We propose herein a method for estimating the mixing state of the contents of a peristaltic continuous mixing conveyor simulating the intestine, developed for mixing and conveying powders and liquids. This study serves to improve a previously proposed method for estimating the mixing state using a logistic regression model with the pressure and flow rate sensors installed in the device as inputs. Moreover, the estimation accuracy of the proposed method is better than that of the previous method. The generalizability of the proposed method is evaluated for four conditions in which the feeding order of the contents, powder, and liquid are changed. The feeding order is as follows: powder first, liquid first, and powder and liquid alternately. As a result, a highly accurate estimation of mixing is achieved under the condition wherein the powder component is in the unit adjacent to the lid, but not under the condition wherein the liquid component is fed first. It is speculated that this is because the movement of the powder component inside the device is more easily reflected by the pressure and flow rate sensors installed in the device than in the liquid component.
During overhead work, workers need to keep raising weights of approximately 2 to 4 kg with the muscular strength of their upper limbs, and the burden of this work is high. Therefore, we developed an assistive device, named TasKi, using a self-weighted compensation mechanism to reduce the burden on upper limbs during overhead work. It can compensate for upper limb weight using the force of a spring in various postures of the upper limbs, without a battery. In this study, to provide effective assistance to many users, we clarified the crucial assistance and parameter adjustment range of settings corresponding to physical differences. First, the assistive force value of TasKi to reduce the work burden of each user was confirmed via a subjective evaluation experiment and myoelectric potential measurements. Next, we conducted a test survey of TasKi users and investigated the relationship between physique and the wearing feeling. According to the survey, 80% of the subjects provided favorable opinions on the assistive method used by TasKi. Finally, we had subjects of various physiques wear the device and investigated the relationship between physique and the wearing feeling with respect to shoulder joint movements. It was observed that the subjects with greater shoulder widths experienced difficulties when moving in the direction of internal-external rotation because of the small size of TasKi. The influence on the ease of motion and perception of size was less in the direction of flexion-extension and adduction-abduction motions.
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