. The posture information comparing means, wherein a deviation amount between posture information during work and ideal posture information exceeds a predetermined value,
The posture correcting apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the comparison result is determined to be out of an allowable range when the deviation amount continues for more than a predetermined time. 7. The posture information includes a distance between the worker's head and the central axis of the display, an inclination angle of the worker's head with respect to the central axis of the display, a distance between the worker's head and the display, and a display. The posture correcting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of an inclination angle of a chest of an operator with respect to a central axis of the posture. 8. The posture information according to claim 1, wherein the posture information is position information of a plurality of positions in a body part of the worker.
The posture correcting device according to claim 1.