JP2008086542A - Nursing robot - Google Patents

Abstract

Even when an unspecified caregiver uses the device, an operation space suitable for the caregiver for each caregiver is secured, and the caregiver is supported and lifted to another place. It can be moved.
A care robot device (1) includes lifting parts (3, 4) that support and lift a care recipient, first body part (5) and second body part (6) that support lifting parts (3, 4), A plurality of moving parts 12 provided in each of the one main body part 5 and the second main body part 6; a telescopic connecting part 2 connecting the first main body part 5 and the second main body part 6; 2 is provided with an expansion / contraction drive unit 20 that expands and contracts 2. Thereby, the connection part 2 can be expanded-contracted according to a caregiver's physique.
[Selection] Figure 1A

Description

  The present invention relates to a care robot device for moving a care recipient who is sleeping on bedding such as a bed to another place while supporting the person while lying down in a care site such as a hospital or a home. The present invention relates to a care robot apparatus that can insert and lift a caregiver to hold a cared person between the cared person and bedding.

  Conventionally, various techniques for moving to another place while supporting a person who is a caregiver such as an elderly person or a sick person who cannot get up from the bed, such as a bedridden person, while sleeping are proposed. ing.

For example, a vertically movable bracket is provided on each of the vertical movement devices provided on the left and right main body frames standing on the base, and the pivotable L-shaped arms provided on the brackets are provided at the distal ends of the arms. The patient support plate that can rotate with respect to the wrist rotating material is provided via the rotatable wrist rotating material, and when the patient is sleeping on the bed, the patient sleeps. The nursing support robot is moved to the bedside, and the left and right body frames are slid left and right with respect to the base of the base according to the height of the patient, the distance between the patient support plates is adjusted, and the patient is supported horizontally. There has been proposed a nursing assistance robot that lifts up and moves to a toilet, bath, or other place (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 6-9687

  However, in order to give the caregiver a sense of security, when the caregiver faces the caregiver from the side of the caregiver (patient) and directly cares for the caregiver, It was necessary to enter between the caregiver and the care robot device and to operate the care robot device. In such a case, since the care robot device is used by an unspecified caregiver, there is a problem that it is necessary to ensure a work space with a small work load and suitable for the physique of the caregiver.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention secures an operation space suitable for each caregiver to perform a care operation and supports the care recipient even when an unspecified caregiver uses the device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a nursing care robot device that can be lifted and moved to another location.

The nursing robot device of the present invention, a pair of lifting parts that support and lift the care recipient,
A first main body and a second main body that respectively support the pair of lifting portions;
A plurality of moving parts provided in each of the first body part and the second body part;
The first main body portion and the second main body portion are connected to each other, and a connecting portion that can expand and contract in the arrangement direction of the lifting portions is provided.

  According to such a structure, even if it is a case where an unspecified caregiver uses an apparatus, according to the physique of a caregiver, the space | interval of the 1st main-body part of a care robot apparatus and a 2nd main-body part It is possible to change the movement space for each caregiver, and to support the caregiver and lift it to another place without causing the caregiver to feel a burden. be able to.

Further, the first main body portion and the second main body portion are connected by a plurality of the connecting portions,
An expansion / contraction drive unit that drives the connection unit to extend and contract may be provided in at least one of the plurality of connection units.

  According to such a configuration, in addition to the above-described effects, one connecting portion can be expanded and contracted, so that the other connecting portion can be driven to expand and contract. For this reason, the mechanism of the connection part to be driven can be simplified.

In addition, there are a plurality of the extension drive units,
The expansion / contraction operations of the plurality of expansion / contraction drive units may be synchronized.

  According to such a configuration, in addition to the effects described above, the amount of expansion / contraction of each of the connecting portions can be made the same, and distortion generated due to the difference in the amount of expansion / contraction of each of the connecting portions can be suppressed.

In addition, a control unit for controlling the expansion and contraction drive unit,
The control unit of the expansion / contraction drive unit may control to control the connection unit to expand and contract based on predetermined information.

  According to the said structure, in addition to the said effect, a connection part can be expanded-contracted based on predetermined information, and the workability | operativity of the robot apparatus for care can be improved.

  Further, the predetermined information is storage information for storing after the end of use, and the control unit of the expansion / contraction drive unit may perform control so that the connecting unit is contracted from the state at the end of use according to the storage information.

  According to the said structure, in addition to the said effect, when storing and storing, an installation area can be made small.

  Further, the predetermined information is approach information that informs the caregiver of approach, and the control unit of the extension / contraction drive unit may control to extend the connecting unit in response to the approach information.

  According to the above configuration, in addition to the above effects, when the caregiver approaches to use the nursing care robot device, the connecting portion of the nursing care robot device in the stored or stored state can be extended and used immediately. Can be in a state.

  Further, the predetermined information is physique information of the caregiver, and the control unit of the extension / contraction drive unit may control the extension / contraction of the linking part according to the physique information of the caregiver.

  According to the said structure, in addition to the said effect, the working space suitable for the physique of the caregiver who uses the nursing robot apparatus can be ensured.

  Further, the caregiver's physique information may be information regarding the shoulder width of the caregiver.

  According to the said structure, in addition to the said effect, the work space suitable for the caregiver's shoulder width can be ensured, and the caregiver can work with a posture with few burdens.

  Further, predetermined information may be acquired from the RFID tag.

  According to the said structure, in addition to the said effect, information can be acquired from a distant place and expansion / contraction operation | movement can be started, and when a caregiver uses, an apparatus can be used immediately.

  Further, the apparatus further includes an expansion / contraction amount detection unit for detecting the expansion / contraction amount of the connecting portion, and the predetermined information is information relating to the expansion / contraction amount, and the control unit of the expansion / contraction driving unit is configured to connect the connecting portion when the expansion / contraction amount is a predetermined value. You may control to stop the expansion-contraction operation | movement.

  According to such a configuration, when the connecting portion is further contracted, it can be stopped before the caregiver is sandwiched or before the member constituting the care robot device collides, Damage to the device can be prevented. Moreover, when extending a connection part, it becomes possible to stop before the connection part of a 1st main-body part and a 2nd main-body part remove | deviates, and a caregiver can use an apparatus in comfort.

  Further, the apparatus further includes an expansion / contraction amount detection unit that detects the expansion / contraction amount of the connecting portion, and the predetermined information is information related to the expansion / contraction amount, and the control unit of the expansion / contraction driving unit has a limit value based on the physique information of the caregiver When it becomes, you may control to stop the expansion-contraction operation | movement of a connection part.

  According to such a configuration, when the connecting portion is further contracted, it can be stopped in front of the caregiver and the caregiver can be prevented from being injured. Thereby, a caregiver can use an apparatus in comfort.

  Moreover, you may further provide a pair of support drive part which moves a pair of lift part in parallel with respect to the direction which can expand-contract a connection part.

  According to the said structure, in addition to the said effect, the space | interval of a lifting part can be adjusted according to the physique of an unspecified care recipient, and it can support in a posture with little burden for a care receiver.

  Moreover, the control part which controls a support drive part may further be provided, and the control part of a support drive part may be controlled to change the space | interval of a pair of adjacent lift part according to the manual instruction | indication of a caregiver.

  According to the said structure, in addition to the said effect, the caregiver can adjust the space | interval of a lifting part, confirming.

  Further, the apparatus further includes a control unit that controls the support driving unit and an expansion / contraction amount detection unit that detects the expansion / contraction amount of the coupling unit, and the control unit of the support driving unit includes information on the expansion / contraction amount and physique information of the care recipient. You may control to change the space | interval of a pair of lifting part based on.

  According to the above configuration, in addition to the above effects, in an expanded and contracted state according to the physique of the unspecified caregiver, the interval between the lifting parts can be adjusted according to the physique of the unspecified care recipient, It is possible to secure a work space in which a posture that is less burdensome for the caregiver can be secured, and to support the caregiver in a comfortable posture.

  Further, the physique information of the cared person may be information related to the height of the cared person.

  According to the said structure, in addition to the said effect, the space | interval of a raising part can be adjusted according to the height of a cared person, and a cared person can be supported with a safer posture.

  Further, when the height of the cared person is higher than a preset value, the control unit of the support driving unit widens the distance between the pair of adjacent lift parts, and the height of the cared person is lower than the preset value. Alternatively, it may be controlled to narrow the interval between a pair of adjacent lifting portions.

  According to the said structure, in addition to the said effect, the space | interval of the adjacent raising part can be adjusted so that it may support in a carefree person's easy posture.

  Further, the physique information of the care recipient may be acquired from the RFID tag.

  According to the above configuration, in addition to the above effects, the physique information of the cared person can be automatically detected, and the caregiver can concentrate on the care because the adjustment operation according to the physique is unnecessary. Further, when the care receiver is supported by the lifting portion, the care receiver can be adjusted and supported at an optimum interval.

  The control unit further controls a telescopic drive unit and a load detection unit that detects that a load is applied to the pair of lifting units. The control unit of the telescopic drive unit detects the load by the load detection unit. Control may be performed to stop the expansion and contraction of the connecting portion.

  According to such a configuration, in addition to the above effects, when the cared person is supported and lifted, the expansion and contraction operation can be stopped by detecting the load. Thereby, in the state which supported the cared person, an expansion-contraction operation | movement can be stopped and a cared person can be moved to another place safely.

  In addition, a control unit that controls the support driving unit and a load detection unit that detects that a load is applied to the pair of lifting units are further provided, and the control unit of the support driving unit detects the load by the load detection unit. Then, it may be controlled to stop the movement operation of the pair of lifting portions.

  According to the above configuration, when the cared person is supported and lifted, the moving operation of the lifting portion can be stopped by detecting the load. Thereby, in the state which supported the cared person, the moving operation | movement of a raising part can be stopped and accidents, such as a cared person falling, can be prevented.

  Moreover, you may further provide the illumination part and the rotation drive part which can change the direction of the illumination of an illumination part.

  According to the said structure, the illumination direction of an illumination part can be changed further.

  The image capturing unit further includes an image capturing unit whose image capturing direction is matched with the illumination direction of the illumination unit, and a control unit that controls the rotation driving unit. You may control to change the illumination direction of an illumination part based on image information.

  According to such a configuration, in addition to the above effects, the illumination direction of the illumination unit can be changed based on the captured image information obtained by imaging. As a result, a location to be illuminated, for example, the vicinity of the tip of the lifting portion, etc. can be detected from the captured image information, and the direction of illumination can be changed to brighten the location. Thereby, when a care receiver is supported by the lifting portion, the visibility between the care receiver and the bed or bedding can be improved, and the work burden on the care worker can be reduced. Moreover, it can operate safely, without giving a physical burden by the operation mistake to a care receiver.

  Further, each of the first main body portion and the second main body portion may include at least three moving portions.

  According to such a configuration, in addition to the above-described effects, each of the first main body portion and the second main body portion can be made to stand up, and can be erected at the time of production / assembly or maintenance / disassembly. Therefore, the movement in the work place can be easily performed. Further, assembly work and repair work are facilitated, and work efficiency can be improved. Moreover, since the 1st main-body part and the 2nd main-body part hold | maintain the attitude | position where each stood, it does not lean against each other and can reduce the load concerning a connection part. For this reason, the breakage of the connecting portion can be prevented.

The nursing robot device of the present invention, a pair of lifting parts that support and lift the care recipient,
A first main body and a second main body that respectively support the pair of lifting portions;
A plurality of moving parts provided in each of the first body part and the second body part;
The first main body and the second main body are connected to each other, and a connecting portion that is extendable in the arrangement direction of the lifting parts,
An expansion / contraction drive part for extending / contracting the connecting part;
A pair of support driving parts that move the pair of lifting parts in parallel to the extendable direction of the connecting part; and
A position driving unit that drives the plurality of moving units of each of the first main body and the second main body;
An ascending / descending moving part for raising and lowering the pair of lifting parts;
An elevating drive unit for driving the elevating movement unit;
An input unit for inputting operation instructions;
Based on the operation instruction, a control unit that controls the telescopic drive unit, the support drive unit, the position drive unit, and the lift drive unit;
It is provided with.

  According to such a structure, the connection part of the robot apparatus for care can be expanded-contracted according to the physique of an unspecified caregiver, and the work space which can care in an easy posture can be ensured. Moreover, the space | interval of a lifting part can be adjusted according to the physique of an unspecified care recipient, especially height. Thereby, while reducing the work burden of a caregiver and improving workability | operativity, the safety | security with respect to a care receiver can be improved and a care receiver can be provided with a sense of security.

  In addition, the control unit expands and contracts the connecting unit in a state where the plurality of moving units of the first main body unit or the plurality of moving units of the second main body unit are stopped according to an operation instruction input to the input unit. You may control to.

  According to the above configuration, in addition to the above effects, the telescopic operation can be performed with the main body on the object side such as a wall stopped, and the object collides with the object regardless of the left or right side of the care robot device. It can be stored without any problems.

  Each of the first main body and the second main body further includes a plurality of object detection units that detect the presence / absence of an object in a direction in which the connecting portion can be expanded and contracted, and the control unit responds to the presence / absence of an object. The connecting portion may be controlled to expand and contract in a state where the plurality of moving portions of the first main body portion or the plurality of moving portions of the second main body portion are stopped.

  According to the above configuration, the telescopic operation can be performed by detecting the presence or absence of an obstructing object in the expansion / contraction direction of the first main body and the second main body, and the operability at the time of storage and at the start of use. Can be improved.

  As described above, according to the present invention, even when an unspecified caregiver uses the device, an operation space suitable for performing care operations for each caregiver is ensured, and It is possible to provide a care robot device that can be supported, lifted, and moved to another place.

  First, the configuration of the nursing care robot device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing a configuration of a nursing care robot device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1A, for easy understanding, description will be made using three axes (X axis, Y axis, and Z axis) orthogonal to each other. Here, it is assumed that the XY plane is a horizontal plane parallel to the floor surface, and the pair of lifting portions 3 and 4 of the nursing robot device 1 are attached facing the X-axis direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the care robot apparatus 1 is an apparatus for moving a care receiver who is sleeping on a bed or other bedding to another place while supporting the person while lying down. The care robot device 1 includes a pair of lifting portions 3 and 4 for loading and holding a care recipient, and a first main body portion 5 and a second main body portion 6 to which the pair of lifting portions 3 and 4 are respectively connected. And a plurality of moving parts 12 provided in each of the first main body part 5 and the second main body part 6. Further, the first main body portion 5 and the second main body portion 6 can be expanded and contracted by connecting and retracting connecting portions 2a and 2b that connect the first main body portion 5 and the second main body portion 6 and the connecting portion 2a. A telescopic drive unit 20 is provided. Further, the first main body 5 and the second main body 6 are respectively provided with a load detection unit 13 for detecting a load on the lifting units 3 and 4 and an expansion / contraction amount detection unit 16 for detecting the expansion / contraction amount of the connecting portion 2a. Are provided. Moreover, the robot apparatus 1 for nursing care is provided with an input section 17 for performing an operation input from a caregiver and a control section 18 for controlling the telescopic drive section 20.

  The first body portion 5 includes a first support column portion 7 and a first base portion 8. The first support column 7 includes a telescopic leg 7a, a first main body arm 7b coupled to the leg 7a and extending in the Y-axis direction, and a leg 7a extending in the X-axis for lifting. A support arm portion 7c for connecting the portion 3; and a first guide arm portion 8a coupled to the leg portion 7a and extending in the Y-axis direction.

  The leg part 7a has an up-and-down moving part 11 for raising and lowering the lifting part 3. By the expansion / contraction operation of the lifting / lowering moving part 11, the lifting part 3 can be lifted / lowered in accordance with the height of the bed where the care receiver is sleeping. Here, the raising / lowering moving part 11 is comprised using the well-known moving mechanism which can be moved linearly. For example, the leg portion 7a is expanded and contracted using a configuration including a feed screw and a nut, a configuration including a rack and a spur gear, and the like. The lifting / lowering moving unit 11 is electrically driven by the lifting / lowering driving unit 83. In this way, by extending and contracting the leg portion 7 a, the first support column portion 7 is moved up and down with respect to the first base unit 8, and the lifting unit 3 supported by the first support column unit 7 is moved up and down.

  The first base portion 8 is coupled so as to support the first support column portion 7. In the above description, the first guide arm portion 8a is coupled to the first support column portion 7. However, a similar member extending in the Y-axis direction is coupled to the first base portion 8. May be.

  The first base portion 8 has three moving portions 12 for moving on the floor surface. By providing three moving parts 12, the state where the 1st main part 5 stood up independently can be maintained. In addition, the first main body 5 can be moved independently.

  The moving unit 12 uses a known moving mechanism that can move the position of the nursing robot device 1, such as a wheel or a caster. The moving unit 12 includes a known clutch mechanism, and can be connected to or disconnected from a driving source (not shown) such as a motor. Moreover, the moving part 12 is equipped with a well-known lock mechanism, and can stop a wheel so that it may not move. The lock mechanism, for example, presses the wheel with a stop plate or the like and fixes the wheel so that the wheel does not move by the frictional force.

  Thereby, the moving part 12 becomes movable like a caster when disconnected from the drive source by the clutch mechanism, and can move by driving from the drive source when connected to the drive source. For example, an omni wheel or the like can be used as the moving unit 12. An omni wheel is a wheel that is driven by a motor and is movable and directional.

  Next, the second main body 6 will be described. The second body portion 6 includes a second support column portion 9 and a second base portion 10. The second support column 9 includes an extendable leg 9a, a second main body arm 9b coupled to the leg 9a and extending in the Y-axis direction, and a leg 9a extending in the X-axis and lifted. It has a support arm part 9c for connecting the part 4 and a second guide arm part 10a coupled to the leg part 9a and extending in the Y-axis direction.

  The leg part 9a has the raising / lowering moving part 11 for raising / lowering the lifting part 4 similarly to the leg part 7a. The lifting / lowering moving unit 11 is electrically driven by the lifting / lowering driving unit 83. The lifting unit 4 is moved up and down by the expansion and contraction of the lifting / lowering unit 11.

  The second base portion 10 is coupled so as to support the first support column portion 9. In the above description, the second guide arm portion 10a is coupled to the second support column 9, but similarly, a member extending in the Y-axis direction is coupled to the second base portion 10. May be.

  The second base portion 10 has three moving portions 12 for moving on the floor surface.

  In the connecting portion 2a, the first main body arm portion 7b and the second main body arm portion 9b are connected to be extendable. Moreover, in the connection part 2b, the 1st guide arm part 8a and the 2nd guide arm part 10a are connected so that expansion-contraction is possible. Hereinafter, the connecting portion 2a and the connecting portion 2b will be collectively referred to as the connecting portion 2.

  The lifting portions 3 and 4 are connected to the first main body portion 5 and the second main body portion 6, respectively, and are arranged along the Y-axis direction.

  The lifting portions 3 and 4 are inserted from the tip side of the cared person's lower side, for example, between the cared person and bedding such as a bed, and lift the cared person in support. The lifting portion 3 is connected to one end portion of the support arm portion 7 c in the first main body portion 5 so as to face the X-axis direction. The lifting portion 4 is connected to one end portion of the support arm portion 9c in the second main body portion 6 so as to face the X-axis direction.

  Further, as the load detection unit 13, for example, a strain gauge or the like is provided in each of the support arm unit 7 c and the support arm unit 9 c to detect how much load is received by each of the lifting units 3 and 4.

  The expansion / contraction amount detection unit 16 includes a light reflection plate 14 and an optical element 15 and detects the expansion / contraction amount of the connecting unit 2 as described later.

  The input unit 17 receives an operation input by the caregiver and outputs an operation command to the control unit 18 as will be described later. As the input unit 17, known input means such as an operation lever, a button, or a push switch can be used. The input unit is provided in the very vicinity of the lifting units 3 and 4, and as shown in FIG. 1B, the caregiver grasps and operates with the caregiver positioned between the lifting units 3 and 4. Yes. That is, the movement of the input unit 17 is directly controlled as the movement of the lifting units 3 and 4. Note that the amount of change in the operation of the input unit 17 and the amount of physical change in the lifting units 3 and 4 do not necessarily match. For example, it is provided in a part different from the lifting parts 3 and 4 (for example, the support arm part 7c of the first main body part 5), and has a relationship between a physical position change of the lifting parts 3 and 4 and a direct position change. You may make it not.

  The control unit 18 controls the expansion / contraction drive unit 20, the lift drive unit 83, and the position drive unit 84 in accordance with the operation instruction input from the input unit 17.

  When the caregiver operates the care robot apparatus 1, the caregiver enters between the care robot apparatus 1 and the care receiver and stands at a predetermined position between the lifting portions 3 and 4 facing the care receiver. . Next, the caregiver moves the care robot device 1 to the side of the bed while operating the input unit 17 with both hands while standing in a predetermined position, and uses the lifting units 3 and 4 to put it on the bed. Lift and support a bedridden caregiver and move it to another location.

  Next, main components in the nursing robot device 1 will be described in detail. First, the expansion / contraction drive part 20 provided in the connection part 2a is demonstrated using FIG. 2 and FIG. FIG. 2 is a partial plan view of the care robot apparatus 1 with a partially broken cross section viewed from above. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the care robot apparatus 1 taken along the line AA in FIG.

  2 and 3, the connecting portion 2a is configured such that the outer peripheral portion of the second main body arm portion 9b of the second main body portion 6 is horizontal to the inner peripheral portion of the first main body arm portion 7b of the first main body portion 5. It is slidably inserted in the direction. Similarly, in the connecting portion 2b, the outer peripheral portion of the second guide arm portion 10a of the second main body 6 is slidably inserted in the inner peripheral portion of the first guide arm portion 8a in the horizontal direction. . Thereby, connection part 2a, 2b is connected so that expansion-contraction is possible.

  The outer peripheral portions of the first main body arm portion 7b and the first guide arm portion 8a are inserted into the inner peripheral portions of the second main body arm portion 9b and the second guide arm portion 10a, respectively. You may do it.

  Next, the telescopic drive unit 20 will be described in detail. The telescopic drive unit 20 includes a screw drive motor 22 to which a worm 21 is fixed, a feed screw 23 on which a trapezoidal male screw is formed, a worm wheel 24 that is fixed to one end of the feed screw 23, and a bearing. A bearing portion 26 fixed to the inner surface of the first main body arm portion 7b via the bracket 25 and a nut formed with a female screw fixed to the inner surface of the second main body arm portion 9b via the nut bracket 27. Part 28. Thereby, the expansion / contraction drive part 20 moves the 2nd main body arm part 9b relatively with respect to the 1st main body arm part 7b.

  The screw drive motor 22 is disposed in the vicinity of the coupling portion between the first main body arm portion 7b and the leg portion 7a. The feed screw 23 is rotatably held by the bearing portion 26 via the bearing bracket 25 in a state where the worm wheel 24 is engaged with the worm 21.

  On the other hand, the nut bracket 27 is fixed inside the second main body arm portion 9b. Further, a nut portion 28 having a female screw is fixed to the nut bracket 27. The nut portion 28 is screwed to the feed screw 23.

  When the screw drive motor 22 is rotated, the feed screw 23 rotatably supported by the bearing portion 26 is rotated via the worm 21 and the worm wheel 24. Since the nut portion 28 is screwed into the feed screw 23, the nut portion 28 moves in the Y-axis direction as the feed screw 23 rotates. Thereby, since the 2nd main body arm part 9b has fixed the nut part 28 via the nut bracket 27, it is guided to the internal peripheral surface of the 1st main body arm part 7b, and moves to a Y-axis direction.

  When the second main body arm portion 9b is guided and moved by the inner peripheral surface of the first main body arm portion 7b, the second guide arm portion 10a is also driven and the inner peripheral surface of the first guide arm portion 8a. Be guided to. Thus, by rotating the screw drive motor 22, the connecting portions 2a and 2b can be expanded and contracted.

  Next, the configuration of the lifting portions 3 and 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a partially broken plan view illustrating the configuration of the lifting unit 3 in the nursing robot device 1, and FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating the configuration of the lifting unit 3 in the nursing robot device 1. In addition, since the lifting part 4 is the same as the lifting part 3, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  First, the structure of the lifting part 3 will be described. 4 and 5, the lifting unit 3 includes a belt-like conveyor unit 41 that can move its surface in the X-axis direction, and a conveyor drive motor unit 45 that drives the conveyor unit 41.

  The conveyor unit 41 is provided on a plate-like unit 42 placed on a plane parallel to the XY plane on which the care recipient is to be placed, and is connected to the driving roller 43c and the tip roller 43d via guide rollers 43a and 43b. Suspended endlessly in between.

  The conveyor drive motor unit 45 is stored in a frame unit 44 that is coupled to the plate-like unit 42, and drives the conveyor unit 41 by rotating the drive roller 43 c with the power. A plurality of rollers 47 are provided on the lower surface of the frame portion 44 to facilitate insertion of the lifting portion 3 between the care receiver and the bedding.

  The lifting portion 3 is connected to one end portion of the support arm portion 7c. Thereby, the support drive unit 53 moves in the Y-axis direction. The support drive unit 53 includes a first guide shaft 48 and a second guide shaft 49 that guide the lifting unit 3 in the Y-axis direction, and the lifting unit 3 along the first guide shaft 48 and the second guide shaft 49. And an actuator 52 for driving the motor.

  The first guide shaft 48 and the second guide shaft 49 are slidably attached through one end portion of the support arm portion 7 c, and both side end portions are fixed to both side surfaces of the frame portion 44. . Thereby, the one end part of the support arm part 7c is connected so that sliding is possible in the state pinched | interposed between the frame parts 44. FIG.

  The actuator 52 includes a pneumatic motor 51 that moves a piston 50 movably provided in the cylinder by air pressure, and operating shafts 50 a and 50 b coupled to both sides of the piston 50. The cylinder body of the pneumatic motor 51 is fixed to one end of the support arm portion 7c. Further, the respective ends of the operating shafts 50 a and 50 b are fixed to both side surfaces of the frame portion 44. Thereby, the piston 50 is being fixed to the flame | frame part 44 by the operating shaft 50a, 50b.

  Therefore, when the piston 50 is moved by the air pressure, the cylinder body of the pneumatic motor 51 moves, and accordingly, one end portion of the support arm portion 7c to which the cylinder body is fixed moves.

  As described above, the care robot apparatus 1 can move the lifting portion 3 by moving the piston 50 of the actuator 52. Similarly, the above-mentioned support drive unit 53 is provided at the connecting portion between the support arm portion 9c of the second main body portion 6 and the lifting portion 4, and the lifting portion 4 is moved in the Y-axis direction. Note that the support drive unit 53 is not limited to the pneumatic motor 51, and is configured by a rotary motor, a feed screw, a nut, and the like, and a rotary motor, a rack, a spur gear, and the like, similar to the telescopic drive unit 20. A known driving means such as a configuration according to may be used.

  Next, the operation of the pneumatic motor 51 will be described. The pneumatic motor 51 sends compressed air from a compressor section (not shown) through a switching valve (not shown) to the cylinder chamber 51a, and discharges the air in the cylinder chamber 51b through the switching valve, so that the piston 50 Is moved in the direction of arrow a. When the piston 50 moves in the direction of the arrow a, the lifting portion 3 moves in the direction of the arrow a via the operation shafts 50a and 50b.

  On the other hand, in the pneumatic motor 51, if air is sent into the cylinder chamber 51b and the air in the cylinder chamber 51a is discharged, the piston 50 can be moved in the direction of the arrow b. When the piston 50 moves in the direction of the arrow b, the lifting portion 3 moves in the direction of the arrow b via the operation shafts 50a and 50b.

  As described above, the nursing robot device 1 can move the lifting portion 3 in the direction of the arrow a or the arrow b by the pneumatic motor 51. Similarly, the lifting portion 4 can be moved in the direction of the arrow a or the arrow b by the pneumatic motor 51 at the connecting portion between the support arm portion 9 c and the lifting portion 4.

  In addition, an expansion / contraction amount detection unit 16 of the same type as that of the connection unit 2a may be provided between the frame unit 44 and the support arm unit 7c, and the movement amount of the lifting unit 3 may be detected. Similarly, the lifting unit 4 may include an expansion / contraction amount detection unit 16. Thereby, the amount of movement of each of the lifting parts 3 and 4 is detected by the expansion / contraction amount detection unit 16, and the interval between the lifting part 3 and the lifting part 4 is calculated from the movement amount by the support interval calculation unit included in the control unit 18. can do.

  Instead of the pneumatic motor 51, a hydraulic motor that generates a driving force with water pressure, a hydraulic motor that generates a driving force with oil pressure, or the like may be used. Further, a linear motor capable of linear operation may be used.

  The care robot device 1 includes a load detection unit 13 such as a strain gauge in the support arm unit 7c and the support arm unit 9c, and supports the cared person by the lifting units 3 and 4 to lift the load detection unit. 13 detects a distortion detection signal from 13 and stops the operation of the extension / contraction drive unit 20 and the actuator 52. With such a configuration, in a state where the cared person is supported and lifted by the lifting portions 3 and 4, the expansion / contraction operation of the connecting portion 2 and the moving operation of the lifting portions 3 and 4 are stopped, and the interval between the lifting portions 3 and 4 is increased. When spread, it can prevent accidents such as dropping the care recipient.

  The load detecting unit 13 is not limited to a strain gauge, and a load detecting unit such as a pressure sensitive element is provided on the surface of the plate-like portion 42 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) of the lifting portions 3 and 4. May be. Moreover, in the motor of the raising / lowering drive part 83 which drives the raising / lowering moving part 11, the change of the load torque at the time of positioning control may be detected, and a load may be detected.

  Next, an embodiment of a method for detecting the amount of expansion / contraction of the connecting portion 2a will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B. FIG. 6A is a partial perspective view illustrating the structure of an expansion / contraction amount detection unit mounted on the nursing robot apparatus of FIG. 1A. FIG. 6B is a partial perspective view illustrating another configuration example of the expansion / contraction amount detection unit mounted on the nursing robot apparatus of FIG. 1A.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the expansion / contraction amount detection unit 16 affixes a substantially triangular light reflection plate 14 to the surface of a recess 9d provided on one surface of the second main body arm portion 9b, and faces the light reflection plate 14. Thus, the first main body arm portion 7b is provided with an optical element 15 composed of a light emitting / receiving element or the like.

  The control unit 18 includes an expansion / contraction amount calculation unit (not shown), and outputs the first main body arm by an output signal output according to the amount of reflected light corresponding to the width h of the light reflecting plate 14 facing the optical element 15. The amount of expansion / contraction corresponding to the overlap of the second main body arm portion 9b with respect to the portion 7b is detected, and the first main body portion 5 and the second main body portion 6 are connected from the expansion / contraction amount of the connecting portion 2a by the expansion / contraction amount calculation unit. In this state, the outer dimension in the Y-axis direction of the nursing robot device 1 is calculated. Here, the correspondence between the amount of expansion and contraction and the external dimension in the Y-axis direction of the nursing care robot device 1 is measured in advance and stored in an internal storage unit (not shown) of the nursing care robot device 1 as a stretching amount table. It shall be. The control unit 18 calculates the outer dimension in the Y-axis direction of the nursing robot device 1 by referring to the expansion / contraction amount table. In addition, a work space suitable for the caregiver is measured in advance from the external dimensions and recorded in the expansion / contraction amount table. Thereby, the work space suitable for the caregiver can be secured based on the physique information of the caregiver.

  In addition, although the example using the light reflecting plate 14 and the optical element 15 was shown as the expansion / contraction amount detection unit 16, an electric resistance type detection element such as a potentiometer or an electromagnetic induction type detection such as a differential transformer is a known technique. Elements may be used.

  Further, a stepping motor is used as the screw drive motor 22 of the expansion / contraction drive unit 20 shown in FIG. 2 described above, and the number of drive pulses supplied to the screw drive motor 22 is counted to calculate the expansion / contraction amount of the connecting unit 2a. You may make it do. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6B, for example, a predetermined reference position is detected and input from the reference position by using a known optical sensor 62 and marks 61a to 61f as the expansion / contraction amount detection unit 63. By counting the number of drive pulses, the relative position is detected from each reference position (absolute position), so that errors can be suppressed. Here, the sensor 62 irradiates the marks 61a to 61f with light, and detects the positions of the marks 61a to 61f from the amount of reflected light. The marks 61a to 61f have, for example, reflection surfaces that can reflect the irradiation light with a predetermined amount. Thereby, a position can be specified from the amount of reflected light when the sensor 62 reads the marks 61a to 61f. In addition, you may use what printed the barcode etc. as the marks 61a-61f. When the sensor 62 reads the printed code information, the position can be specified from the code information.

  Note that a linear motor or the like may be used for the expansion / contraction driving unit 20, and in that case, the expansion / contraction amount may be calculated based on position information from a position detection unit that detects a movement position.

  Moreover, the robot apparatus 1 for nursing care is provided with a protection mechanism that prevents the caregiver from being caught and the connecting part 2a from coming off due to expansion and contraction of the connecting part 2a.

  With this protection mechanism, the nursing robot device 1 extends the connecting portion 2a with the expansion / contraction driving unit 20, and as shown in FIG. 6A, the position of the dotted line 14a on the light reflecting plate 14 (the width of the light reflecting plate 14 is “ha”). When the optical element 15 opposes the position “)”, the command from the control unit 18 stops the expansion / contraction operation of the connecting part 2a by the extension / contraction driving part 20 so that the connecting part 2a does not extend beyond the position of the dotted line 14a. ing. Thereby, the 2nd main body arm part 9b does not remove | deviate from the 1st main body arm part 7b. Similarly, the second guide arm portion 10a does not come off from the first guide arm portion 8a.

  In addition, when the care giver is in a predetermined position where the caregiver operates the care robot device 1, the connecting portion 2 a contracts, and the position of the dotted line 14 b in the light reflecting plate 14 (the position of the light reflecting plate 14 When the optical element 15 faces the position where the width is “hb”, the operation of the expansion / contraction driving unit 20 is stopped by an instruction from the control unit 18. The position of the width “hb” of the light reflecting plate 14 is stored in the control unit 18 in advance. As a result, the care robot device 1 prevents the caregiver from being sandwiched between the support arm portion 7c and the support arm portion 9c, and prevents an accident such as an injury.

  Next, a modified example in which the support arm portions 7c and 9c are each provided with the illumination unit 71 will be described. FIG. 7 is a perspective view for explaining an illumination unit of the care robot apparatus. As shown in FIG. 7, the illumination part 71 is provided in the rotation drive part 74 which can be rotated in each direction of the arrows 72 and 73, and can change an illumination direction by an operation instruction.

  The illumination unit 71 rotates in two directions when inserting the lifting portions 3 and 4 between the care receiver and the bedding according to the operation instructions of the caregiver, and the respective tip portions of the lifting portions 3 and 4. You can direct the lighting to The illumination unit 71 is turned on / off by the SW unit 85. Thus, by illuminating the respective tip portions of the lifting portions 3 and 4, the insertion positions of the lifting portions 3 and 4 can be easily confirmed, and the insertion operation can be performed safely.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the illumination unit 71 may include a camera 75 having an image sensor such as a CCD. In this case, the camera 75 is provided in the illumination unit 71 so that the photographing optical axis of the camera 75 coincides with the illumination optical axis of the illumination unit 71. The control unit 18 detects a specific mark or pattern image at each of the tip portions of the lifting units 3 and 4 stored in advance from the captured image information obtained by capturing with the camera 75, and determines a predetermined angle of view. The rotation drive unit 74 is operated so that a specific mark or pattern image appears at a position, for example, the center.

  Thereby, even if it is a case where a caregiver cannot remove a hand by another operation, each tip part of lifting parts 3 and 4 can be automatically illuminated by lighting part 71, and the tip of lifting parts 3 and 4 Can be safely inserted between the care recipient and the bedding.

  Next, the electrical configuration of the care robot apparatus 1 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

  The nursing robot device 1 has an electrical configuration in which an information reading unit 81 that reads information from an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag from a caregiver or a cared person, an operation input from the information reading unit 81, or a predetermined operation An input unit 17 for performing an operation input from a caregiver at a position, lifting units 3 and 4 for supporting and lifting the cared person, and a first main body unit 5 for supporting the lifting units 3 and 4 The second main body 6, the telescopic connecting portions 2 a and 2 b that connect the first main body 5 and the second main body 6, and the first main body 5 and the second main body 6, respectively. A plurality of moving units 12 provided, a support driving unit 53 that moves the lifting units 3 and 4, a lifting and lowering moving unit 11 that lifts and lowers the lifting units 3 and 4, and a lifting and lowering driving unit 83 that drives the lifting and moving unit 11. A telescopic drive unit 20 that expands and contracts the connecting unit 2a, a position drive unit 84 that drives the moving unit 12, an illumination unit 71, an SW unit 85 that turns on / off the illumination unit 71, and an illumination unit 71 Based on the input to the input unit 17, the rotation drive unit 74 that changes the illumination direction, the actuator 52 that drives the support drive unit 53, the conveyor unit 41, the conveyor drive motor unit 45 that drives the conveyor unit 41. , A lift drive unit 83, a telescopic drive unit 20, a position drive unit 84, a SW unit 85, a rotation drive unit 74, an actuator 52, and a control unit 18 that controls the conveyor drive motor unit 45.

  The IC card 82 includes an RFID tag unit. The RFID tag unit includes an antenna unit, a storage unit that stores information, a transmission unit that transmits information stored in the storage unit through the antenna unit, and a reception unit that stores information received from the antenna unit in the storage unit.

  For the RFID tag portion, for example, a short wave band (13.56 MHz) is used when used in a radius range of about 1 m, and a UHF band (950 MHz) RFID tag is used when used in a radius range of about 5 m. Accordingly, the RFID tag unit can store information received using radio waves in an external device in the storage unit, and can transmit the stored information. Information can be written to and read from a known reader / writer in the RFID tag portion.

  The information reading unit 81 acquires information from a remote control device (not shown), tag information of the RFID tag unit read from the IC card 82 or the like using a known reader, and the like. The tag information for the caregiver includes, for example, information notifying the approach of the caregiver, caregiver ID information, device use permission / denial information, physique information such as height, shoulder width, waist circumference, and chest circumference. The tag information for the cared person includes ID information of the cared person and physique information such as height, weight, shoulder width, waist circumference, and chest circumference. If the caregiver and the care receiver have the IC card 82, the care robot device 1 can acquire tag information. The information reading unit 81 can identify the caregiver and the care receiver from the ID information recorded in the tag information. If the RFID tag using the UHF band is assigned to the caregiver and the RFID tag part using the short wave band is assigned to the care recipient and used, the information reading unit 81 detects the received frequency. Thus, RFID tags for caregivers and care recipients can be identified.

  The elevating drive unit 83, the position drive unit 84, and the rotation drive unit 74 can be driven using a known rotary motor.

  A known central processing unit (CPU), data processing unit (DSP), or the like can be used as the control unit 18, and various functions can be implemented by executing a program stored in advance in a memory or the like. Thereby, based on the command from the input part 17, the control part 18 is the raising / lowering drive part 83, the expansion-contraction drive part 20, the position drive part 84, SW part 85, the rotation drive part 74, the actuator 52, and the conveyor drive motor part. 45 is controlled.

  Moreover, the control part 18 calculates the expansion-contraction amount of the connection part 2a and the support position of the lifting parts 3 and 4 from a position calculation function, for example, and calculates the space | interval of the lifting parts 3 and 4 from the result by a space | interval calculation function. . Further, the control unit 18 compares the captured image information acquired from the camera 75 with information such as the shape and color of the marker stored in advance in a storage unit (not shown), so that the lifting units 3 and 4 Detection of the front end and setting of the rotation position with respect to the rotation drive unit 74 is performed.

  Next, the operation of the care robot apparatus 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 9 shows an example in which the robot apparatus 1 for nursing care lifts a cared person lying on one bed in a lying state and transfers it to the other bed.

  First, a caregiver transmits an operation signal from a remote operation device or the like to turn on the main power supply of the robot device 1 for care. The nursing robot device 1 detects the operation signal by the information reading unit 81 and outputs it to the input unit 17. Thereby, the input part 17 performs the operation input for turning ON the main power supply (not shown) of the robot apparatus 1 for care (S1). The care robot device 1 stored in a predetermined storage location is stored in a state in which the connecting portion 2a is contracted from the viewpoint of keeping the storage area small.

  Based on this operation input, the main power supply of the nursing robot device 1 is turned on, and the nursing robot device 1 is ready for use (S2). When the caregiver approaches the care robot device 1, the information reading unit reads information notifying the caregiver from the RFID tag provided on the IC card 82 possessed by the caregiver and the physique information of the caregiver stored in the RFID tag. 81 is detected and output to the input unit 17. Thereby, the input part 17 performs the operation input for extending | stretching the connection part 2a of the robot apparatus 1 for nursing care from a accommodated state according to the physique information, for example, the information of a shoulder width (S3). Based on this operation input, the control unit 18 operates the expansion / contraction drive unit 20 and expands the connecting unit 2 based on the expansion / contraction amount table so that the expansion / contraction amount corresponds to the physique information (S4). In addition, when the caregiver's physique information is not stored in the RFID tag, the control unit 18 stores the information in advance in the storage unit (not shown) by information notifying the caregiver's approach from the RFID tag. The expansion / contraction drive unit 20 is operated so as to reach a predetermined expansion / contraction amount, and the connecting portion 2a is extended.

  In addition, before extending | stretching the connection part 2a, a caregiver judges whether there exists an object, such as a wall, in the right and left sides of the robot apparatus 1 for nursing care, and performs expansion / contraction operation | movement from the input part 17 based on a judgment result. A direction may be designated. As a result, the nursing robot device 1 is locked by the lock mechanism so that the moving unit 12 provided in the main body on the object side such as a wall does not move, and the moving unit 12 provided in the main body on the other side can be moved. To. Thereby, even if there is an object such as a wall on the left or right side of the care robot device 1, the telescopic operation can be performed in the storage place without contacting the object at the time of use.

  Next, an operation input for bringing the caregiver robot device 1 into a predetermined position in the care robot device 1 in the standby state and bringing the care robot device 1 close to the side surface of one bed on which the care receiver is lying is input to the input unit 17. (S5). Based on this operation input, the control unit 18 operates the position driving unit 84 and drives the moving unit 12 to bring the nursing robot device 1 closer to the side surface of one bed (S6).

  When the care robot device 1 approaches the side surface of one bed, the information reading unit 81 detects the physique information of the care recipient from the FRID tag of the IC card 82 possessed by the care recipient, and inputs the physique information to the input unit. 17 to output. Thereby, the input part 17 performs the operation input for making the space | interval of the lifting part 3 and the lifting part 4 of the care robot apparatus 1 into the space | interval corresponding to a cared person's physique, especially height (S7).

  Based on the operation input, the control unit 18 determines that the distance between the lifting parts 3 and 4 corresponds to the physique information of the care recipient, particularly the height, based on the amount of expansion and contraction of the connecting part 2 and the support positions of the lifting parts 3 and 4. The actuator 52 is driven so that the distance between the lift parts 3 and 4 is moved by the support drive part 53 (S8). When the physique information of the cared person is not stored in the RFID tag, the control unit 18 lifts according to a predetermined height (initial value) stored in advance in a storage unit (not shown). The interval between the parts 3 and 4 is controlled. Thereby, in the robot apparatus 1 for care, when the height of the cared person is higher than the predetermined height by the control unit 18, the interval between the adjacent lifting parts 3 and 4 is widened, and the height of the cared person is set to the predetermined height. When the height is lower than the height, it can be controlled to narrow the interval between the adjacent lifting portions 3 and 4.

  The caregiver inputs a lighting operation of the illumination unit 71 to the input unit 17 in order to illuminate the tip portions of the lifting units 3 and 4 of the nursing robot device 1 (S9). Based on this operation input, the control unit 18 turns on the SW unit 85 and turns on the illumination unit 71 (S10).

  Next, the caregiver inputs the setting operation of the illumination direction of each of the illumination units 71 from the input unit 17 in order to direct the illumination to the respective tip portions of the lifting units 3 and 4 of the nursing robot device 1 (S11). . Based on this operation input, the control unit 18 instructs the rotation drive unit 74 to illuminate the tip portions of the lifting units 3 and 4 of the nursing robot device 1 with the illumination unit 71 (S12).

  Next, the caregiver performs operation input to the input unit 17 so that the tip portions of the lifting portions 3 and 4 of the care robot device 1 are at the height between the care receiver and the bed or bedding (S13). Based on this operation input, the control unit 18 instructs the elevating drive unit 83 to move the tip of the lifting units 3 and 4 of the care robot device 1 between the care receiver and the bed or bedding by the elevating / moving unit 11. It moves to the height between (S14).

  The caregiver adjusts the tip of the lifting portions 3 and 4 of the care robot device 1 to the height between the care receiver and the bed or bedding with respect to the input portion 17 with respect to the lifting portions 3 and 4. Is input (S15). Based on this input, the control unit 18 rotates the conveyor drive motor unit 45 of each of the lifting units 3 and 4 to rotate the belt of the conveyor unit 41. When the lifting parts 3 and 4 are inserted below the cared person and scooped up, the belt is rotated in the direction of the arrow 19 as shown in FIG. 1 (S16).

  Moreover, the control part 18 commands the position drive part 84 as needed at the time of insertion, and operates the moving part 12 (S17).

  When the caregiver determines that the insertion of the lifting portions 3 and 4 has been completed (for example, when the tip portions of the lifting portions 3 and 4 are seen on the opposite side with the care recipient in between). Then, an input for lifting the care recipient is performed on the input unit 17 (S18). Based on this input, the control unit 18 stops the rotation operation of the conveyor drive motor unit 45, stops the rotation of the conveyor unit 41, and then instructs the lifting drive unit 83 to move the lifting unit 3 by the lifting / lowering moving unit 11. 4 is raised (S19).

  Next, the caregiver performs an input for moving the care robot device 1 to the destination bed with respect to the input unit 17 (S20). Based on this input, the control unit 18 instructs the position driving unit 84 to move the moving unit 12 to a desired position (for example, the position of the other bed) (S21).

  The caregiver confirms that the robot apparatus 1 for nursing care has approached the other bed, and inputs to the input unit 17 to lower the lifting units 3 and 4 onto the other bed (S22). Based on this input, the control unit 18 instructs the elevating drive unit 83 to lower the elevating / lowering moving unit 11 and lower the lifting units 3 and 4 carrying the cared person onto the other bed (S23).

  The caregiver confirms that the lifting parts 3 and 4 supporting the cared person have been lowered on the other bed, and the caregiver is moved from the lifting parts 3 and 4 to the other bed with respect to the input part 17. An input for transferring is performed (S24). Based on this input, the control unit 18 instructs the conveyor drive motor unit 45 to rotate the conveyor unit 41 in the direction opposite to S16 (the direction opposite to the arrow 19 in FIG. 1) (S25).

  Then, the control unit 18 instructs the position driving unit 84 to move backward by the moving unit 12 and pull out the lifting units 3 and 4 from between the care receiver and the bed. Moreover, the control part 18 commands the position drive part 84 as needed at the time of extraction, and operates the moving part 12.

  After the caregiver completes the transfer of the care recipient from one bed to the other bed, the caregiver inputs to the input unit 17 to move the care robot device 1 to a predetermined storage location ( S26). Based on this input, the control unit 18 instructs the position driving unit 84 to drive the moving unit 12 and move the nursing robot device 1 to the storage position (S27).

  The caregiver moves the care robot device 1 to the storage position, and then goes out of the work space of the care robot device 1 to place the care robot device 1 in the storage state with respect to the input unit 17. Is input (S28). Based on this input, the control unit 18 commands the expansion / contraction drive unit 20 to have an expansion / contraction amount at the time of storage and contracts the connecting unit 2 to a predetermined expansion / contraction amount. The main power supply is turned off (S29).

  The caregiver may determine whether there is an object such as a wall on the left or right side of the nursing robot device 1 before contracting the connecting unit 2 and may input an operation to the input unit 17. Accordingly, the nursing robot device 1 can stop the wheel by the lock mechanism so as not to move the moving unit 12 on the side where an object such as a wall is present, and can move the moving unit 12 on the other side. The care robot device 1 can be stored so as to be brought together.

  Further, in S8, if the distance corresponding to the physique information of the cared person is not reached only by the movement amounts of the lifting parts 3 and 4, the connecting part 2 is further expanded and contracted to raise the lifting part 3 and the lifting part 4 The interval may be adjusted. Here, especially when performing the operation | movement which shrinks connection part 2a, 2b, the control part 18 performs the protection function with respect to a caregiver so that a caregiver may not be pinched.

  For example, limit value information that records a limit value of the amount of expansion / contraction to prevent the caregiver from being sandwiched is stored in the RFID tag of the IC card 82. Thereby, the robot apparatus 1 for nursing care acquires the expansion / contraction amount from the expansion / contraction amount detection unit 16 of the connecting unit 2 by the control unit 18 based on the limit value information of the expansion / contraction amount stored in the RFID tag. The expansion / contraction operation of the expansion / contraction drive unit 20 is stopped when Further, the care robot apparatus 1 controls the control unit 18 based on limit value information set in advance when the physique information is not stored in the RFID tag or when the caregiver does not have the IC card 82. Thus, the expansion / contraction operation of the expansion / contraction drive unit 20 is stopped.

  In addition, the care robot device 1 stores, for example, a position close enough to prevent the lifting unit 3 and the lifting unit 4 from colliding with each other in advance in a storage unit (not shown) as an expansion / contraction amount when stored. The expansion / contraction operation of the expansion / contraction drive unit 20 is stopped by the unit 18 when the expansion / contraction amount detection unit 16 reaches the expansion / contraction amount when stored. Thereby, the nursing robot device 1 prevents the lifting unit 3 and the lifting unit 4 from colliding with each other by executing the protective function in the control unit 18 when the connecting units 2a and 2b are contracted, and the collision Damage can be prevented.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1A, the first base portion 8 of the first main body portion 5 may be provided with at least three moving portions 12. The vertical extension line of the gravity action line at the center of gravity of the entire first main body 5 has a predetermined shape formed by connecting each grounding portion (contact portion with the floor surface) of each moving portion 12, for example, a triangular shape or Each of the moving units 12 is arranged so as to pass through a polygonal shape of a quadrangle or more. Similarly, the second main body portion 6 is also attached to the second base portion 10 so that the plurality of moving portions 12 are arranged in a predetermined shape.

  By attaching the plurality of moving parts 12 in a predetermined shape in this way, the care robot device 1 falls down even when separated by the first main body part 5 and the second main body part 6. Without being able to stand alone. Thereby, when manufacturing the robot apparatus 1 for care, the assembly workability can be improved. Moreover, when repairing the robot apparatus 1 for care, workability with respect to repair can be improved. Moreover, since the first main body portion 5 and the second main body portion 6 do not lean against each other, the care robot device 1 can suppress shape distortion at the connecting portion 2. In addition, the nursing robot device 1 can suppress friction at the connecting portion 2 and can smoothly extend and contract.

  As described above, according to the care robot device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the caregiver can secure the work space by extending and contracting the connecting portions 2a and 2b, and the care robot device 1 and the care receiver It is possible to work between the care recipients. Thereby, a care recipient can be provided with a sense of security.

  Moreover, since the space | interval of a lifting part can be adjusted according to a to-be-caregiver's physique, especially height, and a to-be-cared person can be supported with the stable attitude | position, a caregiver is not burdened.

  Moreover, since the connection part 2 can be expanded-contracted according to the physique of the caregiver who uses the care robot apparatus 1, especially a shoulder width, a sufficient operation space can be given to the caregiver and the work burden of the caregiver can be reduced.

  Thus, even if the caregiver and the cared person are unspecified, the care robot device that can move the cared person safely without burdening the caregiver and the cared person is realized. can do.

  In the nursing robot device 1, the telescopic drive unit 20 is provided between the first body arm unit 7 b and the second body arm unit 9 b, but the first guide arm unit 8 a and the second guide are provided. A similar telescopic drive unit 20 may be provided between the arm unit 10a. In this case, the screw drive motors 22 of both the expansion / contraction drive units 20 are rotated in synchronization with each other so that the movement distances of the nut portions 28 by the rotation of the feed screws 23 are the same. Further, if a pulse motor is used for the screw drive motor 22 and the drive pulse signals of the motor are made common and synchronized, the amount of expansion and contraction can be adjusted.

  Further, instead of providing the screw drive motors 22 in the respective expansion / contraction drive units 20, each feed screw 23 may be rotated by one screw drive motor 22 using a known timing belt. In this case, the movement distance of each nut part 28 by the rotation of each feed screw 23 is set to be the same distance.

  The telescopic drive unit 20 has a feed screw method using the feed screw 23 and the nut portion 28, but is not limited to this method. For example, a method using a rack and a spur gear, a method using an operation cylinder and a piston, Alternatively, a crank system or the like may be used.

  In addition, the expansion / contraction drive unit 20 provided in the connecting portion 2a is driven to perform the expansion / contraction operation, but the moving unit 12 provided in each of the first base unit 8 and the second base unit 10 is driven. An expansion / contraction operation may be performed. An example of this case will be described.

  First, at least two moving parts 12 respectively provided in the first base part 8 and the second base part 10 are provided. Furthermore, the moving unit 12 includes known moving means that can be driven by being connected to a driving source such as a motor.

  For example, the moving unit 12 can perform a moving operation, a stopping operation, and a moving direction freely by using a known omni wheel and being driven by a known motor or the like. In addition, the plurality of moving units 12 provided in the first base unit 8 and the second base unit 10 are respectively connected to the position driving unit 84 and can independently control the moving operation, the stopping operation, and the moving direction. To.

  In order not to move the moving part 12 provided in the first base part 8, the connection with the driving source is disconnected by a known clutch mechanism and fixed by a known lock mechanism. Thereafter, the moving unit 12 provided in the second base unit 10 is driven by the position driving unit 84 to move in the direction in which the connecting units 2a and 2b can expand and contract. By this operation, the second main body arm portion 9b is driven in the connecting portion 2a, and the second guide arm portion 10a is driven in the connecting portion 2b. Thereby, each of connection part 2a, 2b can be expanded-contracted.

  The moving part 12 provided in the first base part 8 is fixed so as not to move, and then the moving part 12 provided in the second base part 10 is moved in the direction in which the connecting parts 2a and 2b can be expanded and contracted. However, the moving part 12 provided in the second base part 10 is fixed so as not to move, and then the moving part 12 provided in the first base part 8 is operated in a direction in which the connecting part 2 can be expanded and contracted. You may do it.

  In addition, when the plurality of moving parts 12 respectively provided in the first main body part 5 and the second main body part 6 are attached in a predetermined shape so that each moving part 12 can be driven, The cooperative operation may be performed in a state where the second main body 6 is separated. In such a case, the control unit 18 detects the movement positions of the first main body unit 5 and the second main body unit 6 that are autonomously movable, and the first main body unit 5 and the second main body unit 6 are detected. Is controlled so as to be maintained at a predetermined distance. Thereby, even if it is the state where the connection part 2 is not connected, the operation space suitable for performing care operation for each caregiver can be secured, and the first main body part 5 and the second main body part 6 can be secured. The distance between the lifting portions can be adjusted according to the height of the cared person while maintaining the distance, and the cared person can be supported in a stable posture.

  In addition, an object detection unit using a camera equipped with a known CCD, a distance measuring sensor capable of measuring a distance from an object using infrared rays, the nursing robot device 1 and an object (wall, desk, The distance from the bed, the medical device, etc.) may be detected, and after detecting whether the robot device 1 for nursing care can be extended or contracted, the expansion / contraction operation may be started. In this case, the nursing robot device 1 fixes the wheels of the moving unit 12 provided in the body unit on the object side and moves the other body unit so as not to expand and contract in the direction determined to be the object side. The unit 12 is driven to move. Thereby, even if there is an object such as a wall on either the left or right side of the nursing care robot device 1, the telescopic operation can be automatically performed without causing a collision.

  The care robot device 1 includes a protection mechanism that restricts expansion and contraction so that the caregiver is not caught at the operation position. However, the caregiver can operate the sensor using a sensor that detects the presence or absence of a known object. Whether or not it is in the position is detected, and when the caregiver is not in the operation position, the protection mechanism may be released. Thus, for example, as shown in FIG. 6A, when the optical element 15 is opposed to the position of the dotted line 14c (the position where the width of the light reflecting plate 14 is “hc”) during storage, If the drive operation of the telescopic drive unit 20 is stopped by the instruction, the installation area during storage can be made smaller than the installation area during operation.

  Further, when the care receiver is supported and lifted by the lifting portions 3 and 4, the strain detection signal from the load detection portion 13 is detected, and the operations of the telescopic drive portion 20 and the actuator 52 are stopped. The connecting portion 2 may be expanded and contracted while maintaining the interval between the portions 3 and 4 at a predetermined distance.

  In such a case, the control unit 18 detects the expansion / contraction amount in the connection unit 2 from the expansion / contraction amount detection unit 16 when the expansion / contraction drive unit 20 expands / contracts the connection unit 2. Next, the control unit 18 drives the actuator 52 so as to cancel the expansion / contraction amount in the connecting unit 2, and the support driving unit 53 maintains the distance between the lifting unit 3 and the lifting unit 4 at a predetermined distance. The lifting part 3 and the lifting part 4 are moved respectively. For example, when the connecting unit 2 is extended, the control unit 18 drives the actuator 52 and controls the support driving unit 53 to narrow the interval between the lifting unit 3 and the lifting unit 4. On the other hand, when the connecting portion 2 is contracted, the control unit 18 performs control so that the interval between the lifting portion 3 and the lifting portion 4 is increased.

  Thereby, even if it extends the connection part 2 according to the caregiver's physique, the robot apparatus 1 for care can maintain the space | interval of the raising parts 3 and 4 at a predetermined distance, and can prevent a care receiver's fall. Moreover, even if the connecting robot 2 is contracted according to the caregiver's physique, the care robot apparatus 1 can maintain the distance between the lifting parts 3 and 4 at a predetermined distance and can prevent the cared person from being caught.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to lift and move a cared person by inserting a lifting part for lifting the cared person between the cared person and the bedding and lifting the lifting part. In particular, even when an unspecified caregiver uses the device, it is possible to secure an operation space suitable for each caregiver to perform a caregiving operation without causing the caregiver to feel a burden. The present invention is useful as a nursing care robot apparatus that can lift and move a caregiver to another place.

The perspective view which shows the structure of the robot apparatus for care in embodiment of this invention FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing a use state of a nursing robot device Partial plan view of the care robot device partially broken Sectional drawing which shows AA cross section in FIG. 2 of the robot apparatus for care The top view which made the partially broken section explaining the structure of the raising part of the robot apparatus for care Side view explaining the structure of the lifting part of the nursing robot device Partial perspective view for explaining a configuration example of the expansion / contraction amount detection unit of the nursing care robot device Partial perspective view for explaining a modification example of the extension / contraction amount detection unit of the nursing care robot device The perspective view explaining the illumination part of the robot apparatus for care Block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the nursing care robot device Flow chart showing the operation of the robot for nursing care

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Care robot apparatus 2, 2a, 2b Connection part 3, 4 Lifting part 5 1st main-body part 6 2nd main-body part 7 1st support | pillar part 7a, 9a Leg part 7b 1st main-body arm part 7c, 9c Support arm portion 8 First base portion 8a First guide arm portion 9 Second support column portion 9b Second main body arm portion 9d Recessed portion 10 Second base portion
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10a 2nd guide arm part 11 Lifting / moving part 12 Moving part 13 Load detection part 14 Light reflecting plate 15 Optical element 16,63 Expansion / contraction amount detection part 17 Input part 18 Control part 19,72,73 Arrow 20 Expansion / contraction drive part 21 Warm DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 22 Screw drive motor 23 Feed screw 24 Worm wheel 25 Bearing bracket 26 Bearing part 27 Nut bracket 28 Nut part 41 Conveyor part 42 Plate-like part 43a, 43b Guide roller 43c Drive roller 43d End roller 44 Frame part 45 Conveyor drive motor part 47 Roller 48 First guide shaft 49 Second guide shaft 50 Piston 50a, 50b Actuation shaft 51 Pneumatic motor 51a, 51b Cylinder chamber 52 Actuator 53 Support drive unit 61a, 61b, 61c, 61d, 61e, 61f Mark 62 Sensor 71 Illumination unit 74 Rotation drive unit 75 Camera 81 Information reading unit 82 IC card 83 Elevation drive unit 84 Position drive unit 85 SW unit

Claims (25)

A pair of lifting sections for supporting and lifting the care recipient;
A first main body and a second main body that respectively support the pair of lifting portions;
A plurality of moving parts provided in each of the first body part and the second body part;
A nursing robot apparatus comprising: a connecting portion that connects the first main body portion and the second main body portion and that is extendable and contractible in an arrangement direction of the lifting portions. The first main body portion and the second main body portion are connected by a plurality of the connecting portions,
The nursing robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of connecting portions is provided with an extension / contraction drive unit that drives the connection unit to extend and contract. There are a plurality of the telescopic drive parts,
The nursing robot apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the extending and retracting operations of the plurality of extending and retracting drive units are synchronized. A control unit for controlling the telescopic drive unit;
The nursing robot apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the control unit of the extension / contraction drive unit controls the extension / contraction of the connecting unit based on predetermined information. The predetermined information is storage information for storing after the end of use,
The care robot apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control unit of the extension / contraction drive unit controls the connecting unit to contract from a state at the end of use according to the storage information. The predetermined information is access information that informs the approach of a caregiver,
5. The care robot apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control unit of the extension / contraction drive unit controls the extension of the connecting unit in response to the approach information. The predetermined information is physique information of a caregiver,
The care robot device according to claim 4, wherein the control unit of the extension / contraction drive unit controls the connection unit to extend and contract according to the physique information of the caregiver.   8. The care robot apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the caregiver's physique information is information related to a shoulder width of the caregiver.   The nursing robot apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the predetermined information is acquired from an RFID tag. It further comprises an expansion / contraction amount detection unit for detecting the expansion / contraction amount of the connecting portion,
The predetermined information is information about the amount of expansion and contraction.
5. The nursing robot apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control unit of the expansion / contraction driving unit controls the expansion / contraction operation of the connecting unit to stop when the expansion / contraction amount is a predetermined value. It further comprises an expansion / contraction amount detection unit for detecting the expansion / contraction amount of the connecting portion,
The predetermined information is information about the amount of expansion and contraction.
5. The control unit according to claim 4, wherein the control unit of the extension / contraction drive unit controls to stop the extension / contraction operation of the connecting unit when the extension / contraction amount reaches a limit value based on a physique information of a caregiver. Robot for nursing care.   4. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a pair of support driving units that move the pair of lifting portions in parallel with a direction in which the connecting portion can be expanded and contracted. 5. Robot for nursing care. A control unit for controlling the support driving unit;
The care robot apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the control unit of the support driving unit performs control so as to change an interval between the pair of adjacent lifting units in accordance with a manual instruction from the caregiver. . A control unit for controlling the support driving unit;
An expansion / contraction amount detection unit for detecting the expansion / contraction amount of the connecting portion;
The control unit of the support driving unit controls to change the interval between the pair of lifting units based on the information about the amount of expansion and contraction and the physique information of the care recipient. Robot for nursing care.   15. The care robot apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the physique information of the care recipient is information relating to the height of the care recipient.   When the height of the cared person is higher than a preset value, the control unit of the support driving unit widens the distance between the pair of adjacent lift parts, and the height of the cared person is the preset value. The robot apparatus for care according to claim 15, wherein if lower, the control is performed so as to narrow the interval between the pair of adjacent lifting portions.   The care robot apparatus according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the physique information of the care recipient is acquired from an RFID tag. A control unit for controlling the telescopic drive unit;
A load detection unit that detects that a load is applied to the pair of lifting units;
4. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein when the load is detected by the load detection unit, the control unit of the expansion / contraction drive unit performs control so as to stop the expansion / contraction operation of the connection unit. 5. The nursing robot device according to the above. A control unit for controlling the support driving unit;
A load detection unit that detects that a load is applied to the pair of lifting units;
12. The care robot apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the control unit performs control so as to stop the movement of the pair of lifting units when a load is detected by the load detection unit. An illumination unit;
The nursing robot device according to any one of claims 1 to 19, further comprising a rotation drive unit capable of changing a direction of illumination of the illumination unit. A photographing unit in which a photographing direction is matched with a lighting direction of the illumination unit;
A control unit for controlling the rotation drive unit;
21. The care according to claim 20, wherein the control unit of the rotation driving unit performs control so as to change an illumination direction of the illumination unit based on captured image information obtained by imaging with the imaging unit. Robot equipment.   The nursing robot device according to any one of claims 1 to 21, wherein each of the first main body portion and the second main body portion includes at least three moving portions. A pair of lifting sections for supporting and lifting the care recipient;
A first main body and a second main body that respectively support the pair of lifting portions;
A plurality of moving parts provided in each of the first body part and the second body part;
The first main body and the second main body are connected to each other, and a connecting portion that is extendable in the arrangement direction of the lifting parts,
An expansion / contraction drive part for extending / contracting the connecting part;
A pair of support driving parts that move the pair of lifting parts in parallel to the extendable direction of the connecting part; and
A position driving unit that drives the plurality of moving units of each of the first main body and the second main body;
An ascending / descending moving part for raising and lowering the pair of lifting parts;
An elevating drive unit for driving the elevating movement unit;
An input unit for inputting operation instructions;
Based on the operation instructions, a control unit that controls the telescopic drive unit, the support drive unit, the position drive unit, and the lift drive unit;
A robot device for nursing care, characterized by comprising:   The control unit is configured to stop the plurality of moving units of the first main body unit or the plurality of moving units of the second main body unit according to the operation instruction input to the input unit. 24. The nursing care robot device according to claim 23, wherein the connecting portion is controlled to expand and contract. Each of the first main body and the second main body further includes a plurality of object detectors that detect the presence or absence of an object in a direction in which the connecting portion can be expanded and contracted,
The control unit expands and contracts the connecting unit in a state where the plurality of moving units of the first main body unit or the plurality of moving units of the second main body unit are stopped according to the presence or absence of the object. The robot device for care according to claim 23, wherein the robot device is controlled.

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