Tactile sensor
By designing a tactile sensor consisting of a signal acquisition layer, an elastomer layer, and sensing elements, the problem of existing sensors being unable to fully perceive the characteristics of objects is solved, enabling the capture of multi-dimensional pressure information and improving the device's perception and interaction capabilities.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202423072792.1
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-12-11
- Publication Date
- 2025-12-23
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-12-11
AI Technical Summary
Existing tactile sensors mainly detect one-dimensional force information, which cannot fully and accurately perceive the characteristics of objects. Furthermore, integrated sensors are bulky, limiting their application in small devices.
Design a tactile sensor with a signal acquisition layer and an elastomer layer located on the upper and lower sides of a support structure, respectively. Set a sensing element and a light source, and coat the elastomer layer with a multi-colored coating. Extract multi-dimensional pressure information through the sensing element.
It achieves higher accuracy and comprehensiveness in object recognition, reduces sensitivity to environmental changes, and improves the device's environmental awareness and user interaction.
Smart Images
Figure CN223710881U_ABST
Abstract
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The embodiment of the present application relates to the technical field of sensor, in particular to a kind of tactile sensor. BACKGROUND
[0002] Tactile sensor is widely used in robot, smart home, medical equipment and consumer electronics and other fields, mainly for sensing the physical characteristics such as pressure, temperature and vibration of object.In recent years, with the development of artificial intelligence and Internet of Things technology, the sensing ability of device to environment is increasingly improved.
[0003] However, the existing tactile sensor mostly focuses on one-dimensional force information, and one-dimensional pressure sensor can only detect the vertical pressure applied on its surface, and cannot detect horizontal or complex multi-axis force.In addition, the tactile sensor for detecting a single physical quantity has limitations, and lacks the ability to comprehensively and accurately perceive the characteristics of object.In order to detect more physical quantities, the integrated tactile sensor is large in size, and its use in small devices is limited. CONTENT OF UTILITY MODEL
[0004] The purpose of the embodiment of the present application is to provide a kind of tactile sensor, and the multi-modal information extraction is carried out by the tactile sensor of the present application, and multi-dimensional pressure information is captured simultaneously, so as to have higher accuracy and comprehensiveness when identifying object.
[0005] To solve the above technical problems, the embodiment of the present application provides a kind of tactile sensor, comprising: signal acquisition layer for accepting external touch, support structure and elastomer layer;The support structure is a hollow structure, and the signal acquisition layer and the elastomer layer are located on the upper and lower sides of the support structure respectively, and form a closed structure with the support structure, and the inside of the closed structure is a cavity;The side of the signal acquisition layer and the elastomer layer opposite to each other is provided with sensing element and at least one light source;The side of the elastomer layer and the signal acquisition layer opposite to each other is coated with color coating containing multiple colors.
[0006] The signal acquisition layer as described above is a PCB board with the same shape and size as the elastomer layer.
[0007] The sensing element as described above is a color sensor or a spectrum sensor.
[0008] The sensing element as described above is arranged on a center line of the PCB board.
[0009] The light source as described above is a white LED light source.
[0010] The light source as described above is arranged on the center line and does not coincide with the sensing element.
[0011] The support structure is made of rigid material, and the inner side wall of the support structure is coated with a black non-reflective coating.
[0012] The elastomer layer is made of light-proof material.
[0013] The elastomer layer is circular.
[0014] The color of the color coating includes red, green and blue, and each color is presented as a sector with equal area in the color coating, and the apex of each sector is the center of the color coating.
[0015] In the embodiment of the present application, the signal acquisition layer and the elastomer layer are respectively located on the upper and lower sides of the support structure, and form a closed structure with the support structure, the inside of which is a cavity, to constitute a tactile sensor. A sensing element and at least one light source are arranged on the side of the signal acquisition layer and the elastomer layer facing each other, and a color coating containing multiple colors is coated on the side of the elastomer layer facing the signal acquisition layer as an identification mark of the sensing element. The tactile information is extracted based on the signal sensed by the sensing element, and the multi-dimensional pressure information is captured by the signal acquisition layer at the same time, so that more flexible, efficient and intelligent environmental perception and user interaction are realized, the sensitivity to environmental changes is reduced, and higher accuracy and comprehensiveness are achieved in identifying objects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0016] One or more embodiments are illustrated by way of example in the figures that are part of this document, and which illustrate principles of embodiments.
[0017] Figure 1 is a lateral sectional view of a tactile sensor provided by an embodiment of the present application;
[0018] Figure 2 is a structural schematic view of a signal acquisition layer of a tactile sensor provided by an embodiment of the present application;
[0019] Figure 3 is a front perspective view of a tactile sensor provided by an embodiment of the present application;
[0020] Figure 4 is a color coating schematic view of an elastomer layer of a tactile sensor provided by an embodiment of the present application;
[0021] Figure 5 is a schematic view of applying pressure to a tactile sensor provided by an embodiment of the present application;
[0022] Figure 6 is a schematic view of applying pressure to a tactile sensor provided by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] To make the purposes, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, those skilled in the art can understand that, in the embodiments of the present application, many technical details are presented in order to make the readers better understand the present application. However, the technical solutions claimed by the present application can be implemented even without these technical details and based on various changes and modifications of the following embodiments. The division of the following embodiments is for the convenience of description, and should not constitute any limitation on the specific implementation modes of the present application. The embodiments can be combined with each other and referenced to each other without contradiction.
[0024] Before describing the haptic sensor of the present application, the haptic sensor technology in the prior art is described.
[0025] 1. One-dimensional pressure sensor:
[0026] One-dimensional pressure sensors can only detect the vertical pressure applied on their surface and cannot detect horizontal or complex multi-axis forces, which limits their application in multi-dimensional stress analysis. These sensors are sensitive to temperature, humidity, and other environmental factors, which can cause measurement errors or performance degradation.
[0027] 2. Robot haptic feedback system:
[0028] Some robot systems use haptic feedback in combination with visual information for object recognition, but their sensitivity to changes in environmental lighting leads to unstable perception accuracy, which cannot adapt to complex working environments.
[0029] However, similar to one-dimensional pressure sensors, most sensors only focus on a single physical quantity (such as pressure or temperature), and therefore cannot fully capture the characteristics of an object. This limitation makes it difficult for robot devices to accurately recognize multi-dimensional information of objects in complex environments, thereby affecting the interaction effect. Similar to the robot haptic feedback system, some integrated sensors exhibit unstable perception accuracy when the environmental lighting or temperature changes. This instability can cause the robot device to perform poorly in practical applications, affecting the reliability of the system. In order to detect more physical quantities, integrated haptic sensors have appeared in the prior art, but existing multi-sensor integration solutions are usually large in size and high in cost. This limits the application of multi-sensor integration solutions in small devices and cannot meet the growing market demand.
[0030] To solve the above problems, the present application provides a haptic sensor, and the implementation details of the haptic sensor of the present embodiment will be described in detail below. The following content is only provided for the implementation details for easy understanding, and is not essential for implementing the present solution.
[0031] As Figure 1As shown, the tactile sensor in the embodiment specifically comprises a signal collection layer 10 for accepting external touch, a support structure 20, and an elastomer layer 30; wherein the support structure 20 is a hollow structure, the signal collection layer 10 and the elastomer layer 30 are respectively located on the upper and lower sides of the support structure 20, and together with the support structure 20 form a closed structure with an internal cavity; the side of the signal collection layer 10 and the elastomer layer 30 opposite to each other is provided with a sensing element 11 and at least one light source 12; the side of the elastomer layer 30 opposite to the signal collection layer 10 is coated with a color coating 31 containing multiple colors.
[0032] Specifically, the tactile sensor in the embodiment is composed of the signal collection layer 10, the support structure 20, and the elastomer layer 30, the elastomer layer 30 is the bottom surface of the closed structure, the support structure 20 is the side wall of the closed structure, the signal collection layer is the top surface of the closed structure, and the side of the elastomer layer 30 opposite to the signal collection layer 10 is coated with a color coating 31 containing multiple colors as the identification mark of the sensing element 11. When the signal collection layer 10 is touched externally, the signal collection layer 10 will produce different degrees of depression in the direction of the cavity, i.e. the elastomer layer 30, according to the different forces of the touch. At this time, the sensing element 11 embedded in the signal collection layer 10 will sense throughout the touch, and since the distance between the signal collection layer 10 and the elastomer layer 30 will change due to the depression of the signal collection layer 10, the sensing element 11 will obtain different touch signals by sensing the color coating 31 in the process.
[0033] In one example, the signal collection layer 10 is a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) board with the same shape and size as the elastomer layer 30.
[0034] Specifically, the signal collection layer 10 can be provided as a structure with the same shape and size as the elastomer layer 30, or can have the same shape and different size as the elastomer layer 30, which is not specifically limited in the present application. The same shape is to facilitate the connection of the support structure 20 to both, and the same size is to enable the sensing element 11 in the touch sensor to effectively and accurately collect signals. If the area of the signal collection layer 10 is greater than that of the elastomer layer 30, the signal is not easy to collect when the touch occurs at the edge, and the touch sensor structure is unstable and easy to fall over; if the area of the signal collection layer 10 is smaller than that of the elastomer layer 30, the edge part of the bottom elastomer layer cannot participate in signal collection, affecting the accuracy.
[0035] In one example, the sensing element 11 is a color sensor or a spectrum sensor.
[0036] The color sensor is a sensor capable of detecting and identifying colors, and is widely used in industrial automation, robotics, smart home, consumer electronics, and other fields. The color sensor determines the color by measuring the intensity of specific light waveband signals. The color sensor has high responsiveness and high sensitivity, and can reflect changes in force information through changes in optical information, reflecting multi-dimensional mechanical information, and has the characteristics of simple structure and low cost. Based on the color sensor signal, the extraction of tactile information can be unaffected by temperature, environment, etc., and more accurately reflects the tactile signal. The principle of the spectral sensor is to measure the absorption and emission characteristics of different wavelengths of light by a substance, and to obtain the spectral characteristic information of the substance by analyzing the changes in the wavelength and intensity of the light. Specifically, since the color coating 31 is composed of multiple colors, the color coating with multiple colors is used as the identification mark of the sensing element 11, and the sensing element needs to be a device that can identify color signals such as RGB signals, such as a color sensor or a spectral sensor.
[0037] In another example, the sensing element 11 is arranged on a center line of the PCB.
[0038] Specifically, the shape of the PCB is not limited in the present application, and can be rectangular, circular, etc. The specific position of the sensing element 11 on the PCB is also not limited, but in order to ensure the uniformity of the perceived color signal, the sensing element 11 can be arranged on a center line of the PCB. When the PCB 11 is circular, the sensing element 11 is arranged at a position as shown in Figure 2 In this case, as shown in Figure 2 , 3 The light source 12 and the sensing element 11 are arranged on the same center line and do not coincide with the sensing element 11, and the distance between them needs to be appropriate. The light source 12 can be a white LED (Light Emitting Diode) light source, which uses white LEDs as the light source of the color sensor to emit light and receive reflected light from the color coating 31. The reflected light received by the color sensor is separated into red, green and blue, and the red, green and blue data (RGB data) is output as a signal intensity value using the IIC communication method.
[0039] In another example, the support structure 20 is made of rigid material, and the inner side wall of the support structure 20 is coated with a non-reflective black coating. Specifically, the rigid material of the support structure can be hard plastic, stainless steel, aluminum alloy, etc., which is not limited in the present application. By coating the inner side wall of the support structure 20 with a non-reflective black coating, the reflection of the inner side wall of the support structure 20 can be avoided to affect the signal sensed by the sensing element 11. The sensing elastomer of the elastomer layer is made of non-transparent material, which can be flexible PDMS (Polydimethylsiloxane) silicone rubber. The silicone rubber is black in color to avoid light transmission.
[0040] The shape of the elastomer layer 30 is not limited in the present application, and the elastomer layer can be circular, square, etc.
[0041] In one example, as shown in Figure 4 when the elastomer layer 30 is circular, the color coating 31 on the surface thereof is also circular, and the color of the color coating includes red, green and blue, and each color is in the form of a sector with equal area in the color coating, and the apex of each sector is the center of the color coating.
[0042] Specifically, the color sensor receives ambient light through a photodiode and detects the RGB value. The color of an object is determined by the proportion of the color (R, G, B) components of the light reflected by the object. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the color coating 31 is irradiated by a white LED as a light source. When the signal acquisition layer 10 is externally touched, different touch positions or different touch forces will cause the signal acquisition layer 10 to produce different degrees of depression in the direction of the elastomer layer 30, i.e., the distance between the sensing element 11 and the color coating 31 will change to different degrees, and the sensing element 11 will correspondingly obtain different reflected light, i.e., the sensing element 11 will obtain different tactile information by sensing the color coating 31 in this process.
[0043] The process of collecting tactile signals by the tactile sensor of the present embodiment will be specifically described as follows:
[0044] When the signal acquisition layer 10 of the tactile sensor is not touched, the signals of the sensor remain at a stable value.
[0045] When the signal acquisition layer 10 of the tactile sensor is externally applied with a positive pressure, i.e., a positive pressure signal is contacted (the pressure is located at the center of the signal acquisition layer 10), as shown in Figure 5 the data of the R, G and B channels of the sensor will all rise, and the rise of the values is positively correlated with the increase of the pressure, so that the change of the positive pressure can be reflected.
[0046] When lateral pressure is applied to the signal collection layer 10 of the tactile sensor, i.e. the lateral pressure signal is contacted (the pressure is located at the edge of the signal collection layer 10), as shown in Figure 6 , the data of the three channels R, G, B of the sensor will all rise, but in the direction of greater lateral pressure, the rising of the values is more obvious, thus the change of the longitudinal pressure can be reflected.
[0047] The specific three-dimensional force analysis method is as follows:
[0048] It is agreed that the three directions of the tactile sensor are X axis, Y axis and Z axis. Under the experimental environment, the initial value of the sensor is recorded without applying any force, and the sensor zero is calibrated. Then a single force is applied using a force gauge, and the applied force is gradually increased from zero to the maximum range of the sensor. During this process, the output data of the color sensor and the data of the force gauge are recorded synchronously. The data can be processed by linear fitting:
[0049] F = mX, wherein F is the size of the force applied by the force gauge, m is the linear fitting coefficient, X is the sensor reading data, and n is the sensor zero point data. The m of the three directions is m x , m y , and m z , respectively. The maximum range of the three directions is F x max, F y max, and F z max, respectively.
[0050] The maximum range data of the three axes in the positive direction are respectively:
[0051] A = [r1, g1, b1]
[0052] B = [r2, g2, b2]
[0053] C = [r3, g3, b3]
[0054] When the tactile sensor collects data M = [r0, g0, b0] within the range, the force analysis is performed in the following way:
[0055] M = a.A + b.B + c.C, and the absolute values of a, b, and c are less than 1.
[0056] The above formula has a unique solution, a, b, and c.
[0057] Since the sensor data and the force data within the range satisfy the linear fitting relationship, a, b, and c are the proportion of the current force to the maximum range, and the measured component forces in the three directions are F X = aF x max, F y = bF y max, and F z= cF z max.
[0058] In summary, compared with the related art, the haptic sensor of the present application is composed of a closed structure with an internal cavity by locating the signal acquisition layer and the elastomer layer on the upper and lower sides of the support structure respectively, and the support structure constitutes the closed structure. A sensing element and at least one light source are arranged on the side of the signal acquisition layer and the elastomer layer facing each other. The elastomer layer is coated with a color coating containing multiple colors as an identification mark of the sensing element on the side facing the signal acquisition layer. The extraction of haptic information is based on the signals sensed by the sensing element. The multi-dimensional pressure information is captured simultaneously through the signal acquisition layer, realizing more flexible, efficient and intelligent environmental perception and user interaction, reducing the sensitivity to environmental changes, and having higher accuracy and comprehensiveness in identifying objects. The haptic sensor of the present application is applied in service robots, industrial robots and other scenarios. Through the extraction of haptic information, the environmental perception ability of the robot is improved, so that it can perform tasks more accurately. The haptic sensor of the present application is applied in various human-computer interaction interfaces. Through the collection and identification of haptic information, a more natural and intuitive user experience can be provided, and the device operation is more flexible and efficient.
[0059] Those skilled in the art can understand that the above embodiments are specific embodiments for implementing the present application, and in actual application, various changes can be made in form and details without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application.
Claims
1. A tactile sensor, characterized in that, include: Signal acquisition layer, support structure, and elastomer layer for receiving external touch; The support structure is a hollow structure. The signal acquisition layer and the elastomer layer are located on the upper and lower sides of the support structure, respectively, forming a closed structure with an internal cavity. A sensing element and at least one light source are provided on the side of the signal acquisition layer and the elastomer layer facing each other. The side of the elastomer layer and the signal acquisition layer facing each other is coated with a colored coating containing multiple colors.
2. The tactile sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that, The signal acquisition layer is a PCB board with the same shape and size as the elastomer layer.
3. The tactile sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sensing element is a color sensor or a spectral sensor.
4. The tactile sensor according to claim 2, characterized in that, The sensing element is positioned on a center line of the PCB board.
5. The tactile sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that, The light source is a white LED light source.
6. The tactile sensor according to claim 4, characterized in that, The light source is positioned on the center line and does not coincide with the sensing element.
7. The tactile sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that, The support structure is made of rigid material, and the inner wall of the support structure is coated with a non-reflective black coating.
8. The tactile sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that, The elastomer layer is made of an opaque material.
9. The tactile sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that, The elastomer layer is circular.
10. The tactile sensor according to claim 9, characterized in that, The colors of the color coating include red, green and blue, and each color is represented as a sector of equal area in the color coating, with the vertex of each sector being the center of the color coating.