WO2021107819A1

WO2021107819A1 - Operator controller for controlling a robotic surgical complex

Info

Publication number: WO2021107819A1
Application number: PCT/RU2020/050342
Authority: WO
Inventors: Дмитрий Юрьевич ПУШКАРЬ; Рахим Суфьянович НАХУШЕВ
Original assignee: Общество С Ограниченной Ответственностью "Ассистирующие Хирургические Технологии"
Priority date: 2019-11-25
Filing date: 2020-11-23
Publication date: 2021-06-03
Also published as: RU2718595C1

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of monitoring and control of robotic surgical complexes for conducting minimally invasive surgical operations. The operator controller for controlling the robotic surgical complex consists of a platform unit for positioning the controller and a control handle. The platform unit comprises a fixed support platform, a movable platform arranged parallel to the support platform and connected to same by means of a delta robot, a drive mechanism of an actuating mechanism, a control unit, and a strain-gauge platform. Each link of the drive mechanism is in the form of a crank-and-rod mechanism driven by a servo drive with a ball screw transmission. The strain-gauge platform is mounted between the movable platform and the support platform and is connected to the latter by means of cylindrical guides. Strain gauges are arranged on the strain-gauge platform and linked to each ball screw transmission. A control handle, which can be grasped by the operator's hand and is configured for monitoring the motion of the operator's hand and converting it into a digital signal, is attached to the movable platform. The controller transmits the signal to a digital control unit, which calculates and transmits weight compensation commands to the servo drive of the corresponding link of the drive mechanism of the controller for effective control of robotic surgical complexes.

Description

OPERATOR CONTROLLER FOR SURGICAL ROBOT CONTROL

COMPLEX

The technical field to which the invention relates

[001] 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 applied in the following areas: robotization, teleoperation, minimal invasive surgery, simulators, computer games and others. More specifically, the invention may relate to the field of monitoring and control of robotic surgical systems for performing minimally invasive surgical procedures and for simulating such surgical procedures in a virtual environment.

Background of the invention

[002] Modern robots increase production efficiency, primarily by automating the execution of technological processes. However, robots have other advantages as well, which form the basis for innovative technologies and products.

[003] Thus, the use of a robot in surgery, or more correctly, an assisting mechatronic complex, allows one to obtain functional capabilities and quality that are currently inaccessible to a doctor: the ability to penetrate through a small incision to hard-to-reach areas and operate them; accuracy and specified speed of tool movement; lack of tremor; rigidity and more. All these actions cannot yet be performed automatically by the robot and require special control and management by the operator-surgeon of the mechatronic device. Such control is implemented by a special spatial mechanism - the operator's controller. [004] On the one hand, the controller, in a forward mode of operation, provides control and monitoring of the actuator, on the other hand, in the reverse mode of operation, it allows tactile sensation through virtual contact with the actuator. A robot or manipulator can act as an actuator, and a controller can act as a tactile device, the impact forces of which are limited and commensurate with the strength of the operator's hands. The controller, operated 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 force feedback input to the motion and / or user generated force.

[005] 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).

[006] Analysis of already created and used controllers, only in robotic surgery, made it possible to reveal numerous remarks, such as: large size of controllers, lack of feedback, large weight of controllers, impossibility to change the position of the operator in front of the controller, limited accuracy of digitizing the movement of the operator's hand, limited "clutch" and others.

[007] Application US2019201147 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, structurally based 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 based on the position and orientation of the controller handle. The translational movements of the handle, realized 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 makes it possible to measure the deflection angle of the delta robot relative to the corresponding axis.

[008] As the main disadvantage of the controller described above, the features of the drive mechanism can be distinguished, which do not allow obtaining the required rigidity and accuracy of the structure due to the use of a cable transmission, since any cable is inherently stretched, due to which a backlash appears in the mechanism. This entails unsatisfactory consequences, scalable by the control system. There is also no feedback system.

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

[010] The controller includes a delta robot, a hand controller, and a wrist controller.

The controller has six degrees of freedom and one degree of freedom, providing seizure (Fig. 1). Three of the indicated degrees of freedom are linear degrees of freedom provided along the X, U, 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 exercised by the wrist controller, and the remaining degree of freedom and angle capture is performed by the brush controller. The controller is equipped with encoders and motors to digitize the movement of the operator's hand, as well as a system for measuring current and voltage in motors to indirectly determine the torque or force.

[011] A delta robot in the design of the controller 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 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 torque transmitted by the cable drive. The used system for measuring current and voltage in the motor has low accuracy and speed.

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

B. the accuracy of the drive mechanism, which provides the required accuracy of movement in the 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.

[013] 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 reversely convert a digital control signal into mechanical movement-rotation of controller elements, transmitting it to hands and fingers surgeon. The design of this controller must provide at least 6 degrees of freedom of movement, of which three degrees are translational movements and three rotational degrees of freedom. It also provides one degree of freedom to provide grip. All movements made by the controller must have an intuitive interaction with the surgical instrument for implementation in surgical procedures.

[014] This application is dedicated to the solution of the listed problems.

The essence of the invention

[015] The technical problem of the present invention is to create a universal digital controller that increases the efficiency of control of mechatronic devices, including robotic surgical systems. In this case, the effectiveness of management in this case is understood to mean reducing the load on the hands of the operator-surgeon, increasing the accuracy of determining the position and range of movement of the hands, mobility.

[016] An additional technical problem is the creation of a controller that allows a person to interact by means of a hand with a mechatronic complex, first of all, with a robot, both by giving it a command and receiving feedback in response.

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

[018] In order to solve the set 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 drive mechanism and a strain gauge platform installed between the movable platform and the fixed support platform and connected to the latter by means of cylindrical guides. Each link of the drive mechanism is made in the form of a crank mechanism driven by a servo drive with a ball screw drive. The strain gauge platform contains strain gauges coupled to each ball screw transmission. In this case, the actuator of the parallel structure consists of three kinematic chains connected by one of its ends with the corresponding bearing assemblies fixed on a fixed support platform, and by the other ends - with a movable platform. At the same time, a control handle is attached to the movable platform with the possibility of covering it by the operator's hand and configured to control and convert the operator's hand movement into a digital signal in at least three rotational degrees of freedom and force action on the strain-gauge platform along three linear degrees of freedom. In this case, the signal formed on the strain gauges is transmitted to the digital control unit of the controller, which calculates and transmits to the servo drive of the corresponding link of the drive mechanism of the said actuator the weight compensation commands and / or other compensatory movements along the planned trajectory calculated on the basis of the received data.

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

[020] In some embodiments of the invention, the servo is configured with a built-in electromagnetic brake and an angle position sensor.

[021] In this case, the control handle of the controller includes a wrist controller configured to control and digitalize the movement of the operator's wrist in two rotational degrees of freedom in orthogonal planes, and a hand controller that provides direct contact with the entire surface of the operator's hand during controller control.

[022] The hand controller includes a handle for controlling and digitizing the movement of the operator's hand through one rotational degree of freedom and finger grips for controlling and digitizing the position of the operator's fingers relative to the handle.

[023] The wrist controller includes a pivot unit and a movable console unit.

[024] In addition, the control handle includes a wrist controller control unit, a hand controller control unit, a rotation unit rotation sensor, a movable arm unit rotation sensor, a rotation unit drive unit, a movable arm unit drive unit, a finger gripper rotation sensor, a rotation sensor handles, drive element of at least one finger grip, handle drive element.

[025] In addition, the digital control unit is configured to receive signals about the current state of the operator's forces from the load 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 the unit of the rotation mechanism and / or the unit of the movable console and transmission of the received signals to the external control system of the robotic surgical complex. In addition, the digital control unit is configured to receive control signals from the 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 coverage.

[026] The set tasks are achieved by using an improved controller design, or rather a robot delta drive mechanism, which will increase the rigidity and accuracy of the structure, and provide high information content of the applied forces from the operator. The drive link in the form of a crank mechanism driven by a ball and a screw drive has a high gear ratio. This design provides high load capacity and high torque for unimpeded system scalability.

[027] The use of a strain gauge or a module of such sensors as a force measuring device makes it possible to obtain digital information in three-dimensional space about the applied force, the vector of force application and the acceleration of the force application during the control of the mechatronic complex.

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

[029] Increased scalability and improved controller accuracy are achieved through the use of rigid and precise kinematic circuits that allow precise movements of both the controller and the surgical instrument.

[030] 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 Drawings

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

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

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

[034] FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of a controller of the present invention for operator control of mechatronic devices.

[035] FIG. 4 illustrates a developed model of a hand controller positioning unit made in the form of a delta robot in a preferred embodiment of the invention.

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

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

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

[039] FIG. 8 illustrates an assembled delta robot in accordance with the present invention.

[040] FIG. 9 is an operator controller structure composed of a hand controller, a wrist controller, and a hand controller.

[041] FIG. 10 schematically shows the control circuit of the controller.

[042] FIG. 11 schematically depicts the planes in which the movements of the operator's hand in the wrist joint are carried out.

Terms and Definitions

[043] For a better understanding of the present invention, below are some of the terms used in the present description of the invention. Unless otherwise specified, technical and scientific terms in this application have the standard meanings generally accepted in the scientific and technical literature.

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

[045] 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 surgery. "Robot-assistive systems" or "robot-assisted surgical systems" are robotic systems designed to perform medical operations. These are not standalone devices. During the operation, the robotic assistive systems are controlled by surgeons. [046] In these application materials under the term "mechatronic complex" or

"Mechatronic system" is understood as a complex or system with computer control of movement, which is based on knowledge in the field of mechanics, electronics and microprocessor technology, computer science and computer control of the movement of machines and assemblies.

[047] In this application, the term "operator" refers to the surgeon performing the operation. The terms "operator" and "surgeon" in the present description of the invention are synonymous.

[048] In this application, the following terms are used to describe hand movements in the wrist joint (FIG. 11). The movements of the hand occur around two axes when the hand is in the anatomical position, i.e., in the position of complete supination. The transverse axis AA 'lies in the frontal plane T and controls the flexion and extension movements 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 posterior (dorsal) surface of the hand moves to the posterior surface of the forearm.

[049] The anteroposterior axis BB 'lies in the sagittal plane S and controls the adduction and abduction movements occurring in the frontal plane:

- adduction or elbow 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.

[050] The longitudinal axis CC 'lies at the intersection of the S and T planes and controls the rotation of the hand:

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

[051] Under the term "universal" in terms of its use in relation to the controller, this document raises a controller that "digitizes" the operator's hand and allows the operator's hand not to be trained for each new tool without further changes to the controller design. Having mastered the controller once, the operator uses it for a long period of his practice, thanks to the controller's property to integrate ("represent" the surgeon's hand) in various mechatronic devices.

[052] The term "absolute position" in this document means a coordinate defined with respect to a fixed structural member.

[053] The term "rotation sensor" in this document means a device designed to convert the angle of rotation of a rotating object into electrical or analog signals, allowing you to determine the angle of rotation. To determine the angle value In principle, all types of angle encoders are suitable for turning one or another element. However, most of the sensors used require, first of all, permanent registration and storage of the 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, Profmet and others. Sensors based on analog steering angle sensors and / or magnetic steering angle sensors can also be used.

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

[055] The term "connected" means operatively connected, and 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

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

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

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

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

[060] The surgeon's controller converts the mechanical movements of the hand in six degrees of freedom into commands for the robotic surgical system 300. The controller generates a command for moving a manipulator with a surgical instrument in space. Additionally, the controller controls the rotation and / or deflection of the surgical instrument about one axis and the opening / closing of the jaw on the surgical instrument.

[061] Typically, the manipulators with the surgical instrument are mounted on the surgical table on which the patient lies during the operation. In some embodiments, the manipulators can be placed on a cart or some other device in which the manipulators will be located proximal to the patient's level. It should be understood that the robotic system 300 can have any number of manipulators, such as one or more manipulators. The manipulators can be of any configuration.

[062] Each manipulator 310 has a manipulator body and assembly to which a surgical instrument 320 is detachably attached, the movement and orientation of which is manipulated by a surgeon using a controller that digitizes the surgeon's hand.

[063] Since the surgeon can control the movement and orientation of the surgical instruments without holding the instrument directly in his hand, the surgeon can use the complex in either a sitting or standing position. As an adaptation for a seated position, the complex can be provided with a chair.

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

[065] The scalability of the system allows you to change the amplitude of motion of the controller, which is controlled by the operator, and transform the controller's movements, increasing / decreasing them during the transformation, into precise manipulations of medical instruments in the patient's body. The operator uses less energy by operating the controller, which allows him to carry out longer manipulations, while the medical instruments repeat the movements of his hands. To increase the scalability and accuracy of this device, it is necessary to use rigid and accurate kinematic schemes that will ensure the precision movement of the surgical instrument.

[066] The proposed invention (controller) relates to the class of mechanisms that provide conversion into an electronic digital signal of commands that a person sets with a movement of the hand. The controller as a whole consists of a control handle, a positioning platform unit and a digital control unit.

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

[068] Said controller 1000 has a feed-forward loop for giving commands from the operator through the movement of his hand to the mechatronic device, and a feedback loop for transmitting in reverse order to the operator's hand the response commands-responses from the mechatronic device. The controller 1000's feedback loop is designed to convey tactile sensations to the hand.

[069] Hand contact of the controller 1000 is implemented at 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 for the controller 1000.

[070] The controller 1200 positioning platform unit is a hand controller that provides three translational degrees of freedom for the controller 1000 by reciprocating the mechanism of the controller 1000 along three mutually orthogonal axes. In this case, the controller of the hand 1200 is attached to the controller of the wrist 200, which is part of the control handle of the controller 1100. Thus, the controller of the operator 1000 controls and converts into a digital signal of the movement of the hand in six degrees of freedom.

[071] The hand controller (or positioning platform block) consists of at least two platforms: a fixed support and a movable one, and a positioning block. 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. [072] The parallel structure mechanism can be used by anyone. In a preferred embodiment of the controller according to the claimed invention, the positioning unit is a closed kinematic chain consisting of rods of constant length, arranged in pairs in parallel and connected at one end with the corresponding drives fixed on a fixed support platform, and at the other ends with a movable platform. Delta mechanisms have increased maneuverability and an extended working area boundary.

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

[074] FIG. 4 depicts a specific embodiment of a delta robot 400 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. A delta robot is a form of a parallel robot that consists of three arms 410 positioned at 120 ° relative to each other and attached to a support platform 420.

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

[076] The connection of the arms 410 to the support platform 420 is made 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 fixed on a support platform 420. Mounted on the upper bearing assemblies 460, the levers 410 form an equilateral triangle 470 at the connection centers, the angles of which affect the size of the useful working area of the delta robot. Levers 410 are responsible for movement along the Z axis. By 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 set by parallelograms 440.

[077] The controller drive mechanism that drives the controller positioning unit, in particular the levers 410, may be any known mechanism that can reduce the loss of accuracy due to backlash during operation of the mechanism. In a preferred embodiment of the controller according to the claimed invention, the drive mechanism can be designed as a crank mechanism. It is driven by a ball screw, which performs rotational movements by a servo drive with a built-in electromagnetic brake and an angle position sensor. Servo drive is an electromechanical device that carries out 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 position sensor (encoder) or with a mathematical model (the calculation algorithm is sewn into the memory of the frequency converter), the parameters of the operation of the electric drive change and some corrective action is taken for the servo motor (or a series of actions), for example: turning the shaft, accelerating or decelerating, 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 anything. In some embodiments, an integrated servo is used.

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

[079] The actuator acts on the support 480 opposite to the anchorage rods parallelogram 440 part of the lever 410 (figure 5).

[080] A specific embodiment of a controller drive mechanism according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 6.

[081] The actuator 500 includes a ball screw servo 510 with a crank mechanism. Depending on the pitch of the ball screw and the radius of the crank, the gear ratio of the drive train can be increased or decreased.

[082] The transmission of torque is carried out 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 nut 540 of the ball screw makes translational movements. The nut 540 is attached to the guide platform 550, which is mounted on linear bearings 580, which run on the cylindrical guides 570. The guide platform 550 has lower bearing assemblies 560, on which the crank mechanism element (connecting rod) 590 is based. Thus, the crank mechanism translates translational movements of the guide platform 550 into the rotational movements of the lever 410.

[083] The crank mechanism has negative angular positions at which the transmission of translational-rotational motion is non-linear. This effect manifests itself at small angles of the crank axis relative to the connecting rod axis - the so-called dead points, at which the nonlinearity of the movement transmission begins. The angle is 90 ° near the top dead center and the same at the bottom dead center. However, in the proposed construction of the drive mechanism according to the present invention, the crank does not need to rotate around its axis.

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

[085] The calculation of the kinematics of the delta robot was carried out based on the need to solve two problems - inverse and forward kinematics. In the first situation, the position where you want to move the movable part of the delta robot is known. To do this, it is necessary to determine the values of the angles by which it is necessary to rotate the axes of the levers 410 in order to move to the desired point in space indicated by the coordinates (x, y, z). Therefore, determining these angles is called the inverse kinematic problem.

[086] In the second situation, with the knowledge of the angles at which the levers 410 are rotated relative to the axis of attachment to the base (in the considered embodiment of the invention, due to the use of servos, it can be easily understood by reading the angle position sensors), it is required to determine the position of the movable platform delta robot in space. The described problem is a direct kinematics problem.

[087] The kinematics of the delta robot controller according to the present invention has sufficiently rigid and accurate bearing capacities.

[088] On the cylindrical guides 570 between the movable platform 430 and the guide platform 550, a strain-gauge platform 610 is installed and fixed, which is configured to obtain digital information in three-dimensional space about the applied force, the vector of force application and the acceleration of the force applied to the hand from the forearm and other , the upper parts of the operator's hand during the control of the mechatronic complex. The strain gauge 610 is equipped with strain gauges (strain gauges) 600 to accurately and efficiently determine the applied forces from the operator, which are transmitted to the strain gauge platform through the bearing assemblies 620. Strain gauges 600 convert the amount of deformation into an electrical signal.

[089] The design of the strain gauges 600 used is illustrated in more detail in FIG. 8.

Load cell 600, in one embodiment, is an elongated square parallelepiped that has fastening holes 630 at its ends. A through hole 640 is provided in the center of one of the planes that is perpendicular to the surface with fastening holes 630. ". The opening 640 is configured to allow the strain gauge 600 to bend around 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 are bridge-connected, so the strain gauge 600 has 4 pins 652. To convert the resistance value from the strain gauge output to binary code, an analog-to-digital converter (not shown in the drawing) is used. The load cell 600, on the one hand, is connected with its movable end to the support bearing housing 620, and on the other hand, the other end is connected to the load cell 610 through the bearing assembly of the load platform 660.

[090] Load cells 600 are located on strain gauge 610 and interface with each ball screw, namely the ball screw shaft, via support bearing assemblies 620.

[091] When forces are generated by the operator, the mechanical force applied by the operator and transmitted from the forearm to the operator's hand passes through the movable platform 430 along the parallelogram rods 440 of equal length, arranged in pairs in parallel and connected at one end behind the drive crank mechanism. The crank mechanism, in turn, is connected to a ball screw drive. In particular, the lever 410 is connected to the upper bearing unit 460 and through the connecting rod 590 to the lower bearing unit 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 units 560 are mounted and ball screw nut 540. Translational the movements from the nut 540 are transmitted to the rotational movements of the ball screw shaft 520, which acts on the support bearing unit 620. Therefore, through the ball screw, the crank mechanism acts on the support and bearing unit 620. The load cell 600 installed on the load cell 610 with its movable end connected to the support bearing housing 620. Load cell 600 converts the amount of deformation into an electrical signal and transmits it through its outputs to a digital controller control unit (not shown in the drawing).

[092] The digital controller control unit, in turn, based on the received signal according to a given program, calculates the trajectory of the delta robot along three linear coordinates and moves the positioning unit to the required position using servo drives. For example, the digital control unit can be configured to compare the received value of the signal about deformation, and therefore about displacement, with a predetermined value, which determines the position of the delta robot in equilibrium and supplying such a control signal to the servo drive 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 the gravity of the moving parts of the controller - the “virtual weight” system (SVV). 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".

[093] 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 force for a person when acting on the controller, regardless of the size and weight of the components of the controller.

[094] The digital control block of the controller is configured and built in such a way that allows you to focus maximum effort on high-level control algorithms, freeing the user from the need to develop and debug devices and applications to control individual servo drives. The digital control unit of the controller has the ability to record all control commands and transmit them to the numerical control system (CNC) of the controller, which can be performed on the basis of a computer.

[095] Thus, the configuration of the hand controller makes it possible to move it by the operator's hand along three linear coordinates without spending significant forces on the operator's hand, compensating for the lack of force by the operation of the actuator motors controlled by signals from the digital control unit of the controller to obtain accurate coordinates of the hand position from the movement of the forearm and other, higher-lying parts of the hand of the operator-surgeon at least three degrees of freedom and compensation for the weight of the hand controller in statics or during movement.

[096] The controller can be used as a simulator for practicing certain action. For this, the control is carried out according to a control program that has been prepared and remains unchanged in the current process. The signal from the numerical control system (CNC) is fed to the digital control unit of the controller, which, based on a predetermined algorithm, controls the drive mechanism accordingly in order to translate the positioning unit with the moving platform into the desired coordinates. [097] In some embodiments of the controller according to the invention, the digital controller control unit of the controller can provide resistance / resistance to a 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 / reaction mechanism can be constantly activated by sending a signal from the numerical control system (CNC) of the controller to the digital control unit of the controller and to the electromagnetic brakes of the drive mechanism, respectively.

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

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

[100] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a mechatronic device controller that reads six degrees of freedom and consists of a hand controller, a wrist controller, and a hand controller.

[101] The wrist controller is attached to the moveable platform of the hand controller. The main purpose of the wrist controller is to implement contact and interaction with the operator's wrist and provide at least two rotational degrees of freedom to implement the orientation of the mechatronic complex element in response to the rotation of the operator's wrist, and to transfer forces to the operator's wrist when simulating a particular action for operator training.

[102] The wrist controller is designed to be most accurate across the entire amplitude 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 hand controller) to obtain digital information about the turns in the operator's wrist during control of the mechatronic complex. The design of the wrist controller is limited and specified by the physiological angle of the possible rotation of the wrist in these planes.

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

[104] The pivot mechanism assembly is attached to the hand controller 1200 so as to be rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the hand controller 1200 while providing one degree of freedom for the hand controller. For the hand, such a rotation of the rotation mechanism unit is the usual rotation of the radius together with the hand around the ulna relative to the longitudinal axis (in Fig. 11, this rotation around the CC axis is indicated by the number 5). The structure of the movable arm block provides one degree of freedom relative to the swing mechanism block. In this case, the hand makes a rocking 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 hand. The amount of this movement can vary from 30 ° to 55 ° depending on the physiological capabilities of the operator.

[105] The use of at least one sensor for detecting the angle of rotation for each rotational degree of freedom allows the absolute position of the angle of inclination of the wrist controller to be determined. In some embodiments, in addition to rotary sensors for determining the absolute position of a controller element, these elements may be equipped with tachometers, accelerometers and force load indicators, each of which may provide electrical signals related to speed, acceleration and force applied to the corresponding element.

[106] To read data from the rotation angle detection sensors and to rotate the movable arm unit and / or the rotation mechanism unit, the hand controller activates the drive elements.

[107] To determine the coordinates of the surgeon's hand apparatus, a hand controller is used as part of the operator's controller for controlling the mechatronic complex. The hand controller is designed for contact and interaction with the surgeon's hand and most accurately, over the entire range of hand movement and at all angles of hand movement, it controls at least one angle of rotation of the hand, which is the angle of deflection of the hand (movement of the hand 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 movement, relative position of at least two fingers relative to each other, converting this information into a digital signal.

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

[109] The hand controller is characterized in that it contains a grip with finger grips. The handle has a body that is gripped and held by the operator during operation. Finger grips are made with the possibility of placing the operator's fingers on them during operation. The hand controller includes sensors for the rotation of the finger grips to determine the absolute position of the finger grips relative to the axis of rotation of the finger grips and a handle rotation sensor to determine the absolute position of the handle relative to its longitudinal axis, drive elements of the handle and finger grips, and a wrist controller control unit.

[110] When forces are generated by the operator, the hand controller monitors and digitizes the deviation of the operator's hand in the sagittal plane relative to the transverse axis of the hand located in the frontal plane (deviation of the hand in the wrist joint), as well as the position (approach / closure / removal) of at least two grasping the grip of the hand controller together with the operator's hand 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 hand controller, which calculates the angle of deflection of the handle relative to its longitudinal axis and transmits this information to the digital control unit of the controller, which is configured transmission of the received signals to the numerical control system (CNC) of the controller, which can be performed on the basis of a computer.

[112] Finger grips work in combination. In one embodiment, one finger grip is integral with the handle body and is stationary relative thereto. The other finger grip is movable and has one turn, rotating around its axis coinciding with the longitudinal axis of the handle. During operation, the finger gripper rotation sensor reads the angle of rotation of the movable finger grip around its axis of rotation and transmits a digital signal to the control unit of the hand controller, which calculates its position relative to the stationary finger grip and transmits this information to the digital controller, which is configured to transmit the received signals on the system of numerical control (CNC) of the controller, which can be performed on the basis of a computer.

[113] In the reverse order of operation, the digital control unit of the controller, 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 supplying a control signal to the drive handle element and / or finger grips drive element moves the handle and / or fingers grips and the operator's hand itself, which is in close contact with the handle body, to the required position.

[114] In some embodiments of the hand controller of the invention, the digital controller control unit may provide control signals via the hand controller control unit to the grip actuator and / or the finger grip actuator to accelerate and / or resist rotation of the grip and / or finger grip with set / design forces and accelerations when applied by the operator. The acceleration / counteraction mechanism can be constantly activated by sending a signal to the digital control unit of the controller from the numerical control system (CNC) of the controller.

[115] Thus, when the operator covers the handle with the entire surface of the hand and rotates the handle at an arbitrary angle in the sagittal plane relative to the transverse axis of the hand, then in some embodiments, the digital controller control unit may indirectly send control commands to the handle drive element in order to implement turning the handle to the side coinciding with the turn of the hand or, conversely, to the side opposite to the turn of the hand to counter the hand.

[116] When the operator manipulates the handle included in the hand controller, the operator may also simultaneously have forces to rotate the wrist controller element, which repeat the abduction or adduction of the hand, which is also sometimes called the radial deviation of the hand, as well as the rotation of the radius with the hand. around the ulna relative to the longitudinal axis of the operator's arm. The wrist controller monitors and digitizes the force data.

[117] When the movable console unit is deflected by the operator's wrist from the anteroposterior axis lying in the sagittal plane, the rotation sensor of the movable 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 deflection of the console and transmits this information a controller control unit, which is configured to transmit the received signals to a computer-based numerical control system (CNC) of the controller.

[118] When the pivot unit rotates around a predetermined center with the operator's wrist, the pivot unit rotation sensor generates a digital signal about the rotation angle and transmits it to the wrist controller control unit, which calculates the angle of deflection of the unit relative to the longitudinal axis of the operator's hand digital control unit of the controller, which is configured to transmit the received signals to the numerical control system (CNC) of the controller, which can be performed on the basis of a computer.

[119] The digital control unit of the controller, based on the received data, plans the trajectory of the rotation of the rotation mechanism unit and / or the movable console unit and by sending a control signal to the drive element of the rotation mechanism unit and / or the movable console unit moves the rotation mechanism unit and / or the movable console unit and directly the operator's wrist itself to the required position.

[120] The hand controller, the wrist controller, like the hand controller described above, can be used as a trainer for practicing certain actions. For this, the control is carried out according to a control program that has been prepared in advance and remains unchanged in the current process. The signal from the numerical control system (CNC) goes to the digital control unit of the controller, which, based on a given algorithm, transmits control signals to:

[121] the hand controller control unit, which in turn controls the operation of the handle turning mechanism and / or the finger gripper turning mechanism appropriately in order to move the handle and / or at least one finger grip to the desired coordinates;

[122] the wrist controller control unit, which in turn controls the operation of the actuator of the handle pivot unit and / or the movable arm unit in order to rotate the pivot unit and / or the movable arm unit through the calculated angle. In this case, the rigidly fixed handle with the hand holding this body to the block of the movable console also rotates. The corresponding predetermined angles of rotation are monitored by a rotation sensor of the rotation mechanism unit and a rotation sensor of the movable console unit.

[123] The drive element of the handle, when a control signal is received to drive it, rotates the handle together with a rigidly attached body with a hand holding this body. The preset angle of rotation is controlled by the handle rotation sensor.

[124] The drive element of at least one finger grip, when receiving a control signal to drive the drive element, rotates the movable finger grip by a calculated radius, thus moving at least one finger holding the finger grip by an amount set by a digital signal from the digital control unit of the controller. The swing radius of the movable finger grip is monitored by the finger grip rotation sensor.

[125] The drive element of the rotation mechanism unit and / or the drive element of the movable console unit, when a control signal is received, rotates the wrist controller in two degrees of freedom.

[126] The numerical control system (CNC) of the controller provides the transformation of the coordinates of the handle, finger grips, the movable console unit, the rotation mechanism unit, the movable platform into the coordinates of the actuator and generation of drive control signals for each degree of actuator mobility in such a way that one or another movement of the actuator corresponds to the direction in which the operator acted on the handle of the hand controller as part of the controller. FIG. 10 schematically shows the control circuit of the controller.

[127] The digital controller control unit is generally part of a multifunction controller and provides bi-directional communication between the controller drive unit, hand controller and wrist controller control units, and accessories. The digital control unit also has the ability to synchronously control the specified controller mechanisms.

[128] The hand controller control units and / or wrist controller control units, strain platform, digital controller control unit can be interfaced with 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 control unit of the controller has the ability to repeat / demonstrate the movements of the recorded commands both in free mode and by transmitting the movements to the hand on the handle of the controller.

[130] The means of data transmission are selected from devices designed to implement the process of communication 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] The controller is calibrated to the user each time it is used. 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 specific examples and shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that such embodiments are illustrative only and do not limit the breadth of the invention and that this invention is not limited to the shown and described specific structures and systems, as may have place various other modifications that are understandable to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Claims

CLAIM

1. An operator controller for controlling a robotic surgical complex, including

- fixed support platform,

- a movable platform located parallel to a fixed support platform and connected to it by means of an actuator of a parallel structure, an actuator of a parallel structure consists of three kinematic chains connected by one of its ends with corresponding bearing assemblies fixed on a fixed support platform, and by the other ends - with a movable platform;

- the drive mechanism of the actuator, and 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 gauge platform installed between the movable platform and the fixed support platform and connected to the latter by means of cylindrical guides, and strain gauges coupled to each ball screw are located on the strain gauge platform; at the same time, a control handle is attached to the movable platform with the possibility of covering it by the operator's hand and configured to control and convert the operator's hand movement into a digital signal in at least three rotational degrees of freedom and force action on the strain-gauge platform along three linear degrees of freedom; In this case, the signal formed on the strain gauges is transmitted to the digital control unit of the controller, which calculates and transmits the weight compensation commands to the servo drive of the corresponding link of the drive mechanism of the said actuator.

2. The operator controller of claim 1, wherein the parallel structure actuator is a delta robot.

3. Operator controller according to claim 1, characterized in that the servo drive is made with a built-in electromagnetic brake and an angle position sensor.

4. An operator controller according to claim 1, wherein the control handle includes a wrist controller configured to control and digitize the operator's wrist motion over two rotational degrees of freedom in orthogonal planes, and a hand controller that provides direct contact with the entire surface of the hand operator while operating the controller.

5. Operator controller according to claim 4, characterized in that the hand controller includes a handle for control and conversion into a digital signal of the operator's hand movement by one rotational degree of freedom and finger grips for control and conversion into a digital signal of the position of the operator's fingers relative to the handle, and the wrist controller includes a pivot unit and a movable console unit.

6. The operator controller according to claim 5, characterized in that the control handle includes a wrist controller control unit, a hand controller control unit, a rotation sensor of a rotation mechanism unit, a rotation sensor of a movable console unit, a drive element of a rotation mechanism unit, a drive unit of a movable console unit, finger grip rotation sensor, handle rotation sensor, drive element of at least one finger grip, handle drive element.

7. Operator controller according to claim 6, characterized in that the digital control unit is configured to receive signals about the current state of the operator's efforts from the strain gauge platform 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 rotation mechanism unit and / or the movable console unit and transmission of the received signals to the external control system of the robotic surgical complex.

8. Operator controller according to i. 7, characterized in that the digital control unit is configured to receive control signals from the 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 for at least one finger grip.