JP2012083866A - Finger attachment type processor with tactile sense reproduction function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable button operation in midair away from a display, in synchronization with a virtual button on a display screen.SOLUTION: An infrared receiving unit 2 receives infrared rays emitted from two LEDs of an infrared output unit 10. An acceleration sensor 3 detects acceleration of the fingertip of a finger 12. A contact sensor 5 detects that the fingertip of the finger 12 of a user is in contact. A vibration unit 4 is mounted in the vicinity of the inner surface of the finger 12 and is provided with a piezoelectric vibrator and a diaphragm connected to a small vibration motor. A sensor information transmission unit 6 receives, as input signals, detection signals from the infrared receiving unit 2, the acceleration sensor 3 and the contact sensor 5, generates sensor information including at least detection information on positions far from, close to, at the right and left of, above and below a display 8 on the basis of light intensity and positions of two light receiving points of the infrared receiving unit 2, and transmits the sensor information to a sensor information processing unit 11 by radio.

Description

  The present invention relates to a processing device with a finger attachment type tactile reproduction function, and more particularly to a processing device with a finger attachment type tactile reproduction function having a function of reproducing a tactile sense when a virtual button on a display screen is touched with a fingertip.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are game controllers having a function of adding a sense of presence by vibrating in conjunction with a game, and reproducing a tactile sensation when clicking a button in conjunction with a virtual button on a touch panel. The game controller does not give so much vibration, but the reproduction of the click, etc., discriminates and changes the waveform when the button is pushed back and the button is pushed back.

  As described above, a data input device that is worn on a fingertip and used for reproducing a tactile sensation has been proposed (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2). These data input devices described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 can be used as a data input device to an information terminal such as a personal computer, and detect and input pressure, inclination, finger position, etc. on the object surface by the finger. The operation is performed. In addition, these data input devices give a tactile sensation by applying a stimulus such as pressure and vibration to the fingertip during input, helping to recognize the operation status, and improving operability.

  In addition, in order to enable key input without operating the keyboard, an input device is also known in which a motion detection sensor and a tactile sensor having the same principle as a laser mouse or an optical mouse are attached to the fingertips of both hands ( For example, see Patent Document 3).

JP 2005-293512 A JP 2005-10019 A JP 2006-340370 A

  However, in the conventional data input device with the tactile sensation reproduction function described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the tactile sensation of clicking the button is fed back according to the pressure and angle applied to the fingertip. For this reason, a portion to be fixed to the outside is required at the time of clicking, and the problem is that the place of use such as on a desk is limited.

  Moreover, in the conventional data input device described in Patent Document 3, position detection in the air is performed from an infrared light source and a sensor at the fingertip, and processing such as key operation is performed using a fingertip contact sensor or the like. The process is executed by pressing directly on the. In other words, in the data input device described in Patent Document 3, since the process is performed by pressing directly, a tactile sensation is obtained, and thus feedback is not required, but a place to be surely pressed is required for the process.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is a processing device with a finger-mounted tactile reproduction function that enables button operation in the air while being separated from the display in conjunction with a virtual button on a display screen. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes an infrared output unit installed near the screen of a display, an infrared light receiving unit that receives infrared light output from the infrared output unit and outputs a light reception detection signal, and a user An acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration of the fingertip and outputs an acceleration detection signal, detects an click motion based on the detected acceleration, and outputs a click motion detection signal, and is provided in contact with the fingertip. When a click motion detection signal is supplied, a vibration unit that vibrates to reproduce the tactile sensation of the click, a contact sensor that detects that the fingertip is in contact and outputs a contact detection signal, a light reception detection signal, and an acceleration Based on the detection signal and the contact detection signal, sensor information including at least distance and position information between the infrared output unit and the infrared light receiving unit is generated and transmitted wirelessly. Sensor information transmission unit and a battery that outputs a power supply voltage, and an infrared light receiving unit, an acceleration sensor, a vibration unit, a contact sensor, a sensor information transmission unit, and a battery are incorporated in a finger storage unit in which a fingertip is stored It is the structure which was made.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a first infrared emission light source in which the infrared output unit emits infrared light in a direction other than the first direction shielded by the first light shielding portion. And a second infrared light source that emits infrared light in a direction other than the second direction different from the first direction shielded by the second light shielding portion. Features.

  Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the second sensor in the direction opposite to the one direction after the acceleration sensor detects an acceleration equal to or higher than the first threshold value in one direction during the set time. When an acceleration equal to or greater than a threshold value is detected, it is detected as a click operation and a click operation detection signal is output.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to perform an operation away from the display, and it is possible to perform an operation by an operation in the air, and an effect of further improving the operability can be obtained.

It is a block diagram of one embodiment of a processing device with a finger attachment type tactile reproduction function of the present invention. It is a flowchart explaining the distance and position detection method of the infrared output part and infrared light-receiving part of the processing apparatus with a finger attachment type tactile-reproduction function of this invention. It is a block diagram of an example of the infrared light-receiving part of the processing apparatus with a finger attachment type tactile-reproduction function of this invention. It is an example of the graph showing the directivity of LED. FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of an example of a display and an infrared output unit of the processing apparatus with a finger-mounted tactile reproduction function of the present invention. It is a figure showing distribution of light intensity in the case where a shade part is provided in the infrared ray output part of the processing device with a finger attachment type tactile reproduction function of the present invention, and the case where it is not provided. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of sensor operation | movement of the processing apparatus with a finger attachment type tactile-reproduction function of this invention. It is a flowchart for operation | movement description of the sensor information processing part of the processing apparatus with a finger attachment type tactile-reproduction function of this invention. It is a structural diagram of an example of a finger storage part of the processing apparatus with a finger attachment type tactile reproduction function of the present invention. It is structural drawing of the other example of the finger | toe accommodation part of the processing apparatus with a finger attachment type tactile-reproduction function of this invention.

  Next, an embodiment of a processing device with a finger attachment type tactile reproduction function of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of a processing apparatus with a finger-mounted tactile reproduction function according to the present invention. The processing device with a finger attachment type tactile reproduction function according to the present embodiment includes a finger attachment processing device 1 and an infrared output unit 10, and associates position information on the display 8 with the position of the fingertip of the user. is there.

  The finger-mounted processing device 1 includes an infrared light receiving unit 2, an acceleration sensor 3, a vibrating unit 4, a contact sensor 5, a sensor information transmitting unit 6, and a battery 7 for supplying power to each unit in the finger-mounted processing device 1. And is attached to the fingertip of the user's finger 12. The infrared output unit 10 installed in the vicinity of the display 8 and the infrared light receiving unit 2 of the finger-mounted processing apparatus 1 associate the coordinate position on the display 8 with the position of the fingertip of the finger 12.

  The infrared light receiver 2 receives infrared rays emitted from the two infrared light sources of the infrared output unit 10 and outputs detection signals indicating the positions of the two light receiving points. The configuration of the infrared output unit 10 will be described later. The infrared light receiving unit 2 is configured by, for example, an infrared CMOS sensor. The acceleration sensor 3 detects the acceleration of the fingertip of the finger 12. The contact sensor 5 detects that the fingertip is in an energized state by touching the fingertip of the user's finger 12 through the insulating sheet.

  In addition, the vibration part 4 mounted near the belly of the finger 12 has a structure provided with a diaphragm to which a piezoelectric vibrator and a small vibration motor are connected. The sensor information transmission unit 6 receives detection signals from the infrared light receiving unit 2, the acceleration sensor 3, and the contact sensor 5 as input signals, and displays at least a display based on information such as light intensity and position of two light receiving points in the infrared light receiving unit 2. Sensor information including detection information of the near and left / right / up / down positions from 8 is generated, and the sensor information is wirelessly transmitted to the sensor information processing unit 11 by the Bluetooth method which is a short-range wireless communication method.

  The infrared light receiving unit 2, the acceleration sensor 3, the contact sensor 5, and the vibration unit 4 are electrically connected by a substrate having a signal processing system, a sensor information transmission unit 6 and a battery 7, and a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) or a cable. It is connected to the.

  Next, a distance and position detection method in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As will be described later, the infrared output unit 10 has two light emitting diodes (LEDs) that emit infrared rays as light sources for infrared light emission. When infrared rays emitted from the two LEDs of the infrared output unit 10 are detected by the infrared light receiving unit 2 (step S1), the sensor information transmission unit 6 executes processing 1 based on the detected information (step S2).

  This process 1 will be described. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the infrared light receiving unit 2 includes an imaging element 22 such as an infrared CMOS sensor, and a lens 21 provided on the light incident side thereof. The two light rays IR1 and the broken line IR2 drawn with a solid line in FIG. 3 correspond to the distances l1 and l2 of the detection points on the image sensor 22, respectively. As shown in the relationship between IR1 and IR2 in FIG. 3, the two light receiving points detected on the image sensor 22 move away as the incident angle of the infrared rays on the lens 21 increases. In other words, the shorter the distance between the infrared output unit 10 and the infrared light receiving unit 2, the larger the incident angle of infrared rays, and the greater the distance l between the two light receiving points on the image sensor 22. The sensor information transmission unit 6 obtains this distance l from two pixel positions at which two light receiving points on the image sensor 22 are detected.

  Subsequently, the sensor information transmission unit 6 calculates the magnification from the actual distance L between the two LEDs, which is a known value in the infrared output unit 10, and the distance l between the two light receiving points on the image sensor 22. m is calculated from the formula of 1 / L. Subsequently, the sensor information transmission unit 6 calculates the distance d between the infrared output unit 10 and the infrared light receiving unit 2 from the magnification m and the distance s from the lens 21 to the imaging element 22 which is a known value. Obtained from the following equation.

d = m · s (1)
Then, the sensor information transmitter 6 calculates the light intensity I ₀ at the infrared incident angle of 0 ° from the distance d. The lens configuration is not limited to that shown in FIG. For example, when using a normal image sensor, a filter that narrows down wavelengths other than infrared light (for example, a narrow band filter for infrared light) may be inserted before and after the lens.

Next, position detection processing 2 is performed (step S3). This process 2 will be described. In order to detect the position, first, the light intensities of the two infrared LEDs are detected. The detected light intensity is inversely proportional to the irradiation area at the distance d. The irradiation area is proportional to (1 / d) ² because it can be considered as a part of the surface area of a sphere having a radius d.

  Further, the two infrared LEDs of the infrared output unit 10 have a certain degree of directivity. An example of directivity is shown in FIG. Due to this directivity, the infrared light receiving unit 2 detects the light intensity differently depending on the position (angle). That is, when infrared rays from two points of the infrared output unit 10 are detected from a certain position, light enters from two angles, and a large and small balance is generated between the two light intensities.

By storing the light intensity I ₀ at the incident angle 0 ° of the infrared ray at the distance d and the data of the directivity of the LED, and fitting the detection value thereto, the position can be recognized. That is, if the actual detection value is I, the position (angle) of the infrared light receiving unit 2 can be obtained by fitting the value obtained by I / I ₀ to the LED directivity data.

  FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the screen of the display 8 and the configuration of the infrared output unit 10. As shown in FIG. 5A, a virtual button 9 and a cursor are installed on the screen of the display 8. The position of the cursor is remotely operated on the screen of the display 8 in conjunction with detection information obtained from the infrared light receiving unit 2 and transmitted to the sensor information processing unit 11.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG.5 (b), the infrared output part 10 is the structure by which two infrared LED13a and 13b were spaced apart. The LED 13a has a light shielding portion 14a that shields light in the left direction in the figure, and the other LED 13b has a light shielding portion 14b that shields light in the downward direction in the figure. Restricted. By limiting the detection range, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection at the point where the balance of the two light intensities becomes equal.

  FIG. 6 shows the distribution of the light intensity in the case where there are no light shielding portions 14a and 14b and in the case where there is a light shielding portion, in contour lines. As shown in FIG. 6A, when there are no light shielding portions 14a and 14b, it is shown that the lines corresponding to the two infrared LEDs 14a and 14b intersect at two places. That is, the same light intensity balance is obtained at two locations, which causes erroneous position detection. On the other hand, when there are light-shielding portions 14a and 14b, there is no false detection because they intersect at only one place as shown in FIG. 6 (b).

  The light shielding portions 14a and 14b are provided so as to cover at least the LEDs 13a and 13b until they are exposed only in a semicircular shape, and preferably cover them until the LEDs 13a and 13b are exposed only in a quarter circle shape. At this time, the LEDs 13a and 13b are preferably provided on the outer peripheral portion of the display 8 as much as possible. Position detection is possible in a wider range.

  Next, the acceleration sensor 3 is composed of a one-dimensional acceleration sensor, and detects only the acceleration in the vertical direction shown in FIG. In order to distinguish the operation for operating the cursor position on the screen of the display 8 from the click operation, the operation at the cursor position is stopped when an acceleration of a certain level or more that is regarded as the click operation is detected.

  Further, the acceleration sensor 3 detects that the upward acceleration in FIG. 7 is not less than the first threshold value and the downward acceleration is not less than the second threshold value after that within the set time. , It is considered to be a click action. In other words, when the acceleration of the first threshold value is exceeded in the upward direction, the operation of the cursor position is temporarily stopped. However, if the acceleration exceeding the second threshold value in the downward direction is not given within the set time, The operation at the cursor position is resumed without being regarded as a click operation.

The time and acceleration serving as threshold values for discriminating these click operations can be set so as to eliminate the difference in operability due to individual differences. At this time, it is assumed that the time can be set within a range of 0.2 sec to 1 sec. The acceleration can be set within a range of 20 m / sec ² to 50 m / sec ² (about 3G to 4G).

  Next, the contact sensor 5 is provided in the part which a fingertip contacts, and detects a contact state with the pushed force produced in the case of contact. The contact sensor 5 includes an electrostatic sensor that detects a contact state from a change in capacitance by changing a distance between electrodes due to a pressing force, and a piezoelectric body that is deformed by a pressing force. A pressure sensor that detects a contact state from a change in resistance can be used. Here, when the contact state is detected, the other components are energized, and when the contact state is not detected by the contact sensor 5, the other components are in a non-energized state.

  Next, processing in the finger-mounted processing device 1 and the sensor information processing unit 11 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, when the contact state of the finger is detected by the contact sensor 5 (YES in step S11), the sensor information processing unit 11 performs processing 1 for displaying the virtual button 9 on the screen of the display 8 (step S12). . In the process of step S12, the sensor information transmission unit 6 transmits to the sensor information processing unit 11 that the energization and contact state are on, and subsequently transmits the infrared light receiving unit 2 and the sensor information of the infrared CMOS sensor to the sensor information. The information is transmitted from the unit 6 to the sensor information processing unit 11. Thereby, the sensor information processing unit 11 converts the position information detected from the infrared light receiving unit 2 into coordinates on the screen of the display 8 on which the virtual button 9 is displayed, and operates the cursor. In step S12, energization of the acceleration sensor 3 and detection of a click operation are started.

  When a click operation is detected by the acceleration sensor 3 (YES in step S13), processing 2 is performed (step S14). In step 2 of step S14, the acceleration sensor 3 applies vibration to the vibration unit 4 to reproduce the tactile sensation that is energized and detected. Thereby, the vibration which reproduces the tactile sensation of the click is given to the fingertip of the user's finger 12. Thereafter, in the process 2 described above, the sensor information transmission unit 6 transmits to the sensor information transmission unit 11 that the click operation has been detected by the acceleration sensor 3.

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the cursor points to the virtual button 9 on the screen of the display 8 (step S15). When the cursor points to the virtual button 9 on the screen of the display 8, the operation content of the designated (selected) virtual button is processed (step S16). The virtual button 9 on the screen of the display 8 corresponds to operations such as channel change and volume adjustment, and selects and executes an operation instructed by a click operation.

  Next, the finger storage portion of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, the same components as those in FIG. In FIG. 9, the finger-mounted processing device 1 is built in a finger storage unit, and an insulating sheet 20 surrounds the finger 12 in the fingertip storage part for insulation from adjacent devices and circuits. Is provided. The insulating sheet 20 can be made of a material such as polyurethane, polycarbonate, polyimide, vinyl chloride, fluororesin, or silicone resin, and another material such as a fiber may be provided on the inside to form a two-layer structure. . Further, the contact sensor 5a (corresponding to the contact sensor 5 in FIG. 1) is disposed at a position where the tip of the fingertip of the finger 12 touches.

  FIG. 10 shows another example of the finger storage portion of the present embodiment. In the figure, the same components as those in FIG. 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. As shown in FIG. 10, the contact sensor 5 b (corresponding to the contact sensor 5 of FIG. 1) is installed near the second joint of the finger 12.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-278673 discloses an apparatus that reproduces the tactile sensation of a click by attaching it to a fingertip and performing position and processing from the operation of the fingertip using an acceleration sensor or the like. This device is specially designed for processing with a keyboard, so position detection is based on the distance and direction of each finger movement relative to the position of a certain finger (in this case, the index finger) in the initial state. Detecting from speed, acceleration, angular velocity sensor. That is, the position is detected from the relative movement distance from the initial position.

  On the other hand, the processing device according to the present embodiment assumes processing such as a remote control such as a television or a program recording device, and aims to indicate and execute a point on the display. Therefore, it is sufficient that the position detection corresponds to the position of the instructed screen. In the present invention, the position is detected by an infrared sensor.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the acceleration sensor 3 does not detect the position, and its function is specialized for detecting the click operation. Further, since the click operation is performed by the vertical movement of the fingertip, it can be detected only by the one-dimensional acceleration sensor.

  As described above, according to the processing apparatus with a finger attachment type tactile reproduction function of this embodiment, an operation away from the display 8 is possible, an operation by an operation in the air is possible, and the operability is further improved. An effect can be obtained.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the above embodiment, Other various modifications are also included. For example, the sensor information processing unit 11 may be separate from or integrated with the display 8. Further, the infrared output unit 10 may be separate from or integrated with the display 8. The infrared output unit 10 may be installed on the front surface of the display 8 so that the centers of the two infrared LEDs of the infrared output unit 10 and the vertical or horizontal center of the display 8 approximately match each other. That is, it can be used regardless of whether it is installed on the top, bottom, left or right of the display 8.

  The present invention can be used for remote control, operation of an information terminal, and replacement of a touch panel.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Finger attachment type processing apparatus 2 Infrared light receiving part 3 Acceleration sensor 4 Vibration part 5 Contact sensor 6 Sensor information transmission part 7 Battery 8 Display 9 Virtual button 10 Infrared output part 11 Sensor information processing part 12 Finger 13a, 13b Infrared LED (light emitting diode) )
14a, 14b Light-shielding portion 20 Insulating sheet 21 Lens 22 Image sensor

Claims (3)

An infrared output unit installed near the screen of the display;
An infrared receiving unit that receives infrared rays output from the infrared output unit and outputs a light reception detection signal;
An acceleration sensor that detects acceleration of a user's fingertip and outputs an acceleration detection signal, detects a click action based on the detected acceleration, and outputs a click action detection signal;
A vibration unit that is provided to contact the fingertip and vibrates to reproduce the tactile sensation of the click when the click operation detection signal is supplied;
A contact sensor that detects that the fingertip is in contact and outputs a contact detection signal;
A sensor that generates and transmits wirelessly sensor information including at least distance and position information between the infrared output unit and the infrared light receiving unit based on the light reception detection signal, the acceleration detection signal, and the contact detection signal An information transmitter;
A battery that outputs power supply voltage;
The infrared light receiving unit, the acceleration sensor, the vibration unit, the contact sensor, the sensor information transmission unit, and the battery are built in a finger storage unit in which the fingertip is stored. A processing device with a finger-attached tactile reproduction function.   The infrared output unit includes a first infrared light source that emits infrared light in a direction other than the first direction shielded by the first light shielding portion, and the first light shielded by the second light shielding portion. 2. The finger-mounted tactile reproduction according to claim 1, wherein a second infrared light-emitting source that emits infrared light in a direction other than the second direction different from the second direction is spaced apart. Functional processing unit.   The acceleration sensor detects a click operation when detecting an acceleration greater than or equal to a first threshold value in one direction and detecting an acceleration greater than or equal to a second threshold value in a direction opposite to the one direction during a set time. 3. The processing apparatus with a finger attachment type tactile reproduction function according to claim 1, wherein the click movement detection signal is output.

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