JP2003071757A - Robot device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable inputting a switch at a leg tip in the natural form and reduce a shock applied when walking. SOLUTION: In a leg part in which a thigh part 150a and a shin part 150b are mutually connected by a revolute joint part 151 and a paw switch is connected with a tip of the shin part 150b, a leg tip structural member turns by converting a force F applied when the leg part comes into contact with the ground into moment M and converting a force f generated when a person shakes hands with a robot device into moment m. At this time, an elastic member turns together with the leg tip structural member, and the switch is pressed by the elastic member. The leg tip structural member rotates by giving a force below withstand load to the switch by the elastic member from the time when a stroke of the switch is used up to the time when the leg tip structural member abuts on a limit member limiting the turn.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a robot apparatus, and more particularly, to a robot apparatus having a leg switch capable of inputting in a natural form and reducing an impact applied during walking. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A mechanical device that makes a movement similar to that of a human being (organism) using electric or magnetic action is called a "robot". Robots began to spread in Japan from the end of the 1960s, but most of them are industrial robots (Industri) such as manipulators and transfer robots for the purpose of automating and unmanning production work in factories.
al Robot).

Recently, practical robots have been developed to support life as a human partner, that is, to support human activities in various situations in daily life such as living environment. Unlike industrial robots, such practical robots have the ability to learn by themselves how to adapt to humans with different personalities or various environments in various aspects of human living environments. For example, a dog,
A "pet-type" robot that imitates the body mechanism and movement of a four-legged animal like a cat, or a "human-type" robot modeled on the body mechanism and movement of an animal that walks upright on two legs or "Humanoid" robot (Humano
Leg type mobile robots such as id Robot) are already in practical use.

These legged mobile robots are capable of performing various operations with an emphasis on entertainment, as compared with industrial robots, and are therefore sometimes referred to as entertainment robots.

The legged mobile robot has an external shape that is as close as possible to the appearance of an animal or human, and is designed to perform a motion as close as possible to the motion of an animal or human. For example, in the case of the four-legged “pet type” robot described above, it has an appearance similar to a dog or cat raised in a general household, and is “struck” or “stroked” by the user (owner).
And act autonomously according to the surrounding environment. For example, as an autonomous behavior, the behavior such as "barking" and "sleeping" is performed as in the case of an actual animal.

[0006]

By the way, the conventional input device for the leg of the pet type robot is as shown in FIG. That is, when the switch 300 is not pressed, it is as shown in FIG. From this state, the leg structure member 301 is displaced in the operation axis direction of the switch 300, so that the switch 300 is pushed as shown in FIG. 16 (B).

However, in such a conventional structure, there is a problem that the user is required to perform a mechanical action of pushing a switch at the tip of a leg in order to interface with the pet robot. Also, because the movement of the switch matches the movement of the legs, the movement stroke is short,
There was a problem of giving the feeling of pressing the switch. As described above, the input device of the leg of the conventional pet robot is very unnatural from the viewpoint of communication between the user and the pet robot.

On the other hand, mechanically, the movement of the legs is directly transmitted to the switch, so that the user walks while being constantly given an impact. A general switch cannot be used as a low cost switch because its durability is significantly reduced when an excessive load is applied. Further, the spring of the switch hardly acts as a buffer against the impact applied to the tip of the leg, and the gear of the leg is burdened each time the user walks.

The present invention has been proposed in view of such a conventional situation, and enables a natural input and also reduces the impact applied during walking. An object of the present invention is to provide a robot apparatus including the.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a robot apparatus according to the present invention is for detecting a limb projecting from a main body and a force applied to the tip of the limb. It is characterized by comprising a switch and an operating direction changing means for converting the direction of the force applied to the tip of the limb into the operating direction of the switch.

Here, the operation direction changing means has a tip member located at the tip of the limb and a support shaft for rotating the tip member with respect to the limb. The rotation pushes the switch.

The operating direction changing means has an elastic member arranged between the tip member and the switch,
The switch is pressed by the rotation of the elastic member together with the tip member.

In such a robot device, the direction of the force applied to the tip of the limb is converted into the operating direction of the switch, so that the user can, for example, in a natural shape like a handshake.
A switch provided at the tip of the limb can be pressed.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the robot apparatus according to the present invention is added to the limb projecting from the main body, the tip member located at the tip of the limb, and the tip member. A switch for detecting a force, and an elastic member arranged between the tip member and the switch are provided, and the force applied to the tip member prevents the switch from being pressed through the elastic member. It has a feature.

Here, the robot apparatus includes a support shaft for rotating the tip member with respect to the limb, and the switch is pressed by rotating the elastic member together with the tip member.

Further, the robot apparatus includes a limiting member for limiting the rotation of the tip member.

Further, the elastic member is arranged between the tip member and the switch in a state where a preload set below the withstand load of the switch and above the operating pressure of the switch is applied. Good.

In such a robot apparatus, the switch is pressed through the elastic member by the force applied to the tip member, and the elastic force is exerted from the time when the stroke of the switch is exhausted until the tip member comes into contact with the restriction member. The tip member rotates while the member applies a force equal to or less than the withstand load to the switch.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Specific embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

A robot device shown as a configuration example of the present invention is a robot device which operates autonomously according to an internal state. This robot apparatus is a legged mobile robot that includes at least an upper limb, a trunk and a lower limb, and uses only the upper limb and the lower limb or only the lower limb as a moving means. For legged mobile robots,
There is a pet robot that imitates the body mechanism and movement of a quadruped animal, and a robot device that imitates the body mechanism and movement of a biped animal that uses only its lower limbs as a means of movement. The robot device shown as a form is a four-legged walking type legged mobile robot.

This robot device is a practical robot that supports human activities in various situations in the living environment and other daily life, and can act in accordance with internal conditions (anger, sadness, joy, enjoyment, etc.). It is an entertainment robot that can express the basic movements of a quadruped animal.

This robot device has, in particular, a head, a body, an upper limb, a lower limb and the like. The number of actuators and potentiometers corresponding to the degrees of freedom of movement are provided at the connecting portions of the respective portions and the portions corresponding to the joints, and the target movement can be expressed by the control of the control portion.

Further, the robot apparatus is provided with an image pickup unit for acquiring the surrounding condition as image data, various sensors for detecting an externally applied action, and a physical effect or the like received from the outside. Equipped with various switches. As an imaging unit, a small CCD (Charge-C
oupled Device) Use a camera. Further, various sensors include an angular velocity sensor that detects an angular velocity, a distance sensor that measures a distance to a subject imaged by a CCD camera, and the like. The various switches include a contact-type push switch that detects a touch by a user, an operation switch that detects a touch by a user, and the like. These are installed at appropriate locations outside or inside the robot apparatus. In particular, in the present embodiment, the switch provided on the pad of the leg allows input in a natural form and reduces the impact applied during walking, as described later. It is configured.

In the present embodiment, first, the configuration of the robot apparatus will be described, and then the application portion of the present invention in the robot apparatus will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 1, the robot apparatus 1 includes leg units 3A, 3B, front and rear and left and right sides of a body unit 2.
3C and 3D are connected, and the head unit 4 is connected to the front end of the body unit 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the body unit 2 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10 and a DRA.
M (Dynamic Random Access Memory) 11, Flash ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, PC (Personal Com)
puter) A card interface circuit 13 and a signal processing circuit 14 are connected to each other via an internal bus 15, and a control unit 16 and a battery 17 as a power source of the robot apparatus 1 are housed. . Further, the body unit 2 houses an angular velocity sensor 18 and an acceleration sensor 19 for detecting the acceleration of the orientation and movement of the robot apparatus 1. Further, in the body unit 2, a speaker 20 for outputting a voice such as a bark or a melody is arranged at a predetermined position as shown in FIG. Further, the tail portion 5 of the body unit 2 is provided with an operation switch 21 as a detection mechanism for detecting an operation input from the user. Operation switch 21
Is a switch that can detect the type of operation by the user, and the robot apparatus 1 recognizes, for example, whether "praised" or "scolded" according to the type of operation detected by the operation switch 21. To do.

The head unit 4 is provided with a CCD (Charge Cou) for picking up an image of the external condition and the color, shape, movement, etc. of the object.
pled device) camera 22, a distance sensor 23 for measuring a distance to an object located in front, a microphone 24 for collecting an external sound, an LED (Light Em), for example.
Light emitting parts 25 and the like provided with itting diodes are arranged at predetermined positions as shown in FIG. However, in the description of the configuration, the light emitting unit 25 may be LE
It shows as D25. Although not shown in FIG. 1, a head switch 26 is provided inside the head unit 4 as a detection mechanism for indirectly detecting a contact of the user with the head unit 4. The head switch 26 is, for example,
A switch that can detect the tilt direction of the head when the head is moved by the contact of the user.
Recognizes "praised" or "scold" according to the tilt direction of the head detected by the head switch 26.

Joint portions of the leg units 3A to 3D,
Connection between the leg units 3A to 3D and the body unit 2
Minutes, in the connecting portion between the head unit 4 and the body unit 2
Is the actuator 28 for the number of degrees of freedom₁~ 28_nAnd po
Tension meter 29₁~ 29 _nAre installed respectively
It Actuator 28₁~ 28_nIs, for example, a servo
Equipped with a motor. By driving the servo motor, the legs
The units 3A to 3D are controlled to control the target posture or movement.
Transition to work. The "meat" at the tip of each leg unit 3A-3D
At the position corresponding to the sphere, contact from the user is mainly
Pad ball switches 27A to 27D as a detection mechanism for detecting
Is provided so that user contact can be detected.
ing.

In addition to the above, the robot apparatus 1 is not shown here, but also includes a light emitting section for indicating an operation state (operation mode) different from the internal state of the robot apparatus 1, charging, starting, A status lamp indicating the status of the internal power supply such as start-up / shutdown may be appropriately provided at an appropriate location.

Then, in the robot apparatus 1, various switches such as the operation switch 21, the head switch 26, and the paws switch 27, the angular velocity sensor 18, and the acceleration sensor 1 are used.
9, various sensors such as the distance sensor 23, the speaker 20,
Microphone 24, the light emitting unit 25, each actuator ₂₈ 21 to
8 _n , the potentiometers 29 _{1 to} 29 _n are connected to the control unit 1 via the corresponding hubs 30 ₁ to 30 _n.
6 is connected to the signal processing circuit 14. On the other hand, CCD
The camera 22 and the battery 17 are directly connected to the signal processing circuit 14, respectively.

The signal processing circuit 14 sequentially takes in the switch data supplied from the various switches described above, the sensor data supplied from the various sensors, the image data and the audio data, and DRA via the internal bus 15 respectively.
The data is sequentially stored at a predetermined position in M11. In addition, the signal processing circuit 14 sequentially takes in the battery remaining amount data representing the battery remaining amount supplied from the battery 17, and D
It is stored in a predetermined position in the RAM 11.

The switch data, the sensor data, the image data, the voice data, and the battery remaining amount data thus stored in the DRAM 11 are used when the CPU 10 controls the operation of the robot apparatus 1.

The CPU 10 reads the control program stored in the flash ROM 12 and stores it in the DRAM 11 at the initial stage when the power of the robot apparatus 1 is turned on. Alternatively, the CPU 10 reads a control program stored in a semiconductor memory device, for example, a memory card 31 mounted in a PC card slot of the body unit 2 (not shown in FIG. 1) through the PC card interface circuit 13 and stores it in the DRAM 11. Store.

The CPU 10, based on the sensor data, the image data, the audio data, and the battery remaining amount data, which are sequentially stored in the DRAM 11 from the signal processing circuit 14 as described above, is based on the self and surrounding conditions and the user. Judging whether or not there is any instruction or work.

Further, the CPU 10 and this determination result and D
The action based on the control program stored in the RAM 11 is determined. The CPU 10 drives, for example, a necessary actuator from the actuators 28 _{1 to} 28 _n based on the determination result, and thus, for example, the head unit 4
Can be swung up and down, left and right, and each leg unit 3A to 3D
Drive and walk. The CPU 10 also generates audio data as needed and supplies it to the speaker 20 via the signal processing circuit 14. Further, the CPU 10 generates a signal for instructing turning on and off of the LED in the light emitting unit 25, and turns on or off the light emitting unit 25.

As described above, the robot apparatus 1 behaves autonomously in response to its own and surrounding conditions and instructions and actions from the user.

By the way, the robot apparatus 1 shown as the present embodiment is a robot apparatus capable of autonomously acting according to the internal state. An example of the software configuration of the control program for controlling the robot apparatus 1 is as shown in FIG. As described above, this control program is stored in the flash ROM 12 in advance and is read out at the initial stage of power-on of the robot apparatus 1.

In FIG. 3, the device driver layer 200 is located at the lowest layer of the control program and is composed of a device driver set 201 composed of a plurality of device drivers. In this case, each device driver is an object that is allowed to directly access the hardware used in a normal computer such as the CCD camera 22 (FIG. 2) and the timer, and receives an interrupt from the corresponding hardware. Perform processing.

The robotic server object 202 is located in the lowest layer of the device driver layer 200, and is an interface for accessing hardware such as the above-mentioned various sensors and actuators 28 _{1 to} 28 _n. A virtual robot 203 that is a software group that provides a power supply, a power manager 204 that is a software group that manages switching of power supplies, and the like.
The device driver manager 205 is a software group that manages various other device drivers, and the designed robot 206 is a software group that manages the mechanism of the robot apparatus 1.

The manager object 207 is composed of an object manager 208 and a service manager 209. The object manager 208 uses the robotic server object 20
2, the middleware layer 210, and the software group that manages the activation and termination of each software group included in the application layer 211. The service manager 209 is a connection group stored in the memory card 31 (FIG. 2). It is a software group that manages the connection of each object based on the connection information between each object described in the file.

The middleware layer 210 is located in the upper layer of the robotic server object 202 and is composed of a software group that provides basic functions of the robot apparatus 1 such as image processing and voice processing. There is. Further, the application layer 211 is located in an upper layer of the middle wear layer 210, and determines the action of the robot apparatus 1 based on the processing result processed by each software group forming the middle wear layer 210. It is composed of a software group for doing.

The specific software configurations of the middleware layer 210 and the application layer 211 are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively.

The middle wear layer 210, as shown in FIG. 4, is for noise detection, temperature detection, brightness detection,
A recognition system 250 having each of the signal processing modules 220 to 229 for the scale recognition, the distance detection, the posture detection, the contact detection, the operation input detection, the motion detection and the color recognition, the input semantics converter module 230, and the like,
The output system 251 includes an output semantics converter module 247 and signal processing modules 240 to 246 for posture management, tracking, motion reproduction, walking, fall recovery, LED lighting, and sound reproduction. There is.

Each signal processing module 22 of the recognition system 250
0 to 229 are robotic server objects 2
02 by the virtual robot 203
The corresponding data of each switch data, each sensor data, audio data or image data read from (FIG. 2) is taken in, predetermined processing is performed based on the data, and the processing result is input to the input semantics converter module 230. give. Here, for example, the virtual robot 203 is configured as a portion that exchanges or converts a signal according to a predetermined communication protocol.

The input semantics converter module 230 includes the signal processing modules 220 to 228.
"Noisy" based on the processing result given by
"Hot", "bright", "I heard Domiso scale",
Situation of self and surroundings such as "detected obstacle", "detected fall", "scolded", "praised", "detected moving object" or "detected ball", The command and the action from the user are recognized, and the recognition result is output to the application layer 211.

The application layer 211 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the behavior model library 260, the behavior switching module 261, the learning module 262, the emotion model 263, and the instinct model 264 are composed of five modules.

In the behavior model library 260, as shown in FIG. 6, "when the battery level is low",
"When returning from a fall", "When avoiding obstacles",
Independent behavior models are provided corresponding to some preselected condition items such as “when expressing emotions” and “when detecting a ball”.

Each of these behavior models will be described later as necessary when a recognition result is given from the input semantics converter module 230, or when a predetermined time has passed since the last recognition result was given. As described above, the subsequent action is determined with reference to the corresponding emotional parameter value held in the emotion model 263 and the corresponding desire parameter value held in the instinct model 264, and the decision result is determined by the action switching module 26.
Output to 1.

The robot device 1 shown as this specific example.
In the case of, each behavior model is a method to determine the next behavior.
One node (state) NODE as shown in FIG.₀
~ NODE_nFrom any other node NODE₀~ NODE
_nIs called an finite-probability automaton.
The next action is determined by using the gorism. Finite probability
-What is Tomaton? NODE NODE₀~ NODE_nOut of
Whether to transition from one node of
Node NODE₀~ NODE_nArc connecting between
ARC₁~ ARC_n-1The transition set for each
Transfer probability P₁~ P _nAn algorithm that determines probabilistically based on
It is a rhythm.

Specifically, each behavior model is
NODE that forms the behavior model of the child₀~ NODE_n
To correspond to each of these nodes NODE₀~ NO
DE _nEach has a state transition table 270 as shown in FIG.
There is.

In this state transition table 270, the node N
Input events (recognition results) that are transition conditions in ODE _{0 to} NODE _n are listed in the order of priority in the row of “input event name”, and further conditions regarding the transition conditions are displayed in the rows of “data name” and “data range”. Described in the corresponding column.

Therefore, in the node NODE ₁₀₀ represented by the state transition table 270 of FIG.
"ALL)", the "size (SI) of the ball given together with the recognition result is given.
ZE) ”is in the range of“ 0 to 1000 ”,
When the recognition result of “obstacle detection (OBSTACE)” is given, the “distance (DISTANCE)” to the obstacle given together with the recognition result is “0”.
The condition for transitioning to another node is that it is in the range of 100 to 100 ”.

Further, in this node NODE ₁₀₀ , among the parameter values of each emotion and each desire held in the emotion model 263 and the instinct model 264, which the behavior model periodically refers to, even if there is no recognition result input. ,
When the parameter value of any of "Joy", "Surprise" or "Sadness" held in the emotion model 263 is in the range of "50 to 100", transition to another node is made. Is able to.

Further, in the state transition table 270, the names of nodes that can transit from the nodes NODE _{0 to} NODE _n are listed in the column of “transition destination node” in the column of “transition probability to another node”. Input event name ",
Other nodes that can transition when all the conditions described in the "Data name" and "Data range" rows are met
The transition probabilities from DE _{0 to} NODE _n are respectively described in the corresponding places in the column of “probability of transition to other node”, and the action to be output when transitioning to the nodes NODE _{0 to} NODE _n is “other It is described in the row of “output action” in the column of “transition probability to node”. In addition, the sum of the probabilities of each row in the column of "probability of transition to other node" is 100.
It is [%].

Therefore, in the node NODE ₁₀₀ represented by the state transition table 270 of FIG. 8, for example, "a ball is detected (BALL)" and the "SIZE" of the ball is in the range of "0 to 1000". When the recognition result that is "1" is given, the transition to "node NODE ₁₂₀ (node 120)" is possible with a probability of "30 [%]", and the action of "ACTION 1" is output at that time.

Each behavior model has nodes NODE ₀ to N described as such a state transition table 270.
The ODE _n is configured to be connected to each other, and when a recognition result is given from the input semantics converter module 230, the corresponding node NODE _n is input.
_The next action is stochastically determined using the state transition table of _{0 to} NODE _n , and the determination result is output to the action switching module 261.

The action switching module 261 shown in FIG.
Among the actions output from each action model of the action model library 260, the action output from the action model having a predetermined high priority is selected, and a command to execute the action (hereinafter, Action command)) to the output semantics converter module 247 of the middleware layer 210. In addition, in this embodiment, the lower the action model shown in FIG. 7, the higher the priority is set.

The action switching module 261 outputs the output semantics converter module 24 after the action is completed.
Based on the action completion information given from 7, the learning module 262 and the emotion model 26 indicate that the action is completed.
3 and instinct model 264.

The learning module 262 inputs the recognition result of the teaching received as an action from the user, such as “scold” or “praised”, among the recognition results given from the input semantics converter module 230.
Then, based on the recognition result and the notification from the action switching module 261, the learning module 262 decreases the expression probability of the action when “scolded” and increases the expression probability of the action when “praised”. Thus, the corresponding transition probability of the corresponding behavior model in the behavior model library 260 is changed.

The emotion model 263 is "joy (Jo
y) ”,“ Sadness ”,“ Anger ”,
With respect to a total of 6 emotions of “Surprise”, “Disgust”, and “Fear”, a parameter indicating the strength of the emotion is held for each emotion. Then, the emotion model 263 “scolds” and “praises” the parameter values of each of these emotions, which are given from the input semantics converter module 230, respectively.
It is periodically updated based on a specific recognition result such as, the elapsed time, and the notification from the action switching module 261.

Specifically, the emotion model 263 has a predetermined value based on the recognition result provided from the input semantics converter module 230, the action of the robot apparatus 1 at that time, the elapsed time since the previous update, and the like. The amount of change in emotion at that time calculated by the arithmetic expression is ΔE
[T], E [t] of the current parameter value of the emotion, the coefficient representing the sensitivity of the emotion as k _e, (1) the parameter value of the emotion in a next period by equation E [t +
1] is calculated, and this is used as the current parameter value E of the emotion.
The parameter value of the emotion is updated by replacing it with [t]. Further, the emotion model 263 updates the parameter values of all emotions in the same manner.

[0062]

[Equation 1]

The degree of influence of each recognition result and the notification from the output semantics converter module 247 on the variation amount ΔE [t] of the parameter value of each emotion is predetermined, and for example, “scolding” The recognition result such as “ta” is the variation amount ΔE of the parameter value of the emotion of “anger”
[T] has a great influence, and the recognition result such as "praised" is the variation amount of the parameter value of the emotion of "joy" ΔE.
It has a great influence on [t].

Here, the notification from the output semantics converter module 247 is so-called action feedback information (action completion information), which is information about the appearance result of the action, and the emotion model 263 also uses such information. Change emotions. This is, for example, that the behavior level of anger is lowered by the action of "barking". The notification from the output semantics converter module 247 is also input to the learning module 262 described above.
62 changes the corresponding transition probability of the behavior model based on the notification.

The feedback of the action result is output from the action switching module 261 (action added with emotion).
May be made by

Further, the instinct model 264 has a
"ercise", "affection", "charge desire (hereinafter referred to as appetite)" and "curi"
“Osity)”, each of the four independent desires holds a parameter indicating the strength of the desire. Then, the instinct model 264 periodically updates the parameter values of these desires based on the recognition result given from the input semantics converter module 230, the elapsed time, the notification from the action switching module 261, and the like.

Specifically, the instinct model 264 determines the “motility”, “love” and “curiosity” based on the recognition result, the elapsed time, the notification from the output semantic converter module 247, and the like. The fluctuation amount of the desire at that time calculated by the arithmetic expression is ΔI
[K], the current parameter value of the desire is I [k], and a coefficient k _i representing the sensitivity of the desire is set in a predetermined cycle (2).
Using the formula, the parameter value I of the desire in the next cycle
[K + 1] is calculated, and the calculation result is replaced with the current parameter value I [k] of the desire to update the parameter value of the desire. Also, the instinct model 264
Updates the parameter values of each desire except "appetite" in the same manner.

[0068]

[Equation 2]

The degree of influence of the recognition result and the notification from the output semantics converter module 247 on the variation amount ΔI [k] of the parameter value of each desire is predetermined, and for example, the output semantics converter is used. The notification from the module 247 has a great influence on the variation amount ΔI [k] of the “tiredness” parameter value.

In this embodiment, each affect
And each desire (instinct) parameter value is 0 to 10
It is regulated to fluctuate within the range of 0, and
A few k _e, K_iThe value of is also set individually for each emotion and each desire.
Has been.

The output semantics converter module 247 of the middleware layer 210, as shown in FIG.
An abstract action command such as “forward”, “pleasing”, “squealing” or “tracking (chasing the ball)” given from the action switching module 261 of 11 corresponds to the signal processing modules 240 to 246 of the output system 251.
Give to.

These signal processing modules 240-
246, when an action command is given, the servo command value to be given to the corresponding actuators 28 _{1 to} 28 _n (FIG. 2) to take the action based on the action command, and the output from the speaker 20 (FIG. 2). Sound data of the sound to be played and / or drive data to be given to the LED of the light emitting unit 25 (FIG. 2) is generated, and these data are generated by the virtual robot 203 of the robotic server object 202.
And corresponding actuators 28 _{1 to} 28 _n , the speaker 20 or the light emitting unit 25 via the signal processing circuit 14 (FIG. 2).
It is sequentially sent to.

In this way, the robot apparatus 1 can perform autonomous actions according to its own (internal) and surrounding (external) conditions, and instructions and actions from the user based on the control program.

By the way, as described above, the portion corresponding to the "paws" of the leg of the robot apparatus 1 shown as one configuration example of the present invention enables input in a natural form, and also allows walking. A pad switch 27 that can reduce the impact applied at the time is provided. Hereinafter, the paddle switch 27 will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 9, the paddle switch 27 is
Leg structure member 100, switch unit 110, leg structure member 120, torsion coil spring 130, and leg elastic member 14
It is composed of 0 and.

The leg component material 100 has a switch storage portion 101 near the center thereof, and the switch storage portion 101 stores a switch portion 110 described later. In addition, the leg portion structural material 100 is provided in the vicinity of the end portion on the front surface side of the leg portion near the arm portion 1
02a and 102b are provided in a protruding manner, and claw portions 103a and 103b are respectively provided at the tips thereof toward the outside.

Further, between the arm portion 102a and the arm portion 102b, there is provided a rotation limiting portion 104 for limiting the rotation of the leg structure member 120 which will be described later.

In the leg structure material 100, a support bearing 10 for rotatably gripping a rotation support shaft 121 of a leg structure material 120, which will be described later, is provided in the vicinity of the end on the rear surface side of the leg portion.
5 are provided. In this support bearing 105, the rotating region of the rotation support shaft 121 is cut out in a substantially circular shape so as to support the rotation support shaft 121. Further, the support bearing 105 is partially cut away to form the rotation support shaft 1.
21 is inserted as a guide, and the rotation support shaft 12
No. 1 has a structure in which the side surface of the shaft of the portion guided by the notch is cut.

The switch section 110 has a substantially box shape, and has a substantially columnar switch 111 that can be retracted by pressing.

The leg structure member 120 corresponds to a “paw ball” in the leg portion of the robot apparatus 1 and has a substantially hemispherical shape. The leg structure material 120 is the leg structure material 1
The rotary support shaft 121 is rotatably gripped by the support bearing 105 of No. 00. The rotation support shaft 121 has a flat shape in which the side surface of the shaft is shaved and has two surfaces parallel to each other. The width of the cutout portion of the support bearing 105 described above is
The distance between the two parallel surfaces of the rotation support shaft 121 is substantially equal to or slightly wider than the distance, and the rotation support shaft 121 is guided and inserted with the two parallel surfaces parallel to the notch. Further, as will be described later, since the leg portion structural member 100 and the leg tip structural member 120 are connected by rotating 90 ° from this state, the rotation shaft 121 is prevented from coming off from the support bearing 105.

Further, the leg structure material 120 is the leg structure material 1
Stoppers 122a and 122b for restricting rotation of 20
Have. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the stopper portion 122 b has an upper surface and a side surface, and the guide hole 123 formed by the upper surface and the side surface and the side surface of the leg structure member 120.
The claw portion 103b described above is guided to b. When the leg structure member 120 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow a in the figure, the claw portion 103b comes into contact with the upper surface of the stopper portion 122b, which restricts the rotation of the leg structure member 120. Similarly, with respect to the stopper portion 122a, the above-mentioned claw portion 103a is guided through the guide hole 123a.

Further, the leg structure member 120 is provided with a rotation limiting portion 124 which is higher than the surroundings in the vicinity of a substantially middle portion between the stopper portion 122a and the stopper portion 122b. When the leg structure member 120 rotates in the direction shown by the arrow b in the figure,
This rotation restricting portion 124 comes into contact with the rotation restricting portion 104 of the leg structure member 100 described above, and thus the rotation of the leg structure member 120 is restricted.

Further, the leg structure member 120 includes a spring support shaft 125 for holding a coil portion 131 of a torsion coil spring 130, which will be described later, and a first portion of the torsion coil spring 130.
It also has first and second locking portions 126a, 126b for locking the second linear portions 132a, 132b.

The torsion coil spring 130 includes the coil portion 1
1st linear part 1 which is continuous from 31 and coil part 131
32a and a second straight line portion 132b. The coil portion 131 is slightly larger than the diameter of the spring support shaft 125 of the leg structure member 120, and is held by the spring support shaft 125. The first straight portion 132a is locked by the first locking portion 126a of the leg structure member 120,
The second straight portion 132b is locked by the second locking portion 126b. The torsion coil spring 130 includes a spring support shaft 125 and first and second locking portions 126a and 126b.
It is held in the state where the preload is given by and. As will be described later in detail, when the leg structure member 120 rotates, a pressing force is applied to the switch 111 by the torsion coil spring 130, and thereby the switch 111 is pressed and conducted. The preload applied to the torsion coil spring 130 is equal to or higher than the operating pressure of the switch 111
The load capacity is set to 1 or less.

The tip elastic member 140 is made of an elastic material such as rubber and has a substantially hemispherical shape. The diameter of the inner circumference of the tip elastic member 140 is approximately the same as the diameter of the outer circumference of the leg structural member 120, and the leg elastic 140 is fitted into the leg structural member 120. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, a protrusion 141 is provided over the entire circumference on the inner circumference of the leg elastic member 140 a predetermined length below the upper surface of the foot elastic material 140, and a substantially rod-shaped support is provided on the bottom. A plurality of parts 142 are provided.
The leg structure member 120 includes the protrusion 141 and the support portion 14.
It is fixedly supported by 2. In this way, the leg structure material 1
By fitting the leg elastic member 140 to the leg 20, the impact applied to the leg when walking can be reduced, for example.

Next, the leg structure material 100 and the leg tip structure material 12
The connection with 0 will be described with reference to FIG. When connecting the leg structure member 100 and the leg end structure member 120, FIG.
As shown in (A) of FIG. 2, first, the notch portion of the support bearing 105 of the leg portion structural member 100 is the pivotal support shaft 1 of the leg tip structural member 120.
The rotary support shaft 121 is gripped by the support bearing 105 as shown in FIG. 12B by being disposed at a position facing 21 and being guided and inserted into the notch.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 12B, the leg structure member 100 is centered on the rotation support shaft 121 and the arrow c in the drawing.
Rotate in the direction indicated by.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 12C, the leg structure material 100 and the leg tip structure material 120 are connected. At this time, the claw portions 103 of the leg structure material 100 are bent while bending the arm portions 102a and 102b in a direction of narrowing each other.
The a and 103b are guided to the above-described guide holes 123a and 123b.

Pad pad switch 27 configured as described above
Operation until the switch 111 in FIG.
3 will be used for the explanation. In addition, in FIG. 13, for simplicity,
Illustration of the elastic members 140 is omitted.

FIG. 13A shows a state in which no force is applied to the leg structure member 120, such as when the leg tips are floating in the air. The leg structure member 120 is caused by the spring force of the switch 111 and the spring force of the torsion coil spring 130.
It is maintained in this state. In this state, switch 1
Although 11 and the torsion coil spring 130 are in contact with each other,
Since it is not pressed, the switch is in a non-conducting state. Further, in this state, the rotation limiting portion 104 of the leg structure material 100 and the rotation limiting portion 124 of the leg tip structure material 120.
Is far enough from.

When the operation is performed such that the tip of the foot touches the ground, or a person rubs the tip of the foot from the rear toward the front for a handshake, the tip structural member 12 is centered on the rotation support shaft 121.
9 rotates, whereby the switch 111 is pressed by the torsion coil spring 130, as shown in FIG. 13B. As described above, the preload applied to the torsion coil spring 130 is set to be equal to or higher than the operating pressure of the switch 111 and equal to or lower than the withstand load of the switch 111, and the force acting as a reaction to this preload is the switch 11
Added to 1. In this way, since the pressing force can be controlled to be equal to or lower than the load resistance of the switch, an inexpensive switch can be used. Even in this state, the leg structure member 10
The 0 rotation limiting portion 104 and the rotation limiting portion 124 of the leg structure member 120 are separated from each other.

When a load is further applied to the tip of the leg, the torsion coil spring 130 starts to deform while being in contact with the switch 111, and as shown in FIG.
The rotation restricting portion 124 rotates until it comes into contact with the leg structure member 104. Thus, when a force is applied to the leg, the torsion coil spring 130 deforms while receiving a force with a constant load, whereby the time axis of the force can be extended and the load at the peak can be reduced.

As described above, in the pad pad switch 27 of the present embodiment, the switch 111 can be pressed by rotating the leg structure member 120.
In particular, when the tip of the foot touches the ground, or when a person is stroking the tip of the foot from the back to the front for a handshake, the direction in which the force is applied to the tip of the foot is Although different from the operating direction, the above-described configuration can convert the direction in which the force is applied to the operating direction of the switch. That is, as shown in FIG. 14, the leg portion is constituted by the thigh portion 150a and the shin portion 150b, and is connected by the joint portion 151.
Further, the above-mentioned padlock switch 27 is connected to the tip of the shin 150b. In such a leg portion, the force F applied when touching the ground is converted into the moment M, and the force f generated when a person shakes hands or the like is the moment m.
By being converted into
It is possible to operate the switch 111 as described above.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, although the present embodiment has been described with respect to a quadrupedal legged mobile robot, the robot device is applicable as long as it operates according to the internal state, and the moving means is a quadrupedal locomotion device, Further, it is not limited to the leg type moving method.

Further, in the present embodiment, an example in which the switch is pressed by the rotation of the leg structure member about the rotation support shaft has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the force is not limited to this. It suffices if a mechanism capable of converting such a direction into the operation direction of the switch and reducing the impact applied at the time of grounding is provided. For example, as shown in FIG.
The link mechanism 1 includes the leg structure member 160 and the leg structure member 170.
Link mechanism 1 connected via 80a and 180b.
The lever switch 190 may be arranged between 80a and 180b. In this case, the direction of force F is
The force is converted to the direction of F ′, and the displacement is detected by the inclination of the switch. Further, since the lever switch 190 is actuated by the force F ′ that is the component of the force F, the force applied to the lever switch 190 can be reduced.

[0096]

As described in detail above, the robot apparatus according to the present invention includes a limb projecting from the main body,
It is characterized by comprising a switch for detecting a force applied to the tip of the limb, and an operation direction conversion means for converting the direction of the force applied to the tip of the limb into an operation direction of the switch.

Here, the operation direction changing means has a tip member located at the tip of the limb and a support shaft for rotating the tip member with respect to the limb. The rotation pushes the switch.

The operating direction changing means has an elastic member arranged between the tip member and the switch,
The switch is pressed by the rotation of the elastic member together with the tip member.

In such a robot apparatus, the direction of the force applied to the tip of the limb is converted into the operating direction of the switch, so that the user can, for example, in a natural shape like a handshake.
A switch provided at the tip of the limb can be pressed.

Further, the robot apparatus according to the present invention comprises a limb portion protruding from the main body, a tip member located at the tip of the limb portion, a switch for detecting a force applied to the tip member, An elastic member is provided between the tip member and the switch, and the switch is pressed via the elastic member by the force applied to the tip member.

Here, the robot apparatus includes a support shaft for rotating the tip member with respect to the limb, and the switch is pressed by rotating the elastic member together with the tip member.

The robot apparatus also includes a limiting member for limiting the rotation of the tip member.

Further, the elastic member is arranged between the tip member and the switch in a state where a preload set below the withstand load of the switch and above the operating pressure of the switch is applied. Good.

In such a robot apparatus, the switch is pressed through the elastic member by the force applied to the tip member, and the elastic force is exerted from the time when the stroke of the switch is exhausted until the tip member abuts the limiting member. The tip member rotates while the member applies a force equal to or less than the withstand load to the switch. As a result, it is possible to reduce the impact on the parts such as the switch provided at the tip of the limb.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view showing the external appearance of a robot apparatus shown as a configuration example of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a robot apparatus shown as a configuration example of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a software configuration of a control program of a robot apparatus shown as a configuration example of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a middle wear layer in the control program of the robot apparatus shown as a configuration example of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an application layer in the control program of the robot apparatus shown as a configuration example of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a behavior model library in the control program of the robot apparatus shown as a configuration example of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a finite-probability automaton that is an algorithm for determining the behavior of the robot device shown as a configuration example of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state transition condition for determining an action of the robot apparatus shown as one configuration example of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a paws switch in a moving robot device.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a claw portion enters a dent in the same pad switch.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a connection between a leg structure member and a leg elastic member in the same pad switch.

12A and 12B are views for explaining the connection between the leg structure material and the leg structure material in the same pad switch, where FIG. 12A shows a state before connection and FIG. The state in the middle is shown, and the figure (C) shows the state after connection.

FIG. 13 is a view for explaining the operation of the pad switch until the switch is pressed. FIG. 13 (A) shows a state in which no force is applied to the leg structure material, and FIG. 13 (B).
Indicates that the switch is being pressed due to rotation,
FIG. 6C shows a state in which the road is restricted by the rotation restriction unit.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of converting the direction in which a force is applied to the operating direction of the switch in the same pad switch.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example of the paws switch.

16A and 16B are views for explaining a conventional input device of a tip of a foot, where FIG. 16A shows a state in which a switch is not pressed, and FIG. 16B shows a state in which a switch is pressed. Show.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 robot device, 2 body unit, 3A, 3B,
3C, 3D leg unit, 4 head unit, 5 tail unit, 100 leg component material, 101 switch storage part, 102a, 102b arm part, 103a, 103b
Claw part, 104 Rotation limiting part, 105 Support bearing, 11
0 switch part, 111 switch, 120 leg structure member, 121 turning shaft, 122a, 122b stopper part, 123a, 123b guide hole, 124 turning limiting part, 125 spring support shaft, 126a first locking part, 126
b second locking portion, 130 torsion coil spring, 131
Coil portion, 132a first linear portion, 132b second linear portion, 140 leg elastic material, 141 protruding portion, 1
42 Support

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 2C150 CA02 DA05 DA24 DA26 DA27                       DA28 EB01 EB36 EB37 EC03                       EC25 EC29 EF16 EF22 EF23                       FA42                 3C007 AS36 CS08 KS20 KV05 MT14                       WA04 WA14 WC23

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A limb protrudingly provided from a main body, a switch for detecting a force applied to the tip of the limb, and a direction of the force applied to the tip of the limb is set to an operating direction of the switch. A robot apparatus comprising: an actuation direction changing means for changing the direction. 2. The operating direction changing means has a tip member located at the tip of the limb and a support shaft for rotating the tip member with respect to the limb, and rotation of the tip member. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the switch is pressed by. 3. The actuation direction changing means has an elastic member arranged between the tip member and the switch, and the switch is pressed by rotating the elastic member together with the tip member. The robot apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: 4. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the limb portion is movably connected to the main body via a drive means. 5. An external appearance of a quadrupedal animal, The limbs are front and rear legs The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 6. A limb portion protruding from the main body, a tip member located at the tip of the limb portion, a switch for detecting a force applied to the tip member, the tip member and the switch. A robot apparatus comprising: an elastic member disposed between the elastic member and the switch being pressed by the force applied to the tip member via the elastic member. 7. The switch according to claim 6, wherein the tip member includes a support shaft for rotating with respect to the limb, and the switch is pressed by rotating the elastic member together with the tip member. Robot device described. 8. The robot apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a restriction member for restricting rotation of the tip member. 9. The robot apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the elastic member is arranged between the tip member and the switch in a state where a preload is applied. 10. The robot apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the preload is set to be equal to or lower than a withstand load of the switch and equal to or higher than an operating pressure of the switch. 11. The robot apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the limb portion is movably connected to the main body via a driving means. 12. The robot apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the robot has the appearance of a quadrupedal animal, and the limbs are front and rear legs.