JPH06193611A - Actuator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To constitute an aggregate which aggregates in a plurality and moves in an actuator such as an automatic machine by extending/contracting based on input external communication signal, optionally connecting a plurality of them, performing communication and transmittance of energy between them. CONSTITUTION:A cell-type actuator 21 is composed of a driving unit 22 and connector holding parts 24, 25. The driving unit 22 is prepared by providing an air cylinder 26, a solenoid valve 27, a controller 28 on a base 23. The connector holding parts 24, 25 as extending/contracting mechanisms are provided on both sides of the base 23 by means of hinges 31, 32, and a spring 33. The connector holding parts 24, 25 respectively have a common air connector 34, a communication connector 35, a power connector 36. The connectors of same system and the cell controller 28, the solenoid valve 27 are connected to each other by means of an air lining 37, a communication wiring 38, and a power wiring 39. A plurality of cell-type actuators 21 are connected to each other by means of the connector holding parts 24, 25 for attaining a structural body 41.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to, for example, an actuator which is connected to form a structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an actuator is used as a drive source in automatic machines, XY tables, robots and the like. Motors and air cylinders are mainly used as actuators.

Each of these actuators performs one operation such as rotation and expansion / contraction. And the actuary
The movement of the actuator is converted into a predetermined movement by a transmission mechanism portion different from the actuator and used. Furthermore, the movement of one actuator is converted into one or more movements.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a mechanism for moving the finger portion 1 of the robot. In this mechanism, the motor 2 is used as an actuator, and the transmission mechanism section 3 is composed of wires 4, pulleys 5, 5, gears 6, 6, and springs 7, 7. There is. Then, the driving force of the motor 2 is transmitted to the finger portion 1 which is a movable portion via the transmission mechanism portion 3, and the finger portion 1 is rotationally displaced by a predetermined amount, for example.

[0005]

By the way, it is difficult to select an actuator suitable for direct driving of a movable part in various devices equipped with an actuator as described above. For this reason, the actuator (motor 2) is arranged at a position distant from the movable part (finger 1), and the transmission mechanism part 3 provided separately from the actuator and the movable part.
Was transmitting the driving force of the actuator to the moving parts.
Also, conventionally, an actuator that can output the required driving force
It was necessary to select the data. Furthermore, because the output loss of the actuator occurs according to the transmission efficiency of the transmission mechanism,
It was not easy to control the actuator.

In addition, a plurality of actuators are combined when the movable part is made to perform a complicated motion. Further, since a power transmission system and an information transmission system are provided for each actuator, there are many pipes and wirings, which are complicated. Also,
A skeleton for holding the finger portion 1, the motor 2, the transmission mechanism portion 3, etc. was required. An object of the present invention is to provide an actuator capable of forming a moving structure that is assembled by a plurality of members.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention expands and contracts based on a communication signal input from the outside, and a plurality of them are arbitrarily combined to enable communication and energy communication between them. Actuator that communicates
There is

Further, an actuator having an expansion / contraction mechanism section, a common connection terminal for each of them, a transmission path for transmitting signals and energy, and a control section for controlling expansion / contraction, communication and energy transmission. It is in. And the present invention is
A structure that moves by assembling a plurality of small actuators can be configured.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention, and of these, FIGS. 1 and 2 show the basic principle of an embodiment of the present invention. Further, reference numeral 11 in FIG. 1 indicates an actuator.

The actuator 11 has coupling surfaces 12 and 13 formed at both ends in the axial direction. Further, the actuator 11 has elasticity in, for example, a uniaxial direction. Further, the actuator 11 has therein an information communication circuit, an energy transfer circuit, a controller and the like. Then, the actuator 11 exposes the connection portions 14 and 15 constituted by the connection terminals of the circuits to the coupling surfaces 12 and 13, respectively.

The actuator 11 receives information and energy from the outside from any one of the connecting portions 14 and 15, and expands and contracts in accordance with the information and energy, and the distance between the coupling surfaces 12 and 13. Change. Further, a plurality of actuators 11 are assembled as shown in FIG.
To form.

That is, the actuators 11 ... Are arranged in a line along the axial direction, and the coupling surfaces 12 ... 13 are opposed to each other. Then, the connecting portions 14, ..., 15 ... Of the respective actuators 11 ... Are joined to form a plurality of actuators.
Row 17 is formed. Then, the actuator rows 17 are bundled to form the structure 16.

Further, information communication and transmission of energy such as air and electric power are performed among the actuators 11. Each actuator 11 ... Receives information from another actuator, and performs expansion / contraction and energy transfer based on this information. Control of information transmission, expansion and contraction, and energy transfer is performed by a controller incorporated in the actuators 11 ...

By contracting the same number of actuators 11 for each row 17, the structure 16 contracts in the longitudinal direction as a whole. In this case, the actuator 11 to be contracted
The overall shrinkage amount of the structure 16 is adjusted by changing the number of.

If only a specific row (for example, row 17a) is contracted, the structure 16 bends with the contracted row 17a inward. Further, while the row 17a is contracted, the row 17b located symmetrically to the row 17a is not contracted, and the contraction amount of each row 17 ... Between the two rows 17a, 17b is changed stepwise. However, the structure 16 bends as a whole. Further, if the rows 17 are bundled in a twisted state and the above-described selective contraction is performed, it is possible to cause the structure 16 to perform a twisting operation.

Here, even when the actuators 11 ... Are extended in each of the above-mentioned cases, the structure 16 can be extended, bent, and twisted.
Further, the expansion and contraction amounts of the individual actuators 11 may be set to be uniform. Next, a cell type actuator (hereinafter referred to as a cell) based on the above-mentioned basic principle.
21 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. Figure 3
Indicates the internal structure of the cell 21. The cell 21 has a built-in drive unit 22.

The drive unit 22 is a base 23 which is a main body.
And connector holding portions 24 and 25 as expansion / contraction mechanism portions connected to both sides of the base 23. The base 23 is provided with an air cylinder 26, a solenoid valve 27, and a cell controller 28 as a control unit.

Two mounting flanges 29 and 30 are provided on the connector holding portions 24 and 25, respectively. Then, in the cell 21, the two mounting flanges 2
9 and 29 are formed on the same straight line as the base 23 and in opposite directions, and the other two mounting flanges 30 and 30 are formed so as to be separated from the above-mentioned mounting flanges 29 and 29 by approximately 90 degrees. Has been done.

Further, the base 23 and both connector holding portions 2
Rotating hinges 31 and 32 are provided between the connector holding portions 24 and 25, and the connector holding portions 24 and 25 are rotatably connected to the base 23. Further, springs 33 ... Are interposed between the base 23 and both connector holding portions 24 and 25.

Further, each mounting flange 29, 30 has
Air connector 34 as a connection terminal, communication connector 3
5 and a power connector 36 are provided. Further, the connectors 34, 35, 36, 36 formed on the mounting flanges 29 to 30 are connected by an air pipe 37 as a transmission path, a communication wiring 38, and a power wiring 39, respectively.

Further, the communication wiring 38 and the power wiring 39 are separately connected to the cell controller 28. Also,
Cell controller 28 via ON / OFF signal system 40
And the solenoid valve 27 are connected. Furthermore, the solenoid valve 27
Is connected to the air cylinder 26. As shown in FIG. 4, the cell 21 is assembled with other cells 21 to form a structure 41.

That is, each of the cells 21 ... Has a similar structure, and the mounting flanges 29-30 of each other.
Facing each other, and the connectors 31 ... 32 ... 33 ...
Are connected. Furthermore, a connector 3 is provided for each cell 21 ...
The structures, sizes, arrangements, etc. of 1 ..., 32 ..., 33 ... Are set to be the same, and between each cell 21 ... And between each cell row 42, 42, each connector 31 ...
2 ..., 33 ... are respectively connected to the same type of connector.

The cells 21 ... Are arranged in a row along the axial direction to form two cell rows 42, 42, and the cell rows 42, 42 are also attached to the mounting flanges 29, 30.
Are connected via. Here, each connector holding part 2
For example, if three mounting flanges are formed on each of 4 and 25, it is possible to connect three or more cell rows 42 ...

The structure 41 is connected to the overall controller 43. Further, the structure 41 includes an air source 44 and a power source 4
5 is connected to. Then, in the structure 41, information communication and air and power transmission are performed.

That is, the information communication is performed via the communication wiring 38 and the communication connectors 32 ... Provided in each cell 21. A signal system for designating the address (address) of each cell 21 ... And a signal system for communicating the information of the cell 21 to other cells 21 are formed on the communication wiring 38.

The communication between the overall controller 43 for controlling the structure 41 and each cell 21 ...
The output signal of the overall controller 43 is transmitted to a specific cell in the structure 41 through the cells 21 on the way.

The air and electric power are transmitted by each cell 21.
Air piping 37, power wiring 39, and
This is performed via the respective connectors 31 ... 33. Each cell 2
Air from the air source 44 circulates in the air pipe 37 of No. 1,
This air is sequentially transmitted to the adjacent cells 21 through the air connectors 31. In addition, the power of each cell 21
The wiring 39 transmits an electric signal from the power source 45, and the electric signal is sequentially supplied to the adjacent cells 21 via the power connectors 33.

The output signals of the overall controller 43 and the power supply 44 are input to the cell controller 28 provided in each cell 21 as shown in FIG. Then, the cell controller 28 receives information for controlling the structure 41 and supplying power.

The cell 21, which has received the cell drive command, commands the solenoid valve 27 to open from the cell controller 28. Then, as the solenoid valve 27 is turned on, the air in the air pipe 37 is supplied to the air cylinder 26, and the air cylinder 26 is driven. Then, the movable portion 46 of the air cylinder 26 projects and pushes one of the rotary hinges 32 to elastically deform the springs 33.

As the air cylinder 26 is driven, the spring 3
There are contractions and expansions in 3 and 33.
The connector holding portion 25 is rotationally displaced via the rotary hinge 32 due to the difference in the deformation direction of the springs 33, 33, and the base 2
Change the posture with respect to 3. Then, the connector holding portion 25 tilts, the total length of the cell 21 changes, and the cell 21 contracts. The cells 21 may be extended by changing the posture of the connector holding portion 25 from the state of being inclined with respect to the base 23 to the state of being aligned with the base 23 on the same straight line. The air connectors 31 ... Have a mechanism that prevents air leakage when they are not connected to the air connectors. Also, power
The connectors 36 ... Function as a power supply unit to the solenoid valve 27.

That is, in the cell 21 as described above, it is possible to perform the simple operation by displacing and expanding the connector holding portion 25. Furthermore, it is possible to combine a plurality of cells 21 and transmit and receive information and energy between the cells. Then, the cells 21 are integrated to form the structure 4
1 can be formed, and the structure 41 can be arbitrarily operated by individually controlling the operation of each cell 21.

Then, according to this embodiment, a freely shaped structure is formed by a plurality of cells 21 ... Further, the cells 21 ... Become an actuator that also serves as a sensor (single function sensor). In addition, cell 21
The combination of ... Does not require a specific combination, and the cells 21 ... Can be arbitrarily combined. In addition, the cell 21
By increasing or decreasing the number of combinations of ..., The force and stroke generated by the structure 41 can be adjusted.

It should be noted that the cells 21 ...
A sensor that takes in temperature, pressure, humidity, etc.) may be attached, and the information obtained by the sensor may be transmitted to the overall controller 43. Then, the arrangement of the sensors may be set at an arbitrary place on the structure 41.

In this embodiment, one connector holding portion 25 is displaced with respect to the base 23, but both connector holding portions 24, 25 may be displaced with respect to the base 23, for example. . Further, it is preferable that the total length of the cells 21 ... Is as small as possible (for example, about 0.1 mm).

Further, the cells 21 of this embodiment are applied to, for example, an artificial hand having a feeling similar to that of a human hand, or an XYθ table in which the table itself can freely create a traveling wave. It is possible. Further, the cells 21 ... Are applied to, for example, an aircraft wing that senses a wind flow or the like to create an optimum shape, or a chair that changes the shape so that the seating pressure is evenly distributed. Can be considered. The present invention can be variously modified without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0037]

As described above, the present invention expands and contracts on the basis of a communication signal input from the outside, and is arbitrarily combined by a plurality to perform communication and energy transfer between each.

Further, the present invention integrally comprises an expansion / contraction mechanism section, a common connection terminal for each, a transmission path for transmitting signals and energy, and a control section for controlling expansion / contraction, communication and energy transmission. It was Further, the present invention has an effect that it is possible to construct a structure that moves by assembling a plurality of small-sized actuators.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the basic principle of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a structure constituted by the actuator shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a cell type actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a structure constituted by the cell type actuator in FIG.

5 is an explanatory view showing a bent state of the structure in FIG. 4. FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a usage example of a conventional actuator.

[Explanation of symbols]

21 ... Cell type actuator (actuator), 2
4, 25 ... Connector holding part (expansion / contraction mechanism part), 28 ... Cell controller (control part), 34 ... Air connector (connection terminal), 35 ... Communication connector (connection terminal), 36 ... Power
Connector (connection terminal), 37 ... Air piping (transmission path),
38 ... Communication wiring (transmission path), 39 ... Power wiring (transmission path).

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An actuator that expands and contracts based on a communication signal input from the outside, and is arbitrarily connected by a plurality to perform communication and energy transfer between each. 2. An actuator integrally provided with an expansion / contraction mechanism section, a common connection terminal for each, a transmission path for transmitting signals and energy, and a control section for controlling expansion / contraction, communication and energy transmission. .