TW201731647A - Gripping robot, and robot hand control method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention changes the position of an object to be gripped within a hand. This gripping robot is equipped with a base (21) and four or more fingers (22) having base ends supported by the base (21), and causes the fingers (22) to perform gripping operation for gripping an object (X1) to be gripped, positional change operation for changing the position of the gripped object (X1), and release operation for releasing the gripped object. The gripping robot performs: a first step wherein the object to be gripped is gripped by first gripping operation performed by at least two of the four or more fingers (22); a second step wherein the position of the object (X1) is changed by the positional change operation of the fingers (22) gripping the object (X1); a third step wherein the object (X1) is gripped by second gripping operation performed by two or more fingers (22), which include the fingers (22) other than the fingers (22) gripping the object (X1); and a fourth step wherein the fingers (22) other than the fingers (22) gripping the object (X1) in the second gripping operation are released.

Description

Control method for holding robot and robot hand

The present invention relates to a control method for a gripping robot and a robot hand, which is an action that changes a posture of a gripped object to be gripped.

In the robot hand of the invention, for example, the two finger portions that hold the object to be gripped and the rotating member that is rotated at the tip end side of each finger portion are provided, for example, as described in Patent Document 1. In the first finger moving mechanism in which the relative position of the rotating member of the portion is changed, the rotation axis of the rotating member of the two fingers is switched to a direction in which they are close to each other or a direction away from each other by the first finger moving mechanism.

According to the above-described conventional technique, when the relative positions of the rotating members of the two fingers are close to each other, if one end side of the elongated holding object placed on the horizontal surface is gripped and picked up, the other end side is It is possible to change the posture of the elongated object to be grasped due to its own weight, and to change the relative position of the rotating members of the two fingers, by the fingers and the object to be held. The frictional force between the two can be held without rotating the object to be grasped.

Advanced technical literature Patent literature.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2012-171019

However, in the above-described prior art, in order to change the posture of the elongated grip object, the other end side of the grip object held on one end side must be placed on the horizontal surface abutting, and can only be changed in a specific mode. Its posture.

Then, the following method is proposed as another means: in a state where the grip object is held by the robot hand, the rotating members of the two fingers are rotated by a certain amount so that the posture of the grip object is changed, and the grip is held. The object is held in this posture change state and temporarily placed on a horizontal surface or the like, and the temporarily held object to be held is again held by the robot hand. Alternatively, the robot hand and the multi-degree-of-freedom robot arm are combined, and the posture of the object to be held is changed in various modes by using the degree of freedom on the arm side.

However, with such a method, it is necessary to have a table for temporary placement, and it is easy to make the range of motion including the robot arm large. Further, it is difficult to accurately specify the holding position of the object to be gripped, and therefore, it is difficult to perform a complicated operation such as holding a tool (such as a screwdriver or the like) used by a person.

In addition, in an operation such as assembling an electronic device or an automobile part, such as a component to be gripped on a complicated opponent component, the degree of freedom of the robot arm is used to reach the opponent component, and the robot hand is used to change the grip object. The pose of the part is more efficient given the relative dimensions.

Therefore, in order to construct a robot system capable of performing more efficient work, it is desired to realize a delicate robot hand which does not impair the verbosity of the robot arm and has various posture changing modes of the grip object.

In view of this problem, the present invention has the following configuration.

a gripping robot comprising: a base; four or more fingers supported by the base on the proximal end side; and a control unit that controls the operation of the fingers; the gripping robot causes the finger to perform the following action: gripping a holding operation of holding the object; changing a posture in which the posture of the object to be held is changed; and a releasing operation of releasing the held object to be held; the control unit executing the step described later In the first step, the object to be grasped is held by the first gripping operation of at least two of the four or more fingers, and the second step is by the fingers in the holding state. The posture changing operation of the part changes the posture of the object to be grasped; and in the third step, the second holding of the two or more fingers of the finger portion other than the finger portion including at least one of the gripping states is used. In the fourth step, the finger holding portion other than the finger portion of the object to be grasped is held by the second holding operation to perform the releasing operation.

Since the configuration of the present invention is as described above, it is possible to change the posture of the object to be grasped in the hand and change the holding method.

1,2,3‧‧ Department

1a, 2a‧‧‧ joints

4‧‧‧Abdomen rotation

5‧‧‧Pliers Department

6‧‧‧ fingertip rotating body

10‧‧‧Robot body

15‧‧‧Control Department

20,20’,20”,30‧‧‧Hand (robot hand)

21‧‧‧ base

22 (a~d) ‧ ‧ fingers

A‧‧‧ Holding robot

P‧‧‧Rotary axis

X1, X2, X3, X4‧‧‧ holding objects

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a holding robot of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view showing an example of a robot hand.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of an operation procedure of the robot hand in (I) to (V).

Fig. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of a control program of the robot hand.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing another example of the robot hand.

Figure 6 is a sequence diagram showing the robot hand shown in Figure 5 in (I)~(IV). A perspective view of an example of an action program.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing another example of the robot hand.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing another example of the robot hand.

Fig. 9 is a schematic view showing an example of a grip state of the robot hand.

The first feature of the holding robot of the present embodiment includes: a base portion, four or more fingers supported by the base portion on the base end side, and a control portion that controls the operation of the fingers, the gripping robot making the finger The part performs an operation described later: a gripping operation of gripping the object to be gripped; a posture changing a posture in which the gripping object is held; and a releasing action of releasing the gripping object to be gripped Steps of performing the following steps: In the first step, the object to be gripped is held by the first gripping operation of at least two of the four or more fingers; and the second step is performed by the gripping The posture changing operation of the finger holding state changes the posture of the object to be grasped; and in the third step, two or more fingers of the finger portion other than the finger portion including at least one of the gripping states are used. In the second holding operation, the object to be grasped is gripped, and in the fourth step, the finger portion other than the finger portion of the object to be grasped is gripped by the second gripping operation, and the opening operation is performed (see FIG. 1). ~ Figure 7).

Here, the "posture change operation" is an operation for changing the grip object from the first posture to the different posture. The specific example of the "posture change operation" includes holding the object with the grip object. The operation of rotating the inside of the rotation axis by a specific amount, and the operation of rotating the object by a specific amount around the rotation axis outside the object to be grasped, and causing the object to be gripped to perform a specific amount of movement, The object to be grasped is subjected to a certain amount of tilting operation or the like.

The second feature is that each of the above-mentioned fingers includes: arranged in the longitudinal direction The plurality of nodes; the joint portion is disposed between the adjacent nodes, and the adjacent nodes are bent and extended (see FIGS. 2, 5, and 7).

According to a third aspect of the invention, the joint portion includes a rotation joint portion that rotates the other node portion connected to one of the joint portions with respect to the one of the joint portions (see the second Figure, Figure 5, Figure 7).

The fourth feature is that a fingertip rotator is provided on the tip end side of each of the finger portions, and is protruded and driven to rotate about an axis in the protruding direction (see FIGS. 8 and 9).

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, the fingertip rotating body has a cylindrical portion, and the axis of the protruding direction is a central axis of the cylindrical portion. When viewed from a tip end side of each of the fingers, the central axis is located on a holding direction side. A part of the circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion protrudes toward the holding direction side with respect to the node portion (see FIGS. 8 and 9).

According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the first step, the object to be held is gripped by the first gripping operation of the tip end side of the three fingers, and in the second step, The three finger portions are rotated by a specific amount by rotating the respective node portions on the tip end side in a direction of a certain amount, so that the object to be gripped is rotated by a specific amount (see FIG. 6).

According to a seventh aspect, the fingertip rotating body is provided on the tip end side of each of the finger portions, and protrudes toward the holding direction side, and is driven to rotate about the axis of the protruding direction (see FIG. 2).

According to the eighth aspect, in the first step, the gripping object is held by the first gripping operation of buckling the tip end portion of the two fingers. In the second step, the posture change operation of the finger swivel bodies of the two fingers is rotated by a specific amount, and the above-described second step is performed. The object to be held is rotated by a specific amount (refer to Fig. 3).

According to a ninth aspect, each of the finger portions is provided on the base portion so as to be able to swing toward the adjacent finger portion side (see FIG. 2).

According to a tenth aspect of the invention, the sensor for detecting the object to be gripped is provided on the palm side of the base portion (see FIGS. 2, 5, and 7).

Further, in the present embodiment, the eleventh feature teaches the following method of controlling the robot hand. In other words, this control method causes the four or more fingers supported by the base on the proximal end side to perform an operation to be described later: a gripping action of gripping the gripping object; and a posture of changing the posture of the gripping gripping object a change operation; and a release operation for releasing the grip object to be held; the control method performs a step described later: in the first step, the finger of at least two of the four or more fingers 1 holding the action, holding the object to be grasped; and in the second step, changing the posture of the object to be grasped by the posture changing operation of the finger in the grip state; the third step, by using at least a second gripping operation of two or more fingers of a finger other than the finger portion in the grip state, holding the object to be gripped; and a fourth step of gripping by the second gripping action The finger movement other than the finger portion of the object to be grasped is performed (see FIG. 4).

<First embodiment>

Next, based on the schema, a detailed description of the features having the above features will be described in detail.

Fig. 1 shows an example of a holding robot of the present invention.

The holding robot A includes a robot main body portion 10 that passes through the joint portion 13 The plurality of arms 14 are connected to the support rod 12 fixed to the base 11 in a bendable manner; and the hand 20 (robot hand) is connected to the foremost arm 14 of the robot body portion 10 by The command of the control unit 15 controls the operations of the arm 14 and the hand 20 and the like.

Some or all of the plurality of arms 14 may perform a rotational motion with the longitudinal direction as an axis, in addition to the flexion and extension motion.

Similarly, the support rod 12 can also perform a rotational motion with the longitudinal direction as the axis as needed.

The robot main body portion 10 is not limited to the illustrated example. For example, the number of the joint portions 13 and the arms 14 may be different, or the posture may be a human wrist type.

In the robot main body portion 10, the above-described buckling and stretching motion of the arm 14 and the above-described rotational motion, or the above-described rotational motion of the support rod 12, etc., are provided inside the base 11, the support rod 12, and/or the arm 14 and the like. Drive source (not shown) and drive mechanism (not shown).

The control unit 15 is, for example, a computer provided outside or inside the base 11, and controls the arm 14 or the hand 20 based on a program stored in the memory device or a detection signal obtained by the sensor 23 of the hand 20 or the like. Waiting for the action.

The hand 20 (robot hand) includes a base portion 21 that is connected to the foremost arm 14 of the robot main body portion 10, four finger portions 22 that are supported by the base portion 21 on the proximal end side, and a gripping target object. The sensor 23 of X1 (refer to Fig. 2).

The base portion 21 is formed in a polygonal box shape in which the respective side portions are connected to the fingers 22. The outer side surface side of the base portion 21 is connected to the front end portion of the arm 14, and A sensor 23 is fixed to the palm side.

A drive source (not shown) and a drive mechanism (not shown) for causing each finger portion 22 to swing toward the adjacent finger portion 22 are provided near the respective sides of the base portion 21.

Each of the finger portions 22 includes a plurality of (three in accordance with the illustrated example) node portions 1, 2, and 3, and a plurality of joints (two according to the illustrated example) disposed between the adjacent node portions. The portions 1a, 2a and the finger pad rotating body 4 projecting from the node portion 3 toward the holding direction side.

Each of the joint portions 1, 2, and 3 is a slightly cylindrical member that is open at the front and rear ends.

A drive source (not shown), a drive mechanism (not shown), and the like are provided inside each of the joint portions 1 (2 or 3) for flexing and stretching the adjacent other joint portions 2 (1 or 2) and/or Rotating motion.

The joint portions 1a, 2a are mechanisms for connecting the adjacent joint portions 1, 2 (or 2, 3) to a flexion and extension movement or a rotational movement, such as a well-known universal joint, a shaft, and a bearing member. And so on.

According to the illustrated example, the joint portion 1a of the most proximal end side and the intermediate joint portion 2 are connected such that the other joint portion 2 is flexed and stretched with respect to one of the joint portions 1, and is connected along it The axis of the direction is rotated centrally (refer to the arrow in Fig. 2).

Further, the joint portion 2a of the node portion 2 and the node portion 3 on the distal end side are connected to each other, and the other node portion 3 is flexed and stretched with respect to one of the node portions 2 (see an arrow in FIG. 2).

In addition, the belly-rotating body 4 protrudes from the node portion 3 on the most distal end side of each finger portion 22 toward the holding direction side, and is driven to rotate about the axis in the protruding direction.

According to the illustrated example, the finger-turning body 4 is a cylindrical member in which the projecting end side is formed in a hemispherical shape, and the proximal end side thereof is connected to the base portion 3 so as to be rotatable relative to the node portion 3 via a rotating shaft (not shown).

The finger pad rotating body 4 is driven to rotate by a drive source (not shown) in the node portion 3 and a drive mechanism (not shown).

Further, the upper driving source and the upper driving mechanism for moving the support rod 12, the arm 14, the nodes 1, 2, 3, the finger pad rotating body 4, and the like may be, for example, a stepping motor, a gear, a coupling mechanism, or the like. A well-known institution.

Further, the sensor 23 is a singular or plural photographic element (for example, CCD or CMOS) that captures the object X1 and transfers the photographic data to the control unit 15.

The hand 20 (robot hand) configured as described above controls each of the drive sources in accordance with an instruction issued by the control unit 15, thereby performing a plurality of operations including a later-described operation in which the holding object X1 is gripped and held. The posture changing operation of changing the posture of the grip object X1 and the releasing operation of releasing the gripping object X1 held.

Next, a method of holding the robot A to control the operation of the hand 20 (robot hand) will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 .

First, the control unit 15 of the robot A is gripped, and the grip object X1 is imaged by the sensor 23, and the position coordinates of the grip object X1 with respect to the specific reference position and the contour of the grip object X1 are calculated based on the photograph data. The shape, the position of the object X1, and the like.

Then, the control unit 15 calculates the rotation axis P of the posture change in order to change the posture of the image of the grip object X1 to the target posture input in advance (refer to Figure 4, step 1).

Then, the control unit 15 moves the hand 20 by the movement of the arm 14, and surrounds the object X1 with the four fingers 22, and uses the two fingers 22 of the four fingers 22 ( a), 22(c), gripping the object X1 from both sides in the axial direction of the rotation axis P (refer to Fig. 3 (I) and Fig. 2, step 2 (step 1)), and then by the arm The action of 14 picks up the object X1.

After that, the control unit 15 causes the finger portions 22(a) and 22(c) in the grip state to perform the posture changing operation, thereby changing the posture of the gripping object X1 (see FIGS. 3(II) and 4). Figure 3 (Step 2)).

Here, the above-described posture changing operation will be specifically described as an operation in which the fingers 22 ( a ) and 22 ( c ) are rotated by a specific amount around the rotation axis P. By this operation, the grip object X1 is rotated by a specific amount with the rotation axis P as a central axis, and the posture thereof has changed with respect to the original state (see FIG. 3(II)).

Then, the control unit 15 uses one finger 22 (d) other than 22 (c) in the grip state, and another finger 22 (d) other than the finger 22 (d) The second gripping operation of the finger portion 22 (b) holds the gripping object X1 (see Fig. 3 (III) and Fig. 4 (step 3).

After that, the control unit 15 causes the fingers 22 (d) and 22 (c) other than the finger portions 22 (d) and 22 (b) held by the grip object X1 by the second grip operation. The opening operation (refer to step 5 (step 4) of Fig. 4).

By this operation, the grip object X1 is in a state in which only the two fingers 22 (d) and 22 (b) are held (see FIG. 3 (IV)).

Then, the control unit 15 moves the support lever 12, the arm 14 and the like to move the grip object X1 held to the desired position (see 4, step 6), and then the two fingers 22 (d) and 22 (b) are opened, whereby the grip object X1 is released from the hand 20 (refer to Fig. 3 (V), Figure 4, step 7).

Therefore, the gripping robot A is configured in accordance with the above, and it is not necessary to temporarily place the gripping object X1 held on the base and change the holding operation, etc., only by the hand 20, as in the prior art. The relatively small motion enables the grip object X1 to accurately change the posture, enabling the grip object X1 to be changed from the initially held finger 22 to the other fingers 22 in the same hand 20 . That is, it is possible to operate so that the posture of the held object to be held can be changed with the fingertip.

<Second embodiment>

Next, a second embodiment of the holding robot of the present invention will be described (see FIGS. 5 to 6).

Compared with the above-described holding robot A, the present holding robot replaces the hand 20 with the hand 20'. Therefore, the hand portion 20' will be mainly described in detail, and redundant detailed description will be omitted.

The hand 20' is omitted from the hand 20', and the movement of the joint portion 1a and the joint portion 2a is changed, and the grip object X2 is held by the tip end portion of the four fingers 22. .

The joint portion 1a connecting the most proximal end side joint portion 1 and the intermediate joint portion 2 is configured such that the other joint portion 2 performs a flexion and extension movement with respect to one of the joint portions 1 (see an arrow in Fig. 5).

The joint portion 2a connecting the intermediate node portion 2 and the distal end side node portion 3 is configured such that the other node portion 3 is flexed and extended with respect to one of the node portions 2 Move and rotate in a direction around the axis along which it is connected (see arrow in Figure 5).

Next, the control method of the hand 20' (robot hand) constructed as described above will be described in detail.

The hand 20' is attached to the robot main body 10 like the upper hand 20, and operates in accordance with a command issued by the control unit 15.

Fig. 6 shows the operation of the finger 22 of the hand 20'. The processing of the control unit 15 will be described using the flowchart (fourth diagram) of the first embodiment.

First, the control unit 15 images the object to be grasped X2 by the sensor 23, and calculates the position coordinates of the object to be held X2 with respect to the specific reference position, the contour shape of the object to be grasped X2, and the object to be grasped based on the image data. Information such as the posture of X2.

In the illustrated example, the grip object X2 is a cylindrical work piece.

Then, the control unit 15 calculates the rotation axis P of the posture change in order to change the posture of the captured object to be grasped X2 to the target posture input in advance (see FIG. 5 and step 1 of FIG. 4).

Then, the control unit 15 surrounds the object to be grasped X2 with four fingers 22 (see FIG. 5), and uses the fingers 22(a) and 22 of the three fingers 22 of the above-mentioned four fingers. b), the front end side of the 22 (c) (in detail, the three branch portions 3) holds the outer peripheral portion around the rotation axis P in the grip object X1 (refer to Fig. 6 (I) and In step 4 (step 1) of Fig. 4, the object X2 is picked up by the action of the arm 14.

Thereafter, the control unit 15 causes the fingers 22 (a), 22 (b), and 22 (c) in the grip state to perform a posture changing operation, thereby changing the posture of the grip object X2 (refer to Fig. 6 ( II) and step 4 (step 2) of Figure 4.

Here, the posture changing operation will be specifically described as an operation of rotating the tip end side of the fingers 22 (a), 22 (b), and 22 (c) (in detail, the three node portions 3) by a specific amount. By this operation, the grip object X2 is rotated by a specific amount with the rotation axis P as a central axis, and the posture thereof has changed with respect to the original state (see FIG. 6(II)).

Then, the control unit 15 uses one finger 22 (d) other than 22 (b), 22 (c) in the grip state, and not the finger 22 ( The second gripping operation of the other finger portion 22 (b) of d) holds the gripping object X2 (see Fig. 6 (III) and Fig. 4 (step 3).

After that, the control unit 15 causes the fingers 22 (d) and 22 (c) other than the finger portions 22 (d) and 22 (b) held by the grip object X 2 by the second grip operation. The opening operation (refer to Fig. 6 (IV), Fig. 4, step 5 (fourth step)).

By this operation, the grip object X2 is in a state in which only the two fingers 22 (d) and 22 (b) are held.

Then, the control unit 15 moves the held object to be held X2 to a desired position as needed (refer to step 6 in FIG. 4), and then causes the two fingers 22(d), 22 (b) The opening operation is performed, whereby the grip object X2 is released from the hand 20 (refer to step 7 in Fig. 4).

Therefore, according to the hand 20' shown in FIG. 5, the holding object X2 can be accurately changed in posture by only a relatively small motion in the hand 20, and the object X2 can be held in the same hand. Change the way of taking in the department 20.

<Third embodiment>

Next, a third embodiment of the holding robot of the present invention will be described (see FIGS. 8 to 9).

Compared with the above-described holding robot A, the present holding robot replaces the hand 20 with the hand 20". Therefore, the hand portion 20" will be mainly described in detail, and the repeated detailed description will be omitted.

With respect to the upper hand 20, the hand 20' is not provided with the finger pad rotating body 4 of the hand 20, and the fingertip rotating body 6 is provided. The fingertip rotating body 6 protrudes from the node 3 to the most of the fingers 22 The distal end side is driven to rotate about the axis of the protruding direction. The fingertip rotating body 6 is a cylindrical member having a hemispherical side on the protruding end side according to the example shown in Fig. 8, and the proximal end side is The rotation shaft (not shown) is coupled to be rotatable relative to the joint portion 3.

Further, when the finger 22 is viewed from the distal end side, the rotation axis of the fingertip rotating body 6 is located on the side of the slightly gripping direction, whereby the circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion of the fingertip rotating body 6 faces the holding direction with respect to the node 3 Side protruding. That is, when the tip end side is viewed from the finger portion 22, if the outline of the fingertip rotating body 6 is circular and the outline of the node portion 3 is square, the rotation axis of the fingertip rotating body 6 and the fingertip rotating body The centers of the circles of the contours of 6 are identical, and the center point of the contour circle is slightly shifted toward the grip direction side with respect to the intersection of the diagonal lines in the square which is the outline of the node portion 3 (refer to Fig. 9(b)).

The four fingers 22 of the hand portion 20" surround the object to be grasped, and can be gripped by the cylindrical portion of the fingertip rotating body 6 of each finger portion 22. At this time, the cylinder of the fingertip rotating body 6 The circumferential surface of the portion protrudes toward the grip direction side with respect to the node portion 3, whereby the grip object can be prevented from interfering with the node portion 3, so that the grip object of a smaller size can be gripped.

Fig. 9 is a schematic view showing a state in which the four finger portions 22 of the hand 20" are gripped by the fingertip side, and the object is held in a cylindrical shape. In Fig. 9, Fig. 9(a) shows a state in which the holding object X4 is held by the four fingers 22, wherein the four fingers 22 are arranged such that one of the outer circumferences of the cylindrical portion of the fingertip rotating body 6 is partially aligned. When the position of the side surface of the portion 3 on the side of the gripping direction is viewed from the fingertip side, the fingertip rotating body 6 does not protrude from the node portion 3. Further, the diameter of the cylindrically shaped grip object X4 is the smallest diameter size at which the four fingers 22 shown in Fig. 9(a) can be gripped. Fig. 9(b) shows a state in which the grip object X3 is held by the four fingers 22, wherein the four fingers 22 are arranged such that the cylindrical portion of the fingertip rotating body 6 when viewed from the fingertip side The circumferential surface protrudes toward the holding direction side with respect to the node portion 3. Further, the diameter of the cylindrically-shaped grip object X3 is the smallest diameter size that the four finger portions 22 shown in Fig. 9(b) can hold.

As is apparent from Fig. 9 (a) and Fig. 9 (b), the peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion of the fingertip rotating body 6 is protruded toward the holding direction side with respect to the node portion 3, thereby preventing the object to be interfered. In the case of the ninth aspect (a), the gripping object X3 having a smaller size than the gripping object X4 can be gripped.

The hand 20" surrounds the object X3 (see Fig. 8) with, for example, four fingers 22, and three fingers 22(a), 22(b), 22 of the four finger portions 22 are used. The circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion of each of the fingertip rotating bodies 6 of c) holds the outer peripheral portion around the rotating shaft P in the gripping object X3, and picks up the gripping object X3 by the action of the arm 14 Further, as in the hand 20' of the second embodiment, the operation of changing the take-up mode of the object X2 described in FIG. 6 can be used, so that the object X3 can be accurately changed in posture and the grip can be made The object X3 is changed in the same hand 20".

<Fourth embodiment>

Next, a third embodiment of the holding robot of the present invention will be described (see seventh). Figure).

Compared with the above-described holding robot A, the present holding robot replaces the hand 20 with the hand 30, and therefore the details are mainly described with respect to the hand 30, and the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The hand 30 (robot hand) includes a base portion 31 that is connected to the foremost arm 14 of the robot body portion 10, and four or more base end sides that are supported by the base portion 31 (four according to the illustrated example). The finger 32 and the sensor 23 for detecting the object to be grasped (refer to Fig. 7).

The base portion 31 includes an integral two plate-like members 31a, and a plurality of support members 31b sandwiched between the plate-like members such that the tip end side radially protrudes.

The proximal end side of each of the finger portions 32 is connected to each of the support members 31b, and is pivoted toward the adjacent finger portions 32 by the joint portion 1a, and is rotated about the protruding direction of each of the finger portions 32 as a central axis.

Further, the same sensor 23 as in the first embodiment is fixed to the palm side of the base portion 31.

Further, a drive source (not shown) and a drive mechanism (not shown) that cause the respective finger portions 22 to swing toward the adjacent finger portions 22 are provided in the respective support members 31b.

Each of the finger portions 32 includes a plurality of (two in accordance with the illustrated example) node portions 1 and 2, a joint portion 1b provided between the node portions, and a node portion 2 provided on the tip end side. The pliers portion 5 at the foremost end.

The joint portion 1b causes the other node portion 2 to perform a flexion and extension movement with respect to one of the node portions 1, and performs a rotational motion about an axis along the connection direction thereof (see an arrow in Fig. 7).

The forceps portion 5 is a mechanism that opens and closes between a piece portion and a piece portion which are provided in a scissors shape.

The drive of the joint portion 1b and the forceps portion 5 is performed by a drive source (not shown) and a drive mechanism (not shown) provided in the nodes 1 and 2.

The hand 30 having the above configuration is attached to the robot main body unit 10 in the same manner as the above-described hand portions 20, 20', 20", and operates in accordance with a command issued by the control unit 15.

According to the hand 30, the grasping object (not shown) can be grasped by each of the forceps portions 5, and for example, even if the object to be grasped is a soft object such as a living body, the hand can be held. Hold the object and keep it from slipping.

Further, according to the hand 30, the steps described later can be performed in the same manner as the above-described hand portions 20, 20', so that the gripping object can be changed in the hand portion 30 by at least 2 of the four finger portions 32. The first gripping operation of the finger portion 32, the first step of gripping the object (not shown); and thereafter, the posture changing operation of the finger portion 32 in the gripping state (specifically, a second step of changing the posture of the object to be grasped, and then using two or more fingers of the finger 32 other than the finger 32 including the at least one of the gripping states 32 second holding operation, the third step of holding the object to be grasped; and then holding the finger 32 other than the finger 32 of the object to be grasped by the second holding operation The fourth step of the action.

Here, when the gripping object 5 can be easily and surely held by the forceps portion 5 of the single finger portion 32, the two fingers 32 can be used to change the take-up mode. At this time, the one piece and the other piece which constitute the forceps portion 5 can be interpreted as the fingers in the first to fourth steps.

Further, according to the above embodiment, the posture of the object to be held is changed. The posture changing operation is such that the holding object is rotated by the rotation of a part of each of the at least two fingers 22 (or 32) (specifically, the abdomen rotating body 4 section 3, etc.) In order to change its posture, another example of the posture changing operation is to rotate the holding object by the buckling motion or the stretching motion of the gripped finger 22 (or 32) to change the posture of the posture.

In addition, the object to be grasped is not limited to the article illustrated in the drawings, and may be, for example, an electric screwdriver, a glue sprayer, or the like, and a tool used by a person as a holding object, even if such a tool, the present embodiment The robotic hand can also change its position and change the way it is taken within a single hand 20 (20', 20" or 30).

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the movement of each portion of each finger portion 22 (or 32) may be changed to another motion state, or may be changed to appropriately combine the flexion stretching motion, the rocking motion, and the rotational motion. Exercise and so on. Further, the number or arrangement of the above-described fingers, the number of nodes in each finger portion, and the like can be appropriately selected in accordance with the task.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an imaging element is used as an example of the sensor 23. The other example of the sensor 23 may be a contact feeling such as a contact sensor or a limit switch such as an infrared sensor. A detector, or a composite sensor that combines these sensors.

In addition, the gripping robot A, the hand 20, 20', 20", 30 (robot hand) and the control method thereof can be applied to, for example, an assembly robot, a machining robot, and a welding robot. , painting robots, measuring robots, medical robots (including therapeutic robots or inspection robots, etc.), and other robots.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the scope of the present invention.

22 (a~d) ‧ ‧ fingers

P‧‧‧Rotary axis

X1‧‧‧ holding object

Claims (11)

A gripping robot comprising: a base; four or more fingers supported by the base on a proximal end side; and a control unit that controls an operation of the fingers; the gripping robot causes the finger to perform an action described below: a gripping action of gripping the object; a posture changing action of changing the posture of the gripping object; and a releasing operation of releasing the gripping object held; the control unit executes the following Step: In the first step, the object to be gripped is held by the first gripping operation of at least two of the four or more fingers, and the second step is performed by the gripping state The posture changing operation of the finger changes the posture of the object to be grasped; and in the third step, the second grip of two or more fingers including the finger other than the finger portion of the at least one holding state is used. In the fourth step, the finger holding portion other than the finger portion of the object to be gripped is held by the holding operation, and the opening operation is performed. The gripping robot described in the first aspect of the invention, wherein each of the finger portions includes: a plurality of nodal portions arranged in a longitudinal direction; and a joint portion provided between the adjacent nodal portions so that the adjacent ones are Section flexion and extension. The gripping robot according to the second aspect of the invention, wherein the joint portion includes a rotary joint portion that is configured such that the other joint portion connected to one of the joint portions is centered on an axis along the connection direction One of the nodes rotates. The gripping robot described in any one of the first to third aspects of the present invention includes a fingertip rotating body that protrudes from a tip end side of each of the finger portions and that is driven to rotate about an axis of the protruding direction. The gripping robot according to the fourth aspect of the invention, wherein the fingertip rotating body has a cylindrical portion, and the axis of the protruding direction is a central axis of the cylindrical portion, and the tip end side of each of the fingers At the time of viewing, the center axis is located on the side of the grip direction, and a part of the circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion protrudes toward the holding direction side with respect to the node. The holding robot according to any one of the third aspect of the present invention, wherein the first holding operation of buckling the tip end portion of the three fingers is performed in the first step In the second step, in the second step, the gripping target is caused by the posture changing operation in which the respective tip portions on the tip side are rotated in a certain amount in the same direction. The object is rotated by a specific amount. The gripping robot according to any one of the first to third aspects of the present invention, wherein the fingertip rotating body is provided on the tip end side of each of the finger portions, and protrudes toward the holding direction side, and the axis in the protruding direction Drive for center rotation. For example, the holding robot described in claim 7 of the patent scope, wherein: In the first step, the first gripping operation of the distal end side of the two finger portions is performed, and the gripping object is held by the finger swivel of the two fingers. In the second step, the gripping object is rotated by a specific amount by performing a posture changing operation in which the above-mentioned finger swabs of the two fingers are rotated by a specific amount. In the holding robot according to any one of the first to eighth aspects of the invention, the finger portions are provided on the base portion so as to be able to swing toward the adjacent finger portions. The gripping robot described in any one of the first to ninth aspects of the present invention is provided with a sensor for detecting a grip object on the palm side of the base portion. A method for controlling a robot hand, wherein four or more fingers supported by a base portion on a proximal end side perform an operation to be described later: a gripping action of holding a gripping object; and a gripping object to be gripped a posture changing operation of changing a posture; and a releasing operation of releasing the gripping object held; the control method performing a later-described step: the first step, by at least two of the four or more fingers The first gripping operation of the finger grips the grip object; in the second step, the posture of the grip object is changed by the posture changing operation of the finger in the grip state; the third step is to borrow Holding the object to be grasped by a second gripping operation using two or more fingers including fingers other than the finger portion in the grip state; In the fourth step, the finger portion other than the finger portion of the object to be grasped is gripped by the second gripping operation to perform the releasing operation.