KR101821048B1 - Wearable data input device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a wearable data input device which includes: a triboelectric tactile sensor which is composed of a textile electrode and a fractional structure which is prepared on the surfaces of one or more joints of a finger part of a glove; and a sensing signal analyzing unit which is connected to a plurality of triboelectric tactile sensors and analyzes information inputted from the triboelectric tactile sensor. According to the present invention, the wearable input device used as a touch sensor and a strain sensor in a wearable state anywhere can be implemented.

Description

WEARABLE DATA INPUT DEVICE}

The present invention relates to a wearable data input device, and more particularly, to a wearable data input device that can be used as a data input device at any time in a wearable form by detecting an electrical change caused by friction.

BACKGROUND ART [0002] Ubiquitous computing technology called wearable smart devices or wearable computers has recently been emerging. This technique can contribute to making the computer a part of the human body by allowing the computer to be worn like clothes or glasses. There is a demand for development of an input device capable of typing or inputting data more conveniently from the viewpoint of a wearable computer.

U.S. Patent No. 7,057,604 discloses a tracking device for generating an actuating signal disposed near a finger as shown in Figure 1, a pressure plate actuation signal for providing a switch signal placed near another finger, Wherein the operating signal is used to control a cursor operation of a video screen of a computer, the switch signal is used to control a mouse click function, and the glove includes an accessory for a user's finger and a user Discloses an armored computer mouse that includes a scroll / page button located on a side of an adjustable strap fingerprint for securing to an arm of the user.

Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2001-0133351 discloses an artificial glove which is provided in the form of a glove to be worn on the hand as shown in Fig. 2, And a controller for receiving operation information of the user sensed by the sensing unit and transmitting an operation signal to operate a program operated by a mobile located remotely through the wireless communication module, Discloses a mobile interlocking wearable data input device.

However, in such a conventional information processing system, it is difficult to accurately detect the hand-operated information, so that there is a limit in reliability, and there is a problem that the sensor attached to the glove is not a component that can bend freely like a fabric, . It is also inconvenient to operate other equipment when wearing gloves.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to overcome the limitations of the prior art described above by providing a tactile sensor for each finger of a glove and sensing an electrical change caused by friction, The present invention provides a wearable data input device capable of judging and inputting a key input through finger friction of a user.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wearable data input device of the present invention which can be freely wired or wirelessly connected to a computer, an information communication terminal, or the like without a keyboard, The present invention provides a wearable data input device that allows users to conveniently use the device in a wearable state at any time, anywhere regardless of the place.

In addition, since the strain sensor of the present invention is constituted by conductive fibers having elasticity and restitution property, it is possible to use an input sensor of various shapes, uses and colors with excellent feeling of fit, thereby being used as an artificial skin of a human- have.

In addition, the tactile tactile sensor has an advantage of being an input device capable of self-powering because it can sense not only electrical change caused by friction but also enough electric energy to operate the sensor.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a friction tactile sensor comprising a friction electrode and a textile electrode for generating a triboelectric current provided on a surface of one or more nodes of a finger portion of an armor body. And a sensing signal analyzer connected to the plurality of tactile tactile sensors for analyzing information input from the tactile tactile sensor.

The friction electrode may comprise a textile electrode, and the triboelectric tactile sensor may be formed of a fibrous structure or a flexible polymer.

Wherein the wearable tactile sensor unit comprises sensors each having at least one finger at each node of five fingers, and the wearable data input device may further include sensors for recognizing one or more directions formed on a bottom surface of the glove body have.

The sensing signal analyzer comprises a microprocessor for generating a key signal corresponding to a corresponding contact when friction structures having different charging sequences are rubbed to each other and controlling the output of the generated key signal to an external device.

The wearable data input device may further include a communication unit for transmitting a signal input by the plurality of tactile tactile sensors to the equipment connected to the wearable data input device.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to a man-machine interface including a wearable data input device of the present invention, or a skin sensor for a robot that provides an interface between a robot and a machine.

As described above, according to the wearable data input device of the present invention, users wear the glove type data input device without using a keyboard and input various data by wire / wireless, thereby enabling quick and easy key input of a desired function .

In addition, in the wearable data input device of the present invention, the triboelectric tactile sensor is composed of a fiber structure, and the strain sensor is made of conductive fibers, so that it is very convenient to wear and use and has excellent portability. So that it can be easily connected to a computer, an information communication terminal, or the like anywhere.

In addition, according to the present invention, both the tactile sensor and the strain sensor are made of a flexible material, so that the user can provide an advantage of being able to ease other hand movements while wearing gloves.

1 and 2 are schematic perspective views of a conventional glove type data input apparatus.
3 is a configuration diagram of a wearable data input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a tactile tactile sensor of a wearable data input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a diagram showing a charging sequence of a friction structure constituting a friction tactile sensor of a wearable data input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 6 shows an example of a triboelectric generating structure using a substance having a different charging sequence.
7 is a view showing an example of woven strain sensors using a conductive fiber in a wearable data input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a graph showing the results of voltage measurement due to friction between friction structures having different friction line sequences.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals as used in the appended drawings denote the same elements in the drawings, unless they are indicated on other drawings. In describing the present invention, when it is determined that a detailed description of a related known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention

A detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Throughout the specification, when an element is referred to as "comprising ", it means that it can include other elements as well, without excluding other elements unless specifically stated otherwise. Also, the terms " part, "" ...," and "block ", etc. in the specification mean a unit for processing at least one function or operation, which may be implemented by hardware or software or a combination of hardware and software have.

The wearable data input device of the present invention provides a globular data input device that can be mounted on a user's hand including a tactile tactile sensor and a detection signal analysis unit. The wearable data input device of the present invention enables interaction with an external device such as a computer based on the static electricity generated by the friction between the friction structures formed on the user's finger joints.

3 is a configuration diagram of a wearable data input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3, a wearable data input device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a tactile tactile sensor 100 provided on the surface of one or more nodes of a finger portion of an armor body, and a tactile tactile sensor 100 connected to the tactile tactile sensor. And a sensing signal analyzing unit 300 for analyzing information input from the sensing signal analyzing unit 300.

The friction tactile sensor 100 includes a textile electrode 110 and a friction structure 120, as shown in FIG. The friction structure 120 may be composed of a textile or a flexible polymer. In the wearable data input device of the present invention

The friction structures 120 attached to the respective finger segments have different charging sequences.

The friction structure may include a stretchable concave-convex structure 130 or a pattern structure to improve the frictional electricity generation efficiency. When the stretchable concavo-convex structure 130 is formed on the surface of the friction structure 120 in this way, the amount of frictional electricity generated increases, thereby improving the accuracy of sensing and reducing errors. In addition, the triboelectric tactile sensor according to the present invention can generate electricity by self-powering the data input device of the present invention by generating triboelectricity, so that electricity can be harvested more efficiently by friction.

As shown in FIG. 2, the wearable data input device of the present invention is configured in a glove shape, and the friction tactile sensor 100 is formed at each node of the fingers, and the friction structures 120 attached to the respective finger joints When the user touches the four fingers using the thumb because the finger has different charging sequences, triboelectricity is generated and sensed by the sensing signal analyzer 400. In FIG. 3, the tactile sensation sensor 100 and the sensing signal analyzer 400 are connected by radio, but they may be connected by wire.

The triboelectric tactile sensor 100 detects the generation of triboelectricity caused by the friction of the friction fingers of the relative fingers in contact with the friction structure 120 formed on each finger joint, Detecting the degree of intensity [change in resistance value or change in conductance], and output a detection signal.

The wearable data input device detects triboelectricity generated by the friction structure of the thumb structure of the thumb or the friction structure of the finger portion of the opposite hand composed of the friction structure having different charging sequences, The keystrokes may be configured to process a plurality of keystrokes corresponding to the keys. The tactile tactile sensor 100 may sense a vertical line number of a key input by a user using a corrected electric voltage generated according to friction.

In addition to being located on the nodal surface of the fingers, the tactile tactile sensor 100 may form a sensor 150 or a direction key for recognizing the direction for inputting data such as recognition of the direction to the palm.

A difference in work function value between the friction structure of the friction structure 120 of one finger joint and the friction friction structure 120 of the other finger joint in controlling the electrical characteristics of the friction structure 120 of the tactile tactile sensor 100 And the difference in charging characteristics on the triboelectric series becomes a very important point.

As to the difference between the work function values, it is necessary to form a friction structure having a work function value different from the work function value of the friction structure 120 of one finger joint in another finger joint. If the value obtained by subtracting the work function value of the frictional friction structure from the work function value of the friction structure of the friction structure 120 is greater than 0 (-), the charge can be controlled by the difference of the work function values. (+) Charge is formed when the ratio is less than zero. For example, in the case where the friction structure of the friction structure 120 is an n-type semiconductor material, in order to reduce the number of electrons, a positive (+) charge must be generated. The friction coefficient of the friction material of the friction structure of Fig. In this case, the greater the difference between the work function value of the friction structure of the friction structure 120 and the work function value of the friction friction structure, the greater the variation of the electrical characteristics of the friction structure of the friction structure 120 becomes.

In the present invention, the textile electrode 110 may be formed by a conductive fabric. Here, the conductive fabric may be a knitted fabric made by partially or wholly using a yarn such as a copying yarn, a covering yarn or a composite yarn including a metal material, a fabric made by directly using a metal material as a warp or weft, And the metal material may be a low-resistance metal such as gold, silver, aluminum, copper, nickel, or a nano-metal conductive yarn such as silver nanowire. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the electrodes can be formed by placing embroidery on the fabric with electrically conductive gold, silver or conductive yarns.

Of a conductive material that can used to form the textile electrode 110 in the present invention include Japanese精線^® Brauswick, Brausmet, Toray ^® Sat Lucca, Kuraray ^® Cuckoo, Kuraray ^® seru metgu, Rohm & Haars ^® X-static, Teijin the ^® Alameda Leone, ICI ^® Epitoropic fiber, Rhone Poulene ^® Nylfrance, Du pont ^® Antron-ⅲ, Kuraray ^® Kurashiki Gabor, Monsanto ^® ultron, jongbang ^® beru dorong selected from uni Taka ^® radish ⅲ, Toray ^® SA-7 Can be used.

Method for forming wearable sensor using conductive fiber

In the present invention, the conductive pattern of the textile electrode 110 may be formed by applying a metal precursor to a flexible film by inkjet printing, roll coating, spray coating, bar coating, nozzle printing, EHD printing, CrN coating, Tin coating, TIAIN coating, Coating, thermal coating, UV coating, varnish coating, laminating, CVD, or the like.

The fabric constituting the textile electrode can be any textile material, a woven material, a knitted fabric, a sheet or a part of a fabric of gloves.

In the present invention, the friction structure 120 may be composed of a fibrous structure or a flexible polymer. Non-limiting examples of fabrics include polyester, nylon, polyurethane, polyethylene terephthalate, and the like. Their specific examples Dynamic ^TM -creo, Spandex (lycra, elastane),旭化成fiber ^® line play,旭化成fiber ^® impact, Nike ^® studded stretch,三菱Rayon ^® children and,帝人Fiber ^® Te vias, KB Siren ^® S plate Pensione FF, KB Siren ^® Era Scott, KB Siren ^® minnow Rove, KB Siren ^® rapet City, KB Siren ^® grid Sam ES, KB Siren ^® S version Pensione, Curacao beam ^® Dow XLA, Toray ^® body Joy, Toray ^® Trine Tea , Toray ^® parka, or Toray ^® Sarah Kara unpaired, KB Siren ^® S panties, KB Siren ^® side Liao, Kuraray ^® EVA, Kuraray ^® Fu Rune, to view ^® Uni pawal,帝人Fiber ^® space room, Toyobo ^® breath of air, Toray ^® T-400 fiber, available from Toray ^® pitti, Toray ^® Vittel, Toray ^® puru Era, Unitika ^® jet X, Uni Taka ^® page agarose, Kuraray Although the like are exemplified ^® span Tel, to be these But is not limited to.

Examples of such elastic fabrics are SHIELDEX ^® YARNS, SHIELDEX ^® TWISTED YARN, SHIELDEX ^® FIBRES, SHIELDEX ^® TPU YARN, SHIELDEX ^® WOVEN FABRICS, SHIELDEX ^® KNITTED FABRICS, SHIELDEX ^® NON WOVENS, Nanjing Bright Textiles ^® steel, Nanjing Bright Textiles ^® nickel, or copper plated polyester yarns.

Specific examples of conductive pattern Japanese精線^® Brauswick, Brausmet, Toray ^® Sat Luka, Kuraray ^® Cucuta, Kuraray ^® seru ^{metgu, Rohm & Haars ® X-static} , Teijin ® Madinah Leone, ICI ^® Epitoropic fiber, Rhone Poulene ^® Nylfrance, Du pont-ⅲ Antron ^®, may be used Kuraray ^® Kurashiki Gabor, Monsanto ultron ^{®, ®} jongbang beru dorong, Uni Taka ^® radish ⅲ, selected from the TORAY SA-7 ^®.

The sensing signal analyzer 400 may analyze the sensing signal of the tactile tactile sensor to find out which data is input and output the sensed signal to an external device. The sensing signal analyzer 400 may include a microprocessor. In addition, the sensing signal analyzer 400 may have a memory for storing information on data corresponding to each sensing signal. Although not shown, the wearable data input device has an internal power supply terminal for supplying operating power. It is also possible to implement operation power supply from the outside.

The detection signal analyzing unit 400 may be configured such that when a user rubs his / her thumb against a friction structure of another finger joint as shown in FIG. 2 to perform a key input operation through the wearable data input device, The sensor 100 generates a key input signal by calculating the recognition result based on the individual setting of the user.

The wearable data input device of the present invention may further include a communication unit 300. The communication unit 300 transmits the key input signal generated by the detection signal analysis unit 400 to a computer, , A portable information terminal such as a navigation device, a medical device, an object Internet device, a smart phone, or the like. At this time, the communication unit 300 can use various short-range wireless communication methods such as Bluetooth, zigbee, etc. as a wireless communication interface.

In another embodiment, the wearable data input device of the present invention may further include a strain sensor 200 in the form of a textile electrode that senses a strain change of a finger segment formed at a folded portion of the finger segment.

The strain sensor can form electrodes by screen printing, inkjet printing, EHD printing or the like using a conductive ink on a stretchable textile, or by front coating or linear patterning. Alternatively, two wire electrodes may be formed into a grid shape to form a textile electrode, or an electrode may be formed by patterning the silver pattern on the textile in various patterns.

The conductive material of the strain sensor 200 adjusts the elasticity when weaving so that the change of R / R0 is 10% or more when bent. The thus-formed strain sensor 200 in the glove can be programmed to generate various input signals in accordance with a repeated number of times and a continuous signal combination. The strain sensor 200 can transmit a signal to various external electronic devices such as a smart phone in cooperation with a communication unit 300 of a Bluetooth band type which can receive an electric signal according to a strain change occurring when each finger is bent .

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating electrostatic voltages generated according to friction between a thumb and a finger detected by a wearable data input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 8, the wearer wears a glove-type wearable data input device and rubs the tactile sensor of the other fingertip including the friction structure having a different charging sequence with the thumb formed with the tactile tactile sensor. At this time, the wearable data input device can detect and store the static voltage generated due to the friction of the index finger or the wrist using the tactile tactile sensor 100. The change in resistance that occurs when each finger is bent in the strain sensor 200 can be measured using a two-probe method. The signals sensed by the tactile tactile sensor 100 and the strain sensor 200 are transmitted to a separate computing device such as a computer or a smart phone via a communication unit 300 such as a Bluetooth band and are connected to an electronic device can do.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the data input device of the present invention can be applied as a skin sensor for a robot that provides a sensory response without additional sensors. Such skin sensors for robots can be used for humanoid robots, robotics, and soft wearable robots. In addition, since the skin sensor for a robot according to the present embodiment is made of a flexible material such as a textile or a flexible polymer and can be provided with flexibility as a human skin when attached to the surface of the robot, It is possible to provide an advantage that the size of the external load can be determined without reducing the efficiency of the sensor unit. Therefore, the data input device according to the present embodiment can be applied to a tactile sensor used in a hand or an arm of a robot which requires complicated operation.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but is capable of various modifications within the scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described, but should be defined within the scope of the appended claims as well as the appended claims.

100: Friction tactile sensor
110: Textile electrode 120: Friction structure
130: Elongated concave-convex structure
200: strain sensor
300:
400: detection signal analysis unit

Claims (11)

A triboelectric tactile sensor composed of a friction electrode and a textile electrode for generating triboelectric power provided on the surface of one or more nodes of the fingers of the glove body; And a sensed signal analyzer connected to the at least one tactile tactile sensor for analyzing information input from the tactile tactile sensor,
The triboelectric tactile sensor comprises one triboelectric tactile sensor attached to each node of five fingers, each triboelectric tactile sensor comprising a friction structure having a different charging sequence,
Wherein the tactile tactile sensor is configured to generate triboelectricity by friction between the friction structures to supply power to the wearable data input device,
When the friction structures having different charging sequences are rubbed with each other, the sensing signal analyzing unit senses the triboelectricity generated by the friction and outputs different output voltages as an input signal to a plurality of corresponding contacts corresponding to the keys of the keyboard And a microprocessor for generating key signals and outputting the generated key signals to an external device.
The wearable data input device of claim 1, wherein the friction structure of the friction tactile sensor is formed of a fibrous structure or a flexible polymer.
The wearable data input device according to claim 2, wherein the friction structure includes an elastic unevenness or a pattern structure on its surface.
The wearable data input device according to claim 1, wherein the wearable data input device further comprises sensors for recognizing one or more directions formed on the bottom surface of the armor body.
delete The wearable data input device according to claim 1, wherein the wearable data input device further comprises a communication unit for transmitting a signal input by the plurality of tactile tactile sensors to the equipment connected to the wearable data input device by wire or wirelessly. Input device.
The wearable data input device of claim 1, wherein the wearable data input device further comprises a strain sensor in the form of a textile electrode for sensing a strain change of a finger segment formed on a folded portion of the finger segment.
delete The textile electrode of claim 1, wherein the textile electrode is selected from the group consisting of gold, silver, palladium, nickel, and copper on a fabric selected from the group consisting of polyamide, polyurethane, polyester, and polyethylene terephthalate Characterized in that the conductive ink is formed by printing a conductive ink containing at least one conductive material to be woven in a fabric by screen printing, roller printing, or electrohydrodynamic printing, or formed by weaving a line electrode in a grid form during weaving of the fabric. Device.
The wearable data input device of claim 6, wherein the communication unit is a Bluetooth band for transmitting a signal to a computer, an appliance, navigation, a medical device, an object Internet device, or a portable information terminal.
A robot system in which the wearable data input device of any one of claims 1 to 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10 is applied to the skin of a robot.

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