JP2001145638A - Manipulator controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manipulator controller capable of improving the durability of the whole system by reducing a mechanical load operating to the side of the driving mechanism of a slave manipulator at the time of the operation of the calibration of the position and the posture of a master manipulator and the slave manipulator. SOLUTION: This controller is provided with a position deviation detecting means 28c for detecting the position deviation between the present position of a master manipulator 3 and that of a slave manipulator 2 at the time of starting calibration operation and a deceleration means 28d for reducing a mechanical load operating to a slave driving part 6 at the time of the operation of calibration for matching the position of the manipulator 3 and that the manipulator 2 based on a detecting result from the detecting means 28c.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a manipulator control device for an operation in which a manipulator of a living body, for example, inserted into a body cavity, is remotely operated by an operation means to perform an operation such as diagnosis or treatment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a hole is made in a body wall such as an abdominal wall, and an endoscope or a treatment tool is percutaneously inserted into the body cavity through the hole to perform various treatments in the body cavity. In recent years, percutaneous endoscopic surgery has attracted attention as a minimally invasive procedure that does not require a large incision. Such surgical procedures are widely performed in gallbladder removal surgery, surgery for removing part of the lung, and the like.

In such an operation, an operation manipulator system in which an endoscope or a treatment tool is mounted on a manipulator and an operation using the endoscope or the treatment tool by the manipulator is performed indirectly on behalf of an operator is known. US Patent 5,
217,003 and JP-A-7-328016.

FIG. 13 shows a schematic configuration of the surgical manipulator system. This manipulator system is provided with a slave manipulator a installed to access an operation field and a master manipulator b such as a joystick installed in an area operable by an operator. Here, a slave controller c is connected to the slave manipulator a, and a master controller d is connected to the master manipulator b.

Further, the slave controller c and the master controller d are connected via communication means such as a signal cable. Here, the master control unit d is provided with detection means for detecting an operation of the operation unit of the master manipulator b. The operation state of the operation section of the master manipulator b detected by the master control section d is converted into a control signal and transmitted to the slave control section c via the communication means. The slave control unit c outputs a control signal transmitted from the master control unit d to the slave manipulator a to transmit the movement following the operation of the operation unit of the master manipulator b.

[0006] In such remote control of the surgical manipulator, the operator operates the operation section of the master manipulator b such as a joystick while watching the condition of the affected part in the abdominal cavity displayed on the monitor by an observation means such as an endoscope. By operating, for example, the slave manipulator a is operated in the operation direction of the operation unit of the master manipulator b.

[0007] In addition, an operating section which can be opened and closed substantially in the form of scissors is used as the master manipulator b, and a treatment section having a pair of forceps pieces which can be opened and closed like a grasping forceps is used as the slave manipulator a. A system to do this is being considered. Here, when the operation unit of the master manipulator b is opened / closed, a pair of forceps pieces of the grasping forceps of the slave manipulator a are driven to open / close according to the opening / closing operation of the operation unit of the master manipulator b. . At this time, the opening / closing operation (movement amount) of the pair of forceps of the grasping forceps of the slave manipulator a is detected, and it is determined whether the opening / closing operation between the pair of forceps of the slave manipulator a is an abnormal operation or a normal operation. There has been considered a configuration in which a determination means for determining the type of the image is provided.

In addition, before operating the operation section of the master manipulator b, a calibration (initialization) for initial position adjustment for aligning the initial position of the master manipulator b with the initial position of the slave manipulator a is performed. By inspecting the operating range of the slave manipulator a, the slave manipulator a
It is common practice to check whether there is any mechanical abnormality (whether or not the operation range of the slave manipulator a is as specified).

[0009]

When the calibration for initial position adjustment is performed at the start of use of the surgical manipulator system, for example, the current position of the master manipulator b and the current position of the slave manipulator a are detected. At the same time, an initial position adjustment operation of moving the position of the slave manipulator a by moving the drive mechanism of the slave manipulator a by electric control so as to match the position corresponding to the current position of the master manipulator b is being performed. At this time, when the slave manipulator a is moved from the current position to the adjustment position, the control signal output from the slave control unit c is input to the drive mechanism of the slave manipulator a, and at the same time, the amount of displacement of the master manipulator b is reduced. This is immediately reflected on the slave manipulator a, and the slave manipulator a is quickly moved to the adjustment position. Therefore, at the time of moving the slave manipulator a from the current position to the adjustment position, a mechanical load acting on the drive mechanism of the slave manipulator a becomes large, so that the durability of the drive mechanism of the slave manipulator a is improved. There is a problem in planning.

Further, if the movement amount of the slave manipulator a is large during the calibration work, there is a problem that the mechanical load acting on the drive mechanism of the slave manipulator a becomes even greater.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a mechanical load acting on a drive mechanism side of a slave manipulator at the time of calibration of the position and orientation of a master manipulator and a slave manipulator. It is an object of the present invention to provide a manipulator control device capable of reducing the number of times and improving the durability of the entire system.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a slave manipulator installed to access an operative field, and a slave manipulator installed in an area operable by an operator to remotely operate the slave manipulator. A master manipulator, a master controller connected to the master manipulator, for converting an operation of the master manipulator into an electric signal, and a master manipulator connected to the slave manipulator and the master controller, respectively, and sent from the master controller; A slave control unit for outputting a control signal for transmitting a movement following the operation of the master manipulator to the slave manipulator; and a position shift between a current position of the master manipulator and a current position of the slave manipulator when the operation of the master manipulator starts. A displacement amount detecting means for detecting the amount, and a driving mechanism of the slave manipulator during a calibration operation for matching the position of the master manipulator and the position of the slave manipulator based on the detection result from the displacement amount detecting means. A manipulator control device comprising: a load reducing unit configured to reduce an acting mechanical load.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the operation of the master manipulator is started, the displacement amount between the current position of the master manipulator and the current position of the slave manipulator is detected by the displacement amount detecting means.
A calibration operation for matching the position of the master manipulator with the position of the slave manipulator is performed based on the detection result from the displacement amount detecting means. At the time of this calibration work, the mechanical load acting on the drive mechanism of the slave manipulator is reduced by the load reducing means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the load reducing means includes:
2. The manipulator control device according to claim 1, wherein the manipulator control device according to claim 1, further comprising a speed reduction unit configured to reduce a moving speed of the slave manipulator during the calibration work to a degree that a mechanical load on the slave manipulator drive mechanism can be reduced. 3. It is.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the speed of movement of the slave manipulator is reduced by the speed reduction means during the calibration work to such an extent that the mechanical load on the slave manipulator drive mechanism can be reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the load reducing means includes:
It is formed by coordinate complementing means for reconstructing a coordinate system for detecting the position of the master manipulator during the calibration work so as to complement the position shift amount in accordance with the current position of the slave manipulator. Item 4. The manipulator control device according to item 1.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, during the calibration operation, the coordinate system for detecting the position of the master manipulator is reconstructed by the coordinate complementing means so as to complement the positional deviation amount according to the current position of the slave manipulator. It is like that.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the load reducing means includes:
Within the operation range in which the slave manipulator can move during the calibration work, a control execution range of the position matching operation is set in advance to a predetermined setting range separated by a fixed amount from the center position of the operation range, and the When the current position is out of the control execution range, there is provided notifying means for notifying the state in which the current position of the slave manipulator is out of the control execution range without performing the position matching operation. Item 4. The manipulator control device according to item 1.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the control execution of the position matching operation is performed within a predetermined setting range which is a predetermined distance away from the center position of the operation range within the operation range in which the slave manipulator can move during the calibration operation. The range is set in advance, and when the current position of the slave manipulator is outside the control execution range, the state in which the current position of the slave manipulator is outside the control execution range is notified by the notification unit without performing the position matching operation. Things.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8A and 8B. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an entire system of a manipulator control device 1 according to the present embodiment. The manipulator control device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a slave manipulator 2 installed to access an operation field, and a master manipulator 3 installed in an area where an operator can operate and remotely operating the slave manipulator 2. Is provided. Here, the slave manipulator 2 is provided with two sets of slave manipulators, that is, a left slave manipulator 2a and a right slave manipulator 2b. Similarly, the master manipulator 3 operates the left master manipulator 3a for operating the left slave manipulator 2a and the right master manipulator 3 for operating the right slave manipulator 2b.
b.

Further, two slave manipulators 2
a and 2b and the master manipulators 3a and 3b have substantially the same configuration, so that only the configuration of one of the left-side slave manipulator 2a and the master manipulator 3a will be described here, and the right-side slave manipulator 2b and the master manipulator 3b will be described. The same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

That is, the left-hand slave manipulator 2a of the present embodiment is provided with a manipulator main body 5 having an elongated insertion portion 4, and a slave drive portion 6 for driving the manipulator main body 5. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a distal end grip 7 having a pair of gripping members 7a and 7b that can be opened and closed like gripping forceps is provided at the distal end of the insertion section 4. These gripping members 7a, 7
The base portion b is connected to the distal end portion of the insertion portion 4 so as to be rotatable around a rotation pin 8. These gripping members 7a and 7b are supported by a link mechanism 9 so as to be openable and closable about a pivot pin 8.

The manipulator body 5 is driven by a manipulator body drive unit (not shown) in the slave drive unit 6 in FIG. 3 in the X-axis direction (left-right direction), the Y-axis direction (vertical direction), and the Z-axis direction (front-back direction). , And are driven to rotate in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction. Further, the tip grip 7 of the manipulator body 5 is similarly opened and closed by the tip grip drive unit (not shown) in the slave drive 6 between the grip members 7a and 7b about the pivot pin 8. . In addition,
In Figure 3, O _S is the origin position of the manipulator 5 of the slave manipulator 2a.

As shown in FIG. 2, the left master manipulator 3a has, for example, a handle (operating portion) 10 which can be opened and closed in a substantially scissor shape.
It is movable in the X-axis direction (left-right direction), the Y-axis direction (vertical direction), and the Z-axis direction (front-rear direction), respectively, and is around the X-axis, around the Y-axis, and around the Z-axis. And a supporting mechanism 11 (shown in FIG. 4) for rotatably supporting each of them. In FIG. 2, O _M Is the origin position of the handle 10 of the master manipulator 3a.

As shown in FIG. 2, the handle 10 has a support shaft 13 having one end fixed to a top plate 12;
The other end of the support shaft 13 is provided with two handle members 15a and 15b rotatably connected around a rotation shaft 14. Further, the two handle members 15a, 15
Between b, a link member 16 is provided on the rotating shaft 14 side, and a leaf spring member 17 is provided on the free end side. The handle 10 is moved by the spring force of the leaf spring member 17 as shown in FIG.
It is urged toward the fully open position as indicated by the solid line therein.

A stopper 18 is provided on one of the handle members 15a of the handle 10.
It protrudes toward the b side. And this handle 1
At the time of the closing operation of 0, the closing operation of the handle 10 is regulated by the stopper 18 of the handle member 15a abutting on the handle member 15b as shown by the phantom line in FIG. 2, and this state is set to the fully closed position. I have.

Further, the handle member 15 of the handle 10
The potentiometer 19 is attached to a. The opening / closing angle of the handle 10 is detected by the potentiometer 19.

The support mechanism 11 of the master manipulator 3a is formed by a multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator constructed by combining a plurality of pantograph mechanisms. Here, the top plate 12 which is the output node has 3
One pantograph and three rotating pairs are mounted. An encoder (not shown) is attached to each of the panda graphs and the even axes. A detecting means for detecting the operation of the handle 10 by the encoder is formed. Further, the master manipulator 3 incorporates, for example, a lock mechanism (not shown) of an electromagnetic lock type, for example, which switches between a locked state in which the master manipulator 3 cannot be operated and an unlocked state in which the master manipulator 3 can be operated.

The master manipulator 3 is connected to a master controller 20 for converting the operation of the master manipulator 3 into an electric signal. The master control unit 20 is provided with a position detecting device 21 such as a potentiometer 19 of the master manipulator 3 and an encoder of the support mechanism unit 11, and an arithmetic circuit 22 formed by, for example, a computer for position calculation. Then, the detection data (L detection signal, L detection signal) of the operation state of the left and right master manipulators 3a and 3b by the position
The R detection signal) is input to an arithmetic circuit 22, where the position is calculated by the arithmetic circuit 22, and data such as the operation state of the handle 10 of the master manipulator 3 and the open / close state of the handle 10 are calculated.

Further, a foot switch 23 for controlling the lock mechanism of the master manipulator 3 is connected to the master control unit 20. This foot switch 2
3 is provided with two pedals 23a and 23b.
A switching operation unit for switching between a locked state and an unlocked state of the master manipulator 3 is formed by one of the pedals 23a, and a switching operation unit of a moving clutch is formed by the other pedal 23b.

A monitor 24 is provided near the operator who operates the master manipulator 3.
The operation of the master manipulator 3 is performed while watching the display screen displayed on the monitor 24.

The slave manipulator 2 is connected to a slave controller 25 that outputs a control signal for transmitting a movement following the operation of the master manipulator 3 to the slave manipulator 2. This slave control unit 2
5 is provided with a motor drive circuit 27 for controlling a plurality of drive motors 26 incorporated in the slave drive unit 6 of the slave manipulator 2, and an arithmetic circuit 28 formed by a computer for controlling the slave manipulator, for example. .

Further, the arithmetic circuit 2 of the slave control unit 25
8 and the arithmetic circuit 22 of the master control unit 20 are connected via communication means 29 such as an optical fiber cable. The slave control unit 25 outputs a control signal transmitted from the master control unit 20 to the slave manipulator 2 to transmit a movement following the operation of the master manipulator 3.

The arithmetic circuit 28 of the slave control unit 25
As shown in FIG. 5, a calibration operation detecting means 28a for detecting a start state of the calibration operation
And the current position of the slave manipulator 2 (the position Xs in the X direction, the position Ys in the Y direction, the position Zs in the Z direction, the rotation angle θxs around the X axis, and the rotation angle θy around the Y axis.
s, a slave manipulator position detecting means 28b for detecting a rotation angle θzs around the Z axis, and a current position of the master manipulator 3 (a position Xm in the X direction, a position Ym in the Y direction, and a Z direction) at the start of the calibration operation. Position Zm, rotation angle θxm around the X axis, rotation angle θym around the Y axis, rotation angle θzm around the Z axis)
And the current position of the slave manipulator 2 (Xs, Ys,
Zs, θxs, θys, θzs), and sets the slave manipulator 2 as a master on the basis of the detection result from the displacement amount detecting means 28c at the start of the calibration operation. The current position of the manipulator 3 (Xm, Ym, Zm, θ
xm, θym, θzm) and a slave as load reduction means for reducing the mechanical load acting on the slave drive unit 6 when moving to the calibration position (Xc, Yc, Zc, θc, θc, θc) corresponding to the calibration position (Xc, Yc, θc, θc). A deceleration unit 28d of the drive unit 6 and a CPU 28e are provided. Here, the deceleration means 28d sets the moving speed of the slave manipulator 2 during the calibration operation to such an extent that the mechanical load of the slave driving unit 6 can be reduced, for example, the moving speed of the slave manipulator 2 in the X, Y, and Z directions. 1
The rotation amount θx in the direction around the X axis and the rotation angle θ in the direction around the Y axis with a movement amount of 2 mm every 00 mms (1 step)
The rotation angle θz around the y and Z axes is 100 mms (1st
Each ep) is formed by means for decelerating to a state of rotating by a moving amount of 2 °.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described.
When using the manipulator control device 1 of the present embodiment, the master manipulator 3 is installed in an area where the operator can operate. Further, the slave manipulator 2 is installed so as to access an operation field. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a hole is made in a body wall H such as an abdominal wall of a patient who is to be subjected to an operation such as diagnosis and treatment in advance by a trocar (not shown), and the slave manipulator 2 is inserted into the trocar mantle tube inserted into the hole. The insertion section 4 of the slave manipulator 2 is inserted into the body cavity percutaneously through the trocar mantle tube. At this time, the monitor 24 at a position near the operator who operates the master manipulator 3 is an endoscopic image of the operation field by an endoscope inserted percutaneously into the body cavity from a place different from the slave manipulator 2, or A computer graphic image (CG image) of the operation field synthesized by the computer graphic device is displayed.

After setting the slave manipulator 2 and the master manipulator 3, the slave controller 2
When the calibration operation detecting means 28a detects the start state of the calibration operation, the calibration operation for associating the position of the slave manipulator 2 with the position of the master manipulator 3 is performed. This calibration operation is performed according to the flowchart of FIG. Before the start of the calibration operation, the left and right slave manipulators 2
a, 2b and left and right master manipulators 3a, 3
b is held at an arbitrary position. FIG. 7 shows the current positions (Xm, Y) of the master manipulators 3a, 3b.
m, Zm, θxm, θym, θzm).

At the start of the calibration operation, the current positions (Xs, Ys, Zs, θxs, θys, θzs) of the left and right slave manipulators 2a, 2b are detected by the slave manipulator position detecting means 28b. Then, in step S1, the left and right slave manipulators 2a and 2b move to the origin position Os as shown in FIG.
(Position Xs = 0 in X direction, Position Ys = 0 in Y direction, Position Zs = 0 in Z direction, rotation angle θxs around X axis =
0, the rotation angle θys = 0 around the Y axis, and the rotation angle θzs = 0 around the Z axis).

Thereafter, in the next step S2, it is determined whether or not the left and right slave manipulators 2a and 2b are at the origin position Os. If it is determined in step S2 that the left and right slave manipulators 2a and 2b are not at the origin position Os, the process returns to step S1. Then, in step S2, when it is confirmed that the left and right slave manipulators 2a and 2b are at the origin position Os, the process proceeds to the next step S3.

In step S3, the current positions (Xm, Ym, Z) of the master manipulators 3a, 3b shown in FIG.
m, θxm, θym, θzm) are detected. Note that the use start positions of the master manipulators 3a and 3b are usually slightly shifted in position and posture by the operator. At this time, the master manipulators 3a, 3a at the start of the calibration operation by the displacement amount detecting means 28c.
3b (Xm, Ym, Zm, θxm, θym,
θzm) and the current position (Xs, Ys, Zs, θxs, θys, θzs) of the slave manipulators 2a and 2b are detected.

Thereafter, the flow advances to the next step S4. In this step S4, it is determined whether or not the lock of the master manipulator 3 is released. Here, by depressing the pedal 23a of the foot switch 23, the lock of the master manipulator 3 is released. In this state, the left and right master manipulators 3a and 3b can move in the X-axis direction (left-right direction), the Y-axis direction (vertical direction), and the Z-axis direction (front-rear direction) in FIG. direction,
Each of the two handle members 1 of the left and right master manipulators 3a and 3b is switched to a state in which it can be turned around the Y-axis and the Z-axis, respectively.
The state between 5a and 15b is switched to a state where opening and closing operations are possible. At this time, the master manipulators 3a, 3b
Current position (Xm, Ym, Zm, θxm, θym, θz
The information of m) is sent to the slave control unit 25.

If it is determined in step S4 that the lock has not been released, the process returns to step S3. If it is determined in step S4 that the lock is released, the process proceeds to the next step S5.

In step S5, the slave manipulators 2a and 2b are moved to the current position (Xs, Ys, Zs, θx
s, θys, θzs) and the current positions (Xm, Ym, Z) of the left and right master manipulators 3a, 3b in a decelerating state.
An operation of moving to the calibration position (Xc, Yc, Zc, θc, θc, θc) corresponding to m, θxm, θym, θzm) is performed. At this time, the slave manipulator 2 is controlled by the speed reduction means 28d of the slave drive unit 6.
a and 2b are moving to the extent that the mechanical load on the slave drive unit 6 can be reduced, for example, the slave manipulator 2
a, 2b, the moving speed in the X, Y, and Z directions is 10
The rotation amount θx about the X axis, the rotation angle θy about the Y axis, the movement amount of 2 mm every 0 mms (1 step),
The rotation angle θz around the Z axis is 100 mms (1 step)
Each time, the vehicle is decelerated to a state where it is rotated by an amount of movement of 2 °.

Then, in the next step S6, the calibration position (X) of the slave manipulators 2a and 2b is set.
c, Yc, Zc, θc, θc, θc) are the current positions (Xm, Ym, Z) of the left and right master manipulators 3a, 3b.
m, θxm, θym, θzm). Here, both manipulators 2a, 2b, 3
If it is determined that the positions of a and 3b are not equal, the process returns to step S5. If it is determined in step S6 that the positions of the two manipulators 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b are equal, the calibration operation ends.

Further, after the completion of the calibration operation, operations such as diagnosis and treatment by the manipulator control device 1 of the present embodiment are started. At the time of this operation, the surgeon displays an endoscopic image of the operation field displayed on the monitor 24 or C
While viewing the screen of the G image, the left and right master manipulators 3a and 3b of the master manipulator 3 are operated. At this time, the handle 10 of the left master manipulator 3a is operated while the handle 10 of the right master manipulator 3b is gripped by the operator's left hand, and the handle 10 of the right master manipulator 3b is gripped by the operator's right hand, and the left slave manipulator 3a is operated by the left master manipulator 3a. The right slave manipulators 2b are remotely controlled independently by the manipulators 3b.

For example, the left master manipulator 3a
2 in the X-axis direction (left-right direction) in FIG.
Are moved in the axial direction (vertical direction) and the Z-axis direction (front-rear direction), respectively, and around the X-axis, the Y-axis,
When the operation is performed in the directions around the Z axis, the operation of the master manipulator 3a at this time is detected by the position detection device 21 of the master control unit 20. The detection data from the position detection device 21 is input to an arithmetic circuit 22,
The arithmetic circuit 22 calculates the position, and calculates data such as the operation state of the handle 10 of the master manipulator 3 and the open / close state of the handle 10.

Further, the arithmetic circuit 2 of the master control unit 20
The calculation data obtained by the position calculation in 2 is transmitted to the slave control unit 25 via a communication unit 29 such as an optical fiber cable.

In the slave control section 25, a control signal for controlling the plurality of drive motors 26 of the motor drive circuit 27 incorporated in the slave drive section 6 is calculated by the arithmetic circuit 28 based on the received control signal. . Then, the control signal output from the slave control unit 25 is transmitted to the left slave manipulator 2a, and the left slave manipulator 2a is remotely operated. At this time, the left slave manipulator 2a moves following the movement of the handle 10 of the left master manipulator 3a. Note that the same operation is performed when the right master manipulator 3b is operated.
Is controlled, and the right slave manipulator 2b moves following the operation of the right master manipulator 3b.

Therefore, the above configuration has the following effects. That is, in the present embodiment, when the operation of the master manipulator 3 starts, the position shift amount between the current position of the master manipulator 3 and the current position of the slave manipulator 2 is detected by the position shift amount detecting means 28c in the arithmetic circuit 28 of the slave control unit 25. Is performed, and a calibration operation for matching the position of the master manipulator 3 and the position of the slave manipulator 2 is performed based on the detection result from the displacement amount detecting means 28c. At the time of this calibration work, the moving speed of the slave manipulator 2 is reduced by the deceleration means 28d of the slave driving unit 6 which is a load reducing means, so that the coordinate of the coordinate between the position of the master manipulator 3 and the position of the slave manipulator 2 is reduced. Even if there is a shift amount, the slave manipulator 2 does not suddenly move to a position corresponding to the position of the master manipulator 3. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the mechanical load acting on the slave driving unit 6 which is the driving mechanism of the slave manipulator 2 during the operation of calibrating the position / posture of the master manipulator 3 and the slave manipulator 2, and the entire system can be reduced. The durability can be improved.

FIGS. 9 to 12 show a second embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the configuration of the slave control unit 25 of the manipulator control device 1 of the first embodiment (see FIGS. 1 to 8A and 8B) is changed as follows.

That is, in this embodiment, the arithmetic circuit 28 of the slave control unit 25 is configured as shown in FIG. Here, the arithmetic operation circuit 28 of the present embodiment includes the calibration operation detecting means 28 as in the first embodiment.
a, slave manipulator position detecting means 28b,
A displacement amount detecting means 28c and a CPU 28e are provided. Further, the CPU 28e includes a coordinate complementing means 3 for reconstructing a coordinate system for detecting the position of the master manipulator 3 during the calibration operation so as to complement the positional deviation amount according to the current position of the slave manipulator 2.
1 is connected.

In the manipulator control device 1 of the present embodiment, the calibration operation for associating the position of the slave manipulator 2 with the position of the master manipulator 3 at the start of use is performed according to the flowchart of FIG.

First, at the start of the calibration operation, in step S11, the current coordinate system (XYZ) of the master manipulator 3 shown in FIG.
An operation for associating with the current coordinate system (XYZ) of the slave manipulator 2 shown in FIG. At this time, the current positions (Xs, Ys, Zs, θxs, θys, θzs) of the left and right slave manipulators 2a, 2b are detected by the slave manipulator position detection means 28b. Then, in the next step S12, the left and right slave manipulators 2a and 2b move the origin position Os (position Xs = 0 in the X direction, position Ys = 0 in the Y direction, position Zs in the Z direction) as shown in FIG. = 0, rotation angle θxs = 0 around the X axis, rotation angle θys = 0 around the Y axis,
(The rotation angle θzs = 0) around the Z axis.

Thereafter, in the next step S13, it is determined whether or not the left and right slave manipulators 2a and 2b are at the origin position Os. If it is determined in step S13 that the left and right slave manipulators 2a and 2b are not at the origin position Os, the process returns to step S12. And
In step S13, the left and right slave manipulators 2
When it is confirmed that a and 2b are the origin positions Os, the process proceeds to the next step S14.

In step S14, the current position (X) of the master manipulators 3a and 3b shown in FIG.
m, Ym, Zm, θxm, θym, θzm) are detected. At this time, the current position (Xm, Ym, Zm, θxm, θ) of the master manipulators 3a, 3b at the start of the calibration operation by the position shift amount detecting means 28c.
ym, θzm) and the current positions (Xs, Ys, Zs, θxs, θys, θz) of the slave manipulators 2a, 2b.
s) is detected.

Thereafter, the flow advances to the next Step S15. In this step S15, it is determined whether or not the lock of the master manipulator 3 is released. Here, by depressing the pedal 23a of the foot switch 23, the lock of the master manipulator 3 is released. In this state, the left and right master manipulators 3a and 3b can move in the X-axis direction (left-right direction), the Y-axis direction (vertical direction), and the Z-axis direction (front-rear direction), respectively, and rotate around the X-axis, Each of the two handle members 15 of the left and right master manipulators 3a and 3b is switched so as to be rotatable around the axis and the Z axis.
The positions between a and 15b are switched to a state in which the opening and closing operation is possible.

If it is determined in step S15 that the lock has not been released, the process returns to step S14. If it is determined in step S15 that the lock is released, the process proceeds to the next step S16.

In this step S16, the coordinate system (XYZ) for detecting the position of the master manipulator 3 shown by the dotted line in FIG. 12 is replaced with the coordinate system (XY-Y) for the slave manipulator 2 shown in FIG. Z) to rotate,
A coordinate complement operation for reconstructing a new coordinate system (X1-Y1-Z1) indicated by a solid line in FIG.

Then, in the next step S17, the new coordinate system (X1-Y1-Z1) of the master manipulator 3
It is determined whether or not the coordinate system (XYZ) of the slave manipulator 2 is equal. Here, when it is determined that the new coordinate system (X1-Y1-Z1) of the master manipulator 3 is not equal to the coordinate system (XYZ) of the slave manipulator 2, the process returns to step S16.
If it is determined in step S17 that the new coordinate system (X1-Y1-Z1) of the master manipulator 3 is the same as the coordinate system (XYZ) of the slave manipulator 2, the master manipulator 3 has a new coordinate system. New coordinate system (X
Based on 1-Y1-Z1), the position and orientation information of the master manipulator 3 is created, the information data is transmitted to the slave manipulator 2 side, and the calibration operation ends.

Further, after the completion of the calibration operation, an operation such as diagnosis and treatment is started by the same procedure as that of the manipulator control device 1 of the first embodiment.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the coordinate system (XYZ) for detecting the position of the master manipulator 3 is changed by the coordinate complementing means 31 in the arithmetic circuit 28 of the slave control unit 25 during the calibration work. Since the new coordinate system (X1-Y1-Z1) is reconstructed to complement the displacement amount in accordance with the current position, the slave manipulator 2 is not moved during the calibration operation, and the master manipulator 3 is not moved. Diagnosis and diagnosis with the start position shifted
Surgery such as treatment can be started. Therefore, it is not necessary to particularly move the slave manipulator 2 when calibrating the position / posture of the master manipulator 3 and the slave manipulator 2, so that the mechanical force acting on the slave driving unit 6, which is the driving mechanism of the slave manipulator 2, is not required. Load can be reduced,
The durability of the entire system can be improved. Further, a stable calibration operation can be performed without giving an uncomfortable feeling to the operator due to the movement of the slave manipulator 2 or the master manipulator 3 during the calibration operation.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, within the operation range in which the slave manipulator 2 can be moved during the calibration work, the control execution range of the position matching operation is set in advance to a predetermined setting range separated from the center position of the operation range by a predetermined amount. If the current position of the slave manipulator 2 is out of the control execution range, a notifying unit may be provided for notifying the state that the current position of the slave manipulator 2 is out of the control execution range without performing the position matching operation. In this case, if the current position of the slave manipulator 2 is out of the control execution range at the time of the calibration work, the state can be reported by the reporting means, so that there is no need to perform useless position matching operation. is there.

Further, it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. next,
Other characteristic technical matters of the present application are additionally described as follows. (Additional Item 1) A master-slave device including a shift amount detecting means for detecting a shift of a master start position, and a slow calibration means for executing calibration of a shifted difference at an arbitrary speed at the start of a master-slave operation.

(Additional Item 2) A master-slave device including a shift amount detecting means for detecting a shift of a master start position, and a coordinate complementing means for reconstructing a master coordinate system from the shift values.

(Additional Item 3) A master / slave device of one or two provided with notifying means for notifying that the position is outside the range without performing calibration when the position is a fixed distance from the center of the movable range.

(Conventional Techniques of Supplementary Items 1 to 3) The opening / closing angle of the master manipulator is treated as the slave manipulator opening / closing angle after data conversion at an arbitrary fixed magnification.

(Problems to be Solved by Additional Items 1 and 3)
When the operation of the master and the slave is started, the amount of deviation of the master is immediately reflected on the slave, so that a mechanical load is applied.

(Problems to be Solved by Additional Items 2 and 3)
The movement caused by the misalignment gives the operator an uncomfortable feeling.

(Purpose of Supplementary Items 1 and 3) A control method for reducing the mechanical load by calibrating the position and orientation of the master and the slave.

(Purpose of Supplementary Items 2 and 3) A control method that does not give an uncomfortable feeling to an operator is provided.

[0070]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a displacement amount detecting means for detecting a displacement amount between the current position of the master manipulator and the current position of the slave manipulator when the operation of the master manipulator starts. The load reducing means reduces the mechanical load acting on the drive mechanism of the slave manipulator during the calibration work for matching the position of the master manipulator and the position of the slave manipulator based on the detection result from the position shift amount detecting means. In addition, it is possible to reduce the mechanical load acting on the drive mechanism side of the slave manipulator during the operation of calibrating the position / posture of the master manipulator and the slave manipulator, thereby improving the durability of the entire system.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the speed of movement of the slave manipulator can be reduced by the speed reduction means during the calibration work to such an extent that the mechanical load on the slave manipulator drive mechanism can be reduced. This can reduce the mechanical load acting on the drive mechanism side of the slave manipulator during the work of calibrating the position / posture of the master manipulator and the slave manipulator.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, during the calibration operation, the coordinate complementing means reconstructs the coordinate system for detecting the position of the master manipulator in accordance with the current position of the slave manipulator so as to complement the positional deviation amount. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the mechanical load acting on the drive mechanism side of the slave manipulator at the time of calibration of the position / posture of the master manipulator and the slave manipulator.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the control execution range of the position matching operation is set within a predetermined setting range which is a predetermined distance away from the center position of the operation range within the operation range in which the slave manipulator can move during the calibration operation. When the current position of the slave manipulator is out of the control execution range, the notifying operation is not performed when the current position of the slave manipulator is out of the control execution range. If the current position of the slave manipulator is out of the control execution range during the calibration work, it is possible to surely confirm the state.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an entire system of a manipulator control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a partially sectioned operation unit of the master manipulator in the manipulator control device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part showing a distal end grip portion of a slave manipulator in the manipulator control device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an overall schematic configuration diagram illustrating a use state of the manipulator control device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of an arithmetic circuit of a slave control unit in the manipulator control device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a calibration operation in the manipulator control device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for describing a current position of a master manipulator in the manipulator control device according to the first embodiment.

8A and 8B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the slave manipulator in the manipulator control device according to the first embodiment, wherein FIG. 8A is an explanatory diagram for explaining a calibration operation start position of the slave manipulator, and FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a calibration position of the manipulator.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram of an arithmetic circuit of a slave control unit in the manipulator control device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a calibration operation in the manipulator control device according to the second embodiment.

11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the master manipulator in the manipulator control device according to the second embodiment, wherein FIG. 11A is an explanatory diagram for explaining an operation start position of the master manipulator, and FIG. 11B is a diagram for explaining the operation of the master manipulator; FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a calibration state.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation start position of a slave manipulator of the manipulator control device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional surgical manipulator system.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 2 slave manipulator 3 master manipulator 6 slave drive unit (slave manipulator drive mechanism) 20 master control unit 21 position detection device 25 slave control unit 28c position shift amount detection unit 28d deceleration unit (load reduction unit) of slave drive unit 31 coordinate complement Means (load reduction means)

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] January 19, 2000 (2000.1.1)
9)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0034

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

The arithmetic circuit 28 of the slave control unit 25
As shown in FIG. 5, a calibration operation detecting means 28a for detecting a start state of the calibration operation
And the current position of the slave manipulator 2 (the position Xs in the X direction, the position Ys in the Y direction, the position Zs in the Z direction, the rotation angle θxs around the X axis, and the rotation angle θy around the Y axis.
s, the slave manipulator position detecting means 28b for detecting the rotation angle θzs around the Z axis, and the current position of the master manipulator 3 at the start of the calibration operation (the position Xm in the X direction, the position Ym in the Y direction, and the Z direction). Position Zm, rotation angle θxm around the X axis, rotation angle θym around the Y axis, rotation angle θzm around the Z axis)
And the current position (Xs, Ys,
Zs, θxs, θys, θzs), and sets the slave manipulator 2 as a master based on the detection result from the displacement amount detecting means 28c at the start of the calibration operation. The current position of the manipulator 3 (Xm, Ym, Zm, θ
xm, θym, θzm) and a slave as load reduction means for reducing the mechanical load acting on the slave drive unit 6 when moving to the calibration position (Xc, Yc, Zc, θxc, θyc, θzc ). A deceleration means 28d of the drive unit 6 and a CPU 28e are provided.
Here, the deceleration means 28d sets the moving speed of the slave manipulator 2 during the calibration operation to such an extent that the mechanical load of the slave driving unit 6 can be reduced, for example, the moving speed of the slave manipulator 2 in the X, Y, and Z directions. With a movement amount of 2 mm every 100 mSec (1 step), the rotation angle θx around the X axis, the rotation angle θy around the Y axis, and the rotation angle θz around the Z axis are 100 mSec.
It is formed by means for decelerating to a state of rotating each by a moving amount of 2 ° every (1 step).

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0042

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

In step S5, the slave manipulator
Data 2a, 2b to the current position (Xs, Ys, Zs, θx
s, θys, θzs) and the left and right masters
The current position of the manipulators 3a, 3b (Xm, Ym, Z
m, θxm, θym, θzm) and corresponding calibration
(Xc, Yc, Zc,θxc, θyc, θz
c) Is performed. At this time, the slave
The slave manipulator is controlled by the speed reducing means 28d of the driving unit 6.
The moving speed of the motors 2a and 2b is
Load, such as a slave manipulator
The moving speeds of the data 2a, 2b in the X, Y, and Z directions
100mSec(1step) every 2mm, and
Rotation angle θx around X axis, rotation angle around Y axis
θy, the rotation angle θz around the Z axis is 100mSec
(1 step) Each time it rotates by 2 degrees of movement
Slow down to state.

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0043

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

Then, in the next step S6, the calibration position (X) of the slave manipulators 2a and 2b is set.
c, Yc, Zc, θxc, θyc, θzc ) are the current positions (Xm, Y) of the left and right master manipulators 3a, 3b.
m, Zm, θxm, θym, θzm). Here, both manipulators 2a, 2
If it is determined that the positions of b, 3a, and 3b are not equal, the process returns to step S5. If it is determined in step S6 that the positions of the two manipulators 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b are equal, the calibration operation ends.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Junichi Onishi 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Keiichi Seki 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 3F059 AA10 CA08 DB01 EA05 FB26 FC00 FC02 4C060 GG22 GG32 GG36 GG40 MM24

Claims (4)

[Claims] A slave manipulator installed to access an operative field, a master manipulator installed in an area operable by an operator, and remotely operating the slave manipulator, connected to the master manipulator, A master control unit that converts the operation of the master manipulator into an electric signal, and the slave manipulator is connected to the slave manipulator and the master control unit, and performs a movement following the operation of the master manipulator sent from the master control unit to the slave manipulator. A slave control unit that outputs a control signal to be transmitted; and a position shift amount detection unit that detects a position shift amount between a current position of the master manipulator and a current position of the slave manipulator when the operation of the master manipulator starts. And reducing the mechanical load acting on the drive mechanism of the slave manipulator during a calibration operation for matching the position of the master manipulator and the position of the slave manipulator based on the detection result from the position shift amount detection means. A manipulator control device comprising: a load reducing unit. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the load reducing unit is formed by a speed reducing unit that reduces a moving speed of the slave manipulator during the calibration work to a degree that can reduce a mechanical load on the slave manipulator driving mechanism. The manipulator control device according to claim 1, wherein 3. A coordinate complementer for reconstructing a coordinate system for detecting the position of the master manipulator during the calibration operation so as to complement the displacement amount according to the current position of the slave manipulator. The manipulator control device according to claim 1, wherein the manipulator control device is formed by means. 4. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein said load reducing unit controls a position matching operation within a predetermined setting range, which is a predetermined distance from a center position of said operation range, within an operation range in which said slave manipulator can move during said calibration operation. An execution range is set in advance, and when the current position of the slave manipulator is out of the control execution range, the state in which the current position of the slave manipulator is outside the control execution range is notified without performing the position matching operation. The manipulator control device according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit.