JP2019155491A - Flexible rope-like driving device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a driving device capable of a flexibly large expansion with an inexpensive, lightweight and simple structure, by expansively operating mutually independently arranged flexible rope-like members.MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEM: A flexible rope-like driving device comprises mutually independently arranged two or more of rope-like flexible members, two or more of driving part units inserted while holding a proper interval between mutual ones of the respective flexible members and having a driving part for independently sliding to the individual flexible members and a fixing part installed in a proper position of the individual flexible members and fixed while holding the proper interval between mutual ones of the respective flexible members.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a long cord-like drive device that bends and operates a plurality of cord-like bodies by a drive mechanism.

  In order to explore narrow and complex environments such as collapsed houses and industrial plant pipes, a drive device that has a cable shape by connecting a number of actively bendable joint units in series has been considered. Conventionally, two structures have been used for the cable-shaped drive device.

  One is a so-called snake-type robot, which includes an actuator including a drive source in each unit. By driving the actuator of a unit, the front unit rotates in multiple directions around the joint (for example, yawing, This is a method in which the pitching is performed (see Non-Patent Document 1). In addition, these snake-type robots generally have an environment in which the lateral width is narrow and cannot be bent (for example, thin pipes) in order to obtain a driving force by actively bending the trunk into an S-shape and generating traveling waves. Then there was a problem that could not get the driving force. As a method for solving this problem, a method of propelling the trunk by expanding and contracting a trunk performed by a large snake or earthworm has been proposed (see Patent Document 1). This robot connects a plurality of telescopic units with an elastic expansion body that contracts in the axial direction while expanding in the radial direction by supplying fluid such as compressed air into the air chamber, and the telescopic units are regularly expanded and contracted. By operating it, the inside of a narrow pipe is advanced.

  Another method is to bend the trunk by wire driving (see Patent Document 2). A tubular member having a plurality of joint portions is provided, and a plurality of linear power transmission members having one end fixed in the vicinity of the joint portion and the other end fixed to the actuator are inserted into the tubular member. The actuator is installed at a location away from the tubular member, and bends the tubular member by pulling the linear power transmission member. A thin wire is generally used for the linear power transmission member, and when the electromagnetic motor rotates, a pulley connected to the rotation shaft rotates and the wire is wound up. Since there is no mechanical device inside the tubular member, the joint is relatively flexible and resistant to external impacts, but devices such as actuators and pulleys installed outside the joint require a large installation space. Therefore, it is mainly used as a stationary manipulator such as an endoscope. If the entire length of the manipulator can be extended by extending the manipulator in the body axis direction, even in an environment where the manipulator cannot be advanced by surrounding obstacles or when one end of the manipulator is fixed, By extending only the tip, you can explore deeper.

  The above-mentioned two methods are the most common bending methods in a cable-shaped drive device, but a mechanism that achieves both expansion and contraction in the long axis direction using a special structure has been developed (see Non-Patent Document 2). . It comprises a drive unit having a plurality of electromagnetic motors, a coil spring whose end is connected to the output shaft of these electromagnetic motors, and a tip that is connected to the other end of these coil springs. A hole having a spiral groove for accommodating the coil spring is provided at the tip. When the coil spring connected to the electromagnetic motor rotates, the helical motion at the tip changes into a linear motion just like a lead screw, and the length of the coil spring between the tip and the drive changes. . Thus, by changing the ratio of the lengths of the coil springs, both expansion and contraction in the long axis direction and bending motion can be achieved.

JP 2009-240713 A JP2011-058893A

Shigeo Hirose and 2 others Design and development of the three-dimensional active ACM-R3 and its basic steering control, “Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan”, Vol. 23, no. 7, 886-897 (2005) A. Sadeghi, etc., A plant-inspired robot with soft differential bending capabilities, Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 12 (2017)

  The technology disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1 described above is mainly used as a moving body because the motor is built in the robot body, and has a high degree of rough terrain traveling ability utilizing a large degree of freedom. However, when an impact is applied to the joint unit, a large load is applied to the actuator connected to the rigid link that connects the units to each other.

  In the moving structure using compressed air that realizes the technique disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the compressor that supplies the fluid cannot be mounted on the moving body because it is large and heavy. In addition, it is possible to perform a bending motion by combining with the above-described snake robot, but since the structure for expanding and contracting the trunk and the structure for bending the joint must be compatible, the number of actuators increases and the apparatus becomes complicated. There's a problem.

  In the above-mentioned Patent Document 2, in order to insert or advance the manipulator, the entire manipulator including the actuator and the pulley installed outside must be moved by another driving device, and there is a problem that the device further increases in size. .

  In the above-mentioned Non-Patent Document 2 that discloses a mechanism that achieves both expansion and contraction in the long axis direction, only the length of the coil spring that can be stored at the tip can be expanded and contracted. The leading end must be very long. In addition, although it can be easily imagined that a multi-joint can be achieved by using a plurality of this structure, a large space is required for housing a coil spring in each joint, which leads to further enlargement of the robot.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a drive device having a cord-like structure that can be expanded and contracted flexibly and flexibly with an inexpensive, lightweight, and simple structure. That is.

  The flexible cable-shaped drive device according to claim 1 is inserted through two or more cable-shaped flexible members arranged independently of each other while maintaining an appropriate space between the flexible members. Two or more drive unit units each having a drive unit that is slid independently with respect to each of the flexible members, and is mounted at an appropriate position of each of the flexible members. And a fixing portion that is fixed while maintaining an appropriate distance between each other.

  The flexible cable drive device of claim 2 is characterized in that the fixing portion of claim 1 fixes the tip of the flexible member of claim 1.

  The flexible cable-shaped drive device according to claim 3 is fixed to the fixing portion according to claim 1, with the interval held between the flexible members according to claim 1 inserted through the drive unit unit according to claim 1 fixed to the fixing portion according to claim 1. The distance between the flexible members of claim 1 is the same as that held between the flexible members.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the driving unit of the first aspect has an appropriate thickness, and includes an insertion portion for inserting the flexible member in the thickness direction. The flexible member inserted through the insertion portion extends in the thickness direction, and is characterized in that it is any one of claims 1 to 3.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the flexible cable-like drive device has a rack portion in which the thread of the flexible member according to the first aspect is continuous in the longitudinal direction. A pinion gear that meshes with the rack portion and a motor that rotationally drives the pinion gear are provided.

  The flexible cable-shaped drive device according to claim 6 is configured by the surface of the flexible member according to claim 5 in which the rack portion according to claim 5 is configured by alternately arranging a small diameter portion and a large diameter portion at a predetermined pitch. It is characterized by being formed.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the flexible cable-shaped drive device, the flexible member according to the first aspect has a male screw engraved on the surface thereof, and the drive unit according to the first aspect is the flexible member according to the first aspect. A female screw part that is screwed to the male screw and a motor that rotationally drives the female screw part are provided.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flexible cable-shaped drive device comprising: a roller having the driving unit according to the first aspect as a shaft perpendicular to the axis of the flexible member according to the first aspect; The flexible member according to claim 1 has at least a contacted region for receiving contact with the surface of the roller.

  A flexible cable-shaped robot according to claim 9 is a flexible cable-shaped robot that uses the flexible cable-shaped drive device according to any one of claims 5 to 8, and includes two or more drive unit units. The drive unit having the motor in (1) is provided with a control unit for controlling the rotational force of the motor.

  The flexible cable-shaped robot of claim 10 is characterized in that at least one of the drive unit units of claim 9 is fixed to the robot body.

  According to the flexible cable-like drive device of the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to extend and contract flexibly and flexibly with an inexpensive, lightweight and simple structure.

It is a perspective view of the Example of a flexible cable-shaped drive device. It is a structural diagram of the Example of a drive part unit. It is a structural diagram of the Example of the power transmission method to a flexible member. It is a perspective view of the robot which used the flexible cable drive device as the manipulator. It is a schematic diagram which shows the basic operation | movement of a flexible cable-shaped drive device. It is a schematic diagram which shows the movement operation | movement (bending) of a flexible cable-shaped drive device. It is a schematic diagram which shows the movement operation (peristalsis) of a flexible cable-shaped drive device. It is a schematic diagram which shows the manipulator operation | movement (linear motion) of a flexible cable-shaped drive device. It is a schematic diagram which shows the manipulator operation | movement (bending) of a flexible cable-shaped drive device. It is a photograph of the experiment result of the movement operation (bending) of the flexible cable-shaped drive device. It is a photograph of the experimental result of the movement operation (peristalsis) of the flexible cable-shaped drive device. It is a photograph of an experimental result of manipulator operation (linear motion) of a flexible cable-shaped drive device. It is a photograph of an experimental result of manipulator operation (bending) of a flexible cable-like drive device. It is an experimental result of the rigidity characteristic of a flexible cable drive.

  Hereinafter, the structure of the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, two or more (three are illustrated in the figure) flexible members 31, 32, and 33 that are inserted from the front end to the rear end of the flexible cable drive device, and the flexible members 31 and 32. , 33 and two or more drive unit units 21 and 22 (two are illustrated in the figure) that move in the longitudinal direction, and a fixing unit 1 that fixes these flexible members 31, 32, and 33 at a predetermined interval Consists of By inserting the flexible members 31, 32, 33 into the drive unit 21, 22, the flexible members 31, 32, 33 form a pair from the front end to the rear end of the flexible cable-shaped drive device. Makes it possible to move. The fixing part 1 fixes the flexible members 31, 32, 33 exclusively at the tips of the flexible members 31, 32, 33. When the fixing part 1 is fixed by the fixing part 1, The end portions 32 and 33 are referred to as fixed ends, and the end portions when not fixed are referred to as free ends. When the flexible members 31, 32, 33 are cord-like and flexible, and one end is not fixed by the fixing portion 1, the flexible member 31, 32, 33 can be easily wound up, so there is no need to provide a space for storage. Leads to downsizing. The length between each drive unit 21, 22 or between the drive unit 21, 22 and the fixed unit 1 corresponds to almost the entire length of the flexible members 31, 32, 33 by moving the drive unit 21, 22. Therefore, when the drive unit 21 or 22 is used as a reference point, the stroke is very large. In FIG. 1, the flexible members 31, 32, and 33 are fastened only at one end by the fixing portion 1, and the other end that has become a free end is wound, for example, spirally, Even when long flexible members are used, they can be stored compactly. When the both ends of the flexible members 31, 32, and 33 are fastened by the fixing portion 1, it becomes difficult to store them in a compact manner, but when the flexible cable drive device receives a torsional moment, the fixing portions at both ends are By receiving the moment, the torsional rigidity can be increased. Even if one end is not fixed and is a free end, the torsional rigidity can be similarly increased between the fixed portion 1 at the other end and the drive unit 21, 22.

  FIG. 2 is a detailed structural diagram of one embodiment of the drive unit 21, 22. When the gears 41, 42, 43 connected to the electromagnetic motors 51, 52, 53 rotate, the driving unit is driven by the flexible member inserted into the cylindrical slider parts 71, 72, 73. Then, the flexible member or the driving unit moves. Thus, by not arranging the motor on the shaft through which the flexible member is inserted (or using a hollow motor), the flexible member can be inserted from the front end to the rear end of the apparatus. The rotation measuring meters 61, 62, 63 are attached to the rotation shafts of the motors 51, 52, 53, and the flexible members 31, 32, 33 or the drive unit units 21, 22 are measured by measuring the rotation speed. The distance traveled by can be measured. The motors 51, 52, and 53 can be applied electromagnetic or piezoelectric. If the piezoelectric type is used, the size can be reduced to 1 mm, which leads to the size reduction of the drive unit.

  When the flexible cable-shaped drive device of the present invention is used for a moving operation, the drive unit is in contact with the plate surface because the entire device is placed horizontally on a plate surface such as a floor surface. At the time of the moving operation, as described later, the length of the flexible member is controlled so that the force exceeding the frictional force between the drive unit and the plate surface is sequentially applied to the individual drive units in the moving direction. become. For this reason, the friction coefficient of the outer peripheral part of the drive part unit which contacts a board surface is obtained by expansion / contraction of a flexible member, and determines it in consideration of the force added to a board surface. If the friction coefficient is too large, the force due to the deformation of the flexible member becomes too large, and if the friction coefficient is too small, the drive unit slides and cannot move well.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a method for transmitting power to a flexible member having a spiral groove. (A) inserts the flexible member 31 into the cylindrical slider portion 74 and rotates the gear 75 attached to the motor while pressing the gear 75 against the groove formed in the flexible member 31, thereby It is a method of moving in the longitudinal direction. In (b), a spiral groove is dug inside the hole of the cylindrical part 76, the flexible member 31 is inserted in accordance with the groove, and when the cylindrical part rotates, the end of the flexible member is fixed. This is a method of moving the flexible member in the longitudinal direction by being fastened by 1 and suppressing its rotation.

  FIG. 4 is an example of an embodiment of a structural diagram when a flexible member at one end of a flexible cable-like drive device is fixed to a structure (base) 8 and used as a robot having a manipulator function. In the figure, one end of the flexible member inside the base 8 (left side of the base 8 in FIG. 4) is a free end, and the drive unit on the free end side is fixed to the base 8. A similar manipulator function can also be realized by fixing. In the structure in which the free end as shown in the figure is arranged inside the base 8, the flexible member located inside the base 8 can be wound up small, and the portion (the left structure of the base 8 in the figure) Can be downsized. The operation of the motor or the like for exhibiting the manipulator function may be controlled by a computer in addition to being manually operated by an operator. When operating as a robot function, the motor and the like are in a controlled state, but a description of the control device for that purpose will be omitted.

  The flexible member is a cord-like body having a soft structure, and is mainly made of metal or plastic. The flexible member may have any cross-sectional shape, but preferably has a groove (for example, a bellows shape or a spiral shape) on the surface for meshing with a gear or the like for efficient movement. Examples of the structure satisfying this include a coil spring, a tube for pipe protection or fluid transportation, and a flexible toothpaste (commonly referred to as a flexible rack). Coil springs are easy to obtain and can reduce costs, but they are easily twisted, and the diameter of the coil spring changes when twisted, which makes it difficult to move. The tube for protecting the pipe or transporting fluid can easily pass a fluid such as gas or liquid through the tube, and can transport the fluid from one end of the driving device to the other end. For example, it is possible to operate an operating device (such as a pneumatic hand) using a fluid attached to the tip of the driving device. It is also possible to attach a nozzle to the tip and eject the fluid. A flexible toothbrush can achieve high-precision meshing between gears and improve the transmission efficiency of driving force, compared to a simple groove, but these flexible members have a drawback that they tend to bend. Although a mechanism using such a simple gear has been described as the drive transmission mechanism, power transmission between the flexible member and the drive unit can be performed using a friction wheel, electromagnetic force, vibration, etc. The groove is not always necessary.

  Next, the operation of the flexible cable drive device will be described. FIG. 5 shows a basic operation when the number of flexible members is two to four. If there are two or more drive units, the function of the present invention can be satisfied. In FIG. 5, only one drive unit and one fixed unit are represented, and an operation state is shown with reference to the drive unit. When there are two or more drive unit units, for example, a driving force can be generated in the drive device by bending the trunk of the drive device into an S shape like a snake or performing a peristaltic movement like an earthworm. FIG. 5A shows that a planar (two-dimensional) bending motion is performed by sliding the flexible members alternately to change the length. Further, the two flexible members can be slid in the same direction by the same length (stroke) to perform the extension movement as shown in FIG. If there are three flexible members, it can be bent spatially (three-dimensionally) by sliding in only one of the flexible members as shown in FIG. 5C. However, as in (b), linear expansion and contraction can be achieved by performing a sliding operation that changes the length in the same direction at the same time. If there are four or more flexible members, as shown in FIG. 5D, for example, the three flexible members 31, 32, 33 arranged on the circumference of the drive unit 21 are contracted, When the flexible member 34 disposed at the center of the circumference is extended, the forces F1, F2, F3, and F4 that the flexible members 31, 32, 33, and 34 give to the fixed portion 1 are applied. When F1 + F2 + F3 = F4 is satisfied, the rigidity of the entire drive device can be increased by force antagonizing without changing the position of the fixed portion 1. Since the flexible member is soft and soft, it will buckle if a certain level of force is applied even when the rigidity is increased. The bending strength can be changed. It is also possible to expand and contract by simultaneously operating four or more flexible members in the same direction. Thus, the antagonistic operation can be performed by a force applied to the flexible member in addition to the spatial bending and expansion / contraction operations. The drive unit and the flexible member can perform various operations as the number thereof increases.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the bending operation. The flexible cord-like drive device generates a sine wave as a whole, and the drive unit is continuously started so that the sine wave moves from the front to the back of the drive device as shown in FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (c). The drive unit pushes the plate surface to obtain a driving force. Here, the amplitude of the sine wave parallel to the plate surface is set to 0, and only the sine wave component perpendicular to the plate surface is included. If the flexible member between the fixed unit 1 and the drive unit 21 has a certain shape (for example, a part having a sine wave curve), then the flexible member between the drive unit 21 and the drive unit 22 becomes time. It takes the same shape with a little delay. This figure shows the case where there are only two drive unit units. However, even when there are a plurality of drive unit units, the flexible member between the drive unit units is the drive unit unit in front of one of them. A continuous sinusoidal wave can be created in the entire flexible cable-shaped drive device by continuously repeating the shape of the flexible member between them in a slightly previous shape.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the peristaltic operation. Since the drive unit moves relative to the plurality of flexible members at the same speed, the length between the drive units or the length between the drive unit and the fixed unit 1 can be changed. (A) to (c) show temporal changes in the schematic diagram of this operation. In (a), the fixed portion 1 is first extended forward of the flexible cable-shaped drive device. At this time, since the center of gravity of the drive device is in the vicinity of between the drive unit 21 and the drive unit 22, the drive device hardly slides on the floor surface. After the fixed portion 1 is sent forward, the drive unit 21 is similarly sent forward in (b). At this time, the drive unit 21 is slightly lifted from the plate surface by deflecting the flexible member upward, and the drive device does not receive a reaction from the plate surface, and thus hardly slips. Finally, in (c), the drive unit 22 is sent forward. As with the drive unit 21, the reaction from the plate surface can be reduced by slightly floating from the plate surface. However, since the flexible member actually bends greatly, it comes into contact with the plate surface and slightly slips. By repeating the operations from (a) to (c), it is possible to move forward while sliding.

  As an example in FIG. 8, in the flexible cable-like drive device configured with two drive unit units and three flexible members, the drive unit unit located away from the fixed unit 1 is a fixed structure. It is an operation | movement schematic diagram at the time of setting it as the fixed robot fixed to a certain base 8 and functioning as a manipulator. (A) shows the operation start state, (b) and (c) show the state of the driving device when the three flexible members 31, 32, 33 are simultaneously pushed out at the same speed, from (b) It can be seen that the entire length is increased by simultaneously extruding the flexible members 31, 32, 33 to (c). The distance between the fixed unit 1 and the drive unit 22 at the rearmost end can be changed.

  FIG. 9 is an operation schematic diagram of the manipulator when the drive units 21 and 22 send out the flexible members 31, 32, and 33 at different speeds. (A) shows the operation start state, and (b) and (c) show the state of the robot when the three flexible members 31, 32, 33 are pushed out at different speeds. When the drive unit units 21 and 22 move at different speeds with respect to the respective flexible members 31, 32 and 33, depending on the ratio of the speeds, the bending state between the drive unit units 21 and 22 or the drive unit The degree of bending between the units 21 and 22 and the fixed portion 1 can be changed.

  An embodiment for verifying the effect of the configuration of the present invention will be described. The prototyped drive device was composed of three flexible members that form the trunk of the drive device, one fixed part that holds them, and two drive part units. A stainless steel tube for piping (KSN8-200, manufactured by MISUMI) was used as the flexible member. This tube has an inner diameter of 8 mm and an outer diameter of 10.2 mm, and has a spiral groove around it. A part of the fixed part and the drive part unit are made of ABS resin and made using a 3D printer. The drive unit is equipped with three electromagnetic motors (75: 1 Micro Metal Gearmotor, Pololu), and when the motor rotates, the drive unit can be sent out or moved along the tube on the principle of rack and pinion. . The prototype flexible cable drive device has a total of six degrees of freedom, its diameter is about 80 mm, and its maximum length is 600 mm. In this experiment, the movement operation and manipulator operation of the flexible cable drive device were verified.

  The experiment result of the movement operation will be described based on the photograph. We investigated whether the flexible cable-like driving device can generate a propulsive force by bending or expanding / contracting each joint like snakes and earthworms. FIG. 10 is a photograph showing the bending operation when each motor is given a sine wave target locus having a different phase. The photograph shows the temporal change from (a) to (c). (A) is a full view of the drive unit used in this experiment, but outside the photographing range on the right side of the photograph, a tube of a flexible member is connected for the convenience of the experiment and is a free end. In addition, it is generally known that in the propulsion method while bending each joint such as a snake, the thrust cannot be obtained unless the friction between the driving device and the plate surface is sufficient. It is laid on the surface. From the initial state of (a), (b) shows the operation after 3.0 seconds from the start of movement, and (c) shows the operation after 5.8 seconds from the start of movement. In this experiment, movement at 16 mm / second was confirmed. It can be seen that even with a small number of drive unit units, the entire flexible cable-like drive device bends smoothly to achieve a snake-like operation and obtain a propulsive force.

  FIG. 11 is a photograph of the operation (swing) situation when the distance between the drive unit and the distance between the drive unit and the fixed unit are alternately extended by the same length. The photograph shows the temporal change from (a) to (c). (A) is a full view of the flexible cable drive unit used in this experiment, but outside the shooting range on the right side of the photo, a flexible member tube is connected for the sake of experimentation and is a free end. . Unlike the experiment shown in the photograph of FIG. 10 described above, a slippery paper sheet is laid on the plate surface. From the initial state of (a), (b) shows an operation after 1.5 seconds from the start of movement, (c) shows an operation after 3.7 seconds from the start of movement, and (d) shows an operation after 6.0 seconds from the start of movement. Is. First, when the drive unit 21 and 22 are fixed, the fixing unit 1 is pushed forward. Next, when the fixing unit 1 and the drive unit 22 are fixed, the drive unit 21 is pushed forward and finally fixed. When the unit 1 and the drive unit 21 are fixed, the drive unit 22 is pushed forward. By repeating this series of operations, a propulsive force can be obtained even on a slippery floor surface. In this experiment, movement at 10 mm / sec was confirmed. It is known that a drive device that performs a peristaltic motion is generally more advantageous for movement as the expansion / contraction stroke is larger, and the drive device of the present invention can be operated quickly.

  FIG. 12 is a photograph of experimental results of manipulator operation. In the experiment of manipulator operation, one of the drive unit units is fixed to the base, and one end of the tube on the opposite side is held by the fixing unit. (A) to (c) of FIG. 12 show temporal changes in the schematic diagram of this operation. It can be seen that the drive unit on the fixed side pushes out each flexible member, so that the length of the entire drive device can be increased and the operation range can be expanded. In FIG. 12, (a) is 130 mm in the initial state, but (b) is extended to 330 mm.

  In FIG. 13A, the bending radius between the fixed unit 1 and the drive unit 21 is 70 mm in the initial state, but in FIG. 13B, the bending radius is 240 mm, and the bending radius is changed three times or more. I can do it. The length of the entire robot is fixed, and the drive unit on the non-fixed side is operated. The drive unit moves to an arbitrary position between the fixed unit and the fixed drive unit, and the bending radius of the drive device can be freely changed by changing the feeding speed of the tube of each flexible member. I understand that.

  Experiments on the change in stiffness of the flexible cable drive were performed. The greatest feature of the flexible cable-like drive device of the present invention is that the length between each drive unit or between the drive unit and the fixed part can be greatly changed. Since the bending rigidity and torsional rigidity of the drive unit depend on the length of each drive unit or between the drive unit and the fixed unit if the material and structure of the components are the same, the position of the drive unit can be changed. The bending rigidity and torsional rigidity of the robot can be controlled. Therefore, the rigidity was measured when a torsional moment was applied to the tip of the drive device when the length between the drive unit and the fixed part was changed to 60 mm, 80 mm, and 100 mm. The flexible members 31, 32, and 33 are fastened only at one end by the fixing portion 1. FIG. 14 shows the relationship between the moment and the twist angle when the length between the drive unit and the fixed unit 1 is changed. As the length between the drive unit and the fixed part is increased, the torsional angle with respect to the moment is increased, so that it is clear that the torsional rigidity is reduced, indicating that the rigidity of the drive unit can be controlled. In this experiment, the length between the drive unit and the fixed unit was changed in order to control the torsional rigidity, but the stiffness can also be controlled by changing the length between each drive unit.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fixed part 21,22 Drive part unit 31,32,33,34 Flexible member 41,42,43 Gear 51,52,53 Electromagnetic motor 61,62,63 Rotation meter 71,72,73 Cylindrical slider part 8 Foundation

Claims (10)

Two or more cord-like flexible members arranged independently of each other;
Two or more drive unit units that have a drive unit that is inserted between the flexible members while maintaining an appropriate distance between them and that is independently slid with respect to the individual flexible members;
A flexible cable-like drive device comprising: a fixing portion that is mounted at an appropriate position of each of the flexible members, and is fixed while maintaining an appropriate interval between the flexible members. .   The flexible cable-shaped drive device according to claim 1, wherein the fixing portion fixes a distal end of the flexible member.   The interval held between the flexible members inserted through the drive unit is the same as the interval held between the flexible members fixed to the fixing unit. Or the flexible cable drive device according to 2;   The drive unit has an appropriate thickness, and includes an insertion portion for inserting the flexible member in the thickness direction, and the flexible member inserted through the insertion portion has the thickness. The flexible cable drive device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the flexible cable drive device is extended in a direction.   The flexible member has a rack portion with continuous threads in the longitudinal direction, and the drive portion includes a pinion gear that meshes with the rack portion and a motor that rotationally drives the pinion gear. The flexible cable drive device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.   The flexible cable drive according to claim 5, wherein the rack portion is formed by a surface of the flexible member configured by alternately arranging a small diameter portion and a large diameter portion at a predetermined pitch. apparatus.   The flexible member has a male screw engraved on the surface thereof, and the driving unit rotates and drives the female screw part that is screwed into the male screw of the flexible member. The flexible cable-shaped drive device according to claim 1, comprising a motor.   The drive unit includes a roller whose axis is orthogonal to the axis of the flexible member, and a motor that rotationally drives the roller, and the flexible member at least makes contact with the surface of the roller. The flexible cable-shaped drive device according to claim 1, wherein the flexible cable-shaped drive device has a contact area to be received. A flexible cable robot using the flexible cable drive device according to any one of claims 5 to 8,
A flexible cable-shaped robot comprising: a drive unit including the motor in two or more drive unit units; and a control unit that controls a rotational force of the motor. The flexible cable-like robot according to claim 9, wherein at least one of the driving unit is fixed to a robot body.