KR20200032833A - Robot arm gripper system for unmanned underwater drone for mounted - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a remote control underwater drone robot arm and gripper mounted on an unmanned underwater drone, and to a system which simplifies a robot arm and a gripper system having been mounted and used on only a robot arm on land and not having been mounted on a conventional unmanned underwater drone, and is applied to an unmanned underwater drone manipulated at a remote place to enable underwater work to be more precisely and repetitively performed. The present invention can remarkably enhance precision of a specific work which has to be performed by a robot arm mounted on a remote-controlled unmanned underwater drone in an underwater environment, wherein the specific work is a work needing a drive, e.g., moving a target object using a gripper, rotating a target object, drilling a target object, etc., and can maximize the efficiency of work needing repetitive movements with respect to the same posture such as a sampler, movement of a target object and transportation of a sample.

Description

Electric robot arm and gripper system mounted on an unmanned underwater drone {ROBOT ARM GRIPPER SYSTEM FOR UNMANNED UNDERWATER DRONE FOR MOUNTED}

The present invention relates to a remote control robot arm system mounted on a remote unmanned submersible to mount a robot arm at the end of an underwater unmanned drone and attach a gripper system to a required tool, such as an industrial robot arm and gripper on the ground. The gripper at the end of the robot arm was mounted detachably with drilling or forceps so that the desired work could be performed efficiently.

Large scientific pilot ROVs or heavy-duty ROVs can be used for underwater missions.

It is equipped with a remote control robot arm and gripper system. However, the MINI ROV has shown limitations in operation only with camera-oriented video work. Currently, remote unmanned submersibles equipped with robotic arms have become important tools in the field of marine scientific research, marine engineering, and marine construction.

A general remote control robot arm system is composed of a robot arm part and a gripper, and the function of the robot arm is a system made by rotating and holding the object.

It is possible to work with the robot arm and gripper in an underwater environment with only one axis, which is a simple function that does not need to correspond to each joint like the ground robot arm, and the robot arm and gripper system can be directly controlled by the operator through the camera mounted on the underwater drone. This is a method to control the position and posture of a tool (clamp or drill) located at the end of the robot arm.

This robot arm and gripper control method requires precise position and posture of work in the production facility, but in underwater drones, it is very important to maintain precise position and posture in situations where the operator needs to remotely work through the camera mounted on the underwater drone. It can be called a difficult working environment.

Therefore, in a specific operation that needs to be performed while maintaining a precise position and posture, even a skilled operator has a disadvantage that it is difficult to guarantee the precision. For example, a task such as drilling is a task that must move in a specific direction while maintaining a constant posture of a tool, and it can be said that it is difficult for an operator to directly operate the robot arm to perform the task.

The present invention is to operate the robot arm system by remote control in an underwater environment to apply the situation controlled by the existing robot arm system to the ROV, and the operator commands only the position and position command of the tool located at the end of the robot arm. An object of the present invention is to provide a gripper system for remote control including a control system for controlling a gripper for an underwater system and a ROV control system capable of electrically controlling the robot arm and gripper.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be described below, which is broader by means and combinations within the scope of the claims of the present invention and the disclosure of the examples, as well as within the scope of which they can be easily added. It is affirmed that it will be embraced.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention, the drive controller 60 capable of controlling the gripper system of the robot arm by giving commands for the position, posture and operation of the tool located at the end of the robot arm on the underwater workspace. , We present an underwater gripper system composed of a waterproof pressure-resistant container surrounding the controller and a mount that can be mounted by replacing the tool.

According to the present invention, the robot arm mounted on the remote unmanned drone must be performed while maintaining the posture.

In the work environment, for example, drilling, gripping, etc., it is possible to significantly increase the precision of work that needs to be driven, and to maximize the efficiency of work that requires repeated movements for the same posture, such as water sampler and sample transport. have.

Other effects of the present invention, as well as those described in the above-described embodiments and claims of the present invention, the effects that can occur within a range that can be easily extracted from them and the potential for potential advantages contributing to industrial development It is affirmed that it will be embraced by a wider range.

1 is a photograph showing the configuration of a system of a remote control underwater robot arm according to the present invention.
Figure 2 is a photograph showing the pressure resistant container of the underwater robot arm according to the present invention.
3 is a photograph showing a flow chart according to the input method of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In describing the present invention, when it is determined that detailed descriptions of related known configurations or functions may obscure the subject matter of the present invention, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted. In addition, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below, but the technical spirit of the present invention is not limited to or limited thereto, and can be variously implemented by a person skilled in the art.

1. Basic configuration of the present invention

The basic configuration of the robot arm gripper system to which the present invention is applied is as follows (FIG. 1). The controller equipped with one robot arm is located at a remote location, and the gripper is mounted on the ROV.

The ROV controller and the gripper controller communicate through the RS485 serial communication protocol through the optical communication cable. The position of the robot arm is transmitted from the ROV controller to the gripper controller, and the gripper controller performs the position of the tool at the tip of the gripper and an operation command to initiate rotation or gripping and drilling, and this motion is fed back to the gripper controller. The operator of the robot arm controls the gripper's tool by manipulating the ROV robot arm in the workspace.

In the present invention, the ROV control system communicates with the gripper controller through RS232 serial communication or RS485 serial communication so as not to violate the communication protocol between the existing ROV controller and the gripper controller.

The present invention is to develop a system that is driven and controlled in a new working environment in addition to the existing ROV system, and the operator selectively selects an existing ROV system or a driving and control system in a working environment according to the present invention according to required underwater tasks. Can be used as In addition, the present invention can control the position and posture of the distal device of the gripper robot arm not only on the work space coordinate system, but also on the tool coordinate system.

In the present invention, the ROV controller commands the gripper of the robot arm to control the entire robot arm, and the operator easily controls the movement of the robot arm by inputting a command for a tool at the end of the gripper. A control device capable of manipulating all movements related to the robot arm in detail by inputting commands for ROV control and gripper control to enable; And a ROV capable of transmitting and receiving command and sensor information between the gripper controller of the robot arm and the ROV system. In particular, the ROV system of the present invention receives a command issued by an operator and calculates a command to be moved by a robot arm by kinematics and uses it to control a gripper of the robot arm.

2. Definition of input function

In the present invention, basic operation functions are implemented using a joystick command input device that is not used in the existing ROV system so that the functions of the existing ROV system can be used in the present invention, and some functions are GUI (Graphic) to avoid confusion of the use of the joystick. User Interface) and keyboard command input device.

In the joystick command input device, the linear speed and rotation speed of the gripper device of the robot arm can be input through the position and button operation of the stick, and the opening / closing command of the gripper located at the end of the gripper of the robot arm is operated through the operation of two buttons of the joystick. It was able to input.

3. Communication

In the present invention, the RS-485 communication method and protocol used in the existing ROV system were used as it is. In the computer system of the present invention, a communication packet such as an existing ROV system is configured through a program to communicate with a gripper controller. In the existing system, the information of the gripper is sent to the ROV system, and the operation information of the gripper is requested by the gripper controller to be read.

4. Application example

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains may make various modifications, changes, and substitutions without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. will be. Therefore, the embodiments and the accompanying drawings disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical spirit of the present invention, but to explain the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention. . The scope of protection of the present invention should be interpreted by the claims below, and all technical spirits within the scope equivalent thereto should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

10: Forceps A 20: Forceps A fixing bracket
30: rotating gear 40: rotating gear A
50: motor A 60: controller
70: Unmanned underwater drone connection 80: Motor B
90: motor connection bracket 100: belt
110: rotating gear B 210: pressure-resistant container
500: Joystick 510: Connecting cable A
520: Onboard controller 530: Connecting cable B
540: robot arm controller 550: robot arm pressure vessel
560: robot arm clamp

Claims (1)

When the command by the joystick of the existing ROV system is transmitted to the work confirmed through the camera of the unmanned underwater drone, the tongs 10, one of the gripper tools located at the end of the robot arm, performs the final command, which is the controller of the ROV system. The process is transferred from the gripper controller (60); A system and a worker in which the operator rotates the rotating gear A (40) of the robot arm using the joystick by looking at the camera with an unmanned underwater drone, and the gripper 10 grips (how much) according to the strength. When the command is sent to the gripper controller 60 by adjusting the rotating gear B 110 as necessary, the gripper tool of the robot arm rotates or moves the object while the gripper tool of the robot arm picks up the object. Operated drive and control system.

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