JP2642024B2 - Fiber assembly type actuator - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fiber assembly type actuator having excellent fault tolerance, high reliability and safety.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, actuators used for driving arms and finger joints of robots and construction machines include electric motors such as direct current, alternating current and pulse control, solenoids, hydraulic actuators, pneumatic actuators, and the like. However, in each case, one or a small number is arranged and driven for one joint. In the event of a failure of the actuator, a mechanical backup is provided to the arm or the control computer system, or a countermeasure for failure. Without a built-in controller, the system was not sufficiently reliable and safe. In particular, if there is no backup system with one actuator per joint, there is a problem that when the actuator is broken, the object may be dropped in the case of gripping the object. Further, there are joint drive devices using wires using a shape memory alloy, and drive devices using wires or coiled tubes connected to motor rotation.
It is driven by a single wire or a plurality of wires, and if one or all of the wires are broken, the joint will not function.

Further, among the above-mentioned actuators, those which are electrically driven have a problem that if they are not energized, the mechanical compliance is not sufficient.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has a compliance with the whole actuator. Even if all of the actuator breaks, the entire structure of the actuator is maintained.
A fiber-assembly type actuator that has high reliability, for example, is unlikely to cause harm even when working with a human, and furthermore, by giving different control signals to each actuator, the entire actuator can bend or flex as a single unit. The purpose is to provide.

[0005]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a plurality of expanding and contracting fibrous actuators are arranged in parallel, a gap therebetween is filled with a gel substance, and both ends of the plurality of fibrous actuators are closed. It is characterized by being joined by a structural member.

[0006]

According to the present invention, as an actuator, a spring having a plurality of expandable and contractible fibrous actuators is filled, and a gap between the actuators is filled with a gel substance. Even if a part of the fibrous actuator breaks, it functions by the remaining fibrous actuator that remains, and even if all the fibrous actuator breaks, the structure of the entire actuator is retained by the gel substance.
An object of the present invention is to provide an actuator which has excellent fault tolerance and high reliability, and which is hardly harmful even when working with a human. Further, by giving different control signals to each of the fibrous actuators, the entire actuator can be bent or bent as a single unit.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are views for explaining an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 1 and 2 are views showing a fiber assembly type actuator according to the present invention. ) Is a front view, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view. In the figure, 1 is a fibrous actuator that expands and contracts, 2 is a gel material having compliance, and 3 is the plurality of fibrous actuators 1.
Is a structural member that joins both ends.

FIG. 3 shows an example in which the fiber assembly type actuator according to the present invention is used to drive a joint of a robot. Reference numeral 4 denotes a fiber assembly type actuator. Reference numeral 6 denotes a skeleton of the robot, 7 denotes a joint of the robot, for example, a known pole joint, and 8 denotes a control device of the fiber assembly type actuator 4, for example, a parallel computer.

The structure of the fiber assembly type actuator of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, and an embodiment in which the present invention is used for driving a joint will be described with reference to FIG.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of elastic fiber actuators, for example, those made of a shape memory alloy or the like are arranged in parallel, and both end surfaces of the plurality of fibrous actuators 1 are structured. For example, a hole is made in the member 3 and the fibrous actuator 1 is bonded or caulked to the member 3 here. Fibrous actuator 1
A gel material 2 having compliance, viscosity and sticky stickiness is filled in the gap between the fibrous actuator 1 and the fibrous actuator 1 as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. This prevents a plurality of fibrous actuators 1 from becoming entangled. When the fibrous actuator 1 is made of, for example, a shape memory alloy, the energization of the fibrous actuator 1 is controlled by PWM (Pulse Width Modula).
) or PNM (Pulse Number Modulation), when the pulse execution width is large or the pulse density is large, the plurality of fibrous actuators 1 shrink, respectively, and the entire fiber-assembled actuator 4 shrinks. For example, when the fibrous actuator 1 is made of a shape memory alloy, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, at the time of PNM control, a large pulse density is applied to the upper half A of the fiber assembly type actuator 4 of the present invention, If the lower half B is energized with a smaller pulse density, the upper half A shrinks more than the lower half B.
Can be bent by the fiber assembly type actuator 4 alone.

FIG. 3 shows an example in which the present invention is used for driving a joint of a robot. A fiber assembly type actuator 4 is attached to both sides of a joint 7 of the robot with respect to a skeleton 6 of the robot.
This is an example in which the bending of the joint is controlled by the expansion and contraction of the fiber assembly type actuator 4. For the control, for example, a parallel computer is used as the control device 8, and a signal is provided to each of the fibrous actuators 1 with a different PNM to control expansion and contraction.

In the above-described embodiment, the joining member 5 is used as shown in FIG. 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. In this case, in addition to bending and stretching of the joint 7 in FIG. 3, if a signal is given to each of the fibrous actuators 1 of the fiber assembly type actuator 4 with a different PNM, the rotation of the joint 7 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. can do.

[0014]

As described above, according to the present invention, as the actuator, a spring having a plurality of expandable and contractible fibrous actuators is filled, and the gap between the actuators is filled with a gel substance. It has compliance as a whole, and functions even if all the fibrous actuators are broken, and functions even if all the fibrous actuators are broken. The actuator is excellent in fault tolerance and high in reliability, and is hardly harmful even in the work of a human partner, for example. Further, by giving different control signals to each of the fibrous actuators, the entire actuator can be bent or bent as a single unit.

[0015] The field of application includes the drive of fingers, arms, and legs of robots acting on behalf of humans, actuators for assistive devices that assist human daily life, actuators for assistive devices, and steering and propellers for aircraft and ships. It can be applied to a variable pitch driving device, an actuator of an active vibration damping type building, and the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a front view showing one embodiment of the present invention,
(B) is a sectional view of the same.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an example in which the fiber assembly type actuator of the present invention bends alone.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing an example in which the present invention is used for a joint of a robot.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing an example in which the structural member of the present invention is used in combination with a robot skeleton.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Fibrous actuator, 2 ... Gel substance, 3 ... Structural member, 4 ... Fiber assembly type actuator, 5 ... Joint member, 6
... the skeleton of the robot, 7 ... the joints of the robot, 8 ... the control device.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yoshimasa Kimura 1-1-6 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (72) Toshio Kondo 1-1-6 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Japan (56) References JP-A-3-149198 (JP, A) JP-A-61-100392 (JP, A) JP-T3-504215 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of elastic actuators arranged in parallel, a gel material filling a gap between the plurality of actuators, and a structural member joining both ends of the actuators. A fiber assembly type actuator characterized by the above-mentioned.