Tactile prompt device

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a tactile prompting device. The tactile prompting device comprises: a glove body with elasticity; a tactile prompting element disposed on the glove body; a flexible component with flexibility but less elasticity than the glove body, disposed between the back of the hand and the palm of the hand of the glove body; and wiring connected to the tactile prompting element and disposed along the flexible component.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a tactile prompting device. Background Art

[0002] Japanese Patent Gazette No. 2019-67166 discloses an electronic device having a contact portion that contacts the fingertip side of a finger to provide at least one of stimulation prompts to the finger and obtain information from the finger. The electronic device is mounted on the finger in the following manner: on the fingertip side of the finger, a portion from the first joint to the fingertip is exposed except for the portion that contacts the contact portion.

[0003] International Publication No. 2017 / 033381 discloses a tactile prompting device having a plurality of pressing elements provided on a glove. Summary of the invention

[0004] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a tactile feedback device capable of improving the close fit of a tactile feedback element to a hand inserted into a glove, compared with a device in which a tactile feedback element is merely arranged on a glove.

[0005] According to a first embodiment of the present disclosure, a tactile prompting device is provided, which comprises: a glove body with stretchability; a tactile prompting element, which is arranged on the glove body; a flexible component, which is flexible but less stretchable than the glove body and is arranged in a portion between the back of the hand and the palm side of the hand of the glove body; and wiring, which is connected to the tactile prompting element and is arranged along the flexible component.

[0006] According to the second aspect of the present disclosure, the flexible member is provided to suppress extension of fingers of a hand inserted into the glove body in the length direction in a state where the glove body is extended by the hand inserted into the glove body.

[0007] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, the flexible member is provided to allow a portion of the glove body provided with the tactile feedback element to be extended when the glove body is extended by a hand inserted into the glove body.

[0008] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, the flexible member has a first connection portion connected to the tactile prompting element from a portion between the back of the hand and the palm of the hand of the glove body.

[0009] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, the wiring is configured to include the first connection portion.

[0010] According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, the first connection portion is fixed to the glove body only at a portion between the back of the hand and the palm of the hand of the glove body and a portion connected to the tactile prompting element.

[0011] According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, the first connection portion is not fixed to the glove body between a portion between the back of the hand and the palm of the hand of the glove body and a portion connected to the tactile prompting element.

[0012] According to the eighth embodiment of the present disclosure, the tactile prompting element is arranged in multiple finger insertion parts of the glove body for inserting multiple fingers, and the flexible component has a second connecting part, which is arranged from the part between the back of the hand and the palm side of the hand of the glove body to the base of the finger insertion part away from this part, and is used to be connected to the tactile prompting element.

[0013] According to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, the wiring is configured to include the second connection portion.

[0014] According to a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, the second connection portion is fixed to the glove body only at a portion between the back of the hand and the palm of the hand of the glove body and at the bases of the fingers of the finger insertion portion away from this portion.

[0015] According to an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, the second connecting portion is not fixed to the glove body between a portion between the back of the hand and the palm of the hand of the glove body and the base of the finger insertion portion away from the portion.

[0016] According to a twelfth aspect of the present disclosure, the second connection portion is provided at a portion other than a joint portion of a hand inserted into the glove body.

[0017] According to a thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure, the tactile feedback device includes a control unit that controls a drive signal output to the tactile feedback element, and the control unit is provided on the back of the hand side of the glove body.

[0018] According to a fourteenth aspect of the present disclosure, the tactile feedback device includes a control unit that controls a drive signal output to the tactile feedback element, and the control unit performs control to output an output signal of an inverse sawtooth waveform.

[0019] (Effect)

[0020] According to the first aspect, compared with a structure in which the tactile feedback element is merely provided on the glove, it is possible to improve the close fit of the tactile feedback element with respect to the hand inserted into the glove.

[0021] According to the second aspect, it is possible to prevent the wiring provided along the flexible member from being disconnected.

[0022] According to the third aspect, the tactile feedback element can be brought into close contact with the hand by stretching the glove body.

[0023] According to the fourth aspect, it is possible to protect the portion between the back of the hand and the palm of the hand and the tactile feedback element.

[0024] According to the fifth aspect, it is possible to prevent disconnection of the wiring connected to the tactile feedback element.

[0025] According to the sixth or seventh aspect, the first connecting portion can be brought into close contact with the hand, compared with a structure in which the first connecting portion is entirely fixed to the glove body in a state in which the glove body is stretched.

[0026] According to the eighth aspect, it is possible to protect the area from the portion provided between the back of the hand and the palm side to other finger insertion areas.

[0027] According to the ninth aspect, it is possible to prevent disconnection of wiring connected to the tactile feedback element provided on another finger insertion portion.

[0028] According to the tenth or eleventh aspect, the second connecting portion can be brought into close contact with the hand, compared with a structure in which the second connecting portion is entirely fixed to the glove body in a state in which the glove body is stretched.

[0029] According to the twelfth aspect, compared with a structure in which the second connection part is provided at a joint portion of the hand, the bending amount of the second connection part can be reduced.

[0030] According to the thirteenth aspect, the control unit can be protected.

[0031] According to the fourteenth aspect, compared with a configuration in which a normal pulse waveform is output, the tactile sense can be made more acute. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Figure 1 is a structural diagram showing a tactile prompting system having a tactile prompting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] Figure 2 1 is a top view of the tactile prompting device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure as viewed from the palm side.

[0034] Figure 3 This is a perspective view of the tactile feedback device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure as viewed from the back of the hand.

[0035] Figure 4 The process of providing a flexible member on a glove body used in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. (a) is a top view showing the glove body in an initial state, (b) is a top view showing a mold for making the glove body into a pre-stretched state, and (c) is a top view showing the glove body and the flexible member after the flexible member is fixed.

[0036] Figure 5: is a top view showing a state in which buckling occurs in a flexible member in a comparative example with respect to the present disclosure.

[0037] Figure 6 Detailed description is a block diagram showing an electrical structure of a tactile prompting system having a tactile prompting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] Next, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0039] Figure 1 FIG. 1 shows a tactile prompt system 10 used in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 1 As shown, the tactile prompt system 10 includes a data processing device 12 , a head mounted display device 14 , and a tactile prompt device 16 .

[0040] The data processing device 12 processes data for controlling the head mounted display device 14 and the tactile prompting device 16. As the data processing device 12, for example, a personal computer can be used. The data processing device 12 is connected to an input device 18 and a display device 20. As the input device 18, for example, a keyboard 22 or a mouse 24 can be used, and as the display device 20, for example, a liquid crystal display device can be used.

[0041] The head mounted display device 14 is a display device that is worn on the head like a pair of glasses worn by an operator, and for example, a display device of a retinal scanning method can be used. The head mounted display device 14 displays a virtual image generated by the data processing device 12. Here, the same image as the image generated by the data processing device 12 and displayed on the display device 20 is displayed on the head mounted display device 14.

[0042] The tactile prompting device 16 is a device that prompts the operator with a tactile sense as if actually touching a virtual object, and is a glove-shaped device as described later. In this embodiment, the operator is provided with a tactile sense as if actually touching a virtual object generated by the data processing device 12 and displayed by the head mounted display device 14 or the display device 20.

[0043] The tactile prompting system 10 further includes a detection device 26. The detection device 26 detects the position of the operator's hand and the position of the tactile prompting device 16, and detects the movement of the operator's hand and the movement of the tactile prompting device 16. The detection device 26 may be a camera, or an acceleration sensor or a gyro sensor provided on the tactile prompting device 16, or a combination of a camera and a sensor.

[0044] Although the tactile prompting devices 16 are respectively mounted on the left hand and the right hand, since the tactile prompting devices 16 have the same structure, the tactile prompting device 16 on the left side will be described here.

[0045] like Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the tactile feedback device 16 includes a glove body 28. The glove body 28 is made of synthetic rubber such as polyurethane and has elasticity. The glove body 28 is composed of a palm insertion portion 30 and a finger insertion portion 32, similar to a normal glove.

[0046] The palm insertion portion 30 is composed of a back of hand side portion 34 and a palm side portion 36. The finger insertion portion 32 has a thumb insertion portion 38 for inserting a thumb, an index finger insertion portion 40 for inserting an index finger, a middle finger insertion portion 42 for inserting a middle finger, a ring finger insertion portion 44 for inserting a ring finger, and a little finger insertion portion 46 for inserting a little finger.

[0047] The flexible member 48 is provided in the portion between the back of the hand and the palm side of the glove body 28. In this embodiment, the portion between the back of the hand 34 and the palm side 36 of the palm insertion portion 30 and the portion between the back of the hand and the palm side of the finger insertion portion 32 are provided as one member over substantially the entire circumference.

[0048] The flexible member 48 is flexible, that is, can be bent freely, but has less stretchability than the glove body 28. The flexible member 48 is arranged and fixed to the glove body 28 when the glove body 28 is in a pre-stretched state (hereinafter referred to as a pre-stretched state), and the glove body 28 is fixed in the pre-stretched state.

[0049] The flexible member 48 is fixed to the glove body 28 in the following manner.

[0050] That is, Figure 4 As shown in (a), the glove body 28 in the initial state is prepared.

[0051] In addition, if Figure 4 As shown in (b), a mold 50 for applying pre-stretching is prepared. The mold 50 is formed by making a mold body of, for example, paper clay and covering the mold body with a rubber glove. The mold 50 is formed into a size corresponding to the size of the user's hand.

[0052] Next, Figure 4 The glove body 28 shown in (a) is put on Figure 4 (b) of the mold 50. And, in a state where the glove body 28 is put on the mold 50, the flexible member 48 is fixed to the portion between the back of the hand and the palm side of the glove body 28, for example, by an adhesive.

[0053] Next, if the glove body 28 is removed from the mold 50, Figure 4 That is, compare Figure 4 (a) and Figure 4As can be seen from (c), for example, when comparing the length of the middle finger insertion direction of the middle finger insertion portion 42, the length A in the initial state is extended to the length B after processing and fixed, and the pre-stretching in the finger insertion direction is fixed. That is, although the glove body 28 is reduced in the finger insertion direction by the amount of the gentle bending of the flexible member 48, the flexible member 48 prevents further reduction. On the other hand, in directions other than the finger insertion direction, except for the fixed portion of the flexible member 48, the pre-stretching state is released and reduced.

[0054] Here, the flexible member 48 is made of, for example, synthetic leather and has a strength and a cross-sectional shape that does not buckle against the contraction force in the finger length direction when the pre-tension is released. Figure 5 As shown, it is a state that the length in the fingertip direction is shortened by bending due to the pre-stretching tension. In this way, if the flexible member 48 is buckled, the wiring described later may be disconnected, so the buckling of the flexible member 48 is prevented.

[0055] The flexible member 48 may be made of a material with a high Young's modulus, and preferably the bending rigidity is reduced by thinning. For example, even if a metal material such as a piano wire is thin, the bending rigidity is high, and it is difficult to arrange a plurality of electrical wirings. In addition, the polyimide resin used for the flexible electrical wiring has poor adhesion to the stretchable glove body 28, and there is a problem that the adhesive cannot withstand the deformation of the glove body 28 caused by the insertion and removal of the hand. Although a structure that is substantially difficult to stretch can be obtained by increasing the cross-sectional shape even if the Young's modulus is low, this structure is not suitable for a tactile prompting device. That is, it is important to use a material with an appropriate Young's modulus with an appropriate cross-sectional shape.

[0056] Since the width of the wiring described later is about 2 mm, the width of the flexible member 48 is preferably 2 to 4 mm, but may be 4 to 6 mm by adjusting the Young's modulus and the cross-sectional shape. If the width of the flexible member 48 exceeds 6 mm, it may exceed the width of the portion between the back of the hand and the palm of the glove body 28.

[0057] The glove body 28 is provided with a plurality of tactile prompting elements 52. The tactile prompting elements 52 are constituted by, for example, a vibration motor. The tactile prompting elements 52 may be driven by a piezoelectric element, a shape memory element, or the like, in addition to the vibration motor.

[0058] In this embodiment, the tactile prompting element 52 is located on the palm side of the glove body 28, and three tactile prompting elements 52 are provided on each of the thumb insertion portion 38, the index finger insertion portion 40, and the middle finger insertion portion 42. These tactile prompting elements 52 are arranged and fixed on the portions corresponding to the pulps of the fingers in a manner excluding the joint portions of the fingers inserted into the thumb insertion portion 38, the index finger insertion portion 40, and the middle finger insertion portion 42.

[0059] A control unit 54 is fixed to the back of the hand side portion 34 of the palm insertion portion 30 of the glove body 28. The control unit 54 and the tactile feedback element 52 are connected via a wiring 56.

[0060] In addition, the flexible member 48 has a first connection portion 58 that connects the portion between the back of the hand and the palm of the glove body 28 and the tactile prompting element 52. One end of the first connection portion 58 is fixed to the portion between the back of the hand and the palm of the glove body 28 of the flexible member 48, and the other end is fixed to the tactile prompting element 52. The first connection portion 58 is not fixed to the glove body 28 except for the one end and the other end.

[0061] Similar to the flexible component 48 provided between the back of the hand and the palm side of the glove body 28, when the first connection portion 58 is fixed to the glove body 28 in a pre-stretched state, when inserting the finger, it is possible that the first connection portion 58 will not hook the finger, and the tension on the first connection portion 58 will not act on the finger. However, as described in the present embodiment, by fixing only the two ends of the first connection portion 58, the first connection portion 58 hooks the finger, and tension acts on the first connection portion 58, thereby pressing the tactile prompt element 52 toward the finger side.

[0062] In addition, the first connecting portion 58 is only arranged on the outer portion of the thumb insertion portion 38, the index finger insertion portion 40 and the middle finger insertion portion 42, but can also be arranged on the inner portion of the thumb insertion portion 38, the index finger insertion portion 40 and the middle finger insertion portion 42, forming a glasses shape on both sides with the tactile prompt element 52 as the center.

[0063] In addition, the flexible member 48 has a second connection portion 60 that connects the outer portion of the index finger insertion portion 40 and the outer portion of the middle finger insertion portion 42. One end of the second connection portion 60 is located at the base of the index finger insertion portion 40 of the glove body 28 and fixed to the portion between the back of the hand and the palm side, and the other end is fixed to the portion between the back of the hand and the palm side of the middle finger insertion portion 42 via the base of the index finger insertion portion 40 and the middle finger insertion portion 42. The second connection portion 60 is arranged at a portion of the hand other than the joint portion. In addition, the second connection portion 60 is non-fixed relative to the glove body 28 except for one end and the other end, similarly to the first connection portion 58. However, a fixing portion may be provided between one end and the other end of the second connection portion 60.

[0064] In addition, the flexible member 48 has a third connection portion 62 connected from the base of the index finger insertion portion 40 of the glove body 28 to the control portion 54 provided on the back of the hand. The third connection portion 62 is also fixed at one end and the other end, and is not fixed between one end and the other end, similarly to the first connection portion 58 and the second connection portion 60.

[0065] When viewed from the control unit 54 side, the wiring 56 extends from the control unit 54 along the third connection portion 62, and is divided into two branches toward the thumb insertion portion 38 side and the index finger insertion portion 40 side. One side of the divided wiring 56 extends downward along the flexible member 48 outside the thumb insertion portion 38, and is connected to the three tactile prompting elements 52 arranged on the thumb insertion portion 38 along the first connection portion 58. In addition, the other side of the divided wiring is further divided into a wiring portion extending upward from the index finger insertion portion 40 along the flexible member 48 outside the index finger insertion portion 40, and a wiring portion extending upward from the middle finger insertion portion 42 along the flexible member 48 outside the middle finger insertion portion 42 along the second connection portion 60. The wiring portion extending upward from the index finger insertion portion 40 is connected to the three tactile prompting elements 52 provided in the index finger insertion portion 40. In addition, the wiring portion extending upward from the middle finger insertion portion 42 is connected to the three tactile prompting elements 52 provided on the middle finger insertion portion 42.

[0066] When a vibration motor is used as the tactile prompt element 52, a back electromotive force absorption diode and a peak absorption capacitor are arranged in the wire 56 near the tactile prompt element 52. Since the vibration motor has an inductance generated by the coil, an overshoot voltage at start-up and a back electromotive force at stop are generated, so the former is adjusted with an appropriate capacitor and the latter is adjusted with a diode to control the rectangular wave, thereby ensuring the accuracy of the duty ratio of the PWM control described later.

[0067] In addition, as in the above embodiment, three or more tactile prompting elements 52 may be provided for each finger. For example, by staggering the timing of the tactile prompting elements 52, a feeling of touching a flowing or moving object may be provided.

[0068] Figure 6 The electrical structure of the tactile prompt system 10 is shown.

[0069] The data processing device 12 performs interference calculation on the motion data of the tactile feedback device 16 detected by the detection device 26 and the image data displayed on the head mounted display device 14 or the display device 20. The data processing device 12 and the control unit 54 have wireless transceivers 64 and 66, respectively, and transmit and receive data to each other.

[0070] The control unit 54 includes a wireless transceiver 66, a control unit main body 68 such as a microcomputer, a power supply 70, and a PWM driver 72. PWM is an abbreviation of Pulse Width Modulation, which is a power control method that generates a certain cycle of high level (オン) and low level (オフ) of a pulse train and changes the time width of the high level.

[0071] The driving waveform for the tactile prompt element 52 is an inverse sawtooth waveform that rises as an impulse response and falls as a ramp response, and the inactivation stop of the tactile signal is performed by a pre-set ramp gradient. The sense of the skin has a tendency that the edges of contact are emphasized and the contact in a continuous state is dull. In addition, since the data processing device 12 needs to manage multiple contact states, if inactivation is managed in addition to contact activity, the communication processing between the data processing device 12 and the control unit 54 increases by more than 2 times, and the possibility of failure of the control signal increases. In particular, the failure of the stop signal is a problem, and the sense of disharmony is greater when the vibration remains active in a state without contact. The above-mentioned processing suppresses the communication volume and the occurrence of false sensations.

[0072] Additionally, the strength of the impulse response may be varied depending on the tactile intensity. The ramp gradient may also be included in the control signal or may be held by the PWM driver 72 as a function of the impulse amount.

[0073] When discontinuous contact continues (frequently reaching high level and low level), the attenuation of the ramp signal is interrupted and control is performed to prioritize the high-level impulse signal, thereby maintaining the tactile activation state.

[0074] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the tactile feedback element is provided on the thumb insertion portion, the index finger insertion portion, and the middle finger insertion portion, but the tactile feedback element may be provided on other finger insertion portions or on the palm insertion portion.

Claims

1. A tactile prompting device, comprising: A glove body having stretchability; A tactile prompting element, which is arranged on the glove body; A flexible component, which is flexible but less stretchable than the glove body, and is disposed between the back of the hand and the palm of the hand of the glove body; as well as a wiring connected to the tactile prompting element and arranged along the flexible member, The flexible member is provided to suppress extension of fingers of a hand inserted into the glove body in a longitudinal direction in a state where the glove body is extended by the hand inserted into the glove body.

2. The tactile prompting device according to claim 1, wherein: The flexible member is provided to allow a portion of the glove body provided with the tactile feedback element to be extended when the glove body is extended by a hand inserted into the glove body.

3. The tactile prompting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The flexible member has a first connection portion connected to the tactile prompting element from a portion between the back of the hand and the palm of the hand of the glove body.

4. The tactile prompting device according to claim 3, wherein: The wiring is configured to include the first connection portion.

5. The tactile prompting device according to claim 3, wherein: The first connecting portion is fixed to the glove body only at a portion between the back of the hand and the palm of the hand of the glove body and a portion connected to the tactile prompting element.

6. The tactile prompting device according to claim 3, wherein: The first connection portion is not fixed to the glove body between a portion of the glove body between the back of the hand and the palm of the hand and a portion connected to the tactile feedback element.

7. The tactile prompting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The tactile prompting element is arranged in multiple finger insertion parts of the glove body for inserting multiple fingers, and the flexible component has a second connecting part, which is arranged from the part between the back of the hand and the palm side of the glove body to the base of the finger insertion part away from this part, and is used to be connected to the tactile prompting element.

8. The tactile prompting device according to claim 7, wherein: The wiring is configured to include the second connection portion.

9. The tactile prompting device according to claim 7, wherein: The second connecting portion is fixed to the glove body only at a portion between the back of the hand and the palm of the hand of the glove body and at the bases of the fingers of the finger insertion portion away from the portion.

10. The tactile prompting device according to claim 7, wherein: The second connecting portion is not fixed to the glove body between a portion between the back of the hand and the palm of the hand of the glove body and the base of the finger insertion portion away from the portion.

11. The tactile prompting device according to claim 7, wherein: The second connection portion is provided at a portion other than a joint portion of a hand inserted into the glove body.

12. The tactile prompting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The tactile feedback device includes a control unit that controls a drive signal output to the tactile feedback element, and the control unit is provided on the back of the hand side of the glove body.

13. The tactile prompting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The tactile feedback device includes a control unit that controls a drive signal output to the tactile feedback element, and the control unit performs control so as to output an output signal having an inverse sawtooth waveform.

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