JPH08300284A - Robot hand finger - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To meet the holding of plural types of objects with a single robot hand by forming plural pieces of bellows, allowing a finger forming body to be bent to the web side, separately in plural spots in the longitudinal direction of this finger forming body. CONSTITUTION: When a globular something as a tomato is held, one side hook of checking pins 9 is released from an engaging hole 7a of a supporting projection, holding it in a state that a check of bending action in the bellows 9 at the base end side at this pin 6 is released. Each finger forming body 1 is formed into a smooth circular form being matched to the tomato that is therefore held smoothly. When green vegetables such as spinach is held, both hooks of the pin 6 are engaged with the engaging hole 7a of both supporting projections 7, whereby it is held in a state that the bending action of the bellows 9 at the base end side is checked by the pin 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention forms a finger forming body with a cylindrical soft material having a base end portion opened and a free end portion closed, and the opening portion of the finger formation body is connected to a fluid supply portion. In addition, with the base end portion of the finger formation body being supported by a support member, the finger formation body is bent toward the abdomen side by the pressure of the fluid supplied from the fluid supply portion through the opening portion. The present invention relates to a finger for a robot hand, which has a bellows formed on the finger forming body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the above-mentioned fingers for robot hands,
The bellows is formed on the back of the finger formation body over a predetermined length, and when the object to be gripped is gripped, almost the entire length of the bellows is always bent [JP-A-61-20328].
No. 7].

[0003]

According to the above-mentioned conventional structure, when gripping an object to be gripped, the gripping posture is constant because the bellows of the finger forming body is always bent over almost the entire length. One robot hand equipped with this finger form has a different type of gripping target (such as spinach), which has a different shape from a predetermined type of gripping target (for example, a spherical one such as tomato). It was difficult to grasp (green leafy vegetables). As a result, in order to grip the different type of grip target, a robot hand having another finger structure in which the gripping posture of each finger shape matches the shape of the different type of grip target must be prepared. In addition, the number of robot hands increased, the manufacturing cost increased, and it took a lot of time to store them.

It is an object of the present invention to prevent the manufacturing cost from being increased and the troublesome storage due to the increase in the number of robot hands.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a finger formation body formed of a tubular soft material having a base end portion opened and a free end portion closed, and the finger formation body is formed. With the opening connected to the fluid supply section and the base end of the finger formation body being supported by a support member, the pressure of the fluid supplied from the fluid supply section through the opening causes the finger to move. A plurality of bellows that allow the forming body to bend toward the abdomen are separately formed at a plurality of locations in the longitudinal direction of the finger forming body to restrain the bending action of a predetermined bellows of the plurality of bellows. A restraining restraint member is provided so that the restraint restraint can be released.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a finger forming body is formed of a cylindrical soft material having a base end portion opened and a free end portion closed, and the opening of the finger formation body is provided with a fluid supply portion. To the abdomen side by the pressure of the fluid supplied from the fluid supply portion through the opening in a state in which the finger formation body is supported by the support member. A bellows that allows bending is formed over the finger forming body over a predetermined length, and a check member that can prevent the bending action of a predetermined portion in the longitudinal direction of the bellows is provided so that the check blocking can be released. There is a thing.

[0007]

According to the structure of claim 1, the bending action of a predetermined bellows of the plurality of bellows of the finger forming body is switched between the state in which the restraint member restrains the restraint and the state in which the restraint restraint is released. According to the configuration of claim 2, it is possible to switch between the state in which the bending action of the predetermined portion in the longitudinal direction of the bellows is restrained and the state in which the restraint is released. By switching in this way, the gripping posture of the finger forming body is set for each of a plurality of types of gripping target objects so as to match the shape of the gripping target object, and a plurality of types can be set with one robot hand including the finger forming body. The object to be gripped can be gripped separately.

That is, an example of means for separately gripping a plurality of types of gripping objects with one robot hand including the finger forming body having the structure of claim 1 will be described below with reference to the drawings. . [1] When gripping a spherical object such as a tomato, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2B, one hook of a pin 6, which is an example of a check member, sandwiches the bellows 9 on the base end side. The engagement is released from the engagement holes 7a formed in both the support protrusions 7 located at the position, and the pin 6 is gripped in a state in which the restraint of the bending action of the bellows 9 on the proximal end side is released. Since the bellows 9 on the proximal end side of each finger formation 1 can be freely bent, as shown in FIG. 4, the tomatoes are grasped in a gentle arc that matches the tomatoes. [2] On the other hand, when grasping leafy vegetables such as spinach, the hooks at both ends of the pin 6 are engaged with the engagement holes 7a of both the support protrusions 7 as shown in FIGS. As a result, the pin 6 grips the bellows 9 on the base end side in a state where the bending action of the pin 9 is prevented. Since the bellows 9 on the proximal end side cannot be bent, each finger formation 1 is gripped by holding leafy vegetables in a deep shape in which only the fingertip side is bent, as shown in FIG.

As a result of the above, a robot hand provided with the finger forming body having the above-mentioned configuration has a spherical shape like tomato,
Alternatively, one robot hand can handle a plurality of types of gripping objects such as leafy vegetables such as spinach.

[0010]

Therefore, according to the present invention, since one robot hand can handle a plurality of types of objects to be grasped, the number of robot hands can be reduced, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the storage aspect can be improved. It has become an advantage.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1, a plurality of finger forming bodies 1 formed of an elongated tubular rubber material (an example of a soft material) having a base end portion opened and a free end portion closed is provided with a support member corresponding to a palm. 2 shows a robot hand supported and configured by 2. This robot hand is used to sort the vegetables and fruits harvested in the harvest basket into different boxes according to grades. The support arm that supports the support member 2 at the tip is driven by a drive device (both not shown). By changing the position, it is configured to be closer to and separated from the harvest basket side.

Each finger formation 1 has its end portion on the side of the opening 1a fitted onto a round boss 11 projecting from the support member 2 toward the fingertip side and fixed by a ring-shaped clip 5. Then, the round boss 1 is formed in the through hole for air circulation formed in the round boss 11.
The distal end of the hose H is communicatively connected from the back side of the hose 1, and the pump 3 (an example of a fluid supply unit) is connected to the proximal end of the hose H.
Are connected to each other, an air outlet (not shown) which can be opened and closed is connected to the middle part of the hose H, and the circumference of the finger forming body 1 at two locations in the longitudinal direction is such that the height of each fold is a finger. The bellows 18 is formed so as to be higher toward the back side of the forming body 1 (see FIG. 5), and a gripping posture in which each finger forming body 1 is allowed to bend toward the abdomen side by supplying and discharging pressurized air from the pump 3, The posture of each finger forming body 1 can be freely switched between the grip releasing posture in which the finger is extended back to the back side.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the finger forming body 1
A pair of support protrusions 7 are provided on the peripheral portion of the finger formation body 1 so as to sandwich the bellows 9 on the base end side from the longitudinal direction, and a pair of engagement holes 7a formed in both support protrusions 7 are formed. , The hooks at both ends of the pin 6 as the restraint member are engaged with each other in a freely detachable manner,
The bending action of the bellows 9 on the base end side can be restrained and restrained.

When a spherical hand such as a tomato is grasped by the robot hand having the above-mentioned configuration, one hook of the restraining pin 6 is disengaged from the engaging hole 7a of the supporting projection 7 and the pin 6 is used. The grip is held in a state where the restraint of the bending action of the bellows 9 on the base end side is released (FIG. 2B). Since the bellows 9 on the base end side of each finger formation 1 can be freely bent, the tomatoes are grasped in a gentle arc matching the tomatoes as shown in FIG. When grasping leafy vegetables such as spinach,
By engaging both hooks of the pin 6 with the engagement holes 7a of the both support protrusions 7, the pin 6 holds the bellows 9 in a state in which the bending action of the bellows 9 on the base end side is restrained (FIG. 2A). ). Since the bellows 9 on the proximal end side cannot be bent, each finger formation 1 is gripped so as to hold leafy vegetables in a deep shape in which only the fingertip side is bent, as shown in FIG.

That is, according to the above configuration, the state in which the bending action of the bellows 9 on the base end side is restrained by the restraining pin 6 is restrained.
By switching to the state in which the restraint prevention is released, the shape of the finger-formed body 1 in the gripping posture can be set for each gripping target object so as to match the shape, and it is possible to grip a plurality of types of gripping target objects. One robot hand can handle.

[Other Embodiment] As a structure for restraining the bending action of the bellows 9, as shown in FIGS.
A single bellows 9 is formed in the peripheral portion of the bellows so as to be longer than that in the above-mentioned embodiment, and a sheath member 8 as a restraining member capable of restraining the bending action of a predetermined portion of the bellows 9 in the longitudinal direction is restrained. The predetermined portion of 9 may be detachably covered. The sheath member 8 is put on the bellows 9 while being suspended and supported by the support member 2 via a wire or the like (not shown). Further, the inner diameter of the sheath member 8 is changed and adjusted by the screw 10.

One of the engaging holes 7a may be formed as a long hole extending in the longitudinal direction of the finger forming body 1 so that the bellows 9 in the restrained state is bent in a small amount.

The bellows 9 may be formed at three or more locations on the periphery of the finger body 1.

The finger forming body 1 may be formed of another soft material such as vinyl urethane instead of the rubber material.

The objects to be grasped may be vegetables and fruits other than those in the above-mentioned embodiment, and may be something other than food.

The number of the finger-formed bodies 1 may be plural,
The number is not limited.

The posture of the finger forming body 1 may be switched by a liquid such as pressurized hydraulic oil instead of the pressurized air.

It should be noted that although reference numerals are given in the claims for convenience of comparison with the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the accompanying drawings by the entry.

[Brief description of drawings]

[Fig. 1] Vertical front view of robot hand

[FIG. 2] (a) Side view of the bellows part in a state where the restraining member restrains the bending action. (B) Side view of the bellows part in a state in which the restraint of the bending action in the restraining member is released.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional front view of the robot hand holding leafy vegetables.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional front view of a robot hand holding a spherical object.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a finger formation body.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway front view of another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross section of another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Finger forming body 1a Opening 2 Support member 3 Fluid supply part 6 Checking member 8 Checking member 9 Bellows

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A finger forming body (1) is formed of a cylindrical soft material having a base end portion opened and a free end portion closed, and the finger formation body (1) is formed.
Through the opening (1a) in a state that the opening (1a) is connected to the fluid supply part (3) and the base end of the finger formation (1) is supported by the support member (2). The finger formation body (1) is provided with a plurality of bellows (9) that allow the finger formation body (1) to bend toward the abdomen side by the pressure of the fluid supplied from the fluid supply unit (3). A check member (6) which is formed separately at a plurality of positions in the longitudinal direction of the above, and which can prevent the bending action of a predetermined bellows (9) of the plurality of bellows (9) from being restrained, is provided so that the restraint can be released. A finger for a robot hand that is installed. 2. A finger forming body (1) is formed of a cylindrical soft material having a base end portion opened and a free end portion closed, and the finger formation body (1) is formed.
Through the opening (1a) in a state that the opening (1a) is connected to the fluid supply part (3) and the base end of the finger formation (1) is supported by the support member (2). A predetermined bellows (9) is provided on the finger formation body (1) that allows the finger formation body (1) to bend toward the abdomen side by the pressure of the fluid supplied from the fluid supply section (3). A finger for a robot hand provided with a restraining member (8) which is formed over the length of the length and is capable of restraining the bending action of a predetermined portion in the longitudinal direction of the bellows (9) so that the restraint can be released.