JPS60146695A - Robot hand - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Technical Field The present invention is a lightweight object that can softly grip an object, using an elastic contracting body that expands in the radial direction by sucking and discharging pressurized fluid and generates a contraction force in the axial direction. This is related to a hand mechanism.

Conventional technology and its problems Today, the spread of robot hands, including prosthetic hands, is remarkable. This is due to the development of control devices and related equipment.
This is due to the fact that it has become possible to mechanize or automate the production of pears, which previously had to be done by hand, and the increasing demands caused by environments where humans cannot directly work, such as outer space and nuclear reactors. .

If such robot hands are classified based on their power source, they can be divided into electric, pneumatic, and hydraulic types. There are also mechanical types, but their scope of use is limited because they can only perform the same movements.

Electric glue pot hands have a wide range of related equipment and are easy to design system configurations and control systems, but many use servo motors and are expensive devices. In addition, since a speed reduction device is required, the size of the hand is limited, and if overloaded, it tends to generate heat and may cause a fire. Furthermore, since it uses electricity, it is impossible to avoid the generation of sparks, and there is a problem that it cannot be used in an explosive atmosphere.

Hydraulic robot hands are more powerful than electric or pneumatic ones, and have the advantage of being able to provide rotary motion and direct grain interlocking. In addition to the fact that the power source occupies a large area and has complicated piping and is expensive, it also cannot ignore the problem of 1 gJ heat generation, which is a problem of contamination of the surrounding area due to leakage of hydraulic oil.

Purpose of the Invention In contrast, pneumatic robot hands cannot obtain a large operating force, but have a safety force ≦ even against overload.
There is no need to worry about large amounts of heat generation, and it is advantageous in terms of cost compared to the two methods mentioned above. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a new robot hand that uses or does not use a pneumatic cylinder, which is lightweight, has a flexible structure, and can grip objects softly without sacrificing these advantages of the pneumatic type. ,
be.

Structure of the Invention In order to achieve this object, the robot hand of the present invention has the following features:
Finger members connected by a hinge joint, one end of the connected fingers is connected to the free end of the m member, the other end is connected to the fixed end of the connected finger member, and pressurized fluid is introduced from the suction/discharge port. Ijll! expands and deforms and generates contraction force in the axial and linear directions. a band member that is disposed at the joint portion of the finger member and suppresses expansion and diameter deformation of the elastic contractile member at the joint portion; It is characterized by comprising an elastic means for returning to the initial position.

In addition, one end of the gripping member is made by arranging the above-mentioned elastic contractile body and an elastic okiwagi body that similarly generates a longitudinal force in the axial direction by introducing pressurized fluid so that they are in parallel contact with each other. The gripping member is connected to a holding member and pressurized fluid is introduced into the gripping member so that the gripping member can be bent freely with the elastic contracting body inside.

Real kite example The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of the robot hand of the present invention viewed from the palm side. Reference numeral 2 denotes a holding member corresponding to a human palm, and in this embodiment, it has a cedar shape similar to a palm. Reference numeral 4 denotes a finger member, which is made of synthetic resin or metal, and is connected by a hinge joint 6, so that the finger member can freely rotate around the axis of the joint. Furthermore, as part of this hinge joint 6 is shown in FIG.
Elastic means 7 having the function of returning the fin force member to its initial position when the fin force member 4 is displaced around the joint 6;
In this embodiment, a coil spring is provided.

Preferably, at least one of the finger members 4 has one joint end formed into a tube shape and has a built-in coil spring.

An appropriate number of finger members 4 are connected as described above, and one end thereof is hinged to the holding member 2.

Next, an elastic contracting body 8 is arranged along the connected finger members, and one end of the elastic contracting body 8 is connected to the finger member end 10.
A pin connection is made using an eye or clevis 12 provided at the end of the elastic contracting body 8. Similarly, the eye or clevis 12 is used to connect the other end of the elastic contractile body 8 to the holding member 2 with a pin.

Here, the elastic contractile body 8 expands in the radial direction by introducing pressurized fluid through the intake/discharge port 14 and generates a contractile force in the axial direction.

This elastic contractile body 8 is fixed to the joint portion of the finger member by a band member 16. The band member 16 may be made of metal as long as it suppresses expansion and deformation when the elastic contraction body 8 expands and deforms, but since it frequently contacts the elastic contraction body, it may be made of metal. Anything that damages the contracted body is undesirable. It is preferable to use a material having a lower hardness than the surface layer of the elastic contractile material, such as a rubber-like elastic material reinforced with a fiber layer and formed so as not to stretch. Of course, it may be made of synthetic resin. Figure 8 shows a robot hand constructed as described above. Note that the connected finger part ends 1° may be left as they are as shown in the figure, but a layer of elastic material (not shown) such as rubber or sponge may be attached to the outer periphery so that when the robot hand grasps the object. It is best to avoid damaging the object.

Next, the operation of the robot hand configured as described above will be explained.

Until pressurized fluid is introduced, the elastic means 7 keep each finger member 4 in its initial position. Here, when the pressurized fluid is introduced into the elastic contracting body 8 through the suction/discharge port 14, the elastic contracting body 8
generates a contraction force in the axial direction. By the way, although the finger member 4 is rotatably connected by the hinge joint 6, the robot hand is bent as shown in FIG. 4 due to this contraction force. Further, since the elastic contractile body 8 is prevented from expanding in diameter at the joint part by the band member 16 fixed to the joint part, the 47th: Io,
. Wow, 6 degrees 9. . □, 1 When grasping, this expanded portion first comes into contact with the object. The elastic contracting body is made of garbage or rubber-like elastic material whose outer periphery is reinforced with a braided structure using organic or inorganic high tensile strength fibers as tensile reinforcement elements, so it will not damage the object. It is soft and can be held easily. The gripping surface has a non-slip braided structure, so you can grip the object reliably.

Next, for example, once the robot hand has brought the object to the desired position, if the pressurized fluid is discharged from the elastic contractile body through the suction/discharge port, the restoring force of the elastic contracture body itself and the The finger member returns to its initial position by the restoring force of the elastic means.

Therefore, as shown in Fig. 1, a robot hand has a plurality of connected finger members or five fingers like a human hand, and the degree of bending of each connected finger member or the length of the connected finger members is changed as appropriate. If you use -1A, you can grip even an object with an uneven shape by wrapping it securely. Of course, it is obvious that a robot hand consisting of one connected finger member may also be used.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the four-bot hand of the present invention. Unlike the above-mentioned embodiments, this embodiment uses an elastic finger member that generates a contractile force in the axial direction by introducing pressurized fluid through a suction/discharge port, instead of a relatively rigid finger member connected by a hinge joint. This is part of a robot hand in which a contractile body 8 and an elastic stretchable body 18 that generates a stretching force in the axial direction are arranged parallel to each other in contact with each other, and the contact and shaft portions 20 are joined.

It should be noted that elements given the same reference numerals as in FIGS. 1-4 have the same functions.

Using the clevis 12 provided at one end of both elastic bodies 8, 18,
Both elastic bodies are connected to the holding member. If the connection is a pin connection, it is convenient because when both elastic bodies are deformed, excess force will not act on the ends of both elastic bodies.

The two elastic bodies 8.18 shall be joined to each other at the contact portion 20. When joining, a suitable adhesive is used over the entire length of the contact portion. They may be glued together at appropriate intervals. Band members 16 are provided around the gripping member formed in this manner at appropriate intervals. As mentioned above, the band member 16 may be made of metal as long as it prevents the gripping member from expanding and deforming; however, since it frequently comes into contact with the gripping member, it is preferable. is made of rubber-like elastic material reinforced with fibers or synthetic resin so that it hardly stretches.

When pressurized fluid is supplied to this gripping member through the suction/discharge port 14, the gripping member is bent with the elastic contracting body 8 inside as shown in FIG. 6 with the joint portion as a neutral plane. By introducing the pressurized fluid, the elastic contracting body 8 transfers the contracting force to the elastic stretching body 1.
8 each generate a stretching force. At this time, the gripping member bends the band member 16 as if it were a joint, and the expanded portion of the elastic contraction body 8 comes into contact with the object to be gripped. If pressurized fluid is further supplied to the gripping members, ie both elastic bodies 8, 18, the gripping members will bend even more and grip the object even more securely. Moreover, as already mentioned, since the surface of the elastic contracting body has a braided structure, the object can be gripped reliably.

On the contrary, if the pressurized fluid supplied to the gripping member is discharged through the suction/discharge port 14, the gripping member returns to the state shown in FIG. 5 due to the restoring force of both elastic bodies.6 Of course, the band member 1
6 may not be provided around the circumference, but the degree of bending becomes constant, and is particularly suitable for gripping objects with a large diameter. Therefore, a robot hand equipped with a grasping member formed in this manner performs a grasping motion that is quite similar to a grasping motion performed by a human hand.

This is common to the above two embodiments and is due to the characteristics of the elastic contractile body. That is, the axial contraction force F generated by the elastic contractile body and the axial contraction rate 6
There is a relationship shown in FIG. 7, and as the contraction rate 6 increases, the contraction force F decreases exponentially. This is because when the contraction rate is small, a large force acts to bend the finger member, and when the contraction rate increases to a certain extent, the contraction force F does not change significantly even if the supply or discharge amount of pressurized fluid is slightly increased or decreased. It means that. Therefore, the gripping work can be performed easily and safely. 2. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the joint portion of the elastic contracting body 8 and the elastic stretching body 18 is located parallel to the axis of both elastic bodies 8°18, but both elastic bodies 8. By configuring the fins 18 to be wound around each other, rotation interlocking can be provided to the tip of the fin force section.

In this way, the robot hand of this embodiment can be modified and modified in various ways.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the robot hand of the present invention is configured to utilize the contractile force of an elastic contractile body that expands and deforms in diameter by introducing pressurized fluid, so it can be used with hydraulic cylinders, air cylinders, and electric motors. There is less mechanical loss compared to those that use a robot hand, and since the drive device and gripping part are integrally formed, the weight of the robot hand itself can be significantly reduced compared to conventional robot hands. can. Furthermore, since the gripping portion is highly elastic, the robot hand does not damage the object, and is highly safe as it will not cause injury even if a human touches it accidentally. In addition, if compressed air is used as the pressurized fluid, it is possible to use a highly practical robot hand without problems of contamination of the surrounding environment or ignition due to sparks.In addition, it is easy to control the gripping force.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall plan view showing a preferred embodiment of the robot hand of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the robot hand shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the finger portion shown in FIG. 8; FIG. 5 is another preferred embodiment of the four-bot hand of the present invention. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between the contraction force and contraction rate of the elastic contractile body used in the robot hand of the present invention. It is a diagram. 2... Holding member 4... Finger member 6... Joint 7... Elastic means 8... Elastic contraction body 10... Finger portion end 12.
... Clevis 14 ... Suction and discharge port 16 ... Band member 18 ... Elastic extension body 20 ... Contact portion. Patent applicant: Brideston Tire Co., Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd. Figure 3 Figure 10 Figure 5 (Figure j

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A finger member connected by a hinge joint and having one end connected to a holding member, and an elastic member that expands and deforms in diameter by introducing pressurized fluid through a suction/discharge port and generates a contractile force in the axial direction. a contracting body; a band member disposed at a joint portion of the finger member to suppress expansion and diameter deformation of the elastic contracting body at the joint portion; an elastic means for returning to the initial position, one end of the elastic contracting body being connected to one end of the connected finger member, and the other end of the elastic contracting body being connected to the other end of the connected finger member. and by sucking and discharging the pressurized fluid. A robot hand characterized in that the finger member is bent or returned to the initial position. 2. The robot hand according to claim 1, wherein the elastic means is a modified torsion spring disposed on the axis of the hinge joint. & A grip in which an elastic contractile body that expands and deforms in diameter by introducing pressurized fluid through the suction/discharge port and generates a contraction force in the axial direction, and an elastic stretchable body that generates a stretching force in the axial direction are arranged and joined in parallel with each other. A robot hand comprising a member, one end of the gripping member being connected to a holding member, and configured to be able to bend freely with the elastic contracting body facing inside by sucking and discharging the pressurized fluid into the gripping member. 4. The robot hand according to claim 8, wherein the gripping member includes a band member that is provided around the gripping member at a distance and prevents expansion and deformation of the gripping member.