JP3538637B2 - Robot lip mechanism and lip driving method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure of a lip portion of a humanoid robot (humanoid) or an animal type robot and a driving method thereof. With this mechanism, various expressions can be expressed with a relatively simple configuration having only two degrees of freedom.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 shows an example of a humanoid robot to which the present invention is applied. In the case of a humanoid robot or an animal-type robot as shown in FIG. 6, it is desired to express various expressions with a simple mechanism. Lip movements play the most important role in changing facial expressions.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show examples of a conventional lip mechanism. Conventional lip structure and driving method
It is roughly classified into the following two types. The first is a one-degree-of-freedom system as shown in FIG. 7, and the second is a coaxial two-degree-of-freedom system as shown in FIG.

In the one-degree-of-freedom method, as shown in FIG. 7 (A), the upper lip (or upper jaw) 31 is fixed to the head of the robot, and the lower lip (or lower jaw) 41 is moved up and down so that the lips are moved. It is a system that opens and closes.

In the coaxial two-degree-of-freedom system, as shown in FIG. 8 (A), the upper lip (or upper jaw) 32 and the lower lip (or lower jaw) 42 are coaxially two degrees of freedom and are independently moved up and down. It is a method to make it.

[0006]

Each of these conventional systems has the following disadvantages.

In the case of the one-degree-of-freedom method, FIGS.
As shown in (1), by lowering the lower lip, a smile (pleasant) can be expressed, but disgust, sadness (discomfort), and surprise cannot be expressed.

In the case of the coaxial two-degree-of-freedom system, disgust and sadness (discomfort) can be expressed by raising the upper lip, and surprise can be expressed by opening the upper and lower lips. Such a natural positional relationship with other face components is lost. That is, FIG.
In the expression of the robot shown in (D), especially when the mouth is wide open, the upper lip may overlap with the nose as shown in (C) and (D), which makes the expression unnatural. Would.

An object of the present invention is to provide a robot lip mechanism capable of expressing various and rich expressions while maintaining a natural balance between the lips and other facial components while solving the above problems. With the goal.

[0010]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the present invention. In the figure, 1 and 2 are rotation axes, 3 is an upper lip, 4 is a lower lip, 5 is an upper jaw, 6 is an upper lip drive motor, 7
Represents a lower lip drive motor, and 8 represents a drive engagement portion.

According to the present invention, in a robot having an upper lip 3 and a lower lip 4 movable on the head, two degrees of freedom (rotational axes 1 and 2) are arranged as shown in FIG. Overcome the problems of conventional methods.

That is, the first rotary shaft 1 is provided near the front end of the upper lip 3, and the upper lip drive motor 6 rotates the entire upper lip 3 and lower lip 4 around the rotary shaft 1. The second rotating shaft 2 is provided at a rear end side connecting portion of the upper lip portion 3 and the lower lip portion 4, and the lower lip driving motor 7 rotates the lower lip portion 4 with respect to the upper lip portion 3 about the rotating shaft 2. To rotate.

The upper lip drive motor 6 includes the upper lip 3 and the rotating shaft 1.
The upper lip portion 3 and the lower lip portion 4 are connected to each other at the rear side of the upper lip portion 4 via the driving engagement portion 8.

The output shaft of the lower lip drive motor 7 is used as the rotation shaft 2, and rotates the lower lip 4 around the rotation shaft 2.
The output shaft of the lower lip drive motor 7 and the rotation shaft 2 may be connected via a belt or a gear.

Upper lip drive motor 6 and lower lip drive motor 7
Thus, for example, the following facial expressions can be expressed. (a) With the upper lip 3 and the lower lip 4 closed, the entire lip is turned upward. (b) With the upper lip 3 and the lower lip 4 closed, the entire lip is turned downward. (c) The entire lip is turned upward, and the upper lip 3 and the lower lip 4
And open. (d) The entire lip is turned downward, and the upper lip 3 and the lower lip 4
And open.

By these combinations, it is possible to create rich expressions without unnaturalness.

[0017]

FIG. 2 is an assembly view of a lip mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the lip mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In the present invention, the rotation axis 1 of the upper lip 3 is not located at both ends of the lips, but near the front end of the upper lip 3 (under the nose). As a result, an operation of raising and lowering both ends of the lip without hardly moving the front end of the upper lip 3 is realized.

The rotating shaft 2 of the lower lip 4 is disposed at both ends of the lip, and this shaft is connected to both ends of the upper lip 3. That is, the upper and lower lips can be opened and closed using both ends as the rotation axis 2.

The lip mechanism (arrangement of degrees of freedom) shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 will be described in more detail. The upper jaw 5 is fixed to the face (head), and has a horizontal rotation axis (rotation axis 1) for connecting the upper lip 3 to the tip. The vicinity of the front end of the upper lip 3 is attached to the rotation shaft 1 at the tip of the upper jaw 5. Here, the vicinity of the front end means a portion on the front end side of the center of the entire upper lip 3 when the upper lip 3 is viewed from the side. The upper lip 3 can rotate about the rotation axis 1.

The upper lip 3 has a horizontal rotation axis (rotation axis 2) at both ends for connecting to the lower lip 4. Both ends of the lower lip 4 are attached to the rotating shafts 2 at both ends of the upper lip 3. The lower lip 4 can rotate about the rotation axis 2.

Actually, two degrees of freedom (rotary shafts 1 and 2) are driven by some power. In the present embodiment, the upper lip drive motor 6 and the lower lip drive motor 7 are constituted by an electric motor having a shaft for outputting a rotational motion at one end.
And are used. If necessary, a speed reducer can be combined. However, as long as these two degrees of freedom can be driven, not only the electric motor but also any actuator may be used, and the actuator may be arranged at any position.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a method of driving the rotating shaft 1, and shows an example of the configuration of a driving engaging portion 8 for rotating the upper lip 3 about the rotating shaft 1. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 8a denotes a driving side engaging portion,
By the motor output shaft 9. Reference numeral 8b denotes a driven side engaging portion, which is provided at the rear end of the upper lip 3 so as to engage with the driving side engaging portion 8a.

In the example of FIG. 4A, the driving side engaging portions 8a,
The driven-side engaging portion 8b is formed of a spur gear, and the spur gear meshes with each other so that the rotation of the motor output shaft 9 is transmitted to the driven side. In the example of FIG. 4B, both or one of the driving side engaging portion 8a and the driven side engaging portion 8b is formed of an elastic body such as rubber, and the driving side engaging portion 8a and the driven side engaging portion 8a The rotation of the motor output shaft 9 is transmitted to the driven side by the frictional force with the portion 8b. The present invention is not limited to this example, and a driving force transmission mechanism using a belt or the like may be used.

In order to limit the magnitude of the rotation of the upper lip 3, for example, as shown in FIG. 1
1 may be formed. The magnitude of the rotation may be limited by the control of the upper lip drive motor 6.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the lip movement when the present invention is used. With the above mechanism, FIGS.
The upper and lower lips can be moved as shown in FIG.
Expressions such as discomfort and surprise can be expressed while maintaining a natural positional relationship with other facial components. At this time, there is no unnatural expression such that the upper lip overlaps the nose.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention,
With a relatively simple configuration with only two degrees of freedom, it can express complex non-verbal information (expressions such as pleasant / unpleasant / surprise) while maintaining a natural balance with other facial components. It becomes possible to make the communication between the robot and humans more natural.

Further, when the robot utters by voice synthesis or the like, it is possible to realize a movement close to the actual movement of the mouth of a human at the time of utterance, and to impart a sense of reality to the conversation with the robot. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an assembly view of the lip mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a lip mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a driving engagement portion.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a lip operation when the present invention is used.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a humanoid robot to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a lip mechanism of the related art.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a lip mechanism according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 2 rotation axis 3 Upper lip 4 Lower lip 5 Upper jaw 6 Upper lip drive motor 7 Lower lip drive motor 8 Drive engaging part

Continuation of front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B25J 5/00 A63H 11/00

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A lip mechanism of a humanoid or animal robot having a movable upper lip and lower lip, wherein the entire upper lip and lower lip are rotated around a front end of the upper lip as a center of rotation. A robot comprising: a first driving unit; and a second driving unit that rotates the lower lip with respect to the upper lip with a rear end side connection portion between the upper lip and the lower lip as a center of rotation. Lip mechanism. 2. The first driving means is provided at a position where it engages with the rear end portion of the upper lip, and engages with the rear end portion of the upper lip to form the upper lip and the lower lip. The lip mechanism of a robot according to claim 1, wherein the lip mechanism drives the whole. 3. A method for driving a lip of a robot that drives an upper lip and a lower lip of a humanoid or animal-type robot having a lip mechanism for opening and closing, wherein when the direction of the lips is changed, a first method is used. When the entire upper lip and lower lip are rotated about the front end of the upper lip by the driving means and the lips are opened and closed, the rear ends of the upper lip and the lower lip are driven by the second driving means. A method for driving a lip of a robot, characterized in that the lower lip is rotated with respect to the upper lip with the side connection part as the center of rotation.