Work comfort evaluating device and work comfort evaluating method

• US 20050080350A1
• Filed: 09/16/2004
• Published: 04/14/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yokohama Rubber Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Yokohama Rubber Company Limited
• Inventors: Kuramori, Akira, Koguchi, Noritaka, Sadoyama, Tsugutake, Kamijo, Masayoshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,486,987 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/546
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/18 for vehicle drivers or machine operators
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/228 of masticatory organs, e.g. detecting dental force
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/389 Electromyography [EMG]

Abstract

A work comfort evaluating device is a device for evaluating a level of comfort of work by measuring myoelectric potentials of plural muscles when the work is done by antagonistic activities of the muscles. The device has a pair of detecting sensors, an amplifier, a signal processing part, a work-load intensity calculating part, and an evaluation part. The sensors sense myoelectric potentials of the muscles at a time of the work. The signal processing part calculates a synchronous contraction intensity of the muscles by using myoelectric potential waveforms. The work-load intensity calculating part calculates a level of a work load intensity in the work. The evaluation part evaluates a level of comfort of the work by normalizing the synchronous contraction intensity by the level of the work load intensity calculated.

Claims

1. A work comfort evaluating device for evaluating a level of comfort of work by measuring myoelectric potentials of plural muscles when the work is done by antagonistic activities of said muscles, said work comfort evaluating device comprising:

a pair of detecting sensors for sensing myoelectric potentials of said muscles generated through muscular activities of a human body at a time of work;

an amplifier for amplifying said myoelectric potentials sensed by said detection sensor;

a signal processing part for calculating a synchronous contraction intensity of said muscles by using myoelectric potential waveforms of said amplified myoelectric potentials;

a work load intensity calculating part for calculating a level of a work load intensity in said work imparting load to said muscles with a timing of the generation of said synchronous contraction intensity; and

an evaluation part for evaluating a level of comfort of said work by normalizing said synchronous contraction intensity by the level of said work load intensity calculated.

2. The work comfort evaluating device according to claim 1, wherein said plural muscles are a pair of muscles located at right and left parts of the human body.

3. The work comfort evaluating device according to claim 2, wherein said pair of muscles are deltoid muscles of a shoulder of the human body.

4. The work comfort evaluating device according to claim 1, wherein said work load intensity calculating part calculates a level of the work load intensity from the myoelectric potential waveforms of said muscles.

5. The work comfort evaluating device according to claim 4, wherein said work load intensity calculating part calculates intensities of muscular loads imparted to said muscles in said work from the myoelectric potential waveforms of said muscles, and averages and smoothes the calculated muscular load intensities in an averaging process to thereby calculate levels of said work load intensities.

6. The work comfort evaluating device according to claim 5, wherein said averaging process is a geometric averaging process.

7. The work comfort evaluating device according to claim 1, wherein said work is a work in which said muscles cooperate to cause an object to be operated to dynamically behave, and said work load intensity calculating part calculates a level of said work load intensity by measuring a physical quantity representing a dynamic behavior of said object operated by the work.

8. The work comfort evaluating device according to claim 1, wherein said signal processing part calculates a geometrical average of said myoelectric potential waveforms of said muscles, and calculates root mean square values of the a geometrical average within a predetermined period, whereby said synchronous contraction intensity is generated.

9. The work comfort evaluating device according to claim 1, wherein said work is a driving of a vehicle that is performed by a driver turning a steering wheel.

10. A work comfort evaluating method for evaluating a level of comfort of a work by measuring myoelectric potentials of plural muscles when the work is done by antagonistic activities of said muscles, said work comfort evaluating method comprising:

sensing and amplifying myoelectric potentials of said muscles generated through muscular activities of a human body at a time of work;

generating a synchronous contraction intensity of said muscles by using myoelectric potential waveforms of said amplified myoelectric potentials;

calculating a level of a work load intensity in said work imparting load to said muscles with a timing of the generation of said synchronous contraction intensity; and

evaluating a level of comfort of said work by normalizing said synchronous contraction intensity by the level of said work load intensity calculated.