JP3310086B2 - Work environment evaluation device and work environment evaluation method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a work environment evaluation apparatus and a work environment evaluation method for evaluating a work environment expressed using a three-dimensional model or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, monitoring rooms for monitoring and controlling power plants and factories, offices that frequently use word processors, etc.
The design of operating rooms for medical equipment such as T-scanners, or moving objects installed in public places such as elevators and escalators, draws from various perspectives the interior of the room where designers arrange desks, chairs, and fixtures. I was going based on the sketch drawings.

[0003] As a check point at that time, in the monitoring / control room, when an operator sits at the monitoring desk, he can see the large screen on the wall without being obstructed by the monitoring desk, and what is the feeling of living? and so on. The check points of the medical equipment in the operation room include whether the operator can operate while observing the state of the patient, whether the doctor can view the imaged contents without disturbing the operation of the operator, and the like.

[0004] The designer draws a sketch picture in consideration of these chuck points. But,
Dealing with cases where the heights of operators such as operators and observers are different (especially when operating medical equipment, not only men but also women must operate, so it is necessary to handle heights from 150 cm to more than 180 cm) To do so, you need to look from any perspective. However, it is almost impossible to perform a check from an arbitrary viewpoint by checking with a sketch image.

[0005] Also, in the case of designing a moving object or the like, according to the conventional sketch drawing, whether a button on a destination floor of an elevator can be pressed without any problem by a child, an adult, or a wheelchair user is considered. Or, it was not possible to check whether there was a step from the gate to the position where the elevator would be in the way of a wheelchair user. In addition, it was not possible to check whether or not the escalator could be checked from below when only children were riding on the escalator using the sketch method. Alternatively, when a wheelchair user rides on a descending escalator, it is also possible to check how much the steepness is steeper than usual and what kind of fear it gives Could not consider.

[0006] In addition, for example, from the standpoint of a child or a wheelchair user, is it possible to see the destination floor display of an elevator or the like, or what is the inconvenience of a child or short passenger in a crowded elevator or train, etc. (E.g., face pressed against back or long hair) can not be easily confirmed in sketch drawings, but there are many items that are important to consider in design.

[0007] In order to improve the problem of the design check based on the sketch image, the design check has been recently performed by computer graphics. In a design check using computer graphics, a three-dimensional model such as a monitoring desk, a desk, or a chair, which is input using CAD or the like instead of a sketch picture, is arranged in a three-dimensional space. In computer graphics, a three-dimensional space can be viewed as a perspective projection view from any viewpoint. By utilizing this point, the design can be checked from any viewpoint. Furthermore, using a device that can indicate the shape of the finger and the three-dimensional position of the hand, such as a data glove, virtual reality (such as changing the position of an object placed in a three-dimensional space created by computer graphics) ( VR-Virtu
al Reality).

In such an arrangement change based on virtual reality, for example, the monitoring desk or desk can be moved to an arbitrary position, but the alternative obtained by moving is superior to other alternatives in what way. It was not clear. There was no other way but to qualitatively compare and evaluate each plan by looking at the perspective projection view displayed as a picture.

Another method has been proposed in which a 1/10 scale mock-up is actually created, the inside of the mock-up is imaged by a CCD camera, and what it looks like actually is verified. However, in such a method, the viewpoint cannot be arbitrarily moved, and since the model is a model, a drawing or the like displayed on a large screen is simulated with an output on paper. I couldn't do it. For this reason, regarding the computer screen, a screen evaluation simulation was separately created on a computer and evaluated. In this way, the evaluation on the work on the computer screen and the actual work environment were separated.

On the other hand, ergonomics (Human Fa
ctors or Ergonomics)
Observe the worker and record the movement of the worker as a flow line,
There is a way to analyze. With such a method, an operation specified for a certain worker can be analyzed. However, if the same task is performed by a short stature worker, the height of the movement caused by physical measurements such as height may increase the number of times the user stands and sits to look at the large screen when the monitor is in the way. The difference could not be predicted. Furthermore, such an analysis method could not be applied to a work environment to be designed because there is no actual work environment. In addition, some actual-scale simulations in which a real-size working environment is created to perform experiments are also performed. However, since it is necessary to collect subjects who have various physical measurement values and perform experiments, it is very expensive. For this reason, even if it is implemented in a large-scale design, it is hardly implemented in a small-scale design such as a kitchen design. Further, in the operating environment of the medical device, it is difficult for the doctor to receive opinions or suggestions by participating in the full-scale simulation because the doctor is busy. Or, it was also difficult to give a wheelchair user or a child an opinion by adding a full-scale simulation.

In the field of ergonomics, a keystroke level model (Card, SK, Moran, T., et al.) For predicting the time required for a highly skilled operator to hit a key.
P., and Newell, A. (1980), "The keystroke-level mod
el for user performance timewith interactive syste
ms, "Communications of the ACM, 23, pp.396-410)
And a GOMS model (Card, SK, Moran, T. et al.) As a model for predicting user behavior when editing text.
P., and Newell, A. (1983ZZ), "The Psycology of Human
Computer Interaction, "Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum).

[0012] These are very limited models and evaluation methods for some of the tasks performed on the computer. In order to compare and evaluate alternatives related to the layout of the work environment, evaluation models for the entire work environment, such as paper processing work performed by the computer and work involving physical movement, as well as work performed toward the computer, An evaluation method is needed. Therefore, the conventional model and the evaluation method cannot evaluate the alternative regarding the arrangement of the work environment.

[0013] Also, by using a device such as an eye-mark recorder, the physical viewpoint movement is recorded by using a device such as an eye mark recorder to determine what point of the computer screen is being focused on.
A method of analyzing or measuring physiological fatigue after use by a flicker test or the like is used. The fatigue data collected in this way was limited to experimental data, and was hardly reused as evaluation data for an actual design.

[0014]

As described above, the conventional techniques of sketching, computer graphics, and virtual reality cannot quantitatively evaluate alternative work environment arrangements. In addition, it was not possible to evaluate the inconvenience, discomfort, and the like generated when actually working.

Models used in the field of ergonomics are limited to operations performed on a computer. Considering not only the work to be done toward the computer, but also the work environment as a whole, including the processing of documents performed beside the computer and the work involving the movement of the body, etc. It was not possible to quantitatively evaluate alternative work environment arrangements based on differences in positions.

Furthermore, the analysis method is intended for a worker in an actual work environment, and cannot be used for a work environment to be created (which does not yet exist). In addition, when a full-scale working environment is created and motion analysis is performed, it is necessary to collect a large number of subjects with different physical measurement values and perform experiments, which is extremely labor-intensive and costly. Further, it was almost impossible to perform a full-scale simulation for a busy doctor or the like.

Also, the fatigue data collected is merely experimental data, and it is not clear what kind of operation will occur due to the difference in the arrangement of the devices. Therefore, it is necessary to actively estimate the fatigue caused by the frequency and duration of the operation. Was not available to

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a work environment evaluation apparatus and a work environment evaluation device capable of quantitatively evaluating a work environment by appropriately giving conditions relating to a worker and a work environment. The aim is to provide a method.

[0019]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a work environment evaluation apparatus for virtually evaluating a work environment based on a three-dimensional model, wherein each of a plurality of objects virtually arranged in the three-dimensional model is provided. , Data indicating the three-dimensional shape of the object, data indicating the three-dimensional coordinates of the position where the object is arranged, and a plurality of objects in the three-dimensional model are sequentially watched. First storage means for storing work environment information including data indicating a physical measurement value of a worker who performs a virtual work and data indicating three-dimensional coordinates of a position where the worker is arranged; Second storage means for storing work procedure information including data for identifying a plurality of objects to be watched by the worker and data indicating the order in which the workers should be watched, and eyes, neck and waist of the worker. A third storage unit that stores operation limit information including data indicating a limit rotation angle and a limit movement distance, and the worker performs the gaze based on the work environment information, the work procedure information, and the operation limit information. Means for respectively determining a view cone for each of the plurality of objects to be obtained, and for each of the determined view cones, the operator gazes at the gaze target object related to the view cone inside the view cone. Means for determining whether or not there is an object that interferes, based on the determination result,
Means for obtaining an object determined to be in the way of at least one visual field cone and evaluation result information including the number of times the object has been determined to be in the way; and a display screen displaying the three-dimensional model in which the object and the worker are arranged And means for presenting the evaluation result information on the display screen in association with the object determined to be in the way. Preferably, the presentation of the object determined to be in the way may be performed by changing the color of the object on the display screen. Preferably, the presentation of the number of times determined to be in the way may be performed by displaying a predetermined image indicating the number of times on the image of the object displayed on the display screen. . Preferably, the information processing apparatus may further include means for designating, by a pointing device, objects to be watched by the worker in the three-dimensional model and their order.
Preferably, the apparatus may further include means for changing an arrangement of the object in the three-dimensional model by a pointing device. Preferably, for a plurality of types of the workers having different body measurement values,
The evaluation result information may be obtained and presented.
Preferably, the information processing apparatus may further include means for obtaining an action of the worker when the worker gazes at the plurality of objects in the order, and means for performing a predetermined presentation regarding the obtained action. . Further, the present invention provides a work environment evaluation method for a work environment evaluation device for virtually evaluating a work environment based on a three-dimensional model, wherein each of a plurality of objects virtually arranged in the three-dimensional model is provided. Data for identifying the object, data indicating the three-dimensional shape of the object, data indicating the three-dimensional coordinates of the position where the object is arranged, and virtual data for sequentially gazing at a plurality of objects in the three-dimensional model. Storing in a first storage means work environment information including data indicating a body measurement value of an operator performing a complicated work and data indicating three-dimensional coordinates of a position where the worker is arranged; Storing in a second storage means work procedure information including data for identifying a plurality of objects to be watched by the worker and data indicating an order in which the objects should be watched; Storing, in a third storage unit, operation limit information including data indicating an operation limit relating to at least the rotation of the eyes, neck, and waist of the worker, based on the work environment information, the work procedure information, and the operation limit information; Determining the field of view cones from the operator to each of the plurality of objects to be watched, and for each of the determined field of view cones, inside the field of view cones, Determining whether there is an object that hinders the gaze of the gaze target object; and, based on the determination result, the object determined to be hindered with respect to at least one field of view cone and the object Obtaining evaluation result information including the number of times that it is determined that the evaluation result is to be obtained. The evaluation result information is an obstacle to the three-dimensional model. Characterized by a step of presenting on the display screen in association with the determined object.

[0020]

[0021]

[0022]

[0023]

[0024]

[0025]

[0026]

[0027]

[0028]

[0029]

[0030]

[0031]

[0032]

According to the present invention, it is determined whether or not there is an object in the working environment in the field of view of the worker, the object that blocks the point of regard is determined, and how much the object blocks the work procedure and the body measurement value. Is counted and the result is presented. At a glance, you can see at a glance which object is deteriorating the work environment when you change the physical measurements of the worker, change the arrangement of objects in the work environment, or change the work procedure. Can be compared. According to the present invention, an object placed in a work environment, a worker, a work environment focusing on the visibility of a worker to a gaze target object according to conditions such as a work procedure in which the worker gazes at the object. Can be evaluated.

[0033]

[0034]

[0035]

[0036]

[0037]

[0038]

[0039]

[0040]

[0041]

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

(First Embodiment) First, a working environment evaluation apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the working environment evaluation apparatus of the present embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, in the working environment evaluation apparatus according to the present embodiment, an input unit 3 is connected to an information management unit 1, and a work environment, a work procedure, and the like input through the input unit 3. The conditions are stored in a work environment storage unit 5 and a work procedure storage unit 7 connected to the information management unit 1, respectively. Further, the information management unit 1 is connected to the operation limit storage unit 9 via the operation calculation unit 11, and also connected to the visual field calculation unit 13 and the presentation unit 15.

Hereinafter, each of them will be described together with the operation. First, the input unit 3 comprises a monitoring console, desk,
3D ACD for objects such as chairs and computer monitors
Use, etc., or read a three-dimensional shape that has been created, any format (for example, the industry standard of df _x file format), and the like files that have been described in accordance with,
A pointing device, such as a keyboard or mouse, for specifying where to place the read object in the three-dimensional space, or for inputting work procedures using a computer screen or work in the entire workspace. Or an external storage medium reading device such as a floppy disk driver, or Ethernet,
It consists of connectors to external networks such as cables.

The work environment storage unit 5 stores the three-dimensional shape and its position input from the input unit 3 or the position of the worker and the body measurement values such as height and sitting height, for example, in a storage format as shown in FIG. Remember. Similarly, the work procedure storage unit 7
FIG. 3 clarifies the work procedure input from the input unit 3, for example, where the worker should pay attention to work.
Is stored in a shape like The motion limit storage unit 9 stores, for example, the limit rotation angles of the rotation of the neck in the vertical and horizontal directions due to the movement of the waist such as the middle seat as shown in FIG. It is stored in a format.

The motion calculation unit 11 is based on the position and shape of the three-dimensional object stored in the work environment storage unit 5 and the human body measurement values such as the initial position and height of the worker input from the input unit 3. The procedure stored in the work procedure storage unit 7 is converted based on the limit rotation angle and the limit travel distance of the human motion stored in the operation limit storage unit 9 according to, for example, a processing flow as shown in FIG. An operation sequence of an operator when performing a series of operations is calculated. The field-of-view calculating unit 13 includes the motion calculating unit 1
For example, a change in the visual field of the worker is calculated according to the operation calculated in step 1 in accordance with the flow of processing as shown in FIG.

The presentation unit 15 includes a CRT display for displaying the work environment stored in the work environment storage unit 5 and the change in the worker's visual field calculated by the visual field calculation unit 13.

The information management unit 1 exchanges data between the input unit 3, the work environment storage unit 5, the work procedure storage unit 7, the operation calculation unit 11, the operation limit storage unit 9, the presentation unit 15, and the visual field calculation unit 13. This is for controlling the processing.

FIG. 2 shows an example of storage of object data in the work environment storage unit 5. The table stored in the work environment storage unit 5 includes names of the respective objects (“monitor A”, “input panel”, etc.), center coordinates at which the objects are focused on when working, and three-dimensional coordinates. The coordinates of six vertices of a rectangular parallelepiped (referred to as a bounding box) circumscribing the shape and the pointer indicating the location where the actual three-dimensional shape data is stored are stored. The three-dimensional shape is input unit 3
In some cases, the format (for example, the dxf format) remains the same, but in many cases, the presentation unit 1
5 is converted into a format that enables high-speed rewriting when displayed. The vertex coordinates of the bounding box can be input from the input unit 3, but in many cases, the information management unit 1 calculates a cuboid circumscribing the three-dimensional shape input from the input unit 3. , Its vertex coordinates,
It is stored as shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an example of a work procedure stored in the work procedure storage unit 7. The names of objects to be watched for each procedure (corresponding to the names of the objects stored in the work environment storage unit 5). Is stored). The input of the actual work procedure is performed by operating a pointing device such as a mouse of the input unit 3 with respect to the work environment displayed on the presentation unit 15 in order, as shown in the example of FIG. To instruct.

The information management unit 1 searches for an object closest to the position specified by the input unit 3 from the objects stored in the work environment storage unit 5 (for example, the three-dimensional coordinate value specified by the input unit 3 is searched). Find the bounding box to include). The name of the object is read from the name in the format of FIG. 2, and the name is written in FIG. By sequentially repeating this, the object name of interest in each procedure can be input as shown in FIG.

Alternatively, a file stored in a format as shown in FIG. 3 can be read out and edited by directly editing the file using the keyboard of the input unit 3. In the example of FIG. 3, the names of the objects to be noted in each procedure are stored, but the names are not necessarily limited thereto.

FIG. 4 shows an example of storage in the operation limit storage unit 5. In each part of the human body (for example, a joint such as a neck, a waist, and a shoulder) which is necessary when a human performs an operation, the maximum rotation / movement is determined for each of the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis by individual differences, for example, gender differences. , Age difference, exercise history difference, and the like.

As for the neck, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the rotation in the vertical direction (around the x axis) and the rotation in the left and right directions (around the y axis and around the z axis) are separately stored. Each x
Since the neck cannot be moved in the directions of the axis, the y axis, and the z axis, these values are 0. The waist is similarly stored. Actual values are Morgan, CT, Cook, JS, Hacpan
Stores values that refer to measured values of the human body such as is, A., and Jund, MW, "Ergonomics Data Book-Ergonomics Guidelines for Equipment Design" (Corona).

Here, suppose that the rotation of the neck about the x-axis is 20 degrees upward (bending back of the head) and 45 degrees downward (bending abdomen of the head).
Degrees, rotation left and right around the y-axis (head bending) 41 degrees, and rotation around the z-axis left and right (head rotation) 50 degrees.

Further, with respect to the eyes, an angle at which information can be instantly extracted by eye movement alone without any movement of the neck or the like is stored. Actual values are based on Hatada's data (Ergonomics, Vol. 22, No. 2 ('86)) (see FIG. 8). That is, rotation about the x axis is 8 degrees upward and 12 degrees downward, and rotation about the y axis is 15 degrees left and right. In addition, although the distance that can be seen without exercise depends on the visual acuity of the worker, Σ is stored in the example of FIG. 4 as a default value (a value used when there is no clear input).

Next, the operation of the operation calculating section 11 will be described with reference to the flow of processing in FIG. The position of the worker input from the input unit 1 is (X ₁ , Y ₁ , Z ₁ ), the height is Lcm,
The height of the chair is Mcm. When a person with a height of Lcm is sitting and working, the sitting height is k% of the height and the eye position relative to the sitting posture is e% (According to Morgan's data book, k is a value of about 52, and e is 87%. Value of degree). The parallax of both eyes is dcm (d is about 8). Since the height of the chair is Mcm, the position of the eyes of the y-coordinate becomes _{Y e = Y 1 + M +} keL / 10000. The position of the x coordinate of the left and right eyes (assuming that they are located parallel to the x axis) is as follows: X _e = X ₁ ± (d / 2). z coordinates are Z _e = Z _1.

Referring to FIG. 6, the motion calculation unit 4 reads the next point of interest in the work procedure storage unit 3 in step S1. In the example of FIG. 3, the first point of interest is the monitor A. The center coordinates of the monitor A are read from the work environment storage unit 5 (step S
3) On the other hand, a distance and an angle to the current viewpoint position are calculated in step S5.

The distance L is calculated according to the example shown in FIG.

[0061]

(Equation 1) The angle λ about the x axis is sin λ = (y ₀ −Y _e ) / L The angle θ about the y axis is sin θ = (x ₀ −X _e ) / L (see FIG. 20).

Next, the process proceeds to step S7, in which the left / right / up / down limit rotation angles of various parts of the human body such as eyes and face are read from the operation limit storage unit 9.

In step S9, it is determined whether or not θ and λ are smaller than the values stored in the operation limit storage unit 9, that is, the limit angles for the eyes in FIG. If it is small, it is within the field of view, so that the operation target can be seen only by the movement of the eyes without performing operations such as rotation and movement. If not small,
Since it is not in the field of view, it is first determined whether or not the gazing point enters the field of view by rotation of the next part of the eye (the neck in the example of FIG. 4).

When it enters the field of view, the part is rotated. If not, in step S11, the limit movement distance due to the waist and the like is read from the operation limit storage unit, and the part is moved (step S13). In the case of the neck, since the limit distance is 0, it is sequentially examined whether or not the rotation of the next part (the waist in the example of FIG. 4) enters the field of view (steps S11, S13, S13).
S15). In this way, until the point of interest is in view,
The parts in FIG. 4 are sequentially determined. If you cannot stand within the field of view just by standing on the spot, walk further. In the case of walking, it is dealt with by previously determining a moving route in the work environment. Alternatively, a measure is taken to avoid collision with an object in the work environment by calculating a movement route by interference determination described later.

In step S17, since the viewpoint of the operator has changed due to the operation, the viewpoint is recalculated. Or later,
It is needless to say that it is determined whether or not the recalculated viewpoint position is in the visual field.

In step S 19, the display of the visual field is instructed to the presentation unit 15 through the information management unit 1.

The visual field calculation unit 13 presents a visual field according to the flow of processing as shown in FIG. First, in step S21, the viewpoint position coordinates are read, in step S23, the gazing point (in this case, (x ₀ , y ₀ , z ₀ ) is read, and in step S25, the view cone is presented with the viewpoint position coordinates as the origin. The limit angle of the visual field cone is the limit angle of the eye stored in the operation limit storage unit 9 (see FIG. 8).

When this viewing cone is presented by the presentation unit 15 in accordance with the presentation of the working environment, for example, the result is as shown in FIG. FIG. 9 shows an example in which all the fields of view of the worker until completion of a certain work are presented.

The visual field cone shown in FIG. 9 (a cone extending from an operator's viewpoint to an object is referred to as a cone here) is such that a human does not move his head as shown in FIG. It is formed so that the effective visual field angle (about 15 degrees left and right, about 12 degrees below and about 8 degrees above) can be instantaneously extracted from the noise information. In the example of FIG. 9, an effective viewing angle of about 15 degrees in the left and right direction is reproduced. It is also possible to present an accurate effective field of view.

However, the visual field (approximately 50 to the left and right) that the human eye cannot actually identify the information but can determine the presence.
Degrees, about 45 degrees below and about 40 degrees above). This guided visual field is a range where a sense of realism such as a large screen is received.
The auxiliary visual field that can be detected when there is more rapid movement is 1 left and right
It extends over 00 degrees and over 85 degrees vertically. The guided visual field is an out-of-focus image, the auxiliary visual field is further defocused, and the image is colorless. The guided visual field cone and the auxiliary visual field cone are formed around the effective visual field cone in FIG.
It is also possible to display by color. The guided visual field cone makes it possible to check whether or not the information for realistic display is correctly seen by the operator. Further, according to the auxiliary visual field cone, it is possible to check whether or not the blinking of the alarm device is in the auxiliary visual field of the operator.

FIG. 10 is an example in which workers in different positions are presented so that they can compare what they are looking at at a certain point in time.

The presentation method is not limited to those shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, but only traces the visual fields of two workers,
It is also possible to trace the field of view of a human worker and appropriately present the field of view of another worker.

Further, various body measurement values,
By changing the height of chairs and desks, etc., it is easy to know the difference in the field of view due to differences in height and fixtures.

In the present embodiment, the body measurement value is specified from the input unit 1. However, for example, a body measurement value (for example, a value from the 5th percentile to the 95th percentile) such as that in Morgan's data book is input in advance. It is also possible to memorize in the working environment storage unit 2 and calculate the operation for various body measurement values almost automatically.

In the process of FIG. 6, it is determined whether only the center point is in the field of view, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. For example, when the entire surface of the monitor surface must be in the field of view, it can be dealt with by storing the vertex coordinates of the surface to be viewed instead of the center coordinates of FIG. Also, when the whole image of the patient must be in the field of view, it can be dealt with by making a determination on the vertex coordinates of the bounding box in FIG.
By separately storing flags indicating these types (whether the object to be viewed is only the center point of the object, the surface, or the whole),
You can specify what to look at for each object.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a working environment evaluation apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the working environment evaluation apparatus of this embodiment. In this work environment evaluation device, an input unit 3 is connected to an information management unit 1, and conditions such as a work environment and a work procedure input through the input unit 3 are connected to the information management unit 1. They are stored in the storage unit 5 and the work procedure storage unit 7, respectively. The information management unit 1 also has an operation limit storage unit 9 via an operation calculation unit 11,
The interference determining unit 17 and the operation counting unit 21 are connected, and the interference determining unit 17 is connected to an interference counting unit 19. Further, the information management unit 1 is also connected to a visual field calculation unit 13 and a presentation unit 15.

Hereinafter, each of them will be described together with the operation. First, the interference determination unit 17 determines whether there is an object in the field of view and does not hinder the view of the work target. The interference counting unit 19 counts the number of times for each obstructed object. The operation counting unit 21 counts the operations calculated by the operation calculation unit 11. Although the configuration of FIG. 11 has a configuration in which there is no means for presenting the visual field visible to the operator on a part of the screen, it is also possible to add this.

A part of the flow of the processing in the operation calculating section 11 also changes as shown in FIG. Specifically, when it is determined that the rotation operation is to be performed, what kind of rotation operation is performed in which part is detected in step S31, and the operation counting unit 21 counts in step S33. Similarly, regarding the movement operation,
Which part of the motion is detected in step S35, and the motion counting unit "1" counts in step S37. Further, when the point of interest is in the field of view, at this time step S39
Then, the interference determination unit 17 checks whether there is any object in the field of view. At this time, in order to speed up the interference check, the interference between the visual field cone and the bounding box of the object (stored in the work environment storage unit 5) is determined.

When there is an interfering object, step S4
In step 1, the color of the object is changed so that it is possible to know which object is in the way, and the number of times the object is obstructed is counted by the interference counting unit 19 in step S43.

The operation counting section 21 and the interference counting section 19
For example, by superimposing the counting result on the work environment as shown in FIG. 13 in a bar graph or the like as shown in FIG. 13, it is possible to see at a glance which objects are in the way and the number of operations is increasing. As shown in FIG. 13, which objects are obstructing the work can be seen at a glance.
When examining an alternative in the arrangement, it is understood that the position of the obstructing object should be changed, so that the alternative can be easily created.

FIG. 13 shows alternatives such as changing the position or shape of an obstructing object, changing the procedure, etc., for the operator of various body measurement values. Thus, it is possible to easily judge whether the alternative is good or not without any technical knowledge.

The presentation of the statistics is not limited to the display as shown in FIG. Only the count value can be presented separately from the work environment. However, as shown in FIG. 13, if the object is presented over the work environment, the input unit 1 can directly indicate the obstructing object and change the position, so that the operation is very easy. Become.

(Third Embodiment) Next, a working environment evaluation apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the working environment evaluation apparatus of this embodiment.

A motion presentation unit 23 for presenting a state in which a worker dynamically moves in accordance with the motion calculated by the motion calculation unit 23 is added to the first embodiment. Of course, a configuration in which the operation presentation unit 23 is added to the first embodiment or the second embodiment is also possible.

In the first embodiment, the operator does not move, and only the visual field of the result is presented. In the second embodiment,
The worker did not move, and only the statistics of the result of the movement were presented. On the other hand, in the third embodiment, since the worker actually operates, the flow line of the worker can be traced according to the work procedure. That is, from the first operation,
It is possible to perform analysis according to transition between procedures, such as finding a defect in the process of moving to the second operation.

The motion presentation unit 23 receives the calculated rotation angle and moving distance of each part from the motion calculation unit 11 through the information management unit 1. The motion presentation unit 23 performs interpolation of each part of the human body according to the received value, and generates a moving image as shown in FIG.
5 to 19 are presented.

That is, from the predetermined state shown in FIG.
When the gazing point is set at the position shown in FIG. 16, it is understood that the eye movement alone does not sufficiently enter the visual field, and the body is twisted as shown in FIG. Look at the viewpoint. Also, as shown in FIG. 18, if the gazing point is set on the opposite side, the body does not enter the field of view with the current body orientation, so the body is returned to the original position as shown in FIG. Turn your body and look at the point of interest. By performing these operations on FIG. 9 and FIG. 13, visual judgment becomes easier.

In the above embodiment, the work environment storage unit 5
Although the object stored in the memory actually exists in the environment, the object is not necessarily limited to this. For example,
Divide the monitor into units such as menus and windows,
The position is stored in the work environment storage unit 5 in the unit. At the same time, if the work procedure storage unit 7 also stores the procedure in that unit, the work performed toward the computer can be analyzed in more detail.

By storing the distance from the viewpoint necessary for performing the work in the work procedure storage section 7, the movement calculating section 11 can move the worker by walking or the like until the distance becomes equal to or less than the distance. Can be calculated. It is also possible for the interference determination unit 11 to determine an object that becomes a hindrance when walking, to count by the interference counting unit 19, and to display it according to FIG.

Also, the work procedure storage unit 7 stores an object to be operated such as a hand or a foot, and the operation limit storage unit 9 stores a limit value related to rotation or movement of each joint of the hand or the foot. In addition, the operation can be calculated and counted for the actual operation.

As described above, according to each of the above embodiments, the procedure input is performed by having the three-dimensional shape and position of the object constituting the work environment and the body position and height of the worker. According to the procedure input from the means, the movement of the worker is obtained, the body measurement value of the worker is changed, the arrangement of the object in the work environment is changed, and the work procedure is changed. By counting operations, the advantages and disadvantages of various alternatives can be compared.

Further, the field of view of the worker who is working according to the work procedure is calculated, and the workers (technical staff, doctor,
The problem can be easily grasped by comparing the visual field of the patient or the observer and the observer's chief, the observer) and the visual field of the worker with different physical measurement values with the overall work environment.

If an object that blocks the field of view of the worker is determined,
Count which objects obstruct the work procedure and body measurements and how much, change the worker's body measurements, change the arrangement of objects in the work environment, and change the work procedure. In this case, it is possible to compare at a glance which object deteriorates the working environment.

Further, since it is possible to present the worker with an action, it is possible not only to compare and evaluate the work state with a more realistic feeling, but also to easily check the trouble in the flow of the work procedure.

(Fourth Embodiment) Next, a working environment evaluation apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the working environment evaluation apparatus of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 21, the work environment evaluation device of the present embodiment includes an input unit 31, a work environment storage unit 32, a virtual subject storage unit 33, an reachable range storage unit 34, an inclusion determination unit 35, a drawing unit 36, an output unit A unit 37 and an information management unit 38 are provided.

[0099] The input unit 31, a desk constituting the working environment, a chair, a computer monitor, etc. objects used with a three-dimensional CAD creating three-dimensional shape a predetermined format (e.g., industry-standard df _x file format)
An external storage medium, such as a pointing device such as a keyboard or a mouse, or a floppy disk driver for reading a file or the like described in accordance with the above or specifying where to place the read object in a three-dimensional space. It consists of a reading device or a connector to an external network such as an Ethernet cable.

The work environment storage unit 32 stores the three-dimensional shape and its position input from the input unit 31, for example, in a format as shown in FIG. Similarly, the virtual subject storage unit 33
Stores the three-dimensional shape and position of the virtual subject input from the input unit 31. The reachable range storage unit 3
4 stores, for example, the reachable range of each part of the virtual subject in a format as shown in FIG.

The inclusion determining section 35 determines whether or not the operation target object specified by the input section 31 is included in the movable range stored in the reachable range storage section 34.

The drawing unit 36 includes a work environment stored in the work environment storage unit 32, a virtual subject stored in the virtual subject storage unit 33 operating in the work environment, and the reachable range storage unit. The movable range stored in 34 is converted into a format that can be seen for each virtual subject.

The output unit 37 comprises, for example, a CRT for displaying the drawing result of the drawing unit 36.

The information management unit 38 manages exchange of data and instructions among the input unit 31, the work environment storage unit 32, the virtual subject storage unit 33, the reachable range storage unit 34, the inclusion determination unit 35, and the drawing unit 36. It is for doing.

FIG. 22 shows an example of the storage format of the work environment storage section 32. The center coordinates of each object, the vertex coordinates of a bounding box (circumscribed cuboid of the object) used for interference check, and the like, and a pointer to a storage area where the three-dimensional shape data is actually stored are stored. .

FIG. 23 shows an example of a storage format of the reachable range stored in the reachable range storage unit 34. The reachable range of the arm is Morgan, CT, Cool, JS, Hacpanis,
There is also a format that uses the length directly, as described in A., and Jund, MW, "Ergonomics Data Book-Ergonomics Guidelines for Device Design" (Corona). However, with this method, it is difficult to respond smoothly when the physical condition of the virtual subject changes. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 23, the angle at the joint determined using the data described in the “ergonomic data book” as a reference is used. The range that the arm can reach is the rotation angle around the shoulder joint. This value depends on the posture (standing or sitting), as described in the Ergonomics Handbook. For each posture,
As shown in FIG. 24, an angle rotatable around the front of the body is determined from the “Ergonomics Handbook” and stored. For example, the reachable range of the arm is a cone of the angle stored in FIG. 23 with the shoulder at the top and the arm length as the diameter. Similarly, the reachable range of the hand is a cone having the wrist as the apex and the angle stored in FIG. 23 with the length of the hand as the diameter. Actually, since the rotatable angle differs depending on the rotation direction, the conical shape indicating the reachable range has a distorted shape. Hereinafter, a conical shape includes a distorted conical shape.

The drawing unit 36 converts the reachable range stored in the reachable range storage unit 34 in a format as shown in FIG. 23 so as not to affect the visualization of the positional relationship between the work environment and the virtual subject, for example. Using a function such as alpha blending, a cone having a shoulder as shown in FIG. 25 (a) as a vertex and having a diameter corresponding to the length of an arm and a hand (a distorted cone when accurately displayed) is cut in half. Display transparent. Or FIG.
As shown in (b), there is also a method of separately displaying a conical shape having a shoulder as a vertex and the length of an arm as a diameter, and a conical shape of a hand portion ahead. In addition, various other methods are conceivable.For example, the arm is divided into an upper arm and a lower arm, and a shoulder is used as a vertex, and a conical shape whose diameter is the upper arm, and an elbow is a vertex and the length of the lower arm is used as a diameter. And a conical shape with the wrist as the apex and the long seat of the hand as the diameter, or two cones with the shoulder and the elbow as vertices are also possible.

Next, an operation example of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
The process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 28 shows a specific example of the processing procedure of the inclusion determination unit performed in step S67 of FIG.

First, the input unit 31 specifies which object is to be operated and whether to determine whether the object can be reached or not (step S61). Various instruction formats are possible, such as a format for directly instructing an object displayed on the output unit 37 as shown in FIG. 25, or a format for selecting a relevant object from a list of objects existing in the current work environment. Now, it is assumed that the input panel is instructed as an operation target. The center coordinates of the input panel are calculated from the values stored in the work environment storage unit 32 (see FIG. 22), (x2, y2
, Z2).

Next, the position, orientation, posture, and physical condition of the virtual subject are instructed from the input unit 31 (step S6).
3). The position can be indicated by a method of directly indicating on the output unit 37 or a method of directly indicating a coordinate value by a numeral. If no special instruction is given, the current position may be followed, or a default coordinate position may be used as an initial condition. Here, it is assumed that p = (px, py, pz) is designated as the position coordinates. Similarly, the direction of the body can be directly instructed or can be instructed on the output unit 37, and the current direction can be followed or the default can be set as the initial condition. Here, it is assumed that a normal vector (unit vector) n = (nx, ny, nz) is specified.

If the posture is not specified, the current posture displayed on the output unit 37 may be followed, or the standing position may be set as the initial condition. . Here, it is assumed that the standing position is instructed. Similarly, the physical condition may be the same as the current physical condition unless otherwise specified, or the standard physical condition may be set as the initial condition. In this case, it is assumed that the height Lcm is specified. In the virtual subject storage unit 32, based on the value of the “ergonomic data book”, Are stored.

Based on these values, the virtual subject storage unit 3
The information management unit 38 reads the shape data of the virtual subject from Step 3 and generates a virtual subject, and calculates the position of a main part such as the shoulder position of the virtual subject.

For example, the position coordinates of the neck at the same height as the shoulder are standing, and are higher than the center position by the shoulder height L · su in the y-axis direction, so that (px, py + L · su) , P
z). The position of the right shoulder is now the normal vector n
Is shifted vertically by half the shoulder width, so q
= (Px-L.hw / 2.nz, py + L.su + L.
hw / 2 · ny, pz + L · hw / 2 · nx).
Similarly, the position of the left shoulder and the like can be obtained. The generated virtual subject data is sent to the drawing unit 36 and output to the output unit 3.
7 is displayed.

Next, in step S65, the reachable range is calculated based on the generated position of the shoulder joint of the virtual subject. For example, if the virtual subject is right-handed, the position q of the right shoulder
And the length L · (au + ad +
h) is a diameter, and a conical shape with a central angle α1u is the reachable range. The result is sent to the drawing unit 36, and is output on the output unit 37.
It is displayed as a translucent conical shape as shown in FIG.

In step S67, it is determined whether or not the target object is included in the reachable range calculated in step S65. Here, for example, the determination is made in the following manner.

As shown in FIG. 27, the vertex coordinates of the reachable range, in this case q, and the center coordinates of the operation target, in this case (x
, Y2, z2) (step S81 in FIG. 28), which is the diameter of the reachable range (in this case, L ·
It is checked whether (au + ad + h)), that is, whether the center coordinates of the operation target exist within the reachable range diameter (step S83 in FIG. 28). If no, the result is no.

If yes, the angle θ between the vertex coordinates and the center coordinates of the operation target is calculated (step S8 in FIG. 28).
5). Then, it is determined whether θ is smaller than １ ／ (in this case, α1u / 2) of the central angle of the reachable range, that is, whether the center coordinate of the operation target is included in the cone of the reachable range (FIG. 28, step S87). Yes if included,
If not included, no is determined as the determination result.

If the judgment result of the inclusion judgment unit 35 is yes, it is judged that reachability is reached (step S69 in FIG. 26). On the other hand, if no, it is unreachable (step S71),
As can be seen, for example, the color of the operation target determined to be unreachable to the drawing unit 36 is changed (for example, to red).
Sent from the information management unit 38 to the output unit 3
7 is changed. The user can know at a glance that the input panel to be operated on the output unit 37 is unreachable because the color of the input panel has become red, for example.

The judgment method of the inclusion judgment unit 35 does not necessarily have to perform the processing as shown in FIG. 28, but performs an interference check on the bounding box to be operated and the cone of the reachable range, and determines whether or not there is interference. A direct determination method is also possible. Alternatively, the sum between the bounding box and the reachable cone and the exclusive or (exclusiv
e or) is determined, the inclusion relation is determined, and the possibility of reachability is determined.

Also, even if an object to be operated is within the reachable range, another object may be present in the middle of the reachable area, so that it may hit when reaching. In this case, the processing of FIG. 28 is similarly performed on the object stored in the work environment storage unit 32. If the object is included in the reachable range, by changing the display color of the object on the output unit 37 or blinking the display as an obstructive object, it is possible to find an object that is likely to interfere with the operation.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to verify whether an operation target is set at a position where an operation can be performed at an early stage of design using virtual subjects under various body conditions. . In addition, even when the arrangement of the devices is changed, or when the height of the virtual subject is changed (to be a child or a wheelchair user), it can be easily confirmed.

In addition to displaying the reachable range,
Since it is checked by an interference check whether the operation target is included in the reachable range, for each operation target,
It is possible to accurately check whether the operation is possible.

(Fifth Embodiment) Next, a working environment evaluation apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Normally, many objects such as buttons and touch screens have predetermined surfaces to be operated. Therefore, instead of determining whether the bounding box is included in the reachable range as in the fourth embodiment, if it is determined whether the surface to be operated is included in the reachable range, It is considered that it is possible to accurately verify whether the operation target is installed at a position where the operation can be performed.

That is, when it is determined whether or not the bounding box is included in the reachable range, the criterion for determining the reachable range is too strict and the correct answer (reachable) is eliminated, or vice versa. However, if the bounding box is included in the reach and the surface to be operated is located outside the reachable cone and the orientation is reversed, it will reach the distance, In some cases, the operation surface cannot be reached and cannot be operated. Specifically, while standing behind the monitor with the touch screen, the touch screen is in the area where the hand reaches, but the part behind the monitor is obstructed and cannot reach.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, the above point is improved by adding an operation range storage unit 39 for storing a surface to be operated for each object as an operation range to the configuration of the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 29 shows a schematic configuration of such a working environment evaluation apparatus of this embodiment. Here, the added operation range storage unit 39 stores an operation range for each object in, for example, a format as shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, instead of the center coordinates of the object shown in FIG.
Instead of the bounding box of the object in FIG. 22, the vertex of the operation range and the operation surface vector which is the normal vector of the operation surface for indicating the direction of the operation surface are stored, and inclusion judgment is performed. The unit 35 performs the determination according to the processing of FIG. 28 on the operation center coordinates or all the vertex coordinates of the operation range instead of the center coordinates, and determines whether the operation range is included in the reachable range. .

In this way, since the operation range is always included in the reachable range, the surface to be operated does not face the reachable range without excessive determination. Therefore, it is possible to more accurately determine reachability.

Note that the operation range is stored as shown in FIG.
It is not always necessary to store the object storage separately from the object storage shown in FIG. 22. For example, as shown in FIG. 31, a form in which FIG. 22 and FIG. 30 are stored together is also possible.

(Sixth Embodiment) Next, a working environment evaluation apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 32 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the working environment evaluation apparatus of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 32, the work environment evaluation device of the present embodiment includes an input unit 31, a work environment storage unit 32, a virtual subject storage unit 33, a reachable range storage unit 34, a drawing unit 36, an output unit 37, an information management Part 38,
An operation generation unit 41, an operation measurement unit 42, a fatigue degree calculation unit 43,
A fatigue data storage unit 44 is provided.

The input unit 31, the work environment storage unit 32,
The virtual subject storage unit 33, the reachable range storage unit 34, the drawing unit 36, the output unit 37, and the information management unit 38 are the same as those in the above-described fourth embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The work procedure storage section 40 stores the work procedure input from the input section 31 in a format as shown in FIG. 33, for example.

The operation generating section 41 generates an operation in accordance with the operation stored in the operation procedure storing section 40 in order to operate the virtual subject, for example, in a processing flow as shown in FIG.

The operation measuring section 42 measures the frequency and duration for each type of operation generated by the operation generating section 41.

The fatigue data storage unit 44 stores the fatigue data of each part of the human body, for example, in a format as shown in FIG.

The fatigue degree calculating section 43 stores the data in the fatigue data storing section 4.
Based on the fatigue data stored in 4 and the frequency and duration of each virtual subject's motion type measured by the motion measuring unit 42, the degree of fatigue of the virtual subject's work is calculated.

For example, as shown in FIG. 33, the work procedure is stored as a set of what to watch and what to operate at each work. In FIG. 33, the names of the objects are stored. From the name of this object, FIG.
The center coordinates of each object are read out from the work environment data as shown in FIG. 2, or the operation center coordinates are read out from the data stored in a format as shown in FIG. Can be understood.

FIG. 34 illustrates the flow of the motion generation processing in the motion generation unit 41, in which the motion is performed according to the point of regard. It should be noted that the operation generation according to the operation point as shown in FIG. 6 can be similarly performed.

The operation generation unit 41 firstly stores the work procedure storage unit 4
For example, the next point of gaze is read out from the work procedure stored in the format as shown in FIG. 33 (step S91).
The center coordinates of the gazing point are read from the work environment data stored in the work environment storage unit 32, for example, in a format as shown in FIG. 22 or 31 (step S93). The current viewpoint position is stored in the virtual subject storage unit 3, and the distance / angle between the viewpoint position and the read gazing point coordinates is calculated (step S95). The arrival angle of the neck joint is read from the data stored in the reachable range storage unit 34, for example, in a format as shown in FIG. 23 (step S97). It is determined whether or not the coordinates of the gazing point fall within the read angle (step S99). If the coordinates of the gazing point fall within the angle, the neck joint is rotated (step S107).

On the other hand, if the coordinates of the gazing point do not fall within the angle, the arrival angle of the upper joint (the upper part of the neck is the waist) is read (step S101). A determination is made in the same manner as in the case of the neck (step S103).
1. Step S103 is repeated. Then, the motion of the joint is generated at the time of entry (step S10).
5). At this time, the fine adjustment is performed by the lower joint without performing the rotational movement to the full extent of all the reaching angles (step S
107), generating a more natural motion. The processing of the next gazing point is similarly performed (step S109).

FIG. 35 shows an example of the storage format of fatigue data. No clear index has been established for the degree of fatigue. For example, eye fatigue mainly uses a frequency measured by a flicker test (measuring a blinking frequency that can be recognized), and hand and foot fatigue mainly uses energy metabolism, heart rate, electromyogram, and the like.

Here, the limit angle at which fatigue is felt for each joint, the limit time and frequency at which the user feels fatigue after operating for more than a few minutes or more times at that angle, the resulting symptoms, and It is memorized by the combination of the degree of fatigue replaced by the index.

In other words, with the waist bent over f1 degrees,
I get numb if I work for more than t1 minutes. As a result, the motion of the virtual test subject becomes dull, and the effect is reduced.
It is expressed by reducing the waist reaching limit angle stored in No. 4 by φ1 degrees. The degree of fatigue obtained by replacing this symptom with an index is also stored. Similarly, when the same effect is exerted even when the waist is bent more than f1 degrees from the current state and n1 times or more, it is stored in a format as shown in FIG.

The fatigue state of the continuous operation (the state in which the hips are bent at a certain angle) and the instantaneous operation (the operation of rotating the hips from the current state) naturally differ from each other. It is also possible to store the duration and the limit frequency. When the work is performed at an angle f2 degree or more greater than f1 degree and at least t2 minutes or at least n2 times, the lower back is hurt and the work cannot be performed (No active). Similarly,
The other joints are similarly stored.

These limit angles and limit frequencies are designed to store different values depending on the posture. These values are based on data published in the Ergonomics Handbook, edited by the Ergonomics Society, and Usui et al., "Evaluation of lower limb muscle function during long-term restrained upright posture maintenance," Ergonomics, Vol. 20, N
o.4, pp.213-222 (1984).

FIG. 36 shows that the operation measuring section 42 performs the operation generation section 41 according to the operation procedure stored in the operation procedure storage section 40.
5 shows an example of the result of measuring the operation generated by the. The duration and frequency of each joint rotation angle when an operation is performed while looking at the monitor while sitting on a height lcm and a chair hcm are measured. Here, for ease of explanation, the tabulation is based on the angle of the fatigue data stored in FIG. Also, it is not limited to this,
For example, it is also possible to take a detailed count every 5 degrees.

Hereinafter, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flow of processing in FIG. FIG. 37 is an example of a flow in the case of making a determination for each joint such as the waist and the knee. Here, it is assumed that processing is performed for each joint as needed.
It is not limited to this. Unlike FIG. 32, the motion measuring unit 42 and the fatigue degree calculating unit 43 can be provided corresponding to each joint, and the joints can be processed in parallel.

The processing in FIG. 37 is started when the measurement result of the operation as shown in FIG. 36 is obtained.

First, the fatigue data of the corresponding joint corresponding to the posture is read from the fatigue data storage section 44 (step S).
111). Taking the case of calculating the waist fatigue from FIG. 36 as an example, in this case, the sitting position is read, so the sitting position data stored in the format as shown in FIG. 35 is read.

Next, it is checked whether an operation exceeding the maximum value of the limit angles for calculating the fatigue data has been performed (step S113). Since f2 is the maximum angle in the example of FIG. 35, it is checked whether an operation exceeding f2 has been performed. In FIG. 36, since the corresponding operation exists, the process proceeds to step S115 for determining the next limit time. In FIG. 36, the time is 0.5 minutes and does not exceed the limit time t2.
Proceed to step S119. If the time exceeds the limit time t2, the fatigue level stored in FIG. 35 is calculated and executed in step S117. As a result of the calculation, the degree of fatigue is 4 in the example of FIG.

On the other hand, in step S119, it is determined whether the frequency exceeds the limit frequency. Since three times are smaller than the limit frequency n2 times, the process proceeds to step S121. Step S121
Then, it is checked whether there is an angle smaller than the limit angle determined so far. In FIG. 35, since there is f1 smaller than f2, the process proceeds to the next step S123. In step S123, it is determined whether there is an operation exceeding the limit angle. In the example of FIG. 36, since there is an operation exceeding the limit angle, step S11 is performed.
Go to 5. In step S115, it is determined whether the operation time has exceeded the limit time. In the example of FIG. 36, the operation time between f1 and f2 is 5 minutes. However, for 5.5 minutes including the operation time of f2 or more and 0.5 minutes, the limit time t1
Determine if the minutes are exceeded. Here, since the time has not exceeded the limit time, the process proceeds to step S119. Then, in a step S119, it is determined whether or not the frequency exceeds the limit frequency.
In the example of FIG. 36, the number of operations between f1 and f2 is six, but the number of operations above f2 is three, and the total of both is nine. And Therefore, since the limit frequency has been exceeded, step S
Proceeding to 117, the degree of fatigue in FIG. 35 is calculated. in this case,
The degree of fatigue is 2. This value is sent to the information management unit 38 and displayed on the output unit 7.

When the fatigue level is calculated, the fatigue level calculating section 43
Is terminated.

On the other hand, if the limit frequency is not exceeded in step S119, it is checked again whether there is a next limit angle (step S121). In the example of FIG. 35, since there is no limit angle smaller than f1, the process is terminated.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the difference in the degree of fatigue can be estimated based on the difference in operation caused by the change in the position of the device. Various fatigue problems that are problematic due to use can be dealt with in advance.

(Seventh Embodiment) Next, a working environment evaluation apparatus according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 39 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the working environment evaluation apparatus of this embodiment. The working environment evaluation apparatus of the present embodiment is obtained by adding a fatigue degree reflecting unit 45 to the configuration of the sixth embodiment shown in FIG. In the sixth embodiment, the degree of fatigue is calculated.
Fatigue degree reflecting unit 4 for reflecting the calculated fatigue on the operation
5, the effect of the calculated fatigue on the operation can be visualized.

The processing performed by the fatigue degree reflecting section 45 performs visualization by applying the symptoms stored as shown in FIG. 35 after the fatigue degree calculating step of the fatigue degree calculating section 43 (FIG. 38). Step S125). That is, in the example of the waist movement described above, the fact that the fatigue degree is 2 was calculated in step S117, but the fatigue degree reflecting unit 45 stores that the arrival angle is reduced by Φ degrees to the symptom of FIG. Therefore, the information management unit 38 is informed that the limit angle of the waist stored in the reachable range storage unit 34 is reduced by Φ degrees based on this. The information management unit 38 temporarily reduces the limit angle of the waist of the reachable storage unit 34 by Φ degrees. As a result, in the operation to be generated next, the reachable angle is reduced, so that the moving range is reduced. This is to visualize a state in which the waist movements are numb and numb. Once the symptoms of fatigue are reflected in movement,
The processing of the fatigue degree reflecting unit 45 ends.

Similarly, when the degree of waist fatigue is 4, since it is No active from FIG. 35, the fatigue degree reflecting unit 45 sends an instruction to stop operation generation to the information management unit 38. The information management unit 38 temporarily corrects the processing of the operation generation unit 41.

According to the processing result of the fatigue degree reflecting unit 45, the decrease in the angle of the reachable range and the stop of the motion generation as described above are as follows.
It is released when a predetermined time (for example, three times) of the limit time elapses. There are various methods of releasing, such as returning to the original value after a lapse of a predetermined time and starting operation generation at once, or returning to the original value by a step function, linear function or logarithm. is there. In this case, the function may be approximated by a function so as to match the method of reducing muscle fatigue.

Here, the symptoms are stored in such a manner as to reduce the angle of the reachable range as shown in FIG. 35, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. For example, a variable that affects the speed of motion generation is stored as a symptom so that the speed of motion is reduced if numbness occurs, and based on this, the fatigue degree reflecting unit 45 can reduce the speed of motion generation. It is.

(Eighth Embodiment) Next, a working environment evaluation apparatus according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 40 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the working environment evaluation apparatus of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 40, the working environment evaluation device of the present embodiment stores an input unit 31 for inputting shape data and instructing switching of the visual field, and stores shape data and arrangement input from the input unit 31. Environment storage unit 32, a virtual subject storage unit 33 for storing the shape data and attributes of the virtual subject, and a reachable range storage unit 34 for storing the reachable range of each joint such as the neck of the virtual subject. A visual field calculating unit 46 for calculating the visual field of each virtual subject, a visual field display 47 for displaying the visual field calculated by the visual field calculating unit 46, and a rendering unit 36 for rendering the visual field, the working environment, and the virtual subject. And an output unit 37.

The visual field calculation unit 46 determines the viewpoint (corresponding to the point q in FIG. 27) and the gazing point ((x2, y in FIG. 27) of each virtual subject.
2, z2)) to calculate the portion included in the viewing cone (corresponding to the cone in FIG. 27). The visual field display unit 47 displays the result.

For example, a simulation of the visual field when three virtual subjects (A, B, C) are waiting in front of the elevator as shown in FIG. 41 will be described as an example. FIG.
(A) is a screen example showing the entire work environment.

It is assumed that the user directly instructs the virtual subject A displayed on the output unit 38 from the input unit 31, and instructs the display of the visual field of the virtual subject A. The instruction is sent to the visual field calculation unit 46 via the information management unit 38, and the visual field calculation unit 46
Calculates the visual field of the virtual subject A. As a result, since the virtual subject A is short, the visual field calculated by the visual field calculation unit 46 is displayed on the output unit 38 as shown in FIG. 41B, for example. It can be seen that the virtual subject B is obstructed and the current floor display of the elevator is covered and cannot be seen. FIG.
Instead of (a), only FIG. 41 (b) may be displayed, or it may be displayed so that FIG. 41 (b) partially overlaps FIG. 41 (a).

Next, when the display of the visual field of the virtual subject B is instructed in the same manner, the visual field of the virtual subject B is displayed as shown in FIG. Since the virtual subject B is tall, it can be seen that the floor display panel can be sufficiently viewed even if the virtual subject C is in front.

It is also possible to simultaneously display the visual fields of a plurality of virtual subjects.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to freely switch from the viewpoints of a plurality of virtual subjects in the work environment and check the arrangement of the devices, so that the discomfort experienced by a short person can be determined in advance. Check and eliminate problems.

Here, in the fourth to eighth embodiments, the contents of the operation and the operation of the virtual tester have been described by using an example in which the user interactively and sequentially inputs from the input unit.
The present invention is not limited to this, and as in the first to third embodiments,
It is also possible to set in advance a scenario such as the operation content and operation content of the virtual performer, and to evaluate the environment according to this scenario. Further, the reachability range is set for the virtual testee and each environment evaluation is performed. Instead, the reachability range may be set for an object in the environment and the environment evaluation may be performed.

As described above with reference to each embodiment, according to the present invention, the creation of a three-dimensional environment requires a cost for initial input, but since data can be reused, the working environment of a real subject can be improved. Compared to the evaluation, the virtual subject can be collected and evaluated at a very low cost and easily with subjects of various physical conditions. Also, when it is difficult to evaluate the actual subjects, such as children and wheelchair users, it is very easy to deal with the virtual subjects.

Furthermore, it is necessary to have the physical subject physically challenged, such as evaluation in an environment where multiple people are forced into each other and evaluation of work that takes a long time and become very tired, and physical management is difficult. Is very effective in that a virtual subject can easily evaluate without such a concern.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be implemented in various modifications without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0174]

According to the present invention, the visibility of an object to be watched by an operator according to conditions such as an object placed in a work environment, an operator, and a work procedure in which the operator watches the object. It is possible to evaluate the work environment focusing on.

[0175]

[0176]

[0177]

[0178]

[0179]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a working environment evaluation device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of a storage format of a three-dimensional object stored in a work environment storage unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary view showing an example of a storage format of a work procedure stored in a work procedure storage unit according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a storage format of a work procedure stored in a work procedure storage unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an operation storage variable according to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a processing procedure in an operation calculation unit according to the embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure in a visual field calculation unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining visual field data used by the visual field calculation unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a view showing an example of a screen according to the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a view showing another example of the screen of the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a working environment evaluation device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining a processing procedure in an operation calculation unit according to the embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a view showing an example of a screen according to the embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a working environment evaluation device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an operation example in the embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an operation example in the embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an operation example in the embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an operation example in the embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an operation example in the embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining field of view determination.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a working environment evaluation device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a storage example of a three-dimensional object in a work environment storage unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a storage example of a reachable range in the reachable range storage unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a relationship between a part in an attainable range and an angle in the embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of display of a reachable range on the output unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart for explaining a reachable range determination processing procedure;

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a reachable range and an operation target.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of an inclusion determining unit according to the embodiment;

FIG. 29 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a working environment evaluation device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is a storage example of an operation range in the embodiment.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing a storage example of a three-dimensional object and an operation range in the embodiment.

FIG. 32 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a working environment evaluation device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 33 is a diagram showing a storage example of a work instruction storage unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart for explaining the processing procedure of the operation generation unit according to the embodiment;

FIG. 35 is a diagram showing a storage example of a fatigue data storage unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 36 shows an example of measurement results of the operation measurement unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 37 is a flowchart for explaining a processing procedure of a fatigue degree calculating unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 38 is a flowchart of a flowchart for explaining a processing procedure of a fatigue degree reflecting unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 39 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a working environment evaluation device according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 40 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a working environment evaluation device according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 41 is an exemplary view showing a screen example of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Information management part 3 ... Input part 5 ... Work environment storage part 7 ... Work procedure storage part 9 ... Operation limit storage part 11 ... Operation calculation part 13 ... Field-of-view calculation part 15 ... Presentation part 17 ... Interference determination part 19 ... Interference count Unit 21: Motion counting unit 23: Motion presentation unit 31: Input unit 32: Work environment storage unit 33: Virtual subject storage unit 34 ... Reachable range storage unit 35 ... Inclusion determination storage unit 36 ... Drawing unit 37 ... Output unit 38 ... Information management unit 39 Operation range storage unit 40 Work procedure storage unit 41 Operation generation unit 42 Operation measurement unit 43 Fatigue degree calculation unit 44 Fatigue data Data storage unit 45 Fatigue degree reflection unit 46 Field of view calculation unit 47… field of view display

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Nobuko Kato 1 Toshiba-cho, Komukai, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture (72) Keigo Matsuda Inventor Keigo Matsuda Komukai-Toshiba-cho, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa No. 1 Toshiba R & D Center Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takahiro Harashima No. 1 Komukai Toshiba-cho, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Toshiba R & D Center Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-5-45184 (JP, A JP-A-59-164034 (JP, A) JP-A-2-236704 (JP, A) Hiroshi Machiba, Application of computer graphics in the engineering of electronic power plants, Toshiba Review, Toshiba Corporation, 1992 December 1, Vol. 47, No. 12, p. 914-917 Toshiaki Yoshinaga, Nuclear Power Plant Construction CAE System, Hitachi Review, Hitachi, Ltd., October 25, 1990, Vol. 72, No. 10, p. 27-38 Ryo Mochizuki, Current Status and Prospects of Application of Virtual Reality, Technical Report of the Institute of Television Engineers of Japan, The Institute of Television Engineers of Japan, December 16, 1992, Vol. 16, No. 80, p. 25-30 Hiroo Aizawa et al., Illustrated Ergonomics, Japan Standards Association, February 14, 1990, 1st edition, p. 106-107, 124-125, 614-617 Hattori, etc., Comfort Design, Journal of the Acoustical Society of Japan, The Acoustical Society of Japan, November 1, 1990, Vol. 46, No. 11, p. 920-928 (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 17/60

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A virtual work environment based on a three-dimensional model.
In a work environment evaluation apparatus for evaluating the object, each of a plurality of objects virtually arranged in a three-dimensional model
Data for identifying the object, three-dimensional
Showing the shape of the object and the three-dimensional position of the object
Data indicating the coordinates, and duplicates in the three-dimensional model.
The worker makes a virtual task of successively watch the object number
The data indicating the physical measurement value and the position of the worker
Storing working environment information including data indicating a three-dimensional coordinate
First storage means, and a plurality of objects to be watched by the worker in the three-dimensional model
Data identifying the body and the order in which those objects should be watched
Second storage means for storing work procedure information including data indicating a limit rotation angle and a limit movement of the eyes, neck and waist of the worker.
A third method for storing operation limit information including data indicating a distance.
Storage means, the work environment information, the work procedure information, and the operation limit
Based on the information, a plurality of to be the attention from the operator
Means for determining a field cone for each of the objects, and for each field cone determined, the field cone
Inside the field, the worker
There is an object that hinders gaze at the target object
Means for determining whether or not there is at least one visual field cone based on the determination result.
Object determined to be in the way of
A means for obtaining evaluation result information including the number of times that the object is determined to be obtained, and a three-dimensional model in which the object and the worker are arranged.
Display screen, and the evaluation result information
In association with the determined to be the object becomes magic working environment evaluation apparatus characterized by comprising a means for presenting on said display screen. 2. An object determined to be an obstacle
Table changing the color of the object presented in the display screen of the
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein
Work environment evaluation device. 3. The number of times determined to be in the way
Of the relevant item displayed on the display screen
Display a predetermined image indicating the number of times over the body image
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein
Industrial environment evaluation device. 4. The operator gazes in the three-dimensional model.
The objects to be moved and their order with a pointing device.
Claims further comprising means for determining
2. The work environment evaluation device according to 1. 5. An arrangement of the object in the three-dimensional model.
For changing the position with a pointing device
The work of claim 1, further comprising a step.
Environmental evaluation device. 6. A plurality of types having different body measurement values.
Request and present the evaluation result information for the worker
The work environment evaluation device according to claim 1, wherein: 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the operator is configured to remove the plurality of objects in the order.
Means for obtaining the operation of the worker when gazing, and means for performing a predetermined presentation regarding the obtained operation.
The work environment according to claim 1, further comprising:
Evaluation device. 8. A virtual work environment based on a three-dimensional model.
Environment Evaluation in a Work Environment Evaluation System for Evaluating Work
In the cost method, each of a plurality of objects virtually arranged in a three-dimensional model is
Data for identifying the object, three-dimensional
Showing the shape of the object and the three-dimensional position of the object
Data indicating the coordinates, and duplicates in the three-dimensional model.
Of a worker who performs a virtual task of gazing at a number of objects sequentially
The data indicating the physical measurement value and the position of the worker
Work environment information including data indicating three-dimensional coordinates is stored in a first
Storing a plurality of objects in the three-dimensional model to be watched by the operator.
Data identifying the body and the order in which those objects should be watched
Work procedure information including data to be indicated is stored in the second storage means.
And rotating at least the eyes, neck and waist of the worker.
Operating limit information including data indicating the operating limit
Storing the work environment information, the work procedure information, and the operation limit
Based on the information, a plurality of
The step of finding the field-of-view cone for each of the objects
And for each of the determined visual field cones,
Inside the field, the worker
There is an object that hinders gaze at the target object
Determining whether, based on the determination result, at least one field of view cone
Object determined to be in the way of
To obtain evaluation result information including the number of times that
Step and the evaluation result information as the obstacles in the three-dimensional model.
Present on the display screen in association with the object determined to be
Work environment evaluation method characterized by having steps
Law.