Hot-cold sense presenting unit main body, hot-cold sense presenting unit, and wearable device having them

Abstract

To solve the problem that a hot-cold sense presenting unit main body using a Peltier element has a Peltier element thermal capacity which is large for a unit, cannot present rapid change to hot temperature, and is insufficient in response to cooling.SOLUTION: The present invention is directed to a hot-cold sense presenting unit main body 35 having a Peltier element 32 and a heater 31 disposed so as to transmit heat to a cooling surface 33 as one side surface of the Peltier element 32, and also is directed to a hot-cold sense presenting unit 70 further having a heat sink 36 provided on a heat radiation surface 34 as the other side surface of the Peltier element 32 so as to transmit heat.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a hot / cold sensation providing unit body, a hot / cold sensation providing unit, and a wearable device including the same. [Background technology]

[0002] Recently, remote communication and teleworking have been widely introduced, but face-to-face work is also necessary in medical and nursing care settings. As a countermeasure to these problems and to the labor shortage and aging society, robot systems that can experience remote environments have been actively researched and developed. The purpose of this invention is to develop a robot arm system that allows humans to experience not only tactile environments, but also thermal tactile environments and thermal flow environments (atmospheric environments, high-temperature objects, hot water, hot air, etc.). This system reproduces in both directions between the remote side and the operator side, so not only can the operator touch people and objects in remote locations and feel their temperature, hardness, and size, but the operator's grip force and body temperature can also be transmitted to the object.

[0003] Patent document 1 describes a tactile presentation device for presenting tactile sensations including temperature, vibration and pressure detected by the robot to an operator of the robot, the tactile presentation device having a tactile presentation unit including a temperature presentation unit, a vibration presentation unit and a pressure presentation unit that contacts at least a portion of the area of ​​the operator's finger further towards the tip than the first joint, and an attachment unit that is attached between the first joint and the second joint of the operator's finger and is rotatably connected to the tactile presentation unit.

[0004] Non-patent document 1 describes telethermal haptics technology that allows users to experience the temperature environment of a remote location. Specifically, a heater is placed in contact with the surface of the finger, making it possible to reproduce the thermal environment on the heated side. A thermistor (450 μm thick) is used to reproduce the sensation of hot and cold in a wearable force-sensing device. Furthermore, non-patent document 2 lists a temperature display device as a core technology in telethermal haptics technology, and describes that displaying high-temperature temperatures using a heater is relatively easy to develop, while for displaying low-temperature temperatures, it describes a Peltier element, which is currently appropriate for use. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-198923 A (Patent No. 7133785) [Non-patent literature]

[0006] [Non-Patent Document 1] Yojiro Ishino, Toshiyuki Tsurutani, Kouki Ouchi, “Development of a Thermal Haptics Robot Arm for Experiencing Thermal and Tactile Environments in Remote Locations”, Environmental Engineering Symposium, (2018) [Non-Patent Document 2] Baba et al., "Examination and development of a method for video game interaction using hot and cold presentation," Information Processing Society of Japan Research Report, Vol. 2010-EC-17 No. 11, (2010), p. 1. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, the Peltier element has a large heat capacity, and a rapid change in temperature to cold cannot be obtained; in other words, there is a problem in that the cooling response is insufficient when reproducing a hot / cold sensation. Similarly, it is considered difficult to obtain good transient response performance when using other heat transport devices that have a large heat capacity or slow transient response performance, such as heat exchangers using cold water, low-temperature refrigerants, cold gases, etc., or cold / hot heat storage devices that require a long time to exchange the medium. Peltier elements and such heat transport devices are collectively referred to as "Peltier element-like slow response heat transfer devices." Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a warm / cold sensation providing unit body, a warm / cold sensation providing unit, and a wearable device having the same, which solves the problem of insufficient cooling responsiveness. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention which solves the above problems is as follows. [1] A warm / cold sensation presentation unit body comprising a Peltier element-like slow response heat transfer device and a heater arranged to be capable of transferring heat to a cooling surface, which is one side of the Peltier element-like slow response heat transfer device. [2] A warm / cold sensation presentation unit as described in [1], characterized in that a heat sink is further arranged on the other side, which is the heat dissipation surface, of the Peltier element-like slow-response heat transfer device to enable heat transfer. [3] A wearable device that can be worn on the hand, comprising a finger rest portion, a hot / cold sensation presentation unit as described in [2], a temperature sensor, and a heater control portion possessed by the hot / cold sensation presentation unit, wherein the heater is positioned so as to be capable of thermal transfer with at least a portion of the surface of the hand. [4] A wearable device as described in [3], characterized in that at least a portion of the surface of the hand is the fingertips of the hand. [5] A robot arm possessed by a remote robot operated by an operator, the robot arm comprising a temperature measurement unit that provides temperature as input information to a temperature control unit of a wearable device [3] or [4] worn by the operator, the temperature measurement unit having a temperature sensor. [6] [2] is a method for promoting temperature reduction of a contact surface, characterized by using a warm / cold sensation presentation unit described in [2] to promote temperature reduction of the contact surface with the heater surface by controlling the cooling state of the heat sink and the heating state of the heater. [7] A temperature reduction promotion method as described in [6], characterized in that the cooling surface is constantly cooled. [8] A remote robot arm system comprising the wearable device described in [4] and the robot arm described in [5]. [9][7] The cooling surface described in this paper is not cooled at all times, but is calculated based on two-dimensional non-contact temperature measurement, two-dimensional distance measurement, two-dimensional velocity field, self-movement speed, etc. in a remote real-space environment, and the cooling drive is changed according to the situation as a target cooling setting value for pre-cooling. This is a method for promoting temperature reduction of a contact surface.

[10] [7] The cooling surface described in this invention is a method for promoting temperature reduction of a contact surface, characterized in that, instead of being constantly cooled, the lowest temperature that may be presented, which is estimated by AI (artificial intelligence) or the like, is used as a target cooling setting value for pre-cooling, and the cooling drive is changed according to the situation.

[11] [9] is an avatar experience in cyberspace, instead of the remote real-world environment described above, in which the surface temperature of an avatar after contact is transmitted, and a temperature reduction promotion method for the contact surface is characterized by driving a temperature display device so as to reproduce the transmitted surface temperature.

[12] [9] is a method for promoting temperature reduction of a contact surface, characterized in that in a case where only thermal information of an avatar experience in cyberspace is transmitted instead of the remote real-space environment described in [9], application software is provided from the cyberspace side to enable the experiencer to calculate the contact surface temperature required to operate a thermal sensation presentation unit.

[13] A business model that provides an avatar experience in cyberspace, in which a user wears and uses a temperature sensation presentation unit to experience an avatar experience in cyberspace, and in which when the surface temperature of the avatar after contact is transmitted, the temperature sensation presentation unit is driven so as to reproduce the transmitted surface temperature.

[14] A business model that provides avatar experiences in cyberspace, in which a user wears and uses a thermal sensation unit to experience an avatar experience in cyberspace, in which only thermal information of the avatar experience in cyberspace is transmitted, and in which application software is provided from the cyberspace side to enable the user to calculate the contact surface temperature required to operate the thermal sensation unit. Effect of the Invention

[0009] The hot / cold sensation providing unit main body, hot / cold sensation providing unit, and wearable devices equipped with them according to the present invention can reproduce hot / cold sensations with improved responsiveness, particularly including cooling responsiveness. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the present invention, in which (a-1) is a design drawing of a remote robot arm, (a-2) is a photograph of its appearance, and (b-1) is a photograph of a wearable device worn on a hand as seen obliquely from the back of the hand, and (b-2) is a photograph of the device as seen from the palm side. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2(a) is a schematic front cross-sectional view of a thermal manikin-type temperature measurement unit, and FIG. 2(b) is a schematic side cross-sectional view of FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a photograph showing the appearance of a thin thermocouple included in a thermal manikin-type temperature measuring unit. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a temperature transmission system. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a heater heating duty ratio. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an experimental apparatus for a thermal environment reproduction experiment. [Figure 7] (a-1) is a photograph of a commercially available seat heater seen from above, (a-2) is a cut-out from (a-1), (b-1) is a cross-sectional photograph of (a-2), (b-2) is a scaled cross-sectional view of (b-2), and (c) (i) to (iii) are schematic diagrams of cross sections in the processing steps from (a-2) to (b-1). [Figure 8] FIG. 1 shows the results of an experiment to reproduce the thermal environment that occurs when touching a high-temperature (50° C.) object. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 shows an overview of an experiment comparing the cooling response performance of two cooling methods and the units that realize them, where (a) shows the "Peltier unit method" (comparison example) and (b) shows the "heater-Peltier method" (Example). [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the results of the "Peltier single unit method." [Figure 11] This shows the results of the "heater-Peltier method." [Figure 12] (a-1) Top view of the finger rest part of the warm / cold sensation presentation unit main body, (a-2) side view thereof, (b) schematic diagram of a method for applying load with a cylindrical pressing tool to increase adhesion when attaching a sheet heater and copper foil to the surface of the finger rest, (c-1) the warm / cold sensation presentation unit main body, (d) the warm / cold sensation presentation unit (warm / cold sensation presentation unit main body with a heat sink and air-cooling fan attached). [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a flow diagram (Example 6) of a method for obtaining a target cooling setting for pre-cooling. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example (Example 7) of application to sauna store management in the metaverse space. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and changes, modifications, and improvements can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0012] This article describes the improvement in the reproducibility of hot and cold sensations in a haptic wearable device by adopting a thin thermocouple 21 (see FIG. 3). As for a thermal manikin type temperature measurement unit (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "temperature measurement unit") 20 (see FIG. 2), the temperature measurement unit 20 adopts a thin thermocouple 21 as a temperature sensor, as opposed to a conventional device (Non-Patent Document 1) that uses a thermistor (thickness 450 μm), to improve the responsiveness of the system. In an experiment with the temperature measurement unit 20, the heater of a wearable device 10 (see FIG. 1 ((b-1) and (b-2)) equipped with a "Finger probe" having a similar structure was driven, and the temperature measurement unit 20 equipped with the thin thermocouple 21 measured the contact surface temperature fluctuation (robot finger surface temperature) when it touched an object (aluminum) at 50°C. The information was then transmitted by wire, and heating control was performed until the contact surface temperature reached the temperature, thereby confirming the reproducibility of thermal tactile sensation.

[0013] First, the results obtained for reproducing a thermal environment under high temperature conditions are described. Next, a new mechanism was added to the wearable device 10 to enable the reproduction of a thermal environment under low temperature conditions below room temperature, which had previously only been possible under high temperature conditions. The results of experiments conducted to grasp the characteristics of this mechanism are described.

[0014] (Remote Force Haptic Robot Arm System) 1(a-1), (a-2), (b-1), and (b-2) show the design drawing, external photograph, and wearable device 10 of the remote robot arm 1, respectively, for each component of the remote robot arm system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The remote robot arm 1 is equipped to a remote robot 110. When the wearable device 10 worn on the hand of an operator 100 is viewed obliquely from the back of the hand, it appears as shown in FIG. 1(b-1), and when viewed from the palm side, it appears as shown in FIG. 1(b-2). The remote robot arm 1 and the wearable device 10 are made of stainless steel to ensure their strength, and a heater 31 (not shown, see FIG. 9(b)) is mounted on the fingertip 11, allowing the user to experience the temperature measured remotely.

[0015] Figure 2 shows the thermal mannequin type temperature measurement unit 20. This unit 20 is easy to process and is composed of silicone rubber 23 and gel 22 (Oba Kiko Co., Ltd., Gel OK Packing. Actual measured thermal conductivity 0.16 W / mK) that have a thermal conductivity close to that of human skin and fat (Reference: Thermal conductivity skin: 0.21 W / mK, pork belly fat: 0.17 W / mK, silicone rubber: 0.20 W / mK). Inside, a heater 24 and a temperature control IC (temperature control unit) 25 are buried 3 mm deep from the finger surface to reproduce human body temperature, and the internal temperature is kept at about 37°C, reproducing the finger surface temperature of 33 to 34°C in a windless state at room temperature of about 27°C.

[0016] The gel surface on which the temperature sensor 21 is mounted is protected with 6 μm thick industrial wrap to prevent contamination. Since the thermosensor of human skin is located at a depth of 0.3 mm from the skin surface, the thermal manikin temperature measurement unit 20 is equipped with a self-made thin thermocouple 21 (Fig. 3) on the gel surface and at a depth of 0.3 mm from the surface (thin thermocouple 21A on the gel surface, thin thermocouple 21B at a depth of 0.3 mm from the surface). The temperature sensed by the human thermosensor is measured by the 0.3 mm deep thermocouple 21B. In this experiment, two thermal manikin temperature measurement units 20 are used, one on the fingertip 2 of the robot arm to measure the remote temperature, and the other on the wearable device heater 31 (see Fig. 9(b)) to evaluate the temperature felt by the operator 100 through the wearable device 10. The thermal manikin type temperature measuring unit 20 installed on the heater 31 is called a "finger probe 29."

[0017] The temperature sensor used was a thermocouple (K type, reference junction temperature is measured by a thermistor) that allows for local temperature measurement and can be processed to be thin. The thermocouples used here had a junction thickness of about 30 to 50 μm, and were named "thin thermocouples"21. The thin thermocouple that was fabricated is shown in Figure 3 (circular part diameter about 0.8 mm, side part thickness 50 μm). This prevents an air gap from forming on the surface that comes into contact with the measurement object, and reduces the effects of contact thermal resistance.

[0018] (Thermal environment reproduction experiment) FIG. 4 shows a block diagram 120 of the temperature transmission system. The operator 100's finger or finger probe 29 is in constant contact with the heater 12 of the wearable device 10, and the heater surface temperature determined as a result of interaction with the heater 31 is measured by the installed thin thermocouple 21. The surface temperature that rises when the fingertip 2 of the robot arm 1 touches a high-temperature object is transmitted as a PWM signal, and the heater 31 of the wearable device 10 is heated based on the information. That is, the heater heating duty ratio is changed as shown in FIG. 5 according to the temperature difference between the robot fingertip surface temperature and the surface temperature of the heater 31. The control of the drive output of the heater 31 is different from that of the conventional device (Yamane Kumi, Tsukada Tetsuji, Ishino Yojiro, Construction of a Tele-Haptics Robot Arm System to Experience Contact Thermal Environments in Remote Locations (Study on Thermal Environment Reproducibility in Wearable Devices), Thermal Engineering Conference 2022, (2022)), and heater heating control is performed even with a slight temperature difference.

[0019] FIG. 6 shows an experimental device 40 for a thermal environment reproduction experiment. The inset (a) of FIG. 6 shows an enlarged view of the fingertip of the thermal manikin-type temperature measurement unit 20, and the inset (b) shows an enlarged view of the finger probe 29. In the thermal environment reproduction experiment (FIG. 6), according to the method of FIG. 4, information on the surface temperature of the temperature measurement unit 20, which is assumed to be installed on the fingertip of a remote robot, and information on the surface temperature of the heater 31, which is assumed to be installed on a wearable device and measured with the finger probe 29 in contact with the heater 31, are transmitted to a temperature comparison circuit. The heater control circuit (heater control unit) 43 outputs a PWM pulse corresponding to the temperature difference, and controls the heater 31 (FIG. 7. Shinwa Measurement, FL Heater 01 PET 5Ω. Applied voltage 7.4V, maximum heater output 91.3W), so that the surface temperature of the robot finger 2 measured by the temperature measurement unit 20 matches the surface temperature of the heater 31.

[0020] The heater 31 (FIG. 9(b)) in a roughly sheet shape was made by using a cut-out 30 (FIG. 7(a-2), resistance value: 0.6 to 0.8Ω) from a commercially available sheet heater 30' (FIG. 7(a-1)). The heater 30 has a PET layer (25 μm, 75 μm) and an adhesive layer on both sides (FIG. 7(c(i)), but the PET layer was shaved off as thin as possible to improve thermal conduction (FIG. 7(ii) and (iii)). In this experiment, an aluminum cylinder 41 at 50°C was used as the high-temperature object. As shown in FIG. 6, the high-temperature object was placed on a load cell 42. The contact load between the temperature measuring unit 20 and the high-temperature object was set to 1.4 N. The time-series measured values ​​were recorded in a data recorder (GRAPHTEC, GL980). The heater may be in a completely sheet shape in order to present a uniform temperature to the contact skin, but may have other shapes as long as they can express the function of the heater in the present invention. Furthermore, when controlling the amount of heat transfer according to the contact pressure of the contacting skin area, the heater may be divided and the drive current may be changed for each heater section. For example, by controlling the heating of only the heater section touched by the finger of the operator 100, overheating of the non-contact heater section can be prevented.

[0021] (Thermal environment reproduction experiment) Figure 8 shows the results of an experiment to reproduce the thermal environment that occurs when touching an object with a moderately high temperature (50°C). The horizontal axis of Figure 8 represents the time elapsed after the start of contact, the left vertical axis represents the temperature, and the right vertical axis represents the duty ratio of the PWM pulse current for heating the heater and the heating power. In the figure, the solid line (black) represents the time-varying temperature of the robot finger (surface temperature is the thick black solid line A, and 0.3 mm depth temperature is the thin black solid line B), the dashed line C (red) represents the time-varying temperature of the surface of the heater 12 of the wearable device 10 (thick red dashed dotted line), and the dashed line (blue) represents the time-varying temperature of the finger probe 29 placed on the heater 12 of the wearable device 10 (surface temperature is the thick blue dashed line D, and 0.3 mm depth temperature is the thin blue dashed line E).

[0022] First, it is recognized that the temperature felt by the thermosensory nerve when a human touches a high-temperature object is the temperature at a depth of 0.3 mm where the thermosensory organs are located (thin black solid line B). When the inventors actually touched the aluminum block, they did not feel any temperature at first, but felt a rise in temperature after 1-2 seconds, and felt a high temperature after 4-5 seconds. The temperature at thin black solid line B in Figure 8 was below 40°C until 1 second had elapsed, and only exceeded 42°C at 3-4 seconds. It can be seen that the temperature at a depth of 0.3 mm of the robot finger (thin black solid line B) closely reproduces the human thermosensation that was to be reproduced in this experiment, and can be used as a target value for reproducing the temperature in a remote temperature environment.

[0023] From FIG. 8, the heater surface temperature for the wearable device (thick red dashed line C) is slightly delayed from the temperature rise of the robot finger surface temperature (thin black solid line B) immediately after the start of contact, but it generally coincides with it. This is the result of the heater heating duty ratio rising sharply in response to the temperature difference with the heater 31 surface temperature (thick red dashed line C) caused by the rise in the robot finger surface temperature after contact, and high-output heating being performed. The surface temperature of the finger probe 29 (thick blue dashed line D), which is installed so as to be in constant contact with the heater 31, always almost coincides with the heater surface temperature (thick red dashed line C), and appropriate inflow of control heat from the heater 31 to the finger probe 29 can be confirmed. The temperature history (thin blue dashed line E) at a depth of 0.3 mm of the finger probe 29, which is heated and controlled by this inflow of control heat, shows extremely good agreement with the temperature change at a depth of 0.3 mm of the robot finger (thin black solid line B), which is the target temperature change to be reproduced as a temperature change perceived by humans, and it can be seen that this method can obtain good remote thermal environment reproduction.

[0024] In Fig. 8, the theoretical value of the temperature (thick black solid line A) of the robot finger surface (contact temperature of two semi-infinite objects) is the temperature of the high-temperature side (aluminum, initial temperature 50°C, thermal conductivity λ = 237 W / mK, density ρ = 2688 kg / m 3 , specific heat c=905J / kgK, thermal effusivity b=(λρc) 1 / 2 =24011J / m 2 s 1 / 2 K) and low temperature side (gel, initial temperature 33.5°C, λ = 0.162 W / mK, ρ = 895 kg / m 3,c=2745J / kgK,b=630J / m 2 s 1 / 2 From the conditions of 100°C (100°F), the contact surface temperature is calculated to be 49.6°C, which indicates that according to the above theory, the contact surface temperature will always be this theoretical temperature from the moment of contact. In reality, as shown in Figure 8, the temperature of the robot finger surface (thick black solid line A) rises rapidly toward the theoretical temperature at the beginning of contact, then becomes constant at a temperature close to the theoretical value, and after 10 seconds it reaches the theoretical value of 49.6°C.

[0025] (Thermal sensation reproduction device) The above system provided good thermal environment reproduction on the hot side. Therefore, the following describes the construction of a system that allows the user to experience low-temperature temperatures. In this invention, a Peltier element is used as a cooling mechanism, and a system was developed in which the heater is responsible for the high-temperature side and the Peltier element is responsible for the low-temperature side.

[0026] By the way, it is possible to realize both heating and cooling with a Peltier element alone. Katsura et al. (Katsura, S. and Morimitsu, H., "Thermal Bilateral Control for Reproduction of Thermal Contact between Remote Places", Proceedings of International Symposium on Haptic Interfaces for Virtual Environment and Teleoperator Systems (HAPTICS), 2011) reproduced a remote thermal environment using a thin Peltier element that they developed themselves. On the other hand, it is considered difficult to obtain good transient response performance because of the thermal capacity of the element itself, since a normal Peltier element uses a ceramic plate. Similarly, it is considered difficult to obtain good transient response performance when using other heat transport devices that have a large thermal capacity or slow transient response performance, such as heat exchangers using cold water, low-temperature refrigerants, cold gases, and cold and hot heat storage bodies, which require a long time to exchange the medium. Peltier elements and such heat transport devices are collectively referred to as "Peltier element-like slow response heat transfer devices". Therefore, in this invention, we have invented a temperature and cold sensation presenting unit body that uses a Peltier element or a "Peltier element-like slow response heat transfer device" only for the constant cooling function, and inserts a heater with a small thermal capacity and high heat output between the Peltier element or "Peltier element-like slow response heat transfer device" and the operator, and is able to control transient temperature fluctuations depending on the degree of heating of this heater, as well as a method of using this unit body.

[0027] (Experiment to confirm cooling method: Equipment and method) FIG. 9 shows an outline of an experiment comparing the cooling response performance for two cooling methods. FIG. 9(a) shows the case of the "Peltier only method" (comparison example), and FIG. 9(b) shows the case of a combination of a heater and a Peltier element ("heater-Peltier method") (Example). The "heater-Peltier method" is realized by a warm / cold sensation presenting unit main body 35 (Example 1), and when the warm / cold sensation presenting unit main body 35 is further equipped with a heat sink 36, it becomes a warm / cold sensation presenting unit 37 (Example 2). The cooling method for the heat sink may be a natural air cooling method as shown in FIG. 9, but it may also be a forced air cooling method using a fan or a water cooling method.

[0028] First, in the case of the "Peltier unit method" (Fig. 9(a)), in the initial state, the surface where the cooling surface 33 of the Peltier element 32 and the Finger Probe 29 come into contact are kept at 25°C, and at time 0 seconds, a voltage is applied to the Peltier element 32 to start cooling. On the other hand, in the case of the "heater-Peltier method", in the initial state, both the Peltier element 32 and the heater 31 are driven, the surface where the heater surface and the Finger Probe 29 come into contact are kept at 25°C, and the current to the heater 31 is cut off at time 0 seconds to achieve the maximum cooling speed. The Peltier element 32 (TEC1-06306) is driven at 6 V and 4.5 A, and a heat sink 36 is attached to the heat dissipation surface 34. Heat dissipation silicon (thermal conductivity 0.84 [W / (m·K)]) is applied to the contact surfaces of the Peltier element 32, the heat sink 36, and the heater 31. The voltage applied to the heater 31 is 7.4 V, the same as in the high-temperature environment reproduction experiment (thermal environment reproduction experiment). Each of the warm / cold sensation presentation units realizing the "Peltier unit method" and the "heater-Peltier method," as well as the main body of each of these warm / cold sensation presentation units, is equipped with a power source and necessary wiring (not shown).

[0029] (Results of cooling method verification experiment) Fig. 10 shows the results for the "Peltier unit method" (Comparative Example), and Fig. 11 shows the results for the "Heater-Peltier method" (Example 3). The horizontal axis represents the elapsed time, and the left vertical axis represents the temperature. In Figs. 10 and 11, the blue solid line A represents the temperature change over time on the surface of Finger Probe 29 that is in contact with cooling surface 33 of Peltier element 32, the yellow dashed line B represents the temperature change over time on the surface where heat dissipation surface 34 of Peltier element 33 is in contact with heat sink 36, the red dot-dash line C represents the temperature change over time on the heater surface, and the yellow solid line D represents the temperature change over time on the surface where the back side of the heater is in contact with cooling surface 33.

[0030] In the case of the "Peltier unit method" (Fig. 10), it took 2.1 seconds for the surface temperature of the Finger Probe 29 (blue solid line A) to drop by 10°C from the initial temperature (25.6°C). It also took 8.6 seconds for it to drop to 0°C. The temperature of the heat dissipation surface 34 (yellow dashed line B) began to rise from the initial temperature of 24.5°C as soon as cooling began, and after reaching 30°C in 4.1 seconds, the change became more gradual, reaching 32.7°C at 15 seconds. On the other hand, in the case of the "heater-Peltier method" (Fig. 11), it took only 0.5 seconds for the surface temperature of the Finger Probe 29 (blue solid line A) to drop by 10°C from the initial temperature (24.7°C).

[0031] The time to reach 0°C is 7.3 seconds. As described above, the "heater-Peltier system" (Fig. 11) adopted in the present invention achieved a temperature drop speed four times faster. This is because, in the "Peltier unit system," it takes time to cool the heat capacity of the Peltier element itself, whereas in the "heater-Peltier system," the cooling surface 33 is always cooled, and even if the surface temperature of the Finger Probe 29 (blue solid line A) is initially 24.7°C, the cooling surface temperature (yellow solid line D) is maintained at 9.6°C. A temperature difference of about 15°C has already occurred between both sides of the heater 31, that is, between the surface in contact with the Finger Probe 29 and the surface in contact with the cooling surface 33. When the heater heating is stopped, a lot of heat moves from this temperature difference inside the heater to the cooling surface 33 side. Combined with the further drop in the cooling surface temperature (yellow solid line D), an extremely fast cooling performance of the surface temperature of the Finger Probe 29 is obtained compared to the "Peltier unit system."

[0032] That is, the heater heating normally offsets the constant pre-cooling of the Peltier element, but rapid cooling can be achieved by stopping the heater heating. When cooling other than rapid cooling, the heater heating current can be reduced while controlling it based on the surface temperature difference.

[0033] (Design and manufacture of heating and cooling equipment to be installed in the actual machine) The warm / cold sensation providing unit 70 (FIG. 12(d), Example 4) is mounted on the fingertip portion of the wearable device 10 (see FIGS. 1(b-1), (b-1), Example 5). The warm / cold sensation providing unit 70 includes a sheet-shaped heater (sheet heater) 31, a Peltier element 32, and a heat sink 36. It also includes a power source (not shown) and necessary wiring. 9(b) (Example 2), the cooling surface 33 of the Peltier element is configured as a finger rest portion 61. As shown in FIG.

[0034] The finger rest 61 is made of aluminum alloy (high thermal conductivity material A6063. Thermal conductivity: 220 [W / (m·k)], density: 2690 [kg / m 3 ])) and has a shape that fits the fingertips of the operator 100, and the sheet heater 31 (Fig. 7) and copper foil 62 are attached to the cylindrical recesses 61a, 61b, 61c (Figs. 12(a-1) and (a-2)) by a cylindrical pressing tool 64 with a minimum thickness of adhesive 63 (Fig. 12(b)), and a Peltier element 32 (Laser Create, TEC1-06305T125) is attached to the flat surface on the opposite side. A thin heat sink 36' is attached to the underside of the Peltier element 32 and is cooled by a thin fan or water cooler.

[0035] (How to reduce power consumption by setting the target cooling value) As shown in FIG. 13 (Example 6), instead of constant cooling which consumes a lot of power, the temperature and distance of the remote actual environment are measured in a visual field (two-dimensional), the required cooling temperature is calculated and predicted, and only the required cooling temperature is prepared, thereby reducing power consumption as follows.

[0036] In other words, the "minimum temperature that can be presented" calculated based on two-dimensional non-contact temperature measurement, two-dimensional distance measurement, two-dimensional velocity field, self-movement speed, etc. in the remote real-space environment (Figure 13, top diagram), or inferred by AI (artificial intelligence), etc., is used as the target cooling setting value for pre-cooling, and the cooling drive is changed according to the situation, making it possible to significantly reduce power consumption.

[0037] Here, two-dimensional distance measurement and two-dimensional velocity field measurement (approach velocity field measurement) in remote real space can be measured by LIDAR or stereo photography. The advantages of using this information, in addition to the temperature field, are described below. For example, when using this system for VR (virtual reality) hiking on mountain trails in early spring, pre-cooling is activated when there is remaining snow (low temperature area) within reach. However, even if the same low temperature area is within view, if it is the snowcap of a distant mountain range, pre-cooling is not necessary. Also, if the remaining snow within reach is simply blocked and hidden by branches and leaves, pre-cooling is necessary, but this can be inferred by using AI, etc. In this case, by using information on the self-moving speed, the position of the nearby remaining snow that was stationary at the previous time can be easily calculated even if the remaining snow is hidden and cannot be seen.

[0038] A good example of when a velocity field is needed is a snowball fight event held in a hot city of buildings in the summer, where even if the prepared snowball (low temperature area) is out of reach, if the proximity velocity field measurement detects that the snowball has been thrown towards you, it is possible to start pre-cooling before the snowball reaches reachable distance. Also, if the purpose of the event is determined by AI or input by the operator into the system, it is possible to decide to keep the system cooling at all times.

[0039] (Avatar experience in the metaverse and cyberspace) The hot and cold display device in this system and the power consumption reduction method using the above-mentioned pre-cooling target cooling setting value can be used for avatar experiences in cyberspace such as the metaverse, as well as remote environment experiences in the real world (Figure 13, lower diagram).

[0040] The information transmission required for an avatar experience in cyberspace such as the metaverse can be considered as follows: When bidirectionality is required, the operator's heat transfer information (for example, the internal temperature of the fingers, surface temperature, sweating status, thermal conductivity of the skin, thermal diffusion coefficient, etc.) is transmitted to cyberspace, but there are two possible cases: "Case 1" where the surface temperature of the avatar after contact calculated using a heat transfer physical model is transmitted from cyberspace, and "Case 2" where only thermal information from cyberspace (pre-contact temperature of the contact object, thermal conductivity, density, heat capacity, specific heat, etc.) is transmitted.

[0041] In the former case, "Case 1," the cyberspace side calculates and transmits the contact surface temperature, and the hot / cold display device is driven to reproduce the transmitted surface temperature. On the other hand, in the latter case, "Case 2," it becomes necessary to calculate the contact surface temperature from the transmitted thermal information. The calculation method required for the calculation is provided as application software in cyberspace. The contact surface temperature can be calculated by performing numerical analysis using knowledge of heat transfer and heat transfer calculation software provided by the cyberspace side.

[0042] To explain this with a concrete example, it is easy to understand if you think about running a sauna shop in the metaverse space (Figure 14). In the sauna room, visitors are exposed to air that is over 80°C, but the temperature of their skin surface is kept below 42°C so that they do not get burned. A sauna shop in the metaverse space receives information such as the internal temperature of body tissues and heat transfer information from customers (operators), and in "Case 1" (Figure 14, top), the shop calculates the contact surface temperature from information such as the sauna room's air temperature and humidity, as well as information from the customer, and transmits this to the customer. In "Case 2," information such as the sauna room's air temperature, humidity, airflow speed, and turbulence strength, as well as application software for calculating the contact surface temperature, is provided to the customer (operator).

[0043] In the above, the heat transfer surface of the Peltier-like slow response heat transfer device on the operator side is designated as the cooling side. However, if the space in which the operator is present is extremely cold and the remote environment is warm, the heat transfer surface of the Peltier-like slow response heat transfer device on the operator side can be used as the heating surface by passing a current in the opposite direction to the Peltier-like slow response heat transfer device or by supplying hot water or hot gas, for example, and the Peltier-like slow response heat transfer device can be used as a heating device.

[0044] In the above explanation and examples, the temperature-sensing parts are focused on the fingers, but the temperature-sensing parts are not limited to the fingers. For example, in the case of a VR foot bath experience, the feet are the target, and in the case of a VR sauna experience, the whole body is the target. Therefore, the wearable device equipped with the hot and cold sensation presenting unit of the present invention can be worn on all parts of the body such as the hands, fingers, feet, and legs of a human, but it can also be worn on animals (pets, animals in shelters), machines, etc. Even when such non-humans are the target of wearing the wearable device, the target of wearing it will be called the "operator" or "experiencer." [Industrial Applicability]

[0045] Applications include telethermal haptics systems, remote thermal environment experiences, temperature-sensing experiences in virtual travel (hot springs, foot baths, the temperature of babbling mountain streams, snowball fights, powder snow, etc.), metaverse experiences (avatar experiences in cyberspace, a concrete example being sauna shops), VR, remote construction machinery, etc. In terms of future market potential, as it can provide high-quality hot and cold experiences, it is expected to grow significantly as an option for conventional virtual travel and as a metaverse device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 1: Remote Robot Arm 2: Robot arm fingertips (fingers) 10: Wearable devices 11: Fingertip part of the wearable device (fingertip part) 20: Thermal manikin type temperature measurement unit (temperature measurement unit) 21: Thin thermocouple (temperature sensor) 21A: Thin thermocouple on gel surface 21B: Thin thermocouple at a depth of 0.3 mm from the surface 22: Gel 23: Silicone rubber 24: Heater 25: Temperature control IC (temperature control section) 29: Finger probe 30: Cut out from a commercially available seat heater 30´: Commercially available seat heater 31: Sheet-shaped heater (seat heater) 32: Peltier element 33: Cooling surface of Peltier element 34: Heat dissipation surface of Peltier element 35: Thermal sensation presentation unit main body 36: Heat sink 36´: Low profile heat sink 37: Thermal sensation presentation unit 40: Experimental equipment for thermal environment reproduction experiments 41: Aluminum cylinder 42: Load cell 43: Heater control circuit (heater control unit) 61: Finger rest 61a, 61b, 61c: cylindrical recess 62: Copper foil 63: Glue 64: Cylindrical pressing tool 70: Thermal sensation presentation unit 100: Operator 110: Remote robot 120: Block diagram of temperature transmission system

Claims

1. A warm / cold sensation presentation unit body comprising a Peltier element-like slow response heat transfer device and a heater arranged to be capable of transferring heat to a cooling surface, which is one side surface of the Peltier element-like slow response heat transfer device.

2. 2. The warm / cold sensation providing unit according to claim 1, further comprising a heat sink disposed on the other side of the Peltier element-like slow-response heat transfer device, which is a heat dissipation surface, so as to be capable of conducting heat.

3. A wearable device that can be worn on a hand, comprising a finger rest portion, a hot / cold sensation presentation unit as described in claim 2, a temperature sensor, and a heater control portion possessed by the hot / cold sensation presentation unit, the heater being positioned so as to be capable of conducting heat to at least a portion of the surface of the hand.

4. The wearable device according to claim 3 , wherein at least a portion of the surface of the hand is a fingertip of the hand.

5. A robot arm possessed by a remote robot operated by an operator, the robot arm comprising a temperature measurement unit that provides temperature as input information to a temperature control unit of a wearable device described in claim 3 or 4 worn by the operator, the temperature measurement unit having a temperature sensor.

6. A method for promoting temperature reduction of a contact surface, characterized by using the warm / cold sensation presentation unit described in claim 2 and promoting a temperature reduction of the contact surface with the heater surface by controlling the cooling state of the heat sink and the heating state of the heater.

7. 7. The temperature reduction accelerating system according to claim 6, wherein the cooling surface is constantly cooled.

8. A remote robot arm system comprising: a wearable device according to claim 4; and a robot arm according to claim 5.

9. The cooling surface described in claim 7 is not always cooled, but is calculated based on two-dimensional non-contact temperature measurement, two-dimensional distance measurement, two-dimensional velocity field, self-movement speed, etc. of a remote real space environment, and the cooling drive is changed according to the situation as a target cooling setting value for pre-cooling.

10. A method for promoting temperature reduction of a contact surface, characterized in that, instead of the cooling surface described in claim 7 being constantly cooled, the minimum temperature that may be presented, which is estimated by AI (artificial intelligence) or the like, is used as a target cooling setting value for pre-cooling, and the cooling drive is changed according to the situation.

11. A method for promoting temperature reduction of a contact surface, characterized in that when the surface temperature of an avatar after contact in an avatar experience in cyberspace instead of the remote real-space environment described in claim 9 is transmitted, a temperature reduction promotion method for a contact surface is characterized by driving a hot and cold display device so as to reproduce the transmitted surface temperature.

12. A method for promoting temperature reduction of a contact surface, characterized in that when only thermal information of a cyberspace avatar experience in cyberspace instead of a remote real space environment as described in claim 9 is transmitted, application software is provided from the cyberspace side to enable the experiencer to calculate the contact surface temperature required to operate the thermal sensation presentation unit.

13. A business model that provides avatar experiences in cyberspace, in which a user wears and uses a warm / cold sensation presentation unit to experience an avatar experience in cyberspace, characterized in that when the surface temperature of the avatar after contact is transmitted, the warm / cold sensation presentation unit is driven so as to reproduce the transmitted surface temperature.

14. A business model that provides avatar experiences in cyberspace, characterized in that in an avatar experience in cyberspace in which a user wears and uses a warm / cold sensation presentation unit, and in which only thermal information of the avatar experience in cyberspace is transmitted, application software is provided from the cyberspace side to enable the user to calculate the contact surface temperature required to operate the warm / cold sensation presentation unit.

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