Patent Application
20180210554
The present invention relates to a tactile sensation reproduction apparatus capable of feeling, when gripping an operation body provided in an input device by a finger, a reaction force that simulates holding of a virtual held object by the finger.
Patent Document 1 describes an invention regarding a virtual space display device.
The virtual space display device is configured to communicate between a terminal communication unit and a server, and a touch panel including a liquid crystal display and an input unit is provided at the terminal communication unit.
An image of a shopping mall is displayed on the liquid crystal display of the touch panel by communication from the server. When a user drags the touch panel, a scene in the displayed shopping mall can be moved, and when the user taps a product (merchandise) thumbnail in the image of the shopping mall, detailed information of the product is displayed in a screen. The user can temporarily collect products planning to buy at a stock area, and can by the products by a payment process on the stocked products.
According to the virtual space display device described in Patent Document 1, the user can confirm prices and colors of products that are displayed in a store of the shopping mall, and can search a product to buy by referring to detailed information of the product.
However, as it is impossible to actually touch the product by a hand, the user cannot feel a size or texture of the product by the hand. Further, when a product is a tool that cuts a workpiece or that bends a workpiece by an operation of a hand, it is impossible to feel at what feeling the operation is performed by the hand.
The present invention is made in light of the above problems, and provides a tactile sensation reproduction apparatus capable of reproducing an operation feeling near an actual state when operating a held object that mechanically acts such as a tool by a hand.
A tactile sensation reproduction apparatus, includes an input device; and a control unit, wherein the input device includes a plurality of operation bodies that protrude in an opposite direction from the case, a position detection device that detects a protruded position of each of the operation bodies from the case, and a motor that provides a force to each of the operation bodies, wherein when it is detected that the operation body is moved by being pushed toward the case based on the detection signal from the position detection device, the control unit drives the motor to give a reaction force to the moved operation body, and wherein when it is detected that one of the operation bodies is moved toward the case earlier than the other of the operation bodies based on the detection signal from the position detection device, the control unit drives the motor such that the other of the operation bodies is also moved toward the case.
According to the tactile sensation reproduction apparatus of the disclosure, when it is determined that one of the operation bodies is moved toward the case earlier than the other of the operation bodies for greater than or equal to a predetermined distance with respect to that of the other of the operation bodies, the other of the operation bodies may be controlled to follow the preceding operation body to be moved toward the case.
According to the tactile sensation reproduction apparatus of the disclosure, when one of the operation bodies that is moved toward the case is moved in a direction protruding from the case, in accordance with this, the other of the operation bodies may be returned to a position protruding from the case by power of the motor.
The tactile sensation reproduction apparatus of the disclosure may be configured such that a thumb operation body that is pushed and operated by a thumb, and a first opposing operation body and a second opposing operation body that are individually pushed and operated by an index finger and a middle finger, are provided in the input device, and the first opposing operation body and the second opposing operation body protrude in a direction opposite to a protruding direction of the thumb operation body.
The tactile sensation reproduction apparatus of the invention may further include a display device, and it is preferable that the control unit displays an image of a virtual held object and an image of a hand in a display screen of the display device, and when the operation bodies of the input device are held by a finger, an image in which the image of the hand holds the image of the held object is displayed.
According to the tactile sensation reproduction apparatus of the disclosure, the virtual held object includes a pair of holding portions including a common fulcrum to rotate, an image in which one of the holding portions is held by the thumb and the other of the holding portions is held by the index finger and the middle finger is displayed, and when the thumb operation body is pushed by the thumb or the first opposing operation body or the second opposing operation body is pushed by the index finger or the middle finger, the image is changed such that the pair of holding portions are approaching each other in the displayed image.
For example, the held object is a cut-off tool that is operated by being sandwiched by a thumb, an index finger and a middle finger.
Alternatively, the held object is cutting pliers that are operated by being sandwiched by a thumb, an index finger and a middle finger.
Alternatively, the held object is a stapler that is operated by being sandwiched by a thumb, an index finger and a middle finger.
According to the tactile sensation reproduction apparatus of the disclosure, when one of a plurality of operation bodies protruding from an input device is pushed earlier than the other of the operation bodies, following this, the other of the operation bodies is retracted toward a case. By adopting this structure, a holding feeling same as operating various products by a hand such as a tool in which holding portions are symmetrically acting in conjunction with each other can be reproduced.
The tactile sensation reproduction apparatus 1A of the first embodiment illustrated in
The input device 20 is connected to the device body 10A by an electric cord 52. A display device 13 is provided at the device body 10A. The display device 13 is a color liquid crystal display panel, an electroluminescent display panel and the like. The device body 10A is a personal computer, a display device for demonstration having a relatively large display screen, and the like.
As illustrated in
The tactile sensation reproduction apparatus 1B of the second embodiment illustrated in
The device body 10B includes a mask-shaped main body 11 mounted in front of eyes, and a strap 12 for mounting the mask-shaped main body 11 on a head.
The display device 13 is provided at the mask-shaped main body 11 of the device body 10B. The display device 13 is provided in front of eyes of an operator and is configured to be viewable. The display driver 14, the control unit 15, the interfaces 16 and the like illustrated in
In a usage example illustrated in
As illustrated in
A surface of the upper case 22 that faces in the Z direction is a first surface 22a, and a surface of the lower case 23 that faces in the Z direction is a second surface 23a. As illustrated in
A connector insertion hole 26 is opened at an end surface of the upper case 22 that faces in the Y direction, and a power supply plug insertion hole 27 is opened at an end surface of the lower case 23 that faces in the Y direction.
As illustrated in
The first tactile sensation generation unit 30A and a second tactile sensation generation unit 30B are fixed at one side of the partition plate portion 28b in an X direction. The first tactile sensation generation unit 30A and the second tactile sensation generation unit 30B are aligned in a Y direction. A single third tactile sensation generation unit 40 is placed at the other side of the partition plate portion 28b in the X direction.
The first tactile sensation generation unit 30A includes a frame 31 that is formed by bending a metal plate 30. The first tactile sensation generation unit 30A is mounted on the mechanism chassis 28 by fixing the frame 31 to the partition plate portion 28b.
A movable member 32A is provided at the frame 31. The movable member 32A is formed by a synthetic resin material, and a first opposing operation body 33A is fixed at a front portion of the movable member 32A. The first opposing operation body 33A is formed by a synthetic resin material. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
A motor 35A is fixed to the sidewall portion 31a of the frame 31. An output gear 36a is fixed to an output shaft of the motor 35A. A reduction gear 36b is rotatably supported at an outer surface of the sidewall portion 31a, and the output gear 36a and the reduction gear 36b are engaging with each other. A gear box 37 is fixed to the sidewall portion 31a of the frame 31, and a reduction mechanism is housed in the gear box 37. A rotary force of the reduction gear 36b is reduced by the reduction mechanism in the gear box 37. The reduction mechanism in the gear box 37 is configured by a sun gear, a planet gear and the like.
A pinion (PIN pin) 37a is fixed to a reduction output shaft of the gear box 37. A rack portion 32c is formed at a surface of a thick portion of the movable member 32A, and the pinion 37a and the rack portion 32c are engaging with each other. A teeth portion of the pinion 37a and a teeth portion of the rack portion 32c are inclined teeth that are inclined with respect to the Y direction that is oblique to a moving direction of the movable member 32A.
By providing the compression coil spring 34, backlash between the pinion 37a and the rack portion 32c can be eliminated. However, the compression coil spring 34 may not be provided in each of the tactile sensation generation units.
A position detection device 38A is fixed at another sidewall portion 31b of the frame 31. The position detection device 38A includes a stator portion fixed to the sidewall portion 31b and a rotor portion facing the stator portion and rotating. A rotor shaft provided at the rotor portion rotates with the pinion 37a. The position detection device 38A is a resistance variation type, and an arc resistive pattern is provided at the stator portion, and a slider that slides the resistive pattern is provided at the rotor portion. Here, the position detection device 38A may be a magnetic detection type in which a rotation magnet is fixed at the rotor portion, a magnetic detection element such as a GMR element is provided at the stator portion, and a rotation angle of the rotor portion is detected by the magnetic detection element. Alternatively, the position detection device 38A may be an optical position detection device.
As illustrated in
In the second tactile sensation generation unit 30B, a second opposing operation body 33B is fixed at an upper portion of a movable member 32B in the z side. The second opposing operation body 33B has a same shape and a same size as those of the first opposing operation body 33A.
Further, in the second tactile sensation generation unit 30B, although a motor is indicated by “35B” and a position detection device is indicated by “38B”, these are the same as the motor 35A and the position detection device 38A provided in the first tactile sensation generation unit 30A, respectively.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Although the third tactile sensation generation unit 40 has a basic structure same as that of each the first tactile sensation generation unit 30A and the second tactile sensation generation unit 30B, the third tactile sensation generation unit 40 is formed slightly larger. In the third tactile sensation generation unit 40, the movable member 42 is movably supported on a frame 41 in the Z direction, and a thumb operation body 43 is fixed as a front portion of the movable member 42. The thumb operation body 43 protrudes downward in the drawing from the operation hole 25 of the lower case 23. The movable member 42 is pushed by a compression coil spring 44 in a direction in which the thumb operation body 43 protrudes from the operation hole 25. As described above, this compression coil spring 44 may be omitted.
A width of the thumb operation body 43 in the Y direction is formed to be larger than that of each of the first opposing operation body 33A and the second opposing operation body 33B, and both the first opposing operation body 33A and the second opposing operation body 33B are opposing the thumb operation body 43 in the Z direction. As illustrated in
In the third tactile sensation generation unit 40 as well, a motor 45 is fixed to the frame 41, and an output gear 46a fixed to an output shaft of the motor 45 engages with a reduction gear 46b. A rotary force of the reduction gear 46b is reduced by a reduction mechanism in a gear box 47, and the reduced output is transmitted from a pinion to a rack portion formed at the movable member 42. Then, the rotation of the pinion is detected by a position detection device 48.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in the block diagram of
Each of the motor drivers 51 is connected to the signal connector 17 via a respective interface 17a.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The device body 10A or 10B and the respective input device 20 are capable of communicating with each other by an RF signal, and a battery may be included in the input device 20. In such a case, the electric cord 52 connecting the device body 10A or 10B and the input device 20 is unnecessary.
Further, the device body 10A or 10B may have a communication function with a server.
Further, in each of the device body 10A illustrated in
Next, a method of operating the tactile sensation reproduction apparatus 1A or 1B and its operation are described.
As illustrated in
In the input device 20, a control instruction is supplied from the control unit 15 to each of the motor drivers 51, and the motor 35A of the first tactile sensation generation unit 30A, the motor 35B of the second tactile sensation generation unit 30B and the motor 45 of the third tactile sensation generation unit 40 are operated based on the control instruction.
By controlling rotations of the motors 35A and 35B and the motor 45, the movable members 32A and 32B and the movable member 42 can be moved to desired positions and stopped at the positions, respectively. For example, it is possible to stop the first opposing operation body 33A, the second opposing operation body 33B and the thumb operation body 43 at positions that are protruded from the case 21 at the maximum, or to stop the operation bodies 33A, 33B and 43 at positions that are backslid in the case 21 at the maximum. Further, it is possible to stop the operation bodies 33A and 33B and the operation body 43 at desired positions between the maximum protruded positions and the maximum backslid positions, respectively.
Then, by controlling electric power supplied to each of the motors 35A and 35B and the motor 45, rotors of the motors 35A, 35B and 45 can be retained by strong forces so that the operation bodies 33A, 33B and 40 protruded from the case 21 are not moved.
Under a state in which each of the movable members 32A, 32B and 42 is movable, when one of the first opposing operation body 33A, the second opposing operation body 33B and the thumb operation body 43 is pushed, and the respective movable member 32A, 32B or 42 is moved in a pushdown direction, a moved position is detected by the respective position detection device 38A or 38B, or the position detection device 48 and a detection output is supplied to the control unit 15. The control unit 15 stores data regarding a line of action of a reaction force (coefficient of action of a reaction force) that indicates a relationship between a moved distance and a reaction force, and the motor 35A or 35B, or the motor 45 generates a torque in accordance with the pushed down position of the operation body 33A, 33B or 43 corresponding to the line of action of a reaction force. With this, a reaction force is given to an index finger and a middle finger pushing the opposing operation bodies 33A and 33B, and a thumb pushing the thumb operation body 43.
An axis of ordinates indicates locomotion given by the motors 35A, 35B and 45 to the movable members 32A, 32B and 42, respectively, and the locomotion becomes the reaction force given to each finger from the opposing operation body 33A or 33B, or the thumb operation body 43. As a positive number of the axis of ordinates becomes larger, a force to protrude the opposing operation body 33A or 33B, or the thumb operation body 43 from the case 21 becomes larger, and a reaction force felt by a finger becomes larger. A number of the axis of ordinates of a chart illustrated in each of
A solid line in a graph of each of
For example, in each of
In each of
(Tactile Sensation Reaction Force when Operating Virtual Cut-Off Tool)
The tactile sensation reproduction apparatus 1A or 1B can make a hand of an operator feel a reaction force simulating situations of holding plural types of virtual held objects by a hand. Data of a line of action of a reaction force (coefficient of action of a reaction force) of each of plural types of virtual held objects is stored in the memory provided in the control unit 15. Image data stored in the control unit 15 is supplied to the display driver 14, images of the plural types of virtual held objects can be selectable to be displayed by the display device 13 illustrated in
An image of a hand “H” is displayed in the display screen 13a, and by a predetermined operation, the display is changed such that the image of the hand “H” presented in the display screen 13a moves, and an image of the handles 61 and 61 of the cut-off tool 60 is held by the image of the hand “H”. For example, when moving the input device 20 while holding by a hand, the moved attitude is detected by the attitude sensing unit 53 and data regarding the attitude is provided to the control unit 15. With this data, the display driver 14 is controlled, and the image of the hand “H” displayed in the display screen 13a is moved to grip the handles 61 and 61. Alternatively, by selecting the cut-off tool 60 as the held object by another operation member such as a keyboard, the display is changed such that the hand “H” presented in the display screen 13a holds the image of the cut-off tool 60.
When the cut-off tool 60 is selected as the virtual held object, each of the motors 35A, 35B and 45 is controlled, and an initial position of the opposing operation body 33A or 33B, or the thumb operation body 43 is set. When the virtual held object is the cut-off tool 60, as illustrated in
The control unit 15 reads out the data of a line of action of a reaction force (coefficient of action of a reaction force) illustrated in
When an image in which the hand “H” holds the handles 61 and 61 of the cut-off tool 60 in the display screen 13a as illustrated in
During this series of operations, variation of a reaction force “Fa” (see
Variation of a reaction force “Fb” given to the first opposing operation body 33A is as illustrated by a solid line in
Variation of a reaction force “Fc” given to the second opposing operation body 33B is as illustrated by a solid line in
According to the above described control of the reaction force, when pushing the thumb operation body 43 by the thumb, pushing the first opposing operation body 33A by the index finger and pushing the second opposing operation body 33B by the middle finger, tactile sensation can be obtained in which the reaction force generated when gripping the handles 61 and 61 of the cut-off tool 60 illustrated in the display screen 13a of
Here, when performing the cutting operation of the workpiece by gripping actual handles of the cut-off tool 60 by an actual hand, one of the handles 61 is pushed only by the thumb and the other of the handles 61 is pushed by a plurality of fingers such as the index finger and the middle finger, and the reaction forces are given between the thumb and the other plurality of fingers. Thus, in an actual operation, the reaction force that is larger than that on the index finger or the middle finger acts on the thumb. Further, for the middle finger and the index finger pushing the same handle 61, as the middle finger strongly pushes the handle 61, a reaction force larger than that on the index finger tends to act on the middle finger.
Further, as a thumb is short while an index finger and a middle finger are long according to a structure of a hand of a human, even though it is recognized that each finger is operated by a same force, actually, a force acts on the held object from the thumb becomes larger than that on the held object from the index finger or the middle finger.
Thus, as illustrated in
Further, as illustrated in
Further, operations of fingers to the operation bodies 33A, 33B and 43 and variation of the image of the hand “H” in the display screen 13a illustrated in
When the cutting operation by the cutting portion 62 is completed, and pushing forces given to the operation bodies 33A, 33B and 43 from fingers are removed, as illustrated by a dashed line in each of
(Tactile Sensation Reaction Force when Operating Held Object Including Pair of Holding Portions Approaching Each Other)
The nipper illustrated in
Each of these objects includes holding portions (handles or operating portions) such as the handles 61 and 61 illustrated in
Thus, in order to easily obtain an operation feeling stimulating such a held object, when either of the position detection devices 38A, 38B and 48 detects that either of the operation bodies 33A, 33B and 43 is pushed, it is possible to control to move the other of the operation bodies toward the case 21 for a same amount.
For example, as illustrated in
Similarly, when the first opposing operation body 33A is pushed down to the position “Sb” earlier, following this, the second opposing operation body 33B is retracted to the position “Sc” and the thumb operation body 43 is retracted to the position “Sa”. Similarly, when the second opposing operation body 33B is pushed down to the position “Sc” earlier, following this, the first opposing operation body 33A is retracted to the position “Sb” and the thumb operation body 43 is retracted to the position “Sa”.
This means that the control unit 15 monitors position detection outputs from the three position detection devices 38A, 38B and 48, and determines whether one of the operation bodies 33A, 33B and 43 is pushed earlier than the rest of the operation bodies for greater than or equal to a certain distance with respect to the other of the operation bodies. When it is determined that one of the operation bodies is pushed earlier for greater than or equal to a predetermined distance, following it, the rest of the operation bodies are retracted toward the case 21.
Here, at this time, the reaction force based on the line of action of a reaction force (coefficient of action of a reaction force) illustrated in
Next, after all of the operation bodies are retracted, when the pushing force by either of the fingers is released, a reaction force is generated based on the line of action of a reaction force (coefficient of action of a reaction force) illustrated in
For example, when a predetermined period has passed after all of the operation bodies 33A, 33B and 43 are retracted in a direction approaching the case 21 by the motors, and thereafter, when one of the operation bodies is pushed, a reaction force is given to the operation body based on the line of action of a reaction force (coefficient of action of a reaction force) illustrated in
For example, by describing with reference to a state in which the cut-off tool 60 is displayed as illustrated in
Next, when the opposing operation body 33A or 33B is pushed by the index finger or the middle finger earlier than the other of the operation bodies, following this, the late side opposing operation body and the thumb operation body 43 are retracted toward the case 21, and the images of the handles 61 and 61 approach each other in the display screen 13a illustrated in
However, at this time, even when one of the index finger and the middle finger is released from the respective opposing operation body 33A or 33B, while the opposing operation body is pushed by the other, all of the operation bodies do not protrude in a direction departing from the case 21. When the position detection devices 38A and 38B detect that both of the index finger and the middle finger are moving away from the opposing operation bodies 33A and 33B, and the opposing operation bodies 33A and 33B are moved in a protruding direction, the first opposing operation body 33A and the second opposing operation body 33B are moved in a direction departing from the case 21 by the motors 35A and 35B, and in conjunction with this, the thumb operation body 43 is returned in a direction departing from the case 21 by the motor 45.
By controlling as described above, an operation feeling similar to holding and operating a tool in which two holding portions are operated to rotate with a common fulcrum such as the nipper illustrated in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-198068 | Oct 2015 | JP | national |
This application is a continuation application filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) claiming the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 120 and 365(c) of PCT International Application No. PCT/JP2016/073764 filed on Aug. 12, 2016, which is based upon and claims priority to Japanese Priority Application No. 2015-198068 filed on Oct. 5, 2015, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2016/073764 | Aug 2016 | US |
| Child | 15935570 | US |
