KR101833844B1 - Somatosensory system using medium including absorption layer and transmission layer - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a somatosensory induction system, and specifically, to a somatosensory induction system irradiating a pulse laser to a medium in contact with the user′s skin to induce somatic senses on the skin. Particularly, the medium includes a transmission layer capable of transmitting a laser and an absorbent layer absorbing the laser. The somatosensory induction system according to the present invention induces various somatic senses according to a laminated form of the transmission layer and the absorption layer.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a somatosensory system inducing system using a medium including an absorbent layer and a permeable layer,

The present invention relates to a somatosensory induction system, and more particularly, to a system for inducing a somatosensory on a user's skin by irradiating a pulse laser to a medium in contact with the user's skin. Particularly, the medium includes a permeable layer capable of transmitting a laser and an absorbent layer absorbing a laser, and the somatic sensory guidance system according to the present invention is characterized in that it induces various somatic senses according to the laminated form of the permeable layer and the absorbent layer .

A laser device is a device that emits light using light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.

Such a laser device emits artificial light with uniform direction, phase and wavelength. Due to the above-described property control, the laser device is widely used in various industrial fields such as communication, medical, nanotechnology, and precision machine tools .

On the other hand, the application of laser through the interaction with the medium can be realized by two mechanisms, that is, mechanism accompanied with damage to the medium and mechanism without damage to the medium.

The mechanism of damage to the medium is manifested by laser induced optical breakdown or laser ablation, which is used in biomedical stimulation and medical surgery.

On the other hand, the mechanism that does not cause damage to the medium is called the laser induced thermo-elastic effect, which is a mechanism of generating a stress wave without damaging the medium. Such a thermoelastic effect is called a nondestructive test non-destructive inspection, and medical imaging.

In recent years, studies on laser devices without such injury have been actively carried out, and studies for finding the property range of the laser which does not cause injury of the living body have been progressed in detail.

On the other hand, in recent years, there have been studied embodiments in which a laser is irradiated after another medium is applied to a living tissue in order to reduce damage to living tissue caused by laser irradiation. However, when laser irradiation is applied to a biological tissue, that is, a skin contacting with the skin, damage can be reduced. However, even if the laser parameter is controlled by the presence of an intermediate entity called the medium, the difficulty that the size of the somatic sensation induced is not easily controlled coexists.

The present invention solves the problem that the size of the somatic sensation can not be easily controlled when irradiating a laser beam onto a medium in contact with the living tissue as described above. In addition to satisfying the technical requirements of the present invention, Has been invented to provide additional technical elements that can not be readily invented by those of ordinary skill in the art.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-1382366

The object of the present invention is to control the size of the somatosensory sensation induced in the skin tissue by varying the lamination structure of the absorbent layer and the permeable layer in the medium.

Another object of the present invention is to control not only the size of the somatic sensation but also the directionality of the somatosensory sense by varying the lamination structure of the absorbent layer and the permeable layer.

The present invention also aims to control the size of the somatosensory by controlling the parameters of the pulsed laser itself, in addition to varying the lamination structure of the absorption layer and the transmissive layer in the medium.

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned technical problems, and various technical problems can be included within the scope of what is well known to a person skilled in the art from the following description.

The present invention provides a somatosensory induction system and a medium therefor as means for solving the above problems. However, the categories of the present invention are not limited to the words themselves, and can be variously extended within the scope of technical ideas to be discussed below.

According to the present invention, the somatic sensation can be induced without damaging the skin tissue of the user.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to induce body sensation of various sizes in the skin tissue of a user.

Also, according to the present invention, the directionality of the somatic sensation induced can be controlled.

1 schematically shows a somatosensory induction system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows a laminated structure of the medium according to the first embodiment, and shows the directionality of the somatosensory that is induced when the laser is irradiated onto the medium.
Fig. 3 shows the lamination structure of the medium according to the second embodiment, and shows the direction of the somatosensory direction induced when the laser is irradiated to the medium.
4 shows another laminated structure of the medium.
FIG. 5 shows an experimental environment for verifying the size and direction of somatosensitivity according to the laminated structure.
Fig. 6 shows the displacement of the center point during the laser irradiation according to the lamination structure.
Fig. 7 is a graph showing the displacement of the front center point and the displacement of the rear center point when laser irradiation is performed for each lamination structure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The embodiments disclosed herein should not be construed or interpreted as limiting the scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the description including the embodiments of the present specification has various applications. Accordingly, any embodiment described in the Detailed Description of the Invention is illustrative for a better understanding of the invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to embodiments.

The functional blocks shown in the drawings and described below are merely examples of possible implementations. In other implementations, other functional blocks may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the following detailed description. Also, although one or more functional blocks of the present invention are represented as discrete blocks, one or more of the functional blocks of the present invention may be a combination of various hardware and software configurations that perform the same function.

In addition, the expression "including any element" is merely an expression of an open-ended expression, and is not to be construed as excluding the additional elements.

Further, when a component is referred to as being connected or connected to another component, it may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but it should be understood that there may be other components in between.

1 schematically shows a configuration of a somatosensory induction system according to the present invention.

1, the somatosensory induction system includes a laser irradiation apparatus 100 and a medium 200. [

First, the laser irradiation apparatus 100 controls various parameters of the laser beam and has a function of irradiating the laser to the target 200, which is in contact with the tissue of the user's skin 500, do.

In order to perform such a function, the laser irradiation apparatus 100 may include many sub-configurations in detail, which will be described later.

The laser irradiation apparatus 100 may control parameters such as a pulse width, a pulse frequency, an intensity of energy, a laser irradiation time, or a beam diameter.

On the other hand, the medium 200 is a target to which the laser is irradiated, and one surface receives the irradiated laser, and the back surface opposite to the one surface is in contact with the tissue of the user's skin 500.

As in the present invention, when irradiating a living tissue with a laser via a medium 200, i) it is possible to induce heat and thermo-elastic effects without individual differences by reducing the influence of characteristics of living tissues different from person to person, ii) It is possible to exclude the damage caused by direct irradiation of the laser to the skin 500 compared with the case where the laser is irradiated directly on the living tissue, thereby enabling safer tactile induction. Iii) A variety of combinations of the phosphorus medium 200 can be realized and thus the kinds of tactile sensations that can be induced can be varied. Iv) By controlling the type of the medium or the thickness of the bondable medium in the same laser condition, It is effective in that it can induce thermoelastic effect.

Meanwhile, the medium 200 in the present invention may have a laminated structure as shown in FIG. 2 to FIG.

Referring first to FIG. 2, the medium 200 in the present invention comprises two layers: an absorption layer 210 for absorbing an irradiated laser and a transmission layer 220 for transmitting a laser. In particular, the laminated structure of FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment wherein the transmissive layer 220 is in contact with the user's skin 500 and the absorbent layer 210 is laminated to receive the irradiated laser beam directly.

2, the laser output from the laser irradiating device directly contacts and absorbs the absorption layer 210. At this time, as the energy is concentrated on the absorption layer 210, local thermal expansion occurs. As a result, the absorption layer 210 The infiltration force is transmitted to the transmissive layer 220 which is in contact with the transmissive layer 220, resulting in minute displacement. The displacement is measured by measuring a first center point arbitrarily defined on one side of the medium and a second center point arbitrarily determined on the back side of the medium. The displacement measurement experiment of the center point will be discussed later in detail with reference to Figs. 5 to 7.

On the other hand, when the medium has a laminated structure as shown in FIG. 2, when the laser is irradiated, the user can feel the somatic sensation of pulling the skin 500 outwardly. This is because, as described above, the absorbent layer 210 expands predominantly, so that the permeable layer 220, which is in contact with the surface, also expands depending on the direction of the body sensation toward the absorbent layer 210.

The transparent layer 220 used in the present invention is a material having an adhesive property, and may preferably be made of an acrylic foam foam. The transmissive layer 220 may be a completely synthetic polymer that is smooth and colorless. The transparent layer 220 may be a semi-liquid, i.e., an elastic material, A color, and an adhesive property. Further, the transparent layer 220 has properties of excellent heat resistance, moisture resistance, and cold resistance.

3 shows an embodiment in which the absorbent layer 210 is in contact with the user's skin 500 and the transmissive layer 220 is laminated to receive the irradiated laser beam directly.

3, the laser output from the laser irradiation device is absorbed by the absorption layer 210 through the transmission layer 220. At this time, thermal expansion occurs due to absorption of energy into the absorption layer 210, The transmissive layer 220 in contact with the absorbing layer 210 is also displaced.

When the medium has a laminated structure as shown in FIG. 3, the user can feel the somatic sensation as if the user pushes the skin 500 from the outside to the inside. This is because the absorptive layer 210 absorbing the laser expands and the swelling force is directly transmitted to the abraded skin 500 and the direction of the somatic sensation is directed toward the skin 500.

4 shows a structure in which two permeable layers 220 exist and one absorbent layer 210 is laminated between the permeable layers 220. FIG. 4 includes a first transmissive layer 250 that is in contact with the skin 500 of the user and an absorbent layer 210 that is in contact with the backside of the first transmissive layer 250, And a second transmissive layer 240 contacting the backside.

(b) is a laminated structure in which the first transmissive layer 250 and the second transmissive layer 240 (see FIG. 4A) are thicker than the second transmissive layer 240, The laminate structure of the embodiment (c) in which the thickness of the first transparent layer 250 is equal to that of the second transparent layer 240 is thinner than that of the second transparent layer 240.

Each of the laminate structures may have a thickness ratio of the first transmissive layer 250 and the second transmissive layer 240, that is, the absorber layer 210 is present in the medium closer to the user's skin 500 or closer to the air layer The direction of somatic sensation can be derived differently.

For example, in the laminated structure of (a), a relatively small pull is induced as compared with the above-mentioned FIG. 2. Also, in the stacked structure of (c), a pushing force of a relatively small size is induced as compared with the above-mentioned FIG. 3. Finally, in the laminated structure of (b), since the absorptive layer 210 exists in the center of the first transmitting layer 250 and the second transmitting layer 240, the first transmitting layer 250 and the second transmitting layer 240 The balance between the pulling force and the pushing force is hardly induced in the sense of body.

The medium according to the present invention is composed of a double layer including the absorption layer 210 / the transmissive layer 220 or a triple layer including the first transmissive layer 250 / the absorption layer 210 / the second transmissive layer 240 In each of the laminated structures, the directionality of the somatic sensation which is induced depending on whether the absorbent layer 210 is laminated close to the user's skin 500 or close to the air layer is also changed.

It has been mentioned above that the absorption layer 210 absorbs the laser to cause thermal expansion so that the thermal expansion can act on the transmissive layer 220 or the user's skin 500 to induce somatic sensation. We will look more closely at the following.

Immediately after the laser is absorbed, the temperature of the transmissive layer hardly changes but the temperature of the absorbing layer rises sharply. This non-uniform temperature distribution creates a temporary stress in the medium, which is caused by the expansion of the relatively high temperature absorption layer, thereby eliminating this temporary stress created by the non-uniform temperature distribution. When the absorbent layer is laminated close to the air layer, bending deformation of the medium occurs in the direction of the air layer. When the absorbent layer is laminated close to the user's skin side, bending deformation of the medium occurs in the skin direction. This is caused by the overall vibration of the medium due to the elasticity of the medium during the process of bending deformation.

Hereinafter, the laser irradiation apparatus referred to briefly in FIG. 1 will be described in more detail.

The laser irradiation apparatus 100 includes a laser output unit, a frequency control unit, an energy control unit, a diameter control unit, an input unit, a display, and a control unit. In order to implement the laser irradiation apparatus 100 at this time, a control unit and a laser output unit are indispensably included, and other functional units can be included or excluded according to the needs of the user.

First, the laser output section may include a laser driver and a cooling device for outputting a pulse laser. The laser driver may include a sub-device such as a laser medium 200, an optical pumping device, an optical resonator, etc., and generates an optical signal for implementing a pulsed laser. In addition, the cooling device cools the heat generated by the laser driver in the process of generating an optical signal, and prevents malfunction due to overheating of the laser driver.

In addition, the laser output section may be implemented in various ways to generate a pulsed laser. For example, a ruby laser, a neodymium: YAG laser, a neodymium: glass laser, a laser diode, an excimer laser, a dye laser, or the like. For reference, it is noted that a neodymium: YAG laser is used to generate a pulse laser in the experimental example described below.

Next, the frequency control unit controls the pulse frequency per unit time of the irradiated laser. Assuming that the output of the laser is one cycle when the output of the laser is high and one time when it is low, the frequency controller 120 controls the frequency of the unit time, for example, several pulses per second You can set whether to include the cycle, and the user can control the frequency of the pulsed laser through this setup.

In the meantime, it should be understood that the pulse laser frequency in the present invention is freely controllable from 1 Hz to 70 Hz. Further, when a frequency is 0 Hz, that is, a single shot, Can be set.

Next, the energy control unit controls the energy intensity of the irradiated laser. The energy intensity is expressed in millijoules (mJ), and the energy intensity in the present invention can be preferably controlled from 0 mJ to 30 mJ.

On the other hand, the present energy control section can be actually implemented by an optical filter, which may include an attenuator for attenuating the intensity of the pulsed laser.

Next, the diameter control unit is configured to control the diameter of the irradiated laser or to focus the laser accurately on the target point to be irradiated.

The diameter control part can be embodied as a convex lens for converging the laser to one point and a concave lens for diffusing the laser. By selectively adjusting the distance between the convex lens and the concave lens, Can be controlled.

Meanwhile, the laser irradiation apparatus 100 may further include an input unit and a display as structures for facilitating user's operation.

The input unit receives the setting input necessary for driving the laser irradiation apparatus 100 from the user. The input unit may be implemented by various types of input devices such as a pad, a touch screen, and a mouse.

On the other hand, the display is a configuration for displaying various information such as the setting parameters of the laser or the operation status and operation result of the laser irradiation apparatus 100 to the user. The display may display various menus, information input by a user, information to be provided to a user, and may be implemented by a liquid crystal display (LCD), an OLED, and a sound output device.

Finally, the laser irradiation apparatus 100 further includes a control unit for controlling the laser output unit, the frequency control unit, the energy control unit, the diameter control unit, the input unit, and the display unit described above.

The control unit may include at least one computing means and a storage means, wherein the computing means may be a general purpose central processing unit (CPU), a programmable device element (CPLD, FPGA) May be a semiconductor computing device (ASIC) or a microcontroller chip. In addition, a volatile memory element, a non-volatile memory element, or a non-volatile electromagnetic storage element may be utilized as the storage means.

The laser irradiation apparatus 100 and the medium 200, which are elements constituting the abnormal somatosensory induction system, have been described.

Hereinafter, experimental results obtained by laser irradiation of the respective laminated structures, which have been described above with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7, will be examined.

5 shows a case where each of the laminated structures is arbitrarily created. In Case 1, a permeable layer 220 of 1 mm is in contact with the user's skin 500 and an absorbent layer 210 of 0.1 mm is laminated toward the air layer. The transmissive layer 250 is in contact with the user's skin 500 and the absorbing layer 210 of 0.1 mm is laminated and finally the second transmissive layer 240 of 0.25 mm is laminated toward the air layer. In Case 3, the first transmission layer 250 and the second transmission layer 240 have the same thickness of 0.5 mm, and the absorption layer 210 is laminated between the transmission layers. In Case 4, the first transmission layer 250 A second permeable layer 240 of 0.75 mm is laminated on the air layer; Case 5 is a case where an absorbent layer 210 of 0.1 mm is attached to the user's skin 500 ) And a 1-mm permeable layer 220 is laminated toward the air layer.

In addition, in this experiment, in order to measure whether a sense of somatic feeling of pushing the user's skin 500 is induced or a feeling of pulling a pulling body is induced and how strongly pushing or pulling is performed, (420) 'is arbitrarily defined, and the positional change of the corresponding points, so-called' displacement ', is measured.

For reference, the conditions of the laser pulse are as follows.

Laser pulse condition Pulse width (ns) 8.0 Pulse energy (mJ) 27.3 Beam diameter (1 / e ² ) (mm) 9.0

The optical and physical properties of the medium are as follows.

Characteristic constant Absorbing layer 210, Permeable layer Absorption coefficient (mm ^-1 ) 4.00 0.00 Specific heat (J · kg ^-1 · K ^-1 ) 2221 Thermal conductivity (Wm ^-1 K ^-1 ) 0.193 The linear thermal expansion coefficient (K ^-1 ) 1.8 x 10 ^-4 Refractive index 1.515 Mass density (kg · m ^-3 ) 1014 Poisson rain 0.49 Young's modulus (MPa) 26.05

FIG. 6 is a graph showing displacement amounts measured for each case when a laser is irradiated in the experimental environment as shown in FIG.

In Case 1, the displacement of the front center point 410 and the rear center point 420 is measured in the range of 0 to 1.5 μm, and the amplitude decreases with time. The decrease in amplitude with time is because the energy of the absorbed laser is consumed by kinetic energy and thermal energy because the laser is irradiated singly. On the other hand, in case 1, the remarkable point is the direction of displacement. The displacement is measured in the positive direction (+) when 0 is taken as the reference in the vertical axis of the graph. This means that both the front center point 410 and the rear center point 420 are in the direction in which the air layer exists, 500 in a direction away from the direction of movement. That is, in Case 1, the absorbent layer 210 spaced apart from the user's skin 500 absorbs energy and generates displacement due to thermal expansion. The permeable layer is also displaced depending on the skin, so that the skin 500 Which leads to a sense of somaticness.

In Case 2, the displacement of the front center point (410) and the rear center point (420) was measured at a peak-to-peak range of about 0 to 0.75 μm. It can be confirmed that the displacement of the front center 410 and the rear center of the medium vibrates in a relatively small range as compared with Case 1 because the laser energy loss in the transmission layer and the energy absorbed by the first transmission layer 250 and 2 transmissive layer 240, the absorption characteristics of the absorptive layer 210 can be estimated. On the other hand, the directionality of the displacement is still positive (+), and therefore, the closer the absorptive layer 210 is to the air layer, the more the sense of somaticity induced by the medium is like pulling the skin 500.

In Case 3, the displacement of the front center point 410 and the rear center point 420 was measured in the range of about -0.02 to 0.02 μm. This means that the displacement in the medium is hardly measured, so that the laser energy absorbed by the absorptive layer 210 is transmitted through the first transmissive layer 250 and the second transmissive layer 240 And the expansion forces in the first transmission layer 250 and the second transmission layer 240 are offset from each other, so that it can be interpreted that displacement is hardly exhibited.

In Case 4, the displacement of the front center point 410 and the rear center point 420 was measured to be about -0.75 to 0 um. Compared with Case 2, the experimental results show that the absolute size of the displacement, that is, the amount of displacement is similar but the direction of displacement is opposite. When the displacement is measured in the negative direction (-) when 0 is taken as the reference in the vertical axis of the graph, it means that both the front center point 410 and the rear center point 420 are vibrated in the direction toward the user's skin 500. That is, in Case 4, when the absorption layer 210, which is relatively close to the user's skin 500, absorbs energy and generates displacement due to thermal expansion, the transmission layer also undergoes displacement, Which leads to a sense of somaticness.

In Case 5, the displacement of the front center point 410 and the rear center point 420 was measured to be about -1.5 to 0 um. As in Case 4, Case 5 also shows that the direction of displacement is negative (-) for the same reason.

FIG. 7 shows the experimental results of FIG. 6 divided into graphs for the front center point 410 and the rear center point 420, respectively. It can be seen from the graphs that as the stacking position of the absorbing layer 210 approaches the user's skin 500 from the air layer, the directionality of the displacement gradually changes from positive to negative, ) Is closer to the center of the medium, that is, the thicknesses of the first transmission layer 250 and the second transmission layer 240, which are in contact with both surfaces of the absorption layer 210, have a similar value, .

In other words, based on the above experimental results, the somatic sensory guidance system according to the present invention can control the strength and direction of the somatic sensation induced by how the absorbent layer 210 and the permeable layer are laminated when forming the medium .

Further, it can be inferred that the control of the intensity and direction of the somatic sensation induced by controlling the laser parameters of various kinds of laser irradiation apparatus can be controlled at a finer level.

The body sensory guidance system according to the present invention and the environment in which various tactile sensations can be induced by the system have been described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments of the present invention described above are disclosed for the purpose of illustration, and the present invention is not limited thereto. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

100: laser irradiation device
200: medium
210: Absorbent layer
220: permeable layer
240: second transmission layer
250: first transmission layer
410: Front center point
420: rear center point
500: user skin

Claims (16)

A laser irradiation device for controlling a parameter of the laser beam and irradiating a laser on one surface of the medium;
Wherein the one surface is in contact with the skin of the user and the back surface is a medium in which the laser is irradiated;
≪ / RTI >
Wherein the medium comprises a transmissive layer for transmitting a laser; And
And an absorbing layer for absorbing the laser,
The absorbent layer absorbs and expands the laser, and the inflating force of the absorbent layer is transmitted to the permeable layer so that the permeable layer is expanded depending on the body, so that a body sensation that seems to be pulled out of the skin to the user's skin or a somatosensory Of the body sensory guidance system.
The method according to claim 1,
The medium is in contact with the skin of the user,
Wherein the permeable layer and the absorbent layer are laminated in parallel with a contact surface with the user's skin.
3. The method of claim 2,
One surface of the absorbent layer is in contact with the user skin, the back surface of the absorbent layer is in contact with one surface of the permeable layer,
And a laser is irradiated on the back surface of the transmissive layer.
3. The method of claim 2,
One surface of the permeable layer is in contact with the user skin, the back surface of the permeable layer is in contact with one surface of the absorbent layer,
And the back surface of the absorbent layer is irradiated with a laser.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the medium comprises: a first transmissive layer and a second transmissive layer for transmitting a laser;
An absorbing layer formed between the first transmitting layer and the second transmitting layer and absorbing the laser;
Wherein the body sensory guidance system comprises:
6. The method of claim 5,
One surface of the first transparent layer is in contact with the user skin, the back surface of the first transparent layer is in contact with one surface of the absorbent layer,
Wherein one surface of the second transparent layer is in contact with the back surface of the absorbing layer and a laser is irradiated to the back surface of the second transparent layer.
The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the first transmissive layer is thicker than the second transmissive layer.
The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the second transmissive layer is thicker than the first transmissive layer.
delete delete delete delete One surface is in contact with the user's skin and a laser is irradiated on the back surface.
A first transmissive layer for transmitting a laser beam to be irradiated; And
And an absorption layer for absorbing the irradiated laser,
The absorbent layer absorbs and expands the laser, and when the inflating force of the absorbent layer is transmitted to the first permeable layer and the first permeable layer expands dependent, the absorbent layer is absorbed into the skin of the user, Characterized by being able to induce a feeling of numbing somatosensitivity.
14. The method of claim 13,
One surface of the absorbent layer is in contact with the user skin, the back surface of the absorbent layer is in contact with one surface of the first permeable layer,
And a laser is irradiated on a back surface of the first transparent layer.
15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein one surface of the first transparent layer is in contact with the user skin, a back surface of the first transparent layer is in contact with one surface of the absorbent layer,
Characterized in that a laser is irradiated on the back surface of the absorbing layer
14. The method of claim 13,
A second transmissive layer on one side of which is in contact with the back surface of the absorbing layer, and a back side of which is irradiated with a laser;
≪ / RTI >

Images