JP2010075387A - Mechanical vibration output device and acting method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device which achieves the induction of a feeling of inconsistency of kinesthesia in an arbitrary region of the body while a user is moving by combining the operation of somatesthesia with the presentation of visual information. <P>SOLUTION: When a limb movement detection means 11 detects the movement of the limbs of the user 200, a mechanical vibration stimulation generation section 31 generates a pattern of a mechanical vibration by setting prescribed vibration output time and outputs a signal based on the pattern from a mechanical vibration stimulation means 32. A limb position detection means 12 detects the positions of the limbs of the user 200 and sets prescribed display time by the detection of the positions and the limb position presentation means 41 presents an image showing the positions of the prescribed limbs of the user 200. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a device for manipulating the physical sensation of the body and a method for operating the device, and a game / amusement device using the kinesthetic sensation, a medical diagnostic device for the purpose of evaluating and improving the kinesthetic sense and the motor function It is assumed to be used for training equipment for sports and rehabilitation.

Our body movements are perceived mainly by integrating visual and somatic sensations, and the perceived sensations are called kinesthesia. Somatosensory refers to the sense of position of the body derived from the intramuscular muscle spindle.
Until now, as means for intentionally manipulating the kinesthetic sense from the outside, there exists a device that gives a bias to vision and creates a gap with the somatic sensation, causing a sense of inconsistency in the kinesthetic sense. Examples of the means include prism glasses (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1) and a rotating mouse display (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 2).
And, using the incompatibility situation of kinesthetic sense generated by using these means, it is applied to the evaluation of motor ability adapted to the incompatibility situation, rehabilitation of higher brain dysfunction, and the like.
TA Martin.JG Keating, HR Goodkin, AJ Bastian and WT Thach, “Throwing while looking through prisms II.Specificity and storage of multiple gaze-throw calibrations”, Oxford University Press, Vol. 199, p. 1199-1211, 1996. H. Imamizu, S. Miyauchi, T. Tamada et al., "Human cerebellar activity reflecting an acquired internal model of a new tool", Nature, Vol. 403, p. 192-195, (13 January 2000). Burke et al. J Physiol 261, p. 673-693, 1976.

  However, in the conventional method of manipulating the visual sense and giving a sense of inconsistency to the kinesthetic sense, due to the nature of the visual information, the effect will be systemic. For example, if an attempt is made to reach an object in an environment of prism glasses, the effect will affect both the right hand and the left hand. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to create a situation in which inconsistency is caused independently for a specific body part or for a plurality of parts.

  Then, this invention makes it a subject to induce the incompatibility of a motor sense in arbitrary body parts during a user's exercise | movement, and it aims at providing the apparatus which implement | achieves it.

In order to solve the above problem, the present invention generates a mechanical vibration having a magnitude that vibrates a specific body part of a user, and outputs the generated mechanical vibration through a vibration surface that transmits the generated vibration. A mechanical vibration output device that detects a change in the amount of movement of the user's limb due to the presence or absence of a vibration.
The present invention also provides a limb motion detection means for detecting that a user's limb is moving, a mechanical vibration stimulation means for applying a mechanical vibration stimulus to the user's muscle, and an input timing signal. A mechanical vibration stimulation generating unit that generates a mechanical vibration pattern based on the output and outputs the mechanical vibration pattern to the mechanical vibration stimulation unit, a limb position detection unit that detects the position of the user's limb, and a signal at an input timing The limb position presenting means for presenting an image based on the limb movement detection means and the limb movement detection means detect that the user's limb is moving, and the mechanical vibration stimulation by appropriately setting a stimulation time based on the detection during the movement A first timing signal is output to the generation unit, the position of the user's limb is detected by the limb position detection means, a display time is appropriately set based on the detection of the position, and a second timing is output to the limb position presentation means. Trust , A timing controller for outputting a mechanical vibration output device, characterized in that it comprises a.

According to the present invention, the mechanical vibration output device generates a mechanical vibration having a magnitude that vibrates a specific body part of the user, and outputs the generated mechanical vibration via a vibration surface that transmits the generated vibration. It is assumed that a change in the amount of movement of the user's limb due to the presence or absence of the user is detected.
Thereby, the change of the momentum of the user's limb according to the change of the vibration output through the vibration surface can be detected, and the influence on the momentum by the vibration of the specific body part of the user can be detected. it can.

Further, according to the present invention, the mechanical vibration output device detects that the limb movement detecting means is moving the limb of the user. The mechanical vibration stimulating means outputs a mechanical vibration corresponding to an input signal through a vibration surface that transmits the vibration. The mechanical vibration stimulation generating unit generates a mechanical vibration pattern based on the input timing signal, and outputs a signal based on the pattern to the mechanical vibration stimulation means. The limb position detection means detects the position of the user's limb. The limb position presenting means presents an image indicating the position of a predetermined limb of the user based on the input timing signal. When the limb movement detection means detects that the user's limb is moving, the timing control unit sets a predetermined vibration output time and outputs a first timing signal to the mechanical vibration stimulation generation unit, The position of the limb of the user is detected by the limb position detection means, a predetermined display time is set by detecting the position, and the second timing signal is output to the limb position presentation means.
This can induce a sense of inconsistency in the kinesthetic sense based on the somatosensory operation. Unlike conventional methods based on visual manipulation, it is possible to create a sense of inconsistency limited to a specific body part. It becomes.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a mechanical vibration output device according to the present embodiment.
In this figure, a mechanical vibration output device 100 and a user 200 in contact with the mechanical vibration output device 100 are shown. The user 200 is not included in the mechanical vibration output device 100.

The mechanical vibration output device 100 includes a motion detection unit 10, a control processing unit 20, a vibration generation unit 30, and a video display unit 40.
The motion detection unit 10 includes limb motion detection means 11 and limb position detection means 12.
In the movement detection unit 10, the limb movement detection unit 11 detects the movement of the limb of the user 200, and the limb position detection unit 12 detects the position of the limb of the user 200.
The limb movement detection means 11 is a physical sensor provided in the limb that directly detects the movement of the limb or a virtual sensor that indirectly detects the movement of the limb, and determination of signals detected by these sensors. It consists of a determination processing unit that performs processing. Examples of the physical sensor that directly detects include a switch and an acceleration sensor. In addition, as a virtual sensor that detects indirectly, signal processing based on position information obtained by sequentially detecting the position of the limb, image processing from image information obtained by imaging the state of the limb, and the like can be used. Motion can be detected by using a virtual sensor. Furthermore, as a virtual sensor application, instead of a method of actually detecting limb motion, a method of adjusting the limb motion start time of the user 200 by using a buzzer or the like to sound the buzzer may be considered.
The limb position detection means 12 is a physical sensor provided on the limb that directly detects the position of the limb or a virtual sensor that indirectly detects the position of the limb, and determination of signals detected by these sensors. It consists of a determination processing unit that performs processing. Examples of the physical sensor that directly detects include a switch and an acceleration sensor. Moreover, as a virtual sensor to detect indirectly, a position can also be detected by image processing from image information obtained by imaging the limb state.

The control processing unit 20 controls various processes performed in the mechanical vibration output device 100.
The control processing unit 20 includes a timing control unit 21, an input processing unit 22, and a statistical processing unit 23.
In the control processing unit 20, the timing control unit 21 generates a control signal (first timing signal) indicating the timing for outputting mechanical vibration based on the input position information of the user's limbs and information indicating that the user is exercising. Output. In addition, the timing control unit 21 controls the control signal (second timing) indicating the timing for presenting the target position as an exercise index shown to the user based on the input position information of the user's limbs and information indicating that the user is exercising. Signal).
The input processing unit 22 performs operation input detection processing for the mechanical vibration output device 100.
The statistical processing unit 23 stores the detection result of the limb position and the motion state detected by the motion detection unit 10 in a storage area provided therein, performs statistical processing of the stored information, and detects those information The result and the result of statistical processing are output.
The control processing unit 20 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory) 21, a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like, and is stored in the same manner using data stored in the storage area. A program is executed and control of each process is performed.

The vibration generator 30 outputs mechanical vibrations according to the input timing signal.
The vibration generation unit 30 includes a mechanical vibration stimulation generation unit 31 and mechanical vibration stimulation means 32.
In the vibration generating unit 30, when a control signal instructing mechanical vibration is input, the mechanical vibration stimulation generating unit 31 generates and outputs a vibration stimulation pattern.
The mechanical vibration stimulation means 32 outputs mechanical vibration via a vibration surface that transmits vibration according to the vibration stimulation pattern generated by the mechanical vibration stimulation generation unit 31. The mechanical vibration stimulating means 32 is provided in contact with the vibration surface of a predetermined part of the user 200 and transmits the output vibration to the user 200.
The video display unit 40 presents the target positions 41-1 and 41-2 as the motion index of a predetermined part shown to the user according to the input timing signal.

The somatosensory bias 81, the vision 82, and the kinesthetic incompatibility 83 in the user 200 shown in this figure model the relationship of the sensations felt by the user 200.
The user 200 perceives a somatic sensation bias 81 that is different from the actual somatic sensation by receiving a stimulus caused by the applied mechanical vibration. In addition, the user 200 perceives the target positions 41-1 and 41-2 of the predetermined part to be presented and the movement of the limb at the predetermined part by the vision 82. Then, the user 200 feels a shift between the visual sense and the somatic sensation in the movement of the limb during the exercise from the somatosensory bias 81 and the visual 82, and perceives the inconsistency 83 of the kinesthetic sense. .

A schematic operation of the mechanical vibration output device 100 shown in FIG. 1 will be described.
The mechanical vibration output device 100 is disposed in contact with a specific portion of the user 200 on which a vibration output of the vibration generating unit 30 is output. The mechanical vibration output device 100 receives various necessary settings, performs input processing by the input processing unit 22, and records various processing setting information in a storage area allocated to a RAM (semiconductor memory) or the like. The The setting information to be set is related to the vibration output, the time until the vibration output is started after detecting the motion of the user 200, the time to continue the vibration output, the vibration pattern of the vibration output, the intensity of the vibration output, etc. There is. Further, as the setting information to be set, as for the display output, the time for continuing the vibration output, the positions and sizes and shapes of the target positions 41-1 and 41-2 to be displayed, and the target positions 41-1 and 41-2 There is a time to continue displaying.

In the mechanical vibration output device 100, the motion detection unit 10 detects that the limb of the user 200 is in motion, and the detection signal is input to the timing control unit 21. When the detection signal is input, the timing control unit 21 appropriately adjusts the stimulation time (vibration output duration) according to a predetermined setting, and generates a timing signal for controlling the mechanical vibration output as the mechanical vibration stimulation generation unit 31. To enter. When the timing signal is input, the mechanical vibration stimulation generator 31 generates a vibration stimulation pattern and inputs the generated vibration stimulation pattern information to the mechanical vibration stimulation means 32. When the generated vibration stimulation pattern information is input, the mechanical vibration stimulation means 32 outputs a predetermined vibration.
The vibration output by the mechanical vibration stimulating means 32 is conducted to the user 200 in contact with the mechanical vibration output device 100. The magnitude of the vibration reaches the muscle of the user 200 and acts as a vibration stimulus. The vibration stimulation generated by the vibration output from the mechanical vibration stimulation means 32 acts as a somatosensory bias 81 on the perception of the limb selected as the movement measurement target portion of the user 200.
In parallel with the processing process of the vibration processing described above, the position of the limb of the user 200 is detected by the limb position detection unit 12, and the detected position information is input to the timing control unit 21. In the timing control unit 21, when the position information is input, the display time (duration of display output) is appropriately adjusted according to a predetermined setting and displayed on the video display unit 40.

Similarly, a sight 82 is given as visual information to the user at an appropriate time by the limb position presentation means 41 via the timing control unit 21.
As a result, the user 200 feels a gap between the sight 82 during the limb movement and the somatic sensation, and perceives the inconsistency 83 of the kinesthetic sensation.

  In addition, as a method of presenting the position and movement of the limb, a method of presenting the position and movement of the limb by directly projecting the laser beam output from the laser light emitting device attached to the limb (body) onto the screen is also conceivable. . In the case of using this method, it is necessary for the user 200 to recognize that the visual display by the laser beam presented on the screen reflects the limb position of the user 200 itself. This is because it is difficult to recognize that the position of the laser light presented on the screen reflects the position of the limb of the user 200 due to the distance from the position of the limb of the user 200.

With reference to the drawings, description will be given of a configuration in the case of bending motion of a wrist joint as a specific embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a mechanical vibration output device 100 intended for wrist joint bending motion in the present invention.
Two target positions 41-1 and 41-2 are displayed on the video display unit 40 provided above the forearm of the user 200. The positional relationship between the two target positions 41-1 and 41-2 is set in a range where the hand can reach by the wrist joint bending operation.
The target position 41-1 is arranged at a position indicating the tip of the hand (hereinafter referred to as “hand position cursor”) when the wrist joint is extended. Further, the target position 41-2 is arranged at a position indicating the tip of the hand (hereinafter referred to as “target”) when the wrist joint is bent within a predetermined range.

The user 200 fixes his / her palm to the motion detection unit 10 (hand joint motion measurement device) and looks at the target position 41-1 (hand position cursor) presented on the video display unit 40 above the forearm. The wrist joint is bent with respect to the target position 41-2 (target) presented on the video display unit 40. At this time, the vibration stimulus is applied by the mechanical vibration output device 100 attached to the wrist extensor tendon portion of the user.
It is known that when an appropriate vibration stimulus is applied to a tendon portion of a target muscle, sensory fibers of a muscle spindle in the muscle are stimulated to increase somatosensory input (see Non-Patent Document 3). In order to effectively activate the sensory fibers of the muscle spindle in the vibration stimulation given here, the vibration output from the mechanical vibration output device 100 is a sine wave pattern having a frequency of about 80 to 100 Hz.

With reference to the drawings, the time relationship between the motion and the stimulation by mechanical vibration will be described by taking the limb motion of the user 200 as an example.
FIG. 3 is a timing chart in the processing by the limb motion and mechanical vibration output device 100 according to the embodiment.
In the timing chart shown here, the user 200 performs a limb exercise while viewing a visual display regarding a body part. That is, at time t ₀ , the limb position presentation unit 41 in the mechanical vibration output device 100 presents the target positions 41-1 and 41-2 to the user 200. At time _{t 1,} limb position indicating means 41 while allowed to continue presentation of the target position 41-1 and 41-2, to start movement to the user 200. At the same time, the mechanical vibration stimulating means 32 of the mechanical vibration output device 100 outputs mechanical vibration. At time t _2, the causes terminate movement to the user 200, mechanical vibration stimulation means 32 stops vibrating. In addition, the limb position presenting means 41 ends the presentation of the target positions 41-1 and 41-2.
In the processing shown in this timing chart, the user 200 perceives a shift between visual sense and somatic sensation and gives a sense of inconsistency 83 of the kinesthetic sense by giving a vibration stimulus during the movement of the user 200. Become.

The timing chart shown in the figure is an example, and the processing pattern is shown below.
Pattern 1V: The limb position presenting means 41 causes the user 200 to perform an exercise while presenting the target positions 41-1 and 41-2. The mechanical vibration stimulating means 32 of the mechanical vibration output device 100 outputs mechanical vibration during the movement operation of the user 200. In this pattern, the user 200 can exercise while conscious of the target positions 41-1 and 41-2 presented during the exercise operation. That is, the operation shown in the timing chart is performed.

Pattern 2V: Presentation of the target positions 41-1 and 41-2 by the limb position presentation means 41 is performed only before the start of the exercise operation of the user 200, and is not presented during the exercise operation of the user 200. The mechanical vibration stimulating means 32 of the mechanical vibration output device 100 outputs mechanical vibration during the movement operation of the user 200. In this pattern, the user 200 cannot refer to the target positions 41-1 and 41-2 during the exercise operation, and exercises relying on the memory of the target positions 41-1 and 41-2. . That is, at time _{t 0,} limb position presenting unit 41 presents the target position 41-1 and 41-2. At time _{t 1,} limb position presenting unit 41 terminates the presentation of target positions 41-1 and 41-2. And while making the user 200 start an exercise | movement, the mechanical vibration stimulation means 32 of the mechanical vibration output apparatus 100 outputs mechanical vibration. At time t _2, the causes terminate movement to the user 200, mechanical vibration stimulation means 32 of mechanical vibration output device 100 stops oscillating.

Pattern 3V: Presentation of the target positions 41-1 and 41-2 by the limb position presentation unit 41 is performed only before the user 200 starts the exercise operation, and is not presented during the user 200 exercise operation. While the user 200 is exercising, the acquisition of vision is limited so that the body part that is exercising cannot be referred to. Further, the mechanical vibration stimulating means 32 of the mechanical vibration output device 100 outputs mechanical vibrations during the movement operation of the user 200. In this pattern, the user 200 cannot confirm his / her movement and exercises relying on the memory of the target positions 41-1 and 41-2. That is, at time _{t 0,} limb position presenting unit 41 presents the target position 41-1 and 41-2. At time _{t 1,} limb position presenting unit 41 terminates the presentation of target positions 41-1 and 41-2. And while making the user 200 start an exercise | movement, the mechanical vibration stimulation means 32 of the mechanical vibration output apparatus 100 outputs mechanical vibration. At that time, the user 200 is blocked from seeing the body part of the user 200 from the user 200. At time t _2, the causes terminate movement to the user 200, mechanical vibration stimulation means 32 of mechanical vibration output device 100 stops oscillating.

  Furthermore, there are processing patterns that are performed by stopping the mechanical vibration output during the movement operation given in the patterns 1V, 2V, and 3V described above, and are referred to as a pattern 1NV, a pattern 2NV, and a pattern 3NV, respectively. That is, the difference is that the process of outputting mechanical vibration by the mechanical vibration stimulating means 32 performed in the patterns 1V, 2V, and 3V described above becomes a process pattern that is not performed.

  Under such conditions, what kind of inconsistency 83 of the kinesthetic sense perceived by the user 200 during exercise is derived from the bias effect on the somatic sensation caused by the vibration stimulation. The bias effect can be detected by setting the case where there is no visual information on the position of the limb, and comparing the amount of exercise with and without the vibration stimulus. That is, the case where there is no visual information on the position of the limb refers to a case where the user 200 cannot see the position of his / her hand. Therefore, the user 200 cannot correct the movement visually. The movement in the absence of this visual information is executed based on a movement sensation that depends on the somatic sensation.

The bias effect on somatic sensation by vibration stimulation will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 4 is a graph showing the detection results of the processing by the limb movement and mechanical vibration output device shown in FIG.
FIG. 4A shows the result of the hand position when the above-described wrist joint bending motion is performed without visual information of the hand position. The vertical axis of this graph indicates the amount of movement of the hand position, and the average value of the detection results and the standard deviation range of the detection values are indicated by a bar graph.
Graph GA1 (white) shows the amount of movement when no vibration stimulus is given, and graph GA2 (black) shows the amount of movement when a vibration stimulus is given. In addition, the case where the vibration stimulus is given during the movement and the case where the vibration stimulus is not given can be switched at an arbitrary time. That is, the pattern 3V and the pattern 3NV are switched at random.

In this figure, when the vibration stimulus shown by the graph GA1 (pattern 3V) is applied, the movement amount of the wrist joint and the average value are also in the variation range, compared with the case where the vibration stimulus shown by the graph GA2 is not given (pattern 3NV). It is shown that the maximum value of is also small. This indicates that the vibration stimulus caused a somatosensory bias in the bending direction of the wrist joint.
Regardless of the presence or absence of vibration stimulation, the somatic sensation is exercised so as to have the same momentum. Nevertheless, the momentum when the vibration stimulus is applied (pattern 3V) is smaller than when the vibration stimulus is not applied (pattern 3NV), and the difference is the effect of the vibration stimulus. As a result, by adding the vibration stimulus, a bias amount due to the influence is added to the somatic sensation, and the same somatic sensation (= kinesthetic sensation) can be obtained even with a small amount of movement by the bias, so that flexion movement Can be interpreted as having become smaller.

FIG. 4 (b) shows the result when the wrist joint bending movement is given the target positions 41-1 and 41-2 of the hand position and the visual information of the hand is given as shown in FIG. is there. The vertical axis of this graph indicates the amount of movement of the hand position, and the average value and standard deviation range of the detection results are indicated by a bar graph.
A graph GB1 (white) indicates the amount of movement when no vibration stimulus is applied, and a graph GB2 (black) indicates the amount of movement when a vibration stimulus is applied. In addition, the case where the vibration stimulus is given during the exercise and the case where it is not given can be switched at an arbitrary time. That is, the pattern 1V and the pattern 1NV are switched at random.

  In this figure, when there is visual information (pattern 1V and pattern 1NV), even when there is a somatosensory bias applied with the vibration stimulus shown by graph GB2 (pattern 1V), the vibration stimulus shown by graph GB1 Even when no pattern is given (pattern 1 NV), the equivalent wrist joint bending motion is performed. From this result, it is shown that the exercise was executed based on the visual information. That is, from the result shown in the graph GB2, it means that the exercise performed by the user 200 in that case was an exercise adapted to the visual information. The somatic sensation in the case where the vibration stimulus is given is more than that in the case where there is no vibration stimulus due to the bias effect, and the sense of inconsistency is generated in the motor sense of the user 200.

  From the above results, the apparatus having the function of the present invention causes a gap between visual sense and somatic sensation, and makes it possible to perceive a sense of inconsistency in kinesthetic sense for any body part.

In addition, by using a plurality of mechanical vibration stimulation generation units 31 and mechanical vibration stimulation means 32 in FIG. 1, a plurality of body parts can be targeted for operation.
It is also easy to change the direction of somatosensory bias (such as the direction of bending or stretching), that is, the direction of inconsistency for the same body part.
As described above, the present invention has a higher degree of freedom for inducing a sense of inconsistency in the kinesthetic sensation than that of the prior art, and is expected to be easily applied to industrial applications.

It is a composition outline figure in the embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram of a configuration of a measuring apparatus in an embodiment of an apparatus for wrist joint flexion movement according to the present invention. It is a timing chart in the processing by the limb motion and mechanical vibration output device in the embodiment. It is a graph which shows the result of having detected the limb movement in embodiment using the mechanical vibration output device.

Explanation of symbols

100 mechanical vibration output device 10 motion detection unit 11 limb motion detection unit 12 limb position detection unit 20 control processing unit 21 timing control unit 22 input processing unit 23 statistical processing unit 30 vibration generation unit 31 mechanical vibration stimulation generation unit 32 mechanical vibration stimulation unit 40 Video display section 41 Limb position presentation means 200 User 81 Somatosensory bias 82 Visual 83 Motor sense inconsistency

Claims (3)

  A mechanical vibration having a magnitude that vibrates a specific body part of the user is generated, output through a vibration surface that transmits the generated vibration, and a change in the momentum of the user's limb depending on the presence or absence of the vibration A mechanical vibration output device characterized by detecting the above. Limb movement detection means for detecting that the limb of the user is moving;
Mechanical vibration stimulation means for outputting mechanical vibration according to an input signal through a vibration surface for transmitting vibration;
Generating a mechanical vibration pattern based on the input timing signal, and outputting a signal based on the pattern to the mechanical vibration stimulation means; and
Limb position detection means for detecting the position of the limb of the user;
Limb position presentation means for presenting an image indicating the position of the predetermined limb of the user based on the input timing signal;
It is detected by the limb movement detection means that the user's limb is moving, and when the movement is detected, a predetermined vibration output time is set and the mechanical vibration stimulus generator generates 1 is output, the position of the user's limb is detected by the limb position detection means, a predetermined display time is set by detecting the position, and a second timing signal is output to the limb position presentation means. An output timing control unit;
A mechanical vibration output device comprising: Limb movement detection process for detecting that the user's limb is moving;
It is detected that the user's limb is moving by the limb movement detection process, and a mechanical vibration pattern is generated by setting a predetermined stimulation time by detecting the movement. A process of outputting mechanical vibration through a vibration surface transmitting vibration;
A limb position detection process for detecting the position of the limb of the user;
The position of the user's limb is detected by the limb position detection process, and a limb position presenting process for presenting an image showing the position of the user's predetermined limb by setting a predetermined display time by detecting the position;
A method for operating a mechanical vibration output device.

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