CN107756449B

CN107756449B - Anti-pinch detection system for mechanical joint of service robot

Info

Publication number: CN107756449B
Application number: CN201711107893.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘雪楠; 覃立万
Original assignee: Beijing Kngli Youlan Robot Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Kngli Youlan Robot Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2017-11-10
Filing date: 2017-11-10
Publication date: 2020-10-02
Anticipated expiration: 2037-11-10
Also published as: CN107756449A

Abstract

The invention discloses an anti-pinch detection system for a mechanical joint of a service robot, relates to the field of service robots, and can detect foreign matters such as fingers extending into the joint and reduce the risk of pinched hands. The key points of the technical scheme of the invention are as follows: the infrared detection module is used for detecting fingers or foreign bodies stretching into joints and sending out first signals; an electric actuator module for driving the articulation; and the central control module is used for receiving the first signal and controlling the electric execution module to drive the moving bodies connected to the two sides of the mechanical joint to stop/move oppositely, so that fingers or foreign matters are prevented from being clamped by the moving bodies on the two sides of the mechanical joint. The invention is mainly applied to various service robots and can effectively solve the problem of hand clamping at joints of the existing robot.

Description

Anti-pinch detection system for mechanical joint of service robot

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a robot, and more particularly, to an anti-pinch detection system for servicing mechanical joints of a robot.

Background

In recent years, with the continuous development of science and technology, artificial intelligence gradually moves into the field of vision of common people, and especially, intelligent robots have gradually gained popularity, wherein service robots will be the mainstream of future development. The structural components of a robot generally include the following: the system comprises an actuating mechanism, a driving unit, a control unit and an intelligent system. The executing mechanism is a mechanical entity for the robot to complete a work task, generally a "mechanical arm + end manipulator", the mechanical arm (manipulator) is a spatial open-chain mechanism generally composed of a rod member mechanism and a joint mechanism, and further can be subdivided into a machine base, a waist portion, an arm portion, a shoulder portion and an elbow wrist portion, and the joint mechanism is generally driven by a driver (motor).

The joints of the existing robot are generally in an exposed state, which creates certain potential safety hazards, such as: the service robot placed in a market often has the phenomenon that children do not take care of or play together curiously to touch the body of the robot, fingers or foreign matters can easily stretch into joints of the robot, when the robot moves, elbow joints of the robot move, the fingers or the foreign matters can be easily clamped, and certain damage is caused to the joints of the robot and the human body. The existing service robot can refer to the Chinese invention patent with the publication number of CN205766247U, and discloses a robot anti-hand clamping device and a robot, wherein the robot anti-hand clamping device comprises a head and neck anti-hand clamping module, and the module shields a connected gap by installing a gap shielding piece at a gap of a back brain, so that the gap is always in a shielded state when the head and the neck move, and the risk that fingers extend into the gap is avoided.

However, the hand-clamping prevention measure only depending on external shielding can only be applied to the head and the neck, but is difficult to be applied to joints such as shoulders and elbows, and meanwhile, effective and reliable defense is difficult to be achieved only depending on a mechanical shielding mode, and the intelligent degree is low.

Disclosure of Invention

Aiming at the defects in the prior art, the invention aims to provide an anti-pinch detection system for a mechanical joint of a service robot, which can effectively detect foreign matters such as fingers extending into the joint and reduce the risk of pinching hands.

In order to achieve the aim, the invention provides an anti-pinch detection system for a mechanical joint of a service robot, which comprises an infrared detection module, a first signal processing module and a second signal processing module, wherein the infrared detection module is used for detecting fingers or foreign matters stretching into the mechanical joint and sending out a first signal; an electric actuator module for driving the mechanical articulation; and the central control module is used for receiving the first signal and controlling the electric execution module to drive the moving bodies connected to the two sides of the mechanical joint to stop/move oppositely, so that fingers or foreign matters are prevented from being clamped by the moving bodies on the two sides of the mechanical joint.

Through adopting above-mentioned technical scheme, because infrared detection module's setting, can respond to effectively and detect the finger or the foreign matter that stretch into mechanical joint department, central control module control mechanical joint action makes the joint stop/relative reverse motion, avoids the motion body centre gripping finger or the foreign matter of mechanical joint action linkage both sides, has effectively improved the security of robot operation and the security that the robot used.

Preferably, the mechanical joint comprises an area for internally installing the infrared detection module.

By adopting the technical scheme, the infrared detection module is arranged in the joint, so that the normal action of the mechanical joint and the moving bodies on two sides cannot be influenced, once a finger or a foreign matter stretches into the mechanical joint, the infrared detection module can detect the movement, timely sends a signal to the central control module, and controls the moving bodies on two sides of the mechanical joint to stop/move reversely relatively.

Preferably, the infrared detection module is an infrared sensor.

Preferably, the infrared sensors are provided in two groups.

Through adopting above-mentioned technical scheme, in order to ensure the stable detection in mechanical joint department, set up two sets of infrared sensor simultaneously, in case one of them infrared sensor breaks down, normal detection can be guaranteed to another infrared sensor, has further improved the stability ability that detects.

Preferably, the anti-pinch detection system further comprises a pressure sensing module, which is used for sensing fingers or foreign matters extending into the mechanical joint and sending out a second signal; and the central control module receives the second signal and controls the electric execution module to drive the moving bodies connected to the two sides of the mechanical joint to stop/move oppositely, so that fingers or foreign matters are prevented from being clamped by the moving bodies on the two sides of the mechanical joint.

Through adopting above-mentioned technical scheme, although infrared detection can satisfy most detection needs, but in case there is the foreign matter or the finger stretches into mechanical joint department and is not detected, the accidental injury still can appear, add the finger that forced induction module can sense stretch into mechanical joint department or foreign matter, when finger or foreign matter are pressed from both sides, can detect fast and give central control module with signal transmission, central control module control mechanical joint stops/relative reverse motion, the security that robot operation security and robot used has further been improved.

Preferably, the pressure sensing module is a pressure sensor.

Preferably, the pressure sensors are provided in two groups, and each group is arranged on the opposite movable end faces of the movable bodies on two sides of the mechanical joint.

Through adopting above-mentioned technical scheme, set up pressure sensor in the relative one side of motion body respectively and can guarantee that the finger that is pressed from both sides or the quick quilt of foreign matter are detected, avoid pointing the injury or harm robot, simultaneously, set up two sets of effects that can play reserve, in case one of them pressure sensor breaks down, another pressure sensor can continue work, guarantees detecting system's normal, steady operation.

Preferably, the opposite movable end faces of the moving bodies on the two sides of the mechanical joint are covered with flexible parts, and the flexible parts cover the pressure sensors.

Through adopting above-mentioned technical scheme, the flexible piece sets up on the activity terminal surface, can form flexible protection space in mechanical joint department, in case there is the finger or the foreign matter stretches into mechanical joint department and is cliied, can play certain elastic buffer effect, avoids the finger to receive great injury, has also left certain reaction time of robot simultaneously, has improved the security of robot operation.

Preferably, the flexible member is made of a silicon rubber soft elastic material.

Preferably, the mechanical joint is an elbow joint and/or a knee joint and/or a shoulder joint.

In conclusion, the invention has the following beneficial effects:

1. according to the invention, the infrared sensor is arranged at the mechanical joint, so that fingers or foreign matters stretching into the mechanical joint by mistake can be quickly sensed, and the risk of finger clamping injury or unsafe operation of the robot is reduced on the premise of ensuring free movement of the mechanical joint and the moving body;

2. according to the invention, the pressure sensors are arranged on the movable end faces of the moving bodies on the two sides of the mechanical joint, so that the stability and accuracy of detection of foreign matters stretching into the mechanical joint can be further improved on the basis of infrared detection, the accidental injury risk is reduced, and the safety of equipment operation is ensured;

3. according to the invention, the flexible pieces are arranged on the movable end surfaces of the moving bodies on the two sides of the mechanical joint, so that a soft protective layer can be formed at the mechanical joint, and the damage to fingers extending into the mechanical joint is reduced.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a mechanical joint and a movable body according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a detection system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating positions of a protruding infrared sensor and a pressure sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Reference numerals: 100. an infrared detection module; 200. a pressure sensing module; 300. a central control module; 400. an electric execution module; 500. a mechanical joint; 600. a moving body; 602. a movable end face; 700. an infrared sensor; 702. a pressure sensor; 800. a flexible member.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are summarized below, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments of the present invention without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, an anti-pinch detection system for a service robot mechanical joint according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an infrared detection module 100 for detecting a finger or a foreign object inserted into a mechanical joint 500 and emitting a first signal; an electric execution module 400 for driving the mechanical joint 500 to move; the central control module 300 is configured to receive the first signal and control the electric actuator 400 to drive the moving bodies 600 connected to both sides of the mechanical joint 500 to stop/move in opposite directions, so as to prevent fingers or foreign objects from being caught by the moving bodies 600 connected to both sides of the mechanical joint 500.

Specifically, the infrared detection module 100 employs an infrared sensor 700, and the infrared sensor 700 is installed inside the mechanical joint 500 and does not protrude from the surface of the mechanical joint 500. The infrared sensor 700 is electrically connected with the central control module 300, when the infrared sensor 700 detects that a finger or a foreign object extends into the mechanical joint 500, a first signal is sent to the central control module 300, the central control module 300 receives the first signal and sends an instruction to the electric execution module 400, the electric execution module 400 generally adopts a motor, the electric execution module 400 controls and controls the mechanical joint 500 to move, so that the moving bodies 600 connected to two sides of the mechanical joint 500 stop/move in opposite directions, the finger or the foreign object is not clamped, the stability of the operation of the mechanical joint 500 of the robot is improved, and meanwhile, the robot mechanical joint 500 is prevented from being accidentally injured by the movement of the human body.

In an application scenario of the embodiment of the present invention, the robot is applied to provide services for customers in a shopping mall, children who are not attended by people or who play together often curiously play with the robot, touch the robot body, when the fingers of the children extend into the elbow/knee joints of the robot, the infrared sensor 700 senses the fingers, and after the signals are transmitted, the joints of the robot stop moving or start the moving bodies 600 (upper/lower limbs) on the two sides of the joints of the robot to move in opposite directions, so as to avoid injury to the fingers of the children.

Preferably, two sets of infrared sensors 700 are arranged, and the two sets of infrared sensors 700 are arranged side by side and can be used simultaneously, so that the infrared detection area is increased; the infrared detection system can also work independently, when one infrared sensor 700 breaks down, the other infrared sensor 700 can still perform infrared detection, the anti-pinch detection system at the mechanical joint 500 can be guaranteed to operate all the time, and the stability of the machine in operation is further improved.

Preferably, the anti-pinch detection system further includes a pressure sensing module 200 for sensing a finger or a foreign object extending into the mechanical joint 500 and sending a second signal, and the central control module 300 receives the second signal and controls the electric actuator module 400 to drive the moving bodies 600 connected to two sides of the mechanical joint 500 to stop/move in opposite directions, so as to prevent the finger or the foreign object from being pinched by the moving bodies 600 connected to two sides of the mechanical joint 500.

Specifically, the pressure sensing module 200 employs a pressure sensor 702. The pressure sensors 702 are preferably provided in two groups. The function of mutual backup can be achieved, the pressure sensor 702 is ensured to work, and the detection effectiveness of the detection system is ensured. Two groups of pressure sensors 702 are respectively disposed on the opposite movable end faces 602 of the moving bodies 600 on both sides of the mechanical joint 500, and through a pressure sensing manner, once a finger or a foreign object is clamped by the moving bodies 600 on both sides at the mechanical joint 500, the two groups of pressure sensors can sense and send a second signal to the central control module 300, and the central control module 300 controls the motor to drive the moving bodies 600 on both sides of the mechanical joint 500 to stop moving/move in opposite directions, so as to prevent the finger or the foreign object from being injured by clamping. The pressure sensor 702 can further improve the safety of the operation of the mechanical joint of the robot and reduce the risk of accidental injury to the human body.

In an application scenario of the embodiment of the present invention, when an unattended child inserts a finger into the mechanical joint 500, once the finger is squeezed, the pressure sensors 702 on both sides can generate pressure sensing, and the motor can be controlled to drive the joint to stop/move in opposite directions through signal transmission, so as to avoid further squeezing of the finger or a foreign object.

In order to further reduce the injury to the fingers extending into the mechanical joint, the flexible members 800 are covered on the opposite movable end surfaces 602 of the moving body 600 on both sides of the mechanical joint 500, and the flexible members 800 cover the pressure sensors 702, or the pressure sensors 702 are embedded in the flexible members 800. The setting of flexible piece 800 can form a flexible protection space in mechanical joint 500 department, and flexible piece 800 can adopt and adopt the soft elastic material of silicon rubber to make, and it has better elasticity, and at the in-process that takes place finger extrusion, flexible piece 800 can play better cushioning effect, avoids causing the extrusion injury to the finger, and this buffering can provide a reaction time for the robot simultaneously, can improve detecting system's security, validity.

It should be noted that the mechanical joints 500 described in the embodiments of the present invention include, but are not limited to, elbow joints, knee joints, and shoulder joints, and any mechanical joint 500 with similar motion may be configured with the detection system, which only differs from the sensor in the position where the sensor is configured.

According to the invention, the infrared sensor 700 is arranged at the mechanical joint 500 of the robot, so that the fingers or foreign matters stretching into the mechanical joint 500 can be effectively detected, and the safe operation of the robot and the safety of a user using the robot are ensured. Simultaneously, add pressure sensor 702 and carry out forced induction on infrared sensor 700's basis, the security that the robot used has been promoted more urgently one step more to the combined use of two kinds of response modes, and intelligent degree is high.

Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will clearly understand that the present invention may be implemented by software plus necessary general hardware, and certainly may also be implemented by hardware, but in many cases, the former is a better embodiment. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the present invention may be substantially implemented or a part of the technical solutions contributing to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product, where the computer software product is stored in a readable storage medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or an optical disk of a computer, and includes several instructions for enabling a computer (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute the methods according to the embodiments of the present invention.

The above description is only an embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily change or replace the present invention within the technical scope of the present invention, and the present invention shall be covered by the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An anti-pinch detection system for a service robot elbow joint, comprising:

the infrared detection module (100) is internally arranged inside the mechanical elbow joint (500) and does not protrude out of the surface of the mechanical elbow joint (500) so as to be used for detecting fingers or foreign matters stretching into the mechanical elbow joint (500) and sending a first signal;

the pressure sensing module (200) is arranged on opposite movable end faces (602) of the moving bodies (600) on two sides of the mechanical elbow joint (500), the opposite movable end faces (602) of the moving bodies (600) on two sides of the mechanical elbow joint (500) are covered with a flexible piece (800), the flexible piece (800) covers the pressure sensing module (200) or places the pressure sensing module (200) in the flexible piece (800), and the pressure sensing module (200) is used for sensing fingers or foreign matters stretching into the mechanical elbow joint (500) and sending out a second signal when being clamped by the moving bodies (600) on two sides;

an electric execution module (400) for driving the mechanical elbow joint (500) to move;

and the central control module (300) is used for receiving the first signal or the second signal and controlling the electric execution module (400) to drive the moving body (600) connected to the two sides of the mechanical elbow joint (500) to stop/move oppositely, so that fingers or foreign matters are prevented from being injured by clamping.

2. The anti-pinch detection system at a service robot elbow joint as recited in claim 1, characterized in that the infrared detection module (100) is an infrared sensor (700).

3. Anti-pinch detection system at the elbow joint of a service robot according to claim 2, characterized in that the infrared sensors (700) are provided in two groups.

4. The anti-pinch detection system at a service robot elbow joint as recited in claim 1, wherein the pressure sensing module (200) is a pressure sensor (702).

5. The anti-pinch detection system at a service robot elbow joint as recited in claim 1, wherein the flexible member (800) is made of a silicone rubber soft elastomer material.