JP2003080487A - Handling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect a positional deviation of an object when conveying in a handling device for grasping and conveying the object such as a test tube. SOLUTION: A manipulator has a plurality of fingers and a sensor unit 16 is provided at a tip end of a whole or a part of the fingers. In the state that a contact surface 22 is allowed to contact with a surface of the object, a wheel 24 is rearwardly retreated and the state is detected by a connection or non-connection relationship of a plurality of contacts 40, 42, 37A and 38A. When the object carries out a relative motion, the wheel 24 rotates and such a fact is detected by a hall element 36 detecting a magnetic of a magnet 26.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a handling device, and more particularly to a handling device for grasping and transporting an object by a manipulator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a handling apparatus, a manipulator having a plurality of fingers is used. For example, an object such as a test tube (tube) containing a blood sample is grasped by the plurality of fingers and the grasped state is maintained. The object is conveyed to a desired place. Of course, the object may be conveyed only in the vertical direction.

During the above-mentioned transportation, the grasping state of the object by the plurality of fingers is not proper from the beginning, the grasping state becomes improper by touching another object during the conveyance, or It is also conceivable that the object slips or shifts or tilts on the way. However, the conventional handling device does not have a function for checking the grip state. Therefore, there is a problem that the above situation cannot be dealt with.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional problems, and an object thereof is to be able to detect an abnormal handling of an object.

Another object of the present invention is to detect positional deviation of a grasped object to improve handling reliability.

[0006]

(1) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a manipulator having a plurality of fingers for grasping an object, wherein at least one finger among the plurality of fingers is provided with: It is characterized in that a position shift detector for detecting the position shift of the target object in the state of grasping the target object is provided.

According to the above arrangement, the positional deviation detector can detect the relative positional deviation of the object when the object is grasped, so that the reliability of handling can be improved. The positional displacement is a relative movement between the finger contact surface and the object surface, and includes vertical movement, horizontal movement,
It is desirable to detect vertical movement among various movements such as rotational movement. For example, in the state where the upper part of the object is grasped from above by a plurality of fingers, the positional displacement in the vertical direction becomes a particular problem. Further, the direction may be discriminated, and in this case, the positional deviation can be analyzed and dealt with more accurately. By the way, the vertical displacement also occurs when the object swings or tilts.

For example, in the case of handling a tube containing a blood sample, if a part of the label attached to the tube is peeled off and it is attached to the inner surface of the tube rack, the tube should be removed. When gripping and pulling up (early ascent), a counter force is generated and the position is likely to be displaced. In addition to this, if a load larger than usual is applied to the pulling up of the tube for some reason, the positional displacement easily occurs. Such displacement can be detected by the above configuration.

Further, for example, when the tube collides with another object in the ascending process and the horizontal motion process after the above-mentioned initial ascent, the tube is tilted, and it is detected as a positional deviation. Further, for example, when a tube is inserted into a rack, so-called jamming (collision) or the like occurs and a positional shift occurs, which is detected by the above configuration.

Preferably, the position shift detector includes a contact member that contacts the surface of the target object, and a sensor that detects the movement of the contact member due to the position shift of the target object.
including. That is, the movement of the object may be directly detected, for example, but the above-described configuration detects the movement of the object by the movement of the contact member.

Preferably, the abutting member is a rotary member that makes a rotary motion, and the sensor detects the rotary motion of the rotary member. That is, the contact member rotates in contact with the movement of the object, and the displacement is detected by detecting it. In this case, it is desirable that the abutting member is made of a member capable of forming a sufficient frictional force with the surface of the object.

Preferably, the rotary member has a horizontal rotary shaft, and the rotary member makes a rotary motion when the object moves vertically. According to this configuration, it is possible to detect the positional deviation in the vertical direction.

Preferably, the rotating member is held so as to be movable back and forth in the contact direction with the object, and a biasing member for biasing the rotating member toward the object is provided. With this biasing member, an appropriate contact pressure for the rotating member can be constantly formed on the surface of the object, and a good contact relationship can be formed.

Preferably, the rotating member projects toward the object side with respect to the finger contact surface when the object is not in contact with the surface of the object, and the rotating member retracts due to contact with the surface of the object. The finger contact surface joins the surface of the object. According to this configuration, the object itself can be gripped by the finger contact surface.

Preferably, a contact detector for detecting contact with the object by detecting the retreat of the rotating member is provided. According to this configuration, contact detection can be performed by utilizing the phenomenon of backward movement of the rotating member, which is simple.

Preferably, the abutting member includes a wheel having a horizontal axis of rotation and a plurality of magnets arranged along a circumferential surface of the wheel, and the sensor is provided in the vicinity of the wheel. It is a magnetic sensor. Of course, other methods (for example, a rotary encoder method using light) can be used instead of the magnetic detection method. In the above configuration, the arrangement (pitch) of the magnets may be set according to the desired detection resolution or the like. Further, for example, if the magnets are arranged in two rows with their periods being shifted from each other, it is possible to discriminate the moving direction.

(2) Further, in order to achieve the above object,
The present invention includes a manipulator having a plurality of fingers for grasping an object, and at least two fingers in a non-opposing relationship among the plurality of fingers displace the object in a state of grasping the object. It is characterized in that a position shift detector for detecting is provided.

According to the above configuration, since at least two position shift detections are arranged in a non-opposing relationship with each other,
Various modes of misalignment can be detected. According to the above configuration,
For example, in an orthogonal coordinate space of X (horizontal) -Y (horizontal) -Z (vertical), it is possible to detect both a case where the object is inclined in the XZ plane and a case where the object is inclined in the YZ plane, If necessary, the displacement analysis may be performed from those outputs. Alternatively, even if the contact state of some of the fingers happens to be unsatisfactory, the other positional deviation detector is provided, so that the fact that the positional deviation has occurred can be reliably detected.

Preferably, the position shift detector is provided for two fingers which are orthogonal to each other among the plurality of fingers.

(3) Further, in order to achieve the above object,
The present invention includes a manipulator having a plurality of fingers that open and close to grab an object, and a control unit that controls the opening and closing operation of the manipulator and its transportation,
At least one finger of the plurality of fingers is provided with a position shift detector that detects a position shift of the target object in a state where the target object is grasped, and the control unit outputs the position shift detector. It is characterized in that the control for coping with the positional deviation is executed based on the above.

According to the above construction, when the positional deviation occurs, the control for coping with the positional deviation is executed. For example, the returning of the object, the stop of the operation of the apparatus, the saving of the object, the generation of the alarm, the gripping force. Can be controlled.

Preferably, the control unit changes the control content according to the time when the positional deviation is detected in a series of conveyance processes. According to this configuration, it is possible to perform control suitable for the situation rather than performing uniform error control.

Desirably, the control section lowers the object and returns the object to the original position when a positional deviation is detected in a predetermined pulling process after the object is grasped. The cause of the positional deviation in the initial stage of the pulling up process may be that the object is caught (or stuck) to the member holding it, so control to return the object once is executed. Is desirable.

Preferably, the control unit stops the carrying operation and issues an alarm when a positional deviation is detected after the predetermined pulling up process. It is desirable to use screen display, light, sound, etc. for the alarm.

(4) In order to achieve the above object,
The present invention includes a manipulator having a plurality of fingers that open and close in order to grab an upper portion of a tube from above, at least one finger of the plurality of fingers detects a contact state with the tube, and A sensor unit is provided for detecting the vertical displacement of the target object while the tube is gripped.

Preferably, the sensor unit has a rotating member that partially protrudes from the finger contact surface toward the tube side in a non-contact state and recedes toward the non-object side in a contact state, and a horizontal rotation axis of the rotating member is a tube. A biasing member that biases the movable member to a side, a movable piece that moves back and forth integrally with the rotating member, a rotation detector that is provided on the movable piece, and detects the rotation of the rotating member, and a moving movement of the movable piece. And a contact detector for detecting.

[0027]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of a handling device according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the main part thereof.

In FIG. 1, the manipulator 10 is a device for picking up an upper portion of a test tube containing a blood sample and transporting the test tube. This manipulator 1
0 is roughly classified into a drive unit 12 and four fingers 14A, 1
4B, 14C, 14D. The drive unit 12 is a mechanism for opening and closing the plurality of fingers 14A, 14B, 14C, 14D. In the present embodiment, the two fingers 14A and 14B are provided with sensor units 16 and 18 respectively at their tip ends. Here, these two fingers 14A and 14B are orthogonal to each other. Of course, the sensor units may be provided for all four fingers. Incidentally, the sensor unit 16 and the sensor unit 18 have the same structure, and the specific configuration thereof will be described below as a representative of the sensor unit 16.

FIG. 2 shows a concrete configuration example of the sensor unit 16. A contact surface 22 as a flat surface is formed on the frame 20, and the contact surface 22 is brought into contact with the surface of the test tube as an object to be grasped. An opening 20A is formed slightly above the center of the contact surface 22, and a wheel 24 as a rotating member in this embodiment is rotatably provided in the opening 20A.
Further, the wheel 24 is provided so as to be able to advance and retreat in the abutting direction thereof, as described below. Wheel 2
A plurality of magnets 26 are provided at a predetermined pitch on the circumferential surface of No. 4. A through hole is formed in the center of the wheel 24, and a shaft 28 is inserted through the through hole. Although the wheel 24 is configured to be rotatable with respect to the shaft 28, the wheel 24 and the shaft 28 may of course be configured to be integrally rotatable. Both ends of the shaft 28 project from both side surfaces of the wheel 24, and one end of a spring 30 is in contact with each of the projecting portions.
The other end of each spring 30 is supported by a fixed plate 32. The fixing plate 32 is fixedly attached to the frame 20, that is, the spring 30 urges the shaft 28 in the contact direction. The advancing end of the shaft 28 in the advancing direction is formed by a stopper mechanism (not shown).
In a state where the wheel is not in contact with the target object, as shown in FIG. 2, a part of the wheel 24 is projected from the contact surface 22 by the action of the spring 30. On the other hand, the contact surface 22
When the object is brought into contact with the object, the protruding surface of the wheel 24 first comes into contact with the object, and the object pushes the wheel 24 toward the backward side, which is allowed by the spring 30. When the contact surface 22 is in complete contact with the surface of the target object, the circumferential surface of the wheel 24 is also in contact with the surface of the target object. The contact pressure at that time is determined by the biasing force of the spring 30 described above. When the object moves upward or downward relative to the frame 20 while the wheel 24 is in contact with the surface of the object, the wheel 24 rotates about the axis 28. Therefore, it is desirable that the wheel 24 is made of a member that has good adhesion to the surface of the object, and the wheel 24 may be made of, for example, hard rubber. In addition, the wheel 24 is rotated so that the rotation of the wheel 24 becomes smoother.
A rotating mechanism such as a bearing mechanism may be interposed between the shaft and the shaft 28.

A movable piece 34 connected to the shaft 28 by a connecting member (not shown) is provided on the rear side of the wheel 24. That is, the movable piece 34 is the wheel 24.
And move forward and backward together. As shown in FIG. 2, the movable piece 34 is a plate-shaped member that extends in the up-down direction, and an opening 34A is formed at the center of the movable piece 34, slightly below. Its opening 3
A Hall element 36 is provided at 4A as shown. Therefore, when the wheel 24 rotates, one of the magnets 26 formed on the circumferential surface of the wheel 24 comes close to the Hall element 36, and the magnetic force emitted from the magnet 26 is detected by the Hall element 36. If the wheel 24 rotates, the Hall element 36 intermittently outputs a constant pulse signal depending on the rotation speed. In the present embodiment, since the distance relationship between the wheel 24 and the hall element 36 is always kept constant, there is an advantage that the sensitivity of the hall element 36 can always be kept good.

In the present embodiment, contacts 40 and 42 are formed on both surfaces of the upper end of the movable piece 34. In the frame 20, the electrode 3 is provided on the object side of the movable piece 34.
7 is provided, and the electrode 37 has a protruding contact 3
7A is formed. On the other hand, the frame 20 is provided with an electrode 38 on the object side of the movable piece 34, and a protruding contact 38A is formed therein.

According to the above construction, when the object is not gripped, the wheel 24 is located at the forward end, and as a result, the movable piece 34 is also moved to the object side. In that state, the contact 40 and the contact 37A are in contact with each other. On the other hand, when the wheel 24 comes into contact with the object and retracts itself, the movable piece 34 also retracts, and as a result, the contact relationship between the contact 40 and the contact 37A is eliminated, while the contact 38A and the contact 38A are contacted. 42
A contact relationship with is formed. Therefore, with these configurations, it is possible to electrically detect the forward / backward movement of the wheel 24. That is, the contacts 40, 42 and the contacts 37A, 38A constitute a contact sensor.

As described above, the sensor unit 16 has two functions, that is, the rotation detecting function centering on the Hall element 36 and the contact detecting function described above.

Incidentally, in FIG. 2, insulating members, signal lines and the like are omitted from the drawing. Further, a mechanism for guiding the forward / backward movement of the movable piece 34 and the like are not shown.

Instead of the wheel 24, a mouse rotation detection structure used on a computer is adopted.
By this, the positional deviation may be detected in both the vertical direction and the horizontal direction.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the handling device according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the manipulator 10
Has a drive unit 12, and the operation of the drive unit 12 is controlled by the operation control unit 50. Robot mechanism 4
Reference numeral 4 denotes a mechanism for transporting the manipulator 10, and specifically includes a mechanism for rotating the manipulator 10, a mechanism for moving up and down, a mechanism for transporting in the horizontal direction, and the like. The robot mechanism 44 is also controlled by the operation control unit 50.

The manipulator 10 of this embodiment has four fingers as described above, and two of these fingers are provided with the sensor units 16 and 18 as shown in FIG. The signals from the contact sensors 35 and 39 in those sensor units 16 and 18 are output to the grip determination unit 46. In addition, the Hall elements 36 and 4 in those sensor units 16 and 18
The output signal from 0 is output to the shift determination unit 48. The grip determination unit 46 sets the target object to the manipulator 10
Two contact sensors 3 when grabbed by
It is a unit that determines whether or not the grip is proper based on the outputs from 5, 39. In the present embodiment, since the two contact sensors 35 and 39 are provided in a 90-degree cross relationship, there is an advantage that even when so-called one-sided effect occurs, it can be detected.

The deviation determining section 48 is composed of hall elements 36 and 41.
It is a unit that determines the displacement of the target object based on the output signal output from. In the present embodiment, as in the above case, the two misalignment detectors that are in the orthogonal relationship are provided, so that the misalignment can be detected with high accuracy even in the case of one-sided effect as in the above case. Incidentally, as described above, the concept of positional deviation includes not only the case where the object actually moves in the vertical direction, but also the case where the object swings around a portion grasped by the object. Grasping determination unit 46
The determination result of the shift determination unit 48 is output to the operation control unit 50, and the operation control unit 50 performs necessary operation control based on the determination result.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the handling device shown in FIG.

In S101, the manipulator 10 shown in FIG. 1 is positioned above an object such as a test tube. In S102, the manipulator 10 is pulled down to the other side, and the tips of the fingers are positioned above the object. In S103, the grip operation is executed.

In S104, the contact sensor 35,
Based on the output of 39, it is determined whether or not the object is properly grasped. That is, it is determined whether or not the object is detected. If the object is detected by either of the two contact sensors 35, 39, the steps after S105 are executed, while if the object cannot be detected by any of the contact sensors, the step after S111. Is executed.

In S105, the operation of pulling the grasped object upward and conveying it to the required position is started.

In S106, it is determined whether or not the detection state of the target object is maintained, and in S107, it is determined whether or not the positional displacement is detected by any of the displacement detecting units. When the contact detection of the object is lost,
Alternatively, if a positional shift is detected, S113
The subsequent steps are executed.

In S108, it is determined whether or not the transportation is completed, and the steps S106 and S107 are repeatedly executed until the transportation is completed, that is, the transportation error is constantly monitored.

In step S109, the plurality of fingers are opened after the object is positioned at the transport destination, and the object is released. In S110, it is determined whether or not the next conveyed item exists, and if it exists, S1
Each step from 01 will be executed.

By the way, in S104, when the object is first grabbed, either of the contact sensors 35, 39 is detected.
If the contact is not detected, the plurality of fingers are immediately opened in S111, and in S112, whether the object is skipped and the carrying process is continued based on the preset operation condition or the user setting. Is determined. When the carrying process is continued, the above step S110 is executed. On the other hand, when the carrying of the object is not skipped, a predetermined error process is executed in S118. In this case, the operation of the device is stopped and the user is notified of the alarm.

On the other hand, if the contact detection on the object is interrupted or the positional deviation is detected during the transportation, the transportation of the manipulator 10 is immediately stopped at S113, and at S114, such an error detection time is detected. It is determined whether or not it has occurred in the initial climbing process after being caught. Here, for example, if an error occurs in the initial rising process until the test tube is pulled out from the rack and rises within a certain range, the manipulator 10 is pulled down in S115 to return the object to its original position. Then, in S116, the manipulator is opened and the object is released. Then, in S117, it is determined whether or not to retry,
If it is executed, the process from S103 is executed, and if it is not executed, the process proceeds to S110. By the way, in S114, when it is in the process after the initial rising process, the above-mentioned error processing is executed in S118.

In the above embodiment, the positional deviation in the upward direction and the positional deviation in the downward direction are not discriminated from each other with respect to the positional deviation, but it is of course possible to discriminate their directionality. Further, the rotational movement about the vertical center axis of the object may be further detected as a positional deviation. Further, in the present embodiment, the wheel 24 serving as a rotating member is brought into contact with the surface of the object to detect the rotational movement associated with the movement of the object. However, of course, other means may be used to detect the positional deviation. Alternatively, for example, the relative movement of the object may be detected by optical detection.

According to the above construction, the contact surface 22 can be properly brought into contact with the surface of the object as in the conventional case, but at the same time, the wheel 24 can be brought into contact with the object with a constant elastic force. A grip state can be formed, and
The slip of the wheel 24 can be prevented and the accuracy of detecting the positional deviation can be improved. By the way, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the contact detection is performed by the contact relationship of the plurality of contacts, but it goes without saying that another sensor may be provided or the rotation detection may be performed by another configuration. .

[0052]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to detect an abnormal handling of an object. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the reliability of handling by detecting the displacement of the grasped object.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a manipulator according to this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a specific configuration example of the sensor unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration example of a handling device according to the present embodiment.

4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 manipulator, 12 drive part, 14A, 14
B, 14C, 14D fingers, 16, 18 sensor units.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F term (reference) 2F069 AA17 AA83 BB04 GG02 GG06                       HH11                 2G058 CB09 CF01 CF16 CF17 CF18                       GB08                 3C007 AS01 AS14 DS02 ES05 EV02                       EV08 EV24 HT36 KS31 KS32                       KV08 KW01 KW02 KX08 MS30                       NS07 NS21

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A manipulator having a plurality of fingers for grasping an object, wherein at least one finger of the plurality of fingers detects a displacement of the object in a state of grasping the object. A handling device comprising a detector. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position deviation detector detects a contact member that comes into contact with the surface of the object and a movement of the contact member due to the position deviation of the object. A handling device comprising: 3. The handling device according to claim 2, wherein the contact member is a rotating member that rotates, and the sensor detects the rotating motion of the rotating member. 4. The handling device according to claim 3, wherein the rotating member has a horizontal rotating shaft, and the rotating member rotates when the object moves in a vertical direction. 5. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the rotating member is held so as to be capable of advancing and retracting in a contact direction with respect to the object, and a biasing member for biasing the rotating member toward the object is provided. A handling device characterized by that. 6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the rotating member projects toward the object side with respect to the finger contact surface when the object is not in contact with the surface of the object, The handling device, wherein the rotating member is retracted and the finger contact surface is joined to the surface of the object. 7. The handling apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a contact detector that detects a contact with the object by detecting a retreat of the rotating member. 8. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the abutting member includes a wheel having a horizontal rotation axis, and a plurality of magnets arranged along a circumferential surface of the wheel, wherein the sensor is A handling device, which is a magnetic sensor provided in the vicinity of the wheel. 9. A manipulator having a plurality of fingers for gripping an object, the position of the object being gripped by at least two fingers in a non-opposing relationship among the plurality of fingers. A handling device comprising a position shift detector for detecting a shift. 10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the displacement detectors are provided on two fingers of the plurality of fingers which are in an orthogonal relationship. 11. A manipulator having a plurality of fingers that open and close in order to grab an object, and a control unit that controls the opening and closing operation of the manipulator and its transportation, and at least one of the plurality of fingers. The finger is provided with a position shift detector that detects a position shift of the target object in a state where the target object is gripped, and the control unit executes control for coping with the position shift based on the output of the position shift detector. A handling device characterized by: 12. The handling device according to claim 11, wherein the control unit changes the control content according to a position deviation detection time point in a series of conveyance processes. 13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the controller lowers the target object when the position shift is detected in a predetermined pulling process after the target object is grabbed, and then returns to the original position. A handling device, characterized by executing control for returning to. 14. The handling device according to claim 13, wherein the control unit stops the conveyance operation and issues an alarm when a positional deviation is detected after the predetermined pulling up process. . 15. A manipulator having a plurality of fingers that open and close in order to grab an upper portion of the tube from above, wherein at least one finger of the plurality of fingers detects a contact state with the tube, In addition, the handling device is provided with a sensor unit that detects a vertical displacement of the target object while the tube is gripped. 16. The rotating member according to claim 15, wherein the sensor unit partially protrudes from the finger contact surface to the tube side in a non-contact state, and retracts to the non-object side in a contact state. A biasing member that biases the horizontal rotation axis of the member toward the tube, a movable piece that moves back and forth integrally with the rotating member, and a rotation detector that is provided on the movable piece and that detects rotation of the rotating member. And a contact detector that detects forward and backward movements of the movable piece, and a handling device.