JPH11167419A - Tactile force showing method and its device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To execute a fine work without interrupting the free operation of an operator, to operate at high speed by making the capacity to the absolute minimum and to improve the response. SOLUTION: This device is provided with a gauntlet 2 and a mechanism 7 filling and supplying compressible fluid 4 to vacant chambers 3 provided in the gauntlet 2 and passively giving tactile force to the hand through the use of the reaction to the operation of the finger. The vacant chambers 3 are formed by jointing flexible members 10 to the glove 2 corresponding to joints of the hand. The mechanism 7 is provided with tubes 11 connected to the respective vacant chambers 3, pumps 12 supplying compressed fluid 4 to the vacant rooms 3 in synchronizing with the movement of the nodes and a controller 13 controlling the pumps 12. When the compressible fluid 4 is charged into the vacant chambers 3 to make pressure high, the operator receives large reaction force at the time bending the nodes since large force is required for changing the form. Thus, the operator receives feeling as if he operates himself with a touch such as the actual grasping of an object although he does not actually touch the object.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a telecommunication service (including a remote control and an artificial reality system), which provides a sense of reality when a hand (fingertip) performs an operation involving contact with an object by grasping or the like. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for presenting a haptic force to a hand for improvement.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a communication service (including a remote operation and an artificial reality system), in order to improve a sense of reality when a hand performs an operation involving a contact, such as touching or grasping an object, it is necessary to use a contact. It is important to feed back the mechanical action (force sense) such as the reaction force generated to the operator's hand.

[0003] The current configuration of the force feedback device for a hand is a method using a device fixed externally (a force is presented by fixing a finger to a small robot arm or the like and receiving a force from the robot arm). And a method using a glove-like device worn by the operator on the hand. The former is advantageous in presenting a highly realistic sense of force, because the means for presenting a force sense to the operator can be varied. This is an unsuitable method in an application in which an operator freely moves in a space because the operation range is limited because of being fixed.

On the other hand, in the latter device, the movement of hands and arms is hindered by the weight of a mechanism for generating a mechanical action, or sufficient force cannot be fed back. The problem is that the convenience and the sense of presence are lost.

[0005] As a prior art for solving these problems, there is known an "artificial reality realizing apparatus" described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H5-232859. This artificial reality realizing device includes a tactile portion formed in a double cylindrical shape with an outer skin and an inner skin and including a finger, and divides a space between the inner and outer skins into a plurality of sections in an axial direction and a circumferential direction, By supplying a fluid to each section according to the movement of the finger, a force corresponding to the movement of the finger is fed back to the finger (force feedback). That is, when fluid is fed into the compartment when the finger is bent, the compartment expands and loses flexibility, and the movement (position, posture) of the finger is restricted, and as a result, the finger is stretched in the direction in which the finger is to be extended. By exerting force and giving force feedback, the finger can feel tactile sensation.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, since the force feedback is performed by restricting the movement of the finger, the free movement of the operator is restricted, and fine work cannot be performed. There was a problem. In particular, in telecommunication services such as remote control and artificial reality systems, it is customary to evaluate the operator's movement (position and posture) and operate a remote robot or work in a virtual space. If the operation of the operator is restricted, the service itself cannot be established. Also, since the entire internal space of the tactile part is divided into a plurality of sections and the amount of fluid injected into each section is controlled, there is also a problem that the volume of the entire section becomes large and the response speed is slow. Was.

[0007] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object thereof is to perform a fine work without hindering the free operation of an operator.
In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide a force sense presentation method and a device therefor which can be operated at high speed by using a minimum necessary volume and have improved responsiveness. ) Is intended for application.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is to provide a flexible structure in which a space corresponding to a joint of a finger is provided with a highly airtight and expandable member. Wearing a glove-like device having a hand, and controlling the pressure of the fluid in the empty chamber by injecting and discharging the compressible fluid in synchronization with the movement of the finger, passively utilizing the reaction force of the movement of the finger The present invention is characterized in that a force sensation is presented to the hand.

A second aspect of the present invention is a glove to be worn on a hand having an empty space formed by a highly airtight and expandable member at a site corresponding to a finger joint and formed of a flexible material. -Shaped device, injection of a compressible fluid into the chamber,
A mechanism for passively presenting a force sensation to the hand by using the reaction force of the movement of the finger by discharging the finger.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the mechanism for presenting a force sensation to the hand performs injection and discharge of the compressible fluid into and out of the empty space in synchronization with the operation of the finger. .

In a fourth aspect based on the second or third aspect, the mechanism for presenting a force sensation to a hand comprises: a tube having one end connected to an inlet of an empty room; And a control means for controlling the compressible fluid supply means for supplying a compressive fluid to the empty chamber in accordance with the movement of the joint.

Force sensation, that is, mechanical mechanical action (vertical drag and in-plane frictional force) generated by contact,
It mainly occurs as a reaction to the operation in a direction that hinders the operation. The present invention pays attention to this point, and does not actively generate a mechanical action. In a state where the operator is wearing a glove-shaped device, the elasticity of a portion corresponding to the joint of the operator's finger ( (Flexibility). Specifically, by controlling the supply pressure of the fluid, by adjusting the pressure in the empty room provided in the joint, and by changing the elastic modulus of the portion corresponding to the joint, as a reaction to the operation of bending the joint, Utilizing the fact that a force corresponding to the elastic modulus is generated, a mechanical mechanical action generated between the target and the object is passively generated. In the method and the apparatus for passively presenting a force sense using the reaction force of the operation as in the present invention, the position and the posture of the finger cannot be restricted, but generally, the human force senses the hand. For work that requires feedback, force information is used, and position and orientation information is used only as a supplement, so there are few practical problems, and since position and orientation are not directly restricted, communication services It is also suitable as a method for feedback of haptic sensation to the operator's hand. Further, according to the present invention, since the vacant space is provided only in the portion corresponding to the joint part of the finger, the volume can be reduced to a necessary minimum, and the response speed can be improved. Furthermore, since a method of controlling the pressure using a compressible fluid is adopted, it is only necessary to pay attention to the supply pressure alone without worrying about the injection amount of the fluid. The control is simpler than the method of controlling.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the entire configuration of the force sense presentation device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the glove, FIG. 3 is a diagram of the glove viewed from the palm side, and FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing the configuration of the mounting portion. In these drawings, the present embodiment shows a force sense presentation device for the right hand. The force sense presentation device 1 includes a glove-like device (hereinafter, referred to as a glove) 2 worn on the right hand of the operator, and injection of a compressible fluid 4 into an empty space 3 (FIG. 4) provided in the glove 2. And a mechanism 7 for supplying a force sense to the hand passively by utilizing the reaction force of the movement of the finger 6.

The glove 2 is formed in accordance with the right hand of the operator, so that a cylindrical main body 8 that covers the palm and the upper of the right hand, and each of the fingers 6 provided at one end of the main body 8 is branched.
And a mounting portion 9 composed of five cylindrical bodies independently wrapping the mounting portions. Such a glove 2 is formed of a flexible material made of a thin rubber, leather, synthetic resin, or the like that does not hinder the movement of the right hand. The vacant space 3 is formed in a portion corresponding to each joint of the right hand shown by hatching in FIG. 3 and FIG. The vacant space 3 is formed by joining the peripheral edge of a highly airtight and stretchable sheet-like member 10 over the entire periphery thereof by welding or the like. When the right hand is moved and the finger is bent, the vacant space 3 receives the supply of the compressive fluid 4 and expands, thereby corresponding to a portion of the glove 2 where the vacant space 3 is provided, in other words, a joint. Change the elasticity (flexibility) of the part. The vacant chamber 3 is not limited to the one formed so as to correspond to the entire joint, and may be formed so as to correspond to only a part of the joint. As shown in FIG. 3, when formed on the palm portion, which is the main bending direction of the finger, or on the back of the hand, force feedback can be effectively performed.

The mechanism 7 for supplying the compressive fluid 4 to a portion corresponding to each joint of the hand of the glove 2, that is, the vacant space 3, and changing the elasticity (flexibility) of the portion, has one end of each of the mechanisms 7. A plurality of flexible tubes 11 connected to the empty chambers 3, and the other end of each of the tubes 11 is connected and compressed to supply the compressible fluid 4 to each of the empty chambers 3 according to the movement of each joint. A plurality of pumps 12 as a sexual fluid supply means, and a controller 13 as a control means for controlling each pump 12 in accordance with the movement of each joint, and the controller 13 and each pump 12 are connected by a signal line 14. doing.

Here, in FIG.
Although two pumps 1 and two pumps 12 are shown, there are actually provided as many as the number of vacancies 3 that independently control flexibility. For example, when controlling the flexibility of the portions corresponding to the three joints of all the fingers, a total of 15 sets of tubes 11
And a pump 12 are required. In this embodiment, an example in which one tube 11 is used for each vacant chamber 3 is shown. However, a plurality of tubes 11 are used to inject and discharge the compressible fluid 4 in different tubes. Of course, it is good. As the compressible fluid 4 supplied to the vacant space 3, for example, air is used.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a joint showing the principle of operation of the force sense presentation device. Here, a case where the extended finger 6 is bent in the direction of the arrow 17 will be described. FIG.
(A) shows a state where the compressible fluid 4 in the empty chamber 3 is discharged, and (b) shows a state where the compressible fluid 4 is injected.
In the state of (a), the operator can bend the joint without resistance, but when the compressible fluid 4 is injected into the vacant chamber 3 and the pressure is high as shown in (b), the shape changes. Since a large force is required to cause the joint, the operator receives a large reaction force during the bending operation of the joint. Therefore, in an application such as virtual reality or remote control, an operation involving contact, such as grasping an object in a virtual space to be operated or a remote place, and an increase in the pressure in the vacant space 3 due to the injection of the compressive fluid 4. By synchronizing, the operator himself / herself receives a reaction force from the device of the present invention in accordance with the operation of the operator, even though the operator does not actually touch the object. It is possible to give the operator a feeling of performing an operation involving contact.

Further, in the present invention, since the vacant space 3 is provided in a portion of the glove 2 corresponding to each joint of the hand,
The volume of the entire vacant room can be made the minimum necessary volume,
It can be operated at high speed.

[0019]

The force sense presentation method and device according to the present invention passively present force sense using the reaction force of the finger motion, so that the device configuration is simplified, and as a result,
It is possible to reduce the weight of the device and to present a force sense to a hand (fingertip) that does not hinder the operation of the arm of the operator. Therefore, it is possible to perform detailed work, and it is suitable for application to communication services (including remote control and artificial reality systems). In addition, since the compressive fluid is supplied only to the portion corresponding to the joint and the pressure is controlled, the control is simpler and faster than the control of the injection amount.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an overall configuration of a force sense presentation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a glove.

FIG. 3 is a view of a glove viewed from a palm side.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a mounting unit.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing a configuration of a mounting unit.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating the operation principle of the force sense presentation device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Force presentation apparatus, 2 ... Glove, 3 ... Empty room, 4 ... Compressible fluid, 6 ... Finger, 7 ... Mechanism, 8 ... Main body, 9 ... Mounting part, 1
0: sheet-like member, 11: tube, 12: pump,
13 ... Controller.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A flexible glove-like device in which a space is formed by a highly airtight and stretchable member at a site corresponding to a finger joint portion is attached to a hand, and the device is synchronized with a finger operation. A force sense presentation method, characterized in that a force sense is passively presented to a hand using a reaction force of a finger motion by controlling the pressure of the fluid in the empty chamber by injecting and discharging a compressible fluid. 2. A glove-like device to be worn on a hand, having an empty space formed by a highly airtight and extensible member at a site corresponding to a finger joint, formed of a flexible material, and A mechanism for passively presenting a force sensation to a hand using a reaction force of a finger motion by injecting and discharging a compressible fluid into and from the empty chamber. apparatus. 3. The force sense presentation device according to claim 2, wherein the mechanism for presenting a force sense to a hand performs injection and discharge of a compressible fluid into and from an empty room. 4. A force sense presentation device according to claim 2, wherein the mechanism for presenting a force sense to a hand includes a tube having one end connected to an inlet of an empty room, and a second end connected to the tube. A force sense presentation device, comprising: a compressible fluid supply unit that supplies a compressible fluid to the empty chamber in accordance with a movement of a joint, and a control unit that controls the compressible fluid supply unit.