JP2007098553A - Robot system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a robot system capable of reducing the cost and shortening the time of development and manufacture by combining selectively only the functions required by particular users. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of robot constituent elements 1e such as a wheelchair robot 20, an upright assist robot 30, and an arm assist robot 40 to execute solely an independent function are provided previously, and the intended robot system 1 is constructed by combining them according to the functions required by the user. In combining, the robot constituent elements 1e (20, 30, 40) are allowed to exert their respective functions, and also a cooperative operation is made using a centralized control device 60. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a robot system that assists human movement, and more specifically to a robot system that can combine functions necessary for individual human beings.

  In recent years, along with an aging society, various nursing robots that can assist a care recipient have been proposed.

For example, in the following Patent Document 1, a robot that can assist the movement of a person with weak muscular strength, that supports the arm of a carefree person who has difficulty with the arm, and can assist the movement In addition, Patent Document 2 discloses a nursing robot that can perform operations such as moving a user to a predetermined location or taking a bath at a destination. Yes.
JP 2004-358575 A JP 2003-135539 A

  By the way, the cared person generally has different functions required for care for each person. For example, a cared person needs a walking robot, and a cared person needs an arm working robot. Under such circumstances, if a robot suitable for each user is individually developed and manufactured, the cost will be very high, and development and manufacturing will take time.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made paying attention to the above problems, and a robot system capable of reducing costs and shortening development / manufacturing time by selecting and combining only functions necessary for individual users. Is intended to provide.

  That is, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention comprises a robot component that performs an independent function independently and a centralized management device that performs cooperative control among a plurality of robot components. Each robot component is controlled cooperatively by the centralized management device in a state in which these can be combined freely.

  In this way, if the robot components having the minimum necessary functions are manufactured in advance, the robot components can be generally used by selecting and combining only the functions necessary for the user later. It can be used, and cost can be reduced and development / manufacturing time can be shortened.

  In such an invention, a non-contact storage medium storing information necessary for assisting a user is provided, information necessary for the assist is read from the non-contact storage medium, and A unique function of each robot component is executed based on the information in the non-contact storage medium.

  With this configuration, not only the necessary functions are combined for each user, but also optimal control for the user is performed based on the control information for each user stored in the non-contact storage medium. Will be able to.

  Preferably, the robot components are combined in a non-contact state.

  With this configuration, it is not necessary to mechanically connect the robot components, and the robot system can be easily combined. Moreover, by combining them in a non-contact manner in this way, it becomes possible to easily combine the robot components even for a cared person who has difficulty in hand and foot.

  When combining robot components in this way, a monitoring camera is provided at a position where a plurality of robot components can be photographed, and the positional relationship between the respective robot components can be controlled by this monitoring camera.

  If comprised in this way, the positional relationship between each robot component can be grasped | ascertained by the monitoring camera, and a robot component can be moved now to an optimal position.

  As another aspect, the robot component includes a sensor for recognizing a positional relationship between other robot components, and the positional relationship between the robot components and other robot components is controlled by the sensor.

  In this way, the positional relationship can be grasped by the sensor, and each positional relationship can be accurately grasped without using a monitoring camera.

  The present invention comprises a robot component that performs an independent function independently, and a centralized management device that performs cooperative control among a plurality of robot components, in a state where the robot components can be combined freely, Since the central control device controls each robot component in a coordinated manner, if a robot component having the minimum necessary functions is manufactured in advance, only the functions necessary for the user are selected later. By combining them, the robot components can be used for general purposes, and the cost can be reduced and the development / manufacturing time can be shortened.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a robot system 1 according to the first embodiment. The wheelchair robot 20 as a robot component 1e and the care receiver's arm are supported to assist the care receiver in starting up. The robot system 1 is shown in combination with a standing assistance robot 30 that assists walking in a standing position. FIG. 2 shows the robot system 1 according to the second embodiment. The wheelchair robot 20 and an arm part that supports the arm part of the cared person and assists the movement of the human arm. The robot system 1 which combined the auxiliary robot 40 is shown.

  The robot system 1 according to the present embodiment prepares a plurality of robot components 1e (20, 30, 40) capable of executing independent functions independently, and combines them to provide a necessary for each user. The function can be selected. And when using these robot component 1e, while performing the original function of each robot component 1e, a network is constructed among each robot component 1e, and it can perform a coordinated operation | movement. It is a thing.

  In the present embodiment, the robot system 1 is described in which a cared person with a physical disability is used as a user. However, not only a cared person with a physical disability but also a user in another field is not necessarily used. The present invention can also be applied to the robot system 1 to be used.

  The robot component 1e constituting the robot system 1 in the present embodiment is an independent function required for care, for example, a wheelchair robot for assisting a person with a disability 20, a standing assist robot 30 for assisting a user sitting on the chair 21a of the wheelchair robot 20 or an arm designed to assist the movement of the arm with respect to a person with a disability. A part assisting robot 40 is provided. Each of these robot components 1e (20, 30, 40) performs independent functions independently, and by combining arbitrary robot components 1e (20, 30, 40), each robot performs coordinated operations. Do. Hereinafter, each function of the robot component 1e that constructs the robot system 1 will be described in detail.

  First, the wheelchair robot 20 enables movement of a cared person with a legged disability, and includes a chair 21a on which the cared person is seated, an elevating mechanism 24 that raises and lowers the chair 21a, and a cared person. And a movement mechanism 25 that moves the person back and forth and left and right in a seated state. The chair 21a is provided with an armrest portion 21b, and an elevator switch 22 and an operation stick 23 are provided above the armrest portion 21b. The lift switch 22 operates the lift mechanism 24 of the chair 21a. For example, the lift switch 22 is lifted up and down to a position suitable for the user by pressing the lift switch 22 while the user is seated. . The operation stick 23 is tilted to drive the moving mechanism 25 in a direction along the tilt direction. The moving mechanism 25 includes wheels 25a provided at three places and motors incorporated therein, and is capable of switching between driving in the straight direction and driving in the rotation direction. The wheel 25a is provided with an inner ring 25b and an outer ring 25c, and a plurality of outer ring members 25d having an axis in the circumferential direction are provided on outer peripheral portions of the inner ring 25b and the outer ring 25c. The operation of the wheels 25a will be described. First, when the wheelchair robot 20 is moved in the linear direction using these wheels 25a, the motors of the two wheels 25a on the front side are rotated and the wheels on the rear side are rotated. The motor 25a is stopped. Then, the outer ring member 25d of the rear wheel 25a rotates following the circumferential direction as an axis, and moves the wheelchair robot 20 along the moving direction. The moving mechanism 25 is not limited to such a wheel 25a, and other mechanisms may be used.

  The standing assist robot 30 is used by a cared person who needs walking training. The standing assist robot 30 supports a human arm from below and assists the human standing motion or stands up (standing position). Assisted walking in the state). In order to realize such a function, the standing assist robot 30 determines the arm mount 31 for supporting the human arm, the moving direction of the standing assist robot 30, and the height of the arm mount 31. Elevating switch 32 for adjustment, operating stick 33 for moving the standing assistance robot 30, elevating mechanism 34 for elevating the arm rest 31 by operating the elevating switch 32, and operating the operating stick 33 And a moving mechanism 35 that can drive the wheel. The operation of the standing assistance robot 30 will be described. First, a pair of standing assistance robots 30 are prepared, and the height of the arm rest 31 is set according to the height of the user by using the respective lift switches 32. Adjust to. When performing a walking motion, any of the operation sticks 33 provided on the upper portion of the arm rest 31 is tilted, and the standing assist robot 30 is moved using the moving mechanism 35 in a desired traveling direction. Move. The moving mechanism 35 employs the same mechanism as the moving mechanism 25 of the wheelchair robot 20 described above, and the traveling direction and speed are determined based on the tilt angle and tilt direction of the operation stick 33. However, when the standing assist robot 30 can be moved by the user's power, the motor of the moving mechanism 35 can be stopped and moved only by the driven rotation of the wheels.

  The arm part assisting robot 40 shown in FIG. 2 can assist the movement of the arm of the care receiver who has weak muscle strength. For example, the arm supporting robot 40 performs an operation of carrying the hand holding the spoon to the user's mouth, In addition, a heavy object can be carried to a predetermined place while being held. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the arm auxiliary robot 40 acts from a U-shaped mounting table 41 on which a human arm is mounted and a human arm mounted on the mounting table 41. A force sensor 42a for detecting an external force, a displacement detection sensor 42b incorporating a mechanism for detecting a relative position change between the human arm and the distal end of the arm 44, and from these external force detection sensor and displacement detection sensor 42b. An actuator (not shown) that moves the human arm in a desired direction based on the detected value is provided. When this arm assist robot 40 is controlled, for example, an impedance control method is used. In this impedance control method, the mounting table 41 is moved based on an external force or displacement acting from a human arm mounted on the mounting table 41. Specifically, when the human moves the arm quickly, the arm 44 of the robot body is moved with a light movement corresponding to the speed and displacement, and when the human moves the arm slowly, Corresponding to the speed and displacement, the arm 44 is moved slowly with a heavy movement as if a human has a heavy load. Regarding the details of this impedance control method, the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-358575 proposed by the present inventor can be used, but other control methods can also be employed.

  The arm assist robot 40 is provided with an operation stick 43 and a moving mechanism 47 similar to those of the above-described standing assist robot 30, and the operation stick 43 is moved in a predetermined direction by tilting. I have to.

  Next, functional blocks when these robot components 1e (20, 30, 40) are combined and used as the robot system 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The robot system 1 in this embodiment includes a non-contact storage medium 50 and a centralized management device 60 in addition to the functions of each robot component 1e described above.

The non-contact storage medium 50 is used by a user by wearing it on the body, and the internal memory 51 stores robot components necessary for assisting the user, information for control, and the like. ing. In particular,
(1) Types of required robot components (2) Parameter values for impedance control of robot components (3) Initial positions of chairs, armrests, etc. when using robot components (4) User Are stored in the internal memory 51, such as name, age, sex, height, weight, various athletic abilities, and information for face authentication. And these information is transmitted to each robot component 1e and the centralized management apparatus 60 by radio | wireless communication. The wireless communication distance is set to about 1 m to 5 m.

  The centralized management device 60 performs a coordinated operation between a plurality of robot components 1e, and each robot component 1e is based on image processing using the monitoring camera 61 or a control signal of a motor of each robot component 1e. Are coordinated. In the case of the cooperative operation, the internal storage means stores in advance the cooperative operation for each combination of the robot components 1e. For example, when the wheelchair robot 20 and the standing assistance robot 30 are combined, the movement is performed. , And start-up cooperation. Further, when the wheelchair robot 20 and the arm assist robot 40 are combined, a coordinated movement operation is performed. And the information regarding these cooperation operation | movement is transmitted with respect to the other robot component 1e. This information is transmitted wirelessly via the communication unit 63. Further, when recognizing the positional relationship between the robot components 1e using the monitoring camera 61, a blind spot may be generated, so that it can be moved to an optimal position for photographing through the moving mechanism 62. Yes. Further, the centralized management device 60 has a function of photographing a user's face with the monitoring camera 61 and collating it with information for face authentication stored in the non-contact storage medium 50. If the photographed user's face image matches the face information stored in the non-contact storage medium 50, the control information stored in the non-contact storage medium 50 is stored. Valid.

  Each robot component 1e includes control units 26, 36, and 45 for executing the above-described unique functions, and further, a communication unit 27 for performing a cooperative operation between the other robot components 1e. , 37, 46 are also provided. The communication units 27, 37, and 46 read information stored in the internal memory 51 by performing wireless communication with the non-contact storage medium 50 held by the user. The control signal from the centralized management device 60 is received by performing communication between the two.

  A case where a plurality of robot components 1e are combined and used as the robot system 1 using the non-contact storage medium 50 and the centralized management device 60 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, as a first usage mode, an operation of the robot system 1 in which the wheelchair robot 20 and the standing assistance robot 30 are combined will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, when a user who performs walking training uses the wheelchair robot 20 and the standing assistance robot 30, the standing assistance robot 30 is disposed in the vicinity of the wheelchair robot 20, and the wheelchair is seated on the chair 21a of the wheelchair robot 20. The power of the robot 20 and the standing assistance robot 30 is turned on. Then, if the wheelchair robot 20 or the standing assistance robot 30 tries to communicate with the non-contact storage medium 50 held by the user and can read the information stored in the internal memory 51, The information stored in the memory 51 is transmitted to the centralized management device 60 via each robot component 1e. Upon receiving this information, the centralized management device 60 authenticates the face authentication information stored in the non-contact storage medium 50 and the face photographed by the monitoring camera 61, and the information matches. If the control information transmitted from the non-contact storage medium 50 is valid, a network is constructed between the robot components 1e. For example, when the user sits on the wheelchair robot 20 and puts his arm on the arm rest 31 of the standing assistance robot 30, the standing assistance robot 30 is moved in a desired direction by an operation on the standing assistance robot 30 side. The wheelchair robot 20 that is not actually operated is moved in cooperation with the moving direction and moving speed of the standing assistance robot 30 (drive A). Conversely, when the user operates the operation stick 23 provided on the wheelchair robot 20 side, the standing assistance robot 30 is moved in cooperation with the movement direction and movement speed of the wheelchair robot 20 (drive). B). The movement control of the wheelchair robot 20 and the standing assistance robot 30 is performed based on image processing by the centralized management device 60, motor control signals transmitted from each robot component 1e, and the like.

  Next, a case where this user uses only the standing assistance robot 30 away from the wheelchair robot 20 as walking training will be described. When the user stands up from the wheelchair robot 20, when the elevator switch 32 of the standing assistance robot 30 is operated to the ascending side, the standing assistance robot 30 raises the arm rest 31 and cooperates with this raising operation. The chair 21a of the wheelchair robot 20 is raised (drive A). When the chair 21a of the wheelchair robot 20 is moved up, the raising / lowering signal from the standing assistance robot 30 is transmitted to the central control device 60 and the information is transmitted to the wheelchair robot 20 side. When the arm rest 31 and the chair 21a are stopped at a desired raised position, it is considered that there is a will to perform walking training only by the standing assist robot 30, and the movement of the wheelchair robot 20 is stopped. Only the operation stick 33 of the standing assistance robot 30 can be moved.

  Next, a second usage pattern of the robot system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In this second usage pattern, a robot system 1 in which the wheelchair robot 20 and the arm assist robot 40 are combined will be described.

  For example, when a user with inferior leg or arm muscles uses the robot system 1, the wheelchair robot 20 and the arm assist robot 40 are combined. When the wheelchair robot 20 and the arm assisting robot 40 are used in combination as described above, the wheelchair robot 20 is disposed in the vicinity of the arm assisting robot 40 in the same manner as described above, and in this state, the wheelchair robot 20 and the arm assisting arm are disposed. Turn on the auxiliary robot 40. Then, if the wheelchair robot 20 or the arm assisting robot 40 attempts to communicate wirelessly with the non-contact storage medium 50 held by the user and can read the information stored in the internal memory 51, The control information stored in the internal memory 51 is read and transmitted to the centralized management device 60. The centralized management device 60 that has received this information authenticates the face authentication information stored in the non-contact storage medium 50 and the face photographed by the monitoring camera 61, and the respective information matches. Constructs a network between the robot components 1e by using the control information transmitted from the non-contact storage medium 50 as valid information.

  When using the wheelchair robot 20 or the arm assist robot 40 constructed in this way, the user sits on the chair 21a of the wheelchair robot 20 and puts his arm on the arm assist robot 40 provided in the vicinity thereof. Put it on. Then, the user's arm is moved to the operation stick 43 of the arm assisting robot 40 using the assisting force from the arm assisting robot 40, and the operation by the operation stick 43 is allowed there. When the user operates the operation stick 23 of the wheelchair robot 20 to move the wheelchair 21 a in a predetermined direction, the central management device 60 performs the arm assist robot based on image processing and a motor control signal from the wheelchair robot 20. 40 is moved following (drive A). Conversely, when the user operates the operation stick 43 on the arm assisting robot 40 side to move the arm assisting robot 40, the central management device 60 performs image processing or a motor from the arm assisting robot 40. Based on the control signal, the wheelchair robot 20 is moved following (drive B).

  As described above, according to the above embodiment, a plurality of robot components 1e (20, 30, 40) having independent functions are prepared in advance, and a network is constructed by arbitrarily combining them. Because it is designed to operate in a coordinated manner, the user can select and combine only the necessary functions, and can reduce manufacturing costs and manufacturing / development time. .

  In the above embodiment, the user has the non-contact storage medium 50 storing information for controlling the robot component 1e, and the robot component 1e is controlled by reading the information. Since it is made to perform, it becomes possible to perform optimal control for the user.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the robot component 1e is not mechanically coupled, but the network is constructed in a state of being separated in a non-contact manner and is operated cooperatively. Becomes easier.

  When the robot components 1e are combined in this way, a monitoring camera 61 is provided at a position where a plurality of robot components 1e can be photographed, and the position between the robot components 1e can be controlled by the monitoring camera 61. Since it did in this way, it becomes possible to move the robot component 1e to the optimal position.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can implement in a various aspect.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the moving direction and moving speed of each robot component 1e are controlled using the monitoring camera 61 of the centralized management device 60, but the present invention is not limited to this, and each robot component 1e is controlled. You may make it control a moving direction and moving speed between. As a specific method, for example, each robot component 1e is provided with a position sensor, and the positional relationship with other robot components 1e is controlled based on the detection result of the position sensor. Alternatively, the control signals for driving the respective motors may be unified by performing direct wireless communication between the robot component elements 1e. In this case, the function of the centralized management device 60 may be incorporated in any robot component 1e.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, each robot component 1e is physically separated and can be independently moved. However, each robot component 1e may be mechanically coupled. As such a case, for example, when the arm assisting robot 40 is attached to the arm-hanging part 21b of the wheelchair robot 20, or the movement mechanism vicinity of the wheelchair robot 20 and the standing assist robot 30 is connected. It is possible that this is the case. However, even in the case of physical connection in this way, in order to make each robot component 1e function independently, it is necessary to make it easy to separate and execute each function. There is.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the information stored in the internal memory 51 of the non-contact storage medium 50 is transmitted from the robot component 1e to the centralized management device 60. The information stored in 51 may be directly transmitted to the centralized management device 60 without going through the robot component 1e.

  In addition, in the above embodiment, the network is constructed by communicating with the non-contact storage medium 50. However, the network may be constructed without using such a non-contact storage medium 50. Good. For example, when the functions necessary for the user are known, a network may be constructed by combining the robot components 1e in advance at the factory shipment stage, and the user may be allowed to use the network in that state.

  In the above embodiment, rods (sticks) are used as the operation sticks 23, 33, 43. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the operation sticks 23, 33, 43 may be configured by button switches, contact sensors, or the like.

The figure which shows the state which combined the wheelchair robot which is the robot component in 1st embodiment of this invention, and the standing assistance robot The figure which shows the state which combined the wheelchair robot and arm part auxiliary robot which are the robot components in 2nd embodiment of this invention. Enlarged view of the vicinity of the mounting table in FIG. The figure which shows the functional block of the robot system in embodiment of this invention The figure which shows the state which comprises the network of the robot system in 1st embodiment. The figure which shows the state which comprises the network of the robot system in 2nd embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

Robot system ... 1
Robot component 1e (20, 30, 40)
Wheelchair robot ... 20
Chair ... 21a
Armrest part ... 21b
Lift switch ... 22
Operation stick ... 23
Elevating mechanism ... 24
Movement mechanism ... 25
Standing assist robot ... 30
Arm stand ... 31
Elevator switch ... 32
Operation stick ... 33
Elevating mechanism ... 34
Movement mechanism ... 35
Arm assist robot ... 40
Mounting table ... 41
Force sensor ... 42a
Displacement detection sensor ... 42b
Operation stick ... 43
Arm ... 44
Non-contact storage medium ... 50
Centralized management device ... 60
Surveillance camera ... 61

Claims (5)

Robot components that perform independent functions independently;
A centralized management device that performs coordinated control among multiple robot components,
A robot system characterized in that each robot component is cooperatively controlled by the centralized management device in a state where the robot components can be freely combined. Robot components that perform independent functions independently;
A centralized management device that performs cooperative control among a plurality of robot components;
Reading means for reading information necessary for control from a non-contact storage medium held by the user,
In a state in which the robot components can be combined freely, each robot component is cooperatively controlled by the central management device, and information on the non-contact storage medium is transmitted to the robot component or the central management device. A robot system characterized by causing a robot component to execute a unique function based on transmitted information. The robot system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the robot components are combined in a non-contact state. The centralized control device includes a monitoring camera capable of photographing a plurality of robot components, and the positional relationship between the robot components is controlled by the monitoring camera. The robot system according to 2. 3. The robot component includes a sensor for recognizing a positional relationship between other robot components, and executes a unique function while controlling the positional relationship between the robot components by the sensor. The robot system described in 1.

Images