JP2018044798A - Holding tool for measurement target object - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a holding tool which can easily fix a measurement target object.SOLUTION: A dynamic characteristic measurement device 10 includes a device body 11 for measuring a dynamic response characteristic of a measurement target object 31 when the measurement target object is distorted. A holding tool 20 for a measurement target object is used for measuring the dynamic response characteristic of the measurement target object 31, using the device 10, while the measurement target object 31 is being held. The holding tool 20 is deformable according to the outer shape of the measurement target object 31 so that it can hold the measurement target object 31, and can hold the shape at the measurement.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a holder used for measuring mechanical response characteristics of an object to be measured.

  A technique is known in which the deformation behavior of the skin is measured using a dynamic viscoelasticity measuring device, and the relationship between the storage elastic modulus G ′ and the loss elastic modulus G ″ and the muscle tension state is examined. Describes that a forearm portion of a subject is placed on a measurement stage below a rheometer, a probe is brought into contact with the inner side of the forearm portion, shear deformation is applied, and a viscoelastic characteristic value is obtained. However, the relationship between the strain distribution around pressure ulcers and the formation of wounds is examined by performing such measurements, but when the measurement method described in the same document is adopted, the forearm that is the object of measurement is reliably Otherwise, the forearm moves unintentionally during the measurement and it is not easy to perform a highly accurate measurement.

  As a fixture for fixing an object to be measured while performing measurement, Patent Document 1 discloses a fixture including a fixture body formed at least partially in a net shape, and the fixture body. Have been proposed made of shape memory resin. According to this fixture, it is described that the fixture main body made of shape memory resin is heated to be softened, and is brought into close contact with the object to be measured in this state.

  Patent Document 2 describes a measurement object holder that accommodates a measurement object in a hollow portion formed in an inner surface shape along the outer shape of the measurement object.

JP-A-4-343845 JP 2010-197381 A

“Experimental Chemistry”, March 2011, Vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 30-34

  However, when the fixtures and holders described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are used, there is a possibility that the state of the measurement target site may change due to the holding and fixing. Further, when the fixtures and holders described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are used, the object to be measured can be fixed, but it is considered that the object to be measured is securely arranged at a predetermined position of the measuring device. Absent.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a holding device for an object to be measured that can eliminate the drawbacks of the above-described conventional technology.

The present invention uses a mechanical property measuring apparatus including a device main body that measures a mechanical response characteristic when a measured object is deformed, and the mechanical response characteristic of the measured object is held by the measured object. A measuring object holder used for measuring below, wherein the holding tool is deformable into a shape that can hold the measuring object in accordance with the outer shape of the object to be measured, It is an object of the present invention to provide a holder for an object to be measured, which can hold the shape during measurement.

  The present invention also provides a mechanical property measuring system including a mechanical property measuring device including a device main body that measures a mechanical response property when a measured object is deformed, and the holder.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the to-be-measured object can be fixed easily and the holder which can arrange | position the to-be-measured object in the fixed state to the position fixed to the measuring apparatus reliably is provided.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a mechanical property measuring apparatus used together with a holder for an object to be measured according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the holder for the object to be measured according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the measurement object is measured using the measurement object holder of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the measurement object is measured using the measurement object holder of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state in which the subject human is omitted from the state shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a state in which the holder of the object to be measured according to the present invention is deformed into the outer shape of the object to be measured and arranged on the mounting surface of the gantry to fix the shape from the upper surface side. It is. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a state in which the holder of the object to be measured of the present invention is deformed to the outer shape of the object to be measured and arranged on the mounting surface of the gantry and the shape is fixed, as viewed from the lower surface side. It is. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an example of a probe used for measuring the mechanical response characteristic of the object to be measured using the object holder of the present invention. FIGS. 9A and 9B are graphs showing the results of the skin dynamic response characteristics (torque and tan δ) measured on the inner side of the human upper arm measured in Example 1. FIG. FIG. 10 is a graph showing the results of the skin dynamic response characteristics (torque) measured in Example 2.

  The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. The measuring object holder of the present invention (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “holding tool”) uses a mechanical characteristic measurement system including an apparatus main body that measures a mechanical response characteristic when the measured object is deformed. It is used when measuring. There are no particular limitations on the type of the object to be measured, and any liquid, gel, paste, and solid can be used as long as it can be deformed and can have mechanical response characteristics. It may be. The object to be measured may be a living body or a non-living body. When a living body is a measurement object, examples of the living body include humans and non-human organisms. When a human being is used as a measurement object, the measurement is performed for non-medical purposes. The measurement site where the probe comes into contact is exemplified by skin, but is not limited thereto, and may be another site, such as a mucous membrane.

  Examples of the type of deformation applied to the object to be measured include, but are not limited to, compression, pulling, twisting, and bending. Typical examples of the dynamic response parameters when the object to be measured is deformed include elastic modulus, viscosity, tack force, friction coefficient, normal force, and torque. Specifically, dynamic viscoelasticity is mentioned.

  FIG. 1 shows a dynamic viscoelasticity measuring device 10 as an example of a mechanical property measuring device used with the holder of the present invention. The dynamic viscoelasticity measuring apparatus 10 includes an apparatus main body 11, and a probe 12 is attached to the apparatus main body 11. Probes of various shapes are used according to the type of deformation applied to the object to be measured. The probe 12 is attached so as to hang vertically downward from the apparatus main body 11. However, the attachment mode of the probe 12 is not limited to this, and for example, the probe 12 may be attached so as to protrude from the apparatus main body 11 in the horizontal direction. The attachment mode of the probe 12 is appropriately determined according to the type of deformation applied to the object to be measured, the shape of the probe 12, the type of object to be measured, the shape of the object to be measured, and the like.

  The dynamic viscoelasticity measuring device 10 is placed on the placement surface 13 a of the table 13. A gantry 14 is installed at a position adjacent to the dynamic viscoelasticity measuring apparatus 10. A measurement object (not shown) is placed on the gantry 14. Therefore, the mounting surface 14 a of the gantry 14 is at least directly below the probe 12.

  FIG. 2 shows a holder 20 used with the dynamic viscoelasticity measuring apparatus 10 shown in FIG. The holder 20 can be deformed into a shape capable of holding the object to be measured in accordance with the outer shape of the object to be measured. At the same time, the holder 20 can hold the shape during measurement. In order to achieve such a configuration, the holder 20 includes a deformable airtight bag 21. The airtight bag 21 is made of a gas-impermeable sheet material. For the purpose of improving the feel of the holder 20, the airtight bag 21 is preferably a flexible material such as a polymer material or a foamed polymer sheet. Furthermore, the outer surface of the airtight bag 21 may be covered with a cloth. Covering with a cloth is particularly useful when the object to be measured is a part of the human body. A granular substance (not shown) is sealed inside the airtight bag 21. In general, the granular substance has an average size of 1 mm or more from the viewpoint of maintaining a certain degree of flexibility when the inside of the airtight bag 21 is depressurized. From the viewpoint of making, it consists of a granular material of 8 mm or less. This granular material is composed of a solid substance having a rigidity that does not substantially deform with respect to a load applied during measurement of the object to be measured. In addition, the granular body is a solid body or a hollow body. A mixture of a solid body and a hollow body may be used.

  The shape of the granular substance is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, spherical, polyhedral, elliptical, spindle, or irregular. A combination of these shapes may be used. From the viewpoint of enhancing the filling property of the granular substance inside the airtight bag 21 and securely holding the shape of the holder 20 when measuring the object to be measured, it is preferable to use a granular substance having a substantially spherical shape. .

  The granular substance is sealed in a state in which it can flow in the airtight bag 21. Thereby, the holder 20 can freely deform its outer shape. Moreover, it is preferable that the outer shape of the holder 20 is a flat body as shown in FIG. 2 because it can be easily deformed into a shape in conformity with the outer shape of the object to be measured.

  The airtight bag 21 of the holder 20 is provided with a communication part 22. The communication part 22 is a member that connects the inside and the outside of the airtight bag 21. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the communication part 22 has a cylindrical shape. This cylinder is provided with, for example, a two-way valve (not shown). This two-way valve has a structure capable of adjusting the exhaust of gas from the inside to the outside of the airtight bag 21 through the communication portion 22 and the inflow of gas from the outside to the inside. A check valve may be used instead of the two-way valve.

  The holder 20 having the configuration as described above is an article widely known as a so-called decompression type bead mat. When this type of holder 20 is used, the exhaust pipe 41 of the exhaust pump 40 prepared separately from the holder 20 is connected to the communication portion 22 attached to the airtight bag 21. At this time, air exists in the airtight bag 21. In addition, the granular substance enclosed in the airtight bag 21 is kept in a fluid state, and the holder 20 is also kept in a state where it can be deformed by an external force. When the exhaust pump 40 is operated from this state, the air present in the airtight bag 21 is gradually exhausted, and the airtight bag 21 gradually shrinks, and the granular substance gradually loses fluidity and tightens. It becomes a solid state. When the inside of the airtight bag 21 is depressurized with a suction force of about −20 to −40 kPa (gauge pressure), the granular substance almost loses its fluidity and becomes a compacted state that is almost impossible to deform. In this way, the holder 20 can hold its shape.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a state in which an object to be measured is measured using the dynamic viscoelastic device 10 and the holder 20. In the figure, a state is shown in which the human 30 is the subject and the skin inside the forearm portion 31 of the human 30 is the object to be measured. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, measurement is performed for the purpose of non-medical activities such as the purpose of cosmetics, the purpose of developing or selecting cosmetics to be applied to the skin, the purpose of developing or selecting quasi-drugs to be applied to the skin. It is carried out.

  In FIG. 3, a human subject 30 sits on a chair 15 adjacent to the gantry 14 and places the forearm portion 31 of the left arm on the placement surface 14 a of the gantry 14 so that the inner side faces the probe 12. The state is shown. The holder 20 is disposed between the forearm portion 31 and the placement surface 14a. The holding tool 20 is a flat body having a vertically long shape, and is disposed between the forearm portion 31 and the placement surface 14 a so that the longitudinal direction thereof coincides with the extending direction of the forearm portion 31.

  In this case, the holding tool 20 is arranged so that both end areas 23a and 23b of the holding tool 20 extend outward from the front and rear edges of the mounting surface 14a of the gantry 14 and hang downward vertically. Adjust the position. Next, the holder 20 and the forearm portion 31 in the state shown in FIG. 3 are well adapted to each other, and the holder 20 is deformed so that both are in close contact with each other as much as possible and no gap is generated between them. Under this state, the exhaust pump 40 shown in FIG. 2 is connected to a communication portion (not shown) in the holder 20 to degas the gas in the airtight bag 21 of the holder 20. By this deaeration, the airtight bag 21 of the holder 20 gradually shrinks, and the granular substance almost loses its fluidity and becomes a compacted state that is almost impossible to deform. As a result, the fixed state of the forearm 31 which is the object to be measured is completed. As a result, the movement of the forearm 31 is prevented during the measurement. In this state, since the human 30 is in a natural posture, the physical burden is small. In addition, since excessive tightening does not occur when the forearm 31 is fixed by the holder 20, physical changes that affect measurement, such as changes in blood flow and muscle relaxation, are unlikely to occur.

  When the fixed state of the forearm portion 31 is completed in this way, the probe 12 attached to the device body 11 of the dynamic viscoelasticity measuring device 10 is lowered to contact the skin of the forearm portion 31 as shown in FIG. Make contact. Then, the probe 12 is caused to perform a predetermined operation. Examples of the predetermined operation in the present embodiment include, but are not limited to, compression, pulling, twisting, and the like. Due to the operation of the probe 12, the skin of the forearm portion 31 is deformed, and the mechanical response characteristic resulting from the deformation is detected and measured by the probe 12. During the measurement, the forearm portion 31 is securely fixed by the holder 20. Therefore, highly accurate measurement can be performed. Further, at this time, by grasping a fixed position which is the other hand, the body posture can be kept constant, and more accurate measurement can be performed.

  FIG. 5 shows a state after the measurement shown in FIG. FIG. 5 does not show the human 30 as the subject. As shown in FIG. 5, the position of the holder 20, which has been deaerated and fixed in shape, in the front-rear direction on the placement surface 14 a of the gantry 14 is fixed. The reason for this is that, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in the holder 20 in a state in which the shape is fixed, the shape is fixed in a state in which both end regions 23 a and 23 b are suspended vertically downward. This is because these both end regions 23a and 23b function as positioning means in the front-rear direction. Specifically, one end 23a of both end regions of the holder 20 is locked to the front end portion of the mounting surface 14a of the gantry 14, and the other end 23b of both end regions is locked to the rear end portion of the mounting surface 14a. Thus, the holder 20 is fixed at a fixed position in the front-rear direction. As a result, for example, when the measurement is once completed and the human 30 is separated from the dynamic viscoelasticity measuring apparatus 10, that is, after the state shown in FIG. If the forearm portion 31 is fitted in the recess 20a of the tool 20, the previously measured state can be easily reproduced, and remeasurement can be easily performed. In this case, there is a possibility that misalignment has occurred in the horizontal direction during the re-measurement, but even if so, the misalignment in the horizontal direction can be easily corrected by moving the holder 20 to the left and right. can do. Therefore, the positional deviation in the lateral direction does not affect the accuracy during remeasurement. Or you may provide a convex part etc. in the mount frame 14 or the mounting surface 14a so that fixation in a horizontal direction can also be performed.

As the dynamic viscoelasticity measuring apparatus 10 used in the above embodiment, a controlled deformation (or controlled force) is applied to human skin, and a force (or deformation) as a response is detected. A mechanism is preferably provided. Specifically, it is preferable to use any of the following devices (1) to (3).
(1) Skin measurement A mechanical measurement is performed by applying a rotational vibration deformation or a rotational deformation in a direction parallel to the contact surface while applying a pressing force or a displacement in a direction perpendicular to the contact surface to the center point of the surface portion. Possible device.
(2) Skin measurement The mechanical measurement can be performed by pressing with a constant force or deformation in a direction perpendicular to the tangent to the center point of the surface part, or by pressing or pulling up with a controlled pressing force or moving speed. apparatus.
(3) An apparatus capable of performing measurement combining both modes (1) and (2).

In particular, in order to perform measurement with high accuracy, it is preferable to use an apparatus having the following performance.
・ Minimum detectable torque (vibration): 1 nNm to 1 μNm ・ Minimum detectable torque (rotation): 5 nNm to 1 μNm ・ Maximum measurable torque: 10 mNm to 300 mNm ・ Torque resolution: 0.07 nNm to 100 nNm Settable angle: 0.07 μrad or more ・ Rotational angle resolution: 7 nrad or more and 70 nrad or less ・ Step speed (response time): 3 ms or more and 30 ms or less ・ Step distortion (response time): 8 ms or more and 50 ms or less ・ Step time (99% of setting value) ): 10 ms or 200ms or less-speed ^range: 10 ^-4 s ^{-1 ~314s} -1 or level angular frequency ^range: 10 ^-3 s ^{-1 ~628s} -1 or level normal force range: 0.005 N or 50N or less- Normal force resolution: 0.5mN

  Measurement using the holder 20 of the present invention is useful in various situations. For example, when the subject is a human, it is possible to objectively evaluate the performance such as skin feel obtained from the cosmetic preparation by applying or applying the cosmetic preparation to human skin and performing measurement under the condition. it can. This evaluation is useful for selecting a cosmetic preparation suitable for an individual, and also for developing a new cosmetic preparation. In this case, by appropriately selecting the type of the probe 12 attached to the apparatus 10, the accuracy of measurement, and thus the accuracy of evaluation can be further increased. For example, when the viscoelasticity measurement is performed using the probe 12, as shown in FIG. 8, the probe 12 having a plurality of grooves 25 on the contact surface with the object to be measured is used. It is possible to effectively prevent the occurrence of slipping between the two and increase the measurement accuracy. In addition, when performing friction measurement or compression measurement, the measurement accuracy can be increased by using the probe 12 made of a material having a smooth contact surface with the object to be measured and having high wear resistance. .

  Conventionally, for example, a cut meter or a derma torque meter has been used as a device for measuring the rheological properties of human skin and a coating film of a cosmetic preparation applied on the skin. Further, as a device for measuring the friction characteristics of human skin and the coating film of a cosmetic preparation applied on the skin, for example, KES-SE friction tester and handy lab master have been used. However, these devices have the disadvantages that measurement is difficult under the condition that a cosmetic preparation is applied, and that pressing cannot be controlled. On the other hand, if the above-mentioned holder 20 is used, the rheological properties of the human skin and the coating film of the cosmetic preparation applied on the skin can be easily measured. Moreover, the structure of the holder 20 is simple, and the shape can be fixed easily. In addition, it can be used multiple times. As described above, the measurement using the above-described holder becomes easier and more accurate than ever, and is extremely useful in various measurement fields.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on the preferable embodiment, this invention is not restrict | limited to the said embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the viscoelasticity measuring device has been described as an example of the mechanical property measuring device, and the holder and the mechanical property measuring system of the present invention have been described. However, the mechanical property measuring device is not limited thereto.

  In the above embodiment, the present invention has been described by taking a so-called decompression type bead mat as an example of the retainer 20, but a retainer other than the decompression type bead mat may be used.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to such examples.

[Example 1]
In this example, the inner skin of a human upper arm was used as an object to be measured, and the mechanical response characteristics of the skin were measured. For the measurement, the dynamic viscoelasticity measuring apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 and the holder 20 shown in FIG. 2 were used. A vacuum bead mat was used as the holder 20. The holder 20 was installed in the apparatus 10 as shown in FIG. As the probe 12 attached to the dynamic viscoelasticity measuring apparatus 10, a disk cell made of an aluminum alloy having a diameter of 8 mm and subjected to an anti-slip treatment by groove formation shown in FIG. 8 was used. The torque value obtained by this measurement is an index of human skin hardness, and the tan δ value is an index of skin quality (elastic or viscous). The measurement was performed in two stages. First, the cell was controlled so as to press the measurement target part with a pressing force of 1N (5 seconds in total), and subsequently, the measurement was performed at 10 points at regular time intervals while controlling the pressing force to 1N. The measurement frequency was 2 Hz and the amplitude was 0.8 degrees.

  About the blank skin which has not apply | coated cosmetics etc., it measured by the presence or absence of the holding | maintenance by the holder 20. FIG. The results are shown in FIGS. 9 (a) and 9 (b). In addition, since it became clear that even if the measurement time interval was slightly changed, the results did not differ greatly, the measurement time interval was shortened from a certain period of time compared to the early stage of the study. In the figure, the result without holding by the holder 20 is a measurement result at intervals of 5 seconds, and the result with holding by the holder 20 is a measurement result at intervals of 3 seconds. Both the torque and the tan delta show the measurement results twice, but it can be seen that both the torque value and the tan δ value change less when the holding by the holder 20 is performed.

  In order to quantitatively show the fluctuation of the measured value, the standard deviation of the measured value in each measurement was obtained, and the results shown in Table 1 below were obtained.

  As is clear from the results shown in the table, it can be seen that both the torque value and the tan δ value are improved by one digit when the holding tool 20 is used, compared with the case where the holding is not performed.

[Example 2]
The example which measured the change of the hardness of the skin resulting from application | coating of commercially available lotion A, B, and C by the method of this invention is shown. The dynamic skin viscoelasticity measurement was performed on the blank skin before applying the skin lotion, and on the skin immediately after applying each skin lotion and after a certain period of time after application. In order to know the time change of the hardness of the skin caused by the application of the skin lotion, the rate of change based on the torque value at the time of measuring the blank skin was obtained for each measurement point. The rate of change is defined by the following equation.
Rate of change = (T _t −T ₀ ) / T ₀
In the formula, T ₀ represents the torque value of the blank skin, and T _t represents the torque value after elapse of t minutes after applying each lotion.
FIG. 10 shows the dependence of the change rate on the elapsed time. As is clear from the results shown in the figure, it was possible to measure that the skin hardness decreased with any lotion immediately after the application, but the behavior after that was completely different depending on the lotion.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Dynamic viscoelasticity measuring apparatus 11 Apparatus main body 12 Probe 13 Table 14 Mounting base 14a Mounting surface 20 Holder 20a Recessed part 21 Airtight bag 22 Communication part 30 Human 31 Forearm part

Claims (4)

Using a mechanical characteristic measuring device including a device main body that measures a mechanical response characteristic when the measured object is deformed, the mechanical response characteristic of the measured object is measured in a state where the measured object is held. A holding device for an object to be measured, wherein the holding device is deformable into a shape capable of holding the object to be measured in accordance with the outer shape of the object to be measured, and the shape at the time of measurement. A holding device for an object to be measured, which can be held.   An air-tight bag that can be deformed into a shape capable of holding an object to be measured; a granular substance enclosed in the air-tight bag; a communication portion that is provided in the air-tight bag and connects the inside and the outside; and the communication The measurement object holder according to claim 1, further comprising a valve provided in the section.   The device for holding an object to be measured according to claim 2, wherein an outer surface of the airtight bag is covered with a cloth.   A mechanical characteristic comprising a mechanical characteristic measuring device comprising a device main body for measuring a mechanical response characteristic when the measured object is deformed, and a holder for the measured object according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Measuring system.

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