JP2018010582A - Touch sense presentation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To present a touch sense with reality to a user.SOLUTION: A touch sense presentation device comprises: an attachment part 110 which is attached in a state of contacting a skin on a prescribed portion such as a finger of a user; an electrode part 140 attached to the attachment part 110 and contacting the skin; a shift member 120 for shifting a contact position of the electrode 140 with the skin; and a control part for controlling the electrode part 140 and the shift member 120. The control part presents a pressure sense of a specific spatial resolution and a vibration feeling of a specific frequency, by a pulse voltage applied to the electrode part 140, and presents a skin deviation feeling of a spatial resolution lower than the specific spatial resolution, and presents a vibration feeling of a frequency higher than the specific frequency, by shift of the contact position of the electrode 140 with the skin, by the shift member 120.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a tactile sensation presentation apparatus that presents a tactile sensation on the skin of a worn user's finger or the like.

  In recent years, with the progress of virtual reality technology, a user who is viewing a video displayed on a display is made to perceive the space presented by the video as if it were real. For example, when a user moves a hand that touches an object displayed as an image, the device that stimulates the finger gives a touch that is almost the same as when the user touches the display object. The user can perceive that the object displayed above actually exists.

Conventionally, various devices for performing such stimulation on the finger or the like have been proposed, for example, those that give vibration to the entire fingertip, those that arrange many pins in a matrix and drive each pin to give stimulation, Those which give skin shear deformation by electrostatic force or the like are known.
For example, Patent Literature 1 describes an example of a tactile sensation presentation apparatus that presents tactile stimulation due to vibration to the skin.

JP 2003-308152 A

  By the way, it is known that sensations obtained by skin such as fingertips are obtained by four receptors in the skin. That is, there are four receptors called Merkel cells, Meissner bodies, Patini bodies, and Rufini endings in the skin such as the fingertips. Merkel cells are receptors that respond to the sense that the skin is pressed (pressure sensation), and Meissner bodies are receptors that respond to low-frequency vibrations (low-frequency vibration sensation) transmitted to the skin. Patini bodies are receptors that respond to high-frequency vibrations (high-frequency vibration sense) transmitted to the skin, and Rufini endings are receptors that respond to forces that greatly deform the skin (skin shear deformation sense). . By combining the sensations obtained with these four receptors, humans have the sensation of touching or grasping objects with their fingertips.

However, the conventionally proposed presentation devices such as tactile sensations do not have sensations with all four receptors, and the types of tactile sensations that can be expressed are limited. For this reason, there is a problem that it is difficult to present a realistic tactile sensation that reproduces the case of touching an actual object.
For example, as described in Patent Document 1, when a tactile sensation is presented by arranging a vibrating member, a tactile sensation is presented using a Meissner body or a pachini body that reacts to vibration, Other receptors (Merkel cells, Rufini end) are hardly stimulated. This gives a finger a feeling different from the feeling when actually touching the object, and reality cannot be obtained. For example, when a fingertip is vibrated for a short time in accordance with an image of grabbing a glass with a finger, the sense of vibration is confused and the person gets a sense of grabbing the glass. It was hard to say that was presented.
Therefore, in order to present a more realistic tactile sensation similar to when a finger actually touches an object, all four receptors described above need to be stimulated in the same way as when the finger is actually moved. is there. However, none of the tactile sensation presentation devices that have been proposed so far can properly stimulate all four receptors.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a tactile sense presentation device that can present a realistic tactile sense to a user.

The tactile sense presentation device of the present invention includes a mounting portion that is mounted in contact with a user's skin at a predetermined location, an electrode portion that is attached to the mounting portion and contacts the skin at the predetermined location, and a contact position of the electrode portion with the skin And a control unit that controls the electrode unit and the shift member.
The control unit presents a pressure sensation of a specific spatial resolution and a vibration sensation of a specific frequency to the skin at a predetermined location by the pulse voltage applied to the electrode unit, stimulates the first receptor therein, and uses the shift member. By shifting the contact position of the electrode portion with the skin, a skin displacement sensation with a spatial resolution lower than a specific spatial resolution and a vibration sensation with a frequency higher than a specific frequency are presented to the skin at a predetermined location.

  According to the present invention, various receptors are appropriately stimulated by combining stimulation by applying a pulse voltage to the skin using the electrode unit and stimulation that shifts the electrode unit itself in contact with the skin by the shift member. It becomes possible to present realistic stimuli.

It is a perspective view which shows the example of the tactile sense presentation apparatus by one embodiment of this invention. It is the front view seen from the A direction of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the example which mounted | wore the finger | toe with the tactile presentation apparatus by one embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the structural example of the electrode part of the tactile sense presentation apparatus by one embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the example of an internal structure of the tactile sense presentation apparatus by the example of 1 embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the receptor in skin. It is a characteristic view which shows the example of the distribution range of the spatial resolution and frequency resolution of each receptor. It is explanatory drawing which shows the irritation | stimulation state in each mode of the tactile sense presentation apparatus by one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example which presents the sensation corresponding to the operation | movement which the object surface slides by the example embodiment of this invention to slide an object surface. It is explanatory drawing which shows the force sense which the tactile sense presentation apparatus by one embodiment of this invention receives from the diagonal direction. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the stimulus presentation condition at the time of the object collision by the example of 1 embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[1. Device configuration]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a haptic presentation device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the haptic presentation device 100 of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where the finger f is attached to the tactile sense presentation device 100 shown in FIG.
In the front view of FIG. 2, the horizontal direction (left-right direction) is shown as the x-axis, and the vertical direction (up-down direction) is shown as the y-axis. The x-axis and y-axis shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 are the same as those in FIG.

The tactile sense presentation device 100 includes an attachment unit 110 to which the tip of the user's finger f is attached. The tip of the finger f is inserted into the space between the left side surface 111 and the right side surface 112 of the mounting part 110 as shown in FIG.
A motor holding part 114 is connected to the upper part of the mounting part 110 via a connecting part 113, and a cylindrical motor 120 is held by the motor holding part 114. The motor 120 used here is a direct current motor, and the rotation shaft 121 is disposed substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the finger f mounted on the mounting unit 110.

  In addition, an electrode holding unit 130 that holds the electrode unit 140 is connected to the rotating shaft 121 of the motor 120. That is, the electrode holding unit 130 is connected to the rotating shaft 121 of the motor 120 via the rotating shaft connecting unit 131, and can rotate with respect to the mounting unit 110 to which the tip of the finger f is mounted by the rotation of the motor 120. It has become. However, in the case of this example, the rotation of the electrode unit 140 is limited to a rotation of a minute angle (about several degrees), that is, a rotation for giving vibration or slight movement.

The electrode holding unit 130 includes an electrode arrangement unit 132, and the electrode unit 140 is arranged on the electrode arrangement unit 132. As shown in FIG. 2, the electrode unit 140 is provided with a large number of electrode elements 141-1 to 141-20 and a ground electrode 142. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the user's finger belly f _B (on the opposite side to the fingernail f _N ) attached to the attachment unit 110 is the electrode elements 141-1 to 141-20 in the electrode unit 140. And a contact with the ground electrode 142.
The position where the belly f _{B of the} finger contacts with the electrode unit 140 is shifted in the horizontal direction (x direction) by the rotation of the motor 120.

  In addition, a circuit arrangement unit 150 is attached to the back side of the electrode unit 140 of the electrode holding unit 130. The configuration of the circuit arrangement unit 150 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5, but the arrangement position of the circuit arrangement unit 150 illustrated in FIG. 1 is an example and may be attached to other positions. For example, the circuit arrangement unit 150 may be attached to the connection unit 113 of the mounting unit 110. Also, the circuit arrangement unit 150 is not provided in the main body of the tactile presentation device 100, and a cable (not shown) connected to the motor 120 and the electrode unit 140 is drawn from the tactile presentation device 100 to an external device, and is connected to the external device side. A circuit component such as the circuit arrangement unit 150 may be arranged.

FIG. 4 shows an arrangement example of the electrode elements 141-1 to 141-20 and the ground electrode 142 of the electrode unit 140.
Here, the electrode section 140 includes 20 electrode elements 141-1 to 141-20, and is arranged in a matrix of four in the horizontal direction and five in the vertical direction. Here, each electrode element 141-1 to 141-20 has a circular shape with a diameter of 1.4 mm, for example, and is arranged at intervals of 2.0 mm in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction.

  The ground electrode 142 is arranged so as to surround the periphery of the electrode elements 141-1 to 141-20 arranged in a matrix. The ground electrode 142 is basically at the ground potential, but depending on the state of use, a potential for stimulation different from the ground potential may be applied to the ground electrode 142 in some cases.

[2. Internal configuration of the device]
FIG. 5 shows an example of a circuit constituting the circuit arrangement unit 150 of the tactile sense presentation device 100.
The tactile sense presentation device 100 includes a communication port 151 and receives a command such as a force applied to a finger from the outside. The command received by the communication port 151 is received by the interface unit 152 and transmitted to the control unit 153. The interface unit 152 may be a radio signal receiving unit.

Based on the received command, the control unit 153 determines the direction of the force applied to the finger f and the vibration state, performs a process of driving the motor 120 to stimulate the finger, and applies a pulse voltage to the electrode unit 140. Then, a process of stimulating the finger is executed. In addition, the tactile sense presentation device 100 includes a motion sensor 154 that detects the movement in the three-axis direction applied to the device, and the motion sensor 154 detects the motion of the finger f wearing the tactile sense presentation device 100.
In consideration of the motion data detected by the motion sensor 154, the control unit 153 instructs the electrode driving unit 160 to apply force or vibration. However, the detection data of the motion sensor 154 need not be considered.

The motion sensor 154 may be omitted. In that case, the control unit 153 performs a process of controlling the electrode unit 140 via the electrode driving unit 160 only by a command received from the outside.
The details of the combined situation of the process of applying stimulation to the finger by driving the motor 120 and the process of applying stimulation to the finger by applying a pulse voltage to the electrode unit 140 will be described later.

Drive data for driving the motor 120 is supplied from the control unit 153 to the digital / analog converter 155. The digital / analog converter 155 converts the drive data into an analog voltage signal and supplies the analog voltage signal to the motor drive unit 156. The motor driving unit 156 supplies the analog voltage (motor driving voltage) to the motor 120. Here, the driving voltage of the motor 120 by the motor driving unit 156 is applied for a relatively short time so that the rotating shaft 121 of the motor 120 rotates by a relatively small angle.
In addition, the polarity of the drive voltage (DC voltage) applied from the motor drive unit 156 to the motor 120 is changed in a short time, and the motor 120 is alternately rotated in both directions at a minute angle to move the electrode unit 140 to the left and right. You may make it vibrate.

Further, as described above, the control unit 153 instructs the electrode driving unit 160 to apply a stimulation pulse voltage to the electrode elements 141-1 to 141-20 in the electrode unit 140. This stimulation pulse voltage is generated from the pulse voltage supplied from the power supply device 161, and is a relatively high voltage such as 300 V, for example, and a pulse with a very low current of about 5 mA. is there. In addition, the application time width of the pulse voltage for stimulation is a very short time of about 20 μs to 200 μs.
Further, when supplying a pulse voltage from the electrode driving unit 160 to the electrode elements 141-1 to 141-20, the control unit 153 switches the polarity of the pulse voltage to alternately perform the anode stimulation and the cathode stimulation. You can also.

When the electrode driver 160 applies a pulse voltage to the electrode elements 141-1 to 141-20, for example, the pulse voltage is sequentially supplied to the 20 electrode elements 141-1 to 141-20. For example, if the pulse width is about 100 μs, the process of applying the pulse voltage to all 20 electrode elements 141-1 to 141-20 is completed in about 2 ms. On the other hand, in the case of applying a pulse voltage having both polarities of the anode stimulation and the cathode stimulation described above, it takes twice as long as about 2 ms to supply the pulse voltage to all the electrode elements 141-1 to 141-20. About 4 ms is required.
However, the pulse voltage is sequentially supplied to the 20 electrode elements 141-1 to 141-20 in this way is an example. For example, in the case where a stimulus is given to a specific place on the belly f _B of the finger, A pulse voltage may be supplied to only one (or a plurality) of electrode elements selected from the electrode elements 141-1 to 141-20.

[3. Receptor stimulated by tactile presentation device]
Next, a skin receptor stimulated by the tactile presentation device 100 will be described.
As described above, in the skin such as a finger, there are a plurality of types of receptors as receptors for obtaining touch, pressure, temperature, and the like.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the arrangement of the receptors inside the skin. As shown in FIG. 6, the Meissner body 11, Merkel cell 12, Ruffini terminal 13, and Patini body 14 are present in the skin 10 as receptors that respond to mechanical deformation such as tactile sensation and pressure sensation.

  As already explained, the role of these four types of receptors is that the Meissner body 11 responds to the low-frequency vibration sensation, the Merkel cell 12 responds to the pressure sensation, the Ruffini terminal 13 responds to the skin shear deformation sensation, The pachinko body 14 responds to a high-frequency vibration sense. In addition, these four types of receptors have different spatial resolution (receptive field size), and in particular, Rufini terminal 13 and Patini body 14 have lower spatial resolution (large receptive field size) than the other two receptors. )It is known.

  FIG. 7 is a characteristic diagram showing a distribution range of frequency resolution and spatial resolution of each receptor. The frequency resolution is the range of frequencies that each receptor senses. Spatial resolution indicates the sensitivity of the sensing position when each receptor senses. For example, when the spatial resolution is high, the position where the force sense or vibration sense is added can be detected almost accurately, and when the spatial resolution is low, the position where the force sense or vibration sense is added is difficult to understand. Is meant to be.

The detection range a of the Meissner body 11 responds to vibration of a relatively low frequency (for example, a range from 5 Hz to around 90 Hz) and has a relatively high spatial resolution.
The detection range b of the Merkel cell 12 responds to a lower frequency vibration than the Meissner body 11 and has a relatively high spatial resolution.
The detection range c of the Rufini terminal 13 has substantially the same frequency resolution as the detection range b of the Merkel cell 12, but the spatial resolution is lower (inferior) than the detection range b of the Merkel cell 12.
The detection range d of the pachinni body 14 responds to vibrations at a high frequency (for example, a range from 60 Hz to around 800 Hz), but the spatial resolution is low (inferior).

  Actually, when a human touches an object with a skin such as a finger and feels a tactile sensation, a sense of touching the object is obtained from a combination of responses at these four receptors. In the tactile sense presentation device 100 according to the present embodiment, by the rotation of the motor 120, the finger is stimulated by the horizontal movement of the electrode unit 140 and the pulse voltage is applied to the electrode unit 140, thereby selectively A mode is provided in which the four receptors are individually stimulated. The tactile sense presentation device 100 can present a realistic tactile sense by combining these four stimulation modes.

[4. Examples of modes that stimulate each receptor]
Next, with reference to FIG. 8, the processing of four stimulation modes for individually stimulating four receptors (Meissner body, Merkel cell, Rufini terminal, and Patini body) will be described. The four stimulation modes are set by the control unit 153 (see FIG. 5) by determining a tactile sensation (force sensation, vibration sensation, etc.) to be applied to the finger f based on an external instruction or the like. The detection ranges a, b, c, and d of each receptor shown in FIG. 8 are the same as the detection ranges a, b, c, and d of each receptor shown in FIG. In addition, the electrode element 141t illustrated in FIG. 8 is an electrode serving as a target to which a pulse voltage is applied (hereinafter, referred to as “target electrode”) among the electrode elements 141-1 to 141-20. In FIG. 8, the configuration for connecting the electrode part 140 and the motor 120 is shown in a simplified manner.

-Meissner body stimulation mode When the tactile sensation presentation device 100 gives a stimulus to the Meissner body 11 (detection range a), a pulse voltage having a polarity for anodic stimulation is applied to the target electrode 141t. The applied frequency of the pulse voltage at this time is set to a frequency (for example, 30 Hz) within a range of 15 Hz to 60 Hz, for example. In addition, other electrode elements around the target electrode 141t on which anodic stimulation is performed are set to a ground potential, for example. The ground electrode 142 around the electrode elements 141-1 to 141-20 is also set to the ground potential.

Merkel cell stimulation mode When the tactile sensation presentation device 100 gives a stimulus to the Merkel cell 12 (detection range b), a pulse voltage having a polarity for cathodic stimulation is applied to the target electrode 141t. The applied frequency of the pulse voltage at this time is set to a low frequency of 15 Hz or less, for example. The other electrode elements around the target electrode 141t where the cathode stimulation is performed are set to, for example, the ground potential. The ground electrode 142 around the electrode elements 141-1 to 141-20 is also set to the ground potential.

-Rufini terminal stimulation mode When the tactile sense presentation device 100 gives a stimulus to the Rufini terminal 13 (detection range c), the motor 120 is rotated to shift the electrode unit 140 in the horizontal direction x1. In this mode, no voltage pulse is applied using the electrode unit 140.

-Patini body stimulation mode When the tactile sense presentation device 100 gives a stimulus to the pachini body 14 (detection range d), the electrode unit 140 vibrates left and right alternately by slightly rotating the motor 120. And In this mode, no voltage pulse is applied using the electrode unit 140.
In the Rufini terminal stimulation mode and the Patini body stimulation mode, the voltage pulse is not applied by the electrode unit 140 when each mode is used alone, and stimulation is performed in combination with other modes. In some cases, a voltage pulse using the electrode unit 140 may be applied. An example of concrete stimulation will be described later.

[5. Specific drive example]
Next, an example will be described in which the tactile sensation presentation device 100 performs stimulation that reproduces the action of a finger actually touching an object by combining the above-described modes.
FIG. 9 is an example of reproducing a state where the finger f slides on the surface of the specific material 21. That is, as shown in FIG. 9A, migrate to the surface of the material 21 having a specific material appearance (e.g. unevenness feeling), with the belly f _B is in contact of the finger f, and the material 21 in the horizontal direction (M1 direction) Let
Here, when there are fine asperities on the surface (textured surface) of the blank 21, corresponding to the fine irregularities, while joined by force to vibrate in a direction perpendicular to the ventral f _B of the finger f, the horizontal A horizontal force sense corresponding to the movement occurs.

When the tactile sense presentation device 100 gives the finger f a stimulus similar to the state in which the surface of the material 21 is slid, the electrode unit 140 is rotated by the motor 120 as shown in FIG. Shift in direction m1. The shift in the horizontal direction m1 of the electrode portions 140, relative to the belly f _B of the finger f in contact with the electrode portion 140 is given a horizontal force. The process of giving a horizontal force sense by the rotation of the motor 120 corresponds to the stimulation in the above-described rufini terminal stimulation mode.

Furthermore, in order to reproduce the vertical vibration of the belly f _B of the finger f corresponding to the unevenness when the finger f slides while giving a force sense in the horizontal direction, as shown in FIG. A pulse voltage is applied to the electrode 141t. The process of applying the pulse voltage corresponds to the stimulation in the above-described Meissner body stimulation mode or Merkel cell stimulation mode.
The frequency of the pulse voltage to be applied is determined by the interval between the irregularities on the surface of the material 21 and the speed at which the finger f moves. For example, when the unevenness on the surface of the material 21 is 1 mm apart and the finger moves at a speed of 60 mm / s, the center frequency of the frequency at which the finger f vibrates up and down is about 60 Hz. In this case, by applying a pulse voltage to the target electrode 141t at a frequency of 60 Hz, it is possible to give the finger f the same feeling as when the surface of the material 21 is slid.

  In the example of FIG. 9, in order to reproduce the unevenness of the surface of the material 21, stimulation is performed in the Meissner body stimulation mode or the Merkel cell stimulation mode. However, the frequency range for reproducing the unevenness is the pachini shown in FIG. 7. In the case of the small body detection range d, a process of alternately rotating the motor 120 slightly in the pachinko small body stimulation mode is performed. Specifically, the range from 5 Hz to 90 Hz is the Meissner body detection range, the range from 60 Hz to about 800 Hz is the Patini body detection range, and the motor 120 was used when applying a stimulus at a frequency of 60 Hz or higher. The vibration process of the electrode part 140 can be applied. In addition, since the range from 60 Hz to 90 Hz is also the Meissner body detection range c, the process of giving the stimulus in the two modes may be performed simultaneously.

FIG. 10 shows a state where the finger f is in contact with the surface of the material 22 having large unevenness.
As shown in FIG. 10A, when the finger f is in contact with the material 22 having an uneven shape, the finger P generates a force P1 obtained by combining the horizontal force and the vertical force.
In order for the tactile sense presentation device 100 to express this force P1, the force P1 is decomposed into a horizontal component and a vertical component. As for the horizontal component of the decomposed two components, as shown in FIG. 10B, the motor f is rotated in the Rufini terminal stimulation mode, thereby giving a force sense to the finger f. As for the vertical component, as shown in FIG. 10B, by applying a pulse voltage to the target electrode 141t, a pressure sensation is given to the finger f by the Meissner body stimulation mode or the Merkel cell stimulation mode.

When such stimulation to the finger f is performed, the human should originally recognize the contact position between the skin of the finger f and the material 22 by touch. Here, in the case of performing stimulation using the electrode unit 140, since the stimulation is from one target electrode 141, the contact position is presented only by selecting the electrode to which the pulse voltage is applied. .
In contrast, the force of the horizontal component, to provide a wide area of the belly f _B of the finger f by rotation of the motor 120, but can not give a high spatial resolution, such as when the electrode is used, high spatial Since the lateral displacement of the skin is detected by the Ruffini terminal, which is a non-resolution receptor, there is no particular problem.

  Note that the spatial resolution of tactile sensation on a human finger is about 1.5 mm at the end of the finger and about 3 mm at the belly of the finger. In the electrode unit 140 of the present embodiment, since the electrode elements 141-1 to 141-20 are arranged in a matrix at intervals of 2 mm as already described, it is possible to present a contact position according to human resolution.

FIG. 11 shows an example in which the touch-sensitive presentation device 100 gives the finger f a stimulus corresponding to an operation in which the finger f contacts the object, the contact state is maintained for a certain period of time, and then the finger f moves away from the object. Is shown. The horizontal axis in FIGS.
FIG. 11A shows the amount of skin deformation (vertical axis) when the finger f actually contacts the object. Here, the period T11 is a period in which the amount of skin deformation gradually increases after the finger f starts to contact the object. The period T12 is a period in which the state in which the finger f is in contact with the object is maintained and the amount of skin deformation is constant. The period T13 is a period in which the finger f moves away from the object, the amount of skin deformation gradually decreases, and the finger f moves away from the object and the skin deformation disappears.

The skin deformation shown in FIG. 11A is perceived by Merkel cells, Meissner bodies, and Patini bodies. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11B, Merkel cells that detect steady pressure are always active while the skin is deformed (here, during all the periods T11, T12, and T13).
In addition, as shown in FIG. 11C, the Meissner body that detects low-frequency vibration or speed is active while the speed of skin deformation exceeds a certain threshold (here, between the period T11 and the period T13).
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11D, the Patini body that detects high-frequency vibration or acceleration has a skin deformation acceleration exceeding a certain threshold (here, the beginning and the end of the period T11 and the beginning and the end of the period T13). To be active.
A human can have a sense of contact with an object by synthesizing the senses obtained by the activities shown in FIGS. 11B, 11C, and 11D. The example in FIG. 11 is an example in which stimulation related to skin contact is performed, so that stimulation to Rufini terminal is not performed, but application of motor voltage for performing stimulation to Rufini terminal may be combined at the same time. Good.

In order for the tactile sense presentation device 100 to give the finger f the same sensation as that when the object is touched as described above, the control unit 153 (see FIG. 5) applies the pulse voltage shown in FIG. 11E to the electrode unit 140. Thus, it is necessary to instruct the electrode driver 160. Further, it is necessary to instruct the motor driving unit 156 to supply the applied voltage to the motor 120 as shown in FIG. 11F.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11E, the pulse voltage for cathodic stimulation at a constant interval is applied to the electrode portion in all the periods T11, T12, and T13 corresponding to the active period of Merkel cells (FIG. 11B). 140, and stimulation by Merkel cell stimulation mode is performed. Corresponding to the activity period of the Meissner body (FIG. 11C), a pulse voltage for performing anodic stimulation at regular intervals is supplied to the electrode unit 140 during the period T11 and the period T13, and stimulation by the Meissner body stimulation mode is performed. Is made.
Since the period in which stimulation is performed in the Merkel cell stimulation mode and the period in which stimulation is performed in the Meissner body stimulation mode are mixed, the electrode driving unit 160 performs processing for switching the polarity of the pulse voltage in accordance with the mode switching. Done. In the example of FIG. 11, the timing for applying the pulse voltage is slightly different between the timing for stimulation in the Merkel cell stimulation mode and the timing for stimulation in the Meissner body stimulation mode (for example, about 0.2 ms to 10 ms). This is not a perfect simultaneous stimulation, but even if this time lag occurs, the human senses feel that there is a stimulus at the same time.

  Note that one pulse shown in FIG. 11E means that a pulse voltage is applied to all the electrode elements 141-1 to 141-20 shown in FIG. For example, when a pulse voltage of about 100 μs is applied to one electrode element, the pulse voltage can be applied in order from the 20 electrode elements 141-1 to 141-20 in a time of about 2 ms. Therefore, one pulse shown in FIG. 11E indicates that a pulse voltage is applied to the finger f from all the electrode elements 141-1 to 141-20 in the time of about 2 ms.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 11F, a pulse voltage of a very short period is applied to the motor 120 corresponding to the activity period (FIG. 11D) of the Patini body. At this time, as shown in FIG. 11F, a positive polarity pulse voltage and a negative polarity pulse voltage are combined and continuously applied. For example, a positive pulse voltage of 2.5 ms and a negative pulse voltage of 2.5 ms are sequentially applied as bipolar pulse voltages in a period of 5 ms. As a result, vibration having a component of 200 Hz close to the resonance frequency of the pachini body is generated by the motor 120, so that the sensation due to the activity of the pachini body can be reproduced.

As described above, according to the haptic presentation device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, by actually stimulating each receptor at a suitable timing by combining a plurality of modes, the user actually leaves after colliding with the object. It is possible to give a finger the same sensation as before, and to present a very realistic stimulus. In particular, for a stimulus to a receptor having a high spatial resolution (spatial resolution), an electrode capable of finely controlling the stimulation position is used. For a stimulus to a receptor having a low spatial resolution, the movement of the entire electrode unit 140 by the motor 120 is used. Since it was made to give in, it is possible to present an appropriate stimulus according to the characteristics of each receptor.
Further, the tactile presentation device 100 includes an electrode portion 140 in contact with the abdominal f _B of the finger f, a relatively simple configuration only motor 120 for moving and vibrating the electrode portion 140 in the horizontal direction, four modes Stimulation can be performed.

[6. Modified example]
In the tactile sense presentation device 100 illustrated in FIG. 1, an example in which the motor 120 is used as an example of a shift member that shifts the electrode unit 140 in the horizontal direction is shown. On the other hand, you may make it move the electrode part 140 to a horizontal direction, or vibrate using shift members other than a motor.
Also, the configuration of each part of the tactile sense presentation device 100 shown in FIG. 1 (the shape of the finger mounting unit 110, the arrangement position of the motor 120, etc.) is merely an example, and other configurations may be used.
Furthermore, the number and arrangement state of the electrode elements 141-1 to 141-20 shown in FIG. 4 are only examples, and other arrangement states may be used.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the apparatus presents a tactile sensation on the skin of the finger belly. On the other hand, the present invention may be applied to a device that presents a tactile sensation on the skin other than the finger.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Skin, 11 ... Meissner body, 12 ... Merkel cell, 13 ... Rufini end, 14 ... Patini body, 21, 22 ... Material, 100 ... Tactile presentation device, 110 ... Wearing part, 111 ... Left side, 112 ... Right side surface, 113: connecting portion, 114: motor holding portion, 120 ... motor, 121 ... rotating shaft, 130 ... electrode holding portion, 131 ... rotating shaft connecting portion, 132 ... electrode placement portion, 140 ... electrode portion, 141-1 ˜141-20 ... electrode element, 141t ... target electrode, 142 ... ground electrode, 150 ... circuit arrangement unit, 151 ... communication port, 152 ... interface unit, 153 ... control unit, 154 ... motion sensor, 155 ... digital / analog conversion 156 ... Motor drive unit 160 ... Electrode drive unit 161 ... Power supply device

Claims (6)

A wearing part to be worn in contact with the user's predetermined skin;
An electrode part attached to the mounting part and in contact with the skin at the predetermined location;
A shift member for shifting the contact position of the electrode part with the skin;
The pulse voltage applied to the electrode unit presents a pressure sensation of a specific spatial resolution and a vibration sensation of a specific frequency to the skin at the predetermined location, and a shift of the contact position of the electrode unit with the skin by the shift member Thus, a tactile sense presentation device comprising: a control unit that presents a skin displacement sensation having a spatial resolution lower than the specific spatial resolution and a vibration sensation higher in frequency than the specific frequency on the skin at the predetermined location. The control unit is configured to display a pressure sensation by applying a pulse voltage targeting a Merkel cell by setting a polarity of a pulse voltage applied to the electrode unit and the specific voltage by applying a pulse voltage targeting a Meissner body. The tactile sensation presentation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vibration sense of frequency is selectively presented. The control unit performs vibration combining one shift of the electrode unit and the other shift of the electrode unit by the shift member, thereby presenting the high-frequency vibration sensation by stimulation targeting a pachinko body, and the vibration The tactile sensation presentation apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a sense of skin displacement is presented by stimulation targeting the Rufini ending by shifting the electrode part larger than when stimulation is performed. The shift member is a motor;
The control unit applies a pulse voltage of one polarity and a pulse voltage of the other polarity to the motor to vibrate the electrode unit to perform stimulation targeting the Patini body, and the motor The tactile sensation presentation apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a voltage having one polarity is applied to the electrode to greatly shift the electrode unit. The electrode part includes a plurality of electrode elements arranged at predetermined intervals in a place where the electrode part comes into contact with the skin,
The tactile sense presentation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control unit sequentially supplies the pulse voltage to the plurality of electrode elements. The tactile sensation according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the predetermined portion is a finger, and the electrode unit presents a tactile sensation to the abdomen of the finger so as to be in contact with the skin of the abdomen of the finger. apparatus.

Images