JPH0630860B2 - Finger joint devices such as manipulators - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a manipulator, and more particularly to a finger joint device such as a manipulator.

[Conventional technology]

As a finger joint device of a robot or a manipulator that has been conventionally used, for example, "illustrated mechanical hand"
As introduced in (Showa 52.10.20 Industrial Research Committee), joint drive actuators are often provided on the palm or arm outside the finger. From this actuator, links, gears, wires, etc. There is one that uses the to transmit power to the knuckles.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, in the knuckle mechanism as described above, since the actuator for directly moving the knuckle is located outside, the structure is complicated and large, so that the weight is large and the power transmission efficiency is deteriorated. It was a thing.

The present invention has been made in view of this, and simplifies the structure by incorporating an actuator for a finger joint in a cylinder,
Moreover, the object of the present invention is to provide a finger joint device such as a manipulator in which the number of parts is reduced and the size and weight are reduced.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention forms one end of a tubular body in which a pair of contraction actuators are built into a two-pronged bracket, and provides the bracket with holes facing each other, and at the other end of the tubular body. Is a bifurcated bracket in which a first finger to which a cap to which one end of the actuator is fixed is fixed, and one end of a cylindrical body in which a pair of contraction actuators are incorporated can be overlapped with the bracket of the first finger. The bracket is also provided with holes facing each other, and a second finger having a cap for fixing one end of the actuator fixed to the other end of the tubular body, a hole for the bracket of the first finger, and a hole adjacent to the second finger. A pair of rotating members that are rotatably fitted into the holes of the brackets of the second fingers that are overlapped so as to be rotatable from each other and serve as joint fulcrums for both fingers, and an empty space sandwiched between the rotating members. And a pair of pins that connect the other ends of the actuators of the first finger and the actuators of the second finger to diametrically symmetrical positions with the centers of the rotating members in between, and that penetrate through the rotating members. Of the pair of connected contraction actuators for the first and second fingers, when one actuator contracts, the first finger bends with respect to the second finger, and when the other actuator contracts, the second finger contracts. On the other hand, the first finger is extended.

[Action]

With such a configuration, when one actuator contracts or extends, one pin attached to the rotating member and connecting the actuators rotates the rotating member, which causes the rotating member to rotate. Since the other pin attached is moved, the other actuator will be expanded or contracted accordingly, and the first finger can bend and expand with respect to the second finger.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 7.

A finger joint device such as a manipulator according to the present invention includes a first finger 1 having a pair of contraction actuators 2 and 3, and a second finger 1 having a pair of contraction actuators 5 and 6 similarly.
The finger 4, a pair of rotating members 7 and 7 connecting the first finger 1 and the second finger 4, the actuators 2 and 3 of the first finger 1 and the actuators 5 and 6 of the second finger 4 are connected to each other. It is composed of a pair of pins 8 and 9.

The first finger 1 has a substantially quadrangular cylindrical body 10 and a cover 27, which will be described later, is fixed to one end of the cylindrical body 10. The cover 27 is formed on a bifurcated bracket 11, 11. Opposing holes 12 and 12 are bored, and the rotating members 7 and 7 are rotatably fitted in the holes 12 and 12, respectively.

Further, the cap 1 fixing one end 2a, 3a of the pair of contraction actuators 2, 3 to the other end of the cylindrical body 10.
3 is fixed.

The second finger 4 is also a substantially quadrangular cylindrical body 14 having the same size as the first finger 1, and a cover 28 described later is fixed to one end of the second finger 4. The cover 28 is used for the bracket 11 of the first finger 1. Bifurcated bracket 1 that can be overlapped with 11
5, 15 are formed with holes 16 of the same size as the holes 12 of the brackets 11, 11 of the first finger 1, and the rotating members are provided in the holes 12, 16. 7, 7 are rotatably fitted together.

Further, the cap 1 fixing one end 5a, 6a of the pair of contraction actuators 5, 6 to the other end of the cylindrical body 14
7 is fixed.

The rotating members 7 and 7 have a flange 7a and a flat cylinder 7b, and the cylinder 7b portion is overlapped with the hole 12 of the bracket 11 of the first finger 1 and the second adjacent hole. The finger 4 is rotatably fitted in the hole 16 of the bracket 15, and its center O serves as a joint fulcrum of both fingers 1 and 4, and the collar 7a contacts the outer surface of the bracket 11 of the first finger 1. At this time, the height of the column 7b is provided so as to be substantially equal to the height of the brackets 11 and 15 of the first and second fingers 1 and 4 overlapped with each other.

As a result, the other ends 2b and 5b, and 3b and 6 of the actuators 2 and 3 of the first finger 1 and the actuators 5 and 6 of the second finger 4 are held in the space 18 sandwiched between the rotating members 7 and 7.
b is connected by pins 8 and 9 penetratingly supported by the rotating members 7 and 7.

The mounting positions of the pins 8 and 9 are the same as those of the rotating members 7 and 7.
It is provided at a symmetrical position on the diameter line across the center O, and is fixed by fastening means such as nuts and washers.

A bracket 17a is formed on the cap 17 of the second finger 4 in a direction perpendicular to the cap 17,
A yoke, which is joined to a body 19 that serves as a palm portion, is connected to 7a by a pin 20.

One end of the bending contraction actuator 21 and one end of the expansion contraction actuator 22 are coupled to the bracket 17a by pins 23 and 24 above and below the pin 20, respectively. The other ends of the actuators 21 and 22 are attached to the cover 25 attached to the body 19 with the palm part center line 2
It is fixed above and below 6.

Cylindrical body 1 on the rotating member 7, 7 side of the first finger 1 and the second finger 4
0 and 14 are cylindrical bodies 1 in a direction extending from the end face, respectively.
Covers 27 and 28 having the same thickness as 0 and 14 are provided, and the holes 12 and 16 are provided in the covers. The covers 27 and 28 have the first finger 1 and the second finger 4 respectively.
The inner part is notched so that it does not hinder the bending when it is bent, and the outer part is not covered when it extends so that it does not bend outward.
The end faces 27a, 28a of the 7, 28 are in contact with each other to form a stopper.

The contraction actuators 2, 3, 5, 6, 21,
In this embodiment, 22 is a case where a rubber artificial muscle 29 is used as shown in FIG. 7, and a cross rope 31 in which a nylon thread is knitted in a tube shape is laid on a rubber tube 30 and both ends are fixed by metal fittings 32. It is composed of. A pressure supply hole 33 is provided on one side of the metal fitting 32, and when pressure is applied to the inside of the rubber tube 30 from this, the pressure supply hole 33 is contracted by Δl in the longitudinal direction. In this case, air, water or the like is used as the pressure fluid, but oil may be used and the actuator is not limited to the embodiment.

Next, the operation will be described.

First, in the state shown in FIG. 1, when contraction actuators 2 and 5 using rubber artificial muscle or the like are contracted by applying pressure of air or the like, the actuators 2 and 5 move so as to contract to one fixed end, and therefore rotate. One pin 8 of the member 7 is
As a result, the rotary member is rotated about the point O, and the pin 9 on the opposite side is moved in the extending direction.

Therefore, the actuators 3 and 6 operate so as to release the pressure of air or the like, and as a result, the first finger 1 can be bent with respect to the second finger 4.

Next, in the state shown in FIG. 4, when the contraction actuators 3 and 6 are contracted by applying pressure of air or the like, the rotary member 7
Since one of the pins 9 moves the actuators 3 and 6 in the direction of contracting to the one end side, the rotating member 7 is thereby rotated about the point O and the other pin 8 on the opposite side is moved in the extending direction.

Therefore, the actuators 2 and 5 operate so that the pressure of air or the like is released, and as a result, the first finger 1 can be extended with respect to the second finger 4.

At this time, the covers 27 and 28 are in contact with each other at the end faces 27a and 28a and are not inclined further outward.

5 and 6 are joint devices showing an application example of the present invention. That is, when the contraction actuators 2, 5, 21 contract, the joint device bends, and when the contraction actuators 3, 6, 22 contract, the joint device expands.

〔The invention's effect〕

Since the present invention is configured as described above, the structure is simple as compared with the conventional one, the number of parts is small, the joint part can be made smaller and lighter, and the sliding part is also reduced, so that the friction resistance is also small. can do. Further, since the contraction actuator can be provided close to the rotating member, the finger fitting can be downsized and the operating angle can be increased, and since the rotating member is used as the joint fulcrum, the operation can be performed reliably and quickly. Can be done.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the structure of a finger joint device such as a manipulator according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view when the finger joint apparatus of FIG. 1 is bent, FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a joint apparatus using the finger joint apparatus of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view when the drawing is bent, and FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of a rubber artificial muscle applied to the contraction actuator according to the present invention, (a) is a state diagram during extension, and (b) is a state diagram during contraction. Is. 1 is a first finger, 2 and 3 are contraction actuators, 2a and 3a
Is one end, 2b and 3b are the other ends, 4 is the second finger, 5 and 6 are contraction actuators, 5a and 6a are the one ends, 5b and 6b are the other ends, 7 is a rotating member, 8 and 9 are pins 10, 14 Is a cylinder,
11 and 15 are brackets, 12 and 16 are holes, 13 and 17
Is a cap and 18 is a space.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cylinder body having a pair of contraction actuators built therein is formed with a two-pronged bracket, holes are formed in the bracket so as to face each other, and one end of the actuator is fixed to the other end of the cylinder body. A first finger to which a cap is fixed, and one end of a cylinder containing a pair of contraction actuators are formed into a bifurcated bracket that can overlap the bracket of the first finger. A second hole having opposing holes and a cap fixed to the other end of the cylinder for fixing one end of the actuator.
The fingers, a pair of rotating members that are rotatably fitted into the holes of the first finger bracket and the holes of the second finger bracket adjacent thereto, respectively, and serve as joint fulcrums for both fingers, and the pair of rotating members. In the sandwiched space, the first finger actuator and the second finger actuator
A pair of pins that connect the other ends of the finger actuators to diametrically symmetrical positions with the center of the rotating member in between and penetrate through the rotating member to connect the first and second fingers connected to each other. A manipulator characterized in that when one of the contraction actuators contracts, the first finger bends with respect to the second finger, and when the other actuator contracts, the first finger expands with respect to the second finger, etc. Knuckle device.