JP2019074556A - Tactile display - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a miniaturized and light weight two-dimensional tactile display 100 that is sufficient to be portable without using an energy for holding a protrusion state of a tangible pin 10 group.SOLUTION: In a two-dimensional tactile display 100, a tactile display-purpose pin latch mechanism 1 comprises: a plurality of tangible pins 10 that has a penetration hole 11 penetrating a lateral surface 10S along a lengthwise direction L formed; and actuators 50 to 70 that can move each of the tangible pins 10 along a vertical direction V, in which the tangible pin 10 is arranged so as to pass through the penetration hole 11 along the lengthwise direction L, and includes a supporting rod 20 that is attached to the tactile display 100 so as to be movable along a crosswise direction C. The supporting rod 20 is arranged so as to contact with a wall surface 12 in the penetration hole 11, and the penetration hole 11 has a shape that, after extending toward a lowermost part 11b from an upper fulcrum 11a, extends toward an upper side V1 in the vertical direction V from the lowermost part 11b to reach a lower part fulcrum 11c. The lower part fulcrum 11c is located on a lower side V2 in the vertical direction V than the upper part fulcrum 11a.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a tactile display, and more particularly, to a tactile pin in a two-dimensional tactile display in which a protrusion is created by moving a tactile pin up and down and the relative position of a plurality of protrusions is recognized.

  BACKGROUND Conventionally, a tactile display that presents information using a tactile pin that can be sensed by touch is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  As such a technique, for example, there is known a two-dimensional tactile display in which a tactile pin corresponding to a characteristic portion of a figure or graph is operated electromechanically to express vertexes and line segments of the figure or graph as a set of convex points See, for example, Patent Document 2).

  In such a tactile display, the display content can be temporally changed by using a computer in combination with this to dynamically display or erase a characteristic portion such as a character or a map.

  Specifically, a tactile display that can change the protruding state of the tactile pin by a shape memory alloy spring that operates according to temperature change and can recognize a figure through a touch, or the protruding state of the tactile pin by deformation of an elastic body Mechanisms of changing are known. (See, for example, Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 4).

  Here, in the above-mentioned technology, as the operation mechanism of the above-mentioned tactile pin, for example, the heat amount given to the shape memory alloy spring or the heat amount generated by flowing the current through the shape memory alloy spring itself There is also known a method of expanding and contracting a spring and driving the above-mentioned tactile pin (see, for example, Patent Documents 5 and 6).

  Further, in the above-described operation mechanism of the tactile pin, for example, in a bimorph type piezoelectric element, a force to be generated to the tactile pin by changing a pattern of a voltage and an electric signal applied to the piezoelectric element and The displacement speed or the like of the tactile pin can be changed, and the stationary operation of the projection can be performed.

  In addition, as a method of driving the above-mentioned tactile pins, using a bimetal or actuator used for a stepping motor, a solenoid, or a thermocouple as a driving source, a group of tactile pins is mechanically operated several times a second. A method has been proposed in which vibration is given to the skin to present information.

Patent No. 1476622 Joukai 3-146754 Patent No. 3684552 Patent No. 4402389 Patent No. 3169822 JP-A-59-198483

  The tactile display needs to hold the protruding state of the tactile pins described above for a certain period of time that a person imagines and recognizes the projection as a figure and feels for a certain amount of time.

  However, many of the above-described methods have a problem in that a constant power is required to maintain the protrusion state of the protrusion. In addition, in the method using a shape memory alloy spring, for example, which does not require power to hold the protruding state, there is a problem that the protrusion moves up and down when touching and it is difficult to fix. For this reason, it has been difficult to realize a small and light-weight system that can be carried while maintaining the above-described protruding state of the tactile pins stably with low power consumption.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a small-sized and lightweight tactile display that does not use energy for holding the protruding state of the tactile pins described above. To aim.

  A first feature of the present invention is a tactile display in which pin latch mechanisms for tactile display are arranged in a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction on a reference surface, and the pin latch mechanism for tactile display is the longitudinal direction and the lateral direction of the reference surface. It is disposed in a configuration capable of vertically projecting along a direction, and has a side surface rising along the vertical direction, and a through hole penetrating the side along the vertical direction is formed. A plurality of tactile pins, and an actuator configured to move each of the plurality of tactile pins in the vertical direction, the tactile pins being along the vertical direction of the display surface And a support bar disposed so as to pass through the through hole and attached to the tactile display so as to be movable in the lateral direction along the shape of the through hole. The support rod is disposed in contact with a wall surface in the through hole, and the through hole is from the upper fulcrum which is the uppermost portion of the through hole in the vertical direction to the vertical of the through hole. Reaching the lowermost part of the direction, folding back from the lowermost part, and reaching a lower fulcrum extending toward the upper side in the vertical direction, the lower fulcrum having a shape located below the upper fulcrum in the vertical direction Make it a gist.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a small-sized and lightweight tactile display that is portable and does not use energy to hold the protruding state of the touch pins described above.

FIG. 1 is a view showing an example of an entire outline of a pin latch mechanism 1 for a tactile display according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of the configuration of a tactile pin 10 constituting the pin latch mechanism 1 for a tactile display according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of the arrangement of tactile pins 10 constituting the pin latch mechanism 1 for tactile display according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of the operation of the tactile pin 10 configuring the pin latch mechanism 1 for a tactile display according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of the operation of the tactile pin 10 configuring the pin latch mechanism 1 for a tactile display according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of the operation of the tactile pin 10 constituting the pin display latch mechanism 1 for tactile display according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a view showing an example of the operation of the tactile display pin latch mechanism 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a view showing an example of an entire outline of the two-dimensional tactile display 100 according to the first embodiment.

First Embodiment
Hereinafter, a two-dimensional tactile display 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the two-dimensional tactile display 100 according to the present embodiment, the tactile display pin latch mechanism 1 has a reference surface 2 that serves as a reference by which a person determines the presence or absence of a protrusion when touching. A housing 30 having a hole passing through the tactile pin 10 and the tactile pin 10 moving in a vertical direction (vertical direction) V with respect to the reference surface 2 are provided.

  When the tactile display pin latch mechanism 1 moves the tactile pin 10 up and down along the vertical direction V, a “protruding state” in which the projecting amount H1 protrudes upward from the reference surface 2 (FIG. 1A) And the same height as the reference surface 2 or the “non-protruding state” (corresponding to FIG. 1 (b)) located lower than the reference surface 2 by the movement amount H2 It is done.

  Further, the protrusion amount H1 of the tactile pin 10 has a protrusion amount that is perceived by a person, and is configured to be able to maintain the above-described protrusion state by not yielding to the pressing force from the finger. There is.

  The protruding state of the tactile pin 10 is held by the support bar 20. The support rod 20 is disposed to penetrate a through hole 11 formed in the tactile pin 10.

  Here, by supporting the upper support point 11a which is the end face of the through hole 11, the support rod 20 is configured so as to make the downward movement of the tactile pin 10 impossible and fix the tactile pin 10 in a non-protruding state It is done.

  Alternatively, the support rod 20 is configured to make it possible to prevent the downward movement of the tactile pin 10 by contacting the lower fulcrum 11 c which is the end face of the through hole 11 and to fix the tactile pin 10 in a protruding state There is.

  The protrusion amount H1 described above is equal to the difference in height in the vertical direction V between the upper fulcrum 11a and the lower fulcrum 11c when the tactile pin 10 is viewed from the extension direction of the support rod 20, and this difference is The amount of protrusion H1 can be changed by changing it.

  In order to change the tactile pin 10 from the non-protruding state to the projecting state, the actuator 5 is required, and the same power as the piezoelectric bimorph type including the commercially available laminated type is required, but the projecting state is maintained No power is required to

  Similarly, in order to change from the projecting state to the non-projecting state, a piezoelectric bimorph type including a commercially available laminated type requires the same power as changing from the non-projecting state to the projecting state, but the non-projecting state Power is not required to maintain

  For example, in the present embodiment, when the protrusion amount H1 of the tactile pin 10 is 0.3 mm and the length in the longitudinal direction L and the lateral direction W of the tactile pin 10 is 5 mm (square when viewed from the top) In the projecting state of the knowledge pin 10, the holding force of the tactile pin needs to be 1 N or more.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram focusing on the tactile pin 10 and the support rod 20. As shown in FIG. The tactile pin 10 has a side surface 10S rising along the vertical direction V. Here, the tactile pin 10 may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape as shown in FIG. 2 or may have another shape such as a cylindrical shape.

  Moreover, the through-hole 11 which penetrates the side surface 10S toward the horizontal direction W is formed in the tactile pin 10.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the through hole 11 extends from the upper supporting point 11 a which is the uppermost portion of the through hole 11 in the vertical direction V to the lowermost portion 11 b of the through hole 11 in the vertical direction. It extends from the lowermost portion 11b toward the upper side V1 in the vertical direction V to reach the lower fulcrum 11c.

  The lower supporting point 11c is located on the lower side V2 in the vertical direction V than the upper supporting point 11a. Here, the difference in height in the vertical direction V between the upper fulcrum 11 a and the lower fulcrum 11 c corresponds to the protrusion amount of the tactile pin 10.

  For example, the through hole 11 has the above-mentioned shape, and is a smooth curve connecting both the long straight line connecting the upper fulcrum 11a and the lowermost part 11b, the short straight line connecting the lowermost part 11b and the lower fulcrum 11c, and both straight lines It has a shape consisting of a part.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the tactile pin 10 is configured to be held by a housing 30 provided in the tactile display pin latch mechanism 1.

  Further, a groove 31 for making the support rod 20 movable along the longitudinal direction L is formed in the housing 30, and the support rod 20 moves along the longitudinal direction L according to the groove 31. Can. The length in the longitudinal direction L of the groove 31 is larger than the width of the through hole 11 of the tactile pin 10.

  In the pin latch mechanism 1 for a tactile display according to the present embodiment, the support rod 20 itself is not provided with a function as the actuator 5, and the actuator 5 is attached to the tactile pin 10 so that the actuator 5 is mounted. It follows the drive of.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the support rods 20 are arranged to pass through the through holes 11 along the lateral direction W. That is, the length of the support rod 20 in the lateral direction W is configured to be longer than the length of the through hole 11. The support rods 20 of the tactile pins 10 can move independently of one another.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the support rod 20 is in precise contact with the wall surface 12 in the through hole 11 and is precisely processed and disposed so that the tactile pin 10 moves smoothly.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the wall surface 12a of the upper side V1 of the orthogonal | vertical direction V in the lowest part 11b and the support rod 20 are comprised so that it may carry out line contact smoothly. For example, the wall surface 12a may have a shape of a convex portion that protrudes to the lower side V2 of the vertical direction V, or has a smooth curved shape that is convex toward the lower side V2 of the vertical direction V It may be

  The actuators 5 (50 to 70) are configured to displace each of the plurality of tactile pins 10 in the upper direction V1 in the vertical direction V (moving force).

  For example, as shown to Fig.3 (a), the actuator 50 may be comprised by the electromagnet 51 and permanent magnet 52 which operate | move with an electromagnetic force. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3A, the actuator 50 affixes the permanent magnet 52 to the bottom of the tactile pin 10, and arranges the electromagnet 51 on the lower side V2 of the vertical direction V of the permanent magnet 52. You may be comprised by doing. According to this configuration, the tactile pin 10 can be pushed upward toward the upper side V1 in the vertical direction V by driving the electromagnet 51 so as to repel the permanent magnet 52.

  Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3B, the actuator 60 may be a soft magnetic material such as iron on a part of the rod-like material 61 having no magnetism on the lower side V2 of the tactile pin 10 in the vertical direction V. The member 62 including the material 62 may be processed so as to be positioned at the inner portion or the middle portion, and the member may be disposed in the coil 63 that generates a magnetic field by an electromagnetic force. According to this configuration, by supplying a current to the coil 63, the material 62 such as the soft magnetic material is attracted to the magnetic field generated by the coil 63. As a result, the rod-like material 62 operates linearly. The bottom of the knowledge pin 10 can be struck.

  Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3C, the actuator 70 momentarily discharges fluid such as air or water kept at high pressure by opening and closing the valve 71, and operates the tactile pin 10 at such pressure. May be configured.

  That is, the actuators 50 to 70 instantaneously release at least a stacked piezoelectric bimorph actuator (see, for example, FIG. 3A), a fluid such as air or water kept at high pressure by opening and closing the valve 71 ( For example, either of the method shown in FIG. 3 (c) or the method of instantaneously driving the electromagnet 61/62 by the interaction between the coil 63 and the electromagnet 61/62 (see, for example, FIG. 3 (b)).

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6, the behavior of the tactile pin 10 when a moving force (external force) in one direction is applied from the actuators 50 to 70 will be described.

  In FIGS. 4A and 5A, the support rod 20 is at the lower fulcrum 11c of the through hole 11, and the tactile pin 10 is maintained in the projecting state (state 1). In such a projecting state, no external force from the actuators 50 to 70 is applied (i.e. no power is consumed in the actuators 50 to 70).

  In FIG. 4B and FIG. 5B, when the tactile pin 10 is moved from the state 1 to the upper side V1 in the vertical direction V by the external force from the actuators 50 to 70, the support rod 20 and the lowermost portion 11b In the state of being in contact with the short linear portion connecting the lower fulcrum point 11c, the wall surface 12 of the through hole 11 is not moved in the second direction L but reaching the periphery of the lowermost portion 11b (that is, the curved portion described above). It is pushed and the movement to the right of the 2nd direction L is started.

  In FIG. 4C and FIG. 5C, when the support rod 20 reaches the lowermost part 11b, it is pushed to the right by the inertia force of the support rod 20 until it is moved to the right in the second direction L. Since it has a speed, it enters the long straight part side connecting the lowermost part 11b and the upper fulcrum 11a as it is.

  4 (d) and 5 (d), when the protrusion 11 starts to fall, the support rod 20 supports the upper fulcrum 11a of the through hole 11 in a state of being in contact with the long straight portion, and the protrusion 11 And stop in the non-projecting state (state 2).

  In FIG. 6A, the support rod 20 is at the upper fulcrum 11a of the through hole 11, and the tactile pin 10 is maintained in the non-projecting state (state 2). In such a non-projecting state, no external force from the actuators 50 to 70 is applied (i.e. no power is consumed in the actuators 50 to 70).

  6B, when the tactile pin 10 is moved from the state 2 to the upper side V1 in the vertical direction V by the external force from the actuators 50 to 70, the support rod 20 connects the lowermost portion 11b and the upper fulcrum 11a. In the state of being in contact with a long straight line portion, it does not move in the second direction L, but when it approaches the lowermost portion 11b (that is, the above-mentioned curved portion), it is pushed by the wall surface 12a of the through hole 11 Start moving L to the left.

  In FIG. 6C, when the support rod 20 reaches the lowermost portion 11b, it has a speed toward the left side in the second direction L which is pushed and displaced immediately before by the inertia force of the support rod 20. Therefore, it directly enters the short straight portion side connecting the lowermost portion 11b and the lower fulcrum 11c.

  In FIG. 6 (d), when the protrusion 11 starts to fall, the support rod 20 supports the lower fulcrum 11c of the through hole 11 to stop the movement of the protrusion 11 in contact with the short straight portion, It becomes a state (state 1).

  Next, with reference to FIG. 7, an outline of an algorithm for operating the tactile pin 10 in the pin display latch mechanism 1 for tactile display according to the present embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in step S101, the pin latch mechanism 1 for a tactile display according to the present embodiment instructs the actuators 50 to 70 to apply an external force in one direction to the tactile pin 10.

  In step S102, the actuators 50 to 70 apply an external force in one direction to the tactile pin 10 in order to perform switching of the protruding state and the non-projecting state of the tactile pin 10.

  In step S103, the tactile pin 10 performs switching of the projecting state and the non-projecting state by performing the operations shown in FIGS.

  According to the pin display latch mechanism 1 for tactile display according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a two-dimensional tactile display 100 which is small and lightweight so as to be portable while holding the protruding state of the tactile pin 10 stably with low power consumption. Can.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of a two-dimensional tactile display 100 in which ten rows of latch mechanisms 1 for tactile display are arranged in the longitudinal direction L and five rows in the lateral direction W.

  Moreover, according to the pin latch mechanism 1 for tactile display according to the present embodiment, since the tactile pin 10 can be operated simply by the external force in one direction, the protruding state of the tactile pin 10 without using external energy ( And the non-protruding state) can be held.

(Other embodiments)
As mentioned above, although the present invention was explained by the above-mentioned embodiment, it should not be understood that the statement and drawing which make a part of the disclosure in such an embodiment limit the present invention. From this disclosure, various alternative embodiments, examples and operation techniques will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Pin latch mechanism 2 for tactile display 2 ... Reference surface 10 ... Tactile pin 10S ... Side surface 11 ... Through-hole 11a ... Upper fulcrum 11b ... Lowermost part 11c ... Lower fulcrum 12, 12a ... Wall surface 20 ... Support rod 30 ... Housing 31 ... Grooves 5, 50, 60, 70 ... Actuator 100 ... Two-dimensional tactile display

Claims (4)

A tactile display in which pin latch mechanisms for tactile display are arranged longitudinally and laterally on a reference surface,
The tactile display pin latch mechanism is
The reference surface is disposed in a configuration capable of vertically projecting along the longitudinal direction and the lateral direction of the reference surface, and has a side surface rising along the vertical direction, and the side surface is the longitudinal direction A plurality of tactile pins in which through holes are formed along the
An actuator configured to move each of the plurality of tactile pins in the vertical direction;
The tactile pin is disposed to pass through the through hole along the longitudinal direction of the display surface, and the tactile display so as to be movable in the lateral direction along the shape of the through hole. Equipped with a support bar attached to the
The support bar is disposed to contact along a wall surface in the through hole,
The through hole reaches the lowermost portion of the through hole in the vertical direction from an upper fulcrum which is the uppermost portion in the vertical direction of the through hole, and extends downward from the lower portion toward the upper side in the vertical direction. Reach the fulcrum,
The tactile display characterized in that the lower fulcrum has a shape located below the upper fulcrum in the vertical direction.   The tactile display according to claim 1, wherein the vertical upper wall surface of the lowermost part of the through hole and the support bar are in smooth line contact.   The tactile display according to claim 1, wherein a shape of the through hole of the tactile pin has a smooth concave shape.   The actuator is at least a stacked piezoelectric bimorph actuator, a system for instantaneously releasing fluid such as air or water kept at high pressure by opening and closing a valve, or momentarily drives an electromagnet by interaction of a coil and an electromagnet. The tactile display according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the tactile display is any one of the following methods.

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