JP2003159678A - Micro robot - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a micro robot that is about 1 cubic centimeter of size and can be controlled by wireless. <P>SOLUTION: The robot has at least 2 sensors 12 and 14 of which the detection ranges are overlaid partially, at least a pair of driving parts that are operated independently and have driving points that are located separately in the right angle direction of the moving direction, a control part that controls the driving parts based on the output of the sensors, and a power supply part that is rechargeable and supplies a power supply voltage to the sensors, the driving parts and the control part. The control part and the power supply part are arranged between the driving parts. It is supported by three points consisting of 2 driving points operated by a pair of the driving parts working for a moving field and one of sliding points 1 and 2 contacting with friction to the moving field. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an extremely small microrobot capable of wireless control with a size of, for example, about 1 cubic centimeter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when wirelessly controlling a robot, control called radio control is performed, and a control method using radio waves has been used. Also,
In order to control the direction, the control signal was superimposed on the radio wave for steering. Furthermore, in order to autonomously direct the object to a desired direction, an antenna having directivity is used, or a visual sensor or the like is used together. Wheels were used in the running part to reduce running resistance. The terminal for charging is composed of a rigid contact and is formed in a recess of the frame.

[0003]

However, since the above-mentioned robot control system uses radio waves, many electric elements are required on both the transmitting side and the receiving side, and a mechanism for steering is required. It was not suitable for miniaturization. Further, for example, in order to make it a system that autonomously moves in the direction in which radio waves are transmitted, it is necessary to add the above-mentioned antenna and sensor, and this point is not suitable for miniaturization. Further, when the parts other than the drive part are supported by wheels, if the wheels are small, it is not possible to overcome large irregularities, and conversely, if the wheels are large, downsizing is difficult. The charging terminal could not be made small in terms of handling, which hindered miniaturization.

Even if such a robot tries to do some work, such a mechanism has not yet been developed. Furthermore, due to the demand for miniaturization, it is not possible to attach a large-capacity battery, and it is desirable to charge in a contactless manner from the viewpoint of wireless control.
There was a situation where such a charging mechanism was not yet developed.

An object of the present invention is to provide a microrobot having a size of about 1 cubic centimeter.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a microrobot having a working mechanism in a robot body having a size of about 1 cm 3. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a microrobot having a size of about 1 cm 3 and capable of contactless charging.

[0006]

According to one aspect of the present invention, a microrobot is driven independently of at least two sensors whose detection areas partially overlap each other, and is separated in a direction perpendicular to a moving direction. It has at least one pair of drive units having drive points, a control unit that controls the drive unit based on the output of the sensor, and a power supply unit that is rechargeable and supplies a power supply voltage to the sensor, the drive unit, and the control unit. The control unit and the power supply unit are disposed between the pair of driving units, and the two driving points driven by the pair of driving units with respect to the traveling ground and the sliding point that makes frictional contact with the traveling ground. Of 3
Supported by dots. By being configured in this way, miniaturization is possible. In particular, by overlapping the detection areas of the sensors, it is possible to obtain the function of autonomously moving with respect to the target with a simple circuit. Further, since the drive units are controlled independently, it is possible to control complicated operations with a simple mechanism. Moreover, the control unit and the power supply unit are
Since it is arranged between the pair of driving parts, the robot body can be downsized. Furthermore, since it is supported by three driving points, which are driven by the pair of driving units with respect to the traveling ground, and sliding points which make frictional contact with the traveling ground, a balanced and stable traveling is achieved. Is possible.

Further, in the microrobot according to another aspect of the present invention, the line segment connecting the two driving points interlinks with the direction of gravity at the center of gravity depending on the inclination of the running ground, and slides before and after the interlinking. The positions of the dots are different. The sliding point changes depending on the positional relationship between the line segment connecting the driving points and the center of gravity. Therefore, the center of gravity of the microrobot is located above the driving point on the uphill, increasing the frictional force and improving the uphill force. .

Further, in the microrobot according to another aspect of the present invention, the microrobot has a projecting portion projecting from the frame body, having flexibility, and electrically connected to the power source section. This protrusion functioned as a sliding part to reduce running resistance and improve running performance and running performance, as well as connecting to the power supply section to serve as a charging terminal, which facilitated charging work. At the same time, stress is no longer concentrated on the power supply section and it is no longer destroyed.

[0009]

1 is a side view of a microrobot according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a top view thereof.
As shown, a pair of sensors 12 and 14 are provided on the front surface of the robot body 10. This sensor 12, 14
For example, an optical sensor including a photodiode, a phototransistor, or the like, or an ultrasonic sensor that converts a sound wave into a voltage by a piezoelectric element is used. In this embodiment, the phototransistor is used. The sensor 12 has a visual field A1 as a detection area, and the sensor 1
4 also has a visual field A2 as a detection region, and both visual fields A2
1, A2 overlap in the central part, and both sensors 12,
14 has an overlapping field of view A3. Therefore, when the light from the light source is in the front, that is, the visual field A3, both sensors 12,
14 will detect the light. The sensor 12
Is located on the left side of the robot body 10, and is referred to as an L sensor in the flow chart of the drawings described later.
Further, since the sensor 14 is arranged on the right side of the robot body 10, it is also described as an R sensor.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of FIG. The power supply unit 16 is arranged in the central portion and is composed of, for example, an electric double layer capacitor, a nickel cadmium battery, or the like. A circuit section 22 is provided near the power supply section 16. The circuit section 22 is a CMOS-IC 2 mounted on a circuit board 23.
4, a pull-down chip resistor 26 and the like are included, the details of which will be described later. The drive units 28 and 30 each include a step motor and a speed reduction mechanism, are controlled by the circuit unit 22, and through the step motor and the speed reduction mechanism,
The wheels 36 and 38 fitted to the output shafts 32 and 34 are rotationally driven. Rubber is attached to the outer circumferences of the wheels 36 and 38. The shapes of the wheels 36 and 38 are not limited to circular shapes, and may take various shapes such as a triangle and a quadrangle depending on the application.

The spacer 39 supports the power supply unit 16, the circuit unit 22, and the drive units 28 and 30 with respect to the frame 39a. The power supply unit 16 and the circuit unit 22 include a pair of drive units 28, 3
It is between 0 and they are arranged so as to overlap each other.
Therefore, the power supply section 16 and the circuit section 22 can have a large area relative to the entire volume. Therefore, the internal resistance of the capacitor or the secondary battery can be reduced in the power supply unit 16 so that a large current can be efficiently taken out, and the circuit unit 22 is advantageous for mounting a large IC chip having a complicated function. Further, since the drive units 28 and 30 are arranged at positions distant from each other, magnetic interference or the like is eliminated.

Sliding parts 1 and 2 are provided at the bottom of the microrobot body 10, and one of them is in contact with the running ground 3. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the center of gravity G of the microrobot body 10 is such that the wheels 36 run on the running ground 3.
The sliding portion 1 is in contact with the traveling ground because it is slightly left of the drawing (hereinafter, referred to as the front) with respect to the vertical direction 4 of the driving point 36a in contact with.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a case where the traveling ground 3 is inclined and the robot body 10 climbs the slope. Here, it is assumed that the climbing ability of the drive unit is close to the limit. In such a situation, the center of gravity G is located on the right side (hereinafter referred to as rear) in the vertical direction 4 and the sliding portion 2 is in contact with the running ground 3. Here, in order to improve the climbing ability, it is necessary not only to increase the torque of the driving portion but also to reduce the frictional resistance of the sliding portion and increase the frictional force of the driving point 36a. That is, when climbing uphill, which requires the most driving force, the reaction force of the driving force of the driving unit causes the microrobot body 10
The position of the center of gravity where all the weight is applied to the driving point 36a is good in a state where the force that the front of the vehicle tries to lift is combined with the force according to the relationship between the center of gravity and the vertical direction. In other words, when the running ground is flat or downhill, the center of gravity G is in front of the vertical direction, and the center of gravity G is behind the vertical direction near the limit of the climbing ability, that is, depending on the running ground 3. It is preferable that the center of gravity G intersects the vertical direction 4 of the driving point.

5 and 6 are a side view and a bottom view of a robot body according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, haptics 18 and tails 20 for charging and balancers.
Is provided. The tactile part 18 and the tail 20 are provided with sliding parts 18a and 20a, respectively.
Although it has a function equivalent to that of the robot main body 10, the position in contact with the traveling ground 3 is outside the robot body 10. Therefore, the force applied to the sliding portions 18a and 20a is small and the frictional resistance is small, so that traveling loss is small. Bent portions 18b and 20b are provided on the end sides of the tactile portion 18 and the tail 20 and are smoothly curved with respect to the running ground. In such a configuration, even if the running ground 3 has large irregularities, it is possible to easily run while sliding.

The tactile part 18 and the tail 20 have not only flexibility but also conductivity, and at least one of them is electrically connected to the power supply part 16 composed of an electric double layer capacitor, a secondary battery or the like. In such a configuration, since the power supply unit 16 can be charged through the tactile unit 18 or the protrusion of the tail 20, it is not only easy to handle but also flexible.
Does not concentrate stress and is not easily broken.

FIG. 7 shows a wheel 3 of the microrobot according to the present invention.
It is a partially expanded view of the side surface of 4,36. Recessed part 3 on the outer circumference
5, the convex portion 36 is provided, and high friction agents 35a, 36a such as rubber or plastic are attached. In such a configuration, if the high friction agents 35a and 36a are liquids having a curability, they are hardened in the shape shown by the surface tension.
Only the portion of the high friction agent 36a comes into contact with the running ground. Therefore, the load of the microrobot is concentrated and the high friction agent 36a is easily elastically changed, a large friction resistance is obtained, and the climbing ability is improved. The shape of the unevenness is not limited to this embodiment, and even when an arm or the like is used instead of the wheel, the high friction agent may be attached to the contact portion in the same manner.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing details of the circuit section 22. CP composed of ALU and various registers
ROM 4 in which programs are stored in the U core 40
2, an address decoder 44 of the ROM 42, a RAM 46 for storing various data, and an address decoder 48 of the RAM 46 are connected. The crystal unit 50 is connected to the oscillator 52, and the oscillation signal of the oscillator 52 is the CPU.
It is supplied to the core 40 as a clock signal. The outputs of the sensors 12 and 14 are input to the input / output control circuit 54, which is output to the CPU core 40. The voltage regulator 56 is for stably supplying the voltage of the power supply unit 16 to the circuit unit 22. The motor drive control circuit 58 sends and receives control signals to and from the CPU core 40, and the motor drive circuits 60, 62
The step motors 64 and 66 are controlled via. The power supply voltage of each circuit described above is supplied from the power supply unit 16.

Since the step motor 64 is built in the drive unit 30 and arranged on the right side of the robot body 10, the step motor 64 is represented by R in the flow chart of the drawings described later.
The step motor 66 is referred to as a motor, and the step motor 66 is the drive unit 2.
Since it is built into the robot 8 and arranged on the left side of the robot body 10, it is also described as an L motor.

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of the sensor 12. The sensor 12 is composed of a phototransistor 12a, and a pulldown resistor 26 is connected in series to the emitter of the phototransistor 12a. Phototransistor 12b
The received light output is taken out from the emitter of, and the received light output is subjected to waveform shaping by the input / output control circuit 54 and output to the CPU core 40. Although this circuit diagram is an example of the sensor 12, the sensor 14 has the same structure.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the driving unit 30, and FIG.
1 is a development view thereof. The step motor 64 has an exciting coil 68 and a rotor 70 composed of a magnet, and an electromagnetic two-pole step motor used in an electronic timepiece is used in this embodiment. The rotor 70 drives the pinion 72, the pinion 72 drives the pinion 74 via the gear, the pinion 74 drives the pinion 76 via the gear, and the pinion 7 thus decelerated.
6 rotates the wheels 38. The mechanism shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is an electronic timepiece mechanism. The mechanism of the drive unit 28 is also the same as the mechanism shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The step motors 64 and 66 are, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG.
Since the wheels that are rotated at high speed are decelerated to drive the wheels to rotate, the drive units 30 and 28 are downsized. Further, since the exciting coil 68 is provided at a position distant from the rotor 70, the driving unit 30,
28 has been made thinner and smaller.

FIG. 12 is a timing chart showing an example of basic operation of the robot of the above embodiment. Sensor 12,
The output is 0 V when light is not incident on 14, but when it is incident, a voltage corresponding to the amount of light is output. The voltage is waveform-shaped at a desired threshold voltage in the input / output control circuit 54 and input to the CPU core 40, and the motor drive control circuit 58 alternates forward and backward to the step motors 64 and 66 via the drive circuits 60 and 62. Drive pulse is supplied to.
Therefore, in the section S1 where the sensor 12 is receiving light, the step motor 64 is driven and the wheels 38 are rotationally driven. In the section S2 where the sensor 14 is receiving light, the step motor 66 is driven and the wheels 36 are rotationally driven. Both sensors 1
In the section W where 2 and 14 are receiving light, the step motor 6
4, 66 are driven, and the wheels 38, 36 are rotationally driven.

Therefore, as the simplest driving example, when the light from the light source is in the field of view A1 (excluding the field of view A3), the optical sensor 12 receives it, and the step motor 64 responds to the received light output of the wheel. Rotate 38 to. At this time,
Since the wheels 36 are stopped, the robot body 1
In the case of 0, the whole object turns and moves to the left. Further, when the light from the light source is in the visual field A2 (excluding the visual field A3), the optical sensor 14 receives it, and the step motor 66 rotates the wheel 36 according to the received light output. At this time, since the wheels 38 are in a stopped state,
The entire robot body 10 turns and moves rightward. Further, when the light from the light source is in the field of view A3, the optical sensors 12 and 14 receive it, and the step motor 6
The wheels 4 and 66 rotate the wheels 38 and 36 in accordance with the received light output, and the robot body 10 moves straight. The robot body 10 moves toward the light source by being controlled in this way. In the present embodiment, the position of the sensor and the arrangement of the drive unit that moves with respect to the direction of the visual field are not limited to the present embodiment showing one combination.

By the way, in the above description of the operation, an example in which the light receiving sensors 12 and 14 are driven at a constant speed when receiving light has been described. However, when the driving is started, the driving force is increased by driving with acceleration.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing the basic operation when acceleration control is performed at the start of driving. First, CP
The U core 40 sets the clock frequency Rc of the drive pulse of the step motor 64 to 16 Hz (S1), and then resets the value Rc of the counter that counts the drive pulse (S2). Next, it is judged whether or not there is a light receiving output from the sensor 12.
(S3) If there is a light reception output, one pulse of the drive pulse having the clock frequency Rc is supplied to drive the step motor 64, and the pulse at that time is counted (S4). It is determined whether or not the count value Rn is a predetermined value, for example 15,
If (S5) and 15 are not reached, the above processes (S3) and (S4) are repeated.

When 15 pulses are driven by the drive pulse having the clock frequency Rc (= 16 Hz), it is next judged whether or not the clock frequency Rc of the drive pulse has reached 128 Hz (maximum value), and the value has not been reached. in case of,
The clock frequency Rc of the drive pulse is set to, for example, 32 Hz (S7), and the above processing is repeated in the same manner. The clock frequency Rc of the drive pulse is 128 Hz (maximum value)
When it reaches (S6), it is driven by the drive pulse of that frequency thereafter. When the sensor 12 outputs no light (S3), the step motor 64 is stopped (S8). Although this flowchart shows the relationship between the sensor 12 (L sensor) and the step motor 64 (R motor), the sensor 14 (R sensor)
The relationship between the sensor) and the step motor 66 (L motor) is exactly the same.

For the sake of easy understanding, the flow chart of FIG. 13 does not describe the relationship between the sensor 12 and the sensor 14, but for example, the sensor 14 is in the light receiving state and the step motor 66 is driven, so that the robot body 10 can be driven. The sensor 12 also enters a light-receiving state when the light source moves toward the light source. In this case, the driving state of the step motor 64 driven by the sensor 12 needs to match the driving state of the step motor 66. If the driving state is not set in this way, linear movement cannot be performed when the robot body 10 faces the light source. That is, the transition from the turning movement to the linear movement cannot be performed smoothly.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart of control in consideration of the above points. As in the case described above, the CPU core 40
Is the clock frequency R of the drive pulse of the step motor 64
c is set to 16 Hz (S1), and then the value Rc of the counter that counts the number of drive pulses is reset (S2). next,
It is determined whether or not there is a light reception output of the sensor 14 on the other side (S2a). When the sensor 14 outputs light, the clock frequency Lc of the drive pulse of the control system on the sensor 14 side and the counter value Ln are initially set as the clock frequency Rc of the drive pulse on the sensor 12 side and the counter value Rn. Yes (S2b). After setting like this,
It is processed in the same manner as the flowchart of FIG. Although this flow chart also shows the operation of the control system of the sensor 12, the same applies to the control system of the sensor 14. That is, when the control system of the other sensor is in the driving state at the time of starting the driving, the state is taken as the initial value and the starting is performed. Therefore, when only one sensor receives light, the direction is changed while accelerating, Then, when both sensors receive light, both control systems are brought into the same drive state at that moment and the vehicle goes straight. Therefore, the transition from the turning movement to the linear movement is smoothly performed, and the responsiveness to light is improved.

FIG. 15 is a waveform diagram of the drive pulse. Figure 1
As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 and FIG. 14, in order to increase the driving force when accelerating at the start of driving, for example, in the case of a clock frequency of 16 Hz, the pulse width is set to 7.8 msec and the pulse width is set large. Since the pulse width can be reduced as the frequency increases,
When the clock frequency is 32 Hz, the pulse width is 6.3 msec, when the clock frequency is 64 Hz, the pulse width is 5.9 msec, and when the clock frequency is 128 Hz, the pulse width is 3.9 msec. By doing so, it is possible to supply a driving pulse according to the required driving force, and it is possible to perform rational driving.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a process for avoiding an obstacle, and FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of the avoiding operation. Although not shown here, the robot body 1
An obstacle sensor including an ultrasonic sensor, an eddy current sensor, a contact sensor, or a combination thereof is provided in the front part of 0.

First, it is determined by the obstacle sensor whether there is an obstacle (S11). If there is no obstacle, continue the work (or proceed as it is) (S12). If there is an obstacle, reverse the step motor 64 or 66 (S13).
. The state is continued for a predetermined time, for example, 5 seconds (S14). This time is not limited to this time, as long as it is a time required for direction change, and a moving distance may be set. After that, it is again determined by the obstacle sensor whether there is an obstacle (S11). By repeating such processing, when there is an obstacle, the direction is changed to avoid it.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart showing a process for detecting a collision by the induced voltage of the step motor and avoiding an obstacle, and FIG. 19 is an explanatory view of the avoiding operation. Drive the step motors 64 and 66 (S21),
In that state, it is detected whether or not the step motor 64 is rotating (S22).
It is detected whether 6 is rotating (S23). If the step motor 66 is also rotating, it is assumed that there is no obstacle (S24). The method for detecting the presence or absence of rotation of the step motors 64 and 66 utilizes the fact that the voltage induced in the exciting coil 68 is large when the motor rotates, but it is small when it is not rotating.

FIG. 20 is a timing chart showing a method for detecting the presence / absence of rotation of the step motor. As shown in the figure, when the stepper motor is in a rotating state, when the rotor 70 rotates after the drive pulse is applied, an induced voltage is induced in the exciting coil 68 as the rotor 70 rotates, and an induced current flows. The rotation state can be grasped by detecting the magnitude of the induced current by a comparator, for example. When the step motor is not in the rotating state, the rotor 70 does not rotate after the drive pulse is applied, and thus the induced voltage is not induced in the exciting coil 68,
Induced current does not flow. As a result, it can be understood that the rotating state is not achieved.

When it is determined that the step motor 64 is not rotating when the rotation is detected (S22), the driving of the step motors 64 and 66 is stopped (S25), and the step motors 64 and 66 are reversed. Yes (S26). The reverse driving state is continued for 5 seconds, for example (S27), the step motor 64 judged not to be rotated next is driven again (S28), and the state is continued for 5 seconds (S29). After that, the process returns to the first process (S21). When it is determined that the step motor 66 is not rotating when the rotation is detected, (S
23), stop driving the step motors 64, 66 (S30)
, Step motors 64 and 66 are reversed (S31). The reverse driving state is continued for 5 seconds (S32), the step motor 66 is driven again (S33), and the state is continued for 5 seconds (S29). After that, the process returns to the first process (S21).

As described above, the step motors 64, 6
The presence or absence of rotation of No. 6 is detected, and if it is not rotating, the drive is temporarily stopped and then reversely rotated, and then the step motor determined not to be rotated is rotated again. For example, when the robot main body 10 collides with a wall and the step motor 66 does not rotate, the driving of the step motors 64 and 66 is temporarily stopped and then reversely reversed to move backward, and then the step motor 66 is driven to change the direction. To convert. After that, since the step motors 64 and 66 are driven to move straight ahead, it is possible to avoid obstacles and proceed.

In the flowchart of FIG. 18, the avoidance of the obstacle under the condition that both the step motors 64 and 66 are driven has been described, but the same processing is performed also when only one of them is driven. To be done. For example, when the step motor 64 is driven, the step motor 64 is driven in the process (S21) in FIG. 18, and thereafter the process (S22), the processes (S25) to (S2
It can be dealt with by performing 9). Step motor 66
The same applies when driving the
This can be dealt with by driving the step motor 66 in (S21) and then performing the process (S23), the processes (S30) to (S33), and (S29).

22 to 23 are front, side and rear views of a microrobot according to another embodiment of the present invention. Sensors 82a-on the front of the robot body
82d is provided, and screws 84a to 84 are provided at the rear portion.
d is provided and is configured to be driven in a liquid. Since four screws 84a to 84d are provided on the left, right, top and bottom and are respectively driven by step motors, the robot main body 80 can be controlled in the horizontal direction as well as in the vertical direction.

Since the robot shown in FIG. 1 or 5 has only two motors, the drive pulse is supplied to each motor at the same timing. In this embodiment, the screws 84a ...
Since four 84d are provided, four step motors for driving them are also required. If these are driven by the drive pulse of the same timing, the power supply unit 16 will be consumed much. Therefore, the circuit shown in FIG. The timing is shifted.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing circuits around the motor drive circuit. In this circuit diagram, in addition to the motor drive circuits 60 and 62 of FIG.
88, and these drive circuits include step motors 64,
66, 90, 92 are driven. Then, the step motors 64, 66, 90, 92 rotationally drive the screws 84a to 84d. In this embodiment, phase difference circuits 94 to 100 for controlling the phases of the motor drive circuits 60, 62, 86, 88 are further provided, and the phase difference circuits 94 to 10 are provided.
By changing the phase adjustment angle of 0, the motor drive circuits 60, 6
The drive pulses are prevented from being output from 2,86,88 at the same timing.

In the above embodiment, an example in which light is detected by a sensor and travels in that direction has been described.
The targets of detection are not only light, but also magnetism, heat (infrared), sound,
It may be an electromagnetic wave or the like. Further, it is possible to control so as not to proceed to the detection target object but to escape from it. In that case, the sensor 12 in the embodiment of FIG. 1 or FIG.
Is turned off to drive the step motor 64 and the wheels 38. When the sensor 14 is turned off, the step motor 66 is driven and the wheels 36 are driven. Sensor 1
When both 2 and 14 are on, the step motor 64,
The robot main body 10 is retracted or retracted by reversely driving 66 and reversely driving the wheels 38 and 36. Furthermore, fine control is possible by preparing two or more types of detection objects, and controlling one detection object toward it and escaping the other detection object. become. This control is shown in FIGS.
Of course, it can also be applied to the robot body 100.

The movement direction of the robot body is not limited to the object to be detected such as light as a reference, but, for example, a movement locus may be programmed in advance and controlled according to it. In addition, a command may be given from the outside to control the movement locus. Furthermore, the above-mentioned controls may be combined appropriately and the learning function may be provided for the control. FIG. 25 is a top view of a microrobot according to another embodiment of the present invention. A pair of direction control sensors 12 and 14 are provided on the front surface of the robot body 10 as shown in the figure, but in addition to this, a work control sensor 15 (not shown in FIG. 25) is provided on the upper portion of the robot body 10. 26) is provided, and as will be described later, this work control sensor 15 is provided.
Receive work orders from outside via. The bottom view of the robot body 10 is similar to that of the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 26 is a block diagram showing details of the circuit section 22 of the embodiment shown in FIG. A ROM 42 storing programs, an address decoder 44 of the ROM 42, a RAM 46 storing various data, and an address decoder 48 of the RAM 46 are connected to a CPU core 40 composed of an ALU and various registers. There is. The crystal unit 50 is connected to the oscillator 52, and the oscillator 5
The oscillation signal 2 is supplied to the CPU core 40 as a clock signal. The input / output control circuit 54 includes a direction control sensor 1
The outputs of the sensors 2 and 14 and the work control sensor 15 are input and output to the CPU core 40. The motor drive control circuit 58 exchanges control signals with the CPU core 40,
Step motor 6 through motor drive circuits 60 and 62
4, 66 are controlled, and the actuator drive circuit 6
3 to control the work actuator 67.

Since the step motor 64 is built in the drive unit 30 and is arranged on the right side of the robot body 10, the step motor 64 is represented by R in the flow chart of the drawings described later.
The step motor 66 is referred to as a motor, and the step motor 66 is the drive unit 2.
Since it is built into the robot 8 and arranged on the left side of the robot body 10, it is also described as an L motor.

FIG. 27 is a flow chart showing the control operation of the circuit section of FIG. The direction control sensors 12 and 14 move toward the target that is emitting light, and the work sensor 15 receives the instruction in response to the operator's instruction and performs a predetermined operation.

First, the CPU core 40 determines whether or not the direction control sensor 12 receives light and is on (S4
1) If it is turned on, it is assumed that the light source is on the left side and the step motor 64 is driven to rotate the wheels 38,
Turn left (S42). If the direction control sensor 12 is off (S41), the driving of the step motor 64 is stopped (S43). Next, it is determined whether or not the direction control sensor 14 has received light and is on (S44), and if not, the driving of the step motor 66 is stopped (S44).
45). When the direction control sensor 14 is turned on by repeating the above processing (S44), the step motor 66 is driven (S44).
47). By operating in this way, the robot body 10
Moves toward the light source, and then the work control sensor 15
It is determined whether or not the light is being received (S47), and when the work control sensor 15 is not receiving the light, the above-described operation is repeated to move forward. When the work control sensor 15 receives light and is turned on, the actuator driving circuit 63 controls the work actuator 67 to perform a desired work (S
48).

FIG. 28 is a flow chart showing the operation when the work control sensor 15 is not provided in FIGS. 25 and 26. Also in this embodiment, first, C
The PU core 40 determines whether or not the direction control sensor 12 receives light and is on (S51). If it is on, the light source is on the left side and the step motor 64 is driven to rotate the wheels 38. Drive and turn left (S52).
If the direction control sensor 12 is turned off (S5
1) Stop driving the step motor 64 (S53). Next, it is determined whether or not the direction control sensor 14 has received light and is on (S54), and if it is not on, the drive of the step motor 66 is stopped (S55). When the direction control sensor 14 is turned on by repeating the above processing (S54), the step motor 66 is driven (S57). By operating in this way, the robot body 10 moves toward the light source, and then it is determined whether or not the step motors 64, 66 are rotating (S57), and the state in which the step motors 64, 66 are rotating. Then, the above operation is repeated to move forward.
When the robot body 10 reaches a predetermined position and collides with it, the step motors 64 and 66 do not rotate at that moment. Therefore, it is considered that the step motors 64 and 66 have not reached the predetermined position, and the actuator drive circuit 63
Thus, the work actuator 67 is controlled to perform a desired work (S58).

The determination as to whether the step motors 64, 66 are rotating is made as follows. When the step motor is in a rotating state, the drive pulse is supplied to the exciting coil 68, and then the rotor 70 rotates. As the rotor 70 rotates, an induced voltage is induced in the exciting coil 68 and an induced current flows. By detecting the magnitude of the induced current with a comparator or the like, it is detected that the motor is in a rotating state. When the step motor is not in the rotating state, the rotor 70 does not rotate after the drive pulse is supplied, and thus the induced voltage is not induced in the exciting coil 68. As a result, it is detected that it is not in the rotating state.

FIG. 29 is a block diagram showing details of another embodiment of the circuit section 22. In this embodiment, as the sensor, the receiving sensor 102, the transmitting element 104 and the detecting element 106 are connected to the input / output control circuit 54. FIG. 30 is a top view of the robot main body 10, showing the reception sensor 10
2 and the transmitting element 104 are arranged at the positions shown.
In this embodiment, the receiving sensor 102 receives a movement command and a work command. For example, infrared rays are used to receive the command (straight ahead command, right turn command, left turn command, backward command, work command, etc.). A pulse signal or the like having a corresponding pattern is output to the light receiving sensor 102. The detection element 106 is composed of, for example, an image sensor, a tactile sensor, or the like, and the information detected by the detection element 106 is transmitted to the operating side using the transmission element 104.

FIG. 31 is a flow chart showing the control operation of the circuit section of FIG. First, when the reception sensor 102 receives a straight-ahead command from the operating side, the CPU core 40 judges it (S61) and drives the step motors 64 and 66 to move straight (S62). When the receiving sensor 102 receives a right turn command from the operating side, the CPU core 40 judges it (S63), drives the step motor 66, and turns right (S64). Reception sensor 10
When 2 receives a left turn command from the operating side, the CPU core 40 judges it (S65), drives the step motor 64, and turns left (S66). When the receiving sensor 102 receives a backward command from the operating side, the CPU core 40 judges it (S67), and drives the step motors 64 and 66 in reverse rotation to drive the robot body 1
0 is retracted (S68). If there is no movement control command, the driving of the step motors 64 and 66 is stopped (S69). Next, the CPU core 40 determines whether or not a work command is input (S70). When the work command is not input, the process ends as it is, but when the work command is input, the actuator drive circuit 63 controls the work actuator 67 to perform the desired work.
(S71). After that, the CPU core 40 determines whether or not a transmission command is input via the reception sensor 102 (S72).
, When the transmission command is input, for example, the detection element 1
The information detected by 06 is encoded to generate the transmitting element 104.
To the operating side via (S73). The above process is cyclically repeated.

By the way, various kinds of work can be mentioned as the above-mentioned work, and examples thereof are as follows. (1) Discharge of chemical liquid by micro pump. (2) Sensing of temperature, pressure, components, images, etc. (3) Work by hand (for example, transportation of parts etc.). (4) Data storage and transmission. (5) Actions of the micro robot itself (for example, filling holes, processing by self-destruction, robots with various functions work together). (6) Ingestion and disposal of samples.

FIG. 32 is a sectional view showing an example in which the microrobot of the present invention is applied to an endoscope. This device has a plunger 110 controlled by a circuit portion 22, and this plunger 110 drives a piston 112 provided at the tip end portion thereof. The micro pump 114 is composed of a plunger 110 and a piston 112,
The movement of the piston 112 causes the chemical solution 116 to move to the nozzle 1
It is discharged into the pipe through 18. A photovoltaic element 120 is attached to the outer peripheral side of this robot. The light from the light emitting portion is guided by the optical fiber 122 to the mirror 124.
The light is reflected by the inner wall 126 of the tube and is guided to the light receiving portion through a path opposite to that of the conventional one, and functions as an endoscope. A part of the light reflected by the inner wall 126 of the tube is also input to the photovoltaic element 120, and the power source section (not shown) of the circuit section 22.
To charge. The configuration of this embodiment has the same basic concept as the embodiment shown in FIGS. 25 and 26, but the members such as the sensors 12, 14, the wheels 36, 38, the step motors 64, 66, etc. It is no longer needed.

In this embodiment, the circuit section 22 has a built-in decoder, and the decoder is the photovoltaic element 1.
The control signal included in the charging current is taken out and analyzed by being connected in parallel to the power supply unit to which the output of 20 is connected. Therefore,
In this embodiment, while observing the inside of the tube as an endoscope, a work command is supplied from the operating side via the optical fiber 122 at a desired position, and the circuit section 22 sends it to the photovoltaic element 12.
Then, the plunger 110 is driven to eject the chemical solution 116 from the nozzle 118.

FIG. 33 is a bottom view of a microrobot according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 34 is a side view thereof. In the microrobot of this embodiment, a micropump 130 is built in the robot body shown in FIG. 25 and a nozzle 132 is provided on the front surface. In this embodiment, for example, the work (S4
8), the work of the flowchart of FIG. 28 (S58) and the work of the flowchart of FIG. 31 (S71), the micro pump 130 is driven to discharge the chemical liquid from the nozzle 132.

FIG. 35 is a side view of a microrobot according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 36 is a bottom view thereof. In the microrobot of this embodiment, the robot body 10 shown in FIG. 25 is provided with a hand mechanism.
An upper motor unit 140 is provided on the upper part of the robot body 10, which rotates an upper pinion 142, and the upper pinion 142 engages an upper gear 144 to drive an upper arm 146 rotatably supported by a shaft 152. To do. A lower motor unit 148 is provided at the bottom of the robot body 10, which rotates the lower pinion 149 to move the lower pinion 1
Reference numeral 49 engages with the lower gear 150 to drive the lower arm 154 rotatably supported by the shaft 152. The upper arm 146 and the lower arm 154 form a hand 156.

FIG. 37 is a block diagram showing details of the circuit portion 22 of the microrobot of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 35 and 36. This embodiment is basically the same as the circuit diagram of FIG. 26, except that the upper motor drive circuit 160 and the lower motor drive circuit 1 are
62 is provided. The upper motor drive circuit 160 drives and controls the upper motor 164 built in the upper motor unit 140, and the lower motor drive circuit 162 drives and controls the lower motor 166 built in the lower motor unit 148.
The upper motor 164 and the lower motor 166 are preferably step motors. In such a case, it becomes easy to drive the upper motor 164 and the lower motor 166 in synchronization.

FIG. 38 is a flow chart showing the control operation of the microrobot of the embodiment of FIGS. First, when the work control sensor 15 receives a control command, CP
The U core 40 determines whether the command is a command to raise the arm (S81). If the command is a command to raise the arm, the upper motor drive circuit 160 rotates the upper motor 164 counterclockwise (S82). As a result, the upper arm 146 rotates clockwise. Next, the lower motor drive circuit 162 rotates the lower motor 166 counterclockwise (S83). This causes the lower arm 154 to rotate clockwise. Thus, the upper arm 146 and the lower arm 1
By rotating both 54 clockwise, the hand 15
6 goes up as shown in FIG.

When the CPU core 40 receives a command to lower the arm (S84), the upper motor drive circuit 160
Thus, the upper motor 164 is rotated clockwise (S85).
As a result, the upper arm 146 rotates counterclockwise. Next, the lower motor drive circuit 162 rotates the lower motor 166 clockwise (S86). This allows the lower arm 154
Rotates counterclockwise. In this way, by rotating both the upper arm 146 and the lower arm 154 counterclockwise, the hand 156 is lowered.

When the CPU core 40 receives a command to open the arm (S87), the upper motor drive circuit 160 rotates the upper motor 164 counterclockwise (S88).
As a result, the upper arm 146 rotates clockwise. Next, the lower motor drive circuit 162 rotates the lower motor 166 clockwise (S86). This allows the lower arm 154
Rotates counterclockwise. Thus, by rotating the upper arm 146 clockwise and rotating the lower arm 154 counterclockwise, the upper arm 146 and the lower arm 154 are rotated.
And open as shown in FIG.

When the CPU core 40 receives a command to close the arm (S90), the upper motor drive circuit 160
Thus, the upper motor 164 is rotated clockwise (S91).
As a result, the upper arm 146 rotates counterclockwise. Next, the lower motor drive circuit 162 rotates the lower motor 166 counterclockwise (S92). This allows the lower arm 15
4 rotates clockwise. In this way, by controlling the upper arm 146 and the lower arm 154 to approach each other, the upper arm 146 and the lower arm 154 are closed.

FIG. 41 is a conceptual view of a microrobot according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 42 is a side view thereof. The robot body 10 includes a work motor 20 as shown in the drawing.
0 is built in, and this working motor 200 is composed of a motor stator 202 and a rotor 204. The robot body 10 is arranged in the non-magnetic tube 206, and the non-magnetic tube 206 contains liquid. A coil stator 208 is arranged outside the non-magnetic tube 206, and a coil 210 is wound around the coil stator 208. FIG. 43 is a diagram showing details of the work motor 200. The motor stator 202 is provided with a pair of inner notches 202a on the inner peripheral portion and a pair of outer notches 202b on the outer peripheral portion. The positions of the inner notches 202a and the outer notches 202b are as shown in the figure. Misaligned. The rotor 204 is composed of a magnet and is magnetized into two poles, an N pole and an S pole. When an external magnetic field is applied, the magnetic flux 212 passes through the motor stator 202 as shown.

43 to 46 are diagrams showing the operating principle of the work motor 200. FIG. 44 is a diagram showing a state in which the magnetic field is not applied from the outside. In this state, the rotor 20
The boundary point between the N pole and the S pole of No. 4 faces the inner notch 202a and is stable. Next, when a magnetic field is applied as shown in FIG. 45, the rotor 204 rotates, but the portion of the motor stator 202 in the outer notch 202b is narrowed. Since the magnetic field of is weakened, the boundary point of the rotor 204 is stabilized at the outer notch 202b. After that, when the application of the magnetic field from the outside is stopped, as shown in FIG.
The boundary point 04 is stable facing the inner notch 202a. In this way, as shown in FIG. 44 to FIG.
It can be seen that 04 rotates half a turn. Then, when the magnetic field is applied from the opposite direction, the rotor 204 makes another half rotation.
By alternately applying magnetic fields in this manner, the rotor 204
Will rotate continuously. Although the above description is an example of rotating in the counterclockwise direction, it can be similarly rotated in the clockwise direction. Further, the operating principle itself of this motor is the step motor 64 of the above-mentioned embodiment.
It is also applied to 66 etc.

Now that the operating principle of the work motor 200 has been clarified, the operation of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 41 and 42 will be described. When a positive or negative exciting current is supplied to the coil 210, a magnetic flux corresponding thereto is generated in the coil stator 208, the magnetic flux reaches the motor stator 202 through the non-magnetic tube 206, and the rotor 204 rotates according to the above operating principle. To do. The rotation of the rotor 204 allows it to function as a micropump, rotate a screw (not shown) to propel it, or create a liquid flow. Alternatively, a cutter (not shown) can be rotated to delete a desired portion.

Particularly in this embodiment, when the coil stator 208 is moved in the lengthwise direction of the non-magnetic tube 206, the magnetic force of the magnetic field causes the working motor 200 itself to move along with the movement. Therefore, the position of the microrobot body 10 can be controlled by applying a magnetic field from the outside. Further, since the work motor 200 can be driven by applying a magnetic field from the outside, the microrobot body 10 does not need a means (storage battery) for storing energy for driving the work motor 200. It should be noted that the coil stator 208 is not limited to one, and a plurality of coil stators 208 may be provided along the length direction of the non-magnetic tube 206 to sequentially drive the plurality of robot bodies 10. Further, the coil 210 does not have to be a single phase, and may be configured by a multi-phase coil such as three phases. In that case, the motor stator 202 and the like also have a corresponding structure.

The step motor of the above embodiment may be an ultrasonic motor or the like except for the embodiment of FIG. In addition, the microrobot may be configured by appropriately combining the elements of the above-described embodiments as needed.

Next, the charging mechanism for the power source 16 will be described. FIG. 47 is a block diagram showing details of the circuit unit 22 to which a charging mechanism by electromagnetic induction is added. The output of the charging circuit of the motor drive circuit 62 is connected to the power supply unit 16, and the power supply unit 16 is connected to the voltage regulator 56. The voltage regulator 56 includes a booster circuit 300 and a voltage limiter 302.

FIG. 48 shows a motor drive circuit 62 of this embodiment.
3 is a circuit diagram showing the details of FIG. Motor driver 304,3
06, 308 and 310 are H-connected to the exciting coil 68 as shown, and diodes 312, 314, 316 and 318 are connected in parallel to each driver and in the reverse direction.
Is connected. Further, when switches 320 and 322 for detecting an alternating magnetic field are connected to both ends of the exciting coil 68 and these switches 320 and 322 are closed,
A closed circuit is formed for the exciting coil 68. In addition, both ends of the exciting coil 68 have magnetic field detecting inverters 324, 3
26, and its output is guided to the motor drive control circuit 58 via the OR circuit 328. Driver 3
04, 310 and the drivers 308, 306 are alternately driven to supply the exciting current to the exciting coil 68 to drive the step motor 66.
When 04, 306, 308, 310 are turned off and the exciting coil 68 receives electromagnetic induction from the charging coil of the charging stand described later, the induced voltage is changed to the diode 312, 31.
It is rectified by 4, 316, 318 and guided to the power supply unit 16 for charging operation. The drivers 304, 306,
When the diodes 308 and 310 are formed of FETs as shown in the figure and the diodes equivalently included therein function sufficiently, the external diodes 312, 314, 316 and 316 are provided.
It is also possible to omit 318.

FIG. 49 is a discharge characteristic of the electric double layer capacitor 334 forming the power supply section 16, and FIG. 50 is a circuit explanatory diagram showing details of the voltage regulator 56. In FIG. 50, a high capacity capacitor 334 and a limiter switch 330 are provided, and a capacitor 360 is further provided as another power supply. A means for charging the capacitor 334 to the capacitor 360 while boosting the voltage is a broken line 1
It is shown in the part surrounded by 35. Capacitor 334
33 for charging while increasing the voltage from the capacitor to the capacitor 360
5 is capacitors 340 and 350 and switches 336 and 33
8, 342, 344, 346, 348, 352. The power supply voltage is supplied from the capacitor 360 to each unit of the control unit 22. The detector 332 detects the voltage of the capacitor 334.

Next, the operation of the circuit shown in FIG. 50 will be described. When the voltage of the large-capacity capacitor 334 is 1.2 V or more after being fully charged, the capacitors 334 and 36 are charged.
0 is the same voltage. The voltage of the capacitor 334 is 1.
When the voltage is 2 V to 0.8 V, the voltage is boosted 1.5 times by the voltage boosting means 335 to charge the capacitor 360. This operation is shown in Figure 4.
9 is a section from t ₁ to t ₃ . Therefore, the voltage of the capacitor 360 at this time is 1.8V to 1.2V. When the voltage of the capacitor 334 is 0.8 V to 0.6 V, the voltage is boosted by the boosting means 335 and the capacitor 360 is charged. This is the section from t ₃ to t _{4 in} this operation diagram 49. The voltage of the capacitor 360 at this time is 1.6V to 1.2V.

When the voltage of the capacitor 334 is 0.6 or less, the voltage is boosted three times by the voltage boosting means 335 and the capacitor 36 is boosted.
Charge to 0. This operation is after t ₄ in FIG. FIG. 49 shows this state. The voltage shown by the solid line is the voltage of the capacitor 360 in FIG. 50, and the voltage shown by the broken line is the voltage of the capacitor 334.

Next, the operation of the boosting means 335 will be described. When boosting, firstly from the capacitor 334 to the capacitor 34
Charge to 0,350 and then capacitors 334,34
The capacitor 360 is charged with 0,350. That is, step-up charging can be performed by repeating the operations shown in FIGS. (A) in FIG. 51 when boosting 1.5 times, (A) in FIG. 52 when boosting 2.0 times, (A) in FIG. 53 (B) when boosting 3.0 times , (B). These switching is performed by the switches 336, 338, 34 of FIG.
2, 344, 346, 348, 352.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the operation
The possible time is t in FIG. ₂From time to t_Fivetime
Has been extended to. Also, the voltage of the capacitor 334
For example, it could only be used between 0.9V and 1.8V.
However, according to the present embodiment, a voltage of 0.3V to 1.8V is used.
Energy stored in the capacitor 334.
It can be seen that it is used effectively.

Further, in this embodiment, the boosting means 335 has three types of boosting means of 1.5 times, 2.0 times and 3.0 times, which are used by being switched by the voltage signal from the voltage detecting section 332. However, the present invention is not limited to these three types, and one type or multiple types may be prepared, and various magnifications are conceivable. Further, the voltage of the capacitor 334 is detected in this embodiment (1.8, 1.
2, 0.8, 0.6V) detects the voltage of the capacitor 360 (1.8V, 1.2V) and compares the contents of the boosting means 335 to determine the boosting state. This method has an advantage that the detection voltage is small.

FIG. 54 is a perspective view of a charging stand applied to the above-mentioned microrobot. As shown in the figure, an energy supply device 372 is installed near the signal generation device 370 that emits infrared rays, for example, and a charging area 374 is formed above the energy supply device 372.

FIG. 55 is a block diagram showing the structure of the energy supply device 372. The output of the oscillator 376 is amplified by the amplifier 378 to excite the charging coil 380.
The frequency of the exciting current of the charging coil 380 is set to a frequency higher than the frequency that the step motor can follow.

FIG. 56 is a flow chart showing the operation during automatic charging. The CPU core 40 takes in the voltage value of the power supply unit 16, determines whether it is higher than a predetermined reference voltage (S111), and if it is higher, continues normal operation (S11).
2). When the voltage of the power supply unit 16 is lower than the predetermined reference voltage VL, the charging operation is started. First, the robot body 10 makes one rotation on the spot. For example, it starts turning to the left and determines whether or not the sensor 12 is on (S113). If it is on, the signal generator 170 is on the left,
The step motor 64 is driven (S114). This causes the wheels 38 to rotate and turn left. In addition, the sensor 14
Is turned on (S115), and if it is turned on, the signal generator 170 is on the right side, and the step motor 66 is driven (S116). This allows the wheels 36
Rotates and turns to the right. In addition, this sensor 1
Reference numerals 2 and 14 respectively include two elements, one element is used as a guide in response to, for example, normal light, and the other element responds only to infrared rays from the signal generator 370, for example, to charge the charging area 374. Shall be used for searching.

Next, when the switches 320 and 322 in FIG. 48 are closed and the robot body 10 reaches the charging area 374, the exciting coil 68 receives the magnetic field generated by the charging coil 380 and generates an induced voltage. This induced voltage is taken into the CPU core 40 via the inverters 324 and 326 and the OR circuit 328, and it is detected that the AC magnetic field is detected there (S117). When the AC magnetic field is detected in this way, the robot body 10 is moved to the charging area 1
Since it is on 74, step motor 64,
The driving of 66 is stopped (S118). The exciting coil 68 receives the magnetic field generated by the charging coil 380 to generate an induced voltage, and the induced voltage is the diode 312, 318, 31.
6, 306 is rectified and guided to the power supply unit 16, and a charging current is supplied to the power supply unit 16. Then, the CPU core 40 takes in the voltage of the power supply unit 16 and uses it as the reference value VH.
It is determined whether it is higher (S119), and when it is higher, the normal operation is resumed (S112).

The signal generator 370 of the charging station is also provided.
May generate ultrasonic waves, magnetism or the like. In that case, it is necessary to equip the robot body side with a sensor for detecting it. Also, the magnetism, light, heat, etc. generated from the energy supply device 372 may be detected and moved. In that case, the signal generator 370 becomes unnecessary. Further, the energy supply device 372 may be activated after the robot body 10 reaches the charging area 374, in which case energy saving is achieved.

57 to 60 are views showing a microrobot according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 57 is a front view, FIG. 58 is a rear view, and FIG. 59 is a rear view. 5
FIG. 9-59 is a sectional view, and FIG. 60 is a diagram for explaining the function of the arm. The microrobot of this embodiment propels by rotating the fins in the liquid flowing in the tube,
At the time of charging, the flow of liquid is used to generate power and charge the battery. Four arms 400 are attached to the front portion of the robot body 10, fins 402 are attached to the rear portion thereof, and external teeth 404 are attached to the outer peripheral portion thereof.
Is provided. In addition, the fin 402 is the cover portion 40.
Covered by 6. The fin 402 is a pinion 408
It is connected to the step motor 66 via. The arm 400 is configured such that one end thereof is driven by the plunger 410. When the plunger 410 is pulled, the arm 400 expands, and when the end of the arm 400 is pressed against the inner wall of the tube, the robot main body 10 is pressed. Stays in the liquid.

The configuration of the circuit 22 of this embodiment is basically the same as that shown in FIG. 47, and the step motor 64 of FIG. 47 may be replaced with the plunger 410. In a normal operation state, the fin 402 is rotationally driven by the step motor 66, and the robot body 10 advances in the liquid. When the voltage of the power supply unit 16 becomes lower than the predetermined reference value VL, the driving of the step motor 66 is stopped, the plunger 410 is pulled, and the arm 400 is expanded.
This causes the robot body 10 to stop in the liquid. When the liquid is flowing in the tube in the stationary state, the fin 402 rotates, as a result, the rotor 70 of the step motor 66 rotates, and an induced voltage is generated in the exciting coil 68,
The induced voltage is rectified as in the case of the above-described embodiment and guided to the power supply unit 16, and the charging current is supplied to the power supply unit 16. When the battery is thus charged and becomes equal to or higher than the predetermined reference voltage VH, the plunger 410 is returned to close the arm 400 to release the stationary state of the robot body 10, and the step motor 66 is driven to start the forward movement again.

FIG. 61 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control unit when charging is performed by the photovoltaic element. For example, a solar cell 412 is provided as a photovoltaic element, and the output of this solar cell 412 is the limiter 302 of the voltage regulator 56.
(See FIG. 47), and is supplied to the CPU core 40 via the decoder 416. FIG. 62 is a flow chart showing the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the solar cell 412 is used for charging during normal work. However, when the voltage of the power supply unit 16 becomes lower than the predetermined reference voltage VL (S12
1) The step motors 64 and 66 are driven (S122), and the state is continued until the rotation of these motors cannot be detected (S123) and (S124). That is, the step motors 64, 6
By driving 6 until the robot body 10 collides with a wall or the like, the robot body 10 is evacuated to the corner, and in that state, it is charged for about 100 seconds (S125). And
When the voltage of the power supply unit 16 becomes higher than the predetermined reference voltage VL
(S121), and the process returns to the normal operation again (S122). In this embodiment, not only the energy is supplied from the light emitting element by controlling the light emitting element on the light emitting side, but also the control signal can be supplied by superimposing the control signal on the light emitting energy. On the robot body 10 side, the output of the solar cell 212 is analyzed by the decoder 416 and is taken into the CPU core 40.

By the way, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 61, the example using the solar cell 412 has been described, but this may be replaced with a thermoelectric generator. Since the thermoelectric generator generates electric power due to the temperature difference, the thermoelectric generator can continuously generate electric power by alternately repeating heat absorption and heat generation on the energy supply side (driving the heat absorption and heat generation device at the charging stand). However,
In that case, since the output of the thermoelectric generator repeats positive and negative alternately, the charging circuit 214 requires a rectifying circuit.
Not only in this case but also in the case of charging by electromagnetic induction, a coil for charging is provided instead of the solar cell 212 regardless of the excitation coil 68, and thereby the power supply unit 1
A rectifier circuit is also required to charge the battery 6.

FIG. 63 is a flow chart showing the operation in the case of performing control in which charging, obstacle avoidance, work and return are combined. The CPU core 40 takes in the voltage of the power supply unit 16 and determines whether the value is higher than a predetermined reference voltage VL (S131). The voltage of the power supply unit 16 is a predetermined reference voltage V
If it is lower than L, the charging operation starts (S132). This charging operation is the same as the operation in each of the above-described embodiments. Power supply 1
If the voltage of 6 is higher than the predetermined reference voltage VL, it is next determined whether or not there is an obstacle (S133). The presence / absence of an obstacle is detected by, for example, attaching a sensor for detecting an obstacle and detecting the same, or by detecting a state in which the step motor is not rotating. The detection in the latter case is performed as follows. In the rotating state, after the drive pulse is supplied to the excitation coil of the step motor, the induced voltage becomes large, and in the non-rotating state, the induced voltage becomes small.Thus, by detecting the magnitude of the induced voltage, Judgment is made.

When it is determined that there is an obstacle (S13
3), the avoidance operation is performed (S134). As an avoidance action, stop,
This is done by performing control processing such as backward movement. If it is determined that there is no obstacle, perform the desired work (forward movement, etc.) (S13
Four). Next, it is determined whether or not there is a return instruction (S135). If there is no return instruction, the above processing is repeated, and if there is a return instruction, return is performed (S135). In this embodiment, the work is continued until the return command is given from the outside, but the work may be automatically returned after the work is completed. The return method is the same as the transfer to the charging stand.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a microrobot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram when the robot body climbs up an inclined traveling ground.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a microrobot according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of FIG.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged side view of the wheels of the microrobot.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing details of a circuit unit.

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of a sensor.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a drive unit.

11 is a development view of the drive unit shown in FIG.

12 is a timing chart showing a basic operation example of the robot of the embodiment of FIG. 1 or FIG.

13 is a timing chart showing a basic operation at the start of driving of the robot of the embodiment shown in FIG.

14 is a timing chart showing an operation at the start of driving of the robot of the embodiment of FIG.

15 is a waveform diagram of drive pulses of the robot of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a process (part 1) when avoiding an obstacle.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of the avoidance operation.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a process (No. 2) for avoiding an obstacle.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of the avoidance operation.

FIG. 20 is a timing chart showing a method for detecting the presence / absence of rotation of a step motor.

FIG. 21 is a view showing a front surface, a side surface, and a back surface of a microrobot according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a view showing a front surface, a side surface, and a back surface of a microrobot according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a front surface, a side surface, and a back surface of a microrobot according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing a peripheral circuit of the motor drive circuit of the embodiment of FIGS.

FIG. 25 is a top view of a microrobot according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a block diagram showing details of a circuit unit of the embodiment of FIG. 25.

27 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the circuit unit of FIG.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing an operation when the work control sensor is not provided in FIGS. 25 and 26;

FIG. 29 is a block diagram showing details of another embodiment of the circuit unit.

FIG. 30 is a top view of a robot body according to another embodiment of the present invention.

31 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the circuit unit in FIG. 29. FIG.

FIG. 32 is a sectional view showing an example in which the microrobot of the present invention is applied to an endoscope.

FIG. 33 is a bottom view of the microrobot according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 34 is a side view of the microrobot shown in FIG. 33.

FIG. 35 is a side view of a microrobot according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 36 is a bottom view of the microrobot shown in FIG. 35.

FIG. 37 is a block diagram showing details of a circuit portion of the microrobot shown in FIGS. 35 and 36.

38 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the macro robot of FIGS. 35 to 37. FIG.

FIG. 39 is a diagram showing a state in which the microrobot shown in FIG. 35 raises a hand.

FIG. 40 is a diagram showing a state when the microrobot shown in FIG. 35 opens a hand.

FIG. 41 is a conceptual diagram of a microrobot according to another embodiment of the present invention.

42 is a side view of FIG. 41. FIG.

FIG. 43 is a diagram showing details of the work motor.

FIG. 44 is a diagram showing an operating principle of the work motor.

FIG. 45 is a diagram showing an operating principle of the work motor.

FIG. 46 is a diagram showing an operating principle of the work motor.

FIG. 47 is a block diagram showing details of a circuit unit in which a charging mechanism by electromagnetic induction is added to the circuit unit.

48 is a block diagram showing details of the motor drive circuit of the embodiment of FIG. 47. FIG.

FIG. 49 is a discharge characteristic diagram of the electric double layer capacitor that constitutes the power supply unit.

FIG. 50 is a circuit explanatory diagram showing details of the voltage regulator.

FIG. 51 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the booster.

FIG. 52 is an operation explanatory diagram of the booster.

FIG. 53 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the boosting means.

FIG. 54 is a perspective view of a charging stand.

FIG. 55 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an energy supply device.

FIG. 56 is a flowchart showing an operation during automatic charging.

FIG. 57 is a front view of a microrobot according to another embodiment of the present invention.

58 is a rear view of the microrobot of FIG. 57. FIG.

59 is a sectional view taken along the line 59-59 in FIG. 58.

FIG. 60 is a diagram for explaining the function of the arm in FIG. 57.

FIG. 61 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control unit in the case of charging with a photovoltaic element.

62 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment of FIG. 61. FIG.

FIG. 63 is a flowchart showing an operation in the case of performing control in which charging, obstacle avoidance, work and return are combined.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (31) Priority claim number Japanese Patent Application No. 4-71698 (32) Priority date March 27, 1992 (March 27, 1992) (33) Priority claiming country Japan (JP) F-term (reference) 2C150 CA26 DJ01 DJ10 DK02 EB01                       EC03 ED02 EF16 EF32 EF33                       FA03 FA04 FA24                 3C007 AS36 BS30 CS08 CY02 KT02                       KT04 KV11 KX02 LT08 WA16                       XG02 XG03

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. At least two sensors whose detection areas partially overlap with each other, at least one pair of driving units which are driven independently of each other, and which have driving points separated in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction, A control unit that controls the drive unit based on an output; and a power supply unit that is rechargeable and supplies a power supply voltage to the sensor, the drive unit, and the control unit, and the control unit and the power supply unit It is supported between three driving points which are arranged between the driving sections and which are driven by the pair of driving sections with respect to the running ground and sliding points which make frictional contact with the running ground. Characteristic micro robot. 2. The line segment connecting the two driving points is linked with the direction of gravity at the center of gravity depending on the inclination of the running ground,
The microrobot according to claim 1, wherein the positions of the sliding points are different before and after the interlinking. 3. The microrobot according to claim 1, wherein the microrobot has a protrusion projecting from the frame and having flexibility, and which is in conduction with the power source.