RU2718595C1 - Operator control unit for robotic surgical complex - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: medicine.SUBSTANCE: invention refers to medicine, namely to monitoring and controlling robotic surgical complexes for conducting minimally invasive surgical operations. Operator control system for the robot-surgical complex comprises a fixed support platform, a movable platform, an actuating mechanism of the actuator and a tensoplatform. Movable platform is located parallel to fixed support platform and is connected to it by means of actuator of parallel structure. Actuator of the parallel structure represents three kinematic chains connected by their one ends to the corresponding bearing units fixed on the fixed support platform, and by other ends – to the movable platform. Each link of drive mechanism is made in the form of crank-and-rod mechanism actuated by servo drive with ball-screw transmission. Tensoplatform is installed between movable platform and fixed support platform and is connected to the latter by means of cylindrical guides. On tensoplatform, strain gages are arranged adjacent to platform due ball-screw transmission. To the movable platform the control handle is attached with the possibility of its coverage by the operator's hand and configured for control and conversion into digital signal of operator's hand movement in at least three rotational degrees of freedom and force action on tensoplatform by three linear degrees of freedom. Signal generated on the strain gauges is transmitted to a digital control unit of the controller which calculates and transmits a weight compensation command to the servo drive of the corresponding link of the drive mechanism of said actuator.EFFECT: invention provides reduced load on hands of surgeon and higher accuracy of determining position and range of movement of hands.8 cl, 11 dwg

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[1] The invention relates to the field of mechanical engineering, namely, to mechanisms - controllers designed to control the operator of mechatronic devices. The controller can be used in the following areas: robotics, teleoperation, minimal invasive surgery, simulators, computer games and others. More specifically, the invention may relate to the field of monitoring and controlling robotic surgical complexes for minimally invasive surgeries and for simulating such surgeries in a virtual environment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[2] Modern robots increase production efficiency, primarily by automating the execution of technological processes. However, robots have other advantages that create the basis of innovative technologies and products.

[3] Thus, the use of a robot in surgery, or rather, an assisting mechatronic complex, allows you to get the functionality and quality that are inaccessible to a doctor: the ability to penetrate difficult areas and operate them through a small incision; accuracy and set tool speed; lack of tremor; stiffness and more. All these actions cannot yet be performed automatically by the robot and require special monitoring and control by the operator-surgeon of the mechatronic device. Such control is implemented by a special spatial mechanism - the operator's controller.

[4] On the one hand, the controller, in the direct order of operation, provides control and monitoring of the actuator, on the other hand, in the reverse order of operation, it allows you to realize a tactile sensation through virtual contact with the actuator. A robot or a manipulator can act as an actuator, and a controller, whose impact forces are limited and commensurate with the strength of the operator’s hands, can act as a tactile device. The controller, controlled by the operator’s hand, generates one or more control signals, which are then used to control various movements of the assisting mechatronic complex, converting the mechanical movements of the hand in six degrees of freedom into commands for the mechatronic complex. The controller also provides the user with feedback on the force received at the input of the movement and / or force generated by the user.

[5] The controller for remote control of the movement of the robotic surgical complex can be separated from the actuator by a considerable distance (for example, the controller can be in another room or in a completely different building).

[6] Analysis of the controllers already created and used, only in robotic surgery, revealed numerous comments, such as: the large size of the controllers, the lack of feedback, the large weight of the controllers, the inability to change the position of the operator in front of the controller, limited accuracy of digitizing the movement of the operator’s hand, limited “Cry” and more.

[7] Application US 2019201147 A1 describes a controller for controlling a robotic system used for laparoscopic surgery, in particular for controlling surgical instruments. The controller is a master body, constructively built on the principles of a parallel structure and having a delta robot mechanism. The controller includes an input device made in the form of a handle capable of translational and rotational movements. The surgical instrument is positioned and moved depending on the position and orientation of the controller handle. The translational movements of the handle, implemented by the delta robot mechanism, provide three translational degrees of freedom of movement of the surgical device, and three rotational degrees of freedom of the surgical device are provided due to the possibility of rotation of the handle. The drive link of the delta robot has a cable transmission structure and includes at least one drive and at least one position sensor, which allows you to measure the angle of deviation of the delta robot relative to the corresponding axis.

[8] As the main drawback of the controller described above, it is possible to single out the features of the drive mechanism, which do not allow to obtain the required rigidity and structural accuracy due to the use of a cable transmission, since any cable is characterized by tension, which causes a backlash in the mechanism. This entails unsatisfactory consequences that are scalable by the management system. There is also no feedback system.

[9] Application US 2014192020 A1 describes a hand controller for robotic surgical interventions, by means of which, by changing its position and orientation, various nodes of the robotic surgical complex are set in motion to manipulate a surgical instrument.

[10] The controller includes a delta robot, a brush controller and a wrist controller. The controller has six degrees of freedom and one degree of freedom, providing seizure (Fig. 1). Three of these degrees of freedom are linear degrees of freedom provided by the X, Y, Z axes and implemented by the kinematics of the delta robot, the other three degrees of freedom are three rotational degrees of freedom, two of which are handled by the wrist controller, and the remaining degree of freedom and angle The capture is performed by the brush controller. The controller is equipped with encoders and motors for converting the movement of the operator’s hand into digital form, as well as a system for measuring current and voltage in the motors to indirectly determine torque or force.

[11] The delta robot in the controller design described in US 2014192020 A1 is driven by a cable system, which does not guarantee the rigidity of the structure, since over time it inevitably leads to a backlash of the mechanism. And the accuracy, kinematics and dynamics of the controller depend on the rigidity of the structure. At the same time, the scalability of the system is limited by the maximum moment transmitted by the cable drive. The used system for measuring current and voltage in the motor has low accuracy and speed.

[12] The prior art does not allow in one design of the hand controller to solve the following set of problems, which reduces the efficiency of its work:

a. ensuring the rigidity of the drive mechanism, which guarantees the accuracy of measuring signals about the position of the hand in space;

b. accuracy of the drive mechanism, which provides the required accuracy of movement in degrees of freedom;

c. measurement of current and voltage on the drives of the controller mechanism, which gives sufficiently accurate results to determine indirect values of torque or force.

[13] Thus, there is a need to create a universal controller that would be able to provide a minimum weight load on the hand during operation and would be able to reverse convert the digital control signal into mechanical movement-rotation of the controller elements, transmitting it to hands and fingers surgeon. The design of this controller should provide at least 6 degrees of freedom of movement, of which three degrees are translational displacements and three rotational degrees of freedom. One degree of freedom is also provided for capture. All movements made by the controller must have an intuitive interaction with the surgical instrument for their implementation in surgical procedures.

[14] This application is dedicated to the solution of these problems.

The essence of the invention

[15] An object of the present invention is to provide a universal digital controller that increases the efficiency of controlling mechatronic devices, including robotic surgical complexes. At the same time, in this case, management efficiency is understood to mean reducing the load on the hands of the surgeon, increasing the accuracy of determining the position and range of hand movements, mobility.

[16] An additional technical task is the creation of a controller that allows human interaction through the hand with the mechatronic complex, primarily with the robot, both by giving him a command and receiving feedback in response.

[17] In this case, the developed controller should also be universal when used with different mechatronic complexes.

[18] In order to solve the tasks, the developed operator controller for controlling the robotic surgical complex includes a fixed support platform, a movable platform located and moving parallel to the fixed support platform, connected to it by an actuator of a parallel structure, an actuator mechanism of the actuator and a tensile platform installed between the movable platform and fixed support platform and connected to the latter by means of cylindrical vlyayuschih. Each link of the drive mechanism is made in the form of a crank mechanism, driven by a servo-drive with a ball screw transmission. Strain gauges connected to each ball screw transmission are located on the load platform. In this case, the actuator of the parallel structure consists of three kinematic chains connected at one of their ends to the corresponding bearing units mounted on a fixed support platform, and at the other ends to a movable platform. At the same time, a control handle is attached to the movable platform with the ability to be covered by the operator’s hand and configured to control and convert into a digital signal the movement of the operator’s hand with at least three rotational degrees of freedom and force impact on the tensile platform in three linear degrees of freedom. In this case, the signal formed on the load cells is transmitted to the digital control unit of the controller, which calculates and transfers to the servo drive of the corresponding link of the drive mechanism of the said actuator the weight compensation commands and / or other compensation movements along the planned path calculated on the basis of the received data.

[19] In some embodiments, the parallel structure actuator is a delta robot.

[20] In some embodiments of the invention, the servo is made with an integrated electromagnetic brake and an angle position sensor.

[21] In this case, the control handle of the controller includes a wrist controller configured to control and convert into a digital signal the movement of the wrist of the operator along two rotational degrees of freedom in orthogonal planes, and a hand controller that provides direct contact with the entire surface of the hand of the operator during control of the controller.

[22] The brush controller includes a handle for monitoring and converting the operator’s hand movement into a digital signal according to one rotational degree of freedom, and finger grips for controlling and converting the position of the operator’s fingers on the handle into a digital signal.

[23] The wrist controller includes a rotation mechanism unit and a movable console unit.

[24] In addition, the control handle includes a wrist controller control unit, a brush controller control unit, a rotation sensor of a rotation mechanism unit, a rotation sensor of a movable console unit, a drive element of the rotation mechanism unit, a drive element of the mobile console unit, a finger grip rotation sensor, a rotation sensor the handle, the drive element of at least one finger grip, the drive element of the handle.

[25] In addition, the digital control unit is configured to receive signals about the current state of efforts from the operator from the strain platform and / or signals from the hand controller to turn the handle and / or at least one finger grip and / or signals from the wrist controller to turn a block of the rotation mechanism and / or a block of the mobile console and transmitting the received signals to an external control system of the robotic surgical complex. In addition, the digital control unit is configured to receive control signals from an external control system of the robotic surgical complex and transmit them to the drive element of the rotation mechanism unit and / or the drive element of the movable console unit and / or the handle drive element and / or the drive element of at least one finger grasp.

[26] The tasks are achieved by using an advanced controller design, or rather the drive mechanism of the delta robot, which will increase the rigidity and accuracy of the design, will provide high information content of the applied forces on the part of the operator. The drive link in the form of a crank mechanism driven by a ball screw transmission has a high gear ratio. Such a scheme provides a large load capacity and a high moment for unimpeded scalability of the system.

[27] The use of the force of a strain gauge or module from such sensors makes it possible to obtain digital information in three-dimensional space about the applied force, the vector of the application of force and the acceleration of the application of force, while controlling the mechatronic complex.

[28] The scalability of the system allows you to change the amplitude of hand movements performed on the control controller and convert them into commands for precise manipulation of instruments in the patient’s body. The operator, controlling the controller, spends less energy and experiences less stress, which allows him to carry out longer manipulations. In this case, the instruments repeat the movement of his hands.

[29] Increased scalability and increased accuracy of the controller are achieved through the use of rigid and accurate kinematic schemes that provide precise movements of both the controller and the surgical instrument.

[30] The objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description and drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[31] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the above general description of the invention and the following detailed description of embodiments, serve to explain the principles of the present invention.

[32] FIG. 1 illustrates a general view of a prototype control controller.

[33] FIG. 2 illustrates a general view of a robotic surgical complex.

[34] FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of a controller of the present invention for controlling an operator with mechatronic devices.

[35] FIG. 4 illustrates a developed model of a positioning unit of a hand controller configured as a delta robot in a preferred embodiment of the invention.

[36] FIG. 5 illustrates the initial position of the delta robot.

[37] FIG. 6 illustrates a preferred embodiment of a drive mechanism included with a hand controller.

[38] FIG. 7 illustrates an implementation of a strain gauge in one embodiment of the present invention.

[39] FIG. 8 illustrates a delta robot assembly according to the present invention.

[40] FIG. 9 is a construction of an operator controller consisting of a hand controller, a wrist controller, and a hand controller.

[41] FIG. 10 schematically illustrates a controller control circuit.

[42] FIG. 11 schematically reflects the planes in which movements of the operator’s hand in the wrist joint are performed.

Terms and Definitions

[43] For a better understanding of the present invention, the following are some of the terms used in the present description of the invention. Unless defined separately, technical and scientific terms in this application have standard meanings generally accepted in the scientific and technical literature.

[44] In the present description and in the claims, the terms “includes”, “including” and “includes”, “having”, “equipped”, “comprising” and their other grammatical forms are not intended to be interpreted in an exceptional sense, but on the contrary, they are used in a non-exclusive sense (ie, in the sense of “having in its composition”). As an exhaustive list, only expressions of the “consisting of” type should be considered.

[45] In the present application materials, the terms “robotic technological complex”, “robotic system”, “robotic complex”, “robotic surgical complex”, “robotic surgical system” mean complex systems or complexes in surgery using an assisting robot during an operation. “Robot-assisted systems” or “robot-assisted surgical systems” are robotic systems designed for medical operations. These are not standalone devices. During assisted operations, robotic assistive systems are controlled by surgeons.

[46] In the present application materials, the term "mechatronic complex" or "mechatronic system" is understood to mean a complex or system with computer-controlled movement, which are based on knowledge in the field of mechanics, electronics and microprocessor technology, computer science, and computer-controlled movement of machines and assemblies.

[47] In the present application, the term "operator" means the surgeon performing the operation of the doctor. The signs "operator" and "surgeon" in the present description of the invention are synonymous.

[48] The following terms are used in this application to describe hand movements in the wrist joint (FIG. 11). Hand movements occur around two axes when the hand is in the anatomical position, i.e., in the position of full supination. The transverse axis AA ′ lies in the frontal plane T and controls the movements of flexion and extension carried out in the sagittal plane:

- deviation (deviation) of the hand or flexion (arrow 1) - the front (palmar) surface of the hand moves to the front surface of the forearm,

- deviation (deviation) of the hand or extension (arrow 2) - the back (back) surface of the hand moves to the back surface of the forearm.

[49] The anteroposterior axis of BB ′ lies in the sagittal plane S and controls the movements of the reduction and abduction occurring in the frontal plane:

- reduction or ulnar deviation (arrow 3) - movement of the hand towards the longitudinal axis of the body, its inner (ulnar) edge forms an obtuse angle with the inner edge of the forearm;

- abduction or radial deviation (arrow 4) - movement of the hand from the longitudinal axis of the body, its outer (radial) edge forms an obtuse angle with the outer edge of the forearm.

[50] The longitudinal axis CC ′ lies at the intersection of the planes S and T and controls the movements of rotation of the hand:

- rotation of the radius (arrow 5) together with the brush around the ulna relative to the longitudinal axis.

[51] Under the term “universal” in terms of its use, a controller is raised in relation to the controller in this document, which “digitizes” the operator’s hand and allows not to train the operator’s hand on each new instrument without subsequent changes to the controller’s design. Having mastered the controller once, the operator uses it for a long period of his practice, due to the controller’s ability to integrate (“represent” the surgeon’s hand) in various mechatronic devices.

[52] The term "absolute position" in this document refers to a coordinate defined relative to a fixed structural member.

[53] The term "rotation sensor" in this document refers to a device designed to convert the angle of rotation of a rotating object into electrical or analog signals, allowing to determine the angle of rotation. To determine the value of the angle of rotation of an element, in principle, all types of angle sensors are suitable. However, in the majority of used sensors, it is necessary, first of all, to constantly register and save current data on the rotation of the element. Rotary encoders can be used based on incremental and absolute encoders. The sensors have digital output signals Linedriver (TTL, RS422), Push-Pull (HTL), SSI, CAN, Profibus, Profinet and others. Sensors based on analogue angle sensors and / or magnetic angle sensors can also be used.

[54] In addition, the terms “first”, “second”, “third”, etc. they are used simply as conditional markers, without imposing any numerical or other restrictions on the enumerated objects.

[55] The term “connected” means functionally connected, any number or combination of intermediate elements between the connected components (including the absence of intermediate elements) can be used.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[56] The description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention below is provided by way of example only and is for illustrative purposes and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention disclosed.

[57] The system of the robotic surgical complex includes three main nodes. The first node is the controllers that serve as the master device and with which the surgeon interacts directly. The second executive unit is the manipulators on which medical instruments are installed. Depending on the procedure being performed, it is possible to change the medical instrument to the one necessary for this stage of the operation. The third node of the robotic surgery complex is a computing unit, with the help of which all system interactions are carried out.

[58] The robotic surgical complex can be used in various surgical interventions, including urology, abdominal gynecology, neuro- and cardiac surgery. An example of a robotic surgical complex is shown in FIG. 2.

[59] The robotic surgical complex 300 includes at least one manipulator 310 with a surgical instrument 320 attached to it, an electronic manipulator control unit 330 and an operator interface 340, which receives commands from the surgeon, converts them into movement of the surgical instrument 320 inside the patient’s body during the time of the surgical operation and / or provides all control teams from the surgeon with components of the robotic surgical complex. The main source of commands is the surgeon's hand. The hand controls the controller of the surgeon, which is part of the surgeon's interface.

[60] The controller of the surgeon converts the mechanical movements of the hand in six degrees of freedom into teams for the robotic surgical complex 300. The controller forms a command to move the manipulator with the surgical instrument in space. Additionally, the controller controls the rotation and / or deviation of the surgical instrument relative to one axis and the opening / closing of the jaw on the surgical instrument.

[61] Typically, manipulators with a surgical instrument are mounted on the surgical table on which the patient rests during surgery. In some embodiments, the manipulators may be placed on a trolley or some other device in which the manipulators will be proximal to the patient's level. It should be understood that the robotic surgical complex 300 may have any number of manipulators, for example, one or more manipulators. Manipulators can have any configuration.

[62] Each manipulator 310 has a body and a manipulator assembly to which a surgical instrument 320 is removably connected, the movement and orientation of which is possible for the surgeon to manipulate using a controller that digitizes the surgeon's hand.

[63] Since the surgeon can control the movement and orientation of surgical instruments without holding the instrument directly in the hand, the surgeon can use the complex in both a sitting and standing position. As a device for a sitting position, the complex can be provided with a chair.

[64] Thus, the control controller with which the surgeon's hand interacts is an important link in the robotic surgical complex system. The controller should accurately and quickly enough read all the movements of the hand, wrist and hand, without causing discomfort to the surgeon. Since the ongoing surgical interventions last for hours, then throughout this time the ergonomics of this device should be as comfortable as possible.

[65] The scalability of the system allows you to change the amplitude of the controller’s movement, which the operator controls, and convert the controller’s movements, increasing / decreasing them during the conversion, into precise manipulations of medical instruments in the patient’s body. The operator, controlling the controller, spends less energy, which allows him to carry out longer manipulations, while medical instruments repeat the movements of his hands. In order to increase scalability and improve the accuracy of this device, it is necessary to use rigid and accurate kinematic schemes that will ensure the precision movements of the surgical instrument.

[66] The present invention (controller) relates to a class of mechanisms for converting commands that a person sets with a hand movement into an electronic digital signal. The controller as a whole consists of a control knob, a positioning platform block and a digital control unit.

[67] A general view of the controller is shown in FIG. 3. The digital 1000 controller as a whole consists of a control handle 1100, a positioning platform block 1200 and a digital control unit (not shown in the drawing).

[68] The specified controller 1000 has a direct communication loop in order to give commands from the operator through the movement of his hand to the mechatronic device, and a feedback loop for transmitting in the reverse order to the operator’s hand response commands-reactions from the mechatronic device. The feedback loop of the controller 1000 is designed to transmit tactile sensations to the hand.

[69] The contact of the controller 1000 with the hand is implemented on the control handle 1100. The control handle 1100 generally consists of a hand controller 100 and a wrist controller 200, each of which provides two rotational degrees of freedom of the controller 1000.

[70] Block - the positioning platform of the controller 1200 is a hand controller that provides three translational degrees of freedom of the controller 1000 by reciprocating the movement of the controller 1000 along three mutually orthogonal axes. At the same time, the wrist controller 200, which is part of the control handle of the controller 1100, is fixed to the hand controller 1200. Thus, the operator controller 1000 controls and converts the six degrees of freedom into a digital signal of hand movement.

[71] The hand controller (or block positioning platform platform) consists of at least two platforms: a fixed support and a movable one, and a positioning unit. A movable platform is attached to the fixed support platform by means of a weight compensation mechanism including a positioning unit made on the principles of a parallel structure, preferably based on a delta type mechanism (delta robot or deltapod), and a drive mechanism that drives the delta robot while ensuring minimal backlash.

[72] Any parallel structure mechanism can be used. In a preferred embodiment of the controller according to the claimed invention, the positioning unit is a closed kinematic chain consisting of constant-length rods arranged in pairs parallel to each other and connected at one end with respective drives fixed to a fixed support platform, and at the other ends to a movable platform. Delta mechanisms have increased maneuverability and an extended border of the working area.

[73] Moreover, a controller based on a parallel structure mechanism, in comparison with serial structure controllers and other controllers, has significantly lower weight and size, while at the same time more accuracy, rigidity and power.

[74] In FIG. 4 depicts a specific embodiment of a delta robot 400 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The delta robot is a parallel robot that consists of three levers 410 located at an angle of 120 ° relative to each other and attached to a support platform 420.

[75] An advantage of the design of the delta robot 400 is the use of parallelograms 440 containing constant-length rods arranged in pairs parallel and interconnected by cardan joints 450. The parallelograms 440 are connected at one end by the corresponding levers 410 and connected to the movable platform 430 at the other end. This design allows you to maintain the spatial orientation of the mechanisms of the robot. In this case, the movable platform 430 is always parallel to the supporting platform 420.

[76] The levers 410 are connected to the support platform 420 through the upper bearing assemblies 460 (FIG. 5) to provide the necessary angles for the initial state of the delta robot. The upper bearing assemblies 460 are mounted on a support platform 420. The levers 410 mounted on the upper bearing assemblies 460 at the connection centers form an equilateral triangle 470, the angles of which affect the size of the useful working area of the delta robot. For movements along the Z axis, levers 410 are responsible. Increasing the length of the lever 410, the stroke along the Z axis increases. The dimensions when moving along the X and Y axes are specified by parallelograms 440.

[77] The drive mechanism of the controller, which drives the positioning unit of the controller, in particular, levers 410, can be made in the form of any known mechanism that ensures the reduction of accuracy losses due to backlash during operation of the mechanism. In a preferred embodiment of the controller according to the claimed invention, the drive mechanism may be implemented as a crank mechanism. It is driven by a ball screw transmission, performing rotational movements due to a servo drive with a built-in electromagnetic brake and an angle position sensor. Servo drive is an electromechanical device that performs dynamic movements with constant control of the angle of rotation of the shaft, and also provides the ability to control angular speeds in various actuators. Depending on the value of the control parameter received at the controlled input of the servo drive as a result of comparing this parameter with the value of the angle sensor (encoder) or with a mathematical model (the calculation algorithm is sewn into the memory of the frequency converter), the parameters of the electric drive are changed and some corrective action is taken for the servo motor (or series of actions), for example: rotation of the shaft, acceleration or deceleration, so that the value from the position sensor becomes as close as possible to the value of the external control parameter. The type of servo used can be any. In some embodiments, an integrated servo is used.

[78] In some embodiments of the controller, any known backlashless gearbox with zero mechanical backlash, for example, a backlashless precision gearbox, preferably a wave type or planetary gearbox with an angular backlash of less than 6 ’, can be used as a drive mechanism.

[79] The drive mechanism acts on the support 480, the opposite part of the lever 410 from the fastening of the rods of the parallelogram 440 (Fig. 5).

[80] A specific embodiment of the drive mechanism of the controller according to the present invention is shown in Fig.6.

[81] The drive mechanism 500 includes a ball screw servo 510 and a crank mechanism. Depending on the pitch of the ball screw and the radius of the crank, you can increase or decrease the gear ratio of the drive mechanism.

[82] The transmission of torque is as follows. The servo drive 510 through the coupling 530 is connected to the ball screw shaft 520 and drives it into rotational movements. In this case, the ball screw nut 540 performs translational movements. The nut 540 is attached to a guide platform 550, which is mounted on linear bearings 580, which run along cylindrical guides 570. The guide platform 550 has lower bearing assemblies 560, on which an element of the crank mechanism (connecting rod) 590 is based. Thus, the crank mechanism translates translational motion of the guide platform 550 in the rotational motion of the lever 410.

[83] The crank mechanism has negative angular positions at which the translation of the translational-rotational movement is nonlinear. This effect is manifested at small angles of the crank axis relative to the connecting rod axis - the so-called dead spots at which the non-linearity of the transmission of motion begins. The angle is 90 ° near the top dead center, and the same at the bottom dead center. However, in the proposed design of the drive mechanism according to the present invention, the crank does not need to make a revolution around its axis.

[84] The linearity of the translational-rotational motion transmission is provided with a gear ratio lying in the range from 40: 1 to 60: 1, while the connecting rod stroke size varies from 75 mm to 85 mm and the crank radius lies in the range from 35 mm to 45 mm .

[85] The kinematics of the delta robot were calculated based on the need to solve two problems - inverse and direct kinematics. In the first situation, the position where you want to move the moving part of the delta robot is known. To do this, determine the angles by which you need to rotate the axis of the levers 410 to move to the desired point in space indicated by the coordinates (x, y, z). Therefore, the definition of these angles is called the inverse kinematics problem.

[86] In the second situation, when the angles by which the levers 410 are turned relative to the axis of attachment to the base are known (in the present embodiment of the invention, through the use of servos, it is easy to understand by reading the position sensors of the angles), it is necessary to determine the position of the movable platform delta robot in space. The described problem is a direct kinematics problem.

[87] The kinematics of the delta robot of the controller according to the present invention has sufficiently rigid and accurate load-bearing capabilities.

[88] On the cylindrical guides 570 between the movable platform 430 and the guide platform 550, a strain platform 610 is installed and fixed, which is configured to receive digital information in three-dimensional space about the applied force, the vector of application of force and the acceleration of the application of force transmitted to the hand from the forearm and other , upstream parts of the operator’s hand while operating the mechatronic complex. Strain gauge platform 610 is equipped with strain gauge sensors (strain gauges) 600 to accurately and efficiently determine the forces applied by the operator, which are transmitted to the strain gauge platform through bearing assemblies 620. Strain gauges 600 convert the strain to an electrical signal.

[89] The construction of the used load cells 600 is shown in more detail in Fig.8. The strain gauge 600 in one embodiment of the invention is an elongated parallelepiped with a square cross section, which has fixing holes 630 at the ends. A through hole 640 in the form of a figure “8” is provided in the center on one of the planes, which is perpendicular to the surface with fixing holes 630. ". The hole 640 is designed to allow bending of the strain gauge 600 along the edges of the cutout. On surfaces with mounting holes 630 on both sides of the strain gauge above the through hole 640, a pair of thin-film strain gauges 651 are glued (in Fig. 7, a pair of strain gauges is located under the cover and is not shown in detail). Four thin-film strain gauges connected by a bridge circuit, so the strain gauge 600 has 4 outputs 652. To convert the resistance value from the output of the strain gauge to a binary code, an analog-to-digital converter (not shown in the drawing) is used. The load cell 600, on the one hand, is connected by its movable end to the housing of the support bearing 620, and on the other hand, is connected to the load platform 610 by the other end through the bearing assembly of the load platform 660.

[90] The load cells 600 are located on the load platform 610 and are coupled to each ball screw transmission, namely, a ball screw shaft, through the bearing bearings 620.

[91] When there is effort on the part of the operator, a mechanical force exerted by the operator and transmitted from the forearm to the operator’s hand passes through the movable platform 430 along parallelogram rods 440 of equal length arranged in pairs parallel to and connected at one end by the crank mechanism. The crank mechanism, in turn, is connected to a ball screw transmission. In particular, the lever 410 is connected to the upper bearing assembly 460 and through the connecting rod 590 to the lower bearing assembly 560. Thus, the rotational movements of the lever 410 are translated into translational movements of the guide platform 550 (see FIG. 6), on which the lower bearing assemblies 560 are mounted and ball screw nut 540. The translational movements from the nut 540 are transmitted to the rotational movements of the ball screw shaft 520, which acts on the supporting bearing assembly 620. Therefore, through the ball screw transmission, the crank mechanism acts on the supporting bearing assembly 620. The installed strain gauge 600 on its load platform 610 the movable end is connected to the housing of the support bearing 620. The strain gauge 600 converts the strain to an electrical signal and transmits it through its outputs to the digital control unit of the controller ( e shown).

[92] The digital control unit of the controller, in turn, on the basis of the received signal according to a given program, calculates the trajectory of the delta robot along three linear coordinates and with the help of servo drives moves the positioning unit to the desired position. For example, the digital control unit can be configured to compare the obtained value of the deformation signal, and therefore of the movement, with a predetermined value that determines the position of the delta robot in equilibrium and supply such a control signal to the servo so that the value from the angle position sensor became as close as possible to the value of the external control parameter. Such a mechanism makes it possible to implement a mechanism of controlled counteraction to the natural lowering of the delta robot under the influence of gravity of the moving parts of the controller - the “virtual weight” (UHV) system. UHV allows you to adjust the weight felt by a person on the control handle of the controller in the range from the actual 100% - to 0% - "zero buoyancy".

[93] The “virtual weight” system multiplies the amount of force applied by the operator’s hand to the control handle of the controller, which allows you to individually select and always provide a comfortable and constant effort for a person when acting on the controller, regardless of the size and weight of the parts of the controller.

[94] The digital controller control unit is configured and constructed in such a way that it allows one to concentrate maximum efforts on high-level control algorithms, freeing the user from the need to develop and debug devices and applications for controlling individual servo drives. The digital controller control unit has the ability to record all control commands and transfer them to the controller's numerical program control (CNC) system, which can be performed on a computer basis.

[95] Thus, the configuration of the hand controller allows you to move it with the operator’s hand in three linear coordinates, without spending significant forces on the operator’s hand, compensating for the lack of power by the operation of executive motors controlled by signals from the controller’s digital control unit to obtain exact coordinates of the brush position from moving the forearm and other, upstream parts of the hand of the surgeon operator in at least three degrees of freedom and compensation of the weight of the hand controller in static or during movement.

[96] The controller can be used as a simulator for practicing certain actions. To do this, control is carried out in accordance with a pre-compiled and remaining unchanged in the current process control program. The signal from the numerical control system (CNC) is fed to a digital controller control unit, which, based on a predetermined algorithm, controls the drive mechanism accordingly in order to translate the positioning unit with the moving platform to the desired coordinates.

[97] In some embodiments of the controller according to the invention, the digital controller control unit can provide resistance / counteraction to the human hand with predetermined / calculated forces and accelerations by supplying a control signal to a drive mechanism that can be equipped with electromagnetic brakes. The resistance / counteraction mechanism can be continuously switched on by supplying a signal from the controller's numerical control system (CNC) to the controller’s digital control unit and to the electromagnetic brakes of the drive mechanism, respectively.

[98] Before each use of the hand controller, it is calibrated to the user. The hand controller has flexible settings, which allows it to be oriented to different tasks. When using the controller, it can be fully adapted to the operator and his tasks.

[99] Thus, the advanced design of the hand controller, which is part of the controller for controlling the robotic surgical complex, allows for more precise movements of the surgeon's hands. Thus, the use of delta kinematics provides high structural rigidity, which leads to a more accurate measurement of signals about the position in space of the operator’s hand. The development of the drive mechanism of the delta robot using a ball screw transmission and a crank mechanism ensured the precision accuracy of the translation of the translational degrees of freedom and allowed to improve the scalability of the system. The use of tanzosensors as force sensors makes it possible to obtain digital information in three-dimensional space about the applied force, the vector of the application of force and the acceleration of the application of force during the control of a robotic surgical complex.

[100] In FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of a mechatronic device control controller that allows reading six degrees of freedom and consisting of a hand controller, a wrist controller, and a hand controller.

[101] The wrist controller attaches to the movable platform of the brush controller. The main purpose of the wrist controller is to make contact and interact with the wrist of the operator and provide at least two rotational degrees of freedom for realizing the orientation of the mechatronic complex element in response to the rotation of the wrist of the operator, and for transmitting forces on the wrist of the operator when simulating one or another action for operator training.

[102] The wrist controller is configured to most accurately determine the angle of rotation of the wrist in two orthogonal directions relative to a given center of rotation (relative to the place of attachment of the wrist controller to the controller of the hand) at the most amplitude to obtain digital information about the turns in the wrist of the operator during mechatronic control complex. The design of the wrist controller is limited and set by the physiological angle of the possible rotation of the wrist of the brush in these planes.

[103] The wrist controller has at least two units: a rotation mechanism unit and a movable console unit, each of which provide two degrees of freedom of the wrist, and at least one control unit of the wrist controller.

[104] The rotation mechanism unit is mounted on the hand controller 1200 in such a way as to be able to rotate relative to the longitudinal axis of the hand controller 1200, while providing one degree of freedom for the hand controller. For a brush, this rotation of the rotation mechanism block is the usual rotation of the radius along with the brush around the ulnar bone relative to the longitudinal axis (in Fig. 11, this rotation around the CC axis ′ is indicated by the number 5). The block structure of the movable console provides one degree of freedom relative to the block of the rotation mechanism. In this case, the brush makes a swinging motion relative to the anteroposterior axis BB ′ in the frontal plane T (movements are indicated by arrow 3 and arrow 4 in FIG. 11). The amplitude of these movements is measured from the axis of the brush. The volume of this movement can vary from 30 ° to 55 ° depending on the physiological capabilities of the operator.

[105] Using at least one rotation angle sensor for each rotational degree of freedom allows the absolute position of the angle of the wrist controller to be determined. In some embodiments, in addition to the rotation sensors for determining the absolute position of an element included in the controller, these elements can be equipped with tachometers, acceleration meters and load force indicating elements, each of which can provide electrical signals related to speed, acceleration and force applied to the corresponding element.

[106] To read data from the sensors for determining the angle of rotation and to rotate the block of the movable console and / or the block of the rotation mechanism, the brush controller includes drive elements.

[107] To determine the coordinates of the surgeon’s wrist apparatus, a brush controller is used as part of the controller of the operator operator control mechatronic complex. The brush controller is designed for contact and interaction with the surgeon’s hand and most accurately, at the entire amplitude of the hand’s movement and at all angles of the hand’s movement, controls at least one angle of the hand’s turn, which is the angle of the hand’s deflection (the hand’s movement is indicated by arrow 1 and arrow 2 on Fig. 11) in the wrist joint in the sagittal plane relative to the transverse axis lying in the frontal plane, and moving, relative to each other at least two fingers, converting this information into digital th signal.

[108] Additionally, the brush controller provides a minimum weight load on the operator’s brush during control, has and implements a feedback channel from an element of the robotic technological complex or the control system as a whole, converting the digital control signal into mechanical movement, such as the deviation of the hand (deviation) of the operator in the sagittal plane relative to the transverse axis of the hand and / or mechanical movement of at least two fingers of the operator.

[109] The hand controller is characterized in that it comprises a handle with finger grips. The handle has a housing that is covered and held by the operator during operation. Finger grips are arranged to position the operator’s fingers on them during operation. The hand controller includes finger grip rotation sensors to determine the absolute position of the finger grips relative to the axis of rotation of the finger grips and a handle rotation sensor for determining the absolute position of the handle relative to its longitudinal axis, actuator elements of the handle and finger grips, and the wrist controller control unit.

[110] When efforts are made by the operator, the brush controller monitors and digitizes the deviation of the operator’s brush in the sagittal plane relative to the transverse axis of the brush located in the frontal plane (wrist deviation in the wrist joint), as well as the position (approximation / closing / removal) of at least two fingers covering together with the operator’s brush the handle of the brush controller in the area of the finger grips.

[111] When the handle is rotated by the operator’s hand, the handle rotation sensor generates a digital signal about the angle of rotation and transmits it to the control unit of the brush controller, which calculates the angle of deviation of the handle relative to its longitudinal axis and transmits this information to the digital control unit of the controller, which is configured to transmitting the received signals to the controller's numerical control system (CNC), which can be performed on a computer basis.

[112] Finger grips work in combination. In one of the embodiments, one finger grip is made in one piece with the housing of the handle and is stationary relative to it. Another finger grip is movable and has one rotation, rotating around its axis, coinciding with the longitudinal axis of the handle. During operation, the finger grip rotation sensor reads the rotation angle of the movable finger grip around its axis of rotation and transmits a digital signal to the brush controller control unit, which calculates its position relative to the fixed finger grip and transmits this information to the digital controller, which is capable of transmitting the received signals on the system of numerical program control (CNC) of the controller, which can be performed on the basis of a computer.

[113] In the reverse order of operation, the digital controller control unit, based on the received data, plans the trajectory of rotation of the handle and / or finger grips relative to the longitudinal axis of the handle and the axis of rotation of the finger grips, which coincides with the longitudinal axis of the handle, and by applying a control signal to the drive the handle element and / or the drive element of the finger grippers moves the handle and / or finger grips and the operator’s hand itself, which is in close contact with the handle body, to the required position.

[114] In some embodiments, the implementation of the brush controller according to the invention, the digital controller control unit may provide control signals through the brush controller control unit to the handle actuator and / or finger gripper element to accelerate and / or counteract (resistance) the rotation of the handle and / or the movable finger grip with preset / calculated forces and accelerations when applying forces from the operator. The acceleration / reaction mechanism can be constantly switched on by supplying a signal to the digital control unit of the controller from the controller's numerical control system (CNC).

[115] Thus, when the operator covers the handle with the entire surface of the brush and rotates the handle at an arbitrary angle in the sagittal plane relative to the transverse axis of the brush, in some embodiments, the digital controller control unit can indirectly direct control commands to the handle actuator in order to turning the handle to the side coinciding with the rotation of the brush or, conversely, to the side opposite to turning the brush to counter the brush.

[116] When the operator manipulates the handle that is part of the brush controller, the operator may also experience efforts to turn the wrist of the controller element, which repeat the abduction or reduction of the brush, which is also sometimes called beam deviation of the brush, as well as the rotation of the radius with the brush around the ulna relative to the longitudinal axis of the operator’s arm. The wrist controller monitors and digitizes these forces.

[117] When the mobile console unit deviates by the operator’s wrist from the anteroposterior axis lying in the sagittal plane, the rotation sensor of the mobile console unit generates a digital signal about the angle of rotation and transmits it to the control unit of the wrist controller, which calculates the angle of the console’s deviation and digitally transmits this information a controller control unit, which is configured to transmit the received signals to the controller's numerical control system (CNC), which can be performed based on VM

[118] When the rotation mechanism block is rotated around a predetermined center by the operator’s wrist, the rotation sensor of the rotation mechanism block generates a digital signal about the rotation angle and transfers it to the control unit of the wrist controller, which calculates the angle of deviation of the block relative to the longitudinal axis of the operator’s hand and transmits this information to a digital controller control unit, which is configured to transmit the received signals to the controller's numerical control system (CNC), which can be computer based.

[119] Based on the obtained data, the digital control unit of the controller plans the rotation path of the rotation mechanism block and / or the block of the mobile console and, by applying a control signal to the drive element of the rotation mechanism block and / or the block of the mobile console, moves the rotation mechanism block and / or the block of mobile console and directly the wrist of the operator in the desired position.

[120] The hand controller, the wrist controller, as well as the hand controller described above, can be used as a simulator for practicing certain actions. To do this, control is carried out in accordance with a pre-compiled and remaining unchanged in the current process control program. The signal from the numerical control system (CNC) is fed to the digital control unit of the controller, which, based on a given algorithm, transfers control signals to:

[121] the control unit of the brush controller, which in turn controls the operation of the drive element of the handle rotation mechanism and / or the finger grip rotation mechanism, in order to translate the handle and / or at least one finger grip to the desired coordinates;

[122] the control unit of the wrist controller, which in turn controls the operation of the drive element of the handle rotation mechanism unit and / or the mobile console unit in order to rotate the rotation mechanism unit and / or the mobile console unit by the calculated angle. At the same time, the rigidly fixed handle with the hand holding this body to the movable console unit also rotates. Control of the corresponding predetermined rotation angles is carried out by the rotation sensor of the rotation mechanism unit and the rotation sensor of the mobile console unit.

[123] The drive element of the handle upon receipt of the control signal for driving it rotates the handle together with a rigidly attached body with a hand holding the body. The control of a given angle of rotation is carried out by the handle rotation sensor.

[124] The drive element of at least one finger grip upon receipt of a control signal to bring the drive element into motion rotates the movable finger grip by the calculated radius, thus moving at least one finger holding the finger grip by the amount specified by the digital signal from the digital controller control unit. The turning radius of the movable finger grip is controlled by the finger grip rotation sensor.

[125] The drive element of the rotation mechanism unit and / or the drive element of the mobile cantilever block, upon receipt of a control signal, rotate the wrist controller in two degrees of freedom.

[126] The controller’s numerical control system (CNC) provides the coordinates of the handle, finger grips, the block of the movable console, the block of the rotation mechanism, the movable platform into the coordinates of the actuator and the formation of drive control signals for each degree of mobility of the actuator so that another movement of the actuator corresponded to the direction in which the operator acted on the handle of the brush controller as part of the controller. In FIG. 10 schematically shows the controller control circuit.

[127] The digital controller control unit is generally part of a multifunctional controller and provides bi-directional data exchange between the controller drive unit, the brush controller and wrist controller control units, and additional equipment. The digital control unit also has the ability to synchronously control these controller mechanisms.

[128] The control units of the brush controller and / or the control of the wrist controller, the strain gauge platform, the digital controller control unit can be coupled to the digital controller control unit via a common data bus. The digital control unit of the controller is configured to record data on received / transmitted commands.

[129] Thus, the digital controller control unit has the ability to repeat / demonstrate the movements of the recorded commands both in free mode and transmitting movements to the hand on the handle of the controller.

[130] The data transmission means are selected from devices designed to implement the communication process between various devices via wired and / or wireless communication, in particular, such devices can be: GSM modem, Wi-Fi transceiver, Bluetooth or BLE module, GPRS module, Glonass module, NFS, Ethernet, etc.

[131] Before each use of the controller, it is calibrated to the user. The controller has flexible settings, which allows it to be oriented to different tasks. When using the controller, it can be fully adapted to the operator and his tasks.

[132] While the invention has been described in certain examples and shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that such embodiments are only illustrative and do not limit the breadth of the invention and that this invention is not limited to the specific structures and systems shown and described, as they may have place various other modifications that are understandable to ordinary specialists in this field.

Claims (14)

1. An operator controller for controlling a robotic surgical complex, including - motionless support platform, - a movable platform located parallel to the fixed support platform and connected to it by means of an actuator of parallel structure, the actuator of parallel structure is three kinematic chains connected at one end with the corresponding bearing units mounted on a fixed support platform, and the other ends with a movable a platform; - the drive mechanism of the actuator, each link of the drive mechanism is made in the form of a crank mechanism, driven by a servo-drive with a ball screw; - a strain gauge installed between the movable platform and the stationary support platform and connected to the latter by means of cylindrical guides, and strain gauges associated with each ball screw transmission are located on the tensile platform; at the same time, a control handle is attached to the movable platform with the ability to be covered by the operator’s hand and configured to control and convert into a digital signal the movement of the operator’s hand with at least three rotational degrees of freedom and force impact on the tensile platform in three linear degrees of freedom; at the same time, the signal formed on the load cells is transmitted to the digital control unit of the controller, which calculates and transfers to the servo drive of the corresponding link of the drive mechanism of the said actuator the weight compensation command. 2. The controller of the operator according to claim 1, characterized in that the actuator of the parallel structure is a delta robot. 3. The controller of the operator according to claim 1, characterized in that the servo is made with a built-in electromagnetic brake and a position sensor of the angles. 4. The operator controller according to claim 1, characterized in that the control handle includes a wrist controller configured to control and convert into a digital signal the movement of the wrist of the operator along two rotational degrees of freedom in orthogonal planes, and a brush controller that provides direct contact with the entire surface of the brush operator while controlling the controller. 5. The operator controller according to claim 4, characterized in that the brush controller includes a handle for monitoring and converting the operator’s brush into one digital degree of freedom of rotation and finger grips for monitoring and converting the position of the operator’s fingers relative to the handle into a digital signal the wrist controller includes a rotation mechanism unit and a movable console unit. 6. The operator controller according to claim 5, characterized in that the control knob includes a wrist controller control unit, a brush controller control unit, a rotation sensor unit of a rotation mechanism unit, a rotation sensor of a movable console unit, a drive element of a rotation mechanism unit, a drive element of a movable console unit, finger grip rotation sensor, handle rotation sensor, at least one finger grip drive element, handle drive element. 7. The operator controller according to claim 6, characterized in that the digital control unit is configured to receive signals about the current state of efforts from the operator from the strain gage and / or signals from the hand controller about the rotation of the handle and / or at least one finger grip and / or signals from the wrist controller about the rotation of the block of the rotation mechanism and / or the block of the movable console and transmitting the received signals to an external control system of the robotic surgical complex. 8. The operator controller according to claim 7, characterized in that the digital control unit is configured to receive control signals from an external control system of the robotic surgical complex and transmit them to the drive element of the rotation mechanism unit and / or the drive element of the movable console unit and / or the handle drive element and / or a drive element of at least one finger grip.

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