Contactless Thermal Stimulus Device for Persistent Cold Sensation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices that provide thermal stimuli to the skin struggle to replicate a natural sense of a real environment, as they often fail to provide a persistent and immersive cold sensation.
Innovation Solution
A cold sensation presentation device that contactlessly delivers cold and warm stimuli using different heat transfer methods, with a control unit managing the intensity and duration of these stimuli to mimic natural temperature changes, ensuring the cold stimulus remains constant while the warm stimulus intensity varies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If contact thermal stimulus is used to give cold sensation, then the cold sensation can be provided, but the natural sense of being in a real environment cannot be given and skin dullness occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces contact-based thermal stimulus (mechanical contact) with contactless thermal stimulus using infrared radiation. The cold stimulus section emits infrared radiation to provide cold sensation without physical contact with the skin, thereby maintaining skin naturalness and preventing skin dullness while achieving persistent cold sensation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent controls the intensity of cold and warm stimuli by adjusting parameters such as the on/off timing and duration of stimulus application. By varying these temporal parameters, the system creates natural temperature fluctuations that mimic real environmental changes, enhancing immersion while maintaining skin health.
2Ease of operation
If contactless thermal stimulus is used, then skin naturalness is maintained, but the ability to provide persistent cold sensation is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs periodic alternation between cold stimulus states and warm stimulus states. The control unit switches between these states in a rhythmic pattern, where cold stimulus is applied during cold states and warm stimulus during warm states, creating persistent cold sensation through temporal modulation while maintaining skin naturalness via contactless delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent ensures continuous cold sensation by maintaining the cold stimulus in a steady state during cold stimulus states, with the control unit keeping the cold stimulus intensity constant. This continuous application combined with periodic warm stimulus intervals creates sustained cold perception without compromising skin naturalness.
3Reliability
If cold stimulus intensity is increased to enhance cold sensation, then cold sensation strength improves, but excessive temperature drops and skin damage risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit monitors the skin temperature and stimulus intensity in real-time, adjusting the cold and warm stimulus application accordingly. This feedback mechanism ensures that cold sensation strength is optimized while preventing excessive temperature drops that could cause skin damage, by dynamically balancing stimulus intensity with physiological responses.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically adjusts the intensity and duration of cold and warm stimuli based on real-time conditions. The control unit varies stimulus parameters flexibly, applying stronger cold stimulus when needed for enhanced sensation and reducing intensity to prevent excessive temperature drops, thereby adapting to individual physiological states.
4Reliability
If thermal stimulus is applied continuously to maintain cold sensation, then sensation persistence improves, but energy consumption and skin comfort deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses periodic alternation between cold and warm stimulus states to maintain sensation persistence. Instead of continuous cold stimulus application, the system cycles between cold and warm phases, reducing overall energy consumption while maintaining effective cold sensation through the rhythmic pattern of stimulus delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent strategically applies warm stimulus during warm stimulus states to recover skin temperature, then applies cold stimulus during cold stimulus states to restore the desired cold sensation. This cycle of discarding warm stimulus and recovering cold sensation (and vice versa) maintains persistence while optimizing energy efficiency through targeted stimulus application.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device effectively provides a persistent cold sensation akin to a real environment, reducing skin dullness and excessive temperature drops, while allowing for independent control of thermal stimuli without skin contact, enhancing the sense of immersion and comfort.
Implementation Method 1
among conduction, convection, and radiation, which are types of heat transfer methods, a type with which the cold stimulus section gives the cold stimulus
Implementation Method 2
among conduction, convection, and radiation, which are types of heat transfer methods, a type with which the warm stimulus section gives the warm stimulus
Data Source
AI summary
A cold sensation presentation device includes: a cold stimulus section that contactlessly gives a cold stimulus to a skin; a warm stimulus section that contactlessly gives a warm stimulus to a skin; and a control unit that presents a cold sensation by causing a temporal change in the intensity of the cold stimulus in a cold stimulus state where the intensity of the warm stimulus is relatively small and a temporal change in the intensity of the warm stimulus in a warm stimulus state where the intensity of the warm stimulus is relatively large to be different from each other, and repeating the cold stimulus state and the warm stimulus state in a state of keeping the intensity of the cold stimulus constant.