WO2008041457A1 - Massage robot, control program therefor, and robot for specifying portion of human body - Google Patents

Abstract

Massage similar to massage performed by a masseur is automatically performed by accurately grasping the state of a portion to be massaged. A massage robot (10) related to an example of this invention comprises a contact (17) brought into contact with the face (F) of a user (H), an arm (19) moving the contact (17) in a predetermined space while holding the end of the contact, a sensor (21) capable of measuring the reaction force on the contact (17) from the face (F) caused when the contact presses against the face, and a control device (15) for controlling the motion of the arm (19). The control device (15) has a shape detecting function (23) for detecting the shape of the face (F) by using the values measured by the sensor (21), a portion specifying function (24) for specifying a portion to be massaged in the face (F) by using the shape of the face detected by the shape detecting function (23) and the value measured by the sensor (21), and a massage control function (25) for so controlling the contact (17) as to give a predetermined massage to the portion to be massaged specified by the portion specifying function (24).

Description

 Specification

 Massage robot, its control program, and body part identification robot

 TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a robot that automatically massages a specified target part, a control program thereof, and a robot that automatically finds and specifies a massage target part such as a salivary gland in a face.

 Background art

 [0002] In addition to xerostomia called dry mice in which the amount of saliva in the mouth is reduced, diseases such as temporomandibular disorders and dysphagia are often chronically difficult to treat fundamentally. For this reason, oral rehabilitation including massage of maxillofacial tissues such as salivary glands and masticatory muscles is required regularly to improve or alleviate the symptoms of these diseases. The number of patients with xerostomia, temporomandibular disorders and dysphagia has increased in recent years, and is estimated to reach a total of 12 million people at present. This is becoming difficult due to a shortage of practitioners and time constraints. As such a massage, for example, in the case of a dry mouse, there is a massage that stimulates salivary glands in the maxillofacial surface to promote secretion of saliva. Here, the salivary gland consists of three types of organs that exist inside the epidermis (skin) of the face, specifically, the parotid gland that exists inside the parotid region and the tongue that exists inside the middle of the jaw. It consists of the inferior gland and the submandibular gland present in the vicinity of the left and right sides of the jaw.

 [0003] When a practitioner such as a doctor massages the maxillofacial tissue, the position and size of the target organ are confirmed by palpation with fingers, and the type of stimulation given to the organ according to the symptoms, massage The trajectory, strength of pressing force, and massage time are adjusted. At this time, since the central nervous system and the major visual auditory organs are in the vicinity of the area to be massaged, it is necessary to pay attention to the damage.

Incidentally, Patent Document 1 discloses a pine surge device for performing salivary gland massage on a dry mouse. This massage apparatus includes a support base on which the user's chin is placed, a clamping arm located on both the left and right sides of the user's face, and the support base and the clamping arm. And a plurality of fir balls that stimulate the parotid gland, the sublingual gland and the submandibular gland of the user by the rotation of the motor. First, the user places the lower part of the chin on the support base so that the fir tree ball provided on the support base hits the sublingual line, and positions each holding arm while approaching it according to the width of the user's face. After that, each rice ball is rotated by driving a motor to stimulate the parotid gland, sublingual gland and submandibular gland.

 Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-115906

 Disclosure of the invention

 Problems to be solved by the invention

[0005] However, the massage device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is insufficient to obtain an effect comparable to a human massage performed by a practitioner such as a doctor. That is, in the massage device, the position of the sublingual gland is found by the user's own judgment, and the jaw should be placed on the support base so that the portion corresponding to the sublingual gland determined by the user hits the ball of the support base. I must. In addition, since the relative position of each mash ball that stimulates each salivary gland cannot be freely adjusted, the position of each mash ball with respect to the face portion including both the left and right sides is substantially reduced when the chin is placed on the support base. Will be made. However, the surface and internal structure of the force facial part are complex and have large individual differences, and the salivary glands and masticatory muscles are smaller than the organs in the trunk, so they cannot be easily found from outside the body. Therefore, with the massage device, it is impossible for all users to effectively stimulate each salivary gland that is difficult to accurately apply each fir ball to each salivary gland that varies in position and size. . In particular, for users unfamiliar with this massage device, it becomes more difficult to place the jaw on the support base so that the sublingual gland will surely hit the support ball of the support base, and the above-mentioned inconvenience will be more noticeable. Become

Yes

[0006] Further, in the massage device, only a certain movement that the kneading balls are rotationally driven at a fixed position can be obtained, and the massage trajectory cannot be adjusted according to the position, size, etc. of each salivary gland. It is clearly inferior to the massage effect. For example, as a massage for the practitioner who stimulates the salivary glands, the parotid gland is massaged to promote the secretion of saliva, and the saliva is squeezed in the mouth direction along the parotid duct that leads from the parotid gland to the mouth. There is a massage that repeatedly performs a certain movement with a certain rhythm. I can't do a surge! /.

[0007] The present invention has been devised by paying attention to such a problem, and its purpose is close to the massage performed by the practitioner for the part to be massaged! Is to provide a massage robot capable of automatically performing a simple massage, its control program, and a body part specifying robot.

 Means for solving the problem

 [0008] (1) In order to achieve the above object, a massage robot according to the present invention includes a contact that contacts a user's body surface, an arm that moves in a predetermined space while holding the contact, A sensor capable of measuring a reaction force from the body surface due to contact of the contact, and a control device for controlling the operation of the arm;

 The control device detects a massage target part in the body surface based on measurement of the sensor, and specifies a massage target part, and a massage specified by the part specification function. A configuration is adopted in which the contact portion is provided with a massage operation control function for causing the contactor to perform a predetermined pine surge operation.

 [0009] (2) Here, the part specifying function operates the arm so that the contact moves while moving up and down in a predetermined area of the body surface, and for each part of the predetermined area, The viscoelastic value is obtained from the vertical displacement and velocity of the contact and the measured value of the sensor, and the biological region to which each part belongs is determined from the viscoelastic value for each biological region stored in advance. Then, a configuration corresponding to a preset body part to be massaged is set as the body part to be massaged is adopted.

 [0010] (3) Further, the control device further comprises a shape detection function for detecting the shape of the body surface based on the measurement value of the sensor,

 It is preferable that the part specifying function is used in combination with a configuration in which the arm is operated along the shape obtained by the shape detection function.

[0011] (4) Here, the shape detection function operates the arm so that the contact moves with a substantially constant pressing force on a virtual body surface set in advance. If the measured value of the sensor does not substantially match the predetermined set value, the arm is moved so that the measurement and the setting are substantially matched by moving the contact up and down. In addition, the configuration is such that the shape of the body surface is determined so that each position of the contact when the measured value and the set value substantially coincide with each other is located on the detected body surface.

 [0012] (5) Further, the massage robot according to the present invention controls a contactor that contacts the user's body surface, an arm that moves in a predetermined space while holding the contactor, and an operation of the arm. And a control device that

 The control device includes a trajectory creation function for creating a trajectory for moving the contact within a predetermined region of the body surface, and the set pressure with a predetermined magnitude while the contact moves along the trajectory. A massage operation control function for causing the contactor to perform a massage operation so as to press the body surface;

 The trajectory creation function includes a storage unit in which predetermined data is stored in advance, and a feature point for obtaining elastic deformation amounts of a plurality of feature points arbitrarily set for each predetermined living body region on the outer shape line of the body surface. A deformation amount calculation unit; and a trajectory calculation unit that obtains the trajectory by adding the elastic deformation amount to the outline.

 The storage unit stores, for each living body region, data on the amount of elastic deformation of the body surface with respect to the pressing force of the contact,

 The feature point deformation amount calculation unit obtains the elastic deformation amount corresponding to the set pressing force for each feature point based on the data,

 The trajectory calculation unit obtains the elastic deformation amount in the entire area of the outline by performing spline interpolation on the elastic deformation obtained for each of the feature points, and determines the outline as the body direction by the elastic deformation amount. The configuration is such that the locus is obtained by shifting to.

[0013] (6) Furthermore, a sensor capable of measuring a reaction force from the body surface due to the contact of the contact,

 The massage operation control function has a virtual compliance control function that adjusts the vertical movement of the contact according to the reaction force measured by the sensor during the movement of the contact,

The virtual compliance control function may adopt a configuration in which the contact is moved up and down in a direction to cancel the increase / decrease in the reaction force. [0014] (7) Further, the present invention provides a contact that contacts a user's body surface, an arm that moves in a predetermined space while holding the contact, and the body surface by contact of the contact A control program for causing the control device to function for a pine surge robot comprising a sensor capable of measuring a reaction force from the control device and a control device for controlling the operation of the arm, wherein the measured value of the sensor The body surface shape is detected on the basis of the shape and the massage target part in the body surface is detected based on the shape and the sensor measurement value. The control device is configured to function so as to perform a massage operation.

 [0015] (8) Furthermore, the present invention provides a contact that contacts the body surface of a user, an arm that moves in a predetermined space while holding the contact, and a control device that controls the operation of the arm. A control program for causing the massage robot equipped with the function of the control device to execute,

 A trajectory creation function for creating a trajectory for moving the contact within a predetermined region of the body surface, and pressing the body surface with a set pressing force of a predetermined size while the contact moves along the trajectory. As described above, the control device executes a massage operation control function for causing the contactor to perform a massage operation.

 The trajectory creation function stores in advance data on the amount of elastic deformation of the body surface with respect to the pressing force of the contact for each of the living body regions, and a plurality of arbitrarily set for each predetermined living body region on the outline of the body surface For each feature point, the elastic deformation amount corresponding to the set pressing force is obtained based on the data, and the elastic deformation amount obtained for each feature point is spline interpolated to obtain the entire area of the outline. The amount of elastic deformation is obtained, and the locus is obtained by shifting the contour line in the body direction by the amount of elastic deformation.

[0016] (9) Further, the body part specifying robot according to the present invention includes a contact that contacts a body surface of a user, an arm that moves in a predetermined space while holding the contact, and the contact A sensor capable of measuring a reaction force from the body surface due to the contact of and a control device for controlling the operation of the arm,

Based on the measured value of the sensor, the control device determines which internal organ is on the body surface. It has a site identification function that identifies whether it exists in the site,

 The part specifying function controls the operation of the arm so that the contact moves on the body surface while pressing the body surface, and based on the difference in the reaction force accompanying the pressing of the contact, A configuration is adopted in which the part is specified.

[0017] In the claims and the specification, unless otherwise specified, "upper" is used in a position or direction pointing to the outside of the body in a direction substantially perpendicular to the body surface, and "lower" is Used in a position or direction pointing to the inside of the body on the opposite side.

 The invention's effect

 [0018] According to the present invention, a massage target part corresponding to an organ that is difficult to find from outside the body due to individual differences in position and size is automatically found, and the target part is accurately determined for each user. It becomes possible to specify.

 [0019] In particular, according to the configurations of (1) to (4) and (7) described above, a predetermined trajectory, strength, etc. set in advance with respect to the target portion of the massage automatically specified. By powering the contact and pine surge, the user can stimulate the massage target site almost certainly without finding the massage target site. Furthermore, by adjusting the control content of the control device, the contact can be freely operated in accordance with a massage operation having a desired massage trajectory or strength. Therefore, it can be expected that a massage effect equivalent to a massage of a skilled practitioner can be obtained.

 [0020] Here, when configured as in the above (3) and (4), the arm moves along the shape of the body surface with individual differences when the massage target part is specified, and the massage is performed more reliably. It becomes possible to find the target part.

[0021] Further, according to the configurations of (5) and (8), the movement trajectory of the contact can be created in consideration of the elastic deformation of the massage target part. First, if the user's own trajectory is created under the supervision of a doctor or the like, the trajectory is stored in the control device, so that the switch is turned ON / OFF during the second and subsequent massages. The massage target part can be surely and effectively stimulated by simple operations such as the above. Therefore, in the second and subsequent massages, complicated positioning and other operations can be dispensed with each time, and only the user can handle the problem. Solution You can expect it to disappear.

 [0022] Furthermore, according to the configuration of ½), when the contact is pressing the body surface with a pressing force equal to or greater than a set value for some reason, the pressing force at this time is attenuated. The contact will move away from the body surface. Therefore, when the actually set pressing force does not act on the body surface due to a predetermined factor, it is possible to return to the set pressing value by correcting the vertical movement of the contact.

 [0023] According to the configuration of (9), it is possible to automatically find the position of an organ that is difficult to find from outside the body.

 Brief Description of Drawings

 FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a massage robot according to a first embodiment.

 FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an end face when the head is cut in the front-rear direction.

 FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram similar to FIG. 2 showing an example of a facial region.

 FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a massage robot according to a second embodiment.

 FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing a cross section of a part of the head.

 Explanation of symbols

 [0025] 10 Massage robot (body part identification robot)

 15 Control unit

 17 Contact

 21 Sensor

 19 Arm

 23 Shape detection function

 24 Site identification function

 25 Massage motion control function

 31 Region 1 (Biological region)

 32 Region 2 (Biological region)

 33 Region 3 (Biological region)

 34 Region 4 (Biological region)

35 Area 5 (Biological Area) 36 Region 6 (Biological region)

 37 Area 7 (Biological Area)

 50 massage robot

 54 Trajectory creation function

 55 Massage motion control function

 58 RL “Thought p [5

 59 Feature point deformation calculator

 60 Trajectory calculation unit

 63 Region 1 (Biological region)

 64 Second area (Biological area)

 65 3rd area (Biological area)

 66 4th area (Biological area)

 F face (body surface)

 H User

 L outline

 P Features

 T locus

 BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

 (First embodiment)

 FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration diagram of a massage robot according to the first embodiment. In this figure, the massage robot 10 is a robot that automatically performs maxillofacial massage for oral rehabilitation to a user H who is a massage recipient. The massage robot 10 includes a robot body 11 that can perform a massage operation, a drive device 13 that includes a plurality of motors that operate the robot body 11, and controls the drive of the drive device 13 to perform predetermined operations on the robot body 11. And a control device 15 that causes the

[0028] The robot body 11 includes a contact 17 that contacts the face F (body surface) of the user H, and An arm 19 that moves in a predetermined space while holding the contact 17 on the tip side, and a sensor 21 that is provided in the vicinity of the contact 17 and that can measure a reaction force against the pressure on the face F of the contact 17 It has.

 The contact 17 is composed of a roller that can roll on the face F. This contact

 17 is not limited to a roller, and anything that can stimulate facial F according to various maxillofacial massages can be used.For example, artificial fingers formed by simulating human fingers and contact with facial F A heating element or cooling body that heats or cools the part, a vibrator that gives vibration to the contact part, or the like can also be employed. These various contacts 17 can be appropriately replaced according to the purpose of pine surge.

 [0030] The arm 19 is a structure that can be operated with six degrees of freedom by driving the driving device 13, and a known machine that allows the contact 17 on the tip side to move to an arbitrary position and orientation. The structure is adopted. Since the mechanism is not the gist of the present invention, a detailed description is omitted here. The arm 19 is provided at a position where it is difficult for the user H to enter the field of view. In this embodiment, the arm 19 is disposed on the head side lower than the eye height of the user H. The arm 19 is not limited to the structure shown in the figure, and any structure can be used as long as it can operate with six degrees of freedom. Also, in the figure, a similar arm 19 can be added depending on the type of force pine surge provided at one location, and the arm 19 can be controlled as described below.

 [0031] The sensor 21 is composed of a six-axis force sensor capable of measuring a reaction force in a six-axis direction that is a translational direction of three orthogonal axes and a rotation direction around each axis. The sensor 21 may be any sensor as long as it can measure at least the reaction forces in the three orthogonal directions that are in the translation direction.

[0032] The control device 15 is composed of a predetermined computer, and is installed with a program for executing the following functions. The control device 15 includes a shape detection function 23 for determining the shape of the face F (hereinafter referred to as “face shape”) based on the measurement value of the sensor 21, and the face shape determined by the shape detection function 23. And a part specifying function 24 for specifying a massage target part in the face F based on a measurement value of the sensor 21 and a massage target part specified by the part specifying function 24 using the contact 17 It is equipped with a massage operation control function 25 that operates. [0033] In the shape detection function 23, the face shape of the user H is obtained while controlling the operation of the arm 19 as follows.

 [0034] That is, first, the contact 17 is set in advance with a substantially constant pressing force that does not affect the damage to the organ within a predetermined region of the face F that is supposed to include the massage target part. The operation of the arm 19 is controlled so as to roll along the virtual movement locus. The movement locus of the contact 17 here is a locus along the face of a preset pattern, and this face pattern is prepared with a plurality of different face shapes. A pattern that seems to be close to H is arbitrarily selected. This pattern is not particularly limited, but may be a rough pattern such as an adult male facial pattern, an adult female facial pattern, or a child facial pattern. .

 Then, when the contact 17 moves along the locus of the pattern of the face F selected by the user H or the like, the measured value of the reaction force from the face F by the sensor 21 is controlled by the operation control of the arm 19. The contact 17 moves up and down so that the set value is almost constant.

 [0036] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 2 which is a conceptual diagram showing an end face when the head is cut in the front-rear direction, the actual face of the user H indicated by a solid line in the figure The outline of F1 does not overlap most of the outline of the virtual face F2 of the pattern represented by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. Therefore, the reaction force from the sensor 21 when the contact 17 is in contact with the face F while the face F is not deformed is set as the set value. When the contact 17 is moved along the virtual face F2, the reaction force is measured as the set value in the portion A of the actual face F1 that overlaps the virtual face F2, and in this case, The position of the tip end side is memorized as the position of the part A without the contact 17 moving up and down.

[0037] For the portion B of the actual face F1 projecting outward from the virtual face F2, the contact 17 is recessed into the face F1 by the extent of the projection, so that the above setting value is exceeded. A high reaction force will be measured by sensor 21. At this time, the movement of the contact 17 is temporarily stopped, and the contact 17 moves outward (upward) in the direction of the arrow. Then, the reaction force measured by the sensor 21 gradually decreases, and when the contact 17 moves to the position where the face F1 is restored to the undeformed state, the reaction force measured at that time becomes the set value. This The position where the set value is reached is stored as the position of part B.

 [0038] On the other hand, with respect to the part C of the actual face F1 that is retracted inward from the virtual face F2, the contact 17 does not actually contact the face F1, and thus measured by the sensor 21. The reaction force is almost zero. At this time, the movement of the contact 17 is temporarily stopped, and the contact 17 moves inward (downward) in the direction of the arrow. Here, when the contact 17 moves to a position where it abuts on the face F1, the reaction force measured at that time becomes the set value, so the position where the set value is reached is stored as the position of the part C. Is done.

 [0039] Then, when the contact 17 moves in a predetermined area and the position that becomes the set value is stored for each movement position of the contact 17 in the face F2 direction, each stored position is stored. The facial shape is required so that almost all of F1 is included.

 [0040] The part specifying function 24 specifies the massage target part while controlling the operation of the arm 19 as follows.

 That is, first, the contact 17 rolls along the face F within a predetermined area that is supposed to include the massage target part from the face shape of the user H obtained by the shape detection function 23. Thus, the operation control of the arm 19 is performed. At this time, the contact 17 moves almost entirely within the predetermined region while vibrating in the vertical direction with a pressing force that does not affect the organ damage. And a viscoelastic value is calculated | required in each site | part in the said predetermined area | region. This viscoelasticity value is such that the vertical displacement and speed of the contact 17 in each part are known from the operation of the arm 19, and the reaction force in each part is measured by the sensor 21, so that the displacement, speed and Calculated from reaction force.

 [0042] Next, the viscoelasticity value of each part obtained by the calculation and the range of viscoelasticity value for each living body region stored in advance in the apparatus (hereinafter referred to as "viscoelasticity range"). In contrast, it is specified which living body region each of the parts belongs to. In other words, the viscoelastic range for each living body region is set in advance based on the results of the experimental investigation, etc., and each part obtained by the above calculation is identified as the living body region of the viscoelastic range to which the viscoelastic value belongs. Is done.

[0043] As shown in Fig. 3, for example, when the body region is divided by the structure inside the face below the skin, the viscoelastic range differs depending on the structure, and the front and back are different. The first to seventh regions 31 to 37 are divided. The first region 31 is fat, muscle (lip) and It consists of a tooth. The second region 32 consists of fat and muscle (lips). The third region 33 consists of fat, muscle (masseter muscle) and bone. The fourth region 34 consists of fat, parotid gland, muscle (masseter muscle) and bone. The fifth region 35 consists of sardine fat, parotid gland and bone. The sixth region consists of the parotid gland and bone. The seventh region consists of the parotid gland. For each of these regions 3;! To 37, the viscoelastic range when a predetermined vibration is applied from the outside is set based on experimental results and the like. Then, from the viscoelastic values of the respective parts obtained by calculation, it is specified where the corresponding parts correspond to the first region 31 to the seventh region 37.

 As described above, the living body region is specified in each part in the predetermined region, and the living body region to be massaged stored in advance is specified as the massage target portion. The position, size, surface shape, hardness, and the like of the massage target site specified in this manner are determined from the above calculation results.

 [0045] The massage operation control function 25 controls the arm 19 so as to cause the contactor 17 to perform a predetermined massage operation patterned in advance for the massage target portion specified by the portion specifying function 24. That is, here, a plurality of types of massage operation patterns are programmed, and in accordance with the operation pattern, a contactor is obtained so that a desired stimulus can be obtained in each living body region including an organ to be massaged. 17 moves in the face direction while moving up and down on the face F with a predetermined pressing force. The pressing force applied to the face F during a pine surge can be set arbitrarily. From the set value and the viscoelasticity value of each part calculated by the part specifying function 24, the contact 17 The displacement and speed for moving the arm up and down are obtained by calculation, and the operation of the arm 19 is controlled so that the contact 17 moves up and down at the displacement and speed.

 [0046] Next, a series of operations of the massage robot 10 will be described.

 [0047] In the following description, for convenience of explanation, an arm for performing salivary gland massage on the parotid gland existing under the ear of the face F and the parotid duct extending from the parotid gland toward the mouth The power to explain the operation and control of 19 as an example The present invention is not limited to this massage.

[0048] First, the arm 19 is moved by the hand of the user H or a third party, so that the contact 17 at the tip of the arm 19 is brought into contact with the part of the face F below the ear of the user H, and this part is the initial position. Remembered as It is. From this state, first, the face shape of the user H is obtained by the shape detection function 23. That is, when a facial shape pattern that seems to be closest to the user H is selected by the user H or the like, the arm 19 operates and the contact 17 is used according to the selected facial shape pattern. Roll a predetermined range along the face F of the person H. The predetermined range here is the side of the face F from the lower ear through the buttocks to the lip. At this time, if the measured value at the sensor 21 deviates from the set value, the movement of the contact 17 along the face F is temporarily stopped so that the measured value at the sensor 21 becomes substantially the same as the set value. The contact 17 moves up and down, and the tip position of the contact 17 at that time is stored. Then, when the contact 17 rolls within the predetermined range, the tip position of the contact 17 where the measured value at the sensor 21 is almost the set value is always stored, and the stored position of the contact 17 is stored. A facial shape that contains almost all of is required.

 [0049] Next, the part specifying function 24 specifies the position of the parotid gland and the parotid gland that are the target parts of massage. That is, when the face shape is obtained by the shape detection function 23, the contact 17 returns to the initial position by the operation of the arm 19 and then vibrates (vertically moves) with a predetermined pressing force. Roll in the predetermined area according to the facial shape obtained in step (1). Then, a viscoelastic value is obtained based on the measured value of the sensor 21, and the predetermined area is determined from the previously stored biological areas, that is, the first area to the seventh area 3; It is specified to which region each part belongs. In the case of the salivary gland massage, the massage performed in the next process promotes the secretion of saliva by massaging the parotid gland and repeatedly squeezes the saliva in the mouth direction along the parotid gland duct. Parts within the predetermined area corresponding to the fourth to seventh areas 34 to 37 where the parotid gland and the parotid gland duct exist are detected as massage target parts.

[0050] When the above preparation is completed, the massage operation of the strength, direction, trajectory, and rhythm set in advance by the operation of the arm 19 by the massage operation control function 25 is performed by the user H via the contact 17 For face F. That is, the contact 17 operates in accordance with a previously stored operation with respect to the massage target part specified by the part specifying function 24. That is, the contact 17 rotates and presses the parotid gland several times, and then presses and moves to squeeze saliva along the parotid canal. The operation is repeated.

 [0051] Therefore, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to automatically detect organs such as the parotid gland, which have been difficult to specify in the past, and an accurate massage operation can be performed by the detection. Regardless of the various facial conditions of the user, it can be expected to effectively carry out oral rehabilitation without human intervention.

 [0052] When the facial shape of the user H is obtained from image data obtained in advance by a predetermined imaging device, various processes in the part specifying function 24 are performed based on the image data. In this case, the shape detection function 23 can be omitted.

 [0053] Further, the region specifying function 24 can be used not only in the face part but also in the whole human body! /, And only when detecting other part of the body surface where the other organ is located, For detection applications that do not require massage, the massage robot 10 functions as a body part identification robot. In this case, the massage operation control function 25 can be omitted.

 [0054] Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following description, the same reference numerals are used for the same or equivalent components as in the first embodiment, and the description is omitted or simplified.

 (Second embodiment)

 A massage robot 50 according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is obtained by changing the function in the control device 15 with respect to the first embodiment. The other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment. Is substantially the same. That is, unlike the massage robot 10 of the first embodiment, which can automatically specify the massage target part, the massage robot 50 is of a type that is premised on the specification of the target part by a doctor or the like. In the following description, the massage robot 50 for oral rehabilitation that performs salivary gland massage exemplified in the first embodiment will be described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to such massage.

[0056] The control device 15 of the present embodiment includes a trajectory creation function 54 that creates a trajectory T (see FIG. 5) of the contact 17 that moves along the face F, and a trajectory T created by the trajectory creation function 54. And / or a massage operation control function 55 for causing the contactor 17 to perform a massage operation. [0057] The trajectory creation function 54 includes a storage unit 58 in which data on the pressing force on the face F and the amount of elastic deformation of the pressing portion are stored in advance, and a feature point arbitrarily selected within the massage range on the face F A feature point deformation amount calculation unit 59 that obtains the elastic deformation amount at P (see FIG. 5) based on the data, and the elastic deformation amount of each feature point P obtained by the feature point deformation amount calculation unit 59 A trajectory calculation unit 60 for obtaining the trajectory T from the shape amount.

 [0058] The storage unit 58 stores data representing the relationship between the pressing force and the amount of elastic deformation for each living body region when the living body region divided in the face F is pressed by the contactor 17. The That is, as can be seen from the first embodiment, the amount of deformation when the face F is pressed with a predetermined force from above the skin depends on the muscular structure under the skin and the presence or absence of an organ. Different for each predetermined area. Therefore, the parts having different deformation amounts are divided into regions as biological regions, and the data is created for each biological region. The living body region in the present embodiment is not particularly limited, but is divided into first to fourth regions 63 to 66 from the front to the rear as shown in FIG. Here, the first area 63 is an area of the face F in which the fat fat F 1 exists, the second area 64 is an area of the face F in which the masseter muscle F2 exists, and the third area 65 is The mandibular bone F3 and the parotid gland F4 are regions of the face F inside, and the fourth region 66 is a region of the face F in which the parotid gland F4 exists. In the present embodiment, the first to fourth regions 63 to 66 are massage regions where the contact 17 performs a massage operation.

[0059] In the feature point deformation amount calculation unit 59, the elastic deformation amount at the feature point P is obtained as follows. First, as a preparation, doctors and the like from the tomographic image of the head of user H, which was previously imaged by a medical imaging device such as CT or MRI (not shown), visually confirm the first to The fourth region 63 to 66 is discriminated, and the feature point P is arbitrarily designated on the outline L of the face F. At this time, it is specified that at least one feature point P exists in each of the regions 63 to 66. The designation at this time is not particularly limited, but a doctor or the like operates an operation means such as a mouse for each of the first to fourth areas 63 to 66 on the tomographic image displayed on a monitor (not shown). This is done by selecting (clicking) with. In the present embodiment, two feature points P are designated in each of the first region 63 and the fourth region 66, and one feature point is provided in each of the second region 64 and the third region 65. P is specified. In addition Of these six feature points P, two points at both ends are the parts corresponding to the start point and end point of the massage operation, and the massage operation described later is performed in the region between these parts.

 [0060] Then, the feature point deformation amount calculation unit 59 obtains the elastic deformation amount for each of the six feature points P based on the data stored in the storage unit 58 from the preset set pressing force during massage. That is, here, the amount of elastic deformation of the face F at each feature point P when the set pressing force is applied to each feature point P of the face F, that is, the amount of depression is obtained.

 [0061] In the locus calculation unit 60, the locus T is obtained from the elastic deformation amounts of the six feature points P obtained by the feature point deformation amount calculation unit 59 as follows. That is, when the contact 17 moves while pressing between the feature points P along the outer shape line L of the face F, the elastic deformation amount between the feature points P is determined so as to smoothly transition. From the amount of elastic deformation of each feature point P, the amount of elastic deformation between each feature point P is calculated using spline interpolation. As a result, the amount of elastic deformation when the contact 17 moves on the contour line L between the feature points P and P at both ends is obtained in the entire region of the contour line L. The trajectory T is obtained by shifting the outline L between P in the body by the amount of elastic deformation at the corresponding position.

 [0062] The massage operation control function 55 moves the contact 17 in the vertical direction according to the reaction force when the contact 17 is pressed against the face F while moving the contact 17 along the trajectory T. Perform virtual compliance control. That is, first, the vertical displacement amount X of the contact 17 with respect to the trajectory T is obtained by solving the following differential equation from the reaction force F measured by the sensor 21.

 Country

F = + then ^x cc

Specifically, the displacement amount X is calculated by the following equation using a part of the approximate concept.

[Equation 2] _ x _cc (t)-x _cc (t-At)

 cc one

x _c (x _cc (G)

[0064] In each of the above formulas! /, K is a virtual spring coefficient, C is a virtual viscous damping coefficient, and these coefficients K and C are arbitrarily determined based on experimental results and the like. It ’s like that. In other words, in the virtual compliance control here, the arm 19 is controlled by the computer as if the spring and the dashpot are connected in parallel to the contact 17.

 Then, the operation of the arm 19 is controlled so that the contact 17 moves in the vertical direction with respect to the locus T by the displacement amount X.

 That is, the massaging operation control function 55 controls the operation of the contact 17 so as to move along the locus T while pressing the face F with the set pressing force. However, for example, when a protrusion due to swelling, swelling, or blowout is present on the face F, if the protrusion is pressed with the contact 17 in its original state, a pressing force exceeding the set pressing force is applied to the face F. Will act. However, at this time, the contact 17 moves away from the face F by the virtual compliance control function described above, and the face F can be pressed with the set pressing force. This means that even if the trajectory T is somewhat inaccurate, the face F can be pressed with the set pressing force during massage by adjustment using the virtual compliance control function.

 Note that the virtual compliance control here is a kind of feedback control for controlling the vertical movement of the contact 17 based on the measurement result by the sensor 21, for example, the control cycle is 5 msec. In this respect, the contact 17 moves, for example, at a speed of about 0. Olmm / msec in the face direction. Therefore, the movement of the contact 17 in the face direction per one control is 0.05 mm, which is the control time. There is almost no problem with delay.

 [0068] Next, a series of operations of the massage robot 50 will be described.

[0069] Data of a tomographic image of user H's head imaged in advance is input to the control device 15 Above, each feature point P is arbitrarily designated by the judgment of a doctor or the like from the massage area of the face F on the tomographic image.

 [0070] Then, the feature point deformation amount calculation unit 59 obtains the elastic deformation amount of each feature point P. Next, the trajectory calculation unit 60 calculates the elastic deformation amounts of the six feature points P by spline interpolation. The trajectory T obtained by correcting the outline L is obtained and stored.

 [0071] After the above preparatory work, the arm 19 is powered by the hand of the user H or a third party, and the contact 17 is applied to the part of the face F below the ear of the user H, and a switch (not shown) is inserted. By doing so, salivary gland massage is performed along the trajectory T obtained. That is, by the operation control of the arm 19 by the massage operation control function 55, the contact 17 moves on the face F along the locus T while pressing the face F with the set pressing force. At this time, virtual compliance control is performed, and when the reaction force from the face F measured by the sensor 21 has increased or decreased from the set pressing force, the contact 17 is moved up and down in a direction to cancel the increase and decrease. Let Therefore, when the contour line L on the actual face F of the user H does not partially match the contour line L referenced when creating the trajectory T, a pressing force higher than the set pressing force is applied to the face F. When acted, the contact 17 moves away from the face F so that the set pressure acts on the face F by attenuating the pressure. On the other hand, when a pressing force lower than the set pressing force is applied to the face F, the contact 17 moves in the direction in which the face F is pressed so that the pressing force is increased and the set pressing force is applied to the face F.

 [0072] When the same user H performs the same massage next time, since the trajectory T is stored in the control device 15, the above-described preparatory work until the trajectory T is obtained is not performed. Alternatively, the salivary gland massage of the contact 17 may be performed. At this time, due to the swelling of the face F, etc., the outline L at the time of use coincides with the outline L referred to when the trajectory T is obtained! /, NA! / Therefore, an appropriate pressing force acts on the face F by adjusting the vertical movement of the contact 17.

[0073] Therefore, according to the second embodiment, when the same user H repeatedly massages, if the trajectory L is first obtained, the trajectory L for each massage in the presence of a doctor. After the second massage, user H receives an accurate massage that presses each target organ with a simple operation. The power S

 [0074] Also, at this time, when the setting position of the head of the user H is slightly different from the previous massage, or when the swelling or pimples occur, the external shape of the face F of the user H Even if the line L does not coincide with each other! /, The face F is pressed with the set pressing force by the operation correction of the contact 17 by the virtual compliance control. For this reason, the user H uses the force S to receive an accurate massage without having to precisely position the head each time.

 [0075] In the second embodiment, the trajectory T corresponding to various patterns of face shapes is set and stored in the control device 15, and in the presence of a doctor, the user H It is also possible to select a face-shaped trajectory T that is close to you and massage the contact 17 along the trajectory T. In this case, even if the outline L of the face F related to the selected trajectory T is different from that of the user H, the face F of the user H is pressed with the set pressing force by the virtual compliance control. In addition, a tomographic image is not necessary, and the time and effort of the imaging can be saved.

 [0076] Further, the virtual compliance control of the second embodiment can be applied to the massage robot 10 of the first embodiment. In this case, the vertical movement of the contact 17 is adjusted so that the pressing force becomes the set value according to the actual state of the face F. Even if the actual situation changes, the contact The pressing force applied by the child 17 can be more accurately performed.

 [0077] Furthermore, in each of the embodiments described above, the force that makes the massage robot 10 a robot for oral rehabilitation is not limited to this, and the present invention is also applicable to massage to other parts such as a trunk part and leg-foot part. It can also be applied as a robot for the establishment of facial F and other parts.

 In addition, the configuration of each part of the apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the illustrated configuration example, and various modifications are possible as long as substantially the same operation is achieved.

Claims

The scope of the claims  [1] A contact that contacts the user's body surface, an arm that moves in a predetermined space while holding the contact, and a sensor that can measure a reaction force from the body surface due to contact of the contact Sensor and a control device for controlling the operation of the arm,  The control device detects a massage target part in the body surface based on measurement of the sensor, and specifies a massage target part, and a massage specified by the part specification function. A massage mouth bot comprising a massage operation control function for causing the contact to perform a predetermined pine surge operation on a target part.  [2] The part specifying function operates the arm so that the contact moves while moving up and down in a predetermined area of the body surface, and for each part of the predetermined area, The viscoelasticity value is obtained from the displacement and velocity and the measured value of the sensor, and it is determined in advance from the viscoelasticity value for each living body area that is stored in advance. 2. The massage robot according to claim 1, wherein a portion corresponding to the massaged biological region is set as the massage target portion.  [3] The control device further includes a shape detection function for detecting the shape of the body surface based on the measurement of the sensor,  3. The massage robot according to claim 2, wherein the part specifying function operates the arm along the shape obtained by the shape detection function.  [4] The shape detection function operates the arm so that the contact moves with a substantially constant pressing force on a preset virtual body surface, and at the time of the movement, the sensor If the measured value does not substantially match the predetermined set value! /, If the contact is moved up and down, the arm is operated so that the measured value and the set value substantially match, and the measured value and the set value are set. 4. The massage robot according to claim 3, wherein the shape of the body surface is determined so that each position of the contact when the values substantially coincide with each other is positioned on the detected body surface. [5] A contact that contacts the user's body surface, an arm that moves within a predetermined space while holding the contact, and a control device that controls the operation of the arm, The control device includes a trajectory creation function for creating a trajectory for moving the contact within a predetermined region of the body surface, and the set pressure with a predetermined magnitude while the contact moves along the trajectory. A massage operation control function for causing the contactor to perform a massage operation so as to press the body surface;  The trajectory creation function includes a storage unit in which predetermined data is stored in advance, and a feature point for obtaining elastic deformation amounts of a plurality of feature points arbitrarily set for each predetermined living body region on the outer shape line of the body surface. A deformation amount calculation unit; and a trajectory calculation unit that obtains the trajectory by adding the elastic deformation amount to the outline.  The storage unit stores, for each living body region, data on the amount of elastic deformation of the body surface with respect to the pressing force of the contact,  The feature point deformation amount calculation unit obtains the elastic deformation amount corresponding to the set pressing force for each feature point based on the data,  The trajectory calculation unit obtains the elastic deformation amount in the entire area of the outline by performing spline interpolation on the elastic deformation obtained for each of the feature points, and determines the outline as the body direction by the elastic deformation amount. A massage robot characterized in that the trajectory is obtained by shifting to.  [6] A sensor capable of measuring a reaction force from the body surface due to the contact of the contact, wherein the massage operation control function is based on the reaction force measured by the sensor during the movement of the contact. It has a virtual compliance control function that adjusts the vertical movement of the contact,  6. The massage robot according to claim 1 or 5, wherein the virtual compliance control function moves the contact up and down in a direction to cancel increase / decrease in the reaction force. [7] A contact that contacts the user's body surface, an arm that moves in a predetermined space while holding the contact, and a sensor that can measure a reaction force from the body surface due to the contact of the contact. A control program for causing the control device to function for a massage robot including a sensor and a control device for controlling the operation of the arm, A shape of the body surface is detected based on the measurement value of the sensor, and a massage target site in the body surface is detected based on the shape and the measurement value of the sensor. A control program for a massage robot, which causes the control device to function so as to cause the contactor to perform a predetermined massage operation on a target site. [8] A massage robot including a contactor that contacts the user's body surface, an arm that moves in a predetermined space while holding the contactor, and a control device that controls the operation of the arm. On the other hand, a control program for executing the function of the control device, the trajectory creating function for creating a trajectory for moving the contact within a predetermined region of the body surface, and the contact along the trajectory Causing the control device to execute a massage operation control function for causing the contactor to perform a massage operation so as to press the body surface with a set pressing force of a predetermined size while moving;  The trajectory creation function stores in advance data on the amount of elastic deformation of the body surface with respect to the pressing force of the contact for each of the living body regions, and a plurality of arbitrarily set for each predetermined living body region on the outline of the body surface For each feature point, the elastic deformation amount corresponding to the set pressing force is obtained based on the data, and the elastic deformation amount obtained for each feature point is spline interpolated to obtain the entire area of the outline. A massaging robot control program for obtaining the trajectory by obtaining the amount of elastic deformation and obtaining the locus by shifting the contour line toward the body by the elastic deformation amount. [9] A contact that contacts the body surface of the user, an arm that moves in a predetermined space while holding the contact, and a sensor that can measure a reaction force from the body surface due to the contact of the contact. Sensor and a control device for controlling the operation of the arm,  The control device has a part specifying function for specifying in which part of the body surface an internal organ is present based on the measured value of the sensor,  The part specifying function controls the operation of the arm so that the contact moves on the body surface while pressing the body surface, and based on the difference in the reaction force accompanying the pressing of the contact, A body part specifying robot for specifying the part.