JP2013220495A - Arm robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an arm robot for remote control which can prevent an arm from contacting an obstacle.SOLUTION: An arm robot 1 includes a base portion 2 in which a moving mechanism 2a is provided, and an arm 3 which has a tip to which a device for work can be attached, and which extends on the base portion 2. At a base end portion of the arm 3, a first joint 4 is provided. The first joint 4 includes a slewing mechanism 41 arranged at a base end side, and a first joint body 42 arranged at a tip side from the slewing mechanism 41. At the first joint 4, a base end camera 6 is provided through a base end support portion 6a extending from a position between the first joint body 42 and the slewing mechanism 41. The base end camera 6 monitors the arm 3 and the surrounding of the arm 3.

Description

  The present invention relates to a remotely operated arm robot.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a remote operation type robot is known that includes an arm on which a work device is mounted at the tip and a camera that monitors the tip of the arm (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This remote control type robot is used in a place where a human cannot enter due to a high radiation dose in a nuclear power generation facility, for example.

JP 61-30385 A

  In a conventional remote control type robot, the tip of an arm and a work object are monitored with a camera. However, the periphery of the arm is not monitored by the camera. In a remotely operated robot, the operator or the like may not be able to see the arm and its surroundings with his own eyes. Therefore, it is difficult to grasp the positional relationship between the obstacle and the arm existing around the arm, and when the arm performs a bending operation, the bent portion (joint portion) of the arm may come into contact with the obstacle.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an arm robot for remote operation that can prevent an arm from contacting an obstacle.

  [1] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an arm robot including a base portion provided with a moving mechanism, and an arm that can be fitted with a working device at the tip and extends on the base portion. A first joint is provided at the proximal end of the arm, the first joint being a pivot mechanism disposed on the proximal end side, and a first joint body disposed on the distal end side relative to the pivot mechanism. A proximal camera is installed in the first joint via a proximal support portion extending from a position between the first joint body and the turning mechanism, and the proximal camera The arm and its surroundings are monitored.

  According to such a configuration, the entire arm and its periphery can be monitored with the proximal camera. For this reason, it is easy to grasp the positional relationship between the arm and the obstacle existing in the work target and its surroundings, and it is easy to avoid contact between the arm and the obstacle.

  [2] Further, in the present invention, it is preferable that the proximal camera is disposed so as to be inclined downward. According to such a configuration, even when the tip of the arm is positioned below the proximal camera, the tip of the arm can be monitored appropriately.

  [3] In the present invention, it is preferable that the proximal camera is disposed adjacent to the arm. According to this configuration, it is possible to suppress the inertial force in the turning direction of the proximal camera that is generated when the arm is turned by the turning mechanism. Accordingly, even when a relatively heavy camera including a high-performance zoom lens and a high-resolution image sensor is used as the proximal camera, the vibration of the proximal camera when the arm turns can be suppressed.

  [4] In the present invention, the arm is provided with a second joint that is positioned on the tip side of the first joint, and the arm is provided with the second joint from the position between the first joint body and the turning mechanism. Preferably, a middle camera is provided via a middle support that extends to a position. According to such a configuration, when working with the working device attached to the tip of the arm with the second joint bent, the work object and its surrounding obstacles can be monitored more appropriately.

  [5] Further, in the present invention, it is preferable to include an upper camera that is arranged corresponding to the height at which the tip of the arm is positioned at the uppermost position and monitors the tip of the arm. According to such a configuration, when the work is performed with the arm extended upward, the work object and its periphery can be appropriately monitored with the upper camera, and work efficiency can be improved.

  [6] When the upper camera is provided, the upper camera is preferably disposed via an upper support portion that extends from the base portion. Similar to the middle camera, the upper camera may be arranged via a member extending from a position between the first joint and the turning mechanism. However, in this case, when the arm is turned by the turning mechanism, the upper camera is also turned.

  Then, due to the turning of the arm, a large inertial force is likely to act on the upper camera and the members that support the upper camera, and the image of the upper camera may be shaken by vibrations generated by the inertial force. As described above, if the upper camera is arranged via the upper support portion extending from the base portion, the upper camera is not turned by the turning mechanism. Thereby, the disturbance of the image of the upper camera can be prevented.

  [7] When the upper camera is provided, the upper camera is inclined downward so that the tip of the arm can be monitored even when the tip of the arm is located below the uppermost position. It is preferable to do. According to such a configuration, when the working device attached to the tip of the arm is working below the upper camera, it is easy to monitor from above with the upper camera. And it becomes easy to grasp | ascertain the positional relationship of a work target object and the obstruction which exists in the periphery, and an arm, and the operator of an arm robot becomes easier to avoid the contact with an arm and an obstruction.

Explanatory drawing which shows typically embodiment of the arm robot of this invention.

  An embodiment of an arm robot of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The arm robot 1 of this embodiment can be remotely operated by a remote device (not shown), and includes a base portion 2 provided with a moving mechanism 2a and an arm 3 extended on the base portion 2.

  At the tip of the arm 3, a mounting portion 3a to which a working device (not shown) can be mounted is provided. As the working device, for example, a device that can be engaged and rotated with a handle for opening and closing a valve can be cited. Various types of working devices can be mounted on the mounting portion 3a according to the work content.

  Moreover, the moving mechanism 2a of this embodiment is comprised by the endless track. The moving mechanism 2a is not limited to an endless track, and other devices such as wheels may be used as long as the base portion 2 can be moved.

  A first joint 4 is provided at the base end of the arm 3. The first joint 4 includes a turning mechanism 41 disposed on the proximal end side, and a first joint body 42 disposed on the distal end side with respect to the turning mechanism 41. The first joint body 42 includes a first base rocking shaft 42a and a second base rocking shaft 42b that are orthogonal to each other.

  The first joint 4 is provided with a proximal camera 6 via proximal support portions 6a that extend in the left and right lateral directions from the position between the turning mechanism 41 and the first joint body 42, respectively. The left and right proximal cameras 6 monitor the arm 3 and its surroundings. The lens of the proximal camera 6 is configured to be able to turn 360 ° about a perpendicular to the camera installation surface of the proximal support 6a, and to be movable 180 ° in the vertical direction with the perpendicular foot as a fulcrum. That is, the proximal camera 6 has 360 ° pan and 180 ° tilt performance.

  The proximal camera 6 is disposed such that the front side is inclined downward. Thereby, even if the tip of the arm 3 is positioned below the proximal camera 6, the tip of the arm 3 and the work object can be appropriately monitored.

  The proximal camera 6 is disposed adjacent to the arm 3. Thereby, when the arm 3 turns by the turning mechanism 41, the inertial force generated by the proximal camera 6 can be suppressed. Therefore, even if a relatively heavy camera including a high-performance zoom lens and a high-resolution image sensor is used as the proximal camera 6, vibration of the proximal camera 6 when the arm 3 is turned can be suppressed.

  The arm 3 is provided with a second joint 51 so as to be positioned on the tip side of the first joint 4. The arm 3 is provided with a middle camera 7 via a middle support portion 7 a extending from the position between the first joint body 42 and the turning mechanism 41 to the position of the second joint 51. The middle support portion 7a is divided into two parts, and a middle camera 7 is provided at each end. That is, the arm robot 1 according to the present embodiment is provided with two middle cameras 7 that are spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction.

  When the second camera 51 as shown in FIG. 1 is bent forward by 90 ° by the middle camera 7 to work with a working device attached to the tip of the arm 3, the tip of the arm 3 faces the front. The work object and the surrounding obstacles can be monitored more appropriately. The middle camera 7 may also have a pan / tilt function. In this case, the pan angle and tilt angle of the middle camera 7 are appropriately determined.

  The base unit 2 is provided with an upper camera 8 via an upper support 8a extending from the rear end. The upper support portion 8a is connected to the base portion 2 via an upper support portion joint 8b having a turning shaft and a vertical swing shaft. The upper camera 8 is installed so as to correspond to the height at which the tip of the arm 3 is located at the uppermost position. As a result, when working with the arm 3 extended upward, the top camera 8 can appropriately monitor the tip of the arm 3, the work object, and the periphery thereof, and work efficiency can be improved.

  The upper camera 8 is disposed at the tip of the upper support portion 8a so as to be inclined downward with respect to the front direction. In other words, the upper camera 8 is fixed to the upper support portion 8a so as to incline upward with respect to an axis extending downward perpendicular to the direction in which the upper support portion 8a extends. Thereby, when the working device attached to the tip of the arm 3 is working below the upper camera 8, the upper camera 8 can easily monitor the tip of the arm 3 and the working device from above. And it becomes easy to grasp | ascertain the positional relationship of the work object and the obstruction which exists in the periphery, and the arm 3, and the operator of the arm robot 1 becomes still easier to avoid the contact with the arm 3 and an obstruction. The upper camera 8 may also have a pan / tilt function. In this case, the pan angle and tilt angle of the upper camera 8 are appropriately determined.

  The arm 3 is provided with a third joint 52 having one degree of freedom (pitch), which is positioned on the distal end side with respect to the second joint 51. Further, the arm 3 is provided with a fourth joint 53 having a degree of freedom of 3 degrees (pitch, yaw, roll), which is located on the tip side of the third joint 52. In the present embodiment, the second joint 51 to the fourth joint 53 correspond to “another joint” of the present invention.

  According to the arm robot 1 of the present embodiment configured as described above, the base camera 6 can monitor the entire arm 3 and its periphery. For this reason, it is easy to grasp the positional relationship between the work object and the obstacle present around the arm 3 and the arm 3, and the arm 3 is driven so that the third joint 52 and the like of the arm 3 protrude outward. Even in such a case, it is easy to avoid contact between the arm 3 and the obstacle.

  In the present embodiment, the upper support portion 8a of the upper camera 8 is extended upward from the rear end portion of the base portion 2. However, the upper support portion of the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the upper support portion may be extended from the middle support portion 7 a that supports the middle camera 7. However, in this case, if the arm 3 is turned by the turning mechanism 41, a large inertia force may be generated in the upper camera 8, and it is necessary to pay attention to the vibration of the upper camera 8.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Arm robot, 2 ... Base part, 2a ... Movement mechanism (infinite track), 3 ... Arm, 3a ... Mounting part, 4 ... 1st joint, 41 ... Turning mechanism, 42 ... 1st joint main body, 42a ... 1st Base rocking shaft, 42b ... second base rocking shaft, 51 ... second joint, 52 ... third joint, 53 ... fourth joint, 6 ... proximal camera, 6a ... proximal support, 7 ... central camera, 7a ... middle support part, 8 ... upper camera, 8a ... upper support part.

Claims (7)

A base portion provided with a moving mechanism;
In an arm robot that can be equipped with a working device at the tip and includes an arm extended on the base part,
A first joint is provided at the base end of the arm,
The first joint includes a turning mechanism arranged on the proximal end side, and a first joint body arranged on the distal end side of the turning mechanism,
In the first joint, a proximal camera is installed via a proximal support part extending from a position between the first joint body and the turning mechanism, and the arm and its surroundings are disposed by the proximal camera. An arm robot characterized by monitoring. The arm robot according to claim 1,
The arm is positioned on the tip side of the first joint and includes another joint,
The tip of the arm can be positioned below the proximal camera by bending the other joint,
The arm robot, wherein the proximal camera is disposed so as to be inclined downward so that the distal end of the arm can be monitored when the distal end of the arm is positioned below the proximal camera. The arm robot according to claim 1 or 2,
The arm robot according to claim 1, wherein the proximal camera is disposed adjacent to the arm. The arm robot according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The arm is provided with a second joint so as to be positioned on the tip side of the first joint,
An arm robot, wherein a middle camera is provided on the arm via a middle support part extending from a position between the first joint body and the turning mechanism to a position of the second joint. The arm robot according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An arm robot comprising an upper camera that is arranged corresponding to a height at which the tip of the arm is positioned at the uppermost position and that monitors the tip of the arm. The arm robot according to claim 5,
The upper robot is disposed via an upper support part extending from the base part. The arm robot according to claim 5 or 6,
The upper camera is arranged to be inclined downward so that the tip of the arm can be monitored even when the tip of the arm is located below the uppermost position. .

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