JPH0675837B2 - Robot hand - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a robot hand. In particular, it relates to a robot bone member and an actuator assembly as a muscle that gives bending and twisting to the bone member. (Prior Art) Since the skeleton of a conventional robot is steel and is assembled in a rigid structure, it is heavy and inflexible and expensive.
The actuators as the muscles were also large and heavy steel hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders and electric motors. The use of such hand parts of robots is naturally limited, and especially the hands and fingers can perform only simple and clumsy movements. (Problems to be Solved by the Invention) A first object of the present invention is to provide a flexible robot hand. The second purpose is to provide a simple, compact and lightweight robot hand. A third object of the present invention is to provide a robot hand capable of complex movements by simultaneously bending and twisting a bone member. (Means and Actions for Solving Problems) The present invention will be described in detail. FIGS. 1 to 7 are explanatory views of a robot hand of the present invention, and the present invention refers to a bipolar part.
An airtight bag composed of a plurality of non-ductile reinforcing wire rods 1 in a meridian shape extending over C and D and a non-ductile flexible membrane 2 formed integrally with the same, and a pressure fluid is introduced from one pole C of the bag, and the pole C and the bone. By the non-ductile tubular flexible tendon 5 connecting the member 3, the control valve 4 controlling the pressure in the airtight bag, and the non-ductile flexible tendon 6 connecting the other one pole D and the other bone member 3 It is a robot hand characterized by being configured. As shown in FIG. 1, the cross section of the airtight bag of the present invention has an airtight structure in which the non-ductile reinforcing wire 1 connects the two poles in a meridian shape and bulges outward between them to connect to the non-ductile flexible membrane 2, as shown in FIG. As the internal pressure increases, the diameter of the airtight bag expands as shown in Fig. 1B, and the non-ductile reinforcing wire 1 moves away from the center and the distance between the electrodes is reduced. If the airtight bag is a ductile material, it requires extra energy to cause the airtight bag to expand, and it is not preferable because the ratio of the two electrodes approaching the expansion of the airtight bag becomes small. In addition, if the non-ductile tubular flexible tendon 5 and the non-ductile flexible tendon 6 that are connected to both poles of the airtight bag are also ductile materials, extra energy is required to cause them to stretch. The amount of operation of the member is small, which is not desirable. In this way, by making the airtight bag or the tendon as the actuator member a flexible material, the flexure of the airtight bag or the tendon is allowed or actively used, and the strength of the actuator is minimized to the minimum necessary. It is possible to reduce the weight and weight, and to integrate a large number of actuators around the bone member in high density. By doing so, complex and flexible hand movements are possible. For the tendon material, in order to make the diameter small, for example, Kevlar is optimal as the polymer material, and titanium alloy wire or high-tensile steel wire is optimal as the metal material. Further, the non-ductile flexible tendon 6 extending outward from the airtight bag can be used as a lead wire for transmitting the signal of the sensor, and if the strength of the lead wire needs to be increased, the reinforcing material as described above can be used. Reinforce the lead wire. As the material of the airtight bag, a material obtained by airtightly treating the non-ductile tendon material with rubber or a polymer material, a polymer material such as vinyl or nylon, rubber with almost no elongation, or a thin wall that easily deforms Metal fiber cloth is most suitable. The pressure pipes for operating the actuators, electric wiring for operation, bone members, etc. can be made of rigid materials such as metals and ceramics, but by using them as flexible materials such as polymer materials and thin metal It is desirable to design the rotation angle of the joint 7 to be small in consideration of the bending of the body, and to reduce the size and weight of the entire device. If the bone member is made of an elastic material that hardly changes in length, the operation will be quicker when returning to the initial position, and in some cases, the actuator for restoration can be omitted or downsized, and the entire device can be made even smaller and lighter. Is possible. By connecting the bone members with a mechanism that combines a pestle and a mortar that can be freely bent and rotated, a mechanism that sandwiches a sphere between two dies, a spherical bearing mechanism, and a joint 7 such as a bellow or a coil spring, Inclination in any direction becomes easier and freer. For joints other than bellows, it is advisable to provide a known O-ring seal 9, a sealing film, or a bellows in order to prevent leakage of pressure fluid such as hydraulic pressure, hydraulic pressure, or pneumatic pressure. 2 to 4, the actuator is the bone member 3
The pressure fluid inside is guided into the airtight bag via the control valve 4, and this pressure gives a tensile force to the non-ductile flexible tendons 6, 6A, 6B. Since the tendon is a flexible material, it can be easily turned to an appropriate direction. In the robot hand of the present invention, for example, in the example of FIG.
The airtight bags are arranged around the bone member in the lengthwise direction, and the bone member 3 is equipped with the non-ductile flexible tendon pairs 6A and 6B that are inclined in opposite directions with respect to the aggregate part 3. At the same time as bending, the joint 7 can be positively twisted. Even when the bone member is an elastic body, the bone member can be positively twisted simultaneously with bending. In these cases, if the bending and twisting intervals are made close to each other, or if a bone member with low torsional rigidity is used, it can be freely changed into a spiral shape like an elephant's nose or a snake, and can be wrapped around an object and handled. become. As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the non-ductile flexible tendon 6 can be connected to a bone member that is some distance away from the joint, so that a narrow space or a thin bone member where an actuator cannot be mounted is used. Can also perform various operations. It is desirable that the airtight bag rows be bundled in the same direction by the tendon guide 11 so that they can be compactly packed, and the airtight bag rows can be stacked in multiple layers. By preparing such a large number of actuators, it becomes easy to cross the non-ductile flexible tendons 6 to give a twist to the bone member 3, and the actuating force is changed by changing the number of actuating actuators. Is also possible. 5 to 7 show conceptual diagrams when the present invention is applied to the hands and fingers of the robot. In each of these figures, only the non-ductile flexible tendon 6 extends at the tip of the finger, and the airtight bag has a sufficient installation space in front of it. For example, in FIG. 5, actuators are integrated in the plate-shaped bone member 10, and the non-ductile flexible tendon 6 extends beyond the joint 7. The tendon extending forward is positioned by the tendon guide 11 at the joint in order to compact it. A perceptual sensor 12 is installed at the tip of the finger, and the non-ductile flexible tendon 6 also serves as a lead wire for transmitting the signal of the perceptual sensor. In the example of FIG. 6, actuators are integrated in the tubular bone member 3 as shown in FIG. 4, and the joint portion 7 is constituted by an elastic bone member. This bone member bends together with the flexible actuator as shown in the figure, and the tip moves to the target point. Also in this case, the non-ductile flexible tendon 6 also serves as the lead wire of the sensory sensor 12. In Fig. 6, a part of the tendon guide 11 is installed away from the joint. Figure 7 shows another example of completion as a robot hand. Although not shown in these figures, it is preferable to cover the hands and fingers of the robot hand of the present invention with rubber or an elastic body of a polymer material to form the skin. In the robot hand of the present invention, a plate-like bone member or the like can be wound in a tubular shape to form a compact and strong robot hand. In this case, the actuator, pressure piping, electrical wiring, switching valve, etc. may be concentrated on the inner or outer surface of the pipe. Further, the airtight bag or tendon may be located inside the joint 7 in FIGS. 2 to 4. In the example in which the airtight bags are arranged on both sides of the plate-shaped bone member in FIG. 5, the airtight bag is inflated by the fluid pressure introduced into the airtight bag from the pressure pipe 8 via the control valve 4. In this example, the pressure pipe 8 and the control wiring 10 are provided at both ends of the bone member plate 3. Since the pressure pipe can be designed as a strength member, its position should be decided at the optimum place each time. Even if the above-mentioned actuators are bundled or integrated, the conventional actuator does not operate due to deformation or interference of the cylinder tube or the like, but in the present invention, the actuator can be easily operated by being made of a flexible material. ． In the present invention, a plurality of actuators can be integrated on the bone member by intersecting the directions. That is, even if the airtight bag is dented by an external force, it is made of a flexible material so that it does not interfere with its operation, and the airtight bag can be accumulated in various ways. (Effect of the Invention) The robot hand of the present invention can provide a flexible robot hand member. It is also clear that this device is simple, compact and lightweight, because flexible materials such as polymer materials, metal cloths and thin metal materials can be used instead of heavy metal materials. Furthermore, by integrating a large number of actuators, complex and subtle hand and finger movements are possible. The robot hand of the present invention can also be used as a foot member or a body member of a walking robot. The robot hand of the present invention opens the way to practical use by utilizing a visual sensor, a tactile sensor, and a proximity sensor between the visual sense and the tactile sense, and rapid development is expected in the future.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 7 are explanatory views of the present invention, and FIG.
Is a cross-sectional view of the airtight bag when the pressure in the airtight bag is low, Fig. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the airtight bag when the pressure is high, Fig. 2 is a view of tubular bone members and spherical joints, and Fig. 3 is a tubular bone. Members and coil spring joints are shown in Fig. 4, tubular bone members and bellows joints are shown, and Figs. 5 to 7 are examples of assembly drawings as a robot hand. 1: Non-ductile reinforcing wire, 2: Non-ductile flexible membrane, 3: Bone member, 4: Control valve,
5: Non-ductile tubular flexible tendon, 6: Non-ductile flexible tendon, 7: Joint, 8:
Pressure piping, 9: O-ring, 10: control wiring, 11: tendon guide, 12: sensory sensor.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An airtight bag composed of a plurality of non-ductile reinforcing wire rods in a meridian shape extending over both poles and a non-ductile flexible membrane integrally formed with the air-tight bag, and a pressure fluid is introduced from one pole of the airtight bag, and the pole and the bone. It consists of a non-ductile tubular flexible tendon that connects the members, a control valve that controls the pressure in the airtight bag, and a non-ductile flexible tendon that connects the other pole to other bone members. A non-ductile reinforcement wire connects both poles in a meridian shape at the position closest to the center when pressure is introduced, and a non-ductile flexible membrane that bulges outward from the non-ductile reinforcement wire is connected to form an airtight structure Robot hand. 2. A joint which connects bone members with a pair of non-ductile flexible tendons intersecting with each other, and the non-ductile flexible tendon is positioned and guided by a non-ductile flexible tendon guide at a joint portion and a joint beyond this. The robot hand according to claim 1, wherein the robot hand is extended to a part. 3. The robot hand according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a part of the non-ductile flexible tendon that bears the tensile force is a lead wire for transmitting a signal of the sensor.