JP3929881B2 - Skin sensation presentation device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a device that reproduces a virtual tactile sensation in a virtual reality, a game machine, and the like, and a skin sensation (tactile sense) presentation device that is used for tactile information presentation in a home PC or the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, visual, auditory, and haptic expressions have been the mainstream in the fields of virtual reality and games, but in recent years, the importance of expression based on skin sensation (= tactile sensation) has increased. Up to now, a plurality of skin sensation presentation devices have been developed, many of which are intended for use as a Braille device for blind people, or are based on the technology of conventional Braille devices for blind people. A skin sensation presentation device that has been developed based on this and reproduces a general-purpose tactile sensation has not yet been put into practical use.
[0003]
Hereinafter, a conventional skin sensation presentation apparatus will be described in detail.
[0004]
(1) What is a skin sensation presentation device? The so-called tactile sensation that humans feel when touching something is physiologically divided into two sensations due to the difference in neuroreceptors.
[0005]
One is a deep sensation perceived by receptors on muscles and joints, and the other is a skin sensation perceived by receptors present on the skin surface.
[0006]
The deep sensation is a sense of feeling a (macro) force such as a reaction force when touching an object or a friction force generated when a fingertip is moved. On the other hand, the skin sensation is a sensation sensed by a receptor (warm point, pressure point, pain point) existing on the fingertip surface, and senses surface texture such as temperature, unevenness, friction coefficient, etc. of the object surface.
[0007]
It is very important to reproduce and present these feelings in the world such as virtual reality and bodily sensation games. However, at present, devices that reproduce the deep sensation are being put into practical use, but devices that reproduce the skin sensation are just being researched.
[0008]
Skin sensation is a general term for a wide range of touches such as unevenness and temperature, and it is difficult to present all these sensations in an integrated manner. For this reason, research and development is conducted in a form specialized for each sense. The present invention relates to a device for presenting a feeling of unevenness (= surface roughness).
[0009]
(2) Examples of development so far The display that reproduces the unevenness has been studied for many years, including Braille devices for the blind. Many of them reproduce various irregularities by arranging stimulators such as vibrators and electrodes in a matrix and controlling the stimulus intensity generated by each stimulus. Among these, the closest technique to the present invention is Electroactile Display devised by Strong et al. This apparatus has succeeded in presenting a texture equivalent to Braille with a simple configuration in which electrodes arranged in a matrix at intervals of 2.54 mm are simply traced with a finger.
[0010]
Concavities and convexities that make up the surface roughness that can be perceived by humans are thought to be distributed at intervals of about several tens to several hundreds of microns in the small ones. It is desirable to be able to present stimuli with positional resolution. However, in the above-described method of arranging a stimulator, it is difficult to reduce the arrangement interval mainly due to restrictions on the size of a stimulator such as a vibrator or an electrode, so it is difficult to achieve a position resolution of mm or less. . Therefore, even if braille or the like can be presented, it is difficult to present a fine texture such as sandpaper, and there is a problem in presenting a general tactile sensation.
[0011]
In addition, the above-mentioned Electroactile Display has been pointed out by Tang et al., Who prototyped the same device, that the stability decreases with sweating of the fingertip.
[0012]
On the other hand, a device of a type that has a slider that moves together with a finger and means that can generate a thrust or frictional force on the slider and that stimulates the fingertip of the operator via the slider has been devised.
[0013]
Examples of such types include Sandpaper System by Minsky et al., SAW Tactile Display by Nara et al., And a skin sensation presentation device that the present inventors have already proposed as Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-226506.
[0014]
As an example, FIG. 12 shows a device configuration of the Sandpaper System.
[0015]
In FIG. 12, 101 is a fixed part, 102 is the upper surface of the fixed part 101, 103 is a knob of a two-degree-of-freedom joystick, 104 is a top cover that moves together with the knob 103, 105 is an operator's hand, and 106 is two freedoms. The joystick shaft, 107 is a first DD motor, and 108 is a second DD motor.
[0016]
In this device, force feedback can be applied to the joystick, and when the joystick knob 103 is moved horizontally with the fingertip (although the entire hand 105 in the figure), the joystick looks as if it is tracing an uneven surface. The knob 103 vibrates. By controlling the vibration period and strength, various uneven surfaces can be expressed.
[0017]
Since this type of apparatus can easily detect the position of the slider, it is possible to express a fine texture by modulating the stimulus applied according to the detected slider position. Therefore, if an appropriate sensor and actuator are used, an expression resolution of the order of mm or less can be achieved relatively easily.
[0018]
However, when a stimulus is applied to the fingertip through the slider in this way, the stimulus is transmitted to the entire finger, and it is difficult to present a local stimulus. That is, when actually tracing the surface, different fine vibrations are generated in each part of the belly of the finger, whereas in the type of skin sensation presentation device as shown in FIG. The vibration that averages the vibration can only be given to the entire finger in common.
[0019]
For this reason, the sense that the operator actually receives is different from the actual sense. For the same reason, a texture in which unevenness is continuously distributed, such as sandpaper, is easy to express, but it is difficult to express, for example, a line-like protrusion or groove that exists alone.
[0020]
Many devices with different ideas from the types described so far have been proposed, but each has its own problems in terms of expressive ability and ease of use.
[0021]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, the skin sensation presentation devices proposed so far have problems in the resolution of expression and the presentation method of stimuli, and it is difficult to give a more realistic feel.
[0022]
In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a skin sensation presentation device that enables precise tactile sensation expression with a simple structure.
[0023]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides
[1] In a skin sensation presentation device, a device comprising a stator having electrodes and a mover having appropriate conductivity on the surface or inside thereof, and when the operator moves the mover with a finger, By appropriately controlling the voltage applied to the stator electrode, the frictional vibration caused by the electrostatic attraction between the stator electrode and the moving element is transmitted to the fingertip of the operator, thereby variously It presents a unique skin sensation.
[0024]
[2] The skin sensation presentation device according to [1], wherein the stator electrodes are formed in a stripe shape or a matrix shape.
[0025]
[3] The skin sensation presentation device according to [1], wherein the moving element is a thin film moving element.
[0026]
[4] In the skin sensation presentation device according to [1], there are provided means for detecting the position of the movable element, and various voltages can be obtained by controlling the voltage applied to each electrode of the stator based on the detected position. It presents a unique skin sensation.
[0027]
[5] In the skin sensation presentation device according to [1], the finger of the operator can be used without greatly changing the distribution of friction force generated between the mover and the stator by using the mover as a flexible material. It is characterized by transmitting to.
[0028]
[6] In the skin sensation presentation device according to [1], the transparent electrode material is used as the electrode, and the electrode made of the transparent electrode material is superimposed on the display, so that visual information and skin sensation information are presented together. It is characterized by doing.
[0029]
[7] The skin sensation presentation device according to [6], wherein the display is a touch panel display.
[0030]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.
[0031]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a skin sensation presentation device showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the skin sensation presentation device taken along line AA, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the skin sensation presentation device taken along line BB. is there.
[0032]
In these figures, reference numeral 1 denotes a stator, and this stator 1 is formed with a striped (or matrix) electrode 3 formed on a substrate 2 and covered with an insulating film (insulating film) 4 thereon. It is a thing. Reference numeral 11 denotes a mover (film). The mover 11 includes a thin film 12, and the upper surface of the thin film 12 is processed so as to have an appropriate conductivity. The simplest treatment method in that case is lightly moistening. Here, a conductor layer 13 is formed on the upper surface of the thin film 12. The thin film 12 is desirably as thin as possible. Reference numeral 21 denotes an operator's finger that moves while pressing the mover 11.
[0033]
Reference numeral 31 denotes a linear encoder (LE) provided for detecting the position of the movable element 11. It is desirable that the encoder 31 is as light and low friction as possible. The arrow indicates the operation direction.
[0034]
When a voltage is applied to the striped electrode 3 as shown in FIG. 3, the conductor layer 13 having an appropriate conductivity on the upper surface of the movable element 11 acts as a conductor, and between the movable element 11 and the stator 1. Electrostatic attraction force is generated.
[0035]
Therefore, when a continuous pulse wave is applied to the striped electrode 3 of the stator 1, an electrostatic attractive force that continuously changes acts between the movable element 11 and the stator 1. At this time, the magnitude of the electrostatic attractive force can be varied depending on the location by independently controlling the voltage applied to each electrode constituting the striped electrode 3.
[0036]
Assuming that the thin film 12 of the moving element 11 is sufficiently thin and soft, when the moving element 11 is moved in a state where a pulse wave is applied, the moving element 11 has a different frictional force in each part due to the distributed electrostatic attraction force. Works, resulting in different vibrations at each part. Therefore, when the moving element 11 is pressed and moved by the operator's finger 21, the distributed vibration is transmitted to the operator's finger 21, and it is possible to obtain a feeling as if tracing the actual surface. it can.
[0037]
Further, when the operator traces with the finger 21, a feeling that the vibration source moves the fingertip with respect to the tracing can be obtained. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a sliding feeling that is difficult to obtain with a device of the type having a conventional slider.
[0038]
After all, in the device of the type equipped with the conventional slider, the part touched by the finger could vibrate only in the same way in the whole part, whereas in the skin sensation presentation device of the present invention, the part touched by the finger is Since it is made of a very flexible and thin material (for example, polyimide film: thickness 7.5 μm), different vibrations can be generated in each part on the part.
[0039]
FIG. 4 is a system configuration diagram of a skin sensation presentation apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same part as the Example shown in FIGS. 1-3, and those description is abbreviate | omitted.
[0040]
As shown in this figure, a signal from a linear encoder (LE) 31 is input to an electronic control unit 32 to calculate the position of the mover 11, and a control signal is sent to a voltage controller according to the position of the mover 11. The controlled voltage is applied to the electrode 3 of the stator 1. The arrow indicates the operation direction.
[0041]
As described above, the moving element 11 of the skin sensation presentation device of the present invention is provided with the linear encoder 31 for detecting the position, and the moving element position, that is, the fingertip position can be detected. Therefore, by controlling the voltage applied to the electrode 3 based on the detection result of the position, it becomes possible to express a fine texture in a pseudo manner. That is, in an apparatus of a type in which stimulators such as those found in a braille device for the blind are arranged, the resolution of expression is determined by the arrangement pitch of the stimulators, whereas in the skin sensation presentation apparatus of the present invention, electrodes Regardless of the arrangement pitch of 3, a fine texture can be expressed.
[0042]
Therefore, it is possible to accurately express the rough feeling when touching an object.
[0043]
In the above embodiment, the striped electrode structure is described as the electrode structure. However, a flat electrode structure without a pattern may be used.
[0044]
Moreover, although the thing using a thin film-like material is shown as a mover, for example, a flexible material such as a thin film is used.
[0045]
FIG. 5 is a substitute photograph of a skin sensation presentation apparatus with visual information display showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view thereof. FIG. 6B is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG.
[0046]
In these figures, 41 is a touch panel LCD, 42 is a stator (stator), 43 is a slider, 44 is an operator's finger, 45 is a moving direction, and the stator 42 on the touch panel LCD 41 is transparent from the bottom. The slider 43, which is made of a plastic film 42A, an ITO electrode 42B, and urethane 42C and moves on the stator 42, is made of urethane 43A, an aluminum electrode 43B, and a transparent plastic film 43C. The slider 43 is configured to be wound around the operator's finger 44.
[0047]
In this embodiment, it is composed of a stator 42 made of a transparent electrode (ITO electrode 42B) attached to the touch panel LCD 41 and a slider 43 made of an aluminum vapor-deposited film (aluminum electrode 43B) wound around the operator's finger 44. . The operator can directly obtain the tactile sensation by directly tracing the pattern or figure displayed on the touch panel LCD 41 with the finger 44 of the operator around which the slider 43 is wound. That is, by using the transparent electrode (ITO electrode 42B), skin sensory information can be presented together with visual information such as an image displayed on the monitor.
[0048]
The stator 42 is obtained by coating urethane 42C on the ITO electrode 42B to form an insulating layer (thickness 6.5 μm), and is colorless and transparent. The ITO electrode 42B is a single-phase electrode coated on the entire film, and is wired so that a voltage can be applied. This stator 42 is pasted on a touch panel LCD 41 (Gunze, AV7630FT02).
[0049]
The slider 43 is a film in which aluminum is deposited (aluminum electrode 43B) and urethane 43A is coated to form a protective layer (thickness 0.5 μm). The conductive layer 43B on which aluminum is deposited is connected to the ground via a conductive wire.
[0050]
When the touch panel LCD 41 to which the stator 42 is attached is traced with the finger 44 of the operator, the cursor on the personal computer (PC) screen is moved by the function of the touch panel LCD 41. This cursor position is the finger position. A voltage value is sent from the PC in accordance with the cursor position, amplified and applied to the ITO electrode 42B of the stator.
[0051]
The touch panel used this time is a resistive film type. There are a capacitance type and a surface acoustic wave type as other methods of the touch panel. However, in the case of the capacitance type, it is considered difficult to use because the surface acoustic wave is not properly transmitted by the stator.
[0052]
As described above, in this embodiment, the skin sensation information can be presented together with the visual information, so that the operability and the realistic sensation can be further enhanced.
[0053]
Since it comprised as mentioned above, it can touch a display directly and can show a skin sensation by using a transparent electrode.
[0054]
Next, the tactile sensation presentation principle of the skin sensation presentation apparatus with visual information display will be described.
[0055]
FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the tactile sensation presentation principle of the skin sensation presentation apparatus with visual information display.
[0056]
In this figure, 51 is an ITO electrode, 52 is an insulating film, 53 is an aluminum electrode (slider), 54 is an operator's finger, 55 is a moving direction, 56 is an electrostatic attraction force, and 57 is a frictional force.
[0057]
Therefore, by applying a voltage to the ITO electrode 51, an electrostatic attractive force 56 is generated between the ITO electrode 51 and the conductive layer of the slider 53. When the operator's finger 54 is moved in this state, a frictional force 57 is generated. The frictional force 57 is applied to the operator's finger 54 so that the operator can obtain a tactile sensation. Therefore, by controlling the voltage applied to the ITO electrode 51, the frictional force 57 applied to the operator's finger 54 is controlled, and various tactile sensations can be presented.
[0058]
The frictional force generated in the skin sensation presentation device of the present invention was measured.
[0059]
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a method for measuring the friction force acting on the skin sensation presentation device of the present invention.
[0060]
In this figure, 60 is a stage, 61 is a stator, 62 is a slider in which a slider film as a friction force measurement object is attached to a 20 mm square acrylic plate, 63 is a load cell, 64 is a moving direction of the stage 60, and 65 is This is a pressure applied to the slider 62.
[0061]
As shown in this figure, the stator 61 was affixed to the stage 60 and pressed against the stator 61 with a pressure 65 of 50 gf against the slider 62. In this state, the stage 60 was moved at a speed of 0.5 mm / s, and the frictional force acting on the slider 62 was measured by the load cell 63.
[0062]
Figure ones when the applied voltage is _{100V 0-p 9 (a)} , the frictional force measurement results when the 200V _0-p amplitude from 60V _0-p at the same applied voltage waveform in FIG. 9 (b) Show. The reason why the positive and negative voltages alternately appear in the applied voltage waveform is that the frictional force decreases when the voltage of the same polarity is continuously applied. This is considered to be due to charging of the film.
[0063]
As is clear from FIG. 9B, it can be seen that the frictional force becomes maximum immediately after the voltage application, and then decays with time. It can also be seen that the frictional force is proportional to the square of the applied voltage.
[0064]
Next, application examples of the present invention will be described.
[0065]
Here, a trial application of Windows (registered trademark) to which the apparatus of the present invention can be applied was made. For example, to express a texture as shown in FIG. 10 (a), as shown in FIG. 10 (b), a voltage is applied so as to switch at the boundary of the color (white and black) in FIG. 10 (a). It was decided to. In addition, the arrow in Fig.10 (a) shows operation | movement of a finger | toe.
[0066]
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the created Windows (registered trademark) application. In the upper three stages shown in FIG. 11, it is possible to receive a feeling of tracing various kinds and patterns of roughness. In addition, in the lowermost stage shown in FIG. 11, a darker color can receive a stronger feeling of roughness. The maximum applied voltage amplitude used is about 250V _0-p .
[0067]
In addition, this invention is not limited to the said Example, A various deformation | transformation is possible based on the meaning of this invention, and these are not excluded from the scope of the present invention.
[0068]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
[0069]
(A) Since the moving element is thin and sufficiently soft, the electrostatic attractive force acting between the moving element and the stator can be different depending on the location, for example, depending on the location such as the fingertip and the belly of the finger. I can give a stimulus. Therefore, it is possible to present a feeling close to that when tracing the actual surface.
[0070]
(B) Since a thin film-like moving element (film) is sandwiched between the fixed electrode and the fingertip, it is difficult to be affected by sweating of the fingertip, and stable driving can be realized for a long time.
[0071]
(C) Since a thin film-like movable element (film) is installed and the movable element and the fingertip are moved together, the fingertip position can be easily measured.
[0072]
Therefore, richer expression than before can be achieved by controlling the generated force according to the fingertip position. Further, it is not necessary to attach any additional device to the fingertip, and it is simply touching and moving the thin film-like moving element (film), so that it is simple, lightweight, and highly practical.
[0073]
(D) By using a transparent electrode, it becomes possible to present skin sensation by touching directly while looking at the screen, so skin sensation information can be obtained together with visual information, and operability and realism are further enhanced. It becomes possible.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a skin sensation presentation apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.
3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a system configuration diagram of a skin sensation presentation device showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a substitute photograph of a skin sensation presentation apparatus with visual information display according to another embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the skin sensation presentation apparatus with visual information display of FIG.
FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the tactile sensation presentation principle of the skin sensation presentation apparatus with visual information display according to the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a method for measuring a friction force acting on the skin sensation presentation device of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing applied voltage and frictional force of the skin sensation presentation device of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between the texture and the applied voltage of the skin sensation presentation device of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an application for Windows (registered trademark) to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a conventional skin sensation presentation device.
[Explanation of symbols]
1, 42, 61 Stator 2 Substrate 3 Striped (or matrix) electrode 4 Insulating film (insulating film)
11 Mover (film)
12 Thin film 13 Conductor layer 21, 44, 54 Operator's finger 31 Linear encoder (LE)
32 Electronic controller 33 Voltage controller 41 Touch panel LCD
42A, 43C Transparent plastic film 42B, 51 ITO electrode 42C, 43A Urethane 43, 62 Slider 43B Aluminum electrode 45, 55 Moving direction 52 Insulating film 53 Aluminum electrode (slider)
56 Electrostatic attractive force 57 Frictional force 60 Stage 63 Load cell 64 Stage moving direction

Claims (7)

A voltage applied to the stator electrode when an operator moves the mover with a finger, comprising a device comprising a stator having an electrode and a mover having appropriate conductivity on the surface or inside. By appropriately controlling the frictional vibration caused by the electrostatic attraction between the stator electrode and the moving element is transmitted to the fingertip of the operator, thereby presenting various skin sensations. Skin sensation presentation device. The skin sensation presentation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electrodes of the stator are formed in a stripe shape or a matrix shape. 2. The skin sensation presentation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving element is a thin film moving element. The skin sensation presentation device according to claim 1, further comprising means for detecting a position of the moving element, and controlling various voltages applied to the electrodes of the stator based on the detected position. A skin sensation presentation device characterized by presenting. The skin sensation presentation device according to claim 1, wherein the moving element is made of a flexible material, so that the frictional force distribution generated between the moving element and the stator is transmitted to the fingertip of the operator without greatly changing. A skin sensation presentation device characterized by the above. 2. The skin sensation presentation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a transparent electrode material is used as the electrode, and the visual information and the skin sensation information are presented together by overlaying an electrode made of the transparent electrode material on the display. Skin sensation presentation device. The skin sensation presentation apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the display is a touch panel display.

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