JPH0741562B2 - Walk-behind manipulator - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a manipulator, and more particularly to a manipulator suitable for moving to a work area inaccessible to humans and realizing remote work.

[Conventional technology]

In the conventional manipulator device, as described in JP-A-60-080591, a manipulator is mounted on a traveling vehicle, and the traveling vehicle moves to the work site.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In the above conventional technology, it is difficult for the traveling vehicle to traverse an obstacle such as a pipe in the passage. Further, the size of the traveling vehicle including the manipulator becomes large, and it is difficult to apply unless the passage has a large passage cross-sectional area. By the way, in order to perform maintenance / repair work in the plant with the manipulator, it is essential that the pipe or the like as described above can be traversed when the manipulator is moved and that the manipulator has a small passage cross-sectional area. Furthermore, it is necessary to be able to easily change the work position at the work site. Moreover, it is necessary that the manipulator can be moved without a track in order to flexibly adapt to the work.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a manipulator capable of walking the manipulator itself to enhance the mobility of movement of the manipulator, and having a small passage cross-section, and enabling the manipulator work at the place after the movement. .

[Means for solving problems]

The walk-type manipulator of the present invention has a manipulator arm having a plurality of pitch joints and a plurality of roll joints that can be driven by remote control, and a mechanism that can be attracted to a floor or a wall by remote control so that both ends of the manipulator arm are remote. It consists of two suction-type end effectors that can be respectively detached by operation, and a hand that can be remotely attached to and detached from one end of the manipulator arm. One of the two suction-type end effectors carries the hand so that it can be taken out. It is characterized in that a holder for is attached.

[Action]

The two adsorption type end effectors are adsorbed on both ends of the manipulator arm, and first, one adsorption type end effector is adsorbed on the floor, thereby supporting the total weight of the manipulator. Then, the pitch joint of the manipulator arm is operated to lift the other suction-type end effector into the air, and then the roll joint of the manipulator is operated to send the suction-type end effector forward, and the pitch joint is operated again to operate the suction-type end effector. Lower the end effector onto the floor and adsorb it to the floor. Next, stop adsorption to the floor of the adsorption type end effector that was previously adsorbed to the floor, lift this adsorption type end effector in the air by the same operation as above, and send it out forward,
Take it down to the bed again and let it adsorb on the bed. The manipulator can walk on the floor by alternately repeating such an operation with respect to the two adsorption type end effectors. The same applies to walking on the wall. When the manipulator arrives at the work site by this walking, operate the joint of the manipulator arm to disconnect the end of the manipulator arm from the suction end effector with the holder (this remains on the floor) and carry it to the suction end effector. The end of the manipulator arm is connected to the hand that is being held, and the hand is taken out of the holder.
After that, manipulator work can be performed at the work site by the manipulator arm and the hand connected to the end thereof.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. First
The figure is a schematic perspective view of the manipulator of this embodiment in a certain initial state. The manipulator 1 includes an arm 6 configured by three arm modules 7a, 7b, 7c detachably connected via adapters 9a and 9b, and a suction-type end effector detachably coupled to one end of the arm 6. 2 and a suction type end effector 3 with a holder that is detachably coupled to the other end of the arm 6. Two holders 5 are fixed to the side surface of the suction type end effector 3 with a holder so as to face each other. A hand 4 having a finger 28 is detachably attached to one of the holders 5. As will be described later in detail, the hand 4 is taken out from the holder 5 by operating the arm 6 remotely, and as shown in FIG. 2, the hand 4 is attached to the tip of the arm 6 instead of the suction end effector 3 with a holder. It can be attached to the tip of an arm module 7c.

In the following description, when expressing each arm module 7a, 7b, 7c and each adapter 9a, 9b without distinguishing them, the subscripts a, b, c are omitted.

The arm modules 7a, 7b, 7c have the same structure, and each has two joints, a pitch joint and a roll joint. The pitch joint II of the arm module 7a is a joint that rotates in the direction of arrow 101, and the roll joint I is a joint that rotates in the direction of arrow 100. Similarly, the arm module 7b has an arrow 102
It has a pitch joint III rotating in the direction of and a roll joint IV rotating in the direction of arrow 103. Arm module 7c arrow
It has a pitch joint V rotating in the direction of 104 and a roll joint VI rotating in the direction of an arrow 105. An arm 6 having 6 joints is configured by connecting the three arm modules, and the joints are arranged from the root side in a roll joint I, pitch joint II, pitch joint III, roll joint IV,
It has pitch joint V and roll joint VI. According to this joint arrangement, as will be described later, the hand 4 attached to the tip of the arm module 7c and the suction-type end effectors 2 and 3 are attached to the arm 4a.
It can be positioned at any position in the dimensional space and at any posture.

In FIG. 1, one end of the suction type end effector 2 is the floor surface.
It is adsorbed on 10, and the other end is connected to the arm module 7a. A cable 8 for power supply and signals is provided on the side surface of the adsorption type end effector 2 and is connected to a control room (not shown). The arm module 7a is the third
It is connected to the arm module 7b via a nonpolar adapter 9a having a structure as shown in the figure. Similarly, the tip of the arm module 7b is connected to the arm module 7c via a nonpolar adapter 9b. Arm module
A suction type end effector 3 with a holder is connected to the tip of 7c.

At both ends of each arm module 7, as shown in FIG. 3, there are a next arm module to be connected, a receptacle 11 for transmitting power and signals to a hand or an end effector, and three connecting pins 13. The receptacle 11 is configured so that it can be connected to the plugs 12 at both ends of each adapter 9. Each adapter 9 has a hole 14 for receiving a connecting pin 13,
The outer ring 15 is free to rotate with respect to the plug 12. This ring 15 is located on both sides of the adapter 9 and can rotate independently of each other. The ring 15 has a claw 16 on the inner side and is configured to engage with the notch of the connecting pin 13. The adapter 9 and the arm module 7 are connected to each other by positioning so that the connecting pins 13 all enter the holes 14 and the power source of the plug 12 enters the receptacle 11, and the end surface of the adapter 9 and the end surface of the arm module 7 are separated from each other. It is realized by aligning the claw 16 with the notch of the connecting pin 13 by rotating the ring 15 so as to eliminate the gap. This is a type of what is called the bayonet mechanism.

The arm module 7c and the hand 4 are connected by a bayonet mechanism as in the connection of the adapter 9. FIG. 4 shows the center of the hand 4 and the arm module 7c and one connecting pin.
13 is a sectional view taken through the center of FIG. 13, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line cc '. As shown in FIG. 4, the housing 17 of the hand 4
Has a plug 12 at its center and three holes 14 that fit into the connecting pins 13. A detachable ring 18 is rotatably coupled to the outside of the housing 17 with respect to the housing 17. The inside of the removable ring 18 is a ring
Similar to 15, it has a claw 16 that meshes with the notch of the connecting pin 13. The tip side of the attachment / detachment ring 18 has a shape in which a part of the side surface of the cylinder is cut by a flat surface so as to mesh with a hole having parallel straight opposite sides in the center of the holder 5. Inside the housing 17, a motor stator 19 and a position detector 21 are fixed. The shaft 23 of the rotor 20 of the motor is rotatably fixed to the housing 17 via a bearing 22. One end of the shaft 23 is connected to the input shaft of the position detector 21, and the other end is connected to the ball screw 24. The ball nut 25 meshes with the ball screw 24, and the pin 26 that slides in the hole of the link 27 is provided on both outer sides of the ball nut.
Is fixed. Link 27 is rotatably coupled to housing 17 and is also coupled to finger 28. Link
27 and the link 29 are coupled so that their axes are coupled to the finger 28 and the housing 17, and the finger 28 and the housing 17 are coupled to each other by a parallelogram link. A control signal of the rotor 20 of the motor, a signal of the position detector 21 that detects the rotation angle of the motor, and the like are supplied and transmitted through the plug 12.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the suction end effector 3 with a holder has three holes 14 and a plug 12 into which a connecting pin 13 of the arm module 7c fits.
And a suction mechanism 31 for the floor surface 10 and the wall surface, and a hand holder 5.

The attraction mechanism 30 has a magnetic pole 33 and a magnetic pole 34 having high magnetic permeability, and a permanent magnet 35 and an electromagnetic coil 36 provided around the permanent magnet 35 for canceling the magnetic flux between the end faces of the magnetic poles.
And a low magnetic permeability insulating material 32 on the side faces of the magnetic pole 33 and the magnetic pole 34. The magnetic pole 33, the insulating material 32, and the magnetic pole 34 are coaxial,
They are arranged in this order. The magnetic pole surfaces of the magnetic poles 33 and 34 are exposed at the end surface of the end effector 3, and when a plate with high magnetic permeability comes to one end of the end effector 3, a magnetic circuit is formed by the magnetic flux of the permanent magnet and an attractive force is generated. This attractive force is
The control is performed by canceling the magnetic flux of the permanent magnet 35 (passing a current through the coil so that a reverse magnetic field is generated) by the 36.

Like the suction mechanism 30, the suction mechanism 31 also has a magnetic pole 37 coaxially,
It has a permanent magnet 40, an electromagnetic coil 41, an insulating material 39, and a magnetic pole 38.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the suction type end effector 2 is exactly the same as the suction type end effector 3 with a holder except that it does not have a holder 5.

The coupling surface 42 of the arm module 7 is made of a material having a high magnetic permeability so that the two end effectors 2, 3 and the arm module 7 can be attracted and coupled. Iron can be used as the material having a high magnetic permeability.

Next, regarding the walking motion of the manipulator described above,
It will be described with reference to the drawings. Let us assume that the manipulator 1 is initially in a posture shown in FIG. 10 (a) and that the manipulator 1 walks on a floor having a high magnetic permeability, for example, an iron plate. FIG. 10 is a schematic representation of the manipulator walking to the right.The end effectors 2 and 3 are represented by rectangles, and the end effectors that generate a suction force with the floor are shaded. Give this out.

FIG. 10A shows a state in which the electromagnetic coil 47 of the right end effector 2 is OFF and the electromagnetic coil 52 is OFF. At this time, the magnetic field of the permanent magnet 46 is not affected by the electromagnetic coil 47, so that an attractive force is generated between the end effector 2 and the arm module 7a, and the end effector 2 moves to the arm module.
It is fixed to 7a. Similarly, since the magnetic field of the permanent magnet 51 is not affected by the electromagnetic coil 52, the end effector 2 and the floor surface are not affected.
An attraction force is generated by the permanent magnet 51 between the end effectors 10, and the end effector 2 is fixed to the floor surface 10. On the other hand, in the left end effector 3, the electromagnetic coil 36 is OFF and the electromagnetic coil 41 is ON. Therefore, since the magnetic field generated by the permanent magnet 35 is not affected by the electromagnetic coil 36, an attraction force is generated by the permanent magnet 35 between the end effector 3 and the arm module 7c, and the end effector 3 is fixed to the arm module 7c. . On the other hand, the magnetic field in the magnetic poles 37, 38 due to the permanent magnet 40 is canceled by the reverse magnetic field of the electromagnetic coil 41, so that there is no attractive force between the end effector 3 and the floor surface 10.

Next, the pitch joints II, III, V are rotated so as to be as shown in FIG. 10 (b).

Next, the roll joint I is rotated as shown in FIG. 10 (c), and the end effector 3 is sent forward.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10 (d), pitch joints II, III, V
To rotate.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10 (e), the end effector 2
The electromagnetic coil 52 is turned on, and the electromagnetic coil 41 of the end effector 3 is turned off. At this time, the attraction force between the end effector 2 and the floor surface 10 is lost, and the end effector 3 and the floor surface 10 are removed.
Is generated.

Next, the pitch joints II, III, V are moved so as to be in FIG. 10 (f).

Next, the roll joint VI is rotated so as to be as shown in FIG. 10 (g), and the end effector 2 is sent forward.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10 (h), the pitch joints II, III, V are rotated to attach the end effector 2 to the floor.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10 (a), the end effector 2
The electromagnetic coil 52 is turned off, and the electromagnetic coil 41 of the end effector 3 is turned on. At this time, the end effector 3 and the floor surface
The attraction force of 10 disappears, the attraction force of the end effector 2 and the floor surface 10 is generated, and the end effector 2 is fixed to the floor surface 10.

By repeating the series of operations shown in FIGS. 10A to 10H, the manipulator moves forward by walking.

When the manipulator walks through the above series of operations and arrives at the work site, the end effector 2 is adsorbed and fixed on the floor surface 10, and the end effector 3 is grounded on the floor surface 10
The state shown in FIG. In this state, the electromagnetic coil 41 of the end effector 3 is turned off and the electromagnetic coil 36 is turned on. At this time, the end effector 3 is fixed by the attraction force of the permanent magnet 40 generated between the end effector 3 and the floor surface 10, and the attraction force of the permanent magnet 35 generated between the end effector 3 and the arm module 7c disappears. . Therefore, the joints II, III, V of the arm are rotated to vertically move the tip of the arm module 7c upward, and the end effector 3 is removed from the arm module 7c. Next, the joints I, II, III, V are connected so that the tip of the arm module 7c is coupled to the hand 4 mounted on the holder 5 of the end effector 3 on the floor surface 10.
To rotate. After the arm module 7c and the both end surfaces of the hand 4 are brought into close contact with each other, the roll joint VI is rotated. At this time, the attachment / detachment ring 18 does not rotate because it is engaged and fixed in the hole of the holder 5 of the end effector 3. But,
Since the hand 4 can rotate, the attaching / detaching ring 18 relatively rotates, so that the hand 4 and the arm module 7c are connected and fixed by the bayonet mechanism. This state is shown in FIG. After that, a desired manipulator work can be performed at the work site by remote control of the manipulator and the hand 4.

It is needless to say that the walking motion is not limited to that shown in FIG. 10 and may be a combined motion of other joints.

According to the present embodiment, all pitch joints are 90 ° during the forward movement, which facilitates the determination of the joint angle in the walking movement.

In addition, in the intermediate posture of the walking motion described in FIG. 10, in order to reduce the moment applied to the adsorption type end effector, the end effector floating in the air is changed to the end effector fixed on the floor. It is preferable to control the distance to be the shortest.

Another embodiment of the present invention is the same as the above embodiment except that a cable for external power supply and a control signal is attached to the adsorption type end effector 3 with a holder. According to this embodiment, when the end effector 3 is detached from the arm module, there is an effect that the power supply to the electromagnetic coil 36 is not interrupted.

Further, an embodiment using an end effector in which the permanent magnet is removed and an attractive force is generated by an electromagnetic coil is also possible.

Further, an ejector type vacuum pump may be used instead of the permanent magnet or the electromagnetic coil, and a vacuum suction method may be adopted instead of magnetic attraction. In this way, it is possible to walk even if the floor surface is not made of a material having high magnetic permeability.

Further, the walking motion of the manipulator is not limited to the plane, and by moving the angular joints I to VI, it is possible to transfer to the wall and walk on the wall.

If an ultra-compact, lightweight, high-power battery is available, the end effectors 2, 3 and arm modules 7a, 7
By incorporating a battery and a wireless circuit in b and 7c, the above-mentioned cable is not required, and it is possible to select a walking route without worrying about the entanglement of the cable even in a complicated traveling route.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention, since the manipulator itself can walk, the manipulator has the effects of enhancing the mobility and having a small passing cross-sectional area. That is, the manipulator can be moved to an unsteady route in the plant, which has the effect of expanding the remote work range. Further, after the movement, the manipulator work can be performed at the place.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a manipulator according to an embodiment of the present invention in a certain state, FIG. 2 is an external view of the manipulator with a hand attached to the tip, and FIG. 3 is an arm module and adapter. Sectional view, FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the end of the arm module and the hand, and FIG. 5 is cc 'of FIG.
6 and 7 are plan views and side sectional views of the suction-type end effector 3 with holder, respectively, and FIGS. 8 and 9 are plan views of the suction-type end effector 2 and Side sectional view, FIG. 10 (a) to (h)
[Fig. 3] is a schematic explanatory view showing the walking motion of the manipulator in order. 1 …… Manipulator, 2 …… Suction end effector 3 …… Suction end effector with holder 4 …… Hand, 5 …… Holder 6 …… Manipulator arm 7,7a, 7b, 7c …… Arm module 9,9a, 9b …… Adapter, 10 …… Floor 28 …… Fingers, I, IV, VI …… Roll joints II, III, V …… Pitch joints.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A manipulator arm having a plurality of pitch joints and a plurality of roll joints that can be driven by remote control, and a mechanism that can be attracted to a floor or a wall by remote control, and both ends of the manipulator arm can be remote controlled by remote control. It consists of two detachable suction-type end effectors and a hand that can be remotely attached to and detached from one end of the manipulator arm, and one of the two suction-type end effectors is for carrying the hand in a removable manner. A walking manipulator characterized by having a holder attached.