JPH0130762Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention detects when a touch sensor, particularly a flexible lever protruding outward from the sensor body, comes into contact with another object and sends it as a switch opening/closing signal. Regarding the touch sensor,
For example, in a control device equipped with a robot, it is used to send a signal to the control device of the robot's hand or arm when the finger or arm of the robot's hand approaches an opposing object within a predetermined distance. can.

A conventional example of this type of touch sensor is shown in FIG.

FIG. 1A is a sectional view of a state in which the lever is not in contact with another object, and FIG. 1B is a sectional view of a state in which the lever is in contact with another object. A flange 21 is fixed to the casing 20 that serves as a fixed abutment, and the bottom of the elastic body 22 is attached to the flange 21 by a fixing ring 23.
has been fixed through. In the through-hole portion of the casing 20 and the flange 21, a movable body consisting of a bludger 24, a helical spring 25, and a brunge 26, which can be slid in the vertical direction as shown in the drawing, is provided. Normally, the upper end surface of the plunger 26 is connected to the lever head 2 as shown in Figure a.
A flexible lever 28 is provided so as to project outward from the upper end surface of the lever head 27 . 29 is a fixing ring that fixes the lower part of the lever 28 to the elastic body 22.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a switch casing that accommodates the opening/closing contacts, and although not shown, a push spring is provided inside the casing 30 to constantly push the switch head 31 upward. When the lever 28 comes into contact with an object, for example, as shown in Figure b, the lever 2
8 is pushed in the direction of the arrow, the elastic body 22 fixing the lever 28 is deformed, and as a result, the lever head 27 is tilted. This amount of inclination is
The switch is linearly converted by an integral movable body consisting of a spring 25 and a plunger 26, and the switch head 31 is pushed down to operate the switch.

According to the conventional structure as described above, it is possible to detect contact of another object with respect to the lever 28 from a 360-degree direction, but the length direction of the sensor body is approximately 10 cm and the outer diameter dimension is is about 5 cm,
The shape is too large. For the purpose of being attached to the fingers of robot hands and detecting the proximity of other objects, it is recommended that the size of a human finger, that is, the diameter of approximately
It is desired that the size be approximately 3 cm or less in length.

The present invention was developed in response to the above requirements, and aims to provide a touch sensor with a simple structure that is compact in size and capable of detecting the proximity of other objects from all 360-degree directions. It is something.

The features of this invention are, in order to achieve the above objectives,
A bearing with a spherical inner surface is attached to one end of the cylindrical case that houses the sensor body. A rod-shaped body is electrically insulated from the sphere and protrudes toward the outside of the case, and a rod-shaped body is electrically insulated from the sphere and protrudes toward the outside of the case. A spherical electrical contact is attached to the tip of the spherical contact, and an annular contact with an inner surface facing the outer circumferential surface of the spherical contact through a small gap is attached to the inner circumferential surface of the case so as to be electrically insulated from the case. One end of a restoring helical spring made of material is fixed to the spherical contact, the other end is electrically insulated and fixed to the other end of the case, and a switch terminal is connected to the annular contact and the helical spring, respectively. The configuration is as follows.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view for assembling the same. Figures 2 and 3
In the figure, 1 is a cylindrical case with an outer diameter of approximately 1
cm, a metal tube with a length of approximately 3 cm can be used. 2 is a bearing with a spherical inner diameter surface provided at one end of the case 1; 3 is a spherical body supported by the bearing 2; 4 is a flexible lever, one end of which is a sphere 3
It is fixed to the sphere 3 via an insulator 5 so as to reach approximately the center of the case 1, and the other end is provided to protrude outward from the case 1 to an appropriate length. Further, a rod-shaped body 6 is fixed so as to protrude from the center of the sphere 3 toward the inside of the case 1 through an insulator 7, and a spherical electric contact 8 is fixed to the tip of the rod-shaped body 6. An annular contact 9 having an inner diameter surface facing the outer circumferential surface of the spherical contact 8 through a small gap is connected to the case 1.
It is electrically insulated from the case 1 and provided on the inner diameter surface of the case 1. A terminal 13 projects outward from the case 1 from the annular contact 9. Reference numeral 10 denotes a restoring helical spring, one end of which is fixed to the spherical contact 8 via a rod-shaped body 6, and the other end is fixed to the other end of the case 1 via an insulator 12, and is connected to the outside of the case 1 as a terminal 11. It's out.

The embodiment of FIG. 2 having the above configuration operates as follows. The cylindrical case 1 is fixed to, for example, a portion of a robot hand corresponding to a human finger, and the lever 4 is disposed so as to be located in a space in the direction of movement of the robot hand. When the robot hand moves and the tip of the lever 4 comes into contact with another object, the tip of the lever 4 stops moving there, but the robot hand continues to move. The rod-shaped body 6 rotates as a center in the opposite direction to the direction of movement of the robot hand, thereby fixing the rod-shaped body 6 on the opposite side of the sphere 3.
A spherical contact 8 provided at the tip of the terminal contacts an annular contact 9 provided on the outer circumferential side of the terminal 12 and 1.
3, an electrical closed circuit is formed, and a signal is sent to the control device to notify that the robot hand has approached another object within a certain distance. The control device receives this signal and controls the prime mover driving the robot hand, for example, by cutting off the supplied energy and stopping the robot hand. In this case, the robot hand is generally unable to stop immediately due to the inertia of the moving object, and will coast even a short distance to a stop.
However, according to the configuration of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the travel distance corresponding to this coasting is absorbed by the flexibility of the lever 4, so that strain on the contact mechanism can be prevented.

In addition, by rotatably supporting the sphere 3 with the bearing 2 and supporting one end of the lever 4 with the sphere 3, it is possible to prevent other objects approaching the lever 4 from any direction within 360 degrees. , it is now possible to always detect the contact state under the same conditions, and the electric contact mechanism is a combination of a spherical contact and an annular contact, making it possible to detect in all 360-degree directions.

In the embodiment, the lever 4 and the rod-like body 6 are fixed to the sphere 3 through the insulators 5 and 7, respectively. , insulators 5, 7
can be omitted.

As explained above, according to the present invention, the shape and dimensions of the sensor main body are approximately 1 cm in outer diameter and approximately 3 cm in length.
cm, it can be made as large as a human finger or smaller, and can detect contact in all 360-degree directions under the same conditions, making it possible to create a great effect by attaching it to a robot hand, etc. becomes.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view for explaining a conventional example, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 when assembled. Explanation of symbols, 1... Cylindrical case, 2... Bearing, 3... Sphere, 4... Lever, 5, 7, 12...
...Insulator, 6... Rod-shaped body, 8... Spherical contact, 9...
...Annular contact, 10...Spiral spring, 11, 13
...Terminal.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] One end of a cylindrical case that houses the sensor body in a touch sensor that detects when a flexible lever protruding outward from the sensor body comes into contact with another object and sends it as a switch open/close signal. A bearing with a spherical inner diameter is attached to the inner diameter of the bearing, and a flexible lever is electrically insulated from the sphere and protrudes from approximately the center of the sphere which is rotatably supported on the inner diameter of the bearing. A rod-shaped body is electrically insulated from the sphere and protrudes inward from the case from approximately the center of the sphere, and a spherical electrical contact is attached to the tip of the rod-shaped body. An annular contact having an inner diameter surface facing the outer circumference through a small gap is attached to the inner circumference of the case so as to be electrically insulated from the case, and one end of a restoring helical spring made of a conductive material is attached to the inner circumference of the case. A touch sensor, characterized in that the touch sensor is fixed to a spherical contact and the other end is electrically insulated and fixed to the other end of a case, and the annular contact and the helical spring are each provided with a switch terminal.