JPH07255728A - Sensation recognition determining device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To determine quantity of sensation more accurately than ever in a determining device to convert supplied degree of sensational stimulus for the taste, etc., to an electrical signal by operating manually by an examinee. CONSTITUTION:Determination can be performed by using a compression type load cell as a pressure sensor 2 and applying a pressing force in accordance with the degree of sensational stimulus to the input part of it. The pressure sensor 2 is embedded fixedly in a base 1. A flat pedestal 4 on which the finger tip is placed is formed on the upper plane of the base 1. A load projection 5 to press the input part 7 is formed protrusively on the pedestal 4. An upper convergent pressure receiving part 10 is formed on the upper part of the load projection 5. A sense of oppression accompanying a dull pain can be supplied to the finger tip F by pressing the pressure receiving part 10 with the finger tip F, which makes the degree of sensational stimulus for the taste, etc., coincide with a degree of skin sensation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sensation recognition quantification device which is applied to a sensation recognition determination device or the like to quantify sensation recognition.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A sensory recognition determining apparatus for objectively grasping and evaluating sensory recognition such as smell and taste is disclosed in JP-B-3.
It is known in Japanese Patent Publication No. 745772, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-57418, and the like. There, in order to avoid the subject's arbitrariness, changes in EEG accompanying sensory stimulation are measured, and this EEG data is analyzed to quantify and evaluate sensory perception.

In order to more easily quantify sensory perception,
A device has also been proposed in which the subject himself or herself expresses the amount of sensation according to the degree of stimulation (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-22883).
3 gazette). There, an operation lever that swings in the vertical direction is provided on the front surface of a box-shaped case, and the subject presses down this operation lever according to the degree of stimulation,
You can enter the degree of stimulation. The operating lever is urged to swing upward by a spring, and the repulsive force of the spring increases in accordance with the amount by which the operating lever is pushed down. The movement of the operating lever is quantified and output as a voltage fluctuation by a rotary potentiometer.

The above-mentioned quantification device does not need to perform complicated data analysis and can easily quantify sensory perception, and is convenient, for example, when performing psychological evaluation of sensory recognition. The problem is that when repeated sensory evaluations are performed, the results vary widely, and sufficient reproducibility for objective evaluation cannot be obtained. For example, even if a well-trained subject who is familiar with the test method is tested under the same conditions every time, the obtained data will have a large variation, and the tendency and characteristics obtained from the data will be heterogeneous. .

The inventor of the present invention has examined the test environment, the test method, the quantification device and the like step by step in order to investigate the cause of the variation of the data. As a result, I noticed that the quantification device was a cause of variation. In the above quantification device, the sensation of the subject is expressed as the amount by which the operation lever is pushed down. That is, the subject moves the arm according to the amount of sensation by the stimulus, and then receives the repulsive force of the spring felt by the arm or hand, and determines whether or not this repulsive sensation matches the amount of sensation by the stimulus. become. Therefore, the subject concentrates his or her attention on the degree of spring repulsion sensation, which adds to the need for multiple recognition, which makes the perception of sensory quantities such as taste and odor ambiguous. Seem. There is a considerable time lag between the stimulation of taste and odor and the position of the operating lever being determined, and the operation stroke for pushing down the operating lever is small, so the lever position can be roughly distinguished. It seems that things also cause the data to fluctuate.

The present applicants have previously proposed a device for more accurately quantifying the sensory perception of a subject (Japanese Patent Application No. 4-81493). There, the slidable knob is moved to the left and right to quantify the amount of sensation. The horizontal movement of the slide knob is converted into a rotational movement by the timing pulley mechanism, and this rotational movement is output as a voltage fluctuation by the rotary potentiometer. In order to operate the slide knob as unconsciously as possible, bearings are used in the friction parts of the slide mechanism and timing pulley mechanism to reduce the operation resistance as much as possible.

[0007]

According to the above-mentioned slide knob type quantification device, the sensory recognition of the subject can be quantified more accurately than the conventional lever pressing type quantification device. However, in the process of quantification, the sensory stimulus is received, the degree of the stimulus is made to correspond to the operation amount of the slide knob (considering the operation amount), the slide knob is moved to the corresponding position, and the operation result is confirmed. Take steps. Therefore, the time lag from receiving the sensory stimulus to the end of operating the slide knob is unavoidable, and the sensory stimulus is blurred during that time, and there is enough time to think, so even if the same stimulus is given, the conversion amount varies. There was a problem in that it was likely to occur.

As described above, the conventional device has a form in which the stimulus of the subject is once replaced with the displacement of the knob or lever, and this displacement is converted into an electric signal and output. The object of the present invention is to immediately convert the sensory stimulus of the subject into an electrical signal,
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to obtain a sensory recognition quantification device that can more accurately quantify sensory recognition by eliminating time lag and blurring of sensory stimulation. Another object of the present invention is to quantify the sensory perception in which a given sensory stimulus such as taste and smell can be input to the quantification device while being held still with the fingers, and the input amount can be felt as a pressure sensation accompanied by pain. To get the equipment. Another object of the present invention is to generate an audible sound having a different sound pressure level corresponding to the output signal by using the output signal of the quantification device, and to feed this sound back to the subject, whereby In addition, it is to obtain a sensory recognition quantification device that can confirm the input amount in real time by hearing.

[0009]

The sensation recognition quantification device of the present invention has an input section 7 protruding to the outer surface of a case 6,
The pressure sensor 2 has a pressure sensor 2 that converts a pressing force applied to the input unit 7 into an electric signal and outputs the electric signal, and a base 1 in which the pressure sensor 2 is incorporated. The base 1 has at least a flat receiving surface 4 on which a fingertip can be placed, and a load protrusion 5 for pressing the input portion 7 is provided on the receiving surface 4 in a protruding manner. At the upper end of the load protrusion 5, a pressure receiving portion 10 that is pressed by a fingertip F is provided in the shape of an upper recess. More specifically, a sounding circuit 20 that generates a sound signal whose sound pressure level varies according to the magnitude of the output signal of the pressure sensor 2, and a speaker 21 that converts the sound signal generated by the sounding circuit 20 into an audible sound. And. A compression type load cell is used as the pressure sensor 2. The pressure receiving portion 10 is formed by an upper conical tapered surface that converges at the axial center of the load protrusion 5, and the upper end converging portion 11 is formed by a partial spherical surface having a small radius.

[0010]

In the quantification device of the present invention, the fingertip is placed on the base 1, and the pressure receiving portion 10 of the load protrusion 5 is pressed down by the fingertip F of the index finger, for example, and the pressure receiving portion is adjusted according to the degree of sensory stimulation such as taste or smell. The pressing degree with respect to 10 is changed to large or small. When the fingertip F is pressed against the pressure receiving portion 10, the input portion 7 and the load protrusion 5 of the pressure sensor 2 hardly move up and down. Therefore, the fingertip F receives a compressive force according to the degree of pressing, and a dull pain is felt by the pressure receiving portion 10 having the upper conical shape. Quantification is performed by matching the degree of this skin sensation with the degree of the given sensory stimulus.

As described above, according to the mode in which the load protrusion 5 is pressed by the fingertip F to input the sense amount, the input operation can be instantaneously performed. Furthermore, since the subject himself compares and agrees the stimulus that accompanies his / her operation with the given stimulus, the time lag between receiving the sensory stimulus and finishing inputting that amount is eliminated, and most of the thinking time is spent. It can be lost. In other words, considering the amount of operation required according to the degree of sensory stimulation, which was indispensable in conventional devices,
It is possible to omit the process of operating the slide knob or the like to that position to confirm.

According to the quantification device of claim 2 which feeds back an audible sound to the subject in addition to the above-mentioned skin sensation, the input state of the sensation amount can be perceived by both a pressure sensation accompanied by pain and an audibility. More accurate quantification.
By using a commercially available load cell or pressure sensor 2, simplification and miniaturization of the structure of the quantification device can be realized at the same time. According to the load protrusion 5 in which the pressure receiving portion 10 is formed as an upwardly tapered taper surface, it is possible to prevent a difference in pressure and pain from the pressure receiving portion 10 due to a difference in the position where the fingertip F is applied. .

[0013]

According to the present invention, the pressing force applied to the load protrusion 5 by the fingertip F is converted into an electric signal by the pressure sensor 2, and the sense amount is quantified. Then, the pressure-reducing portion 10 having an upper constriction shape provided on the load protrusion 5 causes a feeling of pressure to be applied to the fingertip F, and the input amount to the pressure sensor 2 is immediately fed back to the fingertip F as a skin sensation. I chose Therefore, at the same time as receiving a sensory stimulus such as taste and smell, that is, it is possible to input the sense amount while the sensation when the stimulus is received is clear, and there is a time lag and a time lag at the time of input that cannot be avoided with conventional devices. It is possible to accurately quantify the sensory perception by eliminating the accompanying blurring of the sensory sense. The width of variation in the quantified data can be sufficiently reduced.

[0014]

1 to 4 show an embodiment of a quantification device according to the present invention. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 is a base, and 2 is a pressure sensor incorporated in the base 1 toward one side. The base 1 is formed into a rectangular plate shape by a substrate 1a and an upper surface plate 1b fastened and fixed to the upper surface with screws 3.
The upper surface is provided with a flat receiving surface 4 on which a hand (hand portion beyond the wrist) can be placed. The substrate 1a and the top plate 1b are made of a plastic plate material, and have vertical and horizontal dimensions of 200.
The substrate 1a has a thickness of 10 mm and the top plate has a thickness of 3 mm.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pressure sensor 2 is assembled in a state of being embedded in the base 1, and a load projection 5 is provided on the receiving surface 4 so as to push it from the receiving surface 4 side. To do. As the pressure sensor 2, a commercially available compression type load cell can be applied. In this example, a load cell (TC-SR5K type) manufactured by TEAC Electronics Co., Ltd. and having a rated pressing capacity of 5 Kgf was used. The load cell has an input portion 7 at the center of the upper surface of a disk-shaped case 6, and the entire case 6 is fitted into a mounting hole 8 recessed in the substrate 1a. After that, the peripheral portion of the case 6 is held and fixed by the upper surface plate 1b so as not to move. Although not shown, the output cord of the load cell is led out of the base 1 through the cord groove communicating with the mounting hole 8.

The load protrusion 5 is a shell-shaped protrusion body 5a made of a molded or cut product of a plastic material,
The operation shaft 5b is screwed into the protrusion body 5a. At the upper end of the protrusion main body 5a, a pressure receiving portion 10 that is pressed by a fingertip F is formed in an upper recessed shape. Specifically, the protrusion body 5
The pressure receiving portion 1 has a tapered upper surface that converges at the axial center of a.
0, and the radius value of the converging part 11 at the upper end is 0.5 to 0.5.
It is formed with a partial spherical surface of 75 mm. This is because when the pressure receiving portion 10 is pressed by the fingertip F, the fingertip F is given an appropriate feeling of pressure and pain. A shallow relief recess 12 and an insertion hole 13 for the operation shaft 5b are formed on the inner surface of the upper surface plate 1b facing the input portion 7 of the pressure sensor 2. The screw portion 14 of the operation shaft 5b is inserted into the insertion hole 13 from the inner surface side, and the operation shaft 5b and the projection main body 5a are screwed into and integrated with each other on the outer surface of the upper plate 1b. As a result, the load protrusion 5 can be projected and retracted along the insertion hole 13, but when the upper surface plate 1b is fastened to the substrate 1a, the joint head portion 15 at the lower end of the operation shaft 5b escapes the recess 12 and the pressure sensor 2. Since it is sandwiched vertically with the input unit 7 of the above, the load protrusion 5 does not move vertically. A gap exists between the lower end surface of the protrusion main body 5 a protruding above the base 1 and the receiving surface 4.

The quantification device configured as described above is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.
It is placed on the pressure receiving unit 10 and is quantified by changing the degree of pressing with the fingertip F according to the degree of sensory stimulation such as taste and smell given to the subject. Pressure sensor 2
Is output as a voltage change. This output signal is amplified by an amplifier 17 as shown in FIG. 4, converted by an A / D converter 18, and then sent to a data processing device such as a computer 19. When the load protrusion 5 is pressed with the fingertip F as described above, the pressure receiving portion 10 is sharpened in an upwardly constricted shape, and therefore the fingertip F receives a feeling of pressure accompanied by a dull pain. At the same time as this skin sensation, in order to feed back the signal input state to the pressure sensor 2 to the subject as a sound,
A sounding circuit 20 and a speaker 21 are provided.

The sounding circuit 20 uses the output signal of the amplifier 17 to generate a sound signal whose sound pressure level varies depending on the output signal of the pressure sensor 2. For example, a sound gelator is used to generate a sound signal having a constant intensity, and the signal strength of this sound signal is increased / decreased according to the magnitude of the output signal of the amplifier 17 to generate a sound signal corresponding to the pressing force. The generated sound signal is converted into an audible sound by the speaker 21 and fed back to the subject. Headphones are preferably used as the speaker 21.

In addition to the above-mentioned embodiments, the pressure sensor 2 includes a differential capacitance type electronic pressure transmitter which outputs a minute displacement due to a pressing force as a change in capacitance, and various types which use a semiconductor strain gauge as a conversion element. A pressure sensor is available. The pressure sensor 2 does not need to be embedded in the base 1, but in order to suppress the amount of protrusion of the load protrusion 5 from the receiving surface 4, it is preferable that the pressure sensor 2 be lower than the receiving surface 4 in the assembled state.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a quantification device.

FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of a quantification device.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an assembly structure of a pressure sensor.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of use of a quantification device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 base 2 pressure sensor 4 receiving surface 5 load protrusion 6 case 7 input section 10 pressure receiving section 11 converging section 20 sounding circuit 21 speaker F fingertip

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A pressure sensor 2 having an input portion 7 protruding from an outer surface of a case 6, converting a pressing force applied to the input portion 7 into an electric signal and outputting the electric signal, and a base 1 incorporating the pressure sensor 2. And the base 1 has a flat receiving surface 4 on which at least a fingertip can be placed.
A load protrusion 5 for pressing the input portion 7 is provided on the receiving surface 4, and a pressure receiving portion 10 pressed by a fingertip F is provided at the upper end of the load protrusion 5. Sensory recognition quantification device characterized by being provided in the shape of a circle. 2. A sounding circuit 20 for generating a sound signal having different sound pressure levels depending on the magnitude of the output signal of the pressure sensor 2, and a speaker 21 for converting the sound signal generated by the sounding circuit 20 into an audible sound. The sensory recognition quantification device according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. The sensory recognition quantification device according to claim 1, wherein the pressure sensor 2 is a compression type load cell. 4. The pressure receiving portion 10 is formed by an upper conical taper surface that converges at the axial center of the load protrusion 5, and the converging portion 11 at the upper end is formed by a partial spherical surface having a small radius. The sensation recognition quantification device according to 1, 2, or 3.