JP3534147B2 - Manipulator for 3D input - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a three-dimensional input manipulator, and more particularly to a three-dimensional input manipulator suitable for use in a design device for industrial products or a rehabilitation training device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional three-dimensional input manipulator 11
00 is shown in FIG. The three-dimensional input manipulator 1100 inputs the position information of the virtual pointer when the virtual pointer indicating the tip of a virtual human hand is moved in the three-dimensional direction in the virtual space displayed on the display, for example. Used to do.

This three-dimensional input manipulator 1100
Is a link member 1111 rotatably mounted on the base 1101 about an axis perpendicular to the base 1101.
A link member 1121 rotatably connected to 111 with respect to the horizontal direction, and one end of the link member 1121 rotatably connected with respect to the link member 1121 about the horizontal direction and the other end And a link member 1131 equipped with an operation grip 1133, and these configurations enable the operation grip 1133 to be moved in three degrees of freedom.

The link portion of each link member and the link member 11
11 is connected to the base 1101 at a connection part between the base 11 and the base 11, and encoders 1112 and 1 for detecting a rotational displacement and a rotational displacement.
122 and 1132 are provided, and the operation grip 11
When the operator adds a movement operation to 33, the angular displacements generated in these encoders 1112, 1122, 1132 are detected.

These are output to the control means (not shown) as detected angle signals, and the control means calculates the position coordinates of the operating grip 1133 in the three-dimensional space from each detected angular displacement (in the coordinate system having a certain point as the origin). Position coordinates)
Is calculated and output as the input position data to the host device or the like.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, the movable range of the operation grip 1133 for input is narrow. When trying to spread this,
It was necessary to design a longer length , which inevitably increased the mass of each link member. Then, when a large movement operation is applied to the operation grip 1133 with such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 24, a large inertial force acts due to the weight of each link member, the encoder, and the like, and the operability is deteriorated due to the influence of the inertial force. However, there is a disadvantage that a deviation is likely to occur when performing fine positioning, and that the operator is likely to be burdened with the operation.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to improve the disadvantages of the prior art, and particularly to effectively suppress the generation of inertial force even when the input operation range is large and the input operation is large, and the operability is improved. It is an object of the present invention to provide a good three-dimensional input manipulator.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a three-dimensional coordinate input is provided which is connected to a host device.
In a three-dimensional input manipulator, an operation input means having an operation grip that has a movable range and is movable in a plurality of degrees of freedom, and a movement displacement amount of the operation grip, which is provided in the operation input means, A grip displacement amount detecting means for detecting, an input means moving biasing mechanism for supporting the base of the operation input means in a horizontal state, and moving the operation input means in a plurality of degrees of freedom based on a predetermined operation command signal, and an input. And a control means for controlling the operation of the input means movement urging mechanism. The input means displacement urging mechanism is equipped with an input means displacement amount detection means for detecting the movement displacement amount of the operation input means by the input means movement urging mechanism. ing.

Then, the control means calculates the input position coordinate data of the operating grip on the basis of the moving displacement amount detected by each displacement amount detecting means and outputs it to the upper device, and the input position coordinate portion. operation control unit and the Bei <br/> example Rutotomoni for outputting an operation command signal based on the data on the input means moving urging mechanism, the operation control unit, the operation grip that Misao
Depending on the work, it exceeds the preset input range within the movable range.
In the case of outputting an operation command signal to the input means movement urging mechanism
It has a configuration that it has a specific range control function .

In the above construction, the operator holds the operating grip in his hand and moves the operating grip in the arbitrary plural degrees of freedom. Along with this, the movement displacement amount is detected by the grip displacement amount detection means. Then, the grip displacement amount detecting means outputs a detection signal corresponding to the displacement amount to the input coordinate calculation unit, and the input coordinate calculation unit calculates the three-dimensional position coordinates of the operating grip on the basis of the detection signal. It is calculated as data and output to the host device.

At the same time, the input position coordinate data is also output to the operation control section, which controls the operation of the input means movement urging mechanism. That is, following the movement of the operation grip, the input means movement urging mechanism is the base of the operation input means.
The table is supported in a horizontal state, and operation control is performed to move the operation input means according to the current position of the operation grip. In addition,
The operation control of the input means movement urging mechanism is particularly performed in a specific range.
The input range of the operation grip is controlled by the enclosure control function.
Set by the grip position as a reference and operated by the operator
When the operation grip is out of this input range due to
Be done.

Further, during the operation of the input means movement biasing mechanism, the input position coordinate data is obtained based on the movement displacement amount of the operation input means detected by the input means displacement amount detecting means and the above-mentioned movement displacement amount of the operation grip. It is calculated and output to the host device. As a result, the input means movement urging mechanism operates the
A mechanism for moving the operation input means according to the position of the work grip.
Because it is a success, its operating range has been dramatically expanded compared to the past.
It becomes possible. And within this operating range
In addition, even if the input operation is large, the operation input means itself
A device that can follow the operating direction and is generated during operation
It is possible to effectively reduce the total inertial force. Well
Also, only when the operating range of the operating grip is large
The step movement urging mechanism is driven, and the input means movement urging mechanism is constantly operated.
No need to drive. For this reason, the input means moving energizer
It simplifies the driving operation of the structure and calculates the target position of the operation input means.
It is possible to simplify the arithmetic processing such as output.

According to a second aspect of the invention, the same structure as that of the first aspect of the invention is provided, and the operation input means is operated.
Driving force that urges the driving force in multiple degrees of freedom of the work grip
Specific range controller equipped with generating means and included in the operation controller
No. is attached to the operation input means when the operation grip exceeds the preset input range within the movable range due to the operation.
The function is to output the operation command signal to the driving force generating means and the input means moving biasing mechanism provided.

In the above structure, the input range of the operating grip is set with reference to the position of the operating grip, and when the operating grip is out of the input range by the operation of the operator, the specific range control function is used to move the input means. Operation control is performed in which the biasing mechanism and the driving force generating means of the operation input means move the operation input means to a predetermined position corresponding to the current position of the operation grip at that time. That is, a specific range controller
Depending on the function, a fixed value based on the initial position of the operating grip
Outside the input range of the
Position, the current position of the operating grip
Set a new input range to
The range is within the movable range of the operating grip at the current position.
Immediately operate the input means movement biasing mechanism so that
The movement operation control of the input means is performed. Also, at this time,
The current position of the operation grip changes depending on the movement of the operation input means.
The driving force of the operation input means is generated so that it does not cross.
The operation control of the means is performed. More specifically,
Simultaneously when the operation input means moves due to the step movement urging mechanism
The operation grip moves in the opposite direction with the same displacement.
Operation control is performed. The other operations are the same as those of the invention described in claim 1.

According to the invention of claim 3, claim 1 or 2
In addition to having the same configuration as the described invention, the operation input means is equipped with a driving force generating means for urging the driving force in the directions of multiple degrees of freedom of the operating grip, and the control means is provided with input position coordinate data from the host device. In response to the input of the reaction force data corresponding to, the reaction force generation control unit that outputs the drive command signal based on the reaction force data to the driving force generation means is provided.

In the above configuration, the current position of the operation grip moved by the operator is output to the host device as the three-dimensional input position coordinate data by the input coordinate calculating section. In response to this, the host device calculates reaction force data corresponding to the input position coordinate data and outputs it to the three-dimensional input manipulator side. The reaction force generation control unit
When this reaction force data is received, the corresponding reaction force (for example,
The driving force generating means is driven so that a force directed in a direction different from the moving force applied to the operating grip by the operator is generated. As a result, a feeling of reaction or resistance to the operation of the operation grip is transmitted to the operator.

The other operation is described in claim 1.
Alternatively, it is performed in the same manner as the invention described in 2.

The present invention is intended to alleviate the above-mentioned inconveniences by the above respective configurations.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(First Embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The first embodiment is a three-dimensional input manipulator 10 for performing three-dimensional coordinate input.
The case where the three-dimensional input system 1000 is equipped with is shown.

The three-dimensional input system 1000 includes a three-dimensional input manipulator 10 and an arithmetic processing unit 1010 which is a higher-level device of the three-dimensional input manipulator 10.
And a display 1001 for displaying an image based on the output data of the arithmetic processing device 1010.

The above three-dimensional input manipulator 10
Is an operating grip 2 that can be moved in multiple degrees of freedom.
1, a grip displacement amount detecting means for detecting a moving displacement amount of the operation grip 21, an operation input means 2 having a driving force generating means for driving the operation grip 21 in a plurality of degrees of freedom, and the operation input means 2. An input means movement urging mechanism 4 for moving in a plurality of degrees of freedom on the basis of a predetermined operation command signal, and an operation input means 2 provided by the input means movement urging mechanism 4 and operated by the input means movement urging mechanism 4. It is provided with an input unit for detecting a displacement amount of displacement, a displacement amount detecting unit, and a control unit 3 (not shown in FIG. 1) for controlling the operation of each of the above units.

Each section will be described below. First, in the operation input means 2, a plurality of link members are connected via a rotatable joint, and the operation grip 21 is provided at the rotating end of the endmost link member. 21
It realizes the movement in the direction of multiple degrees of freedom.

More specifically, the operation input means 2 has a plate-shaped base 22 supported in a horizontal state by the input-means movement urging mechanism 4 and a rotation about the base 22 in a direction perpendicular to the base 22. A link member 23 provided through a freely rotatable first rotary joint 26, and one end thereof at an upper end portion of the link member 23 through a second rotary joint 27 which is rotatable about a horizontal direction as an axis. To the other end of the link member 24 and the other end of the link member 24. The one end of the link member 24 is connected to the other end of the link member 24 via a third rotary joint 28 that is rotatable about the horizontal direction. And a link member 25 equipped with the operation grip 21.

The first rotary joint 26 has an encoder 221 as grip displacement amount detecting means for detecting a rotation angle of the link member 23 with respect to the base 22, and a driving force for urging the link member 23 to rotate. A drive motor 222 as a means is equipped, and the second rotary joint 27 is
Encoder 23 as grip displacement amount detecting means for detecting the rotation angle of the link member 24 with respect to the link member 23.
1 and a drive motor 232 as a driving force generating means for urging the link member 24 to rotate. A grip for detecting the rotation angle of the link member 25 with respect to the link member 24 is provided on the third rotary joint 28. An encoder 241 as displacement amount detecting means and a drive motor 242 as driving force generating means for urging the link member 25 to rotate are provided.

With such a construction, the operator holds the operating grip 21 in the hand and sets the total length of the link members 24 and 25 as a radius, and substantially the entire area of the inner space of the hemisphere centering on the second rotary joint 27 ( It is possible to move the operation grip 21 in the movable range) in the three-degree-of-freedom moving direction.

On the other hand, in the input means moving and urging mechanism 4, a plurality of link members are connected via a rotatable rotary joint in the same manner as the operation input means 2, and the operation input means 2 is provided at the connecting end. By doing so, the movement of the operation input means 2 in the directions of a plurality of degrees of freedom is realized.

More specifically, the input means movement urging mechanism 4 is placed on a horizontal plane and supports a plate-shaped base 4 for supporting the whole.
2, a link member mounted via a fourth rotary joint 46 rotatable about a vertical axis with respect to the base 42 and a fifth rotary joint 47 rotatable about a horizontal direction as an axis. 43, a link member 44 whose one end is connected to the upper end of the link member 43 through a sixth rotary joint 48 which is rotatable about a horizontal axis, and the other end of the link member 44. And a link member 45 which is connected to one end thereof via a seventh rotary joint 49 which is rotatable about the horizontal direction and which supports the base 22 of the operation input means 2 at the other end. Have

The fourth rotary joint 46 is provided with an encoder 421 as an input means displacement amount detecting means for detecting a rotation angle of the link member 43 about the base 42 and an axis perpendicular to the base 42. The drive motor 422 for urging the rotation about the axis, and the fifth rotary joint 47 includes the displacement amount of the input means for detecting the rotation angle of the link member 43 about the base 42 with respect to the horizontal direction. An encoder 423 as a detection means and a drive motor 424 for urging the rotation of the link member 43 about the horizontal axis are provided.

Further, the sixth rotary joint 48 is provided with an encoder 431 as an input means displacement amount detecting means for detecting the rotation angle of the link member 44 with respect to the link member 43, and urges the link member 44 to rotate. A drive motor 432 is provided, and the seventh rotary joint 49 has an encoder 441 as an input means displacement amount detecting means for detecting the rotation angle of the link member 45 with respect to the link member 44, and the link member 4.
5 is equipped with a drive motor 442 for urging rotation.

In such a configuration, each drive motor 42
By driving 2,424,432, the input unit movement urging mechanism 4 has a radius of the total length of the link members 43, 44, and substantially the entire area of the inner space of the hemisphere centered on the fifth rotary joint 47. It is possible to move the operation input means 2 in the three-degree-of-freedom moving direction.

The rotary joint 49 is provided to hold the base 22 in a horizontal state, and its rotation angle is determined to be a constant value by the rotation angles of the rotary joints 47 and 48. The input means movement urging mechanism 4 has substantially three degrees of freedom.

Here, the encoders provided on the input means movement urging mechanism 4 and the rotary indirectly of the operation input means 2 described above generate pulses a number of times proportional to the angle of rotation or rotation between the link members. It is assumed that each of these encoders is provided with a counter (not shown) for counting and outputting pulses.

The drive motors provided in the input means movement urging mechanism 4 and the rotary indirect means of the operation input means 2 described above respectively convert the operation command signal or the drive command signal from the control means 3 into an analog signal. D / A converter for conversion,
It is assumed that a current amplification amplifier for amplifying the signal from the D / A converter and a speed reducer for adjusting the rotation speed of the drive motor (both not shown) are provided.

Next, the control means 3 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the control means 3 detects the detection angle signals (movement displacements) detected by the encoders 221, 231, 241 of the operation input means 2 and the encoders 421, 423, 431, 441 of the input means movement urging mechanism 4. The input position coordinate data of the operation grip 21 is calculated based on the calculated amount) and is output to the arithmetic processing unit 1010, and the operation command signal based on the input position coordinate data is input to the input unit movement urging mechanism 4. The operation control unit 32 that outputs the drive motors 422, 424, and 432 and the reaction force data corresponding to the input position coordinate data that is output from the arithmetic processing unit 1010 are received, and the drive command signal based on the reaction force data is operated. The input means 2 is provided with a reaction force generation control unit 33 which outputs the respective drive motors 222, 232 and 242.

In addition, the operation control section 32 includes the operation grip 2
When 1 exceeds the input range of the operation grip 21 preset by the operator's operation, the operation grip 2
While holding the current position of 1, the operation command signal is output to move the operation input means 2 in accordance with the input position coordinate data of the current position.
2, 242 and the drive motor 42 of the input means movement urging mechanism 4
It has a specific range control function 34 for outputting to 2, 424, 432, 442.

That is, by the specific range control function 34, the operator's operation is performed outside a certain input range (a range that does not exceed the movable range of the operation grip 21 in the operation input means 2) based on the initial position of the operation grip 21. When the operation grip 21 is moved by, the operation grip 2
A new input range based on the current position of 1 is set, and the input means moving and urging mechanism 4 immediately operates so that the new input range is within the movable range of the operation grip 21 at the current position. The movement operation control of the input means 2 is performed.

At this time, the drive motors 222, 23 of the operation input means 2 are controlled so that the current position of the operation grip 21 is not changed by the movement of the operation input means 2.
2, 242 operation control is performed. That is, at the same time that the operation input means 2 is moved by the input means movement urging mechanism 4,
The operation control for moving the operation grip 21 in the opposite directions with the same displacement amount is performed.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the arithmetic processing unit 1010 sets a shape data storage unit 1011 for storing the shape data of the pre-defined virtual object 1051 and virtual pointer 1050, and the virtual space. The virtual object 1051 and the virtual pointer 1050 based on the shape data described above are arranged in the virtual space, and the display 1001 is displayed.
A display control unit 1012 that controls output is provided.

The shape data stored in the shape data storage unit 1011 may be of any format as long as it can calculate the tangent plane of a virtual object defined in advance. Here, the shape definition by the parametric function and the definition shape by the distribution function are used.

The display control unit 1012 positions the virtual pointer 1050 in the virtual space based on the input position coordinate data output from the input coordinate calculation unit 31 of the three-dimensional input manipulator 10, and the virtual object 1051 and the virtual pointer 1051. Reaction force calculation function 1 for calculating the magnitude and direction of a virtual reaction force received from an object when it contacts 1050
013 is provided. The reaction force data calculated by the reaction force calculation function 1013 is output to the reaction force generation control unit 33 of the three-dimensional input manipulator 10 as described above.

In the reaction force generation control section 33, the drive motors 222, 232, 242 of the operation input means 2 are extracted from the reaction force data.
Output torque is calculated and a drive command signal based on this is output.

Now, a method of each arithmetic processing in the control means 2 of the three-dimensional input manipulator 10 and the arithmetic processing device 1010 will be described.

First, a method of calculating the input position coordinate data of the current position of the operating grip 21 based on the detected angle signals of the encoders 221, 231, 241 of the operation input means 2 in the input coordinate calculating section 31 will be described.

Considering the posture shown in FIG. 3A as a reference, the operation input means 2 has a reference coordinate system X ₀ − shown in FIG. 3B.
It is composed of a plurality of coordinate systems corresponding to each rotation indirectly with respect to Z ₀ . That is, it corresponds to the first coordinate system X ₁ -Z ₁ corresponding to the first rotary joint 26, the second coordinate system X ₂ -Z ₂ corresponding to the second rotary joint 27, and the third rotary joint 28. Has a _third coordinate system X ₃ -Z ₃ (each link member is a movement within one plane, so description of the Y coordinate is omitted). In addition,
In each coordinate system, the Z axis is aligned with the rotation or rotation axis. Further, for the sake of convenience, the reference coordinate system has an origin at the intersection of the rotation axis of the first rotary joint 26 and the rotation axis of the second rotary joint 27.

Then, the homogeneous transformation matrix ⁰ T ₁ for transforming the vector representation of the first coordinate system into the vector representation of the reference coordinate system is given by the equation (1), and the vector representation of the second coordinate system is represented by the first representation.
The homogeneous transformation matrix ¹ T ₂ for transforming into the vector representation of the coordinate system of is expressed by equation (2), and the vector representation of the third coordinate system into the second
The homogeneous transformation matrix ² T _{3 that} is transformed into the vector representation of the coordinate system of is expressed by equation (3).

[0046]

[Equation 1]

Here, S ₁ = sin θ ₁ , S ₂ = sin
θ ₂ , S ₃ = sin θ ₃ , C ₁ = cos θ ₁ , C ₂ = cos θ
₂ , C ₃ = cos θ ₃ , where θ ₁ is the rotation angle of the first rotary joint 26 (angle detected by the encoder 221) from the posture of FIG. 3A, and θ ₂ is the posture of FIG. 3A. The rotation angle of the link member 24 (angle detected by the encoder 231) and θ ₃ indicate the rotation angle of the link member 25 with respect to the link member 24 (angle detected by the encoder 241).
Further, let l _{a be} the length of the link member 24, and let l _{b be} the length of the link member 25.

A homogeneous transformation matrix for transforming each homogeneous transformation matrix from the third coordinate system to the reference coordinate system is as shown in equation (4).

[0049]

[Equation 2]

Assuming that the current position coordinate ⁰ r of the operating grip 21 in the reference coordinate system is expressed by the equation (5), the current position coordinate ³ r in the third coordinate system is expressed by the equation (6), and these relationships are shown. It is represented by the equation (7) by the homogeneous transformation matrix ⁰ T ₃ .

[0051]

[Equation 3]

Therefore, the current position coordinates in the reference coordinate system
The X component of ⁰ r is shown in equation (8), the Y component is shown in equation (9), and the Z component is shown in equation (10).

[0053]

[Equation 4]

Since the operation inputting means 2 is supported and moved by the inputting means moving and urging mechanism 4, the offset position ^of r by this inputting means moving and urging mechanism 4 is set.
Assuming that (position coordinates of the operation input means 2 positioned by the input means movement urging mechanism 4) is expressed by Expression (11), the vector display of the current position coordinates P of the operation grip 21 is expressed by Expression (1)
It is as shown in 2).

[0055]

[Equation 5]

When the present position coordinates are calculated, input position coordinate data based on the calculated current position coordinates are created, and the arithmetic processing unit 1
It is output to the display control unit 1012 of 010.

Next, a method of calculating the reaction force data based on the input position coordinate data by the arithmetic processing unit 1010 will be described. In the display control unit 1012 of the arithmetic processing device 1010,
The current position coordinates of the operation grip 21 based on the input position coordinate data are converted into a coordinate system in the virtual space, and the converted new current position coordinates are used as the tip position coordinates of the virtual pointer 1050 to set the virtual pointer 1050 in the virtual space. It is placed inside and displayed on the display 1001.

Then, the display control unit 1012 obtains a point (nearest point) on the surface of the virtual object 1051 closest to the coordinates of the tip position of the virtual pointer 1050 by the reaction force calculation function 1013. This is determined by the relationship between the tip position coordinates of the virtual pointer 1050 and the function forming the shape data of the virtual object 1051.

Further, a tangent plane including this closest point is obtained. A tangent plane is defined as a plane stretched by tangential vectors in two directions on the surface of a virtual object. This tangent plane is mapped to the contact space (tactile space) to define the contact plane. The contact plane is represented by the plane equation of the following equation (13).

[0060] ax + by + cz + h = 0 (13)

A point (x, y, z) satisfying this equation (13)
The plane formed by is the contact plane. Where a,
b, c, and h are coefficients, which are 3 when the respective values are determined.
The tilt of the plane in the dimensional space and the distance from the origin are given. Each coefficient is obtained from the normal vector of the tangent plane.

The contact space is divided into a region where the reaction force is not generated and a region where the reaction force is generated, with the space being the boundary between the contact planes. To determine which region a certain point in the contact space belongs to, the value of the tip position coordinate of the virtual pointer 1050 that is mapped and converted into the contact space coordinate is substituted into (x, y, z) on the left side of the plane equation. However, it is determined by the sign of the solution at that time. That is, when the solution has a positive value, the coordinate is located in the direction of its normal vector with respect to the contact plane, and when the solution is negative, it is located in the opposite direction of its normal vector with respect to the contact plane. It turns out.

When the coordinates are in the direction of the normal vector, it is determined that the virtual pointer 1050 and the virtual object 1051 do not interfere with each other. In this case, the reaction force Fv due to the interference is zero. If the coordinates are located in the opposite direction of the normal vector, it is determined that interference has occurred, and the virtual pointer 1050 and the virtual object 105 are in contact.
The reaction force Fv due to the interference of 1 is calculated.

A method of defining the magnitude of the reaction force Fv will be described.
The converted coordinate P of the tip position coordinate of the virtual pointer 1050 is shown in Expression (14). Then, the interference amount dr with the contact plane at this time is shown in the following expression (15).

[0065]

[Equation 6]

This represents the distance in the vertical direction from the contact plane to the transformed coordinate. Based on this interference amount dr, the magnitude of the reaction force Fv in the normal vector direction on the contact plane is defined by the following equation (16).

[0067] Fv = Kdr + Bq (16)

Here, K is the elastic coefficient, B is the damping coefficient, and q
Is the time derivative of the hand position. By using the damping coefficient B, it is possible to improve the feeling of the reaction force at the moment when the virtual pointer 1050 hits the virtual object 1051. That is, the feeling of the surface of the virtual object 1051 can be well reflected as the reaction force. Further, this reaction force Fv is expressed as a vector for each component shown in Expression (17), and the rotational moment N in each axial direction at the hand position obtained from this is shown in Expression (18). The rotational moment N in each axial direction is obtained by the outer product of the vector of the hand position coordinates and the vector of the reaction force Fv.

[0069]

[Equation 7]

The reaction force Fv and the rotation moment N are used as the reaction force data for the three-dimensional input manipulator 10.
Is output to.

Next, the drive motors 222, 2 of the operation input means 2 based on the reaction force data in the reaction force generation control unit 33.
A method of calculating the drive command signals of 32 and 242 will be described.

The reaction force data F is a combination of the reaction force Fv and the rotational moment N mentioned above, and is expressed by the formula (1)
9). N _x , N _y , N in this equation (19)
_z is the moment around each axis calculated by the equation (18). By converting this reaction force data F by the transversion matrix of the Jacobian matrix J, each drive motor 222, 23
The output value H of 2,242 is calculated (equation (20)).

[0073]

[Equation 8]

Here, a method of calculating the Jacobian matrix J will be described.
The above-mentioned reaction force data F is composed of six components of the reaction force Fv and the moment N, and three rotational indirect outputs H of the operation input means 2, that is, respective torques τ ₁ , τ ₂ , τ ₃ are calculated from these 6 components. Therefore, the matrix has 3 rows and 6 columns (if there are n indirects, there are n rows and 6 columns). This Jacobian matrix J is shown in equation (21).

[0075]

[Equation 9]

Here, ^T d _ix , ^T d _iy shown in the equation (21),
^T d _iz is each x, y, z component of ^T d _i , and the code i is
The number given to each indirect is shown (same for ^T δ _i ). Each of these ^T d _i and ^T δ _i indicates a minute change occurring for each indirect. These can be obtained from the transformation matrix ^i-1 T ₃ of the coordinate system in the drive motors for each indirect.

That is, the transformation matrix ^i-1 T ₃ is shown in equation (22). (N _x , n _y , in this transformation matrix ^i-1 T ₃
n _z ), (o _x , o _y , o _z ), (ex _x , e _y , e _z ) are three-axis direction components in a predetermined coordinate system of the reference coordinate system,
(P _x , _py , p _z ) indicates the position coordinate of the origin in a predetermined coordinate system of the reference coordinate system.

[0078]

[Equation 10]

The above-mentioned ^T d _i and ^T δ _i can be obtained from the respective components of the corresponding transformation matrix of i as follows. The expressions (23) and (24) show the case where the indirect is the rotary indirect, and the expressions (25) and (26) show the case where the indirect is the direct acting indirect (in the first embodiment, the indirect is Although all are rotary indirect, there is an example in which a direct acting indirect is used in each embodiment described later). In addition, u in the equations (23) to (26),
v and w represent unit vectors of the reference coordinate system.

[0080]

[Equation 11]

When the Jacobian matrix J is obtained as described above, the driving torques τ ₁ , τ ₂ and τ ₃ of the respective drive motors are calculated by substituting the equation (20) into the equation (2
7)), the reaction force generation control unit 33 outputs a drive command signal corresponding to each of these drive torques to each drive motor.

[0082]

[Equation 12]

Next, a method of calculating the target position of the operation input means 2 by driving the input means movement urging mechanism 4 will be described. The motion control means 32 subtracts a constant value from each component of the coordinates based on the current position coordinates P of the operation grip 21 calculated by the input coordinate calculation unit 31 when the operation grip 21 is out of the input range. _{Let the} thing be the target point q _d . Assuming that the target point q _d = (q _x , q _y , q _z ), the following equation (28)
Thus, the torque G _i of each drive motor of the input unit movement urging mechanism 4 is calculated.

[0084]

[Equation 13]

In the above equation, j is each component, K _pi is a feedback gain, and K _v is a velocity feedback gain.

The operation control is performed in the control means 3 and the arithmetic processing unit 1010 based on each of the above methods.

Next, the operation of the three-dimensional input system 1000 having the above structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4 to 6. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a flow of operations of the three-dimensional input system 1000.

Before the operation input by the operator is started, in the three-dimensional input manipulator 10, the operation input means 2 and the input means movement urging mechanism 4 are set in respective basic postures as shown in FIG. 5 (A). Is taken. The basic posture is not limited to the one shown in the figure, but it is desirable that the operating grip 21 and the operation input means 2 be movable in all directions around the basic posture.

The operation grip 21 is arranged at an initial position in a predetermined reference coordinate system according to each basic posture. At this time, the three-dimensional input manipulator 1
In the input coordinate calculation unit 31 of 0, the specific range control function 34 sets the input range A centered on the coordinates of the initial position of the operating grip 21.

Then, in this state, the operator holds the operation grip 21 and starts the moving operation. By this movement operation of the operation grip 21, the detected angle signals are output from the encoders 221, 231, 241 of the operation input means 2, and the input coordinate calculation unit 31 calculates the input position coordinate data based on these (step S1). ).

Then, the specific range control function 34 operates the operation grip 2 based on the calculated input position coordinate data.
It is determined whether 1 is within the input range (step S2).
If it is within the input range, the input position coordinate data is output to the display control unit 1012 of the arithmetic processing device 1010 (step S4).

When it is determined that the operation grip 21 is out of the input range, the specific range control function 34 causes the drive motors 22 of the input means movement urging mechanism 4 and the operation input means 2 to operate.
2,232,242 are driven. The operation at this time is shown in FIGS.

FIG. 5A shows a state before the operation grip 21 is operated, as described above. In such a state, both the operation input means 2 and the input means movement urging mechanism 4 have a basic posture, and in this basic posture, the links of the input means movement urging mechanism are vertically downward of the operation grip 21 at regular intervals. The tip of the member 45 comes to come.

When the operation grip 21 is moved out of the input range A by the operator's operation from such a state (FIG. 5 (B)), the input means is moved based on the current position coordinates of the operation grip 21 at that time. The drive motors 422, 424, 432, 442 of the biasing mechanism 4 are driven to move the operation input means 2.

That is, in the input means movement urging mechanism 4, a position is provided at a certain distance vertically below the operation grip 21 so that the current position of the operation grip 21 is held and the operation input means 2 returns to the basic posture. Is set as a movement target position of the tip end portion of the link member 45.
Drive control of 4,432,442 is performed (see FIG. 6). At this time, at the same time, drive control is performed on the drive motors 222, 232, 242 of the operation input means 2 so that the operation input means 2 adopts the basic posture.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 5C, the operation input means 2 takes the basic posture again without changing the current position of the operation grip 21, and the input with the current position of the operation grip 21 as the center. Range is a specific range control function 34
Is newly set by (step S3). Then, thereafter, the input position coordinate data at the current position of the operation grip 21 is output to the display control unit 1012 of the arithmetic processing device 1010 (step S4).

In the display control unit 1012, the display 1
The virtual pointer 1050 is placed at a position corresponding to the input position coordinate data in the virtual space displayed in 001 (step S5). Then, the reaction force calculation function 1013 determines whether or not the virtual object 1051 and the virtual pointer 1050 interfere with each other (step S6).

When it is determined in the above determination that there is no interference, the input position coordinates are detected and the same operation is repeated for the movement of the operating grip 21 that is continued again.

On the other hand, in the above judgment, when it is judged that the interference occurs, the reaction force is calculated. Then, the calculated reaction force data is output to the reaction force generation control unit 33 of the three-dimensional input manipulator 10 (step S7).

In the reaction force generation control unit 33, the drive motors 222, 232 and 232 of the operation input means 2 are based on the reaction force data.
The drive motors 222, 232, 232 calculate the drive torque of 242 and output the drive torque based on the drive torque.
The drive control of 242 is performed (step S8). As a result, the operator looks at the display 1001 and
Virtual pointer 1050 and virtual object 10 displayed on it
When 51 and 51 come into contact with each other, a feeling of receiving a reaction force from a virtual object is virtually felt.

Then, the operation grip 21 is continued again.
Regarding the movement operation of, the input position coordinates are detected, and the same operation is repeated.

In the first embodiment, since the operation input means 2 is moved by the input means movement urging mechanism 4 in accordance with the position of the operation grip 21, even if the operation range is widened, the operation input means is increased. 2 itself can be made to follow the operating direction, which makes it possible to effectively reduce the inertial force of the entire device that occurs during operation.

By reducing the inertial force, it is possible to improve the operability of the operating grip 21, and
For example, it is possible to perform accurate positioning even at a fine target position in the operation, at the same time, it is possible to reduce the burden on the arm due to the operation, and it is possible to effectively cope with a long-time input work by the operator. Also has

Further, since the specific range control function 34 moves the operation input means 2 by the input means movement urging mechanism 4 when the preset input range of the operation grip 21 is exceeded, the operation of the operation grip 21 is performed. The input means movement urging mechanism 4 is driven only when the range is large, and it is not necessary to constantly drive the input means movement urging mechanism 4. For this reason, the driving operation of the input means movement urging mechanism 4 is simplified and 3
The power of the entire dimension input manipulator 10 can be reduced, and the calculation processing such as calculation of the target position of the operation input unit 2 can be simplified.

Further, each drive motor 2 of the operation input means 2
22, 232 and 242 make the operator feel the reaction force based on the reaction force data.
Coupled with the effect of effectively reducing the inertial force of the entire dimension input manipulator 10, the reaction force based on the reaction force data can be accurately transmitted to the operator without being interfered by the inertial force.

Therefore, the three-dimensional input manipulator 10
Equipped in a three-dimensional input system 1000, in a work environment where it receives pseudo reaction force feedback,
The operator can receive a more accurate reaction force, that is, can experience a more realistic pseudo sensation. Similarly, it is possible to perform input work with higher accuracy and operability.

In the first embodiment, the control means 3 of the three-dimensional input manipulator 10 may be combined with the arithmetic processing unit 1010 which is a higher-level device. Alternatively, or alternatively, the control means 2 for the three-dimensional input manipulator 10 controls the function of the arithmetic processing unit 210 by the display control unit 21.
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which all of the above are performed by 1. The same applies to the other embodiments described below.

(Second Embodiment) A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. The second embodiment shows a case where a three-dimensional input manipulator 10A for performing three-dimensional coordinate input is installed in a three-dimensional input system 1000A having a configuration similar to that of the above-described first embodiment. . The same components as those in the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

Three-dimensional input manipulator 1 shown in FIG.
0A is an input for moving three operation input means 2A having an operation grip 21A that is freely movable in three degrees of freedom and each operation input means 2A simultaneously in a plurality of degrees of freedom based on a predetermined operation command signal. Means moving urging mechanism 4, input means displacement urging mechanism 4, input means displacement amount detecting means for detecting the movement displacement amount of operation input means 2A by the input means moving urging mechanism 4, and The control means 3 (not shown in FIG. 7) for controlling the operation is provided.

That is, the three-dimensional input manipulator 10A corresponds to the operator's thumb, forefinger, and middle finger individually and is capable of inputting individually.
It has the same configuration as the three-dimensional input manipulator 10 except that it has a.

The operation input means 2A will be described in detail below. The operation input means 2A is provided with the input means movement urging mechanism 4
A plate-shaped base 22A supported horizontally on the first base, and a first base 22A rotatable about the vertical direction as an axis with respect to the base 22A.
Of the link member 24A, one end of which is connected via a rotary joint 26A and a second rotary joint 27A which is rotatable about a horizontal axis, and the other end of the link member 24A has a horizontal axis. Has a link member 25, one end of which is connected via a rotatable third rotary joint 28A and the other end of which has an operating grip 21A. Each rotary joint is equipped with an encoder as a grip displacement amount detecting means and a drive motor as a driving force generating means for urging the adjacent link member to rotate (not shown).

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the operation grip 21A has a cap member 211 into which the tip of the finger is inserted.
And two arm members 212 and 213 formed on a substantially arc having an angle of 90 degrees forming a so-called gimbal mechanism. The arm member 212 has one end rotatably engaged with the cap member 211 about a vertical axis and the other end about a horizontal direction about the arm member 21.
It is rotatably engaged with one end portion of 3. On the other hand, the arm member 213 has an end portion on the opposite side to the engagement end portion with the arm member 212, which is rotatable about the axis perpendicular to the axis of rotation with the arm member 212 and perpendicular thereto. It is connected to the tip.

With this structure, the cap member 211
Can rotate about three directions orthogonal to the link member 25A, and can hold the operator's fingertip in any direction regardless of the inclination angle of the link member 25A. ing. Here, the cap member 211 is not particularly limited to this structure as long as it has a structure capable of holding a fingertip, and may be, for example, a ring shape into which the fingertip is inserted.

The above-mentioned three operation input means 2A share one base 22A, and are simultaneously mounted on this base 22A. With these configurations, for each operation input unit 2A, the operator sets the total length of the link members 24A, 25A for each finger as the radius via the operation grip 21A, and the center of the second rotary joint 27A. The operation grip 21A is provided in almost the entire inner space of the hemisphere.
It is possible to move in the degree of freedom movement direction.

The above three-dimensional input manipulator 10A
In this case, since three operation input means 2A are provided, the input coordinate calculation unit 31 of the control means 3 calculates the input position coordinate data for each operation input means 2A. Then, the display control unit 1012 of the arithmetic processing device 1010 displays three virtual pointers on the display 1001 based on the respective input position coordinate data (for example, three fingers of the virtual pointer in the shape of a human hand are displayed). It may be displayed so that each moves.)

In the display control unit 1012, the reaction force calculation function 1013 individually calculates reaction force data. Based on this, the reaction force generation control unit 33 drives the drive motor for each operation input means 2A. And generate a reaction force in each.

On the other hand, in the operation control section 32, when the input position coordinate data is output, the specific range control function 34
When the operation grip 21A exceeds the preset input range for any one of the three preset operation input means 2A, the input means movement urging mechanism is based on the input position coordinate data. 4 is designed to drive.

As described above, in the second embodiment,
It has the same effect as that of the first embodiment described above, and it is possible to input coordinates for three points at the same time.

(Third Embodiment) A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. The third embodiment shows a case where the three-dimensional input manipulator 10B for performing three-dimensional coordinate input is provided in a three-dimensional input system 1000B having the same configuration as that of the first embodiment described above. . The same components as those of the first or second embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

Three-dimensional input manipulator 1 shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 0B designates three operation input means 2A having an operation grip 21A which is movable in the directions of three degrees of freedom, and an input means for moving these operation input means 2A in the directions of a plurality of degrees of freedom based on a predetermined operation command signal. Movement urging mechanism 4B, input means displacement urging mechanism 4B, input means displacement amount detecting means for detecting movement displacement amount of operation input means 2A by the input means movement urging mechanism 4B, and operation of each part The control means 3B (not shown in FIG. 9) for controlling is provided.

That is, the three-dimensional input manipulator 10B is different from the three-dimensional input manipulator 10B except that the input means movement urging mechanism 4B is newly provided with a direct acting joint.
It has the same configuration as A.

The input means movement urging mechanism 4B will be described in detail below. The input unit movement urging mechanism 4B is placed on a horizontal plane and has a plate-shaped base 42 that supports the entire body, and a fourth rotary joint 46 that is rotatable about the base 42 in a direction perpendicular to the base 42. And a link member 43 mounted via a fifth rotary joint 47 rotatable about the horizontal direction.
And a link member 44 having one end connected to the upper end of the link member 43 via a sixth rotary joint 48 which is rotatable about a horizontal axis.
A linear motion link member 44B whose one end is slidably engaged with the other end of the linear motion link member 44 along the link member 44, and the other end of the linear motion link member 44B is rotatable about a horizontal axis. And a link member 45 (not shown) for supporting the base 22 of the operation input means 2 at the other end, the one end of which is connected via a seventh rotary joint 49 (not shown). There is.

A direct acting joint is provided between the link member 44 and the direct acting link member 44B. The direct acting joint includes an engaging hole for inserting the link member 44 provided in the direct acting link member 44B along the longitudinal direction of the direct acting link member 44B, and a link member inserted in the engaging hole. A linear actuator (not shown) for urging reciprocating movement of the linear motion link member 44B with respect to 44, and a linear potentiometer (not shown) as input means displacement amount detecting means for detecting displacement in the reciprocating direction are mainly configured. There is.

As means for urging the reciprocating movement,
Not limited to the linear actuator, it may be configured by a drive motor and a pinion-rack mechanism, for example. In such cases,
An encoder or the like is used as the input means displacement amount detection means.

In this structure, the input means moving and urging mechanism 4B includes the link member 44 and the linear motion link member 44B.
The operation input means 2A is moved in the three-degree-of-freedom moving direction in almost the entire area of the internal space of the hemisphere centered on the fifth rotary joint 47, with the maximum extension length between and as the radius and the total length of the link member 43 as the radius. It is possible to

In this input means movement urging mechanism 4B, normally, the link member 44 is used in a state in which the link member 44 is almost completely inserted into the engagement hole of the linear motion link member 44B (state of minimum extension length), and such a state is obtained. In the above, as the operation range of the operation grip 21A of the operation input means 2A by the operator becomes wider, the direct-acting indirect linear actuator is driven and the direct-acting link member 44B moves forward along the link member 44 and extends. Done.

Here, a control system of the above-mentioned three-dimensional input manipulator 10B is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 3B controls the encoders of the operation input unit 2, the encoders of the input unit movement urging mechanism 4, and the detection angle signals and the detection linear movement displacement signals (movement displacements) detected by the direct acting potentiometer. The calculation processing device 1010 calculates input position coordinate data for each operation grip 21A based on
To the input means movement urging mechanism 4B and the operation command signal based on the input position coordinate data.
The operation control unit 32 that outputs to each drive motor and the linear actuator, and the reaction force data corresponding to the input position coordinate data output from the arithmetic processing unit 1010 are received, and the drive command signal based on the reaction force data is operated and input. It is provided with a reaction force generation control unit 33 which outputs to each drive motor of the means 2.

Further, the operation control section 32B controls the operation grip 21A of any one of the predetermined operation input means 2A based on the input position coordinate data by the operation of the predetermined input means movement urging mechanism 4B. When it is determined that the input means 2A exceeds the movable range, the operation grip 21A
The expansion / contraction operation control function 35B for outputting an operation command signal for urging the expansion operation of the linear motion link member 44B to the linear actuator of the linear motion indirectly while maintaining the present position of the linear motion link member 44B.

That is, by means of this expansion / contraction operation control function 35B, for example, a fixed range with the fifth rotary joint 47 of the input means movement urging mechanism 4B as the origin (here, the link members 24A and 25A of the operation input means 2A, When the operation grip 21A is moved by an operator's operation to the outside of a hemispherical region whose radius is a length somewhat shorter than the total of all of the link members 43 and the link members 44 of the input means movement urging mechanism 4B) The operation command signal is output to the linear actuator, which causes the linear actuator to urge forward movement (extension operation) to the linear motion link member 44B.

As described above, in this third embodiment,
In addition to having the same effect as the second embodiment, if necessary, the operation inputting means 2A by the inputting means moving and urging mechanism 4B.
The range of movement of the control grip 21A is expanded, and at the same time, the range of movement of the operation grip 21A can be expanded.

(Fourth Embodiment) A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The fourth embodiment shows a case where the three-dimensional input manipulator 10C for performing three-dimensional coordinate input is installed in a three-dimensional input system 1000C having the same configuration as that of the above-described first embodiment. . The same components as those of the first or second embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

The three-dimensional input manipulator 10C shown in FIG. 11 has three operation input means 2A having an operation grip 21A which can be moved in the directions of three degrees of freedom, and a predetermined operation command signal for these operation input means 2A. Based on the input means movement urging mechanism 4C for moving in a plurality of degrees of freedom, and the movement displacement amount of the operation input means 2A detected by the input means movement urging mechanism 4C. The input means displacement amount detecting means and the control means 3 (not shown in FIG. 11) for controlling the operation of each part are provided.

That is, the three-dimensional input manipulator 10C is the same as the three-dimensional input manipulator 10A except that the input means movement urging mechanism 4C connects all the link members not by rotary indirect but by direct indirect. It has the same structure.

The input means movement urging mechanism 4C will be described in detail below. The input unit movement urging mechanism 4C is placed on a horizontal plane and has a plate-shaped base 42 that supports the entire body, and a direct movement indirectly with respect to the base 42 in a certain direction on the base 42. A link member 43C that can be moved forward, a link member 44C that is connected to the link member 43C via a direct and indirect connection, and that can be moved forward and backward in a direction perpendicular to the certain direction on a horizontal plane, and a link member 44C that is directly connected to the link member 44C. A link member 45C that is connected through a motion joint, is vertically movable, and supports the base 22 of the operation input means 2 at its upper end.
And have.

More specifically, the linear motion joint between the link member 43C and the base 42 is provided on the upper surface of the base 42, and two guide rails 46C for guiding the link member 43C in a fixed direction, A biasing mechanism (not shown: for example, a drive motor and a pinion-rack mechanism, a linear actuator, or the like) for biasing the movement along the guide rail 46C, and an input means displacement for detecting the movement displacement in the guide rail direction. It mainly comprises an amount detecting means (not shown: for example, a direct acting potentiometer).

Similarly, the linear motion joint between the link member 43C and the link member 44C is formed in a convex shape on the upper surface of the link member 43C, and the link member 44C is formed in a direction orthogonal to the above-mentioned certain direction on the horizontal plane. The guide rail portion 43c for guiding, an urging mechanism for urging movement along the guide rail portion 43c, and an input means displacement amount detecting means for detecting movement displacement in the guide rail portion 43c direction are mainly configured. There is.

Further, the link member 44C and the link member 45
The direct and indirect connection with C is the engagement hole for inserting the link member 45C, which is provided inside the link member 44C along the longitudinal direction of the link member 44C, and the link member inserted into this engagement hole. It is mainly composed of an urging mechanism for urging reciprocating movement in the vertical direction with respect to 45C, and an input means displacement amount detecting means for detecting the moving displacement of the link member 45C in the vertical direction.

With this structure, this input means movement urging mechanism 4C connects the operation input means 2A to each link member 43C,
It is possible to move freely in the three-degree-of-freedom direction within a rectangular parallelepiped region having movable distances of 44C and 45C on each side.

The fourth embodiment performs substantially the same operation as the first embodiment and has the same effect.
In addition to the effects of the first embodiment, since the input means movement urging mechanism 4 has a direct-acting indirect structure, calculation of input position coordinate data at the time of driving and operation command signal of each urging mechanism. It is possible to simplify the calculation process.

(Fifth Embodiment) The fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The fifth embodiment shows a case where the three-dimensional input manipulator 10D for performing three-dimensional coordinate input is installed in a three-dimensional input system 1000D having the same configuration as that of the first embodiment described above. . The same components as those in the above-described embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

The three-dimensional input manipulator 10D shown in FIG. 12 has an operation input means 2D having an operation grip 21D that is movable in a plurality of degrees of freedom, and the operation input means 2D based on a predetermined operation command signal. Input means moving biasing mechanism 4C for moving in a plurality of degrees of freedom direction, and input means equipped to this input means moving biasing mechanism 4C for detecting the displacement amount of the operation input means 2D by the input means moving biasing mechanism 4C. A displacement amount detection means and a control means 3 (not shown in FIG. 12) for controlling the operation of each part are provided.

The operation input means 2D will be described in detail below. The operation inputting means 2D includes an inputting means moving urging mechanism 4
C has a plate-shaped base 22D supported in a horizontal state (may be tilted to some extent), and is rotatable at two points on the upper surface of the base 22D with the vertical direction as an axis. Link members 243D, 244D whose one ends are connected via rotary joints 261D, 262D and second rotary joints 271D, 272D which are rotatable about the horizontal direction.
Is equipped with.

Then, each link member 243D, 244D
The other end of the third is rotatable about a horizontal axis.
Link member 2 through the rotary joints 281D and 282D of
One ends of 53D and 254D are connected.

Furthermore, these link members 253D, 25
The other ends (free ends) of 4D are connected by a single rod-shaped operation grip 21D. That is, the link member 25
The free ends of 3D and 254D are connected to the operating grip 21 via universal joints 211D and 212D, respectively.
It is connected to one end and the other end of D.

Each rotary joint is equipped with an encoder as a grip displacement amount detecting means and a drive motor as a driving force generating means for urging the adjacent link member to rotate (not shown).

With this structure, the operation grip 21D
Is in a state in which both end portions are supported by a connection link structure having three degrees of freedom. The operation input range of the operation grip 21D will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14. Reference characters U and V in these drawings are link members 253D and 254, respectively.
The movable region of the free end of D is shown. That is, the movable area U
Is the link member 2 centered on the second rotary joint 271D.
It is a hemisphere whose radius is the total length of 43D and 253D, and the movable region V is a hemisphere whose radius is the total length of the link members 244D and 254D centered on the second rotary joint 272D.

The universal joint 211D provided at one end of the operating grip 21D moves about the surface of the movable region U or a part of the inside (the whole if the operating grip 21D has a sufficient length). It is possible and when positioned at any one of these, the other universal joint 212D will
It is possible to position a spherical surface having a radius of the length of the operation grip 21D centering on 11D within the range of the spherical shell surface W cut at the contact portion with the surface of the movable region V.

For this reason, the operating grip 21D has one end supported with three degrees of freedom and the other end movable within the range of the spherical shell surface W, so that an input in substantially five degrees of freedom can be input. It is free.

In this three-dimensional input system 1000D,
The three-dimensional input manipulator 10D calculates each input position coordinate data of one end and the other end of the operation grip 21D from the detected angle signal of the encoder in each rotary joint on the end side, and the one input position. The tip position of the virtual pointer 1050 in the virtual space is positioned based on the coordinate data, and the orientation of the virtual pointer 1050 is determined based on the other input position coordinate data (and the direction vector with the one input position coordinate data). Display 1
It is displayed in 001. The reaction force data is the virtual pointer 105.
It can be calculated by the tip position and orientation of 0.

The fifth embodiment has the same effect as that of the first embodiment, and by providing the operation input means 2D, it is possible to input with more degrees of freedom. Therefore, in the three-dimensional input system 1000D, the virtual pointer 1050 can be provided with directionality, which makes it possible to more accurately reproduce the virtual reaction force, and the operator who operates the operation grip 21D can
It is possible to experience a reaction force that is closer to reality.

Further, the three-dimensional input manipulator has the operation input means 2D and the input means movement urging mechanism 4 as shown in FIG.
It may be configured to include and. With this configuration, the above 3
It is possible to exhibit the same effect as the dimension input manipulator 10D. Similarly, the three-dimensional input manipulator may be configured to have the operation input means 2D and the input means movement urging mechanism 4B as shown in FIG. With such a configuration, it is possible to have the same effect as that of the three-dimensional input manipulator 10D, and to exert the effect of expanding the moving range by the input unit moving and biasing mechanism 4B.

(Sixth Embodiment) A sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The sixth embodiment shows a case where a three-dimensional input manipulator 10E for inputting three-dimensional coordinates is provided in a three-dimensional input system 1000E having the same configuration as that of the first embodiment described above. . The same components as those in the above-described embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

A three-dimensional input manipulator 10E shown in FIG. 17 has operation input means 2E having an operation grip 21E which is movable in three directions of freedom, and these operation input means 2E based on a predetermined operation command signal. An input means movement urging mechanism 4 for moving in a plurality of degrees of freedom, and an input means provided in the input means movement urging mechanism 4 for detecting a movement displacement amount of the operation input means 2E by the input means movement urging mechanism 4. A displacement amount detection means and a control means 3 (not shown in FIG. 17) for controlling the operation of each part are provided.

The operation input means 2E will be described in detail below. This operation input means 2E is provided with an input means movement urging mechanism 4
A plate-shaped base 22 supported horizontally on the base 2 and the base 2
2, a link member 23, one end of which is connected through a first rotary joint 26, which is rotatable about a vertical direction as an axis, and the other end of the link member 23 is rotated about a horizontal direction about an axis. A link member 24, one end of which is connected via a movable second rotary joint 27, and an operation grip 21E, which is connected to the other end of the link member 24 via a direct acting joint 28E, are provided. is doing.

Each rotary joint is equipped with an encoder as a grip displacement amount detecting means and a drive motor as a driving force generating means for urging the adjacent link member to rotate (not shown). In addition, the operation grip 21E is
It is formed in a thin rod shape so that the operator can easily hold it.

Then, the link member 24 and the operation grip 2
The direct-acting indirect 28E provided between the 1E and the 1E has an engaging hole which is fixedly equipped with the operation grip 21E and through which the link member 24 is inserted, and the link member 24 which is inserted into the engaging hole. Drive means (linear actuator, drive motor, pinion-rack mechanism, etc.) not shown for urging reciprocating movement to the linear motion indirect 28E along
And an input means (not shown) for detecting a displacement in the reciprocating direction, a displacement amount detecting means (a linear potentiometer, an encoder, etc.).

In this structure, the operation input means 2
E has a length of the link member 24 as a radius, and it is possible to move the operation grip 21E in the three-degree-of-freedom moving direction to almost the entire internal space of the sphere centering on the second rotary joint 27.

By equipping the three-dimensional input manipulator 10E with the above-mentioned operation input means, the sixth embodiment can exhibit the same effect as that of the first embodiment.

The three-dimensional input manipulator has the operation input means 2E and the input means movement urging mechanism 4 as shown in FIG.
A configuration having B and B may be used. With such a configuration, it is possible to have the same effect as that of the three-dimensional input manipulator 10E, and to exert the effect of expanding the moving range by the input unit moving and biasing mechanism 4B. Similarly, the three-dimensional input manipulator may be configured to have the operation input unit 2 and the input unit movement urging mechanism 4C as shown in FIG. With this configuration, it is possible to achieve the same effect as that of the three-dimensional input manipulator 10E.

(Seventh Embodiment) A seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The seventh embodiment shows a case where the three-dimensional input manipulator 10F for three-dimensional coordinate input is provided in a three-dimensional input system 1000F having the same configuration as that of the first embodiment. . The same components as those in the above-described embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

The three-dimensional input manipulator 10F shown in FIG. 20 has two operation input means 2F having an operation grip 21F movable in three degrees of freedom and each operation input means 2F with a predetermined operation command signal. An input means movement urging mechanism 4C for simultaneously moving in a plurality of degrees of freedom based on
This input means movement urging mechanism 4C is equipped with an input means displacement amount detection means for detecting the movement displacement amount of the operation input means 2F by the input means movement urging mechanism 4C, and a control means 3 for controlling the operation of each part ( (Not shown in FIG. 20).

The operation input means 2F will be described in detail below. The operation input means 2F is provided with the input means movement urging mechanism 4
A plate-shaped base 22F horizontally supported by C, a U-shaped guide rail 23F installed on the base 22F and having a sliding portion in the horizontal direction, and the guide rail 23F.
Link member 24F, which is connected along the sliding portion of the guide rail 23F via a linearly movable indirect 27F and is arranged along a direction orthogonal to the sliding portion of the guide rail 23F in the horizontal plane, and this link. Direct indirect 27 in member 24F
Direct acting indirect 2 equipped at the end opposite to the end engaging with F
8F, a link member 25F that is movable in the vertical direction by the direct acting indirect 28F, and an operation grip 21F mounted on one end of the link member 25F.

Further, the direct acting joint 27 is a link member 24F.
Is movably supported along the arrangement direction and urges the forward movement.

Each of the linear motion joints 27F is formed with a through hole through which the sliding portion of the guide rail 23F and the link member 24F are inserted, and the sliding portion of the guide rail 23F inserted through one of the through holes. Drive means (linear actuator, drive motor, pinion-rack mechanism, etc.) (not shown) for urging reciprocating movement to the direct acting indirect 27F along with, and input means (not shown) displacement amount detecting means for detecting displacement in reciprocating direction (Linear potentiometer, encoder, etc.) and the link member 2 inserted through the other through hole
4F is mainly composed of a driving means (not shown) for urging reciprocating movement of the 4F along the arrangement direction, and an input means displacement amount detecting means (not shown) for detecting displacement in the reciprocating movement direction.

On the other hand, the direct acting indirect 28F is connected to the link member 25.
A through hole through which F is inserted is formed, and the link member 2 is inserted along the link member 25F inserted through the through hole.
Drive means (linear actuator, drive motor, pinion-rack mechanism, etc.) not shown for urging reciprocating movement of 5F, and input means displacement amount detecting means (linear potentiometer, encoder, etc.) not shown for detecting displacement in reciprocating direction ) And is mainly composed of.

Further, the operation grip 21F is formed in a hollow and quadrangular substantially ring shape, and an operator inserts a finger into the inside to perform an operation.

Two operation input means 2 having such a configuration
F shares one base 22F, and at the same time, this base 22F
Equipped on F. And with these configurations,
For each operation input unit 2F, the operator uses the operation grip 21F to set the inside of a rectangular parallelepiped region having the sides of the sliding portion of the guide rail 23F, the link member 24F, and the link member 25F as the sides. It is possible to move freely in the direction of freedom.

The above-mentioned three-dimensional input manipulator 10F
In this case, since two operation input means 2F are provided, the input coordinate calculation section 31 of the control means 3 calculates the input position coordinate data for each operation input means 2F. Then, based on each of the input position coordinate data, the display control unit 1012 of the arithmetic processing device 1010 displays two virtual pointers on the display 1001 (for example, two fingers of the virtual pointer in the shape of a human hand are displayed). It may be displayed so that each moves.)

The three-dimensional input manipulator 10F
21 may be configured to have the operation input means 2F and the input means movement urging mechanism 4 as shown in FIG. With such a configuration, it is possible to exhibit the same effect as that of the three-dimensional input manipulator 10F. Similarly, the three-dimensional input manipulator 10F is operated by the operation input means 2F as shown in FIG.
It may be configured to include the input means movement urging mechanism 4B. With such a configuration, it is possible to have the same effect as that of the three-dimensional input manipulator 10F, and to exert the effect of expanding the moving range by the input unit moving biasing mechanism 4B.

[0170]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the operation inputting means is moved by the inputting means moving and biasing mechanism in accordance with the position of the operation grip, the operation range can be dramatically expanded as compared with the conventional case. Is possible. Then, in such an operation range, even when the input operation is large, the operation input means itself can be made to follow the operation direction, and thus the inertial force of the entire device generated during the operation can be effectively reduced. .

Further, as a result, it is possible to improve the operability of the operation grip without being swung by the own weight of the operation input means. Therefore, for example, accurate positioning can be performed even at a fine target position in the operation. At the same time, it is possible to reduce the burden on the arm due to the operation, and it is possible to effectively cope with a long-time input work by the operator. Also, the operation group
Energizing movement of the input means only when the operation range of the lip is large
The mechanism is driven to constantly drive the input means movement urging mechanism.
No need. For this reason, the driving movement of the input means movement urging mechanism
The operation is simplified, the power of the entire device can be reduced, and the operation is possible.
Simplify calculation processing such as calculation of target position of input means
It becomes possible.

The invention described in claim 2 has the same effect as that of the invention described in claim 1, and is operated by an operator.
If the operating grip is out of this input range,
Enclosure control function, input means movement urging mechanism and operation input
The driving force generating means of the means is the current position of the operating grip at that time.
Operation of moving the operation input means to a predetermined position corresponding to the position
Control is performed and the current position of the operating grip after movement is used as a reference
A new input range can be set.

The invention according to claim 3 has the same effect as that of the invention according to claim 1 or 2, and the driving force generating means allows the operator to experience the reaction force based on the reaction force data. Coupled with the effect of effectively reducing the generated inertial force of the entire apparatus, the reaction force based on the reaction force data can be accurately transmitted to the operator without being interfered by the inertial force.

Therefore, when the manipulator for three-dimensional input according to the present invention is connected to a three-dimensional input system or the like and used in a work environment where pseudo reaction force feedback is received, the operator can receive a more accurate reaction force. You can
That is, as a result, a more realistic pseudo sensation can be experienced. Similarly, it is possible to perform input work with higher accuracy and operability.

Since the present invention is constructed and functions as described above, it is possible to provide an excellent three-dimensional input system which has never existed before.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the three-dimensional input system of FIG.

3A and 3B are explanatory views for explaining each coordinate system of the operation input unit of FIG. 1, FIG. 3A shows a basic posture of the operation input unit, and FIG. 3B is each coordinate corresponding thereto. The system is shown.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the first embodiment.

5A and 5B are operation explanatory views showing the relationship between the input range of the operation input means and the operation of the input means movement urging mechanism, and FIG. 5A shows a state in which the operation grip is within the input range.
5B shows the moment when the operation grip moves out of the input range, and FIG. 5C shows that a new input range centered on the operation grip is set by moving the operation input means by the input means movement urging mechanism. Shows the state.

FIG. 6 is an illustration showing a change in posture due to an operation of an input means movement urging mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an operation grip provided in the operation input means of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the three-dimensional input system of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

13 is an explanatory diagram showing a movable range of the operation input means shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a movable range of the operation input means shown in FIG.

FIG. 15 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a modified example of the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a schematic configuration diagram showing another modification of the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a modified example of the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a schematic configuration diagram showing another modification of the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a modified example of the seventh embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a schematic configuration diagram showing another modification of the seventh embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a conventional example.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing a problem of the conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

2, 2A, 2D, 2E, 2F operation input means 3, 3B control means 4, 4B, 4C input means movement urging mechanism 10, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D, 10E, 10
F three-dimensional input manipulators 21, 21A, 21D, 21E, 21F operation grip 31 input coordinate calculation unit 32, 32B operation control unit 33 reaction force generation control unit 34 specific range control function 221, 231, 241 encoder (grip displacement amount detection Means) 222, 232, 242 drive motor (driving force generating means) 421, 423, 431, 441 encoder (input means displacement amount detecting means) 1010 arithmetic processing device (upper device) A input range

Continuation of front page (56) Reference JP-A-2-27420 (JP, A) JP-A-1-94420 (JP, A) JP-A-61-228526 (JP, A) JP-A-8-234899 (JP , A) JP-A-8-69449 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 3/03-3/037

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A manipulator for three-dimensional input, which is connected to a higher-level device and which inputs coordinates in three dimensions, having an operation grip having a movable range and being movable in a plurality of degrees of freedom. The operation input means is equipped with a grip displacement amount detecting means for detecting the movement displacement amount of the operation grip, and a base of the operation input means is supported in a horizontal state, and the operation input means is provided with a predetermined operation command signal. Input means moving biasing mechanism for moving in the directions of a plurality of degrees of freedom on the basis of the input means and input means for detecting the movement displacement amount of the operation input means by the input means moving biasing mechanism. Displacement amount detection means and control means for controlling the operation of the input means movement urging mechanism are provided, and this control means is based on the movement displacement amount detected by each displacement amount detection means. An input coordinate calculation unit that calculates input position coordinate data of the operation grip and outputs the input position coordinate data to the host device, and an operation control unit that outputs the operation command signal based on the input position coordinate data to the input unit movement urging mechanism. together provided, the operation control unit, the operating grip by the operation
When exceeding a preset input range within the movable range
The operation command signal is output to the input means movement urging mechanism
A manipulator for three-dimensional input , which is provided with a specific range control function . 2. The operation grip is provided on the operation input means.
Equipped with driving force generating means to drive
In addition, the specific range control function of the operation control unit is provided in the operation input means when the operation grip exceeds an input range preset within the movable range by the operation.
The operation is performed while holding the current position of the operation grip in the driving force generation means and the input means movement urging mechanism that are generated.
Function to output the operation command signal for moving the input means
The manipulator for three-dimensional input according to claim 1, wherein Wherein in the three-dimensional input manipulator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said operation input means, equipped with a driving force generating means for driving the operating grip to multiple degrees of freedom, to the control means Providing a reaction force generation control unit that receives reaction force data corresponding to the input position coordinate data from the host device and outputs a drive command signal based on the reaction force data to the driving force generation means. A characteristic three-dimensional input manipulator.