JPH067452A - Fatigue recovering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a high fatigue recovering effect and improve the physical refreshed feeling after usage. CONSTITUTION:A skin potential detecting unit 9 detects the skin potential of a testee and feeds it to a control circuit device 16. An air conditioner 12 and an aroma control device 13 generate the refreshing stimulation (1/f fluctuating wind, aroma) having a sedating effect. An oxygen enriching device 14 generates the refreshing stimulation (oxygen-enriched air) having a physical fatigue recovering effect. The control circuit device 16 measures the number of skin potential reflections (SPR) per unit time of the testee based on the detected output of the skin potential detecting unit 9 and performs the feedback control to increase the level of the refreshing stimulation given to the testee through the air conditioner 12, aroma control device 13, and oxygen enriching device 14 as the measured value is increased.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fatigue recovery device for recovering fatigue by giving a stimulus having a sedative and fatigue recovery effect to a human body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a device for recovering from fatigue by giving a stimulus to a human body, there is a conventional device, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-30.
An electroencephalogram guiding device described in Japanese Patent No. 2272 is known. That is, the device described in this publication utilizes the close relationship between the electroencephalogram of the human body and its physiological and psychological states. For example, it often occurs when the human body is in a relaxed state. The human body is placed in a relaxed state by inducing an α wave, which is an electroencephalogram component, by a body stimulus signal from the outside, thereby reducing stress.

Specifically, α-waves are extracted from the electroencephalograms respectively detected from the left and right brains of a human body as a subject, and
The α-wave from the left brain is fed back to the right brain as a physical stimulation signal such as optical stimulation, sound stimulation, electrical stimulation, or vibration stimulation, and the α-wave from the right brain is fed back to the left brain as a similar physical stimulation signal. As a result, the stress of the subject is reduced, and mental fatigue recovery and refreshing effects are obtained.

[0004]

In the above-described conventional apparatus, the signal indicating the degree of mental relaxation is simply fed back, and appropriate feedback control is performed according to the degree of relaxation of the human body. Therefore, it is difficult to sufficiently enhance the fatigue recovery effect, such as the possibility that the subject may feel discomfort after use, and a physical refreshing feeling can be obtained. There was a problem that it did not exist.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fatigue recovery device which can obtain a high fatigue recovery effect and can improve the physical refresh feeling after use. To provide.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a detection means for detecting the skin potential of a human body,
Measuring means for measuring the number of skin potential reflections per unit time of the human body based on the detection output of this detecting means, stimulating means for giving a stimulus having a sedative and fatigue recovery effect to the human body, and a human body through this stimulating means And a motion control means for controlling the level of the stimulus given to the so that it becomes higher as the number of skin potential reflections per unit time measured by the measuring means increases.

[0007] Further, after providing auxiliary measuring means for measuring the rate of decrease of the skin potential level of the human body based on the detection output of the detecting means, the operation control means measures the skin potential level measured by the auxiliary measuring means. When the descent rate exceeds the set speed, a high level stimulus is given to the human body through the stimulus applying means, and when the descent rate becomes equal to or lower than the set speed, the level of the stimulus given to the human body through the stimulus applying means. May be controlled so as to increase as the number of skin potential reflections per unit time measured by the measuring means increases.

[0008]

In general, it has been known that there is a relationship as shown in FIG. 7 between the human body's arousal level and the skin potential reflex (SPR) generated in the human body (however, the arousal level here means Is a value obtained by dividing the current skin potential level (SPL) in the human body by the skin potential level in the normal state, which is “1” in the normal state when the human body is awake, but when the human body is in a relaxed state or It becomes "1" or less in a drowsy state, and approaches "0" as the state of relaxation deepens). As is clear from FIG. 7, the number of skin potential reflexes per unit time (1 minute) increases when the arousal level of the human body is high, but as the arousal level decreases (that is, the relaxation level of the human body increases). It has the property of becoming low, and it is considered that such a biological phenomenon occurs because the reflex response to a minute external stimulus decreases as the arousal level of the human body decreases.

The present invention utilizes the biological phenomenon as described above, and in the fatigue recovery device according to claim 1, the measuring means is based on the skin potential of the human body detected by the detecting means. The number of skin potential reflections per unit time is measured, and the measurement result corresponds to the arousal level of the human body as the subject. When the number of skin potential reflexes per unit time measured as described above is large, that is, when the human body has a high arousal level, the motion control means is a stimulus having a sedative and fatigue recovery effect to be given to the human body through the stimulus applying means. When the number of skin potential reflexes per unit time is small, that is, when the human body has low arousal level, the level of stimulus having a sedative and fatigue recovery effect on the human body through the stimulus applying means is lowered.

By such a stimulus, mental and physical fatigue recovery of the human body is achieved. In particular, in this case, a stimulus having a sedative and fatigue recovery effect given to the human body by feeding back the skin potential reflex number, which is a signal indicating the arousal level corresponding to the mental and physical relaxation level of the human body. The control level is controlled so that it is an appropriate level according to the arousal level of the human body, so the fatigue recovery effect can always be optimally achieved, and the physical refreshing feeling after use is improved. I will get it.

In the fatigue recovery device according to the present invention, the auxiliary measuring means measures the rate of decrease of the skin potential level of the human body based on the skin potential of the human body detected by the detecting means, and the operation control means. In the period in which the fall speed of the skin potential level thus measured exceeds the set speed, a high level of stimulation is given to the human body through the stimulus applying means, and the drop speed becomes equal to or lower than the set speed. For the first time, the level of stimulation applied to the human body through the stimulation applying means is controlled based on the number of skin potential reflections per unit time measured by the measuring means as described above.

In this case, the rate of decrease of the skin potential level per unit time has the property that it becomes large when the arousal level of the human body is high. There is a situation that it is difficult to detect minute skin potential reflexes that are potential changes.However, in feedback control of the level of stimuli that have sedative and fatigue recovery effects on the human body, the unit time of skin potential level is as described above. If the descent rate per hit and the number of skin potential reflections per unit time are selectively used, the control can be reliably performed.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 and FIG.

In FIG. 3 showing the overall schematic structure, a fatigue recovery device 1 is provided on a carriage 2 equipped with moving rollers 2a.
A seat portion 3 and a hood 4 that covers the seat portion 3 in an openable and closable manner are provided so that a subject M corresponding to a human body in the present invention can sit in a relaxed state. A control unit 5, which will be described later, and a duct 7 that connects the control unit 5 and the opening 6 formed at the uppermost portion of the seat 3 are provided on the back side of the seat 3 on the carriage 2. In addition, an operating state display device 8 is provided on the inner surface of the hood 4 at a position where it can be viewed by the subject M sitting on the seat 3.

The fatigue recovery device 1 is provided with a skin potential detecting unit 9 (corresponding to the detecting means in the present invention) worn by the subject M, which will be described below with reference to FIG. .

In FIG. 4, the skin potential detecting unit 9
Is a first sensor unit 10 provided with a wrist band 10a worn on the wrist of the subject M and a second sensor unit provided with a finger ring 11a worn on the finger (pinkie) of the subject M. 11 and. In this case, although not shown, each of the sensor units 10 and 11 is provided with an electrode that comes into contact with the skin of the subject M in the mounted state, and the potential appearing between the electrodes is used as the skin potential signal of the subject M. It is configured to be detected as ΔE.

FIG. 1 shows the electrical construction of this embodiment by combining functional blocks, which will be described below.

The control unit 5 includes an air conditioner 12 and an aroma control device 1, which correspond to the stimulating means in the present invention.
3 and an oxygen enrichment device 14. In this case, the air conditioner 12 and the aroma control device 13 selectively generate a refresh stimulus having a sedative effect or a refresh stimulus having a wakefulness effect, as shown below and
Further, the oxygen enrichment device 14 performs an operation of generating refresh stimuli having a physical fatigue recovery effect as described below, and the refresh stimuli are transmitted to the subject M through the opening 6. It is supposed to be given through.

The air conditioner 12 exhibits the same frequency change as that of a phenomenon that the human body feels comfortable, such as a breeze in the natural world, a "fluctuation" such as the babbling of the stream, etc. / F Selectively performs an operation generated as a fluctuating wind (a refreshing stimulus having a sedative effect) and an operation generating a cold wind (a refreshing stimulus having a wakefulness effect) that causes the human body to feel arousal.

The fragrance control device 13 generates an aroma (refresh stimulus having a sedative effect) that causes the human body to feel a sedative feeling, and an operation that generates an fragrance (refresh stimulus that has a wakefulness effect) to cause the human body to feel awakening. And do selectively.

The oxygen enrichment device 14 has an oxygen concentration of 30.
Performs the operation of generating oxygen-enriched air (refresh stimulus having a physical fatigue recovery effect) in a state of being raised to about%.

The control unit 5 also comprises an A / D conversion circuit 15, a control circuit device 16 which also serves as the measuring means and the operation control means in the present invention, and drive circuits 17 and 18.

The A / D conversion circuit 15 converts the skin potential signal ΔE from the skin potential detection unit 9 into a digital signal and supplies it to the control circuit device 16. Control circuit device 16
Is composed of a microcomputer,
The operation control of the air conditioner 12, the aroma control device 13, and the oxygen enrichment device 14 through the drive circuits 17 and 18 is performed by the skin potential signal ΔE given through the A / D conversion circuit 15, for example, the operation state display device 8. It is configured to be executed based on each ON signal from the start switch 19 and the stop switch 20 provided in the vicinity and the control program stored in advance.

FIG. 2 schematically shows the contents of control by the control circuit device 16, which will be described below together with related operations.

That is, the control operation by the control circuit device 16 is started when an ON signal is input from the start switch 19, and first, the timer operation of the internal timer is started (step A1). Next, the skin potential signal ΔE from the skin potential detection unit 9 is read, and the number of skin potential reflections per unit time (1 minute) of the subject M is measured based on the skin potential signal ΔE (steps A2 and A3). ), After that, the number of skin potential reflections measured in step A3 is analyzed (step A4).

As described above, the relationship between the arousal level of the subject M and the number of skin potential reflections per unit time is as shown in FIG. 7, that is, the skin per unit time. The potential reflection number has a large value when the arousal level of the subject M is high, and decreases as the awakening level decreases (the relaxation level of the subject increases). At A4, the awakening degree of the subject M is determined by using the relationship shown in FIG.

Specifically, the arousal level is classified into, for example, three levels of "low", "medium", and "high" based on FIG. 7, and the rank is "low". Corresponds to a state in which the number of skin potential reflections of the subject M is less than "2 pieces / min", and a state of "medium" is "8 pieces / minute" when the number of skin potential reflections is "2 pieces / minute" or more. It corresponds to the state of "minute" or less, "high"
The state of corresponds to the state in which the number of skin potential reflections exceeds “8 / min”.

If the rank of the awakening degree judged in step A4 is "low", the first refresh operation is selected and executed (step A5), and the rank of the awakening degree is "medium". And in each case of "high", one of the second refresh operation and the third refresh operation is selected and executed (steps A6 and A7).

The first refreshing operation is to give the subject M a refreshing stimulus at a low level having only a sedative effect. Specifically, only the aroma control device 13 is operated. , Gives a fragrance having a calming effect to the subject M.

The second refresh operation is to give the subject M a refreshing stimulus of a medium level having a relatively high sedative effect, and specifically,
The air conditioner 12 and the aroma control device 13 are operated to give the subject M a 1 / f fluctuating wind and aroma that have a calming effect.

The third refresh operation is to give the subject M a high level of refresh stimulation having a physical fatigue recovery effect and a sedative effect equivalent to that of the second refresh operation. Specifically, by operating all of the air conditioner 12, the fragrance control device 13, and the oxygen enrichment device 14, the subject M has a sedative effect, 1 / f fluctuating wind and aroma, and a physical fatigue recovery effect. There is oxygen enriched air.

The step A2 of reading the skin potential signal ΔE as described above, the step A3 of measuring the skin potential reflection number,
Awakening degree ranking step A4 and steps A5 to A7 that are selectively executed based on the ranking are:
The timer operating time of the internal timer is a set time (for example, 1
(5 minutes) until it is reached (Step A)
8).

When the timer operating time of the internal timer reaches 15 minutes, the fourth refresh operation is executed (step A9), and thereafter, the initial state is restored. In the fourth refresh operation, the air conditioner 12 and the aroma control device 13
Is operated to provide the subject M with cold wind and aroma having a wakefulness effect.

Although not shown, when an ON signal is input from the stop switch 20 during the control operation as described above, the control operation is stopped and the initial state is restored.

In summary, when the fatigue recovery device 1 is started by the subject M wearing the skin potential detecting unit 9, first, the awakening degree of the subject M is measured from the skin potential detecting unit 9. The level of the refresh stimulus having a sedative effect and a physical fatigue recovery effect given to the subject M is ranked in three stages according to the number of skin potential reflexes per unit time measured based on the skin potential signal ΔE. As described above, the control operation is performed so that the higher the awakening degree ranked, the higher the awakening degree becomes. Further, after such control operation is completed, an operation of giving a refresh stimulus having an awakening effect to the subject M is performed.

That is, in the present embodiment, the subject M is given a refreshing stimulus having a sedative effect and a physical fatigue recovery effect, so that the subject M recovers from mental and physical fatigue. In particular, when a refreshing stimulus is given to the subject M in this manner, a signal indicating the arousal level corresponding to the mental and physical relaxation level of the subject M. By feeding back the number of skin potential reflexes per unit time, the level of the refresh stimulus is controlled to be an appropriate level according to the degree of relaxation of the subject M, so that fatigue recovery is achieved. The effect can always be optimally exhibited, and the physical refresh feeling after use can be improved. Further, in this embodiment, since the refreshing stimulus having the awakening effect is given to the subject M at the last stage, it is possible to surely realize the physical refresh feeling after use.

A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and only parts different from the first embodiment will be described below.

That is, the second embodiment is the control circuit device 16
The control content by is different from that of the first embodiment. However, in the second embodiment, the control circuit device 16 is an auxiliary measurement for measuring the descending speed of the skin potential level (SPL) of the subject M in addition to the measuring means and the operation control means in the present invention. It has a structure that also serves as a means.

In FIG. 5 schematically showing the control contents by the control circuit device 16, when the control operation is started, first, the timer operation of the internal timer is started (step B1), and then the examinee M is instructed. The action of giving a high level refresh stimulus is started (Step B
2). In step B2, the air conditioner 12, the fragrance control device 13, and the oxygen enrichment device 14 are all operated to give the subject M a sedative effect of 1 / f fluctuating wind and fragrance as well as physical fatigue recovery effect. There is one that gives oxygen enriched air.

Next, the skin potential signal ΔE from the skin potential detection unit 9 is read and the skin potential signal ΔE is read.
Based on E, the fall rate of the skin potential level per unit time (1 minute) is measured (steps B3 and B4), and then the fall rate of the skin potential level is analyzed (step B5).

Here, in general, there is a correlation between the arousal level of the human body and its skin potential level (SPL) such that the skin potential level is relatively high when the arousal level is high. It is known. In this case, it is difficult to quantitatively judge the arousal level of the human body by the level of skin potential level, which has a characteristic that there are large differences among individuals, but the rate of descent of skin potential level per unit time is Since the human body has a property of decreasing as the arousal level decreases and there is little individual difference, it can be sufficiently used as a means for quantitatively determining the arousal level of the human body.

However, in the step B5, the rate of decrease of the skin potential level of the subject M exceeds "0.03 mV / sec" corresponding to the set speed in the present invention (that is, the subject M). When the awakening degree is relatively high), step B6 for instructing the air conditioner 12 to generate 1 / f fluctuating wind, step B for reading the skin potential signal ΔE
3. The step B4 of measuring the descent rate of the skin potential level and the step B5 of the descent rate analysis are repeatedly executed.
Therefore, during this period, the state in which the high level refresh stimulus is given to the subject M continues.

On the other hand, when the rate of decrease of the skin potential level of the subject M becomes "0.03 mV / sec" or less (that is,
When the awakening degree of the subject M is lower than a certain level), the operation of the air conditioner 12 is stopped Step B7
Then, the supply of the 1 / f fluctuating wind to the subject M is stopped. Therefore, after this, only the fragrance having a calming effect and the oxygen-enriched air having a physical fatigue recovery effect are given to the subject M.

Thereafter, the skin potential reflection number per unit time (1 minute) of the subject M is measured based on the skin potential signal ΔE read in step B3 (step B8), and the measured skin potential is measured. The number of reflections is analyzed (step B9).

In this step B9, it is judged whether or not the number of skin potential reflections of the subject M is "2 pieces / min" or more, and the number of skin potential reflections is "2 pieces / min" or more. In this case (that is, when the arousal level of the subject M has not dropped to a certain level), the control after step B3 is re-executed. Further, when the skin potential reflection number is less than “2 pieces / min” (that is, when the arousal level of the subject M falls below a certain level), the step of stopping the aroma control device 13 is performed. B10 is executed, and thus the supply of the fragrance having a sedative effect to the subject M is stopped. Therefore, after this, only oxygen-enriched air having a physical fatigue recovery effect is given to the subject M.

After this, the control after step B3 is repeatedly executed until the timer operating time of the internal timer reaches 15 minutes (step B11), and when the timer operating time reaches 15 minutes, A refresh operation for awakening is executed (step B12), and then the initial state is restored. The awakening refresh operation corresponds to the fourth refresh operation in the first embodiment, and operates the air conditioner 12 and the fragrance control device 13 to generate cold wind and aroma that have awakening effect on the subject M. give.

During the time until the timer operating time reaches 15 minutes, the rate of decrease of the skin potential level is once "0.
If the situation exceeds "0.03 mV / sec" again after the operation of the air conditioner 12 is stopped at "03 mV / sec" or less, step B6 is executed to re-activate the air conditioner 12. Will be.

In summary, in the present embodiment, first, the awakening degree of the subject M is determined by the rate of fall of the skin potential level of the subject M per unit time, and the rate of fall is set to the set speed (0 Exceeding 0.03 mV / sec), subject M
When a high level of refresh stimulus (in this case, a sedative effect and a stimulus with physical fatigue recovery effect) is given, and the rate of fall of the skin potential level is below the set speed above,
The level of the refresh stimulus given to the subject M is controlled to be higher as the arousal level indicated by the number of skin potential reflexes per unit time of the subject M is higher. As a result, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

By the way, the skin potential level showing the correlation with the arousal level of the subject M rapidly decreases as the degree of relaxation of the subject M increases with time as shown in FIG. There is a property. In such a state in which the rate of decrease in the skin potential level is high, it is difficult to detect the skin potential reflex, which is a rapid potential change superimposed on the skin potential level, and therefore it is necessary to improve the accuracy of the skin potential detection unit 9. come. Therefore, as in the first embodiment described above, the subject M
When adopting a configuration in which the arousal level is determined only by the skin potential reflection number, a highly accurate skin potential detection unit 9 must be used. However, when the arousal level of the subject M is lowered, it is difficult to determine the arousal level based only on the rate of decrease of the skin potential level.

On the other hand, in the second embodiment described above,
During a period in which the rate of decrease in the skin potential level of the subject M per unit time is large, that is, a period in which detection of the skin potential reflex is difficult, the level of the refresh stimulus given to the subject M is set to the rate of decrease in the skin potential level. When the rate of decrease in the skin potential level of the subject M per unit time becomes small, that is, when the rate of decrease in the skin potential level makes it difficult to determine the arousal level of the subject M, Since the level of the refresh stimulation applied to the subject M is controlled based on the number of skin potential reflections, it is not necessary to use a highly accurate skin potential detection unit 9 and the cost can be reduced. become.

In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the skin potential detecting unit 9 for detecting the skin potential between the wrist and the little finger of the subject M is used as the detecting means. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the skin potential between the earlobe and the earlobe or between the palm surface of the thumb end node and the palm surface of the forearm is detected. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the fatigue level is detected by using the change in the skin potential of the subject M, but the fatigue level is detected by using the change in the skin resistance generated in the human body. It can also be done.

[0052]

As is clear from the above description, the fatigue recovery device according to claim 1 utilizes the correlation existing between the arousal level of the human body and the skin potential reflex (SPR) generated in the human body. However, as the number of skin potential reflexes per unit time increases, it has a sedative and fatigue recovery effect on the human body. Since feedback control is configured to increase the level of stimulation, it has a sedative and fatigue recovery effect on the human body. The applied level of stimulus is controlled to be an appropriate level according to the arousal level of the human body, which makes it possible to obtain a high fatigue recovery effect and also to provide a feeling of physical refreshment after use. It is possible to achieve an excellent effect that the improvement can be realized.

According to the fatigue recovery device of the second aspect,
In feedback-controlling the level of stimulation having a sedative and fatigue recovery effect on the human body, the skin potential level (SPL) descent rate per unit time and the number of skin potential reflexes per unit time are selectively used. Since it is not necessary to use a highly accurate detection means for detecting the skin potential, the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing control contents.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the overall schematic configuration.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the skin potential detection unit in a mounted state.

FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between elapsed time and skin potential level.

FIG. 7 is a characteristic diagram for explaining the action.

[Explanation of symbols]

In the figure, 1 is a fatigue recovery device, 5 is a control unit, 9 is a skin potential detection unit (detection means), 12 is an air conditioner (stimulation applying means), 13 is an aroma control device (stimulation applying means), 1
Reference numeral 4 is an oxygen enrichment device (stimulation applying means), 16 is a control circuit device (measurement means, operation control means), and M is a subject (human body).

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A detecting means for detecting the skin potential of a human body, a measuring means for measuring the number of skin potential reflections per unit time of the human body based on the detection output of this detecting means, and a sedative and fatigue recovery effect for the human body. And a motion control means for controlling the level of the stimulus applied to the human body through the stimulus applying means to be higher as the number of skin potential reflections per unit time measured by the measuring means is higher. A fatigue recovery device comprising: 2. The auxiliary measuring means for measuring the rate of decrease of the skin potential level of the human body based on the detection output of the detecting means, wherein the operation control means has the rate of decrease of the skin potential level measured by the auxiliary measuring means. Is over the set speed,
A high level stimulus is given to the human body through the stimulus applying means, and when the descent rate becomes equal to or lower than the set speed
2. The fatigue recovery device according to claim 1, wherein the level of the stimulus applied to the human body through the stimulus applying means is controlled to be higher as the number of skin potential reflections per unit time measured by the measuring means is higher.