KR101830389B1 - Master gripper of surgical robot and control method of surgical robot having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A master gripper structure of a surgical robot and a control method of the surgical robot having the master gripper structure are disclosed. A gripper structure provided in a master part of a surgical robot on which a surgical instrument is mounted and adapted to receive a grip operation from a user so that the instrument performs a grip operation, a second gripping element positioned opposite to the first gripping element, a drive for applying a driving force to the second gripping element in a direction to widen with respect to the first gripping element, and a second gripping element between the first gripping element and the second gripping element, A force sensor which is coupled to any one or more of the plurality of grip members and outputs a sensing signal by sensing a force by a grip operation of the user and a control unit which receives the sensing signal and adjusts a magnitude of driving force applied to the second grip element by the driving unit The master gripper structure of the surgical robot including the control unit includes a force sensor provided on the grip element and a sphere capable of widening either one of the pair of grip elements Precisely control the opening and closing of the gripper unit and only can grasp the degree of opening of the gripper.

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to a master gripper structure for a surgical robot and a control method of the surgical robot having the same,

To a master gripper structure of a surgical robot and to a control method of the surgical robot having the master gripper structure.

Medically, surgery refers to cutting skin, mucous membranes, and other tissues by using a medical device to cut, tear, or manipulate the disease. Particularly, due to problems such as hemorrhage, side effects, patient's pain, scarring, etc., the incision is made by cutting the skin of the surgical site and opening, treating, And is attracting attention as an alternative.

The surgical robot may be divided into a master unit for generating and transmitting a signal required by a physician's operation and a slave unit for receiving signals from the operation unit and applying operations necessary for surgery to the patient. And the slave unit may be divided into respective parts of one surgical robot, or they may be separately provided as separate units, that is, the operation unit may be a master robot and the driving unit may be divided into slave robots, respectively.

In the master part of the surgical robot, a device for physician's operation is installed. In the case of robotic surgery, the master does not directly manipulate the instruments necessary for the surgery, but the various instruments installed in the robot by operating the above- To perform an operation.

A surgical instrument is mounted on the slave portion of the surgical robot, and an effector is coupled to the distal end of the instrument. The effector is made up of various shapes and structures such as forceps, scissors, knives, and needles depending on the type of surgical operation. As described above, by manipulating the device installed in the master part, the effector of the instrument is operated according to its shape and structure And perform various operations such as gripping, cutting, suturing and the like.

In the case where the effector has a tongue structure, a gripper may be installed in the master device to control the operation of the effector. That is, as shown in Fig. 1, a grip-like gripper 8 is installed on the master part of the surgical robot, and the effector also performs the gripping operation corresponding to the user operating the gripper 8.

The structure of the conventional master gripper 8 is such that a pair of grip elements 6 are coupled to the hinge shaft 4 in the form of a grip and actuated by a motor M1 mounted on the hinge axis, Or an external driving motor M2 is pulley-coupled to the hinge shaft by the wire W to transmit the tension through the wire W as the driving motor M2 is operated The structure is such that the tongue element is opened or closed.

In this case, the encoder E is coupled to the motor M1 or M2, and the degree of opening of the gripper (or the closed degree) is determined from the information about the degree of rotation of the motor transmitted through the encoder E, And controls the effector to perform the gripping operation corresponding to the degree of opening and closing of the gripper.

However, the conventional master gripper structure requires a motor (for example, a servo motor) capable of controlling rotation in both directions on the hinge shaft (or the outside), so that the size of the gripper is increased and the structure is complicated. It was troublesome to operate properly when the tension of the belt was properly adjusted. That is, if the tension of the wire is too large, the motor can not rotate smoothly, and if the tension is too small, backlash or the like may occur.

The above-described background technology is technical information that the inventor holds for the derivation of the present invention or acquired in the process of deriving the present invention, and can not necessarily be a known technology disclosed to the general public prior to the filing of the present invention.

The present invention provides a master gripper structure of a surgical robot and a control method of the surgical robot having the simple structure, which do not need to precisely control the tension of the wire, and can easily implement force feedback.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gripper structure provided in a master part of a surgical robot on which a surgical instrument is mounted, the gripper structure being configured to receive a grip operation from a user so that the instrument performs a grip operation A second gripping element positioned opposite the first gripping element; a driver for applying a driving force to the second gripping element in a direction to widen with respect to the first gripping element; A force sensor coupled to at least one of the grip element and the second grip element for sensing a force by a user's grip operation and outputting a sensing signal, There is provided a master gripper structure of a surgical robot including a control portion for adjusting a magnitude of an applied driving force.

The first grip element and the second grip element may each be coupled to a predetermined support point to form a claw structure, wherein the support point includes a hinge axis, and at least one of the first grip element and the second grip element is rotatable .

The first grip element and the second grip element are formed with a receiving portion into which a user's finger can be inserted, and the force sensor can be installed in the receiving portion to contact the user's finger.

The driving unit may include a coupling means such as a wire and a rod, one end of which is coupled to the second grip element, and a driving motor coupled to the other end of the coupling means and applying a tensile force to the coupling means. Alternatively, the driving unit may apply a driving force to all of the pair of grip elements so that the pair of grip elements spread apart. Alternatively, the driving portion may include a first electromagnet coupled to the first grip element, and a second electromagnet coupled to the second grip element opposing the first electromagnet, and applying a repulsive force to the first electromagnet.

The control unit allows the second gripping element to approach the first gripping element by reducing the driving force as the force by the gripping operation of the user becomes larger and increases the driving force as the force by the user's gripping operation becomes smaller, May be widened from the first grip element.

And a drive limiter for applying a force in a direction opposite to the driving force to the second grip element so that the second grip element can be prevented from spreading beyond a predetermined reference value with respect to the first grip element. In this case, the drive restricting portion may include an elastic body that elastically urges the second grip element, and applies an elastic force larger than the driving force when the second grip element is opened at a predetermined reference value with respect to the first grip element.

The surgical robot can use the sensing signal outputted from the force sensor to control the instrument so that the instrument performs the grip operation corresponding to the grip operation of the user. In this case, the control unit can receive information on the reaction force applied to the instrument according to the grip operation of the instrument, and further adjust the size of the driving force so that force feedback can be implemented.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a surgical robot having a gripper for receiving a grip operation and a surgical instrument for performing a grip operation on a slave unit, wherein the gripper comprises: a pair of grip elements positioned opposite to each other; a driving section for applying a driving force to any one of the pair of grip elements so that a pair of grip elements is opened; And a force sensor that is installed at one or more of the grip elements of the grip member and outputs a sensing signal by sensing a force by a grip operation of the user, the method comprising: (a) receiving a sensing signal; and (b) And adjusting the magnitude of the driving force applied by the driving part to the second grip element such that the driving force is reduced as the force by the second driving part This method is provided. The pair of grip elements may be respectively coupled to a predetermined support point to form a clamp structure.

After step (a), (c) using the sensing signal, controlling the instrument so that the instrument performs the grip operation in accordance with the user's grip operation. In this case, after step (c): (d) receiving information about the reaction force applied to the instrument in accordance with the grip operation of the instrument; and (e) increasing the reaction force applied to the instrument And adjusting the magnitude of the driving force applied by the driving unit to the second grip element.

Other aspects, features, and advantages other than those described above will become apparent from the following drawings, claims, and the detailed description of the invention.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, opening and closing of the gripper can be precisely controlled by only the force sensor provided on the grip element and the driving part capable of raising either one of the pair of grip elements, and the opening and closing degree of the gripper can be grasped. Accordingly, there is no need for a servo motor or an encoder, and it is not necessary to precisely adjust the tension of a wire, so that a master gripper can be manufactured with a simpler structure, and further force feedback between a gripper and an instrument can be implemented more easily.

1 is a conceptual view showing a master gripper structure of a surgical robot according to the prior art.
FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the overall structure of a surgical robot according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
3 is a conceptual view showing a master gripper structure of a surgical robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a conceptual view showing a master gripper structure of a surgical robot according to another embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a conceptual view showing a master gripper structure of a surgical robot according to another embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a graph showing a relationship between a force and a driving force by a grip operation according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a drive restriction unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a surgical robot according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

The present invention is capable of various modifications and various embodiments, and specific embodiments are illustrated and described in the drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

The terminology used in this application is used only to describe a specific embodiment and is not intended to limit the invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present application, the terms "comprises" or "having" and the like are used to specify that there is a feature, a number, a step, an operation, an element, a component or a combination thereof described in the specification, But do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Referring to the accompanying drawings, the same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals, .

2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the overall structure of a surgical robot according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2, a surgical robot 1, a master unit 3, a slave unit 5, an instrument 7, and a gripper 10 are shown.

The present embodiment is a gripper applied to a master handle of a surgical robot, in which a force sensor is attached to a grip element so that a user can grip the gripper and sense a pressing force, and a driving force is applied in a direction (Opening and closing) of the gripper can be controlled by controlling the driving force of the motor in accordance with a signal from the force sensor, and the degree of opening and closing of the gripper can be easily recognized from the signal of the force sensor .

Accordingly, the master gripper structure according to the present embodiment does not need to precisely adjust the tension of the pulley wire as in the conventional master gripper, and it is not necessary to provide a motor and an encoder on the hinge axis, so that a simple and slim structure can be manufactured And force feedback between 'gripper-instrument' can be easily realized using the signal of the force sensor.

The surgical robot 1 according to the present embodiment includes a master unit 3 and a slave unit 5 as shown in Fig. 2. The master unit 3 is provided with a gripper 10 And the slave unit 5 may be equipped with a surgical instrument 7 which is operated according to a user operation command from the master unit 3. [ The configuration of the surgical robot 1 is merely an example, and the master part and the slave part are not necessarily separated from each other, and it is also possible that the master part and the slave part are separated as one part in one device.

At the distal end of the instrument 7, an effector of a claw structure including a pair of jaws may be combined. When the instrument 7 having the effect of the structure corresponding to the structure of the gripper 10 is mounted, the user grips the gripper 10 and performs the gripping operation in the surgical robot 1 system. So that the effector can perform an operation corresponding to the operation of the user.

In the 'user intuitive' control of the surgical robot 1, a user holds each part (grip element) of the gripper 10 with a finger (for example, thumb and index finger) Gripping operation " refers to operation in which a pair of gripping elements are opened or closed (closed), and that the effector (pair of jaws) is actuated so as to open or close the gripping operation, '.

The gripper 10 according to the present embodiment can be provided in the master part 3 of the surgical robot 1 and the slave part 5 of the surgical robot 1 is provided with the surgical instrument 7 Can be mounted. The surgical robot 1 according to the present embodiment has a structure in which when a user holds a gripper 10 and inputs a grip operation, a signal corresponding to the grip operation is transmitted to the instrument 7 and the instrument 7 performs a grip operation Lt; / RTI > Hereinafter, the detailed structure of the gripper will be described in detail.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual view illustrating a structure of a master gripper of a surgical robot according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a conceptual view illustrating a structure of a master gripper of a surgical robot according to another embodiment of the present invention. 3 and 4, the gripper 10, the hinge shaft 12, the grip elements 14 and 16, the receiving portions 15 and 17, the force sensor 18, the driving portion 20, the wires 22 A drive motor 24, and a control unit 30 are shown.

The gripper 10 according to the present embodiment can basically consist of a pair of grip elements 14, 16 coupled to a respective support point. The fulcrum is the point where each grip element 14, 16 is joined, so that a pair of grip elements 14, 16 can form a gripping structure, for example a pair of grips 12, By coupling the elements 14 and 16 to be rotatable respectively, a pair of grip elements 14 and 16 can be made to have a gripping structure.

However, the structure of the gripper does not necessarily have to be limited to the grip structure in which a pair of grip elements are coupled to the hinge axis as shown in Fig. 3, and, as shown in Fig. 4, It is of course also possible to implement the gripper structure such that the pair of gripping elements 14, 16 opposed to each other without a hinge axis (i.e.

In addition, the hinge axis must not necessarily be provided at the supporting point in order to achieve the clamping structure, and the clamping structure may be implemented in various ways such as joining the pair of gripping elements to each other at the supporting points so as to form a "V" Of course. Further, in order to achieve the clamping structure, the pair of grip elements 14 and 16 must not necessarily be coupled to the hinge shaft 12 so that all the grip elements 14 and 16 are rotatable, It is possible to obtain a tongue structure.

Hereinafter, as for the structure of the gripper, a grip structure in which a pair of grip elements 14 and 16 are rotatably coupled about the hinge shaft 12 will be described as an example, as shown in Fig.

The gripper 10 according to the present embodiment includes a pair of grip elements 14 and 16. The gripper 10 has a pair of grip elements 14 and 16, And a force sensor 18 for sensing a force of a user by a grip operation.

The driving part 20 applies a driving force such that a pair of grip elements 14 and 16 spread apart from each other. For example, the second grip element 16 is extended from the first grip element 14 16) can be given a "pulling force". Of course, the driving force is not necessarily limited to the driving force exerted only on the second grip element. It is also possible to apply a driving force to the pair of grip elements at the same time so that the first grip element and the second grip element are opened to each other. The driving force may be applied to any one of the grip elements (the second grip element in this embodiment) as a result.

3, a drive motor 24 is installed and the drive motor 24 and the second grip element 16 are connected to each other by a coupling means such as a wire 22 or a rod, To apply a tensile force to the wire 22 to apply a driving force such that the second grip element 16 flares from the first grip element 14. Hereinafter, in this embodiment, a case where a wire is used as a coupling means is described as an example, but the coupling means is not necessarily limited to a wire.

When the drive unit 20 is constructed using the drive motor 24 and the wire 22 as described above, the drive motor 24 according to the present embodiment is configured to move from the first grip component 14 to the second grip component 16, It is not necessary to use an expensive and precise motor which can control the bidirectional rotation like the servo motor used in the conventional gripper structure, and it is not necessary to use a rotary motor (not shown) Various types of motors (for example, linear motors) capable of applying a force to the second grip element 16 in one direction can be used, so that the gripper can be manufactured simply and inexpensively.

Further, in the conventional gripper structure, the gripper can be smoothly operated only by precisely adjusting the tension of the pulley wire. However, in the gripper structure according to the present embodiment, the wire 22 only performs the role of transmitting the pulling force There is an advantage that it is not necessary to adjust the tension of the wire 22.

The force sensor 18 serves to sense the force of the user by the grip operation. For example, when the user holds the gripper 10 for grip operation, the force sensor 18 detects a portion of the user's finger The force sensor 18 may be installed at a specific location on the grip element 16).

Since the gripper 10 is an input device that the user grips with his / her fingers and performs a grip operation, a user's finger (e.g., thumb and index finger) can be inserted into each of the grip elements 14 and 16 The receiving portions 15 and 17 may be formed. In this case, the force sensor 18 according to the present embodiment can be installed in the receiving portion 15, 17 at a portion contacting the user's finger.

The force sensor 18 is a sensor that senses a force that the user presses with a finger in a grip operation process and outputs a sensing signal corresponding to the force. In the gripper structure according to the present embodiment, the grip sensor 10 And the like.

The control unit 30 that controls the operation of the gripper structure receives the sensing signal from the force sensor 18 to determine how much force the user performs grip operation and adjusts the gripper 10 (Or the grip elements 14, 16 of the first and second grippers 14, 16) are twisted (or widened). Here, the control unit 30 may be a separate processor for controlling the gripper 10, or may be implemented as a part of the main controller for overall control of the surgical robot 1. [

That is, when the user applies a force to the force sensor 18 and outputs a sensing signal in a state in which the driving unit 20 pulls the second grip element 16 to open the gripper 10 as described above, The gripper 30 controls the gripper 10 to be dislocated by the grip force of the user by reducing the size of the driving force. The specific driving method of the control unit 30 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 6 to be described later.

5 is a conceptual view illustrating a master gripper structure of a surgical robot according to another embodiment of the present invention. 5, the gripper 10, the hinge shaft 12, the grip elements 14 and 16, the receiving portions 15 and 17, the force sensor 18, the driving portion 20, the electromagnets 26 and 28, , And a control unit 30 are shown.

5 shows another embodiment of the driving unit 20. In Fig. As described above, the driving portion 20 serves to apply a driving force in a direction in which the second grip element 16 extends from the first grip element 14. To this end, as shown in Fig. 5, The pair of electromagnets 26 and 28 are coupled to the elements 14 and 16 so as to face each other so that the pair of electromagnets 26 and 28 apply a pushing force to each other, The driving force can be applied in the direction in which the first gripping element 16 extends from the first gripping element 14.

As described above, the electromagnets 26 and 28 are disposed between the pair of grip elements 14 and 16, and the repulsive force acts between the electromagnets 26 and 28. The drive unit 20 (The wire 22) is applied with a "pulling force".

In this case, by adjusting the magnitude of the magnetic force by adjusting the intensity of the electric current supplied to the electromagnets 26 and 28, the magnitude of the driving force can be adjusted.

6 is a graph showing a relationship between a force and a driving force by a grip operation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As described above, in the gripper structure according to the present embodiment, the sensing signal from the force sensor 18 is used to control the operation of the gripper 10. That is, when a user holds the gripper 10 and applies force to the force sensor 18, the pair of grip elements 14 and 16 are broken. When the user releases the force holding the gripper 10, And controls the grip elements 14 and 16 to re-open.

The control unit 30 according to the present embodiment controls the driving unit 20 so that the second gripping element 16 (see FIG. 1) is held by the user when the user grips the gripper 10 The second grip element 16 can be moved toward the first grip element 14 so that the gripper 10 can be controlled to be pinched by reducing the pulling force of the second grip element 16 .

When the user holds the gripper 10 and releases the pressing force (that is, when it is detected that the force due to the grip operation is reduced by the sensing signal), the driving force of the driving unit 20 is increased again The second grip element 16 is separated from the first grip element 14 so that the gripper 10 can be controlled to be opened.

In summary, the control unit 30 according to the present embodiment reduces the pulling force of the driving unit 20 (receiving a signal from the force sensor 18) when the user grasps the gripper 10, When the finger is released from the holding gripper 10, the magnitude of the driving force can be adjusted so that the driving unit 20 applies a pulling force again (as in the initial state).

By using the gripper 10 controlled by the sensing signal of the force sensor 18 as in the present embodiment, force feedback can be implemented more easily in the control process of the surgical robot 1. [ That is, during the operation (grip operation) of the instrument 7 controlled by the user operation (grip operation) on the gripper 10, the reaction force applied to the effector when the effector picks up the object is transmitted to the gripper 10 The user can perform the gripping operation while feeling the same reaction force as if the user holds his / her hand with his / her hand, thereby enabling a more intuitive robot operation.

First, the surgical robot 1 according to the present embodiment controls not only the operation of the gripper 10 using the sensing signal outputted from the force sensor 18, but also the operation of the slave unit 5 So that the instrument 7 can control the grip operation in accordance with the grip operation of the user.

That is, when the user holds the gripper 10 and outputs a sensing signal from the force sensor 18, the driving force is adjusted so that the gripper 10 is not only broken but also the instrument 7 (effector) When the user holds the gripper 10 and releases the pressing force and outputs a sensing signal from the force sensor 18, the grip 7 is not only opened by adjusting the driving force, but also the instrument 7 Can be opened.

As described above, by providing the force sensor 18 on the grip element, it is possible to control not only the operation of the gripper 10 but also the operation of the instrument 7 according to the user's grip operation with respect to the gripper 10.

In addition, when the effector grips the object in the process of controlling the grip operation of the instrument 7, the reaction force acts on the effector. The surgical robot 1 according to the present embodiment grasps the reaction force value acting on the effector So that this reaction force is reflected in the operation process of the gripper 10. That is, force feedback control can be implemented.

To this end, the control unit 30 according to the present embodiment can receive the information about the reaction force applied to the instrument 7 during the grip operation and control the operation of the gripper 10 so that the reaction force is reflected.

For example, when the instrument 7 picks up a rigid object and the reaction force acting on the effector becomes large, the control unit 30 increases the pulling force of the second gripping element 16 by the driving unit 20 so that the gripper 10 It can be controlled so that it does not come off well. Accordingly, the user can feel as if he or she is holding a hard object with his or her hand.

In addition, when the reaction force acting on the effector by the instrument 7 is picked up by the instrument 7, the control unit 30 can reduce the driving force of the driving unit 20 and control the gripper 10 to be tight. Accordingly, the user can feel as if he or she is holding a soft object with his / her hand.

In summary, in the gripper structure according to the present embodiment, since the magnitude of the driving force acting on the gripper 10 is adjusted in accordance with the information about the reaction force applied to the effector in the grip operation of the instrument 7, .

7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a driving restriction unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Fig. 7, the gripper 10, the hinge shaft 12, the grip elements 14 and 16, the force sensor 18, the driving portion 20, and the driving restriction portion 40 are shown.

On the other hand, when the driving force is applied in the direction in which the driving unit 20 pulls the second grip element 16, the second grip element 16 is opened from the first grip element 14, There is a fear that the gripping operation is likely to take place more than necessary, that is, the gripping operation of the user becomes difficult.

Thus, in the gripper structure according to the present embodiment, the drive limiting portion 40 can be further installed so that the second gripping element 16 can be prevented from spreading beyond the predetermined reference value from the first gripping element 14 have.

The drive limiting portion 40 serves to restrict the second grip element 16 from being extended from the first grip element 14 by applying a force in the opposite direction to the driving force to the second grip element 16, , An elastic body may be provided so that the second grip element 16 is resiliently supported, that is, resiliently supported, as shown in Fig.

The elastic body provided as the drive limiting portion 40 is provided with a second gripping element 16 so as to prevent the second gripping element 16 from spreading abnormally to a preset reference value for the first gripping element 14. [ It is possible to use an elastic body having an elastic force such that the elastic force exerted when widened by the reference value is greater than the driving force of the driving section 20. [

As a result, when the second grip element 16 is extended from the first grip element 14 by the driving force to the reference value and then is opened up to the reference value, the second grip element 16 is opened by the elastic force of the drive restriction portion 40 Can be suppressed.

If the force applied by the user is greater than the elastic force by applying a force in a direction to hold the gripper 10 even if the extension of the second grip element 16 is suppressed by the drive restricting portion 40, (10) may be wider than the reference value.

Therefore, the gripper 10 according to the present embodiment maintains a state in which the gripper 10 is opened up to the reference value owing to the drive restricting portion 40, so that the gripper 10 according to the present embodiment can be operated by the grip operation of the user (not only the gripping operation).

8 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a surgical robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a method of controlling the gripper 10 in a surgical robot provided with the above-described master gripper structure, a method of controlling the gripping operation of the instrument 7 according to the operation of the gripper 10, A method of implementing force feedback in the gripper 10 will be described.

As the user grips the gripper 10, a sensing signal is output from the force sensor 18 mounted on the grip element. The control unit 30, which controls the gripper 10, receives the sensing signal (S10).

(20) by controlling the driving force so that the driving force of the driving part (20) becomes smaller as the force of the grip operation becomes greater, and controls the gripper (10) to be broken. It goes without saying that, when the force due to the grip operation by the user becomes smaller from the sensing signal, the gripper 10 can be controlled to be opened again by increasing the driving force.

The operation of the gripper 10 according to the present embodiment including the force sensor 18 and the driving unit 20 can be controlled according to the grip operation by the user.

The sensing signal outputted from the force sensor 18 can be used not only for the operation of the gripper 10 but also for the control of the instrument 7 mounted on the surgical robot. That is, if a sensing signal is output from the force sensor 18 in response to a user's grip operation, the instrument 7 can control the grip 7 to perform a grip operation (S30).

In other words, the force due to the grip operation of the user is grasped from the sensing signal, and as the force of the grip operation becomes greater, the effect is also disturbed. When the force of the grip operation of the user becomes smaller, the effector can be widened.

Furthermore, the master gripper structure according to the present embodiment can also facilitate the implementation of force feedback control between 'gripper-instruments', allowing the instrument 7 to perform a grip operation in response to the operation of the gripper 10 Force feedback can be implemented by detecting the reaction force applied to the instrument 7 in step S40 and reflecting the sensed reaction force value to the operation of the gripper 10. [

That is, as the reaction force applied to the instrument 7 is increased, the driving force of the driving unit 20 is increased so that the gripper 10 is not shrunk smoothly. As the reaction force applied to the instrument 7 becomes smaller, The reaction force applied to the instrument 7 can be transmitted to the gripper 10 as it is by adjusting the driving force so that the gripper 10 is tightly closed Robotic surgery can be performed while feeling the same as holding the object directly.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. And changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1: surgical robot 3: master part
5: Slave part 7: Instrument
10: gripper 12: hinge shaft
14, 16: grip element 15, 17:
18: Force sensor 20:
22: wire 24: drive motor
26, 28: electromagnet 30:
40:

Claims (15)

A gripper structure provided on a master part of a surgical robot on which a surgical instrument is mounted and adapted to receive a grip operation from a user so that the instrument performs a grip operation,
A first grip element;
A second grip element positioned opposite the first grip element;
A driving unit for applying a driving force to the second grip element in a direction to widen toward the first grip element,
A force sensor coupled to at least one of the first grip element and the second grip element and configured to sense a force generated by a user's grip operation and output a sensing signal;
And a controller for receiving the sensing signal and adjusting a magnitude of driving force applied by the driving unit to the second grip element,
Wherein,
The driving force is reduced and the second grip element approaches the first grip element as the force by the grip operation of the user becomes larger. As the force by the grip operation of the user becomes smaller, the driving force is increased, Causing the grip element to extend from the first grip element,
The driving unit includes:
A first electromagnet coupled to the first grip element;
And a second electromagnet coupled to the second grip element opposite to the first electromagnet and applying a repulsive force to the first electromagnet.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first grip element and the second grip element are coupled to a predetermined support point, respectively, to form a grip structure.
3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the support point includes a hinge axis, and at least one of the first grip element and the second grip element is rotatably coupled to the hinge shaft.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first grip element and the second grip element are formed with receiving portions into which the user's fingers can be inserted, and the force sensor is installed in the receiving portion to contact the user's finger Gripper structure.
The driving apparatus according to claim 1,
An engaging means having one end joined to the second grip element;
And a driving motor coupled to the other end of the coupling means and applying a tensile force to the coupling means.
The driving apparatus according to claim 1,
Wherein a driving force is applied to the first grip element and the second grip element to cause the first grip element and the second grip element to flare each other.
delete delete The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a drive restricting portion for applying a force in a direction opposite to the driving force to the second grip element so that the second grip element can be prevented from spreading beyond the predetermined reference value with respect to the first grip element, The master gripper structure.
10. The apparatus according to claim 9,
And an elastic body that elastically urges the second grip element and applies an elastic force greater than the driving force when the second grip element is opened at a predetermined reference value with respect to the first grip element. rescue.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the control unit further receives the information on the reaction force applied to the instrument according to the grip operation of the instrument and further adjusts the size of the driving force so that force feedback can be implemented. The master gripper structure.
A method for implementing force feedback in a surgical robot in which a gripper for receiving a grip operation is installed in a master unit and a surgical instrument for performing a grip operation is mounted in a slave unit,
Wherein the gripper includes a pair of grip elements positioned opposite to each other and a driving unit that applies a driving force to any one of the pair of grip elements so that the pair of grip elements is opened, And a force sensor which is installed at one or more positions and outputs a sensing signal by sensing a force by a user's grip operation,
The driving unit includes:
A first electromagnet coupled to the first grip element;
And a second electromagnet coupled to the second grip element opposite the first electromagnet and applying a repulsive force to the first electromagnet,
(a) receiving the sensing signal; And
(b) adjusting a magnitude of a driving force applied to the second grip element by the driving part so that the driving force becomes smaller as the force by the user's grip operation becomes larger,
And adjusting a magnitude of a driving force applied to the second grip element by the driving unit such that a magnitude of the driving force increases as a force by a user's grip operation becomes smaller.
13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the pair of grip elements are coupled to a predetermined support point to form a gripping structure.
13. The method of claim 12,
After said step (a)
(c) using the sensing signal to control the instrument so that the instrument performs a grip operation in accordance with a grip operation of the user.
15. The method of claim 14,
After the step (c)
(d) receiving information about a reaction force applied to the instrument according to a grip operation of the instrument; And
(e) adjusting a magnitude of a driving force applied to the second grip element by the driving unit such that a magnitude of the driving force increases as a reaction force applied to the instrument increases.

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