JPH078477B2 - Robot grip jacket - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a grip portion of a robot such as a manipulator.
Regarding the gripping jacket.

<Prior Art> Recently, the grips of manipulators and the like are equipped with an outer cover on the body of a hand or a finger, which enables highly accurate pressure detection and, depending on the application, radiation resistance. In addition to the requirement for heat resistance and heat resistance, advanced functions such as force distribution and contact sensation similar to those of humans are also required.

For this reason, the grip portion of the manipulator is provided with the tactile sensor together with the outer cover.

FIG. 4 shows an outer cover including a conventional tactile sensor,
A tactile sensor 2 is fixed on a base 1, and a skin 3 made of a soft material having a high coefficient of friction is applied to the tactile sensor 2 so that the object 5 on the tactile sensor 2 fits well.

However, in the structure shown in FIG. 4, the force is dispersed by the soft skin 3 and the sensitivity is reduced. Even if the same force is applied to the center of the detection range of the tactile sensor 2, it is deviated from this center. When applied to a point, the force transmitted to the tactile sensor 2 greatly changes. Furthermore, for a force applied outside the detection range of the tactile sensor 2, the tactile sensor 2
There is a problem in that the dead force is difficult to transmit to the force.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, a hard small plate 4 made of, for example, a metal plate is attached to the contact portion between the tactile sensor 2 and the skin 3 to concentrate the force applied to as large an area as possible on the tactile sensor 2 to improve the sensitivity. If the point where the force is increased by increasing the detection range to the area of the small plate 4 is within this range, the force is transmitted to the same extent as in the state where the same force is applied to the center of the tactile sensor 2.
Further, the dead zone is designed to be narrowed as the area of the small plate 4 increases.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, the gripping jacket shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 has the following problems.

That is, the skin 3 often forms a curved surface, and a force applied to a region where the small plate 4 cannot be attached to the curved surface without a gap cannot be detected and a dead zone remains.

It may be difficult to attach the small plate 4 depending on the material of the skin 3, and even if it is attached, there remains a problem in the durability of the adhesion.

It is necessary to accurately position the small plate 4 at the center of the tactile sensor 2 in order to obtain a constant tactile sensor sensitivity distribution, but this is actually a very difficult task, especially to improve the tactile ability of the manipulator. 2 It is impossible when increasing the mounting density.

Accurate positioning of the small plate 4 is required even when the skin 3 is replaced, but an error always occurs in this replacement, and therefore reproducibility of the tactile sensor output cannot be expected.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a gripping jacket of a robot that reduces or eliminates the occurrence of dead zones due to the arrangement of small plates, the problem of durability, and the difficulty of positioning accuracy.

<Means for Solving the Problems> The present invention that achieves the above-described object is to provide a hard internal skin that is adhered over the entire gripping portion on the tactile sensor so as to cover the tactile sensor arranged on the base, and the inside of the tactile sensor. The external skin that is directly adhered to the outside of the skin over the entire grip portion and is soft and has a high coefficient of friction is characterized.

<Action> The force applied to the external skin can be transmitted to the tactile sensor in contact with the internal skin with high efficiency, and not only the performance as a tactile sensor can be maintained, but also the internal skin, which is a hard layer, can be arbitrarily widened. Since the area of the soft outer skin can be extremely reduced, the dead zone can be minimized, and the hard inner skin can be closely adhered to improve durability, maintenance and reliability, and at the same time, the load is distributed and transmitted. Therefore, positioning work of the tactile sensor is unnecessary, and accuracy and error do not have to be regarded as problems.

<Embodiment> FIGS. 1 to 3 and 6 show an example of a gripping jacket applied to a fingertip. In FIG. 1, a plurality of tactile sensors 2 are arranged on a base 1. An internal skin 6 made of a hard material such as silicon is disposed so as to cover the tactile sensor 2. Further, on the outer side of the inner skin 6, a polymer material (for example, Nosolex (trade name)) which is soft and has a high friction coefficient is closely arranged.

Among them, the material of the outer skin 3 is selected so as to keep the compatibility with the target object 5, and the material of the inner skin 6 transmits the force proportional to the force applied to the outer skin 3 to the tactile sensor 2 with high efficiency. Such hardness is used. The total thickness of both the outer and inner skins is set to, for example, about 1 mm in order to fully exhibit the functions of the respective skins.

FIG. 2 shows an example applied to the fingertip 7 of the manipulator. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, seven (see FIG. 3) tactile sensors 2 are arranged on the base 1 processed into the shape of the fingertip 7.

A hard inner skin 6 is attached in close contact with the tactile sensor 2 so as to cover the tactile sensor 2, and the outer skin 3 is placed in close contact with the outer side of the inner skin 6.

In this case, the inside of the internal skin 6 and the ring of the base 1 are processed in a similar shape so that the tactile sensor 2 and the inside of the internal skin 6 are in close contact with each other. Therefore, the inner skin 6 is covered over the entire gripped portion of the fingertip, and the outer skin 3 is brought into close contact with the outside thereof.

Note that FIG. 3 shows the arrangement of the tactile sensor 2 on the base 1 with the base 1 unfolded.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which the hard inner skin 6 is slightly wider than the contact pressure sensitive area of the tactile sensor 2, and the protrusion 8 is interposed between the inner skin 6 and the tactile sensor 2. I try to widen the pressure range.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, according to the present invention, since the external skin having familiarity with the object and the internal skin to which the force is transmitted with high efficiency are provided, the sensor having no dead zone or only a little dead zone is provided. The function can be obtained and the labor required for manufacturing can be reduced, high durability and high reliability can be obtained without the conventional positioning work, and the maintenance cost can be reduced. Further, it is easy to increase the mounting density, and it is not necessary to pay attention to the positioning, and the tactile ability can be improved. Furthermore,
No adjustment is required after the shape is determined, and the jacket can be easily replaced. In this way, the manufacturing and maintenance of the high-performance gripping jacket becomes cheaper, which leads to the cost reduction of the entire manipulator.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 3 show one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a sectional view, FIG. 2 (a) is a view of the fingertip 7, and FIG. 2 (b) is FIG. 2 (a). FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a developed view of the base, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are sectional configuration views of two conventional examples.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram of another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a base, 2 is a tactile sensor, 3 is external skin, and 6 is internal skin.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Yu Higuchi Yu 1-1, Niihama, Niihama, Arai Town, Takasago City, Hyogo Prefecture Takasago Research Institute, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (72) Koichi Matsuda, 1 Wadazaki Town, Hyogo Ward, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture 1-1-1, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Kobe Shipyard Inspector Shinichi Shimada (56) Bibliographic Reference Sho 60-48981 (JP, U) Actual Sho 60-117092 (JP, U) Actual Sho 61-129103 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A hard inner skin adhered to the tactile sensor over the entire gripping portion so as to cover the tactile sensor arranged on the base, and a soft inner skin directly adhered to the outside of the gripping portion over the entire gripped portion. An outer skin with a high coefficient of friction, and a gripping jacket for a robot with.