JPH0560630A - Composite perception sensor for robot finger - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize a highly durable and easily miniaturizable composite sensor to enable a finger of a robot to perceive both the pressure and the hot and cold sense by using a pyroelectric organic film. CONSTITUTION:A hot and cold sensing part 2 of a pyroelectric organic film 1 is set at a part recessed from the contact face with an object. The infrared radiation from the object is detected in a contactless manner without receiving the contact pressure. Accordingly, only the temperature data is detected and a highly durable composite sensor which can be easily turned compact is obtained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a composite sensor sensor for fingers which has the functions of both pressure and heat sensation necessary for a finger of a microrobot, and can withstand a grasping work or the like and can be miniaturized. Is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various tactile sensors required for a finger of a robot have been studied, but a pyroelectric material has been attracting attention as a composite sensor material which realizes thermal sensation with the same element material. In particular, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is an organic film material that is as soft as human fingers and can be easily thinned.
Also, a copolymerization material of vinylidene fluoride (VDF) and tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) has been investigated.

Materials having pyroelectric properties inevitably also have piezoelectric properties and generate an electrical signal in response to both pressure and temperature changes, making it possible to implement composite sensors.
However, it is necessary to devise to measure both signals separately,
"I-Y-E-Spectrum" (IEEE SPECT
The following methods have been proposed in RUM PP46-52 August, 1985).

As a first method, a layer having low thermal conductivity is inserted on the contact surface to delay the temperature change for about 1 second to distinguish the pressure sensor signals, and as a second method, the pyroelectric element is separated from the surface to a deep portion apart from the surface. There is a method in which the pressure and temperature changes are discriminated using the signals of both of them.

All of them rely on a method of contacting an object and changing the temperature of the element portion by heat conduction as a means for measuring the temperature.

[0006]

However, in the above method, it is difficult to clearly identify the information including both pressure and temperature changes with one element, and the establishment of a separation method for both signals remains as a problem to be solved. Was there.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and clearly distinguishes thermal sensation and pressure sensation, and does not impair practical durability, and can be miniaturized and is a composite sensor for fingers. It is intended to provide a sensor.

[0008]

In order to achieve this object, the present invention is to install infrared rays radiated from an object by placing a temperature-sensitive cold part on a supporting substrate having high rigidity without contacting the object. It was configured to receive.

[0009]

According to the present invention, the temperature-sensing cold part does not contact the object because it is not in contact with the object and is not affected by the deformation of the pressure-sensing part. Only the temperature information of the object is radiatively transmitted. The temperature of the object can be detected without including the pressure information.

[0010]

【Example】

(First Embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a composite sensor for fingers of a microrobot according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a pyroelectric organic film,
Reference numeral 2 is a temperature-sensitive cold part of the film 1, 3 is a signal extraction electrode layer of the temperature-sensitive cold part, 4 is an infrared absorbing / common electrode layer, 5 is a pressure sensitive part of a pyroelectric organic film, and 6 is a pressure sensitive part. A signal extraction electrode layer, 7 is a common electrode layer, 8 is a protective film, and 9 is a support substrate.

The operation of the finger composite sensor constructed as described above will be described. First, since the temperature-sensitive cooling unit 2 is set in the concave portion of the substrate, it does not contact the object. Moreover, since the support substrate 9 is made of an insulator having high rigidity, it is not affected by pressure strain due to contact. The temperature of the temperature-sensitive cold section 2 when the object is not gripped is the same as the ambient temperature, but when the object temperature higher than the ambient temperature is gripped, the temperature-sensed cold section 2 emits infrared radiation from the object. Received a slight increase in temperature. When an object having a temperature lower than the ambient temperature is grasped, infrared rays are radiated from the temperature-sensitive cooling unit 2 to the object to cool the object slightly. Due to this temperature change, the pyroelectric organic film 1 outputs a positive or negative pulsed electric signal. The response speed is determined by the thermal time constant and the electric time constant of the temperature-sensitive cold sensor, and the former is 1 ms or less because of the structure in which the temperature is sensitive to the supporting substrate 9. The latter can be freely set in the range of 1 μs to 1 s by selecting the input resistance and the constant of the electric signal processing circuit. In this embodiment, considering S / N, 1
s. Under such conditions, it is possible to secure a sufficient response speed to the working speed of a normal robot.

Since this method does not sense an object having a low infrared emissivity such as a glossy metal, there is a limit to the measurable object.

Next, the pressure sensitive element 5 contacts the object through the organic protective film 8 and generates an electric signal by the contact pressure. The infrared rays emitted from the object are not absorbed because the surface of the common electrode 7 is a gold vapor-deposited film and has a high reflectance, and even if the object is at a low temperature, it is not emitted from the surface and is not affected. However, there is heat conduction due to contact, and its effect cannot be ignored. However, since the thermal conductivity of the protective film 8 is low, the influence thereof is greatly reduced as compared with the case of direct contact, and the electric signal output is delayed. Therefore, by removing the low frequency components, the effect is small. Moreover, the slightly remaining warm / cool information can be corrected by the signal of the warm / cool unit 2.

As described above, the finger composite sensor according to the present embodiment can clearly discriminate between the thermal sensation and the pressure sensation.
Moreover, because it uses a pyroelectric organic film that feels both pressure and temperature changes and generates an electric signal and has a softness similar to that of human skin, it is assembled and assembled into a size that can be set on the fingertips of a microrobot. It is possible. Specifically, the size of the sensitive part of one element is 1 mm ² × 0.
It is 1mm thick. Therefore, a plurality of elements can be incorporated.

Further, since the temperature-sensitive section 2 does not come into contact with the object and the pressure-sensitive section 5 is covered with a protective film, it has sufficient durability even in the working environment of the robot.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the temperature-sensitive cooling element 2 and the pressure-sensitive element 5 are formed of the pyroelectric organic film material on the supporting substrate, and the temperature-sensitive cooling element 2 is brought into contact with the object. A signal extraction electrode layer 3 is set on a supporting substrate 9 having rigidity in a portion recessed from the surface, and a metal thin film 4 also serving as an infrared absorption layer and a common electrode is provided on a surface facing an object. , The pressure-sensitive element 5 is in contact with an object through an organic protective film having low thermal conductivity, a metal common electrode layer 7 for reflecting infrared rays is provided between the two, and a signal is provided between the support substrate 9 and the pressure-sensitive element. By providing the extraction electrode layer, the thermal sensation and the pressure sensation can be clearly discriminated and detected, and a compact and durable compound sensory sensor for fingers can be realized.

(Second Embodiment) A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a composite perceptual sensor for fingers according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, 1 is a pyroelectric organic film, 2 is a temperature-sensitive cold part, and up to 9 is shown in FIG.
The configuration is the same as that of. The difference from the configuration of FIG. 1 is that the temperature-sensitive cooling unit 2 and the pressure-sensitive unit 5 are arranged on the same plane of the support substrate 9, and a plurality of pressure-sensitive units 5 are installed and the protrusions 10 are in contact with an object.
Is formed, and the temperature-sensitive cold section 2 is installed between the pressure-sensitive sections 5.

The operation of the composite sensor for a finger configured as described above will be described below. First, the temperature sensitive section 2 is installed between a plurality of pressure sensitive sections 5, and each pressure sensitive section 5
Since it has a protrusion for contacting the object, it does not contact the object. Moreover, since the supporting substrate 9 is made of an insulator having high rigidity, it is not affected by pressure distortion due to contact.
Therefore, as in the first embodiment, the temperature-sensitive cooling unit 2 can detect only the temperature information of the object and output it as an electric signal. Since there are a plurality of pressure sensitive parts 5, the distribution information of the received pressure can be detected. The influence of the temperature change will be erased by a signal from the temperature-sensitive cooling unit in the vicinity thereof.

As described above, each pressure-sensitive element is formed with the protrusion 10 which comes into contact with an object, and the temperature-sensitive cooling element is installed between a plurality of temperature-sensitive cooling elements, and is placed on the same surface of the support substrate 9. Even if the element is installed, the temperature-sensitive cooling element is arranged so as not to contact the object, so that the temperature-sensing and pressure-sensing can be clearly discriminated and detected, and the pressure distribution can be measured. A certain perceptual sensor for fingers can be realized.

In the first embodiment, the temperature sensitive cooling unit 2
Although it was exposed in the recess, it may be provided with a window plate transparent to infrared rays.

This prevents the problem of contact between the temperature-sensitive and cold parts when handling an object having a special protrusion. In addition, it is less likely to be affected by the movement of air such as wind, so that a more stable temperature / cooling signal can be obtained.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, the temperature-sensitive cold portion is set in the portion recessed from the contact surface with the object, and both the pressure-sensitive portion and the temperature-sensitive cold portion are formed by the pyroelectric organic film. However, by constructing the support substrate of at least the temperature sensitive part with a material with high rigidity, we realized a small and durable composite sensor for fingers that can clearly detect the temperature sensation and the pressure sensation and detect it. It is possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a finger composite sensor according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a finger composite sensor according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Pyroelectric Organic Film 2 Temperature Sensitive Cooling Part 3 Signal Extraction Electrode of Temperature Sensitive Cooling Part 4 Infrared Absorption and Common Electrode Layer of Temperature Sensitive Cooling Part 5 Pressure Sensitive Part 6 Signal Extraction Electrode of Pressure Sensitive Part 7 Pressure Sensitive Part Common electrode layer 8 Protective film 9 Support substrate 10 Pressure sensitive part contact protrusion

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A supporting substrate having a temperature-sensitive cooling element and a pressure-sensitive element formed of a pyroelectric organic film material on a supporting substrate and having rigidity at a portion where the temperature-sensitive cooling element is recessed from a contact surface with an object. To
A signal extraction electrode layer is sandwiched between the target and a metal thin film that also serves as an infrared absorption layer and a common electrode is set on the surface facing the object, and the pressure-sensitive element has an organic protective film with low thermal conductivity. A composite sensor sensor for fingers, which is characterized in that a metal common electrode layer that is in contact with an object and reflects infrared rays is installed between the two, and a signal extraction electrode layer is set between the support substrate and the pressure sensitive element. .. 2. A plurality of pressure sensitive elements according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of pressure sensitive elements are provided with protrusions for contacting an object, and the temperature sensitive element is disposed between the plurality of pressure sensitive elements. A composite sensory sensor for fingers, wherein the temperature-sensitive cooling element is arranged so as not to contact the object even when the element is set on the same surface of the supporting substrate.